When we got home from today’s shopping trip, it was already almost time for dinner. So while I directed everyone else in unpacking groceries, I asked my dd14 to whip up a quickie dinner, our version of fast food. At my suggestion, she took out a couple of jars of canned ground chicken (2 lb, 1.29 each), put it in the pot with a #10 can of seasoned tomato sauce (1.99), and added a handful of carrots and onions that we dehydrated this past month – it needed just a short time to heat up before it was ready.  It was so nice to take advantage of the work we did then, and not have to saute, chop, or peel anything when time was short and everyone was hungry (it’s the same concept I’ve touched on before, of doing the work ahead of time and being more relaxed later on). Ds15 simultaneously made a pot of pasta (3 lb – 1.49) and heated up a couple of pounds of frozen peas (1.99) in another pot. 

By the time everything was put away, the table was set and dinner was ready.  What a pleasure, to sit down to a warm and filling meal after hours of driving and going from store to store!   As we were all sitting and enjoying it, dd14 asked me if that really would be called cooking from scratch – to her it seemed almost too fast and easy.   But it definitely was a made from scratch meal, even though it was so quickly put together. 

Lots of people would think it faster and easier to go out for dinner after a day like today, but we were able to have our dinner on the table in less time than it would have taken us to get in the car and drive to the closest pizza store, at a total cost of under $7 for our family of ten (with some leftovers for tomorrow lunch!).  So you see, affordable doesn’t have to mean hours in the kitchen!

Avivah