Veggie Day = Clean out the Fridge Day!

Yay! Wednesday is veggie day! I get yummy organic fruits and veggies from Annie's Buying Club, and I love the variety of things that show up in my box each time. However, in order to make room for an entire box of fresh produce, I must first clean out the fridge! Wow, it's amazing what I find in there on veggie day :-)!

Wednesday was a SUPER long day, but I am proud of myself because I was really productive. I got to work around 8:00 AM, and I was busy from the time I got there until I left around 5:30. I got home and walked sweet puppy girl, and then I started on project clean fridge! I haven't gotten a box from Annie's in awhile which also means I haven't cleaned the fridge in awhile! I found some items that were still good, but needed to be used or frozen ASAP so that is what I did! I had a bag of onions that was still good, but I thought it would be nice to have some already chopped and in the freezer ready for use at a moments notice. I also had some green bell peppers that were heading south quickly if not put to good use soon! In addition, I had a pound of grass fed beef that needed to be cooked or frozen. I am sure there may have been some other items, but that is what I can think of off hand. So, I diced some of the bell peppers and onions as well as some celery. I lightly sauteed each in a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. I then put them in individual baggies so I will have them in the freezer when needed. I then took some of the onions and bell peppers and cut them into to strips which would be good for fajitas. I sauteed those the same way along with a couple of fresh jalapenos and they are in the freezer ready for fajitas. In my Annie's box this week we got red bell peppers and shishito peppers so I am definitely feeling some fajitas on the menu very soon! I cooked the ground beef with onions and garlic, and put it in the fridge for a quick meal later in the week. There was some turkey broth I made in the fridge, so I put it in baggies in the freezer. I also de-boned a ham. We at leftover ham for supper and the bone is in the freezer for some yummy soup or something soon. I cleaned the kitchen when I was done, and I was ready for Brad to bring the goodies. It was so nice to know there was already room for them in the fridge when they arrived! 

Did I mention that for some strange reason I love veggie day? It is fun to open up that box and see what goodies are inside. Yes, I get a list, but I forget. And, sometimes, I don't know what that stuff is even though I have a list. This week's box came with three new to me items: celery root, sunchokes and parsnips. I was aware of celery root and parsnips, but I have never cooked with them. I had no idea what sunchokes even were! I had to google them! They look strange . . . a little like ginger root. You can do substitutions with Annie's, but I don't. I like to try new stuff. However, I rarely get around to actually trying the new stuff so it is usually a waste. I am proud to report that I did put a parsnip and some celery root in my slow cooker roast that I made Thursday. I told Brad ahead of time that they were not potatoes, however, I am not sure we would have been able to tell a difference if we didn't know that they were not potatoes. Yay! I have plans to make celery root/parsnip mashed "potatoes" sometime this week to see how that turns out. I hope it turns out better than my cauliflower mash! I have no idea what to do with the sunchokes, but I will figure something out and let you know.

In addition to all the things I had going on in the kitchen, I also did a little cleaning in other parts of the house while I had stuff cooking, etc. I started working on an embroidery project although I didn't get far. I am okay with that. At least I got something accomplished. 

Whew! Wednesday wore me out! I was ready for bed early. I was so tired, that I woke up Thursday thinking it was Saturday so I went back to sleep instead of getting ready for work at my usual time. Oops. . . I was only a little late ;-)! Thankfully I have a wonderful and understanding boss.

I guess I better get to work. I just realized that I needed to have something ready to cook in the slow cooker for lunch tomorrow. Thankfully, a friend sent me this awesome link earlier this week. I have all the ingredients for this Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll recipe so I am heading to the kitchen to get everything prepared. That way I just have to pull it out of the fridge and let the Crock-Pot work its magic while we are at church tomorrow. I hope it is yummy!