Family Foodies

When my family was going through really tough financial times an acquaintance of mine told me about this organization called Angel Food Ministries. She related to me that they offer food at really reduced prices. There were no income requirements, food stamps are accepted and the food was of excellent quality.  So, I gave it a try about a year ago and have been a steady customer ever since.  For more information on their ordering location throughout the USA, you can visit www.AngelFoodMinistries.com.

And if you’re wondering about the variety of foods that are offered, I’ll be sharing some of the recipes that I’ve collected from them over my months of patronage. This is a sample recipe that I got when I picked up my order last month:

Ingredients:

• 1 large watermelon
• 1 cantaloupe, halved and seeded
• 1 honeydew melon, halved and seeded
• 2 (15 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 pineapple cut into 1/2″ chunks
• 2 cups halved fresh strawberries
• 2 cups seedless grapes
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Instructions:

1. With a large, sharp knife, remove the top 1/4 section of the watermelon.
2. With a melon baller, scoop flesh from inside o watermelon, removing as many seeds as posible.
3. Leave 1/2 inch of flesh inside the shell of teh watrmelon.
4. Scoop cantaloupe and honeyew in teh same manner, removin as much flesh as possible, and discarding the inds.
5. Refrigerate fruits separately until read to assemble.
6. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water and sgar to a boil.
7. Remove from heat, and continue stirring until sugar has completely dissolved.
8. Add lemon zest, and set aside to cool.
9. To serve place watermelon balls, cantaloupe, honeydew, oranges, pineapple, strawberries and grapes in a large mixing bowl.
10. Pour syrup over and toss thoroughly.
11. Transfer mixture to watermelon bowl and serve.
12. Set aside any fruit mixture that will not fit. There will be enough fruit to refill the bowl.

Please note: All ingredients in bold were a part of the vegetable/fruit box that is distributed by Angel Food Ministries.

photo credit: rox sm

Today we’re going to join up with Menu Plan Monday from Organizing Junkie!  Like so many other memes, I’m posting a menu plan here, and linking to the post at OJ’s.

OJ’s post includes the links where you can find all the participating MPM posts – and there are already over 130 participants as of this post. It is NOT necessary to click each participating link, but feel free to join in!  Maybe by visiting a few of the participants you’ll find some inspiration to help spark your own menu planning!

Menu Plan 5/18-5/24

I thought I would introduce a theme for Mondays here to cover the subject of Meal Planning, and share my personal family menu plans and ideas, with some recipes along the way.  I’ll be looking to connect us with another Meal Planning meme so we can benefit from the experience & advice of others, too!

Starting next Monday, I will post my family’s meal plans for the week and some of the recipes I rely on.  Today, I’ll share my philosophy of Meal Planning and what I’ve learned as I’ve incorporated Meal Planning at home.