Sunday, January 9, 2011

Practical Meal Planning Update...

Ok after a really heavy post about stillness, I am going to follow up on an earlier post about practical meal planning and tell a funny story in the process.
So if you haven't read it, please look it up in the list at the side, I wrote it in December 2010, and although most of what I put in there is still in practice, one of the items needs amending.
We are no longer meatless five days a week!!!
After two months of going meatless, my husband caught on that he wasn't getting much meat. There had been a miscommunication it seems and one night, after serving him a meatless dinner which I thought was fabulous, he told me how he really felt about things. The conversation went something like this.
"Wow, aren't these beans and rice amazing, I mean, I think this is the best version I've come up with so far," says me.
Ken mumbles something about it being "ok" and keeps eating.
I keep going: "really don't you think this is just amazing!"
Ken looks up at me incredulous.
"What?" I say.
Ken: "you want me to say something is amazing that I don't think is amazing, it doesn't have any meat in it."
Me laughing: "well you should get use to it since we are meatless during the week."
Ken in shock: "Meatless, I never agreed to that"
Me: "Yes you did."
Ken: "When."
I recall for Ken the specific time that we discussed it and he was sitting at the computer and I was sitting on the couch, and he says, "Aha, I was on the computer, did I say yes?"
Me: "yes"
Ken: "I probably wasn't listening" and so we hash out the reality that we have been meatless for two months already and that we are saving money and how expensive even just conventionally grown meat is....ugh.
It all ends with him reminding me that when we first got married he told me he wasn't picky when it came to meals, he just liked to have meat and a veggie for dinner most nights.
So, I let the subject drop and tried to figure out a way for us to get more meat without breaking the bank. The very next day I went to Target and prayed a little half hearted prayer as I walked into the store.
"Lord, if you want us to have more meat, you are gonna have to put it on sale," and then I went on.
Well low and behold, both the grass fed beef and the 'just bare' chicken was on sale that day, and for more off per pound than I have ever seen!!! So I stocked up on more than usual, but still couldn't afford to buy more than a months worth of meat.
So I went home though with faith and joy burning in my heart, ready to make my man some meat for dinner. (actually I can't remember if we had meat that night, or leftover beans and rice, hahaha)
Then, so in the next week, we got some Christmas money, and then a day or so later, our boss tells us that he has just slaughtered his organic cows and has the meat processed and ready to sell off to his friends and family. The price he asked for it was way less than store bought organic beef, and I felt great knowing the farmer personally.
So I ordered a large sum of meat from him, and the day he brought my order over, he calls to tell me he shot a deer and processed it also and I'm free to have the whole thing!!! Most people would probably not be as thrilled as me to have deer meat, but I was practically raised on it, and love to cook with it.
So in the course of two weeks we went from being mostly meatless, to being well stocked in meat. I am still going meatless a few days a week, but I know now that when we need to buy more, all I need do is pray in the sales and supplies.
Side note, if you are eating at my house for dinner, and I am serving a dinner with meat in it and it isn't obviously chicken, you'd better ask if you have a problem with deer. If you don't ask, I may forget to tell, and in the long run, I'm a pretty decent cooker of deer and you may never be able to tell the difference anyways. I have however met some beloved individuals in my life that can not cope with the idea of eating deer, go figure.

3 comments:

lifeinthevillage said...

that's awesome! i love it and congrats on the free deer! amazing. :)

abbie said...

That is amazing! I love these kind of testimonies! The Lord is so awesome! We have gotten a lot of free deer meat this year also, and I like it a lot. And you are right...you can't tell if it is seasoned right!

abbie said...

That is amazing! I love these kind of testimonies! The Lord is so awesome! We have gotten a lot of free deer meat this year also, and I like it a lot. And you are right...you can't tell if it is seasoned right!