Brea Getting Fit

I love finding good, cheap recipes that make me say “nummy” (hence the name of this blog). Lately, it feels like I’m only cooking a few days a week, and freezing the leftovers for later…. That’s not a bad thing, but I find so many great recipes that I want to try…then I forget about them later when Ish asks for my chili or spaghetti (the two favorites lately). So I’ve started a “must make soon” file. I think that my goal for the coming month will be to try one new recipe a week. That should keep me happy (and busy) and help find new numminess that must be added to our family’s favorites. I think that I feel compelled to write about cooking because I’ve been at the grocery store every day this week. Yup, that’s right…I actually think that it’s an excuse to use my new favorite shopping bags! (If you didn’t know already, Reusable Shopping Bags by Flip & Tumble are my new favorite thing. In fact, you can enter for a chance to win your VERY OWN lime green Flip & Tumble here. HURRY, though! The contest ends TOMORROW!!) That aside, I went shopping earlier this week for chili fixin’s…and discovered that when I returned home I was out of the main ingredient: black beans. NO GOOD. Back to the store I went, and I think that the lady in the checkout line must have though I was NUTS for buying 10 cans of black beans. I have dried beans, but they take FOREVER to cook, and when Ish wants chili…better now than later! That being said, my little mishap made me realize that if want numminess on demand, I have to remember to check my kitchen staples. Everyone is different, but my pantry always has a variety of beans, canned and dried, seasonings, tomatoes in all shapes and sizes (canned), tomato paste, rice (brown, white and ariborro), canned chilis, olives, capers…. I also make sure that I keep agave and maple syrup in the fridge. This got me thinking…I wondered what you HAVE to have in your pantry? I think that we stock our kitchens according to how we cook, which is wonderful, unless you want to try a new recipe. I cannot tell you how many different spices I have that I’ve used just a few times. But I’ll find uses for them, I’m convinced!! Okay, enough rambling…I’m off to press some tofu with my Tofu Xpress…. I love it! It makes pressing tofu SO very easy…. Hey, wanna win one?? I have a Tofu Xpress to giveaway when my Facebook Fan Page hits 100 fans! To become a fan of BreaGettingFit, click here.