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There were many blessings that occurred before my surgery in November, 2018. One was that I was introduced to Costco, then we were gifted a Costco membership, and we were gifted a great deal of venison for our freezer from two different families. These, and the several months of meals provided by family and friends supplemented our family’s meals and finances well, and we’re so grateful for all the help we’ve received! These have made our family recovery and the transition into our new normal easier. If you are any of those, thank you!

Costco has many freshly already prepared meals in, we discovered. Many of them freeze well, and worked to provide meals for us once we were “on our own” after family and friends who were staying with us had to leave, and the meal trains ended. Some of our favorites are the Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Alfredo With Penne Pasta, Stuffed Peppers, and Kirkland Signature Salmon Milano with Basil Pesto Butter. We also enjoyed chicken noodle soup from the deli section, and Panera style soups in the refrigerator section, especially a Panera style Tomato Basil, a Broccoli Cheddar, and a Southwest Chicken & Bean soup. We were also able to make quick chicken dishes from cooked rotisserie boneless chicken in the deli/prepared meals section.

I really wanted to use the venison we had in the freezer, and I wanted to use the massive bag of frozen stir fry vegetables I’d gotten at Costco.  The challenge as a household manager is often making sure to do the shopping from the freezer and pantry rather than running to Costco or relying on Shipt. I do like keeping our pantry and freezer well stocked and well labeled, and I thrived on this kind of organization even before having brain surgery. It’s always worked for our household management. Now this management has been even more important for our circumstances. With a bit of a disordered brain, organization is now a survival tool to prevent stress and anxiety.

I saw a recipe on the Minimalist Baker, which seems to be a vegan site, but adapted the original recipe for ingredients since we’re not vegan, and I had to use what I had on hand. The Minimalist Baker appears to have great ideas and recipes, and I appreciated the inspiration behind this one.

Venison and Rice With Ginger Peanut Sauce

What is your favorite minimalist or use what you have on hand recipe?
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