Winter's a coming....

I've always loved winter....cold weather, early nights, the occasional promise of snow....the clean, fresh air.

And then I came to Alaska, during one of the harshest winters in history.  Seriously!  The snowfall broke the record.  I was scared of driving in it, scared of walking in it (for good reason, since I fell pretty hard on the ice), scared when it fell in practically blizzard-like conditions.  The summer though, the summer was unbelievable.  It almost made me forget the harshness of winter.

The temperature has dipped below freezing the last few nights, and of course we had that awful windstorm a few nights ago that STILL has some Anchorage residents without power.  Winter is coming like a freight train, and I've decided we're going to do something to prepare for it.

Richard showed me a company called Mat-Valley Meats (I think he heard about it first from our friend Bonnie).  A budget-size box includes:

• 5 lbs. chuck roast (yum, stew!)
• 5 lbs. ground beef
• 5 lbs. round steak
• 5 lbs. pork chops
• 5 lbs. pork country style ribs
• 2 lbs. pork sausage
• 3 lbs. bacon
• 5 lbs. chicken breast
• 5 lbs. chicken thighs
• 5 lbs. chicken drumsticks

That's 45 lbs. of meat for $149, packaged and frozen.  About $3.30/lb, which is a bargain for organic meat up here.  I'm not crazy about all the red meat, but it's too good a deal to pass up.

In addition to the meat, I'm considering Full Circle vegetable delivery.  If we were to try it, we would buy the mini box, since we are not sure how much we would use.  The cost is $28.95 per week, not including shipping.  On average, a weekly box contains:

• 1 bunch carrots
• 1 bunch red chard
• Mixed sweet peppers
• Apples
• Black Plums
• Berries

I'm not sure about this one, as it doesn't really give us enough that we won't have to supplement it with grocery store items.  It is organic though, so that's a consideration.

Honestly, I think the meat pack will be the most successful, and I can plan meals around what we have leaving trips to the store for veggies and such.  I plan to stock up on canned goods as much as possible.  The point is to keep from having to go to the store more than once a week if possible.  We are clearing out a spot for a pantry, so I can have more food storage.  And as the Alaskans say, if you run out of freezer space, you can always pack it in the snow! :D