Groceries Galore

I am amazed at the amount of food that gets consumed around here! Maybe it's because we added two older mouths instead of having it sneak up gradually, but my grocery bill has doubled over the past year. Last night for dinner I made a quadruple batch of German pancakes. That is 24 eggs, plus flour, milk, and butter. It makes 4 9*13 pans. Melynda was babysitting and Stephen got stuck late at jury duty, so it was just me and the 6 younger kids. I thought at first there would be leftovers, but it ended up that I only got one piece. They ate all 4 pans as fast as I could serve it, cut it up, and add syrup. Lincoln alone ate almost 1/2 a pan.

For breakfast, Ryan and Stephen are not here, but if I do fried eggs, they will eat 18-20. If I make something like Enchiladas, it takes at least two pans, plus whatever vegetables or side dishes. When Stephen made pancakes awhile back, he made over 50, and we each got 2. I realize there are 9 people eating, but it still amazes me HOW much food that is. Peanut butter sandwiches for lunch uses 1 1/2- 2 loaves of bread, depending on the size loaf and if Stephen is home.

The other thing that gets devoured are bananas. The rule is that anytime you are still hungry, or want a snack between meals, you can have a banana (or peanut butter sandwich). Bananas are filling and cheap, easy to eat without making a big mess, and good for you. Plus kids eat them for breakfast or with lunch sometimes. I bought 26 lbs. of bananas thinking I would have enough left over for banana bread. Nope, they were gone in under a week.

Just thinking about my food bill when these kids are all teenagers is scary. :) I remember my mother-in-law saying that when her 3 boys left on missions, they saved enough on food to pay for one mission. I believe it!