A Home in the Country

Grocery Shopping & Weekly Menu

2012-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Sadly no pictures again this week. I was rushing to get the groceries put away and lunch ready as it was 2:30 pm when I got home. I guess we will start with the shopping totals. I took the money left from last week and put it toward my garden seed bill so I was starting back over with my two week total of $100. I admit that one of my purchases was not grocery related. I was in the Dollar Tree looking for a new sugar container and found a plastic canvas book. I took the money for it out of the grocery budget, but since it was just a dollar (+ tax) let's all agree to let it slide.

My total at the Dollar Tree was $4.31. In addition to the book, I bought steak sauce and two pairs of gloves for washing dishes. The gloves are for washing dishes which is sort of grocery related.

Next stop was Save-a-Lot. I got tortilla chips, tortillas, salsa, lemons, and milk. I seriously need to work on making my own tortillas. I know they will be healthier. That might be a February to-do. My total there was $12.82.

Finally I went to Harvey's. I am heading back next week when I get a few coupons together to do a deal. Since I was already in town I decided to pick up a few things. I purchased chips, Keebler Pecan Sandies (a treat for a recovering DH), steak sauce (with a coupon to compare to the off brand), soup (restocking my "sick shelf"), mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, and cheese. My total for this trip was $23.87.

I have $59 left for next week. I will use some of it to do a deal at Harvey's, but I might be able to avoid shopping again for the most part.

Menu
Crab egg salad - We have plenty of eggs thanks to our chickens, but I do not care for plain egg salad. I mix in a can of crab meat to make it yummy and still affordable. We always get two meals out of this.

Bacon, tomatoes & rice, butterbeans - The bacon, rice, and butterbeans were from the freezer. The tomatoes were home canned.

Shrimp, fries, slaw - I will use a cabbage from the garden to make slaw.

Steak, twice baked potatoes, salad - The steaks and twice baked potatoes are from the freezer. The salad is from the greenhouse. I will add in some mushrooms and tomatoes from my shopping trip.

Pizza & salad - I have a bunch of lettuce from the greenhouse so we will be eating salad quite often.

Black bean enchiladas - I found one more container of black beans in the freezer so I want to use them before they get lost again.

Sandwiches - Weekends are always a questions. We have a variety of sandwich options including tuna, barbecue, turkey, PB&J.

Better Late than Never - January Daring Bakers

2012-01-31T15:28:00.000-08:00

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I suppose everyone should know (if you do not already) that I am a Southern gal. Biscuits are a Southern tradition so one would think a Southern gal could make them. That is not always the case and certainly is not when the Southern gal is me. I can make yeast breads all day long. My biscuits are described by my husband as "hockey pucks". I would be offended if he were not merely giving an accurate description.

That is one reason I put off this challenge. I did not know at the time that other things would come up at the end of the month. All things combined I found myself well past the reveal date and the biscuits still not attempted. The ingredients and steps were simple enough. I mixed the dough, rolled it out a bit, and cut it into pieces. I put it in the oven all the while expecting more hockey pucks.

What did I get????
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?
?
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I got actual fluffy biscuits! I do not know who was more surprised - me or my husband. If this is what I got from a first try of the recipe, I will certainly make them again. I might actually be able to hold onto my title of Southern gal after all. Thank you, Audax, for a wonderful challenge!

Hmmm....I Beg to Differ

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was ~~wasting~~ spending time online last night and came across an article on MSN that stated eating out is usually cheaper than eating a similar meal at home. That might be true if you go into the grocery store willy-nilly and just grab whatever.
An example was a steak dinner with a national restaurant chain price of $17.99 and grocery store price of $20.52. The at-home steak price was $9.55. I recently bought rib eye steaks on sale at my local grocery store. I paid $2.50 per steak. The soup price was stated to be $2.99. I could make potato cheese soup for two as a main dish for that price. Salad price was $3.99. I do grow my own in a my greenhouse, but a $4 container of organic salad mix would give me four or five servings. Asparagus price was $3.99. I do have this in my garden. Otherwise I would probably just cook a homegrown vegetable from the freezer. I could serve steak dinners for two with sides, fresh bread and a dessert for around $10 total. I can also control what goes into my food when I cook at home. This is important to me as we eat a lower sodium diet.

I should add that I am not against eating out. I do not particularly enjoy it as I rarely feel the quality beats what I can make at home. If you enjoy it and can afford it, then by all means go ahead. I simply feel it is inappropriate to try to convince people eating out is a good way to save money.

Weekly Spending, but No Menu

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

I do not have exact numbers for my spending, but I know that I have $10 of my grocery money remaining. The change went into my Sunday newspaper fund. I spent about $5 at Dollar General on a scrub brush and foaming bathroom cleaner after watching a few episodes of Hoarders. (It makes me want to clean.) I spent another $5 on bananas and a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. I will take the $10 that I had left and put it toward my garden seed bill.

I confess that I have made no menu this week. I know that today we will be having hamburgers and either chips or fries. We have plenty of food on hand and I want to focus on using up what we have. Honestly I have not really been hungry, and I find it hard to plan what to eat when I am not interested in eating much.

This past weekend I was bitten by something. Thankfully I was able to call my (wonderful) doctor at home Sunday morning, and he called in a prescription for antibiotics. This is improved over Saturday when my entire foot and ankle were swelled. I sure wish I knew what bit me so I could avoid it in the future though. Thankfully the area is improving daily, and the doctor said it should be gone by next weekend.

Crafting Bug - Part 3

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hmmm....Is anyone getting the idea that I have spent way too much time crafting recently? I promise I have done some housework and cooked for my husband. I just took some time for myself.

One thing I have wanted to do for years was learn how to crochet. Warren tried to teach me, but he was not the most patient teacher. I looked at books but could not get the hang of it. Earlier this month I decided to check out YouTube. After watching a few videos I decided that this one from AllFreeCrochet and Naztazia was the most helpful. My first two attempts were sad, but then I started to get the hang of it. The last three dish rags look more like they should.

I think it looks like it should anyway. I welcome any input. I am still working with the single crochet stitch. I want to do a few more dishrags before watching the second video and learning more stitches. I know it will take much more practice. This is the best I have ever done though. It feels good to progress from just wishing I could do something to actually doing it.

Crafting Bug - Part 2

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

In July for my birthday, I received a Hobby Lobby gift card which I finally got around to using. Among the items I bought was a Sizzix Texture Boutique for embossing. I used some other gift cards buy a few of the embossing folders and decided to try it out. I love how the embossing dresses up the cards.
I thought these two would be nice for either wedding or anniversary cards.

This is a birthday card option. On the inside it has "Birthdays are good for you. The more you have the longer you live!"

I am having fun playing around with different designs. I have a couple more embossing folders on the way to me. I can see more card making in my future.

Crafting Bug

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been bitten by the crafting bug. All I want to do is work on fun projects. That is not exactly good for the housework I need to do. Winter has that effect on me. I decided to take advantage and work on some stuff.

First up is burp cloths for my sister-in-law who is expecting her first child. My SIL loves ladybugs. When I was ordering fabric from Joann's in November, I saw some adorable ladybug material and knew I had to buy. The baby shower is just a couple of weeks away so I figured I had better get them done.

The colors are bright and cheery. I am only halfway done with them and plan to finish this week. I hope my SIL will be pleased.

Menu Plan and Grocery Spending

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

First up the menu plan...again this will be a mix of meals that we did not eat last week and a few new ones.

Workday Meals
I have deli meat as well as several homemade frozen options that can be prepared quickly. These include the French bread pizza mentioned yesterday as well as homemade pocket sandwiches.

Non-Workday Meals
Brunswick Stew
Cubed Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Butterbeans
Chimichangas
Waffles, Turkey Bacon, and Fruit
Crab Egg Salad Sandwiches
Leftovers - This may be a clean out the refrigerator type meal.

Now for the spending...I started off with $60 to last me two weeks. One dollar of it was in quarters which went into my paper for coupons money jar. That left me $59 and a bit of change in my wallet.

First stop was Harvey's. I have pictures this week!!

The cheese and sugar were stock up items due to the sales. The goldfish were a good bargain for the snack cabinet. I needed the ketchup for the as yet unmade Brunswick stew. Sour cream and bacon bits rounded out my purchases. I spent $21.95 on these items.

Second stock was Save-a-Lot.

The milk is for yogurt making later this week. The chips are for snacking and along with sandwiches. I decided to stock up on butter since I was down to my last pound. Tortillas are for chimichangas. The mac and cheese was an impulse purchase because I was hungry. It was lunch along with a salad when I arrived home. My total here was $16.19.

I have $21 left for next week. I should be able to stick to it unless there are some great sales.

Freezer Cooking - French Bread Pizzas

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

I decided to combine my menu and shopping trip into one post for Thursday. Today I am sharing some homemade freezer cooking. Convenience foods are great except for the preservatives and expense. I am not one to refuse them completely. If I can make my own, I will gladly do so.

I had a small loaf of homemade French bread and needed to use it up. I decided to make French bread pizzas. I sliced the bread in half and then in smaller pieces. I mixed up my own sauce to spread on top. Next I chopped up turkey pepperoni. In the fridge I had mushrooms and bell pepper which I chopped and added.

Then I topped each one with mozzarella cheese and put them into the freezer.

Once frozen I wrapped each individually. They bake in a toaster oven for 15-20 minutes.

Yard Sale Find

2012-01-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

I cannot take credit for this find. My dad is actually the one who found and bought it. I needed ~ well mostly wanted ~ a large tube pan. I planned to use it for making homemade monkey bread. The one I have with a non-removable bottom is only 2 inches tall. I needed one twice that tall. Finding a pan of that size with a non-removable bottom was harder than I expected. I found one online for $18 and kept putting off buying it. My dad called me Saturday and he had found this.....

Aside from a ding or two, it is in very good shape. It is exactly the same size as the one I was considering buying. The best part is that he only paid $1 for it!!! I was extremely happy with his bargain shopping. I am thinking I should give him a copy of my kitchen wish list.

Grocery Spending

2012-01-12T07:20:00.001-08:00

I did a big shop with week with the husband along to help out. I needed to pick up church supplies so I needed a second person to push a shopping cart. He added a few things to our cart that I would not have bought. Still the damage was not too bad and the overage can be spread out over the next two week. Also I had not done a Big Shop since the week before Thanksgiving.

Harvey's - $17.68
Pickles (B1G1)
Mayonnaise (B1G1)
Toilet paper

CVS - $2.24
Washcloths (Operation Christmas Child)
Chips (DH's impulse purchase)
Bath pouf/sponge

Wal-Mart - $100.53
I will not list everything here. A good potion was items for Warren's lunches at work. For future meals I bought canned crab, tuna, and frozen shrimp poppers. I had coupons for some items that needed to be used. Those included herbal tea, coffee creamer, and chocolate milk powder. I should be able to wait six weeks before my next big shop.

I went about $40 over budget this week. I will spread that out over the next two weeks. Sometimes the budget requires some juggling. As long as it works out in the end, then I am happy.

Menu Plan

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Two weeks in a row of menu plans. That must be a record for me. I am going with a more laid back plan this week and will list meals but not days. Some meals are carryovers from last week since the chicken was stretched into three meals and we also had other leftovers.

From Last Week
Beef Stew & French Bread
Cubed steak, Mashed Potatoes, & Peas
Pizza & Salad
Chimichangas

Workday Meals
Chicken Sandwiches
French Bread Pizza (homemade)
Tuna or Deli Meat Sandwiches

New This Week
Hamburgers & French Fries: I have homemade buns in the freezer. I have frozen french fries to serve with them. I should be able to harvest some lettuce from the greenhouse and one of the tomatoes from the garden might last until then.

Brunswick Stew: Each winter I make a big pot of Brunswick stew and freeze in meal size portions. I am a bit behind schedule in getting it made, but this is the week I plan to get it done. It is an all day process so this will be our meal at the end of cooking day.

Ham, Brown Rice & Tomato Gravy, & Peas: I have cooked rice in the freezer. I will use home canned tomatoes and peas from the freezer to round out the meal. My only purchase for this meal will be a ham steak. I will freeze half to use for a later meal.

Waffles & Turkey Bacon with Fresh Fruit: I have plenty of waffle mix on hand and turkey bacon in the freezer. I will make a small fruit salad with whatever fruit is in the fridge.

Use it Up: Orange Marmalade

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to be less wasteful. I had some oranges that were getting closer and closer to the compost pile. Five were already shriveled and past being useful. I did find six that were still in fairly good shape. I decided to try making orange marmalade. I pulled out my copy of Put 'Em Up and found a recipe. The steps were divided over three days. The first step was to wash and slice the oranges.

Then the oranges went into a pot to sit overnight.

On the second day water is added and the oranges are boiled until the rinds are tender. On day three the oranges are measured and an equal amount of sugar is added. This mixture is boiled until it gels. The jars are filled and then placed in a water bath. I was rewarded with jars of beautiful orange marmalade.

For just a few minutes of time over three days and some sugar I saved six oranges from the compost pile. I also have yummy marmalade for my toast and a bit more confidence in my canning abilities.

My New Favorite Gadget

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

I love fresh pineapple. While I am not fortunate to find the great prices that I see others reporting, I still gladly pay $3 for a fresh pineapple. The one downside was cutting it up. I admit that I have let one or two go bad because I kept putting it off.

For Christmas one of my gifts was this little gadget. I bought it for myself from Amazon. This Stainless Pineapple Slicer with Wedger is my new favorite tool. Normally I am not a fan of items that have only one use. This is completely different.

I spent maybe five minutes to get from fresh pineapple to yummy pineapple in a dish. I wasted less and had a much smaller mess. I can foresee many more pineapple purchases in my future. If you love fresh pineapple this is definitely worth the purchase price.

Grocery Spending

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

As promised here are my grocery totals from yesterday's shopping. I was within my normal weekly budget so I have a bit extra again for next week. I did stock up on a few items which will help out next week too.

Save-A-Lot : $20.21
sausage patties
carrots
milk - 3 gallons
salsa
spinach

Dollar Tree: $2.14 *Not technically groceries but the money came from the grocery budget
file folders (for coupons)
packing tape

Harvey's: $25.69
peanut butter
instant grits
cereal - 4 boxes
mushrooms
sour cream
whipping cream
pineapple
cheese
rotisserie chicken

I apologize for the lack of pictures. It was 2pm and past time for lunch when I returned home. We were ready to get the groceries put away and lunch on the table.

Menu Plan

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

I do better when I run my menu plan from Wednesday to Tuesday as I do my shopping on Wednesday or Thursday. I spent no grocery money last week so I have $93 to shop with today. I hope to stay well below that amount however. I will share my totals tomorrow. Today here are my planned meals.

Wednesday - Rotisserie chicken, potato salad, & green beans/Chili & cornbread
I have several errands to run and like to have a quick lunch planned. The chicken is on sale. I made potato salad yesterday using ingredients on hand. The green beans will come from the freezer. Warren, my husband, requested the chili. I had no canned beans but I did have dried beans. Since I am trying to use what I have on hand I cooked those yesterday. The cornbread will be from a mix on hand.

Thursday - Leftovers/Beef stew & French bread
The rotisserie chicken always yields a minimum of two meals. I will serve chicken quesadillas or chicken salad. The beef stew will be cooked in the crock pot as a mixture of meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions. I will make two small loaves of French bread to serve along with the stew.

Friday - cubed steak, mashed potatoes, & garden peas/pizza & salad
I have a large amount of potatoes that need to be used up so we will be eating those several times this week. The pizza for supper will be easy as I have crust dough in the freezer.

Saturday to Monday - Last minute items
Warren works a weekend shift, and I never know until he arrives home if he will be hungry. I have frozen chicken fillets, frozen mini pizzas, and deli meat on hand. If he wants something to eat, I have quick meal options. Most of these are purchased frozen foods. I want to make some frozen homemade items for future use.

Tuesday - pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, & peas/chimichangas
The scalloped potatoes are an easy but delicious side item. I thinly slice potatoes with a mandoline. Those are layered in a buttered baking dish. I sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour cream over the top. Not exactly healthy but yummy nevertheless. The chimichangas are a meatless meal. I mix black beans, salsa and cheese together and roll up in wheat tortillas tucking in the sides. These are sprayed lightly with olive oil and baked. It get the crunch of being fried without the frying.

Coconut Cake

2012-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

My husband's co-workers requested a coconut cake before Christmas. I finally took time last week to bake one. It is rather simple - a cake mix, seven-minute frosting, and coconut.

I think it turned out quite well and his co-workers enjoyed it. I was neater with it this time. The first time I made one I ended up with coconut from one end of the kitchen to the other.

New Year and a Big Goal

2012-01-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Remember Me? It has been a long time since my last post. I thought I should start off the new year with a post. My goal should probably be to post more this year. Instead I have a bigger goal with big plans for the future.

My dear husband and I have been saving to building a house without a mortgage. I will pause here as thoughts of how impossible that is go through your head. We are determined to do it though. Anyway...we have a savings goal for step one. We are $8,000 shy of that amount. My goal this year is to save $8,000. This year I will focus on cutting spending and finding little ways to add to our savings and reach our step one goal.

I will post my progress and share the little things I am doing to save. I know it will mean making some sacrifices. I think it is important to look at the long term goal rather than focusing only on the moment.

November Daring Bakers Challenge

2011-11-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

Sadly this is a picture-less post. The Sans Rival is a lovely dessert I am sure. My problem was the French buttercream and its need for a candy thermometer. If anyone remembers the candy challenge, you will know that is my downfall. It remains unconquered.

I neglected to take any pictures because I was too busy trying to get the rock candy sugar concoction out of my KitchenAid mixer bowl. I never had a chance to try it again, and honestly I am not sure I would have due to the whole thermometer phobia.

I will chalk this up as a disaster and get ready for December.

Clearance Flowers

2011-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love flowers. They make me smile and brighten up the yard. Finding great flowers at wonderful prices makes me smile even more. I bought all of these flowers last week for $13 (plus tax).

All of them are in very good condition. I was especially happy about the mums. I wanted this color earlier in the fall but could not find them at a price I liked. By waiting I got a larger mum for less money!

Handmade Stationery

2011-10-28T05:00:00.001-07:00

I have recently gotten hooked on making stationery using rubber stamps. My favorites are by Imaginisce. They have such cute individual collections that are perfect for stationery. I buy a package of thicker copy paper and the pages in half. That gives me 1,000 sheets of paper for $5. They I can start stamping.

First up I have examples of what I did for Halloween. I decided to stick with black and white. Next year I want to find some orange paper which I think will really make the images pop.

The next set is a circus theme. I decided to color these images. My husband gave me his old set of artist's colored pencils - a wider variety of colors.

None of it is particularly fancy, but it makes me smile. I hope it has the same effect on the people who receive my letters. I am currently working on some fall designs.

October Daring Bakers' Challenge - Povitica

2011-10-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Daring Baker's October 2011 Challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Prior to this challenge I had never heard of Povitica much less tasted it. I went with the traditional filling using walnuts. I tried to keep the dough a bit sticky as suggested by other bakers. My dough was a bit too sticky and rolling it out was a nightmare. I thought I was never going to get it into the pan. At that point I did not have high hopes for my Povitica. In spite of all the problems, it baked up quite well.

The longer it was in the refrigerator the better it tasted. I will most likely make this again in the future. Hopefully next time the dough will be easier to work, and I can get more swirls in my bread. To see the recipe and my fellow bakers' finished breads, check out The Daring Kitchen.

Fall Garden

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am blessed that my area allows me to have spring and fall gardens. I am even happier that I have been growing the fall garden organically this year. Everyone told me that I could not grow many of my vegetables without pesticides. I am thrilled that I have not had to use a single drop and my plants are thriving!

These tomato plants are actually the spring plants. I have babied them and trimmed back the dead growth. I am being rewarded with more tomatoes. If the weather stays mild, I will have a good second harvest.

This eggplant is also left from the summer. I honestly do not know why I plant them. No one really likes them. I think this will be my last year. Hopefully I can find someone to give this to so it will not go to waste.

We have been eating quite a few cucumbers from the three plants I have. We have never had homegrown cucumbers in October before. I think they are better than the spring cucumbers.

The zucchini are looking good but growing very slowly. I hope to get at least three from these plants. I have eaten all of the cranberry-zucchini muffins from the freezer. They were so yummy, and I cannot bear not having them again until next spring.

Last are these yellow squash. They will actually be half yellow and half green when ready. They are growing very, very slowly. I do not know how much longer I can hold out before I pick them.

This past weekend I planted lettuce and carrot seeds. I also planted the greenhouse tomato and pepper seeds. I am trying to get three gardens this year by growing some vegetables in my greenhouse over the winter.

Fascinating!

2011-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love wearing funky hair ornaments commonly known as fascinators. I had been purchasing ready made ones but recently decided to try making my own. I started off with feathers and added a jeweled piece which was originally made for a necklace. An alligator clip on the back gave me a couple of one of a kind fascinators.

Fall Decorations

2011-10-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

A good friend living in England has been asking me to post some photos of my fall decorations on the front porch. I had two lovely, large pumpkins that turned into a pile of mush. I was waiting on a produce coupon before I bought a replacement pumpkin.

Aside from the newly purchased pumpkin, this is a very frugal decoration. The cornstalks are from our summer garden. The bale of hay was free from my dad. It is too old for him to feed to his goats. The scarecrow was leftover from last year. The other pumpkins and gourds are from my garden.

September Daring Bakers' Challenge - Croissants!

2011-09-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I was so excited to see this month's challenge. Croissants have been on my baking wish list for some time now. This was the extra shove I needed to actually try them. I love making breads and not to brag but I tend to be pretty good at it. I make all of the crescent rolls each time my church has a dinner. (I currently have 144 in the freezer waiting to be baked for a dinner on Sunday.)

The recipe's steps look very intimidating. While croissants are time consuming, I found the recipe itself to be very simple. I did it over the course of a day. I would like to try it again and spread the steps out over two or three days. I think having the extra rising time at the end would improve the layers.

My only complaint about the recipe was the amount of salt. I suppose that if I were not eating a low-sodium diet (by choice) I would never notice. Since I am not used to much salt however, it was all I could taste. I had hoped to try the recipe again this month with half the salt but never had the time. I will definitely make them again soon. I know I need additional practice. For a first attempt though I was very pleased.

Thank you, Sarah, for a wonderful challenge and for the extra push to get me to actually make them rather than just dream about making them!

Jalapeno Poppers

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have one jalapeno plant this year, but it has produced well. The problem is that my poor jalapeno peppers are not spicy at all. I was determined to use them to make a healthier version of poppers.

I sliced each of the peppers in half (leaving many of the seeds and most of the membrane). In a small bowl I combined cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese. I stuffed this mixture into the pepper halves.

Next I rolled each stuffed pepper in flour, egg, and finally panko bread crumbs. I then put the tray of completed poppers in the freezer.

To bake I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. I cooked them for 12 minutes, but they would have been better at 16 minutes. Next time I will add more cheddar cheese and hopefully have spicier peppers. Overall I am pleased with this recipe and will use it again.

Beach Trip

2011-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

At the end of last month my husband and I were able to go to the beach for a couple of days. The weather was lovely. Since school was in session, the beach was practically empty. Here are a few shots from our trip.

Homemade Gummi Candy

2011-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I had found a candy recipe that I liked. The main reason is that it was so easy. I made homemade gummi candy.

All that is needed is a 3 ounce package of Jello, two packages of unflavored gelatin, and 1/3 cup of water. You also need candy molds.

Put the water in a saucepan, sprinkle on the Jello and gelatin, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then heat until the mixture melts. I poured it into a glass measuring cup to make filling the molds easier. Let sit for 20 minutes (or 10 minutes in the refrigerator).

One recipe filled two candy molds. I did have to put mine in the refrigerator to help it set since the kitchen was so hot. They were fairly easy to remove from the molds. It did require some pulling, but this is no way damaged the designs. I tried some Christmas designs as a test for the upcoming holidays. I can definitely see myself making these more often for the children (and adults) in my life. My husband declared them yummy.

More Note Cards

2011-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am still making note cards. Here are a few of the latest creations. I have a bunch of busy patterned pages of scrapbooking paper. It is gorgeous but never seems quite right for the style of layouts I like to do. Most of this was received in clearanced grab bags. While I usually got plenty of useful items, I did have more than enough of the wilder patterns. I think the cards are turning out cute.

August Daring Bakers' Challenge

2011-08-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

The August 2011 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, and Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

The challenge required the DBs to make two candies. The first had to be a chocolate candy: truffle, dipped bonbon or filled bonbon. The second could be any candy.

I need to start off by saying that I hate, hate, hate(!) to make candy. I think that is obvious from how my candies turned out. My heart was just not in this challenge. I really do not eat that much candy. I find making it to be a very tedious chore. Needless to say I did not take part in the special challenge. Truthfully I just wanted it over and done.

For the chocolate candy I chose the truffle. My main reasoning behind it was that I could do a small batch of them. I used a Ghirardelli chocolate and the recipe, which I halved, on the back of the chocolate bar. I then rolled them in organic cocoa. The end result was less that pretty. They did taste good. Good enough for me to make them again?? At this point, no. One day candy making may intrigue me, but I am not there yet.

For the second candy I decided to be really daring and make one that required a candy thermometer. Why? I am still asking myself that same question. I chose sponge candy. The reason I despise making candy is mainly due to the candy thermometer. This particular candy reminded me exactly why I do not use one. I should have gone with how it looked rather than temperature as my thermometer was way off. The resulting candy tasted burnt with an aftertaste of baking soda. Two tiny bites were eaten, and the rest went into the trash.

I completed the challenge and am happy about that. I do not have a love of candy making though. I am just thrilled to have it behind me. Bring on September's challenge!!

I did end up finding a candy that I liked and could successfully make. I will save that post for the coming week.

Tale of the Travelling Cardstock

2011-08-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

I live in the land of no craft stores. This is good for my budget as I fear I would spend too much time and money shopping for craft supplies. It is bad when I do need something for a project. I have to order it online. I needed (okay, wanted) some cardstock for making Halloween and Christmas cards. I ordered what I needed (at this point, I really did need it) and waited for it to arrive.

The eBay seller shipped it quickly, and the item went to the local mail distribution center. Then it seemed to vanish. Little did I know, my package of cardstock was planning an island, beach vacation. Twelve days later it popped up in Puerto Rico. Now I have never lived in Puerto Rico. Nothing in my address hints at Puerto Rico. Secretely I do want to live on an island. I do not wish, however, to live vicariously through a stack of paper. The cardstock spent a few days on the island before being sent back to my local mail distribution center and finally to my mailbox.

I was happy to find that the seller had packaged it extra well. The outer box showed signs of being a world traveler, but the cardstock itself was in perfect condition. While I have yet to make it to the beach this summer, my cardstock did.

Food Waste

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have given up on calling it Food Waste Friday since I cannot seem to get around to posting it on Friday. This week I tossed quite a bit of fruit into the compost pile. The bag of grapes had gotten in the bottom of the produce bin. They did not look bad at first glance but were slimy. The bag of nectarines was a disappointment. I was not aware that fruit could be under-ripe and rotten/over-ripe at the same time.

Not pictured is some lettuce that went to the chickens. I like to give them fruits and vegetables so I am not going to count that completely as food waste. Since I had plenty of happy hens, it hardly seems a wate.

Note Cards

2011-08-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love writing letters but have trouble finding pretty stationery. I have decided instead to make my own. I only need to buy heavyweight white paper which I cut in half. Decorating the front is easy since I have tons and tons of scrapbooking supplies. This gives me an opportunity to use up some of the stuff and end up with something I need and can use. As a bonus my friends can look forward to receiving some special cards.

Food Waste Friday on Saturday

2011-08-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

I never got around to posting my weekly food waste yesterday. To make matters worse the batteries in my camera were dead. This week you just get a list of wasted foods.

one chicken tender
plum
one mushroom
leftover beans (about a cup)
cream (less than 1/4 cup)

I guess that is not too awful, but I want to make sure I keep it under control. I hate the thought of wasting as much as I did in past weeks. Being accountable for it has definitely helped.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-08-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have gotten lax again about menu planning and it has shown in my grocery spending in the past two weeks. This week the plan is to eat from the pantry/freezer. I want to save a portion of my grocery budget for later. I am planning to spend part of it to stock up on a few items. (I am going to a store that I rarely visit which does have better prices on some items.) It feels quite silly to be spending money when I already have enough food on hand for plenty of meals.

Here is my plan for the week:

Pizza
fish, salad, baked sweet potato fries
crab egg salad
sloppy joes, fries
spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
tuna pasta salad
tacos
pancakes/waffles, sausage
tomatoes, sausage, & pasta and corn bread
steak, potatoes, salad

I will probably need to pick up some lettuce this week and maybe some fresh vegetables or fruit. I have everything else on hand. I am also trying to limit my food waste. After cleaning out the fridge this weekend it is obvious I need to do better at using up what I have. I will share that at the end of the week.

From the Yard - Day 3

2011-08-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a couple of my favorite zinnias. Zinnias are easy to grow, but I prefer the newer colors. The solid colors are fine, but I like to throw in a few different ones each year.

Of course, I could not take my camera to the deck without getting a couple of photos of the cats.

From the Yard - Day 2

2011-08-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

On my "must do" project list this summer was an upgrade to the goldfish pond. The main need was a new, high quality liner. My husband dug the pond out just a bit, and then we put the new liner down. Still on the list are *put rocks around the edge and *add in potted plants. For now the fish seem very happy in their new home. They have more room to swim. While there is a deep end, they spend most of their time swimming in the shallow areas.

The photos are not the best. Sneaking up on a fish is not easy. I tried bribing them with food. I did manage to get a few decent shots.

From the Yard

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have been completely lax about taking pictures to post, and I like having pictures. Without them I just end up not posting anything. I thought for the rest of this week I would share some photos from my yard.

First up is the oversized teacup planter I got for my birthday. I have wanted one of these for a few years but would never buy one for myself. I am not sure why since I really do adore them. I was happy to finally have one of my very own. I put three "hens" in it that I ordered from eBay.

Several years ago I bought a wire vase to put on the deck. The problem was I never found anything to put in the wire vase. I tried setting a potted plant into it only to have it continually tip over. I left it empty. I hung onto it though. In the current issue of Better Homes and Gardens I finally found the perfect use for the vase. I filled it with moss and stuck a big "hen" in the top. I put in a few "chicks" around the sides. It is not as fancy as what I saw in the magazine, but I trust that it will grow and fill in. In the meantime I am just happy to have found something to go in the vase.

July Daring Bakers - Fresh Fraisier

2011-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers' host and she challenges us to make Fresh Fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

I know this is only my second Daring Bakers challenge, but it is going to be tough to beat. I made the fraisier over the course of two days. I flavored everything with vanilla. I left out the lemon zest and did not add the almond paste to the top. This was an amazing cake. It was not overly sweet and was a perfect summer dessert. I went with the traditional strawberries as the fruit.

I was pleased with the cake. I did, however, have to bake it in a larger springform pan than the 8" that was suggested. The pastry cream mousse was wonderful. Next time I will double the recipe. I did not have quite enough to fill the middle of the cake, and it sunk in the center just a bit. The flavor was amazing, and it was a hit with my family. I will definitely make this cake again.

Grocery Spending Week 4 & Menu Plan

2011-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am terribly late posting this and will blame it on still being sick with bronchitis. I have literally been sick the entire summer. Fortunately I am not as sick as I was at the beginning of the summer. My grocery spending for the month ended up being slightly over - $4.14 to be exact.

For the final week I spent $53.77. Here is what I got:

barbecue sauce
Boston butt
four steaks
nectarines
mushrooms
cilantro
milk

That is a short list considering the amount spent. The Boston butt was cooked in the crock-pot and divided into five meal-sized portions. The steaks my husband wanted to cook for my birthday. My parents are coming over so we needed four steaks.

I need to point out that most of the cilantro was wasted. I bought it to put in pico de gallo. I decided that cilantro tastes like stink bugs. Now I have never willingly eaten a stink bug. If I did, I feel certain it would taste like cilantro.

After week four my grocery budget went on vacation a bit. Being under the weather and running to the doctor several times a week does absolutely nothing to encourage budgeting at the grocery store. I am going to dust myself off and get back to it next month.

Now for my planned meals for this week:

Homemade pizza - I finally found a crust my darling husband likes
Tomato sandwiches - tomatoes from the garden and homemade bread
Chicken tenders and French fries
Hamburgers and potato chips
Grilled steaks, twice baked potatoes, and some vegetable
Crab egg salad sandwiches
Spaghetti with meatballs, salad, garlic bread

Grocery Challenge - Week 3

2011-07-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

I think this will get me on track with my shopping. I am three-fourths of the way through the challenge with this shopping trip. I do not feel that I have cut out much. I am just shopping smarter. I have gotten back to planning my meals and shopping by the sales. I think I may continue this after the four weeks are over.

I was slightly over budget this week; thirty-seven cents over to be exact. I could find that at the bottom of my purse so I am not stressing over it. Here is what I bought:

eight pounds sugar
cereal - 3
ground mustard
marshmallow fluff
turkey bacon
fresh pineapple
strawberries - 2
plums
garlic
baking potatoes
sweet onions
cabbage
Healthy Choice meals - 2
gallon 2% milk
toaster strudel - 4
pint whole milk
sour cream
pint heavy cream
cream cheese
pectin - 3

My total was $57.58. A large portion of what I bought was not for meals this week. I planned my menu around what I had on hand. I am planning to can some Vidalia onion relish and hot pepper jelly. I bought ingredients for those. I have some planned baking and also purchased ingredients for that. It felt good to get these extras and still stay very close to my budget!

Grocery Challenge - Week 2

2011-07-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

I had no idea how I was going to stay on budget last week. Not only was I already short on grocery money, but I also had to cook items for a two-day family reunion. I lucked out on the family reunion as I was asked to make cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, and baked beans. I already had plenty of flour for making the bread items, and pork and beans were on sale last week. The second iffy moment came when my husband went grocery shopping with me and started tossing items into the cart. Amazingly I came in $7.21 under budget. Here is what I bought:

snack chips/crackers - 4
cereal
pork and beans - 5
dill pickles
Mrs. Dash
Nesquik
lettuce
peaches
nectarines
milk
half-gallon ice cream - 2
toaster strudel - 4

I spent $39.60 last week. The best part is that a few of the planned meals from last week were not eaten and can be carried over to this week. I feel like I am in good shape!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July! A big thank you to all of the service men and women. My husband and I have a new adopted soldier through Soldier's Angels. Currently over 1600 soldiers are waiting to be adopted. Follow the link to learn more about the organization and perhaps adopt a soldier of your own!

Grocery Challenge - $25 Per Week Per Person

2011-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Several members of an online group and I are taking part in an unofficial grocery challenge based on the All You magazine challenge. The objective is to spend $25 per week per person on food. Since there are two people in my family, I have a budget of $50 per week. I had planned to start my challenge this past Wednesday, June 22. I did not realize that I would end up sick (bronchitis and pharyngitis). My shopping trip was delayed until yesterday. I am counting this spending as for the previous days as well. I planned my menus through next Tuesday though. I have a family reunion coming up this weekend. Part of my spending for the coming week will have to include items to cook for the reunion.

Spending first: $53.19 leaving me $46.81 for next week

I bought:
frozen pizza
chicken ranch wraps (frozen from Schwan's)
potato chips
natural almonds - 3 cans
Mrs. Dash - 2
crackers
candy bars - 6
chex mix - 2
cereal - 2
wheat tortillas
lettuce
tea bags
toaster strudel - 2
ice cream
flour
whipping cream

Meals planned:
pizza and salad
pork tenderloin, au gratin potatoes, okra
tomato sandwiches
spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread
chicken ranch wraps and French fries
hamburgers and chips
beef stew
bean burritos
tuna pasta salad
breakfast for supper - sausage, grits, eggs, toast
steak, potatoes, squash/peas

June Daring Bakers Challenge

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Erica of Erica's Edibles was our host for the Daring Bakers' June Challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

I was a bit nervous about my first challenge and was relieved that it was something with which I was familiar. I have made Baklava before with store bought phyllo. Prior to this challenge I never even considered making my own phyllo.

Phyllo Dough
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour and salt. Mix with paddle attachment. Combine water, oil, and vinegar in a small bowl. Add water mixture with mixer on low speed until you get a soft dough. If it appears dry add a little more water. Change to dough hook and let knead for 10 minutes. Remove dough from mixture and knead two more minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and cover with oil. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest two hours.

Rolling out the dough was an adventure. I used a large dowel rod. After watching a video of how to do it properly, I got a bit better. My technique still leaves much to be desired. I managed to get it close to thin enough. I chose to make it in a round pan.

My one complaint about Baklava is that it is super sweet. I know that is basically the definition of Baklava. Still I wanted to try a less sweet creation. I melted Nutella and drizzled over the layers of phyllo. Then I topped it with chopped pecans (already on hand). I only buttered every other layer of phyllo to make it flakier. Here is the pre-baked Baklava.

While the Baklava was baking, I mixed up the syrup. I used less syrup than called for to cut down on the sweetness. I mixed equal parts water and sugar, some honey, and a bit of lemon juice. The lemon juice was a great addition and helped cut the sweetness. Once the Baklava was baked, I poured the cooled syrup over the hot Baklava.

Finally a slice of the finished product. I am happy to say I finished the challenge. I will probably not make phyllo dough on a regular basis. It is nice to know I could if I had to do so. I will definitely make Baklava again but will stick to the store bought phyllo.

Use It Up

2011-06-24T08:49:00.001-07:00

Last week was a bit hectic here. I had a sick husband and Vacation Bible School at church. I needed to make yogurt, which I did. I still ended up with a piece of a jar that had to be used up or fed to the chickens. Now I will be honest, my chickens love yogurt. I should really take a picture of them one day with their little beaks covered in yogurt.

Anyway..... I remembered bookmarking a recipe for Strawberry Daiquiri Popsicles at Simply Scratch. I did cheat and use homegrown strawberries that I had frozen. I also used bottled lime juice as I had no fresh limes in the refrigerator. I finally had a chance to eat one this week. They were delicious. I could have used a tad less lime juice, but I will definitely be making these again.

I recently discovered Simply Scratch and love that the recipes use whole foods. I am really trying to get away from using too much processed food in my cooking. The popsicles were a nice healthy treat made for pennies.

Roasted Corn on the Cob

2011-06-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

I like corn on the cob, but I never loved it boiled. Cooking it on the grill is not always an option. I saw a recipe in a magazine recently for roasting it in the oven. If it were not so delicious, I would never be tempted to make it as hot as the weather is.

Ears of fresh corn are placed in a buttered dish. They are basted with more butter and then cover with foil. Bake at 400 degree for 30 minutes. Uncover, butter again, and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. It brings out the sweetness in the corn. This is definitely my favorite way to cook corn on the cob now.

Tomatoes

2011-06-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to say all of these lovely tomatoes came from my garden. They actually came from a nearby pick-your-own farm. A five-gallon bucket cost $9. I had a specific purpose in mind when I purchased a bucket of tomatoes.

I wanted to can some tomatoes. I did keep a few of the tomatoes to eat fresh. The rest ended up here. I had 17 pints of diced tomatoes. They all sealed and look lovely stacked in my pantry.

Now this was not a great savings over purchased diced tomatoes. I do like knowing that these are low-sodium and are a local product. To me it was worth the time and effort involved.

Baby Chicks

2011-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

We have ten baby chicks which were hatched by two of our hens. They are growing quickly. Hopefully we will have more hens than roosters. We need to wait several more weeks before we can tell.

The two chicks on the left are ours. (The other two belong to my parents.) Our two are white cochins which were hatched by Daphne. She turned out to be not such a good mother and we took the chicks from her shortly after they were born. These are in their ugly phase.

The eight chicks in this picture were hatched by our Mille Fleur hen, Hannah. She was a fantastic mother. We left them with her (in a pen separate from the other chickens) for three weeks. They were not happy to be taken from her but are doing great.

Furry Friends and Flowers

2011-06-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get the camera out, the animals all seem to appear. They love to have their pictures taken. Lucy was keeping a close eye on JJ when I took this shot hence the laid back ears.

Bear loves to pose anytime she sees the camera. She prefers this "on alert" pose. It can be hard to get a good face shot at times. She thinks the profile shots are much better.

This is Casper who does not belong to me but enjoys visiting the herb garden for the catnip.

JJ hiding under a chair. He is a bit of a stalker although he only stalks the other cats.

I got several surprise zinnias after tossing out a packet of old seeds. This one was especially pretty.

This is a candy cane zinnia. They are not doing quite as well this year due to the extremely dry condition.

I honestly have no idea exactly what type of flower this is. I do know that it tolerates heat and drought very well which makes it a favorite of mine.

This is one of the sunflowers I planted in the garden. The idea was to use them to attract bees and increase pollination of the vegetables. My husband decided we needed something other than plain sunflowers.

Pineapple Plants

2011-06-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun of a fresh pineapple is sprouting the top and ended up with a plant. I enjoy that as much or more than eating the pineapple. I lost one of my plants to the cold last year, but two survived and are thriving in this hot, humid weather.

This is the oldest of my pineapple plants. I repotted it earlier this spring, and it has really taken off. I also like that they do well with very little water.

This plant has actually sprouted out into three plants. The main one is the smaller in the middle. The two new ones off to the sides are growing better.

This is the third plant left from last year.

These are the three new plants that I sprouted this year. I planted two of them in larger pots only because that is what I had left. They will probably not need to be repotted for a couple of years.

I have yet to get a pineapple sprouting off one of my plants but hopefully will soon. They are a nice addition to the deck as they are. With this very dry weather they are the few plants I have that are still pretty and green.

Garden Update

2011-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

I decided it would be easier for now to post my garden pictures in my regular blog. Maybe next year I will be more on track to keep up with the gardening blog. For now one is enough. Here are some new garden pictures. Everything is really growing!

Rattlesnake Watermelon

(So far thankfully I have seen no actual rattlesnakes)

Cantaloupe

Gourd

(for fall decorating)

Pumpkin
(a regular orange pie pumpkin)

Lumina Pumpkin

(For decorating because I think white pumpkins are neat)

Celebrity Tomatoes

Yellow Pear Cherry Tomatoes

Jalapeno Pepper

Banana Pepper

Tomatillo

(I love that they look like paper lanterns!)

The Birds!!

2011-06-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember that Alfred Hitchcock movie? I still think it is one of the scariest movies ever. When was the last time you ran into a zombie or mutant alien? Now when was the last time you saw a few birds?

These are my mom's blackberry bushes which are loaded with fresh, juicy, ripe berries. All of the leaves and thorns are concealing a nest full of baby birds.

Here is what is guarding the nest and therefore the blackberry bushes.

Let me just say this mama bird could win a starring role in Hitchcock's movie. I cannot convince her that my interest is in the berries and not her babies. She swoops down at me squawking all the time. I picture all of her bird friends joining in the attack. That casts me as Tippi Hedren's character Melanie Daniels. My only rescuer was a dog who quickly tired of my cries for help and left me fend for myself. In the end I walked away with only mental scars and a gallon of berries

Menu Monday

2011-05-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

After being sick last week and not eating much at all, I decided I had better make out a proper menu this week.

Pork & beans with hot dogs and au gratin potatoes - I found a package of four hot dogs in the freezer and cans of pork & beans in the pantry. We have freshly dug potatoes from the garden and I found a pint of cream that I had frozen. This will clear up a bit of space in the freezer.

Chicken Fried Rice - I found one chicken breast in the freezer that can be stretched into a meal by adding in some frozen stir fry vegetables, brown rice from the freezer, and a couple of scrambled eggs. I will serve this with crescent rolls.

Hamburgers and chips - I have homemade hamburger buns in the freezer which do not need to stay in there for too long. We have some packages of chips in the pantry to make this a quick meal.

Fish fillets, salad, and sweet potato fries - We bake the fish fillets with butter and herbs. The sweet potato fries are frozen and quite yummy.

BLTs - The temperatures here are climbing which means lighter meals are welcome on the menu. Sandwiches will pop up on my menu more and more as the humidity and temperatures rise. We are trying beef bacon as opposed to pork.

Tacos - I have taco meal kits in the pantry. This will help use up the lettuce. We almost always have taco seasoned meat leftover so I will freeze it to use in a salad for a future meal. I also have some guacamole in the freezer.

Pork tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and squash - The pork tenderloin is in the freezer. I think I have one package of frozen macaroni and cheese left. The green beans and squash are from the garden.

Garden Harvest

2011-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have been dream of fresh yellow squash since I started the seeds in the greenhouse. Last week I was finally able to pick some from the garden. Half of these went to my parents. The ones that I kept were sliced and fried. They were oh so good.

For more pictures of my garden, check out my other blog, Green Toe Gardening. I have uploaded several pictures of my garden areas.

Birthday Cake

2011-05-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

My dad loves lemon desserts. After I mastered lemon curd, I knew I wanted to make this cake for his birthday. It is a lemon curd cake with lemon Swiss meringue buttercream icing. This was my first time make a Swiss meringue buttercream so I was a bit nervous, but it turned out beautifully. My icing skills need improvement, but I was happy the extra lemon curd was thick enough to hold its shape for piping. The cake was yummy too!

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

For the past month I have been busy working in the yard and garden. That left the house quite neglected. I never got around to doing a good deep cleaning. Since both my husband and I were sick prior to the holidays last year, I missed most of my pre-holiday cleaning. I do not even want to count up how long overdue a good cleaning is. I have reached the point where the house is driving me crazy. It is now time to dig in. I am starting with the living room this week.

While I am cleaning, I want to make up a list of small updates for each room. The living room needs a slip cover for the couch. I am not a good enough seamstress to make one so I need to start looking for a deal. I also want to rearrange some of the furniture pieces but that must wait until we get a new tv.

Menu Plan

2011-04-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am trying to keep myself on track with menu planning. I have a long way to go on making a dent in the freezer. Planning meals from what I have on hand helps both the freezer and my grocery budget. Here are my plans for the coming week.

Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad: I never did get around to making the meatballs last week. We had a quick meal of sandwiches one day last week in place of this so it goes back on the menu.

Steak, baked potatoes, and salad: I have two steaks in the freezer and a weather forecast for sunny, warm weather. This makes a perfect combination for grilling. I bought two large baking potatoes and will get lettuce from the garden.

Tacos: The price of tomatoes dropped by half. While they are still not cheap, I did find them to be affordable again. I have plenty of taco shells in the pantry and will only need to pick up taco sauce.

Cheeseburgers and french fries: I use my dinner roll recipe to make hamburger buns by shaping them larger. I cannot remember the last time I bought hamburger buns.

Beef sausage, tomatoes, and pasta with corn bread: This is a comfort meal for us. It is also a quick one pot meal aside from the corn bread. It is low on vegetables, but I try to balance it out with other meals.

Breakfast for Dinner: We will use the rest of the beef sausage for this meal. We will add grits, eggs, toast, and homemade jam/jelly.

Pizza: I have enough cheese and turkey pepperoni to make another pizza. My husband was not so certain of the crust recipe I tried. I did add in some seasonings. This time I will make it plain and just by the recipe.

Menu Plan

2011-03-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

My freezer is practically running over. If I was brave enough to really dig them I would know what is in it. At this point I am afraid to move too much as I am not sure I could get it all back in. My menu plan will focus on using what I have on hand. My only planned purchases this week are milk and items for my husband's work lunches.

Pork tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, and peas: Pork tenderloin is the meat that I cook the best. I like to bake it in the oven. The peas are from the freezer and originally from the garden. The macaroni and cheese will be from a mix. I normally make homemade; however, we have a surplus of Kraft Homestyle purchased on sale with coupons.

Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad: I am going to make a big batch of meatballs using venison and turkey along with spinach. The garlic bread will be made with homemade bread, and the salad is from the garden.

Roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots: I cut a venison roast into pieces and add large diced onions, potatoes, and carrots. This gets topped with salt, pepper, butter/margarine, and Italian dressing. I cover it with foil and bake. It is a hearty meal for a cool, rainy day.

Pasta salad: I bought multi-colored spiral pasta with a coupon. I make my own dressing using ranch and Italian dressings. I add in whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator. My husband likes this with club crackers.

Black bean quesadillas and guacamole: I made my own tortillas and they turned out too small for enchiladas. Instead I will make quesadillas. The black beans will turn this into a meatless meal my husband will enjoy. A side of guacamole and chips and possibly a salad will round out the meal.

Cooking from Scratch

2011-03-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have recently found myself making more items from scratch. I have two reasons. The first is that I like my food to be fresh. Being able to make breads from scratch means that I can buy up basic ingredients and extend the time between shopping trips. My second reason is that I want to know what is going into my foods. I am overwhelmed by companies trying to convince me that those unpronounceable ingredients are not bad for me. I am not saying that they are bad, but they are not necessarily good either.

I realize that most people do not have time to cook everything from scratch. I find that it does take up a portion of my week. Obviously mixing and baking bread is not as simple as tossing a loaf in the shopping cart. I feel the need recently to get back to basics though. I have never liked to be dependent on others for everyting. I have always liked to be able to do things myself. This is just an extension of that.

I will continue to not take the easy way out. I am not saying it is the only way. For me at this point it is the better way.

February Savings

2011-03-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

The last half of February was crazy and hectic. I finally sat down last night to enter all of my receipts. I have the feeling one is missing, but I cannot find it so I will go with what I have. My coupon savings for the month totaled $64.76 with a sale savings of $80.07. I made a trip to a store I rarely go to in order to stock up on a few items. That cut into my savings amount.

I am starting March with a clean shopping slate. My hope is to stick with a weekly trip to a couple of smaller stores I like to shop. I am staring to see the rising produce prices that many of my online friends have been discussing. I will tough it out for a couple of months but am glad that gardening season is just around the corner.

Garden Surprise

2011-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

It has been a bit warmer this week so I ventured out into the yard. I went over to my old raised beds to see if any of the herbs had survived the winter. I only saw the rosemary bush. I did get a big surprise when I looked where the lettuce had been.

I found this ~

A beautiful head of burgundy lettuce. I was also happy to find several smaller plants. I am guessing this is from last year's lettuce that bolted and went to seed before it made heads. I was just complaining about having to buy sub-par lettuce so this was a wonderful blessing. It will make a wonderful salad or two this week.

Chickens

2011-02-15T10:11:00.001-08:00

Last summer my husband and I got chickens. Who knew we would end up liking them so much? It is not just because we get wonderful fresh egg. The chickens have turned into true pets. I admit that they are a bit spoiled. They love vegetable scraps from the kitchen, the ends of homemade bread, and recently green clover that I find in the yard. Let me introduce you to our pets.

You might remember that had already taken in two homeless white cochin chickens. We named them Fred and Daphne.

First are the White Crested Black Polish. I fell in love with this breed after seeing them on an Easter episode of The Martha Stewart Show. When my husband was choosing, I begged for these to be mine.

Next are the Buff Polish, his choice. While mine will let you pet them, his will let you pick them up and hold them. The one that is just visible at the bottom of the photo always runs to the door and will walk right out if we are not careful. Fortunately she is easy to catch if she does get out.

Next are the Mille Fleur. They are the smallest of our chickens are full grown. Their coloring is beautiful. I took this picture from further away. The reason is below.

This is Butch. He is very protective of his hens. He will puff his feathers out and attack. When I need to change the water or fill the feeder, I toss cracked corn in the opposite direction to distract him. He is quite the bully.

Finally are the white leghorns. They lay extra large eggs and are still a bit shy. We got them only a few months ago. They are getting more tame but at least have calmed down. Fortunately Foghorn, the rooster, is not mean. If he were like Butch, I would be in big trouble.

Here is just a sample of the fresh eggs our backyard chickens provide us. The eggs are delicious with dark yellow yolks.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-02-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Nothing special planned at my house this year. Last week I did not have a set menu plan since our schedules were a bit off from normal. I am not sure this week will be much better, but I am making a plan.

Breakfasts here revolve around eggs as I have an abundance in the fridge.

Lunches/Dinners

Sausage, tomatoes & rice; biscuits
Brunswick Stew
Pizza
Cheeseburgers & fries
Deer roast with potatoes, carrots, & onions; biscuits
Black bean enchiladas - I'll be trying out my new tortilla press
Baked fish, wild rice, and a yet undecided vegetable
Waffles and beef bacon

Nothing too exciting this week although we are trying some new things. I want to see if the beef bacon is a better tasting option than turkey bacon. I have not had pork bacon in forever. I am looking forward to trying out the tortilla press. The wild rice is a new recipe that is made in the crockpot.

I am also trying out a few new baking recipes. First is freezer biscuits. I am also making cranberry, raisin, cherry bread. I need to make more crescent rolls for a church dinner. I also have to decide what else to take to this church dinner. I know deviled eggs are on the menu since I have seven dozen eggs in the refrigerator.

Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap

2011-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was tempted last week by a Groupon sale which would have gotten me seven bottles of foaming hand soap for $16. Initially it seemed like a good deal. Then my frugal side tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me I had an empty foaming hand soap bottle and liquid soap. I quickly dismissed purchasing the deal and set about making my own foaming hand soap.

You will need an empty foaming hand soap bottle. I added in about a tablespoon of liquid soap. Next I filled the bottle with hot tap water leaving an inch or so of space. I gently shook the bottle and gave it a couple of pumps. Voila, I was rewarded with foaming hand soap. The bottle of soap was free thanks to a coupon and sale. I cannot begin to guess how many dozens of bottles of foaming soap I can make from this one bottle of liquid. A minute or so of "work" saved me $16.

Homemade Yogurt

2011-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yogurt was once one of my favorite snacks. In recent years I did not enjoy it as much. I decided to try homemade yogurt. The first time I did the crockpot method with less than stellar results (a runny, watery mess). A few weeks ago I was introduced to The Frugal Girl. While plundering about on her blog, I came across her method for homemade yogurt. About a week ago I decided to try again using this method consisting of heating the milk, mixing in the yogurt starter, putting it in a cooler for three hours, and then leaving in the refrigerator overnight.

Wow! The method worked perfectly. My homemade yogurt firmed up nicely as shown in the picture below. Even with the jar turned on its side, the yogurt stays in place. When spooned out, it is creamy and thick. Not only is the consistency wonderful, the flavor is delicious. It is not as tangy as store bought yogurt which suits my taste buds. I made vanilla yogurt by adding in some of my vanilla sugar and homemade vanilla extract.

I started off making half a batch using a half gallon of milk which made four pints. This week I will be making a second batch using a gallon of milk. This has spoiled me from ever buying yogurt again. Since I can use my yogurt as starter for the next batch, my only cost will be a gallon of milk bought on sale for $2.50. That will produce four quarts of yogurt. What a bargain!

Rhonda's Grandpa's Bread

2011-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have been searching for a good homemade sandwich bread. The ones I had tried in the past were not soft or had a pack-y texture. When I saw a bread recipe posted on if you do stuff, stuff gets done, I had to try it.

I was not disappointed. The baked bread from soft. I was also pleased that the frozen, thawed bread was just as soft. That is important since it is hard for our household of two to eat two loaves a bread before they get stale. I did use my Kitchen Aid mixer which made quick work of incorporating the ingredients.

This recipe definitely goes into my cookbook as a keeper. I have been enjoying it toasted with Nutella as part of my breakfast. Yum! I made it with some wheat flour but will try all white next. My dear husband says that wheat bread and peanut butter and jelly do not go together. As simple as it is to make, I can easily make a recipe of each.

January Savings

2011-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

This was my first month using the Savings Tracker. Finally I kept up with my coupon usage. For the month of January I save $79.67 by using coupons. I spent $259.66 on groceries, health & beauty, and personal care. This was slightly higher due to stocking up on things. I hope February will be better spending-wise.

Here are two of my best shopping trips which happen to be from last week. At CVS I bought three hair accessory packs (for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes), two cans of apple pie filling, and two packages of chocolate covered cranberries. My total out of pocket spending was $2.09.

Second was my grocery shopping trip. I got 3 pounds of onions, eggs, two bananas, grapes, peanut butter, and 2 bottles of coleslaw dressing. My total out of pocket was $4.92. I got a coupon for free eggs when I scanned my savings card. Otherwise I would not have gotten them as our chickens are laying well now.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

My car ended up needing only a few parts to get it up and running. I was asked to work again this week and ended up working two days. That compressed all of my other plans into one day. It also affected my menu plan. As a result you will see many of the same meals from last week on this week's plan.

Pizza & salad
Pork tenderloin, macaroni & cheese, peas
Cheeseburgers & fries
Turkey pot pie
Breakfast for supper
Pork fried rice
Sandwiches & chips
Tortellini with Alfredo sauce, salad, garlic bread

This week I am definitely sharing the bread and yogurt I made. I am hoping that this week will be more normal so I can get back on track with my usual life.

Reading - A 2011 Goal

2011-01-19T06:12:00.000-08:00

I have always been a big reader. Every summer I won the library contest for most books read. I actually saw the former librarian a few years ago in a store and she recognized me. I obviously have not changed much and spent many hours in the library. I attribute my love of reading to two things. First I am an only child. Reading opened a limitless world to me. Second I grew up in a family of readers and had parents who took me to the library.

Of course with a love of reading comes a love of books. I no longer frequent the library as my reading tastes have outgrown my small town library. I also just love seeing my own shelves piled with books. I had a designated space but my books long since surpassed that. One of my 2011 goals is to read these books and free up some shelf space.

Normally when I go to choose a book, I stand in my craft room where my bookshelves are and stare for a bit. The options are a bit overwhelming. *No pictures as the room is atrocious and embarrassing, but that is part of a separate goal.* To remedy that and make more progress, I picked a shelf and have started reading. The books are mixed enough that I am finding variety. Since I am reading from one area, I am also seeing progress.

Some books are too good to let go. I did not start this expecting to completely clear out all of my books. Although I know I will pass on many. Some are swapped via PaperBack Swap or Title Trader. Others get passed on to friends or family. The rest are donated to a local store that has a free bookshelf.

I recently finished reading Stupid History. It was a collection of short paragraphs on different historical misconceptions. It was interesting and good for short spurts of reading time.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Gosh where did last week go. I ended up working one day which completely threw off my entire schedule. After being mostly a housewife for the past 9 years, it is sad that one day in the "normal" world caused so much chaos in my country home.

Meals this week are a rough plan again. Here are my ideas:

Pizza (a Monday staple in my home)
Tacos
Pork tenderloin, macaroni & cheese, peas
Breakfast for supper
Pork fried rice
Turkey pot pie
cheeseburgers & fries
Brunswick stew

Our date night meal is up in the air. I also have other cooking adventures planned this week. I need to make the big pot of Brunswick stew which was put off from last week. Much of that will go in the freezer. I want to try a bread recipe I discovered on a friend's blog and also give making yogurt another try. I will post more about those adventures later in the week.

I have tried to plan meals that I knew I could make from ingredients on hand. Car issues might prevent me from going into town this week. If that happens, tacos would be put off. A little digging would give me a substitute meal I am sure.

Inexpensive Date Night

2011-01-15T11:46:00.001-08:00

My menu plan went out the window this week as cold weather set in and I was asked to work at a local technical college. Thanks to the crazy schedules my husband and I barely saw each other. I was determined we would have dinner and a movie last night. I also wanted to do it on a budget.

Each pay period I purchase two used DVDs from our list of movies we want to see. I can usually find them at a better deal than renting especially since we would need to drive about 30 minutes into town one way to rent a movie. This week's movie was Killers, which was better than we expected.

The meal was the steak dinner from the menu plan. I estimated it cost us $6.50 for both of us. Here is the breakdown:
salads from half a bag of salad mix - $1
twice baked potatoes using two potatoes and a bit of cheese - $1.50
New York strip steaks (from freezer) - $4
homemade crescent rolls (from freezer & leftover from the holidays) - $0

It was a nice evening at home. I am hoping to plan a special meal each Friday night and make this a regular event. If we had gone out, the cost would obviously have been much higher. I expect see a new release movie in the theater would have cost $24 (no snacks), and the meal would have been at least $30 for the pair of us. That would fund a month's worth of date nights at home.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

We stuck to the planned menu for the most part last week. I think this week rather than going by day I will divide it by dinner (lunch for those not in the south) and supper.

Dinners:
ham, tomatoes & rice, peas
cheese ravioli w/ tomato sauce, salad, garlic bread
pork tenderloin, macaroni & cheese, vegetables

Suppers:
Pizza & salad
steak, baked potatoes, salad, & rolls
Breakfast for supper: waffles/pancakes, scrambled eggs, & bacon (not eaten last week)
Turkey pot pie
French dip sandwiches & chips
pork fried rice
Leftovers

I expect this week more than last will have some changes. I need to dig around in the freezer and pantry more to see what needs to be used. Menus are merely suggestions in my house and subject to change. A plan of any sort is better than no plan at all!

Just Ducky

2011-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

A neighbor has four ducks that live in a pen with some of my father's goats. These ducks are very spoiled. When you feed the goats, you must also feed the ducks. They love corn and will eat it from a bucket. They will also walk right up and the corn straight out of our hands.

When they have eaten their fill, the waddle right back to the pond for an evening swim. That is after the photo-op, of course.

Free Savings Tracker

2011-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Every year I have all these good intentions of keeping track of how much money I save by shopping sales and using coupons. Sadly I have never made it past January. My system is too flawed for me to keep up with for more than a few weeks. That is all going to change.

This year I am using a savings tracker provided by The Coupon Project. You can follow that link to download your own copy. I have used it to add two receipts and am in love! It is easy to use. I downloaded the Excel version, but it is also available in Google Docs. I am determined to enter my receipts after each shopping trip. That will allow me to quickly see how much I have spent, how much I saved from sale prices and coupons, and also see how much of my grocery budget is left.

A big thank you to Angela of The Coupon Project for this great tool!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

It has been several months since I planned weekly menus. This was one of my 2011 goals. I also decided to start January with a pantry/freezer challenge. I am sure I will shop some throughout the month, but I want to focus on using up what we have on hand.

Monday
Pizza and salad: Pizza is our normal Monday night meal. I am including a salad to make it healthier.

Tuesday
Lunch - Roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, butterbeans, rolls
Supper - chicken & cheese quesadillas

Wednesday
Lunch - chicken wings, potato salad, green beans
Supper - shrimp, baked French fries, salad

Thursday
Lunch - Black beans and rice, cornbread
Dinner - Breakfast for Supper: Waffles/pancakes and bacon

Friday
Lunch - garlic lime chicken, parmesan noodles, peas, rolls
Dinner - cheeseburgers

Saturday
Turkey pot pie: the filling is in the freezer so I will just need to make up the pie crusts

Sunday
Leftover night: I am trying to use this night as a time to eat up the leftovers. I am going to test it for a few weeks and see how it goes

Extras: We are not big dessert eaters, but I do have some apples in the fridge. A French apple tart is in the weekly plan. We also have an abundance of eggs thanks to several chickens that have started laying. I will likely be eating scrambled eggs for breakfast and may add deviled eggs to one day's menu.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

A new year always feels like a new start. I like to mail goals rather than resolutions. Some of my goals are long term. I also have smaller goals. One of my goals is to blog more. I am starting with a goal of blogging at least three times per week. I will be sharing more of my January goals as the month continues. I hope all of you are having a great start to 2011!

Creepy Snake Wreath

2010-10-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

In the October issue of Martha Stewart Living was a fantastic Halloween wreath idea. It was basically a grapevine wreath spray painted black with black plastic snakes attached all over it. The twists of the grapevine combined with the snakes to look like a mass of snakes. Here is my version:

I love how it turned out and will be keeping this to use from year to year. Also outside are my adorable trick-or-treaters. They have different colored eyes this year and the girl has a new hair bow.

Book Swapping

2010-10-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

I love to read. I easily have enough books to last me years, but I still cannot resist a catchy title or interesting cover. My local library does not have most of the books I want to read. A few I find I want to keep, but with most I read them and am done. I use PaperBack Swap to trade books (hardcover and paperback). I have been very pleased with this service.

Recently I have finished two books. The first is Baby Not On Board, which is all about being childless. It was more humorous and sarcastic than anything. It was a fun, quick read. It is currently packaged up waiting to be mailed tomorrow.

Next is The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes about a mother's struggle to find appropriate care for her mentally disabled son. I was not sure I could relate to the book, but it is a touching story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

While this should free up two books' worth of space on my shelves, it does not really. I am waiting for two more books that I requested to arrive. I am on a reading merry-go-round, and I do not want to get off.

Baby Gifts

2010-06-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had the material and supplies needed to make these for months. I had them for so long that two of the babies were born before I got around to actually sewing them. In my defense I have a tiny(!) travel size sewing machine. Doing any project is frustrating at best. A real, big girl sewing machine is on my wish list.

I made burp cloths and embellished onesies. I needed to make two girl gifts and one boy gift. The girls are getting bright floral designs. The baby boy will have a star pattern.

Recipe Review: Coconut Pops

2010-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

I had a can of coconut milk in my pantry. I know I bought it for some reason, but I never got around to actually using it. When I saw this Coconut Pops recipe is a recent issue of Food Network Magazine, I knew it was the perfect way to use up that can of coconut milk.

You will need:
14 ounce can coconut milk
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup shredded coconut

I put everything in the blender until it was mixed well. I have a set of popsicle molds and ended up with eight popsicles. Dh did not like them as he is not a fan of lime. I thought they were delicious - a bit tart from the lime and slightly sweet. I plan to purchase another can of coconut milk with this recipe in mind.

Decluttering

2010-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am continuing to follow the summer session of the Holiday Grand Plan on Yahoo Groups. Each week I am focusing on an area of the house. To this point I have cleaned the pantry, craft room, walk-in closet, and living room. The living room was the first main room of the house I did. It made the rest of the house look awful. I know that I need to take it one room or area at a time though.

This week I have been cleaning the desk and our storage building. My decluttering has motivated dh. He wants to tear down two-thirds of our backyard storage building. That means we need to get rid of some stuff. I have no problem with that. If we are not using and have no plans to use something I see no reason to hold onto it.

I have found that cutting back on the amount of things we have also cuts back on the amount of time I spend cleaning. I admit that I have never made it completely through the Holiday Grand Plan. This just might be my year!

Garden Blessings

2010-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you have visited my gardening blog, you will see that we are not eating much from our garden yet. We have been blessed with fruits/vegetables from our friends' gardens.

Strawberries were our first blessing. I got about six gallons from my aunt and uncle's strawberry patch. Some went into a yummy strawberry pie. I froze some whole to be part of homegrown frozen mixed berries. I made dh some strawberry popsicles. Others went into the freezer for jam or ice cream. One gallon went to my in-laws.

My in-laws gave us some yellow squash. We also picked their garden last week and received more yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. I shared some as we had more than we could eat. Everything has been eaten fresh. I do plan to blanch some of the squash and zucchini as part of a homemade frozen stir fry mix.

Snap beans from another friend's garden were enjoyed fresh. Some will also be put into the stir fry mix.

Blackberries from my parents' garden will complete the frozen mixed berries. We have also been enjoying onions and potatoes from the family garden.

The garden produce definitely helps my current grocery budget. I also try to freeze what I can to help the garden budget in the months when the garden is finished.

Menu Planning

2010-06-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I started to get serious again with my menu planning. I am making a menu for the entire month. My goal is do get my shopping down to one main trip a month. A regional grocery store often has good sales and is more convenient. I also find the produce is fresher and a better quality. Even better I can stick to my shopping list and am not tempted so much by impulse buys.

I do not stick strictly to the menu plan. For example if I have a meal planned for June 27 and we want it, we eat it even though it is June 12. My monthly menu plan is a general list of meals so I am not peering into the freezer searching for something I can fix.

The second part of my plan is to save my menus in my household notebook. In June 2011 I can pull out this menu plan and with a few tweaks have a working menu. I have decluttered my recipes and also have a folder of ones I want to try. Perhaps I will have meals we do not love as much or new meals that I want to add in. A year is a long time to wait to see how it works. I expect it will be fine or at least give me a good start.

I do know that the monthly shopping works as I did this when I worked. The less I am Wal-Mart, the less I am tempted to pick up this or that.

Taking in Homeless Animals

2010-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

All three of our cats were rescued, and we continue that tradition by taking in two more homeless animals - a pair of white Cochin chickens.

My DH got to work building a very nice pen for them with a little roost and plenty of room to ramble in the grass. I named them Fred and Daphne (from Scooby Doo). They stay very close to each other. Daphne has already laid several eggs, which we are saving to hatch out.

Our intentions were to get chickens at some point anyway so when no one wanted these it seemed like a great opportunity. We will add to our little chicken family with a few more breeds in the future. I grew up around chickens, but it is fun to have some of my own.

Computer Problems Over

2010-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am happy to be back online with no problems now. I ended up having to reformat the hard drive, but everything is working smoothly again. I know everyone complains about their slow computer. When my neighbors complained, I let them use my computer and was always told "mine is not so bad after all". It was aggravating, and I did lose a few programs. I had tried everything else. I could have taken it somewhere to be checked out. The cost of that would have been more than the cost of the two programs. I am not certain that the outcome would have been any different.

I am pleased to say that I have posts lined up for the next week. I apologize for my absence and hope the computer will cooperate from here on out.

Recipe Review: French Apple Tart

2010-05-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

As I was decluttering my recipes/cookbooks, I made a point to only keep recipes I knew my family loved or that I seriously wanted to try. One of those was the Barefoot Contessa's French Apple Tart. The tart was incredibly easy to make. My favorite part was the crust as it was very flaky. Dh declared that he gave it a 9.5 out of 10. He deducted half a point since we had no whipped cream in the house.

I made a couple of changes simply to use items I had on hand. I replaced the Granny Smith apples with Gala apples. I also used peach preserves rather than apricot. My apples were a bit small, and I could have used one more. The crust was so yummy that the sparse bits were not a problem.

This recipe definitely goes into the keep section. I would like to try it with peaches or pears.

Weekly Shopping

2010-05-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

I went shopping Wednesday afternoon and tried my best to stick to a low total. I think I did well as I got everything pictured for $7.10 thanks to sales and coupons. My freebies were the cereal from CVS with a bonus extra buck. From the grocery store I got the Steamfresh vegetables & rice and two candy bars. The pasta side was for yesterday's lunch. The Fritos and grapes are for DH's lunch. The corn chubs were 75 cents each after the coupon. I needed something for a church dinner next weekend. Creamed corn will be a great and frugal start to my menu.

Menu Plan

2010-05-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am trying to do another pantry/freezer challenge. My plan is to spend less money on groceries over the next eight weeks. We have plenty of food on hand. My problem is decided what to fix. That requires a menu plan. Here is mine for this week.

Yesterday we had pizza and salad for lunch and burritos and salsa/guacamole for dinner. It was not the most balanced, but I was away much of the day.

Today we are having broiled cod fillets, a pasta side, and either salad or slaw for lunch. Our evening meal will be corn dogs and home baked fries with fruit for dessert.

Friday: hamburgers on homemade buns, chips
Saturday: chicken wings, green beans, potato salad
Sunday: BBQ sandwiches on homemade buns
Monday: pizza and salad
Tuesday: sausage and tomatoes in pasta, biscuits

One day this week I want to try out an apple tart recipe. I am only keeping recipes that I seriously plan to test. This is one DH had selected so it is a definite test recipe. I already have the apples so I can try the tart without purchasing any other ingredients.

Restaurant Cooking at Home

2010-05-05T07:09:00.001-07:00

Eating out does not always fit with the budget or the waistline. I do have some things that I like and consider a treat. Making similar recipes at home allows me to treat myself for a fraction of the money. I am not clever enough to decipher most of the recipes on my own. That is why I like the copycat section of RecipeZaar. I can search by meal or by recipe. Some need a bit of adjusting to taste exactly as I want them which is another bonus of preparing it myself at home.

Spring Cleaning: Cookbooks/Recipes

2010-05-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I caught a cold which I am still dealing with today. I did not do any spring cleaning and am still trying to take it easy. I decided one area I could work on from the couch was my cookbooks/recipes. I have too many of both. I find it easy while flipping through magazines to be pulled in by the beautiful pictures of delectable dishes. I tear out the recipes with grand plans to cook the featured foods. Eventually (aka: now) I find myself buried in paper. It is time for a fresh start. I am going to put my favorite recipes in one cookbook so I am no longer digging through mounds of recipes.

I am not going to pretend that I will get rid of all of my cookbooks. If I can clear out five books along with 75% of the "one day I might cook that" recipes, I will consider that area of spring cleaning a success.

Cinnamon Rolls for Now or Later

2010-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I use my bread machine to make the dough for my cinnamon rolls. It takes 90 minutes for the dough to finish and another 60-90 minutes for the shaped dough to rise and be ready for the oven. That makes having freshly made cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning a challenge unless I want to get up before the chickens. I decided to do a bit of experimenting. After several trials and some errors, I found two successful ways for making cinnamon rolls now to eat later.

The first option is for cinnamon rolls served the day after making. I make the dough, shape it, and place it without letting it rise in the refrigerator. The next morning remove the cinnamon rolls from the refrigerator and let them rest on the counter 15-20 minutes. Bake as usual.

The second option is for freezing the dough. I make the dough, shape it, and let it rise. Then I wrap the pan well and place it in the freezer. The day before baking, let the cinnamon roll dough rise overnight in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator and let rest on the counter 15-20 minutes before baking as usual.

My First Handmade Card

2010-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to try rubber stamping and recently subscribed to a kit of the month club that included a small lesson book along with the rubber stamps and materials to complete the projects. I worked on the March kit over the weekend. I have to say I am pretty pleased with the results.

Although it is not visible from the picture, the flower has a 3-d effect. I stamped the image three times and cut out parts from two of the images. I used pop dots to layer the flower parts giving the image a bit of depth. I am thinking I might actually be able to make my Christmas cards for this year and not have them look like a three year old made them.

Improved Pantry

2010-04-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

First of all, I am a bit surprised at myself for sharing the before photos. The main reason I am sharing them is that the after ones are so impressive. Here goes:

I have no good explanation for this mess. It started small as all messes do. This part of the house is cold so once winter was in full swing I could not not convince myself to bundle up enough to get back there. We were just opening the door and tossing things inside. Finally enough was enough, and it was time to clean up. It took a few long days to get it all in order, but I am thrilled with the results.

Everything is neat and organized. I can easily put up any items I purchase, and I can quickly find any items that I need. I think the before pictures will be motivation to keep it in the after condition.

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know it is several weeks past the beginning of spring, but I have finally been bitten by the spring cleaning bug. I started in the craft room/gym which was one of the two worst rooms in the house. I would have taken pictures, but it was too embarrassing. It took me a week to finish. While it is far from perfect, it is much better.

I have donated three and half boxes of books to a neighborhood bookshelf. Two grocery bags of books went to the local gospel radio station for its prison ministry. A box of craft supplies was given to my church along with my Swiffer WetJet. I have a box of yard sale items to give to my cousin for her sale. I am trying to be a bit ruthless in my decluttering. We simply have too much stuff in our house.

I am motivated by the progress I have made. Next week I am going to work on the pantry. It is even worse than the craft room. I may get brave and take some before pictures of the pantry to share. It needs organizing, and I am sure I will have to toss a few expired items that have been buried in the mess.

Decorative Clipboard

2010-04-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of my hobbies is writing letters. I have pen friends all over the world. I know e-mail is faster and cheaper, but I prefer snail mail as do my pen pals. I decided to save a bunch of the stamps and use them to decorate a clipboard. Here is what I started with: plain clipboard, diluted white glue, foam brush, and stamps.

I went with a random display (or as random as I would allow myself to be). I opted not to overlap the stamps as I wanted to see them. Here is the finished product:

Some of my favorite stamps are from France. These are two examples:

Homemade Hamburger Buns

2010-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I cannot remember the last time I bought hamburger buns. Instead I use my dinner roll recipe to make hamburger buns. When I shape the dough, I usually make 6 hamburger buns and 12 dinner rolls. These are softer than purchased buns. Of course, we usually eat them straight out of the oven so they are fresher too. Here is the dough prior to rising:

After Rising

Use It Up Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas

2010-04-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

First I apologize for how unappetizing the picture looks. I made chicken noodle soup to use up a package of egg noodles. I then had chicken leftover. I also had some wheat tortillas and a bit of shredded cheese. These along with a few other ingredients became chicken enchiladas which went into the freezer for a quick meal at a later date.

I do use the term "recipe" rather loosely since I barely follow one. Here goes:

can of cream of chicken soup (I use my homemade version)

chicken broth (homemade from the freezer)

sour cream

shredded cooked chicken

bell pepper

onion

shredded cheddar cheese

tortillas

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I mix the cream of chicken soup with a few spoonfuls of sour cream. I then add in enough chicken broth to make it creamy but not runny. Keep about a cup of these separate. To the remaining mixture add the chicken, bell pepper, onion, and cheese. You can also add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon some of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla, roll up and place in an eight inch casserole dish. I normally get about five generously stuffed tortillas from this. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the tortillas. This can be topped with cheese and baked or frozen to cook later. If freezing, thaw overnight in the refrigerator first and top with cheese. I bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until it is bubbly.

One freezer hint if you need your dish before you are ready to bake. Line the dish with heavy duty foil before adding the tortillas. Cover tightly before placing in the freezer. Once it is frozen, remove the tin foil containing your enchiladas and place in a gallon freezer bag. Now you have your dish. The tin foil can be placed in the casserole dish when you are ready to bake. Just be sure to uncover the top.

One of My Favorite Things

2010-04-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I will start this post of a favorite thing by telling you one of my least favorite things - mopping the floor. We have no carpet in our house. With two people and three cats constantly in and out of the house, we have a bunch of feet tracking in dirt. I am not sure what exactly about mopping that I find so awful. I love a clean floor. I hate lugging the bucket of water around the house and waiting for the floor to dry while trying to keep all of those feet off of it. I also hate the chemical cleaners. Not mopping really is not an option although I tried to put it off as much as possible.

I set out searching for a good steam mop. That brings me to my favorite thing....the Eureka Enviro Steamer. I opted not to purchase any additional clean cloths. I am using cloths made out of old towels to supplement the two than came with the steamer. I love how clean the floor feels after I mop. I also love that the floor dries almost instantly. In fact I love the steamer enough that I have been known to mop three or four times a week.

Just for information the one thing I have always hated more than mopping is scrubbing the tub. I need to find an equally great item for cleaning the tub. If only all of those little bubbles really scrubbed the tub like they do in the commercials. Oh well, a gal can dream.