Vinegar Water
Vinegar Water in a spray bottle
Vinegar Water in a spray bottle with reusable cloth rags
Vinegar Water in a spray bottle with reusable cloth rags with children doing the cleaning
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant. It will not contaminate your food, your pets or your children. It is safe, effective, environmentally friendly, disinfecting and most of all totally frugal.
**For my wood floors and painted or finished wood I use 1 part vinegar to 16-18 parts water (or for my spray bottle that's 1/4 cup vinegar to 4 cups water). I am told that any higher ratio may take the shine out of such finishes.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Budget Book Review
Money for Life: Budgeting Success and Financial Fitness in Just 12 Weeks by Steven B. Smith
I like to pick up budgeting ideas from wherever I can find them. I suppose I am searching for a magic solution that will make us rich overnight. All the books I have read so far just tell me to do what I already do with perserverance over time.
I found the title of this book on some other blog that I can’t recall. I picked it up at the library (aren’t libraries great) and had a chance to read most of it. I was surprised to see that someone had written a whole book on the envelope system that I have been using for almost 2 years. But this guy took the envelope system to an new level by creating software to streamline what I sit down in my word document and do manually. Not only does the software add and subtract and total envelopes (my husband keeps telling me to make my system do that in excel but I don’t have the patience or time to figure it out) but he also has some online service or something that you pay for. The book comes with a disk and a free trial period. It seems counterintuitive to pay for something that you can do yourself when the whole point is to become financially successful by not spending unnecessary money, however, I can see where his program would benefit certain people who do not have the time perhaps or patience to deal with the details that my system does.
I liked his chart on debt reduction and the debt reduction roll down principle. Basically he suggests that you list your debts from left to right in order of highest interest to lowest with the balances and payments. As each balance is paid off you do not absorb the payment into your regular spending, but instead add that payment amount to the payment amount of the next highest interest debt until all the debt is gone. For instance (I can't seem to get the tabs or spacing right so I'll try to demonstrate):
20% Visa 3,000 Payment $50
7% Home Equity 12,000 Payment $75
5.75% Mortgage 170,00 Payment $1200
When Visa is paid off, add the $50 payment to the $75 Home Equity payment and pay $125 until the Home Equity is paid off. Then add the $125 to the $1200 mortgage payment and pay $1325 until the mortgage is paid off. When the mortgage is paid off put the $1325 into savings. Of course you want to maximize the payment you make to the highest interest rate debt to trickle it down.
There are some other simple things spelled out in the book that I also liked. I always wonder what we should be saving if we have debt that we are trying to eliminate. Should we put ALL of our money towards the debt and then when it is paid off start from zero? He suggested saving 10% of your income if possible until the debt is paid at which point you would put the payments that had gone toward debt elimination plus the 10% into savings.
The book was long and drawn out and presented in a rather lame manner. Maybe I thought that because of where I am coming from in my own budgeting process. Perhaps the story would be helpful for someone who has not yet budgeted. The book told a fictional story about a couple who was spending 10% more than they earn each month but because they were not budgeting or paying attention to what money was coming in and out. They had taken a home equity loan out to pay off credit cards but two years later they were back in the same credit card situation. Then the story tells of their meetings with a financial advisor who helped them get on an envelope system. I have never heard of a financial advisor that does that, but how nice would that be? The envelope budgeting system changes their lives and their marriage and trickles down to their parents and some other friends through word of mouth. They also have a friend, a single mom, who had been using the envelope system for several years and they run into a couple, millionaires, who had been using the system for 30 years. At the end of each chapter there are learned principles with instruction on how to apply the principles. There are charts that break down the budgeting system into very simple terms. That is probably the intention of the fictional characters, to try to explain the system in a way that everyone can understand it.
I skimmed a lot of pages about the characters and rolled my eyes quite a bit. The story made it sound like everyone they talked to about the envelope system thought it was just great and peachy and they ended up thinking that they should also do it. I have tried having these same conversations with friends that are struggling and that is not how it goes. I find that just the discussion stresses people out if they are in a financially bad place and do not budget and do not really have a grasp of what money is coming in and out. I have found that people resist this sort of budgeting at all costs which is why Americans are so in debt and in such a bad financial state. Mr. Smith threw in a lot of those scary statistics in his book that we keep hearing in the media to convince the reader that to be financially fit you have to do what others do not do. You have to be a little abnormal in a sense to find financial freedom and peace within. It is always reassuring to read that what you are doing is weird and abnormal but that it is the right thing to be doing. So for that I thank Mr. Smith.
I like to pick up budgeting ideas from wherever I can find them. I suppose I am searching for a magic solution that will make us rich overnight. All the books I have read so far just tell me to do what I already do with perserverance over time.
I found the title of this book on some other blog that I can’t recall. I picked it up at the library (aren’t libraries great) and had a chance to read most of it. I was surprised to see that someone had written a whole book on the envelope system that I have been using for almost 2 years. But this guy took the envelope system to an new level by creating software to streamline what I sit down in my word document and do manually. Not only does the software add and subtract and total envelopes (my husband keeps telling me to make my system do that in excel but I don’t have the patience or time to figure it out) but he also has some online service or something that you pay for. The book comes with a disk and a free trial period. It seems counterintuitive to pay for something that you can do yourself when the whole point is to become financially successful by not spending unnecessary money, however, I can see where his program would benefit certain people who do not have the time perhaps or patience to deal with the details that my system does.
I liked his chart on debt reduction and the debt reduction roll down principle. Basically he suggests that you list your debts from left to right in order of highest interest to lowest with the balances and payments. As each balance is paid off you do not absorb the payment into your regular spending, but instead add that payment amount to the payment amount of the next highest interest debt until all the debt is gone. For instance (I can't seem to get the tabs or spacing right so I'll try to demonstrate):
20% Visa 3,000 Payment $50
7% Home Equity 12,000 Payment $75
5.75% Mortgage 170,00 Payment $1200
When Visa is paid off, add the $50 payment to the $75 Home Equity payment and pay $125 until the Home Equity is paid off. Then add the $125 to the $1200 mortgage payment and pay $1325 until the mortgage is paid off. When the mortgage is paid off put the $1325 into savings. Of course you want to maximize the payment you make to the highest interest rate debt to trickle it down.
There are some other simple things spelled out in the book that I also liked. I always wonder what we should be saving if we have debt that we are trying to eliminate. Should we put ALL of our money towards the debt and then when it is paid off start from zero? He suggested saving 10% of your income if possible until the debt is paid at which point you would put the payments that had gone toward debt elimination plus the 10% into savings.
The book was long and drawn out and presented in a rather lame manner. Maybe I thought that because of where I am coming from in my own budgeting process. Perhaps the story would be helpful for someone who has not yet budgeted. The book told a fictional story about a couple who was spending 10% more than they earn each month but because they were not budgeting or paying attention to what money was coming in and out. They had taken a home equity loan out to pay off credit cards but two years later they were back in the same credit card situation. Then the story tells of their meetings with a financial advisor who helped them get on an envelope system. I have never heard of a financial advisor that does that, but how nice would that be? The envelope budgeting system changes their lives and their marriage and trickles down to their parents and some other friends through word of mouth. They also have a friend, a single mom, who had been using the envelope system for several years and they run into a couple, millionaires, who had been using the system for 30 years. At the end of each chapter there are learned principles with instruction on how to apply the principles. There are charts that break down the budgeting system into very simple terms. That is probably the intention of the fictional characters, to try to explain the system in a way that everyone can understand it.
I skimmed a lot of pages about the characters and rolled my eyes quite a bit. The story made it sound like everyone they talked to about the envelope system thought it was just great and peachy and they ended up thinking that they should also do it. I have tried having these same conversations with friends that are struggling and that is not how it goes. I find that just the discussion stresses people out if they are in a financially bad place and do not budget and do not really have a grasp of what money is coming in and out. I have found that people resist this sort of budgeting at all costs which is why Americans are so in debt and in such a bad financial state. Mr. Smith threw in a lot of those scary statistics in his book that we keep hearing in the media to convince the reader that to be financially fit you have to do what others do not do. You have to be a little abnormal in a sense to find financial freedom and peace within. It is always reassuring to read that what you are doing is weird and abnormal but that it is the right thing to be doing. So for that I thank Mr. Smith.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I Might Have to Rethink my December Menu
I was so happy to let my son pick our turkey for Thanksgiving this year and he really really wanted the 20 pounder. I figured that Thanksgiving only comes once a year so, fine, I let him. I did not realize at the store that it would not fit in my huge stock pot for brining. It is sitting in the garage brining in an enormous bucket. Nor will it fit into any roasting pan that I own. I bought a flimsy metal one which we will use placed on top of a cookie sheet for stability. In reviewing roasting time for weight of turkey I came across information that said that you should figure 1 pound of turkey per person. Gee, I'm glad we are having 20 guests. NOT! There are seven of us and three of the seven are age 6 and under so really we are more like five feasters. Holy moly. We have 15 pounds of excess turkey. I do not believe in wasting food when people in the world are starving (yes I finally realized that my grandmother was right about that) so I've got to put this turkey to use. I will be looking up turkey recipes over the next couple of days and would love any suggestions. I am assuming that I will have no problem freezing the roasted meat for use in recipes later, right? I don't want it to dry out in the freezer.
I am going to try a Turkey Hash recipe for Friday's breakfast that my SIL found: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Turkey-Hash-350650
This Turkey Gumbo looks interesting:http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/turkey-gumbo-thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe.html
I will make turkey stock in the crock pot from the carcass like the crock pot lady did with a chicken carcass: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/homemade-chicken-broth-crockpot-recipe.html
We will of course have lots of turkey meat for sandwiches and I am thinking that using a whole turkey for that and slicing it for lunch meat may be cheaper than the $5.99/lb deli meat. Hmmm. I'll have to give that more thought.
I am going to try a Turkey Hash recipe for Friday's breakfast that my SIL found: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Turkey-Hash-350650
This Turkey Gumbo looks interesting:http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/turkey-gumbo-thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe.html
I will make turkey stock in the crock pot from the carcass like the crock pot lady did with a chicken carcass: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/homemade-chicken-broth-crockpot-recipe.html
We will of course have lots of turkey meat for sandwiches and I am thinking that using a whole turkey for that and slicing it for lunch meat may be cheaper than the $5.99/lb deli meat. Hmmm. I'll have to give that more thought.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Our Simple Thanksgiving Menu
This year will be different than last year. We are on our own along with my Mom and Step-dad, who will be driving a little over an hour to visit with us. I'm keeping the Thanksgiving menu simple while adopting a couple of the favorites from our more elaborate feast of last year. Last year, my sister-in-law put our fabulous menu together and we had fun cooking together for our family plus four out-of-state family members. We ran out of oven space we cooked so many dishes so we called our next door neighbors who were away visiting family and they allowed us to use their oven. It was fun going back and forth with our oven mits. But, this year I will be the only cook so I've scaled it down.
Brined Roasted Turkey
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html
My son went to the store with me to pick our turkey this year. He picked a 20-pounder -- I'm hoping to freeze some cooked turkey meat for many many turkey dishes to come.)
Gravy
I am no gravy expert. I'm going to try to do this by whisking the scraps from the roasting pan with flour and chicken broth as it should be done.
Cranberry Pear Chutney
http://www.marthastewart.com/cranberry-pear-chutney?lnc=369ad9e51c2ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=photogallery_thanksgiving_holiday_thanksgiving_p5
Last year we added some candied ginger to this recipe and it was delicious.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I just roast a head of garlic at 400 for about 40 min. and squeeze the cloves into our mashed potatoes. I'm just going to throw the other ingredients in as I usually do: butter, salt & pepper, cream cheese and milk.
Corn: just straight up frozen stuff.
Stuffing: just plain with sauteed celery, onion, mushrooms and seasonings. Nothing fancy.
Apple Pie
This is in the freezer just waiting to be baked.
Pumpkin Roll: the first one I have ever made. Can't wait to eat it.
Pumpkin Pie
I asked my mother to bring this and dinner rolls.
Apple Cider
What more do we need really? I am hoping to have time to make some more of those browned buttered frosted pumpkin cookies. We decided against a salad because it seems unnecessary with all the other food and our holiday being just a few of us. No one eating with us likes sweet potatoes or squash. So hopefully the turkey will be the showcase.
I'm also looking forward to reading our Gratitude Jar. This is the first year that I remembered that I wanted our family to do a Gratitude Jar. The day after Halloween I put a lidded jar on our dining room table and each day (that I remembered) I asked the kids to think of something that they are grateful for, however small or however big. I wrote what they thought of on a piece of paper with their name and we will read them all before our dinner prayers on Thanksgiving. Mom, if you are reading this it would be nice if you and Dad thought of some to share on your drive up. I hope to make our Gratitude Jar and annual tradition.
Brined Roasted Turkey
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html
My son went to the store with me to pick our turkey this year. He picked a 20-pounder -- I'm hoping to freeze some cooked turkey meat for many many turkey dishes to come.)
Gravy
I am no gravy expert. I'm going to try to do this by whisking the scraps from the roasting pan with flour and chicken broth as it should be done.
Cranberry Pear Chutney
http://www.marthastewart.com/cranberry-pear-chutney?lnc=369ad9e51c2ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=photogallery_thanksgiving_holiday_thanksgiving_p5
Last year we added some candied ginger to this recipe and it was delicious.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I just roast a head of garlic at 400 for about 40 min. and squeeze the cloves into our mashed potatoes. I'm just going to throw the other ingredients in as I usually do: butter, salt & pepper, cream cheese and milk.
Corn: just straight up frozen stuff.
Stuffing: just plain with sauteed celery, onion, mushrooms and seasonings. Nothing fancy.
Apple Pie
This is in the freezer just waiting to be baked.
Pumpkin Roll: the first one I have ever made. Can't wait to eat it.
Pumpkin Pie
I asked my mother to bring this and dinner rolls.
Apple Cider
What more do we need really? I am hoping to have time to make some more of those browned buttered frosted pumpkin cookies. We decided against a salad because it seems unnecessary with all the other food and our holiday being just a few of us. No one eating with us likes sweet potatoes or squash. So hopefully the turkey will be the showcase.
I'm also looking forward to reading our Gratitude Jar. This is the first year that I remembered that I wanted our family to do a Gratitude Jar. The day after Halloween I put a lidded jar on our dining room table and each day (that I remembered) I asked the kids to think of something that they are grateful for, however small or however big. I wrote what they thought of on a piece of paper with their name and we will read them all before our dinner prayers on Thanksgiving. Mom, if you are reading this it would be nice if you and Dad thought of some to share on your drive up. I hope to make our Gratitude Jar and annual tradition.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Dinner was a Flop Tonight
I think that trying new foods and new recipes always carries the risk of a dinner flop. Tonight was the first complete flop I have had in quite some time. I think there was another dinner involving curry last spring that was terrible and only my husband ate. Tonight I made the Curried Butternut Squash & Apple Soup, Roasted Salmon and Sauteed Spinach with feta and pine nuts. Doesn’t it sound lovely? UGH! Every part of it was terrible. Well, actually the salmon was ok after I microwaved it a couple minutes because I discovered that it was undercooked once I had it on everyone’s plate. I usually would not microwave fish but it was clear at that point that the dinner was a complete disaster and I just wanted it over with. The last batch of the soup that I pureed in the blender popped my hand off the lid (too hot, duh Jenn) and sprayed me and most of the kitchen AND the darned thing didn’t even taste good. I suppose I’ll get to cleaning the squash soup from my kitchen and hope to get it out of my hair which is dried and crusty now. Don’t worry about the kids, I let them have some chicken nuggets and pear slices. I even dropped a chicken nugget in the sink before getting them to their plates!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Pepperdige Farm Outlet Specials
If you haven't made it to the bread outlet yet but have been thinking about it, look at these specials. Clear out our freezer for some freezer real estate and save some cash!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Incredibly Useful Purchase for Paper Control
I do not know anyone who would not agree to this statement, “I hate paper clutter.” I grew up in a house where paper was a serious problem. 80% of our dinners were spent at a table with piles of paper at the opposite end (sorry mom). As a teenager, if my parents went away for a day or so I would get the clean bug and gather up all the papers sitting in various piles around the house and put them in a plastic sack. I was so proud of how clean the house was when they returned but now I realize how much work that meant for my mom because then she had to sort out the one gigantic pile into her previous piles before my clean bug destroyed her mountains.
My mother wants me to add that her house USED to be like that BEFORE she was diagnosed with ADD and that now her house has no paper clutter or piles of paper anywhere. I must admit, I haven't seen any paper messes in her home for years.
Four years ago I purchased a wall mounted magazine rack from this company . This purchase works miracles in our home and effectively eliminates the paper problem. It is opposite my basement door so it is mostly tucked away and it is within close proximity to my trash can. So every day I take the mail to the kitchen counter, throw away 90% of it (recycle bin of course, ah hem) and then file it in the correct pocket of my magazine rack. My friend Jodi (fellow paper hater) was visiting one day and remarked at how I disposed of my mail when it arrived in about 60 seconds. It has become so routine and takes up so little time and effort that I don't even think about it. I have 7 pockets on my magazine rack to distribute my mail:
(1) “to be filed” (those go to the basement once a month where my filing cabinet is)
(2) Bills (I pay those on pay day twice a month and then they get put in “to be filed”
(3) Daddy (he never looks at his mail but it’s there and it is no longer my problem)
(4) Uncle Mike (I was shipping my brother-in-laws mail to him in Iraq but for now it’s a free pocket)
(5) Grocery Fliers (I write the expiration date at the top left for each flier so I can clearly see when they are to be tossed)
(6) Coupons
(7) Magazines/catalogs (most just get thrown out around here)
When I have all three kids in grade school I would eventually like more pockets so I can assign a pocket per family member and have additional pockets for coupons, grocery fliers, etc. My oldest is in 1st grade so I’ll hold off on upgrading my magazine rack but I definitely will get one with more pockets in a couple years.
If paper clutter is getting the best of your home I urge you to take a peek at that website, it has a lot to offer and a lot more than what I have seen at other stores. There are wall mounted magazine racks with various numbers and configurations of pockets and made out of various materials. Mine is wood and I will warn you that you can lose small pieces of paper at the bottom of some pockets. I have wasted a bit of time using kitchen utensils to retrieve a water bill a couple times. The wall-mounted racks free up counter and desk space. Heck I like anything that can be mounted to the wall. It opens up space on horizontal surfaces. Resting my eyes on clean and clear clutter-free space makes me happy.
My mother wants me to add that her house USED to be like that BEFORE she was diagnosed with ADD and that now her house has no paper clutter or piles of paper anywhere. I must admit, I haven't seen any paper messes in her home for years.
Four years ago I purchased a wall mounted magazine rack from this company . This purchase works miracles in our home and effectively eliminates the paper problem. It is opposite my basement door so it is mostly tucked away and it is within close proximity to my trash can. So every day I take the mail to the kitchen counter, throw away 90% of it (recycle bin of course, ah hem) and then file it in the correct pocket of my magazine rack. My friend Jodi (fellow paper hater) was visiting one day and remarked at how I disposed of my mail when it arrived in about 60 seconds. It has become so routine and takes up so little time and effort that I don't even think about it. I have 7 pockets on my magazine rack to distribute my mail:
(1) “to be filed” (those go to the basement once a month where my filing cabinet is)
(2) Bills (I pay those on pay day twice a month and then they get put in “to be filed”
(3) Daddy (he never looks at his mail but it’s there and it is no longer my problem)
(4) Uncle Mike (I was shipping my brother-in-laws mail to him in Iraq but for now it’s a free pocket)
(5) Grocery Fliers (I write the expiration date at the top left for each flier so I can clearly see when they are to be tossed)
(6) Coupons
(7) Magazines/catalogs (most just get thrown out around here)
When I have all three kids in grade school I would eventually like more pockets so I can assign a pocket per family member and have additional pockets for coupons, grocery fliers, etc. My oldest is in 1st grade so I’ll hold off on upgrading my magazine rack but I definitely will get one with more pockets in a couple years.
If paper clutter is getting the best of your home I urge you to take a peek at that website, it has a lot to offer and a lot more than what I have seen at other stores. There are wall mounted magazine racks with various numbers and configurations of pockets and made out of various materials. Mine is wood and I will warn you that you can lose small pieces of paper at the bottom of some pockets. I have wasted a bit of time using kitchen utensils to retrieve a water bill a couple times. The wall-mounted racks free up counter and desk space. Heck I like anything that can be mounted to the wall. It opens up space on horizontal surfaces. Resting my eyes on clean and clear clutter-free space makes me happy.
Friday, November 14, 2008
December 2008 Menu
My husband thinks that I make many simple tasks more difficult than necessary. I totally disagree with him on this but for this December menu I would have to agree. I have been monthly meal planning now for a year an a half. I have a lengthy eight page entrée list with ingredients listed. I could have easily cut and pasted from my existing list and used a new recipe once a week to keep things fresh. But NOooo, I decided again try 13 new recipes (partly in the spirit of seeking new crock pot recipes) and as if that wasn’t enough work, I came across this blog: http://www.catholiccook.blogspot.com/ and I thought how cool it would be to work in the Saints on the Church calendar into our menu. I love creating opportunities for religious education with my kids (and me, the convert) and what a perfect pairing, right? Ok, so if you haven’t thought that I am a complete obsessive compulsive dork at this point, now you MUST. I tried as much as possible (I gave up on some as you can see) to have an ethnic dish that matched the Saint of the day. My proudest match is on Lazarus’s day we will have Live Longer Casserole, a favorite of my husband. It was kind of fun to shout out, “I need a Dominican Pork recipe idea.” I actually utilized the advanced search options at some recipe sites where you can select the cuisine (German, Spanish, Mexican, etc) for the first time. We will definitely be introducing some new vegetables thanks to St. Dominic of Silos so it’s all good.
So if you are new to monthly meal planning and want to get started, I am happy to email you this word document if that is easier for you. I also urge you to get your menu started asap. It takes time and if you get it done early you can tweak it.
You should be able to double click on the smaller images to enlargen.
So if you are new to monthly meal planning and want to get started, I am happy to email you this word document if that is easier for you. I also urge you to get your menu started asap. It takes time and if you get it done early you can tweak it.
You should be able to double click on the smaller images to enlargen.
The recipes for December can be found here: http://jennshomework.blogspot.com/2008/11/december-2008-recipes.html
How to Create a Monthly Meal Plan 101
A few people I know have said that they would very much like to stop running to the grocery store so often and would like to try a monthly meal plan. I will also say that several other people I know just think that monthly meal planning is plain crazy. I love it for so many reasons but regardless of my reasons I’m probably not going to talk anyone into doing it if it does not appeal to them. I can guarantee you that monthly meal planning will save you time, money and get your family eating healthier and more of a variety of foods. Don't think that it is inflexible. It totally is. You will have the ingredients to make anything on your menu for a week. It is not so different than planning weekly in that regard. So if you don't feel like having hamburgers tonight, if you've planned for the month and shopped your produce for the week then you probably have several dinners to choose from.
(1) So the first thing to do to get started is to list all the meals that your family enjoys regularly. Of course you will want to do this in word document on your computer. Under each meals list all the ingredients that you would shop for that make up that meal. I call this my “Master Entrée Ingredient List.” I like to organize my entrée list by beef, chicken, pork, seafood and vegetarian categories so that when I am filling in my menu I can easily find the dish that I am looking for. This step may take several nights after the kids are tucked in bed and an hour here or there but it is worth it because it will save you SO much time in the end. This is the step that takes the most time.
I also like to make the produce or parishable food items on each meal ingredient list in green type at the top. That way when you go to make your grocery list from your Master Entrée Ingredient List you will easily be able to pick out your weekly produce runs and once a month shopping trip items.
I haven’t updated my Master Entrée Ingredient List in a few months and I have several new recipes that are keepers to add to it but here are several pages of mine to give you an idea:
(1) So the first thing to do to get started is to list all the meals that your family enjoys regularly. Of course you will want to do this in word document on your computer. Under each meals list all the ingredients that you would shop for that make up that meal. I call this my “Master Entrée Ingredient List.” I like to organize my entrée list by beef, chicken, pork, seafood and vegetarian categories so that when I am filling in my menu I can easily find the dish that I am looking for. This step may take several nights after the kids are tucked in bed and an hour here or there but it is worth it because it will save you SO much time in the end. This is the step that takes the most time.
I also like to make the produce or parishable food items on each meal ingredient list in green type at the top. That way when you go to make your grocery list from your Master Entrée Ingredient List you will easily be able to pick out your weekly produce runs and once a month shopping trip items.
I haven’t updated my Master Entrée Ingredient List in a few months and I have several new recipes that are keepers to add to it but here are several pages of mine to give you an idea:
(2) Once you have a list of several meals with their ingredients you can pull up a calendar to start planning your month. I download the free calendars at http://www.calendarsthatwork.com/ and then save it in a folder for menus. Or you can save it wherever it makes sense in your word document file list so you can retreive it later. That calendarsthatwork website only allows you to get one month in advance for free so I just use one I have and change the numbers on it if I want to plan more ahead. KWIM?
(3) I have found that it is easiest (if you want to get a variety of foods in your family’s diet) to label each day of the week with a kind of dish like chicken, pork, beef, etc. That makes plugging in your meals easier. For my fellow Catholic folks, this meal planning technique also makes it quite simple to revert back to pre-Vatican II practices of abstaining from meat on Fridays which is an added bonus on many levels. Then you simply start plugging in your meals in the squares of your calendar and copy and paste from your Master Entree Ingredient List on the second page (3 or 4 columns at 8 pt font so it fits on one page) to make up your corresponding grocery list. Be sure to break out your regular calendar to look at dates for things like Christmas concerts or sports activities and such. This way you can be sure to plan a meal that either cooks fast, travels well or is done in the crockpot for those days. You can also double or triple freezer friendly meals on days that you know you will have time to assemble them. Also be aware of meals that require you to defrost things from the freezer. In my calendar I type the items that need to be removed from the freezer in blue one or two days before I need to us them.
(4) If you find that you do not have enough meals initially to plug in a 30 day calendar don’t be discouraged. It’s difficult to come up with 30 meals off the top of your head in the beginning. As you do this month after month it gets easier and faster because your list gets longer and then you find yourself wanting to try new recipes. We always fill up the calendar with one leftover day per week and at my husband’s request a pasta meal once a week. This not only fills up the calendar but it is also budget friendly. Other ideas to fill up a calendar when you are struggling is homemade pizza or a breakfast for dinner night.
I also try to get everyone in the family involved in the menu planning. I fill up our calendar as much as I can and then I start asking everyone for ideas. Last month Carter came up with fish sticks when I told him I needed a seafood dish. I never made fish sticks so I tried a new recipe and Carter loved it and was excited that he had come up with our dinner idea that day.
(5) Once you have a monthly menu with the shopping list on page two, print two copies out, each with the calendar on one side and the shopping list on the back. Keep one in a handy place in your kitchen and the other stick in your purse. Before you shop, be sure to look to see what you have on hand in your pantry and cross off the things you do not need to buy.
Some other things I have found helpful since I started monthly meal planning is making sure that the first two days of the month have meals with items that I already have on hand or that are quick and easy. I do my monthly shopping usually in two days at the end of the month when we get paid. For the best prices I hit Sam’s Club first, then Aldi’s for whatever Sam’s didn’t have and then Giant Eagle (similar to Piggly Wiggly, Stop & Shop or Krogers elsewhere) for the items that Aldi’s does not have. Dragging little ones with me is no fun so I usually do one or two stores over a two day period. So I don’t want something on my menu on December 1st that I will have had to hit all 3 stores in order to make because I might not have made it to Giant Eagle yet, KWIM?
Another very important tip is to start your monthly meal plan EARLY. It's too difficult to get a whole month together in two days. I get sick of looking at it and take a few days break and then I look at the month fresh the next time I sit down with it and come up with new ideas. It's better to do it a few minutes here and a few minutes there. Eventually you will find that you sometimes have TOO MANY entrees and your ideas will spill into the next month.
I also try to plan my meals that use produce that parishes quickly at the beginning of the weeks and meals that use produce that lasts longer at the end of the week so that I can do my weekly produce runs successfully. That is really for advanced menu planning, but something to keep in mind. Scallions for instance may not be in the best shape for Sunday if you purchased them on the Monday before.
It's also good to keep seasonal produce in mind when creating a meal plan. I put the seasonal items at the top of each of my menus for meal planning purposes and for when I am shopping for a veggie at the grocery. In season produce is usually what is on sale and travels less. Produce that travels less is most nutritious.
To best utilize an ingredient that you may not cook with very often (and is not likely to be completely used with one recipe) it can be useful and economical to plan another recipe to use the leftovers of that ingredient. For instance in October I wrote about how we used ½ can of pineapple chunks for two different meals and the pineapple juice from the same can for a third marinade recipe.
There are always ways to improve a menu plan I am sure but in the beginning you just want to get it together. Improvements can be made later. Happy monthly menu planning!
Oh, and if you want to see my October and November Menus just find "Monthly Menus" on the articles list or click here: http://jennshomework.blogspot.com/search/label/Monthly%20Menus
Empty the Pantry Dinner Entrees
Being as the December menu is during the Holiday season, I thought it would be a good time to institute a pantry dinner entrée. About 7 years ago as a novice cook I wanted to branch out so I started seeking out recipes for ideas. It has been a good learning experience and I have certainly broadened our horizons but now I use recipes as a crutch. I can throw some simple things together but ultimately I rely on recipes too much. So in the sake of saving some extra cash for Christmas I thought that trying to throw together an “empty the pantry meal” every couple weeks might not only save some money but also get me back to “creative culinary genius” as I like to call it. The best meals always used to come out of my kitchen when stuff was just thrown together. My husband misses those days but he forgets how annoying it was when he would ask for the same meal again and I couldn’t replicate it because it was just thrown together. Now of course there are a lot of great resources out there on the web to give you some ideas. Here are a few I have come across:
http://www.supercook.com/
http://www.foodieview.com/
http://www.recipematcher.com/
Most recipe websites will allow you to search recipes by ingredient:
http://www.recipeland.com/search/by_ingredient/
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx
And yes, the December menu is almost done!
http://www.supercook.com/
http://www.foodieview.com/
http://www.recipematcher.com/
Most recipe websites will allow you to search recipes by ingredient:
http://www.recipeland.com/search/by_ingredient/
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx
And yes, the December menu is almost done!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I don’t even care if it tastes good!
I love having dinner cooking on the crock pot. I just love it love it love it love it. I love it so much that I am cooking two crock pot meals two days in a row and I wish I was doing it every day for the rest of the year. AND, since I’ve been under budget with groceries for two months in a row (planned so that we could replace our DVD player that the 1 year old broke by repetitively pounding on buttons unsupervised) I am also going to purchase ANOTHER crock pot if possible. I would like a larger one with more cooking options. Get this, in December I am planning a couple meals that require TWO crock pots cooking simultaneously! CRAZY!
Tonight I was trying a new turkey chili and my afternoon went so smoothly not having to cook that I thought to myself that I didn’t even care if it was good or not. It just made me so happy that dinner was cooking away on my counter and I did almost nothing to prepare it. As it turns out it was pretty good. Jim and I thought it was a little on the bland side but it could be spiced up a bit with tobasco or more chili powder or loads of garlic. The corn bread recipe I tried was excellent. I’ve been looking for a good one for quite some time and I think this one is a keeper: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Buttermilk-Cornbread/Detail.aspx . I’m still searching for a moist sweet corn bread recipe with corn in it but for now this one satisfies.
Tonight I was trying a new turkey chili and my afternoon went so smoothly not having to cook that I thought to myself that I didn’t even care if it was good or not. It just made me so happy that dinner was cooking away on my counter and I did almost nothing to prepare it. As it turns out it was pretty good. Jim and I thought it was a little on the bland side but it could be spiced up a bit with tobasco or more chili powder or loads of garlic. The corn bread recipe I tried was excellent. I’ve been looking for a good one for quite some time and I think this one is a keeper: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Buttermilk-Cornbread/Detail.aspx . I’m still searching for a moist sweet corn bread recipe with corn in it but for now this one satisfies.
December 2008 Recipes
1st: Chicken Spaghetti bake from Freezer Friends w/ salad
2nd: *Apple, cheddar turkey meatballs (crockpot lady) w/ broccoli and rice pilaf
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/apple-cheddar-and-turkey-meatballs.html
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=a5f54019ecfd3110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f76b0edafa588110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=menu_food&lnc=5a79cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD
5th: Onion Soup w/ pesto pasta & onion cheddar biscuits
I just sort of combine these two recipes and throw it together:
6th: Poppy Turkey from freezer w/ salad
http://www.justslowcooking.com/slo-0014826.html
16th: Soulful Stew (FF via Barb) w/ homemade bread
Soulful Stew
10 oz fresh spinach
2# boneless chicken breasts
1/2c flour
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2c olive oil
2c chopped onions
1 ¼ c chopped green pepper
1c chopped celery
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1# baked ham, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1c chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ½ oz)
1 c bbq sauce
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 c sliced carrots
1 can (15oz) drained black-eyed peas
1 can (15 oz) corn kernels, drained
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs dried oregano
Tabasco sauce
Wash and dry spinach. Stack and slice into wide ribbons. Set aside.
Cut the chicken into 1 x ¾ “strips. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and toss the chicken in it. Set a large Dutch oven on the stove and heat 6 tbs olive oil over medium-high. Add the chicken in batches and brown lightly. As the chicken gets done, scoop it out of the pot into a bowl. Set aside.
Add the remaining olive oil to the pot if it looks dry & toss in the onions, green peppers, celery and jalapenos. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the ham and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Put the chicken back in, along with its juices. Add the bay leaf, broth, tomatoes, bbq sauce, Worcestershire and carrots. Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil; then crack the lid and turn the heat to low and simmer til the carrots are soft, 15-20 minutes.
Uncover the pot and put in the black-eyed peas, corn and spinach. Season the stew with the cumin, thyme and oregano and let everything simmer for another 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Take out the bay leaf and taste the stew for seasonings, spice up with tabasco if needed.
10 servings
As for the rice pilaf I'll try this one: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=f690da2c36484110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_4&autonomy_kw=rice+pilaf
20th: Chicken & Pork Stew with Plantains & Yucca
The reviewers of this recipe said to use ripe (not green) plaintains and to substitute yucca (a new veggie our our family, yea!) for the potato.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-and-Pork-Stew-with-Plantains-and-Potatoes-234801
21st: *Vietnamese Pho Soup
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-vietnamese-pho-recipe.html
22nd: Pepperoni Pizza & Pasta with Red Sauce
23rd: GrilledBroiled Apple Cider Chicken, Cinnamon Baked Apples, with Sautéed Cider-Cabbage
Ok, so I wanted a Polish meal for St. John of Kanty and I used this one because it has cabbage and is from my Polish sister-in-law. I realize that it is more of a fall dish than winter (hopefully I can still find apple cider) but my mother-in-law will be visiting and, like me, she likes cabbage and this recipe just looks so good.
http://daniellekathleen.blogspot.com/2007/09/as-apple-season-approaches-grilled.html
24th: Crock Pot Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
For those of you, like me, hate canned tomato soup this is supposed to be good stuff. We'll see.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/restaurant-quality-crockpot-tomato-soup.html
28th: This is just an "Empty the Pantry" day but I'm excited because my brother-in-law will be visiting and he is so good at throwing stuff together.
30th: Crockpot Indian Chicken Curry
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-indian-curry-recipe.html
31st: Sauerkraut, kielbasa & beer
Why? For good luck.
We order Chinese take out every New Years. It's our tradition but we must have sauerkraut also for luck. Normally I might have made sauerkraut balls but I don't know how to do those gluten free for my visiting mother-in-law so maybe next time.
2nd: *Apple, cheddar turkey meatballs (crockpot lady) w/ broccoli and rice pilaf
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/apple-cheddar-and-turkey-meatballs.html
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=a5f54019ecfd3110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f76b0edafa588110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=menu_food&lnc=5a79cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD
Skipped over this one due to extra Thanksgiving leftovers.
3rd Cajun Shrimp pasta (x2 to freeze meal) w/ spinach salad& homemade bread
5th: Onion Soup w/ pesto pasta & onion cheddar biscuits
I just sort of combine these two recipes and throw it together:
6th: Poppy Turkey from freezer w/ salad
7th: Eggplant parm from freezer w/ salad
8th: *Flank Steak stuffed w/ apple, feta, & almonds w/ garlic mashed potatoes& gravy &corn
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/crockpot-flank-steak-stuffed-with-apple.html
9th *Refried Bean Soup (crockpot lady) w/ *Crock Pot Chili Chicken Tacos
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-smoky-refried-bean-soup-recipe.html
10th: Meatloaf from freezer w/ crockpot augratin potatoes & veggie
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search?q=augratin
12th: *3 Bean Burrito Bake (FixIt&ForgetItDiab pg 27)
13th: Tandoori Chicken – yellow rice/peas & salad
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1734277
Yellow rice:
1. In a saucepan, heat 1 TB vegetable oil over medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion, and cook until soft. Stir in 1 cup rice, ½ ts salt, ½ ts turmeric, 1 dried bay leaf, 1 pinch cinnamon, and 2 cups chicken stock or canned broth. Bring to a boil; cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in 1/3 cup raisins with fork, and simmer until stock is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside, covered, 5 minutes.
I've had this on my "to try" list since my sister-in-law raved about it but now that it's December I said to Jim, "oh, I suppose we don't want to be grilling in mid-December" and he (who loved all Indian food) said, "why not?" So here it is. I'll just broil it if it's snowy.
15th: Crockpot Rotisserie Style Chicken w/risotto(2crocks) &side veggie
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/crockpot-rotisserie-style-chicken.html
http://www.justslowcooking.com/slo-0014826.html
16th: Soulful Stew (FF via Barb) w/ homemade bread
Soulful Stew
10 oz fresh spinach
2# boneless chicken breasts
1/2c flour
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2c olive oil
2c chopped onions
1 ¼ c chopped green pepper
1c chopped celery
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1# baked ham, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1c chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ½ oz)
1 c bbq sauce
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 c sliced carrots
1 can (15oz) drained black-eyed peas
1 can (15 oz) corn kernels, drained
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs dried oregano
Tabasco sauce
Wash and dry spinach. Stack and slice into wide ribbons. Set aside.
Cut the chicken into 1 x ¾ “strips. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and toss the chicken in it. Set a large Dutch oven on the stove and heat 6 tbs olive oil over medium-high. Add the chicken in batches and brown lightly. As the chicken gets done, scoop it out of the pot into a bowl. Set aside.
Add the remaining olive oil to the pot if it looks dry & toss in the onions, green peppers, celery and jalapenos. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the ham and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Put the chicken back in, along with its juices. Add the bay leaf, broth, tomatoes, bbq sauce, Worcestershire and carrots. Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil; then crack the lid and turn the heat to low and simmer til the carrots are soft, 15-20 minutes.
Uncover the pot and put in the black-eyed peas, corn and spinach. Season the stew with the cumin, thyme and oregano and let everything simmer for another 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Take out the bay leaf and taste the stew for seasonings, spice up with tabasco if needed.
10 servings
17th: Live Longer Casserole (LLL Whole Foods Cookbook)
19th Fish foil packets w/ rice pilaf
I've made fish foil packets for years ever since my brother-in-law visited and made them for us. I throw some tilapia, onion slices, sweet pepper slices, tomato slices, mushrooms and zucchini or whatever veggies I have on hand in layers (tilapia on the bottom). Every 1-2 layers I drizzle olive oil and sprinkle some seasonings and seasoned salt and diced garlic in. I usually bake individual packets or grill them but the crockpot lady cooked just fish packets in the crockpot http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search/label/fish so why not try mine in the crockpot? From her recipes I'll guess that the rather small tilapia will take only 3 hours max on low. I'll have to keep checking it, no one hates overcooked fish more than me. We'll see how it goes.
As for the rice pilaf I'll try this one: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=f690da2c36484110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_4&autonomy_kw=rice+pilaf
20th: Chicken & Pork Stew with Plantains & Yucca
The reviewers of this recipe said to use ripe (not green) plaintains and to substitute yucca (a new veggie our our family, yea!) for the potato.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-and-Pork-Stew-with-Plantains-and-Potatoes-234801
21st: *Vietnamese Pho Soup
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-vietnamese-pho-recipe.html
22nd: Pepperoni Pizza & Pasta with Red Sauce
23rd: GrilledBroiled Apple Cider Chicken, Cinnamon Baked Apples, with Sautéed Cider-Cabbage
Ok, so I wanted a Polish meal for St. John of Kanty and I used this one because it has cabbage and is from my Polish sister-in-law. I realize that it is more of a fall dish than winter (hopefully I can still find apple cider) but my mother-in-law will be visiting and, like me, she likes cabbage and this recipe just looks so good.
http://daniellekathleen.blogspot.com/2007/09/as-apple-season-approaches-grilled.html
24th: Crock Pot Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
For those of you, like me, hate canned tomato soup this is supposed to be good stuff. We'll see.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/restaurant-quality-crockpot-tomato-soup.html
28th: This is just an "Empty the Pantry" day but I'm excited because my brother-in-law will be visiting and he is so good at throwing stuff together.
30th: Crockpot Indian Chicken Curry
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-indian-curry-recipe.html
31st: Sauerkraut, kielbasa & beer
Why? For good luck.
We order Chinese take out every New Years. It's our tradition but we must have sauerkraut also for luck. Normally I might have made sauerkraut balls but I don't know how to do those gluten free for my visiting mother-in-law so maybe next time.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Kielbasa-and-Beer/Detail.aspx
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Extraordinary Uses for Bread Tabs!
While I am putting off completing my December menu I thought I would tell you about the extraordinary uses of bread tabs. Yep, those little plastic things that you find on the end of your store bought loaf of bread. They are actually quite useful and I don’t mean for bag cinching. Just yesterday I used a bread tab to help scrub my sink and to scrape three cookie sheets clean of chocolate chip cookie crusts. They are great at getting hard to get globs of who-knows-what that is stuck to nearly anything without scratching the surface and drastically cutting down on scrub time. Bread tabs are much like those plastic scrapers that you receive from Pampered Chef with their stoneware. I only have one of those Pampered Chef scrapers but I keep several bread tabs in my sponge pullout sink drawer thingy (whatever it’s called). The bread tabs aren’t sturdy enough to last years but you come by so many of them that they are easily replaceable. You can also use them to scrape out bar soap gook from your soap dish in the bathroom.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Interested in Starting up a Freezer Friends Group?
I have had a couple people tell me that they would be interested in doing a Freezer Friends group. I am willing to participate in another group or at least put some people together to make up 5 Freezer Friends. If you are interested email me asap and I’ll see if I can bully . . . I mean get some additional people for a new group. If you are having a baby soon, (ahem, you know who I mean) or if you are so busy that you are struggling to get dinner together every night (YOU also know who I mean) or if you would just love to have some new meals ready to go in the freezer let me know asap so you can get started before the winter season is over.
Just to entice you, I have received 4 meals today and 1 is coming tomorrow:
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Soulful Stew
Rolled Chicken with Pasta
The sooner you contact me the better! And if you don’t think you have recipes that freeze well to offer I can help you with that.
Oh and if you don't live near me and would like to start a Freezer Friends group, just email this to everyone you know:
Just to entice you, I have received 4 meals today and 1 is coming tomorrow:
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Soulful Stew
Rolled Chicken with Pasta
The sooner you contact me the better! And if you don’t think you have recipes that freeze well to offer I can help you with that.
Oh and if you don't live near me and would like to start a Freezer Friends group, just email this to everyone you know:
Hi Friends,
I would like you to join me in a Freezer Friends
group. Basically we need 5-6 people to start a Freezer Friends
group. As a member of the group all you have to do is multiply a meal that
freezes well that you are already cooking for your family by 5 (or the
number of members we get to join) and package the meals up in 5 individual meals
and freeze. At the end of each month (or a date that we agree on) we will
designate someone's house to meet at to exchange our meals. You cook and
freeze your meal at your convenience anytime during the month before the due
date and in the end you will receive several different and new meals for your
family to enjoy. If there are dietary concerns we can make sure that we
decide what we are cooking well in advance so that we can accomodate those
issues if possible. The winter season is the best time for a Freezer
Friends exchange so please reply to my email as soon as possible!
Can't wait to share my favorite recipes and try your favorites!
Freezer Friends Swap Today!
I’m so excited. Today is our first freezer friends swap of the season here at my house. We have added one person which makes our group 6. I have always thought that 5 was perfect because when you cook a meal you want to multiply it by 5 so that you are left with one meal for your own family and then 4 for the freezer friends. Multiplying meals by 5 was challenging enough so we will see how 6 goes. I am so excited to get five new recipes in the freezer. This time around I made Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta to which I was shocked that there were no objections. I can’t believe that out of 6 families there is no shellfish allergy, seafood dislikes or whatnot which makes me really excited because I think this dish is potentially one of my all-time favorites and it’s so fun to share something with others that you think is so delicious.
Here it is, Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta:
1 (8 oz) angel hair pasta or penne pasta
¼ cup butter
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 clove garlic
½ t black pepper
1/8 C all-purpose flour
2 T Cajun seasoning
2 cups cream
¼ t salt
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute shrimp for 1 minute on each side. Stir in garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon; set aside. Stir in flour and Cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, then cook until thickened. Add parmesan. Remove from heat, and season with salt. Return shrimip to sauce, and spoon over cooked pasta.
This recipe found its way to me through a freezer friends group of two years ago. Thank you Rachael!
Here it is, Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta:
1 (8 oz) angel hair pasta or penne pasta
¼ cup butter
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 clove garlic
½ t black pepper
1/8 C all-purpose flour
2 T Cajun seasoning
2 cups cream
¼ t salt
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute shrimp for 1 minute on each side. Stir in garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon; set aside. Stir in flour and Cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, then cook until thickened. Add parmesan. Remove from heat, and season with salt. Return shrimip to sauce, and spoon over cooked pasta.
This recipe found its way to me through a freezer friends group of two years ago. Thank you Rachael!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
My All Time Favorite Kitchen Tool
Actually, I am not sure that it could be considered an actual “kitchen tool” but it certainly is a tool in my kitchen. I bet my sister-in-law had no idea how valuable this simple Christmas gift of years past would be to me. Ever since I opened up the gift package several years ago it has sat on my kitchen counter and I probably look at it twenty + times a day. It’s a simple recipe holder with a glass front and oak base which matches the oak floors in my kitchen. I believe the sturdy materials add to its value since I have seen many recipe holders made of plastic. I’m not certain a plastic recipe holder could hold the heavy hard-backed books that I sometimes put in mine and the plastic may not clean up as well as the glass in mine. I put my menu in the recipe holder and reference it throughout the day. I also put to-do lists behind the glass as well as any recipe that I am currently fixing and there are adjustments on it for thick stacks so I can pull all my recipes for the month and stack them neatly behind the front menu. Not only is it handy but it keeps everything neat looking and for someone like myself who does not like kitchen clutter of any kind on my counters it is a perfect fit.
Breakfast Popsicles
An Old Favorite Returns
We often have fruit smoothies for breakfast. I mentioned them before but I will elaborate. Basically I freeze browned bananas (after peeling them) three at a time in a freezer bag. In the blender, I toss in a bag of frozen bananas, a few frozen berries, some yogurt (plain or with fruit), some whey protein powder, and orange juice or whatever fruit juice we have or some milk if none and mix it all together. The kids love these smoothies and haven’t tired of them. When there are leftover smoothie slush I pour the remaining liquid into popsicle molds for later. Then we’ll have popsicles for breakfast on another day. They used to think the popsicles were great but somehow it lost its appeal and we haven’t had the popsicles in nearly a year. Well I broke out the popsicle molds again and we had breakfast popsicles this morning and the kids loved them all over again. I suppose it’s like the toy rotation method, sometimes you have to put it a toy away for a while, get it out again and it’s like brand new.
We often have fruit smoothies for breakfast. I mentioned them before but I will elaborate. Basically I freeze browned bananas (after peeling them) three at a time in a freezer bag. In the blender, I toss in a bag of frozen bananas, a few frozen berries, some yogurt (plain or with fruit), some whey protein powder, and orange juice or whatever fruit juice we have or some milk if none and mix it all together. The kids love these smoothies and haven’t tired of them. When there are leftover smoothie slush I pour the remaining liquid into popsicle molds for later. Then we’ll have popsicles for breakfast on another day. They used to think the popsicles were great but somehow it lost its appeal and we haven’t had the popsicles in nearly a year. Well I broke out the popsicle molds again and we had breakfast popsicles this morning and the kids loved them all over again. I suppose it’s like the toy rotation method, sometimes you have to put it a toy away for a while, get it out again and it’s like brand new.
I just read in Martha's Everyday magazine that you can make similar smoothies with rolled oats. I have not tried that before but will give it a shot next time.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Efficient Kitchen Processes saves time and Money
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that there are many tasks in the whole food kitchen that can be done efficiently to save time. Warning: I’m about to babble on yet AGAIN about how great meal planning is. Here it goes. If you have a menu printed out with the ingredients in each meal, when you go to chop your onions for the first meal of the week it is super simple to scan the rest of your week to see if you can chop up 4 onions instead of one for later use. Throw the unused portions that you have chopped in a container and throw them in the fridge. This kind of efficiency can be used in so many ways to reduce the time you spend in the kitchen without sacrificing a whole food diet.
Besides dinner meals, I efficientize (ooo, a made up verb) several breakfast processes also. Whenever I make pancakes for instance I will get out my bowl plus two airtight containers. I measure out my dry ingredients first and triple my recipe into each container. I then label with the kind of pancake and the needed ingredients on the airtight containers since we have 4 or more different pancake recipes regularly. I also do this with several cookie mixes and muffin mixes and most anything that I bake often.
Other ideas include tripling rubs or spice mixes. We like a yellow tumeric rice recipe but there are about 5 or 6 dry ingredients to it. The recipe goes so quickly when it is already mixed up and it takes so little extra time to quadruple the recipe when I already have the ingredients out. I also have a blackened catfish recipe that I like to make so I make a big batch of the blackened seasonings and it lasts many meals.
I believe that the more of these processes that you approach with efficiency in mind the more second nature it becomes for you. It’s like trying to establish a new good habit or way of thinking. You can approach many tasks with an efficient mindset but the kitchen holds the most opportunities.
This efficient approach also lends itself to less waste and therefore money savings. For instance, we love our pumpkin pancake recipe but it only calls for 6 T of pumpkin puree. One can of pumpkin puree holds a lot more than 6 Ts so unless I want to get myself into trouble with those browned buttered frosted cookies (and I have in order not to waste pumpkin puree), I will measure out as many 6Ts in containers or baggies to freeze as the can holds. Then when I get out my premixed pumpkin pancake mix, I just microwave the frozen 6Ts of pumpkin puree, add my butter and milk and we are cooking. Also, in October my menu had three dishes that used canned pineapple chunks. This was no coincidence. The pineapple chunks were needed for two recipes and a third recipe just called for pineapple juice to marinate the meat. When I cooked the first entrée that called for pineapple I scanned the rest of my meals and saw that I needed to divide the can for the second recipe (rather than let the kids gobble up the pineapple) and save the juice for the third.
So when you are all wondering how I cook so much with 3 young kids, I swear to you that I do not. I have freezer meals, crockpot meals and simple pasta meals during the week and I efficientize processes as much as possible for the other meals. The most time I spend in the kitchen for a meal is when I am making a massive amount to freeze or when I am trying a new recipe. It can be done.
“Most Important Things” To-Do List
It comes of no surprise that I am a list person. I love daily lists, I love weekly lists, I love meal planning lists, house cleaning lists, shopping lists for each store that I shop, I love lists. I should really get a bumper sticker that just says I LOVE LISTS. Not only do they help me to organize my time but there is great satisfaction in crossing something that I have accomplished off my lists.
Our very wise Associate Pastor, Father Michael, said in a homily recently that how we spend our time ought to reflect our values. When this life is over how are we going to explain how we spent our time? We are all given the same amount of time in a day, but it is interesting how differently we each spend it.
Most of my lists have action-type tasks on them like “clean under couches” or “return library books” but lately I been thinking about that time management homily and I think my lists could be an opportunity to prioritize my time so that I do get to truly the most important things in life that so often get pushed aside for the action-type tasks. So I am sitting here making my daily list here while I write this post:
Find all library books around house
Pick up library book on hold & return found ones
Read more about Moses with Carter (Exodus)
Write a note to grandmother & have Vivian help w/ picture
Play ball with Dillon
Print out rosary to start saying decade of the rosary with kids with our bedtime prayers
Complete daily household chore list
Contact star wars guy to set date for Carter’s birthday party
Call St Augustine’s again and St Malachi’s regarding baked goods
Bake breakfast muffins for freezing
In looking at my list, it is obvious that the most important things are totally doable and do not take up that much time at all. Lucky for me I am used to sticking to referencing lists throughout the day and crossing items off so I shouldn’t have much trouble. A master list of “Most Important Things” will be helpful. Each day I make up my daily task list I can be sure to incorporate a few of the items on the Most Important Things list. One new organizational scheme always spurs more for me. I love it. I am also picturing a new family meeting where we include the kids in prioritizing our “Most Important Things” list so we all understand what truly is “Most Important” in our family and ensure that we spend our time accordingly.
Happy list crossing off to those daily to-do list people out there today.
Our very wise Associate Pastor, Father Michael, said in a homily recently that how we spend our time ought to reflect our values. When this life is over how are we going to explain how we spent our time? We are all given the same amount of time in a day, but it is interesting how differently we each spend it.
Most of my lists have action-type tasks on them like “clean under couches” or “return library books” but lately I been thinking about that time management homily and I think my lists could be an opportunity to prioritize my time so that I do get to truly the most important things in life that so often get pushed aside for the action-type tasks. So I am sitting here making my daily list here while I write this post:
Find all library books around house
Pick up library book on hold & return found ones
Read more about Moses with Carter (Exodus)
Write a note to grandmother & have Vivian help w/ picture
Play ball with Dillon
Print out rosary to start saying decade of the rosary with kids with our bedtime prayers
Complete daily household chore list
Contact star wars guy to set date for Carter’s birthday party
Call St Augustine’s again and St Malachi’s regarding baked goods
Bake breakfast muffins for freezing
In looking at my list, it is obvious that the most important things are totally doable and do not take up that much time at all. Lucky for me I am used to sticking to referencing lists throughout the day and crossing items off so I shouldn’t have much trouble. A master list of “Most Important Things” will be helpful. Each day I make up my daily task list I can be sure to incorporate a few of the items on the Most Important Things list. One new organizational scheme always spurs more for me. I love it. I am also picturing a new family meeting where we include the kids in prioritizing our “Most Important Things” list so we all understand what truly is “Most Important” in our family and ensure that we spend our time accordingly.
Happy list crossing off to those daily to-do list people out there today.
Monday, November 3, 2008
A Spontaneous Leftover Day!
Each week I schedule a leftover day. It prevents us from getting burned out on the same food two days in a row and is quite fun to have a completely bizarre variety of food in one meal. I need not tell you that it keeps the grocery budget down as an added bonus. In the event we do not have leftovers (which rarely happens), I’ll throw something together that I have on hand or if we have minimal leftovers that don’t quite make up a meal then I’ll supplement it with something. Last night it was obvious that our fridge needed a leftover day. Somehow I missed a leftover day last week so our leftovers were bursting. Another bonus about the monthly menu planning is that there is no guessing as to how old something in the fridge is. As I switch up the menu I will mark it up so I always know when we had what when I go to clean out the fridge. No fear of eating mysteriously aged food and no risk of wasting food that is only a few days old just because we can’t quite remember when we had that particular meal last.
I especially like an unscheduled spontaneous leftover day because it is a day that I normally would have to cook but didn’t have to. It also means that I can shift everything on the menu forward a day which makes us ahead on the meal planning game because the longer it takes to use up the food we have the happier our budget is.
I especially like an unscheduled spontaneous leftover day because it is a day that I normally would have to cook but didn’t have to. It also means that I can shift everything on the menu forward a day which makes us ahead on the meal planning game because the longer it takes to use up the food we have the happier our budget is.
Another Happy Day at the Bread Outlet
I took out my last 2 loaves of bread from the freezer today so I made a quick bread store run. I was welcomed into the store with a sign that read, "Buy 2, Get 1 Free." yea! I got 12 loaves and 3 for a friend. Happy Bread Outlet Day!
I must confess something. I miscalculated my bread savings in the "Bread Outlet Stores Rock" post because the Pepperidge Farm outlet store charges $1.89 per loaf not the $1.29 I quoted. However, all is not lost because a friend of mine just priced a loaf of Pepperidge Farms at Giant Eagle at $3.69. So if I exclusively shopped at the Pepperidge Farm outlet store rather than the farther away Schwebel's outlet (.89/loaf) at 1.89 per loaf, 365 loaves a year gives me a minimum savings of $657 annually. You can get bread on sale at the grocery occasionally (my friend got hers on sale for $3.29) but that can not outdo the bread outlet's 'buy 2 get 1 free' sale or the frequent 20% sales they hold. So thankfullythe more accurate numbers still conclude that Bread Outlet Stores Rock!
I must confess something. I miscalculated my bread savings in the "Bread Outlet Stores Rock" post because the Pepperidge Farm outlet store charges $1.89 per loaf not the $1.29 I quoted. However, all is not lost because a friend of mine just priced a loaf of Pepperidge Farms at Giant Eagle at $3.69. So if I exclusively shopped at the Pepperidge Farm outlet store rather than the farther away Schwebel's outlet (.89/loaf) at 1.89 per loaf, 365 loaves a year gives me a minimum savings of $657 annually. You can get bread on sale at the grocery occasionally (my friend got hers on sale for $3.29) but that can not outdo the bread outlet's 'buy 2 get 1 free' sale or the frequent 20% sales they hold. So thankfullythe more accurate numbers still conclude that Bread Outlet Stores Rock!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Family Ministry
I have tried to express my thoughts on the family as ministry in several drafts so hopefully this final draft will get my point across, but please bear with me.
I am sure that I am not alone in the world being a SAHM with small children who would love nothing more than to do some good in the world but feel it impossible under our current circumstances. I know lots of SAHMs that do wonderful things to serve others outside their homes and I am constantly in awe of them. To be able to volunteer at a homeless shelter or feed a meal to the homeless or to donate money to a worthy cause are all wonderful ways to give of yourself. I find it frustrating not to be able to do much of anything beyond save a couple box tops for our school or to donate our clothing when it has gone through the last child. I don’t have family around to watch my kids so that I can feed the hungry to or do anything that very young children can not accompany me to. My husband’s work schedule is all over the place and totally unpredictable so I can not rely on him on any day of the week to commit myself to anything. My predicament is nothing unusual.
I have learned, with the help of a couple different mothers groups at my church, that my family is my ministry right now and that is ok. Doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning up the 100th meal my adorable 1 year old has thrown across the room and certainly teaching my children about God is my ministry to my family.
It stands to reason then that all mothers with their little home ministries can expand their ministry by sharing ideas and helpful tips about their motherly duties. Some of us are better at some things than others. I happen to enjoy the home organization, meal planning and budgeting areas of family life and enjoy sharing ideas that work for my family. I seek advice from friends that are more gifted than I am in areas like laundry, gardening, child rearing and spiritual life.
Being able to expand my family ministry to other families is one of the main reasons I share my systems, recipes and other things with you. The way I do things are rarely unique but I enjoy these aspects of my family ministry and I hope that there are some moms that might find some of my ideas helpful as I am always looking for helpful tips for my family duties. I’m sure there are friends who think I am over-obsessed with these simple household things but it means more than just meal planning and such to me. It’s the only ministry I can do for right now and that is ok. So for those kind friends who have complimented my blog and thought that I should charge for it (I doubt anyone would pay but it’s a sweet thing to say), please accept my little blog of ideas as my ministry to you just as you all minister to me.
Peace be with you.
I am sure that I am not alone in the world being a SAHM with small children who would love nothing more than to do some good in the world but feel it impossible under our current circumstances. I know lots of SAHMs that do wonderful things to serve others outside their homes and I am constantly in awe of them. To be able to volunteer at a homeless shelter or feed a meal to the homeless or to donate money to a worthy cause are all wonderful ways to give of yourself. I find it frustrating not to be able to do much of anything beyond save a couple box tops for our school or to donate our clothing when it has gone through the last child. I don’t have family around to watch my kids so that I can feed the hungry to or do anything that very young children can not accompany me to. My husband’s work schedule is all over the place and totally unpredictable so I can not rely on him on any day of the week to commit myself to anything. My predicament is nothing unusual.
I have learned, with the help of a couple different mothers groups at my church, that my family is my ministry right now and that is ok. Doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning up the 100th meal my adorable 1 year old has thrown across the room and certainly teaching my children about God is my ministry to my family.
It stands to reason then that all mothers with their little home ministries can expand their ministry by sharing ideas and helpful tips about their motherly duties. Some of us are better at some things than others. I happen to enjoy the home organization, meal planning and budgeting areas of family life and enjoy sharing ideas that work for my family. I seek advice from friends that are more gifted than I am in areas like laundry, gardening, child rearing and spiritual life.
Being able to expand my family ministry to other families is one of the main reasons I share my systems, recipes and other things with you. The way I do things are rarely unique but I enjoy these aspects of my family ministry and I hope that there are some moms that might find some of my ideas helpful as I am always looking for helpful tips for my family duties. I’m sure there are friends who think I am over-obsessed with these simple household things but it means more than just meal planning and such to me. It’s the only ministry I can do for right now and that is ok. So for those kind friends who have complimented my blog and thought that I should charge for it (I doubt anyone would pay but it’s a sweet thing to say), please accept my little blog of ideas as my ministry to you just as you all minister to me.
Peace be with you.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Minimalist Preferences = True Frugal Life
Since entering this little blogging world I have spent a little time searching for other blogs that talk about frugal family life or money saving tips and such. This is one of my favorite topics so I am just sure that I will find some good ideas somewhere on-line. One theme seems to run through most all of the blogs that I have previewed thus far, how to spend less on stuff. I hate stuff. I don’t want stuff. I also despise shopping for stuff. So aside from buying necessites like deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper and soap and such I do not give a rats arse if Walgreens has 20 deals right now on unnecessary things like anti-aging cream, which I don’t believe work, or disinfectant kitchen counter spray. Grocery savings coupons and tips usually include 50 cents off some RiceARoni mix or something similar. No, that is not saving. What would really be saving is buying bulk plain rice and adding your own herbs purchased at a country store at a deep discount. It would be cheaper AND healthier since the cheap version would contain less sodium and preservatives and who knows what other un-pronounceable ingredients. Instead of buying anti-aging cream I would prefer to read about how vegetable shortening or something that most households have on hand might be proven to have anti-aging effects when applied topically or how a mixture of distilled vinegar and water disinfects the same as expensive kitchen counter cleaners. Do you get what I’m saying? The way I like to save money is by truly NOT buying stuff vs. spending less on stuff. Making something out of nothing should be more appreciated than spending less on stuff for the sheer genious of it. I suppose this is why I like Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette so much. I believe the Gazette is out of print now but there are many money saving tips in there that a minimalist like me can appreciate. My hopes is to share money saving tips on this blog that involve a little more time perhaps and possibly a little more work but a lot less money and a lot less stuff.
I am certain that there are blogs out there that would appeal to my minimalist frugal preferences and when I find them I will be sure to add them to my blog list.
I am certain that there are blogs out there that would appeal to my minimalist frugal preferences and when I find them I will be sure to add them to my blog list.
The Halloween Candy Gnome
We have a Halloween tradition in our house that has been passed to us through a very clever friend of ours. We have modified the tradition just a bit but basically this is how we handle the overabundance of Halloween candy that our kids try to stuff in their little bodies. On the night of trick-or-treating, the kids may gorge themselves on their candy until the grotesque display makes my husband want to vomit and he calls it quits for the night. The kids go to bed all sugared up and with queezy tummies. The next day they may have candy treats 2-4 at a time a few times throughout the day. After dinner they may choose one piece of candy per years old that they are. They may eat those pieces of candy whenever they wish. The remaining candy is left out for the Candy Gnome. The Candy Gnome will visit any house that has clearly left candy out for him. We leave ours in our front entry hall in our trick-or-treat bags. He takes the candy that is left out for him and delivers it to all the girls and boys who did not get any trick-or-treat candy such as children in hospitals or those who have circumstances where they can not trick-or-treat. The Candy Gnome leaves a small thank you gift. Last year the kids got “head flashlights” that strap around their heads. They had loads of fun in the basement with those. This year the Candy Gnome was not able to shop without children so if he doesn’t get out to shop today then he’ll have to choose something from the Christmas stash. Right now it’s looking like it will be bank calculator jars for the 4 year old and 6 year old and a threesome pack of balls for the 1 year old.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
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