So much in one week! Lost a bone spur - yeah! It was painful. My plates are annoying and I never thought I would be buying denture adhesive before I was 50!! But slowly and surely my mouth is healing. Still can't chew much at all, but I did manage to tenderize a small piece of steak yesterday evening so I could eat it. It was luscious.
I am still grieving the loss of the bread machine but I am going to try some no-knead artisan bread and see how it works. If I like I think I will purchase the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day . I love the idea of NOT kneading bread.
I made a double batch of laundry detergent this week. We were down to the last dregs. This time I heated up the water before I added the grated soap and I think it worked better. I wound up fixing it in the hot water bath canner and that worked out well. Mom said several of her friends are interested in learning how to make it, so we are planning to make a morning of it one day soon.
I picked up the Angelfood, with the help of Mom. The freezer is stocked, the pantries are full, and all we need is milk. Its a fabulous feeling not to have to worry about that.
This week we are going to eat a big batch of chili and cornbread. Partly because its soft, partly because its filling, and partly because this end of February/beginning of March weather is so yucky that the chili will be comfort food. We may have chicken and dumplings again (for the same reasons). I want things that are easy to have extra servings of, easy to warm up individual portions, and keep me from messing up the kitchen. It is on the list of "things to do" this week - to really houseclean the kitchen. The fridge needs to be cleaned out and the floor mopped.
I have been investigating the purchase of a pressure cooker/canner. First of all, it would be great to fix food that quickly. Secondly, I would like to be able to cook and can some non-acidic foods.
Oh good news - Save a Lot had strawberries, grown in the USA, for 2 bucks a package! I am so happy to see them. I really need to plant my own. I have been eating oatmeal with brown sugar and french vanilla non-dairy creamer with fresh strawberries and its delicious!
Enough for now, the Oscars are on :)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Empty Nest
Today we became "empty nest-ers". Our youngest daughter became a "college girl", and the oldest has been out on her own for just over a year (married, expecting a precious baby girl). Suddenly I have no children to be responsible for right this minute.
It feels kind of strange!
However other events in our lives are changing the finacial picture for us. Hubby is about to be laid off. I have only found part-time work and have no unemployment left. And now the Making Do slogan is a very real aspect of our budget. I have been stocking up a little at a time on canned goods, and boxed food (hamburger Helper, cake mix, pastas, etc). We do have a small freezer which already needs to be re-organized and a few "fishing" meals designed to get the oldest stuff out and used up. So, this week, as we clean our house without someone under foot moaning and groaning or refusing to help out, we will also be planning some major meals.
To that end I have just ordered Angelfood for February. We chose the $41 Bountiful Blessings Box and the $25 Sirloin Steak box. That, with the turkey we have frozen, 2 chickens, several bags of green beans, and atleast 3 bags of filling for fruit pies or cobbler, all mean we will not starve.
I have a sad event to share. The bread machine has died. It was located on the counter and I opened a cabinet door only to have a piece of corningware fall out and land on the glass viewing window of the breadmachine lid. I can report the corningwear came out much better from that tussle than the machine did. So now I am gathering recipes that do not require kneeding. Fortunately there are a lot of them out there. And we have all the bread making stuff, so we will have bread for sandwiches.
As I shared last time, I have been recovering from oral surgery. The good news is I am getting used to the plate. The bad news is that I still can't chew. So I anticipate a menu of very soft foods this month. With the exception of the steak. If its not soft and tender it will take spin in the blender!! This diet of mashed potatoes, eggs, ice cream, oatmeal, and yogurt really really needs something in it I can chew. I may puree my honeydew melon so I can eat it too!
So next post will list the meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). This should help me get back on track. Also its time to make laundry detergent. Mom and her friend want to learn how to do itt, so we are all going to meet at her house and I am going to teach them the "recipe".
I have also been considering making bar soap. I love lye soap. It sounds so harsh but its really not. Its a lot of work, but I feel like making soap and candles would probably good survival skills.
It feels kind of strange!
However other events in our lives are changing the finacial picture for us. Hubby is about to be laid off. I have only found part-time work and have no unemployment left. And now the Making Do slogan is a very real aspect of our budget. I have been stocking up a little at a time on canned goods, and boxed food (hamburger Helper, cake mix, pastas, etc). We do have a small freezer which already needs to be re-organized and a few "fishing" meals designed to get the oldest stuff out and used up. So, this week, as we clean our house without someone under foot moaning and groaning or refusing to help out, we will also be planning some major meals.
To that end I have just ordered Angelfood for February. We chose the $41 Bountiful Blessings Box and the $25 Sirloin Steak box. That, with the turkey we have frozen, 2 chickens, several bags of green beans, and atleast 3 bags of filling for fruit pies or cobbler, all mean we will not starve.
I have a sad event to share. The bread machine has died. It was located on the counter and I opened a cabinet door only to have a piece of corningware fall out and land on the glass viewing window of the breadmachine lid. I can report the corningwear came out much better from that tussle than the machine did. So now I am gathering recipes that do not require kneeding. Fortunately there are a lot of them out there. And we have all the bread making stuff, so we will have bread for sandwiches.
As I shared last time, I have been recovering from oral surgery. The good news is I am getting used to the plate. The bad news is that I still can't chew. So I anticipate a menu of very soft foods this month. With the exception of the steak. If its not soft and tender it will take spin in the blender!! This diet of mashed potatoes, eggs, ice cream, oatmeal, and yogurt really really needs something in it I can chew. I may puree my honeydew melon so I can eat it too!
So next post will list the meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). This should help me get back on track. Also its time to make laundry detergent. Mom and her friend want to learn how to do itt, so we are all going to meet at her house and I am going to teach them the "recipe".
I have also been considering making bar soap. I love lye soap. It sounds so harsh but its really not. Its a lot of work, but I feel like making soap and candles would probably good survival skills.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Its been a while...
Oh there are many reasons I could give for not updating. Lets just stipulate that we all have life stuff happening and let it go :)
The end of February is beginning to tease a little spring like weather our way. I would be perfectly glad to have a few weeks of moderate temperatures and a little rain. Makes starting your garden much easier. This year I am moving to a completely backyard garden. Turns out travelling back and forth to the farm was not a realistic expectation. Now I am pondering what type of containers to use, and how easily they might be in the even that we have to move mid season.
Had some major dental work done a few days ago and am still sore and dealing with the on again off again pain. But I have been surfing around looking for new things to try to reduce the money out the door. I will up date this next week with more info.
Ordering day for AngelFood Ministries is approaching next weekend. Check out their site and consider ordering.
The end of February is beginning to tease a little spring like weather our way. I would be perfectly glad to have a few weeks of moderate temperatures and a little rain. Makes starting your garden much easier. This year I am moving to a completely backyard garden. Turns out travelling back and forth to the farm was not a realistic expectation. Now I am pondering what type of containers to use, and how easily they might be in the even that we have to move mid season.
Had some major dental work done a few days ago and am still sore and dealing with the on again off again pain. But I have been surfing around looking for new things to try to reduce the money out the door. I will up date this next week with more info.
Ordering day for AngelFood Ministries is approaching next weekend. Check out their site and consider ordering.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Its the End of Summer!
How did it get here so quickly? Today is the last day of summer. The garden is bare, except for the potatoes which need to be dug. Most of the food is put up (still have pumpkins to can). Time just seems to fly.
Course the normal stuff is happening. School has started for the oldest married daughter. Youngest will be heading out soon to start her culinary career. Just like the turn of the seasons, the life cycle is moving right along. The married daughter will be having our first grandchild sometime in May. As my Aunt says, "Its a good thing she is a multi- tasker!" as she will be doing finals, presenting her Honor's Thesis, performing her Senior Recital, graduating from college and having a baby all in the same month! :)
We can't know yet if its a boy or a girl, but I am quilt planning like crazy for this little one. In the meantime, in the last month I have bound 2 quilts, a table runner, a wall hanging, and pieced the younger daughters new quilt. When I have nothing to bind I have been crocheting too. Its almost like the nesting instinct when you are about to go into labor, I just feel like I have to be creative non-stop. I am not sure where this is coming from. Previously I would have told you I hate piecing and binding, but now I am wishing for something to bind every evening. So I am getting out my Double Wedding Ring quilt, which my Mom made for me, and I am going to work on that. It should be good for a couple of weeks of binding as it has a scalloped edge. I have some Christmas stuff in the works too, so its a busy needlework time.
We have had such a nice month food-wise. With the double order of Angelfood last month we haven't hardly had to go to the grocery store except for milk and lettuce. This month we are doing the bigger box option and it will be nearly the same. I forsee purchasing some meat this time, because I am hungry for some things that usually don't appear in the menu. But still, we are keeping our grocery bill much lower than it was a year ago this time, and more than 50% lower than 2 years ago this time. So I feel like we are making progress.
Last weekend was the Daughters of The King women's retreat. We always hold it at the Cathedral Domain, a wonderful camp on the top of a mountain. Everything is so real there. The air is cleaner, the grass and trees are deep green, the food is amazing, and the company is comforting. Spending time occasionally with women who have true hearts for Jesus is like quenching a deep thirst. Very satisfying. I am trying to be a better daughter, following through on my commitment to a life of prayer and service, but I fall miserably short most of the time.
We ran out of dishwasher soap the other day. Fortunately I had found a recipe online for making your own at home! Its one tablespoon of Borax and one tablespoon of baking soda per load. You can also use white vinegar in the "jet dry" rinse container. Its amazing how well it works. I happened to have Borax because I make my own clothes washing detergent (which also works really well). So now I have a plastic container made up of just dishwasher soap. I am going to the Dollar Tree and get another set of measuring spoons so that the ones I cook with are not always needing to be washed because they are being used to measure detergent!
Course the normal stuff is happening. School has started for the oldest married daughter. Youngest will be heading out soon to start her culinary career. Just like the turn of the seasons, the life cycle is moving right along. The married daughter will be having our first grandchild sometime in May. As my Aunt says, "Its a good thing she is a multi- tasker!" as she will be doing finals, presenting her Honor's Thesis, performing her Senior Recital, graduating from college and having a baby all in the same month! :)
We can't know yet if its a boy or a girl, but I am quilt planning like crazy for this little one. In the meantime, in the last month I have bound 2 quilts, a table runner, a wall hanging, and pieced the younger daughters new quilt. When I have nothing to bind I have been crocheting too. Its almost like the nesting instinct when you are about to go into labor, I just feel like I have to be creative non-stop. I am not sure where this is coming from. Previously I would have told you I hate piecing and binding, but now I am wishing for something to bind every evening. So I am getting out my Double Wedding Ring quilt, which my Mom made for me, and I am going to work on that. It should be good for a couple of weeks of binding as it has a scalloped edge. I have some Christmas stuff in the works too, so its a busy needlework time.
We have had such a nice month food-wise. With the double order of Angelfood last month we haven't hardly had to go to the grocery store except for milk and lettuce. This month we are doing the bigger box option and it will be nearly the same. I forsee purchasing some meat this time, because I am hungry for some things that usually don't appear in the menu. But still, we are keeping our grocery bill much lower than it was a year ago this time, and more than 50% lower than 2 years ago this time. So I feel like we are making progress.
Last weekend was the Daughters of The King women's retreat. We always hold it at the Cathedral Domain, a wonderful camp on the top of a mountain. Everything is so real there. The air is cleaner, the grass and trees are deep green, the food is amazing, and the company is comforting. Spending time occasionally with women who have true hearts for Jesus is like quenching a deep thirst. Very satisfying. I am trying to be a better daughter, following through on my commitment to a life of prayer and service, but I fall miserably short most of the time.
We ran out of dishwasher soap the other day. Fortunately I had found a recipe online for making your own at home! Its one tablespoon of Borax and one tablespoon of baking soda per load. You can also use white vinegar in the "jet dry" rinse container. Its amazing how well it works. I happened to have Borax because I make my own clothes washing detergent (which also works really well). So now I have a plastic container made up of just dishwasher soap. I am going to the Dollar Tree and get another set of measuring spoons so that the ones I cook with are not always needing to be washed because they are being used to measure detergent!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Labor Day
Having a full freezer has been such a great thing :) I know I should be making a menu, but I have enough of just about everything to do me for the month, and I am enjoying saying....Hmmm I feel like having chicken/beef/pork tonight. Plus we are doing well with the balanced diet.
Due to my insomnia the doctor wants me to stop drinking caffeine. When he told me I just about cried. Literally. Though I cannot claim taste doesn't matter to me, primarily I drink caffeine for the "stay awake" effect, and to chase away the "lack of caffeine headache". So, I am trying to wean myself down from drinking too much of it. He, the doctor, tells me that anything consumed after noon is going to affect my sleep. That may be taking it a bit far, but I have moved more to water, and Crystal Light type stuff, the rare soda and less tea everyday. Those things, along with Ambien (pure golden stuff, IMHO) have let me get some rest. Its been wonderful.
Today I went out poking around the stores with my Mom. We live right here in the same town, and we don't see each other as often as we should. Even though I am 47 years old I think we are both still learning how to be Mother and Grown up Daughter :) We are doing well though.
Tonight we probably should be grilling out. Labor Day brings up those kind of thoughts huh? But I didn't want to clean the grill, and I was out and about so I didn't get the hamburger out early enough to thaw for tonight. So instead, using hamburger I already cooked and froze in portions, we are having sloppy joes, on Poor Man's Rolls , glazed carrots, roasted potatoes and seasoned broiled zucchini slices. Should be a yummy dinner, with plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. The bread machine is working away on a new loaf of bread even as I type.
Due to my insomnia the doctor wants me to stop drinking caffeine. When he told me I just about cried. Literally. Though I cannot claim taste doesn't matter to me, primarily I drink caffeine for the "stay awake" effect, and to chase away the "lack of caffeine headache". So, I am trying to wean myself down from drinking too much of it. He, the doctor, tells me that anything consumed after noon is going to affect my sleep. That may be taking it a bit far, but I have moved more to water, and Crystal Light type stuff, the rare soda and less tea everyday. Those things, along with Ambien (pure golden stuff, IMHO) have let me get some rest. Its been wonderful.
Today I went out poking around the stores with my Mom. We live right here in the same town, and we don't see each other as often as we should. Even though I am 47 years old I think we are both still learning how to be Mother and Grown up Daughter :) We are doing well though.
Tonight we probably should be grilling out. Labor Day brings up those kind of thoughts huh? But I didn't want to clean the grill, and I was out and about so I didn't get the hamburger out early enough to thaw for tonight. So instead, using hamburger I already cooked and froze in portions, we are having sloppy joes, on Poor Man's Rolls , glazed carrots, roasted potatoes and seasoned broiled zucchini slices. Should be a yummy dinner, with plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. The bread machine is working away on a new loaf of bread even as I type.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Full Freezer
Thanks to the Angel Food order the freezer is full. That is a good feeling. So, with plenty of food for the month its time for some pre-planning. Yesterday I baked 4 kinds of muffins (for breakfasts), the Amish Friendship Bread, and a loaf of sandwich bread. Because the bread machine doesn't make large loaves of bread I will have to bake a new loaf every 3 or 4 days.
Speaking of the baking of bread, I recently learned a bit of science behind the process. Check out the handout for bread. You may have to scroll down a bit. If I make whole wheat bread I will definitely follow her suggestions for dough enhancers. There is a LOT to learn about self-sufficiency and working in the kitchen from this website. Check it out!
I have a big bag of apples and I am going to attempt apple butter in the crock pot today. I just love apple butter, and I think that would be a great thing to have when the snow flies, I am going to get out a liner for the CP and see how it works. I will probably do that on Thursday as I will be doing some part time work Tuesday and Wednesday. I think I want something easy for dinner those two nights, possibly in the crock pot. Once I have a menu today I will update this post.
Speaking of the baking of bread, I recently learned a bit of science behind the process. Check out the handout for bread. You may have to scroll down a bit. If I make whole wheat bread I will definitely follow her suggestions for dough enhancers. There is a LOT to learn about self-sufficiency and working in the kitchen from this website. Check it out!
I have a big bag of apples and I am going to attempt apple butter in the crock pot today. I just love apple butter, and I think that would be a great thing to have when the snow flies, I am going to get out a liner for the CP and see how it works. I will probably do that on Thursday as I will be doing some part time work Tuesday and Wednesday. I think I want something easy for dinner those two nights, possibly in the crock pot. Once I have a menu today I will update this post.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Angelfood for September
There is a new offering from Angel Food Ministries in the month of September. Named the "Bountiful Blessing Box" it is 24 items for $41. This is an additional offering, not replacing the Signature Box which is 17-18 items for $31. I think this is going to be well worth the investment. There are 3 of us at home right now and I think we can eat diner for 14 days, plus lunch for Hubby for 8, just on the $41 box!
It includes:
28 oz. Fully Cooked Pot Roast (Pot Roast in Gravy with Red Wedge Potatoes, Carrots, Celery and Pearl Onions)
3 lbs. Family Tray Pack Split Chicken Breast
28 oz. Fully Cooked Broccoli, Rice and Chicken with Cheese Dinner Entree
8 ct. Bean and Cheese Burritos
1.5 lb. Hamburger Patties (4 x 6 oz)
1.5 lb. Center Cut boneless Pork chops (6x4 oz)
1.5 lb. Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggests
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 lb. All Beef Sausage (liked smoked sausage)
1 lb. Crunchy Breaded Fish Wedges
1 lb. French Cut Green Beans
1 lb. Garden Pease
1 lb. Sliced Carrots
1 lb. Whole Kernel Corn
1 lb. Broccoli Florets
1 lb. Cauliflower Florets
24 oz. Natural Cut French Fries
1 lb. Pasta
25 oz. Pasta Sauce
6 oz. Corn Bread Stuffing Mix
5.5 Pancake Mix
32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
1 Dozen Eggs
6 ct. Fried Apple Pie Sticks
All this for $41! I will have to do some research to see if the Fruit and Veggie box is cost effective. The only item in the box I haven't ever purchased is the avocado, and we should try something new now and again. If the grocery store can't beat the price I will probably order that as well.
It includes:
28 oz. Fully Cooked Pot Roast (Pot Roast in Gravy with Red Wedge Potatoes, Carrots, Celery and Pearl Onions)
3 lbs. Family Tray Pack Split Chicken Breast
28 oz. Fully Cooked Broccoli, Rice and Chicken with Cheese Dinner Entree
8 ct. Bean and Cheese Burritos
1.5 lb. Hamburger Patties (4 x 6 oz)
1.5 lb. Center Cut boneless Pork chops (6x4 oz)
1.5 lb. Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggests
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 lb. All Beef Sausage (liked smoked sausage)
1 lb. Crunchy Breaded Fish Wedges
1 lb. French Cut Green Beans
1 lb. Garden Pease
1 lb. Sliced Carrots
1 lb. Whole Kernel Corn
1 lb. Broccoli Florets
1 lb. Cauliflower Florets
24 oz. Natural Cut French Fries
1 lb. Pasta
25 oz. Pasta Sauce
6 oz. Corn Bread Stuffing Mix
5.5 Pancake Mix
32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
1 Dozen Eggs
6 ct. Fried Apple Pie Sticks
All this for $41! I will have to do some research to see if the Fruit and Veggie box is cost effective. The only item in the box I haven't ever purchased is the avocado, and we should try something new now and again. If the grocery store can't beat the price I will probably order that as well.
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