The Best Wheat Rolls

Soon after I was married and I began to learn to bake bread, I began my search for a recipe for good dinner rolls. Many that I tried were dry, especially if not eaten right out of the oven.

Finally, I found a yummy and easy recipe from the 1999 Taste of Home cookbook.These wheat rolls are a winner with our family. They are light, delicious and stay soft and fresh for several days. They freeze successfully, too, for longer storage. They are easy and take less time to make than regular whole wheat bread.

On occasion, I have adapted this recipe with all white flour with good results. I also use this recipe for cinnamon rolls and hamburger buns.

Wheat Yeast Rolls
Makes 1 dozen largish dinner rolls(great for sandwiches!)

1 package(1/4 oz.) or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water(110 to 115 degrees)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar or honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add oil, sugar, salt and whole wheat flour;beat until smooth. Add enough all-purpose flour to form soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down; divide into 12 pieces. Shape into rolls(balls); place 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

For smaller rolls- I often make about 18 rolls instead of 12, especially if used as a side to a big dinner. Just divide the dough accordingly.

For hamburger buns- I make about 8 rolls instead of the original recipe's dozen. This way they are big enough for hamburgers.

For cinnamon rolls- Roll out dough into a rectangle. Brush softened butter on the dough then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up into a log and slice into cinnamon rolls. I use a length of thread to cut instead of a knife to help rolls keep their shape. Place rolls in greased pan and bake the same as dinner rolls; check the center to see if it is done before removing from oven. When cinnamon rolls have cooled or are still warm, frost with powdered sugar icing made by mixing hot water and powdered sugar until a nice consistency.

Enjoy!

Facing The Giants

We watched Facing The Giants last night. It is an incredible movie with a strong Scriptural message.

Granted, the acting isn't that great and the story line is quite predictable, but yet what a great message. Tears streamed down my face as I watched and I rarely cry! The movie really spoke to my heart.

The power of God versus the power of fear.... What happens when one person prays...What can happen when we face the giants with God on our side... these things are what I took away from this movie.

"... All things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Have you seen this movie? What was your impression of it?

Menu Plan Monday

Another week, another menu!
Sunday
Lunch-We hosted our house church fellowship. I made crock pot orange-citrus chicken(new recipe-yum!) and French bread to share potluck-style.
Dinner-bruschetta, leftover salad from lunch

Monday-sausage, pepper and onion stir fry, brown rice*, green beans

Tuesday-crustless zucchini and sausage quiche, salad

Wednesday-blue cheese & white bean salad-(I didn't get to this last week so here it is again!),green salad, muffins

Thursday-chicken pot pie*, salad

Friday-TBD- Something in the crock pot

Saturday-creamed eggs over toast

*indicates freezer meals

Lunches are usually leftovers. Otherwise, I have salad fixings and lunch meat for sandwiches this week.

Breakfasts will be fried egg and cheese sandwiches, cold cereal, pancakes, hard boiled eggs and biscuits*,fruit smoothies and cream of wheat.

For more menu planning inspiration, visit I'm An Organizing Junkie!

All Little Einsteins, All The Time

One of the toddlers that I babysit has a thing for Little Einsteins. He loves them. He loves them so much that his mom and I refer to the show as L.E. when he is around. He talks about "Rocket" all the time.

Today I made his day. We watched the Little Einstein's theme song via You Tube videos.

5 times in a row!

In Spanish!

In German!

In French!

Even in Japanese!

And to think I'm blogging about it!!!

I'm Thankful That...

It's been one of those weeks. I didn't think I had anything to be thankful for but God has showed me a 'few things'.:-)

Here goes....

I'm thankful that...

~my cold is gone. Oh, it is wonderful to be able to smell again. You know it's bad when you think somethings wrong with the Beggin' Strips because you can't smell them!

~the jungle, aka yard, got a good trimming over the weekend. Looks great!

~it has rained off and on for the past week. We need the rain!

~I've been able to get some major decluttering done the past several days and a load of "treasures" will be on its way to Goodwill soon!

~we have yummy fresh garden produce to eat this week.

~I have way more to be thankful for than would fit on this blog!

" Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you..." I Thessalonians 5:18


I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day!

-A Veggie tales song from Madam Blueberry

Orange Chicken

Once again, I'm joining in to share a recipe for Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food Series.

This week the focus is on chicken.

Chicken leg quarters can be purchased fairly inexpensively (anywhere from $.29 to $.49 a pound is about the cheapest I've found them around here). This recipe from Taste of Home is a great way to use them! And it is nice enough to serve to guests! We love this chicken!

Talk about yummy...and inexpensive! Plus easy to make! Can't get much better than that.

Orange Chicken
Serves 4

4 chicken legs with thighs(3 1/2 pounds), skin removed
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Place chicken in single layer in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients. Brush over chicken; bake 15 minutes longer. Brush again; bake 10 minutes more or until juices run clear.

For more chicken recipes or to add one of your own favorites, head on over to Frugal Upstate!

Everything I Know About Gardening

Everything I know about gardening is about nothing! It is something that I am not very good at. I do want to be better at it so I continue to learn and plant.:-)

This is the second year we have gone in with friends and done a garden at their house. Last year, I helped with all the planning, planting and watching it grow.

This year, I've done nothing in their garden. Nothing, nada, zilch.
Except harvest the produce. I am pretty good at that!

It just turned out that when planting days came around, I wasn't able to be there.


So my gardening expertise is really quite limited. I pretty much subscribe to the "plant it and hope it grows" rule.

When we have our own place, I will do a lot more digging up and planting than what I do where we live now. The gardening that I do now is on a small scale but I'm finding out little by little what grows better where and what I am good at growing! I have a flowerbed full of a few different veggies and herbs this year, all of which are doing well.

I have tried growing herbs from seeds and have not had much success with that. This year, I bought some herb plants and they have grown wonderfully so far with plenty of water. Beans grow well with little help from me so I plant plenty of those. I'm trying peppers and cherry tomatoes again this year and it looks promising. I haven't always had great success with those.

My mom , who is a wonderful gardener, told me to use a root hormone(Take Root or Root Tone) to start plants from clippings. I am experimenting with some ivy that needed to be trimmed off the fence. I also divided 2 house plants into 5 pots and used the Root Tone on those too, since it worked better to just clip off the good parts and replant them. I'll let you know how that goes!

I'm happy with my little successes and hope someday to be much better at gardening than I am now!

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Menu Plan Monday

Grocery shopping was done at the end of last week so my pantry and refrigerator are filled to the brim with delicious fresh produce and other yummy foods! Seasonal fruits are at great prices right now so I stocked up! A friend gave us half of a watermelon last week since they were going out of town and couldn't eat it all. Yum!

Between our garden and the farmer's market we have a good amount of squash, green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers to eat.

I always think we eat like kings this time of year with all the fresh food that we can stand!

Our dinner menu is as follows:

Sunday-
Lunch-Potluck lunch with church family. I took a zucchini casserole and a container of various sliced fresh fruit-watermelon, peaches, pineapple, bananas and blueberries.

Dinner-Chef's salad, cottage cheese

Monday- My own version of a Shepherd's Pie to use up potatoes and other odds and ends, steamed squash

Tuesday- chicken fajitas with cheese, sour cream, salsa and avocado, Spanish rice,corn on the cob

Wednesday-Pesto Pizza, blue cheese and white bean salad

Thursday-stir fry with rice

Friday-hamburgers,salad

Saturday-
Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-ham and cheese bread, salad

Breakfasts will be: pancakes(3x), zucchini bread and yogurt with bananas, cottage cheese and sliced peaches, cream of wheat and bananas, fruit and yogurt smoothie and either muffins or toast.

Lunches are usually leftovers. I also have salad fixings, and lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches.

Thanks to Laura for hosting Menu Plan Mondays!

Cornmeal Fun

The little boys that I babysit had great fun driving their cars in cornmeal one day last week.

I put a couple of spoonfuls of cornmeal on a cookie sheet and spread it around.

A simple activity but one the little ones really liked!

And it was ok if they ate some of it.:-)

I'm Thankful For...

...a week at home after a busy season of traveling.

... a few almost-ripe cherry tomatoes in my flowerbed garden!

... our colds getting better each day!

...a long holiday weekend at home.

...the men who have fought to give us freedom in our great country!

...the freedom I have in Christ!

" Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2 & 3

Menu Plan Monday, On Tuesday!

Another week is already speeding by! After a few weeks of several trips out of town, the menu plan has gone by the wayside. I'm getting back on the bandwagon this week, though! I need to go grocery shopping but have enough on hand to make a fairly balanced meal plan. Toward the end of the week, I hope to have more fresh produce on hand so I'll plug whatever I get into the menu then.

My basil plants have taken off and are lush and big, thus I'm making 2 dishes with it this week. Pesto and our new favorite, Basil Mayo Chicken Pasta Salad. Basil is so fragrant; I love cooking with it!

Monday- steak dinner with friends

Tuesday-buttered spaghetti with pesto sauce, leftover piece of steak from last night, steamed yellow squash

Wednesday-zucchini casserole made with yellow squash, cooked veggie, sliced banana peppers

Thursday-Israeli Spice chicken chunks, tabouli, hummus and chips

Friday- Lunch- Basil mayo chicken pasta salad
Supper- Ham and Cheese Bread, fresh veggies and fruit

Saturday-Lunch-leftovers
Supper-hot dogs

Breakfasts are cream of wheat. cold cereal, biscuits and scrambled eggs (2x), muffins, and yogurt with seasonal berries.

Lunches are leftovers. I also have some lunch meat for sandwiches if we need it.

Thanks to Laura from Heavenly Homemakers for hosting Menu Plan Monday this week!

A New Natural Foods Store!

I love natural foods stores. And a nice large one just opened in my town! Yeah!

It's right by CVS, too. How convenient.:-)

Up until now I've been occasionally driving to another town 30 minutes away to find some of the harder-to-find natural foods that I use regularly. So I'm excited to have this store so close.

We visited the new store yesterday. It is very nice. I didn't buy anything on this visit but scoured the store looking at their selection and noting the prices.

The bulk section isn't as large as I had hoped but still they have most of the grains and legumes that I would normally buy. Prices are comparable to any health food/gourmet store, of course. (Read: expensive!)Many items are out of my price range but with buying grains/legumes, some produce and watching the sales and using coupons, I should be able to come out pretty well.

Some items I noticed that I will go back for(armed with coupons) are:

-Yogi teas, on sale 2/$5(I have coupons too for this. I love the Breathe Deep tea for asthma attacks.)

-Muir Glen tomato products ranging in price from $.89 to around the $2 range.($1/1 coupons) This was regular prices; cheaper than the regular grocery stores here!

-Cascadian Farms frozen veggies on sale for $1.79.($1/1 coupons)

-Local peaches for $.79 a pound

I'm doing my grocery shopping this week so I'm hoping to take advantage of some of these Grand Opening specials!

Homemade Hummus - Several Different Ways

I'm joining in again with Jenn of Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food series. This week's frugal star is beans!

One of our favorite bean recipes is Hummus. This Mediterranean dip or spread is made with chick peas/garbanzo beans and is so good for you! It's one of our favorite snacks too.

Hummus is easy-peasy and inexpensive to make. No need to buy the $3 little tubs at the store! If you can operate a food processor or blender you can whip this up in no time!

I'll give you the basic recipe that I use then list some possible add-ins that are so so good for variety! I don't really measure the spices; I just add to taste and so on.

Hummus

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans,drained or cook your own from dried beans
1/2 cup tahini(or less depending on taste; you can leave this out if desired, it does give a more authentic taste, though)
Olive oil(I start with about 3 tablespoons.)
Minced garlic
Lemon juice
Sea salt
Cumin

Puree beans in food processor or blender. Add tahini and small amounts of other ingredients. Continue to add until desired taste and consistency are reached. I like it thick enough so it's not runny but thin enough to spread.

Serve with fresh veggies pita bread or chips or tortilla chips. Keep in refrigerator. This stays fresh for awhile in the fridge but can also be frozen with good success.

Now here's the fun part!

While blending hummus add your choice of the following:

-crushed red pepper flakes
-olives
-drained and chopped artichokes
-fresh herbs such as basil
-drained jar of roasted red peppers(our favorite!)

I know some of these add-ins are really not that frugal, yet they are fun to have when there's a little extra $$ in the food budget!

I have also done this with white beans instead of the chickpeas(minus the tahini) and it made a delicious bean dip as well.

Enjoy!

Back In The South

I arrived back home from Oregon at midnight on Saturday night.

I'm glad to be home!

Both of us suffered colds during the past week. We're pretty congested now. Hopefully, we'll be completely back to normal soon.

In the meantime, though...I have a house to clean, laundry to wash, clutter to wade through and a yard that needs tending(think jungle after about a month of no attention).

Pace myself. This is how I'm operating this week. By tackling a few areas each day, the house will be pretty much back to it's relatively clean, lived-in state by the end of the week.

I can always hope that I'll get my much-loved routine back, too.:-)

I'll be posting throughout the week so stay tuned!

Frugal Friday: Hotel Discounts

This week's frugal tip comes from my discount-savvy father-in-law! Thankfully, he shared this with us and our travel budget has benefited from it already.

When traveling, stop at all state Welcome Centers(rest areas at state lines) along the interstate. They often have free hotel coupon booklets available for their state or region.

The ones we picked up on our trip to and from NJ are good for the summer. So whenever traveling, it's a good idea to continue to pick up the most current booklets. You just never know when you're going to need a hotel!

These contain hotel coupons for specific areas and exits. Most end up being half price when you use the coupon. Some restrictions apply such as no previous reservations-walk in's only or are only good for Sunday through Thursday. Some don't allow to use your hotel discount/priority cards in addition to the coupon and others do. Just read the fine print and you're good to go!

We stopped for the night in Virginia last Saturday and because of the no previous reservations rule, ended up stopping at several different hotels at the same exit before finding one that had room for us. So that took a little extra time, but that's not a bad trade-off for a room that was half-price!

From now on, we will definitely be picking up these booklets and using them for a more frugal night's stay when traveling!

For more frugal ideas and tips please visit Biblical Womanhood.

Live-Blogging My Vacation

My husband teasingly asked me the other day if I was live-blogging my vacation.:-) Well, not really! But I will give some details about what we are up to this week.

This has been a very relaxing time to spend with my parents and brother. There is no special event going on this week; just a visit with my family.

Monday- I arrived in Oregon by plane in the early afternoon. Some of my mom's family took my grandma out for a belated birthday dinner. I was honored to be able to be along this time, since I am usually clear across the country in South Carolina! A number of family members were present so it was a good time to see them.

Tuesday-My mom is having a bake sale next week. She had cookie dough all mixed up and I baked the cookies for her. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, molasses, and snickerdoodles-27 dozen in all. When I lived at home, oh, 12 years ago or so, I baked all the cookies for bake sales, so she was happy to have me here again to help! We ran an errand or two in the afternoon and visited our old neighbor who is now in a nursing home. In the evening, I went to see my grandma again. My cousin, Esther and her 4 children were also there. Nice to see them as well.

Wednesday-I get really bored when away from home since I like to work and do things around my home. I asked Mom what I could do around her house. She finally agreed to let me clean out the china cabinet. I washed the glassware and the shelves and loaded it all back in. I helped with a few other odd jobs as well. Mom also instructed me in how to root and transplant different plants. I'm excited to try these tips out at home!

Thursday- We haven't done too much yet this morning. I think we're going to clean and organize the pantry. Also run some errands with my brother.

I'm enjoying my visit but miss my husband who is 3,000 miles away!

Works For Me Wednesday: Less Clothing ,More Organized!

Today, I thought I'd share about how I keep my clothing organized and easy to pick out and use! This simplified wardrobe has really helped during these last few weeks of hectic traveling with only a day or less between trips!

I have really pared down my wardrobe in the last while. This not only helps with storage and decisions about what to wear, but also is a big help to always have outfits that I know fit and that are my favorites!

I admit that I'm not the most exciting dresser around. I have mostly very basic outfits that I can mix and match, my favorites being a couple of khaki pants which roll up and snap to become capris and two black skirts. I also have a couple other skirts and shorts that I wear regularly. I have a top to go with each of these bottoms as well as a few extra shirts in case of spots and stains.

I wear very little jewelry and have a few pairs of shoes that go with just about everything. I really like boring, ok?!:-)

My very simple tip today is to hang or fold clothes together in outfits. I like to wear certain tops with certain bottoms so this just makes sense to me! Everything is ready to pull out and wear or in my case the last few weeks, ready to place in the suitcase.

I can be packed in only a few minutes by doing this.

Of course, having fewer clothes means more laundry! But I don't mind this. It's easier having fewer clothes to care for and organize!

Clothes organized and ready- this works for me!

Life As We Know It

Andy's grandmother passed away Tuesday, June 17. The funeral was in New Jersey on Saturday, June 21, where Grammy was buried next to her husband. We traveled to NJ starting out Wednesday night and arriving the next day, then coming back on Sunday.

We had a glitch with a pastor for the funeral, so Andy and his father officiated. It was very meaningful and of course, I was so proud of my husband! Andy gave the 'sermon' and his father shared memories of his mother(Grammy). One of the cousins read two short passages of Scriptures.

Throughout the viewing and funeral, I was able to meet many of Andy's relatives that I had not known before. In fact, the viewing was more like a wonderful family gathering with people laughing and sharing stories together. Grammy, the socialite, would have enjoyed the event very much!

One of Grammy's nieces graciously opened her home for our family. It was a blessing to be able to stay with family and not in a motel. What a wonderful hostess she was to us!

We hurried home in order for me to catch a plane to Oregon on Monday morning. This was planned previously as a trip for me to visit my parents. I am grateful that everything worked out so I did not need to change my flight plans! Even though I was very tired out from all of our hectic travel over the past two weeks or so.

So I am here in Oregon this week visiting my parents. I have some other posts up my sleeve and will be updating as I have opportunity.

Random Thoughts

I have lots of posts started and in draft form but by the time nap time rolls around I lack the brainpower to get them ready to post! Oh well...I guess I need to work on that.

I will be trying to get more non-cooking posts up. I love to cook so that's why my blog seems to be full of kitchen-related posts. :-) I do like to keep a little more variety here, though!

Andy's grandmother is very ill. She is battling cancer. Please pray for her. We were to visit her over the weekend and it is only a matter of time before she goes home to be with the Lord. It was horrible to see her so sick and so sad to tell her good bye. But we will be happy for her when she has no more pain!

ETA: Andy's grandmother passed away this afternoon.

The garden that we planted with friends is producing like crazy already. We have been eating zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, banana peppers and cucumbers so far.Yum! I've pretty much thrown the menu plan out the window for the time being so I can make the best use of the garden produce.

We want to make use of the neighborhood pool at some point. The cost is $2 per adult. Swimming would feel so good at the end of a hot Southern day. We've lived here 4 years and this year is the first that I've looked into using the pool! I've always wondered if it was open to the public but never checked into it before this year.

I really need to order my blender replacement. I want smoothies!

Happy summer!

Creamed Eggs

Today I'm joining in to share a favorite egg recipe for Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food Series!

My mom made this favorite egg dish a lot when we were growing up and now it is also one of my husband's favorites. We eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner-it's good anytime!

Basically, this is a white sauce with hard-boiled eggs mixed in at the end.

It's easy to make, delicious, and frugal too!

Creamed Eggs(served over biscuits, toast or even waffles)

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over low heat. When melted, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and a little salt(1/2 to 1 teaspoon;you can always add more before serving). When flour and butter mixture is smooth, gradually add 2 cups of milk, whisking and stirring constantly over low heat.

Let cook until thickened (usually about 5-10 minutes), stirring and/or whisking frequently so the sauce does not scorch.

Add several sliced, hard-boiled eggs. I also will often add a handful of shredded cheese to the sauce along with the eggs.

Serve over biscuits, toast or waffles for a yummy breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Serves 3-4

Variations:
-chopped ham
-crumbled and cooked bacon
-a handful of green peas
-canned tuna, drained

Enjoy!
For more yummy recipes featuring the incredible, edible egg, visit Frugal Upstate! Thanks, Jenn, for hosting this!

Menu Plan Monday- 2 Week Menu

I plan my menus 2 weeks at a time to go along with my shopping schedule, so I figured that I would just share both weeks at one time today. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. :-)


For breakfasts, I will be choosing some items off this list. Lunches are usually leftovers. Otherwise I scrounge something up!

All freezer meals are marked with *.

Sunday
Lunch-Potluck picnic with our church family. I took a layered nacho dip with tortilla chips and Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars.
Dinner- Layered Nacho Dip, chips, brownies

Monday-Baked Potatoes with bacon, cheese and sour cream, salad

Tuesday-steak with blue cheese butter, stuffed mushrooms, mixed green salad

Wednesday-homemade pizza, salad, fruit

Thursday-veggie lasagna*, homemade bread, fruit

Friday- eat out

Saturday-waffles, eggs

Sunday
Lunch-TBD
Dinner-wraps with cream cheese and olive spread and various chopped veggies and shredded cheese

Monday-Chicken Pasta Salad, muffins

Tuesday- Meatballs, rice, steamed veggie

Wednesday-Spinach Artichoke Quiche, sliced fresh veggies and fruit

Thursday-Chicken Orzo*, veggie or salad

Friday-Israeli Spice chicken chunks, tabouli, hummus and chips

Saturday-omelets, toast

For more menu planning inspiration, please visit I'm an organizing junkie!

Cool Breakfasts for Hot Days

Inspired by this post, I decided to make my own short list of simple breakfast ideas for summer.

The goal was to create nutritious breakfasts that would be light and filling but yet not heat up the kitchen.

Here's what I came up with based on our tastes and budget. Feel free to add your own 2 cents in the comments section!

All meals would be accompanied by some kind of fresh fruit which is what I try to do year-round anyways. Except the smoothies which are fruit. In that case, I would add some kind of grain on the side such as toast or a bagel.Whenever I make muffins, pancakes or waffles, I make a huge batch and freeze for fuss-free breakfasts and snacks later on. We eat breakfast pretty early in the day so I try to plan menus that require as little morning prep work as possible!

*Cool* Breakfast Ideas

~muffins or quick breads
~homemade granola bars
~yogurt- homemade or store-bought
~cottage cheese
~cheese chunks
~toast
~hard-boiled eggs
~cold cereal
~smoothies
~bagels with cream cheese
~waffles or pancakes
~quiche(made ahead and eaten cold)

I will probably still make a "hot" breakfast on occasion this summer but this list gives me a great start with summery meals to start our days!

An Egg Substitution

As I was mixing up pancake batter yesterday for our breakfast this morning, I realized that I only had one egg left. And I needed two eggs for my recipe.

I have a list of different egg substitutions so I perused the list and decided to try adding a mashed banana instead of the one egg. After all, we love banana pancakes, right?

This worked great. Yum! The pancakes were extra light and fluffy with a nice subtle banana flavor.

And I didn't have to make a quick trip to the grocery store.

So Many Recipes!

I love to cook and try new recipes. Blog-reading certainly gives me the opportunity to view many recipes that sound so yummy.

I often will print these out to try very soon. But before I know it, a year (or two) has gone by and I still haven't used the recipe.

This week, I've tried new yummy recipes and thought I'd share the links with you! I have my recent burst of cleaning energy to thank for unearthing these printed recipes!

Basil-Walnut Mayonnaise over Chicken Pasta Salad from The Common Room.
All I can say is YUM!!! And why did it take me a year to try this? (Oh, yeah, because it took me that long to find it hiding on the desk!)I used my fresh-from-the-garden basil and some of my 2 pound hunk of Parmesan cheese(I routinely splurge on this at Sam's Club. It is so much better than the stuff in a can and lasts a while too.). The mayo is mixed with basil, walnuts, cheese and garlic like a pesto. I look forward to using this as a spread for wraps and sandwiches this summer. This salad is a new family favorite!

Monica's Chicken Pot Pie from The Homespun Heart.

Ok, so I printed this recipe out in 2006!!! I had Chicken Biscuit Bake on the menu for last night which is a chicken pot pie with biscuits on top instead of pie dough. I think it's quicker to make and easier than making pie crusts. But since I am rationing my egg usage to make them last until grocery day, I decided to make pie crusts instead. This brought to mind that I still hadn't tried this recipe.

Chicken pot pie can be a little time-consuming to prepare but this recipe makes two (one to eat and one to freeze), so it was time well-spent. I actually made 2 regular pie pans full and still had enough filling for a medium size loaf pan. So we will get 3 meals(plus a few lunches out of this).I used some leftover cooked veggies and a jar of my home-canned potato soup mix(potatoes, carrots and celery) so I skipped the cooking veggies step. I really like that this recipe uses a white sauce rather than canned cream soup. This was really tasty and we liked the sauce better than the pot pie recipe that I had been making! This will now be my regular Chicken Pot Pie recipe!

Menu Plan Monday

Another week, another menu! How time goes by!

Here we go for this week...

Sunday
Breakfast-toast and jam
Lunch-We eat potluck-style with our church family. This week I made meatballs and rice.
Dinner-Memorial Day Cookout. I took a chocolate cake.

Monday
Breakfast-banana chocolate muffins, apple slices
Lunch- Basil-Mayonnaise Chicken Pasta Salad,strawberries, chocolate cake
Dinner-leftover buffet

Tuesday
Breakfast-cream of wheat, strawberries
Dinner-chicken biscuit bake, salad

Wednesday
Breakfast-cold cereal, milk, bananas
Dinner-homemade pizza, salad

Thursday
Breakfast-pancakes
Dinner-lemon herb chicken, pasta, salad or steamed veggie

Friday
Breakfast-cream of wheat, apple slices
Dinner-salmon patties, homemade bread, green beans

Saturday
Breakfast-muffins or toast
Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-scrambled eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits

This post is a part of Menu Plan Mondays.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G in the kitchen

I'm not doing exercises while cooking these days! But I am making a conscious effort to stretch my grocery dollar by making the most of the food that I have.

I'm still purchasing mainly the same things each grocery trip. Even with rising prices, the basic ingredients that I buy to cook from scratch are still some of the most inexpensive foods out there.

I've found that the difference is how I plan my menus and use the different foods. Not only am I stretching the food dollar but also my creativity!

Last week,I cooked a 2 1/2 pound roast. I was determined to make it last for 3 meals so I planned accordingly. Crock pot roast beef with potatoes and carrots the first night. Beef stroganoff for the second. The third night was beef pilaf salad, a yummy concoction of beef and rice with added veggies. I soon realized that I had plenty of veggies left from the first night, so I scratched the plan for the fourth night and made an impromptu beef stew instead-dicing the leftover beef and veggies and adding the beef broth I had saved, plus some leftover tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes from my pantry. I added some spices and we ate this over leftover rice that I had cooked earlier in the week for the rice salad. Four meals out of one roast! I know that I'm only feeding two people but we also ate dinner leftovers for lunch each day so technically we had 8 meals out of it.

This week I still had a meal's worth of rice left so I served that along with pinto beans, cheese, salsa and sour cream for a filling dinner.

In the past month, leftover oatmeal has been used to make oatmeal bread. I also added some to my regular pancake batter one night and added a little wheat germ, some strawberry-banana puree along with the cooked oatmeal. Yummy!

Last night, I used one chicken breast for our meal instead of two. We both had plenty to eat along with the sides that I had prepared.

A little extra thought and planning can go a long way to helping to stretch your grocery dollars!

What are some things that you do to stretch your meals and budget?

Thanks to Crystal for hosting Frugal Fridays!

Homemade Yogurt

I've been making our yogurt for about a year now. It's a simpler process than you might think. I know I was surprised when I found out how easy it was!

We've been buying raw milk from a local dairy and using some of this milk to make yogurt. I know some say that homemade yogurt is less expensive. From my calculations, it turns out to be about the same price for both homemade and store-bought. But if you are able to use milk that has been bought at a reduced price, then the homemade will be less expensive. The homemade is healthier though since it has no added sugars or preservatives and I know exactly what's in it! We also have a hard time using a whole gallon of milk before it goes bad so this is an excellent way to make good use of that.

I use a small yogurt maker that I found new in the box at Goodwill. This gave me the courage to try making yogurt!

I have read on different blogs how some make yogurt by putting it in jars or bowls in the oven overnight. I would like to try this at some point, not only as a way to reduce the amount of gadgets I have around but also because I could make more than one quart of yogurt at a time this way. Stephanie gives wonderful instructions here.

To make yogurt, simply heat 1 quart(4 cups) of milk on the stove at medium heat until almost to the boiling point( bubbles will form around the edge). At this point remove milk from heat and let drop to between 100-110 degrees. I put it in the refrigerator and set the timer for 20 minutes as that's about how long it takes to cool to that point. (Use a candy/cooking thermometer!) When at the right temperature, gently stir in 1/2 cup of plain yogurt(with live cultures). Place all in the warmed yogurt maker or jars in a warm oven and let set until cultured, about 6-8 hours or overnight. Refrigerate yogurt for several hours before serving.

This will of course be plain yogurt. You can eat it plain as I often like to do or add fruit and sweeteners. My husband likes it with honey and vanilla. Homemade yogurt won't be nearly as creamy and smooth as store bought.It is also slightly runnier. Also the longer it cultures, the more tart it will be.

I still purchase yogurt when I can combine coupons with a sale since we enjoy it so much. But I love that I now know how to make my own as well!

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday
Breakfast:bagels with cream cheese, fruit
Lunch: We eat potluck style with our church family. This week I took pizza and salads(leftover from my brother-in-law's graduation party) and lemon pound cake.
Dinner:leftovers from lunch

Monday
Breakfast:leftover bagels and toast, apple slices
Dinner: chicken orzo, salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: oatmeal with dried fruit
Dinner: pinto beans, rice, cheese, salsa, sour cream

Wednesday
Breakfast:cold cereal, milk, bananas
Dinner: spinach quiche, sliced veggies, fruit

Thursday
Breakfast:eggs, toast, apple slices
Dinner: Israeli Spice chicken chunks, tabouli, hummus with chips

Friday
Breakfast:zucchini muffins, bananas
Dinner:baked salmon, baked potatoes, steamed veggies

Saturday
Breakfast:cold cereal, milk, bananas
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner:creamed eggs on toast

This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays!

Frugal Fridays: The Summer Salad Edition

As the weather warms up and summer approaches, I am gearing up with a list of "cool" meals to make and serve during those hot hot days.

Today I will share a few of our favorite salad recipes with you. These are hearty enough to serve as a main dish or you can pick several and have a salad buffet. These recipes all use mostly basic pantry ingredients and can utilize leftover fruits and veggies as well as already cooked meats, rice or pasta.

Salads are so wonderful in the summer. They're quick to prepare and you can make them ahead and have them in the refrigerator chilling until you're ready to pull them out and serve.

I usually serve these salads with homemade bread and some fruit.

Beef Pilaf Salad
This is our new favorite. Feel free to substitute the apples and veggies with something else that you have on hand or like better. I always add more rice to make it a bit heartier.

Salad Ingredients: Mix all in large salad bowl.
2 cups thinly sliced or chopped beef sirloin steak or leftover roast
1 (16 oz.) can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 or 2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup canned garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Dressing ingredients: Mix in jar with tight-fitting lid; shake well and pour over salad ingredients. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash of cayenne pepper

Baked Potato Salad

Slice, dice and toss together:
6-8 cups baked potatoes(cooled)
3 hard-boiled eggs(cooled)
3-4 strips cooked bacon
1/8 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup chopped celery

Mix together in separate bowl:
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
Pour over potatoes and mix well. Best if chilled before serving. Makes 6-8 large servings.


Tuna Pasta Salad
Cook a half box (or whole box depending on size of family) of pasta per package instructions and drain. Let cool. Drain a can of tuna or salmon. Even leftover cubed chicken can be used. Chop several different kinds of veggies (tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, cucumbers, etc.) and add to salad bowl with meat. Add some cheese chunks if you'd like. Stir in cooked pasta. Add several spoonfuls of mayonnaise and stir adding until creamy enough to suit you. Season as desired(garlic powder, onion, mustard, chopped pickles, salt, pepper,etc.) and chill before serving.

Need more frugal ideas? Visit Biblical Womanhood!

So Much To Do...So Little Time Part 3

Well, I must say that since I've gotten a few small tasks completed I am much more motivated to continue. Like Amy, there are holes where my clutter has been!

This week I was able to accomplish:

1)Cleaning half of the storage shed. Yeah! We worked for about 2 hours on Saturday at this. I was able to move some things to the shed from the house and put them where they belonged. The next half of the shed will be a little more detailed as we need to sort through pre-marriage boxes of stuff that have just been stored. We need to go through them and toss stuff(or recycle) and then pack the remaining treasures in Rubbermaid-type boxes.

2)Two garbage bags of stuff donated to Goodwill. I've had these things sitting in the office for some time waiting. For tax purposes this year, I'm making a list of everything we donate. So after I went through everything and wrote it all down, off it went!

3)Working in the office: I got the computer desk cleaned and straightened. So much better! The bags for Goodwill were in here too, now they are gone, leaving extra space. I did some general straightening up plus moved some stuff to the storage shed. Just a few minutes each day has made such a difference already.

4)Cleaned out my closet. I finished changing out my winter clothes and replaced the closets and drawers with the summer clothes. I have 2 more bags to go to Goodwill now, but I'll wait until my husband goes through his clothes, since he will no doubt have something to donate as well.:-)I'm making a list of the few things I still need to round out my summer wardrobe plus starting to look for replacements for fall and winter.(My cool weather clothing was looking quite sad this year!)

It's beginning to look a lot more like my house again!

A Little Bit Of Gardening

Even though we are helping our friends with their big garden again this year, I still wanted a few things to pick right outside my own door. I've had basil growing for a while now as well as lettuce in pots. Today I planted some pots of dill and chives as well as some cherry tomatoes and beans in the front flowerbed. We'll see how they grow here! I needed to plant in an area that would be pretty much dog-proof and this was it. I also have some yellow peppers to plant yet.

I wanted my own fresh dill to use for more homemade pickles this year!

The little ones also did some gardening of their own!


What have you planted this year? Or depending on where you're from, what do you plan to grow?

For Mom, From Toddler

This is what I helped the little ones make for their mothers this Mother's Day.

It's sometimes difficult to come up with gifts for toddlers to make that don't look like a craft that the adult created while the child looked on!

This is easy, easy. But when it comes to squirmy one year olds, simple is always better!

These pictures can be made by any age child, and are an excellent choice if you have little ones. I used card stock and Crayola finger paints, letting one color of hand prints dry before using the second color. These could be made with all sorts of variations and can easily be adapted for Father's Day. Just be sure you write Dad instead of Mom!! hahaha

Keeping it simple,I mounted each picture on a coordinating color of paper. It's either ready to frame or can be placed in a scrapbook for safe-keeping!

Menu Planning Calendar

I love this monthly menu planning calendar from The Family Homestead. I've used different menu plan forms in the past and I think this is my favorite. It's so neat, light enough on graphics that it's quick to print and I can see at a glance what we've been eating for a month. This clears up my refrigerator from the scraps of paper I was currently using for menu plans.

I usually plan my menus only 2 weeks in advance to coordinate with my shopping times. Saving these menus will end up being a menu-planning time-saver later, though!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we're eating for dinner this week. I'm also getting back on the band wagon and planning breakfasts again. I had gotten lax on this and we just haven't had much variety at all, just whatever I could cook up (literally) at the last minute. Weekday lunches are usually leftovers.

Sunday
Breakfast-strawberry-banana oatmeal wheat germ pancakes
Lunch-potluck style with church family; I'm taking broccoli with cheese sauce.
Dinner-tuna melts

Monday
Breakfast- zucchini-banana bread, homemade yogurt
Dinner-Roast Beef with potatoes and carrots in Crockpot, homemade wheat rolls, salad

Tuesday
Breakfast- oatmeal with dried fruit
Dinner-Beef Stroganoff over egg noodles, salad

Wednesday
Breakfast- eggs & toast, bananas
Dinner-Beef Pilaf Salad, homemade wheat rolls, apple slices

Thursday
Breakfast-s.b.o.w.g. pancakes, fresh pineapple
Dinner-Chicken & Veggie Biscuit Bake

Friday
Breakfast- cream of wheat, bananas
Dinner-Baked Salmon, brown rice, steamed veggies

Saturday
Breakfast-cold cereal, bananas
Lunch & Dinner- We'll be visiting family.

For more menu planning inspiration, please visit I'm an organizing junkie!

Am I The Only One Who Didn't Know This?

Blogger now has a new feature that allows scheduling posts for the future. I discovered it quite by accident the other day when I had the wrong time on the post. Since then, I've played with it and plan to use it a lot!

Then I read this announcement on Blogger news today and realized this is new since last week. Yeah!

It will be so awesome to be able to get a bunch of posts ready and have them automatically post at a scheduled time. The above link gives specific instructions on how this works.

Way to go, Blogger!

What I Look For At Yard Sales

'Tis the season! The season of yard sales that is. You will find us up and ready to go early, at least two Saturday mornings each month. We love hunting for good deals and have found lots of great stuff already this year!

Even though I love going to these sales, I am very choosy as to what I bring home.I treat a yard sale much as I would a store- Would I pay full price for this? Is it really what I want? Can I make it work until I find something better? The answer to the first question is almost always a no, because I don't often pay full price for anything!haha

I keep a list, sometimes written but mostly mental, as to what I am looking for. I will share that here for fun. Please share the types of things you often look for when at yard sales or thrift stores!

This list is not in any particular order of importance.

1.Tupperware storage containers. Especially the larger Modular Mates.

2. Canning supplies. Real canning jars, canners, Foley Mill, etc. I have already found most of what I need and can store in this department, but always look just in case.Estate sales are the best place for this.

3. Children's supplies. Toys, equipment, consumable art supplies,books. This summer, I'm mainly looking for classic little boy toys that will replace the more babyish toys and that will grow with the toddlers. I pretty much have all the equipment that I need right now.

4. Sports memorabilia. My husband's category! He has successfully e bayed some of his finds and kept a few for himself. He knows what he's looking for in this area.

5. CD's. Again, my musician husband's arena!

6. Videos,DVD's and books. VHS tapes are often cheaper than renting a movie. We keep it if it's one we want in our library. If not, we pass it along to someone else. We've found brand-new wrapped DVD's for a song because they were duplicate Christmas or birthday gifts. Books are usually pretty cheap, so I always look through them and see if there's a title I might enjoy. Like movies, we pass books along if we don't want to keep them.

7.Fabric and sewing supplies. There are enough non-sewers around that these items can be gotten for quite cheap. I look for specific types of fabrics and trims. Clothing, sheets and curtains are also fabric options. I have saved a lot of money by buying sewing stuff used instead of new!

8. Kitchen items. I love nice dishes! Currently my space is limited but every so often I find a piece that I know I will use. Bread pans of a certain size and shape always appeal to me. Also Pyrex dishes and storage jars.

9. Linens. I have a real weakness for table cloths and napkins. When we were first married, I found 4 or 5 table cloths that matched my decor in 2 weeks time! After that, I put myself on a tablecloth fast. Now some of those are stained so I'm once again free to purchase a few! Vintage styles are especially appealing to me. I have way too many cloth napkins so I'm not buying those right now. :-0

10. Clothing. Only if it's something I'm looking for. I hate looking through piles of clothes. Same as at thrift stores where I hate pawing through all the racks of clothing unless looking for a specific item. Last week, I found shoes and my husband found a couple of shirts that we needed. I am not against wearing used clothing; there's just something about rooting through piles of clothes that annoys me. Hopefully, I'll get over this when we have kids...

11. Furniture. These items often are gone first at sales since lots of people are looking for furniture. Great deals can be found though, especially if you are willing to paint or slipcover. We've found wonderful bargains this way!

12. Decorative items. I love baskets, especially square or rectangular shapes. Also picnic-type baskets. Wall art is something I always look at. I don't do many knick knacks in my home so I usually pass those by.

13. Miscellaneous items. Stuff that gets used up like envelopes, cards, stickers, paper. Even items like candles, bath gel, lotion. Often these are brand-new containers. I got a new bottle of the facial moisturizer that I use for 25 cents vs. close to $5 in the store. A locally made jar candle was found in the FREE box a couple of weeks ago.

Your turn. What sort of things are you hoping to snap up at yard sales this summer?

So Much To Do...So Little Time Part 2

My progress for this week:

1) Created a bill-paying box. Since I don't have a desk to sit at to pay bills and work on finances, I thought it would be efficient to create a box or basket that held all bill and correspondence supplies that I can just take to the dining room table with me and have everything there that I need. This includes my bill-paying notebook, envelopes,address labels, stamps and stamp reorder forms, a pad of stationary, small calculator, paper clips and ready-to-mail-birthday cards. It's all together so no more needing something and realizing that little one is sleeping and I'll just have to wait! Eventually, I would like to find a permanent spot for this box in the dining room but I'll need to work on that!

2)Rearranged the living room and spray painted a shelf and picture frame. Both are hung now and look great!(Pictures and post to come on that.)We keep acquiring new furniture and I think I've finally found an arrangement that I really like and is more kid-safe. Things are looking more together now and that makes me feel good!:-)

3)Scanned through my cookbook shelf and found a few cookbooks that I can get rid of. I love to cook as you can tell by the high amount of cooking and kitchen posts you see here. I also like to read cookbooks for inspiration and have accumulated a nice collection. My goal has been to keep them limited to what fits on the top of my hutch. It was starting to get a little full so I knew I could stand to thin them out. The shelf has a little breathing room now and there's not so much danger of a cookbook avalanche! I'm also working on transferring my favorite recipes from a photo album into a recipe binder that was given to me.

4) Purchased curtain rods for dining room curtains that need to be sewed. Hopefully this will happen soon!

So not much crossed off my office list, but progress nonetheless! I'm hoping to spend an entire Saturday at home(literally, the first in months) this weekend so I plan to work in the office then.

A Date With My Food Processor

Ok, maybe that sounds a bit odd...But this morning, I scheduled time to use my food processor! I do this from time to time when I have a bunch of different things to chop, puree or shred. It is a most wonderful time-saver and servant!

A food processor is a wonderful tool but also can be a pain to get out and then wash after every little chore. So when I use it, I try to think of everything I need to do while it's out. I wipe or rinse it out between foods and then just wash it all when I'm finished.

Today, in a very short time, I pureed strawberries and bananas for a week's worth of daily green smoothies(my blender needs to be replaced so I'm improvising!), then shredded a head of cabbage, a bunch of carrots and 2 blocks of cheese.

Meal prep is a cinch when a lot of the prep work is done already!

So Much To Do...So Little Time! Part 1

I've been rather overwhelmed lately with all there is to be done around my home. The clutter is piling up, spring cleaning has hardly even been started, the clothes need to be sorted out and changed for the warm months ahead, the storage shed needs to be cleaned out(so I can move the clutter from the house out there!). Painting, sewing,decorating, organizing...there's so many things!

I do well with my daily routine-cooking meals, general cleaning and the like. It's the little extras that continually crop up that get me!

Yesterday, I sat down and made a small list for tackling the clutter since that's the thing that bothers me the most.

An "all or nothing" person, I can easily get overwhelmed and stressed because I try to do everything all at once. Sometimes a small bite here or there is the better choice of action. I am having to learn that!

The rooms that are the worst right now are where my childcare kids sleep, so I can't get to these things during nap time, like I would normally do! Ideally, I should try to do these tasks first thing in the morning before they arrive!

I started with a list for the office, since it needs the most immediate attention. My issue with this room is that it needs to serve so many purposes. It is the main storage area so I end up tossing everything that doesn't have a home elsewhere into the office. You can imagine how chaotic that gets after a while! This room houses the computer, filing cabinets,all office supplies, musical instruments and amps, kid's supplies, sewing and craft supplies,special occasion dishes and all manner of anything else that needs a place.:-) One of the babies I care for sleeps in there, so there is also a crib and a small chest for his things.

I have large bookshelves on one wall which keeps most things within reach or out of reach, depending who you are-haha! The sewing stuff is fairly organized so I don't really need to do much there. It's the other shelves that need the most attention.

Here are a few things I listed for the office(my notes are in italics):
-Replace the small shelf with large bookshelf for extra storage.
Until last year, I had 3 large shelves then we did a furniture switch-a-roo and moved the matching ones to the living room. I ended up with only 2 large and 1 small bookshelf for the office. Big Lots has the put-together shelves like the others I have for $30. I just need to go get one!

-Replace the 2 small filing cabinets with one large filing cabinet. This will make a huge difference in space! I'm looking for one of these used since the new ones I've found so far are a little out of our price range for the time-being.

-Box up extra toys and take them to toy bin in shed.
I got this done this morning! I also boxed up some toys that belong to one of the kids that they aren't playing with here anymore and will send those home tonight.


-Get box of Ebay items ready to list and sell.

-Create bill-paying box/basket.

-Clear off computer desk.

-Weed out papers and STUFF! I did this last year but obviously, it has gotten out of hand again!

-Organize kid's art supplies and manipulatives.I worked on this for a few minutes this morning, but am still not satisfied with it.

I think if I work on these things a few minutes at a time, 3-5 days a week, I should be able to get some things crossed off my list as well as making my home a little more of a haven!

I'll be blogging about my progress probably once a week or so. Feel free to join in on the fun and leave comments sharing your best tips for keeping up with all these little tasks as well as what projects you are working on!

The $5 Chair

Ever since our couch broke last year, we've had our eyes open for replacement furniture. We still had a love seat and a rocker so we weren't sitting on the floor or anything. And we could bring in the dining room chairs for guests.

But I still thought it would be nice if we had some more comfy seating in the living room. And I prayed that God would provide furniture for us either by us saving up the money to buy something new or used or by giving us something that needed a new home.

We went to a yard sale a couple of weeks ago and found a nice armchair for $5! And they even delivered it for us. Wow! It's not that extra beautiful but cute in a 1950's way and in great shape. An afghan draped over it helps its looks tremendously.

That same week a friend offered us his futon. In our quest for furniture, we had decided that if we were to buy something, we would like to have a futon to serve double duty as a couch and a guest bed as we don't have a guest room.

This friend had stopped in on his way through town and as he was leaving, I remarked that perhaps next time he came we would have a futon so he could spend the night. He stopped and asked, "Are you looking for a futon? I have one that I am planning to get rid of. I'd love for you to have it."

What an answer to prayer! I am praising God for these reminders that He cares and wants to provide for us! He is our Source.

Has God answered a prayer in a special way recently? Please share how He has provided for your family!

Menu Plan Monday

We were away this weekend so I missed my scheduled bi-monthly grocery shopping. Oh well! I scratched together a menu using what I have on hand and it doesn't look too bad or really much different than other weeks. LOL! I am relying on frozen veggies and a big bag of organic carrots I have in the fridge for my veggie supply this week. We'll make do and sometime this week I'll get out to stock back up!

Monday-BBQ Meatballs*, baked brown rice, veggie

Tuesday-Spinach quiche*, carrot sticks, muffins

Wednesday-chicken, veggie and rice stir fry/ skillet dish

Thursday-Israeli Spice chicken legs, falafel, veggie

Friday-attending a wedding

Saturday-waffles, sausage and hopefully some fruit by then too!

All freezer meals are marked with an *.

Breakfasts will be whatever I can scrounge up- frozen pancakes, oatmeal, whole-grain toast, maybe some eggs!

Lunches will be leftovers.

For more menu planning inspiration, please visit I'm an organizing junkie!

Baked Brown Rice

This is my new favorite way to cook brown rice. I read about how to do this in the comments of one of Tammy's posts.

This is the easiest way to cook brown rice and it turns out so fluffy!

Put 2 1/2 cups of rice and 5 cups water in a greased casserole dish. (I used a 9 x 13.)Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until rice is done.

This is great to put in with chicken or something that has to bake for awhile. If the oven is heated up anyways, I might as well cook more than one thing at a time. I am just lazy (or efficient) that way.

This makes a good amount of rice for a nice-sized family. I'm sure you could adjust the amounts down accordingly,(1 part rice to 2 parts water) although I haven't tried it. I make the whole amount and then use the cooked rice for other dishes throughout the week. Cooked rice can also be frozen to be used for recipes later.

Making Your Home A Haven: Anti-Procrastination

When I read Crystal's post declaring that today was Anti-Procrastination Day, I knew exactly what to do.

Plant my azaleas.

We bought 3 azalea plants for our front flowerbed about a month ago. And I still hadn't planted them! Sure, it has rained every weekend since then, but the real reason I kept putting it off was that I really dislike getting that flowerbed ready to plant in each spring. It seems like it is always so hard to hoe and weed.

Isn't it amazing that the things we keep putting off really turn out to rather quick and easy jobs after all?

This took me all of about 20 minutes. The ground was easy to hoe up and dig in, thanks to all the rain we've been getting, I'm sure! Those plants were popped into the ground and I was back inside in no time at all!

To read more inspiring Anti-Procrastination posts, please visit Biblical Womanhood!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we're eating this week.

Sunday: Lunch-We eat potluck-style with our church family. This week I made corn muffins and biscuits.
Dinner: popcorn

Monday:Honey-Mustard Chicken, Baked brown rice, steamed carrots, leftover biscuits

Tuesday:Split Pea Soup with ham bone, cut-up veggies, applesauce

Wednesday: Sausage and Pepper Stir-fry with rice

Thursday: Macaroni and cheese with green peas

Friday: Tuna sandwiches, veggies, cookies

Saturday: eat out

Breakfasts will be: muffins and grapefruit; eggs and biscuits;oatmeal and grapefruit; cold cereal and grapefruit;pancakes.

Lunches are generally leftovers, sandwiches or salads.

For more menu planning inspiration, please visit I'm an organizing junkie!

Pardon The Dust

I've been cleaning, rearranging and decluttering the blog lately, so just bear with me. It'll be awhile. :-)I've been going through my archives, relabeling posts and deleting others to freshen things up a bit.

Since I've started doing this, all of a sudden I'm getting new comments on some of those old posts that I was getting ready to delete! Is that a hoot or what?

So if you see something one day and it's not there the next, you'll know you're not losing your mind!:-)

Cooking Chicken In The Crockpot

While browsing my favorite Crockpot recipe book the other day, I came across the directions for cooking chicken to use for casseroles, soups, etc.

This was the easiest and most wonderful way to cook chicken to put in the freezer! I can't believe that I've never done this before.

The original directions say to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I used bone-in split chicken breasts instead, since they were on sale for $.78 a pound last week. Skinless and boneless is, of course, the easiest way, but even with a few bones and skin, this was still easy, very doable and not too gross!

I had about 6-7 pounds of the chicken and the pieces were large so I cooked it in two different sessions. In the end, I had 12 cups of cubed, cooked chicken and 12 cups of homemade broth, both of which I froze in 2 cup portions.

The directions:

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4 cups water( I added a bit more.)
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried bay leaf( I just crushed one bay leaf and used that.)
1 tablespoon dried minced onion(I used fresh.)

Place all ingredients in 4 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 3-4 hours or on low heat 6-8 hours. Remove chicken from water. Shred or chop chicken to use in casseroles or other dishes. Chicken can be frozen in individual freezer bags for easy use later.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's this week's menu.Most meals are served with a salad and/or veggie.

Sunday: Lunch- We eat potluck style with our church fellowship. I took Crockpot Lasagna, French bread* and some chocolate chip cookies this week.
Dinner- leftover homemade pizza from Saturday

Monday:Spaghetti and Meatballs*

Tuesday: Pinto beans, tortillas*, salsa, sour cream and cheese

Wednesday: Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry on rice

Thursday: Spinach Quiche

Friday: Baked salmon, Garlic-Butter Pasta

Saturday: Egg casserole*

*indicates prepared items in the freezer

Enough Water

It seems to always be a struggle for me to be sure that I drink enough water each day. I think I'm drinking plenty until I start keeping track and I realize I'm not drinking nearly enough!

Recently I read an excellent article in the latest Beeyoutiful magazine on the benefits of drinking plenty of pure water. The article suggested filling 3 quart jars each day and being sure to drink each one as an easy way to make sure you are drinking your fill.(Change the amount of water based on weight and personal needs.)

That sounded easy enough. Mason jars are fairly plentiful in my house as well as lids to keep the water from spilling everywhere! And glass is so much better to drink from than plastic.

So now I fill 3 jars every morning and set them in the refrigerator. I keep one out where I can see it and be reminded to drink my water often. This has worked wonderfully for me!

Fresh Biscuits From The Freezer

After trying Pillsbury's frozen biscuits, I really wanted to try freezing my own homemade biscuits for my own homemade convenience food!

About a year later, I have finally gotten around to trying this and it worked! It's so easy to simply make a batch or two extra when I'm making biscuits anyways and freeze the extras. They are wonderful to have ready for a quick addition to a meal.

I will include my favorite biscuit recipe here if you need a recipe to try. You can try using your own favorite recipe as well.

What I did was mix, roll out and cut the biscuit dough as usual. Instead of baking right away, I placed each unbaked biscuit on a wax paper-lined pan.

I covered it and let it freeze until solid. Then I transferred the biscuits to a ziploc bag with baking instructions printed on.

To bake, remove from freezer(heehee)and place on baking sheet. Let come to room temperature and then bake as directed. I tried putting them in the oven completely frozen but,in my opinion, they didn't bake as well that way(burnt on the bottom and doughy on the inside).

We love these!

Here's our favorite biscuit recipe compliments of my mom who has made these for years!

Mom's Cloud Biscuits
2 cups flour(I use unbleached white flour)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter until crumbs are coarse. Combine egg and milk. Add to other mixture all at once. Stir with fork until dough follows fork. Turn out on floured board and knead 20 strokes. Roll out to 3/4" thick. Cut out with cutter.( We've always used the top of a drinking glass that's been dipped in a little flour!)Bake on ungreased sheet at 450 degrees for 10-14 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Serve warm with butter and honey or gravy or strawberries and whipped cream!

Our Pet Rock

This has got to be the cutest Rock we have ever seen. He joined our family on New Year's Day and life hasn't been the same since!

Our friends found him abandoned by their house right before Christmas and never received any calls or responses to the fliers they distributed so we decided to bring him home and call him ours!

We named him Rachmaninov(we're musical people around here)but call him Rock for short. It's easier to say in a hurry and he is a very strong and stout not so little pup. He 's about 8 months old now and weighs over 50 pounds already! He is a Lab/Staffordshire terrier mix. As well as some pit bull mixed in for fun!

He's got a great personality-quite easy going and loves kids. His hobbies include eating everything that's offered, sleeping in the sun and wrapping his cable in, around and through trees in our backyard.

We love our little fur-baby!

*This picture was taken days after we got Rock when he was around 5 months and only 35 pounds.