Bread Maker and Life

I borrowed a bread maker from a friend to see if I would possibly want to get one for my birthday.
I used my recipe for gf bread and it turned out amazing. Instead of following all of the details of the recipe, I simply put together all of the wet ingredients and sugar. Then I mix all the dry ingredients except yeast. In the baking pan I put the wet ingredients in first, cover it with the dry then, I make a shallow well and put the yeast in it and make sure it doesn't get wet. Press start and let it do what it does.  So easy and quick. In fact, I am going to use the timer mode and make bread to be ready in the morning! I am pretty excited.
Plus a loaf of really tasty gf bread store bought is about $6 and this costs me about $2 a loaf.
So now that I told you what I am up today, I should probably fill you in on life in general.
It has been a long, tiring and stressful nine months since starting work full time. I feel like I have had a baby.
I am tired, out of shape and feel like I have had the life sucked out of me.
The restaurant, my baby, is doing well. I finally feel like it is doing what it should be doing. The staff is great and improving constantly. We are doing wine education and everyone is really putting the effort forward to learn. Sales are up and the regulars are coming in more frequently too.
The other great news is I finally have two days off in a row! I have been working six to seven days a week for the the last 39 weeks. I now have Sunday and Monday off. I almost don't know what to do.....almost.
I am enjoying Sunday with my family and doing a few errands. Mondays after I drop Kira off at school, Enzo and I are going to have a breakfast date. He is excited and so am I.
I am planning on getting rest and enjoying my time with my family and making an effort to do more things for them and with them.
Speaking of rest, goodnight!

Goodwill Treasure

Last Saturday I went to Goodwill to look for some work shirts.

I hit the jackpot!!

I got this 3/4 sleeve sweater for $3.95

This little number is of course my favorite color

it is a little big, but I am planning moving the buttons

over on each side about an inch

and it should cinch the waist a little more.

again just $3.95

This jewel, literally, jewel tone SILK top

from Banana Republic is perfect!

oh yeah you guessed it 

$3.95 

Last but not least,

children's clothing was 1/2 price.

I was looking for a nice warm jacket for Kira when we go to Alaska

Gap Kids

Bingo

totally reversible and has down filler!

Regular price $10

but I got it for $5!

I found L.L. Bean insulated rain boots for Enzo $10 and Stride Rite ones for Kira $15.

They were not on sale but next Saturday all shoes are half price.

So looks like I will be hitting it up on the 24th.

They have a whole month calendar with all of the discounts on each day!

Sweet

#9 on the List, Done!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

On my list I was going to make a nursing cover for my friends baby shower. Well, I had fun and I went a little over board. This is the first bib that I have ever made....so easy and I do not know why I have not made them before!
She is having a boy and had lime green, brown and white polka dots on the invite.

I made the nursing cover with brown and light blue bubble dots

Two burp cloths with brown and white polka dots

Reversible bib with a snap and yes, those are little skulls and cross bones, so cute.

I also made a drawstring bag from this easy tutorial

It is my gift bag with all the goodies inside

Broiled Polenta and Mushroom Ragout

 I am always searching google for frugal vegatarian meals and this one popped up the other day. I love polenta and I love mushrooms, so I had to try it and I am so glad I did. I am adding this to my menu plan queue. Enzo ate three helpings and about five polenta sticks. Kira actually ate all of her mushrooms and tred the polenta. Still not crazy about polenta but ate three bites of it.

Broiled Polenta
Ingredients
6 1/2 cups cold water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
I sprayed the baking sheet with olive oil so it would not stick
parchment paper

Directions:
Bring 6 1/2 cups cold water with salt to boil and slowly add cornmeal in a stream in a large pot. Whisking quickly the whole time. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Keep stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon because it will bubble and can splatter causing burns. Continue until polenta begins to pull away from side of pot.

Pour polenta into baking pan covered with parchment paper, using a warm cup of water dip your wooden spoon and then spread evenly.

 Let pan cool on a rack until polenta is lukewarm about 20 minutes.

Spray olive oil on a different baking sheet and invert first baking pan onto sheet to unmold.

Preheat broiler 

Broil about 4 inches from heat until pale golden, 10-20 minutes. Check every five minutes to ensure you do not burn.  Cool 5 minutes, then cut into 3- by 1 1/2-inch sticks.

Mushroom Ragout

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

3-4 packages (24-32 oz) white or cremini mushrooms, quartered

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tsp crushed dried rosemary

Mary-Ann's Seasoning salt

4 Tbs tomato paste

2 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 cups water

Directions

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and salt and pepper cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and add seasoning salt. Cover and cook until mushrooms release their juices, about 10 minutes.

Uncover pan and cook on high, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated about 5-10 minutes. Then cook mushrooms until brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add rosemary, tomato paste and water. Simmer until sauce has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in vinegar.

Serve over polenta. Enjoy.

 

Menu Plan

It has been some time since I last posted menu ideas.
Especially since we have gone plant based/vegan, I thought I would share some frugal, vegan and gluten free recipes. Say that ten times fast. Since we do not buy meat my grocery bill is so much lower. We get ample protein from our greens, legumes and nuts.
So here I go:

Sunday
Chili and Cornbread and Salad
without meat

Monday
Red Beans and Rice and Salad

Tuesday
Broiled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout
without goat cheese
and Broccoli

Wednesday
Nutty Noodles with Veggies

Thursday
Baked Potatoes w/ Chili and Salad

Friday
Tomato and Garlic Pasta and Salad

Saturday
Cornbread Waffles or Leftovers


On Sunday afternoon I soaked a pound of pink beans and a pound of kidney beans together. Then split them into two pots and cooked them. One pot for chili with garlic, bell pepper, salt and onion. The other pot with onions, garlic, celery, bay leaves, bell pepper and salt. I made two dinners in one night. Then on Monday night I put the beans on and warmed them up while rice was cooking. I loved the combo of pink and kidney beans. I am excited to try the two new recipes I showed and I will report back to you.

Summertime Plans

 With summer coming up I was wondering what everyone is planning or not planning to do. I love getting ideas for the kids and keeping them busy and enjoying the weather.

I am excited about three major things happening this summer

#1 My sister and her family are arriving on Saturday from New Zealand!!!! They are staying for eight weeks!

#2 We are ALL, twenty of us, going to Disneyland and Club 33 on Fourth of July

#3 We are ALL,  twenty five of us, going on an Alaskan Cruise at the end of July for a week

These are all very exciting events that we are counting down to. This morning Kira asked when NZ cousins were going to be here again and I thought why not make a calendar for the summer and show all of our events. That will be the craft of the day.

With my new job I needed to find a babysitter for the kids for a couple hours during the week when I have to leave early and Eric is not home yet. Through our church I was connected with two gals who are both staying the summer here. One gal came yesterday while I had computer training at the restaurant. The kids LOVED her! It was so nice walking up to the house and watching them playing Simon Says on the lawn. She told me "your kids are really good" with a huge smile. I love hearing that especially with someone new! Then when she left Kira asked if she was going to come back the next time I went to work. It is always good to have a sitter that both the kids and parents like! And she did not break the bank!

So the other plan I have for the summer is swim lessons. Since I was on the swim team in high school and love to swim, I thought why pay someone to teach my kids how to swim when I can. I asked our new favorite gal if she would be willing to join us at the pool once or twice a week while I teach one kid and she can watch the other. This will be so much cheaper than swim lessons and so rewarding to teach them one more thing. She was all about it.

That is what we are doing this summer, what are you up to?

Kira wanted to pose too

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

In my efforts to get the plastic out

I am doing what I can without breaking the bank.

Albertons had bamboo cooking utensils for $1.00 each

I saw them at the checkout.

Normally it is very easy to withstand the temptations of candy bars and magazines.

However when I saw the bamboo utensils on sale I could not resist.

I had just seen the same ones at True Value the week before for $6.00 each.

They may not be the top of the line but they work for now.

One small step

it is what I am working on.

Did you do anything this last week to get the plastic out?

I would love to hear even if it was something small.

One small step is better than nothing.

Mango Salsa and Cilantro-Lime Rice

We have been eating a lot of rice and beans and beans and rice around here. I am trying to make it different and change it up a little. I know they are not the best but we have been eating tostadas with them and it is a fun change. It is definitely a treat and the kids love it! They are journeying out of the normal just beans and are trying new toppings! Kira had lettuce on hers and Enzo had sliced tomatoes on his. Both of them dip them in guacamole.

We went to Chipotle on Friday night with Eric's parents. I had never been there, so it was fun to try something new. I had a bare burrito with vegatarian black beans, cilantro-lime rice, roasted chili-corn salsa, lettuce, and fresh tomato salsa. It was yummy and fairly inexpensive, nothing was over $6. I love new ideas.

Food 4 Less had mangos on sale for $.78 each. I got three and decided it was time for some mango salsa! A true sign summer is coming!

Mango Salsa

2 mangos, peeled and chopped
1 medium jalapeno diced with seeds
2 green onions chopped
juice of one lime
salt to taste
handful of cilantro chopped

Mix all ingredients and chill for about an hour for more flavor. You can make it the day before and it will be spicier. *Blend a little if you want it less chunky.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

2-3 cups of cooked rice
juice of one lime
handful of cilantro finely chopped
salt to taste
1 lime sliced
Mix all ingredients together in a dish and serve with one lime slice on the side.

Clockwise: Refried beans, guacamole, tostadas, limes, mango salsa, cilantro, cilantro-lime rice, and non-jalapeno mango salsa. Those are napkins I made from $2.50 a yard fabric, red and white gingham and orange and white gingham. So fun and easy, I ran them through the serger and made ten of them in less than an hour.

So for dinner I decided to put everything on the table, instead of on the stovetop. I find I am constantly getting up and fixing more food for the kids and I do not get to sit. It was only a few extra dishes but TOTALLY worth it! I was able to sit the entire time for dinner. I am doing this every night if I can.

Weekend Links

Since I decided to run a half marathon my weekends are going to be more full with the addition of long runs. In order not to be on the computer while my hubby is home and spend more family time I am going to do some links of what I have been reading throughout the week. Hope it is fun for you and find so cool new stuff.
Have a fabulous weekend!

Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen by Kitchen Stewardship

Beautiful Skirt and bag made by a talented young lady at SimpleVintagegirl
I love her blog it is full of God's beauty, pure and youthful.

Strawberry Freezer Jam made without sugar at Simple Organic

The most adorable swimsuits for her girls at Angry Chicken

Ruth gives 12 Random Tips of Style/Fashion over at GraceLaced

Enjoy

Deal of the Century!

How much do Bob Double Joggers normally go for? New about $400-$600, right?

Guess how much I got this used one off Craigslist?

It is a little sun faded and needs new straps which I can sew myself and already have the material?
Just guess



.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$25 dollars! Yep that is right $25 dollars, no typo. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 dollars.

And I call that the deal of the century! I can sell my old jogger for at least $40 so there is even a profit going on.

Veggie Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries and Salad

From the top clockwise: Roasted Corn Salad, Sweet Potato Fries and Veggie burger on Spinach with grilled onions

So my goal right now is to write about what we are eating and how to have a plant based diet that is delicious and full of flavor and variety. Also to do this as frugal as possible without spending a fortune and without being a slave to the kitchen too. So for dinner last night we had Veggie Burgers, Roasted Corn, Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Salad and Sweet Potato Fries


Veggie Burgers
14 oz Organic Tofu-Extra Firm-$2.68
1 c Brown Rice cooked-$.25
1/2 Onion-$.25
1Tb Yeast
1/3 c Brown Rice Flour-$.20
1 tsp Herb Salt
1/2 tsp Seasoning Salt
Total $3.38

Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In your blender or food processor add onion, tofu, and brown rice. Mix on low to medium until fairly mixed. Don't blend to much. Put mixture in a bowl and combine all other ingredients. Mix with a spatula/wooden spoon well. Using a 1/3 measuring cup scoop out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper on it. Makes about 10-12 patties. Bake for 40 minutes turning once after 20 minutes. I like our veggie burgers a little on the crispier side so I cook them a little longer and eye ball the color.

I topped the burgers with grilled onions, spinach and avocado
1/2 Onion sliced-$.25
3/4 c Spinach-$.50
1 ripe avocado-$.50
Total $1.25
We do not use buns as they are expensive to buy GF ones. I guess you could say we eat them "protein style".

Once your burgers are in the oven slice up your sweet potatoes for oven fries.
I use the thick slice side of my cheese grater. I have three slices on one side and it makes them really thin and they cook evenly.

I usually use three medium sized sweet potatoes-$1.19. Now on a separate baking sheet with parchment paper lay down sweet potato slices evenly. The parchment paper really keeps them from sticking without using oil. You can use regular potatoes or yams too.

I bake them for about 20-30 minutes turning them once. If you like them crispier bake longer.

Once they are cooked I place them in a large bowl and and drizzle about 1 Tb of Olive oil and season with seasoning salt. Now the seasoning salt I use has a sea salt, pepper, paprika and a little nutmeg. It is so good. If you don't have something like it just add a dash of nutmeg to them, and I mean a dash, not too much. So tasty!

Roasted Corn, Red Bell Pepper and Broccoli Salad

1/2 Bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn $1.15
1/2 Red Bell Peppers diced $.99
1 Broccoli crown (1 cup) chopped $.50
1 Green onions chopped $.10
Olive oil
Juice from one lemon
Mary-Ann's Seasoning salt to taste
Mary-Ann's Herb salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and serve when corn is thawed
Or keep it in your refrigerator and and snack on it, just add a little olive oil each time to your portion to refresh it. Serving size about 1 cup and serves 4
Total $2.74


Burgers- $3.38
Toppings -$1.25
Fries-$1.19
Salad-$2.74
Total $8.24

Per Person $2.14

You definitely can not get out of a Mother's Market or Whole Foods for that let alone McDonald's and this is a boat load better for you. I usually have leftover salad and eat it for lunch the next day. These burgers are really good chopped up and put on a salad too. They freeze nicely also.

Day 26

Today we had so much fun. It was a lazy morning but ended up a full day. We went to cousins house to play. They play so well together. I love it when you know your kids can play in the other room with kids and not have to worry what they are doing. We would peek in and see them getting along so well. There was not one fight or struggle about any toys or type of play. I love it. We drove home and hit an unusual amount of traffic. We just thought it was after lunch and people were driving back to work. I got a little worse and I decided to take the side streets home instead of the freeway. On the way to the side streets I notice a sign saying the freeway is closed. Okay, maybe they are working on it but how very odd. We get to the secret side streets and we are in a parking lot. It took us almost forty minutes to go 6.5 miles. What is going on? I put on 1070 AM News Radio and after about five minutes they went to traffic. Supposedly, there was a grenade on the one of the lanes of the Southbound 5 Freeway. They closed down both sides of the freeway and had to have a bomb squad come out to diffuse it. CRAZY!!! Luckily it was a dud and no one was hurt but boy oh boy did it effect traffic. The 5 freeway Northbound was a parking lot and my coworker who lives in Encinitas, was suppose to be at work at 4:30 and did not get there until close to 7:30. Oh well.

I worked at the restaurant tonight and had a blast. I am a little tired but feel pretty good considering it was not too busy. But I had fun seeing people and getting looks like, didn't you move? what are you doing here? That is always fun.

Tomorrow morning we are having family over and having a pancake breakfast. I love breakfast, I mean who doesn't love a good pancake. It was free pancake day at IHOP on Tuesday. People like pancakes and I am one of them.

Spending: $40 for babysitting but more of a necessity but my tips will cover that easily.

Menu:

Breakfast:
Smoothie

Snack:
Blueberries, Dried Mango and Rice Crackers

Lunch:
El Pollo Loco BRC Burritoes GF Style*

Dinner:

Tomatoes and Avocado
Leftover Noodles-Kids

Cesear Salad at work- family meal-me
Stirfry leftovers- as late night snack-me

* Uncle Matt treated El Pollo Loco. We ate off the $1 menu and it was a deal
I ordered the BRC Burrito/Bean, Rice and Cheese. But I asked for no cheese and no flour tortilla and corn instead. They put it in the side cup and give you two corn tortillas all for a $1. It takes awhile to explain what I want but they do it for me everytime I have asked. Sweet as deal!

It does not hurt to ask for them to do it what is the worst thing they do, say no.
Signing of with throbbing feet good night.

Day 10

We had a fabulous day. We rotated toys and I brought in all sorts of toys they hadn't played with for a couple weeks. That kept them busy for about an hour while I did a shopping list and dishes. We went to the park. It was a beautiful day. One of my nice neighbors has a great garden and he has been giving me arugula. Today he told me that if I wanted the little garden on one side of the house I could have it with the kids. So sweet.

Eric got home right at five tonight, it is so nice. I made dinner for them and left for Costco, Food 4 Less and Trader Joe's. My little piece of sanity. As I was leaving and told the kids bye and Enzo got so sad. He told me "Okay you go by yourself and I come with you". He wanted to join me so bad. It is so hard sometimes to leave that guy....But I did. Instead of "Calgon take me away" it is more like "Grocery shopping take me away" I need that time to price evaluate things, have just background noise, and meander aimlessly if I want. I did all of that and loved every one of the 120 minutes it took, I was efficient but not fast, on purpose.

I got home to the kids yelling "Momma!!!" and running toward me. I was refreshed, it was bedtime and here I am.
I shopped for groceries for the rest of the month and had some household items too
I budgeted $144 with estimate costs of everything. Went with cash in hand and no straying from the path. Stay on target! Stay on target!

Spending:
Costco $73.41
Food 4 Less $49.95
Trader Joe's $11.96
Total $135.32

I spent $8.68 less than planned. I even got a couple things not on my list.

I get our sun butter and rice noodles at Traders, luckily it is right next to Food 4 Less.
$22.13 went to trash bags, detergent and draino, which I taking back because Eric just cleaned the drain. It was bad, not from me thank goodness. I love that he is willing to do that.

Leaving $113.19 for food.

Total Grocery for the month $182.06
I am not planning on buying any more groceries for the rest of the month. I even planned for my trip. The kids and I are taking the train down on Tuesday the 23rd to Orange County. I am working for someone at the restaurant Friday and Saturday. We are planning on going to Disneyland that Thursday before our annual passes expire. My Uncle Matt might join us and the kids just adore him. So in my planning for my trip I bought Eric specific food while I am gone. I going to make Enchiladas for the Guys for our Tuesday night meal even though I will be gone. I am going to make everything else for Eric ahead of time so that he won't have to think about it. But I got him two frozen pizzas. Only because it was cheap and it will be a treat for him while I am gone.

Menu:

Breakfast:
Cereal and Vanilla soymilk

Snack: Fruit Smoothies
I forgot I had everything to make them.

Lunch:
Turkey Roll-ups and the rest of the smoothies
Arroz Con Pollo Leftover for me

Snack:
raisins
almonds
juice

Dinner:
Yellow and white eggs and tortillas
Yellow and white is our name for poached eggs. Kira came up with it and it stuck.

There is the day. And as I was reading Owlhaven blog about this she stated something that stuck. She was commenting on her title of 30 days of Nothing and noticed that they were not going without nothing and far from it. But more so 30 day of less. So do not be hard on yourself if you are trying this out and feel like you are failing. It is just an exercise in control and appreciation.

I appreciate that we have money to go to the store and buy food. I am so thankful I have a roof over my head. I am thankful I know where my children are. I am thankful I know where my husband is. I am so thankful for the way God PROVIDES everything for myself and our family. We are fortunate to live where we live, drink clean water and do not have to walk miles to get it. The list can go on and on, but I must go to bed and be thankful for it and not sleeping on the floor with bugs and such.
May you be blessed by this and thank God for what you have instead of complaining what we do not have. I type that to remind myself too.

Day 3

"Happy Wind-sday!" I love Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
"It is just a gentle spring zephyr" as Owl says.

Spending: $2.50
We had to go to the bank and we took the bus downtown. $1.25 each way. I used my change, so does that count? :) Of course it counts but it does not feel like it does.

Menu:
Breakfast:
Cold cereal and soy milk
Oatmeal and Coffee (me)

Snack: we missed because we were on the bus.

Lunch:
Bean Burritos with leftover beans from last night.
Tostadas, basically an open faced bean burrito with all the fixins from last night.(me)

Snack:
Popcorn and juice

Dinner:
Poorman's Meal

Oh, does she remind me of my great grandma Marcie, who lived to be 103. She was amazing. She lived through the depression too. I remember watching her make biscuits and after she rolled out the dough and cut it out, she would brush the leftover flour back in the flour bag. Still many years after living through the depression, she still cooked and lived frugally. What an impression she had on me.

She was a fireball. She started drinking coffee at such a young age. She loved her coffee. When she was younger, her and her husband made an agreement. She was not going to drink coffee and my Grampy was not going to chew tobacco. As I remember it a few days went by and they did pretty good. Then one day, he came home and gave her a kiss and she smelled tobacco on his breath. She calmly got up and made a pot of coffee and drank it. He knew and they never talked about it they just continued on in their silent agreement. She drank her coffee and he chewed his tobacco.

Oh! How I love that story. I miss her dearly but will never forget all the stories and sweet memories.

So this gal who does Great Depression Cooking is a little like her with her stories and such. I hope you enjoy her video.

Menu Planning for February

Okay since I am doing 28 days of Nothing I thought I would menu plan the whole month. I planned, wrote out all ingredients, and then wrote a shopping list. I estimated the cost of each item and totaled it to make sure I could get everything on the list and be on budget. I was thinking to myself that someone needs to write a program that takes a recipe and convert it to a shopping list, what a great idea. I found one place. I spent over an hour typing out one recipe. I have never written it down and had to think of what I actually put in it. Only to have wasted that time because their website is lame and does not work. I emailed and told them of the problem and no one has got back to me and it still does not work as of 8:34 pm. So go there goes that idea. Instead I did it all by hand. I wrote down breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks and came out with over five pages of menu type stuff.

Here is what we will be dining on in the next month

Breakfast
Cereal with Soymilk and Banana
Eggs and toast
Oatmeal or Cream of Rice(homemade)

Morning Snack
Ants on a Log (Celery with Sunflower Seed Butter aka Sun Butter and Raisins) Kid's New favorite
Ants on a Canoe (Apple slices with Sun Butter and Raisins) Made that name up:)

Lunch

Kids
Bean Burritos w/ sour cream
Roll-up (Corn Tortillas with Sun Butter)
Grape Tomatoes and Cucumber slices

Eric
1 Tuna Sandwich and 1 PB&J Sandwich
Apple
Tortilla Chips

Keilah
I like eating salad and leftovers from the night before

Afternoon Snack
Popcorn
Raisins and Almonds

Dinner
I usually have theme for each night and modify each week a little
Monday-Asian/Stirfry
Tuesday-Mexican
Wednesday-Soup and Salad
Thursday-Baked Potatoes and Salad
Friday-Pasta
Saturday-Breakfast
Sunday-Leftovers

Here is the whole Month of February
Now I do not totally stick to I HAVE to have Stir fry on Mondays only, if it is easier to do Breakfast or Pasta I do, but I have an outline and stick to those meals.

M-Feb 1-Nutty Noodles and Veggies
T-Feb 2-Potato Flautas w/ Rice and Beans
W-Feb 3-Tomato Soup and Salad
R-Feb 4-Baked Potatoes and Salad
F-Feb 5-Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Salad
S-Feb 6-Poor Man's Meal with Eggs
S-Feb 7-Leftovers
M-Feb 8-Honey Glazed Veggies and Fried Rice
T-Feb 9-Arroz Con Pollo w/ beans
W-Feb 10-Corn Chowder and Salad
R-Feb 11-Baked Potatoes and Salad
F-Feb 12- Pasta with Butter Sauce and Salad
S-Feb 13-***Pizza***
S-Feb 14-Waffles
M-Feb 15-Nutty Noodles and Veggies
T-Feb 16-Tacos w/ Rice and Beans
W-Feb 17-Chili and Cornbread
R-Feb 18-Baked Potatoes and Salad
F-Feb 19-Pasta with Marinara and Salad
S-Feb 20-Pancakes
S-Feb 21-Leftovers
M-Feb 22-Garlic Veggies and Fried Rice
T-Feb 23-Enchiladas w/ Rice and Beans
W-Feb 24-Corn Chowder and Salad
R-Feb 25-Baked Potatoes and Salad
F-Feb 26-Pizza and Salad
S-Feb 27-Waffles
S-Feb 28-Leftovers

***Pizza*** Our church is having a Parents Night out and are watching the kids from 5:30-8:00 and they are feeding the kids pizza. So that Kira and Enzo will not feel left out I am making GF pizza for them. For $4 we have childcare for three hours. We can have a date. I am going to pack a picnic basket of something special. Details of that will come later :)

Whoa! I am tired just typing this out. But I did the grocery list and shopped for two of the four weeks today and I have to say I am under budget sweet.
I spent $59.05 at Costco
$10.95 at Trader Joe's
$ 8.91 at Food 4 Less
________________
Total $78.91
Budget $80.00 for two weeks
Diff $ 1.09


I am excited for this next month. My pantry is fairly stocked, Car is full of gas and we should get our deposit back too from the other house.

Here is my plan for the month.

-Avoid shopping as much as possible, and then only for essentials.

-Not eating out, this will not be hard for me, I am getting used to not eating out. We do eat at Costco occasionally for the yummy hot dogs w/o buns for $1.50 with a drink for the bubba and Kira and I usually share the Turkey Wrap w/o the wrap. Twice a month this happens. So I am going to try to go to Costco by myself and forgo any eating out, sneaky but I think it will work.

-Drive only when we have to, this should not be hard being walking distance from the store and a wonderful bus system.

–Sort through our excess unused stuff and put things on Ebay and Craigslist

-Main goal to save up our $1000 emergency fund through not spending and selling things too. I think it is a pretty big goal but I am aiming for the stars and will be happy if I hit the moon.

I will most definitely be praying through this too that it would change my attitude all together.

Chili and Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

We started having our neighbors over on Tuesday night for dinner. They are two bachelors who do not cook. I have been so blessed by cooking for them. I love entertaining even if it casual. I love feeding people. Especially easy, inexpensive, tasty meals. They are so appreciative and gobble it up. I love it!

Yesterday after Eric so beautifully built our new shelving in the garage( I am so thankful I have a handy husband). I scooted up to the pink house and cleaned and painted for final walk through, that is a whole other topic. I had soaked pink beans overnight and cooked them in the morning while I was home. I thought it would take two hours max, three hours later of cleaning and painting I was done and home only to find the guys were just walking in the door as I was. I knew what I was cooking but I needed to be quick.

I had planned Chili and Cornbread Muffins, what guy doesn't like that? I had made a pound of pink beans and took out half and froze it and used the rest.
I hurried up and made it in about a half hour while the kids and them hung out and talked. I used leftover taco meat/ground beef so that was easy and less cooking.
I usually use turkey but 90/10 beef was on sale.

Chili
14-16oz cooked pink beans
1 1/2 cups cooked ground beef
1/2 onion
1 green bell pepper
14 oz crushed tomatoes
14 oz diced tomatoes
cumin
garlic
salt
pepper

In a stock pot add beans, meat, tomatoes over medium heat. In a separate skillet add onions and bell pepper and cook for about five minutes over medium-high heat. (I did this last night because I needed it to cook fast.) Add onion and pepper mixture to stock pot and simmer until hot, about five-ten minutes. Add garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. For those of you who need measurements, I probably use about 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic and literally salt and pepper to taste.
One more step if you like, I blend half of the chili and it gives it a nice texture of chunky and smooth.

I usually under season so that it is not too spicy for the kids and then Eric and I season our own bowls to our liking.
I made the chili while the cornbread muffins baked.

Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins

1 1/2 cup Yellow Corn meal
1 cup Rice Flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl

Then in a small bowl combine

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pour liquid ingredients into the dry mixture. Mix until just blended. Let sit for five minutes.
Spoon in batter to greased/papered muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
or until tops are golden brown. Serve immediately with honey butter. Yields 12 muffins.


I used soy milk instead of buttermilk and it turns out fine if you are in a pinch without buttermilk.
You can make your own buttermilk with 1 Tb of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup then fill with milk to make one cup.
Let stand for five minutes and you are set with buttermilk

I usually make vegetarian chili because meat is expensive.

Going No Shampoo

Okay I have tried and failed before but now I am really serious. It has six weeks since I used shampoo on my hair. "Gross" some may say, but I am doing it. I knew there was a transition period of a few weeks but nothing like I have gone through. I was starting to get frustrated and I almost went back to my shampoo. But last night I had a revelation. It is the hard water! I read another gal's blog about going no poo as people call it. She was having the same issue but noticed when she stayed at a hotel her hair was soft and shiny. So she realized it was the hard water. Thank you, thank you. I used her method last night and my hair is almost perfect. I think I need more solution because my hair is sooo thick.

Here it is for you hard water folks

Boil 1 quart of water
Add 1/4 of Baking Soda (now be careful because I did not think about it and it overflowed on me, so pour in slowly)
Mix and let cool
Put it in a squeeze bottle and use like the normal solution
Get your hair wet in the shower
Saturate hair and rub in scalp and rinse
Follow with Apple Cider Vinegar solution for conditioner and rinse

My hair is soft and I can actually run my finger through it.
It looks great and I am so much happier

And it is cheaper too

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

• 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 to 3 Tablespoons of baking soda
• few drops of pure Peppermint extract
  

I made this last night for the kids because I ran out of the Tom's Maine fluoride free and did not want to pay $5 for another tube. Simple Mom had these recipes and more.

I used this recipe last night minus the peppermint extract, I did not have any, but the kids liked it. Cool!
I love making things cheap and natural.

Library

I went to the library on Saturday after Farmer's Market with the kids and got some great books for the kids and a couple movies. My sister, the frugal expert, was the one who turned me onto checking out movies from the library. They usually do not have really recent releases but I can often find movies that I have wanted to see but forgot about. I got for the kids
"Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too",
"Toy Story 2",
"Arthur's Pet Business"
and one of my favorites
"Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave".

I love the whole series of Wallace and Gromit. Enzo cracks up about Wallace and his silliness. I mean a true belly laugh that is contagious. He thinks Wallace is hilarious.

Then for Eric and I,
I got,
"Penelope" PG
and
"Popeye" PG

Well I guess those are for the kids too but I was thinking about us.

Penelope is so sweet and funny. It has a great cast and a sweet lesson too. It was produced by Reese Witherspoon and she has a little part in it too. Penelope has been cursed with a pig nose and the curse is only broken when a blue-blood agrees to love her till death do they part.
There were two little parts that were a little scary, just the image of the witch and a scary pig faced flash back. I like to be sensitive to images with the kids because I remember really having a hard time getting them out of my head. Other than that it is an entertaining movie and we all enjoyed it. I think the PG rating is for some adult humor, that went right over the kids head.

Popeye, with Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, was just as I remember it. I did not know Disney produced it either. It is a musical and just like the old cartoons. When I told the kids we were watching it they were not too happy because they had no clue who Popeye was. After we watched they were happy we watched it. It is a little slow but they stayed entertained. We had to put the subtitles on because we could not understand all of Popeye's mumblings. There is a little language at the end, another word for rear end, but on the whole it was a good movie.
I am excited to watch the old cartoons now with the kids. We found a DVD of old cartoons like Superman, Felix the Cat and Popeye at Wal Mart for a buck each forever ago.

We got books too of course! The big surprise book was "Backbeard Pirate for Hire" by Matthew McElligott. Truly one of the best children's stories I have read in a long, long time. It is really funny. If you have a pirate loving kids in your house like we do they will love this book.

I just love the library and the fact that I have to get them back by the due date really forces me to schedule time to go to the library to return them and get more books and videos for free.