For the Month of August the Sisterhood challenged us to clean out our pantries and get things organized. Never one to shrink away from the ultimate control freak high - putting things in their proper order - I tackled this project with all I had.
My final report was complete with pictures of my stash and a new challenge for myself - do only limited grocery shopping for the month and eat mostly from the pantry.
I decided that I would spend $15 or less weekly on groceries - allowing only enough for fresh produce, eggs, and milk. I'll let you in on a secret: in my house we don't eat that many eggs and we certainly don't drink/use much milk. The mutant is apparently a fruitphobe and only eats veggies when I cook them for dinner.
Given the quantity of food items in my house and our lack of fresh food eating, I never really expected this challenge to be difficult. It was mostly for my purposes, to try to get creative with cooking as well as seeing how long our food stockpile would last.
I'll just tell you - I barely made a dent in it. There were those lazy nights where I just made pizza rolls or baked frozen chimichangas with cheese sauce on top. There were also nights where I dug deep into the cabinets and made old favorites with what we had stocked up.
The final result?
$40.56 spent on groceries for the month (not including the weekend I was on vacation). That's a $13.52 per week average.
Frozen convenience food was the only portion of our pantry that was used up, although the meat stash is starting to become slim pickins. Jay and I are considering buying a 1/2 of a cow (not sure who we would split it with) to refill our freezer for the winter.
If you've bought a whole cow like this before - please let me know what you though of it and any advice you might have!
The project did get me back into the habit of meal planning, although with lunches I've still got some work to be done. I'm also excited to be pulling the "beef for stewing" out of the freezer for dinner this week. Our temperatures have plummeted and its definitely beef stew weather!
Showing posts with label cooking adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking adventures. Show all posts
October 04, 2010
August 19, 2010
Help - I need a plan!
Yall know how I like a good challenge right? I loved doing the Monday Projects earlier in the year and feel like I had some good personal growth because of them.
Well...the Monday Project has become the Monthly Project. This month over at the Sisterhood we've been challenged to clean out our cupboards, refrigerators and freezers - purging what has gone bad or we don't need in the house tempting us, and taking an account of what we do have on hand.
I've taken the pictures, throw out the 7 month old popcorn some stuff, and am in the process of cataloging my food.
What? When you see how much I have you'll understand why its a process!!
*Puts on nerd glasses* I'm then going to put it all into an excel spreadsheet that I'll update as I use/add to my inventory.
So - here's the part where you chim in. I'm batting around different ways I can challenge myself for September. It really is embarrassing how much food I have. In a "I'm so incredibly blessed if I post what I've got it'll look like I'm bragging" kinda way.
Have you ever cooked from your pantry - and only from what you have on hand - for an entire month? Is it possible?
I definitely want to try it, but I didn't know what parameters to put on it. Is this for dinner only? All meals for September? Am I allowed to purchase fresh fruits and veggies? (I wouldn't go without if I didn't - I have plenty of canned and frozen of each.)
I'm also considering making a sub category in my budget. *Adjusts nerd glasses* Right now we have a category for eating out and a separate for groceries. I was thinking of subdividing the eating out. We spend a lot on fast food, instead of going out once or twice to nice restaurants. Anyone had luck tackling this beast? Maybe split off half the budget for fast food?
Also, I'm going to need lunch ideas. If I'm not going to go shopping, I'm not going to be allowed to buy Lean Cuisines. I'd like a variety of things I can bring to work.
Breakfast ideas are welcome too, but I'm boring enough that I could eat oatmeal every day and be happy.
Please feel free to leave novels of information in my comments section.
1-2-3 go!!
July 08, 2010
Thankful Thursday - The Food Edition
This week I'm thankful for the energy to cook!
I'm also thankful that I've been blessed with creativity in the kitchen. I might not be an expert chef, but I can look at a skillet full of Jambalaya and know that adding a can of corn would be a cheap ($0.30 per can) way to stretch the meal.
I'm thankful for one pot cooking. I'd be lost without my skillet!
I'm thankful for a husband who's not too picky about what he considers a meal. While he loves meat & potatoes he'll eat pretty much whatever I put in front of him.
As I shared yesterday, I'm thankful for the energy to try a new recipe AND thankful that it turned out despite missing ingredients.
For those of you that aren't regulars to my blog, I've been battling a pretty hearty case of anemia. After two weeks of iron infusions I think I might be on my way to being health again. Finding the energy to do much of anything is a blessing these days!!
Don't worry guys, I'm not going to turn into a foodie, but I was so proud of myself I wanted to share Tuesday night's dinner with yall.
Lemon Pepper tilapia, (another $0.30 can*) green beans seasoned w/lemon pepper, and balsamic potatoes.
*Don't judge. The MIL bought 3 cases each of corn, green beans, and peas for us per the Mutant's request. I'm not even sure that she let us pay her back so technically they were free. A girls gotta be creative to use 108 cans of veggies before the expiration date.
I would like to note that I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I didn't have nutmeg, rosemary, or thyme so I just left those out. I also substitute a shallot for a green onion. They turned out great though!
Lynn is hosting Thankful Thursdays this month, head on over and link up!
January 07, 2010
Christmas Adventures - the Pineapple Pile of Crap Cake
Since graduating college, I've always contributed in some way to family dinners. I started as the two liter drink girl, then graduated to the mac & cheese girl. This year I wanted to contribute more, so when my mom gave me my list to bring for Christmas brunch, I was a disappointed and offended.
My sister knew I was wanting to make somethinklike every other adult in our family so she put me down for cake. Her apple pie is tradition every year, so she would be making that too just in case my cake was an epic fail. Which is was.
I made the cake Christmas Eve, because the receipe said it was always better the next day. I wanted to do the step by step picture thing that a lot of you do on your blogs. I think it looks cook and at the very least I could get a blog out the experience right?
I searched high and low for Jay's camera. Even went outsidein my jammies in the cold to look in his work vehicle, but still couldn't find it. Little did I know...
My first moment of panic came when I noticed the receipe called for All Purpose flour. I buy self rising, but had a little left after the cookie incident. (The cookie receipe just called for "flour" and I used AP instead of self rising.)
Thankfully I did have 2 cups of AP flour that the receipe called for - but just barely! Then it came time to mix up the pineapples and the brown sugar glaze. I had a can of pineapple chunks - the recipe called for crushed.
I updated my facebook status as I fumbled around baking the cake and a friend of mine (Laureen) suggested I just crush the pineapple - by telling it that it would never amount to anything.
As I was mixing the cake batter - I had a real oh $%&* moment. My hand mixer just stopped working. I know that mixing and stirring by hand aren't the same, but at the time I didn't see that I had much of a choice so I tossed the mixer and got on with things.
Just in case you didn't notice, I found the camera. Right under my nose - just like the stand mixer.
I was intructed to bring a dozen eggs and a container of juice. Not scrambled eggs. Not fried eggs. A dozen raw eggs. To be cooked by someone else upon my arrival. I had a coupon decided to at least say I made something, so I went for the juice from concentrate rather than just grabbing a jug at the store.
Everything I offered to bring in addition to those things were shot down. Cranberry scones? Over kill considering we'd be having biscuits and french toast. Breakfast casserole? Nope, we're having scrambled eggs and three kinds of pig pork.
So when my sister started planning her Christmas dinner meal, I immediately saw that this was my opportunity to step up to the plate. As we exchanged emails discussing non-traditional items that would be super yum for the dinner.
Ham...what goes good with ham? Pineapple. Ooh, I'll make a pineapple upside down cake!
Please keep in mind that I've never made one before. And my last attempted at holiday baking ended with kitchen fire.
My sister knew I was wanting to make somethink
I made the cake Christmas Eve, because the receipe said it was always better the next day. I wanted to do the step by step picture thing that a lot of you do on your blogs. I think it looks cook and at the very least I could get a blog out the experience right?
I searched high and low for Jay's camera. Even went outside
My first moment of panic came when I noticed the receipe called for All Purpose flour. I buy self rising, but had a little left after the cookie incident. (The cookie receipe just called for "flour" and I used AP instead of self rising.)
Thankfully I did have 2 cups of AP flour that the receipe called for - but just barely! Then it came time to mix up the pineapples and the brown sugar glaze. I had a can of pineapple chunks - the recipe called for crushed.
I updated my facebook status as I fumbled around baking the cake and a friend of mine (Laureen) suggested I just crush the pineapple - by telling it that it would never amount to anything.
As I was mixing the cake batter - I had a real oh $%&* moment. My hand mixer just stopped working. I know that mixing and stirring by hand aren't the same, but at the time I didn't see that I had much of a choice so I tossed the mixer and got on with things.
It seemed to mix okay, so I poured it over the pineapples and left it to bake for 40 minutes. In the mean time I took care of all the dishes I had dirtied in the process.
Look at the picture again. Is there anything you notice that seems odd to you?
That's right - I own a stand mixer. Something that complete escaped me as I was panicing about the dead hand mixer. My in-laws had a renter to leave it behind in a home they own. Since she already had one, she cleaned it up and gave it to me a few months before Jay and I got married. Since I'm not really a chef/baker, I don't use it enough to remember that it exist.
Although I do have to pick it up every time I wipe down the counter.
Just in case you didn't notice, I found the camera. Right under my nose - just like the stand mixer.
Okay so back to the cake. It finally finished baking and I let it cool as directed before I turned it out. That's when it all fell apart.
Quite literally.
I let my sister know that it looked like a pile of crap and I wouldn't be bringing it for Christmas dinner, but Pollyanna would have none of my straight to the garbage can talk. "I'm sure it tastes great, even if it doesn't look good. At the very least bring it so we can all have a good laugh."
So I took it.
And no one ate it for dinner. My niece did make herself a bowl for a late night snack (she's very self sufficiant for a 5 year old) and ate every drop. Then again she thinks her Aunt Boo is the best ever, so I'm sure it had nothing to do with the actual cake.
My sister's neighbor stopped by for a few minutes and had a piece, but I'm pretty she was just curious after reading all of those facebook updates.
When it came time to come home - I divided it between my sister's family and my parents.
Jay and I never had a bite.
December 04, 2009
Festive Friday: Mamaw Bertie's Tea Cakes
After reposting the story of my Christmas cookie fiasco last year, I had a couple of requests for my cookie recipe. In the giving spirit of the Christmas season, I thought I’d oblige.
I figured out later why the cookies failed so miserably. About a month later, I signed up to bring biscuits to Sunday school. While baking them I noticed that they weren’t rising. They were fine (and edible) but they were just flat. Apparently I had been careless with my flour choices and hadn’t purchased self rising flower.
I’ve made a note on the recipe so you don’t repeat my mistake.
Mamaw Bertie's Tea Cakes
(Bertie was my Papaw's mom)
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup lard
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups flour (self rising)
½ cup butter milk
Cream together sugar, butter and lard. Add eggs. Mix in vanilla and stir loosely. Add flour and butter milk. Chill overnight, then bake at 350 untilyour oven catches on fire done.
For the thumbprint version of the cookie, I just dabbed a spoonful of jam on top. Do so at your own risk.
I figured out later why the cookies failed so miserably. About a month later, I signed up to bring biscuits to Sunday school. While baking them I noticed that they weren’t rising. They were fine (and edible) but they were just flat. Apparently I had been careless with my flour choices and hadn’t purchased self rising flower.
I’ve made a note on the recipe so you don’t repeat my mistake.
Mamaw Bertie's Tea Cakes
(Bertie was my Papaw's mom)
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup lard
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups flour (self rising)
½ cup butter milk
Cream together sugar, butter and lard. Add eggs. Mix in vanilla and stir loosely. Add flour and butter milk. Chill overnight, then bake at 350 until
For the thumbprint version of the cookie, I just dabbed a spoonful of jam on top. Do so at your own risk.
November 13, 2009
Christmas Cookies
Today is my last official day of vacation. I hope to be back next week with stories and pictures of the trip! Since Christmas is creeping up on us, here's a look back at my first Christmas in my own home.
In years past for our girls night in party, we’ve had an ugly Christmas sweater party where we have to come wearing the most hideous article of clothing that ever attempted to express Christmas cheer. To follow that we had an ugly Christmas ornament party – same concept different media.
This year instead of making fun of something, we were going to spread good tidings of great blessings in the form of Christmas cookies. Only I took it a step further and made them ugly Christmas cookies. Not on purpose, mind you. But ugly none the less.
As I was writing about making cookies for the party, a message board friend of mine mentioned that she loved thumbprint cookies. A link was provided and after a little research on my party a horrible idea was born.
I decided that I could take the tea cake recipe I had made on Monday (and chilled overnight) and make them into thumbprint cookies. After all the only part that made the thumbprint cookies different was the circle in the middle and the jam right?
Put 4 spoon fulls of cookies across the cookie sheet and four down, the filled them with jam. I had some homemade peach jam my mother had made over the summer as well as some black raspberry jam my MIL purchased on her last visit.
I put them in the oven to bake and went on with my business, not realizing the tea cake recipe I had made the cookies from had a tendency to spread out rather than up. . I had 2 more dozen cookies to make, and I was going to roll them out into Christmas shapes and make plain sugar cookies out of them.
As I was struggling to roll out the dough and attempting to make snowmen cookies, my kitchen smelled wonderful. I could smell the jam as I warmed in the oven. After giving up on making shapes with the other cookies, I checked in on the “thumbprint” cookies.
As the cookies had spread on the baking sheet, they ran out of room and some of the dough/jam combination were pushed overboard. It landed dangerously close to the heating element in my oven, so I called my mother for assistance.
“I have cornbread run over all the time, its fine. Just let it get all crusty and it’ll be easier to clean up later."
“So it won’t catch on fire or anything?”
“Nope, it’ll be fine.”
As she had said, the dough cooked, then burnt, then got really crispy.
And then it burst into flames.
I got under the kitchen sink to get the fire extinguisher, but my brilliant husband insisted that would make too big of a mess and through water into my electric oven. I can honestly say it was only by the grace of God that he didn’t kill himself, my oven, or both in the process.
As he raised the windows to get rid of the smoke smell, I began cleaning out the oven.
Actually my oven is still dirty, but I cleaned out the big chunks so there was no risk of anything else catching on fire. After all I had 2 more dozen cookies to bake.
After the makeshift thumbprints cooled, I helped myself to a bite. They actually tasted very good. Too bad they looked “ugly” for our Christmas cookie exchange.
In years past for our girls night in party, we’ve had an ugly Christmas sweater party where we have to come wearing the most hideous article of clothing that ever attempted to express Christmas cheer. To follow that we had an ugly Christmas ornament party – same concept different media.
This year instead of making fun of something, we were going to spread good tidings of great blessings in the form of Christmas cookies. Only I took it a step further and made them ugly Christmas cookies. Not on purpose, mind you. But ugly none the less.
As I was writing about making cookies for the party, a message board friend of mine mentioned that she loved thumbprint cookies. A link was provided and after a little research on my party a horrible idea was born.
I decided that I could take the tea cake recipe I had made on Monday (and chilled overnight) and make them into thumbprint cookies. After all the only part that made the thumbprint cookies different was the circle in the middle and the jam right?
Put 4 spoon fulls of cookies across the cookie sheet and four down, the filled them with jam. I had some homemade peach jam my mother had made over the summer as well as some black raspberry jam my MIL purchased on her last visit.
I put them in the oven to bake and went on with my business, not realizing the tea cake recipe I had made the cookies from had a tendency to spread out rather than up. . I had 2 more dozen cookies to make, and I was going to roll them out into Christmas shapes and make plain sugar cookies out of them.
As I was struggling to roll out the dough and attempting to make snowmen cookies, my kitchen smelled wonderful. I could smell the jam as I warmed in the oven. After giving up on making shapes with the other cookies, I checked in on the “thumbprint” cookies.
As the cookies had spread on the baking sheet, they ran out of room and some of the dough/jam combination were pushed overboard. It landed dangerously close to the heating element in my oven, so I called my mother for assistance.
“I have cornbread run over all the time, its fine. Just let it get all crusty and it’ll be easier to clean up later."
“So it won’t catch on fire or anything?”
“Nope, it’ll be fine.”
As she had said, the dough cooked, then burnt, then got really crispy.
And then it burst into flames.
I got under the kitchen sink to get the fire extinguisher, but my brilliant husband insisted that would make too big of a mess and through water into my electric oven. I can honestly say it was only by the grace of God that he didn’t kill himself, my oven, or both in the process.
As he raised the windows to get rid of the smoke smell, I began cleaning out the oven.
Actually my oven is still dirty, but I cleaned out the big chunks so there was no risk of anything else catching on fire. After all I had 2 more dozen cookies to bake.
After the makeshift thumbprints cooled, I helped myself to a bite. They actually tasted very good. Too bad they looked “ugly” for our Christmas cookie exchange.
July 23, 2009
Domestic Failure/Domestic Goddess
This week I'm proving to be both. On Saturday, I completely skipped all the house work that needed doing and headed straight to my parents house to hang out with my niece and nephew.
I've resolved to do the dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and bathroom cleaning every night since then. Only its still not done. Give me a moment to remember my excuses.
Sunday...spent all day at my parents house playing with the kids. Even if I was home, I don't do housework on Sunday, unless my ox is in a ditch. Last time I checked I don't have an ox.
After taking a ride out to see Inez, my papaw took Jay to pick wild blackberries.
Monday...that was grocery shopping day. Ground turkey on sale for $0.99 a pound took priority over everything else. It was on sale at the first of the year and I stocked up on enough to do us several months. Our supply just recently got used up, so I was excited to replenish the freezer. I purchased 20 pounds, and since we eat 1 pound a week it should take us through the end of the year.
Tuesday...After my emotional breakdown I wasn't in the mood to do anything. I went home, cooked dinner, watched Everybody Loves Raymond, and sat on the couch for the rest of the night.
Wednesday...I ran two miles after work, then came home and made dinner. After dinner Jay and I went driving around looking at some cabins being auctioned off this weekend. If they go for low enough, we plan on buying one and moving into it for a few years. There were 26 that fit our criteria (2 bedroom + loft) so we did a lot of driving.
So there you have it, the reasons you can see lint gathering in my carpet. The reasons the kitchen floor feels gritty as you walk through. Tonight Jay probably won't be home till after dark, so I'm hoping that after my long (5.5 mile) run I'll use the peace and quiet to get the house work done.
And now on to my domestic success for the week.
The one thing I did do Tuesday night was make a cobbler. Jay and Papaw had picked too many blackberries to eat raw. My mom gave me a easy recipe so I tried it out. I hope this isn't the few times Jay reads my blog, because he was amazed at the cobbler. He kept asking me where I found the time. He complimented the crust "Isn't that the hardest part for people to get right?"
Little does he know that it was one of the easiest things I've ever made.
1/2 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2-3 cups berries (or other fruit)
now i did have to let the berries sit in about a cup of sugar before adding them to the recipe, so that'd be an additional cup.
heat oven to 375 - melt butter in bottom of 9X9 baking dish
mix flour, sugar, and water in bowl. dump on top of melted butter. DO NOT MIX!
dump berries onto of flour mixture. DO NOT MIX!
bake for 25-35 minutes.
Jay liked it so good, he ate almost the entire cobbler. I got one modest piece that evening, and one piece to bring to work. He easily ate 2/3 of the cobbler in one sitting.
What's better than a woman who can cook? A woman with a smokin hot body that can cook. He told me last night that he would prefer me not to lose any more weight, but if I did, not to get under 125 or else I'd be too skinny. (Aren't those the words every woman wants to hear??)
I've resolved to do the dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and bathroom cleaning every night since then. Only its still not done. Give me a moment to remember my excuses.
Sunday...spent all day at my parents house playing with the kids. Even if I was home, I don't do housework on Sunday, unless my ox is in a ditch. Last time I checked I don't have an ox.
After taking a ride out to see Inez, my papaw took Jay to pick wild blackberries.
Monday...that was grocery shopping day. Ground turkey on sale for $0.99 a pound took priority over everything else. It was on sale at the first of the year and I stocked up on enough to do us several months. Our supply just recently got used up, so I was excited to replenish the freezer. I purchased 20 pounds, and since we eat 1 pound a week it should take us through the end of the year.
Tuesday...After my emotional breakdown I wasn't in the mood to do anything. I went home, cooked dinner, watched Everybody Loves Raymond, and sat on the couch for the rest of the night.
Wednesday...I ran two miles after work, then came home and made dinner. After dinner Jay and I went driving around looking at some cabins being auctioned off this weekend. If they go for low enough, we plan on buying one and moving into it for a few years. There were 26 that fit our criteria (2 bedroom + loft) so we did a lot of driving.
So there you have it, the reasons you can see lint gathering in my carpet. The reasons the kitchen floor feels gritty as you walk through. Tonight Jay probably won't be home till after dark, so I'm hoping that after my long (5.5 mile) run I'll use the peace and quiet to get the house work done.
And now on to my domestic success for the week.
The one thing I did do Tuesday night was make a cobbler. Jay and Papaw had picked too many blackberries to eat raw. My mom gave me a easy recipe so I tried it out. I hope this isn't the few times Jay reads my blog, because he was amazed at the cobbler. He kept asking me where I found the time. He complimented the crust "Isn't that the hardest part for people to get right?"
Little does he know that it was one of the easiest things I've ever made.
1/2 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2-3 cups berries (or other fruit)
now i did have to let the berries sit in about a cup of sugar before adding them to the recipe, so that'd be an additional cup.
heat oven to 375 - melt butter in bottom of 9X9 baking dish
mix flour, sugar, and water in bowl. dump on top of melted butter. DO NOT MIX!
dump berries onto of flour mixture. DO NOT MIX!
bake for 25-35 minutes.
Jay liked it so good, he ate almost the entire cobbler. I got one modest piece that evening, and one piece to bring to work. He easily ate 2/3 of the cobbler in one sitting.
What's better than a woman who can cook? A woman with a smokin hot body that can cook. He told me last night that he would prefer me not to lose any more weight, but if I did, not to get under 125 or else I'd be too skinny. (Aren't those the words every woman wants to hear??)
June 18, 2009
Brooke vs. the Chicken
Two weeks ago while I was at the store, I saw that Kroger had their chicken leg quarters on sale for $0.59 a pound. Since I normally buy boneless skinless breasts for $1.99 a pound, the bargain price jumped out at me.
Jay and I love buffalo wings, so I got the chicken and used my $0.40 Frank's hot sauce coupon (that doubles at my Kroger) to buy some buffalo sauce. I put the legs in the freezer to deal with at a later date.
Last night Jay was out late showing property to a client, so I had a date with that chicken. Who knew that chicken with the bone in and covered in skin was that gross.
Thankfully I was getting it ready to marinate over night, cook tonight, and not eat until tomorrow night. I would have rather thrown up and gone hungry than eat that chicken last night.
But sure enough I riped the skin off that sucker with all my might. I didn't realize a knife would be handy till I already had my hands in chicken carcass. And the news was on reporting a little kid that just died in our town of E Coli.
I'm paranoid any way, but that news story made me wash my hands 4 times, and spray everything down with anti bacterial cleaner twice. I just hope baked buffalo chicken is worth it.
I may not being a cooking diva, but Jay better realize what a wonderful frugalista wife he has. I should get major wifey points for doing battle with a chicken to save $1.40 a pound. Just don't remind me that some of that weight got thrown out with the skin and will get thrown out with the bones later...
Jay and I love buffalo wings, so I got the chicken and used my $0.40 Frank's hot sauce coupon (that doubles at my Kroger) to buy some buffalo sauce. I put the legs in the freezer to deal with at a later date.
Last night Jay was out late showing property to a client, so I had a date with that chicken. Who knew that chicken with the bone in and covered in skin was that gross.
Thankfully I was getting it ready to marinate over night, cook tonight, and not eat until tomorrow night. I would have rather thrown up and gone hungry than eat that chicken last night.
But sure enough I riped the skin off that sucker with all my might. I didn't realize a knife would be handy till I already had my hands in chicken carcass. And the news was on reporting a little kid that just died in our town of E Coli.
I'm paranoid any way, but that news story made me wash my hands 4 times, and spray everything down with anti bacterial cleaner twice. I just hope baked buffalo chicken is worth it.
I may not being a cooking diva, but Jay better realize what a wonderful frugalista wife he has. I should get major wifey points for doing battle with a chicken to save $1.40 a pound. Just don't remind me that some of that weight got thrown out with the skin and will get thrown out with the bones later...
April 21, 2009
Depression Bread - Cooking with Clara...and Tiffany...and Brooke
A few weeks ago I found Tiffany's blog about making depression era bread. She had taken one of Clara's (a 90+ year old woman who lived through the great depression) recipes and made it her own.
I bake it last night and it was great. I think I used only about 6-7 tsp of dry active yeast, and 4 tsp salt.
Now you see why I'm not good at baking cookies and things like that - I'm not an exact cook. I love things that you can just throw the ingredients in and eyeball it.
I made the bread last night, but at the advice of my grandmother left it sitting out (covered with a towel) to rise overnight. This morning I divided it into 6 loaves - baking one and putting the other 5 in the freezer.
I brought a piece with me to work, and its delicious! :)
And at $0.50 a loaf, you can't beat that!
I bake it last night and it was great. I think I used only about 6-7 tsp of dry active yeast, and 4 tsp salt.
Now you see why I'm not good at baking cookies and things like that - I'm not an exact cook. I love things that you can just throw the ingredients in and eyeball it.
I made the bread last night, but at the advice of my grandmother left it sitting out (covered with a towel) to rise overnight. This morning I divided it into 6 loaves - baking one and putting the other 5 in the freezer.
I brought a piece with me to work, and its delicious! :)
And at $0.50 a loaf, you can't beat that!
April 20, 2009
Monday already?
I'm still half asleep, so I'll give you a quick rundown of my weekend.
Friday
*Started Black by Ted Dekker
*watched last Monday's Heroes Episode
*did most of my house work so that on...
Saturday
*rode around with Mr. Right while he photographed cabins for clients
*met my family for dinner at a new restaurant
*ran 30 minutes with Mr. Right
*got upset with Mr. Right because he had no problem keeping up with me on the run (I've been working at it for over a month - he never exercises)
*finished Black (thanks Lois!)
*started Red by Ted Dekker
Sunday
*church with my parents
*afternoon nap
*Sunday evening blues
*made Bananna Oat Bran muffins (yuk - threw them out after eating the first one)
*made hashbrown casserole for later in the week (delish!)
*watched Celebrity Apprentice
*got less than 5 hours sleep because of the hubs need to listen to conservative talk radio while he sleeps...which eventually turns into the UFO alien call in hour.
Friday
*Started Black by Ted Dekker
*watched last Monday's Heroes Episode
*did most of my house work so that on...
Saturday
*rode around with Mr. Right while he photographed cabins for clients
*met my family for dinner at a new restaurant
*ran 30 minutes with Mr. Right
*got upset with Mr. Right because he had no problem keeping up with me on the run (I've been working at it for over a month - he never exercises)
*finished Black (thanks Lois!)
*started Red by Ted Dekker
Sunday
*church with my parents
*afternoon nap
*Sunday evening blues
*made Bananna Oat Bran muffins (yuk - threw them out after eating the first one)
*made hashbrown casserole for later in the week (delish!)
*watched Celebrity Apprentice
*got less than 5 hours sleep because of the hubs need to listen to conservative talk radio while he sleeps...which eventually turns into the UFO alien call in hour.
January 29, 2009
Cabinet Hardward
Last week, I blogged about how much I love my walk-in closet. This week, we're moving on to the kitchen.
When Mr. Right and I first moved into our new home, there was no hardware on any of the cabinets in the house.
Since it wasn't a necessity (like say...replacing the refrigerator that the former occupants took with them when they left) we decided to put it on our long range project list.
Last Monday, Mr. Right discovered a web site that sold discount hardware http://knobsandpulls.com/ They had them at a great price, but we were at odds on what color to purchase.
I wanted nickel to match the stainless appliances, but he insisted that an oil-rubbed bronze would look better with the color of the cabinets. After playing around a little on their site (and no, they're not paying me anything for this - I wish they were!) we found some nice pulls in black.
In case the picture isn't clear - neither of us got our wish. Ah the joy of compromise - thinking outside the box to find something you can both agree on. I think the black looks great (still matches the appliances) and he loves the way it looks with the cabinet color.
The best part? We did the entire kitchen for around $40 including shipping.
Installation was a breeze. We received them in the mail late last week, and by the time I got home he already had them installed.
While we're in the kitchen, let me tell you about something else I love. Check out this great recipe I tried last night. I don't follow instructions well, so I only had 8 oz cream cheese, and penne pasta instead of bow-tie. But it was great! :) Thanks Shannon!
For more great lovable things, check out Things I love Thursday over at the Diaper Diaries
January 27, 2009
A few recipes
I found the recipes that I didn't post yesterday for this week.
Pizza Bread
I modified it a bit, using a can of pilsbury pizza dough instead of homemade. This is definitely a keeper recipe, but in the future we'll have to make fries or something else to go with it. It just wasn't enough to fill us up.
Sloppy Joe Hot Dish
1 pkg crescent roll creations
1 lb ground meat
15 oz tomato sauce
1 pkg sloppy joe mix
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Grease glass baking dish (9X13)and lay 1/2 the crescent dough in dish. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes.
Brown beef, drain. Stir in tomato sauce and sloppy joe mix. Spoon over crust. Sprinkle with cheese and top with other 1/2 crescent dough. Bake 15-20 minutes.
Pizza Bread
I modified it a bit, using a can of pilsbury pizza dough instead of homemade. This is definitely a keeper recipe, but in the future we'll have to make fries or something else to go with it. It just wasn't enough to fill us up.
Sloppy Joe Hot Dish
1 pkg crescent roll creations
1 lb ground meat
15 oz tomato sauce
1 pkg sloppy joe mix
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Grease glass baking dish (9X13)and lay 1/2 the crescent dough in dish. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes.
Brown beef, drain. Stir in tomato sauce and sloppy joe mix. Spoon over crust. Sprinkle with cheese and top with other 1/2 crescent dough. Bake 15-20 minutes.
January 20, 2009
Tasty Tuesday - White Chicken Chili
Is it cheating if I double up carnivals?
This weekend I finally tried my sister's white chicken chili recipe and it is delish! :)
My parents, Mr. Right and I went to K-ville after church on Sunday and my parents came back to the house to watch football. I had fixed the recipe on Saturday, then put it in the fridge overnight. Sunday morning I just plopped it in the crockpot and turned it on.
It makes 2 meals for my family of 2, and is about $3 per meal. (That cost goes down if you use homemade broth or boullion cubes instead of canned broth.)
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken (heaping)
3 cans great northern beans
2 cans of green chiles
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic (i use tbsp of minced)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Throw it in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours.
Even my father (who only likes to eat chicken when its fried) said it was good - and proved it when he went back for his second bowl.
For more yummy food ideas, head on over to Forever...wherever! for Tasty Tuesday and Blessed with Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!
January 15, 2009
Domestic Diva
This past weekend, Mr. Right had to work, but I went out with some friends to celebrate a couple's birthday (his was the 8th, hers was the 13th). Plans for the evening included dinner at a Japanese steakhouse followed by an 80s cover band concert.
Since he and I are on a tight budget, I felt guilty for spending $30 on dinner for myself. I could have saved $6 by getting chicken instead, but then I would have been wasting $24 on a meal I didn't enjoy.
I decided to go ahead and splurge and get the steak. The meal came with a chicken broth soup as well as a salad before the main course was served. I ate all of my veggies (with the help of some dipping sauce) before my steak and rice were done. By the time he served me my steak, I could only eat a few bites.
I was surprised at how much I had left to take home with me, and decided that I could make an entire meal for me and Mr. Right out of it. I got teased a little - because how can you make 3 meals out of 1?
I told them that I would get a bag of stir-fry veggies, boil them, and add them to the leftovers to make a complete meal. If that weren't enough, I would also serve salad with the meal. Thankfully, the birthday girl suggested I saute the veggies instead, and a meal plan was created.
What does this have to do with TILT? I officially love Kroger brand stir-fry veggies now.
I sauteed them in butter, then added the leftovers to get the rice and steak warmed up. Supper was delicious!! I asked Mr. Right what he thought of having it in the future, maybe with teriyaki chicken next time instead of steak. He actually suggested that we just have the veggies and rice.
For a couple anti-veggie eaters, to create a meal solely around veggies (and teriyaki sauce of course) that's a great product! Not to mention a good price - they frequently go on sale $1 each. If I made 2 cups of rice and used two bags of frozen veggies we'd have $2.54 in the meal and plenty left to take for lunch the next day.
Now to price teriyaki sauce at the store...
For more Things I Love Thursday, check out the Diaper Diaries.
Since he and I are on a tight budget, I felt guilty for spending $30 on dinner for myself. I could have saved $6 by getting chicken instead, but then I would have been wasting $24 on a meal I didn't enjoy.
I decided to go ahead and splurge and get the steak. The meal came with a chicken broth soup as well as a salad before the main course was served. I ate all of my veggies (with the help of some dipping sauce) before my steak and rice were done. By the time he served me my steak, I could only eat a few bites.
I was surprised at how much I had left to take home with me, and decided that I could make an entire meal for me and Mr. Right out of it. I got teased a little - because how can you make 3 meals out of 1?
I told them that I would get a bag of stir-fry veggies, boil them, and add them to the leftovers to make a complete meal. If that weren't enough, I would also serve salad with the meal. Thankfully, the birthday girl suggested I saute the veggies instead, and a meal plan was created.
What does this have to do with TILT? I officially love Kroger brand stir-fry veggies now.
I sauteed them in butter, then added the leftovers to get the rice and steak warmed up. Supper was delicious!! I asked Mr. Right what he thought of having it in the future, maybe with teriyaki chicken next time instead of steak. He actually suggested that we just have the veggies and rice.
For a couple anti-veggie eaters, to create a meal solely around veggies (and teriyaki sauce of course) that's a great product! Not to mention a good price - they frequently go on sale $1 each. If I made 2 cups of rice and used two bags of frozen veggies we'd have $2.54 in the meal and plenty left to take for lunch the next day.
Now to price teriyaki sauce at the store...
For more Things I Love Thursday, check out the Diaper Diaries.
January 06, 2009
Sherlock Holmes on the Case
This past Sunday Mr. Right and I were responsible for bringing snacks to Bible study. There are some ladies (or possibly gentleman) in that class that can really cook. Others are parents of small children, so they go to the store and buy a yummy, calorie filled snack for everyone to enjoy. I don’t have the cooking prowis to make some sort of casserole, nor do I have enough money to buy breakfast at the grocery store.
I decided to keep it simple – homemade biscuits (that I’ve been making since elementary school 4-H) and sausage (that I bought on sale/with coupon even though Mr. Right and I aren’t breakfast eaters). Saturday evening, after getting home from shopping, I started on the biscuits.
The dough was gorgeous – I had added the perfect amout of flour, lard, and buttermilk to make the perfect biscuits. I even considered taking a picture of them, to brag on my blog about how sometimes I could cook well.
I called my mom to ask about baking temp/time, and mocked my sister for not being able to do such an easy task. (Please keep in mind that my sister is a kick “a” cook. I am in awe of her cooking skills, so it amazes me that she can’t do something as basic as a biscuit).
After 15 minutes the top and bottom of each biscuit was brown, but the middle wasn’t done yet. No amount of leaving them in the oven would change that. I took a test bite and it wasn’t soft and fluffy like it should have been. It was edible, and I didn’t have the money in the budget for a plan “b” so I put the sausage between the biscuits and hoped no one would know I made them.
Sunday morning, I got there early. Unfortunately the teacher (also the pastor’s wife) and a few of my classmates were already there. Ginger, possible the sweetest woman on the planet, commented on the fact that the biscuits were homemade. My teacher was amazed “a newly-wed and you’re already making homemade biscuits – I still don’t after 30 years!”
I tried to let them know they didn’t turn out properly – lest they think I was stupid enough to mistake that for a good biscuit. A couple minutes later, a guy in the class scarfed down two sausage biscuits and commented on how good they were. Apparently he’s lived a deprived life.
Mr. Right loved them as well. After class he ate 3 sausage biscuits and 1 plain biscuit. I took them to my parents house (we always spend Sunday afternoon there) and asked my mom what could have gone wrong. She took one bite then spit it in the trash can.
“You didn’t use self-rising flour did you?”
“Um…I don’t know.”
“Well I do. You didn’t.”
“Crap. Could that have been what happened to the cookies too?”
Apparently it was. Because my mother said that with that cookie recipe she always has a problem with the cookies getting to thick to be done all the way through. So it was curious when my cookies flattened instead of rising.
Turns out, I’m not a horrible cook. I just can’t read a bag properly.
I decided to keep it simple – homemade biscuits (that I’ve been making since elementary school 4-H) and sausage (that I bought on sale/with coupon even though Mr. Right and I aren’t breakfast eaters). Saturday evening, after getting home from shopping, I started on the biscuits.
The dough was gorgeous – I had added the perfect amout of flour, lard, and buttermilk to make the perfect biscuits. I even considered taking a picture of them, to brag on my blog about how sometimes I could cook well.
I called my mom to ask about baking temp/time, and mocked my sister for not being able to do such an easy task. (Please keep in mind that my sister is a kick “a” cook. I am in awe of her cooking skills, so it amazes me that she can’t do something as basic as a biscuit).
After 15 minutes the top and bottom of each biscuit was brown, but the middle wasn’t done yet. No amount of leaving them in the oven would change that. I took a test bite and it wasn’t soft and fluffy like it should have been. It was edible, and I didn’t have the money in the budget for a plan “b” so I put the sausage between the biscuits and hoped no one would know I made them.
Sunday morning, I got there early. Unfortunately the teacher (also the pastor’s wife) and a few of my classmates were already there. Ginger, possible the sweetest woman on the planet, commented on the fact that the biscuits were homemade. My teacher was amazed “a newly-wed and you’re already making homemade biscuits – I still don’t after 30 years!”
I tried to let them know they didn’t turn out properly – lest they think I was stupid enough to mistake that for a good biscuit. A couple minutes later, a guy in the class scarfed down two sausage biscuits and commented on how good they were. Apparently he’s lived a deprived life.
Mr. Right loved them as well. After class he ate 3 sausage biscuits and 1 plain biscuit. I took them to my parents house (we always spend Sunday afternoon there) and asked my mom what could have gone wrong. She took one bite then spit it in the trash can.
“You didn’t use self-rising flour did you?”
“Um…I don’t know.”
“Well I do. You didn’t.”
“Crap. Could that have been what happened to the cookies too?”
Apparently it was. Because my mother said that with that cookie recipe she always has a problem with the cookies getting to thick to be done all the way through. So it was curious when my cookies flattened instead of rising.
Turns out, I’m not a horrible cook. I just can’t read a bag properly.
December 31, 2008
2008 Year in Pictures
We're having a New Year's Party over at the Roost. Head on over to check out other people's walk through the past year.
This is quite possibly the best picture I’ve ever taken. Mr. Right and I volunteer at a Cystic Fibrosis Valentine’s charity event every year. Can you believe $20 (yep, that dress was on sale) looks that good? ;)
My parents said they suspected this spring was the last opportunity they would have to vacation with me by myself. Turns out, Mr. Right had already asked them for my hand. The three of us spent a fun weekend in Asheville, NC.
One of my bucket list items was to see a game in Yankee Stadium. Since this was the final season in the old Stadium, Mr. Right and I made a spring trip – to a Red Sox game no less!
While we were in NYC, Mr. Right proposed in Central Park. Our first date started on a bench, waiting for a table at the restaurant. So sitting on this bench (a couple days earlier) he asked me to marry him. This was a reenactment, since we were too excited and forgot to get pictures.
My nephew was born in May. I can’t post a picture of how ridiculously cute he his b/c my sister is paranoid about things like that. I figured this was generic baby enough, with my Mamaw (now a great-grandmother to two) looking on.
Mr. Right was very into the political scene this year. After doing a lot of research…we found that all the candidates sucked. Well at least all of them that had a shot. Sign waving sure gets some interesting reactions from folks driving by…
Mr. Right and I started moving our stuff into the new house early this fall. Beyond the appliances that we had to replace (it was a foreclosure and they took everything but the kitchen sink), we only bought two pieces of furniture for the house – an entertainment center from the Salvation Army & a couch at a yard sale. This picture is the before/after of my dad recovering the old chairs that once belonged to my great-grandmother. I’m proud of how well we’ve done with hand me downs.
This was a fun day spent with my parents & Mr. Right in G-burg. We did all the cheesy tourist things. My dad and I have an interesting relationship – I show my love by torturing him. He’s always been paranoid of balconies, to the point where we couldn’t get close to the railing in a 2nd story hotel.
Mr. Right and I tied the knot at an old church in the National Park. Check out this blog for the details.
Only lived in the house for a month and I almost burnt it down making cookies. Martha Stewart I am not, and I had the flames to prove it.
This is quite possibly the best picture I’ve ever taken. Mr. Right and I volunteer at a Cystic Fibrosis Valentine’s charity event every year. Can you believe $20 (yep, that dress was on sale) looks that good? ;)
My parents said they suspected this spring was the last opportunity they would have to vacation with me by myself. Turns out, Mr. Right had already asked them for my hand. The three of us spent a fun weekend in Asheville, NC.
One of my bucket list items was to see a game in Yankee Stadium. Since this was the final season in the old Stadium, Mr. Right and I made a spring trip – to a Red Sox game no less!
While we were in NYC, Mr. Right proposed in Central Park. Our first date started on a bench, waiting for a table at the restaurant. So sitting on this bench (a couple days earlier) he asked me to marry him. This was a reenactment, since we were too excited and forgot to get pictures.
My nephew was born in May. I can’t post a picture of how ridiculously cute he his b/c my sister is paranoid about things like that. I figured this was generic baby enough, with my Mamaw (now a great-grandmother to two) looking on.
Mr. Right was very into the political scene this year. After doing a lot of research…we found that all the candidates sucked. Well at least all of them that had a shot. Sign waving sure gets some interesting reactions from folks driving by…
Mr. Right and I started moving our stuff into the new house early this fall. Beyond the appliances that we had to replace (it was a foreclosure and they took everything but the kitchen sink), we only bought two pieces of furniture for the house – an entertainment center from the Salvation Army & a couch at a yard sale. This picture is the before/after of my dad recovering the old chairs that once belonged to my great-grandmother. I’m proud of how well we’ve done with hand me downs.
This was a fun day spent with my parents & Mr. Right in G-burg. We did all the cheesy tourist things. My dad and I have an interesting relationship – I show my love by torturing him. He’s always been paranoid of balconies, to the point where we couldn’t get close to the railing in a 2nd story hotel.
Mr. Right and I tied the knot at an old church in the National Park. Check out this blog for the details.
Only lived in the house for a month and I almost burnt it down making cookies. Martha Stewart I am not, and I had the flames to prove it.
December 18, 2008
Christmas Cookies
In years past for our girls night in party, we’ve had an ugly Christmas sweater party where we have to come wearing the most hideous article of clothing that ever attempted to express Christmas cheer. To follow that we had an ugly Christmas ornament party – same concept different media.
This year instead of making fun of something, we were going to spread good tidings of great blessings in the form of Christmas cookies. Only I took it a step further and made them ugly Christmas cookies. Not on purpose, mind you. But ugly none the less.
As I was writing about making cookies for the party, a message board friend of mine mentioned that she loved thumbprint cookies. A link was provided and after a little research on my party a horrible idea was born.
I decided that I could take the tea cake recipe I had made on Monday (and chilled overnight) and make them into thumbprint cookies. After all the only part that made the thumbprint cookies different was the circle in the middle and the jam right?
Put 4 spoon fulls of cookies across the cookie sheet and four down, the filled them with jam. I had some homemade peach jam my mother had made over the summer as well as some black raspberry jam my MIL purchased on her last visit.
I put them in the oven to bake and went on with my business, not realizing the tea cake recipe I had made the cookies from had a tendency to spread out rather than up. . I had 2 more dozen cookies to make, and I was going to roll them out into Christmas shapes and make plain sugar cookies out of them.
As I was struggling to roll out the dough and attempting to make snowmen cookies, my kitchen smelled wonderful. I could smell the jam as I warmed in the oven. After giving up on making shapes with the other cookies, I checked in on the “thumbprint” cookies.
As the cookies had spread on the baking sheet, they ran out of room and some of the dough/jam combination were pushed overboard. It landed dangerously close to the heating element in my oven, so I called my mother for assistance.
“I have cornbread run over all the time, its fine. Just let it get all crusty and it’ll be easier to clean up later.“
“So it won’t catch on fire or anything?”
“Nope, it’ll be fine.”
As she had said, the dough cooked, then burnt, then got really crispy.
And then it burst into flames.
I got under the kitchen sink to get the fire extinguisher, but my brilliant husband insisted that would make too big of a mess and through water into my electric oven. I can honestly say it was only by the grace of God that he didn’t kill himself, my oven, or both in the process.
As he raised the windows to get rid of the smoke smell, I began cleaning out the oven.
Actually my oven is still dirty, but I cleaned out the big chunks so there was no risk of anything else catching on fire. After all I had 2 more dozen cookies to bake.
After the makeshift thumbprints cooled, I helped myself to a bite. They actually tasted very good. Too bad they looked “ugly” for our Christmas cookie exchange.
This year instead of making fun of something, we were going to spread good tidings of great blessings in the form of Christmas cookies. Only I took it a step further and made them ugly Christmas cookies. Not on purpose, mind you. But ugly none the less.
As I was writing about making cookies for the party, a message board friend of mine mentioned that she loved thumbprint cookies. A link was provided and after a little research on my party a horrible idea was born.
I decided that I could take the tea cake recipe I had made on Monday (and chilled overnight) and make them into thumbprint cookies. After all the only part that made the thumbprint cookies different was the circle in the middle and the jam right?
Put 4 spoon fulls of cookies across the cookie sheet and four down, the filled them with jam. I had some homemade peach jam my mother had made over the summer as well as some black raspberry jam my MIL purchased on her last visit.
I put them in the oven to bake and went on with my business, not realizing the tea cake recipe I had made the cookies from had a tendency to spread out rather than up. . I had 2 more dozen cookies to make, and I was going to roll them out into Christmas shapes and make plain sugar cookies out of them.
As I was struggling to roll out the dough and attempting to make snowmen cookies, my kitchen smelled wonderful. I could smell the jam as I warmed in the oven. After giving up on making shapes with the other cookies, I checked in on the “thumbprint” cookies.
As the cookies had spread on the baking sheet, they ran out of room and some of the dough/jam combination were pushed overboard. It landed dangerously close to the heating element in my oven, so I called my mother for assistance.
“I have cornbread run over all the time, its fine. Just let it get all crusty and it’ll be easier to clean up later.“
“So it won’t catch on fire or anything?”
“Nope, it’ll be fine.”
As she had said, the dough cooked, then burnt, then got really crispy.
And then it burst into flames.
I got under the kitchen sink to get the fire extinguisher, but my brilliant husband insisted that would make too big of a mess and through water into my electric oven. I can honestly say it was only by the grace of God that he didn’t kill himself, my oven, or both in the process.
As he raised the windows to get rid of the smoke smell, I began cleaning out the oven.
Actually my oven is still dirty, but I cleaned out the big chunks so there was no risk of anything else catching on fire. After all I had 2 more dozen cookies to bake.
After the makeshift thumbprints cooled, I helped myself to a bite. They actually tasted very good. Too bad they looked “ugly” for our Christmas cookie exchange.
December 17, 2008
The Tim Taylor of Chefs
Last night my attempt to turn a casserole into a crockpot meal flopped. I refused to eat it. Mr. Right sucked it up because he hated to see it go to waste. Poor thing is eating the leftovers for dinner tonight. I went straight for the microwave mexican food last night.
Then in the process of baking cookies for tonight's GNO, I caught my oven on fire. Literally. I didn't get a picture of the flames (was too concerned at the moment). But I did get plenty of other pictures of my cookies in all their pathetic glory. As well as the giant mess I had to clean up.
The good news is that I get to give these cookies away and in return take some cookies from people who know how to bake. Sucks to be them!
Then in the process of baking cookies for tonight's GNO, I caught my oven on fire. Literally. I didn't get a picture of the flames (was too concerned at the moment). But I did get plenty of other pictures of my cookies in all their pathetic glory. As well as the giant mess I had to clean up.
The good news is that I get to give these cookies away and in return take some cookies from people who know how to bake. Sucks to be them!
December 16, 2008
Girls Night In
Tomorrow is our GNO Christmas party and I'm hosting it at my home. My friends haven't seen the house since we've got it painted and all moved in, so I'm looking forward to having them over.
One of tomorrow night's festivities is a cookie swap. We're each making 3 dozen cookies then swapping them for different varieties (there are 5 of us total so I should get 4 different kinds of cookies).
I made up a batch of sugar cookies last night because the recipe calls for the mixture to sit overnight in the fridge. I bought green sugar to top the cookies with, but then a friend suggested I make thumbprint cookies. (I'm using my great-grandmother's recipe and will share it tomorrow if the cookies turn out okay.)
I had never heard of them before, but they sound delish! And it'll work with the cookie dough I already have made up. My mom made apple butter this summer, and I have some of that left over.
I think I'm going to do half standard sugar cookies and half thumbprint cookies. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them!
One of tomorrow night's festivities is a cookie swap. We're each making 3 dozen cookies then swapping them for different varieties (there are 5 of us total so I should get 4 different kinds of cookies).
I made up a batch of sugar cookies last night because the recipe calls for the mixture to sit overnight in the fridge. I bought green sugar to top the cookies with, but then a friend suggested I make thumbprint cookies. (I'm using my great-grandmother's recipe and will share it tomorrow if the cookies turn out okay.)
I had never heard of them before, but they sound delish! And it'll work with the cookie dough I already have made up. My mom made apple butter this summer, and I have some of that left over.
I think I'm going to do half standard sugar cookies and half thumbprint cookies. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them!
December 02, 2008
I feel like Martha Stewart...
or better yet Money Saving Mom :)
Yesterday I put a roast in the crockpot (Mr. Right's mom's recipe - just the roast, water, and a packed of onion soup mix). I was too lazy to cut the fat off the meat before i put it in the slow cooker (okay this isn't the part where i'm like MSM) so I just tossed the whole thing in.
It turned out great! By the time we were ready to eat it, the meat was so tender it was easy to pull the fat off (usually i labor for about 15 or 20 minutes cutting it off, only to get so grossed out its hard to eat the roast the next day).
As we were doing dishes, I started to scoop out the broth to get to the left over meat (I was making up a couple of different tupperware containers for this week's lunches). I stopped for a moment and remembered reading about how some frugal bloggers make their own chicken and beef broth, rather than buying the canned variety.
I am not a cook, so I called my #1 cooking question contact - my sister. She thought that it sounded like a good idea, but she wasn't sure enough to give me the green light. She suggested I call my #2 (Mamaw) and then let her know the verdict.
Vivian (not her real name but my I'm not allowed to address her as "Mamaw" "Grandmother" or her real name in public) confirmed that I could keep the juices for broth, I would just need to keep it refridgerated. She also said that leaving the fat on the meat before cooking is not only easier, but it makes the roast, as well as the broth better.
I poured the broth into an old spaghetti sauce container (nothing gets thrown away at our house). We didn't have anything to properly label it with, so I improvised. I had some white atheltic tape that I've been using to tape Mr. Right's splint on, so I stuck a piece on there and Mr. Right wrote on it with a sharpie.
Yesterday I put a roast in the crockpot (Mr. Right's mom's recipe - just the roast, water, and a packed of onion soup mix). I was too lazy to cut the fat off the meat before i put it in the slow cooker (okay this isn't the part where i'm like MSM) so I just tossed the whole thing in.
It turned out great! By the time we were ready to eat it, the meat was so tender it was easy to pull the fat off (usually i labor for about 15 or 20 minutes cutting it off, only to get so grossed out its hard to eat the roast the next day).
As we were doing dishes, I started to scoop out the broth to get to the left over meat (I was making up a couple of different tupperware containers for this week's lunches). I stopped for a moment and remembered reading about how some frugal bloggers make their own chicken and beef broth, rather than buying the canned variety.
I am not a cook, so I called my #1 cooking question contact - my sister. She thought that it sounded like a good idea, but she wasn't sure enough to give me the green light. She suggested I call my #2 (Mamaw) and then let her know the verdict.
Vivian (not her real name but my I'm not allowed to address her as "Mamaw" "Grandmother" or her real name in public) confirmed that I could keep the juices for broth, I would just need to keep it refridgerated. She also said that leaving the fat on the meat before cooking is not only easier, but it makes the roast, as well as the broth better.
I poured the broth into an old spaghetti sauce container (nothing gets thrown away at our house). We didn't have anything to properly label it with, so I improvised. I had some white atheltic tape that I've been using to tape Mr. Right's splint on, so I stuck a piece on there and Mr. Right wrote on it with a sharpie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)