Honey oat whole wheat bread -- dairy-free and egg-free with oil-free option

5 1/3 cups of very warm water

1/4 cup yeast

1/4 cup ground flax seed

2 Tbsp. chia seeds

1 1/3 cups rolled oats (quick is fine too) - you can add another 1 cup to 1 1/3 cup oats if you subtract that amount from the total whole wheat flour

1/4 to 3/4 cup oil (we like coconut oil) OR 1/4 to 3/4 cup of applesauce

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar OR 1 cup honey (we use raw honey)

4 tsp. salt 

3/4 cup gluten (spoon loosely into measuring cup and level off with straight edge of knife)

12 cups whole wheat flour 

1.  In a heavy-duty mixer, add warm water, yeast, ground flax seed, chia seeds, and rolled oats.   

2.  Add oil (or applesauce), sugar (or honey) and salt and mix on low just a swish or two around.  Let this mixture sit for 5-8 minutes so the yeast can activate. (honestly I usually forget to wait and haven't had a problem- but if your kitchen is cold, you may want to give it this time)

3.  Add 3/4 cup gluten and while the mixer is going on low-medium, add 6 of the cups of whole wheat flour.  Don't scoop it.  Use another scoop to lightly fill the measuring cup.  Level it off with back of knife.

4.  Let knead for 8 minutes on medium.

5.  Add the remaining 6 cups of flour one cup at a time.  You may need to increase the speed to be able to handle it all.  Knead for another 8 minutes.  

6.  Remove dough.  Divide in 4 equal portions.  Shape into loaves and place in 4 greased loaf pans.

7.  Cover and let rise 1 hour minus oven preheating time.  I rise 30-50 minutes, turn on oven, and 10 minutes later it's perfect to go in.  

8.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F.

9.  Thump the bottom of the baked loaf to see if it's done.  It should have a hollow sound.  Butter the tops of loaves if desired.  

10.  Let cool 1-2 hours before slicing.  Hahahaha!  Yeah right.  

But seriously, if you do wait the cooling time, the rest of the loaf that is cut and you don't eat immediately, won't dry out.  

Annnnd if you're like us, a whole loaf will be gone in no time.  

These loaves freeze well.  Make sure they're fully cooled before freezing.  :) 

 

tbsp = tablespoon    tsp = teaspoon 

high-altitude usually rises faster so keep an eye on it

high-altitude bake at 375°F

 

Honey oat whole wheat -- single loaf recipe

1 1/3 cups of very warm water (110° Fahrenheit)

1 tbsp yeast

1 tbsp ground flax seed

1 1/2 tsp chia seeds

1/3 cup rolled oats (quick is fine too) - you can add another 1/3 cup oats if you subtract 1/3 cup from the total whole wheat flour

1 to 3 tbsp oil (we like coconut oil) OR 1 to 3 tbsp of applesauce

1/3 cup granulated sugar OR 1/4 cup honey (we use raw honey)

1 tsp salt 

3 tbsp gluten

3 cups whole wheat flour 

1.  In a mixing bowl, add very warm water (110°F), yeast, ground flax seed, chia seeds, and rolled oats.

2.  Add oil (or applesauce), sugar (or honey) and salt and give just a swish or two around with a wooden spoon.  Let this mixture sit for 5-8 minutes so the yeast can activate.  (honestly I usually forget to wait and haven't had a problem- but if your kitchen is cold, you may want to give it this time)

3.  Add 3 tbsp gluten and while the mixer is going on low-medium, add 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.  Don't scoop it.  Use another scoop to lightly fill the measuring cup.  Level it off with straight edge of knife.

4.  Beat with mixer (or wooden spoon) for 7-8 minutes.

5.  With a wooden spoon, beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour one-half cup at a time.  

6. Turn out dough onto floured surface and knead for 8 minutes by hand.

7.  Shape into loaf and place in a well-greased loaf pan.

8.  Cover and let rise 1 hour minus oven preheating time.  I rise 30-50 minutes, turn on the oven, and 10 minutes later it's perfect to go in.

9.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F. 

10.  Thump the bottom of the baked loaf to see if it's done.  It should have a hollow sound.  Butter the top of loaf if desired.  

11.  Let cool 1-2 hours before slicing.  

UPDATE:  If you have a bread machine, I highly recommend using it to knead your bread and do its first rise.

Just dump all the ingredients in and press dough setting.

When it is done, form into loaf-shape and put in greased pan.  Let rise 30 minutes covered.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F.

Cool on cooling rack out of pan.

 

tbsp = tablespoon    tsp = teaspoon 

high-altitude usually rises faster so keep an eye on it

high-altitude bake at 375°F

 

Knock-knock Who's there? Banana. Banana who?

Bananas are a wonderful fruit filled with potassium.  The best way to absorb it is with a glass of milk. 

Milk and bananas are my 3 year old's favorite foods.  But if you have a banana addiction like my little Gremlin does, you may find it difficult to wait for the bananas to ripen. 

Putting your green bananas in a paper bag helps them ripen faster and hide them from the banana-addict in your home.  This works for me!

Did you also know that you can freeze bananas?  When the bananas go on sale for 25¢ a pound buy as many as your freezer will hold. 

They are great for milkshakes, banana bread, and banana muffins.

If you're using them in a recipe for bread or muffins, you can even freeze them in the peel.  The peel will turn black, but the banana inside will be fine.  Warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds and cut or open the end and squeeze it into a bowl like a tube of toothpaste.

If you're using frozen bananas for milkshakes, it's easiest if you break apart the bananas in small sections about 1 to 1 1/2 inches.  Freeze in a freezer container or ziploc bag.  Label, date, and freeze.  When it's milkshake time you can have a richer milkshake without adding ice by using your frozen bananas.

Also bananas fix your problem.  If you're um... stopped up, they unstop you.  And if you are a bit too um... free-flowin', they help reverse that too.  So, pick a bunch of bananas today to take home!

If you're new here at and don't want to miss out, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

If you have some advice on how to deal with a bully, please click on this post to leave your comment.

If you want an awesome whole wheat banana bread recipe, come back Friday. 






There are no affiliate links in this post. But if any banana companies would like me to sing their praises again in exchange for say a year supply of bananas, I'd be more than happy to do so.

Knock-knock. Who's there? Reality.

I was just reading a post about diaper bags that are especially good for when you have more than one in diapers and the intro told of the mother with four kids five and under!  I was like, "Holy crap!  That poor woman must be TIRED." 

And then I was like, "Um ... self?  Your youngest four are UNDER five.  and psst!  you're due at the end of the year."

And then I thought, I better finish up the potty training with my Gremlin so I won't have to have four in diapers at one time.

I'm feeling all sorts of validated for being tired in the mornings.  By December I will have seven kids eight and under.

After I finish cleaning the house (because I'm expecting my in-laws this evening), I'm going to write a list of all the things I want in the freezer in the next 10 weeks.  Because knowing my history, the third trimester can be unpredictable.  Of course I'll update you with the freezer recipes I use and any handy tips I have up my sleeve. 

Making your OWN homemade pizza

Sorry, I couldn't figure out the blogger option to make this into a scratch-n-sniff sticker. 

This here is homemade combination pizza with one side being the fantastic green bell pepper, LOADS of sliced fresh mushrooms, shredded mozzarella and pepperoni slices side, and the other side being Gabbers friendly - no mushrooms, no bell peppers. 

How do you make sure you don't accidentally throw off the balance of the universe and egads! serve your Gabbers bell peppers and mushrooms? 

You put one sliced mushroom on the mushroom side and one sliced olive on the olive side (both being on top the pepperoni) to identify it correctly.  

Time to make your own homemade pizza.  First of all, start with a decent dough.  This dough is what we use.  We like it.  It works great.  It's pretty inexpensive. 

You can even prepare the dry ingredients weeks and weeks ahead of time and save in the freezer in quart containers. This will make pizza night prep even easier.

Now you need a good sauce.  Please do not use a jar of spaghetti sauce-- unless you want it to taste like the pizza in elementary school.  Use Mom's recipe. 

Sauce:

one 8-ounce can tomato sauce

one 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

1 teaspoon oregano or 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

1/8 teaspoon crushed dried hot red chili peppers (optional)

Warm all ingredients together in a covered saucepan over lowest heat about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Keep warm until ready to use.  Makes enough sauce for 2 to 3 pizzas.

It's easy, it's frugal, and freezes well.

I like to make a big batch and freeze it for future use. This way I only take the time to make it once, but use it on a dozen pizzas.

Assembling Pizza:

1.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2.  Divide dough in half.

3.  Roll each piece of dough on a very lightly floured surface until it is about 12 to 14 inches in diameter (about the size of your pizza pan).  (NOTE:  Do not make dough too thin in the middle.)

4.  Pick up dough carefully, folding it over your arm.  Gently place dough onto pizza pan, being careful not to press dough into pan.  Form crust by rolling edge of dough, again being careful not to press dough into pizza pan.

5.  Spread sauce onto dough very carefully.  (NOTE:  Too much sauce will allow cheese to slide off after pizza is cooked.)  Evenly spread shredded (or thinly sliced) mozzarella cheese (6 ounces maximum per pizza) onto pizza.  If desired, sprinkle parmesan cheese over mozzarella.

Now add your favorite toppings!  Try not to use thick-sliced pepperoni; it makes for a greasy pizza.  Make sure if you do use pepperoni, it's on the top layer. 

Our favorite toppings:

sliced mushrooms- I prefer fresh but will used canned versus none at all

sliced black olives

sweet onions

pepperoni

green bell peppers

mozzarella

Jimmy Dean sausage (browned and crumbled first)

Bake for about 7 to 15 minutes or when crust starts browning and cheese in the middle of the pizza is bubbly. 

Remove pizza from oven, slide pizza from pan onto serving pan or large cutting board.  Slice and serve.

TIP:  Pizza pans with holes in the bottom will allow crust to have a better texture and not be soggy.  I'm not a fan of using pizza stones.    

 What's on YOUR pizza?

This post is linked at:  LifeasMom's Frugal Friday and Frugalicious Friday

What's grosser than gross?

When you finish eating a bowl of rice and the last one crawls away. 

Does that take you back to Jr. High?  Now that you're thoroughly grossed out I'm going to tell you how brown rice can be dinnertime's best friend.

Rice is cheap.  Chee-eap.  And I am a frugal fanatic.  So it didn't take long for our friendship to blossom. 
Did you know you can freeze rice?  Freezing brown rice is especially handy in individual serving sizes.  If you have leftover rice at the end of dinner, just scoop it into a freezer-safe container or zippered bag and FREEZE. 

Since I rarely have the need to make a single serving of rice, I thought I'd emphasize freezing in meal-size servings for your family. 

Brown rice tends to be drier than white rice and chewier.  Freezing it and rewarming gives it the time it needs to soften up-- but not turn it to mush. 

If it seems dry as you're reheating it, just add a little water.  Start with a tablespoon and see if you need more. 

Rice does not last long in our humidity.  It gets weird and turns slimy.  Then I get so freaked out by slimy smelly rice that I don't end up making it for months.

I cook up two cups more than we need for a meal and freeze the leftovers in 1 qt. Ziploc containers. 

If you have a rice pot, it's way easy. If you're making rice on the stove top, just make a little more. You'll be surprised at how having a staple like rice already made and in the freezer speeds up dinner prep.
One stress-free day, don't laugh it happens sometimes, I made a FULL pot of brown rice just for the purpose of freezing.  Then I divvyed it up, washed the pot, and made ANOTHER pot of brown rice.  It's been a dinner rescuer many times.


A few meals made easier in our home with frozen rice:

Chicken soup with rice
Fast beans (a family favorite)
Creamed Tuna on Rice
Canned Salmon and rice (another family favorite)

Sausage Casserole
This recipe is from my mother-in-law.  I have varied it slightly to the likes of my family.  The original recipe has sausage, onion, celery, rice, and noodle soup.

1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 large onion chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cups finely chopped or sliced celery
1 carrot grated
1 cup sliced mushrooms (or chopped if you have a food snob)

2 cups brown rice cooked
2 packages Lipton Noodle soup
3 cups water


1.  In a large skillet or 4 qt. casserole pan (stovetop safe), brown the sausage, onion, celery, carrot, and mushrooms.  Drain any grease.

2.  In a separate pan bring the 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add the noodle soup and cook for 7 minutes.  Remove from heat.  You can do this at the same time as the first step if you're coordinated.

3.  Mix all the ingredients together (including the rice).

4.  Serve!  If you like it a little more cooked (less-liquidy) bake it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.





This post is linked at Coupon Teacher's Thifty Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Frugal Friday, and Frugalicious Friday.

No-frills FAST meat!

Last night as I was getting ready to brown close to 6 lbs. of ground beef and 4 cups of chopped onion I realized my stoneware bar pan would overflow with grease when it started cooking down.  So I took out a little more than a quarter of it and put it in my round stoneware pan.  The plan was to alternate the two pans between the racks in the oven.

But then I had a lightbulb moment.  No not that kind of lightbulb moment.  An AHA! moment.

I put that round stoneware pan (I think it's called the Deep Dish Baker) in the microwave with three coffee filters on top to prevent splattered microwave carnage, and nuked it about 5 minutes. 

When both pans were done, I just kept thinking, why have I NEVER done this before?!  Holy moly that saves time! Hurray I have my Works-For-Me-Wednesday post!

A long time ago, when baby number 4 was in utero, I posted about how I cook large quantities of meat at a time.   Feel free to read it.

I'm going to hit on the main points here and if you have questions, just leave a comment.

Why cook a lot at once?  Isn't that a pain?

1.  Usually, you can buy meat at a better rate per pound when you buy large packages. 

2.  After cooking up a 3-10 lbs. or so at a time and dividing into approximately 3/4 lb. baggies, you will have your meat ready when you need it.  This makes dinnertime so much easier having skipped the step of browning the meat (and we add onion) and washing the skillet, spoon, and collander.  And your hair doesn't smell like hamburger grease that night.

3.  Cooking a lot at once means sticking it all in a pan with edges and in the oven or now I know, the microwave-- if it's microwave safe of course. 

4.  It's hardly any extra work than cooking a single pound.

What kind of pans work for this?

Bar pans (cookie sheet with edges), 9 x 13 pans, loaf pans, muffin pans, mini-loaf pan, circle, ovan, square casserole dishes. 

1.  Glass are more likely to burn.

2.  Metal and non-stick pans work great in the oven.

3.  Stoneware is my personal favorite because it helps it season the stoneware as it cooks and it's also microwave safe. 

Use a pan with edges.  You do not want the grease that comes from cooking down meat to flow off the edges and all over your oven.  or microwave.  So, use a pan with edges. 

My totally organized, artsy, and  frugal coupon-queen sister, Leslie, told me about a woman she knows who couldn't stand the smell of meat cooking when she was pregnant.  Sound familiar?  This woman was able to benefit from the loving efforts of her hubby.  He went to his mom's house, cooked it all up, divided it, and brought it home to freeze.  How freaking awesome is that?!

What kind of meats are you planning on cooking in the microwave?

Ground beef and ground sausage (Jimmy Dean) come to mind.  I'm still thinking I'll use the oven for mass cooking chicken.  And I am not a fan of microwaved bacon.  So I'll stick to cooking that in the oven chopped up in the bar pan and saving the grease of course. 




This post is also linked at Tuesday Tips and Tuesday's Tip Jar.

Frugal Friday: Freezing = Savings

When I was first married and had to learn how to cook for two people instead of seven, I was always frustrated when I found recipes calling for half an onion, 1/3 cup chopped bell pepper, 1 carrot, etc.  Most bell peppers and onions are sold whole.  Then after having kids (yeah, it took me a while), I learned you could freeze a lot of different vegetables.  Potatoes are a little tricky.  But I chop and freeze the following on a pretty regular basis:

bell pepper (red, yellow, and green)

onions (white, red, yellow, sweet, and green)

celery

leeks

carrots

Chopping up leftover vegetables and freezing them saves time, money, and prevents waste.  Living frugal is one of my favorite pasttimes.  For a fun kid-friendly Valentine's Day Frugal Friday click here.  For more Frugal Friday posts that I didn't write, visit LifeAsMom. 

Pillsbury? Pshaw. I have Grandma Kahn's.

This week we are making the pie crust for the Thanksgiving pies. When I am done forming them, I will freeze them until the day before Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas Eve. We will be using Grandma Kahn's Perfect Pie Crust. Previously I used wax paper for my pie crusts. But for a couple years now I've been using cereal bags.

I just open them at the seams and use just like wax paper. After I have all four circles of pie crust wrapped nicely in cereal bags I put them in one bag, label with a sharpie "Nikki's coveted pie crust" and the date.

When you are done with a box of cereal, shake out the crumbs and save the bag. I like to save the cereal bags in a cereal keeper from Tupperware. I feel good knowing I'm recycling these bags and that they work much better than wax paper. Cereal bags are also great for crushing cracker crumbs in and shake and bake type recipes.

Now to the pie crust. Click on the link above to my post about Grandma's pie crust. It will open in a new window so you can toggle back and forth if you need to.

The key I believe with preparing your own flaky-shatter-at-the-touch-of-a-fork pie crust is in not over-kneading. Step 3 where it says, ". . . add to flour mixture and stir until moistened," do just that. Stir until moistened. Then stop. Do not knead and knead until it resembles playdough. It does not need to have a consistent smoothness to it. In fact, when I get to step 4, "Divide dough into 4 portions and shape each in a flat circle . . ." it is quite crumbly and falling apart. This would've bothered me years ago, but I've learned with baking that patience is the key.

I mend the crust when I'm rolling it out. If it's too moist (ugh, hate that word) and sticking to the rolling pin, then I dust a little flour on. If it's too dry and cracking and falling apart much too easily, I use a little water. Don't pour it on. Just dip your clean fingers into a small bowl of cold water and sprinkle it on. Seriously like a drop or too. Not even a half teaspoon.

I was twelve or thirteen when I made my first pie crust. It was for a dessert contest at Young Women's. I made Lemon Meringue Pie. I was so frustrated with the pie crust- mostly the rolling part. It turned out hideous but tasted really good. I was tired out from it and didn't try crusts again until I was eighteen or nineteen.

Pie crust gets easier with every try. But you can't let it go six years in between-- or you won't remember the tips and which parts you want to modify. Try it out on your family first. Make pot pies or meat pies. If it's REALLY bad on Thanksgiving, say your four year old helped you. ;)

To me this makes sense. If it doesn't to you, leave your question in the comments and I'll do my best to clarify. I'll post my pics when Danny is home to remind me yet again how to upload them. Or download. Whatever.

Homemade Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls

I happen to be in the percentage of the population who does not have a 2-oven kitchen and tons of spare time Thanksgiving week. So I like to dissect my Thanksgiving menu and see what I can prepare in advance.

Since the freezer is very much my bosom buddy, and my family LOVES homemade dinner rolls, I like to bake them in advance. About three kids ago I started baking them in advance-- usually three weeks before Thanksgiving-- which is today. Normally our homemade bread items are whole wheat, but I like white rolls for Thanksgiving. Unhealthy traditions die hard.

This is my mom's recipe and it's never failed me. Unless you count the time that I was in charge of rolls for Thanksgiving at my parent's house when Danny and I had been married about two years and long-time friends Boyd and Priscilla were coming over and I decided to add dill to the rolls to make them extra yummy and accidentally killed the yeast with overly-hot water and disappointed the whole family which incidentally pales in comparison to the time I dumped hot gravy on Doug's lap leaving us each to serve very small portions of gravy and not enough for leftovers. I usually triple the recipe for Thanksgiving. No one seems to balk at leftover rolls to go with their leftover turkey and gravy. So the more the merrier.

Yields approximately 18 small rolls.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Rising time: 75 minutes
Baking time: 8 to 10 minutes

1 package or 1 tablespoon active-dry or instant yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, scalded
2 to 3 tablespoons shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
3 1/2 cups flour

1. Soften yeast in warm water.
2. In a small bowl combine milk, shortening, sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
3. Add yeast mixture to milk mixture; add egg and beat in with wooden spoon.
4. Gradually stir in flour to form soft dough. Beat vigorously with wooden spoon.
5. Knead on lightly floured surface 8 to 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes. (High-altitude rises much faster; watch carefully to not let over-rise.)
6. Turn dough out of bowl and shape. (NOTE: Keep dough as sticky as possible to work with.) Roll on lightly floured board. To shape rolls Parkerhouse style, roll them out to 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a round cookie cutter. Pull each round piece of dough to a slightly oval shape, then fold over and crease.
7. Place rolls slightly apart on a well-greased cookie sheet. Let rise until double in bulk again, about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (high-altitude 425 degrees).
9. Place cookie sheet on top rack of oven. (NOTE: Small things are baked high in the oven; medium things [like bread and cakes] are baked in the middle, and large things [like turkeys] are baked with the rack in the lowest position.)
10. Bake for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden, but still have some white on them. Do not overcook or they will be dry.

To adapt the recipe for the bread machine and save some time:

1. Dump all ingredients in the bread machine and press "dough" setting.
2. Come back in approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes and continue from step 6.

WFMW-- Stuffed Potatoes

Yesterday, my good friend Denay blogged about the greatness of potatoes with some handy tips in her Kitchen Tips Tuesday edition. This reminded me of a yummy recipe I got from my Aunt Freda. I can't remember now if my aunt fixes up her potatoes exactly this way, but this is how we do it:

5 lb. bag of potatoes scrubbed and rinsed

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 lb. cooked bacon crumbled

1/2 cup chopped green onions

8 oz. cheddar cheese or Colby jack cheese grated

Bake the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes. Let cool.

Cut potatoes down the middle.

Being careful not to tear the skins, scrape the insides of baked potatoes into a bowl. Scrape within 1/8-inch from skin. Set the skins aside on a bar pan (cookie sheet with edges).

In same bowl that the potato insides are in, dump the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well combined.

Spoon potato mixture bake into the skins.

Put the two halves of each potato back together and place on the bar pan.

Freeze until firm and place in individual baggies and altogether in a gallon-size Ziploc.

To serve: take stuffed potato out of freezer and nuke in microwave about 1 1/2 minutes.

This is a great recipe to add to your Once A Month Cooking plan. But sometimes, it's better if your family isn't home when you make them, and possibly doesn't know about these for a while after they're made. They seem to disappear fast.

P.S. The main appeal to this recipe, other than the yumminess factor, is that you can FREEZE them ahead of time. :)

Taco Soup Request

I originally posted this recipe back in March under this post. But this afternoon I was talking to my favorite sister that lives in Hawaii and she asked about bean recipes. She knows I'm an uber-frugal-bean-freak and all. And you know what? I woke up this morning to 6 degrees Fahrenheit outside. So Taco Soup sounds like a good idea to me right now! And Danny would so love it if I actually cooked something other than chicken tenders and cold canned green beans sometime soon. Won't he be surprised if I whip up a batch of cornbread to go along with real food? I'm pretty sure Grandma W is hoping I'll feed her son. ;)

Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans pinto beans or red kidney beans (approximately 3 2/3 cups)
32-ounces tomatoes
2 cups water
1 4-ounce can green chilies, diced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning mix

Brown ground beef with onion until there is no pink left in the ground beef. Drain off any grease. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Allow to cool. Place in freezer containers or freezer bags. Label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw. Heat until hot and bubbly. Serve with corn chips and shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Or serve with shredded cheddar and fresh cornbread.

Variations: Use black beans instead of pinto beans or kidney beans. Or use a combination. You can s-t-r-e-t-c-h this recipe by adding extra beans or extra canned tomatoes. And you can make it even healthier and less expensive if you omit the ground beef and replace it with 2 extra cups of beans.

EXTRA TIP: Did you know you can freeze grated cheese too? It's better than freezing a block of cheese. A block of cheese frozen tends to crumble easily when thawed.

Ice Cream **WFMW**

When you are done eating your 5 quarts of mint chocolate chip ice cream, instead of feeling guilty, recycle the tub!

Ice cream tubs are good for holding, organizing, and/or storing: small toys, crayons, Christmas ornaments, cookie cutters and more.

They are just the right size for crockpot lasagna (click on link & scroll down to Crockpot Lasagne recipe).

They are good for holding ice cubes so they don't get that fun "freezer smell."

You can use them for trick-or-treating or in the spring as an Easter pail or at the beach or sandbox for a sand pail.

You can fill them with caramel popcorn and take them to a friend.

But most importantly, they are good for space helmets to go with the diaper box spaceship. And a box and ice cream container that aren't going straight to the landfill, but provide hours of fun, WORKS FOR ME!

Should you find yourself with a few too many Luvs diaper boxes because your washer is rebelling and you refuse to take cloth diaperes to the Laundromat and so you buy disposable but you don't really need a spaceship:

Store Christmas decorations.

Organize homeschooling supplies.

Store pants that don't fit post-partum out-of-season clothing.

Pack for a road trip instead of using suitcases.

Do a 27-fling boogie and donate to another family, thrift store, Deseret Industries, Airmen's Attic, Salvation Army, Goodwill, or whatever you have near you!

Thanks for stopping by today! Don't forget that I'll be drawing a name from the comments on the PARTY POST on Monday, October 15th. The winner will get a ducky towel.

Grandma Great's White Chili

Danny's father's mother is Grandma Great to the kids. And she is a wonderful resource for yummy recipes. This is one of our favorites from her. It's even less expensive to make if you prepare your own beans. It freezes well too.

5 chicken breasts cooked and cubed
3 tbsp. onion powder
9 cans Northern beans (approx. 14 oz. cans)
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
3 4-oz. cans green chilies drained (I recommend buying whole and then chopping them. The pre-chopped tend to have hard pieces.)
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
16 oz. sour cream
2 lbs. monterey jack cheese-- grated

Combine everything except sour cream & monterey jack cheese. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, and simmer 30 minutes. Add sour cream. Add monterey jack cheese & serve.

If you're going to freeze it, don't add sour cream & monterey jack cheese. Add those later when serving. You could grate the cheese and freeze it in a separate container from the chili. Don't freeze the sour cream though. ick.

We like to eat it with Fritos. I think it kinda has a chicken enchilada taste to it. If you don't like beans (or just want to see them suffer), click here. hehe

A new life for Pookieville

So, I was wondering if y'all would like to see regular bloggy updates? I was thinking of making a schedule like Neighbor Jane Payne to provide you some daily reading from Pookieville.

Here are some ideas for regular categories of what to post.

Monday Musings-- Whatever randomness pops into my head or sad stories lamenting on our severe weather (a subject that seems to pop up regularly).

Tackle it Tuesday-- Procrastination things I'm working on one project at a time to keep me sufficiently humbled and so you all don't think I'm perfect.

Works for Me Wednesday-- Things that work for me that might work for you too.

Pictures of my kids and pictures of things my kids have destroyed created. Because even though you may not be a proud grandma or grandpa of the Pookieville residents, I know you want to see them.

Frugal tips, recipes, OAMC

Kiddie Kwips. I'll probably post the Kiddie Kwips in a post before they get added to the sidebar so you know there's a new one.

What would you like to see? Come on. You can comment. My stomach's not flat yet.

OAMC thoughts

In response to the comment from Renee', yes, I still do Once A Month Cooking. There's quite a satisfaction in seeing my grocery bill cut in half by pre-planning my month's dinners, breakfasts and goodies. (I like to tell Danny, "Do you realize we are feeding our family for the same price a family half the size does?" Isn't that SO AWESOME?!) The task in itself becomes easier after you have a good list of what your family eats. It is even easier if you have the recipes entered into a program so you can print out the ingredients and compare them to your pantry before shopping day. When it comes time to make my list of meals, I pull out a spiral notebook and create a few sections: chicken meals, beef meals, soups, breakfasts, desserts. Or I pull out an old list and decide if I'm going to repeat it or think of different choices. Then the family chimes in on their preferred meals and I fill in the sections.

It is very rewarding. If I'm too tired to cook, I already have ready meals. If I have unexpected company, I have plenty to provide. If a neighbor has a new baby, I can bring over dinner and dessert and have time to make a card. It saves me time. It saves me money. It saves my sanity.

An even easier method I like to use is buying large amounts of meat and precook it. If boneless-skinless chicken breasts were on sale, I'd buy 30. Then I could cook them in the oven, chop them, and bag them in two cup increments. Or ground beef goes on sale, I'd buy 10+ pounds and cook it up with chopped onions and bag them in 1 lb. increments. Then when OAMC-day comes, it is waaaaaaaaay easier. I would just be assembling meals and hardly heating my kitchen at all.

I like to cook. I like to bake. But I don't like to feel like a slave to the kitchen. I don't like to hear "What's for dinner?" and not have a response. Recently we had an Enrichment group from church do a cooking class on 30-minute meals. That's exciting and an improvement for many families, but if all your dinners were 30-minute meals, you'd still be spending 30 minutes EACH DAY on cooking them. That's 15 hours a month just cooking dinner. And that doesn't count clean-up time for each day. Pre-planning your menus cuts down on waste. Every onion, every piece of chicken has been counted and planned for. And doing OAMC provides you the opportunity to buy bulk packages (generally cheaper per ounce).

I highly recommend the book "Dinner is Ready" by Deanna Buxton. And I just found out she's created more books. So I'm headed over to her site right now to learn more.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have found. Real butter really makes a difference. Also using vanilla extract instead of "vanilla flavoring" helps. You can freeze them after they are baked or freeze the dough prior to baking. My favorite method of freezing the dough is using a stainless steel scoop and placing scoops of dough onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and flash freezing. When they are frozen, pop them off and into a freezer Ziploc bag. Label and date contents. You could also drop them by teaspoonfuls onto the wax paper. Or another method I have done is shape the dough into a log and freeze it. Then you can slice off cookies when you're ready to bake. To bake you may have to add a couple minutes, but you still bake them at the same 350º Fahrenheit temperature.

Freezing unbaked cookies helps you not eat the whole batch and gives you the opportunity to bake fresh cookies in the future for neighbors or someone in need (even if that someone is YOU). I usually will bake half the dough and freeze the rest since this is a large batch. This is the best option for us, because let's face it, I'm not above eating frozen cookies. :)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields: 60

1 ½ cups real butter (3 cubes)
2 cups brown sugar
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
5 ¼ cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.

2. Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake 11-12 minutes until edges are lightly golden.

Optional: You can add chopped walnuts or substitute the chocolate chips for m&m's or Kissables.

OAMC tips and recipe of the week-- Good Home Cookin'!

Yorkshire Pudding!

Roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and gravy. Smells better in person.

Your tip for today: Try freezing your favorite recipe in a single size portion. You may be surprised how many of your family’s favorites freeze well. Avoid freezing anything with pasta, potatoes, or rice already cooked in. Except maybe Bacon Cheeseburger Rice from Christy’s OAMC site. That freezes well. Looks like vomit, but tastes great. And it’s a hit with the kids! Click here and it's the third recipe down.

Today I am making roast beef. We will have the traditional Sunday dinner on Saturday because I feel like it. I’m even going to make Yorkshire pudding. We’re going to have it with potatoes and carrots like Danny prefers. I bought a bigger roast than I normally do so that we can have leftover roast to make into beef pot pies.

I love pot pies! I think I love pot pies better than regular dessert pies. Or maybe I just love the crust and the gravy.

So tomorrow or Monday I will make the pot pies and experiment with freezing one. Just one will be experimented on. I wouldn’t want to waste a whole batch of pot pies if it didn’t work out.

First recipe today is a stew to add to your soups, stews, and chili recipes that freeze well. The second is the pie crust recipe I will be using to make pot pies. And the third one is for making your own homemade yogurt.

Cabbage Patch Stew

2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 cups cooked kidney beans in liquid (or about 2 14.5 to 15 oz. cans)
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups beef broth
1 quart stewed tomatoes
1 T chili powder
2 T sugar
2 t salt
1 T Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef with onions and celery. Add undrained beans. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Allow to cool. Place in freezer container or zippered freezer bags. Label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw. Bring soup to a boil. Serve with bread and butter.

Also good with grated cheddar cheese.

Grandma Kahn's Perfect Pie Crust has been passed down for generations in my family. It is the best recipe I have found for pie crust and it can be frozen! When baked, pie crust should be flaky and shatter when touched by a fork. This one does if you make it right.

Grandma Kahn’s Perfect Pie Crust

Copyright ©1996 My Mom’s Recipes

Yields 4 crusts.
Preparation time: 12 minutes
Baking time: 12 to 15 minutes

4 ½ cups flour
¾ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ¾ cups shortening
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
¼ cup cold water

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
2. Add shortening and mix with fork until crumbly.
3. In a small bowl beat egg, vinegar, and water; add to flour mixture and stir until moistened.
4. Divide dough into 4 portions and shape each in a flat circle. Wrap each circle of pastry dough in wax paper and chill at least ½ hour.
5. Lightly flour both sides of pastry patty; roll out on lightly floured surface.
6. For baked pie shell, place in pie pan—do NOT stretch crust; prick bottom and sides of pan with fork. Bake in preheated 425° (high-altitude 450°) oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. TIP: Be careful not stretch pastry or it will shrink when baking.
7. For 1- or 2- crusted pies, follow pie recipe. Dough can be kept refrigerated up to 3 days, or frozen up to 2 months.

TIPS FOR A FLAKIER CRUST:
1. Be very gentle with your crust- roll from the center to the outside, never rolling more than one direction on the same section of crust; also, never stretch the crust.

2. On the bottom of a crust that's baked with filling in it, either lightly flour or lightly brush with softened butter or margarine, and then pour in filling.

3. If at all possible, your crust should be refrigerator cold before rolling, and before adding your filling, and the filling should be hot.

Yogurt
Copyright ©1996 My Mom’s Recipes

Yields 2 cups
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Setting time: 8 hours

The cost of yogurt compared to the cost of milk is very high. By making your own yogurt all you pay is the cost of the milk, plus the first yogurt start. If you continue making it, you can use a start from the last pint you made yourself. Yogurt has a friendly bacteria that is beneficial. It can be substituted for sour cream, buttermilk, and sometimes even mayonnaise.

One-pint thermos bottle
1 ¾ cups milk, scalded
¼ cup yogurt start (plain, live-culture, unsweetened yogurt)

1. Be sure thermos is clean and warm. To warm you can fill with hot tap water, then pour out just before use.
2. Scald milk, let cool until just warm when placed on wrist, slightly warmer than if you were using it for making bread. Temperature should be about 115° to 120°.
3. Place yogurt start in bottom of warm thermos; pour in cooled milk.
4. Screw top on thermos and let set for about 8 hours.
5. Use immediately or refrigerate up to 1 week.

VARIATION: For thicker yogurt, with added calcium and protein, add ½ to ¾ cup nonfat powdered milk to fresh milk before scalding.

USE IN: Frozen Yogurt Pops.

OAMC-- How I manage it with little ones.

In regards to Kimm who left a comment on my post OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) How I got started, asking how I find 8-9 hours in a day to cook with small children. Here is my lengthy response.

My day starts at about 6 a.m. when I’m planning on doing 30 dinners. I have a list prepared ahead of time showing all the dinners I’m going to do and the order I will do them in. The recipe books are out, the kitchen is cleaned, the crockpots are ready to slow-cook and there isn’t any clutter on the counters. I rent from the video shop or borrow from friends, four hours worth of kid shows or movies the day before.

When the first child comes downstairs, usually by 7 a.m. I cheerfully tell them, “Would you like cereal or oatmeal for breakfast?” The prospect of getting breakfast right away from a pleasant mommy is wonderful to them. I sit them at the table with their bowl and say, “If you are very good I have a special movie for you after breakfast.” This almost always guarantees a fight-free mess-free breakfast. I set up each child as they come down. And as far as Bun goes, I set him up in the highchair and he’s usually fine to stay there after finishing his breakfast (for about an hour or two) if he has a few kitchen tools or cups and spoons to play with. Sometimes I move his highchair to the doorway of the kitchen so I can talk to him and so he doesn't feel containerized and abandoned. I chat his ear off, "Hey Bun! Did you know that three teaspoons equals a tablespoon? Do you know how to scoop and measure flour properly? Aluminum never goes in the dishwasher Bun. Remember that. Can you fit all the measuring cups together?"

On OAMC cooking day we don’t have preschool. This is good and bad. The children love preschool and beg for it. This disrupts their routine. But they are also thrilled to be allowed to eat microwave popcorn with their favorite blanket and stuffed animals and watch a show in the living room.

The first two hours of shows usually goes smoothly. Then we need potty-breaks. And then I need to separate Pookie and G so they don’t spazz-out. So, one of them becomes my helper while the other one gets to play with a special toy like Lego’s or a floor puzzle. After 30 minutes we switch helpers.

I have children wander into the kitchen and ask what I’m making and if they can lick the beaters or the bowl or dump ingredients in a recipe. I try to see this as a teaching moment and let them participate. I figure, if I only get 24 meals done, I can do the rest in the evening when Danny is home, or tomorrow. Before long, it’s time for naptime snack and then naptime. Then I say, “Go to sleep. When you wake up, I will tell you about something special.”

When they wake up, they get lunch with the same movie/show promise, “If you are very good I have a special movie for you after lunch.” This is usually not rejected. If it is, I say, “Would you like to make crafts for Grandma and Grandpa?” And then I sit them at the table with washable Crayola crayons and construction paper. When that gets boring, I put one of them supervised in the highchair with scissors. And then they take turns.

The whole day I'm checking on them CONSTANTLY. I'm a very paranoid mom. I look and see what they're doing, ask them questions, and ask for helpers. "I need a little helper to throw away some trash for me." or "I need a taster that is 3 years old and loves chicken. Does anybody know someone 3 years old who loves chicken?" Then I hear, "I do. It's G! G it's you! You're 3 and you like chicken!" We have fun with this. They can tell if I'm stressed and they can tell if I'm trying to keep them out of the kitchen. So I don't.

If I had a sitter, I would have to trade with another mother so I wouldn’t have to pay. I could probably get it all done A LOT faster though—like maybe 5-6 hours.

You can always start with half OAMC days. Or just do all the chicken recipes or maybe all the beef recipes on one day. That’s my method of choice. It’s thrilling to look in your freezer, and have your hubby and all your neighbors look in your freezer at the end of a complete OAMC day and say, “Look what I did!” It’s very attainable and very adaptable. You can do it. Start with doubling or tripling recipes once a week, or twice a week if time permits. Or tell yourself “I’m going to do a OAMC day with one dozen meals." That’s a dozen meals! I think the hard part is deciding what dinners to have. There are lots of resources online and in books showing you tried-and-true freezer-worthy recipes. If you have a family of picky eaters, try just a few at a time. Have them participate in the judging of it. “How do you like this? Is it something you’d want to eat again?”

As far as OAMC goes, it’s like I feel about homeschooling: it’s not hard if you just do it, thinking about it is the freaky part.

Kimm-

Thanks for visiting. You are always welcome. And don't forget to enter your limerick here and possibly win a ducky towel!

OAMC tips and recipe of the week: Soup Edition

Soup is a wonderful, inexpensive way to fill your freezer with meals. Danny loves soups, stews, and chili. When we were first married, I never made him soup. I also never knew how easy it was to make.

This is an easy, healthy, freezer-worthy recipe. If you have a big enough pot, double the recipe. It’s fast to assemble and doesn’t take much babysitting while simmering. If you precook your ground beef or pre-chop your onions and have them on hand in the freezer, it’s even faster and you could save money by having bought them on sale.

Soups, stews, and chilis also make for fast lunches. I like to send individual serving sizes to work with Danny for his lunch with a couple of dinner rolls from the freezer as well. From October through February or March, you will usually find at least a dozen containers of soup in my freezer alongside my other OAMC dinners.

Storing soup, stews, or chili in your freezer is simple. For the space-limited freezer, ladel into quart or gallon size freezer Ziploc bags and lay flat to freeze. When they are frozen, line them up like books on a bookshelf in your freezer to save space. To make filling the bags easier with less spills on the zipper-part (which makes sealing the bags more difficult), place a canning funnel in the bag and ladel soup in the bag through the funnel.

Thawing food that has been frozen in Ziploc bags is easy as well. Either thaw in your refrigerator overnight or hold the bag under lukewarm running water breaking up the frozen chunks as it warms. Or you can dump the frozen contents into a baking dish or pot and warm on the stove.

Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 14.5-ounce cans pinto beans or red kidney beans (approximately 3 2/3 cups)
32-ounces tomatoes
2 cups water
1 4-ounce can green chilies, diced
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning mix

Brown ground beef with onion until there is no pink left in the ground beef. Drain off any grease. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Allow to cool. Place in freezer containers or freezer bags. Label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw. Heat until hot and bubbly. Serve with corn chips and shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Or serve with shredded cheddar and fresh cornbread.

Variations: Use black beans instead of pinto beans or kidney beans. Or use a combination. You can s-t-r-e-t-c-h this recipe by adding extra beans or extra canned tomatoes. And you can make it even healthier and less expensive if you omit the ground beef and replace it with 2 extra cups of beans.

EXTRA TIP: Did you know you can freeze grated cheese too? It's better than freezing a block of cheese. A block of cheese frozen tends to crumble easily when thawed.