Grandma’s Ranch Style Dressing Mix

If you have a sensitivity to preservatives or just like to save money making your own mixes, you'll enjoy this dressing mix.  We use it in Instant Pot recipes, crockpot recipes, or even mix it with Greek yogurt and use as salad dressing.  

Grandma’s Ranch Style Dressing Mix

2 tsp. garlic powder

8 tsp. onion powder

4 tsp. dried basil leaves

4 tsp. dried parsley leaves

1/2 tsp. pepper

4 tsp. salt

Mix and store.  Use a scant 2 T. in a recipe in place of 1 packet ranch dressing mix.  

If you use this, let us know how you liked it!

Thankful for help

I'm thankful for my bread machine.  Even though I never bake in it, I love to toss a roll kit or bread kit in there and let it do all the kneading and some rising.  I feel like it's an extra set of hands helping me.  Sometimes, I need an extra set of hands. 

And to go along with it, I'm thankful for homemade dinner rolls for Thanksgiving.  When you're prepping for lots of hungry people, it's a good idea to freeze ahead of time what you can so you can save the day before Thanksgiving for prepping pies.   :)

Second Trimester Energy

My very favorite part about pregnancy is feeling the baby move.  My second favorite part is the energy I have during my second trimester.  I have been taking full-advantage of it this past week.

I reminded myself how to use my pressure canner and canned 18 pints of black beans and pinto beans, 6 quarts of pinto beans, 4 quarts of homemade chicken soup, 3 quarts of chicken, and filled 5 quart jars with brownie mixes for an upcoming baby shower I'm hosting.  By the day's end I will have 7 more quarts of beans for shelf-stable storage.

  Bread kits were prepped and picture was taken a few weeks ago.

I took an inventory of my freezers to see what kind of room I have and to make sure I have a balanced variety of meals and prepared ingredients (to make easy meals).

I decluttered my laundry room this morning while making a to-do list (otherwise I'll forget what needs to be done), and started some laundry. 

Peach was not so happy about having her bunny and blanket washed.  In hindsight, I should've washed them in separate loads so she had some comfort.

I have cream cheese chicken in the crockpot and a loaf of whole wheat bread in the oven.

What to do next?

A sad story about bread kits and a cry for help!

Guess how many bread kits I wasted before I realized what was wrong with them?

FIVE

I thought I killed the yeast the first time.

The second time I thought I must've forgot to add enough flour when measuring them.

The third time I thought I was using old yeast that wasn't good anymore and wouldn't rise enough-- so I added more yeast, and a little more flour-- just in case.

The fourth time I decide it was my bread machine and must be flaking off bits of coating causing a reaction and killing my dough (which happened to me a few years ago with an old bread machine). So I decide to make that loaf by hand-- using the bread kit.

I ended up adding probably more than an additional cup of flour. It seemed very dense but seemed the right tackiness-- you know, smooth and elastic.

So I left it to rise in a lightly greased bowl in a warm spot (on top my preheated oven). 45 minutes later, no notable change. So I took it out, formed it, and put it in the loaf pan to rise.

More than 1 hour later it was barely as high as the top of the bread pan. I was fed up with it. I put it in the oven for 30 minutes expecting it would rise maybe a little more.

No, it shrank and baked into a hard anemic-looking brick.

The twins were most entertained by the looks of it (sitting on the cooling rack on the table) that when I was nursing Peach, they poked it with their fingers and a baby spoon. They even said betwixt giggles, "poking!"

Squdge (the instigator)

Tater (the follower in this occurrence)

The fifth time I used only 1 1/4 cups of water (versus 1 1/3 cups) that was barely tepid (so no chancing killing the yeast), an extra 2 tbsp. of gluten, an extra 1/2 cup of flour and an extra 1/2 tbsp. yeast.  It's in the bread machine right now.  Will it work?  *crossing my fingers*

What did I figure out the problem is?  After checking out my food storage and my wheat buckets, I determined that the wheat in my regular hard white wheat bucket is actually soft white wheat.  It explains why my soft white wheat bag is missing, why the wheat looked different when I ground it last week, and possibly why my bread will not cooperate!

The question for you, is what would you do with the remaining 11 bread kits? 

They were all made with the soft white wheat ground into flour. 

Do you throw them out and waste all those ingredients? 

Is there a save?

Run, run, as fast as you can

People, I am overwhelmed.  Do you ever feel like your life is running faster than you and you can't keep up?  That's me right now. 

Two things at the top of my list right now are:

• Homeschool the kids.
• Learn to coupon.

Occasionally I am reminded that all this could be taken away.  I live in fear that Danny is going to be in the RIF (Reduction in Forces) this year.  Last year we watched several friends and neighbors make the switch from Air Force life to civilian life after being reduced.  Danny's year group is up agan for the cut. 

I am thankful through the last six children and their high-risk pregnancies we had the blessings of an excellent insurance coverage provided to us through the Air Force. 

Suppose that was it and there are no more high-risk pregnancies. 

Suppose I figure out how to be a Krazy Coupon Lady and can feed these nine mouths for pennies a meal.

Suppose I make bank with Swagbucks and never have to worry about school supplies again.   

Suppose I can move to a temperate climate where they allow us to have baby chicks on our property and a cow grazing on a grassy knoll that will provide fresh milk every morning.

In the meantime I need to learn how to coupon like a queen and save every last penny in case we need to buy a house next year-- and cloth diaper as soon as the size 2's run out for Peach.  (She's a sweet little peachy-haired fuzzball.  Good blog name, no?)

Let me spell it out for you

(for the four kids between 3 and 8)

We are going on a

to

and a family reunion!

I may or may not have scheduled a WFMW post while I'm gone.   Follow me to get updates in your reader and you'll know when I'm back!  (probably mid-August)

See ya folks!

Cheese n' Buckets

I have 2 mini-Frugal Friday tips for y'all today. 

1.  If you use Sharp Cheddar in a recipe that you normally use medium or mild in, you will need much less.  Taco places do this with their tacos and you still get great flavor.  I'm not a fan of eating a hunk of sharp cheddar by itself (as I might with colby jack or mozzarella), but using it shredded in a recipe?  No problem!

2.  Get free food storage buckets from bakeries and delis.  I have heard about this tip for over a decade.  And I never tried it myself until a couple weeks ago.  At our commissary on base, the bakery and deli throw out empty buckets on a very regular basis.  In 10 days I picked up 6.  Sure, they had frosting bits on the side and pickle juice in the deli one which caused MAJOR cravings for me, but they were FREE.  Who doesn't love free?

They're the same type of buckets that I use to store my wheat, rice, legumes, and rolled oats for long-term storage.  They keep bugs out.  But these ones are FREEEEE.

They're great to sit on while putting away all your groceries in the fridge.

They're a good size to hold your emergency 72-hour kit.

They make great diaper pails.  If you are using a wet diaper pail, please use a secure lid to prevent infants and children from accidental drowning. 

When labeled accordingly, "Beans & Lentils" they are awesome for storing stocking stuffers in.  No child is going to try to figure out the bucket lid remover to get to beans and lentils.

Visit LifeasMom.com for many more frugal tips that smart readers like yourself are sharing.  Please leave a comment and let me know if you're participating too so I can read your handy tip!

Thanksgiving Prep: Thaw the turkey & plan for kid activities

The Thanksgiving preparation that I do today is clean the fridge, toss out the scary leftovers, and take the turkey out of the freezer. I usually forget until Sunday and find that it's not thawed on Thanksgiving morning. I am a wee bit nervous about it thawing too fast. So I put it in a brown paper bag in the fridge. I'm also squeamish about it thawing and dripping all over everything else and giving us food poisoning. Raw turkey-blood flavored leftover Freschetta pizza is naaaaaaasty.  Not that I would know. 

Planning for kid activities to keep them out from under foot on Thanksgiving morning is a must.  Whether or not we have company coming with children, it's helpful to plan things that are not in the way of the dining table or the kitchen traffic for my children.  I've seriously considered hiring a bored teenager to come play in the backyard with them this year. 

Breakfast Recipes for your freezer and pantry

Breakfast Milkshakes

1 to 1 1/2 frozen bananas - preferably in two inch or smaller chunks
heaping soup spoonful of creamy peanut butter (I'm guessing 3 T.)
1/4 to 1/3 cup-ish of vanilla yogurt or same amount of plain yogurt and maybe 1/2 tsp. of vanilla 1 to 1 1/2 cups of milk

Blend until frothy and serve. Sometimes we serve in cups with straws.

It is really not a precise recipe. Danny uses more peanut butter. And we both like to add cinnamon and occasionally nutmeg as well. I've also added coconut oil. Hmm... I might put this post on hold while I make some.

Breakfast Burritos

one dozen eggs
1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 cup mild to medium salsa (cuz I can't stand the hot salsa)
8 oz. Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese grated

In a large skillet cook up the sausage. Do not drain. The grease is used to keep the eggs from sticking to the pan.

Break one dozen eggs into the pan with the sausage. Cook thoroughly. Turn off the heat.

Grate 8 oz. of cheese over the pan of eggs and sausage.

Dump one cup of salsa in. Mix it all up.

Using flour tortillas, spoon about 1/4 cup mixture into middle of each. Roll up and try to tuck ends of tortilla in as well. Freeze on a jelly roll pan (the cookie sheet with the edges). Remove from pan and put in freezer bags. To reheat and serve. Wrap a breakfast burrito in a paper towel and put in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Seriously, very hungry now. I'm back. You can also do the breakfast burritos with bacon. I think I used a full pound of bacon - minus what I nibbled on while the rest cooked up. With bacon I do remove some of the bacon grease. And I save it in a jar in the fridge. You can read about bacon grease in my Associated Content article.

French Toast

To freeze French toast, I let it cool on cooling racks (like you would put cookies on). When they are not hot anymore, I put a whole cooling rack in the freezer until the French toast freezes hard. When frozen, I remove the French toast and stack them back in their bread bag with a twist tie.

To serve: Put French toast in toaster oven or regular toaster. When warmed through serve with butter and syrup. Waffles and pancakes freeze and reheat well too this way. :)

Homemade Granola
4 cups rolled oats (I use 5 to stretch it a bit more)
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter or margarine -- pick the butter!
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (dissolved in melted butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (high-altitude 350 degrees)
2. Mix oats, wheat germ, almonds, coconut, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, or in a glass bowl in the microwave, melt butter with salt and brown sugar, until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla to dissolved sugar mixture; pour over oat mixture and stir until well coated.
4. Lightly grease 9-by-13-inch pan and spread mixture in pan.
5. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until mixture begins to turn golden.
6. Cool completely; store in an air-tight container.
7. Serve cold with milk.

VARIATIONS: (1) Substitute vegetable oil for butter; and honey for sugar. (2) Omit any ingredient you dislike (with the exception of the oats!).

TIP: If you like raisins, currants, or chopped dates, stir 1/2 to 1 cup of one or more after baking so they won't dry out.

We like to double this recipe. I don't omit any ingredients and I do add raisins. When doubling the recipe I use the big Tupperware bowl. When I bake I use stoneware jelly roll pan and 9x13 pan. They don't fit on the same rack since there's twice as much. So I stir and alternate racks every time. When cereal is done baking, I cool on wax paper or opened up cereal bags that are flattened out.

WFMW- emergency storage tips

*Please look at this post for my daughter's birthday and give me your advice.*

Lizbit- I know I've heard the little witch story. But I just can't remember how it goes. Something about cutting out a little house. Right? Could you remind me? I know the kids would love it.

I actually considered not linking from Rocks in my Dryer so I wouldn't have to do an enormous amount of stomach crunches. But I decided to anyway. I'll just have to split up my crunches throughout the day. I have been a faithful Latter-day Saint hoarding away my food storage and drinking water to prepare my family in case of emergency. A few things that work for me:

1. Store powdered Gatorade to use with your emergency drinking water. If you have to boil your water, this will make it much more palatable. I figured out this one on my own. I m smrt.

2. Store Nestle Quik to go with your powdered milk if you don't like the taste of prepared powdered milk. (I just acquired this handy knowledge this last Sunday from a gal at church.) Or if you prepare your family like my sister, she gradually got her whole family used to the taste by mixing store-bought milk with mixed up powdered milk until they could drink it straight.

Updated note: Milehimama stores Ovaltine with her powdered milk because it has more vitamins. Very smart!

3. Use empty milk gallons for emergency flushing water. Be sure to write on them with a permanent marker what it's for. Pour gallon of water into a bucket. Use to flush. Here in the Frozen North, this has come in handy. There have been times when we've had the water turned off for maintenance or frozen pipes and whatnot. At one point I was tired of seeing three dozen gallons of water in my storage room, so I used two dozen to water the garden. And then I recycled the gallons.

I love emergency storage tips. So, if you have some, please share. I would love to expand my knowledge and preparedness. Thanks for stopping by!

WFMW- flat rate stamps & boxes

About a dozen times I year I find the need to send a flat rate envelope or a flat rate box through the United States Postal Service. When I was selling ducky towels (which you'd have to beg me and bribe me and potty-train my two-year old nowadays for an order because I am seriously sleep-deprived with a Baby Ham who thinks I'm an all-you-can-nurse buffet) I had a stack of flat rate boxes and an envelope of flat rate stamps ready. That way I could address it, stick the pre-paid stamp on the box, leave it on my doorstep by the mailbox, and send it ASAP. No begging hubby to leave work early to drop it off and have to stand in line to pay postage, and no hauling four energetic kids down to the post office myself. No unnecessary use of the beloved gasoline. No wasting precious time that could be used blogging. The priority mail boxes are free. If I find myself at the post office for any reason (like buying a money order to send to Smockity Frocks for an adorable apron) I just pick up a stack of flattened boxes, a few flat rate priority mail envelopes, buy a book of stamps for bills and letters to my grandma, and buy a dozen flat rate stamps too. I am all about efficiency and preparedness. This definitely works for me!

For more WFMW tips head over to Shannon's blog by clicking here.

For more of my WFMW posts click here.

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.

WFMW- The Brand-Loyal Edition

The theme for this week's Works for Me Wednesday is the Brand-Loyal Edition. The first product that came to mind is this new Spray n' Wash with Resolve. It gets EVERYTHING out: raspberries, chocolate, grass stains, blood, spaghetti sauce, baby poop, vomit, etc. It is AWESOME! I love it. Our clothing could not survive without it.

The next item I think of is toilet paper. At our commissary Quilted Northern Bathroom Tissue is the cheapest next to the no-name scratchy gray one-ply t.p. And I actually prefer it. I tried ALL the other brands and found I had nit-picky complaints about each one. And my advice on toilet paper, stock up. It's not like you're not going to need it. If it's on sale or you have a coupon, buy as many as you can afford. I think it's bordering on crazy when someone buys a single 4-pack. Unless that 4-pack was on sale for 25 cents and was the last one on the shelf, I don't see why you can't buy a bigger package that would likely be cheaper per roll. Even bachelors need to wipe. And by the way, if you're going to invite me over to your humongous home for someone's baby shower, you could possibly afford a roll or two of t.p. for the guests for when they use your bathroom. I mean, really, four squares for 12 people is insufficient.

Bounty Paper Towels are my paper towels of choice. I like that they are thick and thirsty and don't feel too papery. I use them to make homemade baby wipes as well.

Most other items I'm negotiable on.

What are some of your household must-haves?

Five things I'm sure you REALLY wanted to know about me.

1. I bake the bread for our congregation's sacrament every week.

2. I love pajamas (to the point of buying them at least yearly).

3. I have an astigmatism.

4. I have 200 lbs. of rolled oats in my pantry.

5. I've finally figured out that it's easier to cloth diaper two than just one. With two in cloth diapers, I have enough to provide a load in a little over a day (like a day and one-eighth). So I don't have to rinse and wring out or soak diapers to prevent serious stink. I just shake out any solid poop into the toilet and toss them in the drypail with the wet ones. One day does not a bunch of stink make. No more dried out chapped hands from rinsing, dunking, wringing. No more unwashed diapers hanging dry all over the bathroom. Aaaah! Everyday I am reminded of how much money I'm saving and how many diapers are NOT going to the landfill.

I am tagging Cristtin (Haddorkus) and Kimm (Life with Littles) and Gurrbonzo.

WFMW - The Kitchen Edition

We make our own ice cubes. Keep reading. I’m a high-taster. Danny is a low-taster. These things don’t matter to him. But they matter to me. We have nasty, nasty water here in the frozen north. And it makes for even nastier ice cubes. So, we opted out of having the ice maker in our freezer connected directly to the pipes. I know you can get a filter on the water going to the ice maker, but it just wasn’t worth it to us for the cost. I just use a refrigerator Brita filter pitcher to make ice cubes.

We invested in five Tupperware ice cube trays. The special feature we pay the big bucks for is the lids and Tupperware’s fabulous lifetime guarantee. These ice cube trays have lids to keep out wandering freezer smells.

We also use these ice cube trays to make baby food. For example, when I make pumpkin muffins or pumpkin roll, there is always leftover canned pumpkin. I scoop it into the ice cube trays, put the lid on, and freeze. When they’re frozen, I dump them into a labeled zippered freezer bag and wash the tray out for the next use. They are the perfect size to couple with some baby cereal or breastmilk.

My babies always love their veggies. It is the same price for a can of green beans as it is for the 6 oz. jar of baby food. So I buy the unsalted can of beans. I puree the whole can of green beans, fill up the ice cube tray, and freeze.

Ice cube trays are the perfect size for leftover tomato paste or chicken broth. I’ve had several recipes that call for just so many tablespoons of tomato paste or chicken broth. Why let the rest go to waste? Chicken broth cubes are especially handy for cooling “too-hot soup” for kids. As far as baby food goes, every fruit and veggie I can think of purees and freezes well.

For Christmas Eve we made (a couple days in advance) cranberry juice cubes to put into our fizzy grapefruit soda.

In the summertime we make milk cubes to put in the kids thermos cups in the van when we’re going out for a long while. We fill the cup as full as possible with milk cubes, and then top off with milk. This is much cheaper and healthier than stopping for a fruit drink at a fast food establishment.

You could even just wrap your ice cube trays in plastic wrap (for the more solid-like ingredients) to keep out wandering freezer smells. Think about all the things ice cube trays could do for you.

A 72-hour kit CRY FOR HELP!

Last night I updated all of our 72-hour kits including one for the unborn baby. Each member of the family has a backpack with one change of clothes (provided it’s not Winter) and 3 days worth of meals, snacks, water, cups and plastic Pooh-Bear utensils (except mine and Danny’s are plain old boring white utensils). Bun and the unborn baby have diapers and wipes and a receiving blanket. Pookie and G have some pull-ups (just in case they forget their toileting skills in an emergency). The children each have two little board books and G and Pookie also have a travel Etch-a-Sketch. One bag has the can opener, one has a flashlight, one has a crank radio (the kind that doesn’t need batteries or electricity), one has the baby wipes, one bag contains two large boxes of matches, two bags have whistles on bright yellow cord, and one bag has the supply of hand warmers. I was feeling pretty good about being prepared (and even a teensy bit smug since the unborn baby has one) when I realized, there aren’t any medications or first aid supplies in any of the kits.

These kits are SO heavy. How would my 25 pound Bun or 26 pound G carry a 25 pound backpack each? I think maybe Pookie could drag his. Could I count on having a surge of adrenaline in an emergency that I could carry my kit, two of the children’s kits and possibly a child too? I decided I needed to look into this a little more and searched Google for 72-hour kit preparation.

I started reading about packing toilet paper, water purification tablets, sleeping bags or bedrolls, spare batteries, shoes, toys, family records, birth certificates, insurance certificates, improvised toilet and shovel, disinfectant, plastic bags, and MORE!

I even got distracted and started reading a fantastic article about using solar cooking and how it’s been very effective in Kenya and how I could do it too with a cardboard box and aluminum foil. And then I’m thinking, “This reminds me of my Girl Scout years. Ah, the scouting program is a wonderful investment we can make in our children. And so is swimming lessons. But what if we have an emergency now?”

So, I want to be prepared without going so over the top that it would be impossible to move our kits.

I found it was easy to do these kits when I first assigned a backpack to each child and then a set of clothing. And from there I added food. What now? Go for lighter-weight food? Stick a mini first aid kit in each one? Teach my 1, 3, and 5, year olds weight-training and life-skills?

So I’m looking to YOU for suggestions. If you’ve done yours or seen it done somewhere, what can you tell me? I appreciate all suggestions—even novel-long ones.

Mom’s Whole Wheat Bread

My Mom created this whole wheat bread recipe. I recommend using white wheat flour instead of red wheat flour-- not to be confused with white flour (which is refined).

1 1/3 C. very warm water
1-3 T. Canola oil
3 1/3 C. whole wheat flour or 2 1/3 C. whole wheat flour + 1 C. oat flour
1-4 T. non-fat dry milk (more = finer texture)
1/3 C. granulated sugar or ¼ C. honey
2 tsp. dough enhancer
3 T. gluten
1-1 ½ tsp. salt
1 T. yeast (if baking in oven) or 1 ½ - 2 tsp. yeast for baking in bread machine

Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order given.
Set on whole wheat bread and press start if baking in bread machine.

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order given.

2. When baking in oven, set bread machine on dough only.

3. Spray or grease bread pan.

4. When bread machine is done, take dough out, punch down and form loaf in bread pan.

5. Cover and let rise in bread pan about 30 minutes.

6. Cook for about 30-35 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

To make bread kits, omit water and canola oil and put all dry ingredients in a quart jar or container or freezer zipper bag. Store in freezer.

Using a bread kit for baking:

Bring bread kit to room temperature. Place water and oil in bread machine and add the bread kit. Continue as above.