Monthly Archives: March 2018

Gluten free

Gluten-Free Cooking Day–Spring Break 2018

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Yesterday, I spent several hours cooking with a young friend of my niece.  She is only 17, and has been told by her doctor to stop eating gluten.  They also want her to eat only a small amount of dairy while they figure things out.  So, because they have not eaten this way before, her mom wasn’t sure what to make, and she wasn’t either.  So, she asked for a little help.  I love to cook, and never eat wheat, so jumped all over the opportunity.

The first thing we made was focaccia bread.  The recipe was from a book called “The Gluten-Free Bible” that I’ve had for several years.  They have you put zucchini and tomatoes on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  She only put the tiniest bit of cheese on hers.  I put too many toppings on mine and it was a bit moist under the zucchini, but still good.  When I’ve made this in the past, I’ve focused on the cheese only, and have never put any tomatoes on it before.    It came out great, and we each had one when we were done.  We used the Pamela’s flour mix for bread for this one, and I sent enough home for her to make it again if she wants to.

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The second thing we made was lemon poppy-seed muffins, from the same cookbook.  I’ve made them before, and they turned out great, as usual.  We did not put glaze on them.  For these muffins, we used the Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten-free flour blend.  Again, I sent home enough for her to make them again or to make another item.

The third thing we made was cookies from Gluten-Free and More magazine.  They were made using sunflower seed butter, cocoa powder, an egg, and some brown sugar.  Yum!  This was a new recipe that my friend had tried, and it was delicious, so I wanted to make it.

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Last, but not least, we made a masa crust for a taco pizza.  I got this recipe from Eating Well  magazine and tore it out a while back, but hadn’t tried it yet.  Basically, we mixed the 1-1/2 cup masa flour with 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp.garlic powder, 1 tsp. Chile powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup green onions and patted it out on parchment paper. Then, we baked that at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  We fried up some hamburger with taco seasoning, and I took her home with her crust and taco burger and all her other food items from the day to eat as she wished.  Later, at our house, Rob spread refried beans, the meat and cheese on ours and put it back into the oven until it was warm and the cheese was melted.  Then, the recipe calls for taco toppings such as tomato, lettuce, salsa and avocado, but he just ate it plain.  When I got home from my errands, I had some and it was extremely good, even warmed up in the microwave (even cold) and we will make it again.

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It was fun to try some new recipes with Kim.   We talked about snacks that she could buy to take to school and how important it is to clean the counter of crumbs before she cooks and many other things.  There are so many good options available now that there is no need for anyone to feel deprived, but it’s just a matter of figuring out what works for each individual.   I anticipate that we may cook again another day!  When the day was done, I loved that I had dinner for us, and some goodies for a few days.  Now I’m on a roll and want to try some of the other recipes I found while planning for our cooking day.  No worries….Easter is Sunday and I will cook a couple of things for that.

Vacations

A Walk on the Wild Side (Of Oregon, that is) March-2018

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Rob and I had a wonderful weekend.  Getting away with just the two of us is very rare, and very welcome, and we had a ball.  We went to visit friends in eastern Oregon.

It took us a while to even get out of town on Friday.  Rob did not have to work, but there were many things to do before we could take off.  But, finally, the girls were all settled, the set of chains was purchased, and the doctor’s visit was finished, and we were finally off.  We bought the chains from Les Scwaub, and we can return them after April 1 if they are unused.  Thankfully, we did not have to use them, but it got a bit dicey at one point, so I was glad we had them, just in case.

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Oregon is divided into 2 distinct climates.  On our side, the western one, it rains profusely and constantly, and so is green and lush.  The temperatures are quite mild most of the time.  The eastern side of Oregon, what I call the wild side, has a harsh climate, with cold winters and hot summers.  We drove up I-84, through Portland and along the Columbia River, through the gorge.  Little waterfalls frequently trickle down the steep sides, and it’s a very beautiful drive.  On our return trip, we were able to spot several groups of mountain sheep, grazing on hillsides so steep it is a wonder they did not tumble down when they reached for a tantalizing mouthful of grass.

We were able to see quite a bit of fire damage from last summer’s blaze.  Crews were busy at work, salvaging logs from the burn, and there were areas that were nothing but blackened trees poking forlornly up from the sad ground. But, there were also lots of areas where the fire had moved quickly through, leaving many living trees.  We did not stop at Multnomah Falls, although there were quite a few cars there, especially on the way back.  A lot of the old scenic highway is closed, and many trails are not accessible now.  It’s going to take a while for the gorge to recover, but it isn’t as bad as I feared it would be when I watched the blaze on tv last summer.

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After passing Pendleton, there is a steep grade to climb, a pass we’ve always called Cabbage Hill.  Our late start caused us to hit this pass right as the light was fading away, and it was soon gone completely. To make it a little more interesting, it began to snow heavily, and visibility was pretty low.  It was quite dark when we finally crested the summit, in the pouring snow, and I tell you, we breathed a sigh of relief.  The snow was just starting to stick a bit, but we cruised on through before it became an issue.  We went on to La Grande, where we stopped for the night.

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It snowed some more in the night, but the roads were good, and we headed further east Saturday morning.

We had a wonderful time with our friends on their ranch.  We just spent hours and hours catching up with each other.  We did absolutely nothing but goof around and eat.  She is a marvelous cook, and made things like frittata, roast from their own beef they raised on the ranch, tacos, and more.  I chopped an avocado here and there, but she spoiled us rotten for the most part.  They have a camper “guesthouse” like we do, and we stayed in there.  I enjoyed the walk we took, looking at the garden area, chickens, goats, and so on.  I came home with a lot of rest, a bag full of eggs, home-brewed kombucha she made for Rob, and a handful of recipes to try, feeling very satisfied with all the visiting we got to do.  E-mails and texts keep us in touch, but there’s nothing like getting to visit for hours and hours on end to make us both feel like we are completely caught up on each other’s lives.

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Yesterday, we drove home.  We drove it all in one day, which was so nice.  We were able to visit and talk with each other, make plans for the upcoming weeks, and just enjoy each other’s company in a way that’s hard to get, and rare for us.

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I appreciate the beauty of eastern Oregon.  There are many amazing places, and I loved my visit.  But, as the landscape gradually merged back into the green, lush scenery I am used to, I was once again thankful for the chance to live in the area that I do.

 

 

 

 

Menu plans

What Did We Eat? March 22, 2018

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I did not get over the flu, or whatever it was, as quickly as I wanted to.  Of course, to be honest, I have no patience for sickness and want it to be over with on the first hour:). But, even for me, this crud has lingered longer than normal.  I stayed home for a solid week.  That’s very rare for me.  I did not cook very much this week.  Rob did everything last weekend, and I joined in as I got better.

My sister sent some soup and my aunt, hard boiled eggs.  I had both of those.

Rob got some Chinese food when I first got sick.  I did not appreciate it as much as I usually do, but later, when I was a little better, I ate the soup a few times.  He and the kids slicked it up, and he finished it in his lunches.

He bought a rotisserie chicken and we ate that for several meals.  We ate it as it was.  He took some in his lunches.  I boiled the bones today, and he made some gravy from the broth.  He mashed potatoes and ate chicken gravy over mashed potatoes.  Twice. In one day.  It was good:)

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There is 1 quart of broth left, which I froze.

I had some turkey left from the 20 lb one I cooked last week. Most of that ended up frozen for future meals. I made enchilada casserole, using corn tortillas and a can of sauce.  I’m so thankful I purchased another can when the one I had was used.  It really came in handy when I was not feeling well to be able to make dinner fast.  It went back on the list right away.

The kids made endless quesadillas from cheese and tortillas.  Good thing Rob got 10 pounds last weekend.  You would be amazed and a bit horrified at how much cheese got used this week, but thankfully, there’s lots left.

We cooked a frozen gluten-free pizza for me .  Last weekend, one of the kids bought pizza and they ate that.

I made a batch of no-bake mountain bars last evening.

We had salad a lot.  It was fast and easy.  We cooked a few green beans, as well, and Patsy ate quite a bit of applesauce.  I baked some potatoes and we ate them for several days.

It wasn’t a banner week, but we got through it with a few compromises.  Rob got through the 3 days he needed to work before getting off for spring break.  He always packs a lunch. His choice is the school cafeteria, and he often doesn’t get his lunch breaks at a predictable time.  He feels the school food is overpriced for what small amount he would be given, and also it is highly processed food for the most part.  So, he takes food with him.  We usually count on leftovers to fill his lunch pail.  I’m glad we made it through the week as well as we did, and am looking forward to a super fun week ahead, full of spring break activities and fun!

Saving Money

Weekly Update–Saving Money–March 18, 2018

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This weekend was not as fun as last weekend.  I caught some kind of crud and have been on the couch, whiny and grumpy and bored.  I am a terrible patient!  But, Rob has taken excellent care of me, it’s nothing serious, and I’ll soon be back to my regular ways.  So, since I do most of my chores, money-saving activities, and projects on the weekends, there’s not much to report.  There were a few things that did happen, though, so I’ll get on to those.

One of my orchids re-bloomed.  I accomplished this amazing feat by putting the plant in the laundry room, forgetting all about it, and barely ever remembering to water it.  It rewarded me with these delicate blooms that are a little over an inch across.  I’m enjoying them so much!  I moved it out to the main part of the house when I realized it was going to bloom. I hope the extra care and attention doesn’t mess things up for the plant!

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Earlier in the week, I hoed out a small area in my garden, under the trellis where I grew purple pole beans last year.  It was very wet, and I don’t like to work in the garden very much when it is so wet, so I removed the weeds, poured down a little super-cheap topsoil from Walmart, and planted Alderman Tall Telephone peas.  Hopefully, they will come up and start growing.  I can get in there and straighten up the trellis and replace the baling twine when the garden dries out a bit.  Once it does, Rob can till a small area and I can get some early cool-weather crops planted, such as carrots, beets, lettuce, onions, etc.  The greenhouse plants are doing well.

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I cooked one of the turkeys I got last Thanksgiving for a super low price.  I boiled the bones, and Rob strained the broth and froze it.  The meat was supposed to be for Sunday dinner today, but they are sick over there, too, so I froze most of it.

Rob went shopping for me and got all the bargains from 2 stores, even visiting one of them twice.  Some of his notable finds were:  butter for $1.89!!!  (As most people know, I’ve been on a butter hunt for months, trying to find it for $2/lb.  I’ve found a few, but not many boxes at my price point.  My Safeway app popped up with this deal.  He went and asked, there was no limit, and he got 10!!  That is a man who knows how to make his wife happy!!) 2-lb bags of shredded Kroger cheese for $3.99/bag.  He got the 5 allowed.  He got the Friday Freebies, and even got them to substitute for the item they were out of.  I hadn’t been to that store for a while, so he got 3 weeks worth.  Chips and candy.  Yum.  He got 2 more jugs of laundry soap for $5 each.  1 carton of 18 eggs for 99c.  Those were the main stock-up items he got along with a few other items on the list.  I was impressed.  The Great Butter Hunt is over for a while…..at least until Jake comes over for bagels and popcorn!!

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I picked a bouquet of daffodils from my yard.   The previous owners had planted quite a few in various places. Along the sidewalk, Patsy’s daffodils are blooming like crazy now, and promise to fill out more and more each year.

Some weeks are like this.  It’s a part of my crazy, wild life, and getting sick sometimes happens, even though I’d rather skip that part.    Still, I am very glad to get this sickness out of the way now, since I plan to go on a little trip at the end of the week.  Rob and I are planning to slip away to visit friends for a couple of days.  Just us.  A rare, priceless gift, that so seldom comes my way.  I can’t wait!

Menu plans, Saving Money

What Did We Eat? Apparently More Than I Thought:). March 15, 2018

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Less than a week ago, I was blithely posting about how I wasn’t going to shop much this week–I didn’t need anything–and so on.  That’s not how it turned out!!

Last Saturday, I thawed pork with the intention of making Asian pork meatballs, a new recipe that called for water chestnuts, for the week ahead, as I often do.  I only use about 6 cans of water chestnuts per year, and last time I checked, I had some.  On Sunday, when I went to get them, I didn’t have them anymore.  Other people cook when I’m not here, and I’m very thankful they do, so this was not a tragedy, just a bump in the road.

Then, I noticed the A1 sauce was gone.  The Worchestershire sauce was nearing the bottom of the bottle.  The maraschino cherries were completely gone, even the juice which was used in popsicles.  We were down to the last bit of bread.  It became almost comical as I realized the peanut butter was again almost empty.  The mustard was almost gone.  The pineapple chunks were gone. As I checked things over, trying to cook for the week ahead,  I had to just laugh!  What are the odds of all of that running out in the same week?

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I found that the Safeway app had a coupon for the laundry soap I always buy, for $4.75 per container.  I have paid from $11.99-14.99 on numerous occasions for the exact same container, so I though it was a mistake.  But, since I wanted to get the 2 packages of chicken breast for $1.49/lb that I was allowed, I headed over there after church on Sunday to check it out while I bought chicken.  (That is a really good price around here for the chicken).  The packages were huge, and I ended up with around 15 pounds of chicken–more than I expected to be allowed to buy.  The soap was not a mistake, so I got 4.  I repackaged and then froze the chicken, so we will have many meals from it.  I had a raincheck for bread, for 99c a loaf.  Water chestnuts were 99c/can, so I got 5.  We got Michaela a Coke and a donut–lucky girl–because you don’t break tradition without a good reason with that girl:).

I saved enough chicken out to make the stir-fry in the first picture, and the chicken parmesan in the second picture.  The Asian meatballs turned out great, when I finally made them Monday morning.  Rob made a large pot of white rice, which was used up this week for meals.  I just finished the last of the Jedi burgers tonight.

The extended family was very hungry on Sunday, and used up most of the food I had made and what was brought by others. We had soup, enchiladas, chips, and mountain bar no-bake cookies.  I had a little chicken-rice soup left for the week, but very little.  It’s gone now.  Rob shared that he needed lunchmeat and lunch stuff for the week ahead.  I hadn’t realized that,  so we went to Grocery Outlet and got a bunch of that kind of thing, snacks for his classroom (he’s an instructional aide and they give food out frequently–he takes things when he finds them cheap), and some produce.  Once we realized that we were shopping after all, we decided to get as much as we could for 2 weeks, and skip shopping this weekend. We made a good list, emptied out the remaining money in the grocery envelopes and spent it!

I got what I could there, and finished up at Winco.  I don’t want to go there on Sunday night ever again.  It was so busy, and it looked as if the shelves had been stirred and emptied.  They were out of pineapple, except some really expensive cans.  They were completely out of 1/2 and 1/2.  I did get some produce, and some other items I had on the list. So, I do have a couple of things to get this weekend after all, but not much! (Or so I think!!)

So, why did I go ahead and empty my grocery envelopes for all those groceries, some of which were not needs at all?  Clearly, we don’t need A1 sauce, for one, we just like it.  One reason is because I like to keep my pantry up as much as I can.  I don’t want to run my stockpile down too far.  It defeats the purpose of keeping one.  Yes, there are times when I just pay the asking price for something I only use 1 bottle of in a year, but for the vast majority of my shopping, I shop sales, discount stores, buy bulk items, and use coupons or grow, can and freeze my own.  To pass up laundry soap that is 1/3 of what I’ve paid at times, is only going to cause me to spend more in the future, because I will always wash clothes.  It doesn’t rot, so it’s a good choice to stockpile. (I know people make their own, but I continue to buy the kind that I know doesn’t make my husband break out in a rash, as many kinds do.)

When you cook at home as much as I do, some of these flavorful items make the food more palatable and less boring, which keeps us eating at home.  Also, the family ate things up, and seemed hungrier than usual (sometimes it happens).  So, I needed more of those often-used items as well as the rarely used ones.

I had grocery money to spend.  I wasn’t shopping because I couldn’t, I really thought I didn’t need this many things.  (I must be blind or kind of dingy!)  I knew the fridge was pretty bare, but I was trying to empty it so I could clean it!  (It’s very clean after the salas explosion last Saturday) If I had not had any budgeted money left this month (mine goes from mid-month to the next mid-month), I would have waited for things like maraschino cherries and focused on produce, bread, dairy and peanut butter.  I would have skipped some of the fresh produce, and used more canned and frozen.  I would have continued pulling items from the pantry and freezers for meals.  Now that I’m out of the amount I budgeted, I will choose to wait until I get paid again to load the envelopes up again.  I did save out enough for 1/2 and 1/2, pineapple and milk, if needed. Since I get paid in the next couple of days, we will not suffer a bit. (It was easy to cruise through this week, as well) I was able to pay off the bills I wanted to pay–the braces are completely paid for!  Hip, hip hooray!!  I won’t have any extra money to roll over to next month like I did last time, but I can live with that.

Sometimes, you just can’t plan everything out perfectly, and things don’t work out the way you planned.  But, going with the flow is a great skill to have!  I am very grateful that  I had the privilege of being able to fill up my fridge and restock my pantry.  I’m very aware that I’m blessed to be able to laugh instead of cry when things ran out.  I’m happy that people can have food they want, as well as food they need, and that we have more than enough.  For these things, and more, I am truly thankful.  I never want to lose sight of those things in the midst of my little self-imposed challenges!  They are fun for me to do, and help me make budgeting fun instead of drudgery.

 

Menu plans

Weekly Update-Saving Money-March 10, 2018–Star Wars Food Edition

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We had the boy all weekend!  He was on a Star Wars cooking kick, because his mama got him a really cute Star Wars cookbook and sent it along so we could all have fun!  Here, Uncle is supervising while he made Han-burgers (Han Solo).

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Uncle was even teaching him how to flip burgers!

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Uncle rose to the occasion and made up some planet onion rings to go with the Han burgers.  He used onions that had been given to us last weekend and made a coating with rice flour, egg and water and gave it a Star Wars sounding name.

 

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Jedi juice pops were a real hit–literally!  They fought with them.  We had to color them red with maraschino cherry juice to make it the right color for the dark side–otherwise, it was just apple juice poured into a popsicle mold.  The book had more complicated directions, such as put strawberries and apple juice in an ice cube tray and insert toothpicks when they had frozen for 2 hours……this was easier!

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That would be a Chewybacca pancake.  They were supposed to be C3PO pancakes with pineapple, but that was a no-go.  They had to be Darth Vader pancakes at first, covered with chocolate chips for the helmet with a cherry for a lite saber.

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Of course, we converted everything to gluten-free with the good old Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour!  These pancakes were really good.

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Chewbacca got really brown, but Jake thought that was good–he is brown! As Jake explained, he wasn’t going to eat any of those toppings….they just made the pancakes look good.  Patsy ate them for him.

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Although the book had a different recipe for Wookie Cookies, Patsy decided to make Mountain Bars (no bake chocolate-oatmeal cookies) and they decided to call them Wookie-Cookies.  The Star Wars Weekend was really fun.  No matter what we cooked, we gave it a Star Wars name.  Jake was super hungry and ate a ton of turkey-rice soup that was supposed to be for lunch tomorrow.  No worries–I’d rather have him eat it any time–it’s one of the few real foods he eats–I made an enchilada casserole from odds and ends and we will heat it up with the rest of the soup for tomorrow.  Everyone’s coming here tomorrow, as some have meetings and things in the afternoon and need to eat and run.

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We also drove down to the beach yesterday afternoon for a few hours.  It’s really not that far from here–we just usually forget that it’s so close.  There was no school Friday, so all the kids and Rob were off, and that’s why we had Jake that day–his mama was working.  Rob had done some errands in the morning while I went to the YMCA and took an exercise class.  It was a new-to-me one, and said on the description–“Low impact/barre” so I assumed low meant easy and we would hang on to a bar and ??? I didn’t know what, but how hard could it be?  Hard.  Let’s just say hard.  There were resistance bands to work our shoulders and arms, lots of jumping around (with one foot on the floor at all times),  and so forth for 45 minutes.  THEN we went over to the barre and held on while doing lunges, squats, pulses, etc. for another 30 minutes.  Yikes!  To make it worse, there was a lady, who had to be close to 80, just going like gangbusters!  She was amazing!  Again, as usual, pretty humbling:)  The teacher was also new-to-me, but she was super helpful and kind, and I hung in there.  I was pretty sore all the way to the beach, and beyond.  So, I was glad to crawl into the van and let Rob do all the driving.    All I asked for was a Diet Root Beer float from A and W, and I was good to go.  Ice cream fixes everything!  We shall see if I can talk myself into going again next Friday.

I also had done my 2 regular Pilates classes earlier in the week, and am hoping to try to do at least one extra class or other exercise time each weekend as well, from now on.  I could take classes all day, every day, with our membership, I just don’t have the time or energy.

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The most fun we had was looking at the seals on the dock at Newport.  Jake spent most of his time imitating the sounds the seals were making–arr, arr, arr, arr.  They were so funny, knocking each other off the docks, pushing and shoving like children.  Then some college students showed the kids the red rock crabs they had caught, and caught a rock fish while we watched.  Docks and kids = Fun!

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The Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center was near closing by the time we meandered down there, but we enjoyed it for the short time remaining.  They are re-doing the exhibits and most of it was closed anyway.  It looks like they will have new things to see in a couple of weeks.

It was a fun time with the whole family, as the 2 big girls got to go as well.

 

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We stopped at a candy shop, and let everyone choose 1 thing.  We ended up our evening by going out to dinner; a super fun, rare occasion with the whole family.  IMG_0069

I had some money that was given to me a while back as a gift, that I used for our dinner out, and was very satisfied with my day!  I especially enjoyed the drive up the coast from Newport to Lincoln City, as the weather was nice, and we stopped off at Depot Bay to look around.  The spouting horn was not spouting. It was the wrong time, but no one cared. We enjoy looking at the ocean under any circumstances.   The entire afternoon was a lot of fun.  I need to remember more often that we really aren’t that far from the ocean!

The rest of the week was full of normal activities.  I went to work, appointments, did homeschool, and let the dishes pile up in the sink and the mountain of laundry grew pretty tall.  Then, on Saturday, I tore into the neglected work and did some cooking, cleaning and laundry.  I also got some more transplanting done in the greenhouse.  I do water the baby plants every single day, no matter how busy I am.

One of the biggest ways I’ve saved money this week is by not shopping very much.  After spending a whopping $21 last weekend, I never did make it to the store again.  And, I still haven’t made it this weekend, either.  I do need to stop in after church tomorrow, but my list isn’t very long.   I’ve been digging in the freezers and cupboards and feel good about some of the thing that have been used up.

I downloaded my Friday freebies from Fred Meyers, but haven’t picked them up, since I haven’t had time to go to the store.   So, if you want to save money by not shopping, borrow a little boy for the weekend and you won’t have time to go, but instead, can cook Star Wars food all weekend from pantry staples!  It’s more fun than the store, believe me.

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I planned to clean the fridge this weekend after it emptied out a bit more, and was working hard all week to continue emptying it.  This morning, when salsa hit the floor and spewed in all directions, painting the fridge door, wall and floor red….I knew the time was at hand!  I washed the entire thing… and the floor in front of it…and the cupboard beside it….and……The food fit easily inside and there was room for leftovers and food for tomorrow’s Family Sunday Dinner.  I love having a clean fridge!

I was able to pull a few more green onions that had overwintered in the garden and use them in the casserole I made. I used some turkey bits from the freezer for both the turkey-rice soup and the enchilada casserole.  This turkey was cooked last summer, and needs to be used. I used home-canned chicken broth in the soup.  We used some frozen corn my sister grew and froze, for us, last summer.  I’ve been offering the family canned peaches frequently, and there have been takers, as the fresh fruit is mostly gone now.  The applesauce is going down the hatch, too.  I will likely pick up a few bananas the next time I make it to a store.  I still have carrots, celery, and of course, onions to cook with this week, as well as some lettuce, still looking great, from that huge package I bought at Costco a couple of weeks ago.  I am surprised at how things have held out with as little shopping as I have done the last couple of weeks.    I am delighted that I have been able to meet my goal of completely paying off the rest of Patsy’s braces–what a great feeling.  I thought I had held out plenty for groceries, and it’s turning out that I may even have some left to roll over to next month (which starts mid-month for me, as that’s when I get paid). We’ll see, as I noticed the evening Melatonin/Sunthenine bottle is getting empty, and that stuff’s expensive.  But, it works to help both Patsy and Jake go to sleep, so…..cheap at any price:).

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Garden, Menu plans, Saving Money

Greenhouse Update–What Shall We Eat?–March 7, 2018

16 Comments

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I love the little artichokes!  Now that they each have their own little pot, they are continuing to grow like crazy.  So encouraging!  Out of my 6 seeds, I ended up with 4 strong ones, and one little, tiny one.  I’m giving it a chance.  Who knows what it will do:)

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As I find a few minutes, I slip out to the greenhouse and transplant what I can in the time I have.  So far, I’ve done all the Willamette tomatoes, the San Marzano Giagante, the artichokes, and the basil.  I still have the cherry tomatoes, and a few more things to do.  Once I transplant them, the plants are growing rapidly.  I can clearly see that it’s time to get out there and get the rest done.  Soon it will be time to plant more little seeds.

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Outside, various daffodils have burst into bloom.  There are several varieties here, and so they bloom at different times.  So pretty!

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This week’s menu plan is all about cleaning up odds and ends, and using stored food.   With the fridge emptied out a little, I hope to wash it out this weekend.

I took this little pile of apples, cut them into chunks and cooked them with raisins, cinnamon and sugar.  It was delicious.  I made mini muffins from the one, lonely, sad banana.

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I pulled chicken legs from the freezer and marinated them in home-made teriyaki sauce. I squeezed soy sauce out of all the little packets in the cupboard, left over from long past Chinese food meals.  Once I read the labels and realized they were gluten-free, there was no need for them to languish in the cupboard any longer.  I added a couple packets of sesame seeds, brown sugar, water, 3 green onions I pulled from the garden (yea!),  and marinaded them all day, then baked them.

Last night, we cooked for the college age gathering/worship night at church and most of the family ate there with them. (I actually got some super great chicken and rice at my sister’s house–she was cooking that, before I got there).  They provided us with a budget, and we made tacos/nachos, corn, and cake. We made it possible for gluten-free people to have plenty of choices, such as taco salad or chips and toppings.  I love my own home-made refried beans (not trying to brag, they just have so much more flavor from the peppers and onion I add), so decided to make a big batch.  I was happy to donate those, and also to keep a few here for our family to use.  They have a brilliant way of using up their left-overs.  (It was our first time cooking for this group, so we are learning).  They package them up, and the college kids take them home to eat the next day for lunch.  So, we rolled up the leftovers into burritos and put them in ziplock bags. Some were pretty plain, some had more fillings.  All had beans and cheese and tomatoes at least.  There were a very few baggies of lettuce, a few bags of corn chips, and several bags of corn.  We got a great feeling for how much food they eat, and will know better next time.  All in all, we were super pleased with how the food to hungry person ratio worked out.  There were leftovers, but not an enormous amount, and they all went home with the young adults.

We’ve eaten up the leftovers from last weekend, including the chicken/rice soup, and a lot of turkey hot dogs have been eaten.  We had a big package of those.  We are eating a lot of salad this week, since I bought that huge bag of romaine from Costco 2 weekends ago. The 5 dozen eggs have been hit hard, with all the baking plus scrambled eggs, but there are still a few cartons left. There’s lots of cheddar cheese, and a little bread left.   I only spent $21 last weekend because I stocked up so well that first weekend of the month, but needed milk and a few other very-much-on-sale items, like water for $1.50/case.  This weekend, I will spend more and stock back up on produce, and get whatever super sales items that show up on the ads.  I will plan that out on Friday, when I get time.  I will make more chicken/rice soup for this weekend and maybe another kind of soup as well, for Sunday.  I have bagels frozen for Jake, as he is coming over.  He has a new Star Wars cookbook his mother bought him, and is dying to make something from it.  We will!

There is enough chicken for tomorrow.  There are still a few refried beans, and a very few tortilla shells we had on hand. We will use canned fruit for the next few days as most of the fresh has been used.  I need one more main dish for Friday, and will figure it out Friday:). I’m very pleased with how this moderate-budgeted month is going!  I’m getting some odds and ends used up, and hopefully will clean the fridge.

 

food preservation

A Gift of Onions to Preserve

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Today, we were able to add onions to our freezer, and to our bucket where we keep fresh onions.  The easiest way to preserve onions is to dry them and keep them in a cool, dry place, so that’s what we do.  I was down to 3 onions from the 25 lbs Rob picked up a few months ago, so I was delighted when he, again, brought home the….onions!

We were shopping after church for some food we needed for the week ahead, and he went out to put the groceries in the car while I redeemed some Safeway Monopoly coupons.  (Amazingly, we actually won $5!!!). A total stranger approached him in the parking lot and confided that he had bought a huge bag of onions, and had already taken out the ones he wanted.  Some were going soft, he said, but there were lots of good ones.  Did Rob want them?  You bet!  He happily accepted them.  There had to be 15 pounds or more still left in that bag!

Later, once home, he sorted them.  All of the best ones, he put in the bucket we keep onions in.  We store them in the garage, where it is much cooler than the rest of the house.  Even so, at this time of year, they want to sprout and grow, so I have to keep an eye on them.

A few he threw directly into the garden, where he will till them in for compost when it dries out because they were over the hill.

There was a sizable pile left that were starting to “go.”  He peeled them, and trimmed away all the soft/brown/bad spots.  He then chopped all the good parts and pieces into small chunks and we put them in quart-sized ziplock bags.  We did not over-fill the bags so each bag ended up as a flat, thin layer, and we laid all the bags out flat inside of a super large bag.  There are 5 or 6 small bags in the big one.  We did this so that they won’t get lost in the freezer and so that a piece of the desired size can be easily broken off of the frozen chunk for quick meal prep.  Then they were popped into the chest freezer in the shop, and they will freeze flat.

I will use the fresh ones as much as possible, and then freeze more of those if they start going bad quickly.  When I’m in a hurry, or run out of fresh ones, I now have frozen ones to use in a pinch.  What a totally unexpected blessing!  I mean…we don’t even know the man that gave Rob the onions.   I’m amazed at how God is providing for us this month.  We are very thankful!

 

Saving Money

Weekly Update–Saving Money–New Towel Week!–March 3, 2018

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I don’t know where my kitchen towels are.  I mean, there are a few left in the drawer, but where are the rest?  Nobody knows.  And, when questioned, no one, and I mean NO ONE took them or has them.  So, I can only conclude that they grew legs and walked away.  Or something:).  But, God knew they were gone.  My sweet aunt noticed last Sunday that there was a problem, and picked up a few more for me from a sale she saw.  Then, when visiting my sister, she asked if I wanted the embroidered ones–her daughter was cleaning cupboards  for her, and they discovered she had too many and wasn’t able to use them all.  She didn’t even know I was running low.  I said yes in a hurry.  So, after I run them through the wash, I will have a drawer full again.  It was so sweet of both of them:). I just hope THESE don’t grow legs……

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I’m soaking beans for refried beans.  We are going to make dinner for the college age group at church on Tuesday night, and we will do tacos.  This will be our first time cooking for them, so we will know more after Tuesday about what works well and what doesn’t.  They do provide us with a budget, so we aren’t going to provide much from our pantry, but I want to make the beans myself.  We like them so much better.  I will make a big batch, and have some for us, and some for them.  Because we both have to work that day, everything will be made and chopped ahead of time, and all we will need to do is keep warm food warm in a Crock Pot, cold food cold in a cooler, and set things out when we get there.  We’ve been told there is paperware there.

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I’m trying to use fruits, meats and vegetables from our freezers and cupboards.  Tonight, I sautéed some frozen green beans in butter, and added garlic.  Yum!  We ate some of the 10c/can  pickled beets Rob bought last fall.  I made a casserole from frozen broccoli, rice, tomato sauce, and turkey kielbasa sausage, and chicken-rice soup.

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I made some turkey meatloaf.  There is still ground turkey from the turkeys Rob raised at  our old place.  It’s time to target it and actively use it up before it gets freezer burned.  I will be sorry when it is gone, but there’s not use letting it go bad.  It turned out great.  I also made potato salad, and am going to make coleslaw from the cabbage I picked from the garden for Family Sunday Dinner tomorrow.

I spent some time today organizing out in the canning cupboard, which is in the shop; putting away the empty jars in the right places, getting out new jars to bring into the garage for the week ahead, etc.  It does take some time, but I use things more if I have a good supply within reach. So, most weekends, I bring a jar or two of each thing into the garage and have it handy for daily meal preparation and take the empties out.

I also grabbed a couple of handfuls of frozen items from the freezers and brought them in.  I found a loaf of bread–yea!  I thought I was out of that bargain bread I got a while back, but there it was:). There again, I use things more if I physically look in there with the intention of bringing some in–I often find items I’ve forgotten about.

What I did not find time for today was shopping, except for a gallon of milk, a bunch of celery, and 1 head of garlic.  I just got those from the store that is about 1 block from my house.  I have some good coupons, but didn’t use them today.  So, $5.16 was my weekend shopping total so far.

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I got a few more plants transplanted today.  There are quite a few more to do, but I keep working on it when I have time.

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Rob took Patsy fishing today.  He had been told about a pond that isn’t too far from our home, and so they went today.  They did not catch fish, but they did get some bites.  Maybe another day…..

Our van had a bad flat tire.  We took it to Les Schwab Tires and they fixed it for free, as they do when you buy your tires there.  We had to wait for a while, but it’s fixed!

Patsy counted 106 buds on the daffodils she planted out front.  This is the 2nd year for them.  Last year, we only got a few blooms, but she has high hopes this year that those 106 buds will bloom, and is very excited.  The bulbs were free from my sister’s yard.  We have several tiny, yellow ones blooming now, and some pale ones as well.  We recently had snow, so things slowed down a bit, but before that, we were having an early spring.  So confusing.  Thank goodness daffodils are hardy!

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These 2 enjoyed their trip to the park very much.  Such joy!  Auntie Rosalie took them:)

How did your week go?