The bread that wouldn't rise...

... or the dough that did not take over the kitchen.

Last weekend I made a trip over to Ft. Wayne. So naturally, there was baking. Due to the influx of candy around the house, we decided to bake bread.

The recipe was courtesy of the same website that brought us the "eighth of an egg" cookie recipe so long ago. This time we scaled from 24 servings to 12, because the smaller recipe required one packet of yeast. (We also discovered that 1 yeast packet is 2 1/4 teaspoons.) Oh, and we are uncertain just what constitutes a serving, because the bread went quickly after it was made, and there were definitely not 12 of us around to eat it.

Having followed the directions, we expected the bread to rise in an hour. One hour turned to several, and it was time to leave for the chili dinner and auction at the church hall (or hall next to the church). So, throwing caution to the wind, we left the bread dough to rise in our absence, figuring worst-case scenario was that the kitchen would be filled with bread dough upon our return.

Alas, the kitchen was not overflowing with dough when we returned. However, it had made sufficient progress so as to allow Shae to knead it some more (we need our kneaded biscuits plain) and then put it back for a second rising (which we were determined would not take as long as the first).

So, it was after midnight before the oven timer went off to tell us the bread was baked. Luckily, the oven timer was not mocking us, as was the wont of the ovens in the triplets (at least when I was the one checking the oven). Naturally, the first thing we did was sample some, since it was fresh out of the oven. Besides, we needed to make sure it wasn't toxic or anything like that.

Grocery Shopping Week #7

Well this was an expensive week. But one that will save us much money in the future. Keebler crackers were all on sale 50% off. And you know how Paul loves crackers. I bought some of just about every variety for him.

Groceries: $105
Date night: $5 (Hot 'n' Ready Pizza eaten at home)

Carryover: $30.50

Since I didn't go shopping until midweek, I might not have a week #8 grocery shopping. I'm not sure yet.

In case you were wondering, I've not really gotten my article written. I'm trying, but whatever I say just doesn't sound quite right.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Since it's fall and therefore apple season...here's a yummy and really easy apple butter recipe for the slow cooker. The recipe as written is fairly sweet - I've put my adaptations to make it less sweet and more spicy in parentheses. Enjoy! -jg

3 lbs cooking apples, cored, left unpeeled, and cut into eighths

¾ c. brown sugar (I usually take this down to less than ½ c.)

¾ c. apple juice (I usually use about half that, and make up the rest with water)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T. ground cinnamon (I tend to add extra of each of the spices)

1 tsp ground allspice

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

1. Combine the apples, brown sugar, apple juice and lemon juice in a 4-qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until the apples are very soft.

2. Remove the lid, turn the heat setting to high, and stir in the spices. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring once about halfway through, if possible, until the mixture thickens.

3. Press the apples through a metal strainer to remove the peels, or process the apples through a food mill.

4. Cool to room temperature and store. (Should keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.)

Expensive Weekend

Dinner Friday Night: $25
Lunch Saturday: $13
Lunch Sunday: $8
Dinner Sunday: $15

$61

96.5-61= 35.5

So not too much left in the carryover budget. But still, I'd say we're doing well with the budget if we can do a weekend like that every so often. But now it's time to start building up the surplus again.

$60/month

I just got a chance to compile all my receipts and look at my budgeting for the past six months. The result: I averaged $50.11 on groceries - per month - without trying! If I include eating out (which I budget under 'entertainment' since it isn't an 'essential'), it would still be below $60. October looks to be even lower since I've been more conscientious.

I should note that my expenses actually varied quite widely even from month to month - 2 of those months I spent $30, and in September I hit a record $82 (for good reason: I hosted people for dinner meetings a couple of times, provided snacks for Bible study each week (we're now rotating the job!) and went to a couple of potlucks where the old students were expected to bring enough food to feed the new students!). Anyway, even my crazy month of buying food for everything still left me (barely) within the stated challenge - so I guess I'm showing here that you can even feed others well while still keeping the budget!

So how do I eat on an average of $60/month?

The big help: I very rarely go out to eat. Everyone I work with brings their lunch, so if we want to eat lunch together, we just grab our lunches out of the fridge, head upstairs or outside and enjoy the sun! Plus, one of the groups I meet with has a potluck every other week, so I can get the social and variety aspects of eating out without the cost!

I also keep two shopping lists for my Saturday shopping - one for items I need that weekend, and one for non-perishables I expect to run out of in the next month. Items on that second list I only pick up if they're on sale. I also skim the online circulars for Meijer and Kroger before heading out. While Meijer generally has the best regular price on items, Kroger tends to have some really good sale prices. Oh, and I'm not afraid to at least try off- and store-brands.

Other ways I keep expenses down:
Drink water! It's better for you than most of that other stuff out there, anyway! I do NOT buy bottled water - I just run tap water through a Brita pitcher! For times when water isn't quite enough or I'm really bored of it, I keep some Gatorade mix on hand so I can mix up a single glass.

Powdered milk - I've never been much of a milk drinker, so I've given up on keeping milk in stock - it inevitably spoils before I can use it all. Now I keep powdered milk around for when I need milk as I cook.

Frozen vegetables: if it's not in season/on sale, then I buy it frozen. The nutrients are generally well-preserved, and I actually find I eat more veggies when I keep bags of frozen veggies on hand, since it's easy to toss a handful or two into something.

Fruit: I eat fruit that's on sale/in season.

Breads: If you're careful, the discount rack can be great - you can get something that has a sell-by date of that same day at a great discount. Just make sure it's not something that gets stale (or worse) too fast.

Hmm...I think that's all. And yes, you can use my name if you want to quote me.

-jg

P.S. Yes, I realize the irony of giving permission for my name to be used in print while pretty much refusing to use it online, even in a forum where everyone pretty much knows who I am. I have my reasons...they may not be entirely logical, but I do have them!

Grocery Shopping Week #6

I attempted to go to one of those wholesale type food places where you can only buy your beans in a 6 pound can. I thought it might save some money on things like flour and sugar. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It turns out that Meijer prices are better on those things anyway. Although they did have good prices on cheese. And crackers.

So grocery shopping today: $60

I really feel like I am getting the hang of this budget. I think we are all eating healthier. I think it's about time to start making some more casseroles to freeze, so we can have convenience food after the baby comes.

Grocery Shopping Week #5

Since tomorrow is grocery day I'm obviously getting behind on posting our expenses.

groceries: $45
Paul's lunch out: $9 (I don't remember exactly, but this is pretty much typical)
Dinner Date: $12
Ice Cream at zoo: $4
Gatorade: $2.50 (I was sick mid-week, and was getting dehydrated)

Total: 45+9+12+4+2.5 = 72.5

So are total carryover is 105-72.5+20= 52.5

This week is going to be more expensive, we're running pretty low on staples. Plus Paul and I will be heading to wedding in Illinois and will have to eat a couple of meals out.

How is everybody else doing so far on the budget? I am trying to compose my rebuttal for the newspaper, and I'd like to have some feedback from you guys. Also, let me know if I can use your actual names if I quote you (you don't have to print your full name online, I probably already know it).

"Mocha" mix

1 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened, as for baking)
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons instant coffee

Mix ingredients. Place in a tupperware container.

To use:

Heat a cup of water (about 90 sec in the microwave). Mix in about 4 teaspoons of mix. Drink!

You may find you want more or less of some of the ingredients. That's up to you. I just made this up this afternoon, as I was having a mocha craving and there's no way I was going to buy a real one.
It satisfied the craving.

Tonight's Dinner

| Prego-Can-Wait Spaghetti |

So I found out that we did, indeed, have a large jar of Prego sitting in the fridge, but I was already bent on finishing off the diced tomatoes sitting in a Tupperware one shelf below. What this really is is a basic pasta toss, using:

spaghetti
frozen cooked meatballs
half a can of diced tomatoes
garlic powder
basil
oregano
shredded marble jack cheese
the less-than-a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese left in the container

I started the water for the spaghetti while I put the tomatoes and meatballs in a saucepan with about a half cup of water, so they didn't end up burning while the meatballs heated all the way through. Looked in the pan, and started shaking the spices into a small heap on top of the meatballs. (This probably amounts to a couple of teaspoons worth.) Mixed it all together, and let it get to a boil before turning the heat down to low and covering the pan to let it simmer while the pasta was cooking.

After the pasta is cooked and drained, I poured the meatball/tomato concoction over it and added a loose handful of marble jack and whatever was left of the Parmesan that we had (it wasn't much).

Derek liked it, and I liked it, so I consider it a success. Yay!

Week #4 Grocery Shopping

Recent food purchases

Paul lunch at Thai restaurant: $9.00
Paul and Shaelin date for Chinese: $13.00 (we split an entree and still had leftovers)
Grocery Shopping: $75.00
Last minute trip to the store to buy beverages for Bible study: $5.50

Right now, we have about $20 extra floating in the theoretical budget (if I can add correctly). Obviously, we are eating very well, since we can still afford to eat out.

I think that tomorrow I will bake some bread.

Rice Muffins

In bold is the recipe I followed, in italics are the amendments I made to it.

1 egg (4 eggs)
1/2 cup liquid (1 1/2 cups milk + 1/4 cup apple juice+3/4 cup plain yogurt)
2 tbsp sugar (3/4 cup brown sugar)
2 tbsp oil (6 tbsp oil)
1 cup rice flour (2 cups rice flour + 1 cup gluten free baking mix)
2 tsp baking powder (2 tbsp baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt (1 tsp salt)
2 tbsp chopped nuts or fruit (1/2 can pumpkin, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp vanilla)

*Mix. Grease muffin tin (paper liners), bake at 425 for 17 to 20 min.

I really seem to have a problem with following recipes, but mine were really yummy.
Original Recipe courtesy of Bob's Red Mill Rice Flour.

Grocery Shopping Week #3

So Friday was grocery day, but I didn't manage to get the facts posted. I will post an estimate synopsis of our spending for this week. I don't have receipts on hand though, so I will have to estimate.

I spent about $50 on groceries. Then, as a special treat, I took the kids to taco bell (where they behaved angelically!) Taco Bell was about $7.00 I don't, which never seemed so expensive! Friday night Paul and I went to Pizza Hut for dinner. I think we spent about $10.00 including tip. (We used to order a large pizza so we could have leftovers, this time we went with a small).

The other food expense we acquired occurred on our camping trip this weekend (which I plan to post about on the other blog). We did not bring marshmallows or chocolate (although we did have graham crackers), so we bought some from the camp store. Paul doesn't remember exactly how much so I am guessing about $3.00. Although knowing camp stores, it could have been $20.00.

So 50 + 7 + 10 + 3 = 70. I am going to try to save most of this for our meat buying budget.

Also, I had an interesting conversation with Sammy's dietician about food stamps yesterday. It turns out that most of her patients are on food stamps (children of the poor are more likely to be malnourished). Well most of the mothers either can't or won't cook and do not plan ahead. So they buy all already prepared/prepackaged food. Then they run out of money after about two weeks. So they either don't eat or go to the food pantry for the rest of the month.

This is really sad. There must be a solution here. It is one thing when adults are the victims of their own foolish behavior, but it really gets to me when the children have to suffer.

Let the Apologies Commence

And just imagine that I'm apologizing throughout this post. >< I'm trying to get back into being more social, even if it's only online. I have a lot of backlog to go through, though.

Tonight's dinner is probably going to be something that involves:

Flatout sundried tomato wraps
Lettuce
Deli sliced ham and salami
Pepperjack cheese
Maybe a cucumber

I tried making myself a wrap at lunch, sans the lettuce, and while I was chewing away and watching the raptor gnaw on the bottom of her bowl (thus upending the Gerber granola stuff inside it onto her tray), I thought that it'd make a good quesadilla. Well, I'll see if the lettuce can stand up to that. Probably not.

No, baby playing with her food doesn't always inspire dinner.

Mmm, quesadillas.

Tomorrow is Slow-Cooker Day, so I'm thinking chicken and dumplings.

Chicken Rancher's Pie

My own variation on "Shepherd's pie"

Two chicken breasts cut up in small pieces
1 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup water
Whatever vegetables you might happen to have cut up.
Three cups mashed potatoes
Fajita seasoning to taste

Sautee chicken breast. Add veggies, beans, water, and seasoning. Simmer about 20 minutes until most veggies are soft. Spread chicken/veggie mixture in 9X13 pan. Spread mashed potatoes in a thin layer over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until top is lightly brown.

Naan

For all of you who love Indian flat breads:

4 cups flour
2 cups yogurt (plain)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together. Add liquid if needed. When dough becomes to tough to stir, begin kneading. Knead for five minutes. Let sit in an oiled bowl for about 1 hour. Divide dough into ten round balls. Preheat oven to 500 degrees or broil. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of oil. Roll ball of dough with rolling pin until flat. Cook in frying pan until slightly spotted on both sides. Place bread in oven for a few seconds until it begins to balloon. Remove from oven and brush lightly with butter. Repeat (I tried to have multiple naan in process at a time).

Week #2 Grocery Shopping

Week 2's grocery shopping led to a food bill of 83.61. There were some great sales here on brocoli, cauliflower and chicken breast. I really think we are doing pretty well considering that I bought $22.00 worth of chicken (which should last quite awhile).

We did spend $22.00 on food at the Johnny Appleseed festival, though. So with our little bit of surplus carryover from last week we have only about $10.00 left in the food budget. Paul is going out to lunch with a friend this Wednesday, so most of it will be used then.

I also told you last week that I had bought the large package of spinach. We didn't manage to use all of it, despite my best efforts to include spinach in nearly every meal. So today, before the spinach spoiled, I froze the remainder of the spinach. This week I will be sneaking broccoli and cauliflower into all of our meals.

Four-Bean Vegetarian Chili

Quick, easy - and it freezes well, so you don't have to eat the same meal for two weeks straight!

1 onion, chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 15 oz. can pinto beans
1 15 oz. can northern beans
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 16 oz. jar salsa
1 cup water
2 T. corn meal
3 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin

Saute the onion, then add everything else (drain and rinse the beans). Heat (with fairly constant stirring) until hot. DONE!

That's the recipe I was given...I like 'meaty' chilis, so I usually use less water, more corn meal, and a 'chunky' salsa, and have had people not realize that it's a vegetarian dish. Obviously, there are all sorts of other variations...add in fresh veggies - or even meat. Vary the brand, flavor or spiciness of the salsa. Change the type of beans. You get the picture - all sorts of fun stuff! Enjoy!

Oreo Truffles

"Can I be a contributor to this blog??? Pleeease!!! You all are making me hungry, and making me think of yummy recipes I want to share! Like super-easy (and super-not-so-good-for-you) Oreo truffles...Mmm..."

That was me a few months ago...and I haven't gotten around to sharing "the super-easy (and super-not-so-good-for-you) Oreo truffles" recipe yet. So here it is...

1 pkg Oreos
1 pkg cream cheese (reduced fat and fat-free won't work - it's got to be the really unhealthy stuff)
chocolate chips, melted

Crush all the Oreos. Mash in the cream cheese (I used a potato masher...) until it's all fairly smooth. Make small (truffle-sized!) balls out of it and place them on waxed paper. Then pour melted chocolate chips over them and let it all cool. YUM!

Note 1 - To give credit where credit is due, this recipe comes from 'my undergrad' (who has graduated and is in graduate school herself now, but who I will always think of as 'my undergrad')

Note 2 - According to 'my undergrad' - you are theoretically supposed to be able to spear the truffles on toothpicks and dip them in the melted chocolate. Experience has taught both of us that that is great way to end up with truffle in the chocolate, instead of chocolate on the truffle.

Next recipe I post? Probably my cheap, easy and hearty vegetarian chili...

$21 challenge tracking

Hey there everybody!
So since I go overboard on tracking Everything, why should this $21 challenge be any exception? :-)
Since this is only a 13 week trial for me, I'm keeping a little bit more detail than I would otherwise. Why? Just for the fun of it! And, surprise surprise, it's in the form of... A Spreadsheet!! Honestly, how many of you didn't see that coming?

What it tracks:
Individual grocery items purchased along with quantity and total prices. I'm of course in the Chicago metro area, so you can see how the price per qty compares to other areas.
It also prorates your cost per meal/week if, like me, you prefer to have a couple of meals outside of the $21 dollar challenge for whatever reason.

It's a live updated document so it will stay current as the challenge progresses. If you want to check it out feel free:
spreadsheet
Or, if you want a copy so you too can track your food in exquisite detail, let me know!

Other notes about the challenge:
I've realized that for the next several weeks I'll be living almost entirely off of food already in my pantry. So, this challenge will take awhile to become real for me. I figure that by week 5 or so the money will be a fairly accurate number. But I have ~4 pounds of pasta, ~5 pounds of rice, ~3 pounds of beans, lots of potatoes thanks to Sara, and a ton of little things like spices, cooking oil, salt, flour, sugar, etc... that I use in everything. So, I'll keep tracking and watch the number climb till it stabilizes.
Of course the other good thing about this is that by the time I'm ready to leave for Europe in December my pantry will be at a minimum. :-)

No bake cookies

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick margarine (I substituted real butter and that seemed to work fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup nuts (optional --I opted not)

Mix first ingredients together in a sauce pan. Boil for five minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in oatmeal and nuts. Glop onto wax paper. Let cool (refrigerate for faster cooling). Enjoy!

The consistency was something like fudge with oatmeal in it. I was thinking I might try this recipe and substitute crisp rice cereal for oatmeal sometime. I imagine there are a lot of things you could substitute.

Confession

After the rude discovery that I had driven clear across town for naught, I broke down and bought a coca-cola. Sigh...

So another $1.25 gone from the weekly budget.

Foolish and impulsive decisions make a big impact on this diet.

Chickpea Chapatis

1/2 cup dried chickpeas
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon oil
1 egg

Soak chickpeas for 6-8 hours
Drain and rinse chickpeas.
Place chickpeas and two cups water in a pan. Bring to a boil and let simmer until chickpeas are very soft (a couple of hours). Add water if necessary. Mash chickpeas. Blend mashed chickpeas with other ingredients. Cook mixture in a frying pan like pancakes (pour batter into heated oiled pan, flip when it looks like time)

Serve warm.

I haven't quite gotten the timing down for the flipping yet. But these are very yummy, high in protein, and cheap to make.

An evening out

Last night was a scheduled date night. So Paul and I hit the town with great gusto. Or something like that. We had dinner at our favorite little diner, where the food is good and the decor has not been updated since the 1970s (think paisley).

Our total dinner bill came to about $13 including the tip. Paul and I had a debate about how to count the tip for the budget (we left a $3 tip on a $10 meal). We decided to count it all (Paul's opinion), rather than my opinion that only the mandatory 15% should count.

After dinner we went for a walk in a nearby park until dark. Then Paul wanted to go to our favorite coffee shop to play checkers. Ouch!! All my scrimping and saving doesn't seem so valuable when you end up buying a tall blended chai for $3. Oh well. There's not much left in the budget for the rest of the week. So we may end up regretting our splurge. All in all we will say that our date was a $20 hit to the food budget.

So this morning for breakfast I fixed oatmeal, warmed up some leftovers. And topped it off with a plate of spinach.

Grocery Shopping

I took the kids to Meijer today. I was armed with list and a plan.

My total bill came to $110.73. Which you will notice is more than the $105 we are alloted. However, I had $39.22 worth of non food items listed on my receipt. After removing these my total is:

$71.51

What I did differently:

I bought a lot of dried beans. Normally I buy canned because of the convenience, but there is no doubt dried is a better value.

The only prepared food we bought was crackers. I couldn't possibly ask Paul to give up crackers.

I selected chicken drumsticks for $.79 a pound, passing by the boneless, skinless breasts at $4.79

I bought the Paula Red Apples instead of gala, because they were cheaper.

And I bought a smaller selection of vegetables, although not a smaller quantity. For instance, generally I might have bought a small package of spinach and broccoli. This time I bought a large package of spinach. I will have to sneak spinach into almost every meal this week to use it all. But if we don't use it, I can always freeze some.

And lastly, I didn't buy myself a drink in the checkout lane even though I was really thirsty. And I said no to all impulse buys. The only "junk" I bought was the diet sprite I got for Paul's father, who will be in town this weekend.

Tapioca Black Bean Pudding

1/2	cup	dried black beans
1	tsp	salt, divided use
3/4	cup	granulated sugar, to taste, divided use
1/2	cup	small tapioca pearls (see Note)
2	cup	, or 1 (14-ounce) can, coconut milk
1	tsp	sea salt, to taste

• Pick through and discard any shriveled beans. Cover with water; soak for 2 or more hours.
• Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add beans and return to a boil. Simmer covered over low heat until beans are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more boiling water if beans are drying up. When tender, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup sugar and simmer a while longer for beans to absorb flavorings. (To save on time, substitute canned cooked black beans.)
• When beans are almost done, heat 2 cups of water in another saucepan. Rinse tapioca pearls in a fine-mesh strainer under running cool tap water until thoroughly wet. Drain and let sit a minute or two for pearls to absorb surface water, then add to boiling water. Reduce heat and stir frequently until pearls clear (8 to 10 minutes). If mixture becomes too thick, add a little more water to help cook tapioca until all pearls are cooked through.
• Make a coconut sauce by combining coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Heat and simmer about 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
• When beans and tapioca are cooked, mix together and add coconut sauce. Stir to blend. Serve warm.
• Note: For a chewier texture, try larger tapioca pearls.

I haven't tried this yet. But I have a bunch of tapioca on hand that needs to be used. And I wanted to do something other than plain old tapioca pudding.

It looks like a good high-protein, cheap recipe.

Black Bean Brownies

CHOCOLATE BEAN BROWNIES

1 CAN RINSED & DRAINED BLACK BEANS
3 EGGS
3 TBS. OIL
4 TBS COCOA POWDER
A PINCH OF SALT
1 TSP. VANILLA
3/4 CUP SUGAR

MIX INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A BLENDER/ FOOD PROCESSOR UNTIL PUREE. POUR INTO A GREASED 8x8 CAKE PAN.
STIR IN SOME CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND NUTS
BAKE 350 APPX. 30 MIN
VERY DENSE CHOCOLATELY BROWNIE…

Currently they are still in the oven, so I'll post a review of the brownies later. If they are tasty I will be delighted, sense they are so easy to make and really cheap compared to most gluten free brownie mixes.

Secret Family Recipe

So I haven't had any interesting recipes to post for awhile. So I thought I would share with you about my baking experience this morning. We made Blueberry muffins according to our "secret family recipe". Here it is:

1 box Duncan Hines Bakery Style Blueberry muffin mix
3/4 cup milk (approximately)
3-4 spoons
2 chairs

Throw box into trash. Retrieve box from trash. Preheat oven to 400. Dump mix into large bowl. Help screaming children to pull chairs over to counter to stand on. Give middle child a time-out for knocking over baby brother. Add milk. Distribute spoons. Add egg. Help children stir. Put muffin cups in muffin pan. Realize that there are only four muffin cups, and grease rest of pan. Stop children from eating batter. Search for can opener. Drain and rinse blueberries. Add berries. Let each child eat batter on spoon. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Place muffin pan in oven. Remove muffin pan immediately. Sprinkle topping mix over muffins. Place pan back in oven. Set timer for eighteen seconds. When it beeps, reset for eighteen minutes. Remove all clothing and scrub self and children to remove muffin batter. Wipe down counters. When muffins are done baking, remove pan and set out of reach of children. No not there, they can reach it there. When muffins are barely cool enough not to burn children, let them have muffins. Realize it is time to leave to pick oldest child up from day camp, and hope she isn't to upset to learn that there are no Abigail muffins.

Oh yes, and apologize to husband when he gets home from work that the muffins are all gone. I think that Sammy ate at least six of them.

Fresh Tomatoes

My parents have given me a bunch of tomatoes from their garden. They are absolutely scrumptious. However, I was wondering if anyone had any recipes that incorporate fresh tomatoes, since there are more than we will possibly eat plain.

Jello Slush

Recipe from my mom:
boil 1 cup water
stir in Jello (according to the package, it takes about 2 minutes for the Jello to dissolve)
Remove from heat
Allow liquid time to cool, but make sure it remains liquid
(if the liquid is too hot it will melt the ice)
Put ice into blender
Add liquid Jello -- for one tray of ice cubes we put in half of the liquid Jello.
Blend until mixture resembles a smoothie more than a bunch of ice cubes (figuring out when the ice cubes are broken up enough is the hardest part in my opinion)

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Take peppers, clean and slice in half long ways. Remove stems, seeds etc.
Chop a variety of vegetables in very small pieces (e.g onions, carrots, celery, zuchini)
Mix together: grated mozzerella, grated cheddar, crumbled feta, and ricotta cheeses, and one egg.
Select a variety of spices (e.g. garlic, chili powder, basil, oregano, black pepper)
Nuke veggies for about one minute.
Mix cheese, veggies and spices.
Fill pepper halves with mixture.
Place peppers on heated grill.
Cook until soft (should take about the same amount of time it takes to grill chicken).

Cake Suggestions?

Abigail's Birthday (4) is Sunday. I need to decide what kind of cake (shape/decorations) to make. It will probably be chocolate, because that is what kind of mix I have. Any ideas?

Recipes?

We seem to minimize the use of that word around here. For some crazy reason it is too much associated with work.

For the Confirmation/Graduation party last Sunday, Mom cooked enough food to last us for quite awhile. And enough bakery to last for an extra day or two.

Most of it however, runs along the lines of Shae's post for brownies. In fact, we used that same recipe. Also Rice Crispie Treats (see directions on either cereal box or marshmellow bag), & no-bake cheesecake (read box... I think this was the one thing I actually made). There were also 2 apple pies from Perkins (courtesy of gift certificates from blood drives). We picked the pies up Saturday before going out running (we were going to do it the other way, but the rain rearranged our schedule). The rest of the trip, everytime we got into the car, I would comment on how good the pies smelled. When we got home I was talking about something else and used the phrase "easy as pie" without realizing the pun.

The warm weather causes my dad to run the AC. Mom is loathe to use the oven during the summer, she tries to keep baking to the slow cooker and toaster oven. Or has dad grill hamburgers outside.

The one thing we made that I can guess a recipe for would be stuffed peppers. These were made in the slow cooker, which in our household is a rectangular-shaped container. A vague approximation of the recipe is as follows:
Cut green peppers in half.
Peppers will be stuffed with a mixture of rice and ground beef.
Cook enough rice for the # of peppers you wish to make.
Mix rice and uncooked (or cooked) beef.
Place mixture into peppers.
Cover base of cooking container in sauce.
Place peppers in container.
Cook until done. If beef was not originally cooked, make sure it is cooked.

Mom usually does not cook the ground beef. However, when I asked if she needed it cooked, I heard a response of "yes." The problem was, she heard the question as "should I leave this out?" as opposed to "should I cook this?" Luckily for me, she decided that since the meat was still frozen, it was just as well to cook it in advance so she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not it was done.

Well, I think that's all the talking about food I'll do for the time being. I see leftovers for dinner for the next few nights, but that was one idea while it was all being cooked for the party.

Manna

It seems like we need a new post here, but I haven't done a lot baking lately. Unless you count the brownies I made for Paul the night he came home from Florida.

Directions: Buy brownie mix. Follow instructions on mix. BORING!

So instead I will share a creative use of leftovers.

Cook in frying pan:

3/4 lb ground beef
leftover fried rice
1/2 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 onion
diced tomatoes
chili powder
cauliflower
broccoli

What is it?

Manna

Cookies from Holland

Where by "from Holland" I mean cookies I made while visiting one of my former roommates in Holland MI a few weekends ago. We baked 2 types of cookies. The "normal" type was chocolate chip per the recipe on the bag of chocolate chips. The other kind I had never made before. It involved a cake mix, cool whip, and rolling balls of dough in powdered sugar. It goes something as follows:
1 cake mix
1 egg
1 (8 oz) container "frozen whipped topping"
optional: food coloring to make the dough brighter (we made neon blue cookies)
Flavoring can also be added (we added a tsp of vanilla; there were some other flavors the recipe suggested, but I forget)

Next: coat hands with powdered sugar. Then take the amount of dough for one cookies and roll it in the powdered sugar. Place powdered sugar coated ball onto cookie pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

This isn't the first time I'd seen cookies made using cake mix, however, it was a different recipe from what I was used to. And the blue food coloring coupled with the powdered sugar gave them an interesting look.

Quick update

as this was all my fault to begin with, and I feel like a heel for not following up with it. ><

(I had this entire paragraph that apparently got deleted accidentally when I went to edit it. I blame the touchpad.) As the parents (both sets) are coming by for the weekend, the only thing on my brain lately has been something like "EWCLEANING" and what-not. The lack of motivation was evident. This weekend, though, we'll be barbecuing steaks and ordering pizza from the local Brunos (they make BIG pizzas). I'm thinking of making ice cream tiramisu (courtesy of the latest Woman's Day) for the horde, but I'm at a loss as to what to serve for Friday. My brother doesn't like fish, and we'd thought fish would be a nice thing to have so people won't overload on beef this weekend... (variety and all). Maybe I'll make adobo.

Adobo (Filipino recipe):


1 1/2 lb chicken or pork (it can be cut up before or after cooking, my mom likes to use drumsticks)
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tsp MSG (that's monosodium glutamate, optional)
1-3 bay leaves, depending on size, for flavor only

Mix everything in a pot and let marinate for ~30 minutes. Cook over low heat for about 45 min., or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Take care not to let the sauce cook completely out. Serve with white rice (take the leaves out when ready to serve).

paraphrased from my sister's rendition of the recipe. The time I tried this I used a slow cooker and forgot the oyster sauce, but it still makes for a good meal, if you want something different. Follow the slow cooker's directions for timing on meats (6-8 hours on low) for that version.

Anyway, time to read backlog. ><

(Shae should totally let 'Manda take part ^^ - back to reading backlogs.)

Chicken Casserole

Most Friday nights my parents watch our children. If Paul gets off work on time, we have a dinner date. This week I thought it would be nice to have a quiet dinner at home instead of eating out. I asked Paul what he would like for me to fix. His response is reflective of the fact that we have been living mostly on beef for quite some time now. He wants chicken casserole.

Here's the chicken casserole I plan to make.

Chicken-Broccoli Bake

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups rice -cooked
1 cup broccoli florets (I usually use frozen, it's easier)
1/4 cup red pepper finely chopped
1 small can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup Cheddar cheese shredded finely
2/3 cup cornflakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small pieces.
Pan fry chicken with a small amount of olive oil.
Cover bottom of 8x8 pan with rice.
Place chicken on top of rice.
Sprinkle broccoli and pepper over chicken.
Cover with Cream of Chicken soup.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Crush cornflakes and sprinkle on top

Bake for about 30 minutes.

By the way, I think it's about time for someone else to post something on here

Meatballs

I am in the mood to make meatloaf. This is a rather strange thing really, especially since I am not in the mood to eat meatloaf. That's okay though. Sometimes I make meatloaf and then freeze it for a later time when I don't have time to cook. However, I realized that this wasn't such a good idea when I saw that we were out of the aluminum foil disposable baking pans. So I figured I will make meatballs instead (as soon as I am done with this post). Meatballs are basically the same a meatloaf only rolled into balls instead of in a pan.

Recipe:

Gather the following ingredients.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup celery finely chopped
1/4 cup carrots finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup (or spaghetti sauce)
1/4 cup mustard (prepared)
2 large eggs
1 cup rolled oats
dashes of seasonings, per your preference (suggestions: basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, sage, chili powder)

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll into balls.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.

Note: I never actually measure anything, I just go by appearance. Feel free to do the same. If you are using extra lean ground beef you may want to add a small amount of milk.

To Freeze:

Leave meatballs on cookie sheet, and let them cool so they are not really hot. Place in the freezer. Once meatballs are frozen, remove them from the cookie sheet and place them in ziploc freezer bags (return to freezer promptly).

If you would rather a meatloaf, do not roll into balls. Place in loaf pan. Bake for about one hour.

Birthday Cake

For Isaac's Birthday party I intend to make a cake. I though about making a cake from scratch. But unless you redefine "scratch" to mean the cake mix that is already in my cupboard then I won't be.

However, a plain vanilla cake for a first Birthday sounds boring, so I will have to get creative.

Here is my plan:

Mix batter according to directions. Add chocolate chips. Bake cake in 9 x 13 pan. Make chocolate frosting (milk, butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder). I'll try to see how much of each I use so I can write down a recipe. But I usually just dump in random amounts until it looks right. Frost cake. Add green food coloring to shredded coconut. Spread coconut on cake to look like grass. Steal animals from plastic Noah's ark toy. Place animals on cake.

Voila! A zoo cake.

And of course I'll have to take lots of pictures of Isaac covered in chocolate frosting.

I went with Loree's idea

Here's our baking/recipe swap blog. No time to post a recipe. Too much to get done.