Preparing for Success

Christmas of 2012 taught me a lesson.  About 2:00 am just hours before the children would wake to open their gifts,  I woke my husband  "It is time to put the little kitchen together, this is a 'Daddy' job."  For the next three hours both of us laboriously inserted one screw at a time to complete the project, I felt grateful that my husband can follow directions.  I knew I had been taken through an exercise that stretched me and taught me that SUCCESS IS DELIBERATE.  This method is often counter to the way I like to approach life, especially cooking.  I like to wing it, throw it all in,  go for adventure, be flexible and follow my best sense.  There was nothing intuitive in that little kitchen set.  The only way through the maze of parts was a step by step  disciplined approach.

I learned success at any task takes following a plan.  When feeding a family these are tools to use: recipes, menues, budgets, and a plan for acquiring and using basic shelf stable items and long term food storage items. We will create happy memories, feed our our families and protect our homes.  it will take careful PLANNING to be SUCCESSFUL.  Lets do it!

Back to Biscuits:


This week I cleaned the fridge freezer and made a list of everything. Our breakfasts, lunches and dinners have included these items.  Stress has decreased considerably because the menu possibilities are in front of me and we can use what I have.  The freezer is organized and it is like giving myself a hug every time I open the door.


One item I found was a gallon size bag of biscuit mix.  This homemade mix is all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and the butter) in my Grandma's biscuit recipe.  I assembled 3-4 mixes at a time, froze them, and now we get to enjoy them. 

"Could you help us with food"

Last week I had the privilege of putting some food on our friends shelves.  The mother and I shopped together to find foods that would ensure that the children would not ever have to be hungry because there was no food in the house when food stamps would not come for 2 more weeks.  Rice, pinto beans, spices, a pork loin, and 5 pounds of cheese were the staples we chose.  Mom cut the pork loin into individual 1/2 cup servings of tid bit pieces, the cheese was re-sacked into 1-1/2 cup portions then refrozen.  The meat and cheese will provide flavor and variety for months if used wisely.  We augmented the shopping list with foods from our own shelves - white flour, and honey.  The 25# of rice and 20 pounds of beans are easily a six month supply for a family of 6.  The peace of mind for this mother is worth the sacrifice of fast food or other prepackaged foods for a month to allow this family to be prepared.

"Be Hungry, Be Foolish" - Dairy Free Rice Krispies

Steve Jobs chose to close his remarks at the 2005 Stanford Commencement exercises with this counsel: "Be hungry, be foolish."  I agree.  Hunger is a good thing.  Too often we are afraid of it.  Too often we deny our children the growth of knowing they can be hungry and they won't die.  Too often we never develop an appetite for something greater than the next meal.

Schooling our appetites is part of our purpose on Earth and sometimes it requires we do more than just "go hungry: we have to be hungry - for knowledge, for discipline, for charity.   This requires that our stomachs learn to be hungry as well.  For Steve Jobs that meant he lived out of vending machines off loose change for six days a week, and once a week walked seven miles for a good meal.  No one would argue that Steve Jobs achieved success.  The road there required he be hungry. 

On the Home Front:
"Mommy, isn't this the best day of your life!" My five year old was sitting on the counter stirring the noodles.  I smiled back with an uncertain, "Yes?"  He clarified, "Because we've never cooked this before!"  I chuckled out loud.  We were cooking ABC pasta for a special "mac and cheese" dish.  Roger, the five year old, was cooks helper and he requested mac and cheese.  The special noodles made our day.


Group Hug - Good smells from cooking dinner evoked a group hug in the kitchen as all three children 7, 5, 2 grabbed my legs and waist to say "Thank you Mom!  Your the best Mom!"

Food Tips:

We made Rice Krispies without butter or margarine.

6 cups marshmallows
2 TBS canola oil
6 cups Rice Krispies

Melt the mini marshmallows in the oil that is just enough to cover the bottom of the pan
Add the cereal, stir until well mixed, Put in pan to cool.  Enjoy.

Old Flour
I opened some flour that had been stored in the original 5# paper sacks inside a five gallon bucket for a long time. (I took it off a friend's hands when they moved- I have had it 18 months- it has been stored for maybe 5-10 years. The flavor was okay but the flour was dry.  It was so dry that the brownies crumbled like sand.  The next batch of bread that I made with that flour took 1/3 again more water.  (Original recipe called for 4 cups water I added 1-1/2 cups more water for the same dry ingredients.)

Preparation an Divine Truth

Preparing is a truth.  To be happy we must prepare.  We prepare ourselves for the day by showering, eating breakfast, taking a moment to pray.  We prepare ourselves for the week by going to church, pondering on the upcoming responsibilities, and our direction in life.  Any good sales person or parent will ask what our hopes and dreams are and if we are headed that way.  Long term planning and setting goals for life determine what we do today.

Mealtimes are no different.  If we are wise each day we are executing a plan - preparing.  If we are not short sighted we will do more than just fill stomachs for the next three hours, we will be preparing the current meal while thinking of the next meal and at the same time by cutting salad greens, putting a dish in the crockpot or preparing a triple batch of the current meal for extra freezer meals. 

As we shop, we are prudently looking for sales, buying extra, preserving food for times of want ahead.  Preparation becomes a way of life as one constrains the desires and impulses of the moment for a long term benefit. 

This month (September 2011) my goal is to live life and blog our day to day with these principles in mind.  There is no overt monetary restriction, no challenge to only use what is on our shelves, I will prepare meals according to what we have on hand, the sales we encounter, the time restrictions of our family and the appetites to satisfy. Let's see what benefits we enjoy as we prepare for family mealtimes.

Without appology - Intestinal Fortitude

For three days my children have enjoyed a big pot of baby Lima beans, pinto beans, read lentils, split mung beans, and brown rice flavored with dehydrated onion, crushed tomatoes, garlic, Mrs. Dash, and salt.  The dish tasted delicious but by the second day I felt a little badly when the children came home from school and beans were all they could find to eat.  The older children were ravenous and ate it with great relish commenting "This makes my tummy feel so happy."  One seven year old refused to eat the beans until I held her on my lap and gently persuaded her to take one bite, then another.  She ate a full cup one bite at a time while sitting on my lap.  My mother's heart was doubly rewarded knowing my sweet child had eaten a healthy meal that would stick to her bones while enjoying a special bonding for a few minutes.  I had to question myself, "When was the last time you got the hold this child without competition from other children, the laundry or the next errand?"  Thank goodness for mealtimes.

The willingness of the children to eat just beans with bread and butter for lunch, dinner, breakfast, after school snack/dinner, and dinner again made me hope that maybe they are developing a little "intestinal fortitude."   This is the quality to do what is unpopular, and may appear unpleasant, what at first one may not want to do but after doing feels the greatest reward: a sense of accomplishment and well being.  Often intestinal fortitude is required if we are to serve and love others in our family or community.  I count it an honor to develop such strength in my family even if it is little by little around a dinner table.

Thursday September 1, 2011
Breakfast:  oatmeal
Lunch: mixed beans
Dinner: Mixed beans/ Fresh hot bread

Friday September 2, 2011
Breakfast:  beans, bread and butter
Lunch:
Dinner: beans with tortilla chips

Saturday September 3, 2011
Breakfast: blueberry muffins, beans
Lunch: rice pudding (that did not get prepared before breakfast)
Dinner: **Italian chicken over biscuits** This was an absolute hit from Family Circle magazine.


Recipe:
2 pounds chicken thighs ( I used 1 quart bottled chicken cubes.)
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash -original.)
3/4 tsp garlic salt (I used diced garlic browned with the onions.)
1/4 tsp black pepper (I left it out.)
1 large onion ( I put 2 in and doubled all spices.)
1 large can diced tomatoes ( I put in three cups diced tomatoes.)
1 cup chicken broth ( I used the juice in the bottled chicken.)
2 TBSP tapioca (I used tapioca purchased at the Indian Store - 2 pounds for $4.00)
1 can cannellinni beans (I used 1 cup red lentils, could also use pinto, navy, or mung bean)
1/2 cup sliced black olives (I left these out.)
1/2 cup fresh basil torn into small pieces ( I used 2 TBS dried basil.)

Brown onions and garlic, add all other ingredients.  Let it simmer while preparing biscuits.  Prepare a double batch of biscuits (I baked two batches - one for dinner tonight and one for cream of tuna later and also measured out another double batch of biscuits putting the dry ingredients in a gallon size bag in the freezer ready to add the eggs and water.  Doing a little preparation while I'm already in the kitchen goes a long way in feeding out family on the run.)

"I am my mother's daughter" - Creating New Recipes

The 18 year old read the recipe - "Almond paste, we don't have it, but I'll make it."  Not to be deterred she proceeded to bake Almond Sandwiches with a bit of ingenuity and creativity.  We ate the cookies with relish the flavor was divine, the presentation left a lot to be desired but we will work on that next time.

For dinner I used the spices of a favorite Indian dish to make a sauce with pork cubes to put over our baked potatoes.  It was a hit.  Traditional spice mixes like a Sloppy Jo flavoring, a taco flavoring, an Indian Aloo Gobi, a Mexican Mix or an Italian favorite can all be used with totally different base foods to create a new dish.  Base foods may include potatoes, rice, beans, gluten extracted from wheat flour, paneer (yogurt cheese) or a meat - pork, chicken or beef.  Foods to add in can vary according to what is on hand: onion, green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms, asparagus, okra, peas, soy beans, etc...

Tonight's base sauce: (coming tomorrow morning)

"Mom You're the Greatest"

Saturday

The two children with me clamored for a treat - they had been in the car for 2 hours and it was dinner time.  Fruit snacks, a shake, "McDonald's -I'll even eat the onions" the 9 year old said.  I didn't want to be an old grump and just say no, nor a wimp and just say okay; I wanted to give them an opportunity to deny themselves and delay gratification.

I offered the choice "fruit snacks now or ice cream with everyone when we get home?"  They both immediately voted for ice cream at home.  I was pleased to let them have a couple small scoops while the leftover pizza was heating.  They could have another scoop when they had finished their supper and had some red pepper for salad.  As my 5 year old boy stirred his ice cream, he looked up with a twinkle in his eye "Mom, you are the greatest!"

For storage I purchased 18  containers of a margarine blend on sale at $.70 each.  The total was $12.60 with a nutritional value of 20% Vit D, 10%  Vit A,  10% Vit E, 35% B6and 20% B12.  It tastes excellent and should last us a year.  We have gone weeks without any butter spread so we will be grateful for a small ration if I don't get to add any other butter for a while. 

I also noticed a sale on 6 inch red peppers at $.60 each. My garden is not doing well so I purchased eight - three packs which will hold in refrigeration for several weeks.  Peppers also freeze really well so I can dice the red peppers for additions to potato skillets, pizzas, and soups throughout the year.  The peppers are an excellent source of Vit C so they are critical to a balance food storage.

Salmon lettuce wrap

Salmon Salad hits the spot on hot summer days.  This is recipe created while the troops were panting for food on a scorching July day a couple of weeks ago.  We relished it in a leaf lettuce wrap.  My camera is in the repair shop - can't wait to post some pictures when it is returned.

1 can salmon bones, skin and all but drain the liquid (save to put in scrambled eggs later)
1 can water chestnuts drained and diced into small chunks
3 ribs celery diced into 1/4  pieces
2-3 TBS Miracle Whip
1 TBS Shrimp cocktail sauce

Mix everything together.  Place 1/2 cup into a rinsed lettuce leaf.  Fold and eat.  This dish is an excellent source of Vitamin D, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

Today:
Breakfast:  Rice pudding made on the stove top
Lunch: Leftover chicken soup
Dinner: Leftover Chicken Teriyaki