Preparing - One Day at a Time

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

2011-10-09T07:12:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-03T19:18:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-29T20:52:00.000-05:00

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"

2011-07-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

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

2011-07-22T20:57:00.001-05:00

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

Harvard Magazine Review - Building Convenience

2011-07-21T23:04:00.002-05:00

Waging war on the societal trends that are pulling 49% of American's food budgets into restaurants has become one of my mantra's in this blog. The article "Restaurants Rampant" in Harvard Magazine July-August 2011 reiterates the dilema in which we find ourselves. Why are we as a nation in the middle of a famine and overfed at the same time? There is no food to be had at home so statistics indicate that families eat out. The fast food or "professionally cooked" food is void of nutrients, high in fat and sugar and addicting. Starving for family togetherness and a Mom in the kitchen, Americans eat and eat. No wonder we find ourselves in an "obesity epidemic." All the associated health risks of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer along with juvenile deliquence and divorce trot along side this stampede. It is time to stop, evaluate the direction of our lives and preserve what is most dear: family. One of the most compeling places to start is at the family dinner table.

Harvard Magazine reports "A Grand Presentation" is the big marketing tool of many restaurants nowadays like the el Bulli on the Costa Brava north of Barcelona. Chef Adria spends six months a year just planning how to turn regular ingredients into "pyramids" or making "ravioli transparent." I feel to the contrary, a man and a hungry child don't want "phoo phoo food" as my husband calls it. They simply want homemade food cooked and served in a wholesome meal. A guest in our home this week observed, his mother never cooks; if there is food, they never sit down and eat together, and they never have a prayer over the food. I fear this is the norm in too many homes across America. We are in a nationwide famine for homecooking. As cooks we need to overcome our fear of not making it "just right." There are a thousand recipes and a thousand cooks in a thousand homes and a thousand restaurants. Who is to say our way is not the perfect way for our families. Create your own signature dishes. Let them flop or soar. One only fails, if he "fails to try again."

If convenience is demanded by your family's lifestyle, then create convenience - homemade. Here are some dishes that help me throw a meal on the table in minutes with minimal preparation:

4 Week Bran Muffins (in the refridgerator)
Pancake Mix with all dry ingredients, dry milk, etc.. ready to add water, eggs, and oil
Muffin Mixes (modified with less sugar, half whole wheat, more nuts etc..)
Biscuit Mix (Grandma's recipe only all the dry ingredients and butter cut into the mix, just add the water)
Whie Sauce Mix - use in cream soups, a-la-king recipes, cream gravies over biscuits, etc..
Oriental Stir Fry mix Beef or Chicken in quart jars in the fridge ready to make a delicious Terriyaki Sauce in 5 minutes
Frozen cookie balls individually frozen on a cookie sheet then stored in a large freezer bag or box just like one can buy except that I control the cost and the ingredients.
Frozen pie crusts
Frozen waffles - Once a month I make a double batch and freeze the leftovers. It is enough for 2-3 more meals.
A few freezer meals like upside down spaghetti, chicken enchiladas or linguini-a-la-Anne (not too many because these take a lot of valuable freezer space for frozen meat, margarine, fruits and vegetables.
Once a month cooking with the family of Granola, Crisp Topping, or homemade noodles.
Spice Mixes like Taco and Sloppy Joe customized to our families palates and stored in one meal size foil packets that eliminates dragging all the spices out every time we cook.
Menus that build off the basics that will last 30 years ensures that I always have something to eat on hand: rice, wheat, beans
Pressure cook and bottle meat and beans for homemade convenience.
Simplify recipes and pick recipes that don't require hours of step by step preparation.
Bottle/freeze fresh garden produce for later use - eliminating another trip to the store.
Leftovers. I nearly always prepare enough food to last at least one more meal. That enables me to relax for a cumulative 3 days out of 6 and do no cooking - just reheating. Everyone in the family loves the easy. These meals are sometimes frozen and sometimes refridgerated but never wasted.
A few pioneer favorites like bread and milk that are simple, wholesome and enjoyed by all.
Crock Pot breakfasts and dinners once or twice a week save more hours in the kitchen.
A menu or a plan for the week and the month avoids the biggest obstacle of all: deciding what to eat every day. These decisions are hard if procrastinated until 5:30 when the gang has to be at soccer practice at 6:00 - All too often McDonalds will win.

As for me and my house, I am waging a war to protect what I hold most dear a chance to look at my husband and children across the dinner table every day and reaffirm that we are connected. We choose a "feast" physically, socially, and emotionally over the famine in the land. We are happy.

Hats off to followers, Megan and Steve, for creating their own "Food Storage Recipes." See Megan's blog at http://myfoodstoragecookbook.com/ for more ideas.

Today: Breakfast: Spinach omlet with leftover mac and cheese and hot dogs for those too timid to try something new.
Lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup (added more spaghetti noodles broken to small pieces to the leftover broth from yesterday's chicken soup with egg drop noodles)
Dinner: Chicken Teriyaki with broccoli, celery and almonds over rice.

Filling the freezer - "I want solid food"

2011-07-19T02:13:00.001-05:00

My 13 year old son wandered into the kitchen prowling through the refridgerator and opening the bread drawer. I suggested leftover cake, cookies and milk, ice cream in the freezer? "Oh, no!" he said. "I am sugared out. I want some solid food." I chuckled under my breath when he pulled out the one bowl of leftover black beans. He heated them for 10 minutes - they have been in the fridge for 4 days - and relished eating black beans with tortilla chips. That is soul food.

This last week I have bottled 19 quarts of chicken (Tyson chicken breast was on sale a couple of weeks ago. It is the cheap, tough breast that doesn't taste the best grilled or fried but when diced and pressure cooked, it is great and for $1.50 per pound, it is worth it.)

We also cooked and froze 40 pounds of ground beef. It was 80% lean to begin with but after browning the whole 40 pounds in a large stock pot (you could use a roaster) I rinsed it with hot water saving the drippings. I let the fat come to the top of the drippings, skimmed it off and bottled 4 quarts of beef broth. The meat that was then 99% fat free, I bagged in quart size freezer bags with meal portions of about 3 cups for our family.

Blueberries were on sale for $1.00 a pint. I bought 24 pints, rinsed each pint, transfered the pint to a quart size freezer bag and into the freezer the blueberries went. The children will enjoy blueberry muffins for at least 24 weeks of the year. Not bad!

I intended to also freeze strawberries at a $1.00 a pound but they got eaten far faster than I could freeze them. All in all it has been a good week to get the food supplies restalked.

Preparing for a Fair - Pecan Pie

2011-07-19T01:53:00.000-05:00

Next month on August 27th our Community will host a Preparedness Fair. We are preparing to do a food storage display. Today we practiced making Pecan Pie with beans! The recipe calls for less sugar than a normal Pecan Pie recipe. Depending on which version we compared it to we used between 1/3 to 1/2 less sugar. The beans added a protein source making the pie delicious! I could have eaten a whole slice when sith a regular pecan pie it is so sweet and sugary that 1-2 bites is enough.

Here is what we tried:

Mock Pecan Pie

1-1/2 cups cooked. drained Pinto beans (or you can use white beans if you don't have pinto)
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten (3 T dry egg powder+1/3 cup water)
1-1/2 t vanilla
1/2 ts sea saltif desired
1/2-3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (or more to cover the top of the pie)

Cream the sugar, butter egggs, and beans (If you are using powdered eggs you don't need to mix the dry egg powder with water first - just put the dry egg powder in with creaming and add the water withthe vanilla, which is the next step). Add vailla and salf. Pour into a 0 inch unbakd pie shell. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over mixture. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes more. Pie is done when knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Monday July 18th:
Breakfast: Ham scram with fresh bread and butter
Lunch: Ham sandwhiches on fresh hoagie rolls baked for breakfast.
Dinner: Take and Bake Pizzas and homemade cheese pizza, fresh cucumber slices and watermelon

Good manner perserve Family

2011-07-17T11:10:00.001-05:00

My daughter smiled in disbelief and showed me the letter rumored to be read "Round the world" from a mother in law that dared to offer some constructive criticism of her son's fiance. We agreed that the world is in sad shape when some one has to be given this little piece of advice:

When you are a guest in another’s house, you do not declare what you will and will not eat – unless you are positively allergic to something. You do not remark that you do not have enough food. You do not start before everyone else. You do not take additional helpings without being invited to by your host.

Read more: Worst Mother-in-Law Ever: The Letter Read ‘Round the World! http://fresh1027.radio.com/2011/07/01/worst-mother-in-law-ever-the-letter-read-round-the-world/#ixzz1SNSwNjpZ

Personally, I thought how quickly neglect of good table manners can destroy family relationships. Selfishness is rampant in today's society. We see it in the form of eating on one's own time schedule, eating what one pleases, eating as much as one's greed can allow with complete disregard to others at the table.

A family's chief function is to love and support each other. This requires sacrifice - mothers and fathers sacrifice sleep and personal time to feed and care for children. Children learn to share. Everyone in the family learns to fore go some personal comfort for the benefit of the whole when we cook , clean, and live together.

I resolved to invite more careful observance of Table Manners in our home. I want my daughters to start off on the right foot with their mothers and fathers in law. Families are of what Heaven is made.

Let the Summer Begin!

2011-06-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we have enjoyed a family trip and one week of down time since school let out. It has been nice to sleep in, eat whenever and whatever was quick and easy, relax and play more than we worked. A dose of "unstructured time" is in my opinion a vital part of being a child and savoring the moment. But enough is enough and now is when a mother's heart is most excited to have her children home for the summer. Time to structure our lives of our own free will not because we have a school schedule to whip us into shape.

I thought I would start with set meal times. This will add a little stress to my day because I will have to be dependable with breakfast at 7:00; lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 6:00. The compensation will be the children will know these are the times the kitchen is open and if they don't make it to the right place at the right time, they will be hungry. There will be no more calling and pleading to come to lunch from all corners of the yard and house. I hope children will learn to be a little more responsible. Even my mother heart wonders if that is really possible. I may be naive, but I am desperate enough to try.

We will follow with swim time, play time, movie time, reading time, piano practice time, school time, sewing time, and chore time. I doubt every activity will fall on every day but both the children and I will be relieved to have a plan, eliminating the "free for all" that has been happening this past week. I know of one mother who wrote and produced an play every summer including every child in the neighborhood. It is in moments like these that mothers shine and life is good. It is hoped that children also learn intrinsic motivation through the satisfaction of accomplishment. There is nothing that is quite as satisfying as reaching a goal one has set for himself. Cheers to summer!

Posted in Recipes : Dilled Chicken with Penne Pasta

A Senior Recital - Is it worth it to Bake?

2011-05-07T23:00:00.000-05:00

My almost five year old has been waiting all week for the day we get to listen to the recital and then eat cookies. This morning he bounded out of bed, "Do we get to eat the chocolate eclairs today?" He would not forget carrying them in the house after the shopping trip and he was ready for the party. Then we started baking miniature brownies in the small muffin tins. The aroma filled the house with more of an invitation than he could resist. He asked to have a brownie, when denied the privilege he asked for the beater. When Dad said, "Yes," he chimed "You're the best Dad ever!"

We didn't bake everything for the recital, but what we did bake created anticipation for a special event for a member of our family. Was the hassel of baking worth the positive bonding between siblings or the compliment to Dad? You bet it was.

Breakfast today: Cracked wheat/oatmeal hot cereal with milk, raisins and walnuts
Lunch: Macaroni/tomato with wheat gluten protein chunks instead of hamburger (see the Wheat gluten post and pictures)
Dinner: Hot bread and milk with whole wheat bread, butter and salt

Captive Audience - Frozen cabbage

2011-05-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

My son sat at the kitchen bar and talked. I put applesauce fruitcake dough in muffin tins. I smiled and occasionally got to respond affirmatively. An awareness dawned, "He must enjoy just visiting - knowing that I was going no where until the muffins were baked. He could talk and talk without fear of being ignored, blown off by distractions that come with motherhood or simply left alone. I was all his -captive at 6:15 in the morning,.

For dinner we made punjabe potatoes with cabbage (probably has a different name with cabbage!)
Today's experiment came when we pulled the cabbage from the freezer. In putting groceries away, somehow one whole cabbage was put in a bread sack and put in the freezer! I've had this happen to celery that inadvertently was put in the freezer, but I was not sure how to negotiate the cabbage dilemma. So after thawing on the kitchen counter for 2 days, I chopped it all into small squares and fried it with a little oil. We added potatoes and spices. The steamed (once frozen) cabbage cooked beautifully.

Today:
Breakfast: leftovers
Lunch: applesauce muffins and milk
Dinner: punjabe potatoes, green salad

The Lord's Compassion - They shall "eat and be satisfied"

2011-04-17T21:37:00.001-05:00

The Lord's Compassion was evidenced every day with the children of Israel. Daily, manna was provided and when the people complained God provided meat and water. There were many people who refused to be nurtured by the Lord and asked to go back to Egypt where they knew they could eat at the hands of their oppressors. They would never be allowed to cross the Jordan where milk and honey flowed freely. Their children who would be born in the wilderness and be raised with a dependence on the Lord would realize that privilege.

I wonder if we must be willing to realize that everything we have comes at the hands of God. He feeds us from day to day nurturing our bodies and our souls. Then out of that humble reality God asks the Israelites to remember those who want and extend the mercy they have received at His hands to others: "and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee..." (Deuteronomy 14:29)

Inflation - Prepare in order to Give

2011-04-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

If anyone is not quite convinced that storing food is important, maybe he needs to get outside himself a little. The people hit hardest by inflation are the poorest in our communities. I am thinking of the Paralyzed Veterans, the elderly, and the homeless. If the few bucks one has buys less and less then there is less and less to eat and live on. If we as citizens, realize that this Great Country can only remain great if the federal budget is brought under control then, we too as Great Citizens will step up to the plate and provide for those in need. A wise friend summed it well when he said the needs of the poor need to be met by the neighbor, the local community/church then the state and finally the federal government. I feel a personal need to make sure I have more on hand to provide the basics.

The Mormon Church just increased prices at their storehouses - 11 to 49% depending on the item. This is unusual because the church has such large stores that small bumps in the economy are usually ridden out. For these large price increases one has to think that inflation is hitting as a result of the large deficit spending of the last two years. To substantiate that trend gas is predicted to be $5.00 a gallon by memorial day. The dollar is weaker and prices are increasing to compensate. Preparing is literally a day at a time and the time is now.

Bountiful Baskets -- "I'm the bread maker"

2011-04-12T16:52:00.001-05:00

The question was asked whether I think Bountiful Baskets is a good idea - I say yes. From what I have read at BountifulBaskets.org and from talking to those who have used the Co-op the fresh produce is aways good, the variety is like having Christmas delivered to your house each week or every two weeks and I like the whole viewpoint that the smaller growers are able to market their produce at greatly reduced prices. Getting 20-25 pounds of produce for $15 is a good deal in most places. Right now this Co-op is in TX, AZ, UT, CO, WY, ID, MT, WA, OR, and OK. I sent an email asking if Omaha could be a delivery as well - We'll see what can happen if we link arms an use creative ways to buy and sell wholesome food.

My 9 year old daughter helped me make bread last week. She was so pleased with herself and the delicious bread she exclaimed, "you can be the cook all summer, but I'm the bread maker."

We moved 40 cubic yards of mulch this week. I made a large batch of chicken soup with rice and a large batch of applesauce muffins. This helped us have food when we returned indoors after moving wheelbarrows for hours. It is nice to have a meal when you need it.

Cooking outdoors - "Mommy you are the Best"

2011-04-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

Last week a heavy spring snow fell. The snow made perfect snowmen that lasted for only half a day before melting. As we planned the day, I gave instructions to build a fire in the portable fire pit, get the marshmallows and make some hobo dinners for lunch. As the planning concluded, my 6 year old threw her arms around my neck and said,"You're the best Mom." I marveled, how could cooking over the fire be such a special event for her?

Once our hobo dinners of polish sausage, a slice of chicken breast, potatoes and carrots were pulled from the coals, the reaction of one or two children was a little more reserved "This is burnt." "Do I have to eat this." For fire cooking by my standards, it wasn't burned. I took a deep breath, smiled and said "Yes, it will build intestinal fortitude. Eat and Relish every bite."

On another front I was thinking of Japan - what would I do if there was no water, no electricity, no gas and a lot of rubble? One option open is to cook with fire. In fact there are cultures all over the world who cook over open fires every day in heat or cold. I made a mental note to build more fires and learn to use my dutch oven.

Today:
Breakfast: yogurt with granola, carrot sticks and celery sticks, fresh fruit of choice
Lunch: sandwiches with fresh bread
Dinner: Mashed red potatoes, sausage gravy, green beans, cabbage/apple/walnut/raisin salad, milk

Getting Started/ Getting the Job done

2011-04-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

In less than 6 weeks during the summer of 2010 I felt like we had accumulated enough food to keep us alive for three months - if meagerly. For the remaining 6 weeks I would be saving money to buy a hand grinder, and adding more variety to the menu. The first week we pretented to not have anything on our shelves. I bought household cleaners, personal hygene items, spices, and a few staples: rice, flour, and wheat. a few chicken breasts were the only meat I had for a week. We made a big pot of chicken soup with rice and made it through the week. Even this exercise was valuable because hungry children can be fed for very little with a savory soup that has very little meat in it.

Some lessons I learned:

1) Dedicate a percentage of your meal budget to fresh milk, eggs, and produce. The rest of your food money goes to buying shelf stable items and supplies. Some people who tried to buy a months supply of shelf stable food last summer, found they were lacking fresh foods and by the end of the month they were disenfranchised.

2) The more money available to buy groceries at once the better. Our food storage drastically improved when the pay check began coming once a month instead of every two weeks. The purchasing power of $400 is better than $100. More foods can be purchased in bulk and at the best price per ounce.

3) Share and co-opt to get the best price then divide it if you are single or have a small family.

4) Buy what you eat. One man I know will not eat anything but a frozen burrito. He is perfectly happy with those. I would encourage him to buy frozen burritos and hope the electricity doesn't go with his job. Storing 90-270 burritos (planning on 1 a day to 3 a day) is not prohibitive. It would fit in a small freezer and he would be prepared. Then I would work on learning how to make burritos from flour and beans. These are long term storage items, the basic ingredients of a bean burrito. The long term storage items require no freezing and could be cooked over a fire if in dire straights.

Which brings me to tomorrow's post - building a fire and cooking on it.

Wheat versus Pasta

2011-04-03T20:36:00.001-05:00

An excellent question was raised "Why buy pasta when homemade whole wheat pasta can be made? Is there a nutritional benefit to the whole grain noodles?" The nutritional content on a box of lasagna noodles indicated 25% folate, 20% niacin, 15% riboflavin, 30% Thiamin, 10% iron and 7 grams of protein. I feel this is good nutritional content - granted the pasta has been fortified and has non of the fiber that would be found in the whole wheat. I love home made noodles, I love home made whole wheat noodles but the practicality of the matter is that I don't make time to make my pasta. It takes a little more effort than turning on the mixer to mix bread. If one has a pasta maker, the process is faster to whip out beautiful spaghetti noodles, flat lasagna noodles, or linguini.

There is storage that is 1) emergency 2) short term - 3months or so 3) intermediate 1-2 years and 4) long term lasting 10-30 years. I use all these products all the time - the long term storage items are whole kernel wheat, rice, corn, oatmeal, beans. I store tons of these items in plastic buckets with oxygen packets. I rotate them a bucket at a time. The intermediate items I don't store as much - like pasta. I watch for the sales and then stock up. These items can also be used in multiple dishes. I try not to store too many things that can only be used in one main meal - for instance taco shells. Our family doesn't eat enough hard tacos to make it worth while to store more that 3 boxes of shells. (That is a generous 3 month supply for us.) I found they taste stale when I was forced to eat them during our three month adventure. So wisdom is necessary when planning convenience into the menu. The Goal is to have enough of the foods that your family normally uses on hand to last three months.

Week Four

2011-04-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

It was decided to not buy anything this week but a gallon of milk and use all the rest of the produce left over this coming week. For one person we spent $110 for the month while preparing generous, well balanced meals.

This is the process by which we build our food reserves. Last summer I started with 25 pounds of rice in May. That sack lasted me all three months. In the first 4 weeks peanut butter, tuna and potatoes all came on sale. Those supplies lasted me 6 months. Under normal use, buying a case (12) jars of a sale item is often enough to last a long time. The expense is usually 10-20 dollars. (This amount of money can be found easily in skipping a couple of fast food meals or eliminating the potato chips, pop, cookies or even ice cream (if one absolutely has too!)

Shopping List Week 3

2011-04-03T19:58:00.000-05:00

Foods that are still on hand from the last two weeks shopping (As is teh case each meal isn't using all of 2 vegetables or 1 fruit exchange):

cabbage, broccoli, carrots, spaghetti, potatoes 5-7, rice, 4 eggs, tuna, beef, sausage, 1/2 bag beans, chicken - 1 breast

bananas (6-10 servings) $ 2.5
apples (13 count in 2#bag) 1.60
spinach tossed green 1.50
canned tomatoes 1.40

bread(16 slices) 2.50
cereal (1 box) 2.40

milk (1gallon) 2.20
yogurt plain 24 oz 2.50

Investment foods

raisins (11 servings) 3.00
walnuts (16 ounces) 6.00

This list demonstrates how even one well planned list can give 3-4 weeks worth of food. We can have the foods that we normally eat in our homes. We can have more than one week's worth of food on our shelves - including our refrigerator shelf. Each week we expand the staples that we have on hand to add variety to any number of dishes.

Shopping list Week 2 for One Person

2011-04-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

Starting with very limited food on hand, we purchased some basics last week that represented all food groups and began building reserves. This week we will spending less than $30 and expand the variety of menu possibilities.

Produce:(on hand from last week broccoli, cabbage, lettuce)

oranges (10 servings) $ 2.50
apples (3# for 10 apples) 1.30
carrots ( 2 # - 10 servings) 1.60
tomato canned 2-3 servings 1.40

Starch: (on hand from last week: oatmeal, potatoes, rice already on hand)

pasta 16 servings 2.00
bread ( 16 slices) 2.50

Dairy:

milk (1 gallon) $2.20

Protein: (ham left over and chicken left over)

beans ( 1 pound - 14 servings) 1.70
sausage (1 #) $2.25
beef ( 6 small steaks
that can be cut in half for 12 servings) $5.60
tuna 1 can 2-3 servings $ .70

Investment Items: (These are long term shelf stable and now we an make stir fry- broccoli beef, chicken or sausage and with a carrot/broccoli/cabbage. Thicken the juices in the bottom of the pan with a teaspoon of corn starch. Add soy sauce for flavoring.)

soy sauce $1.40
corn starch $1.50

The Sacred Dinner Hour

2011-03-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

This week friends and I were comparing schedules to find the best time to contact each other. Powerfully, I was reminded that I am the defender of our home. As I reviewed my friend's availability, she could be reached after 9 a.m. any time except 5-7 pm, "the sacred dinner hour."

Pasta

2011-03-22T06:17:00.002-05:00

What does 230 pounds of pasta look like? How can it be stored? Here is a picture. It fit nicely on two shelves in the food storage room. I will leave it in the original packages. I calculated the amount we would need if we ate 5 pounds a week (which is generous). For 10+ people this pasta will probably last more than one year. The total pounds of pasta is counted in the grain group with rice, wheat, corn and oats.

Healthy Eating - A meal plan

2011-03-21T11:56:00.001-05:00

Dieting is a bad habit. Sensible meal plans that balance food groups, provide a wide variety, and allow for versatility and use easily accessible foods sustain family life and good individual health. Good health in turn saves money and increases happiness because we feel like enjoying life.

The Goal for every meal:

2 Fruits
1 vegetable
2 Carbohydrate exchanges
2 protein exchanges - 1 egg, 1 oz meat, 1/4 cup nuts, 1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 milk (For adults it is recommended to have 16 oz/day - I recommend 6 oz liquid at every meal.)
1 fat

If there are food sensitivities, milk intolerance, diabetes, heart health issues, this meal plan can be modified, substitutions made and either low fat or high fat choices within food groups. The caloric range can be from about 1600-2400 depending on whether high fat meats and milk are used and the fat exchange is eliminated. A good way to cut calories further if desired is to just eat 1/2 a meal for one of the three meals in a day. Meal exchanges can be carried to snack times (save a fruit and a vegetable for snack or only have 1 protein exchange with the meal and the other at snack time).

I think a raw foods diet is hard to maintain for long periods of time with small children but I do feel that as much as possible fresh fruits and vegetables need to be served at each meal. Bowel heath, heart health, the antioxidants for anti cancer health, etc.. all improve. Combined with whole grains and legumes for protein sources, good health is maintained. High protein diets such as P90X, Atkins, Zone, etc.. can yield results for weight loss quickly. Long term, more plant sources for proteins need to be used (beans) to make these diets wise. My personal preference is moderation and variety. So I try to serve 2 oz of meat at each meal. Legumes of some sort at least once a day (1 ounce on salads, as chip dip or a main dish). The goal is to have fish twice a week, beef twice a week, and fill in with a variety of nuts, chicken, cottage cheese, etc.. Foods that can be in two groups (PRO and CHO or dairy) change according to my need in the day. Sometimes I need more protein so another glass of milk suffices as a protein not a dairy.

Shopping List

2011-03-21T11:24:00.002-05:00

To meet nutritional goals of the above diet plan, here is a suggested shopping list. The cost of this list was $51.00 - not Nebraska prices. So adding or subtracting $5 would give an estimate of food costs in the US. Depending on where the shopping is done, food items could be substituted within a food group. I chose these items based on price and nutritional value along with how long they would store. This first week I opted for a large shank ham because it would be used to flavor beans, as sandwich meat, breakfast meat and in potato skillets. Ham adds lots of flavor and is versatile besides providing over 30 portions 3 ounces each which were diced and frozen.

bananas (6 gave 12 servings) $ 1.40
butternut squash (3 cups) 2.40
cabbage (12 wedges) 1.50
broccoli (6 servings) 2.00
lettuce green leaf (8 servings) 2.30
whole tomatoes (2-3 servings) 1.40
oranges (8 gave 16servings) 3.50
10# potatoes (24 potatoes) 2.60
oatmeal non-instant (30 servings) 3.00
bread (16 slices) 3.00
1# black beans dry 1.70
shank ham 11.60
frozen boneless chicken breasts 6.50 (2.25 pounds)
eggs 1 dozen 1.40
molasses 12 oz jar (on pancakes) 3.20

Servings Yielded from the above Shopping List

2011-03-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

If a person purchased the above list of groceries, these are the approximate number of servings
provided from each major group of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrate (CHO), dairy, proteins and fats.

Fruit: 28/ a goal of 21 servings per week
Vegetables: 34/ a goal of 21 servings per week
CHO: 70/ a goal of 42 per week
Dairy: 128 oz/ 126 oz liquid milk to drink per week
Protein: 80/ of a goal of 42 oz a week
Fats: 96/ of 21 servings a week added fat in added butter/margarine

If a person strictly followed portion sizes, in this first week of grocery shopping we have accumulated 4 weeks worth of butter, 2-3/4 weeks of fruits and vegetables, 2-3/4 weeks of CHO and 2 week's meat that will be further extended in next week's groceries. Week by week we will increase our stores, eat nutritiously, and gain control of finances. :)

Land of Milk and Honey

2011-03-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

My husband and I are studying the Old Testament together. This week we read Numbers 14 where Joshua has to reassure the people that God wants them to eat milk and honey. He wants them to have the richness of the land. He wants them to prosper. I wonder if sometimes we feel like God wants us to suffer and so we fail to take advantage of the opportunities we have when we have them - then it is too late. God wants to prepare us to meet challenges like those in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami; He wants us to prepare for unemployment; He wants us to prepare for rising oil prices and world turmoil. Preparing is a process that takes faith. The preparation had to occur on a daily basis. Yesterday I felt I should stop by one grocery store - not knowing exactly what I was stopping for - I stopped. They had just cleared the produce racks and I stocked up on apples and bananas for 1/2 the price. With the savings I bought some quinoa flour to try some gluten free baking. I marveled, God does provide for us, He will prepare us for times to come and He will fortify us to make it through the challenges we face one day at a time.

Training Dogs and Children

2011-03-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

My Dad spent three months in the mountains herding sheep when I was two years old. He spent the summer training a sheep dog. That dog could round up a whole herd of bulls and push them down the field with one voice command from my Dad.

I had to chuckle when I read this months Readers Digest article "Sit, Stay,Whoa!" Certainly dog trainers have more consistency than the crowd offering child rearing advice. My favorite grains of wisdom were to leave the pup with its mother for at least 28 days or the equivalent of 6 months in human years. To remove a pup from its mom sooner spells "disaster." Commands need to be short and start early. In an interesting study pups trained to be Guide Dogs for the Blind when started at one year 20% were successfully trained. When the age of training started at 5 weeks the success rate went up 90%.

Come to think about it, my Dad employed one command in rearing children that may have had it's origin in dog training. I personally think it quite effective - no long reasoning sessions, no reverse psychology, no threats, just a command that meant "No, Stop That, Danger!" His command was SSSST! We learned, almost subconsciously, to obey immediately.

Breakfast today:
Oatmeal/Cinnamon Bread
left over Rice Pudding, Ham Scram, and Chicken Supreme

Lunch: Leftover Stew from Sunday's Pot Luck Social (Chunks of pork tenderloin, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and hamburger - precooked and frozen. Simmer together until vegetables are tender. Season with salt, pepper, onion salt, herbs de provence or Italian flavoring.)

Dinner: Chicken breasts with Bow tie Pasta and Pesto, Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli, Cabbage/ Ramen Noodle Salad.

Broccoli Cheese Soup -

2011-02-28T04:41:00.000-06:00

Broccoli Cheese Soup

For a celebration, I bought a requested meal of Broccoli Cheese Soup from a restaurant for my daughter. She was delighted. It would have cost $40 dollars for 3/4 of a gallon. I decided to make a gallon at home to feed the family while my daughter enjoyed someone else's cooking. The homemade soup passed the taste test. This recipe uses all items in my food storage. The cost was less than $5.00 for the whole gallon. Victory again! Thank goodness.

1 gallon water

2 cups white sauce mix

2 cups cheddar cheese ( or flavors you like - 1/2 pizza cheese and 1/2 cheddar)

2 TBS Parmesan cheese

1 can canned milk

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp salt

2 cups steamed chopped broccoli

I used broccoli pieces from our garden last year that were harvested after I cut the main head. The little flowerettes that kept sprouting - I kept cutting, steaming for 3 minutes and freezing.

To avoid lumps, blend 2 cups white sauce with two cups of the water first. Mix with the gallon of water as it is heating. Stir constantly because it will burn easily as it thickens and heats. Add all other ingredients. When the cheese is melted and the broccoli heated, serve. Delicious.

White Sauce mix:

2-1/3cups non instant dried milk /4 cups instant dried milk

1 cups flour

1 cup margarine

Fortitude - a Parental Must

2011-02-26T08:23:00.001-06:00

This post has been milling in my mind for weeks. Time to get at it! Amy Chua is a Chinese mother who wrote an article entitled "Why Chinese mothers are Superior" for the Wall Street Journal published 8 January 2011. The world has been in turmoil ever since. Asian parents hate and resent her portrayal of Chinese parenting. Western mothers are defensive. Leaving the controversy, I find much to be said for the reasons behind the "stereotypical successful" Asian student: Asian Mothers are "in the trenches" with their children. She clearly shows how Mothers Matter - mothers can "prepare their children...for the future by letting them see what they are capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away." The methods are debatable and up to each individual parent but of little debate is that when Mothers care enough - it "requires fortitude." Too many parents from the western mindset have shown that mothers matter as well by their absence in aiding a child to be the best he can be. They blame society, peers, or teachers for less than stellar performance instead of taking responsibility. Too many legislators and school personell want to create another program instead of expecting the best of our parents.

Last week we arrived home from the grocery store at 4:30, the children were starving and snacking on yogurts I had just purchased as they ran in and out of the kitchen searching for food - there was nothing else available to eat. Hungry and exhausted myself, I fought a mental/emotional battle and decided I would be strong and I would try even though it would have been nice to call in a pizza or send someone out for hamburgers. I threw some macaroni into water to boil. In the next 15 minutes I decided what to do with the macaroni, cleared the kitchen, put groceries away and started setting the table. My six year old ran into the kitchen, peered into the pot "What are you cooking. Mommy?" Seeing the macaroni she exclaimed " Oh! macaroni and cheese! I love macaroni and cheese! I love you Mommy." She hopped down, ran away and miraculously, the foraging in the kitchen ceased. A calm prevailed and I prepared macaroni/ hamburger/tomato (my from scratch version of hamburger helper). We enjoyed a wonderful family dinner. That is fortitude.

Apple Muffins

2011-02-26T07:43:00.000-06:00

This is an Applesauce Bread recipe that I make into muffins. I often substitute pumpkin for the applesauce for variety.

2 cups shortening (melted butter, margarine, or oil. If using oil the amount can be cut to 1-1/2 cups for a lower calorie version.)
1-1/2 cup white sugar
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs (increase to 6 if trying to boost nutrition)
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp salt
2 tsp each vanilla and almond flavoring
8 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
4 cups applesauce

Optional:
2 cups raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, etc..

Top with Crisp topping and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Bake ahead of time and freeze or make batter and refrigerate ready to bake fresh.

Granola Bars

2011-02-26T07:31:00.001-06:00

This recipe for Granola bars was emailed to me. It is the best combination I have tried. The children like lots of chocolate chips but I make them with lost of different add ins with wonderful results. These are soft and chewy.

4-1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup melted butter
1 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar

Optional add ins for better nutrition or flavor

1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups chocolate chips
2 frozen and then thawed bananas

Mix all the ingredients. Bake at 300 degrees for 18 minutes until lightly golden brown. Do not over bake.

Vegetable Shortage

2011-02-17T17:06:00.001-06:00

The newspaper reported a freeze in Mexico killed 60% of the vegetable crop. Since most of our fresh vegetables come from Mexico this time of year, the market impact is significant. Wholesale prices for a case of tomatoes rose from $21 to $64. I am taking the hint. I am planting a garden and bottling tomatoes, freezing green peppers, and increasing my reserves. We can enjoy healthy vegetables from home preserves until the prices stabilize.

A webnar broadcast that teaches gardening skills and features 18 webcasts with an average length of nine minutes each was recommended to me. The innovative gardening techniques will encourage anyone to try. This is inspiring enough to provide a living for homeless in Chicago and create beautiful, efficient living space in St. Louis helping people live without government aid. It is worth a peek.

http://www.midwestpermaculture.com/the-case-for-permaculture-11.php

Breakfast: Rice pudding
Lunch: granola bars/ apple muffins
Dinner: homemade Pizza

Snowed in - What are the Basics?

2011-02-06T11:31:00.001-06:00

One third of the nation was buried in snow and ice last Monday. We reveled in the excuse to stay home and make a memory. We started with a candle light dinner on Monday night - spaghetti, homemade French Bread, lettuce salad, and eggless chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Tuesday morning the challenge was to prepare pancakes that had been on request for several weeks with no eggs. Again I pulled a couple of frozen banana's, thawed them in the microwave, added 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 cup extra flour (for a recipe that called for 2-1/2 cups of flour.) They were delicious and stayed together.

Deciding what to store:

As an exercise in deciding what would be best to put in food storage, look at the ingredients in these basic foods:

Sandwich bread:
water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt, oil

Dinner rolls:
milk (can use water), yeast, sugar, flour, salt, oil or butter

Pizza crust:
water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt, oil

French Bread:
water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt

Pie Dough:
flour, butter, water, salt, sugar

Naan (Indian bread)
water, yeast, sugar, salt, flour, flavoring of choice (onion, garlic, almond)

Croissants:
Water(milk), yeast, sugar, flour, oil, salt, Butter to roll between layers of dough

Irish Soda Bread:
buttermilk, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, eggs, Additives as desired (raisins, caraway seeds, etc)

Tortillas
Flour, salt, oil, water

Chapati (Indian tortillas
flour, water, salt, oil

Unleavened Flat Bread (Passover style):
Milk(or water), Flour, salt, butter, eggs yolks

Biscuits:
Four, baking powder, salt, butter or margarine, egg(optional)

Cookies:
flour, butter/margarine, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs

Pasta:
Flour, (eggs), water, salt ( if the pasta is to be dried use water instead of eggs) olive oil can add flavor

If our shelves have Flour, water, oil, salt, sugar, yeast, baking powder, and baking soda, butter or margarine... In most any combination, our children won't go hungry.

Using 45 minutes

2011-02-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday I had 45 minutes to do cooking before the mad dash began-our whole family would be coming and going in different directions for the whole day. I started onions frying for Joe's Potatoes; pork tidbits frying for pork fried rice, and water boiling for diced potatoes (turned into hash brows the next morning.) While these items were browning, I peeled 10 pounds of potatoes - scraping off the cut and dark areas while leaving most of the skin intact (most of the vitamin C is in the skin and if the restaurants can serve potatoes with skin so can I). I cut 5 pounds of the potatoes in rounds and diced 5 pounds to boil. By the time I was finished peeling, the onions and pork was ready for the next ingredient. I added the potatoes to the onions and water to the pork. I added water to yield the finished amount of rice that I wanted then added to rice: 6 cups of cooked rice needs 6 cups of water and 2 cups of regular rice.) I added spice, salt and pepper and turned the pans off leaving the raw ingredients to cook in the hot water on stove top while we were away before lunch.

When I returned, the house smelled wonderful and I felt an instant security that food was ready. My husband and a couple of children were there sampling the goods. The morning had been a success. I finished the pork fried rice by adding some garlic paste, ginger paste and soy sauce. Leftovers from that 45 minutes preparation would feed us over the next few days with a lunch of fried rice to put in the freezer for next week as well (yes it was a lot.)

Getting the Best Deal

2011-01-31T11:23:00.000-06:00

Buying food without spending a premium is a skill that comes with practice. To start build a menu that uses basics instead of ready prepared or boxed mixes. The difference in cost between a box of au gratin potatoes and au gratin potatoes from scratch is enough to pay for two meals.

Secondly list the ingredients that you use most frequently. Track the high and the low prices on these items. I have one friend that carries a list of maybe 50 items that she regularly buys with the best prices she can find on a regular basis (non-sale). Then when she is in the grocery store she can double check the current price and compare between stores to help her make a good choice when buying. Sometimes sales are not really sales. For instance, 4/$5.00 may be higher than regular price at a different store. If it is a good sale, buy double what you normally use. Slowly the shelves fill up. The same strategy can be employed with coupons. Know what is a good deal and what is not.

On items that go on sale seasonally, buy lite through the rest of the year and save for stock up when that item comes on sale. Flour is such an item. The best time to look for loss leaders is between November 15- December 25. Potatoes are a loss leader around the first of October, the end of January, and again the last of May/first of June. Frozen Salmon and fish are on sale through Lent. In most cases the Loss Leader sales are better than road side stands, restaurant supply, or regular grocery store prices. Although all of these venues may be the bast route to take in any given area. (In WI maybe the wholesale outlets are the best place to buy produce in bulk and split it up.)

Price out the price per unit (ounce or for Toilet paper it is the square) to make sure that you are comparing apples and apples. Frozen vegetables are packaged in 12 ounces and 16 ounces. Don't be fooled by a lower price for a lesser amount. Here is also where one can determine if buying in bulk is effective or not. Sometimes it is more expensive.

Don't worry if you don't always get the best deal if the bulk of the menu is built on the basics the cost per meal will most often be lower than eating out or buying boxes. A regular price potato is $.30 per pound ( $.50-or higher for large bakers). I counted the potatoes in a 10 pound sack and found the average to be 10 cents per potato on the most expensive end. Serving a meal where the main portion of the meal only cost 10 cents per person is still a very good deal. Spice that potato with some onions, chili flavoring or butter and to give a delicious simple meal. Rice is the same - an inexpensive way to build a delicious meal out of a long term shelf stable grain.

Be creative and know the sources, say a prayer and you'll find the price that is right for you. I loved reading the story of a mother who always said a prayer before going into a store. Inevitably when she entered she would hear over the speakers that a particular item would be on special for just the next hour. She thanked God for leading her to that store at that time. Those items were ones that she needed but had even forgotten to put them on the list to shop for them.

MOTHERS MATTER

2011-01-30T20:26:00.000-06:00

A year has passed since our family completed a challenge to stay out of grocery stores for 90 days. Two days ago when the teenagers suggested we stock up on items for food storage, I knew they had internalized the lesson. Preparation yields comfort and security. I also realized a mother's pay off when her children learn a lesson that will protect them for life. Mothers Matter.

Empty Shelves in Georgia - Indian Potatoes

2011-01-16T11:24:00.000-06:00

The stark grocery shelves in Georgia this week serve as a reminder to each of us that we need to prepare. I almost feel guilty posting on Sunday until I remember that it is God's purpose to keep body and soul together. This week I reviewed the story of Joseph sold into Egypt. God prepared him to be in Egypt during a time of plenty so he could offer life saving food to his family during the times of want. Each of us must prepare.

Our family bought potatoes last October when they dropped to 10 cents a pound. We have eaten these potatoes for 3-1/2 months. We have 6 weeks more storage of fresh potatoes. We have enjoyed them mashed, baked, fried in potato skillets, Indian potatoes (recipe follows), and in soups. It cost less than $20 for a 20 week supply for our family of 10. Potatoes have 45% per serving of the RDA for Vitamin C if the skin is included in the meal. This is a smart investment if the climate allows for storage.

The 25 pounds of rice that we purchased for $7.00 in the summer lasted easily 3 months with heavy use. We use rice under stir fries, gravies and curry soups; in soup, in chicken and rice dishes cooked in the crock pot and oven, in rice pudding, in jambalaya, pork fried rice and meatballs...

Flour dropped from $2.00 for 5 pounds to $.80 a 5 pound bag. We bought a years supply of white flour. We put it outside when temperatures were below freezing for 2-3 days. This killed any larvae that may have been in the packaging. Flour will store well if frozen for 48 hours and put in water proof containers.

Celery dropped to 20 cents a bunch at Thanksgiving. I bought 8 bunches. We are still enjoying the celery in soups. It is still crunchy.

We have enjoyed a couple of turkeys from Thanksgiving sales, 80% lean ground beef has been on sale for $1.68 per pound. I brown 10 pounds at a time, drain the fat and rinse the meat with hot water unless I am cooking to add calories and flavor. I freeze the browned meat in meal size portions. For people with severely restricted diets due to allergies or intolerance's, the fat and flavor are needed.

Chicken hind quarters purchased for 40 cents a pound are prepared the same way: boiled, boned, and frozen in meal size portions. The broth from boiling the chicken is used in a big pot of soup.

Other loss leaders over the last few months have allowed us to have all the cottage cheese we wanted; pasta, cake mixes, and pineapple tidbits to last over a year.

Our homes are the most reliable place to have food stored for times of need. It takes minimal amount of cash to buy and store what one uses on a regular basis. Buying on loss leaders and using what one has allows families to store what they normally eat. The more variety in a "normal diet" insures greater flexibility in times of need.

Here is a recipe that our family really enjoys. Originally this is an aloo gobi recipe from the Internet. At an Indian restaurant, we found this dish to also be served with cabbage instead of cauliflower. I've modified the spices so it is not hot.

Indian Potatoes (for 10)

2 Tablespoons of oil
5 pounds potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 small head of cabbage cut into wedges and halved again (or 1/2 head large cauliflower)
1 Tablespoon fresh ground ginger (purchased fresh in a jar from Indian store)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
1/2 cup water

Put oil in large pot, add cabbage or cauliflower cut into large floweretts
Add potatoes. Stir frequently. Add spices and water. Stir.
When potatoes are almost tender, I turn off the pot, cover the pot, and let the whole mixture steam.

Enjoy.

Expecting Miracles and Conversations

2011-01-02T11:27:00.000-06:00

This Holiday Jesus's first miracle caused me to smile at the vision and power of Mothers. Jesus's mother comes and makes him aware that they have run out of wine. Jesus makes large jars of water turn to wine. The guests acclaim the best wine was saved for last. Guests at the party are blessed, Jesus's mother is relieved and for the first time the public becomes aware of Jesus's power to perform miracles. Could Jesus have done such marvels if his mother had not first expressed faith in Jesus and second had not asked Him to intervene? Most miracles come as a result of asking. Mothers have special interest and can ask with a sincere heart. God will answer such prayers.

Today:

We made a large pot of soup the ratios were:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can cut green beans
1/3 pound ground beef (already browned and in the freezer.)
1/2 cup raw macaroni added to the mix
1- 1/2 cups (or 1 can) water
2 bullion cubes
salt and pepper to taste

While my four year old sat and ate his soup alone this morning, he posed the dilema,
"Mom, I have to find a girl."
"A Girl?"
"Yea, the right girl to marry."
"Oh, how are you going to do that?"
"I don't know," with a really worried tone.
"Do you think God wants you to have the right girl? May be you can pray and ask him to help protect the right girl for you."

Such innocent conversations are shared spontaneously over a bowl of soup/simple meals. I cook to have such conversation.

New Years Resolutions

2011-01-01T19:36:00.000-06:00

Our homes are the soul of our country. The moral character of our citizens is directed in the ebb and flow of conversation around the dinner table. To strengthen our homes, our communities and our nation it would be prudent to retrench to a lifestyle that requires 1) cooking from scratch, 2) sitting together for mealtimes, 3) nourishing relationships of friends and family, and 4) building our own strength to carry out such a plan.

This holiday my 18 month old helped me roll out gingerbread men. She was grabbing the little boys scrunching them into a handful and plopping them on the baking sheet as fast as she could. I was desperately trying to roll, cut out, and get those gingerbread boys on the sheet before she could pull them off. It was chaotic. Just as I was ready to scream, I had to laugh. My baby was loving the moment. She was in the center of the fun. I had to re-evaluate. The goal was to build a memory and a pleasant feeling of holiday cooking with my baby, not to produce a perfect gingerbread boy. I smiled and gave her a compliment. Success had been achieved.

For New Year's Eve (We ate all evening as we watched the New York ball drop and other festivities, played games, and watched movies at home.)

Cream cheese ball with crackers
Vegetable tray
M&M's and chocolate mint cookies
Shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce
Twice baked potatoes
Banana's Foster with Ice Cream
Chips and dip

The Comforts of Home

2010-12-19T16:17:00.000-06:00

Instinct tells us all is well if we smell something cooking. One of the biggest anxieties is the fear of no food, or no shelter. This week I kept life simple with soups and fresh bread but it was amazing what even savory onions browning on the stove added to the "glad to be home" feeling of the holidays.

Wednesday: Baked potatoes

Thursday: Fresh white bread, pineapple, and milk for supper. Holiday Stuffing for the party I attended.
The Stuffing was made of 9 cups cubed fresh bread, 1/2 cup butter, 1 large onion diced,1-1/2 cups diced celery, 2 tsp thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 cup cranberries all mixed with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. Brown the celery and onions in the butter. Mix all ingredients together with sauteed onions and celery. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Friday: Joe's potatoes. Potatoes were on sale the first of October again. We stocked nearly 300 pounds for our family. They are being stored in open totes in the garage. I also bought a large bag of fresh onions. Many onions are 4 inches in diameter. To use the onions and potatoes before they rot, dishes like "Joe's Potatoes" are fantastic. Brown 2 large onions cut into circles in 1/2 cup butter. Add 7 pounds peeled, sliced potatoes (in rounds). Cover with enough water to just barely submerge the potatoes. Cook until potatoes are soft to a fork. Salt and pepper. The potatoes brown with the caramelized onions and thicken the broth as it boils down. This dish is a Depression Dish that my grandpa would often make to feed his eleven children. Savory onions helped assuage the lack of meat on their table.

Saturday: Macaroni, taco flavored ground meat and tomato sauce were added together to make a variation of macaroni/ hamburger/ and tomato dish. The children assembled all the ingredients while I went out. They ate it all. It must have been delicious. I start with the macaroni- measuring1/2 the volume that I want in the end. So to serve 8 people 1/2 cup servings each, we needed 2 cups of macaroni. We added 1 pound of meat, about 3 cups of crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Recipes are Refreshing

2010-12-14T22:11:00.000-06:00

My thirteen year old walked in from a stressful day at school, picked up a recipe book and made custard. I was oblivious to his project until I saw the creamy yellow pudding cooling in a bowl of ice water. Cooking is relaxing for him. He is not afraid to try new methods. This custard did not set before he ate it but he has tried something I have yet to do.

Over the summer when the raw ingredients in our house were flour, sugar, milk and eggs, I made flan for the first time. It was great fun, felt elegant but didn't use any "exotic" ingredients. If one is a little afraid of cooking there is no better way than to read a recipe book. I like books that are from country cooks or small towns. These recipes are delicious, most of the time from scratch and simple.

Today:
Breakfast: Baked Potatoes for some and leftover pasta for others with milk
Lunch/Dinner: Chicken noodle soup - I started the chicken boiling after breakfast, peeled carrots, and chopped celery at noon, chopped the boiled chicken while the carrots were boiling in the same water the chicken had boiled, added curly egg noodles, flavored it with bouillon cubes and a little salt. The soup served the family for lunch and dinner. (It was ready and savory on a cold winter night. I could take two of the children shopping with a clear conscience).

It's my turn! and Progressing in the kitchen

2010-12-14T11:29:00.000-06:00

The six year old asserted that she could the tomato sauce for dinner. She turned over a small trash can and started stirring the crushed tomatoes. We added salt, basil, and garlic. "This is good." she said, "But we had a lot more to do." She went to the spice cupboard and pulled lemon pepper, brown sugar, a secret ingredient or two and began stirring. The siblings came to taste test. More salt was added and more sugar. She proudly tasted the finished sauce. We poured it over rigatoni and bow tie pasta, added grated mozzarella, some cream cheese, and Parmesan and stirred it all together. Served with a green salad, dinner was great because we were all together around the table feeling like everyone had contributed.

18 months
My babies are nearly always close by me. So they are often on the kitchen counters while I am peeling carrots, mixing bread, or cracking eggs. Almost from birth they are in the kitchen.

5 Years
My children start cooking by frying eggs. At a young age (5) they can manage cracking the shell, the results are ready to eat quickly and the possibilities of what an egg can do are limitless. They start with a basic fried egg, then scrambled, then sunshine up, then over easy, then they create an omelet. Each egg is eaten with relish because it is their own creation.

8 years
Somewhere in this age range the children graduate to creating their own hamburgers. In my recipe collection I have the prized "Brent's Burger" that lists the special spices he added to his burger. It was a little too hot - too much curry but it was his and delicious.

11-13 years
Cookies are a great way to get familiar with the kitchen, a mixer, teaspoons, tablespoons, fractions and tasty products. Everyone in the family applauds the cookie maker. My husband could make eggs when we got married. Then he started making cookies, now he can make caramel from sugar and water, and delicious cream cheese cakes. Cookies were the gateway to kitchen confidence.

Then menu Monday the 13th of December:
Breakfast: oatmeal blender pancakes
Lunch: leftover potato, carrot, beef stew
Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce and green salad. Dessert cookies from the Holiday Cookie exchange at school.

Family Ties

2010-12-05T20:55:00.001-06:00

The power of hearing kind supportive voices who will encourage a person to surmount challenges is incalculable. This is the power of family committed to one another. Individual family units, extended family, church family, the friends who become family, communities that pull together, and a nation unified in goodness: these are the units that capture the power of family. If we didn't come from a nurturing home, we can create one. If we don't have siblings to encourage us, we can find them at church. If we don't know how to speak with love and encouragement nor how to build an environment that puts sparkles in children's eyes, we can find others who are so dedicated and model our lives after theirs. Life has its challenges, God has intended for us to for us to face them together. It is this strength that motivates mothers and fathers to forget themselves and create a home full of peace and joy. It is the collective strength of many such homes that fortifies a nation against troublesome times.

Breakfast: Leftover fried Rice and bagels
Dinner: Taco soup with hominy ( 1 pound ground beef flavored with taco favoring out of the freezer, 4 cups tomatoes diced or paste, 2 cups ( 1-15 oz can) hominy, with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp onion powder or 1/2 cup chopped onion.)

A Birthday Celebration

2010-12-05T20:36:00.000-06:00

The children woke to the savory smell of onions browning for a potato skillet with extra fancy bagels in honor of our daughter who was turning 15. Given any opportunity to go out on the town, invite friends for a party, play games or watch a movie, she chose to have a family party. She said "My family really are my best friends." So we stayed home most of the day. The younger children went shopping for gifts while I baked a Hummingbird Cake (delicious banana cake base), made pork fried rice and steamed carrots and broccoli. With an extra large helium balloon wishing a Happy Birthday! in the center of the table the festivity was complete. We made a great memory.

Taming the December Circus

2010-12-03T18:43:00.001-06:00

If there is any time of the year that has the power to stitch families together, it is this magical season. The first snow flies and the children exclaim "This is the best day of the year!" It is also the time when homes are most at risk. I was shocked to listen to a friend describe her instinctual dislike for Christmas and Easter because that meant the grown ups would be drunk and the children ignored. As an adult these scars of childhood still bleed each holiday. The only way to find healing is to create new memories, new associations, new traditions.

It doesn't take an alcoholic home to leave the children desolate of family togetherness. The shopping, the parties, the seasonal concerts, the ball games all crash with speed this time of year. If not on guard, dinner is each man for himself as he comes and goes. Children are thrown a fast food sack or a box of macaroni in the rush. Exhaustion sets in and the magic of the holidays is reduced what can be purchased.

So, for this holiday, we are on guard. As a mother I am going to create enticing aromas in my home every day. Make a point to sit down together to read, sing, and eat. We are creating memories of joy, peace, and love. These are the threads that weave hope for future generations and give meaning to life.

Today:
Breakfast: pumpkin bread and leftover taco soup with hominy (this was soo delicious last evening we can't leave it alone this morning).
Lunch: Canned Salmon and noodles, green beans and milk
Dinner: A freezer meal of Upside down spaghetti while my husband and I went out on a date.

Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-12-03T18:20:00.000-06:00

The magic of the Holidays starts with Thanksgiving. I knew we stuck gold when the children ran in the kitchen to discover that we were rolling out pie dough. Each clamored to make his own special pie. We rolled out pumpkin pie shells, apple pies and cherry pies. We baked shells for lemon meringue, chocolate silk and a special pie just to remember my grandmother, mincemeat. Thanksgiving starts weeks ahead when I purchase the staples on sale: potatoes, carrots, frozen peas, flour, eggs, pumpkins, real butter and even cranberry sauce. But the week proceeding Thanksgiving is the best time for sales on celery, olives, oven bags, water chestnuts, other specialty items and of course, the turkey. We buy an extra turkey for the next holiday and count our blessings.

Thanksgiving is a time to relish each other. This often means that children learn to forgo their own special preferences during this celebration. Maybe they can expect singular treatment on their birthdays but Thanksgiving is not a time to allow preferences to force the kitchen to become a short order restaurant. Thanksgiving is a time to preserve family traditions, create memories of being together and that often requires sacrifice.

The HOW:

Our "Thanksgiving Dinner" is jotted down on a sheet of yellow card stock in my recipe book. We check and recheck the list when we are shopping, cooking, and setting all the food on the table. We still have flexibility to add dishes, try new recipes and introduce new favorites but we have the framework all written and it saves a lot of stress to have the Tradition recorded for use year after year.

The pies and sometimes the rolls have to be made the day before to free up the oven for the turkey Thursday morning. We also make all the salads the day before: drain the fruit for a fruit salad, make the Hawaiian and cranberry jello, make a seven layer salad (it stores 3-4 days better than a pain green salad), and do the prep fro a relish tray. Thanksgiving morning we are baking turkey, mashing potatoes, steaming carrots, heating the stuffing (assembled 2-3 days ahead of time from fresh homemade white, wheat, and cornbread and put in a casserole dish), heating green beans and setting a table with butter plates, cranberry sauce, garlands and goblets. The festive aromas and pretty tables make the eyes of the children glitter with joy. Every one (except the babies) goes without breakfast so they have an appetite worthy of the meal. When we do eat, we are really grateful to have food, friends and family with whom to share.

Bread and Little ones

2010-11-19T22:13:00.000-06:00

Cooking with little children can be messy. The trick is to make them feel included without letting them destroy the kitchen. One way my grandmother and mother kept us occupied was letting us make our own little bread creations while they cooked the rest of dinner. We sometimes made loaves or sometimes put blobs of dough together to form shapes of animals or plants. We baked our creations and relished the hot snack. The kitchen experience let us feel warm and cozy beside our mother while keeping us out of trouble.

One loaf of bread:

1-1/4 cup water warm
1 TBS yeast
1 TBS sugar
2-1/2 cups flour (part white, part wheat or all one type)
1 tsp salt
1 TBS oil or butter

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add flour to make a dough that is not sticky when poked with damp fingers. Freeze the whole batch if desired. Make scones, form a loaf, roll out sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon rolls, roll out into wreath shapes or snip with scissors to create a braided look, form dinner rolls in crescent shapes by rolling a triangle, or cutting the tops of the roll, or making Parker house shapes out of circles folded and pressed together. The possibilities end with ones imagination. Making bread is family fun.

Unemployment and Spaghetti Sauce

2010-11-11T05:53:00.001-06:00

Last week a large crane truck stood in our driveway. The men hooking tethers commented that as of this week there will be a $2600 fine to touch a tether or a hook if one has not been certified. For construction crews fines of $500 per ladder are levied if they leave ladders standing while going to lunch. In Wyoming when I was a girl these risks came with responsibility. The individual was trusted and empowered to make the smart choice. It seems like we cannot think for ourselves any more.

What does this have to do with food and cooking? Such regulation destroys companies yeilding unemployment. Unemployment creates hunger. Hunger breeds fear which further feeds government intervention. Rarely does the government step back and empower people. Standing on my driveway I thought I would rather be unemployed than enforce such regulation. The question quickly surfaced "Would I let my babies go hungry?" With a calm assurance I answered, "I am prepared. My children have food."

Cooking at home from scratch is not as hard as one may imagine if you have never seen a mother or father prepare meals. Almost all of the everyday meals are prepared in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Spaghetti Sauce is such an example.

The process is - open a can or bottle of tomatoes, add spices, add precooked frozen ground beef or meat of your choice, heat. Serve. While adding spices to the tomatoes, noodles are cooking. The pasta sets the time restraint. In 20 minutes or less, dinner is ready.

The advantages of making your own tomato sauce is that it empowers one to use the same sauce in lasagna, pizza, macaroni/hamburger/tomato dishes or a Goulash variation. Upside down spaghetti can easily be frozen, Calzones can be dipped in the tomato sauce minus the meat. Serving a tomato base dish twice a week can easily be stretched 3-4 weeks without ever duplicating a meal.

Tomato Sauce is also a great place to govern ones health. Bottled tomatoes are a full of licopenes that are anti cancer agents. Made at home sodium can be half what is in grocery store varieties.

My daughter took great pride in being the chef in creating this Spaghetti Sauce recipe. Try it and create your own favorite combination.

1 quart tomato (crushed, diced or blended whole tomatoes from the garden)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chives (I don't often add this - She does, but she warns - not too many.)
a shake of black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp basil

Other spices and add ins may include oregano, dehydrated or fresh onions, mushrooms, hot peppers or bell peppers. If I am using home bottled tomatoes that are very juicy, I add 2 TBS of cornstarch to thicken the sauce enough that it will stay on top of a pile of spaghetti. I make this in quantity (4 quarts at a time) and do once a month freezer cooking. It is a great feeling to have an upside down spaghetti in the oven when returning from an afternoon in the car retrieving children or running errands.

Upsidedown Spaghetti

Cream cheese (8 ounces)mixed with grated cheese (1/2 cup) sour cream (8 ounces)
Cooked spaghetti (1 pound)
Top with Spaghetti sauce

freeze

Fruit Leather, Applesauce and Assembly Lines

2010-10-25T21:29:00.000-05:00

Strawberry apple fruit leather sounded delicious to the 17 year old. "Maybe we should make some as incentive" she chimed. Applesauce is a great base to any flavor of fruit leather one chooses to make. As the end of apple season nears we are scrambling to bottle as much as we can. The process is simple. Wash and quarter the apples leaving the seeds and skins. Cut out any bruised or worm eaten parts. Boil until apples are soft (15-20 minutes). We have a Victorian Juicer that extracts the applesauce and spits out the skin and seeds. The apples we are using require no extra sugar but one can add cinnamon and/or sugar to taste. Applesauce can be made without a juicer by mashing the apples or pushing them through a strainer. Do what works.

The key to success in canning fruits and vegetables is setting up the assembly line. Create enough steps to give each capable child a job. Some responsibilities can be doubled up, some eliminated, what matters is that the job is done and everyone feels a part of a successful operation. For the applesauce we all picked together in the orchard. Someone sorted nice apples from worm eaten apples. Another washed apples filling bowls of clean apples for others to quarter. The Quartered apples were dumped in the boiling water by Mom and 20 minutes later the cooked apples were removed from the boiling water with a slotted spoon. We reused the water for the next batch. Another child turned the auger and punched the soft fruit through the machine. (If the manpower is short or one parent is canning, these two jobs can be combined.) Jars can be washed, lids boiled and the canner tended.

We mixed 1/3 cup strawberry jello with 2 cups applesauce, spread it on a fruit leather round and turned on the dehydrator. When I was a child we put the fruit sauces on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 100 degrees for 6 hours or spread the fruit sauces on clean plastic in the hot sun. Some delicious combinations with the applesauce include pineapple, fresh strawberries, peaches, apricots, cherries and plumbs. The goal is to find fruit for free by growing it or asking to harvest unwanted produce.

Teamwork and a sense of responsibility to the community in this case the family are built by canning food together. There is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment to eat the from labors of the team. Besides it is just good.

Sunday Dinner

2010-10-24T18:09:00.000-05:00

The hustle and bustle of preparing for Sunday dinner rivaled the Christmas Season in our home today. Orders were given to put the butter on a plate, retrieve the baked potatoes from the oven, slice the pork roast, and place the green salad on the dinner table. A teen age daughter was making peanut butter cookies, and the 13 year old son wanted dinner rolls. He would have to make them if he wanted them. So above the din I was giving directions for a simple batch of rolls (the same recipe as bread with a little more sugar and white flour) He complained, It's too much work." At that, I pointedly asked, "Did you say it was too much work? Get the mixing bowl." He proceeded to make the rolls.

"4 cups warm water" in the direction of the Dinner rolls.
"Now stir the apples for apple crisp," to the little help next to me.
"3 TBS yeast and 1/2 cup sugar" again over my shoulder to the first time bread maker.
"Could someone put the sour cream in a decorative bowl - not the 5 pound carton," called to the person who set the table.
"8 cups of flour and use the one cup measuring cup. The four cup measuring cup won't fit in the canister."
"1 TBS salt and 1/3 cup oil or butter if the rolls are to be deluxe," concluded the roll recipe.

"Now sprinkle cinnamon on the apples and top them with this crisp topping mixture and into the oven. You're finished making apple crisp."

Crisp Topping: 1 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter cut into the dry ingredients until it is the size of green peas. I like to make a large batch (4X) and put it in a gallon size bag in the freezer to make Crisp dishes quickly and easily.

Finally the rolls were mixed and I formed a cookie sheet of quick little buns that raised while we ate. The dinner rolls were a great snack 1- 1/2 hours after dinner had been cleared. Undaunted, we sat together, we ate together and laughed and cried a little as we talked about the future husbands and wives of each of the children. The feeling of excitement, anticipation and family at Christmas Dinner isn't much better than a Sunday Dinner together.

Dinner Tables and Budgeting

2010-10-10T08:21:00.001-05:00

Originating in Government accounting the budget outlined the "balance sheet of the actual income and expenditure of the past year, and an estimate of the income and expenditure for the coming year." Another definition referred to the "amount of money needed or available for a given purpose." The Family Dinner Table is where we budget more than just money. We budget components or our family relationships. We evaluate our spiritual, mental and emotional ties. We see where we are lacking and budget to meet that need. We budget our time. We budget our energies. We budget our resources.

It is a novel idea that as our society becomes increasingly affluent, money ceases to be the chief budgeting catalyst. Very often it is time, or energy that is limiting our lifestyle choices. If for extended periods our energies are the only constraint, our health will begin to fail. If money is the only reason we don't do something, then when money is plentiful is the activity approved without constraint. Let us make more budget controls in our lives. Let the Family Dinner Table be a chief budgeting tool. If any activity will interfere with the family dinner hour, it is overextending our family budget. The goal is to balanced budget sheet. At dinner we can see each other face to face, perceive body language, hear with our hearts and serve with our hands. In a literal sense we pass the salt, serve the food, refill drink glasses and learn to see and perceive needs of our loved ones gathered around the table. We can learn of schedules, appointments, and opportunities for each member of our family. For example if a child wants to have friends over to play, we discuss as a family the time constraints, the mode of transportation, the proposed length of visit, the planned activities, the food required, and the benefit to friendships versus the expenditure on family relationships. We can budget our time and resources to meet appropriate needs.

Dinner tables can work magic in adhering to a budget far beyond money. We need to set a budget on the amount of time we socialize, the amount of time we use electronic media, the degree to which we use any good thing. Children need to see parents use constraints not because they have to but because it is the right thing to do. Do we only stop spending money when there is no money to spend? Is the only time we stop yelling at each other when there is no one with whom to yell? Is the only reason to cook at home when we cannot travel to a restaurant? Do we buy on sale whether the items are needed or not? Constraining ourselves to prioritize family dinner hour because it is the right thing to do will balance the budget in a multitude of areas. Our families are our priorities. Our children are our greatest treasure. Our marriages were created to protect families. Let us do the right thing and protect our children, our marriages and our families. Let us govern our homes wisely. Lets eat together.

Making Pizza

2010-10-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the encouragement. Please forgive the delay. Integrating into three school districts, two falls sports and four children in Susuki violin along with the usual piano times six children, laundry and grocery shopping for ten makes posting difficult but I am aware each day and sending mental encouragement. I hope that mothers and fathers who feel overwhelmed by schedules, inadequate because of low self esteem, or simply at a loss because of lack of knowledge will make family dinners a priority. There is no compensation for the unity that comes as we feed each other socially, emotionally and physically.

Last months we made Pizza. I assigned the 8 year old to make the dough, the ten year old volunteered for the sauce and the six year old relished the pleasure of preparing the crumb topping for the apple crisp. The results were astounding. The food was wonderful but the compliments that flew and the glowing eyes that spoke "I did this!" and the sheer pleasure of squishing the butter and the sugar and flour together made the experience priceless. We price compared a 12 inch pizza on sale for $3.30 (I've also seen them for $2.25 at the discount stores) with a homemade version. Our homemade pizza with 1 cup of real cheese per pizza cost about $2.30. Our homemade meal was well worth the effort to watch the growth in our family.

Pizza Dough ( out of Betty Crocker's Cookbook 1978)

1 package dry yeast ( 1 TBSP)
1 cup warm water (Baby bottle warm - slightly warm on the wrist)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups flour ( can be white or wheat or mixed)

Pour water into bowl, Add yeast, sugar, flour, salt and oil. Mix. That is all. We let it sit while we grease a stone, an old glass turntable from a microwave, or a cookie sheet. Then we roll it to desired thickness of crust - thin or thick. It raises a little as it bakes. Crispier crusts are made in hotter ovens (425 degrees F) on stones or glass. Bake for 12-18 minutes depending on toppings.

Tomato Sauce in the next post-

Mothers and Fathers

2010-09-11T23:28:00.000-05:00

Every parent knows they cannot raise their children with out help. Acutely aware of my own failings and weaknesses, I am grateful for family mealtime because of the opportunity it affords. Today I am grateful for another excuse to pray. As we offered thanks for our food, I petitioned God's intervention and aid in behalf of my children. Three meals a day give me three more chances to approach the only Being who will be able to make a lasting difference. Thank goodness for meal times.

The HOW:

Today I taught the children that rice triples its volume. One third cup raw rice yields 1 cup cooked. We cooked three batches of differing amounts but the same ratio 1 part rice 3 parts water. The rice boiled, the girls stirred periodically. When the water had all disappeared we turned off the stove and covered the pans.
We served the rice as 1)the starch under hamburger gravy, 2) rice pudding for breakfast the next morning, 3) Spanish Rice for the next Dinner and 3)leftovers for Breakfast the next morning.
Then on Thursday evening we made a stew out of the leftover hamburger gravy. The week flowed smoothly with food prepared ahead that everyone loved.

Rice is a food storage basic. Twenty five pounds lasted the whole 11 weeks when combined with our normal diet this summer. It is a grain of choice for people suffering from allergies and costs less that $.03 per serving. Cooking rice is a basic skill everyone should feel comfortable doing.

Spanish Rice:

Rice
hamburger
onion. chopped
onion powder
cumin
salt
chili powder
chopped celery
tomatoes (sauce, diced or fresh diced)

Ratios are about 3 cups rice (already cooked)
1 pound browned ground beef
1 small onion
1 tsp onion powder
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup dice celery

Methods: Brown the ground beef in a little oil, add onion, celery, green peppers until meat is down and onions are clear. Add tomatoes and spices. Stir on stove top of put in casserole pan and heat through. This dish freezes well. If starting with raw rice add three cups water with one cup raw rice then add browned meat and spices.

Other possible flavorings: bacon, green peppers, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar

Labor Day - Accepting Risk

2010-09-06T20:38:00.001-05:00

Good parents help their children accept risks. It is a risk to go to school, to say "Hi" to a stranger, and to try a sport never before attempted. Our nation has reached its greatest heights of success because of brave individuals, teams, a communities that wanted to take a risk starting a small business, introducing a new flavor of ice cream, or a new way to market a hamburger. So on Labor Day when we celebrate the working citizens of America, I will celebrate those who take the chance to be successful even if it mean giving up the security of a guaranteed paycheck. I will celebrate parents who create safe ways to for their children to take risks in their homes. This builds creative and self assured individuals.

Today, our family ate at a Mongolian Grill that allows each person to not only pick the meats, vegetables and pasta's in his stir fry but it also lets the patron pick the flavors in which to fry the mix.
My children have enjoyed trying squid, tofu, baby corns, and a flavors as basic as a sweet and sour to a garlic hoisin sauce. The adventuresome have made both terrific and awful creations. If it doesn't work then starting over is permitted. The not so eccentric can assemble a simple version of Ramen noodles, but if he wants to eat, every person has to create and take a risk that it will taste good.

Dinner tables, Family and God

2010-09-05T07:11:00.000-05:00

Feeding our families as we sit together around a meal table glorifies God as a real presence in our lives. Through 2010 our family completed two food challenges: one to stay out of the grocery store for three months and one to live off only the food I could buy for less than $50.00 per person per month. This last month was a challenge of it's own to move - albeit only a few miles- and still put a meal on the table. All of these challenges have given me pause to ask why? Why go to the effort to cook, to sit down together, and to eat home prepared food? The answers are many but surprising to me is that the main reasons we put food on our shelves to use in our homes on a daily basis are to nurture relationships with people we love. Those relationships are strengthened by the sacrifice necessary to cook, the work required to prepare and provide food and the ensuing feelings of love that flow when our hearts are in the right place. These fundamental benefits reaffirm that there is a God and that He loves us. In an atheistic paradigm, humans only sacrifice to preserve themselves not out of a desire to nurture a relationship with a child, husband or wife, or friend that we want to share forever.

These next few months posts on this blog will continue to be more of the why along with the how. I will attempt to start at the beginning to teach the very basics of cooking. I will teach and post what my six, eight, and ten year old daughters are learning as they cook with me. For many of you who never had a mother who cooked - here is an example of what goes on at our house. Each house is different and each mother or father is different. Food preferences are different so the biggest lesson to learn is there is no right or wrong way to prepare food in your home. Gourmet chefs follow specific methods and I am not a gourmet cook. We are going to try and enjoy one another as we feed our bodies through creative adventures in the kitchen. On discouraging days I will remember that God loves to Create and the relationships we create as we prepare dinner only further His greatest objectives on this earth.

Thanks for patience and support - until tomorrow.

Day 82 Friday The Last day of this challenge

2010-07-30T22:49:00.004-05:00

I am quitting early. Tomorrow we go on vacation. I have learned what I wanted to know from this challenge. It is entirely possible to live on $50.00 a month per person at the same time building reserves and building a supply of food in our homes. I spent $21.00 for milk and produce then $32.00 for more staples yesterday. Total for the month =

If I were to be generous and say we saved between $300.00 and $400.00 a month the last 3 months (If a normal budget were $100.00 a month per person), that would represent a $900.00 to $1,200.00 saving in just three months. That much money could go a lot of places in a new household. Even if a family only lived this frugally three months of the year, that is a significant savings. It could pay for Christmas, a washer and dryer, a vacation, bills, and accumulate for a down payment on a home. It requires a lot of discipline and a desire to stick to a goal but it is possible. More Americans could use that fiscal discipline to get their finances in order, to build their storage, and to give their children a legacy of Success. Where there is a will, there is a way.

I'm signing off for now having conquered the question "How can I afford to buy food to stay on my shelves?" In future posts I hope to answer the question "How?" Just how does a person cook from scratch nearly 24/7? How does one find the time and How does one ______ ( cook rice, macaroni, hollandaise sauce, Alfredo, muffins, etc...) Let us be willing to learn, to broaden our experience so that we need not fear. Thank you for all the support and insight everyone has shared along the way.

Day 81 Thursday Final Thoughts

2010-07-30T22:49:00.001-05:00

Day 80 Wednesday Final Lessons

2010-07-30T22:48:00.000-05:00

Day 79 Tuedsay

2010-07-30T22:45:00.002-05:00

Again friends going the extra mile provided a what served to be our dinner - fresh peach pie. It was absolutely divine and the only thing ready to augment bread and butter for dinner. Thank you.

Day 78 Monday Render Service

2010-07-30T22:43:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I took 15 minutes to help our new neighbors weed their flower beds. That service was returned with a gift of Zucchini bread. The delicious bread fed our family breakfast today.

Day 77 Sunday

2010-07-30T22:42:00.002-05:00

Day 76 Saturday

2010-07-30T22:42:00.001-05:00

Day 75 Moving Day

2010-07-23T06:01:00.003-05:00

Grandma purchased cold cereal, a vegetable platter, bread and paper ware. We had paper ware on the counter but the extra food we'll gladly eat. I made rolls for sandwiches today and if we were living of the virtual shelves we would have been eating a lot of ham and turkey sandwiches. I have not made pizza. With Grandma's extras we won't need to. The fresh fruit is proving a wonderful snack round the clock. And al is well.

Day 74 Breakfast party

2010-07-23T05:57:00.002-05:00

The college age children cooked a big breakfast treating us all to chocolate milk, orange juice and bacon. The staples that were used from the virtual shelves were flour and oatmeal for pancakes, ham, eggs for scrambled eggs. All the extras I would not have purchased but they are preparing to wind up their summer and wanted a splurge. It created a great memory and lots of leftovers for the next two days.

Day 73 Sales

2010-07-23T05:48:00.002-05:00

The big purchases today were 2 lugs of peaches and 1 lug of fresh bing cherries. The peaches were on sale for $.39 cents a pound and the cherries for $1.00 per pound. Total: $31.00. The children are loving eating all the fresh fruit they want - it is cheap and if not eaten will go bad. If I weren't moving, I would bottle this fruit at these prices. So far so good on getting bread made and meals ready. It was a relief to have a friend bring in dinner tonight. We were gone for hours tying up loose ends on the new house and it was nice to have a meal to throw in the oven. Grandma also came to help so she made salad for a side. It is wonderful to have back up kitchen support.

Day 72 Baking on the Side

2010-07-23T05:30:00.002-05:00

We successfully made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and snacks yesterday and today we made a large chicken soup, started thawing a ham from the freezer that I bought on sale at the end of April for $9.00. Other receipts for he last 10 days are $45.00 fresh produce, $21.00 produce and milk on Monday, Crystal light, deodorant, and ice cream bought by the man in the house totaling $32.00, two cans tomato sauce off the real storage shelves costing about $5.00. Total $112.00. Total on month:

Day 71 Fresh fruit

2010-07-23T05:22:00.002-05:00

We served Honey Dew melon, blueberries, and French toast for breakfast. the melon and berries were a dollar a piece divided between 10 people makes $.20 per serving. The french toast cost .05 per slice plus about .05 cents of eggs and milk per person. Total cost of the meal $.30 for a gourmet place to fresh fruit and French toast.

Day 70 Moving - Difficulty of Living Without

2010-07-19T00:45:00.003-05:00

The stakes are up. We are moving to a new home 10 minutes away the end of this week. The whole house is in boxes or being sorted. How am I going to feed 12 people, do laundry for 12 people, sort, pack, go to the dump, donate to the second hand store and still stay in budget? These times are when the reality of convenience makes it simple to eat out, to order in pizza, and to do whatever needs to be done to maintain sanity. I cannot cope that way and stay in budget. This will take a plan. As long as there is food to eat, we will be happy staying at home - if there is nothing my husband will offer to pick something up and I will say yes.

Plan: bake cinnamon rolls, cookies, and muffins along with plenty of bread and hoagie buns with 1/2 white flour. Freeze several Pizza crusts so we can make a pizza in 5 minutes.
Leftovers: Make a chicken soup to last half the week.
Shop: get mozzarella cheese and more tomato sauce this week so we can have pizza. Don't forget carrots and celery for the chicken soup.

We are out of chicken breast, out of potatoes, out of carrots.... Why do people intentionally live without supplies in their homes? I hate it. I really dislike not having a choice of all the food I want on my shelves. This exercise has plainly taught me that I never want to live this way again. I like having dried milk and all the flour and wheat I could ever want along with all the extras. Rationing and planning and going without every week is draining. We are making progress on building the virtual supply - the food I can store on only $50.00 per person but it is slow. If I took $100.00 per person, building reserves would go much faster. Being prepared is so much easier.

Day 69 Sabbath - Feeling Hungry

2010-07-19T00:24:00.002-05:00

The last two days any time someone looked in the refridgerator, they saw milk, salad dressing, mustard, and a jar of picked jalepeno peppers. There have been no leftovers. If they missed the meal, they were hungry. I thought this whole exercise is more for me as a parent to be disciplined enough to let consequences fall. It is difficult. I would rather fix food. The absense of food gives room for a particular kind of gratitude. The children and my husband are hungry enough to eat anything.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with toast. (I bought 5 dozen eggs this week. It is nice to have all we want to eat.)
Lunch: Navy beans cooked with a ham bone in the pressure cooker. We spread the flavored beans on the whole wheat rolls. One child thought that this dish was unappetizing and would not eat. But my husband and other children were hungry enough to venture a try. They liked it and declared it good.

Dinner: Aloo Gobi with the last of the potatoes and cauliflower, chicken fried rice (boiled rice, fried chicken, celery, and some scrambled eggs with lemmon pepper and salt), steamed broccoli from the garden, brownies from scratch and ice cream. Everyone was full, there were leftovers, and my husband washed all the pans and dishes. Bless his heart.

Brownies cookie sheet size:

6 eggs
4 cups sugar
2 cups margarine (butter is preferred)
2 TBS vanilla
2 tsp salt
3 cups flour (can be whole wheat)
1-1/2 cup Nuts (optional) I left these out - nuts are not on the virtual shelf.

Day 68 Bananas

2010-07-19T00:11:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning began with a large batch of banana, oatmeal muffins. The bananas that I bought last week were half price ($.20 a pound) so I got a lot of them. It was wonderful for the children to eat as many of them as they wanted for a couple of days but they soon were too ripe. I put the remainder in the freezer. It is nice to be able to pull them out now and use them to flavor baked goods or substitute for eggs in crepes, cookies, or cakes. Today we made snicker doodles with no eggs. They turned out great.

Lunch: Birthday Luncheon!!! We finally got everyone to be home for one hour together! We had brownie cake with ice cream to celebrate. Presents and a great time just visiting and laughing.

Dinner: Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancake). Some children did not appreciate this meal and went hungry.

Day 67 The Lack of Preparation

2010-07-18T23:55:00.002-05:00

Pondering today what I would feed the children, wondering how I would stay on this tight budget, trying to come up with another day's meals led me to conclude that many would have difficulty living off basics because

1) They don't know how to budget.
2) They don't know how to make do with what they have.
3) They don't know how to cook what they have.

Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: One son fried fish, the others had peanut butter on bread again.
Dinner: Fish baked with potatoes and carrots.

Day 66 Avoiding Fast Food

2010-07-18T23:45:00.002-05:00

The day was a busy one. We were in the van away from home or in between from 10-5. The first 4 hours were spent shuttling children every 20 minutes between piano, summer school, swimming, home, and helping a friend move. It was a perfect day to grab a burrito or a burger. Here is how we managed to avoid fast food:

The first two hours of the day I made phone calls and scheduled appointments. I ground wheat by hand while on the phone. Enough flour was produced to make a couple of batches of bread, and cookies over the next two days. I made a batch of rolls and for lunch the children ate peanut butter on fresh wheat rolls and I quickly threw a turkey sandwich together for the older children. (Turkey lunch meat was on the grocery list this week ($2.50 per pound regular price). The sandwiches worked well - we had food on the go and avoided the temptation to eat out.

Dinner: Fish baked with potatoes and carrots.

Day 65 Birthday Meals

2010-07-14T06:31:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to my third daughter. We will have our family together for only two more weeks this summer. I love having a full house. The desire to spoil them all with great meals and "homey" memories is great. This challenge to stay in a tight budget and be disciplined while building storage is - a challenge. What will I do today to make this child feel special?

We served cantaloupe and rice pudding for breakfast. I made it milk free with eggs, water and sugar. It was okay.
Lunch: Pigs in a blanket - two full packages of hot dogs wrapped in biscuit dough made without eggs and with water instead of milk.
Dinner: Her favorite - Spaghetti with broccoli from the garden.

There was no time for a real celebration today when all the family could be together.

Day 64 Paper Towels - Desperate for Dinner

2010-07-14T06:17:00.002-05:00

I was reading an article in magazine in the doctors office last year that was giving suggestions for saving money durring the recession. It was refreshing to read something really practical: paper towels are an extra. Do without. Use old rags and throw them out. As a child we never had paper towels. Now they are almost a necessity. We simply are spoiled and it is nice to be reminded that this luxury is one we can live without.

Breakfast: Cottage cheese and toast with delicious bread my husband made last night. (He used the electric mixer. But he made bread and did a fantastic job!)

Lunch: Peanut buter and jam sandwiches, macaroni and cheese

Dinner: It is the end of the "grocery" week. I am trying not to go to the store and desperate! I am tired of trying to come up with something again and again while rationing the same ingredients! Sooo here is what I did tonight: Browned 1/2 pound of sausage, 1 package of hot dogs, one small onion and 5 small potatoes pealed and sliced in bite size pieces; boiled rice (or one could use a rice cooker), and steamed another head of cabbage, the inside stalks of celery leaves and all, and 4-5 carrots. We mixed aout 6 cups of rice with the meats added salt and served plates of steamed vegetables and the rice mixture. Everyone loved it and went for seconds until we ran out. Success!

Day 63 Building Storage Review - Stir Fry

2010-07-14T05:53:00.004-05:00

This challenge to build storage on an extremely limited budget has taught me: 1) That money should not be an issue to being self reliant. Families that are most financially strapped should be eating from food groups that have the longest shelf life, feed the family most nutritiously, and are the easiest to store. These foods are also the cheapest: oats, flour, beans, rice, and wheat. 2) Many foods that we are accustomed to can be sacrificed. We have lived with out ketchup, sour cream, corn starch, chicken and beef bouillon, canned vegetables, disposable diapers, many cleaning agents, paper towels, and variety. It is driving me crazy - just a little. Nevertheless we are surviving just fine. The children are not complaining too much. And my confidence is increasing. I made a gravy tonight without bouillon and no one knew. Being able to sacrifice is the foundation of any progress. No one develops a talent without sacrificing time to practice, no one builds a successful business without sacrificing some comfort at the beginning of the investment. Building home storage requires sacrifice to be useful. If one just takes excess funds, buys a large storage and puts it away to be used someday, the greatest benefits are forfeited.

Breakfast: Lumberjack pancakes with white flour
Lunch: Leftover pasta casserole
Dinner: Chicken Stir fry made with a head of cabbage from our garden! carrots, and celery steamed together and chicken breast cut in 1 inch pieces browned. Then for the sauce for the stir fry: 4 cups water, 1 TBS salt, 1 TBSP lemon pepper thickened with 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup water. We layered rice, vegetables mixed with meat and then poured sauce over the top. The family loved it.

We are out of dog food. He is eating rice mixed with leftovers and dried whole wheat bread mixed with leftovers until I can get to the store to buy dog food.

Day 62 Sabbath - Raising a Disciple

2010-07-11T21:44:00.002-05:00

Raising a child that is a Disciple depends on the child's ability to discipline himself. This morning as I planned one sausage patty per person, 1/2 cup orange Juice per person and a large slice of French Toast, I felt a little badly. Part of me wants to put a huge platter of all you can eat sausage and gallons of orange Juice on the table. The responsible adult in me reasons that I could not serve that much fat even in delicious sausage and more than 1 cup of orange juice simply creates expensive urine. Soon after that thought my mothers intuition whispered that I would not want my children to eat 4-5 sausage patties just to satisfy an appetite. I want my children to stop themselves from eating unhealthy proportions of any food no matter how good it tastes. I remind myself I am in the business of raising children to be disciplined. Parents set an example of good discipline by teaching proper proportions and serving sizes. In some cases those rations are governed my budget constraints but in many where finances are not so tight parents forget what their objectives are in raising children.

I want my children to be able to sacrifice their own wants for the good of their families and communities. I want them to govern themselves instead of letting appetites rule. I marvel at God's grand design that allows us to deny ourselves and give to the poor. He wants us to learn these principles in our homes. I want my children to love God and to love our neighbors as themselves. I want to raise Disciples.

Dinner: Messy lasagna (curly noodles with all the cheese, meat and tomato sauce and spices) This casserole was given to us as leftovers from a church dinner. Salad on the side.

Snack: Root beer floats a la Dad who loves the Children to look forward to Sunday's to have ice cream!
Cinnampn toast for bedtime snack. Some children had bread and milk.

Day 61 Insisting on Nutrition

2010-07-10T10:56:00.002-05:00

The morning began at 4:00 as I scrambled 7 dozen eggs and made 4 dozen cinnamon rolls for a Sea Scout Breakfast. The menu was breakfast burritos, "mountain man potatoes," cantaloupe, and orange juice. The scouts made their own hoagies with a choice of toppings including lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, and peppers. It is refreshing to have an adult plan a menu that is healthy for the teenagers instead of allowing themselves to be coward by pressure to "fix what they will eat." The vegetables serve to hydrate physically active growing bodies and provide lots of vitamins and minerals. The protein helps to stabalize blood sugars and protect children from hunger through out the day. Being the adult in charge means we carry the charge to be responsible. If we model good behavior, our children will more likely be responsible as well.

Breakfast at Home: toast and eggs
Lunch: Peanut butter Sandwiches with deviled eggs
Dinner: Pork chops, buttered rice, salad that Grandma prepared with celery, carrots, peppers, kidney beans and coleslaw mix (delicious)

Day 60 Food to make life easier

2010-07-10T10:37:00.004-05:00

Friday

My daughter is giving me a sad story about not having real food. So I went the extra mile this morning and served hash browns with sausage, scrambled eggs, and toast with orange juice. All the children were sleeping as I prepared breakfast. It was reinforced that a little enticement in a good breakfast is surely more effective than a stern "Get Out of Bed!"

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: a pizza - the crust was frozen from the last time we had pizza. I topped it with leftover tomato sauce and mozzarella just as Mr. Young and I were heading out the door on a date. It is nice to have a quick meal in the freezer.

Day 59 Exercise - Shopping

2010-07-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

For the record I kept track of the physically active things I did all day: Walking the dog, mopping the floor on hands and knees, pulling weeds for 20 minutes, mowing the lawn, swimming with the children, 60 minutes of water aerobics, vacuuming for 60 minutes total, running stairs to put laundry away. The total time was 4 hours and 20 minutes. I did not get to grinding wheat or mixing bread and we did only half the vacuuming but it was a new way to put "flow" into the day. Exercise invigorates. It was easier to do all the routine chores if I thought it was adding to my physical activity log for today.

Shopping: I feel great about today's purchases. It is a new week to buy produce. I spent $40.00 on milk, eggs, cantaloupe, spotted bananas at half price, jams, honey, baby wipes, grapes, and then $15 on shampoo, toothpaste (on sale) and 24# of margarine at $.39 per pound. This is the big storage purchase this week. This will last for 6-12 weeks depending on how many cookies we make. Butter is our bread spread of choice and when it is on sale, I will put a case or two in the freezer. It will last for months and it is a comfort to have.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with whole wheat kernels
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwhiches
Dinner: Chicken, Sausage and Rice

Day 58 Miracles, Miracles, Miracles

2010-07-07T22:38:00.002-05:00

While washing dishes my youngest son said three times, "This is my bestest day. I am so happy." When asked why he said it was because he was helping me wash the dishes. He gave me a big hug. Hugs are wonderful.

The neighbor children opened the refrigerator door at 4:30 pm and reported "There is no food to eat." Everyone was hungry and prowling around the kitchen. I was making bread. They had taken turns grinding wheat. It was a novelty for them to see the seed and then the flour and soon they could eat the bread. An hour later, I hear several feet rush up the stairs, "What smells so good?" "Fresh bread!" "Yumm" Everyone fixed a piece of bread with margarine some with honey. Everyone came back for thirds and fifths.

Breakfast: Rice pudding - made with boiled rice, cottage cheese and sugar ( 4 cups hot boiled rice, 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon on top) Miracle #1

Lunch: Navy bean soup with carrots, and celery with 1 cup of tomato sauce, salt, lemon pepper, and basil. Delicious and filling. Cherry pie for dessert (Gift from a friend.) Miracle #2

Dinner: Black Bean Veggie Burgers. Fresh hamburger buns. This is the first veggie burger I have ever made. They tasted good. The children didn't eat them too well because they were so full of bread. Recipe was in a diabetic magazine purchased at the checkout. 15 oz black beans, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 2 large egg whites ( I omitted), 1 cup bread crumbs ( I put in 1/2 cup flour our bread was too fresh to crumb.)1/2 tsp garlic, 2 stalks green onion ( I used 1/4 cup yellow onion) Good. Miracle #3

Day 57 Company

2010-07-06T22:39:00.002-05:00

We had company for breakfast so I served fried eggs on toast then sent them on their way with breakfast chops, canaloupe, and Snickerdoodles. (I decreased the eggs from 2 to 1 to help conserve the eggs.)

Lunch: The last half of the watermelon.

Dinner: Homemade cheese pizza with a Bread Salad on the side. After looking on Epicurious.com, I decided that a "bread salad" consisted of cubed dry bread, salad greens, vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, green pepper, celery, and olives all tossed in a vinaigrette.

Day 56 Celebrating

2010-07-06T22:16:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Independence Day with a BRUNCH of waffles smothered with whipped cream and topped with blueberries and strawberries. Breakfast was a regular bowl of oatmeal but Dinner was Dad's favorite: pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a large fruit platter of watermelon, cantaloupe, and blueberries. It was delicious. We had fresh bread for a late night snack.

I went shopping today and secured diapers and toilet paper. A six months supply of baking powder,baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, dryer sheets and garbage sacks also made it on the cart. The box of 320 garbage sacks cost 5.7 cents each versus the 8 cents each in the small box of thirty that I have purchased the last two months. Saving over half the cost of one sack is a real victory and most of all a relief to have a supply on the virtual shelves. Lemon pepper, a three months supply of Cascade, I also bought two large pork loins and cut them into packages of 3 roasts, 2 pork chops and 2 meals of breakfast steaks. Bulk sausage was also on sale so I got 3 pounds to stretch through out the month. It is nice to have more variety in meat. Expenditures: Sams $113.00, Meats $34.87, More Fruits- $11.01, Diapers $14.63 Total for month to date $220.51

Day 55 Independence Day

2010-07-04T10:18:00.002-05:00

It is the Sabbath and Independence Day. I marvel at the irony God created when He brought forth this great country. We fought and continue to fight for Independence. The only way we achieve independence as individuals, families, communities and nations is to be ever watchful of each other. Nourishment and encouragement as we strive to achieve independence are critical to success. Without each one of us loving our neighbor as himself, the pull to relenquish independence for dependence on the government, on Mom and Dad, on willing neighbors, and well meaning community organizations is too great and too many of our populous fall victim to feeling they deserve help from others. In all our actions we should be helping move ourselves, our family and our friends to more self reliance. This is true love for oneself, our neighbor, and the God who gave us life.

Parents who are still housing and feeding adult children for years have failed to preserve our nation's Independence. State governments who grow the welfare class have failed to declare Independence. National policy that stymies free enterprise and individual initiative by taxing and regulating fails to preserve Independence of its Citizens.

Today is Independence Day. Let us recommit to striving to be more self reliant, free ourselves of debt and dependence on others to provide food and shelter. At the same time let us reach out to someone who needs a helping hand. We will do the jobs that need to be done pleasant or not, We will offer judicious help. We will nourish the growth of the individual by teaching new skills, and providing access to resources enabling them to help themselves. (Education, freedom from bondage of debt and addictions, sometime a meal that offers HOPE.) Thus we become all that God wants us to be. We preserve the Independence of the Human Soul to magnify His God.

Day 54 Resourcefulness

2010-07-04T10:05:00.003-05:00

Saturday 3rd of July

I had to smile at the resourcefulness of my three daughters today. They left home for all day as Sea Scouts without sack lunches then discovered the only money between all of them was $1.98 in the glove box of the car. Their solution was a loaf of French Bread (.98) and a pint of blueberries (.98). The food served well as a lunch for three!

Breakfast: Fried Eggs and toast, cantaloupe,
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwiches
Dinner: Aloo gobi - an Indian dish of cauliflower and potatoes and spices. I will have to "buy" cardamon, turmeric, and ginger from my real storage shelves for this dish. I can serve it every week my husband likes it well enough. The cost per serving potatoes 5# - $0.65, one small head of cauliflower $1.40 and spices (?.20) for a total of about $2.25 for a family of 10 for one meal.

Day 53 Shopping

2010-07-04T09:42:00.002-05:00

Friday

I managed to shop for milk and fresh produce. I also grabbed napkins and paper plates for the fourth. Prioritizing the spending this month is tricky. On our virtual shelves we are out of shampoo, hand soap, baking powder, toothpaste, diapers, dog food, cinnamon, oil, baking soda, toilet paper, dishwasher soap, garbage sacks, and bread sacks. We have 25# black beans, 20 # white beans, 15 # oatmeal, 10# rice, 20 # white flour, 20 # salt, 20 cans of tuna, 6 jars of peanut butter, 5# frozen white fish, 12 # frozen chicken breast, and10# chicken quarters.

Lunch: Fried Fish and steamed cabbage with a carrot sticks
Dinner: We enjoyed cantaloupe with ice cream and fresh white bread (I didn't have the time to grind wheat.)

Day 52 Balancing the books

2010-07-03T20:31:00.004-05:00

Thursday July 1st! Pay Day! We are drinking a lot of ice water. Time to balance the books. Fast Food on the trip(18.00), Pizza ($25.00), Walmart on the trip ($28.00), Total=$608

Breakfast: Potatoes with beef and mozzarella cheese
Lunch: Egg salad sandwiches with leftover boiled eggs
Dinner: Cassoulet with navy beans, pork, chicken, carrots, celery, and a little tomato sauce.

Day 51 No Imagination

2010-07-03T20:26:00.002-05:00

No milk, no eggs, no cheddar cheese, no tomato sauce, no bread, ......NO IMAGINATION! What are we to have for dinner?
I finally decided on chicken salad with celery in a lettuce leaf bed. The lettuce came from a friend's garden. It was delicious.

At 8:30 my son came home hungry for MEAT. We fried chicken breast and boiled potatoes. I went to bed.

Day 50 Doing What Needs to be Done

2010-07-03T20:04:00.003-05:00

Tuesday - I feel a personal victory - We did not buy any disposable diapers for the trip. I managed to stretch the eight diapers I had for the driving time in the van. The days on vacation I used cloth. We made it!! My daughters think it is gross and not socially acceptable to brag about this victory. I am braver now and I am not afraid. I know how to make it through the night using cloth diapers without soaking the baby's bed. Beth Streeter Aldrige in "A Lantern in Her Hand" made the poignant observation that the tough pioneer woman whom everyone called to do all the "dirty jobs" had no more special skills than anyone else on the prairy. She just did what had to be done. Others didn't want to sacrifice or do what was uncomfortable so they called someone else.

This is intestinal fortitude - it is doing what needs to be done. Washing a cloth diaper in the toilet requires a little intestinal fortitude. With all the modern conveniences, we have lost some guts. To many Americans are too soft to do what needs to be done.

Day 49 Driving Home

2010-06-30T22:38:00.002-05:00

We had boiled eggs with salt, bread, and crackers but two hours in the reod we bought more produce, salad dressing, bagels, croutons, and licorice to help us through the 14 hours driving home. But by 8:30 pm everyone was starving. I had to consent to ordering 4 small pizzas, regardless of my budget concerns.

Day 48 Sunday

2010-06-30T22:35:00.002-05:00

Sunday Dinner - we took a cajun potatoes salad to share.

Day 47 Parenting Experiences

2010-06-30T21:44:00.002-05:00

We made pancakes for breakfast. For lunch we ate the leftover baked potatoes, with chili and a hot dogs, and dinner was served at a family gathering. The celebration was a 50 year Anniversary party for the parents of 12 children. Each of the 12 shared a memory and or experience with his parents. The advice was precious to me. Here are some of the take away points:

1) Don't be afraid to discipline.
2) Allow children to experience the consequences of avoiding responsibility and teach them that responsibilities don't go away even when the job is disliked. (The dishes waited until the child realized running away didn't solve the problem.)
3) "Don't let Christ die in vain, repent today."
4) Keep your bearings - know where you are in the world and in life and in what direction you are heading. The small day to day decisions will get you to end destination if you keep your eyes on the goal.
5) Listen twice as much as you talk.
6) Support individuality.
7) Soap with cayenne is sometimes appropriate when fowl language is brought home. Men can keep there tongues in check even when doing the plumbing, working on cars, or watching a sporting event.
8) When bad language erupts, quietly asking "Did you have to use all that to tell me the problem?"
9) Intervene in the lives of children and do what's best for them even if it means locking horns with the school.
10) Teach children to hold their tempers, "What will it take for you to understand that you cannot act that way. If I acted that way toward you, I would be put in jail for months."
11) Play a guessing game at the dinner table to start discussion. "I am thinking of a scripture." Children ask yes or no questions until they have guessed the scripture. The family then discusses the principles therein.
12) From their example I know that rites of passage are important. Whichever girl was turning 16 was in charge of the kitchen all summer. She cooked for hired hands and the family. The oldest girl clear down to the youngest fulfilled the task. Each child carried the same summer responsibilities as a vote of confidence more than as a hired hand.

Day 46 Traveling

2010-06-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

We left at 6:00 am for a 12 hour trip after 5 hours of restless sleep. The baby is feverish. I am at the end of the month, over budget and going on a trip that will require two full days in the van with only bathroom stops when we get gas. I packed baked potatoes, homemade granola bars, fresh wheat bread, butter, a little ranch dressing, apples, oranges, carrots, celery a 5 gallon cooler of water and we were off. The children did well all day. The thirteen year old was hungry after 30 minutes on the road. He looked at the potatoes and said, "Well, I'll wait a little, they'll taste good after a while." Bless his heart, he is patient. By 6:00 pm everyone was hungry for hot food having snacked on the available fare. I bought $18.00 of cheeseburgers with three small orders of fries. They tasted delicious and helped us make it through the last 1-1/2 hours.

Day 45 As Queens Ride By

2010-06-24T07:15:00.003-05:00

Stories set a culture in our family to reinforce values my mother wanted teach. I need this story. Let me be a Queen today.

John and Jennie Mungrove had eager plans when they married and took over the old farm. But their great faith dwindled as the first years passed. John worked later and later in the evenings. Jennie took more and more of the heavy tasks upon her own shoulders and had no time for the home and children. They were no further on and life had degenerated into a straining helpless struggle.

One hot afternoon, Jennie was loading baskets of tomatoes to take to town when the children came running to tell her there was a dressed-up lady at the kitchen door. Wearily, she followed the children back and saw a woman in a gray tweed coat that seemed somehow to be a part of her straight, slim body. A small gray hat with a rose quill was drawn low over her brownish hair. She was not a young woman, but she was beautiful. An aura of eager youth clung to her, a clean and exquisite freshness.

The stranger in turn saw a young woman, haggard an weary. Her eyes looked hard and haunted. Her calico dress was shapeless and begrimed from her work.

Stranger (smiling): How do you do? We ran our car into the sake of you land to have our lunch and rest for a while. I walked on up to buy a few apples if you have them.

Jennie (grudgingly): Won't you go in and sit down? I'll go and pick the apples.

(5 pages more when I have time to post)

Day 44 The simple Things

2010-06-24T06:53:00.002-05:00

Today, my son received three stitches in the bridge of his nose. While waiting in the emergency room, he asked for three things: Chocolate milk, apples and bananas. I smiled. It is nice to have him be pleased with simple things. We have apples and get bananas regularly (they just disappear so fast that he thinks we don't have them!) The chocolate milk is a specialty item mostly because Dad is always the one to bring it home. Lesson: if we deny ourselves of constant indulging in wants, our wants remain simple and are easily gratified. We are most content and happy.

Breakfast: Ham, cinnamon toast, milk
Lunch: Salads with lettuce, chicken, great northern beans, celery, and Thousand Island dressing (three of the children opted to make oyster soup rather that eat the salad. - oysters are not on the virtual pantry so I know another item to prioritize when restocking.

Dinner: Baked chicken quarters that had been marinating the last 24 hours and bagel rounds with strawberry jelly. (The potato salad didn't get finished in time for everyone to eat it. Left over Root beer for a drink.

Day 43 Work

2010-06-22T22:33:00.004-05:00

Today as I ground flour for more good whole wheat bread, I mused over the "just why are you doing this challenge?" My upper body was getting a "nice warm glow" from the steady turning of the handle. I thought this an extra bonus to making bread - I get to sweat a little. Instantly the phrase that states "by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread" ran through my head. It gave me a little comfort to think I was following directions given by God himself. I also thought that of all the character traits I want my children to develop, learning how to work has to be one of the top. If a man can work, he is honest, he is most often humble, he develops a sense of compassion, he is never bored, he is always in high demand. A hard worker is successful.

Growing up that meant that we learned to "report." Mom would say "We have work to do." and for the next 3-4 hours (occationally and 8 hour day even as a ten year old) we would get an assignment, do it, go back to report "job done," and get another assignment. We were expected to keep coming back until released. Learning to work went beyond doing daily chores. "Work" meant doing more than they everyday dishes and laundry (those are maintenance and real work puts a family ahead). We were taught that as long as anyone in the home was working, we should all work. After I got married, it took a while for me to learn to fold clothes by myself. It seemed that it should be a team effort. I love seeing a pile of sand, river rock or mulch in someones yard. That means I can go help. That is an opportunity for team work. Team work is fun.

We also learned that work means a person gets hot, thirsty, tired, sometimes hurt with smashed toes or blisters. Discomfort is just part of the job, no complaining. Working gives team members a chance to visit and philosophize and solve the world's problems along with our own. I must say that since I have run out of money this month and I decided that rather than buy dishwasher detergent, we would wash dished by hand, I have relished the few minutes to be side by side my young daughters and hear of their dreams and dilemmas. I think we will continue to wash by hand. This morning the 6 year old reported with a glow in her eyes, "I'm drying the dishes." I love that glow! I love being part of a winning team. I love my children to feel part of a winning team.

Living within a budget, cooking from scratch, being self reliant, learning to sacrifice for the whole, are all reasons our family is completing this challenge. It is well worth the effort. I am not just being a frugal nut, I am building character that will serve many people beyond our own family for generations.

Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: Navy beans and ham soup with fresh whole wheat bread
Dinner: Cold bread and milk. Break homemade whole wheat into bite size pieces, cover with cold milk, top with a 1/2 tsp sugar. Eat. It is a poor man's cold cereal. It is delicious. It was so hot and I had set chicken to marinate, boiled another five quarters, and cooked the beans. I was tickled to have a cold dinner that required no preparation.

Day 42 The Longest Day of the Year - Expenses this week

2010-06-21T21:17:00.007-05:00

It is the longest day of the year. I feel like I've been awake for 24 hours. Luckily it is not the hottest day of the year due to huge thunderstorms that came through last night. I am exhausted and it is easy to lose resolve when too tired. Today I went to the store to buy fresh produce and milk for the last week of the month. I should have lettuce in the garden but I don't. I'll have to rely on friends who have been more proactive in gardening. Receipts since last week:

$5.80 for 20# chicken quarters, $5.00 for 5 large cantaloupe, $5.00 for ice cream and root beer for Father's Day, $17.61 Milk, $10.00 Milk my husband bought at 10:30 p.m., $3.60 Fruit Drink, $35.24 for milk and produce, $4.55 lettuce,cabbage and tomatoes.

Total for month: $537.61 Over budget! I will surely be glad when the tomatoes and peppers start producing (I included those starts in the grocery budget in May.) I should have done better in the gardening to say in budget this time of year.

Breakfast: leftover spaghetti, or potatoes with breakfast hamburger patties and ketchup
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich or peanut butter sandwiches
Dinner: Fried chicken, green salad, potato casserole with white sauce
Snack: The children finished off the ice cream from Fathers's Day

Day 41 A Great Love Story

2010-06-20T20:23:00.002-05:00

Father's Day is exciting. Husbands and Dads make the world go round. Breakfast was a simple ham scram with toast because it is one of His favorites. Lunch was a little later at 3:00 p.m. We served a simple spaghetti, green salad with fresh tomatoes and homemade thousand island dressing, homemade fresh french bread with olive oil/minced garlic and tomato paste for dipping. For dessert we had root beer floats. Both the nineteen year old son and my husband were prowling around the kitchen smelling the bread baking when they asked what we had to put on the bread. "Is there any margarine or something?" "No. We have olive oil with garlic in which to dip our bread." My son gave me a huge bear hug and squealed "Yes!"

Thank the Creator for men who are or will be fathers. Pleasing them are the some of the sweetest moments to live for.

Thousand Island dressing:

1/2 cup salad dressing (like miracle whip)
1-2 hard boiled eggs chopped finely
1/4 s dill pickle chopped finely
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup milk

Mix and serve. My mother made this dressing as the standard house dressing of our home. My husband loves it. I rarely fix it because ranch dressing wins the vote of most of the children. It is nice to fix a delicious dressing out of basics in our home.

The french bread dip is a take off a dip offered at one of the best Itallian restaurants in town. They serve roasted whole garlic which the patron mashes in olive oil with a light tomato paste. It is fantastic. During the last 90 day challenge, I learned that topping for bread is critical when trying to live off one's shelves. We ran out of frozen butter and I didn't have any olive oil. It was painful. The beginning of May for the first shopping trip of this challenge, I bought a small jar of olive oil for $3.00. We do not feel deprived when we can eat gourmet Itallian foods like this. Today was a perfect day to celebrate Fathers with some of Dad's simple favorites.

Day 40 That was the best lunch!

2010-06-20T20:14:00.002-05:00

My son took two ham and cheddar cheese sandwiches with him to work. He came home and exclaimed "Mom, those were the best sandwiches! I don't know what it was but it was soo good!" I felt badly because I didn't have any lettuce to put on them but it was a token lunch. I made a mental note that if I was ever feeling down and needed a compliment, I should make a lunch for my sons.

Breakfast: Oatmeal made by the man of the house!
Lunch: Black bean burritos with homemade tortillas
Dinner: Au-gratin potatoes with ham and a lettuce wedge