I've been trying to keep my eyes open all day yesterday and today because Sir William doesn't sleep well when he has a cold. Poor little bub...
Yesterday was really busy for me. We all spent the morning cleaning the house and then at noon Dorothy, William, and I headed to their cousin's 6th birthday party. When we got home from that, some of David's aunts and uncles stopped by to visit and meet William for a couple of hours. After dinner I headed back out to my sister-in-law's house with William so we could visit some more. It ended up being pretty late by the time I got home, but I arrived to a clean house and candles lit in the bedroom. Of course, then the smoke alarm went off and the girls woke up crying and saying "it's too loud!" David got it to stop, but it was still beeping intermittently, so he took it off the ceiling...
and put it in the garage...
But we could still hear it...
so we put it in the van.
Church was nice this morning, then we had a couple from church over for lunch. It was really fun, and we hope to start having more people over for meals. Here's what was on the menu for the weekend:
Saturday's Spreads
B: Peanut butter oatmeal and milk.
L: David made a cheese pizza for himself and Charlotte. He topped it with half a can of mushrooms and some sliced tomatoes. Dorothy and I had lunch at the birthday party.
D: David warmed up some baked potato soup I had in the freezer from a couple months ago. The girls ate the rest of the pizza and some applesauce. I had a sliced avocado, Triscuits, cheese, and sauteed snap peas with tomatoes.
Sunday's Sustenance
B: Oatmeal again :)
L: Since we were having company over, I wanted to make a nice meal. Before we left for church I threw some chicken breasts in the crock pot on the 4 hour setting with a homemade smoky barbecue sauce. When we got home, I made a spinach salad with tomatoes, avocado, and sunflower seeds. I also heated up a side of mashed sweet potatoes from Gleaner's and baked some drop biscuits from some Bisquick I still have on hand. When that runs out I will be making my own mixes (biscuit, cornbread, etc).
D: I think I'll defrost some sloppy lentils (like sloppy joes, only meatless) I made last month. I'll use buns and corn on the cob that I have in the freezer from Gleaner's.
Now, off to have some home popped popcorn and Pepsi for Superbowl Sunday....
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Friday, February 04, 2011
Thankful for Friday!
I didn't get around to writing yesterday since I was feeling under the weather and William cried most of the day. Both he and Charlotte seem to be getting a bit of a croupy cough. Such is life during the winter. It's definitely better since they've stopped going to day care, but being in the church nursery still gets them sometimes. Now that I'm home, though, it's not as stressful (other than less sleep for everyone). I'm thankful to be able to just be with them. William and Charlotte both ended up in our bed for the second part of the night... and to be honest, I love it. It's so sweet to wake up to Charlotte stroking my face saying "nose" or William snuffling around in search of milk. I feed him and kiss his soft little head often when he sleeps next to me, and I find that having him nurse frequently when he's getting croupy keeps him calm and his airways more relaxed, so we avoid the breathing treatments he had to get when he was 3 months old. They seem to be feeling pretty good this morning other than some stuffiness. I plan on doing basic housekeeping things today... wash a load of diapers, wash and fold some clothes, do dishes, and try to clean the bathroom. This afternoon I will be putting in my volunteer hours at Gleaner's for the month. I'm signed up to work the first Friday of each month from 3-5/5:15 in the child care area. David will keep our kids today, so there will be 3 fewer children ;).
On the topic of our budget, I have begun selling some books on cash4books.net. I sold some textbooks for $118 and am also selling 2 more to Powell's for $10, which is better than the $0 the college bookstore was offering me! I'm not quite sure where I will apply the cash we make from books yet. We're trying to pay off debt and build an emergency savings, so perhaps we should split the money between those two things so we can be closer to both our goals. We have very limited shelf space for books, and many boxes of books in the garage. We'll only be keeping the ones we know we'll be wanting around long-term (ones we'll be likely to use often). And those that we can't sell will likely be donated to Gleaner's. This is going to be quite a long process, but my goal is to get through one box of books a week until they've all been gone through.
I did manage to go through the art supplies yesterday. It didn't take long at all since most of it was in bins already. I just needed to add a couple of medium totes; one each for beads & string and magazines & clippings. In addition, I put the excess crayons & watercolors in a small tote. I moved all of the arts supplies to the coat closet shelf, but my painting things, canvases, and larger drawing pads are in under-the-bed totes in our room. I think it will work well that way. Soon I need to make a batch of homemade playdough for the girls since their playdough is pretty dry and hard to work with now. Once that is done, our craft area will be completed. I also need to organize our office supplies, which are going to go in a stand-alone shelf unit that is in the kitchen/dining area. It has a child-locked door and doubles as a counter for our toater and breadmaker. The art supplies used to live there, but I find them easier to access in their new location. I love getting things done!
Thursday's Tidbits
For our meals yesterday...
B: English muffins with peanut butter and honey, plus some kiwi fruit and grape juice from WIC.
L: Spanish rice with sour cream and plain yogurt with blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar for the girls. David took spanih rice as well. I had the rest of the au gratin potatoes and sauteed half of the snap peas with olive oil and garlic.
D: Shepherd's pie.
Friday's Feasts
B: Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins for the girls. I had eggs and the last blueberry bagel.
L: Shepherd's pie
D: Fish fillets I have in the freezer still. They're tilapia, and I think I will bake them with some lemon pepper and dill. We'll also have the tomato, veggie, and orzo side dish.
On the topic of our budget, I have begun selling some books on cash4books.net. I sold some textbooks for $118 and am also selling 2 more to Powell's for $10, which is better than the $0 the college bookstore was offering me! I'm not quite sure where I will apply the cash we make from books yet. We're trying to pay off debt and build an emergency savings, so perhaps we should split the money between those two things so we can be closer to both our goals. We have very limited shelf space for books, and many boxes of books in the garage. We'll only be keeping the ones we know we'll be wanting around long-term (ones we'll be likely to use often). And those that we can't sell will likely be donated to Gleaner's. This is going to be quite a long process, but my goal is to get through one box of books a week until they've all been gone through.
I did manage to go through the art supplies yesterday. It didn't take long at all since most of it was in bins already. I just needed to add a couple of medium totes; one each for beads & string and magazines & clippings. In addition, I put the excess crayons & watercolors in a small tote. I moved all of the arts supplies to the coat closet shelf, but my painting things, canvases, and larger drawing pads are in under-the-bed totes in our room. I think it will work well that way. Soon I need to make a batch of homemade playdough for the girls since their playdough is pretty dry and hard to work with now. Once that is done, our craft area will be completed. I also need to organize our office supplies, which are going to go in a stand-alone shelf unit that is in the kitchen/dining area. It has a child-locked door and doubles as a counter for our toater and breadmaker. The art supplies used to live there, but I find them easier to access in their new location. I love getting things done!
Thursday's Tidbits
For our meals yesterday...
B: English muffins with peanut butter and honey, plus some kiwi fruit and grape juice from WIC.
L: Spanish rice with sour cream and plain yogurt with blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar for the girls. David took spanih rice as well. I had the rest of the au gratin potatoes and sauteed half of the snap peas with olive oil and garlic.
D: Shepherd's pie.
Friday's Feasts
B: Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins for the girls. I had eggs and the last blueberry bagel.
L: Shepherd's pie
D: Fish fillets I have in the freezer still. They're tilapia, and I think I will bake them with some lemon pepper and dill. We'll also have the tomato, veggie, and orzo side dish.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Today is Birthday Book Day!
I got my birthday gift from David in the mail yesterday. He got me two books I have been wanting: one is A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family and the other one is The Complete Tightwad Gazette. I've already read almost half of the first book since last night, and it's a good read. You don't have to have a huge family to apply the principles, as we only have 3 kids and I'm finding it really helpful. A friend recommended the book to me, and I'm definitely glad I got it. There are some really good tips on organizing and running a household, some of which I am already doing and some of which I would like to start implementing as the kids get older. The second one is a hefty book that addresses any topic you can think of related to living frugally. It's a must-read if you're working on a tight budget.
In the next couple of days, I am tackling the arts and crafts supplies. They need to be sorted, organized, and stored to my satisfaction. Well, they are already in bins of varying sizes, but I'm wanting to pare down and re-sort some things. They will need to be easy enough to get to for regular projects with the kids, but up and away from Charlotte, who loves to destroy and/or eat anything she gets her little hands on. She keeps me on my toes and forces me to be creative with how I organize and store things.
Wolf it Down Wednesday
On the menu for today....
B: Blueberry bagels again, plus some milk and juice.
L: The girls ate toasted cheese sandwiches, applesauce, and green beans. I ate half of the au gratin potatoes and half of the remaining salad. The other half of those will be used tomorrow for my lunch again.
D: We may be eating dinner at church if we go to small group, but if not, I made a batch of this amazing shepherd's pie from some veggies and mashed potatoes I got at gleaner's in the past few weeks. The ground beef was from my mother-in-law, who is super kind and generous. When I go to Costco with her, she always helps us out and shares some of her groceries :). Last time she gave us 5 lbs of ground beef and a huge jug of olive oil, among other things. Anyhow, I put it into two 8x8 pans and froze one for a rainy day. Perfect and sooo yummy!
I forgot that yesterday and today we have eaten those brownies for dessert. It's sure a mood-lifter, especially since I didn't sleep well last night. Chocolate always helps.
In the next couple of days, I am tackling the arts and crafts supplies. They need to be sorted, organized, and stored to my satisfaction. Well, they are already in bins of varying sizes, but I'm wanting to pare down and re-sort some things. They will need to be easy enough to get to for regular projects with the kids, but up and away from Charlotte, who loves to destroy and/or eat anything she gets her little hands on. She keeps me on my toes and forces me to be creative with how I organize and store things.
Wolf it Down Wednesday
On the menu for today....
B: Blueberry bagels again, plus some milk and juice.
L: The girls ate toasted cheese sandwiches, applesauce, and green beans. I ate half of the au gratin potatoes and half of the remaining salad. The other half of those will be used tomorrow for my lunch again.
D: We may be eating dinner at church if we go to small group, but if not, I made a batch of this amazing shepherd's pie from some veggies and mashed potatoes I got at gleaner's in the past few weeks. The ground beef was from my mother-in-law, who is super kind and generous. When I go to Costco with her, she always helps us out and shares some of her groceries :). Last time she gave us 5 lbs of ground beef and a huge jug of olive oil, among other things. Anyhow, I put it into two 8x8 pans and froze one for a rainy day. Perfect and sooo yummy!
I forgot that yesterday and today we have eaten those brownies for dessert. It's sure a mood-lifter, especially since I didn't sleep well last night. Chocolate always helps.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Birthday Bedding Set
I celebrated my 30th birthday just over a week ago, and was lucky enough to get a bit of cash and some gift cards as well. I got $50 from my mom, which I used to buy a gorgeous bedding set that came with 2 shams, 3 decorative pillows, a dust ruffle, and a comforter. My Grandma gave me $20, so with that I got a queen sized sheet set. The silver in it looks like it was part of the bedding set even though they weren't the same brand. They look great together, and it feels like our room decor is really coming together.
With the rest of my money and gift cards, there are a few more household items I would like to get that we wouldn't ordinarily have money for: decorative shelves and frames for the kids' rooms, new bathroom cup/toothbrush holder/etc, coconut oil for making lotions and other body products, and a new belt for myself, since my current one has just about bit the dust.Our budget is going well. February will be our first full month using the cash envelope system. We're also coming up a bit ahead from what I estimated our natural gas bill would be. January's bill was $81 instead of $90, although electricity was $63 instead of $60. But we're still coming out slightly ahead overall. We ordered a free water conservation kit from the Portland Water Bureau. It turns out that any customer of the water bureau can order this kit. So far, we have installed the water saver shower head, kitchen sink faucet head, and the 5-minute shower timer. We're also going to use a bag they sent that you can fill with water and attach to the inside of the toilet tank, which cuts down on how much water the toilet uses with each flush. These things should not only help lower our water bill and help the environment, but the faucet heads will also help with the gas bill since our water heater runs on gas. I've also started rinsing dishes in cold water instead of hot because our dishwasher seems to clean the dishes really well so far. Next on the list is to invest in some compact florescent light bulbs in our high-use areas. I can't wait to see those pennies and dollars start falling off the bills!
On the home front with the kids, life is busy! William is Mr. Fussy Pants lately. He cries a lot unless he is nursing or being held (mostly the nursing). I have a feeling he might be teething, but it's hard to tell. His fussiness makes getting even small things done around the house a huge challenge. As organized and clean as I like to keep my house, it's hard to sit there with a fussy baby, but I am trying to soak in all the cuddles I can while he still likes them. It's so sweet when he nestles his little head into my shoulder. I can't believe he's almost 6 months already.
Charlotte just turned two in January, and she seems to be interested in potty training. She's gone a couple of times, but mostly she just likes to run around nakie and sit on her potty a lot. Today she wore panties for a while, but promptly peed in them and came to tell me it was messy. But we're on the way, which I am thrilled about.
Dorothy is really seeming to need some structure, so I am going to be looking at preschool curriculum. I have a feeling she is going to love it.Tuesday's Tasties
B: The girls each had 3 of the mini cups of yogurt with some cheerios. I had a toasted blueberry bagel with peanut butter and honey. We all had milk to drink.
morning snack was some more chips and guac, which both girls loved. I also sent hubs to work with some guac and a bag of chips to share.
L: Spanish rice from last night, topped with sour cream. The girls and I shared the strawberries (about 1/2 lb ended up being really good).
D: I am going to bake the breaded chicken breasts. On the side we'll have the bagged salad mix and mashed potatoes and gravy. I may also saute a few brussel sprouts that I picked up at Gleaner's last week. They're really good with olive oil, garlic, and salt. But then, so are most things!
Monday, January 31, 2011
What's on the agenda
As I have been organizing and decorating our new place, it always helps me to think a bit about what I would like to get done. I have somewhat of a running list that I add things to and cross things off as I get them done. Some of them might be smaller things like doing some laundry or paying some bills. Some of them might be more time-consuming projects like organizing and sorting through specific things.
Some of the bigger projects I have coming up:
*Sorting through and organizing old photos
*Printing some pictures for the walls
*Sorting through my arts and crafts supplies
*Sorting through my sewing and crocheting bins
*Taking pictures of and selling the cloth diapers and covers we're not using any more
*Taking pictures of and selling some baby things/clothes
*Sorting through boxes of books and selling them to cash4books.net, Powell's Bookstore, or Swagbucks
*Putting the finishing touches on decorating the kids' rooms. I'm wanting to get a decorative shelf for the girls' room and William's room, plus a couple of frames for each room to put some art into.
*Finding a good storage solution/shelving unit for the books we decide to keep
Monday is also shopping and menu planning day around here. Since my sister-in-law also uses the Gleaner's program we go to, she asked me to post what I was going to cook for dinner with the food I picked up. So, I thought perhaps at the beginning of the week I will start posting about what I pick up there, plus what I need to get at the grocery store each week between WIC checks and budgeted cash. My menu will mainly be based on what I pick up at Gleaner's. I like to try to buy as little as possible now that we're back on the program. The good news? We were able to pay $120 this month toward our credit card instead of the minimum payment! I'll try to post our menu every weekday, plus any recipes I think are worth sharing (this will be in addition to whatever else I happen to be rambling about on any particular day).
So, here's a brief summary of what I got this week at Gleaner's:
Household items
deodorant for David
3 rolls toilet paper
2 rolls paper towels
1 pkg liquid hand soap
Food items
1 pkg blueberry bagels
1 pkg sourdough english muffins
1 loaf white bread with whole grain
1 can mushrooms
1 pkg whole grain tortillas
32 oz sour cream
16 oz cottage cheese
homestyle gravy
mashed potatoes
tomato, herb, and veggie orzo pasta side dish
1 side of au gratin potatoes
8 yogurt cups
gluten free brownies
1 lb strawberries, a few might be moldy, but most are ok
1 bunch very green bananas for later this week
1/2 lb grape tomatoes
1 lg bag mixed greens salad mix (w/dressing, nuts, dried cranberries, and feta cheese)
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
2 small peppers
sandwich bag of chopped, cooked, seasoned chicken
1 jar blackberry preserves
1 bottle pancake syrup
6 applesauce cups
1 jar grey poupon
1 bottle coconut coffee syrup (Yay for coffee at home! Add a bit of hot cocoa for a "mounds" mocha :))
1 pkg decaf coffee
3 bags nacho cheese tortilla chips
1 bag avocados (need to be used now)
1 large box frozen breaded chicken breasts
1 canister table salt
The motherload of snacks for lunches
2 bags organic cheese curls
6 cans diet pepsi
8 cans regular pepsi
6 mini cherry pies
1 box gingerbread cookies
1 box chocolate mini cakes
1 box triscuit thins
I'll update later on my Grocery store purchases.
Monday's Munchies
B: Whole wheat blueberry pancakes from scratch. We also had bananas and apple juice.
L: Grilled cheese, grapes, oranges, carrots, and ranch
D: Spanish rice (recipe below) with the baggie of chopped chicken, 2 small peppers, onion, frozen corn/pepper mix, and 1 can each of organic tomato sauce and organic diced tomatoes (bought in boxes of 12 at Costco when I go with my mother-in-law and use her card ;)). I'll be serving guacamole, sour cream, and tortilla chips on the side.
coming back later to finish the plan.... gotta go cook up some grub!
OK! Now that said grub has been cooked, consumed, and approved of, here are the recipes (courtesy of the mad cooking skillz of none other than yours truly). You will not be disappointed:
Spanish Rice
2 c uncooked rice
1 c. chopped, cooked, & seasoned chicken (or ground beef!)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz. frozen corn
1 diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
I threw the 2 c rice along with 4 c water in my rice cooker and let 'er steam. While that was going, I chopped the veggies and sauteed them in some olive oil in a big ol' pot (I went ahead and threw in the corn when the rest of the veggies were tender). Yum! Then I added the tomatoes and tomato sauce and heated it through, adding the spices. You could add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. By the time that was all bubbly, the rice was done, so I plopped it all in the big pot and mixed it well, turning it to low, and then stirring it occasionally while I made my to die for guacamole. That way all the juices had time to soak into the rice. We ate it with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Holy Guacamole
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 med-lg avocados, mashed
1/2 c cottage cheese (yes, really!)
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp lime juice (I just keep a bottle of it on hand so I don't have to run out and buy fresh limes)
1 tsp garlic powder
Dump it in a bowl and go to town with a potato masher. That's it! And it is soooo good with Doritos.
This post has been linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.
Some of the bigger projects I have coming up:
*Sorting through and organizing old photos
*Printing some pictures for the walls
*Sorting through my arts and crafts supplies
*Sorting through my sewing and crocheting bins
*Taking pictures of and selling the cloth diapers and covers we're not using any more
*Taking pictures of and selling some baby things/clothes
*Sorting through boxes of books and selling them to cash4books.net, Powell's Bookstore, or Swagbucks
*Putting the finishing touches on decorating the kids' rooms. I'm wanting to get a decorative shelf for the girls' room and William's room, plus a couple of frames for each room to put some art into.
*Finding a good storage solution/shelving unit for the books we decide to keep
Monday is also shopping and menu planning day around here. Since my sister-in-law also uses the Gleaner's program we go to, she asked me to post what I was going to cook for dinner with the food I picked up. So, I thought perhaps at the beginning of the week I will start posting about what I pick up there, plus what I need to get at the grocery store each week between WIC checks and budgeted cash. My menu will mainly be based on what I pick up at Gleaner's. I like to try to buy as little as possible now that we're back on the program. The good news? We were able to pay $120 this month toward our credit card instead of the minimum payment! I'll try to post our menu every weekday, plus any recipes I think are worth sharing (this will be in addition to whatever else I happen to be rambling about on any particular day).
So, here's a brief summary of what I got this week at Gleaner's:
Household items
deodorant for David
3 rolls toilet paper
2 rolls paper towels
1 pkg liquid hand soap
Food items
1 pkg blueberry bagels
1 pkg sourdough english muffins
1 loaf white bread with whole grain
1 can mushrooms
1 pkg whole grain tortillas
32 oz sour cream
16 oz cottage cheese
homestyle gravy
mashed potatoes
tomato, herb, and veggie orzo pasta side dish
1 side of au gratin potatoes
8 yogurt cups
gluten free brownies
1 lb strawberries, a few might be moldy, but most are ok
1 bunch very green bananas for later this week
1/2 lb grape tomatoes
1 lg bag mixed greens salad mix (w/dressing, nuts, dried cranberries, and feta cheese)
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
2 small peppers
sandwich bag of chopped, cooked, seasoned chicken
1 jar blackberry preserves
1 bottle pancake syrup
6 applesauce cups
1 jar grey poupon
1 bottle coconut coffee syrup (Yay for coffee at home! Add a bit of hot cocoa for a "mounds" mocha :))
1 pkg decaf coffee
3 bags nacho cheese tortilla chips
1 bag avocados (need to be used now)
1 large box frozen breaded chicken breasts
1 canister table salt
The motherload of snacks for lunches
2 bags organic cheese curls
6 cans diet pepsi
8 cans regular pepsi
6 mini cherry pies
1 box gingerbread cookies
1 box chocolate mini cakes
1 box triscuit thins
I'll update later on my Grocery store purchases.
Monday's Munchies
B: Whole wheat blueberry pancakes from scratch. We also had bananas and apple juice.
L: Grilled cheese, grapes, oranges, carrots, and ranch
D: Spanish rice (recipe below) with the baggie of chopped chicken, 2 small peppers, onion, frozen corn/pepper mix, and 1 can each of organic tomato sauce and organic diced tomatoes (bought in boxes of 12 at Costco when I go with my mother-in-law and use her card ;)). I'll be serving guacamole, sour cream, and tortilla chips on the side.
coming back later to finish the plan.... gotta go cook up some grub!
OK! Now that said grub has been cooked, consumed, and approved of, here are the recipes (courtesy of the mad cooking skillz of none other than yours truly). You will not be disappointed:
Spanish Rice
2 c uncooked rice
1 c. chopped, cooked, & seasoned chicken (or ground beef!)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz. frozen corn
1 diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
I threw the 2 c rice along with 4 c water in my rice cooker and let 'er steam. While that was going, I chopped the veggies and sauteed them in some olive oil in a big ol' pot (I went ahead and threw in the corn when the rest of the veggies were tender). Yum! Then I added the tomatoes and tomato sauce and heated it through, adding the spices. You could add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. By the time that was all bubbly, the rice was done, so I plopped it all in the big pot and mixed it well, turning it to low, and then stirring it occasionally while I made my to die for guacamole. That way all the juices had time to soak into the rice. We ate it with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Holy Guacamole
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 med-lg avocados, mashed
1/2 c cottage cheese (yes, really!)
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp lime juice (I just keep a bottle of it on hand so I don't have to run out and buy fresh limes)
1 tsp garlic powder
Dump it in a bowl and go to town with a potato masher. That's it! And it is soooo good with Doritos.
This post has been linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Growing and Changing
As I've been reading through my past posts, I am finding that I was such a different person when I began writing than I am now. Some of my older posts I would like to delete, simply because there is no point in keeping them up. I'll still keep the ones that chronicle my pregnancy or sweet things the kids have done. But becoming a mother has changed me. Marriage has changed me. College has changed me as well. I see ways that I have grown and would like to continue to grow, and keeping some of those posts up won't serve that purpose. I don't want to be the same person I was and I suppose that's the way life is supposed to be. So I have been going through and editing/deleting some things. It feels good!
And dinner smells good, too :).
On the menu for tonight is black bean soup topped with sour cream and homemade salsa. These recipes have been linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.
Black Bean Soup (by Marlene Sorosky Gray):
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed and sorted
1/2 lb bacon, diced & cooked (or 1/2 lb diced & cooked turkey ham is economical!)
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced onions
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground black pepper
64 oz vegetable broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (add this right before serving)
I rinsed & soaked the beans for the afternoon, then I just threw everything in the pot and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. To me, it's less complicated that way. I also threw in a dash or two of taco seasoning and chili powder to liven it up a bit, but not a lot of either. Add salt and pepper to taste. It smells great!
The recipe says to top the soup with sour cream, tomato, and cilantro, but I am topping it with sour cream and my favorite salsa recipe, as well as some sliced up corn tortillas.
Sweet Corn Salsa (From Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables):
3 ears sweet corn (you can do 2-3 c frozen corn and it's still great)
3 medium tomatoes, diced (I use 4 romas)
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped (when I don't have one, I use a bit of cayenne pepper)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion or one large scallion, chopped (I use a whole yellow onion sometimes)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes (or ~1/4 c lime juice)
Cut corn kernels off cobs. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, then add corn and saute for 3 minutes. Combine corn and all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Serve warm or chilled. It's amazingly good and makes a large bowl of salsa.
This meal is perfect! And not only because of the flavor. It was really frugal, too :)
The following items I picked up at Gleaner's:
corn
tomatoes
carrots
vegetable broth
sour cream
The following items I got with my WIC checks:
onions
garlic
cilantro
celery
black beans
corn tortillas
Everything else I had on hand, so the only thing I had to buy for tonight's dinner was the cilantro, which was $1 (and I have 2/3 of the bunch left!). The turkey ham is something I always keep around. I buy the Jennie-O kind and dice it up, separating it into 3 portions (for 3 separate meals). Can I just say that I love meal planning?
And dinner smells good, too :).
On the menu for tonight is black bean soup topped with sour cream and homemade salsa. These recipes have been linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.
Black Bean Soup (by Marlene Sorosky Gray):
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed and sorted
1/2 lb bacon, diced & cooked (or 1/2 lb diced & cooked turkey ham is economical!)
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced onions
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground black pepper
64 oz vegetable broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (add this right before serving)
I rinsed & soaked the beans for the afternoon, then I just threw everything in the pot and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. To me, it's less complicated that way. I also threw in a dash or two of taco seasoning and chili powder to liven it up a bit, but not a lot of either. Add salt and pepper to taste. It smells great!
The recipe says to top the soup with sour cream, tomato, and cilantro, but I am topping it with sour cream and my favorite salsa recipe, as well as some sliced up corn tortillas.
Sweet Corn Salsa (From Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables):
3 ears sweet corn (you can do 2-3 c frozen corn and it's still great)
3 medium tomatoes, diced (I use 4 romas)
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped (when I don't have one, I use a bit of cayenne pepper)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion or one large scallion, chopped (I use a whole yellow onion sometimes)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes (or ~1/4 c lime juice)
Cut corn kernels off cobs. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, then add corn and saute for 3 minutes. Combine corn and all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Serve warm or chilled. It's amazingly good and makes a large bowl of salsa.
This meal is perfect! And not only because of the flavor. It was really frugal, too :)
The following items I picked up at Gleaner's:
corn
tomatoes
carrots
vegetable broth
sour cream
The following items I got with my WIC checks:
onions
garlic
cilantro
celery
black beans
corn tortillas
Everything else I had on hand, so the only thing I had to buy for tonight's dinner was the cilantro, which was $1 (and I have 2/3 of the bunch left!). The turkey ham is something I always keep around. I buy the Jennie-O kind and dice it up, separating it into 3 portions (for 3 separate meals). Can I just say that I love meal planning?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
She sings them to Him
(photo credit: Life Candids Photography, 2010)Yesterday morning, my precious Dorothy was wandering around the house making up little songs as she often does. As she walked by, I told her that her singing was very beautiful and that I loved to hear it. Her response was priceless to me.
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