Frugal and Fancy Free: Stromboli-Woli

It snowed today. So our school looked kind of like this.

I have to admit it was a pretty sweet day. And much needed. I had the chance to read over my post from yesterday (Souper Wednesday)...Good Grief! All that blathering about potatoes and ham. Who knew that I would have so much to say on the subject. I really was tired. This weather makes me creaky and cranky. Marshmallows + Chocolate + Books = a Happy Beke.

While I have your attention I thought I would share with you a picture Josiah took today. This is our TV. It has looked like this since last February. Most of the time the stripe is white. Sometimes it is black. It started off kind of transparent. It's just plain weird. It makes it really hard to play Just Dance on the Wii.  And that my friends is a crying shame. I've sad this before, but sometimes I find myself trying to peer around the stripe...just to see what's behind it.

You ever have those days that the most energy you want to put into dinner is to call the Pizza Delivery Guy? Today was one of those days. We use Papa Murphy's quite a bit. Papa M is cheap. And I can pick it up at any time and just put it in the fridge until supper time. But Papa M wasn't in the budget this week. 

I love Pizza. My favorite pizza really has to be Shakespeare's Pizza in Columbia, MO. I haven't had it in almost 6 years. But can still recall how happy it made me. I really like pizza. Didn't I just say that?

Homemade pizza isn't hard to make. But when I looked through my fridge I found I had a bit of a problem. I had just a little bit of cheese. And pizza takes cheese. So I decided to make Stromboli. Stromboli still has cheese in it, but you can get away with less of it. And you can put a variety of ingredients. You can also make Calzones. But the Stromboli is a little less involved. It's just one big stuffed pizza...instead of a bunch of little hand held pizzas.

Here is an easy recipe for Stromboli from Allrecipes.com.

It is a good basic Stromboli recipe. But I wanted to be able to dip my stromboli in the pizza sauce - instead of having it inside. I also wanted to make my own crust. I have nothing against packaged or refrigerated crusts (you can even use thawed frozen bread dough). There is just something wonderfully awesome about homemade pizza crust. It's so awesome even Josiah thinks it's awesome. That is pretty awesome. Except he really doesn't say "awesome."

I have talked before about making my own pizza crust here.  Tonight I did mix some unbleached wheat flour in with my white flour. My family needs a little more fiber. Hey. I need a little more fiber. It made me feel better about the sausage and cheese. But beware...if you decide to alternate wheat flour with your white flour recipe you may not have the best results without certain percautions. Until you get used to it look up some recipes using wheat flour. I personally prefer an all white flour crust. I know. Wheat is better for me. I did compromise by using 1/2 and 1/2.



You can do a lot with flour, water and yeast. And unless you bake everyday they can stretch quite a while. Just be sure to check the expiration date on your yeast before you use it. I'm speaking from experience.

Now my olive oil is a little different. I use it sparingly. I bought it at a Discount Grocery. I have bought it at the Dollar Store before. It comes mixed with some kind of soybean oil (which is not as good for you) and it's just a little bit...but sometimes all you have is a dollar.

Did you know you don't have to cook homemade pizza sauce? And don't let anybody make you feel guilty about using a jar of Ragu or even some leftover spaghetti sauce either. You use what you have. I personally have found it more economical (and yummier) to make my own sauce. All the extra ingredients in canned or jarred sauce mess with me. And I don't like to be messed with. I also don't like sauces that have sugar. And most sauces you purchase at the store have added sugar. I did cook up this sauce a bit. I wanted to use it has a dipping sauce.

I think the internet is a great place to find all sorts of recipes for almost anything. Just google homemade pizza sauce and you will find one to fit your needs. I prefer using whole or diced tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce, but I've used it successfully. I love making a white sauce (just olive oil and garlic) and have even used BBQ sauce.

You do realize by me suggesting you Google "homemade pizza sauce" that I am getting away with not posting this recipe. I do what I can.

Here are the insides of my Stromboli. Well. At least a picture of what I plan to put on the inside of my Stromboli. That package (with the Fancy Marked Down Sticker on it) is Jimmy Dean's Maple Sausage. I got it pretty cheap. I will say that out of all the pork sausages in the world Jimmy Dean's is pretty "ungreasy." I don't use pork sausage very often. Keep in mind that I use what I find marked down. That could be all number of things. If I am purchasing ground meat that isn't marked down I go for the ground turkey.

The beauty of the Stromboli is that you can use almost anything on the insides...even lunch meat. Now cheese is a precious commodity in our house. Sometimes I have it...sometimes I don't. It isn't as budget friendly, as say, a bag of beans. And the spinach? Well, of course I need to add a veggie! Josiah wasn't as thrilled with the spinach, but he's 10. I still have some bags of greens in my freezer from the garden. Nothing compares to those little bags of greens...They are meant to be cooked up in the pan with a little bacon and onion...then splattered with a little vinegar. Not hidden in a Stromboli. I brought out my grocery store brand for tonight.

I even toyed with the idea of making a Ham and Pineapple Stromboli or a Ham and Broccoli Stromboli. Anything you put on a pizza you can put in a Stromboli.

Back to the Stromboli making! After my dough had risen I stretched it out on my pan. And had to beat Josiah off with a stick. He couldn't keep picking pieces of it and sticking them in his mouth.

And after I fried up my sausage, garlic and greens I spread it over the crust.

I wrapped it all up, brushed some olive oil on it and sprinkled it with some Parm. cheese from the shaker. Then baked it in the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes. I know. It looks like a mummy. I assure you that nothing spooky jumped out when I cut into it.

Now that is good stuff.



It was just the thing for my Pizza craving...without actually making the pizza. I went back and forth with making a salad. Nah. This Stromboli covers all the bases. And it means less time in the kitchen for me.

Tomorrow night I am cooking up a delicious Pork Tenderloin I have been keeping in my freezer. I got it marked down for 2.99. I also think I am going to make something with the canned yams hiding in the box under my bed. Ciao!

Rebekah

Frugal and Fancy Free: Soupy Wednesday

I should really get Josiah his own camera. He spent much of the afternoon taking pictures like this.

And a few more like this.

And let's not forget pictures of the Real Players. Josiah is a huge Indiana Jones fan. He can spend hours recreating stories from the movies.  If you are made of plastic and resemble a humanoid you can play. If you are vehicle and fit in his bedroom you can play. Mutt Jones here has a prime part to play. I'm not sure what part the golf club is playing. I hate to ask.



I don't know what you were doing say 2:30am last night. I was blogging this. 

I set myself up a nice little quiet spot. But around 4:30am I realized morning was coming quickly and I needed to try and sleep. And then I had the brilliant idea of getting my Wednesday soup in the crockpot before going back to bed. I really shouldn't pay any attention of my brilliant ideas.

Wednesdays are always a bit of a bugger. Most Wednesdays we have PE in the mornings at a local University (we are off right now on the Winter Break). Then we have swim lessons in the late afternoon and church at night. And because Troy’s schedule is so strange I have to make sure that supper is something I can manage pretty easily. I love to fix soup for my Wednesday night meals...especially in the winter.

I personally don’t care for canned soup. I never met one I liked. But canned soup might be something you need to use or (in our case) it was given to you. You can doctor canned soup if you want. If you need a quick heartier meal and the cupboards are bare serve your canned soup over rice.

Soup in itself is a pretty cheap and easy way to feed your family. I have my personal favorites that take a little more time and money. My Chicken Noodle soup is involved. I roast a chicken, eat off that for a while then boil the bones for hours to make my stock. I can tell you, though, that it is well worth the effort.

When I was little a favorite Sunday night after church meal was Oyster Stew. A little bit of milk, a can of Oysters, a little salt and pepper and some butter. Sometimes my Mom would make it with a can of salmon. We’d pass around the saltines and there you go! Add a potato to that stew and you have chowder. It was almost like being at the seashore. Not really. But you get my point.

 I hope that all my Food Snob friends will give this little Oyster Stew a break. We didn’t have seafood markets in the hills and hollers of North Central Arkansas. And I certainly can’t afford to be buying high priced seafood nowadays. The point is to use what you have and what is available to you. I might have a hot dog and ramen noodle budget, but that doesn't mean I have to live off of hot dogs and ramen noodles.

We also had big pots of French Onion soup (something which I still make) a lot when I was growing up (onions are a great garden crop!) and crusty homemade bread. More often there would be hearty helpings of Vegetable Soup or a creamy potato soup. Mmm.

Tonight's meal is also a good example about how forgiving soup can be. Unless you scorch it or add something rotten you really can't mess it up. You also don't have to completely follow a particular recipe. You just need a "formula."
Back to tonight's soup. I want to use a protein, a starch and veggies for my soup tonight. I also need to decide what kind of soup base I will use. You can make your own soup stock pretty easily, but I don't have any at the moment. I also could use tomato juice. When parents canned tomatoes they also canned a few jars of tomato juice. I am guarding them with my life. My precious. Most likely I will use up the last of my tomato chicken bullion. It is easy to use and gives my soups a bit of a tanginess.

I am about to share with you the secret of  the extra good smackiness that comes when you taste my soup. 

Just a jar of Knorr's Caldo de Tomate. Knorr also makes just plain Chicken Bullion. But this "Tomato Bullion with Chicken is something special. I even use this when I make my homemade stock. (one of these days I'll share with you my Rubber Chicken Recipe...code words for "taking a chicken and making something out of every part")


After looking over the list of available ingredients I have I decided I wanted to make a chowder. The Studly Muffin needs something hearty to get him through the cold night.  I have a few potatoes...white and sweet...So I found a recipe that contains both.  I also plan on making some easy little butter muffins for Troy to take to work.

The soup recipe contains:

• Bacon (about 1/2 a pound)

• 1-1/2 pounds of red potatoes

• 1 medium onion

• Bay leaves

• 1 large sweet potato

• 4-5 cups of chicken stock

• ¼ cup of brown sugar

• 3 cups of fresh or frozen corn

• 1 T chopped fresh parsley

• Scallions

• 1 cup heavy cream

.
I can see right away I have a few problems. I don't have that many white potatoes. My corn is also of the canned cream kind along with a few small ears leftover from Monday night I can cut off the cob. I have bacon in the freezer. I bought a box of ends and pieces sometime back for just a few dollars. I divided it up and put it in the freezer. As for the heavy cream...Hah! I laugh! It sounds wonderful, but I seldom have room in the budget for "heavy cream."  I don't have scallions, either. I love scallions, but they haven't made an appearance in the crisper for a few weeks. The chopped onion will be fine...I just plan on using a quarter of an onion.

Here is what I came up with.

Because I was lacking in potatoes I decided to use a few carrots to bulk up my dish. I have some canned carrots (which would be handier), but I decided to use my moldy bag of carrots from the fridge. They are organic and I got them for .79 marked down. The fresh (well..freshish) carrots will also take longer to cook..it makes them a good crockpot choice. Both carrots and celery have a good life in the fridge. I can use a little here and there for weeks. .

I made a boo-boo when taking my "bacon" out of the freezer. I grabbed out a little package of ham instead. Bummer. I love cooking with ham, but a midweek crockpot soup is hardly special enough to use the little bit of ham I am hoarding in the freezer. Oh well. You can certainly leave the meat out of this soup (or any soup).  I miserly cut a little bit off the ham and stuck the rest back in the freezer.

I also decide to look for an alternative to the "heavy cream"...I only paid .25 for the soy milk...but I found a can of evaporated milk later I used. I am not going to waste any of my milk in the fridge if I have another alternative. You almost need to take out a loan to buy a gallon of milk at the store nowadays.

Because I used cream corn I didn't use as much brown sugar as the recipe called for. Besides...I am diabetic and really don't need to add the extra sugar. The cream corn will be plenty sweet...as well as the sweet potato and carrots.

Into the pot it goes. I grabbed what I thought was a little dried parsley. It wound up being cumin. Hmm. This is why I don't need to be cooking at 4:30am. Cumin looks nothing like parsley.  I wound up not having any parsley. So I added some oregano to keep the cumin company.

I did have another bump on the soup cooking road. I started to get out the ingredients for my easy little muffins. 3 ingredients. Butter, baking mix, sour cream. Not the healthiest I agree. I only found a cup or so of baking mix (no problem...I'll just make half the recipe...I could make my own baking mix, but I don't have the time). I also don't have any sour cream, but I do have plain yogurt. Except that when I get it out it is way past it's prime. In fact, it looks like a science experiment. I might be cheap, but I'm not that cheap. So what to do?  I just mixed up the baking mix with a few tablespoons of milk and made dumplings instead!

Not bad for some of this and that. The only ingredient I purchased in the soup during my trip to the grocery store was the onion.

Be courageous! Make a pot of soup! Use what you have! (use the exclamation point any?)

Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow here in the Ozarks. I have a little bit of sausage ready to go. Sounds like a good night for Italian!

Rebekah

Late Night Musings: When The Dog Bites

Okay. So the title of this post is a little misleading. No one has been bit by a dog lately. At least not to my knowledge. I'll explain in a minute.

It's one of "those" nights. All 23 little pins and screws located in the lower half of my body must be throwing a party. I ache. And I've ached for a few days now.

 Winter can be a stinker for those of us who suffer with chronic illness. Life looks gloomier when you don't feel well. But God showed me something along time ago. I have to make a beautiful life for myself despite how I feel on the inside and out.  A beautiful life doesn't have to be filled with grand moments or fancy things or even easy times.

Do you know the song "A Few Of My Favorite Things." Julie Andrews. Sound of Music. The Hills Are Alive. Austria. Well you should.

Anyhoo. The song talks about "when the dog bites, when the bee stings...I simply remember My Favorite Things....and then I don't feel soooo baaa-aaa-ddd." (See. I told you I was going somewhere with the title).

What a great movie. What a great song. And what a great thing to do when life looks a little gloomy or sad or filled with one kind of stressor or another.

It is always good to count your blessings. I do that. And I also like to surround myself with a few things that make me happy. So because I can't sleep and I need to think on something else tonight besides my achy bones...Here are a few of my favorite things. In no particular order.

1. Tea in a pretty cup. I have a bunch of mismatched vintage china tea cups. I have many more in our storage unit (but I won't dwell on that mess...I'm trying to think happy thoughts). I bought these particular little cups from thrift stores for next to nothing. There is nothing like drinking hot tea from a pretty cup to make a moment special.

2. Sweet smelling lotions. One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a big box full of lotions and the like from Bath and Body Works. My Mom-in-law did it. I don't like the stuff that smells like flowers. I'm allergic to a lot of flowers and those scents make me want to seize. She got me scents like Twilight Woods, Be Enchanted, Sweet Pea (which does not smell like flowers). Tonight The Studly Muffin rubbed my legs with Sweet Pea because they hurt so bad. I don't call him The Studly Muffin for nothing.

3. Books. Pretty much any kind of book. I don't like reading books that don't have Happy Endings. I love books about dragons and lovely meadows and true love and hobbits and wizards and wardrobes. I love Fairy Tales and mysteries and even the occasional book about aliens. You can't beat a good alien story. Books transport me somewhere else. And sometimes 'somewhere else' makes me forget some of the not so pleasant things.

4. Candles. I don't have a fireplace. And there is something about a candle burning that makes me feel at home. And feeling at home makes me feel safe. When I was a lot healthier and could do marathon house cleaning days I would always light a candle in each room as I would finish cleaning it. Maybe lighting candles now is my way of pretending that my bathroom doesn't need a HazMat Team intervention.

5. Bubble Baths. I really sound like a girl now. But there is something about soaking in a warm soapy bath. Maybe it's allowing yourself a minute just to let your body rest. All the cares of the day seem to float away with each little dissolving bubble. Bubbles are magic.

6. Pedicures. Now I can tell you that these are few and far between. The old budget doesn't allow for pedicures. Last year around my birthday, Troy treated me to a pedicure. My hair lady (whom I dearly love) is one of those who takes her time. She scraps and buffs and polishes. One time she even put tiny little sparkles on my toes. I have a friend who has given me a pedicure. I love her. She painted my toes red. I spent the summer with beautiful red toes. Both my Mom and my Baby sister have given me pedicures. When I had a car accident and couldn't walk for months and months my Baby Sister made sure I had pretty feet. And an organized closet. I wish she would come live with me... But her husband would miss her.

7. Old Musicals. I'm not going to start singing at you again. There is something about bursting out in song that is very happy. I love the old Hollywood Musicals. They were happy. They could be sad. There was always love. And the music! My personal fav's? The Music Man. Singing In The Rain. The Sound of Music. White Christmas. Fiddler on the Roof. West Side Story has some great music. I just could never get over all that dying at the end.

8. The entire chapter of Psalm 91. It makes me feel courageous. And when things look a little gloomy it reminds me that I am not alone. And that He has covered me with "His wings." I also love to read this scripture verse.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. Psalm 30:11

It happens to be the tag on all my emails. I can't dance really. All those pins and screws keep me awkward. I lost some of my natural rhythm along with a few other things in that car wreck. It doesn't matter though. I have gained so much more. I will admit this. I have been known to shake my groove thing in the privacy of my living room. You will never see it. Josiah and I frequently bust a move. Though not as much since we've lived in our apartment. I don't want to cause my downstairs neighbors any distress. All that stomping about.

 

That's enough for tonight. I have more favorite things. My family for one. That is a whole another post and a half (at least). 

Night All...Sweet Dreams...And don't let the bed bugs (or dogs) bite! :<)

Rebekah

Frugal and Fancy Free: Tuesday Night Asian Cravings

I had to compete with Josiah for the usage of my camera this evening.

He likes to take pictures of all of his little guys in action. Notice the rubber band sashes that some of them are wearing? Priceless. I don't even accessorize that well.

We interrupt the creative flow of this blogger to bring you an update: Josiah was reading over my shoulder while I was typing and informed me that those rubber bands are straps. Who knew?


Anyhoo. I am continuing my nightly posts on cooking Frugally (and Fancy Free) by using what you have and recreating what you want to eat.

I have a confession. I am almost a Food Snob. In my perfect world I shop at the Health Food Markets or Locally Grown Food Marts. I keep chickens (well...maybe not) and grow my own herbs. I am not afraid of using the best ingredients...I love to cook and like to look at pretty, well prepared food. Well..and I'm obviously fond of eating it.

But, my world is seldom perfect. More frequently, I have a tight, tight, tight grocery budget. There have been times when the food in my house came from a food pantry. Food pantry food is a lot of canned goods, maybe a box of pasta and some peanut butter. I was always so grateful, but at the same time a little ashamed and humbled. You never know what life is going to dish out. It's up to you how well you flavor it.

Back to the subject at hand. Supper tonight. I had originally planned on using a piece of steak I had picked up in the Marked Down Meat Bin. I wanted to make my favorite Beef And Broccoli Stir Fry. It's simple and meets the Asian Cravings I have. But I discovered I am out of Oyster Sauce. And not wanting to waste a completely good piece of steak I decided to address my Asian Cravings another way.

The Egg. I really don't like the egg by itself. I don't mind it with some cheese. And maybe a little onion. Or potato. And maybe a tomato. But the eggs are good for you. And cheap. And they can be used in so many different ways. It seems as if every cuisine has a special egg dish.

If I am really in a pinch I will make Egg Drop Soup and Fried Rice. You can make Egg Drop soup with 2 eggs. That's it. And Fried Rice is a good way to use bits and pieces of leftover veggies and meat. My mom used to make the most beautiful and light Egg Drop Soup when I was growing up. It was clear and cornless.

Another Egg dish popular in Asian cuisine is Egg Foo Yung. While it takes more prep work it is so easy. The best thing about this dish is that you can also use bits and pieces of leftovers to make it. My vegetable crisper was looking a little moldy so I thought tonight needed to be the night I used some of my veggies up.

I also have a really good recipe for an Oven Baked Tempura. I love tempura. It is also a dish my mom used to make when I was growing up. The Oven Baked Tempura recipe is obviously more healthy.

You can  use any vegetables for Tempura. I used the rest of the bag of baby carrots (that were long past their prime), a sweet potato straight from my Dad's garden and a little bit of broccoli that was on sale this week. I love broccoli. I love it on a train. I love it in the rain. I love it a boat. I love it in a moat.

 This particular recipe has you make up a little batter, dip your veggies in the batter and then crust with Panko. Panko is great to keep around. This particular box came from a discount grocery. I got it for .25. You can use any type of flour. I try and eat at least a low gluten diet. I have issues. Some of them are medical. :<)

After I prepared all of my veggies for the Tempura, I started getting my veggies ready for the Egg Foo Yung. The best thing about Egg Foo Yung is that you can use anything. Shredded carrots, water chestnuts, spinach, bok choy. I am using a little bit of this and that. Cabbage, onions, bambo shoots, celery, mushrooms. Everything here was either under my bed in my "pantry" or molding in the crisper. By the Way...Cabbage is a wonderful "cheap" food. 

Of course, any respectable Egg Foo Yung needs a sauce. A lot of Egg Foo Yung 'gravy" recipes don't use Five Spice Powder. I love Five Spice Powder. I can't tell you how long I've had this particular Five Spice Powder. You might turn me in to the Old and Moldy Spice Police.

So after I cut up my veggies I throw them in my big skillet to saute. Somewhere. In the dark recesses of my storage unit I have a Wok. I have had to make my big skillet work. Which it has. The Studly Muffin got me this big skillet last year for Christmas.  This is why he is Studly. And why I love him. He knows what makes me happy.

After I sauteed my veggies I just added them to some eggs I had whisked up. I threw in some soy sauce and pepper.

Fry it in the Pan! Like little pancakes. Easy Peasy. It looks like I used more oil than I actually did. I promise.

While the Egg Foo was cooking I made a simple sauce to dip my Tempura in. Just a little mustard and soy sauce (or tamari). Josiah ate it on his rice.



Here is my plate. I added some rice to Troy's and Josiah. I just saw a picture of myself from Christmas and decided to lighten my simple carbs for a while. Overall, though, a healthy and easy meal.  And a cheap meal! The only thing I used in this meal that I bought this week at the grocery store was a little broccoli, a little bit of onion and a few eggs.

My recipe for Egg Foo Yung

Pancakes:
A couple of cups of chopped veggies (I used mushrooms, cabbage, onion, bamboo shoots, celery)
6-8 eggs
soy sauce and pepper

Sauce:
2 cups of chicken broth (I used some chicken bullion + water)
2 T. soy sauce
a dash of sherry
1 t.  of five spice powder (leave it out if you wish)
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 cup of water
pepper to taste

Chop up your veggies and saute in a little oil. Whisk up the eggs and add the veggie mixture to the eggs. Ladle out the mixture (I used a 1/4 measuring cup) onto hot skillet or griddle.

In the meantime, heat the chicken broth and soy sauce to boiling. Add the sherry if you are using and then the five spice powder. Mix the cornstarch in a separate bowl with the (cold) water and add it to your boiling chicken broth. It was thicken instantly. Just let it boil just a few seconds and remove from the heat. Add the pepper to taste.

Frugal and Fancy Free: Monday Night Beans

One of my "resolutions" this year is to continue to make the most of what I have. Sometimes it might not seem like I have much. And most of the time even what I have isn't very fancy or inspiring. But this season in our lives has certainly made me more creative. And slightly crazy...but that's for another post.

This week I want to do a series of posts on what I do when the grocery budget is tight (or non-existent). There are tons of websites on frugal cooking. And frugal living. I am not going to tell you anything you haven't heard before. But trust me. There is nothing like trying to make something from almost nothing. If I can do it....so can you. Grocery shopping and meal planning has become sort of game for me. Sometimes it's infuriating. What do I fix for supper if all I have is a can of tomatoes and a few potatoes? Most of the time it's a challenge. How do I fit everything in my pantry that's the size of a Chinese takeout container? (I use space underneath my bed!)

Here is the dilemma. You have limited funds, but you want to create a healthy dinner for your family. The trick is to be creative with what you have. My goal for creating meals for my family is pretty simple. I want it to be tasty, healthy and pretty. It takes a little more effort to do it on a budget...but I have to say I get kind of a rush out it! 

Tonight's Dinner: Some Kind of Bean Thing In  A Pot

Beans are the absolute best food for Frugal Foodies. You can make large quantities. You can use them in a variety of ways. They are good for you. And let's face it...In my part of the world nothing beats a big ole pot of beans and ham, cornbread and greens. But I didn't make that tonight. I found a recipe that used canned beans (which I have in abundance).  I also have lots of dried beans as well, but I needed something quick I could stick in the crockpot. Mondays are swim lesson days and we always get home a little late in the evening.

The recipe I found uses a can of black beans (which I have), a can of kidney beans (which I couldn't find) and a can of baked beans (which I didn't have). It also called for a can of corn, tomato puree, an onion, some garlic and spices. Here is how I recreated the recipe (along with a few things to consider along the way). Everything I used (except for the meat) I had in my fridge or pantry from another trip to the grocery.

1. Don't be afraid of the Marked Down Bin! Embrace the Cheap! I  know when my local grocery store typically marks their stuff down. And I have been known to hover around while they are doing so. The guy who usually marks down the dairy aisle wasn't in today. I missed him. I hope he's not sick. I wonder if I should send soup. 

Today I found this in the meat aisle. And because I am married to a Carnivore I knew that it would be a perfect little taste to add to any bean dish I made this week.

2. Braising meat before you add it to any crockpot recipe really brings out the flavor. It only takes a minute...You don't cook it all the way through. Just brown it a little. Of course, if you are in a hurry just throw everything in the crockpot.

3. Don't be afraid to substitute ingredients. The original recipe called for different kinds of beans and tomato puree. I have some other tomato kind of things, but I am saving them for another meal. I brought out a thing of BBQ sauce (purchased from a Discount Grocery for .69) to help give the dish that BBQ flavor because I didn't have any canned baked beans. Everything shown here I had underneath my bed (except for the onions. And the garlic...'cause that would be just strange).

 4. Do not fear the spice! I love cooking with herbs and spices. My parents used to have a huge herb garden and while there is nothing like using fresh herbs the budget doesn't allow it right now. I also get my herbs and spices from The Dollar Tree, off the Dollar Aisle and pretty much anywhere I can save a buck. The white faded bottle is ground cumin. I love the smell of cumin! Eating cheap doesn't mean you can't eat tasty.

5. Don't be afraid to subtract from the recipe. It calls for a whole onion, chopped. But because I could only buy a few onions this week I just used half of an onion. This way I have another onion for another meal. I could have used a little bit of chopped celery for some extra crunch, but decided I would rather save it for another meal. I used 2 cloves of garlic. I buy it fresh. It costs next to nothing and there is nothing like fresh garlic. Of course, my hummus recipe is so garlicky it just has been known smack random people...

6. Get the family involved in meal preparation. You want to know how I learned to cook? By helping my Momma. She can make soup with a stalk of celery and a few handfuls of rice.  I've learned from the Master. I'm just passing it along.

7. Be sure you have the right tools for the right job. I tried to stuff everything into this little crockpot. I like to use it because it's easier to clean. But obviously I misjudged something. It looks like I might need to duct tape the lid down. Sigh. Oh well. So much for less to clean. Time to drag out the Big Dog!

9. Make each recipe your own. After lugging down my big crockpot (aka The Big Dog) I started adding my ingredients. I drained my beans to cut down on the sodium. I used about 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce and about 1/2 cup of beer. Yep. You read it right. Beer. We don't drink. Not even a nip. But I like cooking with it and when a whole liquor store was discovered in the barn on a farm my parents purchased it was put to good use. Okay. So it wasn't a liquor store, but there were literally 100's of bottles of beer (on the wall!). We've used it in bread, stews, sauces...It gives some recipes a wonderful richness. If you are squeamish about using alcohol to cook with you can use other ingredients and methods to make a recipe your own. Adding brown sugar or Worcestershire sauce would have been another option for this recipe.

I knew that when I took away the tomato puree I was removing some of the acidity from the dish. By adding the BBQ sauce I was putting some that tanginess back in. I also knew that crockpot cooking produces more fluids...not less. The pork, beer and BBQ sauce would help create a nice sauce just by simmering all day. I wasn't worried about the dish drying out.

*One of these days I will have to tell you a funny story about the beer and my parent's Rottweiler.

10. Add a few flavorful sides....To be honest I really wanted Zucchini. I had a hankering for it. But I let Josiah pick out the veggie and Zucchini is outrageous at the store. I know. It seems kind of odd to have corn as a side as well as part of the main dish...but I try and let Josiah help me decide part of the menu. That particular practice is supposed to help picky eaters...The jury is still out on that one.

Rice is always a good side. It is really inexpensive...I have a really easy way to cook it. Also because the bean dish relatively rich and spicy the rice is a nice foil. Sometimes I add a few things to my rice. Josiah likes it naked so most of the time I oblige him by leaving it alone.

Tomorrow night - I'm going to address my Asian Cravings with some kind of Beef Stir fry. Yum!

Have Wheels, Will Travel

Another weekend gone. My guys are crashed out in front of the tube watching an old Jerry Lewis movie. And giggling like a couple of girls. Don't tell them I said that. This particular Jerry flick has something to do with aliens. Now I appreciate a good alien show. I keep expecting Captain Kirk to beam down and straighten Jerry out. Or at least Doctor Who.

I need to share. This.

This treasure can be found in my Dad's barn (along with a number of truly puzzling items). And what is a boy to do with a lot of time on his hands and a big imagination?

Not to mention a medium sized hill.

And a sunny day.

Who needs a fancy sled? Or for that matter snow?



A guy just needs a set of wheels and a place to ride.

And ride.

At one point he lifted his hands for the ride down. Weeee! Those wheel chair rides can get pretty wild.





And back up he goes for another ride. If that's not ingenious I don't know what is.

I'm kind of afraid to see what he is going to do with the bedside commode that also resides in the barn.

Into The Deep

Excuse me. I have an announcement to make. Josiah made it to the deep end of the pool during swim lessons today! That was one big fat hairy deal. He had made a whole list of arguments on why swimming to what he refers to as "The Deep" was unacceptable (shark infestations and possible water contamination both made the list). But, thanks to the encouragement of his swim teachers and the bribe of a Big Mac he made it.

In honor of the occasion I thought I would post this never before seen photographic gem. It was also lurking in my photos of odds and ends I intend to share from time to time. I was attempting to take a picture of our Christmas tree this year. I got more than I bargained for. Josiah howled when he saw this picture. Nothing funnier than a random foot in front of a Christmas tree, apparently.

I just love this kid. Today he asked my thoughts on Joseph Stalin. What? Is he getting up and studying up on the Bolsheviks and The Russian Revolution while I'm asleep? Of course, you do realize that this is the same boy who gave us this.

And this.  Notice the Scotch Tape Armor?

Yup. We are raising quite The Guy.


Rebekah

Here Turkey, Turkey

If by chance you wandered onto my blog say between 11pm last night at 9:47 this morning you might have noticed I changed the template of my blog...again. You will just have to excuse me while I let my creative juices run amok. All this running amok has also prevented me from starting our school on time this morning.

But I have given myself 10 more minutes before jumping head first into our academic day. Josiah has a math test and we are currently doing a unit study on the United Kingdom (which is turning out to be a lot of fun). Swim lessons and church are on the schedule for later this afternoon and this evening...which means I need to get my act together. 8 more minutes to go!

I just thought I would share this with you.

Isn't that hilarious?! I know. It's a little after the fact. Thanksgiving is well behind us. But I had this pic stuck in a file I meant to share. Which is filled with other pics I meant to share. And share them I might!

Anyhoo. We were spending Thanksgiving with The Studly Muffin's side of our beloved family (the beautiful girl is our niece, Megan) and kitty just couldn't help herself. She kept creeping closer and closer. You can't blame her....I've been known to have the same reaction over pie.

Have a great day! (I'm one minute over!)

Rebekah

What a difference you made (In my life)

 Tonight I am kind of sad. My mom called me with some news earlier this evening. You see, Josiah and I often volunteer a Nursing Home in Joplin. Mom works there and we have all gotten really close to some of the residents. One of our favorite ladies passed away this morning.

This past summer Josiah and I spent some time with her in her room...watching old Westerns. And when it was time for the ladies to come have their nails painted she let Josiah paint her fingernails. She was one special lady. And brave. Very brave.

This is what is tough about being a parent. Sure. It gives me a great opportunity to talk about loss and love and eternity. But I am still working up to the Birds and the Bees talk and don't even get me started about Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. Call me a coward.

Tonight Josiah and I talked about our memories of this precious lady. He worried about losing other friends in the Nursing Home. We talked about seeing our loved ones again in Heaven. Heavy stuff for a Tuesday night at home over a plate of spaghetti.

Something else. It gets really easy to shut ourselves off from everything but what's in our own little bubble. Either we don't feel we have time or the energy to spare. Or maybe we don't want to get hurt or disappointed. But what a wasted life!

How much sweeter is living when you can share your life with others. You might never know what a difference you can make in someone's life...or what a difference they will make in yours.