By Request...

We all know that economic times are tough and we probably all have tightened our proverbial belts a bit. I however have always been a bit frugal. It's one of my frugal habits that my friend Dawn asked me to write about. I thought it was a worthwhile discussion so here it goes, red label meat and why I love it. First off for those of you that don't know, stores discount meats when they are getting close to their expiration date. There's nothing wrong with the meat they just need to sale quickly. Their need to sale and my need to save go together like peanut butter and jelly. To score these savings you need to know several things. You need to know when your store gets deliveries and when they generally do the markdowns.You also need to get there early. My favorite place to hit is Food Lion. I know they had that whole bleach thing in the past, but because of that I think they ruthlessly mark down meat now since they don't want Dateline showing up at their door again. My store generally does a big mark down on Tuesday mornings (I don't know if I should tell that since someone might be trying to get there before me, lol). Luckily for me I have a deep freezer in my garage and hence I have become the queen of the red label meat. Now you may have never considered this as a way to cut your grocery bills, but I'm telling you it's a great thing to consider. For example I found a pork lion on clearance that I will cut in half, hence getting two meals f($4/meal) from it and it was 40% off. This is the very reason I always chuckle at those morning show segments where they bring in some expert who will show the audience how to feed a family of four for $20. I generally come in under $10 for a family of 6. I'm talking meat, starch, vegetables and dessert. I also regularly shop at Aldi's and I'm not afraid of generics. I tend to cook from scratch rather than preboxed items. If you aren't afraid to crack open a cookbook the possibilities are unlimited. So next time you're at the store and they're marking down the meat, don't walk away, take a good look because you might just find tonight's dinner.

Green Thumb?

Well, I'm so excited. I'm going to try for a little vegetable garden in our backyard. I've opted to do a square foot garden and have gathered bits of information from the library, online sources such as this site. and my local extension service. I posted on freecycle to get the wood to make my boxes and I was happy to receive some. Mister has a friend who is a landscaper so I'm going to get the soil from him. I will purchase the plants as inexpensively as I can from big box stores. It was recommended to me to do plants rather than seeds and I agree. I think it will be a really fun activity for the kids this summer and fall, plus I hope to be able to put up some of what we grow. I want to grow some tomatoes, some green beans, some herbs, some squash and maybe some melons.
Can't wait for everything to come in. Nothing like growing your own food to make you feel like a real earth mother, lol.

Monday's Meal

I can't begin to tell you how much I love soup. I could eat it everyday, summer and winter. I especially like a hearty soup with lots of stuff! So, here's a recipe I thought I'd share. Serve it with some cornbread and you've got yourself a good meal. Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chunky salsa
8 ounces corn tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese




In a large pot over medium heat, saute the chicken in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with the Monterey Jack cheese and a little sour cream.

Monday's Meal

This is one of my favorites and my family really likes it too. I love it for it's simplicity and it's great flavor. It's a one pot meal, or you could even do it in the crock pot...whichever you prefer.

Chicken Stroganoff

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onion, thinly sliced and diced
1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
8 oz. of thinly sliced button mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you happen to like)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2" strips
1 cup of dry white wine
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tbsp bbq. sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in large sauce pan ( I use my large dutch oven for this) over medium heat. Add the onion and cook them until softened, about 7 mins. Add green pepper, mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook until mushrooms give off their liquid and are tender. Transfer just the cooked veggies to a colander for later, reserve the liquid in another cup. You should end up with about 1/2 cup of liquid. Return your pan to the heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Season your chicken with the remaining salt and pepper and then add it to the hot pan, cooking until cooked through and golden brown, when done remove chicken and set aside for later. Now pour the wine, broth and liquid vegetable reserve back into the pan and bring to a boil. With a spoon, loosen any brown bits stuck in the pan and cook into the sauce. Add the bbq sauce, worcestershire, mustard and hot sauce, whisking until smooth. Bring to a boil, boiling until it's reduced by half. The liquid should thicken, if you don't feel it's thick enough you can dissolve some flour or cornstarch in a bit of the liquid you remove from the pan and then add it back as a thickener. Reduce the heat and then whisk in your sour cream. Do not let the sauce boil. Add the chicken and vegetables back to the pan and simmer until heated through. Serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Monday's Meal

I love good food, I mean who doesn't really. The following is absolutely the best mac and cheese recipe I've ever had. It's absolutely the ultimate comfort food. Creamy and so filling. You can substitute different cheeses if you like, it's good either way.

Baked macaroni and cheese

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1 stick of softened butter + 1 tbsp
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces cubed processed cheese food (like velvetta)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 1/2 qt baking casserole dish or similar.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until just done; drain well and return to cooking pot. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 8 tablespoons butter; stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, combine the Muenster cheese, mild and sharp Cheddar cheeses, and Monterey Jack cheese; mix well. Now add the half and half, 1 1/2 cups of cheese mixture, cubed processed cheese food, and eggs to macaroni; mix together and season with salt and pepper. Transfer everything to the casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese mixture and 1 tablespoon of butter.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until cheese is melted and hot and bubbling around the edges.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Fields , a thrift store score and a bit of sewing

Yesterday O. and I went strawberry picking. I did most of the work since 1. O. hates bugs and was worried that one was on her, lol. 2. She said the bucket was too heavy. She's a riot, that one. It was pretty fun though and the berries were beautiful, big and sweet. I froze some to enjoy later and I have some in the fridge that I will make some strawberry bread, jam and strawberry shortcakes. I just love baking and especially when the ingredients are fresh and of a good quality. Good butter, great chocolate, fresh fruit and you have the makings of something fabulous.



Oh and I wanted to share my great score with you. If I haven't said so before I love thrifting. It's the best. I love finding the hidden treasure and the super score! Yesterday was one of those days. For $34 I got 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of slacks, 4 shirts, 2 books and a brand new coach bag that is the perfect size for my camera ($8). I was stoked!!! Gotta love the thrift store.




Last but not least, here's one of the outfits I made for the boys when I was having my day of "clothes for the boys". I think it came out pretty cute and I used my coverstitcher on the shirt (the neckline is fine even though I realize that it looks a bit wonky lying flat for the photo). I also did an applique for the first time. It was completely unintentional, but a happy mistake. Originally I was just doing some embroidery on the tshirt front and I guess I didn't pay close enough attention when I was hooping it because it wasn't until the last color change that I noticed that the shirt was hooped upside down. Never fear...I finished and then cut it out as a patch and put it on the jean shorts. All is well. The raglan tshirt is from Ottobre 3/06 and the jean shorts are from the Kwiksew for Children. I love that book and use it constantly. I think it's a must for any sewist sewing for her children. It gives you master patterns that you can mix and match to create much of your children's wardrobe. Even though the photography is dated, the designs are classic and easily adapted to todays styles.

Breakfast of champions

Last night before heading off to bed I mixed up a batch of cinnamon rolls. I've shared the recipe here before. They are so delicious and so good to wake up to. I left them to rise and this morning popped them into the oven. Ahhhh...the smell! Anyway, it is the perfect sweet indulgence. It's not lowcal or healthy, but every once and awhile it hits the spot. I brewed up some coffee, a dash of half and half and I'm all set to begin my day. It's raining out so I'm thinking this might be the perfect time to sew up a few things for the boys. I spend so much time making things for O. and of course indulging my purse fetish that I might go periods without sewing something for them. Shameful, but true. So today is all about my guys. I think I'll finish that camp shirt for M., a few tshirts with some cool embroideries, a couple pairs of shorts, oh and I have about 6 pairs of boxer briefs cut out. That should keep me busy.

Yummy chocolate goodness

I love to bake and M. is my able assistant, lol. Here's a pix of the cake we made the other day. We cut into it while it was still warm. It's so rich and chocolaty that you don't even need frosting. Yummo!!!

Animal, Vegetable...Miracle?

So I'm reading the Barbara Kingsolver book about living on a farm and trying to return to a simplier time, eat what our local earth provides and supporting an effort to make less of an environmental impact with the choices we make. It's enlightening. I think about this stuff constantly. So I think I'm going to make more of an effort. I mean hey I'm making other changes so why not this one too. I don't know about the whole organic thing, but I think I will look into being part of a CSA and also shop more at the farmers market. Things are so delicious from there. I love the freshness and that it helps keep the livelihood of local farming alive.
On another note. I'm planning on resigning my position on the parenting board. I'm a bit sad, but it's time. I'm not getting anything out of it and I have such a limited amount of time that I truly don't want to waste it on that board.