Sunday, March 30, 2014
New week and new adventures
I'm posting this mainly because I want to be held accountable to FINISH a craft project I start. I went to Jo-Ann's fabric store today and bought some goodies to attempt to make some toddler sized pull-ups training pants. Then the snaps to make them easier to get off and on if they are icky. They had a 50% off sale on something called Babyville Boutique items. So wish me much luck on this endeavor. I'm also going to try to use some old jeans that are unwearable to make some chicken saddles for those with chickens who have a need for them. Just want to practice and see if I'm any good at this sort of thing. I also saw this really neat vid on youtube on making rolls of unpaper towels I'd like to try. :-)
Friday, March 28, 2014
Pizza Night!
Okay so everyone loves pizza (or you hope they do). Do you buy the pizza at the local Pizza Hut, Convenience Store, or Walmart? Or is your homemade from a chefboyardee pizza kit or pizza dough packet?
Pizza can be a really easy thing to make once you catch the hang of making your own pizza dough. My trick to a non-soggy crust is to pre-bake the crust for about 5-6 minutes before adding sauce and the toppings. This awesome little meal can be whatever you want it to be by whatever toppings you choose. Chicken, Bacon & Ranch, pepperoni, sausage, bacon cheeseburger, taco, veggie, or just cheese.
Pizza Dough Recipe
1 Tbsp dry yeast (1 pkt)
1 C warm water
3 C flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C salad oil
Dissolve yeast in warm water, then add sugar, salt, and oil.
Then add 1 1/2 C of the flour and beat until there are no lumps. Add the remaining flour.
Let raise in the bowl for 30 minutes and then cut in half to make two pizzas.
Put the pizza dough on a lightly greased pizza pan or cookie sheet (shape does not matter). Spread the dough to the outer edges of the pan and then poke with the fork all around the crust. Repeat with the other crust on the other pan. If your dough tears at all, just pinch it back together. It's okay, the world will not end if your pizza crust isn't perfect.
Pre-bake the crust in a 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes. Crust will not be browned but will have the look that it isn't wet anymore. Take it out and then add your ingredients of choice and top with cheese.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and even crispy brown. It's your pizza, whatever way you like it, cook it!
Pizza can be a really easy thing to make once you catch the hang of making your own pizza dough. My trick to a non-soggy crust is to pre-bake the crust for about 5-6 minutes before adding sauce and the toppings. This awesome little meal can be whatever you want it to be by whatever toppings you choose. Chicken, Bacon & Ranch, pepperoni, sausage, bacon cheeseburger, taco, veggie, or just cheese.
Pizza Dough Recipe
1 Tbsp dry yeast (1 pkt)
1 C warm water
3 C flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C salad oil
Dissolve yeast in warm water, then add sugar, salt, and oil.
Then add 1 1/2 C of the flour and beat until there are no lumps. Add the remaining flour.
Let raise in the bowl for 30 minutes and then cut in half to make two pizzas.
Put the pizza dough on a lightly greased pizza pan or cookie sheet (shape does not matter). Spread the dough to the outer edges of the pan and then poke with the fork all around the crust. Repeat with the other crust on the other pan. If your dough tears at all, just pinch it back together. It's okay, the world will not end if your pizza crust isn't perfect.
Pre-bake the crust in a 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes. Crust will not be browned but will have the look that it isn't wet anymore. Take it out and then add your ingredients of choice and top with cheese.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and even crispy brown. It's your pizza, whatever way you like it, cook it!
Ideas for pairings of sauce and toppings:
- Taco
- sauce
- refried beans with taco seasoning added and hamburger (cook til warm)
- cheddar cheese
Bake those together and then add:
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes (ro-tel is good)
- chopped onion
- crushed tortilla chips
- taco sauce
As I said, make whatever you want and whatever you or your family likes best. Just don't go and spend a fortune going out to eat when you can make it at home and bake it later or right then. :-)
Chocolate No-Bake Cookies Recipe Day!
Who says a woman can't have chocolate? Seriously, don't miss out on some good comfort food every once in a while. This crazy recipe is one that many kids who had Home Ec classes would make back when we had home ec. Those of you who know what I'm talking about remember these things and can NEVER find the right recipe anymore that can make these things without oozing all over the wax paper. Grrr...
Other serving suggestions for these are to add some mini robin eggs in the center if you want to make this an Easter themed yummy to allow you an excuse to make them. Who cares if it is at least 3 weeks from now!
I'll post a pic of what the cookies look like later when I make them BEFORE everyone eats them all!
Chocolate No-Bake Cookies!
2 C Sugar
1/2 C Cocoa
1/2 C butter or margarine
1/2 C milk (or 1/4 c water + 1/4 c evaporated milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C peanut butter (optional)
3 C Oatmeal
Directions:
1. Put sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk into a saucepan and set the burner to medium heat. Mix until butter is melted. Keep stirring just to keep the mixture from scorching. When it comes to a rolling boil, keep stirring and let it boil for at least 3 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and then add the vanilla and stir well. Add peanut butter if you want or leave it out of the recipe.
3. Add the oatmeal and stir well.
4. Drop by spoonful onto wax paper to dry and cool.
5. Kick all people out of the kitchen and keep them out of them or they will all be gone in less than a 1/2 hour.
Other serving suggestions for these are to add some mini robin eggs in the center if you want to make this an Easter themed yummy to allow you an excuse to make them. Who cares if it is at least 3 weeks from now!
I'll post a pic of what the cookies look like later when I make them BEFORE everyone eats them all!
Chocolate No-Bake Cookies!
2 C Sugar
1/2 C Cocoa
1/2 C butter or margarine
1/2 C milk (or 1/4 c water + 1/4 c evaporated milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C peanut butter (optional)
3 C Oatmeal
Directions:
1. Put sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk into a saucepan and set the burner to medium heat. Mix until butter is melted. Keep stirring just to keep the mixture from scorching. When it comes to a rolling boil, keep stirring and let it boil for at least 3 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and then add the vanilla and stir well. Add peanut butter if you want or leave it out of the recipe.
3. Add the oatmeal and stir well.
4. Drop by spoonful onto wax paper to dry and cool.
5. Kick all people out of the kitchen and keep them out of them or they will all be gone in less than a 1/2 hour.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Eggs? What do I do with them all?
I got a little behind on mine last fall and donated some to a local food pantry. I cut egg cartons in half so it could help more folks. Then after I brought my eggs to a more reasonable amount, I hit the search engines to find recipes and how to store my excess eggs. I was surprised to see how long FRESH from the chicken eggs last even at room temperature. Two months or more depending on if I washed them or whatever. So I found some great recipes and uses and will share an awesome one in this post today.
Egg Noodles
2 eggs
1 C Flour
1/2 tsp salt
Mix the flour and salt together with a fork. Make a well in the center and put two eggs in the center. Beat the eggs first and then bring in the flour from outside the well to mix into the eggs. When fully mixed it is a sticky mess. You will put this out onto a lightly floured board and knead it. Do this about 5 minutes until it is a nicer shaped ball without any clumps left of dry flour. Let sit for about 5 minutes or so. Cut this in half and roll out SUPER thin 1/16" or less on a floured board. Then take a pizza cutter or a sharp knive and cut whatever size noodles you want them to be. (Think lasagna to linguine sizes too) Then lay these cut pieces on a wire rack or pasta rack to dry at least 30 minutes. No more expensive Amish noodle packages or the frozen packaged noodles! You can totally dry these things and put in the freezer if you have any left. (but you won't)
To cook these noodles, toss them in boiling water or soup and cook until al dente.
I've had to cut mine into smaller lengths so people don't steal too many out of the pot and leave others without. If you are gluten free, you can substitute your own gluten-free flour that works best for you. You do not have to use semolina flour to make good noodles. Just jump in and give it a try. You can make spaghetti, wide noodles, linguine, lasagne, ravioli, and even pizza rolls from this stuff. The trick is 'thin' to make a nice noodle. If you have a picky eater in the house, let them help you make this and they will eat their work.
Have a great day!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Chick Days and Knowledge
If you've been to any of your local farm or feed stores lately you've surely heard the peep peep noises from certain dedicated store areas to these little fuzzy bundles of cuteness. Those little bundles of cuteness can control your life in some of the worst ways if you aren't careful and get sucked in.
Last year I was concerned about the high cost of food and wanted to become a little more self-sufficient in providing a little bit of relief to that hefty food bill we were getting. It really annoyed me that many of us living from check to check have to give up some types of foods over others due to the high prices of some of the basic necessities. EGGS were one of those things. Those little packaged items are priced like gold when you want to get them from the store. Brown eggs costing more than white eggs and heaven forbid we shoot for free-range eggs and pay even more! One thing I want to get off my chest right now is that: EGG COLOR DOESN'T MATTER! All egg color represents is the various breeds lay different color eggs. Same eggs no matter what color have nutrition in them. The color of the yolk is determined on the diet of the chicken who lays them. Yes, store bought eggs look anemic with the pale yellow color. Many of those eggs come from hens that are in cages and are fed a diet without all the other things that most barnyard chickens get. Ignore the call for vegetarian fed chickens too. Chickens are NOT vegetarians. They are OMNIVORES. They eat meat, they eat veggies, they eat grains, and they eat stuff that might just gross you out... BUGS! It's okay and fine for them to eat these other things. Their bodies need it for proper nutrition and nourishment.
Anyhow, if you want to take on a few birds to try for eggs and have never done this before... chickens really aren't that hard to raise. Note that chickens are livestock and you will need to check into the laws in your locale on whether you can even have any at all or if they have an anti-roo law. Also check if you have a maximum amount of chickens you can have. Chickens are meant to be kept in outdoor housing. Not in your house in your living areas. Yes, we might bring in chicks that we are brooding and under a light source for heat when it is cold outside, but ideally they need to be in a coop. So items you need to get started are more than just those fuzzy chicks. Get yourself knowledgeable first before you let a child or your nurturing side take over and just buy a bunch of cuties. Are your kids or you going to show your birds at shows? Are you only wanting eggs? Are you wanting meat? Are you willing to eat your chickens? Questions galore. I don't want to scare anyone off of birds, they are fun and easy... but they can be work as well.
For more info on raising chickens there are some good resources on that on the internet. Be careful of the fun groups that people dress their chickens and treat them like family. This is NOT healthy for the chicken or you if you think this is acceptable. Think Salmonella. Be safe and remember these things do poop and can't be trained to only poop in certain areas or poop at times on a leash or something. Poop carries bacteria. Bacteria can make you sick. Think about it.
My hangout with chickens that has had the best info and a little fun mixed in is:
Buckeye Chickens on Facebook
Also check out their blog:
http://americanbuckeyeclub.blogspot.com/
There are a few more places I frequent on the net including various college pages with legit info on them that can be of use. You want facts, not fluff. Check your local county extensions or their websites for 4-H related info as it is of better use than almost all of the poultry magazines aimed at backyard chicken enthusiasts.
I'm going to end this blog today on this note. Do some research. Buy the basics to raise a few chicks if you want. A plastic tote, heat lamp, feeder, waterer, shavings are the second step. Pick breeds that are easier to work with for climate to your locale, temperament, and size of egg or bird you want. Then make or buy a coop with a small yard attached. Free range if you want, but be prepared for hawks, eagles, fox, coyote, coons, possums, neighbors dogs, and other predators to come in between you and your chickens. Leash laws in towns mean NOTHING to stupid owners that let animals loose after the animal control officer is off work for the day or weekend. Don't give predators a free lunch. Contain your birds and keep them safe. Be a good steward for your birds.
PS: Just checked my email in one of the many email services I use and found this little goodie for $30 worth of stuff from Manna Pro. Check this link and sign up to get a booklet for Poultry Related items: http://info.mannapro.com/poultry--coupon-book-email-offer
Last year I was concerned about the high cost of food and wanted to become a little more self-sufficient in providing a little bit of relief to that hefty food bill we were getting. It really annoyed me that many of us living from check to check have to give up some types of foods over others due to the high prices of some of the basic necessities. EGGS were one of those things. Those little packaged items are priced like gold when you want to get them from the store. Brown eggs costing more than white eggs and heaven forbid we shoot for free-range eggs and pay even more! One thing I want to get off my chest right now is that: EGG COLOR DOESN'T MATTER! All egg color represents is the various breeds lay different color eggs. Same eggs no matter what color have nutrition in them. The color of the yolk is determined on the diet of the chicken who lays them. Yes, store bought eggs look anemic with the pale yellow color. Many of those eggs come from hens that are in cages and are fed a diet without all the other things that most barnyard chickens get. Ignore the call for vegetarian fed chickens too. Chickens are NOT vegetarians. They are OMNIVORES. They eat meat, they eat veggies, they eat grains, and they eat stuff that might just gross you out... BUGS! It's okay and fine for them to eat these other things. Their bodies need it for proper nutrition and nourishment.
Anyhow, if you want to take on a few birds to try for eggs and have never done this before... chickens really aren't that hard to raise. Note that chickens are livestock and you will need to check into the laws in your locale on whether you can even have any at all or if they have an anti-roo law. Also check if you have a maximum amount of chickens you can have. Chickens are meant to be kept in outdoor housing. Not in your house in your living areas. Yes, we might bring in chicks that we are brooding and under a light source for heat when it is cold outside, but ideally they need to be in a coop. So items you need to get started are more than just those fuzzy chicks. Get yourself knowledgeable first before you let a child or your nurturing side take over and just buy a bunch of cuties. Are your kids or you going to show your birds at shows? Are you only wanting eggs? Are you wanting meat? Are you willing to eat your chickens? Questions galore. I don't want to scare anyone off of birds, they are fun and easy... but they can be work as well.
For more info on raising chickens there are some good resources on that on the internet. Be careful of the fun groups that people dress their chickens and treat them like family. This is NOT healthy for the chicken or you if you think this is acceptable. Think Salmonella. Be safe and remember these things do poop and can't be trained to only poop in certain areas or poop at times on a leash or something. Poop carries bacteria. Bacteria can make you sick. Think about it.
My hangout with chickens that has had the best info and a little fun mixed in is:
Buckeye Chickens on Facebook
Also check out their blog:
http://americanbuckeyeclub.blogspot.com/
There are a few more places I frequent on the net including various college pages with legit info on them that can be of use. You want facts, not fluff. Check your local county extensions or their websites for 4-H related info as it is of better use than almost all of the poultry magazines aimed at backyard chicken enthusiasts.
I'm going to end this blog today on this note. Do some research. Buy the basics to raise a few chicks if you want. A plastic tote, heat lamp, feeder, waterer, shavings are the second step. Pick breeds that are easier to work with for climate to your locale, temperament, and size of egg or bird you want. Then make or buy a coop with a small yard attached. Free range if you want, but be prepared for hawks, eagles, fox, coyote, coons, possums, neighbors dogs, and other predators to come in between you and your chickens. Leash laws in towns mean NOTHING to stupid owners that let animals loose after the animal control officer is off work for the day or weekend. Don't give predators a free lunch. Contain your birds and keep them safe. Be a good steward for your birds.
PS: Just checked my email in one of the many email services I use and found this little goodie for $30 worth of stuff from Manna Pro. Check this link and sign up to get a booklet for Poultry Related items: http://info.mannapro.com/poultry--coupon-book-email-offer
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Tuesday is replenishing day!
So today is a day of replenishing the basics of items in the pantry. So today's job will be to make Chocolate Syrup, Laundry soap, and baking bread. The dish soap recipe has already been posted with the link in a previous article. As I walk through this blog, I will be posting the links to the recipes to give the author/creator of the recipes the credit they deserve. I will also try to post the good, the bad, and the ugly of testing recipes so I know not to use them again in future blog ramblings.
Chocolate Syrup recipe is from:
http://www.kitchentreaty.com/homemade-chocolate-syrup/
And makes 1 pint of syrup. You can reuse your chocolate syrup bottle, but wait until your syrup it totally cooled down before putting it in the bottle.
Bread Recipe is from:
Betty Crocker Gold Medal Classic White Bread
Lower the temp by 25 degrees and only bake 15-20 minutes for a less dark crust. No need to butter the outside. I've found that tossing a tea towel or kitchen towel over them helps keep the crust softer before packaging. You will need an electric bread knife for this one as it is as soft as store bought bread.
Laundry Soap Recipe is from:
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html
Feel free to jump in at anytime to make a recipe and even tweak it a little to make it your own unique recipe. We took the bread recipe to a new level by adding colored sugar and cinnamon before rolling it up and baking it. It was for our St. Patrick's Day meal.
I hope you enjoyed the blog today. Go ahead and get off the computer and try something new. Thanks for stopping by!
Chocolate Syrup recipe is from:
http://www.kitchentreaty.com/homemade-chocolate-syrup/
And makes 1 pint of syrup. You can reuse your chocolate syrup bottle, but wait until your syrup it totally cooled down before putting it in the bottle.
Bread Recipe is from:
Betty Crocker Gold Medal Classic White Bread
Lower the temp by 25 degrees and only bake 15-20 minutes for a less dark crust. No need to butter the outside. I've found that tossing a tea towel or kitchen towel over them helps keep the crust softer before packaging. You will need an electric bread knife for this one as it is as soft as store bought bread.
Laundry Soap Recipe is from:
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html
Feel free to jump in at anytime to make a recipe and even tweak it a little to make it your own unique recipe. We took the bread recipe to a new level by adding colored sugar and cinnamon before rolling it up and baking it. It was for our St. Patrick's Day meal.
Canning to Save Time and Money - Getting Started
I just started to can things with a serious goal in mind last year when I got a call to come 'help yourself' to a bunch of green beans, corn and blackberries that got away from the folks who planted too much. Since we all know that we really can't snarf down mass quantities of green beans several days in a row without massive groaning from the family members, we have to do something with our tons of food we bring home from the store, pick your own produce places, or from your own garden. Many of us waste too much money on food from spoilage and those items we could have frozen, dehydrated, or even canned them for use later on. I'm guilty of this and I know I'm not the only person in the world to lose something in the fridge that would later become the fuzzy science experiment. So in order to get started on canning I had to have the basics. So here's the general start up list for canning:
- Jars (Wide-mouth & Regular)
- Pint
- Quart
- Half-pint
- Half-gallon
- Gallon
- Pint and a half
- Lids & Rings
- Waterbath (Acidic, Fruits, Tomatoes)
- Pressure Canner (Low Acid, Meats, Beans, Vegetables)
- Canning Jar Tongs
- Plastic headspace measure and bubble remover thingy
- Free online study course & food preservation materials
- Join various Facebook Canning and Preserving pages
- Utilize the local county 4-H Extensions in your area for testing used pressure cookers or getting a specialist to come teach you how to can safely if it is available in your area.
Take advantage of food sales at the different times of the year and save your fruits, veggies, and meat in jars so that when their cheap season is over that you will have a stash to hold you over. We buy our hamburger on sale at the local grocery store, brown it and then can it in pint jars for use for any hamburger dish meals to add to a mix or pasta/sauce combinations. By storing meats in jars, you free up your freezer and also prevent that sad occasion when electricity is lost or your fridge or freezer dies and your food has gone bad. Trust me, it's more than canning for the Zombie Apocolypse. You worked hard for your money and don't just throw it down the drain with spoilage. We are far too reliant on our appliances and need to know how to handle a crisis before it happens, even if it is deciding whether to eat chicken or hamburger while trying to get to a dance class in 45 minutes. Grabbing the jar of whatever and heating it up in 5 minutes and tossing other ingredients to create a meal with it to be ready in 15 or so is better than sitting in a drive thru for 10 and still waiting for the special order to be done in another 5 or so. We've made our own lives hell with being slaves to fast food and restaurants. Time to wean ourselves from this and know what we are eating and where our money is going.
I'm just at the beginning stages of this blog and will hit these main topics first and then throw in my recipes for the day if there is something new I haven't posted yet. Thanks for stopping by and maybe joining in this back to the basics movement. :-)
Monday, March 24, 2014
Laundry on the Cheap! Quit giving your money to the BIG companies!
Here's your penny pincher post of the day. As with this blog being my go to page with like personal favorite bookmarks for items we use in our daily lives, I will post pages to save them for you or my kids to be able to look up without fighting with Google Search.
Here's my story about stepping away from those horrible plastic jugs of overpriced laundry soap. Last summer I found this awesome recipe online at Budget 101 for the Laundry Sauce.
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html
My first recipe was made with Dove soap with the rose scent and it was okay. It smelled good so I made a little more. Second batch oozed over the top of the stove since I didn't keep stirring it like I should have. LOL! At least my stove got a good cleaning! The third time I made it was with the Fels Naptha bar as it shows in the recipe. I grated it and set it aside. The toddler decided to try it because he thought it was cheese. Needless to say, he won't try that again! I also set it up out of his reach, so keep that in mind when you have little helpers around. I'm needing to make more this week to restock the pantry.
Here's the ingredients for those of you to buy to make this and then make sure you bookmark the page the recipe is on as it gives a step by step walk-through on making it with PICTURES!
Mom's Super Laundry Sauce
Fels Naptha Bar
20 Mule Team Borax
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
2 Regular Mouth Quart Jars -- with lids and rings
Blender
You will pay less for all these ingredients that will give you enough soap for approximately 128 loads of laundry. It averages about $2 or less per jar as the borax and washing soda makes about 3 batches overall. The jars can be bought at second hand stores for as little as 25 cents each and you can re-use lids and rings from your canning endeavors. Check tomorrow's post on canning if you haven't gotten involved in that highly addicting past time.
Thanks for stopping by to read my page! Hope this helps you to keep a few dollars in your pocket so you can save it for something fun for yourself!
Here's my story about stepping away from those horrible plastic jugs of overpriced laundry soap. Last summer I found this awesome recipe online at Budget 101 for the Laundry Sauce.
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html
My first recipe was made with Dove soap with the rose scent and it was okay. It smelled good so I made a little more. Second batch oozed over the top of the stove since I didn't keep stirring it like I should have. LOL! At least my stove got a good cleaning! The third time I made it was with the Fels Naptha bar as it shows in the recipe. I grated it and set it aside. The toddler decided to try it because he thought it was cheese. Needless to say, he won't try that again! I also set it up out of his reach, so keep that in mind when you have little helpers around. I'm needing to make more this week to restock the pantry.
Here's the ingredients for those of you to buy to make this and then make sure you bookmark the page the recipe is on as it gives a step by step walk-through on making it with PICTURES!
Mom's Super Laundry Sauce
Fels Naptha Bar
20 Mule Team Borax
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
2 Regular Mouth Quart Jars -- with lids and rings
Blender
You will pay less for all these ingredients that will give you enough soap for approximately 128 loads of laundry. It averages about $2 or less per jar as the borax and washing soda makes about 3 batches overall. The jars can be bought at second hand stores for as little as 25 cents each and you can re-use lids and rings from your canning endeavors. Check tomorrow's post on canning if you haven't gotten involved in that highly addicting past time.
Thanks for stopping by to read my page! Hope this helps you to keep a few dollars in your pocket so you can save it for something fun for yourself!
Diving in and going back to the basics
You never realize how you come to a point in life that you feel like you aren't getting anywhere until you reach it. Times now demand so much of our money to even feed our families or just have the basics with never a chance of frills and total fun frivolous things. We watch our neighbors swapping out cars every two years while we drive old beaters with over 200K miles on them that are paid for. We see fancy gadgets, jeans, power tools, and even kitchen appliances that we might hope to have, but will not be able to afford unless we work more hours or cut back on our spending to SAVE for it. Just recently we decided to make more items from scratch so that we aren't getting all the preservatives AND to just save money. No coupon clipping, as that was a fruitless venture of actually spending more money to buy the items that I probably WOULD NOT have bought had there not been a coupon for it in the first place.
So, while hitting this little time in my life of new recipes and adventures in baking, cooking and even making my own cleaning supplies, many times I've been asked for recipes that I've been making. So this little blog will become my journal AND my go to cookbook for anyone and everyone to follow along. I encourage all who read this to take a little time out of their day to make their own things. Quit relying on large companies to make your things for you and never know what all the ingredients are or if they are safe for you to eat. Remember just recently that a nationwide sub sandwich chain decided to take a certain ingredient out of their recipe after it was found it was also used to make yoga mats? Blech! Do you really want to eat that? What if I told you that bread is actually easy to make by hand? You don't need an expensive KitchenAid stand mixer or an expensive bread machine... all you need is a large bowl and a fork. So you say yeast packets are expensive? I agree with that, but if you buy it in the little jars and use 1 Tablespoon of yeast in the recipe for each package a recipe calls for, you can make bread for at least 1/2 the price of buying store bought.
Also, I hear people complain that it takes too long to cook a meal when their families are hitting all the after school or evening family activities and want to hit a fast food place because it takes too long to cook. Well, guess what... canning, freezing, or precooking meals on a day that you aren't running like mad will SAVE you time, money, and stress. In this blog we will look at living on a dime, learning how to cook, learning how to can, learning how to bake, how to care for chickens, gardening, and just tons more bits of info so you can survive the great recession without near as much fear. Feel free to interact and share your favorite recipes, garden plans, or whatever has helped you through the rough times. Welcome to the blog!
So, while hitting this little time in my life of new recipes and adventures in baking, cooking and even making my own cleaning supplies, many times I've been asked for recipes that I've been making. So this little blog will become my journal AND my go to cookbook for anyone and everyone to follow along. I encourage all who read this to take a little time out of their day to make their own things. Quit relying on large companies to make your things for you and never know what all the ingredients are or if they are safe for you to eat. Remember just recently that a nationwide sub sandwich chain decided to take a certain ingredient out of their recipe after it was found it was also used to make yoga mats? Blech! Do you really want to eat that? What if I told you that bread is actually easy to make by hand? You don't need an expensive KitchenAid stand mixer or an expensive bread machine... all you need is a large bowl and a fork. So you say yeast packets are expensive? I agree with that, but if you buy it in the little jars and use 1 Tablespoon of yeast in the recipe for each package a recipe calls for, you can make bread for at least 1/2 the price of buying store bought.
Also, I hear people complain that it takes too long to cook a meal when their families are hitting all the after school or evening family activities and want to hit a fast food place because it takes too long to cook. Well, guess what... canning, freezing, or precooking meals on a day that you aren't running like mad will SAVE you time, money, and stress. In this blog we will look at living on a dime, learning how to cook, learning how to can, learning how to bake, how to care for chickens, gardening, and just tons more bits of info so you can survive the great recession without near as much fear. Feel free to interact and share your favorite recipes, garden plans, or whatever has helped you through the rough times. Welcome to the blog!
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