My Perfect Pantry: A Cookbook Review

My oh my, I cannot wait to have my own kitchen in less than 3 months! Thanks to Geoffrey Zakarian and his fantastic cookbook, My Perfect Pantry, my mouth is watering and I have the cooking bug. I am really impressed by this book. It has everything I like from a cookbook and more.

The introduction shares Geoffrey's view of the pantry from childhood to cook and is a very sweet start. He shares his list of must have pantry spices and ingredients. There are a total of 50 ingredients that he talks about. Each section includes information about the ingredient. I really liked this bonus information. I learned a lot about BBQ sauce that I did not know and will have a lot of fun sharing with my BBQ sauce lovin' husband. Then there are 3 recipes using the ingredients. This is my favorite part, there is a picture of every single dish! I really like to see the dish before I make it and so this feature alone would have made me happy. He includes so much more and that is what makes this book worthy of making space in one of our moving boxes for.

The recipes are so easy to understand and use ingredients I can actually find. I can't wait to start cooking with this book and experiencing some new flavors!

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.



More Info

Author Bio

The Marjoram-Ipecac Experience

***This is a public service announcement***

My son cannot eat foods that contain the seasoning: Marjoram!

It will induce vomiting between 9 and 10 hours after eating it.

Thank you!

It has already been a roll with the punches kind of week. Our schedule and routine has been up in the air since finding out one week ago that Adam's grandma was dying. Since her death Friday afternoon we have been busy helping his mom with funeral arrangements. We made posters, drove to pick up Jayne's uncle from college, and last night attended the wake. Adam's parents were kind enough to bring cheese, meat, and bought gluten free crackers for us to have as a snack at the wake since we went there straight from our drive to and from Lacrosse. We thought it was very nice of them and thought nothing of it.

Come 4:00 am we burst out of bed to help our poor vomiting son. Apparently, we have not told them about Jayne's marjoram issue. We figured this out a couple of years ago that Jayne will vomit, usually twice, 9-10 hours after eating food containing marjoram. Generally he doesn't like the taste of it and complains about eating it. This seasoning can be found most often in Italian seasoning blends, red sauces, and sausages like kielbasa and summer sausage. The thing is that salami is fine and we thought that was what we were eating, but no.

So here I am at 6:00 am still wide awake. On the up side I had time to read my Bible devotional, Bible reading, and chapter 7 of No More Perfect Moms, which is ironically entitled "No More Perfect Days". Today has certainly been far from perfect but nothing a nap after the funeral can't fix. We also learned a very important lesson, pay more attention to what our son is eating and also to make sure he knows what to avoid. He is very good about avoiding gluten because he is well informed, but we just don't encounter marjoram as much so we have failed to keep him well informed.

The Kitchen Ecosystem: A Book Review

A large box came in the mail. What is this?! it was The Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone. The box and mounds of bubble wrap were a bit much, but the book did come in pristine condition. It is quite the heavy tome. The cover is beautiful and the pictures throughout are wonderful. The introduction was very inspirational. It really got me thinking about how I have and can use so many of the food things I tend to toss out from bones to carrot tops. Eugenia talks about creating your own kitchen ecosystem where your meals are interconnected with each other and where there is less waste. I love the concept. I can't wait to implement it in my own kitchen, when I finally have one again.

I know many people who would love this book. It has creative recipes and they look mouthwatering. The problem that I have is that so many of the "staple" ingredients in her book are not available in our small town grocery store. Corn, check. Carrots, check. Chicken, check. Lobster, duck, fennel, not so much. The likelihood that I would be able to make many of these recipes is very slim. The one thing I really liked in this book was the variety of broth and stock recipes that can use leftover bits and bones. It is an awefully big book to keep around for that handful of recipes though.

I am inspired by the concept of this book. I plan to take Eugenia Bone's advice and create an ecosystem in my kitchen. I plan to use my own recipes with the foods available in my area. She doesn't recommend simply following her recipes, she wants you to create an ecosystem of your own and is simply showing how she has done it. In concept I give this book a 5 out of 5, but if I had purchased this book for myself, I would have been sorely disappointed. So, I will average it out with a midrange 3.

• More Info


• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

World Travels in the Works

World Travels with Delbert and Dinah has been a very fun part of our homeschool in the past. I already mentioned that I will be bringing the series back. I have spent a long time thinking about what I want to do with it. There are countries to choose, artwork to make, and words to write. I made the decision to re-write the previous posts, add the new countries, and make it into a pdf book. I still plan to post it on the blog, but a pdf book will put all the information into one easy to read spot.

There will be some other changes as well. Instead of using photos, I will be creating original artwork for each country. Delbert and Dinah will be sharing geography from a Biblical view. They will share stories of missionaries, historical significance of the areas they visit, and Christianity in the area. Not all of these will be in every story, but I want it to be the underlying theme that binds them all together. The letters will still be fun to read and not too heavy for smaller kids. I may also rearrange the countries so they follow a more route like flight instead of the random line they once were.

It will take a while to put them all together, but I hope to post the studies along the way. Did you want to know the countries we will be covering? Here they are:

England

Italy

USA

Mexico

Egypt

Easter Island

China

Hong Kong (possibly, since they are technically part of China)

France

Greece

India

Mongolia

*Guatemala

*Netherlands

*Ireland

*Saudi Arabia

*Australia

*Starting Letter

 

*(from first series)

This would make a total of 18 months of geography letters. I hope you are excited about them as I am!

Lost in Translation: A Book Review

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders is a beautiful little book. I was expecting a large coffee table book, probably paperback. Instead I opened my package and found this adorable hardcover book that is not much bigger than a steno pad. The cover really describes it well when it says it is "an illustrated compendium of untranslatable words from around the world."

Each two page spread is set up the same. The first page is a solid block of color with a short paragraph describing what the word means and the language the word comes from. The second page contains original artwork from the author with the word and the definition. It is very interesting to see which languages feel it necessary to have words for certain things like a third cup of coffee or the way your heart beats before leaving for an exciting adventure.

This is a great coffee table book, and it won't even take up your whole coffee table. You will enjoy the artwork and learning a little something about the languages of the world.

 

• More Info


• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Let Us All Eat Cake: A Book Review

Cake, it is not normally Gluten free and that is a problem for our family. Let Us All Eat Cake by Catherine Ruehle with Sarah Scheffel is devoted to gluten free cake. How can you not want to peek inside with a scrumptious cover like that?

When the book came in the mail I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was hardcover. It is a beautiful and well constructed book. There are so many recipes for cakes, frostings and sauces. Plus there are tips and instructions for decorating your tasty treats. The photographs in this book are simply stunning. They are not always of the recipes though. I love a cookbook that has photos of each recipe. I want to know what it is supposed to look like so I know if I have screwed up. This book has many pictures, but way more recipes than pictures. The recipes also include vegan ingredients so I assume that they may be vegan recipes as well.

Over all, it is a gorgeous book. My husband loves to bake and I know he will be thrilled when I surprise him with this book. I also know I will enjoy the fruits of his labor. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars because I really want to see what the food looks like, less pictures of peaches and spoons, more cake slices.

• More Info


• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The One Year Devotions for Active Boys: A Book Review

Get ready for this unique devotional that is available on October 1st. I am so happy I had the chance to review it. Each page of The One Year Devotional for Active Boys is jam packed with impactful devotionals and activities that keeps your active boy engaged by what he is reading. The activities include hands on crafts and science experiments, interesting weird facts about our world, word puzzles and more.

Each day is different in it's message and activity. The lessons are applied so well to a boys life, too. The book could be used well by about any boy but I feel like the reading and activities are geared to rough ages 9-14. To walk you through a day I will give you a tour of January 24, which I found especially interesting. The first half of that day's page is the story of Stephen being stoned to death for his faith and how he could have prayed for them to stop but chose to pray for those attacking him instead. There are some deep questions about how you react to being mistreated. Then there is an experiment in which we replicate a crocodile stomach and see how the stones they eat can crush food. Ultimately learning about how rocks can really destroy things, like poor Stephen. At the end there is a prayer prompt and a Bible verse. Each day is laid out in a similar manner. There are stories of serving others, both biblically and in the present, mighty warriors, health, generosity, and having faith in God every day. This is a fantastic devotional designed to run from January to December and is labeled for each day. I highly recommend it, and just dive right in with your active boy!

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Happy Anniversary City Church!

Yesterday City Church celebrated their one year anniversary! One year ago This church was planted in the middle of Montreal. They are reaching out to their community and impacting them for Christ. We are so looking forward to joining them in Montreal and being a part of this budding church. You can learn more about City Church on their website. If you feel called to do so you can also send a donation if you scroll to the bottom of their site.

[caption id="attachment_1220" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The red dot is City Church.[/caption]

A Week of Fun Leading Up to Roald Dahl Day

I actually didn't know Roald Dahl had a day. A few weeks ago I found out that September 13th is Roald Dahl day and I knew we could have a lot of fun with that in our homeschool.

Diary of a First Child has a great list of things to do, eat, and watch. Her list includes a link to the entire BFG movie on youtube, which I didn't even know existed. We watched BFG On Monday. On Tuesday we ate peach cups for snack while watching James and the Giant peach on Netflix. We also checked out Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (that's the newer one) and Matilda from the library. We are planning to watch Chocolate factory as a family and have a candy extravaganza. I picked up some peanut butter M&M's and Sour Patch Kids for the occasion. Unfortunately, Willy Wonka candy is not gluten free.

We also read The Enormous Crocodile and are reading Matilda because it is mister's favorite. We haven't read either before and they have been so much fun. The Enormous Crocodile is a quick read and is very silly. It is a great Roald Dahl book if you are reading with younger kids with shorter attention spans.



 

Prepping for Christmas on a Budget

Christmas?! Yeah, I know. You just barely sent your kids back to school and it is no time to be thinking about Christmas, right? Wrong! If you want to spend a small fortune on gift giving for this mega-bucks holiday, do it during December. If you want to do it without breaking the bank, start early.

In my normal world, where I know I am not leaving the country before Christmas, I would be about done right now. We thought we might be leaving in the fall and planned to send gifts from our new home. Now we are leaving after Christmas and I am grasping at straws a bit. I can swing it though and if you haven't started your list yet, you can swing it with me.

One thing to take into consideration right off the bat is why we are giving. If you celebrate the commercial Christmas where Santa brings toys to all the children and we buy each other expensive stuff because it is good for the economy, go ahead and keep it up. If you are celebrating Christmas because of Christ this particular paragraph is for you. God gave us the gifts of love, grace, and eternal life through Jesus. We share gifts with each other to remind us of the gifts that God gave us. Keep that in mind as you go forward with your list. Your gifts should be thoughtful and meaningful to the one you are giving it to.

Now that you have taken a moment to sort out your gift giving mentality, lets hop into the frugal giving tips.

1. Nix the Budget!

What?! I know you are thinking I am going to go hog wild, but that is not what I mean. I receive gifts from people who spend a particular amount of money on me. I tend to get one or two thoughtful gifts from them and then a pile of stuff that was purchased to fulfill the budget. When we went through three years of purging our stuff, those things were the bulk of what we were getting rid of. It adds up over the years. It doesn't make that person feel special, just curious as to where they will put the new doodad.

 

2. What Price do You Count?

So you really want to spend a minimum amount? I know some of you feel obligated, I do too with some people. Stop looking at the price you paid for a gift and start looking at the value of it. We often find awesome sale/clearance prices or maybe even something for free. Instead of looking at what we actually paid we look at what the gift is actually worth. If I got a book for free but it normally costs $14.99, look at the $14.99 and give the gift that price mark.

 

3. Consumables Make Great Gifts!

Food, soaps, candles, they get used and then they are gone! The recipient enjoys your gift and it doesn't take up extra space in their home. Win, win!

 

4. Shopping for the Hardest Person.

Do not wait on this one! Always keep this person in the back of your mind. You might still get them a gift at the last minute, but at least you will not have missed an opportunity to get them something that shows you care.

 

5. Someone Wants Something Specific.

It never fails that someone has a gift request. If you want to give them the one thing they want begin looking for it on sale. Our son wanted a specific Lego set for Christmas this year. We found it on clearance at Shopko. Shopko, at least in our area, tends to have crazy stuff on clearance. You just never know what you will find there.

You have my best tips for getting your mentality in the right place. Now it is time to obtain some gifts. Here are some of the ways that I get gifts to give.

1. After Christmas Clearance

It is the best clearance of the entire year! Just remember not to buy things because they cost so little but because they would be perfect for the person you plan on giving it to. A couple extra things for impromptu gifts are ok, but let's not go crazy here.

 

2. Trading

In the past I have done many trades with fellow Etsy shop owners. You never know who will be up for a trade though. If you have a toy, movie, or whatever that you no longer need, there may be someone who is in the same situation and would like to make a trade with you.

 

3. Handmade

Cook, sew, or whittle your way to your next gift. The options for handmade gift giving are pretty much endless. Not only do you make something for less cost, you make something that is one of a kind and may become a beloved family heirloom, or get eaten and that's good too! Just make sure you give yourself enough time to get your projects done. Check out Pinterest for a plethora of DIY ideas.

 

4. Freebies

Yesterday I raved about Money Saving Mom. Last year I signed up for every freebie I could. I got k-cups, tea samples, makeup and more. These I was able to add to small gifts to basically make a little gift basket for people. This year I am doing book reviews for Blogging for Books and Tyndale Blogging Network. I receive a free book in exchange for doing an honest blog review. Some of those books are being gifted forward this Christmas. I share how much I like a book and now someone else will spread the word about it as well.

Do you have some great tips of your own for doing Christmas on a budget? I would love to hear them!

Money Saving Mom One of My Favorite Blogs

I have been blogging for a long time (9 years) and my favorite blogs have come and gone. Right now one of my favorite blogs is Money Saving Mom! If you haven't seen this blog yet, get on over and check it out.

The writers at Money Saving Mom share tons of printable coupons, information about earning money from home, and freebies galore. Last year I got tons of free goodies to add to my Christmas gifts over the course of the year. It is where I heard about Craftsy's free online classes, Blogging for Books and Tyndale Blogging Network (free books for blog reviews), and have gotten so many free Kindle books that I may not be able to read them all! I don't find something every day but it has been totally worth a peek on a daily basis for me.

Check it out! You'll be happy you did.

A Month of Meals: Your Questions Answered

Welcome back! Today I am answering your questions about my series on planning your menu on a monthly basis and on a budget. If you missed one of the posts, you can find them here:

Intro and Monthly Menu Planning

The Recipes

The Shopping List

Freezer Cooking Day

 

Were you able to get the BBQ sauce stain out of the table cloth?

Ha ha, yes! We finished all of our food prep after wiping off what we could. Then I coated the stained areas with my Norwex dish soap. I let it sit while I gathered up some other laundry to put in with it. It all went into the laundry with some homemade laundry soap. In the end you can't even tell it happened. I started freezer cooking at 5:00am on the weekend so it was all back to normal before my parents even got up.

What was your menu like on $100 a month?

I relied heavily on the dollar a day meals website. Unfortunately, the site is no longer up. We had soup 4 nights a week and nearly every meal was accompanied by homemade bread or biscuits. I spent a lot of time cooking in those days. We also weren't gluten free then and that made a huge difference.

Were all the recipes a hit with the family?

All but one went over well. The Italian chicken with potatoes and green beans was not our favorite. It was a bit sour, like eating an entire bag of salt and vinegar chips, which I love. It won't be making it onto another menu. The rest were fantastic.

Have more questions? I would be happy to answer them!

How to Survive a Sharknado: A Book Review

Have you been concerned about your ability to survive a Sharknado or other unnatural disaster? Now you can be prepared with Andrew Shaffer's book How to Survive a Sharknado. I have been seeing this movie everywhere, online, Netflix, Amazon. The whole idea is so absurd that I thought I'd never watch it. Seeing the book really piqued my interest. I signed on to review the book.

I wanted to be prepared and to give the book a fair review, so I watched the movie. It is totally absurd! So absurd that it is downright hilarious. Now I was psyched to read the book. I was not disappointed. How to Survive a Sharknado has a letter from Fin at the beginning and one from his ex-wife at the back. Both are characters from the SciFi film. Shaffer also peppers the book with actual facts bringing the book to life for the readers.

The appendices are not to be missed either. Two different supply lists are included. There is a quiz to find out how well you would do in the case of an unnatural disaster. And excerpts from other scifi books. My favorite part of the whole book was in a highlighted section of the Cave Bear information. He quotes Stephen Colbert's opinion on bears and it was hilarious.

I was impressed by the full page illustrations for each topic. The layout of the whole book was incredibly well done. Plus I am prepared for the inevitable icenado we are likely to get this winter.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

• More Info


• Read Chapter One


• Author Bio

 

A Month of Meals: Freezer Cooking Day

We have our menu, our recipes, and have done our shopping. Now it is time for food prep. What I love about this particular menu is that the food prep is so incredibly easy. Most of the items are already frozen. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the bag and you are ready to go. I did my freezer cooking in just under 2 hours from beginning till the last hand washed dish was dried.The first thing you will want to do if you are following my menu is cook your ground meat. This is the only actual cooking involved in our freezer cooking day. You will want to drain it and also let it cool before putting it into the bags. While you are waiting for the meat to cook start writing up your bags. I label them with their name, special instructions like adding water or what to serve it over, the date, and cooking instructions.

Once you are ready to put the food in the bags you want to do two things. First puff up the bag and zip it shut. gently squeeze to make sure there are no holes in the bag. We had a major mess on my mom's white table cloth because half a bottle of BBQ sauce gushed out of a hole in one of our bags. You live and you learn, right. Second flip the zip top out. This helps the bag to stand on it's own and hold the mouth of the bag open.

Now it is just a matter of tossing the ingredients in the bags. This menu is well designed for freezing. With just a bit of work you will have those quick and easy frozen meals we all love the convenience of using. In this 2 hours you will have 26 meals done for the month, just heat and serve. Okay, some of them will be served on rice or pasta, but that is quick and easy to whip up.

Now is the time for your questions! Ask in the comments or where ever you have seen this series. Tomorrow I will answer all your questions and link back to all the posts in case you missed one. See you then!

You can find the rest of the series here.

A Month of Meals: The Shopping List

So far we have our menu and our recipes. Today it is time to go shopping. It is good to plan the menu a bit to the shopping. If you know that a recipe calls for half a bag of frozen veggies you might as well make it twice or select another meal that will use the rest. You can't buy half a bag after all and it keeps costs down if you buy 1 bag instead of 2 bags in which only half is used.

A few notes on my shopping list. We generally buy Kraft because their company is always upfront about gluten in their information. You can certainly get some of these things for less if you do not need gluten free. Also, I don't have milk on my list. I didn't even think about it. My mom does daycare and always has a ton of milk on hand. We have bought maybe 2 gallons of milk since we moved in. You can save by buying dry beans and rehydrating yourself. We just don't have the option for so much cooking. I also bought my pesto in two small jars. You could save a lot by making it yourself or doing a pesto sauce mix. Let's dive into the list now.

A Month of Meals Shopping List

 

Can Aisle

$1.58 Can Tomatoes and Peppers (Rotel) $.79 X 2

$1.58 Can Black Beans $.79 X 2

$6.36 Can Pineapple Tidbits $1.59 X 4

$1.58 Can Tomato Sauce 15 oz $.79 X 2

$6.16 Can Tuna $.77 X 12

$1.99 Sweet and Sour Sauce $1.99 X 1

$1.99 Ranch Dressing $1.99 X 1

$3.96 Italian Dressing $.99 X 4

$2.98 BBQ Sauce $1.49 X 2

 

$28.18 Can Aisle Total

 

Dry Goods

$5.98 Small Jar Pesto $2.99 X 2

$4.76 Box Au Gratin Potatoes $1.19 X 4

$5.97 Box Pasta $1.99 X 3

$7.98 Fritos Corn Chips $3.39 X 2

$4.09 Sushi Rice $4.09 X 1

$2.99 Parmesan Cheese $2.99 X 1

$2.69 Soy Sauce $2.69 X 1

$6.36 Corn Tortillas $1.59 X 4

$11.16 Box Cereal $2.79 X 4

$24.00 Oatmeal $6.00 X4 (We buy our gluten free oatmeal on Amazon)

$1.49 Jar Spaghetti Sauce $1.49 X 1

 

$84.25 Dry Goods Total

$112.43 Total so far

 

Cooler/Deli

$11.97 Hamburger (or other ground meat) $3.99 X 3 lb

$3.98 Cream Cheese $1.99 X 2

$4.99 Shredded Mozzarella 16 oz $4.99 X 1

$8.89 Shredded Cheddar (fine shread goes farther) 32 oz $8.89 X 1

$2.99 Cottage Cheese 24 oz $2.99 X 2

 

$32.82 Cooler/Deli total

$145.25 Total so far

 

Freezer

$20.97 Bag Frozen Chicken Tenderloins $6.99 X 3

$3.87 Frozen Green Beans (2 cut, 1 sliced) $1.29 X 3

$3.98 Frozen Corn 32 oz $1.99 X 2

$5.96 Frozen Stir Fry Veggies $1.49 X 4

$1.99 Frozen Broccoli $1.99 X 1

$23.96 kinnikinnick Donuts $5.99 X 4

 

$60.73 Freezer Total

$205.98 Grand Total for Meals

If you are eating 3 meals a day you are done for a grand total of $205.98 for your month! This leaves plenty of room in our family's $300 budget to add some of our favorite snacks. On our snack list we have the makings of meat and cheese topped rice cakes, veggies and dip, and apples and peanut butter. I also added in a head of leaf lettuce each week to add to our meals and use in taco salad the days we make our taco filling. So here is the rest of my shopping trip with our snacks included.

Snacks

$8.00 Rice Cakes $2.00 X 4

$9.98 Deli Meat (to be frozen in 4 bags) $4.99 X 2 lbs

$11.98 Sliced Deli Cheese (to be frozen in 4 bags) $5.99 X 2 lbs

$9.96 Fresh Cut Broccoli $2.49 X 4 Buy Weekly

$9.96 Fresh Cut Cauliflower $2.49 X 4 Buy Weekly

3.98 Dressing as Dip $1.99 X 2

$11.92 Apples $1.49 X 8 lbs Buy 2 Lbs (roughly 4 apples) weekly

$5.36 Peanut Butter $2.68 X 2

$5.16 Leaf Lettuce $1.29 X 4 Buy Weekly

 

$76.30 Snack Total

$282.28 Grand Total

Our grand total with snacks is $282.28. We are still $17.72 under budget. I am more than willing to admit that our snack costs are quite high. You could probably cut that back a lot but I am not worried about splurging because we are under budget.

It took me about an hour to wander around getting all these prices and doing the math. Now that I have my prices I can refer to them later to make my budgeting faster in the future. I will probably add these items and prices into my grocery app to make it even easier as I can make up my shopping list in it and it will add everything up for me and even sort by food type making my shopping trip super fast.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="230"] Mighty Grocery Shopping List Free I have the paid version but they have a free version now![/caption]

What are some of your go to snacks? I would love to see that go down a bit.

You can find the rest of the series here.

A Month of Meals: The Recipes

Yesterday we looked at planning the menu. Today I am sharing all the recipes I am using for my menu. I love getting recipes from Pinterest and many of these recipes are from there. You can follow me on Pinterest here.

The first 6 recipes can be found at Stacy Makes Cents. I used chicken tenderloins instead of breasts and did one for each of us in each bag. We aren't big meat eaters. It would be easy to swap out chicken for other types of meat as well. There is no cooking involved in the meal prep and we have loved 4 out of 4 of them that we have already tried.The Hawaiian BBQ Chicken comes from Six Sister's Stuff. They have fantastic recipes! I have tried several of them. We will be serving this dish over rice in our monthly menu.

Baked Ziti is from Amusing Foodie. I half the recipe for our family and use gluten free pasta of course. I also use cottage cheese instead of Ricotta.

That last 3 are family originals. I haven't made them in a long time so I don't have any pictures. They are super quick and easy though.

Corny Chicken

Ingredients (all to desired quantity):

Chicken

Corn

Salt

Pepper

 

In a sprayed casserole dish put chicken. Top with corn. Season with salt and pepper. Bake on 350* for 30 minutes or till chicken is done. Enjoy!

For freezer cooking simply toss everything into a bag and freeze.

 

Beef and Broccoli with Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked hamburger (I will be splitting 3 pounds between the 4 freezer bags that require hamburger)

1/2 bag frozen broccoli

2 T olive oil

garlic to taste

1/2 box of pasta

 

Toss everything but the pasta into the bag to freeze. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or till hot. Cook pasta and toss with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper if desired. Toss pasta with the broccoli and beef and serve. Great with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

 

 

Mermaid Hair Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked hamburger

1/2 bag frozen sliced green beans

1/2 jar spaghetti sauce

Pasta or rice to serve over

 

Toss the hamburger, beans, and sauce into freezer bags to freeze. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or heat on the stove top. Serve over rice or pasta. This dish is named for the stringy green hair of the mermaids in Harry Potter.

 

Our lunch and breakfast meals don't have recipes. We really just wing it on those. Tomorrow we put together the shopping list, see the prices, and take a look at the grand total.

Have any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments or share some of your favorite recipes on a budget.

You can find the rest of the series here.

A Month of Meals: Intro and Monthly Menu Planning

Welcome to the first of a week long series on menu planning and grocery budgeting. Today I am going to give an intro and share how I go about planning our meals a month at a time. Tomorrow I will be sharing the recipes I will be using for my 4 week menu. Thursday we'll focus on the grocery list and shopping. Friday is all about freezer cooking. Saturday I will be posting a review, answers to questions in the comments section, or social media, and a link back to all the posts in case you missed one.

Our food budget has been low for a long time. Our budget is currently at $300 but has been as low as $100. Some things to take into account if you want lower your food budget:

• Don't buy boxed or frozen meals. They are costly, filled with junk, and also wastefully packaged


• Be prepared to cook from scratch.


• Stop serving "family" style. By dishing the plates in advance you can make sure everyone has appropriate serving sizes and you can pack up leftovers if you intend to split a meal into two or more meals.


• Is someone still hungry? Instead of adding seconds, add a salad or apple slices with peanut butter.


• Don't plan a different meal for each day of the month.

Right now our family has some unique needs. Yes, we are gluten free, but that is not what I am talking about. We are living with my parents while we wait to go on mission in Montreal. My mom is a bit territorial over the kitchen so we need to be able to get in and out as quickly as possible. There is limited food storage space too. Plus my mom usually cooks dinner for us but when she doesn't I end up finding out at supper time. While it is true that we personally won't be using all of this month's meals this month, we will keep them stored in the freezer for the month or two that Adam will not be working before our leave date. All these things I kept in mind as I began looking for meals to add to our menu. So, let's get started planning the menu!

I planned a 4 week menu for September. For us it starts today and goes to the last day of the month. That means we need 28 suppers, 28 lunches, and 28 breakfasts. That sounds a bit daunting, I know. When you stop trying to think of 28 different meals for each, it gets better. Variety is great but it is also expensive and time consuming. On a normal basis, I would make a new menu each month. We keep the meals that we aren't tired of to the next month and add new ones. We'll start with supper because it has the most variety. You will notice that some of the recipes make enough for 2 meals for our family of three and I have taken that into account.

Supper

 

Make 2 of each.

 

Pesto Chicken and Green Beans: 2 meals

Mexican Chicken Taco Stuffing: 4 meals

Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry: 4 meals

Ranch Chicken and Potatoes: 2 meals

Italian Chicken Stir Fry: 2 meals

Italian Chicken and Potatoes: 2 meals

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken: 4 meals

Corny Chicken: 2 meals

Baked Ziti: 2 meals

Mermaid Hair Casserole: 2 meals

Beef and Broccoli Pasta: 2 meals

 

All but the ziti will be included in freezer cooking.

 

 

Lunch

 

Onigiri (rice balls) 3 days per week: 12 meals

Tuna Quesadillas 3 days per week: 12 meals

Leftovers once per week: 4 meals

 

Leftovers may include left over, reheat, meals or any food that is close to date. Mix and match and turn it into something new.

 

 

Breakfast

 

Donuts once per week: 4 meals

Oatmeal 6 days per week: 24 meals

Cereal 6 days per week: 24 meals

We are not huge breakfast people. We usually add peanut butter or fruit to our oatmeal. Lunch is a busy kitchen time here so I tend to do onigiri, which can be made in advance or quesadillas which are super fast to make. Donuts with hot chocolate are a special treat on Friday mornings. It is important to budget in something special. This isn't some crazy diet and it shouldn't be a punishment. We really look forward to Friday mornings and we make it a special family time.

That seems to be it. We have all the meals planned for the whole month. The next step is to get all of our recipes together and I will see you tomorrow for that!

Have questions about planning the menu? Ask them in the comments and I will make sure to get them answered!

You can find the rest of the series here.

Comparing Ourselves to the Manicured Gardens

[caption id="attachment_19" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis[/caption]

Look at this house. It is beautiful and quaint. Who lives inside? We all will see something different in this house. I see a gorgeous home with manicured gardens. I imagine the people who live there are fairly well off in careers they love. They have exactly the number of children they always wanted and they behave. It is a home filled with love and earthly perfection.

You can look at any home and make assumptions about the situation inside based on the appearance outside. Those manicured gardens and beautiful walls are only shells masking what is inside. Inside this home might be a couple on the verge of divorce or a family who can barely afford the payments of a too expensive home. Who ever it is that lives here, you better bet that they aren't perfect. They are struggling with something just like each of us.

The problem comes when we compare ourselves to the façade. We look at a big beautiful home and compare our lives and situation to it. We are inundated with Facebook feeds that present only the highest highlights of each others lives. We build a façade on ourselves and do our best to only show our best. Then we look at the people around us and think, "Their life is better than mine."

When we compare ourselves to the manicured garden of someone else's life we are being very unfair to ourselves. We aren't even comparing our problems with their problems. We are comparing ourselves to our own ideas of what their perfect life must be like. So, ultimately, we are transposing our ideals onto the people around us and then saying that we are the ones that are lacking. What?! It sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? But I bet you have done it just like I have.

Let's be real and realistic. I don't want people to think my life is perfect, not that I think anyone does, and I don't want to think your life is perfect either. We all deal with stuff everyday. We each have our own unique frustrations and trials. Let's spend our time giving each other support and love instead of creating ridiculous standards that no one can live up to. Let's live life like it was meant to be, full of love, hope, and support.

Playing Pirate

Our little guy loves to play in the bathtub. He is getting older though and now he mostly takes a shower. Today's theme for Illustration Friday made me think of how kids grow and change over time. This tub time scene captures a single moment in the metamorphosis every child makes into adulthood.

World Travels With Delbert and Dinah

When we did kindergarten we selected Little Passports as part of our curriculum. We really loved it and Jayne loved getting a package in the mail every month. Then we had some big life changes and knew that it just wasn't in our budget. So we finished the second half of the school year by creating a DIY Little Passports type series called World Travels With Delbert and Dinah. It was a hit with our son and with our readers.

We stopped when kindergarten was over because our little guy's interests had moved from geography to math, go figure. Below I have the entire series linked. As we near our move to a new country, geography is beginning to perk our son's interests again. So, we are considering bringing the series back. What do you think? Would you like to see us bring it back?

World Travels: Introduction

World Travels: Guatemala

World Travels: The Netherlands

World Travels: Ireland

World Travels: Saudi Arabia

World Travels: Australia