We Got an Earth Machine

No it isn't really a machine (Kaden was sorely disappointed that it was a "real machine"). But it does make earth. We have been wanting a better composting system for a long time, what we had just wasn't really working. Metro (our regional governmental body) offers the Earth Machine for $35.00 which is quite a bargain. The only problem is that the only place they sell it is a long way from my house and isn't near anything else I would want to go to. With gas prices the way they are, I just couldn't justify the drive for a composter.

Today I was talking to my dad (who was talking on his cell phone while driving - boo-hiss! As soon as I found out he was driving I made him "hang up and drive!") He told me he was going to the Metro place to get some paint. "Hey, while you are there Dad . . . ." He called me back about 10 minutes later to tell me I was the proud owner of an Earth Machine!

I set it up in about 3 minutes and it is already making compost for me. Hooray! It will take a while to transfer the old pile to the Earth Machine (I don't want to overload it). But this is a happy day! Go Earth!

Jill

Missing: Camera (last seen at sister's house)

I have misplaced my camera. I know I didn't lose it, I'm sure I just put it somewhere that I can't remember right now. I just really can't remember! I last remember having it at my sister's house, I was showing her some pictures I had taken and now I can't find it! (I think maybe she stole it - yeah, that's it!)

Needless to say, it is really hard to have a blog when you have no camera!!!

So, while I frantically try to find my dang camera - I will be posting without pictures or with pictures that I took awhile ago that don't actually fit with what I am posting. Sorry. Life is like that.

Anyone seen a camera lying around?

Jill

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I caught the three of them on the couch the other day. I'm pretty sure Hubby had sat down and, like any normal 40-something man, sleep snuck up to him and attacked.

The other two just wanted to be like Dad.

They never outgrow it do they?

I'm so glad they don't.

Jill

Menu Plan Monday - July 27 - Aug 2

Check out Organizing Junkie for lots of other menu plans - lots of great ideas!

We are expecting lower temperatures here for the next few days (70's instead of 80's - it's rough here in the Pacific Northwest). So I'm planning my meals accordingly. Even though we have A/C I don't like to turn on the oven and bake something when it is really hot out. Also, I'm not in the mood for "cold weather food" when it is hot. Plus, I'd really like to not spend too much this week, because I'm just like that. So here is what we are eating:

Breakfasts:

• I'm going to make waffles early in the week and we will eat the leftovers off and on later in the week.
• Granola with berries (we are going blueberry picking this week - $1.00 a pound!)
• Cereal with berries (got a good deal on cereal at Grocery Outlet)

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Easy Bean and Cheese Rounds (I'll double the batch this time)
• PB&J's

Dinners:

• Jim's Favorite Potato Dish, salad, breadsticks
• Cheddar Broccoli Soup, homemade wheat rolls
• Braid Bread (a Jill Creation - I'll post the recipe after I make it so that I have pictures!), salad, fruit
  
• Tamale Pie, fruit salad, rice pilaf
• Frito Salad (later in the week when the weather is warmer)
• Tuna Salad (only hubby and I will eat this, I'll make something else for the kids)

Snacks:

• Banana Bread
• Granola with berries
• yogurt with granola
• Chewy oatmeal fruit bars (a recipe I found on the Quaker Oatmeal canister, I'm going to try them for the first time)

So that is the week. Let's see if it actually looks like that in reality!

Jill

Bringing My Chickens Home

I have been posting less than usual and my posts have been lackluster at best.

Where have I been? I've been fighting city hall!

As many of you know, I have pet chickens in my backyard. Before I ever purchased a single chicken, I called the city of Gresham (where I live) and asked what the rules were regarding chickens in the city. I was told, “The technical code states you must keep your coop 100 ft from any neighbor’s house. But the reality is that the city isn’t going to come looking for your chickens. As long as your neighbors don’t complain it is fine. So, keep your coop clean and don’t have a rooster.” With the size of my yard I can't keep it 100 ft from every neighbor but I took their word that they wouldn't come looking for my chickens. For the last three years I have followed their advice. I have kept my coop clean, kept my chickens quiet, made sure there were no pests (mice, flies, etc) and gave fresh eggs to my neighbors. For three years I have never heard one single complaint from any neighbor. Then my neighbor, who I will call Mr Grouch, called in to Code Enforcement because he was mad about our cat crossing his property line and called on our chickens to get revenge. This neighbor has "issues" with every single neighbor in the neighborhood. He complains about people's dogs, about how loud our kids play, about how fast people drive, I swear sometimes he's mad 'cause we breathe too loud!

I got a notice from the city - I was given two weeks to remove the chickens from my property.

Now these chickens aren't just a source of fresh, free-range, amazing eggs. They are also my children's pets! (Well, my pets, too, I love my little feathered girls!) They also eat all my kitchen scraps and turn them into fertilizer and eggs. They also eat the bugs out of my yard. They are pretty useful - a lot more useful than all the dogs in the neighborhood and a lot quieter! (Please note that I have nothing against dogs. I'd have a dog if I wasn't married to a man who was bit by a dog and isn't a big fan of canines!)

So, did I roll over and say "Yes, please take my chickens away. I really am interested in keeping the neighborhood grouch happy by taking away my children's pets."? No, I did not.

First, I found a place for my chickens if they need to move for a short time. Actually, they will be moving to the neighbor on the other side of Mr Grouch. Their lot is the last one next to a green space and they are able to keep the coop 100 ft from every neighbor. In a strange twist which we can only credit to Divine Order, she had decided to get her own chickens about two weeks before this whole thing happened and had started to build an enclosure for a coop. So, my husband is helping them with their coop (actually building for them), which will look just like ours.

Second, I got a two week extension. So now I have some time to work with.

Third, I set out to change the code. Portland, right next door, allows hens as long as coops are 25 ft from neighbors. I'm trying to get the law changed in Gresham to reflect that. I've gotten statements of support from Seattle Tilth, statements from Portland State University sustainability professors, statistics regarding the "nuisance"-ness of chickens versus dogs (only because dogs are an example of an animal allowed under the code), and statistics on the healthiness of free-range eggs. I know who I need to talk to and who I need to convince.

I'm going to change the laws. I'm going to legally bring my chickens home.

Jill

Apple-Oatmeal Bars Again!

(This is part of Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food Finale. This week she is highlighting all the foods that didn't fit in a category before! Check it out for more frugal food ideas.)

Do you ever have that last apple in the fruit basket that is a little too wrinkly to eat? You know, it isn't exactly bad, but it isn't good either. I finally found something to do with it - make Apple Oatmeal Bars! I love this recipe because it is cheap (I actually found the recipe in my Tightwad Gazette book), uses stuff that I always have on hand, and is actually kind of healthy for my kids. A triple threat! Oh, and it is easy to make. A quadruple threat? Is there such a thing?

First thing you do is peel and chop your apple (or apples). You can make this with one apple but it is even better if you have two. If you only have one, you can supplement with dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, some peeled sliced pears, or maybe even raisins. Chop the fruit so it looks like this:You don't want to mince it, just cut it into bite size pieces. (If you use blueberries, please, please, please don't try to cut them and then complain to me. Blueberries and cranberries are fine just the way they are, folks!). Set your apples aside and mix in a bowl:

1 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour (I use 1/2 c whole wheat, 1/2 c white flour, cause that's just how I roll)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix it together like you would for a pie - mix the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter. It should look somewhat like this:Then you take half of the mixture and pat it into a 8x8 pan. Pat it down nice and hard, you are making the bottom crust. Spread the apples (and/or whatever else you are using) over the bottom crust then sprinkle 1/2 c. sugar over the apples (sometimes I use a little bit less than this, it sometimes seems a little excessive. Sometimes, depending on the time of the month, it seems ridiculously skimpy!) Now take the other half of the oatmeal mixture and crumble it over the top of the apples/sugar. You don't want to press this time (although I have in the past and it isn't bad, it is just better with a streusel topping.). Now bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let it cool then cut into squares and serve. If you really want to gild the lily (and who doesn't, really?) you can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. Yum. Here is the recipe all in one place (for those type A's out there!).

Apple-Oatmeal Bars

Combine in a bowl:

1 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 cup flour (can use part whole wheat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pat half in a 8x8 pan. Layer on top:

2 1/2 c. chopped apples

Sprinkle with:

1/2 c. sugar

Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Jill

Only the Best Waffles, Ever!

Don't you love it when you finally find the perfect recipe for something? You know, that peanut sauce that tastes exactly like the local Thai restaurant? Or those biscuits that taste just like you remember from childhood? I'm always on the lookout for the Perfect Recipe for everything. My husband claims that someday I will find the One Perfect Recipe and I'll stop reading cookbooks.

I don't think so.

But I can cross one perfect recipe off my list - waffles! I have been looking for a recipe for waffles that is crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and not doughy. I have finally found it and even better, it is super easy. You make them the night before and let them rise in the fridge overnight. Then add a few quick ingredients in the morning and bake 'em up. These are only the best waffles, ever.

Yeasted Waffles

This recipe originally came from the book Bread For Breakfast, by Beth Hensperger. I have altered it to work better for me. The original recipe calls for brown rice flour, not something I keep on hand. I substituted whole wheat flour and increased the proportion of wheat flour to white flour. It is healthier and uses stuff I have on hand.

The night before you want to serve them, place in a large bowl:

1/2 c. warm water
2 1/2 teaspoon yeast (one package)

Allow the yeast to dissolve for about 5 minutes or so. Make sure you use a really big bowl, the batter will double in size overnight and you don't want waffle batter all over your fridge!

To the bowl add:

2 cups warm milk. It just needs to be kinda warm, not really warm.
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white all purpose flour

Mix well. I use a wire whisk for this and beat it really good. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a lid if the bowl has one) and put it in the fridge over night. In the morning it will look something like this:
It is bubbly and frothy and way more than twice the size it was last night. This is good.

To this mix you add:


2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda


Whisk everything until it is smooth and the eggs are completely combined. Pour into your waffle maker and close the lid.

Wait patiently.

Ok, not so patiently because they smell really good while they are cooking! When the waffle iron says they are done (or when most of the steaming stops) open the lid and behold the perfect waffle.

Try not to moan as you eat it because your children will mock you. Ask me how I know.

Serve with butter, syrup and/or jam. I eat them plain while I am cooking the next batch, because they are just that good.

Notes:

• You can play with the proportions of flour. If your family wants all whole wheat, try it. I never have but I've done much higher proportions than half and half.
  
• This is a good way to introduce your family to whole wheat if they are resistant to the idea, the whole wheat adds a nice crunch without weighing the waffle down.
  
• I have used less butter and added a little unsweetened applesauce with good results.
  
• I always, always, always make a double batch and freeze the extras. They reheat well in the toaster and that way I can serve waffle for breakfast without doing any work. Yeah, me!
  

Enjoy!

Jill

Menu Plan Monday

This is going to be a weird week. First of all, I will only be cooking for 4. My two oldest girls are going to camp for the week and so it will just be Hubby, and my two youngest. Lunch will be leftovers because I'm not sure I can cook for only 4! I am speaking on Wednesday at camp and so Carina and Kaden are spending the night at various places Tuesday night so that I can leave early Wednesday morning. I may only have to cook for two that night - oh my! (maybe a dinner out with Hubby?)

So this is what I have planned but things may change depending on how the week goes. The main goal is to not spend money! I'm trying to use up produce in the fridge, and once-a-month-cooking meals from the freezer. Since my veggie girl is going to camp, we will be meat heavy this week. We usually have at least three vegetarian meals a week, this week will probably be zero!

Breakfasts

• cereal, berries, milk
• toast with jam, fruit, milk
• One-eyed Egyptians, fruit
• smoothies (berries, bananas, juice, etc)

Lunches

• leftovers (I'm sure there will be lots)
• PBJ's, applesauce
• Pad Thai (ok, this one is just for me and Hubby, the kids don't like it. I found a reasonable approximation that I can make at home - it isn't real Pad Thai but it is noodles with veggies and peanut sauce. I'll try to post the recipe this week)
• Mac and cheese - the youngest two love this the older two, not so much. So this week is the perfect time to serve it, I almost never do because it isn't "real" food.

Dinners

• Lentil stew with added kale, cabbage, quinoa, and barley. Bread and salad.
  
• Red beans and rice, tortillas, veggies from the garden
• Meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans from the garden
• Taco-Stuffed Shells, rice, salad
  
• Pesto Pasta, bread sticks, fruit or salad - whatever we aren't sick of yet!

Hopefully the weather won't be too hot this week, as I was typing this menu started sounding very cold-weather appropriate! (Man, I really hope none of my English professors aren't reading this 'cause my grammar sucks!)

You can find lots of other menu plans (by much more grammatically correct people, I'm sure) at Organizing Junkie.
Jill

Thank you Food Network!

My new favorite show is "Next Food Network Star" on, amazingly enough, the Food Network. In this show the contestants are put through various challenges designed to test their food knowledge, cooking skills, and abilities in front of the camera. I watch it every week, and so do my kids - whether they like it or not!

It has had one unintended, but very positive result. My two youngest kids suddenly are dying to cook!

The picture above is what they made my for breakfast today - a fruit smoothie, chocolate milk, cheesy bread toast, regular toast, and orange slices.

Not bad considering they are 6 and 11.

And it was delicious!

Jill

Potatoes, Sauerkraut and Sausage

I'm posting this recipe for Frugal Upstate's Frugal food series. This week she is showcasing Bread, Potatoes, Pasta, and Rice. Check it out for more great recipes using these budget stretching ingredients!

I have been making this recipe for ages. It is so simple that is almost embarrassing. It isn't even really a recipe but whenever I mention it, someone says, "Oh, I've never had that before, it sounds good." So, I decided to post it so no one will ever have to say that again.

Potatoes, Sauerkraut and Sausage

First take several potatoes, enough for your family (roughly one potato each but slightly more or less is fine). Scrub and/or peel them. I usually just scrub them and leave the peels on but sometimes I'm just not in a peel kind of mood so I take 'em off. That was the type of mood I was in when I took these pictures. After you scrub/peel the potatoes, slice them in rounds - you know big giant potato coins! Then, toss them in a pan in which you have heated a couple tablespoons of oil.
It looks kind of like that (well, exactly like that!). You want to toss the potatoes around so them get a little oil on them, that will help them not stick to the pan. You can either just fry them until they are done, or you can steam them briefly then fry. I prefer the steam then fry because it goes a little faster. Just pour 2-3 Tbs of water in the bottom of the pan and cover it for awhile. Open the lid and stir it every now and then to check if they are done. When they are almost done, remove the lid and let the water evaporate. Then fry til most of them are golden.

Next, take 1/2 to 1 lb of sausage and slice it. We use polska kielbasa cause we like it and we get it for not too expensive at Costco. You could use bratwurst, smoked sausage or whatever. Make sure you use something you really like because it is the main flavor besides the potatoes. I slice mine in "coins" then in half so I have little half circles. When they are sliced, toss them in the pan:

Stir this around and cook until the sausage looks cooked and is starting to brown. Then add a drained can of sauerkraut. We use the little cans but depending on how much your family like sauerkraut you could use a bigger one.

That is is, you just cook it until the sauerkraut is warm then serve. Salt and pepper to taste.

We serve it with salad and fruit. It is a great way to use up potatoes and since I always have the sausage in the freezer and a can or two of sauerkraut in my Crazyville Food Shoppe, this recipe is used often when I have forgotten to plan anything else. My kids love it (my veggie girl picks out the sausage - not strictly vegetarian but it works for her).

Enjoy!

Jill

Book Review - Home Baking (and a recipe!)

As you may know, I have an addiction to cookbooks. I probably own about 50 cookbooks and I have my eye on at least two that I want currently. On of my favorite books to read is Home Baking, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Duguid and Alford are husband and wife and have traveled extensively searching for baking recipes. The photography is amazing! This is one of those cookbooks that is so fun to read because each recipe has a story attached to it - where they got it, what the people were like there, how they changed the original recipe, or how they use the recipe in their own lives. I love cookbooks like this. I have tried several recipes from this book (and use Dom's Big Batch Boule recipe often, so yummy!). I tried a new one recently and my kids loved it. It is called Easy Cheese and Bean Rounds. The authors say that this is their take on papusas which are a type of corn bread made in Nicaragua and El Salvador. You need to have masa harina (or masa flour) which is the only sort of weird ingredient but is available in most grocery stores in the Hispanic food section.

In a food processor you process:

1/2 c. drained cooked or canned white beans
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 TBS corn oil

Make a puree and then add:

1 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. masa harina

Process until a dough forms. Gather it into a ball and then let it sit, covered, for 30 minutes or so. While this is going on, combine:

1/2 c. loosely packed grated cheese such as Oaxacan string cheese, Monterey Jack, or mild or medium cheddar
1 TBS minced chives or scallion greens (optional)You'll have two bowls that look something like the above.

Break off small pieces of dough (about 2 TBS) and flatten it in your hand as flat as you can get it then mound a small amount of cheese (you want to kind of squeeze it into a ball so you can make it stay in the edges). Isn't that just the most beautiful picture of an arm you have ever seen? And that kitchen in the background could be a lot cleaner but you get the idea.

Fold up each of the edges around the cheese so you have dough enclosing all the cheese - then flatten it out. Place the flattened dough thing in a hot, oiled skillet and cook until it is golden brown on the outside. I flattened it more in the pan with my spatula. I served them with salsa to dip them in. I'm lucky I got any to take pictures of - but here they are:Not the most beautiful picture in the world but you get the idea. The taste reminded me of a quesadilla made with a corn tortilla.

Notes:

• I would double this recipe next time, this was not enough for me and my kids.
• This is a little time consuming but I got much better at it as I went along and the last several were much faster than the first several.
  
• I didn't use the chives/scallions and they were fine but I think I would use them next time.
  
• It was helpful to wet my hands when I was forming the rounds, it kept them sticking to my hands.
  

Enjoy!

Jill

Meal Plan Monday!

I sat down and planned my meals for this week and realized I'm in a decidedly ethnic mood. For dinners this week we are having one Thai and two Greek inspired ideas. Hmmm . . . wonder what got into me. Well, three meals this week are new to me so I will post how they went. Here they are:

Breakfasts:

• granola, fruit
• toast with jam, applesauce
• pancakes

Lunches:

• Easy Cheese and Bean Rounds (recipe with pictures posted Tuesday)
• bagels, lunch meat, cream cheese, fruit
• Campbell's soup (we have a lot in our Crazyville Food Shoppe)
• leftovers

Dinners:

• Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa from the Nourishing Gourmet blog, salad
• Thai Spaghetti Toss (from Cheap Fast Good), salad
• Mary's Greek Inspired Pasta (from Cheap Fast Good), french bread
• Gyros, home fries, fruit
• Easy lentil stew, homemade breadsticks, salad
• Tuna salad, bread
  

Snacks:

applesauce with graham crackers
popcorn
fruit
bagels

You will notice that there is a lot of salad on my menu - that is because my garden is FULL of lettuce! No tomatoes yet (well, there are loads of tomatoes, they are all just still green!), but we have lots of lettuce to use up.

Visit Organizing Junkie for lots more Menu Plan Monday ideas!

Jill

Camping Meal Ideas?

We went camping this week and had a wonderful time. We ate like barbarians! Twenty-first century barbarians. I have a hard time coming up with ideas to make/eat when we go camping. We always have a couple of standard meals: chili dogs (see above picture for how we make them), toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup made on the Coleman stove, and we always take bagels/cream cheese/lunch meat for lunches. There has got to be more and better meals for camping!!

So, I'm depending on the kindness of strangers, and I'm asking you all - What do you make when you go camping? Here's what you need to know. We always have a campfire, we have a Coleman two burner stove, we have a griddle that fits on top of the stove and we have a big dutch oven. Given that, what should I make? We are going camping again at the end of August and I'm going to take different food! So help me out - what do you take camping?

Jill

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ok, so I gained two thousand pounds on my vacation, what's it to you? Actually, it is nothing to you, but it is to me, so I'm going to eat healthier for the next few weeks and all those Dorito/Cheeto pounds will disappear! I'm going to actually eat things like vegetables and fruit, imagine. I'm also participating in Frugal Upstate's frugal food series. This week she is doing cheap chicken pieces. You could make this salad with leftovers from a roasted chicken (the person who gave me this recipe used up leftover turkey), or meat from bone-in breast, or however you get cooked chopped chicken.

One of my favorite things to make in the summer is Chinese Chicken Salad. My kids eat this like crazy! I'm pretty sure everyone has had some version of this salad at a potluck at some time in their lives, but this is my version, and it is the best. No really, my version is the best version, ever. Really. And it is relatively healthy, too. (Just close your eyes and imagine that those ramen noodles are, um, thin sliced celery, ok? Besides, all that cabbage cancels out the ramen, right?)
Here is what you need to make Chinese Chicken Salad:
Some cooked, chopped chicken (about 2 cups or so, but this recipe is very forgiving)
One head of green cabbage
Some slivered almonds (about a half cup)
2 packages of chicken flavored ramen noodles
Vegetable oil, lemon juice, seasoned rice wine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar

First, chop the cabbage - please remember to remove the core, it is not tasty. I chop my cabbage by putting it through the slicing attachment of my food processor. You are looking for something between salad-green-size pieces and coleslaw-size pieces. Throw all the chopped cabbage into a big bowl. Throw in the chopped chicken (throw carefully, you don't want to take out someone's eye!)

Next, put the ramen packages on the counter and smash them. Just whack 'em good. You are breaking up the noodles into bite size pieces not dust! Now add the noodles to the cabbage/chicken (remove them from the package, duh.). Save the flavoring packets, you will be adding these to the dressing.

Next add the almonds. I always toast them slightly in my toaster oven, I think it brings out the flavor. You could toast them in a dry skillet on the stove also. Or you can just add them raw. I usually add some sesame seeds (2 Tbs or so) when I toast the almonds, but you don't have to.

Now make your dressing. Combine in a container:

1/2 c. oil (use a good quality vegetable oil or olive oil)
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS seasoned rice wine vinegar (you find this with all the other vinegars)
1 tsp sugar
2 seasoning packets from the ramen noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Shake, stir or otherwise combine the dressing ingredients until the sugar and ramen seasoning is dissolved. Pour this over the cabbage/chicken/almonds/ramen and mix everything together well. Serve soon, this doesn't taste quite as good after it has sat awhile, the noodles get mushy. We do however, finish off all leftovers (if there are any, which there very rarely are). You can serve this with soy sauce but we prefer it plain. Prepare to fight for your fair share - my fair share is at least half. Hey, I made it, it's only fair I get half, right?

Enjoy!

Jill

Guess Where We've Been . . .

You guessed it, vacation! All the people in Jill's Crazy Life went on Jill's Crazy Vacation! We went camping on the Oregon coast. We go every year to a place called Ft. Stevens (in between Astoria and Seaside for those of you who care). Ft. Stevens is the best place! You are camping in the woods, there are bike paths everywhere, there is a lake to swim and boat in, and the beach is about a 10 minute bike ride away from your campsite. You get beach, lake, camping, and biking all in one vacation! We took my nephew with us this year and we had so much fun! The weather was beautiful except for a demonic wind on the beach. We all got sunburned and tanned and exhausted and rested and whatever else good stuff you get on vacation - oh yeah, fat! We ate and ate and ate! So, for the next few weeks, I'm focusing on healthy food that doesn't cost a fortune and my kids will actually eat. Check back to see what I'm cooking in Crazyville!

Jill

One-eyed Egyptians

I know you've heard this before but . . . we have chickens in our backyard, so we have a lot of eggs. Since we have lots of eggs, we have lots of ways we use them. One of my kid's favorite ways is to use them to make One-Eyed Egyptians. These go by lots of names: Bird-in-a-Nest, Toad in a Hole, Hobo Eggs, Egg in a Nest. We call them One-Eyed Egyptians for reasons unknown to me. Whatever you call them, they are frugal, healthy and ridiculously easy - can't get much better than that!

Here's what you do:

Take one egg and one piece of bread for each person (these are great made with homemade bread, and obviously the better the bread, the better the finished product. However, it will work with whatever you have on hand, it just needs to be big enough to fit your cutter and still have intact edges.).

Butter one side of each piece of bread, then salt and pepper it. Take a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (or a knife if you are desperate!) and cut a circle out of the middle of the buttered bread.

Place the bread, butter-side down, in a frying pan/skillet that you have sprayed with cooking spray (trust me when I tell you this step is important! I have had to soak far too many pans when I have forgotten this step. Eggs stick!) Let the bread sit in the pan for a minute or so. You want the butter to start to melt, this forms a "barrier" so that when you crack the egg in, it doesn't leak out from underneath. Don't forget to put the "hole" on the pan, also. It gets nice and toasty. My kids call this part the "cookie" and it is their favorite part!

When the butter has started to melt, crack one egg in each hole. Salt and pepper each egg.


Cook until the whites on the bottom have set and it is solid enough to flip it over without egg flying all over the kitchen. You can cover the pan for awhile to speed things along.

After you flip them, just cook until the egg is the way you like it. My kids are squeamish and want the yolks cooked hard. No runny eggs for them. We have about as fresh eggs as you can get, but they don't want to eat uncooked eggs. Oh well.

When it is done, plate it and add the cookie. Serve with some fruit and call it a day.

Enjoy!

Jill

Happy Birthday America

Oh, ok, I'm a day late. But I rarely remember birthdays - I'm the reason they invented those "sorry I missed your birthday" cards.

I'm glad I live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I thank my lucky stars that my kids were born in a land where they will probably never know starvation or war in their homeland. In a land where their options are only limited by their ability to work hard and make good choices and not by their last name, gender, or social class. I'm glad I can dress, eat, pray, and live the way I want. I hope someday in this nation, everyone will allow everyone else the same rights.

Happy Birthday America!

Jill

Splitting Hairs

I have teenagers. That means that I have people in my home who are testing the boundaries, everyday. Every hour. Ok, every minute! They just love to be different and to find out what I will allow. I'm fairly strict on somethings - God put a certain number of holes in our bodies and other than an extra set for a pair of earrings, I think the number he put there should stay the same, I believe clothing is designed to cover our bodies and that somethings are best left to the imagination (if people can tell what underwear you have one, or whether or not you have underwear on, you need to re-examine your outfit!). But when it comes to one thing, I'm willing to allow some freedom of expression - their hair.

The way I see it, hair grows back! Unlike, say, a tattoo, you can undo any poor choices you make with your hair. So I let my girls do almost anything to their hair (I draw the line at a bright green spiked mohawk - I do have to been seen with them). Tali has taken advantage of this and recently I dyed the underside of the back of her head bright pink. It has been blue, green and red in the past but this time they chose "pink panic." (I do both her and her best friend's hair. Yes, the other mom is ok with this). Here is what it looks like:
Notice her carefree shrug of her shoulders? She doesn't care what any of you think! (I would like to add at this point that Tali is an amazing kid who gets straight A's in school, runs track, has tons of friends and is an all around great kid, pink hair not withstanding!) My oldest daughter, Jana, has different views on hair and what is acceptable. We found this on the bulletin board this morning:
Not to be outdone, Tali countered with this:


Well, to each their own I suppose, at least they are "communicating," right?

Jill

Getting a Quick Start to Dinnertime

(This is part of Frugal Upstate's Frugal Foods series. This week is "ground beef," check out Frugal Upstate for more great ideas.)
I am usually fairly organized in my food life. I plan several meal options at the beginning of the week and decide what I'm going to eat for dinner in the morning. Every now and then, however, life takes over. I do, after all, have four children, sometime stuff happens. I have a secret weapon to get me though those days when it is 4:30 and I suddenly realize, "oh crud, I have to actually feed these people tonight!" I have meal starts in my freezer!

I do a version of "once-a-month cooking." I usually do "once-every-few-months cooking." Every couple of months I do a monster cooking session with my good friend Shelly. We spend the whole day cooking and end up with about 45-60 main dish meals and/or starts. Some of the the stuff we do is an actually meal (chicken tetrazzini, beef-topped bean enchiladas) and some are what I call "meal starts." Things like taco meat and sloppy joe meat - they aren't actually a full main dish but they are a start. With taco meat in the freezer I can make tacos, taco salad, taco soup, taco burritos, and taco quesadillas. Doing it this way saves me time and money. It saves me time because browning 4 or 5 lbs of hamburger takes just a little more time than one lb. and if I have the meat already browned and seasoned, the meal is a snap to throw together. It saves me money because when hamburger goes on sale, I can buy lots and prepare it and throw it in my freezer, allowing me to make lots of meals at the sale price!

There are lots of things you could apply this principle to. Cooked seasoned chili beans, taco-flavored chicken meat, a brown rice/lentil taco mixture would work, too. Use your imagination!

Here is our favorite sloppy joe recipe:

Sloppy Joes

2 lbs ground beef
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 1/3 c. ketchup
1 1/2 Tsp minced onion
1 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 Tbs vinegar
1 Tbs water
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Brown hamburger and drain and/or rinse with hot water. Return to pan and add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well and simmer to allow flavors to mix. Serve on buns. To freeze: allow to cool and place in freezer bags, remove air and seal. Freeze. To serve, remove from bag and microwave until warm. (Or place in pan and slowly heat on stove top, but really, the microwave is so much faster!)

Feel free to double or triple this recipe and store your own secret weapons in the freezer!

Enjoy!

Jill

Apple-Oatmeal Bars

Do you ever have that last apple in the fruit basket that is a little too wrinkly to eat? You know, it isn't exactly bad, but it isn't good either. I finally found something to do with it - make Apple Oatmeal Bars! I love this recipe because it is cheap (I actually found the recipe in my Tightwad Gazette book), uses stuff that I always have on hand, and is actually kind of healthy for my kids. A triple threat! Oh, and it is easy to make. A quadruple threat? Is there such a thing?

First thing you do is peel and chop your apple (or apples). You can make this with one apple but it is even better if you have two. If you only have one, you can supplement with dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, some peeled sliced pears, or maybe even raisins. Chop the fruit so it looks like this:You don't want to mince it, just cut it into bite size pieces. (If you use blueberries, please, please, please don't try to cut them and then complain to me. Blueberries and cranberries are fine just the way they are, folks!). Set your apples aside and mix in a bowl:

1 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour (I use 1/2 c whole wheat, 1/2 c white flour, cause that's just how I roll)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix it together like you would for a pie - mix the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter. It should look somewhat like this:Then you take half of the mixture and pat it into a 8x8 pan. Pat it down nice and hard, you are making the bottom crust. Spread the apples (and/or whatever else you are using) over the bottom crust then sprinkle 1/2 c. sugar over the apples (sometimes I use a little bit less than this, it sometimes seems a little excessive. Sometimes, depending on the time of the month, it seems ridiculously skimpy!) Now take the other half of the oatmeal mixture and crumble it over the top of the apples/sugar. You don't want to press this time (although I have in the past and it isn't bad, it is just better with a streusel topping.). Now bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let it cool then cut into squares and serve. If you really want to gild the lily (and who doesn't, really?) you can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. Yum. Here is the recipe all in one place (for those type A's out there!).

Apple-Oatmeal Bars

Combine in a bowl:

1 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 cup flour (can use part whole wheat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pat half in a 8x8 pan. Layer on top:

2 1/2 c. chopped apples

Sprinkle with:

1/2 c. sugar

Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Jill