Toddler Dispute Resolution

Ever made your own chorizo?

2012-02-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

I realize I am a bit nutty because I make so many things from scratch. I may be a fanatic but the truth is I just love being in the kitchen. Sometimes cooking meals doesn't satisfy my need to create. I also like to find new ideas for cooking projects. I checked this book out of the library this week: Simple Food, Big Flavor by Aaron Sanchez. It's a cool book because Mr. Sanchez gives 15 recipes for ingredients like salsas, pastes, rubs that can be used to make meals. It's an awesome format for a cookbook.

I think I'm up for one of the projects (maybe more). I am considering making my own chorizo. I have already tried to make this elk sausage and thought it was delicious. Do you think it's wrong to put elk in chorizo? I'm going to guess that while not authentic, Mr. Sanchez would prefer I have a crack at his recipe in any form.

Weekly Meal Think

2012-02-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here are the things I am thinking about making for dinner this week.

Mongolian Beef (only with elk) and broccoli (left over from last week since I never made it).
Pumpkin Pasta with garlic bread.
S&B Golden Curry with carrots and potatoes. If you haven't tried this, it's super yummy and so easy.
Roast Chicken and Potatoes with homemade pear chutney.
Pizza.

And I still have a head of cabbage from the Bountiful Basket last week. Anyone have a good cabbage recipe?

Breakfast for Dinner

2012-02-05T21:04:00.003-07:00

I saw this recipe for sausage and pancake meatballs on the Once A Month Mom site and thought that I would give it a go. With hash browns and eggs it made a great breakfast for dinner. It's what we ate Saturday night. See I can't keep to a meal plan if I tried..

Don't Come to Our House For Dinner

2012-02-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

Seriously. Unless you want to see me lose it in an very undignified manner, you don't want to be anywhere my house at mealtime.

Last night was the second night of my attempt at meal planning. On the menu: lettuce wraps with Asian crunchies. First, let me say that I have been sick for three days, so I don't have my usual energy or patience. Anyway, I made the crunchies about 10am. They were delicious so I ate a quarter of them for lunch. I mean anything toasted in butter can't taste bad. I was also pretty excited to let the hubby taste them too since he loves a bit of crunch on . . . well, on anything.

Since I wasn't up to a meal that required much prep, I scrapped the idea of replicating PF Changs lettuce wraps and washed the crock pot instead. I threw in a couple cans of white beans and some home canned peach pepper BBQ sauce (perhaps a post for another day?). I figured with a little white rice some sweet and spicy beans would be just right. The less effort the better.

When it was time to eat I found out the hubby was going to be late. Bummer. So the kids and I sat down for what was supposed to be an uneventful meal. My toddlers, however, have the attention span of . . . toddlers. So once the three year old discovered the rice was sticky he created a new game called "Intentionally cover my hands in the sticky rice so I can go play in the sink."

The 17-month-old wanted to play in the sink too. In spite of his diminutive stature he can still manage to drag a chair three times his size across the kitchen. Due to the fact that I was sick and napless I let the two of them play in the sink and enjoyed my lettuce wraps by myself. I figured what harm can they do to a sink full of dirty dishes? They can't make them any dirtier. And the lettuce wraps were delicious! Soft white rice, sweet and sour beans and the crunch of the Asian crunchies. Perfect.

At this point I made the mistake that was to be my downfall. I left the kitchen to talk to the hubby again on the phone. Upon my return I discovered that all the lovely Asian crunchies, the pinnacle of the meal, were in the sink covered in three inches of water.

So the kids were locked in their room until my urge to scream and cry had subsided, the hubby didn't get any crunch on his lettuce wraps as a reward for working so hard and I had a big mess to clean up in the sink. So you see, it really is best if you don't come to dinner at our house.

What We Ate For Dinner: Peach Chicken and Asparagus

2012-01-31T10:52:00.003-07:00

As a follow up to my meal plan, I thought I would let you know how dinner turned out. Last night I made chicken in the crock pot based on this recipe. It was delicious, but I did make a few changes. First, I only made half a recipe, I used peach jam in place of the apricot preserves and my onion soup mix was homemade. I was super easy so I have no doubt that we will make it again. I roasted the asparagus in the oven at 450 after covering it in a little olive oil, kosher salt and some garlic. It was perfect.

Weekly Meal Think

2012-01-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Here is what I am thinking of making this week. I say thinking rather than planning because sometimes I change my mind. If there is a plan and I deviate I feel like a failure, if there is no plan and I deviate then I feel creative. No need to set myself up for failure.

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken (but I will use peach jam instead) and roasted asparagus
Lettuce wraps with Asian crunchies
Mongolian Beef (with Elk) and steamed broccoli
Chicken Spaghetti casserole with Country green beans
Stuffed green peppers with tomato basil cream sauce (but I don't have turkey so it might be Elk)
Homemade pizza

You might have noticed that all the veggies are those from the Bountiful Basket this week. Well, except the broccoli. Wish me luck!

Toddler Job Charts

2012-01-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to start a chore chart for Kimball for a few months. The new year finally inspired me to get things rolling. I found a chart that I liked HERE and I have been using small stickers that my Mother-in-law gave me. I started with one page for Kimball (age 3) and he liked it so much that I went to a second page. Stan (17 months) loves it too, so he has his own. I mostly let him put stickers on it since he doesn't yet understand the reason for the stickers.

A few thoughts if you are going to do a chore chart for a three year-old.

Put a thing or two on the chart that the child is going to do anyway and even something he likes doing. This way he will start to understand how it works.
Include things which the child is struggling with behavior wise to incentivize better behavior.
Put something on the list that he is not doing, but you would like him to learn to do. For me this was going to the potty. Everyday he tells me that he will do it when he gets bigger. I figure we'll get there eventually. At least with the chart he knows it is expected of him.
Put something on the list that you yourself need to remember to do. For me this was practice piano. I was always forgetting to help him do, now I remember too. The chart has also helped me get all of us, kids and hubby included, to pick up toys before bedtime, which is a huge help to keeping Mommy a little saner.

I realize that the hardest part is remaining consistent. But overall the chart has been awesome. I love that I can threaten to withhold a sticker if he doesn't brush his teeth when I say it's time. Finally a threat I can follow through with! The best part is, since the chart is blank I will be able to adapt it over the next few months/years. (Is it even possible I can keep this up for years?)

Book Review: The Cookbook Collector

2012-01-10T23:33:00.001-07:00

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been so long since I've devoured a book. I really enjoyed reading this one. It was all the more delicious since I have been prose starved. The characters were wonderfully real and multifaceted. I would recommend to anyone looking for a satisfying read about what makes life worth living. Just so you know, it's not really about cookbooks.

View all my reviews

Happy Discovery

2012-01-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning up the kitchen tonight and I had a little trouble. I couldn't find the lid to the peanut butter. I looked in the fridge and look what I found. My Honey had put the lid on a regular mouth mason jar of apple sauce! I never knew that they would fit.

You can see just behind the apple sauce that there is a jar of peaches with a white lid. This is a Ball brand plastic lid for wide mouth jars. You can buy them for regular mouth too, and I was planning on picking some up, but now I don't have to. Yay for serendipitous lid discoveries. My Honey just saved me about $5. Hey, 5 bucks is five bucks.

Monsters for Christmas

2011-12-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

A month or so ago Kimball found this book at the library. I decided to make a few monsters for the kids for Christmas. They turned out so cute. I think the rocket ship and the little aliens were the biggest hit. Each alien has his own pocket on the ship. There are two pictures of the other monsters I made because one is reversible. The other is a pocket mouth.

They weren't too difficult to make, especially with the patterns in the book. But they couldn't have been possible without the fun plastic eyes I scored on eBay.

Wet Wipe Box to Toy Box

2011-12-23T17:05:00.003-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I am beginning to wonder where I am going to put all the new toys we got the kids for Christmas. And who knows what Santa will bring! In an effort to organize a little better I decided we needed a new toy box for all our trucks. I found a wet wipe box and covered it in fleece. I think it turned out nice.

Here is the final outcome.

And here is what I did:

1. Cut off the top flaps of a sturdy box. Don' forget the little flaps inside the handles. Sorry, my picture still has them.

2. Cut a piece of fleece the [length of the box (the longer side) + 1 inch] by [the height x 2 + the width + 1 inch]. This will cover one long side, the bottom and then the other long side.

3. Use a glue gun to attach the fabric at the edges of the box--down one side, across the bottom and up the other side.

4. You can see I have a little extra on the sides and top. This is so the corners and edges are fully covered. Glue them down. Burn yourself a few times, after all you are using a hot glue gun.

5. Cut a piece of fabric the width of the box (the shorter side) by the height x 2. This piece will cover one side on both the inside and out. Glue it down on just the outside.

6. Once the glue has dried a bit, slit the fabric where the handle is and add a "Y" cut at the end.

7. Turn the box over and pull the cut out around the handle. Glue down. Burn your fingers some more. Then bring the rest of the fabric into the box and glue that too.

8. This is what it will look like on the outside. Do the same thing for the other side.

9. Now all we need is a piece for the two other insides and the bottom. Cut the piece the length by [the height x 2 + the width].

10. Glue her in!

11. All done!

Now all those trucks fit. And now I'm ready for Christmas. (As if!)

And the box looks so good on the shelf. I wanna make me another one. But I gotta wait until we need more wipes.

Since I am blabbing on about toy storage, I thought I would include a picture of the toy bags I made ages ago. I use Command Strips to hang them. It works.

Removing Red Dye from Carpet: Testing the Internet

2011-12-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have found some great cleaning tips on Pinterest. So, it got me thinking. I wonder if the Internet has any great ideas for getting out red dye (i.e. Koo-laid, Crystal Light, etc.) from carpet. You see I have a very nice area rug. I also have two toddlers. Some of the mishaps are years old. Some are more recent (as in, last week). You'd think I would learn.

I'll show you the before and after pics and then let you know what I did. Here is the before picture of the first area I cleaned. Hopefully you can see the pinkish marks In between he flowers.

BEFORE (AREA 1)

Here is the after picture. The pink marks are lighter, but not entirely gone.

AFTER (AREA 1)

Here is the second area I cleaned. Lots of pink spots. These were the ones that were really old.

BEFORE (AREA 2)

Here is the area after. The pink spots are lighter, but I also managed to discolor the tip of a leaf. And the carpet is lighter where I scrubbed a bit.

AFTER (AREA 2)

Over all this is a good cleaning idea, but proceed with caution. I was pretty impressed with the amount of old stains that I was able to get up. But I think I pulled up some of the red ink in my carpet too.

In any event, here is the process. Use a mixture of 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 water. Spray or dab over the stain (I scrubbed a bit too and perhaps this was my downfall). Place a clean rag over the stain and apply a hot iron. The heat should pull the stain onto the rag.

And it did. It was pretty impressive. I found that applying a little extra force with the iron helped.

I'd be interested in knowing if this works for anyone else.

Painting Trains

2011-12-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Cornbread from Popcorn: Yes, It Can Be Done!

2011-12-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere on the Internet that you should store popcorn in place of cornmeal because it will keep longer. The popcorn can then be ground into cornmeal. I decided to test this advice and make cornbread from ground popcorn.

Here is my awesome Mill & Mix. It was my grandma's. It's cool because you can adjust the space between the stones for grinding.

I thought I would try and make the cornmeal more coarse than my wheat flour, so I opened the stones a bit to grind the popcorn. Next time I might keep it pretty fine because there were some hard chunks in the final product.

I used my same cornbread recipe and it came out great. I forgot to take a picture of the baked bread because I just jumped right in. So, there you go. You can get cornmeal from popcorn. Fancy that.

2011 Canning Roundup

2011-12-10T10:38:00.001-07:00

I wish I could say that this list was exact, but I didn't do a very good job of keeping track of what I canned.

Peaches: 40 quarts (lost 2 to failed seals, plus what I gave to my mother-in law. They were her peaches)
Peach Jam: 10 pints, 2 quarts, 1 12 oz. jar (plus what I gave to my mother-in-law)
Pears: 5 quarts
Pear Sauce (Like apple sauce but with pears; my kids love the stuff): 2 24 oz. jars and 2 pints (plus what I gave to my sister-in-law for baby food)
Pear Chutney: 9 half pints
Apple Sauce: 28 quarts (plus all the sauce we canned for my siblings. Over 65 quarts total!)
Apple Chipotle BBQ Sauce: 6 pints, 1 12 oz. jar
Apple Pie Filling: 6 quarts
Apple Pie Jam: 9 pints
Apple Slices: 6 quarts, 1 pint
Pickles: 1 pint, 1 half pint
Peach Pepper Sauce: 1 pint, 4 half pints
Tomatoes: 3 pints (already gone!)
Tomato Salsa: 3 pints, 1 12 oz. jar
Raspberry Jam: ? I only have one half pint left.
Fig and Strawberry Jam: 2 8 oz. jars
Plum Chutney with curry (This stuff makes the most amazing deviled eggs, maybe I'll post the recipe): 8 half pints (or so, I forget)
Jalapeno Jelly: 8ish half pints (plus over 40 half pints for my sister-in-law. They were her peppers and she had back surgery.)
Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce: 7 1/2 pints (plus more for my sister-in-law, also her green tomatoes)

I think that's it. I'd say I'm done but I have about 8 cups of chopped plums in my freezer and I'm thinking of making an Asian plum sauce.

Lots and Lots of Toy Trains

2011-12-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

Canning Chicken Stock

2011-12-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

A draft of this post has been sitting on my computer for months. I guess I should get my act together an finish it.

I've canned chicken and turkey stock a few times in the past year. And I like doing it. I know I could freeze the stuff, but cooking with canned is so much easier--no defrosting. So, if you are up to it, here's how it goes:

1. In a big stock pot put a turkey carcass or chicken bones. Cover with water (about 4-8 quarts). For this version I bought some bone-in split chicken breasts on sale, de-boned them myself and saved the bones, skin and fat. It's a nice rectangular shape because I froze them until I was ready to make stock.

2. Throw in some carrots, celery and onions. No need to peel or chop here, although I highly recommend washing them off. I don't bother with any seasoning because I will season whatever dish the stock goes into. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours.

3. Get your cheese cloth ready. You really need some quality cheese cloth with a fine mesh. I put the cheese cloth in the colander and the colander on another pot. Drain the broth into the second pot. Cool it. Refrigerate over night.

4. The following day you will see all the fat is on the top. Remove as much as you can.

5. Now you have nice pretty broth. Bring it back to a boil.

6. While waiting for the broth to boil, get your pressure canner and jars ready according to the instructions for your canner. I always read the instructions again every time I use my pressure canner since I have no desire to blow up my house.

7. Fill your jars with hot stock leaving 1 inch headspace and place them in the prepared canner. Process for 20 minutes (25 for quarts) at the appropriate pressure for your altitude. (14 pounds for me).

8. Let your canner cool, and there you have it. Homemade chicken stock.

Making Garbage Cans

2011-11-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

When Kimball turned 3, we got him a garbage truck. He loves it! However, the small garbage can/dumpster that came with it has gone missing. :(

So, with some cardboard and some tape, I made him some replacements. He has been happily playing for the last 20 minutes. It would seem that one man's trash is another man's toy garbage. Or something like that.

My Baby Dinosaurs

2011-10-31T11:13:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween! This year I decided to try and make costumes for the boys. I scored an old pattern on eBay that is at least 20 years old, and simple enough for my limited skills. I also found the fleece on sale for 50% off. I think they turned out cute. Kimball wears his everyday and even sleeps in it. I would say that is money well spent.

Before you get all impressed with my sewing skillz, you should know that these costumes would not have happened without several tutorials on youtube. Seriously, what did we do before the internet?

I'm Back! With squash.

2011-10-29T12:26:00.000-06:00

So, I took a blogging break. I'm sure no one missed me. And that's okay.

This last week, I took my kids to a pumpkin patch with my in-laws. We had an awesome time. My in-laws were nice enough to buy us pumpkins and to indulge me in the purchase of a bunch of different squash. I bought four varieties that I had never tried before. I am looking forward to educating myself on some new food stuffs. Someday I might learn to grow them (if I ever learn to garden).

Here's what I picked up:

Sweet Meat--This is the pretty mint green colored one in the upper left corner.
Sweet Dumplings--These are the little white and green guys.
Carnival--This is the green and yellow one in the middle.
Buttercup--This is not a butternut (which I love). It's a butterCUP and it's a flat green one that is hiding in the lower right of the box under a sweet dumpling.

All of these varieties are supposed to be sweet like a butternut. We already tried the sweet dumplings. We microwaved them until soft, sliced them open, scraped out the seeds, added butter, salt and pepper and then had ourselves little individual squashes. They were really good.

It's Over and Thank You

2011-06-27T21:48:00.000-06:00

My parents returned from China today. And I went to Costco. I am officially done with my little experiment. I didn't quite make it 12 weeks but then we did move in the middle of things. I want to thank all (20) of you readers. I enjoyed your comments and hope you enjoyed my zany attempt to eat what was in my cupboards. I have learned a lot and will continue to incorporate a lot of food storage into our regular everyday eating. Here are a few thoughts about what I have learned:

Don't move in the middle of trying to live off your food storage. I keep thinking that if there really were some kind of disaster that prevented me from going to the store and that same disaster drove me from my home that I would be in big trouble.
My family is very tolerant of my cooking.
If you have a baby, plan food storage for baby.
I don't like tomato powder.
Remembering to take pictures of my food is hard when you are hungry. I also learned that I am not a very good photographer.

A Kind Gift

2011-06-26T16:00:00.000-06:00

I recently received a kind gift from my best friend, Fiona. I have been postponing blogging about it because I didn't take a picture of it.

Needing to rotate some old food storage, Fiona decided to give it to me instead so I could blog about it. I have rewarded her kindness with procrastination. Sorry, Fi.

Here is what she gave me:

1 can powdered eggs
1 can butter powder
1 can shortening
1 can spaghetti
2 cans instant potatoes
1 can dehydrated carrots
1 can dehydrated onions

I am most excited about the eggs and the onions because I know I will use those right away. I plan on using the eggs to make a Swedish pancake mix for quick breakfasts. I want to use the shortening to try and perfect a whole wheat tortilla. The pasta and potatoes will go into some kind of dinners. As for the carrots, do you think I could use them in a carrot cake?

What We Ate for Dinner: Crock Pot Chicken Mole

2011-06-26T08:04:00.001-06:00

I saw this crock pot chicken mole a few weeks ago, but I thought I would have to wait for grocery shopping because I was short on ingredients. FridayI decided to make it anyway and see what I could come up with. My problems were the raisins, chili in adobo sauce and the chili powder. I substituted dates, a can of green chilis and some additional spices. Also, because I still haven't found all my spices from the move, I used whole coriander and cumin seeds. I thought it was pretty tasty, but I would have liked to have some sour cream.

Here is what I threw in the crock pot (6 hours on low):

1 chopped onion
1/2 cup dehydrated dates, rehydrated and chopped
1 c. water from rehydrating the dates
1 T. chopped garlic
2 T. black sesame seeds
1 can chopped green chilis
1 27 oz. can of tomatoes, which I smashed a bit
3 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
3 t. cumin seed
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. oregano
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. coriander seed
1/8 t. nutmeg
3 T. cocoa powder
2 large chicken breasts

What We Ate for Dinner: Linguine and Eggs

2011-06-24T09:47:00.000-06:00

I got the idea to poach eggs in tomato sauce from my friend, Chef Tess. I have been meaning to do this for some time. Last night was the night! I served mine with linguine because I was hungry. All you do is plop those eggs into the sauce and cover until cooked. Super easy. Super delicious.

What We Ate for Dinner: Shepherd's Pie with Elk

2011-06-23T07:19:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of an elk. It's not the elk we ate for dinner last night. I forgot to take a picture of my food again. It's probably a good thing that I didn't attempt to introduce a camera into the mix. Kimball was eating dinner without a shirt on (I did make him wear an apron). Stan was covered in red punch and everything else that was within grabbing range. Bryce was very well behaved and look just fine. I wasn't wearing any makeup. That's right, I went the whole day without putting any makeup on. I did shower. It hardly mattered because the only two people who saw me outside of my immediate family were the law guy and my sister, Charlotte (and that was over Skype).

Enough about things other than food. This shepherd's pie recipe is another favorite freezer meal (although, tonight I made it fresh). It's adapted from a Rachel Ray.

1 lb. ground elk (or beef)
1 chopped onion
1 tsp. chopped garlic
2 T. butter
1/4 c. flour (I used whole wheat because it was easier)
1 can beef broth
1-3 T. Worcestershire sauce, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. frozen veggies
5-6 c. mashed potatoes, instant

Brown meat with onions and garlic in large skillet or wok. Move meat to one side of pan, add butter. Add flour to butter and mix into meat. Add broth and Worcestershire sauce. Add veggies and season to taste. Mix up instant mashed potatoes. Pour meat mixture into casserole dish and spread evenly. Top with mashed potatoes. You could serve this immediately. Or your can stick it in the fridge until about 45 minutes before dinner, then heat in 350 oven. This is what I did today. Or you could cover it in tin foil and freeze for another day. If frozen, give yourself at least an hour extra in the oven.

Butter, how do I love thee?

2011-06-22T19:46:00.000-06:00

I ran out of butter in week nine. It was inevitable. The rationing . . . well, I'll be honest. I didn't ration. I used my butter to my heart's content. (Or discontent. Has butter been linked to clogged arteries?) Anyway.

In the interest of experimentation, I busted out some canned butter that Bryce and I bought in our first year of marriage. Romantic, I know.

Here is a picture of the can. Just ignore the dent; I did. The brand is Red Feather and is supposed to have a 25 year shelf life.

It looked like read butter when we opened it up. And, more importantly, it tasted like it! I used it on toast and to cook with. It was perfect. I would recommend having some of this in your food storage if you don't think you can live without butter. The only catch. It's pricey stuff. About $7.50 a can. Each can is only 12 ounces or three cubes. That's $10 a pound folks!

Given the price, I think we will keep some in our food storage, but not rotate it too regularly. It does have a 25 year shelf life after all.

And in case you are wondering, I found a sale on butter for $2.50 a pound a few weeks ago. I bought 12 pounds. Yes, $30 worth of butter. It will last us about 6 months. We should make it to the butter sales around Thanksgiving. It was $2.00/lb. last year. I am hoping for something similar this year, but with the way prices are going . . .

What We Ate for Dinner: Remember This?

2011-06-22T07:10:00.000-06:00

Last night, for dinner we ate the casserole I made with turkey and homemade cheese. (Have I mentioned I love freezer meals?) The greens were left over from Monday night and the rolls were leftovers from the pulled elk sandwiches a few weeks ago. I turned the rolls into garlic bread with the seasoning I mentioned here.

Nothing special, but delicious nonetheless.

What We Ate for Dinner: Garden Greens

2011-06-21T07:19:00.000-06:00

Several months ago I did something I have never done before. I tried to grow food from a seed. I started lettuce, tomatoes, beans and radishes. Only the lettuce survived. I transferred it to a window box container just before we moved. And it has gone gangbusters! We ate our lettuce for the first time last night. Some of the ingredients were the result of my shopping in the past weeks, but some were not. Here is what we had on the salad:

Sliced pork chop--old

Teriyaki sauce on the pork chop--new

Sliced carrot--new

Frozen peas, defrosted--old

Apples--new

Almonds--old

The dressing was a mix of oil, vinegar, honey and some of the teriyaki sauce

Time Out: The Last Three Weeks

2011-06-20T17:53:00.000-06:00

Let's just say that the last three weeks have been a time out. I spent the last week in Mt. Pleasant getting my parents' home ready for their return. Just before I left we emptied the storage unit. I now have most of my food storage in one place. I am going to try to finish out my no grocery shopping commitment. After all, I only have ten days left.

What We Ate for Dinner: Quiznos

2011-06-11T17:30:00.000-06:00

We have been trying to finish moving in (No we are not done!), so I didn't feel like cooking last night. We went out to Quiznos with the Groupon we purchased a few weeks ago.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers

2011-06-10T07:21:00.000-06:00

Are you beginning to wonder how many pictures I can find of animals licking their lips? I haven't exhausted the possibilities, yet.

What We Ate for Dinner: Asian Noodles and Grilled Chicken

2011-06-09T15:31:00.000-06:00

Remember the Chinese chicken salad dressing I made here? Well, the recipe makes a ton. So, I froze the extra and brought it with me in the move. Last night I use some to marinate the chicken legs I bought, then grilled them. I also boiled a pound of whole wheat spaghetti and tossed it with the dressing. Then I added carrots, red peppers and defrosted green beans. It was a hit!

What We Ate for Dinner: A Kate Hansen Original with Frozen Burritos

2011-06-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

I didn't feel much like cooking yesterday. And our options have become increasingly few. I made something that I thought was incredibly creative.

In my freezer were some of the burritos I made back here. I put them in a casserole dish. I would have liked to have had some kind of enchilada sauce, but I didn't have any. So I made one up and it was delicious!

1 can tomato sauce
1 can green chilis
1 t. taco seasoning

I poured that over the burritos and topped it with cheese. (Yes, I bought cheese. It was only 2.68/lb at Winco. I couldn't help myself.) I thought this was delicious! If you have frozen burritos in your freezer and need a quick family meal, this is it!

P.S. Sorry I didn't take a picture of it.

What We Ate for Dinner: Pulled Venison Sandwiches

2011-06-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

For the first time in about two months, I had to go to the store in order to make dinner. Last night I made pulled venison sandwiches with an easy recipe I found here.

Since my roast was frozen I put it in the crock pot at about 8am. I covered it in water since I hadn't been to the store to get any root beer. Once home, I drained the water and replaced it with root beer. At about 3:30, I shredded the meat. Just so you know, venison is not easy to shred. But I did it. I put it back in until about 5pm. Then I drained it again and put on the BBQ sauce. I would have liked to have made the sauce from scratch, but I don't have all the ingredients I need. Some day . . .

I also had to buy the rolls. I served these with carrot sticks and a side of baked beans. They tasted really good and a little root beer-y.

What We Ate for Dinner: Drum Sticks

2011-06-06T06:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been cheating a lot lately. I bought some cheap chicken legs at Smith's on Saturday. When I asked Kimball what he wanted for dinner last night, he said "Chicken." Not to be one to deny my toddler a simple request, I complied.

For lunch I whipped up my own mayonnaise for grilled tuna since we don't have any cheese. (I know, I'll buy chicken, but not cheese. I'm weird.) Of course, now I am out of butter.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers and Fruit

2011-06-05T07:35:00.003-06:00

I went to the store and bought Kimball some fruit. He ate about a pound of red grapes with his mac and cheese. Does this mean I have fallen off the bandwagon completely? Perhaps just these weeks until I get my food back from Mt. P? Oh well, I have a surprise purchase for Monday. I had to make a special request from the butcher. I can't wait to tell you.

What We Ate for Dinner: Au Gratin Potatoes with Ham and Spinach

2011-06-04T07:20:00.000-06:00

This is a quick recipe to turn boxed au gratin potatoes into a full meal. All you need is some defrosted frozen spinach (is that an oxymoron?) and some diced ham, along with two boxes of the potatoes.

Layer the potatoes, the ham and the spinach in a large casserole dish. Mix the cheese sauce according to the package directions. Pour over the potatoes, ham and spinach and bake--according to package directions.

It doesn't get much easier that that. And it's a great way to get a toddler to each spinach. Well, mostly. Mine likes to pick out the pieces of ham.

Now if I can just remember to take a picture of my food.

Week 8 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-06-03T22:18:00.000-06:00

So it's Friday. As of today, I have been doing my no grocery store thing for 8 weeks. Technically, I should have 4 more weeks to go. And today I should be giving you a list of the things I have run out of. But the truth is, I don't even know. Half my food is in Mt. Pleasant and half here. I feel a little culinarily schizophrenic. Here's hoping I get some kitchen therapy soon.

Bad News

2011-06-03T13:42:00.001-06:00

Since we moved up here, one of our chickens was murdered by a neighbor's dog. I don't know how to break it to Kimball.

What We Ate for Dinner: Reruns

2011-06-03T06:58:00.000-06:00

We ate Asian meatballs again. I had some left in the freezer. Only I made them with homemade rice-a-roni.

Week 7 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-06-02T20:35:00.000-06:00

I found this post I started last week. I would have posted it Friday if I had been in any state to do so. I am posting it now, nearly a week late. Hey. We moved.

Cheddar cheese. The last of the shredded cheddar went into a mac and cheese lunch.
Chicken. The two chicken breasts I started out with were sacrificed this week to the Chinese chicken salad.
Rice Sticks. Also went into the Chinese chicken salad.
Onion. My last non-dehydrated onion went into the Elk Lo Mein.
Turkey. The boneless roast I bought went into a turkey dinner, tacos, a spaghetti casserole and a pot pie.
Canned beans. Can you believe it? Well, there is one can of butter beans, but those are going into bread. I think I also have a can or two of green beens. I also have dried beans, so not to worry too much. And once we get our stuff out of our storage unit, I will have 50 pounds of pinto beans.
Corn. The last of the frozen corn went into the chili.
Chili powder. You can guess where that went. Yup, chili.

What We Ate for Dinner: Frozen Chicken Enchiladas

2011-06-02T16:44:00.000-06:00

Chicken enchiladas are one of my all time favorite freezer meals. On Tuesday of this week I defrosted some enchiladas and put them in the oven in time for dinner only to find out that the knob on our oven is broken and I hadn't turned it far enough. (I love getting used to new appliances!) They were still cold when I checked on them some time later. So, I threw them back in the fridge and we ate out at Quizno's (courtesy of a Groupon from a week or so ago). I pulled them out again last night and was finally able to get the oven to work right.

Here is my version of creamy chicken enchiladas. I tried to lighten it up a little by only using one can of soup. It usually makes enough for two casserole dishes--one of the reasons I love to throw one in the freezer.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 can creamed corn (make sure it's the creamed kind)
1 small can diced green chilis (the fire roasted ones taste better)
1 small can red enchilada sauce
4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded (whichever you prefer)
shredded cheese
12 flour tortillas

Mix all the canned ingredients in a large bowl. Assemble the enchiladas by placing chicken and cheese with a little sauce in each one. Now that I think of it, sometimes I add in a can of beans (drained) with the chicken. Fill two casserole dishes with the tortillas. Split the rest of the sauce between the two dishes and top with cheese.

Cook 350 covered for about 45 minutes until warmed through. Take off foil for the last few minutes. If frozen plan on cooking an extra 45 minutes, or defrost first.

I'm Buried in Boxes

2011-06-01T21:50:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it to our new place and are now working on unpacking. We just got internet this afternoon.

I would like to report that I haven't gone to the store for food, but well, I plead guilty. Moving has made it hard. We have been eating the freezer meals I brought, but I have had to purchase some basics, like milk, juice, baby food, fruit and cookies. Bryce views cookies as a basic food. Oh, and I bought a chicken. It was on a "manager's special" at Smith's for only $2.80. I couldn't resist.

I have, however, made the most of what I have had. For example, Sunday I decided to make bread. I had enough flour for two loaves. Half way through I realized I didn't have any salt. I substituted soy sauce. Since I used all the flour to make bread, one morning I decided to try to turn the roll mix I had into pancakes. They were okay. Kimball ate them.

It will be nice when I can get down to Mount Pleasant and retrieve the rest of my pantry food. In the mean time, I will be sneaking off to the store every once an a while.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers and Boxes

2011-05-27T06:48:00.000-06:00

Last night we ate leftovers and packed. A lot. Today is the day we head up to S.L. via Heber City. We have tickets to Day Out With Thomas (Kimball is going to go nuts!). Tomorrow we take possession of the new place. Wish us luck!

What We Ate for Dinner: Chili

2011-05-26T13:36:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it? I forgot to photograph dinner again. Jeeze, where are my priorities? It's not like I'm moving or anything. Oh wait, I am.

Here is what I threw in the crock pot yesterday at about 1pm:

1 pound ground elk, browned
4 T. dehydrated onion
1 t. garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/4 c. jalapeno jelly (whatever was left in the jar)
1/4 c. diced jalapeno elk salami
1 c. frozen corn (whatever was left in the freezer)
2 T. chili powder (whatever was left in the jar)
1 t. cumin

I cooked on high until it was bubbly, then I turned it to low. We ate it with cornbread. I thought it was okay. I've made better chili before. But I loved using up a bunch of things so I don't have to take them to S.L.

Butter Update

2011-05-25T11:51:00.000-06:00

You might recall my little tirade about butter some weeks ago. I thought I would let you know how things are going. We have just over five weeks left and I have a pound and a half of butter. That's 6 cubes, people! Based upon the former rationing, I should have about 10 cubes. So what happened to those extra 4 cubes? This carameled popcorn I made for FHE might be the first clue.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftover Turkey

2011-05-25T08:52:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it? It totally forgot to take a picture of dinner. Even after six weeks of photographing my food, it still doesn't feel very natural. In any event, we ate turkey tacos last night. My mother-in-law sent me a package of fat free whole wheat tortillas before she left town. I love having something new to plan a meal around.

After dicing the turkey, I heated it in some bottled salsa. To that I added some of my homemade yogurt to make it a little creamy. I also heated a can of black beans with some garlic salt and cumin. Add a little rice and then put the burritos together. They were delicious, even without cheese.

Although I didn't take picture of dinner, I did take pictures of a freezer meal I also made with the leftover turkey. It's a take on one by the Pioneer Woman you can find here. I made only half a recipe because I used my homemade cheese and didn't have enough for a full recipe. But no worries, a half recipe will feed the family. When I've made this before there were lots of leftovers.

Here is what I did:

1 1/2 c. broken whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
1 1/2 c. diced turkey
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 T. dehydrated peppers
2 T. dehydrated onions
1 c. diced homemade mozzarella
1 c. hot water from the spaghetti mixed with 1 chicken bullion cube
1/2 t. seasoned salt
2 small pinches cayenne pepper

I mixed all these ingredients in a bowl and then dumped it into a Ziploc plastic container. I love to freeze casseroles in these. When the time is right, I just pop it out into an oven dish and bake. I topped things off with the rest of my homemade cheese, diced and sprinkled on top. I can't wait to try this!

I have enough turkey to make one more freezer meal. I am thinking about a pot pie with the left over gravy. (That small 5 lb. turkey made 4 meals! Not bad!) The leftover potatoes are going on top a shepherd's pie. All three of these freezer meals are going to help out next week during the big move!

What We Ate for Dinner: Turkey

2011-05-24T14:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I stuck the boneless turkey breast roast in the crock pot. I didn't even bother to defrost the thing. I love turkey that doesn't require planning the day before. I also added a cup of water so there would be plenty of juices for gravy. The potatoes were instant and the green beans were frozen. Everything tasted awesome!

How to make Mozzarella: Practice, Practice, Practice

2011-05-23T20:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Sunday. So we ate grilled cheese and tomato soup. The cheese was homemade as was the bread.

I have now made cheese 6 times--three times with store bought milk, once with raw cow's milk, once with raw goats milk and this last time with powdered milk plus raw cow's cream. On the 6th time it came out PERFECTLY. So that must mean I am ready to explain the process. But keep in mind I am an amateur.

I think of cheese making like an art. You might have a little talent, but it's practice that separates the good from the great. I plan on continuing to practice. Perhaps one day my successes at cheese may outweigh my failures.

I have, however, learned a thing or two about milk. First, you cannot make cheese with ultra-pasteurized milk. The high temperatures used in ultra-pasteurization kill everything in the milk making curd formation impossible. My previous failures may have more to do with the milk than anything else. I had a hard time getting the curds to form with the store milk. Although the milk I used was not ultra-pasteurized, it may have been heated too high anyway.

1. Pour one gallon of milk into a pot as pictured above. (If you use powdered milk plus cream, the total amount should equal one gallon. I removed 1 1/3 cups milk and then added 1 1/3 cups of cream.) Also prepare your rennet with 1/4 tablet in 1/4 c. non-chlorinated water. Prepare the citric acid by dissolving 1 1/2 t. in 1 c. non-chlorinated water (use 2 t. if using powdered milk and cream).

2. You will need a thermometer that can read between 80 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The candy thermometer I had wouldn't work. In the picture you can see I rigged a paper clip to hold the thermometer I got with my cheese making kit. I also recommend getting a good skimmer to stir. You will need to stir things gently and one of these can really help out.

3. Pour in the citric acid and gently distribute throughout the milk with the skimmer.

4. Heat the milk to 90 degrees (88 degrees for raw milk).

5. Remove from heat and stir in rennet. Gently distribute throughout the milk with skimmer.

6. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Check to see if the curds have formed. The curds should be custard like and the whey a clear liquid. You might need more time here.

8. Cut the curds. Here is a picture after I cut the curds and moved the around a bit.

9. Heat the curds and whey back to 105 degrees. Skip this step if using raw milk.

10. Gently stir the curds for 2-5 minutes. The longer you stir the harder your cheese will be.

11. Use the skimmer to scoop your curds into a microwavable safe bowl. This can be seen in the next picture. Drain off the whey without pushing down too much.

12. Microwave for 1 minute. Put on rubber gloves. These you will need so you can handle the hot cheese. After 1 minute in the microwave, drain the whey and fold the cheese into one mass. You can see this in the next picture.

13. Add 1 tsp. cheese salt. You can stretch the cheese if it's hot enough, if not 30 more seconds in the microwave should do it. Drain whey and stretch until soft and shiny. The longer you stretch the harder the cheese. Shape the cheese into a log or balls or just a large mass. Apparently you can braid the cheese, but I have not tried this. (Really, braiding cheese?)

14. Submerge in cool water for 5 minutes, then add
ice. Cool for 10 more minutes. You're done!

So all my cheeses (the ones that have worked) have been really soft. But soft mozzarella is good. I have some left over from the grilled cheese yesterday. I am thinking of trying it in a casserole. I wonder how that will turn out . . .

What We Ate for Dinner: Elk Lo Mein

2011-05-22T07:20:00.000-06:00

I am calling this dish Elk Lo Mein. I wanted to use up the rest of the cabbage from the salad on Friday. I might have used chicken for this dish had it been available, but what I had was ground elk. The sauce was from the Mix-A-Meal Cookbook.

This may be my favorite mix from this book. It's a combination of sugar, cornstarch, onion soup mix (another mix in the book), onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger and black pepper. To it you add water, vinegar and soy sauce. It make a sweet Asian-y sauce that is really good with noodles, any kind of meat and veggies.

I was a little worried that it wouldn't be so good with ground elk, but Bryce loved it and Kimball asked for thirds. In addition to the cabbage, I used up my last real onion and some more of the carrots from last week. It made a ton of left overs. Bryce liked it so much he said he could eat it for two days straight. He just might have to.

My Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-21T22:55:00.000-06:00

I keep meaning to post my Mother's Day gift, and I keep forgetting. Bryce got me a strawberry plant and a raspberry plant. I am a terrible gardener, so I really hope I don't kill them. I also hope that all this cold rain doesn't hurt them either. They are both supposed to be hardy cold climate plants, so perhaps the rain in good. See, I don't have a clue.

What We Ate for Dinner: Chinese Chicken Salad

2011-05-21T10:24:00.000-06:00

My friend, Jessica, gave me a head of cabbage a few days ago. It was a kind gift for those of us who are fresh veggie deprived. I was so inspired I broke out those last two chicken breasts and made a Chinese chicken salad. I threw in some of the carrots from my grocery binge last week and the green onions came from my mother-in-law who was going out of town. I topped the whole thing off with rice sticks and a yummy dressing.

Rice sticks are rice noodles that have been fried in hot oil. It makes them puff up. They are crispy and crunchy and make a nice addition to a Chinese chicken salad. Fried won ton wrappers are also nice. I didn't have any of those.

To make the dressing, throw all the following ingredients into a blender.

1 orange peeled
1 t. lime juice
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
2/3 c. sugar
3 T. soy sauce
3/4 c. canola oil
2 cloves garlic
1 t. salt
1/3 c. honey
2-3 T. sesame oil
2 T. sesame seeds (mine were black, which is why it looks like there are ants in my salad)

Week 6 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-05-20T09:51:00.002-06:00

Today marks the halfway mark for my grocery abstinence. I'm still feeling pretty good about things.

Apple Juice, again. After drinking all our commercial apple juice, we started in on the home canned apple juice in my parents' basement. Some of this was "spiced" with cinnamon. Kimball seemed to like this just as much as the plain. We have also downed all the plumb juice, which is surprisingly delicious. Perhaps I will juice more of them in September--or whenever plumbs are ripe. When are plumbs ripe?
Dry mustard. I used the last of this on the venison stir-fry.
Lime juice. I used up the last of this in the salad dressing we are using tonight. I will post it tomorrow.
Chocolate syrup. Well, we would have run out of this if I hadn't purchased a new bottle last Friday.
Chocolate chips. I might have eaten them as a snack.
Canned crab.

What We Ate for Dinner: Lemon Pepper Crab Cakes

2011-05-20T07:47:00.000-06:00

These would be so pretty if I had some nice green salad to put next to them. They look so lonely on the plate. But alas, my lettuce is not yet ready to eat. The crab cakes, however, were delicious even without salad.

Here is how I made them.

2 cans crab (6 oz. each)
the rest of Fiona's bread crumbs--about 1 1/3 cups
2 eggs
1/3 c. mayo
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together and form into patties. Grill until each side is brown.

I ate these with some homemade Winger's sauce. Kimball chose check-up, I mean ketchup.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

2011-05-19T22:43:00.000-06:00

It appears that I have been taking pictures for who knows how long without an SD card in the camera. So the only picture I have of the jam is what it looks like completed in my freezer.

This was a super easy way to make jam. It only has 4 ingredients. I made this with my friend, Jessica. We quadrupled the recipe and split the proceeds.

5 cups rhubarb, sliced into small pieces
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 c. juice (I used a tart grape juice made from the vines out back. It was all I had.)
1 small pkg. strawberry Jello

Combine first three ingredients and let sit for about an hour. Bring to a boil and stir while boiling for 12 minutes. Add Jello and then place in freezer containers. Yield: about 5 cups.

We ate this for lunch today. It's super sweet. But who doesn't love Jello? And, my friends, here is another reason to keep Jello in food storage--with a little fruit and a lot of sugar, you get jam. I have a feeling you might be seeing more rhubarb recipes because that is what is growing out back.

What We Ate for Dinner: Strawberries with a side of Planning

2011-05-19T10:19:00.000-06:00

I now have two days of dinners to post again. I feel like I am falling behind in everything. Perhaps this is what change and moving does to a person. It slows down everything non-essential and speeds up everything else and soon our heads are spinning. In any event, all I can think about is moving, and packing, and where I am going to put everything in our new place.

I am also contemplating making more freezer and quick meals so that we will have some things ready to take with us.

Here are the meals I have come up with that I can still make without going to the store:

asian meatballs (already prepared and in the freezer)
chicken enchiladas (already prepared and in the freezer)
shepherds pie (potential freezer meal)
stir fry with elk and green beans
crab cakes
lentil soup
eggs and hash browns
instant lasagna (this is one of those food storage/camping meals)
chili
ham and spinach scalloped potatoes (potential freezer meal)
turkey breast (perhaps with potatoes and gravy?)
chinese chicken salad (I think we will have this tomorrow)
pork chop and stuffing
homemade hamburger helper
spaghetti
venison stew
black bean burgers
chicken fried steak
tuna casserole

P.S. Yesterday, Kimball ate strawberries. All 4 pounds are now gone. I also shoved some leftover uglies in his mouth while he was watching garbage trucks on youtube. That is all he wants to watch lately.

P. P. S. We spent Tuesday evening at my in-laws again. I made us a chicken pot pie similar to this one.

What We Ate for Dinner: A Big Hunk of Change, I mean Cheese

2011-05-17T09:12:00.000-06:00

You may have noticed that I didn't blog yesterday. We had a very busy day looking for a place to rent in the Salt Lake Valley. I think we found something that will work for us. And the landlord will let me bring my chickens! What could be better? I'm going to be an urban farmer!

It will be interesting to see how my little experiment of no grocery shopping goes while trying to move. Let's just imagine that the emergency or disaster that I am pretending to simulate is causing my family to move. I don't want to have to eat out so I am going to try and move some of my easy meals into the new place with some kitchen stuff ASAP. The nice part is that the kitchen stuff is in storage and I will still have my mom's stuff in Mt. Pleasant to use down there. It just may work.

P.S. On Sunday, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup, of course. We used the rest of the homemade cheese for the sandwiches. They were pretty delicious. We ate them before I could even take a picture.

P.P.S. Last night we ate with my in-laws. I offered to cook and made us a stir-fry with chicken, frozen veggies and rice.

What We Ate for Dinner: Venison and Quinoa

2011-05-15T10:38:00.000-06:00

I tried a new recipe last night. It was from a book my friend gave me called Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat. Now, I am not one for diet cookbooks, but this one has a lot of recipes for beans and the bread recipes call for whole wheat flour so I have really enjoyed reading this book. (I read recipe books in bed at night.)

I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but I liked how it turned out. Here is what I did:

1 lb. venison steak sliced
2 T. soy sauce
2 t. vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 c. water

Marinate these ingredients in the fridge for 1 hour. Then saute them in a hot skillet, including marinade, until steak is near done. Then add:

1 can tomato soup
1 c. green onions sliced
2 c. broccoli
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1/4 c. water mixed with 1 T. corn starch

Cook until the broccoli is tender.

I served this over quinoa cooked with some chicken bullion. It tasted delicious, but the venison was though. I don't expect venison to be anything else, so it was fine. I bet it would be better with elk.

What We Ate for Dinner: Pizza!!

2011-05-14T12:19:00.000-06:00

I had this great stir fry all planned and then I got vetoed by Kimball and Bryce, who both wanted pizza. The trick was that pizza necessitated my making cheese. I was reluctant because I had made it three times before and only succeeded once. That is a terrible batting average. I didn't want to screw it up again because this time it was with our precious raw milk. (You can't make mozzarella from powdered milk unless you add cream). But, when the boys want something, the boys usually get it.

I will give you the short version of the cheese sage and just say that it was successful. Cheese making is more art than science and I am still struggling to find some talent buried deep inside. In any event, the cheese was great. Very melty.

Given our lack of fresh ingredients, the rest of the toppings were questionable. We had some Canadian bacon that I had frozen for just this purpose; that was tasty. In place of pepperoni we used Derek's jalapeno elk salami; it was way too hot for me. I had some green onions from a trade. The peppers rehydrated from diced peppers. The pizza sauce was the sauce I mentioned here. And the pizza dough I mentioned here. I need to find a better sauce for pizza. It was ok, but too chunky.

Baby Food and Cheating

2011-05-14T12:07:00.000-06:00

We made it five weeks with my only food purchases being a carton of yogurt and a boneless turkey breast (which is still in my freezer). Yesterday I fell off the band wagon and it was the baby food that threw me over the edge. A baby can only live so long on broccoli, strawberry-applesauce and yogurt. I am sure I could have dragged it out longer. But, yesterday, I stopped being sure I wanted to. Sure a bit of pride was at stake. And I feel like because I said I would do something I should do it. But the health of my baby was at stake and so I succumbed.

The real problem was that once I made it to the store and saw that strawberries were only $2.99 for two pounds, I decided everyone needed a treat. Here is what I came home with:

For Stanford: 30 jars of baby food and two boxes of cereal.
For Kimball: 4 pounds of strawberries, bananas and syrup.
For Bryce: Ice cream, chocolate syrup and carrots.
For myself: Marshmallows (for Rice Krispie treats!) and soy sauce.

Soy sauce, you are thinking? That is a treat? Well, we are dangerously low and soy is a basic ingredient in a lot of recipes I like to make. Now that I think about it I should have got a can of coconut milk. What was I thinking?? Shoot! I have been craving this curry recipe. I would even throw in my last two chicken breasts if I only had that coconut milk. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait until Stan runs out of food again.

By the way, Kimball ate an entire pound of strawberries himself as soon as they were clean. It was the perfect treat for him.

Week 5 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-05-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

vegetable baby food.
patience. I think I will be buying baby food this week.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers

2011-05-13T11:42:00.000-06:00

I didn't feel like cooking again. Tonight I will have to, the fridge is mostly cleaned out.

What We Ate for Dinner: Blue Jello

2011-05-12T10:03:00.000-06:00

Bryce is up in Salt Lake again. I didn't feel like cooking last night. So we ate blue Jello jigglers. Kimball was fascinated. I must have mixed it very vigorously because it was foamy on top.

Lots of food calculators recommend storing Jello. We don't eat it that often, but it was fun to have around yesterday.

We also ate leftovers. See, I did feed my toddler something other thing sugar. At least I did yesterday.

How I made my Buddy Burner

2011-05-11T13:24:00.002-06:00

I have a vague memory of making one of these when I was younger and I've been wanting to recreate it for months. I just needed a can opener for the vents, some wax and an excuse to do it. Having acquired the formerly absent tools, this blog has provided the excuse.

1. Cut a door on an empty #10 can. I used Cutco scissors. (Bryce was so proud--both of me and the scissors).

2. Punch vents in the back of the can with a can opener.

3. Cut cardboard to the height of tuna cans. Roll the cardboard and fill the cans.

4. Place wicks in between the cardboard near the center of the cans.

4. Melt some wax. I did this in the microwave. The wax is sometimes available in the grocery store with the canning supplies. Wax used to be used to cover jams and jellies. While such a technique is no longer recommended, you can still get the wax next to your pectin.

5. Fill the tuna cans with wax.

There go you go. I can't wait to try this. It seems a pretty cheap fuel source for cooking, especially for cloudy days when a solar oven is not an option. I read one website that said you can use a tuna can as a cake pan and an additional #10 can on top to make an oven. I will be sure to post the results.

What We Ate for Dinner: Fiona's Lemon Pepper Bread Crumbs

2011-05-11T13:17:00.000-06:00

I decided that Fiona's bread crumbs should be used in something fancy. Well, fancy-ish. I pulled out a pork chop, deboned it and cut it into five small pieces. Then is pounded them thin between two pieces of plastic wrap. Next, I assembled the breading stations.

Each piece got dipped first in flour, next in egg mixed with a little water and last the bread crumbs.

Then I fried those puppies up. I didn't really fry any puppies.

They were delicious. Even Kimball liked them. He did what any reasonable two-and-a-half-year-old would do: he dipped them in ketchup. Or as he says--"check-up".

What I did with Fiona's Broccoli

2011-05-10T09:28:00.000-06:00

The tops got stuck in a freezer bag for use in a future meal.

The bottoms got boiled and blended into baby food.

Thanks again, Fiona for the trade. We will all enjoy the broccoli, especially Stan.

What We Ate for Dinner: Gruel and Cornbread

2011-05-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

Gruel. That's what Bryce told me the soup looked like. And he had a point. I made black bean and ham soup. The black beans turned the broth the color of gruel. However, Bryce changed his tune when he tasted it. The soup had so much flavor thanks to the ham bone. Here is what I stuck in the crock pot yesterday morning:

1 ham bone
3 cans black beans with broth
1/3 c. dehydrated onion
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
4 cloves garlic
1 t. coriander
1 sprinkle of red pepper flakes
enough water to cover the ham bone

It simmered on low all day. An hour or so before we ate I pulled out the ham bone. I diced all the meat and put that back in. I tossed the bone.

I made cornbread to go with it. And for good measure I made honey butter from our homemade butter.

Making Butter from Cream

2011-05-09T18:23:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure this could be any easier. The hardest part was skimming the cream off the top of the milk.

1. Place cream in mixer. Turn mixer on.

2. Mix at a high speed and wait for it.

3. Wait for it.

4. Wait for it. (I confess there was a point that I thought it might not happen. My friend I got the milk from told me that if there was any milk in the cream it wouldn't turn to butter. I thought I might have been a poor skimmer . . . but . . .)

5. Butter! I tossed the water that was produced, technically "buttermilk." However, buttermilk today is a fermented skim milk and not really the same thing. I didn't salt the butter, but I suppose I could have. I worked out a little extra water when I put it in a jar. Bryce thinks this is the best butter he has ever tasted.

Loot from my trip up North

2011-05-09T10:07:00.000-06:00

It's good to be home after such a nice weekend. We really enjoyed our time with Bryce's parents. But I always love to come back to my own kitchen--and my own projects. I have lots of blogging to catch up on. And I need to make some bread since we are out.

We were lucky enough to bring a few things back with us without even going to the store.

3 oranges, 2 apples, broccoli, and some lemon pepper bread crumbs. My best friend Fiona was kind enough to trade these for some of my cheese sauce mix. She also threw in a bag of Mother's Iced Animal Crackers, but those did not last long enough to make it back.
1 bag of very veggie salad mix, 2 tomatoes and 4 sticks of string cheese came to us by way of exchange. Fiona's cute sister Laryssa gave them to us for another jar of cheese sauce mix. However, none of these items made it home with us. Kimball gobbled up the cheese sticks and the salad and tomatoes became our contribution to a Mother's Day meal.
1 ham bone, a pound or so of spiral sliced ham, 5 pounds of small red potatoes, more venison and elk and a #10 can of potato pearls. All this came from my in-laws. They are always so generous. The ham was from our Mother's Day meal. I have to say that it was one of the best hams that I have ever eaten. It was so moist, not dry at all. I have big plans for the bone and left over ham.

With family, kind friends and a few trades, we might just make it through 8 more weeks of no grocery shopping. But we still have a long way to go.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T09:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to all who mother. I am grateful to have a mother, a mother-in-law and to be a mother myself. But I am also grateful to those who have and continue to mother me. For sister, friends and sometimes strangers who provide guidance, advice (even when unwanted), examples and most of all love.

May you all feel celebrated today. And may we all strive to mother more and better.

Week 4 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-05-06T22:59:00.001-06:00

Another week has come and gone. And so have foods from our cupboards.

Diced Turkey. I had two bags of pre-cooked diced turkey. These make for quick meals, but now they are gone.
French Bread. The loaf I had hiding in the freezer was made into garlic toast. However, I think I could probably figure out how to make French bread.
Frozen Green Peppers. I have a large can of green peppers that are dehydrated that I might have to bust out.
Fruit Baby Food. This was sad, but Baby will not starve thanks to dehydrated fruits. See the post here.
Canned Corn. Or as Kimball calls it "popcorn". Good thing I still have one bag in the freezer.
Raspberry Jam. Sad. We have peach, but I like raspberry better.

My Very First Gallon of RAW MILK

2011-05-06T22:46:00.000-06:00

We were so excited to get our first gallon of fresh raw milk on Wednesday. We nearly drank the whole thing in less than a day! It was delicious! I drew a red line on the picture so you could see how much cream was on top. I skimmed it off and used it to make butter. Yes, that's right. I made my own butter. And I thought getting chickens made me feel like a country girl!

What We Ate for Dinner: Fin & Norah's

2011-05-06T22:37:00.000-06:00

Last night we packed up the car and headed up to Kaysville to spend Mother's Day weekend with Bryce's mother (and father). We decided to stop and have dinner at the Skybox restaurant because I had a gift certificate. Little did we know that the Skybox restaurant is no more.

So we dined at the new restaurant in it's place called Fin & Norah's. It was nice not to have to do the dishes for once.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers

2011-05-05T07:27:00.000-06:00

Yum. If you must know the details, we ate more Uglies with the Six Bean Salad.

Food Storage Six Bean Salad

2011-05-04T15:20:00.000-06:00

It probably won't surprise you to know that I have been craving salad. Without the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables, anything green sounds delicious. I found this Bean Salad recipe over at--you guessed it--Allrecipes.com. Here is what I threw in a reusable storage container:

1 can green beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
Approx. 1/4 c. frozen green bell pepper (it was all I had)
1/4 c. dehydrated onion
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. salad oil
1/2 c. white vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

I made this yesterday. It says to refrigerate for 8 hours, so I waited until today to try it. I have say, it really hit the spot.

What We Ate for Dinner: Uglies

2011-05-04T06:50:00.000-06:00

That's what they're called: Uglies. I didn't make that up. I went searching for a ground beef recipe on Allrecipes.com because ground elk is the one thing I have. I found a recipe for Uglies.

Basically, its a biscuit in a muffin tin filled with ground beef and BBQ sauce and topped with cheese. I totally splurged on this meal because I had to make my own biscuits and they used a whole cube of butter. I also used up most of our cheddar cheese. I served these up with our last can of corn. Kimball liked the corn best.

The little uglies were pretty easy to make. I used a recipe for cheddar buttermilk biscuits that I have made before. In place of the buttermilk I used 1 t. lemon juice + enough milk to equal the 3/4 c. Let that sit at room temperature until it starts to curdle. There you go, buttermilk substitute!

I used a sunflower cookie cutter because it was the biggest I had. But they worked out perfectly because the scalloped edges made it so the biscuit fit into the muffin tin so easily. And they looked so cute.

For the sauce, I used the powdered BBQ sauce I mentioned here. However, I had to doctor it up a bit. I added Worcestershire sauce and extra water and vinegar.

It ended up tasting more like a sloppy joe, which was ok. But I won't be using this powdered mix a lot. I am still going to look for a good canned BBQ sauce I can make.

With a better BBQ sauce I might actually make these little uglies again.

Baby Food from Food Storage: Strawberry Applesauce

2011-05-03T10:32:00.000-06:00

Last night I used up the last jar of fruit baby food. So today I needed to make something that Stanford could eat. I figured out a month or so ago that you could make apple sauce from dehydrated apple chips. Today I added some dehydrated strawberries.

All you need to do is add enough water to cover the fruit, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pan. Let it simmer until the fruit looks like mush.

Put the mush in a blender and blend well.

Then put the contents in ice cube trays. Once frozen you can transfer to a freezer bag. Alternatively, if you are not making baby food, you can simply refrigerate the apple sauce in a air tight jar.

What We Ate for Dinner: Mulligatawny Soup and "Soup Mix"

2011-05-03T06:58:00.001-06:00

Are you familiar with the "Soup Mix" that used to be available at LDS Canneries? I found a recipe online if you are inclined to make your own, however, I wouldn't bother. You see, the Soup Mix is annoying. The various ingredients--split peas, lentils, rice, and alphabet pasta--all take different times to cook. The split peas are still crunchy by the time the pasta has turned to mush. Be that as it may, I have Soup Mix in my food storage (thanks to Bryce's grandma and mother) and I feel obligated to use it. So last night I did.

I made mulligatawny soup for the first time. I have been craving curry, but without any coconut milk on hand, I haven't found anything that satisfied--until now!

1/4 c. dehydrated onion
1/4 c. dehydrated carrots
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
3 t. curry powder
8 c. water
8 chicken bullion cubes
1/2 c. dehydrated apple chips
2 c. diced chicken breasts (I used turkey)
1 c. Soup Mix (you could use rice instead)
1 can evaporated milk

I threw all the ingredients, except the milk, into the crock pot and cooked on high for 4 hours. 1/2 hour before serving, I turned it to low and poured in the milk. The picture is nothing to look at, but it was delicious! We will be adding some version of this soup to our regular meal rotation. It was *that* good.

What We Ate for Dinner: Do you even need to ask?

2011-05-02T06:41:00.002-06:00

We had grilled cheese and tomato soup. Bryce always asks for it on Sunday and I always oblige--so long as we have cheese. We still have the grated cheddar that was frozen. It's a bit messy for sandwiches, but tastes great. By the way, the picture is not mine, but they do look good.

Cookbooks I Love: Allrecipes.com

2011-05-01T20:53:00.000-06:00

I don't know that a website can count as a cookbook, but I don't know what I would do without allrecipes.com. If you haven't used the site, you should check it out; if you have, you probably know what I mean.

Allrecipes.com is a site when regular people like you and me have submitted their recipes, and then more regular people like you and me have rated them. It's so helpful when I am looking to use up ingredients or find something specific. I especially love the reviews because I can get an idea of how easy the recipe is and how it might need to be altered.

I used this site to find a recipe for graham crackers to modify for butter powder and for countless other things I have made before this experiment began. If you are looking for help in the kitchen, allrecipes.com is a great place to start!

What We Ate for Dinner: Green Garden Burgers, Onion Rings and Homemade Winger's Sauce

2011-05-01T06:28:00.000-06:00

I used up another of my freezer meals for dinner. My sister-in-law Kirstin made these green veggie burgers for a freezer meal exchange we did some months ago. They are really delicious and are the next best thing to fresh greens. Well, almost. I looked at the recipe and am wondering if it could be modified for food storage items. I think it could probably work with frozen spinach. I only have one more package of frozen spinach and I haven't decided what to do with it.

I found the batter for the onion rings in my pantry. It's amazing what you can find when you start to clean things out.

We also used some homemade Winger's sauce I had in the fridge (Just so you know I skip the corn syrup). With a little mayo this was an awesome dip for the onion rings. I also liked it on my veggie burger.

The Votes Are In!

2011-04-30T15:10:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote. I know this is all a bit silly. But I'm having fun and love hearing from those who are reading my blog. 60% of you think that we should be able to purchase milk from a local dairy farmer. I am grateful and relieved. 12 weeks of powdered milk is a bit much.

Your response has made me think a lot about what it might be like if there were some kind of disaster or emergency. I think I had it in my head that if something happened I would be stuck with what I have in my house and would have to learn to survive with what little I had stored. That presumes that the world would freeze and become static. It never does. I think it more likely that we would try and help each other out. We would barter, trade, donate and purchase from each other what we need. At least that is the disaster scenario that I am going to imagine. The need to defend our food storage with guns I will leave to my husband.

So, I think this means that my experiment is changing a bit. We will continue to eat from our pantry, but where I am able to purchase food from local producers, I will. This new change is good because my purchase yesterday from the Norbest turkey plant is no longer cheating. I bought a small boneless turkey breast roast, which was considered a "second"--meaning it had a defect of some kind, such as a packaging defect. You can't beat $1.00 per pound. I mostly bought it because I thought it rude to ask about factory "seconds" and then not buy something when the nice lady went to the trouble of getting them from the freezer for me.

What We Ate for Dinner: Meatball Minestrone

2011-04-30T09:39:00.000-06:00

This is a family recipe for a delicious soup that calls for Jimmy Dean sage flavored sausage. Since I didn't have that, I used the rest of the meatballs I made earlier this week. I think the sausage adds more flavor, but I threw in some pasta shells and we all agreed that this was delicious. Here is my food storage version:

1 40 oz can tomato juice
4 c. water
5 beef bullion cubes
1/4 c. dehydrated onion
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 can corn drained
1 can kidney beans drained
10 oz frozen green beans
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
1/4 c. dehydrated carrots
18 elk meatballs cooked (I baked them at 400)
1-2 c. pasta

I threw everything into the crock pot except the pasta. That went in 1/2 hour before serving. I served it with garlic bread, since I had one loaf of French bread in the freezer. I like to buy them day old and throw them in the freezer until I need them.

As a side note, I love Johnny's garlic spread for making a quick garlic bread. I just sprinkle it over butter and broil until golden brown. The seasoning is available at Costco. You can bet this will be a part of our food storage.

What We Ate for Dinner: Baked Penne with Chicken and Spinach

2011-04-29T18:13:00.000-06:00

This was one of the last of my freezer meals. I have been debating about whether to post a recipe, the problem being that I can't remember how I made it. I have the recipe I used, but that doesn't help me much because I modified the recipe. I will give you the recipe as I have it and then talk a little about what I probably did to give you an idea how to modify a recipe for what you have on hand.

1 lb. penne or rigatoni
6 T. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/3 c. flour
2 1/2 c. whole milk
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground white pepper
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. finely diced Provolone cheese
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" dice, sauteed until golden brown.
9 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach
1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley

2 c. freshly ground breadcrumbs
2 T. melted butter
1 t. dried Italian seasoning

Cook the pasta until al dente. This is especially important if you are going to freeze this after you make it because the pasta will absorb moisture from the sauce when it bakes. Pasta that is well done will be mushy.

Saute garlic and shallots in butter until soft. Add flour and cook for a minute to incorporate. Whisk in milk until thickened on medium heat. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, cheese, chicken and spinach. Pour over pasta in large bowl and toss with parsley. Pour everything in baking dish and top with breadcrumbs mixed with butter and seasonings. Bake covered in foil at 375 for 20 or 30 if refrigerated. If frozen, bake until 160 internal temperature. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.

Here is what I probably did. I would have used regular onion in place of the shallots. In place of the whole milk, I would have used a can of evaporated plus powdered milk to equal the 2 1/2 cups. Evaporated milk is a pretty good replacement for cream in soup and sauce recipes. I would have used regular black pepper in place of the white and mozzarella in place of the provolone. I also used frozen spinach, defrosted in place of the fresh. And dried parsley.

I modify a lot of recipes like this. You shouldn't be afraid of using equivalents when cooking. But don't forget when you are using dried herbs to only use half as much as the recipe calls for. Dried herbs are more potent than fresh.

The Downside

2011-04-29T14:41:00.001-06:00

One of the downsides to this experiment, other than not being able to buy a bag of Cheetos, is all the dishes. I run a full dishwasher at least twice a day. I try and remind myself that at least I have a dishwasher.

Week 3 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-04-29T13:23:00.000-06:00

Wow, three weeks completed. That's 1/4 of the way done. And we continue to run out of stuff:

Spray Oil. This is one of those things that you can live without, but you don't really want to. I will miss it when I make pancakes and bread.
Mozzarella. I knew this day was coming.
Grape juice. My sister-in-law has concord grape vines in her back yard. For the past two years I have helped her juice them and she had shared the bounty. This juice is so delicious. We will miss it.

There are lots of things we are almost out of, but I will save those for next week.

Don't forget to VOTE

2011-04-28T14:44:00.001-06:00

The poll to decide whether we can buy milk from a local dairy farmer ends on Saturday, April 30, 2011. If you haven't had the chance don't forget to vote!

Really? No one else wants to Trade?

2011-04-28T08:17:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my friend, Megan, traded a jar of cheese sauce mix for five bananas and a bunch of green onions. Kimball ate two bananas before I could take a picture. I have more cheese sauce mix for whoever wants to give it a try. This is a great chance to figure out if cheese powder is something you want to store. You can email me at katenhansen@gmail.com if you are interested. Or is begging better? We can use whatever fruits and veggies you have to spare.

What We Ate for Dinner: Leftovers and another Failure

2011-04-28T06:46:00.002-06:00

I made the elk meatballs again. Sometimes leftovers are nice.

I also put together the curry potato casserole that I mentioned here. While it looked nice, it did not taste nice. The curry was too hot and the potatoes didn't have a soft potato-like texture. I have been looking for more things to do with dehydrated potatoes, but so far hash browns and funeral potatoes are all I got. I think it's the texture. Oh, well.

Make Your Own Graham Crackers--With Powdered Butter

2011-04-27T20:32:00.000-06:00

To begin with, I have to tell you I really had very low expectations for this recipe. I was determined to attempt graham crackers so Bryce could continue with his chocolate icing fix. I decided that it was the perfect time to try butter powder in a recipe. While I have used it in recipes from the Mix-A-Meal cookbook, I hadn't used it as a replacement for actual butter in any other recipes. The graham crackers seemed like a good place to start.

Here was the problem, the recipe called for the butter to be creamed. Not unusual in a recipe for a cookie. But powdered butter does not actually "cream." Oh, well, I thought. I would just make the recipe and see how it went. I am not afraid of failure.

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. white flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 c. butter powder

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. white sugar

1 T. molasses

1/3 c. honey

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. milk

I mixed the above in the mixer and out came a VERY sticky dough. But I followed the directions and put it in plastic wrap to spend 8 hours in the fridge.

Surprisingly, after it chilled, I was able to roll it out with the help of some extra flour. Instead of simply cutting them into cracker shapes, Kimball and I used cookie cutters (i.e. I occupied my toddler for an hour until he got bored).

Baked for 12 minutes at 325. And do you know what? They tasted like graham crackers!! I was shocked. I was prepared to throw the whole mess out. Instead, I made myself some chocolate icing.

What We Ate for Dinner: Elk Meatballs and Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2011-04-27T06:41:00.004-06:00

1 lb ground elk (or beef)
1 c. bread crumbs (I made my own from the ends of bread I throw in the freezer)
4 T. dehydrated onions
2 T. dehydrated parsley
1/2 T. onion salt
2 eggs

Mix well.

Form balls. Freeze extras on a cookie sheet. I made 32, but with Bryce gone I only cooked 6.

The sauce was home canned. The recipe was from this book, but you can find it here. A friend of mine had some canned crushed tomatoes in #10 cans she didn't know what to do with. We made it into sauce. This was actually the first time I tried it. It was good, but I thought the cinnamon was a little heavy.

Kimball liked it. I still don't know how he got it on his forehead.

I would rather starve than eat this . . .

2011-04-26T16:46:00.000-06:00

One of the fun things about this experiment is that we have received so many different food storage products from Bryce's parents and grandparents. In the interest of education I have busted them open and tried to use them.

However, I have come across the first thing I have no use for: Ham Flavored Textured Vegetable Protein. It smells like dog food. I reconstituted some according to the package directions thinking that it might be ok in some scrambled eggs. No. Soggy bacon bits would not be ok in anything. Sorry, I tried.

Cookbooks I Love: Not Your Mother's Casseroles

2011-04-26T14:27:00.001-06:00

A few months ago I checked this book out of the Salt Lake City Library. I happen to like casseroles. They make great freezer meals, there are fewer dishes to wash and the leftovers make easy lunches for Bryce.

This is probably the best casserole book I've read. I used this book to inspire the Asian Pork Meatballs, as well as, the bean dish with dehydrated vegetables. I am also working on a curry potato dish with dehydrated potatoes that has its roots in this book. I'll post it as soon as I get a chance to throw it together.

If you like the ease of casseroles, but don't want to use another can of cream soup, this is the book for you!

What We Ate for Dinner: Pork Chop

2011-04-26T07:38:00.000-06:00

We finally broke out one of the three pork chops I have left in the freezer--we always split one. It was Bryce's request. I served it with homemade Rice-A-Roni in the curry flavor and a can of green beans. The best part was the glaze on the pork chop. I didn't really measure the ingredients, so here is an approximate recipe:

2 T. soy sauce
2 t. yellow mustard
2 T. jalapeno jelly
1 1/2 T. sugar

Mix ingredients together. Dredge pork chop in glaze. Bake at 375 until the internal temperature registers 165. You can use the extra sauce to dip your chops in.

Cookbooks I Love: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2011-04-25T14:09:00.000-06:00

Ok, this isn't really a cookbook, but it does contain recipes. I think subconsciously this is the book that inspired my no grocery shopping journey, and if not that then at the very least I was inspired to attempt to make cheese (which I hope to blog about soon).

In the book Barbara Kingsolver and her family chronicle the year they moved from Mesa, AZ to their 40 acre farm in southern Appalachia to produce the food they ate, or at least buy it locally.

The book really made me think about the sources of the food I eat and the political and economic impacts those choices have. I am trying to make better food choices for my family as a result. In addition to the chickens and growing our own garden, we plan to pick blackberries and raspberries this summer in Payson. I also hope to buy more organic vegetables from local farms. We are a little late to purchase a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share, but maybe next year.

In any event, I highly recommend this book.

What We Ate for Dinner: Can you guess?

2011-04-25T07:20:00.001-06:00

As mentioned last week, grilled cheese and tomato soup is Bryce's favorite Sunday meal. So that's what we had again. Well, that's what Bryce had again. I actually had grilled tuna.

We are now officially out of mozzarella.

Wanna trade?

2011-04-24T21:15:00.001-06:00

When I first tell people about this self-imposed grocery deprivation, their response is nearly predictable: "What are you going to do for fresh fruits and vegetables?" I don't quite know how to respond. For thousands of years humans have gone long periods of time without fresh fruits and vegetables; it's called winter. It's really only been in the last hundred years or so that we have had the luxury of fresh produce year round.

While the fresh stuff is nice, I don't quite feel deprived. We have lots of canned and frozen stuff on hand. I have also planned on bartering for what we need. This weekend I traded with my sister, Charlotte, for the lovely grapes you see above. In exchange for the grapes, I gave Char some powdered cheese sauce mix.

Anyone else want to try the cheese sauce mix in exchange for something? Fruits and veggies are good, but I would also love some chicken. Just let me know and I will work out how to get it to you.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:42:00.000-06:00

The Easter Bunny found us in Kaysville this morning and left lots of treats that won't be found in our house for a number of weeks. How did that bunny know? We made it back to Mt. Pleasant in time for church. It feels so good to be home. The chickens survived without us (they did have a caretaker while we were gone) and it seems we are out of a lot of staples. I think I will be making bread and yogurt tomorrow. Bryce requested more fruit chunks in his yogurt, so I will try cutting up some canned peaches to go on the bottoms.

Tomato Powder in place of Tomato Paste

2011-04-23T08:07:00.001-06:00

One of the nice things about this experiment is that I have had the chance to use a lot of powdered products. We are especially lucky because Bryce's parents have gifted us these so we didn't have to spend the money on them. As I use them, I am trying to figure out if they are something I would like to keep as part of my long term storage.

The Tomato Powder is something I am still trying to figure out. I have to say that I was not really impressed with the tomato sauce it made. My next attempt was to use it as a substitute for tomato paste. This was much more successful.

I made a bean skillet meal that I have made before, only I substituted dried onions and tomato powder.

1/2 c. dehydrated onions, reconstituted in water with water reserved
3-4 cloves garlic
1 T. tomato powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. salt
3 cans black beans, drained
1 can corn

I sauted the onions and garlic and then added the tomato powder, cumin and salt. Once incorporated I added the beans and corn. Then I used the onion water to keep things moist. It tasted pretty much the same as when I have made it with tomato paste.

I used the last of my tortillas with brown rice to make some burritos for Bryce's lunches. Those went into the freezer for later use.

I also had a bowl myself with some cheese on top. That's real cheese, my friends, and I don't have much left. This recipe makes a ton. Even after 9 burritos and a bowl for myself, I froze a quart sized freezer bag more.

Week 2 Roundup: What we ran out of

2011-04-22T19:46:00.000-06:00

I can't believe the second week of living on food storage is actually over. I had to update last week's list of items we ran out of after I realized we used up more than I accounted for. Let's hope I don't have to do the same this week.

Syrup. This was the maple flavored syrup that Kimball loves on his pancakes. We didn't so much run out as have the syrup attacked by ants in the cupboard. Sad loss. Maple flavoring would be a good thing to have in food storage.
Saltines. Bryce likes these with his tomato soup. I'm considering making some from scratch, provided I can find my jar of scratch--i.e. if the recipe calls for butter, Bryce might have to go without. Ok, maybe this butter thing is going too far.
Graham crackers. We had several boxes of these to begin with, but without ice cream Bryce has turned to chocolate icing for comfort. I might have to find a homemade recipe for these too. I'm pretty sure these will require butter. Oh, well. Graham crackers and chocolate icing might be a butter worthy activity.
Milk. I'm talking about the real stuff here. It's powdered from here on out. Or raw milk provided you all vote in the poll to the right.
Oranges, the last of our fresh fruit. We had two, they are both gone.
Apple juice. Poor Kimball. I think my parents have some homemade spiced cider in the basement. It may not be there when they get home.
Tortillas. Add these to the list of things to learn to make.