Strawberries!

I just wanted to pop in and say, "Hi!" And let you know that I'm still around, but have been super busy the last 2 days.  My hubby got a great deal on 30+ lbs of strawberries, 24 quarts, so I have hand my hands full (of strawberries) trying to clean and prepare and freeze them before they go bad.  And trying to do that with two kiddos that are not cooperating with their naps or nighttime sleep has been extra fun!  

So far I have 4 gallon size bags of whole strawberries, a double batch of freezer jam, 2 batches of strawberry coulis (sauce), and several containers of sliced strawberries with sugar, in my freezer. Of course we're eating them by the handful and over strawberry shortcake as well!  And I still have 6 more quarts to go through. I have been using information from this great post at Simple Bites to help me with knowing how to freeze the berries.  We're actually hoping to go strawberry picking this weekend too and get a few more to make another batch or two of jam, and have a few more bags of whole frozen strawberries.

It such a great feeling to know that we supported a local farmer, got high quality berries (they were not sprayed with any pesticides, strawberries are on the Dirty Dozen list), and are putting away yummy food that we will be able to enjoy throughout the year. All while saving money because these berries were much cheaper than buying the frozen variety at the grocery store! I'm already looking forward to having strawberry shortcake in the middle of winter! It will be so refreshing to have a little taste of summer when it's cold and snowy out! (Okay, I don't really want to think about that anymore, I am loving summer right now!)
 
Alright, the strawberries are calling me - whew, who knew this would be so much work?  But it is so worth it!

Are you preserving strawberries this year?  What is your favorite way to freeze or preserve them? 

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Thanks for visiting Live Renewed! If this is your first time here and you'd like to learn more about me and what Live Renewed is about, click here. If you like what you've read, and would like to read more, you can subscribe to my blog by clicking here! You can also follow me on Twitter.

June's Change Challenge is Frugally Green Baby Care. You can catch up on all the Change Challenge posts here.

Are you brand new to being frugally green? Be sure to check out my Frugally Green Fundamentals.

Visit Finer Things Fridays at The Finer Things in Life

Crockpot Southwestern Beans

Finally! Here is the recipe that I was telling you about for Southwestern Beans in the crock pot.  I love using the crock pot in the summer! Usually you think of crock pots for winter meals like soups and stews, and while it's probably true that most crock pot meals are a little on the heavier side, I love that I don't have to turn on my oven; that I can throw everything in in the morning and then spend the time before dinner outside, instead of in a hot kitchen; and that I can even plug in the crock pot outside to cook so it doesn't heat up the house at all! 

This recipe came from my wonderful sister, (who's getting married later this month, I might add!) and we both had our own ways of adapting it to fit our tastes - or really we didn't follow the directions of the recipe and it still turned out good! :)

This is a great meatless meal, good flavor and still really filling, and especially if you used dried beans, it is so super frugal.  This will probably become a regular for our Meatless Mondays.  

Southwestern Bean Medley in the Crock Pot

14 ounces vegetable broth - (I used homemade chicken stock)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained) - (I used the equivalent of cooked dried beans)
1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 can white kidney beans (cannellini) - (I used the equivalent of uncooked, dried Great Northern Beans, because white kidney beans are a little bit more expensive.)
1/2 C dried lentils
1 C diced tomatoes with green chilies
Copped fresh cilantro leaves

Mix all ingredients except tomatoes and cilantro in 3 1/2 quart slow cooker (or whatever size you happen to have). Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours.  Add tomatoes.  Cover and cook for 1 hour.  Sprinkle with cilantro.

Now for my my sister and I's personal notes:
She put the tomatoes in at the beginning and they were fine.  I didn't put the tomatoes in at the beginning, and then forgot to put them in at all! Still tasted fine, but we think it would have been even better with the tomatoes.  Next time I'll just put them in at the beginning, just so I don't forget.

The recipe suggests serving over rice, which we both did, and really enjoyed it that way.  My sister told me that it turned out more soupy than she expected, so the last hour or so, she left the lid vented to cook off some of the liquid.  I lifted the lid for maybe the last 30 minutes, and we didn't think it was too soupy, but I did use some dried beans that weren't cooked yet, so that might have soaked up some of the liquid.

If you are going to use uncooked dried beans for this recipe, you need to make sure that you soak them ahead of time.  I just soaked mine overnight and then put them in the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients the next morning.  I also added some extra chicken broth to make sure the beans were cooked through.

My sister and I both added extra seasoning toward the end of the cooking time to increase the flavor - you could add salt, pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper and/or cumin to suit your tastes.  My sister also added some chopped jalapenos, and though my hubby would have loved them, I'm not a jalapeno person, so that didn't happen at our house.  So, just taste it as your nearing the end of the cooking time and add spices accordingly.

Sorry I don't have any good pictures to go along with this post - this is why I am *not* a food blogger! :) 

Enjoy!

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Thanks for visiting Live Renewed! If this is your first time here and you'd like to learn more about me and what Live Renewed is about, click here. If you like what you've read, and would like to read more, you can subscribe to my blog by clicking here! You can also follow me on Twitter.

This month's Change Challenge is - Frugally Green Baby Care. You can catch up on all the Change Challenge posts here.

Are you brand new to being frugally green? Be sure to check out my Frugally Green Fundamentals.

This post is linked to:
Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom
Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge
Food on Fridays at Anne Kroeker

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Photo by hollygon21

My kids and I eat homemade yogurt on almost a daily basis, and I am still here to tell you about it!
Homemade yogurt might seem overwhelming, or a little scary - you are culturing bacteria after all, but it really couldn't be easier.  Plus it's good for your wallet, it will definitely save you money, especially over buying the individual fruit flavored cups, and good for the earth because it saves on the processing and packaging of conventional yogurt.

I made my first batch of homemade yogurt just about a year ago, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times that I have bought yogurt since then.  Over the past year of making yogurt, I have come up with a few tips and tricks that help me to make the the best yogurt (in my humble opinion).

I'm sorry that I don't have any of my own pictures.  I don't usually think about taking pictures when I'm making, or eating for that matter, my homemade yogurt.

Easy Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot

*Plug in a crockpot and turn on low.  It's very important to do this first so you don't forget, and so the crockpot is the right temperature when you're ready to pour the milk in - can you tell I know this from experience?  

*Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches 190 degrees. (I use a candy thermometer I got at Meijer for $10). You can use whatever amount of milk you want - I usually do either 4 cups or 8 cups. You want to be careful not to let the milk burn on the bottom of the pan, and make sure it doesn't boil over - so stir often and keep an eye on it.

Also, I have stopped checking the temperature during this step.  It's just one less thing to have to do.  When the milk starts getting bubbly and frothy (or it boils over onto your stovetop) you know it's done.

*Once milk reaches 190 (bubbling) remove from burner and run a sink half full of cold water.  Cover the pan and place into water in sink.  (This is kind of obvious, but make sure the water doesn't go over the top of the pan, just part way up the sides.) You can add ice to the water as well, but I've found that it doesn't really cool the milk down any faster, and that's again one less thing to do.  Can you tell I'm all about simplifying steps here?!

*Let milk cool down, stirring occasionally.  Once milk has reached between 90 and 110 degrees (I've read different temps here, I usually do about 100 degrees), remove pan from water. 

*Put yogurt starter into a bowl (I use glass) and pour about a cup of the warm milk over it and stir together. Use 2 Tbsp of yogurt starter per 4 cups of milk. Meanwhile pour remaining milk into heated crockpot.  Pour milk and yogurt from bowl into the crockpot and stir it all together. 

*Put the lid on, turn off and unplug the crockpot and wrap a heavy towel around it.  Let sit for 6-10 hours. (I usually do around 8 hours).

*Place crockpot bowl in fridge to cool yogurt - this step is really important because it helps the yogurt to set better.  Since I started doing this my yogurt has been nice and thick and creamy.  If you don't have room for your crockpot in your fridge, you can carefully ladle yogurt into containers and cool in the fridge.  Don't stir too much, it needs to be disrupted as little as possible in order to set well. 

*Set aside about a 1/2 cup of yogurt to be used as yogurt starter for your next batch. 

A few more tips:
Your yogurt starter should be plain yogurt that specifically says "Live and Active Cultures" on the package.  I use Dannon, and have had success with both the regular (full fat) yogurt and the fat-free plain yogurt (that is all they sell in the small cups at my grocery store).

I use whole milk to make yogurt because we have switched to using all full fat dairy products.  But, I know that my sister uses 2% milk with good results, although she says it's not as thick as when you use whole milk.

If you are having trouble with your milk burning on the bottom of the pan, turn your heat down.  It might take longer for the milk to heat up, but you should have less trouble with it burning.

It definitely depends on the price of your milk, but last year, I figured out that it cost me $1 to make 64 oz (8 cups) of yogurt, more than a $3 savings off Dannon plain yogurt on sale, and even greater savings compared to buying the individual fruit cups.

Our favorite ways to eat homemade yogurt are with a little raw honey and frozen fruit, usually blueberries, or topped with homemade granola.  Here is a great way to make your own fruit yogurt to-go cups, instead of buying the individual ones: just mix the frozen fruit and honey into the yogurt in a container with a lid, and the fruit will help to keep it cold but will have thawed out by the time you are ready to eat it.  Yum!

Have you considered making your own yogurt at home?  Do you have any questions about it?  


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Thanks for visiting Live Renewed! If this is your first time here and you'd like to learn more about me and what Live Renewed is about, click here. If you like what you've read, and would like to read more, you can subscribe to my blog by clicking here! You can also follow me on Twitter.

May's Change Challenge is Decreasing Your Household Waste. You can catch up on all the Change Challenge posts here.

Are you brand new to being frugally green? Be sure to check out my Frugally Green Fundamentals.


This post is linked to:
Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom
Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge
Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker

Cooking from Scratch

Photo by nc_hiker

I have been cooking more and more from scratch at home then ever before.  Partly I'm trying to be frugal and save money by buying basic baking and cooking supplies in bulk and then using them to make stuff at home.

Also, I really like being able to control the ingredients and what goes into the food we eat.  After reading Real Food and watching Food, Inc. (more to come on that soon), I'm convinced that there's a lot of "food" out there that isn't really food, and that we shouldn't be putting in our bodies.  I'm also becoming more convinced that there is a lot of stuff that looks and sounds good for us, but when I turn the package over and read the ingredients I am unpleasantly surprised by what I find.

Another thing that's great about cooking from scratch is that I can make at home what I may have previously had to run out the store and buy to be able to make dinner.  Last night I was making Mexican Rice for our small group and realized I didn't have any taco seasoning, so I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and viola, homemade taco seasoning and yummy homemade Mexican Rice.  Or tonight we're having quesadillas and I don't have any tortillas.  No worries, I now have tortilla dough resting on the counter waiting to be rolled out and cooked and then I can use them to make our quesadillas.  With basic ingredients always on hand you know you'll be able to throw together just about anything you might need to complete a homemade meal for your family. 

I was recently reading an interview with the author Michael Pollan.  He wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.  (I haven't read either, but hope to within this year.)  I thought it was really interesting, because in this interview, Mr. Pollan talks about cooking at home as an important step, maybe the most important step to take, in beginning to change our eating habits and changing the food industry. He says that when we let a big company or corporation cook for us, they use less than ideal ingredients because they are cheap and we think they taste good.  They use way too much fat, salt and sugar, more than we would ever use if we were cooking for ourselves.  Companies are not in the food business to provide us with the healthiest, best food for our bodies. They don't have our best interest at heart.  I had never thought about it in that way before, and it's just one more reason for me to try to cook as much at home as I can.

Cooking from scratch doesn't have to be all or nothing.  Start by thinking of one or two things that you buy at the store that you could probably make pretty easily at home.  Take baby steps, make small changes and before you know it, you'll be making all kinds of things from scratch.

Here's a quick list of things I used to buy, but now make at home:
Yogurt
Granola
Tortillas
Dried beans (instead of canned beans)
Dinner Rolls
Vanilla Coffee Creamer
Brownies
Bread (I still buy bread for sandwiches, trying to find a good homemade sandwich bread recipe)
Hummus
Granola bars
Lemonade
Chicken Stock
Taco seasoning
Chicken Nuggets
Peanut Butter (I still buy natural peanut butter, but I do make it at home sometimes too)
*There may be more, but that's about all I can think of right now. 

And Things I still want to try making myself:
Pita bread - tried this once and it was a disaster - let's just say I set off the fire alarm!
Vanilla extract
Mayo and Salad Dressings
Sandwich bread
*There's lots more on this list too, but I have to keep it manageable and doable to not get overwhelmed.  Baby steps, right! 

Cooking from scratch at home gives us the opportunity to feed our families healthy, nourishing food that has not been processed beyond recognition, and not to trust our food to a company who cares more about their bottom line than about our waistline.  I encourage you to try cooking one new thing from scratch at home this week!

Baking Day Bonanza!

So, I started my first attempt at baking/freezer cooking days yesterday.  Things went pretty well.  Not as great as I had planned, but I was trying not to set my expectations too high since this was my first time attempting something like this.

The one picture I managed to take yesterday - yummy pumpkin muffins!

A few thoughts from the day:

• It is WAY easier to have one child then two, why did I ever think that having one child was so hard?  Grammie came and picked up Kaelyn for the day yesterday, so I just had Bren and it made things much easier for me.  We even went to the grocery store in the middle of the snow with bad roads, something I would NEVER do with two kids in tow! 
• Going to the grocery store in the middle of your baking day will cause you to not get as much stuff done. Duh! I really wanted to make meatballs and on my shopping trip last week realized that it was too early to get ground beef to use this week without freezing it in between, and I didn't get to the store earlier this week, so I chose to go yesterday when I only had to bring one child.  But, that obviously affected how much cooking I could get done. 
• Babies NEVER take naps when you want/need them too.  Yesterday B slept for a total of 1 1/2 hours during the day. 45 min. in the morning and 45 min. in the afternoon, not really enough time to get anything significant done.  He actually woke up from his afternoon nap just as I was plunging my hands into the meatball mixture.  I had to let him cry for a few minutes because my hands were all gross. 
• Most of the recipes I planned to make, I have never made before.  This makes things a little harder too, because there is always a learning curve with new recipes.  So, some things took me a little extra time because I didn't exactly know what I was doing.  That's all part of the process though - learning new things! 

Here's what I accomplished yesterday: 

-make meatballs (made 48 meatballs and a small meatloaf)
-make chicken nuggets (cut out breasts from the whole chicken, cut up and ready to go)
-bake pumpkin muffins (made a double batch and froze 25 muffins)
-make tortillas (dough is in the fridge, ready to be made today)
-cook whole chicken and make chicken stock (made 11 cups of stock and got 3 cups of shredded chicken meat for chimis)
-make chimichangas (waiting on making the tortillas)
-bake crispy cheese crackers (These are pretty good, but kind of a lot of work - especially if you don't know what you're doing)
-roast butternut squash (need to puree and freeze for baby food)
-bake apple squares

So, today I need to bake apple squares, roll out and fry up tortillas, make chimis, and make chicken nuggets.  Really not too bad.

The worst part of all this is that I basically did nothing else around my house yesterday, and the kitchen is still pretty messy.  I did clean up some last night, but I was pretty tired and there were A LOT of dishes, so I didn't get them all done.  Somehow I have the feeling that I'm not going to get them all done today either - we'll see. And meanwhile the laundry is piling up, the kitchen table is covered with stuff, The house is just kind of in disarray. :(  So, that's not fun to know that I have that to take care of on top of the rest of the cooking.  At least it's Friday, and I know I have lots of yummy food to show for my hard work!

Also, I tweeted a bit yesterday throughout the day as I cooked and baked.  Yes, I am on twitter now. :)  You can follow along with me (@liverenewed), and others bloggers who are baking and cooking over the weekend with the hash tag #oamc.  You can also follow along at Life as Mom and Money Saving Mom for their February Freezer Cooking Days.

Easy Black Bean Hummus

I've been making this hummus for a while and it's so easy and yummy too.  And it doesn't require tahini, which lots of other recipes do and is fairly expensive to buy.  One more thing to make at home and not have to buy store-bought!

Black Bean Hummus
1 can black beans, drained (or the equivalent in cooked dried beans, about 1 2/3 cup)
1 can garbanzo beans or chickpeas (or the equivalent in cooked dried beans)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. plain yogurt (I use my homemade yogurt)
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
water as needed

Add the ingredients to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, adding water as needed to achieve desired consistency. I usually don't add any water, but a tablespoon or two should be enough.    I prefer my blender because I think it's smoother that way, but you have to add the beans slowly to the blender, otherwise it will be to thick.

I think this tastes best after it's been refrigerated for a while and the flavors can blend together.  So I usually make it the night before and refrigerate overnight.  So yummy with pita bread, crackers, carrots or other veggies, or spread on sandwiches. 

This makes a lot!  But, it can be frozen and still has a good consistency and flavor.  So I've been making a batch and freezing half to use later.   You could cut it in half, but then what do you do with half a can of beans?  If you used cooked dried beans, you could cut it in half more easily because you can control the amount of beans you're using.

Great healthy snack idea for upcoming Super Bowl parties!!

Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge
Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom

Using Up Leftovers - Egg Fried Rice

I found this recipe in my Southern Living Cookbook and we have made it a lot over the last few months, I've tweaked it and adjusted it to just use what we have on hand. I meant to take a picture when I made it last Sunday after church, but we were all starving and it just got eaten right up!

It is a great way to use up those pesky leftovers you have sitting in your fridge like veggies and meat.  I mean really, who wants to eat those things reheated?  Veggies just get mushy and meat gets dry and tough.  But throw them into fried rice and you have yourself a quick, easy and even nutritious meal! Especially when you use healthier fats, brown rice, and free-range eggs like we do at our house.

The trick to fried rice is to used cooked rice that's been chilled.  This helps it to keep it's texture during cooking.  This recipe is also great because the measurements don't have to be exact - just throw it together and it still tastes great every time! 
 
Here's the recipe as it appears in The Southern Living Cookbook:
1/4 c. chopped green onions or shallots
1 c. frozen English peas
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 c. cooked long-grain rice
1 egg lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. soy sauce

And here's how I do it:
 - Heat some coconut oil or a mixture of butter and olive oil in a frying pan. I use at least 2 Tbsp or more, depending on how many veggies I'm going to be adding.
 - Add frozen peas and whatever other leftover (or frozen) veggies I have in the fridge.  I've even put in some fresh veggies, like diced carrots, sometimes. We don't do onions at our house, so I just leave those out.
 - Saute for a few minutes until veggies are cooked/heated through.

- Add rice - I usually don't have anywhere near 3 cups.  I just use whatever leftover rice I have in the fridge, or I have sometimes made a pot of rice and put it in the fridge the day before in anticipation of making fried rice.  
 - Also, at this point I add any leftover cooked meat that we might have.  Sometimes we eat it with meat and sometimes without. I have added everything from diced chicken, to leftover pork roast, even a leftover turkey burger with cheese on it.  It was good every time!
 - Heat rice and meat thoroughly.

 - Make a well in the center of the pan by pushing the rice mixture to the sides.  Pour the egg into the well and cook. I usually use two eggs for extra protein, especially if I'm not adding any meat, and Jer likes lots of egg in his fried rice. The directions say to cook the egg until set, stirring occasionally, but I find that the egg doesn't cook that quickly and when I try to stir it, it all gets mixed up anyway.  So I usually let the egg cook until slightly set on the edges and then just stir everything up and keep cooking until the eggs are done.
 - Add soy sauce and stir everything together.  Use light soy sauce or it will be very salty.  And I don't measure, I just pour it around a little until it looks like a good amount. 

Enjoy! 

Do you have any standby recipes that you turn to when you need to use up leftovers?  Please share!


Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom
Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge

Using Up Leftovers

I have never been very good at using up leftovers.  I used to just stick them in some tupperware in the fridge and maybe try to eat them for lunch in the next day or two, but then they get forgotten, or I get tired of eating the same thing for several days in a row, and they start turning my fridge into a amateur science experiment.

I am not proud of it, but we throw away and waste way more food than we should.

Over the last month or so, I have really tried to figure out how to actually use up and eat our leftovers.

Here are a few of the ideas I have come up with:

-Freezing leftovers in individual portions.  When we have a lot of leftovers, I'll split them up into individual portion sizes and freeze them in those little snack size plastic containers.  When my family decided to come to visit at the last minute last week, for lunch I pulled out a bunch of these little containers and everyone got to choose what they wanted to have for lunch - Crock pot Enchiladas, Chicken Taco Soup, Chili, Chicken Spaghetti - it was so nice to have enough food to feed everyone well without actually having to come up with something to make.  Also, I can send a container with Jer, along with some fruit or veggies, and have a good, easy and quick sack lunch for him to take to work.  This has been the best way for us to use our leftovers and not get sick of eating the same thing for a week! 

-Freezing smaller portions of food to use later.  When I have some smaller amounts of food leftover from what I have used to cook, like half a red pepper, or a cup or two of tomato juice, or the leftover pumpkin when I didn't use the whole can, I just package it up and freeze it to thaw and use later.  The only problem with this is remembering what I have in the freezer to make sure that I use what I have and don't just go out and buy more.  It also requires a little bit of planning ahead because I have to defrost whatever I need before I can use it.

-Repurposing leftovers into new meals.  I've been trying to come up with ways to use leftovers in new meals.  I haven't been very successful with this yet, but I did recently find a recipe for Fried Rice that we all love and it is such a great way to use up all kinds of different leftovers.  Be sure to check back tomorrow for the recipe.

This is something that I'm still trying to work at and figure out how it works best for our family.  I am thankful for the food that God has provided for us, and I really want to learn to be less wasteful in this area.  Wasting food wastes both money and the precious resource of food.  I would love to get to the point where I basically didn't have to throw any food away, but I'm still not completely sure how to get there.  Any suggestions or ideas that you guys have to help me keep the science experiements out of my refrigerator would be greatly appreciated!!

Photo by Chiot's Run

More with Less: Book Review

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Life has been a bit busy and obviously my family and home come first. I'll try to get back to more regular posting as soon as I can!

My sister gave me a copy of the More-With-Less Cookbook for my birthday. Although it is primarily a cookbook, the first chapter is dedicated to introducing and explaining the way of eating that the book promotes - "Recipes and suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources." I found it to be such an interesting read that I highly recommend everyone read it, especially if you are interested in simplifying your meals at home.

One of the things that I most appreciate about the book's philosophy of "More with Less" is that it is presented from a Christian standpoint and worldview. "As North Americans, most of us grew up believing we were born into an era of abundance. The ability to buy something has meant the right to have it. Christian discipleship now calls us to turn around." (pg.13) It talks about the calling we have as Christians to care for those who have less, to give to others as freely as we have received, and it gives sound and practical advice for how changing our eating habits can help us to fulfill this calling, including how to shorten our shopping lists, buy and store food in bulk, and buy nonprocessed foods.

The author encourages us that the path to eating more with less is a journey, one that you can't just make overnight. In fact she writes that if you try to make major changes too quickly that you may change back just as quickly, like the changing of a fad or trend. She shares that this is about a lifestyle change, and not simply a quick fix. You know that I am all about the journey and making small changes.

This first chapter includes reasons for making a change, how to build a simpler diet, with practical nutritional information like complimentary proteins, and even ideas for serving guests with a simpler menu. The remainder of the book is filled with lots of basic recipes, and some for making things from scratch that you might have otherwise bought at the store like flour tortillas, granola, and wheat thins. I am very excited to try some of these from scratch recipes as I try to move away from using processed food.

This book was first published in 1976 amidst a global food shortage. What is so amazing to me about this book, is that it sounds like the author could be writing these words today. She shares insights into the North American style of eating that are as true today as they were in the 70's. On the other hand, it is sad to me that over 30 years later, it still does not seem that most of us have learned the lessons and lifestyle advocated in this book, and that food shortages and chronic hunger remain a daily reality to so many people around of the world. Consider this quote, "We are overspending money. We are overeating calories, protein, fats, sugar, superprocessed foods. We are overcomplicating our lives." (pg. 13) Doesn't that sound like she could be writing about us today?

More with Less is such a good reminder of the quote from Gandhi, "Live simply so others may simply live." It is so important for us to realize and recognize the impact that our decisions today have on others. It is about taking small steps to make changes that will impact the world, all for the glory of God.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Last week for lunch I made Kaelyn and myself some Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. I was desperate for something to eat for lunch, having not been to the grocery in almost 2 weeks. I kind of just made it up, but also know that it's something so simple and basic as far as cooking goes that it's probably the way that macaroni and cheese used to be made before the boxed neon fake cheese stuff took over.

It was really good, much better than the box, creamy and rich, and Kaelyn ate it up! It wasn't quite as easy as the boxed kind, but I think the more I make it, the easier it will get for me. I also think it shows how with all of the convenience, boxed foods available, that we have gotten away from the fine art of basic cooking. I want to work on learning these basic cooking skills as much as I can to continue eliminating convenience foods from our diet.


So here's my Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. The recipe for the sauce is from my Southern Living Cookbook and is just a basic white sauce with cheese added.

Use about a cup and a half to 2 cups of elbow macaroni, boil according to package directions.

While pasta is boiling, make cheese sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
salt and white pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar and monterey jack)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add milk while continuing to stir constantly and cook until thick and bubbling. Add salt, pepper, cheese and dry mustard and stir until cheese is melted.

Pour cheese sauce over cooked macaroni and serve. Yum!

I also think this would be a great place to sneak some hidden veggies in! Some pureed sweet potatoes, squash or pumpkin could be a great thing to add to the sauce when you stir in the cheese.

No more neon orange macaroni and cheese for us!

Check out Works for me Wednesday for more great tips!

Homemade Fruit Snack Bars

As I said in my meal plan post this week, I am on a quest to find frugal homemade alternatives to convenience food items. And, one of the results of my garbage inventory was that I want to try to reduce our waste from food packaging.

Snack bars, like granola bars or Nutrigrain bars, are so convenient to pack as snacks or to take for lunches. But, they are full of high fructose corn syrup, enriched (white) flour, white sugar, and lots of other things that really aren't good for you. Also, because they are individually wrapped, they create a lot of packaging waste, and are pricey for an individual serving.

My wonderful hubby saw an article in the paper with a recipe for homemade fruit snack bars, and cut it out for me, and I was so excited to make these. We used fresh peaches that we picked ourselves, and frozen store bought raspberries. I'm really bad at calculating the cost of making things from scratch (I need my math genius sister's help with that!), but I'm pretty sure that these would be cheaper per serving than a Nutrigrain bar.

Oatmeal, Raspberry and Peach Snack Bars
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp., plus 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peaches
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a medium saucepan whisk together the orange juice, cornstarch, and 2 Tbsps. of the brown sugar. Add the raspberries and peaches and stir over medium high heat until the mixture is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350. Add the oats, flour, remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar, butter and baking soda to a large mixing bowl and mix together with a fork until the dough is crumbly but beginning to stick together. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture.

Mix the egg into the remaining dough. Transfer the dough with the egg to a greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish and press it evenly over the bottom.

Spread the fruit filling on top, then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over it.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbling. Place dish on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 16 bars.

These did turned out pretty well. The fruit filling is really good. The bars were a little dry on the bottom and not as firm on the top as I thought they would be. They need to be refrigerated if not eaten right away (learned that the hard way!). All in all, I think they were a good alternative to nutrigrain type bars. They are really not anything like a granola bar, so I'll still have to work on finding a recipe for homemade granola bars. I will definitely be making them again - maybe cooking for a little less time to keep them from getting to dry on the bottom. Also, I'm thinking it would be fun to try them with different fruit combinations - maybe blueberry/raspberry or strawberry/blueberry. Yum!

Do you have any good recipes for homemade snack bars or granola bars? Please leave a comment with a link or your recipe!

Visit Grocery Chart Challenge for more great recipes and Life as Mom for more great frugal tips!

Meatless Mondays

In June, I decided once a week we should try eating a vegetarian meal for dinner instead of eating meat as the main dish, which is our typical dinner. And just to make it a little more fun, I chose to have our vegetarian meals on Monday so that we could call it Meatless Monday.

There basically two reasons I thought this would be a good idea for us to try.

1. It is frugal. Meat is expensive. Beans, veggies, eggs, and other things that make for good vegetarian meals are cheap. I thought it would be good for our grocery budget to have one less meal of meat during the week. Plain and simple.
   
2. It is better for the environment. The meat industry creates greenhouse gases - lots and lots of them. In fact, according to the Environmental Defense Fund eating one less meat meal per week is the same as taking half a million cars off of the road in the U.S. in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The meat industry is also one of the largest producers of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. So, reducing meat consumption helps to reduce these gases in our environment.
   

Because we had so many meals provided for us after Brenden was born (which was such a huge blessing!) we've only been eating meatless meals for about 4 weeks. In that time I've also been thinking about all of the people in the world for whom meat is either a luxury that they just can't afford, or something that they don't have access to at all. They eat vegetarian meals out of necessity, not by choice, and I think that it is so important for us to remember just how fortunate and blessed we are to be able to eat what we want, when we want.

Also, I have been trying to be committed to not eating meat for breakfast or lunch when at home with Kaelyn. This is partly because K doesn't like to eat meat, but also came from a suggestion by my friend, Jenica, as a way to reduce our meat consumption. We do eat meat sometimes for lunch, usually when eating leftovers from dinner, but it has at least made me more aware of trying to find meatless alternatives for lunch time.

All in all I think it's been a good thing for us so far, although my hubby may disagree with you, he's not a huge fan of the vegetarian meals. If you have any good meatless meals, I'd love to hear about them, please leave a comment with a link or a recipe!

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Friday's Frugal Cooking - Yogurt in the Crockpot!!

Yes! I did it, I made yogurt in my crockpot yesterday! I am pretty excited about it - and all the possibilities!

I followed this recipe to a "T", (I LOVE the crockpot lady!) and it turned out perfectly, and it was SOOOO easy! I used Meijer whole milk, and Dannon plain yogurt for the starter. I figured out that it cost me around $1.00 (including the energy for the crockpot) to make 64 oz. of yogurt. I can buy the Dannon on sale for $2 for 32 oz., which would be $4 for 64 oz., so making it myself saved me $3 (more if it wasn't on sale)!! Plus, when I started figuring out the cost of the individual fruit flavored yogurt cups the savings were even better!!

I plan to make fruit flavored yogurt by cutting up fresh fruit, or using frozen fruit, and mixing it into the yogurt when I am ready to eat it, or feed it to K. I'll probably add a little honey as sweetener too. I would also love to try making yogurt pops for the summer time - I just need to get some of those popsicle molds.

This is a perfect frugally green recipe because it saves you money and also saves on manufacturing, packaging, transportation, etc. costs of buying your yogurt at the store,
especially if you were buying the individual cups of yogurt before. It's also much better for you because you know all of the ingredients and how much (or little) sugar, sweetener, and other preservatives it has (or doesn't have) in it. Making things yourself from scratch is a great way to save money, lessen your impact on the environment, and eat more healthily (is that a word?) I hope to make more and more of my own "from scratch" foods like this. I would love to say that I will never buy yogurt again - but I think the likely hood is that sometime I will want yogurt and not have any homemade ready. My hope is though that I will buy much less yogurt than I was before!!

Go try making your own yogurt, it is easy, fun and frugally green!