We don't have to measure up: LAF post

Anna at LAF had an excellent post today.  I just stumbled across this blog recently and fell in love with it.  Their motto is "Promoting beautiful womanhood," and I couldn't agree with it more.  Womanhood and motherhood are beautiful things, as is homemaking, and the ways in which God has created us uniquely as women are truly wonderful--full of wonder.   We're different from men, and that's His perfect plan.  Let's celebrate it.

Anna's post is called "Don't have to measure up."  She writes about the way homemakers feel we need to justify ourselves and what we do all day at home with our children.  (And in our defense, can you blame us?  Who of us hasn't been asked "so what exactly do you do all day?").  But that means we end up trying to cram as much as possible into our days when our homes should be havens of peace. 

Here's my favorite quote:  "We should be proud, not ashamed, of keeping an island of peacefulness in the midst of the world’s rush, rush, rushing to nowhere." 

Is your home an "island of peacefulness?"  I want peace to characterize my home.

Sewing Again!

I finished sewing my first pillowcase dress today during Isabelle's naptime.  It was so much fun to sew something for her to wear and much easier than I thought it would be.  I've wanted to make one of these dresses for quite some time, so I went to Juanita's house yesterday so that she could teach me how to make one.  I wanted something cute and fun.  Here's how it came out:

Of course anything that looks adorable on a hanger looks even more adorable on a toddler, so here's Izzy modeling her new dress.

Isabelle is saying "Daaaaddyyyyy."  I guess she thinks he's hiding out behind the bushes. 

A coordinating black pinwheel bow is definitely in the works.  In fact, it's halfway finished, but the smaller ribbon for the center is MIA.  A certain adorable little toddler was playing with it yesterday, so today it is nowhere to be found.  I get my bow making instructions from a website Maggie showed me, Girly Things.  I hear you can also find good instructions on youtube.  And some websites are even sweet enough to charge you for bow making instructions.  That's why I like the Girly Things site.

Last week, my friend Jo helped me finish up my quilt.  We made the quilt sandwich a few months ago, so last week she taught me how to do the quilt binding.  It needs to be finished by hand, so it's taking me a bit longer to do.  I've actually enjoyed sewing it by hand, and about 1/4 of the binding is now complete.  Here's what the quilt looks like:

The sewing projects have definitely been fun.  They've also been a challenge and even a headache at times, but it's fun to feel so domestic and creative, two things I really am not!  That's why it's great to have friends who not only sew, but are willing to take the time to teach me how to complete these projects.  It keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.  When it comes to homemaking, I'm definitely less of a seamstress and more of a cook or baker.    

Thrifty Thursday: Slice 'em, Dice 'em, and Freeze 'em

Next time you're cutting veggies for a recipe, do yourself a favor and get out two freezer bags.  Instead of cutting up two stalks of celery, for example, cut up the entire head.  Put the sliced celery into one freezer bag (labeled, of course) and put the leaves into another bag (labeled "scraps for stock"). 

Do the same with onions.  When you have the time, make it a habit not to cut up one onion, but cut two or three instead.  Use what you need and freeze the rest.  Again, put aside the peels and the roots for stock.  Then when your bag of scraps is full and when you've got a chicken carcass lying around (that sounds so gross), make your homemade chicken stock.

You've also built up a stash of ready-to-go onions for when you're in the middle of the evening crunch time.  You'll have all the perks of storebought frozen onions without the added expense.

I have noticed that bell peppers can sometimes be cheaper when purchased frozen and already diced.  How is this possible?  If bell peppers have reached their high price of nearly $1 each and the frozen bell peppers are on sale for the same price, then you're guaranteed to come out ahead when you purchase the prepackaged frozen kind.  You'll end up with more vegetables in the frozen bag than you would get from one pepper and it saves you the time and effort of cutting.  But if it's summer and bell peppers are cheaper, you won't save money going with the prepackaged frozen stuff.  If it's summer, however, hopefully you've got bell peppers growing in the back yard.  We sure do! 

One of my favorite things about cutting up veggies and freezing them, aside from being a time saver, is that it keeps me from wasting produce.  When your family is small like mine, it's easy to let celery or onions go bad.  By cutting and freezing, I can prevent waste, thereby saving money, and saving time.

Fabric Potential

There's something positively delicious about new fabric. 

There's the flop flop flop as the fabric cutter unrolls the fabric with the precious pattern you spent half an hour selecting.  Then there's the metallic slice of the scissors as she cuts through the two layers of cloth, and the alarming permanence of her cutting.   

And then there's the joy when you arrive at home and pull the fabric out again, because during the trip home, the fabric somehow got cuter. 

Best of all, I think it's the fabric's very potential as it sits there and you think of all the adorable things you can make with it.  Specifically, the cute dress you saw on Etsy this morning.  Made from the exact same fabric.  And you'll make it at a fraction of the cost.  For your daughter.  With love. 

Tomorrow.  Because today, the laundry needs to be folded, drawers and closets reorganized, and the kitchen must be mopped. 

But for now, I can look forward to tomorrow morning's sewing lessons from Juanita, when she'll help me make a pillowcase dress for Little Miss Isabelle.  Just like the $30 one on Etsy.

Freezer Cooking, Step by Step

Here's a breakdown of an afternoon spent freezer cooking.  This will result in three 9 x 13 pans of Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti (or 2 big pans and 2 square pans), with a total of 24 servings.  Yikes that's a lot of food!  I only do this about once a week or every other week. 

1:45--Izzy has been napping for about 30 minutes, and I've just come inside from taking Darcy outside for a bit.  Darcy the basset hound has an abcess and has to be watched carefully this week, so she's staying inside.  Time to start making cheesy chicken spaghetti!  There are plenty of recipes out there, so just check out allrecipes.com and find one to your liking.  Mine is Vicki H.'s fabulous recipe, minus the pimentos (too expensive in my opinion), with a little added Rotel, because everything's better with Rotel.

I begin by simmering the chicken and notice that the recipe says it'll take an hour and a half to simmer.  Oops.  Forgot about that.  Good thing I started dinner ridiculously early. 

Then I cut up onions, celery, and bell peppers.  Except that I cut up extra.  Lots of extra.  The extra goes into freezer bags and is put aside for future meals.  Any scraps are put aside for making chicken stock. 

2:10--I have to decide:  Should I go ahead and dice the Velveeta into cubes or not?  The only compelling reason I have for not dicing the cheese is that I just don't feel like it.  I can't think of a single other reason not to just get it done.  I got 8 hours of sleep last night, so I'm not tired.  We made it to the gym this morning, so I should have plenty of energy (in theory).  I've already had lunch.  I'm not sick or pregnant or nursing or anything else that indicates a need for a nap.  I just don't feel like it doesn't fly as an excuse.  It's just the typical afternoon slump that most of us feel sometime after lunch.  So I fight the urge to be lazy and instead dice the cheese and divide it up into pans. 

2:30--Finished!  Damage to the kitchen is minimal, and the entire thing is clean by 2:45, including handwashing dishes because the dishwasher is running.

2:45--I finally give in to the afternoon slump by grabbing a load of laundry and folding it while watching Veggie Tales:  Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella.  Isabelle watched part of it before naptime and I just have to find out how it ends! 

Here's what's left to do later this afternoon:

• Debone and dice chicken after it's cooked and cooled. (15 minutes)  I was completely off on my estimates!  Everything took much longer!!
• Cook spaghetti (10 minutes, while dicing chicken)
• Cook veggies (10 minutes, while dicing chicken)
• Combine everything in pans (20 minutes, max).  
• Add fresh green beans and there's dinner!

Not a ton of work, but the rewards will be huge.  Looking at our calendar, it seems that the summer months are going to prove busier than the spring, so I'll be glad I put in the effort today.

A Self-feeding Toddler: Tips needed!

After talking with a friend last week about our 17 month toddler girls, I got to thinking that maybe I need to work a little more with Isabelle on self-feeding.  Neither of the girls seem ready to feed themselves yet, but just by my friend's simple question "Have you been working with Isabelle on using a spoon?," she reminded me that maybe if we worked with them a bit more, the girls could do it.

Isabelle has been interested in self-feeding for quite some time--probably since she was about 9 months old.  She would be happy to scoop up handfuls of oatmeal out of the bowl and shove them into her mouth if I let her.  The problem is that I want her to feed herself with utensils.  Of course. 

Izzy has no problem with getting messy!

I've let her hold her spoon, off and on, throughtout the past 6-7 months or so.  Her coordination just isn't there yet.  Most of the time, if the spoon even makes it to her mouth, it's upside-down or sideways.  Lately, when I hand her the spoon, her first instict is to get happy and throw her little spoon-clasping hand up in the air in victory.  And then her blueberry yogurt flops down onto her shoulder.  Lovely. 

Yesterday, I let her practice feeding herself oatmeal, and she still struggled with coordination.  Later, when I gave her quinoa pilaf (don't ask--she's a strange kid and likes the most bazaar foods), she somehow managed to get it into her mouth every time.  Evidently she had the right motivation--her absolute favorite food in the world.  She still can't scoop it out of the bowl herself.  Even with her favorite quinoa, she still needed me to load the spoon for her.  

But watching Izzy eat, I also wondered if she needs new spoons.  All of her spoons have fairly long handles that are perfect for mom or dad to feed her but make it tough for her to maneuver from the bowl to her mouth.  I looked at some online, and it seems that most toddler spoons and forks have short, wide handles.   

NUK Gerber BPA Free Graduates Scoopin Spoon

Any suggestions?  Would a short toddler spoon help?  What did you do to get your little ones to learn to feed themselves?  At what age could they successfully self-feed?  I know it varies from kid to kid, so Izzy might just not be ready for it.  And if you've got a specific kind of spoon that works well, definitely tell me what it is or send a link please!  I was completely overwhelmed by all of the options at Wal-Mart and Target. 

I welcome any tips you've got!

Sassy Baby Less Mess Toddler Spoon

A toddler spoon with holes in it? Really? 

Thrifty Thursday: Keeper of the Home's Cook More Real Food Event

I love today's post at Keeper of the Home so much that I just have to share it with you so that you can jump in on the event. 

If you know me well or have read this blog a few times, then you know how much I love having a meal plan and that I'm completely in love with freezer cooking.  It's a great way to save money, save time, and eat healthier.  If you're interested in doing this but feel a little overwhelmed at the thought or need some motivation, participate in Stephanie's event at Keeper of the Home.  She breaks down the process into several weeks so that her readers can walk through it with her.  The end result will not necessarily be once a month cooking, but you will have many prepared meals and meal components. 

The main reason I love freezer cooking is because I want home cooked meals every night for dinner, but I don't actually want to cook every night!  Call me lazy if you want.  It can be just too hectic to cook a meal from start to finish every night of the week.  And there are often unforeseen events that make a scratch meal impossible to prepare some days (remember my four days with no plumbing?).  By having prepared meals in the freezer, we can completely avoid ordering pizza and fast food, which of course saves money.    

An added benefit is that it's healthier.  A great way to blow a perfectly good diet is by eating out.  I know restaurants and fast food joints all have healthy options, but overall, it can be incredibly unhealthy to eat out often.  At home, you know exactly what is going into your dinner and can balance out the fatty foods with the lean.  It's also unhealthy to eat too many prepackaged meals, whether those are in boxes or in the freezer section.  By cooking in bulk and freezing, you end up with the best possible scenario--all the benefits of convenience food with none of the drawbacks. 

At Keeper of the Home, Stephanie focuses a lot on cooking more whole foods.  I love this idea too, even though it's only something I've started exploring more recently, specifically after I borrowed a friend's cookbook, Whole Foods for the Whole Family (La Leche League, International).

I don't think I'll ever completely stay away from canned and processed foods, but it's not too hard to cut down on them once you start doing more freezer cooking.  I don't even bother with canned chicken broth anymore, choosing instead to make my own stock and freeze it.  Homemakers have perfected these skills for ages, but my generation of women has gotten away from scratch cooking, and I think our kids will be the ones to pay for it one day, if not our own budgets and our own health.

My method for freezer cooking is a lot less disciplined than most people's approach, primarily because with only one child at home, I can afford to be more relaxed with it.  I go with the cook one, freeze two idea.  I refuse to make one lasagna, one hashbrown casserole, one chicken spaghetti, one chili, one gumbo, or one red beans and rice.  I'd much rather make three (or five, or seven) instead.  It takes almost the same amount of time to make three of something as it does to make one.  I usually do this about once a week or so.  This week I made red beans and rice, but next week, it'll be chicken spaghetti.

The added bonus is that I often have food on hand for when a friend has a baby or is ill.  In the past, others have blessed me with meals, and I find it to be a total joy to do the same.  One of the best gifts I ever received from a sweet friend was a stack of meals to go in my freezer after Isabelle was born.  In those early days of troubleshooting nursing and trying to find time to sleep, it was wonderful to have four homecooked meals ready to go when I needed them (and boy, did I need them!).  While I've only been able to do this same thing for one friend, I have often been able to bring meals to many other moms.  It's really nice when I can just pull something from the freezer, add a salad and dessert, and have a complete meal for a family.               

Have I made a convert out of you yet?  So who's in??

Recipe: Authentic Red Beans and Rice

Every time I make red beans and rice, I wonder why in the world it took me so long to do it.  It's thrifty, it makes my husband drool, it's one of the simplest freezer meal recipes I have, and it makes a ton of food.  What's not to love?  Check out the leftovers from dinner last night.

I doubled the recipe, and it's enough to feed us once a week for the next 6-8 weeks, in addition to leftover lunches.  Isabelle's portions already have rice in them, so they're ready to go on nights when we're eating soup or some other food that's not toddler friendly.  Those cute little 2 ounce green containers are left over from my baby food making days.  I had to resort to using those because I ran out of the smaller ziplock containers for her portions.  At Izzy's age, she'll need to eat two or three containers of those 2 ounce containers of red beans and rice to be happy.    

Here's the recipe.  It's my grandmother's recipe that originated at Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans.  With this version of my grandmother's recipe, there's no need to soak the beans overnight.  Be sure to start cooking early--the beans take a long time to cook, but most of the time is spent simmering.   

June's Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 bag of dry red beans
1 c. onion
1/2 c. bell pepper
1 c. celery
1 ham hock
1 pound of sausage, preferably a cajun sausage, such as Savoie's, Richard's, or Manda.
water
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of dry parsley
Cooked rice

Directions
Put the first 6 ingredients into a large pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Boil and then reduce to a simmer for an hour and a half (or longer!), until the beans are tender enough to mash one with a fork. Lower heat and add one stick of butter, cooking until the butter is melted. Stir gently. The red beans should have developed a bit of a gravy. If they haven't, remove a cup or so of beans and mash, then return them to the pot and stir into the beans. Garnish with parsley and serve over rice.

If you want a printable recipe card, click here to visit my recipe on allrecipes.com. 

This is what it looks like before you boil and simmer it.

If you double it, you only need one ham hock for the whole pot.  You can also add three bags of beans when you double it instead of two to stretch the ingredients.  Feel free to cut down on the butter.  I did, and it was still yummy.  Add just enough butter to make the gravy a nice texture.  I also used one pound of turkey sausage and one pound of hot Savoie's, and the difference was not noticeable at all and definitely reduced the overall fat content!  And we use always use whole grain brown rice.  I know that these are "cheats" to make it healthier, but we think it's worth it, and the result is still fabulous. 

These beans almost make you want to say BAM!, but since Emeril isn't Cajun, maybe the beans will make you want to say "poo-yie" or "mais la" or something.  And if you don't know what either of those phrases mean, well I'm just sorry.  That's a different post entirely.

I realize I don't look or sound Cajun, but you'll have to forgive me for inheriting my mother's half German genes.  As my husband would say, "don't let the blonde hair fool you--she's Cajun, and she can cook gumbo."   Dad grew up in Opelousas, LA and did not learn to speak English until he went to school.  I think that counts as Cajun.  For the sake of accuracy, you must know that Red Beans and Rice are Creole, not Cajun, but we won't get into that discussion.

Sure: Practicing Submission

After seeing some of our old soccer friends a couple months ago, I started thinking about how in the world we started playing soccer to begin with.  If you know me, you know it's quite a stretch for me to be playing soccer--I'd much rather be curled up with a book or a crossword puzzle.  In fact, when I taught high school English, my students would usually have to stifle their laughter when I told them I played soccer.  Usually, one brave soul would ask "You play soccer?!?"

Yep, pre-motherhood, I played soccer with my husband on an adult league, and it's all Elizabeth George's fault.  I was reading through A Woman After God's Own Heart several years ago and came across a great chapter on marriage and submitting to our husbands. One very practical technique that she gave was to try to say "sure" more often.  I think she said something like "always have a ready 'sure' on your lips" when your husband has a request or idea. 

I'm a very task-oriented person, so usually when my husband has an idea (like "hey, let's sit out on the deck and build a fire tonight"), it doesn't fit into my "schedule" for the day, and it's easy for me to say no.  Then we usually miss out on a great opportunity for talking or connecting.  So this idea of saying "sure" more often was something I definitely needed to implement.  In fact, I felt so convicted about all of my "no" responses over the years, that I decided that no matter what, for the next few days, I was going to say sure to everything. 

I think it was the next day when my husband came home with a grand idea:  Texarkana Soccer Association was starting up a new adult leage, and we should sign up!

My response:  "sssss....sssss.....ssssure."  What else could I say???  I hadn't played soccer since I was 6, when I was more interested in picking dandelions than kicking the ball, but I had no option.  This is what I'd agreed to do when I decided to reprogram my responses to my husband.  

The worst part of playing, for me, was the idea of being terrible at soccer.  My inner perfectionist hated the idea.  I could see everyone running circles around me, wishing I weren't on their team, making them lose.   

I'd love to tell you that I got out there, learned to play well, and was the star of the team, but that's not true.  I stank.  Completely and utterly, I stank.  My husband and Kelly, the team manager, spent lots of time practicing with me, teaching me how to properly kick the ball, how to defend, and how to shoot a goal.  I would get so frustrated sometimes after practice, and there were so many times I wanted to quit.  But as much as I didn't want to be a loser, I didn't want to be a quitter either.     

Fortunately we ended up being put on the best team in the league, so I didn't make them lose.  In fact, when we'd get several goals ahead of another team, my teammates would have fun passing the ball to me so that I could get a goal. 

I actually scored from time to time, but that was only because we did not have offsides, so I could just hang out near the goalie and take him off guard when a teammate passed me the ball.  But I have zero coordination in my feet, so dribbling was not going to happen.  And there were so many times where someone would pass me the ball, and I'd completely miss it when I tried to kick it.

Did I feel like a fool sometimes?  Absolutely.  But it was a great opportunity for my husband to teach me a skill, for us to bond as a couple, for us to exercise together, and for us to make friends with people who we would probably never have met.  We ended up having team barbecues at our house and having lots of fun with our teammates.    And I would've missed all of it if I hadn't said sure.  Thanks Elizabeth George.

Damian and I with Kelly, our team manager, watching an FC Dallas game two months ago. 

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." 

Ephesians 5:21

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." 

Ephesians 5:22

 

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her." 

Ephesians 5:25

Do you sometimes struggle with submission too?  Is godly submission something that you're just starting to explore?  I'd welcome any questions or comments!

Thrifty Thursday: An Ode to Oatmeal and other cheap & healthy foods

Does your family eat oatmeal?  I'm not talking about the instant kind, but plain and simple oats, in all their cholesterol-lowering glory. 

I admit it, I was a nut for instant oatmeal back in my working days.  It's hard to beat a packet of apple cinnamon oatmeal on a winter day, especially if you want a low cal breakfast that'll actually hold you.  I always used two packets because I don't believe 110 calories is a sufficient breakfast.  And trust me, a good breakfast is a must if you're going to face a classroom full of teenagers at 8:00 in the morning.

But what's in these 110 calorie packets of oatmeal?  Oats and junk.  Junk = sugar and preservatives.  It takes about two minutes to cook instant oatmeal in the microwave.  Guess how long it takes to cook classic oats on the stove?  Once you get the water boiling, they're ready in a minute.  So start to finish, it usually takes me less than five minutes, but it can take longer if you're cooking a bigger pot.   Isabelle and I frequently eat hot oatmeal for breakfast (or even lunch).  I love putting cinnamon, sugar, and raisins in mine, just the way my mom always made it.  Isabelle spits the raisins out on her bib, so we skip the raisins for her! 

My husband watches his cholesterol, so I tried to get him to eat oatmeal with us, but he can't stand the mushiness of it.  If you're the same way, give steel cut oats a try.  It's still much cheaper than boxed cereal, but it's so much better for you, and it makes a great hot breakfast.  It's got a nicer texture than regular oatmeal. 

Here's a site with instructions for cooking steel cut oats.  I really wanted my husband to love them, so I followed those instructions to make sure they were extra yummy.  Toasting them definitely added more flavor to the oats.  However, I felt that by toasting them in butter beforehand, you're adding extra fat, which is definitely not going to help us when we're both watching our fat intake.  So now I toast them on a cookie sheet in the oven (at 300) for about 20 minutes.  I store them pre-toasted so that they're ready to cook when we want to use them.  After they're toasted, boil 4 cups of water and add 1 cup of oats to the boiling water.  This makes four servings (or 2 husband-sized servings).  They'll probably take about 20 minutes to cook if you've pre-toasted them, but you'll know when they're ready because all the water will be absorbed.  Follow the directions in the above link if you want more detailed instructions. 

Since they do take so long to cook, you probably want to make it in large quantities.  When I'm on top of my game, which isn't often, I make a large pot on Sunday night and then portion it out for my husband's breakfast for the next four days.  All he has to do is heat it up and then add milk and brown sugar.   

Another reason oatmeal is a staple at our house is for cooking purposes.  A friend of mine, Janet, taught me this little cooking secret:  You can add about 1/4 cup of oats (quick oats) to any ground beef dish.  Once you've cooked the meat, just sprinkle in the oats.  No one in your family will know the difference.  It makes any meal just a little bit more heart-healthy.  I always put oats in my lasagna.  It's the perfect disguise for oats because they're camouflaged by all the sauce, cheese, and noodles.

Check out this list of The Ten Cheapest, Healthiest Foods Money Can Buy over on Cheap, Healthy, Good.   Oatmeal definitely makes an appearance, as do many of the things we eat on a weekly or daily basis, although I have to admit that the only time I cook dry beans is in red beans and rice.  How does your pantry measure up? 

After reading this, I decided we need to eat more lentils and frozen spinach.  Anyone have a recipe for a yummy spinach dish?  How about lentils?

Recipe: Asian Chicken Salad

Here's a yummy, nutritious salad that's perfect for the hot months ahead.  There are a ton of variations (just check allrecipes.com), and when I mentioned this recipe to you a couple weeks ago, I realized afterwards that I changed the recipe up so much that it's hard to recognize it.  I've included my version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.

While I have always loved this salad, I was a little iffy on it and wondered if it would go over well.  I realized right before dinner that I didn't have a backup plan if dinner flopped--I had no frozen pizza!  But before I even poured the dressing over the cabbage, my 1 year old was whining for bites of it (she loves salad).  She loved it even more with the dressing, and I found out that she's crazy for toasted almonds.  My husband absolutely loved it and asked if I would include it in our regular rotation of meals.

The salad is so good for you.  It uses cabbage, which most of us don't eat often enough.  Did you know that one cup of cabbage has 47% of the Vitamin C you need in a day?  I usually think of oranges and tomatoes as being great sources of Vitamin C, but there are other great sources too, like bell peppers and sweet potatoes. 

Heart healthy almonds are another great addition to this salad.  Almonds help lower your cholesterol, and you can have as many or as few as you want.  You can even serve the almonds on the side so they're not soft when you eat the leftovers, but I really don't mind them this way. 

I remember my mom making a similar salad in massive quantities when I was a kid. She would vary the flavors up sometimes, making three different versions of the same salad to last our family several days.  Play with the recipe until the ingredients are to your liking.  If you don't have any of the asian ingredients, then substitute normal ones (like regular vinegar for rice vinegar).  I like to serve it with fruit and to make a complete meal.  It makes about 4-6 servings if all you eat is a big plate of salad (we did).  Remove the chicken, and you've got a nice side salad. 

Asian Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 c. olive oil (or vegetable, canola, whatever you want)
3 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce
3 tsp. sugar
2 (3 ounce) packages chicken flavored ramen noodles
1 large head of cabbage, chopped into bite sized pieces.
5 green onions, chopped
3/4 c. toasted and sliced almonds
Chicken--2 cups or so, chopped into bite sized pieces.  I baked mine in the oven and used one breast and leg for the salad, freezing the rest.


Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and ramen noodle flavor packets.  Bring dressing to a boil, remove from heat, and refrigerate until chilled.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
3. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.  

Book Review: Living Well on One Income

Last week, I finished up Living Well on One Income in a Two-Income World, by Cynthia Yates.  I already told you about the first half of the book, which was excellent, but the second half was even better.  Here's a chapter breakdown: 

          6.    Roll Up Your Sleeves
          7.    Use Things Up!
          8.    Waste Not
          9.    Discover Your Creative Genius
        10.    Presentation is Everything...or Is It?
        11.    To God Be the Glory

After reading chapter 6, I decided that Yates must be a kindred spirit for me, because she's "a do-it-yourself"er too.  There aren't too many things that we hire out to be done at our house.  I'm also blessed to have a husband who knows how to do it himself when it comes to cars, and he does everything from changing the oil and rotating tires to changing the timing belt.  We're still learning how to do things ourselves around the house, so we ask for help and for information when we don't know how to do something.  People are always more than happy to share their knowledge and experience. 

My husband takes care of the house, cars, and yard with a do-it-yourself attitude, and this is my approach around the home as well, especially when it comes to meals. 

Yates talks about making food from scratch, which is not only cheaper, but so much healthier.  At one point, she gives a great explanation about how a run through the McDonald's drive thru really does not save time, and of course it doesn't save money.  By having freezer meals or staples on hand, we should be able to avoid eating fast food on days when we think we don't have time to cook.

Yates' chapter on using things up is fabulous.  She gives great suggestions and little assignments for the reader to complete.  This was one of my favorite chapters because it was incredibly practical. 

I also loved chapter 8, Waste Not, but I also found it convicting.  I'm so bad about letting produce expire!  Yates again gives practical advice about how to make sure we don't waste food and how to plan meals based on what we already have.  She explains that it's a stewardship issue, and I couldn't agree more.  We are not using God's money wisely when we throw produce away!  Yates also gives great information about how to care for produce and food, clothing, shoes, and our homes so that we get more life out of all of these things. 

Chapter 9 is a goldmine for creative ideas.  She talks about how to find "the path of least expenditure" in several different areas, including creative gift giving, holidays, and fun for kids. 

I loved chapter 10, Presentation is Everything...or Is It?  Yates brings up a couple of good points.  1) A meal, gift, or home that is visually pleasing makes for a better experience.  But 2) Presentation is NOT necessarily everything in life.  She writes "If someone's intent is to act better, to look better, or to live better than others--and to flaunt that haughty attitude in behavior or thought, then no, presentation is not everything" (p. 198).  She says it all goes back to attitude. 

Yates says that presentation is an expression of our thankfulness, our joy, regardless of our circumstances.  I remember having sandwiches for dinner sometimes as a kid.  This didn't happen frequently, because our dinners were usually homecooked, hot meals.  The club sandwiches my mom made were double deckers.  She would cut them into triangles, put toothpicks through them, and turn them upward on our plates, restaurant-style.  She did this with each and every one of our sandwiches.  If she cooked pudding for dessert, then it would always be served to us in her special pink Lennox crystal glasses.  This, my friends, is presentation. 

Yates finishes her book with a reminder of why we live frugally.  Everything we have is God's including our money, and it should be used wisely to honor Him.  But that doesn't mean we're to be cheap, and in fact, at times we're called to be generous.  It's a balance that we should approach prayerfully, with the goal of glorifying God kept in mind.     

 

Izzy, a walkin' talkin' toddler?

My baby did not fit into a size 2T outfit yesterday.  She wears 12 month clothes.  Gymboree's clothes must run small.

And Isabelle did not learn four new words this week.  It's not my baby girl who is now saying wash, bow, rock, and "lellow."

And she most certainly did not fit into those adorable monogrammed socks that Janet got Izzy for her first birthday, the ones that looked so huge. 

And those size 3 Keds weren't snug.  No, not at all. 

Because my baby is not growing up.  She's not a toddler.


Since Isabelle didn't do any of those things, =) let me tell you what she did do.  She finally figured out how to stand up and then walk on her own.  She's having so much fun practicing it all the time.  She did it once on accident about a week ago, but she's never done it since, and she'd never connected it with walking.  Here's a video, if you haven't seen it yet. 



While Isabelle does love practicing her walk, she still has fun crawling.  It's so much faster for her!  But I think she'll probably give up the crawl soon!  She's getting steady on her feet. 

Thrifty Thursday: Bake your own Bread

Baking your own bread is a great way to save money and spread those grocery store trips out even further.  I made bread this week primarily because we had enough food to get us through we week, but we just needed a loaf of bread. 

I won't bother giving you a recipe.  There are plenty of great ones out there, and I'm sure you can find one  online that suits your taste.  Otherwise, feel free to e-mail me and I can send you the recipe.  The bread recipe I have came from a Julia Child baking cookbook that my husband gave me for our 7th anniversary.  It's a simple, classic recipe, and because it's a large recipe (it calls for 7 cups of flour!), it makes two loaves.  Since we have a small family, we keep one out, ready to use for lunches, and put the other loaf in the freezer (tightly wrapped, of course!).  I pull it out the night before it's needed and it thaws out by morning.

Bread loaves during their second rise.

Don't be intimidated by this idea!  It's super easy.  If you have a stand up mixer, the mixer can do all the kneading for you (I love my KitchenAid).  If you have a bread machine, then you really have no excuse!  A lot of people don't care much for the way the loaves come out of a bread machine (myself included).  Several friends of mine make bread regularly, even daily, and they just use the bread machine to mix dough, knead, and to help the bread rise the first time.  Then they take the dough out, form it or put it in their loaf pans, and let the bread rise the second time.  It takes all the work out of making bread. 

I usually make a simple white bread, which my husband is absolutely crazy about.  This week, I experimented with making wheat bread, and I also added flax seed meal to make it extra heart healthy.  The result was tasty and nice, but the bread seems to be a little more dry and falls apart too easily.  I'll keep experimenting, and if I find a good combo, then I'll let you know! 

Mmmm...too bad we don't have scratch and sniff computer screens.

I haven't run the numbers on how much money I save per loaf, but even if it's only 50 cents or a dollar saved, I'd say it's often worth it to avoid an extra trip to the store.  Have you ever run into the grocery store to get a $2 loaf of bread, only to spend $20?  Yeah, me too.  And of course you increase your money saved by buying flour and yeast in bulk.

Here's an added benefit of making your own bread. Check the list of ingredients on your loaf of bread. Go ahead, do it. Does bread really need an ingredients list that long?? No, and we don't need to consume all those preservatives either! When it comes to your budget and your nutrition, making your own bread is a win-win. The only downside is your time, which is understandably very valuable, but by using a mixer or a bread machine, you can eliminate this drawback as well.

When life gets hectic, this is one of the first things to go!  If I have a lot going on, it's really hard to give up 30 minutes of my day to bread making.  But if anyone has an old bread machine that's collecting dust, I'd be happy to take it off your hands!  Then I would never have an excuse to buy bread again. 

Warning:  Once you make homemade bread, your family will no longer be satisfied with anything else! 

April Update

As a Family
April was a lovely month, although it was not without its struggles.  My mom and step-dad came to visit us for Easter, along with my younger brothers, JJ and Rylan and my twin sister, Dominique.  Damian took the guys on a hike up in Arkansas, and we girls had fun just spending time together.

We spent one Saturday planting our garden.  It's not huge, but we always try to plant a few things every year.  We planted lots of tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, cucumbers, cilantro, and I've got basil that we planted from seeds one week at MOPS.  Our blackberry vines are huge this year, and judging from all the flowers, we should get plenty of berries.  I'll post pictures of our little garden at some point.

I experienced quite a bit of grief as I watched another mom deal with the death of her baby.  She and I delivered our baby girls together on December 21, 2008.  Seeing her lose this new little baby boy was so hard.  I don't quite know how they cope, but it must be purely the Lord's strength that gets her through each day.     

We made the 5 hour trip down to Lake Charles for my brother's wedding. We had a great time and loved getting to see old friends.  Isabelle had too much fun with her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. 

We spent one Saturday in Shreveport with our friend Liz and her daughter Autumn.  Her hubby is serving in the Air Force, and he's finishing up his deployment in Iraq.  Once Bobby gets home, they'll go back to Washington, pack up their home, and eventually move to England.  We've been friends with this sweet family since college and have seen all the important milestones in each other's lives.  Hopefully we can see the whole family again before they move, but we wanted to at least try and see Liz and Autumn.

The three of us also participated in the Walk for Life, which benefits the First Choice Pregnancy Center here in Texarkana.  It's an incredible ministry, so we try to do the Walk for Life every year that we can. 

Isabelle
If March was the month of picky eating, then April has been the month of adventurous eating.  Isabelle has finally decided that she wants to eat whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating, so mealtime has been much easier.  We still have moments of pickiness, but she's gotten much better.  During all the pickiness, I asked my mom for suggestions for getting Isabelle to eat, and she told me to just keep trying.  Keep trying the same foods, and one day your child will probably eat something that she wouldn't touch yesterday.  This is totally true!  Mom is amazing when it comes to child rearing.  Her advice always proves to be excellent.  And after having seven children, there are few things that she hasn't seen and experienced.  

Spaghetti anyone?

Isabelle took her first steps this month!  She does a great job of walking short distances to Damian or me, but she won't walk consistently on her own.  She'd much rather get around by crawling because it's much faster.  At 16 months, she's definitely a late walker, but our pediatrician says she's perfectly normal developmentally and that there's nothing to be concerned about.   

After dealing with three weeks of teething as four molars and another top tooth made their appearances, my happy girl has finally returned.  Isabelle would deal with bouts of fussiness off and on, and I sometimes needed to give her Tylenol or Motrin to help her with the pain.  The top molars are finally poking through her gums a bit more, so I think she's much more comfortable now. 

Favorites

Food:  Hummus, salad. She will whine for lettuce and tomatoes with Vidalia Onion dressing.

Toys:  Lots of things, especially random objects like bowls and spoons.  She likes to stir small toys in a bowl.  I call it her roux, and I keep it on the counter in the kitchen so that she can stir her roux while I prepare dinner (I have fond memories of standing on a chair at the stove, helping my mom stir her roux until it was perfect).  She also loves the tricycle that Liz and Autumn passed down to her for Isabelle to grow into, even though it's too big for her.  Isabelle's biggest frustration is that she can't ride it yet, so she loves to just sit on it for a while, eventually getting upset that she can't reach the pedals to make it go.  We finally parked it in the garage.  Isabelle still loves to "read," and books provide great entertainment.  Her favorites are "lift the flap" books, but she also loves Goodnight Moon.  She points to pictures in it and waits for me to tell her what things are.

Songs:  "Baby Bumblebee" is her favorite.  She asks for it by clasping her hands together and saying "ba."

New Words:  Shoes, socks, uh-oh, and clean up ('nup!).  Isabelle loves to clean up things, but that means we have no idea where things will end up.  To her, cleaning up is putting random objects in a basket or container, so sometimes shoes end up in the laundry basket, but hey, ya gotta start somewhere!  Her attempts at cleaning are music to this mama's heart.

Gabby, personally
One thing I love about being a Christian is that life never gets stagnant or boring.  There are constantly areas of growth where God changes me and (hopefully!) makes me more like Christ.  He has definitely been growing me this month.

He's showing me areas where I need to be more disciplined, and as a result, my home is cleaner, I'm still losing weight (slowly!) and exercising, I'm making better use of my time, and learning to be more disciplined in meal planning and the grocery budget.  I think these are areas where I should be able to say the same thing next month--in other words, He's not done with me, and there will continually be room for growing in these areas.   This will probably be true through all of life and motherhood.  As family dynamics change, we moms have to make adjustments.  What works well one month won't always work well next month or year. 

I've enjoyed doing a few crafty things in the past few weeks, and I hope I can do more in May.  Some are gifts or surprises for friends, so I won't divulge them right now.  One craft project I plan to do is a makeover on a cute garage sale item my mother-in-law bought for Isabelle.  I had so much fun sewing Jordan's apron that I'd love to do more sewing, but right now it's more important that I finish a Mother's Day gift for my step-mom and take care of a few other things first.  I'd love to spend much of my day sewing or scrapbooking, but those things often have to take a backseat.  Cleaning the house, working on dinner, working out at the gym, MOPS, Bible study, or playing with my baby are all more important activities.  But I do plan on finally finishing my quilt!

I finished a couple of books in April, and I plan on plowing through one or two others in May.  I read about 15 pages or so of Grudem's Systematic Theology, but I never got around to picking up the Jonathan Edwards biography that I started a while back.  That's one book that I plan on working on in May.  It's really a great read.  If you're a fiction junkie, try reading a couple of biographies, especially biographies about missionaries or other giants of the Christian faith.  Like a fiction book, it has a story line, but you'll be challenged and encouraged as you read about their lives.  My favorites have been a biography of Susanna Wesley, The Autobiography of George Muller, and Through Gates of Splendor.