Jan. 4, 2009 - My Grandmother's Chesse Ball

Chesse Ball

2 packages of cream chesse

2 cups of grated cheddar

2 T chopped onion

2 T chopped bell pepper

1/8 t garlic

Dash of Worchestshire

Blend together and form into a ball by laying on sara wrap and mashing into the ball.  Chill for about 3 hours.  Then unwrap and roll in chopped pecans.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

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Sep. 28, 2008 - Month in Review

Journal Entry

We have had a joyous September.  It has been very busy.  I started working a part time job and school is in full swing.  There have been days that I have not known which way was up.  The good news is that everyone seems to be adjusting to the new routine of me working.  I am learning to let the house work go in favor of meeting the needs of my kid's hearts. 

I don't mean that the house is horrible but there is always something that can be cleaned or that needs doing.  I sometimes struggle with stopping and looking my kids in the eye and really listening to them.  This is especially hard when I am very busy.  I am however learning to let the small things go in order to do the most important thing I will ever do.  Teaching my children that they are important and taking the time to listen to them.  I hope that they grow up knowing how much I love them and that they remember I truly listened when they talked or better yet that I ohhh and ahhhed over every little slimey green creature they brought me. 

We have had a good month.  I can not believe it is all but over.  I did not accomplish half of what I thought I would.  It is amazing to me that it doesn't matter how much we plan things always turn out different. 

So guess what!! Now I am going to go and plan October. 

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Sep. 7, 2008 - Fantastic Cabbage Soup

This is a yummy frugal meal!  My family eats every bite.

1 head of cabbage cut into chunks

Potatoes , peeled and cut into fourths

1 package of smoked sausage cut into small bite sized pieces

Place all in a soup pot and cover with water.  Add 1/4 stick of butter.

Cook until cabbage and potatoes are tender. 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with rolls or cornbread.

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Sep. 7, 2008 - A Few Frugal Cooking Tips

• Out of eggs - use 1 Tablespoon Soyflour and 1 Tablespoon water (you can buy soyflour at walmart for about 2 dollars it is in a brown box) I used this in muffins, corn bread, and cake and they all turned out great.  I did add a little more liquid until the batters looked correct. 
• Only buy meat that is under $1.50 a pound and when it is that price buy as much as you can.  (yep- you have to give up the boneless skinless-)
• Make your own bread, rolls, cornbread (serve bread to your starving kids at every meal) REFRAIN from eating the bread yourself at every meal or you may be having to buy new clothes which would undo the frugalness!!
• Serve soup at least once a week.  Make a huge pot and serve for dinner and then for lunches several days.  Add homemade rolls and the kids will eat it up. (at least after the first month or so they will)
• Use powdered milk in all of your cooking.  You can not tell the difference. 
• Cabbage is very high in vitamin C if you are having trouble affording fruit.  I will post a Cabbage soup recipie that we love!
• Buy some treats and partial them out so your family doesn't get burnt out on your frugal meals.
• Make weekends exciting!  Homemade pizza or chicken wings!

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Sep. 7, 2008 - Frugal Cooking

A Frugal Cook

  I have always thought of myself as a frugal cook until I have recently had to take it to a higher frugal level.  I have become nicknamed the food police at our house (which I do not enjoy by the way).  There just has not been surplus cash for groceries and with costs at the store rising it has been a strugggle to feed my family and feed them well.  It is amazing how inventive one can get when there just is NO more money and you have two weeks, a week or three days until pay day!  I am amazed at the things my family has learned to do without.  I am also amazed at the amount of complaining and whining that I have encountered. 

Teaching our children in America that God will provide for their needs is a very difficult thing.  Do we ever allow them to have a real physical need?  America is a country of surplus.  My family along with many others have never served our children the same type of food many times over.  Or let them go without shoes until God provides.  I have come to realize that I need to allow my children to see how God will provide for us. I see that my children need to know what it is like to be unsatisfied after a meal so that they better understand how it feels to be and do without.  Now it is not as if my children get new clothing, and we eat steak.  We do not and never have, however my children have never truly been hungry or even just tired of eating pinto beans (until now that is). I can truly say that I have not been enjoying this season of my life very much but with just as much conviction I can say that God is using it in the lives of each of my family members.  He is shaping and growing us.  Where and how is He growing you?  Are you enjoying it?  I pray the Lord helps you get a different perspective about your struggles today so you can laugh and dance in the midst of them.  He is faithful.  (even when pintos are cooking on the stove)

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Aug. 19, 2008 - Betty Crocker Refrigerator Dough

This is a very good dough.  I used it to make cinnamon rolls, garlic rolls, regular rolls.  I think it would work for lots of things and it was great to have it already made and in the fridge.  It took about five minutes to make the garlic rolls and put them in the oven.

1 pk yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

2/3 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 cup mashed potatos (you can also use the instant potato flakes)

7 cups of flour

 Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in shortening, eggs, potato.  Add 4 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.   Mix in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead 5 minutes.

Place in greased bowl greased side of dough up.  (I sprayed a little Pam on it) and cover. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Keeps up to 5 days. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

The dough will rise in the fridge so make sure you have a big enough bowl.  Mine kind of grew over the edges. 

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Aug. 18, 2008 - Kitchen Diasters

Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything you cook seems to flop?  On Saturday I spent the day cooking with new recipes.  I started with chocolate cake which had cinnamon in it which no one in the family liked.  Then I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Sunday morning....new recipie... frosting was SO GROSS!! So lunch for Sunday I tried a new cassarole... needless to say it was not a hit.  It was rice,spaghetti sauce and hamburger meat.  Well The rice did not get all the way cooked and was crunchy.  So today I had the idea of making it into a soup.  So I added some water and mixed veggies and set it to cooking. I served up lunch to the kids, did a few things and then served mine.  They had all been eating quietly for about 10 min. I took one bite and spewed it out of my mouth.  It was so awful and tasted burnt... I had not stired the soup, just set it to simmer on low there was so much rice that it sunk to the bottom and was burning. It certainly did not smell like it was burning, in fact the soup smelled great. So I called the kids in and asked if they liked it.  All three girls just smiled at me. Guess they did not think mom could take one more ruined meal.  So funny!!

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