New Curtains for the Family Room

 I love checks and I love the color red. So red checks really make my heart go pitter pat. I wanted red-checked curtains for our family room, the coziest room in the house. But I was (and still am) on a tight decorating budget. So instead of buying curtains, I bought red-checked tablecloths from eBay.

One problem: when they arrived, they weren't exactly the same. One tablecloth's fabric is a bit thicker and a tad nubbier than the other. Thankfully, this is not noticeable since they're not hung right next to one another.

Two inexpensive black rods from Lowe's, a pack of drapery clip rings, and we were in business. Himself installed the rods for me because he's fabulous like that.

I'm really pleased with the way they look. The room seems more finished.

We're considering painting the judges paneling in this room, but we can't quite make up our minds. Once it's painted, that's all she wrote. And I kinda like the coziness aspect. If the room got more direct sunlight, it would be brighter. But the screen porch is right through the French doors, and only oblique sunlight filters in anyway since the front of the house faces southeast.

But on a winter's evening with a fire in the fireplace. . . it's the best. I love to read in this chair. (Notice the red checks!) Or I curl up in a corner of the couch under a throw. You can't get much better than that.

I hope you like my curtains as much as I do!



Linking up with:
Make It Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesdays

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Easy Crock Pot Brunswick Stew

We celebrate a BIG Thanksgiving Day at my parents' house with a host of my extended family. At least 60-70 people gather together, and it's my favorite day of the year.

That means we spend Wednesday getting ready! (No, we don't cook all the food. It's potluck -- the best kind of buffet!) So we need something easy for Wednesday night supper. This is when Easy Crock Pot Brunswick Stew shines the brightest.

It also makes a nice dish for Christmas Eve or any other holiday evening when you might be busy, a soup buffet, or a weeknight meal. To make it extra breezy on yourself, put all the ingredients in a gallon-size freezer bag, squeeze out the air and freeze flat. It'll be ready to toss in the crock pot any time you want to do without dinnertime drama. (In the morning, put the frozen bag in a sink filled with cold water to loosen the contents enough to dump into your slow cooker.)

I doubled the recipe, hence the two bags.

This is not gourmet fare, but it's simple, hearty, and delicious. It's a perfect time saver, too. That's really a lot for one meal to deliver, but this stew gets the job done.

Easy Crock Pot Brunswick Stew

2 cans creamed corn
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can lima beans
2 large cans white chicken
1 can Castleberry's BBQ pork
1 can Castleberry's BBQ beef
1 T onion powder (or a small chopped onion)

Mix all ingredients together and cook all day on low. Serve with saltines and hot sauce on the side for those who like a little spice in their lives.




Linking up with:
Make It Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday

Homemade Baking Mix

I live in America, the Land of the Baking Mix. Thinking of making some brownies? Grab a box (or bag) of brownie mix at the grocery. Maybe a cake is needed. Box of cake mix, check. Cookies? Ditto. Pancakes? Biscuits? Corn bread?

You get the idea.

The problem, of course, (other than questionable ingredients) is cost. Baking mixes are usually more expensive than homemade. Plus, homemade just tastes better.

But there is the convenience factor to consider. It's easier to measure out some baking mix, throw in an egg and some milk, et voila! Pancake batter. And you really don't even have to measure anything.

With homemade baking mix (think Bisquick), you get the best of both worlds.

I whipped up some baking mix today in my Red Steel Beauty. This is my favorite recipe. It stores for several months in the freezer.

Some recipes add sugar or use vegetable oil; this one requires no sugar and uses vegetable shortening. If you're making pancakes or shortcakes, by all means add sugar to taste.

I love keeping this mix on hand for quick drop biscuits, pancakes, dumplings, garlic-cheese biscuits, shortcakes, and Bisquick's famous impossible pies, both sweet and savory. And since I also love eating good food AND saving money, this is a real winner!

A Bounty of Apples (And a Recipe)

In my last post, I wrote about our recent field trip to a mountain apple orchard. The whole visit was fun and educational, but my favorite part was the orchard store. Jams, jellies, honey, pies, apple bread, cider doughnuts, cider, fried pork rinds, dried apples, cookbooks, fritters, and apples tempted my eyes and palate. Tiny Girl was most intrigued by the variety of foodstuffs for sale and spent time browsing the riches.

Miss Priss and I lingered over the loose apple crates. We held the apples, felt their heft and the smoothness of their skins, noticed their different shapes. Winesap apples, we found, have a rougher skin than Pink Lady apples. Some varieties are "taller" than others, such as Red Delicious, while others are more rotund, such as Rome Beauty. We smelled their different scents: some were spicy, others light and almost flowery. Some were dark and earthy smelling. And the colors! The bright green of Granny Smith, the yellow-green of Mutsu, the rose-blushed yellow-green of Pink Lady, the scarlet and crimson of Arkansas Black, and the wine-dark red of Winesap. . . all gorgeous.

We selected a 1/2 bushel of a variety of apples, which came to 21 pounds! (And at $1.24 per pound this is a bargain!) We eat apples out of hand quite often (I'm munching a Pink Lady right now), but I wanted to branch out. So I decided to try my hand at applesauce first. I found an online recipe for slow cooker applesauce and then read the reviews. Based on the comments, I opted for a basic, no added sugar, no spices recipe:

Ellen's Slow Cooker Applesauce
Slice and peel six to eight, apples, whatever fits best in your slow cooker. I used my medium cooker (4 quarts? 5? I've forgotten). I used Granny Smith, Winesap, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Arkansas Black, and Rome Beauty. Fill slow cooker. Add 1/2 cup apple cider. You may need to add more liquid if you use a larger slow cooker. I bought cider at the orchard. It's flash pasteurized and has no added anything. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Stir every so often. At the end of the cooking time, stir to desired consistency.

Himself, Miss Priss, and I loved this as is. It was tart, sweet, and intensely delicious. Tiny thought it needed some sugar. But she thinks everything needs sugar. Himself was surprised I served it warm; I found I prefer it warm. A drizzling of cream would be scrumptious.

I made the applesauce on Friday, and it was gone by Saturday night. It's that good.

Himself requested a pie. I've never made a homemade apple pie. In fact, I've never made an apple pie, period. Crisps, yes. I adore apple crisp! Saturday afternoon, however, found me wrestling with the particulars of piecrust dough. I used Martha Stewart's recipe, which seemed straightforward. But I had a time rolling it out and then transferring it to the pie plate. I had to start over, re-chilling the dough, twice.

Again, I used a variety of apples. Here they are in water with lemon juice right before I peeled them. I was pleased at the different hues of the flesh. Granny Smith is bright white, Arkansas Black is gold, and Rome Beauty is ivory.

Again, Himself, Miss Priss, and I thought the pie was tasty. Nothing special, really, but fine. Tiny Girl did not care for it. Miss Priss and I were also of the opinion that the dough for the crust would have been better sweetened a tad. If the spirit ever moves me to make another apple pie, I'll remember that.

It turned out looking a bit rustic. (Did I mention I had a hard time with the dough?) I had to patch together the top crust in several places. And my edge-pinching technique needs some work. Ah, well.

I'm planning to bake an apple crisp for book club this Thursday evening. And I foresee more applesauce in my future. I sliced up a few apples and froze them for culinary delights this winter. Oh, and we adore fried apple pies. Maybe I'll attempt those. Hmmm.

I'll let you know.

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Super Summer Supper

When it comes to summer meals, I much prefer non-fussy recipes that fling together in a few minutes. I’m thrilled to report that the girls and I found a new favorite that meets these requirements: Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss. The basic recipe comes from Cheap. Fast Good!, by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, a wonderful cookbook that I highly recommend.

This recipe is quite flexible, so feel free to add other ingredients you have on hand. We’ve only made it with ham, but I’m sure chicken would be delicious, too. Other additions might include peas, sliced fresh mushrooms, or sliced black olives.

And talk about versatility! I served it for supper one night this week, and then breathed new life into it the next day for lunch.

Here’s the basic recipe, with my alterations in parentheses:

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss

(I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for the girls and myself)

1 pound short pasta, such as rotini (which I used)

1 ½ cups broccoli florets

1 cup diced ham

1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters (I quartered them)

2 cloves fresh garlic (I used garlic powder)

½ teaspoon dried basil (I used Italian seasoning)

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I just threw some in)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Three minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the boiling water. If you haven’t yet diced your ham and cut your tomatoes, do it while the pasta cooks and then put ham and tomatoes in the serving bowl. Peel and mince the garlic, and then add it and the basil to the bowl and stir to mix well. When the pasta and broccoli are done, drain them in a colander and shake the colander well to remove as much water as possible. Add pasta and broccoli to the serving bowl and sprinkle with olive oil and Parmesan. Toss until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

For lunch the next day, I served the pasta cold as a salad. I merely mixed together some ranch dressing and mayonnaise, which I stirred into the bowl of leftovers. I also added some chopped cucumber. To really jazz things up, you could also add grated carrot, diced bell pepper, chopped onion, shredded Cheddar, what have you. If I’d used chicken as my meat choice, a little seasoned salt would be a tasty option.

Quick, versatile, flexible, scrumptious. Yep, this one’s a keeper.

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: More Adventures with Bread

After trying my hand at the rustic bread in a crock project, I decided to give no-knead bread a try. I came upon the recipes by chance, while messing around on the web. I've now twice tried the light wheat recipe from No-Knead Bread and have been really pleased. The only change I made is that I used my Red Steel Beauty for all the mixing and stirring.

The mixed dough, ready to rise.

The risen dough, after 12 hours.

Tiny Girl helped stretch the dough into its rectangle.

One perfect loaf.

This recipe is quite delicious. Himself said, "It's better than store bread." This is high praise, coming from a guy who's not a bread lover. The girls and I think it's fab.

I'd like to try sprinkling the dough rectangle with cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat. Dreamy!

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Surprised by Yogurt Success!

This totally should have been a complete failure. It was a yogurt do. Here's what happened.

First off, someone used part of my half-gallon of whole milk. So I had to use approximately half whole milk (that sounds weird!) and half of my watered-down whole milk, which we use daily.

Second, I did not unplug my crock pot after two and a half hours. I thought I did, but I was mistaken. When I finally unplugged it, at least another hour had passed. After consulting a friend, I planned to let the milk cool for four hours instead of the usual three. But I had to leave the house for a few hours, and I'd miss the timing to mix in the half-cup of yogurt (starter). So I only cooled the milk for three hours and then mixed in the starter.

As you can see, I'm breaking rules all over the place. I figured I'd just see what happened.

Due to all the extra time, I had to get up at 1 AM to pour the yogurt into containers and refrigerate. Right away, I noticed it seemed thicker than my earlier batches. This was an interesting development.

This morning, when Tiny Girl and I took a peek, we were delighted with the results. My homemade yogurt resembles more closely store-bought yogurt in thickness. For Tiny Girl's breakfast, we chopped up some maraschino cherries (her choice) and stirred them in a small bowl of plain yogurt. She deemed it not sweet enough, so we added some sugar. Twice. (!!!!!)

I'd expected a total loss, but have now decided to change my original recipe. Since this kind of thing rarely happens to me kitchen-wise (total losses are nothing new), I'm thrilled!

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Our Daily Bread in a Crock

Okay, so you've probably heard about this bread-in-crock thing. I'm a little slow with news flashes. In case you're like me, I'll fill you in. Basically, you mix up a bunch of bread dough, let it rise a bit, and then store it in the fridge to use in the next week or so. One recipe supplies enough dough for several bread needs: pizza crust, rolls, country loaves, sweet rolls, etc. After some research, I opted to give French Tart's (love the pseudonym) recipe a try. I've now made two batches, and here's what happened.

Miss Priss measures the flour.

I read all the comments on French Tart's recipe and printed several of them to help me with my endeavor. I learned I might need to experiment with oven temp and baking times. I also got some ideas on gussying up the basic recipe. With my first batch, I made rolls in a six-cup muffin tin, a round loaf of cheese bread (which was underdone), and cinnamon rolls.

Each time I baked something was a learning experience. I found with each baking that I needed to let my dough rise more than the suggested 20-30 minutes. With the cinnamon rolls, I made them the night before and let the rolls rise overnight in the fridge prior to baking the next morning.

To be honest, after my first attempt, I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing. Everything was tasty, but left something to be desired (except the cinnamon rolls, which were fantastic). But I knew I must be missing something because there were so many positive comments on the original website. So I decided to try again.

The remaining two cinnamon rolls. We scarfed the others down immediately.

The mixed dough.

With my second batch, I let the dough rest on the fridge for a few days before I baked anything. Then I tried my hand at parkerhouse rolls. As you can see, I started out with too much dough per roll, because they rose to a massive size.

These look like something out of a science fiction movie.

They tasted pretty good, but still. A few days later, I was tired of having a big bowl of dough taking up so much room in my refrigerator. I pulled it all out, shaped an oval-sized loaf, and set it to rise. I ended up with a gargantuan, flat "loaf" that I almost threw away. Himself said go ahead and bake it and see what happens. So, with a cynical heart, I did.

The blob.

Quelle surprise! The resulting bread may have looked less than I'd hoped, but it tasted wonderful. The several days' rest in the fridge brought out a sourdough flavor, and the crust was baguette-crispy.

Delish!

I'm still not sure, however. I didn't have as much success as I'd hoped to have, so I'm not sure it's worth the (albeit small) trouble or refirigerator space. Also, I'm not at all certain if I have the heart to continue experimenting with the recipe. Have you tried anything like this? What's been your experience?

Adventures in Frugality: Homemade Slow Cooker Yogurt

I love yogurt and eat a lot of it. I eat it straight from the container, I use it in smoothies, I strain plain yogurt to make it Greek-style, I play around with it. But I'm not so jazzed about some brands' ingredients, so I'm careful what I buy. Oftentimes, being careful what one buys equals paying more for what one buys, since quality can cost more than, you know, not-so-quality.

So I was excited to discover Stephanie O'Dea's recipe for slow cooker yogurt on her website. (Thanks to Tricia at Hodgepodge for the link!) I've made two batches and feel confident enough in the process to write about it.

The first time I made it, I used two percent milk and nonfat yogurt as my starter. This was in direct disobedience to Stephanie's advice, which stated whole milk, especially for one's first attempts. The resulting yogurt was tasty but quite liquidy. It made great smoothies without adding any extra liquid. I strained some of it for a thicker yogurt, and this was successful. But I wanted to try whole milk the next time, which I did.

On my second attempt, the result was thicker than the first batch but still runnier than store-bought. Refrigeration helped. But let me hasten to add that the texture and taste are both marvelous. Never has such silken loveliness graced my tastebuds. Tiny Girl and I experimented by adding strawberry preserves to a bowlful and then freezing it. More like a granita than ice cream, our fro-yo was delightfully tangy, sweet, and strawberry-y.

In another experiment, I strained some of the whole-milk yogurt, which resulted in a super-creamy, rich, and thick yogurt for which there are no words to describe its magnificence. It was better than the strained yogurt from my first batch. I swirled a touch of honey atop a dollop of strained yogurt and was in heaven (or at least my imaginary approximation thereof).

I learned that some folks add gelatin or other ingredients to their homemade yogurt to get more of a store-bought texture, but I prefer not to do that. To me, homemade yogurt's texture is far superior to any gelatinous goo from the grocery.

Homemade yogurt is incredibly easy and frugal, but it seems luxurious. What a perfect combination!

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Quick and Easy Sandwich Buns

On Tuesday, I remembered that I had a container of pulled chicken in the fridge that needed to be used, so I decided to make some chicken barbecue sandwiches. I didn't have any buns, though, so I hit the internet in search of a recipe. Plus, it had to be easy and quick -- look who's in the kitchen, after all.

Shazam! Alisa's recipe from Alisa Cooks is a real winner. I followed the recipe as it's written, except I kneaded the dough with the dough hook in my Red Steel Beauty, and I let the buns rise a bit longer than ten minutes.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Everyone in the family loved them, except for Himself, who abstained. He's not a bread junkie. (Weirdo.)

My delectable chicken barbecue sandwich.

The next morning, Tiny Girl asked for a bun made like cinnamon toast. Miss Priss just ate hers plain.

Cinnamon toasted bun for Tiny Girl.

Today, I had another chicken barbecue sandwich with the last of the buns. Friends, this recipe is a keeper: frugal, fast, and fabulous!

Weekly Happenings: Illness and Manic Homekeeping

It had to be the caffeine.

This week of damp and now chilly weather is perfect for tea-drinking (frankly, the weather matters not in this household -- we drink tea all the time), and I brewed pots and pots of Yorkshire tea for myself. I needed the extra oomph of caffeine to handle the extra work of sick children.

We hardly touched our scheduled schoolwork. We managed a couple of readings one a couple of days, and Tiny Girl completed two math assignments. That's all anyone felt up to doing, except for naps on the couch and watching movies.

But there I was, all caffeinated up. I had to do something. So I did.

A good friend of mine recently let me borrow, for as long as I want, her KitchenAid mixer. I know! It's like when the Victoria and Albert museum permanently loaned the Marian hanging to Oxburgh House! I'd mentioned during dinner conversation that I'd like to have one, but even on sale they are pricey. She said she never uses hers; but since it was a gift from her beloved husband she can't sell it to me or even actually give it to me; but it now resides at my house for as long as I desire. Ah, how I've benefitted from her largesse.

This week, I've burned some electricity with this baby. I've made forgotten cookies, pumpkin muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and tried my hand at Our Daily Bread in a Crock. (More on the latter later.)

I was on fire. I made homemade yogurt in my crock pot. I started using homemade dryer sheets: I cut squares of fabric from worn-in and worn-out jeans and left them to soak in a small bucket of water-diluted fabric softener. To use, I wring one or two out and toss in the dryer with a load of clothes to dry. I cleaned the kitchen with a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide mixture. I mopped the kitchen floor. I made soup. I baked maple corn muffins.

But it's not all about me. Between doctor visits and when the girls felt able, they entertained themselves with a few easy projects. They worked on friendship bracelets. They played Wheel of Fortune on the Wii. Tiny Girl constructed this foam manor she received for Christmas. Note the penguins on the ski lift.

They also drank a lot of tea. Tiny Girl switched between peppermint sweetened with honey and (decaf) chai with sweet cream. Miss Priss stuck with decaf chai (sugar only).

The doctor's visit today yielded good news. Miss Priss has really improved, AND we can discontinue the oral steroid -- which resulted in behavior somewhat akin to Linda Blair in The Exorcist (a movie I ill-advisedly watched when I was sixteen. What a dumb idea.). She's still on the antibiotic, of course, and breathing treatments will continue for the next few days. Tiny Girl shows no signs of pneumonia, so her ailment is just of the virus type. She's now on the oral steroid (fingers crossed for her reaction to be better!) and will continue breathing treatments all next week. But after one day of steroid use, her cough is already MUCH improved. We are very thankful.

I'm linking up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, so pop over for some fun blog-reading!

Adventures in Frugality: Multi-Mealing

Most frugal souls out there will tell you that multi-mealing (I just made that up -- clever, eh? But I bet someone else beat me to it) is a subject that is near and dear to our hearts. You know, cook something once then make other meals with the leftovers. Since I like to get the most bang for my grocery buck, I tend to multi-meal whenever I can.

For example, I cooked up a mess of collards for New Year's. (Yes, I am the only one who eats them, but why not? Greens are good for you.) After eating them a couple of times as is, I tweaked them to make something a bit different. I drained a can of great northern beans, tossed that in with the collards, and then covered everything with some water. I stirred in some ham base and onions. Ta da! Soup!

That was no big deal. A couple of days ago, I oven-roasted a nice, bone-in pork shoulder, which I'd bought on sale. Despite my following the directions, it was not cooked through at suppertime; so I sliced off some, zapped it in the microwave for a minute, and we ate it for supper. The next day, I put the remaining roast in my cast iron Dutch oven, poured in two cups of water, and put it in a 325 degree oven for a few hours.

Friends, it was amazing. It fell off the bone and was so meltingly tender I nearly swooned. I shredded the meat, which we ate on buns with barbecue sauce.

Two days later, I chopped some of the meat finely in my food processor and then added some of its broth and some spices: chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I didn't measure a thing. After heating the meat, I spooned some onto warm tortillas and served with chopped tomato, lettuce, taco sauce, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

I still have quite a bit of pork left, which I'm going to freeze. Talk about multi-mealing!

Now. Keep in mind that I have a smaller-sized family: two children, both of whom eat small helpings of most things except dessert and popcorn, and two adults. So I may get more meals than your family would.

Multi-mealing does require a bit of thought, but it becomes more natural the more you do it. With my multi-mealing perspective firmly in place, I now tend to re-think leftovers. Instead of simply serving that chicken again, as is, I might boil the meat off the bones (I detest picking meat off bones -- it grosses me out), which rewards me with a nice broth for soup (or cooking veggies) AND chicken, which I either use right away in a casserole, dumplings, or pot pie OR freeze for later use. Leftover spaghetti sauce gets tossed in the freezer for use in soup, chili, or as pizza sauce.

My guess is that you already know all this stuff. I grew up with parents who'd been raised on farms. Farm people multi-meal naturally. But for me, there was a gap between knowing it and making an intentional effort to do it.

Another bonus: throwing out spoiled leftovers that languished in the fridge for far too long is a wasteful thing of the past.

Craft and Gift Idea: Gussied-Up Picture Frames

While wandering around Michaels a few weeks ago, I saw a project sheet for holiday picture frames, and I thought, "The girls could make these for their grandparents for Christmas." (Every once in while, inspiration strikes me, especially when it's right in front of my face.) So I bought four unfinished frames for $1.99 a piece, Mod Podge, and an X-ACTO blade. The girls selected scrapbooking paper, paint, and embellishments.

You know me; I never follow any directions exactly. Where's the fun in that? As a loose guide, we used the directions for the Santa frame. I never found any Terrifically Tacky tape at the store. If the girls had chosen to use ribbon on their frame edges, we would have used the Mod Podge instead. However, they both painted the edges at the same time they painted the backs.

We completed the project over two days. On the first day, the girls painted the backs and edges of their frames and left them to dry. Miss Priss chose a metallic gold paint that went well with the papers she'd selected; Tiny Girl opted for white paint.

On Day 2, it was time to trace the frame and frame opening onto the back of their scrapbooking paper.

Since I didn't relish a trip to the emergency room right before Christmas (been there, done that), I used the X-ACTO blade to cut out the tracings.

The girls then spread Mod Podge onto the backs of their cut-outs and smoothed them onto each frame.

After that, they added their embellishments. The stickers were all adhesive, so we didn't need a glue gun. Miss Priss used Mod Podge to adhere her ribbon. And here they are!

 Tiny Girl's finished frames

Miss Priss's finished frames

Last night, a friend -- a high school junior whom my girls adore -- came to hang out with the girls while Himself and I attended a company Christmas dinner. "These frames are great!" she said, and added that she'd like to make some for her friends.

The frames can be fun or fancy, depending on your paper and embellishment choices. Plus, Michaels has tons of frame ideas on the company's website. Check it out to get some ideas!

Adventures in Frugality: Potato Soup

This has been a super-busy week for us; more on this later. However, one night I threw together a really nice potato soup that began with a recipe and then I changed most of it. Typical. Here's exactly what I did. Feel free to alter at your pleasure.

Potato Soup
Eight cups water
Six heaping tsp Better than Bouillon chicken (a real measuring tsp, not flatware)
5 red potatoes, peeled and chopped
onion powder to taste
cut-up ham (I had some leftover and I just used that; I didn't even measure it)
1 cup half-and-half
2 1/2 generous handsful of shredded Cheddar

Bring water and bouillon to boil and add potatoes. Cook til tender. Reduce heat to low. Scoop out at least half of the potatoes with some liquid and carefully blend in a blender til smooth. Pour back into soup pot. Add ham, half-and-half, and Cheddar. Stir til cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Serve.

If you happened to have any on hand, sour cream and/or chives would be a nice touch. I pureed half the potatoes because I didn't have any (and never do, actually) dried potato flakes, which so many potato soup recipes use as a thickener.

The girls and I loved this; Himself enjoyed it, but pronounced it "very soupy." He prefers his potato soup thicker and chunkier. If you do, too, simply reduce the water (and bouillon) and skip the pureeing.

Ah, soup. One of the best delights of chilly weather, to my way of thinking.

Adventures in Frugality: Freezer Soup

Today, I felt it was time to clean out the freezer, dump lots of stuff into the Crock Pot, and have soup for supper. This is really a no-brainer, but I can't tell you how many times I've had to throw away tidbits of frozen leftovers -- earmarked for soup -- that ended up freezer burned and useless. So I'm pretty proud I remembered this time.

What's in this soup, you ask?

Assume everything was frozen first: chicken broth, chicken, ham, tomato, tomato puree, limas, black-eyed peas, corn, potatoes, green beans, and yellow rice. It smells wonderful!

I'm about to toss into the bread machine the makings for onion, garlic, and cheese bread, too.

Sounds promising!

UPDATE: the soup was quite good, but the bread was excellent. Here's where I got the recipe. I altered the recipe a bit by adding in the garlic, onion, and cheese at the beginning instead of halfway through. Makes fabulous buttered toast!

Of Apples and Homemade Applesauce

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." -- Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

Apples are a mainstay at our house. Only Himself is not a fan. My year-round stand-by is Gala. It's crisp (never mealy -- I detest a mealy apple), sweet with a hint of tart, and pretty to look at, with its rosy yellow skin. In the fall, however, there is an abundance of varieties to be found, and we like to sample the more exotic of the grocers' bounty: Honeycrisp, Cripp's Pink, Jonathan....

I bought a small bag of Jonathan apples at Trader Joe's last week and determined to make applesauce in my Crock Pot. Last night, Tiny Girl and I began to work.

I used my Pampered Chef apple-corer-slicer thingamajig to core and slice 10 apples. Tiny Girl peeled them. We dumped them into my slow cooker and added 3/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of vanilla. I stirred it all up and cooked everything on low overnight. Fast forward to this morning.

Our resulting applesauce smelled heavenly and was a dark red, thanks to the cinnamon. It was also more liquidy than I like, so I drained some of the juice off (and saved it to drink, of course!) After a taste test, we added quite a bit more sugar. Those tart Jonathans didn't mellow -- they cooked up mouth-puckering tart! I then dished up a small bowl for Tiny Girl. Miss Priss declined an offer to taste.

Tiny Girl cautiously sampled a bite, shuddered slightly -- the tartness, you know -- and then ate a bit more. She's the sort of person who really wants to like new things, so she ate her miniscule helping. Then came her pronouncement, which I overheard her make to Miss Priss at the breakfast table:

"Once you get used to the weird taste, it's actually really good."

And there you have it. A true success.

Adventures in Frugality: Crock Pot Beans and Tasty Recipes

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to my dear friend, Jennifer at Half-Baked Homeschool, that I passed up the canned black beans at Publix because I knew I could get them cheaper at Aldi. She said, "You know, the cheapest thing to to do is buy dried black beans, cook them yourself, and store them in the freezer."

I'm always amazed by how some extremely obvious facts fail to make an impression on my feeble mind.

Anyway.

I love to use my slow cooker as much as possible so I don't have to think about what's on the stove while I'm attempting to educate my children. I did a bit of research to discover the best way to cook dried beans in a Crock Pot. Kalyn's Kitchen has a clear and helpful article. As I type, black beans are simmering away in my slow cooker, and I'm feeling both productive and frugal.

In case you're wondering, we don't eat black beans by themselves. I use them in recipes, such as Impossibly Easy Taco Pie. But I make changes to the original recipe. I don't ever use packets of taco seasoning; I use a homemade blend (see below). And I typically don't use green chiles, since I don't keep them on hand. Third, I use a mixture of half ground beef (or ground turkey) AND -- you guessed it -- black beans.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
After browning and draining about a pound of ground beef or ground turkey, mix in:

1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. each: ground cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder
2 T. ketchup
1/4 cup water

Stir all together and cook over medium heat about five minutes. This recipe comes from Desperation Dinners! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross.

For the taco pie, I use half the seasoned meat and half black beans. I freeze the other half of the meat for later use.

Another recipe that features black beans is Santa Fe Chicken Casserole. I alter this one, too. I usually omit the green onions. And I don't buy the cooking creme; I just mix softened cream cheese and salsa. Medium salsa, which is usually too fiery for the girls, is good here, since the cream cheese cools in down. I typically use shredded Cheddar instead of the Mexican blend cheese.

Black beans are also good in chili and Chicken Tortilla Soup. The link is the basic recipe; when I made it for book club, I used my slow cooker and made a few changes. I can't recall now what those changes were, exactly. Be creative (within reason, of course)!

I'm on a roll with this frugality stuff!

Adventures in Frugality: Coming Clean

How's this for coming clean: I aspire to be more frugal, and sometimes I succeed.

Here's one of my successes. Inspired by Tricia at Hodgepodge, I made my own laundry detergent today. (My camera was AWOL, so I have no fab photos; but Tricia does, so visit her blog to see what I did. Ha ha!) I opted to make the powdered version from the Duggar Family website, the same recipe Tricia used.

After some research, I discovered that the liquid/gel recipe is the best value, but I don't have a five-gallon bucket with a lid hanging around my house. Maybe one day....

I bought all three ingredients at my local grocery store in the laundry detergent section. If you can't find them, check online.

Here's the recipe:

1 bar Fels Naphtha laundry soap, finely grated
1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 cup borax

The girls and I used my crank cheese grater to grate the soap. Then we mixed everything together and stored it in a clean and empty OxyClean bucket-style container, along with an extra plastic tablespoon measure I had. Voila! One tablespoon per load is all that's needed. Use two tablespoons for really soiled clothing.

I've already washed a load of clothes with this concoction, and everything came out clean. Which I sort of expected, since hundreds of other people have had success with this recipe. It's not like I'm cutting-edge or anything.

The best news is that it's so easy to make that I might actually stick with it. Thanks, Tricia!