Posted in In the Kitchen
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Okay-- I mentioned before I have become a bit more "impulsive" than normal lately-- not sure why-- After doing bills today-- i do need to do another *update* on that-- our grocery budget it a bit tight due to some other impulsiveness (cherries, blueberries--etc...not planned for)... my grocery budget is a bit tighter than normal-- Well while I was getting my shower-- I thought-- Why not try some of those TRUE "HARD TIME" menu plans and follow it 100% (or close) and see how they work.... So for THIS week-- I am going to be following: Menus for Moms- Meals for Hard Times- Menu for $20-30!! Next week I will be following: Hillbilly Housewife $70 menu Then... the ALDI FOOD MENU PLAN and Lastly-- (unless I find some more) I will be following this one...Food Stamp Challenge - Eating Local Foods I can't wait for this one--I won't be using Food Stamps-- but the dollar amount is my GOAL. ***** Please note I did check with Jason and let him read them over FIRST--- I wouldn't do something so "extreme" with out his okay....His reply-- "oh we can do it-- we can do it IF we want to-- we just have to be disciplined" ******** I'm going to get a few items today-- and I will BE BACK to post how it goes--
One change I know I am making is I will not be doing the "sour dough" thing---I will instead each morning be following this recipe--Whole Wheat Bread-- in the bread machine each morning.
** Know of any other great menu plans already laid out for "TIGHT BUDGETS"? I'd love to see em' and maybe try em'!!
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Posted in In the Kitchen
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Well... I must say on that first loaf of bread (see below post) I didn't wait for my bread machine to do the WHOLE dough "thing" (after already waiting 4 hours for it to sponge) and so I dumped it in a pan and baked it...(it was near 9pm and I was headed to bed) so it also didn't RISE in the pan for an hour or whatever but CHECK THIS OUT... MAJOR improvement... and imagine if I'd have followed directions!! The delima? Holy Smokes it took FOREVER!!! Not sure if I could do that.. especially for 1 loaf at a time!! In a few days I may play around and try to do the sponge method with my Bosch... and try to get a FEW loaves at one time... we'll see? I also have another question... my 6 loaves cooled and I turned them upside down to cool a bit more...and when I came back into the kitchen... the centers (bottom) were all FALLEN IN!! WHY??? Why oh why...they are not very TALL to begin with and then when they fall.....it makes me wanna cry!! ============================================================================== I didn't share this yesterday because some of you probably can guess already that sometimes I am a bit of a Ms. Visionary....as I really like to JUMP on to things and then quickly putter out!! Well yesterday morning I was really thinking how much I LOVE this site...and would LOVE to incorporate more of this thinking in to our daily life. These 2 articles REALLY caught my eye.... the Locavore pledge and 25 Ways to Save Money on Food I have a local place to buy MILK (even raw...not sure we will buy raw) I have a local place to buy beef. I can buy some meat chickens easy enough I have LOTS of places, CSA's (my pastor even), farmers market, my front yard to buy FRESH vegetables.... So WHY oh WHY did I go to Walmart yesterday and get my groceries?? Do any of you STRIVE to purposefully buy items as LOCAL as possible??? Or even to grown MOST of your own? I'd love to know.... Although I did forget I requested THIS book from my libary and what a timely response...it arrived yesterday... i read it last year and REALLY enjoyed it but I plan on reading it MUCH slower and digesting and applying a bit more this time around....
There is even a website for the book... Now for my disclaimer: I don't remember exactly the outlook the author had in this book...I like the practical application.... this morning I do beleive I read the work "karma" and sometimes books like this-- get back to our roots do go a bit "new age"....but I just kick it to the side.... so that is my disclaimer-- Just to wet your appetite if you arent' sure this is the book for you here are a few excerpts: First of all it all begins when her and her husband move from sunny, HOT, DRY AZ to southern Virginia... She mentions in the beginning her highest shopping goal was to get their food CLOSE to home-- to KNOW the person who grew it and often that would be themselves... She then mentioned some important information many people overlook which are very important to this endevor include: when is your first frost? when is your last frost? Which crops can be planted before the last frost? which crops must wait? what an asparagus patch looks like in August Most importantly-- what animals and vegetables thrive in your immediate region--and how to live well on those with little else beyond a bag of flower, a pinch of salt and a handful of coffee.... A great book IMHO to read right about now as we are waiting for our rototiller to be finished and for hubby to get that ground DUG up!! A big motivator!!
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(sadly-- time and convienence) I need dh to get on board 100% and things tend to go forward on an on going basis THEN.
Posted in In the Kitchen
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Started with breakfast and then BILLS.... must say I thought about deleting my previous entry.....because there were a few snags today... we have a wedding Saturday and we don't have a gift category (YET), we also needed some INK for the computer (the hs budget was depleted), and a few other ODD items.....but we worked it out and all is well... Then off to run those errands.. Bank first (to get CASH), Fruit stand, Homedepot, and WALMART Then I came home and decided to get some baking done.. I can't even remember the last time I REALLY had a BAKING DAY!!! (sad but true).... So first up was: Granola!! (we are so egged out!!) Looks like something is missing???-- it is.. RASINS... I'll buy them tomorrow with a bit of my allowance. Then I tried a new bread recipe-- it only makes one loaf...but we'll see how it works:
Used the Bread machine for this one:
Ingredients
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (I used Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour by Hodgson Mill) 1/2 teaspoon yeast (mine says "baking yeast" from health food store) 1 3/4 cups warm water 2 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil 2 Tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons salt (I used kosher) 2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten Method Add 1 1/2 cup of WW flour, yeast, and warm water in your bread machine - run it for 10 minutes on the basic cycle. After 10 minutes it should look like pancake batter. Unplug/turn off the machine and let it sit in the machine for 3-12 hours (mine sat for 9 hours). This is called a sponge . After the time has passed, add the oil, honey, salt, wheat gluten, and 2 1/2 cups flour into the machine. Run it on the dough cycle. Keep checking in the machine, don't just turn it on and leave it. Make sure all the flour is combined. Before it starts its first rise, it should be in a ball and feel like a baby's cheek  After dough cycle is complete, remove the dough, form it into a loaf, and place it in a greased loaf pan. Cover and put in a warm place (I warmed my oven for a little bit, and then put it in there to rise - the oven felt like a nice warm day ) Once its doubled in size (or looks like the size of loaf you want to have), bake on 350 degrees for 40 minutes. At 40 minutes, lightly knock on the bread and it should sound hollow. Remove from the loaf pan, and stick it back in the oven for another 2 minutes or so, to continue baking the crust (this is optional). Then back to my "regular" 6 Loaf WW Bread
Used my Bosch for this.....MASSIVE bread recipe:
Here they are still rising a bit:
And lastly... I took a bit of that bread dough and made these Delicious Cinnamon Rolls
Here they are still baking.... I cooked them all except 10 minutes and tomorrow morning before our BUSY co-op day I'll warm em' back up!! I just wish I had some of that syrup already---these are really great with a bit of syrup drizzled on top!!
We won't talk about how much FORMAL schooling got accomplished today...okay??
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( I could just KICK myself everytime I go there) but they had a few things I needed for the best price and most convienent drive.) My grocery budget was down to $60 for the week (including formula!!) but it worked out.... the reason it was down is because I forgot I asked my fatherinlaw to get me a gallon of REAL MAPLE SYRUP and I need to pay him when I see him Saturday. So...that will last us a LONG time!