Fall is upon us!!

These are new things that I came to me one morning at 3am. I couldn’t sleep and I was thinking about food. Go figure! If you know me, you know that food is never far from my mind! I love talking about it, thinking about it, making it, and of course, my favorite part, eating it!

So here are a couple of recipes and some pictures of how I utilized the recipes in my kitchen. I used the mini tartlet tray and the pastry bag to put the filling in the tarts. It work good for the apple, but the pumpkin was a little runny. I think something that had a lip or maybe a liquid measuring cup would have worked better. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Apple Pie Filling for…later

6 lbs apples (tart work best)

4 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

8 cups water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 drops yellow food coloring

I used about 20 medium size apples, grade B. Meaning they had bumps, bruises, and blemishes. Since I peeled and sliced them it didn’t really matter! They still tasted delicious!

1.      Sterilize 6 quart jars, if canning, by washing them with soap and water and putting them in the oven at 215 degrees for a minimum of 15 minutes. They can stay in the oven until you are ready to take them out.

2. Peel, core and slice apples. (Leave slices about 1/2 inch thick).
3. Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and salt in large pot.
4. Add water and cook on high heat, stirring frequently at first and then constantly until it boils. Let it boil for about a minute, at this point it should be nice and thick. Watch it very carefully, when it starts to thicken it goes fast!!
5. Stir in lemon juice and food coloring
6. Pack apples in hot jars and fill jars with sauce just to the bottom rung of the mouth of the jar. I use a wooden spoon to push the apples down. DO NOT FILL THEM ANY HIGHER! THEY WILL EXPLODE!
7. Process jars in hot water bath for 20 minutes.
8. If you are freezing them, mix apples and sauce and put in freezer ziplock bags or freezer containers.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 ¾ cups pumpkin (15 oz. can)

1 ½ cups evaporated milk (12 oz. can)

Combine dry ingredients, in a separate bowl slightly beat the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin and the dry ingredients, mix well. Gradually add the evaporated milk, pour into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes!

I made my own pumpkin puree!! It was SUPER easy and came out tasting delicious. Even the most novice of cooks can do this, it is a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen too!

Roasting a Pumpkin

It sounds daunting and scary but what better time of the year to tackle such a culinary task!! Trust me, it’s easy!

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and “stringy” stuff. Put cut side down on your Flexipat or deep Flexipat, add ¼ cup water and put in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour, or till flesh is “fork tender”. Take out of oven, let cool to touch and then scoop out the flesh. Place flesh in a blender or food processor, process till a smooth consistency is reached. Use in muffins, breads, pies or mousse!

REMEMBER: Roast the pumpkin seeds for a healthy, fibrous snack!

450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown

Waffles

By request I am posting the waffle recipe I use. I always make a double batch and then freeze whatever is leftover. I use the gallon size Ziplock Freezer bags. Take them out frozen and pop them in the toaster! Top with peanut butter and chocolate chips for a quick, on-the-go breakfast! You can also put berries, chocolate chips, or anything you like  in the batter! However you make them, they are an inexpensive, easy, healthy breakfast! Enjoy!!

Waffles
2 eggs (if really small use three)
2 cups flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil (vegetable works too)
1 TBLS packed brown sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat eggs in a large bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy. Mix dry ingredients in seperate bowl, then add to eggs, and add remaining ingredients. Beat just until mixture is smooth.
Pour approximately 2/3 cup batter into a heated waffle iron, bake until steam stops or it looks done! I usually cook them till they are light brown (not crispy on the outside) because then they are just right after you toast them!

How do I create a menu?

Hello,

I want to preface this by saying that I have been sick for the past couple of weeks and due to that my blog has suffered! I am on the road to wellness again and thank you for your patience!! On to menu planning....

So, I start with a list of about 20-30 main dish ideas. I have it taped to the inside of my cupboard door and I update it a couple of times a year. These are staple dishes that my family likes. I also have a file on my computer of recipes I want to try, or I may print off a copy and put it in a three ring binder I have.

Once you have your list of staple main dishes it is time to start “assembling” your menu! I print a blank menu from my Microsoft Word program and fill it in with pencil. I leave at least 3-4 nights a month unplanned. There are usually leftovers or a meal that feeds us for two nights instead of one, etc. Then I may put specific side dishes or just put a general “vegetable” or “fruit” label and generally a starch. I try to keep the meal balanced and healthy. I incorporate the best quality ingredients my budget allows.

Then I go to my pantry and freezer and make a list of what I already have. I then start my grocery list! I look at my menu one meal at a time and mentally go through what I will need to prepare it. For example: Baked chicken with cooked carrots and peaches with whip cream for dessert. I will need 3 chicken breast, eggs, milk, bread crumbs, butter, carrots, peaches, and whip cream. I check those ingredients against what I have on my “Pantry” list and add what I don’t have to my grocery list. This may sound time consuming, but it isn’t. After the first couple of months you will know generally what you have and what you don’t. It takes me about 30 minutes to do this exercise and have my grocery list completed.

Next I take my grocery list and split it into two lists. I shop at Costco and Winco, so I put what I get from each store on the appropriate list. Then, I put the price (if I need to I look at last month’s receipts) next to each item, add them all up and put the total at the bottom. I do this so that I can make sure that I am staying within my budget. I do round up numbers ($8.95 to $9.00) this makes it easier to add and I only need a general number to stay within my budget. If I find that I am over, then I will go back and adjust my menu or figure out what I can take off my grocery list. Again, this sounds like a lot of work but it really takes me less than an hour to create my menu, make my grocery list, and be ready to shop!

I have experimented and done three months worth of menus and grocery lists at a time. It worked fairly well, but I still prefer doing it one month at a time. Also, be sure to leave room in your budget for the weekly trips to the grocery store! If you need to get milk, bread, and produce weekly make lists for those trips too. Impulse buying is the #1 budget breaker and stores know it, that’s why they “attack” you with all that yummy stuff as you come in the door! So, make sure you go with a list, go after you have eaten, and if you take the kids with you be sure to include them in the shopping “process”. My kids know we have a “budget” and they are generally satisfied with the answer “it’s not in the budget” or “it’s not on the list”.  If it’s something they really want I make sure to put it on the list for next month.

Menu planning and budgeting for your groceries helps to make you aware of what you are spending your money on. It also makes you accountable for what you buy. These are not easy things to do and I encourage you to enlist a “buddy” to support you through the first couple of months. It takes 2-3 months to work all the kinks out. However you budget for your groceries is good, making it a realistic dollar amount and sticking to it will give you the best outcome! Good luck in this adventure of being a good steward of your money!

 

Fall is Here

Good Morning!

These wonderful fall days bring to my mind apple pie, soup, and all the wonderful fall foods that come from the earth! Today I am going to be giving you some recipes, and on Friday there will be a post continuing the menu planning topic, so watch for that.

My favorite part of fall is that I can start making soups again! Mmm…potato, beef vegetable, ham and bean, split pea, or maybe a butternut squash? Nothing like sunny day that is cool enough for a sweater and a bowl of steaming soup.

So, I am going to share my favorite beef vegetable soup recipe. It is made with ground beef and can be ready is 1 hour or less. I will include a variety of ways to change it up, as this is a very versatile soup. Yum!

Beef Soup

½ onion, chopped

1 lb. hamburger

4-6 carrots, sliced (depends on size and if you like carrots)

1-2 large potatoes, cut into cubes

1 TLBS beef base (purchase at Costco)

2 cups water

1 28 oz. can tomato sauce, S&W tomatoes,

OR 1 quart jar home canned tomatoes or tomato puree

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. celery salt (you or 4 ribs celery, chopped to the soup, my family doesn’t like celery)

Salt/ pepper to taste

Brown beef and onion, put in 3-6 quart pan, add water and tomatoes. Shake beef base with small amount of water in a jar with a tight fitting lid (2-3 TLBS water). Add remaining ingredients, except for macaroni. Cook for 30 minutes on medium high heat or until soup starts to reduce/thicken.

Variations:

Add:

½ cup or more of mashed acorn or other type of squash

1 cup cauliflower, chopped

1 small or medium size zucchini, sliced

¼ cup beet puree

If you don’t have time to cook the soup down, add ½ cup noodles, quinoa, or barley and cook till veggies and starch are done, 15-20 minutes. Add more water or tomatoes as needed and remember check if seasoning needs to me adjusted as well.

NOTE: You can use any kind of veggies your family likes in this soup. Don’t limit yourself to what I have written here. You can also use veggie purees too! Great way to get your family to eat veggies they wouldn’t normally (squash puree, zucchini or spinach puree, carrots and beets work too!)

Roasted Veggies

In the picture I roasted whole vegetables. Beets, zucchini, carrots, red potatoes, and onions. I rubbed the vegetables with olive oil, sprinkled them with some salt, and put them in the hold, covered with the octagonal Silpat and put them in the oven on 250 degrees F for about 2-3 hours.

They are wonderful to eat right out of the oven or puree and freeze for later use in recipes. This is one of the ways that I sneak veggies into my families food. Roasting seems to make the flavors of the foods easier to hide when I puree them AND it seals all the nutrients inside of them.

You can do this with any type of squash, cut in half, rub outside and inside with olive oil place cut side down on the Deep Flexipat or in the tart mold. Bake at a low temp, 250-300 degrees F till you can pierce the squash skin with a fork.

Apple Pie

Follow your favorite apple pie recipe, but bake it in the tart mold. When cooled you can take it out and put it on a plate for a beautiful presentation. You can also do pumpkin or any other yummy pie in it as well!

Menu planning, can it save you money?

Yes, I believe that if you menu plan it can save you money AND time. This is the first of my 3-part blog on how I feed my family of four on $200-$300 per month. I know that several people have asked me how that is possible?! In the next month I will be sharing my menu, grocery list, and even my actual receipts, ideas and tips on how I accomplish this. Let me say that it requires a lot of self-discipline (something I don’t have much of) and determination. I also think that you have to be a little bit desperate!

I want to warn everyone that this is NOT EASY!! As a family we decided to do this so that we could achieve our goal of being Debt Free! We have been doing this for 1 ½ years so we can get through Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. If you aren’t familiar with Dave Ramsey be sure to check out his Financial Peace Plan at http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/ . Now that we are Debt Free, we have continued so that we can get through Baby Step # 3, which is “3 to 6 Months Expenses in Savings”. For our family the goal is $10,000! Our original goal was to have Baby Step #3 completed by the end of 2010. We may not be able to accomplish that as we have had a couple of set backs. One of them was a $3000.00+ dentist bill for my two root canals and crowns. Yikes! But, we are forging ahead!

How DO you do that?!

When we started budgeting, our food budget was $150.00 per month and that included toilet paper, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. YES, it was HARD! This month I have $280.00 to spend and it feels like a ‘cake walk’. It requires discipline (determination) to do this. Most of our food is made from scratch because that IS the cheapest way to do it. I buy flour, sugar, oil, eggs, bread, and milk in larger quantities, mostly from Costco. 

Here are some examples of food for a typical day:

Breakfast - homemade waffles that are frozen and then put in the toaster, topped with peanut butter and chocolate chips or toast with peanut butter and jam.

Lunch - either a PB& J sandwich or lunch meat, cheese and crackers (homemade version of Lunchables), apple sauce and chips complete the meal.

Dinner – below is a picture of my dinner menu for the month. We sometimes “trade” meals, have tacos tonight and meatloaf on Saturday.

To start, I look at the school lunch menu to determine how many cold lunches I will need to make, then I make my dinner menu (with my family’s help), then I check to see what is in my pantry/freezer already, and lastly I make my grocery list. Don’t get me wrong this took 3-6 months to get down, but it is pretty easy, just takes a little planning in advance.

TIP: Do NOT go to the grocery store without a list and stick as close to it as possible. One “impulse” item is okay, but no more than that, unless you have extra money!!

Use last month’s receipts to estimate how much the items on your list will cost. I already know that I only have $280 to spend, so I adjust my list and menu to fit that $ amount.

TIP: Take cash with you when you shop, it will keep you from overspending.

Next week I will talk more in depth about how to create your dinner menu. Start this week by creating a list of main dishes your family likes or things they would like you to make. That will get you ready to create your menu, put as many dishes on the list as you would like, but make sure there are at least 20.

This may sound like a lot of work, but I found that I didn’t dread the afternoon question of “What’s for dinner?” because I already knew! It also kept me from making unnecessary trips to the grocery store during the month AND it saved me money!

As always, questions are welcome and appreciated. I will do my best to answer them!! Good luck!

I encourage everyone to take Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University!! It will change the way you think about money AND if you choose, it will change your life!!!

http://www.daveramsey.com/