Today

I'm posting from my phone while in bed next to a scared 9 year old. We just watched the HP & the Half Blood Prince which is pretty intense. Luckily, she's finally asleep.

I took a nap on the back porch earlier while the two littles made their own version of a school carnival. It involved the classic dunk tank (wading pool) where you throw a ball (clothespins) at a target (kid butt) and the person (7 year old) falls (jumps off a picnic table) into the tank of water (wading pool).

Kassidy made brownies today from one of the homemade mixes. Also, she's decided to play flute in band next year! 

I freaking love these kiddos!

Frugal Friday

I'm inspired today by Life as Mom (who wrote my favorite freezer cookbook) to do a Frugal Friday post.  Her blog today is about maintaining your stamina when the frugal living gets tough.  She asks readers:

• Do you find it hard to stick to your financial goals?
• If so, what do you do to get back in line?
• If not, what’s your secret to staying on track?

I'm not finding it too hard to stick with my own personal financial goals.  I have a goal of saving a certain amount of money that I've made through my Etsy business and I'm about to meet my goal!  I'm predicting I will have met my goal by the end of next week!  Running this business has helped me in unexpected ways, including eliminating the resentment I used to feel about not earning any of my own money.  Having my own savings account outside of our joint account is a wonderful thing and because I'm the only person who can access it, I control it 100%.  My secret to staying on track?  I don't have a secret.  I've worked so hard to make this money and I'm too scared to spend it.  That's not to say I haven't been tempted but so far, so good.

Random List

• I love, LOVE the ability to put my Etsy shop on vacation.  When orders get too overwhelming (a good problem, I know) or when life kicks me in the butt, I put the shop on vacation.  This is why I don't have my own web site and also why I'm o.k. with paying Etsy fees.  I wouldn't have this ability most anywhere else on the web.  People have the option to receive a notification when my shop re-opens.  I realize it costs me some sales but the shop doesn't need to grow any bigger.  Putting it on vacation once a month helps keep things small and keep me sane.
• Enough shop talk.  I've caught a cold for the third time in a month.  This makes me sad.  When I don't have a cold, I have allergies.  Good times.
• I made 8 of those salads-in-a-jar and used quart jars.  It is too much salad.  We will be eating salad all week and that's o.k. but I'm approaching salad burnout.  The salads are delicious and contain:
• a mix of either romaine, kale, and/or arugula
• feta or gorgonzola
• radishes, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes marinating the dressing at the bottom
• dressing of either red wine or white wine vinaigrette
• toasted almonds or toasted pecans
• blueberries 
• I've nearly reached an important financial milestone for myself, thank you HelloAuntFlow shop.  
• Every day when the kids get home, I sit on the couch with them and watch Martha Speaks.  I freaking love this show.  And I usually fall asleep.  Abby knows this and will put a stuffed animal under my head while I'm still awake because she knows it will put me to sleep thus buying her some computer time.  Stinker. 
• We're getting back into our after-dinner family walk routine.  
• The tomatoes are coming along quite nicely and we even have some blossoms now!
• The watermelons have all sprouted:  Ali Baba and Golden Midget varieties from Baker Creek.
• The burgundy okra just sprouted today!  Eagle Pass okra should be sprouting soon.
• I'm going to build a trellis for the first time - a narrow folding ladder style.  If it goes well, I'll build three more.
• Kassidy got straight A's on her report card.  I'm so proud of her!  She says this instantly qualifies her for Pre AP/Pre IB classes next year.  We've been discussing the district's IB program and she seems interested.  I'm not sure what the difference is between Gifted & Talented, Pre AP, Pre IB, Honors, or whatever else they call it.  I need to talk to her counselor at school.
• She also gets to take two music classes next year- choir and band.  Too cool!
• Abby and Jasmine also got very, very good grades.  Abby earned her classroom's Star Student award for this term!  This was a big deal to her because she finally got perfect attendance for the first time ever in a term.
• Less than one month until school is out!  We are all super excited!

I feel the need to add this disclaimer.  I'm not hell-bent on my kids getting good grades or awards or perfect attendance.  They have earned these things on their own.  I understand grades are not an accurate measure of intelligence.  But being as they're in public school, these little victories help them feel more motivated and help set them apart from the crowd.  I'm no Tiger Mom.  But if it's making them happy, let's indulge.  I know they are super smart even without the report cards declaring it.

Sunday Dinners

Every Sunday, I do my best to cook an amazing family dinner, complete with something yummy to drink as well as dessert.  I decided to start doing this a few months ago after realizing that I needed one day each week where a fantastic, not-boring, dinner was guaranteed.  I cook dinner 5 or 6 nights each week but they're nothing to brag about.  My goal is to make Sunday dinner brag-worthy.

The recipes generally are based on something I've been curious to try.  I thought once I would try making homemade fried chicken.  It turned out terrible.  Too browned on the outside and undercooked on the inside.  As undercooked chicken is treated like nuclear waste, it got dumped.  But the side dishes were good.

A favorite is Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice. I cannot say enough good things about this meal.  It's a copycat of some sort of popular Manhattan street food.  Serve it with the suggested basic iceberg salad and pita bread just like you'd get at a little Greek restaurant.  I omit the sugar in the white sauce.  The kids devour this.  Don't be fooled by claims that this is an easy weeknight dish:  it's not.  It takes some time but it is well worth it and the leftovers are even better for lunch the next day.  I'll probably make this again real soon.

I want to learn how to make a pot roast like Sophia's with the potatoes and carrots.  I also need to relearn how to roast a chicken without getting squeamish. 

Dessert is usually brownies, a small cake, or if I'm pressed for time, flourless peanut butter cookies that I make in the food processor.  Now that strawberries are in season, I'll have to make some shortcake soon.

When my children have all grown and moved on, my hope is that Sunday dinner nostalgia will bring them back home often to eat and visit. 

Do you have any weekly or monthly meal traditions?  Please share!

Food In Jars

If you know me, you know I have an affinity for mason jars.  I can a lot of salsa and jam every summer and by spring, I have a lot of empty mason jars taking up a lot of cabinet space.  Also, James and I are eating a lot healthier nowadays. I'm enjoying less bread and sugar and he is on a sorta paleo diet so starches are pretty much out of question for him 6 days a week.


According to this site and also this site, you can make 5 days worth of salads and layer them in large mason jars.  Dressing goes on the bottom, followed by veggies that can sit in dressing (think carrots, cucumbers, radishes or tomatoes), then more delicate ingredients, lettuces, etc.  One of the layers is your protein.  The croutons go on the dry top layer. 

I'm excited to try this as it goes along with the cooking I like to do in advance.  Chopping lots of veggies every morning is out of the question so making salads in advance is very appealling to me.  I already make jars of chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms for James to use during the week so this would be simply an extension of that. 

Also, aren't they gorgeous?  It's like they're begging for me to eat them:

Photos from http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/06/cobb-salad-caesar-salad-in-jar-results.html and http://www.thekitchn.com/salad-in-a-jar-make-a-week-of-lunches-173014


I'm also excited about these little ready-made yogurt parfaits using the half pint jars:




Imagine the combination of homemade jams, good plain yogurt, and some of Granny's pecans.  To die for.

I have big plans now of making all my yogurt breakfasts and salad lunches in advance.

So hungry now....

Cooking Update

So that freezer session sure was a huge ordeal.  Took me three days to cook it all, and about 200 loads of dishes.  I was a grumpy, stained wreck of a mom by the end of it.  However, dinner time has been unbelievably easy ever since.  I spend maybe 20 minutes total now with just adding a veggie, rice, or salad.    I don't know.  I'll admit to being a slow cook so when the book brags of making all your meals in a manner of only 8 hours, it's going to be a lot more than that for me.  Plus distractions.  Meh.  I might rework this whole thing a bit, streamline it, get better at it, throw in some of my own favorite recipes (most come from reading this blog for the last 10 years).  I think the process can be made much easier.  I'll definitely need to buy meat on sale next time.  The grocery bill for all that food was embarrassing.  I understand that it's for the better part of a month but still.  I felt so much like a, I don't know, spendy gluttonous American.  I know.  Shame on me.  I might be more inclined to spread the mass cooking out over the month just to avoid feeling like that or requiring two carts for the groceries.

Anyway, the point of posting today was to pass along a very useful, boring tip about peanut butter.  Are you on the edge of your seat?!!  I only buy natural peanut butter because I like the flavor and the kids don't need the extra sugar.  I HATE how it's separated when you first buy it and you have to spend a lovely afternoon stirring peanut butter.  The oil sloshes onto your fingers and the counter and you curse, teeth clenched together, butter knife in hand.  You stir and stir and cuss and scream and keep stirring to get all the lumps smoothed out. The children run crying to their rooms and your husband prepares divorce documents, and your day is blown all to hell because of stupid, separated peanut butter.  But behold!  There is another way!  Just empty the entire greasy contents into the food processor, leave it on for a while, and then put it back in the jar.  Done.  Easy.  Why didn't I think of that years ago?

Great Big Giant Cooking Session

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-your-mothers-make-ahead-and-freeze-cookbook-jessica-fisher/1108942909

I'm about to embark on a big cooking session with the hopes of making enough breakfast, dinners, and Sunday desserts to last for one month.  I found this book at the library and was hesitant to check it out but I'm so glad that I did.  This book isn't like other freezer cooking or once-a-month cooking cookbooks, which rely on a lot of creamed soups, dry soup mixes, and other very unhealthy ingredients.  The recipes in this book are more wholesome overall and even look a bit less time-consuming.  Of course there are sweets and cakes and bacon-laden awesomeness but most are very healthy.  I'm planning on making the following over the next two days and doubling or tripling most of the recipes:

Brownie mix (3)
Chocolate Minty Melts (2)
Breakfast Cookies (1) - these are dense nut and seed-filled things
Pork Sausage Patties (5) - Great idea so we can avoid the mystery breakfast sausages!
Breakfast Sliders (3) - Like egg mcmuffins
Red Lentil Dal (3); rice
Tomato Sauce (1) - makes a huge batch
Seasoned Italian Ground Beef - (3 lbs.)
Garlic Italian Chicken Breasts (4)
Chipotle & Onion Chicken Wraps (1) - one batch makes 12 burritos
Chicken Bacon Subs (2) - to appease weekend junk food cravings
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Tangy Asian Slaw (2)
Gingery Pork Lettuce Wraps and sauce (3)
Soy Balsamic Burgers (2)
Catalan Meatballs
Pizza Sauce (3)
Shredded mozzarella (2 lbs.)
Shredded cheddar (2 lbs.)

Each dinner entree will be thawed in the fridge overnight and simply put in the oven the next day.  I'll still end up preparing potatoes, salads, and steamed veggies most nights but the hard part will be completed well ahead of time.  This should save me plenty of time and dirty dishes in the evening.  This isn't my first try at freezer cooking but I'm excited to try out the recipes from this book!