Friday, May 13, 2011

Foodie Friday: Homemade Biscuits

As we've been trying to control what ingredients are in our food (and saving money), I found a great, easily-adaptable recipe from King Arthur Flours. Their Baking Powder Biscuits can be easily adjusted to make them as is (for a biscuit) or more sweet (almost like a scone). We love breakfast in our family, so a good biscuit recipe is a must.

I can make them quickly in the morning by cutting the butter in with my food processor. When I add the milk, I turn on the food processor for another 15-20 seconds until a ball forms. After that, just roll them out on a floured surface and cut into biscuits. Super easy!

It's also fun to use festive cookie cutters to make unique shapes for the holidays or just because. The boys love helping me roll out the dough and especially love getting mini-biscuits.

I've been playing around with substituting Stevia for the sugar... just trying to get away from white sugar. So far, it's turned out well; and no one seems to notice.


Now, you might not like the idea of baking another batch of biscuits a few times a week... neither do I. Enter my freezer trick. For my little family, we don't need to eat a whole batch, so I freeze a family portion size into separate foil packets. If you have a larger family, go ahead and make a double batch and freeze the extra. Make it once... eat it multiple times.


Then, when we want to have biscuits with our breakfast, I put the packet (minus the label) into a 350ºF oven before as I start breakfast. By the time everything else is ready, the biscuits are warmed through. So simple!

This is much cheaper than buying canned or frozen biscuits, and there are no hydrogenated oils!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

An "Almost On Purpose" odd-sock bag

In true "Almost On Purpose" style, I created a somewhat useful bag. For several months, I've been waging a war against my odd socks. At times, I've won a few battles. Then, out of nowhere, the odd socks have been hiding a second bag; and my victory is short lived.

I love that I have my vintage Bernina 830 Record back from the repair shop, and it's been itching to do some projects. Well, I've been the antsy one. The machine has been sitting quietly. At any rate, I found some scrap fabric and whipped together a drawstring back to hang above my dryer. In an effort, to re-enforce the seams, I made the bag almost square (somewhat lop-sided). I thought I'd made the opening too wide.


Oh, great! I probably need to try this again. At least the loop on the side looks kinda cool.

 Then I realized that not many people will see it, so I'll at least give it a try.


Well, I guess it doesn't look too bad.

Then, as I've started using the bag, I realized that the wide opening and shallow depth are perfect for reaching in and finding a matching pair — without having to dump out the entire bag.

Take that, Odd Socks!
Now, wouldn't it be cool if I meant to do that? Well, since I'm not really that cool, I'll just enjoy the victory while I can.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Why was this Mother's Day so different?

I believe that Mother's should be celebrated and honored every day of the year, but I also understand the gesture of Mother's Day... and I'll take it. This year was my 6th Mother's Day. For some reason, it just seemed so different than all the others. Until this morning, I couldn't quite figure out why it was so different.

Me and my boys

 It's my perspective... learning to find the joy in the little things in life.

My hubby had to work part of the day in the office on Saturday, so he didn't get his full weekend to unwind. However, he was still up with the boys around 6:30am yesterday. That's was so sweet of him to do this, even though he wasn't fully rested.

Oddly, I didn't feel the need to jump out of bed and help him. I was going to let him take care of me today. See, that's what is different. I'm letting someone take care of me for a day. In the past, I've had to stop myself because I'm picking at how hubby is stacking the dishwasher or correcting the kids. This is self-destructive behavior. We are in this thing (LIFE) together, and we need to learn from each other. I don't know everything!!

At any rate, I took my time getting out of bed and got myself ready for the day. Not until I was ready, did my hubby send the boys upstairs to greet me. I forgot how nice it is to have some alone time in the morning.

Regus #1 bounded into the room and greeted me with his precise words, "Happy Mother's Day!!"

Then, Regus #2 bounced in with his "smiley" face (one of his many nicknames) and blurted out, "Happy Other's Day, Mommy!"

When I came downstairs, Hubby had breakfast waiting for me at the table — along with coffee, juice, and the newspaper.

Ahh... what a wonderful time!

Everyone else had already eaten, so I was able to enjoy the meal by myself. It wasn't quiet, but that wasn't important. I was surrounded by my family. The boys were playing reasonable well in the living room, and hubby was cleaning up the kitchen. Initially, I had to fight the urge to gulp down breakfast and help with the boys or with the dishes. Instead, I sat quietly and sipped my coffee. Again, I was letting them take care of me.

After church, we all took a nap; and I had some time for reflection. As I leafed through one of my old journals, I came across a copy of a poem I wrote for my mom... sometime in high school or maybe college. My mom is such an amazing, prayerful mom. As a child, I remember her waking me up after she had already been awake and praying for over an hour. The fact that she was awake before me made me feel safe and prepared for the day. I've gone through periods of time where I've woken up well before the boys to exercise and get ready for the day. However, I have neglected that over the past few months, and it makes a big difference! With this reflection, I'm not putting myself down. Instead, I'm giving myself permission to learn and move on. That feels good.

Here's my poem to my mom... and still the prayer of my heart:

A Mother's Touch

You can see it in her children's eyes.
It is her love.
It is the way she awakens them each morning
With a smile from her lovely face.
She glows like an angel
Because she has just seen God's face.
She holds her children in her arms
As God holds each one of us in His.
The warmth and comfort she gives
Is a mirror of Christ's undying love.
Oh, to have a Mother's touch.

I know that I won't always be perfect about getting up early in the morning, but I know that it's ok to take time for me in the morning. It may take a little more effort on my part. In the end, my children and I will reap the rewards of a prepared and focused mommy.

I pray that all the Moms know that they are loved and needed. For all the Moms of little ones, Mother's Day will soon feel like a special day. I know it's tough when little ones still need a lot of attention, and they are just showing how much they love and need you. I wish I could have seen that a couple years ago. Well, I guess I'm just a slow learner.

Blessings!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Foodie Friday: Sacrificing Cost Not Flavor... Cuban Black Beans

People often ask my how I cook healthy meals for my family with such a small budget. Some look at me like I must not be feeding my family. Believe me, we eat well. I just buy most items on sale, don't buy too many pre-packaged items, and try to shop seasonly.

One of my favorite, versatile foods is the dried bean. They are much cheaper than their canned counterpart and pack a lot of protein. Plus, they hold a lot of flavor. Since my husbby's family is part Cuban, I've been introduced to a delicious family recipe for Cuban Black Beans.



My husband's late grandfather is from Cuba. He and my hubby's grandmother worked together to create this recipe, based on what he remembered as a child and young adult in Cuba.This recipe is a bit different from Cuban Black Beans that you might order from a Cuban restaurant, in that this recipe has a thicker sauce. I prefer the thicker sauce because the entire recipe lends itself to many different uses. I can guarantee that most people have all these ingredients already on hand in their pantry.

This is a great recipe, if you need to feed a crowd. For my little family, I can get several meals out this — making it an extra frugal meal. Score!

Before I get to the family recipe, here are a few of my favorite ways to use up a single batch of the recipe (it makes a crock-pot full of black beans):
  • Main course: Serve the beans over a bed of yellow rice and roasted chicken. We like to have it with a side salad.
  • Side dish #1: Serve a smaller portion over a bed of rice, all along side sliced, grilled chicken or steak. As pictured above, I've served it with grilled zucchini and toasted cuban bread with tomato and basil.
  • Side dish #2: Serve like a soup -- topped with sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro. Oh, and don't forget to squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice over the top, just before serving. Yummy!
  • Ingredient: I like to mixed this into roasted tomato and corn quesadillas.

FAMILY CUBAN BLACK BEANS
Recipe by Grandma Grace and  Papaw Gus

Ingredients:
1 – 16 oz bag dry black beans (Goya brand)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Bay leaf
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 small jar sliced green olives (stuffed with pimentos)

Directions:
  1. The night before, rinse beans in bowl under cold water. Discard any floating beans. Remove any stones and drain beans.
  2. Place beans in crockpot and cover with water. Make sure there is about 3 inches of water covering beans. Add bay leaf, salt, and baking soad. Cover and soak overnight.
  3. In morning, turn crockpot to HIGH. Cook for about 6 hours (do not remove lid). Or set to LOW for 8-9 hours. Beans are done when they can be mashed with a fork.
    NOTE: make sure about ½ inch of water above beans during cooking. If it needs more water, pour in hot water.
  4. Once beans are cooked: In skillet, saute oil and garlic in olive oil until onions are clear. Do NOT burn!
  5. Pour contents of skillet (oil, onion, and garlic) into crockpot and stir. Return cover and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  6. Add can of tomato paste; stir until dissolved. Return cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
  7. Pour sliced olives and all juice into crockpot; stir, return cover, and cook for addition 10-15 minutes.
  8. Taste broth to see if salty enough.

    IMPORTANT:
    The sauce of the beans should be fairly thick. If not thick enough after all cooking, pour sauce (no beans) into pot. Simmer on stove until sauce reduces to desired thickness and stir back into beans.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Keeping tabs on all the electronics

We enjoy electronic gadgets and our share of audio-visual equipment. However, we've never been the gotta-have-the-latest TV kind of people. We've been shopping and researching for about 6 months and recently bought a new TV and Blu-ray. I love that my hubby is a big researcher when it comes to big purchases!

At any rate, I was a bit overwhelmed with the sheer volume of manuals for all the equipment. Although, I know hubby already knows (wink wink) all the in's and out's of every device we purchase, I like to have them on hand to reference. Maybe it's because I'm a tech writer and love reading manuals. In either case, I wanted to keep up with them. After hunting through my office-supply bin. Yes, I keep a bin of office supplies — stuff that I find super cheap during back-to-school shopping specials. I found an accordion file. This is it! I can use a different section for each device.



Before I could explain to hubby what I was doing, I broke out my other favorite gadget, my label printer; and I started my next project. Thankfully, hubby lets me do all the organizing I want. He usually just smiles and lets me be happy with my nerdiness.


Now, this dedicated accordion file lives in the bottom cabinet of our entertainment cabinet.

During the first few weeks, hubby was surprised how many times we needed to use the manual — to change settings, figure out to set up on internet capabilities, etc. Rather than running back and forth to our file cabinet, I just had to open the accordion file to get the needed information. So cool!

Yes, the accordion file can be useful for corralling all sorts of paper clutter; but now (for me, at least) it's a great storage box for all those electronics manuals.

How do you like to keep up with all your electronics manuals and receipts?