Menu Plan Monday

Last week I did pretty good at sticking to menu I think we only switched things around so I did not have to make any extra trips to the store, that is always a plus!

Monday Grilled Cheese, soup
Dinner Chinese night

Tuesday salad with grilled chicken
Dinner Salisbury Steak, green beans, mashed taters and fresh rolls

Wednesday chicken nuggets, Cheese chuncks and grapes
Dinner Baked potato bar and Israeli salad

Thursday Lunch Rice and vegetable stir fry
Dinner Hawaiian chicken and scalloped potatoes (recipe from Susan) dessert- pineapple upside down cake

Friday salad and ham sandwiches
Dinner Pizza and cucumber salad

Saturday Lunch Scott is grilling sausage and I am opening a can of Bushes beans


Be sure to visit menu-plan-Monday-host

Recipes:
Salisbury Steak This recipe freezes well

Ingredients
1(10 1/2ounce)can campbells French onion soup
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ketchup
1-3 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1 In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper.
2 Shape into 6 oval patties.
3 In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties.
4 Pour off excess fat.
5 In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth.
6 Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.
7 Pour over meat in skillet.
8 Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Hawaiian Chicken

Ingridents:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 cups teriyaki sauce, divided
6 pineapple rings
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1.Place the chicken breast halves in a dish with the 1 1/2 cups of teriyaki sauce. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
2.Preheat a grill for high heat.
3.Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken breasts on grill, and discard marinade. Cook for 8 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. Brush with the remaining teriyaki sauce during the last 5 minutes. When almost done, place one pineapple ring on top of each breast, and brush with melted butter.
4.In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix the brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Serve with chicken for dipping!

Feeding My Addiction.....Patterns

I am freely admitting to all of blogdom that I have an addiction... I am addicted to fabric and patterns! Joann's knows my weakness and every so often they run great sales that I am unable to resist. This week-end Simplicity patterns are .99 each with a limit of 10. I know what you are thinking... can she even find 10 she needs or likes? I could probably find 20 or more despite the fact that I have 6 plastic storage boxes full of them. In my defense they are neatly organized on a shelf and yes, I still need more!

I think the only thing that keeps my husband from seeking professional help is that I am able to make money from it and keep daughter and myself clothed in some pretty cute stuff most of the time.

Seriously though, I do love patterns but only buy them when they are on sale;the frugal woman in me just can not spend full price on a pattern. The image in the top corner is one of the patterns I bought today. I hope to get it made up next week and listed on Etsy and e-bay and also make Sydney one with a higher neck line. She loves dresses like this and they have such a feminine look to them!

This is another pattern I bought today, I love making baby clothes! I bought some floral fabric and ribbon a few weeks ago in the clearance section that I think is going to make an adorable set.

All together I bought 6 patterns all on sale for .99 each, 10 yards of elastic that I had a 40% off coupon for, 2 yards of denim weavers cloth with 40% off coupon and one cone of thread that I also had a 40% off coupon for. My total was $19.19, a great deal in my opinion considering each pattern will be used over and over, the outfit made from the weavers cloth has already sold for $15.00 and finally my addiction has been satisfied at least until they run another pattern sale.

I will try to get some pictures posted when I finish these.

How about you, got anything that makes you weak in the knees when it goes on sale?

Looking to see who else got great deals this week while shopping? Visit Money Saving Mom

Making the Softness Last Longer For Less

Laundry, we all have it and we all have to find ways to clean it without breaking the bank. With the rising cost of everything that is getting harder and harder to do.

So, what's a frugal woman to do... get creative. I have started using white vinegar in my laundry's rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. I just use my fabric softener ball but if you do not have one about 1/4-1/2 cup will work. The vinegar does a good job of keeping things soft, absorbent and static free with no icky smell.


If you can just not fathom using vinegar you can dilute your regular fabric softener with water at a ratio of 50/50 and you will not notice a difference. I did this for about 5-6 years until starting the vinegar last month. An added benefit; diluting it will also eliminate those nasty spots you sometimes find on your T-shirts. They are caused from direct contact with fabric softener.

Works for me! Looking for more creative ways to save money or simpler ways to get things done? Visit Rocks in my dryer The host of Works for me Wednesday.

My Etsy Link

I finally got a link up with some images of a few of the items I have listed on Etsy. This is something that has been on my to do list for far too long!

I have done better on e-bay in comparison to Etsy but I think it is because more people are aware of e-bay, I am here to help change that!

If you have never visited Etsy please do so. The site is full of wonderful quality made items. Sydney and I are always amazed at the many creative people out there and the beautiful reasonably priced items they create. Etsy is also a great place to find craft material including beads, patterns, lace and my favorite.... fabric.

Menu Plan Monday

We have several things planned this week so I tried to make our meals quick and simple. If you are looking for some freezer recipes be sure to check this post out.


Monday Lunch Quesadillas, chips and fresh salsa
Dinner Cobb Salad

Tuesday Lunch Tomato soup and left over salad
Dinner Chicken Marsala and French bread

Wednesday Lunch Grilled Cheese and fruit
Dinner meatballs subs (meatballs from the freezer)

Thursday Lunch Rice and vegetable stir fry
Dinner pancakes

Friday Lunch chicken salad or peanut butter sandwiches
Dinner family game night at church includes munchies

Saturday Lunch Scott is grilling pork chops and vegetables
Dinner Pizza and salad

Be sure to visit menu-plan-monday-host

Short Cuts In The Kitchen: Chicken

As promised in this post, here are some kitchen short cuts to start feeding your freezer.

One of the easier and cheapest foods to feed your freezer with is the ever versatile chicken.I start by getting two chickens at a time going in my roaster using the Sticky chicken recipe listed below. While they are cooking I am free to do several meals worth of chicken nuggets. The only modification I make to this recipe is that I always add ground oatmeal, once I have the nuggets done I use the left over coating to make Parmesan chicken with chicken breasts, all I have to do is add the Parmesan cheese and a little more Italian herbs. I almost always have a bag of shredded Parmesan cheese in our freezer since I buy it in bulk at Sam's. It adds such a nice flavor to so many things and it sure does beat the powdered kind!


To freeze the nuggets or Parmesan chicken spread them out on a large baking pan and flash freeze them for several hours, then bag them up in portions appropriate for your family. ***Flash freezing is important if you do not want them to lump into one big frozen hunk of coated chicken***. Be sure to label your freezer bags with the date and contents. I learned this the hard way. It is amazing how many things look alike when frozen.



Roasted Sticky Chicken Preparation (the night before)

* 1 large roasting chicken
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon white pepper
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 4 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

Roast Sticky Chicken (the next day)

* Chicken prepared last night
* 1 cup onion, chopped

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in crockpot or roaster. Cook on low for 5 hours in crockpot or 250 F in the oven. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked (180° is well done for a whole chicken). Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.


Here is another recipe I use for Parmesan chicken when not making nuggets:

Baked Chicken Parmesan

* 6 boneless chicken breasts
* 1 cup bread crumbs
* 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
* 1/4 tsp. oregano
* 1/4 tsp. pepper
* Salt to taste
* 1 clove garlic or 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
* 3/4 cup melted butter

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, pepper, and salt; set aside. Lightly saute garlic in 2 T. butter then stir in remaining butter. Dip chicken in garlic butter then roll each piece in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture. Pour on remaining butter. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes.


All of these recipes freeze and reheat wonderfully! The nuggets are especially great when you are in a hurry and just do not have time to put together a meal from scratch. Simply heat up the nuggets, toss a salad together and maybe heat up some leftover vegetables, wallah, lunch/dinner is ready!You can also find many more recipes by doing a search online for freezer meals. Two sites I like are Menus for mom and Recipezaar. Also most libraries are full of books on the subject.

Next week I will share some beef recipes.

Happy Easter.. The Lord is Risen!

Before heading off to church I wanted to wish each of you a blessed Easter Day. My prayer for each of you is that you will enjoy this wonderful day and take time to reflect on its true meaning. Today we rejoice that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen.

When looking for an image for this post, I did a search for crosses first, but most showed the Lord on them still, hardly fitting for one who has triumphed over the cross. Then I searched tomb images, the first few tomb images showed a closed tomb,that would not fit, he has triumphed over the grave. Then my thoughts turned to heaven and I found the above image of the sky as if lookig towards heaven, finaly fitting in my mind for Christ for He has triumphed over the death and is in heaven!

The true reason to rejoice is that is is no longer on the cross, he is no longer in the tomb, he is risen and is heaven. Each born again believer has direct access to him!

Today I rejoice knowing he died for me, and he died for you, if you have never heard this before rejoice because God loves you and wants to spend eternity with you. If you are unsure where you will spend eternity please visit our church site and watch the short clip on God's Perfect Plan

Lions, Tigers and Bears .... Oh My

Well, not quite. Yesterday it rained all day and not just little sprinkles, these were big heavy rain drops! So, this morning we all rushed out to check on the newly planted garden and the first thing we saw were big, deep, muddy tracks... next was to figure out what ferocious animal left them. We didn't have to look far, it was right behind us, a big, furry... Labrador.



It was so funny, we were all making jokes about the prints and all three kids said" mom, you gotta blog about this." So I am.



Cisco is our beloved lab whom we have had for about 5 years. We bought him for the kids when he was only 6 weeks old so he really is part of our family and we are his family for sure! Although he was a gift to them he immediately decided he was my dog. He follows me everywhere all day long. He has the temperament and behavior most days of a toddler. He has his own toys and knows when one is missing. As you can see he sleeps on the floor but has a pillow and blanket. One thing you may find funny/alarming is Cisco learned how to open the refrigerator when he was only 2 years old. Can you imagine? Not pretty. We now have a baby lock on the refrigerator and a sash lock on the pantry, he learned to open that when he was only 1. Labs are very smart!

How about you, Does your family have a beloved pet?

Monday Meal Plan

This week I am going to use meals mainly from my freezer and things we have on hand. This will allow me to clean out the pantry, make room in the freezer and save some money so we can splurge a little on Easter dinner and not mess up the budget. If you are interested in freezer cooking you can read more about how I do it here and be sure to check back later in the week for more post

Planning lunch last week worked great so I will continue that again this week.

Monday Lunch Grilled cheese and fruit
Dinner Simplified Beef Burgundy and French bread (Trust me you can substitute the burgundy with no problem)

Tuesday Lunch Chicken and rice soup (from the freezer) and salad
Dinner Chinese night- sweet and sour pork, fried rice and white rice

Wednesday Lunch Quesadias with chips and salsa
Dinner lasagna (from the freezer), salad and french bread

Thursday Lunch left overs
Dinner Pasta Milano and rosemary bread (the pasta will have grilled chicken that again, is from the freezer) This is one of my FAVORITE meals!

Friday Lunch Stir Fry
Dinner Pizza

Saturday Lunch We have a meeting to go to for business and will eat there
Dinner My husband is going to grill Shish Kabobs

Sunday Easter Lunch Ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls and dessert but I am unsure yet what
Dinner Salad and maybe leftover ham depending on how hungry we are


Recipes:

Copy Cat Macaroni Grills Pasta Milano

6 ounces butter
18 ounces grilled chicken, sliced
12 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
36 ounces roasted garlic cream sauce (I cheat and use a jar of Alfredo sauce)
36 ounces bow tie pasta
Italian parsley sprigs, if desired

Directions
1. Cook the pasta as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, sauté butter and mushrooms about 30 seconds. Add the roasted garlic cream sauce and Parmesan; heat thoroughly.
3. Remove pasta from water and drain. Add pasta to the sauté pan and mix well. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and Italian parsley sprig.


Copy Cat of Macaroni Grills Rosemary Bread
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons butter

1.Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.
2.Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour.
3.Add one tablespoon of the fresh chopped rosemary.
4.Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or in food processor about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
5.Add more flour if necessary.
6.Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel.
7.Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled.
8.Punch down dough and divide in half.
9.Let dough rest about 5 minutes.
10.Spray baking pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.
11.Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves.
12.Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface.
13.Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
14.Preheat oven to 375° F.
15.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
16.Carefully remove from oven, brush with remaining butter (and salt if desired.)

Be Sure to check out the host of Menu Plan Monday

Feeding the Freezer

Most of us have heard about bulk cooking. No matter what you have heard it called; once-a-month cooking, frozen assets, OAMC or freezer cooking, I think we have all been intrigued by its promises. Come on, cook once and eat for a month. There are even stores that cater to this idea. You go in, they have everything ready and all you do is put the meal together and take it home and freeze it.

I have three children and like most of you a full schedule. I love cooking but hate that mad 5:00 rush or how about when things happen out of your control and you just can’t get dinner put together. You know what we do; head to pick up pizza, go thru the drive thru, or throw together something haphazardly. We feed our family an expensive / nutritionally deprived meal. That sure does wonders for the guilt of not getting dinner made. Who wouldn’t love the freedom OAMC seems to offer?

Then you find out what is involved: meal planning, grocery list making, chopping, cooking, and then oh yeah…. The big clean up. It doesn’t take long before you feel overwhelmed and give up without ever starting.

I went through the above step so many times! Then finally one day a several years ago I decided to start doubling a few recipes. The first was chicken pot pie. I had extra filing and did not want to waste it. I made an extra crust real quick, filled the pan, wrapped it and into the freezer it went. I then did the same thing the next time I made lasagna. I thought to myself, wow I can do this! I can easily double some of our favorite meals in the about the same amount of time while stocking my freezer with some great meals for days when I do not have time to cook.

Next I started applying my new found trick to other things. When making tacos I cooked and seasoned 8 pounds of beef. However I quickly learned to hurry and separate what was meant for the freezer from that night’s dinner, otherwise my family thought we were having all you could eat tacos and my extra was soon gone. Then came vegetables, I now never chop just ¼ cup onion. I chop up the whole bag of onions, peppers, celery, carrots or many other vegetables, then flash freeze it on a cookie sheet, when frozen bag it up. You can easily reach in and pull out just what you need.

Roasting a chicken soon, if you use a roasting pan set the chicken sideways and you can fit two in. Sticky chicken is a great recipe to do this with! The extra chicken can be frozen whole in a gallon size bag or pulled apart for later use in quesadillas, chicken pot pie or any other recipe you may have that calls for chopped or shredded chicken. You now have an extra chicken cooked and did not have to use extra energy or an extra pan.

Since taking the small steps listed above I have on a few occasions spent one day shopping and chopping and then the next day making two weeks worth of meals. My kids helped out and it was not near as bad as I had convinced myself it would be. But without having taken the baby steps first I do not think I would have ever gotten the nerve to try it. Later in the week I will try to get a post written with some specific recipes and tips to stream line some basic freezer meals you can pull out when needed. These are also great to take to new moms, the elderly, missionaries in town, or visiting pastors.

Culottes: Modesty in the Summer

It's heating up outside and as our former pastor, Brother Hollars would say "when the heat goes up the clothes come off." Sadly this is also true even in the life of some Christians as they struggle to stay cool. I am here to say it doesn't have to be so! You can stay comfortable and modest!

In preparation for the coming heat wave that always strikes Texas, the last week or so I have been busy making my daughter and myself culottes and skirts. They allow us to stay modest and, even in the Texas heat, comfortable.

I did not grow up in a Christian home and spent most summers in shorts and tank tops. After getting saved and learning what God expected my wardrobe changed, in the last 6 years I have not wore shorts or tank tops except to bed and honestly I do not miss them! I prefer the look of skirted culottes with small slits on the side that allow me to freely move and still stay modest to the pleated ones. My daughter prefers flowing skirts for daily use but skirted or pleated culottes for activities.

Some of the definite advantages aside from knowing it is what God wants for me is that when your legs and shoulders are covered it decrease your chances of sunburns and give the mosquito's less biting area, always a plus for us when out in the garden or at the park. Other advantages include the ability to play, swing, ride a bike and many other activities that are harder to do in a dress.

I am not trying to preach or say that this is what is right for others, I am just trying to give options to those who may be looking for them. Honestly for the first 6months to a year or so I was saved I heard people talk about "modesty" and not "showing too much" but they never gave options of what to wear. All I saw was what they wore to church. I thought how in the world am I going to clean house in a dress? So that is the point of my post, options for those searching.

You can find culottes online at many locations including my e-bay store

A wonderful book to read is What In The World Should I Wear? by Mrs. Corle It is small book and the cost is $6.95

A blog I would suggest is By Grace This link goes directly to a post Susan wrote on modesty. Susan is a wonderful Godly woman who I feel honored to know. The Hutchen's family are missionaries in British Columbia and sent out of our former church.

If you have any suggestions, sites or books related to this please feel free to do so.

Out And Into The Garden Today

I have been waiting on today for months! We are going out to plant in our garden today! On Tuesday I picked up some tomato, pepper, broccoli, lavender and Shasta daisy plants. We are also planting some bulbs in the front flower bed. I will try to post some pictures later today if I have time.

Hair Cut Trauma

Today started off pretty good. The weather was beautiful everything seemed to flow well as far as time goes, so I decided while out running errands today would be the day... I would get my hair trimmed.

My hair comes a little more than half way down my back and for the most part is one length, or at least was. I knew it needed the ends cut, it's been about a year, so I ran in to get it trimmed. I do not think I have ever had a stylist that was so rude in all my life!

She started with the usual, what do you want done? I replied just an inch or so off and maybe some layers around the front. I am tired of it just hanging against my face when it's down. She picked up my hair and let it fall back down saying "an inch is really not that much". My reply, "I know but I like the length so just an inch or so off the back will be fine." She then proceeds to get it wet and ask what I normally do to it and what products do I use on it. Oh, nothing really fancy; I wash and condition it and that's about it. Most of the time I pull it back or pin it up. She then informs me that although I do not have any damage to my hair it is "horribly dry" and I need to buy some of her fabulous deep conditioning $12.00 a bottle shampoo. The same stuff I heard her talk the previouse customer into buying after the first line. I politely say no thank you.

Does she get the hint? No way, she does not stop commenting on my hair, and I have to be honest my hair is thick but not dry. She finally gets it almost done and at this point I am feeling uncomfortable and ready for the cut to be over, she ask if it is OK, I say yes and she again tells me it needs about 3-4 inches more off the back to look more stylish. Come on guys, I am in my mid 30's, I have three children that I home school, I have a home based business and I take care off all my husbands bookkeeping. A stylish cut is not my top priority. I like to look nice and I do take care of myself but looks are not the end all for me and my husband likes my long hair!

Her final comment, she informs me that my hair is so dry she would consider it dehydrated and surely I can afford to spend a little money on "good" shampoo for myself.

I was so glad to get out there! I stayed polite and never showed my annoyance but I certainly did not tip her. Please tell me, is this normal? What would you have done?

What We're Eating This Week

Well this week went pretty good as far as sticking to our menu; we only changed it twice. My husband came home Friday and after a long hard week I could tell he needed a night out. We went to our favorite place, Red Hot N' Blue for ribs. Since no one like to miss pizza night we moved it to Saturday.

One thing I have noticed lately, especially this week is that I need to plan out our lunches better. It seems like 12:00 comes around before I know it and I am staring at three "starving" kids and I am unsure what we are eating. Therefore I am going to start adding lunch to my menu this week.

Monday: Lunch- Soup and sandwiches
Dinner- Beef and Broccoli (from last week)
Tuesday: Lunch- Qusadillas
Dinner- Potato soup and homemade rolls
Wednesday: Lunch- Salad with chopped chicken
Dinner- Black Bean tostadas and Spanish rice
Thursday: Lunch- Nachos with meat and lots of chopped veggies
Dinner- Three-peppered pork cutlets, green beans, roasted taters and rolls
Friday: Lunch- Chicken salad and fruit
Dinner- pizza and salad
Saturday: Lunch- pitas with fresh sprouts
Dinner- Monterrey beans served over brown rice
Sunday: Lunch- Chuck roast barbecue and oven fries
Dinner- farfalle with quick tomato sauce

Three Pepper Pork Cutlets

1 pound pork tenderloin (I have also used pork chops)
2 teaspoons paprika -- sweet Hungarian
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary -- crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large garlic cloves
vegetable cooking spray

Trim fat from pork. Cut pork crosswise into 8 slices. Place between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten each slice to 1/4" thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine paprika and next 9 ingredients; stir well. Rub pork with paprika mixture. Place on a rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a shallow roasting pan. Broil 5 inches from heat for 5 minutes. Turn pork over, and broil and additional 4 minutes or until done.



Chuck Roast Barbecue

1 2 1/2 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup Coca-Cola
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
6 hamburger buns

Combine roast and chopped onion in a 4 quart slow cooker.
Combine cola and next 7 ingredients; reserve 1/2 cup in refrigerator. Pour remaining mixture over roast and onion.
Cook, covered, on HIGH 6 hours or until roast is very tender; drain and shred roast. Keep warm.
Combine reserved 1/2 cup cola mixture, ketchup, and butter in a small saucepan; cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until thoroughly heated. Pour over shredded roast, stirring gently.
Spoon onto buns and serve with potato chips and pickle spears, if desired.

Be sure to head over to organizing junkie

Sprouts: Day 2

It's day 2, cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth, and fasten with the rubber band. Turn the jar over in the sink. The cheesecloth acts as a strainer, holding in the seeds and letting out the water. If you're using the bowl method, use a strainer to strain out the soaking water and rinse the seeds. I have a sprouting tray kit that allows me to rinse without moving the seeds. I usually move my seed into it on day 2. You can also find cool jars or lids made to fit mason jars online that have strainers built into them. Shake the jar / strainer a few times to remove all of the water from last night's soak. Repeat this 2-3 times making sure you give the jar/strainer a few good shakes after each rinse.

Look at your seeds, they should be mostly dry. If you leave too much water in the jar, the seeds can rot in as little as 2-3 days. Please do not let this scare you off, if you're even slightly careful to drain the seeds that probably won't happen.

To make sure they fully drain you can, store the jar upside-down in a baking dish or plastic tub. Rest the jar on the side of the dish, or up against the wall--any excess water drains out, without any more attention from you.
Tonight you will repeat the rinsing process. You'll continue this twice daily rinsing for the next 4 or 5 days. Prior to day 4-5 your sprouts do not need light. In fact I keep mine covered.


You will notice growth in a few days. Once your sprouts are the height you want them , usually 5 days expose them to indirect light and continue to keep them rinsed and moist. By the end of the first day of light you will notice they are extremely green, this is when you start eating them. Store any unused portion in your refrigerator.

Civil War / Victorian Day Dress

It's 1774, just before the American Revolution in Willamsburg, Virginia and you have been invited to tea. Does what you wear matter as much as what you do? Oh my yes! Tea etiquette is very important but what you wear may determine if you are invited back.

Let's hope the dress I made last week for one of the young ladies in our church is up to high tea standards. The young lady modeling it is my daughter and as you can see the dress is a little large on her. However, she wanted to try it on and I wanted some pictures so we figured why not? The dress and cape took 3 days to make but was so much fun and in my opinion turned out lovely. My daughter now wants one of her own but in a smaller floral print.

Fresh Sprouts

A few weeks ago my husband commented on the fact that I have not grown sprouts in awhile. I am not really sure why I have not made them lately; I guess I have just allowed myself to get too busy. If you have never grown sprouts you should give it a try; they grow very easily and even a child can be given the chore of caring for them. Trust me, it will fascinate you to watch how quickly they grow and watching them take on color is just amazing; especially to young children.

My only concern right now is how they will grow since the house is colder. I started growing these last spring so have never had to deal with temperature and how it may effect the sprouts. My husband suggested I put them in the pantry since it is warmer than the open area of the kitchen throughout most of the day. So, if I do not notice them sprouting in a few days I will give that a try.

Here are the best choices of each type of sprout source.
Best seeds: alfalfa, clover.
Best beans: mung, lentil, garbanzo.
Best nuts: almonds, filberts (hazelnuts).
Best grains: wheat berries, rye.

The next list indicates what amount of sprout source is appropriate.
small seeds: 2-3 tablespoons
medium seeds: 1/4-1/2 cup
large beans and grains: 1 cup
sunflower seeds: 2 cups

Our favorites are alfalfa and broccoli sprouts. A few tablespoons will yield several servings each for our family of five.



Day 1: Before you go to bed one night, measure the correct amount of seeds--in this case, I am using 2-3 tablespoons of alfalfa sprouts.

It's a good practice to inspect them before you go any further. Take the portion of seeds or beans, and pour them out onto a large plate, serving dish, or baking sheet. Push the seeds on one side of the dish, and inspect them for broken or withered seeds, and small stones or lumps of dirt. This is something your children may enjoy doing with you. After they're sorted, pour them into a strainer and give them a good rinse. Pour the rinsed seeds into the jar or bowl and cover them with adequate water--a few inches above the level of the seeds. Let the seeds soak overnight. Medium-sized seeds should be soaked 8-12 hours, and large beans and nuts can soak for 12-24 hours.

Day 2 and up

Using Your Talents To Make Money

We all have been given talents by God and we can choose to use them or ignore them. It may take time to discover them but they are there! Now, how you use those talents is up to you. First make sure however you use them will glorify God; but can you also use it to make money? Of course you can. I choose to use my ability to sew to make money but I only sew things that I feel are modest, high quality and reasonably priced.

I started off making culottes for my daughter. It was so hard to find modest clothing for her that did not look over sized, frumpy or out of date. I personally do not think modest has to mean frumpy! Then others at church started asking me to make them pleated culottes,skirted culottes and skirts. After altering some patterns I found it is possible to have cute, fashionable modest clothes. Now I sell my clothing on e-bay along with dress up clothes, aprons and in a few months I will have a spring mother/daughter collection of skirts, jumpers and dresses. Lord willing I will also have my website done!

So, if you desire to make some money from home and are not sure how to use your talents to do so let me encourage you to pray. Pray with your husband and ask God to reveal a plan to you. I did not start off planning to make a part time income doing this but God did make the need for modest clothing known to me and then through some weird events provided the start up money and fabric I needed. I have never doubted that this is what God wants me to do.

Make sure you set out a plan and specifics in regards to your time. It is very easy to get consumed and forget about what is truly important.

Do not do anything if you do not have your husbands support and make sure what ever you choose to do that it is something you enjoy.

If you have time visit my store and let me know what you think about it.

Looking for other ideas to make money? Visit Money Saving Mom

Menu Time

I thought before sharing my menu I would tell you why I feel the need to make menus. First and foremost they keep me from stressing out daily about what we are going to have and it allows my family to know what to expect. Secondly menus save me money; no more last minute runs to the store because we need something. Every time I step in the store for one item I come out with ten. Then there is the gas... $3.05 a gallon here, anytime I can cut out extra trips it helps keep us within our gas budget. Later in the week I will have a detailed post with tips for planning your menu and how to stock your freezer.

Monday: Waffles and Eggs

Tuesday:Chicken Enchiladas, black beans and Spanish rice

Wednesday: Greek Salad with grilled chicken

Thursday: Ravioli Caprese and homemade french bread

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Beef with Broccoli, fried rice and regular long grain rice

Sunday Sticky chicken, roasted potatoes with watercress sauce and fresh rolls



Chicken Enchiladas with tomatillo salsa and queso fresco (you can substitute the fresh sauce with canned green enchilada sauce)

INGREDIENTS
2 bone-in chicken breast halves
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 white onion
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed
5 serrano peppers
1/4 white onion
1 clove garlic
1 pinch salt
12 corn tortillas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup crumbled queso fresco
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine chicken breast with chicken broth, one quarter onion, a clove of garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, and then boil for 20 minutes. Reserve broth, set chicken aside to cool, and discard onion and garlic. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken with your hands.
Place tomatillos and serrano chiles in a pot with water, enough to cover them. Bring to boil, and continue boiling until tomatillos turn a different shade of green (from bright green to a dull, army green). Strain tomatillos and chiles, and place in a blender with another quarter piece of onion, 1 clove garlic, and a pinch of salt. Pour in reserved chicken broth, so that liquid just covers the veggies in the blender by about an inch. Blend all ingredients until they are completely pureed. Pour salsa in a medium saucepan, and bring to a low boil.
Pour oil in a frying pan, and allow to get very hot. Slightly fry tortillas one by one in hot oil, setting each on a paper towel afterwards to soak some of the oil. Finally, dip slightly fried tortillas in low-boiling green salsa, until tortillas become soft again. Place on plates, 3 per person.
Fill or top tortillas with shredded chicken, then extra green sauce. Top with crumbled cheese, chopped onion, and chopped cilantro.




Beef With Broccoli
3 tbsp cornstarch, divided
1/2 cup water plus 2 tbsp water, divided
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb boneless round steak, cut into 2 inch strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
4 cups broccoli florets
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger

Combine 2 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tbsp water and garlic powder in a bowl and mix until smooth. Add beef and toss until well coated. Stir-fry beef in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat in 1 tbsp oil until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Remove meat from skillet and keep warm. Stir-fry broccoli in the remaining oil for about 5 minutes, then return beef to pan. Mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1/2 cup water until smooth; add soy mixture to skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve over rice.

Be sure to visit the host of menu-plan-monday

Spring... At Least For A Day

Wow, yesterday it was warm, the sun was shinning and we even started working in our garden. Today it's cloudy, windy and cool. So goes life in Central Texas. You know though, I can not imagine living anywhere else.

Yesterday God provided a great day for our family to get some yard/garden work done and we took advantage of it! Scott started us off by tilling the garden and making rows. We then set out tomatoes cages where our future plants will go. I did plant some tomato seeds in each area that had a cage; sometime they do well from seeds and other times we head to the garden store.

Then it was off to the front yard where we pulled out some bushes to make way, possibly, for bulbs. Finaly it was time to rest or so I thought. Sydney beckoned me back to the garden to plant cucumbers, some flower seeds and potatoes in a bucket. In turn she helped me weed our herb garden. The cilantro plants are already about 8" tall. The Lemon Verbena has tiny leaves starting to emmerge as does the Basil. Our Rosemary has looked good all winter long and even now has a wonderful savor to it. The Thyme and Sage however look rough; for some reason they just do not look like they plan to come back this year. Of course it is early and I always tend to worry too soon. I hope this year to add a few new plants to this section and use all of them much more. I will do my best to post some recipes using fresh herbs and some garden tips as the season moves forward.

Our family definitely has spring fever!