Hopeful Housewife

Summer is here. Kids are already “bored”. This is a dangerous thing to say in my house for several reasons. The top two, however are,

1.) There is plenty to do and I am just the person to show them all that can be done when one is “bored”.

2.) They are homeschooled so therefore have no business being any more “bored” in the summer than they were the rest of the year.

I think I found a good compromise, though. I can give them a job that helps me and holds their interest long enough to spare my ears the drawn out whining and complaining about how excitement free their little lives are.

They all like to help in the kitchen. I like to use up everything in our kitchen until it is nothing but compost. Therefore, this is a perfect activity. We shall give new life to FRUIT PEELS. And rinds. And skins. Guess it depends on what we are working with.

CITRUS PEELS 

Let’s start with peels. Orange and/or lemon to be exact. I currently have 7 lemons sitting on the counter. Today, I will have the kids peel them while I set up the juicer. I HATE peeling citrus more than potatoes (yeah, really.) so already this sounds like a great idea to me. The kids wash and peel the fruit. I juice the fruit. (I freeze the juice in ice cube trays for later but that has nothing to do with this post.) The kids then pack a quart sized mason jar (or bigger if you have the jar and peels to fill it) and I pour in enough white vinegar to cover the peels.

We then cover it, give it a shake, and set it on the counter for about 10-12 days. When the soaking days are up, we strain out the liquid which is now a citrus cleaner for your nearest empty spray bottle. I think oranges work best but because all I have is lemons toady, that’s what we are gonna try. I love teamwork!

PINEAPPLE RINDS

Mmmm…pineapple. So summery. So NOT boring.

Kinda hard to break into, but once you do, you will NEVER want canned pineapple again. I would recommend organic for this recipe folks…they aren’t much more expensive than conventional, really. .49 cents more last time I shopped!

So you have cracked open your fresh pineapple. You realize, however that you have more rind and core than you do pineapple and briefly feel a little cheated. Have no fear…there is, in fact a purpose for all that inedible pinapple-ness.

Take your core and skins (make sure there isn’t a sticker on the skins, lol) and drop em in a large jar (I use a big old pickle jar). Add 1/4 cup sugar and cover with water,  (about a quart.) If it takes more than a quart, add a bit more sugar to adjust the ratio. Cover the top of the jar with a coffee filter and rubberband and leave on the counter for about a week. If the  liquid begins to darken, strain out the rinds and core, but leave the vinegar on the counter for another 2-3 weeks. If it doesn’t darken, just leave the peels there. Give it a swirl/shake once a day to agitate it a bit. When the total 2-3 weeks is up, it should be ready! Can you imagine this in a mango salsa over grilled chicken? I can.

BANANA PEELS

This is one of my favorite uses for otherwise discarded peels. Here’s how it works:

1.) Feed your kids something for breakfast that goes with banana.

1.5) Have some of this for yourself:

2.) Save their banana peels.

3.) When they are “bored”, give them said banana peel.

4.) Show them how to not be “bored” by having them wipe down all the leaves of your houseplants.

5.) Admire your shiny plants.

Optional #6: Do it yourself to avoid being “mean”.

*disclaimer: I am really not a mean mother. I just don’t see any reason to be bored on 7 acres with a five bedroom house. It just isn’t possible. That said, if presented properly, the kids actually enjoy this type of thing.*

So there you have it. Cleaner house, cleaner palette and cleaner plants.

Oh, and no bored kids…or Mama’s.

Works for me! Check this out for more tips.

and I found an example of “someday I will laugh at this!”

whoever told me that was right.

SO.FUNNY.

http://hopefulhousewife.com/?p=79#comments

The kids are still asleep.

I am sitting at the table, drinking coffee flavored with some of the last of the Coffee Mate Peppermint Mocha powdered creamer. Its not natural and healthy, but it tastes.so.good. When it is gone, I will not replace it, but I will enjoy it for now.

My children are sleeping, and I am glad. Is that mean? I love them all dearly and will be happy to see their rosey cheeks when they wake up, but for now, I am enjoying the quiet. The extreme quiet.

There is a chocolate cake on the table that wee one decided to make at 9pm last night. I let her make it.  I ate some, and I am REALLY considering it being my breakfast. Needless to say, this is a three part confession. It was made with raw coconut oil and farm fresh eggs…does that make a difference? Don’t answer that.

There is a corn-cob in my hallway. It has been there since yesterday. The dogs LOVE them and always pick them out of the trash. I decided that I was going to leave this one there and see how long it takes someone to pick it up. I may have to retire my hallway observation today if none of my little lab rats respond to the situation. I am sure I will, actually. Love those kids. (and no, I dont really call them rats.)

I only have one clean bathroom right now. I have FOUR in this house. The clean one happens to be the one no one ever uses. Go figure.

I was running late this morning so the hubs got a jar full of blueberries to take on the road to work. Hands free eating, right?

Mmm…chocolate cake.

I have 6 loads of laundry to do. At least. Not bad unless you consider that I did 6 last night as well. How does a person end up with 12 loads of laundry to do?

We have these plastic popcorn cups. They are really tall, dont fit in any cabinet and I hate them. I put them in the dishwasher last night with the slight hope they would melt so I could throw them away.

My son’s desert tortoise died the other day, and I sent him to be preserved. Via taxidermy. No joke.

I cant seem to get my baseboards clean enough. I scrub and scrub and they still look like someone wiped their boots on them. I am seriously considering painting them all again just so I can look at shiny white baseboards that no one else notices. I really can be quite OCD at times, so I am fighting the urge to achieve a level of perfection that doesn’t exist.  Cake anyone?

It is still quiet. Surprised the kids are still sleeping. My coffee is getting cold and chances are I will dump it and pour a new cup. I realize I could reheat it, but its not the same. Glad I have just a little bit of artificial “who-knows-what’s in it” creamer left.

Peppermint and chocolate go great together.

Happy Tuesday, folks.

I am in cleaning hyperdrive. I cannot believe what a mess everything is. I am in declutter mode too, so I am finding myself with even bigger piles of who-knows-what everywhere. Definitely in that “Gonna get worse before it gets better” phase of cleaning.

That said, I can’t cancel dinner time. Opening a bag of frozen fish sticks would have been a solution in the past, but these days, I don’t have the convenience factor to work with.

SO…

Chicken Dijon is the solution.

It is just the girls and I tonight so I will make a small batch with two chicken breasts that I had in the freezer.

Cube chicken breasts (boneless skinless works best) and brown in butter. Season with salt, pepper and garlic and cook until chicken is cooked inside and brown on the outside. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Save all the drippings in the pan. If the pan is relatively dry, add a few more pats of butter. For four chicken breasts, I use about 1/2 a stick of butter to start with and add more if needed at this stage.

To the butter, add 1-2 tablespoons of dijon mustard and whisk to combine. Add just enough flour to coat the pan, and whisk vigorously until a roux is formed. Add about a quart of water, season with more salt, pepper, and garlic, and continue whisking until it is smooth. Reduce heat, and allow to thicken, whisking frequently. Once desired thickness is achieved (I like mine like a nice gravy) add a splash (maybe a half cup or less) or milk, half and half or cream and whisk to combine. Add the chicken back, simmer for another five minutes or so, and serve hot over rice. Add salt, pepper and/or garlic as your tastes desire. I LOVE this with sauteed spinach.

To make sauteed spinach, add a pat of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan. To this, add a clove or two of finely minced garlic. Lightly sautee the garlic, then add an entire bag (or about two bunches) of spinach leaves. Toss to coat, then remove from heat. As the butter/olive oil mix touches the spinach, it will begin to wilt. Leaving it much longer will just make mooshy, overcooked spinach.

Here is the breakdown on the meal:

Chicken breasts were on sale last time I shopped. A package of ten was ten dollars, making each breast a dollar a piece. I got the dijon mustard for .75 cents with a coupon, and will only be using a small bit. Factor in butter, rice (.45 cents a pound in bulk…and I will be using roughly 3 cups), a small bit of whole milk, garlic, spices, and  the spinach at 1.99 cents a bag,   and I still come in under $8.00 for the meal. Tonights will only be $4.00 for me because I am cooking for half the amount of people.

This recipe comes together in about 20 minutes which is great news for me because I will need the extra time to find my dining room table.

If only I could find my magic wand…

Found a “You Pick” berry farm nearby. Tomorrow, the hubs and I are heading out to hopefully pick about 20 pounds of blueberries. At 2 bucks a pound, we want to stock up! The plan is to freeze some, dehydrate some, and can the rest. The kids are planning on spending the morning with my amazing neighbor, “S”. I have tried to convince the kids to come along, but they are excited to have a day to play with their friends.

Blueberry picking reminds me of one of my favorite children’s books, Blueberries For Sal. Such a sweet book. Makes me miss the kids being tiny though. I am secretly hoping our youngest asks to come along at the last minute. Even if she doesn’t, I know she will be right there in the kitchen packing Mason Jars this week. She is a kitchen whiz, that kid…always has been. Maybe one day I will have enough of my own blueberry bushes to have the kids alongside me picking.

You Pick…and Me Too.

I can only hope.

We went down the hill today. We came back with bark for the flowerbeds, some thrift store finds, and surprisingly, without bologna. Kinda proud of the hubs.

As we were heading down I noticed that my favorite fruit stand is officially open for business. They are open for most of the summer, selling peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, nuts, and dried fruits. Ever had mango flavored dried pineapple?! Yeah, I hadn’t either and had no idea my life was incomplete before it.

Another two miles down the road and I see that another fruit stand is open for business. It’s official. Summer is here! Gosh I love tree fruit.

Then I started thinking. I bet there are people who have never seen a nectarine on a tree. I am willing to bet there are folks who have NO IDEA what a fresh piece of stone fruit tastes like. I am reminded every summer how blessed we are to live here. I will try to remember that when it is 110 degrees outside.

Heading out of our small town I took mental notes of all the things that make our community special. The fruit stands sparked it, and my favorite kind are called “honor stands”. Basically, there are stands set up on the side of the roads (or backroads if you are from here. ) with fresh produce available. On the stand there will be a locked box for you to drop your money in. Hence, “honor stand”. Its a brilliant idea. I am sure not everyone has the honor to follow the obvious rules, but overall, I think people are honest and drop their cash.

Here is one that only sells citrus up here. Citrus is mostly a late fall/winter crop, so they are not open right now.

Citrus is not in season, as I said, but the groves are so nice to look at. Here is one of the larger ones on our way home. Excuse the tall grass….I wasn’t gonna get any closer…rattlesnakes scare me.

I love this one because you can get oranges, tangerines, and sometimes lemons for 3.00 or less a bag. Buy local, save money!

We have many, many honor stands up here, but this one happened to be on the way home. Some have garden veggies, some have fruit, and some even have eggs. I really love buying from my community and especially love the money I save.

Back to my favorite fruit stand. Not an honor stand, but an amazing selection of stone fruit. Everything is .99 cents a pound, so you can mix and match whatever fruit you want. It is an incredible deal as stone fruit can sometimes be upwards of 3.00 a pound in the stores. This stand has become a big tourist attraction, so I tend to try and shop during the week, and load up while I am there.

My favorite part is their washing well. It allows you to eat a piece on your way home.

As I drove away, I spotted fruit being hauled away straight from the tree. Bet there are lots of people that have never seen what goes into picking fruit. Honestly, if people knew what went into growing and harvesting the food we eat, it would be appreciated so much more. Excuse the side mirror.

Fruit on the tree:

Grapes will be late summer:

We will likely buy corn from this farmer in a couple months:

(Doesn’t look like much, but trust me, it is an amazing variety that is worth far more than the pennies he charges for it!)

I realize that not everyone will have this type of produce at their fingertips this summer. That said, I am willing to bet there is something local that your community offers or specializes in. Check out what your neighbors are offering…see how you can support them, and save money on as well. You might be surprised by what you find.

Strawberries don’t keep very long. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you have to eat them quick. In everything. For days. Maybe that’s the bad news for some, but for me, it’s paradise.

Here is tonight’s dessert. (Good book by the way, just a bit preachy.) I bought the rhubarb at Winco for .99 cents a pound. Can’t wait to get through dinner so we can have the good stuff!

You could call it “My husband is begging for a cheat day, 5/26/12″.

He woke me up to tell me he REALLY wanted to go to town to get some bark to fill our front flower beds. Then he confessed that he also really wanted to get some bologna, white bread, cheese singles and bbq chips. He tried to pump me up about this idea, but failed. I told him I understood cravings and that he should go for it. I, myself, cannot even imagine eating bologna at this stage in the game. Not because I don’t think of it occassionally, but because I know I will feel sick after I eat it. Funny how the body adjusts to what you are eating. It seems to adjust either way. We ate crap food for years and never had an issue. Now I don’t, and I swear I can hardly touch anything cheat worthy anymore. I have to REALLY want something to make it worth the bellyache.

So we will head to town today. Get some bark for our flowerbeds (that area currently full of weeds, ugh!), get some processed cheese food, bologna, bbq chips, white bread and some free time too, as his mama is gonna visit with the kiddos for a bit. I think Our middle child is gonna stay with us. MIL is talking movie with the kids, but our oldest daughter finds the giant screen pretty overwhelming. I don’t get my kids to myself very often, so it will be nice to be alone with our sweet girl. I will likely have a jamba juice for lunch. I don’t like the idea of soy in my food (and so much of their stuff has it) but I will try to navigate their menu a bit.

We finished up breakfast a bit ago, and I am already seeing a pattern.

Kids and I had homemade oatmeal, made with a bit of milk, topped with cinnamon, butter, honey, and a drizzle of maple syrup. I ate mine with a side of fresh strawberries that the hubs brought home from a road-side stand. He brought a HUGE flat. Like 20 little green baskets huge. He paid 15 bucks. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, they are WORTH IT. Best.berries.ever.  I haven’t yet sold the kids on strawberries, but for now will enjoy the fact that I don’t have to share.

 (The milk is fine, folks…its just cream top)

The hubs had leftover pulled pork. On white hot dog buns. With habanero cheddar. And hot sauce. He misses white bread I am sure. Sometimes I don’t blame him.

Lunch for the kids will be taken care of by the MIL. I am sure the kids will make a cute face and get something kids love. I really don’t mind. Food rules are off when the kids are with friends or grandparents. We are not purists.

I will likely stick with Jamba. The hubs just might make a cheater sandwich in the Wal*Mart parking lot.

Dinner will have us back on track. Grass fed organic ground beef, seasoned and made into patties that will be served up with roasted veggies (potatoes, carrots and asparagus) and corn on the cob.

Sounds expensive. It really isn’t. Ground beef at the typical market right now is almost 4.00 a pound. The meat I bought was 5.25 a pound. I don’t see that 1.25 extra as much of an increase. Especially when you consider all the other foods we no longer buy. One pound will feed our family a few small patties each (no one really wants more than that), and with all the yummy veggies, it will be plenty. I season the meat with worchtechire (sp!?!?), salt, pepper, garlic, and a bit of half and half to keep it moist. Make into patties, pan fry in a bit of olive oil and butter (so the olive oil doesnt burn) and you are done. The veggies consist of red potatoes (1.69 for a five pound bag this week!), asparagus (1.50 a bundle) and some carrots which were .99 cents for ORGANIC this week too. Corn was 8 for a dollar at Winco here, so we are gonna feast on that too. If you count the butter we will be using, dinner is still less than $10.00.

Dessert will involve strawberries. It kinda has to.

I don’t mind a cheater day. I think we need them sometimes to remind us why we stopped eating that stuff.

Plus, sometimes you can’t beat a bologna sandwich.

Happy Cheater Day.

Haven’t done one of these here in a while!! Super excited.

In our quest to eat better, we have given up almost all convenience food. This includes cereal. All cereal. Not just the ones that make your children act like drunk monkeys.

Instead, I make a hot breakfast. Every day. Even the days I REALLY don’t want to…and the ones I REALLY, REALLY don’t want to.

Usually its pancakes, french toast, or an oatmeal/farina type porriage (sp?). My kids LOVE pancakes. They approve of french toast, and two out of three will eat the hot cereals. Needless to say, we usually end up with pancakes. Throw some fruit and kefir on the side, and they are happy little campers.

Added bonus: they don’t come to me within 30 minutes and tell me they are “starving to death” anymore. Why? Because they didn’t eat styrofoam soaked in milk for breakfast. It was real food. Hot, filling food. Hot, filling food that isn’t as fun an easy as Lucky Charms, but we are adjusting.

This morning, we had a plumbing issue, so the hubs stayed home. He was a little bummed about the added expense that plumbing brings and said that he really just wanted a Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast. Being that we are an hour from the nearest Denny’s, that wasn’t happening, but I knew I could at least accomidate his sad pocketbook a little.

Therefore, breakfast today was:

Fried eggs (the adults had three eggs each as they were from Bantam chickens and as a result, the size of ping pong balls), red potatoes cooked in raw, organic coconut oil, biscuits made from whole wheat flour and home brewed yogurt (buttermilk isn’t finished brewing), applewood smoked bacon (so shoot me), and GRAVY. Yes, GRAVY. I made the roux with whole wheat flour and the milk was organic. I am going to count that as healthy…enough. Sometimes, when it feels like the world is out to get you, you eat gravy. I don’t feel bad.  I made the kids some chocolate milk out of organic milk that NEEDS to be consumed (at 5.99 a gallon, you dont let it go to waste) and Trader Joe’s “midnight moo” chocolate sauce. YUM.

Because breakfast wasn’t eaten until almost 11am, (plumbing issues make for long mornings) we just had a snack at around 3pm. I made the kids some popcorn. cooked in raw coconut oil, then drizzled with caramel made from 1/2 a stick of butter, 1/4 cup of demerara, a touch of organic half and half and some sea salt. It was SOOO good and just enough to hold the over for dinner…which is going to be:

Pulled pork sandwiches. You have to try this recipe.

I have some pork roasts which I find are very inexpensive! I bought two in a package for $8.00 the other day. I am cooking both so that I can have some leftovers for lunches this weekend.

I popped the roasts in the crock pot, dumped in a bottle of root beer (I used this one  that I found at Whole Foods), put the lid on , and set it on low. I will leave it for about six hours (or about two hours from now). When it is done, I will pull the roasts out, shred the meat, and then dump in a bottle of good quality bbq sauce. I could make my own…I have a fantastic family recipe that used to be sold in local stores, but its quite a bit of money up front and right now, it isn’t a priority. I just bought a good all natural sauce this time around. I am sure the $1.00 bottle would taste just as good.

As I type, this dough is rising. In a bit, I will be mixing up some cole slaw with homemade mayo. Typically, I don’t eat cole slaw, but I watched this show on the Food Network a couple of weeks ago that showed a place in the south that makes pulled pork sandwiches topped with cole slaw and it looked oddly appetizing. As I said, I typically don’t eat cole slaw, and for all I know, tonight will not be any different. That said, I must try.

Dessert will be some frozen homemade vanilla crockpot yogurt (recipe might still be on the sidebar somewhere?) topped with fresh strawberries and midnight moo sauce. No restraint today…sorry.

Try the pork. You will be glad you did. The whole meal was made for about $16.00. More than most of my meals, but not bad for five people plus leftovers. I will be breaking my new “no soda” rule (haven’t had a Pepsi in almost a month) to have some root beer and homemade vanilla vodka. Yeah, I said it. HOMEMADE VANILLA VODKA. No apologies either, folks. It’s medicinal.

Especially on a day when the plumber comes to visit.

I had no idea this blog was mentioned in his book, “Living Large in Lean Times”!! I feel a bit bad that I haven’t been blogging here. I could be giving budget minded folks so many ideas right now. I hereby vow to stay up to date here. Kind of excited, actually.

So much has changed in the last year and three months. We are still in the hills, still working towards living a self-sufficient lifestyle, still homeschooling, and definitely always trying to save money!

So what is different? Our way of eating has changed quite a bit. Our focus is eating foods in their natural state (not raw,  just unprocessed), trying to eat more local food, and trying to implement more Nourishing Traditions type methods into our diet. It certainly takes more time out of my day, but it has been SO worth it.

Make no mistake though…sometimes you need a down home country meal, and we haven’t given them up completely.

I kinda feel like I may have missed out on sharing these recipes with people who may have stumbled upon this site after reading Clark Howard’s book. I hope that more people come by so I can share my excitement. I am LOVING cooking more than ever, and although we have had to increase our budget to $150 a week (up from $100), I still feel like we are doing really well for a family of five.

Feeding our families in this economy isn’t easy. EVERYTHING is SO expensive right now and trying to eat food that is actually good for you on a tight budget is remarkably difficult…but POSSIBLE.

I CAN’T WAIT to show you how.

Thank you, Clark Howard, (who may never ever read this and see that I am grateful) for inspiring me to come back here and open up my kitchen to everyone again.