November and December Challenge: Dec 24 - 31

 #LightTheWorld

Tomorrow is the celebration of the birth of our Savior and Lord. Having had several children, maybe as many as Mother Mary. I marvel at what women went through in those days. For some childbirth is easy, for others is it not. Medical interventions and such today, do not guarantee a good pregnancy outcome. People do not realize that the risk of losing mother and or baby is still great in this day and age. Can you imagine giving birth in a stable or barn? With vermin in the animal's bedding? No running water? Having to shove rags between your legs to deal with the lovely bleeding that happens for a minimum of a week after birth? Although I have given birth in multiple places: hospital, midwife's office and at home.  I will tell you our best experiences were at the midwife's office and at home, it was so relaxing, calm, and I could focus on what I was doing instead of wondering who the next stranger was going to be to come and look between my legs.

Can you imagine walking as far as Mary walked? It wasn't just to the mail box. It was very far, and she was 40 weeks along!  I can feel and hear those pelvic bones moving, grinding, popping with every step. I know the pressure of that baby on my back, my bladder, kicking my diaphragm so I can't breath.  Can you imagine what she went through just before she was to give birth?! It is amazing.

This is what our ancestors went through as well. Whether they were traveling on purpose or because they were running for their lives. Many women have given birth along the trail, and many of those women and babies were also buried along that trail.

I am thankful that Mary and Joseph listened to the angels, I am thankful that Jesus is the Christ and that he has given us the ultimate gift. I am thankful for this gift so we can again see our sweet family members that have passed and especially see my sweet Saralyn again. I hope you remember what Christmas is about, and are able to feel the sweet spirit it brings.

This is it folks. The last week of this challenge. Were you able to do it? Can you believes it's already the last week of the year?! It has been another trying year, full of love, pain, life and unfortunately death.
New things this year: we got more of the yard done; went fishing on several rivers and cooked water's edge; we had our family reunion; went camping; figured out a major food sensitivity; welcomed home our missionary; preparing for the marriage of another of our children; and welcomed more pets into the home.

This is the week of cans to meet our goal of filling our pantry/larder.
#54: Can of pears
#55: Spaghetti Sauce
#56: Baked Beans
#57: Evaporated milk or Coconut milk
#58: Re-fried Beans
#59: Spaghetti Sauce
#60: Applesauce
#61: Soup of choice

 We welcome the new year in soon and with that we will have many new adventures.

November and December Challenge: Dec 16 - 23

Well, crud. This year is almost over and I didn't get everything done yet!  SLOW DOWN!

This Christmas we as a family decided to be more service oriented. Instead of buying a ton of gifts for us. We decided to do a couple kids on the giving tree. We also decided to donate to The Giving Cupboard. Our kids enjoyed doing all the shopping. It was fun. Our family's love language is service, as in serving others. It truly makes us happy to be permitted to help someone, be with others, and lift other's burdens, even if only for a moment.

Building your larder/pantry/food storage is a way you can lift your own burden. How do I find these sales? Sometimes I scour the ads on store's websites, and sometimes I just happen on them when I am in the store. How do I build my food storage? Slowly. I am not kidding. I was a very young bride, and I had no idea what food storage was. I had no idea why I had this urge to have a certain amount of food in my cupboards. If I had a little extra leftover after buying groceries, I would get something to put in my cupboard. Heck I didn't call it food storage, or larder, or engineering. When we first got married our pantry was a tiny cupboard by the sink. It had very little in it. Enchilada sauce, canned peas, canned corn, chicken noodle soup, tomato soup and if lucky a jar of spaghetti sauce. Looking back, it was a very weird combo.

When we moved to college, we had these huge closets in the hallway that went to the bedrooms and bathroom. They were giant! This apartment had the biggest closets we ever had in apartment living. They were even bigger than most houses have! They were amazing closets! I began accumulating more food stuffs in my closet. Still, I didn't really know how to cook well. I am so thankful my husband still ate it, and so did my baby (best eater ever!).

We moved to a different apartment that had just been built because the molds in the amazing closet apartment were bad for my asthma. This new apartment had this huge closet in the living room. It had some wire shelves on each end inside this closet. We filled them. Slowly. An extra can of chili, the next week an extra jar of spaghetti sauce, another week extra pasta. It builds, slowly. If it was a new food we hadn't had before, we would only buy one. No need to waste money, what if we didn't like it? We could always get more the next week if we liked it.

Now... I have 5 gallon buckets with hard white wheat, salt, sugar, oats and rice. I have #10 cans full of dried beans, cocoa, quinoa, millet.. I have cans of tomatoes, olives, peas, chicken.. I have condiments like pickles, mustards, ketchup, mayo..I have spices, I have medicine, I have home canned foods.  When we first got married I never could have imagined all I would learn about foods, medicine, preservation of foods, how to sew..

It doesn't matter how old you are.  You can learn to build your cupboard/pantry/closet/ or what ever you have (my college kids use a rubbermaid tote). It is a slow process, it is a learning experience. Find joy in it. And remember, if you have never had it only buy one to try. If you find a deal on something you use, make that be your can for the day or week. Store what you eat, Eat what you store.


#46: Vegetables
#47: Tomato Sauce
#48: Salsa
#49: Rotel
#50: Diced chilies
#51: Can or jar of NUTS (if not allergic)
#52: Nut butter (the one your family will eat)
#53: Stewed Tomatoes

November and December Challenge: Dec 8 - 15

How many of you went shopping on "black" Friday? Cyber Monday? Today?

How many of you went to make dinner from your normal pantry and realized you were missing something? Tomato paste? a spice? pasta? rice?

The other day I went to make dinner and the recipe called for tomato paste. This is not an item I usually have in stock; why? Because I do not like the taste of tomato paste. What did I do? I actually had a bunch of tomatoes from my garden ripening on my kitchen table (yes still, because we moved the tomato plants to the garage when it got cold out so I wouldn't lose all that fruit). So I took some of those and I washed them, took out that weird core where they hook to the plant, put them through a quick blender, and used those instead. Dinner was saved, and delicious. What would I have done had I not had those tomatoes? I would have used tomato sauce or canned diced tomatoes (put through blender).  My kids do not like chunks of cooked tomatoes, so I still have to blend those. BUT, they are learning to handle cooked onions, carrots and celery.

So this week is more of the same, but a little change. Remember the point of this challenge is to build up your food storage/larder/pantry. The point is so you have something to eat in a pinch. That pinch of low funds is not fun.

#38: Sliced Peaches
#39: Canned Chicken
#40: Campbell's chicken noodle soup (add water)
#41: Dinty Moore Stew (or which ever kind you prefer)
#42: Chili
#43: Can of Pears or Fruit cocktail
#44: Tomato Soup (add water)
#45: Baked potato soup (ready-to-eat)

One of the cans I stocked up on last week was Snow's Minced Clams in the yellow can at the local grocery. The price was so cheap I bought 10 of them. Tonight I needed a fast dinner as the teens were headed out to their weekly meetings.

What did I make with these lovely little can's of yum? Clam spaghetti of course. This is a family favorite. It's fast, easy, and not expensive.

CLAM SPAGHETTI

2 - 6.5 oz cans minced clams in clam juice
1/2 tsp salt
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS parsley
1 pound spaghetti, linguini, angel hair or fettuccine  OR GF ramen noodles or bean threads

Cook pasta according to package directions. While waiting for the pasta, make the sauce.

In sauce pan put butter, oil and garlic. Let gently cook on low to med low heat until it starts to bubble and the fragrance of garlic is fantastic. Drain only ONE can of clams and put into sauce pan. Pour second can of clams with juice into sauce pan. Add salt and parsely. Bring to a gentle simmer and keep hot.
When pasta is done cooking, drain. Return to cooking pan. Pour all of the sauce over the pasta. Stir well with tongs or whatever you prefer to use.

Sometimes we garnish with finely shredded parmesan cheese. But not tonight.
We served this with a salad. So yummy and good comfort food.

Gluten Free Tattie Scones

Have you ever heard of a Scottish Tattie Scone?  It's kind of like a thick tortilla, or thin naan. To me they are comfort food. Great with mash and meat, soup, or used as a wrap type sandwich. I love naan, but these are faster and just as yummy.

This one is fresh off the pan. I then stuffed it with rice (on the plate), cheese and shredded chicken. This can be rolled burrito style, but not too tight or it will rip.

I do not like GF tortillas you find in the store. I think they are made by mission. I have tried both the white ones and the green ones. Both were sticky, gummy, pastie and flavorless; not to mention EXPENSIVE!

I have had the Scottish Tattie Scone recipe forever, but I have only made them once since we moved 2 years ago. Why? I forgot about it. But we used it with a soup the other night. But tonight  I had the chicken in my crock-pot and everyone else could use a flour tortilla, so I decided to try to make a GF tattie scone and see if it would work. Not only does it work, but it tastes AMAZING.

I almost ate the entire thing before remembering I wanted a picture! So yummy I made more, and yup they are already gone. This recipe is very easy, can be dairy free (DF), corn free (CF), soy free (SF) and of course gluten free (GF). I will admit, mine were not DF. But they could have been.

So I used leftover mash to make these, and DS2 made the mash so there was butter, parmesan, garlic and half and half in them. Which, by the way, were amazing yummy spuds. Rules with GF flour, it has to be cooked through, for some reason. It may seem this dough is too dry, but honestly it all mixes in, and makes a wonderful dough.

The spuds we used are called Huckleberry Golds, and they are one of the ugliest potatoes I have ever seen. Purple skin, that is kind of warty, with beautiful golden flesh.

They are very dense and delicious.

I took two pictures, one with and one without the flash. The purple is very vibrant in the sunlight. The interior flesh is a wonderful yellow gold.

I used Mom's Place GF flour blend (locally made) , link is in the name. I love Mom's Place, so far theirs is the only gf blend I like.

Ok so would you like to try them? These are yum! I love them. My kids like them too.


Scottish Tattie Scones
Half pound boiled mashed potatoes (King Edwards if you can get them)
2.5 oz (65 g) all-purpose flour (wheat OR GLUTEN FREE)
1 oz (25 g) butter (OR coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, etc)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 tsp baking powder

Boils spuds in salted water until tender. Drain, mash with butter, S & P, and baking powder.*
Mix in flour to make stiff dough (exact amount depends on type of potatoes used).

Roll out on floured surface to 5 - 6 mm thick. Cut into rounds, use a saucer or small tea plate as a guide. Prick all over with fork and score dough to mark 4 equal wedges. Cook in lightly greased heavy pan or griddle over medium heat. About 3 minutes per side or until golden brown.**

*OR use leftover mash potatoes, add S & P, baking powder and flour, mix until stiff dough.

**Divide into 4 pieces, and roll into a ball. Then take a ziplock gallon bag and cut the sides open. Place ball in center of one side, put other side on top and use a heavy pan to flatten ball. If that is not enough then gently roll out to 4 to 6mm thick.
When making GF, I roll these out to 3mm thick, but you could go thicker, they will take longer to cook. I do NOT prick with a fork all over, because they are very thin, and I cook them like a tortilla.

 Cooking the first side, I also turned it around a little as my pan wasn't quite hot everywhere yet. Half of it was cooked so I turned it clockwise to get the other side done.

 Then I flipped it. and the smells.. made my mouth water. Using garlic mash is amazing for these.

 Well stuff with chicken, rice and cheese. And it was worth the 5 minute wait while I got the pan heating up, mixed the dough, rolled it out and cooked it. FAST AND EASY AND so worth it. NOT gummy, NOT sticky, NOT hard to make. This is one that will be made often as a bread for me.

November and December Challenge: Dec 1 - 7

OH MY HECK IT'S DECEMBER!!!!

I can not believe how fast this year has gone by! It has flown, and there are parts of it I wish we could spend more time in. We had a fabulous family reunion that was just amazing. We went camping, lots of fishing, learned how to cook fish very well. Learned how to heat smoke foods. New opportunities for adventure.. It has been fun, hard, exciting, and worth it.

What did you do with your turkey bones? As my hubby was carving the turkey, he put the bones into a crock-pot (WITHOUT being asked) then put in the baggie of veggies scraps from the freezer. Then he added a tablespoon of salt, covered the bones with water and set the crock pot on low. Again, I didn't ask him, I didn't let him know I was going to do this at any time. He just did it. I love my husband.

We ended up cooking this bone broth for 48 hours! It came out so yummy. So next we strained it and put it into jars to cool.
We are starting our December challenge with some different items. Now please remember, if you or your family do not eat something, do not buy it! Get something your family will eat. I use evaporated milk for making pumpkin pies, caramel and bread. We use peanut butter, tahini, and almond butter in our home. Chicken viennas my kids will eat out of the can after they are rinsed. I have also used a fork and mashed them on a plate (like a banana) then put them in our spaghetti sauce. For the ready to eat soups, grab the flavors you know your family will enjoy, my flavors are only suggestions.

#31: Evaporated Milk
#32: Nut Butter (peanut or almond or sesame whatever kind you can have)
#33: Can of Pineapple
#34: Can of Navy Beans
#35: Chicken Vienna Sausages
#36: Potato Soup (ready to eat)
#37: Can of sirloin burger with country vegetables soup

What is something you can think of to add to the list?

November and December Challenge: Week 4 Nov 23 - 30

So how are you doing so far? I am going to tell you right now. Brands only matter if you really taste a difference. I love Hunt's tomato products, they for some reason to me, taste better. I also like to have some Rotel on hand to make salsa. Do you make your own? What about spaghetti sauce? Woops off track, it was just what popped into my mind.

This week we are working on:

#23: Baked Potato Soup (ready to eat)
#24: Refried Beans
#25: Canned Chicken
#26: Canned Chicken (Yup, another can, because you will use it!)
#27: Chicken Broth
#28: Chili
#29: Black olives
#30: Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (add water)

First month done! Whew!

It feels so good to have food in your larder, cupboard, pantry, etc. We are getting into that busy time: parties, dinners, shopping, more shopping, maybe buy something. Don't let life overwhelm you. Do your normal grocery shopping, but add an extra can  of whatever canned good you buy. The other day I was shopping, needed tomato paste, so I grabbed 2. I also needed some olives for the salad, so I grabbed 2 cans. And I grabbed 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, you see easy.

It's also that time of year for the creapy crud, colds, vomiting, diarrhea and body aches from fevers. Chicken noodle soup, or broth always helps. So make sure you grab atleast 1 can to have on hand. Sometimes Campbell's soups are in 4-packs and even 6-packs. When we had a Costco nearby us I bought it in a case. Now I can't eat it, but my kids will drink the broth and maybe slurp down a noodle or two when sick.

Why am I suggesting ready to eat soups? Well, for one, we are in winter, and when the power goes out, so does your well pump. You won't have water to add to your soup. This is why I suggest getting a few cans of ready to eat items. OH, and also, I love the Wal-mart brand of chicken breast in a can. It is yummy, GF and soy free, and ready to eat.

November and December Challenge: Week 3 Nov 15 - 22

Well I am not satisfied. I feel the list for canned goods is lacking. So many things you can put into your larder. What about stock or broth? This can come in a can or in a 1 liter (quart) mylar box. What about beans? What about tomatoes? What about? What about?

So many items to choose from, but I will repeat, if you will not eat it, DO NOT BUY IT. It is a waste of money to buy something you absolutely will never eat. I mean you could by one can, try it to see if you like it, and if you do then add more. That makes sense. But buying something you won't eat like chipotle chilies in adobo. If you don't like it, won't use it, don't waste you money buying it.

Let's take a look at this weeks list.

#15: Chunk Pineapple
#16: Fruit Cocktail
#17: Green beans (french? cut? wax?)
#18: Corn (niblets? creamed? regular?)
#19: Canned Pasta (chef boy-r-dee?)
#20: Can of Veg-All or can of vegetables
#21: Chicken Vienna Sausages (My kids love these! I gag from the smell of them)
#22: Sirloin burger with Vegetables soup (ready to eat)

Due to our corn and gluten allergies, I don't buy a lot of convenience foods, including canned soups or pastas. But I will can my own bone broth and vegetable stock. I will can meat, I can veg, I can fruit. That said, I do have family members that can eat some ready to eat soups. So I will get some.

Anyone remember Libby's Chicken Noodle Dinner?  It was my favorite ready to eat meal from a can. Guess what? I can't find it. It was delicious with fresh homemade biscuits.

Nalley's Chili company moved from Tacoma WA to somewhere else. BUT you can still go to the Nalley Valley in Tacoma and see the old factory. When they moved the recipes changed, and they added wheat flour, lower quality meat, and the flavor is different. So I make my own now and either pressure can it or freeze it.

Do you know about TURMERIC?

This beautiful root is amazing!  It has so many benefits, and is so good for you.
What is it? It is a rhizome root, kind of like ginger.
It has a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. But the root of turmeric is also used widely to make medicines. The active ingredient that is so good for you is curcumin. Since curcumin is a fat-soluble compound, the most effective way to get raw turmeric into your system is by combining it with fat and black peppercorns. This is also true for ground turmeric.

Isn't it pretty?!

Today I made "Golden Milk" for my soon to be DIL and for my dear little guy. She is super sick, but he has a kidney and bladder infection. Hopefully this will help both of them. It is creamy, and warming, and pretty yummy.

I will say this. Using fresh ginger and turmeric is always going to be better, but to be honest.. Fresh turmeric is $$$$ at my local store is it $18 for 8 ounces!  I just can not afford that. BUT I do buy fresh ginger.  The link is in the Golden Milk. Here is what I used:

I used the coconut milk can to measure the almond milk as well, so I didn't have to dirty another dish.

1 full fat canned coconut milk (so didn't need the coconut oil)
 Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk
2 inches of fresh ginger that was peeled and that I cut into small pieces and put through my garlic press OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger
fresh ground black pepper (about a pinch or 1/8 tsp or so)
2 tsp of ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
RAW honey to taste

In my 3-qt sauce pan, I put the coconut milk, almond milk (measured with coconut milk can), ginger, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon. I heated this over med-low heat until it was very warm. DO NOT BOIL. I wanted this warm enough that the turmeric and cinnamon would be activated by the coconut oil in the milk, but not too hot. I kept it very warm for about 15 minutes. Then I pulled it off the heat, gave it another good stir and let it sit. When it was finally cool enough, I added 1 TBS of raw honey and stirred well. Then I tasted it, and put in a little more honey. I strained this as I put it into jars so as not to have that ginger sitting in there too long and getting bitter.

This is DELICIOUS, but I am saving this for my DIL and my lil one. So he will have it tonight before bed. So simple to make, so yummy.  It is in the fridge right now, and I pulled it out to take a picture, and it smells so yummy I had to taste it.. WOW.. gonna have to make more!

November and December Challenge: Week 2 Nov 8 - 14

This one is a little early, but something has come up.

Last week's was hard for me. I looked and looked, but could not find a canned soup that would be safe fore me to eat. So I will have to make some soup and can it myself. Hopefully get that done this next week. These are only suggestions, again only buy what your family will eat.

BY #8: Canned Potatoes (usually these are called new or baby potatoes)
BY #9: Beef Tamales (we won't do this, but will do canned hamburger instead)
BY #10: Bean Soup
BY #11: Mandarin Oranges (yum, these are great in salad and smoothies)
BY #12: Chicken Vienna Sausages (kids like these, we have added them to spaghetti sauce mashed up)
BY #13: Salisbury Steak Soup (do not add water)
BY #14: Green Beans (cut? french? wax?)

I have used the canned potatoes in stew. I haven't had canned tamales in years (corn allergy). My dad LOVES bean soup from a can.

GF pancakes and yum

I love to cook. I love to bake. I love to can. I love to sew. I love my family. I love to know.

I also love to eat. You could say I am addicted, but can you really be addicted to something you have to do to survive? Yes, you can be addicted to the wrong foods, like sugar. And it is in EVERYTHING!

So this morning I was hungry. I of course needed to eat. But I have to make everything from scratch. I did a quick search and found a recipe for GF banana oat pancakes. Then I had a craving for something my dad made once.. so here goes. These have a strong banana flavor, you HAVE to use a very ripe banana.

Also the topping you see is something my dad made when I was young. He ALWAYS made a big breakfast on Sundays, pancakes or french toast or waffles, sausage, bacon, eggs. It was too much, and he would get upset that everyone didn't eat enough. But I LOVED this topping he made.

Banana Oat Pancakes

1 very ripe banana

1 cup GF oats (quick or regular)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup milk (any kind you can use) plus maybe a little more if needed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBS honey, agave, maple syrup, etc

1 TBS ACV (apple cider vinegar)

Blend all in blender or blender cup until smooth. May need to add a little more milk if it gets too thick. Let stand a few minutes to let the oats soften after the blend.

Heat cast iron pan over med-low heat, you can use non-stick if you prefer. Grease your cast iron with grease of choice (bacon grease, coconut oil, butter). Pour or scoop 1/4 cup of batter and put onto hot pan, spread out. Cook until golden brown, flip pancakes, again cook until golden brown.

Serve with  your preferred topping. This made six 4-inch pancakes that were thick, and a bit dense. Three filled me up!

The topping my dad made he did with I think Mrs. Buttersworth maple syrup, but I just use whatever maple syrup I have, real or fake. He also used Jif Peanut butter, but I can't use that kind it has soy in it.

PB YUM

1/4 cup soft butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup maple syrup

Put all in a bowl, mix with whisk, hand mixer or wooden spoon until everything is mixed together and there are no lumps. Put into a jar or other storage container, store in fridge. No worries it softens on hot toast, hot pancakes and hot waffles no problem. 

I have a couple kids that will get a spoon and eat this that way as well. I think one even made a sandwich with it, no jelly, just this PB yum on bread. 

I hope you like it, let me know.

November and December Challenge: Week #1 Nov 1 - 7

So I was thinking. We are getting into the lean part of the year.
What do I mean? I mean we are spending money on things for Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving.. usually more than we meant to. And then January and February hits and everyone stays home, no one goes to the store.. and the pantry gets rather lean, so does certain sections of the freezer.

Thinking about this, I thought this challenge for November and December make sense. AND it will build your larder, aka food storage. How? Very simple.

So here is it.. Now granted we only have 60 days until January 1st, but that is still 60 days!!!  So the challenge? Buy at least one can of canned food to add to your food storage a day. Now I know we live a little further from stores than some. So when you go to the grocery, it's ok to pick up 7 different items so you don't have to drive to town everyday. Now you all know I can weekly. So in October I canned pear butter, pears and pear preserves and chutney. I am hoping to get some meat canned soon too.

REMEMBER: Only put food in your food storage that your family will eat. Don't eat canned ham? Not a problem substitute with what you do eat, chicken? chili? stew? you get the idea. Store what you eat, Eat what you store.

They are fun. It's a great idea! And a great way for us all to be able to help our food storage to be more flavorful!


BY #1: Chicken Noodle Soup (ready to eat)
BY #2: Evaporated Milk
BY #3: Canned Pasta
BY #4: Sliced Peaches
BY #5: Canned Ham
BY #6: Chili
BY #7: Evaporated Milk (we use milk more than we think!)

Now, if any of this is in your regular pantry rotation, fabulous, add another can or two. DON'T buy stuff if you will never eat it. These are only suggestions. You can look through your pantry and see something your family might prefer.We do not do the beef tamales due to corn allergy, so instead, I would can some hamburger.

If it makes it easier, you can do several items at once if you are already grocery shopping. Don't make a special trip to the store just to buy one thing. And if you see, there are duplicates, so you could pick up several of one item to count towards your 60 cans.
I already buy canned chicken, so I will buy the 2 or 4 pack instead of just one can. But I always check to see what is the cheapest way. We really like the great value chicken breast in cans at Wal-Mart, it is tender and yummy.
Campbell's chicken noodle and the Tomato sometimes come in a four pack that is cheaper.  If there is a case-lot sale, sometimes you can really save on several items. This is not all we will be adding to our larder these 2 months, baking supplies go on sale now too. So I will have more posts coming.

It's that time of year again...

So this is the time of year when baking items go on sale. Mostly nuts, sugar and flour, and sometimes if we get lucky spices.

I am not sure why there is such a baking boom in November and December, I mean we eat year around. But there is, and so we must stock up on what is on sale, when it is on sale.

What do you stock up on for baking during this time of year?
Flour
Sugar
Brown sugar
Chocolate Chips
nuts
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
allspice

Plus, I just picked up 100 pounds of gourds to can. Why? We use gourds (pumpkin, banana squash, sweet meats) to make a lot of things like pie, cake, muffins, cookies, pancakes, waffles, quick bread and yeast bread. We love pumpkin! I hope we have enough. We are down to our last few jars of pumpkin from last year so we are glad we found some.

October Challenge Week 4: Oct 27-31

Yup it's a short week challenge. Why? Because I feel the November and December challenges are very important and need to be done. SO with that said, here is what I was thinking about.

It is getting down right cold outside! I woke up to 14 degrees at 6 am, and it only warmed to 26 degrees. This is not my favorite time of year. I loathe being cold, I despise the cold.

Hmm.. so what do you think this week's challenge is? Well it kind of goes with preparedness. Do you have a gas tank outside? Natural gas or propane? Is it full?  Don't have gas? Do you have a fireplace or wood stove? Do you have enough wood?

Do you have blankets in storage? Do you have blankets strewn about your living room making a fort? Do you have enough blankets when the power is out and you don't have an alternate heat source?

The challenge this week is to get your gas tanks filled if you have them AND to make sure you have enough warm blankets. This includes the tanks for your barbeque! Because when the power is out, you can still cook on your BBQ. And blankets, not baby blankets, I mean good sized ones that more than one person can be under, because combined heat is much warmer. I even throw my dogs into my blankets with humans so that everyone stays warm.

This current house does not have a real fireplace :(  It makes me sad, I love wood heat. But we do have a propane gas fireplace in the basement, so I am calling to get that big tank filled, along with my BBQ tanks, the tanks on my camper too.

As for blankets, I am picking up a few more. Honestly, you can't have too many, because winter is also cold and flu season, that means vomit, and if a blanket has that on it, you can bet it is in the washer and a replacement must be found immediately. So Yes, I am getting more blankets too.

So there you go, This week is short! Only 4 days.. but that should be enough time to get it done.

October Challenge Week 3: Oct 20 - 26

First... Did you work on your laundry area? I was able to get it all done, except for #17 cube. Out of 18 that isn't bad, I just haven't replaced the cardboard box with a plastic one yet. Otherwise, yes, I got my laundry room done.

This weeks challenge, should you choose to try. Do you have a new appliance you have never used? Instant pot (IP), crock pot (CP), stick blender??? Time to break them out and try them. It's not difficult.. AND to make 2 brand new, never been made by you in your kitchen recipes. If you have never made cinnamon rolls from scratch, make them. If you have never made something you get at a restaurant (maybe because it seems too difficult?), make it. Time to try out  your new device, which one is it?

We are going to try to make some butter chicken (Tikka Masala), sticky coconut rice, and chicken coconut curry. And then for canning, I am going to make some pear chutney, I have never made this before.


Here is an easy Instant Pot first run recipe.

Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

6 - 18 chicken Eggs
1 1/2 cups water
IP trivet
IP

Ok, after you wash your instant pot pan, because this is the first time you are pulling it out of the box, make sure it is completely dry on the outside of it. Place into the IP. Next add the water, then the trivet, then put the eggs on the trivet. Plug in.

Put the lid on, should make a nice electronic game noise. Make sure you have the pressure weight on the top, and have it pointing to seal.
Select STEAM, make the time say 3. After you leave it alone, it should beep to let you know the cycle is starting. Let it do it's thing. Meanwhile, get out a big mixing bowl, add water and a bunch of ice, then wait.

It will beep when it is done. Then when it says L00:10, which is 10 minutes after it is done (I have to set the timer on my stove because I can not hear the IP if I am doing chores). Turn the weight to vent or release, usually the pressure is gone, then open the lid away from you so you don't get steam on your skin (OUCH). Carefully remove eggs with tongs to ice water and plunge those hot eggs under the water. Let them take a long swim if you want to chill them completely, but if you want to eat now, give it a gentle crack when you put it in the ice water, then pull it out and peel and eat.

I store my eggs in a plastic bag or bin in fridge for about a week, if they last that long.


It seems to me that the only thing holding us back from doing things is ourselves. You have to embrace the challenge (fear) and let it power you, let it not hold you back but put you to do it. This is not easy, this is not always fun, but usually when you are done, you feel so good because you DID IT! I love cooking for people, I love the challenge, the flavors and the company.

Yes I want to know everyone's opinions on the meal that day. Why? Because if they didn't like it, I never want to make it again. Hubby has stated he does not like pear butter, until I served it to him with cream cheese, he said it cut the sweetness. He had no idea that you could do that. I made a soup once, Cream of Onion, and my kids devoured it, in fact I had to make another pot because I didn't double the recipe, afraid everyone would hate it. That was the first soup I made that my 2nd DS ever liked!

I made a chicken stock once that was so bland. I saved it and had to doctor it to get the soup where I wanted it, but I didn't give up. If you need help, just ask.  Usually a nice mix of mire poix and garlic can save quite a few meals, oh and SALT.. Seasoning people!! I wrote about food storage and seasonings a few years ago, Spices. It talks about food storage and appetite fatigue, but to also think about your food storage in another way.

UPDATE: So our first never ever been made in my kitchen recipe was Coconut Chicken Curry. We served this over jasmine rice, with salad on the side. My family rated this 10 out of 5 stars! And some of us added a little sriracha sauce to add some heat. This was such a yummy dinner. And the leftovers will be fantastic.
Now the changes. I doubled this. I did not finish this in the pan. I got to step 3, but I did not add all the chicken, I just added half the coconut milk, and some of the chicken. Then I poured that into my warming crock pot. Next I added more chicken to the pan and rubbed the spices into the chicken, then poured into the crock pot. I did this 2 times, then a third time I added the rest of the coconut milk to make sure I got every last bit of goodness out of the pan. Then poured it all into crock pot, set it on HIGH for about 2 hours, then down to low for 2 hours.
We served this with the hot jasmine rice. Some of the kids added some sriracha to theirs after they tasted it. It was yummy! I added just a little sriracha to mine as well. I am not afraid of heat, but I wanted to be able to taste all of the spices. This was delicious, and we had enough for leftovers. DD4 took some for lunch today. Right there is testament to how yummy it was.
I would describe it as flavorful, warm, and homey. It is pure comfort food.

October Challenge Week 2: Oct 13 - 19

I don't know about you, but I can not concentrate or focus in messes or clutter. So this week. We are tackling a very used area of the home.

YUCK, the laundry room! Did you know this room gets super linty and dusty, and why are there empty boxes of OxyClean in here! UGH.

I do not know how big or small your laundry area is. Ours is long, and has storage, although the storage areas have not been used well, and that door goes to the dog run.

I am going to work on organizing the reptile/snake items into plastic totes, go through my laundry soap container, throw away empties, figure out what is still in cardboard boxes (yes, I have not finished unpacking yet) and either donate the stuff or use it.

What you see is one of my washing machines (the top loading one), the orange pail is the diaper pail, the red bucket is for mopping but we put dirty kitchen towels in it, that oxyclean box is new, I found all of my kid's old glasses, the black pail has dirty diaper rags in it from cleaning up puppy pee. I have no idea what is in the giant storage cube, except the top right (oxyclean and laundry pods). And on top of that storage area you can see a spic and span bottle (filled with water, these are great spray bottles to reuse), dryer balls, a pink tie, poop baggies are in that box at the far end to clean up the dog run, some food storage buckets that are holding up a wedding bouquet for my cousin (it's drying, I will give it to her on her anniversary, or close to it, or maybe now). Not sure what else is up there,I am short, I will have to get the step ladder.

We have an entire week to clean the laundry room/area. Don't procrastinate, get it done.

October Challenge Week 1 : Oct 6 - 12

Now that fall has arrived. It's time for a different challenge.

This week's challenge is to use something from your garden. What did you have to mad dash harvest so the frost wouldn't ruin it? zucchini? onions? kale? berries?

We harvested the ripe strawberries, some kale and moved our tomato plant into the garage, under a grow light. I think it needs some heat too, so we might set up a small heat lamp as well.

What did you harvest and use? How did you use it or preserve it?

October Challenge: Will be posted

Hello Fall.. I was not wanting you to arrive yet. I was just starting to enjoy my visit with summer.

Yes, we will be having an October weekly challenge. It will be posted Saturday Oct 5, the week will go from Oct 6 to Oct 12, just like September.

September Challenge Week 4: Sept 22 - 28

Last week I was able to get a lot of bone broth canned and put up. Whew, 32 # of chicken backs, makes quite a bit of broth!

I also made some "beef bouillon".. ya it doesn't smell or taste like beef bouillon. You take 3 cups minced carrots 3 cups minced celery and 2 onions minced, and half a pound of ground beef. You put it in a pan and slow cook it for about 3 hours. THEN you blend it smooth. Guess what. It just tastes like mire poix. You can not tell there is any beef in it. The people that reviewed that recipe, they must have no taste buds! So I froze some, and dehydrated some. So now I have cooked pureed mire poix in my freezer and in a baggie in my pantry, ready to add to any soup or casserole I desire.

So that is what I did in week 3. I canned broth, and dehydrated mire poix (celery, onion and carrot).

We are now in the last week of September. I am very sad with how fast this year has gone, especially the summer. The family reunion and vacation was not long enough, my growing season for my garden was not long enough. It really is sad.

So this week, I am putting some freezer meals in my freezer. Yesterday we made a yummy butternut squash soup, carrot rolls, green salad and then a berry salad for dessert. It was yummy. So this butternut squash was 6 pounds!!  So I put some cut up in 1-inch cubes in a freezer bag, added 1 quart of homemade chicken broth,a bay leaf, onion, garlic, potato chunks and some rice, and froze it. I will season it after it cooks a bit. But this will be a nice easy meal to put in my crock pot on a Sunday when I am not feeling with it.

I am also assembling some other freezer meals for my crock pot (cp) and instant pot (IP) on Wednesday. These can be thawed then cooked or cooked from frozen and are amazing!

Canning this week, or dehydrating has not yet been decided. So much is coming on! I could do apple pie filling, peaches (almost gone), more pears, pear butter (delicious!), zucchini butter (YUMMY), tomatoes, pumpkin, banana squash or any winter squash.

Part of the September Challenge

I am finally getting to my chicken broth. This is the broth I mentioned the other day. I am not canning it until tomorrow morning. BUT, I got the chicken backs baked! Our favorite seasonings on baked chicken are salt, pepper and paprika. Super easy, and super yummy!

Yes, I ate some of the cooked skins, delicious!

Then I through some mire poix (carrots, onions and celery), bay leaves, turmeric, garlic, salt and kale into my crock pots; today I used curly, dinosaur and purple kales.

I used 2 crock pots, that is why you get 2 pictures.

 

 Really pretty right? What next? I tossed 14 backs on to the pile of veg. 

This almost looks like some kind of fancy salad. Now I added water to cover everything.

My goodness, my mouth is watering just looking at that deliciousness. Now we have to wait about 24 hours cooking this on low. Sometime in the morning tomorrow or the next day I will strain the liquid, then can it in my pressure canner. My next batch will be smaller and will be for working on my recovery.

Now if I needed this because I was sick, or using this as a medicine during recovery, I would NOT can this. I would strain it, then put it in the fridge. The collagen (gelatin) and minerals in this broth are amazing for helping one to heal, and the canning process kinda kills them.

UPDATE: Ok, just pulled these out of the canner.

September Challenge Week 3 : Sept 15 - 21

Well, I barely made it! But I did it!

I was able to can pears, and dehydrate pears, plus I got raw honey!

Aren't they pretty? I got 38 pints of pears, plus 4 quarts of dried pears. And I got 4 quarts and half a pint of raw honey! The pear chips are perfect and I am half tempted to go get some more pears and dry another 5 trays.

This week I am working on chicken bone broth. When I picked up my honey, I also picked up 32 pounds of chicken backs. First I bake them with seasoning, then I will pull off any meat and freeze it for a casserole. Next the chicken backs, and some onion, carrots, garlic, celery, ACV and a little salt will go into either my crock pot or my pressure cooker (cp for 24 hours on low, pc 3 hours on pressure of 2). Then I will strain the broth, and pressure can it. Seems like it is harder than it really is.

What will you be canning, or dehydrating to add to your food storage this week?

September Challenge: Week 2 Sept 8 - 14

I did it, even with surprise travel, kids starting school, and doing weird things like shopping.
Week 1

36 jars of different beans AND chicken bone broth! Whew!

Now for this next week. I am hoping to can some butternut squash and pears or peaches.

How about you? What are you canning or drying this week?

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE: Can 2 different things each week

So I am sitting in the passenger seat,  on our way to my kiddos wisdom teeth appointment. I was thinking..which is hard at 6am, and I decided a challenge must be met.

September's challenge? To can a minimum of 2 different items per week.  This won't be difficult as there is plenty to can:

apples: sauce,  pie filling, butter
pears
peaches
jams: peach jam,  pear butter, mixed fruit
chicken
beans: black,  white,  cannellini, garbanzo,  etc
broth
hamburger (yup, I like it,  so easy on a rushed night to grab a can of hamburger)
pumpkin: chunks only
beef
pork
fish (you may,  I won't be)
chili

I love canning,  all my jars filled with yummy stuff.  I have been bad with canning,  I was working,  plus grief,  depression and a nagging infection.  I have been dragging since the little guy and I were sick in December and January, now I know why. That darned nagging infection is now being dealt with,  as I didn't know I had it. No worries,  I am NOT contagious.

Do you accept the challenge? Get stuff in your jars!  What counts? Freezer jams, water bath canning and pressure canning, dehydrated fruit or veggies in a jar.

What does not count? Dry pasta in a jar,  rice in a jar,  dry beans in a jar,  store bought dried fruit in a jar.

If possible dehydrate some pears,  peaches,  apples,  bananas and fruit leather.  These are great in lunches,  just a couple pieces. And,  are pretty in a jar,  but keep them protected from light!

So there it is, the September challenge.  Who will join me? PLEASE leave a comment if you are joining in.

What to do today? Grind up some flour!

So I went to make some rolls for the family, and discovered I was out of flour. No worries, I usually grind my own grains to make my flour. So today I combined white hard wheat, kamut and barley. What grain mill am I using today? My FGM, aka Family Grain Mill. I got it from Pleasant Hill Grains, and it comes with some very neat attachments, but right now, I am making flour, so using the normal head.

 Because kamut is such a large grain, I decided to crack everything first.

After this I dial the setting to finest, and grind away.

As you can see this grinder is not as loud as my kitchen tec, and so I let the little one help me.

 

Next I will be putting this through my sieve and then grinding the germ again. Anything too big will be tossed to the worm bin, because those sharp edges break my gluten strands when making bread.