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.

Quinoa and Black Beans

No, not my recipe, but a fabulous one!!  This one was given to me by my friend Cortney who got it from Amanda Segeberg

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped or minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, RINSED & DRAINED and toasted
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels or lima beans
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained (or dried beans soaked and prepared ahead of time)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; saute' until transluscent/soft. Add cumin and cayenne pepper and cook one minute. Add quinoa, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Stir in corn or lima beans, black beans and cilantro.

Can be served immediately or refrigerated and served cold.

Black Bean Brownies with Medjool Dates

Ok, three variations!! So read all the way down. Both of these are pretty low in fat, HIGH in fiber and protein!!  We love all of the black bean brownie recipes.  NOTE: you can use pinto beans or white beans instead!!!! 

Variation #1:

3 eggs

1 cup medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 TBS oil or melted butter
1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 8x8 inch pan.
In food processor, place dates, black beans and oil/butter and puree until smooth.
Add baking soda, vanilla and cocoa powder and again puree until completely smooth.
Allow food processor to blend for 3 to 5 minutes without stopping to emulsify.
Add eggs and mix well.
Pour batter into greased baking pan. Bake until slightly firm on top and edges pull away from the sides of the pan or toothpick comes out of center mostly clean (about 30 minutes).
Allow to cool and then frost as desired.


Variation #2 (lower fat):
 
3 eggs

15 medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 TBS oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor, chop dates, oil and black beans until smooth.
Add baking soda, cocoa, vanilla, and applesauce. Puree until smooth, allow processor to run for 3 to 5 minutes with out stopping.
Add eggs and mix well.
Pour batter into greased 8x8 pan and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Frost as desired when cool.
Makes 16.

Variation #3 (MY FAVORITE, BESIDES ORIGINAL)

3 eggs
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 tsp.- TBS real vanilla
1/2 cup baking cocoa
3 TBS oil
1/2 tsp baking soda OR powder
Dates
Granulated sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Using a 3/4 cup, fill it half way with chopped pitted dates, then fill the rest of the way with sugar. Place everything in the blender or food processor, EXCEPT chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. Add chips and blend just until they are broken up. Pour into greases 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost when cooled.

Frosting #1 : Better Crocker Fudge Frosting (cut in half for bean brownies above!!!!)


1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk (cow, goat, rice, coconut, almond... whatever kind you like)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon agave nectar OR corn syrup
dash of salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix granulated sugar and cocoa in 2-qt. saucepan. Stir in milk, butter, agave nectar or corn syrup and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over brownies. Let cool.

Frosting #2:

1/3 to 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 to 4 TBS whipping cream

Combine and melt slowly. Pour over brownies and let set up for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Black Bean Brownies

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 eggs
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla (I never measure vanilla.. I just pour some in)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease 8x8 square baking dish
Put all ingredients except chocolate chips in blender. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate chips and blend just a little to break them up a tiny bit.
Bake in preheated oven on middle rack until the top is dry and edges start to pull away from pan, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Frost with favorite frosting.

Frosting #1 : Better Crocker Fudge Frosting (cut in half for bean brownies above!!!!)


1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk (cow, goat, rice, almond, coconut... whatever kind you like)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon agave nectar OR corn syrup
dash of salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix granulated sugar and cocoa in 2-qt. saucepan. Stir in milk, butter, agave nectar or corn syrup and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over brownies. Let cool.

Frosting #2:

1/3 to 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 to 4 TBS whipping cream

Combine and melt slowly. Pour over brownies and let set up for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Crock Pot Challenge Week 2

Wow.. second week with some yummy stuff!!!  Again no pictures... I promise I will post them when I take them!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken breast (boneless skinless)
Ham, sliced, cut up or cubed
Carmelized onions and garlic
Thick cream of chicken soup or white sauce (homemade)
Shredded swiss cheese

Place chicken in bottom of crock, top with ham, then onions and garlic. Spread white sauce or cream of soup over meat. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 7 hours. IF frozen chicken used, cook on high. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in swiss cheese (OR reserve and serve over each serving).

Chicken with Beans and cream sauce

4 - 5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1 (15-ounce) jar salsa, any kind you like
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained *****
1 (8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese

Place frozen chicken in bottom of crock pot. Pour everything else over the top, EXCEPT cheese!! Cook on high 4 hours or low 7 to 8 hours or until chicken is done. Place brick of cream cheese on top and replace lid, let sit for about 30 minutes until ready to serve. Stir cheese into the rest of sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
*****Obviously due to allergies, we did NOT use corn, and we used home made salsa, and homecanned beans. We also used a lot less cream cheese, and used sour cream for those who needed more creaminess.

Crock Pot Apple Cheesecake

BUT we used blueberries instead. I cooked them with some lemon juice and a splash of vanilla to make a compote of sorts. I also stirred in a teaspoon or two of butter at the end to make the blueberry sauce really sing.  So instead of using apple pie filling (homemade of course) I used the home made blueberry sauce.  So darn good!!!!!

Crock Pot Mystery Meat Meal
Potatoes, peeled, large cubes (raw)
1/2 onion, diced
Meat, cooked mystery meat from freezer
Chicken stock
Pepper

Cook on low for 4 hours- 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Ok, so yes this was a guess.. ha ha .. I wasn't sure if it was pork roast, roast beef or what.. It turned out to be roast beef that I had smoked during the summer. It was so yummy. So this proves you can throw almost any good food in the crock pot and end up with a winner. Granted Bo and Princess didn't eat much of it, they don't care for meat and potatoes (weirdos), but everyone else loved it.

So guess what happens when you fill your crock pot 3 or more times in a week? You only "cook" 3 times a week, and reheat the rest !!!!  Tonight we are having leftovers, and we will be having them until I have room in my fridge. And I promised myself some cod this week, or smoked salmon.. I am trying to figure something I can do for fish in the crock pot.

I love my crock pots!!!  Tomorrow mornings breakfast will be porridge in the crock pot, I can't wait!!! I love porridge in the crock pot!  BUT, this will be made most likely dairy free so Peaches can have some too.. so I will make some rice/coconut milk tonight too. mmmmm good.

Hillbilly Housewife Award Winning Chili

This recipe is amazing. And because the Hillbilly Housewife is so bogged down with hundreds of emails daily, I am simply going to put a link here for you to go to her site for the recipe instead of waiting weeks for permission to put it here on my blog. This is the one I used for activity days daddy daughter western dinner, and the one I took to the RS meeting where crock pot recipes were brought..

My changes to HH's recipe:

I used HOT Italian sausage (instead of Jimmy Dean)
NO celery 
6 cloves garlic (you can never have enough)
1 TBS cayenne (PLENTY)
1 TBS chili powder (WHOA!!!)
1 can stewed italian and 1 can stewed mexican tomatoes, drained into crock pot and I chopped the tomatoes up more.
1 can pinto beans and 1 can canellini or black beans 2 HOURS before serving (so the pintos burst and make the chili thicker)
I also added water!!

End of summer coming soon!

You may have noticed that the temperatures aren't high, and it isn't staying light as long in the evenings.  I am rather bummed about this. I really do love the summer time. So many fun adventures to have. So much to get done. Anyway, I have been busy with canning, drying and children.. of course.. LOL

Today I went to DK market, winco and Foley's.

DK Market:

bartlet pears $0.49/#
apples $0.59/# to $0.89/#
peaches and nectarines were under a dollar a pound, sorry I didn't really notice as I wasn't looking for those.

Winco:
apples from $0.99/# and up
walla walla sweets 5#/ $3.98
rolled oats and quick oats $10.70/25# bag
pinto beans $15.35/ 25 # bag

Foley's:
gravenstein apples $9.95/ 20# box
golden apples in 20# boxes, I forget the price
canning tomatoes too!

Just a heads up.. good luck finding roma's for canning, they have had a terrible season.

Red Bean and Quinoa Chili

1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained (also can use black beans or cannelini beans which are white kidney beans)

1 TBS olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 tsp salt

2 large carrots, washed and shredded (on a cheese grater)

1 green pepper, chopped (I don't use this do to allergy)

1 red pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne ( I didn't have any so I used a dash or two of chili powder )

1/4 tsp cinnamon ( I use only 1/8 tsp.)

2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water for about 5 to 10 minutes (in a fine mesh sieve) & drained

1 cup frozen corn (OMITTED due to MAJOR ALLERGY)

2 cups tomato sauce

1 to 4 cups water (recipe calls for 1 but I usually end up adding more sometimes up to 4 or 5 cups water total)

Heat oil in stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, and saute' until tender. Add salt, garlic, carrots, peppers and spices; saute' for 5 -10 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce, and water. Simmer together 20 minutes. Add beans to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes.

Makes 6-8 (1 cup) servings    We usually serve this with Jaslyn Bread (our version of corn bread) and salad.

Lori's Hummus Recipe

1 can Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans – drained

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon – Tahini paste

2 tsp – Badia Complete Seasoning – it is a blend of salt, garlic, onions and parsley.

1 tsp – dry crushed red peppers (more if you like it spicy!)

Blend in blender or food processor & serve with pita or tortilla chips. We also have this with toast.

ENJOY!

*Badia Complete Seasoning is not something I have looked for locally yet. So we use Cajun Bayou Seasoning by McCormick. IF and when I find Badia, I will let you know where to get it. The taste is amazing.

Medically Compromised

Ok, I was going to write this huge article on the medicine world, the natural meds and herbology and natural foods. But my friend Kellene must have been reading my mind as she posted just before I got online! And her article is on almost all I was going to talk about. So here is Kellene's article. I am going to add to it it below, but please read her article first! Or mine might not make much sense.. Also, check out these awesome articles on Evaluating what your family eats and Raise Healthy Eaters blog. VERY good info!!

Ok, so now that you have read Kellene's article, I will go forward on my thoughts on this subject. First off, THANK YOU Kellene for writing what you have, and helping me with this. ok, ok, I'll get to it.. if I remember what I am writing about.. Ha HA.. ya it's been one of those days.

I am currently on a ton of herbs, vitamins and  meds.. Why?...
I went in for my yearly exam in July 2009. I hate these exams.  Four days later my doctor calls and wants me in immediately for more blood work.. I find out later it's because I have super low Red Blood Count and VERY iron poor blood, ok, not just iron poor, they couldn't find any.. AT ALL! In fact they wanted me to have a blood transfusion!! But my doctor knows me so well, she knew I wouldn't do that, so I am on some major iron supplements. Red blood cells are supposed to be a beautiful rich red, very plump circulars and shiny!..  Mine were, um, light pink, tiny and shriveled. They couldn't believe I could even get out of bed! 

Next, my white blood count was TOO LOW! My doctor wanted me in the hospital for a blood transfusion for the red blood cells, and wanted me in quarantine so I didn't catch any illnesses. She truly thought if my kids so much as sneezed I would get super sick and die.
Well, I didn't go to hospital, I didn't get a transfusion, and I didn't get super sick when my kids came down with influenza. Infact, I just got more tired is all. ok, exhausted!  I was in bed more than I was out, but I had 4 kids in bed with me, and I was the only one not sick with flu.

They still haven't figured out where I am bleeding to cause such a low blood count, but I finally after 6 months have my ferritin (iron stores) up to 2..WOO HOO A whoppin 2 !!  That's more than 0. But still you'd think it'd be higher.

Herbs I take??? lots!!  Iron complex (from my doctor!!), RRL (red raspberry leaf tea), cranberry (kidney infection that I have been dealing with since December '09), Adrenal support herbs, GSE (grapefruit seed extract) which is AMAZING!!!, Redmond Clay (to clean out buggies and toxins), Melatonin (to help me get to sleep as I don't very well), OXYGEN (for migraines, yes I include this in my HERBS as it is ALL NATURAL).

Meds: Synthroid for low thyroid
Vitamins: Multivitamin;  magnesium ; calcium; Ester-C

The hard part is trying to eat between all this stuff!  My goodness. So what to eat?  Well, as the WONDERFUL AWESOME IN YOUR FACE HONEST ABOUT FOOD  JAMIE OLIVER says, You are what you eat!! So what do I eat? Well, most of it is made at home from scratch. Whole Wheat bread (NO AP flour in it!!); avocados (we eat them like candy over here!); fruits and veggies; pastas, spuds, rice, homemade tortillas, meat, beans, beans, beans, quinoa, millet, beans, and um BEANS!! 
Yes I love LOVE LOVE beans!!!!  pinto, black, navy, lima, baby lima, cranberry, adzuki, anasazi, black-eyed, split green peas, lentils, etc.. Legumes are much loved here. Mostly by Dev and I. BUT everyone eats them! If I make taco soup or chili I make Peach's bread (millet bread! tastes better than nasty corn bread!) .  If I roast a whole chicken, I serve it with rice or spuds, salad. If I make baked lentils, I serve it with rice and whole wheat tortillas and toppings. Split pea soup gets honored with fresh french bread (ya, AP flour there owell...) and salad.  BBQ limas get served with roasted chicken and salad.  We do have desserts, but we limit them and what they are. Sometimes dessert is apples or oranges.

Brigham Young told us to eat wise. He warned us that certain foods would be detrimental to our health. We have been advised many times to eat veggies, fruits whole grains, and sparingly - meat. We do that here. I heard in California that a certain town has made it so you have to have a meatless day. I just laughed, how are they going to enforce that one? good luck. We do not eat meat daily, well unless you count eggs, but I am sorry we don't.. eggs are eggs. not a muscle (meat). I completely believe the food pyramid to be leading our country to obesity. I'm sorry but white rice and white bread are NOT healthy! They are pure starch and when they hit your saliva, become sugar! And I'm sorry but 11 servings of grains a day DOES NOT MEAN processed grains!! It means WHOLE GRAINS! Processed means turned into flour.

Ok, so what does food have to do with health? EVERYTHING! We did an experiment here. We served cold cereal that was corn free to our kids for a week. Guess what happened? Do you know? They got sick! Between the diarhea and other things it just isn't worth it! What do we do for breakfast? oatmeal, cream of wheat, eggs and toast, egg burritos, toast and tea, fruits, yogurt, granola, muffins, pancakes, waffles, egg mommuffins, etc.. all cooked at home. Burritos are made from just ground whole wheat flour or oat flour. Granola, again made at home. No we don't do juice often, it's just sugar and the fiber from a whole orange is better for them than a large glass of OJ. Plus it's better on their blood sugars.
Lunch: chicken salad sandwiches, or on lettuce; lettuce wraps; leftover soups; fruits, yogurt, veggie sticks, leftover dinner stuff; PBJ, stir fries, quesadillas...
It does matter what you eat. Eating better will improve your health. Sure it's not a fix all, but taking some or all of the processed foods out of your diet will help you a ton!

What about fats????  Margarine is not permitted in my home. for any reason. Why? Well, I have a problem with eating something that is ONLY ONE molecule different from plastic!!  Plus it is made with soy and corn, both of which we don't eat here. Unless you are a woman going through menopause, you shouldn't eat soy very often.  Why? VERY EXTREMLY high in estrogen. Infact they have found some children developing early due to soy! Like what? how about a 3 year old with breasts (both girls AND boys!!) and  5 to 8 year old girls with their monthly?!  Due to intake of soy!
Ok, so good oils:
Grapeseed oil, great to cook with, can withstand high heat
Olive oil, more for salads, high heat can actually make it toxic!
Canola oil, um ok, if you have to (we do as it's cheap), but rapeseed where they get canola poisons the ground
Avocado oil, if you can afford it, use wisely! This amazing oil is $$$$ but so yummy for you
Hazelnut or Almond oil, if no nut allergies is again $$$$ but very yummy
Coconut oil, Wow, yummy! good for you, they make different grades for cooking and baking
Palm Oil, I use palm oil shortening. It is solid at room temp, NOT hydrogenated, can be used instead of crisco.

I know there are more oils out there, but honestly I have only used the ones above. And the $$$$ I only bought once. What's in my pantry? Honestly? Grapeseed oil, olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm Oil Shortening, and Canola. I hate using canola, but right now my budget says I have to.

Well this has gotten long!!!  So do this for me. Change the way you eat, eat better.  Also, make sure you are taking your meds, herbs, vitamins correctly and at the right times!!  You know so they aren't cancelling eachother out like taking calcium and iron together, might as well throw both in the trash as your body will absorb nothing!  Take Vitamin C, or drink a high vitamin C drink with your calcium and iron to absorb them better!  So now that your butt is numb from sitting here reading this long post, get up, stretch, take a walk while chewing on some celery or carrots, and think about all this info.. Hopefully you didn't get information constipation, I hate that!

Rosemary Red Soup

One of my favorite springtime recipes!

Rosemary Red Soup
3 - 4 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
2 beets, peeled & chopped *
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 TBS fresh rosemary or 2 tsp. dried**
1 TBS fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried
1 cup dried red lentils, checked for rocks or debri
2 bay leaves
6 cups water or stock

Heat oil in soup pot; add onion and saute' until soft. Add carrots and beets; saute a few minutes more. Finely chop or mince rosemary and oregano. Wash and drain lentils. Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves and water to onion mix; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Pure soup in blender or processor. Gently reheat before serving
* I roast my beets first and depending on size will sometimes use up to 4.
** We prefer FRESH herbs .. better flavor

Catch up from January and half of February

Hi this is info minus the sales info as they are now expired.  I'll start from the first email. :)  Lot's of info!!  Lisa

1.20 - 1.26.10

Hello All,

I am sorry I am late with this. This is just to inform you of some good deals at stores around us. I am late due to sick kids, sorry. Hopefully next weeks email will be better :)

 Not everyone knows of the prices of things at all stores, but I will do my best ;) I do not get to all the stores EVERY week. And I only go to Safeway, QFC, Albertson's and Fred Meyer if there is something that is a really good deal. Otherwise I mostly stick to Costco, Winco and DK.

This is not for you to run out and buy things you don't need, use, or eat. This is to inform you of things so you can choose what you may want to pick up during an errand or during normal shopping. The last 2 weeks saw some excellent prices on chicken at QFC, but not this week.. bummer.

Seed Catalogues:  Now is the time to order your free seed catalogues online. Many are already arriving in mailboxes. We tend to privilege Territorial Seed Company, Raintree Nursery, Shumways, Jung, and Johnny’s Seeds because they have seeds that work in our area.

I will eventually also be letting you know of prices for good deals at these stores:

Albertsons (there is one in Eastgate and also in Fairwood)

Champion Grocer (in the warehouses by the Park and Ride)

Costco  (I only go in once or twice a month, but somethings are cheaper here. sometimes.)

DK Market (behind walmart in renton)

Dollar Tree (Covington)  Where EVERYTHING is a dollar :)

Fred Meyer (they're sales are from Sundays through the next Saturday, so it throws me off sometimes. I will try to get FM sales out to you by Monday!)

PCC

QFC

Safeway

Walmart

Winco (usually they beat all the ads for albertsons, safeway, QFC and any other competition, even if only by a penny).

Champion Grocer:

This is where I get a lot of my grains. Jim will give you a quote on anything he can get in.

Costco:

Rice Dream $16/case

Butter

whole chickens

Dollar Tree:

Crest

Aquafresh

Colgate

Aim

Pepsodent

Floss

Dial Basics hypoallergenic soap 3 pack

Pear's Natural transparent soap

toothpastes

foil pans in 2 and 3 packs

canned goods

dial gold 2 pack

Trim fingernail clippers with emery boards

Trim toe nail clippers

Comet 25oz.

Rubbermaid take alongs 2-count

toothbrushes (assorted)

1.24 - 1.30.10

Good Sabbath to you all!  Today is the day Fred Meyer ads come out. Also I wanted to share some of our favorite things to eat using our food storage. I also have some food prices for costco, but I will be putting that into a word document and sending it out, and I will update prices I hope monthly. Also, I hope to soon also have Winco prices for you, as they do not do sales, they just try to price things lower than the competition. There are some good prices this time from Freddies !! 

Also, if you look in our ward cookbook that the Giffords help make, you will find some of my recipes. But one we use VERY often is the Oatmeal Muffin recipe (not sure if it is under my or Shari's name) but we use this ALOT.  It is a favorite. The flavor is soft and the crumb is delicate.

ALSO, I am working on possibly doing a Pressure Cooker Class, problem is,I don't want to use the church as their stoves haven't been very reliable for me. I will talk with Russ and see when I can do it here. When I do the classes, they will be small, most likely 4 to 8 people. Why? Space. I have a small house. I think my canners are bigger than the bedrooms! I will also be doing a simple water bath class too. Canning is fun for me. I love it.  I also love how I can control what is going into my food .  IF there is an interest for either of these canner classes please email me to let me know. There will most likely be a small fee as you take home some of what we can.

I am also planning a food dehydration class. Simple things the first time like apples and pears. Maybe fruit leather, although I don't like to make it and my kids won't eat it.  But again, I need to know that there is an interest.  I might talk to my mom and see if she will help me if there is an interest in fruit leather as hers is amazing and the only one we all like :)

What to add to your storage this week??   SOAP.... the soap you use to wash your body. IF you can get a 3 month supply that is great.. IF you can afford to get a 6 month to 12 month supply AWESOME!!  For my family of 9, we use only 3 bars a month! So I go to Dollar Tree in Covington and I stock up on our body soaps there. I can get a year supply for between 12 to 18 dollars, I can only use certain soaps because of allergies, so this is not bad.  Also, Costco carries large packs of bar soap.  I will get those prices to you in the next day or two.

1.27 - 2.2.10

Well Hello!! I have been trying ALL day to get this written. For some reason life came up and I didn't get to the computer. Well, it's ok, the bread is yummy and the rice pudding wonderful!  Have a few things here to show you from a couple stores, some recipes, and some thoughts.  OH so you know, all the recipes I share are tried and true. If I don't like them or Devon doesn't like them, we don't share them. I have very picky kids and I'll tell you, these are good recipes! Although I understand everyone has different tastes, and I do use some things that weren't common a few years ago (quinoa, pronounced  keen- wha .. and millet, yup the stuff they put in the bird cages.. both of these are SUPER high in protein).  We use our food storage daily, as we eat what we store. Out of my food storage this week we have used: 1 jar homecanned turkey, 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 2 pounds spaghetti noodles, 2 cups potato pearls, 1 jar apple butter, 2 jars strawberry jam, 18 pounds of hard white wheat, 3 pounds granulated sugar, 2 pounds brown sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 4 bouillon cubes, 2 pints home canned applesauce, 10 pounds all-purpose flour, 13 pounds oatmeal, 3 pounds calrose rice, 1 LARGE jar JIF (from costco), 1 cup shortening, 1/2 gallon canola oil, 4 pounds butter, 3 pounds chocolate chips, 3 TBS cinnamon, 1 TBS nutmeg, 1 TBS quinoa powder, 2 pieces crystallized ginger, 2 cans refried beans, 2 pounds cheddar, 2 pounds chicken breast, 5 TBS yeast, 2 quarts rice milk, 5 herbal tea bags, 1 cup hot cocoa mix..  It isn't hard to do. 

Save money when you grocery shop, meal plan and make a list!

Champion:

I sent out a separate email for some of the deals there. Also had hours listed on it.

Costco:

Rice Dream $16/case

Whole chicken (raw, 2 pack) $0.99 /#

Country-style pork ribs $1.99 /#

Kirkland BUTTER $6.85 / four pounds ($1.71/#)

Tillamook Cheddar  2.5 pound loaf $6.59     OR   5 pound loaf $11.69

Mozzarella 2-pound brick $4.69

String cheese  (60 oz  or 3.75 pounds)  $10.39

American Cheese $10.49

Vanilla (I think, I forgot) $6 or about.. for 16 ounces!!! gluten free!!

Red Star Yeast (2 lb.) $3 or $4

Dollar Tree:

Crest

Aquafresh

Colgate

Aim

Pepsodent

Floss

Dial Basics hypoallergenic soap 3 pack

Pear's Natural transparent soap

toothpastes

foil pans in 2 and 3 packs

canned goods

dial gold 2 pack

Trim fingernail clippers with emery boards

Trim toe nail clippers

Comet 25oz.

Rubbermaid take alongs 2-count

toothbrushes (assorted)

WinCo:

25# bag oatmeal (regular or quick) $10

 I'm sorry I haven't gotten the Costco price list done yet. Or the one for Winco.  I will tell you though that Winco and DK market beat the pants off Albertson's, Fred Meyer, Safeway (SFWY) and QFC in produce prices. Not sure if they will beat Freddie's navel orange price though, and boy are they sweet!!  We bought 21 pounds.. yes that is correct!! and we will be getting more before the week is over. They are so juicy and sweet you don't want to stop with just eating one! 

TIPS: Organize your pantry by dates. Farthest date out is the farthest date back in the pantry.. If something is dated for  April 2010, something else March 2010.. obviously you should use the march one first so put it in front of the april one.  ALSO, I know you have heard this before, but if you don't use the food item, even if it's a good deal don't buy it; It will just be wasted and all you did was waste money. Don't buy it if you don't like it, won't use it, never eat it.  Store what you eat and eat when you store. Do you store grains? Do you have a grain mill?  No reason to store a grain you won't use with out the proper tools!   By the way, do you  have a good can opener? Bottle opener? vegetable peeler? It's always canning season at our house, BUT I know I need 5 new vegetable peelers (yes 5 actually closer to 8 or 9, one for each kitchen helper). I love my can opener, it's a Swing-A-Way.. BEST one on the market, they carry them at Target, they used to have 2 sizes available but I'm not sure if that is still the case. I have 2 and need another (I'm sure one will be disappearing soon to the camping gear).

Food storage item for this week:   BEANS that you and your family enjoy.  split pea, garbanzo, adzuki, kidney, black, white, lentils.. Whether is it dry, canned or even powdered.. some great deals from some stores on canned beans right now. Don't know where to get something in bulk, email me. Pretty sure I have an idea.

IF you have any questions on where to get something, how to use a food item, how to bake, need a recipe, how to store, how to shop, how to make a meal plan etc.. anything please send me an email!   Preparedness is not just food!!  It's also clothing, communication (networking and friendships), travel, heat source, cooking sources, water, consumables (soaps, toilet paper, lotions)... Don't be afraid to ask, no such things as a dumb question. If I don't know, I will try to find out for you.   Thank you!! Have a great few days!

 Please forgive mistakes, it's late :)

1.31 - 2.6-10

 

Hello Everyone and Good Sabbath to you.

Freddies is letting me down this week. Not much going on there. QFC has them beat with a couple things, but I will let you know the best price for this store, previous emails for other stores, and you can decide where to go. Remember, do not make a special trip to the store to get a sale item, this is a waste of your time and gas! (time and gas = money). 

Also, I stopped into Champion this week, and goodness, I almost cried!  They had Kettle Chips Sour cream and onion for $1.00 per bag!  AND my favorite Montana Mills Prairie Gold (hard spring WHITE wheat) for only $26.50 per bag! He also had Montana Mills Chief Bronze for the same price (this is the wheat I use for bread).

For those of you who have not been to this store, let me forewarn you, this is a "Mom 'n' Pop" type operation. Nothing they carry needs refrigeration. Bulk items available!  Jim, and his mom run this store and it has been in Issaquah near 10 years or more!  And before that they were in Factoria. Jim is AWESOME!! (He was in an accident a few years ago and broke his jaw, he had to relearn to talk. So it seems like he isn't moving his mouth much to talk, well, because he isn't. BUT this man is truly a go getter!) I have been ordering my wheat from him for 3 years now. Remember I said mom and pop store, well, they remember you. AND they carry your groceries out to your car and put them in your car for you! It feels like a nice lil old town store. I love them. I will list some of the things they carry in this email as well, not with prices though, sorry I don't have a current list of prices, but Jim will get it for me no problem.

OH, by the way, did you fix your pantry ???  hmmmmm, I have been busy since Friday rearranging my kitchen. Jaslyn and I were a bit naive thinking we could start this at 8:30 am and be done by 2pm. We were going to get everything rearranged, then sweep and mop before anyone got home from school.... guess what?  By 3pm, we were done, but the project wasn't. Of course, I decided to go through EVERY cupboard and clean it out, and move things to other places and get rid of things I don't ever use, or haven't used. Didn't get rid of much. Why did I do this? Because I wasn't sure what I had anymore in my cupboards. Spices, sugars, condiments, herbs.. no idea. Infact, while cleaning one cupboard I found a jar of cloves that I knew I had but couldn't find when I was looking for them. I also found 3 jars of minced onions, 3 jars of garlic powder, 2 jars of onion powder, one jar of rubbed sage, celery seed (hurrah for coleslaw!), the last of my peppercorns (UH OH), 3 jars of wheat (yes, I ran out of white buckets so I used my canning jars) and some crystallized ginger. I also found a bag full of cinnamon to put into my large jar. Does this make sense to you? Probly not, unless you knew that I buy ALL of my herbs and spices in BULK at Winco or Champion.  I go through a lot of spices because I cook almost everything from scratch.

Ok.. I guess I should stop rambling. I have been rather busy in  my kitchen the last few days, and I am currently enjoying the wonderful smell of fresh granola (currently cooling) which is a surprise breakfast treat for the kids. OH, word of warning about Costco or Kirkland brand mac and cheese.. just don't buy it, turn away, run away, hide from it.. NASTY NASTY NASTINESS.. Thought we'd give it a try.. I gagged, Evelyn gagged, Denver gagged.. it went back the next day!

Sometimes buying at Costco is NOT a good deal, so keep an eye on that. Just because it's bulk doesn't make it a deal, remember grocery stores will sometimes have sales on Campbells and you can get them from $0.40 to $1.00 per can.. Just keep an eye out. I don't use campbell's as it is bad for Jaslyn, but Russ has it for when he is on his own for lunch. Or when I am sick in bed (quite often, but he only uses it for himself). Also, the garlic, onions and potatoes can sometimes be good prices, if you can't eat that much, see if someone will split a bag with you, or a couple of couples. You never know who else can not eat 20# of spuds! or 3# of garlic 

REMEMBER, Fred Meyer and Walmart sales are from Sun to Sat. Everyone else is Wed to Tues. Kind of a pain in the neck. SO, if you want that good whole chicken from QFC that was only $0.88/ pound, you have until midnight on Tuesday! Also just because it says 10/$10 at safeway (SFWY) doesn't mean you have to buy 10. Although if it is something you will eat, check the dates when you are buying it, will you use that much or more in a year or before the expiration date?? Think yearly, not weekly or monthly. IF we ate tuna, 10 cans would be good for 5 to 10 months for us. But we don't, we can and eat our own chicken :)  What about other conveniences?? Spices? IF you are looking to save money, sometimes making things from scratch is cheaper than buying convenience foods.

******************************************************CSA*********************************************

What is that? It is kind of like a farm co-op. You pay a monthly fee, and you can get 1 to 4 boxes of farm fresh produce either you pick up in town or have delivered right to your door!  GREAT STUFF.. here is the link to check it out. It is a little expensive sometimes, but it is the same great stuff you can get at the farmer's market. I have used this farm and love what they grow. And you can tell them what things you might not want like brussel sprouts or apples and what not. I ask only for stuff they grow on their farm. I love their beets and salad mixes. I am only offering this as many people don't know about it. You can call them with any questions. Or you can wait until the farmer's markets start up and check them out. They are at the Pickering Barn Parking  with other farm vendors (during Farmer's market which isn't yet). Their farm is in the Snoqualmie Valley.

http://www.fullcirclefarm.com

*****************************************************************************************************

Champion:

Kettle Chips (sour cream and onion) $1.00 each  (until supplies last)

Breakfast cookies (assorted flavors) 4/$1.00  (until supplies last)

Hard Red Spring Wheat (for bread)

Soft white wheat (cookies, muffins, no yeast things, also used for pastry flour)

Hard White Wheat (breads)

Split peas

Garbanzo beans (DRY)

Rice(s)

Lentils

Oats

Flours

Sugars

Spices

Canned goods

Juices

Soaps

BULK items (from 3/4 pound to 50 pounds!)

Candies

vitamins

baby items

pet foods (occasionally)

crackers

flaked grains (triticale, barley, rye, oats, wheats)

condiments

honey

jam

baking supplies

flavorings

homeopathic

nuts (roasted, salted, raw)

dried fruits

fruit logs

GLUTEN FREE section!!  AND MORE!!

Costco:

ground turkey $2.29/#

butter (kirkland, in the BOX so you get 4 cubes per box, and 4 boxes per pkg)  $6.85 for 4 pounds (only $1.71/#)

Rice Dream $16/case

Bananas $1.32/ 3 pounds

Sweet onions 5#/ $5

Tillamook Cheddar two and half pounds $6.59  and five pounds $11.69

Mozzarella two pound loaf $4.69

Garlic 3#/ 5$

EGGS: 24 ct = $2.99 ($1.50 doz.) OR 5 doz (60 ct) $6.59 ($1.32 doz) 

Vanilla $6.49 (16 fl. oz)

Campbells: chicken $6.49 (12 cans); tomato $9.99 (12 cans); cream of mushroom $9.99 (12 cans)

Kraft Parmesan $ 9.75 (16 oz)

JIF creamy PB $7.99 / (2) 48 oz.

Adams crunchy PB $6.99 / 80 oz

Mission Flour Tortillas $4.99 / 40ct (burrito size)

Evaporated milk $10.89/ 12 cans (12 fl. oz) = $0.91 each

What to add to your storage this week??? TOOTHPASTE.. ya know how aggravating it is to wake up to brush your teeth and the tube has been squeezed dry by one of your seminary students??!!!  grrr, and then they didn't replace it.... oh wait, my fault I didn't have any in stock. Watch for sales, but I know for a fact Dollar tree has some and it is only $1.00/tube.  Not the largest tube on the block, but it isn't the trial size. We have found that the large tubes are too hard to handle for littles and I don't like how big they are. take up too much room .. and they get really messy. But usually the price per ounce is still a good buy at Dollar Tree.

OOPS, again it's late.. why?? I have no idea. But please forgive spelling mistakes.. have a good couple of days!