Fireproof

It's been a week since DH and I saw Fireproof with my parents. I can't stop thinking about it. The ideas, the thoughts, the work. The miracles.

I bought the Love Dare book for DH and I to do together but then we decided it wasn't for couples but since have changed our minds.

Can I just say if you haven't seen this movie that you MUST!

Here is an interview with Kirk Cameron that is worth reading. He's the main actor in it and you'll remember him from Growing Pains...if you're old enough, that is!

If you want to see some clips from the movie, go here. I still can't figure out how to make a video show here from youtube - sorry. :(

Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Are any of you going to do the 40 day Love Dare? We are. Be sure to Fireproof Your Marriage!

Update - here's another couple doing the Love Dare. I'd love to add a link if you are, let me know!

Sunday Supersize It! Foodwaste Confessional

I signed up for the Food Reduction Challenge and I'm pleased to report a GREAT first week!!!

Monday we had leftovers from Potluck and Superbowl. No waste.

Tuesday - we ate supper at my parent's house after my day from the bad place. She made the best comfort food Biscuits and Hamburger Gravy!!! We ate all the biscuits and eggs and drank all the O.J. and what little gravy was left, she sent home with us and we ate it for lunch on bread the next day - delicious! No waste.

Wednesday - Soup made with Potlcuk and Superbowl leftovers. No waste! Superbowl and Potluck food almost gone!

Thursday - Pulled Pork (from Superbowl) enchiladas, Spanish rice and lentil/blackbean beans. Put leftover enchiladas, rice and beans to be used for future lunches. No waste! (Pulled pork is gone, now. That was the last of the Potluck and Superbowl food!!!)

Friday - lunch was leftover enchiladas, rice and beans.

I think I finally embarassed my husband last week. We went out to dinner before a basketball game. There was a special that we could get to feed all 4 of us, deluxe fajitas. So, DH and my parents and I ordered that to share. Oh my! TONS of food on the hot plate! We ate til we were full and all the meat was gone. There were still many grilled delicious veggies on the plate.... so I asked for a "doggy bag." Not for Zorro, but for us! I put all the leftover rice, beans, salsa and veggies in the container and I really think DH was caught a little off guard. They couldn't fathom what I would do with that food..... next night - SOUP! I mixed up some vegetable broth and pureed the veggies. Then I added in the rice and viola! supper for pennies!!!! He knew what it was, liked it and so did everyone else!!! Score! And NO WASTE!!!

Friday supper - spicy shrimp and pasta for date night. Ate all the shrimp had pasta left over. Saved it for...

Saturday Breakfast - DH's delicious pancakes - leftover pancakes saved.

Saturday Lunch - PB&J pancake roll-ups! Creative and delicious!!! NO WASTE!

Supper - Made some extra pasta to make a complete meal, added last night's noodles to the batch, topped with Alfredo Sauce - YUMMY! No waste!!!

I am loving this challenge! We're are so much aware now and I've really made an extra effort not to throw food out! The children are more aware, too! YEAH!

I don't have a picture but one day Javi didn't eat all his oatmeal and there's a few spoonfulls that went to the worms. The other morning though, when the two little boys didn't eat all that I had given them, I saved it the fridge and they'll eat it in morning for breakfast. ;)

Great first week!!!! Thanks!

Comfort Food

Tuesday was not a good day. My mother took pity upon us and made me, okay us, a comfort food meal. I choose Biscuits and Hamburger Gravy! She hasn't cooked like this on a regular basis since her kids were at home and the boys were there to "put away food." My dad does NOT to eat this kind of food as he is uh.... "on a diet." Okay, he's not on a diet but perhaps he should "watch what he eats." (LOVE YA, DAD!!! We just wantcha around for a LONG LONG LONG time!!!!!)

Anyway, my Mom came through and ended my day delightfully:

Fluffy, from scratch, biscuits for us to devour!!!

And my favorite, HAMBURGER gravy. I have always preferred hamburger gravy over sausage - always!!!

And the bowl that the gravy is in is called: "The Gravy Bowl." You may think that fairly un-original but that's just what it is. This gravy bowl was used by my Grandma (Mom's mom) for GRAVY. And it's used by my Mom for GRAVY and I know that someday, years and years from now, I will have it in my kitchen to serve GRAVY in. (Unless one of my brother's get it, I guess...) Anyways, it doesn't matter how much gravy you need to serve, you serve it in this bowl and then just refil the bowl. That's the way it's always been and there is no need to change it generations later.

Thanks, Mom. Let's do this again soon, okay? I love you!

Food Substitutions

I use many substitutions when cooking or baking. I do this for a few different reasons:

1. It's healthier
2. It's more economical
3. I don't have the ingredient on hand so I substitute something else.

One of my more recent items that I will not buy ever again is corn syrup. It's chemically grown and made. It's really bad on the food scale of the ways it's grown and what's actually in it. (Major GMO!) So, what I use instead is Sorghum! Molasses can be used, as well, but I buy black strap and it's too strong for baking recipes that call for corn syrup. Sorghum is lighter flavored and you will find it is much better on the scale of how it's grown and processed.

A new favorite find for me is Blue Agave! I use it in place of sugar and most definitley corn syrup. Especially when it's a sweet thing, like making granola - it is SO yummy!!! I get it from Azure Standard and love that it is organic, GMO-free AND fair trade!

There are many websites with substitutions. I like this one as it lists amounts of ingredients to make a mix, like baking mix. It is a nice site to save to use istead of buying a bunch of different items, you buy the staples and then make your own! Talk about economical!!! And there's no rule that says you can't make some up and store it in a container to have on hand if you use it more often than other items!!!

I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for gluten free stuff and the site I listed has an easy tomato soup one. This would be great for a recipe that you would add a CAN of tomato soup to but can't because it is not gluten free.

I also like that this site has substitutions for alcohol; which we don't have in our home, for obvious reasons. This helps me when cooking and I need to know what I can use in place of..... wine for example!

Here's a good article on GMO, if you want to read more.

Anyway, I know that my food budget has gone WAY down since I don't buy every little mixture but make my own. I try and use the substitutions that I have that are Non-GMO and then use organic or all-natural as much as possible.

Don't forget that February's challenge is Food Waste Reduction! See the button on my sidebar.

What substitutes do use? Applesauce for oil - YES! Plain yogurt for sour cream - YES!

Quick Oatmeal

My friend, over at Simple Makes, has a great instant oatmeal recipe, using regular oats! I can't wait to try it! Since I bought 25 pounds of organic oats, I will help the kiddos out by making some nice flavors up.

Thanks, Lori Ann!

My Pantries are NOT Convenient

I feel the need to tell you that my pantries are NOT in a convenient location. They are downstairs, away from the kitchen. I go down two landings of stairs and through doorways before hauling whatever I need from the pantry UP to my kitchen.


Please don't get me wrong - I LOVE my pantries and I am NOT lazy. They are however, not close to my kitchen. And when I need one thing, it's a bit of a pain to run down, run up and repeat the cycle since I'm not as organized as you might think when it comes to WHAT I am going to cook.


One thing that saves me some trips is my lazy susan. Now, talk about lazy! All she does is spin in circles!!! Okay, there are more days than I'd like to admit that I am spinning in circles. But I'm sure none of YOU do.


Okay back to susan. I have a couple gallon size glass jars stored there for convenience. I keep a jar of oatmeal, sugar and white and wheat flours. Plus, things like oil, vanilla, maple flavoring and spices. She, susan, may be lazy but she sure makes my life easier!


I also keep a cupboard of spices that I use fairly often, like my taco seasoning that I make and save money by not buying it already made. Would anyone like that recipe? Anyone? It's so easy and I betcha you have what you need to make it in your house.


Yes, my pantry is large. But I haven't always had a huge space. I've only lived here nearly 2 years. Before that, I had a normal sized pantry. What I did then, was make use of our garage by having my DH make shelves! I stored things that wouldn't freeze there and used the space they vacated in the house for food.


I bought 25 lbs of oatmeal. I haven't bought cereal from the store since... well a few months ago. I cut down the options and the kids eat oatmeal. Or toast.


I don't care of oatmeal as a cereal. GASP! But I eat it. Enough so I can make it to lunch, anyway. So, I figure it I can eat it - anyone can. I used to gag on it. Then I had to eat it while nursing/pumping/working and now I can eat a small portion and be okay. I could toast every morning, though. And I did growing up. That and a glass of chocolate milk, made by my sweet mommy. Thanks, Mom! We'll talk about feeding me the same thing for lunch everyday another time. I was a "brown bagger."

My point is, you don't have to have a "pantry" to store food. Use any space you can to store the surplus! Under beds, closets and garages all work to store the excess and then bring in what you can store to your kitchen pantry space, cupboard, etc.

What other ideas do you have?

No Way!

When you buy a new computer, a good HP computer, and you spend the money to upgrade to the new Quick Books program, you should be able to reconcile your checkbook. Seriously!!!

But no. DH has been on the phone with Quick Books working on some, "merging issues we're having with Vista...." for TWO HOURS! This is insane. I need to reconcile the account(s) so they can get sent off to the accountant because corporate taxes are due March 15 - not April 15!!! And all I can see is...

RED!

I doubt we need to ask DH what he sees. I just know that after the amount of money we have spent on our system and upgrades, this should not be happening. Not now. Not ever.

And my brain is fried. And what should have been done at noon is has not even begun. And I'm running on borrowed time. And I don't like this - not one bit.

So, if you know Quick Books, inside and out, just stop by and catch me up a bit, okay?

And don't forget to PRAY!! I've been doing lots of that today. :)