by tascha |
our supper one evening last week:
4 chicken breast [not even thawed!]
1 small can stewed tomatoes +
1/2 cup green olives–pureed
1/2 cup water
on high for 4 hours
or low for 6 hours
[in a slow-cooker]
YUM
green bean sauteed
with garlic and ginger and bacon bits
our FAVORITE way to eat them!
pasta tossed with excess sauce from chicken
serve chicken and sauce over pasta
with green beans on the side
=
SUCCESS
this plate belongs to my pickiest eater!
and then she had MORE
Sometimes when I grab the camera at supper, one of my girls will ask: Mommy, why are you taking a picture of our food?
I just laugh and say I’m gonna share it on the blog. Then they laugh. They think it is funny that I show people pictures of our food.
What does your family say when you take pictures of odd things?
linked at:
by tascha |
{almost} nutri-grain bars [original recipe/link no longer works]
My girls enjoy {nutri-grain} cereal bars [and the generic equivalents], but I really wanted to know that they were actually getting good nutrients out of it [especially when it was breakfast!], AND I was wondering about cutting the cost. So I googled it [lol] and found the above recipe to be the closest to something I was looking for. After making it according to that recipe, I made a few tweaks and made another pan -and they are [both] YUMMO!
breakfast {in a bar}:
[preheat: 325. grease: 9×13. bake: 30 min]
[dry] stir together:
1 1/3 cup wheat flour
1 1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp each salt/baking powder
1/4 tsp allspice
[wet] mix together:
1 egg
1/2 cup [homemade] applesauce {what I used was homemade apple/pear butter}
1 tsp vanilla extract
[filling]
10 oz [aprox 1/14 cup] jelly or jam [homemade is wonderful here]
{I omitted the water and simply warmed it on the stovetop to help it be spreadable.}
1/4 cup mixed dried fruit and 2 Tbsp nut chopped {I used dry, roasted edemame as we have a nut allergy in the house.}
directions:
Combine dry and wet ingredients. proceed as the other recipe: 1/2 spread in the bottom of a 9×13 greased pan. spread out the jelly. sprinkle with the dried fruits/nuts. cover with other 1/2 of the oat mixture {the oat dough is quite sticky and is not really spreadable so it can be a slightly messy process}.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. can make 12+ bars depending upon how large you cut them.
Wrap individually in wax paper for easy grabbing. place in plastic bag/container.
Currently, they have kept about 5 days at room temp, but I am sure they would keep longer in the refrigerator. though I am not sure you will need them to!
ENJOY!
I have not yet figured out the cost per bar [equivalent size to the prepackaged], but I do know that these TASTE so much BETTER.
linked up at
raisinghomemakers
by tascha |
This creation was born of a desire for peach cobbler and no fresh peaches and no way to get any right then. {smiles}
so –use what you have!
[great for mid-winter when fresh fruit is not readily available…or affordable.]
Preheat oven to 375*.
1 can of sliced peaches [in natural juices or light syrup], spread out in a 9×13 pan & cover with 1/2 [or so] cup of rolled oats [not the quick cook kind]
looking yum already!
2-3 very ripe apples sliced thinly [about 16 slices per apple for me]; layer over the peaches and oatmeal.
Sprinkle your own mixture of cinnamon and sugar… [I like to make my own mixture so it can be more cinnamony and less sugary than the store-bought].
And then for a extra special holiday flavor I sprinkle about 1 -1-1/2 tsp allspice on it.
For a topping I have used several different things:
Store bought cresent rolls: self-explanatory
My favorite was pie dough.
And have also used a streusel type dough, but that’s a LOT of oatmeal.
Cover with your desired [or available] dough
Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes …or until juices are bubbly.
sorry it’s blurry
Allow to cool at least 20 min. [yeah right!]
blurry again -ugh.
and consume.
My latest addition was about 1 cup of frozen blueberries sprinkled on before the dough topping. If you have a child that is fond of brightly colored foods… it makes the WHOLE oatmeal part very purple. {smiles} It was VERY yum.
And if you like it more fruity-use 2 cans of peaches [but drain 1 of the juice] or 1 can of peaches and 1 can of apricots or pears.
Serving options include: warm, ala mode [vanilla or REAL strawberry-YUM], whipped cream, with other fresh berries.
ENJOY!
by tascha
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:14
As a straightforward interpretation, this verse means exactly what it sounds like. This woman will find her food any place she needs to go to find it. She travels around, trades and seeks foods for her family.
The best modern resource that I can equate this with [personally. –I would love to hear more/other opinions from you!] for a ‘modern woman’ is couponing and/or shopping sales for as much of your food as possible.
{I am not saying that you HAVE to use a coupon or sale for all your shopping, BUT I do believe that planning meals around foods that can be gotten on sale that week is prudent.}
And if you have the time to get/cut coupons and match them to sales, YEAH! for you. I have some friends who do this very well. Sadly, I am not one of them.
It may seem contradictory to say this, but if your husband tells you that he does not want you taking your time to devote to coupons and sales adds, then don’t.
To bare my soul, couponing is frustrating for me {[I know, really?]} so, I do not use coupons often. I do not acquire or study sales adds. But I also do not buy many ready-made items for my family to consume.
I make things. I use the time I would be frustrating over coupons to make the foods from scratch that I would maybe, possibly, use a coupon for.
I also try to buy extra things when they ARE on sale, provided we have the space to store them properly until we need them. I buy dried beans, instead of canned. I cook and then freeze sale meats for future use. I cut and freeze certain produce, when I know it’s going to be used in soup instead of used fresh. I make spaghetti sauce, etc.
So. for you, for me: remember this is a heart issue:
Am I using my time and our money wisely when acquiring food for my family?
And do my pursuits in this continue to do my husband good?
