3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days

For anyone that's been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember back in May 2008 when Joy, Toni and I cross-blogged a month long series we dubbed "3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days." Well, throughout March, you can read the newest version of the series on my other blog, Cooking During Stolen Moments.

The kids have gotten older, we've upped our monthly budget, and life has changed in some big ways. Hopefully it will be as much fun as last time!

Also make sure you follow along with Toni from The Happy Housewife and Jen from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Personally, I can't read enough about their kitchens, so I'm having fun reading along too.

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A Tale of 3 Moms

Once upon a time there were 3 Moms. They loved to write about cooking, homemaking, homeschooling, saving money, and other things related to being at home. Then one day, one of the moms had an idea. She decided to record her shopping, meals, and recipes for an entire month! When another mom read about her plan and asked if she could join in, the first mom was happy to have a partner in her endeavor. Mom number three, not wanting to be left out, decided to join the fun too. For 31 days these 3 Moms planned, shopped, baked, took pictures and wrote everything down. As the 31 days were coming to an end, our 3 Moms were sad, and their readers were sad. Their journey together had been fun, challenging, and inspiring. Did it have to end?

The 3 Moms knew they couldn’t keep writing and photographing each and every morsel of food that went into their mouths. But they also felt like they had more to say about other things, like homeschooling, frugal living, simplifying, and motherhood. It wasn’t long before an idea was born. A new home, a place where moms could go to be encouraged by “real moms.” Moms who feed their kids cake for dinner, who can’t always get breakfast on the table, and moms who burn things, including themselves.

These 3 Moms want you to know that you are not alone in your journey through motherhood. Please join them as they chronicle their homemaking successes, failures, tips, and tricks. Each day you will find something to inspire you, to make you laugh, to make you think, or to assist you in your home. The 3 Moms believe all women—including housewives, stay-at-home and work-at-home moms, homeschooling moms, and even women who work outside of the home—can discover the joy in being Happy to be at Home.

We invite you to visit our new website - Happy to be at Home - Real Women offering Real Encouragement.

Top Graphic courtesy of allposters.com.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days...The Adventure Concludes?

The end of May has arrived, and with it, the end of 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days. (Or is it? Stay tuned to find out!) This month has been a wonderful adventure for Joy, Toni, and myself. Personally, I have learned and examined many things about my shopping, menu planning, and cooking methods. There are a few small areas where I see the need for change, but overall, I am happy with how our system works. As our children get older, I know we will need to adjust at least our budget.



We had to pick up a few things at the store today for our last trip of the month. We purchased:

• a gallon of milk - $2.50


• a bag of frozen ravioli - $2.50


• jar of pasta sauce - $1.00


• TOTAL: $6.00

That brings our total for the month to $303.03. I am thrilled with this total, even though we did go a bit over our budget, and it does not include the two times we ate out. Overall, I think it was a great month full of healthy, delicious meals. That is always the most important thing, but staying close to budget is a nice perk as well. If I had not opted for a convenience dinner tonight and instead made beans and rice, we would have stayed under. Oh well, lesson learned! (And thank you to my anonymous commentor for pointing out my miscalculation. I did miss adding in the $6 from tonight's trip in my original post. Sorry!)

Since today is the last day of the month, our ration of exciting-to-talk-about food has been depleted, so I will not bore with too many details. Breakfast was toast and peaches, lunch was free pizza at our local YMCA (they were having their annual birthday party), and dinner was ravioli with marinara sauce, spinach, and my last package of meatballs from the freezer.

I have not fully completed my shopping list for June yet because I am in the process of converting my menu plan into one that is more suitable for summer. I will update my menu plan in my sidebar to include any changes once I am done.



I think I realized this month that although I do have a lot of meals in the freezer, it would be nice to have even more. I am going to work on that and see where I can make some adjustments, if possible. I would like to have at least 12 days worth of meals in the freezer. I'd also like to find some other lunch options that I could have in the freezer. Lunchtime is always my biggest struggle of the day, so I think this could have the potential of really changing my days around. That's an exciting possibility for me!



Thank you so much to everyone who followed us throughout this month. I hope you enjoyed reading along as much as we enjoyed opening our kitchens. Also, don't forget to stop by Toni and Joy's blogs to see how their last days of 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days ended up.



To be continued...

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 30 Days Down, 1 To Go

Today I did something I've wanted to do for a LONG time but have just never had the courage to attempt: making pie crust from scratch. Honestly, it was very easy and I'm baffled as to why I've put it off for so long. However, it didn't taste as good as I would have liked so I'm going to have to play around with the recipe a bit. If anyone has a tried and true pie crust recipe they'd like to share, I'd love to hear about it!

Breakfast this morning was leftover pancakes and the last of the month's yogurt. Lunch was another repeat of bologna sandwiches, oranges, and I also made some buttered noodles with Parmesan cheese. For dinner we had chicken pot pie with my homemade crust, and a batch of chicken and gravy with veggies from the freezer.
The kids had cherry jell-o for dessert. As a matter of principle, I'm not very fond of giving them jell-o because of all the artificial ingredients and dyes. However, I am not opposed to it on occasion. And obviously they love it, although probably more for the color it turns their tongues than the taste.

I was asked by Jennifer how we handle fresh produce throughout the month with only one large grocery trip per month. The easiest answer to this is that it depends on what season of the year it is. Although that's also the honest answer, I don't want it to sound like a cop out. So, let me explain a little further.

We always purchase a lot of fresh produce at the beginning of the month. This month, for example, we bought:

• 1 1/2 lbs. strawberries
• 3 lbs. bananas
• 1 large bunch celery
• 3 large green peppers
• 3 zucchini
• 3 heads of garlic
• 3 lb. bag onions
• 8 lb. bag potatoes
• 1 lb. mushrooms
• 2 bags of lettuce

This was augmented throughout the month with:

• 10 lbs. potatoes
• 3 lbs. bananas
• honeydew from a neighbor
• 7 oranges

The fruit is always eaten quickly. I typically spend a day or two preparing the vegetables in different dishes for the freezer. This month, I used most of the vegetables for 8 cups of veggie-tomato sauce, 4 cups of a side dish saute, and 2 lasagnas. (You can read more about that here.) We also had salads with 4 of our dinners.

We also take advantage of frozen fruits and vegetables, which run a very close second nutrient wise to fresh vegetables, and sometimes they are even more nutrient-packed then "fresh" produce that has been sitting on trucks and shelves for weeks. I don't think I could shop this way were it not for the frozen vegetables I have come to rely on. We also go through a gallon of all-natural applesauce every month. In the off-seasons we do use canned fruit on a fairly regular basis. Commercially-canned food is far from our first choice, but that is what we do for now. I figure I would rather the kids have fruit every single day than to just go without so that we could avoid canned food. For the next 3-4 months, I will be making some drastic changes to our menu plan and fresh fruits and vegetables will become a much more integral part of our daily diets.

We have looked in to joining a CSA, but there just isn't one close enough to make it worthwhile, especially with gas prices where they are. Ideally, I would love to can and freeze our own produce to last us until next summer. As we can not have a garden where we currently live (although that situation will change as soon as we are able to sell our house), that leaves us with few other options. We are planning berry-picking trips several times this summer, and apple-picking trips in the fall. We would love to find a farmer's market so that we can support local farmers, but they are not very common in our area. There is a wonderful store a few minutes from our house that sells a lot of locally grown produce, and throughout the summer that store is like our second home.

As Joy alluded to yesterday, we 3 Moms have been quite busy the past few weeks with an exciting new project, so I apologize for being an absent commenter lately. Don't forgot to stop by Joy and Toni's blogs to see how they are finishing out this month of 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 29

With the end of the month fast approaching, I find myself focusing more and more on beginning the menu plan for next month. Fortunately, I have this month's menu plan and freezer meals to fall back on as we finish out these last few days.

This morning started with pancakes, and I made a double batch to compensate for my lack of creativity during the next few days. At least everyone loves pancakes, so there is certainly no complaining. We were still running a little low in the lunch offerings, so Eric stopped at the store for me this morning. He chose his favorite splurge: bologna sandwiches and oranges. So, that is what we had for lunch today, and it is what we will have for lunch tomorrow. I am sure we will have some leftovers for Saturday's lunch. He spent $6.09 at the store, and we'll need to use another $2.50 either tomorrow or Saturday for some more milk. (I am shocked that Kroger has their gallon milk on sale for $2.50 again, but I'm definitely not going to complain.)

For dinner tonight I FINALLY made the lentil and brown rice chili. As I was making it, I decided that chili probably isn't the most fitting term, but I can't think of a better one, especially since I use so many similar spices. If you have any suggestions for a more proper name, please let me know. Here is the recipe:

Lentil and Brown Rice "Chili"
1/2 lb. dry green lentils
4 c. beef or vegetable stock
2 c. brown rice (optional: soak overnight in water and 1 T. apple cider vinegar)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 carrots, shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
1 bag frozen spinach
2 T. cumin
1 1/2 T. chili powder
coriander, cayenne pepper, cocoa, crushed red pepper flakes, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper (all to taste)

1. Cook rice and set aside. Cook lentils in 4 cups boiling beef or vegetable stock for 15 minutes. Remove from heat (do not drain), add rice to the pot.
2. While the rice and lentils are going, make the tomato sauce. (Although I just use 2 bags of frozen veggie-tomato sauce and then add seasonings.) Cook pepper, onion and garlic in 1 T. olive oil. Add zucchini and carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and both cans of tomato sauce. Add frozen spinach. Season with all the listed seasonings/spices. You can make it as hot or as mild as you like.
3. Stir the tomato sauce into the lentils and rice. Let simmer on very low heat for as long as you want. I find the flavors intensify the more it simmers, but they blend together better if I refrigerate it instead of simmering for hours. It's really just a matter of personal preference. Also, the longer it simmers the thicker it will get. We tend to like ours pretty thick.
4. Spoon into bowls and enjoy. This dish is a great vehicle for dipping too, especially cornbread sticks or tortilla chips.
This is one of those meals that I just love to play around with. It tastes a little bit different every time we eat it. I substitute veggies or spices frequently. I think a meal this frugal just begs to be tinkered with. Even if the end result isn't that great, you really don't have much invested in it, so that's okay. And for some reason, maybe because of the chili-like flavor, our kids just love this, especially when it is really spicy. Isabelle had two full bowls tonight.

Make sure you stop by Toni and Joy's blogs to see what adventures they have been up to in their kitchens today.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 28

I just love when I find unexpected goodies in my freezer. If I were more organized, this probably wouldn't happen, but then I would miss out on the fun of discovering something I had forgotten was in there. This is what happened today and I took advantage of it for two of our meals.

The first thing I discovered this morning was a bag of bagels. There were 5 bagels, so exactly the right amount to have bagels and oatmeal for breakfast. Some of us had just a bagel and others had half a bagel and a bowl of oatmeal.

The other thing I found was a small package of ham slices. I defrosted the bag and diced up the ham for lunch. I fried the ham in some butter, along with some potatoes and onions. Then I scrambled some eggs and poured that right in the pan with everything else. Lunch was served! It turned out really good, although it was not the prettiest looking lunch. (That's why there are no pictures.) The kids also had a bowl of applesauce each.

I made some baked corn chips for our snack today. I found the original link on Michele's blog, Frugal Granola, a few weeks ago. I've made the chips once before and they were a huge hit.

Here is my variation of the recipe:
1 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. flax seeds
1 t. each chili powder and cumin
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 t. baking soda
2 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 c. water
2 T. canola oil

Step 1: In a small skillet, toast cornmeal, flax seeds, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper over medium-low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring frequently.

Step 2: Allow cornmeal mixture to cool. Pour into a bowl and add flour, baking soda, and remaining seasonings. Mix in water and oil. Knead together with hands until dough is workable, adding a teaspoon of water at a time, as needed.

Step 3: Roll dough out thin. Cut into any sizes/shapes you want. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!


For dinner tonight I used the leftover sloppy joe meat from Monday to make a pasta sauce. This is a super easy, yet very tasty, dinner. It was an invention of necessity a few months ago. I had been planning to serve leftover sloppy joes for dinner and I didn't realize until a few hours before it was time to eat that there was not enough meat left for all of our sandwiches. So, I opened up a can of tomato sauce, combined that with the leftover meat, adjusted the seasonings accordingly, and served over pasta. Previously I have served this with elbow macaroni, but after my fiasco the other day, I had to improvise with spaghetti noodles. It turned out just fine. We also had green beans with dinner.

I am in the beginning stages of getting ready for next month's grocery trip. We will be going either next Sunday or Monday. I will decide my meals for the month and make out my grocery list on Friday night. Until then, I will be scouring the coupon websites to find what I can add to my coupon stockpile. I also have some coupon inserts from the newspaper two weeks ago that I still have to look through. I usually do not use many coupons because of the products that I buy, but I definitely always keep an eye out for any that I can use. Kroger should have next week's ad available on their website either tomorrow or Friday, so I should be all set for a thrilling Friday night! (A cup of coffee, some Starbucks chocolates, and my lists, coupons, and store ad.......now that sounds like some evening, doesn't it?)

I've just recently begun to realize why grocery shopping once a month is so important for me personally. I'm sure I could shop weekly and keep my budget the same. I'm also sure I could work out a variation of my freezer system to make it work. The thing is, I'm just too lazy to do all of the hard work that goes in to planning my grocery trip more than once a month. If I had to do this once a week, I think I would just get careless, and that would absolutely end up costing us more money. So, please don't fool yourself into thinking that I am super organized. Honestly, I just don't like to work any harder than I really have to!

Make sure you check in with Joy and Toni to see what the rest of the month has in store for them.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 27

This morning started off with a breakfast that Eric has been requesting for a few days now - Sunshine Toast. Joy has posted all the details and a wonderful tutorial on her blog, so I won't bore you with repeating it. For myself and the younger 3 kids, I made ours the way that Joy did, by flipping it over. I had never tried doing the toast this way before, but it turned out great. Eric and Isabelle like theirs sunny-side-up and extra runny. This picture is from Eric's plate after he was halfway through one piece. (He was the one that reminded me to take a picture! I just love the way our families have gotten involved with 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days too.)

After breakfast, while Isabelle was finishing up her schoolwork for the day and Gracie was napping, Alex and Olivia helped me bake our favorite brownies.
Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate-Espresso Frosting
3/4 c. cocoa

1/2 t. baking soda

2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted and divided

1/2 c. boiling water

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. flour

1/3 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 baking pan. Stir together cocoa and baking soda in large bowl; stir in 1/3 c. butter. Add boiling water; stir until mixture thickens.

2. Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 c. butter; stir until smooth. Add flours, vanilla and salt; stir until blended. (Optional: stir in chocolate chips.) Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely.

4. Frost brownies (optional)

Frosting:

6 T. butter or margarine, softened

2 2/3 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. cocoa

1/4 c. milk

1 T. espresso powder or instant coffee dissolved in 1 T. hot water

1/2 t. vanilla

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, espresso and vanilla, beating to spreading consistency.

For lunch today we had tuna salad sandwiches and peaches. Dinner was chicken and black bean quesadillas with the chicken and black bean filling from the freezer.

This was the first time I made quesadillas with homemade tortillas. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this sooner as I have been using them for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas for months now. I think I was unsure of what would happen when I fried a homemade tortilla in a bit of butter, like I do when I make quesadillas. But man, I wish I hadn't waited so long! They turned out SO good. I think I can officially say I will not ever have to buy package tortillas again. That makes me very happy indeed.Make sure you stop in at Joy and Toni's blogs also to see how they are finishing up this month-long adventure of ours!

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 26

Today was a rather boring day food-wise around our house. I'm afraid that's how the rest of this week might be also. I guess this means I will have to be more creative and come up with brilliant and witty things to say to make up for the lack of exciting food. Starting tomorrow, I will, I promise. Honest!

I do have one tip I'd like to share for today though. If you overcook pasta, it becomes completely inedible. I think this may be the first time in my culinary career (that term may be a bit of stretch, but I'm going to run with it for now) that I have actually done this, at least this terribly. I poured the macaroni noodles into the pot of water and not only did I forget to set the timer, I also walked out of the room and got involved in another project.

Do you see that gelatinous glob of "noodles" there? This is what elbow macaroni looks like after it has been boiling for at least 20 minutes, maybe more. So, I had to pitch the whole batch of noodles and start over again. And just so you know, when it is the end of the month and I am trying to stay within my budget and I only have 1 lb. of macaroni noodles left, that is almost enough to make me cry. Half a pound of macaroni in the garbage, another half pound cooked for dinner; thus no more macaroni. Oh well. I do know how to make pasta from scratch, and I do have all the ingredients I'd need to do that. So I guess I'll be able to make do. (Or, I can just run to the store and pick up some more if I really need to!)

We did pick up a few things at the store today. This was before the macaroni fiasco, otherwise we probably would have picked up another box of those as well. Here is what we got:

2 boxes margarine - $1.30

1 gallon milk - $3.98

1 loaf bread - $1.34

1 pkg. hamburger buns - $1.00

1 dozen eggs - $1.49

TOTAL: $9.11

So we have $9.06 left for the week. We will probably need one more gallon of milk. That should not be a problem.

Today's meals consisted of leftover crepes with bananas for breakfast, pb&j's and chicken noodle soup with mandarin oranges for lunch, and sloppy joe's, macaroni and cheese, and peas for dinner. The sloppy joe meat was from the freezer, and it was a double batch so we have leftovers that will become part of dinner on Wednesday night. Because we will be having some form of sloppy joe's three times this month, it will not be on the menu at all for next month. I do try to rotate meals so that we get plenty of variety, and so that the kid's taste buds get a chance to develop fully.Even though the first batch of macaroni noodles did not turn out, I managed to salvage the second batch for homemade macaroni and cheese. I love homemade mac and cheese. This has been one of those recipes that I've tweaked quite a bit. I've also tried to learn as many hints as possible to get the best taste. The consistency of the sauce used to be too grainy and floury. I learned that it is important to cook the flour in the butter for at least a few minutes before adding the milk. This little trick has made a huge difference and the whole dish just tastes so much better now. (Thank you, Rachael Ray!)Easy Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 lb. pasta, any shape works

1/4 c. butter or margarine

1/4 c. flour

1 3/4 c. milk

2 c. extra-sharp cheddar cheese (the sharper the better!)

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard - to taste

Boil pasta according to package directions, and please, set the timer! Drain pasta and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk, bring to a boil, and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring to melt. Season to taste. Pour into a 13 x 9 casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If desired, top with 1 c. bread crumbs mixed with 1 T. melted butter before putting in the oven.

Don't forget to stop by Toni and Joy's blogs to see what happened in their kitchens' today!

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Menu Plan Monday: Finishing Up the 3 Moms Month

Well, we are approaching the end of May which means this is the last week of 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days. I will be using up the last of my freezer meals and groceries for the month. I have just over $18 of my $300 monthly budget left to purchase any additional items we need this month. Based on my menu plan (which was made standing in front of my freezer to make sure I had an accurate count of what's left), we will not be going over budget.

Here is what we will be eating this week:

Breakfast
M - Leftover crepes
T - Pancakes
W - Banana muffins
Th - Homemade English muffins with butter and jelly
F - Pancakes
S - Puffed pancake w/apples
Su - Baked oatmeal

Lunch
M - PB & J, chicken noodle soup (from the freezer)
T - Lentil and Garbanzo bean salad, homemade pita chips, yogurt
W - Curry tuna melts, applesauce
Th - Cream cheese noodles, peaches
F - Cheese quesadillas, pineapple
S - Leftovers
Su - Split pea and ham soup (from the freezer)

Dinner
M - Sloppy joes (from the freezer), homemade mac & cheese, peas
T - Chicken and black bean tacos (from the freezer) w/ homemade tortillas
W - Sloppy joe spaghetti (w/leftover meat from M), creamed spinach
Th - Lentil and brown rice chili, corn muffins
F - Chicken pot pie (w/chicken & gravy from freezer)
S - BBQ meatballs (from the freezer), Parmesan oven fries, broccoli
Su - Chicken (from the freezer) and veggie stir fry over brown rice

For more menu plans, head over to Organizing Junkie.

And make sure you stop by Joy and Toni's blogs to see what adventures they've been up to in their kitchens this month.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - A Treat-Filled Weekend

We have been enjoying a wonderful weekend filled with all kinds of treats. Eric and I will be celebrating our anniversary this coming week, so we have used this weekend as an anniversary gift to each other. We truly consider a weekend like this to be a splurge, a gift, a fun-filled, un-budgeted treat for the whole family. We do this rarely which is perhaps part of what makes it so special for all of us.

Yesterday began with a box of donuts for breakfast. Alex has been asking for donuts for quite a while, and Eric felt like treating us all to this sweet splurge. Trust me, you have never seen a dozen donuts disappear so quickly! For lunch we had cream cheese noodles. This is a childhood favorite of mine, and it is quickly becoming a favorite with all of the kids as well.

To make cream cheese noodles, melt 1/4 c. butter in a pan over medium heat. Add a 1/2 lb. of cooked pasta (any shape you want). Add 4 oz. cream cheese, garlic salt (or plain salt), and pepper to taste. Stir and cook until cream cheese is melted and some noodles are just starting to get a little crisp. This makes a very quick lunch and is a nice switch from macaroni and cheese. We also had some apple slices with lunch.

For dinner, I made BBQ beef and bean cornbread casserole and skillet corn for the kids and my father-in-law. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture.) This casserole is one of Eric's favorites, and my father-in-law really enjoyed it as well. I like it for the fact that I can bulk up portions and taste with a few additions, or just serve it plain and it is equally delicious.

BBQ Beef & Bean Cornbread Casserole
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. worchesthire sauce
2 T. honey
2 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t. pepper

Combine all BBQ sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

1/2 lb. dried beans (any kind, I usually use pinto or kidney)
1/2 - 1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
optional: 1/2 diced green pepper, 1 diced celery stalk, 1 shredded carrot

Soak beans overnight and cook until done.
Brown ground beef with onions and any optional ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste. Drain. Combine beans and beef. Add reserved BBQ sauce and stir to coat all. Pour into a 8 x 8 casserole dish.

3/4 c. corn meal
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil, melted butter, or meat drippings

Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients until moist. Pour over beef and bean filling. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (You can double the cornbread and make the casserole in a 13 x 9 dish if preferred.)

After the kids and my father-in-law finished their dinners and we got the kids to bed, Eric took me out for dinner. This was such a treat for both of us! We have had only 5 "date nights" in the past 4 years, if you do not count the time we've spent alone at the hospital when I was in labor. (Depending on my mood, I sometimes do count those though!) We went to a Mexican restaurant and had a fantastic time just being alone. We do at-home date nights often, but we realized that we really enjoy being out of the house just the two of us. We are hoping to make this a more regular occurrence.

After dinner, we stopped at Starbucks for coffee and to pick up some of the truffles I've been so excited about. They are delicious! I was not disappointed at all. The whole evening was a wonderful anniversary gift from my awesome husband!
This morning I made crepes with bananas foster sauce. I personally think this was a better breakfast than the donuts yesterday. I'm not sure about the rest of the family, although they all cleaned their plates and came back for seconds.This afternoon we decided to treat the kids with a trip to the petting farm at a local park. This is the park where Eric and I got married, so it was very appropriate to go there today. We all shared a quick lunch while there of 5 hot dogs, 1 order of french fries, and a large pop for $15.
On the way home, we made one final splurge for the weekend and picked up some ice cream for everyone at our locally-famous ice cream place. We spent $10 for this treat. This was our first time stopping here this summer and I'm sure it won't be our last. This place is an institution in our town, and it is definitely a summer tradition to stop here a few times every year.Because we had the ice cream later in the day, we were not too hungry for dinner. The kids finished off the chicken and dumpling leftovers. Eric and I did not eat dinner. We will probably have a small snack at some point tonight, but we definitely do not need dinner.

Make sure you stop by Toni and Joy's to see what they have been up to this weekend as well.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days: Day 23: Lots of Chocolate

For some reason (maybe it was my discovery yesterday), I was craving chocolate today. So I decided to start the day with a not-too-sweet chocolaty treat for everyone. I made chocolate pancakes for breakfast. This was done by simply adding a few tablespoons of chocolate syrup along with the other liquid ingredients in my usual pancake recipe. They turned out great and the kids sure did love them! I've also done a variation of this a few times by making hot chocolate pancakes (using a cup of hot chocolate in place of milk). Those are great too, especially with a little whipped cream on top.

My chocolate craving wasn't satisfied yet, so I made some chocolate-chocolate chip cookies also. They turned out good, nice and chewy, with an almost brownie-like texture. I ended up with a total of 5 dozen cookies from the recipe. There are currently 25 cookies left. I guess you could say we like these cookies. They were made with whole wheat flour, so I think that qualifies them as a "healthy" treat, doesn't it?
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flout

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1 c. butter or margarine

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside. Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and blend well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. (I always bake our cookies for 8 minutes. We like them chewy, not crispy.)

For lunch today, we had leftover lasagna from last night and honeydew melon. (The melon was a gift from a neighbor that we were blessed with yesterday.) Between the 6 of us, we ate the entire thing! I am so glad it is almost summer and melons can be a regular part of our eating habits again. I think the kids would eat nothing but melon and strawberries all summer long if I let them.

Tonight's dinner was supposed to be tomorrow night's dinner, based on my menu plan. However, I swapped the two because my father in law is coming over tomorrow and he does not eat chicken. No big deal!

I made chicken and dumplings tonight with one of the containers of chicken and gravy from the freezer. I defrosted it in the microwave, put it in a pot on the stove, added two cups of chicken stock (also from the freezer), and topped with the dumplings. You can't get much easier than that.

Dumplings
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
any additional seasonings you want (I added a teaspoon of Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning that I also put in the gravy to tie the two flavors together.)
1 T. cold butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 c. milk

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and any additional seasonings in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Combine the egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Drop batter by the tablespoon into boiling broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook for ten minutes. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook an additional 15 minutes.

As of tomorrow, there will only be one week left in the 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days series. I have been trying to keep up with answering questions and giving recipes, but if there is anything I have missed, or any other questions or recipe requests, please let me know. I'll make sure I get to them all by the end of the month.

Make sure you also stop by Joy and Toni's blogs to see what they have been up to in their kitchens today.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days: Day 22: I Love Having Meals In the Freezer

Have I mentioned how much I love having meals in the freezer yet? I think I might have once or twice, but even still, it does bear repeating. I love having meals in the freezer!

My menu plan for dinner tonight included lentil and brown rice chili and tomato-basil bread. I got a call around 10:00 am that a realtor wanted to show our house today. This meant we had to be out of the house from 1-3pm. Not that big of a deal, but enough that I knew I wouldn't be able to make the chili. First of all, I love to let it simmer all day. I just couldn't do that today. And secondly, once I got off the phone, I couldn't even begin to think about what I needed to do for dinner because I had to get the house ready. So, without a moment's hesitation, I chucked the menu plan for today and decided we'd have the vegetarian lasagna from the freezer. (Sorry to everyone who was waiting for my recipe for the lentil and brown rice chili. I'll be making it next week and I'll post the recipe and pictures then.) I love having meals in the freezer!

One of the things I have found with my freezer meals is that they usually reheat best if I do not thaw them first. So tonight's lasagna went straight into the oven like this:The dish holding the lasagna is just a disposable aluminum casserole dish from the grocery store. We currently have 3 of these in rotation. I like to reuse them when I can. Unfortunately, I also like to use a sharp knife with a pointy little tip when I cut things. These two do NOT make a good combination. If I were a little smarter, I'd probably remember this fact before I feel the knife cut through the bottom of the pan. Oh well, maybe I'll learn someday, right?

Before freezing, I wrap the entire pan in foil two times. When cooking, I just remove the top layer of foil and leave the bottom one on until the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. A lot of my freezer meals are already completely cooked, so they truly are just reheating. However, I have found that lasagna and stuffed shells do better if I do not cook them first. So, tonight's lasagna actually took about 2 hours 15 minutes to be completely cooked all the way through. (In case you missed this point earlier: I love having meals in the freezer.) I will admit that is an awfully long time to have the oven on, so I usually try to bake at least one other thing at the same time.

Tonight, I baked a loaf of tomato-basil bread while cooking the lasagna. (So I did partially stick to my menu plan.) This bread really is easy to put together, although it does require two risings. It has an almost pizza-like flavor, so it is always a big hit.
Tomato Basil Bread
1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsps. yeast)
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. minced fresh basil (or 2 t. dried basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. tomato paste
1 T. sugar
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
1/8 - 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 c. flour (I use half whole wheat flour, half white flour)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in basil, Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, sugar, oil, salt, pepper flakes and 2 c. flour. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; knead for 1 minute. Shape into a round loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. With a sharp knife, cut a large X in top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. (I would recommend you start checking after 25 minutes. My bread always seems to be done by 30 minutes.) Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.
For breakfast we had oatmeal (made dad's way) and grilled cheese with apple slices for lunch. As we get toward the end of the month, our lunch choices are going to require a bit more creativity on my part. While we still have plenty of food, the convenience items for sandwiches are in shorter supply. So, I think I may make a big batch of soup or something similar this weekend that will make a few days worth of lunch. And I do still have plenty of things in the freezer to work through. By the way, did I tell you I love having meals in the freezer yet?

Don't forget to stop by Toni and Joy's blogs to see what adventures they have been up to in their kitchens as well!

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 21: Is this really dessert?

I have always been one of those people who lives to eat. I love food! (Wow, it feels good to get that out in the open.) I love food so much that I always decline pop, juice, or even fancy coffee drinks. Why have liquid calories when I could save them for something REALLY good? Because of this, I am also a very sensory-based eater. If something smells good or looks good, I just can't wait to eat it. The dinner that we had tonight fits both of those categories. I made cider vinegar chicken. Let me tell you, there is just no way to describe how good this dish smells when it is cooking! And it also looks fantastic on a plate. Here is the recipe, from Rachael Ray's 365:No Repeats cookbook. (There is an Amazon link in my sidebar if you're interested.)

Cider Vinegar Chicken
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 6-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt & pepper
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 T. fresh thyme leaves (or 1 1/2 t. dried thyme)
3 T. honey
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2 c. chicken stock or broth

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 T. of the EVOO (twice around the pan). Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Brown the chicken on both sides, 3 minutes per side. Remove and reserve the meat, covered with foil. Add another T. of the EVOO, the onions, thyme, honey-3 good drizzles- and the garlic. Season the onions with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently for 7 to 8 minutes. You want the onions to get really brown and carmelized.
Add 1/2 cup of the cider vinegar and the stock. Turn up heat to high and bring the liquids up to a simmer. Once at a simmer, return the chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken in the sauce for about 10 minutes, flipping the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. Serve over mashed potatoes. (I also served this with zucchini, mushroom, and garlic saute from the freezer.)


Breakfast today was the cinnamon rolls I made yesterday. Even though they weren't as gooey as we would have liked, they were still awfully good. For lunch we had our favorite standby of tuna pasta salad and yogurt. Snacks were bananas and graham crackers.

The kids all had some sherbet for dessert. We call this dessert, but that term only applies loosely. Does two tablespoons of ice cream really count as dessert? I don't even remember how we got started with this habit, but it exists nonetheless. Every night after dinner, everyone has to have dessert. Quite honestly, I think this is a little excessive health-wise. Nobody NEEDS dessert every night. So that is why we give "treat-sized" portions. Everyone is satisfied with just a little taste of something sweet. There are, of course, special occasion dinners that call for a full serving dessert. But for an average day, just a little taste is fine. (Now, if only Eric and I could get in this habit more often ourselves!)

Don't forget to stop by Toni and Joy's blogs to see what they've been up to in their kitchens today.

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3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days - Day 20 Too Much Time in the Kitchen?

This morning started out with a special, different-for-us, breakfast. I made biscuits and sausage. My original plan had been to have biscuits and sausage gravy, but then I realized that I had purchased maple flavored sausage. I didn't think that would go too well with the gravy. So I decided that we would have biscuit and sausage sandwiches. The only problem there was that my brain and hands were not communicating; so I made large biscuits and small sausage patties. So, we had biscuits, and we had sausage patties. Oh well. It was still delicious and such a treat, especially for a weekday breakfast. Joy has a wonderful biscuit recipe that I have been wanting to try for a long time, but that will have to wait until next month so that I can buy some butter-flavored shortening. I just used a boxed mix that I doctored a bit this morning. I don't think the mix was the freshest because it has been in my pantry for a LONG time, but they still tasted pretty good for a boxed mix.

For lunch we went with the old standby of boxed macaroni and cheese. As I've mentioned before, this is one of the hold outs from our old way of eating before I started making everything from scratch. I have been scaling back on this though, and this is only the second time this month that we have had it. I guess that's not too bad. We also had pineapple with lunch.

I made a batch of cinnamon rolls today for breakfast tomorrow. While I prefer them fresh out of the oven, they are still very good warmed in the microwave. Sometimes, convenience is just more important for me, especially when it comes to breakfast. If I had been really on my game, I would have made an extra batch to freeze. But as it turns out, that may have been a good thing this time around. I have been making these cinnamon rolls for quite a while now and I've gotten proud of the fact that I can have them completed, start to finish, in less than 40 minutes. I have played with them to get them bigger and gooier for Eric. I am definitely still not there yet. I think the first few times I made them were actually the best. But now, as Eric pointed out today, I have fine-tuned them to the point of being average cinnamon rolls. They are not the ooey Cinnabon-type rolls they turned out to be the first few times I made them. They definitely do not look as good as Joy's lately. Dinner tonight was Swedish meatballs over egg noodles with peas. I used a package of meatballs I put in the freezer earlier this month and made a quick sauce of beef gravy, onions, and sour cream. By using the frozen meatballs, I was able to have dinner completely made in less than 20 minutes, and it was done and ready to be reheated by 12:30.
One thing I have realized this month, by doing the 3 Moms, 3 Kitchens, 31 Days series, is that I spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen. This thought has been floating around in my head for awhile but was really brought to the forefront today when Eric asked why I spend so much time in the kitchen. Honestly, I'm not sure. I have definitely worked out what I view as manageable system in the kitchen. Most days, I have all necessary cooking for the day done by 1 pm, including any baking. Some days, if I am in the stocking the freezer phase of the month, or if there is a LOT of baking that really needs to be done, I am not done as early as usual. Yet even with that understanding, I see that I spend more time than needed in the kitchen. I am not quite sure why.

I think a large part of the reason is selfishness. I really enjoy being in the kitchen, cooking or baking and putting love into everything I make for my family. There are many afternoons where there is not a thing that needs to be done in the kitchen until it is time to warm up dinner, and yet I am standing in there trying to figure out what else I can make. My eyes have now been opened to the fact that this is unnecessary. It is also not fair to my children. Do I put my kitchen ahead of my children? I'd love to say no, of course not, but if I really examine it honestly, I am ashamed to say that on occasion, I do. This is never a conscious choice. I view the food I make for my family as an outward expression of my love. However, they really need time with me much more than they need a new batch of cookies made when there are already 3 different options of dough in the freezer.

So, I think I need to start imposing limits on my time spent in the kitchen to that which is needed. An easy way I think I could do this is if I plan out my activities in the kitchen with my menu plan and then make sure I stick with it. For example, I had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tomorrow's cinnamon rolls completed by 2 this afternoon. I also had the kitchen cleaned up. On an ordinary day, I would have hung around in the kitchen trying to come up with something else to do or make. Today, Eric pushed me to not do that. Instead, we went outside and played with the kids for a while. That was such a treat. I realize I need to do this every day. In a few years, I will be able to have all the children with me in the kitchen, with everybody doing something together. But for now, they are just too young for that for an extended period of time.

I have learned that cooking from scratch really does not take very long, and I hope I have been able to show that through some of my posts. Now, I need to learn that most days I can just walk away from the kitchen when I am done. It is selfish to choose to indulge in my "hobby" when I don't need to. My kitchen will always be there, my children will not!

Don't forget to stop by Joy's kitchen where she has been making breakfast in bulk, or Toni's vacation kitchen where food and fun has been had by all!

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