New Recipe

I made "Bubble Pizza" tonight for dinner.  Yeah, not low salt or oil.  Bubble Pizza it was pretty good and Brenna had seconds.  I didn't add more salt and made smaller portions than the recipe called for.

I did it again!

I made spaghetti sauce from scratch last night!  I had full faith in my abilities before I started.  I began to doubt myself about half way through.  My #1 tip for making your own sauce is DO NOT taste it before it's had time to all cook together. It is just gross!  That's when I thought I'd made a big mistake in this undertaking. Keep in mind that having to trash a meal would be a big problem with our current financial situation.  I had already made the meat and was making the sauce with it. I used ground turkey, it's the new hamburger you know. ;)

Anyway. I knew the girls would be leery of my homemade sauce if it had big chunks of anything like an onion or tomato in it.  So used a small food processor to chop up all the ingredients before putting them in.  I put in 2 whole tomatoes, 5 mushrooms, 1 whole yellow onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 can tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Oh and I put about a 1/4 cup of white wine (white because I'm allergic to red) and water to thin it out. I did not put in salt. At the very end, I felt like it really needed it so I added just a tiny bit of garlic salt. But not much.  I served the girls over spaghetti noodles and mine over rice noodles.  Both girls approved of my homemade sauce. Maybe it wasn't quite as flavorful as prego, but it was pretty darn good and not much extra work, but a whole lot healthier.... I'm trying here!  Oh yeah, I also did not use any oil or butter in any part of the pasta prep.

More new things

I'm beginning another new journey... I'm working on cooking for myself without salt and oil.  For me, salt is the bigger challenge.  I've cooked chicken breast and fish now without using oil. It didn't stick much and worked out really well.  Now there's the idea of flavor.  Dips and sauces are full of both salt and oil. I can't stand dry food.  I didn't have a lot on hand so I marinated the chicken in lime juice. It was pretty good. So far, my best experiment was tonight. I marinated my fish in minced garlic, lime juice, and red pepper flakes.  It was so good!  I did it in a plastic bag because I was only doing one. Then I "grilled" it on my George Foreman grill. I also got my walk in 4 out of 5 days this week. I'm pretty proud of myself!

Edited to add my favorite veggie discovery... I steamed a bag of frozen stir fry mix.  I love teriyaki and soy sauce... But they again are full of sodium. So I tried it with red wine vinegar instead.  YUMMY!  The best part is that the water chestnuts really picked up the vinegar flavor so a bite with them in it has an extra little burst.  I'm working up to incorporating this into my family cooking.  But I need to build my confidence first.

I got to spend the day with both girls today. Brenna had the day out of school. I packed away shorts and tank-tops so we don't have to argue about not wearing them... Next is sandals and flip flops.  Brenna has a soccer tournament this weekend. I'm so excited to watch my little goalie!

October Already!?!

Today is October 1st. It completely blows my mind that we've made it here. lol First of all, I've made ends meet and kept my family fed, clothed, and loved without a job. If you had asked me in July, I would not have thought it was possible. I have to stop and thank my family and friends for all the love and support that have helped me to do so.  Even kind words and encouragement make a big difference! I hope you all remember that. Please remember that just being kind and encouraging to the people you meet makes so much more of an impact than you know.

The girls are starting to talk about Halloween costumes, candy, and even Christmas.  Believe it or not, I've already started my Christmas shopping for the girls.  Obviously, it's not going to be a big one this year. But it will be filled with love and TIME!  I've started picking up a Christmas gift every couple of weeks and putting it away.  Brenna's birthday is also in December, so it will take some planning and spreading, but my girls will be just fine!

I do have a job interview tomorrow.  I am praying that God's will be done.  If this is the job I'm meant to have, then I pray that I get it.  If it is not where I'm meant to be, I pray that it will not be offered to me.  While a job is a job and I need a job, I believe this time of being unemployed has been of great value and I've learned a lot about myself and a lot about budgeting and being a better mom. I know that I have been where God wanted me and maybe that's still where I'm meant to be.  I pray that He will show me where He is leading me.

Speaking of my unemployed status... I just returned from being out of town for my great aunt Charlene's funeral.  Since Charlene wasn't immediate family, if I were employed I would not have been able to be out of town for the week and to have been blessed to be a part of this special woman's funeral!  You see, the funeral was 395 miles away. My aunt Charlene celebrated her 69th birthday about a week before she passed.  She was still in love with the love of her life even though he had passed over 20 years ago.  She was also able to live independently up until the last 3 years of her life.  Why  is that such a big deal??  Both my aunt Charlene and her late husband Thomas had mental disabilities. Charlene had a love without end. She loved and valued her family without judgment and with great joy.  She appreciated so many little things that many of us often forget to notice.  She found joy in things that I take for granted.  I love you aunt Charlene and I KNOW that my momma and your Thomas were there to greet you when you walked strong and healthy through the gates of Heaven!

Crafty

I haven't posted in a few days because I wasn't feeling very positive.  I didn't want to share my "stinkin' thinkin'." Most of my crud was revolving around money and lack of insurance... But moving on!

I got a picture in my head the other day and I couldn't get it out.  Both of the girls have gotten their ears pierced this year and neither of them have a jewelry box. I have wanted to make one, but just couldn't come up with just the right idea. I didn't know where to begin.  So I woke up the other morning and had the jewelry box in my head.  I started with a pyrex box and cut it apart. Then made a shell. I'm planning on putting 2 drawers in each one, but haven't gotten that far.  I have deco-podged the shell with newspaper and am planning to add sparkle and glitter before it's all done.  I'm going to use bottle caps for the pulls on the little drawers... If I can figure it out.

I came across a recipe for kielbasa and potatoes yesterday that looked pretty good.  I am allergic to sausage, so I tried it with stew meat.  It was okay. Cailyn liked it.  So with the left overs this morning, I added a couple of eggs and made breakfast burritos.  It was much better as a breakfast burrito and I have left overs of that for tomorrow's breakfast too.  Brenna's school has a cookout this evening so no dinner planned.

Tomorrow evening I'm going to make creamed chicken and biscuits. It's another first time recipe for me. But it sure sounds good!
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup drained canned carrots and 1/2 cup drained canned green beans (optional)
1 can refrigerated biscuits
Directions:
1.  Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat; add flour, blending well.
2.  Gradually stir in broth, then milk.
3.  Reduce heat to low; cook until thickened, about 2 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
4.  Remove 1/4 cup milk mixture and gradually stir into egg yolk.
5.  Return egg mixture to milk mixture.  Add chicken, salt and pepper; heat through.
6.  Serve creamed chicken over hot biscuits.  Serves 4 to 6.

Silent tears are the worst!

Okay, I want to preface this with the fact that Cailyn has plenty of toys and is in no way a deprived child. lol

I had to go to Wal-mart today. Unfortunately, angel food ministries isn't doing food orders in September.  They have been affected by the financial crisis just like the rest of us and are unable to support the orders this month.  I pray that they are back up and running next month. I sure have come to depend on them and I'm sure you've all noticed, I am a great advertiser for them!

So I decided to stock up on some staples while I have the money, before I pay all the bills.  Food and shelter come first.  I went for the frozen chicken breasts, another lb of hamburger, you know, mainly meat to go with all the veggies I still have.  So of course while I'm there, as always I felt compelled to visit the clearance section... You know, just in case there's something I can't live without.  After all, I love my $1.50 shower curtain!

As we are all accustomed the "I want..." and "Momma, please..."  And I know that we would all like to get our kids so many of those things that they want and don't need.  I reminded Cailyn that she just had a birthday and had lot's of new toys.  We kept moving and I kept looking and I explained that she had toys and Momma didn't have extra money for toys.  After a little while, I noticed that she had grown very quite in the cart.  I turned to see silent tears rolling down her little cheeks. Her little chin was quivering. She seemed to be trying so hard to hold back her sobs. It wasn't the "Momma said no" cry anymore.  This was different and I wanted to stop and cry right along with her.  Instead, I pulled the cart into the garden section and took her out to just cuddle and hold her.  I am so very blessed to have my girls to hold on to.  I know God has a plan for us!!  Nothing and no one can take my faith!

Chicken, chicken and more chicken

Last night I didn't plan anything ahead of time and stir fry sounded good so I made some rice to go with it and had chicken stir fry.  I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of veggies that the girls ate.  So tonight I'm using the rest of the chicken breasts from the pack I opened yesterday. I'm making aChicken Enchilada Casserole.  I am cutting the recipe in half to fit my family, plus I only have 2 breasts left so it works out just right.  I'm also substituting corn tortillas for the chips. 2 reasons: 1 to cut salt and 2 the tortillas are cheaper than chips. I picked them up at Aldi's!


Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 10-¾ ounce cans cream of chicken soup
¾ cup milk
1 10-½ ounce package tortilla chips
4 ounce can green chilies, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, soup and milk together; set aside.
2.  In a lightly greased 13"x9" baking dish, layer tortilla chips, half of chicken mixture, green chilies and cheese.
3.  Repeat layers ending with cheese.
4.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

We also got our family picture done this week: