It's FRIDAY!!!

well, here i am...and apparently, i didn't realize that i needed lipstick this morning!! ugh.
Oh well...it's ok, because it's friday....one of my FAVE days. why you ask? partying? weekend? payday? nope...it's grocery special day!!!! i know. i'm a huge nerd, but it gets me all excited. not living in the U.S, means that those "crazy coupon ladies" can't be me. not to mention, the things that people usually get coupons for are just garbage. i don't need 86 bottles of sport drink, or 114 boxes of energy bars. we just don't get coupons here in canada the same way y'all do in the U.S., so i have to do things the old fashioned way. (YAY!!) I have to wait till the stores have a great sale, and then SOCK UP!! be it pantry, canning or freezing, i have to figure out a way to keep that sale going for as long as possible. because, who wants to pay full price in february when you can buy it for next to nothing in september? not this chick!

As you saw on my last post, there is a fabulous sale on 10lb bags of potatoes. i mean...come ON!! .99¢? how could i not come home with a whole bunch? but i was good...i didn't buy more than i thought i could handle right now. 30lbs should suffice until i figure out a great way of using them and freezing them. mwahahaha!

i'm just waiting for the apples to go on sale...that's the next big thing. applesauce!! i LOVE applesauce, and having 3 kids means we go through a LOT of it in our house. delish! can't wait for apples.

well, if you see a good sale, stock up and think of me. :) i'll be in my kitchen trying to figure out my potatoes. cheers!

Potato call!!!

http://instagr.am/p/PRzpAelLOX/

Who knows what to do with potatoes?! Preserving I mean. At .99 cents for a 10 lb bag I had to hold myself back from buying more!!! I promised myself I would return before the sale is over IF I can figure it out. Lol! I am going to make home made potato wedges...that's a given. I might just try my hand at gnocchi. And if I can find a good deal on ground pork I will whip up some shepherds pies for the chest freezer...but am I missing something? What else can these incredible, bountiful, CHEAP veggies do?! Help me! I want to buy more! Lol!

Making butter. No churning required.

I'm a notorious sale shopper. I learned it from my mom and it is one of my greatest talents. I recently bought whipping cream on sale with the intentions of yummy deliciousness...but it didn't happen...SO to use the cream without wasting a drop, I made butter! A 2 cup container will yield about 1 cup butter and 1 cup buttermilk. And it's SO simple.

Let cream come to room temperature and chill your metal mixing bowl. Then put the whisking attachment on your mixer and let it do its thing! Just let it go. You may want to cover so you don't splash. Then just watch it as the magic happens! It will turn to frothy gorgeous cream, then it will start to curdle and separate. At this point I switch to my paddle beater and continue to mix on medium. It will start to splash as the butter separates from the buttermilk but if that's the worst that happens, who cares?! Pour off the milk (KEEP IT!!!!) And now rinse your butter. Yes...rinse. add ice cold water to the bowl and mix again. Slowly. Let it mix a bit, and pour off. Do that till the water runs clear and you have no more buttermilk on the butter as it will speed spoilage.
Make sure you get as much water out of your butter after your last rinse, by smushing it with a rubber spatula and pouring off the water that comes out. That's it!!! Enjoy your butter!

an eye opening moment

when you get called something long enough, you begin to believe it. well, this holds true today. i have been asked more and more lately if i'm nuts...crazy...a FREAK. not just by strangers who hear about the way that i live, but by family and friends. my husband and i choose to live very modestly, and old fashioned. very 50's inspired. it's something we enjoy and something we feel is important for our children. we eat home made food. we preserve food in summer to eat during winter. we fix things that are broken...we don't buy new. I sew clothing. we have never been on an airplane...ever. we love spending time together at home. we hike...we don't buy gym memberships. we don't buy things we can't afford...you get the point. but seriously...with all this taken into consideration, WE are the crazy ones? really?!! wow...i feel bad for "normal people".
here we are, teaching our children and ourselves to live a simpler life, all the while, being bombarded with "you need stuff to be happy" commercials and the "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality. it's a daily battle, and it's really hard some days to agree with myself on keeping up this lifestyle, but i know in the end it's what we want. it teaches our children to earn things by saving and hard work. it teaches them pride in what they have, because they have done so much to earn it. this lifestyle allows me to be a work at home mom, and stay home with my kids, and raise them myself. it's what we want, and i am starting to think that waving this freak flag is a badge of honour. something I'VE earned through the struggles and choices we have endured.
so, if you, like me, are tired of the "stuff makes you a better person" and if the busy busy busy lifestyle drives you crazy, come along...wave your freak flag along with me and my family. you'll be glad you did!!

I'm BAAAAACK!!!

i've been gone too long. having a baby, mixed with running a home based OOAK toy business during christmas meant i didn't have time to blog...but, new year, new focus. glad to be back in the kitchen.

I just recently found a recipe for an amazing Chai Concentrate. you can find the recipe HERE.

Now, I enjoyed this thoroughly in my tea. it makes a beautiful cup of warm, spicy chai tea, without paying a premium for the really nice, name brand tea bags. but, where i come in for this recipe, is here...this morning (and most mornings) i make myself a nice big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. but i never do the pre-packaged, pre-flavoured crap they sell in a box. no thanks. i buy myself a big bag of quick oats, dump a nice 2/3 cup in a bowl, boil my water, add whatever flavouring i want that day (brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cinnamon jelly, apples, raisins, etc.) and ta DA!! breakfast. but this morning, i had (as my son says) a LIGHTBULB moment...add the chai concentrate to your oatmeal, and make chai oatmeal. WOW. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. i can't tell you how delicious this is. i added raisins, and a heaping spoon of the chai concentrate, and added my boiling water. it is so good, you will wonder how you ever ate the pre-packaged crap.

try it out, let me know what you think.

Blueberry Oat Cookie Bliss!!

Ok, so here's the dealio. My name is Cherie, and I'm a grocery shopping addict. I know...sounds nuts, but I would rather grocery shop than shop for anything else in the world. I love thinking about all the wonderful yummy creations I'm going to make, and planning my family's meals just about puts me over the moon! Laugh all you will, but at least it's constructive. :p

Another blessing/curse of the grocery shopping addict is that I go crazy when there is a good deal on. If there is a sale, watch out, because I will be all over it! lately, i have been able to find blueberries, strawberries and raspberries for fabulous prices, so, like any good shopaholic, i buy too many. well, not too many strawberries and raspberries...my kids eat those like candy, and they never last long...but blueberries. I have all the intent to make wonderful desserts, smoothies, pie, you name it, but being as busy as i am, i don't ever quite get there....between laundry, and work, and kids and pregnancy and doc appointments...cooking has been last on the list.


HOWEVER...when I have a lot of stuff in the fridge that will go bad if i don't use it, i head to my handy dandy computer, go to my favourite site allrecipes.com, and put in the ingredient of choice. aka, blueberries. well, lo and behold, here came a lovely recipe and one i HAD to try. i skipped by all the muffins and pies and drinks...cookies make my world happy. and even better, if they are THIS good...oh, darlin, watch out!!

BLUEBERRY OAT COOKIES

1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

• Cream butter and sugar together

• Beat in egg and vanilla

• Combine all dry ingredients

• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

• Combine well

• Mix in blueberries by hand!!

• Drop by rounded tablespoon full on to greased cookie sheet

• Bake at 350 for 12 - 14 minutes, or till lightly browned on edges

• let cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack

YUM!

So, needless to say, I can't wait to try this recipe again, except with different fruit. Strawberries being #1 on that list! so good, so easy, basic recipe, but so yummy!!

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Cheers!!

"Clean out the pantry and fridge" Soup

So, last minute meals...you wouldn't think soup would be on the menu...but, it's 4:30, and David has just asked me what is for dinner....

oh...


so, here's the deal. I have some frozen pizzas in the chest freezer that i love for days like this. Days where the work and kids get the better of your time, and dinner falls by the wayside. I forget to take some sort of meat out of the freezer, and i find myself, last minute, either scrambling to the grocery store to pick something up, or scrambling eggs for a breakfast dinner.

today, the frozen pizzas will do...but it's not nearly healthy enough, and i think i could do better for myself and my family, so, lets peek in the fridge.

Oh...all those veggies i bought on saturday, with the good intentions of healthy meals, are still sitting there, all cut up (because i have a strict rule of cutting up veggies before they get put away, so they are easier to use when you want them) and waiting to be made into something delicious.

so, here is what i did. I took the following ingredients, and put them all into a big pan...they are simmering as we speak, and should be ready for dinner at 5:45/6:00pm

INGREDIENTS

4 cups beef stock

6 cups water

1-2 tbsp chicken boullion powder

1 cup dry pearl barley

3/4 cup cooked frozen navy beans

1 can niblets corn

1 can cut green beans

1/2 can whole tomatoes (chopped) WITH juice

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/4 head cabbage, chopped

1/2 turnip, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

few shakes of worcestershire sauce

few shakes of tobasco sauce

let all this come to a boil in your pot, stirring regularly. 

once it is boiling, turn down to simmer and let cook for about 1.5 hours, till everything is nicely cooked through, and the flavours are all melded together.

here is a pic...it's from my ipod, so i apologize for the grainy look. i'll post a better one once the soup is complete, and i have a verdict for you as far as edibility of this soup is concerned (lol)...but soup is one of those things...can you really go wrong?!