A few weeks ago my husband and I visited his family in the mountains of Virginia. His parents and his sister both have huge gardens that produce more fruit and vegetables than they're able to use. We were blessed to have them share their bounty with us and we came home with 3 giant zucchinis, a variety of squash, 2 huge pie pumpkins, 4 spaghetti squash, green peppers, fresh dill, cherry tomatoes, rhubarb, and a few pounds of freshly dug potatoes! Thankfully much of this is stays fresh for a long time and is also freezable. So I've been slowly roasting & pureeing the squash & pumpkins and preparing the other food to be frozen.
My mother-in-law gave me a fantastic recipe for zucchini bread and I found a great recipe for pumpkin muffins. I want to share both!
Lorraine's Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 c. coarsely grated zucchini
2 c. flour
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans or one 10" bundt pan.
2) Beat eggs until frothy, beat in sugar, oil, and vanilla. Beat until thick and lemon colored. Stir in zucchini.
3) Mix dry ingredients together and add to batter. Pour into pans. Bake 50-60 minutes or until loaves spring back at a touch.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla
3/4 c. solid packed pumpkin puree
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffin tins.
2) In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt.
3) In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Scape down sides of bowl. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in chocolate chips.
4) Fill muffin cups evenly. Bake 18-20 minutes or until firm to touch and toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
New Recipes :)
Growing up, one of my favorite Sunday morning breakfasts was when my dad would make oven pancakes. For some reason I always thought these were complicated or difficult to make but when I did the research I discovered that they are super easy! I decided to share the recipe.
Oven Pancakes
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. butter
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. confectioners' sugar (optional)
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
2) Place butter in a 9-inch cake pan (I used an 8-inch square casserole dish) and heat in the oven until melted. In a blender or food processor, whip eggs and milk (I used an immersion blender). Pour in flour and beat until well combined. Pour batter into hot pan. Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar.
3) Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
I also wanted to share a killer recipe for banana pancakes. My parents are currently living in Kenya and apparently have access to tons of bananas and I'm thinking of them as I write this. I love to make triple batches of this recipe and freeze them, when I'm looking for something quick and healthy to give James, I just pop one in the toaster oven for a couple minutes.
Whole-wheat Banana Pancakes
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c. milk
2 tbsp. butter, melted (optional)
1 banana
1) Mix together dry ingredients. Add beaten egg, milk and butter.
2) Add 1 mashed banana and mix until well blended, but lumpy.
3) Pour desired size pancake onto a medium-hot lightly greased griddle.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Greenwashing
The concept of greenwashing is one that I've learned from some other blogs that I follow and the idea is something like this: companies deliberately mislead consumers to believe that they are more friendly to the environment (green) than they actually are.
There's one company in particular that I've noticed doing this lately. Seventh Generation. There's a lot that I like about 7th Gen. I love their multi-purpose spray and their laundry detergent. But their packaging is something I just can't wrap my head around. That and the fact that they sell disinfecting wipes.
On Amazon.com you can purchase 7th Gen products in bulk. This is a great theory. I love to stock up in order to save money down the road. My issue is that their idea of bulk is selling 6-packs of their products. Why not sell one large container to cut down on the resources needed to produce each individual container and then the energy needed to recycle them later?
I also have issues with the fact that a company that supposedly cares about the environment, as sort of their main schtick is selling disposable disinfecting wipes. Those wipes produce an incredible amount of waste and they just go into the garbage. I can't find anything on 7th Gen's website to indicate that these wipes are biodegradable which means that they'll never break down in the landfill. But even assuming they are, unless you're using biodegradable trash bags, it won't matter because things that would otherwise compost or degrade aren't given the chance if they're wrapped up in the traditional plastic bag.
I think in these ways Seventh Generation isn't living up to the green standard they've set for themselves. They're doing a bit of greenwashing.
There's one company in particular that I've noticed doing this lately. Seventh Generation. There's a lot that I like about 7th Gen. I love their multi-purpose spray and their laundry detergent. But their packaging is something I just can't wrap my head around. That and the fact that they sell disinfecting wipes.
On Amazon.com you can purchase 7th Gen products in bulk. This is a great theory. I love to stock up in order to save money down the road. My issue is that their idea of bulk is selling 6-packs of their products. Why not sell one large container to cut down on the resources needed to produce each individual container and then the energy needed to recycle them later?
I also have issues with the fact that a company that supposedly cares about the environment, as sort of their main schtick is selling disposable disinfecting wipes. Those wipes produce an incredible amount of waste and they just go into the garbage. I can't find anything on 7th Gen's website to indicate that these wipes are biodegradable which means that they'll never break down in the landfill. But even assuming they are, unless you're using biodegradable trash bags, it won't matter because things that would otherwise compost or degrade aren't given the chance if they're wrapped up in the traditional plastic bag.
I think in these ways Seventh Generation isn't living up to the green standard they've set for themselves. They're doing a bit of greenwashing.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
When Other Treatments Fail
This week has been kind of hard for James. Since I started taking him to daycare with me (about a month ago) our whole family has been subject to more sickness, James especially. Unfortunately, this week James got a stomach bug. He's had loose BM's for a few days and the real problem is that he's gotten a terrible diaper rash. The other two or three children who have had the bug have also had terrible diaper rashes. They've all had bright red, blistered bottoms. Yesterday James' bottom was bleeding some. It broke my heart to change his diapers because the wipes and the action of wiping hurt him so much.
Three years ago I was working at a daycare in Cary, NC, and there was a child in my classroom who struggled with chronic diaper rash. His mother invested in some Triple Paste diaper cream and that was the only cream that kept his rash at bay. So when James' rash was unresponsive to the typical creams like Boudreaux's Butt Paste or Desitin Original, I decided to track down this Triple Paste.
I found it at Target for a whopping $7.40 for 2oz. Thankfully I had a gift-card so I didn't think twice about grabbing that tube plus some store-brand Pedialyte. The slogan on the package is "Recommended by pediatricians and dermatologists when other treatments fail". While it's slightly amusing to me that they're basically saying, "Eh, if your other stuff doesn't work, give us a try", this stuff works! This morning James' rash was only pink. I need to make sure to put it on him every time I change his diaper for as long as his stomach hurts, but it was more than worth the price to alleviate the pain he was in.
I can't recommend this stuff strongly enough. If you're registering for baby stuff, put at least one tube of Triple Paste on there so that you won't have to drop the cash yourself. I agree with the slogan though, the price is pretty steep to use as everyday diaper cream, but if your baby has persistent diaper rash or particularly painful rash, this stuff nearly works miracles.
Three years ago I was working at a daycare in Cary, NC, and there was a child in my classroom who struggled with chronic diaper rash. His mother invested in some Triple Paste diaper cream and that was the only cream that kept his rash at bay. So when James' rash was unresponsive to the typical creams like Boudreaux's Butt Paste or Desitin Original, I decided to track down this Triple Paste.
I found it at Target for a whopping $7.40 for 2oz. Thankfully I had a gift-card so I didn't think twice about grabbing that tube plus some store-brand Pedialyte. The slogan on the package is "Recommended by pediatricians and dermatologists when other treatments fail". While it's slightly amusing to me that they're basically saying, "Eh, if your other stuff doesn't work, give us a try", this stuff works! This morning James' rash was only pink. I need to make sure to put it on him every time I change his diaper for as long as his stomach hurts, but it was more than worth the price to alleviate the pain he was in.
I can't recommend this stuff strongly enough. If you're registering for baby stuff, put at least one tube of Triple Paste on there so that you won't have to drop the cash yourself. I agree with the slogan though, the price is pretty steep to use as everyday diaper cream, but if your baby has persistent diaper rash or particularly painful rash, this stuff nearly works miracles.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
My Baby Product Faves
Before James was born, I worked in daycares & preschools, primarily in the Infant Classrooms. I was able to use nearly all the bottle brands, pacifiers, and diapers that are on the market. When I got pregnant I was so relieved to have all of that experience because it made many (definitely not all) of my Baby Registry decisions so much easier. In fact, I remember standing in front of the wall of bottles and pacifiers and knowing that if hadn't already tried them all out I would have been completely overwhelmed.
Baby Bottles
Long before James was born and even before I was pregnant with him, I knew that I wanted to use Avent bottles. I like Avent because you don't have to fiddle with all different pieces and inserts (like Dr. Brown's) and I wouldn't be using and discarding hundreds or thousands of disposable bottle liners (like Playtex Drop-ins). Unfortunately, all of my foreknowledge wasn't quite enough. James had a bit of reflux when he was born and often choked while drinking his bottle. This was very unnerving for my husband, who was usually the one giving James his bottles since I was breastfeeding. Also, the Avents sometimes leak. I can't explain how or why they do it, but there's something about the threads on the lid or the anti-colic mechanism in the nipples that make them leak. That is very frustrating at 6am when you have a screaming infant and half-awake parent.
When James was a few months old, Babies 'R Us released a line of Tommee Tippee products. These bottles are exclusively at Babies 'R Us. They were the first bottles I've ever looked at and thought to myself, "That actually looks like a breast." Since I was breastfeeding and James was choking up on the Avents, we decided to buy one and try it out. James rarely choked on the Tommee Tippees and these bottles never leaked. There are only two cons about the Tommee Tippee bottles: 1) it seems like if you use a traditional bottle/nipple brush to clean them, there's a high likelihood of damaging the bottles. Tommee Tippee sells a special brush to clean them for around $5.99. 2) I was able to use Avent bottles on my breast pump but the Tommee Tippee bottle tops were too wide. The storage bottles that came with the pump only held around 4oz and when James was bigger, I produced more than would fit in those bottles. Believe me, changing out bottles during the middle of pumping is a terrible pain.
Later, I found a cyst in my breast and it had to be removed while I was still breastfeeding. For about a week I wasn't allowed to nurse on that side. In an effort to make sure James stayed interested in breastfeeding, we went out and bought a few more Tommee Tippee bottles. (For those who don't know, bottles are easier to suckle than breasts because the milk flows faster from the bottle. This means, when babies are given only bottles for a period of time, they sometimes refuse to take the breast.) All in all, Avents are alright, but I definitely recommend Tommee Tippees.
Whatever bottle you decide to use, make sure that it's BPA-free. This is becoming a standard in baby gear, but for me it was a big deterrent from buying bottles used.
Diapers
Now, for diapers. We use cloth diapers as much as we can and disposables at daycare and overnight. My understanding is that it's a sanitation requirement at daycare and overnight, the cloth diapers just don't hold what we need them to.
Thankfully we were able to avoid some of the up-front cost associated with cloth diapers by receiving hand-me-downs from my sister who used them for her oldest daughter. She gave us about a dozen pocket diapers. These diapers (like the one James is wearing in the picture) are adorable and also pretty convenient. After you wash them, they require a small amount of assembly but then strap on pretty much like a disposable. Very friendly to the skeptic or babysitter. The downside is that they run about $12-13 a piece. That can get pretty pricey when you really need around 2 dozen diapers.
In addition to those, we bought a dozen Econobum pre-folds for $50. To me, this is an unbeatable deal. For those on a budget, you can get 2 dozen diapers, fill your diaper needs, and only spend about $100! When your babies are tiny, its not uncommon to spend $50 or more every month in diapers! These diapers are slightly less convenient. They look more like what people think of when they envision cloth diapers. There's a piece of cloth that I fold in thirds, wrap around his bottom, then I add a water-proof cover (3 come in a pack) that snaps into place. These Econobums are designed to be one-size fits most depending on which way you fold the cloth insert and how the liners are snapped up. After every change, the cover is hung up to air out, unless it's soiled, in which case it needs to be washed. Obviously, the pro to this particular cloth diaper system are that it is so very affordable; the con is that it can be a bit of a hassle to juggle so many pieces when you're out and about. This is where I have loved having some pocket diapers and some pre-folds.
Now, about cleaning them. I had hard time nailing down how my friends in the States washed their diapers (apparently in other parts of the world, it's fairly easy to attach small water hose to the back of the toilet which is very useful for cleaning poopy off diapers). Personally, we keep our diaper pail in the bathroom because I do notice a distinct urine odor when we left it in James' room. The bathroom is aired out enough that I really don't notice it there. If a diaper is just wet I don't do anything to pre-treat it, it just goes in the pail (if it's a pocket diaper, I disassemble it first). For poopy diapers, I shake the soil into the toilet and flush the majority of it. Then I swish it around so that anything lingering is off and I flush again. When I get down to about 3 clean diapers, I start soaking the dirty diapers in the washer (in cold water). I wash the diapers in cold water without detergent first; then wash in hot water with detergent (I really like 7th Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent, but while it doesn't have to be that brand, there are specific kinds that are ok to use). After the hot water wash, the diapers are sent through a hot water rinse cycle. I hang up my pre-fold covers and machine dry everything else.
One thing that is important to know is that cloth diapers are much bulkier than disposables which affects which clothes will fit on your baby. I also think James looks like he's got an old man belly sometimes when he wears them :). Also, from what I understand, you can't use most diaper creams when you use cloth diapers. This is because the diaper creams are meant to keep moisture off your child's bottom and if the cream soaks into the diaper it can compromise the diaper's ability to absorb moisture. So when James has a diaper rash we usually switch back to disposables.
If you go with disposables, I have a few opinions about those as well :). I can't stand Huggies or Wal-mart Brand. They had tons of leaks and just weren't worth my money. Pampers were nice, but pricey. Luvs & Target brand are my go-to's. I usually buy whichever of those are cheaper. Recently, I got 2 cases of Luvs for 16.99 each and received a $10 gift-card to Target! Can't beat that!
Jogging Stroller?
Yesterday my husband and I purchased a jogging stroller. Hopefully I'll be able to endorse it soon, but I haven't been able to try it out yet. It's a Baby Trend Velocity stroller that I found on clearance at Babies 'R US. It was 30% off because it was out of the box, which was a great deal. Babies 'R US routinely releases coupons for 20% off one Baby Gear item (so much so that I try to avoid any large purchases unless I have one). I thought it was a long shot to use it on already reduced products, but they accepted it no problem! I purchased a $180 stroller for $103 and change after tax! I can't wait to try it out and let you know how it goes!
Baby Bottles
Long before James was born and even before I was pregnant with him, I knew that I wanted to use Avent bottles. I like Avent because you don't have to fiddle with all different pieces and inserts (like Dr. Brown's) and I wouldn't be using and discarding hundreds or thousands of disposable bottle liners (like Playtex Drop-ins). Unfortunately, all of my foreknowledge wasn't quite enough. James had a bit of reflux when he was born and often choked while drinking his bottle. This was very unnerving for my husband, who was usually the one giving James his bottles since I was breastfeeding. Also, the Avents sometimes leak. I can't explain how or why they do it, but there's something about the threads on the lid or the anti-colic mechanism in the nipples that make them leak. That is very frustrating at 6am when you have a screaming infant and half-awake parent.
When James was a few months old, Babies 'R Us released a line of Tommee Tippee products. These bottles are exclusively at Babies 'R Us. They were the first bottles I've ever looked at and thought to myself, "That actually looks like a breast." Since I was breastfeeding and James was choking up on the Avents, we decided to buy one and try it out. James rarely choked on the Tommee Tippees and these bottles never leaked. There are only two cons about the Tommee Tippee bottles: 1) it seems like if you use a traditional bottle/nipple brush to clean them, there's a high likelihood of damaging the bottles. Tommee Tippee sells a special brush to clean them for around $5.99. 2) I was able to use Avent bottles on my breast pump but the Tommee Tippee bottle tops were too wide. The storage bottles that came with the pump only held around 4oz and when James was bigger, I produced more than would fit in those bottles. Believe me, changing out bottles during the middle of pumping is a terrible pain.
Later, I found a cyst in my breast and it had to be removed while I was still breastfeeding. For about a week I wasn't allowed to nurse on that side. In an effort to make sure James stayed interested in breastfeeding, we went out and bought a few more Tommee Tippee bottles. (For those who don't know, bottles are easier to suckle than breasts because the milk flows faster from the bottle. This means, when babies are given only bottles for a period of time, they sometimes refuse to take the breast.) All in all, Avents are alright, but I definitely recommend Tommee Tippees.
Whatever bottle you decide to use, make sure that it's BPA-free. This is becoming a standard in baby gear, but for me it was a big deterrent from buying bottles used.
Diapers
Now, for diapers. We use cloth diapers as much as we can and disposables at daycare and overnight. My understanding is that it's a sanitation requirement at daycare and overnight, the cloth diapers just don't hold what we need them to.
Thankfully we were able to avoid some of the up-front cost associated with cloth diapers by receiving hand-me-downs from my sister who used them for her oldest daughter. She gave us about a dozen pocket diapers. These diapers (like the one James is wearing in the picture) are adorable and also pretty convenient. After you wash them, they require a small amount of assembly but then strap on pretty much like a disposable. Very friendly to the skeptic or babysitter. The downside is that they run about $12-13 a piece. That can get pretty pricey when you really need around 2 dozen diapers.
In addition to those, we bought a dozen Econobum pre-folds for $50. To me, this is an unbeatable deal. For those on a budget, you can get 2 dozen diapers, fill your diaper needs, and only spend about $100! When your babies are tiny, its not uncommon to spend $50 or more every month in diapers! These diapers are slightly less convenient. They look more like what people think of when they envision cloth diapers. There's a piece of cloth that I fold in thirds, wrap around his bottom, then I add a water-proof cover (3 come in a pack) that snaps into place. These Econobums are designed to be one-size fits most depending on which way you fold the cloth insert and how the liners are snapped up. After every change, the cover is hung up to air out, unless it's soiled, in which case it needs to be washed. Obviously, the pro to this particular cloth diaper system are that it is so very affordable; the con is that it can be a bit of a hassle to juggle so many pieces when you're out and about. This is where I have loved having some pocket diapers and some pre-folds.
Now, about cleaning them. I had hard time nailing down how my friends in the States washed their diapers (apparently in other parts of the world, it's fairly easy to attach small water hose to the back of the toilet which is very useful for cleaning poopy off diapers). Personally, we keep our diaper pail in the bathroom because I do notice a distinct urine odor when we left it in James' room. The bathroom is aired out enough that I really don't notice it there. If a diaper is just wet I don't do anything to pre-treat it, it just goes in the pail (if it's a pocket diaper, I disassemble it first). For poopy diapers, I shake the soil into the toilet and flush the majority of it. Then I swish it around so that anything lingering is off and I flush again. When I get down to about 3 clean diapers, I start soaking the dirty diapers in the washer (in cold water). I wash the diapers in cold water without detergent first; then wash in hot water with detergent (I really like 7th Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent, but while it doesn't have to be that brand, there are specific kinds that are ok to use). After the hot water wash, the diapers are sent through a hot water rinse cycle. I hang up my pre-fold covers and machine dry everything else.
One thing that is important to know is that cloth diapers are much bulkier than disposables which affects which clothes will fit on your baby. I also think James looks like he's got an old man belly sometimes when he wears them :). Also, from what I understand, you can't use most diaper creams when you use cloth diapers. This is because the diaper creams are meant to keep moisture off your child's bottom and if the cream soaks into the diaper it can compromise the diaper's ability to absorb moisture. So when James has a diaper rash we usually switch back to disposables.
If you go with disposables, I have a few opinions about those as well :). I can't stand Huggies or Wal-mart Brand. They had tons of leaks and just weren't worth my money. Pampers were nice, but pricey. Luvs & Target brand are my go-to's. I usually buy whichever of those are cheaper. Recently, I got 2 cases of Luvs for 16.99 each and received a $10 gift-card to Target! Can't beat that!
Jogging Stroller?
Yesterday my husband and I purchased a jogging stroller. Hopefully I'll be able to endorse it soon, but I haven't been able to try it out yet. It's a Baby Trend Velocity stroller that I found on clearance at Babies 'R US. It was 30% off because it was out of the box, which was a great deal. Babies 'R US routinely releases coupons for 20% off one Baby Gear item (so much so that I try to avoid any large purchases unless I have one). I thought it was a long shot to use it on already reduced products, but they accepted it no problem! I purchased a $180 stroller for $103 and change after tax! I can't wait to try it out and let you know how it goes!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Cooking Day Extravaganza
At the beginning of the month my husband and I sat down and evaluated our budget. We determined that our already tight budget needed to be trimmed down even further. I set a goal to cut our grocery budget by $80 every month. With this in mind, we planned a Cooking Day Extravaganza, one day to prepare all of our dinners for the month. This month we won't trim the budget, but I'm hoping that if we continue to do this, we'll be able to find our Cooking Day things on sale beforehand and we won't have to buy all of our ingredients every month, they'll become standards in our pantry.
The Cooking Day has two budget-conscious purposes. 1) We're able to buy more in bulk and 2) By planning ahead, we can avoid impulse buying & eating out. It also has a time-management purpose: by working ahead, we save A TON of time on late nights when we don't have the energy to prepare a healthy, satisfying meal.
We had some help planning from my REAL SIMPLE magazine. Last month they ran an article called "The Great Dinner Swap" thinking that a few families could coordinate so that each family makes a large quantity of one meal then they all swap what they make. We decided to make all of them on our own & we modified some of them since we don't eat commercially processed meat.
We made Baked Penne with Spinach & Sun-dried Tomatoes, Mushroom & Spinach Calzones, Enchiladas, and Chili. We also soaked & prepared garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and black beans so that they'd be ready to mix in with Pasta Salad that we can make on the spot if we need to (we also planned for homemade pizza and/or shrimp & veggie stir-fry). Today I'll share the Baked Penne recipe :)
Baked Penne with Spinach & Sun-dried Tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped (or 2 tbsp. minced garlic)
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (we used some that were packed dry but we chopped them & threw them in the food processor with some olive oil)
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
4 28-oz cans whole tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt & black pepper
3 lbs penne
4 5-oz packages fresh baby spinach
2 lbs mozzarella, grated (about 8 cups)
4 oz Parmesan (about 1 cup)
1) Divide the oil between two large saucepans and heat over medium heat. Divide the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes between the saucepans and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Divide the crushed tomatoes between the saucepans.
2) Break up the whole tomatoes by cutting them up with scissors (while in the can) or by crushing them with your hands. Divide the tomatoes and vinegar between the saucepans; season each with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, bring 2 large pots of water to a boil; add 1 tbsp. salt to each. Divide the pasta between the pots; cook for half the recommended time on the package directions (the pasta will continue to cook when it is baked). Drain the pasta; return it to the pots.
4) Divide the spinach between the saucepans of sauce and cook, stirring, until the spinach begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Pour a saucepan of tomato sauce into each of the pasta pots and toss to combine.
5) Divide one of the pots of the pasta mixture among four 8-inch square baking dishes (the dishes will be halfway full). Sprinkle each with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Divide evenly among the dishes, top with the remaining pot of pasta mixture. Sprinkle each with 1 cup of the remaining mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.
To Eat Tonight:
Bake the pasta on a rimmed baking sheet at 400F until bubbling and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
To Freeze & Cook Later:
Freeze the unbaked pasta, tightly sealed, for up to 3 months. To cook, thaw the pasta and bake, uncovered, on a rimmed baking sheet at 400F until heated through, bubbling, and beginning to brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Cheap, let me introduce you to Elbow Grease
For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about finding good deals. I shop the clearance rack for nearly everything and I love to share my finds with other people. Recently I've started to realize how much money I can save with a little extra elbow grease. In many instances I save a ton of money plus my end product is healthier for my family and the environment. Two great examples, dusting solution and homemade bread.
First I should confess that until about a week ago, I hadn't dusted in my apartment in months. In fact, I don't think I had dusted since we moved in last October. Gross, I know. I've been trying to buy more earth-conscious cleaning supplies (Seventh Gen, Green Works, etc) but I hadn't found a dusting solution that didn't include an aerosol can or disposable pads. So I waited. Then an old friend of mine posted a recipe for homemade dusting solution on her blog and I love it. When I made the solution, it inspired me to clean up my apartment so that I could use it right away. It's super super cheap, non-toxic (your child could spray it in his mouth and you could laugh sympathetically because it tastes bad instead of panicking), and I've started using it around the house for other chores like the bathroom or kitchen counters.
Dusting Solution
1 cup White Distilled Vinegar
1/2 - 1 tsp. Olive Oil
1-2 drops Lemon Juice
I simply reused an old Seventh Gen Multi-purpose spray bottle and tripled the recipe. I try to shake it up before I use it since vinegar and oil separate. I love it!
Admittedly the homemade bread is a bit more work intensive. But the end result is worth it for me. I spent three hours from start to finish (with two one-hour breaks to let the dough rise) and made six loaves of bread. I froze three loaves to be baked later. Since I got many of my ingredients at Sam's club (including a 25lb bag of Bread Flour for $6.40!), I estimate that it costs around $3 to make one batch. Roughly $0.50 a loaf! Even better, I know exactly what's in our bread and I can rest at peace serving it to our family, especially James. I found this recipe to make a nice airy loaf (not dense like some others I've tried), but the bread is slightly crumbly unless toasted. This isn't a problem for us most of the time because we like toast, but if I'm packing a lunch sometimes toast doesn't store well. I'm planning to keep experimenting with other recipes and I'll be sure to post any better recipes.
Homemade Sandwich Bread
1/2 cup Warm Water (100-110F)
3 (.25oz) packages Activated Dry Yeast (5 1/2 tsp. by my calculation)
1/4 cup Bread Flour
1 tbsp. Sugar
2 cups Quick-Cooking Oats
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 1/2 cups Warm Water
1 1/2 tbsp. Salt
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
10 cups Bread Flour
1) In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/2 c. warm water, sugar, 1/4 c. bread flour and yeast. Let it grow for about 5 minutes. It should bubble almost immediately.
2) Measure oats, water, whole wheat flour, salt, brown sugar, and oil into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 1 c. at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from sides of bowl. It is normal for dough to be sticky. (Since my mixer isn't very big, I started mixing it with a wooden spoon halfway through adding the flour. I then turned it out onto a well-floured surface to knead it well.)
3) Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (80-90F) for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4) Cut dough into 6 even pieces. Shape loaves.
5) If you're planning to freeze any bread, wrap it in plastic wrap and immediately place in freezer before it can rise. When you are ready to bake it, simply pick up with step 6, allowing a few hours for it to thaw and rise.
6)Place dough in greased 8x4 pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rims of pans, usually 1 hour.
7) Bake at 350F for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned.
First I should confess that until about a week ago, I hadn't dusted in my apartment in months. In fact, I don't think I had dusted since we moved in last October. Gross, I know. I've been trying to buy more earth-conscious cleaning supplies (Seventh Gen, Green Works, etc) but I hadn't found a dusting solution that didn't include an aerosol can or disposable pads. So I waited. Then an old friend of mine posted a recipe for homemade dusting solution on her blog and I love it. When I made the solution, it inspired me to clean up my apartment so that I could use it right away. It's super super cheap, non-toxic (your child could spray it in his mouth and you could laugh sympathetically because it tastes bad instead of panicking), and I've started using it around the house for other chores like the bathroom or kitchen counters.
Dusting Solution
1 cup White Distilled Vinegar
1/2 - 1 tsp. Olive Oil
1-2 drops Lemon Juice
I simply reused an old Seventh Gen Multi-purpose spray bottle and tripled the recipe. I try to shake it up before I use it since vinegar and oil separate. I love it!
Admittedly the homemade bread is a bit more work intensive. But the end result is worth it for me. I spent three hours from start to finish (with two one-hour breaks to let the dough rise) and made six loaves of bread. I froze three loaves to be baked later. Since I got many of my ingredients at Sam's club (including a 25lb bag of Bread Flour for $6.40!), I estimate that it costs around $3 to make one batch. Roughly $0.50 a loaf! Even better, I know exactly what's in our bread and I can rest at peace serving it to our family, especially James. I found this recipe to make a nice airy loaf (not dense like some others I've tried), but the bread is slightly crumbly unless toasted. This isn't a problem for us most of the time because we like toast, but if I'm packing a lunch sometimes toast doesn't store well. I'm planning to keep experimenting with other recipes and I'll be sure to post any better recipes.
Homemade Sandwich Bread
1/2 cup Warm Water (100-110F)
3 (.25oz) packages Activated Dry Yeast (5 1/2 tsp. by my calculation)
1/4 cup Bread Flour
1 tbsp. Sugar
2 cups Quick-Cooking Oats
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 1/2 cups Warm Water
1 1/2 tbsp. Salt
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
10 cups Bread Flour
1) In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/2 c. warm water, sugar, 1/4 c. bread flour and yeast. Let it grow for about 5 minutes. It should bubble almost immediately.
2) Measure oats, water, whole wheat flour, salt, brown sugar, and oil into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 1 c. at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from sides of bowl. It is normal for dough to be sticky. (Since my mixer isn't very big, I started mixing it with a wooden spoon halfway through adding the flour. I then turned it out onto a well-floured surface to knead it well.)
3) Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (80-90F) for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4) Cut dough into 6 even pieces. Shape loaves.
5) If you're planning to freeze any bread, wrap it in plastic wrap and immediately place in freezer before it can rise. When you are ready to bake it, simply pick up with step 6, allowing a few hours for it to thaw and rise.
6)Place dough in greased 8x4 pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rims of pans, usually 1 hour.
7) Bake at 350F for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Beginning
As a way of introduction, my name is Michal. I have been happily married for 3 1/2 years to a wonderful man, Nathan. We met during college on a mission trip to Romania. He is currently on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at ECU. We have a son, the love of our lives, James, who is now 9 1/2 months old. James is a wonderful baby, he likes to get into things and is constantly breaking out of the play area we've attempted to create in our living room. I am currently a part-time stay at home mom and working part-time at the daycare at the church we attend. James comes to the daycare with me in the afternoons. My hope is that one day I'll be a full-time stay at home mom and that our family will continue to expand.
I'm constantly looking for ways to trim our budget and remain earth-conscious. I have a passion for feeding my son healthy foods and I am working on feeding myself and my husband healthier as well.
I'm constantly looking for ways to trim our budget and remain earth-conscious. I have a passion for feeding my son healthy foods and I am working on feeding myself and my husband healthier as well.
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