Frugal Casserole

Tonight I had a bit of a dilemma.  Saturday night I had made tortillas (yeah, me!); combined ground beef with seasoned black beans, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder & chili powder; and then put them all together in quesadillas. 

We had that for dinner, and it was great!

We had it for lunch on Sunday, and it fit the bill. 

There was still some left over, though.  I really wasn't up to eating it the same way again. 

Really.

So...I decided to re-purpose my ingredients and add a few new ones to liven things up a bit.  Woohoo!

I found a small casserole dish... 
(Yes, relatively small because I didn't want to end up eating this forever either.) 
And let the layering begin!

I added a can of chili beans to my black bean & ground beef mixture.  There wasn't quite enough of the original meat/bean mixture to do the whole casserole, and I needed a bit more moisture. 

That came first in my dish.  I topped that layer with diced green chiles and fresh tomato slices. 

The next layer is my favorite, just because I love most all things cheesy, just ask Gina.  Ha!  I took about four ounces of cream cheese and nuked it for about 30 seconds to soften it up, then I added grated cheddar & mozzarella cheeses...til it looked right.  I also threw in some garlic & onion powder.  (I know, it's quite the shortcut, but it served my purposes.  Don't judge.)

That got topped off with a torn up tortilla.

Repeat and cover with a layer of shredded cheddar.

Next time I do this, I'll probably throw some corn in there somewhere. 
It would have added a nice layer of flavor...and a pop of color.  :-)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Garnish each individual dish with crushed tortilla chips and sour cream. 

"'Elicious!" as my sweet W would say.

Egg Whites, Anyone? No? How About Meringues? Yes, Please!

Making chocolate tapioca pudding was lovely.

Eating chocolate tapioca pudding was a treat.

What do you do with the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9  left over egg whites? 
Make meringue cookies, of course!

Meringue cookies are so very nummy, and ridiculously easy! I do have to warn you, though -- eating a bunch of meringue cookies and deviled eggs in the same week is dangerous.   You will be potentially surrounded by a cloud of sulphur -- 'nuff said.

Here's what you need:

• egg whites
• cream of tartar (1/4 tsp per 3 eggs)
• powdered sugar (1/4 c per egg)
• vanilla (1/4 tsp per 3 eggs)
• peppermint extract (1/4 tsp per 3 eggs) -- optional
• chopped dark chocolate chips -- optional

Here's what you do:

• Get your egg whites separated from the yolks.  (Make sure no yolks make it in with the whites, otherwise they won't whip up right at all.)   There are a couple of ways you can separate eggs -- you can use an egg separator (not my favorite choice); you can use the shell and pour the yolk back and forth between shell halves as the egg white slides down into the bowl (my Grandma's chosen method); or, my favorite, just crack open your egg, keep the yolk in one of the eggshells as you discard the other shell (I usually keep the eggshell in my right hand.) then dump the egg yolk & white into your other hand.  Let the egg whites slip through your fingers as the yolk rests in your fingers.
• For your egg whites to whip up best, they need to be at room temperature.  The Joy of Baking website suggested letting them sit in a covered bowl on the counter for 30 minutes to get them at least close to room temperature.
• Heat your oven to 200 degrees and cover your cookie sheets with parchment paper.  (For 9 egg whites I used two cookie sheets and then I made one giant meringue cookie on a small pan.)  Before you put out your cookies, you can put just a bit of the egg white mixture on the underside of each corner of each piece of parchment paper to hold it down on the cookie sheet.
• Make sure your bowl and whisk are clean, clean, clean!  Any grease in your bowl will keep the egg whites from whipping up.
• Mix the egg whites on medium low until they're frothy, then add your cream of tartar (1/4 tsp for every 3 eggs).  This will stabilize the molecular structure and keep the egg whites from deflating once they're whipped up.  If you don't have cream of tartar, you supposedly can use salt, but I've not tried that yet.
• Here's the part where you hope you have a stand mixer because the egg whites will be whipped for a while at medium high -- all the way to soft peaks (when you lift out the whisk, an egg white mountain will be formed; a soft peak will fold over on itself).  What boggles my mind is that my Grandma would do it by hand!  I am such a wuss.
• Now you get to add the sugar about a tablespoon at a time with your mixer going at medium high speed.  You'll want to use confectioner's (powdered) sugar here because it will dissolve much more easily than granulated sugar.  If you don't have powdered sugar, but you have a food processor, you can make your own.  Just pulse the amount you need in the food processor with the blade in the bottom until the sugar is as fine as you would like. 
• Beat & beat & beat & beat.  Whip & whip & whip & whip.  The goal, now, is stiff glossy peaks (tips that don't fold over on themselves).  Once you're there (give it several minutes...maybe even 5), rub a little of the egg whites between your fingers.  Does it feel grainy or smooth?  If it's grainy,  it needs to be whipped longer so that the sugar has time to dissolve.  If it's smooth, you're good to go forward -- whip in the vanilla extract (1/4 tsp for every 3 eggs).
• You can bake them as is, or you can add other flavoring.  I whisked in peppermint extract (about 1/4 tsp for every 3 eggs) and folded in some chopped up dark chocolate chips.  Delish!
• You can get fancy at this point and put the stiff egg whites into a pastry bag and pipe them onto your parchment paper covered cookie sheets, or you can do as I do and use two spoons to drop them out.  I'm not really picky how they look!
• Bake for 45 minutes -1 hour then rotate your cookie sheets for even baking and bake for another 45 minutes - 1 hr.  DON'T OPEN YOUR OVEN DURING THAT FIRST 45 MINUTES.  (Sorry to yell, but opening your oven will cause your meringues to fall.)
• After the baking time is complete, you should be able to easily pick the meringues up off of the cookie sheet.  If they don't hold up to light tapping with a finger or they don't come off the cookie sheet easily, then they need a bit more time in the oven.  The Joy of Baking lady seemed to think they shouldn't be browned.  I like mine a little on the tan side -- Carmelized Sugar, Baby!  So...as far as the color (or lack thereof) on your meringue, it's a personal choice.
• Now comes the difficult part -- slightly open the oven door and walk away...for several hours or even overnight.  Waiting is so hard to do!   (Ok, so I didn't wait.  I went ahead and enjoyed one...or two...or four.  Yikes!  Don't tell!)
• Whew!  You made it to the end!  The cookies don't take as long to make as it took me to write this post, so be encouraged.  :-)

Do understand that I made meringues on the best but worst possible day -- it rained.  We desperately need rain, so I was very thankful, but the egg whites had to be used that day.  All of that to say, the meringues didn't stay crisp for long, they got soft and sticky thanks to the humidity in the air.  Just be aware.  If you have a choice, a sun-shiny dry day is the best way to go.  Regardless, though, enjoy!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...you make chocolate tapioca pudding.

Beg pardon?

I was making yogurt last week.  Trying to make yogurt, that is.  Distractions bombarded me from every side.  (I know.  You find that hard to imagine.)

Usually, I set a timer to say, "Hey, You!  Check the milk temp...NOW!" 
No.  No.  For some insane reason, this time I thought I could rely on myself watching the clock.
Whatever was I thinking?  Really.  I do know better than that.

By the time I remembered the milk (after nursing and diapers and trips to the potty and sending W back to bed to finish his nap for the third time), I rushed over in a panic, stirred it up and read the thermometer.  192.  Not good.

It would work.  I could make yogurt with milk that has gotten up to 192.  I think I probably have.  However, I am picky about my yogurt texture and consistency.  Some might even call me snobbish on it, but I'm truly just picky.  Anyway, I have discovered that, if the milk temp is outside of the 170s range (doesn't get that high or goes higher), the texture and consistency are off.  It gets lumpy or runny or any myriad of other things that I just don't like for my yogurt.

So here were my "lemons."  There was no way I was going to dump out half a gallon of milk just because it got too hot, but I really didn't want to choke down a half gallon of yogurt just because I was too cheap to chuck it.  What's a girl to do?

Then I remembered a recent Heavenly Homemakers post -- Creamy Pudding...made into pudding pops.  Oh. My. Gravy.  I had forgotten about those delectable summer treats, and now it was to become my "lemonade." 

Smiles.

Usually, I get out all my ingredients and then put them away as I use them. 
But I was flustered,
...and frustrated,
... and in a hurry.
 Not a good combination.

I poured my milk into the pot, added the cocoa, sugar, salt, egg yolks...and discovered I had no cornstarch.  I had had cornstarch the week before..before Hubby decided it might be a good catalyst for exploding a coffee can.  There's a good explanation for that, but you're just going to have to use your imagination today.

So what do you do when you have no cornstarch?  You do a Google search for substitutions, of course!  I didn't want to use flour.  The taste of raw flour just doesn't fit with the flavor profile of pudding.  Quick cooking tapioca was another option as a thickener. 

I knew that I had two boxes...in our boxes from Texas...in the garage.  By this time, I was determined.  I tore through boxes, sometimes quite literally, as I hadn't taken any type of sharp edge out with me to open the boxes.  Finally, I located my tapioca.  Whew!

With the tapioca thrown in the pot, I whisked,
...and whisked,
...and whisked,
...and whisked some more.
And then I whisked a little bit more.  Just for good measure.

Add in luscious butter and some vanilla, and we were good to go.

After enjoying some pudding as pudding,  I also put some of it in the freezer for pudding pops.  Looking forward to trying that out with my munchkins -- yum, yum!

So the next time life hands you lemons...well, you know what to do!

From "Big Fat Chicken" to "Little Red Hen"

I finally ordered my grain mill.  Finally. 

I've only had my hard white wheat berries since January.  Don't even start to count the months! 

I researched and procrastinated...
...and researched some more...
...and procrastinated even more. 

*Sigh*

I tend to do that (the research and procrastinate part...oh, who am I kidding?  I do the sighing thing, too.) when I'm not sure what to do about something.  I recognize it as a flaw.  That's the first step to recovery, right, admitting you have a problem?

I got the WonderMill grain mill.  Love it!  It cost the same at every reputable dealer I checked, and because we have Amazon Prime (which I got for free!  I need to do a post on that one!), shipping was free. 

Wahoo! 

Side note --  If I'm going to order something online, Amazon's one of my go-to places because we have free shipping, and their return policy is great!  (No, they have no idea I'm writing about them right now.)

So I got the grain mill on a Saturday determined to open the box and start grinding that wheat. 

Monday...Tuesday...Wednesday.....nothing happened.  Are you sensing a pattern here?

Thursday...Friday...Saturday...Seriously?  Oh for heaven's sake!  Just grind the darn wheat!...

Sunday...Monday...Like the title says -- "Big Fat Chicken!"  I certainly qualified. 

What in the world did I think was going to happen? 
Was I afraid it would explode?
burn down the house?
spray flour everywhere? (not a completely unfounded concern)

I was unsure, so I procrastinated. 

I really don't like that about myself.

So, the Monday 9 days (yes, 9 days!) after I got my grain mill, I finally ground my first batch of wheat to make my bread (hence "The Little Red Hen"). 

And nothing bad happened.  No wheat spewed; there was no fire or explosion; it actually was over relatively quickly.  It didn't even make the baby cry.  Huh. 

Then I made my first loaves of whole wheat bread. with wheat I had ground.
What an accomplishment!
And...since I had some over ripe bananas, and once I get my  booty in gear I tend to be an over achiever I made two loaves of walnut banana bread and two loaves of craisin applesauce bread. 

It rocked.  This week, I actually made whole wheat bread...twice. 

Oh my.  This could get dangerous.

Why Do I Do This?

The tagline on this blog is about moving into a healthier, more frugal lifestyle. 
That's all well and good, but why? 
What is the point? 

We live in a society of "eat, drink & be merry"
with no thought to the consequences. 
As a family, we refuse to live with that mentality.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

How does being frugal and healthier play into that? 
All we have and are comes from God, Yahweh, Maker of heaven and earth.
We are merely stewards.

For a long time, I lived my life out of obligation -- doing what was right because it was the right thing to do.  To be accepted.  That was a hard place to live. 
It gives rise to pride and to resentment.
Neither is very pretty nor very comfortable.

Then one day, something clicked.

What a beautiful click that was! 
I finally felt in the core of my being that Jesus truly and actually loved me. 
Me. 

I had heard it all my life. 
Known it in my head. 
Had a conversion experience where I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
Somewhere in there, though, I never really got that He loved me.
Desperately. 
Passionately. 
Loved. 

Me.

And that changed everything. 
I do what I do because I love Him. 
For real.
Not because I feel I have to in order to be accepted.
I love Him because He first loved me.

So...living frugally and getting healthy is a way that I can show Him
that I value what He's given me.
I want to do the best I can for Him because I love Him,
and I want to make Him smile.

And I know that I do, because He loves me, too.   :-)

Being a "Grunt" is Not So Bad

One of the descriptors of this blog refers to leading a healthier life. 
What's healthier than working hard in the great outdoors? 

A week ago, a storm came through town and took out a huge sycamore tree.  Sadly, it was the only shade on the east side of the house, and it took out the fence on the south side of the house.  Also, one-third of a tree tore off on the west side of the house and took out the west fence.  Obviously, it was not a night of straightline winds.

Thank the Lord for sweet friends!  The lovely C family (Dad, Mom & 4 munchkins) came over and helped make short work of the sycamore mess.  There's still a bare tree trunk down on the fence  (and propped up by two logs; safety issues will surely be another post!), but at least all the branches have been disposed of, and we can actually use the driveway again.

The fence going down on the west was not so bad because Daddy (Yes, I am from the South and will probably call my Daddy "Daddy" til the day I die.) was planning on moving the fence further west anyway.  I think it just moved that job higher in priority on his list.  The last couple of days he's been taking down the fence, marking off the new area for the fence, and figuring out what he needs to make this happen.  One other thing that has to be moved is the wood pile.

Aah...the wood pile.  Growing up, we heated pretty exclusively with wood.  There was a small gas heater in the bathroom to keep the pipes from freezing, but other than that, we had no heat upstairs.  Downstairs, we had our wood stove, and to make that lovely heat that you could back up to, we had to have wood.  Lots of wood.  Being poor as we were (I didn't know we were poor til I went to college.), buying wood wasn't an option.  Thankfully, my Grandpa had timber on some of his land, so there was wood for the taking chopping and hauling. 

I had two sisters, so it wasn't a matter of sending out the guys to get the wood.  This was a family affair!  I couldn't even begin to count the ricks of wood I've chucked and stacked.  We worked hard.  My Mama had this wonderful knack of making work a game as well as appealing to our competitive nature.  If we could get the truck full in such & such amount of time we could do...and the carrot was placed before us.  We worked hard, but it was good work, and we are strong and confident women in no small part due to the work we did as a family.

All of that brings me back to tonight.  Since Daddy's moving the fence, the wood pile needed to be moved.  I took on the job, and it felt so good.  There is something so very therapeutic about physical labor.  A job this simple -- take these logs & put them there -- is uncomplicated and yet very satisfying to accomplish. 

The sweat ran down my face, off the tip of my nose, and stung my eyes.  My arms are scratched up from carrying armfuls of wood.  And yet, I had a peaceful time being a "pile-it" this evening.

It's not so bad being a "Grunt" from time to time, and that's the honest truth.

Kid-Friendly Sticky Oatmeal -- For You, Gina! :-)

My dear, sweet friend, Gina, asked me for my sticky oatmeal recipe.  I like my oatmeal nearly sliceable.  It's thick and on the sticky side, which is great when you have toddlers learning to use a spoon on their own!  Too, it's easy to make & you know exactly what goes into it.  The only sweetener?  Unsweetened, all natural applesauce.  Good stuff!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. quick cooking oats (I use rolled oats when I make it for myself.)
pinch of salt
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves to taste
1/3 c.-ish applesauce
optional -- raisins, craisins, nuts
a few Tbsps of milk
1 tsp - 1Tbsp peanut butter

When I started off with my kids, they ate about 1/4 cup of the oats. 
Now?  They're easily eating 2/3 of a cup.  How time flies and tummies grow!

So...the amounts are going to stay in proportion...and it's a "til it looks right" kind of recipe.

Directions:
In a small kid-friendly dish stir oats, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves.  (For kid friendly dishes, I love the ones from IKEA.  They're inexpensive, dishwasher safe, and the perfect size for little ones!)  Add the applesauce and combine well.  If you want to add any optional ingredients, now would be the time.  :-)  Microwave for 45 seconds - 1 minutes.  Then just cover the surface with milk (to help cool it down) and stir in the peanut butter. 

May you enjoy, & may it help your little ones with their spoon skills!  :-)