Q & A cleaning the shower

Tulip's question is:

Ok....so after spending months being pregnant with no energy, not being able to bend over, then surgery, it's been forever since I've decently cleaned my shower...boy, is it disgusting!! What are your tips to getting a super gross shower with hard water stains clean?!?!

Being that I'm actually now an expert in house cleaning (or at least I like to think that I am) I feel like I can answer this question with confidence. I scrub 9-10 showers a week. Yikes. Counting that up is kinda scary and depressing. (For those that don't know, I clean houses to help earn money to feed our family while my husband is out of work.)

Zep- Zep is my new friend. Zep is for tubs and tile but also comes in a mildew version as well. I use both. This stuff is POWERFUL and does an amazing job...especially when I have to clean tile grout. I buy Zep at Home Depot in a quite large bottle for an amazing sticker price of less than $2 (I think it's a buck 50). Spray it on and let it sit for a bit. Then Zep, Zep, Zep it's gone! Go get it right now. It's fun to say too.

Bar Keepers Friend- I've talked about BKF before and let me tell you, it. is. a. favorite. of mine for the kitchen AND the bathrooms. This stuff scrubs off calcium deposits like nobody's business. Works awesome on glass shower doors if you use a good scratch sponge. (psst, it cleans toilets great too!) BKF also removes a lot of stains although some shower stains I have found to be just plain old stained...unremovable. Short of taking a wrecking ball to the shower some stains just want leave. We must fold our hands and except this.

CLR- I love CLR too. It works great on rust and calcium build up. Can't say that I've ever had lime to remove but I'm sure it would do that too. If you've got an old tub with rust issues, this is your stuff. If you've got age old calcium build up let CLR sit on it for a bit and then scrub away. I also have a trick for getting the calcium out of the shower head so that it will spray well again. Pour CLR into a cup and hold the cup over the shower head letting the head soak in the cup of CLR. Take a toothbrush to the head and repeat this a few times. It should help remove calcium that is up in the sprayer as well and return the head to a nice flow of water.

Those are my 3 shower power cleaners!

Q & A what seasonings to use

This is a great question from Kristilea.
I have been trying to cook from scratch and not rely on hamburger helpers and so forth. Can you tell me what seasonings do what and how to use them in my dishes?

Let me start with the "happy trio". Salt, Pepper, and Garlic.

Salt. Put salt in everything. If something tastes bland to you and you feel like you've got all the flavors you should have in there, then it probably just needs salt.

Then pepper. Put pepper in almost everything. All of your non-sweet recipes will usually benefit from pepper. Use 1/4 to a 1/2 tsp of salt for just about any recipe and then just use dashes of more if you think it's not spicy enough.

Garlic. Garlic is almost a basic seasoning. It's used in everything from down-home-country cooking to the finest Chinese cuisine. Garlic goes well in almost everything. Use it in your hamburger helper copy-cat for sure!

Once you have worked the "happy trio" you can experiment beyond that.....

When I started cooking from scratch I used a seasoning chart (which I don't have at the moment, it's packed in my garage waiting to move- but when I unpack it I will scan it and post it on this blog for you all.) But, for the sake of answering this question further I will list a few things that come to mind..... just know that a lot of it has to do with experimenting (which can be fun) and figuring out what your family's tastes are.

Chicken-
garlic (my favorite thing on chicken)
rosemary
lemon
curry
paprika
italian seasoning blend
poultry seasoning
also- Costco has a no-salt blend that is good in chicken dishes
chili pepper (for Mexican flavor)
mustard
onion (I think of onion as an herb sometimes...it has so much to do with the flavor of the dish)

Beef-
pepper
peppercorns
marinades
mustard
garlic
soy sauce

Mexican Cooking-
chili pepper
oregano
cinnamon
crushed red pepper
cumin
garlic

Chinese Cooking-
garlic
sesame seeds or sesame oil
soy sauce
hoisen sauce
lemon
orange
peanuts
crushed red pepper
sugar

Fish-
lemon
crab boil (use this for crab or lobster)
relish
lemon pepper
orange
butter
rosemary
thyme
parsley

Italian/Pasta dishes-
basil
oregano
rosemary
italian seasoning blend
garlic
bay leaf
thyme
parsley
sugar

That's what comes off the top of my head, late at night...when I'm over tired. I'm sure that I could add a lot more to this list but instead I'll wait till I get to unpack the seasoning list. One suggestion that has helped me is to read the back of boxes and read labels on cans....usually you can see a list of ingredients and it gives you a good place to start with experimenting.

I hope this was helpful to you.

Anyone else would like to link to their lists or add to these via the comments, please feel free to! It will benefit several of us I'm sure!

Q & A- Whiny Toddlers

This is the first question that was posted as a comment on my Q & A post back in January. I'm a parent but a parent that has made a lot of mistakes and doesn't have all the answers. I will attempt to answer Betsy's question with the way that I would/have approached this struggle. So, here's Betsy's question:

I have a very smart, but very whiney 22 month-old. I have tried simply making him ask for things in a nicer voice and not giving him anything until he does, but we don't seem to be making any progress. I'm in need of some advice! Suggestions?

Here's my response:

Start with compassion:
-rule out illness and teething. Often toddlers are teething which makes them grumpy. A little Orajel can go a long way. Even if you can't see any teeth trying to come through they can be experiencing pressure pain. Check a chart to see if teething is a possibility.

-analyze change....sometimes change in environment (moving houses or even bedrooms) can cause emotional issues that manifest themselves as wining. Change in routine, change in care taker, change in diet, change in atmosphere (rearranging furniture; new sibling; etc.)

New Baby could be a huge factor....suddenly they don't have mom's full devotion...now her love is split between two. This can take some adjusting time. Having some special mommy and me time set aside each day without baby (while baby is sleeping) or a mommy date can help with this issue. Instead of getting caught up on housework while baby sleeps, take 30 min. to spend one on one with toddler..playing with him, reading to him, etc. If you are already doing this and you still think this might be a factor, then it will just take time to adjust to having another baby in the house.

If "compassion issues" have been ruled out, move to discipline.

-wining is not okay. God tells us to have a happy heart. An unhappy heart (attitude) is sin. If you are sure that it is an attitude issue and "compassion issues" have been addressed and compensated for then I would personally apply discipline. See Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp and Don't Make Me Count To Three by Ginger Plowman. There is a GREAT chart inside of Don't Make Me Count To Three that helps moms deal with attitude sins and what to tell your child the right attitude is. I posted the chart on my fridge for many years.

I hope this helps. I'm no expert....but I did have issues with whining when my kids were little. Heck, my daughter is doing it again this week and she's 8! =0) Parenting is an always demanding job! =0)

Blessings to you and your sweet family, Betsy.

Did You Know - Milk, it does a body good? or does it?

Did you know that milk nowadays doesn't always do a body good?

I wanted to share this incredible post about milk. I've wanted to share a post like this for quite some time but the work has been done for me.

If you've had questions about:
~why whole milk is best for you
~why low-fat milk, skim milk, and non-fat milk are actually bad for you (they have oxidized cholesterol in them)
~why powdered milk is bad for you (also has oxidized cholesterol)
~why most grocery store milk may cause cancer
~why homogenization is bad for you
~why you have to be careful about UHT pasteurized organic milk

then this post is for you. The only angle that isn't discussed is why it's important to eat full fats together. For example. An egg is designed to be eaten in it's whole form. It's not intended to be separated so that you take the bad cholesterol out of it. Some scientist are discovering that the two types of cholesterol (the fats) are meant to be eaten together and when they are eaten together the body uses them a in a way to actually lower our cholesterol. Same with milk and other foods with fat. I've been reading up on this topic but need to do more study....maybe I'll do a whole post on this topic at another time.

Those of you who know that I buy organic milk are probably wondering why I buy it as opposed to raw milk.

1. It's illegal in the state I live in to sell raw milk without a permit and permits are hard (almost impossible) to get here. I know of one diary (and trust me, I've researched, that has been in the process for years to get their permit and they still do not have it.) I have nowhere to buy raw milk and since I don't have room for a cow or goat in my backyard it's not an option.

2. I do buy pasteurized organic milk instead of ultra high-temp pasteurized organic milk. Meaning the milk is less "dead" and still has some enzymes in it. This way we are still avoiding the synthetic hormones, pesticides, and infection puss that goes into non-organic cows milk. Here's a tip- in the stores I shop at, the organic milk that is in the 1/2 gal. is UHT pasteurized but the 1 gallon containers are only pasteurized (not UHT pasteurized).

*as a side note I'd add that our family does not drink milk as a beverage (other than every once in a great while when my husband and kids has some with cookies but this is pretty rare). We do not drink it with boxed cereal for breakfast because we don't eat boxed cereal. We use it for cooking and we do put a small splash of it on our oatmeal and ricemeal.

Weening my kids off of milk was a big hurdle in eating healthier but a rewarding one! They drink so much more water and I couldn't be happier with the results. I'm often asked about how my kids get enough calcium. We are liberal with cheese and yogurt (3/4 cup of yogurt has the same amount of calcium as 1 cup of milk). I also try and make sure that we eat calcium rich veggies. I also give my kids powdered calcium gluconate (derived from veggies) as a calcium boost.

Have a question?

I'm willing to do a Q & A if you've got questions for me. Doesn't have to be cooking questions and I'll try to answer them the best I can. Just don't ask me what my most embarrassing moment was because there are way too many to pick just one.

Submit questions in the comments of this post and I'll spend time answering them in February. Anything you've been wondering about me? Anything you want to pick my small brain about (that won't take long, hee hee). Wondering more about what I'm learning about health and nutrition? Got a question you think is too dumb and everyone should know? ....well, don't worry, I'll probably have to ask someone else to get the answer anyway!

So, here's your chance.....ask away. If no one has any questions for me then I'll assume I've done a good job of exposing my thoughts on this blog. That. Or. I'm talking to myself on here. hello. hello. anyone there??? echo echo.....

Answering Questions- Roast Chicken in the Crock-pot and Apple Butter

There have been some good questions about the roast chicken in the crock-pot and the apple butter and so I thought I'd answer them here for everyone's benefit.


Do you add the veggies in the a.m., too? Or do they go in later in the day? It depends on your crock-pot and the size of your veggies. I know that in my big crock-pot a whole potato can cook on low all day so I go ahead and throw in the whole potatoes in the morning with the chicken and then I cut fairly large carrots only in half and put them in as well. But if I'm doing quartered potatoes and smaller cuts of carrots then I add them at noon. If your slow cooker doesn't cook very fast then you for sure want to throw them on top in the morning. The ease of using a crock-pot for me is being able to throw it all in first thing in the morning and not tending to it the rest of the day so for that reason I put my veggies in whole or almost whole so that they can be in there all day.

Do you put the veggies on top of the chicken? Yes. I put the chicken in first, breast side down. Next I sprinkle with herbs and seasonings. Then I add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion and sprinkle again so that the veggies get some seasonings as well. Putting the veggies on top helps them cook slower. Apply these same methods when cooking a red meat roast.

After you put the apple butter into jars, do you freeze them? What are some ideas of how you use your apple butter? Yes, I do freeze them but you could can them for storage on your pantry shelf if you wanted to. If freezing them, be sure to leave about a 2 inch space at the top for expansion. I forgot to do that the other day and had two ruptured jars in my deep freeze. Oops. We love apple butter as baby food, on toast, bagels, English muffins, with scones, pastries, as an ice cream topping, in recipes that call for applesauce instead of oil, served over cottage cheese, served over yogurt, and spread on a graham cracker or cookie. It can also be used as a cookie filling, a pastry filling, a tart filling, etc. Anything you use jam for you can use apple butter for.

Comments to talk about.....

There is some great info in the comments section in the post below. I wanted to point out two of them.

Jessica points out that Nourishing Traditions talks about the benefits of soaking beans per Amy's question about soaking beans to make them healthier. Unfortunately I foolishly packed my cooking bible Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Thanks Jess for pointing that out. I can't wait to unpack that book! For those that don't have Nourishing Traditions or like me, your copy is sitting in a box in your garage somewhere, maybe we can talk Jessica into sharing what page 495 says in a post on her blog. Pretty please with a cherry on top?

I also loved the info that Jessica quoted about beans and rice being a complete food. I did know that and should have posted about that in my original post so I'm glad that she reminded us. The cool part to me is that beans have lysine. Lysine is my favorite virus fighter. Whenever I feel like I'm getting sick I down a tone of L-lysine (I've been known to take 14 a day!) till the sickness is gone. Go beans!

Becca shared a link to a recipe for lentils that sounds amazing and I can't wait to try it! YUM! Thank you so much Becca for sharing it! I'm going to try it very soon! It's called Honey Baked Lentils...go check it out! I've browsed through some of Becca's other recipes and I'm thinking she's one amazing and healthy cook! Thanks for sharing your website with us!

Why Does Restaurant Food Taste Better?

Have you ever wondered that? I have and so I decided to do a little research, some brain storming, and share my thoughts with you. I'm not talking about McDonald's, I'm talking about your very favorite dish at your very favorite restaurant. You know, my son paid me the biggest compliment at dinner one night awhile back. He said, "Mom, this dinner is so good, it almost taste as good as a restaurant!" Well, I may never achieve restaurant quality but here are my thoughts on it.....

Restaurant food often taste better because:

1. They use a whole lot more butter. Butter is like the king of foods. Think about it. Butter is used in almost every course of your meal....the dinner rolls, sometimes the salad dressing, the main dish, the side dishes, the gravy and sauces, the desserts, and even some drinks (buttered rum anyone?)! Chefs in restaurants don't shy away from using large amounts of the creamy perfection which gives their foods a deep rich flavor that most home cooks would tip over in shock from. Yep, lots of butter.

2. Restaurants use a lot more seasonings. Home cooks often don't know what seasonings to use to compliment a dish let alone how much of it to use. Chef's are trained how to feature one seasoning in a dish to make it memorable. And don't forget salt. If butter is the king of foods, then salt is the queen. Most home cooks shy away from using spices and seasonings in general and usually use little salt for their own health conscience. But restaurant chef's aren't too worried about your health for that one night experience in their restaurant.

3. Perfection. Huh? Well, think about it. Restaurants have worked to create only their very best. They've taken the richest, the savoriest, most amazing dishes they can come up with and they perfect them, create their menu out of them, and create them night after night after night. I'd say that they get pretty darn good at making those same dishes all the time. Home chefs have to work with a much bigger menu...ya, we'd get bored of eating the same 10 things on a regular rotation and to boot, if they were all our richest, most savoriest, incredible meals then we probably wouldn't be eating very healthy. Home chefs don't get the practice of recreating a dish over and over and over again 50 times a night until it's pure perfection. Nor do we usually have all the ingredients on hand that we are supposed to have on hand.

4. Someone else made it. Yep, that alone makes the food taste better to me. If I don't have to make it, I automatically give it 4 stars!

anyone else have any thoughts on it? why do you think restaurant food taste better?

Cast Iron

As I continue on this path to more natural living and cooking, I decided it was time to dig out my used-once-about-ten-years-ago cast iron skillets from the garage. They had to be scrubbed, spider webs removed, and re-seasoned.

Seasoning your cast iron:
Coat the pans completely with shortening. You can season just the cooking surface but I like to do the entire pan to help prevent rusting. Place in 250 degree oven for 2 hours. Put a cookie sheet under them to catch drips. Let them cool and then wipe them down with a lint free towel and store till ready to use.

It helps to cook greasy things in them the first several times to build up a nice black seasoning on them so that other items won't stick. After each use, wash with warm water but no soap. Soap will remove the seasoning. Dry immediately to prevent rusting. Then I place on my stove and brush it with olive oil. You can put it away after that.

Links

I've added some new links on my page under the "great links" section. I'm often asked about resources for special things and I want to share them with all of you. Be sure to check them out.

Some of the new ones are:

Tropical Traditions (organic coconut oil products-I've recently added coconut oil to my pantry and my recipes and my husband and I can't seem to get enough of it! They also carry organic coconut body products)

Organic Food Store Locator (I told you about this one earlier! Great page if you are new to shopping for organics)

Vita Cost (great place to buy discounted organic/natural products through mail order)

Vanilla Products USA (vanilla beans in bulk-While I don't see that these are organic on their main website their ebay store does have them in organic at an incredible price. I have seen organic vanilla beans at Costco but they cost much more.) Check out their ebay site here.

Organized Home (great website for home management including a blog)

Where to buy organic?

This is a very helpful post about where you can get organic and natural foods! If you are at a loss for where to begin looking, besides the organic section of where you already shop, do consider this post. I was also amazed to see how many products you can get through amazon.com. I had no idea!

Thanks Heavenly Homemaker for sharing this post with links!

kitchen flooring is done.....

There was a question asking if our flooring was done so here are some pictures since I'm still on blogging break. =0)We put new kitchen flooring in as a temporary solution to our flooring issues. We planned on putting hardwood floors in most of our downstairs but while we were saving up for it our floors were not being very patient. The peel and stick squares that the owners before us put in were peeling up and we were tripping over the corners of them. Lovely I know. The adhesive between them all was also turning black and impossible to clean. Take my advice and steer clear of adhesive squares for your flooring. Yes, they go down quickly and with ease but in a year you'll be wishing you hadn't! Ours were about 4 years old. We also had carpet under our table area which had some serious stains on it.
I picked the cheapest vinyl I could find and had it put down in the kitchen and the dining room (where the carpet had been) and I'm thrilled to be able to sweep my floors again and mop them with ease! Sometimes, it's been thankful for the little things. I hated the flooring when it went in but it's starting to grow on me.

Answering Questions - Dryer Sheet Spray

I don't make a recipe for the dryer sheet spray. I just fill the spray bottle with a biodegradable fabric softener (I do not dilute it) and give my wash cloth (reusable dryer sheet) a few sprays (I have to saturate it at first but after that I usually only spray it about 4 or 5 times every other load or so.

Currently, I'm using this brand:
Simplicity
non-toxic
biodegradable laundry fabric softener

I figure I'm saving a ton money wise on dryer sheets and I'm not filling my trash with them! Oh, and no more "surprise" dryer sheets caught in your pant legs.

Answering Questions - and some recommendations

I've had a few weeks of posting informational type posts but I'll be getting back to posting mainly recipes starting tomorrow.

If you are interested in meal planning software, I'd consider looking into this one.

Questions about homemade laundry detergent being safe for HE washers: Here's the scoop. Front loading washers can't have suds. Top loading washers CAN have suds. So, when front loading washers got popular, the laundry detergent companies had to come out with laundry detergent that didn't have a lot of suds in them. That wasn't difficult to do because laundry detergent doesn't actually have suds. Suds have been added to the detergents to make them "look" to the consumer like the detergent is working and cleaning our laundry. So, all they had to do to make HE safe detergent for front loading washer machines is REMOVE the sudsing agents that have been added to their detergent. And, boom, now you have HE safe detergent. So, this homemade recipe is totally safe for your front loading washer machine because there is no sudsing agent added to it. It produces very little suds if any at all. I don't work for a washer machine company so this is only what I've researched on my own. I hope that explains the difference between HE and top loaders...clear as mudd?

I've recently read 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life and Nourshing Traditions. Both of which I highly recommend reading! They are listed on my sidebar bookshelf, which is quite full so if you don't see it on the list be sure to flip to page 2 of the bookshelf.

You Buy Mail Order Food?-
Yes. I've been wanting to tell you about this and it probably deserves it's own post so be sure to read this since it's being posted here....In my venture to eat healthier and to also keep our food budget as low as possible, I've recently been ordering several of our groceries through Azure Standard. Not only is the quality amazing but the prices are great (cheaper than health food stores and cheaper than organic products even at Walmart).

I wasn't sure at first how I would feel about ordering food online so I just tried it once to see how it was and it was wonderful! We've been ordering now for a few months and have switched almost all of our grocery shopping (aside from Costco) over to Azure Standard. You can pay the shipping to have it shipped to your house OR you can pick it up from your nearest drop off site.

When you sign up, call and they tell you where your nearest drop off site is. The drop off site usually charges a few dollars as a flat rate for shipping which is really cheap compared to UPS. There is a minimum order amount of $50 per order which I don't seem to have a hard time meeting! If you think you want to just try it out first but don't want to order $50 worth, maybe find a friend who is willing to go in on just one order with you to try it out. That's what I did.

-no tax charged (I assume that they charge tax in Oregon where the company is based)
-no walking up and down grocery isles
-shop from the convenience of your home
-don't get charged till you pick up your purchase
-pay with credit card, debit card, or cash upon pick up
-no standing in line at the check out
-no wasting of grocery bags
-no tired kids hanging on the grocery cart
-no temptation to buy extra stuff you see at the store
-buy in small quantity or bulk if you want to
-I'm pretty sure that they deliver in most of the USA
-order when you want to...there is no required ordering
-deliveries are every 2 weeks
-not happy with part of your purchase, leave it at the drop off and you won't be charged

Want to learn more?
Azure Standard
Getting Started
Want A Catalog
View the Catalog Online
You can't view prices until you set up an account. The account is free and has no strings attached. Just log in and you can see prices.

I had toyed with the idea of buying my groceries this way for years and I finally took the plunge after reading another blog that encouraged me to try it. I wish I had started this YEARS AGO!

my pantry

I promised pictures of my pantry after I did the most recent reorganization of it. Here's a "in-process" photo as well just so you know I'm a REAL person who makes real messes! I emptied my whole pantry into my kitchen first and then wiped down all the shelves.
Here it is once it was all cleaned, organized and had fresh labels on the shelves.
I like to use shoeboxes or any other little boxes I have to make organizing easier. I cover the boxes with paper and label them.
So, my new labels for the shelves are:
Drinks
Snacks
Pasta
Grains
Sugar
Flours
Plastic ware
Canned Goods
Appliances
Cookbooks

The 411 on Olive Oil

What's the big deal about using olive oil? I've been researching and researching the topic of oils and the one thing all the experts out there seem to agree on is the healthfulness of olive oil. Of course, most of them feel it needs to be Organic First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin but others are more concerned with the clarity vs the cloudiness of it, and yet others suggest that as long as you use some form of it you are already taking a step in the right direction.

I've read conflicting information about canola oil and safflower oil. Some say they are good and some say they are bad.The arguments center around how they are derived and how the saturation work in our bodies.

But since they all seem to agree that olive oil is hands down the best oil you can use and put into your body, then I'm happy to use olive oil. I've read that coconut oil and flax seed oils are beneficial as well and that butter is also a great option if you are sticking with natural foods (butter isn't as bad as we've all been led to believe).

So, the big question is can you use it in baking? People worry about the flavor of the olive oil coming through in their baked goods. While in a savory dish we usually want the strong flavor of the olive oil to penetrate our foods, in baking that's not the case. Here's what I've discovered. If you cook the olive oil it loses most of it's flavor (in some cases, ALL of it's flavor) so you can bake with it and not notice. I've been using olive oil in my baking for years and I've never noticed it changing the taste of the recipe.

But there are different flavor strengths of olive oil (or so I'm told) in which case you could surely use a stronger flavor for your savory dishes and a lighter flavor for your baking.

Answering Questions - Pies, Pantry, and Digestion

Pies -
A friend of mine pointed out that she never sees any pies on my blog....ya, well, that's cause I'm terrible at making pie crust. I've tried all the tried-and-true recipes out there and quite frankly, I think that it would be easier if I had a larger food processor. The food processor I have is tiny, too small for pie crust. Mom promises she'll have me over for pie crust making lessons since I can't seem to master it on my own from scratch. I was really hoping no one would notice that I don't make homemade pies or that I'm a failure at it but apparently I wasn't hiding my weakness well enough. So, once I learn how to make a decent pie crust, or buy a larger food processor, whichever comes first, I promise we'll have a pie making series where others can post their recipes too. Meantime, my favorite pie is strawberry rhubarb. Yum! Makes me long for summer.

My Pantry -
Sure, I'll get brave and post a picture of my pantry....but you'll have to wait patiently because I'm in the middle of spring cleaning it in a major way. I'm emptying the whole thing and going to reorganize it....actually, I'm doing my china hutch and kitchen which just naturally meant I had to shift things around in the pantry too....so, no point in showing it to you now when it's being revamped but when it's done (fresh new labels and all!) I promise I'll post a picture. If you want to see pictures of my cherry kitchen, you can see them here on this old post. I'm hoping to get curtains up in the eating area this year! So many things to do so little time.

Good Digestion -
I've had several conversations with more than one person over the past year about foods that are easy to digest and foods that are harder to digest. I promise to post about this topic in the future. For now, I'm trying to finish up all the things I promised you in this post.

What I learned in college

How to split a dinner roll....

Yep, most of you probably already know this little trick but I happened to learn it while I was in college eating at the little on-campus restaurant with another girl. She took her fork and started piercing the roll in half all the way around until she just pulled it a part with ease. I remember staring in amazement! Something so simple that no one had taught me!? After years of trying to saw my dinner roll in half with a butter knife at restaurants trying not to cause a scene as I demolished my roll into what resembled a crumbly pancake I finally had a new way to cut that roll in half!

Of course, I did learn more in college than that but this memory has stuck with me forever.....unfortunately I don't remember the girl at all. I can't even picture her....she was just someone who was eating in there often like I was and so we would sit together sometimes....she also taught me to squeeze ketchup from a little ketchup packet in a direct, neat, and tidy line along a slender french fry without making a mess. This little trick also came in handy when I was driving my car and eating french fries (something I never do now! Ha!) and didn't have anywhere to squeeze out ketchup for dipping. Oh yes, invaluable skills I tell ya!

So there you have it! What I learned in college! =0)

Do you have any funny stories about skills you've learned with eating? Please, oh please, share them here! I'd love to hear your stories and about the food skills you possess! LOL. Come on! Do tell!

Answering Questions - Pizza

I was asked about making homemade pizza so I decided to give pizza it's own category to the left. Now you can click on pizza and see my past pizza posts. To go directly to them, click here.

Yes, I do buy frozen pizza from time to time. I know they aren't "healthy" but they are my way of saving money when we have those days where we are tempted to order a pizza. Most moms have "bad days" for one reason or another and calling the pizza man used to be my crutch for dinner plans gone haywire (and all the times I try a new recipe and it doesn't turn out!). And you've probably noticed how expensive it is to order pizza for delivery these days! So, I buy the Digiorno Pizza from Costco. It comes in a 3 pack for about $11. One pizza feeds our whole family which means we can feed our whole family an "emergency dinner" for a whopping $3.66. And yes, I cringe every time at the ingredients we are consuming but when I consider that my family is FED that's priceless right?

Switched Over

I came across a list I had made several months ago of goals for being healthier (which cost more) and ways to be frugal (to off set the cost of being healthier). Here is my list. My reason for each goal is included and my progress with each one is included as well. Some are things just to save money that don't really involve cooking, like my hair color for example.

Stop using paper plates on a regular basis -
Goal=To save money. I thought this would be hard for me but it surprisingly wasn't. My kids are old enough to help do dishes so I haven't felt the pain of change as much as I thought I would.
Verdict= I've completely stopped buying paper plates!

Switch to cloth napkins instead of paper-
Goal= To save money. I was worried this would be hard too and that I'd have a hard time keeping up with washing them all. Surprisingly my whole family welcomed the change and it's been super easy. I don't iron them unless company is coming over! I stock pile them so that I don't get too behind on washing them. I use neutral colors so that they can go in just about any load of wash I'm doing. To make the change swiftly, I actually bought dish cloths at first that we use for just our own family...it was cheaper to make the change this way. Cutting old dish towels in half and sewing the edge works well too. I haven't bought paper napkins in 5 months!
Verdict= We are completely switched over.

Make my own laundry detergent-
Goal= To save money and stay natural. I was concerned this would be labor intensive but it's proved to be pretty darn simple considering I can make a lot at once and have it on hand.
Verdict= I've been using it for a couple of months and am completely satisfied with it and completely switched over.

Make my own dryer sheet that is reusable-
Goal= To save money and stay natural.
Verdict= Completely switched over to spraying a wash cloth with natural biodegradable fabric softener. No more dryer sheets getting lost in folded laundry....

Make my own pancake mix-
Goal= To save money and stay healthy.
Verdict= Accomplished this and you can read about it here.

Buy dry beans instead of canned-
Goal= To save money and be healthier (less sodium). This is new to me but I've done it. Not that hard to make the change, just takes extra planning.
Verdict= Accomplished this.

Make my own noodles from scratch-
Goal= To save money and be healthier. Fun and easy. I can use fresh ingredients and organic ingredients. They taste better too!
Verdict= Completely switched over. To see how click here but you can also make them very quickly in a food processor (see the bottom of the linked post for processor directions).

Make healthier butter-
Goal= To be healthier and save money. I started out with one experiment with this but am in the process of revamping it. I will actually be trying out the process of churning my own butter because I want to use organic butter which is expensive. By making it myself, I will save money. Meantime, I'm also revamping my earlier posts about mixing oil with butter...more to come.
Verdict= In process.

Switch to ammonia free hair color-
Goal= Health. Hair color with ammonia causes hair to become brittle and ends to break off. I know the totally healthy thing would be to not color my hair at all but I'm not there yet.
Verdict= I'm much happier with the ammonia free hair color and you can see which one I use here. I'm completely switched over.

Stop buying books and get them from the library instead-
Goal= Save money. I love books! I can't get enough of them but they are expensive and take up a lot of room in the house. With homeschooling my kids, and a pastor husband who is addicted to books, books could easily take over our entire home. We utilize our library and inner-library loans now.
Verdict= Almost completely switched over. If we do buy books we try to use our change that we've turned into the Albertson's change machine and it gives you the amount in credit on Amazon.com.

Stop renting movies and get them from the library instead (or free from Redbox using promotion codes)-
Goal= To save money.
Verdict= Completely switched over other than a dollar here and there for a Redbox movie. Haven't paid for a movie rental in about 4 months!

Stop buying store bought snacks foods and make homemade ones instead-
Goal= To save money and to be healthier. Store bought snack foods almost all contain hydrogenated oils. I'm making large batches of granola, granola bars, healthy muffins, healthy cookies, etc. and freezing them in batches.
Verdict= Family is much happier with this because it all taste so much better. Almost completely switched over. When I do buy them, I try to buy organic ones that are free of hydrogenated oils. Still experimenting with more recipes for snack foods.

Make my own boxed cake mixes-
Goal= To save money and for health.
Verdict= Have recipes and getting ready to do this.

Make my own taco seasoning packets-
Goal= To save money and be healthier.
Verdict= Easy and completely switched over. Recipe here.

Make homemade dressings-
Goal= To save money and be healthier.
Verdict= have made some but have several recipes to try. In progress.

Stop buying canned soups and make my own from scratch at least once a week-
Goal= To save money and be healthier.
Verdict= Making soup homemade 90% of the time. Almost completely switched over. I still love that Campbell's tomato soup.

Stop buying cream of soups for cooking and make my own from scratch.
Goal= Totally for the sake of health.
Verdict= have recipes to try. In progress.

Make freezer meals for days I don't feel like cooking so that we aren't tempted to eat out-
Goal= To save money.
Verdict= Completely switched over.

Stop eating out other than about one meal a month!-
Goal= To save money.
Verdict= Completely switched over. I thought this would be harder than it was. I'm actually really surprised. Actually, some months we haven't eaten out at all...not even one meal! Sometimes we do eat out more than one meal a month if we have a gift card or can take advantage of some other promotion or coupon but it's rare.

Get back to thrift store shopping for clothes-
Goal= To save money.
Verdict= out of my comfort zone but have had success. I have found two women's high end consignment stores and 2 children's high end consignment stores. Still shopping clearance racks from time to time in regular clothing stores.

Make homemade bread once a week-
Goal= To save money and be healthier.
Verdict= striving for this goal every week.

Don't buy cereal and make homemade breakfast from scratch instead-
Goal= To eat healthier.
Verdict= Completely switched over. I haven't bought a box of cereal in about 5 months!

Make and freeze pasta sauce from scratch.
Goal= Save money. Organic pasta sauce is expensive and we go through it fast.
Verdict= Success! See recipe here.

Use my crock-pot as often as possible.
Goal= keep my sanity.
Verdict= not hard to do and it does indeed help keep my sanity!