Kitchen Tips & Tricks #6: Pre-cooked Meat

I have found it very helpful to our schedule to always fry up the hamburger ahead of time, in bulk.  I normally fry about 6-8 lbs of meat at a time.

I use my huge roasting pan on two burners.  (I think there might actually be 10 pounds in this picture.)

I then freeze it into 3-cup containers.  This helps me get a meal on the table in, usually, under 30 minutes.

One container is enough for most of my recipes.  I use two for tacos and tater-tot casserole because we like the leftovers!

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Ground beef has become so expensive, I refuse to buy it at the grocery store for $3.00/lb.  Especially with a larger family, it would cost us a fortune!  I try to never spend over $2.00/lb. on meat.  So I would like to share some ideas on how to eat at a lower cost.

Ground chicken!  I know it sounds very strange.  But when chicken breasts go on sale, I buy them, lots of them!  I can usually get a 40 pound box... or two.  I cut the meat off the bone if its bone-in, or just slice it up to fit in my KitchenAid mixer's meat grinding attachment..  I know dealing with chicken is disgusting, but it saves money and it is much lower in fat than beef or pork.  A friend of mine does the same thing with pork, except she takes it to someone who has a meat grinder, pays him a little something, and still saves money.

My other alternative is ground venison.  It's not my personal favorite, but with some good advice from a friend and the grace of God, I can cook so it doesn't taste gamey.  I cook it with bay leaves.  Last fall Hubby {Dallas} shot two deer and his hunting partners shot 3 more.  None of them were able to take home their meat so they gave it to Dallas!  He took three to the locker and gave away two to someone in need.  The pictures in this post are of ground venison.

Today I am linked up atMenu Plan Monday and The Welcome Home LinkUp

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #5: The Dishpan

A great friend of mine who has a dining room separate from her kitchen gave me this idea.  Clearing the table can sometimes take longer than necessary.  Even when the kids are supposed to clear their own places, it seems there is always a fork or glass left behind.  Though my table is right beside the dishwasher, I still find this idea to be very helpful.  If you have a separate dining area, dining room, you may find it really saves you a lot of time and trips back & forth.

It is the same concept as what restaurants do when they bus tables!  Make one trip from the dining room to the kitchen.  This plastic dishpan is also very useful for many other things, like in the garden when I pick vegetables.  When I have lots of dishes to wash and need an extra "sink" to keep them in until I am ready to wash.  I have even used it to put an extra large batch of  popcorn in when we have company!

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Psalm 90;12

So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to figure out ways to make my life easier and to use my time more efficiently.  We just don't know how much time we will have with our families.  Its seems like our family has been in contact with a lot of untimely deaths in the last few months.  Mothers.  Fathers.  A child.  Even an infant.  We need to uses every moment we can to teach our children God's love and Salvation.  

Deuteronomy 6

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
{texts copied from Bible Gateway }

We teach as we go.  We teach all the time.  Even louder than our words are our actions.  My kids are impatient because I am impatient.  My kids are negligent because I am negligent.  My kids are grouchy and bossy  because I am grouchy and bossy.  Wow.  Actions speak louder than words!  That is not a new saying, but it certainly rings true around here!  So I need to work on my behavior so that they will be patient because I am patient.  Diligent because I am diligent.  Gentle because I am gentle.

"Lord, I ask you to make me a Spirit Filled parent!"

Judy

Please pray for my little friend Elizabeth. CLICK HERE

I am linked up at Our Simple Country Life

Easter Weekend

The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing... seems like beautiful weather for Easter!  As we consider the Resurrection of our precious Saviour who so lovingly and willingly died on the cross for our sins, we enjoy the resurrection of the earth after the mildest winter I can remember.  It is a time for celebration! I would love to share some of the ways we celebrated this year.

On Saturday {since Sunday morning we get up and eat breakfast at church} we made our resurrection rolls:

 Start by rolling up a large marshmallow in a crescent roll.

Pinch the ends, making sure they are completely sealed, no gaps!

This is the "tomb."

Mary models the sealed roll.

Bake according to Pillsbury's baking directions, 375* for 10-12 minutes.  Even though we tried really hard to make sure they were sealed, they still leaked a little.

After they are cooled, open them up...  the marshmallow is gone!

The tomb is empty!

The marshmallows melt into the dough, making them sweet!  Mary told me they did it in children's church also, only it was "differenter" because they rolled the marshmallows in butter and sprinkled cinnamon on them!  Mmmm!

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The next very exciting thing we did for the weekend was watch my great-nephew Hunter's get married!  Awww!  They are such a sweet couple!

Welcome to the family, Maria!!!

Most of our family on Easter Sunday, 2012

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Our Lunch Menu

With our busy homeschooling schedule, I have found it easier to have a set breakfast menu and lunch menu.  Our typical lunch menu goes like this:

source

Sunday:  Something Good! (Later I will post my monthly menu)

Monday: Macaroni & Cheese with Hot Dogs

Tuesday:  PBJ Day! (Peanut butter & jelly on the go before activities)

Wednesday:  Rice Dish Day*

Thursday:  Lunchmeat Sandwich Day (Again, on the go before activities)

Friday:  Hamburger or Pork Tenderloin Day

Saturday:  Frozen Pizzas 

Linked up at:  Menu Plan Monday

* I am trying to re-think "Rice Dish Day" because I have had a hard time finding 3-4 rice dish recipes (in order to rotate) that can make an all-inclusive meal that my kids will ask for a second time.




Have a great week!

Judy

Our Breakfast Menu

After years of feeding my kids cold cereal, only to have them begging for a snack 30 minutes later, I decided a couple of years ago that I needed to actually cook breakfast.  It saves us a lot of money on cereal and is so much healthier and more filling for the fam.  Also needing to simplify life and cross one more thing off of my list of things I have to think about each day, I made a "set" breakfast schedule.  It makes life so much easier for me, and the kids love knowing {and looking forward to} what they know is for breakfast that day!

Monday is Oatmeal Day {not a favorite, but very simple for a Monday morning!}

Tuesday is Toast of Bagel day  {not too exciting, but we have an early lunch on Tuesdays/Thursdays due to activities}

Wednesday is Pancake Day {Yeah!!!  Everyone loves that!  Served with Little Sizzlers}

Thursday is Eggs & Toast Day

Friday is French Toast Day 

Saturday is our special Omelet Day {Served with bacon or sausage and sometimes leftover pancakes or French toast}

When possible, I make Saturday breakfast sort-of a party.  My husband is normally only home for one meal per day {if that} so when he is home on Saturday I want to make it special for everyone and fix something he really likes.  The kids prefer just eggs with cheese {no "yucky" stuff like onions, peppers, etc.}  Dallas & I like to put all kinds of "yucky" {YUMMY} stuff on our omelets.  

Green onions, green peppers, red peppers & mushrooms sauteed in butter.

Kids' cheesy eggs.

The Little Sizzlers

Mamma & Daddy's omelets.  Mmmmm!

It makes a great start for our Saturday!

Judy

Linked up with:  Menu Plan Monday  Welcome Home Link up

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #4: Tools for the Trade

I'm married to a Gear-Head.  He has a garage full of tools!  It seems that he has a tool for everything!  But every now and then, something will break and he will have to buy, rent or borrow a tool in order to fix it.  If he doesn't have the right tool, it makes it very difficult, and sometimes impossible for him to get the job done.

We also need the right tools in order to do our work the best we can.  I'm not talking about hammers and wrenched {though you never know when you will need one of those...}  I am talking about kitchen tools.  Granted, our grandmothers didn't have the same kinds of tools we have now and got along just fine.  But there are so many things we can do faster, better, in more bulk, and in less time than our grandmothers did. {And besides that, they didn't have the full-time job of homeschooling on top of all their regular daily tasks!}

Some of my favorite kitchen tools include:

1.  My nice, stainless steel cookware!  I wish we'd have bought this when we were first married, rather than that cheap stuff with the black lining that came off in our food!  It was expensive, but so much healthier for our family to eat from!

2. My KitchenAid mixer!  She's a heavy-duty and she does great with homemade bread, too!

3. My Pampered Chef meat chopper!  I love this thing!  It helps me get the hamburger chopped up into fine pieces instead of big chunks.

These are only a few of my favorite tools.  What works for me may not work, you may not like!  Your favorite tools, I might not like!  What's important is that we each have what we need.

But most importantly, the best tool of all.

Without it, I am not a fit wife, mother, or person, for that matter.  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12


Have a great day!
Judy

  Linkin' up with Esther!

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #3: A GOOD soaking

Introducing....

my new best friend!

Well... maybe that isn't really an accurate description of dish detergent... but when I tried the "free sample" attached to my regular dish soap, I was impressed!  "Overnight Soaking in 5 Minutes", the label says.  It truly has made my dish washing adventures much easier!  I don't know about the 5 minutes, but if its really bad and you soak it overnight, there is no scrubbing!  NONE!  I love it.  

And now for my other new "friend"

This is my silverware crock.

We were really tired of the dishwasher not getting our silverware clean.  Between the dried-on food and having too many utensils crammed into the dishwasher rack, we sometimes had to re-wash almost half of the silverware!  So I thought I would soak it.  First I used regular dish soap and an ice cream bucket and it helped some.  Then I started using this new Dawn product and Da-Da-Daaaa!! there is no more dirty silverware!

Next I had to find something that looked better than an ice cream bucket to keep on my counter on a regular basis!  So I sent Corah and Peter on a black bucket hunt at Wal-Mart.  I told her basically what I was looking for and she came back with this elegant looking crock and it was only about $5.  I was thrilled!  Now it is a permanent fixture beside my kitchen sink.

On a different note...

I have been really needing a good "spiritual soaking".  I just haven't felt like I am walking as closely to the Lord as I once was.  What I need is a "spiritual soaking" in the Word of God.  I have been reading in Psalms and so greatly blessed with reminders of who God is and who I am to Him.

Growing up {a generation behind my brothers and sisters} I always felt I was born at the wrong time.  My parents had four grand children when I was born!  They were 45 & 51!  I always felt I had missed out on all the fun of growing up in a large family.  {Couldn't Mom at least have had twins when she had me?  Or even adopt a sister for me to play with?} 

Knowing now what I didn't know then... a child being born to a 45-year-old woman has about a 5% chance of  living to full term and being normal!  To top that off, I was born with the cord around my neck.  So when I found this verse in Psalm 71:6 

By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.

⁷ I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
⁸ Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.

I think I am finally getting a grasp on how special I have been to my parents and how God placed me at this time and this place for His purpose.

Linking up today with...

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #2: The Pizza Cutter

The pizza cutter.  It isn't just for pizza anymore!

I use my pizza cutter almost every day.  Sometimes even several times per day!  Yes, it works great for pizza.  But when you have to cut up food for 3 kids, the old fashioned knife and fork have got to go!  So I use the pizza cutter!

For French toast and pancakes.  (By the way, peanut butter goes GREAT with French toast!)

For quesedillas, burritos, and enchilladas.

The pizza cutter.  It isn't just for pizza anymore!

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #1: "How to clean up a kitchen"

I have never done a series on my blog, but I have been mulling one over in my mind for a while.

I also wanted to try to "link up" to my friend Esther's blog for her "Hearts for Home Thursdays". So click the button and link up with us!

 

When I was first married to my husband {and his three children} I barely knew how to cook.  I wasn't at all good in the kitchen. I hated trying to figure out what was for supper because I didn't know about meal planning.  I hated even more to clean up after a meal!  I always remember my Mom being "done" with her day after supper. {I have been known to still be cleaning up from supper at 11p.m.!}  She washed the few dishes that she, Dad & I messed up in our meal then went to the livingroom to sit and watch T.V. or have family Bible reading or whatever.  Since it was just the three of us, she didn't really need my help or ask for it.  I didn't have a problem with it then... but I never developed the habits or skills it takes to run a kitchen efficiently.  So I had to learn everything the hard way!  The more children we had, the harder it got, too.  Now that I am no longer breastfeeding every three hours, changing diapers every two hours or holding a fussy baby while trying to do... everything, I am finding that I have more time to think about ways to make my life easier and even help my home look nicer.  {Maybe its because I am getting more sleep, too?!}  I thought I might share some of these "tips & tricks" just in case it might benefit someone else as well.

First, I had to develop a plan for myself to follow for clean up.  I had to know where to start in order to make it go faster and more efficiently.  So here's my plan:

1. Put away all the clean stuff. 

(or else where will the dirty stuff go?)

2. Load up the dirty stuff.

(Whether sink or dishwasher...)

3. Clear and wash the table

(For us "wash" the table means changing the tablecloth)

4. Wash pot, pans and dishes too large for the dishwasher.

5. Wash the stove and counters.

6.  Clear away clutter

7. Sweep the floor.

The other thing is to ask the kids to help out with some of these jobs so I am not up until 11:00 still cleaning up supper {and lunch, and breakfast....}  If the job is big on a particular evening, I will declare, "No one leaves the kitchen until all the work is done!"   This helps me to complete the kitchen clean-up before I have to move on to bath, story & bedtime for little ones.

I guess I am a little slower than most women, but I really needed direction to know where to start.  Once I have a starting point,  I can get the job done quickly.  I keep this list on a sticky note on the window over the sink {so I can't lose it, ha-ha!}.  

I have found that I actually enjoy being in my kitchen and am more prepared for the next meal when I follow this simple plan! {THREE times a day, not saving it for evening.} I was tired of spending too much time doing something that shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour or so, then not having time to read  and pray with my kids before bedtime.  I don't want to miss the fun part of being a mom because I am too disorganized to get past the yucky part!

God Bless!

Judy