There is still an awful lot of stuff going on here. Both of the kids are back in school, only one of which is still here, and it seems I STILL have some house cleaning to do from all of the renovations we have done in the last month. The laundry is finally caught back up and the dishes are getting done every day.
Today, I got the joy of sitting in the doctor's office for three hours with an IV stuck in my arm and had to give them large sums for the privilege. But in a day or two, I will not hurt so much. But it is looking like I will be having surgery on my wrist at some point before the end of the year. Won't that be fun?
And to top everything off, my husband's uncle is in a coma and has hung on almost 48 hours longer than the Hospice folks said he would. So, the black suits and dresses have been dry cleaned and are ready to be packed for a quick trip to Fort Worth any day.
We were given a bag of tomatoes and jalapenos yesterday, so I made salsa and I dried the majority of the peppers. Not really sure what I will do with them. We don't eat a lot of jalapenos, but I am sure I will find some use for them, sooner or later.
I guess it is a good thing that , along with everything else, I have some easy meals either canned or frozen. I do not feel like cooking tonight.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
July was crazy
OK, So I have been a little lax in the blogging department lately. I have been rather busy canning, chasing my kids around, wrecking my truck, and putting in a wood floor. My house is still trashed from having to move everything out of the den to lay the floor and I just can't seem to make myself want to put everything away now that the floor is finished. *sigh*
And we have been eating out a lot. We have had company stay over so we go out instead of cooking and that has been really expensive. So we are going to have to really buckle down and focus on the money thing again. I canned enough food so that we will not have to go to the store too much, except for things like sugar and milk, but I just don't want to start using that stuff yet for some reason. Maybe I am just so sick of looking at it all that I don't want to dig through the jars to find something for dinner. It is, after all, stacked up in boxes in the bedroom waiting for a permanent home. Something else I have to do.
This is the last weekend that my sweet, little, bald-headed baby girl will be living at home. She moves into her college dorm on the 22nd. I have a feeling that I will be torn between very sad and relieved that we have finished our job raising her. It just won't be the same without her here making little noises and "Kramer-ing" out of her bedroom. Very Sad.
Band practice started last week for the boy. He has to get fitted for his uniform today. He is really thrilled about that. But that is part of it. Football games in the sleet. Or thunderstorms. Or hot and humid. In a wool uniform. Parades. Contests. Ahhh, those were the days. I remember them fondly.
After school starts back, things will settle back down to some semblance of normal.
Hopefully.
And we have been eating out a lot. We have had company stay over so we go out instead of cooking and that has been really expensive. So we are going to have to really buckle down and focus on the money thing again. I canned enough food so that we will not have to go to the store too much, except for things like sugar and milk, but I just don't want to start using that stuff yet for some reason. Maybe I am just so sick of looking at it all that I don't want to dig through the jars to find something for dinner. It is, after all, stacked up in boxes in the bedroom waiting for a permanent home. Something else I have to do.
This is the last weekend that my sweet, little, bald-headed baby girl will be living at home. She moves into her college dorm on the 22nd. I have a feeling that I will be torn between very sad and relieved that we have finished our job raising her. It just won't be the same without her here making little noises and "Kramer-ing" out of her bedroom. Very Sad.
Band practice started last week for the boy. He has to get fitted for his uniform today. He is really thrilled about that. But that is part of it. Football games in the sleet. Or thunderstorms. Or hot and humid. In a wool uniform. Parades. Contests. Ahhh, those were the days. I remember them fondly.
After school starts back, things will settle back down to some semblance of normal.
Hopefully.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
July 4th in all of its Glory
Well, the 4th is finally over and a very chaotic weekend it was. The gang, all 14 of them, descended upon our house for the holiday. That is approximately 100sf per person in our small house. And it necessitated a lot of cleaning. Fortunately, my husband was off of work on Friday, so he and the kids were cleaning dervishes.
My son had spent the week moving everything out of his room and painting. It was a major redecoration of his personal space that involved getting rid of all of his furniture except 1 bookcase. He wanted to add a small sofa so we picked one out when we picked out the paint color. Since he had finished painting Thursday night, we went Friday morning to actually buy it. It had sold the day before. Crushed! So we spent the next 3 hours driving to every furniture store in town looking for a different one. We finally, finally found one almost identical to the one he had picked out, and it was even cheaper than the one he wanted. It wouldn't fit in the truck with the bed cover on, so for 25$ they delivered it. It wouldn't fit through his 28 inch door frame. He was crushed. Again. So back out to find something smaller. He settled for a recliner instead. We got it home and in place with about 30 minutes to spare.
The first night we had dinner for 11. Home made pizza. It went over very well. The baby had his own dinner. So after we cleaned up the kitchen, we had games for the adults. Until around 3 am. It was a very long day for me.
On Saturday, we had 3 more arrive. That made our 14. Dinner on the grill. And games. And several empty wine bottles. It rained so no fireworks, sadly, but I don't think we missed them. We were all too busy to notice. And we needed the rain.
Early Sunday, 4 of our party had to leave. They were getting ready to drive to Florida for a vacation on Monday and had to get packed. So the remaining wife and I went to Big Lots for some light shopping while the husbands and a couple of the kids (teens really) played a game. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, she found some furniture that they had been looking for much cheaper (like 75% off) than they would normally be able to buy it. We called the husbands for advice (interrupting the game) and they agreed to join us in the parking lot to load the furniture. Hilarity ensued. Queen sized mattress and box springs, twin mattress, and a click clack sofa most of which was on top of a minivan. We put the twin mattress in the back of the truck and we all drove back to our house. Several trips to the dollar store to get bungee cords and tie down straps. And it all managed to get attached to the van for the three hour drive home. That evening, the wife, the daughter, the baby, and the boyfriend/fiance left leaving us with 7.
My hubby had taken Monday off for the holiday as well, so we enjoyed some more visiting time. I still had a box of tomatoes to do something with so I ran them through the blender and started adding things to it and cooked it down. 5 Quarts of spaghetti sauce. The last 3 finally had to leave around 3pm. They didn't want to be carrying mattresses down the interstate after dark. Then the daughter left to spend the night with a friend. Finally a quiet evening.
Almost too quiet.
My son had spent the week moving everything out of his room and painting. It was a major redecoration of his personal space that involved getting rid of all of his furniture except 1 bookcase. He wanted to add a small sofa so we picked one out when we picked out the paint color. Since he had finished painting Thursday night, we went Friday morning to actually buy it. It had sold the day before. Crushed! So we spent the next 3 hours driving to every furniture store in town looking for a different one. We finally, finally found one almost identical to the one he had picked out, and it was even cheaper than the one he wanted. It wouldn't fit in the truck with the bed cover on, so for 25$ they delivered it. It wouldn't fit through his 28 inch door frame. He was crushed. Again. So back out to find something smaller. He settled for a recliner instead. We got it home and in place with about 30 minutes to spare.
The first night we had dinner for 11. Home made pizza. It went over very well. The baby had his own dinner. So after we cleaned up the kitchen, we had games for the adults. Until around 3 am. It was a very long day for me.
On Saturday, we had 3 more arrive. That made our 14. Dinner on the grill. And games. And several empty wine bottles. It rained so no fireworks, sadly, but I don't think we missed them. We were all too busy to notice. And we needed the rain.
Early Sunday, 4 of our party had to leave. They were getting ready to drive to Florida for a vacation on Monday and had to get packed. So the remaining wife and I went to Big Lots for some light shopping while the husbands and a couple of the kids (teens really) played a game. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, she found some furniture that they had been looking for much cheaper (like 75% off) than they would normally be able to buy it. We called the husbands for advice (interrupting the game) and they agreed to join us in the parking lot to load the furniture. Hilarity ensued. Queen sized mattress and box springs, twin mattress, and a click clack sofa most of which was on top of a minivan. We put the twin mattress in the back of the truck and we all drove back to our house. Several trips to the dollar store to get bungee cords and tie down straps. And it all managed to get attached to the van for the three hour drive home. That evening, the wife, the daughter, the baby, and the boyfriend/fiance left leaving us with 7.
My hubby had taken Monday off for the holiday as well, so we enjoyed some more visiting time. I still had a box of tomatoes to do something with so I ran them through the blender and started adding things to it and cooked it down. 5 Quarts of spaghetti sauce. The last 3 finally had to leave around 3pm. They didn't want to be carrying mattresses down the interstate after dark. Then the daughter left to spend the night with a friend. Finally a quiet evening.
Almost too quiet.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Jars, Jars, everywhere...
It is canning time again. I think I have mentioned that already, but I mention it again because it has really started up now. Yesterday I canned blueberries. Today I am canning beans. Tomorrow I may can tomatoes. This is the time of year to stock up for the winter.
So far this month I have canned beef, chicken, beans, cherries, blueberries, and now beans. I hope to do a lot more beans, corn, peas, carrots, and whatever else I can find to put in a jar.
I have dried potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, strawberries, and made fruit leather and jerky. So far. I hope to do some more jerky and vegetables. I might dry some more fruit this year as well.
With the cost of food steadily rising, and no end in site, it can only be a good thing to be prepared. And I actually have fun putting everything away for a rainy day. We never know when the power will go out, or if my husband will lose his job. These are all things that having a supply of food in the house will help with. We won'd have to worry about having enough to eat. And since I am growing part of this myself, it is costing us only the seeds. That is a much better way to ensure you are eating healthy and not getting a bunch of preservatives in your food.
My biggest problem is where to store everything. If I try to can, dry, or freeze everything we will need for a year, I just won't have enough space, even using all of the closets, to put everything. A year's worth of food takes up a lot of room.
Since I try to find things when they are on sale and stock up, maybe I should look for another one of those diy cabinets with the doors on it. The one I have now, that I am using as a sewing storage/food pantry, is already full. And it is only mid June. By August, I will have jars, bags, and shelves overflowing.
But it is always better to be prepared than to be caught unaware.
So far this month I have canned beef, chicken, beans, cherries, blueberries, and now beans. I hope to do a lot more beans, corn, peas, carrots, and whatever else I can find to put in a jar.
I have dried potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, strawberries, and made fruit leather and jerky. So far. I hope to do some more jerky and vegetables. I might dry some more fruit this year as well.
With the cost of food steadily rising, and no end in site, it can only be a good thing to be prepared. And I actually have fun putting everything away for a rainy day. We never know when the power will go out, or if my husband will lose his job. These are all things that having a supply of food in the house will help with. We won'd have to worry about having enough to eat. And since I am growing part of this myself, it is costing us only the seeds. That is a much better way to ensure you are eating healthy and not getting a bunch of preservatives in your food.
My biggest problem is where to store everything. If I try to can, dry, or freeze everything we will need for a year, I just won't have enough space, even using all of the closets, to put everything. A year's worth of food takes up a lot of room.
Since I try to find things when they are on sale and stock up, maybe I should look for another one of those diy cabinets with the doors on it. The one I have now, that I am using as a sewing storage/food pantry, is already full. And it is only mid June. By August, I will have jars, bags, and shelves overflowing.
But it is always better to be prepared than to be caught unaware.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Grandma's Attic...so to speak
We are back from the Ridge after getting my daughter's college orientation completed. It is an exciting time for her. She turned 18 last week and can now officially be considered an adult. I am just getting old. It will be hard to let her go, but she has her wings now and I have to let her fly.
We also spent some time with my mother helping her clean up in my grandmother's house. 50 years worth of accumulated "stuff" sitting, for the last 10 years, in an empty house. It is amazing just how much daily clutter sits in random cupboards and drawers. I think we found about 30 pairs of scissors.
It was actually very sad to be in her house. It seems so much smaller than when I was a child. And there wasn't the warm sunlight streaming in that I always loved when I was a kid. Maybe it was because it was just so...empty feeling. It wasn't like going to Grandma's House. It was like rummaging through some stranger's house, trying to find things of value. I just kept shaking my head, wondering why Grandma would keep some of the things she did. Just how many rolls of electrical tape did she need anyway?
We didn't have enough room to take everything that needed to be taken from the house. We will probably just need to rent a trailer and load it up to bring it home. There is going to have to be some serious work done on the house before it is habitable again. The ice storm in January really did a number on it. I am not really sure the structure is worth saving anymore. There is just so much damage to the roof, a piece of the ceiling collapsed in the living room, the add-on that housed the hot water heater is open to the elements now, and all of the outbuildings have either fallen in or are about to. Regardless, if there is anything in it that needs to be saved, it will have to be removed soon or it will be lost forever.
Needless to say, I had a difficult weekend.
We also spent some time with my mother helping her clean up in my grandmother's house. 50 years worth of accumulated "stuff" sitting, for the last 10 years, in an empty house. It is amazing just how much daily clutter sits in random cupboards and drawers. I think we found about 30 pairs of scissors.
It was actually very sad to be in her house. It seems so much smaller than when I was a child. And there wasn't the warm sunlight streaming in that I always loved when I was a kid. Maybe it was because it was just so...empty feeling. It wasn't like going to Grandma's House. It was like rummaging through some stranger's house, trying to find things of value. I just kept shaking my head, wondering why Grandma would keep some of the things she did. Just how many rolls of electrical tape did she need anyway?
We didn't have enough room to take everything that needed to be taken from the house. We will probably just need to rent a trailer and load it up to bring it home. There is going to have to be some serious work done on the house before it is habitable again. The ice storm in January really did a number on it. I am not really sure the structure is worth saving anymore. There is just so much damage to the roof, a piece of the ceiling collapsed in the living room, the add-on that housed the hot water heater is open to the elements now, and all of the outbuildings have either fallen in or are about to. Regardless, if there is anything in it that needs to be saved, it will have to be removed soon or it will be lost forever.
Needless to say, I had a difficult weekend.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Canning time!
It is that time of year again. Time to start canning and preserving fruits and veggies. I just picked the last of the green peas that I planted in February and will be pulling up the vines today to get ready to plant green beans. Also this morning I took a gallon of strawberries out of the dehydrator (I have a packed quart of dried sliced berries now) and made 6 pints of jam. I still have about 1/2 a gallon of berries to decide what to do with. I may make some more jam. Not sure yet.
Today will also be the day I do a lot of yard work. We finally have a nice warm day after almost a solid month of rain. My daughter will be mowing while I am working in the garden (since she is graduated now and doesn't have to go to school), then I will have her help me move the compost I made over the winter and put it in the garden. I will get my husband to till it all in this evening and plant my green beans tomorrow. We will still have to figure out a trellis system for the garden since the green beans we have seed for will grow about 8 feet tall. Maybe some sort of hoop system that I can use as a hot house this fall and winter. We will see.
I am getting excited about the new canning season. Since I put up a bunch of food last year for the first time, I will know better this year what we will actually eat and what size jars to use to each item. I know that I don't need to put beans in quarts this year. We just don't eat that much of them. And I know that I will need to can a lot more tomatoes. We used all of them in about a month. We also used all of the corn I put in the freezer in about 5 months so I will need a lot more of that too.
We still have fruit though. For some reason, we just didn't eat that much. Maybe I just need to make more deserts. We ate the dried fruits better than the canned, so maybe I will just dry more instead of canning them.
I have canned quite a bit of meat so far this year. I get it from the grocery when it is on sale. If I can it, we can still have good meat even if the power goes out. We won't have to worry about all of it thawing out and spoiling. I am thinking I will dry some more too. Jerky is just too handy to have on hand, and it makes for a really nice stew in a bind.
Now that I have the dehydrator, a vacuum sealer, and a pressure canner, there shouldn't be any reason why we cannot put up enough food to last us a year or two. Buy it on sale or on clearance and seal it for future use.
Now if I just had a grain mill.....
Today will also be the day I do a lot of yard work. We finally have a nice warm day after almost a solid month of rain. My daughter will be mowing while I am working in the garden (since she is graduated now and doesn't have to go to school), then I will have her help me move the compost I made over the winter and put it in the garden. I will get my husband to till it all in this evening and plant my green beans tomorrow. We will still have to figure out a trellis system for the garden since the green beans we have seed for will grow about 8 feet tall. Maybe some sort of hoop system that I can use as a hot house this fall and winter. We will see.
I am getting excited about the new canning season. Since I put up a bunch of food last year for the first time, I will know better this year what we will actually eat and what size jars to use to each item. I know that I don't need to put beans in quarts this year. We just don't eat that much of them. And I know that I will need to can a lot more tomatoes. We used all of them in about a month. We also used all of the corn I put in the freezer in about 5 months so I will need a lot more of that too.
We still have fruit though. For some reason, we just didn't eat that much. Maybe I just need to make more deserts. We ate the dried fruits better than the canned, so maybe I will just dry more instead of canning them.
I have canned quite a bit of meat so far this year. I get it from the grocery when it is on sale. If I can it, we can still have good meat even if the power goes out. We won't have to worry about all of it thawing out and spoiling. I am thinking I will dry some more too. Jerky is just too handy to have on hand, and it makes for a really nice stew in a bind.
Now that I have the dehydrator, a vacuum sealer, and a pressure canner, there shouldn't be any reason why we cannot put up enough food to last us a year or two. Buy it on sale or on clearance and seal it for future use.
Now if I just had a grain mill.....
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Excalabur 2900 dehydrator
I got my new dehydrator in this week and I am so excited. It is more than twice the size of my old one (15 sf of drying space) and actually much faster too. The first day I got it, I dried 6 chopped bell peppers (on sale for $1.78 for all 6) and 5 chopped onions ($1.99 for a 3 pound bag) and still had 2 trays left empty. The same amount of chopped dried onions retails for about $6. And since I use the peppers and onions all the time when I cook, it is a great deal for us. And also much better for cooking when I just don't feel like chopping up an onion.
I also picked up some really nice strawberries from a roadside vendor this week. I have bought from them in the past and they are some of the best strawberries you will ever eat. At $14 a gallon, they are a little bit expensive, but still cheaper than the grocery store, and the taste just can't be beat. We ate a few of them fresh and the rest (a little less than a gallon) I made into fruit leather and dried sliced. The finished product gave us about 10 fruit roll-ups and almost a quart jar of dried slices.
The sliced berries work out really well for us. I make scones with them, and we use butter and strawberry freezer jam on the hot scones. Really awesome and very easy. Take your favorite biscuit recipe (there is a good one on the back of the Bisquick box, just don't use the liquids), add 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of sour cream, and a big handful of crumbled berry slices and enough water or milk to make a really, really stiff dough. It just needs to hold together and not be too "wet". Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick and round. Slice it like a pizza and bake it in a moderately hot oven, I generally bake at 375, until it is nice and browned all over. Like I said, just awesome.
Drying food takes up a lot less space than canning, and the majority of the time, tastes just as good as fresh. 3 pounds of chopped, dried onions will fit into a half gallon jar and you don't have to worry about them getting soft or mildewed in the pantry. If you need "fresh" onions for things like potato salad or similar recipes, just soak them in a little warm water and they will plump back up. Same with the fruit. To make a fruit salad or compote, soak your mixed dried fruits in a little water or apple juice to plump them back up and chill.
Just about every vegetable can be dried and stored. Potatoes work out really well. Slice and parboil the spuds, surface dry with a paper towel and lay them out on the trays. After they are dry, they can be used for scalloped potatoes, re-hydrated and fried, or cooked in the microwave with a little milk and then mashed. Drop some in a stew or soup, run through the blender to make potato flour or instant mashed potatoes. Very very useful.
I would suggest this to just about anyone who wants to be able to preserve food without the mess and expense of canning. Buy produce when it is on sale or in season from a farmers market and dry it. And if the dried foods are kept sealed, they will keep just about indefinitely. It is a great way to save money. And eat healthier.
I also picked up some really nice strawberries from a roadside vendor this week. I have bought from them in the past and they are some of the best strawberries you will ever eat. At $14 a gallon, they are a little bit expensive, but still cheaper than the grocery store, and the taste just can't be beat. We ate a few of them fresh and the rest (a little less than a gallon) I made into fruit leather and dried sliced. The finished product gave us about 10 fruit roll-ups and almost a quart jar of dried slices.
The sliced berries work out really well for us. I make scones with them, and we use butter and strawberry freezer jam on the hot scones. Really awesome and very easy. Take your favorite biscuit recipe (there is a good one on the back of the Bisquick box, just don't use the liquids), add 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of sour cream, and a big handful of crumbled berry slices and enough water or milk to make a really, really stiff dough. It just needs to hold together and not be too "wet". Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick and round. Slice it like a pizza and bake it in a moderately hot oven, I generally bake at 375, until it is nice and browned all over. Like I said, just awesome.
Drying food takes up a lot less space than canning, and the majority of the time, tastes just as good as fresh. 3 pounds of chopped, dried onions will fit into a half gallon jar and you don't have to worry about them getting soft or mildewed in the pantry. If you need "fresh" onions for things like potato salad or similar recipes, just soak them in a little warm water and they will plump back up. Same with the fruit. To make a fruit salad or compote, soak your mixed dried fruits in a little water or apple juice to plump them back up and chill.
Just about every vegetable can be dried and stored. Potatoes work out really well. Slice and parboil the spuds, surface dry with a paper towel and lay them out on the trays. After they are dry, they can be used for scalloped potatoes, re-hydrated and fried, or cooked in the microwave with a little milk and then mashed. Drop some in a stew or soup, run through the blender to make potato flour or instant mashed potatoes. Very very useful.
I would suggest this to just about anyone who wants to be able to preserve food without the mess and expense of canning. Buy produce when it is on sale or in season from a farmers market and dry it. And if the dried foods are kept sealed, they will keep just about indefinitely. It is a great way to save money. And eat healthier.
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