I thought it was time I update you on my experiment with eating through our food storage. I have learned so much! I like the challenge of making new things out of the same items, but I am learning that if I ever got to the point that I needed to use my food storage, I want more variety! I have a lot of oatmeal and vegetable soup and beans and beef stew left. I am still trying to figure out new ways to use it all without falling back on soup! (Did you know that you can make soup out of ANYTHING? It might not be so bad in the winter time, but soup gets a little old in the summer.)
I have also learned that I miss fresh vegetables and fruit. Those are most often the things I buy from the store now. (Yes, I shop for groceries. It is a lot less than I normally would though, and it is all perishable stuff. So, I don't consider it cheating.) I can't wait to have a house that has space for a garden. Then I can use the fresh produce from my garden for meals, then turn it into my food storage for the winter and spring and live happily ever after. *Sigh*
The next lesson I want to share with you is that you have to make sure you have something in your food storage for days you are craving something sweet. I will admit that I love to snack on honey nut cheerios. Before you panic, remember who is talking and realize that it is always going to be the less expensive and equally delicious, generic brand. *Cough, Cough, Western Family, Cough* (I'm not picky enough to need to spend crazy amounts of money on puny boxes. I am all about the massive bags of yumminess.) Even though these little snacks have a bit of sweetness, some days it just isn't enough. Have a stash of cookies or a brownie mix somewhere. (Or use your food storage to make something sweet. Just don't run out of butter or eggs. They are pretty important.)
I learned that things like rice, beans, and potatoes can help stretch just about anything. I mean, I knew that before, but didn't use it the way I am now. I now appreciate things about cooking that I didn't before: like falling back on stir fry for my go to meal during the week or not having to use a can opener every day. I like learning things like my pie dough can be frozen if it is wrapped nicely. Plus, I actually miss taking pictures of my food to tell you about it. Yes, I know the photos are lackluster at best, but I miss teaching you about my favorite recipes and tips and tricks.
The last thing I want to tell you is that I feel that everyone should spend at least a couple of weeks trying to eat through their food storage. See what you get sick of first and what you should have more of. Learn how to creatively use what you have on hand. It is important to have the confidence to open the cupboards after you haven't been shopping in a while and make a healthy meal for your family.
I love this part of homemaking. I love cooking. I love creating things that my family needs to survive. I believe that I was given a talent to have instincts in the kitchen and to find joy in serving my family in this way. I have really enjoyed this experiment, but I am looking forward to moving and returning to normal life in the kitchen. Feel free to count down with me. We're down to less than a month now!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Do you ever just want to bake? I have wanted to the last couple of days, and finally gave in today. I was so excited to have recipes to share with you, but I am terrible with the whole taking photos with each step of the cooking process. Sorry about that. Don't worry, I will share with you what I have and use my words to fill in the blanks.
First of all, let me tell you how I feel about baking. I love mixing ingredients and watching them transform. I like seeing yeast bloom and bread rise. I like knowing that cakes and cookies and breads use most of the same ingredients, but just by changing a few of the techniques, you end up with completely different products.
I was most excited about baking rolls today. Oh, how I love rolls. They are perfect for snacking and making sandwiches. Plus, who doesn't love dipping rolls in soups or sauces? Yum. So those were easily the first thing on my list today. I have the perfect recipe for easy, soft rolls. After I started kneading the finished dough, I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. Sorry again. I will make them again soon (because these perfect rolls freeze so well - you'd never guess they were frozen and then thawed) and I will probably take photos. So, keep being patient with these. I promise I'll share the recipe soon.
While my rolls were rising, I mixed up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies. They are my husband's favorite. Good news? I took photos of these!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c Butter
3/4 c White Sugar
1 c Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
3 c Flour
Chocolate Chips
Step 1. Soften the butter. (I usually get the butter out before I get all my other ingredients out so it can be softening while I work. Sometimes, I hold it in my hands (in the wrapper) to soften it faster. Then I cream it in my mixer for a while. Keeping your hands on the bowl help soften it quicker.)
Step 2. Add the sugars and cream well. It should look really similar to finished cookie dough at this point. Make sure you scrape the sides of your mixer several times while you combine the ingredients.
Step 3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Make sure it is mixed well.
Step 4. Add the flour and slowly mix it in.
Step 5. When the flour is almost completely mixed in, add the chocolate chips. Mix for a couple of seconds, and you're done!
Step 6. Oh wait, no. Not quite. Bake them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. In between each batch, I put the dough in the fridge so the dough doesn't get too soft.
Step 7. If you live in my house, you let the cookies cool and then you put them in the freezer.
You can replace some of the flour with wheat flour so you can pretend they are healthier. They are just as good.
After I made this batch, I made a batch of peanut butter cookies with peanut butter and chocolate swirled chips. They are delightful. I will share the recipe with you tomorrow. For now, I am going to finish watching The Host (while telling my husband how the book is different from the movie - I'm SURE he loves that part) and snacking on cookies and rolls. Perfect end to a busy day.
First of all, let me tell you how I feel about baking. I love mixing ingredients and watching them transform. I like seeing yeast bloom and bread rise. I like knowing that cakes and cookies and breads use most of the same ingredients, but just by changing a few of the techniques, you end up with completely different products.
I was most excited about baking rolls today. Oh, how I love rolls. They are perfect for snacking and making sandwiches. Plus, who doesn't love dipping rolls in soups or sauces? Yum. So those were easily the first thing on my list today. I have the perfect recipe for easy, soft rolls. After I started kneading the finished dough, I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. Sorry again. I will make them again soon (because these perfect rolls freeze so well - you'd never guess they were frozen and then thawed) and I will probably take photos. So, keep being patient with these. I promise I'll share the recipe soon.
While my rolls were rising, I mixed up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies. They are my husband's favorite. Good news? I took photos of these!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c Butter
3/4 c White Sugar
1 c Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
3 c Flour
Chocolate Chips
Step 1. Soften the butter. (I usually get the butter out before I get all my other ingredients out so it can be softening while I work. Sometimes, I hold it in my hands (in the wrapper) to soften it faster. Then I cream it in my mixer for a while. Keeping your hands on the bowl help soften it quicker.)
Step 2. Add the sugars and cream well. It should look really similar to finished cookie dough at this point. Make sure you scrape the sides of your mixer several times while you combine the ingredients.
Step 3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Make sure it is mixed well.
Step 4. Add the flour and slowly mix it in.
Step 5. When the flour is almost completely mixed in, add the chocolate chips. Mix for a couple of seconds, and you're done!
Step 6. Oh wait, no. Not quite. Bake them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. In between each batch, I put the dough in the fridge so the dough doesn't get too soft.
Step 7. If you live in my house, you let the cookies cool and then you put them in the freezer.
You can replace some of the flour with wheat flour so you can pretend they are healthier. They are just as good.
After I made this batch, I made a batch of peanut butter cookies with peanut butter and chocolate swirled chips. They are delightful. I will share the recipe with you tomorrow. For now, I am going to finish watching The Host (while telling my husband how the book is different from the movie - I'm SURE he loves that part) and snacking on cookies and rolls. Perfect end to a busy day.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Quick Update
I didn't forget about you. I've just been busy. I'm still busy, but I wanted to let you know that I didn't throw in the towel. I still like blogging and still have things to say. Be patient with me. In the meantime, a funny story from last week.
So the day of my last post, the AC in my house stopped working. Completely. I watched in horror as the temperature rose from the standard 72 degrees to 75 then 80 and so on. Luckily, it was the start of a 6 day stretch of outside temperatures in the triple digits. A call was placed immediately to get it fixed. So we waited patiently. Read: Kylee used up all the ice in the freezer so she could try to stay cool. There were several drives in a nice cold car during the hottest part of the day and sometimes at 1 AM because your house shouldn't be 85 degrees that time of night.
My sweet husband decided that he was willing to do anything to help me feel more comfortable. Mostly because he is just that good. I think a little part of it may have been that extremely hot Kylee seems to be a close relative of the Kraken. He brought me bags of ice, planned a date during the day to sit in a cold theater, took me out to eat so I didn't have to cook. He made it bearable.
The coldest it got in my house was 84. The high was a whopping 91. I refused to dry my hair because that just meant more heat. (Go ahead and picture it, Kraken with hair that is dried funny who somehow seemed to sweat ALL day long.) I know it all sounds a bit melodramatic, but I am always hot anyway. I didn't use a coat a single day last winter. I wore a jacket a couple of times, and that was just when it stayed below freezing. That's saying something for Utah.
Luckily, it only lasted Thursday afternoon to Saturday night. It made me extremely grateful for AC and not having to live in a time or place that I would find extremely uncomfortable. Definitely not funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now!
So the day of my last post, the AC in my house stopped working. Completely. I watched in horror as the temperature rose from the standard 72 degrees to 75 then 80 and so on. Luckily, it was the start of a 6 day stretch of outside temperatures in the triple digits. A call was placed immediately to get it fixed. So we waited patiently. Read: Kylee used up all the ice in the freezer so she could try to stay cool. There were several drives in a nice cold car during the hottest part of the day and sometimes at 1 AM because your house shouldn't be 85 degrees that time of night.
My sweet husband decided that he was willing to do anything to help me feel more comfortable. Mostly because he is just that good. I think a little part of it may have been that extremely hot Kylee seems to be a close relative of the Kraken. He brought me bags of ice, planned a date during the day to sit in a cold theater, took me out to eat so I didn't have to cook. He made it bearable.
The coldest it got in my house was 84. The high was a whopping 91. I refused to dry my hair because that just meant more heat. (Go ahead and picture it, Kraken with hair that is dried funny who somehow seemed to sweat ALL day long.) I know it all sounds a bit melodramatic, but I am always hot anyway. I didn't use a coat a single day last winter. I wore a jacket a couple of times, and that was just when it stayed below freezing. That's saying something for Utah.
Luckily, it only lasted Thursday afternoon to Saturday night. It made me extremely grateful for AC and not having to live in a time or place that I would find extremely uncomfortable. Definitely not funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now!
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