Vacation Extras!

We had another round of snow last night/this morning and it's cold and icky out.  It's Indiana, what do you expect?  LOL

I'd like to take just a quick minute to remind everyone that if you have elderly or home-bound neighbors to please, at minimum, check in on them.  See if they need anything.  Shovel a walk or steps.  It doesn't take much time and can be a true life-saver to them.  

Hubby and my 9 year old went out last night and cleared the sidewalks and steps (we live on a hill) and as always they did the neighbor ladies as well.  they are 87 and 62 and neither one of them has any business using a snow shovel.  It only take a few minutes.

There's my PSA for the day!

We are behind because of finishing up the semester so we are working really hard to get things in order to get the tree up.  My son found some change on the floor under a side table.  He knows that "found money goes in Fred" so he put it there.  

This is "Fred"

Fred is a circa 1970's ish piggy bank.  I have absolutely no idea where it came from buy my kids have had it since my oldest (now 26) was little.  Fred's been around a while!  LOL

So found money...if I find money in the washer and it's under $20, I put it in Fred.  I know a lot of people who do the laundry keep it for themselves but this is an old habit from when we were really poor!  Any found money around the house is put in Fred too.  If you put it all in one place, you'd be amazed at how much loose change you find in a year.  In the past, we would wait until vacation time and count what was in Fred and we'd figure out what we could do for vacation on the amount of money that was in Fred.  

Now that things are a little easier and we can do real vacations, we still put money in Fred.  Now though, we wait until vacation planning and see what is in Fred.  We let the kids decide on what we are going to do with that money while we are on vacation.  One year, they decided that on our way home from camping in the Smokey Mountains that we would stop at Santa Claus Land.  I know, I know, it's called Holiday World now but to me, it will ALWAYS be Santa Claus Land.  There was enough money in Fred to pay entrance for everyone and to have snacks and meals in the park and buy a couple of souvenirs.  That's a LOT of lost dimes and quarters!

So find yourself a fun and quirky bank, the cheesier the better, and put it somewhere out of the way but yet somewhere where you can see it.  That way it is a reminder to put found money in it.  Then when your vacation plans are made, see what's in there and find something fun and frivolous to do with it!  My kids love Googling the area we are going too and finding something fun to do there or on the way there.  It's an adventure!  We've had some really fun times doing this.  

Oh and please remember, check on your neighbors!  

Making a long week easier!

This week is the final week of the semester at IUPUI.  Between finals, papers due, kids parties, Scouts, making some gift baskets and needing to use some major coupons on Christmas gifts before they expire (Hey, they're really good coupons and some Kohl's cash), it's gonna be a long week.

How can you make a long week easier?  Eliminate cooking!  Ok, so that's not possible.  Or is it?  No, I'm not talking about eating out every night, tempting as that may be.  I am going to use my freezer stash.

As I have posted about in the past, I stash leftover bits and pieces just for occasions like this.  This week we are having chicken pot pie, lasagna roll ups, beef & noodles, tacos and pizza.  The pizza isn't leftovers but I won't be home Friday night so I have enough points for a free pizza so I'll have that delivered for the family.

The pot pies will be the hardest of my meals for the week.  When I made pies for Thanksgiving, I made extra pie crusts and put them in my small pot pie pans.  I put each one in a Ziploc bag and stashed them in the freezer.  I froze the top crusts in discs rolled out to size to put on top.  I have left over chicken in the freezer and left over mixed veggies in a small mason jar in there.  Add some diced southern style hash browns to that.  You can make a thick chicken gravy or even use cream of chicken soup (don't dilute it) if you'd rather.  Mix the chicken, veggies and gravy, toss in the pot pie crust.  Put the top on, crimp the edges, vent it (just cut a little slit in the top) and bake.

The lasagna roll ups are a recipe I found on Pinterest and tweaked to our tastes.  Here is the recipe for it.  I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta because it is cheaper.  I also use 1/2 a package of spinach because my family will eat it but in limited quantities.  It's easy to use a good, sharp, serrated knife to cut the entire box of frozen spinach in half...just throw the other half in a Ziploc bag and back in the freezer.  I also keep a wedge of Parmesan to grate my own, overall, it's cheaper that way.  I had made these and frozen them before so all I have to do now is take them out of the Ziploc, put in a casserole dish in the morning.  I also have a jar that I put left over meat sauce in in the freezer, I'll move it to the fridge in the morning too.  When it's time for dinner, pour the sauce over the top and bake until hot.  During the last few minutes, I'll sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top.

The beef & noodles is the easiest of the week.  Next to the pizza anyway...LOL  I have beef stock that I froze a while back, I'll thaw that.  I have left over roast that is in the freezer as well.  I'll set them in the fridge the night before because that much broth will need the time to thaw.  For dinner, just bring the broth and meat to a boil and add the egg noodles.  If I have time, I might make some mashed potatoes to go with.  My Mom always served beef & noodles on top of a piece of bread and mashed potatoes.  Talk about carbs!  Anyway, half the family does like it on mashed potatoes, so if time, I'll make some.

The last time I made tacos, I made too much taco meat with beans so I froze the rest.  All I'll have to do for that meal is to heat up the meat.  Open some diced tomatoes, set out some cheese, sour cream and lettuce.  Toss in the taco shells and sauce and dinner is good to go.

I almost feel bad about giving the family pizza on Friday because I'm going with friends to have some of the best sushi around!  I'm telling you, if you're ever in Fishers, Indiana and have a little extra money, you have got to try Wild Ginger.  It's seriously good eats!  (I think I've mentioned how much I like Alton Brown...LOL)

One caveat here, you have to plan on using those things that are left over in the freezer.  You can't keep them for a year and a half and expect to produce a fabulous meal with them.  They won't keep forever.  I watch what I put in the freezer and if I'm not having a week like this one, I'll just plan on integrating them into our meal rotation.  I knew that finals week is always rough so I made sure to have several meals at the ready.  Even something as simple as a post it note on the freezer can serve to remind you of what leftovers are in there that need to be used.  It's all about the planning!

Anyway, sometimes it might be easier to toss those extras left over after a meal but if you save them and plan on using them, they can make a rough week just a little bit easier.  

Now, who can help me with finals??  LOL

Here comes the snow!

We, here in Indy, are preparing for our first major rain/sleet/ice/snow event of the season.  From what "they're" saying, we should be receiving all 4 over the course of the next 24-36 hours.  "They" say in total we should end up with 4"-6" or 6"-9" of snow depending on which one of "them" you listen too.  

Regardless, the gas stations are using the "impending" storm to jack prices up.  In the time it took me to go into the store to buy canning jars, the gas prices went from $2.99 when I went in to $3.35 when I came out.  Ridiculous.  There are also those who made the "French Toast" run.  You know, whenever there is snow in the forecast, everyone must go buy milk, bread and eggs.  It's generally craziness.  They should include some chocolate chips in that run!  LOL

Now we're all wondering (hoping) that school is delayed or cancelled.  I don't like driving in all this, so I'm secretly hoping that school is cancelled and the kids have a long weekend.  Safely at home!

So how do you spend a snow day?  If not for the ice, I'd take the kids sledding at the park.  However, since we have ice, we will bake!  I will also take advantage of getting some things made for stock ups.

I've been making homemade Bisquick.  It's pretty easy.  

Mix in a food processor (I do half at a time):

8 cups flour

1/3 cup baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

Then pulse in:

1 cup of butter-flavored Crisco

You can store it in an air tight container or Ziploc bag.  It's nice that you can take 1 1/4 cups of mix and 1/2 cup of milk and it makes 2 biscuits.  Great with homemade jam!

I am also going to make thumbprint cookies (Recipe is here) using my homemade jam.  Yummy!

If you are snowed in tomorrow (or any day) you should really get the kids in the kitchen and bake something.  It makes the house warm and cozy and it's something fun to do with the kids.  Let them pick what cookies to make or what cake to make or muffins.  

Oh, and don't forget the hot cocoa!

Christmas Ornaments

December is here!  Christmas isn't far away.  It's too early to start baking but it's not too early to get in on some holiday fun.  

The ornaments on my Christmas tree are a mix of things my children have made over the years and the "new" ornament we get each year.  That is a tradition that my dear Mother always did.  Each year there was a new set or ornaments, one for each of those in the house and if not matching exactly then obviously part of a set.  

In the lean years, we made ornaments.  One year, she got some little plastic figures from the manger scene, like the biggest plastic person was about an inch tall.  We took the tops and bottoms out of tuna fish cans and covered the can with felt and brick-a-brack from her sewing box.  We then tied a string around it so it would hang in such a way that you were looking at a circle.  I hope that makes sense.  We'd glue cotton balls where the bottom of the circle was and the glue the little plastic characters on the cotton.  I wish I had a picture of those to share.

There are ornaments you can make with your children rather inexpensively.

The picture here shows some of the ornaments that my kids have made over the years.  Some of these were made through school and some through Girl Scouts and some just because there was boredom in the house. 

The one on the upper left is great for little kids.  It is just a clear glass bulb that we removed the hanger out of the top.  Then covered the entire bulb in Elmer's glue, just plain white school glue.  I put glitter on a paper plate and let the kids roll the bulb in it, they also used their hands to sprinkle it on.  This is not a non-messy project but they sure do have fun with it.  You can spray a clear sealer over it if you'd like but we didn't and this one in the picture is at least 15 years old.

The one on the upper right is so easy.  It is just a colored bulb that you can use paint or a colored sharpie to write their name on it.  Then you glue it to an ice cream cone.  Again, with Elmer's school glue.  Easy.

The lower left is a little more challenging.  Start with the same clear glass bulb and remove the topper that it hangs from.  Break up potpourri and carefully put it down inside of the bulb until it is full.  Put the top back on the ornament.  Then take some lace that has some holes in it that you can weave a thin ribbon through.  Use the ribbon to bunch up the lace and tie it around the top of the ornament.  We make the ribbon match the color of the potpourri but you can use whatever you like.  These smell fabulous too!

Finally, the one on the lower right is easy but requires some patience.  Again, start with clear glass bulbs.  Remove the top and put a little paint inside.  Not a lot and roll it around to get the paint down in it.  Wait a bit and add some more and do the same thing.  You don't want to use too much paint at a time as it will pool in the bottom of the ornament, too little and it won't cover all the glass on the inside.  It really works well if you can let it sit for 10-15 minutes between colors to allow it to tack up so that when you add more paint, it won't become a muddled mess.  I have one or two that ended up that way and they're on the tree too!

These are just a few ideas of things that we've done over the years.  The best part isn't in what ornament you decide to make or how beautiful it is, it's about having fun with your family.  Making something together.  That years from now, you will look at your Christmas tree and think "I remember how much fun we had making that one!"  

Giving Back

I hope this Saturday after Thanksgiving finds you all healthy, happy and Thankful.  I know that for most people, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving involve lots of shopping and even more indulgence over and above the Thanksgiving feast.  There is nothing wrong with that in the least.  I'd just like to remind you to remember those less fortunate than we are.

I have talked about my Mom's group before, my IndyMoms, a fantastic group of women who never cease to amaze me.  One of those Moms, Satch, is the owner of the Blue Spatula in Indianapolis.  She organized a "Make them smile" event for people to get together and put together bags for the homeless.  We not only gathered items needed but put the bags together and delivered them to the homeless in downtown.  

As we Moms always do, it's not about spending a large amount of money, it's the little things that I have put together with the little things that another Mom brings and so on and so forth, that add up to make a wonderful bag of stuff.  Included was not only the usual items needed for winter in Indiana, hats, gloves, socks, scarf, and lightweight fleece blankets but also a wash cloth, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste.  We also included bottled water, lunchmeat & cheese sandwiches, pb&J sandwiches, carrots, slim jims, crackers with cheese.  You get the idea.  We had food they could eat now and food for later.  And no one really spent a lot of money.  

My family and I went down to help assembly and distribute the bags.  I should point out that this wasn't just us Moms, everyone brought their whole families.  We had so many children there who were so anxious and willing to help.  The loved the assembly line process of filling the bags and they all got to carry them as we walked the couple of blocks to deliver them.  

I know for me, I was so very touched to see the appreciation of the homeless person receiving the bag as well as the looks on the faces of the children as they realized that THEY were making a difference in their own little way.  Many of them, including my own 9 year old wanted to do more.  He was upset that there were some who didn't get a bag.

As we walked back, there were so many adults in tears and children who had made new friends and had so many ideas about wanting to do more.  It was fun listening to some of their ideas.  It was refreshing to see so many giving back to those less fortunate.  

I don't know if you'd call it a sign (no pun intended) but when I got home and turned on my computer to finish the homework I had left when we headed downtown, but a friend has just posted this sign to Facebook

This is something that more people need to remember.  No matter how little we have or how hard life may be at the moment, there is always something to be thankful for.  (Thanks for posting this sign Michelle).  

There are always those less fortunate than us out there too.  If hands on, face-to-face isn't your thing, please remember that all year, but especially this time of year the  homeless shelters, food pantries, and other agencies can use some extra help to provide some holiday cheer for those in need.

I'm going to throw a plug out here too.  Satch and The Blue Spatula at Jumbo's in the Market are at the City Market downtown.  If you'd like to support a small business that gives back to the community, I'd highly suggest the Chicken Pot Pie and the Dark Chocolate Mousse is divine!

Just know that big or small, organized or a quiet drop off, we can all do something to help.  Little things add up to great things!  How are you going to help?

Thanksgiving hints!

Good morning!  We are in the home stretch with school, the semester will end around December 12.  I am more than ready for that day, it's been a tough one.  Working around homework, I am trying to get ready for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to be together, enjoying each other and the day, not about one person spending the entire day away from everyone else in the kitchen. 

I don't know about you, but I am not a fan of the thought of busting my butt the day before and getting up at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving to get the Thanksgiving meal together.  There are things that you can do early to make it easier.  

Just a few hints:

You can make pie crusts a head of time and freeze them right in the pans.  It doesn't take much time at all to thaw when you're ready to fill or bake.

Dinner rolls can be done early too.  You can make the bread dough early, follow your recipe up to the point of shaping into rolls.  Freeze them on a wax lined pan, then put into a Ziploc bag.  

The day or so before Thanksgiving you can pull them out and let them rise.  You can also par-bake them so they're almost done.  Then on Thanksgiving day, you can finish baking them for a couple of minutes and have fresh rolls that don't tie up your precious oven space.  

Have the kids help by setting the table the night before.

If, like us, you have stuffing and chicken and noodles at dinner, make some chicken stock a few days ahead of time and portion it out to what you need for each item.  Homemade is easy to make and doesn't have a ton of salt or preservatives in it.

I also make the noodles a week or so in advance, dry them out and store in a Ziploc or a Tupperware type bowl with a good sealing type lid.

I also save the heels of bread or any that may have gotten a little stale and I dry them out in the oven.  Generally, after I have baked something or made dinner in the oven or what have you, I'll put a tray of dried bread in there after I've pulled out what I'm baking and shut the oven off.  Make sure the bread is in a single layer, as the oven is cooling, there is enough heat to dry it out well.  Gram used to include some leftover cornbread as well.  You can put those last couple of pieces or so in the freezer until Thanksgiving and thaw them out and dry them in the oven.

Remember, if there is any cutting, chopping, dicing, etc. that you can do the day or so before, do it.  You can store the items in Ziploc bags in the fridge, if you get the air out of them, they'll lay flat and stack.  If you dice up onions, double bag them to control the smell in the fridge!

It's no secret that I am a list maker.  The joke is that my lists have lists...LOL.  Anyway, make a menu for the day, go over it and decide what you can do early and what is definitely a last minute to-do.  Make a to-do list of things a week early, a few days early, the day before and the day of.  This will help you keep the day running smoothly.  It will also let someone out of the kitchen a bit to enjoy time with family and friends.

If you haven't started yet, make a list...Thanksgiving is in a few days!

Kids in the kitchen

One thing that I enjoy immensely is when my children want to be in the kitchen cooking with me.  They all like to bake because, well let's face it, you have yummy sweets to eat at the end of baking.  Cooking is different because it's dinner and involves veggies.  LOL.  I've tried to make sure that they all know the basics of cooking whether they wanted too or not.  It's just really nice when they want to do it.  

My kids have always helped in the kitchen.  From the time they could walk.  Even a 2 year old can set the table.  We call my kitchen "the cave", it's small, hard to brighten up and secluded from the rest of the house.  So, it's always been that when little, they've been in the kitchen with me so I knew what they were getting into...LOL.  Anyway, even at 2 years old, I would stack the items needed for dinner on the counter next to where I was working and I'd give the little one one plate at a time and tell them, "this goes where Mom sits" or "this goes where you sit".  If they take one item at a time, it may take them most of my prep time to set the table but they are occupied and helping.  And if a plate gets broken, it'll be ok.  Just remember to not use the "good" china for this.

Kids can also help with the food prep.  Even little kids can wash veggies, tear lettuce, help to mix a salad.  Just remind them that "tossing a salad" doesn't mean throwing things...LOL  They can put butter on bread, they can help clear a table.  There are lots of things that little kids can do.

As kids get older, they can actually help with meal preparation.  First and foremost, always put safety first!  I found this safety list for parents on JustMommies and this one for older kids on the Kraft website.  Take a minute to go over the safety rules and once your child gets into cooking, maybe even print them and put them on the inside of a cabinet door for them to refer to.

I decided to write about this today because my son had worked on a badge for health that required him to plan some meals but not a lot of cooking.  He decided he wanted to help here and there anyway, normally he helps to bake and set/clear the table.  

Anyway, he has kinda gotten into it, even helping me make Belgium Waffles last weekend and now asked me to help cook for a whole day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I know he can do it.  The idea of the menu kinda scares me, but I'm game.  We're gonna work on the menu later this week.  

A few helpful hints when working with kids in the kitchen is to make sure you plan extra time.  Keep it simple.  Think tacos over fried chicken!  LOL  Bring your patience, you're gonna need it.  Run a sink of soapy water, you'll need it.  And make sure they help with the clean up.  Make it fun (even the clean up), put on some fun music and turn it up louder than normal.  

Don't forget to laugh and have fun!  It can be so much fun to have your kids in the kitchen with you.  Embrace it (and the mess) and ENJOY it!