Angel Food Ministries

The Angel Food Ministries July package seems to be a good one, so I went by a local host site today and ordered one convenience pack, one steak pack, and one fruit and veggies. All of this came to $74. Now the challenge comes to figure out how I'm going to use all of the ingredients up. I'm open to suggestions and recipes!

Easiest Shrimp and Grits, ever!

Ended up getting to cook last night and so changed the menu! This came out great, so hubby made me write it down. Says he tired of having "great" things only once because I can't remember how I made it. :)

So.....
1 cup grits
4 cups water
salt and pepper
2 T. butter
2 cups cheddar cheese
----------------------
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled
1/2 pound of bacon, chopped
1 1/2 T lemon juice
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. chopped parsley

put water and grits into pot, bring to boil. add salt, pepper and butter. cover and simmer for 25 minutes or so until thickened. Stir occassionally to prevent scorching and sticking. When done, remove from heat and stir in cheese. Cover and save.

While grits are cooking, brown bacon pieces in large skillet. remove bacon from skillet and save. In bacon grease (I removed about half of grease, but saved in case needed), saute shrimp until pink. Add garlic, saute about a minute or so, add lemon juice and parsley. saute for about three minutes.

Serve over the grits.


That's it. Easy, huh?? Enjoy and let me know if you try it and what you think!

Too, too busy!

So I'm trying to figure out how to slow down! I really want to simplify, but I'm still having difficulty saying "no" or letting go of things and letting others do them.

My bread making is going great, but instead of daily bread, it's more like a couple of times a week bread.

We got our first Angel Food Ministies boxes this weekend. There's quite a bit of variety in the box. I can't wait to try out some of the stuff in there. It'll have to wait until tomorrow, though, I have an exam at school tonight and between studying, the two-year old and hubby is home sick, I don't think I'll get time to get creative.

Tonight, poor sick Hubby is going to make hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and peas for him and the kids. I was able to get some yummy Hebrew National hot dogs at Harris Teeter on Friday on markdown. I love them because they don't have any preservatives or other unidentified items in them.

I'm Movin' On Up!

I was at a girlfriend's house on Thursday, bragging about my Pizza making adventure. She said that if I thought that was easy (no copyright infringement intended), I really, really should make my own bread, but not the complicated way. She shared with the basic recipe from her copy of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day" and a slice of bread she made from the book.

I went home and during "nap time" I made a batch and when hubby arrived home, I had a loaf for him. When I told him the cost (way, way cheap), he commented, "O Wife, who love me, give me my daily bread." Hee, hee.

I found the website for the book, and I'm going to have to scour the web to find a used copy, but I really would love to get a copy of the book.

As an additional note, yesterday, I made a loaf for my oldest (22yo, Joseph) to take home, a loaf that I shared with my mom and Katherine, Joe's GF, and a loaf that I sent home with mom to my Dad. Not only was it cheap and easy, everyone was raving!!

Pizza is Cheap!

When you make it yourself, of course. I had this great idea yesterday to make my own bread. I was thinking maybe a Rye bread or a Rosemary Focaccia (I have Rosemary plants in the backyard.)

So I got on Google and started searching - how do I do this?? I stumbled upon this great blog - "A Year in Bread". After reading a bit of their blogs (remember, I was searching for Rosemary Focaccia), one of the bloggers was recommending that if you've never baked bread before, start easy - Make Pizza!

My son arrived home from school at about that point and so I enlisted his help. Wow, I can't believe how easy it was. Mainly, it's a patience thing. Susan, the blogger, promised 3 hours from start to finish and although, it was a bit longer than that it was probably my fault. Here's a link to Susan's blog on the subject: A Year in Bread - Pizza Dough.

We got the dough started (flour, yeast, salt and water). While it was rising, we caramelized some onion (3 large) and cut some rosemary off the bush. I took a few sprigs and put them in a small saucepan with some olive oil and heated it up infusing the oil with the rosemary.

So after the dough was ready, we stretched it out, brushed it with the rosemary olive oil and topped it with the caramelized onions and some fresh rosemary. It was fabulous and hubby requested that we please have it again. Give it a try!

Pray for a Renter!

Well the plan is done. We've developed a Zero Balance Budget for March, although a couple of minor adjustments may need to be made this coming week. We have a "date" to sit down next Sunday afternoon and finalize it. (Hubby gets paid once/month on the 5th - makes for weird month.)

The only issue is that the "apartment" is not yet rented for March. We have an apartment attached to our house. It's fully furnished and we've been renting it out as a corporate apartment - only short term leases. When we decided a little over a year ago that I would stay at home with our daughter, we knew that we needed the income from the apartment to make ends meet. After doing our first Zero Balance Budget for March and making sure that the necessary bills will be paid, there isn't very much left for groceries. If the apartment gets rented, then we eat and have extra to apply to the debt, so pray for us, please.

I made a German Spaetzel last night with Caramelized Onion, Sauteed Mushrooms, and grated fresh parmesan. Hubby loved it. By my estimates - 6 eggs - $.60; 3 cups of flour; $.50; 1 8oz pack mushrooms - $1.00 (on sale at Harris Teeter); 1 large onion - $.72; parmesan - ~$1.00. So the meal cost $3.82, which fed 2 adults and one teenage boy with a bit left over for lunch for Mom today. And it was easy.

Day One - Can We Do It?

Hubby and I have embarked on a journey. After a glorious cruise vacation alone with no children, we realized the primary point of hubby's stress wasn't work or kids, it was our "debt".

We've decided to buckle down, bite the bullet, plus a myriad of cliches and do something about it. How? Well, Hubby is great at making sure things are paid on time and no bills are neglected, however, it seems that alone is a full-time job, so I'm going to handle the managing and planning while he continues to do what he does well.

I have already started on the Debt Reduction Plan and figured out that the things over which I have the most control is our food and our fun. So, I'm going to make sure that as we tackle our debt and work to eliminate it, that we still eat well and have fun. Hopefully, this blog will keep me focused, generate ideas from others, and help others who may have the same goal. As I find frugal ways to have fun and great recipes that are cost-conscious, I'll post. I'll also keep everyone updated on the Ultimate Goal.

Wish me well (no luck needed)! And Pray for Us!