Quick and Simple Recipes

You're probably expecting recipes that use up leftover turkey or chicken, but I figure you are tired of even hearing those words uttered. 

So........a few quick and simple ground beef recipes today. (smile)

Homemade Rice-a-Roni

 1 lb ground beef
1 med. chopped onion
1 cup rice
8 oz spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
4 Tbsp marg or butter
4 cups broth or water and bouillon
Salt and Pepper
Shredded Cheese optional

Brown beef and onion in a large skillet.  Drain.  Brown rice and spaghetti pieces in marg.  Add in beef, onion, and broth.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and spaghetti is fully cooked.  Season with salt and pepper.  Can be put in casserole dish and topped with cheese.  Bake in oven until cheese melts.  ( Or just sprinkle with cheese in skillet ) 

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Vegetable Beef

Cook a pound of ground beef with onion and bell pepper and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.   Add in a small can of vegetable soup( yep the cheap stuff, even the one with abc's if you like) and simmer until thickened.  Really good!   



Happy eating!!!

And happy last day of November!  (already?)

Sustainable Laundry Thoughts

I have been contemplating alternatives to the washing machine lately.  We've been kidding about getting a wringer washer.  Only kidding because finding one that is in decent shape is next to impossible.  I noticed an article on a bicycle powered washing machine and that piqued my interest more than a little bit.  Exercising while getting your clothes clean?  I mean that is multitasking at it's greatest!

We had a front loading washer and it used very little water but used more electricity.  We then went back to the top loader and immediately the change was noted on the water bill.  They do take less time and electricity to run but waste more water. 

I thought maybe if I had a rain barrel I could use buckets of it to start the wash cycle then it would fill up to rinse off the meter as normal.  That would at least cut my city water usage in half. 

Just tossing ideas around right now but I happened upon the article below that I thought was interesting.  I had heard of using the plunger method before but never had anyone give the results of such a process.  It will be nice to see how well this works and what problems they come up against and the solutions they find to solve them. 

To read the article click below:
Going Sustainable With Laundry

Again just thinking of ways to be more self sustaining in the event I have to be.  Don't get me wrong I love convenience but I don't want to get to the point that I rely on it and panic without it.

 Oh well, there is always the stump and laundry paddle to fall back on.  One man stated that there wasn't a stain anywhere that could stand up to his grandma and her paddle! 

Until next time......Kristi.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Part 2

If you will be venturing out for the holiday deals immediately following turkey day please be safe. Be careful not only of all the traffic and irate shoppers but please be mindful of your surroundings at all times especially if you will be out during the very wee morning hours. Remember not only shoppers will be out at that time. Take a buddy with you or try to stay with a crowd while walking to your vehicle.

From our house to your house……Happy Thanksgiving!

Now on to the food!

　

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp butter or marg

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased and waxed-paper lined 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. (large cookie sheet with sides)

Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes. Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10 inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.

 While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.

Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Slice before serving. Keep leftover slices refrigerated. Roll freezes well. Slice before freezing then take out only the amount you need.

Note: I’ve found that you can’t dust too much powdered sugar on the towel or any thing for that matter that the roll might stick to.

Some say don’t even attempt to unroll before it has cooled, rolled up in towel for twenty minutes otherwise it will crack. Some say the less time the better. I’ve made this by the recipe several times and have had great results and then again had some crack so bad that a 4 wheel drive couldn‘t get out of it.. It probably depends on mixing times and cooling times and weather and PMS and whatever else you want to throw in there! My advice to you is if it cracks then don’t serve it in log form. Go ahead and slice it before anyone sees it and then you can always claim it happened on the way to the table! Cracked or not, either way it tastes delicious! Even less than die hard fans of pumpkin like this dessert.

　

　

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Pumpkin Dessert

1 can (15oz) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 package (18-¼ oz) yellow cake mix

¾ cup butter or margarine, melted

1-½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans can be used

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Top with walnuts. Bake at 350* for 1 hour or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 12-16 servings.

Good Morning, Freedom!

We've tried our hand at different ventures over the years. We have called ourselves many things. Tightwads, frugalists, former spend thrifts but one thing we have never uttered....self sufficient.


Enter Mr King.

Our first small, yet major, step toward self suffiency.

Isn't Mr. King stunning?

He certainly feels freeing.

Good Morning, Freedom!

Just A Note......

Busy, busy weekend with lots of running.  I'll try to be back on track tomorrow, but not to worry, Wednesday's recipe will post as normal.

 Have a great day!

FYI: Dollar Tree Deals

Dollar Tree had a few great deals that I noticed and wanted to share with you.

32oz Lemon Juice for $1.00, that beats Save-a -Lot's price of $1.99 for the same size. (32oz) A savings of .99 cents!

Black Olives $1 verses $1.29 at Save-a-Lot.  Not a significant savings but a good buy if you're there already. 

They also have large size spices right now, ( 2oz)ginger and nutmeg.  Our local supermarket has the Sauer's 1oz ginger and the 1.12oz nutmeg on sale for $1.98 this week.  So not only larger size but  .98 cents less at Dollar Tree. 

Just a few good buys I noticed and wanted to pass along.

Have a great day!

Pumpkin Part 1

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd dedicate the next two weeks to pumpkin.  First up is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.  I think I got it off the back of a can of pumpkin almost 15 years ago and I've used it ever since.  The older versions, the one's made with evaporated milk,  tend to be kind of bland in my opinion.  This one uses sweetened condensed milk and individual spices that give it plenty of favor.  Please remember that pumpkin is full of fiber, so eat in moderation.  (Uhh hmm...Charlie)

Pumpkin Pie

Makes 1 (9 inch) pie

1 (15oz) can pumpkin  (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Topping optional

Preheat oven to 425*.  In large bowl combine all ingredients except pie crust; mix well.  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Bake 15 minutes.  Reduce oven heat to 350*.  Continue baking 35-40 minutes or as directed for topping if using. If crust starts over browning then cover edge with foil. If knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean, it's done.  Cool. Can garnish with whipped topping if desired.  Store in refrigerator. 

Topping:

In medium bowl combine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour;  cut in 1/4 cup cold butter or marg until crumbly.  Stir in 1/4 cup chopped nuts.  After pie has baked 30 minutes at 350* sprinkle evenly over top.  Bake 10 minutes longer. 


Someone gave us a tator pumpkin last year.  I cooked it up and stored it in ziplock bags in the freezer in 2 cup portions.  Last time I made the above pie I used my home cooked pumpkin in place of canned and that made up more than my pie shell would hold.  I ended up with about 1/2 cup left over.  Instead of throwing it out or saving it to add to pancake batter ( because I knew I'd forget about it and have to throw it out anyway.....)  I got to wondering what would happen if I put it in a batch of brownies.  Only one way to find out. They turned out pretty good.  Kind of chewy pumpkiny brownie bar.  Anyway here's the ingredients. 

Pumpkin Brownie Bars

1/2 cup of above seasoned pumpkin batter
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Melt butter in pan in oven.  (9 x 9)  Combine ingredients, then add in butter once melted.  Mix well.  Pour in pan and bake about 30 minutes. 

(I didn't add eggs since there were eggs in the pumpkin batter.  If the batter seems a little dry to you, add an egg. )


Next week in pumpkin:  Pumpkin Roll
                                        Pumpkin Dessert

Until next time.......Happy Eating!

Full Circle

A lot happened last week and over last weekend. We sold Mama's trailer and got it moved out. Now the spot looks empty, like it's waiting on something to take it's place. I'll be glad when we can get the dirt work done on it and make it mowable in the places where it isn't and make it more mower friendly in the places that need it. Below are pics of the whole moving process.

Front and back of trailer before we started getting it ready for travel.

First, the back porch and ramp had to be taken off.

The deck minus the roof being moved.

Part of the ramp waiting at the side of the driveway.

Underpenning off and axles and wheels put on. 

Starting to move.

Headed up the slope and onto the road.

Waiting on the highway.  You can see the empty spot in this picture.

Starting down the road to it's new home.  We wish them well.

Thanks to all that helped to get it on it's way.  My father-in-law, for the use of his equipment and expertise.  My mother-in-law, for the company.  B and B Movers, for the great job they did getting it out without a scratch.  And to the new owner, Brandi, and her dad, Mr. Jones, for the hours they spent over here as well. 

To new beginnings.........Kristi.

November Update Part 1

Lots of things in updates this week so I divided it into two parts. So not to bore you to tears in double time this time! :) First up I made two loaves of bread this week. It was so good! I have always chickened out on making bread. It used to be that I was intimidated by using yeast. But through the years I started making things that took yeast, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and pizza crust, and had success on them. But white bread was still my Mt. Everest. I couldn't have asked for a better first batch. I'm not bragging, don't mistake what I'm saying. I'm saying it with excitement, disbelief and a little awe. This week I'm thinking that I'll only make one loaf and make rolls out of the rest. I'll let you know if it works.

Zach's birthday was Thursday.  I made him a cake, a sheet cake, I know I'm a terrible mother, it isn't even fancy or decorated and he had to put the candles on the cake himself.  But it's what he asked for.  He wanted white on white so he could share with the dog since we would be celebrating his birthday also. 

While fixing the batter, I decided to make the dog his own cake instead of giving him a slice of Zach's.  So I saved out a little batter and put in my smallest cast iron skillet.(  about 6 inches in diameter.)  Then we put icing on it and for candles we cut a Pup a Roni dog treat in half and stuck in the top. 

Yes, I know, the dog's cake looks fancier than my sons.  Like I said I'm a terrible mother, but I make up for it by being a good dog owner.  (smile)

One of his gifts.  A nerf water blaster.  He also bought a new scooter with some of his bday money.  Plus we took him out to eat at his restaurant of choice....O'Charley's.  He came away with a new video game as well.  We had a lot of fun shopping in town together.

Zach trying his hand at splitting wood. 

We had toyed with the idea of heating with wood.  It was going to mean adding on to the house and purchasing a stove. So the idea got scrapped until his father started talking about adding on to their house and making a wood stove.  That set Charlie to thinking and now it appears we are going to start our addition pretty soon.  We have decided to go ahead with the room because it will serve as a mud room (something I have always wanted).  Then we can add the stove later as we find a used one or Charlie can find the time to build us one.  In the meantime, we came across free wood and took advantage of it.  A tree had fallen across his uncle's field road and we offered to help him move it, so he gave us the wood.  Yay!  Remember the rule:  cheap is good, free is better. 

This isn't all of it, but this is what we had at the end of the first day.  One whole row and almost half of a second. 
This kind of stuff is exciting to me.  It reminds me of my childhood, going to the woods with mama and daddy to chop wood for home.  Good thing I married a man that enjoys it too!  ( since he had to split it all)

Hope you have a nice week...........Kristi.


Tomorrow, update number two-moving the trailer.

Words

The tree tops along the creek were colored now. Oaks were reds and yellows and browns and greens. Cottonwoods and sycamores and walnuts were sunshiny yellow. The sky was not so brightly blue, and the wind was rough.

Little House on the Prairie -Laura Ingalls Wilder

Happy Birthday!

Happy 11th to my handsome, funny, smart, kind, loveable son!

We love you and are so proud of you!

Happy Birthday, Zach!!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

In honor of hunting season and our family tradition that goes along with that time, I thought I’d share my cinnamon roll recipe this week. They make the house smell so good and they taste so delicious.

Dough

1 Tbsp dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup white sugar

½ cup melted butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Knead into a ball. Let rise until double in size. When ready, roll out to about ¼ inch thick. Spread with filling.

Filling

¼ cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp cinnamon

Spread butter on dough evenly. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over dough evenly. Roll dough up. Slice roll into 1 inch slices. Place on a greased pan. Let rise again until doubled. Bake 10 minutes at 400*

Icing

½ cup butter, softened

1-½ cup powdered sugar

1 oz cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp whipping cream or milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Beat until fluffy. When rolls are hot, spread lots of icing on them.

Tip: Make these the night before needed. Skip the final rising step. Let rise overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, bake. 
Or let rise first time in bowl in refrigerator overnight then proceed with recipe.

I have tried the overnight rise and it is a time saver but I personally prefer the taste and texture of the rolls from start to finish in one day as opposed to the refrigerator method.

Changes

This has been a year of change. It seems as if I no more than get over one wave of change then another comes rolling in. And with it they bring emotions that are difficult at times but I remind myself that life is continual change. Be it good or bad, whether we like it or not. Last week more changes took place. And it was bittersweet. I am excited about the progress that will eventually be accomplished but sad to visually see memories roll away.  But I'm hopeful like Laura, maybe the times that are coming will be even better............

The sun was sinking now, and she told how its glory of crimson and gold flamed upon the sky and faded to rose and gray.
“Let’s go back to the house now,” Mary said. “I can feel the change in the air.”
They stood a moment longer with hands clasped, facing the west, then slowly they walked down the slope past the stable.
“Time passes so quickly now,” said Mary. “Do you remember when the winter was so long, it seemed that summer would never come. And then in summertime, winter was so long ago we almost forgot what it was like?”
“Yes, and what good times we had when we were little,” Laura answered. “But maybe the times that are coming will be even better. You never know.”

These Happy Golden Years-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Happy Golden Years

I've been in a brooding mood this weekend..........time passing and changes.

I'm afraid several posts like this are still to come this week.

Twilight faded as the little stars went out and the moon rose and floated upward. Its silvery light flooded the sky and the prairie. The winds that had blown whispering over the grasses all the summer day now lay sleeping, and quietness brooded over the moon drenched land.
“It is a wonderful night,” Almanzo said.
"It is a beautiful world,” Laura answered, and in memory she heard the voice of Pa’s fiddle and the echo of a song,

                                     “Golden years are passing by,
                                       These happy, golden years.”

These Happy Golden Years-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Words

She opened the third door. A squeal of excitement came out of her mouth and startled the listening house. There before her eyes was a little store. All up the walls of that small room were shelves, and on the shelves were dishes, and pans and pots, and boxes, and cans. All around under the shelves stood barrels and boxes.

The first barrel was nearly full of flour. The second held corn meal. The third had a tight lid, and it was full of pieces of fat, white pork held down in brown brine. Laura had never seen so much salt pork at one time. There was a wooden box full of square soda crackers, and a box full of big slabs of salted fish. There was a large box of dried apples, and two sacks full of potatoes, and another big sack nearly full of beans.

By the Shores of Silver Lake- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pie Crust

I have mentioned pie crusts a lot on here during Use it Up Wednesdays. In almost sixteen years of being a wife I have tried plenty of crust recipes. I never had a favorite until Charlie’s Uncle David gave us his pie crust recipe eight years ago.

It is the only one I have used since. I love that I can roll it as soon as I mix it up. None of this “waiting thirty minutes while it chills before rolling” stuff. It is truly a never fail recipe.

Pie crusts only take a few minutes and they make a huge difference in taste for very little money. They are great for homemade pot pies, quiche, fried pies, and of course all those great visions of sugary delights pies.


Uncle David’s Never Fail Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup shortening
2 Tbsp milk

Heat water to boiling.  (I pop it in the microwave for a minute).  Add to the shortening and salt; cream.  Then blend in flour and milk.  Roll out on a floured board or roll out on wax paper.  Makes 2 pie crusts. 

Update

This past week was crazy so I'm not even going to bother with it. Nothing much got accomplished and we all felt rather blah! The weekend was much nicer!

Some of the things on sale this week that we purchased in bulk.  Not pictured was 25 lbs of all-purpose flour.  They had them for $1.49 each so we bought five bags. That was a great price.  I was so happy!   They went into the freezer before we got a pic. 

The past week was a use it up week for sure.  A bunch of bananas were ripening way too quickly so they went into Banana Walnut Bread. 

I had to use up potatoes and eggs this week also.  So I made deviled eggs and potato salad.

Nothing spectacular but I kept the food from going bad and we had a bit of variety in our usual menu. 

This past weekend the little man went hunting and seen a bobcat!  He was so excited over seeing it that it made up for not getting a shot at a deer.  He seen some but just never could get a shot at any.

He was goofing off that early in the morning.  Had to be the excitement.  He isn't a morning person at all!

A tradition at our house is when hunting season gets here then cinnamon rolls are made.  So I got up when they did at 5:30am and got the dough started and set at 6:00am.  Then we sat down to eat them at 9:00.  (Yeah, they don't ask much of me, do they?) Just kidding, they aren't that much trouble and I enjoy fixing them for the guys.  Plus it's nice to have a tradition that just emerged on it's own. 

We got out and rode around a little this weekend.  Went and seen my dad and looked at the river.  Took a few back roads we hadn't took in a while.  It was nice and relaxing. 

Then got home, cranked up the dirt bikes, and got the adrenaline pumping!  (undone the relaxation-smile)  The field was perfect for riding this weekend after the rain.  It was a little slick but so much fun! 

Hope you had a great weekend as well, and wishing you a great week!

Until next time...Kristi.