Walking through Sam's Club last week, Pebbles was fascinated by the sky lights.
Pebbles: Whassat, mom?
Me: A sky light. You can see the sky through them.
Pebbles: Ooooo, pwiddy.
She was laying in the cart, staring at the ceiling, occasionally ooooo-ing and aaaaaaa-ing. Then she giggled.
Pebbles: Don' fall down, Jesus! [pause] I'm just kidding!
Me: [looking up] What? Is Jesus up there?
Pebbles: Yesth! Don' fall down, Jesus! Just kidding!
I kind of wondered if that was blasphemy, and then I just thought it was cool that she was kind of playing peek-a-boo with Jesus. I bet He'd think that was fun.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Army wants to know - weight and road trips
Uncle Sam wants to know how much you weigh.
Or, how much I weigh. And how much my Man weighs, and everything in our house.
Now that Christmas is over, it's time to look at the subject of moving again. We came in well under weight on this last move but have since acquired a refrigerator, a lawn mower, a 2 quart crockpot, and about 10 balls of yarn.
When we move we have to weigh the truck empty, weigh the truck full, weigh our van empty, weigh our van full, figure out how much our second vehicle weighs (is the gas tank half empty or half full?) as well as figuring out how many pounds and ounces of food to fill our van with for the trek yonder.
We've learned a lot from our past couple of road trips and the lessons are these:
- Never pack a box of diapers. Sure, you'll use that many, but no matter how much you try to tell yourself the older kids won't mind sitting with it between them, they will get so bored and fed up with each other that they will poke holes in the box (thus poking holes in your precious diapers) and make a fort out of it over which to lob soggy sandwich crusts and drinking straws. Just pack the diaper bag full and buy smaller packages along the way, no matter how many teeth you feel like you're pulling when buying the small package. (non-kidded friends: you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by buying diapers in bulk).
- Screw cap bottles of water are a bit of a pain. Pop tops are nice in theory, but some kid will never get the concept of popping it all the way back on before beating his/her nearest sibling with it thus spraying everyone in the van with water. Even better are those tiny bottles of water that you refill, or have them bring their own straw-equipped thermos.
- Always try the individual packets of Crystal Light before you bring them on a three day trip. We got so tired of lemon aide and white grape, which were the only two non-staining ones I could find but, miser that I am, I was choking it down so it "wouldn't go to waste" because $2 is soooo worth that amount of suffering. (not)
- As much of a good idea as you might think it is to bring "just in case" items, resist the temptation. We brought such things are frisbees, a kite(!), and vacuum packed extra clothes for everyone. Frisbee- crushed. Kite- totally unused. Extra clothes- kinda came in handy toward the very end but really there are plenty of washers and driers in post lodging. Besides that, your vehicle will be stuffed to the gills with items that the movers just couldn't be bothered to throw in the truck like batteries (another curse of buying them in bulk from Costco), the KY jelly they left in the middle of your bedroom floor (curses), Man's walking stick that got left in the dark corner of some closet, and all the airplanes, balls, and Nerf darts that got left on the roof.
-DO bring a small bottle of your own laundry soap. Seriously.
-DO bring some food. The H jury is still out as to whether it's better to just keep everything in a large cooler (takes up space, but keeps the kids from eating out of pure boredom; it's hard to hand things around all the time especially if you're in the middle of knitting a row) or just fill their lunch boxes every morning and tell them it has to last all day long (they can choose when to eat without bothering you; the food is usually gone before noon and then they get grumpy).
Snacks to bring:
- Surprisingly, carrot sticks are very popular with my young ones, as are whole apples.
- PB&J sandwiches are good as long as you have a way to not squish them.
- Turkey sammies are also good as long as you don't put things like pickles and lettuce on them (they wilt and make the sandwich soggy -- turkey and mayo should always be in a cooler).
- We don't keep our drinks cold because of the extra bulk of doing so as well as condensation issues and kids who don't know how to deal with it.
- Tiny gladloc container of cold cereal make a great snack.
-DO NOT bring the following food and beverage items:
Soda - blows up, stains, makes things sticky.
Koolaide - sugar, stains.
Oreo cookies - way too messy, especially in the hands of someone under the age of 12.
Gum - unless they've mastered the art of throwing it away when they're done (or, as my clever 2 year old has discovered, just swallow it)
Anything that needs a spoon.
- DO bring a roll of paper towels and maybe a roll of TP (one of those "just in case" things that don't take much room but you never know what you'll find, or not, in a highway lav.)
- DO bring extra grocery bags to use as trash/dirty diaper bags.
- It's up to you whether you bring (1 blanket + 1 pillow = 1 person) as only you can tell how crowded that will be. We've found that the older kids like this combo as long as they have a place to stash them but the youngers just need their special blankets. Man and I use those memory foam pillows so we each bring our pillow but one usually goes into the cargo area.
-DO NOT let your husband talk you into bringing his favorite heavy blanket that takes up more room than all the clothes combined.
-Call each hotel and ask if they have cribs available. If you don't have to bring the Pack-n-play, so much the better.
-DO NOT pack all of the clothes into one huge sports equipment sized duffle bag. You WILL regret this.
-If you're moving during the school year, DO bring the kids' backpacks and lunch boxes as well as all the papers you'll need for registration.
-DO bring your husband's leave form. If he gets pulled over for speeding, he could get taken to jail for being AWOL. Unless he's a civilian.
-TRY NOT TO WORRY about the things you forgot to bring. It'll be ok, really. Unless it's something like asthma meds, or your check book, or a map, or your orders, or... you know. That kind of stuff.
-DO stop and smell the roses. Road trips are like life: it's all about the driving part until you get to the end. Enjoy the beauty of the land and people, enjoy the humor and singing as a family, stop when you see a vista or outlook.
And, for heaven's sake, check your kid's shoes after stopping at a rest stop if there's a "pet exercise area" or it won't matter how many roses you smelled.
Or, how much I weigh. And how much my Man weighs, and everything in our house.
Now that Christmas is over, it's time to look at the subject of moving again. We came in well under weight on this last move but have since acquired a refrigerator, a lawn mower, a 2 quart crockpot, and about 10 balls of yarn.
When we move we have to weigh the truck empty, weigh the truck full, weigh our van empty, weigh our van full, figure out how much our second vehicle weighs (is the gas tank half empty or half full?) as well as figuring out how many pounds and ounces of food to fill our van with for the trek yonder.
We've learned a lot from our past couple of road trips and the lessons are these:
- Never pack a box of diapers. Sure, you'll use that many, but no matter how much you try to tell yourself the older kids won't mind sitting with it between them, they will get so bored and fed up with each other that they will poke holes in the box (thus poking holes in your precious diapers) and make a fort out of it over which to lob soggy sandwich crusts and drinking straws. Just pack the diaper bag full and buy smaller packages along the way, no matter how many teeth you feel like you're pulling when buying the small package. (non-kidded friends: you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by buying diapers in bulk).
- Screw cap bottles of water are a bit of a pain. Pop tops are nice in theory, but some kid will never get the concept of popping it all the way back on before beating his/her nearest sibling with it thus spraying everyone in the van with water. Even better are those tiny bottles of water that you refill, or have them bring their own straw-equipped thermos.
- Always try the individual packets of Crystal Light before you bring them on a three day trip. We got so tired of lemon aide and white grape, which were the only two non-staining ones I could find but, miser that I am, I was choking it down so it "wouldn't go to waste" because $2 is soooo worth that amount of suffering. (not)
- As much of a good idea as you might think it is to bring "just in case" items, resist the temptation. We brought such things are frisbees, a kite(!), and vacuum packed extra clothes for everyone. Frisbee- crushed. Kite- totally unused. Extra clothes- kinda came in handy toward the very end but really there are plenty of washers and driers in post lodging. Besides that, your vehicle will be stuffed to the gills with items that the movers just couldn't be bothered to throw in the truck like batteries (another curse of buying them in bulk from Costco), the KY jelly they left in the middle of your bedroom floor (curses), Man's walking stick that got left in the dark corner of some closet, and all the airplanes, balls, and Nerf darts that got left on the roof.
-DO bring a small bottle of your own laundry soap. Seriously.
-DO bring some food. The H jury is still out as to whether it's better to just keep everything in a large cooler (takes up space, but keeps the kids from eating out of pure boredom; it's hard to hand things around all the time especially if you're in the middle of knitting a row) or just fill their lunch boxes every morning and tell them it has to last all day long (they can choose when to eat without bothering you; the food is usually gone before noon and then they get grumpy).
Snacks to bring:
- Surprisingly, carrot sticks are very popular with my young ones, as are whole apples.
- PB&J sandwiches are good as long as you have a way to not squish them.
- Turkey sammies are also good as long as you don't put things like pickles and lettuce on them (they wilt and make the sandwich soggy -- turkey and mayo should always be in a cooler).
- We don't keep our drinks cold because of the extra bulk of doing so as well as condensation issues and kids who don't know how to deal with it.
- Tiny gladloc container of cold cereal make a great snack.
-DO NOT bring the following food and beverage items:
Soda - blows up, stains, makes things sticky.
Koolaide - sugar, stains.
Oreo cookies - way too messy, especially in the hands of someone under the age of 12.
Gum - unless they've mastered the art of throwing it away when they're done (or, as my clever 2 year old has discovered, just swallow it)
Anything that needs a spoon.
- DO bring a roll of paper towels and maybe a roll of TP (one of those "just in case" things that don't take much room but you never know what you'll find, or not, in a highway lav.)
- DO bring extra grocery bags to use as trash/dirty diaper bags.
- It's up to you whether you bring (1 blanket + 1 pillow = 1 person) as only you can tell how crowded that will be. We've found that the older kids like this combo as long as they have a place to stash them but the youngers just need their special blankets. Man and I use those memory foam pillows so we each bring our pillow but one usually goes into the cargo area.
-DO NOT let your husband talk you into bringing his favorite heavy blanket that takes up more room than all the clothes combined.
-Call each hotel and ask if they have cribs available. If you don't have to bring the Pack-n-play, so much the better.
-DO NOT pack all of the clothes into one huge sports equipment sized duffle bag. You WILL regret this.
-If you're moving during the school year, DO bring the kids' backpacks and lunch boxes as well as all the papers you'll need for registration.
-DO bring your husband's leave form. If he gets pulled over for speeding, he could get taken to jail for being AWOL. Unless he's a civilian.
-TRY NOT TO WORRY about the things you forgot to bring. It'll be ok, really. Unless it's something like asthma meds, or your check book, or a map, or your orders, or... you know. That kind of stuff.
-DO stop and smell the roses. Road trips are like life: it's all about the driving part until you get to the end. Enjoy the beauty of the land and people, enjoy the humor and singing as a family, stop when you see a vista or outlook.
And, for heaven's sake, check your kid's shoes after stopping at a rest stop if there's a "pet exercise area" or it won't matter how many roses you smelled.
Buying stuff from Amazon is Hard!
Before Christmas I found dozens of things that were worthy of putting into my virtual cart only to agonize over the funds and whether I wanted to add more junk to my home. Do I really need more cheap books that I read twice and put away forever? Do I need more kitchen gadgets? (The answer to this one is usually "Yes!!") Do the kids need more toys when their toy boxes e'en now yea verily runneth over? (yes, I did that sentence on purpose.)
My kind uncle sent an Amazon.com gift card. I'm claiming it as mine since Man already got himself his Christmas stuff (computer stuff, we've already gone over that) and now I'm faced with a horrible problem: I can't think of what to buy.
I looked at the smaller crockpots because I had been thinking of getting one. There are many uses for small crockpots including dinner items that tend to be, well, smaller. But I checked the price at WalMart and found one for half the price in the size I wanted.
The other things in my cart are crockpot liners (which I love, love, love), an otoscope (by Dr Mom) and an earwax removal syringe.
Now, getting all defensive, the ear stuff isn't for me. I'm a q-tip-after-every-shower kind of girl. My kids get stopped up ears about once a year and I'm tired of using a broken and jury rigged otoscope I got from Walgreens eons ago to try to peek into wiggly kid head caves and go spelunking for gosh knows what with the help of a 3 ounce bulb syringe, and a gallon of warm water mixed with H2O2. (wouldn't that end up being H2O1/2?)
What would you buy on Amazon?
My kind uncle sent an Amazon.com gift card. I'm claiming it as mine since Man already got himself his Christmas stuff (computer stuff, we've already gone over that) and now I'm faced with a horrible problem: I can't think of what to buy.
I looked at the smaller crockpots because I had been thinking of getting one. There are many uses for small crockpots including dinner items that tend to be, well, smaller. But I checked the price at WalMart and found one for half the price in the size I wanted.
The other things in my cart are crockpot liners (which I love, love, love), an otoscope (by Dr Mom) and an earwax removal syringe.
Now, getting all defensive, the ear stuff isn't for me. I'm a q-tip-after-every-shower kind of girl. My kids get stopped up ears about once a year and I'm tired of using a broken and jury rigged otoscope I got from Walgreens eons ago to try to peek into wiggly kid head caves and go spelunking for gosh knows what with the help of a 3 ounce bulb syringe, and a gallon of warm water mixed with H2O2. (wouldn't that end up being H2O1/2?)
What would you buy on Amazon?
Friday, January 09, 2009
Messes, messes, everywhere
In all the messes that happen around here, my percentage of fault hides most dexterously. I'll claim 1% here, 2% there, oh dear only 0.5% over there. By the time it all adds up, my portion of the chaos is a bit embarrassing. Here's something that was 100% my fault (if only 2% of that day's "oops"s.)
I tried to defrost some turkey in my microwave. I hit the button and walked away. You know, the "ground meat" button that's supposed to magically defrost the frozen log and make it "fresh" again. I was going to make meatballs for spaghetti. This is what I came back to:
Say it with me: Ew!!!
Say it again! EWWWW!!!
This is what happened:
So, I have two different buttons that say "ground meat" on them. One is for defrosting, one is for cooking. I ended up chopping it up, cooking it the rest of the way, and throwing it into the sauce. It tasted pretty good.
Here is the other mess that made up about 36% of that day's Oops.
It turns out that Pebbles likes to dance in these glittery shoes that are too small for Princess but far too large for Pebbles. That doesn't stop her though. She dumped Cheerioes on the ground and danced in them in true hoofer style. It was terribly cute but not so cute when it came to "clean up your own darn mess".
I tried to defrost some turkey in my microwave. I hit the button and walked away. You know, the "ground meat" button that's supposed to magically defrost the frozen log and make it "fresh" again. I was going to make meatballs for spaghetti. This is what I came back to:
Say it with me: Ew!!!
Say it again! EWWWW!!!
This is what happened:
So, I have two different buttons that say "ground meat" on them. One is for defrosting, one is for cooking. I ended up chopping it up, cooking it the rest of the way, and throwing it into the sauce. It tasted pretty good.Here is the other mess that made up about 36% of that day's Oops.
It turns out that Pebbles likes to dance in these glittery shoes that are too small for Princess but far too large for Pebbles. That doesn't stop her though. She dumped Cheerioes on the ground and danced in them in true hoofer style. It was terribly cute but not so cute when it came to "clean up your own darn mess".
A veggie a day...
Tag: Mom, I don't want fajitas for dinner.
Me: What do you want to make for dinner?
Tag: Oatmeal. I know how to make that.
Me: Well, for a family dinner you need to have either two vegetables or a vegetable and a fruit to go with dinner if it's going to have a main dish that all grains, like oatmeal.
Tag: Fine, we'll have spaghetti with the oatmeal.
Me: No, no, you need a vegetable, too.
Tag: Ok, we can have meatballs.
Methinks I've left a grievous gap in his nutritional education.
Me: What do you want to make for dinner?
Tag: Oatmeal. I know how to make that.
Me: Well, for a family dinner you need to have either two vegetables or a vegetable and a fruit to go with dinner if it's going to have a main dish that all grains, like oatmeal.
Tag: Fine, we'll have spaghetti with the oatmeal.
Me: No, no, you need a vegetable, too.
Tag: Ok, we can have meatballs.
Methinks I've left a grievous gap in his nutritional education.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The days are always greener on the other side of the weekend
Before Christmas break, we couldn't wait to crash on our couches and drool until the new year. Of course, visiting my family was a huge high light for me and, after the drive from CA, 12 hours in the car didn't seem like that bad of a deal. After getting home we were looking forward to a week of vegging again until the new year. Then Man's grandfather passed away. Man flew out for the funeral and is remaining there for the last of his "relaxation" time (it can't be helped, I know, and I don't resent it, but there you have it).
Isn't it funny how when Mom leaves, the family eats junk food. My mom didn't leave us to fend for ourselves very often and we always managed to eat Subway or pizzas or some other sort of fantastically delicious junk food that we didn't seem to eat very often as younger kids. At my house, something similar happens, except we eat junk food no matter which parent is gone. Man makes a mean tray of nuggets and fries. When Man is gone, my drive to put a whole, Man-filling dinner on the table is much diminished.
The first day he was gone, I think we grazed until bedtime. We sort of ate leftovers, apples, and whatever we could rustle up from the couch cushions. When I announced that it was bedtime, the kids rebelled and claimed that since a real dinner hadn't been presented to them, it wasn't fair that they didn't have a chance to eat.
Contention 1: they don't really eat my cooking much anyway, unless it's one of 3 things they've decided they like, which is always changing anyway.
Contention 2: they had, in fact, been eating all night. Apparently it doesn't count if it doesn't happen all at once.
So I gave them glasses of milk and sent them to bed. I promised pancakes in the morning.
The next day we headed up to the store to grab the dried beans and cans of diced tomatoes I needed for Marcie's chili (which I've been eating ever since -- it's even better the next day) and each of them decided that they wanted to spend their allowance buying a totino's pizza and a donut. Blech. They claimed that they would eat them for dinner rather than eat my chili because they knew, in the precognitive sort of way only kids and gamblers can believe in, that it was going to taste terrible. Joke's on them.
They ended up eating their pizzas for lunch. Tag had the foresight to buy two, just in case, which his sister later begged him into sharing when she realized she had run out of junk food options come dinner time.
Today, we ate pancakes and granola bars. We've run out of apples because my kids eat them like a swarm of locusts. Which I love. I always keep apples handy because who am I to discourage their appetite for fresh fruit? On the way to a friend's house we gabbed the epitome of evil food from the kingdom of the tyrannical R. McDonald, who rules the land of golden arches with a greasy, fat fist that looks like a fist but it's really just his hand that's so fat you can't tell the difference and neither can he.
-sigh-
So, anyway, I was catching up with my friend who I havn't seen in over 24 hours and noticed that there are a lot of things I'm waiting on until school's back in. We were keeping Pebbles out of diapers and running about commando to help her potty train, but stopped that for our road trip (which I'm sure my grandparents appreciated). We also put Freida back on bottles all day instead of her usual one bottle in the morning with a sippy cup the rest of the day. And bedtime has slowly crept back to 9 instead of 7:30, dinner's a joke, laundry is optional when you don't have any place to be, and the chore charts havn't been printed out in quite some time.
What does all this tell me? That I'm bad at managing this home without some external force dictating a couple of scheduling elements each day. In the mean time, we're having a blast just playing around despite a bit of grumpiness from kids whose nap times are not where they are used to having them.
It was 80° today. Who can time manage with something like that going on outside?
Isn't it funny how when Mom leaves, the family eats junk food. My mom didn't leave us to fend for ourselves very often and we always managed to eat Subway or pizzas or some other sort of fantastically delicious junk food that we didn't seem to eat very often as younger kids. At my house, something similar happens, except we eat junk food no matter which parent is gone. Man makes a mean tray of nuggets and fries. When Man is gone, my drive to put a whole, Man-filling dinner on the table is much diminished.
The first day he was gone, I think we grazed until bedtime. We sort of ate leftovers, apples, and whatever we could rustle up from the couch cushions. When I announced that it was bedtime, the kids rebelled and claimed that since a real dinner hadn't been presented to them, it wasn't fair that they didn't have a chance to eat.
Contention 1: they don't really eat my cooking much anyway, unless it's one of 3 things they've decided they like, which is always changing anyway.
Contention 2: they had, in fact, been eating all night. Apparently it doesn't count if it doesn't happen all at once.
So I gave them glasses of milk and sent them to bed. I promised pancakes in the morning.
The next day we headed up to the store to grab the dried beans and cans of diced tomatoes I needed for Marcie's chili (which I've been eating ever since -- it's even better the next day) and each of them decided that they wanted to spend their allowance buying a totino's pizza and a donut. Blech. They claimed that they would eat them for dinner rather than eat my chili because they knew, in the precognitive sort of way only kids and gamblers can believe in, that it was going to taste terrible. Joke's on them.
They ended up eating their pizzas for lunch. Tag had the foresight to buy two, just in case, which his sister later begged him into sharing when she realized she had run out of junk food options come dinner time.
Today, we ate pancakes and granola bars. We've run out of apples because my kids eat them like a swarm of locusts. Which I love. I always keep apples handy because who am I to discourage their appetite for fresh fruit? On the way to a friend's house we gabbed the epitome of evil food from the kingdom of the tyrannical R. McDonald, who rules the land of golden arches with a greasy, fat fist that looks like a fist but it's really just his hand that's so fat you can't tell the difference and neither can he.
-sigh-
So, anyway, I was catching up with my friend who I havn't seen in over 24 hours and noticed that there are a lot of things I'm waiting on until school's back in. We were keeping Pebbles out of diapers and running about commando to help her potty train, but stopped that for our road trip (which I'm sure my grandparents appreciated). We also put Freida back on bottles all day instead of her usual one bottle in the morning with a sippy cup the rest of the day. And bedtime has slowly crept back to 9 instead of 7:30, dinner's a joke, laundry is optional when you don't have any place to be, and the chore charts havn't been printed out in quite some time.
What does all this tell me? That I'm bad at managing this home without some external force dictating a couple of scheduling elements each day. In the mean time, we're having a blast just playing around despite a bit of grumpiness from kids whose nap times are not where they are used to having them.
It was 80° today. Who can time manage with something like that going on outside?
Friday, January 02, 2009
M's "Splashes and Dashes" Chili recipe
First of all, my apologies to Friend M who sent me this recipe. I very rarely follow a recipe exactly, not even with baking. Sometimes it's a matter of eye-balling, and other times it's a pantry challenge. Let's start with the corn bread recipe:
ALBER'S Sweet Corn Muffins
(recipe on side of ALBER'S Cornmeal box)
1 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. ALBERS Yellow Corn Meal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. milk
2 Large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease 8x8 pan
Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, bakingpowder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in small bowl; Mix well. Add to flour mixture;stir just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Let rest 5 minutes.
Bake for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Folks, this is the most delicious corn bread I've ever had. It is pretty sweet but it compliments the tang and spice of the chili is such a perfect way. My kids go nuts for this stuff.
Marcie's Dashes and Splashes Chili
For a good pot of Chili, I just do the 5-6 can/flavor to own desire deal. Heck, it's Chili. You can't go wrong!
1 lb. ground beef (I know it's a lot, but you can add/take away as much as you want- it freezes well when fully cooked.)
1/3 diced white onion (or a sprinkling of dried diced onions- again, your own desired amount.)
Salt and pepper as needed
- cook your meat thoroughly- no pink- and onions should be translucent.
1 can kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans - drained and rinsed
2-3 cans of Diced/Stewed tomatoes - Your choice
- simmer until tomatoes breakdown, sauce builds up (you can add a cup of water if you want it jucier)
Add dashes of Chili powder until desired spiciness
Add splashes of Lea & Perrins Worchester Sauce until desired umph!
1 sliced celery stalk
Simmer unil hot and serve with your cornbread!
I have prepared my cornbread while I brown the meat for the chili and then while the cornbread is baking, it allows enough time for the tomatoes to simmer down. Usually the Chili is done by the time the cornbread is done. Easy, huh? No one should EVER ask me to write a cookbook!
Friend M, you are such a delight. I did make some changes and here they are:
-Ground turkey was less expensive, as was turkey sausage. So I used turkey sausage. It had way less fat than ground beef and I like the flavor of it.
-I used your suggestion of the dried onion since I wasn't in the mood to chop a fresh one. Great idea.
-The beans were cooked from dried. They were quick soaked then simmered on the stove. It took a total of 3.5 hours to get them tender. The chickpeas take longer to soften and the other beans were a bit overcooked by the time they achieved my texture desires.
- 2 cans of small-dice tomatoes, and one small can of mild RoTel tomatoes that I happened to have on hand and knew I'd never use unless it was in this pot of chili. I loved the punch it gave the whole dish.
I have to say, the concept of this chili is what really makes it, and that is a valuable thing in a recipe. The meat, the three kinds of beans, and the Worcestershire sauce are key to this pot o' yummy. Around that core of identity, you can customize several ways and still have a very rich, delightfully textured chili. I did what you suggested by splitting a piece of corn bread in half and scooping my chili over the top. It ended up being too spicy for my kids but I am loving it. The corn and the beans are my complete protein, it's low fat (well, except for the corn bread), it's so filling, very tasty, and very cost effective.
Chili supplies:
Turkey - $1.28 for 16 ounces
Tomatoes - 48 cents per can times 2 cans
RoTel tomatoes.... 75 cents? I don't remember
Onions - 10 cents maybe
Beans - 30 cents worth with some left over that I didn't end up adding to the chili
Add in w. sauce and dashes of spices...
Total cost is $3.75. I think the corn bread cost about $1 or less, all told, and all this food is at least 2 full meals for my family. It's a great freezer meal, corn bread and all.
Want to pinch more pennies? Don't use RoTel tomatoes, use just half the meat, double the onion, and add half a can of water.
Thank you, M, for a real treat for dinner.
HA!
Ok, here's how my day of eating really did go:
Breakfast: none. Ran out the door to go grab a couple of things for the chili.
Snack: one low fat granola bar.
Lunch: 1/2 totinos pizza, 3/4 of a child's unfinished donut
Snack: the = of two more granola bars as I fed them to Freida and samplings of tonight's chili.
-sigh- At least the chili will be good for me.
Breakfast: none. Ran out the door to go grab a couple of things for the chili.
Snack: one low fat granola bar.
Lunch: 1/2 totinos pizza, 3/4 of a child's unfinished donut
Snack: the = of two more granola bars as I fed them to Freida and samplings of tonight's chili.
-sigh- At least the chili will be good for me.
Weight View
Have you ever wondered what you might look like if you were a little slimmer? I have photos from when I was a senior in high school, but I find those to be more depressing than motivating.
Behold, WeightView. They use "patented technology" to digitally shrink you to your weight goal, hoping that this will motivate you to take the carrots, leave the cannoli.
Before:
After:
I put in my height, and that I wanted to lose 50 pounds. I am noticing that it isn't perfect -- I was hoping my arms would slim up more than that, and my fingers still look puffy. :)
-laugh- -sigh- Breakfast = 1 egg, one slice of rye bread, tons of water, and a whole apple.
Lunch = 1 burrito with homemade, fat free beans, 2 T of finely chopped fajita chicken, shredded cabbage, and fresh tomato salsa.
Dinner = I'm going to try Friend M's chili recipe she sent, which is actually going to be really healthy since I'm going to drain my hamburger off quite thoroughly and cook the beans from dried.
Today's frugal tip: Cooking beans from dried is so cheap. Use the money you save initially to buy some smallish gladware containers to freeze them into portions that work with your family/recipes, cook a whole crockpot full at a time, and thus save your family money, sodium, and nutrition. My mom has told me that cooking garbonzo's from dried tastes so much better than canned, and I agree wholeheartedly. I havn't quite got them to the same texture yet, as mine always seem to turn out slightly more firm than canned. And, at $1 per pound that easily quadruples in size and weight with cooking, it's a great addition to your cupboard and freezer.
Beans aren't just for soups or chilis. Add some black beans to your green salad for a flavor, texture, and nutritive punch. Make sure to add kidney beans to your taco salad to stretch the meat and lower the overall fat content. Mash them a bit and serve next to your rice side dish to make a complete protein that makes you feel more full for longer.
Speaking of rice, we always use rice in our burritos not only to complete the protein, but also to stretch the meat a little further or omit the meat entirely (we like homemade chipotle style). Even if you use brown basmati rice its cooked weight is less expensive than meat nowadays.
So now I'm going to go follow my own advice and maybe hit the bike twice today.
Behold, WeightView. They use "patented technology" to digitally shrink you to your weight goal, hoping that this will motivate you to take the carrots, leave the cannoli.
Before:
After:
I put in my height, and that I wanted to lose 50 pounds. I am noticing that it isn't perfect -- I was hoping my arms would slim up more than that, and my fingers still look puffy. :)
-laugh- -sigh- Breakfast = 1 egg, one slice of rye bread, tons of water, and a whole apple.
Lunch = 1 burrito with homemade, fat free beans, 2 T of finely chopped fajita chicken, shredded cabbage, and fresh tomato salsa.
Dinner = I'm going to try Friend M's chili recipe she sent, which is actually going to be really healthy since I'm going to drain my hamburger off quite thoroughly and cook the beans from dried.
Today's frugal tip: Cooking beans from dried is so cheap. Use the money you save initially to buy some smallish gladware containers to freeze them into portions that work with your family/recipes, cook a whole crockpot full at a time, and thus save your family money, sodium, and nutrition. My mom has told me that cooking garbonzo's from dried tastes so much better than canned, and I agree wholeheartedly. I havn't quite got them to the same texture yet, as mine always seem to turn out slightly more firm than canned. And, at $1 per pound that easily quadruples in size and weight with cooking, it's a great addition to your cupboard and freezer.
Beans aren't just for soups or chilis. Add some black beans to your green salad for a flavor, texture, and nutritive punch. Make sure to add kidney beans to your taco salad to stretch the meat and lower the overall fat content. Mash them a bit and serve next to your rice side dish to make a complete protein that makes you feel more full for longer.
Speaking of rice, we always use rice in our burritos not only to complete the protein, but also to stretch the meat a little further or omit the meat entirely (we like homemade chipotle style). Even if you use brown basmati rice its cooked weight is less expensive than meat nowadays.
So now I'm going to go follow my own advice and maybe hit the bike twice today.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Not I, said the mouse.
Tag had some friends over today. They got out some large pop-up tubes that go with a pop-up tent. They're visually intimidating, difficult to manipulate, and thus are very difficult for a young child to put away.
Me: Tag, go clean up your room. Your friend made a mess.
Tag: But that's not my responsitibally.
Me: The mess was made by people who you invited into your room and my house. You get to pick up after them if you didn't remind them to help you before they left.
Tag: No! It's not my job!
Me: It isn't my job. Whose job is it?
Tag: Let's just wait for the movers. They'll take care of it.
I was watching a man justify, through his collection of evidence and observation, the idea that people are not blank slates and no matter what parents try to do to change them, they are who they are by an intrinsic nature we can't hope to mold.
He used the example of identical twins separated at birth who ended up in the same patent office carrying the same invention for consideration. However, he postulated, adopted children who grow up in the same home never turn out to be as similar to each other as blood siblings. Of course he had many more examples and reasons, but I'm curious to know from any of you what personal experiences you might have had concerning both the direct impact a parent has had on you as well as how similar you feel adopted siblings might be to each other.
This has me insanely curious.
But of course I shall not relent in my quest to help my kids grow to be happy, self-sufficient people regardless of what the data might indicate. I just gotta know.
Me: Tag, go clean up your room. Your friend made a mess.
Tag: But that's not my responsitibally.
Me: The mess was made by people who you invited into your room and my house. You get to pick up after them if you didn't remind them to help you before they left.
Tag: No! It's not my job!
Me: It isn't my job. Whose job is it?
Tag: Let's just wait for the movers. They'll take care of it.
I was watching a man justify, through his collection of evidence and observation, the idea that people are not blank slates and no matter what parents try to do to change them, they are who they are by an intrinsic nature we can't hope to mold.
He used the example of identical twins separated at birth who ended up in the same patent office carrying the same invention for consideration. However, he postulated, adopted children who grow up in the same home never turn out to be as similar to each other as blood siblings. Of course he had many more examples and reasons, but I'm curious to know from any of you what personal experiences you might have had concerning both the direct impact a parent has had on you as well as how similar you feel adopted siblings might be to each other.
This has me insanely curious.
But of course I shall not relent in my quest to help my kids grow to be happy, self-sufficient people regardless of what the data might indicate. I just gotta know.
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