Friends, Books, and a Kitchen Solution

A few days ago I told you about our visit with family and friends in New England. We spent an entire weekend with a dear couple that we have known for almost 15 years. D was with me when my oldest was born and was a great help to me as a new mom. Above, D is reading to my children. On her lap is a book called Andrew Henry's Meadow written and illustrated by Doris Burn. D says that it was her older son's favorite book as a child. 

 

 

When we got home last week, we made a trip to the thrift store and saw the very same book for sale for only 25 cents. The cover is worn and stained and looks exactly like D's copy. Needless to say, we brought it home!

 

 

D enjoys being in her kitchen just like I do. And, as a matter of fact, I have told you about D once before when I shared my recipe for Caramel in a Can. During our visit, I noticed that each time D needed to grease a baking pan or a skillet she pulled out a room temperature stick of butter that she kept in a glass container and used a silicone basting brush to coat her pan. What a great idea! Much simpler than filling the kitchen spritzer that I had been using (which was constantly clogging). So, as soon as I got home I threw away that old spritzer, put some butter into a half pint canning jar and began using it to grease my pans. Love it! Thanks D for such an easy kitchen solution. 

Vacation #2

We have just returned from a two week trip home to visit with my family in Maine and New Hampshire. 

We spent our time visiting with my parents, touring a Colonial village, swimming at the beach,

...camping with the cousins, roasting marshmallows, fishing,

...catching up with dear friends, driving the John Deere, roasting more marshmallows,

... and celebrating my mom's birthday!

We have had a full summer! But, we planned it that way and we have enjoyed every minute of it. Has your summer been full too?

Perishing Potatoes

A couple of weeks ago I came across a great sale on potatoes at the grocery store. They were buy one get one free, so I gladly purchased them. Sadly to say though, the potatoes were not a good investment. Close to half of them have perished before we could eat them. Normally potatoes have a long shelf life, but these must have been at then end of their life before I even brought them home. After making such a great effort to reduce food waste this year, I hate to see any more rot, so we have been working diligently to eat them up.

Tonight we are having Parmesan Potatoes along with some "Reduced for Quick Sale" steak.

The other day we had Fried Potatoes along with Meatloaf. The last few potatoes I may use to make a potato salad.

Has anything gone to waste in your kitchen lately?

A Book Review

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family

Written By: Steve & Annette Economides

I saw this book at my local library a couple of weeks ago and I snatched it up knowing that it would fit perfectly with the theme of You Can Make That! and with my New Year's Frugal Kitchen Goal to reduce costs in my kitchen. Steve and Annette Economides are known to be America's Cheapest Family. They have written three books together and all three address financial issues. They have a true financial success story this is completely inspiring.

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half includes information on couponing, stocking up, once a month cooking, eating out, gardening, and maintaining a family dinner time. Even the most frugal shopper will find tips and hints that will save money in the kitchen. Steve and Annette have a writing style that is both inspirational and encouraging and the book makes you feel as if you are learning from old friends.

This is the perfect book for anyone trying to cut down on monthly grocery expenses. It can be read in its entirety or by picking and choosing the chapters that are most important to you. And, although Steve and Annette have a large family, they also incorporate things that would be helpful to singles and empty nesters too.

 

What have you been reading lately?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

We love Peanut Butter Cookies. I have posted about our favorite three ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie recipe both here and here. It is a popular request for our Friday night movie night. A few weeks ago I decided to try adding cocoa powder to our cookies for something different. They were sooo yummy. I think I liked these chocolaty cookies even better than the plain peanut butter version! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup raw sugar (or white sugar)
1 egg

Stir together all ingredients. Shape into balls, place on cookie sheet, and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350˚ for 12 minutes or until golden. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 12-15 cookies.

Meatballs

Earlier this week I promised to share my meatball recipe with you. I shied away from making homemade meatballs for years. One reason being that they are a great convenience food that can be grabbed out of the freezer section at the grocery store and prepared with no effort. The second reason was that I didn't want to spend time cooking anything twice. Many recipes require you to pan fry or bake the meatballs before simmering them in a sauce. Too labor intensive for me.

But, a few years ago, while adding store bought frozen meatballs to my slow cooker, I began to wonder if I could add raw meatballs directly to my sauce. The answer is: Yes! So, I have been making my own homemade meatballs ever since. I like the fact that I can season them any way that I choose with Italian Seasoning, BBQ Rub or even Onion Soup Mix. They can be made with any lean ground meat and can be frozen for later, then added to sauce without having to be defrosted. They can be served over pasta or rice, in hotdog rolls as subs, or eaten with toothpicks as an appetizer. Our favorite is ground pork with Italian Seasoning (pictured above) served as subs. 

Meatballs

1 lb. lean ground meat (beef, pork, or turkey)
1 egg
¼ cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. Seasoning (Italian, BBQ, or Onion Soup Mix)
4 cups of sauce (pasta sauce, BBQ sauce, or Gravy)

Add the first four ingredients to a large bowl. Slowly incorporate the ingredients using a fork, or your hands. Roll into small meatballs (28-32). 

To Cook Immediately: Place meatballs into a large skillet along with sauce. Simmer on medium low heat until meatballs are fully cooked (about 1 hour for freshly made meatballs or 1 ½ hours for frozen meatballs). Or, cook them in the slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours.

To Freeze For Later: Place meatballs on a cookie sheet, without allowing them to touch each other. Place in freezer until completely frozen. Remove from pan and store in a zippy bag until ready to use.

Bread Crumbs

When I am at my best, I make all of our bread. Bread is simple to make, inexpensive, and requires no special tools. We love it, but lately I have not been making it regularly. Instead, I am buying much of our bread at an outlet store. The deals are excellent. They offer a military discount, and a punch card program to receive free bread. However, no one at my house wants to eat the end slices of store bought bread. So, for a while now I have been saving the end slices in a bag in the freezer. I use the end slices to make Baked French Toast or bread crumbs.

I primarily use bread crumbs in meatloaf or meat balls (recipe coming up soon!). And, I make mine plain without seasoning. But, the addition of Italian Seasoning would be great if you prefer. As I continue to eliminate food waste from my kitchen and reduce my grocery costs, this had been a great solution for unwanted bread.

Bread Crumbs

6 frozen bread slices

Tear bread in half and place in a food processor. Process until finely ground. Store in a canning jar in the freezer. Use in place of store bought bread crumbs directly from the freezer.

This post has been linked to Inspiration Monday.