Maybe a name change is in order…?

I’m starting to think that the name of this site should’ve been “Domesticating Rachel” or something along those lines, since that seems to be what is happening lately.  I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m really enjoying learning to do all the “housewifely” things I didn’t know how to do before.  I really think that homemaking skills are becoming a lost art, which is sad.  Don’t get me wrong, I would consider myself a “progressive female”, but I still think there are basic skills that women traditionally used to have that shouldn’t be left behind.

*Side note!*  We were recently looking through a family history book about my husband’s side of the family and came across the story of a woman named Caroline, who is my new hero.  She was described as a “progressive female” because she was thrown in jail for voting before the 19th Amendment was passed.  Hearing that made me want to pump my fist and cheer!  I LOVE strong women like that!  It makes me wonder if I would’ve been brave enough to do the same thing had I lived back then.

Anyway, a little while ago we had some leftover ham that needed to be used.  I thought, hey!  Why not make a quiche? Even though I’ve never done anything like that before in my life, I figured it was worth a shot.  While I was at the grocery store I picked up a frozen pie crust. It just seemed to make sense to buy a pre-made one.  I’ve never made a pie crust before!  And looky!  There’s one right here!  Easy!  But, I paused and thought about it.  What would a frugalista do? She would make a pie crust from scratch, that’s what.  Especially considering I already had all the ingredients for one at home.  I had no excuse.

So I went home, broke out the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (a great resource for how to do the basics) and attempted my first pie crust.  I’ll admit, I was nervous.  Would it be too tough?  Would it be soggy?  Everyone loves a perfect, flaky pie crust but I didn’t know how to achieve it.

Turns out, it’s not as hard as I thought.

BEHOLD!

It was a thing of beauty.  The crust itself wasn’t exactly perfect looking, but it sure tasted good.  So did the rest of the quiche!

Now I can’t wait to try a whole pie from scratch!  I just need an excuse to make one…

Tags: pie crust, quiche, success

Taming the beast

There are a lot of words you could use to describe my husband:  Competitive.  Sentimental. Hard-working.  Athletic.  Fun.  Soft-spoken.

CARNIVORE.

And not just as in “oh sure, a little grilled chicken would be nice.”  I mean carnivore as in, “give me the biggest slab of prime rib you’ve got-  and RARE!”  We’re talking about the man that turned to me once and said, “I think ham is my 5th favorite meat.”

“You rank your meats?”  I replied.

“Well, yeah.  Don’t you?” he said innocently, as if it wasn’t bizarre to love meat so much that you classify them.

So when I read that one of the Eleven Miserly Guidelines was to cut back on meat I wanted to laugh.  A big, hearty, YEAH RIGHT kind of laugh.  HAHAHAHAHA!

But I remembered a while back I had proposed that we maybe institute a vegetarian night one night a week for health reasons, and he actually kind of agreed.  It didn’t stick though.  So this time I approached him with the argument that we really should try to be more veggie-lovin’ for the sake of our wallets.  To which he gave a big, hearty laugh.  He didn’t believe that forgoing meat occasionally would be cheaper.  He has been under the incorrect assumption that centering meals around meat is less expensive, as long as you get the meat for a good price.  However, really, meat ain’t cheap folks.  Unless there’s a great sale.  Overall though, cutting back on meats on a regular basis can do a lot for your budget.

I don’t really have anyone that I’m close to that is vegetarian, so I’m really quite stupid when it comes to how to go about this.  One of my concerns was that many meatless dishes were very fattening, usually centering around some sort of cheesy pasta (yummy, but not healthy).  That didn’t exactly seem like the right sort of trade off.

So since then I’ve been on the hunt for healthy, satisfying vegetarian recipes.  Yesterday I made a sweet potato and black bean chili that was fabulous.  Flavorful, filling, and super healthy.  I doubled the recipe so we could have some for dinner, and then I froze the other half for a dinner later on.

Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a go (this is the original recipe.  I doubled mine and made some changes to it which I will explain in just a sec):

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili

1/8 tsp salt, or to taste

1 1/3 cups water

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed

1 cup canned diced tomatoes (I like the petite diced tomatoes)

2 tsp lime juice

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until onion is slightly softened, about 4 min.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer and cook until potato is tender, 10-12 minutes.  Add beans, tomatoes, and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often.  Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 min.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

So, my version was slightly different.  I realized after I started cooking I didn’t have any chili powder, so I substituted it with some pork rub seasoning and I actually think it turned out better- a little sweeter and smokier, which we like.  I also didn’t have any chipotle seasoning, which was fine.  I added a dash of black pepper and seasoned salt as well as garlic salt, and I didn’t put in any lime (didn’t have any.  I was rather ill-prepared).  I served it with a little dollop of light sour cream.  Delish!  Husband even loved it!

Any vegetarians out there that have some good, healthy recipes?  I’d love to learn more!

*Recipe from www.eatingwell.com

Tags: chili recipe, meat lover, vegetarian

Speaking of superheros…

I have to admit that this last week I felt like supermom.  Not to toot my own horn or anything (TOOT TOOT!), but this is a breakthrough for me.

Look what I managed to do:

I know it doesn’t look like much in the picture, but I now have THREE meals made from scratch chillin’ in my freezer.  Made by yours truly.  All while I managed to study for a test, take care of my busy toddler, and then work all afternoon/evening. Oh, and I was fighting a cold.  BOO-YAH!

TOOT TOOT!

What you are looking at is a chicken & veggie noodle casserole (which is pretty good, I must say), and an Italian veggie & pasta soup.

Normally we try to stock up our freezer with a couple of frozen meals for the week, just in case we’re too tired to cook anything.  Typically we buy a bag of some sort of frozen pasta meal, which would consist of chicken, veggies, noddles, and some sauce.  It costs around $10 a bag.

By making my own convenience meals I was able to make three for just under $10.  I got triple the value by doing it myself.  Plus, I was able to control how much salt and fat went into it, without the preservatives too.  Yeah, I had to sacrifice some time.  But I gotta tell ya that it feels good to know that I am taking care of my family.  There is something surprisingly satisfying about it.  It feels so…wholesome, I guess that’s the word I’m looking for.  And I’m saving money, too.

I’m almost done with Miserly Moms.  I haven’t applied everything, but the few things I have done so far have worked out well.  Now I just have to keep it up as I try to master some of the other skills of being miserly.

I made the soup using a guide I found on a cooking blog I like.  The soup guide is awesome.  It gives you directions on how to make a soup out of pretty much anything.  The book I’m reading suggests instituting a soup night or baked potato night once a week, since it is an inexpensive but typically hearty meal.  On a night you don’t know what to cook you can use the soup guide to make use of some of the leftover veggies, proteins, and grains you have kicking around in your fridge and pantry rather than spending the extra money to go out.  Seriously, check it out.  The soup guide is in the left column if you scroll down.  You can thank me later.

Tags: frozen meals, soup, supermom

Starting from scratch

As I am in this pursuit to be more miserly and save some money, I’ve realized how clueless I am.  One of the Eleven Miserly Guidelines outlined in the book I am reading is to make and freeze several meals at one time.  This reduces costs because a) you can buy food in bulk without it eventually going to waste and b) you don’t have to spend as much money on convenience items, such as frozen dinners.  As it turns out, frozen meals cost up to 6 times more than making it from scratch.  Who knew?  I certainly didn’t.  Plus, I’ve found out that from scratch really means from scratch. As in, cracking open a box of Bisquick to make pancakes is not making them from scratch, even though I have to add the eggs and milk myself and then I have to mix it, which takes all sorts of effort!  Turns out pancakes from scratch really means I have to put together the flour and baking soda and uh, whatever else goes into that powdery mix.  But it’s cheaper!  And really, not that hard…not that I’ve tried it yet.

So, I decided to follow this advice and make a casserole from scratch and freeze it for later.  I doubled the recipe so I could have more on hand for a later date when we’re just too pooped to cook a real meal.  I’m getting all set to work my magic and feel all thrifty and domesticated, when I realized I don’t have a clue on how to freeze a casserole for later use.  Just typing it makes it sound even more ridiculous, because really, how hard could it be?  Apparently too hard for me!

So here I am, Googling “how to freeze casseroles” and realizing that my poor grandmother would probably roll over in her grave if she knew I didn’t know how to freeze a simple chicken and spinach casserole.  Truly, cooking from scratch has become a lost art.  Back in the good old days people didn’t have lasagna in a box or a bag with a full meal inside that you could throw in a slow-cooker.  People had to actually cook, you know?  So they made their own convenience foods by cooking extra and saving it for later for when they were sick or a neighbor needed a helping hand.

I’m really pursuing this whole freezing-food-for-later thing.  It will save me a lot of money on convenience foods, not to mention a lot of time in the future.  Making a bunch at once means only having to clean pots and pans once, rather than again later.  And if I’m making some today, why not double it?  It doesn’t take any extra time!  Plus, by making the food from scratch I know exactly what goes into it, which is loads healthier.  I can avoid the extra fat and salt that is often added, and get rid of all those nasty preservatives that get dumped in too.

While I’m sure that some would read this and shake their finger at me for not knowing how to freeze my own food, I’m sure many others could totally relate.  I know my generation has been raised on convenience foods, starting with the nasty Salisbury steak TV dinners available 15 years ago, and then evolving into the complex pastas and pizzas and stir-fry dishes that line the freezer aisles.

I’m hoping eventually to make my own homemade bread and jam…mmm….I have a lot to learn before then though if I don’t even know how to freeze a casserole properly!

Tags: cooking from scratch, freezing food