So I'm gone almost 6 full days this week. A new record for me! In an attempt to keep my guys from having to go out to eat every night while I'm gone, I've put together some meal options for them. I'm leaving spaghetti for them to have tonight. And here's what I've left for the rest of the week. (I even organized it neatly into the freezer door to make things even easier … [Read more...]
Homemade Hummus
Raise your hand if you love hummus. Yes, yes, lots of folks out there. Me too! Ok. How many of you pay big bucks for one of those tiny tubs of hummus at the store? A few, yes. How many have this little problem of keeping food and snacks stocked in your house? Me too! Well, I’m here to share my way of saving big bucks in the hummus economy. Thinking of how I batch cooked … [Read more...]
Apple Pie Filling for the Freezer
So over Labor Day weekend, we picked almost 30 pounds of apples. There remain about 5 apples in the fridge, that we will snack on this week. But our surplus is not gone! Much of it is packed away nicely in the freezer. After making 3 big batches of slow cooker applesauce (2 of which are in the freezer, and the other long gone!), I also made 2 pies worth of filling for the … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Applesauce
When you "accidentally" pick 30 pounds of apples, you've got to do something...and do it quick! That's a whole lotta apples to process! One of the easiest things to do is make slow cooker applesauce. I intentionally picked a bunch of Golden Sup apples from the orchard because I knew they were a sweeter variety, and wouldn't require any sweetener to be a good applesauce. I … [Read more...]
Egg & Sausage Biscuits
It’s back to school time! That translates to: hurry with your homework, so we aren’t late for scouts, orchestra, school meetings, OT appointments, soccer, and wait, DINNER! I love sitting down to eat as a family, but sometimes that’s just not possible. It times like those that I love the egg biscuits! I’ve even tossed one out the door at a child who “didn’t have time to … [Read more...]
Whole Wheat Banana Strawberry Crumb Muffins (with no sugar!)
I don't remember the last time that I made muffins "from a box." And I'm afraid if I tried muffins from a box, I wouldn't like them. They may be extra sweet...but I'm afraid they wouldn't taste real. Or good even. Since I gave up processed sugar and white flours this month, I've had to get creative with baking. I did get some wheat berries and sucanat to help make some … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Yogurt
With seven in our household it seems we are always out of something. Especially with the two eldest children constantly grazing. However, since I replaced store-bought yogurt with homemade slow cooker yogurt, I don’t have to ration yogurt cups. I can say yes, please have some yogurt. Slow cooker yogurt is so easy to make. The recipe is simple – just two ingredients. It also … [Read more...]
3 Meals From One Roast Chicken
Erin here - Add this to your next batch cooking day plan!!! It always feels great when we can make a meal go just as far as possible, and this is one of my favorite ways to stretch a whole chicken into three meals. In addition to saving on the budget, it also saves a lot of prep time in the kitchen and makes it easy to plan meals for the week - perfect for these busy summer … [Read more...]
No Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam
Got a Surplus of Strawberries from a Sale or a Trip to the You Pick Them Farm?! Make this Strawberry Freezer Jam! When you accidentally come home with 17 lbs. of strawberries from a morning at the pick your own berry patch, you have to do something. And you have to do it fast. I started to can the strawberry jam, but quickly saw that if I continued on the canning … [Read more...]
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free Pancakes
Making gluten free anything can be tricky...especially when baking or making pancakes or waffles. I have found that baking mini-muffins or mini-loaves when using gluten free flours works best. I have also found that many gluten free pancakes are quite flat. This batch was "medium flat." Not quite as fluffy as regular wheat flour pancakes, but not flat and rubbery like other … [Read more...]