Thursday, January 31, 2013

Quick Weekday Dinner Idea

Tonight was one of those evenings I really didn't want to spend a lot of time on dinner, but I also wanted something tasty. So, I made a super-quick, delicious, inexpensive meal and wanted to share it with you all. 

**Please note, I made this dinner for two people. You may need to adjust quantities according to the number of plates you are making. Also, the product is what is key - not the brand. If you have the same product under a different name, it will work the same.** 


Ingredients you will need:
  • (2) boneless pork chops
  • (1) Idahoan potato pouch
  • (8) spears frozen broccoli
  • (1) Bisquick Complete buttermilk biscuit pouch
  • (1) Kraft Parmesan Cheese Seasoning Blends packet
  • (4) tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup water 
  • 3-4 tablespoons canola oil 
  • 2 tablespoons flour 
  • Salt & pepper, to taste 



Equipment you will need: 
  • Frying / saute skillet   
  • Medium sized pot with lid 
  • Measuring cups & mixing bowl
  • Small cookie sheet 
  • Plastic storage bag 
  • Parchment paper  & paper towels 
  • Strainer, tongs, mixing utensils 

Begin by getting your ingredients and equipment together. If using frozen pork chops, remove them from the freezer and defrost them. I prefer to thaw them in the microwave, using a one minute cook cycle. If you do this, watch the meat carefully, as too a lengthy cycle will not only thaw, but also cook the pork.

As you will notice, I bag my pork chops individually. I found it makes for super easy portioning (no more thawing out more meat than you need!), plus it keeps my hands from touching raw protein (GERMS!!). They now make special portion freezer bags, but I simply use fold-over sandwich bags and then put all the individual portions into a large freezer bag to protect from freezer burn. 
 
While the pork is thawing, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. If the paper is too large, simply fold it underneath itself to size. Set aside to use later.  



Next, fill a medium pot half-full of water. Add approximately half a teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of butter into the water. Cover pot with lid and turn the burner on medium heat.

 
Empty the contents of the Parmesan cheese packet into a plastic food storage bag. Place the thawed pork chops into the bag, seal, and shake until the chops are well coated. Set the chops (still in the bag) aside until ready to cook. 


Next, combine 1 3/4 cups milk and the contents of the potato pouch in a large measuring cup. Mix well, making sure to stir from the bottom up to insure all the potato goodness is incorporated. The spuds will still have a soupy consistency once mixed, but this will change once it is heated.

**I should mention that the directions on the potato pouch  state to use 2 cups of water. However, I find that using 1 3/4 cups of milk INSTEAD yields a richer, creamy potato. You can choose whichever method you prefer.**                                               
Set the mixing cup of potatoes in the microwave. You will heat them when the pork is almost finished cooking.
                                                  In a small mixing bowl,  combine the Bisquick biscuit mix and 1/2 cup of water. Mix thoroughly. This mixture will be lumpy even after well-mixed due    to the chunks of butter in the dough. 

Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet, about two inches apart. Place biscuits in the oven for 8 - 11 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 
 
Once you have placed the biscuits into the oven, pour approximately 3-4 tablespoons of oil into a frying pan and heat on medium heat. 

**I used canola oil, but you can use any oil with a higher smoke-point. Oils such as olive oil are not recommended in frying.** 

Once the oil has heated for a couple minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low. Remove the pork chops from the storage bag with tongs and gently place them into the skillet. The cooking time of the pork will vary according to their thickness (I cooked mine for 5 minutes per side) but you want to make sure they reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees. 

Do NOT eat undercooked pork, as it can result in the parasitic disease Trichinosis. Correctly cooked pork will be a creamy white color. If it is pink, it is undercooked. If in doubt, use a meat thermometer or cook it a little longer. 

An important thing to know, which I found out the hard way, is the seasoning blend will cause the oil to splatter some. The cheese has moisture in it, and when the moisture hits the oil, it pops. It subsides quickly, but can certainly surprise you if you're not expecting it. 

 

Once you place the pork chops into the skillet, remove the lid from the pot of water. Add the broccoli spears and stir gently.



Watch the pork to ensure it doesn't burn. Once the bottom of the chops are a golden brown, gently turn them over brown the other side.   



Once you have turned the pork chops, heat the mashed potatoes you mixed up earlier. Set the microwave for three minutes (adjust as necessary for your microwave's power) and press start.  

Check the pork chops (either by color or temperature). Once done, remove them from the skillet and place on 3-4 layers of paper towels to drain and rest. 

*Make sure to check your broccoli periodically. It takes very little time to cook, so it can quickly turn mushy if heated too long.*

After removing the pork from the skillet, there should be little browned bits left behind. THESE ARE LITTLE PACKETS OF FLAVOR. 
Slowly pour about 1/3 cup of white wine (drinking wine, not cooking wine as it has a high sodium content) and stir. 
It will steam and "sizzle" furiously for a few seconds as it mixes with the oils. This is called deglazing and doing this will loosen all those yummy bits so you can make a delicious gravy with them. Add one tablespoon of butter to the skillet and stir until melted and well incorporated. Next, sprinkle two tablespoons of all purpose flour over the mixture. 

  

Using a whisk, cook until golden in color and it takes on a thick, smooth texture. Because of the browned bits, it may be difficult to detect a difference in color. Just make sure you cook the mixture for about a minute - if you don't cook it long enough, your gravy will taste like flour.

 


Slowly pour in 3/4 cups of milk, whisking the mixture quickly to blend. The mixture will become thicker the longer you cook it. If it is too thick, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more flour. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once the gravy has reached your desired consistency, remove it from heat. 

Once the broccoli is tender to your liking, drain the water off and sprinkle lightly with salt. 

Now for the really fun part................fix your plate and ENJOY! 

*For those of you who want to make a nice plate presentation, you can garnish with a LIGHT sprinkling of parsley around the edges.*  

 
 
 

 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Clean your laundry without soiling your budget!

Made a huge batch of laundry detergent today! Great big thanks to friends Jon and Laura B. for planting the seed in my brain over a year ago! Super easy, super cheap! The detergent is powerful enough that you only use one tablespoon per load of laundry (2 T. for REALLY dirty loads). I made 6 quarts (equal to 384 tablespoons!!) Due to my husband's skin allergies, I had been using All Free & Clear, which is $10.77 per 96 loads at Walmart. (Tide Free & Gentle is $17.97.) It would take four bottles to equal the same cleaning power of this detergent, totaling $43.08 & $71.88, respectively. What's in it: 8 cups Borax ($3.99 / 76 oz. box 20 Mule Team Borax - Walmart) 8 cups WASHING soda (2.99 / 55 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda - Walmart) 4 bars soap (Fels Naptha, Ivory, Dial, etc.) ($4 - $5 - Walmart) 1 cup booster (OxiClean, Sun, etc.) - ($1 at Dollar Store) Total cost: Approximately 13.00
I was so worried it would either not dissolve completely, leaving residue on the clothes, smell funny, or make the clothes feel scratchy, but I was WRONG! They smell & feel wonderful, and I've never had a problem with it not dissolving. And, since it doesn't have any "extra" additives, it hasn't irritated my husband's skin. I cannot stress JUST HOW EASY this detergent is to make!!! Dump the Borax, Soda, and Booster into a big container. A huge mixing bowl, a clean (and empty) trashcan, or a double-bagged paper bag. Next, grate the bars of soap. I used my food processor and the "cheese grater" insert. Put all the soap-cheese into another large container. Then, with the chopping insert in your food processor, add some soap and some powder. Blend together. Empty into whatever bucket or container you will be designating as your official "detergent keeper". Repeat this process until you have blended all the soap and powder together and have it in your detergent keeper. Cover the container securely and shake well to thoroughly mix all the contents. You should end up with a beautifully speckled mix.
As I stated above, use about 1 tablespoon per load of clothes. Two for extra-large or heavily soiled loads. Enjoy!!

I originally wrote this on my Facebook........

I originally wrote this on my Facebook........but it was met by so much love and support, I felt I should post it for everyone to see. In light of my birthday, I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting lately. 9 years ago, at the ripe old age of 18, I was constantly asked what I wanted out of my future; where would I be in 10 years?
I tell you, I NEVER imagined my life would take the path it has. I had every intention of going to college, getting my law degree, and serving on the bench, preferably as a Supreme Court Justice.
I assumed I would live in a big city like New York or D.C. I envisioned the 9-5 job with the briefcase and suit, eating on the go, and living in a condo / apartment in the city. I even considered the fact that I may enjoy may career so much, I might decide to never have kids (perhaps even a husband).
But now, nine years later, I find my life has taken a very different course. I am a stay-at-home wife with a husband, dog, and home in the country. I can remember thinking I would NEVER be the stay-at-home type, because I would go crazy sitting at home doing nothing all day. And, I remember a very proud feminist telling me that it is a woman's duty to work outside the home because otherwise she would be squandering the equality women worked so hard for. How DARE a woman even consider being a housewife!
Today, I am happily married, steadily approaching my 5th wedding anniversary. No kids yet, but I'm the proud parent to a Beagle / Bulldog mix. I don't have a condo in the city, but rather a home on 10 acres of woods.
I do not have, nor am I working towards my law degree. I have 52 hours combined in the fields of Political Science & Psychology. Neither fields, I discovered, have any actual interest to me. I don't want to practice law, or be a judge. I dealt with too many shitty ones while working in jails to want to work with them. I don't want to be a Psychologist because, lets face it, I have enough issues of my own. I don't need to deal with other people's issues all day.
In thinking of other fields of study that I would enjoy devoting my life too, I discovered that there was not one. Instead, i have found my niche, or "calling" if you will, here at home. I LOVE being a housewife. It's not the cushy "sit around eating bonbons & watching soaps" that I had once envisioned. Nor is it the the diva / drama life Hollywood has portrayed in "Desperate Housewives" and all it's reality spin-offs. Far from it! Staying at home has shown me I can do more than I ever imagined I could. Yes, I cook & clean & run the house, just as most people envision a housewife doing. But I also sew, patch, and mend our clothes, repair furniture, landscape & garden, preserve food (canning, freezing, drying), forage off the land (blackberries, polk greens, mouse melons, wild garlic, pecans, etc.), maintain an extensive stockpile of household necessities, split firewood, gather kindling, do general yard-work, up-cycle, reuse & re-purpose used items, and have become VERY resourceful. I can cook from scratch, make & preserve my own broths / stocks, butcher larger chunks of meat, and waste very little. I can make homemade potpourri, compost, and cleaning supplies. I have studied herbalism and can use a variety of herbs medicinally.
The list goes on & on. In 2009, when we had the big ice storm, I realized that if shit hit the fan, I would not be capable of surviving for long. Since then, I have worked hard to change that. I've learned to waste nothing, use everything, and be as resourceful and self-sufficient as possible. I have learned the value of sweat-equity, and have pride in my full-time job of being a housewife. I certainly do not do "nothing" all day, and my job doesn't start at 9 and end at 5. it is an all-day, every-day job. I don't see that I am "squandering my equality," as was suggested by a classmate so many years ago. If you major in Sociology, aren't you just as equal to someone who majored in Secondary Education? They will not have learned the same things as you, but you are both skilled in different areas. I may not have majored in law, psychology or business, or have a framed (expensive) piece of paper on my wall, but I am highly skilled in Home Economics and the "documentation" is in how we live. I can't do the engineering things my husband can do, but then again, he can't do a lot of the household things I do. I'm sorry, but living off Ramen noodles with salt as the only spice you own doesn't cut it!
If you would have told me when i graduated high school that in less than 10 years, I would transform in to a homesteading, country-loving, southern-bell housewife, I would have told you to stop hitting the bottle so much. But looking back at the journey I've been on the past 9 years, I couldn't wish for anything different. I love where I am, and more importantly WHO I am. I am a happy, resourceful, intelligent, hard-working, skilled partner who loves life, her family, and her job. I can't pinpoint the event that shifted the direction my life was headed, but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that, for whatever reason, it did, and I am here now, and I am SO happy.

BIG savings are achievable!

I just got home from a very productive shopping / savings trip and I wanted to share with everyone. I know that it can be very frustrating to see TV shows about people who coupon and receive $1000 in free goodies. While that's not (at least in my experience) a typical savers haul, it is possible to save a ton of money. You just have to keep your eyes open and stay on top of weekly sales. This week, Walgreens offered two items for "free" after Register Rewards: Cracker Jack'd Snack Mixes and Nogii Protein Bars. What is a Register Reward? They are commonly known as "Catalinas," and are basically store credit in the form of coupons. For each Nogii Protein Bar (limited to one per transaction) I purchased at $2.99, I got a Walgreens coupon for $3.00 to be used on my next store purchase. For each Cracker Jack'd Mix, I got a coupon for $1.50.
I had to run errands on several sides of town, so I stopped by each Walgreens I passed and purchased two of each "free" items, broken down into two transactions in order to maximize my savings. This gave me $9.00 in Register Rewards at each location I visited. In total, I bought 10 of each product, giving me $45.00 in Register Rewards. With those funds, I purchased things we were running low on at my home. My husband made mention that we needed AA batteries. We also needed cereal and cheese slices. One important thing to note is that you cannot use more Register Reward coupons than you have items. For example, if you have five items, you can use a maximum of five register reward coupons. My $45.00 in register rewards was spread over 20 coupons, so I had to make sure I had at least 20 items in my cart upon checkout. The first thing I decided to do was look at the markdown and clearance isle. Believe it or not, they had Energizer Max AA batteries on clearance! Their 6-packs, normally priced at $8.99 each, were marked down to $2.24 per pack. Since batteries are something that are an item we will always have a need for, and are usually quite expensive, I purchased eight 6-packs.
On a shelf right below the batteries, I discovered Goody's 6-pack Headache Powders (regularly $2.49 each) on clearance for $0.62 each. Also, I found Cepacol 4-pack warming lozenges ($1.19 per pack) priced at $0.29 each.
In the food isle, I found the store brand American cheese slices were on sale. Normally, they run 2/$5.00, but this week, they were 2/$3.00. There were lots of cereals on sale, but I had a manufacturer's coupon for $1.00 off two Quaker breakfast items. Walgreens was running a sale on Quaker Life cereal, which normally costs $4.99 per box. This week they are priced at 2/$4.00. After my coupon, I paid just $1.50 per box.
My other errands took me to Dollar General and Neighborhood Market. Excitingly enough, I managed to scored some wonderful deals at both locations.
My last big score was a quick stop at a local thrift store. I found a super cute Lane Bryant Blazer with tags attached. The tag was originally priced at $69.50, but marked down to $64.99. I also found a really pretty blouse from Coldwater Creek. It still had the tags attached, priced at $99.00. I paid only $0.50 each, saving $167.50!
After my day's shopping was said and done, I scored $528.08 in merchandise, but only paid $35.84 for it! That's a total savings of 93%! I hadn't set out with all those savings in mind. Sure, it's always in the back of my head to save as much as possible, but I didn't know I'd find the brand new top and blazer. I didn't know I'd find batteries and headache medicine on clearance. I simply knew what I could buy to get in-store cash, what my family needed, and then kept my eyes open for bargains. Turns out, I found some good ones! Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it also! And quite honestly, it's a wonderful feeling to know how much money you have saved your family. Give it a try. Start small and work your way up. Trust me - the small victories are just as rewarding as the big ones. Let me know what great bargains you've taken advantage of lately!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Today, I decided to try my hand at something new and exciting. Today, I made homemade butter for the very first time! I have to say, it was really easy, and kind of fun. I have become quite fond of doing things more "old-school" such as mending our own clothes, making my own cleaning supplies, canning our own food, etc. I find it it is usually very fun (and rewarding) to do, gives you a great sense of pride in your work, and has the wonderful benefit of saving money. Now, I have to say that my stock of butter is rivaled by very few. It would make Paula Dean would be proud. At this moment, I have a little over 10 pounds (yes, pounds!) in my refrigerator. I think it tastes wonderful, adds body and depth to foods, and when used in moderation, has an arguably similar nutritional value to olive oil. Unfortunately, the price not as savory. At our local big-box stores (Walmart, Harps, Marvin's IGA) the price for a generic brand pound of quartered, salted butter is approximately $4.00. At Sam's Club, a four-pack of the same costs $9.98, or roughly $2.50 per pound. Unfortunately, they don't sell unsalted butter, which is what I prefer to use. Anyway, I wanted to see, first, if I could even make butter. I've heard it is very easy, but having never tried it, I wanted to see for myself. Second, I wanted to find out how much butter and buttermilk resulted from my efforts and what the equivalent price would be. A quart of heavy whipping cream at Walmart (Great Value brand) is $3.78. At Sam's Club, a quart of the Land O' Lakes brand whipping cream is $3.86. But, as fun (I use this term VERY loosely)as math is, we'll deal with it a little bit later. After scouring the internet for how-to's on butter making, I found that all you need is heavy cream. Fortunately, I had about a half-quart of heavy cream in my fridge that was close to its expiration date. I saw many suggestions on how to properly gyrate cream into butter, from shaking it in a chilled mason jar to using a blender, to using a food processor. I opted to use my stand mixer. I poured the cream into my stainless steal mixing bowl, attached to wisk attachment, and set it on medium speed. After about 6 - 7 minutes, the cream was like a fluffy white cloud. I placed the splash screen over the bowl and turned the mixer up to a medium/high speed. Another five minutes went by and the cream began to deflate and take on a slightly grainy texture. I stopped the mixer and scraped down the sides. As I lifted the wisk, I noticed that there was already some liquid settling in the bottom of the bowl. I turned the mixer back on, this time on the highest speed. **Please note that at this point, the splash guard does help SOME, but by no means does it prevent all splashes from painting you, your cabinets, and anything else in a 2-foot radius.** Luckily, it only took a couple of minutes at that speed before I had hard butter pieces sitting in a pool of creamy white buttermilk. I turned the mixer off, wiped the butter off my face, and removed the attachment. I was beaming like a proud parent at my little bundle of butter! I then set up a small strainer over a bowl poured the buttery, milky goodness into it. The butter stayed in the strainer, while the buttermilk flowed into the bowl. I put the buttermilk into a clear lidded jar and sat it in my refrigerator to use later in baking some bread. **One key point I have left out is that over the strainer, I placed cheesecloth. From what I have read, most people say you need to rinse the butter until the water runs clear. Otherwise, any remaining buttermilk left in the butter particles will cause it to spoil quickly. However, I simply squeezed the butter very firmly into the cheesecloth and "wrung out" all the milk. I don't think I will repeat this method in the future though, as the cloth leaves behind tiny little fibers all over the outside of the butter. Below are a couple pictures, but I recommend omitting the cheesecloth and simply rinsing the butter thoroughly.** After all the milk was removed from the butter, I packed it into a little butter jar. Using a knife, I pressed the last few drops of milk from the butter, smoothed the top, and in the fridge it went. All in all, one quart of heavy cream will yield approximately one pound of unsalted butter and approximately 24 ounces of buttermilk. Monetarily, it would cost me around $4.00 to buy a pound of unsalted butter and $1.09 per quart of buttermilk. That's a savings of $1.23 per pound of butter. Not an extraordinary amount, but well worth it if you like connecting with what you consume, and having a little fun along the way!