Chicken Enchiladas

I did not grow up on Mexican food. I probably didn’t eat my first taco until I was a teenager. So, I definitely do not proclaim to be an authority of authentic Mexican food. However, I can tell you that this recipe is very easy and very yummy! Pair these enchiladas with a scoop of beans and rice and a tossed salad or vegetables for a filling and balanced meal.

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

16 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

1 3-ounce can slice black olives

2 teaspoons dried parsley

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper

1 14-ounce can enchilada sauce or 2 cups homemade enchilada sauce, divided

8 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, mix chicken, 12 ounces shredded cheese, black olives, and seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 3 tablespoons of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Divide chicken mixture evenly between tortillas. Roll up and place, seam side down, in prepared baking pan. Top with remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, sprinkle remaining cheese on top of enchiladas and return to oven, uncovered. Bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Tips:

When I know I have enchiladas on the menu, I try to simmer some bone-in chicken pieces with water in a stock pot the day before. The chicken pieces go in the refrigerator overnight. The chicken is a lot easier to handle and to debone when it’s cold. I strain the broth into quart-sized canning jars and refrigerate. The fat in the broth floats to the top and solidifies. When I’m ready to make the enchilada sauce, I simply scrape the fat off the top and use the remaining broth for my sauce.

Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoon flour

¼ cup chili powder

2 cups chicken stock

1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Stir together oil and flour in medium saucepan. Cook for 1 minute over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add chili powder and cook for an additional 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add stock, tomato sauce, oregano, and cumin. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Notes

If the sauce is too thin for your taste, exchange the can of tomato sauce for tomato paste. Simmering the sauce a little longer will also help reduce the amount of liquid and make the sauce thicker.

Never be afraid to adjust a recipe to suit your taste! This recipe only vaguely resembles my first attempt at making enchilada sauce. This final recipe is what we’ve found through experimentation that we like best. In the immortal words of Miss Frizzle, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

Raising Chickens in Your Backyard

Raising chickens in the backyard might seem like an odd proposition to most city folk, which includes a lot of my friends and all of my neighbors, but keeping chickens is pretty easy and has many benefits. However, before racing out to your local feed store for a sweet, peeping fluff ball, you need to be a little prepared.

Legalities

First and foremost, find out your city’s ordinances about raising chickens. A lot of communities allow backyard flocks of chickens, but with rules on quantities and types. The City of St. Petersburg allows residents to raise up to five hens, but no roosters. If your city doesn’t allow chickens, you can get the laws changed. Alicia Rheal and Brian Whiting from Madison, Wisconsin organized a group to change the laws in their area. After their success at changing the laws in Madison, they began Mad City Chickens and Urban Chickens websites to help other city chickens keep their homes. Also, check out the Pinellas County Citizens for Backyard Poultry website for excellent, detailed information on getting local laws changed. It can be done.

Depending on the proximity of your neighbors and your relationship with them, you may want to mention that you’re getting some new pets. Roosters can be quite loud, but hens really aren’t that noisy if they’re kept happy. They love to announce to the world that they’ve just laid an egg, and they’ll let any other chicken in the neighborhood know when a predator is in the area. But, for the most part, they’re pretty quiet. Most of the ordinances I’ve come across don’t allow noisy roosters anyway, so noise shouldn’t be a problem. If you are concerned, remember that your chickens are probably not as noisy as the neighborhood dogs; chickens roost quietly from sunset to sunrise; and a dozen eggs now and then pacifies even the most difficult of neighbors.

Buying Chickens

Once you’ve found out your legal limits you need to decide how many and what kind of chickens to buy. Are you buying for egg production, meat production, or just the joy of watching these turnip brains do some of the silliest things? No one here is quite ready to butcher anything so we raise chickens for their eggs and comic relief. Check out McMurray’s or Meyer’s hatcheries catalogs for good information on the size, temperament, egg production, and appearance of the many breeds available. I have Rhode Island Reds because that’s what the local feed store had for sale when I went to buy them. Reds are very easy birds to raise from chicks, and fairly inexpensive.

If you live in an area that doesn’t allow roosters, pay the extra to get birds that have been sexed to ensure they are all females. To give you an idea of how much fun it is to figure out a baby chick’s gender, the job was featured on the show “Dirty Jobs” and had something about squeezing the chick until it pooped. Not a job for me!

When deciding how many chickens to buy, keep your ordinances and your needs in mind. How many can you care for, how many eggs can you eat, and what will the law allow? By the way, mature hens will average two eggs every three days for the first year. Production may slow by about 20% after the first year.

Equipment

Before you get your chicks, you will need a feeder, a waterer, food, and a safe place to keep the babies indoors for the first two weeks. We keep new chicks in a plastic bin (no lid, of course), lined with shavings, and set up on a table to keep the dog’s nose out of where it doesn’t belong.

Chickens, like most birds, can be a bit messy with their food and water. Also, as the chickens grow, they will want to roost on anything they can, including the tops of the feeder and waterer. Hanging a covered feeder and waterer from a chain should keep the girls from roosting on top and soiling their food and water and prevents the birds from scratching at their feed and throwing it everywhere.

There are many schools of thought on chicken feed. I prefer to use a commercially prepared feed supplemented with a healthy supply of kitchen scraps, scratch grains, and pasturing. Baby chicks should be fed a starter feed until they begin laying eggs. Medicated and plain starter feeds are available. I’ve used both with no difference. The medicated variety will give you peace of mind if you are concerned about disease. Scratch grains and vegetable scraps can be introduced after the chickens begin growing their adult feathers, but the babies will grow best on the nutritionally balanced feed.

Chicken Coops

While your chicks are growing indoors, begin work on your outdoor coop and hen house as well as a larger feeder. Check the internet for coop ideas. We put our first one together out of scrap wood. However, my husband enjoyed building it so much that he improved on the design and now sells chicken coops.

There are some important things to consider for your coop and hen house. Each chicken needs a minimum of 2 square feet of space. However, if they are going to be completely confined to the coop, you’ll want to give them more space to move around. We let ours run around the yard for an hour or two each day.

You will also need to incorporate nesting boxes and roosts into the hen house’s design. You do not need as many nesting boxes as you have chickens. They will share nests, but make sure at least half of your chickens can nest comfortably at the same time. They’ll need a bar set high in the hen house to roost on at night. And above all, make sure the coop is secure against predators. You’d be surprised how many predators live in the city. We’re visited by hawks, ospreys, possums, and the neighbors’ cats all the time. Any one of those would love your baby chicks for dinner.

Caring for Chickens

Handle your new chicks everyday. This is very important. When we get new chicks, every morning I transfer the chicks to another box, dump the soiled litter into the composter, then rinse, dry, and re-line the bin before returning the chicks. Several times each day, I just pick them up and hold them for a few minutes, checking for illness or injury. Be wary of little hands though. Baby chicks can be fatally injured quite easily.

After your chicks are about two weeks old, you can start taking them out to the coop during the day, but bring them in at night for another two weeks. Other than that, just keep their feeder and waterer full and their bedding dry, and they’ll be healthy and happy.

Once the chicks are living in the coop full time, line the hen house and nesting boxes with pine shavings. Toss a handful of scratch grains into the litter every once in a while. The chickens will scratch and turn up the litter to find the grains which keeps the litter dry and smell- disease-free. About three inches of pine shavings can last over a month with a small flock. At cleaning time, toss the waste in your composter. If you don’t compost, at least spread the litter in your flower beds. You won’t ever need to buy Miracle Grow again!

Feeding chickens can get time consuming if you mix your own feed. I use commercial feed with no problems. Use a starter feed for chicks and when they start laying eggs, change to a laying feed that has 15% to 18% protein and includes calcium. Feed com in crumbles or pellets. Once you start with one type of feed, stick to it. For creatures who will try to eat any bug or rock they happen to dig up, they get pretty finicky about the feed in their dishes!

In addition to their regular food, chickens need grains and greens. Scratch grains and kitchen scraps cover these requirements. When I pick turnips or carrots from the garden, I give the chickens the tops. The really love these greens, but what they love the most are broccoli and cauliflower leaves. If they get into the garden, they disseminate all of the broccoli and cauliflower plants. They’ll also eat leftover bread (not moldy please), lettuce, spinach leaves, celery tops, watermelon rinds, apple peels and cheese (I kid you not). 

Believe it or not, that’s really all there is to raising chickens. Feel free to post any questions you have in comments. I'll see what I can do to help! Now, what are you waiting for? Start enjoying some yummy, fresh eggs of your own!!

Here are some websites to help you with more information and with coop designs.

BackyardChickens.com is an excellent site for useful and practical information.

Here’s an helpful article from Mother Earth News with instructions  for building your own hanging feeder.

Thanks for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Shared on:

The Morris Tribe's Homesteading Blog Carnival 
The Prairie Homestead's Barn Hop

Frugally Sustainable's Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days 
Deep Roots at Home's Encouraging One Another Link Up 
Our Simple Farm's  Simple Living Wednesday
Raising Homemaker's Wednesday Link Up

GNOWFGLINS Simple Lives Thursday  
Homemaker by Choice's Homemaking Link Up
Shared on Dandelion House's Farm Girl Friday   
Our Simple Country Life's Hearts 4 Home 
Little House in the Suburbs
 

Incredible Edible Eggs

Have you seen those cage-free eggs that are in all the grocery stores these days? You know the ones that used to be reserved for heath food nuts and animal activists. Are you wondering who would pay $4.00 for a dozen eggs when the good old factory-farm eggs are only $1.00 a dozen? Well, to tell you truth, you should.

Before you feel the need to remind me about how tight your budget is and about how awful the economy is, you need to know that I don’t make this recommendation lightly. I know exactly how tight things are. I’ve been providing food, clothing, education, and entertainment for a family of four on about $50-$75 a week for a couple of years now.  I know about tight budgets and rising prices. I also know that you will do your family a lot more good if you shop according to nutrition instead of just according to price. 

Why should you buy eggs from cage-free or pastured chickens? Nutrition! Compared to the official USDA data for factory-farm eggs, eggs from pastured hens contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
•   ¼ less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• Two times more omega-3 fatty acids
• Three time more vitamin E
• Seven times more beta carotene
• Three to six times more vitamin D 

In a single serving, you get so much more of the good and so much less of the bad! 

Although this great nutritional information justifies the hefty price tag of a dozen cage-free eggs, it still might not help you fit them into your own budget. You do have other options besides the grocery stores. Check out your local farmer’s markets and food co-ops, and don’t be afraid to ask questions! Some vendors might not have what you want, but they know who does. And don’t be afraid to ask your friends! You might be surprised at who has a small flock of chickens in their backyard…even in the city. When we first got our chickens, I was surprised at how many of my friends had grown up with chickens in their backyards. Which, by the way, is another option for fresh, cage-free eggs: raise a small flock of chickens yourself.  

Raising chickens in your backyard is much easier than you think. We’ve had our girls for a little over a year now, and I love them! They’re inexpensive and simple to raise; plus, we enjoy about two dozen eggs a week from our hens which is plenty even for this hungry household. 

If you have any questions about raising chickens in the city, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.  Also, check out the Backyard Chickens website, this egg nutrition article on Mother Earth News, and Poultry One for more information about raising chickens and egg nutrition.

Thanks for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance

Betty

Why Should We Eat Oats?

Mares eat oats

And does eat oats

And little lambs eat ivy.

A kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?

So, now we know that mares and does eat oats but why should we? Well, very simply, we should eat oats because they’re good for us. Like all whole grains, oats play an essential role in promoting overall good health. In other words, this little bitty grain packs a powerful nutrition punch filled with fiber, and a number of essential vitamins and nutrients, including folate, iron, magnesium, selenium, thiamin, riboflavin, and Vitamin E. Eating whole grains regularly reduces the risk of developing heart disease, reduces the risk of developing several types of cancer, aids in lowering bad cholesterol without lowering good cholesterol, and promotes a feeling of fullness which aids in good weight maintenance. What’s not to love?

If you want to know more, the American Cancer Society is a good place to start. The results of a ten-year study by Dr. James W. Anderson, professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine were released in the January/February 2008 issue of American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine and makes for some interesting reading. What did Dr. Anderson prove? He proved that grandma was right all along. “Eat your oatmeal,” she’d say, “It’s good for you!” So, don’t be feeding all your oats to those mares and does, keep plenty for yourself. 

 Stove Top Oatmeal

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 tsp butter

1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like it)

½ tsp salt (add a pinch more if you use unsalted butter)

¼ cup honey

1 tablespoons real maple syrup (optional)

¼ cup dried apples, diced

1 ¼ cups rolled oats (freshly rolled or old-fashioned oats)

Mix together milk, water, butter, cinnamon, salt, honey, and syrup into a medium saucepan and set over medium low heat. When butter just melts, add diced dried apples, and continue heating until mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Add oats and stir well. Continue heat until mixture returns to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove pan from heat, and let stand covered for five minutes. Stir and enjoy! Makes four servings.

Tips: This recipe doubles very well and the leftovers can be reheated either in the oven or on the stove top. To get that yummy creamy consistency the second time around add milk while reheating.

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups rolled oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1-2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 eggs

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a glass baking dish with butter.

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients making a well in the center. In a separate bowl, mix together your wet ingredients. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Fold in diced apple. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Cover and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Stir well, and serve.

Tips:

• Try to use a baking dish with a little depth to it and that comes with a lid. I do not recommend your usual 9x13x2 casserole.
• One cup of applesauce or one-half cup of dried apples can be substituted for the diced apple.
• Brown sugar can be substituted for the honey.
• Leftovers can be reheated, however I don’t have a microwave so I do not know how well this comes out of the microwave. I can tell you that leftovers come out of the oven with a bread-like consistency that is still very yummy with milk.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut, flaked, or old-fashioned rolled oats
4 cups water
½ cup half and half or milk
1 cup dried fruit
¼ cup brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and set on low heat. Cover and cook for 8 to 9 hours. Make about 4 servings.

Tips:

• Start this oatmeal before going to bed in order to enjoy a yummy, no fuss breakfast in the morning.
• Use just one type of dried fruit or create a mixture of favorites. Raisins, figs or apricots are good choices or mix dried apple pieces with dried cranberries for some holiday flare.
• Eliminate the butter and replace the half and half or milk with skim milk for a reduced fat version.
• Replace the brown sugar or honey with another cup of dried fruit for a fruitier but not overly sweet variation.

Menu Plan Monday, 10/25

It’s going to be a strange week for cooking. My hubby is working out of town all week. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time cooking normal meals for just me and the kids, even though Colleen is practically an adult, and Jared eats like one. However, I am determined to make the week as normal as possible.

                                                                                              

Are you at a loss for what to make this week? Check out some ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for Week of 10/25/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast, and/or corn rice crispies.

Lunch

I won’t be packing my husband lunch everyday, but I did pack him a cooler of food to take with him for the week. The rest of us will most likely eat leftovers, but just in case, I always have the fixings for PBJs on hand.

Sandwich of the week – PB and J

Fruit of the week – Apples

Dinner

Monday – Oven fried chicken, couscous, peas and corn

Tuesday – Chicken enchiladas, beans and rice

Wednesday – Breakfast

Thursday – Grilled chicken salad, fresh bread

Friday – Homemade Pizza with homemade Italian sausage

Saturday – Grilled chicken sandwiches, baked beans, marinated vegetables

Sunday – Baked macaroni and cheese, herbed tomatoes, steamed broccoli

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Letterboxing: Let the Hunt Begin

I am a big baby about heat. In the middle of summer here when both the temperature and the humidity are pushing 100, I am comfortably lounging in front of the air conditioner. However, when fall comes and the temperature starts to drop, just try to keep me cooped up! It’s time to go letterboxing!

If you’ve never heard of letterboxing, allow me to introduce you to a fun and addicting hobby that combines the peacefulness of a walk in the woods with the excitement of buried treasure. We’ve explored parks and unusual places that we might never have visited if it weren’t for the letterbox hidden there.

Letterboxing is very simple: solve a clue, find the box, stamp in to prove you were there. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? And it is a simple hobby, but it’s best to learn a little before you leap. Check out www.letterboxing.org or www.atlasquest.com . Both sites have excellent tutorials about getting started, equipment, and trail etiquette. I’m going to share a little information with you today, but I highly recommend visiting those sites.

Stuff You Need

Letterboxing doesn’t require anything high tech or expensive. In fact, you don’t need very much at all to get started: a trail name, a logbook, a signature stamp, an inkpad, and a pen.

Trail Name – A trail name is the name that other letterboxers will know you as, other than your real name, that is. It is like a User Name on a website. Your trail name can be your nickname or it can reflect a hobby or occupation. I met a letterboxer who used the first initial of each person in his family to make his trail name and a couple whose trail name is made up of both of their nicknames put together. I’ve seen trail names based on works of art and cartoon characters. You are limited only by your imagination.

Logbook – A logbook is the book in which you are going to record your finds. When we first started, we used a small scrapbook instead of a notebook because I felt the lined paper would detract from the pretty stamps. Now, we use 4” x 6” index cards that we slip into a photo album. Whatever you choose, be sure it’s something you really like and is easy to cart around. Nothing like a big bulky three-ring-binder to slow you down on that 5-mile long, 1000 ft. elevation change hike.

Signature Stamp – Your signature stamp represents you to other boxers. This can be a store-bought stamp, a hand-carved stamp, or just your fingerprints. Think about who you are as an individual or as a group and what your trail name is and create something that represents that.

We love sunsets on the beach. So we tried to create something that represents a sunset and incorporated our love of Christ. Our first stamp was quite simple. We were just using a black or purple ink pad to stamp in, but as you can see, we now carry around markers for a little more pizzazz. The kids have their own stamps and so does the dog.

Stamp pad – Not every box is going to already have an inkpad inside. In fact, most of them won’t. It’s a good idea to bring your own. We bring inkpads and markers. I don’t recommend washable inks. It might sound appealing for easy clean up, but these boxes are out in the elements for months, sometimes years, at a time. Even stamping in on an exceptionally humid day will cause your ink to run, let alone a rain storm. So, something more permanent is a must.

As you letterbox, you will find there are other things you’ll want to have with you like bug spray, sun screen, first aid kit, compass, wet wipes, water, and a flashlight. We learned the flashlight lesson the hard way, but that’s a story for another time.

What’s Next?

Okay, you have your stamp, your logbook, your inkpad, and your pen. Unfortunately, you don’t have clue (pun intended). Before setting out, you have to know where you are going. This is where www.letterboxing.org and www.atlasquest.com really come in handy. Both sites have easy-to-use searches for boxes in your area. You can narrow your search by state, county, or city. After you’ve read a few clues, you’ll start getting a feel for how they are written and what you’ll need along the way.

Clues come in all shapes and sizes. Some are simple directions while others are lengthy stories. You may need a compass or a map, or you might have to solve a cipher or riddle. You may have to find a significant historical fact or count steps to reach your final destination.

Once you’ve printed your clue and have a pretty good idea of where you’re headed, it’s time to go hunting.

Before you go wandering off in the woods, I want to share a few words with you about stealth and safety. In letterboxing, stealth is very, very, very important. Never reach for a box if someone who is not a boxer can see you. You don’t want to expose the hiding place to someone who might take the box or throw it away. Be discreet and be patient. You also want to be careful of the hidey hole you’re reaching into. Other critters like spiders and snakes enjoy those holes, too. Poke a stick around a bit first before reaching for the box.

I Found It, Now What?

So, you’ve finally found a box. Boxes come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll find Rubbermaid containers, Lock ‘n’ Lock containers, Ziploc bags, and homemade pouches. Sometimes they’re painted or covered in duct tape, and sometimes they’re not. We’ve found fake bat boxes, film canisters, candy tins, and pill bottles. They’ve been hidden inside, under, behind, and magnetically attached to the bottom of all kinds of interesting places.

Time to see what’s inside the box: a stamp, a logbook, and inkpad, and a pen. Hmmm, this list looks familiar. Yep, the box has the same things in it that you have with you. Keep in mind that many boxes, especially the very small ones, won’t have inkpads or pens in them.

Can you guess what you do next? Yep, stamp in. You stamp your stamp in the box’s book and stamp the box’s stamp in your book. Most boxers then write a quick note to the planter and add the date. It’s pretty cool to read the notes left from others and to see their stamps. Now, discreetly re-hide the box better than you found it and enjoy the sights.

As you can see, letterboxing is really simple to do. It’s also a lot of fun. You’ll wander through parks and meander down trails looking for oak trees shape like a “Y” across from rhododendron stand. We’ve learned a lot of local history through letterboxing and really enjoyed rubbing elbows with God’s amazing creations. We’ve watched an incredibly large bird of prey swoop down on an unsuspecting turtle, walked to within two feet of an alligator, and found nests of unidentified eggs that almost looked like something out of a science fiction movie. We’ve spent hours with our children working on map skills and problem solving skills, and just enjoying their company. And we’ve spent time in the company of good friends, just enjoying God’s amazing grace at allowing us to live among His wonders.

I’ve only given you the basics of letterboxing to get you started. There are hitchhikers, travelers, events, and mysteries. Please, take a moment to check out www.letterboxing.org and www.atlasquest.com to learn more and maybe even find or plant a box of your own.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you give letterboxing a chance. It’s an interesting and fun hobby that’ll get you and your family outside and moving.

Grace an peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Versitile Vinegar

I am always amazed when I learn that a simple, ordinary, inexpensive item right under my nose can be used is some extraordinary ways. I had no idea that vinegar was one of these ordinary items with some extraordinary versatility. This natural wonder can wipe out tarnish, soap scum, mineral deposits, and more.

The word vinegar is derived from the Old French vin aigre, meaning “sour wine,” which is a pretty accurate description of vinegar. Centuries ago, a cask of wine was discovered that had gone past its time and became something new. That something new turned out to be a very useful acid.

According to the Vinegar Institute website, “The strength of vinegar is measured by the percent of acetic acid present in the product. All vinegar sold in the United States at the retail level should be at least 4% acidity as mandated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Typical white distilled vinegar is at least 4% acidity and not more than 7%. Cider and wine vinegars are typically slightly more acidic with approximately 5-6% acidity.” All these percentages mean that vinegar is an acid that is strong enough to create an environment that inhibits the growth of mold, mildew, and some bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella, but mild enough to touch with your bare hands.

Check out all the different ways you can use vinegar in your home:

Coffeemaker: To remove mineral deposits in your automatic drip coffeemaker pour equal parts vinegar and water into the machine’s water reservoir. Brew about three cups of the solution through the coffeemaker. Turn the coffeemaker off and let stand for 30-60 minutes. Turn the machine back on to complete the cycle. Now, run the machine through two cycles with clean water.

Glassware: For spotless hand-washed glasses add one cup of vinegar to the rinse water. For spotless glasses in your dishwasher, forget the expensive rinsing agents. Fill your dishwasher’s rinse aid reservoir with vinegar instead.

Showerheads: To combat mineral deposits on showerheads, pour undiluted vinegar into a plastic bag. Tie bag around the showerhead, making sure the clogged holes are submerged in the vinegar. Let sit overnight. Rinse with water in the morning.

Drains: Keep drains flowing freely with ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of vinegar poured down the drain monthly. After pouring the baking soda and vinegar down the drain, let sit for about 15 minutes. This should give you ample time to call the kids in to oooh and aaaah over the foaming action and give a quick talk about volcanoes. Then flush with cold water.

Bathrooms: To combat soap scum, mold, and mildew on your showers, tubs, sinks, and walls, spray affected area. Let sit for fifteen minutes, then wipe clean. Reapply as needed.

Pet odors: Neutralize pet odors on carpets and upholstery with a diluted white vinegar spray. Mix three parts water to one part vinegar and pray on affected area. Always be sure to test in an inconspicuous spot (like under the couch, behind a chair, etc.) before treating a large area.

Bug Spray: Apply undiluted vinegar to the skin with a cotton ball to deter bugs. Honest, you won’t smell like a salad for long. Once the vinegar dries, the scent disappears but the bugs will hate the way you taste.

Sunburns: My mother told me this one many, many years ago. I thought she was crazy. Now, I reach for the vinegar first when treating sunburn. Simply apply undiluted white or cider vinegar to the affected skin with a cotton ball. Reapply as necessary.

Weed killer: Spray undiluted white vinegar on weeds. It’s as simple as that. Reapply when new weeds grow. Also works on grass growing through the cracks in your sidewalk or driveway. Just don’t apply when it’s raining. The vinegar will wash away.

Fabric softener: For an inexpensive fabric softener, add ½ - 1 cup of vinegar to your washing machine during the rinse cycle. The vinegar will soften your clothes, brighten your colors, remove soap, prevent yellowing, attack mold and mildew, and reduce static cling!

Ink: Last but not least, I want share something fun you can do with vinegar. You can make ink! Grab the kids, pretend it’s Colonial Times for the day and check out these recipes from Home Science Tools.

Berry Ink. Use 1/2 cup fresh berries or thawed frozen berries; push them through a strainer so that you get pulp-free juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar (to hold color) and 1/2 teaspoon salt (as a preservative) and mix well. You can use a glass baby food jar as your "inkwell", if you have one.

Walnut Ink. Crush the shells of 12 walnuts by putting them in a sock and hammering them lightly. Pour the shells into a saucepan and cover them with water, then let them simmer for 30 minutes. After that, remove them from heat and let them soak overnight. Strain the shells out of the ink and add 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar to help preserve the color. 

Isn’t vinegar amazingly versatile? Personally, I really like the pickles and salsa I can make with it, and you can’t beat that $2 a gallon price tag! For more information, be sure to check out these great resources.


Vinegar Resources

Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean, by Linda Cobb
Real Simple magazine, April 2009, realsimple.com
Vinegar Tips website, http://vinegartips.com/Scripts/
The Vinegar Institute, http://www.versatilevinegar.org/index.html

Menu Plan Monday, 10/18

We are off to Busch Gardens on Monday, but then we get to fall back into our regular routine. Yeah!!

                                                                                              

Are you at a loss for what to make this week? Check out some ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for Week of 10/18/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast, and/or corn flakes

Lunch

Hubby takes a sandwich, potato chips, fruit, celery and carrot sticks, pickles and a gallon of ice water to work with him for lunch. This might seem like a lot, but he doesn’t have access to snacks during the day like the rest of us. I just pack a little extra in his lunch bag to get him through the long afternoon stretch. The rest of us either eat a sandwich and fruit or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – PB and J or Ham and Cheese or Vegetable Pita Sandwiches

Fruit of the week – Apples or pears

Dinner

Monday – Sloppy Joes, Macaroni Salad, Cole Slaw

Tuesday – Chicken and veggies in a creamy basil sauce over pasta

Wednesday – Grilled Pork Chops, Potato Pancakes, Apple Sauce, steamed broccoli

Thursday – Beef and Barley Soup, fresh bread

Friday – Baked Chicken, herbed rice, veggies

Saturday – BBQ chicken, halushki, veggies

Sunday – Chicken and dumplings

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Homemade Foot Spa

We don’t have any serious foot issues, but my daughter wears flip flops all the time, and I’m barefoot most of the time which means we have very rough, cracked soles. My son has a habit of wearing a certain pair of shoes without socks, so you can imagine how those shoes smell. And my hubby, well, let’s just say he’s a guy who wears work boots all day, everyday, while working construction under the hot, Florida sun. That should just say it all. We also live a very active lifestyle, which tends to leave us with very tired feet and legs and the end of the day. Store-bought remedies are expensive and filled with gunk we don’t want on our bodies. However, I found some wonderful homemade solutions to our problems.

Foot Powder

1 cup baking soda

12 drops essential oils such as tea tree oil, lavender, and/or peppermint

Add essential oils to the baking soda, and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container. I store mine in a glass canning jar because it is convenient.

You can use just about any combination of oils as long as the ratio is about 12 drops of oil to 1 cup of baking soda. I highly recommend that tea tree oil is included in whatever combination you try because of its anti-fungal properties.

To “de-stink” a pair of smelly sneakers, place about 1 tablespoon of the foot powder in each sneaker. Shake the sneaker gently to spread the powder evenly. Place shoes in a large plastic sipper seal bag. Seal the bag and let sit overnight. In the morning, dump out the excess powder and the shoes should smell a lot better. To keep odor at bay, sprinkle powder inside shoes regularly.

Foot Soak

1 gallon warm water

½ cup Epsom salt

4 to 5 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 drop cedarwood oil

2 drops lavender oil

3 drops tea tree oil

Place warm water in a basin that is large enough to fit both of your feet at the same time. Add Epsom salt, stirring until dissolved. Gently rub rosemary sprigs between your fingers to release the plants oils. Add rosemary and oils to the water. Soak your feet for 10-20 minutes. Dry your feet with a towel, and if you have a pumice stone, rub it over calloused areas to remove the rough skin.

Foot Cream

3 tablespoon cocoa butter

2 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon beeswax

1 tablespoon neem oil

1 teaspoon peppermint oil

In a double boiler on the stove or in a glass bowl in the microwave, melt together cocoa butter, coconut oil, and beeswax just until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in neem oil and peppermint oil. Pour into container and let cool overnight. Massage this foot cream on rough, dry soles before you go to bed, and cover with cotton socks. You’ll love your feet in the morning!

The original recipe used shea butter instead of cocoa butter. I already had the cocoa butter so I substituted it for the shea butter.

If you can only find beeswax in a bar instead of easy-to-measure chips, simply grate the beeswax for easier handling.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy these recipes. I’m looking forward to using them to revive my feet during the upcoming busy holiday season! I have a couple of friends who work in retail and the holidays really take a toll on their feet and legs. I plan on making a couple jars of the Foot Cream for them for Christmas and adding Epsom Salts mixed with the oils along with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary in their Christmas baskets.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Chicken and Vegetables in Teriyaki Sauce over Rice

3 tablespoons bottled teriyaki sauce, separated

1 cup chicken broth, dry white wine or water, separated

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 cup broccoli flowerets

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooked rice

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, ¾ cup chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce. Sauté until cooked through and starting to brown. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sauté over medium high heat until onions become translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add parsley and ¼ chicken broth. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Add more chicken broth if needed. Add broccoli flowerets. Cover and simmer until broccoli is lightly steams, about 2 minutes. Add teriyaki, chicken broth, cornstarch mixture, whisking as you pour. Stir well to coat meat and vegetable with sauce. Simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

Notes:

• This is a very simple meal that shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to prepare.
• Be sure to chop all of your ingredients ahead of time to make the actual cooking process a lot easier.
• Bottled teriyaki sauces can be high in sodium, so I don’t use it in large amounts. Adding teriyaki to the meat while sautéing gives the meat a nice flavor without overpowering the whole dish. You also get a lot of flavor from the vegetables, herbs, and broth.
• Teriyaki sauces come in a wide variety. If you happen to have a nice, thick, strong-flavored teriyaki sauce, you may want to consider cutting back to 2 tablespoons instead of 3, so the flavor of the vegetables comes through as well. Most grocery store teriyaki sauces are pretty watered down so 3 tablespoons should be just right.

Menu Plan Monday, 10/11

We have a really full schedule this week so the meals are simple and some are portable. I am grateful that my family is fine eating sandwiches for dinner on crazy days.

Are you at a loss for what to make this week? Check out some ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for Week of 10/11/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast, and/or corn flakes

Lunch

Hubby takes a sandwich, potato chips, fruit, celery and carrot sticks, pickles and a gallon of ice water to work with him for lunch. This might seem like a lot, but he doesn’t have access to snacks during the day like the rest of us. I just pack a little extra in his lunch bag to get him through the long afternoon stretch. The rest of us either eat a sandwich and fruit or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – PB and J or Vegetable Pita Sandwiches

Fruit of the week – Apples or pears

Dinner

Monday – Baked Chicken with potatoes and veggies

Tuesday – Sandwiches (It’s a crazy day so dinner has to be simple and grab as you go!)

Wednesday – Breakfast for dinner (Because we have a steady supply of fresh eggs from our backyard chickens, we usually have breakfast for dinner once a week)

Thursday – Chili, baked potatoes, and cornbread

Friday – Chicken and vegetables in a teriyaki sauce over rice

Saturday – Chicken sandwiches and tossed salad (Another on-the-go kind of day, so we’ll be eating out of the cooler.)

Sunday – I have no idea. It’s my birthday and anniversary so dinner is up to hubby today! Yeah!!

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by! As you can see, we’ll be eating a lot of simple meals and sandwiches this week. It can’t be helped. The Hillsborough County Fair is this week and Colleen has entered one of her rabbits and some strawberry jam, Jared entered an ornament he made, and they convinced me to enter some peach jam and peach salsa. Unfortunately, that means a few trips to Tampa this week and some timing issues. No worries.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Microwave Popcorn

Anyone who’s known me for more than about five minutes knows that I’m not a fan of the microwave. Oh, sure it can be a nice convenience, but, to me, a microwave is more of an annoyance. It takes up a lot of space, is a pain to clean, and has serious limitations in the cooking department. When our last microwave died, I refused to spend the money on what I considered nothing more than a big, bulky popcorn maker, and since I won’t buy microwave popcorn anymore, I didn’t see any reason to get another one. Then my husband got one for free, so I have a microwave cluttering up my kitchen, again.

Now, I should explain why I don’t buy microwave popcorn anymore. First, it’s way too salty for my taste. Second, it goes from barely popped to burned in about an eighth of a second. Third, I don’t know what diacetyl is, but it sure doesn’t sound like anything that belongs in my popcorn which should consist of nothing more than corn, butter, and salt.

For a while, I was making it on the stove in a wok. That worked out fairly well except that it was a lot greasier than we like. I fiddled with the process a bit, but still wasn’t happy with the results. I don't like heavy popcorn. So, we haven’t been enjoying much popcorn these days. Until I found a neat, new idea: microwave popcorn. We can make popcorn in the microwave without the fancy, chemical laden bags.

Place 1/3 to ½ cup of popcorn kernels in a paper lunch sack. Fold the top over a couple of times, leaving plenty of popping room. Place the sack in the microwave and cook like you would the store-bought bags.

I set my microwave for three minutes and took it out when it seemed to stop popping. I dumped the fluffy popcorn in a big bowl and tossed it with a little melted butter and salt. It was really good! I was shocked that it worked. And, since the bag didn’t have any salt or butter on it, it can make its way to the composter.

I originally used ½ cup of kernels, and that amount really pushed the limits of the bag. I suggest only using 1/3 of a cup. Also, I buy my popcorn from a bulk foods store for 70 cents a pound. When you add in the bag, salt, and butter, our big bowl of fresh popcorn cost lest than fifty cents!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll try this idea. I admit I was skeptical. I really didn’t think it would work. Shockingly, it really does.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Peach Barbecue Sauce

Peach Barbecue Sauce

Makes about eight 8-ounce jars.

6 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 ¼ cup honey

¾ cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons salt

Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

Combine all ingredients in a large, stainless steel Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about 25 minutes or until mixture is thickened slightly. Stir frequently.

Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar, and screw ring down until finger tight.

Place jars in canner. Be sure jars are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Peach Salsa

We love this interesting mixture of sweet and spicy! Apparently, so did the judging committee at the Hillsborough County Fair who gave this recipe the Best in Show ribbon.

For more kick, use more jalapeno peppers. For an added layer of texture, substitute half of the peaches with 2 cups of diced firm ripe pears.

Peach Salsa

4 cups tomatoes, cored, peeled, chopped

4 cups peaches, pitted, peeled, chopped, treated to prevent browning

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup onion, diced

3 to 4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped

½ cup cilantro, loosely packed and finely chopped

½ cup honey

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Prepare canners, jars, and lids.

In a large, stainless steel Dutch oven, combine tomatoes, peaches, red peppers, onion, and jalapeno peppers. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add cilantro, honey, lemon zest and juice, and vinegar. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until finger tight.

Place jars in water bath canner. Jars must be completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process half-pints for 15 minutes and pints for 20 minutes. Remove lid, and wait 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool overnight, and store.

Notes:

• Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar can be substituted for the apple cider vinegar.
• This salsa is not only excellent with tortilla chips but is also a great way to liven up grilled meats.

Peaches

My favorite produce stand recently had a great deal on peaches. The deal was so good, that I ended up getting about 60 pounds of peaches. So, what does one do with 60 pounds of peaches? Well….

From left to right: Peach jam, Peach BBQ Sauce, Special Spiced Peach Jam, Cranberry Pepper Jelly, Peach Salsa

With 60 pounds of peaches, I made peach jam, spiced peach jam, peach salsa, peach BBQ sauce, peach syrup, five gallons of peach wine, and one gallon of peach mead (which, technically, isn’t a mead, but a melomel, but that’s a subject for a whole ‘nother blog!). I even froze a few pounds to use later in smoothies, syrups, or more jam.

Canning isn’t as much work as most people think it is. Some recipes are more involved than others, but for the most part putting up jams and salsas is a pretty simple process. Usually, the most time consuming step is washing, peeling, slicing, and dicing the ingredients. When you use fresh produce, at some point you have to do all or most of those steps anyway. So, canning isn’t really any more work than cooking a meal. It just get’s a bad reputation because most people who can their food are canning enough to get through a whole year. Now, filling up your pantry with the end-of-season harvest does take a big chunk of time and energy. But taking advantage of a good price at the produce stand and putting up a few jars of something special doesn’t take much time at all.

I hope to add basic canning instructions to the site, soon. For now, I’ve added the recipes I used on all those peaches. By the way, I always can with Christmas in mind. That means I make an extra batch of half-pints that I give as gifts at Christmas time. This way, by the time Christmas comes, I have a nice assortment of goodies to put in baskets for all of my friends. Homemade preserves make wonderful, heartfelt gifts!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Peach Jam

Peach Jam

Jams need a lot of stirring while cooking. Be sure to prepare and measure the ingredients before cooking and keep them within reach.

5 cups sugar, separated

1 package regular powdered pectin*

4 cups peeled, pitted, chopped peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon butter (optional)**

Prepare canner jars and lids.

Measure sugar into a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup of the measured sugar with the pectin.

In a large, stainless steel Dutch oven, combine peaches and lemon juice. Stir in pectin mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add butter. Add sugar all at once, stirring constantly. Return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center the lid on the jar, and twist ring onto jar until tight. Be careful not to over tighten.

Place jars in water bath canner. Jars must be completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove lid, and wait 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Variations:

Low Sugar Peach Jam: Replace the regular pectin with low or no sugar powdered pectin, and decrease the sugar to 2 to 3 cups. Prepare as directed above.

Spiced Peach Jam: Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Prepare as directed above.

Special Spiced Peach Jam: This spicy version of the original recipe has a little more bite than the Spiced Peach Jam and is much darker in color. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves to the original or low sugar recipe. Prepare as directed above.

Notes:

* Not all powdered pectin is created equal. Check the recipe insert for any special cooking instructions that pertain to the pectin you’re using. Sure-Jell only needs 1 minute of boiling to set up a nice firm jam. Ball pectin needs about 3 minutes. To test whether you jam is ready for ladling, spoon about a tablespoon of jam onto a small saucer. Place the saucer in the freezer for a couple of second. Run you finger through the middle of the jam. If it holds its shape, it’s ready for the jars. If it’s still running, boil the jam for another minute and test again.

**The butter is optional. However, I recommend you add it. The purpose of this little bit of butter is to cut down on the foam that you have to scrape, and it really works. 

Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming;

The goose is getting fat,

Please, to put a penny in the old man’s hat…

Yes, I know. It’s only October, and I’m singing Christmas Carols already. Actually, I was singing them back in August. Don’t tell anyone.

So, why do I embrace the holiday spirit so early? Well, first off, I love Christmas time! The lights, the music, the yummy smells! What’s not to love?! I mean, really, how can you not smile when you hear those oh-so-familiar chords of the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas or the Muppets’ rendition of anything!? How can you not get a little whimsical while wandering through neighborhood displays of twinkling lights, mangers, reindeer, and sleighs? Don’t you step back in time just a little bit when you smell cinnamon and sugar baked into tempting, tasty confections just like your mother or grandmother used to make? Like I said, “What’s not to love!?”

My guess is you cringe at the thought of Christmas because of the stress: the hustle and bustle and seriously lacking goodwill towards men of holiday shopping. Which brings me to my second reason why I embrace the holidays so early: I hate shopping! I am definitely not a fan of the whole put-yourself-into-debt-because-it’s-Christmas philosophy adopted by so many people these days. We also live on a very tight, very simple budget. There really isn’t anything extra at the holidays. My husband is self-employed. There are no Christmas bonuses, holiday overtime, or even a free Thanksgiving turkey. Our lack of money should be enough for me to loathe the coming holidays; however, my complete inability to choose good gifts far outweighs my inability to pay for them.

I never was very good at choosing good gifts. Oh, I’d get lucky from time to time, and I’m pretty good at picking good gifts for my husband and kids, but I live with them so they’re easy. It’s everyone else that always tripped me up. I’d have a great idea for a gift for a dear friend or extended family member, and inevitably, I’d either talk myself out of it, someone else would buy it first, or the dear friend or family member would buy it for themselves. The other thing that would happen to me while Christmas shopping is that somewhere between getting my bright idea for the perfect gift and entering the store, my bright idea would take a vacation. Notice that I didn’t say my bright idea disappeared. I couldn’t get that lucky. No, my best ideas would merely wander off for a quick trip to Tahiti and return just in time for me to slap my forehead on January 2^nd.

So, why do I suddenly love the holidays and start ushering them in even before summer’s last sunset? I got organized. By the way, organization is NOT a dirty word, and it’s not crazy. And for the record, planning ahead for Christmas actually saves you time, money, and a whole lot of stress!

Here are some very helpful resources to get you ready for a stress-free holiday season:

Flylady’s Cruising Through the Holidays

I’m a Frugal Girl’s Christmas Stress Management

The Old Schoolhouse’s Digital Holiday Supplement

By the way, all of these resources are free! Remember, even if you only make one stress-relieving change this year, you’ll notice the difference.

Thanks for stopping by! Time for me to check over my lists. I am not an extreme organizer. That would stress me out more than racing around the stores on December 24^th! I’m a relaxed organizer, but I still appreciate how being even a little organized during the holidays has made the Christmas season a lot more fun for me and my family. And with all that mental clutter gone, I really feel a lot freer to focus on the beautiful gift of Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty