Tofu, Anyone?

Last week I was perusing the grocery store when I came across some organic tofu that was 50% off. I had never tried tofu. I didn't even know where to look for tofu until that day. Since I love a bargain and I've heard it's good for you, I decided to get some. I got home and thought "What do I do with it?"

I poked around the internet and found a few recipes that looked good. The lasagne sounded really good, but I'll have to pick up a few ingredients before I try it. I decided to try a grilled tofu sandwich and a tofu stir-fry.

For the tofu sandwich (this was NOT gluten-free), I placed two slices of bread on a cookie sheet. I spread a little mayo on each piece. I then put tomato slices on one piece and tofu slices on the other. I sprinkled a little sea salt on the tomatoes and a little garlic powder on the tofu. Under the broiler it went. It was pretty good, although I couldn't taste the tofu. Is that good or bad? The garlic and tomatoes made a nice combination. It might be good with a little Parmesan cheese.

For the stir-fry (gluten-free), I kinda cheated and used a bag of Asian-style frozen vegetables from the grocery store. I sliced the tofu into cubes. Then I heated some olive oil, sauteed the veggies, again with sea salt and garlic powder, then sauteed the tofu. It was ok, but nothing outstanding. I could taste the tofu a little more, but it's pretty bland.

Do you have some good tofu recipes you're willing to share?

Junk Food in Disguise

I like to feed my family home-cooked meals and give my kids healthy snacks. Yes, we like to have our cake (or brownies, cookies, ice cream, pie, etc.) and eat it, too, but we don't make a daily ritual of it. Since I'm home with the kids all day it's easier for me to dish up from-scratch meals than if I had a paying job, but sometimes we find ourselves having oatmeal or scrambled eggs and toast for supper.

There are times when the kids have eaten all the grapes and cottage cheese and we've had apples for 4 days straight and I'm looking around for something for them to snack on. I can always find raisins in the pantry, but most people like a little variety - my kids are no different - so I keep an eye out for non perishable snacks.

I don't think all parents buy junk food on purpose. Sure, there are parents who don't care. But some people just don't think about checking the label. I wasn't raised to read the ingredients. It's a habit I've gotten into over the years. There are times you have to give a product more than a cursory glance to know exactly what you're getting. I happen to have 2 packages of "fruit snacks" marketed for preschoolers. They were given to us and have been sitting in the pantry for a while.

A glance at the first shows "Fruit Snacks. Made with REAL FRUIT." Looks good, right? Here are the ingredients: juice from concentrates, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, fruit puree, gelatin, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavor, ascorbic acid, coconut oil, sodium citrate, carnauba wax, tocopherol acetate, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, vitamin A. There are 15 g of sugar in one serving. The second says "Juice treats. Naturally flavored." The first two ingredients are corn syrup and sugar and there are 17 g of sugar in one serving. Why would I give these to my children?

So in addition to raisins, I've been trying to keep other dried fruits on hand: things like dates, papayas, apricots, and pineapple. I've also found fruit leathers. I like these kinds of snacks because you can store them for an extended amount of time in the pantry (stock up when they're on sale) and they're easy to throw in a bag before you head out the door.

Pop, Pop, Fizz, Fizz

I don't drink many soft drinks. Once in a while I'll have a ginger ale or root beer and, on those rare occasions, I look for the drinks with all natural ingredients. My brother-in-law came across some fizzy drinks I have to tell you about (if you haven't already discovered them). I think he found them at Big Lots. My father-in-law then went searching for them and found some other flavors.

Some are made by Santa Cruz; these are all organic. They found Ginger Ale, Lemon Lime, Raspberry Lemonade, and Root Beer. So far I've tried Ginger Ale, Raspberry Lemonade, and Root Beer.

The others are made by R. W. Knudsen. These aren't organic, but they have natural ingredients and no added sugar. They found Lemon Lime (80% fruit juice), Orange Passionfruit (85% fruit juice), Jamaican Lemonade (90% fruit juice), Ginger Ale (80% fruit juice), Boysenberry (100% fruit juice), Cranberry (100% fruit juice), and Raspberry (100% fruit juice). When the can says "100% fruit juice" they've added enough sparkling filtered water to reconstitute the juices. Of these I've tried Orange Passionfruit and Raspberry.

I particularly enjoyed the drinks with fruit flavors. The ginger ale and root beer were good, but if you prefer a bite to your ginger ale or a LOT of fizz to your root beer, you might be disappointed.

All the drinks I've tasted were mildly fizzy with a light flavor. They also didn't feel heavy in my stomach, if that makes sense. Another bonus: each 6-pack was $2.00. That's only $0.33 per can!

Happy Birthday Rachel

Today's the day to wish our very own Rachel a most wondrous and bliss filled birthday!

Happy Birthday Rachel! We are all so grateful for you =D

Appliance Rebates

Just in case you haven't heard, you may be able to get a rebate for replacing an old, functional appliance with a new energy-efficient one. Rebates (ranging from $45 to $1600, depending on the appliance) are available for refrigerators, freezers, room air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, central air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, and hot water heaters.

You need to reserve your rebate beginning April 7 at 7:00 am. You can apply for up to 2 per address, but they have to be in different appliance categories. You must purchase your appliance from April 16 through April 25 (April 16 through 60 days from reservation or waitlist request for central AC, heat pumps, and hot water heaters). You can get a $75 bonus rebate for properly recycling your old appliance.

Texas Rebate Guide LOTS of info here.
Eligible Appliances Here you'll find links to qualified models for each appliance category.

Once a Month Cooking

(aka Freezer Cooking)

I just read about this and I love the idea. Basically you cook a bunch of food in one day, freeze it, then eat it throughout the month. This should save you time and money.

Save time: Instead of spending an hour or two every evening preparing supper, you set aside a day (or two) to do LOTS of cooking, assembling, and freezing. (It's just as easy to cook two chickens as it is to cook one. The same principle applies to hamburger meat, pork chops, and many other things.) Then you can just grab a meal from your freezer, thaw it, and pop it in the oven. This should free up some time each evening for you to play with your kids, talk with your husband, or read a book.

Save money: Almost always the unit price is cheaper when you buy in bulk. But if you throw half of the food out because it went bad before you could eat it all, you haven't saved any money by buying the economy-size package. With OAMC (once a month cooking), you can buy that 10-lb package of hamburger meat, knowing it'll be used to make meatballs, meatloaf, and spaghetti. You also won't have to order pizza or swing by the drive-thru for supper when you know you've got supper thawing in the fridge.

Even if I never get to the point where I have 30 meals in my freezer, I can use these ideas on a small scale to make my life a little easier. I can make a double batch of lasagne (or soup or chicken casserole, etc.) and freeze half of it. I think I'll try cooking and freezing a week's worth of meals and work my way up to a month. I'll have to see how many freezer-friendly recipes I have. I'm sure I'll have to add some new ones to my collection. I'll share them with you if I find some good ones.

In the meantime, here are a few websites to help you get started.
Once a Month Cooking World
Freezer Cooking
Momsbudget.com

Reusing and Recycling in the Garden

Spring is here! (Although you couldn't tell it yesterday when it was snowing.) It's time to be gardening. I've been doing a little, but I hope to do more. I did get my tomato and pepper plants put in last week. I had to cover them up before the snow came, but they all survived. I use plastic milk jugs that have had their bottoms cut off to protect them. The plants are small enough that these work perfectly. I had these left from last year and will store them in case I need them next year. If they get crushed or ruined I can recycle them. I read about cutting them into strips to use as plant labels, but I haven't actually done it. I usually just plant my seeds, try to remember what I put where, and get a surprise when they sprout.

I use livestock panels to support my tomato plants. I've been using them for years and will be able to use them for years to come. I also use them for cucumbers, beans, and peas. I've also used cane poles that I cut beside the road to our property. I've used pantyhose with runs in them to tie the tomato plants to the panels, but I don't wear pantyhose much anymore so I usually use plain ol' twine.

I read about using egg shells to start seeds that dislike transplanting. I haven't tried this - I toss all my egg shells into my "compost bucket" - but I love the idea. I've used the peat pellets, but they didn't decompose as quickly as I expected. When you get ready to transplant your seedlings, you crush the egg shell a little (so the roots can grow), then plant the whole thing. What I don't know is how you water the seeds and seedlings while they're in the shells without drowning the little fellas.

Of course composting is a great way to recycle kitchen scraps. I keep a "compost bucket" on the counter by the sink. It's just a plastic bowl with a lid. I throw apple cores, egg shells, orange peels, etc. into the bowl, then dump the contents on my compost pile when it starts to get full.

How do you reuse and recycle in your garden?