Category: Food

Reusable Grocery Bags

- Groovy Mom 3 Comments

Another day in the land of Grocery Shopping…

Last week I buckled down and did some BIG shopping at the store I specifically use for BIG shopping. Frank was working overtime and we were in desperate need of some groceries. I had to be done. I didn’t have all the elements set for a large shopping adventure (missing: meal plan and list – and husband or helper to push 2nd cart), but I had time, some money and the kids were all in school. That counts for something.

I grabbed every reusable bag I could find in my van (missed 2 actually) and headed in the store. Woodmans doesn’t have the best paper bags (no handles), and when you’re loading oodles of bags in the car and carrying them into your home, handles are nice. ‘Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a Woodman’s bag rip in my arms as I lug it into my house.

I tried to keep a mental note of what I wanted, what I needed and what I could stand to stock up on. I took my time, which was an indulgence I don’t always have. I could spend 5 minutes comparing prices on toilet paper, if it tickled my fancy. Lucky me. Normally I’ve got at least a couple kids and a husband in tow. Between the Can I get _______ and Hey look at this!! I get very little done and always end up spending more than intended and having not a whole lot to show for it.

About 3/4 through the store, about the time when I hit the meat and dairy isles, my cart was about to explode. I tried to balance the 2 jugs of vinegar, 2 bags of rice and 4 gallons of milk in precarious places, but had to move the cart so slowly it was ridiculous. Even at the slow pace I lost an item every 10 feet. A man walked by me as I picked up my milk and said, Why you need 2 carts. I laughed and blathered something about my husband being the 2nd cart pusher and hewasatwork, blabla, laugh laugh, curse under breath.

And then I gave in and made the turtle-walk to the other end of the store to grab my second cart. I needed it if I were to:

1.) Make it out of the store without killing a gallon or two of milk
2.) Finish my shopping, getting what I needed

I transferred some items from Cart 1 to Cart 2 and finished out my trip in the frozen foods and bottle drinks section, then made my way to the checkout line. I wondered if I’d have enough bags, and then for a split second, wondered if I’d have enough money. I wanted to stay under $400, and it was looking close. Usually I can guess within $10 of the total, but my mind was to weary to even try that day.

I checked the total after the first cart and it was low enough that I was safe to continue on my second cart. I was fearing the big “$400” but hoped for a lower amount. Total? $300. Score. $300 was just dandy. And I only went over my wonderful reusable bag limit by 2 bags.

“Drive up?” They ask.

“Nope.” Momma likes a challenge.

Wouldn’t you know when I got to the car, there were 2 more reusable bags that I had missed? Perfect!! I double-bagged my handle-less paper bags into the reusable ones, emptied 2 carts full of groceries into my van and headed home, hoping Lootie would be there to meet (and help me carry the groceries in) me. Sure enough he was. God love the kid, he’s a workhorse (not to mention he’s happy to see groceries come into our house). He helped carry them up for me with no complaints.

Some of our groceries:

Deflated bags:

I finally got to use my Earthbound Farms bag. I had a couple Bratfest bags thrown in there as well. But I have to say, as far as reusable grocery bags go, the Whole Foods bags are my favorite. I use them before any others. They’re only $1 each, too, when many I’ve seen sell for 3x that (or more). I love my reusable bags. Only drawback of using the recyclable bags is the lack of paper bags to put our household recyclables in.

Pumpkin Bread

- Groovy Mom Leave a comment

In reference to the banana bread post and the addition of molasses. I should clarify – it isn’t that there is molasses in the recipe, but that I make my own brown sugar by combining molasses and raw sugar.

MAKE YOUR OWN BROWN SUGAR
1T. Blackstrap Molasses
1C. sugar (I use finely ground raw turbinado sugar, you can use white instead)

Mix, mix, mix until you have – ¡voila! brown sugar.

So that’s my secret, of which it is not, really, a secret.

Of coarse, being the weather teased of fall, it was necessary to make more bread. This time I made pumpkin chocolate chip. I did take pictures, but they were all terrible and my family eats pumpkin bread too fast for me to try and get any others (unless a cakeplate full of pumpkin bread crumbs would suffice). You can make pumpkin bread, with your banana bread recipe. Just sub out the bananas for pumpkin, add some nutmeg & cloves, and there you go. It smells heavenly and tastes like autumn. Throw in a handful or two of chocolate chips and you have a real treat.

Tonight I made meatloaf (beef, breadcrumbs, onions, shredded carrots, chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne), acorn squash (halved, 1T. butter whipped with 1T. maple syrup dash of salt and pepper, smeared on the halves – don’t forget to scoop out the seeds first – put in oven at the same time as my 3-pound meatloaf, cooked on 350 for about 90 minutes), salad and hunks of Italian bread. Very good, relatively simple comfort food. Yum.

Banana Bread Joy

- Groovy Mom 6 Comments

I love the smell of fresh baked breads, muffins, cookies, pies, soups. The real deal, too, not an apple-cinnamon candle burning away on a shelf. Today I decided to bake some banana bread, not for the craving of it, but mostly just for the warm, cozy feel it gives to a home. Having a bunch of browning bananas sealed the deal.

As I measured flour, poured molasses, beat bananas, I gave thought to the joy little things like making bread give me. I miss the freedom of being a stay-at-home mom. I miss focusing on my family, being able to fill the house with delicious scents on a near daily basis. I would be perfectly happy not working, and managing a household. I would never claim to be the best at household management, but it is definitely something that I desire naturally. Sometimes it is still hard for me to believe that only a little over a year ago I was a stay-at-home(maker) mom.

We ate less convenience foods then, and I had more time to meal-plan, grocery shop and clean. But, I also figured, since we needed more money and I did not have any solid experience in the workplace, it was a good idea to get a job, put some experience under my belt and make some money. It was either get a job and make money, or go to school and finish out my degree. When a job with decent hours, decent pay and a workload that seemed to fit the bill, I decided to grab it and forgo school (even though I had been accepted back into the program).

As far as simplifying my life goes, I’m not sure I accomplished that by choosing work over school. Though I’m not sure either choice would have simplified life, anyways. But as I made banana bread, I reflected on what was important to me “career-wise” and began to evaluate if I was making the best decision. I have no answer. But I did make some absolutely divine banana bread. Which, as the day goes, was simply a good decision.

Revolution Tea

- Groovy Mom Leave a comment

I would call myself a “coffee drinker.” But I also very much enjoy tea. So I’m maybe a 75/25 coffee/tea drinker. One of my favorite teas is Rooibos. I also like Earl Grey (Rishi is one of my favorites). Another interesting twist on the Earl Grey is this one:

Revolution’s Earl Grey Lavender tea.

Revolution Tea’s award-winning Earl Grey Lavender adds a unique twist to a popular favorite. Ceylon, Oolong and Darjeeling estate tea leaves are lightly flavored with Oil of Bergamot and combined with super blue lavender to create a wonderful, sweet tea.

It is a lighter Earl Grey than Rishi’s, with a wonderful lavender accent. A very unique tea. I love it with breakfast or alone for a drink. I feel like I’m indulging in something special whenever I drink it.

I know a lot of people have raved about Adagio teas, but I have not tried them, so I can’t compare. But, as far as Earl Grey goes, Rishi and Revolution have made me a happy tea-drinker.

Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole

- Groovy Mom 4 Comments

I had all intentions of making Stuffed Green Peppers. But, time ran away from me. And the peppers were beginning to give me the now or never look. So I improvised. And it was good. So I wanted to make sure I wrote down what I did so that I could do it again.

“Stuffed” Green Pepper Casserole

A double portion of Hillbilly Housewifes’ Yellow Rice Mix (prepared)
7-8 green (red, too would be pretty) peppers, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about the size of a quarter)
1 medium onion chopped into dime-sized pieces
1 pound ground turkey or beef, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese (more if you’re a cheese-lover)
1tsp. of garlic powder (couple shakes)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare rice as directed (best would be to prepare the day before and it be cooled, but we’ll take what we can get). Place peppers, onions and tomatoes in a casserole dish, sprinkle with salt & pepper, garlic; stir. Mix in turkey/beef and yellow rice to the vegetables; top with shredded cheese. Cover and bake @ 350 for about 30min. Remove cover and bake until cheese is golden and bubbly. Server with some biscuits.

All the flavor of stuffed peppers, but less of the fuss.

Five Minute Cake-In-A-Cup

- Groovy Mom 5 Comments

Be warned, this is dangerous… In the instant gratification kind of way. It is probably a good thing I don’t have a microwave. Recipe is from dizzy-dee.com.

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:
Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Spoon in 1 egg. Pour in milk and oil, and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt). Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

I’d probably top this sucker off with some whipped cream and call it delish. If anyone tries it, lemme know.

Quick And Easy Beef Stew

- Groovy Mom 2 Comments

I threw this together last night and it was very tasty. We all weren’t eating, so I don’t know if it would have served our whole family of seven. It possibly could have with 7 1-cup servings.

1.5 pounds of beef (for stew, or some beef cut up), browned
2 carrots
2 stalks of chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 potatoes (I used red ones), cut into bite-sized pieces
pinch of garlic (I used dehydrated)
1 small can of V-8
1 large (32oz. I believe) container of chicken stock
1.5 c. water
salt and pepper to taste
*1T. cornstarch to thicken (optional)

Place browned meat in soup pot on medium heat. Add stock, water and V-8. Stir continue to heat. In separate pan, saute onion and celery; add to soup pot. Cut carrots in bite-sized coins; add to soup pot. Add garlic, salt and pepper. I simmered this for about 1hr, loosely covered (or until vegetables are soft). Serve with a thick slice of yummy bread. *I added 1T flour to mine (preferred cornstarch but couldn’t find), to thicken it a bit.

Easy!!

Blackthumb

- Groovy Mom 2 Comments

Such a beautiful weekend. We were outside as much as possible, just soaking in the fresh air. I did a very small bit of yardwork, but found my interest waning rather quickly. My yard isn’t very inspiring. We’d like to plant a garden this year. Something we can feast off of through the summer. Suggestions welcome. Just a note, though: I have blackthumb and plants tend to wither under my care. Even mint, which is supposed to just “overwhelm your yard/garden” has succumbed to the murderous touch of my hand. My pride and glory is chives. For some reason I didn’t kill my chives and they come back every year. I use them, too. They’re a yummy addition to an omelette. Mmm.

Frank planted some garlic last fall; hoping those sprout up. I’d like to grow some tomatoes, maybe some lettuce and peppers. Pumpkins would be cool. Maybe beans? I need a Gardening for Blackthumbs book. Sigh. I so very much love veggies and the idea of growing some delicious foods right in our backyard. Everything is getting so expensive; especially good fruits and vegetables.

—–

A recipe worth trying:

Ol’ Settler’s Beans
(from Large Family Logistics)

Brown together and drain the fat off:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. chopped bacon
1 onion

Add:
1/2 c catsup
1/2 c honey
1/2 c BBQ sauce
3 t dry mustard
1/2 t chili powder
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
4 quarts of cooked beans (red, butter, navy, pinto, black, etc.)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or in crockpot on low for 4 hours.

Looks simple and would be right up my families ally. Mmm.

Mom’s Best Naturals

- Groovy Mom 1 Comment

Mom’s Best Cereal Yesterday we went shopping and I loaded up on some Mom’s Best Naturals cereals. They don’t do a lot of advertising, which is why I’d like to give them props, getting the word out as cheaply as possible, so they don’t suddenly disappear from our store shelves or raise their prices.

Mom’s Best Cereals are cheaper and have better ingredients (no preservatives, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or flavors) than most of their popular counterparts. And if you haven’t noticed —  cereal is getting expensive, yo. With 5 kids eating cereal in the house, we spend a lot on cereal. Sometimes one of our local chain grocers will have decent deals on cereal, but it is usually the high-sugared kinds and we try to refrain from buying those.  You can read more about Mom’s Best Cereal’s here; and if you see them in the store, give ’em a try. For the first time I saw they made instant oatmeal, too. We generally make it the old-fashioned way, but instant is nice when you need the convenience of something fast.

Money saving coupon here, although I couldn’t get mine to print out.