Wish list

I'm having a difficult day so I figured I'd make a list of things I'd like.. maybe that will help?

*Cotton Wovens to make myself skirts
*Knitting needles (16": size 5,7,8.. Options tips, size 7,8,9)
*Lotion
*Pioneer Woman Cooks
*Pioneer Woman Choreganizers
*Anna's Hope necklace
*More of the square leftover containers

My to-cook list..

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/09/slow-cooker-orange-chicken-recipe.html

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-sweet-and-sour-tofu.html

Colleen's yummy pumpkin chocolate cake. Super easy and so good (cant even taste the pumpkin) Mix chocolate fudge cake mix with 15oz can of pumpin (nothing else). Put in bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/garlic-shrimp-in-coconut-milk-tomatoes.html (Alle says this is awesome)

Strawberry Lemon Marmalade http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/all_recipes/215.php?recipe=55&recipID=211&catID=

http://www.countryhomecanning.com/Canning_Strawberry_Jam.html

Apple peel/core jelly! http://www.recipelink.com/mf/20/7379

Mmm peanut free peanut sauce: http://www.paleoplan.com/2009/12-03/satay-chicken-skewers-with-peanut-sauce/

Garlic Butternut Squash

It's official. I love cooking. I especially love cooking when the end result makes my mouth water for more and I know it's good for me too. How awesome is that? Here's a new recipe.. it's sitting on my stove right now. You have to try it. Even if you don't like butternut squash.. TRY IT. Pete doesn't like butternut squash and he loves this.

Garlic Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese + 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. Parsley (fresh is better)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped (I use the already chopped stuff from the grocery store)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 lbs* butternut squash

Directions:
1. Peel and cut the squash into ~1" cubes. Like I said.. no exact science here.
2. Combine 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Add squash and mix it around until it seems like it's all .. mixed.
4. Spread in an ungreased 9x12 pan (I think mine is non-stick, but it's not well cared for non-stick, so is it really non-stick anymore?)
5. Sprinkle 1/2 c. (or more!) parmesan cheese over the top of it
6. Bake at 400 degrees. Cooking time will vary depending on how close to 1" cubes you cut the squash. I checked mine every 15 minutes or so.. it took ~45 minutes to be nice and squishy.
7. This step is important. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan and flip the pieces around so the nice crispy brown parts are all mixed in. Mmmmm...

*HA! I say that like it's an exact science. I used 3 smallish squash that came in our CSA box. I have no clue how much it weighed, but the end result filled the bottom of my 9x12 pan. Can I say, "However much fills the bottom of your pan" in the ingredients list?

Lentil Chili

Pete says this Chili doesn't feel that spicy when you're eating it but it certainly has some heat because he was sweating by the time he was done with his bowl. I like spicy food but not burning spice and this was perfect. For some reason every time I cook lentils I feel amazing for at least a week afterward. Maybe lentils have something in them that my body craves? I don't know, but this recipe makes a massive amount of Chili. Be prepared to eat it for weeks, or freeze some for later!

Lentil Chili
(easily serves 12 adults)

Ingredients:
2 quarts water
1 lb dry lentils (rinsed and sorted, NOT soaked)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
4 c. chopped onions
2 c. chopped carrots
2 c. chopped celery
1 head garlic, chopped (approx. 10 cloves)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 Tbsp. chili powder
3 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot (I mean LARGE - this makes a lot of chili!) Saute onions and garlic in the oil until tender.
2. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper and stir until it is well combined. (If you add them now it is much easier to get all the spice mixed in to the entire chili.)
3. Add lentils, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes and again stir until well combined, then pour in the water.
4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in carrots and celery then continue cooking 25 minutes or until lentils, carrots, and celery are tender.
6. Serve as is or pour over rice. Mmmm!

Other option: Put all ingredients except oil in a LARGE crock pot (this recipe is too much for mine) and cook on low for ~8 hours.

After picture

Here is my "after picture" of the pantry. It looks much more empty, right? I'm so proud we did it last month. So far this month I'm doing pretty good too. Tonight I made an amazing Lentil Chili. Don't worry, the recipe is coming.. right now I need to get to bed though.

Here's a link to the starter pictures, in case you want to compare.. Starter Pictures!

Better Carrot Zucchini Muffins

I have pictures of the empty pantry to share, I just need to take a moment to upload them. I'm so proud of us!

I can't seem to leave any recipe alone.. this version of the Carrot Zucchini muffins tastes so much better than the all recipes one.

Carrot Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. grated unpeeled zucchini
1 1/2 c. grated carrot
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a large bowl until well blended.
3. Stir together eggs, applesauce, brown sugar, zucchini, carrots, and vanilla until well combined.
4.Add the flour mixture, stirring just until blended.
Pour the batter into muffin wrappers and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Day 29: Almost there!

Tonight I made Carrot Zucchini muffins. I would suggest using a little more applesauce because mine were sort of dry and the baking time was much shorter because I made muffins. Mmm, yum! I have officially made enough bread and cookies to have used two 5 pound bags of flour this month. I'm so excited, it's kind of funny. The best part? I'm going to use a whole bunch more making muffins to bring to Carver next weekend.

I have officially started making a grocery shopping list. I'm not planning to go until September 5th or 6th, but I figured it would be a good idea to start a running list of the items we've run out of that I need to replace. Some may need to be purchased sooner so I can make those muffins, like applesauce and brown sugar.

I can't believe the month is almost over. We did it! I know I'm celebrating early, but oh well. I've started cooking a whole lot more and am much more willing to modify and play with recipes than I have ever been. I'm hoping September will bring more experimentation and homemade meals. Maybe I'll even try making our own pasta.

I guess the one thing I did fail at was writing in the blog every day, but I'm not too worried about that. I did lose the laptop and so have had much less computer time.

Day 26: Woohoo WIC!

Today was my WIC appointment and even though they forgot to give me my ID (again.. sigh..) I'm still excited. We have cereal! We have cheese! We have fresh fruits and veggies! I'm so very excited. I also spend $11 and change on honey, butter, and orange juice. Pete drank all the OJ that I was supposed to use in the rolls, so I had to get more. Oh well, still not bad to have kept the grocery budget under $50 this month.

I think I just might go get myself a bowl of cereal right now. Mmmm....

Day 25: Update

Without my computer I've been slacking off on posting here. We're still doing really well with our challenge. I love opening the pantry and seeing it looking on the empty side. We still have an overabundance of some things, like beans. But really, who wants lentil soup in the middle of August? Not me. They'll get used though, I'm sure.

The best part of all of this? I went through the budget and our leftover money last night and found out that we should have quite a bit of money to put on the credit card. I'm really excited. I think we're going to modify things a bit for September and see if we can't get even closer to paying that darned thing off. Wouldn't that be great?!

Day 22: Out with the old, but no new yet!

I started cleaning out my pantry today. I threw out 6 boxes of Helper (hamburger and chicken) because I'm never going to cook them. I would have donated them to a food pantry but they had expired in 2006. Guess I haven't cooked helpers in a long time, huh? I also threw out some other items that had expired and I'll never use. It felt good, and now the pantry is starting to look like there's about as much food as I feel like we have.. not much, lol! I did find a few things that we'll have to cook too. A minestrone soup mix, about 45 boxes of pudding mix, fajita seasoning, hot chocolate.. it's quite the assortment now.

I'm still going through the flour in my assorted ways. I have to send Pete out tonight for eggs, milk, butter, and a few ingredients for those Pioneer Woman rolls. I have to re-make the Snickerdoodles for church tomorrow so there's no way I can even pretend to hold out and not buy eggs and butter. The milk is because I want to try another bread recipe. When I'm through with this flour I think I'm going to have to invest in some bread flour because it seems that all the good sounding bread recipes call for it.

I also have a confession to make. Pete and I went out to lunch today and bought pizza. I think it's the best pizza I've ever tasted. It's funny.. today was the first time in weeks that I've eaten something that wasn't home made, and boy did I appreciate every bite. We bought an entire pizza instead of slices because four slices would have been $16 and a whole pizza was $17. It was so worth it. Pete and I also spent some time hanging out at the book store. We didn't buy anything, but I was able to look at some books I'm considering for homeschooling, which really helped when narrowing down options. Maybe soon I'll make a list of the books I plan to buy for the school year with Ronan.

Ohhh.. You know what I just realized? I can buy cereal this Wednesday after we go to WIC. Ohmygoodness. I don't think I can tell you exactly how excited I am. Yay!! Now that's an amazingly wonderful note to end on, isn't it?

Day 21: Rice & a whine

I'm starting to get a bit bored and annoyed with all of this. At first it was exciting, thinking of saving all that money and paying down the credit card. Then it was fun, working to create meals with what we have and finding new things to have for breakfast. Now? Sigh. It's a lot of work with what feels like very little pay off. I'm not stopping now.. we've come too far to pull out now.. but I realized I can't even just drop everything and go shopping on September 1st. I have to wait for Pete to get paid on Sept 5th and then cash his check so we have grocery money, which means I really can't do a shopping trip until at least September 7th. I just may find some money to buy us cereal on the 1st though. I'm really sick of having to think first thing in the morning.

Tonight was "date night" for Pete and I. It's Tim's overnight with Ronan, so Pete and I used to go out together. This time I made us Salmon (from the freezer) in Lime Vinaigrette (from the fridge stash of sauces) and rice. Mmmm, yum. The good news? Because you got through my whine up there I'm going to give you a combo of rice recipes. Both of these recipes are for approx. 1 serving of rice. Multiply them to make however much you need. First up - my mom's basic rice recipe:

Nana's Rice

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. rice (any type)

Directions: Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add the rice. Cover the pot with a paper towel between the pot and the lid. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 17 minutes.

Tada! Yup, that's it. The paper towel is important. I have no idea why, but it completely changes the flavor of the rice. Now for the rice I made tonight.

Rosemary Basil Cheesy Rice

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. rice (I use basmati rice)
1 Tbsp. oat bran
1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

Directions: Bring water, butter, basil, rosemary and salt to boil. Add rice and oat bran. Cover with a paper towel between the pot and the lid. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ~15 minutes. After it's done cooking, add the cheese.

You can leave out the oat bran if you want, just cook the rice a bit longer. I add it to all my rice as a secret way to sneak in a little more healthy stuff to the food. Plus, oat bran is high in fiber so it makes you feel full faster, thus filling up the bellies of your family members who could eat you out of house and home. ;)

Day 20: Cooklies & bread

My pantry is starting to look emptier. It's rather exciting.. watching the shelves have less and less on them. I'm going to go through what's left in a few days and gather together a bag of stuff for the Food Pantry. There are some things I'm just never going to cook, like the old boxes of Hamburger Helper. I think I'll wash the shelves of my refrigerator too. They're rather nasty, and when they're empty will be the perfect timing to wash them.

As the food in the pantry dwindles I'm seeing what items I seem to have an overabundance of. One thing I'm really noticing is that I have a ton of flour. There are two 5 lb bags of white and one 5 lb bag of wheat in my pantry and I had a glass jar full of white (holds ~5 lbs) that I work from in my cabinet. That's 20 lbs of flour. Why on earth did I think I'd need 20 lbs of flour?? Ah well. Because of this, I've been trying to find ways to use the flour. Last night I decided to make cookies and bread with this flour. We made Snickerdoodles, Sugar cookies and Light Oat Bread.

I modified the bread recipe to use 1 c. whole wheat flour and 2 c. white flour. I also used 2 tsp. of yeast because my yeast is rather old and I didn't know if it would even work. The bread is really yummy. I think I'm going to make another loaf today.. or maybe I'll try a new recipe. You can't see the oats in it at all.

As for the cookies.. sigh. The Snickerdoodles burned because I was nursing Peter Mike when the timer went off. He was still awake so I decided to hold off on baking the sugar cookies so I didn't burn them too. The dough is still hanging out in my fridge.

I finally found something to use the Orange Marmalade in. The Marmalade has been sitting in my pantry for quite a while.. I can't even remember why I bought it in the first place, but this recipe I want to try... ohhh. I think it's going to be very worth it. I bet you're wondering what I plan to make. This will be my first experience with the Pioneer Woman's recipes, and I'm go ing to try Orange Marmalade Rolls. Don't they look amazing? Like... I think I'm drooling right now. Mmmmm.... I do have to buy some ingredients for this recipe. Whole milk, butter, and OJ. I think it's going to be worth it. I might gain 10 lbs just thinking about the recipe, but yeah. It will be worth it.

Day 19: Goulash and the mall

Super picky Ronan actually likes the Banana Pumpkin Bread!! I was giddy when he said he'd try it, but I didn't expect him to actually like it! Woohoo!!

Ronan and I went to see the free movie at the mall with Alicia and her kids today. We were super good and didn't buy anything else while we were there, even though the pretzel place was calling to me. (Side note: I think this whole thing is helping me lose weight, and I'm not even trying.. wonder why?)

On to food.. We're all out of frozen chicken breasts, so I'm moving on to the frozen ground beef. I told myself I'd use all the frozen meat before I considered buying meat this month. Tonight's dinner was Goulash. I'm typing out the recipe for all of you, but there's a little problem. My spices change every time I make it and I just spice to taste, so I have no idea how much I actually add. If you don't like the spices I have listed, go with whatever sounds good to you!

Kerry's Goulash (an original!)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey or ground fake meat.. just ground something)
2 big cans of Diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Paste
1 lb pasta (you pick a shape)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Onion (chopped)
Garlic (chopped, minced, whatever)
Spices, in order from most to least: Cumin, Basil, Adobo w/ Cumin (the one with a green top), Chili Powder, Paprika, Seasoned Salt and Garlic Powder. Be careful with the Adobo and Seasoned Salt as it's easy to make the whole thing too salty when using Adobo.

1. Put a LARGE pot of water on to boil. This pot is too big for the 1 lb of pasta, but you'll use it again later so save yourself some dishes.
2. In a frying pan begin cooking the onion and garlic in a little olive oil.
3, When the water is boiling, add pasta. Cook until it's done, then drain. Leave the pasta in the colander for now.
4. When the onion is cooked, add the ground beef. I usually add some spices to the beef while it's cooking.
5. After the beef is browned, drain the fat.
6. Go back to your large pot. It should be empty now because the pasta is still sitting in the colander. Pour the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the can of tomato paste in the pot.
7. Add the beef/onion mix. Stir.
8. Add as much pasta as you can get to fit. (This is why I said use a big pot, lol!)
9. Cook on medium to low heat until it's all hot. I usually taste and add more spices here.

Tada! Eat!!

Day 18 Bonus! Banana Pumpkin Bread

I'm very sorry I didn't write for a few days.. I'll make up for it with this recipe for Banana Pumpkin Bread. This is pantry busting bread because I had this can of pumpkin sitting there taunting me, and two bananas that were too ripe to eat. Put those two items together and they came out as some absolutely amazing bread. I'm actually perfectly fine with Ronan refusing to try it because that means there will be more for me! The added bonus? With some whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of oil it's not even that bad for you.

Banana Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 15 oz can 100% pumpkin (or substitute 1 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin)
2 eggs
1/3 c. applesauce
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease either 2 9x5 loaf pans OR 1 9x13 pan OR muffin tins.
2. Stir together bananas, pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, honey, sugar and vanilla
3. In a separate bowl, mix white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
4. Stir flour mixture into the pumpkin/banana mixture just until they are combined.
5. Pour batter into the pan(s).
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

A few notes:
1. If you don't have whole wheat flour, just use regular flour - you'll be fine. If you want to try it with all whole wheat flour I'd love to hear how it comes out! If you don't have applesauce just use vegetable oil.
2. I hate raisins, Pete hates nuts, and we're all out of chocolate so I made the bread plain. If you want to add raisins/nuts/chocolate chips/whatever fold them in after mixing the wet and dry ingredients.
3. I tried making this in one 9x5 loaf pan.. it doesn't fit. Well, it did at first, but then it started spilling out the top and over the side. Because of this, the time is just an approximate guess. If I were you I'd check ~45 minutes in and see if you're anywhere close to being done, especially if you make muffins instead of bread. If I had more pumpkin and bananas I'd make another batch and get the time right, but I don't and we're still in the pantry challenge so I can't go get more. Sorry! I swear the bread is good enough to make it worth the guess on timing.

Day 18: Top 5 things I want to buy right now

We're more than halfway through, so it's time for a list of the purchases I'm missing the most. Some are rather surprising, even to me.

5. CHOCOLATE. Those cookies lasted all of 3 days, and now I'm craving chocolate again. I should have thought more about this whole pantry challenge and found a way to allow chocolate.

4. New flip flops. I know most women have quite a few pairs of shoes.. I'm not like that. I have one or two pair that I love and wear all the time. Unfortunately my $10 flip flops from Target that I wear every single day are now falling apart. We just might break the no-spend for this.. I'm miserable without a pair of shoes.

3. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - Why I have the urge to try to kill myself I don't know, but quite a few of my friends have said this is great. I know.. I'm crazy.

2. Alpaca, angora, bamboo, maybe some cashmere.. fiber that is. I have a pattern for a shawl growing in my head and for some reason I keep picturing it with handspun lace yarn. Maybe I'll skip the handspun part.. I've never spun lace-weight before. I have a feeling it wouldn't be very pretty. Oh, the pattern in my head uses some beads too.. at least I think it does. We'll see. I need the yarn and a pair of needles to start playing with it before I 'll really know.

1. Cereal. Who would have guessed cereal would top my list of things I want to buy?? I wake up so hungry every morning that I'm dizzy until I get something to eat. I really miss being able to just pour myself some cereal and eat it. I also am rather sick of trying to figure out what on earth Ronan will eat at 7am.

Day 15: Camp!

We spent the day up at Pete's parents' camp today. It was quite hot out, which made the lake feel like bath water. I got to swim with Ronan for a while, which was nice. He said, "Mommy, I haven't gotten to have fun with you like this in like.. a year!" Silly boy. Still, it was nice to be able to play with him in the water. I even brought Peter Mike in for a bit. We all had a lot of fun! Before we left for camp Pete and I decided that we were ok with spending a little money there. A few opportunities arose that we agreed upon, but then things kept working out so we didn't end up doing whatever it was we'd agreed upon. In the end we spend a total of $3, which was spent on caffeinated drinks for the drive home so Pete wouldn't fall asleep while driving. I think we did pretty good!

Tomorrow is Justyn and Taylor's birthday party up at Grafton, so we'll get to swimming in lakes two days in a row! Ronan is very excited.

Day 14: Laundry and Leftovers

Today I got massive amounts of laundry done Everyone's clothes, diapers, my bedding.. it feels good to know we're all clean, lol!

We've been eating leftover Minestrone Soup for the past few days.. it only gets better as it sits. Otherwise things are still the same on the no-spend/pantry challenge. I plan to finish the pantry list, but not tonight.

Super short because we're about to leave for Camp. I may or may not post tomorrow, depending on what time we get back.

Day 13: Baby puke

I have a story to tell. It's a story I'd really rather not tell.

The baby was sitting on my lap. Just sitting there quietly, giving me no reason to suspect anything was coming. Then all of a sudden he opens his mouth and massive amounts of white baby puke shoots out. It's not like, dribbling out, we're talking projecting out of his mouth .... all over my laptop. He kept heaving, so I put the laptop on it's side and focused on the baby still pouring liquid everywhere.

In the end, Peter Mike soaked himself, soaked me, soaked the laptop.. sigh. Do you see where this is going? My laptop won't turn on now. I could cry. Ronan and I will be taking a trip to the Apple store to see if I can get it fixed. Sigh.

Day 12: Minestrone soup & grocery shopping.

I had to go to the grocery store today to get frozen spinach to finish the Minestrone Soup I'm making (recipe below!) While there I spend $15. Here's what I got:

WIC (gallon of milk, dozen eggs, 1 lb cheddar cheese, juice)
7 apples
6 bananas
sliced mushrooms
Sourdough bread ($2.50 w/ a $2 coupon)
gallon sized freezer bags (for storing leftovers)
and my one special purchase... Chocolate Chips.

All in all I did a really good job ignoring the impulse to buy things at the store, especially sugary foods. It was all I could do to just walk past the ice cream. I'll get my act together and make cookies with Ronan to calm my need for sweets. One good result of all this - I'm slowly dropping a bit of the baby weight. WOOT!

The Minestrone Soup I'm making is another heavily modified recipe. I think I just need a recipe to know where to start.. I just can't seem to leave them alone, lol!

Pantry Busting Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:
32 oz Beef Broth
14 oz Chicken Broth
1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can Kidney Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 (15 oz) can Garbanzo Beans (slightly mashed)
1 smallish Onion, chopped
2 c. Red Potatoes, cubed
1 c, Carrots, cut up
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 c. Frozen Peas, thawed
1 Tbsp. Parsley
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Oregano
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tsp. Basil
1/2 Tsp. Marjoram

Directions:
Combine all but spinach and peas in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hrs. Alternately, cook on high for 4-5 hrs. Stir in the spinach and peas and cook for another 30 min or so.

** Just a note: My potatoes took FOREVER to cook. Like 8 hours on high. I don't think that's a normal thing though, I think it's because they were from the CSA box. These potatoes were much denser and harder to cut than any other potatoes I have ever used. Then again, maybe it wasn't these specific potatoes and yours will take forever to cook too. Consider yourself warned, lol!

Day 12: Random thoughts

This morning I made Pete and I some yummy eggs. I seasoned the egg with Basil and then put cut up tomato, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil in it. Mmmm, it was so good. I was going to make more but we only had 3 eggs. Oh well.

Michael came over today and brought us some foods to add to our pantry. :) The yummiest part - Fresh Cherries!! Mmmmmm. Oh they're so yummy. She also brought some homemade baby blankets that were Jamie's for Peter Mike that are absolutely beautiful.

Right now Ronan is sitting on the floor eating Cheerios with milk in a cup. Silly boy! I'm not sure what we'll have for dinner tonight.. I was looking at my pantry list for ideas. I added the list here, although it's no where near complete - I should work on that. I'm thinking I need to cook something with tomatoes and beans in it. Maybe Minestrone Soup?

Day 11: A long day of outings

Today Ronan and I had to run errands and go to appointments. Ronan had one appointment from 1-2pm and then another at 3 pm in the same building. Normally I would have taken him to Stewarts for ice cream while we waited, but we went and hung out on The Approach instead. The Approach is this random huge set of stars in Troy. Ronan had fun getting some energy out while running up and down them while Peter Mike and I sat quietly in the shade watching.

Ronan has been having a rough time with lunches at home. The main problem is that he claims to not like/want anything we have. I know he likes the food we have, he's just being difficult. Blegh.

Day 10:

Ronan and I have had a rough day. I don't know if it was the hazey, sticky heat outside or if he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but wow has it been difficult. At 5pm I sat down in front of the pantry to take an inventory of what we have (so watch out - at least part of list is coming!) Ronan was helping and he asked what the chicken broth was for. I explained that I can use it to make soup. He says, "Like Chicken Noodle Soup?! Can we make that now??" I said sure thinking maybe he'll actually eat something homemade for once.

Well, it's now 6:30 and I'm proud to say that Ronan was extremely helpful and ate the food he made!!

Granted he had seasoned chicken broth with chicken and pasta and kept the carrots on the side, but the point is he ate it!! I beefed up the soup for Pete and I by adding corn, peas, carrots and seasoned chicken. Now I'm just waiting for Peter Mike to finish nursing and Pete to get home so we can eat. It sure smells good!

Day 9: Tuna Casserole!

Today Pete had to buy dog food and crickets. We can't neglect our animals because of a no-spend. Riley is a happy puppy and Larry (the Leopard Gecko) is currently hunting in his cage. Pete tried to fix the dishwasher for me but it wasn't cooperating. Hopefully we'll have it up and running soon.

Ronan wanted to practice homeschooling today so I sat with him for an hour and a half. Not bad, if I do say so. I need to work on creating my curriculum list so we know what else we need to get.

To say I'm sorry for slacking and not posting yesterday I wrote out my Tuna Casserole recipe. Actually I wrote it out because Alle asked what recipe I use, but I can pretend it's to say sorry, right? It's a modified/combined version of a bunch of recipes I found on allrecipes.com. I keep meaning to add peas, but I've forgotten every time Enjoy!

Kerry's Tuna Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta
2-4 Tbsp butter
2 5-6 oz cans of Tuna
~16 oz of Cheddar Cheese (I like things cheesy!)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup (I bet it would be good with any Cream of soup)
milk or water
frozen peas
~1 c. Italian Style breadcrumbs (you can use plain breadcrumbs seasoned with Oregano, Basil, Parsley and some Garlic Powder if you want)

1. Cook the pasta. Drain.
2. Mix butter with pasta so it melts
3. In a separate bowl, mix Cream of Chicken soup with 1 can of milk or water
4. Spray 9x13 pan with Pam
5. Layer in pan: 1/2 the pasta, 1 can tuna, some peas, 1/2 of the soup mix, 8 oz Cheddar
.. layer again in the same order
6. Cover with breadcrumbs (I really like breadcrumbs, so I go heavy)
7. Bake at 350 until you open the oven and hear it bubbling. The cheese should be melted and the middle should be hot to the touch. I think it's ~15-20 min.
8. Serve.

Day 8: Ronan's Birthday!!

Ronan turned 7 on Saturday. I can't believe how big he's getting. We had a great day. I did have to send Pete out to buy eggs because I needed them to make Ronan's cake.. that's a needed expense though - he needs a cake! :) Here's my Birthday Boy:

Day 7: Waffles, a whiney baby and one special dinner.

This morning Ronan was upset because we only have Cheerios. I decided to be a good mama and make us some waffles. Ronan helped me make the batter and when I wasn't looking cracked two eggs instead of one so we made a double batch. Now we have a bunch of waffles in the freezer. Guess we're ready for more non-cereal mornings, lol!

Peter Mike was whiney today. He would fall asleep and wake up 15 minutes later. It's very difficult to get anything done with a baby who won't sleep longer than 15 minutes. Argh. I did put him on my back in the Mei Tai and he eventually fell asleep back there so I was able to get the dishes done.

Tonight's dinner is special because it's Pete and my night. We're having salmon (from the freezer!) marinated in lime vinaigrette, rice that I seasoned with basil and rosemary, and green beans. It's cooking now.. I can't wait!

We're still doing good on the no spend, although we are discussing other additions to the rules list, like being able to buy gas to go to camp for Pete's sister's birthday and what we'll need to plan our camping trip.

Day 6: Rebecca, A Mei Tai, and the Beach

Last night Rebecca and her girls came over for dinner and to play in the pool. I was a good no-spend/pantry mama and said we couldn't order pizza.. instead I made tuna casserole. Rebecca brought corn and carrot cake (mmm) and we had a very yummy dinner. The kids enjoyed each other and it was great to spend some time with Rebecca again.

Today my mom and dad left work early so we could go to the beach for a bit tonight. My mom packed most of dinner so we had a break from pantry foods. The adults had seafood salad and Ronan had PB&J. She also had hummus, funky bread, sweet potato chips, and cheese poofs... mmm!

When I got home I finished the Mei Tai I'd started earlier. I really need to wear him on my back so I can get more done and I'm hoping this will help. In no-spend fashion, I didn't buy any materials. I re-purposed an old canvas curtain we used to use to divide the kitchen into two rooms and decorated it with a little left over fabric from making my diaper bag. I'm surprised at how nice it looks, although I may kick myself for not adding any padding. Here's pictures!

Day 5: "Starter" pictures

I know we're a few days in already, but here are some pictures of our food storage that I took today. First up: the pantry. See that almost empty shelf toward the bottom on the left? That's our cereal shelf. See what I was saying about it being almost gone? It's already starting to have other items infringe on the cereal space (a box of Bisquick and a box of graham crackers.) My confession of the day: see the right half of the 2nd shelf from the top? It's full of tea. I have a collection. The second half of my confession is that Pete and I pretty much stick to our boring old British tea.. the rest just sits there. What should I do with box after box of tea we don't drink?
Picture 2: Our refrigerator and freezer. Not packed full, but there's still quite a bit in there. Maybe after August is over I can clean them before going shopping? Your TMI for the day: my placenta is still in there too.. we won't be eating that though.
Picture 3: My cabinet. This is where my spices are, along with our rice, oat bran, sugar, oats, and other miscellaneous dry baking items. The flour is in the other (closed) cabinet because the container is too tall for the shelves in this one. Please ignore the clutter on the counter.
So, there you have it. That should be more than enough food for a family of 3 (+ one exclusively breastfeed infant) for the month, right? Oh, and a picture of Peter Mike watching mama write this post:
Is he not the cutest 2.5 month old ever??

Day 4: A forgotten post

So sorry I didn't really post on Day 4 - I was exhausted and went to bed early last night.

Pantry Challenge: Boring day, but I made Matzo Ball Soup for dinner with extra matzo balls. Mmm yum. There's still some left so I'll probably have it for lunch. We're down to only Cheerios for cereal. I've been researching home made oatmeal recipes, but when I get up in the morning I'm dizzy until I eat something so I don't know if they'll work. I may end up caving and buying us some more cereal. Eggs are a good replacement to cereal too, except that Ronan won't eat eggs or oatmeal. Pain in the butt child..

No Spend: I didn't go to Jack's with my friend Alle and her mom right before they left because I felt like it would be wrong of me to get to eat out when we're not supposed to be. I don't know if I'll regret it.. buying two burgers may have been worth a few extra minutes with them. It's weird.. Alle and I didn't see each other a ton while she was here, but now that she's moved to Charlotte.. Troy feels empty. We've been friends since we were 7, leaning on each other as needed. I know she's still there, but I can't stop by her house and show her my latest handspun (or use her mailbox because the mailman already came at my house, lol!) She won't be calling me to see if I can watch kids occasionally, I won't be calling her for that reason either. Things change, eh?

The other night Pete said he doesn't know if he can do these challenges because we're already out of food. Lol! He's right - we're out of easy, no cook, grab it and go food. We can do this, every day that passes is a step closer!

Day 3: Easy Peasy

Today it was easy not to buy anything because there wasn't any opportunity to do so. We ate mostly leftovers for lunch and had a dinner of PB&J at the beach. I'm starting to crave sugar (we're our of ice cream - oh no!) but we still have frosting and graham crackers, so I'll survive.

Another short post cause Alle's still here.

Day 2: A quicky

A short update for today because Alle is here and I'd rather spend time with her then typing a blog post.

Yesterday Pete ended up not getting his hair cut, so undo the confession I guess! He was going to buy himself pants today (also a very needed purchase) but ended up holding Peter Mike for me while I cooked dinner instead.

How's the Pantry Challenge going? We had cereal for breakfast, lunch was egg sandwich for me, PB&J for Ronan, cereal for Pete, and then for dinner we had Enchiladas, corn on the cob and leftover french fries and carrot fries. Alle and the kids were here, so having a lot was great. Mmm, yum. I considered adding beans to the Enchiladas but Pete wasn't in a bean mood so I didn't.

Day 1 (again): Free food & a confession

Schawns.com is giving away $10 of free food to new customers, so I figured, why not? It's free! We're getting 8 hamburgers delivered on August 10th. Woohoo!

Pretty soon I need to think about what to cook for dinner for tonight. I think it's going to consist of some leftovers from last night and .. something else. Lol. You can tell I've put a lot of thought into it so far.

Yesterday Ronan and I picked up his room, cleaned the hallway upstairs, and put all the books back on the kid bookshelf. I've spent today cleaning the house to get ready for Alle and her kids to come join us for a few days. It feels really good to strike some things off my todo list and get the house cleaner. When the house is clean I'm a happier mama. I'm also more willing to do things with Ronan. Unfortunately now Peter Mike is a whiney baby. Oh well, at least I got something done, right?

Now for the confession. Pete's going to get his hair cut. In his defense he's needed it done for a while now.. 2 months at least.

Day 1: Procrastination Purchase

Bought something today, but it was something I meant to order before the 1st, and it's very needed. Our dishwasher has been broken for months now and we need this $25 repair kit to make it work, so.. I just ordered it. I don't think that's cheating or breaking any rules, it's the result of procrastination, lol!

In pantry challenge news, we're already running low on cereal. I'm not sure what we'll do when that's gone.. I need to think about that. Ronan and I eat at least a bowl a day.

No-spend Challenge rules

No-spend Challenge:
Main Point: To reduce the random spending we do and have a larger chunk to pay on the credit card.
1. No fast food/eating out!
2. Bills don't count
3. Fixing/inspecting the cars doesn't count

I don't know what else there could be, but I'm sure I'll need to edit/add to this throughout the month.

Pantry Challenge rules

I need to get moving on these challenge rules or I'm just going to be making them up as I go along. Here goes:

Pantry Challenge:
Main point: to not spend money on groceries for the month of August.
1. Veggies that come in the CSA box each week are certainly allowed.
2. Fresh fruit purchases are allowed.
3. A few meat purchases are allowed, if I have gone through what we have here.
4. I can use the bread coupons I have, since it's not spending money.
5. I can pick up one or two items to try a new recipe.

I'm allowing fresh fruit/veggie purchases because I've been really trying to push to have us eating more of them and it's not something I can stock up on. The CSA membership has been great for this! The other point of this is to expand the "regular" foods we eat, so picking up a few items to use a bunch of pantry items is still working toward the goal.

We have the first thing that's going to mess up the no-spend/pantry challenge. My mom is giving Ronan one week at summer camp for his birthday and the week he's going is this coming week (Aug 3-7.) I'm going to need to pack him a lunch and I did not buy lunch materials on my grocery trip. I'm not sure what we'll do.. I may have to make an exception to buy juice boxes and a few other things.

Starting off on the right foot.. or maybe the left?

Is it considered cheating if one goes out and does a big grocery shopping trip right before starting a pantry challenge? Because if it is.. well.. I cheated. I'm starting the month with a mini-challenge and some basics were necessary. My mini-challenge is that my friend Alle and her 3 kids (ages 7, 3 and 1) will be staying with us Sunday-Tuesday. I get to pantry challenge feeding 4 extra people too! Woot!

As August 1st nears I'm starting to feel the pressure to get things together. I need a list of everything in the pantry so I know what I'm working with. I need to spend money on necessary things, although at the same time I know that if they don't get done we'll spend the money on them anyways. I need to create our rules so I know when we break them.. or maybe we don't know rules so we can bend as we need to.

What to say in a first post?

I should introduce you to my family, say something about myself, something about what I plan to write about.. but I'm not. I really don't feel like doing all that, so instead I'll just jump right in.

Pete and I are going to do a no-spend/pantry challenge for the month of August. This just so happens to coincide with the 30 Days of Blank blog challenge, so here's my attempt. With a 2 month old I don't know that I'll manage to post every day, but I promise to try.

What will I post? No idea. Maybe I'll whine about not spending. Maybe I'll confess to spending. Maybe I'll post recipes. Maybe I'll start babbling on about our first attempts at homeschooling. I'm just going to post something every. single. day. Hey, if you're lucky maybe you'll even get pictures.