baby stuff

this morning i ventured out with jeremy's mom to load up on baby stuff.  we went and picked up a crib that i had found on craigslist, and stopped by the home of a friend of a friend where i was able to score tons of baby stuff for next to nothing.  now we've gotten almost all of our major purchase baby items out of the way (for next to nothing) and just have cloth diapers and a breast pump as our remaining larger expenses.  i've so much enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and the bargain that i'm a little sad that we have most of the baby stuff that we need now.

i had never even heard of peg perego strollers before, i think they tend to be a good amount most expensive than the brands and models that i had been researching.  from what i have looked up now, they seem to be the cadillac of strollers, to be super top of the line, light weight for their size, and have all the bells and whistles.  this stroller was $70, and the infant carrier/ car seat (which snaps into the stroller for a travel system) was $50.  i think i could have found a lesser brand stroller and infant carrier used for a little cheaper, but i really love these two, and love their dark, gender neutral colors (as i'm sure jeremy loves the fact that they aren't too baby-ish so he can keep his masculinity in tact while pushing it around)

this changing pad was $3.  the lamp and baby monitor on this dresser had been picked up over a month ago from a different yard sale.  the basket i just had lying around, and inside the basket is an ear thermometer that was free, that the friend of a friend just tossed in with the rest of the stuff that i got.  the dresser was free (to us).  it was an old dresser that jeremy's parents were getting rid of, the original color wasn't our taste, but jeremy's mom sanded it for us, and painted it with paint (sort of a pea greenish) that she had already had on hand in her garage from a prior project that she decided not to do.

the crib mattress was $15 from the friend of a friend.  the crib was $40 from craigslist.  it's probably not the exact crib that i would have picked out if i was getting something new (i probably would have gotten a 4 in 1 convertible), but for $40 i feel like it was a great deal!  it met my criteria of matching the rocker that we had gotten from a previous yard sale, and it is also a 2 in 1 convertible crib to toddler bed, which is something that i was looking for.  (this crib isn't fully assembled yet... i battled with it for an hour and then got frustrated and decided to leave it for jeremy)

not pictured:  on friday i had a little time to kill before jeremy got off of work, so i stopped by a second hand childrens store and got a baby bjorn infant carrier for $13.  saturday i also got a matt to put under the infant car seat for $3, which protects the seat of the car from scrathches, spills and scrapes from car seats.  i also got an eddie bauer childs car seat that i can use once our little one outgrows the infant car seat.  i also got a handful of onesies/ jammies for $1 each.  one of them happens to be a while sleeper with red crawfish all over... perfect for our little new orleanean baby! 

shannon

Homemade Christmas gifts

I love giving homemade gifts. I like taking the time to think of something special for friends and family, putting the time and creativity into the project, and being able to give something just a little more special than a store bought item. Homemade gifts can be frugal, thoughtful, and meaningful when done right, and given to a recipient who appreciates handmade items. I can't always seem to come up with a homemade gift that everyone on my list will enjoy, and I'm not into giving handmade gifts just to do it, so when necessary I'll purchase a gift. Since I was short on crafting time this year we bought gifts for most of the people on our list, but I still tried to make a little something special and handmade when possible. Here are some of the gifts that I came up with...

baby headbands for my niece (who is due February 18!)... I used stretchy lace for these, cut it to about 14-15 inches, sewed it together, then sewed a fabric flower on one, and an easy grosgrain bow on the other... this was quite an easy craft and turned out so cute!

pumpkin butter... for as long as I can remember I've given my mom a jar of pumpkin butter every year for Christmas, a couple of years ago I started making and canning it myself, rather than purchasing it at specialty shops. I made a few jars this year to send to friends and family. It's great on toast, pancakes, or waffles.

a tie tshirt for my nephew... I've been eyeballing this tutorial for a while and was itching for a chance to do it. This would be great on a onesie for a baby shower gift.



family cookbook... this has been an ongoing project, two years ago I gave these to my mom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. each page has a recipe, variation ideas and notes, and a picture of a family member taken within the last year. each year I continue to add to these, type up new recipes that we've tried that year and add new pictures. it contains all of our favorites, all of the classic family recipes, and some other fun creations. I gave them in a large binder, divided into sections (appetizers, soups, meat, etc.) and placed each page in a sheet protector so that it's spill proof. then each year new recipes can be added to the back of each section. I did this in Microsoft power point and used an existing presentation template to make this cheap and easy, and I print the pages myself. However any cookbook software (like Master Cook) could be used, or an entire book could be designed and ordered from any photo website comparable to snapfish.

personalized return address labels and bookplates designed in Microsoft Word then printed on labels

Shannon

homemade broth

last night we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some take out dinner on our way to a friends house to watch a movie. Jeremy picked out a rotisserie chicken for his dinner and happily ate all of the meat. i decided to seize the opportunity to use the leftover chicken carcass to make some homemade broth.

i placed the chicken carcass in my slow cooker and added some leftover onions, celery, and parsley stems that i had sitting in the freezer. i filled my slow cooker up with water, added some black peppercorns and a teaspoon of salt. i cooked all of this on low for about 8-10 hours. then i strained the broth, discarded the veggies, picked through the meat and froze it for a casserole at a later date, chilled the broth, skimmed the fat off, and then divided the broth into storage containers. i plan on using all of the broth for dishes this week, but if i didn't i would have frozen it in 1 cup portions in freezer bags, and maybe an ice cube tray for smaller portions.

the slow cooker all ready to cover and turn on (i left the extra bits of meat on the bones)

the beautiful dark, rich broth

i managed to salvage 1 cup of chicken pieces that had fallen off the bones while cooking and plan to use them for a soup, pizza, or casserole in the near future

shannon

Use up what I have dinner

Tonight for dinner I wanted to use up some things that I had laying around. I had 3 Tablespoons of curry paste leftover from when I opened a can of curry paste for Tilapia Curry last week. I also had most of a head of red cabbage left from our Fish Tacos on Sunday. The result was two delicious dishes, and quite a modge podge of Thai and Russian or German flavors. Completely unintentionally I ended up with an orange and purple dinner, so I'll dedicate this one to my friend Katie, the Clemson fan.



Red Curry Coconut Pumpkin Soup

The 3 Tablespoons of curry paste that I had leftover are exactly how much I need to make my standard Red Curry Recipe. Having been inspired by a Thai Pumpkin Soup recipe that I read recently I decided red curry would be great with pumpkin. I made my standard curry recipe, but without the veggies (which probably would have been great in here), Thai basil, and plus the pumpkin.

-2 (15 oz) cans pumpkin puree (NOT PUMPKIN PIE MIX)
-2 cups chicken or veggie broth
-2 (15 oz) cans coconut milk
-3 Tablespoons red curry paste
-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
-3 Tablespoons brown sugar
-juice of 1/2 lime

Heat large pot over medium heat. Add coconut milk and red curry paste, stirring until well mixed. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes.



Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

If I hadn't been in a hurry to have this ready before our friends came over for Bible study I may have added some sliced onion and apple into this dish, as they pair well with red cabbage. A great thing about this dish is that it will be even better the next day, so make enough for leftovers.

-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-1 head red cabbage, finely shredded
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-fresh ground pepper
-1/4 teaspoon celery seed
-1 teaspoon caraway seed

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook for 5 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Cover and simmer 15-25 minutes depending on desired tenderness, stirring intermittently.

Shannon

weekend card making

today i got to go to a friend's house and do some crafting while we watched a movie and had girl time. these are just a handful of the cards that i made this weekend, apparently i was quite productive!

i like to make lots of cards to keep on hand, because if i wait to make a card when the occasion arises, i will never find the time to sit down and do it. but when i spend a couple hours here and there i can crank out all kinds of cards to keep on hand. i can usually make at least 4-8 per hour. i usually keep generic looking designs that could be used for thinking of you, thank you, congratulations, get well etc, and i try to stay supplied with specialized themed cards for birthdays, weddings, engagements and baby showers.

i'm not exactly sure how much it costs me to make each card, but definitely less than $0.50 as i usually use about 1/3 a page of scrapbook paper per card and scraps for the design. this is a huge savings over purchasing individual cards, and i also enjoy the creative outlet and personal touch with each card.

shannon

clean out the pantry and freezer minestrone

This is definitely more of a method than a list of ingredients. After coming home from several days away I wanted to use some of what I already had on hand to make a quick, healthful meal that we could enjoy for dinner, and that would give me leftovers to bring for lunch for the rest of the week. To make a pasta fagioli soup just stir some cooked whole wheat shell pasta in before serving. To really make either of those soups authentic add a parmesan rind during cooking, but I didn't happen to have one on hand. I estimated the measurements of all of these ingredients as I just tossed bits in of everything, this soup is very forgiving, no measuring required.

Minestrone

-1 yellow onion, diced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-3 cups broth (whatever kind you have on hand)
-2 cups water
-1 bag assorted frozen veggies (or whatever fresh veggies you have on hand... carrots, green beans, peas and even zucchini would be the most authentic for minestrone)
-fresh ground pepper
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon sugar
-few dashes of cayenne pepper (not authentic for minestrone, but gives the soup a nice kick)
-1 bay leaf
-1 teaspoon oregano
-any combination of crushed, diced, or sauce tomatoes to add up to about a 29 oz can (I used a 29 oz can of diced tomatoes for this batch)
-3 cups of kidney or garbanzo beans (I used 1 1/2 cups of each for this batch)

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in stock pot. Saute onions and garlic until soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in all remaining ingredients (except beans) and simmer until veggies reach desired tenderness. Stir in beans, heat until warm and serve.

This post is being linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family, because making a pot of soup to clean out the pantry and freezer works for me.

Shannon

Freezer Cooking

I've been really interested in freezer cooking for quite some time, but have never gotten up the motivation to get started on it. I got this book for Christmas and it was the inspiration that I needed.

Here's a great post by Aimee that gives the introductory information on what freezer cooking is.

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpmenus.html- this website provides lots of great free freezer cooking recipes and articles on tips and practices

http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/index.html- this website provides lots of free freezer cooking entree recipes designed for once a month cooking

For my first session on New Year's day I started out really simple. I bought 5.87 pounds of ground beef from the local warehouse club for $2.79 per pound. While Jeremy enjoyed football I browned up a little more than 3 pounds of meat with taco seasoning that I had purchased in bulk. I divided that into 3 quart freezer bags to be pulled out later for chili, taco soup, taco salad, enchiladas, tacos, or mexican lasagna. I browned up the remaining over 2 pounds using the Sloppy Joe recipe below. We ate one serving for dinner that night and the rest I froze with some whole wheat buns to be enjoyed on another evening.




This weekend I'm hoping to tackle one of the pork chop or chicken breast freezer recipes from the book that I got for Christmas also. I'm excited to have a freezer stocked full of dinners that are already made and can just be put in the refrigerator the night before serving to start thawing and then are ready to go when we need them. These recipes also enable me to buy bulk sized portions of meat to save money and to already have a plan in place for what I'm not using immediately.

Sloppy Joe's

-1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey if you prefer)
-1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
-2-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon prepared mustard
-3/4 cup ketchup
-3 teaspoons brown sugar
-few dashes of hot sauce

In medium skillet over medium heat, brown beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper; drain off liquids. Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes (or put in a crock pot and simmer until serving).

Are you using any type of freezer cooking? If so, does it work for you? Where do you get your recipes?

Shannon