Back in the Big M...Mississippi that is

Since having the twins, I have dreamed of the day that I was back in Mississippi and surrounded by family.  That day has come and gone (a week ago), and while I miss my friends, MOPS group and church - there is nothing like being near your gigantic crazy family.

And have I mentioned the home grown veggies!  My sister works for a local hearing-aid company and the wonderful older adults bring in bags of veggies almost daily.  She, in turn, has gifted us with a part of the goods - okra, bell peppers, purple hull peas, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes.  Another local company came and brought a bucket load of corn to my family's business and, after hearing from my Mamaw we wanted some, my Uncle Wallace brought by some of the largest zucchini squash I have ever seen.  The fridge is packed full.

Since it's summer and hotter than a daycare van, we spend time almost every day in my mom's swimming pool.  It's been raining off and on for the past week which means random things show up in the pool.  Usually its the occasional cricket, frog and lots of leaves, but earlier this week my mom discovered a baby black snake!  Needless to say, my dad convinced her to release it back into the woods instead of killing it - they eat things we don't want in the yard.  So after fishing out the leaves and bugs, we enjoy time splashing and floating around.  Jack is a natural and can swim around in his ring float by himself.  Tedder would rather shoot us with water guns.  I'm enjoying how it sucks the life out of the kiddos which makes nap time AMAZING!!

While 90% of what we own in packed in a storage unit and living with your parents is not ideal but we are managing.  As far as work goes, we are waiting to hear back from a few online teaching jobs, and are in limbo as to where we will be living...but we know that God will place us right where He wants us. 

Home Made Chicken Broth

For years I was deceived by the simplicity of prepacked chicken broth.  It was so easy just to pick it up off the grocery store shelves and add it to my recipes.  It's what I remember my mom doing and now forehead slap myself every time I think about the money I was throwing away when creating my own homemade chicken broth was so easy and cheap economical.

Not any more. This momma has decided that homemade chicken broth is the only way to go.  I've tried different combinations of spices, containers for storage, etc. and have finally found what works for me.  I do keep chicken boullion in the pantry for some of the homemade dry/seasoning mixes I've started making and will use in a pinch if I've run out of frozen broth.

Now let me start off by saying that this may not work for everyone. If you don't have a large enough freezer, time or money to put into making the broth - I hold no grudges - that was me a few years ago when I was working as a full-time teacher with 9 month old twins in tow.  But anywho, back to the recipe.

Cooking Utensils:

• One large stock pot, 8 quarts or larger (I use this one - wedding gift) 
• One large heat resistant bowl (these are my favorite) to hold broth.
• One medium heat resistant bowl to hold chicken.
• One strainer (mine fits inside the bowl for easy draining)
• 1/4 or 1/3 measuring cup (these are my favorite)
• A pair of tongs
• 6-10 2-cup plastic storage containers (I like these because they allow room for expansion during freezing, hold up well to multiple uses, and stack nicely in the freezer.)

 Ingreidents for Broth:

• One large pack chicken thighs (skin-on and bone-in is best - but if that's not available bone-out is ok too)
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped (if you don't have fresh/frozen then celery salt will work - 2 Tbs)
• 2 Tbs kosher salt
• 1 Tbs white or black pepper
• 1 pinch sage (if you don't have it that's okay)
• 1 Tbs rosemary
• 2 tsp thyme

Step One: Add chicken and veggies to the pot. Fill with enough cool water to cover everything plus about an inch more because some evaporation will occur.  Next add in the seasonings.
Step Two: Bring everything to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes. Then set to medium for about 45 minutes. 

Once the chicken is cooked through, using the tongs, remove it from the water - may need to shake gently to allow some broth to drip off - and place in medium bowl.  Once cool, use chicken in your favorite recipes. (Here are some of my favorites.)

This is the hot and messy part.  Place the large heat resistant bowl in the sink, place strainer inside, and pour the broth in.  I usually have to pour everything in and lift out the strainer to allow all the liquid to go through.  Depending on what you have planned to cook, keep some of the veggies to use in your recipes.  I like to add some of the onions and garlic to my Chicken Rotel or Poppy Seed Chicken.

Allow the broth to cool for about 20 minutes.  Pouring hot broth into the plastic storage containers could cause them to leak or melt and there's always a chance of burning yourself.

Use your measuring cup of choice to divide up the cooled broth into the smaller containers.  If potato soup is on my menu I like to freeze a larger container (4-5 cups) of broth.

With the lids off, allow them to cool for another 20-30 minutes.  Putting them into the freezer too warm will cause it to work harder (cost more money) to try and keep the temp inside cold.  And you may inadvertently thaw out some frozen food nearby.

Use a 1-to-1 ratio with water to boost the flavor of rice, stuffing and soups.

Bon Appetit Y'all

Today is...

"Today is gone. Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.
Every day, from here to there.
funny things are everywhere." - Dr. Seuss

Good to the last spoonful...

This was one of the first recipes I tried on Pinterest and it was an instant hit!  You can find the original here.  I've altered it a few times due to missing ingredients, what type of chicken was on sale, etc. Below is the recipe that I now use every single time (pretty much).

First I'll start off by saying that I cook a lot of food at one time, usually 2 but sometimes 3 meals, because it works for my family. And I'm not an extreme couponer by any sense of the means but I do plan my meals based on what types of meat are on sale. If chicken cost more than beef, we eat more beef and vice versa.  I'm lazy efficient when I cook chicken - if it has bones it's boiled - if it's boneless it's cooked in the crockpot.  The number one reason I boil chicken is for the amazing, healthy and cost effective chicken broth that I get after the fact.

Chicken Broth Recipe:
1 - large stock pot
6-10 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
1 small yellow onion, roughly sliced
3 Tbs. garlic, roughly chopped or minced
2 stalks washed celery, roughly chopped
2 large pinches of kosher salt
1 Tbs pepper (white or black)
4-5 peppercorns
1 tps thyme
1 tps rosemary

Place chicken in the pot, cover with veggies, add spices and then fill pot with just enough water to cover everything.  Cook on high until everything starts to boil, then turn down to medium for about 45 minutes.

While your waiting for the chicken to cook, you can gather all your materials to make the casserole, rice and divide up the chicken broth.

Once the chicken is cooked through, using the tongs, remove the chicken and veggies and place in the medium sized bowl. I like to pull the skin off and squeeze the chicken with the tongs, to allow the heat to release faster.  The following step involves hot liquids and is best done in the sink. Place the strainer into the large bowl and poor the broth into the strainer.  You'll have to pick up the strainer to allow all the broth to pass through the holes.  Very carefully, remove the bowl from the sink and place on the counter to cool.  Warning: do not put hot broth into the storage containers as it can burn your hands, or cause the plastic to become soft and possibly leak.

While the chicken is cooling, mix up everything needed for the casserole.

Non stick cooking spray
1 three quart casserole dish
2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted
1 Tbs poppy seeds
2 Tbs garlic or use some from the boiled chicken
1 Tbs celery salt or you can use 1/4 stalk from the boiled chicken
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or one can chicken and one can cream of celery)

Mix up the last five ingredients and set to the side. Mix up the crackers, butter and poppy seeds - set to the side.  Stir till everything is nice and coated - set to the side. Shred 5-6 chicken thighs - more depending on number of folks eating, and add to the soup mixture. Stir until everything is evenly distributed. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour soup chicken mixture into dish and top with cracker mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the crackers are slightly browned.

While the casserole is cooking, now is a great time to cook the rice and divide up the chicken broth. I like to use half broth to half water when I make rice and always double the amount of rice so we can eat on it for a couple of days.  By now, the broth is usually cool enough to separate into bowls to freeze.  Once you've divided everything out they sill need to sit, without the lids on, for another 30-45 minutes.

Photo courtesy of this blog.

The casserole is going to smell so good when it comes out, your family will want to dive in before it cools off.  We like to serve ours over rice and sometimes, sprinkle a few french fried onions over the top for an added crunch.  There are always left overs and it's just as good the next day or cold right out of the fridge. Variations that I've tried: placing the rice in the bottom of casserole dish, adding the soup chicken mixture and topping it all off with the cracker mixture; completed the previous step but omitted the cracker mixture, stored over night in the fridge - added cracker mixture the next day before baking.

Not only do you end up with a ton of yummy food, but you now have homemade chicken broth that you can add to many future recipes.

What to do with the rest of the chicken you boiled and didn't use?  That recipe is for another day.

Bon Appetite Y'all!

A Day of First

After a very, very, very long day alone with the kiddos, I was so excited to get a chance to do some couponing alone once they went to sleep and Daddy was home.  Some of the items on my list were ones that I hadn't bought in a long time (shampoo, razors and kleenex) due to my great stockpiling this time last summer when I knew we would have less money to work with this past school year.  Now my biggest hindrance is the lack of space available in the apartment.

Since Walgreens has changed their system from issuing instant store rewards to a points system, most of my drug store couponing happens at CVS.  During this trip I had one transaction total out to $0.00 - which I've never done before - and it turned out to be what they called in the couponing world "a money maker" because I received $5 in store bucks. I refer to store bucks as RR (register rewards).

Transaction #1
1 - Always liners ($6.99) +$3 RR
2 - Kotex liners (2/$7)
1 - Pert shampoo/conditioner ($3.99)
1 - Infusium shampoo ($5)
2 - Gallon milk ($3.49 each) +$2 RR
Before Coupons: $29.96

Coupons Used: 1/.50 Always; 2/$1 Kotex; 1/$2 Pert; 1/$2 Infusium; $1/Kotex and Always Store Coupon.

OOP = $24.86 + $5 RR

Transaction #2
1 - Gillette Sensitive Shave Gel ($3.79)
2 - Venus Embrace Disposable Razors ($14.99 each)
* Spend $30 on Gillette products earn $10 RR
Before Coupons: $33.77

Coupons Used: 1/$2 Gillette Shave; 1/$3 Gillette disposable razors; BOGO Gillette disposable razors (up to $11.99) - not quiet free but I only use 5 blade razors; $5 RR from Transaction #1.

OOP = $14.10 + $10 RR

Transaction #3
2 - Degree Active Motion deodorant (2/$8)
2 - Dove Go Fresh deodorant (2/$8)
* spend $15 on Dove/Degree products earn $5 RR
Before Coupons: $16

Coupons Used: 2/$3 Degree; 2/$3 Dove; $10 RR from Transaction #2.

OOP = $0.00 + $5RR

Transaction #4
1 - Gain Dish soap (.99)
2 - Puffs (.99 each)
2 - Bounty 6 pack papertowels ($5.99)
1 - Charmin Basic 12 pack bath tissue ($5.99)
Before Coupons = $20.94

Coupons Used: 1/.25 Charmin; 2/$2 Bounty; 2/$1 Puffs; $5RR from Transaction #4.

OOP = $14.82 + $5RR

Transaction #5
1 - Hefty Trashbags ($6.99)
1 - Diet Coke 2 liter (.99)
1 - Puffs Car Cup ($1.67)
Before Coupons =  $9.65

Coupons Used: 1/.55 Hefty; 1/.25 CVS Coke coupon; $5 RR from Transaction #4

OOP = $4.17

Total Value of Items: $110.32
Savings: $52.37

Wanderings through my sleep deprived mind

Things I am thankful for:

• Air conditioning at home and in the van.
• Chamomile tea with mint and jasmine...so nice at the end of a long day.
• Options: where to buy groceries, what clothes to wear, dishwasher or hand washing, and if I want ketchup or catchup.
• Kids who scream/cry "Momma, I wuv you" during nap time because they think I'll cave in to not letting them have a nap. Not gonna happen.
• A husband who has a full-time job with health and dental insurance for the whole family.
• Knowing that this body is only a temporary shell and one day I'll have a new, whole and healthy body and get to use it to praise and worship the Great I Am.
• A zoo membership that allows us access to such wonderful sights and sounds and amazing learning opportunities for the boys.

Things that frustrate me:

• Not one, but TWO flat tires on the jogging stroller.
• People who wander across a sidewalk and take no notice that they're stopping the flow of people traffic.
• Houston traffic.
• The inability to help every single homeless person begging for money/food on the street corners.
• Ironing clothes, washing and putting up dishes, and taking out the trash. ** But I am thankful that I have clothes that need ironing, dishes to wash because it means I was able to eat/drink, and stuff to throw away because it means I have stuff.
• Not having hover craft cars like everyone predicted we would have by the year 2000.
• Gasoline. Cost. So. Much. Money.
• Forgetting to brush my kids teeth at night.
• Mosquitoes. They suck. Literally and figuratively.

Yehaw

There are very few places that I can shop when both kids are with me. Mostly because there are no double shopping carts available (land yachts) or I'm afraid we would end up breaking more items than purchasing.  With that being said, I can handle some places when only a regular shopping cart is available.  Two days ago that place was Babies 'R Us.  They were having a sale on squeezy pouches and I had $15 worth of store bucks (yeah me)! 

After a couple laps around the mall for some Mommy exercise, we headed to the store. I made a beeline for the food isle, grabbed 40 pouches or various flavors and noticed store brand food was on sale: spend $35 get $5 off!  So I checked around and snatched up three bags of store brand yogurt snacks.  No trip is complete without checking out the sales and clearance rack.  I've also learned that when you find something that I like and will most likely never find two in the same size again, I grab it.  Today I found shirts featuring construction equipment which is J&T's current obsession - so two of those ended up in the cart.  I also snatched up two other fall shirts that featured animals wearing glasses - another current obsession.

During check out, the boys "help mama" unload everything and made small talk with another little boy in line behind us.  Between the sales and my store bucks, I spent $44 and ended up with 40 pouches of food and 4 long sleeved t-shirts....not too shabby!

The boys were so well behaved (for two year olds) during mama's little shopping spree that I decided to allow them to ride the mechanical horse and spider man car on our way out.  Needless to say, they each enjoyed the rides and, thankfully, we made it to the car without a melt down.

Tedder was a little excited and yelled "yehaw" the entire time.

Jack was the calm rider who enjoyed kicking the horse and saying "go horsey".

 

Thought for Today:

• Use coupons.
• Don't be afraid to take kids in public - they can smell fear.
• Remember it's the little things in life that our kids remember and cherish the most.
• Store brand squeezy pouches will be consumed just as quickly as high dollar ones.