Pallet for Home

My friend Lisa gave me this recipe for restaurant style Chicken Tortilla Soup.  It's become one of our most favorite recipes.  Since it takes cilantro and Poblano peppers it can get expensive, but watch for sales and stock up on those fresh items when you can.

Cilantro leaves can be cut from stems and frozen whole until ready to use.  It's also super easy, although rather invasive, to grow but is mostly a cool weather crop so keep that in mind.

Poblano peppers are also very easy to grow.  We ended up with only one plant last year thanks to some hungry gophers, but we still had as many peppers as we could eat fresh, and freeze, with only one plant! 

Lisa's Favorite Tortilla Soup
1 cup chopped onion
6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 Poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp. cumin seed
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
Cook above ingredients in hot oil about 5 minutes, or until tender, stirring constantly.

Add the following:
1 1/2 cups (about 3 ears) fresh cut corn kernals
     (Use a package of frozen corn in winter)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 14oz. cans chicken broth (about 3 1/2 cups.  I use bone broth!)
1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken
2 bunches snipped fresh cilantro

Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered until tomatoes are tender.  Serve with:
tortilla chips
shredded cheese
cilantro
sour cream

Just found this Kotex Money Back Guarantee (exp 3/20), thanks to Couponing to Disney!  Pair this with a Walgreens sale and coupons, and it would be a great money maker!

If you like Physicians Formula products, there are several rebates available for 2010.  Print them now, and then match up with a sale for some great free cosmetics.  There are also several different peelies to watch for, including a $2/1 Shimmer Strips and $3/1 Organic Wear!

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Make-up Removers Rebate x 12/31/10 pdf

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Mascara Duo Rebate x 12/31/10  pdf

Physicians Formula Bamboo Wear™ Compact, Mirror & Brush Rebate x 12/31/10 pdf

I was able to stockpile three packages of chicken sausages which were $0.99 with coupon. The $0.99 tomatoes were included in the Chicken Tortilla Soup we had tonight (first photo), AND Brushetta which is on the menu for tomorrow, AND a quart of diced fresh tomatoes which are now in the freezer.  All that for less than the price of one can of tomatoes.  I'll post the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe tomorrow!

We are down to a few oranges and a pint of blackberries in the fridge, but I have some frozen berries in the freezer, and hope to pick up cheap apples tomorrow.  That should get us through to the end of the month with fruits, and we have enough milk and eggs carried over from Week 3.

Total grocery spending for Week 4:  $40.59. 

This post is linked to:
MoneySavingMom's SuperSaving Saturday
BeautyAndBedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Ann Kroeker's Food on Fridays

I received this question from one of my friends: Would you share your favorite children's books?

I know this will sound funny to some, but we loved the Get Fuzzy Comics by Darby Conley. I believe at one time we owned every book he ever published!
 

They are bite sized, so a kinistetic child can move through them at their own pace. Comics use words and pictures to tell a story, but they are not all created equal.  We chose black and white comics, to not overstimulate the reader, and chose to purchase the books so they could be read and reread at our leisure.
 
We also loved anything to do with whatever interest we had at the moment: Royal Dairies, American Girl books, and Hank the Cowdog, which can be found through most local libraries or ILL. My readers were connection driven, and wanted a story, so fiction books were the better choice for the majority of our reading in the early years.  We did choose some historical fiction, especially as the reader matured.

The important thing for us was to be interested in what we were reading, not to read from a list compiled by someone who knew nothing about us. Some people call that type of reading "cake" but I say, let them eat cake.  There will be plenty of time for booklists.

Lots of amimal books, and lots of reading in short spirts throughout the day were also key to developing the love of reading.  I personally never imposed grade level limits on reading (above or below), and limited the number of books checked out from the library to 50.  Yes.  I said 50.  She could go though that many in a week, looking for something that held her interest until the next library visit.

Did it work? My daughter now reads an average of 130 books a year and has two book blogs. She publishes book reviews for Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, LitFuze, Revel, and Tyndale and is friends with many Christian authors from around the US. She recently moved her clothes out of a drawer in her dresser to make way for her growing personal library!

I'm not bragging; I'm making a point. Don't be concerned about following traditional methods. Pray, and then do what works for your family!

MoneySavingMom and a host of other terrific bloggers have come together to create a new forum for blogger education!  I'm excited to be participating in their TwitterParty tonight.  Here's the info from MSM:

We're hosting a Savvy Blogging Twitter Party on Thursday evening (January 21, 2010) from 9-11 p.m. EST and you are invited to come.

I've got a cake in the oven, and cup of Chai tea, so I'm ready to go.  Hop on over and participate in the fun! Look for me on the TweetGrid.  My name is @goodplans, of course!  See you there.

Head to Coweta CountryMart and pick up some of the Healthy Lifestyles coupon flyers near the registers to do this deal. 

Reasor's has a $2.00 OYNO (on your next order) Catalina coupon printing WYB (when you buy) 3 or more Ragu sauces. You can use the in~ad Reasor's coupon plus the $1.00 off coupon from the Healthy Lifestyles flyer for cheap Ragu sauces!    Deal is dead.  Ended on January 21!

Thanks, Kristi!

It would be nice if I actually had a plan!  I've been battling a little health issue, which has interfered with my life, including planning the meals for this week.  But I'm not giving up!

Today, we had cereal with milk and hash browns for breakfast.  Lunch was baked potato and quiche with salsa, a weird combo, but my dd17 loves baked potatoes and since they have more bio-available potassium than a banana, I let her have them as often as she wishes.  She also weighs 98 pounds...  I on the other hand, stick with the quiche.

This evening we had a yummy green salad with baked chicken, cottage cheese, and a black eyed pea salad with fresh cilantro.  I didn't like it as much as I had anticipated, but my dh likes cilantro, so he'll have the rest with lunches, or crackers for a snack later in the week.  I also took a loaf of Panera Asiago Cheese bread from the freezer, and toasted it in the oven to have warm with the rest of a cheese ball. 

The Pantry Challenge plan for the rest of  Week 4 looks something like this:

Breakfasts
Quiche cups with phyllo dough, fresh orange juice
Homemade waffles with peanut butter and bananas, milk (using my waffle maker!!!)
Bagels with cream cheese, milk or cocoa
Shredded Wheat with milk
Cinnamon rolls with milk, stewed apples
Repeats x2

Dinners
Chili with beans, onions, cheese and fritos, Apple Sticky Bun Bread Pudding (new!)
Spaghetti/Ravoili with tomato meat sauce, parmesan, green salad
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Cabbage Sausage Stew, bread
Beef and Noodles with English peas, (my new recipe for the week) with Cinnamon Pumpkin Cake

Lunches
Bean & Cheese Quesadillas, carrot sticks with ranch
Green salad with baked chicken, orange slices
Grilled Cheese sammies,
Creamy Mac & Cheese or Creamy Fettuccine (another new recipe!)
Pigs in Blankets (to have with leftover chili)
Leftovers from dinners

I'm going to try my Any Meal Cheese Pie recipe, and make Quiche Cups using  phyllo dough I have frozen. I've gotten to the "creative stage" in the Pantry Challenge!  I'm out of my comfort zone, and am having to put together things we don't normally eat, but I know I can do this!

Ann asked if I would post my recipe for homemade biscuits, but I have to admit that it is not my original recipe.  It came from a Southern Living magazine article written by Deborah Lowery, circa 1987,  and the recipe was created by Mrs. Ken Altizer, from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cloud Biscuits
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients, then cut in shortening.  Combine egg and milk, beat slightly, then add to flour mixture, stirring until just moistened.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead 3 or 4 times.  Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter.  Bake at 450* for 10-12 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter, if desired.

I hope you like them as much as we do!

Here's a link from my friend, Shannon, who has a blog called All Things Health.  She shares great recipes and thoughts on food and nutrition.  Her bone broth description should help you get started with making this wonderfully nutritious food.  Enjoy!

My Big Give results for the week were pretty exciting!  I was able to clean out a little of the pantry, and decided to bless another family with some of my abundance.  I also cleared out several clothing items from our closets, and a few odd dishes that really were not necessary.  So since the new year, I've given 23 items away! 

Sadly, I also broke an antique lamp because my giveaway box had become lodged under the bookshelf where the lamp was sitting.  So, my house is actually 24 items lighter, but I'm not counting the lamp in my total since I could only throw it away after the disaster! Needless to say, I was not a happy camper after that little incident, and the 30 minutes it took to clean up the glass from my concrete floors.

As far as the Pantry Challenge, I've done really well this week.  We finished off the last of the fresh strawberries from the wedding, but still have plenty of other fruits.  One night we had Crockpot Swiss Steak, and I saved half the package of steak to marinate and grill.  We also had a turkey soup made with the frozen carcass from Christmas. It stretched into lunches for two days for the whole family!  I'll include the recipe below.

We had the steaks I set aside on Friday night with baked potatoes, and steamed cauliflower, and watched a bit of Little Dorrit.  If you like costume dramas, keep reading as I have links and news for the latest BBC/PBS films now airing.

My overall spending for the week was $26.34 but the breakdown reveals I actually did quite well.  I purchased lunch for myself, my dd17 and a friend we picked up after car trouble for a cost of $8.65.  I also purchased 2 gallons of raw milk ($7.50), because my friend was going to the dairy (about 45 minutes away.)  I also was given another gallon of milk the same day, so I have enough now for two weeks!  Overall, that puts my spending in the $10 range for Week 3!  It's my best total yet!

If you're interested in free entertainment, I have great news! In case you haven't heard, Return to Cranford is playing now on Masterpiece, Sunday nights on PBS. If you missed the first episode, you can watch it online here. The second episode will air tomorrow evening.  Check your local listings for times!

When it concludes, I believe the new Emma with Romola Garai will begin the following week.  We have seen it once already online, and it was excellent.  This is another great BBC/PBS movie we will own! 

Here's the recipe for Gramps' Chicken Basil Soup and then directions on how I modified it.

Gramp's Chicken Basil Soup
In crockpot, assemble the following:
1 chicken leg/thigh portion or 2 thighs
2 carrots, peeled or scrubbed, and diced
3 cloves garlic
3 chicken bullion cubes
lots of basil, dried or fresh.  We like fresh best, leaves only, chopped fine. *
sea salt
pepper
cayenne to taste (about 1/2 tsp. is my preference)
water to cover everything plus two to three cups

Reserve the following:
1/2 cup cooked barley**
2/3 cup cooked rice***

Add ingredients except rice and barley to crockpot.  Cook all day on low.  Stir in barley and rice about 30 minutes before serving.  Can also be cooked on stove.

Now here are my notes and modifications:
*basil ~ I prefer to use fresh from the garden, and because of the bulk of fresh leaves, the measurement is probably about 1 to 1/2 loose cups of leaves.  If using dry, use at least 1 Tbsp. crushed, (meaning crush it in your palm before adding to soup!).  Let it cook all day, then add more to taste at end, if needed.

**barley ~ I don't prefer barley, but will use it occassionally.  Don't add uncooked barley, as the starch will make the soup slimey and thick, like pudding.  Not a good texture for soup, trust me.

**rice ~ If cooking on the stove, you can add uncooked rice, and let simmer until the rice is tender.  Just make sure you have enough liquids to keep the soup from getting too thick, as rice absorbs 1 1/2 cups or so of liquids for every 1 cup of dry rice.  You may also use frozen rice, or leftover rice from another dish and add to crockpot during last hour or so of cooking time.

This is a very "forgiving" recipe and a family favorite here, when served with a crusty bread and green salad.

I used the carcass of my Christmas turkey to make the broth for this soup, by using the Bone Broth recipe that includes a little bit of vinegar to draw the nourishment from the bones.  The one I use is actually from Nourishing Traditions, but the one listed above looks about the same.  If you haven't made this recipe, you really should try it.  It's especially great if you've had any type of illness because the nutrients are bio~available.  I make my bone broth in the crockpot for 18 hours, or on the stove for about 6 hours.

I just watched this unbelievable video on the levels on plastic versus plankton in the Pacific Ocean. My biggest question is how come I can't see it when I take a bucket of water from the ocean to dump on my sandcastle? Granted there's always debris on the coast and washing up in huge chunks but it seems like I would be able to see more of it in my cup of sea water. Perhaps I've just never worn my glasses to the beach. Perhaps they're too small to see without a microscope. Regardless, I think I need to start making more plastic jewelry from my bottle caps and bottles!

Watch the video here

This is my first plastic bottle necklace:

I received the following in an email this week:
    
     "We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me happy, and a piece of chocolate with my friends..

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.


Beginning today, when I look at my self in the mirror I will think, 'Good grief, look how smart I am!'"