I'm guessing it's a lot

I remember asking my mom once for some tips on being a frugal housewife.  In short, she said it's not as hard as some people think it is.

She said, "We [our family] quit eating out so much.  I made things from scratch.  I quit running to The Sundry Store* every afternoon on my way home from the bank* to get silly things like chips ahoy cookies."

I had to laugh at that detail.  She did not simply say, "To get cookies...."  She said, very specifically, "To get Chips Ahoy Cookies."

Ha.  I wish everyone could be best friends with my mom. Wednesday, I told her I was on my way to the dentist**, and she then proceeded to tell me about how she had to get her tooth pulled the day before.  She did not spare any details.  She used words like root and nerve.  I absolutely loved her for her horrible timing.  Good thing my dentist has a dog.***

Anyway, I didn't really "get it" until just recently, and when I say recently, I mean a few days ago.

She said she made things from scratch.

Sigh.  Do you realize the price we pay for convenience?

I'm guessing it's a lot.

We love to make homemade pizza at our house.  The other night, the tube of dough fell to the floor and cracked.  By the time I used it, the air had gotten to it and the consistency was all off.

Guess what, I made some from scratch and it probably cost a few pennies.  I'm not even kidding.

I recently made breakfast burritos using a recipe from The Simple Dollar and man, they are yummy.  They save me so much time in the mornings, keep me feeling full, and are pretty good for you, to boot.  I even had one for lunch today.

I'm excited to find more "from scratch" recipes and see how much cash it can save us.

Huzzah.  What recipes are you liking these days?  I'm looking for a way to upgrade my pizza crust recipe.  We weren't 100% satisfied.  Suggestions?

Up next for us?  Homemade, taquitos for the freezer! The store bought ones are expensive AND DEEP FRIED! Yikes!

Love and I do not know how to make a long story short, but I do know how to make a short story long.
H.

*The Sundry Store was a little pharmacy/grocery store in town.  I miss places like that where you can run in for milk and take a 2 minute walk through the parking lot as opposed to now where you have to trek 5 miles all the way through Wal-mart.  Also, my mom worked at Key Bank for like, 17 years before she got hired on as office staff at The Middle School.  All her math genes somehow got lost in the shuffle between mom & fetus.  She's a whiz, and I got' nothin'.
** No cavities
***That's right. My dentist has a dog.  2 to be exact.  Sophie & Ruby.  Those gals are pretty much the only thing that keeps me from shaking in my boots the second I walk in the door.

Oatmeal, Strawberry Cream Cakes

I got this idea from The Creative Homemaker.  Gotta give credit where credit's due.  These were so very easy (yet messy) and turned out really wonderful. I made them for my mom's birthday because I wanted something other than a cake (hard to believe, right?)

Here are all the ingredients.

1 bag of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (plus the ingredients needed for those eggs, etc.)
1 tub of marshmallow fluff
1 tub of strawberry cream cheese
chopped strawberries
*sugar to taste
sprinkles

Make the cookies as directed and let them cool

Add chopped strawberries, sugar, marshmallow fluff, and cream cheese

Stir until all of it is well blended! 

Layer cream cheese mixture between two cookies. Add sprinkles and place in fridge to harden/cool.

Next time, I would probably make them a bit smaller.  I just hate seeing a good cookie go to waste!

I think these would be adorable for a baby shower.  You could use blueberries or just marshmallow fluff/whipped cream and blue food coloring for a "boy."

I will definitely be making these again!

Linking up.

Opposite Day

    "Why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time? My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future."

 -Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 

source unknown

          If today were opposite day, I guess this would be how I am feeling.  I woke up with a lot of hope today.  Hope for the future.  When it is all said and done, I don't want us to just 'land on our feet.'   I want to come out on top.  Not in a competitive, high & mighty, kind of way....I just want us to feel like we are living the best versions of ourselves and not just merely surviving.  

But I liked the quote and I wanted to post it anyway.  


In other news, we got 19* inches of snow yesterday, and I don't think I'm ever going to work again.  I'm off to make apple cinnamon french toast casserole.  Wish me luck.  


Love and a preheated oven, 
H.  


* It was actually only more like 5 or 6 inches I think, but exaggerating is fun...but only if you tell the truth afterwards.  

C.P., We're friends

     For those of you who do not know,  I am madly, obsessively in love with my crock pot.  I am not afraid to tell the world.  

I ♥ my crock pot!!!!!

     Last year, I was making copies, and our speech pathologist came in and asked, "Why are you smiling?"  And I blushed and said, "I was just thinking about my crock pot and how happy it makes me to know that dinner is already ready."  She understood.  

I swear, it is like a time machine.  A wonderful, magical time machine.  

     In honor of my creepy desire to frame a photo of dear old, c.p., I will share with you a recipe I tried today.  It was so cheap and so easy.  With the start of a new school year, my goal is to use the crock pot 2 times a week in an attempt to make 'life' less hectic.  We'll see how it goes.  Happy crock potting! 

The Recipe

Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff Recipe

6 boneless chicken breasts

1 (12 ounce) container sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 package dry onion soup mix

Place chicken in crockpot. Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.

My own concoction...

     I only used 3 chicken breasts (it's just the two of us...and I had leftovers).  Also, I messed up and bought cream of chicken instead of mushroom...it was still super yummy.  I cut up some fresh mushrooms and layered them on top. I also mixed regular sour cream w/ 1/2 fat free sour cream (shh..don't tell Tim).  I let it cook on low for 7 hours.  We had it with a dollop of mashed potatoes.  

What I would do next time...

     Add some salt and pepper to taste and also a layer of onion.  I'd also spring for fat-free sour cream in the entire recipe...no mixing half and half.  He'll never know.  

Why I loved it...

Because it was in the crockpot (obviously)

I used a crock pot liner so the clean up was SO EASY

It was super yummy and if you use healthy request cream of chicken (as I did), and fat-free sour cream, it is a generally low cal./fat meal and extremely filling!  

I am thinking about serving this the next time we have company.  

     

     Also, I wonder how it would freeze?  With that being said, my next venture is to start making some meals ahead of time and pop them in the freezer.  Give me one free Saturday and I'd be all set for a week or two! Sounds like heaven, right?  Do you have any good "I froze this and it still tasted delicious" recipes?  

Love and extra mashed potatoes, 

H.  

(I swear, I "Google Imaged" the words "love crock pot" and that picture above is what came up!  Looks like someone else is as addicted as me!)  

Weight Loss Adventures

As promised, now is the time to talk about weight loss. I can actually type that sentence with a smile on my face.  :)  See?  The holidays were ((ahem)) rough, and I gained 2 pounds.  At my next weigh-in, (last Thursday) I had lost 2.4 so I am STILL officially lighter than when I started going to WW Meetings. (that's the goal right?)  


Overall, I have lost about 12 pounds since early November (I started changing my eating BEFORE actually weighing in-attending the meetings).  Even though this is not earth-shattering, I feel amazing.  For the first time in a LONG time, I don't "just" feel like, "I can do this."  I feel like I AM DOING THIS. :)  Tonight, I have a lot of hope.  Maybe we can get second chances.  Maybe we can change our fate or our destiny or whatever ((insert cheesy, inspirational, classical music here)).


I thought about writing a short list of things I've been "living on" lately in case some of you are interested in mixing up your routine or are looking for some healthier options.  


My only advice for some of the following food items is to be brave. :)  Try it. You might like it.  


Reduced-fat peanut butter
eggs-eggs and more eggs!  
low-fat sour cream
"healthy harvest" applesauce cups (no sugar added)
Fiber Plus applesauce cups (try cran-rasperry!)
celery
peanut-butter-banana smoothies w/ splenda (I can give you the recipe if interested) 
potato bread (Aunt Millie's...higher fiber...fewer calories....all the benefits of wheat bread, all the yummy goodness of white bread!)  
mini packs of m-n-m's (only one...you can only eat one!)  :)  
1/2 slices of Kraft singles (yummy melted over eggs in the a.m.)
bananas
CLEMENTINES! CLEMENTINES! CLEMENTINES!  These are so yummy and delicious...I would seriously classify them as a "dessert."  Super easy to peel, seedless and not messy at all.  I peel them at stoplights and eat them in the car
"Lite" string cheese (again, super yummy)
"I can't believe it's not butter" spray (0 fat, Tim loves it...you know it is good if it is 'healthy' and my husband loves it!)  :)  


Surprisingly, I find I am more satisfied with what I am eating.  Saturday afternoon, we were being lazy about our lunch options, and I made a super-easy, super delicious egg dish with tomatoes, spinach and a little bit of cheese (also added spray butter and seasonings).  Before, I probably would have just settled for a "hodge podge" of snacks over a few hours...chips...cereal...peanut butter and jelly, etc.  


I am also surprised by the fact that I am RARELY hungry.  WW has taught me that when you are hungry, you should eat.  I used to eat around 11 a.m., get home late and make dinner around 7 or 8.  That's about 6-9 hours without eating...that is WAY TOO LONG.  Now, I have learned to prepare for my hungry times.  Instead of "packing a lunch," I pack for ALL DAY.  I leave work prepared for a mid-morning snack (something quick/subtle/easy usually fruit while my kids are working or reading around 9:30 or 10), lunch, and an after school snack (cereal bar, pre-packaged peanut butter and crackers, etc.)  I eat that in the car or at my desk around 4 or 5... after a big bottle of water and my snacky-snack, I am ready to keep on truckin' till dinner...and I don't come home ready to eat anything that's not nailed down. 


YOU DON'T HAVE TO STARVE, in fact, if you are, you are doing something wrong, my friend.  


Example Given:  


Tomorrow, for lunch, I am taking a salad:  spinach/iceberg lettuce mix w/ mixed nuts, blue cheese crumbles, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and lite rasp. vinagrette dressing (fruit on salad used to freak me out, but this is fantastic.  It is copied from O'Charley's California Chix. Salad recipe)  1/2 peanut butter sandwich, carrot sticks w/ fat-free dip, and some kind of fruit or cereal bar.  


Tomorrow night, I have P/T conferences so I am looking forward to eating something healthy and scrumptous from Subway.  


Breakfast is still up in the air, probably toast/coffee in the car  around 6:30 and fruit around 9am.  


In other news, we were napping today and Tim said, and I quote, "You feel skinny."  

I feel skinny? Why not. Let's just go with it.  :)  I am also surprised by my level of energy.  I forgot how it felt, and yowza, it feels good.  Also, there are bones and tendons in my neck?  Did you know hiding under all that softness there was a collar bone down there?  Well, its there in all it's glory, and it's a tad bit sexy if I don't say so myself. 


So, let's re-cap.  Eating healthy can be delicious. You are NOT supposed to spend the majority of your day mimicking a Hungry Hungry Hippo.  You can change your destiny.  Tomorrow is Monday. Think of something you have always wanted to do and take a baby step by the end of this week.  Let me know how it goes.  


Sweet Readers, if a sugar addict can lose 50 pounds, spend a year relapsing, lose 12 pounds and then write an entire blog about how she thinks she could make fruit a dessert then surely YOU can accomplish the impossible. :)  

My best to you...now go buy some butter spray and clementines!  


Love, 
H.