Freezing Eggs

This is how ya do it:

Crack your eggs into a ice cube tray. 1 egg for each tray compartment. Break the yolk and mix up. After the eggs are frozen put them into a freezer bag.

Use the frozen eggs in whatever you would need a beaten egg in. Omelets, quiche, scrambled, breakfast casseroles, you get the picture.

Maybe if I start to feel super ambitious this weekend, I will find and post some recipes to use the eggs in.

No promises though. I have a ton of cleaning to do before DH comes home for his week off, and I dont like housework.

Such a Mean Mommy

I am such a mean mommy. Friday night I decided that I had enough.

Enough of what?

FIL bought Monk Man a humongous bag of candy a few months ago. Hubbs and I decided that it would be best if we put the bag of candy out of the reach of Monk Man. So the bag of candy ended up on top of the refrigerator.

The top of the refrigerator is our catch all for the things we don't want the kids to have access to. You would be amazed at the variety of stuff up there. Taken away toys, DVDs, candy, sheets of stickers.

Anyway, Monk Man has figured out that if he adjusts the computer chair to its highest seat setting and pushes it against the front of the refrigerator, he can climb up onto the counter and get stuff off the top of the refrigerator.

Every time my attention was directed at anything other than Monk Man, he was sneaking another piece of candy. So I took the whole bag of candy (what was left of it that is) and threw it all in the dumpster. Every last piece.

My reasons for doing so:
1) He has gotten in the habit of snacking all damn day. It is to the point that he wont eat ANYTHING I cook. All he wants is candy.
2) I have really shitty teeth. I have had problems with them my whole life. I spend more time at the dentist than a normal person. I am really worried that Monk Man has inherited my bad teeth genes. If he did, all the sugar that Monk Man eats is going to make the teeth rot out of his head. He already has some discoloration.
3) He will not take naps for me. I love my naps on the weekends. I am not human unless I get a nap at least 1 out of the 2 days. I am hoping that without all the sugar, he will nap with me.
4) On the rare occasion that I give in and buy him a piece of candy in the future, it will seem like a treat not something that is expected.

I really hope that I am doing the right thing.

But with my luck, when he is an adult I am going to find out that he is harboring some sort of twisted hatred towards me for throwing his candy away.

Fathers Day Fudge

1 6 oz (3/4 c) chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter
1 stick margarine
1 c powdered sugar

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

Perfect Pizza

Ingredients
1 1/4 c warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tbls olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornmeal
1 c pizza sauce
Assorted toppings
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Place 1/4 c warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir in sugar. Let stand 5-10 minutes or until bubbly. Add remaining water, oil and salt. Stir in flour until dough pulls away from side of bowl.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, 8-10 minutes. Coat large bowl with cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover loosely. Let rise in warm place until almost double in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Punch down dough. Coat two 12 inch pizza pans with cooking spray; sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Roll dough to fit prepared pans; press dough against edge to form rim. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and top with pizza sauce. Add the toppings and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes longer.

**Hint: The secret to rolling pizza dough is to let it rest for 10 minutes after it is about half the size needed. Then it will easily stretch the rest of the way.

My poor kids

My kids start hearing the word "No!" at a very young age. Around the age they start crawling or eating in the highchair.

I am guessing that Bobblehead has heard "No!" a few hundred times. Monkman has probably heard it 546876845468 times.

"No!" seems to have very little effect on Monk Man. In one ear and out the other. Actually, it has never had much meaning to him. But with Bobblehead, the word seems to crush him.

Just today I was feeding Bobblehead some applesauce and he kept reaching for the spoon. (Don't get me wrong, I will accept it when he can feed himself with a fork and spoon but I really like feeding him and 8 months is a little young for me to start accepting it.) So he got the stern "No!" and when he gave me that look, I thought I was going to cry.

The same thing goes when he discovers that we put the dog's water bowl back on the floor and starts splashing in it. Either I will have to clean up a huge mess or he will try to drink it so I have to bring out my big guns. "No! Stay out of the dog water!" Ugh. Such a sad look.

My Pantry

My Formula Stash


Baby Food, Bottle Liners and Baby Snacks


My Baking Supplies


My Cookbooks


Pasta & Mexican food stuff


Soups


Fruits & Veggies


BBQ Sauce, Chili, Mayo, Jelly and other stuff


No Place to Put these yet-Flour, Sugar, Rice


Potatoes, Onions and Oil


Mac & Cheese, Hamburger Helper & Brownie Mix


Cereals


Crackers


Trash bags, Ziplocks, popcorn, bread & Tortillias




It is a VERY small stash compared to other people. But I am just starting out and going very slowly. I would hate to overdraw the checking account. Again.

I have a pantry project planned for this weekend. Hubbs is going out of town to pick up his work truck. While he is gone, I am going to turn part of my office/junk room into better pantry space and put my small appliances like the deep fryer and crock pots in the hall pantry so I can have a little less clutter in the bedroom.

Yes, I am going to try to build some shelving. Never done this before so keep your fingers crossed I don't pull the walls down while trying to get this accomplished!

Corn

I got my corn dug up and re-planted the right way. Monk Man and I ended up going to the local plant store and we bought more corn.

So now I have 4 sets of 6-8 groups of corn. It is too dark tonight to take a decent picture. But if I remember in the morning, I will post a few.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So far, I have planted tomatoes, watermelons, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, jalapenos, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, corn and green beans.

I have this vision of what is going to happen this fall. I am going to be running around the neighborhood trying to get rid of all these veggies because I KNOW I planted more than what my little family is going to eat and more than I am going to be able to can.

Still nothing on my Trash Can Potatoes.

Whats for dinner tonight?

This is what is for dinner:

Salmon Filet with Mango Cilantro Salsa:
4 6-ounce portions salmon filet

Mango Cilantro Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and ½-inch diced
¼ cup chopped scallion, green part only
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely diced fresh jalapeno
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Bake salmon fillet at 400ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. For Mango Cilantro Salsa, lightly toss all ingredients in bowl. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld. Serve salsa as an accompaniment to salmon. Mango Cilantro Salsa also goes nicely with grilled meat or chicken.
Yield: 4 servings

Of course I am doing it lazy-style with canned jalapeno, jarred garlic, and lime juice from a bottle. But I am going to use the cilantro from my herb garden. We are also having a veggie-stir fry with it.

And even though we went grocery shopping a few days ago and spent almost $200, Hubbs is still going to the store because I can not plan ahead. Got to work on that!

Trash Can Potatoes-Update

Ok, just got off the phone with Hubbs. He laughed at me when I told him about my new project. LoL. Ass.

So this is what he talked me into doing.....Instead of buying a big trash can, I am using one of the gazillion 5-gallon buckets we have laying around. THEN, if that works well, I will upgrade to a trash can. (snort, that sounds funny in my head. I can see why he was laughing at me.)

Wish me luck. Look for some pictures in the next day or so!

Have I mentioned

Have I mentioned how much I HATE cooking? Gawd I hate it. Nothing ever comes out right.

Last night I made a hamburger and potato casserole. Its really simple and I should have no problems with it.

All that is involved is browning a pound of hamburger, slicing potatoes and onions, mixing up a can of cream of mushroom soup and milk. Then you throw it all in a baking dish and cook it for 45 minutes.

You would think that I would be able to not screw it up. Well, I did screw it up. The hamburger burned, the potatoes were still semi-raw, and so were the onions.

I give up! Hubbs is a much better cook than I am. He can do it.

I love playing in the dirt!

We had a very busy Sunday. We went to the plant store and bought $50 worth of veggies and flowers. The whole trunk area of the HHR was full. I planted seeds a few weeks ago but I got impatient. Big shock there. And Monk Man kept pulling the little plants out of the ground.

Oh holy hell this sunburn hurts. I am already peeling. Tomorrow is going to be craptastic.

So the first time in a couple of years, we have a garden again. Yay!

So here are some pictures. Please ignore the dog shit. That is Hub's job. He is slacking. And excuse the mis-spellings. The spell check on this thing makes my images go poof.

Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Colombines



SnapDragons



Blue Daisys



See the bee?



All the flowers together



Another View



All the Veggies Together



Another View



The Herbs



The Herbs again



Anahiem Peppers



Squash



Cucumbers



Corn



More Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Some Fire looking flowers



Some purple flowers that are supposed to smell like vanilla



Giranium



And here is the before...









Not pictured are the Watermelon. I dont know where those pictures disapeared to. Stupid Photobucket.

We use soooo many canned tomatos so I am going to have my grandma or MIL teach me how to can veggies to add to my pantry. I wanted some other veggies but the store did not have them out. I will keep looking though. Even if I spend another $50, I will be saving money. Fresh food from the grocery store is damn expensive. I think that is part of the reason that we dont eat much fresh food. That and I dont know how to cook.

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

4 frozen, chopped sirloin patties, defrosted
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or butter
Garlic salt
Black pepper
3 tsp. beef-flavor instant bouillon
1 to 1 1/2 c. hot water
1 lg. onion, sliced
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces and stems
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Coat each side of patties well with flour.
Heat oil or butter in skillet until hot.
Add patties and brown on both sides.
When brown, pour off excess oil.
Add bouillon to hot water; stir to dissolve or sprinkle bouillon in skillet and add water and stir to dissolve.
Add onion, mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce.
Stir to coat meat.
Cover and simmer gently, about 25 minutes or until fork-tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Makes 4 servings.

Salisbury Steak Recipe

SALISBURY STEAK

10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lean
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350 F.
In medium bowl, combine 1/4 of the soup with remaining ingredients except water; mix well.
Shape into 6 patties; arrange in single layer in 13 x 9-inch or 12 x8-inch baking dish.
Bake uncovered at 350 F. for 30 minutes.
Skim off fat.
In small bowl, combine remaining soup and water; spoon over patties.
Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.
If desired, garnish with mushroom slices.
Serving Size: 6

Stockpiling food? WTF?

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104914/Load-Up-the-Pantry

In case you don't want to read the whole article, this is the VERY FIRST LINE! "I don't want to alarm anybody, but maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.
No, this is not a drill."

Ummm, yeah. You DO want to alarm people, otherwise this would not have been the opening sentence and it would not have been on Yahoo's homepage. STUPID as HELL! Bring on the rioters.

I was brought up LDS and as you probably already know, that church recommends that families keep a year supply. I don't exactly think that is a bad idea. In fact, I know a few people that actually had to use it and their family would not have eaten if it wasn't for the year supply.

But when I hear stockpiling my mind automatically goes to The Great Depression type scenarios. Not good.

But I guess I really SHOULD have more canned goods in my pantry. But if things get as bad as in the past (Great Depression), I better load up on ammo too. And have some cash on hand.

But let me be honest. This is a mobile home, a trailer. It isn't exactly the epitome of storage space. KWIM? He he he, we could always hide the food UNDER the trailer....

For the record, no, I am not JoJoBob. For those of you that were wondering. :)

Planting a garden

So I finally got my ass in gear and started planting again. After a couple of years with no garden, I was starting to get the DTs.