Freezer Waffles

This morning I was able to make the freezer waffles mentioned a few posts ago.  Any help I can get for saving time before my son's bus arrives on a school morning is great.

beaten egg whites .. photo by Mrs. Mac

 The recipe is adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American cookbook .. listed under Mom's Basic Waffle Batter.  I've gone and upped it one by making mine with whole wheat white flour (you can mix equal parts of whole wheat and white flour .. or use a finely milled whole wheat flour) .. the recipe below has been doubled.


recipe:

3-1/2 cups flour (see above note)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks, beaten
4 tablespoons melted butter or oil
3 cups milk
6 egg whites, beaten until stiff (set aside)

I used two waffle irons to make quick work .. photo by Mrs. Mac

In a stand mixer with a large bowl, whip the egg whites until quite stiff with a whip attachment .. set aside in another bowl.   Add the dry ingredients to the emptied out bowl and mix for a quick second with the regular beater on low.  Add the milk, beaten yolks and oil/butter to dry ingredients and mix for 30-45 seconds.  If using all whole wheat, I find you might want to add a tablespoon or two of extra flour as it's a thinner consistency than using all white flour.  Now add the egg whites and fold them into the batter carefully by hand or by turning the beater on and off a few times (don't over incorporate the egg whites).

Bake on your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions .. or until they stop steaming when cooking.  Dry the waffles on wire racks to allow the waffles to cool completely on both sides.  Place in heavy plastic bags and store in the freezer until needed. 

To reheat frozen waffles .. take out the needed quantity and let come to room temp.  Place in a preheated oven (350F) .. for about a minute directly on the wire oven rack .. just until heated.

store waffles once cooled in plastic bags and pop in the freezer .. photo by Mrs. Mac

This endeavor produced 20 waffles .. five of which were consumed hot off the irons for breakfast .. and 15 for the freezer. 

bread ready for final rise .. by Mrs. Mac

Hubby is reading 'Food Rules' and 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' .. both books by Michael Pollan.  I think I will be writing out the food rules on little 3x5 index cards and drilling him ..  maybe even add a few of my own rules.  It's a step in the right direction.  Yesterday .. he mentioned he'd like to learn to make bread.  There's always hope of reforming a 'Wonder (white squishy) Bread' boy, eh? :)

Today is our monthly budget day.  This, again, is an area hubby wants to gain knowledge of the process .. Oh, yes, he sees the end result .. no debt .. nutritious food on the table .. his cash envelopes filled.  But he is wise to see how it's done and to have a look-see at all the budget categories.  Just knowing that he wants to try and eat healthier when away from home .. or when I am out of town .. and how to manage the finances .. is music to my heart. 

homemade bread .. by Mrs. Mac

This week in the kitchen I'm tackling making and canning chili (meat and beans separately), making waffles to store in the freezer for quick school morning breakfasts, and looking into buying more food items in bulk .. which means figuring out where and how much to purchase, and how to store it all.  Any suggestions for bulk ordering would be helpful. 

Ants are creatures of little strength,
   yet they store up their food in the summer

Proverbs 30:25

Small Steps

Big gains. 


It's hard to remember shopping with store coupons for ready made food products.  Our food bill was about double what it is now.  The change to eating whole foods started off slowly and has snowballed.  A little step here and there has added up to a total makeover with more changes to follow.  Having a set amount of cash to shop with each month, slowly stocking up on single item pantry/freezer goods (flour, eggs, veggies, meat .. etc) .. makes for quick meal preparation and planning.  Purchasing went from several times a week to once or twice a month.  Honestly .. yesterday was big shopping day for the month of November.  Our budget is $400 cash (family of four); this does not include much meat as that is separately budgeted and purchased from a local ranch each summer and kept in a chest freezer.  Having a well stocked pantry, I came home with only four bags of grocery staples.  Milk, cheese, spices, potatoes, tea, chips, etc. leaving me $220 until the end of the month.  Over the summer, the garden and local u-pick farm supplied fresh produce, much of which has been frozen, canned or dried for winter's use.  Buying and growing locally usually ensures better quality.  Getting to know the farmer and their farming practices helps when making choices outside of your own garden.  Separate freezer space allows for extra gallons of milk to be stored until needed, eliminating that dash to the market (that turns into a $20 shopping spree).  Milk and hard cheese both freeze beautifully.  Just remember to pour a little out of the carton to allow for expansion; the extra can be put in a wide-mouth labeled mason jar and frozen.  When we are out of milk it's nice to have a few cups in the freezer to tide us over until shopping day.  Learning to budget food has taken about six months.  Eliminating convenience foods has freed up dollars to buy good quality staples such as flour, oil, milk, produce, etc.  With the exception to canning and bread making, cooking from scratch takes no more time than ready made convenience food with practice.  Adapting our favorite family recipes to be more nutritiously prepared has won over my family to eat better. 

photo by Mrs. Mac

Yesterday's lesson:  Everyday I try to learn something new in the kitchen.    My husband and daughter still prefer those yummy-foo-foo sweetened (FAKE) creamers.  Thinking outside of the BIG BOX store mentality, (and not having the money in the budget for their 'desires') I purchased half-and-half and doctored it up, making it a little less sweet and without all the FAKE chemicals.  We call it Autumn Carmel Spice Coffee Creamer, they're hooked :)  .. I'll drink mine black or with a splash of milk.  You can make flavored creamers using a similar method and your flavor of choice.

Autumn Carmel Spice Coffee Creamer:

1/2 pint good quality half and half (the only ingredients should be cream and milk)
1 Tablespoons organic sucanant (unrefined sugar)
2-3 Tablespoons organic raw sugar
dash of cinnamon
small pinch of sea salt
1 Teaspoon good quality pure vanilla flavoring (watch the ingredients .. they should all be pronounceable and familiar ones:)


Put a few tablespoons of half and half in a small sauce pan.  Add the sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt.  Stir over medium heat for just a moment until the sugars dissolve.  Do not let it come to a boil or the butterfat will separate and float on top of your coffee (bleck).  Slowly add the additional half and half and the vanilla.  Stir until well mixed.  Cool and pour back in the carton .. marking it as flavored coffee creamer.

The road to better nutrition is as individual as each family.  Do you have a favorite shopping strategy?

Home Preserving Tomatoes

This week and last have been spent busily in the kitchen canning various tomato recipes.  While I love to have tomatoes canned and on the shelf, it's nice to have some in the freezer too.  The recipe below is one that was handed down to me by a neighbor.  It had been given to her .. and I'm not sure of the origins.  I made it last year .. and was very happy with how easy it is to make ... it's slow cooking as I type.

Crock Pot Tomato Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onions, chopped
1-1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 - six ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the onions, carrots, peppers and garlic until tender.  Place vegetable mixture and remaining ingredients in a 5 quart crock pot.  Cook on high for 8 hours.  When done, cool then divide into 2 cup portions and freeze.  Yields 11 cups.

You can puree it a bit if desired in a food processor after it's cooked and cooled.

To Market .. To Market ... To Buy A

... Fat Pig ... Home again .. home again jiggity jig.

Off in a bit to pick up our yearly supply of organic Selkirk area beef AND an organic hog .. complete with hams and chops!  Last year we ordered a quarter of beef and that amount lasted our family of four with lots of company (so far) eleven months.  Only thing left is a prime rib, short ribs and two roasts.  The chest freezer has been cleaned out and defrosted ...ready and waiting.  This is our first year buying a hog.  Hoping my freezer space is big enough.

Everything Soup

The past two weeks I've made some pretty good soup with already made chicken stock I have in the freezer as the base.  Then to be super thrifty I add leftover rice or pasta along with some carrots and whatever leftover little bit of veggies we have in the fridge.  Add some dehydrated onion/garlic ... and herbs.  Last week I added frozen garden zucchini and a little bit of cooked pinto beans ... with some Mexican seasonings ... the kids just raved about the soup and didn't mind that they were eating up the leftovers ... Of course I told them about the leftovers AFTER they started raving about the soup;)  Watch out Campbell's Soups... Mrs. MacFrugal is cutting out a bit of your profits ... and feeding her family food without JUNK preservatives and loads of salt.  Do you have a way of incorporating leftovers into a 'new' and exciting meal for your family?

Image from here

To Market To Market To Buy A Fat Pig

....home again, home again ... jiggity jig!

Our recent family vacation is fading into the photo album and memory bank.  It was so nice to visit a warm weather destination, but the comfort of home was calling to me all the while.  Traveling with a special needs child is EXHAUSTING!  Today will bring the challenge of getting Nathan back into the school routine.  My day will begin in about ten minutes when I have to wake him up to catch the school bus. 

The morning will be spent unpacking, sorting laundry, putting away various travel items, and making out the grocery list .... then heading out to the market. 

A good basic turkey soup will be on the menu for dinner ... pulled from the freezer will be deliciously prepared turkey frozen in stock.  It will be a easy-frugal dinner.  Soup, green salad, home baked rolls. 

Afternoon chores should include inspecting the garden grounds, taking stock of the compost pile, turning over some bare soil that I hope is thawed. 

It's so good to be home.

Poor Man's Hummus

I like hummus but can't always fork over $ for the cost of the tahini (sesame seed paste). Yesterday while rummaging through the pantry I came across a package of past their prime garbanzo beans. What the heck ... cooked 'em up and they were a little flat tasting. Being frugal ... what to do? Aah ... marinate them ... this solved the problem. The recipe below produced a good tasting, tangy-lemony, lower fat version of traditional hummus ... and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

1 -2 cups drained marinated garbanzo beans*
buttermilk or thinned out plain yogurt
a clove or two of garlic
favorite flavorings: herbs, cayenne pepper, etc.

Place the drained beans in a blender. Add a little buttermilk (start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup) and blend to smooth paste. Add more buttermilk if it's too thick for a dip. Add additional flavorings and blend again. Serve with tortilla chips, veggie sticks .. or use as a sandwich spread.

*to marinate garbanzo beans use either canned or home cooked beans. Using a pint size jar, fill it 1/4 with apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of olive oil, two tablespoons water, your favorite dried herb (I used a pinch of tarragon), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp sugar. With lid on .. shake well. Add about two inches of drained beans and add a lemon slice. Fill up the jar with additional drained beans and place a lemon slice on top. If more liquid is needed ... just add a little more water. Put on the lid and shake well. Refrigerate overnight. Ready to eat or make into hummus the following day. From a one pound bag I made up almost four full jars of marinated beans this way. Three went into the freezer (allow about one inch of head space in the jar if you freeze the extra beans).

Photo credit and to read more about beans in general visit here.

There are a few inside household 'chores' that are required several times a year in a thrifty home. One that is on my 'to do' list is emptying my kitchen's pantry closet; sorting, tossing out, and reorganizing food staples. Cleaning toast crumbs from the toaster ... and the ones that fall through the white wire shelving and land on the floor. Checking for expiration dates, any sign of pests in the opened goods, and rotating canned goods having oldest near the front of the shelf. This plan is in the 'brain .. wait and see .. when the mood strikes ... mode' for now. But at least if I commit it to a blog post, the thought will nag at me until it's completed ... please hold me accountable and ask in about a week or two if I've completed this task :)

Our supply of frozen and canned summer veggies is dwindling. Next year it will be necessary to better judge how much to store away for winter. And, perhaps, I'll try my hand at some garden row covers to protect autumn plants to extend the growing season. My experiment of growing lettuce in the basement with a grow light is still in progress. Some of the plants now have four leaves and look sturdy. We're down to our last jar of basil pesto ;(

Mystery ice cream flavor revealed:

Name: Winning name suggestion ... Banana Float (submitted by Patrick)

Ingredients: half and half, whole milk, sugar, rennet, ripe banana, birch (or root) beer extract.

The double blind fold test came back: Successful flavor! Good color, texture, taste, aroma!

Recipe: Makes 1/2 gallon

3 Junket (brand) rennet tablets
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups of whole milk
2 cups of half and half (or heavy cream if you want to fatten your thighs ;)
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons birch or root beer extract
1 soft/ripe banana (no brown bruises please;)

Directions are here using the standard vanilla recipe .. of course substituting root beer for vanilla flavoring. Add a well smashed banana to the mixture during the last ten minutes of hand crank or electric freezing.

Inspiration: As a child I favored the banana and root beer freezer pops often eating one bite of banana followed by one bite of root beer. The mixture of flavors is quite good.

Scientific experimentations have been going on in The Thrifty/Garden Home's test kitchen


yesterday and today. Starting off with a new recipe for Italian bread (akin to French bread ;) .. , mystery flavored ice cream (I have to do a double blind test on a few lab rats ... ahem, I mean family and neighbors before I reveal this flavor) ... could be a hit with Ben and Jerry if the mystery is revealed too soon .. and I don't want to give them reason to worry about competition ;) ... chocolate zucchini bread, peach butter, peach pie fillings, and something else that will come to mind later (I'm sure). I'll let you know what flipped and what flopped. Pictures, recipes and results to follow. Oh, IT came to mind before hitting 'publish' ... a big jar of refrigerator (Claussen type) pickles.

Pics: Mrs. Mac's kitchen 'pretties' , a few lovable 'lab rats', the experimentation chair.

Filler Up ... (the freezer that is)

Winter is (well, not often talked about once the snow melts .. but is just around the bend) coming .. time to get the pantry, larder, and freezer stocked. Come winter, it's nice to be hunkered in as the snow piles up outside. Work from the summer months is stored away and only steps from the kitchen to prepare. Summer is a hectic season .. but winter brings much needed rest. We are in the process of stocking up for the coming months .. months without the backyard garden. Canned goods are being made .. veggies frozen .. berries preserved .. jams made .. all in preparation for winter. That time of year that warms the soul with good soup, good company, and more time to relax than in the summer.

How do you prepare for winter?

What's being harvested this week in the garden?

I got so excited today to pick some rhubarb! I planted it only this spring and was directed that it needs to wait until the second year before harvesting a few stalks ... but one of the three plants had some gigantic stalks that were just aching to be made into a pie. There are still plenty of small and medium size pieces left (at least 40 between the three plants) to carry it over until next years production.

Our sugar peas are being picked each morning. I have enough for the freezer every few days ... and some for the evening dinner table. My walla-walla onions are so plentiful that a few were picked (undersized) to go with the peas for our meal.

The lettuce is producing well with several different varieties. Our turnips are thinning out, but newly planted seeds are already sprouting. Radish and green onions as well as spinach have made delicious salad ingredients too.

Herbs including thyme, basil, rosemary, cilantro, and tarragon have regular appearances in the nightly fare.

We have had no slug problems around the veggies that had ground up egg shells sprinkled on the soil. And relatively few bugs on the lettuce.


What have you been harvesting?

My friend, Pat, in Michigan said to wrap my ever so green tomatoes in newspaper to store away in the basement for a little while. Well, that method has worked beautifully for ripening them. I was able to use about six pounds of the ruby jewels to make a fresh-frozen salsa. Six pints of the delicious sauce awaits our enjoyment during the long winter months. To make it I followed Mrs. Darlings recipe below, omitting the cumin and using a jalepeno minus the seeds instead of the chili pepper. It's not too hot nor too mild. As Goldilocks would say, 'It's just right." I hope you will try it. We still have at least seven or eight pounds of tomatoes left in various stages of ripeness. Perhaps I'll make more freezer salsa next week.

I have to run to the store to purchase some tortilla chips. You can just imaging how hard it is to have this wonderful salsa and no chips :) Enjoy your day.

For salsa recipe, visit Dishpan Dribble's canning page here and scroll down to September 30, 2008 (I couldn't get a direct link to this one recipe ;)