Mommy
Anything you can do before the dinner hour will make your meal prep time so much easier.
The biggest time and money saving thing you can do is to make a meal plan. I read a great eBook by Angela Coffman that taught me so much about meal planning. She suggested making a Master Meal Plan. I chose to make 2 full months. Now, at the beginning of each month I can just take my master plan and plug in the weeks I want. While I make my meal plan I also have my grocery list by my side. I put the items I need to buy for the meals on the grocery list and I make a separate list of items I need to check and see if we need them on the grocery list. When I am done planning, I go to the pantry and freezer to check and add to the grocery list as needed.
One of the best things I have done for grocery shopping is to make a master grocery list and arrange it by isle in the grocery store. This takes a fair amount of work upfront but it makes shopping so much faster! I print the list out and keep it on the fridge. When I need to add something to the list I just grab the highlighter and mark what I need.
Making dinner in the morning so it can just be put in the oven at dinner time or using the slow cooker are awesome ways to minimize the "dinner time craziness".
Love Always,
Mommy
Showing posts with label hints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hints. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Separating Eggs
Mr. Fred Weldon forwarded a video to me
Plastic water bottle
Eggs
To separate the egg white from the yolk, crack the egg into a shallow bowl. Turn the empty water bottle upside down and gentle squeeze the bottle. Place the opening of the bottle on the yolk and slowly release the bottle. It will suck the egg yolk up into the bottle and leave the egg white behind.
You children and I watch a video of this being done. The video was in Chinese, but we got the gist of it anyway. We just had to try it. It worked so well! I was amazed! This is an incredible quick and fun way to separate egg whites and yolks! You guys kept saying, "Watch that again! Do that again!". :)
Love Always,
Mommy
Plastic water bottle
Eggs
To separate the egg white from the yolk, crack the egg into a shallow bowl. Turn the empty water bottle upside down and gentle squeeze the bottle. Place the opening of the bottle on the yolk and slowly release the bottle. It will suck the egg yolk up into the bottle and leave the egg white behind.
You children and I watch a video of this being done. The video was in Chinese, but we got the gist of it anyway. We just had to try it. It worked so well! I was amazed! This is an incredible quick and fun way to separate egg whites and yolks! You guys kept saying, "Watch that again! Do that again!". :)
Love Always,
Mommy
Cheese Hint
Mommy
Shredding your own cheese is so much cheaper than buying pre-shredded cheese. We can buy a 2.5 lb block of high quality Tilamok Cheddar Cheese at Costco or Sams and shred it in the food processor. Our cost comes out to half of what we would spend per cup on already shredded cheese.
Joshua is allergic to so many things but we discovered that he can eat Tilamok cheese. This was a fantastic discovery! It was due to the fact that Joshua could eat this cheese but not others that Mommy really took a hard look at the cost of shredding a block of cheese instead of buying already shredded cheese. Joshua's allergies have been a blessing in so many ways! The Lord has really used his dietary limitations to teach Mommy so much about healthy foods and has helped our family learn a tremendous amount about working around obstacles. I praise the Lord for the way He has made Joshua and for giving us the wisdom we need to help Joshua be healthy and comfortable.
Shredding your own cheese is so much cheaper than buying pre-shredded cheese. We can buy a 2.5 lb block of high quality Tilamok Cheddar Cheese at Costco or Sams and shred it in the food processor. Our cost comes out to half of what we would spend per cup on already shredded cheese.
Joshua is allergic to so many things but we discovered that he can eat Tilamok cheese. This was a fantastic discovery! It was due to the fact that Joshua could eat this cheese but not others that Mommy really took a hard look at the cost of shredding a block of cheese instead of buying already shredded cheese. Joshua's allergies have been a blessing in so many ways! The Lord has really used his dietary limitations to teach Mommy so much about healthy foods and has helped our family learn a tremendous amount about working around obstacles. I praise the Lord for the way He has made Joshua and for giving us the wisdom we need to help Joshua be healthy and comfortable.
Left Overs Hints
Mommy
The Wilkes Team showed us an easy way to warm up left over rice or noodles and it works great for warming up food for Joshua. Boil some water and add the cold rice or noodles to the water. It only takes a minute or two once the water boils to get the food hot again.
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Have a air tight container in the freezer to add the small amounts of left over vegetables, meat, etc. from meals. Keep adding to the container until it is full. Have another container to collect left over sauces. Make Left Over Soup by adding the frozen leftovers to broth. See recipe ideas in the soup section.
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Don't toss left over baked potatoes! Peel and shred them for hash browns, cube cold potatoes and freeze them to add to soup later, or make twice baked potatoes!
Don't toss those leftovers! If they don't get fed to the chickens there are lots of ways to use them for the next meal! :) It's easy to be wasteful but you can save money on the grocery bill with just a little planning of how to use those leftovers!
Love Always,
Mommy
The Wilkes Team showed us an easy way to warm up left over rice or noodles and it works great for warming up food for Joshua. Boil some water and add the cold rice or noodles to the water. It only takes a minute or two once the water boils to get the food hot again.
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Have a air tight container in the freezer to add the small amounts of left over vegetables, meat, etc. from meals. Keep adding to the container until it is full. Have another container to collect left over sauces. Make Left Over Soup by adding the frozen leftovers to broth. See recipe ideas in the soup section.
____________________________________________________
Don't toss left over baked potatoes! Peel and shred them for hash browns, cube cold potatoes and freeze them to add to soup later, or make twice baked potatoes!
Don't toss those leftovers! If they don't get fed to the chickens there are lots of ways to use them for the next meal! :) It's easy to be wasteful but you can save money on the grocery bill with just a little planning of how to use those leftovers!
Love Always,
Mommy
Lettuce Hints
Mommy
To core a head of iceberg lettuce, hold the lettuce with the core side down. Quickly and firmly whack the core on the counter top. This will break the core all the way around. Flip it over and remove the core.
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Wash lettuce right before using. Washing it ahead of time will cause it to spoil more quickly unless you can dry it. If preparing the lettuce ahead of time a paper towel in the bottom of the bowl will help absorb the excess water. Water will cause the lettuce to spoil.
Salads are so versatile. You children and I really like to have salad for lunch. There are many easy and tasty salad dressings that you can make at home. So, eat more salad! :)
Love Always,
Mommy
To core a head of iceberg lettuce, hold the lettuce with the core side down. Quickly and firmly whack the core on the counter top. This will break the core all the way around. Flip it over and remove the core.
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Wash lettuce right before using. Washing it ahead of time will cause it to spoil more quickly unless you can dry it. If preparing the lettuce ahead of time a paper towel in the bottom of the bowl will help absorb the excess water. Water will cause the lettuce to spoil.
Salads are so versatile. You children and I really like to have salad for lunch. There are many easy and tasty salad dressings that you can make at home. So, eat more salad! :)
Love Always,
Mommy
Monday, October 1, 2012
Kitchen Management Hints
When preparing food, it's best to start with clean kitchen and an empty dishwasher. It makes clean up so much easier and quicker!
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Pull all ingredients out for a recipe. As you use the ingredient, put it away before adding the next ingredient in the recipe. Papa taught me to always “clean as you go”. This makes clean up and snap and it also helps forgetting to add an ingredient to your recipe as you can see at a glance which ingredients are still on the counter.
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The MOMYS taught me this one. When adding multiple scopes of an ingredient, put the ingredients in the bowl in a clockwise direction with one scoop per pile. If you are interrupted while cooking you can count the piles to see where you were before the interruption. :)
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Use Sign Language counting on fingers while scooping flour, wheat berries, etc. so you don't lose your place in a recipe due to interruptions.
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FlyLady taught me to soak baked dishes for 5-10 minutes in hot water and then wash them. Leaving them overnight does not make it easier. The water still needs to be warm when you wash them for the best benefit. I was very amazed when I tested this out and found out she was correct!
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Grandma Durst taught me to lay a paper towel soaked in water over food cooked onto the stovetop. Let is soak for awhile and you will be able to come back and wipe the food right off. Just don't leave it so long that the paper towel dries on the stove. :)
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It is cheaper to run dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer at night to save money. You can check with the electric company to find out when the energy is the cheapest. The dryer is a huge electricity puller. Running that at the cheap times will make a big difference in your electric bill. Better yet, install a clothes line and dry the clothes in the sunshine. ;)
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Baking soda and lemon juice will shine up stainless steel. Make a paste with baking soda and lemon juice. Spread the paste all over the surface to be cleaned. Allow it to set for a few minutes. Use hot water to scrub and rinse well. This works great to shine the sink. I love a shiny sink!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Smoothie Hints
Smoothie Hints
Smoothies are a yummy and filling way to get all kinds of "good for you" things into your diet. Here are some smoothie basics.
Use a combination of fresh and frozen fruit. The frozen fruit will make it cold without diluting the flavor. Bananas, as well as apples, are great for adding sweetness.
Choose just a couple types of fruit.
Add raw honey or maple syrup as a sweetener if needed.
It is so easy to add probiotics, some greens (spinach, lettuce, etc), liquid vitamin D, chia seed gel, egg shell water, ground flax seed, apple seeds, etc. to boost the nutritional value. Hannah doesn't like green smoothies so if adding greens I usually make sure and use blueberries to make it purple instead. :)
Raw milk, Kiefer, raw milk yogurt, or juice work wonderfully to thin the smoothie to the desired consistency.
Don't forget to add a splash of vanilla for extra yumminess! :)
Smoothies are a yummy and filling way to get all kinds of "good for you" things into your diet. Here are some smoothie basics.
Use a combination of fresh and frozen fruit. The frozen fruit will make it cold without diluting the flavor. Bananas, as well as apples, are great for adding sweetness.
Choose just a couple types of fruit.
Add raw honey or maple syrup as a sweetener if needed.
It is so easy to add probiotics, some greens (spinach, lettuce, etc), liquid vitamin D, chia seed gel, egg shell water, ground flax seed, apple seeds, etc. to boost the nutritional value. Hannah doesn't like green smoothies so if adding greens I usually make sure and use blueberries to make it purple instead. :)
Raw milk, Kiefer, raw milk yogurt, or juice work wonderfully to thin the smoothie to the desired consistency.
Don't forget to add a splash of vanilla for extra yumminess! :)
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Christmas Baking hints
Baking goodies for friends has been a very fun tradition for Team Southerland. Sometimes the holidays get very busy and the enjoyment of this tradition can be squeezed out by the hustle and bustle of visitors, activities, recitals, and trips.
One thing that can bring some joy back into baking for our friends is to start baking early. Most cookies and candies will freeze very well. It's easy to bake one item on several different days and just freeze them until you are ready to assemble the goodie plates.
Packing the plates can be such a fun time! We have found pretty clear plastic plates for about $1 a piece around the holidays at the grocery store or the dollar store. They make great plates for giving away goodies. Another packaging idea is to wrap your paper plate in decorative plastic wrap. Or, use plain paper plates and use a hole punch to punch holes around the edge. Weave some ribbon through the holes to decorate the plate and wrap in clear plastic wrap tying it at the top with a matching ribbon. There are plenty of ideas online of how to create neat packing ideas for goodies.
One thing that can bring some joy back into baking for our friends is to start baking early. Most cookies and candies will freeze very well. It's easy to bake one item on several different days and just freeze them until you are ready to assemble the goodie plates.
Packing the plates can be such a fun time! We have found pretty clear plastic plates for about $1 a piece around the holidays at the grocery store or the dollar store. They make great plates for giving away goodies. Another packaging idea is to wrap your paper plate in decorative plastic wrap. Or, use plain paper plates and use a hole punch to punch holes around the edge. Weave some ribbon through the holes to decorate the plate and wrap in clear plastic wrap tying it at the top with a matching ribbon. There are plenty of ideas online of how to create neat packing ideas for goodies.
Chicken hints
Mommy will often bake chicken in the oven with no seasonings. When it has cooled, we cube it by cutting it up with the meat scissors and then store it in the freeze to use later for chicken pot pie, chicken fried rice, or soups.
If baking a whole chicken, once you cut off the meat to use for other meals, don't throw the bones away. Use it to make chicken stock to put in the freezer for chicken pot pie and soups. You can do the same thing with a turkey.
Once again, anything you can do to streamline dinner prep will make your life easier at the end of the day when everyone is tired. It will also cut down on the "we don't have anything to eat so let's go out to eat" phenomenon.
Love Always,
Mommy
If baking a whole chicken, once you cut off the meat to use for other meals, don't throw the bones away. Use it to make chicken stock to put in the freezer for chicken pot pie and soups. You can do the same thing with a turkey.
Once again, anything you can do to streamline dinner prep will make your life easier at the end of the day when everyone is tired. It will also cut down on the "we don't have anything to eat so let's go out to eat" phenomenon.
Love Always,
Mommy
Butter hints
We often fry things in a tablespoon or two of butter. I will take stick up butter and cut it into tablespoon slices then store it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator to make it easy to grab just a tablespoon at a time.
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If you forget to set a stick of butter out, grate the butter onto a small plate. The grated butter will soften very quickly and be ready to spread. It also looks pretty neat!
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Cutting in Butter shortcut- Grate cold butter into dry ingredients then use a pastry cutter to quickly cut in butter. Much faster than using just a pastry cutter.
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Rule of thumb for substituting salted for unsalted butter in a recipe is to omit the extra salt in the recipe. (Omit 1/4 tsp of salt per 1/2 C of butter).
Real butter is good for you if it is made from milk that does not have hormones or antibiotics in it. Butter made from raw milk is best. Margarine is very bad for you and our family has chosen not to use it at all. If something has ingredients you can't pronounce in it, it's better to stay away from it. The more things we can make from scratch the better it will be for our health. It is often a more frugal way to feed your family as well. :)
Love Always,
Mommy
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If you forget to set a stick of butter out, grate the butter onto a small plate. The grated butter will soften very quickly and be ready to spread. It also looks pretty neat!
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Cutting in Butter shortcut- Grate cold butter into dry ingredients then use a pastry cutter to quickly cut in butter. Much faster than using just a pastry cutter.
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Rule of thumb for substituting salted for unsalted butter in a recipe is to omit the extra salt in the recipe. (Omit 1/4 tsp of salt per 1/2 C of butter).
Real butter is good for you if it is made from milk that does not have hormones or antibiotics in it. Butter made from raw milk is best. Margarine is very bad for you and our family has chosen not to use it at all. If something has ingredients you can't pronounce in it, it's better to stay away from it. The more things we can make from scratch the better it will be for our health. It is often a more frugal way to feed your family as well. :)
Love Always,
Mommy
Friday, June 22, 2012
Cake Hints
Mommy took a cake decorating class in Utah with Julie Hale when Daniel was a baby. She learned so valuable tips for making cakes.
One is a recipe to use to coat the cake pans so the cake won't stick. Mix up the following ingredients:
1 part Crisco
1 part vegetable oil
1 part flour
Generously grease the cake pans. Use a lighter coat along the edges and a heavier coat on the bottoms and corners of the pan.
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To make a light and fluffy cake, substitute whole milk for the water in a boxed mix.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hamburger Hints
For several years now I have been browning up hamburger 7-10 lbs. at a time. Then I freeze it in 1/2 or 1 lb. quantities. This makes dinners that requiring browning hamburger first very simple. It is almost as easy to dirty up a couple of dishes and brown up a bunch of burger at a time as it is to brown up 1 pound.
Another hamburger hint- we also patty up several pounds of burger and then flash freeze them overnight on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The next day we pull them off the parchment paper and put them in freezer bags. This makes it super easy to throw burgers on the griddle or grill for a quick meal.
Anything you can do to stream line the dinner making process will make it easier for you in the long run and result in less "I don't know what to do for dinner so we need to go out" situations. :)
I hope you enjoy the kitchen tips. I know you all will come up with even better ways to make things easier to prepare meals for your families.
Love Always,
Mommy
Another hamburger hint- we also patty up several pounds of burger and then flash freeze them overnight on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The next day we pull them off the parchment paper and put them in freezer bags. This makes it super easy to throw burgers on the griddle or grill for a quick meal.
Anything you can do to stream line the dinner making process will make it easier for you in the long run and result in less "I don't know what to do for dinner so we need to go out" situations. :)
I hope you enjoy the kitchen tips. I know you all will come up with even better ways to make things easier to prepare meals for your families.
Love Always,
Mommy
Friday, May 14, 2010
Potato Hints
Tip from: Laura at Heavenly Homemakers
Here is a great way to bake potatoes. Scrub and stab each potato. Place in a oven proof dish with a lid (stone pan with lid, dutch oven, roasting pan, etc.). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. That's it! So easy!
This works very well and is much faster and easier than wrapping each potato in foil. I haven't done the research yet, but I have heard that foil is not very healthy to use in cooking. Here's a great way to avoid it!
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To peel potatoes quickly, wash and score them. Put them in a pan with enough water to cover them. Bring them to a boil and boil them for 20-30 minutes. Put them in a bowl of ice water and gently twist each ending opposite directions to slip the skins off. This is so much faster than peeling them with a peeler before boiling them.
I just baked 10 lbs. of pototoes in my roasting pan and we had them for dinner and the left overs we shredded up for hashbrowns. Yum! We also cube leftover baked potatoes and freeze them for soup. It works great in soup like Cheesy Vegetable Chowder.
Love Always,
Mommy
Here is a great way to bake potatoes. Scrub and stab each potato. Place in a oven proof dish with a lid (stone pan with lid, dutch oven, roasting pan, etc.). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. That's it! So easy!
This works very well and is much faster and easier than wrapping each potato in foil. I haven't done the research yet, but I have heard that foil is not very healthy to use in cooking. Here's a great way to avoid it!
__________________________________________________________________________
To peel potatoes quickly, wash and score them. Put them in a pan with enough water to cover them. Bring them to a boil and boil them for 20-30 minutes. Put them in a bowl of ice water and gently twist each ending opposite directions to slip the skins off. This is so much faster than peeling them with a peeler before boiling them.
I just baked 10 lbs. of pototoes in my roasting pan and we had them for dinner and the left overs we shredded up for hashbrowns. Yum! We also cube leftover baked potatoes and freeze them for soup. It works great in soup like Cheesy Vegetable Chowder.
Love Always,
Mommy
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Eating More Veggies
One way we have been able to get more veggies in our diet is to buy a big bag of organic carrots and a big bag of organic celery. If we wash and cut all of it up at one time it is now ready to just grab and eat from the refrigerator. One tip from the MOMYS board was to put out cut veggies and THE DIP about a hour before the meal. If the children fill up on them- great! If the veggies and the dip are set out with the meal they are less likely to be eaten. Works for me!
Love Always,
Mommy
Love Always,
Mommy
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The egg trick
MOMYS
Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs
Put eggs in a sauce pan and cover with 1" of cold water. Bring to a rapid boil, cover, and turn heat off. Let set for 10-12 minutes. Pour out hot water and place eggs under cold running water. Crack the large end of the eggs and place them back into the cold water. Let set for several minutes. Eggs should peel easily. If not, place back in cold water for another minute or two.
This is one handy tip. We frequently have very fresh eggs from our chickens and Hannah uses this tip and it works even on those eggs. When the large end of the shell is cracked, the water seeps in the air pocket and under the membrane separating the membrane from the egg and making it easy to peel. Sometimes you need to pierce the membrane and roll it around under water to get the water under the membrane.
Love Always,
Mommy
Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs
Put eggs in a sauce pan and cover with 1" of cold water. Bring to a rapid boil, cover, and turn heat off. Let set for 10-12 minutes. Pour out hot water and place eggs under cold running water. Crack the large end of the eggs and place them back into the cold water. Let set for several minutes. Eggs should peel easily. If not, place back in cold water for another minute or two.
This is one handy tip. We frequently have very fresh eggs from our chickens and Hannah uses this tip and it works even on those eggs. When the large end of the shell is cracked, the water seeps in the air pocket and under the membrane separating the membrane from the egg and making it easy to peel. Sometimes you need to pierce the membrane and roll it around under water to get the water under the membrane.
Love Always,
Mommy
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