Something to look forward to

A little wishing and hoping doesn't hurt now and again, right?

I'm getting my plans together to use my pasta maker for the first time today and so I'm looking up simple ravioli fillings online and came across this recipe that I'm pretty sure I need to make before I die. However, it doesn't make any sense to cook with Lobster in Michigan, therefore I am documenting here so I can refer to it the next time we visit my parents in New England.

If we make it this summer, local fresh lobster is quite cheap when it's in season so it doesn't need to be a splurge. Plus, my mom and I could make it together and who doesn't love cooking with their own mom?

Yes, please.

On accepting assistance

When I left the world of full time employment, it put the burden on my husband to support us- something he has been working towards and desiring but has not been in a position to do up to now. He is finishing his degree and while he's been working part time, it's basically a minimum wage job.

We knew the time was soon approaching when my salary would be deleted from our budget so he was already pursuing higher paying full time positions when I unexpectedly had to leave my job two months early. Things have worked out for us, and he's starting next week at a new, better job.

But even with that in place, we're going to be squeaking by. As such, we qualify for a few different types of assistance from our community. There are resources out there that help. It is a very new perspective for me to be on the applying/receiving end since I studied Child Development and have been a nurse in the outpatient setting for most of my career. I'm used to referring people to and offering these kinds of things. Not needing them.

But there is so much available!

My grocery list was basically cut in half this week because we got our food assistance up and running. What a huge relief. As it turns out, I've been anemic for a few weeks and getting the right fruits, veggies, and meats is becoming a big concern. My numbers aren't going up with my typical diet so I'm going to have to be more deliberate in what we eat this week. And the help we're getting financially is going to make that possible without being an added burden.

There is a reason these things are out there. Don't struggle. Don't get bogged down. Talk to someone at the health department or even your insurance agency and see what they can offer you.

I'll admit this has been easier for me to swallow since I have a huge baby belly leading out in all of the conversations I have. It is my "excuse" so to speak, when my pride needs it.

The dietitian I met with today put it this way- this is a system you've been paying into your whole life. It's just your turn to be on the receiving end for a little while.

And that's our plan. When he's done with school, my husband's career will pay for our needs. It's just for now, for the baby, when we need it most. And I'll tell you, since the moment it all went through my mind has been at ease, my attitude improved, my stress level decreased, my sleep is deeper and overall I feel more like myself.

Help is a good thing.

Saying things Out Loud

Since the experience I had with finding Salmon on special, and I feel like a few other items fell into that same wish list to on sale magic pattern, this week during my meal planning I REALLY wanted to make my Mom's italian vat-o-goodness which is just every kind of meat you can think of in a deep pan with red sauce, served over any kind of pasta noodle (but we usually use a thicker shape like penne or rotini).

I have pork and chicken in the freezer so the next best thing that would take it up a notch would be Italian sausage. I know our local meat market makes their own so that would be an option- meaning I could buy just ONE and have plenty while not having to over buy. But I wasn't going to leave it at that. I yelled to my husband, "I'm saying this out loud as an act of faith. I wish I could find a deal this week on Italian sausage."

As I combed through the weekly ads I found one, and then two, and then three different stores with Italian sausage- each better than the next- all on sale, in packages of 19 oz each. THREE people. And that doesn't even count whatever the price is at the meat market. I strongly believe that planning and preparing is a principle of faith and that it becomes a source of action for good in our lives. The good that God wants to give us if we just ask Him!

Great Leftover recipes

After reading my post on the chicken and rice soup, my mom strongly suggested the use of frittatas for using up left overs, particularly colored peppers, pasta, any kind of meat, and CHEESE. You can bury pretty much anything in one of these suckers.

My favorite recipe comes from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook and has a Mediterranean flavor. I used sour cream and milk instead of heavy cream and it came out perfect. This is a GREAT way to use up old bread or the crumbs in the bag of croutons.

I had bacon, goat cheese, and peppers to use up as well as the previously mentioned Basil. I just love the flavor in this. Feel free to sprinkle dry italian spices on top with the croutons. Italian bread crumbs would also do the trick. I omitted the olives because my other half won't eat them. As a result, he loved this, and even ASKED for it the second day when I offered him two choices.

The other magic recipe for recycling ingredients is Shepherd's Pie. We had corn and green beans in the fridge in separate containers and left over mashed potatoes. Not much, so I actually made another quick batch of instant to supplement. Grabbed the ground beef from the freezer (but turkey would be awesome too, and I think the original recipe calls for lamb, hence the name) and sprinkled it with steak seasoning and Al sauce as it browned. Combine in the baking dish, top with a little butter and heat through until potatoes are slightly brown on top. To make it look fancy, I dusted the top with parsley flakes. Easy, tasty, warm, and cozy. I did put this together in a small baking dish so it would be a decent thickness and not go too far. You don't want to end up re-purposing your leftovers again!

As you can see, I served it with apple slices and caramel sauce (which has been in the fridge for a long time and needed some attention). It was a filling, delicious meal!

Speaking of the Garden...

We have the farmer's almanac on hand to help us with timing and placement, but this is a good time to be brainstorming about garden planting for spring.

I have opted not to do my own starter seeds since the timing falls directly at the end of my pregnancy and first month postpartum. There are quite a few members of my church who do their own and often will offer up the excess. Otherwise we'll get them from the home improvement store where my husband is going to be working (employee discount, baby!).

So in an effort to not bite off more than we can chew (hardy har har har), we're going VERY SMALL this year. Our top choices that we can't live without and that's it. Just to get our feet wet, hands dirty, thumbs green, etc.

Cucumber
Tomato (not cherry)
Green Pepper
Carrots

And the herb garden:
Basil
Cilantro
Dill
Rosemary
Oregano
Chives (which were already growing this fall when we moved in so they may be free!)

Culinary adventures and Fresh herbs

So about that miracle Salmon...

The only splurge on this recipe was the puff pastry- which my friend graciously provided. Combining our resources was genius and a whole lot of fun. While the baking took place, her daughter instructed us in an art project. I had a blast and am very happy with how mine turned out. The salmon was a success. I'd make it again since now I have the steps down and it would really go quickly. Just needed to roll the dough out a little thinner so it cooks all the way through.

And now, a word about fresh herbs. This year I will be planting a small garden for the first time, and the plan is to never have to buy herbs again. But up until this point, that not being a possibility has always been a frustration for me because you end up paying a fortune for the 1/8th portion you need and they go bad before you can use the rest. 

I did, however, have a capricious experience this week when I accidentally made three meals that also call for fresh herbs. The aforementioned steak for Valentine's Day got a liberal dose of dill and basil along with a little butter for its searing stage. Then I made a frittata to use up left over colored peppers, onion, goat cheese, and breakfast meat. Fresh basil in that sucker makes it. Also magical about that recipe that I didn't calculate is that it calls for crushed croutons on top- and we just happened to have a bag with only crumbs left in the bottom. 

Finally, today I was watching "The Taste" and they did a Thai and Asian theme for one of the rounds that made me really want Red Curry Coconut chicken (another pantry only recipe I try to keep on hand) so I was almost not even surprised when I remembered the last step is to add fresh basil. 

Of course I bought it for the salmon recipe, but it just made me realize how helpful a digital library reference for herbs would be when planning meals. I did this by accident, but it's all gone! 

Now for the dill. Again, a generous portion was used in the salmon and also the steak. I made this cauliflower soup up one time back in the day for a fall soup party and it was a hit. It's another way to use up chopped veggies, and I always seem to have left overs of the selection featured in this recipe. The dill was almost an after thought during the original process, but now I'd say it's the star. Here's the original recipe. I'm tweaking it today due to a variation of spices and ingredients on hand. Likely it will be just sour cream and milk.  Also, I do have a food processor now, so it all gets creamed together at the end. I saved half out before adding the milk so I can freeze it as left overs. 

Head of cauliflower
celery stalks (2?)
a few carrots (baby or large)
1 onion
2 med potatoes
cook up veggies, smash the carrots and cauliflower (so you'll need to have them separate)
Put vegetable bullion, 1 T flour, salt, pepper and 1-2 T butter in the big pot (crockpot)I put the onion in there too. Warm till thick. Add veggies and 1 c milk/half and half, or more if you want it creamier.

Before we ate it I added sour cream, thyme and sage. And more salt. OH AND FRESH DILL. That was the kicker. I put kind of a lot in, with the potatoes and celery when they cooked.

If I had a large capacity food processor, it would have been all creamed.
Serve with cheddar cheese atop.



Another resource I've used in the past is the website Supercook, which lets you search for a recipe by ingredients you have on hand. I'm sure there are others out there, as well as apps for smart devices by now. 

Holiday Fun

Eric is sensitive about not making a fuss over commercialized holidays and February 14th is the most offensive in his book. So I try to tell myself not to expect anything. That if I want it to be special, I'm going to have to do it myself.

So I was especially grateful when he came home from work with these beauties, and even enjoyed more how proud he was of the deal he found (and stuck it to the man) on them, telling me, "You just gotta know where to look."

I found a great deal on steak earlier last week and had planned on different sides but I helped out at a wedding earlier in the day and was sent home with a lot of left overs so I used the mashed potatoes, salad and bread right up and it worked out great.

The deal I got on strawberries and cream was for this meal. I decided to put the little box of strawberry jello in the pantry to good use and this was the result.

After dinner, I was offered a surprise conversion of the spare room to a snuggle filled den. I got to choose the movie and he even found, filled, and placed my water bottle for me. He doesn't care much for Valentine's Day, but he sure likes me! We watched my all time favorite movie, Emma. He laughed more than once and didn't fall asleep. Dinner for two for under two bucks, and a free movie. Winning!

I love the blankets draped over the messy areas. :) 

The next day, being Sunday, I had planned brunch for after church to use up the rest of the strawberries before they go bad. To me, it was just a continuation of the love theme. Guys, these waffles are amazing, and a total ALL PANTRY ingredients option. It uses a lot of butter (two sticks) but I always keep some in the freezer from buying it on sale. Otherwise all you need is flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. It's fancy because of how it all comes together- very silky. And my personal favorite step, the egg whites are whipped separately. Makes them so light and fluffy. 

And the sausage- Johnsonville Maple Syrup flavor- are to die for. Again, we usually have some in the freezer. I've learned that breakfast meat on hand is the key to quick easy meals in a pinch. And this one in particular is one of my favorite meals ever. If I do say so myself. E opted for no fruit, which is fine. He took care of preparing the protein for us. It was so nice to work in the kitchen together and NOT be in each other's way! 

My secret ingredient is the fruit sauce. I use the last of whatever I have on hand and boil it down in a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar), usually add a little acid (either lemon or lime juice) and then freeze it in small portions. When we have pancakes or waffles, I pull one container out of the freezer and heat it through. It's best warm, so there's no worry about defrosting it quickly. So easy, and so good. 

So the strawberries were featured last week on Sunday with friends making sundaes, the salad and dessert from Valentine's Day Saturday, lunch Sunday, and in lunches this week for E to take to work, with vanilla yogurt. There are a handful left over and they are going straight into the freezer for smoothies. Viola!