Post-It Note Tuesday #1

Who doesn't love Post-it Notes??  Well, at least the virtual kind creates no waste! 

100 Mile Challenge

Thanks to this post on Suburban Saving Mom's website, I found out about the 100 mile challenge.  Reading the post, I had to laugh because I have used the "I live in Wisconsin" excuse for not doing more to eat locally.  I'm not saying it is an excuse for Amy, only that it was for me.

Seriously, I live in Wisconsin, it's not the best environment for many things that we love to eat. How could I do something as responsible as try to find local options and adapt my diet to fit the foods I find?

Well, apparently it can be done and I'm looking forward to finding great places to get our food from.  What I can't get locally, I will do my best to buy from smaller, local stores so I'm at least supporting our local economy rather than lining someone else's pockets.

Homemade Wheat Bread

In my "former life", cheap was good and quick was even better.  I'm not saying healthy, I'm just saying it reduced my stress level to spend as little as possible at the grocery store and have to put in as little effort as possible.

Last month, we bought a loaf of bread from one of the big box stores.  It was probably about $1 for the loaf.  Well, when we got home, it didn't get put in the bread box, it was put on my junk counter.  When I found it a couple of weeks ago, I didn't think twice, I put it in the bread box.  Then, there wasn't much need for bread for a while, until last week, when Bug wanted toast for breakfast. 

When I saw the sell by date, I was horrified that the bread was so old!  The date was around Valentine's Day.  When I saw that the bread had no mold and was only slightly hard, I just about freaked out.  I don't even want to think of how much they have to put into the bread to get it to last that long! 

As silly as it may seem, bread became a priority on the "healthier options" list.  I picked up a bag of Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour last weekend when I was at the grocery store.  The back of the bag had a recipe for bread, so I used that recipe and made sure I had all of the ingredients. 

Another shocker, there isn't much difference in color between all-purpose flour and unbleached all-purpose flour.  If they're that similar, why purchase the bleached option?  Seriously, if anyone has an answer for that, I'd love to know!

Last night, after throwing dinner in the oven, I started mixing my first batch of bread.  I was terrified!  Bread is something that seems like it needs a lot of care and practice to do well.  After the first rise, I was sure I had messed it up, but I kept trudging through.  I formed my two loaves, put them in their pans, and covered them to rise again.  This time, I felt more confident as I had a better idea of the starting point of my loaves.

They seemed to get dark quickly and I got scared again.  What if my bread was inedible? What if I only thought it had risen long enough? What if...

It did take about 3 hours from start to finish but it was amazing!!!  As soon as it cooled enough to touch, I cut it and buttered a piece as a snack for myself.  Had I not shown some restraint, I easily could have eaten the whole loaf!

The funny thing is, I spent about $6 stocking my pantry with items I didn't have.  At the very least, I have enough left for one more batch, which would bring the cost down to about $1.50 per loaf.  So, to save 50 cents and some time, I've been buying tasteless bread filled with everything unhealthy for my family.  That really doesn't seem like I saved much at all!  From now on, I will set aside a little bit of my weekends to bake bread for my family to eat during the week.  If we have leftovers, I will use it to make French toast or something equally yummy so it doesn't go to waste!

Delayed or Just Laid Back?

When do you start to worry about your child's development?  On one hand, Bub has always been an incredibly laid back baby and it's easy to chalk everything up to lack of desire.  On the other hand, he's almost 11 months old, not crawling, not pulling up on anything, won't drink from a cup, isn't talking, and I'm probably forgetting something.

As much as I'm trying to stay relaxed, it's hard to not get worried.  What if he's NOT just a laid back little boy and I wait to get him help?  We live in such a world of early intervention, should I err on the side of caution and bring it up?

Then, I remind myself that numerous people have told me it's not unusual for younger siblings to do things later and I feel like a dolt for worrying.

This mommy business isn't as easy as Hollywood would have us believe!  Any moms out there have any sage advice one way or the other?

Kid Friendly Frugal Food

Kid-friendly food makes my life easy.  Frugal food is a near necessity.  To get both of those and have it be a healthy option is no longer impossible.  I will admit, I spent too many years feeding my daughter crap.  It's a sad reality that mac and cheese and hot dogs are so much more affordable that a home cooked meal, but that's not what this post is about...

As I've mentioned before, I recently purchased the Deen Brothers "Take it Easy" cookbook and I'm working my way through all of the recipes.  This was the first recipe I tried, and if the kid factor is any indication, this is a book well worth the price!

I am posting my slightly varied version of their recipe, found on page 105.

Creamy Spicy Sausage Pasta

• 1T olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup Newman's Own tomato sauce (I used the roasted garlic)
• 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper (don't let the 4 year old help with the pepper!)
• 1 pound rigatoni

Cook the sausage, then add cream and tomato sauce.  Simmer until slightly thickened.  Add peas and cook until peas are hot.  Boil pasta according to directions and add to sausage and sauce mixture.  Serve with grated parmesan on top.

With using salt, pepper, and parmesan that I already had on hand, I was able to make this meal for 5.97 and it easily could have fed 6 people.  My husband, one of the biggest eaters I know asked why I made so much, and he only saw what was left after I had some and after Bug had 2 little bowls.

As for the kid factor, after screaming that she was going to hate dinner the entire 30 mile drive home from town, she decided to try it.  When I was feeding her brother, she "snuck" in to the kitchen to get a little more.  She asked for more after that and I gave it to her, but she didn't eat it.  Not only that, but she has turned to the picture in the cookbook several times since we made it last week and asked for it again!