Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe was born out of "use what you have".  I had chicken, whole wheat pasta, and some canned tomato paste & sauce.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 chicken breast
3 cups (approx.) broth from boiling chicken
1 ½ cup diced celery
1 ½ cup diced onion
1 small can tomato paste
1 15oz can tomato sauce
2+ TBSP minced garlic
a big handful of crushed basil, or pesto
dried oregano (I used a bunch)
handful of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cube chicken boullion
Pepper or Cavendar’s Greek Seasoning
Tiny bit of Tony Cachere’s (green can)
liquid smoke
salt

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Boil the chicken breasts, keep simmering until ready to use. 

In a large pot, sauté onion and celery on high.
 Add “some” of the chicken-broth and turn heat down. 
Add tomato paste and tomato sauce and simmer gently. 

Dice or shred chicken breasts, then add to the sauce. 
Add as much of the chicken-water as is needed.
Simmer gently while adding everything else. 

Serve over whole wheat pasta. 

Laundry Update: No detergent at all!!

A few years back, I began reducing the amount of laundry soap I use by half, then by half again.  After that, I started making my own, but these days I almost never use any kind of soap or detergent in my laundry.  (WHAT??) 

Yes - I said I don't use soap or detergent in my laundry.  It sounds crazy but it's not necessary.  These days, I add a half cup, or sometimes a full cup of white vinegar to the wash load, and that's it!!

I still can't conquer static completely, so I use half of a perfume and dye-free dryer sheet if the humidity is low enough for static to be a problem. In Louisiana, most of the time the humidity is high enough that I don't need even a half a dryer sheet.

Using white vinegar instead of detergent or soap has actually made our clothes very soft.  Our towels are more absorbent than ever.

Doing my laundry this way has had an interesting effect:  I can't stand the feel of clothes washed with detergent and softeners!  I can feel wax on my fingers after touching clothes washed in commercial products.  The perfumes added to detergents and fabric softeners are over-powering and I much prefer unscented, unwaxed clothes now.

Dry Beans Vs. Canned Beans Conversions

These are not exact, since beans are different  sizes.

One 15-ounce can of beans equals:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked beans
• 1/2 cup dry beans, before cooking

1 pound dry beans equals:

• 2 to 2.5 cups dry beans, before cooking
• 6 to 7.5 cups beans, after cooking
• Four to Five 15-ounce cans of beans

1 part dry beans equals

• 3 parts cooked beans

How to use dry beans:

First, rinse and sort dried beans, discarding any blemished ones or any grit and small stones.

First, Soak:

LONG SOAK: Cover dried beans with three times their volume of water and lets stand in refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. Drain.

QUICK SOAK: In saucepan, cover dried beans with three times their volume of water and bring to boil. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for one hour. Drain.

Then, Cook:
In a large saucepan, cover drained, soaked beans with three times their volume of fresh water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, and topping up with water if necessary, for about 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours, depending on age and type of bean. Drain.

One-ingredient Banana "Ice Cream"

Slice up a few ripe bananas (we used 5)
lay the slices on a cookie sheet and freeze them
put the frozen banana slices in a food processor, and process.
it does take time, so be patient.
It will turn into soft-serve ice cream.  I promise!

You can add a glop of peanut butter, a little bit of chocolate, some cinnamon, other types of fruit, or anything you like!

OMG! I'm never buying ice cream from the store again!!!!

Black Bean Taquitos

Rinse, soak and cook 1lb dry black beans,
cool and drain.

Preheat oven to 425
Lightly oil a deep sided pan
(I had to use 3 small pans)

Saute a little bit of minced onion and garlic
Throw in about 30 tater tots*, thawed and roughly chopped
Pour in some salsa (a cup or two)
Add chili powder, Tony Chachere's, black pepper, and basil
Add the beans
Add about 2 to 3 cups of shredded cheese
Turn off heat when it's all mixed up, it doesn't need to be hot.

Put about 3 tablespoons of bean mixture in the center of a small flour tortilla and roll up.
Place seam side down in pan and brush the tops lightly with oil
Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes or until as crispy as you like.

Makes almost 40 taquitos

*I was lazy and used pre-made tater tots. Next time I'll use real potato. You have to shred it, then squeeze out the liquid before frying or the potato is soggy and yucky.  I just didn't want to work that hard.

"Sunday Slop"

This is almost -always- what we have for lunch on Sunday.  I really need a better name for it, though!!

1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
1 to 1 1/2 Cup "Chickpea soup base" (Recipe to follow soon)
real butter - from 1/2 to a whole stick
some shredded cheese
3 cups(ish) of cooked veggies of any type (I use 2 cans of whatever)
salt, pepper, basil, whatever you like

Very difficult instructions:
Boil the pasta. Put the veggies in the colander and drain the pasta over them (efficiency!).
Combine butter, cheese, and chickpea "stuff", then throw the pasta and veggies in and stir to coat.
Spice up and eat.

Chickpea "soup base"

Cook and puree 1 lb of chickpeas/garbanzo beans.

Add to the blender:
garlic
olive oil
lots of basil, lemon basil is best!
lemon juice if you didn't add lemon basil
a little tomato sauce, if you like.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
salt, pepper

It should be the consistency of pudding.

Divide it up into 1 to 1 1/2 cup portions and freeze.  Makes an excellent soup base, or base for "macaroni and cheese".  I freeze it in zip lock bags, laid flat so they are thin and will thaw quickly.

Breakfast "Cake"

We're in super-frugal mode for a few months while we pay off my dental work, so I've been baking a breakfast cake twice a week.  This recipe is where I started:  http://www.allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/Detail.aspx  - the only difference was that I used raisins instead of cranberries.

I ran out of half of those ingredients, so I created this recipe using only what is on hand and buying as little as possible.

"Breakfast Cake".

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup steens or molasses
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup raisins
cinnamon
cardamom
extra water
sometimes I remember to throw in some sesame seeds

Bake in a greased 9 x 13 pan for about 30 minutes.  Cool, Eat.

Last night we were out of a whole lot more stuff, so I made it like this:

measurements approximate - I didn't measure anything.

almost 3 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup peanut butter
pretty big handfull of sharp cheddar cheese
some steens (I didn't quite have 1/3 cup)
1 cup flaked coconut
water with some blendered brown rice (ie: "milk")
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup raisins
cinnamon
cardamom

I think that's it..... I totally forgot the salt.
ah well, it's really good!

World's Best Sweet Potatos

4 lbs sweet potatoes, cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
1 1/2 sticks of real butter
1 cup Steen's cane syrup
1 to 2 tsps cinnamon (I'm guessing. I don't measure anything)
1 to 2 tsps vanilla extract
1/4  - 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Butter a crock pot, throw everything in and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for about 3 hours.
Mix in pecans about half way through.

Note: It cooks down to about half the amount you start with.

Lusher, happier plants for free

I got a great gardening tip from a coworker a few years ago. It's so obvious - but one of those things I just never thought of.

Instead of buying plant food or fertilizer, simply catch rain water and store it in jugs.  You can use it to supplement your plants between rainfall. The last time it rained really good, I set out large containers to catch the rain and was able to fill 9 jugs with rain water. Since I started alternating between tap water and rainwater, and my plants are all incredibly happy and lush green. It has really helped me keep some fresh herbs around throughout the winter.

I haven't bought plant food in two years, and I may never need to again!

Buying the freshest bread

Some bread packaging has a "best by" date stamped on them, but for all those that don't - how do you tell how old they are?  The twist-ties are color coded to tell you what day the bread was delivered.
 
Monday - Blue
Tuesday - Green
Thursday - Red
Friday - White
Saturday - Yellow

If you are shopping on a Thursday, don't get bread with White or Yellow ties!

What happens to your body when you drink coke (from BuzzMedia.com)

OK, folks...  Today's article is simply a re-post of an article at BuzzMedia.com
Any time I go to the grocery store, I see EVERYONE buying box upon box of canned soda pop.  Not frugal at all, and you are trashing your body, causing health problems that will make your life more difficult and your finances even tighter.  Please read this below, and if you don't believe it... do some further research and know for yourself.

What happens to your body when you drink coke

1. In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
2. 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get it’s hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
   1. CLARIFYING DATA: Reader Dan below provided some clarifying information about what the liver does with the extra sugar.
3. 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dialate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
4. 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
5. 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
6. 60 minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
7. 60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Homemade cleaners: simplified and still non-toxic

About a year ago I made a post about Homemade Cleaners.  It is still a good post,but these days I am all about simplifying my life so I have even fewer cleaners in my cabinet. 

All I really need for general house-cleaning is vinegar and sometimes baking soda.  I still have homemade laundry soap, *commercial dishwasher detergent, and some bleach. That's it. 

I clean with a disinfectant spray made up of 50/50 white vinegar and water, and a sock-rag.  The sink, stove and bathtub get scoured with baking soda.  I just don't need anything else. 



* Note Re: commercial dishwasher detergent: I've tried the homemade recipes online and none of them have worked for me. You can bet that if I ever find a recipe that does work, you'll see it here.

Growing sprouts at home: update

We have come a long way with sprouting since my last post about it!  Here are some pictures and the basics of how we’re sprouting at home.

You need:

• a jar with a lid that allows air-flow
• pantyhose and a rubber band works if you keep it pulled tight, or use a mason jar with some screen from the hardware store.
• dry lentils (a quarter cup makes a jar full)

Rinse lentils well and soak in plenty of water for 12 hours.

Dump out the water, and rinse the lentils well.
Drain and set the jar on its side at an angle so water can drip out and does not “pool” in the jar.
- you can leave it on the counter. Don’t worry about dark or sunlight – it works no matter what!!

Every 6 – 12 hours, rinse in cool water and dump the water out.
Make sure plenty of air can flow through whatever lid you are using or the sprouts will go rancid, fast.
After your first or second rinse, lentils will look something like this:

This (below) is about a day and a half.  Let them grow for about two to three days before eating

This is about four days:

The same method works for Black Eyed Peas, however after the first day and a half (or so), you will need to dump them in a large bowl of water and pick out / pull off the hulls. It is labor intensive, and most people won’t bother. You also MUST to use a good brand of Black Eyed Peas – not the cheap store brand.

We use a dish rack because we make so much. The one in front is lentils, the other three are black eyed peas, all have been going for about four days when this picture was taken.

A tablespoon of black eyed peas will grow to fill a large mason jar after about four days - see?

tie-dye with water from black beans (free vegetable based fabric dye)

This one's a little silly.

The water from preparing black beans always turns such a dark purple and I've wondered if it would make a good fabric dye. When I started making dinner last night I just grabbed a hopelessly stained shirt and tied it up with rubber bands.

This first photo is before I poured the second half of the black water in.  I let it soak for about three hours. And here is my tie-dye shirt after I rinsed and washed it.  Cute, and you can't really find the stains any more. woo hoo!