Cream of Asparagus soup

Here’s another recipe w/o specific measurements for much of it.

Asparagus, chopped bite size

Mushrooms- any kind, chopped

Onion- any kind, diced

Combine at least a handful of each in a sauce pan or stock pot with at least a teaspoon of butter (the more veggies, the more butter = more soup).  Saute until nearly done (almost soft).

Add:

Chicken broth in the amount you want or have on hand.  At least 1 to 1 1/2 cups.  If you don’t have that much, add water or skim milk.  Add a splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and celery seed or dill(optional)

Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer.

Combine 1 TBL corn starch with 1/4 cup water in separate bowl.  When dissolved, stir into simmering soup. Stir often. 

When soup is slightly thickened, stir in at least a 1/4 cup of half/half or milk- you can add more if want/ need it.

If the consistency is too thin, repeat the cornstarch and water step.

Serve with a sprinkle of chedder or parmesan on top!

 

Side- if you want to freeze this for later, omit the cornstarch, water, milk and cheese.  Freeze.  When ready to serve, then do the remaining ingredients and instructions.

Morel Mushrooms

I love them! My husband loves them! The kids are not thrilled with them. . . .. which means. . . . . .my husband and I get to eat all we find!!!!!

This is how I cook them-

Soak whole mushrooms in salt water. 

How much?  I don’t know. . . I put enough water in a bowl to cover them (they float, but anyway) and a hold the salt shaker  over it for a few seconds.  I stir this to dissolve the salt and put the mushrooms in.

How long?  Depends on how much time you have!  The purpose of this really is merely to make any bugs that might be hiding say, “YUCK!” and crawl out of their hiding places looking for drier, less salty places.  So five minutes to a half hour.  If you plan on cooking them later- you can refrigerate them fresh from the woods for a couple days and soak them later.

Next- slice your mushrooms the long way.  Small grays and blacks, I slice just once, but the big yellow ones can be sliced several times to get a more even cooking out of them.

Place a large skillet (size appropriate to your haul of shrooms) on the stove and turn on to medium heat.  NO HIGHER!!!  Maybe even low medium.  Add a dollup of BUTTER (you must use butter, no exceptions and you must use plenty- a nice layer of butter sizzling in the pan.  You’re not using it to grease the pan, you are using it to cook in)

Throw the sliced mushrooms into a bowl or ziploc bag and toss in some flour.  Mix them around gently until everything is well coated with flour.  By this time the butter in your skillet should be melted and hopefully just starting to sizzle.  Carefully lay mushrooms in a single layer into the hot butter.  Cook 3-5 minutes (depending on size and thickness) on each side.  You want a nice golden brown but no darker.  If your mushrooms smell like they are getting burned or it smells like burned flour, turn your stove down.  You may need more butter.

When they are golden brown on both sides, remove them to a layer of paper towels to drain.  Salt them immediately.  Wait a few minutes before tasting or you’ll burn yourself!!  Enjoy!!

 

Another way that I use Morels is in a mushroom and asparagus saute.  Saute chunked asparagus, sliced or chopped morels, chopped onion until done.  Splash on some lemon juice and drizzle some butter.  YUM!!!

another recipe for using up boiled eggs

Our local rural electric cooperative magazine has a recipe section and I found a very simple recipe called 1930’s Depression Casserole.  Instead of boring you with the minute details, I’ll give you the simple version.

peeled and boiled potatoes

peeled and boiled eggs

saltine crackers (soda crackers)- crushed

medium white sauce (well salted and peppered)

Basically all it is is layering the slicedpotatoes, sliced eggs, and sauce in a buttered casserole and topping it with crushed crackers.  Bake in a slow oven until heated through.  I can only imagine this tasting even better with some cheese in it or a little ham but since it is a depression recipe, these were probably hard to come by back then.

Enjoy!

Happiness. . . .

Happiness is not a destination to arrive at but a mode of travel. . .. .(author unknown)

Travel through life happily!!!

More ways to use up those boiled eggs

I found a recipe that I’m not sure I’ll try but it might be worth it just to have something different.   It appears to be an egg salad of sorts that you serve on hot noodles.

Noodle Dish Dressing

3-4 boiled, diced eggs

1 small onion diced

3-4 Tbl sour cream

1 Tbl water

1-2 Tbl vinegar

pinch salt

Combine all ingredients well and serve on top of hot egg noodles.

 

I have a favorite potato salad recipe that’s a little different.  It is a little more complicated than some but I think it’s worth the effort.

In a small saucepan, bring to boil:

1/4 c. vinegar

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard

dash pepper

1 Tbl diced onion

In a separate bowl, beat the boogers out of

2 raw eggs. 

 Reduce the heat of your saucepan mixture and while stirring with a wisk, slowly pour in beaten eggs.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Beat in 1 c. salad dressing (I prefer Hellman’s mayonnaise) and remove from heat.

Pour this dressing over:

2 chopped boiled eggs,

4 c. cubed and cooked potatoes (I prefer to use potatoes that are still warm)

1/2 c. diced cucumber or celery (I prefer the cucumber)

Toss to coat.  Serve warm or chilled.

 

Macaroni Salad

The following ingredients are my favorite combination for macaroni salad.  I do not have amounts listed because I don’t measure this one.  Combine the ingredients using the amounts  you have available and use enough salad dressing (Hellman’s is my first choice) to make a creamy salad.  Refrigerate (may add more salad dressing at time of serving)

Cold cooked Macaroni noodles

Thawed Frozen Peas

Diced Ham

Boiled Eggs, chopped

Cubed chedder cheese

Green onion or sweet onion- chopped

Salt and Pepper

Celery seed or dill weed (optional)

Using up those boiled Easter eggs.

As I look in the fridge at the nearly 2 dozen of boiled eggs and smell that funky smell they leave, I am reminded that I need to get them used up.  Some people like to  just eat them as they are with a little salt and pepper, but I like to make stuff with them.

Here are some ideas:

• A salad with dark greens,  red tomato, purple onion, and a sliced boiled egg with your favorite dressing on top.
• Egg salad sandwich                Recipe – use about 2 boiled eggs per person.  Remove the shell and rinse.  Smash the eggs with a fork or chop them well.  Combine this with a little salt and pepper and start with about a teaspoon of mayonnaise per person and a drop of mustard (optional).  Mix well and add more mayo until you get the consistency you like- some people like a litttle mayo and some like a lot.  Spread on bread and top with a little lettuce.  You could also add a little bacon or bacon bits or ham to this but warn those who eat it so they don’t mistake the meat for egg shell chunks (lol)
• Deviled eggs-  if your eggs peel easily (to have them peel easily, you need to use eggs that are at least a couple weeks old from the store or a month old if they were fresh from the farm).            Recipe- Carefully peel and rinse your eggs.  Carefully slice them in half the long way.  Pushing up from the outside slightly you can easily “pop” the yolk out with a teaspoon.  Put the yolks in a small bowl and lay the empty whites on a platter.  Mash the yolks with a fork and add about one teaspoon mayonnaise for every 3-4 eggs.  Add a dash of salt and pepper and a dot of mustard.  Mix well.  If you want a creamier consistency add a little more mayo until you like it.  Refill the whites with the creamy yolk mixture (I use my small cookie scoop, some use a frosting decorator thingy, and some just use a teaspoon and their finger).  If you want to dress them up, sprinkle with Paprika or pepper. 
• Creamed eggs on toast.     Recipe- Make a thin to medium white sauce (basic recipe found in most cookbooks and on the side of most corn starch containers).  Once thickened, turn to simmer and stir in several sliced boiled eggs and some salt and pepper.  Serve on toast.  To dress this one up a little or make it a more substantial meal, you can also stir in some leftover chopped ham or lay a thin slice of ham on the toast before spooning the creamed eggs on top.  Can also be sprinkled with some shredded cheese.  This is my favorite use of boiled eggs!!
• Boiled eggs can also be added to chicken or tuna salad to stretch the meat a little further.
• Boiled egg yolk is sometimes used as a thickener in homemade salad dressing too.
• Another recipe that I have tried is Hot Chicken Salad (can use ham instead if you like)- it uses boiled eggs.  The one I have tried is:  1 cup chopped chicken, turkey, or ham.  Heated on low with 1 Tbl butter, 1 Tbl water.  When heated through, add dash of salt, pepper, and celery salt.  Stir in 1 Tbl lemon juice, 1/3 c. mayonnaise, 2 chopped boiled eggs and 1/2 c diced celery.  Serve on biscuits.  I found this to be a little thick- if it is for you too, a cream sauce can be added to it or some cream of chicken or celery soup. 
• I had a recipe for a chicken and boiled egg loaf (like meatloaf) but can’t find it right now.  It was very similar to the chicken salad recipe above but baked in a loaf pan and served like meatloaf.  You can play around with that idea and see what you can come up with!

Anyway, hope that gives you some ideas!  Have fun using up your eggs!

Kids can and will help

I woke up this morning to the sound of someone else’s very loud radio alarm and a sinus headache.  How do you teach alarm clock etiquette to children???  I’ve made this deal with them that they can get up w/ their alarm clock at 6:30 if they want (I wake kids at 7)- IF they get completely ready for school before playing or watching TV.  For a while, it was just #2 kid and that creature of habit was doing really well (except for the alarm clock- he can’t get the volume adjusted to loud enough to wake him but not loud enough to wake everyone else).  #1 gets half ready.  #3 does nothing until he gets in trouble. 

I’ve been meaning to share something that I started last week that is working out really well.  Quite a while ago, I made 3 chore lists for the boys that we rotate between them.  A week or so ago, I ordered the Brat Factor (Pam and Peggy Young) 3×5 card download at www.bratfactor.com .  I knew better than to print all the cards and think I would do them all.  Instead, I made a to-do list from the card system for the bathrooms and the laundry room and taped them inside the medicine cabinets and laundry shoot doors.  These are now part of the boy’s daily chore list (along with feeding animals, etc)  Every day of the week has a different chore.  Some of them Pam and Peggy recommend be done daily but since many of them were not done at all before, I made them weekly chores- adapted it to fit out life (we tolerate more dirt than others apparently- lol).  It’s working out quite well!!  Most chores are obvious that they are done- I see the start of clean surfaces after the boys work!!!  I need to get them to put their cleaning supplies back better but otherwise I am very proud of them!!

Sidebar- the boys chores (they are 10,8,6-well, just turned 7) come with these rules attached to them: 

1. We eat supper when the work is done – or we go to their activity when the work is done, whichever comes first.
2. They get paid, but only when they know they did the chores and ask to be paid.  It’s not mom’s job to pay them if they don’t come to her.  They then decide whether to keep the money or put it in the vacation fund piggy bank (a larger than a  shoe box box with a slot in it- when it’s full we can take a special vacation!)

 

Anyway, my point being- maybe I need to make morning routine lists for them so they can get themselves ready the same way they do their chores.

Here’s an example of one of  the boys’ chore lists:

1. Feed and water dog
2. Dump little garbage cans into big one, tie it shut, put in fresh bag.
3. Pick up any garbage and dirty dishes in living room.
4. Do upstairs bathroom chore
5. Spend 15 min. on a 4-H project of your choice

I gave them step by step instructions at first to help them know they were getting the jobs done right.   The bathroom  and laundry room chore lists have step by step instructions because these chores are new to them.  Here’s an example of one but without all the detailed instructions:

• Monday- bathtub
• Tuesday-sink
• Wednesday-toilet
• Thursday- tub/shower walls
• Friday- mirror
• Saturday-floor
• Sunday-shelf/window sill 

I guess I’ll get back with you when I have a morning routine list made up.  For more tips like this try www.shesintouch.com or www.flylady.net or the Brat Factor site I mentioned earlier

The importance of an emergency fund

I heard on the news the other day that a very large number of Americans (forgive me for not jotting down the numbers) could not financially survive any longer than a month if they lost their jobs.   Living in the 2nd highest unemployment rated county in my state and living in a state that ranks right up there with many of the highest unemployment rates of states, I felt the need to address this.  It concerns me, not only for others but for me too! 

Our family does have a meager savings account but not one that would last very long.  I set out to figure out a way to pump that up a little.  A friend had started using the cash envelope system to help her get a better handle on her spending so I started that.  (you can learn about this style of budgetting on www.daveramsey.com or www.crown.org )  I figured out what I needed each week in order to pay for weekly expenses like groceries and my church giving.  I divided my monthly expenses like utility bills  by 4 so I would know what had to go into the checking account each week in order to have enough money in there to pay the bills at the end of the month.  A couple things I had not taken into account when trying to budget before was Christmas/Birthday spending, vacation money, and emergency fund .  I decided what I wanted to have available for gifts, estimated how much our vacation would cost, figured out what my goal for the emergency fund for a years time would be and added them all together.  I then divided that by 52 (weeks/year) to figure out what I should deposit into savings each week.  A good savings goal to start with if you have nothing saved for an emergency fund would be $1000.00. 

Don’t forget to include more than the minimum on your credit cards bills and make it a goal to get them paid off ASAP.  Paying the minimum only pays part of the interest on those accounts and you end up owing the credit card companies sometimes double what you charged to them in the first place.

Here’s the trick:  The total of that jibberish above cannot be more than your weekly paycheck!!!  If it is, look into your spending habits and see where you can trim until your bills are less than or equal to your income. 

We are self-employed.  I have a blog article on self-employed budget making- here it is:  http://ruralmomof3.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/self-employed-budget-making/

An emergency fund can be (should be) more than a money emergency fund.   There are other ways that you can prepare for a time of no income or a time of natural disaster type emergencies.  I live in rural America and have access to a generator, have food growing in my back yard, etc.  However, anyone, living anywhere can prepare for emergencies of any kind.  Here’s some ideas.

1. Store extra food.  You don’t have to go “survivalist” but it is smart to store extra food.  Start out by buying one or two extra things per week.  If you don’t have access to a generator, you will want to store extra food that does not require heat or electricity in order to eat it.  Dry fruits and nuts, canned meat, canned vegetables, etc. 
2. Store extra water.  Spring water in gallon containers (store brand) is only 70 cents a gallon.
3. Store extra first aid supplies.
4. Store extra toiletry items.
5. If you have kids, store a few items of clothing in the next size up.  If your kids have a growth spurt and you don’t have a job, you’ll have a few things to help them get by until things improve.

The excuse of “I don’t have any place to store stuff” is not a good reason to fail to prepare for an emergency of any kind.  Under the bed is a perfect place to stash things.  What about the very back of your closet where stuff gets lost anyway?  Get creative!

Lastly, don’t forget to use what you store.  When you run out of something in the main house, example bandaids- go to the store and pick some new ones up.  But when you get home, replace the ones in your emergency stores with the new ones and use the emergency ones.  This will help keep our emergency stuff fresh and within expiration date.

We need to plan for financial hardship and then pray that it never comes.   If you don’t plan for it, it will show up for sure when you least expect it and when it will be the most difficult to make it through.

The Purpose of Administrative Board meetings and other such things

The purpose of being on a board, be it church or work or a non-profit group or club, is to not simply go through the formalities of a meeting to say you had one.  The meeting is for making decisions,  discussing solutions to problems, and deciding as a group how to implement things for the betterment of the organization.  The president or group leader is “technically” in charge but they are not to be dictators. 

Sometimes they are forced into being dictators because the rest of the group doesn’t show up or because the rest of the group does not participate fully in the meeting.

My point is this:  Don’t go to a meeting and sit quietly throughout the whole thing only to turn around and critique the decisions or express concerns after the meeting has been adjourned.   Meetings are for expressing your feelings about decisions and to have the whole group help you with any concerns you may have. 

If you refuse to speak up during the meeting, you have then forfeited your ability to have the group work with you or help you or bring to the forefront any excellent ideas or concerns you may have.

Another thing learned living with boys

In Cub Scouts, my middle kid learned how to carve bars of soap. He did a project for CS and then did a second one for a report in school. There is a lot of “wasted” soap when one is done with such a project so his group leader suggested that they use the shavings in the bathtub.

Flash forward : He came home from a sleep over very tired and grouchy. I told him to go take a long bath to calm down and offered a motivation of being able to use his soap shavings. While the tub was filling, I told him to wash his hair in the running water so he wouldn’t have to dip his head into the tub later. Well, he didn’t want to. So he washed his hair in the tub water. The same tub water that had very cheap soap shavings dissolved throughout it and a nice scum of perfumey “crud” floating on top.

Have you ever dipped your arm into really yucking dishwater and lifted it out to discover all the grease had clung to your arm hair? Well, that is what happened to his head hair!!! He had so much soap scum in his hair that it was stiff!!!!! We rinsed and rinsed and it just stayed and stayed. I called a beautician friend and asked her what I could try before paying for a Malibu treatment (build up removal stuff). She suggested baking soda and shampoo mixed together or anything acidic. We joked about turning his head into one large volcano by mixing the baking soda with vinegar or lemon juice. I asked him what he wanted to do and he agreed to try baking soda and shampoo first. I was a little leary that my cheap shampoo would not work so I mixed equal amounts of baking soda with Shaklee’s Basic H (those who don’t know this product, it’s an all purpose, all natural cleaner that is safe for use as a bath gel if needed). Basic H is highly concentrated but I used if full strength anyway with the baking soda. The first try it worked like magic!!!! I got huge lather with the combo of the 2 products and his  hair looked beautiful!!! Not dull like little boys who hate to shampoo’s hair usually looks like- shiny, healthy and squeeky clean! Impressive!

Those of you in the same boat as me, tuck this into your memory banks until you need it!!

For more information on Shaklee products go to www.shaklee.net