Saturday was the Cub scout crossover, the fellow in charge of burgers and buns brought traditional white buns for all...and a pack of whole wheat for us!

Unasked, he knew we were the 'health nuts' and he decided to do something about it! I was amazed and greatful!

Then the lady who made some sort of bean/veggie salad (I dunno what to call those) made it a point to tell me she used fresh veggies. I didn't have the heart to tell her I am the worst health food eater and don't eat tomatoes unless cooked and hot. But I really appreciated the attempt!

yesterday was ELs birthday party, we had the usual burgers and dogs, and several new guests were introduced to whole wheat burger and dog buns..I used to buy both, but finally decided to make my life easier, I would stick with what we ate, and have never had an adult guest not eat them. I think most folk would be surprised to learn how good whole wheat is.

I also had lots of fruit, which always disapears, and whole wheat ritz..though I doubt they are any healthier than regular, I find I like the taste of them better. Again all was eaten. Maybe if more folk bought, shared, and displayed healthy foods, those white, sugar starch foods would lose some appeal. For now folk think junk food and good times go together, yet at my house, so far as all the comments I am hearing go, good times were had without the junk, or rather without as much. Burgers are after all junk...but no chips, and whole wheat all around.

Or not we did have oreos as a cake . (husband doesn't like cake, so we stuck candles in the oreos for him)

I just had to toss some leftover Chili. It was too small a portion to use any of my pots (I don't have a baby pot) so instead of heating it up to eat, it got ignored for a week.

Now while berating myself for not using it up, I came up with several creative uses.

1. Chili sandwich(in the oven)
2. Eat it cold for EL (if she eats off the floor I bet she would eat it cold)
3. pout with noodles or rice to make larger portion
4. use the big pot and keep a closer eye on it

But the truth of the matter is, I prefer a microwave.

One would think that being a non TV dinner family we could manage without one easily.

One would be wrong. The other night when nuking some vegetables my microwave went 'BZZT' so I took the stuff out unplugged it and cooked the veggies on the stove (how archaic)

But doable, I managed.

The next day I managed to learn how to use the timer on my stove instead of the microwave for making cookies, (ok actually I went with the time honored, 'take em out when they smell good' method, but I tried to remember to use the stove timer)

I steamed some brocolii on the stove, cut up leftover food and made succotash instead of heating up the mini portions, and essentially managed to cook all weekend without a microwave.

Now I am ready to have one, please?

Not that I can't manage, it's just that microwaves are so much quicker!

I imagine if I go without for a month I will be used to it, since my husband uses one at work for his lunch and I can use the stove. But I don't think we will go that long, I expect one to be installed within the week.

Lately we have been buying a brand of eggs that is often double yolked. For the most part we don't care.

Last night however I tried to make fried eggs. Out of 6 eggs, 9 yolks broke. Not that I am very skillfull, usually out of 8 yolks 2 or 3 break.

Now for the math..3/8 compared to 9/11 (one was a single yolk egg).

Which is the better average?

Not that busted yolks are the end of the world, the kids don't seem to mind.

This is from a friend, so I am not the originator(though I doubt she will mind as I think she found it in tightwade gazette? but I could be wrong)

here you go (my notes in parentheses):
1) Heat the oven to 350.
2) Spray 2 (9x13) pans with Pam. (I used oil)
3) In a large bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:

10 C whole oats (NOT quick -but quick works just soft IMO)
dash of salt
freshly grated nutmeg(enough)
cinnamon(enough - maybe 1 t?)

I also include almonds and walnuts. You can add in whatever's around and what your family enjoys. For example, I don't add chocolate chips because we eat this for breakfast.

4) In a pot on the stove over medium-high heat, heat the following:

2/3 C honey (or other sweatner)
2/3 C oil (NOT olive oil - I use regular canola oil)
1 1/2 C brown sugar

5) Stir together to combine then heat over medium heat until just beginning to boil. Don't stir this too much while it's heating. Then, stir really well and add to the dry ingredients.

IMPORTANT: STIR WELL. Really well. This might take more than 5 seconds. ) You want to make sure that the oatmeal is no longer dry or your final product will be less than wonderful.

5) Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 - 12 minutes or until it's a nice golden brown color.

6) Put the granola back in the original bowl and add raisins (enough)

IMPORTANT: STIR WELL. As it cools, this stuff gets sticky! You want to stir it enough during the first 30 minutes after baking so that it cools evenly and not in huge clumps. If you don't do this step, you'll regret it later! ) (Yep, one big clump in the bowl right now, but still good when you chip it off)

This is actually a double batch, so I halved it for playing.

I made two batches, one with whole oats the way it says to, and one with quick oats, cause that's what I had.

I like the quick ones better, the end result was softer, and since I am used to soft chewy granola bars, I think I vote soft.

I tried with honey and with half molasses, I like the half molasses better too.

And contrary to the recipe, I used craisins. (dried cranberries)

Friend of mine said she tried with some sort of brown rice syrup, sounded odd, but I bet it was interesting.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make it more of a bar less of a crumbly mess so we gan eat it on the go more.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

cream 1/2 cup butter
slowly mix in 2/3 cup maple sugar
beat in 2 eggs

mix together:
2and2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

combine wet and dry

roll into balls roll in raw sugar (I use regular) flatten with bottom of sugared glass

bake on stone 8 minutes

You can roll them in cinnamon and sugar if you want, tends to make it a kindof spicy cookie. Not to sweet,but very good IMO.

Err, excuse me, but A. My kids don't Need anything, I can provide for them just fine. And B. He needs a financial education far more than yet another trinket!

I really can not stand the mentality that asking a child to save is tantamount to torture. Really, you have got to be kidding me. I don't even require 50%! (not that I see anything wrong with 50%)

For every dollar that comes in about 20% is savings, 10%ish is charity, and for the older two some is dues for scouts, the rest is theirs to spend. With the possible exception of two short term loans I made for a dollar or two for J, and to replace an item for G (he broke it, he paid to replace it) I do not see any reason why they need anything!

Other than a financial education, can they honestly not see how important it is? Especially in light of the hassle credit has gotten so many into which is all over the news today.

Sure I understand if you give the gift of money you want a person to enjoy it, not sock it away and ignore it, but if you wanted them to play with it, you should have asked mom or dad for an idea of a toy.....

While I don't have quite as many ideas as relatives wanting to buy I have a few, first and foremost his favorite gift would be an afternoon cooking with you. Yes I typed that right, he would LOVE to cook with someone, preferably someone who lets him make a bigger mess than mommy.

If you can't give him two hours of your time, then how about you not complain when those of us in charge of his education use that money as another learning experience?

I made 'pretty biscuits' last night, my kids devoured them and my FIL loved them.

I kinda used the one from [http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/recipes/41586-anyone-have-good-biscuit-base-recipe.html?highlight=cookies]the forums[/url]

but I used whole wheat non self rising flour.

regardless they didn't rise, but they sure did melt in the mouth.

granola was from

bean

and I am cold, so I baked lunch rather than nuking it.... still no heat on but kitchen is warmer.

Well we got back from the dentist with two sets of healthy teeth. (only JC and GMC go yet)

and the bank account is $250 smaller.

I am so not looking forward to April when UE joins the dental crowd.

On the way we were listening to "The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe". We had just finished listening to the part where Edmund gets to eat the magic Turkish delight. I have always wondered just what Turkish delight was, ever since I read the story in childhood.

After the dentist we went out to eat, an old tradition from when I was a kid, the reward for the visit. The restaurant down the block was "Aladdins" or something like that.

Dinner was excellent, I have no idea what it was called, some beef thing, chicken thing, and lamb, plus some chili like soup, all with strange names, but all was good.

Then for desert Baklava, I never liked it, but I know my husband did so we got a variety of 4 kinds. (I never knew there were multiple kinds) Since there was a variety I figured I would try some.

I think I may have found something worthy of the praise Turkish delight gets in the book! It was heavenly! Fingers they called it, sweet but not sickeningly so, a tiny bit of crunch, but mostly melting in the mouth. I absolutely loved it!

PS I went to wiki:

turkish delight

Yesterday my husband needed to go to the store, and he asked one kid to go with him. Well both wanted to so off they all went. (UE at 2yrs is too young to be more than a PIA at the store and of course El 2 months stays with me for a good long while) The house was amazingly quiet, I never thought 'only' two kids would seem empty, but it was.

When they finally got back there was treats that apparently Daddy let the kids pick.

A French 'baguette' and peaches, plus two extra flavors of yogurt. Plus cheese sticks.

I just found an old copy of our budget from 2006, not that long ago, but oh so different. then I had 400 for grocerys and gas combined, there were no fresh peaches or fancy breads allowed. Now, I think gas alone is over 400 and groceries?

I try not to think about it, sure we watch for sales, but we also eat a TON of fresh fruit, veggies, and whole wheat 'stuff'. none of which are really cheap. It is nice t be able to afford to let the kids try dragon fruit, or frozen raspberries.

If I ever did want to cut down, I would just make the kids stay home! If they were asking for junk food I would say no, but..mangoes? berries? yogurt? (healthy version, not hte sugar stuff) How can I say no to trying new healthy things?

All that paypal-ing the other day was the first I spent in eons..generally I get to escape because I carry the baby, my husband spends.

But if we include his spending...well at first glance I would assume 2 or 3 spending days per week...

This month on the other hand is terrible. we had out of town company, so we went grocery shopping an extra time or two.

already spent:

Sunday-treated company to taco bell
Monday - grocery shopping to restock milk (and chocolate)

Projected spending:

Tuesday - grocery's to restock on veggies (we don't like the veggies at the other store.)
Wednesday - ??
Thursday - Fill up on milk and such for the weekend company (new ones)

Though this company is my mom, so she will prolly do the treating for any eating out we do. Not that she has to, just she tends to.

It doesn't look so bad now that I write it...4 days of spending. I wonder if I am right and an average week really is just 2 days. I should prolly keep track.

Last night we had my mother and father in law over to celebrate Christmas..I made BBQ chicken, and it was good! I actually liked it, I usually complain that the chicken is too dry...and I usually ruin some part of it anyway. Though no one else complains the way I do when I cook! Thankfully they have manners.

This time I loved the chicken, not to dry, not to overpowering BBQ either. The only trouble, out of 8 pieces of chicken, the one I served my mother in law was still pink in the middle! ACK. The rest were done, this s why I hate cooking bone in chicken unless it is a roast...the pieces are never uniform in size so you either dry out the little ones or don't cook the big ones, or just plain ruin them all!

Fortunalty it was just the one piece.

I think it was Mom-from-Missouri who alerted me to the right time to sign up for Pizza huts 'book it' program. Thanks!

So tonight is the last night we can use our tickets earned in October..just in time to earn them for November. We really aught to be more on the ball with our freebies!

Anyway I am all for free food, I just find myself looking at these library rewards and pizza thinking, why can't free food be healthier? Even if we could afford to eat out more often, we wouldn't do it, not that I like to cook, believe me, I hate cooking! I am not particularly good at it either, I like to bake not cook.

But we would still eat at home, because we use whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and lots of veggies...hard things to find when eating out.

The only places that have whole wheat are hoity toity and come with plenty of tofu and sprouts..nothing wrong with tofu or sprouts, just that I am boring, I want plain boring sandwiches..with whole wheat bread...

Don't get the idea we are health nuts, you all know I love chocolate! and I still put Mayo on my turkey sandwich (and not a tiny amount either) not to mention a fondness for ice cream, red meat and peanut butter and well real butter!

I just hope to balance all that yummy stuff with vegetables (drowned in butter) and whole wheat bread (slathered with mayo) for my burger, not to mention brown rice or whole wheat pasta for my spaghetti or oriental food, ooh and whole wheat tortillas for my tacos!

Oh well...I guess I will just have to get rich enough for a personal chef rather than eating out....Might have a cheaper option as UE grows, he LOVES cooking!

I happened to look at the back of a box of pasta the other day...I recalled it served 8, and wanted to know just how terrible we were for needing a whole box for just 5 of us.

I discovered it only served 7...when did my pasta box shrink?

Or did the serving size grow?

Then I thought a box was supposed to be a pound...this box has 13.5oz...maybe thats where my other serving went. The box measures what I remember a box of pasta being, it just has less weight.

I am curious if it is because the pasta is whole wheat...I need to check the next time I am in the store to see if a box of white pasta still has a pound or not.

Now in general I always thought of buying 'the good stuff' for company...but here I have a couple house guests coming for a weekend, and I have a list including things like canned vegetables! Canned, the cheap stuff we suffer thru when money is low (OK fine, money has never been that low here...) is what I am buying my guests!

Not because I am mean, but because thats what they like....so we buy for them, and learn a lesson in "one mans poison..."

The short version..take the tightwad gazette recipe, mostly double, adjust for health, and flavor as desired...

To be more precise.....err well bear with me, I am not a precise baker...though one thing I have learned, measure baking powder right (level off and all)

All muffins are done when a finger pressed lightly in them bounces back quickly.

Cakes require a dry toothpick..they never bounce well, to moist.

---------------------------
The muffin recipe was designed using the molasses cookie one roughly tripled in flavor (since the muffins have around triple the flour) the cookie recipe I will have to work on for you.

Molasses Muffins:

Pre-heat oven to 425
In a large bowl combine:

2 cups white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4-1 cup brown sugar
couple pinches of salt
5 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a large measuring cup mix:

2 cups of milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup molasses
2 or 3 eggs

Place liners or grease pans....check if oven is hot (mine has a light)

Pour wet into dry, stir lightly

spoon into muffin cups (I use a small scoop for the mini muffins and one large scoop for big muffins.

bake 15 minutes..give or take (take em out right after you notice how wonderful the house smells!

Makes about 3dz mini and 1 1/2 dz large (that happens to be about how many I own...)

----------------------
I have two recipes for pumpkin, one is sweet and 'the good kind' the other is healthy...The sweet kind is mostly out of the joy of cooking, but kinda doubled.

The Good Pumpkin Bread

Preheat oven to 350

Cream:

2 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup soft butter
2 eggs

Mix in: 1 can pumpkin (15oz)

add in:
2 cups white flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Add in:
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Bake in 3 mini loaf pans and one regular (20 min mini, 60 min regular) or for muffins around 15 minutes

--------------------------------

This comes from the back of a Hershey's cocoa box..with a few health changes.

Chocolate muffins

Preheat oven to 350 (empty as needed!)

In a large bowl combine:

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup hersheys cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
salt

Put the kettle on

In a large liquid measuring cup mix:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Prepare muffin cups

combine wet and dry ingredients

Add one cup boiling water (it will be very thin!)

Pour into muffin cups bake around 15 minutes.
-------------------------------

Hope you like em.

The season of endless baking is upon us...

Today was (well is, still in the oven) molasses muffins and cupcakes (nieces birthday..late)

And I need to make more for Tuesday (cubscouts..so far offers of snack help have been just that..offers.)

For Wednesday..Music class..I seem to be the only one with a family that cannot make 2 hours without food...

Then I get to make more for Friday ....camping trip, I want to pack some snacks I know the kid and husband will eat, plus some to share.

Then again for next Sunday (can't make it thru church and Sunday school without eating.)

But I like baking...I am tired, and sometimes have trouble, not every muffin I make tastes good, thoush some are great. I am looking forward to pumpkin muffins, and fudge (gifts) and mollasses cookies (mmm the house smells good right now!)

K gotta take em out.

This was the shocked question when my husband explained how we use 'real' maple syrup, not flavored corn syrup. Of course he mentioned the price (being the math memory of the family he knows, I don't)

A family member was amazed, It was difficult for them to grasp why 'us po folk' would buy expensive syrup. The truth is we buy lots of expensive items...fruit and veggies are often more expensive than many kinds of junk food. Pop is cheaper than juice (and lets not get into 100% juice vs fruit punch) But it isn't about the dollar, it is about the value. We feel 'real' syrup is worth more than flavored sugar. This may be a debatable issue, science is not 100% on our side, but it is enough for us to do it.

Don't get me wrong we don't always think price equals quality, I have found great cheap clothes and lousy expensive ones. I have read the ingredients on an expensive food and preferred the cheap one. It is again about the value...we want to get the most value for our money when we choose to spend it.

update: I got an article in the email today regarding HighFructose Corn syrup..

spark peaople

Thought it was worth sharing

I hate cooking, I really do, I like to bake, but I hate to cook. So every night there is the same old struggle to force myself to come up with something edible, and usually it adds to my desire to eat out...anywhere out so long as I don't have to cook!

Well I discovered that the more we have real food in the house, meaning meat to this carnivorous family. The more I am willing to cook. Not that I really like cooking or anything, just that I would rather cook 'real food' than just pasta or potatos. No offense to any vegetarians intended, just an observation about me.

So when we go to the store and see meat on sale for over 2$ a pound...I think we will be buying it a bit more often, so that I feel less desperate to run to the restaurant at every turn. That little splurge is keeping me from trying out more big splurges...like find dining.

For us. See if I ignore the amount exactly of money we have, I tend to spend less, assuming we don't have enough.

Which means surplus tends to pile up and I have to go schlep it around to pay off the car. I kinda like that problem! I would prefer not to ever have to deal with it at all, but if I have to have a problem this is it.

Course it isn't enough to pay off fully, just a nice double payment every other month or so.

Most of the surplus is due to overtime, and more would be going to the car, except we keep buying groceries. We buy more fruit and veggies than anyone I know, I have got to learn to grow some. ON a plus note the sunflowers are still alive. There is hope, so long as I choose hardy plants that like to live.

Now to find food that is that hardy (I know you can eat the seeds, but I don't.)

The kids picked favorite fruits and veggies last night, GMC picked tomatoes, JC picked nearly every fruit we eat!

Bananas and Apples are out (though I wonder on the apple tree...not anytime soon, but for the future?) Blueberries...I didn't think they grew around here...Strawberries do...I wonder if they are very thorny? I was kinda hoping for something the kids could pick.

Peppers are favorite veggie for my husband and GMC...I wonder if they are easy to grow. JC and I like peas, and green beans.

If you have a teen, or are female, or know a female teen you have heard the phrase "I have nothing to wear' Common admit you said it at least once gals. I wear holey jeans (among other things) and even I have said it.

The thing is it isn't about not having clothes, most Americans have more clothes than will fit in the McMansions we favor. Instead it is about the right clothes for for XYZ ceremony/date/conference/meeting/whatever. So we at least internally think 'I have nothing to wear'. If we like shopping we go find something, if not, we prolly just suffer reminding ourselves it might not be 'perfect' but at least it didn't entail hours of shopping to find.

I think food is often the same way, many people look in an over stuffed pantry and say 'there is nothing to eat'. Not because the cupboards are bare, but because nothing is quite right for dinner/lunch/breakfast/snack/whatever.

Part of this might be due to lack of cooking skills (just because flour eggs, butter and milk make pancakes doesn't mean everyone can do that.)

But I think a larger part is that people don't like branching out. Suppose you can make pancakes...if you don't have maple syrup you might pass, or you might realize strawberries makes a great topping, or peanut butter, or try em with just butter, or a brush of powdered sugar. If you think of it, pancakes are just sweet bread, eat them however you like.

Whatever the food, you can prolly eat it, you just have to branch out.

Another common failure to serve up a meal, is the wrong time of day. Eggs for dinner is food, and even nutritionally sound, but most turn their nose up at it. What about the bad mix....apples with steak? Hey it is a fruit and a protein, add those pancakes and you have a complete meal!

Just like clothes can be found in that 'closet full of nothing to wear' a meal can often be found in a 'cupboard full of nothing to eat'.

We are heading to see my brother on Wednesday and I have to bake, pack, wrap, sort, stack and find...stuff. Lots of it.

Planning bagels with butter for breakfast in the car.

By lunch we should be there, and eat with them...but I am debating on packing whole wheat bread...I had a reminder of how many different varieties of bread are out there and what may be called whole wheat may not be anything close in taste or nutrition to what we are used to...but I also don't want to insult. Same with cheese, I don't do american and neither do the kids...and cheddar needs to be extra sharp, see I eat more now than when I was a kid, and yet I am still picky! (now make sure that water is with lemon, no ice...)

Also planning snack for the ride home possibly trail mix.

Taking muffins, and a snack thing GMC wants to make (he is getting to be quite the 'chef', no bake of course.

Also packing a couple surprises for the family and lots of birthday presents. They have a thing for Summer birthdays!

Now what am I forgetting?

I made chocolate cupcakes for my husband to take to cubscouts. I offered to make icing, he insisted it be fudgy....

I tried a new recipe that involved melted butter and cocoa powder, plus of course sugar, milk and vanilla. By not using a mixer I hoped to keep the air content down, and figured melted butter plus cocoa powder makes fudge..it worked...

The end result was a very fudgy, very dark chocolate icing...and a very tired arm on my part!

So now the problem...my cupcakes are not fudgy enough for the wonderful topping!

So how do I make a cup cake fudgy-er....

Why does my bread taste 'yeasty' or kinda like a sourdough?

Did it rise to long? (I actually only let it rest so I could make rolls in time for lunch)

Did I put too much yeast in in the first place?

Did it not rise enough?

Too much kneading? (in kitchen aid, till it was not to terribly sticky so I could shape it)

Not enough kneading?

Or is it fate that I be terrible bread maker?

We are out of bread..we are out of a lot of things (husband still not supposed to drive), but bread being the big end of world item (at the moment)

So today I wake up dreading figuring out lunch and snack with no bread (it is a fall back, when done with what I cook you can have bread if you are still hungry, and one or the other of my two older kids is always still hungry)

Then for lunch I contemplated the lack of leftovers.....what on earth was I going to cook? I came up with eggs, GMC read about poached eggs and wanted to know what they tasted like, so I hunted up directions and made some, now eggs for my husband belong with bread...so I thought he would have to suffer...until I remembered, bread is made from flour, which I have!

Well real bread would take to long for lunchtime (that was fast approaching) but biscuits, which I make rather well and quite frequently were simple quick and easy (5,4,3,2,1 recipe).

Tonight for bedtime snack there will be plenty of leftover biscuits to drown in strawberry juice (after thawing the berries there is always lots of juice, son loves strawberry, daughter loves blueberry, youngest loves either)

Why oh why does it take such an effort for me to come up with something out of the norm? Considering how much flour is int he house, and how often I tend to bake you would assume making bread to be the first thought when I run out, but nope, bread is store bought (I am good at biscuits, not bread)so I think buy buy buy when we run out...

All I want is unsweetened dried cranberries to eat...hopefully for less than 10$ a pound..why is it so much cheaper to sweeten them?

corn bread muffins, I am not any good at them, I need a better recipe.

I did make blueberry, pumpkin, and apple oatmeal, all fo which were good, but the apple didn't rise very well, not totally sure why.

And as I was making all this stuff I was thinking about our food bill, bit high for the forum avg that I can see, but low for all the people local IRL here.

And one reason I think it is high..I am constantly cooking for others, we don't eat all those muffins and cookies, they go to work, to choir practice and to church.

I think I could be a bit more careful in other areas as well, but several times a week instead of feeding 5, I feed 50ish for breakfast or dinner..so if you look at it mathmatically instead of 7 days *3 meals a day *5 people=105 meals (plus snacks) I should be buying for, instead I buy for 155 meals which is 2 extra people(7 days *3 meals a day=21)...give or take.

so 500 a month for 7 people sound more frugal than 500 for 5? eh either way it could be lower, all in o=how I look at it

Two new meals, plus a doctered up potato soup, I am on a roll! Of course we have company comming next week, that is when the other end of the cooking coin will turn up...poor company!

Tonights was named 'pinky macaroni' by the kids..it was half chili, half taco, half macNcheese....yeah I know thats three halves Pretend it is a 'venn diagram' with overlapping circles or something!

I went looking for a recipe to use up the sour cream, I normaly don't cook with it, but it was in the beefless wonder the other night and I used some in potato soup, I had a big scoop of it left, and needed to use it before it went bad.

Of course you know the actual dinner bears no resemblance to the tex mex mac that inspired it!

Pinky pasta

2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of refried beans
1 can of blackeyed peas (only beans we had)
1/2 packet of taco seasoning (leftover after making dip)
some chili powder
some onion powder
some cumin
some terragon (kids asked for it....)
rest of sour cream (bout 1/3rd cup)

Cook, simmer serve over elbow mac with shredded cheese. (as with many sauces, easy on sauce for kids, I made it almost soupy for adults)

I am particularly fond of the fact that there were enough leftovers for my husband and for the kids and I for lunch, now that UE eats with us, many meals that formerly made it for lunches were comming up short, so I have to adjust, I think I am finally getting the hang of it!

I found this recipe for a beef stroganoff like dish only without the mushrooms using Italian dressing and sour cream. I gave it a try with my usual modifications, and my husband loved it, the kids could do without. I proceeded to try and modify it so that my husband and children would like it and instead managed to create several concoctions no one wanted to suffer thru.

Then Christmas happened, company happened, and I lost the origional. After several more failed attempts I finally came up with a meal we all like. though it only bears a passing resemblance to the original, I thought I would credit Kraft with a link at least(they sent me a free magazine full of ads..I mean recipes). But since my network is acting up we will be lucky if this gets online much less a link to them.

told you it bore no resemblance!

Beefless beef pasta…

Boil water for pasta…make it when ready, and while not watching the pot boil:
Make a rou, or slurry, or whatever you call it when you melt a couple tablespoons of butter (low-ish heat) and add an equal amount of flour…
Add spices (onion, pepper, some other stuff, parsley, Jamaican/Caribbean jerk, or whatever. If you know how to make Italian dressing those spices aught to do the trick)
Add water and bullion (I used 2 cups of water and 2 bullion, but if you have real beef use less bullion I think. I nuked one cup of the water with the bullion in it to get it kinda started dissolving before I put it in the pan with the other stuff)
Add sour cream, couple heaping tablespoons full. Stir a lot..a whole lot.
Add tablespoon or two of oil...Why? Because it tastes better that way! Thankfully weight watchers is not looking over my shoulder (especially since my bedtime snack right now is chocolate!)

Nuke veggie of choice.
Combine and enjoy. Or don’t combine; I did a little for the kids and extra sauce for the adults. (Add milk if you are low on sauce, or sour cream if you really like the taste.)