It's the little things...

This morning I was completely out of milk. I mean like literally out.  I made everyone eat oatmeal that could swallow it down. Everyone else ate dry cereal.  I didn't even have any syrup. I should have gotten to the store earlier yesterday but kind of forgot.  I have a life full of blessings, one of them not being memory.

Today I took my son, after dinner, and went to Braums for Milk.  If you don't know about Braums, it's an ice cream shop that also makes burgers and the like, and they have a dairy. It's good sweet milk, with no hormones. So I was trying to keep up with my son, who was flinging back every sliding top to the eons of dairy cases they have full of ice cream waiting in line behind a gal with light blue scrubs on.  Her purse strap was fraying- and she was there a while.  She didn't say much, but I knew she must be having an issue because she told the VERY young cashier to take care of me next.  She said she had cash in the car and she'd be right back.  She was confident, and graceful and quiet and she walked out. 

I immediately felt the need to pay for her groceries.  I stared at her total $13.35 on the digital read out. I had that much. I needed for her to let me pay for it.  I was going to shove her aside and swipe my card and pay for it.  End of story.  But she walked out, 2 sacks of bagged groceries sitting on the end of the counter. I stared at those 2 bags and remembered EVERY time my stupid card didn't work.  I wondered if she could really afford the groceries.  I wondered if she had kids.  

So I moved my milk and 2 containers of ice cream (what?! they were 2/$6!) over to the other register and he rang me up.  I told him, that really young blonde worker, that I would pay for her groceries. He reiterated that she was going to be right back.  But you and I both know that moment and we know that it is a terrible thing to leave a store and come back after a payment mishap. 

Another lady checked out and left after me.  Then another lady in scrubs with neon green trim started checking out.  She was slow about it too.  She was watching me.  I started looking out the window behind the register for that lady to whom the bags belonged, and saw her barely from the passenger side car door leaning in.  I  knew there was not enough money.  So I said to that blondie guy, "come on I am going to pay for these.  I will take them to her, and it will be fine."  I used my Mom voice so he would just hurry up about it. He said okay, only after I swiped my card so fast.  It's a talent I have.  :) swipe swipe.  

As I was gathering her groceries, she was walking back into the door, and I quickly shoved the receipt and my "Mom card" into the bag.  I told the guy to tell her it was paid for and I quickly gathered my 2 bags and my crazy-about-ice cream son and started to get outta dodge.  Then I found myself in the midst of it all telling this gal, "I paid for your groceries.  I had some extra money this month.  It was kind of a miracle thing, and I am happy to do it."  I walked past her and left.  She called out after me in the middle of the parking lot- in the drive-thru lane, and proceeded to try to give me a sandwich baggy of coins and a few dollars.  I told her to keep the money for something she really needed.  I insisted.  I was choked up and I was pleading in my head to God to please let her take this from me so I wouldn't have to cry about it.  I kind of wanted to hug her. But I didn't. 

She said 2 words: OH WOW. And there was a moment of silence, and I guess I was at a loss for words.  All I could say was "Bless YOU." And with that, she went inside and I and my son went to the car.    

Next thing you know, she's getting into her minivan, and I am wrangling said child to get into his car seat. Out of the corner of my eye I see the lady in scrubs with neon green trim putting her 2 bags into the trunk of her SUV.  We were making a triangle with me at the point, the miracle lady on the left and Neon scrubs lady on my right. She started at me, and it caught my eye, and she said so very clearly, "I am so blessed by what you just did.  I hope you have a wonderful day." I told her I was going to.  I reminded her that we all have those kinds of days.  

I am telling you this story, not because I spent $13.35  for this lady to get her stuff so you will say to yourself "good job way to go you!", because sometimes making dinner is in the little things. It's a tall glass of milk with your kids after school, or a sandwich at lunch, made with love, bought with your family in mind, to be together.  Dinner was once described to me as the one time that we can all be together, enjoy being a family and talking to one another about life.  I guess that's why I love recipes, good food, and cooking.  It's about being together, enjoying something great, and being great because we are together.  

For me, today was about making a way for someone else to have dinner- whatever that may be.  And maybe breakfast, too.  Whoever she is, I hope that every time she buys a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread (she  had 2 in her sack) she will be reminded that good people do care and when your stupid card doesn't work, someone is waiting in the wings to help out.  

I am glad I forgot my milk yesterday.  Because today, there were two blessings: 

#1 my kids got ice cream (which wasn't in the plans yesterday) 

#2 Because a lady got some much needed stuff at Braums on me, I was reminded that God can use me to help someone because HE cares about everyone.  

Rock on sister.  Make dinner. Make memories.  Live your life.  And if you should burn dinner, order take out. Then try again tomorrow. 

This is my mess...

I promised pictures.  For various reasons, I used my very pricey point and click EOS camera and took these less than wonderful pictures.  I guess I will need to get a lesson from my photog friends on how to use my camera!

In the mean time, let me introduce you to my stash...

This is the pile of "recent" recipes I have decided I will make... some day.

 This is my grandmothers cabinet. When she lived in San Antonio, it sat in the hallway with a family Bible on it.  Now, it's a home for all recipes, books and binders.

The bottom shelf of my bookcase.  Southern Living writes me thank you notes every year for my undying support.  See that yellow binding on the left.  THAT's an old book. 

This is a close up of all the papers and tear outs I have nicely shoved in between some of my binders.  Which are also full. See I am organized. 

So as you can see, in the grand scheme of things, you can see how I might be stumped on what to make for dinner. It's kind of like when you stand in the middle of your closet packed with clothes and say, I have nothing to wear.  I'm there. 

Kitchen Gadgets

I realize that today's post is supposed to be about kitchen must have's. This has been a harder task than I originally thought.  Partially because I have so many friends who sell Pampered Chef.  And you KNOW that I love me some new kitchen gadgets.  Plus, I like dishes, glasses, clocks (which have nothing to do with kitchen stuff) and kitchen gadgets.  I am NOT a big fan of baking stones.  I ducked just in case you just tried to shoot me.  BUT I do love pottery cookware.  So there. 

So what do I use the most? Here's the short list:

Skinny spatula (PC calls these Scrapers)

Regular sized spatula

Regular sized metal whisk

A slotted spoon- larger than a "big spoon" from your flatware set

a short flipper

a large flipper- rectangle and metal is better

potato peeler that the blade rotates

large open skillet with short handles- at least 12 inches wide and a 3-4" lip

medium size skillet- maybe 6-8 inches across

small sauce pan- about 1 quart

medium sauce pan- about 2 quarts with lid

deeper medium size pot with lid 3 or 4 quarts

stock pot- big enough to put a whole chicken into. with a lid.

DON'T BUY NON STICK PANS. End of rant. 

9x13 pan with a portable lid- mine has a rubber lid which is nice for storage.

6x9 pan- or if it says "casserole" dish. These are great for side dishes, and breakfast casseroles

loaf pan (really used most at the holidays or when you decide to make amish friendship bread)

bundt pan- get the biggest one you can find (FYI: the round flat ones are for angel food cakes.) 

9x9 square pan don't get 8x8 because you will make the cake like brownies not the regular ones.  

4 cup glass mixing bowl with lid

a large metal strainer with handles

a 2 cup mixing bowl

a couple of glass 1 cup size bowls for melting butter or mixing up spices in

splurge on these:

crock pot with locking lid- get a super huge one

kitchen aid stand mixer (regular size not professional size) AND kitchen aid hand mixer 

a roasting pan WITH A RACK and preferrably a lid if you don't want to use the roasting bags

stainless measuring cups and spoons (they won't melt in the dishwasher and we need to use the appliances!)

digital kitchen scale (we have a postal scale which we used to weigh our puppies. now it's for me. it's good)

There's more. I will reorganize my thoughts on this and add to and clean up and maybe pictures.  Right? I need a photo of it all. *insert evil laugh* 

Where do you find your Recipes? Then what?

I think I get asked this question a lot people who really want to cook, but don't really know where to start.  Where do you find your recipes? So today I want to just highlight some great blogs, or sites you should visit to just surf for recipes.

There's no real science to recipe hunting- just find things you like to eat and make them.

I like Cooking Light, Southern Living, The Pioneer Woman, Skinny Taste, Tasty Kitchen, Gluten Free Girl, Hungry Girl, and Food Network. There are more, many many more, but these are some I really like and go to regularly.  I kind of like that I just linked all these for you because now you can just click away and go look on your own. But come back, I have more to share with you!

Many times, the best place to start on getting started with cooking homemade meals is to simply decide what you want to make.  Ask yourself, what am I hungry for? (sorry all you grammar-a-tarians! I am not going to re-word!)  You might also ask your spouse or significant other-person-who-wants-to-eat what they would like to eat.  Sometimes spouses have a craving- or an opinion! Ask your kids.  They will say things like macaroni and cheese, or chicken nuggets, or pizza.  That's okay.  You CAN make those, too.

So step one, though obvious, is to decide what you want to make.  In a week, I will choose 4-5 recipes for my family of 5.  We will have a left over night at least once during the week (we really don't want to waste the food we have purchased), and perhaps twice.  Sometimes, one of the meals will include breakfast for dinner.  My kids love this.  I do too.

Next step is to find those recipes.  Surf the web, using the sites above, and find recipes that have RATINGS.  I know you might think that is silly, but peoples' comments are really quite helpful when deciding IF the recipe is worth making. Many times a recipe might be rated AND there will be a skill level listed.  I LOVE THIS.  It helps me to know how much time I will have to spend concentrating on my cooking while I make it.  This is so helpful because there are nights when my kids are going in 6 different directions for sports or school or band or all of the above, and I will not have the time to make a more difficult recipe.  Whereas, I might be able to make easier recipes in less time on my busy days.  Pay attention to the skill level required only as a time commitment.  You can make anything you can read the directions for.  Be assured.  If you can follow directions, YOU CAN MAKE HARD RECIPES.

One more thing about recipe ratings and skill levels: the easier the recipe the better, especially if you have young, and or needy grumpy whiney-driving you absolultely-crazy kids.  You know exactly what I mean.  It's called the "crying hour" at our house.  I am not saying that young kids are needy.  You know your own kids.  Maybe you have a "hangry" gene in your family- "hangry" is when you are hungry and get snappy and irritable when you are hungry. (Thanks to Nancy  D. for defining this phenom in our own household!) SO, if you have these issues one day- switch to an easy quick recipe so you can squelch those hangry kids and adults quickly. Easier recipes are also good for those mamas who can't spend a ton of time monitoring a dish in the kitchen.  Easier recipes enable  you to either walk away from your oven or stove with ease or make your time in the kitchen shorter.  Gauge your time and value your balance.    

Secondly, don't be alarmed by the list of recipe ingredients! Check out the entire list of ingredients and see how many actual ingredients there are- NOT including spices or seasonings.  Many times, seasoning lists make a recipe twice as long and it will seem intimidating to make, when in actuality, there might be 4 main ingredients, and 4 spices or seasonings.  That IS doable.  Trust me.

Once you PRINT OFF your recipes, go straight to your spice and seasonings rack and HIGHLIGHT the seasonings you DON'T HAVE.  You will notice over time that recipes you like will use a lot of the same seasonings.  Seasonings can be pricey, and though the recipe may call for fresh,  you can always use dried (most seasonings will have a dried equivalent on the bottle) if the recipes you want to make for the week will not use the entire purchase of fresh.  I am always about economical uses as well.  Just be aware if you are trying to be more "fresh food" oriented, dried doesn't taste as good as the real thing- fresh.  You will notice a difference.  Fresh herbs can be found in the vegetable section of your local store.  If you are organized, snap a picture of the fresh herbs in your local store, so you know if they even offer the fresh item you want.  Many come in boxes that have larger labels on them for easy reading. OR just make a note of the ones you see for future reference.  Super handy.

Then head to your freezer to see what kinds of meat you have and start a grocery list of those things you will need.  Staples like canned goods will be easy to see in an organized pantry- so get organized mama.  Clean that sucker out and know what you have.  Use up what you have.  If you need help using up those 46 cans of corn or hominy or ranch style beans you can do a recipe search based on ingredients... try this one from recipe.com.  There are others too, just google "ingredient search" and start finding recipes.

With list in hand, shop and buy what's on the list.  I tend to buy meats from an actual butcher - Sam's Clubs have a butcher, NOT WALMART, so does Kroger and HEB. Check your own local grocery store and you can just use that door bell on the wall near the meats and "ring" your meat department manager out to the store to ask specifically if they cut and package their own meats. You can usually tell if they do based on the packaging.  If it is shrink wrapped with a SEAM then it was processed somewhere else, frozen and trucked in.  If it has saran wrap around it, then bingo!

Buying organic or not is up to you. What I have learned through asking my organic granola friends is that the fattier the meat, the more worthy of organic it becomes since hormones or chemicals are stored in the fat.  However, price dictates us too, so I have to consider that as well.  If you don't have a budget for food, then be smart with the organic thing.  Fresh is best.  In our family we strive to buy anything from the ground, and anything from an animal.  This leaves out breads (I love bread), pastas, processed "quicky" foods and soups.  If I do buy pasta, it is usually wheat free or gluten free.  It is better for you and leaves you feeling less "heavy".  

So with that I will leave you... lots to think about and lots to discover.  Message me with questions  or leave them below for discussion.  Tomorrow- tools you should own!

Here we go again

I have found my outlet for many things is in making good food. I really tried to be a stamping crafter, and I even tried scrap booking. I have the stuff to prove it. In my attic. Please. I just have to say this: I have 3 kids. ONE of them has their first year in pictures scrapped.  Sorry guys, you will just have to find your pictures on my computer when I die.  That's just the way it will be.  I am not really a home decorator, though Pinterest sometimes makes me think I am.  I would LOVE to make those cute cards and paper crafts like some of my favorite friends.  But I  need a second bank roll for that hobby.

I have NO formal training in the Culinary Arts. Sorry about that. If you were hoping to learn some secret skilz from a pro, I hate to disappoint. But in my defense, I DO have a grandmother who could make a 5 course meal out of 3 cans of green beans, fruit roll ups and left over hot dogs.  And it would be delicious, every time. That counts for something, you know.

I get my love of recipes and food from her. I know I do because recently she gave me a truck load of cook books.  They were OLD.  In almost every book I found newspaper clippings stuffed in it's bindings and magazine recipes used as book marks! My oldest daughter had the nerve to ask me why I was putting recipes in Granny's old books like that! It was then that I realized something profound: she does it too. She collected recipes like I do!  The proverbial "they" say you should do what you love. So I cook.

As an aside, I also love clothes, but let's be honest.  I'm not really super model material, and I decided to marry for love, not money, so that whole shop til you drop thing wasn't going to work out. Smart move on my part really. BUT, I love to make food. Just ask ALL 3 of my friends.  Maybe there are 2 friends.  But you can just ask them. I also love hospitality. I love to eat food. That's a fact, not a confession.

So now, I'm in a new town, making new friends! So here births this new blog about FOOD. How to cook food. Where to start with making good food.  So many mamas I meet just want to cook easy recipes with real food. I know you love you some cream of chicken or mushroom soup casserole type foods.  But in the long run, there's your health, how it affects your kids attitudes, and then there's your thighs to consider.  SO, how do you make good tasting food, that tastes like bad for you food, and not gain weight? That's a really big deal right now.  Just ask my cousin. She's a professional food blog person.

I think there's something inside us all that wants to feed our family something good, homemade, and NOT McDonalds every night while we are on the go that doesn't require our crock pot EVERY.STINKING.NIGHT. Or at least I am like that.  And so it goes.  Here I am again, 3ish years later blogging about GOOD food.

I'm not making your dinner FOR you anymore, but I CAN help you make good choices, find some great recipes, make sure you own the gadgets you NEED, and make life simpler. Maybe.