Budget-Friendly Recipes

Here are some tips we discussed at October's meeting for making dinner time less crazy and less expensive:

-When you find meat on sale, buy a bunch and cook it all at once, then put it in smaller portion sizes in baggies in the freezer to pull out and pop into your next dinner dish.

- Keep track of the prices of items in a 'contact info' book that is alphabetized - that way when trying to compare prices and find the best deal, you know what the going rate for the item is at a given place.

- Stretch the meat out by adding beans or lentils.

- You can look at store adds online...all the local stores have their adds posted online and the 'new week' starts on Wednesdays.

- Wal-Mart will price match any items as long as you have the add and it's the same or similar brand/item.

- When milk is on sale, you can buy a large quantity, pour off the top of the milk, and put it in the freezer (depending on the size of your freezer! =).

- Make your own beans/yogurt in the crock-pot (Lorraine has awesome recipes for these)


The following are some recipes that are budget friendly and yummy:

Fusilli with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
• 6 large tomatoes (about 3 1/2 pounds), cored, cut in half crosswise, and seeded
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 1/2 cups hot cooked long fusilli (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• Basil sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Brush a jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer, cut sides down, in pan. Arrange crushed garlic around tomatoes; sprinkle tomatoes with thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes; drain juices from pan. Bake an additional 30 minutes. Remove tomatoes from pan; cool slightly. Discard juice and crushed garlic. Peel and coarsely chop tomatoes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add chopped garlic, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chopped tomatoes and basil, and cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add pasta, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese; garnish with basil sprigs, if desired


Morrocan Stew

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (15 oz size) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Directions:Coat a small skillet with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; saute for 5 minutes.

Place squash in a 3-quart or larger slow cooker (crockpot). Add sauteed onion and garlic, carrots, tomatoes, broth, cinnamon, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cover and turn on to low heat; simmer for 6 hours.

Playgroup Granola Bars

Mix:

3 cups rolled Oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup raisins

3 / 4 tsp salt

Make a well in center and pour:

1/ 2 cup honey

1 egg beaten

1 /2 cup oil ( I used coconut oil)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix well using your hands and pat mixture evenly into 9X13 baking dish.

Bake 30-35 minutes in preheated oven 350 degrees.

Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

Apricot Cashew Chicken

½ c. apricot preserves (or any other kind of fruit)

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. chicken broth

1 T. vegetable oil

1 T. cornstarch

1 tsp. minced garlic

¼ tsp ground ginger

Combine in large microwaveable bowl. Add chicken, toss to coat. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring once.

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Add:

1 medium green pepper, chopped

½ c. cashews

Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear, stirring once. Let stand for 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

Easy French Bread from Ellen Jackson

3 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 T. yeast

1 T. salt

2 ½ c. Hot tap water

Mix well together.

1/3 c. oil

Stir well.

3 c. more flour (DO NOT STIR)

Cover and stir every 10 minutes for 50 minutes (5 times). The 5^th time, pour out onto floured board, knead and divide in 2. Roll out as for cinnamon rolls and then roll into a long log. Place rolls side by side on a greased cookie sheet. Cut slits in top and let raise for ½ hour. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

I med. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 T. water

1 14oz can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 ½ c. cheddar cheese, grated

8 oz. macaroni pasta, cooked al dente

½ c. milk

2 T. butter, melted

In skillet, brown onion and garlic. Add to slow cooker with water, tomatoes and seasonings. Cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. Thirty minutes before ending time, add cheese, macaroni, milk and butter. Serves 4.

Homemade Yogurt

8 c. milk

1 pkg unflavored gelatin

1 c. plain yogurt

Turn EMPTY crock pot on low. In saucepan, heat milk and gelatin to 190 F. Place pan in cool water bath until milk reaches 110 F, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture in crockpot. Stir in yogurt. Turn OFF crockpot and let sit for 8-12 hours.

*Can use this yogurt as a healthy substitution for sour cream, other sauces, or oil in baking recipes. Also, can add vanilla extract and sugar to make it vanilla flavored.

Rebecca’s Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

½ box pasta cream of mushroom

¼ C. milk broccoli

2 breasts cooked chicken

½ C. sour cream cheese

1 T. chili powder salt & pepper

Combine, cover and cook at 350 for 30 min.

(Sorry those ingredients are so vague, just throw in however much broccoli, cheese and S & P you'd like!)

Taco Pasta
4 oz. dried penne
1 lb. uncooked ground turkey (or beef)
1/2 C. chopped onion
3/4 C. water
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 C. corn (frozen or canned, whatever you have)
1 small can of sliced olives, drained ( i never put this in, but I don't like olives. If you like them, go ahead!)
1 C. shredded cheddar
1/2 C. salsa
1 small can of diced green chilies
1-2 roma tomatoes, chopped
tortilla chips (I always use the tostada shells, but again you can use whatever you have on hand)
lettuce
sour cream

Cook pasta, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, cook meat and onion until done. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of cheese, salsa and green chilies.
Transfer mixture to a greased 9 x 13 dish. Bake, covered, for 20 min. Remove from over, sprinkle with remaining cheese, then return to over for another 5 min. or so. Place chopped lettuce in bowl, then chips, then taco stuff, then tomatoes and sour cream. (and guac if you have it.) Makes about 3-4 servings.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

(You might have to click on the movie to see it in wide screen)

June Notes - Parenting in Stressful Times

Here are my notes from the meeting-some not coherent. If I have time, I'll clean them up.

Yelling at them when they're little cuts off communication when they're teenagers.

Quoting Melissa Kimball, "a new parent." As in, "she needs a new parent," and handing baby to your spouse.

Environment in home --> the Spirit.
(Sorry about that shorthand. I think Chelsea J. was talking about how she and her husband were able to keep calm and even be sweet to each other during dinnertime when their kids were losing it. She was talking about maintaining the Spirit in her home, that that was her goal. And I think she said that sometimes we lose sight of that goal, but that working together as a team with her spouse helped.)

Pray to handle things better.

Master yourself. Discipline yourself to stay checked in when people in your family need you the most. (When you really want to check out.)

Pray for a softer heart towards children. "I need to know better who my children are -and Heavenly Father can help me know that." Lorraine.

Pray for patience. (Chelsea basically said if you don't, you're crazy...or something along those lines. I better start doing that more often!)
Pray for love. (to have Christlike love for children & spouse) -helps you have patience. helps you give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Let's make a memory." April talked about how this was her goal each day, that the memories her children take with them are important. Remembering this helps focus her mothering.

Keeping routines help make us feel better.

Get out of the house. Kate said that she tries to have somewhere they need to be by 10:30 each morning. This ensures that her day gets started and she's up and running without getting sucked in to time wasters or things that aren't as important as spending time with her kids.

Read your scriptures.
Quoting Tricia Hobbs: Put the Lord's time first.

Talking about trials or tragedies:
These things happen. They're going to happen to everybody. There's nothing you can do to change that. But you can change your attitude. You can change your testimony. If you strengthen your testimony, you can have hope through hard times and look forward.

Trials are sometimes the blessings we're asking for, or the way to the blessings we're asking for.

He gives us things that are bigger than ourselves - positive and negative, so we can turn to Him. (For example: our own infinite worth, trials, our children, sometimes callings, etc.)

It isn't going to be perfect. Come to terms with that. (applies to relationships, to me, to circumstances.)

Self-mastery in the small things, or in the chronic & on-going, or re-occuring. (Kaylyn didn't say this, but something she said made me think this.)

Say an only-gratitude prayer.

Find something to laugh about, to laugh hard about.

Mothering Group in May?

Did anyone have any notes to share about mothering group from May?

Following the Savior in Motherhood

Lorraine was generous enough to send me her notes. THANK YOU! I took the liberty interjecting my thoughts. They're in purple. 
xoxox,
Carrie

Begin Email:
Carrie,

Here are the notes I took. Feel free to post whatever you want from them. I added some links to the talks and songs referenced, so it's a little long. Anything in brackets is what I wrote down during the meeting, but didn't say.
Lorraine

Giving children more opportunities to make decisions and use agency is Christlike. Other attributes mothers need are patience, kindness, healing, feeding. "Maybe I should write down what my children need." The Savior ministers to each of us individually, and our needs are his priority. We can separate our children's wants from needs. Sometimes we get what we want and sometimes we don't, but the Savior still gives us what we need.

[This reminded me of a song by Michael McLean: "All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of, everything I've hoped and all the things I've prayed for couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given. I've been given what I need."]

"Isn't it great that we have everything we need to be mothers, and that we are entitled to the Savior's help in our role."

"I'm thinking about what I used to do before kids as "my work." I need to change my point of view. God doesn't just respond when we cry out. He is aware of us and we are his work. I want to shift my paradigm of thinking. My children are my work."

[This reminded me of the time I heard a husband speak about the important work his wife does..."When I come home from work, it's more important to me that my children have been picked up than that the house is picked up."]

"With a list, I'm more productive, maybe because my head's in the right place. We need a place to be that makes us feel good."

Carrie interjects: I'm the one who said this. But, I meant, "with a list identifying my children's needs for the day (for example: Luke needs: attention, outside time, a responsibility. Pete's needs: a happy environment, attention.) But, making lists is good too. (Since I was about 11, I've made copious lists...and usually never looked at them again.)

"And leaving the cleaning to comfort a child is part of making our home a nice place to be."

"That's why I am home with my kids. I couldn't pass this off to someone else. Would I want someone less educated or less qualified to be taking care of them? No."

"The mother is the child's home."

Carrie interjects, again: Regardless of the quality or quantity of your mothering, that is the burden/privilege you bear.

"There's a reason we have children in our homes. It's not just an accident. I'm their mom. We get help in the area we need."

"I can picture Heavenly Father talking about sending his children to earth and asking, 'How can we get parents to love their children as much as we love them?' I imagine the answer being because our children are a part of us. They share our blood."

Carrie interjects: It was also mentioned the spiritual gifts attending adoptive parents.

"You can't get the minutes back that you push your kids away to 'get things done.' If you partner with your spouse, he can help with the chores that have to be done."

"You are giving yourself to your kids and they know that. It makes a difference."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A12v0NRwMhI
Micheal McLean, Which Part is Mine
Lorraine included the lyrics to the song in her email to me. I thought they were too long to include here, but if you want them, I can email them to you.

Elder Bednar's talk:
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1207-15,00.html

"Elder Bednar's talk in conference surprised me because he told us how we can receive revelation, and that's by doing specific things with our children."


http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1207-7,00.html


"Elder Eyring spoke about raising our children to be able to avoid disaster and take the role of rescuers instead of needing to be rescued later. We are our children's rescuers."



"Children are children. My daughter is six. That's why she acts that way. Heavenly Father doesn't expect things of us that are unreasonable. We shouldn't expect it of our kids."

[This reminded me of a teacher in college who told me that for the most part, people in our care or charge want to please us and do what we want. If they don't, it's because they don't know how, or they're not physically/emotionally/mentally capable. So don't be too upset or disappointed. You may be expecting too much.]

"Anything that annoys you about your child is something that you've trained them to do."

"The Lord capitalizes on our goodness, brings out our goodness, magnifies our goodness. I should try to see the good in my children. The Lord doesn't punish me every time I mess up. It shouldn't be so for our children, either."

A specific idea given: Each child gets a magnet board with six magnets, each representing 15 minutes. When they do something that requires a consequence, tell the child to "go take some time off." At the end of the day, each child counts how many magnets/minutes he or she has left, and that's how much later they get to stay up after bedtime.

Carrie interjects one last time: You may interject in the comments! :)

Other Helpful Ideas from Our January Meeting

Surviving Sacrament Meeting/Mass:
Bring a book of photos of extended family for children to look through.
Turn 5x7 Gospel Art Pictures or other pictures of the Savior or scripture stories/characters into lacing cards.
Print off coloring pages from The Friend magazine
Make a gospel-oriented BINGO-like game with felt and velcro. (Chelsea Whitby for details.)
Draw stick figures and have your kids design their clothes.
Learn hymns as a family.
Speak the words in your child's ear while they sing with the congregation.

Family Prayer & Scripture Study:
Listen for a word or phrase, and at the end, tell me if I said it. (I tried this, Lindsey. Thank you!)
Let kids follow along with/look at the illustrated Book of Mormon (or other) Stories while you read from the actual book of scripture.

Book Recommendations:
Raising Your Spirited Child (author?)
The Happiest Toddler on the Block (author?)

Other:
Kaylyn asked, "When do you say your morning prayers?" I'm not sure if she got any practical suggestions (certainly not from me!), but it made me write down: Say morning personal prayers.

Both Lindsey and Tricia do a variation on the following:
At dinnertime, they take turns sharing events of the day and how they felt. Lindsey gives her kids emotions (Tell me a time you felt nervous/happy. Tell me a time you felt frustrated/grateful.) Tricia's family shares their High/Low moments.

High Fives

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of you for contributing to the conversation on how much our children need physical touch on a regular basis. I don't consider myself a super touchy-feely person, but I notice a difference myself when I am the recipient of hugs, kisses, high fives, holding hands, pats on the back, and even the occasional surprise attack and being wrestled to the ground by my kids. So I've been more conscious in my efforts to provide them with physical reassurances of my love.

Some of you know that for quite a while now the focus of my personal scripture study has been reading the Book of Mormon as a parenting guide. This has been a very eye-opening experience for me. Just yesterday I was reading 3 Nephi 11, and because of our recent mothering discussion, these words reached me in a completely different way. The Savior invites the people to come and feel the nail prints for themselves, the evidence of his love for us. He recognizes the importance of physical touch and invites it.

I know this is second nature for some of you, and I want to thank you for your examples to me. You are helping me to learn what it means to be more like Jesus, to trust his words, his ways, and to ultimately help my children want to know and be like him. Motherhood matters.