Mac & Cheese & Peas

Mac & Cheese is a favorite here for Meatless Mondays.  And of course it has to be homemade!  I have experimented for years to get a good cheese sauce and by golly I think I've finally found it.  Mmm, Cheese Sauce.  Liquid gold, it's been called, and I must agree.  Add pasta of any kind and it's called foodie heaven.

Mac & Cheese & Peas

What you Need:

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. white pepper

2 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. elbow pasta

1/2 lb. frozen peas

What You Do:

Fill large pot with water and a handful of salt.

Cover and bring to boil.

While water is coming to a boil-

In medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat.

Whisk in flour and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.

Add milk slowly, whisking to combine.

Add salt and pepper.

Cook over medium-high heat until thick and creamy, stirring frequently.

 While sauce is thickening-

Add pasta to boiling water and cook for one minute less than package directions.

When sauce has thickened, remove saucepan from heat and add cream cheese.

Stir until cream cheese has melted, then add cheddar cheese in 4 batches.

Stir until cheese has completely melted between each addition.

When pasta timer goes off, add frozen peas to pasta and water and boil for one more minute.

Drain and dump back in pot.

Add all that glorious cheese sauce and stir until well combined.

If it's not Meatless Monday, add cooked crumbled bacon...

Or add cubed ham and substitute broccoli for the peas...

With cheese and pasta, the possibilities are endless...

Easy Homemade Guacamole

I've never understood people who don't like avocados.  Who could resist such cool creamy deliciousness?  And of course, you can't talk about avocados without mentioning guacamole.  Yum.  I have to admit, it's my favorite part of eating Mexican food.  Before I got into cooking from scratch, I always made guacamole with the packet of seasoning you get in the produce section right next to the avocados.  That was homemade, right?  I never even knew there was any other option.  But real homemade guacamole is so easy and SO much tastier.  Once you learn how to make it, you will never touch those packets again!

Guacamole

What You Need:

2 medium ripe avocados

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. lime or lemon juice

What You Do:

Put all ingredients in a bowl.

Mash them up thoroughly with a fork.

Cover and chill for 30 min.

Enjoy with homemade tortilla chips!

It's really that simple. And so delicious!  The recipe can easily be doubled for more people. If you prefer a smoother texture, a stick blender works very well.  Most of the time I'm too lazy to pull it out, so I just use a fork.  Besides, the little chunks of avocado make it more rustic :)

This recipe freezes well, so when all those really ripe avocados go on sale, you can whip up a giant batch and freeze it in individual portions.  I use the 8 oz. wide mouth mason jars.  Just defrost in the fridge the day before you need it.

Friday Night Cookies

I just made these tonight and they are so good I had to share!

Apricot Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. rolled oats

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 t. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. butter

1/2 c. organic cane sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. finely chopped dried apricots

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine flours, oats, spices, salt, baking soda and powder. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
• Beat in vanilla.
• Add flour mixture and beat until well combined.
• Stir in apricots.
• Scoop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Let set on baking sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack 

 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on how much dough you eat ;)

Endings and Beginnings

It's funny how life can totally change.  You think you know the future for miles ahead.  Then suddenly everything's different.  Last fall, due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to abandon our home of 9 years and move across town to a rental home.  I admit, the extra space has been nice (900 sq ft to 2100 sq ft), but the cost- financially  (the high rent), of losing property therefore garden space (1/3 acre to a postage size lot) and moving from county to city ( losing my chickens) has been very hard on me.  Add in the stress of going to school full-time while managing the move and being mama to 3 boys, and I have pretty much been depleted, exhausted, depressed, stressed, etc. for the last 5-6 months.  There were way too many days of unnecessary shopping, eating fast food, using paper plates and paper towels, and pretty much living and doing everything I stand against.  It felt horrible and I knew I had to pull myself together.  While coming to grips with my new living situation I've realized that I am going to have to master that old adage of being happy regardless of circumstances.  I've figured that I can squeeze in some herbs here and there amongst the flower beds and maybe even try growing some veggies in pots on the deck.  Meanwhile I can support my local farmers by shopping at the Farmer's Market and the Saturday Grower's Market when the season starts.  I have scrounged together all the canvas bags I could find in a determination to stop using paper and plastic bags from the store.  I'm getting back into shopping the sales and cooking from scratch as much as possible.  Another blessing has been having the space to create my own sewing/craft room.  I am hoping that I will be able to make many homemade projects and gifts when time allows.  And hopefully I will have more time as well.  After much consideration, I have dropped some of my classes and decided to spread my program out over 2 years instead of 1.  While this will cost more, I think that I need to be able to focus more of my time and energy at home and on my kids.  So, all in all, while this has been a very difficult season in my life, I think it will all work out for good.  Though the growing and stretching may not always be pleasant, I trust that I will find many surprising moments of happiness and new opportunities along the way of this new journey.

Spring Cleaning

I know it's been awhile, but I have been so busy with yard and house work.  We have company staying right now, so for a couple weeks I was crazily cleaning.  I'm not terribly fond of house cleaning.  I'm much happier cooking or crocheting, but I love the end result.  It's amazing how much a clean organized house can affect everyone's mood.  Everybody just seems calmer and more relaxed and the day runs more smoothly.  So, cleaning rags- check, cleaners- check, mop- check, loud music- check, and away we go.

As with everything, I am always looking for cheaper, safer alternatives to commercial products.  So naturally I have been looking into in learning about homemade cleaning products.  I find it very interesting how complicated companies make their products.  They have a million different products with a million different chemical ingredients for every different cleaning job you can imagine.   Of course they want you to think that you need all these bottles- your house won't possibly be clean enough without them.  And now on top of that they are making everything disposable!  Instead of using a cleaning rag, there are tubs of pre-moistened wipes for the kitchen and bath.  Instead of a toilet brush, you can use a toilet wand with disposable scrubbie pads.  It just amazes me how many ways the corporations can come up with for us to throw away our money while at the same time consuming even more resources and overflowing the landfills.  However, in researching the topic, I was pleased to discover how simple, safe and effective natural homemade cleaners are.  Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and good old-fashioned soap and water are a few of the things I came across.  Here are a few links to some good sites with cleaning recipes.  Experiment, have fun.  Find what you like and what works for you.  And be happy that you've taken one more step towards self-sufficiency and natural living :)

http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2007/08/various-recipes-for-green-cleaning.html

Radishes

I've been neglecting my garden a bit lately, I must admit.  We have had rain almost every day so I've not had to water for a while.  But I went out today and was pleasantly surprised to see all the radishes popping their bright red heads out of the ground.  I'm not a huge fan of eating radishes by themselves (they are too spicy for me!) but I do love growing them because they grow so darn fast and with minimal effort on my part.  And they are so pretty, all shiny and red.  I will put some in our salads for a nice crunch and a little zing.

Homemade Toothpaste

So by now you've realized I am a huge DIY-er.  It's not just about saving money, which is great, but a lot of the choices I make have to do with health.  If I can make something myself and the result is healthier AND saves me money, then I'm a happy camper for sure.  So when it came time to buy toothpaste a while back, I stopped and thought, "There's got to be a cheaper AND healthier way to clean teeth."  So, as always, Google was my friend.  After reading several different articles and trying a few different recipes, I came up with this one.

Homemade Toothpaste

What You Need:

3 Tbls. Baking Soda (a natural antiseptic, mildly abrasive to remove build-up)
2 Tbls. Coconut Oil (anti-bacterial, makes it paste-like)
1 Tbl. Xylitol (a natural sweetener, prevents cavities)
1 tsp. Hydrogen Peroxide (kills those bad breath germs)
20 drops Essential Oil (for flavor, Peppermint and Mint are good, I use Tangerine for the kids)

What You Do:

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl with a fork until a paste forms.  (It takes a minute for the coconut oil to soften)
Store in an airtight container.
Use a pea-size amount for teeth-brushing for a super clean mouth!

I have been using this for several months and have been very pleased with it.  The baking soda taste was a little off-putting at first, but you get used to it after a while.  The Xylitol you can find sold in bulk in most health food stores.  I haven't priced this out yet, but I'm sure it is MUCH cheaper than commercial toothpaste.

Why make your own toothpaste?

Well, besides cost, the more I learn about the chemicals that are in almost every cleaning product like laundry soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., the more concerned I become.  Especially when you start to see the connection to the astounding rise in cancers and diseases like Alzheimer's.  We are putting this stuff on and in our bodies every day.  I know we can't protect ourselves from every single toxin out there, and yes, we are ALL going to die eventually, but there are some simple things that everyone can do to lessen the exposure and live a happier healthier life.