Money/Time Saving Recipe #3: Chicken Soup

We are on a tight budget in my house right now, and in an effort to save money and time I'm working on making wallet-friendly dinners that are big enough to at least make lunch the next day and, at best, also freeze for later. (Please keep in mind that I have a family of three, so you would need to increase the size of each recipe if you have a larger group to feed.)

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Thick and Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup
Time: 1-2 hours
Servings: 8+


Ingredients:
Leftover chicken and skeleton from Roasted Chicken w/Stuffing

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
2-6 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper

32-64 oz low sodium or sodium free chicken stock
water
2 bay leaves
1/2 Tbsp dried sage

4 medium/small potatoes, chopped
2-3 large carrots, chopped
1 cup white rice

1 bunch kale, finely chopped

1. Remove all chicken from skeleton; shred into bite-sized pieces, set in refrigerator until later.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in medium soup/stock pot.
3. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook 2-3 minutes.
4. Add garlic, salt, and pepper; cook until vegetables are soft.
5. Add chicken skeleton (not meat!) to pot; add liquid(s) to cover.
6. Add bay leaves and sage; simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
7. Remove skeleton.
8. Add potatoes, carrots, and rice; simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Add kale and shredded chicken; simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and serve.



This soup only gets better as it sits, so feel free to make ahead of time. Freeze leftover soup in muffin tin(s) and save in freezer bags.

Money/Time Saving Recipe #2: Roast Chicken & Stuffing

We are on a tight budget in my house right now, and in an effort to save money and time I'm working on making wallet-friendly dinners that are big enough to at least make lunch the next day and, at best, also freeze for later. (Please keep in mind that I have a family of three, so you would need to increase the size of each recipe if you have a larger group to feed.)

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Roast Chicken w/Yummy Stuffing
Time: 2 hours (about 30 minutes active)
Makes: 4-6 Servings


Ingredients:

7lb Whole Roaster chicken (preferably organic and locally & humanely raised)
salt

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 large carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
white pepper, to taste
3/4 cup water or chicken stock
1/4 cup dried cranberries, diced
1/4 cup raisins or prunes or apricots, diced
1/4 cup walnuts, diced
Chopped fresh herbs (I like sage)
5 cups cubed stale bread


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Apply salt liberally to chicken. Let sit while you prepare stuffing.
3. In large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
4. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is clear and soft.
5. Add pepper.
6. Add water or chicken stock and dried fruit and nuts, cook until simmering.
7. Remove from heat. Add chopped herbs and bread.
8. Toss/stir until well combined.
9. Stuff chicken and place on roasting rack. (Place extra stuffing in small baking dish and set aside.)
10. Cook chicken for about 1.5 hours. When there is about 20 minutes left, put the remaining stuffing in the oven to heat and brown.
11. Once cooked, remove stuffing from chicken and stir in with the stuffing that cooked separately.
12. Carve chicken, and serve.

I served this with baked sweet potatoes and broccoli. Adding sweet potatoes is very easy. Just scrub, wrap in aluminum foil, and place in the oven with the chicken. Large sweet potatoes take just over an hour to cook.

Make sure to save all leftover chicken and the chicken skeleton for chicken soup! (Recipe coming soon)

Money/Time Saving Recipe #1: Three Bean "Chili"

We are on a tight budget in my house right now, and in an effort to save money and time I'm working on making wallet-friendly dinners that are big enough to at least make lunch the next day and, at best, also freeze for later. (Please keep in mind that I have a family of three, so you would need to increase the size of each recipe if you have a larger group to feed.)

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Three-Bean "Chili"
(Adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili)
Time: 30-40 minutes
Makes: 8 servings

This recipe is not spicy, and therefore kid-friendly. (Which is why I said"Chili"-it's really much more like a bean stew.) If you're looking for more spice, add 1-2 diced jalapeno peppers and hot sauce.


Ingredients:

Olive Oil
1 Medium onion, diced
2 large bell peppers (any color), diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beer and/or chicken or vegetable stock
1 32-ounce cans crushed or diced tomatoes
2 14-ounce cans black beans
2 14-ounce cans kidney beans
2 14-ounce cans refried beans
1 small bag frozen corn, defrosted
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp salt

Possible Toppings:
Avocado
Cheese
Sour cream
Green onions

1. Heat olive oil in large pot or dutch oven, over medium heat.
2. Add onion; cook 2-3 minutes until softened.
3. Add bell peppers, garlic, and salt; cook 2-3 minutes until softened.
4. Add beer, stock,tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder; cook until simmering.
5. Add black beans, kidney beans, and corn; cook until simmering.
6. Add refried beans; cook and stir until refried beans have softened and are evenly distributed.
7. Enjoy!

This is particularly delicious served with cornbread. My favorite toppings are avocado and green onions. After serving dinner, I set aside some chili and the rest of the cornbread for lunch. I take the remaining chili and freeze in a muffin tin, and then transfer to a freezer bag. This way, you can heat all of it for a family dinner or just an individual serving for yourself.

Valentine Fortune Cookies

My sister and I got together to make these treats for our special guys. They were much easier than I expected, and so delicious! I didn't have superfine sugar, so I just used regular granulated. It helps to practice folding a circle of paper before trying to fold the cookies, just so you get the feel of the technique. (It is much easier to fold the cookies than it is to fold paper.) And I couldn't figure out a way to thread the fortunes through once the cookies were cooled, so I placed them in the center of the cookie before I folded it.

Recipe:

Nonstick cooking spray
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp almond extract


1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease baking sheet. Melt butter.

2. In an electric mixer, beat egg whites and sugar on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt, beat to combine. Add butter, heavy cream, and almond extract; beat to combine (about 30 seconds.)

3. Pour 1 Tbsp batter onto cookie sheet, spread into a thin circle about 5" wide, repeat. (I could fit four cookies on a baking sheet.) Bake until edges turn golden, about 8 minutes.

4. Working quickly, slide a spatula under one cookie. Lift and place on a dishtowel. Fold cookie in half, pinching at the top to form loose semicircle. Insert index fingers into ends, press indentation into center of cookie while bending ends together to form shape of a fortune cookie. This process should take about 10 seconds; once the cookie hardens you cannot fold it. Repeat.

5. Write your Valentine messages on long strips of sturdy paper, thread through cooled cookies.




My sister had the good idea of dipping the ends in chocolate, so we melted some and...






This recipe is from the book The Best of Martha Stewart Living Good Things

Etsymom Giveaway

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NaturalKids

I was just accepted as a new member to the Etsy NaturalKids Street Team. It's a wonderful group of talented people with amazing shops. I encourage everyone to check out the blog and the website. The team is dedicated to providing toys, clothing, and other products for children using natural materials. I'm so excited to be a part of the team, and to start working with these great people!

New Sewing Chair

I desperately need a new chair for when I sew. I've been working hard to crank out new stuff for my shop, but it is killing my lower back. I'm going to have to look into the kind of seats that are out there. Maybe there are chairs specifically for sewing? Any suggestions?