how to stretch your food dollars

If you have a bit of time and are into saving money, this post is for you. 

When I realized yesterday that I had taken a $4.88 chicken, added about $7 in other ingredients, and made roughly 16 meals, I knew I had to share the news. 

I bought the chicken last week to roast and have on hand for Steve's lunch.  Here's how I like to roast a chicken:

- place the chicken, breast side up, in a cast iron skillet

- cut one lemon in half and stuff inside the chicken.  Go ahead and throw in a few garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary too

- rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil

- rub a few smashed garlic cloves over the skin, then sprinkle with salt and pepper

- stick some rosemary stalks under the skin

- roast the chicken at 450 for 30 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 350 and bake for one hour

We enjoyed the chicken for several days- it's great on its own, or in sandwiches.  Once we had gotten all the meat we wanted, I made chicken stock with the rest of it.  Here's how I made stock:

- put the chicken in a large pot

- add salt, black peppercorns, fresh parsley, bay leaves, and onion.  Feel free to add any other vegetables or herb you have on hand

- fill the pot with water so that everything is covered and put a lid on it

- cook over medium heat for about two hours.  You will have much less water than you started with. 

- strain out the solids (I just pour it through a colander) and let the liquid cool in the refrigerator

- once cool, scoop off the fat on top with a spoon

 Usually, I put the stock in jars and freeze it at this point, but this week I went straight into soup making mode.  I made a big pot of lentil soup to use for lunches and will probably freeze half of it for a later date.  Want to make lentil soup?  It's super easy:

- in a large pot, combine 2 cups stock, one chopped carrot, one chopped celery stalk, 1/2 cup dried lentils, 1/2 diced onion, 1 minced clove of garlic. 

- simmer until veggies and lentils are tender

- scoop into a blender and blend it up (this step adds some thickness to your broth for later on)

- return blended soup to pot

- add 8 cups liquid (I just use as much stock as I have and then add water to get up to 8 cups)

- add lots of chopped vegetables (I used carrots, onion, radishes, celery, garlic)

- season with salt, pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes (again, this is really up to you.  Just use what you have.)

- add a splash of balsamic vinegar

- simmer over medium heat until everything is tender (usually takes about an hour or so)

Lentil soup is very hearty and super healthy!  And even though both roasting a chicken and making stock and soup take time, they are the kind of cooking where you can leave them alone for an hour or more while you do other things.  Plus they make the whole house smell amazing!  I don't normally make soup in the summer, but it hasn't been too hot here yet, so it's been fine.  I try to cook in the morning when the house is the coolest. 

Do you have any big plans for the weekend?  My mom is coming and we're so excited to see her!  We have a long list of fun things we want to do and I can't wait to get started.  Hope your weekend is a happy one!

letter to our old range

Our goodbye today was quicker than I anticipated.  Those delivery guys sure know how to move appliances around efficiently.  I didn't even get to watch you go out the front door, as I was too busy vacuuming the spot where you'd been (#compulsivecleaner). 

I don't want you to think that our parting was personal.  You did the best you could.  Together, we made gallons and gallons of soup.  We baked turkeys and hams and cakes and pies.  Last winter, we roasted chestnuts more times than I can count. 

You had your quirks, but I had learned to live with them.  I knew that your back was hotter than your front and therefore I would need to flip everything around halfway through baking so that one side didn't get charred. 

I tried so hard to keep your darn drip trays clean, but it seems like you needed new ones every year.  And somehow, even though we'd tried to remember, we always ended up buying the wrong size or the wrong brand and having to return them at least once before we got a good fit. 

Not to make comparisons, but the new range doesn't need drip trays.  It just has this shiny, wipable surface with things like a warming zone and speed heat and adjustable burner sizes.  Speed heat?!  I don't even really know what it's for, but gosh does it sound exciting. 

The new range is so big on the inside that I could bake a turkey AND sweet potatoes at the same time.  And I'm not trying to brag, but I could probably fit the stuffing in with them. 

It has this large front window so that you can actually see what you're baking without opening the door.  You know I've read that opening the oven door lets out a lot of heat?  Sad, but true.  Now I can watch our dinner bake like it's a TV show. 

Incidentally, when you do decide to open the door, the light automatically comes on.  I know- it's like an oven of the future!

So really, there's no need to feel bad.  It is an oven of the future.  It's  21st century appliance and I'll admit it- I'm smitten.  I've never had a 21st century appliance before.  I'll bet the refrigerator and dishwasher are feeling real nervous right about now.  (Don't say anything yet, but the dishwasher is actually being let go next Monday.  Maybe you guys can meet up.)

We had a good run.  Farewell, old friend. 

ankle deep

Good morning, friends!  Yesterday got away from me and before I knew it I was ankle deep in a pile of fabric scraps and it was 5:00 and I hadn't blogged yet. 

Sometimes my weeks end up being heavy on sewing work and other times they are heavy on administrative and planning work.  This week is shaping up to be heavy on... both.

I finished this farmer's market tote for a very environmentally conscious three year old and shipped it out.  I had actually packaged it up and done everything short of taping the box closed when I remembered to pull it back out and get a few pictures. 

I always feel sad when I made something- especially if it's a custom design- and then forget to photograph it.  I really enjoy having a photo diary of every item I've made- kind of like a sewing yearbook. 

Last week, I noticed that there are only a few party kits left in the shop, so I decided that a new 4th of July fabric bunting was in order.  Fabric buntings are one of my favorite things to make because they are a great way to use up fabric scraps and cutting all those little triangles (120!) is sort of meditative. 

I'm super excited about some of the changes that will be occurring in the shop this summer!  Some older items will be moving out to make room for new designs and prints.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on the progress! 

Now I'm headed back to the ironing board with hopes of crossing lots of items off my list for the day.  It's rainy and for some reason I'm usually super productive when it rains- strange, but true.

fly me to the moon

If you stopped by to see pictures of the zipper pouches, this is going to be a disappointing day for you. 

Unless you happen to like old planes.  Then you're in for a real treat. 

I haven't had a chance to take pictures of everything I've been working on this week, but I did realize this morning that I never shared our trip to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.  We went two weeks ago, as a sort of vacation kick-off.  Steve had been dying to check it out and they had some cool old planes visiting for a few days, so the timing worked out just right. 

The museum itself is made up of a gift shop and about fifteen planes in a hanger.  I think that if there hadn't been a special event going on it would have been pretty anti-climatic. 

But- outside the museum, you could check out the only flying B-29 in the world and one of the only two flying B-24s in the world.  And if you're into planes, that would be very exciting to you.  There were lots of boy scout troops there.  And very old men. 

Personally, I thought it was hilarious that the planes are named "Fifi" and "Diamond Lil" and have pictures of scantily clad women painted on them.  No wonder there were so many boy scouts and old men wandering around. 

You could even pay a little extra and go inside the planes, which Steve did.  I sat outside on the ground with an elderly lady who announced that she hadn't seen her husband in over an hour and she wondered if he had forgotten he brought her with him and gone home without her. 

Although I am nowhere close to being an airplane enthusiast, I will say that the planes were pretty cool.  And Steve had so much fun that I was really glad we went. 

Is anyone else more than ready for a weekend?  I'm trying to get as much done as possible today so that tomorrow I can get back to lounge chair mode.  Hope your weekend plans include some lounging too!

ps- did you notice that registration is open for summer sewing classes?  Only a few more days to sign up!

easing back into things

Steve found the most amazing shell while we were at the beach last week.  We couldn't bring it home because someone was still living in it.  We brought home lots of other shells though and, even though I've washed them, they still smell like beach.  As does my gray t-shirt. 

Today is grocery shopping day.  It was really hard for me not to list seafood every night as I was planning out our meals.  It would take a very long time for me to get tired of fresh seafood. 

The pirate has gone back to work.  And at least ten times each day, I think of something to tell him or show him and find myself wondering where he is. 

In an attempt to regain my pre-vacation motivation levels, I threw myself into full-on zipper pouch mode yesterday.  As in 38 zipper pouches.  Steve was curious as to why I had 38 zippers laying around the house.  Oh, Steve. 

No time to work on pouches today though, because I have the car and a long list of errands.  It's rainy out, but I don't even mind because it's the perfect opportunity to wear my new boots.  Did I tell you about my new boots?  Well- in what can only be classified as a true birthday miracle, I found this awesome pair of navy rain boots at the GAP, in my size, for $6.97!  I know- this is the stuff of dreams and fairy tales. 

I'll be back to show you my zipper pouch progress later this week!

a new level of casual

This blog post will probably seem especially funny if you read the previous post that ran last week while we were gone. 

You know- the one about what hard workers we are and how we have to remind ourselves to relax? 

I think that some of us had to remind ourselves how to shave and wear socks this morning. 

It's funny how just nine days away from "real life" can change your whole attitude.  As Steve announced to some friends at church yesterday, "We've reached a new level of casual."

Amen to that. 

We got so used to the beach lifestyle that we started brainstorming ways that we could move there.  Just for a year or so. 

Maybe one of us would drive the jet ski for the banana boat rides or push the Italian Ice cart.  Perhaps we'd like to wait tables at the Duffy Street Seafood Shack, where most of the tables are outside?  I'd probably even be willing to spend my days with sticky arms, serving up sundaes at the ice cream parlor we walked to one evening. 

You may think I'm exaggerating, but some sort of shift has occurred in my brain.  I mean, sure, we did a few loads of laundry when we got home on Friday, but that was mainly because most of the stuff was already wet.  And in the laundry room. 

But mostly, we've spent the days since we've been home in the yard, in our lounge chairs.  It's like the beach, without sand.  Steve did go inside at one point, but only to whip up some amazing strawberry margaritas and grab the tortilla chips.  I even seem to remember making the comment, "It's five o'clock somewhere", as it was sure not five o'clock yet here. 

I love being home, but I do miss waking up with the ocean in my face.  Literally.  We didn't even bother closing the curtains at night, we were up so high.  (Does that creep you out?  I feel like that would be upsetting to some people.)

My to-do list for the day is all out scary looking because I just wrote down every single responsible thing that needed to be done that I sure wasn't going to do while we were still in vacation mode.  In fact, I may still be working through this list the next time we find ourselves in vacation mode.  Which I hope is next weekend. 

forced relaxation

Last weekend, we specifically set aside lots of time for fun.  Do you ever have to do that? 

Steve and I are such natural workers that, if we didn't make a real effort, we would spend every weekend trimming bushes and doing laundry, with a little window cleaning thrown in for fun.  I'm not kidding. 

I'm also not kidding about the fact that Steve recently discovered the joy of chopsticks and wants to use them for every food now.  Fruit salad?  Chopsticks.  Grilled sausage?  Chopsticks.  Peanuts?  Chopsticks. 

Yes, peanuts. 

But back to the fun.  We like to sit in our lounge chairs in half sun and half shade.  Sometimes we read, sometimes we talk.  Usually I get bitten by some type of bug and end up needing an ice pack or hydro cortisone cream.  I know- I'm real high maintenance. 

Saturday night, we went to see a play called "Southern Hospitality" at our favorite theater- the Little Theater of Gastonia.  It is a small community theater that puts on local productions.  Steve heard about it on the radio shortly after we moved here and we have been fans ever since. 

We usually stand out a bit in the crowd due to our... youthfulness, shall we say.  Sometimes we have really funny conversations with the people sitting around us.  Everyone is super friendly. 

Last weekend, as soon as we were seated, the lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but I think you two are much too young to be here."  Thus began a super fun conversation, where this lady and her friend tried to guess our ages (they picked 22 and 25 respectively, and I was thrilled to be "younger" than Steve) and find out why in the world we were at this play on a Saturday night. 

Right before intermission, I heard one of the ladies whisper to the other, "I'm really bored...or sleepy.  I think I had too much to drink at that cocktail party.  I thought I was having a glass of wine, but it turned out to be vodka."

They left soon after and we couldn't stop laughing. 

I think all of our relaxing was great practice for vacation- like stretching before the big race.  We're headed toward home today.  It's always sad to leave the beach, but I do love to be home.  I'll be back Monday with some beach pictures to share!