Monday Meal Plan

Happy December 1st....oh Christmas is coming soon and I just can't wait. I love the holiday season, because its a time to celebrate the birth of our risen LORD and SAVIOR. Thank you God for sending the perfect gift to us!!!

December is such a busy month with lots of Christmas baking, parties and church events. Good thing I have had my "master" baking list prepared for a couple of weeks so I have been able to pick up some sweet deals. Already on the list I have made the inside of my peanut butter balls (they are in the freezer waiting to be dipped) and a batch of sugar cookie dough. This week I will be cooking up some more yummy treats.

Here is whats on the menu for this week

Monday: Corn Chowder and Biscuits

Tuesday: Not sure

Wednesday: Hamburger pie and Mashed Potatoes

Thursday: Beef stir fry, rice and Egg rolls

Friday: Spaghetti and garlic bread

Saturday: Out to our first Christmas party!!

For more meal plans head on over to Organizing Junkie.

Making the list....and checking it twice

With December quickly approaching I thought it was time to share some of my Frugal holiday tips. Today I am talking about my Christmas baking list. This list is such a money saver!! Its easy to start your list as there are probably a handful of recipes (or more) that you make each season.

I created my list using google docs (this link will take you to a recent post on how great google docs is if you aren't using it. ) I started off by making a master Christmas list. This list has all my goodies that I bake, decorations (mostly craft supplies) that need to be picked up and a basic menu of whats cookin in the kitchen Christmas eve and Christmas morning. From this list two more list where created; one was a recipe list and the other an ingredient list. This is why I love google docs so much is that you can link your pages together. The best thing about google docs is that it can be shared with other family members or you can share it out with other women or familys if you do Christmas baking exchanges. Now with my list complete (for about 2 weeks) I have been watching the store flyers for the deals, this is the best part about having your list ready. You can pick up your ingredients for next to nothing prices if you know what you need for the holiday season. I have been buying little things here and there to get me started in my baking and storing it away so hubby can't find it!

A wonderful cookie

So last weekend my wonderful sister in law and her family where suppose to be coming up for a visit. She is an independent Norwex Consultant so she was going to be hosting a party here at my house. Along with hosting a party comes the responsibility of being a great host (duah) so I decided to try to make a new kind of cookie. I had had these cookies many times before at our weekly bible study and was just reminded of the delicious taste again just weeks ago. After doing whatever good cook does (search the internet for a recipe) I had found the cookie I was looking for. I usually don't like to try new recipes on guest; ok who am I trying to fool....I am known for that even though hubby doesn't like it that much. I tried them out. OH the cookie was just what I was looking for mixed between a sugar and short bread cookie with the seculant taste of nutmeg.




The recipe (and the picture) comes from Taste of Home and to yours and my surprise I followed it. The only thing I did different was I sprinkled a course cane sugar on the tops and only baked for ~ 9 minutes to get a nice soft cookie. These were delicious and unfortenualty the party was postponded due to the big snow storm we got.


The other bad thing was we ate the whole batch of cookies Saturday night while some friends were over. So much for self control!

Going green in style!

I think a couple of weeks ago I posted all about these wonderful reusable bags that I had made out of T-shirts I had laying around. Well I just wanted to let all you readers know that they have been wonderful. Many people comment when I walk into the store with my "ZOOM" bag hanging over the shoulder. Also many cashiers take notice when you are using them at the grocery store. For all my Canadian readers if you have a PC master card you receive 50 PC points for every green bag you use and they count these. What a fashionable way to "go green".




For all you readers who didn't get the chance to read about my adventures in T-Shirt bag making check it.

My sewing adventures are getting fun; sorry I haven't been posting much. I am working on some new projects. I will tell you all about my Baby John's that I am making and selling also I have been working on my Christmas goody list and doing up some post of frugal Christmas decorations. Please be patient and keep watching for these exciting things. Also due to the many things I have on the go Question Tuesday will resume in the new year!!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello Readers! I am sorry about the so few post last week. It was a busy week here with lots of Christmas projects on the go; so that is where most of time was spent. Our meal plan went sort of as planned however I will be carrying over one meal from last week. This week I am trying not to buy anything. It's the last week of the month and since we spent a little extra this month on a delicious breakfast out I have decided to be creative (I mean that is the name of the blog right??) with what I have.

So here is what we are cookin up this week

Monday: Pork chops with twice baked tex mex potatoes

Tuesday: Pizza Braid

Wednesday: Left over pizza

Thursday: Soup and jiffy biscuits

Friday: Sausage and Mashed potato

Saturday: Spaghetti with garlic bread (oh ya this was another meal that I am carrying over. Because of the 15-25 cm of snow we got this weekend our guest weren't able to visit.

Sunday: Meeting at the church

Well readers next week we will be in December....its so hard for me to believe my little one is turning one in almost a month!!! I am working on lots of post of frugal holiday shopping (the list has been made and checked twice), crafty and creative Christmas decorations and of course lots of homemade gift ideas. Be sure to keep reading...

For more great meal planning ideas check out Organized Junkie.

Question Tuesday: Carob Vs Chocolate

What's the difference between Carob and Chocolate??


For many of you who don't know what Carob is...don't feel bad. I did really know much about either; just that I have seen it at the bulk barn before and some of my friends use it in their baking instead of chocolate. So we are going to walk through this together. Please be advised that I have never used carbo before in my baking (I have had it before in a cake and it tasted fine...the color was a bit lighter then a chocolate cake) so if you have used it before please feel free to leave some comments on your option of the stuff.




The carob fruit is a dark brown, flattened leathery pod (or legume). These pods have been around for ages as many scholars believe that this is what John the baptist lived off of as it is sometimes referred to as "locust bean". To make Carob powder (or flour), that looks a lot like cocoa is produced by a continuous process of drying, grinding, and roasting the pods. The resultant flour has a versatile array of uses. It is an incredibly rich food source, and is perhaps the ideal "survival food" since it lasts a long time, requires no special storage conditions, and can be eaten with no preparations. Carob flour contains about 40% natural sugar making it naturally sweet (remember I have not tasted before...this is only what my research is saying). Although carob has a high sugar content it contains 60% fewer calories than chocolate due to it being lower in fat. Carob is caffeine free, a rich source of calcium and potassium, and contains small amounts of iron and some B vitamins.




Carob powder and carob chips can be used whenever a recipe calls for chocolate or cocoa. To replace carob for cocoa, simply use the same amount of carob. To replace chocolate with carob, use approximately three tablespoons of carob powder for each square of chocolate that the recipe calls for.



After all the reading on this stuff I think that I might pick up a small amount the next time I am out at the bulk barn...that is if its not too expensive. One thing to note is that many of the articles I read stated that although there seems to be some healthy benefits that it needs to be consumed in moderation along side a balanced diet, that includes a variety of foods from each of the food groups.

Here are some recipes I found that I will try when I get some of this stuff. If its cheaper then cocoa it may be the new ingredient in my baking. Niki can you help me out with some recipes and maybe the price??

Carob Cocoa

Carob Christmas balls

No bake carob cookies


If you have a question for please email at:





Referenced used for this were

http://www.physicalnutrition.net/carob.htm

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawcarob.html

Meal Plan Monday

Although the calendar is reading November the weather here has been so rainy and mild. The crock pot has been out on the counter as least once a week. I just love how I can throw it all in the pot, leave it, the house smells beautiful and we can enjoy a delicious meal as soon as hubby walks in through the door.

This weeks crock pot creation didn't turn out as I had hoped. I followed the recipe for crock pot chicken and Quino, it turned out sooooo mushy!!! I have never cooked with Quino so I am not sure what it was suppose to turn out like but I am telling you it was like pure mush. If any of you have experience cooking with this grain please help me out!

The new recipe I tried this week was such a hit!!!! This veggie pot pie was the most delicious thing I have tasted.




The best part of this recipe (besides the herb combination being delightful) was the sweet potato topping! Oh how yummy this was. When mixing the topping it was kind of a sticky dough so I just placed it on top of the pie and spread it out (to the best of my ability) over the top.


This is the scrumptious end product. After supper it was rated and place on the Peterson Favorite's. I gave it 5 stars and hubby gave it 4; it would have been a 5 if there was meat in it.

What's cookin in the kitchen this week:

Sunday: who knows...

Monday: Shepard's pie and salad

Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday: Something fast in the car

Thursday: Shake and bake pork chops and Twice baked Tex Mex potatoes

Friday: Crock pot pizza

Saturday: Family is visiting!!! Spaghetti and garlic bread.


Head on over to Laura's site to see what others are cookin up this weekend.