Apple Sausage Sizzle

Tonight I decided to whip up something simple and inexpensive, using staples that I already had in the pantry and/or fridge.  I had 1/2 turkey kielbasa in the freezer.  The other ingredients are always on hand at my house.  Turns out the family loved this meal!

This meal would actually work well for breakfast, too! It would also work well for camping- all of this food can be prepped ahead of time and cooked at the campsite.  Do you tailgate?  This would make a great breakfast tailgate idea!

Choose an apple variety that has sweetness and is crisp, so that it will stay crisp even after warming.  I chose Pink Ladies.

Apple Sausage Sizzle

1/2 lb Turkey Kielbasa, sliced and halved into bite-size
2 Apples (I chose Pink Ladies), sliced
Olive Oil, maybe 1-2 Tbsp
Dried Sage, about 1/2 tsp
Pure Maple Syrup, about 4 Tbsp
1 cup Quick Grits
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste

Cook the quick grits according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, warm up the oil, sage, and maple syrup on medium high heat.  Once it's warm, Add the apples and sausage, mix well and saute until it sizzles and begins to lightly brown, about 10 minutes.  You want your apples to remain crisp.

Serve over the grits, crack some pepper and add a sprinkle of cheese.  Serves 4.

Book Exchange Birthday Party

After discussing some birthday ideas with my almost-7 year old, such as a craft party, etc, she settled on a book exchange.  We have harder times with ideas for her, since the weather here is so unpredictable in January.  She absolutely LOVES books, and goes through them very quickly.  She currently has a fixation on the Rainbow Magic books, and also still loves Magic Treehouse books (and FYI if you're not familiar with either series, there is no correlation between them even though Magic is in the series names for both).

She knew we were on a budget, and after all was said and done, we managed to keep the entire party, including our gift to her, which I'll tell you about later, under $100!

The idea behind the book exchange, which grown-ups also do for fun, is to wrap a gently used book that you enjoyed reading.  At the end of the party you each go home with a different book.   This is supposed to be in lieu of bringing a gift for the birthday girl.  I created the invitations in MS Word based on inspiration from Reid Girls Handmade.  It cost me only $3 for copies to be made on cardstock at the local office supply store.  Ribbon and envelopes are always on hand in my craft room, so no extra $ spent there.

We did a game that was like Dirty Santa, but only 1 girl stole from another, so I'm not sure these young girls understood the game part.  (LOL)  It was great watching the girls see their new book in the end, there was a lot of excitement in the room!  Each girl filled out a simple card to place inside that told who brought it and what they enjoyed about the book (see above pic).

I did some very simple decorations.  My daughter didn't want any balloons, so I used green and blue buckets (her favorite colors) to hold flowers and drape ribbon.  The ribbon tied in with the bookmarks that they made.

I bought jumbo paper clips for them to tie ribbon on.  The girls ended up recruiting their moms to help.  I had a bucket of small ribbon pieces, told them to pick out about 10 each, and tie them to the top of the clip.  I thought it was such a cute idea, and the ribbon was no extra cost for me, since I have a TON of it upstairs in my craft room.

Lastly, we had an ice cream social.  The birthday girl did not want cake, since she doesn't like frosting.  So, per her request, we had ice cream, homemade whipped cream, and fresh fruit- a selection of fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, and sliced bananas.

It was a nice relaxing party, no hustle and bustle, and the girls all had a great time.  Best of all, it didn't break the bank.

Our gift to her was an LED book light that has a charging station (and the special edition book Belle the Birthday Fairy).  We let the girls read at bedtime (we encourage reading), and feel it gives them flexibility and not 'feeling' forced to lay there when they're not yet tired.  We've used glow bracelets in the past to provide them the extra light.  The book light was definitely something she loved- my husband even found her using it in a dark room in the middle of the day one day!

Banana Nut Pancakes and Banana Maple Syrup

I made breakfast for dinner one night this week.  I wanted something simple that night.  I started with Hodgson Mill's Whole Wheat Pancake Mix, which I picked up at The Fresh Market.  I had not ever tried that pancake mix before, but it looked good, and the ingredient list was simple and trans fat free.  I have to say, it was delicious and hearty.  I really liked the texture of this mix.

I made the mix per the box instructions for 12-14 pancakes.  I then added 1/8 cup chopped walnuts and 1 banana, chopped into small pieces.  My girls don't love nuts at their age, so I chopped the nuts pretty finely.  I then made the pancakes on the griddle as I normally would.  I will say, it only made 10 pancakes (and I don't feel like I made them that big).  But they were nice and fluffy, and because they were so hearty, 10 was more than enough for our family of 4.

For the syrup, I (again) wanted to try something different that wasn't pure sugar, something with some nutritional benefit.  So I went with the theme of the banana again.  Bananas are so inexpensive right now.  I buy a huge bag of them at Sam's Club, and they're only about $1/bag right now.

Banana Maple Syrup (for 4)

3/4 cup PURE maple syrup
3 bananas, mashed completely with a fork
1-2 Tbsp orange juice

Mix all together.   Warm if desired.
_______________

Because it's never enough, I served fresh raspberries on the side.  Yum!

Curtains for the Princess bedroom

I made curtains for my daughter Victoria.  Well, they're semi-homemade (think Sandra Lee).  A BIG thanks to my friend Heather, who was donating the panels, rod and hardware after redesigning her daughter's room.  The rod was a great fit for the wide window.  The panels were too short.  The color was great, so I wanted to use them, but needed to get creative.  Here are a couple of "before" pics of the window (it's big).

Here's what I did.  Go below the pics for more detailed steps/instructions as well as the AFTER pics!

1.  I bought 3 yards of pure white eyelet fabric, and 3 yards of ribbon ($13).  (The green panels were each about 1.5 yards wide.) 
2.  Cut the eyelet fabric across the fold line, so that you have two 3-yard panels that are about 18" from the cut line to the selvage.
3.  Using a seam ripper, undo the bottom hem on the top panels (green).  4.  Cut 1/2" below the folded edge.
4.  On the selvage edge of each panel baste a long stitch 1/2" from the edge, and then again 1/4" closer to the edge, as shown.  Sewing two, rather than one, will give you a safety net as you gather the fabric, so that if one of the threads breaks, you can still gather your material with the other.
5.  Gather the fabric by pulling the top threads with one hand and the fabric in the other.  Pull in opposite directions.  Continue until you have gathered the fabric to almost a 1.5 yard width across.
6.  Along each of the sides, fold in the edge 1/4", then again and pin. 
7.  Sew the hem on each side.
8.  Pin the sides of the gathered edge, right sides together, to the panel.
9.  Sew right sides together, below panel fold/gathered stitch line.
10. Serge or trim with pinking shears to clean up the edges of what you just sewed.  If you have no serger or pinking shears, stitch again 1/8" in (closer to the edge) and cut with scissors.
11. Fold in and pin your bottom hem.
12. Stitch your bottom hem.
13. Pin ribbon over the "old" hem stitch marking on the original panel, to hide what it once "was."
14.  Stitch the ribbon on the top and bottom.
15.  HANG your new curtains on the rod!!! And SMILE that you did the project! :)

And here is the finished product:

Thank you Heather for the hardware and green panels!  I love projects like this, they're easy and very rewarding to see the end product!  And it's also a great way to reuse something that someone else no longer wants!

Mourning the Loss and Celebrating a Favorite

Today it was announced that Gourmet magazine will be no more. Due to an "advertising slump" despite the large circulation numbers and rich history.

The good news is that Epicurious, the website that contains recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit, will live on.

Farewell, Gourmet magazine.


Okay, onto the celebrations. If you are busy, or if you are a mom (which would mean you are busy), or if you are on a tight budget, or if you like to eat but don't like to spend lots of time cooking, I would like to make a recommendation. Cooking Light's 5 Ingredient 15 Minute cookbook. I've had this book for several years and it has been a staple to my small collection of cookbooks.

Tonight we cooked the Sausage and Black Bean Soup with some cheese quesadillas. The recipes in the book stick to the small number of ingredients and are mostly true to the time you spend cooking. And even more importantly, the recipes are healthy and delicious!!!

Hope you're having a great week, and happy eating!

Beans & Cornbread with a twist

I really loved this simple meal. I needed something that I could whip up quickly and didn't need to spend a whole lot of time standing over the stove. So, I decided to prepare this simple meatless meal. I think that the combination of the cornbread with the beans was necessary, and my husband agreed.

These were my original recipe ideas, feel free to vary as you see fit for your family. For the beans I used all organic ingredients except for the seasonings. Even with organics, this is definitely a budget meal. After our family of 4 ate, I froze more than six 2-cup containers full. Each 2-cup container is equivalent to a can of beans, so I can pull one out of the freezer whenever I need a "can."

One final note on the beans- don't be intimidated by the seasonings. This recipe makes a LOT of beans and they will NOT be spicy with the measurements listed. It just adds some flavor.

Kelly's Crock Pot Black Beans

1 bag dry black beans
1 32-oz box low sodium chicken stock
2 14-oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

Soak the beans in a large stockpot filled with water overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a large crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until mixed. Turn crockpot on low for at least 8 hrs, longer if you have the time. Leave them alone until they're done cooking and tender. Serve!

Kelly's Sweet Cheddar Cornbread

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 can creamed corn
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Combine the mix with egg and milk until just blended, lumpy is okay. Add the creamed corn and cheddar cheese, mix until just blended. Put in a greased pie plate. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow at least 10-15 minutes to cool before serving.

Save money by hemming your own pants and skirts!

In these economic times, it's important to find ways in your life to cut back, even if you're seemingly unaffected today. One way that I have learned to cut costs is to do my own professional hem on my work clothes. I have to wear business professional (suits, dress pants, etc.) to work, and was tired of spending money having the pants tailored. Most of the hemming can be done in front of the TV or watching the kids play.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I'd share a website that I used to learn how to hem. It is not difficult, and you don't even have to have a sewing machine or serger, just narrow the search so that it will meet your specific needs. I will give you two tips, from personal experience: 1. when you're doing the final hem stitch, remember to only "grab" 1-2 threads from the pant fabric, or else you'll see the thread through the front, and 2. don't pull the thread too hard, or else you'll pucker the fabric.

The first picture shows what can be done if you have a serger. This is not necessary to hem pants, but a nice to have!

Hope this can help you, or maybe spark an idea on how you can save money this year. Would love to hear how!

Finished hem: