Links to a couple old posts.

Here are links to a couple old posts that are appropriate for this time of year. The first is about Halloween candy, the second a quote on gratitude.

Beach, Soccer, Etc. Bag

Bought a great "mommy" bag recently at LL Bean. I chose the extra-large bag and it is REALLY, REALLY big. I use it for soccer balls, at the beach, etc. I thought it was a decent price for how large it is and LL Bean is featuring free shipping through December 20th.

Here's the link if you're interested.

Outdoor Furniture

This post might be a little late to help this year, but just wanted to remind everyone that outdoor furniture is often highly discounted from the end of summer to early fall. I really love the bench above. I saw it at Lowe's for $300.00 last spring. I waited and recently paid $50.00. There were also some fun retro chairs normally $40 that we picked up for $10. I've found outdoor furniture will often go down to 75% off or more this time of year.

Artisan Bread

A friend gave me this recipe and I was so glad. This bread tastes just like you're at a fancy restaurant and it couldn't use more basic ingredients. You REALLY, REALLY should try it. You will impress yourself!

Here's the link to the video on how to do it. Mark Bittman, who I really like, introduces this bread from a NY bakery to us. Here are the instructions written out.

They tell you to do this fold thing, but I didn't and it turned out fine. Also, at the end when you brown the bread, make sure you watch it because I needed to take mine out early.

A List of Inexpensive, Healthy Foods

In my quest to find cheap, healthy, quick food my children will actually eat, I've started a list of healthy, inexpensive foods. Thought I'd share. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!

apples

bananas

beans-lentils, black, pinto, white, garbanzo (cook yourself and freeze with a little liquid)

broccoli

brown rice (takes about 45 min. to cook, so make in bulk and freeze-then just "nuke")

canned tuna

chicken on sale, freeze

corn tortillas

eggs-even organic are still a good deal for a protein

frozen veggies

fruits & veggies in season

homemade bread, tortillas & pizza

hummus (cook own garbanzo beans-about 2 cups of beans equals 1 can)

jar of spaghetti sauce, use coupons

low fat milk

oatmeal

oatmeal cookies

popcorn for snack (buy popcorn and pop yourself on stove or air pop)

potatoes-baked w/ skin

spinach

tofu

whole grain pasta

Homemade Tortillas

The next few posts I do will probably involve food. I've been thinking a lot lately about how to reduce our food bill. Here's one recipe that's dirt cheap. Homemade Tortillas. I grew up on Mexican food and to me it's comfort food. These tortillas are a healthier version of the ones we all know and love that unfortunately contain lard or shortening.

3 cups flour*
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup warm water

Blend dry ingredients.

"Rub" in oil with your fingers until fine crumbs appear.

Add water with a spoon or fork ... really does need to be warm water. Then knead dough until smooth (you can do it right in the bowl) about 2 minutes.

Cover the bowl with a bag, a slightly wet cloth or saran wrap. Let it sit ("rest") about half an hour. They cook up much better if you don't skip this step.

Divide dough into small balls. I use a melon baller to get them to a somewhat uniform size. Some people say to make them into the balls before letting the dough "rest." I do it either way ... whatever I have time for.

Roll out as thin as you can with a rolling pin. I've seen people do this with their hands, but I just can't make it work. I don't worry if my shape is off ... still taste's the same. Use a little dusting of flour if things are sticking.

Bake on a hot griddle until freckled, about 20/30 seconds on each side. I like to use a flat cast-iron pan. (We bought it at Walmart and LOVE it! In fact, my flat cast iron pan never leaves my stove top ... we really like pancakes and tortillas!)

I'm not sure how many servings this makes. It really depends on how large you make your tortillas. I like to make mine small.

*Note: I usually use half all-purpose white flour and half whole wheat or soft white wheat flour. The tortillas taste better and are easier to make if you use only white all-purpose flour. If you try to use all whole wheat flour they will taste like cardboard.

A Cheap & Yummy Snack

This is what I do for dessert when I want my kids to eat something healthy and they want something more along the lines of ice cream. Sliced bananas and Hershey's syrup. Yummy and really inexpensive!