My Workspace

Here are pictures of my kitchen work area. This is my favorite room in our apartment. It's where all good cooking and baking goes on. It's a pretty big kitchen for an apartment. I'm so thankful for all the counter space and storage space (and all the cabinets are full). I just love all the creations that happen in here. Enjoy!

Command Central

That is my monthly menu on the left of the fridge. I also have an inventory of the freezer on the right. It has plenty of room to add to when I buy freezer items. When I use them I just mark it off the list. Under the inventory list is my grocery list that is organized by the items I buy most. On the grocery list you can also find a list for other places I frequent for household and toiletry items. There are my aprons hanging on the wall. And next to that our big white board with our monthly calendars, (no food) with our schedules and appointments. On the other half of that board is Hubby's weather updates. He loves the weather and he lets me know what will be happening in the next few days by writing on that board.

Prep area and tool holder

The stove and microwave, pretty basic. My recipe book that I put together myself, my recipe box from my momma and all the other kitchen tools I use almost every night. This is also another great prep are and great to serve from.

Sink and Prep Area

This is the sink and the part of the counter where I do most of the prep work. The light is best in this area. And what is the bright yellow rag doing under my mixer? It is a wash cloth that makes it easier for me to pull the mixer out from the corner and use it. And I use it so much that it doesn't make sense to store it in a cabinet.

The Pantry

Top shelf: Baking goods in their own, labeled containers and a few extra food items.

2nd shelf: Snacks and such.

3rd shelf: Salad toppings, rice and 6lb. jar of peanut butter.

4th shelf: All breakfast items.

5th shelf: Spices that won't fit into my spice cabinet and extra bottles of marinades.

Floor: You can't see the bottom of the pantry but that is where the extras foods are stored.

Well that is my kitchen. I hoped you enjoyed the tour!

Why we budget

Why do we budget and live a frugal life?

To be honest, we have to. The income Hubby brings in is where our budget comes from. If I make money from my Mary Kay business, cards or baking business the money made goes back into that particular business or savings. My income isn't tallied into our monthly budget.

I love to be at home. My heart is at home, not stuck in some office all day long. For all you women (and men) who work full-time outside the home, God bless you! I just don't have the want to do it. I also just can't seem to find my place out there. I've tried a couple of times and was very unhappy. I don't know if I'm too picky or what, but it wasn't ever any fun. And I want to have fun. I love the freedom of going to the grocery store at 9 a.m. when hardly anyone is there. I love to spend Fridays with my mom. I love getting all my house stuff and projects done during the week so I have all weekend to spend quality time with Hubby. I never liked spending my weekends cleaning, organizing, preparing. It just wasn't for me.

So here's some of the breakdown of a couple of things from our budget:

$160 a month for groceries ($40 a week)

$100 a month for miscellaneous items (everything else that isn't food)

These are basically the only 2 things I'll be talking about on here dealing with our money. All our other expenses are rent, car, bills, etc. We all know about how much those are so I won't really discuss them unless I feel the need. :)

Easy Pizza Sauce

Easy Pizza Sauce:

Printer-Friendly Recipe

*1 clove garlic, mashed and minced

*1 tsp salt

*1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

*1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

*1/2 tsp sugar

*1/8 tsp pepper

*1/2 tsp oregano

*1 Tbsp olive oil

*dash red pepper, optional (I don't put this in b/c Hubby doesn't like spicy too much)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. makes about 1 1/2 cups, enough for 2-3 pizzas

Great on Pizza Bread! Or a store bought pizza dough or your own homemade. My homemade pizza dough coming soon!

Add your name to meet others like you!

Pizza Bread

I tried this last Friday and it was wonderful. Because Hubby is sick I'm making it again tonight since he loved it so much. And it's comfort food to him as well. Anything to get him feeling better!

I found this recipe from Cooking During Stolen Moments. It's a great blog with wonderful recipes, check it out!

Pizza Bread:

Printer-Friendly Recipe

*6-7 c white flour (I did about 6 1/2 c. I also think I'll try and do half whole wheat flour, half white flour next time)

*1 Tbsp yeast

*2 c milk

*1/2 c water

*1/4 c butter or margarine (I always use real butter, there's just something wonderful about it)

*1/4 c sugar

*1/2 tsp salt

*2 tsp Italian seasoning

*3/4 c pizza sauce (find my EASY homemade pizza sauce Here)

*20-25 slices pepperoni, cut into small pieces (I quartered them)

*2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese (I used 1 c shredded cheddar cheese and 1 c mozzarella cheese... next time I'll use probably another 1/2 c to 1 c more of cheese mixture)

*1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese (we don't keep this in the house usually so I didn't put any of this in/on it)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/2 c flour with 1 Tbsp yeast and set aside.

2. Add milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a small saucepan. Heat over medium until warm. Pour into large bowl with the flour and yeast. Stir or beat until well combined. Slowly work in remaining flour and Italian seasoning. Knead (by hand or with and electric mixer) until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes (I didn't do this but 1-2 minutes and it worked out just great). Cover and let dough rise for 1 hour in a lightly greased bowl.

3. Divide dough into 2-3 portions (I cut it into 3 as this made a whole lot and put in separate gallon size bags to freeze), depending on how big you want your loaves to be. Roll each ball of dough into a rectangle.

4. Spread about 1/4 c pizza sauce on each section of dough (if you want to make all 3 at once, I do 1) (and I use more than 1/4 c on each section, b/c 1/4 c isn't enough).

5. Sprinkle the diced pepperoni and cheeses on top of the pizza sauce.

6. Roll dough tightly, jelly-roll style, and pinch the seams shut.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

8. Cut into 8-10 pieces, serve and enjoy!

So delicious!

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

I bought a new cookbook the other day. I love cookbooks. My husband and I are eating better so the cookbook is Cooking Light. So when we went to my parents for dinner last week I wanted to make a cobbler. My friend had given me 6 white peaches from when she and her 5-year-old daughter went to an orchid for a new experience for the little one.

So I'm looking through my new cookbook and I come across this delicious sounding cobbler recipe, Peach-Blueberry Cobbler. I didn't even notice on the front cover that this was the recipe shown. Now I'm even more intrigued. I'm thinking it's going to be even more delicious now. So here is the wonderful (and easy) recipe.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Filling:

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/4 tsp salt

3 c chopped peeled peaches (about 2 pounds)

2 c fresh blueberries

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

cooking spray

Topping:

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour (about 6 ounces)

1/3 granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 c low-fat buttermilk (or skim milk and a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar)

1 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar (I didn't do this )

1. Preheat oven 400* F

2. For filling combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add peaches, blueberries and juice. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes.

3. For topping, lightly spoon 1 1/3 c flour into dry measuring cups. Combine 1 1/3 flour, 1/3 c granulated sugar, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stir until just moist.

4. Remove dish from oven, drop dough onto peach mixture to form 8 rounds. Sprinkle dough evenly with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400*F for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Yield: 8 servings; 1/2 cup cobbler and 1 biscuit.

*Serve with homemade vanilla ice cream and you'll have your guests screaming for more.

Calories 259, Fat 4.9g, Protein 3.9g, Carb 52.1g, Fiber 2.4g, Chol 12mg, Iron 1.3mg, Sodium 230 mg, Calc 52mg

This recipe is also linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

This recipe is also linked to Blessed with Grace.

July Goals

So if you've notice my few blogs, I've made a change, a huge lifestyle change. And I'm excited! In the past 21 days I've lost a total of 6.8 pounds. That is the most weight I've lost, ever.

Sparkpeople.com is a lifesaver! If you're looking to lose weight the right way, no pills, no diets and no fads, then this site is for you. So check it out! I've decided to take after Erin Hetzel Mount on posting my goals and check-ups. I didn't do any June goals other than starting something and actually following through with it. Since I've accomplished that I'm now going to write down my goals and track my successes. I know that it will be a wonderful experience and it'll be something to look back on with great happiness. It'll be nice to look back on my notes and see my accomplishments. I don't want to get bogged down with what the scale says, that is setting myself up for disaster. That's why I only get on the scale on Wednesday, for my "Weigh-In Wednesday."

So here are my July 2009 goals:

1. Walk at least 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes, preferably 30 or more minutes (I have to build up to it).

2. Use the sparkpeople.com Nutrition Tracker to track what I eat 7 days a week.

3. Stay within calorie range (provided by sparkpeople) 6 out of 7 days days a week.

4. Do weight training 2 times a week.

5. Lose 5 pounds for the month of July.

6. Read 2 books outside of the Bible.

7. Read the Bible and write on what I've read and learned at least 5 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. (I've found a great devotional book that has wonderful ways to put what I've read to work in my life, along with reading a few verses. The book says if you read the verses outlined each day I will have read the Bible in one year.)

So those are my goals. I hope anyone reading this will check out sparkpeople.com and see what it's all about. It is FREE! This of course makes it even better for everyone trying to save money but looking to lose a some pounds. Enjoy!

I'm a twitterer!

I'm now on twitter. Come follow me...I'm ginnycow.

Daniel insisted that I finally sign up so he of course took it upon himself to sign me up, which is totally fine. It's a totally new experience, but so much easier than facebook and myspace. You can update your status without all the hoopla of getting on the internet on the computer, so I totally like that. I have better things to do than be on the internet all the time, even though I am now, when I should be in bed. But I can't sleep. Or rather I'm just not tired yet. 

So anyways, come join me at twitter. com. It's easy and fun!

Bye now.