The Erratic Homemaker

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 17:56:00 +0000

Look at this beauty! If this week had a theme it would be abundance. Gifted with a few cases of produce and lots of free plants to start a butterfly garden. Found my new favorite flavor of greens (turnip!), made my first fruit leather (mango!) and preparing to make my first sorbet tonight (apricot!). Over the weekend I had put in my notice at my weekend gig that I would be leaving and I was given a few days off from my volunteer commitment, feel like things are really falling into place.

Counting down....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 14:21:00 +0000

Burn out. I feel it. People. No more people. I work in a small restaurant, a market kitchen for a distribution center and volunteer at a community kitchen that provides meals at no cost. 3 gigs where I deal with a lot of people.

I like and need to stay busy. My body needs to stay moving or it hurts, really hurts. Taking time off usually leads to a flare up of my symptoms so I'm gonna need a plan. It is easy to know I need to move, to push and get my blood pumping but without the "have to do it" and the adrenaline rush of a service and a clock, I struggle terribly. I take a lot of medication to deal with a body that just does not work correctly, that swells, aches, burns, tingles and stiffens up to a point where all I want to do is not move. A terrible catch-22.

And money, earning extra money is always good. It does not really seems extra as we still have debt but a honest look in the mirror says we have a spending problem not a income problem.

So I'm gonna take some time off in a few weeks. Do all those things I've been thinking about doing but never have the time or energy to do. I've been in this home over a year so I have a feel for it, what works and doesn't work, Where I would like to plant flowers, where I need a better organizing system and how the kitchen flows.

I have a big "to sell" pile. Stuff for ebay (have done quite a bit of that in the past) and vintage stuff for Etsy, something I have have never tried.

I think this old neglected blog has a place as well. Like a diary of sort or kind of a accountability partner. I think I'm ready.

New home. New blog.

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 16:02:00 +0000

Things have been extra erratic but I'm slowly settling in to my new home. Slowly meaning I've been here 14 months and I kinda know where to put stuff. Moving from a 2800 sq ft 5 level split with a huge basement to a little ranch in the country on a crawlspace has been a huge adjustment. I have mentioned I'm a pack rat, right?

I have my first garden and it's going well. I went with square foot gardening beds and I am sooo happy I did. Super easy, very little maintenance and it has been so rainy in Ohio, I really didn't even have to turn on the hose more than a few times.

I'm working and volunteering, both involve food. I'm stretched to thin, like always. I miss blogging and I'm ready to slow down and smell the roses. Or lilacs, I actually have some lilacs.

Cravings......

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:36:00 +0000

I tried to make a Paleoish candy bar last week and finally came up with one that really hit the spot BUT I could not stop eating it. Came out like a decadent version of a crunch bar. I'm not ready for treats though, self control is not something I have mastered yet.

Made bone broth yesterday and a few lbs of collard greens. Today I need to tackle cooking up a few chickens and making chicken stock. Debating tackling a few more things but it seems like a good day to just keep it simple.

Finally making progress with the 6 year old on eating healthier. I say this while looking at his Cheeto stained fingers. Progress, certainly not perfect.

Mmmmm..... Paleo Avocado Tzatziki Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:21:00 +0000

This Paleo Tzatziki is soooo delicious. Really it is a lifesaver! I love sauces and dips and this cool refreshing sauce is delicious! I love it with meatballs and feta cheese but have used its for any number of lettuce type wraps. I don't add the dill because it is something I tend not to have on hand and it is quick and simple. It may be my daughters favorite dressing for Greek salads.

Successful fruit snack replacement! Paleo sour strawberry gummies!

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:22:00 +0000

Score! Tried these wonderful little treats from plaid and paleo and they were a hit. At first I was a little iffy, they were just different but after a few nibbles, I was sold. They were pretty sour and I was prepared to add a little honey to the next batch but little man says they are perfect. These are going to look adorable in a little laptop lunchbox. Going to definitely help get the little guy off fruit snacks. Can't wait to experiment with other flavors!

Still waiting....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Its been crazy around here. Way to crazy for me to compose my thoughts enough to blog :)

We are scheduled to close on a house at the end of the month contingent on our financing going through and the home inspection going ok. Our current house goes on the market this weekend. If the other house does not work out we will still be putting our home up for sale. I have been working for the last 3 weeks and will continue to work until we only have 1 house payment to deal with although we do have someone interested in renting our house if we don't sell by June.

Adapting to going back to work ( 4 days a week, 32 hours) has not been to bad but trying to quickly get the house cleaned, decluttered and staged while working and negotiating on another house has been exhausting. I am working opposite hours of my husband so we have to make sure we are on the same page all the time.

I really, really, really want to tell you all about the other house but its not ours yet so I am trying not to get too excited until the home inspection is done. It most definitely needs work but it has so many of the things we want.

I am excited even if we don't get it though because my husband and I have really realized what we want down the road and we will be working towards that goal.

I will be back soon with details.

I would appreciate if you all would keep us in your prayers :)

We may be moving!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:06:00 +0000

We may be moving. I don't know for sure and we will be super busy preparing just in case. I'm super stressed by not knowing. The situation is scary and exciting at the same time. I will blog about it as soon as we actually know something :)

Freezer goodies for the lunchbox.....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:35:00 +0000

Yum. Mexican food. I think we had it almost everyday this week :)

It was also a good time to make extra for burritos. I started parttime work this week and thought it would be a good idea to make some lunch items.

We like spicy rice with beans and cheese in our burritos.

Some things to remember for freezer burritos-

1. Make small batches until you learn what flavors/textures you like.
2. Find a good brand of tortillas that will roll without cracking. Look for ones that are not to dry.
3. Don't make them to large.Most items you freeze should be smaller so they will reheat well. If you make them to large they will dry out when you cook them and still be cold in the middle.
4.Get all your supplies ready and set up a assembly line. Enlist help if you can.
5. Freeze items on a tray or cookie sheet until frozen solid then place in ziploc bags or another freezer safe container so you can take out just what you need.
6. Most items will heat better if thawed somewhat, so they do well in a lunch box where they will have a few hours to thaw.

Here is the tray we made :)

I purchased the tortillas and a restaurant size can of black beans at GFS and cut costs by getting cheese at Costco. Cheese is only about 2.28 lb in big bags at my Costco.

We also made twice baked potatoes. I don't use a recipe any more but used to use this one saving most of the cheese for pressing into the top after they are assembled. I freeze them on a tray and then place them into ziploc bags. Just don't make them to thin :)

Back in the swing of things......

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:24:00 +0000

We are easing into a new schedule around here. The first week went really well but we only focused on one part of it. Next week I am going to add on to it and continue tweaking, hopefully having everything worked out by the end of the month.

It was a odd week here in the kitchen with DH doing a variation on low carb to jumpstart the new year. I tried to plan ahead but the first week is always really hard ( and expensive). I ate pretty much what he ate all week but allowed more carbs for myself as I lose weight faster than he does. I would just like to lose a few pounds but I really do feel better when I eat low carb, it makes me wonder if I have a sensitivity to one of the foods I end up eliminating. When we both do it, he tries to avoid most carbs while I try to eat more healthy carbs.

Why the picture of muffins then? Well, I also made muffins for the kids this week, quickly getting them into the freezer to avoid temptation. Little muffins for the toddler and bigger muffins for my daughter for breakfast. These are applesauce muffins off of recipezaar. My daughter is not a morning person and does not like to eat breakfast so the muffins are a treat to go along with her new morning routine. The little guys has stopped eating all his favorite foods so the muffins are also meant to help me out with that this week. Luckily he has decided he really likes steamed broccoli and carrots so he wont be eating only muffins all week :)

Hello 2009...

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Wow. Time flies.

Change is is the air. My homeschooler just switched to a online charter school and the the change has been quite a adjustment. We will see how it works out.

We are rethinking our house. Its a big expense made bigger by our 30% drop in income and honestly its not my dream house. Its actually bigger than my dream home and while very nice I have come to realize a few things are missing that are very important to me. Privacy would be a big one. I live in a subdivision and while the lots are pretty nice sized its still not private enough. I don't want worry about what the neighbors or our HOA thinks about my yard or what I do to my house. Of course, its not a great time to sell so we will be staying put for awhile but still planning for a move someday.

We have also been thinking for some time of trying to find a new church closer to home and I think we need to try harder to do this. 2009 could be a year with a lot of changes. My focus right now is on prayer and keeping things simple so we will be ready for whatever happens.

...and of course my I want to lose 10 pounds and get more organized :)

Goodbye 2008....goodbye stuff...

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:55:00 +0000

DH has been home helping for over a week and you can actually see my basement floor! The garbage men are starting to dislike me, the curb crawlers are making a regular pass by my home and the people at goodwill recognize us as we pull up. I can barely breath through my nose from sorting through 16 plus years of dusty toys and collections....but I can see the finishline. Its located somewhere on the other side of a garage sale, a few craiglist and ebay listings and another few trips to goodwill but its there in the distance :)

I hope everyone had a great New Years!

What a nice week.....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:15:00 +0000

I had such a nice week. Way to much yummy food but a wonderful week. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas :)

Its been really quiet. DH is home, he usually works a lot during the holidays but not this year so we have been working on projects and making plans for next year. DH works in the automotive industry so we have also been working on the "what if.." scenario.

We spent more on the kids then we planned. The 3 oldest all received the same thing for a total of $90 each. The little guy was much less.I did try to get the best deals on the items I bought.

The breakdown:

$50 Best Buy card ( got $10 back for each at Kroger and charged to reward card)
$27 Sansa 4 gb Mp3 players ( from black Friday, used ebates)
$12.50 Ohio State Hoodies from Finishline.com (originally $35, also used ebates, free shipping)

Hoodies are like gold in our house. I don't think I should even bother buying cute shirts anymore, no one ever sees them under the sweatshirts.

The kids were not expecting much and were really happy. The little guy got 2 toys from Amazon.com, a pair of 6.99 Skechers from Kohls and some clearance Cars cups from Meijer. He was so cute he did a happy dance the whole time he opened his presents. I wish I had a video of it as it was adorable.

This has been a inexpensive December comparably. We had a lot of blessings. Gift cards for restaurants as gifts, $125 from Craigslist, survey money, a $50 Meijer gift card reward from a credit card, the kids made $140 pet sitting, etc.

I did not hit my new grocery budget ( $300) but did stay under the old budget ( $400) while still splurging for the week of Christmas and making a Costco trip to stock up on items I only buy once or twice a year and buying many things that will last into January. I am torn between spending as little as possible in January or stocking up to be prepared for bad weather or loss of income. I am going to aim for as little as possible but not pass up any awesome stock up prices.

I made pita bread this week!I used the recipe over at http://www.tammysrecipes.com/ and it was really good. We had it with pan fried chicken breast, seasoned oven fries, hummus, greek salad, a lemon garlic dressing, and cucumber sauce. Yum, between that and beef tips for Christmas dinner, I ate way to much.

Well, I'm off to enjoy a fire in the fireplace and some list making. My to-do list today is pretty long, including a little kitchen zone recovery and some decluttering. If you have been following my packrat adventure, I am finally to the point where we are going through old boxes of toys. 16 years of rubbermaid boxes full of toys is A LOT of toys :)

If you have the gift of the ability to easily look at a item and decide to toss it or give it away, feel blessed, some of us were not born with such a gift ;)

Grocery shopping....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:12:00 +0000

I have learned a new grocery shopping rule. It seems the last few times I have hit the bread store before going to Aldi, then guaranteed Aldi will have marked down their bread to .25 and buns down to .33.

I still like the bread store for Texas toast. It makes the best garlic bread. I bought 6 long loaves to make garlic bread for the freezer. Kroger also had parkay tubs on sale for .25 after coupon so it will turn out to be a pretty cheap batch. I also bought sandwich bread and buns, 2 nicer loaves of Italian bread, wheat for DH and 2 packages of Italian buns for future dinners. This was before Aldi so I ended up with a lot of bread as I could not pass up the loaves for a quarter. I now have a freezer stuffed full with 29 packages of bread. The hamburger buns are mostly for breakfast sandwiches.

I stayed on the new budget this week (reduced from $100 to $75) even with a small trip to White Castle. I hit Meijer, the bread outlet and ALDI. $15 of the budget went towards items for Christmas so I don't have to go over budget for the holidays.

Today to get ahead I need to make up and freeze all the garlic bread, cook up and bag 5 pounds of spicy sausage, and organize the pantry. I have used up a lot of things lately but I still have 40 pounds of spicy sausage in my freezer. It was a mark down at GFS but I have been slow to use it because it is in 5 lb. blocks. I pulled one yesterday to thaw so I can cook it up and bag it in meal size portions. It will be appearing on the menu 2-3 times a week over the next few months. Mostly as spaghetti, cabbage stir fry and as a topping for pizza or eggs. Hopefully during that time chicken goes on sale :)

*Just a note about all that bread. I usually don't have enough room for 29 packages but my freezer was pretty empty.

It's begining to look a lot like......every other day?

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:19:00 +0000

My tree is still not decorated. Its up but still bare. I can tell I'm just not feeling it because every time I start to think about decorating it, I feel exhausted. Like I just want to go back to bed until spring.

So I'm going to blog about it so maybe that will light a fire under my half-hibernating tooshie and I will just go in there and get it done.

:)

Menu Plan Monday....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:50:00 +0000

A little late but I decided not to go grocery shopping so I had to change things up a little.
Last week we ended up about $20 over budget after a $11 trip to White Castle and a weekend trip to pick up sour cream and taco chips. I want to make sure things average out to less then $100 a week for the 6 of us so I skipped my usual Monday grocery store trip. I think I will pick up some items by the end of the week because I will need cabbage and there are a few sale items that I want to buy for Christmas Dinner.

Last week I managed to get a few batches of chili and taco meat into the freezer as well as about 2 dozen burritos. I made the empanadas from last week also but they never made it into the freezer :)

Monday- A hard to describe but super yummy mexican style spicy chicken and cheese croissant sandwiches.
Tuesday-Spaghetti and garlic bread
Wednesday-Breakfast for dinner
Thursday-Shanghai noodles -Sauteed shredded cabbage, carrots and garlic in sesame oil, seasoned with pepper flakes, soy sauce and ginger powder served with thin spaghetti noodles
Friday-Chili ( In the freezer from last week)
Saturday- Pizza and Wings, my sons birthday dinner, bumped from last week because he couldn't eat that day :(
Sunday-Bean soup with smoked sausage and fresh bread

Visit Menu Plan Monday for lots of great meal ideas!

The newly frugal.......

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:27:00 +0000

Thank you for your prayers. Jason is doing well and is up this morning ready to tackle chores so he can enjoy his day off from school with some video games ;)

I'm noticing more people interested in saving money either out of necessity or fear. I'm always wary to offer to much advice because most people really don't want it. Retailers are smart and will take advantage of this, I would not be surprised to see a slight increase in the cost of generics and ground beef because people will often buy on the assumption that these are always good buys.

So where would I suggest someone start?

Find something that motivates you, that presents information in a way that appeals to you. While I love The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn, its not for everyone. Dave Ramsey motivates lots of people to get out of debt. Sometimes it takes a book that really hits you where you live and makes you think about money, Your Money or Your Life by Joe Domingez and Vicki Robin has a lot of information meant to change the way you view money.

It can also help to tackle your finances from a different angle. Focusing on simplifying your life can lead to a more frugal lifestyle. Sometimes when I want something lighter to read I like to pick up Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. Its a small book and presents things simply and won't offer anything new to die hard tightwads but it's a fun little read.

Prayer request

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:39:00 +0000

My soon to be 16 year old is having his wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. His birthday is also this weekend.

He's not worried but since they will be making him sleep through it I would appreciate any prayers that things will go well and he will heal quickly. My own wisdom teeth removal did not go well at all and I would hate to see my baby go through that.

Thank you so much :)

Adventures in grocery shopping.....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:25:00 +0000

Meijer trip-

I dropped pot roast from the menu after seeing the sale cuts but luckily I found marked down ground beef. 10 lbs for 14.38! There are plenty of veggies and bananas hidden off to the sides including 3 bunches of bananas, apples, a avocado, green onions, radishes and cilantro. I bought 3 packages of flour tortillas for extra freezer burritos and a 100 pack of corn tortillas for taco chips, strips for salad, and enchiladas next week.

Total: 44.77

Giant Eagle

Plenty of sale pop ( usually the only thing other than gift cards that I buy there), cat food, a 2 jumbo packs diapers.

Used $5 in coupons
Total: 46.40
+ $4 off next order

Kroger #1

Plenty of marked down breads including .39 hot dog buns, .69 rye loaves, and .50 english muffins. Also a single serve Vault not shown :)

After $10 off coupon from different deal: $1.08

This kroger has a clearance section where I found some impulse buys, $2 dandruff shampoo, .50 place mats, .50 scrubbers and $1 bags of candy bars.

The bagels were to get the total to $10 to use the a coupon. Total after $10 off: .41

I had time while DH was at the dentist to hit 3 stores before he was finished then we hit a store across the street before we headed home. I'm happy we made that last trip because we found a bunch of marked down items.

Total so far: 92.56

I still need chicken wings for a birthday dinner but all the wings I saw were those ugly oversized squishy ones. Most ran about $8 for 4 or 5 lbs. I found some beautiful tiny ones when I went to GFS to see if they had any markdowns but they are $12. I think I will probably go back and get the $12 ones later in the week when I run errands.

I made a big batch of chili today using half the ground beef and plan on using the rest to make taco meat.

Menu Plan Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Wow, its been awhile since I joined in for Menu Plan Monday. I need it. I could get away without doing a menu for a few weeks because all the items in my freezer and pantry but many things including the flu wiped out most of my favorite pantry items. I need a menu so I can stay under budget in order have money free to stock back up. We have a busy week with a birthday, outside activities, wisdom teeth extraction and to much to name so as always the menu is subject to change :)

Monday- Ham salad plates (to use up leftover ham) with pasta salad (make extra for lunch boxes) and fruit.

Tuesday-Pot roast (make extra) seasoned potato wedges ( make extra) green beans

Wednesday-Chili (make enough extra to freeze 2 dinners) Try new cornbread recipe

Thursday-Beef burritos ( using pot roast, hopefully enough to freeze a few) beans, rice, salsa and chips

Friday-Spaghetti and garlic bread

Saturday- Iron Chef night (leftovers)

Sunday- Pizza and wings (birthday request)

Also on the menu this week:

Empanadas - I have some premade pie crusts I did not use for Thanksgiving so they are going to be used for lunchboxes.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Thanksgiving was nice......

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:31:00 +0000

The cookie tray came together nicely. I still have some scooped dough left so I think I will throw it onto the freezer for lunchbox goodies.

Instead of spreading cool whip across the the whole cake, I prefer to cut it, put it in muffin liners and then garnish. That way it is easier to serve and continues to look nice after people start taking desserts. I always seem to manage to forget to bring extra serving utensils anyway.

The mini Boston cream pies came out pretty well. They are still on the cutting board in the picture. We ended up having to leave early so I did not get to get a picture after I had put them on serving trays.

Everyone had a good time, especially all the grandkids. We will be staying home for Christmas and it will be just us. We have not had to many traditional dinners the last few years, usually preferring to have Mexican food or beef tips. I'm not sure what I am going to do yet. My 15 is having his wisdom teeth pulled this week followed by his 16th birthday 3 days later. We usually go out to dinner on birthdays but we are cutting even special occasion eating out, so far he is thinking he wants pizza and buffalo wings. Sounds good to me :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:27:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and yours the best this Thanksgiving.

Maggie

Ok, trying to throw things together

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:24:00 +0000

I needed to do the bulk of my shopping today, I had originally planned to go Tuesday but this weeks schedule is getting very full. My list was only half done so I had to guess on a few things.

I spent almost all of this weeks budget on holiday baking supplies but I should have enough for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I probably went a little heavy on the butter but it was on sale so I will just freeze the extra.

So, I spent the morning dealing with paperwork and phone calls, tried to finish up my grocery list, hurried to be first at the cheap haircut place, rushed through Meijer, hit CVS for some on sale hair color (yay, plus coupon!) and made it home just in time for naptime giving me time to color my hair. DH was with me for the first half of the day so things moved quickly. I'm glad I have a few things scratched off my list.

So for Thanksgiving desserts I'm considering the following:

Cookies tray
Peanut butter cookies with kisses
Chocolate chip cookies
Snickerdoodles
Dark chocolate cake mix cookies with peanut butter chips
Oreo Truffles (Double batch, they disappear first)

Dessert Tray

Store bought pumpkin pie and apple crumb pie ( only 1.99 this week!)
Decadent cake -ok, it's actually called Better than *** cake but I change the name :)
Some kind of mini boston cream pie style cake ( seems like a easy idea)
Lemon bars- this is a recipe I have never tried but if I'm gonna spend a couple days in the kitchen I want to try at least one thing new.

I made a really good carrot cake last year but not everyone likes carrot cake and it is a little more effort so I decide to skip it. I may still drop the lemon bars if something comes up or add something if things go well.

I'm going to make the cookie doughs on Tuesday and refrigerate them until Thanksgiving morning. Then the kids can scoop them for me and I can bake off fresh cookies. You can save time and dishes by making up multiple batches of cookies working from lightest to darkest so you don't have to wash the bowl over and over.Scooping them ahead of time is great if you have multiple events you need to cook for. Just keep a tray full of pre-scooped cookies in the fridge and pull out what you need.

I did make one impulse purchase at the store. Containers of key lime flavored cheesecake filling were on sale so I grabbed one thinking I could make some easy mini cheesecakes but I have since decided the package only contains enough for me :)

uh-oh....

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:07:00 +0000

I thought I was bringing a dessert for Thanksgiving but it turns out I am making the desserts, all of them.

Thanks honey for clearing that up .

Mini Cinnamon rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Maggie) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Certains things are a great deal this time of year. Make sure you pick up a extra tube of on sale crescent rolls to make these easy yummy mini cinnamon rolls

They would also be a great addition to a tray full of homemade muffins if you are expecting any guests for the holidays.