Money Monday

Kid Speak

What I have talked about this far about what to expect under our tree Christmas morning.

Money is tighter this year for us. We are trying to get out off debt and be better prepared for what ever may come. As a result our Christmas gift budget is much smaller and *GASP* all cash.

So for this year (and those to come) I told my kids that Santa has been asked to only bring stalkings. I explained to them that we have been very blessed to have all of the wonderful things we do have. I told them that Santa would then be able to give more to those kids who really needed it. They agreed.

We are getting a pretty cool family present but that will be it. They will be happy enough I am sure.

As for presents between my kids...i think we will go for some semi-homemade gifts. My kids LOVE to be crafty so this will turn out great. I will post when we start working on them.

Money Monday

NO!!!

No, we are not going out to dinner.

No, you do not need more Lego's.

No, you are not having whoppers when we leave the store.

No, you do not need that really cute pair of red peep toe heels with the bow. NO! :)

"...when we were newly married and had very little money. I was in the air force, and we had missed Christmas together. I was on assignment overseas. When I got home, I saw a beautiful dress in a store window and suggested to my wife that if she liked it, we would buy it. Mary went into the dressing room of the store. After a moment the salesclerk came out, brushed by me, and returned the dress to its place in the store window. As we left the store, I asked, “What happened?” She replied, “It was a beautiful dress, but we can’t afford it!” Those words went straight to my heart. I have learned that the three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it.”"

Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually May '09 Ensign
Elder Robert D. Hales Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Food Storage Friday

#10 Cans

Okay you now have or want to get some food storage in #10 cans, but where in the world are you going to put it?!?!

Remember this stuff need to be kept in a moderate temperature and and a dry place. I have stored mine in Girlies closet.

After a trip to the cannery we had WAY to much to put there so I had to branch out. We now store our #10 cans under our bed. We formally had our bed on the floor so now I have a nice high bed and a place to store my cans.

We basically made two big capital E's back to back with most of the boxes so it would support our bed. Then I put my loose cans in. Dried fruit in one spot. TVP in another. Then veggies and eggs& butter.

When the bed skirt is on you don't even know it is there.

What a gratifying thing it is to see cans of wheat and rice and beans under the beds or in the pantries of women who have taken welfare responsibility into their own hands. President Hinkley link

Check out some of these other ideas over at The Preparedness Pantry.

Have a creative way to store your food storage. Please share!!

Thrifty Thursday

With just a coat of paint.....

What to do with that end table the kids carved their name into? Or an old hutch in drab brown stain? Well add a coat of paint (you may have to do miner sanding first).

Here are a few wonderful examples.

Over at You paid more than me you can see a very awesome hutch that was just painted for a hip new look. Try to just look at the hutches. The rest of her site is so fabulous you will not tend to be to awful thrifty after looking at it. LOL!!!

Check out these cute night stands. A Goodwill find gone well over at jcaroline'sblog.

If you do not currently own any piece you want to redo and are in the mind to shop for some here is a great article on what to be looking for. Also remember Criags List is a great place to look just don't forget to haggle a little.

Bean Update

Some more recipie sites for various bean flours.

Bob's Red Mill Black Bean flour This site also sales various flours soooo I figure i can trust them to really be bean flour recipies. LOL!! Got to the bottom of this page for several more recipies using different bean flours.

Okay there is all I got for you on beans for a while. LOL!!

Tasty Tuesday

Bean Flours

This one is for you Jennifer!

Okay I found some GREAT basic information on bean flour at Emergency Essentials.

How to Use Bean Flour in Cooking

taken directly from this site

White beans or fava beans have a milder taste, making white bean flour or fava bean flour suitable for use in most recipes calling for white flour. Substitute 1/4 of the white flour for bean flour.

Bean flour made from kidney, pinto, garbanzo, chana dal or black beans has a stronger flavor and is more suitable for inclusion in meat loaf or when making vegetable patties or vegetarian loaves.

Bean flour can be whisked into soups and stews, adding flavor and goodness. Bean flour can also be used to thicken these dishes.

The Gluten Free Cooking School site had a great post about ways to use bean flours.

I found these tips interesting:

Black Bean Flour: Use as part of your baking mix for chocolate cakes and brownies; try adding a small amount to bread recipes to get that dark whole-wheat look; the Bob’s Red Mill site has recipes for a black bean dip and black bean tortillas

Green Pea Flour: Add reconstituted green pea flour to guacamole to lower the fat content and add extra nutrients; use as part of your baking mix for chocolate cakes and brownies; use to thicken soups and stews.

I know green peas are NOT beans but are in the legume category so......I tend to lump them together.

RECIPES!!!

Big Oven has around 1600 bean flour recipes here. EDIT!!! Iwent to check out several of these recipies and yes some have beans in them and some have flour but I did NOT find a bean flour recipe. GRRRRRR!!!!!

101 Cookbooks had Amazing Black Bean Brownies. They look incredible. YUM!!!!! (Jen I think you hubby could go for those!)

If you do a bean flour recipe search you will also find MANY gluten free sites. Let me tell you they are incredible. I never knew the things you could make with out regular white flour.

Happy Bean Eating!!

Tasty Tuesday

My awesome Mom in law gave me a great gift. She gave me a book on using my food storage.

The first recipie I tried was the Cream of chicken soup. This was easy and tasted just like CAmpell soups. Texture was alittle thinner but my family loved it. The secret ingrediant.....WHITE BEAN FLOUR! recipe found on page 86 of the book

So here is how you do it.

First get some white beans and run them through your wheat grinder.

Then gather up your supplies:
1 3/4 cups water 5 tablespoons white bean flour
4 teaspoons chicken bullion or base (Iused 4 cubes) 1/2 cup chopped chicken

Bring water and bullion to a boil in a small suace pan. Stir in bean flour and beat untill smooth and thickened. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat. Pour mixture into blender. blend on high 2 minutes. If desired, add chopped chicken pieces. Use as a substitute for canned cream of chicken soup. Maybe stored in refrigerator up to one week.

We had our with chicken over rice topped with shredded chesse. YUM!! My kids cleaned their plates!

Reviews (taken from Amazon.com)
. . . I was very pleasantly surprised at all the different resources that Cooking with Food Storage Made Easy has. I mean, it is just about everything, not just recipies. I remember seeing something in there about gardening, and storing guidelines, what you should have in your food storage, when to plant different foods in your garden. Wow awesome, is all I can say.

--Retail customer Cooking with Food Storage, by Debbie G. Harman ... is an excellent source for recipes using ingredients from a basic food storage system, such as evaporated and powdered milk, dried onions and potato flakes. Harman suggests using food storage in everyday cooking, not only to keep stored foods fresh, but also to become familiar with how to use them. ... Included in Harman s book are gardening suggestions and recipes for preserving fresh food. --Daily Universe Newspaper

This would make a great Christmas gift!!!