Author: Lois Houston

I'm a sweet tea drinkin' southern gal who loves to cook, bake, crochet, and read. Check out my blog for posts about parenting, faith, books, crafts, planning, baking, cooking, and life in general.

Grinding your own grains

Oats, barley, and some food products made from...
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I just read a great article over on goodLife{eats} and thought I would share it with you… It’s about grinding your own grains – something you know I am in favor of.

I swear that our family has been healthier (and eating healthier) since we started grinding our own grains this spring. I made the decision to begin to grind our own wheat once I learned about how much healthier this was. When commercial flours are created, the germ is removed, removing many of the vitamins and nutrients that are so good for us.

Additionally, I love the flavor of freshly-ground flours. Once you try something made with freshly-ground flour, you will not want to go back to “store-bought” flours.  The fresh flour has a lightness, a sweetness and nuttiness, that the other flours lack.  Whenever I eat something that has been made with store-bought flours, I can always tell. It tastes flat to me. Dead, even.  Fresh flour is bright, green, and flavorful.

She’s even got a review of one of the grain mills you can purchase (NutriMill) – I have a different one, but from what I’ve learned there are only minor differences between the two brands.

If you are interested in learning more about grinding your own meal, baking your own bread and getting started with whole grains for your family, you might want to watch some of the videos on the BreadBecker’s website:

If you’ve been thinking about doing this for your family, check out the articles. They are a great source of information!

A day late and a dollar short

Well, maybe not a dollar short… but definitely a day late.

As I posted yesterday, I had a stomach bug thingy going on –  not sure if it was from something I ate or a virus, but I was pretty much horizontal and green most of the day.  Little Bit ended up coming home from school early with a virus of her own – of the snotty kind, not the tummy kind – so we spent the afternoon on the sofa together. Big Girl became our nurse and we had a quiet day.

I woke this morning feeling MUCH better (thankfully) and found that Little Bit was still under the weather. She’s spent most of the day on the sofa watching TV, playing on the computer and drawing pictures. I think it’s just a cold virus type of thing, so we’re holding off on the doctor for now.  No strep-like symptoms or fevers to be concerned about. She’s just puny. But she will be back to school tomorrow.

So, today, I was finally able to focus on figuring out what our menu for the remainder of the week without turning green.  Even though the thought of food was rather nauseating yesterday, it bugged the heck out of me that I had no menu plan in place. (Yes, I know, I’m a little uptight that way. I like my routines!)

I’m very happy to have my plan in place now… It frees my mind up so that I can worry about other things… (and trust me, there are a lot of other things to worry about!)

mealplanmonday_v2

  • Monday: BBQ Chicken tenders, homemade macaroni & cheese, grilled broccoli
  • Tuesday: homemade Salisbury steaks
  • Wednesday: Grilled pork chops, cous-cous and grilled veggies
  • Thursday: Beef Stew
  • Friday: Baked Potato bar w/ salad
  • Saturday: Homemade Mexican – tacos, nachos & fajitas
  • Sunday: Crock Pot “Baked” Chicken, mashed potatoes & salad
  • Monday: grilling out or Low Country Boil

I’m also craving my veggie chili, but it’s just been too darned hot for that yet. Hopefully it will cool off soon so we can enjoy some. I will eat it for lunch if nothing else. Winking smile

I guess I’m just going to be a day late all week – since today is Tuesday and I really should be posting my Project Life pictures today.  Oh well.

Hop on over to orgjunkie.com for some ideas for more menus.

Related articles

No Menu Plan Today

I have a little tummy bug today – the thought of planning meals – and of food in general – is making me a little queasy.  So, who knows what we will do tonight for dinner (SuperMan? Any ideas?) but I am hoping to be back to my old self tomorrow and planning out the rest of the week’s meals.

Right now, I’m just headed back to my ginger ale and remote control. Ugh.

That’s all I have to say about that.

Beef Stir Fry

We tried a new recipe this week – it was a spur of the moment thing and not something I’d originally planned on my menu, but I was craving it, and rather than go out to eat, I decided to make it at home instead.

I had some steaks marinating in some teriyaki sauce, so I decided to make some stir fry.  I started with this basic recipe and modified based on the veggies I had in the refrigerator.

Asian Beef with Baby Bok Choy recipe

I made a batch of 1/2 Jasmine / 1/2 brown rice to serve with it.  The family loved it.  The kids ate around the veggies (of course) but they ate some without even realizing it (hee hee)

This is one I’ll be keeping in the arsenal for future quick weeknight dinners.

Beef Stir Fry

1/4 Napa cabbage, sliced in ribbons
1 bell pepper, julienned
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced (I used a microplane zester)
1 large broccoli head, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame dressing (Kraft)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp sesame oil + some vegetable oil (for the skillet)
1 pound steak sliced thin (flank steak or the like)
Chinese five spice powder

  1. Preheat skillet, add oils.
  2. Add steak, sprinkling with Chinese five spice powder & house seasoning.
  3. Sauté steak until cooked (about 5 min)
  4. Add ginger, garlic & vegetables, cooking until just crisp-tender.
  5. Add dressing & soy sauce.
  6. Cover & cook for about 10 minutes.
  7. Serve with cooked rice.

If I had had them, I would’ve added some water chestnuts, green onions, and bamboo shoots.

Try it! Let me know what you think!

The Return of the Swedish Chef

Did you ever watch The Muppets as a child?

It was one of my most favorite shows – I remember anxiously awaiting each new episode on Saturday nights.  Fozzie Bear, Rowlf the Dog, Gonzo and all the gang. It was (and still is) one of my favorite shows of all time.

Now, the Muppets are back! With a new movie out this November. I can hardly wait. Here’s the trailer:

First it was a Winnie the Pooh movie, now the Muppets. Be still my heart!

Here is a video of the Swedish Chef I stumbled across this week. LOVE it.

Are you a Muppet fan, too?

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(we) just have to try this…

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for something new to try – and yet I always seem to stick to the same tried-and-true recipes. I think it is because it is easier on a busy week night to stick with what you know (and know your family will eat!) than to break out the new recipes.

It is more about getting people fed than it is about being creative and trying new things. (or at least it is for me)

But, there are days when I just want something new and fresh and different.

And Saturdays are usually my “experimental” cooking days – Saturdays or Mondays. Saturdays are good because I have all the time in the world and can experiment to my heart’s content. Mondays are good because I’m (relatively) rested from the weekend and (more importantly) everyone is out of the house and I have peace and quiet to craft, create and experiment with new recipes.

But I’m always on the hunt for things other people have tried and loved and today I thought I’d share with you another list of the recipes I’ve flagged lately as “must try this.”

Okay, that’s all for now – any recipes you are dying to try? Share them with the rest of us in the comments!

Related articles

Project Life Tuesday ~ 23 August 11

Busy week last week – we are getting in the groove of our school routine and work has been quite busy as well. That has left little time (or brain power) for scrapbooking, photography, etc. Although, I did manage a pretty good scrapping session on Saturday. (You can see the fruits of my labors here.)

I already shared some of last week’s photos with you on some earlier blog posts – but here are a few shots I haven’t shared yet:

Aug-13-21-Project-Life-web

1. Waiting for the Imax movie at Fernbank.
2. Walking on the grounds at Fernbank.
3. Dinner at Papadeaux to celebrate my bonus.
4. Yummy, decadent dessert at Papadeaux.
5-8. Sunday afternoon means baths for puppies
9. Hot, Hot, and more Hot. Ready for Fall.
10-11. Waiting for dinner on Friday. This is what we see now. Faces in screens.
12-14. Lunch on the Lawn after church on Sunday

That’s it for this week!

Join the Project Life link-ups over at these sites:

I need another Saturday

I need another Saturday to recover from my weekend. I need a “hookey” day to just laze around and do nothing.

But THAT is not going to happen, so I got up this morning, put on my “big girl pants” and I’m getting on with my day.

Baked a batch of bread for the week and made a loaf of banana bread with some very very ripe bananas I had on the counter. (hopefully they weren’t TOO ripe) Started dinner in the crock pot and started some laundry and now I’m at my computer for the day.

So, not too shabby a start to my day!

I’m learning that dinners for the week have to be a little different than last school year. The girls’ dance classes are later in the day – finishing after six in the evenings. That means on dance days we eat later, which is OK because then we can eat with SuperMan as a family. But that means I’ve got to have a heftier after-school snack on those days (i.e. sandwiches, pizza, etc.) and plan something that can either be prepared quickly or prepped ahead in the crock pot or oven. That way, when we get home from dance and they are ravenous I can plop dinner in front of them and watch them devour it! (that’s one good thing about eating after dance – they are hungry!)

MPM_Button

So, given that, here’s my plan for this week:

Planned snacks this week:

  • cheese quesadillas
  • chicken flautas
  • popcorn
  • banana bread
  • Nutella & graham cracker stacks
  • fresh melons cut up

I’m also going to make some chicken salad (again) with some leftover grilled chicken we cooked on Saturday. And I’m craving veggie “chili” but I’m not sure it is cool enough for that yet… may have to wait a week.

I am also on the hunt for some (easy) breakfast ideas. My girls are not big breakfast eaters – as a matter of fact, Big Girl prefers a smoothie of some sort. The good news is that Little Bit is finally getting away from the processed junk she used to love – no more pop-tarts and the like – and craving healthier options. The bad news is that she is getting bored with the same options. I need some new ideas!

Do you have any tried and true breakfast ideas? Things I can either make ahead or prepare quickly on school mornings?

I’d love some ideas!

That’s it for now. Have a great, no terrific, week and hop on over to orgjunkie.com for some ideas for more menus.

It is well…

I have discovered Pinterest. Have you?
It is addictive, inspiring and so much fun.
I stumbled across this this morning.
I love, love, love it.

Source: etsy.com via Jeannett on Pinterest

A perfect Saturday

I have had the “itch” to scrapbook for weeks now.  But life has been too hectic with the beginning of school and the other things we’ve had going on. Scrapbooking, unfortunately, has taken a back seat to the rest of life.

The good thing about this is that there has been plenty of fodder for the scrapbook!

The bad thing is that there hasn’t been much time to capture those memories!

SuperMan helped me take care of that today, though. He knew I was dying to scrapbook, so he granted me a “retreat” day. I was able to sit at my computer for most of the day – organizing files, sorting through pictures, unzipping purchased kits, and finishing up some of the digi-scrapping classes I’ve purchased but never finished.

It was glorious.

And, I learned a lot, got a lot organized, and even managed to do some pages!

I’m really proud of myself because these are ALL from PSE. After finishing the classes, I decided I needed to challenge myself and put the new skills to work (before I forgot them!)

And I don’t think I did too shabby. I have a lot to learn, but PSE seems to be so powerful that it is enticing me to do more and more and more…

Learning the keyboard shortcuts sure makes things quick! That is one of the things that drives me crazy about the CM software. It seems to lack the shortcuts that an experienced digi-scrapper would look for. While it is a fantastic program for beginners (and is, indeed, how I learned to digi-scrap) I find it frustrating now because I can’t make it do some things I want it to do. Granted, I can’t figure out how to get PSE to do some things either, but I think that is more operator knowledge than software limitation.

I feel like I’m still wobbly – like I’m learning how to ride a bike again – but I know that soon I’ll be zooming along… especially if I can sneak a few more of these “retreat” days into my schedule!

Anyway, I’m sure you are curious to see my pages – or I hope you are, because I’m going to share them with you!

08-05-11-Mayfield-Dairy-web

I’m planning to use 12×12 page protectors and just slip these in my 2011 Project Life album right along with the weekly pages. That is what I did last year and I think it worked out well. That way I get a little of both types of scrapbooking without feeling deprived either way! 08-05-11-me-web 08-09-11-Fist-Day-of-SchoolI tried my hand at using a template for this page (the others are all my own invention) I’m not sure if it was easier or not – It was nice to have the framework to start with, but then I had to get creative to make it work for me. I fiddled a little with it (they had the journaling where I have the title, for instance) but I think the overall result is nice.

08-13-11 Fernbank-web

I made a 24×12 page – for a double page spread. Of course, now I have no idea how I am going to print the darn thing. Do any of you PSE experts know what I can do with it to get 2 12×12 pages out of it? HELP!

08-19-11-Hot-Air-Balloon-we

Well, that’s it. My eyes are tired and my back is telling me it is time to sit in a different position for a while. 

More fun next time, folks.