Making a meal last

My goal this week was to stretch one meal into several. As a family of 2.5 (the 18 month old usually eats off my plate) we almost always have leftovers. Last week I made a bolognese sauce in the crock pot and froze half for a future meal. I did the same this past week for a chicken shiitake wild rice soup. I am hoping this comes in handy for days we are running late, or looking for something simple (or if I do a Mom's night out, so my husband can prepare a meal!).

Last night I baked a 4lb ham, the last 15 min I covered it with a honey brown sugar glaze. Yum! After dinner I cut up enough ham for sandwiches for lunch (4 thinner slices made 2.5 sandwiches). Then I put the rest in my chopper and chopped it up to fine pieces. I used less than 1/3 cup for an egg omelet this morning with cheese (C loved this!). I will be using 2 cups of it tonight to mix into a split pea soup for dinner. The remaining chopped ham I am going to freeze to use for future chili or baked bean recipes.

I can't believe how far that ham went (and is still going). I also feel that portioning it this way helps prevent over eating at meals, in addition to saving money! I am really hoping to plan ahead each week so that at least one meal a week has enough to stretch by freezing or using in another recipe!

Favorite Recipe of the Week

The BEST healthy Chicken Parmesan EVER!

(from skinnytaste.com)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, split
3/4 c breadcrumbs, seasoned
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 c reduced fat mozzarella (I buy and then shred my own)
1 c Marinara (I make my own)
cooking spray

Brush melted butter over chicken breasts
Mix Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in dish
Coat chicken in the mixture
Place chicken in baking dish (that has been sprayed with cooking spray)
Spray top of chicken with cooking spray
Bake at 450 for 25min.
Take chicken out and turn, cook for additional 5min.
After done, remove from oven and spoon marinara and sprinkle cheese on chicken
Cook another 5min, or until cheese is melted

ENJOY!

I served this with peas, and a shredded carrot salad. A simple Saturday night dinner!

It's snowing!

Finally! We knew it was going to come and it did. They estimate we were hit with about 6+ inches. I don't mind the snow, it's the cold that I hate! I tried taking C out into it, she was not having any of the cold wet stuff. Actually, she was fine with it until she tripped and took a face plant into a pile of it. After that, she was done :p

So since we are cooped up all day in the house, I've been browsing Pinterest for some more activities we can do indoors!

Puff Ball Activity

1. Puff balls (I found them at a local craft store)
2. A recycled plastic container (butter, cottage cheese, sour cream - any will work!)
3. Scissors
   

• Cut holes a tad bit smaller than puff balls into a recycled plastic container lid
• Watch as your little one pushes the puff balls through!

Soap Suds Snow

1. Dish soap
2. Water
3. Spoons, cups, bowls
4. Containers to put the suds in (cookie trays, muffin tins, plastic bins etc)

• You can do this 1 of 2 ways. I put water into my blender with some dish soap and blended until thick. Or you can just fill up a little water in container of choice with soap and whisk until suds form.
• Let the little one play with the soap suds snow!

Note: it does lose it's sud after a while (as shown above). If you are playing on the floor, we lined garbage bags down under towels - just in case!
Bathtub Artist

1. Washable non-toxic finger paints
2. A bathtub
3. paint brushes/sponges/ec (optional)

• Put a few dabs of the paint in random spots around the bathtub
• Put little one in the bathtub and watch their creativity go!

Note: This was SUPER easy to clean up. Just a washcloth and water and it all wiped up, C even helped :) It helped that I also planned this on a bathroom cleaning day!

The great thing about these activities, is that they are very engaging for toddlers. Sensory activities are great for learning texture, playing with imagination, and learned how things work. They keep kids occupied longer than toys with a lot of light and sound. They are also homemade, which means you save a ton!

Well aren't you clever!

We've made some major lifestyle changes in the last 6+ months, mostly after our decision for me to stay home.

Some of those changes involve becoming more frugal. The benefit of doing so (other than saving money) is that many frugal tips are "green." I have a new respect for green living and though I can't see myself being able to be 100% green, I have no problem making some large leaps. Here are just a few things that help us save a few dollars a month, which adds up over a year!

Laundry Detergent:
This will last anywhere from 6months-1year depending on your use.

- 1, 4lb 12oz box of Borax
- 1, 4lb box of baking soda
- 1lb box of super washing soda
- 3 bars of pink Zote soap
- 3 or 4lbs of oxi-clean (this is really up to what you need, we have a toddler so more is better!)

Grate the soap and just mix all the ingredients together! I mixed everything in the pictured Rubbermaid container, sealed it and gave it some shakes! I also always date it, just to give myself an idea of how long it is lasting (to calculate my savings!).

Plastic Bags:

I almost ALWAYS reuse them. My only exception is raw meat. Otherwise, I just wash out the bags and let them dry out. My husband is still not sold on this, so I've started labeling the bags. This way they are used for the same things (bread, extra flour, candy, veggies, etc).






Homemade cleaner:

-2 c warm water
-1/2 c castile soap
-2tsp borax
-1/4 c vinegar












Cloth Diapering

This is about 1/4 of our collection. We made the switch when C was around 4 months. Warning: this can become an unhealthy obsession.

Going Public!

I have a TON of mom friends who have started sharing blogs. I love to follow them, so I thought I'd open this up for the same. Previously it was just me and a few family members reading. I've kept all the other posts private (except my first one) and going forward will make these public!

My New Years resolution (other than the obligatory "going to lose weight") was to do more learning activities with C. I have found so many blogs that have awesome ideas for fun at home, so I decided to explore some things we could do in our home. The first activity we did was "moon dough." C had such a blast with this, it kept her busy for nearly an hour and a half (which if you have/had a toddler you know is a feat). I found the recipe here.

Today we explored with shaving cream. I was surprised she only tried once to lick it off her hands. I just told her it was not food ("icky" to be exact). She had a BLAST painting with it, filling it in cups and ultimately rubbing it all over her arms. A bath was necessary after this fun!

Everything I use is from the dollar store - I got a few weeks of goodies for $20. Awesome!

Welcome to my home!

Welcome to my first day as a stay-at-home mom! Yesterday I traded in my suit and heels for my "susie homemaker" badge.

I awoke this morning (at 6:30am, I might add) ready to tackle the day. I had visions of pumpkin pancakes, a stroll to the park, and sitting in the grass, in my head. Instead my lovely C decided that she'd rather sleep until 9am and let me sip coffee, shower, and really just feel a torrential let down for my first morning. Why the heck didn't I go back to sleep?! Big dreams here that led way into reality: nothing goes as planned with a 13 month old!

I've worked a very corporate job for the last 5 years. I've managed a lot of good and [terrible] not so good employees. I am hoping that the skill set I have from this job will make me a productive mom to an ever so active toddler. I am guessing, however, that I am very naive. Part of this blog will explore my cooking adventures. I have big plans for homecooked, healthy meals. I'll be sure to share those as a part of the cooking networking us moms love. In addition I strive to be a little more "green friendly" every day. This is not an easy task when you break down how much we actually use and abuse. My first step, as a mother, was to pave the way for a child to be green as well. C is cloth diapered, which was my first real attempt at be concious of waste. Any challenges and/or success that I encounter will be shared!

And we're off....!

Today's menu to share:

Pumpkin Pancakes - http://www.cafemom.com/group/114484/forums/read/14911034/Pumpkin_Pancakes_for_Fall

Holy delicious! C went nuts for them - she was especially a fan of the whipped cream cheese frosting!