Meal Meau

Finally got the meal menu done for February.

1. Chicken noddle soup
2.  Hubby cooks
3. Hubby cooks
4. Boneless chicken wings
5. Beef stew (crock pot)
6. Schnitzel with fries
7. Shepherds pie
8. Fried egg sandwicks
9. Hubby cooks
10.Hubby cooks
11. Pork roast with mashed taters ( crock pot)
12. Pancakes ( cuz its pancake Tuesday) 
13. leftover roast with veggies and fries
14. oven fried chicken with fries
15. steak strips with peanut sauce veggies and rice
16. Hubby cooks
17. Hubby cooks
18. pasta and meatballs ( crock pot)
19. leftovers
20. meatloaf with mashed taters
21. orange sauce chicken with rice
22. breakfast for dinner
23.Hubby cooks
24.hubby cooks
25. chicken balls, egg rolls, stir fry and rice
26. sloppy joe's with fries ( homemade sauce)
27. pizza rolls
28. ribs and fries

I work on weekends so hubby does the cooking and I don't meal plan for him.

heritage bread

 This bread looks great I cant wait to try making it



http://www.foodnetwork.ca/guides/chefmichael/recipe.html?dishid=13274&titleid=282550

Washing Laundry

We got a HE washing machine 2 years ago. At first it worked great, but now? not so well I have notice that the socks do not come clean nor small hand towel and dish cloths.  So I started washing them by hand, went and got a wash board and clean those item that way.  Now the sock are super clean and they are not hard.  That is due to the soap that is being left on by washing machine.
So for the past few months I have have been doing research trying to find a better way to get my cloths clean and soft with out ruining the washer.  The first thing I looked into washing the laundry soap, using homemade soap is good for the machine due to the low to no suds, it doesn't gum up the pipes like normal soap.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/make-a-years-worth-of-laundry-soap.html

Next I looked into a new way of cleaning the washing machine, the thought of paying 10.00 for three of those washing pucks was killing me. I found that you can use vinegar to do the same thing! Use 1/2 cup in 1 gallon of water in the rinse/drain works great, also will clean the pipes out.
Another thing I do to clean dish towels is to boil (in water with vinegar) them, that helps remove any grease and soap being behind. I do this about once every two months.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/a-simple-solution-for-better-smelling-more-absorbent-towels.html

Next I looked into the fabric softer I was using. There are many different home made ones you can use. Below I will post a few of them that I have used in the past, but I have just finished reading about using Epsom salt to freshen cloths, it helps removes any soap being left behind, also helps fabrics from bleeding. So this is something I will be trying, for every cup of Epsom salt you add 10 drops of essential oil or you can leave it with no smell. Then add 1 tbsp to each load. I have not tried this yet so I can not how it works yet.

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/10/homemade-fabric-softener.html

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/01/make-your-own-fabric-softener-crystals.html

Freezeing carrots

Hello everyone I was thinking of another great way to save money. Freezing carrots came to mind!  Its super easy and works great when you find them cheap at the stores.

 First you wash and peel them.  Then cut them

 Then blanch them for 5 mins. Then cool them down in cold water to stop the cooking.

 Then let sit to remove all the water out of them before bagging

Then bag in to meal size bags.
Nice and easy.
Happy freezing

S.O.S mix

finding out that I was gluten intolerance was hard at first.  It made me realize how much STUFF has gluten in, almost everything has in it there bread and pasta are the no brains but did you know its in soya sauce, bbq sauce, coffees and even in some salts, but the real kicker is that I found it in shampoos, body washes, chap sticks, hand and body lotions and even in some laundry soaps? I found myself asking why a lot.

Reading labels is nothing new to me now, sometimes people in stores give me funny looks when they see me reading the labels cuz they are thinking its yogurt but some do have it in there.  I am a fan of tomato soup, who doesn't love a grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup? But again I found myself asking why, there is flour in all of those condensed soups, so no soup for me, or can I make some make something that would be just a quick and easy? Found out my answer was yes there was.  Its called soup or sauce mix (S.O.S mix) its cheap to make and quick and easy just like opening up a can of soup.

here is the link to the I use:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/03/soup-or-sauce-sos-mix.html  

Now I can have a grilled cheese and my soup again.

Bread making

Bread making may seem hard at first but the more you do it, you no longer even think about it when your making it. Most people now will use a bread maker ( I am one of them) but there are many breads that can't be made in a bread maker, you need to do it by hand.
For most people starting to make bread I would always say start with french bread, its a easy bread to make and you really cant mess it up as long as you follow the steps. Super easy and its a great basic recipe to add items to it once you get better at the art of bread making.

Tips on bread making:
1.  Make sure you are using the right yeast.  There are many different ones out there so make sure to look at them first.  This one is also for bread machines there is a yeast for bread machines so make sure to use it.
2.  When getting the yeast ready, make sure the water is warm not hot or cold, warm.  If the water is to hot it kills the yeast, if its to cold the yeast will not cook.
3.  It may seem funny but it is true.  If your house is to cold or to hot even if its humid in the house the bread may not come out right.  In the summer months i will try to wait in till dust to make bread and in the winter I use the fireplace to rise the dough.  I place it on top with a towel but if you have a wood stove I would place it in the back on the floor. Or you can turn your oven on to 150 for 15 mins then turn it off then place in inside.
4.  Do not over knead the dough, it will become a hard loaf of bread,also do not under knead the bread you will not get all the air bubbles and flour flour worked out.  When the dough is soft and no longer sticks to your hands it will normally be done kneading.
5.  When kneading the dough do not use lots of flour this will make a hard loaf of bread due to too much flour.  only use enough to make the dough not to sticky.  What I do is when adding the last 1-1/2 cups of flour I start to knead it and finish adding the flour that way to make sure I do not add to much flour.
6.  Follow the steps to a T until you have a better feel for bread making.  It will make things go easier.

Now on to the recipe:

French Bread

2-3 loaves

2 1/12 cups hot water
2 tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons instant yeast
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1. Place hot water in large bowl.
2. Add the shortening, salt and sugar.
3. Stir and let stand until lukewarm.
4. Sprinkle yeast over all.
5. Beat until smooth.
6. Add 3 cups flour and beat until mixed.
7. Work in 2 cups flour with a wooden spoon.
8. Gradually knead the last 1 1/12 cups flour in until no longer sticky ( about 3 minutes)
9. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Punch down and place on a floured board.
11. Roll out to a rectangle.
12. Cut lengthwise in half.
13. with each strip, roll up lengthwise and pinch seams.
14. Roll gently back and forth with hands to desired length and to smooth loaf out.
15. Lightly grease cookie sheet or use french loaf bread pans.
16. Cover and let rise for 25 minutes.
17. Cut diagonal slashes across bread about 1/4" deep
18. Preheat oven, pour boiling water on lager cookie sheet to fill.
19. Place cookie sheet on bottom rack in oven.
20. Brush loaves with warm water and place bread on higher rack in oven above water
21. Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes.


When the bread is done and you want to check,  knock on the bottom of  the loaf it will sound hollow.
Place on a wire cooling rack and cover with towel to allow it to cool down slowly.

Don't be bummed if the first few loaves don't turn out keep trying you will get it.  This bread makes great garlic bread and works for sandwich bread too.

Happy bread making

Let me know how your loaves turned out!!!!