I am pregnant and I am not able to cook! LOL

Now you say, nah just because you are pregnant doesn't mean you suddenly lose the ability to cook.

I say Ha, yupp and its me!

Two years ago I was determined to learn how to cook properly, to really have meals that both my children and my husband would love. The kind of meals that my children would remember for ever and a smell when their in the adult ages will bring them back to warm memories of home and of me!

I really could not cook to save my life! LOL! So I got cook books, spent hours of watching amazing cooking shows (from the library, our local Library has saved me thousands of dollars, not only with my homeschooling but with my learning to cook!). I tried recipes and fell in love with the art of cooking! My family liked most of the meals I cooked. They loved the baking!

Then I got pregnant with baby number four and its like no matter how hard I try the recipes are still the same but the end result is not good! yikes...has anyone else ever had it happen to you before.
Where no matter how hard you try the recipes and the actual taste is wayyyyyyyyy off!

Thankfully I am blessed with an amazing husband that loves to cook! So he has been cooking up a storm!

This was the left over mashed potato's from making perogies and oh my....so bad for your health (deep fried) but this preggers mama was in deep fry heaven!


These beautiful crepes made 24 and had our homemade right off our tree cherries. This meal cost us $3.35!

For you see my husband wants to be as frugal whilst still being creative and yummy!


Can you believe it! Rissoto runs soo expensive when you order in a restraunt? But to make it at home for a family of 5 was 15 bucks! Sweet, and to boot all of our children absolutely loved it! Ages almost two, almost four and almost nine!


Arancini Di Riso! These were absolutely devine. Our children loved them and only cost about 15 bucks for the whole dinner!

Our goal is to introduce foods from other cultures and learning where their origins are and how to find the country they are from on the map! It is great fun!


Gajar Ka Halwa, a dessert from Indian, mainly northern. We have missionaries and children we support. This was an amazing dessert, carrots, ghee, almonds! soooooooo goooood!

Now you see, I wasn't always on board with this Hubby cooking, Kids liking it better than mine!
For all intents and purposes, I am the mama, I am supposed to be the great cook! I want them to like mine better. He makes it look so easy, He really can cook better than me, I wish he could just not be so gosh darn good at it......

For you see I am an imperfect wife, and to have my selfish, childish, whinny moments....
God gently nudged me. God gently showed me what a beautiful labour of love this was. God showed me what a gift and a blessing to have a husband that loves me so much, that he would pour in to his food all of his love, adoration and caring.....That I should be grateful. I should be receiving the blessing with thanksgiving and see what a gift it truly is...

And what an amazing break to not have to think, prepare, or clean up after it truly is.

Now ladies, if your man does things, anything that you feel is better and your hearts turning to jealousy, anger, resentment...take it to the Lord for this may to be His way of teaching you!

Praying for an amazing week for you all,
Stacey Homemaker~

Frugal Recipe of the Day!

 

.18 Tortilla's!

 

 

2 cups Flour (we use all purpose or whole wheat!)

Salt to taste

3 tbls oil

water to make texture, nice dough not sticky or gooey

 

 

We fried this batch in a frying pan for 1 min per side!

 

Then cut them up for chips and dip!  yummmmmmmmm

 

We are always trying out new ways to remain frugal and economical and yummy all at the same time. Which we all know is extremely hard. We try as much to make things healthy and from scratch. Limiting chemicals and add in's and what have you to our food! We want to stretch our dollars and therefore having the funds for organic fruits and veggies as much as possible.

 

The second batch of Tortilla's we pureed garlic and took out oil, these one's I preferred because I am a garlic holic! I love me some garlic! :) Even the children loved them.

 

Did you know that you can eliminate the high in fat oils my simply adding fruit or veg puree's and or low fat yogurts (make sure its plain yogurt or your hubby may not be so thrilled LOL! ) I did that :(!

 

 

Perogies that cost a buck!

 

Thats right I said a buck, $1.00! Sooooooooo excited! You see perogies are my favorite. My Nana and I when I was a little girl used to make them. My fondest memories is on the four acres, rolling out dough an using her cups to make the perfect circles, with the fire going. For you see my grandparents didn't have electricity for awhile and had an outhouse....but this is one of the memories that is in my heart etched like one of God's love notes from my Nana! :)

 

Here is how we did it!

 

Dough

2 c of flour

Water to texture (perfect dough not wet, sticky or gooey)

 

Filling

2 med onion(white)

6 extra large potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 can of corn.

(this filling we used only 1/4 for filling and then refrigerated the rest for our supper today, which will be potato patties!)

 

After rolling out the dough we used a small circular class

Then mixed our mashies with pureed onion(we used a food processor) personal preference

and corn

then filled them up not too full or they will not pinch and close properly

 

Now we just pinched them shut, let them rest for half an hour and boiled!

yummy with sour cream (I put garlic powder on them) the kids also liked Ketchup. I know weird right...lol I like it to. Its kinda a family trait :)

 

You can do a dab of water on your finger as well to "glue" them closed better or use egg whites. We didn't want to add extra anything just to try and they turned out beautifully!

 

Hope you enjoyed my Frugal Recipes!

May each one of you be blessed and equally so be a blessing to others,

Stacey Homemaker~

 

 

 



Dish Soap, Hand Soap......two different kinds no more!!!!!!!!!!!

On the Left is my vinegar solution for all purpose cleaning.
In the middle is the Dish Soap Solution, and on the Far left is the bathroom hand soap.

I have to say that all of these chemicals in all of our everyday use cleaning supplies just FREAK me right out. We are a family of sensitive skin, eczema and simply ouchieness to all of these so called sensitive skin products.

I am telling ya sensitive skin is hard to even attempt "new or different" sensitive soaps. So I went searching and found my own.

I found a recipe on one of my fav sites. www.frugallysustainable.com and tweaked to my families needs.

HAND SOAP RECIPE

 

10c of Water

5tsps of ivory bar soap

118ml aveeno baby soap

90 ml of washing soda

105ml of vinegar

9.5 ml Pure Tea Tree Oil

9.5ml Pure Lavendar Oil

7.5ml of Pure Vitamin E Oil

 

Yields 2L which lasts my of five 2 months

=$6.76 cost to make

**remember all utensils and pots, measuring cups are only used for this purpose**

Boil water and the shredded ivory soap

(be careful to boil on a low temp keep stirring so as not to bubble over)

When the ivory soap is all melted, I pour it into a measuring cup

 (so as easier to pour into bottles later)

I then add the Aveeno Baby Soap, washing soda and vinegar making sure all is dissolved I let cool for 15 min.

After cooling period I add the Tea Tree Oil, Lavendar Oil, and the Vitamin E Oil.

Mix well

pour into your bottles, and let sit for 24-48 hours before use. I found I am in a dryer climate at a higher elevation and 48hours to set worked for me.  A friend of mine from a wetter and lower elevation only needed 24 hours.

check after 24 hours if it is a wonderful liquid texture with no clumps and you like it that way then its good for you. After 24 hours it can gel up I like it like that. But make sure to give it a good shake each day to mix it up sometimes like anything else it can settle.

 

DISH SOAP RECIPE

 

Is the exact same except for one ingredient. I use the regular baby soap, the yellow everyday baby soap. In replace of the Aveeno. Reason for it is the Aveeno has a moisturizing ingredient that I like for the more frequent washing of hands.

 

Other than that its all the same. I also really enjoyed substituting the Baby Goats Milk Soap, but I only tried it because it was a gift from a friend. This soap makes the cost  to make a lot higher.

 

To make it easier you can make your dish soap and hand soap with the aveeno and make a double batch, and it works great. We tried that and it wasn't to bad. Like I said I have extremely sensitive skin and need the extra moisturizing action of the aveeno with the handsoap.

 

 



I have to say I love utilizing this recipe with our 9 year old daughter. This is an amazing Homeschool project to do with her, after the little ones have gone to bed and have a mother daughter night. Its so much fun and she learns so much from it. We talk about the antibacterial properties of the lavendar and tea trea oils, and where they come from. Why Vit E oil is essential for immunity of the hands and skin, how it increases the elasticity of our skin. I make into an education but sooo much fun night.

 

Remember each moment with your children is precious. Make it count. I love turning education experiments or anything into a whole family affair to make memories. And I am teaching my children ways in which to be frugal and still be able to have our needs met. To also be aware of what we are purchasing and watching out for sale items like our ivory soap and stocking up when it is really low. We are building our home and family on a debt free basis and hope and pray that teaching our children the fundamentals of a debt free lifestyle through basic financial principles every day will increase their chances of not being in debt when they are older. And that they are more financial minded when they do grow up and leave the safety of our home. God is an Awesome God and His will to be done but our goal is to grow them up with all of the tools and knowledge that we did not get while growing up! All from a bibilical mindset as well.

 

 

I pray that this was a informative and fun read,

May you be blessed each day and may you equally be a blessing to all those around you,

Stacey Homemaker~

 



Laundry Laundry Laundry

Ever wonder what happens when you go to sleep? I believe that all the laundry decides that it wants to get even with its humans…..

You see humans treat their clothes so cruelly, so they get together and I believe they multiply themselves, so as to watch in our utter despair when we see the Mount Everest in our laundry room.

Yup, I can see the clothing snickering and full out laughing at our faces as we sigh, and moan at the overflowing baskets and the expensive laundry soap that we go through like water.

They really get a kick out of that…. Now seriously, I do not believe that our clothes have a life or a soul of their own but sometimes it makes the mountains seem not so horrific when humor is added.

This is truly my face when I walk down my stairs and remember that the laundry is quickly overruling my home.

Even worse is how much it costs to launder a family of five (soon to be 6). At this time of writing this post in a week I can do upwards of ten loads of just clothing per week. Not to mention the bedding of five people.

 

Not to mention that I and our eldest daughter have extremely sensitive skin. Which means that we end up cracky and bleeding with most soap. So when we find a laundry soap that the whole family can use it’s a rarity. The only one that fills the need is Tide.

Now if anyone purchases Tide in Canada you know the wonderful price of a container that our size family needs for a minimum of a month of laundry washes……well lets look at some prices shall we……

www.walmart.ca/en

Tide Original liquid           64 uses =$15.95

Tide Original Powder    80 uses =$15.95

Tide Coldwater                 64 uses =$15.95

Tide Liquid 2x Free          96 uses =$21.78

Tide Powder                      120 uses =$21.78

(original scent)

Wow…..now I know that $15 or even $21 bucks may be like yeah but its 64 uses or its 120 uses! I get that but when you think about the fact that do ten loads of laundry per week that’s quite a bit of soap.

Not to mention that I would rather be spending our hard earned monthly budget on amazing, nutritious food for my growing bunch. I want to cut down costs of things like laundry soap down to as little as I can!

So one day I was watching this show on TLC and can you imagine having 19 kids and laundry….eeeek just imagining it I am seeing the horror film of laundry showcases across my eyes.

19 kids and Counting, with The Duggars had an episode about how they make their own laundry soap and how much it costs them.

So you better believe, I went searching for their web site and found that recipe. Now I have tweaked it to work for my family and our sensitive skin needs as well. Lets compare and see how your budget will like it, shall we…..

Stacey Homemaker Laundry Soap

                10gallons $.85

This last my family of two adults, an 8 year old, active 3 year old and a into all 1 year old four months. Now this is based on no more than 10 loads per week for four months. Now if we get sick or it is especially muddy we can go through this in three months. But in the three years that I have been making our own soap we have never had it last less than three months.              

This is how I do it…

I watch when we go shopping and as soon as my Ivory or Dove bar soap goes on sale for $2.99 for ten bars I buy a couple packages.

I purchase Borax from Superstore. The box is the size of a dishwasher detergent box, and is green in color. It is found in the laundry section. When I purchased it I got it for $5.99 for a 3kg box. Also at superstore, in the laundry section is Washing Soda. For a 3kg box $6.94.

recipe

 

 

Ingredients needed:

ÿ  1 Cup Washing Soda

ÿ  ½ cup borax (if washing greasy, oily or extra dirty on a daily basis increase to 1 cup)

ÿ  2 bars of Ivory or Dove Soap (use a butter knife to shave the bar into thin shavings, this is easiest when melting)

ÿ  Small pot (to be used only for this reason always)

ÿ  Measuring spoon (to be used only for this reason always)

ÿ  Knife (to be used only for this reason always

ÿ  10 gallon camping water jug (we purchased ours at Wal-Mart)

ÿ  funnel

Directions:

ÿ  Bring (slowly) to a boil the soap and water I use about two cups of water, careful not to leave stove top until all of the bar soap is dissolved. Can boil over very quickly.

ÿ  Pour your pre measured washing soda and borax into your 10 gallon jug

ÿ  When water and bar soap is completely dissolved add to the 10 gallon jug

ÿ  Mix until borax and washing soda are completely dissolved

ÿ  Transfer to the bathroom, hot water from tap to fill to the top.

ÿ  Let sit for 12 hours, about 150ml p/load

Now I know you’re thinking that’s crazy….85 cents and you get 10 gallons of laundry soap….

So when you factor in that it takes you about ½ hour per three months to make this laundry soap. Wow.

So do the math…for a family of 5 I make this on an average 3 times a year which equals $2.55 per year…now that is only 12% of what it costs of the tide that would last about 2 and ½ months for our family (using the 120 uses at $21)

I don’t know about you but that means I have all of that extra money to use in our grocery budget for good, organic and local produce filling my families bellies.

I pray that this post gave you something to think about and maybe to help out to showcase where we are able to cut the budget…

And guess what, our 8 year old loves to do this with mama every four months as a project when the little one’s have gone to bed. Homeschooling tip (Science-solutions, solid into a liquid)

Have a blessed day and may you be equally a blessing to others throughout your day.

~Stacey Homemaker~

 

 
 

Laundry Laundry Laundry           June 4^th, 2013

For price checks at Wal-Mart                                      www.walmart.ca/en

For price checks at Superstore                                   www.superstore.ca

Duggar Family, 19 Kids and Counting                       www.duggarfamily.com

TLC                                                                                         www.tlc.com