Quick Meals with Frozen Basic Ingredients

Not a new idea to those who make freezer meals, but I've been freezing my rice, beans, and chicken(and other meats) for convenience. Staple ingredients are simple to make and freeze with very little effort. I tend to make stock from leftover vegetable water, and bits and pieces of leftover vegetables. Celery tops are excellent for stock. I freeze it in large plastic containers until I get about twelve cups. Then next time I make rice for a meal, I make a huge pot, cooking six cups of dry rice in a stock pot with the vegetable water. This makes 18 cups of cooked rice, about eleven packets of rice to freeze. I cook beans in mass too, cooking an entire bag instead of just what I need for the meal, then the individual packs get popped in the freezer. If a chicken meal is planned, I cooked the entire ten pound bag of leg quarters in the stock pot. The meat comes off the bone easily, and gets packaged and frozen along with the chicken stock.  

To keep things inexpensive, I use plastic wrap rather than freezer bags. Inexpensive small reusable plastic containers might be good as well; I need to switch to this in the near future. I use recycled plastic food containers for liquids; however, they tend to crack after the third freeze.

All this cooking and freezing saves me about two to three weeks of cooking. All I have to do is re-heat when I plan meals with these staples.

Tonight I made a super quick meal with my frozen ingredients. Heat together two packets of black beans(about 2 cups), a packet of shredded chicken(about 1 cup), 1/3 a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a pre-seasoned(spicy) can of Margaret Holmes Triple Succotash(.79 cents). Serve over a packet of rice(about 1.5 cups). Inexpensively feeds three people. Big taste!

Vintage Scarf Pillows

This idea has been kicking around in design circles for some time now, and I am warming up to the idea of making my own vintage scarf pillows. I thought about trying this after seeing a bin of beautiful vintage scarves at a thrift last week. These pillows would blend especially well with the modern neutral home design themes. They could be switched out seasonally according to color and pattern for a fresh look.

I was thinking that the scarves could be sewn to the fronts of existing pillows to save time and effort. This would be super thrifty if you could find secondhand pillows in good shape(clean them in bleach water) at a yard sale or thrift.

See this post for tutorials.

HT to Allyson for image.

Nature Studies at a Municipal Nature Reserve

This spring weather is perfect for getting out. Our summers are just too hot for hiking. Yesterday, we spent a few hours at a 465 acre nature reserve park with trails, wetlands, and a big lake.We saw so many Fowler's toads along one of the foot paths, we had to keep stopping to avoid stepping on them. We were able to identify a good number of wild flowers, forest and aquatic plants, birds, insects, and even fish. The butterflies and dragon flies were active and plentiful. We saw snowy egrets fishing in the wetland, and a few ospreys flying overhead.


After a very long walk(we got a bit lost), we rented a paddle boat for an hour. The park is free admittance; the boats are $4.00 an hour, and well worth it. Next week we'll be going to another municipal park with trails. These places are wonderful for bringing along your nature study books for field study. A little notebook for drawings of what you see is an enjoyable activity for younger children. My preschooler asks me to draw the animals we see when we get home. I label the pictures, and she gets the added benefit of vocabulary building and word recognition.

Rod & Staff has a number of nature books for coloring with realistic pictures. Their older science books concentrate on nature studies and are appropriate for late elementary school students(5th and 6th grades). We've used these over the years, and it has helped the children know and appreciate the natural world around us.

Simple DIY Bird Bath/Feeder

Elizabeth made this simple naturalistic feeder and bird bath recently. See here for instructions. I would make this in a minute if it weren't for so many squirrels in my backyard.

Worked on Some Embellished Tees This Evening

Handsewn flowers and buttons on one of my sleeveless white T-shirts. The tan tee was too low, so I added a little valance and a clip-on $2.00 flower. Actually, I still need to sew this one.



The fabric were very inexpensive, found in remnant bins. See this post for tutorials.

A few more tees I'd like to work on, maybe with ribbons as well as fabric flowers.

Embellishing Plain T-Shirts AKA: CorsageTee

Ahhh, just what I was looking for to liven up two of my tired white T-shirts! I'll go a bit less and angle it onto the corner of my larger T-shirt. No ribbons for me(too chubby). Tutorial here.

I might try an easier carnation as well.

Here is a very simple tutorial for floral cascades off the shoulder.

Another good tutorial...she flowered quite a few of her T-shirts using pin backs, and they turned out so professional looking, yet they were very simple to make.

Ribbons and heart flowers.

Another good tutorial(easy, easy), a sewing party with four sisters. Cute post. 

Jersey knit fabric is a good non-fraying choice for permanent flowers. They will wash well.

Make a Pantyhose Rose

Made from pantyhose and wire! I'd like to make one of these for my niece.

Vintage Children's Topographical Map of North and South Amercia

From a children's turn of the 20th century geography book found in public domain at Google Books. Click to enlarge and save. Charming and colorful, this map is helpful in showing the shared mountain ranges and major rivers.

Chicken Chili Recipe

The other night I tried Tammy's chili recipe, but used shredded chicken instead of ground beef, diced celery instead of green pepper, leftover black beans instead of kidney beans, and half a jar of leftover spaghetti sauce(organic from Big Lots!) instead of tomato sauce. I ended up adding too much brown sugar(I should really make it a habit to measure), but it was really good, regardless.

I served this over hot white rice - delicious! I added a little hot sauce to mine and the hubby's, while the kiddos liked the less spicy version. I'll definitely make this again.

Round Loaf Cinnamon Bread Recipe

This is a partially self created recipe(base recipe from More-With-Less Cookbook on my sidebar), so measurements are approximate. You can shape this bread any way that you like. I rolled them into small balls, and pushed them flat. Half way through, I took the last of the dough and make one big giant roll, baking it in a large cast iron pan. They turned out very well; the small ones were just perfect for little hands.

Dissolve:

2 packages of dry yeast in
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp sugar

Combine in large mixing bowl:

1.5 cups of sugar
1/8 cup cinnamon(2 Tbsp)  I didn't measure, so this is a guess. Make each tablespoon a little under and that should get you there. Try 1.5 tablespoons, and give it a taste test. Adjust to taste.
1/4 cup oil
3 c. warm water
yeast mixture

Add about six cups flour gradually to the bowl, stirring thoroughly. Add more if too sticky, a little at a time. Knead until elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turn over once, cover and place in a warm place to rise for 1/2 hour. Punch down, knead a little, and let rise again in bowl until doubled in size.

Pull apart and shape into balls, flatten a little, and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes. Half way through baking, butter the top and drizzle honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired. Slather it together with your fingers, distributing it over the top and sides. Check bottoms of bread at 15 minutes to make sure they are not burning. Use middle oven shelf. They are done when the bottoms are golden brown, and/or they sound hollow when you knock the bottom.  Smaller loaves will cook more quickly.

Freeze what you don't eat because homemade bread does not have preservatives like store bread. When you are ready to eat, just pop them in a warm oven with a little butter on top. So good!

Recipe made about eleven small rolls, and one big round one.

Old Time Radio Broadcasts, Homeschool Audio Learning

There is an interesting war-time biography on Hitler(free) at the OTR widget on my sidebar today.  More vintage educational history broadcasts here with samples. Freebies here, although not always of the educational variety.

Listener's favorites:
01. Churchill (Winston) Recordings
02. Mr President
03. AFVN Recordings (Armed Forces Vietnam)
04. Blitzkrieg
05. Complete Broadcast 1944 (D-Day Invasion of Normandy CBS)
06. World War II Collection
07. Great Moments in Radio
08. FDR Fireside Chats & Speeches
09. Complete Broadcast 1939 (Nazi Invasion of Poland)

Of interest:
Science Magazine of the Air
"Leonardo di Vinci is considered the Renaissance man. From being the first man to come up with the concept of the helicopter to being able to leap over a man that was standing straight upward, Leo was very gifted. Only if good old Leo could be in this time period, in order so he could hear the story of his life immortalized on the radio in Science Magazine of the Air. A show during wartime for serviceman, Science Magazine of the Air told the stories of extraordinary human beings that accomplished extraordinary things."

Frontier Fighters
"From Robert La Salle's navigation of the Mississippi River, to Lewis and Clark's dauntless challenge of reaching the West Coast of North America, Frontier Fighters takes you on a historical voyage that pits you in the middle of the taming of the West. So, if it you're following John C. Fremont on his legendary "Oregon trail" or helping Zebulon Pike verify the true source of the mighty Mississippi river, Frontier Fighters will transport you to a time where American history is unfolding before your very own ears!"

Their prices have remained low over the years, many are no more than $5.00 per MP3 CD collection. Shipping has always been fast. I'm a customer and an affiliate.

Some vintage radio shows can also be found free and in public domain at Internet Archives, and other places across the net.

Add Your Own Words

I found this public domain children's book page at Google Books. I'm just learning how to use Gimp(freeware) to manipulate images. Here is an endearing early 20th century drawing of a mother and her children by the fireside. You can add your own words to the blanks; I've blanked out the words. Click on image to enlarge and save.

1912 Bride Paper Doll

Click to enlarge and save. From Marge's blog:

Almost Done!

We have another week to ten days left before we are done with all homeschool subjects that were scheduled for the fall and spring terms. It will feel good for all of us to have more free time. I saved Science for the summer, so we'll have one more subject to complete for sixth grade, but this will get done quickly, early in the morning.

Last year my son did a summer junior forest ranger day camp for a week, but he's not too keen on doing this again. I guess we'll have to see what pops up for summer activities. Maybe I can get him into swimming classes again at our city community center. I have an inkling he might like golf, so I've got plans for him to take at least one class in the future, hopefully with the city parks department(less expensive).

Otherwise, we'll be taking advantage of the free parks, both municipal and state. We can extend some of his 6th grade science with nature hikes and star watching. It's been a good school year, and I look forward to working further into the upper grades with my son.

Yogurt Popsicle Recipe

From the More-with-Less Cookbook(on my sidebar), Yogurt Popsicles:

Stir together:
1 pt.plain yogurt
6T.(1/2 small can) frozen orange juice concentrate
1t. vanilla(optional)

Pour into mold(s) and freeze. Makes 6-8 popsicles. We used a popsicle mold purchased from a local dollar store.The popsicles were gone quickly, so I'll be making this again.

Natural Sunscreen Results and Recipes

Reposted from last summer. We will use our homemade sunscreen again this year.
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The natural sunscreens(see links below) that I purchased earlier this summer have been working very well. We've been spending hours out in the sun at water and amusement parks this year, and we've had no sunburns. They are not waterproof, but seem to stay on the skin well even when perspiring. I've been stretching them by squirting the sun screen into a travel size pump bottle and adding a little oil(almond). The natural sunscreen that I've purchased really needed it anyway - too difficult to spread.

The main ingredient is zinc oxide(not oxybenzone, a suspected hormone disruptor), the kind you see on lifeguards noses in the summer. It's very white on the skin, so as you can imagine, this natural sunscreen can leave white streaks if not oiled down a little. I'm sure this reduces it's SPF, but so far we've not had any problems.

I'm going to try a natural sunscreen for the hair and scalp(my part). I'm thinking zinc oxide, water, aloe vera, and maybe a little flat beer might work well as a spray.

Does your sunscreen work? Surprisingly, 3 of 5 brand-name sunscreens either don’t protect skin from sun damage or contain hazardous chemicals — or both. An Environmental Working Group investigation of 1,625 sunscreens rates the season’s best — and worst.

Zinc Oxide Sunscreen vs Titanium Oxide Sunscreen

Stretching Pricey Safer Sunscreens

Safer Sunscreen

A few recipes that I found online, but have not tried yet:

Organic Natural Sunscreen Recipe

Homemade Zinc Oxide Sunscreen

Homemade Sunscreen

and

Handy SPF Table

Zinc Oxide Powder

Early 20th Century, A Boy's First Haircut

"In the early 20th century, the first haircut usually had a more profound affect on all parties involved than it does today. A hundred years ago, boys and girls were often dressed similarly, and wore their hair similarly in long curls. So the first haircut for a young boy was more than just a haircut…it was their first step towards boyhood." Read more here.

A Victorian tradition, saving a lock of hair. I did this with my daughter's hair(a little curl) after her first hair cut.

Read more about hair history here, at the main page.