Simple Stockpile - Week of March 30-April 5, 2011

This week doesn't look like too great of a shopping week.  There are a couple of items for pretty decent prices that you might want to stock up on:

Fry's
Chicken of the Sea Tuna 2/$0.98
Kroger Canned Vegetables $0.49

Basha's

Tillamook Cheese 7-8 oz. 3/$5 ($1.67 each)
McCormick Grill Mates Seasoning   $1.50
$1/1 McCormick Product 3/13/2011 RP Insert (exp 4/24/2011)
Final price:  50¢ 
Crest Toothpaste (6.4oz)   $1.50
$0.50/1 Crest Toothpaste or Liquid Gel 3/13/2011 RP Insert (exp 4/30/2011) (worth $1)
$0.75/1 Crest Toothpaste or Liquid Gel 2/27/2011 PG Insert (exp 3/31/2011) (worth $1)
Final price:  50¢

Safeway

Anthony's Pasta $0.79


So, like I said, not such a great week for stocking up.  Milk is best price at Safeway this week (Dairy Glen $1.79 gallon).

Simply Homemade: Yummy Granola Cereal and Hot Cocoa Mix

These are a couple of staples that I have been making for a little while and now my kids get upset when we run out. So I thought I would share the recipes in case anyone would like to try them, too.

Healthy Homemade Granola Cereal
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup slivered almonds (or chopped pecans)
1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole grain flakes
In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, almonds, sucanat and salt. Mix well and then toss in the whole grain flakes. In another bowl, mix the oil, honey, water and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread over a jelly-roll pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. If you desire, you can add raisins for the last 15 minutes. You can also add banana chips or dried cranberries. The granola will brown as it cooks. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Hot Cocoa Mix
2 3/4 cups powdered milk
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
dash of salt

Whirl in blender and store in airtight container. Use 3 Tablespoons per cup of hot water.

Simple Stockpile - Week of March 23-29, 2011

In Simple Stockpile, I am going to share with you each week, what items I feel are the best price at the grocery store and that I am going to buy a bunch of to put in my stockpile.  I will share the store, the item, the price and if there are any additional coupons or catalinas that make this an especially good deal. 

For this week of March 23-29, 2011, the best deals I see and will be stocking up on are as follows:

Fry's

All of these items are in their Mix & Match March to Savings Event - this price when you buy 10 items:
Powerade 32 oz. $0.38  I keep these for my son who is VERY active in sports.  I have already bought about 15 and will probably buy 20 more - this is a GREAT price!!!

Annie's Mac N Cheese $0.49 (found in the Health Food section)  My daughter LOVES mac n cheese and these are healther than Kraft.  I will probably buy 10 of these to have on hand for quick lunches.

Kraft Singles $1.49  My kids love grilled cheese sandwiches and prefer this cheese, even though I would prefer something more natural.  I will probably buy 3-4 - they have a pretty long fridge life.

Basha's

Eggs $0.88/dozen (limit 2, so I will visit several times:-)  You can stock up on eggs - they last 3-4 weeks minimum and I like to make frozen breakfast burritos and keep hard boiled eggs on hand for snacking, too.

Challenge Butter $2.69/lb  I have printed off several coupons which will be worth $1 each this week, so a final price of $1.69/lb for butter - yeah!!!  At this price, I will buy as many as I can and keep in freezer.

So that is what I am stocking up on this week.   Are these "stock up" prices for you?  Are there any other items this week that you will be stocking up on?

Simply Homemade - Mayonnaise

One of the things that I now make from scratch and would never go back to buying is mayonnaise.  It is very easy and quick to make and the taste is SO much better than anything I have ever bought!  The only downside is that when we run out, I have to make it again:-)  I make so many things from scratch these days that there is always something needing to be made.  But I am happy to do it and love knowing exactly what we are eating!

So here is the recipe I use for making mayonnaise:

1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups oil (you can use olive oil, veg oil, canola oil, whatever you prefer)
1 Tbl. cider vinegar

I put the egg, yolk, mustard and salt together in a container that came with my stick blender.  Then I use my stick blender to blend those and begin slowly adding the oil.  As I keep blending with the stick blender, it begins to emulsify the oil, making mayonnaise.  It only take a couple minutes with the stick blender.  You can also use a regular blender, but it will probably take longer.  Just add the oil a little at a time and keep blending until it begins to emulsify (look like mayonnaise:-).  After it is done, I stir in the cider vinegar and have fresh, ready-to-eat mayonnaise.

With the stick blender, it takes about 5 minutes total. I have heard that with a regular blender it can take as much as 15 minutes or so.


I would love to hear what condiments you make from scratch.

Revamping My Blogging Habits With Regular Features

I have been contemplating what exactly I would like to do with my blog for a few weeks and have decided to do three different weekly features that are a little different than just posting whatever I feel whenever I feel like it (which is what I have been doing).  I am hoping to have them come out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday/Saturday and since I have alot of material to glean from, I should be able to get ahead in my writing.

Once a week, in Simply Homemade, I would like to feature a post on making something from scratch, whether it be something from the kitchen like homemade mayonnaise, or something like making your own facial cleanser or cleaning products.  There are so many things that I make from scratch, I thought this might be a feature that would be of interest.  I will try to have lots of pics showing the steps and the end products and I will also link to some other sites that feature similar products/recipes.

I would also like to feature each Wednesday in Simple Stockpile, a "heads-up" about a particular grocery item that is at a great price that week for stocking up.  Almost every week there is a great deal on something that I like to stock up on.  And I would like to share that with you each week in order to help those who are trying to build up their pantry stockpile.

Lastly, in Homeschooling High School Helps, I would like to write a post each week about homeschooling high school where I may feature a particular curriculum I like or a resource that has helped me.  I have many friends who are currently homeschooling high school or will be soon, so I am hoping to be a help by sharing details about some of the things that have made homeschooling high school easier for us.

So, if you are new here, stay tuned!  It's going to get better!  And if you have been following me for awhile, look for these new weekly features and please let me know what you think!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

This is an update on my aquaponics garden, because I have received a number of requests for updates and pics.  I am not sure how many goldfish I have gone through, but there are 6 healthy ones in the tank now.  I lost a number of them early on because it just got too cold at night.  Now, the night temps are fine and they seem to be doing well.

My basil and cilantro seem to be thriving pretty well.  And the lettuces that I planted as seeds have begin to grow like crazy!  I can recognize the romaine and several different varieties in the gourmet mix.  They are about 1 1/2 inches tall now and growing very well.

I haven't had any problems with chlorine or nitrates/nitrites, but our water is SO hard that I have had to lower the pH.  I used a little white vinegar - don't know if that is really approved, but I know that it isn't harmful to people and NOW I know that it isn't harmful to fish:-)    I need to talk to the experts at the hydroponics store to see if they now whether it will harm the plants at all.  So far, seems just fine and it lowered the pH perfectly.  I figure now is the time to experiment:-)

Viewing the International Space Station

This evening, at 7:20pm, we were able to watch the ISS (International Space Station) pass overhead!  It was very cool to see.  It looked like a very bright star but was moving across the sky in just a matter of a couple of minutes.  You can see it for yourself - just check out this Satellite Tracking site to see exactly when it will fly over at night when you can see it.

Beginning Aquaponics

Last month, I went on a tour of The Garden Pool, which is located near where we used to live.  I had just received a number of plants for my birthday and was hoping to find someone who could help me grow a garden - like a mentor.  I came across the website for The Garden Pool and was intrigued.  There was a public tour the very next day with one space left, so I signed up and went!

The Garden Pool is a large in-the-ground pool that a family has turned into a greenhouse, complete with tilapia pond and chickens!  They grow enough eggs, fish and veggies to sustain their family of four.  They use aquaponics, which is a combination of hydroponics (growing with water) and aquaculture (growing fish).  The beauty of this system is that it waters and feeds itself and there are NO weeds!!  Well, those are two of my greatest challenges with gardening, so hope sprouted in my heart that I COULD successfully grow a garden.

Earlier that day, they had taught a class on a small aquaponics system using a shelf that they call "shelfponics".  I missed the class (didn't know I would be interested:-), but they put the video online the following Monday.  So I watched it and thought this would be a great way to being to learn about aquaponics.  They include step-by-step instructions and a list of items needed, so I went to work rounding up what I would need.  It took less than an hour to get the whole thing ready to go and I bought some goldfish to begin with until I can get some tilapia fingerlings.

I planted cilantro and basil in the top shelf, romaine lettuce in the middle shelf and a gourmet lettuce blend in the bottom shelf.  In about a week, I had LOTS of lettuce sprouts and my herbs are growing well.  I lost some goldfish due to cold nights, but I bought some more (only 28 cents each) and now have 10 healthy larger goldfish in my 10 gallon tank.  They seem to be doing really well and the biofilter of the growing medium (hydroton) seems to be working very well since my pH levels are good after 2 weeks.

I am anxious to get some tomatoes going in another small aquaponics setup this week!  There are lots of websites where you can learn more about aquaponics.   If I can be of any help, let me know, but I am just beginning this journey.  I have BIG ideas for another area of my yard where I am hoping to put in a large tilapia pond and many growing beds to grow all kinds of fresh food for my family.  It makes me SO happy to grow fresh stuff for my family:-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

 My husband is the sweetest!  He brought me these beautiful roses last night for Valentine's Day!  He doesn't usually bring me flowers (I'm not that big into them), but sometimes a girl just wants something frivolous and pretty!  And he blessed my heart so much by bringing me these!

And he also made sure we had all the heart candies covered!!  He bought special treats for each of the kids and a variety of candy hearts for all of us!

Valentine's Day is all about love and I hope that your day is filled with love from your friends and family, and from you to all of them!  God is love and He loves each of us more than we can ever comprehend.  Here's hoping you have a love-ly Valentine's Day!

VocabAhead Review

Since we are getting very near to those dreaded SAT/ACT testing times, I was pleased to receive VocabAhead's SAT Vocabulary:  Cartoons, Videos & MP3s to review.   Read more here.

Fry's is Taking Competitors Coupons Again!!!

Beginning today, Wednesday, January 26th, Fry's is once again accepting competitor's coupons (like Fresh & Easy $5 off $30 or Safeway's "when you spend $10" ones).  They are also back to making all coupons equal $1, including those that say "Do Not Double or Triple"!!!  The only "rule change" to note is that the $5 off $30 (and others similar to that) will be taken off AFTER all coupons and VIP discounts are taken.

For those of us couponers, this is fantastic news!  I can once again limit most of my shopping to one store again, instead of running from store to store to get the best deals!!  I was very sad when they discontinued this at the end of December, but they were making so much $$, I guess they realized their mistake and are bringing it back again.  There is no word on how long they will do this, but I suspect it will be on and off throughout the year.  Take advantage of it when you can and reap the blessings!!

Also note that they are running a pretty good stock up sale that is $5 off when you buy 10 items.  Check it out and stock up on those items you use regularly.  Make sure to keep track of the number of items as you shop so you don't get messed up.  I like to tally mine on my shopping list as I go.  Then if I am an item or 2 short, I can just grab one or two more of an item to make up the difference.  And if you use your coupons along with this sale, you can get some really great prices!!

True Treasures: A Gabby Moms Review

 I have had the pleasure over the last few weeks of reading  True Treasures:  10 Years of TEACH Magazine.  And trust me when I tell you that I read it from COVER TO COVER!!!

Click HERE to read more!!

Yummy Chicken and Dumplings

I think I have only made chicken and dumplings 2 or 3 times in my life and I have probably followed a different recipe each time (I can't remember.)  However, this time I read a few different recipes and decided to "wing it" myself.  I have cooked for almost 35 years (yes, I started when I was 2:-) and figured I have a good feel for what will taste good.  So here is how I made these delicious Chicken and Dumplings the easy way.

I put about 4 quarts of chicken broth into a big pot and brought it to a boil.  You can use water with the powdered chicken broth, or used homemade or canned/boxed.  Check the seasoning and add whatever you think makes it taste the best (I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute).  While waiting for that to come to a boil, I chopped up some onion (about 1/2 of one), carrots (4), celery (2 or 3) and I had some broccoli I wanted to use up, so I chopped it up, too.  When the broth was boiling, I added all these ingredients.  I also chopped up 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I had (I got these from Zaycon Foods - 40 lb. for $1.49/lb and they are HUGE!!!) and added them to the broth.  I let that boil/simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

Then I took out a can of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits.  I flattened each biscuit a little and then just cut them up into strips about 1 1/2 inches long and dropped them into the pot a little at a time.  Stir occasionally just to make sure they don't stick together.  After letting that cook for about 15 minutes, I took a little of the broth plus a little milk (total about 1/2 cup) and mixed in about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour.  I have one of those Tupperware shakers, so it is really easy to prevent clumps.  Then I poured that into the big pot and watched it thicken a little into a nice gravy for the chicken and dumplings.  And that is it - it was ready to eat!!! 

It got rave reviews from my kiddos and I will DEFINITELY do a repeat on this one!!

Great Deals at American Discount Foods

I briefly stopped at American Discount Foods today in Mesa to see what they had.  I came away with some great deals (and I only went into two of the rooms!)

First, they had some smoked turkey for slicing for lunchmeat for $0.99/lb!!  The whole thing is just under 10 lbs. and will make for alot of turkey sandwiches!

They also had big hunks of mild cheddar on sale for $1.99/lb, so I bought 2 big ones (Alissa has been craving mac n cheese, so that is a great savings!)

They had Shamrock Farms Buttermilk for $1.49 for the half gallon - that is about 1/2 price and I LOVE buttermilk!

They also had Breyer's Ice Cream (many different flavors) for $0.99 (1.75 qt) for the first 1 - so I only bought 2 - Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

They had alot of bread from a natural bakery (can't remember the name, but local) for $.99 and $.49, so I splurged and bought 2 round artisan loaves that are some kind of herb sour dough and very yummy for $0.49 each.

Well, that's all I bought this trip, but they had TONS of other great deals there, too!  If you get a chance, you should probably stop by and check it out, too.  They are located at 308 S Extension Rd, Mesa, AZ 85210-8497, just north of Broadway. Here is a link to a map showing the location.

Homemade Cinnamon Chipotle Rub

I used to be able to buy McCormick's Cinnamon Chipotle Rub at a "dented can" store in Yuma for really cheap.  And I tried it on grilled pork chops to the rave reviews of my kiddos.  But, since moving to Mesa, I haven't been able to find it, let alone at a cheap price.

So I decided to find a recipe that would duplicate this wonderful rub.  Here is my version of the rub recipe:

Cinnamon Chipotle Rub

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cinnamon
dash cayenne pepper (to taste)
few grinds of fresh black pepper
2 T crushed chipotle pepper seasoning

Mix and store in a jar.  Rub liberally on ham, pork roast, pork chops, chicken, etc. and grill, roast, bake, etc.  Note: on chicken, place run under the skin for best flavor.

Yummy Pumpkin Pasta

I have been reading recipes and contemplating making this dish for a couple months - since the beginning of the "pumpkin" season.  So tonight, I was hungry for some pasta and had some of the fresh pumpkin puree in my fridge.  I decided to give it a try.  My daughter was not so optimistic.

However, it was really easy to make and tastes delicious!  Here is the recipe I began with, however, I tweaked it a little by adding a little more hot sauce to taste and some extra seasonings that I felt it needed as I tasted it along the way:

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (or fresh pumpkin puree)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, pumpkin puree, and both creams. Season with hot pepper sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 4 minutes. Toss 1/2 parmesan cheese into pumpkin sauce and heat through. Serve over pasta sprinkled with remaining parmesan cheese.

It's a New Year - Welcome 2011!

Wow, I can hardly believe 2010 is gone and a new year has begun!

2010 has been an interesting year for us.  We were able to finally buy our home and move in April, Cody played a full season of JV football with no serious injuries, Joe transferred to a different WalMart and moved in Asset Protection, Alissa began taking Hip Hop/Krump dance classes, Cody turned 16 in September....whew!  Alot happened!  And God was so very faithful to provide everything that we needed throughout the entire year!

I enter 2011 knowing that whatever it holds, God has a plan for us.  He has our best in His heart and will carry us through all the things that await us this year.  He will provide all that we have need of when we need it.  He will bless us above all that we can imagine.  He will guide us and give us wisdom through the challenges we will face.  He will hold our children safe in His loving hands, no matter what comes their way this year.

I am resting in peace today because I know who holds my future and I know He holds my hand!!


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Happy New Year to you and your family!  May you be richly blessed by God's amazing faithfulness this year!

Merry Christmas!

Wow, it has been a very busy last month!  Time has flown by and too many things have happened to even recount here right now.

However, we are enjoying the holiday season and making preparations (like baking cookies, decorating, shopping for food and gifts, etc.) to celebrate Christmas this Saturday.  We took several weeks off from homeschooling and have enjoyed some nice times together as a family.  With the kids being teenagers, it is hard to find Christmas activities that are not geared towards little kids.  It is hard to believe how much my kids have grown up!  I am going through another transition in how I deal with them because of how mature they are getting.  And change is always hard!

I truly enjoyed decorating our home this year!  There were so many decorations that I haven't been able to us for  many years because of space limitations.  However, this house has so many places that can be decorated that I was able to use almost ALL of my decorations and even had to buy a couple of things to supplement!  I am very happy with how the house looks, except that our 6 1/2 foot tree now looks like a table top tree!  Hoping to get a 9 foot one for next year!

Here is hoping that you have a warm, peaceful holiday season - celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!  He IS the reason we celebrate this season!

Pumpkin: Fresh vs. Canned

This year, I decided to try making my own pumpkin puree from a fresh pumpkin.  However, I didn't want to have to find a "sugar pumpkin" or "pie pumpkin", so after much reading on the internet, I determined that I could use the pumpkins I bought for fall decorations.  You know, Jack-o-lantern pumpkins.  We didn't carve ours, so they were still fresh.  Plus, I just couldn't bring myself to spend $2.50 for a can of pumpkin (on sale, but I only spent less than $1 for the pumpkins I had:-).

So, I cut the pumpkin open, scraped out the seeds and stringy stuff, and then cut the pumpkin into about 8 large pieces and placed in a big pot with a steamer basket.  I steamed them for about 30 minutes until they were nice and soft.  After cooling, I used an ice cream scoop to scrape the flesh off the skin.  This I then pureed in my food processor and had about 6 cups of nice fresh pumpkin puree.  Since I had read that this type of pumpkin can be more watery than "pie pumpkins", I put the puree into a strainer to sit while I was finishing up the other puree (my food processor is pretty small.)  A good bit of water did strain out.

Then I used the fresh pumpkin puree for my pumpkin pie (I use a recipe that calls for sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk and sugar).  The recipe not only made one beautiful pie, but I also had enough filling left to make 12 little mini pumpkin tarts using a mini muffin pan and another refrigerated pie crust.  That was a good thing, because we would not have been able to wait a whole day to find out how it tasted:-)

Tasting has brought about the conclusion that fresh is much lighter and you can certainly taste the difference.  You can also see the difference because fresh pumpkin is more yellow than the canned, which I have learned is mostly butternut squash.  Yes, canned pumpkin is mostly made of butternut squash which is much more orange in color.  So that may account for the difference in taste also.

I do believe that after trying it this way, I may never  buy canned pumpkin again.  Plus, I have two more large pumpkins still waiting to be cooked up and made into pumpkin puree, so I will have quite enough to get us through the holiday season and winter.  I will be making pumpkin muffins, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin stew and many more dishes that include fresh pumpkin puree.

Have you ever made fresh pumpkin puree?  What is your conclusion?

Tasty DNA and Spudoodles!!!

We are in the last couple of weeks of our Biology Co-op classes before holiday break and last week the students made Tasty DNA out of colored marshmallows, toothpicks and Twizzlers.

Then this week, we were studying Mendelian Genetics and in order to more fully understand the effects of the parents' genotypes on the offspring, the students created Spudoodles!  They are sort of like a version of Mr. Potato Head using a random selection from the mother's genotypes and the father's genotypes.  However, they really turned out cute, so I thought I would share.