Triple Clicks

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Sewing

I started on some sewing projects yesterday. 

To figure out my 'new' sewing machine, I made me a skirt from a few old pairs of pants. My sewing machine is a hand-me-down from my mother in law made around 1925, but at least it has electric. :) 

So I cut up some pants and going off pictures I saw on Pinterest, I started pinning pieces together and sewing them on. If I had been able to do it all in one sitting, it would have been done in a few hours. As it sat, I couldn't do that. So I did most of it last night and finished this morning. 

It has a few rough places, but doesn't look too bad and should be pretty comfortable. Anything has to better than hot jeans and I've been wanting skirts..so here's my solution. 

I have material and some nicer capris I plan on making a nice skirt out of.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Fun Shopping Trip

The kids and I went shopping yesterday. 

Not quite sure I would call it fun, but I got a few things I needed. 

My husband decided we need another potty chair for downstairs, we are working on potty training our 2 1/2 year old.. I also needed some sewing supplies, a part for the lawn mower and wanted to go to Dollar Tree, just because. I did have a few other stores on my list, but Andrew started throwing fits and those stores did not get gone to. 

Our lawn mower (I truly have no idea how old it is) decided it was going to have a cracked fuel line... Very nice. Filled the gas tank up, and out pours gas. Thankfully a neighbor helped pull the fuel line off the carburetor and we got the majority of the gas. (I only look like I know what I'm talking about because I called my dad!) So... I went the local parts store (Sturdevants around here) and got a new fuel line.. According to the guy at the store, I just need some muscle and it's pretty easy to fix. Since I really don't like the small engine mechanic here in town, I am doing this on my own. Thank you YouTube videos and a daddy a phone call away. And possibly the neighbor-we'll see if he sees me. That part cost $1.60.

I decided to hit Walmart so I didn't drag my toddlers through 4 different specialty stores. 
Potty Chair $9.88
Elastic for sewing 2 at 1.77 total of $3.54
Three White thread spools at $2.27 each $6.81
One Beige thread spool at $2.27
Bra extender $1.77
Total of $27.04
I realized I forgot nursing pads. So I'm going without disposables for another week, I only use them when I go to the city, anyway. 

Dollar Tree
Horse Toy 
Animal Crackers-2 (kids say they taste like ginger, pink bag of frosted)
Rubber Ball-2
Little Girl Hair Clips-2
Dish Soap
Cookies for mommy
2 4 pack juice boxes
The kids got toys before Andrew decided he was going to be naughty. He lost his shortly after for a few hours. 
Total of 11.66

We stopped at Subway and got lunch for everybody-the kids got some awesome reusable little back pack things with their meals. 

I wanted to get me an ice coffee... But thanks to construction and traffic I couldn't get to where I wanted to go. 

On the list for today is fixing the lawn mower, laundry, walk, dishes, lunch in crock pot at noon (Sesame seed chicken), plant tomatoes and cucumbers-I know, I'm LATE..might get some pots and plant them inside since I caught the dog digging up my potatoes. That's all I can think of for now, but I know I have a ton more to do. 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Some New Recipes

Here's some of our favorite recipes straight from my recipe box. I'll make a new section on the right hand side for these so they will be easier to find.. I'm really bad about remembering to take the camera to the kitchen when I cook to take pictures, so no pictures of these. 

Lasagna-this recipe I got from my mom, so I'm not sure where it came from. 
2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 tsp oregano
1 quart tomatoes
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all together and bring to boil, then turn down to simmer while gathering the rest. 
24 ounce cream cheese, ricotta cheese or instant rice
1 cup parmesan cheese (I usually use way more than that, but don't measure)
3/4 pound mozarella cheese, shredded or grated (again, usually use more)
1 package lasagna noodles (enough for two full layers)

Layer: meat, noodles, cheeses. End with meat and cheese on top. With the cheese I don't measure, we like cheesy lasagna so I just put on until it looks good. 
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or 200 for 3-4 hours. Let set 15 minutes before serving  (or just enough time to use the broiler to make garlic bread). 

Easy Taco Tamale Pie-I got this recipe when Andrew was a baby, It was probably from Kraft, but I'm not sure. 
2 lb ground beef
1 bag whole kernel corn
16 oz jar picante sauce
1 bag shredded taco cheese 
2 boxes corn muffin mix

Heat oven to 375. Cook beef in skillet and drain. Put the meat in a 9x13 casserole dish, mix in Picante sauce, corn and cheese. Prepare corn muffin mix and drop on top of beef mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until corn muffin topping is golden brown.


Sloppy Joes-this is another one from my mom
8 oz drained tomato sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
2 tsp salt
Mix and simmer for 20 minutes, serve

My husband really likes rice to eat with this instead of or along with hamburger buns. 


Sweet Hawaiian Chicken in the Crock Pot-This was one that was circulating around Facebook and Dennis wanted to try it. The jury is still out on it. 
2 lbs chicken tenderloin, diced
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 soy sauce

Marinate overnight. 
Cook 6-8 hours. Serve with rice. 
The first time I cooked this, I used completely frozen chicken, so I had to shred it when it was done cooking instead of starting with diced.. This last time I diced it and it was dry. So...we are still deciding if we like this. 

Friday, May 16, 2014

Menu for May

It's been a little crazy around here. We all had some sort of sinus stuff, baby Grace is still congested and just not feeling well. After our shopping trip I cracked my head on the freezer door putting groceries away.. That one hurt. My head is still a little tender in that spot a week later. 

The menu this month is more detailed than it usually is. I'm hoping it will help me keep dinners and lunches straight. I also gained some inspiration from posts on Pinterest on how to menu plan. Next month I might even type it up on excel..we'll see. For now it's just on a notebook paper with a column for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each line is a day. 

Our breakfasts barely vary-eggs, bacon, toast, grits, cereal, OJ, coffee and pancaked or french toast on the weekends.  

Our lunches I have a space for Dennis' lunch-which we will switch back and forth from egg salad to tuna salad sandwiches and a space for our lunches-everything from tuna salad, to grilled cheese to pizza bites. 

The dinners I planned a dinner for about every third day, spaghetti and pizza are one night dinners around here. I'll keep putting recipes under a page, so if you want a recipe, keep an eye out on the extra pages, I'll try write a post on them, but I don't always get there. :) We did have a free dinner this week, Dennis did a survey and we got to review some pizzas. :) We love a supper we get paid for eating. And the pizzas weren't bad either. 

Dinner meals are spaghetti, Lasagna, Pizza and breadsticks, enchiladas (my husband calls them burritos), Sweet Hawaiian Chicken, sloppy joes, taco tamale pie, sesame seed chicken. And most of those are repeated at least twice throughout the month. 

I'll do a post on Lasagna soon, but right now I a very unhappy Grace because big brother just woke her up...AGAIN.... :( 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Shopping Trip May 8

Well, we just did another shopping trip. I'm not sure having three young ones on a morning long shopping trip will ever get any easier. 

It's certainly not getting any easier on the budget. We had to increase the budget by $50 out of necessity, which means we drive the van less-that's almost a tank of gas for the van. Pork is going up just like everything else, so since Sam's bacon is no longer the cheapest (at least for this month), I decided to get GOOD stuff since I had to pay full price. So I went to the local butcher and got the good stuff, and now I'm second guessing myself because I'm worried it won't last the month-they slice theirs thicker. 

I went to three stores this time. I skipped Dollar Tree because Andrew was grumpy and my patience was thinning. 

Fareway Food Stores
Fiora toilet paper 12 pack 6.49
Francesco Rinaldi Pasta Sauce 3 at 1.38 each 4.14
Olive Oil 8.99
Clabber Girl Corn Starch 1.39
Mild Cheddar Chunk Cheese 2.89
Mild cheddar Chunk Cheese 3.21
Mozarella Chunk Cheese 3.35
Mozarella Chunk Cheese 3.11
             The chunk cheese was cheaper than buying the pre shedded from Sam's as I have been doing. Looking at my receipt I can tell I had mommy brain even with a list in front me, I was supposed to get $10 worth of each cheese. OOPS.
Pepperoni 3 at 2.99 each 8.97
Sweet Cream Butter 4 at 2.99 each 11.96
Ground Beef 10 lb tube 2.99 a lb 30.06
Cayenne Pepper 2 at .75 1.50
Yeast 3.99
Sour Cream 1.88
Lipton Tea Bags 3.69
Ziploc Bags 2 at 1.50 each 3.00
Pineapple Orange Juice 6 pack 2.69
Ricotta Cheese 1.99
Sweet and Zesty Famous Dave's BBQ Sauce 2.99
Refried Beans 1.39
Jolly Time Popcorn Seeds 3.49
Tortillas 2.49
Lettuce Head 1.29
Pineapple 2.68
Onions 2.07
Easter Candy on sale 2 at .99
Total of 128.98

Sam's Club
Cat Food 18.5 lbs 9.98
Vinegar 2 gallons 3.58
French fries 6.98
Sun Maid Raisins 7.67
Ham for Sandwiches 6.98
Sunny D  24 pack 5.97
Minute Maid 2 at 5.48 10.96
Frosted Flakes 6.58
Premade Hamburger Patties 6 lbs 16.98
Garlic Powder 6.38
Onion Powder 4.38
Chicken Breast 6 pounds 11.98
Oats and Honey Granola Bars 7.93
Whole Dill Pickles gallon 4.62
Velveeta 2 pack 10.88
Tuna 60 oz 8.98
Hamburger Buns 2.38
Chips single serving variety pack 9.98
Total of 151.78

Salem Farmer's Market (Our local grocery store actually had good deals!)
Large Eggs one dozen 6 at 1.58 each 9.48
Apple Juice 2 at .99 each 1.98
Fun Dogs 7 at .69 each 4.83
Watermelon .39 per pound 10.28 lb 4.01
Total 21.52

EarthGrains Bakery Outlet ( I didn't get a detailed receipt from here, so I'm just going to list what I got and the total)
8 loaves bread
Cookies
Donuts single serve 2 at .50
Juice 2 at .99

Eich's Meat Market (our local butcher)
Approximately 4 pounds of bacon 24.49

I will share my meal plan next week. Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Will Spring Ever Come?

Garage sale season has officially started around here which means deals on clothes. Unfortunately, the weather didn't get the memo and it's COLD today. 

Our town's city wide garage sales are this weekend, I have marked which ones I need to go to, along with a list of what I'm looking for. 

I went to Goodwill with my mom last Friday while I was in Nebraska, but we didn't find much. Since I'm buying clothes, I am buying dresses and tights or pants to go underneath. We are trying to get away from form fitting clothes in our house, which is easier said than done in today's world. Luckily I have girls who love dresses. And a sewing machine to make if I can't find-which is a great repurpose for large sized clothes from a thrift shop if you can't find what you want.

This year's garage sale list has little girl clothes in 3T, which is a size I do not have-after this my hand me downs start. Church shoes for Andrew and once I have all the clothes found, books. :) I love books and I love being able to expand our little library with cheap books. 

My nine year old would greatly appreciate having a selection of chapter books available, too. 

We are all just lounging today. The girls and I have a cold, Eva is the only one who can take anything for it, but she is still miserable. Dennis isn't feeling well, either, so he stayed home from work. We are impatiently waiting for spring to arrive. The kids want to be able to play outside and take walks, and I'm with them. I just want it warm. But it looks like we will have to wait. 

Monday, April 21, 2014

Popcorn Chicken Bites

I found this recipe on Pinterest from the blog Food 4 Tots. My kids LOVE this recipe, and Dennis and I agree, it's awesome. Now, I did change the recipe a bit because I don't have in the cupboard some of the things and I couldn't add anything else to my list, but it was good. 

My changes: I don't keep oyster sauce or sesame oil, so I just used black pepper, sugar, soy sauce and olive oil.  Also, I used the entire egg instead of the egg whites. 
Make sure you grease your pan first. I also did not pound the chicken, just did a little more cutting. 

Liquid Marinade
1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
pinch of sugar

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 cup cornflakes
1/4 cup flour
2 egg whites

Breading
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tablespoon parmesan
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 392
Trim fat from chicken and pat dry. Pound to flatten. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Mix seasoning for marinade, coat and marinade for at least an hour. 




Pound cornflakes to crumbs. Add parmesan, garlic, paprika and black pepper. Mix well. 
You need three bowls- one for flour, one for egg whites (whisked lightly), one for corn flake mixture. 



Dip chicken in flour, egg, corn flake. 
Grease baking tray, arrange chicken, spray on more grease. 



Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown turning halfway. 




I sent some to work with Dennis the next day when I made this last week, and it is not soggy the next day after storing in the fridge. Not sure about the freezer, I might make a bigger batch next month and see how that goes.