Thoughts on SNAP Challenge for Monday

My child is going to eat me out of house and home. I gave him two strawberries as I was cutting up two more to put on my oatmeal. After he’d had a cup of milk, he housed the strawberries along with a piece of cheese, a handful of (generic) Cheerios, and two-thirds of a banana. 

Gevalia coffee (spent $5.84 on a bag at Walmart) is surprisingly good. It’s no Rise Up, but it is getting me up in the morning and fueling the first part of my day. I’ve become a pour-over addict and make my first cup of coffee this way every morning. I blame you, Laura. I also bought those refillable coffee pods after using them at Colleen’s house while we were on vacation. These have already saved me money, as I used to go through about a box a week (at ~$8-$9 a box). Very happy that I got these before the challenge, or else I’d be taking my pour-over apparatus to work with me.

My fridge oatmeal was a winner! I also sprinkled some brown sugar on top and it was delicious with the strawberries. Maybe the expensive MapleHill creamery yogurt was worth it. Although I could also buy delicious yogurt from grass-fed cows at Nice Farms Creamery. If I recall correctly, I can get a quart of yogurt for $3.50 there. I know that they sell their products at several farmers markets that accept SNAP, so this would be on the approved list.

By 11 a.m., I am thinking about lunch. I’m not sure if it’s because I am focused on this challenge or if I’m just hungry. Probably both.

I heated up my Progresso Italian Wedding Soup for lunch and notice the sodium content. Nearly 1300 mg for the entire can (which I am definitely eating – one can is one serving to me). YIKES. So I start thinking about making my own soup with leftovers as well as making my own stock later in the week. Also, the soup was quite good but incredibly salty. I also realize that I have neglected to bring anything to snack on.

3 p.m. I am really wishing I had brought cheese to snack on. 

After work, I ran to the grocery store to pick up some lettuce and sour cream for the tacos. While there, I noticed that cheese was on sale for $1.50 less a pound than I paid for at Walmart. Grrr!

Dinner was awesome and filling. I always love this dinner when we make it at home… although when we have more time, we usually make fresh pico de gallo with tomatoes, lime juice, red onion and cilantro. Today I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies.

I made 2 cups of rice (lots left over, ~.75), ~2 cups black beans (~.45), 1 lb ground turkey (~2.96), shredded cheddar (~.83), shredded lettuce (~.33), can of tomatoes (.69), sour cream (.56).

This kid loves these flavors... he could eat rice & beans every day

Total cost of dinner for 3 people ~$6.57. There was enough left over for 2 lunches, plus enough rice for at least one or two more meals after that. I will probably have rice and beans for lunch on Wednesday. That’s about $1.31 per meal, so YAY me.

Other thoughts at the end of the day: 

I think that I will put peanut butter on my English Muffin tomorrow morning instead of regular butter. It should be more filling.

I'm going to count how much coffee I go through this week. I'm also thinking of making my own coffee sweetener/creamer. I usually use french vanilla creamer in my coffee, but I'm thinking that I should be able to make a healthier (and cheaper) version using simple syrup, milk, and vanilla (<-- I have some awesome Mexican vanilla).

Today's coffee count: 

1 pour over, 2 refillable K-cups

Weekly count:

 2 pour overs, 2 refillable K-cups

Today is a fabulous day

After several setbacks in our refinancing saga, we closed on our loan today - at 3.75% fixed for 30 years. AWESOME. I've never been so excited to pay off bills. As of next Wednesday, Jay and I will have $0 in consumer debt, have the funds available to finish our house (HVAC, crawlspace insulation, new shed/shop, privacy fence), have 4 months worth of emergency savings, and last but not least will have our Australia/New Zealand trip paid for. Oh, and did I mention that the refinance will also be saving us $500 a month? So with our new savings plan, we will be socking away 10% of our income, which we should really be doing anyway. We had been doing a great job with our savings, but car repairs or other unexpected expenses would always chip away at the account. My 401k is also quite happy these days. Financial stability is feeling mighty great.

To save even more, we've been thinking of getting rid of DirecTV, but our favorite shows are on SyFy, which doesn't work well with Hulu Plus or Netflix. Rather annoying. In three more years, we will also have paid off our DR timeshare (although I expect that we'll get suckered into the next level when we go back) and Jay's student loan will also be paid off, saving us even more money each month. We're keeping his student loan since the interest rate is so low.

I'm also getting a massage after work (a gift from one of my coworkers that I finally booked - great timing!)... plus Jay and I are going out to dinner to celebrate our loan closing! 

I've lost 8 pounds so far on Atkins. Not as much weight as I was hoping to lose in a month, but it's progress. I'm hoping to lose at least 16 pounds before our trip. However, as long as I lose at least 12 pounds before May, I will be back within "normal" limits. To weigh what I did when Jay and I started dating, I will need to lose about 25 more pounds. However, I would be happy with a 23.1 BMI (losing an additional 18 lbs or total weight loss of 26 lbs).

That's it for now! Hope to post about some of our New Zealand activities over the weekend. :)

 

Wordless Wednesday - Holiday Edition

Grande French Meat Pie

As promised, I am posting my version of my Aunt Mary’s French Meat Pie.

I’ve made the recipe twice and still think that it could use some tweaking when it comes to the potato processing and crust.

My aunt uses Pillsbury Ready-Made crusts, which are a real time-saver. Making these pies can be a bit of an arduous process.  Despite this, I try to make at least two pies out of my batch using homemade crusts. The Pillsbury crusts are great, but I have to say that my favorite and most flaky crusts were those that I made with butter. I experimented with butter, lard, and duck fat and they all turned out delicious. When it comes to using animal fat in pie crust, a 2/3 butter to 1/3 animal fat seems to be a good ratio.

On to the recipe!

This recipe is to make about six 9-inch pies - it makes 6 pies if you are using disposable pie plates and ready-made dough. If you are using deep dish plates with homemade crust, it makes 4 or 5 pies. As previously mentioned, this is a somewhat labor-intensive process, so you should make your pies in bulk. They freeze well and are perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, parties, book clubs, and hostess gifts! 

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

12 Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Crusts (6 boxes)

OR

15 cups all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups per crust)

3 pounds butter (12 sticks)

6 tsp Kosher salt

2-3 cups ice water (anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons per crust)

**If you decide to substitute lard or duck fat in the pie crust, use 5 or 6 tablespoons butter and 2-3 tablespoons of animal fat per crust.

FILLING

3 pounds lean pork sausage – preferably something not mass-produced

2 large onions, chopped – one white or red, one yellow (or your preference)

5 pounds potatoes, shredded, ground, julienned, or chopped into ½” chunks

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

2 tsp sage

2 tsp Kosher salt

2 tsp savory, poultry, or Emeril’s essence seasoning

CRUSTS

I make two crusts at a time by hand… making all 12 (six top and bottom crusts) would be difficult to do by hand. However, if you use a food processor it might be feasible. Measure 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, blend 2 sticks of butter into flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. As I mentioned in my sausage gravy and biscuits recipe, please get yourself a pastry cutter. Once combined, add 1-2 tablespoons of ice water at a time (I mix using a wooden spoon), pressing mixture together until it starts to stick together. Divide in half and form into 2 balls of dough. Flatten into a disk and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (this can be done a day or two ahead of time).

  

FILLING

Chop two large onions.

I prefer using one sweet or yellow onion and one with a little more bite – white or red onions. I imagine that shallots would also work well. Throw onions into a large pot (I use a 6 quart stock pot) with the loose sausage. If you can find good local sausage, use it… or even better, make your own!

Again, I must rave about Cedar Run Cattle’s sausage.

Their sausage is the best I’ve ever had! I used 2 pounds of mild and 1 pound of spicy sausage in my recipe. Having run out of my favorite, I used Jimmy Dean sausage for my second batch of pies and while they were tasty, I prefer the pies made with Cedar Run’s sausage.

So back to the task at hand… brown the sausage with the onions.

Add the spices… cinnamon, cloves, sage, Emeril’s seasoning (or your preferred poultry/savory seasoning) and salt.

Chop, julienne, or grind your potatoes. My darling husband taught me how to julienne potatoes (it's wasteful, but fast). I have to say that he makes an awesome sous chef. For my next batch, I think that I’ll boil the potatoes first and then use a potato ricer. My Grandma Grande used to grind her potatoes, so the potato ricer might be a good option.

Throw the potatoes in the pot and stir. 

You can either cook this all down on your stovetop until the potatoes are tender, or use my aunt’s preferred method:  Throw it all into a roasting pan, then bake covered at 350 until the potatoes have softened (about one hour). Check periodically and add water and/or stir if you notice anything sticking. Trust me, this method is much easier.

While the pie filling is baking in the oven, prepare the pie crusts. Lightly flour your counter area and rolling pin. Roll out your refrigerated disks into circles that are about 2-3” wider than your pie plate. Holding your plate over your rolled-out crust is a good way to see if they’re wide enough. 

It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be big enough to fit in the plate. Pie amoebas are perfectly acceptable.

I have a few pie crust tips for you first-timers. Always roll in one direction; don’t go back and forth. Once you’re done rolling in one direction, turn your pin about a quarter of the way each time (think of a clock dial) and roll in a new direction. Roll slowly and I promise you won’t have nearly as many problems. Trust me, be patient. My first few crusts were a disaster, but I’ve gotten better with each crust I make. Use the rolling pin to transfer the dough into the pie pan.

Once the potatoes in the filling are cooked, let cool slightly. Divide filling evenly between pie crusts. 

Place top crust on filled pies and flute. I’ve found that the best thing to do is first tuck any excess dough up under the edge of the crust and press with my thumbs to seal. Then I use my thumb and index fingers to make the fluting. YouTube is a great source for learning how to flute. I can tell you that it’s difficult to make a nice edge when you have fingernails, so cut them short for this task.

If you discover that fluting isn't your thing, press edges together and use the tines of a fork to make a decorative edge.

If you’re going to serve the pies immediately:  Prick the crusts and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, or until cooked to the crust color or doneness that you prefer. You may need to cover the edges to prevent burning.

If you’re going to freeze the pies: Prick the crusts and let cool at room temperature. After pies have cooled, cover tightly with plastic wrap (I love Glad Press & Seal!) and a sheet of foil.

Baking frozen pies:  Remove foil and plastic wrap. Bake pies in a preheated 400 degree oven for about an hour (or until crust is done to your liking). You may want to cover the edges to prevent them from burning.

Serve with ketchup. I also love to top my pie slice with an over-easy egg. It is the perfect addition to this dish, especially for brunch.

Look at all that delicious crust!!

Enjoy!

Aunt Mary's / Great-Great-Grandma Plant's French Meat Pie

I am so incredibly excited to make this recipe! My Aunt Mary made it for me several years ago and I've been after her to get me the recipe ever since.

I'm planning to make it this weekend to try it out, then again for book club next Friday.

Here is some family history on this pie, which I found incredibly interesting:


Great Grandma Plant's French meat pie has potatoes, onions and pork sausage and of course spices. I never make it the same way twice, but will be happy to send along the recipe. I use either Gwaltney or Jimmy Dean, but whatever you like is fine. Nancy uses turkey sausage, but I have never tried that. Mom used to bake the pies about 20 minutes before freezing them. Aunt Marge taught me to put the cooked filling in the crusts and freeze them without baking them. That is what I do now too. Aunt Lorraine used the sausage mix as stuffing for turkey. It seems everyone does their own thing. I rarely make fewer than six at a time. It is wonderful to have them on hand for breakfast, lunch, supper and hostess gifts. Believe it or not, Grandma Grande made the pies and used her attic to store them. It was / is cold in Minnesota, but I sure would not trust that. I often wondered how she froze things because her ice box freezer only held about 2 trays of cubes and maybe a small steak. Now you have a little family history to talk about over the pies.

Love it! I'm pretty sure that I could have stored those pies in our house just a few years ago. There were days that you could see your breath inside. So happy all of that is over. :)

On to her recipe... once I make it, I will post my version.

The recipe for about 3 9" pies is as follows: 1 and 1/2 pounds lean pork sausage, 1 large chopped onion simmered with the pork for about 15 minutes, 6 medium potatoes or a little more, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp sage, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp savory or poultry seasoning. Break up sausage in a frying pan and brown with the onion. Add the spices and chopped potatoes (my mother used to grind them, but I julienned or chop them in about 1/2 in chunks.) At this point you can cover the pan and cook everything together until the potatoes are done, but an easier way is to put the whole shabang into a roasting pan and bake it covered untill the potatoes are done, stirring once in awhile. You will probably need to add a cup of water to keep it from sticking before starting the baking process and more as you go if you note sticking. Bake at about 350 degrees. It takes about an hour. While the filling is baking set up your pie pans. I use Pillsbury ready mades, but your favorite will be fine. When the filling is done, let it cool a tad so it is easier to work with. Then divide it among the prepared pie shells, put on the top layer and flute. Let the pies cool at room temp unless you are serving them right away. If you are serving them right away, prick the top crusts, and bake them at 400 degrees until the crusts begin to get to the degree of done you want. It will pobably take about 30 minutes, but watch the edges. If you are going to freeze them, prick the crusts, and after they are cooled, cover each tightly with Saran wrap and then a sheet of foil. Place in freezer and they will keep a year or longer. To reheat, place in 400 degree oven for about and hour (cover the edges so they do not burn. Enjoy. 

This weekend I'll be making pie crusts and taking a trip to Cedar Run for their delicious sausage and whatever else I can get my hands on. I'm planning to make my own pie crusts with a combination of butter and rendered duck fat, we'll see how it goes. I'm hoping that the duck fat in the fridge is still good from the last time I cooked duck. If not, I found a place in Easton that sells it.

Looking forward to a tasty weekend! :)

Party Rock

Well, we never ended up tearing up the carpet. Maybe we’ll leave it on until the drywall is installed in dad’s old workroom.

A good time was had by all, even though there were two significant injuries. Doug and Marty were horsing around and Doug’s head met our brick steps. I’m surprised that he didn’t break the bricks! He could’ve used some stitches, but he said he’d be fine without them. The second injury was to Beth, who slipped with the oyster knife and stabbed herself in the hand. Fortunately first aid supplies were close at hand after Doug’s injury, so we got her patched up without too much trouble. The cat knocked over our dessert & Arnold Palmer table, which made a huge mess… and the cops cruised by after one of our guests decided to set off some fireworks late in the night. They stayed around the corner for a few hours to make sure it didn’t happen again.

We’re still trying to count the number of people that came, but I think it was around 45. Definitely a huge crowd.

I wish that I’d had time to take more photos, but I was too busy running around. It took me 4 hours before I was able to eat and grab a drink… then it still took me another 2 hours to eat my plate of food and finish my drink. Hopefully I lost some weight with all of my running around and lack of food!

Here is the night in photos (and a texting fail)

Official Party Business

Our Green Carpet Unveiling party is tomorrow, and I’m starting to freak out. We’re going to have between 40 and 50 people coming. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be like other parties we’ve had and people will be staggered throughout the day (there’s certain to be lots of staggering by the end).

I have a 16 pound pork shoulder, 5 pounds of London Broil, ~3 qts of buffalo chicken dip, however many mini quiches I can make, 6 lbs of burgers, 4 or 5 lbs of hot dogs, 60 deviled eggs, 100 oysters, 8 lbs of macaroni salad, 10 lbs of potato salad, 4 pounds of cheese, hopefully enough bruschetta (I bought 4 pints worth of tomatoes to make it), and….??? I think that’s all. We’re making Grown-up Arnold Palmers… Sweet Tea Vodka & Lemonade, 2 cases of pumpkin ale for slutty pumpkins (pumpkin ale w/ vanilla vodka in a cinnamon & sugar rimmed glass), 4 30-packs of Miller Lite, plus some wine. OH! And I’m also making mini ice cream sandwiches… homemade vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies. Last night I scraped the vanilla beans and infused ice cream with the vanilla. I found that working with vanilla beans is kind of a PITA.

All of our dishes except for the burgers and hot dogs are being made with local ingredients. I’m pretty happy about that. I hope that it comes out in the taste. The meats came from Cedar Run in Sudlersville, the oysters are coming from Choptank Oyster Company in Cambridge, cheese is from Chapel's Country Creamery in Easton, any egg dish came from our chickens, milk products came from Nice Farms Creamery in American Corner, and other various ingredients came from Clayton Farms in Denton. So basically everything came from within about 30 miles of our house. Pretty cool.

Now if we can somehow pull this all off in the next 24 hours, I will be a happy camper. I’m praying that the weather holds out for us. We’ve been incredibly lucky in the past during all of our parties being on beautiful days. Let’s hope that trend continues!

Cedar Run Trip

Well I have some wonderful news... Dresden is alive and well at Cedar Run Farm!

On our way to pick up our meat, Jay and I were wondering if we would be seeing our little buddy again. We were prepared for the worst, thinking that his previous injuries and stupidity with picking on the wrong guy would finally catch up with him.

Turns out that we were happily wrong!

Jay goes, "I see Dresdy!!" I didn't believe him, but then there he was. We called him and he came running over to check things out.

Then, he ignored us. After all, he has an image to keep.

Cedar Run also has a host of free-range turkeys. I wish that we were hosting Thanksgiving this year so that we could get one. When they say that their poultry is free range, it really is. I'm happy that what I'm eating is kept humanely and has lived a happy life before it's sacrificed for my dinner.

A member of the Cedar Run Cattle herd... their cattle lives much longer than most other beef producers. While most commercial operations slaughter their animals at an average of 18 months of age, theirs average 4 to 5 years old.

 I hope that we have enough meat for our party... a 16 pound pork shoulder, 5 pounds of London Broil and a free range chicken for the buffalo chicken dip. Plus a few pounds of spicy sausage, which is AMAZING. I will never be able to enjoy sausage from anywhere else now... they have ruined me for life.

Mouse is a big chicken, bad hens, more eggs, and happy birthday to Julia!

For starters, we are finally getting the egg production ramped up, hurray!

We got 4 eggs on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, and yesterday we had 2 eggs. I've heard that production can be a little spotty until it gets going. So far, everyone has been laying in the boxes, except for one sans-shell egg that I found outside. It's kinda gross, but I have to show you what it looks like:

It looks like it's actually two eggs, one with a yolk and one with just the egg white. Pretty nasty. Hopefully that will be the only one!

This was the collection from Tuesday. It looks like one of the girls (I think it's the black stars) is laying an egg that is almost a pinkish hue. That is going to be awesome once I get some Easter Eggers (Americauna or Araucana chickens)... I will have quite the lovely assortment of eggs. The other eggs are a light, creamy brown color. Ginger's eggs continue to get larger. They're about medium sized now. She's continued to lay almost every day since she began. I think she's only missed a few days. 

So far, we've collected nearly two dozen eggs in the past week. I hard boiled some last night and had them for breakfast today... they were delicious, but nearly impossible to peel. I've decided to put aside our pullet eggs to make deviled eggs for our party in October. I think they'll be a great conversation piece. And yes, they will still be good in October... eggs are good up to three months! The eggs that you buy in the grocery store are often already a month old. Older eggs are also better for boiling; they're easier to peel. 

Why are fresh eggs better?

Well, the naughty chickens that get into your garden and destroy your tomatoes! That is Queen Mab, perched on top of a tomato cage. We've probably lost a quarter of our crop to the chickens... not to mention that they've also eaten the tops off of the onions and garlic, destroyed the cucumbers and green beans and are now hard at work flattening my eggplant and zucchini. Naughty girls!!! I really need to find a way to keep them contained. We have a 4' high poultry fence AND we've clipped one of their wings. They can still fly. Ninja chickens.

I love them though... when I get home from work, they run up to greet me and they'll follow me around the yard. Of course, I always reward them with scratch or some kind of treat. They're oddly a lot like dogs, except that they don't sit and stay very well.

On to our handsome rooster Mouse... protector of the flock. We still have Dresden, but I can't wait for someone to respond to my ads. Dresden and Mouse both try to mate with the same hens at the same time, and I'm afraid my girls are going to get hurt. :(

He is definitely a gorgeous bird.

However, when it came to protecting the flock from a stray neighborhood kitten....

He was a big old CHICKEN!!!

This kitten was about 8 weeks old and a third of Mouse's size. First he puffed up and flapped his wings... then (above) he turned around and RAN! Of course the kitten gave chase, all he wanted to do was play with the feathery things! It was hysterical... I could not stop laughing. I wish that I'd had the chance to grab a real camera instead of using the camera on my cell phone.

And last but not least, I celebrated Julia Childs's 100th birthday by making Connecticut-Style Lobster Rolls for dinner. Simple and delicious!

Anytime I travel to CT or MA, I simply cannot leave until I've had a lobster roll... either Connecticut style (hot, with melted butter) or New England style (cold, mayo salad type).

Jay and I attended a wedding in the Berkshires last weekend, and I was determined to find a lobster roll while we were there. We arrived Friday night and by Sunday morning, I had resigned myself to not getting a lobster roll. So, thinking that it would at least be cheaper to buy lobster up there, we stopped at the local grocery store, first stopping at the deli counter to see if they sold cold lobster salad. They did not, so I proceeded to their seafood counter and bought 2 frozen whole lobsters (already cooked) for $20. Good deal accomplished. If I couldn't find the lobster rolls there, I would make them myself once I got home. We went over to the Great Barrington Bagel Co. for breakfast before we got on the road. I ordered an everything bagel with lox and red onion & chive cream cheese. We sat down to enjoy our bagels when I saw a huge sign:  LOBSTER ROLL SPECIAL.  You have got to be freaking KIDDING me. They sold them as a sandwich and also sold the filling by the pound. So I ordered a pound of New England lobster salad. 

I'm happy to report that all were delicious, although I think I'm going to have to give the edge to the CT style lobster roll. There is just something that makes me happy about hot buttered lobster, fresh, with nothing but chives and basic seasoning. Fresh food doesn't need a lot of other flavors to mask it... seasoning should enhance a dish, not overwhelm it.

To make 4 CT style lobster rolls, I did the following:

Clean meat out of two 1 1/4 lb lobsters, claw, knuckle, tail & whatever you can squeeze out of the legs

Roughly chop meat

Throw lobster in saucepan over low-medium heat (if cold - if hot lobster, melt butter first)

Butter 4 hot dog buns (I like using potato rolls) with 2-4T of butter

Lightly toast buttered buns under low broiler or in a toaster oven

Melt 4-6T butter in saucepan with lobster

Once heated through, toss with 1/2-1 T freshly snipped chives

Salt & pepper to taste

Throw it on a bun and ENJOY!