Feeding my family a Mexican Fiesta for $5.41 (including the grass-fed beef!)

 

The hubby called me this afternoon and asked if I wanted to go eat Mexican tonight for dinner.  I wasn't too keen on the idea for two reasons.  First, we have a toddler and an eight month old.  Do I really need to explain further?  Eating out is not enjoyable for me during this stage in our life because it is just so much work to make sure our three year old stays at the table (at the table, not above or below or anywhere else) and eats and that our eight month old is happy, simultaneously.  That's too much work.  Second, I'm kind of a food snob.  I really prefer to know the ingredients and what type of food is used in meals that myself and my family are eating and I know that restaurants typically use the cheapest ingredients possible.

So, instead of eating out, I went down to our freezer and pulled out a pound of sirloin steak and let it thaw.  I ended making beef fajitas, tomato rice and homemade guacamole.  And get this, the entire meal, that fed all three of us and included left overs, cost a sweet $5.41.  That includes the grass-fed sirloin steak, which when typically bought, isn't cheap.  Here's the breakdown -

 

Fajitas:

Pound of grass-fed beef - $2.50

Onion (I used an entire onion between the fajitas and rice) - 12 cents

Red, green and yellow pepper - 99 cents

Tortillas - (we used 5 out of a pack of 20) - 25 cents

Some oil and spices that are kept on hand in my pantry.

 

 

Tomato Rice (my own recipe and very yummy):

Tomatoes - free from the garden

Rice - The amount I used probably added up to about 17 cents of the total bag

Garlic - 20 cents

Spices - just stuff that I always keep in my pantry

 

Guacamole:

Avocado - $1.18 (this is way more than I would usually spend on an avocado, but I really wanted guacamole)

Other ingredients used are just staples in my pantry

 

Add that up and you get $5.41!  The local Mexican restaurants aren't too expensive, but you can't feed a family of three and have leftovers on that price.  The added bonus is that we buy an entire cow each year with money we purposely have taken out of Matt's check each month, so the price of the sirloin steak wasn't even out of our monthly budget.  When you take that into consideration, this meal cost us a cool $2.91!  PLUS we got to eat it in our own home, without worrying about the kiddos AND got to end the meal with a family dance party in the kitchen listening to Sanctus Real!

 

 



Little things that make it possible for me to stay home with our girls!

I've had several people ask how we make it work so I can stay home with our girls on my husband's modest income.  While we live without many extras that appear to be necessities in our culture (satellite TV, smart phones, eating out frequently, etc.) and feel very blessed to not have attachments to those things, there are many little ways that we are able to save money.  Hence the picture of 12 lbs. of onions!
Right now, onions are 49 cents for a 2 lb. bag at Aldi, so mama stocked up!  I spent $3 on 12 lbs. of onions and spent a portion of my day slicing each onion and spreading them out on baking sheets to flash freeze and then dropping them into freezer bags for our freezer.  Not only is this a great price (hello, less than 25 cents a lb.!) but it's so nice to have them easily available each night while cooking.  And seriously, I use onions every.single.day, so this not only saves money, it saves me time! 
I figured I saved about $5 on this sale.  Sure, not a huge amount of money, but it's the little savings like these that add up over a month that make it possible for us to follow God's calling for our family!

Note:  I'm probably never going to have an onion cutting fest all in one sitting again.  My face was seriously horrific (imagine snot running out of my eyes, nose and ears), I was sweating like I'd ran a marathon and I began having flu-like symptoms.  There was nothing fun about it.  Next time, I'll wait for the hubby to be home so we can spread the process out!

Why have we stopped listening to our Mama Instinct?

I have a lot of mama friends who all have young children, and God has blessed me tremendously by these women.  In our isolationist culture where few people have good friends, I am fortunate to call many amazing women close to my own age, as well has several "seasoned" Christian women, my friends.  God knows that I need women to relate to, talk to, laugh with, cry with and celebrate life's seasons with - and He has been a faithful provider!
However, I've noticed a strange phenomenon among so many mamas - our mommy instinct is being called into question.  We have been told by pop culture, contemporary authors and people claiming to be experts on our children, to ignore those feelings deep inside about what is best for our children, and to instead, listen to them.  And we are doing it!  We are being told what and how to do everything that relates to being a mama.  There are instructions on exactly when to quit breastfeeding our nursling (or worse yet, being told to ignore the amazing benefits of breastfeeding, both nutritionally and emotionally), told exactly how we are to put our babes to sleep and that does NOT include us caring for them (even though so many moms feel such a strong desire to nurse their babe to sleep, a horrendous mistake claimed by many books), told exactly how many shots our children are supposed to receive and exactly when (although I am CONTINUOUSLY in the presence of mothers who feel extremely torn over this schedule), told when our babies are ready for solid food (although everything in nature screams otherwise), and by what age our babies are ready to be separated from us, even though at this age they can do absolutely nothing for themselves.  Every time we go to almost any function, including church, it is almost expected we hand our children over for someone else to care for while we go off to do our own thing.  We are told we are benefiting our family by leaving our children for the majority of their lives to pursue a career.  (I am not even beginning to declare whether it is right or wrong to be a working mom - but to ignore the fact that babies are meant to be with their mamas would be questioning God's design of the mama/baby relationship). 
Mamas, it's time to take back your family and listen to the instincts that God intentionally gave you.  YOU know what is right for your children - no one else comes close to having that ability, other than the One who desires to guide us.  If you are doing something that goes against that gentle mama voice that is alive in everyone of us, STOP.  Talk to God.  He loves our babies more than we are capable of - and he so greatly desires our children to be wonderfully cared for!  If your precious baby is waking up several times a night to nurse just to be close to her mama (uh um, I'm talking about you, my sweet Haddie), nurse that cuddly baby!  Our loving Father would not have placed that desire in her if it wasn't part of his design.  If your almost three year old finds her way in to your bed in the middle of every night (uh um, I'm talking about you, my precious Emma), don't shoo her away because everyone tells you she should be sleeping on her own.  The tender age of three may be almost adult-like in our crazy culture, but she's just a baby.  She won't always need to stroke your hair for security (still talking about you, my darling Emma).  Don't stop nursing your baby when they turn a year old because your doctor says it's no longer necessary.  Your baby knows when to quit, and it most likely has nothing to do with your schedule.  When your toddler doesn't want to be left in the nursery on a particular day, don't worry about what other mamas think - let that sweet child stay with his mama.  Your body knows what your children need and the Holy Spirit will never guide you wrong.  Trust the Spirit and ask for wisdom. 
I'm so happy to have very young children still but already know how bittersweet it feels when they grow and change.  I never want to look back and feel that I made my children be prematurely independent because I listened to advice that wasn't from God, and ignored my mama instincts.  I fully intend on loving, guiding and sheltering my children for as long as God leads me to.  Yes, I said "sheltering" - an action that our culture deems hazardous to our children.  I have been blessed with a very loud mama instinct from the very beginning and have made efforts to never ignore it, regardless of how others have tried to make me feel (doctors included).  God has given me the courage to follow my instinct even when it's been counter-cultural, and I have much peace in doing so knowing that my decisions have been thoroughly researched and discussed with my Creator. 
My prayer for all mamas is to listen and follow your own mama instincts and to have God's peacefulness when doing so.  Be courageous and know that you know what your children need and that no book or friend will fully know your family's dynamic or your child's personality.  Go to God with every single one of your hard decisions, but don't forget to talk to him about the day-to-day decisions.  He wants to guide us in everything!  I'm praying daily for all of my mama friends.  Each and every one of you inspires me and I am tremedously grateful for all of you!

Fresh Strawberry and Cream Cheese Crescent Roll-Ups

Oh my goodness, these little babies are wonderful!  I saw a recipe similar to this on Pinterest, but it used strawberry jam.  We aren't big jam or jelly eaters in this house, so I didn't have any strawberry jam but I DID have a pound of fresh strawberries sitting in the fridge.  Aldis has strawberries for 99 cents a carton right now and I buy 3 or 4 every time I go, which might be 3 or 4 times a week.  We are big berry eaters here.  These were so easy and quick to make and like I said, out-of-this-world delicious and the girls both loved them too.  There may or may not be a crescent left in this house.  I'm not saying.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor put about half a stick of cream cheese, however many strawberries looks delicious to you (I used almost a whole pound), one teaspoon or so of vanilla, a teaspoon or so of fresh lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of sugar.  Process until nice and gooey!
Spread into crescent rolls, roll up.  You can use an egg white and teaspoon of water to brush on the top if you want, but I couldn't wait to eat one of these, so wasn't patient enough to do that extra step.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
You can use some of the extra filling to dip them in as well....which is yummo!

I'll probably make these again tomorrow morning so Matt can have a taste.  He's not usually a big sweet eater for breakfast, but I am sure he will love these!

Home Remedy: Cleaning your pillows!

The other day I was reading about dust mites, and it was really starting to freak me out.  One place that they love to live is in your bed and pillows, which typically don't get cleaned (unlike sheets and pillow covers).  And even if they did, soap and water won't kill them. 

Dust mites are microscopic creatures, about 0.4 millimeters in length, that feast on flakes of human skin. Their feces contains a substance called DerP1, a very potent allergen. People who are allergic to dust mites may have asthma-like symptoms, eczema or chronic sinus problems.  

What's the best way to kill dust mites? SUN!!  The sun is a natural disinfectant, and by just being outside in the sunlight, dust mites are killed and pillows are spruced up, cleaned up and fluffed up!  It's good to do this once a month, but definitely do it after a family member has been sick. 

My pillows are chillin' outside all day long today!    

Making homemade noodles....so easy!

My hubby has been pretty ill the last couple of days.  By 'pretty' I mean it's the type of illness that a woman could get and work through, with it only being a mild annoyance.  But when a man gets this type of illness (a cold) it's a time to shut down shop, can't get out of bed, can't eat, can't breath, can't talk and DEFINITELY can't help take care of the baby type of illness.  But I digress.

So, yesterday my hubby was all sniffly and sad sounding and I remembered I had some extra split chicken breast cooked up and unused in the fridge from my freezer cooking day.  We all know that chicken noodle soup instantly cures you of any illness, so I told my lucky hubaroo I'd make him some.  Luckily, I also had some carrots and celery in the fridge.  So I chopped them up, cooked them a bit, added my chicken broth and chicken, and then I realized I didn't have any egg noodles.  Most people would think about this little hindrance before starting the soup, but not I.  After panicking for about two seconds, I got online and looked up a recipe for homemade noodles.  I'd made them once before, and remembered they weren't much work, but couldn't recall the recipe.  This is funny because all you use is one cup of flour per one egg and then a pinch of salt.  That's seriously it.  I doubled the recipe because I had a nice big pot of chicken and veggies.  It was sooooo easy.  You just combine the ingredients (I found it easier to do with floured hands), throw it down on a floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin.  I then used a knife to cut the dough into 'noodle' sized strips and threw them in my soup mixture.  I had the mixture boiling by now, and in fifteen minutes they were done.  Since the chicken was already cooked and cut up, it honestly only took about 15 minutes to make delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup.  And homemade noodles are so much more tasty than store bought and have a great texture.  I'm glad I didn't have noodles on hand and was forced to make my own because it reminded me of how easy it was.  Now I'm armed and ready to make it again in a couple of years when Emma needs it!

Cleaning with baking soda and vinegar

Tonight was the night that I dread every week.  It was the night that our dog, Brady, needed a bath.  He's only a 5 lb. Yorkshire Terrier, but he stinks.  He stinks bad.  He's got horrible breath and if he's kennelled too long during the day he likes to take potty breaks in his carrier.  Yuck.

My husband has been sick the last couple of days which meant I got to give Brady his bath tonight.  After his bath I knew I had to clean the tub, but felt uneasy about using regular bathroom cleaner on the tub.  I give Emma a bath every night in that tub and didn't like the thought of her cute little tooshie sitting on the same surface that I used harsh chemicals to clean only hours before.  I've been using Clorox Green cleaning products for a while but have read over and over that they ain't so green!  I've also read about the fact that when harsh cleaning chemicals are used and then hot baths are ran, the fume residue from the chemicals is then released and breathed in, which is obviously not a good thing (maybe I read too much, who knows).  So, having all of these thoughts together in my head made me decide to not use more normal cleaning products and whip out some good ol' baking soda and vinegar.

I sprinkled a good amount of baking soda on the surface of the tub and then poured some vinegar over it.  We all know the old grade school volcano trick with baking soda and vinegar, so I don't have to tell you about the fizzle.  But I liked the fizzle.  A lot.  It made me feel like there was some major cleaning action going on!  I let it fizzle for a bit and then scrubbed it with my wire scrub brush.  I definitely got some soap scum off and it worked wonderfully.  There also weren't any fumes to smell, which I have always hated.  All in all, I am very happy with the results and glad I finally tried it.  I will feel much better about having that sweet baby behind swimming laps in the tub now!