This Week I Made. . .

This week I made Banana Bread and used half whole wheat flour and half white flour alternative. It worked great!

Check out the recipe here and here.

I also made yogurt using half breast milk and half whole milk for my 11 month old, who weaned herself over a month ago. It also worked great  She loves yogurt. I usually flavor her yogurt by mixing it with a jar of baby fruit and sometimes throw in some single grain oatmeal too.

Find out how to make your own yogurt here.

A Provident House

Question: How does living a provident life apply to our homes?

Answer: For most people housing is the biggest money drain on the family finances.  Making an effort to minimize those expenses is important in reducing your overall monthly expenses, which helps to prepare us for the ups and downs of life... and rainy-day emergencies"  Many people spend half a house payment each month on power, gas and water.  There are many simple things we can do to reduce these expenses.

A lot of my time at work is spent helping homeowners save money on their energy bills, very often what I encourage them to do is not what they expect.  And often what they planned on doing was either not needed or had a 40 year payback. I also spend a lot of time with homeowners trying to correct the false information they have read or the misleading ad they heard on the radio.

Thermal image showing missing insulation behind a fireplace.

In the coming weeks I will address many of these issues and how they apply to improving your home's energy use.


Including:

• Energy Audits
• 5 Simple Energy Tips
• Infrared thermography 
• Windows
• CFL and LED lights
•  Solar Panels
• Solar Attic fan
• Tankless Water heaters
• Air Sealing 
• Duct sealing

I would love to answer any questions, please ask anything....

Yogurt in a Crock Pot

I have been making homemade yogurt for about 5 years now. That is when I got this handy yogurt maker. I have really loved it, yogurt making is super easy. I know you can make yogurt in the oven but you have to check it frequently and reheat it in the microwave if it falls below temperature. In order for the cultures in the yogurt to grow they have to be kept at 115 degrees. So I wanted to see if I could replicate what my yogurt maker does. It is essentially a warmer that keeps the yogurt at a constant temperature, and I thought that my crock pot might do the same thing. Almost everyone has a crock pot, right?
Are you ready to make homemade yogurt in your crock pot? Here is how it is done:

Ingredients:
4 Cups Milk (Whole, 2%, 1% or Skim) - or you can use Nonfat dry milk that has been reconstituted, this is how I usually do it.
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Instant Non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt

In a saucepan , combine milk and dry milk, heat over medium heat, stirring frequently to just below the boiling point, 190 degrees. You are scalding your milk. Be careful to not allow the milk to boil. You can also heat the milk in the microwave, but be careful to not over heat it.
Remove the milk from the heat and allow to cool until lukewarm, (between 100 and 110 degrees). I poured my milk into two pint jars and popped them into the fridge to cool.

Add your plain yogurt to the cooled milk, stirring gently to blend. Do not beat or whip it.

Make sure you use plain yogurt for your starter, and make sure that it contains active yogurt cultures. After you have made your own yogurt, you can then use your own yogurt as your starter. After using the yogurt as a starter several times the cultures may become weak and you may have to buy new yogurt and start the process over again.

Place your jars into a warmed crock pot. I have a crock pot that has three settings warm, low, and high. I initially turned my crock pot to low and allowed it to heat up then I turned it down to warm when I put the yogurt into it.

Put the lid on the crock pot and let the yogurt process for 4 to 10 hours, depending on how tart you want your yogurt.The longer it processes the more tart it becomes.





                                                                   

I checked the temperature of my yogurt a few times as it was processing to make sure it was staying at temperature. At one point it began to get a bit too warm and so I turned the crock pot off for about a half an hour and then turned it back on again. But for the most part the temperature of the yogurt stayed consistent.

                                             

After processing the yogurt should be mostly set. The liquid on the top is the whey, you can either pour this off or mix it into the yogurt later.  The yogurt will continue to thicken as it chilled in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 2 hours.

We like to flavor our yogurt with a little bit of fruit and a bit of sugar.  I just sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of sugar over some frozen fruit and place it in the microwave for a few seconds to thaw the fruit and allow the sugar to make a simple syrup.

Then stir some yogurt into the fruit.

Top it off with a bit of Granola and you have a very yummy fruit and  yogurt parfait. Enjoy!


 Plain yogurt is a great low fat alternative that can be used in various ways in your cooking. It can be used as a substitute for sour cream or mayonnaise and it makes a great base for dips or dressings. It also works great for making Spinach and Fruit Smoothies.

Pantry Reveal

Several weeks ago my mother in law sent me an e-mail letting me know about a blog she had discovered that shows how to make a rotating can rack from a cardboard box. You can check it out here. I was totally inspired, Thanks Mom! I have always wanted some rotating can racks but can't afford them. I was so excited to see that I could make them myself and I will admit I was a bit skeptical too. But I wanted to give it a shot and I knew it would do wonders for my chaotic mess of a pantry if it was successful. I doubted the strength of the cardboard and I knew that my success would depend somewhat on the type of glue that I chose. Being the cheap skate that I am I didn't want to buy any glue, just use what I had, so my choices were, Elmer's, Tacky glue, or hot glue. I opted for the hot glue, because it is quick drying and I didn't want to stand there all day waiting for the glue to dry. It was a good choice, super strong, fast drying and bonds the cardboard fabulously. I made a million of these, at least it felt like it, and it took me several days. I am very pleased with the results and my much more organized pantry.

Not only is my pantry more organized, but I was able to fit a whole bunch more into it. I had a bunch of food stored in my laundry room and under the bed. I was able to clear out a bunch of space so I have room under my bed now for more food storage.




I also made several larger cupboard like boxes that have different cubbies in them, so I could utilize my upward space better. These worked great, especially for my top shelf.  I was able to put a lot of extra stuff up there and items that I only use occasionally.

I made a bin with cubbies for my bottom shelf to fit No. 10 cans. Most of mine had been cluttering the floor of my pantry for some time. Now all of them are tucked nicely away and I can actually step into the pantry. Plus I don't have to dig around to find the one I want.

I just love organization and I also love things that are free! This project brought my love for both together.

The last thing I did was have Jacob make me a shelf to place in
one section so I could organize my odds and ends. This is were I put everything that I usually only have one or two cans of. It works great and I really love it.

 

The finished product. I am so happy with how it turned out.

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Pantry Makeover

 My pantry is an absolute disaster, it makes me ill every time I open the door to look for something. I love organization and having everything neatly in its place, but my pantry never stays that way, at least not for long. I am working on a pantry makeover that will hopefully make things more accessible and organized. I also hope to create more room for more food storage. And I am going to do all of this for free, so check back in a few days to see the results. This project has been a little time consuming but I think it will definitely be worth it.

Black Bean Taco Filling (Vegan)- It's REALLY Good

Don't let the Vegan part turn you a way from this recipe, its really good.  It is very flavorful and you used it just like taco meat.  Our 4year old little boy first tried this and he ate 4 full tacos, he loved it.  He probably could have eaten more but his hollow leg couldn't hold any more. You could always go 50/50 with pinto beans.

 

1    Tbls Olive Oil

1    Medium Onion diced

2    Clove Garlic Minced

1    Bell Pepper Chopped

2    (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed, drained and mashed (or about 4 cups of cookedbeans)

2    Tbls cornmeal

1 ½ Tbls Cumin

1    tsp Paprika

1    tsp Cayenne Pepper

1    tsp Chili Powder

1    Cup Salsa

In a skillet heat oil over medium heat, add and sauté the onions, garlic and bell pepper until tender.  Add the mashed beans, cornmeal, the spices and salsa.  Cover and cook about 5 minutes.

Use just like taco meat.  It really tastes good and is worth a try.  It is now in our permanent recipe book.

Recipe found on allrecipes.com