Think about the cost of convenience.......

My theme for the next few days/weeks (although I'm not that religious in my blogging) is going to be helping readers (and me!) to be more aware of the cost comparisons between commercial and made-from-scratch recipes.

We all opt for convenience now and then, but it is a serious savings when we don't. For ex, I made tapioca pudding today. My recipe makes about a quart of pudding for a total cost of $1.42. If I bought the same quantity of pudding in the little snack-pack size of 3.5 oz, it would have cost about $4.73. It took me all of 10 minutes to make the pudding, and is so much nicer than the canned stuff. I was able to substitute brown sugar for white, which makes a nice caramel flavor and (I think) my fresh-made recipe is better for us nutritionally. The recipe is a standard one, very simple (please read all the way through before starting), from the back of a tapioca package, but the caramel part is mine:

Caramel Tapioca

Place these 3 ingredients in a 2-qt saucepan and stir while heating (med-high) to boiling:
1/2 cup small pearl or granulated tapioca
3 cups milk
1/4 teasp sea salt

Reduce to a simmer and cook/stir for 5 minutes while adding in increments
2/3 cup brown sugar - I used light brown, but dark brown would be more flavorful

At the end of the 5 minutes briefly remove the pan from the burner while you break
2 eggs

into a 2-cup measuring pitcher and whisk until well blended. Add small amounts of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously until you have about 1 cup in the pitcher. Pour all back into the saucepan, and stir/whisk until fully incorporated. At this point, return pan to burner, increase the heat a bit, and let the pudding come to a bubbling boil. Stir until thickened then remove from heat. Let cool slightly before adding
1 teasp vanilla or maple extract

Stir well, then transfer to a container to refrigerate. The entire quantity fits in a 5.3 cup Hefty square container.
NOTE: if your tapioca package says to soak overnight before using, do that, and reduce the amount of milk by the amount of soaking water (the tapioca is not drained before cooking when doing it that way), just use the amount of water recommended on the package, or use part of your 3 cups of milk and just soak it in the refrigerator.

That's it....... EASY, right??

We're having it tonight with leftover lasagna, and it will be GREAT!

Makin' It Easy in the Kitchen

No pics for now, but today I spent a little time pre-cooking for meals down the road. I bought 10 lbs of chicken hindquarters, stewed and boned them. Ended up with 4 packages of chicken, 3 quarts of broth and tonights creamed chicken for the top of mashed potatoes. Talk about comfort food.

The boned chicken is now in the freezer, headed for casseroles and soup later in the season. The broth is chilling in the refrigerator so I can skim off the fat tomorrow. And I'm chillin' in the recliner. It was EASY to do, and I like having the meat cooked and ready to use when I'm short on time to make a meal.

Oh, and I made bread today - my easy technique is to put the ingredients into the bread machine and make dough. I run the dough cycle, then let it raise in the machine the second time - take it out and shape into a loaf and lay it in the bread pan. Let rise one more time and bake in the oven. This is almost as easy as letting the bread machine bake it, but you don't get the plastic-y taste the machine adds to the loaf.

So that's my makin's for today. Eventually, I'll share pics as I develop my blog and start to highlight crafts or art. ttfn!

Makin' It Every Day!

I'm turning a corner - gathering speed? Or coasting a bit? It's hard to tell. My work life is changing - well actually ending for the time being, and for the first time in over 25 years, I'll be at home full time for a while. That sounds so strange to say, but in some ways, I'm looking forward to the change, even if it's not by choice - and even knowing that when I can find the right track, I'll be back in the workaday world.

Right now, I'm going to enjoy my home-time, and will be sharing my day-to-day creations with anyone who cares to follow this blog. I have a wide range of interests, and know that I can find ways to share those interests to help others spark their own creativity. So that is what this little blog is all about. I'll be introducing my other blog at some point - assuming I ever get back to blogging it - and in both places you'll find me working, creating and sharing. Here's to change!