Simplifying life in the kitchen.

I had a couple ideas on how to simplify life in your kitchen and I thought
I would share them and hopefully bless some other Mamas/Wives!

Amazing kitchen time saving tip #1
- Hire a Chef. Just kidding.

Ok seriously one of the things I do to save time is once a month my sweet friend and I get together and we have a massive baking day. We do plan ahead what recipes we would like to bake and make sure we have all of the ingredients we need. We usually bust out approx. 12-16 gf, df, recipes! We make anything from breads, cookies, snacks, coffee cake, muffins, hummus, salsa,  dips, bars, etc. But here's the kicker.... we hardly bake any of it. We just get the batters/dough prepared and then put it in large baggies and then store them in the freezer/ refrigerator. That way we can guarantee healthy, freshly baked yummies all month without messing up the kitchen! It has been an amazing blessing and frees up so much time! Plus I get to fellowship with my friend, our children have all day to play and our husbands usually go fishing, it's a win/win situation for all!  My friend usually brings her kitchen aid mixer (and I use mine) and then we each just pick a recipe and double or quadruple it then put it in 2 different bags, one for her, one for me.  This enables us to get alot more done!

Another tip is to double your dinners. Things like soups, casseroles, batters (such as bread, waffles, pizza crust) and shredded meats ( bbq chicken, shredded beef) all freeze well. Just double your dinners and freeze the other half so you can pull it out on a busy day and still supply your family with a delicious, nutritious meal!

My last tip is to grocery shop monthly. I will never look back and grocery shop weekly again! Some of you may be thinking "Wait! How does her produce stay good?" "What about her bread?" Etc.. Ok so here it is.... I grocery shop the 2nd week of the month and I usually hit Costco, Trader Joes, Target, etc. This is where I spend the bulk of my monthly grocery budget. And yes I shop for the month, and yes I usually only take one child (date time!) with me well because frankly, I couldn't fit anymore in the car with all those groceries!! I also try to get one big roast or chicken that I can use the meat for atleast 3 different dinners but cook it all at once and freeze what I don't need right away. I get enough bread for the month but then freeze what I don't need right away, if I run out, I make some!` Also I order from Azure Standard every month which comes the 4th week of the month. This order consists mainly of gf bread, coconut milk, hot dogs (for lunches), chips, some produce (to ensure we have fresh produce all month!), grains, potatoes, etc. Then around the first week of the month I order from Vitacost, this order consists mainly of vitamins, cereal, snacks, etc. Lastly the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month I either order from bountiful baskets or on our library days I run into the Farmer's Market store and pick up veggies and fruit. It takes me all of 10 minutes and I am done! So you see we are receiving fresh food every week of the month but it mostly comes to my door, saving on my time, gas money and spending more money than your budget would allow. I admit it did take me awhile to figure out this system and how much money it would take but I will tell you it has been worth every minute it took me to perfect it! Well it's not perfected but it works!

Time is precious whether you have 1 or 10 sweet kids at home, whether you work out of the home or in it, homeschool or not, it's precious. Let's spend it wisely! I hope this blesses some of you! It was definitely not to overwhelm you, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Blessings!

Menu Plan for 8/24- 8/31

It's not fancy, not my best but here it is: our menu plan for the next week. :)

Friday
breakfast- gf, df, egg free, sf banana bread with cantaloupe
lunch- bean and avocado tostadas
dinner- Cajun chicken on brown rice pasta with sauteed crooked neck squash (from our garden!)
snack- strawberry smoothie topped with granola

Saturday
breakfast- loaded oatmeal
lunch- tuna with gf crackers, carrot sticks and apple slices
dinner- roasted corn chowder with gf dinner rolls
snack- popcorn popped in coconut oil

Sunday
breakfast- gf cereal with coconut milk and sliced strawberries
lunch- fried egg sandwiches on gf bread with df, sf orange julius smoothies
dinner- gf pizza with a big balsamic salad
snack- rice cakes with sunflower butter

Monday
breakfast- eggs, potatoes and hot sauce (a fav!)
lunch- bean and avocado tostadas
dinner- sweet lemon pepper chicken over quinoa and a Greek salad
snack- goat yogurt in a gluten free ice cream cone topped with blueberries

Tuesday
breakfast- gf hot cereal topped with maple agave and seeds (flax, chia, sunflower)
lunch- sunflower butter and raw honey sandwiches with fruit and veggies with dip
dinner- breakfast! (waffles, turkey bacon, eggs and green smoothies!)
snack- df hot chocolate with df, gf, sf, egg free oatmeal cookies

Wednesday
breakfast- vanilla goat yogurt and berries over quinoa
lunch- hummus with organic corn chips and a cabbage salad
dinner- we eat dinner with our bible study groups on wed. nights :)
snacks- green smoothies

Thursday
breakfast- eggs, potatoes and hot sauce
lunch- turkey sandwiches with rice chips
dinner- spicy pineapple grilled chicken salad with organic chips and homemade salsa
snack- gf pretzels dipped in sunflower butter

Awakening Beauty

This is a podcast/website my dear friend and I have been working on. We just want to share our hearts as believers, mamas and wives! We want to thrive as God designed us! Have a listen and let me know what you think! Thank you!


This is the link to the newest podcast:
http://awakeningbeauty.org/?p=135

The website is:
www.awakeningbeauty.org

Noodle-less Veggie Lasagna

Ok, so the invention of this recipe was due to an abundance of squash from our garden, BUT it was delicious! It got thumbs up from all the kids....don't know about my hubby yet though ;)


Noodle-less Veggie Lasagna
            serves 6

4 red or russet potatoes, thinly sliced
3-4 squash (crooked neck, zucchini, yellow) thinly sliced
1T olive oil
salt & pepper
garlic powder
2c goat/feta/cheddar cheese
2c marinara sauce
1/2  white onion, diced
1 lb. ground sausage, cooked
fresh basil, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread 1T olive oil in bottom of 9x13" pan. Layer half of the potatoes and squash in bottom of your pan. Sprinkle with garlic powder and S&P.  Then top with 1c of cheese. Repeat the layer again but this time top with marinara sauce, chopped onion, sausage and cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered at least 15 minutes, check potatoes to make sure they are soft. When done top with fresh sliced basil and serve. Enjoy!