save on groceries | make your own tortillas

Well, our school year has gotten off to a great start. Reed loves school. It took a couple weeks to adjust with him being gone all day, but Luc and I have a good routine for ourselves during the day. Now it's time to get some things in order around here.
Our grocery bill was out of control! I shamefully admit when we first moved we didn't even pay that close attention to what we were spending and then when I did, I tried to keep it at our budgeted amount, but it was still coming up way higher every month. When you don't pay cash and  just look at the credit card statement at the end of the month, it's funny {not funny as in " ha ha"} how you forget how much it really does add up. The endless frustration in overspending finally made me do something I've never really done...pay cash. I realize paying cash isn't a radical concept for some, but it's never been how we roll.  But wow, so much changes when you use cash besides just staying on budget. A lot of good is happening in this head of mine. So now I go to the bank every other Friday {payday} take out my budgeted amount for groceries for two weeks and that's it, no going back to the bank before payday. It's been going really good and after a few weeks I even had money leftover. It was $10, but still...money leftover from someone who was spending sometimes near double the "budget" amount is a huge victory I think.

Here are the top three changes I made to get my grocery bill under control:

Cook one meat dish a week {I make 3-4 meals a week and then we eat leftovers}

Make more staples from scratch

Pay cash

I will also mention another big factor was planning meals around what's available from our garden. Now that the big growing season is coming to an end, this won't have as much of an impact, but I am dipping my toe into a four season garden so hopefully we will still have some fresh seasonal produce to enjoy. 

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you may realize I really am a get back to simple, good, basics kind of gal at heart. We don't eat processed food and have home cooked meals nearly every night. I have been drawn to making more and more staples myself for awhile now. Since recently I was successful at making bread, I challenged myself to make all of our rolls, tortillas, etc. There is such a wealth of recipes out there. I have pinned many ideas on my "make your own".   And I will tell you, besides the fact that homemade food just tastes way better than anything store bought, it is a huge savings off your grocery bill. Not to mention the pride that you have when you make something yourself and are feeding your family good, wholesome food. 

So I've made these tortillas twice now. Both with regular all-purpose the recipe calls for and substituting whole wheat {which is the type of tortilla I would buy at the store}. Both times they turned out great. The second time it came so much easier and I have a better feel for how thin the dough should be before you cook them {thinner than you think}. I use a combination of the rolling pin and my hands to stretch and thin the dough out. Similar to stretching pizza dough. 

Here is the recipe I use: homemade tortillas.  You can divide the dough into as many pieces you need based on what you are using them for. I've made it into just four for burritos or eight for fajitas. I also pour about a 1 tsp or so of vegetable oil into the skillet and roll it around before I put the tortilla in the pan so it doesn't stick. I tell you, so so good. But gosh, it's homemade I would be surprised if it wasn't. 

homemade soft pretzels that are gf and vegan {or not}

Last fall I discovered a new soft pretzel recipe from Tessa @ nineandsixteen. So, so good!  I made them to give as holiday gifts to some good friends and a new neighbor from Illinois to welcome them to the neighborhood last Christmas.
This past Easter, one of the preschool moms was making Easter pretzels for the class party. So, the day before the party (no pressure) I thought I would try to make them gluten free and dairy free so Reed could enjoy a soft pretzel, too.  Every gf soft pretzel recipe I found called for egg (as well as the frozen ones) which we can't do, so I dove right in determined to make these. I swear, this is why I had a sudden interest in cooking & baking years before he was born. I needed to have the experience and confidence behind me to dive in and make all these delicious foods safe for Reed to eat. I had recently found a new multi blend flour that was giving me great results on flavor and texture to wheat flour. The pkg says does not work with yeast breads, but I saw that while the dough was rising, so I just kept my fingers crossed that they would still turn out. They did, maybe not as much rising as a typical wheat pretzel, but good nonetheless. And I figured putting cinnamon & sugar would make almost anything taste yummy if need be.
But they have been so enjoyed that I make them every so often as a special treat. I posted pictures of them waiting as an after school snack on FB his first day of school and I had several requests for the recipe.

So, here is the recipe I used.

You can use this regular recipe if you don't have any dietary restrictions or if you want gluten free and/or vegan read on:
To make these gluten free, I switched out the flour to Authentic Foods multi-flour blend. If you have any experience baking gluten free, you know it's all about the combination and you can't substitute with just any flour. This is by far the best flour I have found to emulate wheat. I have tried many, many flour combinations and even started putting my own combinations together until I found this. I order it by the case online for goodness sakes! So, I can't speak to how these will turn out if you use another flour. You use 3/4 cup for every cup of wheat flour in a recipe.

Here's the adaptations I made from the original recipe:

Approx 3 1/3 cup Authentic Foods Multi-flour blend(if dough too wet, add a bit more flour, but not too much bc gf flours absorb a lot of moisture that result in dry baked goods)

1/2tsp. Xanthan gum for a little extra structure

I also used dairy (and soy free) earth balance margarine (this has a great buttery taste) for any butter in recipe and for topping.

When rolling the dough out to shape into twists, don't make too thin bc this isn't as stretchy as a regular wheat dough would be and they can break apart as you are twisting or dropping into boiling water. Sometimes I have to re-roll once or twice (before boiling) if that happens.
I have found these need to bake for closer to 12+ minutes. You want them deep golden brown, so just watch closely in your oven.
I think that's all I did differently and followed the original recipe as otherwise stated.

Some other topping ideas I do are garlic powder or sea salt & chopped rosemary. Yum!

homemade apple butter

Our weekend was rainy and cool. Not quite the summer weather we would anticipate in late July. But, something about rainy days {and days} proved to be quite a relaxing weekend.
Reed and I had just been talking about eating waffles with apple butter so at the danger of appearing ready for fall, we piled our cart with pounds and pounds of apples. Even though this time of year isn't really apple season, we find Pink Lady apples still to be quite delicious.  I cooked apple butter all day yesterday. With the dreary weather and the apple and cinnamon scent filling the whole house, it could of almost been mistaken for fall. Thank goodness it's not quite yet. :) This was the first time I made apple butter and it couldn't be easier. You throw everything into the slow cooker and let it cook the whole day. The boys so enjoyed it on fresh waffles this morning as they watched the rain still coming down in buckets.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

{adapted from this recipe}

5 lbs of apples, peeled, cored & sliced

{I used mostly pink lady and few granny smith because Reed wanted some green apples}

1/2 cup light brown sugar 

{the original recipe calls for 2 cups sugar, but we prefer the sweetness to come from the apples, so tailor to suit your taste}

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt {I use kosher salt}

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Place apples in slow cooker. Add sugar, spices and salt. Stir together. Cook on low about 8-9 hours or until apples are very easily mashed. Add vanilla extract. If you prefer a bit of a smoother texture you can use an immersion blender {or regular blender}. That's all there is to it. Enjoy!

This recipe made probably enough for a couple weeks for us in the fridge, approx 26 oz.

Next time I will be definitely doubling the recipe to freeze or give as gifts.

simpler living | baking bread

This summer just seems to be flying by isn't it? Although doesn't every summer? We have less than a month until school starts. :(

This summer I am finding a necessary pull for much simpler living.  Less chasing, less "plugged-in", less buying, just less of all these time and energy zapping activities. We took a 12 day "vacation" in June to Illinois to visit family & friends and it gave me alot of car travel time to do some great reading and soul searching. I realized I was finding these external influences were depleting my precious time & energy.  I have re-focused my days on what's important and necessary and say no to or limit everything else. My days are filled with time spent with the boys, sometimes getting together with friends at the pool, library trips, tending the garden, homekeeping, reading, grocery shopping and trying new recipes. The days are full, but not overflowing. It is good. 

Something that I have long wanted to try is homemade bread sans a bread machine. My sweet friend Helen brought this herb bread when they came to dinner in November.  It is amazing. We polished it off the next day. She jotted down the recipe for me that night and assured me it was so easy & straightforward.  Well, it is. It's a shame I waited this long to make it. My first try was Thursday when we got home from swim class. I didn't have enough flour to make a whole batch so I had to finagle the proportions a bit, but miraculously it turned out. We enjoyed it with dinner. On Friday I got more flour to try another go-around, to get a better handle on the makings of this bread. I brushed the tops with olive oil and sprinkled it with fleur de sel before I baked it too.  Soooooo darn good. We were headed to a friends' for dinner so I wanted to treat them to this delicious bread as a thank you for having us. Our hosts response confirms this recipe is a keeper. You will love it!

Herb Bread
{makes 4 loaves}

6 cups warm water 
3 Tbsp. Yeast
2 Tbsp. Salt
3/4 bag of all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp of minced herbs {this recipe I used 2 Tbsp thyme & 1 Tbsp Rosemary}

In a very large bowl, pour in warm water and sprinkle yeast on top.
Add salt to side of bowl.
Add herbs and flour and mix all together. 
Dough should not be wet, but just slightly sticky. Add a bit more flour if nessesary.
Cover with towel and let rise about an hour.
Empty dough onto floured surface and cut into 4 equal parts. 
Knead each loaf several times to get all the air out.
Place each small rounded loaf on a greased cookie sheet {I put 2 loaves on a cookie sheet so they had room to rise}. 
Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. 
Put loaves into cold oven, turn oven to 400 and bread will rise as the oven is preheating. When the oven reaches 400, it should take about 30-40 minutes until top is golden brown. 

Just try and resist cutting into the fresh baked bread before it cools!!! :)

peach season | homemade peach cobbler

I love desserts, especially homemade.  I usually make a small dessert every weekend {for our "at home" datenight} so we aren't eating it for days and days. In the summer, I am inspired by the fruit that's in season. A couple weeks ago I made strawberry hand pies. So delicious. You can find the recipe from here. I think this is a great basic recipe to use for other fruit, too.

It's finally peach season here in Georgia! Oh, the taste of a perfectly ripe organic peach...heavenly. I always imagined having a peach tree if I lived in Georgia, but after doing some research, there are extensive challenges with growing them organically here. I am crushed. So for now, farmers markets and whole foods will have to do. 
This past weekend, I made a peach cobbler for the first time ever. I almost can't believe that, but I guess I've always just done crisps or pies using fruit.  Jeff raved about it and yesterday he said he looked forward to having some for dessert all day. He grew up eating amazing cobblers his Grandma used to make, so I knew this recipe was a keeper!

{peach cobbler recipe via southern living}

I think cobblers should be served warm out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, period.  But, if by chance there are any leftovers, reheat in the oven at 200 for 10 minutes. Here's a recipe for a very easy homemade vanilla ice cream I've been making for years. Enjoy!

inspired to decorate | Reed's room

I don't know what it is about summer that makes me more inspired to decorate. Maybe it's because the days are more carefree with less things to busy my mind with. I am able to just "be". And that's exactly when my ideas start coming together and I was inspired to finally put together a design board for decorating Reed's room. I have had ideas floating around my head for months, but it really does give me a clearer vision once I put it all together.

Reed's is going to be five. So my feeling for the room is still to reflect his childhood sweetness and incorporate some of his interests,  yet have a color scheme that will grow with him for years to come.
I am going with cream walls and grey-ish/tan trim. I think I might have enough leftover hallway paint in BM's ballet white for the walls and thinking BM's bennington grey for the trim.
Reed's favorite color is blue {and starting to be mine, too}. The bedskirt and roman shades will be done in a deep blue cotton/linen, both will likely be trimmed in tan. His dresser is already painted blue, but I may need to deepen the color a bit to go with the fabrics better. I also happened to have an unfinished night table {my mom gave us} that I will paint the same color blue as the dresser. And we already have the bed. We had an extra guest bed that maybe was used once a year, so it made better sense to use it in Reed's room now that he had outgrown his toddler bed. I think we got him settled in his new bed in late January and he has been loving it {and frankly at the end of the day when we curl up in it together to read, I love it too}. We also already have the blue ticking duvet & shams and transportation sheets that Reed picked out. It is the bit of color that snuck into the room. :) I thought about dark blue euro shams also, but foresee them just ending up on the floor. For right now, I am going to keep the bed as streamlined as possible.  We also have a tall bookcase that we aren't really using, but I am really feeling a wider, shorter bookcase is better for this space. I would like it in a medium dark stained wood.
So, we've done a little bit, but now it's time to put it all together. The biggest delay has been deciding whether I am going to make the bedskirt and roman shades. Now that I finally found a fabric, I frankly need to price it out and that will be the deciding factor and then I can move forward. I don't want to start painting the room until those are ready otherwise he won't have any window treatments since I plan to remove the woven shades that there now and spackle the holes. My goal is to have everything ready to be installed, move him into the guest room for a weekend, paint the walls and trim and then put it all together and move him back in to enjoy. I would love to get this done in July because we start school early August down here and things are just too busy at the beginning of school year and the next thing you know, it's the holidays...etc.

project | our screened porch

It's officially summer and it is my most favorite season of all. Lazy mornings, unhurried pace, extra time playing with the boys, warm summer nights, little family getaways, relaxing on the screened porch with hubby on a Sunday afternoon...{with or without a glass of chilled rose`}. heaven.

 

 

So can we talk screened porches? Charm, charm, charm. Love them. Always dreamed of having one. When we looked at our home for the first time, the screened porch, was at the very tippy top of my most favorite things about our home. After we moved in and I power washed it, we realized it was in sore need of some TLC. It wasn't terrible, we lived with it all last summer, but some good freshening up was definitely in order. So, first up, lots of painting. Need to pick colors for walls and floor. Ceiling is a light blue {very typical in the south} and in fine condition so that will stay {would love to make it beadboard at some point}and last year we had to replace our screen door and it still needs to be painted. So, out to my screened porch Pinterest board for some inspiration.

This project will have to be broken into two parts. Part 1-freshening up, Part 2-new furniture and finishing touches. We love our house, but by golly, it needs a lot and you have to prioritize. This year we had to spend some serious dollars that were otherwise slated for want-list projects on unexciting {and some unexpected}but necessary repairs. {actually, getting a new front lawn is exciting. I do have a weakness for a beautiful lawn and not holding my head in shame when I pull up to our home} Some may ask if we regret buying an older home and do we wish we bought a new home where nothing needs replaced. Not one teensy, weensy bit!!! For us, you can't beat the charm we have. :)

I have been looking at furniture to see what direction I wanted to go and frankly how much it was gonna cost if it was going to fit in the budget for this year. It's not. It's okay, it gives me more time to make sure what I want. I do know it's most definitely going to be mostly wicker. The epitome of southern porch furniture. I love a wingback. And except for our {freshly power washed} teak table, all the rest will go. We love our wicker rockers, but always wish we had a place to put our feet up when we are relaxing on the porch and they are falling apart. Hopefully they will last through the summer without anyone falling through the worn seat. The slipcovered chairs and folding chairs were always just stand-ins and not meant to be outside, really. We had them, so I used them to "fill in". I think the wood folding chairs are going to get painted a creamy white, though. They are not teak, nor pretend to be and look orange-y compared to the teak table.We will keep them for extra seating when the table is extended.

 

 

This is the color scheme we decided on. Grey-green floors and creamy white walls. The walls were already creamy white-but they still needed a fresh coat. The floor, was ick. Flat brown opaque stain that never looked good even freshly washed. Now the floors have a proper coat of porch enamel.

I like the light/medium brown wicker color with the paint colors too.

 

 

If I had to pull the trigger on furniture right now {and I almost did until I totalled it up}, it would be this chair and ottoman. Love the style, comfort and color. I'll take two of those, please.

 

A daybed or swinging porch bed would be amazing also, but without forgoing our table, I don't think we have the space for it all.  Curtains in the corners are also on the list. Mostly esthetic just to soften all the wood.

 

Paint current wood folding chairs white

 

When we swap out the folding chairs, I like metal with the teak

 

So, here is our porch at the moment, with freshly painted floors. It was a spontaneous thing-all furniture was out so i could power wash the whole filthy tree pollened thing and moving that table is no easy feat, so while it was out,  I just did it quickly one day during naptime and after bedtime. And I will tell you, I could paint floors all day long. Walls? dreading.

This past weekend we finally moved all the furniture back in so we could actually enjoy it. It's been great eating out there every night again.

 

So, that's my project I am working on right now. Getting it all fresh and new and then add all the fluff later.

 

all pictures via my pintest boards.