Pancit Bihon (Stir-Fried Rice Noodles)

Tried this recipe from Lemons and Anchovies today and fell completely in love. This is going to be a new staple meal in our home. Even my almost 11-month old son loved it!

Ingredients:

(See the link above for the recipe and original ingredients. This list is how I altered the ingredients a to serve 2 adults and 4 children to our liking.)

• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly in 1 – 1½ inch pieces
• 5 ribs celery, sliced thinly on a diagonal
• ½ cabbage, sliced thinly
• 4 Bok Choy stalks, sliced thinly on a diagonal
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 chicken breasts, poached in the stock
• 4 cups stock  (vegetable)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 8-ounce package bihon noodles (rice stick noodles)
• Lemon wedges
• Ground white or black pepper for garnish

Homemade Chèvre

Lemon & Basil Chevre ready to eat with Rosemary flat bread

I did it! I made goat cheese from scratch and it turned out well! I still can’t believe it. If I can keep this up, it should help our grocery budget considerably. We spend so much on cheese every month. Plus this way I also have the added benefits of creating my own herb mixes and then  of taking pride in my creations.

I bought some raw goat milk from a friend, pasteurized it at home, added the live bacteria culture and animal rennet, then added fresh squeezed lemon juice, chopped basil (from our garden!) and some salt. Whipped it up in my kitchen aid and voila! It’s so good and so easy! You’ve gotta try it!

Draining the prepared cheese overnight

 

 

I used these directions, and bought the culture, rennet, and cheesecloth from this company.

Cheap Summer Margaritas

For whatever reason, tequila, which I abhorred in previous years, sounds fabulous now.
Even the cheap stuff. Lucky us!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 lime wedges
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 1/4 c. triple sec
• 1/2 c. tequila
• coarse salt
• ‘ice

 

Directions:

Rub the rims of 2 glasses with a lime wedge, then dip the rims in a dish of course salt. Place one wedge in each glass. In a blender combine the lime juice, tequila, and orange liqueur. Add ice and pulse until well blended. Pour into the prepared glasses.

 

 

 

Really Cheap Face Mask

You know those Biore pore strips that feel awesome to use but cost an arm and a leg? While cruising around YouTube I found a much cheaper way to achieve the same goal. All use need is Elmer’s School Glue (make sure it is non-toxic and washable).

Wash your face and let air dry. Then apply a layer of glue on your face with your clean dry hands, concentrating on the T-Zone if that is a problem area for you. Let it dry completely (about 10 minutes) and peel off as you would with a peel-off mask. Rinse what residue doesn’t come off when peeling. Follow up with a moisturizer (I like Vitamin E cream). You’ll get several applications out of a single $2.00 bottle!

Lettuce

Rinse it off and refrigerate it in a mason jar to keep it fresh longer.

(Picked just hours ago at the Jones Farm! Thank you!)

Easy Advent Calendar

For those of us who aren’t feeling especially crafty this holiday season (and whose disposable income has recently been clobbered by buying diapers for both the toddler and the newborn), I humbly present my makeshift advent calendar.

• White Organdy Ribbon $1.99
• 3 sets of 10 Miniature Stockings with gold glitter glue @ $2.99 ea
• 2 sets of 28 piece Andes Mint Chocolates @ $2.99 ea

*Andes chocolates work great because they come individually wrapped and each box contains 28 pieces.

Udder Covers

Pay only shipping and handling ($10.00) when you go to uddercovers.com, pick out the nursing cover of your choice and enter in promo code: PARENTHOOD

I usually make these at home, but the cost of supplies usually ends up costing around $10 if I bargain hunt for fabric. I got Porter style since all my nursing covers are in girly colors. YAY!!!

rice & beans

I always thought rice and beans was one of those “we-can’t-afford-anything-else-so-choke-it-down” sorts of meals, but I tried this recipe tonight and we all thought it was quite tasty! Sorry I have no pictures…I wasn’t expecting it to be blog-worthy!

This is adapted from Everyday FOOD’s Cuban Red Beans and Rice recipe in the September issue.

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup small diced white onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t dried oregano
1 c long-grain white rice
1 can (15.5 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add turmeric, oregano, and rice. Stir and cook for one minute. Add beans and broth, stir, then season with salt and pepper again. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover. Reduce to a medium simmer and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.

Container Gardening

Our little family moved from Maryland to Idaho in the last month, so as you can imagine, blogging time has been severely cut down until I set up camp again. In the meantime, here is my second attempt ever at container gardening. Let’s hope I have better luck than with last years basil!

mint, red peppers, rosemary, tomato, basil, lavender, thyme (and parsley not pictured).

The clay pots I found on clearance at ShopKo for $4.00 ea. The black buckets were dollar store finds with holes drilled into the bottoms. The tomato plant is in an old detergent bucket my inlaws didn’t need. The plants were $2.00 – $3.00 ea plus soil. This garden ran about $40.00 to set up, but we’ve already saved about $12.00 in not having to buy thyme for grilling burgers! So far, so good. I did discover that the parsley (which is looking a bit fried right now) only needs partial sun. It has been relocated to a shadier part of the patio. I really do need to remember to read all those little care tags!

Minor Upholstery Project

We recently bought a table and chair set off craigslist for about $60. One of the legs needs some wood glue, one of the six chairs needs a new seat, and the upholstery was vintage in a bad way. However, it has two leaves which will be a nice upgrade from our 4 seater bistro table.  I found some pretty clearance upholstery fabric online for $2.00 a yard. The chairs needed a little less than a half yard per seat, but I got a little extra so I could line up the pattern somewhat. Light staple guns are available at Joanns, along with staples. I brought one of those nifty 40% off one regularly priced item coupons and it ended up costing around $6.00 for the stapler. It was ridiculously easy to unscrew each seat, and staple squares of new fabric to the underside, before screwing it back on again. With one chair, I used some craft plastic to cover over the new fabric and thereby reserving that seat for my messiest eater.  Costs all put together, $60.00 for used table and chairs, $3.00 for wood glue, $8.00 for stapler and extra staples, $20.00 for fabric including shipping. Total project cost: $91.00