When my husband and I were pregnant with our first son, I worked full time right up til the end. We were nervous what my lack of income would do to our lifestyle during maternity leave, and possibly afterwards, if I decided to go part time. Within 5 days of returning from maternity leave, I knew I didn't care WHAT it meant, I HAD to reduce my hours and be home more. I did not feel it was a choice, more like an impulse or a need. And so, when my son was 17 weeks, I went part time. This made my husband very nervous, and rightfully so. He became the sole income earner, but, we found ways to reduce our monthly output, and still manage to save money (my small part time income became savings money). We refinanced a very expensive vehicle, payed off our credit cards, ate out less, and I quit buying so many plants for our new home. My new part time job was school year only though, so after 5 months on the job, the job ended as school did, and I never went back to work.
It's been 8 months since I've worked, and we now have two children which means our bills have increased, while our income has decreased. Initially, we found ways to cut more cost in our lifestyle; less eating out, using cloth diapers, buying kids clothing only at consignment stores, and buying low cost foods. However, I soon realized that a great way to save cost was to make as much from home as possible. As in, cook...Betty Crocker style.
My husband had always been the main chef of our house, mostly because my work schedule always kept me out later than him. So being the cook was new to me. But, not long after my first son began eating solids I really saw the benefit to learning this skill. And learning it well.
My first difficult lesson with food and cooking was how much time it took to cook something when the kids needed so much of my time, all of the time. Of course, time is all relative. But, my solution quickly became to cook meals during nap time, and to cook as many things ahead of time as I could. Bellow is a recipe that is cost effective, and easy to make in large batches so some can be eaten in "this" weeks meals, and more is frozen for later!
Cheesy Chicken Curry Casserole----Kid tested, mother approved!
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
* 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
* 2 cups broccoli florets, cooked (broccoli grows great in Western WA gardens!)
* 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
* 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
* 3/4 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
* 1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Preparation
Combine first 9 ingredients and red pepper, if desired. Spoon into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir together breadcrumbs and melted butter; sprinkle over casserole, and bake 10 more minutes. Let casserole stand 5 minutes before serving. This casserole tastes really good served over white or brown rice.
Note: Freeze unbaked casserole, omitting breadcrumbs and butter, for up to 1 month, if desired. Allow to stand at room temperature 1 hour. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir together breadcrumbs and melted butter; sprinkle over casserole, and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
** My son I'm nursing has a dairy allergy and so I've substituted all dairy ingredients for dairy free options and it still turns out great. I've also used low fat versions of dairy ingredients when making it with dairy, and it STILL turned out great.
As I began to cook and do all the shopping, I soon realized that there was more to food than, well, food. I began to comprehend that my child's very health, his quality of nutrition, and overall being depended on me and MY choices FOR him; I began to read labels. Sheesh! How depressing that became! Items that I thought were good ole wholesome snacks for kids like graham crackers were suddenly off limits!! They have high fructose corn syrup! Well, with 2 children 12 months apart, I NEEDED quick snack alternatives. This realization led to my decision to make as much from home as I could so I knew EXACTLY what was going into my kids bodies. This has led to more savings, and more peace of mind.
Gardening our fruit and vegetable garden no longer was a hobby for enjoyment, but a practice with purpose to put wholesome food on our table. I learned (and am still learning) what to grow that I can put on our table all year long. I learned (and am still learning) how to can foods that can sustain us all year long. I learned how to cook items that I used to pay $4.00 a box for, such as crackers, (if they are organic) and can now make from home for much less.
Bellow, is a recipe for crackers (which work great frozen as teething biscuits) that cost far less than a box from the store.
Home Made Toddler Crackers-----Kid tested, mother approved!
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons shortening
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons molasses
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 cup whole wheat flour, less 2 tbs
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
1.) Cream together shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses, vanilla, egg yolk and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
2.) Roll out 1/4" thick and cut into 1"x1/2" strips.
3.) Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
4.) Store in airtight container for 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.
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