Frugal living

Enough With The Comfort Food Already!

This has been a long, hard winter for all of us.  I am sick of the severe cold and all the shoveling and I’m sure most of you agree.

I lost my job, again, right before the holidays and my only sister soon after.  It looks like I will be losing my home by the end of this year unless I find another job soon and I have to say I have not had the time nor the inclination to look under the circumstances.

Being snowed in and being depressed does not make for a healthy person mentally or physically when you decide to self-medicate with food.  I do not drink or have any other vices and have found through the years what a great comfort food can really be.  One of my overweight friends once explained to me “You cannot eat and cry at the same time.”  I see what she is talking about now because for most of my life, I would lose my appetite if I was upset about anything.  Now I become ravenous!

I am still working out regularly, but not happy with the fact that I had managed to lose over 20lbs last year and have now found myself putting that weight right back on again.

I have tried to take walks on several occasions only to start slipping and sliding on the mess that has continued for the last two months in my area so about the only time I am out is when I have to get supplies.  I dig out if the snow is deep enough.  For a couple of inches of snow I just drive right over it all.  The unfortunate result of this is that snow becomes so compacted down that I am not able to shovel it at a later date because of the severely cold temperatures.

This comfort food actually comforts my stomach as well.

Po’ Girl’s Rice Pudding

Combine 2 cups cooked rice with 2 cups milk and 1/4 cup sugar.  Cook on medium-low heat stirring regularly for approximately 20 minutes until thickened.  Then add an additional 1/2 cup warm milk with one beaten egg (to temper egg), one teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder stirring continuously for an additional 10 minutes or so.  I slowly added a few spoonfuls of the cooked pudding to the 1/2 cup with the egg before adding this to the hot pudding to prevent the egg from curdling.

This makes a very delicious, but not super sweet rice pudding that I much prefer to store-bought.  Much better for your sugar levels.  The following video gives you an idea of how thick the pudding becomes when it is almost done.  Please stir enough to prevent scorching keeping your eye on the heat, adjusting as needed.

http://youtu.be/tZISpHkvSoM

Weekly Photo Challenge: Treasure

Po’ Girl’s Pudding Treasures!

Quick and delicious these cookies are hard to resist and just too easy to make!

pogirlspudtreasure

Mix all ingredients together dry to wet. Completely incorporate all and drop in teaspoon size balls, flatten and bake at 350 for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Use any flavor instant pudding of your choice.  You don’t really need the chips at all.  Makes a very tender and delicious cookie.

Chinese Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding.

 

Hearty Vegetarian Soup

With no sign of a thaw in sight
With no sign of a thaw in sight
craving comfort food that sticks to the ribs!
craving comfort food that sticks to the ribs!

hearty vegan soup
Place the onion, carrots, turnip, potato and squash in the pot of water that covers the vegetables at least a couple inches and bring to a boil, turning down to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients bringing back to a boil.  Turn heat to the lowest setting to simmer an additional 30 minutes or until the pasta gets soft which should only take an additional 15 minutes.  Don’t be afraid to experiment with the ingredients and seasoning to your taste but this soup was delicious!  The amount of the vegan bouillon or soup base depends on the amount of water you use and soup you end up with.  This soup did not need any thickening due to some of the vegetables breaking down and the small amount of tomato paste.

Please see the following slide gallery for dessert!

Po’ Girl’s Peanut Butter Cookies

 

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Glue Gun Art

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I was fooling around with a glue gun tracing the leaf transfers that I adhered on canvas with acrylic medium.  Canvas painted a very dark blue with the idea to manipulate pictures of leaves I had taken and scanned in the fall.

I thought about how the blowing leaves do not float down perfectly in the sky, but swirl and twirl all over the place before they land.  First using Microsoft PhotoDraw, Distort Effect Twirl and fine tuning or adjusting the setting or the amount of the twirl of the leaf I applied it to each leaf separately to create the desired effect.

I verified the size leaves needed for the canvas size of 16 x 20.  Wishing to show the effect of blowing leaves, but totally experimenting because I had not done these techniques before, I printed some of the leaves on regular printer paper, some on transfer paper and some on tracing paper just to see the finished look after fusing them to the canvas.  I carefully cut each leaf out and auditioned them around for a while until I was satisfied.  After the Liquitex Matte Medium dried thoroughly, I painted over each of the leaves with various shades of metallic harvest colors, enhancing the original color of the actual leaves.  The actual transfer paper had the most pronounced leaf veins show through the paint, followed by the ones I printed on high quality printer paper.  I actually preferred the effect that the tracing paper leaves had after painted.  The base is so thin that the canvas outline came through in spots giving it a more textured appearance, which I preferred.

Looked boring so I decided to jazz it up by outlining it with a glue gun, painting over the glue ridges with the same shades of metallic paint and once completely dried, used metallic rub in a lighter shade of gold over the leaves and some of the canvas leaving streaks, enhancing the idea of blowing wind.

It’s ok, still have a lot to learn, but practice makes perfect.  Please see the following slide show for more details.

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The next gallery shows a few shots from some other collages I’m working on including one created for Christmas to reflect all the freaking snow we keep having this year!

Deer silhouette with snowflakes, enhanced with glue and painted.
The lighter green is crushed eggshell for texture effect. Spotting effect was created by dropping alcohol 91% proof.
Leaf shapes enhanced with glue and paint
Leaf
Another leaf.
8×10 practice canvas board.
Glue gun enhanced wood frame, painted for altered photo of violas.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected

I have only made cinnamon rolls a couple of times in the last 40 years or so.  I stopped trying because the dough was never soft enough and they never turned out well at all even though I followed the recipes to the letter.

This may have been the problem.

After refusing to pay what Cinnabon charges for a sweet roll I decided to try one more time while changing up the basic recipe.  I was very pleasantly surprised to finally have made a batch of cinnamon rolls that were tender and delicious, an unexpected delight!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  Please do not over bake them or they will be on the dry side.  That is what happened with my next batch even though they still were tasty.

sweetrollrecipeSweetRollDough

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Sloppy Po’s for Dinner!

You’ve all heard of Sloppy Joes, now try Sloppy Po’s!

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SLOPPY PO’S RECIPE

  • 1 LB ground turkey  (Butterball Everyday good quality and price)                         1 Small minced onion         2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1/2 Cup turkey gravy                                                                                                       1/4 Cup cherry wine           1/4 Cup cranberry juice
  • Season to taste with salt and/or pepper

Simmer meat, onion & garlic til meat is well browned.  Add the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer approximately 15 additional minutes.  Serve on a bun of your choice and add a salad, fruit and/or vegetable for added nutrition.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Hue of You

The color of Autumn is my hue. So much of my decorating uses it.
The color of Autumn is my hue. So much of my decorating uses it.
You can see part of my door wreath behind the glass with the glue stains from the city warning me about the leaf bags I left in front of my house. Nazis!
You can see part of my door wreath behind the glass with the glue stains from the city warning me about the leaf bags I left in front of my house. Nazis!
Made arrangement with container from yard sale, silk flowers and branches from my yard.
Made arrangement with container from yard sale, silk flowers and branches from my yard.
Wacky clay pumpkin and scarecrow dangle from a hutch a friend of mine made.
Wacky clay pumpkin and scarecrow dangle from a hutch a friend of mine made.
Another view of hutch shows a pumpkin and part of my mixed media art using masks.
Another view of hutch shows a pumpkin and part of my mixed media art using masks.
Fall decor used throughout my home.
Fall decor used throughout my home.
Decorated a cheap glass plate with leaf transfers and silk leaves. The background is yellow tissue paper.
Decorated a cheap glass plate with leaf transfers and silk leaves. The background is yellow tissue paper.
I love to hang garlands of leaves.
I love to hang garlands of leaves.
Beaded pumpkin for my dresser.
Beaded pumpkin for my dresser.
I purchased the two end pictures to go with the cross I painted years ago. Makes a nice set.
I purchased the two end pictures to go with the cross I painted years ago. Makes a nice set.
Getting ready to bead using harvest colors and natural stones.
Getting ready to bead using harvest colors and natural stones.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Good Morning!

I have been obsessively starting my days for the last few years with coffee.  I had quit all caffeine except that which was found in chocolate for many years because I didn’t need it.  I had always loved a good cup of coffee and when my son moved back home for a short time, he got me drinking it again.

Created my own coffee T-shirt a few months ago by transferring one of my coffee photos with the simple message “Coffee.” I printed the word coffee in Vladimir script in reverse so I could go over it with a transfer pen and iron on. I then went over the lettering with fabric markers.

GoodMorningCoffeeShirt 009

Clipping Coupons is Not Healthy

 

Extreme couponing is a hyped fad that couldn’t last since people have to have real food to live on.  Typical coupons are for 30 cents off two packages of refrigerated rolls which don’t come close to homemade in taste and ingredients.  It also does not save you money when you compare the prepared food to cost of the ingredients for homemade most of the time.  Most of us don’t need the additional carbs in our diets from rolls anyway.

Weigh the pros and cons of joining any price club or warehouse.  Most cost you an annual $50. fee and offer large sizes of high-end items.  You will save much more just shopping the sales in your local markets.  Part of the large quantities may end up wasted if you cannot store in properly or use it up fast enough.  It does not save money if the product goes bad before you can use it all.  Most of the food offered is frozen or processed as well.  The best idea is to get together with friends or family and chip in for one family membership that you can go in on so you can divide the food as needed.  It has the mental health perk to commune with others while shopping, as long as your relationships are not dysfunctional.  Some people prefer to shop alone.

sconessoftedge

Adventures in Edging My Lawn!

Cool down means catching up on all the garden chores I have neglected.

2013JulyGardenMuffin 005I live on a residential street that just happens to be the major thoroughfare off three main streets and leads to 2 large strip malls due to the design of this subdivision .  Lucky me!  I moved here from a completely different area and had I known this, I would have never have taken the house.  With the three-way stop being directly in front of my home, the carbon monoxide never quits and the neighborhood is very near some large factories.  I also did not know that there was a website www.moving.com/real-estate/compare-cities/index.asp.  Gives you air quality information and this city is not much better than Los Angeles California.

We have just had large areas of the street replaced in which the cement had to be cut by saw for the expansion joints.  It was never washed over so the cement dust flies every time the vehicles drive by.  I was hoping my dust mask will protect my lungs since I used to suffer from chronic bronchitis and asthma years ago until I began avoiding the triggers and protecting my lungs from dust and smoke. 

The lawn service decided to come and spray next door so I came inside til they were done.  Don’t like the fact of overspray on a windy day, but as someone who is completely against chemicals, I find the idea of what they do offensive.  I believe that tolerance has it’s place but if more people don’t wake up fast, we will pass the point of no return.  Too little, too late cannot save the planet that will be taking us with it when it goes.  If you have children or grandchildren or care about what happens to life as we used to know it please see what you can do to be part of the solution.

More to come.  Also not able to add but two tags because of WordPress problems.