Homemade Belgian Waffles

A couple of weeks ago, I took the time to make up some homemade waffles to have in my freezer and to give to my parents so that they had something different for breakfast other than cold cereal.

I noticed this morning that stash that I have in my freezer is just about gone!  I am going to need to think about adding to it in the next week or so. I love having things like these in the freezer because it makes for an easy quick breakfast for my kids.

Here is the original recipe:
Money Saving Mom's Favorite Whole-Wheat Waffles

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

This recipe makes 6-8 waffles. Crystal made comments about using water for some of the milk and also using fruit puree for half of the oil needed for the recipe. So I decided to tweak the recipe based on her comments along with making a triple batch.

Here is my tweaked triple batch recipe: 

2 cups white flour
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP baking powder
6 eggs
3 cups 2% milk
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp. vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour batter onto lightly-oiled waffle iron and bake until done.  The triple batch makes 18 whole waffles.

To freeze, Let them cool completely and then stick 5-6 in each freezer bag.  I usually separate the waffles into the four sections so it easier for my kids to grab just 1/2 a waffle to heat up.

To thaw, just pull them straight out of the freezer and heat in the microwave, in the oven or in the toaster.  My kids put them in the toaster(on the 3 or 4 setting) and then in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

This post is linked to: 

• Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Motherhood Is Not For Wimps!

A few years ago as I was putting together a Mother's Day card for my Mom, I came across this website called Above Rubies.  I was just awestruck at the encouragement that they have for those of us who are called to be wives, homemakers, and mothers.  As I was reading through the articles, poems, and stories on the website I came across this poem that Nancy Campbell, the founder of Above Rubies wrote and shared on the website.  I am so glad that I took the time to copy and paste it into my documents because they have revamped the website and I can't find it on there any more.

We mothers are not alone in this journey of motherhood!  We have God on our side who is helping us in this journey of training the next generation for His kingdom.

MOTHERHOOD IS NOT FOR WIMPS!
By: Nancy Campbell

There are those who would spurn the vocation of mothers
And say it's inferior to the career of others,
I'll have to admit that it's not easy work,
It's relentless and from it you cannot shirk.

It takes all your energy to be a mother and wife,
It requires daily commitment and a disciplined life,
It demands all your resources of patience and love,
Long-suffering and wisdom from God above.

It takes self-control and continual endurance,
It needs constant and faithful perseverance,
It is total sacrifice and forgetting your self,
You may sometimes think you are left on the shelf!

And what about time?
It's no longer yours,
It belongs to everyone else who comes in your doors.

Can you claim your own rights?
No, they're gone too,
Like your right to sleep the whole night through!
It's not so easy to crawl into bed with a book
Or go off and dream in some quiet little nook.

It seems like you're totally losing your life
To be a good mother and a godly wife.

But oh, dear mother, please do not despair,
In God's great vision you have a share,
You are fulfilling your destiny planned before creation
Which is to nurture children and BUILD A NATION!

You are walking in the footsteps of Jesus your Lord
Who lived a life of sacrifice out-poured,
He didn't cling to His rights with selfish futility,
He didn't claim any privileges but walked in humility.

He gave up His own life to save millions of others,
This same principle is at work in the lives of mothers,
When you lose your own life you'll find it again,
Glorious life - His life - even in toil and pain.

So lift up your head, embrace your calling so high,
You're in God's perfect will so you don't have to sigh.
You may sometimes feel worthless - don't listen to this lie,
For your influence will go higher than the clouds in the sky!

As you nurture and train your God-given seed,
As you sharpen these 'arrows' by word and by deed,
You shape the nation, you determine its course,
Your mothering is not wasted, but is a mighty force!

As your children leave home and go into the world
The stamp of your training will be unfurled,
Your influence will reach countries you've never been
And down the generations its extent will be seen.
Your work is so powerful, no wonder it's tough,
But God is behind you, He's the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH,
His strength and wisdom are available to you,
He'll stand behind His promises which are totally true.

He'll always be with you right through to the end
As you follow His leading and deny the world's trend,
Each morning you wake, your strength He'll renew.
He'll fill your home with His presence and His blessed peace too.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

**I originally posted  this in August, 2007

Weekly Shopping Trip---Savings $31.01

I am really enjoying this shopping habit/routine that I am making for myself. Payday week is a big shopping trip which usually means at least three grocery stores and spend several hours getting it completed. Non-payday week is just a basic food staples run with maybe a couple of deals that I just can't pass up.  It basically averages out to every other week is a big shopping trip as hubby gets paid twice each month. The advantage to this routine is that I am not getting burned out doing the grocery shopping. I can get my shopping trip prepared now in about a half hour or less depending on the week and I can get my shopping done in 3 hours on big weeks and under an hour on staples run.  I also am finding with this routine that I am spending less because I am not buying extra convenience items. Last year there came a point where I was just worn out and didn't have the motivation to do any shopping so I did it half heartedly and found that I was actually spending more because I was caving to convenience.

With my new routine, I am spending on average about $24 per day to keep my household going, that is food for meals & snacks, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, and paper products.  I would love to get back to the $20 per day that I was doing before I was burned out with shopping, however, I will take baby steps to get there rather than big steps so as not to upset the family too much.

This week was a non-payday week so I did a basic food staples run and spent less than $60 for everything.  I hopefully will be able to make it until next Friday(payday) before doing any more shopping.

Here is the breakdown of my purchases this week:

Meijer: 

• 45 ct Meijer brand Zyrtec $17.97(my allergies are awful!)
• 1/2 gallon buttermilk $2.39
• 4 cans Old Orchard juice $4.00
• 1 Degree deodorant $1.47
• 2 Right Guard deodorant $2.00
• 4 gallons milk $7.52
• 6 tubes cinnamon rolls $5.00
• 3 tubes crescent rolls $2.65

Total OOP(with 6% sales tax for non-food): $44.44

Total Savings: $21.80

Total without sales & coupons: $66.24

Family Fare: 

• 2 heads lettuce $1.76
• 1 box Honeycomb cereal $1.77
• 2 boxes Raisin Bran $2.54
• 4.12 lbs ground chuck $8.20

Total OOP: $14.27

Total Savings: $9.21

Total without sales & coupons: $23.48

Grand Total OOP: $58.68

Grand Total Savings: $31.01

Grand Total without sales & coupons: $89.72

This post is linked to: 

• Coupon Super Savers at Coupon Saving Game!
• Savers Bungelow at Saving a Bundle!
• Week-Ending Finales at The Frugal Free Loader!
  
• Super Savings Saturday at MoneySavingMom!
• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Homeschooling FREEBIES: Bible Studies, Homemaking, & HS Resources

I came across this site called  Hippo Campus.  HippoCampus is a project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE). Its goal is provide FREE high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects to high school and college students.  The covered subjects are: Algebra(in English & Spanish), US Government and History, Biology, Calculus(in English & Spanish), Environmental Science, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Religion.  The project has given you a choice in that they have correlated with several different textbooks that they have put the text and multimedia online or you can take an online course.

Do you have a daughter that is in the third grade or above? Are you looking for guidance to help teach the basics in homemaking? The Future Christian Homemaker's Handbook can help you!  I found that the author has made the lessons available online for free! The FCH Handbook contains 12 chapters of cooking lessons with both teacher and student pages. These lessons include related skills such as setting the table, manners, writing a menu, and planning nutritious meals. The homemaking section includes lessons on doing the laundry and cleaning the house. Web resources are listed where you can find free basic sewing projects for children. Devotionals are included to provide sound Biblical instruction.  While this handbook is geared to use with girls, I am using it to teach some basic things to my boys as well as my daughter.

The last freebie for today is bible studies that you can download for free!  I love listening to Kay Arthur. On her ministry's website are some downloadable Bible study guides with free registration.  She has the current  Bible study available along with past Bible studies.  After looking through a few of them, I see great potential in using them with my high schooler for his Bible class.

Menu Plan Monday 5/2-5/8

Last week’s menus were delicious! I stuck with simple, family favorite meals.  I really need to work at finding new meal combinations or new recipes to try because the same old meals are getting old!  The weather keeps “yo-yoing”!  We have several days of summer weather with no rain and then we have several days with below average temperatures and rain with wind. Just when I feel like doing lots of grilling and lighter meals, the weather makes think of a big bowl of soup with homemade bread!

Last week’s grocery shopping was a big shopping trip. Hopefully I calculated things correctly so I will just have to a staples run (milk, produce) these next couple of weeks before payday.  We are still working at paying down some unexpected debt.  We went from getting new windows to having both of our vehicles at the mechanic’s shop for several different items. We went from having no issues with anything to having a “mudslide” happen and trying to prioritize everything that is a occurring has been interesting to say the least.

Hopefully at the end of the week, I will be able to get some long overdue baking done.  The weather is be at a “cool stage” so instead of running the furnace I’ll just run the oven! J Each week, I have been working at keeping some kind of sweet item and bread item available for my crew to have during the week. It would be nice to get a big stash of items done so that I don’t have to work a time in each week to bake something.

This week’s meals are more of my simple, family favorite meals.  Things are going to be busy around our house this week as it appears that each evening there is something going on!  Monday, hubby has bible study; Tuesday, I have bible study and hubby is having friends over to watch the Red Wings/Sharks game; Wednesday and Thursday night, hubby has first aid certification class and then Friday and Saturday look clear at the moment but that could change as the week progresses.

This week’s lunches that are listed below are for the kids and me! Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or carrot sticks along with fruit juice or water.  Hubby usually takes a dinner leftover along with various snacks for his work lunch so I don’t take the time to really plan his lunches. I just take the next container of leftovers in the stack in the fridge that I have prepared ahead of time.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 300 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie's site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists!

Sunday (5-2)

Breakfast: eggs, hash browns, sausage or steak and chocolate donuts

Lunch: pizza

Dinner:  McDonald’s (after church)

Snack: snack basket

Monday (5-3)

Breakfast: cereal and donuts

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  chicken rice casserole and homemade rolls

Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (5-4)

Breakfast:  waffles and sausage

Lunch: lunchables

Dinner:  grilled chicken, seasoned pan fries, and green beans

Snack: popcorn and bbq smokies for munchies during the game

Wednesday (5-5)

Breakfast:  bagels and cereal

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: chicken club sandwiches, French fries and carrot sticks

Snack: snack basket

Thursday (5-6)

Breakfast: French Toast and sausage

Lunch: pizza

Dinner:  roasted chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and corn

Snack: snack basket                                                       

Friday (5-7)

Breakfast: cereal and toaster strudel

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: chili, rice and homemade corn muffins

Snack: ice cream

Saturday (5-8)

Breakfast:  Your Choice

Lunch: ????

Dinner: Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits

Snack: popcorn or snack basket