Frugal Black Bean Rice Soup

It's a gorgeous cool Spring day here -- probably one of our last cool days -- and a good day for planting more seeds in the vegetable garden and for soup. I want to plant black beans in my garden again this year -- they are so easy to grow, and they dry and store so beautifully - so I got out my container of black beans from last year's garden to put some to soak overnight and plant tomorrow. Since I had the beans out, I decided to make Blackbean Soup and Cornbread for dinner. I rarely use a recipe for soup, and, since this is still cooking away in my crockpot as I write this, have no idea how this is going to taste! However, I make great soups (really!) and have confidence this will come out OK!

BLACK BEAN SOUP

2 cups of dried black beans 1 ham hock 1 cup chopped onions 2 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped carrots 1/2 # ground beef 1/2 pkt of Good Seasons Garlic & Herb Dressing mix (dry mix) 2 cups tomato sauce 1 tbsp oregano 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 cup long grain rice 1 cup diced ham 1 tsp hot sauce I put the beans in a pot of cold water (about 4-5 cups) and let it sit for 5 minutes, then picked off anything that floated (these are home-grown, so you do get little bits of leaves, stems, hulls, etc.). I rinsed and put them in clean cold water with about 1/2 tsp baking soda (supposed to reduce the gassy-effects of beans!) and brought them to a boil, boiled them for 5 minutes, turned off the heat, covered and let sit for 2 hours. (Meanwhile I pulled out another 1 cup of beans, placed them in a bowl with some water to soak to plant in the garden later this afternoon so I have another year's worth of beans!) I pulled out my small crockpot (it's deeper than my 6 qt crockpot and better for soup), and put in the chopped onions, celery and carrots, ham hock (bought fresh at the local Farmer's Market), 4 cups of water, and 2 cups of tomato sauce (from my garden tomatoes last year). Because I had a half-pound of uncooked ground beef in the fridge that needed to be used up, I tossed that in too. (Yeah, I do that.) I also had a 1/2 packet of Garlic & Herb salad dressing mix leftover from making Herbed French Fries** last week, and threw that in the pot. I added oregano, worst. sauce, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Because it's 11:00 when I'm doing this, I put the crockpot on high. If I'd planned ahead better, this would have been in the crockpot by 8am, and I'd have set it on low. As soon as the beans are done with their 2 hour soak, I will add them in. About 2:00 this afternoon, I'll add in the rice. At about 5:00, I'll take the ham hock out, let it cool, and dice up the meat. I'll also add in the additional diced ham* and hot sauce. Sometime this afternoon I'll taste the cooking broth, and if it's not flavorful enough, I'll add in two or three beef bouillion cubes to up the taste a bit. I'm hoping this will turn out like a nice thick beans and rice soup, with savory chunks of ham throughout. I plan on serving it with homemade corn bread. A nice hearty meal for a cool Spring day! *I want to mention the diced ham. In New England, we call this "boiled ham" and in Ohio, they call it "cooked ham". You find it at your deli counter, usually for at least $2-$3 a pound less than other lunchmeats. I ask the deli person for ONE 1/4 to 1/2 inch slice. I take this home and cube it up, and place 1 cup servings in small freezer bags. I use this ham for additions to macaroni & cheese, omelettes and scrambled eggs, breakfast burritos, and soups and bean dishes! I usually get 4 meals out of one slice (under $2) of this ham! It's not a fatty or salty ham, but does have a nice mild ham flavor. A good way to put meat in your frugal budget! ** Here's a GREAT low fat recipe for homemade French Fries. I took two large Idaho potatoes and sliced them lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips (skin on). I put them in a ziploc bag with 1 TEASPOON Canola Oil, and tossed them well until they were thoroughly covered with the oil. Then I added 1/2 packet of Good Seasons Garlic and Herb Salad Dressing Mix, tossed it all again. I Pam-sprayed a cookie sheet, set the oven on 400, and spread the potatoes on the cookie sheet, put them in the oven for 15 minutes, turned the potatoes over and put back in the oven until nice and brown - about 10-15 more minutes. These were delicious and far lower in fat than "regular" French Fries.

Organizing My Brain Day

I've had several different unrelated items on my mind that I've wanted to blog about, so it's time to just lay it all out for you - for what it's worth. MOVIE REVIEW - Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Jeff and I decided to go to the movies yesterday, since school was in session and it was a weekday afternoon -- it was like having the movie theatre to ourselves (I counted 8 people in the movie when we arrived). I'm not a big Indiana Jones buff nor a big adventure movie fan, but it was a movie I knew we would enjoy (I'm not going to get Jeff to go to a chic flic or a light comedy). Neither of us had read any reviews of the movie, nor knew what the storyline was going to be before we went in, and for some reason we both expected Harrison Ford to make a minimal appearance just to introduce the newest "Indiana Jones Jr". We were pleasantly surprised that Ford was the main character throughout the movie. However, I do think it was apparent Harrison Ford AND Steven Spielberg had both aged and perhaps were past their "peak". The first 30 minutes of Ford's acting was horrible -- he said lines like he was reading them off a cue card for the first time. I don't generally notice these things, but this was SO obvious it hurt to watch it. And Spielberg didn't fare much better, in my opinion. There were some serious editting flaws in the movie. For example, immediately after a scene where comatose-like Oz is sitting in the tent with Henry Jr and Karen Allen, in the next scene in front of the tent, you can see in the tent and see Oz adjusting his costume. This is followed by a scene of Allen and Henry Jr helping Oz stand up and walk out of the tent, followed by a scene of a soldier ordering Allen and Henry Jr (now sitting down in the tent again) to stand up and take Oz out. Bizarre that these kind of flaws get through on a big budget Spielberg film. Despite the flaws, we both enjoyed the movie. The plot was easy enough to follow (though honestly, a bit bizarre and not as Indiana-Jones-ish as I'd have liked), Cate Blanchett did a stunning job of acting, and there was enough humor to give you a break from the non-stop action sequences at the last third of the movie. Scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 7.5. BOOK REVIEW - BRIGHT SHINY MORNING by James Frey

It's no secret that I'm a long-time James Frey fan. Before he was O-famous, he and I emailed several times, and I'm privileged to have an autographed copy of A Million Little Pieces. I was excited when I learned he was coming out with a new novel, and pre-ordered it months ahead on Amazon.com.

I knew I wasn't going to read another Little Pieces story, but having read the editor's description of the book before ordering, I wasn't sure what I was going to read. And now I know that the editor probably had a hard time describing this book because it is so unique that it almost defies description. Just like A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard, Bright Shiny Morning pulls you into its pages and won't let you go even after you've read every word. Frey does an excellent job in building characters you truly feel like you know, though you also come to understand you probably wouldn't even glance at them if you walked by them on the street, with the exception of the world famous actor. He tells many stories in this book - and though the characters of each story aren't connected, he manages to connect them through his ability to make you care about each individual. He uses the history of Los Angeles almost like "rest areas" between these stories -- he bounces back and forth between scenarios and characters and just when you can't wait to learn what happens next, he throws in new characters in smaller vignettes that have nothing to do with what you've already read, but just gives you more and more to savor and contemplate. Now I understand why his publishing house had such a difficult time describing this book. It sounds SO complicated and fractured, but trust me, it's not. It is a totally unique piece of fiction and another Frey masterpiece. It is probably unlike anything you've ever read before, and certainly unlike any of the ho-hum out-of-new-ideas-but-still-a-bestselling-author titles currently on the bestseller list. This book is currently #52 on Amazon's list, but it's definitely #1 on mine. Buy this book. I believe you'll probably still be able to buy a 1st Edition, 1st printing copy. Read it. Savor it. Then put it away. At some point in time James Frey is going to gain the acceptance and recognition from the literary world that he so deserves, and you're going to have a collector's item on your hands. Trust me on this one. The O-crap may have made him temporarily famous, but his unique writing style and storytelling are going to make him a Pulitzer Prize winner at some point. It's just a matter of time. PRODUCT REVIEWS - Products I'm loving at the moment:

DiGiorno's Faccaccia bread pizza & DiGiorno's Garlic bread pizza -When I have Brayden for my two days of babysitting, I like to have something fast and easy to cook when he leaves at 5:30. Once a week, we have one of these pizzas. I've never liked frozen pizza, until now!

Mr. Clean magic eraser - If you own white sneakers that aren't so white anymore, these Magic Erasers are truly miracle erasers! They work on SO many surfaces and even get magic marker off laminate. Worth every penny, but get a coupon here.

Scrubbing Bubble Automatic Shower Cleaner - I'm not big on new-fangled gadgets, but had a coupon and a sale that enabled me to buy two of these for $5.00 each. Normally, I clean my bathroom tiles once a month , but no more tile cleaning for me! These push-button cleaners actually WORK and keep the tiles clean all the time. Initially, the sprayer didn't quite reach the back wall of my bathtub/shower area, but they've since come out with a dual-sprayer that works much better. (I actually complained about the back wall cleaning, and got two coupons for FREE shower cleaners, so upgraded to the new dual cleaner.)

There, my brain is unloaded and I can go about my day free of bloggie things to write about... until the next one comes along!

How I Spent my Husband's Vacation, by....

Jeff has been home from work since last Wednesday (going back to work this Wednesday), and oh my, have we been busy. Every garden but one small strip on the side of the house is done done done. Weeded, mulched, planted, moved, split, tilled... it's done done done.

We spent today finishing up the vegetable garden, after spending several hours in there yesterday pulling weeds and raking. I planted 12 tomato plants, 6 green peppers, 2 eggplants, two rows of cucumbers and two rows of green beans. I still need to get some zucchini plants or seeds, and I'd like to find some spaghetti squash seeds as well. I took this photo at about half way through the planting. You're looking at about one-half of the garden.

Sadly, I discovered my raspberry bushes have pretty much died out. Entirely my fault for not pruning them back and weeding last fall. The grape vine (upper left hand corner, runs along the top of the fence) is doing really well and already has tiny grapes on it. The "walkway" you see is recycled wooden decking we put down several years ago. When it rains here the Ohio clay soil turns to cement and you can't walk through it. This way I can get in to the garden even if it's wet.

I have had this peony bush for at least 6 years and it's never bloomed -- until this year. And my oh my, these flowers were worth waiting for! They are spectacular! The outer leaves are the palest of pinks, but the inner leaves are a striking bright yellow, then the very center is pink again. And oh my, the scent is just heavenly. I picked several and brought them in the house (after de-ant'ing them) and you can smell them through out the downstairs. The bush is really laden with blossoms as it's never been before. I'm sure it's our cool, rainy Spring we've had.

We had a large "circle" area in the back yard where a huge cottonwood used to stand. Jeff brought stones up from the creek and levelled the area by making a little stone wall. We moved the bird feeders and birdbath out here, and I planted the small lilac tree and day lillies. I also divided some of my herbs out of the vegetable garden and brought them out here -- oregano, rosemary and chives. I want to move some of my lavender out here as well. I planted flowers around the bottom of the birdbath, since this is an area we can view when we're sitting on our back deck. I do have one more Shepherd's hook and birdfeeder to put up. I'd like to put some windchimes out here as well!

On Saturday, Jeff took Brayden to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. I found a photo of the last time they went (November, 2007) and asked Jeff to take a photo of Brayden in the same place. Just look at how much this child has grown in six months! From rolly-polly baby to a little boy...awwww...

I love his shirt. It says "'No' means ask Grandma"! And how about those sunglasses?! LOL

Jeff said Brayden almost never rode in the stroller. The Wright-Patternson Air Force Base Museum is HUGE and includes a lot of walking outside to view planes and vehicles. Jeff is a World War II buff, and Brayden is an Umpa buff, so it's a good day for both. After all that walking, Brayden was asleep in his car seat before Jeff could drive out of the museum's parking lot. He slept all the way home (about 45 minutes), then Jeff carried him into the house and he slept in Jeff's recliner. I finally had to wake him up at 6:00 PM so he'd sleep that night! Brayden spent the night with us -- first time in awhile -- and didn't get to sleep until around 11pm, and slept until 8:30 am Sunday morning.

Tomorrow we're headed to the Cincinnati Art Museum to see the quilt display there, then out to eat and spend some time down on the Ohio River. We both need a good day of relaxing after a week of gardening, weeding, planting, and grandparenting!

The Colorado Tornado hits too close to home

Please keep my son, JJ and his wife, Lisa in your thoughts and prayers. They live in Windsor, Colorado - which was hit by a tornado early this afternoon, and most of the town was devastated. Thank God, JJ was on a business trip in Wyoming, and Lisa was at work out of Windsor, but we are still waiting to hear how their home and belongings survived. Lisa was trying to make it home, but having difficulty with power lines and trees down everywhere. We're mapping the path of the tornado from what we can gather from live helicopter video on the web, and if their house is still standing, or at least not severely damaged, it will be a miracle. Just hold them near your hearts and thoughts for a bit, please. I'll update when I hear anything. UPDATE: We've heard from JJ and miracles do happen. There was quite a lot of damage in their neighborhood (if you've seen the national news, the childcare facility they keep showing is just two streets from JJ and Lisa's house), but their home is OK. Some roof damage and a broken glass sliding door, obviously no electricity. Lisa is staying with a friend tonight, and JJ will be returning from his trip late tomorrow. Their Home Owner's Association will be taking care of repairs, so it's all good. From the news we've seen and reports we're reading, they are very very lucky and the tornado was very very close. It was way too close for this Mom -- but I'm thankful they are OK, and will keep the rest of the town in my thoughts and prayers.

My frugal trip to Walgreens

Well, I took the dive for the whole Walgreens coupons/rebates thing, and I'm pleased with the results. As I've said before, I don't do "freebies" for things I don't use -- that just seems wasteful to me. I have frequently taken advantage of Walgreens' "free after rebate" products for items we normally buy at full price, but always forget to use my Walgreens' gift card.

Today, armed with coupons from the Walgreens' flyer, manufacturer's coupons and my rebate book, I came home with the following "free" items. Before sale and coupons, total price for the items is $48.91. I used $19.95 in coupons and paid for the rest with my rebate money on the Walgreens gift card. I will add $5.93 back on my gift card for rebates on what I purchased today.

Tomorrow Walgreens has a one-day only $5 off $20 purchase (get the coupon here!). I will be using it to buy $10 ConAgra foods (for which I have several manufacturer's coupons) that offer a $5 rebate, plus I'll purchase a blender (which I decided last week I wanted to buy so we can start making low-cal fruit smoothies this summer) for $12.99 with $3 rebate. That will load another $8.80 (for a total of $14.73) on my gift card for next month's deals.

I will say one of the best things you can do when trying this (which is actually a lot of work and requires some real good organization), is to get the Walgreens rebate book at the first of the month, then hit the Internet for the coupons for items you already purchase. For example, I didn't have a Windex coupon, so I did a google search for "Windex Coupon" and came up with a $1 off coupon to print out. It worked for several items!

If you want more information on how this works, check out MoneySavingMom's detailed explanation.