A look back at 2011

I love taking pictures and scrapbooking them but lately I haven't had much time to get out a lot of non-baby stuff and scrapbook .  So instead, I have made a 'Family Yearbook' for the last few years.  Every few months or so, shutterfly will have a code for a free photobook and you only pay the shipping cost.

A couple of days ago I made a yearbook for 2011 and realized that so much has changed since the beginning of last year.  Olivia was a little baby still wearing diapers; Alle wasn't even a thought yet; Clint was working a different job;  I was working a job; We were attending a different church; Olivia was still in day care; She had just started Gymnastics; Cousin Asher was just one month old.... So many changes in the 20 months or so.  Olivia stopped looking so much like a baby and more like the little girl she is now a month or two after her birthday... which is when I found out I was pregnant with Alle.  Even though I have loved my family and cherished our time during 2011, it is hard to imagine my life now without little Alle bug added to it.  I am so thankful for our blessings, hardships, provisions, and additions to our family from God.

Click here to view this photo book larger

By the way... If there are any mistakes in the photo book, please don't tell me.  I have already ordered the book!

Chocolate Chip cookie mix

I have been making my own mixes!  Brownie mix, cookie mix, muffin mix, baking mix, pancake and waffle mix.  I cut the recipes in half because I want to try them first to see if I like them before having to use them for months.  

Two days ago I made and cooked some fake Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mixes.  There are also recipes for other Betty Crocker cookie mixes in this post on a website called Fake-it-frugal.  They also have recipes for Betty Crocker brownies and fake Clorox clean up.  

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix:

1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix together and store in a quart size ziplock bag.  Write instructions on the bag to add:  1 Stick Softened Butter, 1 Large Egg, 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract.  Mix & Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

These were very tasty.  They did turn out a little thin though.  I'm not sure if it is because I didn't measure my flour and sugar properly, or because I used some butter and some margarine from two different things and added too much, or because I had the cookie sheet on the stove while the oven was warming and the cookies started melting before they started cooking.  Either way they were still scrumptious but not thick!  

What I do is bake what we want for that day with a few extra and then I freeze the rest of the dough.  I put cookie size balls of the dough onto some freezer paper on an extra cookie sheet and put it in the freezer.  When they freeze I put them in a baggie and just right the correct temperature and time for baking.  Then I can just take out how many I want for the next time I want some cookies.

I made an extra of the cookie mix and some brownie mixes, muffin mix, and some pancake and waffle mix.  I put them all in baggies and wrote on the bag what they are and how much I need to use and what I need to add for when I use the mix.  I put the pancake/waffle mix in an old formula container wrapped in paper.

I put my mixes standing in a tupperware container with my other muffin mixes in my pantry.  When I use my other mixes I will post on how they turned out as well.  I like making cookies and such from scratch and this makes it easier to do so without making as big of a mess because now all I have to do is add the wet ingredients!

Making some bug food

I made my own baby food yesterday... well not for me but for our little Alle bug!  She has been eating baby food for about 6 to 8 weeks now but I wanted to her to eat the store bought at first because the consistency tends to be smoother than when I make it.  But now that she is almost seven months old she can handle some texture in her foods if I don't make it as smooth.

Some of the baby foods that she has been eating are things such as bananas, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.  So I went to Packer Produce to get some veggies for us (it is a great farmers market!) and they have a a 1/2 off table in the back.  On the table was a butternut squash with a tinny brown spot on the end.  I paid about $1.50 for it and brought it home to cook it up for Alle bug.

First I peeled it with a vegetable peeler and sliced it long ways and then in about one inch cubes.  There are several different ways you can cook a butternut squash but I choose to put the pieces on the stove to steam.

I let them cook for about 10 minutes until they were soft with a fork.  Then I put them in my food processor. I had to add a little bit of the liquid from my steamer pot to get them to puree properly but you don't want them to be too runny if you are going to freeze them.  I used my ice cube trays and spooned my squash into them.

I was able to fill two ice cube trays!  I put them into our deep freezer and when they were solid I popped them out and but them into a freezer bag with a description and the date.

I have already used three servings and still have a full bag in the freezer.  To thaw you can either put it in the refrigerator for few hours, leave some in a container on the counter for about an hour, or add a small amount of water and microwave if you need to use it immediately (you will have to be careful of hot spots and let it cool before serving).  Once thawed you can adjust the consistency by adding water or adding some baby oatmeal or rice cereal to thicken.

A jar of stage 2 baby food is about $.89 depending on what brand you buy.  I made the entire baggie of squash in about 20 minutes and $1.50.  I think the savings are definitely worth it and I will continue to make this and other kinds of baby food as well.

I hope this encourages someone else to do this too.  Even if you only have time once or twice a month to make and freeze one batch, you will still be saving money and feel good about doing it yourself to feed your baby some healthy foods!

And by the way... She loved it!