Joshua takes a container of cooked pinto beans along to work each day for his lunch (cheap, easy, and healthy) with some hot sauce drizzled on top for flavor. Yummy!

Well, some time back, we discovered chipotle hot sauce and it's SO good with beans. Since we eat so many beans, we can go through hot sauce pretty quick -- which is okay when it's affordably delicious Tapatio, but not so much when it's $3-4 bottles of chipotle hot sauce. ;)

So, Joshua did the logical thing: he bought chipotle hot sauce in bulk. His favorite is the Tabasco Chipotle, so he got a half-gallon of it on Amazon.com. (I was skeptical, but it arrived safely, WITH a free jar of Tabasco salsa!)

But buying in bulk wasn't enough of a money-saving move for Joshua; he started mixing half Chipotle sauce and half Tapatio for a delightful hot-and-smoky sauce flavor. We're still plowing through that big jug of sauce, but it IS going a lot further -- and we love the combined flavor!

Do any of you mix up your own hot sauce combos? Tell me about them! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Organizing recipes (Day By Day Masterpiece)
2. DIY dry-erase menu planner (The Local Cook)
3. How To Fill Muffin Cups {in pictures} (Simple Foody)
4. Freezing cheeses (Earthlings Handbook)
5.

Here's a tip for rinsing large items in the kitchen sink:

Hold the item over the sink, and use the sprayer hose (or a cup of water) to pour over the item gently, to avoid splashing water everywhere.

How do you use a sprayer hose without splashing?

Turn on the faucet so that only a little water is coming out. Then use the sprayer to get that water up where you need it, to rinse your large container or dish.

See that beautiful sunshine in my pictures? We've had 2 weeks of lovely spring weather! It's a challenge to get any housework done when the weather's nice. We tackle school first thing, and then just want to play outside... :) I've been intending to take pictures throughout the day for an updated "day in our life" type of post, but somehow always end up running in 10 different directions at once until we're out the door, headed to the park or somewhere quiet, leaving behind the work and anything electronic, including my camera. Perhaps I should assign a child to be the photographer some day. :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Organizing the fridge (Simple Foody)
2.
3.

I love shopping at second-hand stores. I have a running list of kitchen items that I watch for when I'm at a thrift store. A quick look for these various items helps keep my kitchen stocked!

#1... Spoons!

We have a second-hand mostly-matched set of silverware that was given to us when we got married, but as our family's grown, we started running out of spoons. (Kids use lots of spoons, I guess!)

Since I still try to run the dishwasher only once per day, I like to have at least a day's worth of silverware. I found a variety of spoons, medium-sized or smaller, for just 20 cents each. I like spoons that are shiny, with smooth edges; not too clunky, not too thick.

The bad part is that two of my new one-of-a-kind thrift store spoons are my favorite ones to use and I'm constantly picking through to find them for myself. Oh, the things I think about... :)

#2... Coffee and teaware

I recently found a Contigo water bottle in great shape for $2! I've also gotten a favorite mug, a neat travel coffee mug in purple, and a Bodum travel mug French press. One of the perks of living in this area is that so many people are crazy about coffee and I can find things like this at GoodWill!

#3... Corelle

Corelle is difficult to find, because it goes really fast. I take a quick look for Corelle in a white or beige color, especially bowls and small plates, and sometimes score a few pieces. Corelle is so nice to use, and stacks beautifully -- but can be pricey at retail stores!

#4... Beaters for my hand mixer

I found beaters to replace my broken ones and kept using my hand mixer. Now, I've broken another pair so new beaters are on my "watch list". I probably use it for things thicker than I should -- or else they weren't dishwasher safe after all. At any rate, a 69-cent pair of beaters from GoodWill has kept my mixer chugging along!

What do you like to watch for at thrift stores? What are the kitchen items that you keep a constant eye out for? :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Freezing/thawing raw milk (Simple Foody)
2. Crock pot baked potatoes (Simple Foody)
3. Fresh Salad for every meal (A Proverbs 31 Wife)
4. 3 tips for finding a good recipe (Joy in my Kitchen)

On the weekends, we usually sleep in just a little (okay, as much as the children will let us!) and then putter around, taking showers, goofing off, and making a nice big late breakfast. (Hungry children get bananas or kefir to hold them over until breakfast is ready!)

If we have leftover steak or roast on hand, Joshua really enjoys a good steak omelette for breakfast. I like to include lots of veggies, too!

An omelette with bits of steak, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, black olives and cheese is pretty hard to beat for husband-pleasing breakfast options. (Me? I'd take waffles over steak any time!)

Making the perfect omelette can be elusive.

We've tried using eggs with milk, eggs with sour cream, eggs with water. Now, we just use plain eggs.

We've tried cooking the eggs with a lid on the pan, letting the runny egg slip under the omelette to cook, wrapping a runny omelette and trying to "heat through", and flipping the eggs. Since we like our eggs not browned too much, I find it's easier to flip the eggs. No burning, no runny eggs inside.

But how to flip them? My trick is to:

use a big skillet or griddle

spread the eggs thinly

cook over a low temperature

and use a big/wide turner to gently flip the mostly-cooked eggs before quickly adding toppings and rolling or folding.

Still, if you've never made an omelette before, you'll probably need a couple tries to get used to how your pan and your stove work together. The omelettes that don't come out picture-perfect will still be delicious!

Our weekend menu plan:

Saturday

breakfast: Easy Baked Apple Oatmeal

lunch: Simple bean tacos

dinner: Grilled Copper River Salmon, brown rice, and cooked peas

Sunday

breakfast: Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, toast

lunch: grilled chicken breast, corn, green beans, dinner rolls

dinner: a salad of some sort

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Cute thrifty scouring powder shaker (Earthlings Handbook)
2. Summer beverages (Day By Day Masterpiece)
3. Ways to use celery (Purposely Frugal)
4. Reasons to pressure cook (Purposely Frugal)
5.

One of Joshua's co-workers told him that she warms corn tortillas directly on the electric element of her cooking stove!

While I'm pretty happy with my makeshift cast iron "grill" method involving 2 pans stacked, Joshua was excited to try this daring new idea. ;)

It actually works really well and is handy if you're just warming a couple corn tortillas! They get toasty, browned, and have a good flavor. We've been using medium heat, and each tortilla takes a minute or two.

Use a metal spatula to flip or remove the tortillas. The burner gets pretty hot!

Don't leave the tortilla unattended on the burner! I'm pretty sure it would catch on fire. :O

Have any of you ever cooked directly on the stove elements? My sister-in-law has a flat-top electric stove and cooks her flour tortillas right on the stove top. For some reason, I had never thought of cooking anything on my electric elements... :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Proofing bread dough without plastic wrap (Springs Bargains)
2. Using leftovers (Day by Day Masterpiece)
3. De-stemming Kale (SimpleFoody)
4. Getting the pantry ready for spring (The Local Cook)
5. Peeling hard-boiled eggs (Focused on Eternity)
6. Camping meal -- hobo stew (Purposely Frugal)

Since I generally do dishes just once a day, I often have a few pans from earlier in the day to wash after dinner. Here's a couple soaking tips for pans:

When you're finished using a pan, put the lid on it. This traps the moisture inside and keeps food from drying on the pan.

If you heat water for coffee or tea (am I the only old-fashioned one who still heats water on the stove for these?), use any extra (leftover) hot water to soak pans or skillets until it's time to wash them. Just pour the water in the pan and put the lid on -- even just half an inch in the pan with the lid on will "soak" your pan nicely! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Make the most of your oven use (Day By Day Masterpiece)
2. Tips for healthy grains/breads on a budget (Purposely Frugal)
3. Freezer meal tips (Trial and Error Home Ec)
4. Baking potatoes without foil (Simple Foody)
5. Pantry and stockpile organization (Cooking Up a Sale)
6. Measuring shortening (Meditations and Bread)
7. Keeping greens fresh (A Proverbs 31 Wife)

We always do homemade birthday cakes at our house. Growing up, we had homemade cakes and I learned how to make them at a young age. I love cake and frosting and it's so fun for me to get to make a special cake for the birthday person! I also like to be treated on my birthday. When Ruth was born, 12 days before my birthday, my mom made my favorite oatmeal spice cake for my birthday that year and brought it over. I like taking the day "off" when it's my birthday. ;)

Now that we have 5 kids of our own (!!), we get to do lots of birthday cakes every year. This week is our 11th wedding anniversary and Joshua and I just made our favorite two-layer chocolate cake for the special day! :)

Now, even though I make cakes, I am no expert. I don't do anything too fancy, and I've had my fair share of cake and frosting disasters. Here are a few things I've learned:

1. Make the cake a day ahead of time. This allows plenty of time for the cake to cool before frosting, and makes the special day much more relaxing when you don't have to get up early to start a cake, or rush around at the last minute getting it finished up! And of course for cheesecakes, they're really top notch at about 24 hours after coming out of the oven.

2. Make the frosting when you're ready to apply it. I have made frosting "ahead" and when I went to spread it, it was stiff and all the light fluffy airy bubbles "stirred down" and the frosting wasn't as good. For best results, I've found it's a good idea to put it on the cake as soon as it's made.

3. Find a good recipe and follow it. This is especially, especially important for the frosting part. Softened butter means softened butter, not half-melted butter or chopped up cold butter.

4. For a perfect frosting, use powdered sugar from the store (and a good recipe). I've tried making homemade powdered sugar for frosting, first in a regular blender (disaster!!) and then in our newly-purchased VitaMix blender. I really thought the powdered sugar from the VitaMix would be fine enough for frosting but still, it made a gritty frosting.

If any of you have made amazingly perfect frosting with homemade powdered sugar, tell me your secret! I can't stand even a hint of grittiness in my frostings...

5. For 2-layer cakes or cake rolls, line the pan(s) with parchment paper or waxed paper to make it easier to remove. I've been using parchment paper (purchased from Costco, of course!) and don't need to grease or flour it.

6. Make an easy 2-layer rectangular cake by using a half sheet pan (13"x18") and cutting the finished cake in half, stacking the halves. Since I don't have many (any) fancy cake pans, this method works great for me.

Any more cake tips? Share with me! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Make the most of your frying pan (The Local Cook)
2. Perfectly shaped drop biscuits (Feel Good About Dinner)
3. Using up eggs (Recipes Happen)
4. Peeling garlic quickly (Anne Jisca's Healthy Pursuits)
5.

My friend Kathryn brought over a pan of brownies recently, and I commented on how cute they were. "I'm usually doing good just to get brownies made, much less frosting for them too!" Kathryn's also a mom of 5 kids, so as it turns out, she had a secret tip for the "frosting" part.

When your brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle some chocolate chips on top and then put the pan back in the oven for a few minutes.

When the chocolate chips are hot and soft, take the brownies back out of the oven and spread the chocolate over the top.

Allow to cool before cutting. The chocolate topping keeps the brownies moist and soft, makes them look cute, and is easier than frosting! :)

I made fudgy black bean brownies for this past weekend (we had company both days). These were more fudgy and dense than in the past, and the only thing I can think that I did differently was using a stick blender instead of a regular blender. Maybe having more air beaten into the batter (from a tall, fast blender) makes them fluffier!

At any rate, they were chocolatey and delicious as always... and fancy-looking this time too. ;) The best kitchen tips come from friends and family! :D

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

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1. Using a Mason jar on a blender (Everyday Mom)
2.
3.

As I was preparing some broccoli and cauliflower for dinner, I realized how much more effective it is to SHAKE than it is to STIR when you're trying to coat something.

Whether it's oven-roasted root veggies, broccoli and cauliflower, or baked potato wedges -- shake in a sealed container or bag rather than stirring in a bowl. The oil and seasonings will get dispersed much more evenly. I find that shaking especially helps the oil to thinly coat everything without being doused and dripping with grease.

If you do have to stir, make sure you use a bowl that's plenty big so you can toss everything easily together.

Related:

Tips for using silicone baking mats (I love mine!)
6 Tips for perfect oven-roasted veggies

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link in a comment here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please! We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Fruit on the desk tip (The Local Cook)
2. Keeping mashed potatoes warm (Feel Good About Dinner)
3.

One of the questions people ask when they see (or hear) about my weight loss is:

"Are you on a certain type of diet? And what is it??!!"

No. I am not "on a diet".

From a health perspective (and considering that I was/am breastfeeding), slower weight loss is preferable. And I knew that with the amount of weight I wanted to lose, going at it 1 pound per week was going to take, well, what seemed like forever at the time. Ten months? Or longer? I could not imagine "dieting" for 10 months. (Remember, I really loooove food!!)

I knew that losing weight had to be done in a way that I could continue to do it, without giving up, for a long time. Preferably never, since I don't want to gain it back. ;)

So, I didn't cut out any foods or food groups altogether. Instead, I started counting calories to make sure I wasn't overeating (which I had been doing). I already knew what foods were good for me and what foods weren't so good. I'm a firm believer in variety and balance in eating. :)

I eat fewer potato wedges and more grilled fish at dinner. I stopped making most desserts except for special occasions -- which still ends up being 1-3 times per month. I love chocolate, but switched from lighter chocolates to dark chocolate only. Chai tea lattes are a treat/dessert, not a snack. Honestly, most desserts or junk food don't make it into my daily calorie allowance.

There is one "diet food" I've used: Greek yogurt. I probably won't continue to rely on it as a snack now that I don't need to lose weight; homemade yogurt is much cheaper.

Being aware of #1 What I am eating and #2 How many calories I am eating has been key to helping me make the right choices.

I also determined from the beginning that I was not going to "give up". I knew that in 10 months' time I'd feel discouraged and guilty and like a failure many times, but that if I were to succeed I would need to re-start as many times as necessary. I've "re-started" on probably every day of the week at some point. I think that having to "begin again" so many times actually has given me confidence. I know that one "bad day" won't ruin all my efforts. "Failure" is not when we mess up; failure is when we stop trying!

My Ergo gets lots of use! Currently, it's how I get housework done when Channah (age 1) is fussy. After Yehoshua snapped this picture, I put my hair in a bun and we went on a 40-minute cleaning spree... which counts as exercise in My Fitness Pal, of course. ;)

I should probably do a separate post about how I manage to work in exercise and what my favorite activities are... :)