Too many cooks

If you've seen my kitchen you can imagine what it's like when a family of 6 all crowd in at the same time. Literally standing room only. My kitchen is the worse thing about our house. It is essentially a hallway from the living room to the family room. Sometimes it seems like a closet. When the dishes are stacked up and the counter tops are cluttered I start to feel claustrophobic. However, I don't mind having one person in the kitchen to help make dinner, and we are used to the tiny space.

We have been learning a new form of "too many cooks" lately. Tom and I are on a diet. The kids get one meal, and we get another. Or Tom is eating when I'm not and vise versa. This morning I'd had it. Tomato juice still on the counter top from Tom's lunch, two spices still sitting there (not having been returned to the drawer), and no salt to be found. Argh! It's bad enough that the dishes play musical chairs according to which person did them last, but do I have to search for the spices I need every time I'm making a meal...which right now is about 5 billion times a day?

I'd had it. I told Tom that if he is going to cook he MUST put things back where they go at the very least. Salt belongs in the kitchen, not on the dining room table (at least until I find another salt shaker!) I mean, it's one thing to clean up after him once a month when he decides to cook dinner for the family. It's another thing right now to clean up after 4 people who are cooking at various times of the day.

Can't wait until the diet is over and I can cook one meal at a time again.

Here's a couple of my new favorite recipes:

Lemonade

1 cup water

2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

10 drops lemon drop stevia

10 drops vanilla stevia

ice

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

1 cup frozen strawberries (mostly thawed)

2 - 4 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed if possible

1 cup ice

10 drops lemon drop stevia

10 drops vanilla stevia

Yummy!

The good news is...

I had Tom take a photo when I reached my second 10% goal. That means I have lost 10% of my body weight twice. I wanted a photo of me sitting so I could compare it to when I weighed a similar amount on the way up the scale. I've had several people tell me I'm smaller now than I was then. What do you think?

Then at 185 pounds ----- Now at 181.2 pounds

If you think my tummy is smaller now you'd be right. It is actually smaller than when I weighed 160 pounds 20 years ago. WooHoo! I'm on my way now. Total lost so far: 45.8

For my actual progress photos, look to the right! There's quite a change!

Fake Eggs

Ever start making something and then find you don't have enough eggs? Here's a solution.

No, you can't fry them up and eat them, but they work great in baked items. Cookies do turn out a bit crispier than usual, but I've used them in waffle batter with no problem.

1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 Tbsp oil

makes one egg

Happy cooking!

More Magic Mix

Funeral Potatoes

2 lb frozen, cubed hashbrowns, partially thawed
Double batch of white sauce from previous post
1 c. sour cream
2 ½ c shredded cheddar cheese
¼ t pepper
1 t salt
½ lb cubed ham (optional)

Mix all ingredients minus 1 c shredded cheese in greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Smooth out until level. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.


Macaroni and Cheese

1 c. white sauce from Magic Mix (2/3 c mix plus 1 c water and 1 t bouillon)
1 c. uncooked macaroni
4 oz grated cheese (about 1 cup…American cheese melts best)
½ t salt or garlic powder (1/4 t of each if using both)

Cook macaroni in boiling water until tender. Drain. Combine macaroni, white sauce, cheese and seasoning. Heat. Serves 4.

Oh, I remember

I've been playing with the recipes since the food storage meeting we had on Jan. 30. Here's what I've done...

Magic Mix

4 c. instant dry milk or 2 1/3 c. non-instant dry milk
1 c. flour or ½ c. cornstarch
1 c. butter or ½ c. canola oil

Combine dry milk, flour and butter into a large bowl and mix until it looks like cornmeal. Keep mix tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Makes 5 c. Magic Mix

White Sauce

1 c Magic Mix
1 1/3 c water
Add: 1 ½ tsp chicken or beef bouillon for cream of chicken or beef soup.

In saucepan combine Magic mix and water. Stir rapidly over medium heat until thick. Makes 1 1/3 c or equal one can of cream soup

Chicken Divan

2 c magic mix
2 2/3 c water
1 T chicken bouillon
Salt to taste
1 c sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1 ½ c grated cheddar cheese
1-2 pounds chicken breast, boiled and diced
2-3 heads fresh broccoli, steamed

Layer chicken chunks in baking dish. Layer steamed broccoli over chicken. Follow directions for white sauce with magic mix, water and chicken bouillon. Add remaining ingredients and warm until smooth. Pour over broccoli and chicken. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve over rotini noodles. Makes one 9 x 13 baking dish.

Beef Stroganoff

2 c magic mix
2 2/3 c water
1 T beef bouillon
½ c sour cream
1 t garlic
1 t onion powder
Salt to taste
1 can beef chunks

Follow directions for white sauce with magic mix, water and chicken bouillon. Add remaining ingredients. Serve over rice or noodles.

Just a note to remember. These last two recipes are large enough to feed my family of 2 adults and 3 teenagers.