Food - Humorous Homemaking

Lip-Smacking Good Cabbage Recipes!

Guest post by Julie of Domestic Contessa

If your only experience with cabbage is canned, overly salty sauerkraut or stale, bags of cole slaw mix… I can completely understand why you may not believe me that cabbage recipes could be lip-smacking good. But cabbage is affordable, nutritious – and yes, even delicious!

It’s incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed raw, sautéed, grilled, roasted, braised, steamed, or boiled.
Cabbage is available pretty much everywhere – and for really low prices! And since it’s in season during the fall and winter months, it is even cheaper than usual right now.
Cabbage has a long shelf life – it will keep for 2+ weeks in the fridge! Once you cut it though, it’s best to use within 4 days (before the vitamins start to break down).
Speaking of vitamins, green cabbage is very high in Vitamin K, Vitamin C and Potassium (one serving has 75% of your daily value!) and red/purple cabbage is also very high in Vitamin A.
Cabbage is the perfect low-carb food: one cup has less then 4 grams of carbohydrates and almost 2 grams of fiber. It would be a great addition to any healthy (or even Paleo) diet.

[Read more…]

20 Crock Pot Pumpkin Real Food Recipes

There’s something about turning leaves and crisp mornings that makes a feller want to make something pumpkin. Or maybe it’s just the fact that everyone else is doing it and it’s all over Pinterest so we get the subliminal message of:

THOU SHALL MAKE PUMPKIN FOODS

What is it with pumpkin anyway? Restaurants are all over it – ranging from Pumpkin Lattes to Pumpkin Milkshakes to Pumpkin Pancakes.

In just yet another area of life, I feel like a rebel. Because can I confess something? I’m just “okay” with pumpkin. I don’t scream and jump up and down when Pumpkin Spice coffee is back in the store. I can eat pumpkin any time of year, but I’m not cuckoo over it. [Read more…]

10 Portable Meals On-the-Go to Save Time and Money

In the Spring of 2014 we officially became a soccer family. And you know what time spring soccer games for 9 year old girls happen? If you guessed dinnertime, you are right! As a mom, and a frugal mom at that, I quickly realized that if we were going to avoid the Taco Bell Drive-Thru, I was going to have to think ahead and get some portable meals going.

Seriously, it adds up going through the drive-thru. Don’t deceive yourself thinking that you are buying something from the dollar menu. Each and every dollar adds up. You get in debt dollar by dollar, and you also get out of debt dollar by dollar. You can go buy a pack of tortillas, and a can of beans for a couple of dollars. And even though you can buy these foods pre-made, if you use these convenience foods to make burritos, it is WAY cheaper than buying a bean burrito at a fast food restaurant. You could make about 10 burritos for the cost it takes you to buy 2 or 3 in the drive-thru. [Read more…]

How to Make Real Food Work for YOU (without losing your mind)

You know what can make you lose your mind? I’ll tell you, just in case you didn’t know.

Trying to homeschool a 6 year old while also occupying a 3 year old and a 12 month old…while also trying to maintain a clean house…while also working from home…while also trying to cook everything from scratch.

Yep. That might do it. It’s totally a guess though.

I’ve been on the road to real food now for 5+ years. And even knowing the right things to do, I still detour and end up lost and having to ask directions at a gas station. [Read more…]

The 13 Best Muffin Recipes of all Time

Let’s be honest here. Muffins are just a way to get more butter into our bodies. We can’t just sit around eating spoonfuls of butter without looking like lunatics. But, smear that butter on a muffin? Totally acceptable!

I love a GOOD muffin. I make muffins at least once a week for breakfast and sometimes more often so that I can offer them as snacks to the kids. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that they top my baking list and show up often. I like to use Trina Holden’s hashtag #buttervehicle as much as humanly possible.

Notice my emphasis on GOOD. Nasty muffins are just…nasty. Not even worth the butter you might waste on them. Boycott nasty muffins! [Read more…]

20 Frugal Real-Food Chicken Dinner Recipes

Post by Contributing Author, Jessica Smartt from Smartter Each Day

Do you like chicken but don’t want to break the bank? Read on for some yummy AND FRUGAL real-food chicken dinner recipes!

Y’all, there are some things I don’t mind spending money on. Every five years, I have an absolute breakdown and go spend some major birthday money on clothes that fit the body I actually have at that point. Also, date nights…Even if our budget gets very tight, we will scrimp and save to spend time together – eating, most likely. Because date nights together are that important.

But I will tell you something I do NOT like to splurge on.

It’s chicken, y’all. Whenever I see meals calling for prosciutto, and two and a half large chicken breasts PER PERSON, stuffed with some rare French cheese and umpteen fresh herbs…I click that ol’ browser shut as fast as I can. I’m sure it’s delicious, but I cannot afford to serve every member of my family three pounds of chicken in one sitting! No way. [Read more…]

An Apple A Day, For Dinner! {Crock Pot Chicken with Apples and Bacon}

Post by Contributing Author, Julie of Domestic Contessa

Apple season is here! When apples are in season, not only can you find the juiciest, most crisp and delicious apples, but they’re available for really low prices. And I think we all know what that means… Apple Cobbler, Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, Homemade Applesauce, Apple Cookies. And as if all the sweet recipes popping up on blogs, Pinterest, and cooking magazine covers aren’t tempting enough, I’m here to share a few more ways you can enjoy an apple a day… for dinner!

In my house, we eat apples for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and snacks in between! And while I love an apple pie as much anyone, I would much rather prepare savory apple recipes. So today, I’m sharing with you some of my favorite ways to enjoy apples for dinner, including a super easy and delicious recipe for the Crockpot: Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Apples & Bacon. [Read more…]

Easy Fruit Cobbler {dairy-free/egg-free option}

I wanted to pop on here and share a quick recipe post with you guys. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know our lives the past three weeks have been CRAY-CRAY (yes, I said that) with VBS and swimming lessons.

Something you should know about Hermit Introverts (#hermitintrovert) is that when they have to leave home every day, it makes them feel loopy and unable to form intelligent sentences. My standard answer these days to any question is, “Uhhhhhhhhhhhh?”

So, I could write a funny post but I don’t have any witty discourse or jokes to tell today. Even my kids are starting to look at me like I’ve gone bananas. Can I get a witness?

I need approximately 4 weeks at home to recuperate. [Read more…]

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for One

We have this problem with cake around our house. It’s not a problem eating it. Or enjoying it. The problem is, if there is cake in this house, my children cannot focus on anything else. Anything else. It’s like their brain becomes taken over by the cake alien and all they can think about is CAKE!

“Mama, is that cake still there?” “Mama, what’s for breakfast? Cake?” “Did Daddy eat the rest of the cake?”

Hey kids! Time to go outside and play in the sprinkler! “Okay, Mama! But when we’re done, can we have cake?”

“Mom…if I do all my chores today, can I have cake?” [Read more…]

The Complete Guide to Mock Sourdough Bread

This post has been brewing in my head for about two years – and it’s finally here. I’ve hinted around and told you a few times it was coming…better late than never? The early bird gets the worm? Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today? All I can say is…it was my kids’ fault! :-p

I’ve been making this bread for 10+ years. It’s SO popular with my family and friends and everyone asks for the recipe once they have it one time. Some of you have asked for a post and some of you have asked for a video. Sooooo, I decided to do both. This post will be an exhaustive look (I’m exhausted already) at the recipe and the video will walk you through the steps…we’ve put it into three parts (well, Barry did because he’s the genius behind the scenes) so that you can watch them all together or little by little if you’re like me and taking a 2 year old to the potty every 15 minutes. [Read more…]