Any stay at home mom would tell you, stress in inevitable. Anyone
who owns their own business would tell you the same thing. Low and behold, I
happen to fall under all accounts, and since I come naturally with a slightly
shorter fuse then most, my snappy responses tend to flourish. Not to mention I
come form a long lineage of smartasses. It seems to compound the closer we get
to the end of the month when the bills are coming in and the cupboards starts
to look- well- inventive, all on top of the normal household and business
chores.
$275.00
That is the food budget for our household each month. For a
family of five it is a challenge each and every month to stay in that range. Following
a trend of fellow young mothers, I have become an avid couponer and watch the
weekly ads vigorously. But the things that really ad up each month, like
produce, dairy, and meats generally do not come in the Sunday SmartSource. Growing
up I came from a family that has a majority of it’s income from a “cowboy” way
of life, so steak and lobster were never on the menu. This lifestyle for me is
not unmanageable, but the foodie in me gets very tempted by the beautiful cuts
of wild salmon and the bags of organic fresh basil.
So here we are, once again at the end of the month and there
aren’t a lot of very inspirational items in my cupboard that lean towards that
fabulous meal you want to remember next week. The Food budget was gone 3 days
ago, the dogs peed on the carpet, you just added up the bills for the month and
your over your usually budget by three hundred bucks….
Woohoo….
The release of stress for some is a long hard workout, for
other a tub of ice cream while vegging on the couch. Maybe for you it’s a long
soak in a bath with the radio drowning out the sound of your kids in the other
room. All of those sounds pretty tempting, but for me it’s a recipe, made from
scratch and completely uninterrupted. So the end of the month, with only the
basic ingredients, I needed a mommy time out, giving me the inspiration today
to go gung-ho! Here is what I made:
Home Made Pasta
Serves 6-8
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
10 oz. flour
In your kitchen aid add eggs and salt first and then flour. Mix
until dough comes together and is well blended. With lots of extra flour, knead
dough by hand for 10 minutes.
At this point I used my pasta rollers, which if you have a
kitchen aid, and like to cook, I highly recommend getting them. They make a
great gift idea for those times when someone asked you what you want for Christmas/
birthday and you have absolutely no idea what you want. I for one got them for
my birthday7 years ago. Pasta can be extremely finicky. If you over work the
dough, it can be tough. If underworked it can become mushy and not hold
together. It truly takes years to master but the pasta rollers really help, and
with a little time in the kitchen you can get a feel for what you are looking
for.
After feeding it through the pasta roller enough times to
get to the thickness wanted, I then laid out the pasta and cut it into long
lasagna style noodles. Then lay them out on your cookie wire racks to dry out. The
longest I would suggest is several hours before putting in an air tight
container for later use (3-5 days) or you can freeze in an airtight container
for use in later weeks. I used mine
later in the evening to make lasagna from scratch.
Home Made French Bread
5 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 Bobs red Mill Gluten Flour
2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active
dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir
in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a
dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining
flour as you can.
On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make
stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total.
Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let
rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a
lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half
into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with
water and seal. Taper ends.
Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place
loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg
white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let
rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about
1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190
degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an
additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover
loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool
on a wire rack.
Home Made Marinara/ Spaghetti sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic minced
½ of a medium onion, diced small
3-14.5 oz. cans fire roasted tomatoes, juice included
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Additional water
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot over med. heat. Once
heated, add the peppers, garlic and onion and sauté until softened and
aromatic. Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cover and let cook for 2
hours over medium low heat. Taste sauce and add desired seasoning. Cook an
additional 2 hours uncovered on low heat. If the sauce reduces too much, add a small amount
of water until desired thickness, tasting along the way to make sure you are
not deluding the flavors.
Home Made Lasagna
1 large cottage cheese carton (small curd, whole milk)
3 eggs
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage, cooked
1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. parmesan cheese, grated
Homemade pasta
Homemade marinara
In a large bowl, mix
the cottage cheese, eggs and basil until well blended. Add salt and pepper to
taste and set aside, meanwhile cook your ground beef or sausage and begin to
boil a large pot of salted water for your pasta. Drain meet from drippings and
set aside. Once water is boiling, add fresh pasta to water and cook for 2-5
minutes, just bringing the noodles to a desired texture- al dente. Remove from
water and place in a ice cold water bath to shock them. Remove once cool enough
to touch, and lay on tea towels until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 375°. Using
a 9x13” pan spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom. Place one layer of
noodles side by side, even ripping to fit if necessary. Add a layer of the
cottage cheese mixture, followed by meat, more marinara and shredded
mozzarella. Continue this pattern until coming to the last layer; once placing
the pasta, top with marinara, mozzarella and 1/3 c. grated parmesan. Place in
oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before
serving.
There is no better feeling, then putting your heart soul and
time into a homemade recipe, that took literally all day to cook, and finding
your families plates completely clean. Then to top it all off your husband
turns to you and says “honey, this is the best lasagna I have ever tasted”
Now if that isn’t a stress reducer, I don’t’ know what is
