$5 for 7 meals worth of spaghetti sauce!

The weather is finally warming up a bit!

That means a couple of things to me: gardening, barbequing, more greens in meals, summer sewing and planning for Fall knitwear.

First off gardening

I’m starting lots of different lettuces, tomatoes(big,medium, small, pink, red, yellow, slicers and paste), basil for pesto and 2 more types, mini bell peppers, cilantro and probably more. My celery, kale, carrots, leeks, onions, chives and parsley survived the winter so that’s good.

Second

Barbequing! We got propane today so I’m planning on making grass-fed beef hamburgers with sweet potato and green bean fries.

Third

See above about gardening. I’m planning on having TONS of greens this summer!

Fourth

I’m working on a prom dress for a friend and then I want to whip out a pair of shorts, capris, a skirt and a top for me. This should be interesting since I’ve never made pants or shorts besides PJ’s.

Fifth

This will be a surprise and it will be awesome! Want to be the first to hear what I’m up to? Join the newsletter.

 

Oh and by the way I got a giant, I really do mean huge(108 ounce) can of S&W crushed tomatoes in rich puree from Costco for about $3 + $1 worth of organic onions + less than $.50 of spices and sugar = the equivalent of over 7 jars of spaghetti sauce for less than $5!

All I did was dumped the can of tomatoes into my largest crockpot, added 2 diced onions and turned it on high for 3 hours. Then I added 4 tablespoons of minced garlic, 5 tablespoons of dried basil and how ever much was left of my dried oregano(what can I say, I’m sooo scientific about the process. If you need more directions come over here) Around 2 hours later I added about 2 tablespoons of sugar to cut the acidity.

I froze the sauce in 2 cup blocks, after they were frozen solid I popped them in ziplock bags for quick meals.

For the most part I’ll brown veggies or meat in olive oil, add the thawed sauce and heat to a simmer. Sometimes I’ve added cream cheese to the sauce as well.

{Make your own pizza}

I love pizza. I love that you add whatever veggies you want and then cover it in cheese. Mmm, cheese I love that it’s a cheap meal when you make it yourself even if you add a salad and ice cream for dessert. I love that my mom for many years made us pizza for parties and everyday dinners. Thanks mom again for instilling in me a desire for healthy and cost effective cooking, I love you!

The above unbaked pizza was made with all of the non-optional ingredients listed. I also used the seasoned olive oil that the olives came in for brushing the crust with.

{Basic Dough Recipe}

A tender, fairly light and flavorful dough that tastes delicious despite being mostly comprised of  whole grains. I use organic hard white whole wheat flour(unifine) from Azure Farms. You may have to sub more white flour if you use a coarser whole wheat flour.

This makes a ton of dough! At least enough for 6 medium pizzas. Also a good dough for cinnamon rolls and loaf bread.  You can freeze grapefruit sized portions wrapped in plastic wrap for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

2 Tablespoons of raw sugar
1/2 cup of warm water
2 Tablespoons of yeast

2/3 cup of olive oil
2/3 cup of honey
2 Tablespoons of sea salt
3 cups of hot, not boiling water
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups white flour
6-8 cups of hard whole wheat flour

1. Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a bowl that holds at least 4 cups. Let yeast proof for 5-10 mins, if it gets too bubbly stir it down.
2. Add the olive oil, honey, salt and hot water to your stand mixer. Using a dough hook mix for about 2 minutes, add the oatmeal, white flour and 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Mix until the flour is moistened.
3. Add the proofed yeast and enough whole wheat flour until the dough is barely sticky. Mix on a low speed for 6-8 minutes until smooth.
4. Lightly grease top of dough with olive oil, cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Punch dough down and let rise again for 30 minutes.

{Delicious and healthy pizza}

Consider making 2 or more pizzas at a time and freezing the leftover slices. Choose your toppings wisely as you don’t want to overload your pizza. Spinach and kale cook down so much they are barely noticeable in taste but the nutrition is there. Substitute your favorite veggies or sprinkle some herbs on the crust.

Grapefruit-sized piece of basic dough

2/3 cup of pasta sauce(turkey is optional)

1/6 of an onion, thinly sliced

1 cup of organic fresh spinach or kale

1 1/2 – 2 cups of shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese

1/2 Roma tomato, diced

1/4 green bell pepper, diced

2 mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 olives, chopped

1/2 cup of cooked chicken, optional

Cornmeal or whole wheat flour, for the pan

Pizza stone or cookie tray

Olive oil for brushing, optional

Garlic powder or dried basil for sprinkling, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius)
2. Place 2 Tablespoons of cornmeal on pizza stone. Spread dough until it’s roughly half what you want the finished thickness to be. Brush olive oil 1-2″ from edge.
3. Spread sauce over dough, add onions, then kale, cheese and remaining toppings.
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes until cheese is melted, pizza crust is lightly browned and is no longer doughy.

Each pizza serves 2.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Nearly Wordless Wednesday! Yesterday I made some red velvet cupcakes that turned out delicious and today I whipped up my favorite cream cheese frosting to top them. I followed this recipe for the cupcakes over at AllRecipes.com For the frosting I blended 8 ounces of cream cheese, 4 ounces of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla and a couple tablespoons of milk together until everything is nice and creamy. I added enough powder sugar until it was frosting consistency. It was yummy and I hope you are hungry now.

{Happy Baking}

This week’s dinner menu

These are this week’s dinner ideas, let’s see if I actually follow it!

• Homemade quick gnocchi with slow cooker pasta sauce and peas, organic green salad.{Sunday night}
• Teriyaki chicken kabobs w/ organic bell pepper, onion and pineapple. Veggies sushi rolls.
• Lentil rice casserole in tortillas with cheese, Greek yogurt, salsa and lettuce.
• Spaghetti & turkey meatballs in slow cooker pasta sauce, green beans
• Clam chowder, home baked bread and organic green salad.
• Honey mustard chicken, brown rice & broccoli.
• Turkey meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes and green beans.

Lazy Lace Bandana

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well.

Introducing Lazy Lace Bandana, a cowl that has the look of a shawl wrapped around your neck but it won’t slide off! It’s a quick(about 4 hours to make) 1 skein knit pattern that looks great tucked under a coat in winter or with an open cardigan in the spring.

You can go with a more elegant look with a smooth solid color or zany and fun with a handdyed singles.

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Available for purchase through Ravelry.com & Paypal.com(you don’t need an account for either, just a credit card for Paypal)

$5    

12 in 12: I’m late

Here’s my “January”. A lightweight floral poly/nylon shell with a wide banded bottom, banded neck and banded armhole opening completely made on my Grandma’s Ruth gorgeous BabyLock serger (Thanks again for letting me borrow it!).

{Me trying to look cute while taking my own photo}

I drafted this shell loosely following a Simplicity cardigan back, cut a 6″ band for the bottom, 5″ band for the neck and 2.5″ bands for the armholes against the grain. I thought it was a 2-way stretch(ha!) but it worked out since it added more stability. This will be great in the summer with it’s loose fit and bright, lightweight fabric.

 

{My attempt to show the whole tank without looking like I have belly full of lunch, fail}

I only paid $2 for this top. Yay for clearance bin at JoAnn’s! I was there buying fabric for a friend’s baby shower which I will do a post on soon.

Goal: 12 garments in 12 Months

I thought I’d share some of this years sewing goals.

Sew 12 garments for me!

I want to fill in my wardrobe with clothes that fit well.

I love shopping. Online shopping. Fabric shopping. Online fabric shopping. So I scored some incredible deals shopping at fabric.com This is pretty ambitious especially since I’m a month behind

All stash fabric are listed in between the “~” symbols.

1. 3/4 sleeve tunic length top  ~black & white checkered rayon knit~
2. Short sleeve top ~shiny gray, red & silver diagonal stripe poly knit~
3. Tank top with Side Ties ~turquoise posh poly knit with diagonal stripes~
4. Cocktail dress ~green rayon-blend knit with gold metallic threads or pink taffeta with black lace overlay~
5. Summer wrap dress ~pink & orange hibiscus print poly/lycra~
6. Cowl necked sweater dress ~purple 3×1 rib knit poly~
7. Paper bag skirt or this skirt
   
8. Pleated & full party skirt ~pink taffeta or satin I can’t remember~
9. Tweed skirt or sweater cardigan ~purple 3×1 rib knit poly for the sweater~
10. Everyday skirt with pockets
11. Swimsuit ~neon green and black swim fabric~
12. Lightweight coat ~black rib for edging~

I also want to sew

• Mesh produce bags
• Headbands
• Scarves
• A purse
• Armwarmers
• Baby shower gifts(I already made a little kimono top)

What are your sewing goals for 2012?