Favorite Recipes Binder, Part 2

This is Part 2 of how I updated my favorite recipes binder after I started eating more vegan meals than meat/dairy meals.

These are my new categories.  Before, they were chicken, beef, pork, etc.  Now, they are beans, rice, salads, wraps, veggies, etc.

Yes, there is one category for meats, as I do prep and freeze hamburger patties, fajita chicken, etc. for my husband.  Still, it’s only one category, instead of 8 or so like it was before.

 

When I did my favorite recipes binder before, I hand-wrote the recipes.  This time, I typed them, which went much faster.  It also makes it easy to e-mail or print a copy for a friend.

 

For each category, I listed the category name and any recipes underneath.

 

 

This shows the Bread category.  There’s a divider, a colored title page, and the recipes in the sheet protectors.

 

Here is the updated favorite recipes binder!

Read Full Post »

Yummy Taco Soup (vegan)

These are the ingredients for making vegan taco soup, based on a recipe from Family Feasts for $75 a Week.

• corn
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 2 cans of chili style beans
• onion soup mix
• taco seasoning mix
• onion
• veggie broth

1.  Cook the onion.

2.  Add everything else and cook for 45 minutes.

That’s it!  This recipe freezes beautifully.

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Favorite Recipes Binder, Part 1

I have 2 binders.  One has a smorgasbord of recipes.  They’re on sticky notes, note paper, printed recipes, etc.  It’s not organized at all.  It’s where loose paper recipes go, whether I’ve tried them or not.

I have another binder with divided sections for favorite recipes.  These include recipes from cookbooks and the anything goes binder.  The difference is these are my frequently-used recipes.

After going vegan for a month, I now find myself eating meat only once a day, if at all.  I needed to redo the binder of my favorite recipes, because the categories were chicken, beef, roasts, seafood, etc.

I pulled out all of the recipes in the favorites binder and decided to start fresh, including only the recipes I’ve been doing frequently in the last several weeks.

This is the smorgasbord binder with recipes in no particular order.

These were the only three categories I kept from the original favorite recipes binder.

I have 10 dividers in the binder.  Each section has a couple of sheet protectors for recipes.  The sheet protectors help keep the recipes from getting wet, covered in chocolate, etc.

I had colored paper available for listing the recipes in each section.

Here was my initial list of recipes I would include in the updated favorites binder.  I created categories to match.  The recipes were modified versions of recipes I made before I started eating more vegan meals, along with new recipes I’ve picked up in the last several weeks.

Check back in a few days for Part 2!

Read Full Post »

You know you’ve been married for 9 years when…

…you text each other the exact same message at the same time…word for word.

Read Full Post »

Preparing the Garden for Freezes

Last year, we bought special plant covers for freezes.  Almost everything died.  I called the company and they weren’t very sypathetic.

This year, we decided to use bed sheets, because last year, we covered a few things with bath towels, and they did great.

I went to a resale shop and purchased full sized sheets (they didn’t have anything larger).  I got 3 flat sheets, 1 fitted sheet, and 2 pillow cases, as there was one complete set and 2 separate sheets.  I washed them and hung them out to dry.

From the home and garden store, as instructed in the Square Foot Gardening book, I purchased 2 PVC pipes, 10 feet long, 1/2 inch in diameter.  They had two types.  I purchased the ones that bent the easiest.  I put the ends in opposite corners of my garden box, thus forming a frame that I can drape a sheet over when it freezes.  I also used string to tie the two PVC pipes together at the top.

My other garden boxes have either tomato frames or wire cages, so they didn’t need PVC pipe frames.

Read Full Post »

Making a Coupon Binder

Want to make a coupon binder to organize all of your coupons?

I’ve put all 3 posts on one page!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Read Full Post »

9 Years Ago…

Read Full Post »

Menu Planning – November

I’ve changed my menu since I’ve been eating more vegan meals.

My new theme nights are:

• pasta
• soup
• beans
• potatoes
• pizza
• rice

The above menu shows 2 weeks of dinners.  Lunches are usually leftovers.  Some days, my husband and I eat the same thing.  He’ll just pull some meat out of the freezer to add to the dish.  On other days, he does one thing and I do another.

I try to make a monthly menu (or at least 2 weeks worth) and then go shopping for everything.  That way, I only need to pick up fresh items (or snack that we’ve already finished off) each week.

Read Full Post »

Garden Pics – November 13

The above garden box has various types of lettuce and broccoli.  It also has a potato plant and some marigolds.

In this box, you can see the beginnings of spinach, collard greens, kale, swiss chard, etc.  This box also has tomatoes, multiplying onions, basil, rosemary, and strawberries.

Here’s the other side of the previously-mentioned box.  The tomato plant on the right is producing many cherry tomatoes, whereas the early bird tomato plant on the left has not grown very much yet.

This picture shows all four garden boxes, as well as the lone oregano pot.  The oregano was moved to solitary after it took over a box.  On the left, with the PVC pipe, I have potatoes, carrots, and leeks.  In the box on the right, I have onions and some greens.

Read Full Post »

Panda Express at Home

I recently had chicken and mushrooms at Panda Express.  I wanted to make the vegan version at home, so I checked around online, found some recipes, and modified them a bit.  Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

• minced garlic
• ginger
• soy sauce
• balsamic vinegar
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• EVOO

 

Cook the mushrooms and zucchini in oil.

 

Add the other ingredients and stir until browned.

Read Full Post »

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

Thanks to Family Feasts for $75 a Week, by Mary Ostyn, I have a great recipe for homemade taco seasoning.  Instead of buying a packet that’s loaded with preservatives and sodium, I was able to make several packets worth at home.

I put everything in the jar.

I shook the jar to combine everything.

I made a label that included the measurement for 1 packet.

Read Full Post »

Making a T-Shirt Quilt

I recently had someone ask about making a t-shirt quilt.  I decided to put all the links to my t-shirt quilt posts in one entry:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

 

Read Full Post »