Fruit & Nut Baked Oatmeal

Jun 27, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: recipes

1 3/4 cup milk

2 T butter

1 cup regular oatmeal

1/3 cup snipped dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup golden raisins

5 T brown sugar

1/2 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

milk (optional)

1.) In a medium saucepan bring the 1 3/4 cups of milk and the butter to boiling. Slowly stir in oatmeal, apricots, cherries, raisins, 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the vanilla, and salt. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour into a lightly greased 1 1/2-quart casserole.

2.) Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and the nuts. Bake about 5 minutes more until bubbly. Cool slightly. If desired, serve the warm oatmeal with additional milk.

*I have used dried cranberries, regular raisins, and dried pineapple.

Lentil- Walnut Burgers

Jun 27, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    No Comments    Posted under: recipes

3/4 cup toasted walnuts, cooled

1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

coarse salt and ground pepper

3/4 cup lentils, cooked *(below), drained, and cooled

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large egg

* Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce for serving (optional)

1.) In a food processor, combine walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; process until finely ground. Add lentils and 1 tablesppon oil; pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should remain whole).

2.) In a large bowl, whisk egg. Add lentil mixture; mix well. Divide into 4 equal-sized parts; roll into balls, and flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

3.) Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning gently with a thin-edged spatula, 8-10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve with Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce, if desired.

Yogurt- Cilantro Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

* to cook lentils, place them in a small saucepan, and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.

** I didn’t make the sauce but served them on hamburger buns with alfalfa sprouts, tomato and onion with mayo and mustard.

*** I got this from the Martha Stewart magazine, Everyday Food

My 5th Week of My Grocery Challenge

Jun 26, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, recipes

Ways I’ve made my money stretch this week:

1. I’ve sprouted, lentils, broccoli sprouts, and alfalfa spouts to add to salads and sandwiches (instead of lettuce)- thanks again to my friend Dana for sending me these!
2. I’m using up all the little guest soaps, and the hotel samples I’ve collected and others have given me.
3. I’m adding sand (from an old construction project) to the back yard patch of dirt, preparing it for a winter garden of carrots, beets, potatoes and lettuce. I’m hunting for the seeds. So far they are not in the stores. I’m also pouring boiling water down an ant hill, several times a day to rid the garden of them.
4. our snacks include popped corn & iced tea
5. we’re having more people over for coffee and muffins or a light supper instead of the main meal.
6. I’m planting as many “pots” as I can of vegetables. I’ll take these to the village with us July 7th.
7. We’re eating one or 2 meatless meals of week. We really liked the lentil/walnut burgers with sprouts, tomato and onion.
8. instead of using the “premix” bread mix I buy for 1.29 as directed, (it’s for bread machines- I don’t have one) I added some more yeast and flour and was able to get two BIG loaves out of it. It’s very nice bread with lots of sunflower seeds.

Starting balance for this week: 9,55€

What I bought:

1.34- vegetable oil

.90- lettuce

2.55- olive oil

.55-hot dogs with cheese

.41-napkins

.69- milk

.95- coffee

1.69- toilet paper

.79- lettuce

.28- 1 cucumber

.25- 1 apple

.25- 1 orange

_____________

10.65-total spent I went 1,10 euros in the hole… grrrr…

* this week was a bit of an “extra challenge” because I ran out of vegetable oil, and olive oil.

** I got the hot dogs for the little girl that is coming tonight with her parents. That is just about all that child eats. The adults are having the last of the lamb chops in the freezer on the barbecue.

*** we are still using meat we have in the freezer. We have approx. 1 lb of hamburger, 4 pk of pork chops and/or loin chops, sandwich meats, like sliced ham, pastrami and turkey ( not very much).

I am having a FUN TIME challenging MYSELF to use up what we already have, while saving some money too.

My menu for this week:

Thursday 26 June-Cheese, bread, olives, salami, lamb chops (last of the lamb in the freezer), pasta salad, green salad

Friday 27 June-Curried carrot soup (reinvented from last weeks cream of carrot), pork picatta (left over from the guest that didn’t show up Monday), stuffing, green beans

Saturday 28 June-Potato cheese soup, Stromboli, salad

Sunday 29 June-Lentil soup, pastrami sandwiches w/ veggies

Monday 30 June-left overs

Tuesday 1 July-Left over potato cheese soup, scrambled egg & ham crepes with a cream mustard sauce, brussel sprouts

Wednesday 2 July- cream of tomato soup, roasted turkey legs (last 2 in the freezer) mashed potatoes, salad

Next week I will have 8,90€ to spend

*my cherry tomato plants have tons of little green tomatoes. Unfortunately my lettuce seeds must be old, because they just won’t sprout! The same with my green beans… they are several years old. I’ll do a replant and see if I can get them going…

4th Week of my Grocery Challenge

Jun 19, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge

As you have read, I have been asking the Lord for wisdom and provision as I challenge myself to stay within the 10 € limit for groceries and toiletries each week. So I can testify to His goodness. I’m listing the tangible blessings He sent our way last week.

• 11 lbs of cherries we picked from a neighbors tree
• 2 lemons from the lemon tree in the village
• sprouting seeds (like alfalfa sprouts) from my friend Dana
• packages of Splenda, from one of our daughters

These may seem like small things, but I believe with all my heart that I don’t even have breath, let alone anything else, except by my Fathers hand. So I’m sharing this to His glory.

OK… It’s Thursday and I have done the marketing for the week. On Tuesday, we had an unexpected guest for a meal, so I had to run to the market, and spent 5.50… my balance was 3.16€ so I went into “debt” for 2.34€.

Today I started with a total of: 7.66€ to spend:

Here is what I bought:

1.29- pre-made bread mix

.95¢- coffee

2.04- beverages

.45¢-1 kilo baking flour

.35¢-Q-tips

1.05- 1 dozen eggs

.39¢- kilo (2.2 lbs) of carrots

.40¢-2 green peppers

1.19- 6 tomatoes

————-

8.11€- total

…which puts me .45¢ in the red for next week. Next week, my 5th week, I will have 9.55€ to spend.

*I was so thrilled with the .39¢ spent on a kilo of carrots. I went to the market to see what was on special. 1 kilo of carrots gives me lots of possibles for the upcoming week! Believe it or not, this is fun for me!

*Living in Spain brings different “entertaining” expectations and we have to keep beverages on hand for proper hospitality.

My Menus This Week:

Thursday June 19-Split Pea w/ ham Soup, leftovers, Salad

Friday June 20- Cream of Broccoli & Cheese soup, Chili and Navajo Fry Bread

Saturday June 21-Chinese hot noodle soup , Lentil Walnut Burgers on buns w/ veggies (spouts that Dana sent!)

Sunday June 22- Cream of Broccoli Soup, Fried Eggs and Fried Polenta, sliced tomatoes

Monday June 23- Cream of Carrot soup, Pork Picatta, Scalloped potatoes, sliced tomatoes, Cherry Pie (guest in the house)

Tuesday June 24- Navy Bean Soup, Turkey Casserole, Brussel Sprouts

Wednesday June 25- Cream of Green Soup (daughter, Anita’s recipe) Turkey Fried Rice, Won Tons

In addition, I will bake bread, cookies and Fruit and Nut Baked Oatmeal (it’s so good! I will post the recipe soon on this site)

I would love to hear your comments (please leave those) and also about how you are making ends meet in these interesting times.

Having fun with this,

Bobbie

Our Church Retreat in Toledo

Jun 16, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    No Comments    Posted under: Blogroll

These are our photos of the weekend retreat we attended with the others from our church family. You can click on each photo to see a larger view. It was so exciting to see these 7 baptisms. We all saved and sacrificed to attend, not just John and me, but also the other church members. It’s been encouraging to see this level of commitment to each other.

This weeks grocery/menu challenge…

Jun 12, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    1 Comment     Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge

Well, it’s the 3rd week of my personal challenge to spend only 10 euros a week on groceries and toiletries, all the while using up my food in freezer, and cupboards. This week was and is a special challenge because of all the strikes going on in Spain. There is not much fresh good available on the shelves, and other things that couldn’t reach the stores. We are glad to report that the gas trucks are being escorted by police to the gas stations, but prices are still going up. We paid $8.08 (interesting that we paid that for gas and it was the same amount I paid in groceries!) per gallon last fill-up.

OK… here is what I spent this week:

5 kilos of potatoes- 3.89

1 pk hamburger buns- .79

toothpaste-.79

beverages- 1.10

1 can of tomatoes- .32

1 bag of frozen brussel sprouts( only because there were not fresh veggies to buy)- 1.19

_______________________

Total: 8.08

balance: 1.92 + 1.24 from last week=3.16 balance

Menu for the upcoming week:

Thursday: tomato soup, Salsa Beef, rice, salad

Friday: Cream of broccoli soup, bean and beef (from leftovers) burritos, mexican rice

Saturday: At Retreat (someone else cooks)

Sunday: At Retreat (someone else cooks)

Monday: Beef barley soup, Italian meatballs, pasta, salad

Tuesday: bean soup, hot dogs on buns (no hot dog buns in the store so we are using hamburger buns), potato salad

Wednesday: Italian pasta soup, turkey barbecue (using 2 turkey legs in the freezer) on buns, brussel sprouts

* these are just the main meals (2pm for us) and we usually start with a soup. Supper (8-10 pm here in Spain) is lighter, a sandwich, leftovers or soup.

** in addition to these meals, I will be making for the week: baked fruit/nut oatmeal, lemon muffins, chocolate cookies, white bread

Pressing on…

My $10 (10€) Grocery Journey

Jun 9, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    1 Comment     Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge

For the past 2 weeks, I have been challenging myself to spend only 10 EUROS a week (at todays exchange rate that is: $15.80 per week, but with the same purchasing power as $10) for groceries and toiletries. I have come within my 10€ each week and I am very encouraged. We even had a house guest for 5 days and I can say we ate very well. One of our daughters encouraged me to post my “challenge”… so here it begins. One thing to note is that I am using up my pantry, so most of the savings comes from that. If you are the typical N. American, I ‘m sure that you have plenty to use up as well. You might wonder why I’m doing this… well, I’m putting that money for other needed budget line items and to use up my pantry. In particular, we wanted to go on the church retreat and needed cash for that. I know of several others who have also joined this challenge. I’d love to hear your story. I will begin to share with you this Thursday (marketing day) my shopping list and what my menu will be. Here are some things I employ for success:

• I make my own bread
• I cook from scratch for the most part
• I serve a 1st plate mid-day of soup or salad (as is the custom here in Spain)… this is before the main plate
• I pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and ideas and provision

Yours, Bobbie

*1 kilo= 2.2 lbs.

Grocery Expenses For Week: May 30th-June 6^th 2008

10€ starting balance

-1.19€ -1-kilo 700 grams- potatoes,

.29- 2 stocks of celery

1.39- 2 KG of onions

.39- pk of napkins

.42- 2 green peppers

.45- 1 kilo of flour

.95- pk of coffee

1.10- beverages

.99- butter

.69 -margarine

.79- lettuce

____________

-8,65€ TOTAL SPENT

Balance 1,35€

Grocery Expenses For Week: June 5-12 2008

11, 35€ starting balance (1,35€ reserved from last week)

.90 -2-kilos baking flour

1.05- 1 dozen eggs

1.69- toilet paper

1.99- 1 kilo of apricots

.20- 1 green pepper

.89- 2 heads of romaine lettuce

.32- 1 can of tomatoes

.99- beverages

1.29-1 package of premix for making bread

.79-broccoli

____________

10,11€ TOTAL SPENT

Balance 1,24€

Village life (until Wednesday)

Jun 9, 2008 by pearsonsprogress    3 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll

We’re back in the village working with the hopes of making good progress in the gospel of Matthew. Thank you for praying for us and for Domingo who is the Nossa Fala Speaker. We also would love your comments…they let us know that someone is reading this thing!