Book Review: 28 Days to Hope For Your Home

My friend Dana (aka, "Nony The Slob" - which I never knew before I read this was short for aNONYmous!) has written an entirely unique new ebook, 28 Days To Hope For Your Home. Why unique? Well, this isn't for the mildly disorganized - it's for those struggling with isolation and feeling overwhelmed with out-of-control homes.

In other words, this isn't a typical organizing or cleaning book with checklists and big projects (though she does have some great checklists on her blog!). This is where you'll find simple steps to develop four habits that will move you along the life-long road to keeping your house under control.

The best part about this book? Dana's funny, no-nonsense take on the "slob-brain" versus the "normal" brain. Seriously, you will smile and even laugh out loud as you read this book. BUT, you will also find it easy to accomplish the four habits outlined here - and I dare say, by the end of the book you may find that you've conquered these and even acquired a few more on your own.

Monday's Menu

Wha-hoo- two more days of this blasted eat from the pantry thing, and I can shop like normal! Though, I don't know why I'm griping so much, 'cause it really hasn't been that hard. In fact, we have quite a few things still in the freezer that I could build some meals around like:

• Frozen and cooked beans. Add some rice and pantry tomatoes for a classic economic dish.
• Frozen salmon. We ended up not using this last week, so it's going on the new menu.
• Frozen potstickers. Again, something I had scheduled that we ended up not using.
• A new ham bone plus two packages of frozen, diced ham from the meal we had yesterday.
• One pound each of sausage, shrimp, and un-cured hot dogs.
• Plus our garden Roasted Tomato Sauce, corn, green beans and frozen berries and jams.
• We've still got a stash of pasta and enough flour for bread-baking this week.

Gee...maybe we should just keep eating from our pantry?

Um, no. I never like to have an empty freezer or pantry, as that means I have to buy things at whatever the price is at the store when I need it. What I have stocked up was purchased- for the most part- on sale or at the rock-bottom price.

What do I need now that I will buy right away (besides perishables)? Cheese, olive oil, canned tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, eggs, and meats.

So, really- not too bad. And we don't have an empty freezer which ends up being hard on the next month's budget, so it's all good.

Now that I can shop regularly again.

Individual Chicken-Tomato Shepherd's Pies

I've had this recipe forever, though I think I've only made it a couple of times. Probably because we don't often have leftover mashed potatoes and cooking potatoes to mash for the top of a casserole just seems like too much work.

Then I had the idea to make them in ramekins when I did have some leftover mashed potatoes recently, and I gotta tell you- I'll be making these a lot more often. And making the filling with tomato sauce amps up the flavor, too- it's different than other "pot pie" recipes I've tried. And in a good way.

What is it about ramekins that elevate a normal "casserole" to new heights? The presentation is SO much nicer than a spoonfull of glop, and they actually seem to taste better- I think because the topping doesn't get lost in the filling during baking or serving.

Whatever the reason, I can see a lot of "ramekin meals" on the horizon, as this would be wonderful with leftover beef, pork, or sausage, too. I should probably serve my Individual Berry Crisps for dessert and make it a slam dunk.

Or do you think that'd be too much ramekin love?

Midwinter Baking Day

How's this for planning - I went into the kitchen for my regular Monday morning bake-a-loaf-of-bread-and-make-granola session and ended up three hours later with 10 homemade items for our freezer, fridge, and cupboards! I don't know what got into me. Probably had something to do with the fact that I know I can't shop this week because we're eating from the pantry and I wanted to make sure we were stocked up.

But it was also because I like to maximize the time I'm in the kitchen- since I was going to wait for the sourdough to rest, I might as well make the granola...and since I was in the kitchen, that's the time to set some pots on the stove to cook up beans to keep in the freezer, which are so convenient. And so on.

After I put the sourdough aside to rise and while the new granola was in the oven, I used the granola we had left from last week to make the Cranberry-Almond Granola Bars pictured above. They turned out so GOOD- I used almond butter and just a tablespoon of coconut oil instead of the half butter/half coconut oil and I really like the extra "meatiness" (for lack of a better word) the nut butter added.

There was enough granola left to make a batch of Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Granola Bites, too. I love these things - they're nutritionally dense, filling, and a perfectly sized little bite of heaven as far as I'm concerned.