New Blog!

Also had a name change!

We are now "The Eccentric Homemaker" and can be found at https://theeccentrichomemaker.wordpress.com/ !

Come join us there and be ready for lots of new stuff!

Same stuff as before, with additions as well. And regularly posted things to keep you interested.

At the Grand Opening of the new blog, I may do a giveaway if enough people join in.

Of course, entries will be decided by comments. :)

I admit,  I am excited about this new blog. Read the first post and you'll see why!

Happy Wishes! <3

Pot o' Beans and Corn Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 small bags or 1 big bag pinto beans
• 1 package bacon
• 1 small onion, diced
• .25 cup brown sugar
• Other seasonings: garlic, black pepper, chili powder, to taste.
• Corn bread (a packet, usually requires 1 egg  and 1/3 cup milk)
• Butter and honey (blend together for a yummy spread for the corn bread)

The Process:

We usually start this the night before. Sort the beans, sometimes rocks get mixed in the bag and those are no fun to bite down onto. Put the beans in a large pot or crock pot with water. Let them soak over night.


The next morning... rinse the beans, and put them back into the pot with fresh water, the onion, brown sugar, and all the other seasonings. Dice up the raw bacon. Toss that into the pot. Cook on medium all day.

Either after it is finished or when it is close, you can make the corn bread. These two go pretty well together and will fill you up.

Black Bean and Rice Burritos

Ingredients:

• about 6 cups cooked white or brown rice
• 1 can black beans or 2 if you wish
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, with chili seasoning (also known as "Chili Ready")
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 small diced onion
• Cheddar cheese 
• tortillas
• any other toppings you may want - chipotle sauce, taco sauce, sour cream, siracha, lettuce, etc

The Process:

Sorry I don't have any photos for this one.


First you have to get your rice cooked, this takes the longest so get it done first. You can either use a rice cooker or a regular pot. Either way its 1 part uncooked rice, 2 parts water.

Afterwards, put the tomatoes, onion, corn kernels, and black beans in a pot and warm them up. Mix in the cooked rice.

Serve in tortillas with cheese and other toppings.

These things are pretty filling.

Super Easy Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• Potatoes (cubed)
• Carrots (coined)
• Onions (diced)
• 1 cup flour
• 1.5 cup milk
• .25 cup cheddar
• Seasonings: black pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning

The Process:

Put the potatoes, carrots, onions, and some garlic in a big pot with water and boil until the potatoes are soft.

In the meantime, mix the flour and  milk with the black pepper and Italian seasoning.

Once the potatoes and carrots are soft put them in a foil lined casserole dish. The foil makes it easy to clean up, but isn't necessary.

Pour the flour/milk mix over the potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese over that. Again, not necessary but is nice. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tada! Yums.

Creamy Chicken Rice & Christmas Decorating

Dinner Tonight

Tonight I made a creamy chicken rice dish. This dish is wonderful in its versatility and doesn't cost a lot. You can make it as a burrito filling, a soup, a baked potato topping, just about anything you want. Tonight I made it into burritos.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans cream of chicken condensed soup
• rice (can be jasmine rice, long grain, short grain, brown, whichever you prefer. I used long grain.)
• about 1/2 cup milk
• onion (optional)
• cheese (optional- can be cheddar, or swiss, etc. I use Sharp Cheddar)

2 cans cream of chicken -- $2

1lb Rice -- $1 (Used 2 cups so about 20 cents worth)

Gallon of Milk -- $2.50 (Used 1/2 cup so about 5cents worth)

Small Onion -- $1 (Half the onion 50 cents)

2lb bag of Sharp Cheddar -- $7 (handful 25-50 cents)

Total: $3 to feed 3 adults and a toddler, and have leftovers

The Process:

Start your rice cooking. I cook mine in a rice cooker I got from Wal-Mart last year for $20.

At the same time empty the cream of chicken into a separate pot. Pour in the milk, the onion, and seasonings. I use just black pepper and garlic powder.

Cook it until it is bubbling, then add in the cheese and cook till melted. 

About this time my rice was done cooking so I just tossed it in and mixed it all up.

Variations:

• For a soup, add a bit more milk to make it soupy, then add some mixed vegetables. I like to serve mine with grilled cheese sandwiches. 
• For baked potato topping, use less milk to keep it thicker.
• For more heat, you can mix in taco sauce or like my dad uses - siracha sauce.

Christmas Decorating

We also put up our Christmas tree today. Yes, I know it is pretty early but I don't like doing all the work of decorating for it to only be up for a little bit of time so I like to do mine earlier than normal. Dad and myself put the tree together and got the lights and the star on it, and then the little one joined in with the ornament hanging (and candy cane munching).

The tree itself cost $20 at Wal-Mart, the lights were $4 from Big Lots, and the ornaments came from 99 Only.

Hope you enjoy tonight's recipe. 

Cheers,

Sheila

Homemade 3 Ingredient "Nesquik"

This was my breakfast today. I woke up not hungry, so I just had me some chocolate milk. I love this stuff, and its not filled with crazy chemicals. The recipe came from One Good Thing By Jillee. Its a very simple mixture and its super yummy.

Go check the recipe out! You wont regret it!

The Easiest Pasta Dish Ever!

Tonight I made a very simple (and cheap!) pasta dinner. I originally found the recipe on Facebook, but I have made a couple little changes to it and am pleased with the result. I hope you enjoy it too!

Here's the delicious end result, sorry I don't have any photos of the process, but its my first post about my cooking so I didn't think to take more photos. I will get them next time!

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti
• 2 14oz cans of tomatoes (I chose 1 of Italian style, 1 of chili style)
• 1 package of sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• About 1/2 a cup of diced onions
• 2 tbsp oil

The Process:

1. I broke the spaghetti in half so it all fit in the pot laying flat. I then put the oil in and filled the pot with water just above the spaghetti, you don't need a whole lot of water.
2. You add the canned tomatoes in, juice and all. Then break up the mushrooms into small pieces and add the onions.
3. I added some garlic powder, black pepper, and basil for more flavour.
4. Keep heat on low-medium and boil, stirring occasionally. It should take about 30 minutes to boil all down. With the juice of the tomatoes it makes a nice light sauce, so you don't need to buy extra sauce for it.

The Total Cost:

Spaghetti -- $1

Canned Tomatoes -- $2

Mushrooms -- $1

Onion -- $1

                                        

$5 to feed 3 adults and a toddler, with left overs to boot!

Earlier The Same Day

I made some peanut butter cookies for myself and the little one. The men in the house don't like them, so they don't get any! Mwahaha!

I got the recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. Its her super yummy Single Serving Peanut Butter Cookies.

Be sure to go check out her other yummy recipes!

Here's my finished results. Just lucky there's any left for a photo.

Is there anything you guys would like to see me post? I have a lot in store for you, but if you have any questions or specific things you'd like me to talk about I can take requests (to a limit of course).

Cheers,

Sheila