Don't have too many suggestions about cooking, except that my wife makes broth from the leavings after a meat meal. You might not think this is important, but noodles or pasta cooked in broth is the best.
My main point: this may not be a big deal when the kids are little, but once they are old enough to start helping the teaching/learning dynamic is a great way to bond. And believe me, nothing makes life easier than a child who can whip up the occasional dinner when you get older. Also, you give your husband something to compliment you on, if he's that kind of person.
I have never tried cooking noodles in broth -- I have done rice, but I can see how that would be a level-up. Our kids are still pretty small, but I'm very hopeful and excited for the day that one of them makes dinner, start to finish!
(Hi, somehow I found your Substack and I love it!)
A couple of years ago I read a suggestion to measure your oven shelves and then google sheet pans that size. Boom, now you can maximize your roasting capacity! Changed my life.
The instant pot is also perfect for chicken stock.
The big problem with making bread is that now my children are bread snobs!
Hi! I'm so glad you found it, and thank you! I'll be over here, measuring my oven shelves! I can understand why your kids are bread snobs, your bread is delicious.
Please post the yogurt recipe! Also I've finally taken up sourdough too, but without olive oil so apparently even cheaper? Any leftover bread we don't get to after a couple days (we're a smaller family) gets shredded in a food processor and tossed in the freezer for meatballs, meatloaf, breadcrumb toppings, etc.
This is the yogurt recipe that has worked for me -- you don't need a yogurt button! I have a pressure cooker that isn't an "Instant Pot" so this has been a lifesaver.
We save all the bones from our meals in a big bag in the freezer, and then make a huge batch of broth out of them in our turkey roaster (used to be the crockpot, but we outgrew it). You just let it sit there and simmer for two or three days, maybe add some water a couple times. I pressure can it (intimidating the first couple times, routine now). My mother in law, who does the same thing, freezes hers.
I use broth to make soup, and occasionally partially or completely replacing milk in cheese/white sauce. We also use it to cook rice on occasion.
We are empty-nester grandparents now, but that’s after raising eight children. More with Less was one of my most used cookbooks. I never used a pressure cooker as I saw my mom struggle with the stove top type and it scared me. I now have two Instant Pots and use one almost every time I cook. How did I live without this small but mighty appliance while feeding my big family?? I’ve used it now to cook all kinds of meals, yogurt, desserts, soups. Bone broth is the best made in the IP, and we also keep bags of bones, chopped off ends of onions, celery etc. in anticipation of adding into the next batch of broth. My adult kids remember all the gathering around the kitchen table for meals. It’s a worthy important service that can be done, feeding a family.
The pressure cooker is such a wonderful thing for a big family. And some of my favorite moments are the moments around the table, no matter what it took to get us all around it with food in front of us.
“Charcuterie” is a fancy word for “meat on wood. Remove the wood to save a few bucks. Follow me for more tips.
St. John down here making the case for us eating locusts in the modern day. Looking sturdy St. John! Honey and locusts is probably free with the right dedication to the task.
The bread at home was a major game changer for us! 2.50 ish for GF bread instead of $7 is a big deal. Which I realized this summer when I wasn’t making bread 😵💫
We eat so much soup in the winter/any time I can get away with making it. And a lot of beans and rice. If I were thriftier or less tired I would make them from dry, but I can’t get my act together to soak them before hand 😅
This one has always turned out well for me, I also use her sourdough recipe as our regular bread and have been really happy with it. I purchased a GF starter from NW ferments and it's worked really well for us!
What a great post! I don’t have the mettle for sourdough, but no knead bread is big here. And recreating favorite restaurant meals always seems to work out even if not exact. You’ve just inspired a pickling experiment. Thanks for the read!
Granola only takes 20 minutes when you bake it at 350! Even my 11-year-old daughter makes granola and it is so good homemade (now I just need to try some homemade yogurt).
I do dry mixes myself, and I started making my own coffee creamer recently! The cost savings isn't super significant, unless you geheln extra good coupon on sweetened condensed milk, but it's tasty, and nice to go to like 4 ingredients down from whatever makes store creamer so tasty.
2025 is going to be the Year of Sourdough in my house! I just need to get a starter going 🏠
Adding up a whole part of the grocery bill is very intimidating -- I shudder to think how much money from this household goes toward cheese. Annelise Roberts has some really good tips on GF baking (this is cinnamon rolls, not bread, but a starting spot...https://anneliseroberts.substack.com/p/miraculous-cinnamon-rolls-an-easter)
Don't have too many suggestions about cooking, except that my wife makes broth from the leavings after a meat meal. You might not think this is important, but noodles or pasta cooked in broth is the best.
My main point: this may not be a big deal when the kids are little, but once they are old enough to start helping the teaching/learning dynamic is a great way to bond. And believe me, nothing makes life easier than a child who can whip up the occasional dinner when you get older. Also, you give your husband something to compliment you on, if he's that kind of person.
I have never tried cooking noodles in broth -- I have done rice, but I can see how that would be a level-up. Our kids are still pretty small, but I'm very hopeful and excited for the day that one of them makes dinner, start to finish!
(Hi, somehow I found your Substack and I love it!)
A couple of years ago I read a suggestion to measure your oven shelves and then google sheet pans that size. Boom, now you can maximize your roasting capacity! Changed my life.
The instant pot is also perfect for chicken stock.
The big problem with making bread is that now my children are bread snobs!
Hi! I'm so glad you found it, and thank you! I'll be over here, measuring my oven shelves! I can understand why your kids are bread snobs, your bread is delicious.
Please post the yogurt recipe! Also I've finally taken up sourdough too, but without olive oil so apparently even cheaper? Any leftover bread we don't get to after a couple days (we're a smaller family) gets shredded in a food processor and tossed in the freezer for meatballs, meatloaf, breadcrumb toppings, etc.
This is the yogurt recipe that has worked for me -- you don't need a yogurt button! I have a pressure cooker that isn't an "Instant Pot" so this has been a lifesaver.
https://www.theferventmama.com/pressure-cooker-yogurt/
We save all the bones from our meals in a big bag in the freezer, and then make a huge batch of broth out of them in our turkey roaster (used to be the crockpot, but we outgrew it). You just let it sit there and simmer for two or three days, maybe add some water a couple times. I pressure can it (intimidating the first couple times, routine now). My mother in law, who does the same thing, freezes hers.
I use broth to make soup, and occasionally partially or completely replacing milk in cheese/white sauce. We also use it to cook rice on occasion.
Your testimony about pressure canning getting easier is going to be on my mind and heart while I work up the courage to do that.
We are empty-nester grandparents now, but that’s after raising eight children. More with Less was one of my most used cookbooks. I never used a pressure cooker as I saw my mom struggle with the stove top type and it scared me. I now have two Instant Pots and use one almost every time I cook. How did I live without this small but mighty appliance while feeding my big family?? I’ve used it now to cook all kinds of meals, yogurt, desserts, soups. Bone broth is the best made in the IP, and we also keep bags of bones, chopped off ends of onions, celery etc. in anticipation of adding into the next batch of broth. My adult kids remember all the gathering around the kitchen table for meals. It’s a worthy important service that can be done, feeding a family.
The pressure cooker is such a wonderful thing for a big family. And some of my favorite moments are the moments around the table, no matter what it took to get us all around it with food in front of us.
A big one for us is making all our salad dressings.... I've dabbled in making mayo and ketchup too but haven't gotten into a routine for those yet!
Yes, that's another one of those things that doesn't seem like it's expensive but I bet it is just cheaper (and better) made in your own kitchen.
“Charcuterie” is a fancy word for “meat on wood. Remove the wood to save a few bucks. Follow me for more tips.
St. John down here making the case for us eating locusts in the modern day. Looking sturdy St. John! Honey and locusts is probably free with the right dedication to the task.
I love this post. Especially because I just pulled fresh sourdough (2 loaves actually!) from my oven. 😜👊🙌
It's a real game changer!
Totally is!
The bread at home was a major game changer for us! 2.50 ish for GF bread instead of $7 is a big deal. Which I realized this summer when I wasn’t making bread 😵💫
We eat so much soup in the winter/any time I can get away with making it. And a lot of beans and rice. If I were thriftier or less tired I would make them from dry, but I can’t get my act together to soak them before hand 😅
Any suggestions for easy homemade gf bread? I keep trying but haven’t found a winner yet.
https://www.bakerita.com/homemade-gluten-free-bread/
This one has always turned out well for me, I also use her sourdough recipe as our regular bread and have been really happy with it. I purchased a GF starter from NW ferments and it's worked really well for us!
I summarize all my tips and tricks here :)
https://anneliseroberts.substack.com/p/no-its-not-a-unicorn
Oh, wow, this is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
What a great post! I don’t have the mettle for sourdough, but no knead bread is big here. And recreating favorite restaurant meals always seems to work out even if not exact. You’ve just inspired a pickling experiment. Thanks for the read!
Thank you! Just in case you need this for your experiment, my BIL got us the masontops kit -- the "self-burping" lids are amazing, especially for beginners like me! https://www.amazon.com/Masontops-Complete-Mason-Jar-Fermentation/dp/B098KCCMG1/ref=asc_df_B098KCCMG1?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80745504659595&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584345031081139&psc=1
Thank you so much for giving this a read!
Granola only takes 20 minutes when you bake it at 350! Even my 11-year-old daughter makes granola and it is so good homemade (now I just need to try some homemade yogurt).
Thank you! I will definitely be utilizing this hack sometime in the near future!
I do dry mixes myself, and I started making my own coffee creamer recently! The cost savings isn't super significant, unless you geheln extra good coupon on sweetened condensed milk, but it's tasty, and nice to go to like 4 ingredients down from whatever makes store creamer so tasty.
2025 is going to be the Year of Sourdough in my house! I just need to get a starter going 🏠
Adding up a whole part of the grocery bill is very intimidating -- I shudder to think how much money from this household goes toward cheese. Annelise Roberts has some really good tips on GF baking (this is cinnamon rolls, not bread, but a starting spot...https://anneliseroberts.substack.com/p/miraculous-cinnamon-rolls-an-easter)