WFMW - How to make a quick and easy whole grain bread?

I have never participated in the Backwards Edition of WFMW before today. This should be really awesome!

I would love to have someone guide me to an easy recipe for homemade bread. I would prefer a whole or multigrain bread and one that is not for the bread machine. I want to make it the old fashioned way.

I have never made bread before other than the frozen loaves and quick breads such as pumpkin. It is intimidating to me. If you have a quick, easy, or tried and true recipe for a hearty whole grain bread, I would love you point me in the right direction.

Thanks! For more answers to probing questions, go to Rocks In My Dryer this week for a twist on Works for Me Wednesday!

MPM 1-7-08

This week I will back at work after a two week absence. The kids are all back in school but our oldest, who will be back in session next week. We have a lot going on the next seven days and my husband is working some very crazy hours. I think he will more than likely have worked 85 hours by this time next week!

My menu is very simple this week:

Monday - Brown rice with black bean/corn/chili tomatos and onions, and Avocado seasoned with Cumin, Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipolte Seasoning, and a splash of Lime Juice. Salad and fruit for dessert.

Tuesday - Quick meal of Tostadas with Fat Free Refried Beans, Cheese, and Salsa, a big green Salad. Daughter's musical program at school tonight so meal needs to be quick and easy. I take tortillas and slather them in fat free refried beans, add a little cooked ground turkey on top, cheese, enchilada sauce, and broil them in the oven until bubbly and brown. Add a quick salad and one of my children's favorite quick meals is served. My boys have several of these and they like to fold them in half and eat them much like a quesadilla. Our daughter puts jalapenos on hers and then adds more hot sauce. She loves things spicy!

Wednesday - eat at church

Thursday - Soup night - Taco soup with homemade green chili cornbread. Take Jiffy Corn Bread and mix as directed. Add a can of chopped green chilis, a handful of cheese, and some of the great Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipolte seasoning mixture and bake as directed.

Friday - Homemade pizza night. Veggie for me and sis and usually candadian bacon or turkey for the kids.

Saturday - Taco Salad with ground turkey instead of beef.

Sunday - Chicken Penne Pasta with Broccoli and fat free Alfredo Sauce, always a salad

For more menu plans see Laura at OrgJunkie.com

Financial Goals 2008

UPDATE:

We have discussed our categories and I thought I would post a few here:

Home - within home it will include all things pertaining to HOME. I have taken a sheet and broke down mini categories within HOME such as mortgage, insurance, repairs, heat/gas/garbage, taxes, and a separate account for items that we want for our home such as new furniture, appliances, etc.

Cars - since we owe nothing on any of our vehicles we want to set up a fund to replace these vehicles. We are choosing to use an ING account. Also I set up the same sort of mini categories such as oil/gas, repair, tires, insurance, tags, insurance deductible, maintenance

Food - this includes our grocery bills plus eating out. In 2008 we are purposing to not eat out as much as in the past. Also I am planning my menus and meals plus using coupons to extend this budget.

Savings - this is one huge group but I have broken it down into small mini categories again like the previous areas. We will have three in high school next year. I have taken all the expenses that I know will exist and have multiplied it by three and have a figure of what our great expenses will be such as class rings, letter jackets, yearbooks, football camps, choir expenses, etc. We will then begin to take a certain amount out of our monthly budget and apply it to a savings account so that the fund are there when the request is made.

Within this group we have also added the church trips that will arise with the three younger children. For instance we know that this summer two of our boys will be going to Beach Camp with our youth. Next year all three will attend. This year it will take around 600.00 for both boys to attend. We are saving up for that. Having three children so close in age really adds up in big money when they get older and have activities to attend or church functions. This year we spent 150.00 on yearbooks. Sure I could just buy one yearbook but, you know I am frugal to a point....each child should be able to have their own yearbook to look back over and have friends sign at the end of the year.

That is it for now. I have things to do!

Crystal at Biblicalwomanhood and Money Saving Mom is hosting a Financial Shape in 2008 Challenge. This is a year-long campaign to encourage families to live on less than they make and take personal responsibility for their finances.

Seven years ago we committed to being debt free after seeing Dave Ramsey in Oklahoma City. We cut up our credit cards and proceeded to have a gazelle intensity to pay off debt. The Lord certainly blessed us along the way and currently we only owe on our home. It has been a struggle and hardship at times. My husband works so hard. He takes every opportunity afforded to law enforcement to work overtime and extra jobs. We sock that money away in various areas for savings and goals we are working towards. Our teenagers have learned very valuable lessons ...patience, gratitude for what they do have, frugality, and the sense that it is okay if you do not have the latest and greatest gadget RIGHT NOW. They have learned what it takes to run a home and how important it to distinguish between needs and wants.

The first part of the challenge is getting a working budget together. While we have had great success at paying off our debt and living within our means, we have not yet gotten the written budget down to a science nor working the envelope system as much as we could. These are two goals that we really want to achieve this year.

We are going to sit down and work on this as a couple this week. I will be updating as soon as I have the categories in place. I wanted to go ahead and make a post pointing to Crystal's challenge as a way of our commitment.

One quick note I want to add. We divide our house payment amount by 12. Each month I apply this amount to the principal of our mortgage. If you do this each month, after the end of one year you will have made an extra payment to your mortgage thereby cutting precious time off your loan.

Finally, I have one more financial goal this year: get a handle on the CVS/Walgreen way of saving money for our family. Each time I have tried to use coupons at our local Walgreens they never understand and I never get the savings that many post about on Crystal's blog.

I am looking forward to this challenge and being a faithful steward with the resources the Lord has provided for us.

Super Saving Saturday - Hobby Lobby Bargains

Update: Just got back from SuperTarget where all Christmas items were 90% off. Not much left, however, we did pick up Christmas gift tags at .09 cents per package of 100! We also picked up two 2008 calendars for two of our boys that love Dale Earnhart, Jr. for .99 cents down from 9.99! Bags of bows - silver and white ones and a bag of gold bows for .18 cents a bag of I think 25 bows in a bag. We also picked up the last of the gingerbread cookies and a shortbread cookie and they were all under .45 cents a box. We hardly ever buy sugary snacks so this was a real treat for the kids. All in all it was a great last minute stop on our date night.

Robin and Shannon both call my favorite store the same thing: the Mother Ship. I think anyone that loves to decorate, craft, or scrapbook knows exactly the store I am talking about: Hobby Lobby!

Today was my fifth or sixth time to hit H.L. during the last two weeks! I have bought things at half off, 66% off and today 80%! Granted the groovy red glass bowls that I was really wanting I missed out on. Even at 66% off they were not frugal enough for me to part with my cash. Besides, right now I'm not sure where I would put them. Honestly they were more of a want than a need so it is a moot point.

I did pick up the most awesome ornaments, more curly bows, a few more gift bags, several awesome larger Christmas items. To give you an idea of what I found ornament wise...I bought three silver and glass tea pot ornaments for ornament exchange gifts next year. Each were regularly 4.99. I bought all three for 2.99! Two dollars and ninety-nine cents people! Less than what one cost regularly! The average original cost of the other ornaments, which were the old fashion, mercury glass type ornaments, was around 5.99 - 7.99 apiece. I got them for 80% off!!!

The six packages of curly bows that I bought were 2.99 a pack. They have I think four or six bows on each pack. They are darling bows that I can use for birthday gifts since they are not Christmas colors. So let's assume there were four bows on each package that would make 24 bows total. The original price was 17.94 for six packages; 8.97 at 50%; 6.10 at 66%; and at 80% 3.59. So since I love numbers, to break it down further: I bought a total of 24 of the cutest curly bows in hot pink, lime green, silver and white, blue, pink, and I can't remember the other color and they equal out to .14 cents a bow!

The smaller gift bags cost me around .20 cents! Better than Dollar Store prices!

The Edmond Hobby Lobby is getting sparse on the East side of Edmond but there are still a couple of aisles of great items. I would check out your local Hobby Lobby.

So in closing I bought: 15 ornaments, six packages of speciality bows, ten gift bags, a wooden 3 foot tree, a large Christmas lodge look Moose and Bear with the same red and black buffalo print that my tree skirt and stockings are made from. Also four photo boxes for my new craft room, Christmas scrapbook stickers, two silk candle rings, and a stamp set with embellishments and cardstock for my daughter to make her cards next year all for around 38.00! The only things not 80% off were the photo boxes and they were 50%.

After coming home and looking at the original prices of just two of the larger items they totaled more than all the items together that I purchased today.

The lesson is hit those after Christmas sales. I have not had to pay regular price for wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, gift bags, etc., for over seven years! It is of great benefit to my family. So tonight my gift wrap area is now re-stocked, the gift drawer is full too and I am ready when one of my children have a party to attend.

Found Space

I am taking the plunge. I am turning a room into my craft/sewing/computer/quiet time room. I am so excited! My camera battery is charging or I would post a picture. Maybe tomorrow.

We bought the home my parents built in my hometown in 1970. We have lived here now three years. It is a really cool story. They sold it in 1993 and I wrote the owner a letter in 2005 and let them know if they were to ever sell the home, we would be interested. The owner called the next day and shazam we have the home! It raised four children (three girls and a boy) and it is now raising four more (three boys and a girl). I love being back in my old neighborhood with the beautiful trees and it is so close to everything. WE can walk to Starbucks if we want! Love it!!

I digress...my Dad did income taxes on the side. When the home was built he had an office built into a wasted space in the garage. It has two built in desks with one having a large bookcase built in above it. It has a window and is on the heating/air conditioning system of the home. It is tucked away and near a door going outside of the garage and right next to the door going into the house. This is where all the blogging takes place currently.

We were never really allowed out here when I was growing up but it was one of my favorite places to sneak off to and think. So yesterday I decided it would be the perfect spot to craft/scrapbook/sew/and basically have my own spot to do my own thing with my daughter. I already come out here for quiet times. I am so excited! I can't believe it has taken me this long to figure this out! Maybe since I have not had this much time, nearly two weeks, to just hang out and relax. My creative juices are flowing and I am ready to hit Hobby Lobby tomorrow and pick up a few things that are on clearance!

I hope to have some pictures to post real soon of the progress.

How would you respond?

Please visit my blog friend, Cindy Beall, and read this sobering story.

It pierced my heart and really made me examine how I would have handled the same situation. I am reading it to my teenagers in the morning at breakfast.

Praising Him in ALL things,

Vickie

Teens and Laundry Responsibilities

When I was growing up my Mom did everything for us. I dusted on Saturdays and attempted to keep my room neat and clean, but overall the most I ever remember doing was making chocolate chip cookies a few times, folding laundry, filling the dishwasher, and cleaning my room. I never even cooked or helped cook a meal until I was engaged to be married!

I admit that I am not very proud of this fact, however, I think it was also easier for my Mom to just do it herself. I was very busy with church and school activities, babysitting, and later in high school an after school job. I still have the little note that my Mom sent to me the first week of college that explained how to use the washing machine in the basement of my dorm! I mean I did not know how to even wash a load of clothes!

This brings me to my Works for Me Wednesday post. When I married my husband seven years ago and went from a single parent of one child to a Mom of four, I knew I would need a plan for chores, responsibilities, rules...all the things that children normally have growing up in a family. However, three of my precious ones had lost their Mom three years prior and while my husband is absolutely the best, men were not created to be mothers just as mothers were not created to be fathers. I learned all I could about their Mom and what her teaching style had been for her three sweet ones and went about trying to come up with a plan.

It was one sweet act by a seven year old brunette with brilliant blue eyes that helped me see that there could be another way. In the long run, I would be teaching my children how to take care of themselves and not feel so lost as I had felt.

I came to this decision after our youngest, Hannah, had watched me intently each time I loaded the washer and dryer. She would pull a step stool up to watch and would ask questions. She was like a little sponge...taking it all in. Her Mommy had died when she was only three and a half. After living in a household full of boys for three years she was very excited to have a Mom to follow around.

One day I came home and she very proudly showed me the freshly washed towels all folded neatly and ready to be put away. I sat down and cried. Here a sweet seven year old had learned something that I did not until I was 18! She was so excited and felt so proud. It was after this sweet display of love I decided that maybe I could start with the oldest and see if this would work. I would teach them how to sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away their laundry. My husband and I discussed this and after a little research we decided sixth grade was a great jumping off point to begin this endeavor.

So my quest began. I would like to say it has worked like a charm and that there have been no problems, but I can't....I have four teenagers...three of whom are boys....however, each child has their own wash day with the washer and dryer solely devoted to them. They mainly do their jeans, uniforms, underwear, etc. Mom still does the shirts/blouses that need special care and towels. Many times I surprise them and scoop it up and do it for them. I realize that these four young adults are much further ahead in life than I was back in 1979. They each know their way around the kitchen (that is another post), can keep a home neat, and can operate a washer and dryer.

I hesitated to even post this, but I have seen the pride they each take in this ability. It has been a rite of passage in our home when each one entered the sixth grade. The boys come in after a hard practice or game and the first thing they do is stick their dirty uniforms in the washer. It has taught them responsibility in a very tangible way. It has worked for our family and brought about many positive attributes.

For more Works for Me Wednesday post, head on over to Shannon's at Rocks in My Dryer.