Frugal Foodie!

I generally shop once a month, on or near the 24th of the month, then I may pick up fresh produce items everyday or so to add to my planned meals. I typically feed six people per meal. This months items cost me $635. Just slightly greater than $100 per person for a month of meals. Two years ago, we would spend $100 A DAY on food, either dinning out or convenient foods from the grocery store. People ask me all of the time “how do you do it?” Simple, I meal plan, buy in bulk, turn off the television a nd use that time prepping, read cooking blogs, and watch YouTube videos to learn food skills. Now, on top of saving money cooking at home, I’m actually making even more money blogging about my adventures in cooking/baking. Switch up your life, eat food you KNOW is fresh, made with clean hands. Stop paying for rent, utilities, wages, insurance and someone else’s profit every time you eat out. Cook at home, eat well, live well and pay off your own mortgage, and feel the joy of accomplishment. It’s a good life! You never know, it may even make you famous!

Here are some super tasty, super cheap meals from this week.

Brianna asked for a bag of regular potato chips, $4.99 for 9 ounces. Crazy! So, I wanted to show her how to make potato chips for pennies.

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Next meal, was kosher Beef short rib prepared Japanese style, wasbi mashed potatoes and Sriracha green beans with fried onions and a creamy Sriracha sauce.  This dinner cost me about $4 a serving. No Gluten, No Dairy.

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Yesterday, was a creamy Alfredo/Veggie pasta with chicken breast medallions.

 

 

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Then of course desserts!

 

this is is a sugar free ice cream/mousse made from soy milk, eggs, corn starch and Splenda. Low sugar white and traditional semi sweet chocolate chips melted on top.

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Sugar free apple, Splenda and cinnamon tart. Ice cream, well, sorry to tell ya, it has sugar.

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Left over bread dough, rolled, cut and fried made for a perfect treat to go with chilled apple cider.

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Take your kids to work day. EVERYDAY!

LifeSchooling at the Barelski Academy of Awesomeness!

Homeschooling is anything but “Home” most of the time in my family.

Pictured here are my youngest kids doing their Course work studies at my T.E.A.M. Center while I am seeing clients. I have a great, friendly little spot for them to work in.

We often open up this center as a resource for other homeschoolers we are friends with as well for group projects and activities.

While the children are here, they can also participate in some play therapy with my clients, they learn many skills by observing me and increase their vocabulary as they are exposed to my professional jargon.

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There are so many great and rewarding benefits to homeschooling. It’s not easy, and you must be creative. Yet, It’s so worth it!

It’s All Greek to Me!

This Finnish/Irish/English girl woke up this morning feeling “Greek” so on the menu today I have seeing clients, making Feta and Spinach Bread and hand mixed Gyro burgers. Oh, yeah, I also homeschooled my kids. Here, you can take a look!

I get to do this at “Work” it’s so good to be me!

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Then got home and took my leftover feta and spinach.

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Added it to my bread dough.

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Shaped into buns.

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Baked the bread.

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While LifeSchooling my kids

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Then put together the Gyro Burgers.

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This is homemade Tzatziki Sauce.

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Tada!

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Oh, oh, almond cake for dessert!

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It it was a good day!

Switched Up Soup and a Sandwich

All I can think about is cool weather comfort food. I know this is completely ridiculous since it’s still in the 100’s here in Phoenix.

I’ve had been practicing making cinnamon buns, so today I thought to my self, “Self, why not a savory roll?” So, here is what I came up with.

Chunky Veggie Soup and Twisted Turkey and Spinach.

Basic Bread Machine dough recipe, blended cream cheese with herbs, sliced turkey breast, fresh spinach, and Roma tomatoes all rooked up and baked.

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Soup is two cans of stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried beans, fresh mushrooms, fresh spinach and a few bay leaves.
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The final product was a new twist on soup and a salad.

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Cozy Soup on a Chilly 98 degree September Day

It was a rainy day today in Phoenix, actually the wettest day on history. Many serious situations and extremely large amount of water damage for many homes, schools and businesses. So, if you could please consider saying a prayer for those suffering from negative effects of today’s rain.

Soup just seemed like the meal of choice today. I didn’t want to leave the house and I had plenty of items in my panty to make this extremely low cost, high flavor meal.

I started midday by making a new bread recipe I created, Sweet Basil & Tarragon.
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Then, I made a Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder.

 

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A day of simple, satisfying and extremely low cost meals. Thank You YHWH for Your amazing blessings.

“Kosher” Kitchen still as Cozy Kitchen?

This was my first week of  being “Kosher” in my families meals. First it stated with me cleaning out my freezers of all the non-kosher foods I had. Then I studied and shopped for Torah friendly items, I was scare of the cost at first, however, it really cost me less than what I anticipated since I could buy two or three kosher cuts of beef at Costco.

Below is my first kosher meal. I had never made a meal without butter, and I personally chose not to do dairy with beef. Even though Biblically, it simply calls for calf not to be boiled in the mother’s milk. Here I have braise Beef short ribs, smashed red potatoes with hericot verts and sautéed mushrooms.

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Next day I decided I would use butter since I was not serving beef. Here I made peach and tarragon compound butter. I just loved it!

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Then, in, my first “official” Challah bread for Shabbat.

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This is morning, I put together “French” toast from the left over bread. My guys here loved it!image

 

So, my first week being mindful of YWHW’s (God’s) instruction on food according to the Torah (Not the Talmud) was actually a delight. I can honor the Father in my behavior, giving, service and tithing, but to honor Him with what I ate and what I fed my family gave me an even greater sense of connection to my Beloved Creator. Maybe my Kitchen became even cozier since YHWH, Yeshua and the Holy Spirit are free to visit with me without finding items that they may be offended by.

 

Shabbat Shalom

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Lovin from the Oven

My sweet baby girl loves cinnamon rolls. I don’t make them often, but last night I had some left over, very basic bread dough. I rolled it out flat, brushed it with butter and sprinkled on her favorite cinnamon and sugar mix, rolled it up, sliced it, arranged them in my deepest cake tin, baked them, and then added a drizzle of sugar glaze. Nothing like waking your family up to the amazing smell of warm yeasty dough coupled with the heavenly scent of cinnamon and sugar.

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You want me to do what?!

BIBLE:
Jesus KNEW that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.

After washing their feet, He put on His robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the TRUTH, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. (‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭3-5, 12-17‬ NLT)

ME:
Because Jesus knew His greatness and knew His reward in God, He was able to humble Himself and wash the feet of others. The feet are usually the first to get soiled, the most difficult to keep clean and the lowest aspect of the body. The Greatest Being was washing the lowest part of man. Absorb that…

So many of our popular pastors in the media, they pump and prime us to believe we deserve to partake in the greatness, success,and entitlements of Jesus. Even though it is true, we are certainly promised that. Unfortunately, these “pastors” they are not teaching the complete Truth. Jesus here teaches us that we follow His example, even though we have a great reward and entitlement waiting for us, we live as humble before others as we can, we die to ourselves and we serve others, putting them first in all things. Washing and drying their soiled feet and soiled lives.

We need to be cautious of “teachers” not living the Life of Christ. Seeking platforms, special lighting, hipster clothes, gelled hair, security guards, gated communities, you know the type. We are clearly taught by Jesus Himself, we take the lower seat, we serve, we wash, we humble ourselves.

Spend a season in your life being taught by Jesus. Learn from Him. Study His Words. Learn Jesus from the Holy Spirit, talk about Him with your friends. Seek first the Kingdom. Your eyes will be open to a new reality. A New Life, and a Life more Abundant!

Loving Your Teen More Than Your Toddler

Loving Your Teen More Than Your Toddler. You know that crazy, all consuming love we feel for our newborn or toddler, it’s the best feeling on the planet. We just love to look at those sweet chubby cheeks and big glossy eyes. It’s an awesome feeling. I am always heartbroken to see parents not enjoying their teen/adult children and not continuing to feel this sense of adoration.

God’s design is that we look at our tiny tots and get a rush of pleasant emotion and find them adorable so that we want to protect them, guard them and provide for them. God knows if they looked like skinny baby robins it would be slightly more challenging to be so completely enamored with them. They are a lot of hard, tiring work. Somehow, we totally get through it because of their dadgum cuteness.

Unfortunately, as our kids grow and mature, parents honestly grow less enamored. This isn’t how it should be. Our love for our kids should deepen and expand, especially as the extensive physical labor of caring for them lessens and they have the ability to ease our work load. This is the magical time we get to see them for who they truly are. Their personality comes to life and we bond with them not only as parents but as mentors and even better, as friends.

But, what is happening? Why are most of the parent/teen relationships not maturing into this level of depth? Truth? Most parents stink at parenting and mentoring. It’s a lost skill. As our world became industrialized, our great grandparents didn’t truly parent our grandparents, our grandparents didn’t truly parent, our parents didn’t truly parent us and we are not truly parenting our kids.

Good news? This can change in one moment, in one single beat of your heart. How? Facing the truth, being honest with yourself that you do not know how to truly parent, being honest with your kids about it, and being honest to God about it. Then you humble yourself to yourself, to your kids and to your God. You ask for forgiveness from God and your kids. Get eye to eye with your teen, ask them to step out of the rage for a minute and just hear the words you are about you are about to say. Admit you are wrong, you have been wrong, you have failed them, sincerely apologize. Your child needs to hear this, and hear it often. Sure you may get eyes rolled at you. But honestly your child will see this moment of weakness, truly as a moment of great strength. Then from there, you just say, “I’m going to try to get this right, we need to approach this and learn from each other. What kind of parent do you truly want me to be? This is what I truly want to see from you as my child.”

Honesty, Humility and Truth don’t take away our strength, they make us STRONGER!

Scripture: Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭12‬ KJV) And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬ NLT)

Live Clean, Live in Truth, Live Good, Love Good…Come alive by dying to yourself, and live more abundantly! This is the Good Stuff Here!

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