WIC Wednesday #: Chicken Broth

I find that a lot of recipes call for chicken broth. We used to buy a 32oz carton of chicken broth from Wal-Mart for about $2.00. Now that we're cutting back, I figured it was a great time to add chicken broth to the list of things to make at home. Making chicken broth at home will eliminate the unneeded salt and preservatives we consume since we will be controlling what goes into the broth. It's a really easy recipe that makes the house smell super yummy.

To make about 20-25 cups of broth, we spent about $9 on the food: $6 on a whole chicken and $3 on bay leaves. We were also left with extra bay leaves, enough for another 2 batches I think. We got the veggies from WIC. Even if you don't have WIC, these veggies are super inexpensive. I think we would've paid about $2-3 for all of it.

I used mason jars to store my broth. You don't have to get the fancy mason jars if it's not in your budget to. I had a couple left over from a previous shopping trip. I bought a couple more at the dollar store that work just as well! Or for an even better budget friendly idea, use leftover pasta jars! Just clean them out really well ;)

Tools:
Large Stock Pot (The one I have holds 8 qts)
Long ladle
Strainer or Colander
Large bowl (larger and deeper than your strainer or colander, I used my crock pot bowl)
Large bowl (to hold cooked chicken and veggies)
(optional) Cheese cloth. I use a cheese cloth to further strain the liquids for a more clear broth
Mason Jars

Ingredients:
1 whole young chicken, broken down
1 large yellow onion (think fist sized or larger)*
1 bundle celery (about 10-13 stalks)*
1 bag carrots (about 5-7 pieces)*
3-7 Bay Leaves
1/2 cup salt
28 cups of water
*WIC

Steps
1. Break down your chicken. It'll get messy and ugly but patience is key. I learned from my dad that kitchen shears really help break down those pieces with the thick bones. (like the back and breast!)
2. Wash and cut your celery and carrots into 2-3 inch pieces. Peeling the carrots are totally optional.
3. Quarter the onion and separate the pieces.
4. Pour 28 cups of water into your stock pot and stir in the salt.
5. Turn the stove onto high heat and start adding in all of your ingredients.
6. Bring the broth to a boil for about 30-45 mins. (Just keep the lid off and check on it occasionally incase it boils over. I didn't have that problem, but it's better to check anyways)
7. Lower the heat to a med-low and set the timer for 2-3 hours. The longer you cook it, the more flavored it will be. Check on your pot every half hour or so, clean off any foam gunk that rises to the top and oil, and give it a quick stir.
8. When the timer's done, turn the heat off. Scoop out the chicken and cooked veggies into one bowl. The veggies will be too soft to eat, but you can take the meat off the bones and shred it use it in other recipes or even freeze for quick meal prep. (Eventually, I will post some of the recipes I have made using this chicken meat.) I got about 9 cups of shredded chicken.
9. Line the strainer or colander with cheese cloth. Place in your large container. Carefully pour the liquids though.
10. Throw the gunk and cheese cloth away. Let the liquids cool enough to handle, about 30-45 mins. Pour into your mason jars. You can freeze the broth as well to make it last longer. Just leave about 2 inches from the top for expansion. Take the jar out a day or two before you plan on using it, so it has time to totally defrost.

For about 5 hours of non-intensive cooking, that was some delicious broth. We use it for everything from boiling pasta (we do a half water, half broth mix) to soups. This recipe can always be altered to add flavors you like, or even changed to different meats to make different meat stocks.

Enjoy!

WIC Wednesday #7: Skillet Beef Tamales (Freezer Friendly!)

Time is precious as a new mom. Hate to say it, but trying to cook food just doesn't make the cut sometimes. However, eating the same 'ld meals over and over can get really boring. I found this recipe in a cookbook that looked fairly easy to convert into a freezer meal. Hubby LOVED it :)

 

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 cups salsa

3/4 cup frozen corn

2 TBSP water

6 corn tortillas (6in diameter) cut into 1/2 in thick strips

3/4 cup shredded cheese

5 tsp sour cream

1 freezer gallon bag

2 freezer quart bags

 

Directions:

1. Label the gallon bag as skillet beef tamales. Underneath, write the cooking instructions:

 

Warm beef & peppers

Combine all

Stir in tortilla strips

Garnish with cheese and sour cream

 

2.  Label one of the quart bags beef & peppers and the other one salsa & corn.

3. Combine the salsa, corn and water into the appropriate bag. Squeeze out all the air and seal shut.

4. Prep the meat by browning & draining it. Wait for it to cool (can be speed up by placing it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes) and place it in the other bag with the peppers. Don't cook the peppers ahead of time so they won't get soggy upon reheating.

5. Place both bags in the gallon bag.

 

Wic Wednesday #6: Thai Peanut Noodles (Freezer Friendly!)

Eating on a budget doesn't have to mean PB sandwiches or ramen noodles. I used my WIC check to get the majority of the ingredients for this vegetarian meal. Having a meal without meat in it is one way to save money. Since meat can get pretty pricy, cutting back at least once a week can make a difference. I found this One Pot Pasta Thai Peanut Butter Noodles recipe from Top Ate on Your Plate. To make this freezer friendly, I prepped all the veggies and added all the ingredients except the pasta and noodles. You can easily skip the whole freezer part and just throw everything into the pot.

 

Ingredients:

8oz spaghetti, uncooked, rinsed in cold water until the starch is gone

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 TBSP soy sauce

1 TSBP fish sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter*

1 TBSP ginger, grated*

1 clove garlic, minced*

1 1/2 cup broccoli floret*

1 cup sliced mushrooms*

1 cup carrots, sliced*

1/2 onion, sliced*

 

Garnish

Cilantro

1 TBSP sesame seeds

*WIC

Directions:
1. Label the bag as Thai Peanut Butter Noodles. Underneath, write the cooking instructions:

 

Defrost overnight

Add 2 cups chicken broth

Add spaghetti, rinsed in cold water (uncooked)

Bring to boil, boil for 10 mins

(if pasta is still too al dente, add 1/4 cup water or broth and boil for extra 3-5 mins)

Garnish

 

2. In the zip lock bag, combine everthing except the spaghetti, broth and garnish

3. Close the bag, trying to squeeze out as much air as possible.

4. Freeze flat.

To cook:
1. Defrost overnight
2. Add the contents of the bag, chicken broth and spaghetti to a pot
3. Boil until pasta is al dente
4. Garnish

Craft Alert! DIY Elephant Mobile

Baby Turtle recently graduated from the bassinet to her crib. We never intended for her to sleep in it until she was a bit older, but she was out growing the bassinet way too fast. I didn't get her a mobile for the crib for that reason. I wanted to be able to find the "perfect" one and buy it. So doing some research, the "perfect" one was crazy expensive! Like $40 to $90+ expensive. So with the help of some Pinterest, I decided to make my own for half the price. I used three pins combined to create my own piece. One for the layout, pattern, and structure. 

 

I didn't get a chance to sit down and knock this project out in a few hours. Baby Turtle wouldn't have it. I ended up fitting this project in between naps and after Baby Turtle went to bed over the span of a week. The only thing I waited for Hubby to be able to watch her for was the parts that involved the hot glue gun. I didn't want to risk a) accidently leaving it on if she were to have woken up b) get halfway though a hoop and have her wake up c) hot glue and babies don't mix! I think if I were to total all the time I spent, it would be about 8-10 hours. Maybe? I stopped and started a lot since Baby Turtle doesn't have a real set nap schedule yet. Naps last anywhere from 15 mins to 3 hours, depending on her mood.

 

This DIY project is fairly low cost compared to the customizable ones you find on Etsy. I pictured the materials I purchased (all for about $13) and the non-pictured items I list are things I had at home.

 

Materials:

 

2 Embroidery Hoops. I used a 12" and a 7". You will only need the solid wood part, not the part with the hardware on it. (Keep it though! I plan on testing out another DIY with that part so money and materials aren't wasted)

Embroidery Floss, use colors that coordinate with the felt. I got pink, grey and cream.

1/3 yard each of pink, grey and white felt. (I got mine at Jo-Ann)
*If you can, get felt sheets instead. I learned that 1/3 yd of felt was just excessive and I only used about 1/8 of each sheet*

Matching Yarn (I used pink) and white thread

(Optional) elephant hole punch, I borrowed this from a friend

 You will also need the following:
Cardstock
Sharpie
Tape
Hot glue gun & sticks
Large needle
(optional) Stuffing
(optional) grey cardstock

Directions:

-part one-
1. Make your stencils. I free-handed my shapes, cut them out and taped the flap closed. You'll need the elephant shape, ears, and clouds.

you can tell I was quite indecisive about my shape :)

To save paper and get a good proportion for the ears, I used the elephant cut out as the stencil

Ta-Da!

I decided to make 3 different cloud shapes to add some dimension to the overall look 

2. Trace out your shapes onto the felt and cut them out. You will need 6 pink elephants, 10 pink hearts, 6 grey elephants, 10 grey hearts, and 20 clouds (make sure you have an even number of shapes if you use multiple ones). Also make sure that you trace an even number on each side of the stencil, so you don't see the marker on one side.



Note how I traced elephants and hearts facing one way and vice versa?

 

This was the moment that I realized 1/3 yd felt was WAY too much. This took up *maybe* 1/8 of the whole strip of fabric.  

Even though I had made 3 different clouds in my stencil, I decided that the two larger ones would look better than all three. Get creative!

3. Sew the hearts onto the elephants using the embroidery floss that is the color of the elephant. I alternated the colors (grey elephant with pink heart, pink elephant with grey heart). Make sure that for every two pieces of elephant, you sew the heart on the opposite side. (they will eventually get sewn together and you want the hearts facing outwards.) Use the same colored thread to make the eyes. I made a simple X, but you can be as creative or non-creative as you want :)

 

I used scissors to stuff my ears. Totally optional, but I think it adds more dimension to the overall piece.

Close up of the finishing stiches

 

This is what the back side of one side of the elephant looks like.

4. Sew the elephants together. I had leftover stuffing from a pillow I made, so I used it to give my elephants some dimension. I laid some stuffing inside before starting to sew. At the end, before I closed it up, I checked the stuffing and added as needed.

 

Finished elephant nose on

Finished elephant side view

 

5. Sew the hearts together using the same colored embroidery floss. Stuffing is optional.

6. Sew the clouds together using the cream embroidery floss. Stuffing is optional.

7. Now you should have 3 pink elephants, 3 grey elephants, 2 pink hearts, 2 grey hearts and 10 clouds. Set these aside.

-part two-
1. Take the embroidery hoops and separate the pieces. You only need the solid wood pieces.

2. Carefully put some hot glue on the inner rim and start wrapping the yarn around. Take your time, wrapping the yard very tightly. Also be careful, the hot glue is, well, hot. :)

3. Wrap both hoops in yarn.

-part three (optional)-
1. Cut out lots of elephant shapes using grey paper. I would use pink and grey, but the hoops are already pink. I didn't want it to be overkill on the pink. I just cut as many as I could on one 8"x11" piece of grey paper. I punched around the entire border of the paper, cut the outlines out and continued on until there was no more paper.

I hope this shows what I mean in the instructions :)

Elephants!!


-part four-
1. String some thread through the felt shapes. Tie knots at the top and bottom of each shape to keep them in place. Be as creative as you want with where you want the shapes to be :)

2. Tie them onto the hoop. You can get a ruler and measure it, but I just eye-balled it with no problems. I put the elephants on the larger ring and the hearts on the smaller ring.

3. I used some yarn and tied the two hoops together, keeping the smaller hoop slight lower.

 

4. Use more yarn to tie on the larger hoop to use as the hanger.

I took 4 equal pieces and tied them all together in a knot on top

5. If you did part three, use a small dab of glue and place them on the hoops.

6. ALL DONE! Hang and enjoy!

The Finished Product!

The Finished Product!

this is what baby turtle will see lol. should've made them more 3-D



WIC Wednesday #5: Split Pea Soup (Freezer Friendly!)

Hubby has been bugging me to make split pea soup. I've personally never had it, but he claims its the best thing ever. So I decided to be nice and search for a good recipe. This Split Pea Soup Recipe by Five Heart Home looked really easy and simple to make. Something I did differently from the recipe that I think helped with the "freezer shelf life" of this recipe is prepare the potatoes. Trial And Error Homemaking had this amazingly potato prep tutorial that kept the potatoes looking nice and white. This recipe became Hubby approved, and he's already requested I make this during the Christmas season when his family comes to visit.

Ingredients:

16oz dried split peas, rinsed and drained*

2 cups diced ham

2 cups diced potatoes

2 cups diced carrots*

2 TBSP minced garlic*

8 cups chicken broth

1-2 bay leaves

2 TBSP dried parsley

*WIC

Directions:
1. Label the bag as split pea soup. Underneath, write the cooking instructions: 

 

Add dried peas (you can make a note to rinse and drain them if you'll forget otherwise)

Add 8 cups chicken broth

Combine all

low 8-10hrs, high 4-5hrs.

2. Prep the potatoes. I just threw mine in boiling water for 5 minutes and stuck them in the freezer to cool off faster. Try to leave them in the freezer for at least 30-45 minutes, or until cool to touch.

3.  In the zip lock bag, put in the ham, potatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and parsley.
4. Close the bag, trying to squeeze out as much air as possible.
5. Freeze flat. 

To cook:
1. Put in crockpot and follow instructions. Defrosting is not necessary :)

 

 

WIC Wednesday #4: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (Freezer Friendly!)

Pasta is always an easy fall back plan when we don't feel like cooking. However, cooking pasta sauce in the crock pot brings easy cooking to a whole new level! Thank you to marking our marx for finding this easy chicken broccoli alfredo recipe!

Ingredients:
1 bag 16oz frozen broccoli
1 large green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
2 16 oz jars Alfredo sauce

Directions:
1. Label the bag as chicken broccoli alfredo. Underneath, write the cooking instructions: low 4-6hrs.
2.  Mix all ingredients together in freezer gallon zip-lock bag
3. Close the bag, trying to squeeze out as much air as possible.
4. Freeze flat.

 

To cook:
1. Defrost in fridge the night before. (this is so there isn't a giant clump, this step can easily be skipped if you forgot)
2. Put in crock pot and heat on low for 4hrs, or until the chicken is cooked.
3. Cook pasta of your choice 30 mins before serving and enjoy!

 

Wic Wednesdays #3: Teriyaki Chicken (Freezer Friendly!)

This teriyaki chicken recipe is super easy to prep and even easier to cook! I got this recipe from Kojo Designs but I altered the recipe a little. Her teriyaki chicken only calls for broccoli and I added green peppers to the mix. I also reduced it down to 3 chicken breast because our grocery stores sell them in groups of 3 not 4. Be careful when you place in the freezer that you don't place anything too heavy on top or it will puncture the foil. That's why I used two pieces of foil.

 

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breast
1 green pepper, chopped*
1 head broccoli, chopped*
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 foil pan
foil

Directions:
1. Lay chicken breast, bell peppers and broccoli on the pan
2. Mix the honey, soy sauce, water, ground ginger and garlic together.
3. Pour mixture over ingredients in pan.
4. Cut 2 pieces of foil out to fit over the pan. On one of them, in the center, write: Bake at 350* F for 20-30 minutes covered. Uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes.**

To cook:
1. Defrost in the fridge the night before.
2. Bake as directed. Cut into the chicken before serving to make sure it's thoroughly cooked. Pink is bad!

Some things I would do differently:
**This recipe was a half success. The chicken was cooked amazingly. But I had to bake it for an extra 30 mins uncovered. SO, I would change the instructions to uncover & bake for 1 hr.
Another thing I would do is not use the same veggies. The green bell pepper turned out to be really bitter/sour and the broccoli kinda just soaked in all that taste. So the chicken was amazing, but the veggies...not so much. I would steam them on the side or put them in fresh the day of. I think freezing them like that did a number to the poor things.