It's time...to get SAUCY!!!

Hi, this is Lizzye, proud daughter of Angie. As I guest blog today, I wanna take you on a journey through your fridge. You probably have that fruit thing, a meat section, or a spot dedicated to cheese. But what about your side doors? Yeah, that's right, those aren't just for decoration, and they aren't just for storing all the things you don't use. Is it just me, or is there like 30 sauces and dressings that sit idly in those compartments crying out for the right to be used?

So, now your thinking, I don't use them, but I don't need to. I'll save them for when I'm having fries, or a salad. What you didn't know, is that sauces such as Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ, or even hot sauce can go bad. You can save them for a magical moment, pull them out stir the gross oily mixture up and suffer the smell, or you can start using sauces before they turn into something that resembles a melted McDonald's shake.

The first problem with sauce is that you assume they have to go ON something, when in fact a lot of sauces can go IN something. The other problem is that each sauce has one item tied to it like life depends on that combination. Ketchup = fries. Salsa = chips, Hot sauce = wings, BBQ = ribs, Dressing = salad, etc. Those are popular because they're yummy, not because they are the only combination possible.

Do you have that weird friend who puts ranch on fries, or hot sauce on onion rings? Shhh, I don't need to hear their name. I'm actually going to tell you THAT THEY ARE NOT THAT WEIRD, THEY ARE INGENIOUS. Don't be afraid to put a sauce on a food where it "doesn't belong." A sauce is never somewhere it doesn't belong, so stop thinking it is. That kind of thinking will accumulate sauces faster than chocolate accumulates women.

I personally like Asiago Caesar dressing on tortillas. And onion rings. Now step back to when I said sauces can go IN things not just ON them. That is where the search engine is your friend because there are countless recipes that include significant amounts of a sauce as an ingredient. So plug in a sauce to your search bar, get off this page and go get saucy in your kitchen! Lizzye out, keep up for more great ideas with Angie, a wonderful loving mom.

Building a new habit

This semester has been insanely busy for me: a new job, full (FULL) days teaching at my old job, helping my recent high school grad look for a job, and the baby finally taking her moment in the spotlight of busy. It feels like I never have time to breathe. I am definitely falling behind in laundry and housecleaning.

However, we're not ordering out. I go to the grocery store about once a week, because I don't have time to think about food. I am using up meats in the freezer, still ordering produce every other week, and cooking freezer meals that I had the foresight to put together before the craziness set in.

I have been out of biscuits for the past week. However, I had spent a little time making up vanilla scones from a mix that was shoved in the pantry...and I've just been eating those instead of the beloved biscuits. I know from the summer that I can survive without them.

I have planned carefully to have leftovers on nights that I am going to be tired, but there have still been times that meals have snuck up on me: "What?? People need to eat? Didn't we just do this??" I have overcome all of my gourmet expectations: we eat what we have. Grilled cheese, an odd mixture of foods that the girls wanted but now won't finish, etc.

The other day, I put on our "eat up" list some frozen fried ravioli that my middle child used to like. It had been in the freezer for over a month, and I thought, hey, it's not the most healthy, but it could be a side to a soup, and it would no longer take up space on the bread shelf. (You know, pasta is bread. Even when stuffed with beef and fried.) Then one evening I walk into the kitchen to find her (the one that bought it, the one that then turned her nose up at it) finishing off the ravioli with marinara dipping sauce (which was also cleaning out a jar in the fridge). Who knew! Even my picky children are adapting to our new lifestyle.

photo courtesy of Bonnie Camp

The time that I took in July contemplating how we eat and seeking something simpler (not only in effort, but in emotion and expectations) has blessed us in both our finances and my stress levels.

The change was contemplated and implemented during a time of rest. The blessing has come during a time of stress. Note that you could not create the change in a time of stress--you're too stressed! But using wisdom in the quieter seasons pays off when things get crazy.

I also think it's significant that I only worked on one area this summer. I didn't try to conquer my whole life: just the kitchen. Next summer, I could pick the housework, or fitness.

I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to summertime.