My Loving Home

Creative homemaking

{ 02:22, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 } { 3 comments } { Link }

Outside my back window today:

Geese are very pretty birds; not really graceful, but lots of fun to watch! They have some pretty amusing antics.

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I've been trying new skills in my homemaking; I think it's a lot of fun to learn how to do more! And to learn to do them efficiently and effectively.

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Yesterday I learned how to dehydrate cabbage. I found some instructions online which were really simple. I was very pleased with the results, and was fascinated that an entire large head of cabbage can fit in three sandwich-size baggies when fully dehydrated! Here is the finished product:

The head of cabbage didn't quite fill the four dehydrator trays, so I put in a sliced onion to fill the final tray.

I'm starting to accumulate quite a bit of dehydrated food. I hope to be able to purchase a vacuum sealer, to preserve the foods for longer-term storage. Right now I've just been putting the baggies in the freezer, which kind of defeats the purpose of accumulating foods for emergencies. I'm looking for storage that is not dependent on electricity.

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I made creamy chicken & rice for dinner last night. I'm not a "fancy" cook; with all of the other tasks that I need to complete in a day, there is not a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. So, I strive to prepare filling, frugal, and nutritious meals for my family. Here is how I make the chicken dish:

Fill rice cooker and start cooking cycle:

Dice two cooked chicken breasts:

Put chicken in large pan with 4 T oil and one diced onion and sauté:

Add 4-5 T flour, salt, and pepper to taste:

Pour in 3-4 cups milk and stir over medium high heat:

Continue stirring while sauce thickens:

Add enough cooked rice to be thick and creamy:

Sprinkle with dried or fresh parsley:

Top with 2 cups shredded cheese:

The finished meal:

This is a really great recipe because it is very adaptable to your family's preferences. You can substitute tuna for the chicken, add diced celery, omit the onions, add sliced mushrooms... you get the idea. I love a recipe that I can personalize!

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Blessings from my home to yours!
~Jennie

Untitled Comment

{ 03:24, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 } { Posted by Schatzi }
Your dinner looks awesome...I will definately be giving this a try as my African children love, sing and dance over anything with chicken and rice...thanks for sharing.

Connie

Untitled Comment

{ 10:21, Thursday, January 8, 2009 } { Posted by crispe }
Looks Good! Meals don't have to be fancy to be good and I am all about easy :o)

dehydrating food

{ 02:57, Thursday, January 8, 2009 } { Posted by momto7 }
Hi Jennie
I have been working on getting an emergency food supply in the house and wonder about dehydrating vegetables. My husband thought over the long run it might be cheaper to buy dehydrated foods, due to the cost of electricity in running the dehydrator.. When I use mine it runs for quite a while and makes a lot of noise! Please leave a comment on my blog if you have any thoughts on this.

Thanks!
Brenda

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