The Finished Batch!

This is an update to my previous post.

Well, it took a day, but my beans are ready for tomorrow!

If you want to make it even easier, start the batch before you go to bed.  Then, you can have a great lunch.  This batch took a full 12 hours to cook.  These make a great side.  They can be refried, but do not add too much liquid.  You can make a tasty soup too by adding some veggies to the broth, and some tomato.  Remember to use that Knorr from the bean recipe to add flavor.

Family Blessings,
Abi

Bean!

My Trusty Beans!

Okay, all my friends ask, "What do you feed those boys?"  Here is the answer, "Whatever I have on hand!"  With four boys and a husband, I have learned to cook BIG.  After all, three are over six foot, and my two little guys are catching up.  Today, I have pinto beans and some left over ham chunks.  So, I am making a big pot of pinto beans!  This makes plenty for the boys, and it can be used in a variety of ways all week.

Ingredients:
2 cups of pinto beans- buy local and fresh if you can
2 quarts hot water to start
1 large onion
4 cubes of Knorr Pollo con Tomate cubes (in the latin food section of your local grocer).  You might add one more at the end of cooking for extra flavor-if you think the batch needs it.
1 Tbs whole Mexican Oregano Leaves
1 chunk of ham or ham hock or leftover hambone
2 bay leaves

Directions:
This is easy.  Make sure you have a large crock pot- mine holds five quarts.
First, put the ham chunk or bone in the pot.  There is no need to cut it at all.  It will break down while it cooks.

Peal your onion and cut it into large chunks. Put it in the pot.

Rinse your beans-make sure the beans are dirt/rock free.  Add them to the pot.

Add two quarts of hot water (from the sink is fine) to the pot.

Unwrap four Knorr cubes, and break them up with your fingers over the pot.  Mix the ingredients together a few times.

Add the bay leaves and oregano to the pot.  Mix it all a few times.

Now, cover the pot.  Set the timer on high for 10-12 hours-yes, that's a long time.  While the beans cook, they will suck up the water.  Add water to the pot a little at a time as you see the need.  How will you know?  The beans will look dry, so add water.  It's a good rule to cover the beans with water about an inch at all times.  Mix the beans as they cook to make sure the batch cooks evenly.  After the cooking time has ended, taste the beans.  If you think the batch needs more flavor, add more Knorr cubes.  Just add one cube by breaking it up over the pot; make sure to add one cube at a time until your taste buds are happy.  This is the best way to add flavor to the beans.  If you put too much Knorr in the batch, the beans will be very salty, so add a cube, mix it, wait a few minutes, and taste the batch before adding more seasoning.  You can add salt if you like, but Knorr has plenty of sodium.  Remember that the ham has salt too.  For my taste, five Knorr cubes is just fine.

My beans are on right now!  I will post a pic of the finished batch later today.  They are fully cooked when the beans are tender, the liquid is almost opaque, and the meat falls apart.


How to serve the beans up:
The beans can be eaten as is with a warm tortilla.  It's like a soup.  You can also refry the beans.  To do this, take out about a cup of beans without too much meat and without too much onion.  Get a frying pan.  Heat a little oil in the pan, and add the cooked beans.  Using a potato masher, mix and squash the beans up while they cook until the are a paste.  That's the secret of refried beans- they are cooked beans that are fried up in a pan.  You can add green chile, onion, cheese, or salsa to the batch.  If you are truly adventurous, make drunken beans-borachos.  Frijoles Borachos can be made by making refried beans, but you add Mexican bear, cheese, and salsa while the beans cook down.

Cost:
I hope you enjoy all the ways to eat my trusty pot of beans!
The cost for this 5 quart recipe is incredibly frugal.
Beans: about $2
Knorr: $0.50 a box (one box has 8 cubes)
Onion: $.50
Seasoning:  less than $0.50
Ham: about $2, but you can use leftover ham from another meal.
This means that this batch of trust beans costs less than $6 to make.  With a 1/2 cup serving size, this recipe makes about about 48 servings at a cost of about $0.13 a serving.

Please share this post with your friends.  I really appreciate your support and help with the start of this blog.  I am close to 1,000 views!  Thank you for everything!!! Share, Share, Share!

Family Blessings,
Abi

Easy Pork Recipe!

I just found another great recipe for an easy roast.  This one I found on a great blog from food network.  It is the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  Go to www.thepioneerwoman.com to check out her great recipes.  I think you will love them!  This cook is a genius!

Try the pulled pork recipe- Spicy Pop Pork!

Easy!!!
Ingredients:
Pork shoulder roast
2 onions
4 large tablespoons of brown sugar
1 can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 11ounces
salt and pepper
2 cans of Dr. Pepper

Get a casserole dish that you can cover with foil and bake in the oven.  Make sure it is deep enough for a large roast.  I picked a 10 pounder!  I also selected a pork shoulder roast for the fat content.

Quarter and separate two large onions.  Line the dish with the separated quarters.

Salt and pepper the roast and place it in the dish- resting right on the onions.

Put the sugar, soda pop, and chile sauce on the roast.  Cover the whole thing tightly in foil.  Bake at 300 degrees for 6 hours.  Flip the meat half way through cooking.  To serve, separate the meat with a fork- pulling it into shreds.  Mix into the yummy sauce.

This is super easy and tastes like you seriously know how to cook!!

Foil! Easy Roast with Easy Clean-up

Foil!

I was just amazed by a simple foil trick that I never tried before today.  My friend makes a great brisket in the crock pot using foil.  Foil is so inexpensive compared to fancy crock pot liners and cooking bags.  For this simple recipe, all you need is a roast or brisket large enough to fill your crock pot, marinade, and heavy duty foil.  My crock pot is very large- about five quarts, and I pick large roasts that easily feed my five hungry men.  Take your meat and season it as you would like; you can even add some store bought marinade.  Carefully wrap the meat in a large piece of foil.  Fold over the ends of the foil over the meat to completely enclose the roast in a tight package, and seal up the package to make it leak proof.  Then, pop it in the crock pot for about 8 hours on low.  The cooked meat is fall apart tender, moist, and completely infused with flavor!  Clean up is so easy!!!  You just take the roast out and wash a pretty clean crock pot.  One three dollar package of foil can wrap at least five roasts- maybe more.  Another trick is to individually wrap baked potatoes in foil and pop them in a separate crock pot on high for 2 to 3 hours.  Viola!!! It is easy to crock a meal on a busy school night, and the house will stay cool without oven roasting.

I have a great idea... make up a recipe and comment it below!  We can swap tasty crock roasts; please use foil to wrap the meat.  I am going to try this again tomorrow and make a tasty Asian style pork roast full of flavor!  Thank you for supporting my blog; please share my link.  I really appreciate the support!

Family Blessings,
Abi

Science Fun for the Last Week of School!

Here is a wonderful idea in life science for all teachers to use this time of year!  Observe nature's little creatures- The Great Bug Hunt!

Materials:  One foot of yarn per child; science kit with forceps, magnifying box, handheld magnifying glass, ruler, and small container; and, an outdoor, grassy area (maybe in the shade of a tree).  You will also need a notebook and pencils to sketch findings, keep tally of findings, and take notes as needed.

This activity will develop observation skills while building an introductory comfort level with scientific inquiry tools.  The activity can be adapted to fulfill many standards and benchmarks in inquiry skills.  Also, teachers can expand this activity to fit into the scientific process by collecting data, interpreting the data, and graphing results.

What to do:

For everyone's safety and fun, it is important to verify that your students do not have allergies to grass or certain insects.  Then, make rules for the behavior you expect for the group activity.  I have students inquire individually and share findings periodically with quiet conversation.  I also set up a perimeter for student use, and keep basic expectations- like no running, screaming, or hurting insects.  I also make sure that the area is returned to its original condition, and have students return insects and worms to their location.

Have students spread out over an outdoor area.  I prefer finding a nice shady and quiet spot with plenty of grass and moist soil.  As the teacher, you only need to give students guidelines and watch.  Sit back and let them direct the inquiry.  Natural curiosity will bring many children to you with questions and findings that will astonish you.

Students should use the yarn to mark a circle on the grass.  Then, using the magnifying tools and forceps, students should search for living insects and worms.  When a discovery is made, students can sketch the finding, measure it, and keep a tally of the insect or invertebrate.  Students will develop organizational charts and imaginative ways to categorize the findings on their own.  

The best part is that exploring nature leads to a quiet peace and wonder in each child.  The class will explore quite peacefully and find even the smallest insect special.  Time will pass by so quickly, but each moment will lead to a genuine teaching experience.

AGAIN... it is very important to use teacher common sense, because some small creepy crawlies are not child friendly (poisonous spiders etc).  Keep vigilant and make sure all the children are safe.  Make sure students use forceps and wash their hands after exploring.

The last part of this fun lesson is the most important.  YOU must teach!  Regroup in class and apply the findings in an appropriate activity.  Lead the students into exploring and learning about invertebrate classification.  Have students create bar graphs that interpret the data collected by classification of the findings.  Apply all the exploration into actual critical thinking about the benefits of insects.  This single activity can lead into a world of creative learning.  Through this lesson, my students brought me so much joy this week!  I only hope that you also apply a fun activity to your end of the year plans.

Family Blessings,

Abi

Lunch Snacks for the End of the Year!

It is the end of the year, and students need that little something to keep focused on school. Pack snacks that keep sugar levels down. This will help with the after recess crash...

1. Sliced cucumbers...a nice fresh treat!

2. String cheese - yes an old favorite! Why not stock up on this treat? You can roll lunch meat around the cheese and slice into smaller bits for a change.

3. Sugar free jello cups! You can make your own and save money. Shop at a restaurant supply store for disposable cups and lids. Some stores have really inexpensive containers. I have bought some cups and lids at Shamrock for less than five dollars. You can buy about 300! That's enough for at least the summer. Use the containers for jello or fruit cups! In the summer, you can make popsicles.

4. Always think of snacks that are easy to eat. Children throw out tons of food just because the snack is hard to open or messy. I can't tell you how many times children try to pry open a yogurt tube with their teeth and hand it over to a teacher to open- all slobbered on and dirty. If it gets opened, then yogurt squirts all over the place. Most tubes end up in the trash. So, pack an inexpensive easy to open yogurt and a disposable spoon. It's cheaper, neater, and your child can save themselves the trouble of prying open the tube with their teeth.

Have fun making snacks with the kids!! Be kind and remember that sugar treats can lead to a sugar crash.
Thanks for listening to the tips! The end of the year is so busy, but I will try to post some ideas soon. Please share...

Family Blessings,
Abi