Feeling a little ripped off

We have been buying the same brand of t.p. for years.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the first roll from the new pack (on the left) next to the last roll from the old pack (on the right).




They've decreased the amount in each pack (but still call it a mega roll), yet they've likely increased the price.

I shake my fist at them!!

How about you? Have you seen any changes in the products you buy?

Recipe Wednesday - Oatmeal Coconut Cranberry Cookies

I went to an event last week where we were invited to bring a side and/or a dessert. I took glazed carrots and these cookies. They were some tasty cookies! I found the original Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe here, but I felt like doing things a little differently. These are a very soft, moist cookie with just the right amount of texture to give you something to chew on. Here is the recipe I ended up using.

Preheat oven to 350F.
~Cream together
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened just a tad
1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
~Beat in:
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. honey
~In a separate bowl, sift together:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg powder
~Slowly incorporate dry ingredients with wet ingredients.
~Gradually add in:
2 c. oats
1 c. coconut flakes
1 c. dried cranberries
~Mix well
~Drop by teaspoonfuls onto unprepared cookie sheet. Bake (at 350) for 12-13 minutes. Put cookie sheet on wire rack for a couple minutes, then remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Try not to finish all the cookies in one day.

Goofing Around

(A little heads-up: This post is picture heavy - so enjoy!)


Boys will be boys.

Ajay's newest discovery is that he can stand on his head. Alex, of course, wants to do everything Brother does.











Ajay has also been practicing "super-dee-duperty" hard on blowing bubbles with his gum. He finally succeeded a couple days ago. I don't have any pics of the bubbles, though. And when Alex tries, he just ends up spitting his gum out onto the carpet/tile/brick patio. Oops.

Boys love dirt, right? At least that is what I was informed.



And you know when they come in that they'll be filthy. I asked Ajay after taking this picture "Why is Alex so filthy?" and Ajay's response was "Because we got filthy, and we like getting filthy." Honesty is the best policy.



The boys love their Gracie. Ajay has asked a couple times to have his picture taken with the cat:





Alex got ahold of some stickers and decorated himself. The first picture looks innocent enough, but in the second one he looks like quite the little rascal!!





Alex enjoys painting....but he'd rather not get paint on the paper. Instead, he reserves the bold colors for his skin!





I hope you've enjoyed the latest installment of "How many pictures can Kalinda squeeze into one post?"

New Poll

I went to the grocery store yesterday after picking Ajay up from school. I did I could do to get in and get out with just the one thing I went in for. I thought "I'm here, what else do we need?" However, I knew Biju would be making a run to our regular store (with better prices) and I needed to get home to make the boys lunch (which was what I went to the store for in the first place). No time for looking around just to see if there was anything else we "needed." As it was, I still grabbed something else that was on the shelf next to the thing I went in for. Alas, I walked away from the store with three items instead of just the one...but it was less than what I could've bought!
So there is a poll (to the right of the page) asking how well YOU do when you go to the store for just one thing.
Happy voting!

Earth Day!!

Today is Earth Day. Earth Day has been around for 40 years now, but in reality, every day should be Earth Day, right? Do you plan on doing something more earth-friendly that may be a little out of the norm for you? Need some ideas? Here are some:

Here are a few ideas:
Shut off or unplug anything that draws electricity that isn't necessary. (Toaster, Coffee Maker, Computer, extra T.Vs, Radios, etc)
Walk or bike to your destination.
Rethink your cleaning routine - What chemicals can be replaced?
Doing laundry? Hang a load or two out to dry (either on an outside clothesline, or on one of those collapsible laundry umbrellas)

Buy (or make!) some inexpensive cloth napkins to use in place of paper.

Visit your local farmers market and support environmentally-friendly farmers.

Pick up trash in your local park.

Start (or improve upon) recycling.

Brainstorm - what else can you think of?
Let me know some other ideas - put them in the comment section.

Recipe Wednesday - Chick Pea Curry

Biju made up a Chick Pea Curry the other day and it disappeared pretty quickly! He gave me his recipe (which was hard for him since he doesn't measure!). I tried my hand at it last night and doubled everything so it would last longer. (The recipe listed is already doubled, so you can cut it in half if you don't want as much.) It tastes a bit different than what he made, but it was still good. He says you could use just about any bean with this (we've used kidney beans in the past). The base is also what he uses for Boiled Egg Curry (see the end of the post for how to make this version).

Ingredients:
2 T. Oil (we use canola)
1/2 T. Mustard Seed
2 Red (purple!) Onions, chopped
1 28-oz. can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 T. Turmeric
1 T. Garam Masala
3/4 T. Cumin
1 T. Corriander
Salt to taste
3 cans chick peas (garbanzo beans) - drained, rinsed
Water
1 Bunch Cilantro, rinsed well, chopped
(Rice)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Start cooking rice with your preferred method (we use our rice cooker).
Heat a dutch oven to med/med high heat, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Once seeds have popped, add in the onions and cook until tender. Stir in diced tomatoes and cook for about a minute. Add turmeric, garam masala, cumin, coriander and salt:



Mix well and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the garbanzo beans and about a half a can of water (more or less, depending on your preference). Cook about 10 minutes. Add in the chopped cilantro...



... and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve over rice.



And if this applies to you, try to keep the kids off the table when you call them in to eat!



For the Egg Curry.... boil your eggs when you start cooking rice. Instead of adding the chick peas, peel your eggs, put a couple slits in them, then immerse them in the tomato/onion base. You can serve this over rice, too, but it goes really well with Idli (My mother-in-law gave me a recipe for this but it is quite involved and I've yet to make them! I REALLY want to try making them if I can get my courage up.) Sometimes I just take our regular sandwich bread (whole wheat) and eat the Egg Curry with that.

Catching up on pictures

Howdy. It has been awhile since I've put a bunch of pics of the boys up, so I thought now would be a good time for that :)

Ajay was quite tickled when he learned Mommy had special powers! Even more thrilled when he learned he could do the same trick!





As usual, the boys enjoy eating outside. Be it lunch or a snack, they'll happily eat it at their little bench.



Biju was fixing the trim in Alex's bedroom and Ajay wanted to get in on the action.



I hadn't taken any sleeping pics for awhile, so I grabbed my camera when Alex was sleeping too long. I went to wake him but snapped a pic first. The flash woke him, and then he started playing with me:







The boys are absolutely loving Spring.

Ajay and his vivid imagination



Here he is cutting up our salad for dinner. Anyone else want some grass clippings cut up with a stick-knife, tossed with a few stalks of dandelion?



Alex has decided he quite enjoys climbing up the slide in addition to riding down it.



And let's not forget the all-time favorite: hanging like a monkey!

Cleaning my cast iron

Many years ago I decided I wanted a cast iron skillet, so my grandma got one for me for Christmas. It took me awhile to use it, as I wasn't sure the preseasoned skillet was actually seasoned enough for use. (In fact, I didn't even understand what the seasoning was for - I've since learned that the seasoning is to help keep foods from sticking.) It just became one of those things I wanted and had but never used. I finally got brave enough to use it once or twice. A couple summers ago, Biju used it for something on the grill. It then got left outside. Over the whole winter. Ouch! We discovered it last spring covered in rust.




We didn't know what to do with it. Sad to say, we almost threw it away thinking it wasn't salvageable. Instead of chucking it out, though, we just left it in the garage. Fast forward a year to the beginning of this Spring. I had done some research and was ready to try my hand at getting the rust off. I got the skillet a bit wet, sprinkled it with some salt and got out my Norwex spirinett. I used an old wash cloth to hold on to the spirinett and keep my hand from getting all yucky. I scrubbed for a few minutes and now look at it!




I'm thrilled with the results, however I'm still a bit embarrassed to say I haven't used it since cleaning it. I need to season it. I need to season it well so nothing sticks. If I can get the use of this smaller skillet down, then I'd like to find some bigger cast iron pots and pans to use so we can get rid of our (poison riddled) Teflon coated pans.

Edited to note: I just noticed the dates on the pictures are off. The batteries died while I was taking pics, and I must've input the wrong date when I put in fresh batteries. I think the date was off for our Easter pics, too. Too bad I don't know how to look at a calendar!

Recipe Wednesday - Beanie Weanie Mac-n-Cheese

This is in no way a healthy "recipe" but it is actually purdy tasty and fairly quick to whip up. Some of you may think I've gone round the bend with something like this, while others (mainly those in my family) will already have this recipe, or their own similar version.

In a medium sauce pan, make up a box of macaroni and cheese according to box instructions.
In the meantime, cut up some onion, if you like, and saute it in a pan with a smidge of oil. Cut up a few hot dogs (we use turkey dogs and count one per kid, two per adult), add to the pan to cook. Once they're cooked to your liking, add in two cans of pork-n-beans. Add in some brown sugar and barbeque sauce (we like KC Masterpiece Original) to taste and maybe a bit of salt and pepper. This is the point where my younger brother, Jeff, adds in a lot more - garlic powder, onion powder, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, etc. Let the beans and weenies simmer and thicken up a bit. Once the mac n cheese and beans are all done, you may either eat them separately, or, like we do often times around our house, mix it all together. Don't forget to add in a fruit or veg to complete the meal!
For a variation on this, my brothers have made a casserole of sorts. I can't remember exactly, but as I recall: Omit the hot dogs and mac n chs. Brown some meat (they use beef, we would use ground turkey), and mix it in with the "baked" beans. Put this mixture into a 9x13 pan, spread cheddar cheese over top, then add a layer of tater tots over that. (I could be wrong - it could be mixture, then tots, then cheese - I guess just experiment if you want.) Bake at 350 until everything is nice and bubbly. Let cool, then dig in.

Recipe Wednesday - Apple Chicken Stew

Yum.yum!

(I found the base to this recipe on allrecipes.com, I think, but I messed with it a teeny bit. And remember, when I give a measurement, like a teaspoon, a quarter of a teaspoon, its usually a guesstimate, because I just sorta toss it all in.)

Layer at the bottom of a crock pot:
4 med. potatoes, cubed,
4 med. carrots, sliced
1-2 celery ribs, chopped
1 med. onion, sliced,
3 (frozen) boneless, skinless chicken breast
about a tsp. salt
some black pepper
1-1.5 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. caraway seeds (original recipe called for more, so you can add more if you like this flavor. 1/2tsp. I think.)
1c. peeled, chopped apple slices (calls for tart, I just used whatever was in the fridge)
1.5 c. apple juice (or apple cider)
2c. water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1T. apple cider vinegar
1 bay leaf.
Cook on high 4-6 hours.
The original recipe said 6 servings. If you divide into 6 servings, they are big servings (which is actually kinda nice). If you do it this way, each serving is 5 points for those using Weight Watchers.