We’re down to canned goods and a few odd-ball items.  I should make a grocery list, huh?

I remembered seeing a recipe for homemade tomato soup in one of the Tightwad Gazette books.  Turns out it’s in the second one.  And I had most of the ingredients to make it.  No milk, but I still had almost a quart of half and half.  Turns out it’s very delicious made with the light cream.

I also tweaked the seasonings a bit.  Made a better tomato soup than I have ever had!  And who knew it could be so easy!  It even looks like Campb*ll’s!

The Tightwad Gazette II: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle

‘Mater Soup

You’ll need:

• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 24 oz milk, ½ & ½, or heavy cream (use the tomato paste can and fill it 4x)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp celery salt
• ¼ tsp (or so) garlic powder

Just mix it all together in a medium sized sauce pan, and cook over medium heat just till it begins to bubble.   Maybe a bit sooner if you are using the heavy cream.

This makes enough for a lunch size serving for 4 or 5 kids.  We had this for lunch today, along with some crackers and canned chicken salad.

I gotta run!  Time to make that grocery list!

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I am shocked!  Shocked, I say, at the lack of response to this lovely weekly linky of mine!  I have to tell you, you don’t know what you’re missing out on if you aren’t teaching a child to cook!  Sally Mae and I have the best times in the kitchen!  Even after only three weeks we’re so much closer than before!  She thinks I hung the moon and wants to be just like me!

You want some of that  from your child?  Take them into the kitchen and help ‘em learn the ropes!  Make it fun.  Let ‘em taste stuff and make messes.  Choose easy, delicious (& forgiving) recipes and you can hardly miss!

Ask Becky! She knows what I’m talkin’ about!

This week I actually had a hard time figuring out what we would cook.  I have been too busy to go to the grocery on my regular day (or any other day), so we had to make do with what was on hand.  It’s a good thing that nuts and chocolate chips are standard pantry items here at the ranch!

Learning about the mixer.

Her first shot at crackin’ eggs.  The first one got all over her hands and the counter.  She did great on the second one!

Funny girl!

The boring part.

The boring part took a little doing.

The pay off!

I’m calling this week’s recipe -

Trail Mix Cookie Bars

You’ll need:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1¼ cup flour (all purpose or unbleached)
• 1½ cups oats (we used old fashioned)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or so, depending on how many “disappear” while being measured)
• ½ – 1 cup of chopped nuts (we used honey roasted mixed nuts and ran ‘em through the handy chopper)
• You could add some cinnamon or nutmeg or ginger if ya want.  We didn’t.

Preheat your oven to 375° and spray some oil into your 9×13.

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, beat some more.  Add the vanilla, beat some more.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir by hand.  Keep it simple.  Mix it all in just one bowl.

Spread the dough into the 9×13.  Smooth it out all the way to the edges and corners.  Take your time.  It’s fairly forgiving, just don’t try to press hard or it’ll just stick to the spoon!

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.  Let it cool a bit before cutting into bars.  We like to use our pizza cutter for this kind of job.

Now it’s your turn!

I’d love for you to participate in my linky!  Once you’ve written your post about teaching your child to cook include a link to this post and then come back here and sign up on the MckLinky.

If you like, you may put my banner in your post.

Although it’s not required, I’d sure be tickled to see my button in your sidebar when I visit your blog.

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And besides, my redneck heating pad is down-right frugal!  And I bet you have all the materials already on hand!

You’ll need:

• 1 bandanna
• 1 pony tail holder
• 2 cups of either wheat berries or rice (still dry and uncooked)

Lay out the bandanna, maybe drape it over a cereal bowl.

Pour the wheat berries or rice into the center of the bandanna.  Wrap the sides of the bandanna up to form the pony-tail around which you will wind the pony tail holder firmly, but about 2 inches away from the wheat.

That way the wheat can sit inside the bandanna in a relaxed and sorta floppy state, instead of being uptight and hard.

OK, that’s all there is to it.  Yer done with the construction phase.

For the application phase you need to pop that bad boy into the m’wave for about 1½ minutes.  Test the warmth of your redneck heating pad before giving it to a small child or placing it on your sensitive parts.

I hear a question forming in your mind, don’t I?  You’re wondering ~

“Hey!  Mother Hen, why do you need to make a Redneck Heating Pad today?  What in tarnation has befallen you, Mother Hen?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.  It’s my wrist.  Hurts like the dickens!  And if ya promise not to spread the heinously bad news around I’ll tell what I think is goin’ on.  When I sit at the computer  I rest my wrists on the top of my desk while I type (gasp!  I know, I’m terrified!)

I guess this desk is too high for proper typing posture.  I think I can see some furniture rearranging in the near future for some of my taller, stronger Cowboys.

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Do any of y’all have that problem too?

Grrr!  I have started to abhor Math on Mondays!

Especially with Slim.  I think he knows I’m a sucker for a cute Cowboy with a super smile.  The boy plays me with the math.  He really plays me on Mondays with the math.  That boy.  I am a sucker!

I think I told you about the feigning of a tummy ache to get out of the math.  That was on a Monday.

Well, folks, there have just been too many Mondays!

Cute smile be hanged!  That Cowboy needs to do his math.  Even on Mondays!

Today I wrote out his assignment and had one of those Alka-Seltzer moments just before handing him the page.

So I didn’t.

Not right away.

First I made some little note cards for the boy.  Four of ‘em.  One to be read after completing each row of problems.  I explained that the first note was boring and the notes got progressively more fun and note #4 was grand! But he was not to look at any note until the right time.  That’s when he started grinning!

After completing row #1 he read note #1.  Note #1 said, “Go use the bathroom, don’t forget to wash your hands!  Then get a drink in the kitchen.  Hurry!  You have 3 minutes!

See? kinda boring.  But his curiosity was piqued.  What would the other notes say?  Hmm?  Well, only one way to find out!  DO THE MATH!

{he he he}

Note #2 said, “Go stand in the middle of your bedroom and shout these words – I’M HALF WAY DONE WITH MY MATH!”

Yes, the grinning was rampant!

Note #3 said, “Go out front and hop up and down on the sidewalk 9 times.  Do not laugh.  Do smile!”

Ooops!  Cowboy got carried away, jumped 11 times!

Note #4 said, “Go to the refrigerator.  Open the door.  Find the chocolate chips.  Get 9 chocolate chips out of the bag (yes, he’s 9 years old).  Seal the bag carefully.  Close the door.  Eat the chocolate.  Wash your hands!  Kiss your Mom!  You’re done with MATH for the day and it didn’t hurt a bit!”

If grinning were a Rodeo event, Slim would be wearing a belt buckle bigger than his head!

Fastest, most pain-free Monday Math he and I have had in, um,  forever!

Linked to:

• Works for me Wednesday

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New plan needed.

And what with all the green, hairy STRESS from Rowdy gettin’ all hurt I really had a hard time processing the fact that I had some ham in the fridge and some potatoes in the pantry and I possess the ability to make a white sauce.

See what I mean?

Makes perfect sense on a normal day.  But Wednesday was not the typical day and I even consumed some sugar because it was in the chocolate bar I ate.  And everybody knows that when you have stress you need chocolate.

I really don’t know how to get around the sugar in the chocolate thing.  I’m not gonna eat artificially sweetened chocolate.  Even typing that phrase made me make a face.

Back to the point, or rather how ’bout I begin to form a point?

Ham and Potato Casserole for a Stressful Day Dinner

You’ll need:

• 2 cups diced ham
• 8 (or so) potatoes, peeled and sliced
• ½ bag frozen peas

and for the white sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 or 4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 boullion cubes (I really don’t know how to spell that, is it right?)

Preheat the oven to 375°, spray the casserole dish with oil.  I used my dutch oven, which is just a covered roasting pan, but it’s round so I call it a dutch oven.  (Don’t know if that’s right either.)

In a 2 qt. saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.  Then add the flour and stir it into the butter.  Let that cook for about a minute and then add the milk, salt, garlic powder, and b. cubes. Stir it pretty good until the lumps are minimal and then stir it every couple of minutes so new lumps don’t form.

While the sauce is thickening put a layer of potatoes into the casserole dish, next add a layer of ham, and a layer of peas.  Do that again until you run out of stuff.  You could even add some diced onion at this point.  (I was gonna, but I set the onion behind my tea cup and forgot about it until I was cleaning up and the casserole was already in the oven.  Oops!)

Now stir that sauce one more time and pour it over all the potatoes and stuff, pop the lid on, and shove it into the oven for an hour or until the potatoes are tender.

This was delicious!  I might make it again tonight!

Trixie-the-Wonder-Dog was on high alert for incoming, airborn bits of ham fat.  For really fabulous treats that are even remotely meat related she goes all out and catches the bits in mid air.  Very gymnastic!  It’s quite impressive!  And no, she is not a chupacabra, she just gets a really bad case of red-eye in most photos and sometimes it looks wicked-cool so I didn’t edit.  You’re welcome!

Here’s your link back to Food on Fridays.

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Well, I did it.  I made some triangular math flash cards.  I thought about buying them, but, couldn’t make myself spend money on something I knew I could easily make with stuff I already had on hand.

But before I got out the poster board and scissors I looked at some pictures of ‘em to make sure I had the right idea.

I looked at Donna Young’s site and wished real hard that I had a working printer.  Then made a list of the facts that her cards showed.  Now if you have a working printer you might just wanna go on over there to Donna Young’s wonderful, free print-ables site and print off some of these do-dads.  But I don’t so I had to draw triangles on the backs of old posters and cut ‘em out and write my own numbers and +’s and -’s all on my own.  Not terribly challenging I admit, but I already taught math to several children today so I’m counting this as above and beyond!

Actually it was quite easy once Tex reminded me that what I wanted to make was called an equilateral triangle, and Hubs reminded me that each of those angles should have 60°s, then I was off and running.  They’re starting to get the hang of dealing with my “menopause brain” even if I’m not.  (Trust me, girls, “menopause brain” is even worse than “lactating brain”.  Sorry to be the one to break it to ya.  You may wanna warn your hubby.)

Anyway, I had to send Tex across the street to borrow a protractor, which, by the way, are like policemen, never around when you need one, but just roll through a stop sign one time…

This was so easy I should have done it years ago.  I’m tickled pink to have my cool, new set of homemade, triangular, addition/subtraction flashcards.  Nifty-thrifty, huh?

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Ok, ok, Kim, you can stop laughing now.  You are partly to blame for the bravado I now exhibit by daring to instruct others in the teaching of the horrid subject.

Stephanie?  Oh Stephanie!  Are you reading?  This is for you.  I have been pondering your question for 2 weeks now, and I just decided to share what we are doing, math-wise.

Some background.

Kim is a math whiz whose very math-ness scares me.

Stephanie has a daughter, her oldest, who is the same age as my youngest.

Kim and Stephanie are both real life friends of mine.

I am mathematically challenged.  However, I have seen great math success in my children.  Success that is NOT due to my diligent, brilliant teaching of math.  I really think the success is more due to the fact that they are in a learning environment and don’t have undue academic pressure applied by myself, their dad or their siblings.

What we’re doing.

The Cap’n is starting Algebra 1 using the D.I.V.E. cd rom.  Very cool resource loaned to us by some wonderful friends at church.  Thanks Donna.

Calico and B.B. are both starting Algebra ½ with yours truly as their teacher.  I’m shakin’ in my boots, but I have good support from my hubby, another math brain.  They had both been using the Saxon 76, but I could see that it wasn’t challenging them at all, so we did the online placement tests and oh my, off we go. Yes, I know that they are skipping a whole book, whatever.

For Cannonball I am using an old Rod & Staff 3rd grade textbook.  I am striving to find a level that will challenge him, yet not frustrate him.  Cannonball is one of those kids who learns by great leaps and bounds interspersed with huge plateaus.  Very hard to stay with him.  

The Squid is working on subtraction concepts and addition with carrying.  I am using a little from the Rod & Staff 3rd grade book and a little from the Ray’s Arithmetic.  I write problems for him in a composition book.  I need to be able to look at what he has done in order to decide what to do next.   I’m using these books as a loose framework and just keeping him moving forward.

The Princess is one of those kids who almost seem born knowing it already.  Not just in math but in everything in the world.  Just ask her, she has an opinion.  We just play around with numbers.  Some days we work some simple addition.  Some days we just play with number recognition.  Somedays we do nothing.  Not that there is no math, she is always counting and adding things, just that some days I don’t direct it.  The resources I am using with her are mostly in my head, but I have found the set of Unifix Cubes has great appeal and value.  She loves them.  I like that there are ten of each color and they are uniform, that seems to help.  I’m more of a ‘buttons in a muffin tin’ kinda gal, but there is some value in the orderliness of the Unifix Cube set.  We also use a set of flash-cards that teach numbers 0 through 25, and a hundred chart.  Sometimes I get out the Ruth Beechick Arithmetic book and we have some fun with the games and activities therein.  

There are also other activities like playing board games and working on projects that require and enhance math skills, for all of the family.   I also employ flash-cards for memorizing the facts, but once the facts are memorized part of the pay-off (for me and my child) is not having to do the flash-cards every day.

We have a MathShark, and they like to fool with it sometimes.  We use some of the free online math drill resources, but I don’t insist on daily use of any of them.  None have been the utopia of math drill, so we play them sometimes and kind of as needed.  I like the Table Trees for multiplication practice and Place Value Pirates best.

So, there ya go.  If it seems way too loosey-goosey to be effective, I probably would have agreed with you once upon a time.  But I am not a math person, and yet, one by one, my kids are becoming proficient.  

If your goal is to teach math in an orderly, rigid manner, don’t do what I do.  However, my goal is to have kids who know their math, that’s all.

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