The Resourceful Gals: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

He is Risen!

Just as He said.

Today we celebrate Easter. The great news is that Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death. He lived a perfect life and died for our sins that we might have eternal life.

Have you received Jesus as your Savior?

He is Risen, Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Marvelous Meatloaf

{Gloria here}...Are you serious? Using "marvelous" and "meatloaf" in the same sentence? I have never been a big fan of meatloaf. Oh, I could eat it but I would never say that I liked it!

Until now!

This meatloaf recipe is awesome. Our entire family loves it and is thrilled when it is on the menu, even the ones that can be "more selective" about their food choices! :)

It's also easy to make! What more can you ask for? So without further ado, the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef or venison
1/2 cup milk (or milk substitute)
1 cup oatmeal
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
In a large mixing bowl, add the milk, beaten egg and spices. Mix well.
Add oatmeat and stir until mixed.
Add the meat to the mixture and mix well. At this point, I use my well-washed hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients, being sure to get all of the spices from the bottom of the bowl.
Using a broiler pan, form the mixture into 2 (or 3) meat-loaves. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees (F).

Ovens can vary, so make sure the meatloaf is thoroughly cooked. It may need extra time, or a higher temperature, depending on your oven. If you wish, you can bake the meatloaf in one "loaf". I use 2 smaller ones so that I know they are well-cooked. (Our oven is less than stellar. :P) I also use the broiler pan so any grease from the meat is drained away and not soaking into the food.

Surprise your family with a new recipe that will have them begging for more! :)

You will find us linked up here.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SUPER easy, NO-sew, DIY Curtains

Super-Easy, DIY, No-Sew Curtains

Gloria here. Spring is on it's way and it's no better time to redecorate! Goes hand in hand with spring cleaning, right?:)
But how to redecorate on a budget, without breaking the bank? Answer: No-Sew Curtains!
Not only are they inexpensive (dare I say CHEAP?) they are also fast, easy and can be so cute!!
This is the place to let your imagination soar.

You need:

Fabric, lace, burlap, or whatever suits your style. ;)
Something to tie it up, like ribbon, lace, coordinating piece of fabric, string, hemp, whatever you come up with.

How to make the curtains:

Measure the length of the curtain rod that you are using. You will need a piece of fabric, or lace this length at least. You could make it longer and have a gathered look to the curtain.
The width is up to you. I used a regular 44 inch wide piece of fabric because that is what I had and it fit the size of the window. You could use less for a smaller window or even wider for a very large window.
Lay the fabric over the rod so the long ends are even. Determine how many "swags" you want in your curtain. Gently gather up the fabric and wrap the "ribbon" around the gathered fabric and rod. (You may want help here.) Eyeball it to see if it is the right depth, not to tight to the rod, not to loose. Just do what looks good to you!

Do this as many times as you want. And, you're done!

You could buy fabric if you don't have a stash to plunder. One of my favorite places to buy fabric is online at fabric.com. Be sure to sign up for their emails so you get the latest on sales and coupons.

(Julia here, popping in to say that I used this technique when designing the curtains for my bedroom makeover! And I LOOOVE the result. I just took this simple step further by adding two long panels underneath the no-sew swag curtains! This fabric was ordered from Fabric.com.)

You could even use... sheets! This would be fun if you are trying to decorate a bedroom. Pick up a flat sheet from a thrift store or find one on sale, then trim to size.

Lace would make a gorgeous curtain, burlap is also trendy and just about anything will do!

I admit that I didn't even iron the fabric or finish off the ends because I was going for the country look.
Let us know if you make some No-Sew Curtains. We would love to see what you create!

Happy decorating!

Linked up at here and Raising Homemakers, Women Living Well and A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Our Simple Farm

You will find us linked up at some of these fine sites.

Bake Your Own Soft Pretzels!

Easy, Scrumptious, Homemade Pretzels

Warm, toasty, straight from the oven....Yum!

These tasty pretzels are an inexpensive, easy snack to make. I use a basic French bread recipe, mix up the dough in my bread machine and roll out and shape into pretzels. You can use any recipe you like, but the French bread is less sweet and works well with the saltiness of the pretzel.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. gluten
5+ cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbs. yeast

For topping pretzels:

1 egg white
Coarse salt

Directions:

Add all ingredients to the bread machine and set on the dough cycle. (If you don't have a bread machine, add the ingredients and knead about 8 minutes. Let rise until about double.)
Cut the dough into about 20 pieces. If you want larger pretzels, cut into fewer pieces.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Roll out the dough into long rolls using both hands.

It works really well if you can get some helpers! ;)

To make twisted pretzels, roll out a piece of dough into a long roll, about 12 inches long. Take the two ends and twist and then twist again. Press the ends down onto the roll forming the pretzel shape.
Place pretzels on cooking stone or cookie sheet, brush with egg white and sprinkle liberally with the coarse salt.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. (Check them, all ovens are different)

They are best fresh, but you can store them in a bread bag or container.

Try not to eat them all at once! :)

Linking up on here, Raising Homemakers, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Women Living Well, Our Simple Farm

Homemade Onion Rings

The venison burgers are sizzling on the grill. The fresh, homemade, whole wheat buns are cut and waiting. Fresh tomatoes, onions and lettuce from our garden garnish the plate. And, drum roll please......homemade ONION RINGS!!

Yes, we love onion rings. And as our family is trying to eat whole, clean and healthy foods, we needed a better alternative to store bought onion rings. So we made our own!

I would call these "healthy" as they are made with good ingredients and extra virgin olive oil, but they are not low calorie. So we have them occasionally and really enjoy them when we have them. :)

Ingredients:

Onion (we use one large one and it feeds our family), preferably Vidalia or a sweet onion
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. cumin
dash garlic powder
dash onion powder
extra virgin olive oil for frying, enough to fry the onions.

This is enough breading mixture for one onion.

Directions:

In a small bowl, (I use a cereal bowl), beat the egg and add the 1 cup milk. Beat together.
In a medium bowl, mix all the rest of the ingredients, flour and spices.
Cut slices across the onion to form rings.
Dip the onion ring in the egg/milk mixture, then toss it in the flour/spice mixture to coat it.
Do it again. I double dip and coat for a nice thick breading but it is not necessary. Do it as you like.
Set aside on a plate until you have coated all of the onion pieces.
Heat extra virgin olive oil in deep fryer (or if using a skillet or pot, heat that now.)
Using a slotted metal spoon, slowly lower the breaded onion rings into the hot oil.
Fry for about 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

This makes almost as much as you get in one bag of store-bought "Ore-Ida" onion rings. This is economical and you know exactly what goes in it, no preservatives, etc.

Perfect for grilling out or just about anytime! Enjoy! :)

Linking up on these fine sites.

Homemade Olive-Oil French Fries

In our house, we love french fries. What can I say? And as we are trying to eat healthy, clean and whole foods, we decided to make our own.
We used our own potatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. These need to be deep fried to really be good, so they are not low calorie but a much more healthy alternative to store bought.

Cut the potatoes into strips. Soak in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes. Then thoroughly dry the fries as water and hot oil don't mix.
Using a deep fryer, add the correct amount of oil for your fryer. When the oil is up to temperature, fry the french fries for 8-9 minutes until they are golden brown. You could probably use a deep skillet or pot and fry them that way.
Drain on paper towels and salt to taste. Yum, YUM!

Our kids love these and we have them occasionally as a special treat.
Be sure to check out the recipe for Onion Rings as they go really well with the french fries.

Linking up on these fine sites.

Get FREE eBooks at Project Gutenberg

Hey there!

Julia here. Who doesn't love a good book? When I was a little girl I nearly always had a book in my hand. Mama could tell you stories about me rollerblading while reading a book, up and down our concrete driveway. (Obviously, I was destined for multitasking greatness later on, right?.... ha-ha. I wish.)

If you love reading and you love getting things for FREE (who doesn't love that?!) We have a resource you need to know about.

Project Gutenberg!

www.gutenberg.org

Gutenberg.org has over 42,000 (!!!) free ebooks available for downloading directly to your computer, kindle, or smartphone, or you can read them online.

A few of the books we've downloaded have been G. A. Henty adventures, Jane Austen novels, and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks. That's right! Many of their books are available on audio.

What are you waiting for? Head over to Gutenberg.org and start collecting some free ebooks today!

And, if you already use Gutenberg, tell us about your favorite finds!

Linking up on these fine sites.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Party Post for 5 Minutes for Mom

Hey Party People! We're thrilled that you've reached our little corner of the blogosphere. Welcome to The Resourceful Gals' Blog!

We're a mom-and-daughter team that enjoys a wide variety of hobbies and crafts... and we're all about being resourceful. Saving money, time, effort, and energy is our goal. We've been blogging for years (Julia has been blogging since 2008) but just recently (March 2013) decided to combine our talents to share in one special place... and this blog was born!

Read a little more here about Gloria & Julia.

A few of our favorite posts so far are....

Mason Jar Lamp Tutorial

The BEST Homemade Pizza EVER

DIY No-Sew Curtains

Simple Sprouting

Brunettes Bars

Homemade Soft Pretzels

We hope you'll enjoy browsing our site and that you'll take the time to say "Hi!" - we love meeting other bloggers and making new friends. ;)

Blessings,