|
by Tammy Davis
In
This Issue:
NOTES FROM
TAMMY
BONUS
RECIPES
WEBSITE NEWS
MESSAGE BOARD UPDATES
CONTESTS
GOURMET Q&A
COOKIN' AT THE
KEYBOARD WITH SHELLEY
CONSULTANT NEWS
FINAL THOUGHTS
NOTES
FROM TAMMY
Hi everybody! Can you believe
it's August already? I can't! Summer is fading fast!
I made the trip to PA to cook for my parents as I mentioned in the July
News. My mother-in-law, who lives with us, and my 11 year old daughter
went along to help. Mom is feeling better and is SO thankful to have
food in the freezer! She sat and watched in amazement as Grandma and I
cranked out meal after meal. She kept saying "I can't believe how much
you guys are getting done!" I posted my
assembly day story on the message boards so you can read about
it, if you like.
My daughter helped Grampy with stuff outside Saturday while Grandma and
I cooked. On Sunday, Grampy took Grandma to church with him. Grammy was
resting, and Savannah wanted to help me cook. So I was cook and teacher
on Sunday morning. She has always liked to help me in the kitchen, but
doesn't very often. Usually because I can do it faster myself. I came to
the realization that that isn't a good reason! I'm cheating both of us
out of some enjoyable relationship-building memories!
While we were measuring and mixing cookie dough, Grammy joined us. She
was amazed at how much help Savannah could be. Then she started talking
about her memories of when I helped her in the kitchen when I was a
pre-teen and teen. Not only with cooking, and baking, but with canning
too. I am very fortunate to have a close relationship with my mom, and
in thinking back about it, I'm sure it got its roots in all those hours
we spent together in her kitchen. So, needless to say, I plan on
spending more time with my own kids in our kitchen. I'm sure we will all
benefit greatly from it!
This issue of “Chewin’ the News” brings you three new recipes from Jan
Limiero, author of our newest ebook, Co-op Cuisine. Read more about it
below, in the Bonus Recipes section, as well as in Updates from Nanci.
Return
to Top
BONUS RECIPES from Jan Limiero
 |
Hi, my name is Jan. I have a
wonderful husband and I am the mother of three wonderful kids ages 11,7
and 5. But I have a confession to make… I starve my family! Yes, it’s
true. I hate to cook. Well, what I really hate is planning what to cook.
If someone would just plan it and shop for me I would cook it. But
better yet, just let me sit down to a table set with food on it. That’s
my dream. But my dream hasn’t come true yet and meanwhile I am starving
my family while waiting for it. Here’s how it goes…
Five o’clock comes prowling around every single day and sneaks up on me.
All at once my three kid’s sugar levels bottom out and they are
absolutely starving. This of course leads them to turn on each other,
and even their dear mother. My husband is done working and is on the
hunt for food as well. Shocked that I have allowed this monstrous moment
to sneak up on me once again, I make my way quickly to the refrigerator
to redeem myself. Here’s where the choose-your-own-adventure begins.
Scenario one: There’s a few half-filled Tupperwares; barely enough to
make a meal. I can choose to ration it out between the five of us, or go
with the stand-by tuna mac-n-cheese. Sigh.
Scenario two: Brilliant light gleams from the refrigerator as I open the
door. There before me is a fully prepared Wild Rice Quiche ready to be
heated and set on the table. I pop it into the microwave and hustle to
set the table. I splurge and set knives, forks and spoons (as opposed to
just forks) with napkins folded neatly under the forks. I open a
pre-packaged salad and pop it into a pretty bowl just as the microwave
buzzes. I toss a few croutons onto the salad as I set the steaming
quiche on the table and call the family to the dinner table.
I love adventure. My favorite sport is rock climbing. But Scenario one
is not an adventure I like to risk. Scenario two is the reason I not
only started doing co-op cooking, but wrote it down in a book so that
all of you can choose your own adventure too!
Enjoy the bonus recipes!
Ham Steaks
This recipe quickly became a favorite with our
cooking group. It is so easy yet it's always a hit with the kids. My
youngest son is the pickiest eater ever and he can eat the rest of us
under that table on this one (won't touch the peas though). Whip up some
mashed potatoes (instant of course, but the kind with sour cream and
chives to make you look good), put some peas with it and you have a meal
on the table in minutes. Hard to beat that! This is one of the "Super
Easy" recipes that are good to assign to a new person.
Click here to
view/print
this recipe!
Now if I can make a quiche, anybody can. This not only looks good and
sounds good, it really is! This is a good "company's coming" recipe. I
try to reserve my "fancier" recipes for drop-in guests or for a
spontaneous invite to a friend.
Click here to
view/print
this recipe!
This was the recipe my mom always used for
chocolate chip cookies. She got it from a distant relative that we
visited on a large farm in Alberta, Canada. Once you are used to having
these on hand in the freezer you won’t want to run out! This was the
first recipe that our group doubled for each participant. You can
impress drop-in guests with fresh hot cookies every time!
Click here to
view/print
this recipe!
Return
to Top
WEBSITE NEWS FROM NANCI
Change in the Wind for the Slagles
No, I'm not pregnant at 46. Ha! But yes, there are big changes
coming to my life. After a 21 year absence, I will be returning to the
classroom next week. I'm so excited! Although I greatly enjoy the 30 Day
Gourmet biz, my first love has always been teaching high school English.
Now that the kids are older (11, 14, 16, 19) it seemed like a good time
to consider a return. I'll be teaching 11th grade American Lit. at
Covenant
Christian High School in Indianapolis. Our daugher, Becky, is a
Junior there and my husband, Bob, works part-time on the maintenance
staff.
What does this mean for 30 Day Gourmet? Just some shifting of
responsibilities. Tammy and Carol will be taking on more of the work and
my daughter, Becky, has already learned the order processing part of the
business. I'll be concentrating on the finance, marketing and consultant
parts of the company. It does mean that I will be doing a lot of my work
in the evenings so e-mail will be the best way to reach me.
office@30daygourmet.com
Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted!
New eBook!!! - Co-op Cuisine: Freezer Cooking with Friends
Author: Jan Limiero from Bakersfield, California
Do you love the idea of bulk cooking but are scared to death to tackle
it by yourself? Try making it a team effort! You’ll find the challenges
divided and the rewards multiplied.
Co-op Cuisine will tell you
how to get started cooking as a team. It gives practical tips to the
leader of the group and features recipes multiplied by larger numbers so
you don’t have to do the math yourself.
With Co-op Cuisine, each participant cooks just one recipe (or
try more as you get the hang of it) but multiplies the ingredients by
the number of people participating, for example, ten. Then, when
everyone gets together on Swap Day to trade meals, each person will end
up with ten different meals even though they only had to spend their
energy shopping for and cooking one recipe (multiplied by ten).
Participants cook their recipe in their own kitchen during the agreed
upon time allotment. This give everyone the flexibility to work around
their family’s busy schedule.
The book includes 51 pages and 25 recipes suitable for co-op cooking
that are simpler to multiply by large quantities. It highlights Easy and
Super Easy recipes that are good for the beginners in the group.
Check out Co-op Cuisine today. You can take a look at the recipe
list and table of contents and download a free sampler with 3 recipes to
try out. It's available for $6.95 as a download or for $8.95 + s&h on
CD. You will never go back to bulk cooking by yourself. And you’ll find
new friends that share dinner with you every night.
Next Ebook: Vegetarian Freezer Cooking
Watch for it in a few months!
E-mails from our Fans!
We love hearing from all of you. Here's a few e-mails that have come
in recently.
I have been super impressed with your company
and just finished my first cooking day. I love the freedom to just set
something out for dinner and it is ready in under an hour on most
things, most of that is just the cooking time!
Thanks again for working with me and being
patient.
Mickey
I received my manual today and was totally
impressed. I wish I would have had this info a few years back. I
worked 4 12 hr shifts 7pm to 7am every week. So 5 days out of the week
I was completely useless. (Had to one day of recovery!) I lived like a
zombie for several years. I am a working at home mom nowadays and need
this info just as much now.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
Petra
Looking forward to using the software! I am
giving it to the Haven House shelter for homeless families. I have
been "Once a month" cooking for them with a group of homeschool moms
for the past 2-1/2 years, but now I am moving out of the area and do
not want to see the program end. Thank you for making it easy for
us!!!
Pattie
I just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful
site! I love your monthly newsletters and recipes. I have four
children and try to cook extra every chance I get to freeze ahead.
When my grandmother's birthday was coming up (she turned 89!) I wanted
to do something different for her. She cooks for my mom and step-dad
every Monday, makes lunches and a few dinners for a church friend to
come over, and her oldest daughter lives next door and she cooks and
eats with her almost daily. So I made her 6 dinners with side dishes
and 3 desserts for her birthday and she just loved it! There was
enough servings so if someone, or all of them, were there for supper,
she could feed everyone! She has told friends at church and people at
the hair dressers about my dinners and they have just praised and
raved about them, and it is all due to your website. I would just like
to thank you again!
Loyal Reader,
Dawn
Dear Friends @ 30-day Gourmet,
I'd been a freezer cook for years when my sister Ruth introduced me to
your web site (and subsequently your book!). I became an instant fan
of your work. As a person living with MS, I have good days and bad
days, but my family never goes without a good meal. I freeze
everything from soup to nuts.
Anonymous
You're quite welcome! We enjoy helping all of you and hearing how 30 Day
Gourmet is making life easier.
Attention Freelancers!
Thanks to all of you writers out there who contacted me. I'm putting
together some information and will e-mail you soon!
Thanks Homelife Readers
Thanks to our readers who sent me info about the article that
appeared in Homelife magazine. I got a copy from one of our consultants
by mail too. Thanks again!
Return
to Top
MESSAGE BOARD UPDATES
The message
boards have been busy this month!
The
"Where is everyone from?" post continues to be a favorite!
Please introduce yourself if you haven't... we'd love to meet you!
Are you a freezer cook who's only freezer is the one above your
refrigerator? If so, how do you handle the "flash
freezing" part of recipes?
What spices or marinades do you use to give your
cooked chicken a nice flavor?
Check out the rest of the message boards when you get a chance… they are
a great source of ideas, recipes, tips, and encouragement! If you have
any questions about the message boards, please email me! You can reach
me at tammy@30daygourmet.com.
Return
to Top
CONTEST
WINNERS
Recipe of the Month...
Buster Bar Dessert
Our winner this month is Cindy from Friendswood,
TX with her recipe for Buster Bar Dessert. What better recipe for
hot-n-humid August than an ice cream dessert?
I must confess
that I messed up the recipe... a little. And it was still wonderful!
It can only be better made the right way! The reason I'm confessing to
messing it up is just so you know I'm human, and everything doesn't
always run smoothly in my kitchen. And, also because I made what I
thought was a stupid mistake and it taught me a good lesson.
The recipe calls
for "evaporated milk". It very clearly says evaporated milk. Each time
I read the recipe (at least 5!) I read evaporated milk, but thought
sweetened condensed milk. When I was making my shopping list out, I
went to the pantry and straight to where I thought I had the sweetened
condensed milk. And there it was, so I didn't have to buy any. I
followed the directions to make the recipe, and the chocolate sauce
tasted yummy! But when it cooled and I tried to put it on top of the
ice cream, it was very thick and clumpy and it took me forever to get it
out of the pan and on the dessert. And there was no spreading it at
all! So I dropped it in small clumps over the top of the dessert. When
did I realize my mistake? Not when I had to use an ice pick and blow
torch to cut thru the frozen fudge pieces! Nope, it wasn't until I went
to email Cindy about her recipe, and started to type sweetened condensed
milk as I looked at the recipe and read evaporated milk. DUH!!!
Now, why did I
learn from this? Because so often I see recipes printed that say
"Evaporated Milk, not Sweetened Condensed Milk" or "Sweetened Condensed
Milk, not Evaporated Milk". I thought it was dumb that they had to
spell that out, because anyone who has used sweetened condensed milk
knows it's nothing like evaporated milk. And how could someone mix that
up? Needless to say, I have a new appreciation for that, and have been
humbled to realize that even I, who thought I would never make that
mistake, so easily made it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake,
and never make it yourself!
Cindy says she's
been making this dessert for years, and always gets requests for the
recipe. Now we can share it with our guests, too! Another dessert that
would be great to have on hand for company. When I explained to my
husband how I'd goofed up the recipe, and why it was so hard to eat the
fudge part, he said "Oh darn... you'll have to make another one and try
it the right way!"
Let's meet
Cindy:
I've been married to Dave for 25 years. We have
3 children who are 10, 12, and 15 years old. We're a home-school
family, and I tutor high school math on the side. Back before kids, I
was a C.P.A. with a full-time practice. We are very active in our
church, 4-H, and youth sports. I serve on the Board of Directors of a
Houston-area home-school sports association as well as a Central
American Mission Society (both of which give me an opportunity to keep
my CPA skills from getting too rusty!). I learned to cook as a kid
from my grandmother and mother, and have always loved it. I've done
freezer cooking for many years, but 30 Day Gourmet is the most
practical and best program I've ever seen. Home-cooked meals are a
priority with me, but with our busy schedule, I don't have time to
start from scratch every day. I always keep a freezer full of prepped
meats (marinated meat for the grill, cooked chicken, cooked hamburger,
beef and pork strips for stir-fry, etc.), as well as spaghetti sauces
and chili. As my kids get older, they are able to get dinner prepared
if I'm not available, since much of the hard work is already done.
Click here to view/print the August Recipe of the Month.
You too can
get in on the winning! Just post your favorite freeze-able recipe on the
message boards. Congratulations, Cindy!
Return
to Top
FREEZER COOK OF THE MONTH CONTEST
WINNER
Our winner this month is
Kristin from Franklin, IN, who is passing on the freezer cooking bug to
her daughter.
Kristin says:
My
daughter, Paige, who is 9 years old, is now following in mom's freezer
cooking footsteps.
She is in her first year of 4-H and had to make cookies for her Foods
project. Of course, we made several batches of Snickerdoodles and
froze many of them (when you make the same recipe about 10 times in 3
weeks, that makes a LOT of Snickedoodles). Anyhow, we found out last
week that she could exhibit fresh cookies for her Foods I project and
6 frozen cookies for Food Preservation. Let me tell you, she not only
got Division Champion on her cookies (they will be going to the
Indiana State Fair next week) but she also got a first place on her
Food Preservation!!!! I am so proud of her!
Anyhow, thanks guys for teaching ME more about freezer cooking so that
I can pass it on to my daughters!!!!
So, how do you make 30 Day
Gourmet work for you? How do you use it to help you deal with a
challenge in your life? How do you use it to help others? Email me at
tammy@30daygourmet.com
to be entered in our contest. Congratulation, Kristin,
and Paige!!
Return
to Top
GOURMET Q&A
| Q. |
Hi, I have the Freezer Cooking Manual and enjoy it
very much. I was wondering if I could have permission to copy one
page of the manual to give to about 5 of my friends. The page that I
would like to copy is the Month of Breakfast and Lunch Ideas, pg
138. I have three small children 5 and under, and have found that
this list of ideas is so helpful. Please let me know if I could pass
the list along to a few of my friends who also have small children.
Thank you! Susan |
| A. |
Hi Susan! Good
question! The page Susan is talking about was in the Third Edition
of the Freezer Cooking Manual. Since it isn't in the new Fourth
Edition, we decided to put it on the website for everyone. It's
under the
"Freezing Info"
button at the
top of the site. Hope your friends find it as helpful as you do,
Susan! |
Return
to Top
COOKIN' AT THE KEYBOARD
WITH SHELLEY
 |
One of the things I love most about being in the
kitchen is cooking with my teenaged daughters. Of course, it hasn’t
always been that way. I’ve done my share of fishing eggshells out of the
batter, and my shoes wouldn’t stick to the floor if I baked the cookies
by myself. We were surprised to discover how tasty basil can be when
it’s mistaken for parsley and added to the vegetable soup. I’ve also
learned that the chemical effect of baking powder is best demonstrated
when eliminated from the muffins we were going to eat for breakfast.
Training my children in the kitchen consumes huge
amounts of time and energy, but the results are worth the investment.
Cooking with my daughters is better than cooking with a friend simply
because they do everything the way I do it. I’m continually amazed at
how much we can accomplish when we work together.
One thing that makes our cooking day flow more
smoothly and efficiently is the Advantage Cooking software. When I
announce that it’s time to chop the onions, I don’t have to answer the
question, “How many do I chop?” Sarah checks the Action Report and
completes the task without asking questions that disrupt my train of
thought. When we’re assembling the meals and Lauren wonders what to do
next, she uses the Recipe Report to select the recipe she likes the
best. The reports give them the ability to think and act independently.
The software also gives the girls something fun and
constructive to do at the computer. They can enter recipes and update
any changes we make along the way. In the process, we’re building a
database of family recipes that are easily shared when they have a
kitchen of their own. Most importantly, I’m inspiring another generation
to spend time together around the table. As a grandmother, I hope to
stick to lots of kitchen floors!
If you
haven’t tried our Advantage Cooking software,
click here
for a 30 day free trial or to order your own copy.
Return to Top
CONSULTANT NEWS
September Retreat is Coming Up!
Our 30 Day Gourmet consultants are havin' a party! This fall we'll
all be getting together here in Indianapolis for some fun, some training
and lots of idea-swapping. If you're a consultant and aren't a part of
our yahoo group, send me an
e-mail so that I can fill you in on all of the details.
WELCOME NEW CONSULTANTS
We've had several consultants join our ranks in the past few months.
Here are their names and cities. When their websites are ready, we'll
publish those too.
-
Sharon Resch - Ontario, New York
-
Jean Slocum - Friend, Nebraska
-
Michelle Rickard - Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Interested in becoming a consultant?
Click here for more info.
Return
to Top
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Hope you've enjoyed
another edition of our Newsletter. I didn't plan on it being so
"cooking with your kids" oriented, but it all came together that way.
Next month we'll hear from Carol Santee, with info about packing lunches
for our kids, as we get ready for that joyous time of year, "Back to
School!" Email me at
tammy@30daygourmet.com with any questions, ideas, suggestions or
problems. I enjoy hearing from you all!
Hope you have a great rest-of-the-month, and we’ll be talking again
soon!
Tammy
30 Day Gourmet
P.O. Box 272
Brownsburg, IN 46112
www.30DayGourmet.com
This site developed and maintained by
Nexis Technical Services, Inc.
This
page was last updated on
Monday, August 04, 2008.
Copyright 2008 - 30 Day Gourmet. All rights reserved.
|
