Works for Me

It's been a good week for me--trying to make things at home that before I would have automatically purchased as convenience items.  An, "oh, I CAN do this" kinda week:

1. Homemade Pizza Sauce was a success--5 out of 6 in the family liked it! Woohoo! Our family pizza night is a keeper with homemade pizza dough (I double the recipe, and still use 1.5 cups all-purpose unbleached flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour) and now homemade pizza sauce.

2. Since my kids and I homeschool, sometimes lunches are survival mode (confession--I don't plan a lunch menu...yet. Perhaps that will be my new thing shortly ;) ). Often, we have pasta for lunch. Last week, I didn't purchase jar sauce at the store because I figured I would make some at home. Except, I forgot that idea completely and didn't make sauce in advance. Oops. 

By Thursday, pasta was the only thing available for lunch, it seemed. And it quickly became obvious to my oldest son that there was no pasta sauce any where in the house. Thank goodness for the Internet, and Google searches, and people that post all kinds of helpful recipes. I typed in, "quick pasta sauce" and stumbled on this recipe: Mom's Quick Pasta Sauce.

Thankfully, I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, and I simmered a batch of sauce right quick. To my surprise, this sauce was a HUGE hit with my three pasta-with-sauce eaters! (My youngest son is a shaker cheese only pasta eater.) 

What a great lesson for me--homemade doesn't have to take a long time and it can be really tasty, too.

3. I'm hooked on trying to make things homemade now, and I see it as a challenge. Can I make it cheaper? Can I make it healthier than convenience items? Can I make it tastier?

This week's challenge--homemade flavored creamer (my Best Beloved and I are big time coffee drinkers and we both like flavored creamers), and homemade barbecue sauce to go with Best Beloved's first smoked brisket. (Texans are serious about their BBQ, and we absolutely love it, but we have no clue how to cook it. My Best Beloved has a friend and native Texan sharing his BBQ secrets with him this weekend...stay tuned for the results!)

--Laura