Homemade Butter & Tortillas

In a recent post I said I wanted to make my own butter and flour tortillas along with a couple other things and anything else I can figure out. In fact I plan to make homemade bread this Sunday by hand. The reason I am doing these things is to learn how and experience them so I know how to do them. They'll be under my belt, and I can say "yeah, I know how to do that." That's pretty much why. It might not save any money, but it gives you knowledge and peace. There's nothing better than that! I can choose whenever I want to make them or whenever I want to buy them from the store. Now that I've done tortillas and butter I know that there are pros and cons. But I'll explain those as we go along the process with pictures here.

BUTTER

This is all you need for the butter. I filled the jar 1/3 full of the cream and shook it like a dog for about 20 minutes. It was a work out. It would be good to have a few extra people on hand. But, by yourself it is totally doable.

It slops around until it becomes silent, at that point you have whipped cream, keep shaking, and it will suddenly change to slopping once again and that's the point where a glop of butter will be sloshing around in a liquid, which is buttermilk. Drain out the buttermilk and clean the butter by putting water in the jar and shaking (with the butter still inside) a few times til the water runs clear. Here's a con: The butter is not hard really so to try and smash the buttermilk out of it doesn't really work well. Next big Con: For all of that hard shaking and time and annoying squeezing the buttermilk out of it, look how much butter I got when it was all said and done. I felt like Ralphy on The Christmas Story "Son of a B****!" It was sad. I thought maybe it was 2 heaping tablespoons......I mean I probably had enough for 3 slices of toast. There has to be a way to really get some butter that you can use throughout the week but it said to use a jar you can easily hold in a hand to shake. I mean I can't really see myself with a gallon jug shaking that thing. Maybe if you had more people you could do that. I had no wax paper, great planning on my part so I took a store bought butter out of the fridge and stole the paper from it. You can clearly see how little butter I had at the end. Did it taste better? Yes it did. That is a Pro. It tasted less processed, and more real and fresh. Some people love butter and can eat it plain. If that's the case you could definitely eat this plain. I have made and tasted real butter in Kindergarten, so I already knew it would taste way better. If anyone out there has an idea of how to make more butter, say a weeks worth, comment below. Btw, the butter molds and gets harder once you refrigerate it.

TORTILLAS

To make homemade tortillas is kind of a mess but who cares, everything is a mess. I'm not trying to make things more convenient, I'm trying to be more self reliant by knowing how to make my own stuff.

It would be good to have a rolling pin. I'll have to get one of those, oh yeah and a pastry cutter too. Without those things it was still possible but my tortillas were thicker, almost like Pita bread which has it's benefit...they don't tear and get holes in them. I tried to spread them as thin as I could with my hands without ruining them. I LOVE my George Foreman and grilled them right there on it. Super easy clean up.

The finished tortillas. I used them for a dinner recipe called Chicken Burrito Bundles that are so good. Thanks mom for that recipe, we make it all the time. A lot of my dinner recipes call for tortillas, so it is great to know how to make them when I want to.

Cinderella

I don't know why this kid loves chores. I used to think it was just the vacuum. He's been obsessed with the vacuum since he could walk, but he also loves to help with laundry, and sweeping. He knows I DON'T want his help with the dishes. If he could let Phoenix know that I don't want his help either, that would be great...

Marce went through a huge Cinderella phase. I kind of think she liked to do those chores. Sometimes I think my mom was and is a lot like Cinderella...like does she actually like doing everything for us?? I just don't get why Cinderella never ran away from home, or even said "Screw you!" to her step mom. What's the worst that could have happened if she ran away, she was already a slave...she's pretty much the most wimpy of all the Disney Princesses in my opinion. At least Ariel stood some ground and ran away to land and made the deal right under her dad's nose. Come to think of it, she was a down right brat! Snow White is probably the most annoying animated character I know, so I guess my personal favorite would have to be Aurora cause Belle kind of bugs too...

ANYWAY, I think I know why my mom "likes" to do the chores and hardly had us help at all. It gets done faster and better when you do it yourself. My mom is always afraid she didn't teach us to work...but that's pretty much bull. Are some of us a little more lazy than we should be...Yes. But that's a personality problem...anyone knows how to clean a toilet or put a load of laundry in, right? Come to think of it, does Tibi know how to run the dishwasher or the washer and dryer? Hmm,...ok maybe I'm full of crap, because I know for sure Landon can't!

Count It

I don't know when you can officially say that your baby is walking. Phoenix turns 9 months tomorrow. He is still doing plenty of crawling, and plenty of falling...BUT...he walked across my master bathroom today! My bathroom is pretty big so I'd kind of like to say that he is WALKING!!! My estimate is going to be made. I said he'd be walking at 9 1/2 months.

Spinning Heads

I have just been "getting by" in the blogging world. I used to blog so much more! I'm trying to figure out the change. I know I've changed some priorities around, but still. Now, I feel like I'm barely keeping up. We HAVE been busy. I feel like if we aren't running around with our heads cut off, my mind is spinning anyway. I've just got so much stuff running through my head, it's amazing I can sleep at night. First of all, if any of you did not know, we are moving to Gilbert (I won't say exactly where for safety purposes) around the 1st of April. I have packed some boxes but most things you just can't pack til the last minute. The stuff I can pack, I need Shar's help with so we're going to have to shift our errands to the weekday mornings so we have Saturday's at home. I know I can't do much now, but I don't want to be completely overwhelmed the week of the move. As I pack, we have been making DI runs. In the process of that I have found excellent buys there which I'll post in the near future. With the move, we are selling our washer/dryer, fridge, and odds and ends including a blow-up pool, comforter, stroller, interior paint, and our Samsung cell phones. All of those things either are or will be on Craigslist in the near future. We will be getting rid of our cell phones and service and trying this out instead http://www.magicjack.com/

You can't beat phone service for 20 bucks a YEAR!!

Meanwhile I've already sold a few things. One thing I know is I majorly de-junk before every move! The place we will move into has washer/dryer and fridge so that's why we're selling those. I made myself a deal that if I sell those for decent prices I am allowed to buy myself one of these

I have had my thoughts and focus on Food Storage and Self Reliance for some time now (btw, did anyone read this month's Ensign...AMAZING!) and I am creating monthly goals, meaning one goal per month that revolves around getting prepared, for instance my March Goal is to accumulate all the water my family needs for our 72 hr. kits. (12 gallons) Little by little. I didn't want to make the whole kit my goal, I don't want to get overwhelmed, these goals should be easy to complete and whatever I do on top of my goal that particular month is a plus. I really loved the Ensign because so much of it was on self reliance. I am on a big kick of that. I am determined to weine myself away from the Grocery store as much as possible. This includes making my own foods as much as I can. I am not trying to save money with this. I am trying to learn so that I can rely on myself and not feel like I'm enslaved to the grocery store. It will give all of us more peace of mind if we will try to do this. I am starting right now to make my own jam, bread, tortillas, and butter. I will buy what I have to buy from the store, but I want to learn how to do all of this so in the future when we all have to, I can focus my learning on other stuff that will need to be dealt with. This year I am hoping to purchase a Bosch, my own wheat grinder, and a pressure canner, right along with my food and water. All of this occupies my mind like you wouldn't believe and it consumes it. I guess that's why I feel like I'm busy in the head. There's a lot to learn and think about. It's not just a matter of doing it...it's a matter of preparing and planning and doing it right. That takes brain power! I am loving life right now though. The changes that I've subconsciously and consciously made this year are so great. I'm really happy with myself right now. I'm just really happy period. It's really amazing. I just feel so much peace, and an apathy towards anything that isn't essential, and that feels SO GREAT!

By the way, I am loving Primary! We are teaching the 4 year olds...the very basics of the Gospel. I fee like even I am learning!

Lastly, our lives are that much more crazy because we are working on my goal of having a date at least once a month. We have always wanted to date but never have. Now, 4 years and 2 kids later, we are making it a priority (see what I mean about priority changes?) We've been on one date so far this year and are planning our next. It is a wonderful thing to look forward to and it gives you a little R&R! I have a surprise planned for Sharrid, hopefully happening this Saturday night but I'll post about it after the fact! He's gonna love it! Think: authentic Brazilian food!

Found It

Here's the picture of Marcelus just after church on Valentine's Sunday.

Marcelus is 3!

I have been really busy and have not made blogging a big priority. So, it is kind of old news but Marcelus turned 3 years old on Feb. 16th. We had a little Spiderman party for him with his cousins. They had fun and I think Marce learned what a birthday party is. This was the first time as parents that we've really celebrated a birthday for our kids with decorations and cupcakes and stuff so it was much fun for Sharrid and I. Being a parent is the best. I love to provide for my kids, not just physically and emotionally, but the memories and fun things of life. Marcelus opened 2 really big find the object books from Jonah & Eden, twistable crayons and a big pad of paper plus a jigsaw puzzle from grandma, and 4 board puzzles from mom and dad. He is loving all of his presents. He has been reading the books every night during reading time, finding all the neat things to find in them. He's been getting better at grandma's puzzle, and he loves the board puzzles also, especially the one with the forms of transportation!


One of the best gifts ever.......a phone call from grandma at the end of a great birthday!

Reading Time

Every night Marcelus and I have reading time. When I made my New Year Goals, this was one of them. I wanted to read with Marce for a lot of reasons. I am proud to say that we have only missed a few nights since the New Year. I am doing well with this goal and Marcelus is learning so much. A lot of our books are educational and so all of a sudden Marce is reciting his shapes, colors, and singing his ABC's. It will be a good prep for when he starts Preschool which we'll probably do in the Fall when he's 3 1/2. I have not tried to "force" Marce into learning. So, it's so much fun for me to hear his right answers because I have never been stressed about it. Reading time has been so great for us and it's such an easy routine to do. Pajamas, reading time, bed routine (which includes me rubbing his feet, back, and head and saying a prayer. I buy my books at the DI for 50 cents a piece so it's super easy to do well at this goal. Sunday night, Shar snapped a few pictures.

Here's Phoenix being 8 months and getting into some fun stuff.

Valentine's Sunday

That's weird. I had a picture of Marce that I took on V-day. I can't find it though. It's alright. He fell asleep on the way home, but he was festively wearing a red and white striped shirt! Here are the other two boys on Valentine's Sunday! Shar had an inmate at the prison cut his hair, the guy used to be a barber and works doing that at the prison. He gave Sharrid a "fade", and I loved it!






I got this little sweater for $5.00 at Once Upon A Child. It originally came from Baby Gap. I love it! It's so springy and it looks great on Phoenix!

This & That

This is coming out on DVD again, and I am thrilled. It is one of my favorite Disney classics. I own it on VHS but DVD is always better, so March 10th is the date. It is such a deep movie to me as are so many of Walt Disney's movies. It's a movie that is just as much for adults (or more) than it is for children.



Two days ago when the weather changed from 80 to 50!......my wrist/hand was really bothering me. I think I've got arthritis in it or something. It's from my drumming so of course it was all worth it but it's amazing that I am 25 and feel my body actually aging. When I was younger I seriously thought that nothing could ever happen to me, to my body. What was wrong with all these old people? They were weak, weren't they.....now after getting married it's like it clicked and I am starting to age and finally realize that things do happen to us no matter how healthy and strong and invincible we were when we were kids and teens. After having my first baby, I was shocked and couldn't believe how the body can change (for the worse) and how much something like that can effect your body, especially the inside of it. So for my wrists and any other part of my body.......here's to aging! There's some pretty cool old cripples out there anyway! I'll be in good company!

Marcelus fell asleep here the other night while I was watching the Suns play. They have been having problems but how can you blame their inconsistency, when they've had a coaching change, and multiple player trades. My favorite player in the whole NBA, Amare Stoudemire is about to be traded to who knows where. It will be sad. He has always been a Sun. I still love the Suns and will watch the games, but Amare, wherever you go I'm going with you. You will still be my favorite player in the NBA. I just pray you don't go to the Spurs or the Lakers!



I am seeing more and more of myself in this little boy as time goes on. This is right about the time that I started to see myself in Marcelus also. I think both the boys are and will be good mixes, which is great but take a look at these pictures and mine below. What do you think? Try to ditch the lame glasses and long blonde hair...