The Bluebirds are Nesting...: Pantries and Preparedness. Rachel teaches us how to make Ravioli.

Sunday, 3 September 2017

Pantries and Preparedness. Rachel teaches us how to make Ravioli.

This week I am packing up my whole kitchen, lounge and dining rooms as next Monday the new floors go in. My place will be looking like a disaster! We have a wide passage in the middle of the house which will be lined with boxes of all my pantry contents. It is going to be interesting!
I haven't even finished replies to everyones comments but I will today and tomorrow I hope!

A couple of weeks ago we had Vicky teach us how to make pasta from scratch and with no special equipment at all. This week Rachel shows us how she makes Ravioli. A picture tells a thousand words I think!

Each new skill we learn means we have more options from a few basic pantry ingredients! Many times this results in less things to buy. Also with menu planning it means we have more meals on the list that we can make!

Over to Rachel:

I had some thick cream to use up, soooo .... I used it in place of ricotta, with homegrown parsley and an egg, as a ravioli filling!

This is my simplest bush pasta - just flour and water.

Once the water is boiling, the ravioli go in, and, just a few minutes later, the ravioli float to the top! They are ready!!

This is my quick, stick-to-the-ribs meal at the end of a tiring day!! The scrappy bits are for the dog!!

For a lover of pasta, the dried shop type just can't cook quickly enough!! Apart from the storage space difference, I like to make simple, fresh pasta (although I am no expert!) because the cooking time, and energy required, is so low. Besides, fresh pasta is entirely different to the other!

That's my little story!

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The recipe photographed is from Rachel's husbands Mum's recipe book!

Thank you so much Rachel. I think recipes like these show how just a few very simple things can make a beautiful meal.

After the tradesmen are gone and my floor is finished I will be re setting up my kitchen and dining area. I will have my spice cabinet and another small cabinet that will house my baking dishes. My whole kitchen is going back together in a new way, with my "Laine baking centre" and ready for serious cooking.

Then I will be making pasta as Vicky showed us and making Ravioli as Rachel has shown!

My menu planning has me now at 23 meals ahead. This made last week one where I only needed milk and later I needed some veggies. I found five dinners worth of major bargains that kept my protein at under $2 a meal. Absolutely amazing.

This week is much the same. I already cooked a lot of spaghetti sauce over the weekend. I really need nothing except some salad items. Not even milk! So I am just looking for major deals. It is exciting to see what I might find! I will go to one supermarket this afternoon as I will be next door paying a bill. This is kind of funny as I didn't even realise HOW grocery shopping could be so different! With little I need I will pick up a dozen tins of tomatoes that I know they have on a huge special. This is all helping me build up my pantry so much. The pantry in the hallway haha!

Have a good week! xxx

45 comments:

patsi @ a working pantry3 September 2017 at 17:33
Annabel, Now that we are home from traveling, I want to try Vicky's pasta and Rachel's ravioli. I also want to take a look again at your post talking about Laine's menu planning. I need to wake up Prudence and GG and get them into action as well. I have a lot of catching up to do ... now if Hurricane Irma will just behave herself and leave us all alone, I just might get the opportunity to take on these projects!
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KayeB3 September 2017 at 17:50
Thank you Rachael! A wonderful tutorial. You have made it look so simple and easy and no need for fancy equipment!

Annabel, preparing rooms for floorcoverings is like packing up a house to move. I am sure we can live without replies if you run out of time! (You likely will!) Glad you had such a wonderful, restful yet still productive time at the farm. So bountiful and beautiful! Xo

Love, Kaye xoxoxo
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Mimi3 September 2017 at 18:10
Dear Annabel and Rachel, what a great empowering post. How often, as a single Mum, did I vacantly into our pantry or fridge, and wonder how to rustle up a meal from basically nothing. I learned a few tricks from my Mum, but ravioli was not one of them. And so easy to make with just pantry staples and imagination. Love it! Mimi xxx
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Jane3 September 2017 at 18:44
Dear Annabel and Rachel,
Thank you for such a lovely simple meal idea. I have never made the pasta or ravioli as I thought it was some sort of complex recipe, requiring tools I don't own. This has changed my mind completely. I am going to use myself as a guinea pig and have a go using some fetta, I will let it sit on the bench to soften, an egg and some basil and pine nuts. A sort of cheesy pesto ravioli. Mouth watering and old lady drool forming.
My pantry is a mess and I don't know what we have anymore. I really need to get in and clean it out but I keep putting it off. I have decided to break it down and do one shelf this week. I may do more but I want to get one done. This will be my baking shelf. Wish me luck.
Annabel I don't envy you the packing up but the new floors and the new set up will be so worth it. Remember to take before and after photos, even if these are just for your own personal memories.
I'm off to make ravioli, bake bread and dry some starter.
Life is deliciously good.
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Anonymous3 September 2017 at 20:40
Rachel- your ravioli looks delicious! I love any kind of pasta yum and yum and you make it look so easy too!
Annabel- your doing really well with your pantry stocking and menu planning. Store what you eat and eat what you store. something I used to do also is when the boys were in school the lunches were $2 a day so since they packed their lunches from home I would keep the cost under $2 a day and they had better foods. Dinner I kept at $5 or under each night for 4 of us. Whenever I find a good bargain I have an idea of how I will use it before I leave the store so some of my meal planning starts there.
XOXO
Vicky
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Anonymous3 September 2017 at 23:31
Rachael how wonderful the ravioli look. This reminds me of our Grandma Ginni. :) She was Italian and always made ravioli and pasta from scratch. She had a wood burning stove
in her kitchen. She made it look easy to cook on wood. Now I know it takes practice.
Annabel I am glad you are getting your new floors soon. It is amazing when you pack up a kitchen how many wonderful things you discover.
We are still in boxes as the new to us house has lots and lots of black mold and the owner will not fix it. So we continue the quest to find a healthy home. We continue to pray and seek God to guide us to the right property and ask for favor with the owners. We have been blessed to sell some of our extra items so we don't have quite so much to move.
I really look forward to meal planning. Annabel you are doing great with that. I can't wait to see pictures of your new kitchen.
much love,
Patti
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Sherri4 September 2017 at 01:04
Oh my - that recipe is wonderful - I can see that becoming a staple in our household. I especially like that I don't need to buy special pasta making equipment. Thanks Rachel.

Annabel, I am jealous of your rain - but not the hail. We had 29 degrees here today, though it didn't seem quite so bad without summer's humidity. Packing and unpacking is such a lot of work for you, though it is a good idea to turn it into an opportunity to reorganise your kitchen.

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Anonymous4 September 2017 at 02:34
Dear Annabel and Beautiful Bluebirds!!

I've had the nicest little laugh!! My husband was suggesting he make his first Bluebirds comment to make it clear that he doesn't eat pasta, only canned spaghetti, and the recipe he photographed was from MY Mum's recipe book!! Ha ha!! Isn't life wonderful!!

The other funny aspect is that the ravioli, and corresponding photos, were all made in an exhausted hurry! Somehow, they became a post!! Ha ha!!

Thank you, all, for your enjoyable company over the ravioli theme!

Warm regards,
Rachel Holt
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Anonymous4 September 2017 at 04:53
Delicious! I've never made homemade ravioli before, but now I want too!

Ravioli in my area is not cheap and rarely on sale, so this recipe will be saving me quite a bit of money, thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us all Rachel!

I hope you have a wonderful day and your kitchen turn out beautifully and functional for you!

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Rubies4 September 2017 at 05:00
Thank you Rachel for your tutorial, it truly shows how easy ravioli can be. My husband and I have a lifelong argument as to who invented ravioli, the Polish with Pierogi or Italians with Ravioli, my answer is I make both, husband doesn't. You can stuff them with anything you want from meats, veggies and cheeses.

Annabel, I know it is going to be hard and a bit frustrating as the new flooring goes in but oh so rewarding afterwards to have a new kitchen with your new cabinet and reorganizing. My husband and I lived with a make shift kitchen for 3 months, a coffee machine and electric griddle on a table and the outdoor grill. But once I had a kitchen again, there was an appreciation afterwards.

Your menu planning is working so well for you. Unfortunately we can't do that, things change here so quickly and with all the travel, we buy essentials and I stock my pantry with sales and coupons, so when need be we can just go to the pantry and whip up a meal. Though my aim this coming season is to make some home canned soups to pull off the shelf in winter.

Thank you for your wonderful blogs and thank you Rachel for the wonderful tutorial.

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Tania4 September 2017 at 05:24
Such a simple meal to make, thank you Rachel and Annabel.

We definitely get ripped off with the prices we pay for ravioli in the supermarkets! I don't think I will ever buy them again now I know how to make them instead. I am adding this to my list of things that can be easily made at home.

xTania
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Anonymous4 September 2017 at 06:36
Dear Annabel and Rachel,
Thank you so much for the tutorial. Like many Bluebirds, I was brainwashed that one needed special equipment, witnessed by the many ravioli making contraptions seen in ads and at the stores. I love the simplicity of the recipe. Rachel, perhaps if you called them won tons and put them in soup your husband would eat them :) In any case, I'll be making these and putting some in the freezer for later use. I also love the handwritten recipe that was handed down to you.

Annabel, I hope you'll take some pictures of the new kitchen. It sounds like it's going to be amazing.
Blessings,
Cookie

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Cheri4 September 2017 at 06:53
Thank you for breaking this down into such easy to follow steps! I am guilty of thinking that things are way too complicated and not even giving them a try.

My dad always says, 'Don't ever do anything hard.' to us kids, but he was saying it with a wink and a smile. The truth is, even hard things become easy, the more we do them. Thank you Rachel for sharing this. I love seeing the picture of the recipe. The best recipes are tattered and spattered. :)

Annabel, praying for you as you do this big clear out. Hope you find some nice surprises. :). I'm looking forward to seeing before and after pictures!

Oh, and that non-earthquake thing the other day? That couldn't have been North Korea's test bomb, could it? All the more reason to keep feathering our nests and making our homes a place of peace, comfort and beauty.
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Kim @ Him, Him Me4 September 2017 at 08:29
Hi Bluebirds,
I like this new way of shopping. Today I went to T*sco's and came out with exactlty what I went in for. 3 milk, orange juice, and 24 cans of chopped tomatoes for the pantry. I managed to save even more money. Orignally the canned toms were 4 for £1.00 or 25 pence each or approx $1.63 Aus or so I picked up 24 cans- walked around the corner and there was another brand of tom, same size for 19pence each or approx 31cents Aus. Guess which came home with me.
Saturday, I tried shopping Laines way, although it took more time, I saved so much by shopping the specials. I used 4 supermarkets and spent less that 50% of what I spent the week before.
Take care everyone
Rachel, Thank you so much for the ravioli tutorial, I am on a low carb diet for health reasons, but hubby will love this
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Cheryl Kimbley4 September 2017 at 08:36
YUM thank you for the info.

Annabel hope the flooring goes quickly. Good luck
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Lana4 September 2017 at 09:25
When having to do any kitchen work my motto is to keep your eyes on the prize! It will be worth it in the end!

Saturday morning we were in the next town over where people are a lot less practical than this community of savers. We stopped to pick up some deals and got 8 boxes of Kleenex for 25 cents a box and large boxes of green tea bags for 20 cents each with sales and coupons. The couple behind us in line talked loudly about how they could never hold up a checkout line by making people wait to have all those coupons scanned! It was meant to educate us but we thought it was amusing. We know who is debt free and and has a well stocked pantry! We went out to our old paid for car and drove on home with our prizes! We also had 3.5 pounds of rib eye steaks for free in that order!
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Anonymous4 September 2017 at 15:57
Testing
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Anonymous4 September 2017 at 16:11
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
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Glenda4 September 2017 at 16:24
Dear Rachel and Annabel,
Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your ravioli recipe. It is good to have recipes for easy, filling meals, that require few ingredients.
I know how frustrating it can be to have one's kitchen torn up, but I am positive the end result will be gorgeous. You decorate so beautifully, Annabel.
Love and hugs,
Glenda
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