Double blogger?

I did it! As I mentioned here, I was thinking about starting new blog to document our move from Minnesota to New Mexico. Here's a link: MN2NM. I guess I'm a double blogger now! Hoping to still do periodic posts here, but you will probably see more from me over there.

MN to NM?

Wow, it's been awhile. We have been deep in the process of unpacking, organizing, and getting connected in our new home- Albuquerque. Things have been going great so far. People here are really friendly and we've been able to make a lot of connections.  Having a toddler really helps with meeting people- you just go to a park and start talking to the parents of the other kids! The fact that the high has been at least 50 almost every day helps with the whole park thing. Back in Minnesota, we didn't really make it to the park from November through most of April because of the weather. Which brings me to the topic of my post:

I'm thinking of changing the focus of my blogging, and maybe just starting over at a new blog. This process of relocating/moving across the country and getting settled has taught me a bunch of lessons. And I continue to learn new things about our new hometown, the process of getting to know a new place, and the nitty gritty logistics of moving and making new friends. While being thrifty is still a big part of our daily life, this process of going from MN to NM and making it our home is a bigger focus right now.

So don't be surprised to see a new focus on this blog or maybe even a completely new blog taking its place! More to come.

Thrifty Recipe: Butternut squash stew

I'm back to blogging! Now that we're kind of settled into our new (rental) home I made a great new recipe last night. It was super easy and my daughter was a fan because of the raisins and garbanzo beans. More posts on road trip/moving/etc soon. However, we don't have internet at our new home yet so it might be awhile.



From Women's Day website

  Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Stew
From Woman's Day Magazine

Ingredients:

•1 can(s) (28-oz) whole tomatoes

• 1/2 cup(s) raisins

•2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin

•1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon

• Kosher salt and pepper

•1 red onion, cut into ½-in. wedges

• 1/2 medium butternut squash, (about 1 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-in. pieces (I used a bag of Archer Farms frozen squash from Target. Worked great)

•1 cup(s) couscous

• 1/4 cup(s) fresh cilantro, chopped

•1 can(s) (15-oz) chickpeas, rinsed

Directions


1.Place the tomatoes (and their juices) in a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker and break them up slightly. Add the raisins, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper and mix to combine.

2.Add the onion and squash and cook, covered, until squash is tender, 5 to 7 hours on low or 3 to 5 hours on high.

3.Ten minutes before serving, cook the couscous according to package directions; fold in the cilantro. Gently fold the chickpeas into the stew and cook, covered, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve over the couscous.