February 1, 2010

Sloppy Joes, Roasted Potatoes, and Green Beans

Posted by Jama under What's For Dinner?
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Sloppy Joes, Roasted Potatoes, and Green Beans ($5.10)

1lb ground beef ($1.50)
1 can Hunt’s Manwich sauce ($1)
5 Kroger Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns ($0.50)
5 medium potatoes ($0.50)
1 large can Del Monte Cut Green Beans (I use fresh during the summer, canned during the winter) ($1.50)
2T Olive or Canola Oil (olive oil is healthier, but canola is cheaper) ($0.10)
salt and pepper
1t sugar
Magic Seasoning Salt

Preheat oven to 425. Coat a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cut potatoes into cubes (don’t peel them! This is the only time I can get my kids to eat potatoes with the peel on…) and place in baking dish. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of oil over the potatoes; add pepper and seasoning salt (as much as you like…my hubby likes a lot of pepper, so I go heavy on the pepper and do a light covering of seasoning salt). Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

While potatoes are baking, place green beans (do not drain) in medium sauce pan. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a dash of salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is gone.

While potatoes are baking and green beans are simmering, brown ground beef. Lean ground beef is more expensive than the fattier beef, so here’s a trick to reduce the fat content: after browning your beef, place in a strainer over a large pot. Heat several cups of water in the microwave until almost boiling. Pour water slowly over the beef, and watch the fat drain into the pot! Discard water and fat and return meat to skillet. Add Manwich mix, reduce heat, and simmer.

Place hamburger buns on baking sheet and heat on the lower rack of oven for the last five minutes as potatoes are cooking.

A yummy way to eat the leftover potatoes is to add a layer of cheese and heat at 350. Add a little more seasoning salt and they taste like those delicious yet terribly unhealthy cheese fries from Charley’s Steakery!

 

January 30, 2010

Apple Chicken and Brown Rice

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My family loves this chicken so much, I usually make 1.5-2lbs of chicken rather than my usual pound!

Apple Chicken and Brown Rice ($4.48 for two meals, not counting veggies)

1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast ($2.82)
2 medium apples ($0.50)
1 medium onion, sliced ($0.10)
1.5 cups apple juice ($0.31)
1T lemon juice ($0.13)
1t cinnamon ($0.09)
1 cup brown rice ($0.53)

Slice chicken into smaller pieces – my family generally likes smaller, “tender-size” strips – and place in crock pot. Slice onion and place in crock pot with chicken. Slice apples and coat with lemon juice and cinnamon; layer over chicken and onions. Pour apple juice in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. (I actually forgot to coat my apples with lemon juice and cinnamon this morning…I’ll let you know how it turns out!)

Cook brown rice according to package directions. If you’re not used to brown rice, keep in mind that it takes longer to cook than white rice. I prefer rice that isn’t overly done, but it still takes around 30 minutes for brown rice to cook to my liking.

Tonight I think we’ll have either green beans or sweet potatoes as our veggie, but we’ve also done broccoli, carrots, and corn.

Enjoy!

 

January 29, 2010

Pinto Beans and Cornbread

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An easy and inexpensive dinner!

Jama’s Soup Beans (or Pinto Beans, for those not familiar with the Southern term)

Total cost for meal: $2.34 for dinner and lunch for a family of four. Not kidding!!

16oz of dried pinto beans (I buy the 4lb bag and divide it into 4 portions – it’s cheaper!) ($0.87)
1 med. onion, chopped ($0.10)
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped ($0.62)
salt and pepper

The night before, put dried beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight. Recover with water in the morning. We have dinner at 6pm, so I pour off the excess water at around 2:45pm, put the beans in a large pot, add chopped onion and bacon, and fill about 3/4 full with water (you want a lot of water in the pot, because they’re going to be cooking for several hours!), and place on the stove over medium heat at around 3pm. Simmer for approximately 2.5 hours, and add a pinch of salt once beans are tender. Continue cooking until soup is thick.

I couldn’t find my favorite cornmeal at the grocery store this time around, so I bought White Lily ($0.75 to make enough cornbread for 2 meals for a family of 4). Follow the package directions. I swear by cornbread baked in the oven in an iron skillet – it just doesn’t get any better! If you have an iron skillet, pour a bit of oil in the pan, and place in the oven to heat. Once the oil is thin and hot, pour your batter into the pan, and cook according to package directions. If you don’t have an iron skillet, you can always do corn muffins in a regular muffin pan!

 

January 21, 2010

Jama’s Healthy Spaghetti

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This is the first of my “What’s For Dinner” posts. I’ve had several people ask for recipes that I use frequently – especially the healthy ones! – and I thought this would be a great place to direct folks when they want to know what the Olivers are eating for dinner. A lot of the recipes I’ll be posting are just things I’ve come up with on my own, and most will have the price I paid for the ingredients listed. All of my recipes make enough for dinner AND lunch the next day for two adults, a three-year-old, and a one-year old. We always have last night’s leftovers for lunch!

Jama’s Healthy Spaghetti
The only real downfall for this recipe is that I use canned sauce, which means that there’s more sodium than if I made my own sauce. I’ve found, though, that it’s not only easier to use the canned sauce, but it’s also a lot cheaper. I’m hoping to have enough tomatoes from my garden this summer to can and make my own sauce for practically nothing, but until then, Hunts it is!

1 lb. ground turkey ($1.50)
1 can Hunt’s Spaghetti Sauce ($1.00)
1 medium onion ($0.10)
1 bag Kroger crinkle cut carrots ($1.00)
Great Value Whole Wheat Rotini ($1.00)

Brown ground turkey and chopped onion. Add carrots and spaghetti sauce. Cover and simmer until sauce is thick and carrots are soft (they’re easier to smoosh and hide from the kids if they’re really soft!). Cook pasta according to package directions and mix into sauce mixture (I’ve found that mixing the pasta in with the sauce makes the sauce stretch farther. If I don’t mix it in, I end up with not enough sauce and lots of leftover pasta!)

 

January 12, 2010

A Big Change

Posted by Jama under Misc.
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I am in the process of changing the focus of jamaoliver.com. For several years this was a political blog – a place for me to rant and rave about whatever political issue was on my mind at the moment. Over the last few years, however, the focus of my life has become my family – raising my children, taking care of my husband and my home, and becoming a more Godly woman. While I’m still interested in politics, I am much more interested in “being busy at home.”

So, over the next couple of weeks or so, I plan to revamp this site to reflect Jama Oliver as she is now. All of the political content will still be here, archived, for you to read and enjoy (or not enjoy!), but, for the most part, I’ll be posting recipes, stories about my family, pictures, and information on homemaking, child-rearing, and the general interests of a Reformed Christian woman.

For those of you that drop by for the political content, please keep in mind that this is a family site now. Be kind, keep your language clean, and try to enjoy a grown-up, calmer, mommy-fied Jama Oliver!

 

March 6, 2009

Jama and the IRS

Posted by Jama under Archives (jamaoliver.com 2005-2009)
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For someone who already isn’t all that fond of the government, one sure-fire way to fuel my hatred is to get the IRS on my case.

I always used to make fun of those commercials from tax attorneys who said, “Is the IRS after you? We can help!” I always thought to myself, “Pay your taxes, people, and this won’t be a problem!” Now I am having to eat my words (I”m getting really good at that).

Sometimes, honest, decent people who pay their taxes (through gritted teeth, of course, but we pay them nonetheless) get it up the tailpipe from the IRS. Now I’m one of them.

As I went to my mailbox earlier this week, I was hoping to get my final piece of paperwork so I could work on this year’s tax return. What I wasn’t expecting was a big, honking envelope from the IRS. As I opened it, I almost threw up in my driveway. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that our blessed government says that Mr. Oliver and I owe money. A lot of money. And they’re wrong.

So I make a frantic phone call to an accountant and beg – through tears – for them to fix it. I have an appointment tomorrow.

Here’s what I don’t understand.

1. That there are actually people out there who think that our tax system isn’t broken. The government loses our mail, and we think they’re doing a darn fine job of regulating our money? Come on.

2. Although I had a certain professor who would argue to the contrary, money in the hands of the government does not do the same thing for our economy as money in the hands of the people. Money in the hands of the people is a better stimulus to our economy, so why is our government trying to take my money in times of economic crisis? I had not cut down on my spending, despite the slow economy, until I got the infamous IRS Letter. This week, I’ve bought nothing but absolute necessities. Way to boost morale!

3. I may not be the smartest gal in any room, but I’m certainly not the dumbest, either. So, if I couldn’t figure out what in tarnation the IRS was talking about in their godforsaken letter, how in the world is Jim Bob down the road going to be able to understand such nonsense? Our government that was designed “by the people and for the people” has veered drastically off course, and is now a government “by the government, for the government.”

I’ll keep you posted on my goings-on with the IRS. And if anyone has any tips on how to go about dealing with them, I’m certainly open to suggestions…

 

February 13, 2009

As History Repeats Itself

Posted by Jama under Archives (jamaoliver.com 2005-2009)
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I’ve been doing my best to ignore the financial crisis. There’s nothing I can really do about it, other than prepare as best I can (just ask me how big my vegetable garden is going to be this year!), so why worry? We are, however, witnessing a government doing everything they can to look like they’re doing something and an American people so ignorant of history that they don’t know how bad our government is about to screw things up.

Any student of American history can tell you that it wasn’t the extensive government programs that got us out of the Great Depression, it was World War II. As a matter of fact, much of what government did during the 1930’s made matters worse. But, as a general rule, politicians will take credit for all the good and none of the bad, and we have been led to believe that government saved us from the Depression. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I don’t have the time (or the space on this blog) to go into the minute details of the Great Depression, what government did, and why it didn’t work. I do encourage you, however, to read up on the topic, frightening as it may be.

While we may not be able to do much to stem the current financial meltdown, we can encourage our government to butt out. Really, how much sense does it make to go into unprecedented debt (as the current economic stimulus package proposes) in order to fix a problem caused by unprecedented debt?

As my friends lose their jobs, I do fear what is to come. But most of all, I fear what our government is going to try to do to “fix” it…

 

January 24, 2009

Note To Christians Who Voted for Obama: Great Job

Posted by Jama under Archives (jamaoliver.com 2005-2009)
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I had a hard enough time understanding why in the name of all things sacred Christians were supporting Obama during the campaign, but I just chalked it up to good old fashioned ignorance. I still like to believe that’s the case, because it’s the only way I can justify in my mind such a major inconsistency. I hope now that Christians who supported Obama – more specifically pro-life Christians (as all Christians should be…) – are having a real gut-check moment, and realize their mistake.

President Obama yesterday reversed the policy of refusing to fund international organizations that provide abortions. Our taxpayer dollars will now go, not only to funding organizations in our own country that provide abortions, but also to organziations oversees.

Aside from the vicious killing of innocent children, the thing that I find most disgusting about this move is the way in which Obama and others are referring to the practice of abortion. Their words are careful, calculated, even clinical, and as I sit here looking at my 5-month-old son, remembering how much I loved him from the moment I knew I was pregnant, I must say that I’m having a hard time holding back tears and keeping down my coffee.

Obama said, “It is time we end the politicization of this issue. In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world.”

Family planning. What a sweet way to refer to it. I also really appreciate how Obama makes sure to mention how he will be meeting the needs of women and families around the world, but not so much the lives of the unborn.

The group Population Action International said “Family planning should not be a political issue; it’s about basic health care and well-being for women and children”…as long as those children don’t happen to be in the wombs of women who don’t want them.

I typically try and avoid the abortion issue. There are such strong feelings on both sides that I tend to simply shy away from the confrontation. That’s been easy to do with a President who believes as I do on the abortion issue, but as we now have a President – who was placed in office with the votes of many, many “Christians” – that is clearly going to reverse policy that has for the last 8 years worked to protect the most vulnerable, I will no longer keep my mouth shut.

So, to you pro-life Christians who voted for Obama, I leave you with these words: I hope you’re happy.

 

January 24, 2009

Hill named Secretary of Calendar and Rules Committee; Also named to Education, Transportation

Posted by Jama under Archives (jamaoliver.com 2005-2009)
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NASHVILLE – Representative Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) has been named Secretary of the powerful Calendar and Rules Committee, which schedules bills for final consideration before presentation on the House floor, and debates the merits of legislation recommended for passage by the eleven standing committees. The committee is comprised of the leaders from each caucus, committee chairman, vice-chairman, and secretaries, and two other members appointed by the Speaker.

“Representative Hill will be an asset to the Calendar and Rules Committee,” stated Majority Leader Jason Mumpower. “He always displays a commitment to fairness, and has a passion for service.”

“I’m honored to be named as an officer of the Calendar and Rules Committee,” said Representative Hill. “I look forward to delving into all this subject matter to ensure that the legislation passed on from the other standing committees has been thoroughly reviewed.”

Representative Hill was also named to the Education and Transportation Committees. While Education reviews all legislation related to all levels, from Kindergarten to Higher Education, Transportation is given the responsibility of all legislation concerning public roads and highways, and also all safety regulations.

“I am honored to have been named to these additional committees, and I want to thank my leadership for their assistance. I look forward to serving on them, and working on positive legislation for the people of Tennessee,” he concluded.

Matthew Hill is serving his third term in the legislature. He lives in Jonesborough with his wife, where he is in the communications industry.

 

January 21, 2009

TN House Committee Appointments

Posted by Jama under Archives (jamaoliver.com 2005-2009)
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I just got an email detailing the committee appointments in the Tennessee State House. I’m not going to take time to comment tonight, but will instead publish the list in its entirety.

Agriculture (R 6 – D 6)
Bone Chairman
Ford Vice-Chair
Borchert Secretary

Bass
Niceley
Litz
Faulkner
Shaw
Weaver
Windle
Halford
McDaniel

General Sub of Agriculture (R 3 – D 3)
Niceley Chairman
Litz Vice-Chair
Bone

Ford

Borchert

McDaniel

Calendar and Rules (R 12 – D 11)

Dunn Chairman

Turner, Larry Vice-Chair

Hill Secretary

Odom

Harwell

Turner, Mike

Mumpower

Moore

McCord

Towns

Casada

Bone

Matheny

DeBerry, John

Brooks, Harry

Armstrong

Lynn

Coleman

Todd

Fitzhugh

McManus

Harmon

McCormick

Commerce (R 15 – D 15)

Harwell Chairman

Shepard Vice-Chair

McManus Secretary

Curtiss

Johnson, Curtis

Ferguson

Roach

Towns

McCord

Naifeh

Matlock

Favors

Lynn

Fitzhugh

Lundberg

Pitts

Johnson, Phillip

Stewart

Montgomery

Hackworth

Todd

Harmon

Sargent

Cobb, Curt

Carr

Turner, Larry

Casada

Yokley

McCormick

Gilmore

Industrial Impact Sub (R 6 – D 6)

Curtiss Chairman

Roach Vice-Chair

Ferguson

McCord

Favors

Sargent

Naifeh

Todd

Shepard

Casada

Towns

Lundberg

Utilities & Banking Sub (R 5 – D 5)

Montgomery Chairman

Pitts Vice-Chair

Fitzhugh

McManus

Stewart

McCormick

Hackworth

Johnson, Curtis

Harmon

Johnson, Phillip

Small Business Sub (R 4 – D 4)

Cobb, Curt Chairman

Matlock Vice-Chair

Turner, Larry

Lynn

Yokley

Carr

Gilmore

Harwell

Consumer & Employee Affairs (R 6 – D 6)

Matheny Chairman

Hackworth Vice-Chair

Bell Secretary

McDonald

Eldridge

Moore

Campfield

Jones, Sherry

Swafford

Richardson

Kelsey

Hardaway

Employee Sub (R 3 – D 3)

McDonald Chairman

Campfield Vice-Chair

Moore

Kelsey

Jones, Sherry

Bell

Consumer Sub (R 3 – D 3)

Eldridge Chairman

Hackworth Vice-Chair

Richardson

Matheny

Hardaway

Swafford

Conservation & Environment (R 6 – D 6)

McCord Chairman

Tidwell Vice-Chair

Floyd Secretary

Gilmore

Lollar

Borchert

Hawk

Kernell

Niceley

McDonald

Rowland

Fraley

Wildlife Sub (R 4 – D 4)

Lollar Chairman

Borchert Vice-Chair

Kernell

Floyd

McDonald

Niceley

Tidwell

McCord

Environment Sub (R 5 – D 5)

Tidwell Chairman

Rowland Vice-Chair

Borchert

Hawk

Fraley

Lollar

Gilmore

McCord

McDonald

Niceley

Parks Sub (R 3 – D 3)

Gilmore Chairman

Floyd Vice-Chair

Fraley

Hawk

Kernell

Rowland

Children & Family (R 6 – D 6)

DeBerry, John Chairman

Brooks, Kevin Vice-Chair

Brown Secretary

Jones, Sherry

Rowland

Hardaway

Campfield

Richardson

Bell

Shaw

Rich

Weaver

Domestic Relations Sub (R 3 – D 3)

Jones, Sherry Chairman

Brooks, Kevin Vice Chair

Campfield

Brown

Weaver

Shaw

Family Justice Sub (R 3 – D 3)

Rowland Chairman

Richardson Vice Chair

DeBerry, John

Bell

Hardaway

Rich

Education (R 11 – D 11)

Brooks, Harry Chairman

Winningham Vice-Chair

Coley Secretary

Brown

Hawk

Cooper

Dunn

Jones, Ulysses

Harwell

Maddox

Haynes

Pitts

Lollar

Towns

Hill

Turner, Larry

Weaver

Windle

Hensley

Barker

Brooks, Kevin

DeBerry, John

K-12 Sub (R 6 – D 6)

Winningham Chairman

Lollar Vice-Chair

Jones, Ulysses

Hensley

Maddox

Harwell

Brown

Hawk

Barker

Dunn

Turner, Larry

Weaver

Higher Ed Sub (R 6 – D 6)

Hawk Chairman

Brown Vice-Chair

Cooper

Coley

Towns

Haynes

Windle

Hill

DeBerry, John

Brooks, Kevin

Pitts

Brooks, Harry

Finance, Ways & Means (R 15 – D 15)

Fitzhugh Chairman

Sargent Vice-Chair

Shaw Secretary

Tindell

Dunn

Armstrong

Brooks, Harry

Bone

Harrison

Brown

Brooks, Kevin

Coleman

McDaniel

Winningham

Mumpower

DeBerry, Lois

Roach

Maddox

Casada

Miller

Montgomery

Odom

McManus

Sontany

Maggart

Naifeh

Johnson, Curtis

Turner, Mike

Eldridge

Rowland

Budget Sub (R 7 – D 7)

Tindell Chairman

Sargent Vice-Chair

Armstrong

McDaniel

DeBerry, Lois

Harrison

Fitzhugh

Roach

Odom

Montgomery

Naifeh

Mumpower

Shaw

Rowland

Government Operations (R 6 – D 7)

Lynn Chairman

Kernell Vice-Chair

Cobb, Jim Secretary

DeBerry, Lois

Mumpower

Odom

Casada

Turner, Mike

Campfield

Camper

Bell

Cooper

Hardaway

Health & Human Resources (R 13-D 13)

Armstrong Chair

Hensley Vice-Chair

Favors Secretary

Pruitt J.

Cobb

C. Cobb

Dean

Curtiss

Ford

L. DeBerry

Maggart

Ferguson

Ramsey

S. Jones

Shipley

Odom

Mumpower

Richardson

Harrison

Shepard

Halford

M. Turner

Dennis

J. DeBerry

Rich

Evans

Professional Occupations (R 7-D 7)

Harrison Chair

Favors Vice-Chair

M. Turner

Rich

Armstrong

Mumpower

Ferguson

Hensley

S. Jones

Maggart

Odom

Ramsey

Shepard

Shipley

Public Health (R 4-D 4)

Hensley Chair

Richardson Vice-Chair

Maggart S. Jones

J. Cobb

Curtiss

Dennis

C. Cobb

Health Care Facilities (R 5-D 5)

Pruitt Chair

Ford Vice-Chair

L. DeBerry

Evans

J. DeBerry

Dean

Shepard

Halford

M. Turner

Rich

Judiciary (R 6- D 6)

Coleman Chair

Lundberg Vice-Chair

Sontany Secretary

Bass

Kelsey

Camper

Watson

Fincher

Dennis

Stewart

Matheny

Faulkner

Civil Practice (R 3 – D 3)

Kelsey Chair

Fincher Vice-Chair

Lundberg

Stewart

Dennis

Coleman

Criminal (R 3-D 3)

Watson Chair

Sontany Vice-Chair

Faulkner

Bass

Matheny

Camper

State & Local (R 9-D 9)

Todd Chair

U.Jones Vice-Chair

Swafford Secretary

Miller

McCormick

Yokley

Ramsey

Ty Cobb

Evans

Pruitt

Haynes

Litz

Carr

Tindell

Coley

West

Watson

Moore

Elections (R 3- D 3)

Yokley Chair

Watson Vice-Chair

Moore Coley
Tindell Evans

State Sub (R 3-D 3)

McCormick Chair

Pruitt Vice Chair

Haynes

Litz

Carr

West

Local Sub (R 3-D 3)

Miller Chair

Swafford Vice Chair

U. Jones

Todd

Ty Cobb

Ramsey

Transportation (R 7 – D 7)
Harmon Chair

Dean Vice-Chair
Fraley Secretary

West

P. Johnson
Ty Cobb

Matlock
Fincher

Floyd
Tidwell

Shipley

Barker

Hill
Rich

Public Safety (R 3 – D 3)
West Chair

Dean Vice-Chair

Fincher

Rich
Ty Cobb

Shipley

Rural Roads (R 4 – D 4)
P. Johnson Chairman
Fraley Vice-Chair

Harmon

Matlock
Tidwell

Hill

Barker

Floyd

Joint Legislative Services Committee

Williams

Mumpower

Casada

Odom

Turner, Mike

Rules Committee

McDaniel, Chair

Mumpower

Casada

Williams

Brooks, Kevin

Sargent

Montgomery

Brooks, Harry

Roach

Odom

Turner, Mike

DeBerry, Lois

Fitzhugh

Fincher

Litz

Maddox

Naifeh

Council on Pensions and Insurance

Fitzhugh

Sargent

Shaw

McDaniel

Dunn

Bone

Health Equity Commission

Armstrong

Hensley

Miller, Larry

Ethics Committee

Mumpower

Harwell

McCord

Casada

McDaniel

Sargent

Odom

DeBerry, Lois

Turner, Mike

Fincher

Jones, Ulysses

Maddox

Joint Committee on Veterans Affairs

Borchert

Windle

Curtiss

Litz

Ford

Johnson, Curtis

Lundberg

McDaniel

Corrections Oversight

Harmon

Turner, Mike

Curtiss

Fitzhugh

McCord

Ford

Matheny

Select Committee on Children & Youth

DeBerry, John

DeBerry, Lois

Jones, Sherry

Brown

Sontany

Montgomery

Harwell

Maggart

Faulkner

Education Oversight

Brown

Jones, Ulysses

Maddox

Winningham

Brooks, Harry

Hawk

Lollar

Roach

Rowland

TennCare Oversight

Armstrong

Shepard

Odom

Hensley

McDaniel

Harrison

Mumpower

LongTerm Care Oversight

Ferguson

DeBerry, Lois

Tindell

McDaniel

Maggart

Lottery Oversight

Jones, Ulysses

Winningham

Tindell

Miller, Larry

Todd

Brooks, Harry

McCormick

McManus

Mumpower

Workers Compensation Oversight

Curtiss

Fitzhugh

McDonald

Pitts

Sargent

Matlock

McCord

McDaniel

Select Committee on Business Taxes

Tindell

Cobb, Curt

Hackworth

Stewart

Lundberg

Sargent

Eldridge

Charitable Gaming Committee

Moore

Tindell

McManus

TACIR

Todd

Mumpower

Odom

Naifeh

Diabetes Prevention

Moore

Favors

Brown

Williams

Shipley

 

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