Dollar Stores: What I buy!

I love the dollar stores. I keep finding new items that save money. You have to know your prices though.  Some items are smaller packages and end up costing more per ounce.  I've found that on a small budget it helps provide variety. For instance, my local dollar store offers a long sausage for $1. It's not enough for a dinner meal but makes a nice addition to a pot of soup. It would cost me close to $4-5 dollars to buy a package.  I don't need that much sausage this month so a small amount will add some variety to our lunches without costing a lot.

My son-in-love put up a new antenna on our roof.

Here are a few things I buy at my local dollar store.

• Fabric Softener ( I only use it for my towels and use half the recommendation). 
• Flax seed (I grind them at home)
• Shampoo
• Sensitive toothpaste
• Mascara
• Eye liner
• Nail polish
• Nail polish remover
• Peanuts in indiv. serving packets
• Coconut milk
• Chorizo
• Fake cheese (I can't eat dairy)
• Bologna
• Candy (grandkiddos)
• Birthday cards (2/ $1)
• Computer paper
• Solar lights
• Feminine products
• Baby wipes
• Sunflower seeds
• Pens
• Index cards (recipes, scripture memorization cards)
• Orange and almond extract
• Hot sauce
• Eye glasses for reading
• Worcestershire sauce
• Dill relish
• Seran wrap, tinfoil
• Freezer and sandwich bags (I only buy these when I run out of bags I've reused)
• Paper towels (only used to clean pans with grease)
• Turkey bacon
• Fajita frozen veggies
• Parmesan cheese
• Pork rinds
• Pepperoni (LC pizza for lunch)
• Farmer John Maple Sausage
• Liquid hand soap
• Spices
• Minced or whole garlic in a jar
• Smoked sausage (for soups)
• Gum
• Gift wrap and bags
• Padded envelopes
• Packaging tape

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Here are a few things I did to stretch our budget this week:

1. Mended socks and a shirt. I put them in a mending basket by my chair.  I used to get on my laptop in the evenings but then I wasted so much time. Now, I set aside the first hour to crochet or mend. I'm really getting a lot done.

2. The stevia has been drying in my garage and it's nice and dry. I put newspapers down on my kitchen table and stripped the leaves from the stem. I probably have around 2 1/2 cups of leaves. I'm going to try grinding it first to see if I can  use the powder in recipes. If not then I'll  make a tincture. If we like it then I hope to buy some seeds to plant next spring.

3.  I tried a new recipe and we liked it.  It's an inexpensive meal, too.

Low Carb Buffalo Crack Slaw

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 tsp onion powder,  1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt,  1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 pound cabbage ( used a bag of Coleslaw)
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Frank's hot sauce
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Splenda, liquid equivalent (I used Erythritol)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper, crushed (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan, brown ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Remove ground beef from pan, and set aside. Leave oil in the pan.
2. Add garlic, sesame oil, and cabbage to pan. Cook until cabbage begins to brown.

Add soy sauce, Frank’s, apple cider vinegar, sucralose, and red pepper to frying pan. Return ground beef to pan, and heat for two minutes.
 
4.   I saved my receipts and posted them in my Price Book.  Prices are changing so fast that I lose track of the price on items I don't buy often.

My grandkiddos love to climb our trees

5.  I pulled up the solar lights in the yard to store away for winter.

6. I made another batch of Spicy Tomato Sauce.  I love this marinara sauce. I can eat it straight from the pot. I throw it in soups and spaghetti sauce. I also like it on my eggs for breakfast. I think I made about 5 batches this summer with our fresh tomatoes.

7. I had enough green beans left in the garden to pressure can 4 jars. I also pressure canned the Spicy Tomato Sauce.

8.  The garlic chives were harvested.  The seeds were saved for next year's planting and I froze the garlic chives. I'll throw them in soups or put them in our eggs. I'll be cutting the last of the oregano this weekend to dry. I also picked some Poblano peppers and made Chile Rellenos. I found an easy way to get the skin off the peppers. I broil them and then wrap them in a wet towel and place in a plastic bag.  The peel comes off easy once the pepper is cool. I've also been throwing some of our hot peppers in my soups and chili.

9. Broccoli has been planted for a fall crop. Beet and sweet pea seeds went into the ground this week, too.

10. Things I didn't throw away this week:

• Computer paper. One side was used. I flipped it over and put it back in the printer to use the other side. 
• Carrot peels: (froze it for a batch of homemade dog food)
• Left over cauliflower: Hubby was tired of it so I disguised it in scrambled eggs.
• Strings from tea bags  (tie up plants)
• Egg shells, vegetable peelings, tea bags (composting)
• Cardboard (T.P. rolls, paper towel rolls) (composting) 
• Margarine tubs (reused for leftovers) 
• Banana peels (Buried them next to the rose bushes for fertilizer)
• Coleslaw bag: washed and reused. 
• Empty toilet paper roll ( I had leftover binding from a quilt so I rolled it around the roll and used a rubber band to hold it in place)
• Rubber band from free newspaper thrown weekly in my yard. I haven't had to buy rubber bands for years because I save any that come through my door. 
• Old jeans (cut up to make a quilt)

I'm trying to get an hour of sewing in daily! I'm working on a Christmas gift and also taking in some clothes. 

So what did you do this week? Do you see anything I missed on my Dollar Store list that you purchase?

Making extra money

What happens when the paycheck doesn't seem to meet all of your needs and wants? Do you look for more work or do you tighten your expenses? This is a topic we've (myself and those who have responded)  been chatting about the past few weeks. I imagine there are many different answers depending on a person's situation.

My husband's paychecks have ALWAYS met our needs and many of our 'wants', too.  Even now that we are living on his disability income (and my VERY small part time paycheck) all of our 'needs' and quite a few of our 'wants' are being met.

Homemade Coconut Milk Berry Ice Cream

But, sometimes it 'feels' very tight and if I'm not careful with my thoughts I can sense resentment rearing it's ugly head. I think it's when my 'wants' get transferred to the 'needs' list. It doesn't take long before the Lord will bring others to my attention who are living with much less. This week the Syrians dreadful situation has sparked gratitude in my heart for all I do have. I read that 6,000 people are fleeing Syria daily. Imagine uprooting your family and fleeing to another country with no prospect for a job.. Perspective makes a huge difference in my thinking and it initiates appreciate for all I do have today.


A few of my blessings:

A few of the grandones spent the night last weekend! They are so much fun! We played Upwords, Headbands, made cookies, watched movies and played video games. Thankfully they seem to still enjoy visiting even with our outdated technology. This is only 2 of the 4 that visited.

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 Here are a few things I did this week to save money:

1.  We were invited to a family birthday party and I was asked to bring a dish. Instead of trying to 'wow' them with a great recipe I decided to check what I had in my pantry. I had all the ingredients on hand to make a broccoli casserole (which is a great recipe, too!). YAY!!!

2.  I have quite a few eggplants in the garden. My neighbor told me to check ALLRECIPES for a recipe called Hot and Sour Chinese Eggplant. It was really good. I would peel the eggplant next time. I used stevia to replace the sugar. It's fun to try new recipes!

3. I made a batch of enchilada sauce for a recipe I plan to make soon. I had a bag of dried chilies on hand. Next time I'll make a larger batch and freeze the leftovers. Here is the recipe:

Enchilada Sauce

6 dried ancho chilies (I used New Mexico chilies)

2 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

3 cups beef or chicken broth

2 tbsp. flour to thicken

Bake chilies on a cookie sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 2-4 minutes. Watch closely so they don't burn. You just want to warm them to help bring out the flavor. Remove the seeds. Put the chilies in a bowl and completely cover with hot water. Cover. Allow to soak for 1 hour. Combine all the other ingredients together and about 1 cup of broth over medium heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove and put in blender until it's smooth. Put in skillet on stove and add the rest of the broth. Put  2 tbsp. of flour  in jar with a little water and shake till smooth and then add to skillet. Simmer until it thickens. Add more broth if needed.

4.   I made some Roasted Tomato Basil Soup for lunch.  Here is a link to the recipe I used. I only had 2 cups of basil in the garden but it still tasted wonderful! I plan on making at least one batch of soup a week to help cut the cost of my lunches.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

My son saved us $150 by chopping down our tree.

5. I found  hamburger on sale for $1.99 a pound. It was the kind with a high fat content. I rinsed it with hot water once it was cooked and drained well.  The leaner hamburger has gone up to over $3.00 a pound which has put it out of my price range.

6. I started another potholder for Christmas. I also have a potholder started in the car bag. My car bag has little projects I do while I sit in the Drs. office or wait in a long line. I normally have a book in the bag, too.  I have finished a lot of gifts (and books) this way.

7. I pulled out a quilt top that I want to make for a second nephew for Christmas. I measured for the seam binding and put the measurements in my purse. I'll purchase contrast material for the binding next paycheck but definitely will check the local thrift stores first. 

8.  I saved, washed, dried and will reuse a bread wrapper, brown sugar wrapper and a frozen vegetable bag. My mother saves her comics for me which I use as wrapping paper for the grandchildren's gifts.  I also save my jars to pour fat and grease into so it doesn't go down my drain.  I saved more of the tea bag strings. I know some of you think I'm going too far by saving those strings but they are STRONG and I can use it to prop up my plants in the yard.

9.  I made Sugar Fee Snow Cone Syrup. It will be a LOT cheaper than buying the DaVinci SF syrup in the store. It's made with 2 packets of Koolaid, 1 1/2 cps. Splenda and 3 cups of water. Stir and refrigerate. Next time I'm going to try making it with Stevia since I really don't like using Splenda for health reasons.

10. I put my small sewing box in the living room next to my chair with some socks that need mending. I also have a few Christmas projects to work on . It's convenient and a good reminder when I sit down with husband in the evenings. "A stitch in time saves nine".  *smile*

11. We were told it would cost $150 to chop down a tree in the backyard that was shading 1/4 of our vegetable garden. We've had some dental bills which have taken most of our extra income so we haven't been able to save the $150. My son came over on Saturday and sawed down the tree and then hauled off the heavy pieces to the dump. So extremely thankful for his help!

What did you do this week?  Were you busy or busy as a 'backward bee'?  So what do you make for lunches that is inexpensive? And how do you entertain your older grandchildren?

May God's grace amaze you!

Georgene

Homemade Wheat Thins

I'm always evaluating my grocery budget to see where I can cut expenses. Snacks are one food item that I need to cut back on. My husband likes crackers so when I found this recipe I thought it might be part of the answer I'm looking for.  Anytime I can make something from scratch the better!  I made a batch this morning and they turned out great! The ingredients are items I always have on hand. I didn't price it out but I'm confident it definitely didn't cost me $2.50-$3.00! The recipe makes enough to last a few weeks and the recipe was easy and quick.

Ingredients:

Serves about 13 dozen crackers.(I didn't get nearly this many).

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• additional salt for topping (Optional)

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into pieces and mix it thoroughly using your fingers, a pastry blender, a mixer or a food processor. I used my hands. Combine the water and vanilla, and add it to the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.(My dough was very dry. I was concerned it would be crumbly so I ran my hands quickly under the faucet water and added just a smidgeon to the dough.)

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment.

3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. (I had already taken one ball out to roll). Keep the other pieces covered while you work with one at a time.

Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin and roll the piece of dough into a large rectangle which should be 12 inches square when trimmed. (I didn't measure). I tried using a normal size rolling pin but found the fondant rolling pin (which I've used to roll thin tortillas) worked the best. Keep flipping the dough and turning it to keep it from sticking. Don't use too much flour or it will make it difficult to roll. Keep rolling until the dough is as thin as you can get it without tearing, at least 1/16 inch thick.

 

Trim the dough to even the edges and use a pizza cutter or as sharp knife to cut the piece into squares approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. Transfer squares to a prepared baking sheet using a spatula; you can crowd them together, as they don't expand while baking.  Sprinkle squares lightly with salt, if desired.

Bake until crisp and BROWNED, 5-7 minutes. Start watching them carefully at 5 minutes.. they bake quickly and can brown to toast! If some brown quicker then you can take those out while the others finish baking. We liked the ones that were browned better than the ones that were not. Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a plate. The crackers will stay crisp for several days, but are best stored in airtight containers.

My husband said they taste like the real deal. Score!!!!!! No more bought crackers.

What's in your fridge- Great website

I just found this website and I wanted to share it with you. I think it's going to be very helpful for those of us on a limited budget.

This is how it works: Just click the boxes of items you have in your pantry and fridge.. click a button... and ... PRESTO....it gives you meal ideas.

Here you go. Let me know if you use it and how you like it!

My Fridge Food

Calculating meat costs per serving

As the price of food continues to rise (and my income is not) I am being forced to re-evaluate my weekly menu and shopping list.

We've cut way back on carbs which means that I'm not able to fall back on homemade breads, tortillas or pastas to stretch my meals. Our main meals consist of meat, vegetables and limited fruits. Thankfully I can make homemade soups during the winter to stretch my meat budget. I've been collecting vegetable soup recipes that work great for lunch. I am also focusing on recipes that use small amounts of meat and focus more on the veggies.

I found this 'cost per serving' meat calculator fascinating (I know, I know.. I live a boring life! *S*). When you put in the cut of meat and the price per pound it will tell you how many servings you'll get per pound. I just bought some skinless chicken breasts (all natural) for $2 a pound. The calculator told me I could get 4 servings per pound according to US governement standards. I want to take the information  from this calculator and use it with my recipes to see if my portion sizes are correct to get the greatest servings per recipe.

Calculate Cost Per Serving

I hope this can help you, too!

Frugal Friday: Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

Is it my imagination or have grocery prices jumped BIG TIME?   I went into a grocery store the other day to purchase a jar of mayonnaise and was shocked that the sticker price was over $5.00. 

It has been a huge challenge to stay within my $200.00 a month budget for groceries/toiletries/household expenses so I'm trying to find ways to substitute items that are rising in cost for something less expensive. So when I saw the $5.00 sticker on mayo I decided to try my hand at homemade mayo. I tried it once before but the olive oil I used had a strong flavor that transferred over to the taste of the mayo. I threw the batch out.. it was that bad. 

 

I used a recipe a friend suggested from Elton Brown. I read you could use a hand blender instead of a whisk so I started out placing the mixture into a cup and slowly began adding the oil. You're supposed to add the oil in a small steady stream. If you add the oil too fast then it will 'break' and separate. The mayo was coming together nicely but my hand blender started getting hot. I tried letting it cool down but then I got impatient and added the oil too fast. It ended up separating. I'll share below how I fixed it. 

 

Mayonnaise

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown from Food Network

• 1 egg yolk*
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 pinches sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 cup oil, safflower or corn (I used extra virgin olive oil from Costco)

Directions

In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients. Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit, (which means you've got an emulsion on your hands). Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (but just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant (albeit thin) stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest of the lemon juice mixture.
Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours then refrigerate for up to 1 week.

 *RAW EGG WARNING

Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Broken Mayonnaise and HOW TO FIX IT!

Fixing 'broken' mayo is very simple. Just take a single egg yolk and place it in a bowl. Briskly whisk the egg yolk while you add the 'broken' mayo slowly. Continue adding the entire batch of broken mayo into the egg yolk slowly. That's it. The mayo will turn out yellow but taste great. We normally only eat Best Food mayo and I've never liked 'off  brands'. This mayo passed the test. 

Keep meat costs down

So far I'm doing pretty well at keeping my food budget at $50.00 a week. Remember, though, that I get help from a food pantry so that helps keep the overall cost down. We rarely eat pasta or rice for health reasons so I'm unable to use many of the items the food pantry offers. But, we are blessed with the food we are given and it does help a lot.

I've been trying to find recipes that have a small amount of meat and lots of veggies to stretch my meat budget. (Does anyone have any good recipes?)  My husband loves Chile Relleno's but I rarely make them because I've had such a difficult time peeling the skins. A few weeks ago at the 99 cents store they had the chile peppers in a bag. I already had pepper jack cheese at home so I knew it would cost me next to nothing for the meal. A Spanish woman walked up as I looked at the chilies. I asked her if she had an easy way to peel them. Boy, am I glad I asked because it made peeling a snap!

Here is what she suggested:

Wash and dry your peppers. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes on each side ( until blistered) and then turn, repeating until all sides are blistered. Wrap each chile in a dampened dish towel and place inside a plastic bag to 'sweat'. Peel and de-seed. 

Here is the recipe for the Chile Rellenos:

 Stuff chilies with monterey jack cheese (I used pepper jack because that is what I had on hand). Pour some white flour on a plate.  Heat oil in a skillet. In a bowl beat 4 egg whites and fold in gently 1 egg yolk.  Dip the chile in flour. Take a large tablespoon of egg mixture and place it the skillet. Smooth it out with the back of your spoon to the size of a chile. Place the chile on top of the egg mixture. Take another large spoonful of egg mixture and place on top of the chile. Smooth it out to cover the chile. Let the egg mixture brown on the bottom. Flip onto the other side and let brown.

Meanwhile, you can make a sauce if you like one on your chile. My husband does.  I've made white or red sauces.

Cheese Sauce:

Heat until bubbly:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Add 1 c. milk slowly whisking it so that you don't get lumps. Add one cup of yellow cheese. Add 1/4 c. salsa.

You can also use a red sauce or a salsa verde.