Archive for Archive for October, 2010
Gathering the Fragments
I recently bought yet another cookbook, on the recommendation of several readers at my regular blog. The book is Extending the Table. It follows the same format as an old family favorite, The More With Less Cookbook, by Janis Longacre, whose husband wrote the forward for Extending the Table. Although I disagree with some of [...]
Chicken Soup
It started out to be chicken soup. While putting ice back into the freezer, I had seen a chicken carcass in a Ziploc bag. Dumping the contents of this bag into my crockpot and quickly covering with water, I turned the temperature to high and added the lid. Continuing to rummage in my freezer, I [...]
Weekend links: lentils and more
Good reads around the web Frugal Superfoods – Great list of cheap, nutritious foods with tips on how to use them. I really need to get on board with lentils. We sprout them, but I’ve never tried cooking with them. What’s your favorite lentil recipe? The $100 a Day Rule – Why didn’t I think [...]
The Gift of Thrift
In our early years we practiced frugality because we had to- it was the difference between eating and not eating, paying the electric bill or living out of an ice-box and dressing for bed by candlelight (and that’s not hyperbole, we have done both). It wasn’t so much a choice as a reality that we [...]
Frugal Educational Alternatives
Watching this movie trailer produced by a friend of our family, I couldn’t help but reflect back to a recent conversation with another young man I know well. Our discussion had been centered upon my friend’s opinion on how to best prepare for his future vocation. The traditional college route was not an integral part of our [...]
Weekend links
Best New Article this week: Top Personal Finance Blogs by Money Crashers – I’m really excited about this list, and it’s not only because Frugal Hacks is comfortably in the Top 100. I’ve been wondering just who the competition/compadres are in our niche and how to identify them. This list will help, not to mention [...]
Pumpkins and More
What’s in my hand this week: Pumpkins- Our son-in-law brought us three or four pie pumpkins when they were on sale at the store where he works, and then friends brought us four or five pie pumpkins from the last of their garden. What we’ll do with them: Bake them, scrape out the insides, and [...]
Making My Plan Work
Holding calendar in hand while checking freezer and pantry shelves, it seemed like a good plan. With some special celebrations in the beginning of the month and houseguests expected towards the end of October, my idea had been to eat some creative and resourceful meals in the weeks between, using the resources on hand. This [...]
How to can raw meat in a flash
It’s easy, I promise. You need little more than a pressure cooker/canner, jars and lids. Oh, and raw meat. Plan on using ~2 lbs./quart, or a little more if it needs trimming. We buy boneless skinless chicken on sale for this, though you can do it with nearly anything. Preseasoned fajita meat is delicious this [...]
Thrift store philosophy & poll
We discovered a new thrift store in our area with a very interesting pricing structure. Every Thursday morning, everything in the store is $1.75. No exceptions. On Friday, everything is $1.50. On Saturday, everything is $1.25. Each day the price drops by 25 cents until Wednesday when absolutely everything in the store is just 25 [...]
Weekend links
Good reads around the web 5 Hard-to-Kill Houseplants — and How Not to Kill Them – I like the idea of not killing houseplants for a change, but I’m not sure I agree with the list. What do you think? I would definitely put Aloe Vera and Mother-in-law Tongue on my list. Paying by the [...]
Celebrating With What Is In My Hand
While hanging the baby clothes on the drying rack with soft breezes blowing and sun shining bright, memories of my first born baby flooded my mind. Now grown-up and with a baby of his own in his wife’s womb, our family had decided a celebration was in order! As I considered how to celebrate this [...]
Cheap beach fun
I’ll be the first to admit that spending $100 in gas on a day trip is not the most frugal way to have fun, but when you live less than 4 hours from the beach you have to go every now and then. It’s your moral and ethical duty to your children. As homeschoolers, we [...]
Frugal Eating on Special Diets
Somebody asked me recently how to eat frugally with special dietary needs, which is a really good question, although it may not have the easiest of answers. It depends on the dietary needs, of course. Some are easier to accommodate than others. Here are some generalizations: Accept the reality that your dietary needs are different [...]
