Archive for food
Frugal Links and Reads
Thrifty Tuesday: Selling online with thriftshop finds. Market value and how to go about setting prices that are fair to yourself. Two quick and frugal recipes- Pakistani kima (or hamburger curry), and a very quick chow mein recipe. I love this home-made bathroom cleaner solution. A week’s worth of very frugal meals (at the time [...]
A Rose By Any Other Name….
One of my Progeny is particularly fond of Cream of Wheat for breakfast. Cream of wheat is cheaper than cold cereal, but Farina is the same thing, and you can get it for about half the price of Cream Of Wheat, or even less if you’re buying the farina in bulk through a local co-op [...]
Free Frugal Downloads for Nov. 2
You don’t need to own a Kindle to take advantage of these offers. Amazon offers several free reading aps you can use to read these on your computer or other devices. Most of these are only going to be free today. Check the price carefully before clicking to make sure it’s still free. I’ve also [...]
Grow Your Own Wheat Grass
What you need: potting soil or compost A container (it doesn’t have to be deep. Cake pans work) wheatberries (try your natural foods store) water sunshine Fill the container with soil. Sprinkle wheatberries evenly over the surface. Sprinkle a little more dirt over the top. Spray gently with water. Keep the soil moist but [...]
Cooking with sour milk
There is a difference between sour milk and spoiled milk. There’s no need to toss milk that has gone past its date or developed bit of a sour smell or taste. While you might want to avoid using it in eggnog or pudding, you can still use it in a myriad of ways. Changing recipes [...]
All Things Considered
Leafing through the pages of the book I had just purchased as part of a wedding gift, I couldn’t help but wonder if I too might benefit from this approach to bread baking. Slated to be sent to a newly married young couple seeking to be make wise lifestyle choices, this book of healthy artesian [...]
Being Prepared for 2011
Thinking how best to comply with Husband’s request, I decided to do a bit of internet research. Being concerned with some reports he had read, Husband wanted me to use some emergency funds to provide a hedge of protection for our food budget. He’s far from a “doomsday prophet,” and I take his concerns seriously. [...]
Frugal Flavors
Scanning the multitude of ice cream flavors to make a choice for a dessert for guests, I realized that I always seemed to be drawn to vanilla. Wanting to expand my horizons a bit, I checked out some of the more “exotic” flavors. Finding one I deemed to be a bit more exciting, yet safe, [...]
Does cooking from scratch cost more?
Cooking from scratch isn’t always cheap. When I was first married, my husband brought me home to a classic bachelor pad. The cupboards held nothing hot dog buns. The fridge held beer and bratwurst – oh, and a bottle of mustard. On my first trip to the grocery store, I had two choices. I could [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
If you must eat out…
Do it like this. Be sure to read the fine print, but even with fine print this is a great deal! I found some of our favorite restaurants listed in my area, and others that we would like to try but didn’t want to pay full price. Stock up for date night, for gifts, and [...]
Outsmart the grocery store
I just wanted to take a moment to share a worthwhile link. I consider myself a reasonably savvy and experienced grocery shopper, feeding 12 on a very modest budget, but I learned a few things from this list: 50 Sneaky Grocery Store Tricks That Trim Your Wallet and Pad Your Waistline ETA: link is now [...]
Summer Salad
Here’s a salad you can make without going shopping for the ingredients- although you might need to take a walk. As always, be careful and be sure of your plant identification: Lettuce- grow this in an ice-cream bucket of compost or potting soil. Sprinkle with lettuce seeds, sprinkle with dirt, keep damp and set in [...]
