$5 Pantry Building Challenge: Week #1

I'm participating in the $5 Pantry Building Challenge hosted by Patsi at A Working Pantry. 

For this weeks challenge I am adding marshmallows to my pantry. My local grocery had their 10.5 oz store brand on sale for $1/bag.  

I picked up 5 bags. 

With tax my total was $5.35.

I imagine some of you might be thinking that's a lot of marshmallows, what can you do with all of those. On the dehydrator they went!

When complete I ended up with 4 half gallon jars. I was a little bit surprised! Generally, when I've dehydrated items they really shrink. The marshmallows did not! They stayed their original size. 

Besided the obvious use of adding to hot chocolate, there are so many uses for these! They are great in baking as they don't add additional moisture to your baked goods.  They can be added to brownies, cookies, or fudge. They are delicious added on chocolate ice cream to give it the Rocky Road effect. Or they can be added to your favorite granola or trail mix. They can even be used in makng Rice Crispy treats! I've never used them for that purpose, but I will be giving that a try.  Really, the uses are endless. 

I'll meet you here next week for Week #2 of this challenge!

Wendi 

Taking a Page from Patsy

Patsy from A Working Pantry Blog recently posted about her prepared ahead lunches.This idea has been in the back of my mind since I read the post. My days are currently busy and I haven't been the best at making sure I eat a good lunch. 

I grocery shop every two weeks, usually on Friday. This week I went today as Thursday and Friday I have a full schedule. Anyway, since I just went to the store I decided to prep my fresh foods and make some prepared ahead lunches.

First I prepped my lettuce and then gathered my other ingredients. The tomatoes and broccoli are fresh from the garden, the eggs are from our chickens, and the grilled chicken is leftover from a recent dinner.

Once things were prepped I put together salads in a jar. 

While this was all happening I had mini bow tie noodles cooking. Pasta Salad was requested by Megan. 

I hard boiled a couple extra eggs and made egg salad. This will be my lunch tomorrow. 

I purchased a package of wraps and made a couple jars of diced lunch meat (ham and turkey), shredded lettuce and freshly shredded cheese. Easy to open, dump and no slicing or dicing while in a time crunch. 

This is the finished product. 

I ended up with three salads, seven servings of pasta salad, two jars ready for wraps, and and one meal of egg salad. 

It makes me so happy to all of this lined up in my fridge ready to go. Thanks for the inspiration, Patsy!

Wendi 

A Working Kitchen

I snapped this picture after I completed a deep clean of my kitchen. I can honestly say that this space, especially my counters, rarely stay this way. Why, because I have what I call a working kitchen. 

For me a working kitchen is one that is easy to tidy and meets my everyday needs. For each person that will look different.

Most of the time my counters aren't what I would considered cluttered.  And they certainly aren't picture perfect. They have an item or two that is working for me. 

In this instance it's the dehydrator. There was an abundance of cilantro that wouldn't be used before it went bad. 

Three meals a day come out of this space. Many times it's an appliance doing the work for me. 

Megan enjoys working in the kitchen also. Sharing a kitchen with my 19 year old daughter means that many times she is the one working in the kitchen. 

A jar for egg shells to be baked and ground up for the chickens. Along with some banana peels becoming fertilizer are sitting next to the sink.

This bowl is always on the counter to collect eggs. 

This space is one that you spend a lot of time in serving your family. From serving hot meals to nourish hungry bellies, to prayes sent up as dishes are washed. 

One thing Megan talks about is grounding. In her case, walking in the yard in her bare feet feels grounding. For me the grounding comes from the peace and security of my home. Mainly, my working kitchen. 

It's the work horse of the my home, and place where memories are made around the table. It's a place where problems are solved. Budgets are worked around the table, plans are layed out, crafts and school work are completed here. There is dancing, laughter and sometimes tears shed. 

Not only do I have a working kitchen, I'm trying to have a no waste kitchen. Such as the banana peel fertilizer, the eggs shells as calcium, and a scrap container for the chickens. 

As the world seems to get crazier and uncertainty is everywhere it's time to pull our focus toward home. A working kitchen can provide a safe place and become a haven for those who enter. Who wouldn't want to stop by for a fresh baked cookie?

My working kitchen is ever changing. 

Wendi 

The Frugal Homemaker #2

This is the place where I share how I've stretched a penny, saved a penny, and in many cases spent no pennies.

I graciously accepted a bag of oranges from my mom. 

Boy am I glad that I did! They are sweet, juicy, and delicious. Yum!

Chuck received an e-mail from work. It was a notice that one of the programs he works with had given him a bonus.

An unexpected blessing that allowed us to pay off our first debt. Praise! Praise! 

I recently tried a new recipe for a sheet pan chicken with green beans and potatoes. We all agreed it was not a keeper. In fact, I ended up with quite a bit of leftover chicken.

Even though we were not a fan I knew I had to find a way to use it up. Meat is too expensive to waste. 

I put some of the chicken into the crock pot along with BBQ sauce. 

The rest of the chicken was diced and used to make a pot pie. 

I was recently watching. Ms. Leona from Ebony Ivy and Thyme along with Ms. Denise from Homemaking with Denise . They have a series called The Home Economist. Using this chicken reminded me of one of the things Ms. Leona speaks about which is making a protein and stretching it for round two and round three. 

If you watch them, let me know. I think they share some good tips. 

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. Proverbs 13:11

It's a great reminder that steady, diligent, hard and honest work is the best way to tackle our financial goals. 

Wendi 

Every Bit Counts Challenge Week 2

I am participating in the every bit counts challenge with Jessica at Three Rivers Homestead. I believe that Jessica focuses on preserving from her garden. I do have a garden, but I don't have what you would consider a "homestead."  Honestly, this years garden hasn't been the best. A cool spring, too much rain, and then it was hot, humid and dry. I'm grateful for every little bit that I have been able to glean from the garden. 

With that said I will be doing more then preserving. I will be shopping sales, making things for the freezer and just generally using up all the bits in a way that will increase my pantry and freezer. The great thing about this challenge is that it isn't a one size fits all. You can customize it to fit your needs. The important thing si to do something. I'm not sure I will manage to do something every day, but my goal is to do something five days a week. 

So, lets get started with what took place this week.

Day 1

The grocery store seems to have the best price on corn. We don't eat a ton during the winter, so I only froze a couple dozen. 

Day 2

Our preferred bacon sells for $6.99/lb. Kroger had a digital deal to get it for $4.99/lb. I was all set to grab that deal when my mom asked if I wanted to make a trip to the commissary.  I found the same bacon for $4.85/lb. It wasn't on special, so that must be the normal price. It will be worth the drive to make this purchase. 

More serrano peppers have been harvested and added to the freezer bag. 

My tomatoes haven't done well this year. They are tiny. I had hopes of canning juice. Instead I am adding them to the freezer to use in sauces. 

There were three lemons that were starting to get soft. I juiced them and put into the freezer. These will be used in future marinades. 

Let's meet in the kitchen again next Friday!

Wendi 

Every Bit Counts Challenge: Week 1

I am participating in the every bit counts challenge with Jessica at Three Rivers Homestead. I believe that Jessica focuses on preserving from her garden. I do have a garden, but I don't have what you would consider a "homestead."  Honestly, this years garden hasn't been the best. A cool spring, too much rain, and then it was hot, humid and dry. I'm grateful for every little bit that I have been able to glean from the garden.

With that said I will be doing more then preserving. I will be shopping sales, making things for the freezer and just generally using up all bits in a way that will increase my pantry and freezer.  The great things about this challenge is that it isn't a one size fits all. You can customize it to fit your needs. The important thing is to do something. I'm not sure I will manage to do something every day, but my goal is to do something five days a week.  So, lets get started with what took place this week.

Day 1

I was only able to get one picking off of my green beans before the dryness did them in. I added 8 quarts and 4 pints to the pantry.  

Day 2

I had some bananas past their prime. I made a new to me recipe for banana muffins. Billie from Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea shared the recipe. My husband loved it! He is a huge fan of spice cake and this spicy goodness hit the spot for him. 

Anyway, some were eaten fresh, some were saved for breakfast and the rest went into the freezer for hubby to take to work for future breakfast. 

Day 3

One large zucchini was shredded and netted 5 cups for the freezer. 

Day 4

I made chicken pot pie for dinner one evening. I deliberately made extra filling. Before I thicken the broth I portioned some out for the freezer. 

I love these container from Ball. They are perfect for a lunch portion of soup. Bonus, did you know that you can mark your containers using a wet erase marker. It doesn't rub off like a regular dry erase marker and you don't have to spend money using a piece of tape to mark the container. 

After I filled the pie pan I still had broth left. I added that to the freezer and will use it as a start for future pot pie, chicken noodle soup, or even a pot of chicken and noodles. 

Day 5

One thing that has been doing well in the garden is the serrano peppers. The stems were removed and once washed they were bagged for the freezer. Megan will use these when she make tamales. 

As I have been working in the kitchen I keep a bowl for scraps. This makes the chickens very happy!

Let's meet in the kitchen again next Friday!

Wendi 

Utilizing Your Freezer

I use to be a once a month shopper. Finances have changed and now I shop every two weeks to coincide with payday. I generally do a smaller shop at the beginning of the month and then two weeks later a larger shop. The following is a larger shop.  

I know that many of us are feeling the pinch of high prices. One of my best frugal tips for saving on food is to use your freezer. There are many ways you can utilize it to save money. 

#1 Buy in bulk. Not always, but many times buying in bulk will save you money. Although the larger package of pepperoni is less expensive there is no way we will eat it before it goes bad. I lay it out on a cookie sheet and flash freeze. I then put it back into the package it came it. By doing this the pepperoni doesn't stick together and I can easily retrieve what I need. 

Now some might question if it really saves money to repackage the cheese into baggies. The trick to this is to save the bag and reuse it. I've been using the same bags for cheese storage for years. The exception for reusing baggies is that if it contains meat it goes into the trash. I refuse to chance that. 

#2 Stock up on loss leaders. The butter was part of a weekly digital deal at Kroger. I purchased my limit of five and placed them in the freezer. At 99 cents for the Land O Lakes it was less expensive than the larger size I usually purchase on sale. It pays to know your prices and to use your calculator to figure prices per ounce. 

#3 Freeze your leftovers. We never use an entire jar of liquid cheese before it molds. It is frozen in muffin tins and then placed in to a baggie. We then pull out the number of "blocks" needed and reheat. 

If I make pizza for lunch I don't need a large amount. I will make my dough and then divide it in half. Half goes into the freezer for another lunch. 

When I bake a turkey or ham I like to package up leftovers into portion size bags. It make for an easy lunch. 

This day I cleaned out the pantry and refrigerator.

I pulled the buns I needed for dinner and then froze the rest. I had some produce that was almost on its last leg. I bagged it up and earmarked it for future stock. There was leftover chicken that I packaged into lunch portions. 

I freeze tortillas often. 

I add wax paper between each one and then place back into the original package. I leave the wax paper in the package when I pull what is need out. That way I am able to use it again. 

#4 Make sure that you label your items and keep your freezer neat. If not it's easy to find mystery packages. It make no sense to go to the trouble of packaging  and saving items just to have to throw it away. 

If you're buying groceries and throwing them in the trash, you might as well be throwing dollar bills away. As keeps of the home this is one way to keep an eye on our home economics. I'd love to hear your best frugal tip. 

Wendi 

What's for Dinner?

I've been working hard on menu planning and cooking each evening. It's easy to fall into the lets grab something on a busy evening, and I'm trying to avoid that temptation.

Carne Asada tacos is new for us. Megan made this meal and it was delicious. The citrus marinade gave the meat a fantastic flavor. 

I rarely cook whole steaks. I find that if I cube the meat and sauté it in butter, olive oil along with salt, pepper and garlic salt that I use less meat. Bonus is that I find the meat to more tender than grilling the steaks. 

We call this chili, although most wouldn't consider it chili due to the lack of beans. Hubby doesn't like beans in his chili and the perk of cooking at home is that you can make meals to suit your family.  

I made honey butter to go with the cornbread. All I can say is... yum! Megan ate three slices! If you're interested I mixed 3 heaping tablespoons of butter with 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey. 

I enjoying seeing what others are eating. Many times I'm able to glean a thing or two for my own menu. 

Wendi