Rice and Beans and Other Fine Things

Feeding Your Family On A Budget

The nice folks at Cookware.com wrote this article for my readers.  Check out all the money saving tips and be encouraged today.  Thanks, Cookware.com!  And just as a little note to my husband, this is on my wish list.  

Feeding Your Family On A Budget

Times are tough, folks. With food prices going up and gas prices as high as they are, having a budget in place is more important now than ever before. When it comes to feeding your family, a budget is especially useful. Here are some smart, budget-conscious tips that will help you stock your kitchen with all of the essentials for less and also help you get the most use out of those cookware sets.

Budget, Budget, Budget:

Chances are you already have a budget in mind before going out to the grocery store. While this is a great start, it helps to write out your budget, either on a chart or on a computer spreadsheet. Start out by keeping a running list of what you spend in a given month. Include all of your expenses: food, gas, mortgage payments & rent, phone, entertainment, prescriptions - everything!

Put all of these expenses in your spreadsheet and see how much you're spending. Keeping all of your grocery store receipts is important for your budgeting purposes. You'll be able to clearly see how much you spend on each trip, and most grocery stores today itemize your receipt by the type of food (i.e. - dairy, produce, deli, etc.) which makes it even easier to keep track of. Now see how much you have left over. You don't want to be breaking even each month. You need to give yourself a bit of a buffer.

Frugal Shopping:

While at the grocery store, it's really easy to overspend. Your first inclination might be to go up and down each and every aisle but this is a big no no! This encourages you to be impulsive, grabbing unnecessary items off the shelves and throwing them in your cart. Utilize the marked signs hanging over each aisle and only go down the aisles containing items on your list. A grocery list is absolutely necessary and it needs to be written out before you arrive at the store. Here are some other helpful tips to consider while at the store:

• Sign up for your grocery store's savings card or discount card
• Bring sales circulars and clip Coupons
• Look for brand-specific coupons online
• Buy store brand items or brand names when they are on sale
• Buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season

School Lunches:

If you've got kids, you know how expensive packing lunches can be. Those pre-packaged lunches marketed to kids are particularly expensive, so avoid those at all costs. Buy a large box of sealable sandwich bags, invest in an insulated lunch bag or lunch box and make the lunches yourself the night or the morning before school. Reusable containers and utensils are important, not to mention environmentally friendly! It might also be worth looking into your school's lunch program. If it's within your budget and the menu seems healthy, you might actually save money. Do some investigating and see what works best for you.

Be Smart, Save Money:

Stocking up on nonperishables is always a good idea when they are on sale. You also want to make sure that you're not letting those left overs go to waste. Investing in some high quality cookware is also not a bad idea. While you might pay a bit more up front, you'll save in the long run, not having to replace your cheap cookware in a year or so. If you're a smart and cautious shopper and exercise a bit of restraint and self control, you should be golden.

It's Lent, So Here's A Post On Lint.

I want you to do something.  Get some cotton balls and a long, thin object, like say, oh, a screwdriver, and use that screwdriver to push those cotton balls halfway down your throat.  Wait a few minutes.

Can you breathe?  I didn't think so.

You can remove them now.

That is what happens to your appliances when they get clogged with lint, fuzz, and dirt particles.  They don't get air and then they can't breathe.

You see, lint is a very, very bad thing.  It's the enemy of all things black, the filler of belly buttons,  the inhibitor of good air flow, AND it can cause you to sneeze.  And the worst thing is, other than getting some on your contact lens, is that it can cause you to have to spend a lot of money when you don't properly remove it from filters.  How, you ask?  Because the motors inside the appliances can overheat from reduced air flow and completely shut down.  Duh, silly!

Now, I know that cleaning filters is not the glam idea of saving money that most people think about.  Yes, I would MUCH rather hit a red dot clearance sale with an 'extra 75% off my purchases' coupon, but cleaning the lint from my household appliances could potentially yield a huge savings when compared to replacing the appliance because the motor burned up from lack of air flow.

Don't forget, there is a safety element, too.  In extreme cases, reduced air flow can cause things to overheat so much that they could possibly catch on fire.  Check out this article. 

I'm sure most people know about proper lint removal, but there may be someone out there who is new to home maintenance-type things and lint removal might not be at the very front of their mind.  Newlywed-type people.  But it is important and it does fall under the heading of saving money.  One of the best ways to save money is to not have to spend money to replace things that break.  That's what I always say.

This is my dryer filter after approximately four loads of clothes.  That's a lot of fuzz.   That does seem like a lot of fuzz, actually.   I wonder if this is an average amount or do we just have more than other people?

 

I gently pull it away from the filter...

 

...freeing it to breathe again.  It's that simple. 

If you really want to be thrifty, save all your lint in a bag, then when you've gathered enough, use it for stuffing a new throw pillow for your couch.

Don't stop at just your dryer.  Anything that has a motor can collect lint.  Keep those blow dryers clean.  They are notorious for shutting off when they get too hot and the problem can usually be remedied by cleaning out the fuzz.

I just really felt I needed to address this topic.  I have my reasons.

CATME VI (Yes! It's Here! The Grand Finale!)

CATME PART 1; 2; 3; 4; 5

I think the last time I was running my mouth and flapping my gums intelligently articulating the virtues of properly executing a meal, I was talking a little about how important it is to have food prepped.  Well, I can attest to this even more as I have a tiny confession to make:  I got ever so slightly off track in my meal planning this month and there were a couple of nights that I didn't have my food prepped and it just ruined my whole plan.  I wound up curling into a fetal position in front of the refrigerator, banging my head against the door, and repeating over and over, "I'm gonna have to boil chicken and pick the meat off the bone?"  It was late.  We were hungry.  I was tired.  I had made a commitment to have dinner prepared every night.  I had cramps.

Just then, I remembered that I also had some easy meals in my DDDI (those meals are called turkey sandwiches), so I swapped those out and I was able to stand upright again.  With the help of some extra-strength Pamprin.

I said all that to say this.  If you get off track, don't beat yourself up, or your kids, or your husband.  Just relax and swap out a night.  Or do like I do and ALWAYS keep sandwich stuff in the fridge.  It won't  hurt your family to eat, yes, cold turkey sandwiches for one night. 

To recapitulate (my husband's favorite word) everything I have talked about in this highly acclaimed Internet series,  CATME is Complete and Total Meal Execution.  It's getting the meal from your brain to the table and the steps of CATME are the Four P's:  Plan, Pantry, Prep, and our last P which is Perform.  Perform means actually cooking the meal.  Yes, I know it's weak, but as I've already said, I had to have another P-word that made sense.

There are two important things I'd like to say about Perform.  The first one is that no matter how well you plan, stock your pantry, and prep your food, it's not going to amount to a hill of beans if you don't perform the task of cooking the meal.  The second thing I'd like to say is how much easier performing the task of cooking the meal will be if the first three P's are carried out with careful thought and organization.    

Everyone who makes a home-cooked meal will follow the four P's.  Even people who have no idea what they will cook for dinner will formulate a plan before they cook, even if it IS only for two seconds before they start cooking.   They'll have to grab something out of their pantry , they'll probably have to prep something even if it is only for a minute or so before they actually perform the task of cooking.  These kind of people live life on the edge.  They probably engage in extreme sports and throw themselves into the winter snow buck naked.

There is a better way, folks.  One that brings peace of mind to frazzled moms whose kids chant "we're hungry--feed us!"  A way that helps the struggling newlywed couple save money on their grocery bill.  A way that brings sound nutrition back into the home.  A way that breaks the cycle of over-spending at fast food restaurants for unhealthy and inferior food.

Mealtime can be SO much more inviting, nourishing, and inexpensive when the four P's are put into practice.  My challenge to you is to take the invaluable and extremely useful information in this series and use it to make your CATME experiences all that they can be.  

Go forth, plan, create DDDI's, stock your pantries from sea to shining sea, organize, prep, perform....GOD BLESS AMERICA!

The End. 

Check This Out

Check out this great website.  The latest post is full of lots of info on how to save money, plus there's lots of great diet and exercise tips in the rest of the blog.

I'll be back soon with a recipe, then the grand finale to CATME which I'm sure you all are waiting anxiously for. 

One more thing...

Remember my post on Man Eating Mississippi Skull Spiders?

Well, here is the Australian version:

Yes, that is a BIRD, caught in a WEB, being devoured by a GIANT SPIDER.  YES, this is REAL.  Here is the link to the story.

CATME V- (Prep)

"Now class, pay attention!  This is very important information.  Hasn't anyone been watching the news?  We're all gonna have to buckle down, people!  Things are getting tough all over!  Let's have a quick little review of what we have already learned, because this series can help you save money." 

"We've learned the very official and highly scientific term for getting a meal from your brain to the table.  Do you remember what that is?"

"That's right, it's called CATME.  Do you know what CATME stands for?" 

"Complete And Total Meal Execution.   Good!"

"Now, can you name the first step in CATME?  I'll give you a hint...it's starts with the letter P..."

"NO, NO, NO..it is NOT PAY THE CASHIER AT TACO BELL!  Have you not learned anything?!!" 

"Did I hear someone say plan?  Good.  Good for you.  You were listening.   What is the first thing we want to do when we begin to make our meal plans?"

"Create a WWJD, you say?  No.  DWI?  Uhm, nooooo!  An ABCDEFG?"  Sigh.

"It is called a DDDI.  That stands for Default Database of Dinner Ideas."

"Susie, please don't worry that there is not an "O" in DDDI for the word "of.'  You're being a little OCD, don't you think? "

"Let's move on.  What is the next step in CATME?"

"That's right.  Pantry.  Now why is it important to have a well-stocked pantry?"

"What, Johnny?  Cyborgs traveling back in time from the year 2082 might seize control of the Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas at any moment because they need high fructose corn syrup to survive and they know that they can get all the HFCS they need from Wal-mart's distribution centers, thus cutting off the supply of groceries to consumers?" 

"Well, aren't you just the doomsayer today, Johnny?  Although I do agree than America would be crippled without Wal-Mart, there ARE a few things left that don't have HFCS, Johnny.  Please quit scaring your classmates.  And tell your mother that I said no more science fiction books for you."

"The answer is that a well-stocked pantry prevents last minute trips to the grocery store.  Buying in bulk and when things are on sale saves money."

"Okay class, let's move on to the next P which is prep.  Prepping food ahead of time takes some of the pressure off of cooking daily meals."

I personally love to cook, but my day-to-day cooking, the kind where I have to provide my family with a meal for their nutritional well being, can interrupt important things I'm doing like baking a batch of double espresso fudge peanut butter swirled brownies and exfoliating my face.

I have found that when I prep some of my food ahead of time, I don't dread going into the kitchen and putting together dinner.

So, my rule of thumb for prepping food is this:  I decide what actions I don't like to do in the kitchen, then I do them.  Isn't that brilliant?

What I mean is, I make myself perform these unpleasant and time consuming actions on a prep-day for the upcoming week.   For example:

1.  I don't like peeling onions, but I don't mind chopping them.  On my prep day, I peel several onions and put them in little sandwich bags in the vegetable drawer for use during the week.  Hey, you could chop them if you want, but I usually just peel.

2.  Boiling and deboning chicken is on my top ten list of most hated kitchen actions.  If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do as much as I can at one time.  I'll spread the shredded chicken out on a baking sheet, freeze it, then put it all in a large freezer bag, so I can take out what I need for future meals.  I do this with pork roast, too.  And beef.  Shredded meat is great to have on hand and it GREATLY reduces your preparation time for meals.

3.  I hate cooking rice because it gets my black stove all dirty with a sticky film.  I cook enough to get me through the week.

4.  Most of the vegetables in my drawer can be prewashed, so they're ready to go when I need them.  I don't like washing veggies, either.

In short, prep anything that can be prepped ahead of time.  If you are a working person, it can be pretty overwhelming to have to come home, boil chicken, debone it, cook rice,  chop veggies to make a casserole,  THEN do all the dishes.  BUT, if  it's just a matter of throwing the ingredients into a bowl, chopping a few veggies, giving it a stir and spreading it in a casserole dish, that doesn't take nearly the effort or time.  You might have time to polish your toenails later and catch up on the news. 

You may want to skip the news...

Prepping ahead of time will keep you away from expensive restaurant outings because you're too tired to cook or just don't have enough time.

There will be a test, so pay attention!  CATME VI coming soon.  Don't worry, this series will be over soon.

Class dismissed!

CATME Part IV (Pantry)

CATME Part I ; CATME Part II; CATME Part III

I recently created my DDDI and a meal plan and I have been doing my darnedest to stick to it.  I must say that looking at my menu for the day seems to keep me focused and lessens the load on my brain.  There is no thinking about what's for dinner; I just make what is on the list.   I feel more in control.  The whole meal planning thing has allowed me to come off some of my medication.

Just kidding! 

What I love about having it all written down is that I don't have to scramble to the pantry to check for ingredients.  I've already bought them and they're in there waiting for me, because I've paid attention to the next P of CATME which is Pantry.  As I have already said, I think the single most important component in CATME is a well-stocked pantry, and I mean refrigerator and freezer, too.  Anything that holds food.

A well-stocked pantry prevents trips to the grocery store where you might be tempted to buy more than you actually need.   Did I say "might"?  I am ALWAYS tempted to buy something I don't need when I walk into Wal-Mart.  Is it just me or does this happen to you, too?  I go in for milk and eggs and come out with some new fall placemats, a plastic drawer organizer thingie, the newest flavor of Carnation Coffee Creamer (because, hello, I'm worth it), a lint brush for my purse and a copy of  the latest Pillsbury cookbook.  I was thirsty, too , so I got a bottled coke out of the refrigerator at the register.  How convenient of them to put it there.

When I buy cream of mushroom soup at the grocery store, it's not because I'm out of it at home.  It's because I've gotten low.  I hardly ever run out.  If something unexpected comes along and I have to make a dish to take somewhere (let's say a funeral because I live in the South and everyone always brings TONS of food to a funeral), I don't have to make a special trip to the store.  Usually.  I'm not perfect and I do sometimes underestimate.  Shocking, I know. 

Stocking your pantry may cost a lot initially, but in the long run, saves money.  I am a firm believer in stocking up on things when they go on sale.  I bought three family packs of chicken breasts yesterday when they were on sale for $.89 a pound.  I froze them all separately on a baking sheet and bagged them in a couple of freezer bags.  I can take out as many or as little as I need.  I probably won't buy chicken breasts again until they go back on sale.  I have a supply to last me until then. 

There are just certain things that need to be kept in the kitchen all the time if you're going to truly embrace home cooking.  Forget about the fun stuff like Little Debbies and Diet Cokes; I'm talking about the building blocks of nutritious meals.  The herbs and spices.  The cheeses.  The canned beans.  Oil, flour, eggs, milk.  Onions.  Garlic.  Pastas.  Rice.  Bouillon cubes.  Many of these items can be bought in bulk at a reduced cost.

The basics are what stay on your grocery list permanently.  I would highly suggest making a master grocery list and listing all your pantry staples.  Keep the basics stocked and you won't be so frazzled when it comes to meal time.  I can't afford to stock my pantry with the kinds of ingredients I would really like to, but I've got the basics pretty much all the time.  If I wanted to bake a cake from scratch right now, I have everything I need.  Maybe not for a cake with an unusual flavor, but for a basic cake, yes.  If I want to make pancakes, I've got everything.  If I needed to put together a chicken casserole, I could do that.  Got a bunch of chicken in the freezer and some rice in a canister.  I've got some onions, garlic, and celery. 

Everybody should stock their pantry according to how they cook.  Here is a list that might trigger some ideas.  That doesn't mean you'll need everything on the list, but it will be a starting point.  After making a DDDI and a meal plan, creating a grocery list should be a breeze.  You'll have it all right  in front of you.

We're living in hard economic times, people.  My gas bill last month was $650.00.  I have no choice but to get organized and on top of my game in every area of my life.  I'm starting with my grocery bill.

Stay tuned for CATME-Part V.

CATME-Part III (I've only begun!)

If you've been following CATME Part I and II, basically you've made a master list of meals or a Default Database of Dinner Ideas.  (Do I dare insert another acronym here?  DDDI?  Yes, I think I will.)   For all you Type B's out there that just can't be saddled with a plan and a schedule, don't worry about getting locked into the meals on your list forever.  You can always add to your meal list at any time.  Yes, you can even deviate from the plan at any time.  More on this later.  I'm a Type A, so I'm okay with all this.

Having it all down on paper (or should I say having a DDDI) prevents dinner amnesia.  I have suffered from this on many occasion.  It just hits me sometimes when I open my refrigerator door.  Suddenly, my mind goes blank and I have no idea what I can feed my family.  It's the most peculiar thing.

Now, that you've got a master list of meals or a DDDI, there are about 5,967 ways to organize it.  You might want to group all of the thirty minute or less meals together.  Or, how about all the chicken meals?  How about all the crock pot meals together?  All the cheap meals in a group?  A summer/winter category?

How about creating a list of side dishes that can be mixed and matched with different entrees?

Or you don't even have to group them together.  You can just keep a big long list.  Which is what I did.  Yes, I'm creating my DDDI, too.  I worked on it this weekend while I watched Congress try to save our country from vast economic misery.  I'm suddenly even more inspired to reduce our monthly expenditures.  Potato soup, anyone?

Now, get your calendar and look at when you get paid and when you plan to go grocery shopping.  I usually have a big grocery shopping outing at the beginning of the month, with smaller weekly shopping expeditions in between.  Everyone is different.  Decide what your schedule is and pick out X number of meals to get you from shopping trip to shopping trip.

I personally feel like once a week is too often for meal planning.  I prefer bi-weekly or monthly, but whatever works for you.  It may be easier to think in terms of seven dinners, instead of twenty-eight.  The important thing is to do it.

You can look at a sales flyer and pick out meals according to what's on sale.

Pay close attention to your calendar.  You're going to have to put the quick, easy meals on the days that you are the busiest or have the least prep time.  Save the extravagant meals for when you have more time.

I found these printable meal sheets and used them; they were quite handy.

Now that you have your meal ideas on paper and a schedule, you can start your grocery shopping.

This means stocking your pantry, which to me is the single most important factor in CATME.  More on that in the next post. 

Can you feel the excitement building?

Alliteratively and acronymically yours,

Lorie

CATME-Part II (Meal Planning)

When people ask "How do I plan meals?", I think what they really mean is "How do I get a nutritious and inexpensive meal on the table in a reasonable amount of time with the least amount of dirty dishes, and how can I do this in a consistent manner without racking my brain every night, trying to dream up what I should cook?" 

Or at least that's what I think of.

As I've already said here, meal planning is a component of a much larger thing, CATME (Complete and Total Meal Execution).  CATME is something we are all faced with everyday if we want home cooked meals.  It requires some thought and planning.

The steps of CATME:

1.  Decide what your going to cook. (Plan)

2.  Shop for ingredients. (Pantry)

3.  Prep ingredients. (Prep)

4.  Cook meal.  Serve it to your family.  Do the dishes. (Perform....which is weak, I know, but I had a hard time coming up with another P-word.  The best alliterations are usually done with all P's.  Just trust me on this.)

5.  Repeat until you die of old age. (I just thought I'd throw that in.)

Sounds easy enough.  But why does CATME sometimes cause grown women to pull their hair out and turn bright red in the face?

Mostly because of items one (Plan) , two (Pantry), and three (Prep).  Or should I say, the lack of these items. 

Okay, so let's talk about the first P which is plan or meal planning.  You go first.  I'm listening.

Alright.  I'll go first.

The first step in planning meals (as I see it) is to write a bunch of meal ideas on paper.  Yes, make a list.  (You knew this was coming, didn't you, Mom?) 

Brainstorm.  Write down, say, fifteen to twenty to thirty meals or even more, but I would say at least fifteen, that are within the parameters of your budget, time, nutritional requirements, and abilities.  And when I say meals, I'm talking about dinners.  Those are the toughies.  We'll deal with breakfasts and lunches later.  You don't have to assign categories right now.  You don't have to put a day of the week on them.  Just write them down (or better yet, type them on your computer).     Consider the following things:

Meals that are working for you right now.

If you're nice, ask your family what they like.

Try including some vegetarian meals, such as beans and rice.  (Cheap and healthy.)

How about a few easy meals like sandwiches?

How about some soup recipes?  How about a bunch of them?

Don't forget about those crock pot meals for busy nights when you work late or you're shuffling the kids to soccer practice.

How about looking through some cookbooks?  Magazines?  This blog?  The blogs on my sidebar? 

Write down a variety.  Chicken, beef, pork, pigeon...

Get recipes from your mother.  Grandmother.  Your hairdresser. 

You want to create a database of dinner ideas.  Write them all down and pull the recipe or make copies of the recipes so you have them all in one place and not spread out in ten different cookbooks. 

That's all for now.  Just brainstorm and make a big list of meals like this:

-Meatloaf/Mashed Potatoes/Green Beans/Rolls

-Spaghetti/Salad/Garlic Bread

-Grilled Cow Tongue with a Creme Fraiche-Citrus Drizzle on Shiitake Polenta (Do NOT invite me to dinner for this one!)

Stay clicked in for CATME part III.

CATME-Part I (The Answer To Dinner Dilemmas)

My blogging buddy Heidi recently asked me to discuss meal planning.  Since she lives in Asia somewhere and has never met me face to face, she obviously doesn't know how UNQUALIFIED I am to discuss this topic.  I don't even know where or how to start because I'm sure I don't do it right.  After looking at probably a hundred or so frugal-y/domestic-y/cooking/organizing/super-wife/super-mom/"look  at me I spend $14.00 a week on groceries and feed my family of six and that includes our toilet paper" blogs, I am ninety-nine percent sure that I have nothing of value to offer.

Meal planning is a part of something much, much bigger.  The scientific name for this big, big thing is CATME.  CATME stands for Complete and Total Meal Execution.  That's right.  Getting a meal from your brain to the table. 

But since Heidi asked me about meal planning, I will talk about it, but first I need to talk a little more about CATME, so, uh, let me just see what I can come up with right quick.

Just give me a minute.

Let me think...

Hmmmm....

Sigh...

Eye roll....

Heavy sigh....

Wrinkled, squinched forehead while sighing and looking up at the ceiling.....

Scribbling on a pad of paper, heavy sighing, lots of looking up, finger on side of face....

Wait a minute, wait a minute....I'VE GOT IT!!!!

For the least difficult and most pleasant CATME experience, always remember the four "P's"....Plan, Pantry, Prep, and Perform!

I am BRILLIANT!

HHHHHuuuuuuuhhhhhh?

And that's enough for today because I read somewhere that it is best to keep blog posts short and sweet or you'll lose readers.  And BELIEVE YOU ME, I can't afford to lose any readers.  I'm up to eight now.  Ten on Thursdays.   

Can someone tell me why Thursdays is a high stat day?

I'll be back soon with a complete, exhaustive explanation of CATME and the four P's. 

Uh, just as soon as I can think up some more stuff to fill a blog post.

Freezing Peppers 101

First, let me thank Heidi at Moms, Ministry and More for bestowing me with this cute award earlier this week.

I don't know what to say.  I feel all tingly and happy and giddy.  "You like me...you really, really like me!"  I will be passing this on soon.  Thanks Heidi!

Heidi has a link up thingie on her blog on Wednesdays called "Just Humor Me".  Anyone can post their best, humorous (and clean and wholesome) post of the week there for all to see.  If you write a funny, lighthearted post, put it there to share with everyone and if your sinking into the pits of despair, that's the place to go for a pick-me-up.  Laughter is the best medicine.  Here's the button:

Moving right along, I realize the bulk of the eight or so people who read my blog already know a pretty good bit about cookin' and kitchen related doin's and happenin's.  I have a teenage daughter, however, that's coming along in the world and I mostly blog as a way to record how I do things in my kitchen and in my home.  That is why I give step by step pictures of recipes and procedures, because there may be someone who is reading this who is new to the whole cooking and house maintaining world, and they may need some visuals.  Nothing I post here will probably be new or exciting to veteran cooks.  That said, I will now demonstrate how to freeze peppers.

Summer is winding down and I still can get green bell peppers at a good price.  If I had a garden, I would be getting them for free, which is like, way cheaper, but we didn't plant one this year, much to my regret.  Peppers are such a great addition to so many things.  They are one of those foundation veggies for just about any soup or casserole.  I personally like to sprinkle them on my pancakes in the morning.  Just kidding.  I wanted to make sure you were listening.

Right now, while the getting is good, I like to freeze a bunch of them for use later on in the fall and winter, when the price has gone up.  After they are frozen, they really can't be thawed out and used raw because they get soggy, but they can be cooked with much success.  I also do this with red bell pepper.  I have seen red bell peppers for about $3.00 apiece in the winter.  I really can't justify paying that much, so I try to put a stash in the freezer while the price is low.  You could also do this with yellow and orange peppers.

Begin by washing, then chopping your peppers.

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Don't forget this step.  It will make your life easier when it comes time to remove the peppers.  Spread the peppers in a single layer on the baking sheet, then place in the freezer for a few hours until completely frozen.  It is not necessary to blanche them first.

Remove them from the baking sheet with a spatula, breaking them up a little if they are sticking together.  Most of them should be frozen separately, though.  I store them a couple of different ways.  I use a freezer safe container for my main freezer in my kitchen.  This way, I can easily pour out what I need from the container.

I also vacuum pack some of them in Food Saver bags and store them in my deep freeze.  When I run out of peppers in my main container in the house, I cut open one of these bags and fill it again.

Food Saver bags are a little expensive.  I have a huge supply of them for free because my sister works for the the company who makes them.  If you don't have a Food Saver or similar machine, I would use the freezer safe containers.  You could certainly use regular freezer bags, but they allow more ice crystals to build up and I don't think they last as long.

Treasure From My Freezer

A couple of days ago, I cleaned out my deep freeze.  I found a number of food items that I had forgotten about as well as a set of deer horns, a raccoon hide, and a buck skin, which is, I might add, much, much better than the rattlesnake carcass that was in there a few months ago.  These belong to my husband, and no, he is not a taxidermist.  It's kind of hard to explain.  I think I will save the explanation for another post, that way the three or so people who read my blog will be SURE to check back with me, thus creating a consistent reader base. 

Look, we live in Mississippi, okay?  It's perfectly legal here. 

Anyway, I also found a couple of partially filled bags of smashed hot dog buns.  I was going to throw them away, but it's hard for me to throw food away, so I made breadcrumbs.

Okay, big deal.  I made breadcrumbs.  Yay.  How exciting.

My point, and I do have a point, is...

is...

is...

...that one should not be wasteful.

I realize this post is getting weaker and weaker.

The truth is, I don't have a post for today, so just look at these pictures of me making breadcrumbs and not being wasteful.

La, la, la, la...What IS this?  SMASHED hot dog buns?!  Let me put on my thinking cap for a minute!  What can I do with these that will benefit my whole family because I certainly can't stick a weenie in them now?  I've got it!

La, la, la....

...la, la, la...

...la, la, la, la, la.  Hum, da, dum, dum.  Darn.  La, la, la...

 

...doo, doo, doop-doop...

There.  Now my family will have breadcrumbs for the next two months because I was frugal and prudent.

I'm not sure where the world would be without breadcrumbs.  What would we top our casseroles with?  What would hold meatloaf together?  How would Hansel and Gretel have ever made it home?  Oh wait...they didn't make it home.  Never mind.

Instead of tossing the ends of your bread loaves (or any other rejected bread items that may enter your life, such as above), throw them in an off-brand zip lock bag in your freezer, and when your supply builds up, process them in a food processor until they are fine.  That is, fine crumbs.  Put them in a bag (the same one you used to store the original bread if you want to really feel good about your money saving skills) and stick them back in the freezer.  Then make a casserole, sprinkle them on the top and drizzle with melted butter.  Your family will thank you.

Another option is to throw them behind you as you wander around in a forest, abandoned by your family.  Just be sure the wild animals don't eat them.  See this bizarre and morbid children's story.  Those Brothers Grimm sure were, uh, grim.

They don't call me the Great Motivator for nothing. 

Wait.  Has anyone ever called me that?

Stretching Your Gas Dollar

A couple of months ago I was watching Fox News and a story came on about saving gas by hypermiling.  Immediately, I stopped what I was doing and sat on the edge of my seat to listen to the newscaster explain about this new fad that was sweeping the nation.

In a nutshell, hypermiling is increasing the gas mileage of a vehicle by using certain driving and maintenance techniques.  I was enthralled to hear that the "hypermilists", as they call themselves, were getting 50 to 70 miles per gallon and even a 100 or more in some cases!  I almost swallowed my tongue!  That is in a REGULAR car, NOT a hybrid.

I flew to the computer to do a little research. Here is a very interesting article that is only four pages long:  very interesting hypermiling article.

Many of the tips that I've read were controversial and risky such as over inflating tires.  I could not in good conscience send my daughter off in a car with over inflated tires because of the risk of a blowout.

Some of the tips, however, were reasonable.  Here are a few:

1.  Make sure there is not a lot of extra weight in the car, such as things that don't need to be in there.  I'm really bad about carrying around a 50-pound bag of dog food that I didn't unload at home.  Note to self:  Hmmm...losing some weight will help my gas mileage.  Yet another reason to go on a diet.

2.  Make sure the tire pressure is at the recommended level.  Check it each month with an air checker thingy.

3.  Slow down.  Even a 5 mile per hour reduction in speed can reduce gas consumption.  So if you drive 95 miles per hour, slow down to 90.  Slowing down can also save you $122.50 in fines.  See this tragic story.

I have read that driving 55 miles per hour saves 30% more gas than driving 70.

4.  Try to use the brakes as little as possible.  This means taking your foot off the gas before you actually have to slow down.  Please remember though, that you CAN use them if you need to.

5.  Fill up in the mornings when it's cooler, because gas expands when it's hot and you actually put in slightly less gas in your tank when the temperature is warmer.  Cooler temperatures make a more concentrated gas.  I bet this tip alone saves at least 4/10 of a cent.  I'm being sarcastic.  I have actually read that it can save over a nickel a gallon.

6.  Fill up before holidays and weekends.  Gas prices go up during these times.  Why, oh why?

7.  Don't use your air conditioner. Yeah, right.  This will probably not happen in my vehicle.

8.  Do I have to tell you to combine errands when you're making a trip to town?

9.  Don't leave your car idling.  That means you'll have to go in for your latte.  Idling for more than one minute uses as much gas as accelerating from a complete stop.

10.  Accelerating slowly instead of quickly can save gas.  It will also perturb the teenager behind you who is late for school. 

Since my daughter will be making a rather long commute to college twice a week, I sat her down and talked to her about these gas saving tips and the importance of conservative fuel consumption. 

She listened with great enthusiasm to my speech while she took notes and asked many questions about how she could do her part to reduce our gas bill. 

No, wait.  That didn't happen.  I was getting what I wanted to happen confused with what actually happened.  Let me try it again...

I commanded her to sit on the couch while I paced back and forth in military fashion.  She pretended to listen while simultaneously texting four different people.  She eventually looked up and said "Huh?"

There, that's more like it.

Master Grocery Lists

I don't think there is any use in kicking, screaming, sobbing, or pulling your hair out over high food and gas prices.  I've already done that and all I got was a headache.  And puffy eyes.

We need to be wise.  Very, very wise.

We need a plan.

If you never listen to another thing that I say, remember this.  You will not save money unless you plan to.  Yes, you may hit a clearance sale occasionally, and thank the good Lord for that, but you're not going to save real money unless you get organized and get a plan.  It doesn't have to be my plan.  Everyone is different.  It just needs to be an organized and consistent way to go to the grocery store and get out of there without going over budget.  My suggestion is to make a master grocery list.

I am a neurotic list maker.  I think that the major reason that I make lists is that once I write down whatever it is that I need to remember, I can release it from my brain and forget about it.  My brain is crowded and very, very busy.  Too much information and I overheat.  Writing things down helps me.

Sometimes I watch women wandering aimlessly through the grocery store, with no list in hand and an overflowing grocery cart full of Hot Pockets and frozen pizzas.  I get scared for their families.

I write some lists by hand, but for grocery shopping, I have a master list on my computer.  It took me a while to type it up, but it has been an invaluable tool for me over the years.  Each month I print it off and since the bulk of the items I need are already listed, I just fill in the gaps.

We get paid once a month, so I do one big grocery shopping trip at the beginning of each month and buy everything I need except for a few perishables like fresh fruits and vegetables.

I typed in "master grocery lists" into my Google search and there was a lot of info to come up.  There were even some master lists to print off.  I looked at several, but none of them had the majority of the things on them that I normally buy.  You may find this problem, too.  It will probably be easier to just create your own list according to what you buy.  I'd be willing to bet that you already have some software on your computer to make lists.  Even if you don't, it wouldn't be hard to do.

Once you have it done, it is saved to your computer and ready for you to print out when you are ready to go grocery shopping.

Let me give you a few tips about creating a master list on the computer.

1.  List all of the things you would normally buy in three months. Your staples.  Your pantry items.  Anything from light bulbs to cream of mushroom soup, uh, IF you buy that sort of thing.  I'm saying three months because you don't want to forget anything.  This does NOT mean you have to buy a three month supply of everything.  When I'm going through my cabinets, I might overlook the fact that I need light bulbs, because I am not out yet, and they are hidden in a very dark place in a bottom cabinet.  They are not something I buy every month.  However, when I look at my list, it jars my memory and I can specifically open the cabinet and check on my light bulb supply and see that I only have one 40-watt bulb left and need to pick some up.  This way I never run out.  Just go from room to room, cabinet to cabinet, listing everything you see.

2.  Organize your list in sections of where it would be in the grocery store.  Don't just do a "refrigerated items" section.  That's too broad.  Do a "dairy/juice" section.  A "lunch meat" section.  Think about your grocery store aisles and how they are set up.  You don't want to wander in there for six hours, going back and forth across the store.  Be specific.  Every grocery store is a little different.  For example, on my Super Wal-Mart list, the juice, eggs, milk, sour cream, butter, etc. are all grouped together because in my Wal-Mart, they are all on one aisle.  I can get all of these items in one fell swoop.  Kind of like a hawk swooping in to pick up a field mouse.  Swoop!  On my grocery list, I call this the Dairy/Juice section.  You could call it the Cold Aisle, the Dairy Row, or whatever.  It doesn't matter what you call it.  It does matter what you list in that section.

Do you know where I have to write in caramels?  On my make-up/skin care section.  Those wrapped caramels are on the other side of the store from the grocery section on the candy section that is the same section as the make-up and skin care. If I don't write it that way I will have to backtrack.  And then I would be off schedule for the rest of the grocery shopping trip.  And that would be awful.  I might get a rash.

3.  Leave extra lines to write in things in each section.  Half and half is not something I buy on a regular basis, so I don't want it on my list permanently.  If I know I am making a recipe that will use it, I have a blank space to add it to the section.

4.  I have two big grocery lists, because there are two main stores I shop at that I buy a lot of items.  But there are several stores I only buy a few items from, so I have a section for each one of those on one of the lists.

5.  Remember that it will take time to create and perfect your master list.  Although the majority of it can be written in a few hours, several trips to the grocery store will probably be needed to fine tune it, because it's hard to think about every little thing you buy at one time. It could even take a few months to organize it and make sure it is efficient.  The great thing about computers are that things can be deleted and moved around with just a click.  And you thought computers were just for mindless blog surfing.

6.  While I'm thinking about it, an important part to my list is not on the computer, it's on the refrigerator.  I have a dry erase board on the side of my fridge and whenever I run out of something, I don't stop what I'm doing and go type it into my computer, I just jot it down on the board and at the end of the month, when I print off my list and do inventory, I grab the dry erase board and transfer the items I need.  This works especially well with my teenage daughter.  She'll make sure that board is nice and filled up with important life-sustaining items like "Sleek, Smooth, and Sexy Designer Hair Balm" or "Extreme Triple Vanilla Mint Gum in the 4-pack."  It's REALLY important to have sleek, smooth hair and extremely minty breath when you're eighteen.

7.  Keep in mind that your not buying things because you're out of them.  You're buying things to restock your pantry.  I don't wait until I run out of something before I buy it.  When you run out of something, you are forced to call your husband at work at tell him to pick it up on the way home.  He undoubtedly (and unknowingly) will buy the most expensive of whatever.  Or you might have to run to the nearby convenience store where you will pay five times the price you would have paid at a bigger store.  This is where your pre-made list comes in handy.  You can check your inventory and make sure that you have enough of each item to get you through until the next pay period when you go grocery shopping again.

As much as I plan to get everything I need ahead of time, I still occasionally forget things or run out.   A couple of weeks ago, I asked my husband to pick up some tomatoes at Wal-mart because I ran out.  He picked some up alright.  Special 'Hot House' tomatoes at $4.95 per pound!

8.  I arrange my list in columns.  You can use bullets or whatever format you want.  My template did have bullets, but I don't check them off.  When I don't need something on the list or as I'm going through the grocery store, I draw a line through the item.  It doesn't really matter which format you use, as long as it is organized.   

I really think being as organized as possible is the key to saving money.  Time is money, isn't it?  I've heard that before.  My lists are several years old.  I am in the process of updating them and making them a little more efficient and more precise. Our eating habits and meals have changed in the past few years and there are products now that I buy that I never bought before and vice versa.

One more thing.  Even if you're not eating rice and beans every night, and we definitely don't, I am still convinced that a steady diet of home-cooked meals is cheaper and healthier in the long run than eating out all the time, even if they are not the cheapest meals on earth.  Not that there is anything wrong with eating out.  I love to eat out.  Most people can't afford to do it everyday, for financial and health reasons.

Stupid Purchase

It's Friday and I'm packing for a spontaneous trip with my husband and won't be back until the middle of next week.  We have to go work on our marriage.

No, no, no.  Were not in trouble.  We just need some alone time.

Before I go, I'd like to share with you a stupid, desperate purchase that I made over a year ago that still haunts me today.  No, it's not a time share.  I have made many dumb and wasteful purchases in my life, but this one comes to mind because of the extremely inflated price I paid for what should have been an inexpensive item.  Kind of like when you're at an amusement park and you are dying of thirst and you have to pay $5.00 for a bottle of water.  But worse. 

But let me share this with you first.  There is another side to me as far as cooking goes.  It is the side of me who likes to experiment in the kitchen and create my own recipes that don't use cream of mushroom soup.  This side of me enters cooking contests on a regular basis and, if you can believe this, I have actually been invited to twelve cook-offs in the last three years.  Your mouth is agape, I'm sure.  And yes, I've actually won some of them and have even won other recipe contests that did not involve traveling.

You're on overload right now, aren't you?  Believe me, NO ONE is more shocked than I am that I have actually won cash and prizes for dishes I invented myself.  No one.  But just for the record, I enter WAY more than I ever actually win. 

But anyway, last year I won a spot on Food Network's The Ultimate Recipe Showdown with a recipe for cupcakes.  It all happened so fast that I found myself, the week before I was to fly to Hollywood to film and compete, without appropriate cupcake liners!  Major crisis!

Yes, I could have picked up some from the grocery store, but this WAS the Food Network after all, and they ARE all about presentation, you know, so plain cupcake liners just wouldn't do for this little Buckatunna girl.

After an all day search for the perfect cupcake liners on the Internet, I located some that I thought would look good and started to order them, when panic set in...they would not arrive before my departure date!  I would have to pay for overnight shipping!  GULP!

Which is exactly what I did.  And the final price that I paid for paper cupcake liners was....

$56.00!!!!

I still get nauseated thinking about it.  Yes, I can normally get fifty of them for about a $1.00.

The ironic thing is that after I had baked my cupcakes, these "high quality /designer" cupcake liners started separating from the actual cake part.  DOUBLE GULP!  They looked awful and I had minutes before I had to send them to three very Iron Chef-looking judges!  As perspiration beads were forming on my forehead,  I made a quick decision that I would take the cakes out of the liners for presentation.

As it turned out, I won the cupcake category, but didn't bring home the grand prize of $25,000.  I did come away with some nice parting gifts, though, but I still have that cloud of guilt and remorse about those darn liners.

Please tell me you have made stupid purchases, too.  I will feel better. 

Ooh!  Remind me to tell you about my husband's Billy Bass story!  If there ever was a stupid purchase...

Dryer Drama

This is a very boring post about our dryer with no pictures which makes it even more dull.  Not that a picture of my dryer would make this post exciting.

There is the remotest possibility that this post may help someone.  I doubt it, but I'm going to write it anyway.

Drink some coffee right now to stay awake.

This drama began to unfold about three weeks ago.  On that bright and otherwise perfect day--it was a Thursday, the second laundry day of the week for me--I put a load of wet clothes into the dryer, just like I always do, start the dryer, and when the cycle finishes, I go to remove what I hope will be clean, dry laundry, but instead find cold, wet clothes.  My dryer wasn't getting any heat.  Everything else seemed to be working fine.  My initial thought was, "Darn, I will be off task for the rest of the day..."

If you're feeling nervous at this point, don't worry.  This drama has a happy ending.  Keep reading.

So anyway, I tell my husband about it.  We both put our mechanically challenged heads together and think 'heating element.'  He runs to the parts store and picks up a heating element for $75.00 plus tax, comes home, replaces the heating element, and it doesn't heat.  There is no returning the heating element for a full refund because it's an electrical part. 

We discuss buying a dryer. 

"Should we get a new one?"  I say irresolutely.  "Is there anything else we could try?" 

"Hey, isn't your birthday coming up?" he says with a smirk.  I slug him.

Let me tell you, a new dryer is not high on my list of things to buy right now.  What I really want is a new camera.  Now there's a need.  Not a dryer. 

So I type in "dryer works but doesn't heat" into my Google search.  I get a wealth of information but I'm lazy and don't want to read it all.  So I skim.  I see the words "check thermal fuse."   I get a brief description of what one looks like, tell my husband, and he locates it.  Back to the parts store.  He gets a thermal fuse for $25.00 plus tax, comes home and installs it.  No hot air.  No returning the thermal fuse either because it's an electrical part.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I hang up clothes to dry.  We decide to go to Lowe's and get the cheapest dryer there which is around $300.00.  We are about to close the deal when my husband pours out his heart to the salesman about our heating issue.  He tells us that there is a second thermal fuse that often goes out.  We have already put over a $100.00 into a 10-year old dryer.  Do we really want to spend anymore money on an appliance that is that old? 

We look at each other and our eyes flood with tears of happiness.  Yes!  Yes we do!

The salesman tells us we can bypass the thermal fuse by splicing the wires together and we would be able to tell if this is the problem or not.  If it was, then we could order the part.  Sounded good to us. 

We try it and it works.  The fuse is $30.00 more dollars.  We save the extra $170.00 that a new dryer would cost, though.  And I learned a few valuable lessons about repairing an appliance.

Don't assume you know what the issue is (heating element); that is, IF you are a regular person and not a repairman-type.  If we hadn't assumed 'heating element' and had asked around or did a little research on the Internet first, we could have fixed it even cheaper.

The problem could actually be something small and inexpensive.  It could be.  It really, really could be.  So, start with the least expensive thing when trying to isolate a problem, if at all possible.  Things like fuses and spark plugs (on a car) blow out often and are relatively cheap to replace.

If you can make do without it for a time, you might be able to avoid the "Let's just take money out of savings and get a new one" phase.  During this dramatic dryer episode, my husband caught a nasty virus and didn't feel like working on it.  I chose to hang my clothes up for about two weeks.  Yes, it was a little inconvenient, but I encouraged him that I was okay to do this until we could get the part and he felt like working on it.  There was the temptation to just go buy a new one, but I am so glad we didn't.  Please note that if this was our air conditioner that had gone out, it would have been an entirely different story.   

Know when to fix something and know when to just bite the bullet and buy new.  In this case, it worked out for us to fix it ourselves although I know this is a very personal decision that depends on a number of factors such as funds, time, abilities, etc.  The major factor in our life is that we are trying to save money to achieve certain financial goals.  We did, however, purchase a brand new refrigerator in the spring because it wasn't in our best interest financially to keep the old one running.

Nothing makes you feel as good about yourself as tackling a do-it-yourself repair job.  Oh wait.  Losing ten pounds does.  But completing a do-it-yourself repair job comes in a close second.  It's very empowering, I must say.  We are regular people who do not have tons of home repair knowledge.  But we fixed our dryer.  Okay, actually my husband did.  But I gave him moral support every step of the way.   

If we can do it, there is a good chance you can, too.

If I can just help one person...

Friday thoughts...

It's Friday.  I'm signing off for the week and I am giving you something to think about over the weekend.

What are three things that you normally buy at the grocery store that you can do without?  Things that are not basic necessities.  Things that might not cost much on their own, but do increase your grocery bill, without making a huge impact on your life or the lives of your beloved family.  And when I say groceries, I'm not just talking about food.

Think really hard.  Think about three things that you can live without.

Here are mine:

1.  Fabric dryer sheets 

2.  Fancy shaving cream for my legs 

3.  Glade plug-in refills for all my outlets

Fabric dryer sheets:  I have been buying fabric dryer sheets for a while.  I have found that most off-brands are not of the quality that the name brands are, so I have been buying the more expensive name brands.  However, after many sleepless nights wrestling with the thoughts of what I could do with that $2.50-$3.00, I have come to to the conclusion that, at this point in time, dryer sheets are just not a necessity. 

This is what I'm NOT saying:  "Look at me, I have gotten my grocery bill down to the bare minimum and we're eating rice and beans every night and doing without any purchases that are not essential to our survival."  No, no.   Not there yet.  Remember, I am finding my way as I write this.

What I am saying is that I do the laundry in this house and I have realized that the only person I am buying dryer sheets for is me.  My husband and daughter do not notice when I use them or don't use them.  Well, my daughter sometimes, but she doesn't count.  She just zips in and out of here like nobody's business.  Only the people who do the laundry and bring home the paycheck have a say so in which laundry supplies are bought.  And if it comes right down to it, just the person who does the laundry will dictate what is purchased, usually.

Yes, clothes smell good when they come out of the dryer, but my experience is that it doesn't last long.  And as long as clothes don't smell bad, MUST they smell like a rain forest or purple flower blossoms? 

I think I had originally bought them for the anti-static properties.  But I ran out this month and I haven't noticed much static electricity.  I could always buy them again in the windy season.  Or if I move to Chicago.

Fancy leg shaving cream or gel:  It's just not that important to me.  Some women swear buy it.  After years of not using it, I bought some a few months ago because the can was so pretty and I wanted to pamper myself and feel very feminine. 

I have decided that shaving gel does not make me feel that pampered, however, and I occasionally have hormone related meltdowns reminding me that I am completely feminine, for free. 

AND, I always ask my husband to stop and ask for directions when we get lost and if that isn't feminine, I don't know what is. 

Oh, yes I do.  I watch "What Not To Wear," "John and Kate Plus Eight," AND "Little People Big World," all with my daughter, while we eat chocolate!  And my husband comes in and says "Y'all always watch those girlie shows.  Why?"  And we explain to him that we are girls.

So, I don't need a pink can to tell me I'm feminine.

I can get a good lather with bar soap.  So no replenishing my supply.  I will still buy shaving gel for my hubby, though.

Glade plug-ins:  I have those smell-good plug-in outlets in every outlet in my home.  But it is somewhat of an expense to fill all of them and they never last for the whole month.  They are definitely not going on my list.  I think America is addicted to fake smells.  I know I am.  I love them as much as the next person.  Clean linen is my favorite.

Now, not buying them this month doesn't mean I can't buy them in the future.  Like if I know I'll be having company.  If the economy turns around.  If I suddenly come into lots of extra money.

Think about this, though.  Just because your house doesn't smell like an ocean breeze, that doesn't mean that it's not clean and inviting.

In summary, think about three things that you can live without.  Maybe you cringe at the thought of no more shaving gel.  It's okay.  I'm sure that there is something else you could live without.

Let me tell you what makes me cringe:  A home with no chocolate.  Now there is an essential life sustaining need.

I'm here for you.

I hope I haven't misled anyone into believing that I am a die hard cheap-o.  In the realm of frugal living I am probably a moderate.  I like nice, new store bought things as much as the next person.  I love to travel.  Eat out.  I love purses, shoes, and jewelry.  Salon highlights.  Designer coffee with lots of whipped cream and sprinkles.  Vanilla-lime scented Yankee candles.  $8.00 containers of Mascarpone cheese.  Okay, I'll stop now. 

When I first got married, I was much more frugal than I am now.  Then I let up.  Now, nine years later, I am feeling what many Americans are feeling:  Something has got to give. 

That is one of the reasons I started to blog.  Well, that and the fact that my daughter is going to college in the fall and I need to do something with my life.  There are MANY blogs out there demonstrating money saving tips.  Good blogs.  Giving good information.  Useful information.

I would like my blog to be more of an encouragement to people.  It may help you to know that there are other people, just like you, feeling the economic crunch.  We all must find our way, but sometimes it helps to know there are others in the same boat.

My name is Lorie.  I love Yankee candles.  I don't buy them anymore.

Do you feel better now?

Coming tomorrow is a basic rice and beans recipe.

 

Save a few freezer bags.

There are some purchases I make that don't bring me a lot of pleasure.  One of those is freezer bags.

I mean I like freezer bags and all, but in the end, they end up in the garbage.  And that bothers me a little.  Actually, a lot.  I hate to spend money on something that is just going to be thrown away.  Even if I can get fifteen of them for about a dollar.

I don't know how you put up meat, but this is the way I do it.  I also have a Food Saver, which I use part of the time, but for today I would like to demonstrate how to use fewer freezer bags.  I'm using ground beef today:

This is a baking sheet, non-stick cooking spray, and 4.85 pounds of ground beef in a family pack.

With a spatula I just divide the meat into five equal portions.  Now since I started with 4.85 pounds, obviously each portion will be slightly less than 1 pound, but that is okay for most recipes.  At this point, a lot of people would probably place each of these portions separately in a freezer bag.  But not me.

I spray the baking sheet lightly with non-stick cooking spray...

...and place each lump of meat individually on the baking sheet.  Then I place them in the freezer until frozen.

Then I remove them from the baking sheet and stick about four of them in one bag, thus greatly reducing the number of freezer bags I use.

I do this with all my meat.  It works especially well with chicken.

You also don't have to use one pound increments.  In fact, I wish that I would have divided my meat into half pound sizes, and will probably do that next time.  I am going to be weaning my family of excess meat consumption over the next few months, both for budget and health reasons.

One thing I like about this is that when I want to use my meat, I remove it from the bag in the frozen state, so I never deal with a freezer bag that has a bunch of bloody meat juice in it that can leak out.  I hate that.

 

Y don't U B an SWBTL?

Let’s just pretend for a minute that a young person is reading my blog everyday. 

I said pretend, okay? 

And let’s just say that this young person will be traveling to and from college at least two days a week starting on August 14.  I would like to give this young person a few tips about how to save money on lunches. 

First, this young person should realize that eating out two days a week could put an enormous strain on a tight budget.  The average fast food meal consists of a burger, fries, and a drink.  Probably the cheapest place to go for this is McDonald’s for the Value Menu.  A dollar a piece for three items, so $3.21 with tax.  Twice a week, times four weeks per month, which comes to $25.68.  It doesn’t sound like much.

But let’s just say that McDonald’s is one of the least favorite places that this young person likes to eat.  Hypothetically speaking. Other fast food places are most likely more expensive.  $5.00 or $6.00 per meal.  That is $10.00 or $12.00 per week, $40.00 or $48.00 per month, respectively.  That is a cell phone bill.  Or a new outfit.  Maybe salon highlights.

And can you imagine the student who commutes three, four, or five days a week?  Yikes!  On the high end that could be $72.00, $96.00, or $120.00 a month!

And let’s not forget those college vending machines.  It’s easy for young college students to think that they deserve a soft drink and a candy bar about mid-morning.   And mid-afternoon.   Sometimes, even grown English teachers in small, rural high schools feel they need to buy a snack.  After all, they are being mentally challenged and that is physically draining.

And let’s just factor in calories, fat, and nutrition.  The average fast food meal has a lot of calories, fat, and not so much nutrition.  Eating fast food twice a week could make this young person put on excess pounds, have an acne breakout, or swell like a sponge from all the sodium.  So this young person could possibly be paying money to be fat, pimply, swollen, AND broke.

Let me give this young person a few ideas about how to avoid becoming a social outcast.  And this could apply to anyone who leaves their home for lunch. 

1.       Keep a small ice chest in the vehicle at all times.  Buy several blue ice packs to keep in the freezer at home.  Or make ice packs by freezing clean, empty plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes to fit in the ice chest.  The night before, prepare a sandwich, wrap, or salad.  In the morning, just grab a couple of ice packs, the pre-made lunch, and fill the ice chest.  It’s always in the car so it will be ready.  

2.       In the evening, put the ice packs back in the freezer and hand the dirty containers, if there are any, to mom.  She’ll wash them.  That is what she is there for.  Or, hand them to your wife, if you happen to be an English teacher.

3.       And hey, no one likes to drink warm water.  Fill a water bottle halfway to three-fourths full with water and freeze it overnight.  In the morning, take it out of the freezer and fill the rest of the way with water.  As it sits in the hot car (leave your windows cracked), it will melt but still be ice cold in the afternoon.   This can be very refreshing on a long drive home.   This also works well with iced tea, juices, and other drinks. 

4.       Fill little sandwich baggies full of healthy snack items to carry in a backpack. 

5.       When the weather gets cooler, a thermos can keep soup or chili warm. Try getting soup at McDonald's.  Pack a plastic spoon and keep some napkins in the car at all times.  Wipes and hand sanitizers are nice, too.  Colleges are full of germs.  So are high schools.

Just a thought, but maybe this young person's car pooling buddies could do the same thing, that way everyone has an ice chest ready and waiting in their car.  And those particular young people could encourage each other.  They could even negotiate lunch trades if they wanted to.

And then they could spread the word and start a new trend, and there would be masses of commuting college students taking their lunch everyday.  In true college fashion they are making a statement.  They’re saying NO to fast food, NO to wasteful spending, NO to water retention and zits!  They’re BUCKING THE SYSTEM!!!

And the next thing you know, someone has organized an SWBTL meeting:  STUDENTS WHO BRING THEIR LUNCHES.  I can see it now…SWBTL t-shirts…SWBTL bumper stickers…

Oh, just take your lunch to school.  It will save money.

Saving money is a personal thing...and a tip about foil that will change your life.

I am a people watcher.  I can't help it.  I sit back and watch people and how they behave.  And do you know what I've learned?  Everyone is different.  Isn't that statement deep, profound, and brilliant?

And for this very reason, the implementation of money saving techniques is a very personal thing.  Different people employ different methods.  What I may do, the person next to me may never consider.  On the other hand, there are lots of ways I could save money, but I'm not there yet (real salon highlights is something I am currently not willing to give up).  The great thing is that there are so many ways to cut the excess out of a budget, that a person can pick and choose what extremes they are willing to go to.  I used to wash my freezer bags and reuse them.  I don't do that anymore, but hey, if someone else wants to, more power to them.  And I'm not saying that I wouldn't consider it in the future.  Especially if gas prices keep going up.

I just put stuff out there and you can pick and choose what will fit into your lifestyle and what won't.  You have options.

And by the way, I would love to hear how you save money.  Just leave a comment and let me know.

And now for the foil tip.  I got an email with this tip in it from my friend Janet and I have been a happier woman ever since.  Get ready to fall in love with your foil box all over again...

How many times have you tried to tear off a piece of foil, only to have the whole roll come out of the box, fall on the counter or floor and roll away?  If you take your box and look closely at the ends, there are little tabs that say:

 

They are on both ends.  I never noticed that before it was brought to my attention.  Press them in with your finger.  They lock the roll in place.  They really, really work.  This got me reading all the boxes in my pantry.  The plastic wrap.  The freezer bags.  There are all kinds of special perforated slots to push and tear off in order to make your life easier.  Am I the only one who didn't know this?

I have NO earthly idea how that name brand foil got in my cabinet.  It must have been a gift.  But just so you know that it is not only name brand foil boxes with easy locks, I stopped by Dollar General yesterday to check out their foil.  They had three different kinds, one name brand and two off-brands.  All of them had easy locking tabs.  Oh Joy!