2010 Goals

We made it another year! 2009 ended up being a pretty good year for us overall. I haven't had a chance to do a recap of our 2009 goals yet, but I should have that posted next week sometime. Having a specific list of goals to concentrate really helped us to stay on track and keep motivated.

My list this year doesn't contain as much as last years because we are already very busy next year and we will have the addition of another family member. I don't want to be any more overwhelmed than what I have to be. :)

Spiritually

• Read the Word more often.
• Do a Bible Study on my own. I'm wanting to find a book to walk me through a book(s) of the Bible.

Financially

• We weren't able to pay off our truck (our final debt) in 2009, but we should be able to have it payed of by April of this year.
• Bump back up our Emergency Fund to allow room for medical expenses.
• Save additional funds for our first ever family vacation to Florida in May.

Home

• Figure out a Home Cleaning Schedule that really works for me. This seems to always be on my list of things to do. One of these days, I will finally master it!
• Get the children more involved in the daily tasks of maintaining a clean home.
• Get Rid of Clutter. I absolutely despise clutter, but somehow it has begun to take over my home. It's time for it to stop! This goes for storage spots as well.

Gardening/Food Storage

• Do majority of the garden from seeds, just like last year. This year will be a challenge since I will be pregnant through the entire spring, and up through most of harvest.
• Plant Wave 2, and probably replant Wave 1, of our Orchard. The deer found our fruit trees, and I'm not sure they will survive. :( We need to come up with a way to keep them out.
• Grow my own herbs. I'm going to try this again this year, since last year was a huge flop!
• Preserve as much fruits/veggies as I can.
• Continue to involve the children in the kitchen.
• Build up our meat storage--hopefully by way of buying a beef, and maybe a hog.
• Have meals ready in the freezer for when baby comes.

Self

• Read more books.
• Get on a exercise routine.
• Bring back one of my old hobbies. I used to love to scrapbook, sew (which I rarely did, but loved it), as well as make jewelry. I've not done these things in SO long, and would love to get back into atleast one.

What are your plans for 2010? Let's make this year a good one!

This post is linked to

• The Happy Housewife's 2010 Goal Link Up
• A Beautiful Calling

Packing Food For Long Trips

I apologize for disappearing the last few days. We went out of state for Thanksgiving, and I'm still playing catch up.

We've been out of state a few times before, for days in a row. However, this was the first trip that I packed all our food and planned all the meals before hand. At first I was worried that it would be too much, and we would end up wishing we had just spent the extra money to eat out. I didn't know how the kids would handle eating in our hotel room, either.

This was not the case.

We allowed ourselves one meal out, and the rest we packed along. We all loved being comfortable in our hotel room, eating home cooked, wholesome food. I kept it really simple for our lunches--Sandwiches, Carrots/Dip, and Corn Dog Muffins with potato chips and salad.

You can see my dinner plan here. We packed our crockpot to cook up the soup. It was an absolute hoot to walk into the motel that evening and smell our dinner. I couldn't help but chuckle and wonder what the other guests thought! It tasted so good!

Packing along our food saved us an amazing amount of money. My conservative guess for 6 meals out is $180 for our family of 5. The cost for the food we packed, which came from our regular grocery budget came in under$50, and probably closer to the $30 mark! Packing our food enabled us to stay in a hotel, swim in the pool and enjoy our stay--without breaking our budget.

Even though my family cracked jokes about us packing our food, I wouldn't change it. As a matter of fact, it's our new normal.

Menu Plan Week of November 22nd-28th

**Don't forget to enter to win an EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale here**

It's Thanksgiving Week! We'll be traveling for the better part of the week, so our meals are simple, and hotel friendly. I specifically requested a microwave and a refrigerator in our room so we wouldn't be forced to eat out or rely on family to feed us the whole time. Another thing I looked for in booking our hotel, was a free, hot breakfast. These really come in handy! We can eat a big breakfast and a small lunch this way.

I got a lot of ideas from The Happy Housewife's Hotel Menu Plan. I'm also happy to know that we aren't the only ones who eat in hotel rooms in order to save money. :)

Sunday:

• Breakfast:Toast with Apple Butter
• Dinner: Mexican Dip/Nachos (Oh so healthy!) ($5)(10 servings=.50/ea)

Monday:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal
• Dinner: DH and the kids want Fried Squirrel w/Mashed potatoes. I, on the other hand, will find something else! (Wild game and free potatoes, lefotvers=free meal)
  

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Bagels/Cream Cheese
• Dinner: Lentil Brown Rice Casserole. ($1.25) Salad. (.50)($1.75)(8 servings=.22/ea)

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: Loaded Breakfast Casserole
• Dinner: Bierocks. ($2) Salad.(.50)($2.50)(8 servings=.31/ea)
  

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Hotel
• Dinner: Thanksgiving!

Friday:

• Breakfast: Hotel.
• Dinner: Crockpot Soup (Leftovers from freezer) (No cost) Tri Color Bread Braid. (.75?)

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Hotel
• Dinner: Eat Dinner Out
  

Total Cost: $10.00 Average Price Per Serving: .28/ea

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Packaging Ideas for Edible Gifts

**UPDATED** Winner is announced at the bottom.



Welcome to this weeks round of the Holiday Food Fest! This week we're covering Packaging Ideas for Edible Gifts. I absolutely adore packaging Christmas presents. My husband makes fun of me for all the time I spend on packaging up our gifts.

I usually try to give a fair amount of homemade gifts every year. Not only do I find it to be more personal, but it makes for a frugal Christmas. Over the last year I have become more comfortable and confident in the kitchen, so I purposed to make even more edible Christmas gifts this year.



For Thanksgiving this year, we are going to see my family in Iowa. What a great opportunity to drop off some Homemade Christmas Gifts!






I took a jar of Jalapeno Jelly and a jar of Corn Cob jelly and attached a festive ribbon around the jar band. For the tag, I used a piece of white cardstock and wrote the serving instructions inside. For this gift I also included Buttermilk Biscuit Mix with a cute snowflake cutter. The candy cane bag was purchased at Dollar General for $1. Total Cost=Under $4




{Please forgive the quality of the photos from here down. My 4yo knocked the camera off the counter..I have yet to find part of the lens that flew off. :( }



I'm so upset that you can't see this basket very well. This is a Breakfast Basket and includes:

• Cinnamon Pancake Mix
• Buttermilk Buscuit Mix with Snowflake Cutter
• Homemade Vanilla Chai Tea Mix with Snowman Mug
• Jalapeno and Corn Cob Jellies in Red Snowman Bag
• Plastic Condiment Bottle w/these instructions on a cute printable Christmas Label: Fill with favorite pancake batter and draw on hot griddle for fun, shaped pancakes! My children LOVE it when I pull mine out!
• Wooden Spoon for mixing
• Plastic Spatula for flipping pancakes
• Green Snowman Towel for cleaning up
• All of this is contained in a plastic green bowl, perfect for use later on.

Total Cost: Under $8

This is more of an All-In-One Basket, I used Jars for the mixes intead of bakery bags. It includes:

• Homemade Vanilla Chai Mix with Snowman Mug {Breakfast}
• Buttermilk Biscuit Mix {Breakfast}
• Jar of Homemade Apple Butter {Breakfast}
• Chili Mix in a Jar w/plastic serving spoon {Dinner}
• Brownie Mix w/wooden stirring spoon {Dessert}
• Snowflake Towel for cleaning up
• Also in a plastic green bowl.
  

Total Cost: Also right around $8

When making homemade mixes, be sure to attach a label with directions so the recipent knows what to do. I did a quick Swagbuck search for "Christmas Lables" and found a lot of really cute options. I use a fair amount of ribbon and Christmas Stationary because it adds a special touch. If you want more of "country" feel, you can use Raffia in place of the ribbon--or even together. Before passing these gifts along, I will wrap the baskets in cellophane and tie off with coordinating ribbon and another home printed tag.

Oh, I can't wait to give them out!

Additonal ideas: I packaged up hot cocoa, homemade marshmallows, and made baggies of Heaven on a Stick for teacher gifts.

Now it is your turn.

What Edible Gifts are you giving this year? What are your Packaging Ideas?

Last weeks giveaway winner is: Saveur at TasteSpace! This week if you link up you enter to win an EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Scale.

"The EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale is a versatile multifunction home appliance. Designed to be highly accurate and aesthetically pleasing, the Precision Pro is manufactured to the highest quality specifications. Weigh items up to 11 lbs quickly and accurately, with results displayed in four different units: grams / ounces / pounds / kilograms. Weigh food items directly on the scale platform or utilize the scale's tare (zero) function, which eliminates the weight of a plate or bowl and makes cleanup a snap. The high resolution screen provides easy viewing angles on any kitchen counter and the five rubber feet eliminate sliding. Additionally the three minute auto-turnoff feature ensures that you will never again lose your measurement in the middle of your recipe prep!" ~Excerpt from Amazon.com

Digital scales are a great tool for any cook. They come in handy when having to measure ingredients for canning, or even bread making--as some recipes state the weight of an ingredient versus a measurement. This scale is pleasing to the eye, so it won't be gawky sitting out on your counter top. The Auto-Turnoff is especially handy for forgetful cooks like me--don't want to waste those batteries!

Link up or comment on this post to enter to win! Must be in the United States to win. Winner will be announced on Wendesday, November 25th.

Can't wait to see your ideas!

Linda from Gluten Free Homemaker--you were picked by Random.org!!

Grind Your Own Cornmeal

During the winter months we end up using a fair amount of cornmeal. We love Buttery Homeamde Cornbread served with piping hot soups. Like most families, soups are a plenty when the cold weather hits. Cornmeal is also a must for giggin' season. My husband makes his own fish breading, and cornmeal is the main ingredient. With cornmeal being in high demand, there are plenty of times I would go to grab some out of the cabinet and I wouldn't have quite the amount I needed.

The Cornmeal Shortage is over.

Since deciding last year to not replace our broken microwave, we've kept regular popcorn on hand for our weekly Pizza/Popcorn/Movie night. You know, the kind that has to be popped on the stove? :) Did you know the same stuff you "pop" and slather in butter can be ground into cornmeal?

How handy!

Storing large amounts of popcorn kernels is a lot easier than trying to keep cornmeal fresh and bug free. Now when we need cornmeal for a recipe, I grab the popcorn and grind my own cornmeal. You can do yellow cornmeal, or even white; depending on the type of popcorn you have. I use my NutriMill, which is the same thing I use for grinding my spelt wheat. I buy the popcorn kernels in bulk from the discount grocer, which makes my savings even greater.

You can't beat the savings or the freshness!

This post is part of Frugal Friday.

Shopping Discount Grocers

I've gotten out of posting my bi-weekly shopping trips basically due to the time involved in getting them posted. This week, however was one I felt was definitely worthy of showing off.

A few towns over is a discount grocery store, which is where I also buy my bulk goods. I try to get a lot of my produce there, as well as my spices and other baking essentials. This particular store is not a chain, and it carries mostly overstock and some expired foods. This is where you have to be careful and keep your eyes open.

I'm a very picky shopper, which I feel comes from my limited budget. I want to know what I am getting is the best deal around and something that I'm not going to regret buying later. A box that isn't perfect isn't going to bother me. However, lunch meat that is a month (or two) past date is not worth the price cut-unless I choose to feed it to my dog. Some things that I will buy past their date include cereal, granola bars, cream cheese, and frozen goods.

Yesterday this is what I picked up:

My table is so full, it is hard to see everything. I spent a total of about $90 for everything you see, and some things that are buried. Here are the highlights:

(6) Philadelphia Cream Cheese @ .50/ea

(4) Frozen Containers Strawberry Slices @ .75/ea

(4) Mexican Vanilla @ .50/ea

(6) Organic Vegetable/Marinara Pasta Dinners @ .49/ea (These are perfect for my 4yo's lunches)

(2) Nutella @ $1.29/ea (Yesterday was the first time I've ever tried Nutella--I can't believe I waited so long. So good!)

(4) Trail Mix @ .99/ea

(2) Aluminum Free Baking Powder @ .75/ea

Cornstarch .49

(5) Diced Ham @ .75/ea

Whole Fryer Chicken @ $2.50

Red Pears 4 for .19 cents!! (Using these for another Pear Oven Pancake. Yum!)

I went to the local grocer after this trip and got a few things I wasn't able to get from the discount store. As you can see from the picture, I didn't pick up much and I still spent $42!! Yikes!

Don't forget about those discount grocery stores, they can bring big savings!

This post is linked to Works For Me Wendesday.

Saving Money on Clothes

The cool fall air and falling leaves are sure fire signs that winter will soon be here. We will no longer need our flip flop, shorts, or beach towels. Instead, we will need our layers, hats, gloves, scarves, and coats. I'm sure a few extra blankets wouldn't hurt, either.

Bringing all these things out of their storage bins makes my home rather heavy. Things here, things there. No matter how organized I think I am in the summer, the winter things prove my disorganization. And to think, in all this clutter, Christmas is soon to come.

Aye, Yae, Yae!

Time to De-Clutter this place!

Over the past week I have been trying to lighten my load a bit. So far, I've taken 3 bags of clothes into the thrift store, and I have 3 bags of toys and 1 bag of clothes left to go. That is only after decluttering 1 ½ kids rooms.

I've only been in the local thrift store a handful of times in the 5 years we've lived here. The last trip I made, I scored a pair of shorts for myself. I have a wonky shape, and find it hard to find things for me. I was utterly delighted when I found the shorts for $1! Which is ultimately why I decided to shop around a bit when I dropped off my donations today.

Sadly, I was unable to find any jeans for the boys, but I did pick up the cutest sweater for my daughter. She really didn't need anymore clothes, however I thought it would be perfect for Christmas family photos.

Unlike most people, I cannot stand winter coats. I find them too bulky and restricting. A sweater, with a tank underneath usually does me just fine, unless we are gigging or sledding-then I'll bust out the coat. I have a few old favorite sweaters, but I could never have too many. Especially if I find them half off and $1 a piece!

The first one zips all the way down, and is my favorite out of the 3. The middle one is more of a cardigan, but has 3/4 length sleeves and is a beautiful shade of coral. It will be great in the spring, as well. The last one isn't a normal pick for me, but when I got it home I liked it even more. I have a dark green tank that will be perfect to wear underneath it.

My total should have been $5.25 for all 4 pieces, but somehow the lady charged me $6.25. I'm still trying to figure that one out...

It is still a bargain!

Another way I save money on clothes is shopping the Outlet Malls. Before school starts every year, my hometown friends and I go a popular Outlet Mall in a neighboring town. I'm not a big mall person, but hands down my favorite store there is Children's Place. Usually I am able to find sale prices as low as .99 cents--for new, good quality clothes! Combine that with a coupon, and you've got a steal. With Christmas approaching you should be able to find some deals now. Be sure to snag this15% off coupon!

Never pay full price for clothing! Shop thrift stores, and take advantage of clearance racks and coupons. Scoring a bargain and saving my precious pennies is a Finer Thing indeed.

This post is linked to:

• Frugal Friday
• Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show
• Finer Things Friday

Menu Plan Week of October 18th-24th

Last week was our last week of soccer until the spring season. Aaaahhhh. I've longed for some nights at home, in my pajamas!! Our weather has already cooled off immensely, and it is hard for me to realize that it is almost November. Christmas is going to sneak up on us.

We had another whirlwind of a week last week, and only the first half of last week's meals went as planned. Thursday we ate a meal from the freezer because I somehow last my hamburger. Friday night we had a church function that I forgot all about until the last minute. Then on Saturday, we ended up eating dinner at a friends.

Sunday:

• Breakfast:Bacon/Egg/Cheese Tator Tot Casserole.~Recipe to come later.
• Dinner: Big lunch, so we snacked for dinner.

Monday:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal with Apple Butter.
• Dinner: Spaghetti.($2.75) Green Beans.(from garden) Tri-Color Bread Braid.($1)($3.75)(8 servings=.47/ea)

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Apple Banana Oatmeal Muffins
• Dinner: Deer. (Free!) Corn. (Free) Baked Potatoes (Free!)(Free!) **From last week.

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats w/bananas
• Dinner: Chicken and Dumplings ($2-ish) Steamed Broccoli. ($1) ($3)(5 servings=.60/ea)

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Oatmeal w/bananas
• Dinner: BBQ Pork Steaks(under $1.50) Baked Beans (leftovers in freezer) Frozen Dinner Rolls (these have been in there for ages, I have no clue what they coset. $1??)($2.50)(5 servings=.25/ea)

Friday: Pizza/Movie Night

• Breakfast: Smoothies.
• Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Pepperoni Pizza. ($7)(10 servings=.70/ea)

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Casserole
• Dinner: Giggin'! Fish Fry on the river. :)

Snacks:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Apple Pie

Total Cost of Dinners: $16.25 Average Price Per Serving: .50/ea

The last 3 weeks have been lower than any other week that I can remember. This week, being the lowest by $1.90. One thing to note, is there is 6 full meals--2 of which have no cost. Tuesday's dinner I explained in last week's menu plan, and for Saturday's meal (gigging)--the fish are free, and the sides (potatoes, "whop biscuits", and whatever else) are usually provided by my Mom-In-Law. In the event I do provide some sides, the cost is still minimal.

Taking advantage of wild game and fish, as well as growing and producing your veggies, is a GREAT way to lower your grocery budget.

From more menu ideas, head on over to Menu Plan Monday.

Homemade Applesauce

I truly think that my children could eat their weight in applesauce. While I am very happy that they love it, sometimes the store bought stuff is just laden with sugar, which to me, almost negates the nutritional benefit of the apples.

When I stumbled upon an awesome deal on apples ($10 a bushel!), I decided now was my chance to try my hand at homemade applesauce and apple butter. It was easy, frugal, delish and sugar free! Since then, I've picked up 2 more bushels, although these were higher, and I'm ready to stock my pantry with homemade applesauce!

This is all there is to it:



I peeled, cored and sliced my apples just like I did when I was making the apple butter. This time, I placed all the apples into my biggest stockpot and added about 2 quarts water. Instead of water, you can add apple juice instead. I didn't have any, so I used water.




It wasn't until I was finished with the batch that a light bulb went off. If you have a juicer, throw the peels and cores that were leftover into the juicer--and Wa-La! You've got juice! You may still need to add a smidge of water to get enough, but atleast most of your liquid would be juice.




After I had my water and apples in the stockpot I brought it to a boil. When the apples started softening up, I added in about 2 Tbsp of cinnamon and cooked for an additional 5 minutes. If you want a chunky applesauce--remove from heat before the apples are translucent. If you are going for a smoother textured applesauce--cook until completely soft.




Once your apples have reached the desired doneness, process them in a food processor or food mill, juice and all.




Your applesauce will keep in the refrigerator for 2 months, or you can home can it for longer storage, using the water bath canning method. We prefer ours in quarts, which should be processed for 25 minutes. If you are canning them in pints, process for 20 minutes.




Homemade applesauce is perfect for after school snacks, a side at dinner, or even as a substitute to oil in baking. With it being sugar free, there isn't any guilt, either. :)






This post is linked to:

• Mouthwatering Monday
• Slightly Indulgent Monday
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesday
• Tuesday at the Table

Making Crockpot Apple Butter

I remember eating homemade apple butter as a kid and thinking that it was the best thing. Ever. Let me tell you, it is!


I've always assumed that making applesauce and apple butter would be a laborous task, that wasn't really worth the final effort. Part of my 2009 Goals, we wanted to get atleast 3 months of food stored up. This includes everything from jam/jellies, to vegetables, to meat, to grains and everything in between. Over the past few weeks I've bought 3 bushels of apples and jumped right in!

To make apple butter all you need is:

• Apples
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Sugar

You need to peel and core your apples before placing them in the crockpot. To make this easier and faster, I used an apple peeler, corer and slicer thing. Similiar to this one. I filled my crockpot all the way to the top. The amount of apples will vary by the size of crockpot. This is so vague, but I used about a Wal-Mart bag full, or a ¼ bushel.

Once my crocpot was loaded, I added 2 cups sugar, roughly 2 Tbsp Cinnamon, and 1 tsp nutmeg.

Put the lid on and cook on low for about 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. You can stir it around if you want to (I couldn't resist), but you do not have to. When it is done, the apples will cooked through and will look somewhat like applesauce.





If your mixture is a little runny still, remove the lid and let cook for roughly another hour.


Put mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Yum! This will keep in your refrigerator for up to 2 months. If you want to can it for long term food storage follow the water bath canning method and can pints for 10 minutes, quarts for 15.

Homemade apple butter is better tasting, lower in sugar and more frugal than the store bought version. In addition, when you are cooking it, it serves as a whole house air freshener!

This post is linked to :

• Tackle it Tuesday
• Frugal Friday
• Recipe Swap.

Canning Green Beans

Many home gardeners grow green beans. If you are anything like I was, when harvest time came I had no idea what I was going to do with all of them. I'm no fan of frozen green beans and I was terrified of the pressure canner. Something had to give somewhere.

I had to overcome my fear.

Honestly, and truly, there was no reason for me to be afraid of the pressure canner. As long as you follow the canner directions and pay attention to the pressure gauge--you are good to go. No worries!

First things first, harvest your green beans. Snap the ends off, and snap into manageable pieces. Depending on the size of the bean, I usually do them in thirds or halves. Once you have all of them snapped, you need to rinse them off, and drain off the water.

Now you need to get your jars, lids and bands ready. To me, this is where the guess work comes in. I never remember from time to time how many green beans I need to pick to yield a full canner load (which for me is 7 quarts). I just eyeball my snapped beans, and guess how many quarts I think they will make, and that is how many jars I sterilize. You can either do pints or quarts here, depending on what is effective for your family. A pint is roughly equivalent to a can from the grocery store.

Sterilize your lids by placing them in HOT water. Do NOT let these boil, as it can affect the rubber seals and they won't seal properly.

To sterilize your jars, place in boiling water, and let boil for atleast 10 minutes.

While these are sterilizing, place your green beans in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a light boil.

Remove your jars from the boiling water, and get ready to fill them up.

If desired, you can add in ½ tsp canning salt to every quart and ¼ tsp to every pint before adding in your green beans. Pack in the green beans, and pour the boiling water over them, leaving 1 inch headspace. **TIP** 1 inch is roughly to the bottom of the threads.

Once you have your jars packed and covered in hot water, you need to remove all the air bubbles. Using a non-metallic utensil, gently push on the contents and move around to remove the air bubbles. In doing so, you may end up creating more room in your jars. If you have extra green beans, add them in, just be sure to remove any more air bubbles that made their way in. Oftentimes you can peer in and see if you got all of them out.

After all of the air bubbles are removed, wipe off the rim of the jars and add on the lids and bands. Now is time to load up the canner!

When using a pressure canner, you need to have 2-3 inches of water in the bottom. Add in your jars and put on the lid. Do NOT put the weight on, yet.

When steam escapes from the vent hole (located on the left) for roughly 10 minutes, then you can place on the weight. Basically what you are doing here is letting all the excess air escape from the canner.

After you have the weight on the canner, your canner will start to "seal up" and your pressure will begin to build. For green beans, you want your canner to reach 10 pounds of pressure.

You will notice in the picture that in between the weight and the pressure gauge, there is another thing sticking up. This is called the vent lock. It is naturally flush with the lid, but when it starts to seal up the vent pops up, then it starts to build pressure.

Your canner needs to maintain at 10 pounds of pressure. You will notice that in the picture my gauge is reading a bit over 10 pounds. This isn't a huge deal, but you do not want it much over that..and NEVER under. If your canner ever goes under 10 pounds of pressure, you will have to start your timing back over. I've noticed, atleast for my stove, that once my canner reaches it's pressure point, I can turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and it will stay there.

When processing green beans, you need to process quarts for 25 minutes, and pints for 20.

Once your time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner cool off on it's own. Once the pressure has returned to zero and the vent lock has went back down, it is now safe to remove the weight. I must say, that nothing devastating will happen if you remove it before the vent lock pops down--just a massive amount of steam. Which is rather scary, and not recommended. :)

After removing the weight, let the steam escape, and remove the lid. Be very careful, the canner still contains steam.

Using your jar lifter, remove the jars from the canner and place on a towel to begin cooling. If you take a close look you will see lots of bubbles rushing to the top. Once they start to cool, you will hear the music to a canner's ears.

*Ping*

The ping is letting you know that they have sealed properly. If you are uncertain if one has sealed, you can check them by pressing in the middle of lid. If it doesn't give, then they have sealed properly. Let them cool completely before checking their seals, or you may cause them to "false seal." The cooling process usually takes about 24 hours.

Now you are able to enjoy fresh from the garden green beans, all year long!

Home canned green beans work for me!

Corn Cob Jelly Recipe

I'm sure that the first thing you think of when you hear "corn cobs", is definitely not jelly. After you try this recipe, though, it will be!

Awhile back, my mom-in-law and I went to the local farmer's market. When we were there, we met a lady who was selling all sorts of crazy jellies, Corn Cob Jelly being amongst them. My curiosity got the best of me, and I finally asked her what it was.

Long story short, when she was renewing her teaching degree from Louisiana to Missouri, she had to take a Missouri History class of some sort. A fellow student brought corn cob jelly in as a project assignment, and passed the recipe on to the class. She told me how to make it(thankfully, because I was not going to pay her $4.50 asking price for a half pint of jelly!), and said it tasted very similar to honey.

Quite honestly, when we left, neither one of us knew what to think. I couldn't imagine a corn cob tasting like honey. The more I thought about it, I knew I had to try it! Talk about using it all!

Corn Cob Jelly

6-8 Corn cobs--corn kernels removed

roughly 2 quarts water

3 -4 cups sugar

2 boxes pectin

Cover corn cobs with water and boil for about 10 minutes.

Once you are done boiling, you need to strain the liguid. I used this Jelly Strainer that my husband got me for Christmas. For this recipe, you actually only need to use 5 cups of strained liquid.

Put your strained liquid into a clean pot and return to boil. Add in sugar, and bring to a full rolling boil. Empty both packets of pectin into the pot. (I asked a few people and searched around to find out how sugar to use in this recipe and it varied; anywhere from 3-5--so I went with 4 and it worked just fine). Bring back to a rolling boil again, and boil hard for roughly 1 minutes.

Ladle into sterilized jars and process in a a water bath for 10 minutes. Yields 7 half pints.

Perfect on biscuits and toast. I can't wait to try it as a glaze on grilled chicken. Delish! I think I will also throw some in my Christmas Baskets for a unique gift. Wonder what other unique stuffer I can come up with, other than the jalapeno jelly?? Any ideas?

This post is linked to:

• Frugal Friday
• Recipe Swap

Recipe: Cabbage Rolls

While the name of the recipe doesn't sound like much, these hamburger stuffed cabbage rolls are so flavorful! Not only are they packed with flavor, but they are frugal to boot! A family of 5 should have no problems making these for $2, and have a few left over! Add some steamed veggies, and some homemade bread and you've got a meal (or two) around the $4 mark!

source

My husband was a skeptic at first, but he now requests these quite often! I would have to say that it rates right up there as one of our favorite frugal dishes.

I prefer to start the meat mix earlier in the day, and while it is cooking up I soften the cabbage leaves. I assemble everything before hand, place it in the refrigerator and pop it in the oven when I'm ready to make dinner. It's easy!

Cabbage Rolls

12 cabbage leaves

1 pound ground beef

¾ cup-1 cup cooked brown rice

½ cup onion

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder {just a dash, or two}

Brown hamburger, chopped onion and seasonings in a skillet. While hamburger is browning soften up the cabbage leaves. You can either steam them, or place them into a pot of hot water for just a minute or so. You don't want them to be mushy, or overcooked. Just softened up enough to be bendable. Drain your hamburger and add in the cooked rice. {Tip: Leftover rice is perfect for this dish!}

When the cabbage is softened up, place about 2-3 Tbsp of the meat mixture in the center. Fold in the short sides in, and roll up. Place in a 9x13 baking dish.

Sauce:

1 can diced tomatoes; undrained

3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup cold water

Put the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar in a saucepot and bring to a light boil. {You can also add an 8 oz can of Tomato Sauce to stretch it and make it more tomato-y} Once it is at a boil, stir in the cornstarch/water and return to boil. Remove from heat when thickened, and pour over the cabbage rolls. {If making this dish before hand, you can also mix up the sauce just prior to baking.}

Cover with aluminum foil and place in a pre-heated 350° oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

This post is linked to:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap: Favorite Recipe Edition
• Superfood Festival

A Full Pantry

A full pantry is a huge blessing and a big relief in those times when the grocery budget is feeling a little squeeze. This year we have been blessed with bountiful garden harvests. I am so amazed! Everytime I am harvesting our crops or putting them up so we can enjoy them in the cool winter months, I can't help but think that the "fruits of my labor" were once little tiny seeds and seedlings. God is amazing!!



Coming into this gardening season, Willie and I had big gardening plans. Our main goal was to store up enough food from our summer/fall harvests to make us through until the next garden was producing. We sat down and came up with a rough number of how many of what we needed, and we planted away. Mid way through the season, I was getting a little discouraged because things weren't going exactly as I had envisioned or planned them to be. I wanted the perfect garden, with perfect gardening beds and walkways, with no weeds. Any.Where. End of story. I worked, worked and worked some more--but things just weren't going as I wanted. My tomatillos came down with nasty bugs and once I got that taken care of my zuchinni plants and beloved pie pumpkins were compltely killed out by those pesky squash bugs. My green beans weren't producing at the rate that I thought they should in order for us to end up with what we wanted..so I gave up.



Seriously.



I got to where I didn't want to go out there, it was too discouraging. Then it hit me. You are blessed. Immensely and immeasurably blessed. And you're going to throw it all away?? Everything doesn't have to be perfect. You can't give up when the going gets tough. Persevere and you will be richly blessed.



Slowly but surely Willie and I are regaining the garden. It has been overtaken by weeds in the walkways, but it is still producing like crazy! We planted some more green beans and some asparagus beans (huge 2-3 foot long beans) so that we can have a small fall harvest to keep our storage up.



Looking in my pantry and in my freezer just makes me smile. God, You are so good!



As of today, this is what my pantry and my freezer hold--all of which is from this year. (I do still have some pickles and jelly from last year, but they are not included on this list).

• 33 bags (with roughly 1 cup each) Chopped Green or Yellow Pepper {frozen}


• 5 (½ cup portions) sliced jalapenos {frozen}


• 12 cups shredded zuchinni (I was able to get these before my plants were killed off) {frozen}


• 2 gallon bags of Tomatillos {frozen}


• 1 Ice cream bucket of Blackberries. {frozen}


• 46 quarts Green Beans


• 11 pints sliced banana peppers


• 4 pints sliced jalapenos.


• 4 pints Hot Pepper Mix (Chinese 5 color, Fish Peppers, Banana Peppers, Jalapenos, and Cherry Bombs)


• 3 pints Spaghetti sauce (We've been using some of these. I do believe there were also 2 quarts and a pint more)


• 26 pints Diced Tomatoes.


• 6 Half-Pints of Corn Cob Jelly {recipe to come Friday}


• 6 pints; 5 Half Pints Blackberry Jelly


• 4 Half Gallon; 5 Quarts Sweet Pickles.

In addition to this list, I still have jalapenos waiting to be turned into more Jalapeno Jelly (notice there is none on this list!), banana peppers, various hot peppers, green/purple beans, cucumbers, and 100 tomatoes ready to be preserved. As well as a few pie pumkins that are this close to pie.

Wow. So glad I didn't throw in the towel!

It may not be the prettiest garden these days, but let me tell ya something. It's mine. God gave it to me. ;)

How is your garden and your food storage coming along?

Making Croutons

Before I grocery shopping, I always take a look in my freezer and my refrigerator for two reasons. So I can check my "inventory" and to also get rid of anything that is past it's prime. This weekend, during my routine check, I found something that has been staring back and me, but for one reason or another I have always chosen to ignore.

This:

Every time I would get a heal or just a squished piece of store bought bread, I would pop it in a old bread bag and throw it in the freezer. It was beginning to take up some prime real estate in there and it was time to do something about it.

Time for croutons!

Take the bread and slice it vertically in about 1" strips. Then, slice horizontally, forming about 1-2" cubes. Then it's time for the butter and seasonings.

I put all of my cubes into a mixing bowl and coated them with butter. I use this Parkay Spray because it makes it alot easier to get the croutons coated, plus it is cholesterol free. Once they are coated with a layer of butter I add my seasonings. This time I used a dash of paprika and a good dousing of garlic. In my opinion, garlic makes everything better! :) Feel free to use any seasonings you see fit. Oregano and basil along side some garlic would make some great Italian flavored croutons. Or what maybe just some Sea Salt?

Once they are coated and seasoned, lay them out on a baking sheet and place them in a 250° oven. About every 5-10 minutes toss them around a bit. It took them about 45 minutes to go to this:

Frugal Deliciousness! No Cost Croutons.

Want bread crumbs instead? Throw the croutons in the food processor and grind up, or place in a Ziploc bag and break up by rolling a rolling pin over it.

The next time you smash your bread with a dozen eggs or all you have left is the heel that no one will eat, Think Croutons!

This post is linked to:

• Tasty Tuesday
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Kitchen Tip Tuesday
• Tackle it Tuesday

Q & A: Wheat

Earlier this week when I posted on Grinding Wheat, there were a flood of questions that came in. Instead of answering them all by email, which is what I usually do, I decided to do a post since a lot of the same questions were addressed. If you still have questions, fell free to ask in the comments, on BlogFrog, or even Facebook.

Thank you to everyone who weighed in on my dilemma of holey bread. Here are some of your tips:

• Anonymous: To keep my bread from having holes in it, I form the loaf and then slam (and I do mean slam) it on the counter to get rid of air bubbles. Just keep shaping and slamming until the loaf makes a deep thud. You'll notice the difference in sound after a few times. Then pop them in the pans and bake! I've always heard that making bread is a good stress reliever! Thanks for your help!
  
  


• Miriam: For the "mouse hole" in your bread, I used to have the same problem (mom's bread was notorious for them). I knead the dough a bit before I divide it into loaves, and then instead of just shaping the loaf, I knead it into shape. I also don't use any oil on the dough at any time, so there's no oily surfaces preventing the dough from sticking to itself inside the loaf. I don't know if that was the problem with your loaf, but that's what I do :) I hope it makes sense. Yes, that makes sense. Looks like I haven't been kneading enough...
  
  


• Lynn: I love my Nutrimill. Fresh ground wheat is so much better. Did you see my post on the book about whole grains? You would probably really enjoy it. Thanks, Lynn! That book sounds interesting.**If you are not familiar with Lynn's blog, you really need to check her out--her recipes are amazing!**
  
  
• Jena: I don't have much interest in grinding my own because I'm very lucky and have access to organic stone ground flour that is grown just 2 miles down the road. (Jealous!) I've been struggling to consistently make good loaves of bread with it for about a year now. My results are much better since reading "Laurel's Bread Book" which is entirely dedicated to baking with whole grains. My first single loaf made from the book turned out well but when I tried the double recipe they were pretty block like again. They either rise well and then not much in the oven or the rise a ton and collapse. Oh well, I'll get there! :) Is this the book you are referring to? You'll get it down in no time, at least it is fun and tasty to practice, huh? :)

Your Questions:

• hiptobeme: How long will the wheat keep before you grind it? Also, can you make it more convenient and use it in the breadmaker?
  
  
  
  • Oh goodness. Wheat berries, if stored correctly, can be stored for quite some time. I've heard varying things, anywhere from 10-50 years! Really, if you remove all the air, store in a cool, dry location and they don't have a foul smell or contain bugs--you are good to go! The only time you need to use it quickly is when it has been ground. Once the wheat berries are turned into flour, it loses it's nutrients very quickly. As for using it in the breadmaker, yes you can! It is fully interchangeable with store bought flour.
    
    


• JeannaMo: Does the wheat you grind always turn out brown like whole wheat flour? That is my only concern for home use as my family is pretty much a "white bread bunch". Yes, it looks very similar to store bought whole wheat flour as far as color goes.
  
  
  
  
  
  • Also, do you use it straight or mix it with white flour. That depends on the recipe. I prefer to use all whole wheat flour because of the nutrition and honestly, we prefer the flavor. But, there are some recipes that we still prefer to be "white", like some desserts and breadsticks.
    
    
  
  

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• What is "spelt" flour. How is it different than the all purpose flour I buy at the store. Spelt is still wheat, just a different kind of wheat, and one can easily be substituted for the other. It contains more protein (about 10-25% more) and fiber than a white or red wheat berry, and is also a bit sweeter and nuttier in taste. Spelt also has a high water solubility, which makes it easier for your body to absorb all the extra nutrients. There is a HUGE difference between all-purpose flour and any whole-wheat flour. All-Purpose flour is still milled from wheat, but it has all the wheat bran and wheat germ removed (when looking at whole wheat flour--those are the "brown specs" you see). Bleached All-Purpose flour has literally had a chlorine-bath to remove the color and inevitably any sort of nutrient that may be left once the bran and germ were removed. For this reason, when I use white flour, it is always unbleached.
  
  
• Where did you find the storage container that keeps the bugs away (is this something the farmer provided?) My friend said he could get me all the wheat I wanted and he said he could get it before they spray it with the stuff to keep the bugs away - eeek! Now I have to do it cause we all now know what we are eating - insecticides of some sort! We got our containers from a local merchant, but on a recent post, commenters mentioned that they were able to get food safe buckets with lids from grocery stores for no cost. Definitely something worth checking into.
  
  
Rachel R.: And, yes, it is generally a money-saver, if you eat 100% whole wheat bread to begin with. Last time I priced my bread - using extra-virgin olive oil, raw honey, and sea salt (not cheapy ingredients), it was about 70 cents a loaf. Now, wheat prices have gone up, so it's probably a little higher, but not nearly the $2-3 I would pay for 100% whole wheat bread at the store. And it tastes better. ;) Definitely! When I was at the store a few days ago, I decided to check the ingredients in store bought 100% Whole Wheat bread. I was a little taken a back by some of their ingredients, and I'm still trying to figure out why it contains HFCS! That is in ev.er.y.th.ing. Geesh.

Buying in Bulk

While I've always had a pretty good stash of food, there was never really a reason behind. Most of the time it was the result of my obsession with numbers, and not being able to buy less than 3 of anything. ;) I'm getting better. Maybe.




Since I have been consistently making our food from scratch, this makes the need for flour, old fashioned oats, and sugar far greater than before. While Aldi's prices are really good on these products, far better than Wal-Mart or our local grocery store, it still adds up and I'll take any savings I can get.





As part of my goals for 2009, I wanted to get a food supply up in the event that my husband loses his job and really, just for peace of mind (who knows, I could get trapped in my house again for 3 weeks this winter!). We just recently put up wheat berries for our wheat flour, so I was just missing the rest for my baking essentials. We hit up the local discount grocery store, which started carrying bulk products, and came home with 50 lbs each of old fashioned oats, sugar and unbleached flour. The only problem was storage. I still keep my small containers in my cabinets, but I needed somewhere to put the rest.




We found some food safe 5 gallon buckets with lids and decided that those would work best since they can stack on top of each other and would be air tight. One of the main things you have to worry about when buying in bulk, is bugs! While it would just add some extra protein, I'm just not for it! To prevent this, not only do you need an airtight container, but you need to get out all of the oxygen.



Insert oxygen absorbers.



These are just small little packets (similiar to the silica gel packets that you see in various products) that absorb all of the excess oxygen. This will help keep out the bugs, and also help your product stay fresh longer. We were able to get ours at another local-ish retailer that specializes in canning/bulk foods for about .10¢ a piece. Definitely nothing that will break the bank.



While initially I had the cost of the buckets, which added up fast, I've still made out on top. If I were to buy everything in their smaller containers from Aldi's, I would have spent roughly twice as much as I did for buying it all at once in bulk. If you have room to store bulk products, it is worth checking into, just make sure that you store it correctly so you don't ruin your product in the process.




Don't forget to label your buckets, especially if you have multiple buckets. Also, instead of using regular lids, you can get a "Gamma Lid", which not only is airtight, but screws on and off. Super handy when you are needing to refill your containers.




If you do not have a lot of pantry space, but are blessed with ample freezer room, you can also place your flour and sugar in the freezer. This will help it to maintain it's freshness, and will kill any weevil or insect eggs already in there. Storing it this way will keep it fresh for several years.

How do you store up bulk purchases??

This post is linked to:

• Works for Me Wednesday
• Frugal Friday

Grinding Wheat

I've been toying with the idea of getting a wheat grinder for many months now. The price of one had really turned me off from buying one, although the benefits are many. My birthday was in early July, and my husband kept hinting at buying me one. While I really, really wanted it--I didn't think it was quite the time since I hadn't been able to save up the full amount, yet.

But--he insisted. This is where I tell you that he is very hard to convert to the frugal wagon. Very. I know that I don't mention it a lot here, but seriously, converting him to frugal-ism isn't the easiest thing I've ever done. He sees the benefits, and he is pretty good, but he still wants what he wants, when he wants it. Which is exactly why not all of our snowball has been going to our debt in recent months. But, we move on....

He really did have a reason, though, on buying the grinder now. A local farmer, and good friend and co-worker of my husband, grows organic, spelt wheat. He offered us as much of it as we wanted...FREE OF CHARGE! Y'all that is huge! We just needed the grinder to make good use of it. Currently we have not one, but two (!) 55 gallon barrels of spelt stored (with oxygen absorbers so we don't get icky bugs. Although, that is just added protein.. ;) ) patiently waiting to be ground into flour.

So, for a little over a month now, my family and I have been enjoying free, freshly ground spelt wheat. It is delicious and oh so good for you!! The only issue that I have encountered is that my bread isn't as "pretty" and one time there was a big hole all through the center. Anyone know what caused that??? I did find an awesome spelt dinner roll recipe that I used to make a loaf a of bread again as bread bowls. So delicious!

I use a NutriMill Grain Mill, basically because it has a bigger capacity than the VitalMill (it's little brother) and the WonderMill. Ususally when I am making my goods, it is all in one day, so I just grind a huge batch and get it over with since the machine is rather large and noisy (it sounds like a vacuum cleaner--maybe a smidgen louder).

Here are some thing to keep in mind:

• Only grind as much flour as you can use. While you can go ahead and grind enough for a few weeks use--once ground, the flour loses about 45% of it's nutrients in the first 24 hours!! Can you imagine what they put in store bought flour to maintain nutrients?? Or how lacking it really is?? While placing the flour in a freezer will slow the process, freshly ground flour is still the best! Why go through the whole process and still end up with an inferior product??
• Keep this in mind: 1 cup of berries= about 1 ½ cups of flour. This depends a lot on how fine you grind your flour. I've been able to get about 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of berries--it was a very fine flour and took quite a while to grind. But, for everyday baking, this should be right about your ratio.
• Packed with Nutrients! Whole wheat flour (especially spelt) is packed with protein, amongst other nutrients, which is very good for you
• You are not limited to just grinding wheat. With most mills you are able to grind beans, rice, barley, as well as wheat berries. This opens up a whole new field of baking! A lot of these specialty flours are very expensive, but you can buy the "whole product" much cheaper.
• Expect to pay about $250. While this may sound like a lot (trust me--I thought so, too!) , it is worth it. Flavor alone is enough for me to recommend grinding your own wheat. While it may not end up being cheaper in the long run for most (I think it comes out about even, maybe just a tad cheaper), the nutritional benefits are far greater. Nutrition combined with better taste, and knowing exactly what is in your food is as good a case as any.
• Peace of Mind. Quite frankly--I don't know what the future holds. Now I know that if times get really tough, we will have bread products. There is no need to worry about flour products in my minimal grocery budget anymore. While I know that it may be impossible for some to store 110 gallons of wheat (or over 300 pounds!)-some is better than none. You just don't know.

Do you grind your own flour?? Have any tips/tricks and recipes to share?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.