For those of you who have just started following this blog and the few who have been loyal throughout..... I am so sorry I have not posted! Being frugal has kept me busy for the past.... well.... long time! LOL I have to confess that I have not been shopping at CVS for the past year. I also have not been couponing much. My strategy turned into "just don't buy anything" lately! It has been a very stressful year and I have been uber-busy.
I have been writing for 3 or 4 different online sources for money and my blogging has suffered. Not just here but on my main blog as well. The Wingmen of Mayhem have kept me crazy and pulling out my hair and the hubby had to have 3 different surgeries for kidney stones! Yuck. Talk about killing a budget when you have no health insurance!
I am planning to get back into the groove shortly and try to post here at least once a week. No guarantees but you should start to see recipes, links to freebies and more sometime soon.
Wish me luck as I take the van into the mechanics in a few hours! Hopefully what is wrong with it will be easily fixed and cheap. Otherwise I may just end up selling my children to keep it running. Ha!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Save Money
Why Eat Money? How to Save Money on Groceries
Several strategies to help save money on groceries. In today's financial situation, we all need to save money wherever we can.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1283631/why_eat_money_how_to_save_money_on.html
Why Eat Money? How to Save Money on GroceriesWednesday, November 5, 2008
Recipe and Giveaway!
My favorite soup recipe is for a spicy vegetable soup that is made with whatever I have on hand! The recipe changes every time I make it but here are the basics:
Chop a medium onion and add it and some minced garlic to a large stock/ soup pot with some oil or butter. Cook until the onion is beginning to soften and then add your vegetables. Chopped or sliced or cubed carrots, potatoes, parsnips, green beans or anything else! Softer vegetables need to be saved for later (such as zucchini or squash or tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you wish. Cook the vegetables for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add about 2 quarts (8 cups) of a vegetable stock (or chicken if you are not vegetarian). I don't precisely measure. I just put in enough to make a solid pot of soup. Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add a can of chopped tomatoes with chiles and any softer vegetables that you would like to add. Stir well and taste. Season more as needed.
Cook on medium heat, covered, approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Use an immersion blender (or remove some liquid to a regular blender) to puree some of the vegetables to increase the flavor of the soup and thicken it slightly. Only a couple of quick bursts are needed. You want most of the vegetables to still be whole.
Stir, taste and season more if needed. Remove from the heat and enjoy!
You can add lentils, rice, pasta or anything else you would like to as well! I usually try to cook my pasta and rice separate and allow everybody to add what they want to their personal bowls. But I have picky eaters! LOL
Now, the giveaway....... Fiarion of Lionden Landing has a giveaway going on right now for a fabulous cookbook! She is giving away a copy of Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. I totally want to win! But, head on over, check it out and enter the contest!
Chop a medium onion and add it and some minced garlic to a large stock/ soup pot with some oil or butter. Cook until the onion is beginning to soften and then add your vegetables. Chopped or sliced or cubed carrots, potatoes, parsnips, green beans or anything else! Softer vegetables need to be saved for later (such as zucchini or squash or tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you wish. Cook the vegetables for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add about 2 quarts (8 cups) of a vegetable stock (or chicken if you are not vegetarian). I don't precisely measure. I just put in enough to make a solid pot of soup. Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add a can of chopped tomatoes with chiles and any softer vegetables that you would like to add. Stir well and taste. Season more as needed.
Cook on medium heat, covered, approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Use an immersion blender (or remove some liquid to a regular blender) to puree some of the vegetables to increase the flavor of the soup and thicken it slightly. Only a couple of quick bursts are needed. You want most of the vegetables to still be whole.
Stir, taste and season more if needed. Remove from the heat and enjoy!
You can add lentils, rice, pasta or anything else you would like to as well! I usually try to cook my pasta and rice separate and allow everybody to add what they want to their personal bowls. But I have picky eaters! LOL
Now, the giveaway....... Fiarion of Lionden Landing has a giveaway going on right now for a fabulous cookbook! She is giving away a copy of Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. I totally want to win! But, head on over, check it out and enter the contest!
Monday, November 3, 2008
MPM 11/3 - 11/9
I never got a chance to make my beans this weekend. Mostly because I realized I was out of beans and just never made it to the store. HOPEFULLY the bean making will happen sometime this week or next weekend. We'll see.... NOW, on to bigger and better things! LOL Menu Planning Monday over at Organizing Junkie has some great links to menus with fabulous recipes. Don't believe me? Go check it out!
Here is my menu for this week.... not very inspiring but at least fairly inexpensive and all from scratch!
Monday - Hamburger Gravy and Rice
Tuesday - Homemade Pizza!
Wednesday - Fajitas OR Pasta with red sauce and meatballs
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Baked Chicken with scalloped Potatoes and a veg
Saturday - Vegetable soup and grilled cheese
Sunday - Black Rice with Thai Chicken Curry
That's it, folks!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans
I love homemade bean soup and white beans with ham. I also love baked beans. But how many ways can you eat beans? Beans and rice, rice and beans.... it gets boring after a while, right? The cheapness of beans makes them very desirable as far as stretching your budget. However, coming up with new ideas has stretched my imagination.
I found this post from Biblical Womanhood that really made me think..... beans are so versatile. You just have to find new ways of utilizing them.
I will be making a huge pot of beans this weekend. Probably more than one. Red beans, black beans and kidney beans. Maybe even black eyed peas. Once they are cooked, I will portion them into zip locks in meal sized amounts and freeze them. Way cheaper and better than buying canned beans. Especially since I get the dried beans from WIC right now.
You can also add lentils or beans to a vegetable soup to add the protein that you need. Or, make bean burritos, add them to a Mexican casserole, make a bean soup, use them in place of almost any meat in a casserole dish and even just have them as a side dish. All of this in addition to the basic rice and beans.
Why not give it a try? Post any ideas for using beans here and I will give them a shot! I want to cut back on my meat by AT LEAST 25% over the next month or so. The cost of meat is making it prohibitively expensive to eat every night... especially as a main course!
I will post recipes or ideas as I try them and let you know how this bean menu is coming along!
I found this post from Biblical Womanhood that really made me think..... beans are so versatile. You just have to find new ways of utilizing them.
I will be making a huge pot of beans this weekend. Probably more than one. Red beans, black beans and kidney beans. Maybe even black eyed peas. Once they are cooked, I will portion them into zip locks in meal sized amounts and freeze them. Way cheaper and better than buying canned beans. Especially since I get the dried beans from WIC right now.
You can also add lentils or beans to a vegetable soup to add the protein that you need. Or, make bean burritos, add them to a Mexican casserole, make a bean soup, use them in place of almost any meat in a casserole dish and even just have them as a side dish. All of this in addition to the basic rice and beans.
Why not give it a try? Post any ideas for using beans here and I will give them a shot! I want to cut back on my meat by AT LEAST 25% over the next month or so. The cost of meat is making it prohibitively expensive to eat every night... especially as a main course!
I will post recipes or ideas as I try them and let you know how this bean menu is coming along!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Better late????
Thanks to Toiling Ant from Living to the Hilt for the gentle reminder that I had forgotten to post me menu plans for this week! Better late than never say I!
Sunday - Grilled steak with cinnamon chipolte rub (yummy!), mashed potatoes, brocolli with cheese sauce and corn.
Monday - Brown rice Jambalaya with chicken breast and cajon sausage
Tuesday - Homemade hamburger helper (garden veggie rotini with mushrooms, hamburger meat and cheese sauce)
Wednesday - Cowboy Beans with cornbread
Thursday - BBQ chicken, scalloped potatoes and green beans
Friday - Leftovers/ whatever is around
Saturday - Pork Chops, wild rice mix, gravy and peas
Sunday - Country fried steak, au gratin potatoes, green beans
No new recipes this week and no meatless meals. I really need to find some new recipes that appeal to us. I tried a few last month and will be having them again, I think. ANd vegetable soup again soon! I made the best homemade soup the other day.... yummy. I will post the recipe next time I am making it.
Suggestions of good, hearty meatless meals and yummy alternatives to the same ol same ol are always welcome!
Don't forget to check out Menu Plan Monday over at the Organizing Junkie!
Sunday - Grilled steak with cinnamon chipolte rub (yummy!), mashed potatoes, brocolli with cheese sauce and corn.
Monday - Brown rice Jambalaya with chicken breast and cajon sausage
Tuesday - Homemade hamburger helper (garden veggie rotini with mushrooms, hamburger meat and cheese sauce)
Wednesday - Cowboy Beans with cornbread
Thursday - BBQ chicken, scalloped potatoes and green beans
Friday - Leftovers/ whatever is around
Saturday - Pork Chops, wild rice mix, gravy and peas
Sunday - Country fried steak, au gratin potatoes, green beans
No new recipes this week and no meatless meals. I really need to find some new recipes that appeal to us. I tried a few last month and will be having them again, I think. ANd vegetable soup again soon! I made the best homemade soup the other day.... yummy. I will post the recipe next time I am making it.
Suggestions of good, hearty meatless meals and yummy alternatives to the same ol same ol are always welcome!
Don't forget to check out Menu Plan Monday over at the Organizing Junkie!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Menu Planning??????
Yeah, right. Ha.
I am planning my menu for this week about a day ahead of myself. BUT, I am working on a master menu plan for the next month. AND a shopping list. I am planning to go shopping Sunday for my major monthly shopping trip.
I think my new plan of attack is to try at least one new recipe per week for the next month to try to expand my regular menus. And one meatless meal per week.
So, look forward to some postings of menu plans, shopping adventures and coupon horrors!
I am planning my menu for this week about a day ahead of myself. BUT, I am working on a master menu plan for the next month. AND a shopping list. I am planning to go shopping Sunday for my major monthly shopping trip.
I think my new plan of attack is to try at least one new recipe per week for the next month to try to expand my regular menus. And one meatless meal per week.
So, look forward to some postings of menu plans, shopping adventures and coupon horrors!
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