Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thursday - Free Kindle Books

Well as I drank my morning coffee today these are the free Kindle books I found -



Household Hacks: Cleaning Tips and Tricks To Save You Money, Time, and Energy When Cleaning Your HouseHousehold Hacks



 How To Make Amazing Lunches - Top 30 Fast, Easy & Delicious Meal Recipes Volume 2  How to Make Amazing Sandwiches



Let's Plant A Vegetable Garden!Vegetable Garden





Thursday Thoughts - Budget

Today is the last day of January and that means tomorrow is the beginning of a new budget cycle.  We ended January within budget with $12.46 remaining.  We did it!  I am so happy that the whole family got on board and worked hard to stick to the plan.

For February, once again we need to try to spend only $250 on groceries.  We will have some additional expenses this month as both vehicles need to be serviced and Christopher will need shoes.  Not to mention, Valentine's Day will bring more purchases for the kids.  And I am a little anxious about heating this month.  We have already blown through half our tank of gas since it was filled in December.  We need to make it last as long as possible as this is an over $500 expense.

Here are some preliminary plans -
1.  Make my own laundry detergent this month.
2.  Continue making granola bars to go in our lunches.
3.  Try to purchase only one or two meats per week and make them stretch through several meals.
4.  Make a big soup each weekend.
5.  My husband is going to start turning peoples' home videos into digital format to earn some extra money.
6.  I am checking at the YMCA where we are members to see if they have a part time job opening which would allow me to get our membership fee reduced.
7.  I need to fill out and send in our Tax Returns.


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

How to Make Mozarella Cheese


For Christmas this year, my husband and children gave me a cheesemaking kit.  I enjoy trying new things.  So I was very pleased when on Christmas morning I unwrapped my present, Ricki's Cheesemaking Kit.


During winter vacation we made two loaves of mozzarella. We made our very own pizza using this cheese as a topping and OH MY! The taste was great.  It was a really neat experience and one that we enjoyed.  My daughter was a little grossed out before the curds joined together.

Supposedly it should only take 30 minutes to make, but honestly, we have never done it in less than an hour.  AND we have made it two more times since.  I still think it was fun!  Here is what we did -



  Dissolve 1/4 of a rennet tablet in 1/4 cup of water and in a separate bowl dissolve 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid into 1 cup of water.
Pour the dissolved citric acid into a pan and a whole gallon of milk.  Heat while stirring constantly until the milk measures 90 degrees F. Then turn off the heat and pour the rennet mixture over.  Slowly stir for 30 seconds. and then cover and let the milk sit for 5 to 7 minutes.

This is what the mixture looks like after waiting.  Using a knife cut the curd into a grid pattern being sure the knife reaches the bottom of the pan.

Reheat the curds to 105 degrees F or as close as you can.
Using a slotted spoon remove the curd from the pan leaving as much of the whey (yellow liquid) as possible into a microwaveable bowl.

Heat the curd in the microwave for 1 minute.  Then pour off the whey.   Add 1 teaspoon of cheese salt  to the curd and fold the curd over itself.  Continue to heat the curd for 30 minutes at a time until it reaches 135 degrees (the temperature at which it can be stretched.)  Be sure to wear thick rubber gloves so you don't burn your hands. Stretch the cheese and form into a log.  The more you stretch the cheese the firmer it becomes. 
Submerge the log into an ice bath for 15 minutes.

This is what the final product will look like.  I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and refrigerated.  The kit says it will last 2 weeks in the fridge, but mine was gone within two days.

Wednesday - Temperature Change

It is hard to believe that just this past weekend I was carrying water to the chickens, rabbits, and goat.  Everything was frozen and snow covered the ground.  I had turned a heat light on the chickens.  The goat was bedded down in straw.  Our smallest but oldest rabbit, Winnie, stayed in a cardboard box filled with hay and inside her cage.  She kept pulling the feed and water into the box with her. 

Today temperatures are expected to hit 69 degrees F.  I didn't have to carry water last night because the garden hose was thawed.  I didn't have to turn the heat lamp on; the low last night was 50 degrees F.   Of course now instead of snow on the ground we have mud and I do believe there will be rain today.  Weird weather!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Free Kindle Books - Monday Morning


Yard Sale Tips and Treasures: Organizing, Marketing and What to Look for at Yard Sales 
Yard Sale Tips

19 Lessons On Tea
19 Lessons on Tea

Couponing for the Beginner: A Guide to Couponing for the Uninitiated
Couponing for the Beginner

This morning, while drinking coffee, I checked the Kindle Free section and picked up these books.  I am not really certain that I will keep these but you never know until you try.  Since they don't take up physical space and cost me $0 today, why not?  Now I have to get ready for work, I teach fifth grade, and since my son no longer has the flu, it is back to work I go.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Banana Bread Recipe

Well, yesterday my father gave me three bananas for the goat to have.  They were definitely past ripe but I decided to eat them instead.  So today I have made two loaves of banana bread.  Here is the recipe I used for two loaves -

Banana Bread
6 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed overripe bananas
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1.  Heat over to 300 degrees F.  Grease two loaf pans and line with wax paper.
2.  Using mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, mashed banana, buttermilk, vanilla, and cinnamon.
3.  Sift together salt, baking soda, and flour in a small bowl.  Then mix into butter mixture.
4.  Pour into pans and bake for 1 hour until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Turn out to cool and remove the wax paper from the bottom while still warm.


I think we will eat one loaf today and freeze the other for later.  Best banana bread ever!!!


Crocheted Hats for Chickens

Ok, ok! I know it seems silly but this morning I was busily crocheting hats to keep the combs of my chickens from freezing.  Back in Aunt Nancy's day you did what you had to do.  Well, I just had to make these hats!

Out to the chicken pen we went with the first hat to see how it worked.  We tried it on Spot and she immediately took it off with one sweep of her foot.  Well, we tried it on Pig Pen.  It was a rerun of the first attempt.  But Pig Pen grabbed the hat as if it were a ball and took off running through the pen!

What appeared to be a game of keep away ensued.  The hat was taken from one chicken and then passed to the next until Pig Pen had it back and this time she was not giving it up.  She would swerve to the right, swerve to the left, dart behind the tote, duck under the post, and then rush back out into the middle as if to say, "Nana-nana-boo-boo, it is still mine!"

Well, so much for this hat.  But it certainly was an entertaining toy for awhile.  My daughter took it away in the end just to be sure they wouldn't eat the hat.  However, with supervision, perhaps we have stumbled upon the perfect chicken toy.

As far as hats go, it is back to the drawing boards.

This is Pig Pen with the hat (toy).

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Saturday Supper - Bread Bowls filled with Broccoli Cheese Soup

It was another wonderful snowy day here.  We played in the snow and my husband got to be a "little boy" and play with his truck.  He just had to get on the roads to try out his 4 wheel drive.  We have played Uno today and enjoyed being a family.  I think these are the best kind of Saturdays to have.

For supper, we thawed the Broccoli Cheese Soup we made last weekend.  I made bread bowls today for the first time ever.  It seems that I have made some type of bread almost daily this week.  I do have a bread machine which helps simplify the process.  Most of the time I end up baking in the oven instead of the bread machine itself.

The bread bowls were yummy!  They turned out triangular instead of round but that sure didn't affect the taste.  I should have used a larger plan so they could have had more room to rise separately instead of into one another.

Bread Bowls
2 1/4 teaspoons of active yeast
1 1/4 cups of warm water (110 Degrees F)
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
butter or margarine to brush over when done

1.  Place the yeast, water and sugar into bread machine pan.  Let sit for 10 minutes to proof the yeast.
2.  Add the salt, vegetable oil, and flour to the pan.
3.  Put into the bread machine and set on the dough setting.
4.  After the cycle is done, separate the dough into 4 equal sections and roll into balls
5.  Place the rolls onto a pan lined with nonstick foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  They will sound hollow when done.
6.  Turn bowls out of the pan and brush with butter to keep all sides soft.
7.  Cut the top off with a serrated knife and use a fork to pull the soft inside bread out to serve on the side.
8.  Fill with soup and enjoy.

Free Kindle Books

One of the things I am trying to do is to cut my spending on books, even those of the digital variety.  I have a Kindle and an i Pad with the Kindle app.  I love to read and am currently addicted to free books.  Well, why not?  I have actually found a wealth of resource information from these books and if I don't like them I can simply delete them without feeling guilty for spending money.  These were three of the free books I downloaded today.  I grab the free books whenever I can because many of them won't be free later. 
 How to Save Money at Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Cut Spending
Save-Money-Room-Room-ebook

35 Italian Recipes For Your Slow Cooker - Fabulous Italian Meals and Italian Cuisine (The Slow Cooker Meals And Crock Pot Recipes Collection)
Italian-Recipes-Your-Cooker

 Essential Vegetables Box Set (4 Books in 1 Package): Organic Gardening with Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Broccoli, Cabbage, and More

Essential Vegetables Boxed Set

Friday, January 25, 2013

Where to Buy Seeds?

I seem to be obsessing over this question.  There are many companies selling their seeds on the internet.  Then there are the local garden centers and even Walmart.  I keep going back and forth on where to buy.  Why?
1.  I want a good price.
2.  I want seed that has a good germination rate.
3.  I don't want to pay a huge amount for shipping.
4.  I am concerned by the amount of seeds in a packet.  Just how many seed are in .2 grams?
5.  Can I get a coupon or promotion code?

Today on my way to my daughter's piano lesson we stopped in Walmart for a few necessities and I took a quick look at their seeds.  They were Ferry Morse and cost $1.27, but I have no idea how many are in the packet.  I haven't had the time to get by our local garden center.  They usually carry Burpee seeds.

I enjoy reading Mother Earth News.  They had an article a couple years back about the top rated seed companies.  I decided to pick one herb (genovese basil) and do a price comparison using these companies.  Here is what I discovered -

Genovese (OG)
Johnny's Selected Seeds      
$3.45 packet (200 seeds) shipping $6.75 for under $30
Promo code 13-1014 to get free shipping

Seed Savers Exchange
$2.75 packet (250 seeds) shipping ??? too difficult to find
No Promo codes found
(Did find reviews that talked about really high shipping rates.)

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
$8.00 packet  (1 ounce)  shipping $3.50 for total order
No Promo codes found

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
$2.10 packet (254 seeds) shipping $4.50 for under $30
No Promo codes found

Botanical Interests
$1.89 (1.5 ounce)  shipping $3.95 for under $50
No Promo codes found
(The seed packs themselves have beautiful artwork.)

Hmm,  Johnny's, Southern Exposure, and Botanical Interests all seem possible.  Now I need to check what my total would be from each of these places for the herbs that I want -
basil
oregano
chives
lemon balm
chamomile
spearmint
lavendar
catnip
I think I'll wait on that until another day.  It is getting late and just doing this much research seems to have helped ease my nerves.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Snow Day - How flatlanders sled

The day has been filled with fun snow activities.  One of our favorites is sledding and since we live in an area of the country that is flat this is how we do it.  Sledding here is parent powered pulling.  I remember the first time I went to the hills of Pennsylvania where my husband is from when there had been a snow.  My husband had laughed at me when I explained how we went sledding.  (My dad would pull me for what seemed like hours down the road and through the yard.  If the pond was frozen hard we might even get a push that sent us skidding.)

I will never forget the sheer terror as the sled took its first plunge down the hill at my brother-in-laws home.  Nor will I forget the painful roll I took the rest of the way to the bottom when I fell off part of the way down.  It would seem you have to hold on and do something called steering.  No indeed, sledding down hills is not for me!  I am a flatlander!  I like level ground.  People may laugh, but sledding for me will always be best when it is pulling my kids on the old runner sled that my dad used for me when I was a little girl.  I will happily pull until my fingers are numb with cold.

Snow Day - How to make snow cream

Oh boy! We woke up to find three inches of snow had fallen during the night and it is still coming down.  I'm just like a little kid when it comes to snow.  Soon we will head out to make a snowman, have a snowball fight, pull the kids on the sled (the very same one I used as a child), and help them lay down in the snow to make perfect little snow angels.

Snow is not the norm here for winter.  Some years we see it and some years we don't.  So snow is really a big deal for us!  Today I will set out containers to collect the freshly fallen snow and then make a very special treat - Snow Cream.  Here is the recipe I use which doesn't use raw eggs (the recipe from when I was little sure did) -

Snow Cream
1 gallon of snow
1 cup sugar
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

1.  Collect the snow as it is falling.
2.  Stir in sugar and vanilla. 
3.  Stir in the milk until it is the desired consistency.

Snow cream is one of those things you eat at once.  Yum!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Herb Garden - deciding which to grow

It is 15 degrees outside and I am thinking of herbs.  Last weekend I made the design for the garden with old patio blocks and scalloped brick border from my yard.  I was very pleased with the results.  Now as I sit and sip a bit of tea I am thinking about which herbs I want to grow.

I definitely want basil, oregano, and chives.  We use these often in our cooking.  I would also like some herbs for tea. My favorite is chamomile, but I would also like some spearmint and lemon balm.  Of course the cats will want cat nip.  Recently I have also been thinking about making some lotions and body creams so maybe lavender and eucalyptus should be added to the list.

I could probably keep going on and on but I really need to see which ones I have the space for in the garden.  So here comes my research -

basil - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 9 - 12 inches

oregano - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 12 - 15 inches

chives - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 6 - 9 inches

chamomile - plant height 20 - 30 inches, plant spacing 6 inches

spearmint - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 2 - 3 feet

lemon balm - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 12 - 15 inches

catnip - plant height 3 - 4 feet, plant spacing 15 - 18 inches

lavender - plant height 12 - 18 inches, plant spacing 18 - 24 inches

eucalyptus - plant height 40 feet, plant spacing 40 feet  (best to keep in a container and prune)

Now that I have this information it is time to make some decisions.  The easiest of course is the eucalyptus. This certainly won't be going into the herb garden, but maybe I could plant it against the house with a southern exposure.  I definitely have room for the basil, oregano, and chives.  If I plant spearmint that will be the only thing I can have in that square of the garden.  I have room for the chamomile, lemon balm, and cat nip.  I even have room for two lavender plants.  After checking the area covered by the other herbs I am glad to see that I can indeed have spearmint in the garden.

It might be frosty here but just thinking about this herb garden warms my spirit.


Homemade Granola Bars

Well, my little boy is still sick! So today I made these homemade granola bars.  It was almost a near disaster as I forgot to turn the oven heat down because I was using a dark pan.  Oh well, I cut the black edge off and hopefully we will enjoy them anyway.  I took a quick taste and they seemed ok.  I just hope this batch doesn't harden too much.  I won't forget about the oven temp again!

These are very quick to make and thanks to the blue disposable gloves, not too messy.  I plan on bagging them individually and using them in our lunches. 

Here is the recipe I used -



Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups oats
2/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you are using a dark nonstick pan preheat to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9"x13" pan.
2.  In a large ball, combine the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, salt and raisins.  Stir with a spoon until the ingredients are evenly mixed.  Make a hole in the center.  Pour in the honey, beaten egg, oil, and vanilla.  Mix well using your hands and then pat the mixture evenly into the pan.
3.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown.  Turn pan over onto wax paper and cut bars immediately.  Then cool the bars on a wire rack before packaging.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Food Budget Update - Feeding my family for $250 each month

This year I am determined to feed my family for $250 each month.  This began not as a New Year's Resolution but because Hurricane Sandy made it a necessity.  We used to spend $600 per month on groceries so this is really a challenge. 

So far this month we have spent $365.80.  Yes, I know it is over budget but I am very pleased at how much we have been able to decrease our food bill.  We have saved $234.20!  We probably will need a few more items before the month is up so this might change yet.  These are the following lessons that we have learned this month -

1.  Don't eat out.
2.  Buy store brand when possible.
3.  Make food from scratch.
4.  Buy less meat.
5.  Make sure everything is used.


Ham and Potato Soup

I am home from work today with a very sick boy.  He has the flu.  Why, oh why didn't I get him a flu shot?  The hour drive and having to take a day off from work seem like such ridiculous excuses now.  Lesson learned!  Next year he will definitely get the flu shot!

Since I am home, I want to make sure the family has a nice warm meal to come home to.  It is a very frigid Tuesday here.  I believe it is our coldest day yet this winter.  We have some ham left over from dinner yesterday.  I intend to put that to use again in this soup and maybe I will even make some ham salad sandwiches tomorrow.  I know that ham three days in a row seems a bit much but remember, I am trying hard to keep our food budget at $250 per month.  AND this will be ham - three very different ways.  Here is the recipe -

Ham and Potato Soup
1/3 cup of diced celery
1/3 cup of chopped onions
3/4 cup of diced, cooked ham
3 1/2 cups of peeled, diced potatoes
3 1/4 cup water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons of butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups milk

1.  Add celery, onion, ham, potatoes, and water to a stockpot.  Bring to a boil and then cook until potatoes are tender.  This usually takes about 15 minutes.  Stir in the chicken bouillon cubes, salt, and pepper.
2.  In a small saucepan make a rue by melting the butter and then whisk in the flour.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick which is about 1 minute.  Add the milk slowly and continue stirring until thick. This usually takes about 5 minutes.
3.  Pour the milk mixture into the stockpot, stir, and cook the soup until heated.

 

Monday, January 21, 2013

How to make pancake syrup

This past weekend we made our own syrup from ingredients on hand.  It was so easy and quite tasty.  My kids like it even better than Aunt Jemima's.  Here is the recipe -

Pancake Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Put all ingredients except vanilla in a sauce pan and stir over medium heat.
2.  Bring the syrup to boiling and reduce the heat.  It needs to remain at the just boiling stage.
3.  Continue to cook and stir until the syrup coats the spoon or a drop on a plate will spread just a little.
4.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
5.  Pour into a mason jar.  This makes about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.  When cool, store in the refrigerator.


The syrup is thinner than store bought but thicker than maple syrup.  For our health, this syrup doesn't have all the preservatives found in store bought.  For our budget, this syrup cost 60 cents to make which ends up being half the price of a comparable amount of store bought.  Looks like this will be a family tradition for us now!


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sunday in the Garden - Designing an herb garden

Today I am going to be setting up an herb garden in my front yard.  My goal was to design the garden so it would be easy to take care of, beautiful to look at, and not a fortune to make.  Today's part will cost $0.  I plan on using some brick pavers my husband has already removed from an old patio.  I lucked out when I checked to see if I had enough scalloped brick border to work around the garden.  I even had one more piece than I needed.  So today I need to dig them up from around an old cedar tree and a spot that we used to plant flowers in that we no longer use (too many pine needles fall on it daily).  I am glad to be able to recycle these into something new.  Plus, a little more labor is good for my health and my budget. So off to work I go!

Here is my quick little idea using Paint of what it will look like -  (No, Aunt Nancy would not have used this but that is the wonderful thing about living in the present day.  However, if she could have, she would have because Aunt Nancy would have looked to make the most of the time and resources she had.) 



Friday, January 18, 2013

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe - less than $1.00 per serving

I made this recipe for Cookie Baking Day with my husband's family.  We used to make Chicken Cheese Chowder for the event but with 30 people attending that recipe was just too costly.  So I decided to make a soup that cost less.  Broccoli Cheese soup fit the bill perfectly and cost 2/3 less to make than our traditional one.  Now while we are trying to cut our grocery bills I am looking to make meals that will feed us more than once for a lot less.  So once again Broccoli Cheese Soup comes to the rescue.

Here is the recipe -

1 stick of butter
1 onion chopped
16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli
4 cans of chicken broth (14.5 oz size)
2 cups of milk
1 cup of water
1 lb. of cubed Velveeta cheese
1 T garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch

1.  Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.  Cook the onion till transparent in the butter.
2.  Stir in the broccoli and chicken broth.  Simmer until tender.
3.  Reduce the heat and stir in the cheese until its is melted.
4.  Add milk and garlic powder.
5.  Dissolve the cornstarch into water before adding to the pan. 
6.  Stir often and continue cooking the soup until it thickens.


Can't wait to make this tomorrow and then eat with a loaf of homemade bread.  This is so yummy and filling that no meat is needed.

TGIF - Saving Sugar (our Delaware chicken)

"Mom, Dad is going to save our chicken!" 

You might think there was a fox near, but no there she was - Sugar, stuck on her back again.  For some reason if this particular chicken turns on her back she can't get right side up.  Who knows how long she had been like this since we had been to work all day.  Well, he pushed her back over and there she went covered in mud from all the rain we have had this week. There may even had been a bit of poo on her too.

My daughter and I took the time to gather two huge bags of pine needles from the side of the road.  We covered the chicken pen with them and even put a heat lamp into the corner.  It is supposed to get down in the twenties tonight.  But do you think sugar went and got in the comfy, dry, warm spot?  Oh no, she went right to the only muddy spot left in the pen and there she stood until my daughter picked her up and placed her in the warm corner.  I think I am seeing "survival of fittest" right before my eyes.  Poor sugar!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thursday Thoughts - How to make extra money

Well, I am home sick.  The weather is positively yucky.  And now my pay is less thanks to the stimulus end!  But I'm not bitter, oh no!  I have this challenge to make ends meet and feed my family for only $250 per month.  If you have read my earlier posts you know that my family was affected by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012.  So now we have to "Aunt Nancy" things to make our budget work. 

Thursday seems to be the day when I worry about money.  So my thoughts today have been about how I could make some extra money.  Just before Thanksgiving I put a sign up in the school where I teach and took orders for pumpkin bread.  I sold 13 loaves.  I really amazed myself by having the initiative to do this because I often worry about how will I feel if no one wants what I have to sell.  Perhaps it was the storm but the way I look at life has drastically changed.  If someone doesn't want something oh well, it was worth a try.  I think that might have been Aunt Nancy's attitude back in the day too.

So here goes:
1.  I can sell my homemade mozzarella cheese for $8 per pound
2.  I can sell the crocheted slippers I make for $4
3.  I can sell the rice bags I sew and scent with essential oil for headaches for $5


And here is a plan I have for the future:
1.  Sell 1 dozen eggs per week that my chickens lay to help pay for feed for $2 per dozen (This is assuming they do start laying.  This flock is a bit on the slow side.)
2.  Find something gooey, yummy, and delicious that people would want to buy for Valentines.
3.  Grow my own vegetables and herbs this year and perhaps sell the extra.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Homemade Flavored Creamer

International Delight's coffee creamer has been a staple of our home for some time; however, with the need to tighten our grocery budget it was one of those things that just had to go.  BUT we don't like coffee that is not flavored so I searched the web and found that many people were using either powdered sugar or condensed milk to make their own.  I opted to try the sweetened condensed versions.  Then I looked in the cupboard to see what we could use to flavor it.  Here is our recipe:

Chocolate Almond Creamer

1.5 cups of skim milk
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1.5 T cocoa powder
1 tsp almond extract

We had a mason jar that we used to put all of the ingredients in and shook till everything was blended and then we put it in the refrigerator. The jar simply needs to be shaken before using each time.

As I sit here, I am enjoying a cup of coffee with my very own flavored creamer.  I am smiling because not only did it cost less than buying the ID one, but because it tastes great. Yum!

Can't Believe It

This morning my son comes out with his toy Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner.  "I need batteries," he says and sure enough he did.  The part that I can't believe came when we tested the batteries.  (No, we don't normally use a battery tester.  We just toss and replace all the batteries.)  However, being that he is only four and loves gadgets and gizmos my husband said, "Do you want to test them to make sure that's the problem?"  Well, long story short - only two out of the four "C" batteries were dead.  The other two registered that they had a full charge.  How? I don't know, but if this is the case with many of the things that we replace the batteries in, I wonder just how many times we have thrown out perfectly good batteries?  This morning really opened our eyes and we will be checking each battery before tossing from now on.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Cutting Grocery Bills

Well, tea instead of soda has been working well.  We go through about 2 gallons of tea each week which is costing us a little less than $2.00.  Previously, we were buying 3 to 4, 2 liter bottles of soda each week which was costing us a little more than $4.00. 

We enjoy drinking coffee every morning and occasionally my husband will drink a bit at night.  However, we are some of those people who only drink coffee with the International Delights flavored creamer, and we usually go through 2 bottles per week.  Wow!  Time to Aunt Nancy this.

I scoured the web and came upon a variety of recipes for making my own flavored creamer.  Now, I can't wait to try them out this weekend.  Which one to try first?  Perhaps cinnamon almond.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What is for dinner?

Well, with payday not till next week and the budget extra tight I found myself telling my husband we have to eat what is in the cupboard.  Too many times we have thrown away foods because the date had long expired.  Why on earth do we buy some items only to keep shoving and pushing them  until they find their way buried under other foods and way at the back where we almost need a robotic arm or a step ladder to reach?  What do I want for dinner?  Hmm...Wendy's, Olive Garden, even McDonald's.  Not happening!  Bills to pay and bills to pay and bills to pay.  Okay, back to the closet -

What is hiding in there?  A can of Sloppy Joe Mix, a can of carrots (I didn't even know we ate those), rice, mac and cheese (yuck, I only like homemade), a jar of spaghetti sauce, more rice, chicken broth, stale boxes of cereal, a box of crackers (one year out of date), and more rice!  In the freezer there is a package of chicken that is still good, but the refrigerator is looking pretty bare.  Should I just sit down and cry?  What would Aunt Nancy do?

Tonight we ate what was left of a box of rotini with the spaghetti sauce and a bit of shredded cheese we had.  My little boy enjoyed some leftover peas.  No meat for us tonight but that was one meal down.  Seven more to go.  Time to search through the recipes and my all time favorite site allrecipes.com

Meal 1 = sloppy joe on rice instead of bread   (I will need to purchase 1 lb. of burger.)
Meal 2  and  3 =  chicken vegetable soup  ( I have everything for this - chicken, broth, bouillon cubes, carrots, and rice.)
Meal 4 = breakfast for dinner ( I have eggs and all of the ingredients I need to make homemade pancakes.)
Meal 5 = hot dogs and oh dear kraft mac and cheese (I think I'll add a bit of that shredded cheese that is left
Meal 6 = Rice and veggies (I will need to purchase a bag of mixed frozen veggies.)
Meal 7 = Baked potatoes with cheese and the leftover veggies from last night or perhaps a peanut butter sandwich on homemade bread. (I have everything I need for these.)

I know, it is not the healthiest!  But when you have to eat and the cupboard is bare and the funds are low, you simply just have to eat.  And I think only having to buy 1 lb of burger and a bag of mixed  vegetables will fit our budget nicely and leave me room for some better food choices the second half of the month.  So, I guess I did Aunt Nancy this.  I pushed up my sleeves and made do with what I had.  We won't go hungry and we won't go in debt.  The bills will all be paid and maybe just a little will be left.  What more can we ask for than that?  Thank you Aunt Nancy!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Tea or Soda?

Traditionally the choice of drink in our house is soda.  When I do drink tea I usually have a cup of warm herbal tea.  However, since I am looking for ways to cut our grocery bill and the 2 liter bottles of soda are setting us back $1.50 each time, I decided when we ran out today to make tea.  I had the Lipton's family size tea bags on hand so I made tea, a whole gallon of tea to be exact which only cost about 87 cents to make.  The following are the steps I followed to make the tea:

1. Bring 8 cups of water to boiling on the stove.
2. Steep 4 family size tea bags for 5 minutes.
3. Poor 8 cups of cool water into a cleaned milk jug using a funnel.
4. Remove the tea bags and add 1 cup of sugar to the still hot tea.
5. Stir the tea until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Poor the sugary tea into the milk jug using the funnel.
7. Recap the jug and shake a little to mix.
8. Refrigerate until cool.

Now I only have to wait to see if we will drink the tea and how long the gallon will last. 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Nancy or Not? That is the question.

No, I am not really Aunt Nancy.  I decided to call this blog Aunt Nancy's Blog because my mother calls me Aunt Nancy when I start making homemade soap and cheese and ... the list goes on. Well, there really was an Aunt Nancy and my mother remembers her from her youth, but she has been gone long before I was even born.  However, it is the essence of an Aunt Nancy that I need to evoke to help my family meet its needs. 

This past fall Hurricane Sandy put my family into a bind when it struck.  And although the flood waters did not rise into our home ( five feet above the ground)  it did flood my parent's home next door, our shed, and took out our 11 year old car.  The car which I was happily going to use till it gave its last gasp since it was paid in full and the insurance and gas were relatively cheap.  This in turn has caused my family to make many changes and to do a lot of hard work to repair the damage. 

One thing my husband, two children, and I did not need was to have to take on another vehicle payment, increased car insurance for full coverage on the new (very nice but used) truck, or the extra money it requires for my husband to drive in the truck to work.   Needless to say, our budget has been stretched very thin and we need to Aunt Nancy our way into making things work.  So yes, I will make my own laundry detergent.  I will sell some of my hand crafted items.  AND somehow I will feed this family for $250 per month.  Come on Aunt Nancy!