Pigs in a Blanket

I refuse to buy frozen pre-made pigs in a blanket. This morning I made them homemade and the kids loved them.

pancake mix and water (mix it a little on the thick side)
sausage (cook it first)
minimuffin pan
oven at 400.

put a dollop of pancake mix in each minimuffin well. Put a piece of sausage on top of pancake mix. Top with cheese if you want. Top with more pancake mix (enough to cover the sausage). BAke for 6 minutes. Done!


This should work the same for a homemade corndog, just use cornmeal mix instead, and you made need to adjust your cooking time.

In a pinch . . .

Have a few things on hand for a meal in a pinch so that you don't fell like you absolutely HAVE to call for takeout or go out to eat. Don't go overboard with this, but consider it and here are a few things that I keep on hand just in case a recipe goes bad or I need to have dinner ready in 15 minutes.


Tuna melts - tuna, cheese, mayo, bread, skillet (takes about 8 minutes to make)
Pizza - refrigerated croissant dough, tomato sauce, cheese, whatever topping available (15 min.)
Pesto Pasta - noodles (usually penne), pesto sauce (preprepared, multi-use size) (15 minutes)
Salad or Chef Salad - salad fixin's, deli ham, turkey and cheese if going Chef style (10 minutes)

These are my fall back recipes that are quick, satisfying, low stress and inexpensive.

Cookware

I have nonstick cookware, stoneware, glass, cast iron and silicone cookware and bakeware items. My observations are: cast iron gives the best results and the best flavor, it's just a bit heavy. Silicone gives good results, but crusts are not as crispy as I would like, and it's really floppy so you need a sled or cookie sheet to put it on before you use it in the oven. Glass is a little uneven in cooking and baking, not too bad, but a little, plus it can't take the really high heat like for breads. Stoneware is wonderful, it's just harder to clean and little heavy like the cast iron. Nonstick performs well, you just have to worry about the chemicals if you have to cook at high temperatures.

Have a few good pieces, but don't waste your money on big sets of one type. Do your research first, pick out a couple of high quality (not necesarily highest price) items and use them often.

Cookbooks

My advice - have several, but don't buy them if you don't have too (unless they are at yard sale prices or you have checked it out from the library so many times you can literally hear it calling your name every time you walk in the library)

USE YOUR LIBRARY!!!!!! This is an excellent way to 'test drive' a book before you take the plunge. Another thought is if you have checked out the book more than 3 times, AND have enjoyed using it (not just looking at the pics), consider having it on your birthday, Mother's Day, Easter, or Christmas wish list (of course you do have to let people know it's on that list for this to be effective). This way your family gets you something you love and you get something you don't have to return for a smaller (or larger) size.

Cooking at Home

Now, how often have we heard that cooking at home instead of going out to eat will save us money? All the time, and for good reason, because it's true! The only problem is, most of us get taste-bud bored after a little while, and even though we have the best intentions in the world, we give in to our salivating tastebuds after a few minutes of daydreaming about out favorite dishes at our favorite restaurants. Do I blame you, absolutely not! Is there a way to get around this, well, sometimes.

What I have found helpful is to think of your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant and then search some recipe sites to find recipes for it. I particularly like the recipe sites that have pictures to go along with it because it makes it easier for me to see if the dish resembles what my restaurant serves. I also like to work something new and untasted into my mealplan every once in awhile. However, do the new things on nights when there are leftovers, that way you are not forced into ordering take out because a meal went wrong.

New Food Styles on my "To Try" List:
Asian
Thai
Indian
Hungarian
Swedish

It may take me 5 or 6 months to get through this list because first of all I want a good recipe and second of all, we have many other dishes in my families 'preferred' list that they like to get through on a monthly basis too. But trying new things may just help your tastebuds help you steer clear of a $70 tab at your favorite restaurant.

The Dollar Tree

I am generally wary of food items for sale in The Dollar Tree. However, I was pleasantly suprised to find Nature's Own brand Butterbread, Honey Wheat Bread, Wonderbread, Hamburger Buns and Hotdog Rolls in the store. There were all normal sized and had the same expiration dates as their Food Lion counterparts (I checked) which cost about 2.29 (already a 1.29 per loaf savings. And remember, bread freezes well. I also found 8-packs of medium eggs for $1.00. An 18 count pack of large eggs at Food Lion is 3.29. So, even if I have to pop an extra egg into the recipe since they're medium instead of large, I'm still saving the bucks.

Local Grocery Stores

In order to compete with large discount grocery chains, many locally owned stores hve great sales and produce to draw customers in. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE!!!!! My local grocery store has Domino brand granulated sugar in the 5lb bags for 4/$9. That is 2.25 each PLUS I downloaded and used 2 $.55 off 2 domino sugar coupons. If you get fliers for these small independent establishments, please take a moment to peek at them because you never know what great buys they may have. Mine also does a stamp card discount thing which return the filled cards in for even bigger deals. For instance, this week a regular sized can of peas or corn (about 15oz I think) is on sale for $.49 each, but if you have a card, they are $.39each. Just make sure you use them on things you will actually eat, not just because it's on sale.

Meal Planning Part 4

This one takes a bit more work and getting used to.

I have online circulars for my local grocery stores placed in my inbox when they come out each week. That morning, I check the circulars online, find the deals on stuff we already like plus things that we would like to try. Then, I hit my coupon websites (couponmom.com, coolsavings.com, couponbug.com and smartsource.com) and look for matching coupons along with whatever useful coupon I find. Another thing I'll do is go to the individual brand websites to look for coupons too. After all this, I'll make my list of what to get at each store (there are only 2 here, so it's not a big venture), and I'll go early the next morning with the kids. I go early for one main reason - markdowns. Every morning, the stores go through their produce and meats and mark some down. I look through what they have available and pick and choose the best. I save a ton on meat this way, and no, I've never gotten sick off of it, but that's probably because I don't buy meat that's dark brown or green, I only but meat that still looks fresh and has no smell. Produce has never caused me any problems either. My biggest items to buy at reduced are apples, bananas, squash, peppers and broccoli. Apples and bananas are good choices because if you are not going to be able to finish them before they spoil, you can always make a bread, muffin or cake out of them and freeze that. Squash, peppers and broccoli also freeze well for later use if you can't get to them in time.

Okay, when I have my shopping done, I put everything away, and then I add to my list all of the extra items like the reduced meat and produce that I purchased and I meal plan. At this point, I already have the following week's meal plan done, so I make the plan for the following week. This way I get to use some of the great finds along with rotating my current inventory.

Something to remember, when you are doing your meal planning, plan on using your leftovers as part of a new meal. For instance, Monday's roast chicken can become Wedneday's chicken pot pie or chicken enchiladas or chicken casserole or chicken salad, the list goes on. Leftovers do not have to be used the next day if stored properly, you can wait an extra day or so (depending on th item) so that you don't chicken or beef yourself to death. have fun with it and go online with your list of leftovers and find a new recipe to try!

Microfiber

I have discovered the Microfiber cloth! A friend of mine who also has small children was giving me her advice on keeping her home clean, eco-friendly and non-toxic (she has 3 children 3 and under). She told me about norwex and I looked it up. It turns out instead of a bunch of chemicals, they sell a lot of cleaning utensils like cloths. Well, I did some more research on microfiber cloths, and apparently you don't need a lot of chemicals with microfiber. In fact, they recommend that you just use water and a little elbow grease (not a lot though, about the same as if you were scrubbing a surface with a chemical cleaner and regular sponge or paper towel). It worked awesome! I had been trying the clorox greenworks glass and surface spray, and it left my windows streaky, but it cleaned surfaces well. I tried method stainless steel cleaner, and even though it smelled great and cleaned well, it left my appliances streaky. So, I went over both surfaces with a microfiber cloth wet with plain warm water and wrung out really well. To my utter amazement, my glass was clean and NO STREAKS and my appliances were clean and NO STREAKS. So, one good quality microfiber that will last a long, long time is still cheaper than 1 bottle of stainless steel cleaner or 2 bottles of windex! Happy Cleaning!

Meal Planning: Part 3

Now, take your inventory and your list of your family's favorite meals and plan your dinners based on these lists for the next 3 days, and stick to it! After you accomlish this, you will be ready for part 4

Meal Planning: Part 2

Take a quick inventory of your fridge, freezer and cabinets, this does not have to be exact, but get an estimate, and remember to write it all down, or put it on computer. Also try to keep in handy to check things off as you go so you always know what you've got available.

Meal Planning: Part 1

This will come in many parts because I have a lot to say and I don't want one really long post because that will get boring.

Meal Planning:

The first thing to do is make a list (in an accessible area, or on the computer) of your family favorite meals. Beside each meal, list the ingredients required to make that meal. Definitely do this for dinner, but if you are a SAHM, do it for every meal and snack. Don't worry about doing it all in one day, but add to a bit at the time and always leave room for new creations/recipes.

Coupon Sharing

as anyone ever done this in a group? How did it work? I would like to start something like this, by mail, in person, whatever.

I think it would work something like this . . . clip and post what I have, then mail them them out.

The Cleaning Rag

I was a paper towel user, big time, many a day, sometimes a half a roll if I was doing a whole house spruce up. As I was going through my expenses and rethinking some things, I realized I use a TON of paper towels. So, I now use an old rag. I have probably 5 or 6 old rags, in previous lives they may have been washcloths or dishtowels, but now they spend their days in the lively profession of homecleaning. Some days I just use one if I'm not doing much other than the casual table and coutner top wipedown a couple of times a day. If I'm doing some serious work, I may use 3 or 4. The cost of tossing them in the laundry then drying them on the line is pretty much nil, especially compared what the cost of papertowels used to be (and even the good papertowels will only stand up for so long. A couple of words to the wise about this though - rinse often so they don't get nasty, sweep up the crumbs first (I sweep the table, counters, etc. with a little dustpan and brush set). Sweeping up the junk first takes only a few seconds, and disposes of the particles so that you rags and your home feels cleaner.

The Dilution Solution

I buy concentrates on just about all of my cleaning products. This saves money since I can add the water myself and storage space because the packages are smaller and I don't have a hug home. I am trying to go green at my home, and I have discovered that the green concentrates are probably 1/5 the price of the regular. So, for all purpose cleaner spray, I use the concentrate and dilute. For window cleaner, not only do I dilute, I actually over dilute simply because I feel like since you could actually clean windows with just plain water and a good microfiber cloth anyway, why do I need a ton of chemicals (ecofriendly or not) to make my glass streak free? Good news, over diluted window spray still makes your glass sparkle and leaves a few extra cent in your pocket, which is good news for me.

I also dilute dishwashing liquid, hand soap, moisturizer, juice for the kids (they don't need all the sugar anyway), fabric softener (and it still does the job), foundation makeup and mascara (keeps it from clumping or looking 'whore-y'.

Line Drying

I know, I know. The first thought that comes to mind is poor people with crusty clothes. But have you ever considered the potential impact line drying may have on your wallet? In the summer you pay to have your home cooled, so why dry clothes in a dryer that's going to fight your AC unity. I'm not saying everything has to be dried on a line, but I bet if you do the heavier items that take too long to dry anyway on a line instead, you'll see real savings in your electric bill. I did, and now I'm drying as much as possible on my line. And it's also eco-friendly since you're not burning extra electricity.

The Depression Generation

I am 31 years old, my mother is 59. This means that neither of us has ever lived through a time of true need and depravity. My maternal grandmother is 81, which means that she was a small child during the depression era, my paternal grandmother, who recently passed away, would be 91 now, which means she was a child and into her teens during the depression. Now, people who lived through this era really know how to be frugal and thrifty. They know how to make it work without all of the parts or ingredients, but they got it done. They lived off of very little money and/or resources. I can remember listening to my late grandmother talk about the things she and her family used to do just to make the ends meet (7 children in the home). My living grandmother has a treasure trove of stories too as she was one of 13 and they were poor even before the depression.

So I encourage you, please take the opportunity when you can to talk to those who have lived through the worst so you can gain a few tips to prevent it in your own homes.

Homemade Quick Wipes

I used to buy the Clorox and Lysol brand quick wipes all the time, but at $3 or more a pop, that can get pricey. So, I did a little research on other sites and came up with a formula and method for my own at a fraction of the price. I purchased 2 square shaped tupperware-style containers at my local Wal-Mart (about 2.50 for a pack of 2) and of course you pick the size that fits the size of the wipe. I also bought a top quality white napkin (the ones that are folded into quarters like bounty or brawny) I stuffed the square container full of the napkins. Then I used a high quality all purpose concentrate like Lysol and diluted it according to package directions. I poured the mix over the napkins a cup at a time until they were well soaked. I closed it up and left it overnight so that the solution could have time to soak into the middle of the stack. Then I just labeled the container as such and use them whenever I need a quick wipe.

Re-use

This is something I used to hate to do, re-use stuff in a new way. I don't know why, but when I was younger I just never saw the need to do this. Hmmm, I wonder how many bucks I could've saved then?

Re-use does not mean washing out and reusing your ziploc bags or butter containers, although that is a useful habit (the butter containers, not the ziploc bags - could be dangerous bacteria since a bag is harder to clean). I use the term reuse to describe taking something and creating it into something new. For instance, I was looking through a pottery barn book at some of their decor ideas, and one thing that they had was 3 purchased open cynlinders (like oatmeal cylinders) that were stacked in an offset fashion between a wall and printer and they were being used to cubby things like scissors, writing utensils, rulers, etc. Well, what about the good 'ol oatmeal container? You can cut it to your desired length, decorate it with leftover wallpaper, wrapping paper or just let the kid color them and add bows, ribbon, jewels, whatever and use them for storage. For girls they're great for brushes, hairbows, doll clothes, etc. Boys may use them for toy soliders, blocks, or matchbox cars. When I get mine done, I'll take a pic and show you what I use mine for, but be creative and take a second look at things that are going to be tossed out, or are just collecting dust on top of a shelf or shoved in the back of a closet somewhere.

Free Exercise Videos

Do yourself a favor, don't buy another exercise video that you know will just end up collecting dust and taking up precious space after about 2-3 weeks of use. Rent one for free (for about 3 weeks at a time usually) from your local public library. The loan time is generally about as long as your interest in that particular video will be anyway. AND, to optimize your workout you're supposed to change it up every couple of weeks anyway to keep your workouts effective and calorie burning. You could also look for free workout videos from myspace and YouTube also, but please, don't pay money for them!

Independant Gas Establishments

My family and I just got back from a trip to visit relatives from Maryland. On the way up and on the way back I noticed something. the independent gas stores were cheaper than the chains (for the most part). For instance, we visited St. Mary's County in Maryland, and in Leonardtown, the Burchmart was 3.68, and when got about 6 or 7 miles outside of town, the little older, almost run-down looking store (but very much open) was only 3.55. And all the through Virginia, we noticed much the same thing. So, pay attention to your gas stations.

Dollar Stores

They go by many names, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, 99 cent store, etc. But have you ever been down the grocery items aisle? Now I normally do not go grocery shopping in a dollar store, never have, but I found some suprising finds. For instance, Nature's Own Honey Wheat Bread, in Food Lion it's 2.19 a loaf, there, $1. There was also Cinnamon Toast Crunch which in Food Lion goes for upwards of $3 for a 14oz box, is on $1 for a 9 oz box. Yes, it's a smaller box, but you can't be the price per ounce, and with a smaller box, it's less likely to go stale. Also, minced garlic in the 8oz jar for $1, which in the grocery is usually $1 for the 4oz jar. Now if brand is an issue for you, buy all means, get what you're comfy with, but for me, things like garlic, elbow macaroni (32oz for $1), kids juice boxes (100% natural, of course), I am happy to save the bucks on!

Crusty Stale Desserts

I don't know about other households, but when I make a batch of cookies or brownies or even a cake, there are always leftovers that get stale and hard and eventually thrown out. Well, here's an idea. Take your stale leftover desserts, and whir them in a food processor or blender until they are bread crumbs. Then store them in a baggie in the freezer until it's time to make a cheesecake, pudding pie or other yummy that may benefit from an extra boost of flavor. Can you imagine how wonderful a homemade cheesecake would be with a chocolate chip cookie crust? Or a chocolate pie in a fudge brownie crust with chocolate shavings on top.

Related tips: If you are going to try this with leftover cake, either don't use an iced cake or make sure you don't use the part of the cake that's touching the icing. For soft dessert leftovers like brownies or cake (without chocolate chips in it - they'll just melt and get nasty during toasting) crumble them on a cookie sheet and dry them out a little more in a warm oven (but by all means, don't turn your oven on especially for this task - energy waster) just pop the sheet into the oven after you're done using it for something. This way you don't waste the heat that's already been produced and you're not cranking up the oven again ($$$) just to try to re-use something that may save you a buck or two.

Thrift Shopping

My advice is if you are going to shop at a thrift shop, do 2 things: visit a good one and check your merchandise thoroughly. One of my local thrift shops is always kept very clean, no stuff on the floors, and the clothing is sorted by type, size and color. This makes searching easier and faster. If you check your merchandise well and make sure there are no holes, stains or excessive signs of wear, you can leave with a quality item at a low price.

This doesn't just go for clothing, but also for decorative items, items used for crafts, kitchenware and furnishings.

Diapers at 60%+ off

I have a discount card at every store I regularly use (MVP at Food Lion, VIC at Harris Teeter and ExtraCare at CVS). These cards will prompt the little coupon machines at the store to spit out coupons. Well, on my excursion to the grocery store (Food Lion) yesterday, I noticed that the Jumbo Packs (40 size 5's) of Luvs diapers were on sale for 7.99 a pack with your MVP card (.20/each). Okay, nothing to get too excited about because the boxes I get at Sam's Club breakdown to .17/each. Well, I also happened to have 2 $3.00 off Luvs coupons (spit out of the register machine) PLUS a $2.00 off any $15 baby purchase (same machine) coupon. So let's see, 7.99 a pack on sale is over $15 (for 2 packs) so the $2.00 off coupon applies, plus the 2 - $3.00 coupons (1 coupon per pack, since I bought 2) that equals 3.99/pack or .10/each. NOW THAT'S A DEAL!!!!!!!

Check your coupons and sale ads regularly and save (especially on pricey items like diapers)

What to do with Leftovers

There are several fast and yummy ways to get rid of your leftovers without them resembling the original meal. For instance, Sunday's roast chicken with rice and a salad, Monday's pot roast with mashed potatoes and veggie medley and Tuesday's Spaghetti and meatballs with salad can be transformed like so: Wednesday chicken fajitas with fried rice (Sunday's chicken cut up with peppers and onions and seasonings added - plus leftover Sunday rice with chopped onion, garlic and seasonings aded, and tortillas), Thursday beef stroganoff from the leftover pot roast adding egg noodles, mushrooms, sour cream and seasoning. Friday's meatball sub - just add cheese and a bun! Salad components are generally stored separated and can show up again as a side dish for any meal and veggie medley can be added to a casserole or just show up as a side dish again. Re-used side dishes are better if served with a new main course than with the same main course again.

Things to consider when re-using leftovers:
fajitas, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc
stir fry
casseroles
homemade pizza (any style)

Keeping Tabs

If you have not done so already, you may want to keep a price notebook, or a price spreadsheet on your computer that you can print off before you go shopping. Here are the basics of this idea: keep a running record of an items price, size, store purchase and unit price so that when you are at another store, you can easily calculate whether or not it is a good deal. This is especially helpful at warehouse stores since buying in bulk is not always saving money.

Clutter Costs

Clutter costs money, time, energy, and happiness Money: misplaced bills cost late fees, misplaced library books cost fines, etc. Time: digging through clutter takes a lot of it. Energy: digging through clutter takes a lot of it (again). Happiness: who likes digging through junk and losing stuff?

Advice: get rid of the junk; keep the important stuff organized; after you use it put it away; after you pay it, file it; if it gets dirty, go ahead an clean it and put it away; and last but not least: STOP LETTING THE CLUTTER IN TO BEGN WITH!!(of course, this is the most difficult to do, especially if you live with others:)

Bread

With the exponentially fast rise in the price of wheat, I urge people to try your hand at making your own bread at home. It tastes better, you get to control the quality of the ingredients, and it generally costs about 80% less than the store bought kind. I was at Sam's Club last week and a 25lb. bag of bread flour cost about 10.50. It only takes about 3 cups of bread flour to make one 9x5 loaf of bread. Yeast was about 4.30 for 2lbs and it only takes about a teaspoon per loaf. Most people add a little salt, usually around 1teaspoon per loaf and some add sugar, again about a teaspoon per loaf. And the water is such a small amount it won't even count. Now, I am not mathmatician, but I think that all adds up to about 0.35 per loaf, and baking doesn't take long either, and if you do not want to heat up your oven just for bread, then just make it when you're making something in the oven anyway, and make more than one loaf at the time, and just freeze the extra loaves.

Moisturizer

This may be a bit of a stretch for some people, but I'm very oily skinned, so this works really well for me. I buy oil free facial moisturizers, which are about 90% water, and I add more water to it to do a couple of things: 1) thin it out because I am a habitual over-applier which means I waste it and end up with an over moisturized face (not good for an oily girl), 2) make it last about an extra month.

Like I said, this in one of those things that's not up everyone's alley, but that's okay, it's all about ideas!

Deli Meat

Problem: price, at $5.99/lb who can afford more than a couple of shavings on a sandwich.
Solution: slice your own. Bulk ham is about 1.59/lb, bulk turkey (for slicing) about 2.99/lb.

If you don't have your own meat slicer, I wouldn't go out and buy one especially for this, but if you know someone with one they would like to part with, or find one at a yard sale or thrift shop - go for it. I can thinly slice a 5lb. ham in about 6 minutes, the I separate it out into 1lb stacks and use my foodsaver to freeze it and keep the frost off.

Spices

A few notes on this: $4 a pop at the grocer, $1 a pop at the Dollar Tree, CVS, Family Dollar, Dollar General, etc. Just think it over. If you are making sauce and you need oregano, basil and then garlic salt for the bread, that's roughly $12 at the grocer (big dent in the grocery budget) and $3 at the 'dollar' stores (just a ping in the grocery budget). I personally find the ones at CVS to have more potent flavor, easy flip shaker tops, glass bottles, larger sizes and more variety.

Browsing Online

When you have a few minutes of computer time, try to look up the websites of your favorite brands in addition to any general coupon printing sites. For instance, the Betty Crocker websites gives you printable coupons that you can't get at coolsavings, coupons.com and the like. Also try horizon organic and stonyfield farms. You can get excellent money saving coupons with just a couple of minutes effort.

How we got here

Holy cow! I went to the grocery store today prepared, and it was a good thing. Not only is gas through the proverbial roof, but food is rising too. I needed brown sugar, but the 1lb bag at Food Lion which is usually $.59 is now $.93, about 45% more. A 1lb. block of Kraft cheese is $5.39. Milk is still high, $4.19 at Food Lion, $3.99 at Harris Teeter. So what's a mom to do? Well, I created this blog to discuss that very thing: saving money, playing the money game, meal planning, creating new meals with leftovers, home cooking, etc, etc, etc. So please, join in and leave your comments, recipes, ideas, suggestions, thoughts on the matter.