Leftover Bread

One of the pitfalls of making your own bread is that it goes stale pretty quickly - usually within about 2-3 days.  Alas!  My heart distresses over waste! (Yes, I'm embellishing a bit :)  Anyway, when my bread is going stale, I just go ahead a replace it with a fresh loaf and slice up whatever is left of the stale and put it in the freezer in a big (gallon or 2 gallon) size ziploc bag.  You see stale bread is perfect for french toast  or bread puddings or those casseroles that require stale bread.  I personally love to use my stale bread for french toast in order to create my favorite concoction ever - the Monte Cristo!  And with a sandwich like that, you need your bread to hold up a little :)

If you want to know what to do with the bread loaf heels - buzz them in the food processor and freeze them - you now no long have to purchase bread crumbs!!!

Syrup Update

I don't know how may people actually try some of the things I post up here, but I hope a few people do.  A few months ago, I posted a Homemade Syrup recipe.  Now, I actually use this recipe and I will say that I haven't purchased pancake syrup in about 6 months - but I have also learned a few things about doing this that I would like to share:

• don't place syrup into jar until it is completely cooled or you will have crystallization issues (of course if you are a homeschooler and need a science project, this a perfect example of crystallization project)
• If you over-sugar the mix in order to get it really thick, you will get crystallization because a liquid mixture can only hold a certain percentage of sugar molecules before they start reforming again, when the mix is heated, it can hold more molecules, when it cools, if it is too concentrated, they will reform.
• If you get crystals and don't want to waste the syrup, put the liquid and the crystals back in a pan with some water and reboil (I love organic chemistry).  then you can cool again to package, or serve warm.
• If you serve the syrup warm or hot, your pancakes don't cool down very much while eating

Okay, that's about it for the kinks I've noticed in doing this - enjoy!

Half.com

This is my new go-to books website.  You just type in the name of your book (or ever how much you can remember of it) and it pulls the list for you.  You click on the correct title and wha you get is not a file on 1 book (like Ebay), but a list of all of the books of that title and edition for sale listed by condition.  For instance, if you type in 'Nourishing Traditions' you get a few book covers to choose from, you click on the one you want and then your list pops up.  You get several listed under new, very good, good and acceptable.  There are also further descriptons available and you can see how sellers are ranked with the star system just like ebay.  You also pay with paypal.  I have purchased several books from them and so far I highly recommend it as a go-to source so you don't have to pay full price for a book you may need to buy rather than just rent at the library.  Of course finding it at the thrift shop is still cheaper most of the time, but you have to ravel to many and dig and you still may not find it.  I have a long term list for things to pick up 'just in case I see it on a thrift shop shelf' but more urgently needed items I get at half.com


****Correction - I was mistaken!  You can't use paypal - I hope you can soon though :)

Proofing Bread

I am a breadmaker, and by that I mean that I make bread several times a week.  I can honestly say that so far in 2010 my family has not eaten commercial bread except for hot dog and hamburger buns - Partly because when i made my hot dog buns, my dough didn't rise for a looooong time and I ran out of time and had to buy some.

Anyway, I used to use the 'proofing bread' setting on my oven from time to time to control the temp so that my dough would rise properly, but now I use a different method.  Instead of leaving my oven on for 1 hour at the proofing bread temp, I just turn my oven on at 350 for 2 minutes and then shut if off.  The oven gets warms enough without geting hot, and the stays warm long enough to get the job done!  and of course it uses less electricity.

Stainless Steel Cleaner

I have a lot of stainless steel appliances, and they need to be cleaned A LOT!  Stainless steel cleaner is pricey - usally about $4 a pop, so I have been working with some things I alredy have in my home that are cheap, environmentally friendly and kid friendly.  Oh yeah, and I don't want it to streak - turns out white vingear in water (1:20) does a good job, and so far, no streaks.  Cheap, easy, and if the kids get into  it and drink some - no worries!

**Ooops - 1:10 on the vinegar and water, course you can go higher if you need it!!

For parents of active little girls

I have found that my youngest daughter loves to wear dresses! With the extremely cold weather...she has to wear some sort of covering on her legs. Tights are pretty, but my daughter loves to play hard! Tights are expensive, especially if your child is very active. Almost every time she wears tights, a hole appears. Our solution is to put on pants under those everyday dresses. They are easier for children to pull up & dress themselves, plus they offer more warmth than tights and are extremely durable. We save the tights for church or other more formal occasions. We have also found that when some dresses still fit up top, but are getting a little too short in the length, Using the pants helps extend the life of the dresses as well. Too-short dresses worn with pants or leggings (that you already have!) is so practical!

The Experiment & Cream Cheese

Well, the shampoo is a bust, my hair felt nasty and I had to wash it with regular shampoo - I will have to work on that formula.

The Dollar Tree cream cheese was okay - the texture is not as smooth as regular cream cheese.  I used it in a recipe where it was melted and it did just fine.  I have not baked with it, and since there are texture differences, I probably won't.  It doesn't spread very well either, it crumbles.

15% off at Gap

Had to go to gap tonight and get hubby dear some workpants, at the check out the cashier gave me a slip of paper to fill out a survey online for a 15% coupon - I did it and I got it, it took me all of 7 minutes to complete.

I have been watching some of those 'how things are made shows' on HD TV in the past couple of days, and I'll tell you, it's a bit scary to see what goes into our food, bath, beauty and even cleaning products.  So, over the next couple of months I will be performing some experiments in my home and on myself and I'll let you know how it goes.   I don't know if they will all be money saving because some of the conventional products I'll be substituting for are dirt cheap because of the cheapness of the chemicals they are made from.  They WILL however, be cheaper than the organic or all natural variations you could go buy in the store.

Experiment #1 - Shampoo

• Have you ever really looked up what those chemicals are in your favorite shampoo? - Well, i would suggest that you do so you know how many carcinogens you are putting on you very vascular scalp while it's pores are wide open.  
• My mix:  2oz castile soap, 2 tbsp baking soda, 1 tsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp glycerin
• test time - 7 days (will be used for every shampoo)
• hair type - for those of you who have never seen me, my hair is average texture, slightly thicker than average, shoulder lenght, not colored, and curly (well, not keri russel curly , but maybe the julia roberts slightly more than wavy type of curly - something along those lines)
• I will not be using a conditioner or any other styling product during this time EXCEPT a curling iron when needed and a little hairspray.  no gels, foams, creams, glossers, puttys, etc.

Anyone else ever done anything like this?  What were your results?

New Year Thrift Shop Sales

With Christmas and New Year's comes decluttering - and therefore, the thrift shops are abounding with donated goods and having sales.  Just today I went thrift shopping and the sales were 50% all clothing or bag sales or basket sales with all the items in the bag or basket for $5.  I loaded up one with 5 tops and a book that I had been wanting for a while, all for $5.  The book was Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon which you normally have to pay at least $15 for plus shipping - so I was psyched to say the least!!!!

So take your want/need/wish list and hit the thrift shops and save some dough!

Dollar Tree & Noteworthy!

On a recent trip to our local Dollar Tree I found a few note worthy and stock up worthy items I'll share with you:

Mott's Organic Unsweetend Applesauce 23oz jar

Apple & Eve 8oz. Juice Boxes 3 pack

Metal 8x5 Loaf Pans (not the toss away kind)

Metal 6 Muffin Pans (not the toss away kind)

1 Dozen Medium Eggs

8 oz Block Cream Cheese

Tin Cans

I try really hard to find interesting and useful ways to reuse things so as to #1)keep them from being garbage and #2)save some money.  Let's take tin cans (from veggies, fruit, etc) - I wash them out, let the kids decorate them with colored paper, or you can use a piece of cloth and some glue and actually make them kinda pretty and wah-lah, you have pencil holders, sorting cans for change, screws,etc, and you could probably use them to start seedlings.  They are a free with purchase item, and reusing something in a creative and useful way is even better than recycling because even recycling uses energy and emits greenhouse gases. 

What other common household item could you reuse creatively?  I'd love some ideas!

Cosmetic Bags

If you don't already own one, please don't buy one - I was in wal-mart today and those things cost anywhere from $5-$25 depending on how fancy you want it to look.  Really?  $25?  For a glorified ziplock bag?

Okay, I personally vote for the ziplock, if something spills inside of it, it's contained, and you can just ditch the 3 cent bag and get another one.  If liquid spills in a cosmetic bag, it's going to leak out through the zipper or the corners and you need to toss the whole bag.

Still don't want to use the ziploc, need something a little sturdier - look around, many items you normally buy come with a sort of baggie - for instance, if you purchase clinique, about twice a year you get a free bag with it; chances are at least 2 of the men in your family have received one too many shaving kits in their lifetimes and never threw away the bag - use it, they are VERY sturdy; pencil holders are made of nylon or burlap, these are very sturdy also and may have more than one compartment; go to the dollar tree and get one, but my Lord, don't pay $25 for one!

What can you do with the saved $25:
1 - milk, eggs, flour, sugar, butter, coffee, half n half, cereal
2 - underwear
3 - socks for 3 people
4 - a movie
5 - a new book
6 - new makeup for your bag
7 - gas for the car
8 - a christmas present
9 - groceries for someone in need
10 - enough packs of seed to plant a full garden in the spring


See, that $25 can be used so much better than on a cosmetic bag

Credit Card Bonuses

Okay - there are some that like the little bonuses you get with credit cards like sign-on points, purchase points, airline miles, gift certificates, etc.  These are nice and they can save you money.

But. . . . . if you are trying to get out of debt, that means you already have a problem with debt and self-control when it comes to money and getting another card or putting everyday things on a card 'just for the rewards' becomes self-defeating.  You adding to your debt just so you can keep trying to pay it off and all of that hassle is just for 'the free stuff' that may or may not even be useful -

If your debt is under control - of course if you have debt then by virtue of having it means it is not completely under control - then go for the points, but beware of being beholden to a company for 'stuff'.

When you are in debt to someone, you are then under their control in one form or another - always beware of that fact.

Debt

Debt is such a bad word - kinda like saying stupid.  I tell my kids all the time "don't say that word!"

I have analyzed our debt situation, and have a few goals:

House:  Refinanced 2008, not going to worry about putting extra on it to pay it off until the following other things get done -

My Car:  will be paid off in March '10

Husbands Truck:  will be paid off in April '10

Boat:  currently at a not-so-lovely interest rate, when car and truck get paid off, will refi at the credit union and then work our butts off to pay it off in a couple of years or less if we can manage

Computer: relatively new, old one crashed, balance is about 1000, will pay off with tax return



Currently our budget is very tight, it drives us nuts sometimes, but, we don't mind too much because we know that 2 of our cars will be paid off very, very soon, and when that happens, that will be 650 of new 'wiggle room' to put more into savings and into eliminating the boat debt.  We also never use credit cards, and haven't used them in about 3 years now.  If you ever me whip out a vise, it's the debit card, not the credit card.  We agreed a long time ago that we would rather pay cash than put it on a visa/mc/discover, etc.  My husband was looking at our home one day and was making mention of how other homes are so modernly decorated with beautiful carpet and fancy furnishings, my comment was "yeah, but I wonder what their credit card bill looks like."  Enough said there -

I am a decent budgeter, and am relatively creative in how to save a few bucks, but even I have moments of weakness that can be difficult to get under control from time to time.  When things get hairy, I just have to take a step back, look at the big picture, then pull the 'ol bootstraps up and get to work again.

Another Homemade Deodorant Recipe

This may be the easiest one I have ever seen;  thank you to the creative soul who came up with it :)

http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/category/homemade/

I implore you to explore their website for more interesting ideas, I added their link to my sidebar.

Milk Prices

What happened?  2 weeks ago milk was 3.29 a gallon and yesterday it was 4.09 - did all the cows in America go on strike?

Holiday Leftovers

What does a frugal girl do with holiday leftovers?  (Because you know, we hate to throw away money like that!)  So here is my short list:


1)  Leftover Turkey and Ham:  cut off the meat and freeze in small portions to add to soups, beans, salads, etc.;  then take the turkey carcass or ham bone - and boil it to death for homemade stock to divide up into quart sized portions and freeze (say goodbye to Swanson's broth - or any other for that matter). 
Toss what is left of the bones, or grind them down to a powder to add to your garden

2) Cranberry Sauce:  cut it into 1" cubes and place between layers of muffin mix and bake to make  a cranberry filled muffin; use as a sandwhich spread - this is expecially good on turkey sandwiches; repace the grape jelly in cocktail meatballs with cranberry sauce - just as delicious and zesty (maybe just a tad zestier, but it's wonderful)

3) Stuffing - you can freeze it in appropriate portion sizes

4) Green Bean Casserole - I actually don't have a good idea for this one, do you?

5) Pies & Cakes - Freeze them

6) Sweet Potato Casserole - Freeze it

Beans

Dried beans are an excellent source of protein, and are way cheaper than meat.  Unfortunately, they are pretty boring by themselves.  So, you have to be creative about how you spruce them up.  Things that I have found to work the best are chicken/beef/ham stock for both the soaking and the cooking liquid, plus I add salt to the cooking water.  This improves their flavor significantly.  Then, I also add them to other dishes instead of just having them as their own dish (except baked beans at a barbecue - love those).  For cooking tips and recipes on beans, check out The Family Homestead and click on her kitchen link and she gives you several tutorials on bean cooking.  Then you can also visit sites like all recipes, cooks.com, simply recips, etc and check out their bean recipes too.

Link

I peruse websites from time to time, and there are always a few that I go back to time and again.  The Family Homestead is one such site.  http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/ it provides a plethora of information as well as meal planning ideas, cooking tutorials, craft ideas, all done from within a budget (one income family homeschooling 8 kids).  She also does this while slowing incorporating more organic and natural food choices for the conventional ones.  You go girl!