Basics on Saving Money in the Kitchen

Whether you live on a budget or straight out love to save money, we all look for inexpensive ways to do things. Food shopping and meal planning can be one of those ways to save money, yet eat healthy with good food. There are a few ways to do this, you just need to find ways that suit you and your family. Food shopping on a budget is a subject for a later date, today is an overall on how to save money in the kitchen.

One way to save money in grocery store is by planning your meals ahead of time so there's less trips to the store, unnecessary trips mean being tempted to buy more unnecessary stuff, which only means spending more money. You plan your meals weekly, biweekly or monthly. Double check what your recipes call  for and whats already in your pantry/fridge and make a list accordingly and stick by it.

Another way to save money on food  is making things homemade instead of always buying those canned food/TV dinners. Example, instead of buying biscuits in a can, you make them fresh the day of or make them and then freeze. Dinners you can make ahead and freeze, so you just have to pop them in the oven for those lazy days and not order out . You're probably looking at your freezer at wondering how you could do all that in that small spot. For a great investment of about $150 or more you can get yourself a freezer chest. Now you're probably thinking you wont make enough or have enough things to freeze to make that type of an investment. Think again. There's a lot more things you can freeze then most people realize. If you're thinking that it would be an eye sore, there's ways to dress them up to make them look like a regular piece of furniture...two purposes in one :). I'm in the midst of making somethings to disguise it, which will be a later date. 

There's a little activity out there called Extreme Couponing. I never got into it, maybe I'm a little too lazy to look into the science of it, but it is what the name says EXTREME. Sorry there's is no way I'm going to use 20 bottles of mustard all before their expiration date, let alone finding the space to store all those items. But if you have that space and you will use all those items go right ahead and do the extreme couponing. If your new to Extreme couponing you can learn the basics here

I do ask those who enjoy extreme couponing, to be realistic, realize you might not be able to use all that sits on your shelves. So instead of letting things go bad and then throwing it out, DONATE, there are a lot of hungry families in this country who don't have the capability of buying enough food.

I start squirreling things away for winter during August and September. Starting with fresh produce. Farmers markets are great way to get fresh local produce, it also supports those local growers. The cheaper way is to grow it yourself. Free is even better. Once I saw wild raspberries growing on the side of the road so I jumped out and collected some and made Wild Raspberry Jam  with it. Now I'm not saying to sneak into someone's backyard and take some from their garden,  but there are some produce you can regrow from scraps, you can find info on it on websites like this one.

There's a lot of people out there, like myself, who do home canning. It's a great way to preserve fresh produce from your garden or farmers markets. Any soups, as long as there's no diary involved, you can preserve. If you're new to Home Canning and thinking of learning, you can read my post regarding Home Canning. My Wild Raspberry Jam has instructions how to preserve it. You can get more instructions and some recipes on Home Canning from Ball website.  But as time goes on I will post more recipes with canning instructions.

I'll go into greater detail of each of these ideas as time goes on.  I will post more recipes, so stick around.


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Wild Raspberry Jam

It's mid July and it feels like the sun is trying to toast me alive. But I really don't mind since my favorite berry, raspberries, are in season. Me being a cheapskate, I loved it, in my glory,  when I found wild raspberries growing on the side of the road. So with a plastic tub in my hand I got to picking, enough for Jam and some for me to munch on while I'm making the jam.

The jam is pretty simple and goes as follows:

2 cups of wild raspberries
1 tbsp. Lemon juice
2~1/2 cups of sugar
1 tbsp of Classic Fruit Pectin Powder

Sterilize EVERYTHING, jars, lids..everything that will come in contact with the jarring process 

Just toss the raspberries with lemon juice and also toss sugar with the pectin. Place both mixtures in a saucepan and heat on med-high. Continuously stir till a full blown boil is going at which point,stirring constantly, continue the boil for 5 minutes. Skim any foam that forms on top of the jam. Lower the heat to really low and do a jell test, by taking a small amount of the jam onto a saucer and place in the freezer for a moment or two. When you take the saucer out of the freezer, dip your finger into the jam. If  the jam on the plate is too thin, add a 1/2 cup of sugar to the mix and boil for another 3 minutes and test again. If the jam on the plate is just right, continue to jarring it up. 


Majority of jams and jellies foam up when cooking, my tip of the day is put 1/4 tsp of butter or margarine before it starts boiling, it won't effect the taste and the foam is nowhere to be found.

makes two (2) half pints or  one (1) pint

In a waterbath canner, boil half pints for 20 minutes and/or pints for 25 minutes at full boil.

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Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Being it's the beginning of July and the heat is going up with it, my family has the taste for ice cream. Well then again my hubby has that craving all year long for ice cream, but more so during the summer. I don't even remember where I got this recipe, but I have it and no one is going to let me forget it.


The ingredients are simple

16oz  Whipped Cream
16 oz Frozen Strawberries, partially thawed
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar

In a metal bowl to a standing mixer you put the partially thawed frozen strawberries, egg white and sugar.  Beat on med-low speed with the wire whisk attachment for 20 minutes, or until fluffy.

Place the whipped cream in a large bowl and FOLD the strawberry mixture in, DO NOT stir, if you stir you will deflate the whipped cream and deflate the egg/strawberry mixture, you don't want this since it gives the ice cream  the smoothness.



Once fully combined you place the ice cream mixture in plastic containers and freeze for 4 hours before serving.

If you want extra strawberries in yours, double everything except the whipping cream 

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Homemade Play dough

Last thing I need is kids complaining on Rainy days that they're bored. So today we made homemade Play dough. There's a few recipes out there floating around, and I tried 2 basic recipes. I find the recipe I made with kool-aid the easiest. This activity, no matter which recipe you use, needs adult participation as well children, there's heating in the microwave involved and we don't want kiddies to hurt themselves with the temperature.

Now this makes a lot, perfect for a few children not to fight over all the different colors. Today we made two different colors one that was red and the other which was on the pinkish side. For each color you'll need:

1 and 1/4 cups of Flour
1/4 cup of salt
1 package of kool-aid drink mix ~ color of your choice
1 cup of boiling water, slightly cooled
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of oil

In a large bowl combine all your dry ingredients and mix well, at this moment you wont see the color of the kool~aid. 

Add the oil and water and stir with a wooden spoon.

Your play dough will look like a big hot mass of gooey mess, that's fine, just mix till well combined and you don't see any lumps of flour.

This is when the adults come in. Place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. When you take it out of the microwave don't waste a second and throw your hands in and knead for 2 minutes to incorporate everything, you have to make sure nothing hardens because of the heat. My hands can handle hot, but if your hands are sensitive use a spoon, but it's best to your hands.


If the play dough is still sticky after 2 minutes of kneading, throw it back in the microwave for 30 seconds. take out and start kneading again right away and continue until it's warm enough for the kids to handle and let them take over on kneading till cooled.


There you go you have play dough that smells terrific...hopefully that can entertain them for awhile

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Crock-Pot Tomato Sauce

Time to whip out my beloved crock-pot, I love them so much I have 2. Yes I know it's the last week of June and you're probably wondering why I'm crazy enough to use a crock-pot with all the heat and humidity. Well crock-pot cooking is not just for winter, in fact it's a perfect solution to cooking dinner on a hot summer day. The crock-pot doesn't put off much heat, you just have to throw everything in it and run off to the beach or pool instead of worrying about standing over a hot stove. It makes the summer enjoyable. 

Yes I also know I'm not Italian, far from it, but I do love my Italian food. So my recipe is a combination of 2 recipes that came from two Italians I knew...I just love it ♥ 

2~28oz cans of Tomato sauce 
2~28oz cans of Tomato puree
2~12oz cans of Tomato paste
1~28oz can of water  
1 and 1/4 cups of table wine of your choice (or substitute with 3/4 cup of sugar)
1 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
4 Garlic cloves, diced 
1/2 cup of Fresh chopped parsley, chopped finely
1/4 cup of Fresh chopped oregano, chopped finely
5 large fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
1 med. size onion, diced finely
Olive oil

Saute diced onion and 2 chopped basil leaves in olive oil until onion is tender and translucent. Add onions and remaining ingredients in the crock-pot. I prefer to use table wine in the recipe, even tho the alcohol wears off with the cooking, it cuts the  acidity taste of the tomatoes and gives it a deeper savory taste,  compare to sugar which gives it a sweet taste which why I dislike about jarred sauce. But the choice is yours. Cook on low for 4 hours, every hour or two remove the cover and stir the sauce away from the sides.  If you have crock-pot has a warm setting, place it on warm for additional 4 hours. If your crock-pot doesn't, just continue cooking on low for another 2 hours.

This makes a lot so you can freeze what you have leftover or home can it in Mason jars.


Whether you're looking for a replacement crock-pot or you're looking for your first one I suggest  Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker, you'll find an Amazon link to the right. I personally love Amazon because you can find a range of prices the item. 


If you plan home canning it and are new to it read my post about it here 

Sterilize all jars and lids

For every pint size mason jars you use add 1/2 tsp. of lemon juice along with the sauce, for quart size jar you add 1 tsp. of lemon juice along with the sauce. Don't worry you will never taste the lemon juice, it's just there to bring up the acidity level enough to do the waterbath method for sealing the Jars.


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Homemade Pizza

About 7 months ago I got myself in jam, a jam my family hasn't let me out of since. At the time it was Halloween, 3 months after moving into a new place. I promised my family Pizza before we ran out the front door to go Trick-or-Treating, only to find out there was no pizza place willing to deliver to us in the boondocks. Not willing to run out for it I came up with making my own. Took me about an hour and half, at the time I thought it was too long for me to deal with but since my family loved it, it was time worth doing.

For the Crust you will need:

1 tbsp. of  yeast
1-1/2 cups of water- 105* to 110*
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. sugar
3-1/2 to 4 cups of Flour*

Your favorite toppings


* now it depends on what type of crust you want depends on the type of flour you use. For a crunchy crust you use bread flour. For a chewy crust you use all purpose flour. With my experimenting I noticed when I make thin crust I use all purpose because bread flour makes it way too crunchy. With Thick crust I use Bread flour so it gives it a soft crunch unlike all purpose flour makes it chewy.


In a standing mixer  combine yeast and water and let it stand for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy. Put the dough hook on the standing mixer and add remaining ingredients and enough flour to make a soft dough. You place the dough in a well greased bowl and let it rise for about 45 minutes until doubled in size.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 400*

Depends on if you want a large deep dish pizza it makes 1, if you make thin crust pizza's like me I get one 10" round pizza and one 9x13 Sicilian pie (square pizza). 

Grease the pan you're using ,  I make my 10" on a baking stone and my Sicilian pie (square) I use a regular 9x13 cookie sheet.

Time to punch down the dough and shape. Some people use a rolling pin to shape the dough, I just use my hands to shape it. Make a small lip around the edges to prevent your toppings from sliding off. You then prick the dough lightly with a fork in the middle (to prevent the dough from bubbling up), Place the dough in the oven for 5 minutes. 

When you take the dough out you're going to see it all puffy, don't freak, when you place your toppings on and continue cooking it it will settle down.

Now with my pies I top it with homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese,  half of one pie I put sausage. Sometimes I get creative and put everything but the kitchen sink on a pie just for myself. But put what you like

Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust. Once you see the edges are a lightly golden color, you know it's done.

once you take it out let it sit for a few moments to settle...then enjoy :) 



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DIY Compost Bin

I was looking at my garden today thinking how nice it would be if I had a compost bin. I would love for my tomato and pumpkin plants to benefit from the nutrients other then store bought fertilizer. The thing is the ones you find at the hardware stores are expensive but ugly as well. Well me wanting one and being a cheapskate  to boot, I found out a cheaper way to get what I want by grabbing my beloved 5 gallon bucket and made it myself.


All you need is~

       1~ 5 Gallon Bucket
        Marking Pen (I used a paint marker)
       Drill with a 3/16 drill bit

    AND THAT's IT  :)


With a marking pen space out 12 holes on the lid, 20 holes spaced out all over the sides of the bucket and 10 holes on the bottom

Now grab you're drill and drill away

There you go :)  Now all you have to do is fill

If my husband trusts me not to hurt myself (I'm clumsy at times especially when it comes to sharp things that's battery operated) to hand over his drill to me then you know this is simple

I keep mine at the back of my property so if it starts to stink I wont smell it. But try to place where it can get some sun so it can heat it to help with decomposition.

I also twice a week flip it back and forth a little and then flip it to have it sit on the opposite end, just to stir it up the dead stuff and mix the newer stuff in

If you find bugs and worms creeping around in it...Don't freak...it's good, they help with the decomposing

The following lists is what you can and can not put in your compost bin


DO's

Fruit and peelings
Veggies and peelings
egg shells
 nut shells
Coffee grounds and filters
tea bags (remove the staple)
cardboard egg cartons
shredded paper
plain brown cardboard~including paper towel and toilet paper rolls
Shredded Newspaper
grass clippings/plant clippings
leaves
Hay
wood chips
Bark
saw dust
pine needles 
old soil
Fire pit/fireplace ashes (as long as there was no fire starter used)
 Horse and Cow manure

DON"T

pet waste/litter
Meat
Dairy
oils/fats/grease/lard
Any type of processed foods 
anything treated with pesticides
Coal/charcoal




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