All posts by Becky

Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–October 14, 2018

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We decided on Tuesday that this weekend would be the perfect time to take the kids down to the beach for one last “hurrah” of the season.   We had mistakenly made reservations weeks ago, thinking there was no school on Thursday, then cancelled the trip when we found there was actually school for Jake.  But, we hadn’t cancelled the reservations, we realized, and worked out a plan so we could still go.  It was a little complicated, and involved 2 vehicles, with me driving down Thursday evening with Jake, but Rob and 2 of the girls drove down in the afternoon after he finished up working with Michaela, got all set up in the daylight, and were ready and waiting for us when we finally arrived.  Jake was thrilled.  He has been asking and asking to go camping again.  He loves it so much.  You can imagine we hustled around to get ready, but we made it simple this time.  We always leave the camper packed and ready with pantry foods, toiletries, bedding, etc. so all we had to do was grab the food that was in the fridge already, our current clothing, library books and movies, pillows and Jake’s suitcase, of course.

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We got gorgeous weather.  One morning, Rob took the kids down to the beach to play while I stayed back at the camper and made a taco dinner.  I was delighted to have a little time to myself, and be able to make dinner so we did not have to go out.  We always keep our change jar going between trips to save up for eating out, but decided to build it up a little more for another time.  We chose to get them a few things from a candy store and I got a couple of things for various ones at McDonald’s.  We had to replace our head of lettuce, as it was bad.  We had plenty of food and I actually skipped my weekly Friday shopping trip altogether, except the head of lettuce.  We will just eat what we have on hand this week, as I’m pretty busy, and buy extra next Friday if I need it.

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Patsy and I took a hike on a trail around the campground.  We went over 2 miles.  It was fun, and good exercise, as it had quite a few hills to go up and down.  The trees are getting gorgeous color.  We also found lots of wild huckleberries and we ate some.  I wish we had taken a container to pick some in, but we didn’t know we would be finding them.

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Jake likes it when we hide things in the camper and play “hot and cold” while he finds them.   He wants brand-new Lego sets for prizes.  That’s not exactly on the shopping list  for us right now to buy.  Thankfully, he had just as much fun finding a couple of simple, inexpensive toys, and one evening, played “hot and cold” for 30 minutes hiding and finding things with different family members.  We have a tradition of having the kids do glow sticks at night, and he loved those, as usual.  He especially enjoyed this little wooden airplane and played with it quite a bit.  We have some Legos that only live in the camper, and he played with those a lot, watched Shirley Temple movies from the library, and also “The Road To Avonlea,” which is an old tv show based off the Anne of Green Gables movie, also from the library.  We also finished an entire Carolyn Haywood book called “Penny Goes to Camp” and worked on “The Long Winter” some more.  He even got Ja’Ana to play a game with him, and played many with Patsy.  I took him on a short walk as part of the Junior Ranger program he was doing, and he has no idea he went over a mile.  He’s a good walker, but doesn’t know it sometimes.

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Before we left, we hustled around and finished up several projects.  These are cinnamon-candy apples.  I simply replaced 1/2 cup of sugar with red hot candies in the 4:1 syrup, so they are pretty, but still low-sugar.  (so 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup red hots, 4 cups water) They have a very delicate cinnamon flavor.

The rest of the wood was all stacked.  We kind of had to stack it if we wanted to go.  It was blocking the trailer.

Rob made and canned beef stew with the last of the potatoes and many carrots from the garden.

I finished Patsy’s dress.  I took a couple of pictures, but am not happy with them.  I will take a better one soon and post it.  I am, however, very happy with how the dress turned out and how it fits her.  The homecoming dance is next Saturday, and I am very glad the dress is done.

It was a good, productive week, and I was happy to end it with lots and lots of sleep down at the camp ground.  I was pretty tired, but feel better now.  It’s a good thing–this next week is pretty full, as well!

 

 

 

food preservation, Garden, Saving Money

Thriving in My Thrifty Week–October 7, 2018

28 Comments

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I was able to find more produce in the garden this week.  It’s looking really scraggly, many things are covered in powdery mildew or look crispy and dead–in short, it’s getting really ugly.  So, I’m delighted that there are still veggies out there.  I also bought a bunch of salad things to augment what I found out there.  Over about a week, I was able to gather enough tomatoes and got 7 quarts canned on Friday.  Now I feel like I have enough.  If I get a few more, it’s a bonus.

I had very few immediate grocery needs this week, and intended to not shop.  Until….sugar was $1.25 for 4 lbs.  That is a good price here, and I got 20 pounds.  I also got 20 lbs of brown sugar for 50c/lb. I got milk and bagels for the niece and nephew, since Michaela was spending Friday night, and Jake was spending both Friday and Saturday nights.  I went ahead and used money from my Bottle Drive account to get the extra 20%, and paid the rest from my grocery budget, leaving me in great shape for the rest of the month.  I had been setting that Bottle Drive money aside for stocking up, so I did.  Rob picked up cheap lunchmeat from Grocery Outlet (87c/package) and we got some other things we could use. (bottle drop doesn’t work there, so of course, paid cash for that.)

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I have picked most squash that are out there, but still need to gather the Delicata that are next to the shop.  The dahlias are still lovely.  My sister brought 4 beautiful Butternut squashes for the family to divide, and the others either had some already, or didn’t want them, so I ended up with them all.  2 of them, I cubed and froze, we ate one already, and the other will store for a while.  Last year was the first time I ever froze raw squash cubes, but it worked well for the 2 little packages I froze, so now I have a few more for this year.

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I also love how the zinnias are still giving me such a cheerful spot of color out there.  Many were planted from Dollar Store seeds that only cost 25c/package.  The rest were volunteers, and they are mostly purple/raspberry color.  I am letting seeds drop into the garden from several items.   Some of the items I harvested from volunteers this summer included zinnias, lettuce, tomatoes, lemon cucumbers and green onions.  There was also dill, cilantro and parsley that self-seeded.  It will be fun to see what comes up next spring.

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I dried some parsley and chives.

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It’s amazing how much they shrink when they dry!

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Patsy suddenly decided that she might want to do some food preservation.  There’s not too much left to preserve, so I put her to work canning some apples.  I think we can use them in a cobbler/crisp or she can just eat them out of a bowl.

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Of course, Jake wasn’t going to be left out of that super-cool really fun apple project!

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Since apple slices aren’t something I usually can, I followed the directions in the Ball Blue Book, and we packed them in hot syrup after they cooked for 5 minutes in that syrup.  I actually had her make a lighter syrup than called for, 4:1, and I still think it’s probably too much sugar.  I like to try to follow the recipe the first time, anyway:). Thanks to Auntie for the apples!  I was glad to have something for her to can when she got the urge at this late date!  She got 6 quarts and 1 pint.

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She would like to try to do more 4H projects this year, as last year we were not able to accomplish the tasks needed for her to fully participate.  There are requirements for helping at a county level for each member to enter things in the fair, and we did not do them.  We also did not get very much project work done, and the county event that we signed up to help with was cancelled.  It was somewhat of a bust all around.  So, I told her we would try again this year, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but it’s worth a try if she has an interest.  I know we can teach her practical skills without it, but the 4H program gives me more incentive to carve out the time to work with her.  She made a good start, I think.  In my mind, it’s about learning skills more than gaining ribbons, so I’m glad she canned something I hope she will like and use, which will bring her satisfaction from the process.  I feel if a kid wants to do a 4H project, they need to practice skills from that project over a period of time, not just the week before the fair–there are always lots of last minute projects to do then, regardless.

We had our first fires in the wood stove this week, as the weather turned rainy and cool, and it was in the 40’s and 50’s.  It felt good.

Rob and I got horrible colds (thank you cousins!) so laid low all weekend (to the best of our ability with so much commotion going on).  Besides the cousins, Patsy had this computerized baby from one of her classes at school which squeaked and howled like a real one at all hours of the night and day, and she had to “feed” it, “change” it, and so forth and keep a diary of what she did.  They can track her actions on the computer chip in the doll, and her grade will depend on how well she took care of it.  It goes back in the morning, thank goodness.  It had to be done, and I felt she did a good job of it, and now other kids will get their turn.

Jake never got to play so many electronics, hear so many stories, and watch so much tv.  He had a ball.  I  expect I will have some work ahead of me the next time he stays over, convincing him that it was a one-time occurrence!  He was so cute.  One morning, he said, “Now, why don’t I read all of you a story,” and proceeded to do just that.  I took him to the library and we stocked up on movies and books, and I think he enjoyed the ones we got.  I know I enjoyed mine!

 

Garden, Saving Money

Thriving in My Thrifty Week–September 30, 2018

14 Comments

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I picked a large bowl of Lunchbox peppers (Territorial Seed Company) and Carmen Peppers (Johnny’s Selected Seeds).  It was like they weren’t ripe, then all of a sudden, they were!  Maybe it’s because I was so busy lately (?)….  We put quite a few of them in the fridge for fresh eating, and the rest were chopped and frozen.

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I have been spending a few minutes outside every time I get a chance, working on cleaning up the garden, picking things, mowing, trimming, etc.  I only had time for a few short sessions of yard/garden work this week, but I did get a few things done.  We’ve already used a few of the Celebration acorn squash, but have plenty left.  Underneath the  spent vines, I found a small bucket of potatoes I had missed earlier.  I’ve still been picking zucchini from bushes that have clearly seen better days, but are still slowly producing.  There have been a few cucumbers, a few berries, tomatoes, and lots of cherry tomatoes.  I’ve got a lot more fall clean-up to do before I’m done!

Friends delivered another, even larger, load of wood late this afternoon.  We threw it onto the driveway and now I need to start stacking it tomorrow.  We feel so blessed by this.  Now we have enough to make it through the entire winter.

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Rob went up for the second time and helped his friend get ready for new baby pigs.  He figured out a better feeder and helped build it a few weeks ago.  They checked the existing pen and made sure there were no escape holes.  Yesterday, Rob rode along with his friend to pick up the ordered weaner pigs. Then, he and our son’s friend went and got straw (Rob drove and son carried it all–whew!) I’m not sure exactly how many baby pigs there are up there (probably around 6-8), but one is going to be for us.

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Rob picked several assorted, strange squash and pumpkins from the pig pen when they put the baby pigs in.  They are mixed squash that grew from last year’s dropped seeds.  The big ones are zucchini that crossed with pumpkins or something else.  The skins are tough and hard, but they are all great decorations.  He also brought home an inexpensive bale of hay (so cheap because they bought so many).  I have some corn stalks I cut from the garden that I want to add to the decoration, but so far, I’m really happy with the “presents” Rob brought home for me!  I forget if Rob said the hay was $1.50 or $2, but I feel happy that we got a really nice fall look for such a small amount of money.

The kids’ parents were working many, many hours this week, therefore we did, too.  We put Jake on the bus.  We took Jake off the bus.  We ferried Michaela from here to there, took her swimming, and packed lunches, cooked dinners there and here, and ate wherever we were.  We used food from our house and their house, the garden and the store….it’s all a blur, but we were all well-fed.

We ended the week by keeping Jake for a couple of nights–he loves coming over.  After the busy week, we were both very tired, so we had a relaxing Saturday while Rob was off with his friend.  Jake is on a “Betsy” book kick, books written by Carolyn Haywood,  and wants me to read those books for hours on end.  We finished the 2 we had ordered in from the library–“Betsy and Mr. Kilpatrick” and “Betsy and the Circus.”  No worries.  He went and dug up a copy of “Betsy’s Little Star” which we have recently finished reading for the SECOND time! I protested reading it for the 3rd time, so after one chapter I brought out a book I own by the same author, “Penny and Peter.”  He barely tolerated it, but finally got interested, but I noticed he powered through a few pages of the one he really wanted–reading himself!  He hasn’t really embraced chapter books, but I was very proud of him for at least trying.

I did some grocery shopping on Friday morning, the only morning I had off this week.  I grabbed the free item, got sales, etc.  I am stocked up for the next 2 weeks (I hope) because I really don’t want to take the time to shop next weekend, just because I’d like a little time to myself for other projects.  I made a tentative 2-week menu plan and hopefully, I won’t run out of anything much. It will be easy to send Rob to the store if I do.    The last time I did that, he brought home 50 pounds of pinto beans.  Yes.  50.  That is not a typo.  I was on board since they were so cheap–$18 for the 50 pounds.  It was cheaper than the 25 lbs I usually get every year or two.  The last time I checked, it was $20 for 25 lbs.  I have seen 25 lbs. for less than that before, but not for $9/bag–so this was a great deal.   We will share part of them, either when we cook for the college age, or at family meals, or dry for anyone who is running low.  I made a mega batch of refried beans at once, as we have been limping along with cans for a while–we love the home-made ones the best.  I froze a few cartons for later, and we ate a lot already, both plain and in a nacho for Family Sunday Dinner.

I entered my receipts on Ibotta and ended up with some bonus money, which is always a nice treat.  I’m always trying new items if they are almost free, as long as they look like something that we will eat.  Recently, there seems to have been a mayonnaise and ketchup war going on between brands, so I have a lot of that now that was free or very, very inexpensive using rebates and coupons combined.    Lovana came home with some snack food that happened to have an Ibotta rebate, and so I got another $2 of rebates, which is free money to me since I did not pay for the snacks.  I’m letting both my bottle and can money and my Ibotta account grow because I figure there will be a lot of holiday sales that I will love having extra money on hand for.

We’ve already been opening and eating jars of home-canned food.  I’m also using lots of freezer food as we anticipate our yearly 1/4 beef in a couple of months, and there’s also that baby pig…..a few months and it will need to fit in there, too.  It’s a constant rotation.

I started a dress for Patsy for homecoming.  I am working with a pattern I already owned and it isn’t the right size.  They are not on sale right now, and I don’t even know if they still make that one, I’ve had it a while.  So, I adjusted it, and cut it out from some old muslin I had on hand and basted that together.  I’m now ready to cut the real fabric, and I hope it fits as well as I think it will.  I want to work on that in-between homeschooling Alissa and working with the kids this week.  And the garden/yard work.  And stacking that wood before the rains come.  And the batch of tomatoes that need canning.  And Jake and Michaela next weekend as their parents want to attend an event with Alissa.  And…And…And…… It’s a good thing I have lots of paper to make lists on!

What did you do to thrive or stay thrifty this week?

 

Saving Money, Uncategorized

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–September 23, 2018

16 Comments

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This was a week of projects.  We were able to get a ton of them done, as we did not need to watch the kids.  One day, we worked together all morning to cut kindling from a large pile of boards we had picked up for free during the past few months.  I held the long boards and Rob ran them through his saw.  We got several large garbage cans full and several cardboard boxes, which we stacked in the greenhouse to keep them dry.

All the wood our friends brought us is now stacked in the woodshed.  There are just about 5 pieces that need to be trimmed to fit our stove, and that project will be finished.  There is another load, though, and we are super excited to know it’s on its way one of these days–that will give us enough for the winter.

Rob repaired the roof of the greenhouse.  He built it last year for me and used some plastic he had on hand.  It wasn’t the correct plastic and it disintegrated during the past few months.  He ordered the correct one, and installed it this week.  It was still great to get a season out of some plastic that was otherwise not being used.

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I got some peppers from the mark-down bin at Fred Meyers and cut them up to freeze.  I added some peppers I picked in the garden as well.  My peppers have not done great this year, but I will pick a few more before this season is over.

I also canned more tomato products this week, and another small batch of pear butter with the last of the pears from the tree that fell.

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The zinnias are blooming in several places in the yard.  I love them.  I found a few places where I may be able to save some seeds from them.  I’m wondering if the clove pinks below them will come back–or if they will die this winter.  Sometimes the dianthus family is quite hardy.  Time will tell.  They are from seeds my sister brought my mother from England, and I grew them in the greenhouse.  We got so many, my mother shared with me, and my sister, and now we have them in several places.

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I enjoyed looking at the flowers that are still blooming, despite the dry weather.  We did get a little rain this week, and I’m sure they all relaxed a bit!  The nasturtiums came up volunteer this year, and it looks like they are dropping some seeds.  Maybe next year, I’ll have more!

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There have sure been large bees on my flowers this year.

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My niece brought over a large box of apples from her mother.  I’m excited.  They look and taste great.  The family has already been munching away on them.  I probably will preserve a few if it seems like we won’t eat them all fresh.  Fun!

We cashed out part of the Ibotta account and used the money for an order from Azure Standard.  I ordered some cleaning supplies and soap for Rob since he doesn’t handle many soaps, but the goat milk one agrees with him.  I got bulk gf oatmeal, a lot of spices, salt and pepper, and more.  It was great to use rebate money for basic items I needed.   I shopped the sales and purchased some things like sugar, produce, milk, etc.  I got several free things such as French bread, several drinks, and a ready-to-eat dinner.

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I had a very nice visit with Harnet and Danait.  We just hung around their place, ate, visited, drank coffee and took Danait out for some air.  It was good to catch up with them as I’ve been pretty busy this summer, and haven’t gone up there as much as I wished to do.  Because I went alone this time, Danait thought I should play with her as there were none of the girls to play with.  Thankfully, her mom had a meeting with a lady there at the house, and Danait and I played and played, satisfying her, at least for a little while.  We fed the dolls, played “Baby Jesus in a manger”, took all the dolls to the hospital and fixed them up, she found broken toys to send home to “Uncle Rob” because he fixes things, and put blankets over our heads and howled like ghosts for a while.  It was truly entertaining, the things she thinks up!  Thank goodness for Harnet’s nice, strong coffee!

We ended the week feeling quite good about what we got accomplished, and are now ready for a busy, busy week watching the kids and keeping life going.  How about you?

 

 

food preservation, Uncategorized

Home-Canned Taco/Enchilada Sauce

12 Comments

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The 11 little jars on the right are the enchilada/taco sauce.  I was asked how I made it, and if it was a secret recipe.  The truth is, I am writing it down for my self as much as anyone else, because if time passes, it will be a secret–I won’t be able to remember what I did!

This is my second attempt at enchilada sauce this summer.  The first one was good, but we wanted a little more spice and a smoother texture.    My pamphlet from the county extension office states that you can change the spices without affecting the safety of the finished tomato product, but nothing else, so that’s what I did.

I took a large bowl of tomatoes and washed and cut them up.  Then, I put a layer of them in a pot on high and crushed them with a potato masher while they cooked.  When that layer was softened, I added more cut-up pieces and kept crushing and cooking until the pot was about 3/4 full.  You have to keep stirring, because this will stick and burn if you are not careful.  Then, I put these cooked tomatoes through my Foley Food Mill to get the seeds and skins out.  I put that puree back into the pot.  At this point, it was nice and smooth, mostly seed-free, but pretty runny.  I thickened it up with a combination of cooking it down and added some tomato paste until it was the consistency of taco sauce such as I would buy at the store.  Our favorite is La Victoria, and we usually get the mild, but sometimes the medium.

I used about 2 cups of paste in the large pot that was 3/4 full, but then it was too thick and so I had to add some water to thin it slightly.  If you are making this, the amount of paste you will need depends on several factors, which include the dryness of your tomatoes, the variety of the tomatoes, and the amount of time you cook the tomatoes down before you add the paste. Use trial and error until you reach the perfect consistency.  Each time you make it, it is likely to take a different amount because the tomatoes are so variable.  Taco sauce should be thicker than tomato juice, but not as thick as pizza/pasta sauce.  We buy our tomato paste for these kind of projects at Cash and Carry in the gallon cans.  I open the can, use what I need and then freeze the rest in baggies to use over time.  It is a real money-saver to purchase it that way instead of little cans for 50c-$1 each.  The last time we bought a can, it was slightly dented, and cost around $3, but it is usually a bit more than that.  Still a great deal.

This is my best guess at the spices I added to the pot:  1/4 cup mild chili powder, 2 Tablespoons dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon dried cilantro, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 Tablespoons ground cumin, 1 Tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.  The truth is, I was putting in spices, tasting, adding more spices, tasting, etc. until it tasted right to me.  The chili powder, oregano, etc. added an underlying layer of flavor but there was no zip at all, until I added the cayenne.  It is not very spicy, just enough to give a little kick.  When I make it again, I will start with this mixture, then add more of those same spices and/or salt if I don’t feel like there’s enough.

I put the hot mixture into the jars and added 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to each larger jar (not quite a pint) and 1/2 Tablespoon to the 1/2 pints.  Then, I canned it for 35 minutes in a hot water bath canner, as instructed in my Ball Blue Book for tomato sauce.

This yielded the 11 assorted jars in the right hand side of the picture above.  If I get enough tomatoes, I might make this again this year.  It turned out yummy and we are already opening and eating it:).  At this rate, it won’t take long to use up those 11 jars!

food preservation, Menu plans, Uncategorized

A Little More Canning and What Did We Eat? September 20, 2018

6 Comments

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This week, I was able to get enough tomatoes for both pasta/pizza sauce and taco/enchilada sauce.  I’m super happy with the flavor of both.  I was surprised with more cucumbers when I looked under the bushes that really look as if they are dying.  So, I made more spicy pickles because I also found a couple more jalapeños and Serranos on those bushes.

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One night I roasted a pan of sweet potatoes, white potatoes and acorn squash.  They all turned out great.  The Carnival acorn squash plant has been prolific and I just keep taking the biggest ones that look the most mature, and using them.  This is the 3rd one we’ve eaten so far.  There are quite a few left out there.  Some probably won’t mature, but several will.

We have had chicken with plum sauce twice.  Since I made a new batch, and there are enough prunes to do it again if I get around to it, I am glad that we are finding a way to use it in such a tasty fashion.

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We are still eating zucchini, although I’m happy to report it has slowed down to a manageable level.  It is nice to saute some zucchini with onion until just crisp-tender.  This is an old picture, so it doesn’t show the yellow crookneck squash, or the scallopini squash or the round ball squash that came up from the few seeds I planted from a summer squash mixture in early August.  The old plants are about done, and will probably die before long, so it will be nice to still have a fresh veggie when that happens for a few more weeks.

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I had Eritrean food with Harnet one day.  Danait was proud as can be of her bike-riding skills.  The bike and helmet were birthday gifts back in June, and she has improved a lot.  Since the only place she can ride is the parking lot of their apartment complex, there is a little routine they do, so I had to do it, too.  It consists of her riding off quickly, with the grown-up chasing her, all the while looking for stray cars and cats (there might be one, you never know!).  She was telling me they do it 3 times some days.  I was done at one trip around their course:)  It was a good workout.  Lunch was great. I took a salad to add to the food Harnet cooked.  Of course, she sent some home.  This time it was the red lentils she likes to make and some rice with mixed vegetables in it.  The girls here at home have been eating it as taco filling.

I got some pork cutlets on mark-down last week, so we used them this week.  Rob grilled them after marinading them for a while in one of his concoctions.  They were delicious.  We ate lots of salad, piles of tomatoes, some canned and fresh fruit, a few potatoes, and some other side dishes.  It’s going to be harder to plan dinner when the garden dies, but it’s still limping along for now.  I’m glad. It’s an awesome time of year when I have so much fresh produce.

 

 

 

Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Sept. 15, 2018

22 Comments

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Last weekend, while we had the camper out, some friends dropped a trailer of wood by.  It was chopped, split, and dry.  We are so thankful and grateful.  I’ve been stacking it in the back shed several times this week, but am not quite done because there’s a lot.  Isn’t that wonderful?    When we got home, Rob backed the camper up as much as he could, but will probably need to hitch it up and back it in a little more once the wood is out of the way.

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The canning continued.  I did more tomatoes, pickles, plum sauce, salsa, and froze my unexpected crop of green beans.  I think they ended up yielding around 6-8 pints–tons for bushes that were supposed to be done!  When I did the salsa, I didn’t quite have enough tomatoes for the entire batch, but too many for a 1/2 batch.  So, I added about 5 cups of chocolate cherry tomatoes from the garden, and it worked beautifully.  It has just the right amount of zip, which makes me happy.  It varies so much from the peppers you use.   I’ve been getting a few raspberries every couple of days and have been freezing them as well.

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I gratefully accepted tomatoes from both my sister and aunt.  All the dribbles and dabs are starting to add up to the 50 pint goal I have.  I’m over 1/2 way there now, and I just picked a large bowlful yesterday evening from my garden, and Rob picked a few from my aunt’s.  Thankfully, they hold for a few days after picking them.  I also picked Italian prunes (plums) from my sister’s house for the plum sauce and she gave me apples and pears for eating while I was there.  I have now robbed all the peppers that were ripe in her garden, and almost all from mine.  I’m glad things are getting used.

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I pulled up more carrots. They sure got huge this year.  There is about 2-3 feet of row left to pull, and then we will have eaten them all.  I put them in the crock pot with a roast and some potatoes this time.  We’ve had that twice this week so far.  It is so good–reminds me of my childhood where we had roast almost every Sunday after church.  I also cooked some chicken, we opened some of the soup I canned, plus there was one jar that did not seal from the chicken-rice soup I canned this week.

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I have not bought very many groceries for several weeks now.  Today, I made up for it.  I found wonderful sales for Tillamook cheese for $4.99/loaf–must buy 3 (are you kidding?  Thrilled that I could have 3!!!). Eggs for 96c/dozen, cereal for 99c/box, grapes for 96c/lb, several free items like French bread, a lentil pasta kit, some random drinks, a snack bar, and then many, many assorted items I had ran out of or just wanted because they were good deals and we would eat them, such as refried beans for $1/can for really busy nights when I run out of my home-made stash, a little sugar, some brown sugar–mundane, everyday items.  I used a $5 off $50 coupon at Safeway.

People have given us bottles and we drink beverages. Here in Oregon, bottle deposit is 10c/can or bottle.  Over time, we have taken the empty bottles and cans to Bottle Drop and had the money put onto my card.  For the first time, I used my Bottle Drop card in a store.  They have a program where they give you 20% extra at certain stores.  So, I redeemed $50 worth, and got to spend $60.   That was $10 in absolutely free groceries and the $50 felt free, although it wasn’t, as you pay bottle deposit on most beverages you buy, even water, here in Oregon.

These 2 stores (Fred Meyers and Safeway) were my goal for today.  We did Grocery Outlet a few days ago for the few things they had there that we use.  I also did Natural Grocers for a couple of things I needed from there.  But today was the big shopping trip.   I loaded coupons onto my store cards.  I took coupons from the displays when available while shopping.  I loaded Ibotta rebates onto that app. I matched the store coupons to the Ibotta rebates to find items that were very low cost and some were even free.  Then, after shopping, I submitted the receipts to Ibotta, gaining around $17 in rebates and bonuses.  So, today, I paid around $140 for what the receipts say was over $300 in groceries and will have around $17 coming back when I cash out that app.   (Of course, $50 was for returned bottles, but I’m still very pleased.) It did take a long time to do all that, but now I’m set again for most items for quite a while, I think.

We cooked for the college aged kids at church on Tuesday.  We were way, way below the set budget because we made tamale pie and used dried beans that I cooked and froze for this reason ahead of time.  I used our garden cucumbers and cherry tomatoes on salad made from purchased lettuce.  I got another bunch of zucchini, so made a squash/onion medley, which surprisingly got eaten up.   I made a fruit crisp and Rice Krispie treats for dessert. (I only did both because I was using up some frozen fruit that needed to be used and thought I needed more dessert, which I actually did not, but you never know)

We had 6 doctors’ appointments between Rob, myself and Patsy.  We made it to all of them on time, and the insurance covered them, which is a huge blessing to us.  While I was at mine, I got my flu shot and found out that my blood sugars were in a better place than they have been for quite a long while.  I’ve been working hard at it, and can always do better, but was very encouraged by that news.

I did exercise class twice, using our membership at the YMCA.

I bought some items for Patsy that were sorely needed at a sale at Macy’s and saved a large amount from regular prices.  I got myself a few things as well, using a gift card from my birthday.  And, no, we will not be modeling some of these items or showing pictures of them, but, we are still very happy to have them for such a low price.  To get a certain discount, I had to use my Macy’s card, which I promptly paid off then and there to make sure we did not end up with a bill we don’t need right now.

food preservation

Pickled Peppers in the Pantry Are Not a Necessity–But I Canned Some Anyway!

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Every few years, I can just a few jars of pickled jalapeño peppers.  I have some teeny, tiny jars I use for this purpose.  Today, I went up to my sister’s house and picked her jalapeño peppers, since the pathetic crop I got has mostly been used when I made salsa the other day.  Last time, the directions were simple.  Put peppers in jars.  Cover with vinegar.  Can.  The recipe I found this year was a little more complicated, as in mix vinegar, water and salt, pour over, can for 10 minutes in a hot water bath canner.  It still was mostly vinegar.  When I use them, it doesn’t seem to matter that they’ve been canned in vinegar.  I just fish out the peppers and add them to whatever I want to spice up.

I only use them for a few things, so these 8 jars will easily be enough for the year.  In the past, I have added one small jar to a large pot of chili that needed a little zip.  Another time, I’ve used them to heat up salsa if I was making a small batch.  Another thing I do is to add one small jar to a large pot of beans when I’m making refried beans, especially if I’m out of peppers I have frozen or in a big hurry.  There have been a few other things that escape me that I’ve done with them.

I’m happy and thankful that my sister shared, as this was the year I ran out after not doing it for a year or two.  Some years, the jalapeños are so loaded.  Not this year for either one of us.  It was great to get a few to spice up our winter!

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I added both Serranos and Jalepenos to the pickles I made this morning, along with some red pepper flakes.  They ought to be spicy and zippy!  This batch has the most peppers in it than any I have made so far.  Every time I think those cucumbers are done, they give me a few more.

The beans also surprised me by giving me quite a few yellow and green beans.  They were supposed to be done, but I didn’t get the vines pulled, and they re-bloomed, and the rest is history.  I froze them tonight.

Tomorrow, we have several doctor’s appointments.  Before and after those, I have some tomatoes I need to deal with.  My sister sent a bunch home, and I have those I picked a couple of days ago.  I’m still not where I want to be with tomatoes, so I’m delighted to have them.  I don’t think I’ll grow the San Marzano Gigantic-a again, though.  They are late to ripen, and are cracking and molding easily with this little bit of rain we have had. Maybe they will taste so good it will be worth it, but I’m not sure.  I’ll decide next winter:). In the meanwhile, there are those, some Willamettes and some Glaciers still chugging along, and I’m getting a bowlful every few days.  When I add contributions from my aunt and sister, I think I’ll soon be where I want to be.  When you think that there are 52 weeks in a year, and I use tomatoes at least once a week in cooking, often more if you count salsa and other products I make, well, you see what is motivating me to keep scrounging them up!

Saving Money, Vacations

Thriving in My Thrifty Week–September 9, 2018

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Down at the coast again–crazy, I know!  We took one last quick trip camping at the beach this weekend.  We were fortunate enough that Lovana had the ability to get time off and go along, so we took her down there.  She hasn’t been able to go at all this summer until now.  It was a whirlwind trip, and we are back home already.  Because I knew we were going again, I was able to leave a lot of things in the fridge of the camper last week. I left clothing enough in there for this time, and things like my embroidery were also just left in there.  After we returned this afternoon, we really cleaned it out of perishable things and things I would want.  I’m also going to wash some bedding, and actually got in the bunkhouse where the girls sleep while we were down there, and cleaned out a lot of cluttery things and wiped off the window ledges, etc.  That’s not necessarily frugal, but it counts as a feel-good moment, for sure:)

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We went clamming in Yaquina Bay, where Patsy skunked me–getting 11 clams while I only got 5, and mine were smaller:). We just cleaned and froze them, and another meal of clam chowder is on the horizon in the future.  Rob went down with us, and he did get one.  It was a different kind, and he dug for it in a different area while we were raking for ours out further.

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Before we left on Friday afternoon, we had a busy, productive week.  Patsy started school, and Rob and I worked many, many hours with the kids, as they are now on vacation and we will not work with them this week at all.  We got the chore routine going, by having the kids do them several days this week.  Rob took Michaela to her volunteering.  I took her to the zoo on Jake’s first day of school.  She had so much fun.  We went to the tigers 3 times, some other things twice, and skipped several animals entirely.  A cheetah decided to sit down by the viewing window, and Michaela sat there for at least 15-20 minutes, just enjoying the big cat.  I took food with us, and we re-filled the 2 water bottles purchased at the zoo in years past.  If you take the time to wash them and bring them back, they will re-fill them with soda for $1.   We also got one order of fries for us girls to share. (J went with us.). I used our zoo pass for admission.  It was a frugal, fun day.  It was so nice to have a relaxing day after all the canning I had been doing before and after watching the kids.

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I pre-cooked and prepared some of our food for camping so it would be easy while we were there.  I made it super easy, and just used the jarred sauce and didn’t even add meat this time.  We used up parmesan cheese packets that I’d had in a ziplock for ages.  They were from when the older girls ordered pizza at some point.  Lovana took us out to lunch yesterday.  It was a nice treat, and we ate the food I took the rest of the time.

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Before my sister’s family went on vacation, I was over there working with the kids.  My brother-in-law kindly offered me all the rest of the perishable food that would go bad while they were gone.  I got 2 sad bananas and made banana-coconut bread for the trip.  There was cilantro and 2 halves of white onion, so I added garden tomatoes and peppers and made Pico de Gallo.  There were corn chips in the camper, so we ate it with them.  There were some limes, so I juiced them out and froze the juice in tiny containers for when I have a recipe that calls for them, after I used what I needed for the Pico.  Rob saved them a fortune by taking them to the airport and he will pick them up.  Parking is quite expensive up at the airport.

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Rob made stuffed zucchini one night for dinner.  It was great, and a welcome meal after coming home from work.  The zucchini has slowed down to a nice level of production, and we enjoy having it in more moderate quantities.

My aunt passed a few tomatoes on to me, and I got 5 more pints with what I had on hand from my garden, plus hers.  I hope to get another small batch of pints this week, as well.  Little by little, I’m coming to the end of the canning season.  I still have a few more things I want to make, though, like salsa, salsa verde from the remaining green tomatoes once the season is over, maybe taco sauce if I can find a good recipe, some dried herbs, etc.   My focus is still on using the fresh items as much as possible while they are available, but we have started popping open a few jars.  That’s what they are for, and I’m glad to have them.

How did your week go?  Did you have any “feel-good” cleaning moments or save money in a creative way?

 

Saving Money, Vacations

Thriving in My Thrifty Week–September 2, 2018

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This is one of my favorite times of the year.  The canning cupboard is getting full, the garden is winding down but still producing, and the weather is cooling down.  There is still more preserving to do, but a lot has been accomplished.  It won’t be long until I turn my energy to other projects, like cleaning!  There are some areas in the house that have been neglected, for sure:)

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We spent a few deliciously cool days down at the beach, camping.  While we were there we went crabbing, clamming and fishing.  Since we already had our licenses, were able to camp for free using our park pass, and took our food with us, we spent very little extra money.  It was very restful, which is good, because we hit the ground running once we returned home.

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We purchased albacore tuna from off the docks and canned it once we got home.  We got 40 assorted jars, mostly 1/2 pints.  We caught both crab and clams.  I made clam chowder, ate crab, and froze the rest.  There is just a little bit of each in the freezer, and I need to use them quickly, as they don’ t last very long.

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Before we left, I picked peaches at my sister’s and she gave me some pears.  I put them in the drawers in the fridge, and they lasted just fine until I got home.

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I bought grapes for 99c/lb at the beach and brought them home, since they would have been off that great sale price once I got back.  Marachino cherries were purchased before we left, in a big container at Cash and Carry.  They are much more reasonable that way.   I was all set to make fruit cocktail once I got home.  I also made crushed tomatoes from the ones that had ripened while I was away.

Not long ago, my rickety pear tree in the back yard just fell over one Sunday afternoon.   I was able to pick a few now-ripened pears from it where it lay, and use them in the fruit cocktail.  I cut a bunch of branches off, and will put them in the weed bin once it has been emptied.  It is full now.  The tree is being removed little by little, and then Rob will chain-saw up the trunk for firewood. Ironically, we have not harvested good pears from that old tree until now:)

I also got one load of beef broth canned.  There were two packages of soup bones in the freezer that I wanted to put into a more usable form.  I still have some broth and all the bits of meat to deal with in the next couple of days.  In the next couple of months, our beef farmer will be calling to let us know that our 1/4 beef is ready.  We need to make room in the freezer for that over the next few weeks.

We watched several library movies and I read 2 books I had downloaded for free onto my Kindle before I left for camping.  Once home again, Rob took Jake to the library to pick up some books that were on hold and also took him to garage sales while I canned.  In the afternoon, since I was pretty tired from canning, I read several chapters to Jake of a much anticipated book, since it had arrived at the library!

Jake did not go camping this time, as his big sister took him to Disneyland.  Yes.  Really.  She did.  They had a blast and he arrived at my house yesterday looking like a character from Star Wars–a starfighter in full regalia.  He was so cute, but not in a mood for pictures, so I respected his decision, as hard as it was!

I grabbed a few more school supplies at rock-bottom prices, once I realized I needed a few more of certain items.

I did not have time to grocery shop on Friday, as I normally do, and I did not get time yesterday, either.  I will hang on to the weekly money for later in this week, or save it.  We have plenty to eat for now.

What did you do to save money this week?