Garden Update

The beans, baby, corn , and tomatoes are doing great. Tons of tiny green cherry tomatoes that I just cannot wait to get to. Really surprised about the beans. Have tried growing them the last 3 years and this is the first year they have grown. Huge bushes, only bad thing about them is that they over run the Brussel spouts! :( Which I wanted so bad. I love Brussel spouts. Oh well. Next year will plant them some where else. By their selves. We are in a drought though, so I have been having to water them every evening. Thursday we are supposed to have heat index of about 120 degrees so they might have to be watered 2 times. The local weather man said that "it will be the hottest that most Hoosiers will have ever felt in their lives"! I grew up in Texas so I have felt hotter. But for Indiana this is super hot.

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Yellowstone Supervolcano

This is what I watched this morning. Kind of scary. How do you prepare for something like this? We live in Indiana and it would pretty much be messed up to by the ash cloud. Something like this would be the worst thing to happen to the world.

There is some information online about the supervolcanos. But, I really think that it is something that no one can really know how bad it will be. Most likely be worst than we could ever imagine and would affect the whole world. Keep track of the recent earthquakes in that area on USGS recent Quakes List. Looking at it now there have been a few in that area. My husband was out in that area a couple of weeks ago and they had shut down some of the park and roads because of rocks falling. Pretty scary stuff going on and something to keep an eye out for.



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An Organized Food Storage Pantry

There is nothing worse then trying to find something in a pantry and not being able to find what you need or because the Pantry is so disorganized you don't even know what you do have. You have got to have a plan and an ongoing shopping list so that your food storage is well-stocked and organized. In a pinch you will have what you need to make your family a great meal.

Know what you use the most of and what your family likes. Don't fill your pantry with foods that you do not use often. That is just a waste of space and money. For example: If your family doesn't like rice, then don't rush out and get a 50 pound bag of it.

Only buy in bulk the stuff that you use the most often. You do not want a lot of bulk items in your pantry that will not be used and end up going bad.

Stock up on canned items as often as you can. Canned tomatoes, beans, veggies, etc are a great thing to have a lot of on hand. They can spruce up a soup or any meal in a pinch. Especially when you do not have fresh items on hand. In an emergency you will have canned items on hand to be able to make great food.

Sometimes unwrapping items will make them fit better in your pantry and make room for more of that item. I have to do this a lot since I have such a small place to put food and paper items.

Keep your Pantry cool. Don't store long term food storage next to any appliance that might give off heat. This can greatly reduce the shelf life of your food storage.

Manage your pantry by keeping an ongoing inventory. I have a notebook right with my stockpile where I keep track of what is used and what is added. That way I know exactly what is needed. Also this helps remind me to rotate the food storage! The new goes into the back and older in the front so that it gets used first. No risk of wasting food with this set up. Saves us money and keeps up stocked up. Right now I am pretty confident that we have about 6 months worth of food storage. Slowly building up to a year. Now that I have a bit of extra money each week it will be built on a bit quicker.

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Guest Post - Frugal Family Meals

Frugal dinners don’t have to be boring or tasteless. In fact, some of my most frugal dinners are the most loved by my family. My easy, go-to meals are so inexpensive to make, that I usually splurge on a special dessert just because I have money left over in my budget. Here are my top three fabulous, frugal, family meals.

Marinara in minutes

Marinara sauce needs few ingredients and is rich in vitamins and nutrients, especially if you choose to serve it over whole-wheat pasta. My recipe is very simple. In a large frying pan, I sauté a few chopped garlic cloves in olive oil until soft. Then I pour a large can of crushed tomatoes into the pan. I add in a pinch of dried basil and salt and pepper. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes. It’s a very simple sauce that is versatile and delicious. It’s also made with pantry ingredients that are very inexpensive. A green salad and garlic toast complete the meal, and everyone in the family looks forward to this simple yet elegant meal.

Creamy chicken and vegetables

For this recipe, all you need is a cup or two of cooked chicken to make a hearty meal for a family of four. Make a simple white sauce and boil up eight to 12 ounces of egg noodles. Turn your oven onto 350 degrees and butter a large, shallow casserole dish. You can use the vegetables of your choice. I usually defrost and drain a 16-ounce package of frozen mixed vegetables like a medley of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Feel free to use fresh vegetables. Be sure to cook them until they are crisp yet tender. Now mix your drained vegetables, cooked chicken and white sauce together. Place your egg noodles in the bottom of your casserole and pour on the sauce, vegetables and chicken. Top the casserole with buttered breadcrumbs, Parmesan or cheddar cheese and bake until hot and bubbly for 20 minutes. You can substitute a can of cream of chicken soup for the white sauce if you wish, and it only adds about a dollar to the cost of your meal.

Freezer minestrone

Soup is good any time of the year, especially when it’s rich in flavor and texture. I keep a container in my freezer for any bits of leftover gravy, vegetables or meats. When it’s filled to the top, I defrost it and put it into my slow cooker. I always cut up the leftovers into bite size pieces before I freeze them, so this soup takes no time to make. Once the leftovers are in the slow cooker, I add in chicken, beef or vegetable stock and a can of tomatoes. Then I chop up some fresh veggies to add to the pot like onions, celery and carrots. After four hours or so, I take a handful of thin spaghetti and crack it into bite-size pieces. I add the uncooked pasta into the pot and let it cook for another hour or so until the pasta is tender. I serve this meal with homemade breadsticks that I make from a pound of pizza dough. Cut the dough into long strips, baste with olive oil and cook for about one-half hour at 350 degrees.

These three frugal dinners cost pennies to make, yet everyone in the family looks forward to eating these great tasting and easy-to-make meals.

My name is Nisha

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Just Saved Us About $20.00 A Week!

I found out something on Thursday that really made me freak out. My son has been seeing a girl for the last 6 months whose family owns the local (really good) Mexican restaurant. Well, anyway, about 4 days a week he will go up there and sit while she works and when ever he comes home, he would come home with a cup of salsa. I never thought anything about it and it has been going on for 4 nights a week for 6 months. OK. Thursday he comes to me before he leaves and says "Mom, I need $5.00." and I asked him, "What for?" and he answered me with, "for salsa". I think my jaw must have hit the floor , because he asked me what was wrong. Come to find out he was not just bringing home salsa , he was buying it and $5.00 a shot. OMG. I immediately freaked out on him. Most likely too much. But , heck, I can think of better things to spend $20.00 on each week. Do you realize how much food storage I could have been getting with an extra $20.00 a week. So I got into my Homemadecookbook and found a salsa recipe and I made it Friday night. The only thing, and since it was my first time of making it, it is kind of too chunky. Next time I make it I will have to figure out how to make it less chunky. It sure taste good.

Spicy Salsa

3 medium tomatos, cored and chopped

3 small scaalions , trimmed and coarsley chopped, ( that is another thing wrong with my salsa - I had forgot to get scallions and only had onion on hand., but I think that is one of the great things about salsa - you can make it to your taste. maybe. LOL)

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

salt

coarsley chopped cilantro

In a large bowl mix everything together, except the cilantro, let it sit for an hour to let the flavors mingle. Just before eating add the cilantro. Mix it all of up real good. Get your tortilla chips and enjoy. I was also thinking that this would be really good on a grilled hamburger.

Well, anyway , now he does not have to spend $20.00 a week on salsa. I can make it at home and he did say that it tasted just like theirs. maybe not as spicy. I am a chicken and only used half of the jalapeno pepper.

The tomatoes were 4 for $1.99 -Man, I wish my tomatoes that I am growing here at home would ripen up. The cilantro was 50 cents a huge bunch. The onion and garlic I already had. The jalepeno pepper was $1.00. And I have enough to last 2-3 days. If it last that long. It is yummy. I know since this is my first time of making this , that I will do some things different next time.

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