Are You Ready?

Winter is just around the corner. The days are getting shorter, the air is turning cooler. My kids were so excited to see their breath outside the other morning. The trees in my neighborhood are just spectacular- I don't remember them ever being so bright and utterly breathtaking. It is definitely the time of year I start thinking of hunkering down, finding comfort in flannel sheets, wool socks, and a pot of spicy chili.

If your winters get cold like ours in Missouri do (most of the time, that is. Our weather can be pretty fickle sometimes), do you have a plan for bad weather? Blizzards, ice storms, power outages, and just being snowed in and not being able to get out to the stores? Do you keep enough food in your house to last you more than the average American's 3 day pantry? How about gasoline for your cars, chainsaws, generators, etc? What about warm clothing and extra blankets, alternative cooking methods and lighting? Do you have enough smoke detectors ( with good batteries in them), fire extinguishers, flashlights and matching batteries, a basic first aid kit, enough toilet paper to last at least a couple of days? What about entertainment- books, games, paper and art supplies to keep cabin fever at bay?

The next few posts will deal with all these questions and talk about why its important to prepare for things not to be normal, especially in winter. Maybe you've seen the people who call themselves "preppers" on tv who spend thousands of dollars on all kinds of survival gear and MRE's? My goal is not to be a victim of fear, anxiety, or irrationality. I don't feel the need to live in a bunker in the middle of nowhere with 50 years worth of toilet paper and protein bars. My goal is to make my family as comfortable in any crisis (however small) while staying within our budget, and leaning on the providence of the Lord. As a Christian, I absolutely do not think it is incongruent to both trust in the sovereignty of God to provide and to prepare for an uncertain future by stocking up and learning new skills. I know some people hold a different view, and that's fine. But the more Christians prepare for emergencies, the better off they are to help others when/if the need arises and to be a witness to the suffering as well. 

Noah started building the ark and gathering supplies well before the rains came. Joseph gathered enough food for his people when the times were prosperous that when the droughts came and destroyed everything, none of his people starved. 

The first few posts will deal with the very basics- what to prepare for, how to prepare on a budget, and what the Red Cross, FEMA, and other groups recommend. Stay tuned!

How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar...and How to Use It

Recently I bought a big box of apples at the amish store to dehydrate into Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Chips. I also made a few pints of applesauce. I could have composted the cores and peels, or used them to make jelly or maybe gotten a small amount of juice out of them, but instead I decided to try to make my own apple cider vinegar. 

Basically, you just take all the scraps- peels, stems, cores, all of it (except any diseased spots- which you won't have to worry about if you get yours from the grocery store) and submerge them in water in a container you can easily cover with a towel or cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Ideally the scraps will keep under the water completely, but usually they float to the top. Don't worry too much about that.

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar over the top for every quart or so of water and cover lightly- the mixture still needs to get oxygen so the yeast will stay alive and do its job. Leave it in a dark warmish place for a week. I keep mine on top of the fridge since that seems to be the warmest place in my kitchen.

After a week, strain out and compost the scraps and keep the water.Pour it back in the jar and cover it lightly again and put it again in a dark place- wrap a towel around it or put it in a paper sack. It will continue to grow the "mother" for a few weeks. It will start to smell vinegary and that is good. 

After a couple of days you will probably start seeing a filmy thing floating on the top- that's the mother. The mother is the important part (aren't all mothers?) It is full of living enzymes that are super good for you.When its done, you can use the mother to start a new batch and it won't take as long, The mother will get thicker as the weeks pass.

Keep checking on it if you're a nerd like me and get excited about weird things like this, or don't and just leave it be. When about 4-6 weeks have gone by, pour off the mother into a clean jar, along with some of the vinegar and all the sediment on the bottom. Keep it for when you start another batch with fresh apple juice or scraps. Use the new vinegar the same as you would store-bought. 

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar:

as a facial astringent

as a conditioning rinse after washing your hair with baking soda- it promotes shine and hair growth and is anti-dandruff

as a mouthwash- it is antiseptic and also helps keep bad breath away

as a detoxifying daily drink ( mix a couple of tablespoons with water or regular apple juice)- the probiotics help with all kinds of tummy troubles

as a swelling reducing rub

as a sinus decongestant

as an insulin regulator- it is anti-glycemic

as a sunburn remedy

as an arthritis relief- the potassium helps block calcium build up in joints

Bulk Pancake Mix

Here is something really simple and quick to make that will provide you with a lot of breakfasts in a jiffy- your own homemade bulk pancake mix. And its so good too!

{From areal-lifehousewife.com}

Homemade Pancake Mix in Bulk

Author: Joy of Cooking

 

Ingredients

• 9 cups flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup plus 2½ tablespoons baking powder
• 6 teaspoons salt
• 1½ cups milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl and store in an airtight container.
2. For a batch of 10-12 pancakes, combine milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add a heaping 1¾ cup of pancake mix and stir just until combined.
3. Pour onto a greased hot griddle, using about ¼ cup for each pancake. Let cook on each side until lightly browned.

Homemade Ketchup

Confession: I bought 200 pounds of tomatoes the other day.

But it's ok because I had a plan. I mean what crazy person goes and buys 8 boxes of tomatoes without a plan? Not me. Nope. Certainly not.

Ok, I had a plan for about 1/3 of them.

I also bought 10 dozen eggs and 4 pie pumpkins.

We ate alot of sandwiches that week.

And didn't do a whole lot else.

Some people thought we were a little cuckoo but now I have a pantry full of yummy homemade goodies that will last a long (long) time.

Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, salsa, hot sauce, barbeque sauce, and ketchup.

Why make ketchup when its so cheap at the store, you ask?

Doesn't it take a long time?

Yes, yes it does. But- No corn syrup! No high fructose corn syrup! No "natural and artificial flavorings"! And a lot less salt than commercial ketchup.

Here is the recipe I used, from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I tried it out on my 5 year old- the one who can eat her weight in the stuff so she's kind of the resident expert, and although she was hesitant to try something mommy made herself, she was surprised and happy that it tasted just like the stuff in the fridge.

Makes about 7 pint jars...

3 tbs celery seeds

4 tsp whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces

1 1/2 tsp allspice

3c cider vinegar

24 lbs tomatoes, cored and quartered

3c chopped onions

1 tsp cayenne pepper

11/2c sugar

1/4c pickling or canning salt

1. Tie spices in a spice bag

2. In a stainless steel pot, combine vinegar and spice bag. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand about 25 min. Discard spice bag.

3. Meanwhile, in another stainless steel pot, combine tomatoes, onions, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently 20 minutes. Add infused vinegar and boil gently until vegetables are soft and mixture begins to thicken.

4.Working in batches, transfer mixture to a food mill and discard solids.

5. Return liguid to sauce pan. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently until volume is reduced by half and mixture has the consistency of commercial ketchup.

6.Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars, and lids.

7. Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in headspace. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims. Center lid on jar, screw bands on fingertip-tight.

8.Place jars in canner making sure they are completely covered with water by about 2 inches. Water bath for 15 minutes. Remove lid, wait 5 minutes and remove jars. Let them sit at least 12 hours before moving them. You can remove the bands before storing. Make sure all lids have sealed by pressing down the middle of the lid- if it doesn't flex up and down its sealed! I usually lift the jar by the lid also just as a secondary measure to make sure its sealed. Store in a cool darkish place.

And in case you're wondering about the eggs-

We go through alot of eggs for eating and baking, so some we used up, but most of them I broke individually into little plastic cups, scrambled a bit and froze to use later because our egg lady is out and we like our farm fresh eggs!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Making your own peanut butter is so easy and you know exactly what is in it. And it can be cheaper than buying the "all-natural" kind.

I get organic roasted peanuts at Nature's Pantry for about $2 a pound. I get a few pounds at a time. If you don't think you'll use all you get in a timely manner they freeze well. I fill my blender cup a little less than halfway. You don't have to add any oil because the peanuts will release their own oil as they mash up. It will take awhile. Your husband will come in the kitchen, peer in the blender and suggest its not going to work. But don't worry- it will! 

You can make it as crunchy or smooth as you like - the longer it blends, the smoother it gets. Then just scoop it out into a mason jar or into the empty peanut butter jar

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Did you know it is so easy to make your own vanilla? I have always bought the cheapest imitation stuff. My sister imports hers from Mexico. This is a better (than the first) and cheaper(than the second) option to either. It takes awhile, so start now!

You will need some vanilla beans and vodka and a dark jar with a lid or a clear jar with a lid and a place to hide it.

Take the beans and slit them lengthwise top to bottom on one side. Pour the vodka in the jar, add the beans, give it a shake and screw the lid on. Let it infuse in the dark at least 3 months, but 6-12 is better. (thats why you should start now) Then repeat with a new batch in a couple of weeks or months. When you begin using the vanilla, just add more vodka to the jar and shake it up. Thats it!

Homemade Baby Food : Stage 1

Now that The Babe has a tooth and is starting to eat "real" baby food, I am almost through my stash he got for Christmas. I have been saving those little plastic containers and lids and they are so convenient for holding homemade baby food.

Today I peeled,chopped, and boiled 4 lbs. of carrots (and about a cup of frozen corn we picked this summer), mashed them up in my blender and froze them into the containers as well as a couple of ice cube trays which give me the perfect size single servings for him right now. Label and date and call it a day. So easy. $1.76 for 32 servings and I know exactly what is in each one.

Homemade Frozen Pizza

I never would have thought of making frozen pizza at home. I usually just make it to eat right then. Tonight I doubled the Pizza Dough recipe and made 2 medium-ish pizzas for the freezer. Here's how I did it:

1. After the dough has risen, punch down and dump out on a floured surface. Knead to bring it together, until it is soft and elastic and easiily forms a ball. Transfer to a circular pizza pan (or whatever pan you intend to bake it on) and press with your fingers or use a rolling pin to stretch the dough out to fully cover your pan.
2. Sprinkle your dough with garlic salt and italian seasonings if you want to
3. Bake at 400 for about 8-12 minutes until firm and dry but not too dark brown.
4. Let it cool, then add sauce, cheese, and toppings. Freeze on the baking sheet until completely frozen, then take off the pan and wrap in plastic wrap

Dog Treats

For awhile in high school, I worked at a little boutique-type shop that made and sold dog biscuits. All morning long, 5 or 6 of us would mix dough with giant industrial size mixers, roll it out and cut biscuits by hand. It sounds tedious but it was actually really fun. We made lots of different kinds, of all sizes and shapes.
All-natural dog treats can cost quite a bit, but here are some you can make at home that hardly cost anything at all. And they are completely safe for little humans, just in case they think they need a treat too...


Dog Treats from Fake-It-Frugal
Ingredients:2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Water
3 Cups Flour

Mix everything together until dough forms a ball. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and it will mix up really fast. Roll out dough onto surface ( doesn't need to be floured, they won't stick) and cut into strips with a knife, then across in the size you want, or use mini cookie cutters ( or regular size if you really, really love your dog) Bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Divide into a week's worth of treats and store the excess in the freezer.

Enchilada Sauce

One of HH's favorite meals is chicken enchiladas. I always seem to forget to get enchilada sauce at the store though. It never occurred to me that it would be possible to make it at home. Here is a really quick and easy way to make it yourself. It looks, smells, and tastes just like the store bought version, and is much cheaper. This made enough for me to freeze two portions and use a third for dinner.

Red Enchilada Sauce
{Budget Bytes}

Total Recipe cost: $0.80
Recipe Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 0 min. Cook time: 5-10 min. Total: 5-10 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.10
2 Tbsp	all-purpose flour	$0.02
2 Tbsp	chili powder	$0.30
2 cups	water	$0.00
3 oz.	tomato paste	$0.27
1/2 tsp	cumin	$0.03
1/2 tsp	garlic powder	$0.03
1/4 tsp	cayenne pepper	$0.02
3/4 tsp	salt	$0.03
TOTAL		$0.80

STEP 1: Add the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder to a medium pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.

STEP 2: After one minute, whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.

STEP 3: Starting with a 1/2 teaspoon, add salt to taste. I used about 3/4 teaspoon total. The sauce is now ready to use!

Trash to Treasure: Green Onions

Did you know you can grow green onions from the bulbs you would normally throw away? I have garlic(on the left) and onions on my windowsill and both are doing very well.  I was pretty skeptical, but today I "harvested" about 1/3 cup, just about what I could buy at the store. I left the stalks in the jar to see how much more I can get from them. I froze the onions in a baby food jar for later.
I've read that you can cut off the garlic stems just like the onions and use them in place of garlice cloves, or you can plant the cloves in soil, cut off the green tops, and that the clove will use its energy to grow a new head of garlic. Pretty interesting. I will have to get some soil and see if it's true.

Not bad for free. And they taste great.



Confession...

I bought eggs. 2 dozen actually.

I tried making brownies without eggs, with applesauce instead, but it turned into a bubbling, oily, black mess. 

Live and learn.

So, I guess I will just make brownies when I have eggs. I bet it would work instead of the oil, though.

Anyway, Im thinking I need to redo my challenge. I want to cut down my grocery budget anyway, and making things from scratch will definitely help. So here's what I'm thinking.

I will post over in the sidebar my total allotted grocery budget by week and by month. Im going to try for half my normal budget for the next 4 weeks. Usually it's about $500 a month for the 6 of us. So for the next month ( starting yesterday when I got the eggs) I will have $62.50 a week to spend on food and household products- whatever I can't make myself. I think this is way more doable and encouraging to me than telling myself I can't spend any money for x amount of time, and then feeling like I failed the first time I need something.

I will report on what I spend and what is left for that week and put any leftover change in a collection for our vacation later in the Spring. Sound good? Maybe it will encourage someone else to learn this stuff alongside me and save money and learn new skills too.

Homemade French Fries

One thing I miss about not eating out so much is the french fries. I love french fries. Red Robin has some great ones, and Arby's curly fries are very good. And we can't forget the "world's best" - McDonalds. For some reason the store bought fries never seem to compare to the "real" ones, although Oreida's Fast Food Fries come close. But I don't like spending almost $5 on a bag that will last maybe 2 meals in our house, and only 1 if we have guests. Aldi's usually has their 10lb and 20lb bags of potatoes for .99 so I can make a lot of these very cheaply.
To make really good french fries, all you really need are potatoes, water, and oil. Plus whatever seasonings you like. They are very easy to make and I always get that nice little feeling of accomplishing some great task when I stack all those bags in the freezer.

Scrub and peel the potatoes. Cut to desired thickness longways.Let sit covered with water for at least 24 hours. However, the longer the better. I usually do 2 days. This helps leach the starch from the potatoes, and in the end will make them softer on the inside, crunchier on the outside. When you are ready to fry them, pour off the water and let them come to about room temperature. Get your oil ready. Peanut oil burns hotter and faster but you can use canola or vegetable oil just as well. 

 Get your tongs and grab a few fries. Lower them gently into the hot oil. ( to test oil, either use a thermometer or stick a fry all the way down to the bottom and if it sizzles, its ready) These will be your test fries. You don't want the fries to get too brown too quickly because they probably wont be done in the middle. And you dont want them to take too long to get brown. It's a delicate balance. It should take about about 1- 1 1/2 minutes, maybe 2 to get a nice general golden brown to the bunch. Of course some may be darker or lighter than others, but overall, they should look golden brown.

Grab them up with the tongs and spread them out on a wire rack so the oil drips off.

When they have cooled off, scoop them up into whatever size portions work for your family and freeze. To use, just spread out on a cookie sheet and season. Bake at 425 until hot throughout.

Don't Waste It

source

This poster from 1917 is just as relevant today.

In the midst of economic uncertainty, it is important to conserve our hard earned money, and to learn to spend it wisely. The recent governmental regulations have made a bit of a dent in our single-income paycheck, as is true for many ,many Americans. One of my hopes for this blog is to give other families a sense of peace in tough economic times. There is much we can do to alleviate the pinch of tightening home budgets.

This month I want to focus on home-made alternatives to common store bought items, as well as stocking up the pantry, something that seems to almost be a thing of the past in a society where we can get nearly anything we want, right up the street at the store.

But for now, some timeless tips on how to live frugally with food:

1. Buy it with thought

A great home-cooked meal doesn't have to be a fancy four-course feast. But it does take some planning. Making a meal plan a few days before you go to the store is a good start to feeding your family well on a budget. Make a note of what you have already at home. Also, think about where the things on your list are coming from, what is in them, and if you could possibly make them yourself. And see if you could buy it in bulk, or at least a few at a time-that way you can start building up a supply and have it on hand the next time you need it.

2. Cook it with care

My husband hunts and we have been able to supplement our meat supply with deer. I was skeptical at first, but I have found that deer meat ( or rather 2/3 deer, 1/3 beef for fat) does not taste any different at all than ground beef. I use deer meat for all our meat dishes except for burgers and meatloaf because those things need a little more fat to hold together. Each package of deer meat is 1 pound, and I always try to save at least 1/2 of the cooked meat for another meal later in the week. And it freezes well, just like ground beef. This way we can get 2 or sometimes even 3 meals from just one package.

\. Since my husband takes his dinner to work with him, and we are making it a rule not to eat out, I know he is going to need a dinner every night during the work week. Most nights I will make dinner for me and the kids, with the intention that he will take the leftovers for his dinner the next night. But sometimes for whatever reason, it works out that there are no leftovers to take. So when I make something like meatloaf for instance, on the off day that I cook his dinner before he goes into work, I will make it in 3 small loaf pans instead of 1 regular size one. This way, he can take one to work and none is wasted, and the other 2 are frozen for some other time. Its especially helpful when our schedule is off and I need something quick to send with him.

3. Use less

Overeating leads to lots of discomfort, both now and later in life, both physically, and financially. We can choose to eat smaller portions or split and save portions. Also, filling up on good-for-you foods vs. not-so-good-for-you foods can make a world of difference in how you feel.

4.Buy local foods

This is something I want to explore this year. There is a lot to be said about the difference in foods grown in our own towns and backyards vs. food shipped in from foreign lands. The term "growing season" seems to be almost outdated when we can pop into the store for nearly any kind of fruit or vegetable year round.

Farmers' Markets are making a comeback for this very reason, and with a little education, anyone can learn to preserve almost everything you could want to eat.

5. Serve just enough

When it is possible, try to cook enough so that dinner and tomorrow's lunch is taken care of in on meal. Know how many servings you will need for both so there is minimal waste.

6. Use what is left

Just today I got all happy inside because I had everything on hand to make tacos. There were only 5 tortillas left in the package so I sent 3 with my husband, and cut up the other 2 for me and the 3 big kids. I used a pound of hamburger(deerburger)  that I had thawed in the fridge the day before yesterday. There was a bit of lettuce in a bag of salad that my sister-in-law had brought for dinner the other night, a tomato from another dinner, a small block of cheddar that I grated up, and a bit of sour cream in the container that I sent with him. Everything but the meat were basically scraps that, by themselves, wouldn't have been worth anything, but put together, they made a whole meal.

The point to all this is, preparation is key to maintaining a budget, no matter what your limit is. Where waste (of food, money, time) is unacceptable, we need to do our part to make sure it doesn't happen.