Antibacterial everything a revisit...

A while back I posted a blog about everything being antibacterial. Well I just saw this article this morning and it reinforced what my gut had told me.  I wanted to share it with you.  Please read and make your decisions for your family.

http://foods4thoughtblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/9-reasons-you-want-to-avoid-hand-sanitizers/

By the way, we don't use antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers at home, And Little Miss S is getting over her 4th cold ever and she turns 5 in a month and only one ever stomach bug and no flu ever.  How many families can say that of their almost 5 year old?

Chili didn't stretch as far.

So I wanted to see if I could stretch chili like I did the pot roast.  Well, it didn't work out that well.  We had Frito Chili pie 3 times, and then I made enchiladas and that lasted for 2 meals.  But that still leaves 5 meals for less than $20 for a family of 5. I am still happy with my results.  I haven't decided whether it will be roasted Chicken or pork roast this week.

Savings Match Up

There is a new service out there for those of you that want to coupon and save as much money as you can on groceries but are short on time or know how.  Savings Match Up will search out the best prices to price match and coupons for you for a small fee.

https://www.facebook.com/SavingsMatchUp
 or email at
savingsmatchup@gmail.com

The essence of Frugality. 8 meals out of one.

If you know me I am truly a tightwad.  I refuse to pay full price for anything at the grocery store or any store.  Since moving to the big city, I have found so many more places to price match for Walmart.  This is awesome since the cost of living is more expensive here.  I am going to explain here how I got the absolute more out of a deal. 

A couple of weeks ago, I found a sale on meat.  I ended up getting a beef roast for $1.49/lb.  That on its own is a really good deal but I stretched that roast out into 8 meals and not just left over pot roast.  

1. On Tuesday, I made pot roast and fresh homemade yeast rolls. 
2. Wednesday morning I packed Mr. J's lunch with Roast beef sliders using the left over yeast rolls. 
3. Wednesday night, for dinner we had Beef Stew. I used the left over broth from cooking the pot roast that I didn't use for Gravy and added red beans, split peas, frozen mixed veggies, cut the left over roast up into bit size pieces, rice, and barley, then added the left over gravy, carrots, potatoes, and peas from the pot roast served with homemade cornbread.  
4. Thursday night for dinner, I took the some of the stew from the night before and put it in a cast iron skillet topped with homemade biscuits for a rustic beef pot pie
5. Friday lunch, I had the the left over rustic pot pie, and J had a bowl of stew and left over cornbread.
6. Saturday Dinner, I made actual pie crust from scratch and made a real pot pie out of the left over stew, and 2 mini pot pies out of the left over crust and 2 ladles of the stew for J to take for lunch next week which would be meals 7 and 8.  

Price break down:

• 3.65lb Round roast             $6.89
• 4 russet potatoes                $0.40         (from a 10lb bag at 2.98)
• 1 lb carrots                        $0.50
• 1/2 package of frozen peas  $0.50
• 3 mushrooms                     $0.10          (from a package that I got for .69)
• various seasonings              $0.50 
• 1/4 bag red beans                $0.25
• 1/4 bag split peas                 $0.25
• 1 bag mixed veggies frozen   $1.00
• 1/2 c rice                             $0.25
• 1/4c pearled barley                $0.13
• Cornbread  ingredients           $0.20 ( equivalent of 2 jiffy mixes)
• Biscuit ingredients                 $0.15(equivalent of 1 bisquick mix)
• Pie crust ingredients              $0.35 
• Fresh yeast rolls ingredients   $1.75

Eight meals for $13.22.  And it is healthy with plenty of veggies.  This week I will see what I can do with Chili!  Enjoy!!!

Baked bean Casserole and Apple betty for dinner.

Good morning to you all.  Last night for dinner I made a dinner that is a favorite in my house.  Baked bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and for dessert Apple betty.  My bunch with the exception on M loves baked bean casserole.  He doesn't  like beans.  Both are easy recipes and they are below.  Mashed potato recipe isn't because just about everybody has their own recipe for that.

Baked bean Casserole
( family of 5)

• 1 lb hamburger meat
• 32 oz pork n beans (canned or fresh made) 
• 10 splashes of  worchestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp of minced onion
• 1/4 c brown sugar

Brown the hamburger meat in a large cast iron skillet,  then add the pork n beans with all the juice,  Worchestershire sauce, onions, and brown sugar stir and throw in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350.  

 Apple betty

• 1 quart of Apple pie filling (I use my canned apple pie filling if using store bought pie filling 2 cans)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tbsp  cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 stick of butter softened

Pour in your pie filling  then mix the other ingredients in another bowl then pour on top and bake at 350 for 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling up and the crust is browned.

Education fun!

Our middle child E(10) is having trouble with place values in math.  We just found this to make it fun to learn. This blog has some great ideas and links to printables to help.

http://eisforexplore.blogspot.com/2013/07/place-value-battleship.html

Moving your Preps.

Unexpectedly Mr. J got an awesome job offer for a job where he could be at home more often.  This by the way would be awesome, because for the last 9 years we have been parted for the majority of the year.  Well, there was one downside to the job.  We have to move to a big city.  There are 3 things that bother me about this.  We have to rent for the first year because of timing issues and the second living in a big city, and the third worry for me, I have to move my preps, stockpiles, and container garden.  OH MY!  Well, we will make it work, we always do.  So in case you find our self in a similar situation, here are a few tips to keep your business to your self, what others call OP SEC.

1. Label your boxes so you know what is in them and which room they go in with out giving away exactly what is in there.  I labeled all my boxes either kitchen or food.  Bathroom or towels for first aid and TP.

2. Find lots sturdy boxes. A local grocery store has been so nice and gives me boxes everyday.  These are great boxes, they are giving me boxes that the 1 gallon milk and water jugs go into.

3. Pack smart, while you want to get as much in a box as you can, it doesn't do you any good if you can't carry it out to the truck. And you really don't want to hurt your back.

4. Pack the truck sensibly.  The things you need first like Kitchen and Bathroom go in the truck last to you can get them off the truck for lunch and potty needs.   If you still have things in your deep freezer and refrigerator then they are the last things on the truck.

5. If you are moving your deep freezer and Refrigerator with food in them, Fill several 2 liter bottles of water and put them in the freezer.  They make huge chunks of ice to help keep things cold in the freezer and Fridge.  If the grid goes down later you can keep things cold for a little while with this trick and then you can drink the water. (By the way, 20 oz bottles filled with water and frozen are great for bug out bags too.  And you can use them in lunch boxes and coolers)

6. Remember not to stress to much.  And try to help the kids transition easier too.