My Adventures with Freezer Cooking, Extreme!

I know...It's an ad. But I LOVE it!
And I WANT it!!!!!!

Hey all! I've been on a little hiatus from the blogging world. Life just happens you know. Well, I've challenged myself to get going again on writing. I am taking a piece of what you will find at MoneySavingMom.com with the  "4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer" series, cutting it, shifting it and shaking it up a little bit. I have created my own list of recipes (which is a myriad of hers, mine and others)  I would like to make and freeze. And I am going to attempt to do it in two weeks, possibly three weeks. Summer is going to be here before I know it and I don't want to be tied to the apartment worrying about dinners, etc. I want to be outside enjoying the long days and warm evenings. There is so much that is offered in Old Louisville during the summer months, I want to be able to enjoy all of them that I can. So freezer cooking is one way I am going to be sure to give myself plenty of opportunity to do just that and so I'll stay away from eating out! I am also using this as a challenge to clear out my pantry!

Here are all the wonderful things I am going to tackle over the next two (to three) weeks. I will link up to the recipes soon.

BBQ Meatballs (x4 so I have plenty for my daughter's graduation party too)

Lasagna Casserole (using my normal recipe, but substituting whatever type of pasta I have on hand)

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Veggie Burgers

Marinated Chicken (easy peasy)

Southwest Rollups

Ham & Cheese Pockets

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

Pumpkins Chocolate Chip Muffins

Glazed Cinnamon Scones

Brown Sugar Biscuit Twists

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes

Breakfast Hot Pockets

Breakfast Burritos

Portioned Baked Oatmeal (batch each of Chocolate Chip & Craisins)

Chewy Granola Bars (Smores and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)

Cream of Mushroom & Cream of Chicken soups for use in some of the casseroles

Applesauce Granola for use in the granola bars

Baking Mix (homemade Bisquick, for use in various items) 

After I decided on the items I am going to make, I made a list in Excel of all the ingredients and sorted them so I could get a good estimate of what I would need from the grocery store. I compared what I had already and made my list from there. I may get everything in one trip, I may not. But this way I can comparison shop and also watch for deals if they come up. Most of the dinners I will be making to eat one night and will double the recipe so I can freeze a batch. My goal is to also do one breakfast or sweet item each night along with the dinner item.  

I will begin by grocery shopping Saturday morning. My plan from there is to get the chicken I need cooked and cubed, make the granola, homemade baking mix and then the creamed soups. These are all needed for other days cooking. I also hope to get veggies washed, chopped, and stored for use later to make my prep time during the week (after work, between soccer) as short as possible.  

My next post will be my full weeks plan. Can I do it? Can I get one to two months worth of meals done in two weeks? At most three?  I sure hope so... follow me to find out!I'll also be trying to post about some of the other things I have been upto during my break. Have a great week all! Enjoy!

DIY Louisville Monday Magazine Challenge

White Bean & Tortellini Soup

I didn't do much shopping this weekend so no real deals to be found and haven't really been through my coupons and ads yet since I spent the day yesterday with my Dad and kiddo's for Easter, so no Frugal Monday post. But I thought you might enjoy checking out the gals over at D.I.Y. Louisville who are doing a Monday Magazine Challenge. And of course I thought it would be fun to join them. I have TONS of magazine recipes cut out and full magazines with DIY cleaners, crafty projects, etc that I would love to accomplish, but yeah, like most they are sitting on a shelf or basket or in a binder. With the cooler weather coming in this week, I thought I would have one last round of great soup. Yesterday morning I pulled out the March 2012 issue of All You Magazine and threw together this yummy soup for me to eat on this week while I attempt to work on my blog and sewing projects. 

Here's the recipe White Bean and Tortellini Soup. I made my own chicken stock from a neck and back I had put in the freezer and added onion, celery, dried thyme and a couple bay leaves. I also wanted to use ingredients that I had on hand, so I made some minor modifications. I used some left over Rotel tomatoes and along with a can of diced tomatoes (and all the juices) with oregano, basil and garlic already in it. And instead of oregano, which I didn't have, I used up some fresh basil I had. The only thing I had to get from the store was the Tortellini and an extra can of beans (Great Northern beans) because I could extend the number of servings with this inexpensive add on. This is enough soup for me to eat on a couple times this week while plugging away at this Blog and finishing up the many sewing projects I have going and I am still able to freeze some for another cool down. You know we will get another before Summer gets here! 

ENJOY!

Ruffle Purse, Easter Baskets & a Magazine Challenge

This past week I finished up the cutest little girls purse for a friends niece's birthday. I had never really worked with ruffles but found this to be fairly simple. I think it is just darling for any pre-teen. After I finished it, I was wondering around JoAnn's (imagine that right?) and got thinking of all kinds of cute combinations of fabric for this purse. This one is going on my list of purses for craft fairs for sure.  Now I am working on a University of Kentucky purse with a new fabric they have come out with. So girly! I love it! Hopefully pictures of that next week.

Look what my friends, Kim and Julee, over at D.I.Y. Louisville are working on. These ladies are some of the craftiest people I know. They have wonderful ideas and create beautiful stuff. They also host a  craft meet up on the first and third Tuesday's of the month. Be sure to check out their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/diylouisville.  This week Kim made the cutest Easter baskets with very little work. Now, if I can get her to grow grass in them next year instead of using that other stuff!

The girls over there are also doing a Monday Magazine challenge. This is where you pull out all those old magazines that you have dogeared and saved for projects, recipes, etc. for the near future, that you have yet to accomplish. Here's one Julee did this week: Paper Mache Easter Egg. They would love for you to take on the challenge with them and post pictures of one you get done this week! My challenge: I'm going to go through my magazines this weekend and see what kind of Spring decorations I can make using items I already have on hand.

Enjoy! Use it up, Reuse it, or Recycle it!

20 Things you can do to lead a more frugal lifestyle...

20 Things you can do to lead a more frugal lifestyle . . . 

1. Use your library.
2. Eat the food you’ve bought, and eat then your leftovers.
3. Shop from your closet instead of buying new clothes.
4. Give gifts that you already own, like a couple of great books or an admired knick-knack.
5. Go for a walk outside instead of on a treadmill.
6. Cook from scratch.
7. Send your kids into the backyard instead of taking them to a movie or arcade.
8. Repair items instead of replacing them.
9. Turn the thermostat down in your house and add an extra layer.
10. Plant a vegetable garden. It’s amazing what you can grow in even a small space. 
11. Make your own cleaning products, or better yet, clean with water.
12. When a friend wants to get together, go for a walk instead of eating out.
13. Choose a simple close-to-home vacation instead of a can-only-get-there-by-flying elaborate trip.
14. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Always. And then make sure they give you that three cent per-bag refund.
15. Minimize your garbage output, then go to a less frequent pickup service.
16. Drive less, and then contact your insurance agent to get a discount.
17. Hang-dry your laundry.
18. Decline invitations to those Tupperware, Party-lite, Pampered Chef etc. parties.
19. Buy used whenever possible. Better yet, join The Compact.
20. Refuse to use credit cards for anything that’s not an emergency. (To avoid credit cards all together, you should have an emergency fund in place. But that is a personal choice.)

Thanks for reminding us Katy, The Non-Consumer Advocate  


You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Gandhi 

Working Wednesday & Mocha Granola Bars

FINALLY!!!! I have completely finished the two Memory Throws, after about four weeks of working on them and allergies that kept getting me down. These turned out so cute! Especially since I have never done anything quite like this. They go to their new owner this evening. I am so excited to share them with you! They are made from men's suits... The best of upcycling!!!! I know the recipients of these will be extremely happy. Don't you just love the sleeve and pockets that I incorporated? I hand stitched around the sleeves with a red yarn to make it stand out and to highlight the red plaid squares which are very special to this project. Then backed it with a charcoal blizzard fleece, sewed the edges in red and then tied it off with the red yarn. I absolutely love these! It really gets me excited to begin working on my daughter's t-shirt quilt.

Also this week I made a version of Mocha Coconut Granola Bars a friend of mine posted on Facebook. My kids don't care for coconut so I left out the sweetened coconut and the coconut oil. I replaced the coconut oil with canola oil and I added a little more brown sugar and flax seed meal in place of the coconut. They turned out pretty good, though I think a little to chocolaty for me (yes ladies, I'm one of the few that isn't big on chocolate) and they don't stay together very well for bars (maybe could have cooked them a little longer and actually went with less oil than was called for). I plan to make the slightly less modified recipe (I will add flax seed meal probably a little less cocoa powder) this weekend if time permits .

Enjoy!

Sew Much Ado

DIY Friday - Laundry Detergent

Homemade Laundry Detergent

As you probably know by now, at the beginning of the year I took a pledge that I was going to become more frugal. One way I decided to accomplish this was to try various do-it-yourself projects, like make my own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent and to do a lot more scratch cooking. I made a list of  items I intend on trying this year. Mostly these are cleaners, homemade beauty products, etc. But there will also be new recipes, cooking tips and short cuts, and other creative DIY projects that I would like to tackle. 

First on the list is laundry detergent. After I had a weird, major allergic reaction this fall (unsure what but I ended up at the emergency room), I was leery of trying anything new like this. But the ingredients are natural and there are no weird chemicals/fillers in this, I decided to try it. If I couldn't use it, then the local family shelter would have a nice supply of laundry detergent donated. I found I had no allergic reaction to it. And my son who does occasionally break out in a slight rash from various detergents has not had any problems either.

This recipe makes a 5 gallon bucket full for just a couple bucks! I have shared this with my family and they seem to absolutely love it! Three simple ingredients...  a bar of Fels-Naptha, Washing Soda and Borax, all found in your grocer's laundry isle. (NOTE: The Fels-Naptha can be substituted with Ivory soap if you prefer.)


What you will need....

Empty 5 gallon bucket, with lid

Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda (I used Arm & Hammer)
1/2 cup Borax 
1 bar Fels-Naptha
*I highly recommend using an old, odd pan for this and I would  NOT use a non-stick one. I wasn't thinking and used a Teflon coated pan (well it was all I had) and now I can't use it for anything except for making this and as the bottom pan for a double boiler.

1. Grate the bar soap and put it in a small to medium sauce pan with enough HOT water to cover. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until soap is completely melted.
2. Put the Borax, Washing Soda and melted Fels-Naptha into the 5 gallon buck. Stir well until completely dissolved. Then fill the bucket up with HOT water. Stir well.
3. Cover and let sit overnight. It will turn into a gel-like substance. Stir well again the next morning.
4. Using an old detergent bottle, I just fill as needed. The original directions say cut in half with water and use 1 full cup. My thought is why waste time with that step. Just use 1/2 a cup full per load. It's going to mix with water anyway, right? Be sure to shake the bottle well before each use.

Have a great DIY household cleaner you would like to share? Feel free to email me or to comment below! Enjoy!