Homemade Honey Lemon Brew for Sore and Scratchy Throats

1/3 cup of boiling water
1 T Raw Honey
1 T Lemon Juice

Add honey to boiling water and dissolve. Add Lemon Juice. While it is still nice and hot, take a Tablespoon at a time, tilt head back and gargle for 10 to 15 seconds then swallow to coat back of your throat.

Back to Basics

Back to the Basics is all I've seen this week in grocery ads, commercials, online... Whether it is my local grocery store's new sales gimmick to get you in their store for their sale items or the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten's cookbook "Back to Basics" using simple ingredients with fabulous flavor, quick and easy recipes and cooking techniques or on Headline News or CNN only buying the necessities to live on and quit spending our money frivolously.

We need to get back to the basics with our ingredients that we use or shall I say should use. Back in the day Pioneer women didn't run to their mercantile or Trading Post to purchase prepared packages of cake mixes, pancake mix, corn bread mix, biscuit mix and boxed things like Hamburger Helper or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or canned things like Condensed Soups or bottled Salad Dressings. They used simple ingredients they had on hand and made them themselves also known as "From Scratch."

I have been trying to save money by making my own homemade prepared items and either canning them, freezing them or storing dry goods in airtight containers. This is economical for my family and I enjoy doing it. Being in the kitchen and knowing that I am nourishing my family with good food is so rewarding as a wife and mother.

Here are a few of the "From Scratch" foods that I have made from Back to Basic, Simple Ingredients. I'll post a few recipes soon.

Pancake Mix
Pizza Crust
Yeast Rolls
Pie Crust
Cheese Biscuits
Spaghetti Sauce
Meatballs
Pizza Sauce
Granola
Corn Bread Mix
Graham Cracker Crust
Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Garlic and Herb Croutons
Loaded Vegetable Beef Soup
Scallop Potatoes
Homemade Noodles
Caesar Salad Dressing
Asian Salad Dressing
Thousand Island Salad Dressing
Tartar Sauce
Mayonnaise
Barbecue Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Hot Chocolate
Beef and Chicken Broth/Stock
Homemade Hamburger Buns


Be Inspired to get Back to Basics and live the simple life.

Fast Food Breakfast

I have three kids that love pancakes and french toast. Sometimes, I don't have the time to get out the griddle and begin breakfast with a big mess. So I spend a morning and make up about a 100 pancakes and about 75 slices of french toast. I love this idea because I make only one big mess in the kitchen. I let them cool on a wire rack then flash freeze them on cookie sheets (this way they won't stick together, when stacked). I stack them into gallon size Ziploc bags and freeze.

Whenever I need a quick fix breakfast for my toddlers I just grab a few from the freezer and pop them into the microwave. Our preteen loves getting them and microwaving them himself. We have even taken them with us on vacation. I don't buy the frozen brands from my grocery store anymore. You see.. Mama Angie makes them with love and they are cheaper to make too.

Homemade Croutons

What do you do with left over bread? I had made four loaves of garlic toast for a Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner/Potluck for a friends birthday and had this many slices of garlic toast leftover. Normally I would have just tossed them out into the garbage because cold buttered garlic toast is just nasty tasting. However.. I decided to be frugal and make croutons out of them. Since they were already seasoned and cold, I just sliced them into thin strips and then into cubes. I tossed them with a little olive oil and parsley and toasted them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, turning twice. Once they were crispy I let them cool and then bagged them up in Ziploc bags. Since there was butter on them originally they needed to be used up within the week. I kept a bag and then gave a bag to a friend.

So save your day old bread or left over garlic toast and make croutons out of them. Great on salads or just snacking on.

Homemade Gifts are from the Heart

I know Christmas has passed, but I want to mention the homemade gifts I made this year for friends and family. Not only are they frugal they come from the heart. Homemade gifts are great to give and receive. You don't have to wait for Christmas to come around.. you can make some up and give them for birthdays, valentines day, secret friend gifts, welcome a new family to the neighborhood or even welcome a couple with a homemade gift for the birth of a child. There are so many possibilities.

For Christmas I made up several homemade and semi-homemade gifts for my friends. When they all came over for coffee and brunch I told them they each got to go shopping and pick out their gift. That way they could choose a gift that fits their need and desire. I had homemade fudge, bottles of olive oil, soup in a jar mixes, Winter Cocoa Jars, Pedicure sets, Movie Night In bags, and Mugs of Devotions and Decadence.

I found the soup in a jar mixes online. Some were Split Pea Soup, Confetti Bean soup and Cowboy Chili. I printed up the quick recipe and tied it on the jar with raffia. (I had received a Cookie in a Jar mix from a young friend that works for me and does house cleaning and yard work). The cocoa recipe I had for years and made up a few batches. I put them in plastic jars that I got at the dollar store and printed up instructions and tied it on with ribbon. The Pedicure sets had nail files, callus remover tool, nail polish and a mini bottle of sparkling cider in it. The Movie Night In had bags of microwave popcorn, big boxes of movie candy, individual popcorn tubs and mini cans of soda. I was going to add a movie rental gift card to them, but was trying to keep the cost down. The Mug of Devotions and Decadence was a large snowman or Santa mug with packets of gourmet flavored hot chocolates, cappuccino packet, hot apple cider packets, chocolate dipped biscotti and a Bible on CD (from the dollar store).

I also gave homemade gifts to our family. I put in jars of apple and pear butter that I made up in the Fall. I had made Carmel Corn with peanuts and made tags for them and called it "Koch Krunch" using our family's last name. I also put in bags of walnut fudge, the jars of soup mix and Winter Cocoa jars. I added some fragrant tea lights as well. They were frugal and from the heart, all made from love.

Our children received homemade gifts from their grandparents this year. Our pre-teen received a treasure box that was stained, had hinges, a lock and brass corner covers. He can use it as a secret storage box for his journal or treasures. The little ones received handmade wooden cars. All made by their Grandfather.

My Dad is a widow and my Uncle in Law is a bachelor and I found the perfect homemade gifts to give them. I made two big pots of Cowboy Chili and Navy Bean Soup (my Dad's favorites). I put two cups of hearty soup into disposable and microwaveable plastic containers and added a label and date on the top. I gave them each three which they can freeze and eat when ever they want. I put them in a gift bag. You can do this to stew, vegetable beef soup, etc.. What a great gift for a guy that doesn't cook much.

Do you know what is a good gift to give a couple that just brought home their newborn baby? A big tall jar of homemade soup. Wrap it in a receiving blanket, tie it at the top with ribbon and add a rattle for decoration. Remember to make the soup nursing friendly for the mom and baby, like Chicken Corn Chowder or Potato Soup. Stay away from Chili or Taco Soup, or spicy foods that can be discomforting.

A few years ago I received a knitted afghan from my Grandmother. It is absolutely beautiful. She made each of her girls one. She knitted all year long and made sure that we had something made from her to treasure forever.

There are so many other possibilities like knitted dish cloths, aprons, wooden toys, a meal, baked goods and treats, jams and jellies, home canned salsa, home sewn place mats and napkins etc... The ideas are endless. I think that we need to get back to the basics and make gifts from the heart that mean much more.

Do you have any homemade gift ideas that you want to brag about, that either you made or received?

Be Inspired to Make a gift from the heart.

Homemade Gifts

Last week I celebrated my 39th birthday. I think I'm handling it well. The only major change is that I cut and colored my hair. We'll see if the big 40 next year will be a mid life crisis for me or not. I did appreciate the phone calls, e-mails, b-day cards and knocks on my door with a little something for me, from my dear friends. I feel truly blessed to be loved and thought of so dearly.

I thought I'd brag about this gift from my dear friend April, because it was homemade and would be simple to make and give to others for the holidays. It is homemade Double Chocolate Cocoa. She put it in this really tall ginormous glass that can hold a gallon size Ziploc bag full of cocoa. There are different types of recipes you could use too.

I too have made them as Christmas gifts about five years ago for family and put them in snowman jars. You can put the cocoa in mason jars or in a cute jar or glass like this one that maybe you can find at a thrift store. Add a little ribbon and card with instructions and there you go. Thrifty and delicious. Keep a look out for what I have in store for the ginormous glass my cocoa came in. Can you guess what I'm going to do with it?

Hot Cocoa Recipe

10 cups dry powdered milk

4 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

1 tsp salt

Mix all together and store in an airtight container. Makes about 15 cups of mix or 45 servings. For one serving add 1/3 cup cocoa mix with 3/4 cups of boiling water, stir and enjoy. You may want to add mini marshmallows or a dollop of whip cream on top.

Tip of the Week

Tomato Paste in a tube is my fave this week in the kitchen. Have you ever had a recipe calling for tomato paste and you only need a teaspoon or a Tablespoon? You buy it in a small can and end up throwing it away because you don't have another reason to use it right away or it goes funky in the fridge.

Well, I've seen the Celebrity Chefs use this and Rachael Ray uses it all of the time. You can get it at your local gourmet grocer or even at Walmart. It is "Double Concentrated" and so you end up using less. Once open you store it in the fridge and can use it for many uses. I use it in soups, broths, pasta dishes, sauces etc... I like that it is an item that prevents me from wasting food and can serve multi purposes in one little tube.

Kitchen Garbage Bowl

I like this idea from Rachael Ray, to use a plastic bowl to put produce waste, recipe prep trash, crumbs etc... in and then tossing it out all at once. However, I didn't want to spend over $20.00 for her recycled garbage bowl that she sells at the gourmet cooking store in town. I was trying to be frugal. So, I found this bowl at Bi-mart for $2.49 It came in four different sizes and colors to choose from. I chose one that would compliment my kitchen colors and chose the size I would like to use most. It sure saves me from stepping on my garbage can pedal dozens of times.

Homemade Chicken Stock

I buy a roasted chicken or two at Costco each month and realized that I have been tossing out the bones and skin and not making stock out of it. If I don't have time I can toss the carcass in the freezer in a Ziploc bag for later or boil some up right away. This week I made chicken enchilada casserole and roasted chicken noodle soup. The soup was divine and hearty.


Homemade Chicken Stock

Two chicken carcasses with skin
Water
Onion quartered
Handful on Carrots
Head of Garlic cut in half
Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt

Bring stock to a full boil and then turn down to a low boil and cover for and hour or so. Drain through a sieve or strainer. Skim off fat after cooled. You can use it right away or freeze in containers for later.

How did I determine our grocery budget?

That is the question of the day. How did I determine the dollar amount of our grocery budget? Well... I chose $400.00 for my family of five. How did I choose it? Well... First let me tell you the grocery spending habit I had created in our home and the changes I had to make.

I am a foodie and for me going into a grocery store is like going in hungry, which is sooo wrong. The first rule is never go shopping when you are hungry. The other problem I had was I would start to plan meals going down the grocery isles. Big mistake. I was like Oooh that sounds great!! Aahhh, that sounds delish, in the cart it would go. There was no menu plan (written down) and that was one of my biggest problems. The other big problem was that I was wasting food. It is a shame to throw food away due to spoilage.

So, when I used to get home from my grocery shopping trips I found I'd be missing items to complete the meals. Then I would have to go back to the store for a few items and then came back with more items than I intended to purchase. I would also change meal ideas and then back to the store for other stuff. Then there was eating out too many times. I would guess that my grocery spending was well over $800.00 a month. I have no firm amount, due to DENIAL and was scared to really come to grips with it.

So, I decided that if I didn't change my ways I would end up going to F.A.A. (Food Addictions Anonymous) or S.A.A. (Spending Addiction Anonymous). LOL If these groups are real I apologize in advance. I was only poking fun at myself. I was out of control and in severe denial.

In order to change my ways I had to have a plan. These are the things that I would have to tackle and put to work.

1) Get Organized!
2) Take Inventory of Pantry, Freezer and Fridge.
3) Write a Menu Plan with items on hand.
4) Don't be Wasteful. Find ways to use food to eliminate spoilage.
5) Determine a Weekly Grocery Budget.
6) Grocery shop only once a week.
7) Award my Family/Myself if I stayed on or below budget, by putting leftover grocery cash into our vacation/Christmas fund.

My goal in the next 10 weeks is to live simply on the stockpile I have in my pantry and freezer. I am only to purchase the basics like dairy and produce. I am not purchasing processed foods and mixes and am trying to make homemade if at all possible. I've been canning, drying fruit and stocking up for winter. I will be journaling along the way and will determine what works, what challenges I had to overcome and what changes I will have to make.

Now.. How did I come up with $400.00 a month? Well it was what I thought was about half of what I was spending. I guess I could have tried to lessen the amount too, but I'm taking baby steps. This is an experiment for me, we'll see how I do. I'm not sure if it will be feasible after the 10 weeks once the stockpile is down, it will help me to be creative and coupon clip too. But for now there is a goal in mind and I like a challenge.

Be Inspired to Challenge Yourself!

Menu Plan Results

Well my last weeks was my first time at Menu planning and I found that it was well organized and kept me on track each day. It was also a big savings to my normal out of control grocery budget. What budget? I didn't have a budget.

Menu planning made me look into my fridge, freezer and pantry and choose meals that could be made with what I had on hand. No running to the store for a couple of items and then coming back with 15 more unintended items. No purchasing food because it sounded good that day or at the moment.

The only grocery items that I purchased this week were:

Milk - 4 gallons
Farm Fresh Eggs - 2 dozen
Sour Cream - 3 lb container
Corn Tortillas
Salad Greens
Soda Pop - 4 two-liters (for our weekend guests)
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - (Dan's birthday)

My budget was $100.00 for groceries for my family of five. I spent about $25.00 this week. Soda and Ice Cream were party items and are not normal purchases or items we have on hand. I was more frugal knowing that the money saved will be vacation and Christmas spending money.

It also helps buying in bulk on some items, to be able to make more meals and recipes from them and helps save money. I am coupon clipping and that will benefit our family and grocery budget too.

My husband brought home four bags of whole grain sub sandwich buns (FREE), also known as sample bread, from his work. Sample breads are new recipes for loaves of bread, rolls, buns etc.. that are being baked to perfect their recipes before going out into the markets and restaurants. I plan on using some of them this next week for lunches and for Philly cheese steaks for one of our dinners. When he brings home an abundance of sample bread we also try and bless other families too. Free is a very good price and helps cut costs down too.

Welcome Fall

Oh... how I love the Fall season and the colors. I purchased these vibrant mums for my front porch. Normally I buy and decorate my front porch with mums, assorted gourds, a few types of potted kale/cabbages, a few bales of straw and go all out. This year I am being frugal with our money, so I only purchased six of these mums to put on my wicker table on my front porch. I put up our fall wreath on the door and added silk mums to the old bucket that I have had for a few years.

I spent a little over eight dollars and felt that was all I was going to do this year. It is real easy to spend lots of money each season for decorations and flowers and I just decided that this year I want to spend less and save more.

Be Inspired to be frugal!

Grocery Budget and Menu Planning

This week I officially started my Menu Planning. I want to restrict myself on my grocery budget since, we spend way too much. I am scared to really know the dollar amount. In my budget I am allowing $100 a week for my family of five. My goal is to spend as little of that $100 a week as I can and whatever I don't spend on groceries I get to put that money into our vacation fund for December. We plan to go to Leavenworth, Washington for their Christmas Festival, German style.

Since I have been stocking up my pantry, my freezer and my stockpile in the garage, I probably will only need to purchase perishables like milk, eggs, fresh produce and some bread, etc. I have been canning, drying sliced fruits, and preparing quick fix freezer meals. It has been a lot of work in the kitchen and little sleep some nights but it sure will pay off this Winter. With the economy the way it has been heading I feel that this Winter and possibly Spring will be quite tight on the budget. I have been preparing for this for some time and hope that I have acquired enough of the necessities as we will need. I may sound like a squirrel stockpiling for Winter, but I would rather be prepared for any hurdle that may head our way.

I plan on getting back to homemade food from scratch and not store bought/commercially made if at all possible. I will start baking some of our bread, making my own pie crusts, pizza dough, granola bars etc.. I intend on being more frugal in other areas in our home and budget too. Menu planning will help keep me on track and help simplify my budget, meals and inspire me to think before I purchase.

I hope that you are inspired too, to think ahead for Winter and Spring and get your home, pantry and freezer stocked.

Frugal Recipes

My dear friend Jen called me today to ask me and my other dear friends to bring a few frugal recipes to our Friday morning coffee gathering to exchange. She wants to menu plan for two weeks and needs some new recipes that are cheap to make on the budget and tastes good.

Can any of you inspire her with some of your frugal recipes for her family? Much appreciated.

Momma's going out

Tonight was girls night out and four of my dear friends and I went out for a little bargain shopping and late night dinner. First stop was to Value Village thrift store for their Labor Day Sale of 50% off everything in the store. I got there a little after 7pm which was even better because green tags were 70% off, from 7-9 PM.

I am picky on items and they must be in very good condition (like new) in order for me to purchase them. I was on the prowl for winter clothes for my two little sweet cheeks. Looking for size 2t /3t and 9m/12m. I came home with two bags stuffed full for less than $27.00 I saved about $40.00, not bad. Well my guess would be I actually saved almost $200.00 That's if I would have purchased them brand new at the department stores.

I found some darling dresses, dress shirts, sweater vests, slacks, denim jeans, corduroy skirts and swim suits for both of my sweet cheeks. Some items were brand new with tags still on them. Really good quality clothes and nice brands like Carters, The Children's Place, Baby Gap, and Old Navy. I even found a nice (Karen Scott) red casual wear knit jacket for myself.

Last stop was Dinner at Applebee's for their late night special, 1/2 price appetizers. What fun, I sure enjoyed our girl talk and laughter. Every stay at home mom needs a night out with the girls once in a while to keep our sanity. Thanks Dear Hubby for encouraging me to go and have fun and for taking care of our sweet cheeks. There are left overs in the fridge.

Refunds, Rebates and Hassles

Today I gathered up all of the items that have been needing to be returned to the stores that I purchased them at. I don't know why but I dislike having to stand in line and return items. I like the cash back, but not the hassle and time it takes. Remember I have to take my two little sweet cheeks in and out of their car seats each time, not to mention having to keep the two also preoccupied, happy and the occasional diaper change.

So after making my returns at Fred Meyers, Walmart, Bi-mart, and Fashion Bug I had about $96.00 in cash. That is always nice. Then my next stop was to Costco to redeem my 2% check back of annual purchases. That was $86.00 plus returned an item for $20.00 So I had a little over $200.00 in cash to spend.

So how should I spend it? Well I could have spent it on clothes or something for the house but no that wasn't needed. So I used the cash to help stock my pantry and freezer for the winter. I bought several big family size packages of meat at Costco and will divide them in separate freezer bags in the morning and a bought couple of cases of diapers for my sweet cheeks and they went in the garage on the shelves in my stockpile. At Walmart I picked up some sale items that would come handy later. I also stopped at a local farm in town and purchased two cases of fresh picked peaches and gravenstein apples, Yummo. They too will be heading to the freezer once they are prepared and sliced. Oh, I forgot to mention that I picked up a free pizza at Costco while I was there. I received the pizza coupon when I referred my Dad in June. Dinner was done, no cooking no mess to clean up, Yippee!

One of the hassles happened after making my Walmart returns and purchasing my groceries. As I was leaving I happened to notice that I was overcharged on a few items. Nine items actually. Stovetop Stuffing was .68 cents a box so I bought six boxes thinking ahead for Thanksgiving etc.. since my local store in town charges almost $3 a box. Well I was charged $1.68 a box. Then I bought three packages of OM natural turkey and ham at $2.50 each, but was charged $2.98 each. So I had to wait in line again at the customer service desk and get another refund of $7.44 I guess I'll have to watch my items being rang up better or at least make sure that I check my receipts closer. Not bad for a few hours of returns. I guess it was worth the hassle.