Stretching Steak

Today I’m joining wearethatfamily for worksformewed.

Last week I made a meal that my whole family raved over, which caught me by surprise.  I was surprised b/c they usually don’t rave over soup.  This one was a hit.  I’ll be using this again.  I’ve been looking for quick meals b/c we’re about to start school.  This year I’ll be formally teaching 3 instead of 2, so I’ll be busier than last year.

I had a leftover steak that would have served one.  I needed a meal and didn’t have anything else thawed, so I had to stretch this steak to five people.  At first I was going with stew.  But then I decided to give it an Italian flare instead.  I had a carton of beef broth I had purchased on clearance, three roma tomatoes that were very ready to be eaten and steak.   I heated up the broth, added a handful of dried onions, Italian seasoning, dried chopped garlic and  dried parley, then brought to a boil.  Then tossed in small cubes of beef and spiral pasta.  Fresh spinach tossed in at the last minute would have been a nice addition for green food, but I was out.

My family likes soup better with fewer ingredients.  When I make something that has a ton of different colors and textures, they pick at the food.  Simplicity is best in our home… when it comes to food.   Tip number 2:  don’t think you have to make 5 gallons of soup.  I tend to make too much and we don’t eat it leftover.  Usually b/c the soup is from a leftover.  So I started making mine in a smaller pot so I don’t waste

The part of the meal that kicked it to the top was fresh bread.  If you don’t have time for a loaf, skip to a flat or peasant bread and dipping sauce.  I made a rosemary peasant bread that was wonderful.   It is very similar to the bread they serve at Macaroni Grill.   I also made a dipping sauce with grated parm cheese, olive oil, dried herbs and course black pepper.

Texas Barndominium

I recently heard about “barndominiums”.  I’ve known about turning metal buildings into living quarters, but not to this extent.  It is a fabulous idea.  If you have a metal building, you can finish the inside just like a house.

My friend’s sister is completing her new home in the country.  This is one smart lady.  Check out her blog and pictures.

www.houseofhart.typepad.com.  She gives costs and the steps to get from a metal building to a home.

A home in a metal building is advantageous because:

• Property taxes are low.  You’re taxed on metal building, not residence.
• Insurance is lower
• You have a sound structure if you’re worried about hurricanes or tornadoes
• Low maintenance

Sin in Coupon and Frugal Grocery Shopping

Each of us struggles with different sin.  Mine has changed at the different stages of life.  Teenage years and early 20s it was…. well that would be TMI.  Mid 20s to mid 30s it was materialism and pride in my career.

When I left my career, I hit homemaking with the same fervor I had other parts of my life.  When I go for something, I’m one of those people who give it my all.  Dave gave me a grocery challenge to see if we could spend $75 a week for groceries, household and diapers.  I started doing the grocery game and became a very accomplished coupon shopper.

There is nothing sinful with using coupons.  Rather, it can be very Godly in helping manage the resources you have been given.  But like anything good, humans can pervert a good thing into a sinful thing.  I became obsessed with seeing well over 50% savings on my receipt.  So much so that I began using coupons in a sinful way.  And like any sin, I justified my sin.

For example, if a coupon said $1 off 2 items, then I’d give the checkers two of these coupons for 2 items.  Many times their scanner would take both, so I got $2 off 2 – double the amount the manufacturer intended.  And if the scanner beeped and didn’t take it, many times the checker had a long line would and would override / accept the extra coupon.

If you knowingly do that, it is sin even if the store takes it; unless of course they have a store policy that accepts using coupons like this.  I doubt any do.  What I did, on occasion, was manipulate the store’s system to save more money.  But it really isn’t saving, it is stealing.  I would justify doing this for many reasons:

• many times the checker scans the coupons so fast that she doesn’t get them all.  by giving the extra coupons, I was just gettting caught up with the ones that were not scanned
• many times I’m overcharged for an item because their system rings up higher than advertised price… my extra coupons helped me recoup some of these overcharges
• most people don’t use coupons, so my extras could be counted toward those same products purchased by others without a coupon
• I offered the coupon and they took it – all is OK…right???  It was on the up and up.

I’ve been convicted of this sin and repented.   But a couple of weeks ago, it popped up again.  I purchased marked down frozen gourmet tamales. There were several packages marked down to $5.00, which was way too much in my mind (this is where the justification starts).  There was one package where the last “0″ was barely visible, so I grabbed it knowing the checker would ring up for 50 cents.

Sure enough, I got the tamales for 50 cents.  If I had really thought they were 50 cents, there would have been no sin on my part.  However, I knew they meant for these to be $5.00 and I chose the package to benefit from a poor sharpie marker.

It was not worth it.  Afterward, when I had my quiet time with God, it came up again and again.  I knew I could not have fellowship when this was eating at my conscience.  Today I went back to the store for a few items.  I asked the checker to ring up an extra $4.50 in general merchandise.  She asked why and I told her the story.  She couldn’t believe I was so “honest.”  I looked at that woman and told her I’m not honest, I deliberately got those tamales for 50 cents knowing they were meant to be $5.00.  On the contrary, I’m a dishonest person with a bad conscience.  She smiled.

I feel much better now.  I’m so thankful it bothered me.  We all have sin and when our sin stops bothering us we’re in trouble.  If we continually sin and ignore our conscience routinely, God may turn us over to our sin.  What a terrible place to be.

I think many of us who are not perpetrating the sins our society thinks are really terrible, don’t think we’re as bad as those who murder, rape, etc.  However, sin is sin and separates us from God.  If you have Jesus, then a price has been paid.  However, even Christians may suffer for their sins in the here and now.  We should not think too highly of ourselves because our sin is “little.”  In reality, sin is sin period.  If you have any outstanding sin, repent and sin no more.  Each day is new, thank God.

Eggs as a frugal dish

Today I’m joining lifeasmom for Frugal Friday.

One trick I use to keep our grocery bill down is eggs.  This is not a new idea and has been around for years – see video below.  Grocery stores run eggs on sale fairly often.  At costco you can get 18 eggs for a little under $1.50.  I like eggs b/c they are satisfying and don’t leave you empty feeling 30 minutes later.  Our family of 5 eats at least 18 eggs per week.  Many people don’t eat eggs b/c they think they’ll gain weight.  I’m not a nutrition expert or medical professional, but can say (for our family) eggs do not put on the pounds.  Eating an egg mcmuffin will add weight, but a  boiled egg with homemade wheat toast does not.

I know there are egg Nazis reading this.  I don’t eat free range organic eggs or eggs fresh from the farm.  And eggs have cholesterol – yes I said that dirty word.   If you have the budget to spend $3 plus for a dozen eggs with special omegas, go for it.  If you don’t have the money, then eat the eggs on sale at the store and cut out the processed Eggos or packaged nutrigrain bars that have more sugar than wheat.   I have a problem with people who refuse to eat eggs b/c of the calories / cholesterol, but then eat processed food or stop at McDonalds on the way to work b/c they don’t have anything healthy in their fridge.

Here’s a few uses for eggs at our house:

• Breakfast.  I send Dave breakfast to work each morning.  (see pic below)  If I send him a huge breakfast, then he doesn’t need to spend $$$ on a large lunch.  I’d rather pack breakfast than lunch because it is so easy and doesn’t take much time.  I usually send 2 eggs with a bread and a fruit.  If I have extra time, I’ll make him an omelet packed with veggies.  My 5 year old also loves eggs for breakfast and gets to practice using a knife with this dish.  I let her cut up her own fried egg with a dull butter knife.  I’ll eat 2 eggs for breakfast at least once a week, maybe more.
• weekend quiche.  About once a month, I’ll make a quiche for the fridge.  It is great for mid-morning breakfast or late night snack.  And better for you than processed chips.  It is our fast food.  My husband trains for marathons, so on the weekends he needs the extra calories.  This is a quick fix without me being in the kitchen all weekend.
• Stretching casseroles.  I use eggs as a glue in many of my casseroles such as meatloaf or fried rice.  It helps stretch my meat and acts as the glue.
• Baked goods such as muffins or pancakes.  I like baked goods with lots of eggs to add protein.  You get the whole wheat carb and the protein in one bite.

In the depression they used eggs as a meat replacement.  Have you see the video of 91 year old Clara making depression egg soup.  It is fabulous.

Here’s a pic of Dave’s breakfast this morning.  Included:  2 fried eggs, 2 blueberry banana wheat/oat muffins and fresh cantelope.  I try to send on a plate he can toss.  I line with foil so the plate doesn’t get soggy and the egg stays warm.  I also save my plastic containers from butter spread / etc and use from fruit.

Pantry Seafood Enchiladas

Today I’m joining frugal Fridays. Pictures at bottom of post…

One thing I’m incorporating into our meals is pantry cooking.  It is economical and rotating your pantry items keeps you from tossing expired food.  It also is an option when you don’t have fresh items on hand, but want a home cooked meal.  There are so many frugal reasons to cook using your pantry items.

With couponing and getting ready for hurricane season, I have a plethora of pantry items.  However, I’m not accustomed to cooking from the pantry, but have relied on fresh items for my recipes.  That is changing and I will be a gourmet cook with canned items soon.  One recipe that inspired me was the Prudent Homemaker’s Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.  I modified this recipe for seafood enchiladas.  A couple of months ago I stocked up on canned crab and shrimp at a Walgreens sale.  I also purchased a large bag of corn tortillas and rebagged into smaller portions for future use -storing in freezer.

The thing I like about the Prudent Homemaker’s recipe is that it does not call for sour cream and is still creamy.  Since I didn’t have any thawed meat and was out of sour cream, it was a good time to experiment.

Rating:  Hubby liked it and would have this dish again.  I also enjoyed the meal.  Little kids who are picky would not enjoy this.  It was not as good as using fresh cream and fresh seafood, but for using mostly items from my pantry it was 4 stars.

Recipe:

I combined 3/4 can of chicken soup and a can of evap milk into a bowl.  I added about 2 tablespoons of dried onion flakes and a  dash of garlic powder.   Then I soaked 4 tortillas in this mixture.  You could stretch this to make 6 enchiladas.

In another bowl combine shrimp and crabmeat (both drained).  Add 1/4 can of cream of chick soup.  Season with parsley, garlic and pepper.

Wrap seafood mixture with tortillas to make enchiladas.  Place in baking dish.  Pour sauce mixture and top with cheese.  I used fresh cheese, but also have freeze dried cheese I could use if my refrig was out.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  It would also be good topped with fresh chopped green onions and cilantro.

Are children assets or liabilities?

We’re in a weird place in the world.  It is a very exciting time to be alive… and a scary time to be alive.  These time are impacting the way we view society and families… especially decisions about if/when/how many children.  Yesterday I had a moment that caused me to think about how we view children so differently than a couple of generations (or more) ago.

Many people in our society view children as a liability.  I can see why.  I thought this way for years and almost didn’t have any children b/c I didn’t like the risk/reward statistics.  One reason we view children as liabilities is b/c parents are caring and supporting for offspring until the kids are in their early 20s…. if they are lucky.  And many support their children until they die and leave their estate for their children to “manage”.    We are also relying on the gov’t to take care of mom/pop through social insecurity and medi-can’t-care, so adults no longer count on children to provide their support in old age.

We also live in a time where many children do not help around the house and will not give back as adults.  It begins with the parents because many of the household duties are outsourced today.  When we both worked, we had a maid, yard guy, dry cleaner and got meals that didn’t require much prep or cleanup.  And we left early in the morning and didn’t return until the evening.  The last thing either of us wanted was to direct children in “chores” after we’d worked all day.  Time constraints made that very impractical.  Most parents in this mode love their children tremendously (as I did), but you live the life you’re in at the moment.  It is hard.

Even households where one parent is home can also be too busy to get children involved in household responsibilities.  If you’re running to this and that multiple times a week, household stuff tends to take a back seat.  And these kids don’t contribute b/c they are not at home much either.

Yesterday the house was a mess and I was trying to clean the downstairs … got overwhelmed.  We’d been running around all week and were much busier than usual.  The girls were watching TV and I was working.  Bad idea.  I called them down and we all got to work.  They really helped me get the house in shape.  And as I thought about it, the more I invest in training them to take ownership in our home… the more of an asset they become.  I’ve known this fact for a long time, but get sidetracked implementing.

Instead, we (I’m guilty too) run around serving our children instead of teaching them responsibility.  We don’t make them eat what adults eat, we act as taxis way too much and provide too much electronic entertainment so we get a break from serving them more.  We’re (as a society…not you reading:) ) are  spoiling our next generation.  And many of those who are not spoiled are neglected.  Neglect also leads to children who do not become productive in society.

Years ago children grew up earlier.  I don’t think I’ve ran across the term “teenager” in the Bible.  Mary was probably about 15 when she had Jesus.  If our children contributed to the household at a younger age and matured earlier…. then maybe we’d start looking at children differently.  What if our kids really became adults at 18!  (Many of our young men in the military do.)  I think I’d have looked forward to motherhood at a much earlier age if I saw the job as releasing them earlier.  BTW, my view at 42 is much different now than the view of children I held in my 20s.

Parenting is wearing people out b/c it takes so many years for them to become adults…. if they ever do.  I know we’re always parents, but to have an immature son/daughter in their mid 20s has to be pure misery.   I want to be the future parent of an adult.  As a society we’ve gotten ourselves into this mess.

One silver lining to this entire economic / political mess that we’re in is that values may be realigned.  If we take families back  home and to the basics, then maybe we’ll focus more on training our kids to be assets instead of liabilities.     We may no longer qualify for the car loan to get “Jimmy” a new car at 16.  Or maybe we don’t do limos for prom anymore which is absurd in my mind.  Maybe girls don’t get solar nails before they can pay for them on their own.

Instead, mayby girls learn to cook.  Maybe Jimmy mows the grass instead of a lawn service.  They wash and put away their clothes.  And they go next door to help out the older couple… at NO CHARGE.

Yes, there may be a silver lining to economic hardship in this country.  I don’t wish for economic / political hardship but am trying to watch for where God could be changing our values back to His.  Children are a blessing from God when we do it His way.

Cash for Clunkers

I missed the cash for clunkers  passage while I was on vacation and just heard about it.  I hate the stimulus spending, but since it is here take a look or at this toyota ad.. if  are shopping for a new vehicle and will be trading in an older automobile.  You can get up to $4,500 for your clunker.

Here are a few facts from the gov’t site:

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
• Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.
• The vehicle that you are trading in is required to be destroyed. Therefore, the value you negotiate with the dealer for your trade in is not likely to exceed its scrap value. The law requires the dealer to disclose to you and estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in vehicle.

The Sears Laundry Detergent deal is back

We loaded up on this stuff last time it was on sale.  See here for details of the sale.  We’ve been using this detergent for several months in our HE machine and love it.

I also like this because it is powder and can be stored in the garage.  When I’ve tried to store liquid detergents in the garage, the heat compromises the plastic containers and we’ve had leak problems.

I tried making my own detergent for a while, but the cost of making it is almost the same as buying this on sale.   And this works better than the stuff I made.

Reducing Electricity bill in Urban Home

Today I’m joining frugal friday.  I’ve never been that concerned about utilities bills until recently.  However, after watching cap/trade pass through the House of Representatives, I think we’re headed toward much higher energy bills.  The Senate may block it, but it is a matter of time before they do something that will cause a spike in these costs.  I’ve decided to really work on reducing our costs in these areas b/c there may come a time when it is critical we keep these low.

Last summer we kept the themostat at 75 to 76 degrees.   This summer we bumped it up to 78 – 79 degrees.  I will keep inching it up as we get used to the warmer air.  We’ve also added fans by our beds and in the kitchen.  The change has not been without ramifications.  I don’t sleep as soundly and I’m a little more sluggish b/c of the heat during the day.  In the afternoon, I’m more interested in a nap than I was before.  Especially if we’ve been running errands and I’ve loaded/unloaded kids in hot hot parking lots.

I’m also keeping our blinds closed during the day.  And I don’t turn on many lights unless we’re in the room.  This is a BIG shift for me.  I hate dark houses.  And I really need new eyeglasses, so shaded rooms are not my thing.  But I can tell this has kept the house cooler than my previous habit of living in bright light.

I’ve cut the usage of my oven by 50%.  The oven does heat up my kitchen considerably.  When I do use the oven, I cook several things instead of just one dish.  Now that I’ve reduced oven usage,  I’m using my pressure cooker, outdoor grill, stove top and crock pot.  I also plan to buy a solar oven this month and will learn this cooking skill.

We have a gym membership.  When we’re there I shower the kids at the gym instead of waiting until we get home.  I realize it isn’t reducing my carbon footprint, but my objectives are economics.  If I shower them at the gym, I don’t use our hot water or have towels in the laundry.  And they also blow dry their hair at the gym.

These are just a few things we’re doing.   In June our elect bill was $100 less than May.  Part of that is we were out of town 10 days, but we left the a/c at 78 degrees while we were out.  And June was much hotter than May, so I think our plan is working based on these numbers.  July will be the real test.

Cold desserts are a great summer treat – lemon ice box pie

Today I’m joining lifeasmom for frugal friday.  Summer is great for sweets, especially cold treats.  We used to visit the local ice cream shop that charges $3+ per scoop.  After I left the work force, we changed to the Dairy Queen.  Now we take the kids to the grocery store when there is an ice cream sale and let them each pick out their own tub, which costs the same as a trip to dairy queen but gives more ice cream.  We also make this an ice cream only visit to the grocery store so the experience is a little more special than regular grocery shopping.

Another cold treat I made this week was lemon ice box pie.  While we were on vacation, we ate out a couple of times.   My husband ordered key lime pie, which was about $6 per slice.  I can make a whole pie for less than that.  I had lemon on hand so we had lemon instead of lime.  Both pies are similar.    It is so simple and perfect on a hot day with a cold glass of tea.   I had the can of milk and other items in my pantry or fridge from sales/coupons, so this cost maybe less than $3 to make.

Lemon Ice Box pie

First start with the crust.  It is much cheaper to make the crust than to buy the ready made.  In addition you get a pretty pie.  You can get a box of graham crackers (store band is fine) for a little over a dollar.  Each box comes with three sleeves.  Crush one sleeve and had 1/2 stick of melted butter or margarine and 1/4 cup of sugar.   Press this into your pie plate and bake at 350 for 6 minutes.

For the pie, I used a meringue topping.

Start with three eggs.  Seperate the yolks from the whites.  Set whites aside.  Beat yolks until creamy.  Add one can of sweetened condensed milk and juice from 3 lemons.  Beat these together until blended.  Only three ingredients for pie filling!!!  Pour into crust.

Rinse out your bowl and add egg whites.  Beat until stiff.  Then add one teaspoon of cream of tartar.  (this is from the spice section, not dairy section.  first time I shopped for it as a young bride I looked all over the dairy section for this stuff:) )  Then add in a tablespoon of sugar and beat.  Keep adding sugar until it is as sweet as you like.  I used about 4 tablespoons.

Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, or until top starts browning.  Let cool and place in fridge.  Serve chilled.  Yum Yum.