Thrifty Thursday: Making Your Own Mixes

I love to cook from scratch for many reasons.  Want to read a few?

1.  More frugal:  You can make homemade items for pennies and save lots of money from prepared or boxed items at the store.

2.  More healthy:  I realize that making cookies and cake isn't "healthy" by the normal definition but it is much healthier to eat yummy goings without preservatives and extra ingredients that you can't pronounce so knowing what you are feeding your family.

3.  I LOVE BAKING!!!!  Homemade baked goods taste so much better and are more fun to make!!!

Many people don't cook from scratch because they don't have the time to do it.  I understand that because it gets busy and many people don't have the time to mix up everything but I find that most of the work is dragging everything out of the cupboards and not just making the item.

If I want to make cornbread, I usually take out a bowl and my two mason jars.  Do you wonder why?  I make one batch in the bowl to make now and the other two I mix the dry ingredients in the mason jar.

I make a really cool funnel out of paper because it is way easier to do with a funnel and I don't have one that hasn't been used on oil or stored in the basement so I am not taking any chances (plus the paper works pretty well and you can adjust the opening size).  I look at the recipe and I see that I need to add 1 cup of corn meal so I add it to each jar and the bowl.

Then I look for all other dry ingredients and I add the 1/2 c sugar to all of the containers.

I added the 1 cup of flour for the last level of the pretty layers.  Don't you like how the flour gets stuck in the top "funnel" but just shake it a little and it goes straight down. 

I take out the "funnel" and add the salt and baking powder.

I put the top on and give them a good shake to mix up the ingredients which is even easier then shaking it later.  Doesn't that look great??  On the top of the jar, I put a little sticky note with the ingredients that I need to pull out in order to make the cornbread and what temperature to heat the oven.  It is double great because I don't have to even pull out the recipe.  It is equal to looking at the back of the box to see how much milk, eggs and butter.  Could it be easier??

The great thing is that I have now spent the same amount of time and made one cornbread for dinner tonight and put two other ones in the cupboard so that I don't have to drag everything out again next time.  This is perfect to plan for the weekends when you might have a little more time or before the dinner rush because there is no reason why you can't leave the bowl on the counter for a few hours until you are ready to put it in the oven.

Below is the recipe if you would like to make it for yourself.  If you have a favorite recipe, feel free to fill it in place of this one.  I look forward to stocking up on flour and making cookies and other recipes.  If you don't have wonderful leftover mason jars, feel free to use ziploc bags.  These are easy to keep in the cupboard or the freezer.  The great thing is that they can be refilled over and over so that you always have things on hand to quickly throw together your favorite dishes!!

Even better to make them for gifts for friends to enjoy your great recipes!!!  Here is the recipe on how to make it and you can attach it to a jar if you are giving it as a gift (with or without the dry ingredients listed so that they can make their own).

Cornbread

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1 c flour

1 c cornmeal

½ c sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 c milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put the butter in a 10 inch pie plate and place in the oven to melt.
2. Mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl whisk together eggs and milk.  When the butter has melted, take the pie plate out of the oven and swirl the butter around to coat the pan.  Let it cool for 1 or 2 minutes, then pour the butter into the milk-egg mixture.  Whisk to combine.
3. Whisk liquid into dry mixture (not to much- lumps are okay).
4. Pour into the pie plate and bake for 25 minutes.  When it is done, the bread will be slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.  Serve immediately.  Leftovers keep for few days covered at room temperature. 

Kellogg's Family Rewards

I don't know if you have signed up for the Kellogg's Family Rewards yet but you should!!  I signed up at one point and already had 50 points in my account!!  What a super surprise!! 

There are some points right now to get free points.  Please sign up and add these free points and see what great rewards they have like coupons for large amounts off of products.  There are two "clearanced" coupons that only cost 50 points so check it out because with these, you would have enough to get them if you are interested!!!

HOWITWORKS20PNTS – 20 points
KELLOGGSMEDAL20P – 20 points
LVNGSOCIAL25PNTS – 25 points (exp 10/31)
KFRFIBERPLUSPOLL – 10 points (exp 12/31)

I am looking forward to learning more about this program!!!  Hoping for some great coupons soon :)

Pattern of Wounds Book Review

Pattern of Wounds (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand is the second book in the Roland March series of books.  I got the 3rd book, Nothing to Hide, through the Bethany House Review process and I really enjoyed it so I decided to start at the beginning.  I read Back on Murder shortly after back in August.  I had a few other books come up on my list and I didn't get to this book until now but it was worth the wait.  Read the other reviews by clicking on the titles above.

In this novel, Roland March, homicide detective, is working through issues brought up by his past behavior while working on a murder of a young girl (and then more cases are added to the pile).  His attitude gets him in trouble a lot and so do some of his quick actions.  He is well intentioned and you can't help routing for him in the end. 

I hope to read more novels in the Roland March series sometime soon!!  I checked out the author's website and it seems that the publisher only signed him on to write three books and this is the end of the series until another publisher picks up the series.  I am more sad to hear that but hopefully they will come in quickly so that I can read another book soon :)

Since there are only three books in this series, I did look to find another book by the author.  There is one that the author collaborated on and I am going to add that to my growing to read list.  If you want to add it to yours, check it out on Amazon here: Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand.

I hope that you check out the book at your local bookstore or library.  It is well worth the time and I suggest you read them in order to get the feel for the character.  I wish that I had read the first two books before I got my book to review but the good news is that it turned me on to a great book series so I am super grateful to Bethany House.  Crossing my fingers that they pick him up for book number four!!!

Sloppy Chicken Joes

I took all the pictures for this and totally forgot to post it!!  We had family come into town and all my blogging work took a back seat but the recipe was great.

I pulled out all the ingredients (mostly to double check that I have them).  I was going to use a bag of frozen shredded chicken when I put it on the menu but my mom brought some grilled chicken breast so I cut it up and use that!!  What a great use of leftover chicken of all kinds.

I opened up the cookbook that I got the recipe to double check that I had everything that I needed.  I realized that I forgot the tomato sauce and ran to get it from the downstairs pantry.

I was trying to decide if I was going to only make half of the recipe but I decided since it was the first time that I would make the whole amount and freeze whatever was leftover to use again.  I put everything in the pot and it mostly just looked like the tomato sauce.

I added in my bag of cut up frozen grilled chicken.  It was super easy and quick clean up which is always my favorite meal.  Of course, you can always use something from the fridge and these would have been in the fridge if I thought that I was going to use them quickly but since I didn't know, I played it safe and threw it in the freezer because nothing makes me more sad than wasting food.  Anyway, back to this meal.  The chicken is frozen and I didn't even thaw it first.

I mixed it all up and it was generously covered with all the extra sauce.  I let it simmer on the stove to make the sauce heat up and thaw the chicken.  It cooked up wonderfully!!

I heated up and sliced the frozen homemade rolls and topped with the chicken.  I was thinking about topping with Mozzarella or Jack cheese but I figured leave it as the recipe called for since it was my first time making it.  We served with a few of my McCain freebies of smiles and baby cakes which were super yummy with the sandwiches.

I thought it was a super tasty meal with a good amount of spice.  My husband thought it was a little sweet.  I guess the taste is different for different people but we both thought it was a nice change of pace.  I am looking forward to trying it with shredded chicken to see how that tastes!!  I hope that you try it sometime soon (especially if you have the items around the house).

Sloppy Chicken Joes
Modified on $5 Dinner Mom cookbook page 88

1-2 c Leftover chopped chicken breasts or leftover shredded chicken
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp prepared mustard
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4-6 homemade hamburger buns

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together tomato sauce, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Add the diced chicken breast (or shredded chicken), cover and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken pieces are heated through.

Note on the changes:  Original recipe used 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts and put them into the sauce raw to cook but I don't think that I would ever do that because I am a little grossed out by raw chicken and eating the things that touched them because I would think that the sauce would have to come to a boil to kill any of the bad things that are supposed to come from chicken.  Plus, I really think of this as a perfect leftover recipe which gives you a great way to make leftovers into a new meal.  It was really flavorful with the grilled chicken because that has a wonderful grilled flavor as an undertone.

Menu Plan Monday 10/15

Monday- Rotel Chicken with mexican rice
Tuesday- Tacos or Enchilada Smash
Wednesday- Homemade Pizza
Thursday- Chicken and Rice Casserole
Friday- Shake n Bake Pork Chops with mac and cheese
Saturday- Leftovers/Spaghetti and meatballs or Penne Meatball Casserole
Sunday- ???

I am at a loss for what to make by the time that I make it to Sunday.  We seem to get busy every weekend and the meals come up as a surprise.  I think that I should just make something up from the fridge and see where that takes me.  Sometimes it has me getting really creative and other times, we end up with a frozen pizza.  Oh well, both a good enough.  I hope that you have a yummy week planned too!

I Made It to the Store...FINALLY!!!

It feels like it has been ages since I have been to the grocery store but looking at my handy notebook, it has really only been 11 days.  How often do you go to the grocery store?  Are you a once a week shopper?  I usually shop as needed (or as the sales happen) which means that I go once a week.  I wanted to go last week to Giant and Harris Teeter and just couldn't fit it into the week with all the appointments.  I missed the deal on Quaker oatmeal at HT and the chicken deal at Giant :(  So I decided that I would make it to the store during the weekend when my husband was home just in case!!!

First, I decided to go to Giant to check out the prices and deals and use my $10 monthly credit.  I used a rain check to get 5 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juices because the ones on sale this week were only the 100% Juice and my husband doesn't really like that kind :(  Then I grabbed two Chi-Chis Tortillas for $1.50 ($0.40 after printed coupon) and the Oscar Mayer Lunch Meat for $1 ($0.50 after printed coupon).

Total OOP $2.99
Total Savings $24.74

After I grabbed a few of the local papers from the check out that were still remaining (only 4 copies), I headed out to Harris Teeter to see what deals I could make there!!  I had a pile of coupons and a list of Evic specials written on a paper but I wasn't really prepared for a shopping trip.  I started with my rain check for 4 loaves of bread for $0.77 each which is perfect because we really prefer Harris Teeter bread so we are all going to be having lots of toasts and sandwiches. 

I was off to find the deals of the week!!  I got 3 boxes of Cascadian Farms Granola bars and after sale, evic, coupon and online coupon.... they were $0.02 a box!!!!  I got two boxes of Kashi cereal and after sale, evic, coupon and online coupon...they were $0.20.  I love getting healthy food that is normally $4.45 per box for such a good deal.

I had a Catalina coupon print awhile ago for a free bag of Idahoan Potatoes so I grabbed a bag for free.  I think that I might use this as a thickener in my potato soup which is why I got the one that had a little cheese and bacon flavor because it might add to the yumminess!!!

I heard that there were a lot of deals with hang tags on the shelf and I saw my first one on the Muir Glen tomatoes.  I had a bunch of coupons and I was planning on getting the tomato paste but the deal was tomato sauce and diced tomatoes were $2.15 each and if you bought 5 items, you got $5 off so with no coupons it was $5.75.  I used coupons and got all five cans for $0.30.  It would have worked out better but three coupons didn't totally double but that made it $0.06 per can.  More healthy food for nearly free!!!

I grabbed 4 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios because I heard someone else say that they were a great deal but I was super surprised to see the shelf totally full so I did some quick calculations.  I bought 4 boxes at $2.50 each (normally $3.69 each!!) and then there was an instant savings of $6 so it was already down to $1 per box with no coupons!!!  Then I used coupons and online coupons and actually ended up making money on the transaction to get all my Honey Nut Cheerios for FREE!!!  I have to get some more coupons and go back to get some more ASAP!  It is my husband's favorite so he will be super excited to have more since he was down to eating the plain Cheerios and I know that it made him a little sad :(  He actually cheered when he saw me pull everything out of the bags so I guess I know what I need to stock up on!

I was headed back to look at the soup but I got distracted by the check out and forgot about the deal on the Progresso Soup until I was done checking out and it just came to me.  I told the cashier that I would see her again in a little bit when I went back for my soup :)

Total OOP $3.61
Total Savings $49.06

I put everything in the car and went back in to get the soup and I decided that I was going to get two Freschetta Pizzas at the $2.97 evic price so I grabbed only my coupons for those items and went back into the store.  I grabbed the pizza and went back to get the soup.  I was excited to find a light Baked Potato soup (only 2 points on WW) so I got 4 cans of that one and 1 of the full fat kind that was yummy the last time that I had it.  I wasn't sure about the deal because the shelf did not say that the light one was on sale but I got the cashier to ring them up with the backup soups in my cart just in case so I didn't hold up the line :)  I only used two coupons and an online coupon came off too!!

Total OOP $7.87
Total Savings $20.26

As always, Harris Teeter does not disappoint.  It wasn't even super doubles and I saved $69.32!!  I got a ton of good food that my family will love to eat (including some soup for me)!!!

I have to take another trip back out to Giant because even though my husband told me that my little man really wanted Frosted Flakes, I totally forgot the coupons when I went the first time.  I printed them out and I am going to head out and get a few boxes right now :)  Plus, I have to get gas and go to the library so one more run out and I am done for the day!! 

Update:  Stopped at the library to get newspapers, got gas and picked up Frosted Flakes, all with the help of my little man.  He was great listening to directions and we got in and out of the car at each stop without any trouble.  Back home in about 30 minutes!  It might be a world record for us!!!

Total OOP $4.01
Total Savings $12.10
That is one thing checked off my to do list and I am so happy that I got that done.  I hope that you have a great shopping trip this week too!!!  I can't wait to hear about it :)

Weekly Goals 10/14

This was the longest week ever!  We got so much stuff done around the house with my husband working on ripping out baseboard molding and putting in new molding.  It was a big project that has been on his list for a long time.  We also cleaned out a lot of the basement while getting ready for the garage sale.  I was very profitable to clean up the basement since we made $110.25!!!  YEAH!!! I was super excited because I didn't think that I had as much as I did for the last garage sale over the summer but I guess I did pull out a lot!!  With still lots to sell, we are going to have another yard sale next weekend.  It will be another busy week getting ready to stock another yard sale and clear out the basement!!!

This Week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with my family with a nice long weekend- We had a busy weekend and I was super sad when it was over because another day would have been really nice!!
• Get to Preschool on time- I can't believe how quickly the week went and it is already the weekend!
• Storytime at library- We had a million things to do and I cancelled both of the storytimes that we had this week to do other things.  We went to a playdate at a friends house on the first day and then we went to My Gym with a friend on another day instead of storytime.
• Meetup with friends at the park- We had a great time playing at the playground and it was a nice change to not be super hot or super cold so that we got to enjoy the park.
• Lunch date with friends after school (maybe at the park)-  We had a great time having lunch and then we went to play at our friends house so we had a super long playdate!

Personal Goals

• Dentist- I forgot to put this one my list so I guess I was just blocking it.  Glad it is finally over!
• Garage Sale- I didn't know I was going to be doing a garage sale this week but I am the first to jump on someone else's hard work and do a garage sale at someone else's house.  My neighbor called me earlier in the week and said that she was having one and wanted to know if I wanted to drag some stuff out to her house.  I still had piles of stuff together from the last garage sale so I was quick to say yes.  Then, I spent the week trying to pull out other stuff that we need to get rid of so that we don't have to move it (cross our fingers that we are getting ready to move eventually).
• Cut coupons- I started cutting coupons and got one insert done on Wednesday but then my son was done cutting so Mommy was too :) I finally got the second one done on Saturday night.
• Get coupons at library- UGH!!!  I totally didn't make it out of the house on Friday trying to get ready for a garage sale while the little man was at school.  It slipped my mind that it was Friday.  I was going to go on Saturday and I totally forgot with the yard sale and birthday party.  I am crossing my fingers that I can collect enough through the week at other libraries.
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy- I shut off the computer every night.
• Continued reading Pattern of Wounds (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand  and Momfidence!: An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting by Paula Spencer- I finished the first book at the beginning of the week and started working on the second book.  I made it very far through the second book with only a few pages left to go which I hope to finish tonight when I go to sleep!

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week- I did so many dishes this week and tried to keep on top of them during the day but they pile up so quickly.  Have you ever wanted to run the dishwasher when it wasn't full just because you knew that it was going to be busy later and you would end up with a pile on the counter?  It drives me crazy to have a backup of dishes!!!
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning- I did all the dishes (with some help from my husband when I was starting to loose steam) on Monday night to prepare for a busy week.

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday- Done
• Make a new recipe and post- Done, YUM!!
• Schedule at least 7 posts so that can spend more time with family- Done
• Review book reviews completed during the week- Done
• Work on a few posts to work ahead for the coming week- Done
• Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip- Done

This Week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with my family
• Get to Preschool on time
• Haircut for the little man
• Storytime at library
• Meetup with friends at the park

Personal Goals

• Cut coupons (if I ever get them)
• Get coupons at library on Friday
• Go to the grocery store!!!  Must go to store!!!
• Garage Sale
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy
• Pick a new book to read

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday
• Make a new recipe and post
• Schedule at least 7 posts so that can spend more time with family
• Review book reviews completed during the week
• Work on a few posts to work ahead for the coming week
• Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip