Feed Bag Turned Tote Bag (last nights project)

This was my first try at making a feed bag tote. Not perfect, but it's a fun way to use up all the feed bags we use up around here. I'm not good enough at explaining how I did it to do a tutorial, but there are lots out there if you google "how to make a tote bag from a feed bag". Curbly.com has a cute one from a bird seed bag, and there's a cute one from a chicken feed bag on instruct ables.com. The one tip I will give is: when cutting the bag, make sure you measure and cut so that the picture you want on the front is centered and cut out the way you want it, allowing for seams and room to box the bottom of the bag. My friend made a bag from a deer corn bag and used matching material to line the top of the bag and for the handles. It turned out really cute. Go ahead try it!

What's for Supper?

Ground Turkey & Vegetable Stew and cornbread is what's for supper at my house tonight. I have a big container of some really good leftover broth from my chicken and dumpling soup that I made a couple of nights ago that I hated to see go to waste. So, I decided I would add some ground turkey to it along with some zucchini and potatoes and have it for supper. I love using leftovers up, and this should make for a pretty easy meal which is always good on Wednesday nights since we have church. I'll let you know how it turns out.


By the way, the leftover broth was made from homemade chicken broth and I had added some onions, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, salt & pepper, basil, and a bay leaf to it. Oh, and some fresh oregano leaves.

Update: It was really good!

How the Snowy Weather/Bad Roads Saved Me Money Last Week

1. Saved money on gas by staying home.

2. Stayed out of the stores so wasn't spending money on stuff I didn't have to have.

3. When I needed something from the store I sent hubby for it on his way home from work, which saved me time and money on gas again.

4.On Saturday, we finally had a really pretty day and I ventured out of the house. The whole town was so glad to be out of their houses and needing to shop for their Super Bowl parties, so Wal Mart had no shopping carts available or hand baskets, so I only purchased what I could carry in my hands. So, I narrowed down my menu a little, making do with what I had at home again, and saved a little more money.

Now if I could only learn a lesson from this, and put it into practice.

Thrift Store Find

Look at the cute pajamas Nolan's momma found him at the thrift store! I enjoy looking at other peoples thrift store finds, so I thought I would let Nolan model his new pajamas. He doesn't look like he seems to mind, now does he?

What's Stressing You Out? What Do You Need To Lay Down?

This time of year can be very stressful. As if us ladies didn't already have enough to do, now we have to think about decorating, gifts, parties, Christmas dinner, and on and on. If we're not careful our spiritual lives suffer. Isaiah 26:3 says, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee..." . Christmas is supposed to be a time of remembering and celebrating Jesus and His birth anyway, isn't it? If you're finding yourself stressed out, ask yourself if your mind is truly on Jesus? If it is, you should be at peace.
I know that a lot of the stress comes from the added financial burden that comes with the holidays. However, Hebrews 12:1 says, "...let us lay aside every weight...which doth so easily beset us." I'm not saying not to celebrate, but think about what is truly weighing you down. What's getting your mind off of Him? Is there a way you can make things simpler and less costly for yourself and your family this year? Is it really necessary to exchange gifts with all of the people that you do? Are you trying to not look cheap and impress with the gifts you give? Give something inexpensive, but fun this year. I think I'll share some of my own ideas and things we are doing in my next post. Anybody else want to share some of their own ideas?

From Flop to Frugal

A few nights ago I tried out a new biscuit recipe. Well, I made a couple of substitutions, using what I had on hand and it didn't work out so well. They were edible, but just barely. No one asked for seconds, and I had lots left over. Being the frugal homemaker that I am, I can't bear to throw anything away if I can help it. It called for a lot of butter and butter is expensive. I also had some green apples that were awfully sour and were not getting eaten very quickly, so I decided to experiment. I first sliced the apples up in a pan. Then I crumbled the biscuits up in the food processor with some brown sugar and a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Next, I sprinkled the crumbs on top of the apples and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. It was wonderful! The perfect warm, fall, apple crisp! I love the creativity that being frugal brings out in us.

"Poor Stories"

Are you afraid of how your poor financial situation right now might affect your children? Are you unable to provide all the things that you would like to for them? Well, don't worry about it too much, you may be helping your kids create some GREAT poor stories!
When my oldest son, Jonathan was working in the office at the university here in town, he came home one day telling me about the great time he and a fellow worker had that day talking about the things their families did when they were younger and didn't have much money. One of his stories was about what a big deal it was to get to go to McDonald's once in a while when we were in town running errands. We would buy two .69 cent hamburgers and 2 fries and split them between the four of us (3 kids and mom)and have water for everyone. Now that was fun! Well, he and his co-worker were having so much fun telling their stories and rolling with laughter that another young man working in the office said that he felt left out. He didn't have any " poor stories" to tell. Poor guy!

Philippians 4:11-12 "...I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. "

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say rejoice."

Feeding Your Family Frugally

A lot of people are having to cut back on their grocery bills right now. Not just so mom can stay at home, but because dad has last his job also. As I was praying for different people in our church who are needing work, I started thinking about this, and about the ways I have stretched our grocery dollars. My husband is a meat eater so usually the first thing I think about in preparing a meal is what kind of meat to start with.
Some really inexpensive choices are:
-liver (we happen to love it)-fry it with onions, and eat it with mashed potatoes and gravy.
-canned salmon-make it into salmon patties or season it and bake it in the oven.
-ground turkey-I cook with the frozen turkey sausage because I like the flavor better. I think it's Jenny-O. Anyway, it's cheaper than ground beef at Wal-Mart.
-ground breakfast sausage-you can usually buy this cheaper than ground beef and it is great in spaghetti sauce.
-smoked sausage-great cut up either with sauerkraut(mix in some sour cream and it takes away the tartness), or fried with chopped potatoes, or in macaroni and cheese.
-a bag of boneless chicken breast-take out one or two piece of chicken at a time to cut up and eat in a soup, casserole or sauce.
-regular fat ground beef-according to the book "Nourishing Traditions" we don't really end up with that much more meat by buying a leaner meat, because the lean meat loses moisture while cooking. So, there is not a lot of difference in the amount that the two cook down. (The book also talks about the nutritional reasons to buy fatty meat, but I won't get into that, you'll have to read the book).
These are some of my favorites meats to cook with.
We also have eaten lots of beans, first as a soup and then what was left we made into refried beans and had lots of tostados and burritos.
We have also eaten rice every way there is to season it and eat it. Adding either cut up chicken or ground beef to make it the main dish.
I'll end with a couple of recipe ideas:
Hamburger-Rice Skillet
1 lb. ground beef, 1 med. chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper(opt.), 1 minced clove garlic, 1 c. rice, 1 16 oz. tomatoes, 1 8 oz. tomato sauce, 1 tsp. Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1 1/2 c. water, 1 tsp. salt.
Cook beef, onion, pepper, and garlic-add rice. Cook 2 minutes stirring. Add undrained tomatoes, tom. sauce, Worcestershire, basil, water, and salt. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, cover, simmer 25-20 minutes.
Garlic Chicken Spaghetti
Melt one stick of butter and saute 1 or 2 tsp. of garlic (to taste) , 1 tsp basil, and 1 or 2 cut up chicken breast. When chicken is cooked through, you can either mix it with cooked spaghetti and eat it like this or add 1 or 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (depending on taste and how far you want it to go), heat, and eat over cooked spaghetti. Oh, and don't forget to add some Parmesan cheese.

Leftover Delight

Recognize this dish? Probably not. Monday night it was my One Dish Dinner, last night it turned into, lets call it, Italian Sausage Helper. I hate to waste anything. Last night I cut up the couple of slices of sausage and heated it up with the onions and peppers in a skillet with a little water and garlic. Next I added about a cup of marsala cooking wine(I just happened to have this, if I hadn't I could have used chicken broth or apple juice) and let it heat a couple of minutes. Then, I added about a cup of gravy leftover from breakfast (if I hadn't had gravy I could have used a can of cream of something soup or just some heavy cream), a little basil and cayenne. When this was warmed I added some cooked egg noodles, sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top, and wah lah. It was very tasty. And guess what? We had leftovers. I think I'll put them in the freezer and add them to a soup one day.

I love making new dishes from leftovers. Recently, my husband came in and asked what we were having for supper. I said,"Tamale Pie". He looked in the oven and said "That looks a lot like the taco soup and cornbread we had last night". I can't get anything past him.

Proverbs 18:9 "He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster."

Frugal Faye

A few weeks ago I told you I was going to start spotlighting and sharing some wisdom from some older Titus 2 women. I hadn't forgotten. Yesterday, while I was at Faye's house quilting, she said, "I told my husband I need to cook some big pots of beans to can while it is still cool out." She said she always cans her beans in the winter so that in the heat of summer, she just has to open a jar, season it, and heat it up, instead of cooking it for hours and heating up her house. In the winter she appreciates the heat in her house because her kitchen is not heated. This lady cans everything.Baked beans, potatoes, you name it, nothing goes to waste at her house. Last week when I was at her house, she threw together a stew for lunch, using a jar of brisket she had canned. She had some brisket left over from an anniversary dinner her kids gave her and her husband, so, she canned it. It was delicious!

Making Laundry Detergent

I love making things from scratch that can save me money and hopefully be better for us. Today I am making laundry detergent. I usually make it liquid, but, I thought I would try the powdered recipe and see how it works. I got the recipe from http://www.tipnut.com/ . I hope I like it, it sure is easier than making the liquid.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

2 cups finely grated soap (I use Zote, but you can use any mild soap)

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax

Mix all together. Store in airtight container. Use 2 T per load.