Getting delicious meals on the table quickly without spending a lot of money on convenience food is my super power…and it can be yours too!
I share how I reduce our grocery budget by using all the edible parts of a plant, save time by keeping a stash of cooked food in the freezer, and prepare for any emergency with home canned soups on the shelf.
When you use a variety of these tools, you can stop getting take-out because you “have to.” Now, you can enjoy take out or a night out when you want to and have planned for it.
Home canning is a fantastic way to preserve fresh food, but the cost of single-use lids can add up over time. That’s where reusable canning lids, like those from Harvest Guard, come in. If you’re looking for a sustainable and budget-friendly alternative to traditional canning lids, this guide will walk you through everything you need … Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about food security lately and what that truly means in our modern world. Up until very recently, people HAD to think ahead and make a plan for eating year round regardless of their climate. Now we can just pop into the grocery store and buy anything we want, in or … Read more
I think most people instinctively know how to plan meals, but we’ve got so many apps and systems available to us that we assume it can’t really be as easy as writing down what meals we want to eat for the week or month and then making sure we have the food to cook those … Read more
I love my freezer. I know that sounds a bit odd but I don’t know how I would consistently feed my family from scratch, healthy meals without a freezer. I use the freezer to preserve fruits and vegetables, store bulk foods, and store make ahead meals for those times when I don’t have time to … Read more
I was having a conversation with a friend recently and I mentioned that I like to freeze muffins before I bake them. Up until a couple of years ago I always baked muffins and then froze them. It worked great but it was time consuming to keep cooked muffins stocked in the freezer. Then I … Read more
One of my favorite things about the summer garden is the basil. We pretty much use basil for one thing….pesto. I shared photos of our first batch of pesto for this season and a couple of local friends asked me about freezing in glass jars. Then I got a comment on the post asking how … Read more
I’ve always believed that that of all our budget categories, the grocery budget is the easiest to save on from month to month. For the most part, there’s very little you can do about your mortgage, there’s only so much you can do to reduce energy costs, and I don’t know about you but our … Read more
Homemade soup is very easy to make using ingredients that you already have on hand. Soup recipes are great but they don’t have to be followed to make a great soup. Use this process to learn what makes a great soup so you can create your own family favorite, from scratch, soups and stews. Don’t … Read more
I love decorating cookies with my children. In fact, our oldest son was probably just 2 years old when I decided we’d decorate cookies together every year. So, for more than 20 years we set aside a day in December to make cookies and decorate them. Now that my kids are older, not everyone participates … Read more
After hurricane Harvey we were without power for eight days. We didn’t stay in our home during that time but did come daily to work on starting the clean up and to check on things. We were totally fine but one thing I was mourning was losing everything in my freezers. You see I have … Read more
Can you eat cauliflower leaves? Are broccoli leaves edible? These are questions I found myself asking a friend. I knew you *could* eat a cauliflower leaf but did it really taste good? I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders these things. Whenever my friend from Kenya comes over she reminds me of how many … Read more
Josiah has been gone for almost two months…how can that be? Almost daily, Esther asks if it’s been almost four months yet. Apparently time doesn’t fly as quickly when you are six as when you are….much older than six. We’ve been Skyping with Josiah on the weekends and it’s been really fun. We’re all curious … Read more
We love having people over to our home. Often my kids will ask if they can have a game night or dance with their friends. We also have things to celebrate with a lot of friends and family, like birthdays, graduations, Eagle Scouts and holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will also often have just a … Read more
Because of having several family celebrations recently, I’ve become very aware of our grocery budget. And Carl has become very aware of how often the “chicken bucket” has been full lately. It certainly isn’t out of control but it could use a little more planning, executing and attention. During our season of unemployment I was keenly … Read more
Note: Once a week I share a popular post from the archives. This post was originally published in January 2013. Although we have quite a few citrus trees all but one lemon tree are very young and did not produce this year. Thank goodness we have friends who have the most amazing grapefruit and lots of … Read more
With the holidays approaching you might be wondering if you can freeze cookie dough and bake the cookies later? Yes, you can! There are several ways to freeze cookie dough so that you can quickly have fresh baked cookies whenever you want them. Let’s chat about the different ways, what cookie dough freezes best, and … Read more
{update: Stacy’s books are on sale for $14.94 with free shipping right now! You can click here to order – and this is not an affiliate link) Last week when I reviewed Stacy Harris’ books and dvd, I asked readers what their biggest struggle cooking wild foods was. The vast majority mentioned the gamey … Read more
I did not grow up in a family that hunted, gathered or even had a garden. In fact, I was an adult before I had ever tasted wild game. My dad loved to fish and shrimp and since we grew up on the beach, I never thought twice about eating fish or sea food. But … Read more
Sometimes it really is the little things that can make all the difference in our schedules and in our budget. A couple of months ago I shared 5 things I regularly do that help me save time and money in the kitchen. I’ve been doing these things for a long time and don’t necessarily … Read more
Throughout history honey has been used as a sweetener and medicinally and for good reasons, it tastes delicious and has many antimicrobial and healing properties. Over time we’ve figured out ways to alter and standardize it for the for purpose of making the processing faster and increase profits. This has lead to some confusion over … Read more