Cooking the Frugal Way

As we have gone to a more frugal life and really implement the changes we wanted to make our biggest issue was our food budget. Before we would make meals that were elaborate and super yummy, but really expensive if you did it too often (and that is what we did). We have learned how to stock up on meat and it not cost too much money (read this post I wrote a few months ago.), but we were still spending so much money on food. I am learning how to use coupons to stock up on things we use all the time like deodorant and toilet paper, but other things that cost money and we use often like mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. I don’t want a stock pile of 45 ketchup bottles because I don’t even think I would use that in my life, but a few bottles here and there at a great price would be nice.

The last few weeks we have been getting back to frugal cooking and I LOVE IT. I did not grow up with a lot of money and I remember always having yummy meals on the table and I never knew how much it cost to put on our table. Now as an adult I knew they were meals that were filling but less expensive to make.  Here are a few of the recipes I LOVE and have been go to meals the last few weeks.

I have a family of 5 so my recipes are set for approx. 8 helpings. You can cut it in half if you would like, or add to it if you know you need more to feed your family.

Hamburger Rice

2.5lbs ground hamburger

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup milk

3 cups of uncooked rice

Brown the hamburger and add seasoning if you want. Once your hamburger is cooked add the cream of mushroom soup and milk and mix it all together. While you are browning the hamburger you will want to cook your rice per the directions for your rice. We use a rice cooker so that makes things easier for us. When rice is done you will scoop the hamburger over the rice and your dinner is served. This is one my children’s favorite meals and they go back for seconds each time.

Poor Man’s Pie (Sheppard’s Pie)

2.5lbs ground Hamburger

2 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Milk

2 cans Corn

5 cups mashed potatoes.

2 cups shredded cheese. We use Colby Jack or Cheddar Cheese

Brown the hamburger and add seasoning if you want. Once your hamburger is cooked add the cream of mushroom soup and milk and mix it all together. Layer this on the bottom of a casserole (baking) dish.  Drain the corn and layer this over the hamburger mixture. We use instant mashed potatoes in our house for meals like this, but you can make “real” mashed potatoes if you want. When you have your mashed potatoes you will layer over the corn and top with the cheese. Place in the oven at 370 for about 30 minutes. Make sure the cheese is melted and let your dish continue to cook for a few minutes; just don’t let the cheese burn.

You can use green beans in place of the corn.

Poverty Hamburger

I got this recipe from Pinterest, so here is the pinned post. 

Paying with Cash and a Little Dave Ramsey

Like millions of people in the country my husband and I have debt. We both have student loans, credit cards, care loans, etc. WE HATE IT, we don’t want to owe people money. Over the last year we have been making sense of all our debt and coming up with a plan on how to pay it all off, not just the minimums and then some. This is a big adjustment for our family because we are used to eating out, driving new cars, buying things we want over just the stuff we need, ok really we live beyond our means.  It is time to change this because we are in our early 30’s, we have a family, and we want to teach our children that they can have the better things in life if they save for it and pay cash.

We started the Dave Ramsey program last year and I was not a big fan of the whole program, but we did take a few good things away from it. The biggest thing we took away from it is the need to budget our monthly expenses, as well as some yearly expenses and pay cash for most expenses. For example, we have budgeted $450 a month towards our groceries. We will take $450 cash at the beginning of the month and place it in an envelope. When we run out of cash in that envelope we are done for the month. That sure does put the pressure on to make sure you plan things out and stay within a budget. But, if we do well at budgeting and planning things out and we have extra money left in the envelope we can choose to keep the money in that envelope to make things easier the next month, we can put it in the savings account, or take the few extra dollars and place it towards the debt we have to pay off.  

Some expenses we have each year that we usually don’t plan out or save for until the end of the year are Christmas gifts, holiday dinners, and even car repairs.  We know it will be about $500 to get new tires on our car and that will need to happen in the next year or so. So we have a sinking fund for this, we took the $500 and divided it by 12 and each month we will put that amount ($42) in an envelope. This way we have the money and there will not be an issue or freaking out about where the money will come from when we need new tires. We will use this same method for Christmas gifts and such for next year. Again, this way when it comes time to buy gifts for everyone the money (and budget) is there and there is NO STRESS. We use this same method to plan a vacation a few years in advance, this way our family makes awesome memories and see the world but the stress of finances are not there and when we are done we will not have any more debt from that vacation. In 2012 we took an AMAZING vacation to Florida and then a cruise to the Bahamas. We visited Clearwater to see Winter the Dolphin, and a few days at Universal Studios before and after the cruise. It was amazing and completely paid for before we even left home.

Another important thing we took from our brief jump into the Dave Ramsey world is an emergency fund. We all have emergencies that come up, but as soon as we have an emergency fund this emergencies won’t be as stressful.

I am so excited to make these changes. I think by cutting out the debit cards and having cash on hand for things we need to buy will keep us in line. It is so easy to swipe a card and $5 here and $3 there really do add up before you even realize what is going on.

Our goal for 2015 is to save approx. $10,000 and pay off about $10,000 in debt. I will keep you updated on how this is going during the year and some of the things we have done to help meet this goal. I hope you all can keep me in line. 

Coupons… Where do I start?

My family has changed how they eat over the last few years and we rarely eat boxed dinners or foods with a ton of preservatives. So I never paid attention to coupons because I never thought they would be good for my family. Now I realize I should look at coupons and figure out this whole game of extreme couponing. Maybe not to the extreme as some of people take it, but I wouldn't mind a small stockpile of toilet paper, deodorant, and the other things we use often. But where do I start? Someone please help me out.

I see coupons for $1 off toilet paper, but when the original price is $9.99 how and that heck do I get it for free like you keep seeing other people? So over the next few months I will update you all on my quest to save money with coupons. I know it is possible and it is time I sit down and figure it out. 

Let’s Bake Some Bread

Baking bread is one of the easiest ways to cut a few dollars off your grocery bill each week.  What do you spend on bread each week? If you are like my family we eat one to two loaves a week, even if we were to get the inexpensive bread that adds up to $3.50 a week, about $14 a month, or $168 a year.  What could you do with an extra $168 a year?

Baking bread may seem scary but it really isn’t hard at all. It also seems like it will take all day long with the proofing and rising and baking, but again it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Here are a few simple recipes you can use. My husband is the baker so he has a bunch of recipes he uses but those are a tad more complicated than what I like to use.

My favorite bread is a simple Amish White Bread.

Ingredients:

§  2 cups warm water

• 1/3 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbls active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups flour

Add sugar to a bowl and then add water (make sure it is approx. 115 degrees). Sprinkle your yeast on top of the sugar and stir gently for 30 seconds and let sit for 10 or so minutes. When the mixture bubbles up you know you can move on to the next steps. Add your oil and half the flour mixture and then your salt (salt after flour as the salt kills the yeast). Add in the remaining flour and mix. If you are using a mixer you can put on your dough hook to mix.  Add flour to your counter top or baking mat and place the dough on your counter and knead the dough for approx. 3 to 5 minutes, forming a soft round ball.  Lightly grease a bowl and then add your dough ball to the bowl, flip it over so all sides are coated with the grease. Cover the top of the bowl with a damp warm towel or saran wrap and let it sit for about one hour. 

Once again lightly flour your counter surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Once the dough has doubled in size you will remove it from the bowel and punch it down and then cut in half. You will then need to form your dough into the shape of a loaf. Pinch the ends, or tuck the ends under, this will help create uniformity as your bread bakes. You will want to prepare a bread pan (9x5) by greasing the sides. Put your dough in the pan and cover and let rise for about 30 minutes (when the dough doubles in size).  When you cover your dough turn your oven on to preheat to 350 degrees. 

When your dough has doubled in size, place in your oven and bake for 25 minutes or so, until golden brown.  Right before the bread is finish you will melt 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter to brush on top when you pull the bread out of the oven. Let your bread sit and rest for 10 minutes after removing from the oven (and brushing the top with butter) and then remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

I know, I know, that seems like a lot of work for a simple loaf of bread. But trust me it really isn’t a lot of work (just very detailed directions) and it really is worth it.  For starters the bread tastes amazing, way better than what you would get in the store. Second, you know what is in your bread because you put it there. Take a look at the ingredient list on the back of your store purchased bread. I bet there are more ingredients listed than what is listed above and some of those you probably can’t even pronounce. Last but not least making your own bread is less expensive in the long run than buying a loaf of bread or two a week.  Kristen from The Frugal Girl did a very thorough investigation into how much it you’ll save by making your own homemade bread. She estimated that you’ll save at least $0.50 per loaf if you typically buy the very cheapest bread on the market (that typically sells for $0.99 per loaf). However, if you typically buy a little bit higher quality bread (that usually retails for $2-$3 per loaf, than you’re going to be saving $1.50 to $2.50 per loaf easily.

So happy baking everyone, I can't wait to hear how well your bread came out and how amazing it tasted. My husband just made fresh French Bread so I am off to enjoy a nice warm slice with lunch. 

Cutting Meat to Save Money.

Cutting your own meat you purchase in bulk DOES save money. This is something my husband and I have been doing for years now and we have noticed a really big savings. We started with a Costco membership but since moving this summer we ended up getting a Sam's Club.


This is what we purchased to last this month and a little bit of next month.

2 large pork loins. They were about $20 each.
2 beef sirloins. These are a little on the pricey side at $85 each. Don't let the price scare you though.
20 pounds of Hamburger (not pictured). Each 10 pound package was about $20

How much do you think all of that came up to? Come on, you can take a guess. =)  Ok, I will tell you what it came up to. Everything listed above was only $250; not bad huh?  All of this meat will feed my family of 5 for a full month and will give me extra for next month.

Here is a run down of all that is shown in this picture.

8 packages of Hamburger (2.5lbs each). 

2 large pot roasts. 

3 bags of stew meat. 

3 packages of steak (5 steaks each package)

2 large pork loins

5 packages of pork chops with 6 pork chops in each. 

Not pictured or added in the total above are the frozen hamburger patties we purchased. The package was only $13 and will give my family enough for 3 full meals. I know I could make my own hamburger patties but I am too lazy to do that.  

No, we don't only eat pork and beef all month, but I stocked up last month on chicken and some fish so I had no need to get any this month. My freezer has been so empty since we moved and I am working hard at stocking up on my meats and my freezer meals. 

Cutting your own meat does not have to be difficult or scary, really it is easy. All you need available is the meat (of course), a good knife, and something to store your meat in. 

When you cut your pork loin into chops you cut them into 1 in segments (or however thick you want them).  If you want a large pork loin to throw in a crock pot (makes great pulled pork sandwiches) or grill you just cut that portion. I just cut the large pork loin in half and this will give us enough of a pork loin for my family. 

Picture from "I believe I can fly"

The sirloin comes in this big chunk of meat and may look a little scary to cut up.  We cut larger chunks off for our roasts and then work on the steak and stew meat. I just cut the steak into sections like I do for the pork. I will put a small section aside and cut that into chunks for stew meat. 

The hamburger comes in large 10 pound packages like you would buy any other package of ground hamburger. I use a small scale to weigh out the meat into 2.5 pound packages. If you don't have that you can also cut the large section into 4 sections. 

Not only does cutting your own meat save you money but you are less likely to go to the store on a whim to buy meat or call for take-out because you didn't go to the store and this will save you even more money. 

I'm baaack... many changes to come.

I must apologize for my absence over the last year, it sure has been an amazing and hectic one. However, it is now time to share all of my cost cutting secrets with you so you can living an amazing year like we have.  The biggest and most exciting news I have to share is that we are now home owners.  Yes, you read the correctly, we are home owners and we are loving every minute of it. 

The few things I have learned from moving one house to another are: 

1.) Moving Sucks.

2.) Moving is Expensive.

3.) If it can go wrong it will go wrong.

4.) You find so much nifty stuff you forgot you had.

I am sure that list is a pretty common list when someone moves,but for me it was even harder because I was doing everything on my own. Due to my husband's injuries he wasn't able to help much more than keeping an eye on the baby while I pack and move things around. We chose to rent a Uhaul and hire moving helpers to load and unload the truck. We did save money and that was the point but honestly I think if we ever move again we will hire a company to come in and pack and do all the work. I was stressed to the max, very ill (from exhaustion), and just not a happy camper by the end of the move. 

Now that we are home owners I have the fun task of decorating an entire house on a budget. I am sure we will have home maintenance issues pop up that we have to deal with as well. I have a feeling YouTube and I will become really good friends over the next few years. But that is okay because we are home owners and I love my house. 

I can't wait to share all of my DIY projects, even if they are considered a fail and I am sure we will have a few of those. Besides the unpacking and decorating the house I have three projects lined up and so far the first project is coming along nicely. So don't forget to come back and learn some awesome DIY projects, money saving tips, and general life advice.

Now I am sure you all are waiting to see pictures of the new house so here they are. 

This is our gorgeous Cap Cod style home. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a completed basement. 

This is most of our backyard. The yard goes further down to a creek.

The day we got the keys to our home. I kept this larger key so I can add it to a shadow box one day. 

The one area in my home that is put together.