What was for dinner? -Livin' High on the Hog

Tim commented to me the other day that I'd better slow down on the pork, or we'd have it all eaten by summer. We aren't going through it that quickly, but we have been eating quite a bit. Even though our home grown pork is leaner than store bought, all the pork we've been eating can't be healthy. My excuse? Well it does taste incredible, and everything else in the freezer is pretty much buried by the pork. Guess a freezer reorganizing job has been added to my to do list. 

I did manage to get in two dinners this week that only used pork for a little flavoring, and there were two dinners that did not include any pork at all. Here are what our dinners looked like this week. 

Saturday: (*)Grilled pork chops, (*) apple sauce, (*) green beans

I love when we get an entirely home grown meal in! It doesn't happen often in the winter, but it is a a really good feeling!

Sunday: (*) Roast duck, sauteed cabbage, mashed potatoes and gravy

Monday: (*) BBQ venison, coleslaw, rice pudding

Tuesday: (*)Grilled ham slices, peas, (*) corn

Wednesday: Mixed beans and (*) bacon soup, biscuits

Thursday: Baked potato bar with (*) bacon, broccoli, and cheese

Friday: Dinner at a friends. We brought rice pudding and pumpkin Amish bread  (without the cranberries.)

(*) home grown

Because I'm such a good and submissive wife (and I don't want to clog all our arteries) I will cut down on the pork next week. What Tim doesn't know though is that we were just offered another hog for the cost of the processing (about $130). Very tempting...A good use of tax return money?

Cutting Even Deeper

For the last month or so I've shared changes we are making to our finances.  It has been a few weeks since I last share. That doesn't mean that nothing is happening. In fact, there has been a lot of talk, some planning, and some changes have been implemented. 

I just finished reading Financial Peace. We will most likely be attending the Financial Peace classes when they start next month at our church. (Thanks to some generous people who have offered to help pay for it.) I soon will be starting a part time job. Both of those subjects are worthy of their own posts, but what really has surprised me is that I've cut our grocery expenses about 15%. 

Food was one budget area that I thought we had down. We grow a lot of our own food. We almost never go out to eat. Most of our meals are basic, and cooked from scratch. I really wasn't trying to cut the grocery budget, it just happened. 

After posting Something Has to Change, we decided that we had to stick to cash. Using cash envelopes is something we have done on again, and off again for a number of years. It works very well for us, and seems to be the only way I consistently keep to the budget. Wouldn't you know my next grocery day there was not enough cash to go around that week, so I took out one lump sum to cover groceries and gas until the next payday. 

No one went hungry. In fact, we ate quite well. The next payday I took out the same amount. Again we were just fine. So, what changed? How did we cut what we thought couldn't be cut anymore?

Using Cash

Sticking to cash makes you seriously consider and prioritize items before you just throw them in the cart. When it comes down to it, flour we need. Graham crackers we can do with out. 

Sticking to the Basics

Even before we did not buy a lot of bagged or boxed snack foods, but I was surprised at how easy (and beneficial to the final total) it was to cut out those things that remained. The only thing I've purchased in that category has been saltines. We cut out tortilla chips, graham crackers, and other snack type crackers.  We've made our own tortilla chips by frying corn tortillas. We even tried  making our own flour tortillas. 

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables are Optional

What we buy fresh is completely dependent upon the prices. The last few trips the prices have been high. The only fresh fruits and vegetables purchased were carrots, cabbage, and apples. This week Aldi had a fantastic price on grapes (2 pounds for $1.50) and some vegetables including broccoli ( 1 pound for $0.69.) There was a lot more fresh produce in the cart this week. 

Beans and Rice

These once supporting menu items have earned starring roles in our weekly menus. 

Buying No Meat

We aren't vegetarians by any stretch. We raise most of our own meat. With an addition of a whole hog to our freezer, the only meat I now buy is pepperoni. I plan to try making my own very soon. 

My point to all this is not to brag, or to tell you that you need to do what we are doing. The point I hope you take from this is that even when you think a budget category has been whittled down as far as you can, there may yet still be room for more trimming. I did not set out to trim this category, but when I was forced into it, I found that I could feed the family for less. That just frees up more money to pay off debt. 

This post submitted to Frugal Fridays. 

Photo credit: Tim_Berry

What to do with toilet paper tubes.

Last school year it seemed teachers at our homeschool co-op were constantly asking for toilet paper or paper towel rolls for projects they were doing in their classes. So, I started saving our toilet paper tubes. I accumulated quite the stash, and no one has requested toilet paper rolls for their classes in quite sometime.

Figures. 

So, what to do with all these cardboard toilet paper tubes? 

Remember all my seedlings? They were ready for a bigger home. Toilet paper tubes cut in half make great little biodegradable containers for seedlings. I cut the tube in half, and stuffed the bottom with a scrap of newspaper. Paper towel tubes can be used also by cutting them in three pieces instead of two. 

Simply Forties also used toilet paper roll tubes for starter pots. Instead of stuffing hers with paper, she cut the tube and folded it in a bit to create a bottom. See her post for instructions. 

I still have a few more tubes, but I have lots of seeds yet to plant. My tubes will all be used, but in case you aren't starting seeds, and have a stash of toilet paper tubes to use, here are some more ideas.

Crafts

Remember, that was what I was saving mine for originally. The Family Craft Section at About.com has a huge list of Toilet Paper Roll Crafts. Find crafts for all seasons, many holidays, and just for fun.

Make Fire Starters

In Dryer Lint Fire Starters, it was suggested to me by Suz, that toilet paper tubes make excellent fire starters when stuffed with lint.  I have tried this a few times since that post. They do work very well. They burn up a little faster than the ones I make in egg cartons, but they are easier to make. 

Even More Practical Uses

How to Reuse Paper Rolls has a great list of uses including keeping cords untangled, using them as hair rollers, and many many more. 

What was for dinner?

To quote Emeril, "Pork fat rules!" 

We got the first home raised pork this week. So far we've only tried the sausage, but it is wonderful! Much leaner than store pork, and great flavor! Can't wait until we get the smoked bacon and hams back! 

Saturday: Pinto beans and cornbread

Sunday: (*)Venison roast, rice, (*)green beans

Monday: Vegetable soup (L, *)

Tuesday: Pizza (with *sausage)

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner

This is always a fun and economical dinner. This week's version included (*) sausage gravy, (*) eggs, fried potatoes, and homemade biscuits!

Thursday: (*)Venison tacos (with from scratch tortillas,)  jalapeno baked rice (see recipe below)

Friday: (*) Venison chili

* grown here, L made with leftovers. 

Jalapeno Baked rice

2 cups uncooked rice (cooked to according to package directions)

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

Chopped jalapenos to tasted

2 cups sour cream

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 TB worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheese

In a greased casserole dish mix all ingredients except for the cheese. Top the rice mixture with cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350. 

Save on Seeds

I put my big seed order for the season in last week, and was feeling pretty good about the money I spent. I had a buy $25 get $25 coupon that came on the catalog. That can go a long when you order seeds. Those seeds (added to some manual labor) can go along way to feed my family. Yes, I was feeling good until my mom told me that I could have saved more using Ebates! 

How many times have I written here to always check  Ebates for coupons and rebates before you shop online?! I could have used my coupon and earned an 8% rebate for my Gurney's purchases if I'd thought to check Ebates first. I should have known. 

Do as I say, and not as I do. Check Ebates before you shop online. If you are new to Ebates, it is simple to use. Search for the store or product you are planning to purchase to find coupons and rebates. Click through to the vendors site, and shop as normal. You will get a $5 sign up bonus, and your "big fat check" comes quarterly. Use the links on this site, and I will also get a $5 bonus for referring you. 

Thank you to those who have previously joined Ebates using my referral links. I do appreciate it! 

What was for dinner?

Can you believe we didn't have power for two days again this week? Good thing the camp stove had not been put away yet. Here is what we ate this week.

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: (*)Venison roast, homemade bread, (*) green beans

Monday: (*) BBQ venison, rice, (*) corn

This is a quick and easy dinner using canned meat mixed with BBQ sauce. 

Tuesday: Pinto beans and cornbread

Wednesday: (*) Rabbit, roasted potatoes and carrots

Thursday: Tuna melts, peel on mashed potatoes, carrot sticks

Friday: Creamy broccoli and rabbit soup, cheesy biscuits

 (*) grown here

Have a great weekend! 

Making Changes: It Ain't Easy

Talk is cheap. 

Talking about changing our expenses and our income was easy. Implementing some of those changes? Well, that is much harder, but the changes are coming along slowly. 

On the expense side, we did cancel our trash service. My husband called to cancel the XM, and they offered him three months free with no strings attached. So, we still have the XM for another three months. We have not gotten the cell service switched over. That involves my mom and I both being available during the cell service business hours. We plan to take care of this expense tomorrow. 

The huge burden is our rental house. We've wanted to sell that house since we moved out of state. We did have it on the market when we moved. It didn't sell. Shortly after that the economic troubles started in that area. Keeping it as a rental has been a huge drain on our time and finances. 

We contacted a realtor and friend to see about putting it on the market again. He looked up the recent sales in a one mile radius. Our house is not in the best neighborhood. A one mile radius from it would cover some much nicer neighborhoods, and some worse neighborhoods. The top selling price in that area was less than we still owe on our house. The average selling price was 60% less than what we refinanced for almost five years ago. I knew that market was bad, but did not grasp the extent of it. 

The realtor suggested considering  a Deed in lieu of foreclosure in addition to the short sale that has already been suggested. The next step is to call the bank, explain our situation, and see if they are willing to work with us. We wonder if they will be willing to work with us since we are current on the mortgage, but we will not be able to stay current when we start paying on our student loans. I guess we just call, and see what happens. 

On the income side, my head was spinning after all the discussion on that post. The ideas and possibilities were swirling in my head, but I was not making progress on any of them. I finally had to sit down and put it on paper. I listed and prioritized the ideas. 

I would love to pull many of those ideas together into an educational consulting business. I would mainly work with homeschoolers I think, but I could also offer support and tutoring for other families. Getting something like this started would require a lot of time and energy. I just do not think I am up to right now. This has become more of a long term goal, and is at the bottom of the list. 

In the short term, we need to generate some cash. I'm keeping my eyes open for part time jobs, and getting the word out that I'm available for child care and tutoring. I went and took the Census Jobs Test. It should be only a matter of time until I get a phone call for that job. The pay is good for part time, twelve to fourteen dollars an hour in my area,  and the hours are fairly flexible. 

I have also signed up to take tester training with a local home schooling group. This does involve a little time and a little money, but is a piece of my long term goal that may bring some profit this spring.  The hours would be completly flexible, and the pay is good. 

In the meantime, preparing my tax return, getting clothing ready for a local consignment sale, and selling my cloth diapers are at the top of my list of income generating activities. An acquaintance also approached me about teaching her some gardening and cooking skills. She also offered to watch my children any time I needed. I was very touched by her offer, and can't wait to get started. 

Then at the bottom of the list is pursuing writing opportunities, beyond what I am already committed to. I would love to just earn a living by writing, but the pay for beginners just isn't enough. 

Talk comes easy, but implenting change is a harder, slower process. It is coming though. I know it will pay off. 

Image Credit: Darren Hester

What was for dinner?

This week went fast. We had a couple of activities to attend, and I spent an entire morning applying for a temporary Census Bureau job. In the time between it feels like all I did was laundry. Still trying to catch up. I think I'm always trying to catch up on laundry, but being without power a few days last week did not help the situation! 

And what was for dinner this week?

Saturday: Homemade pizza

Sunday: Super Bowl party at church.

This was a potluck soup and sandwich lunch after church. We took a simple potato soup, and Amish friendship bread. 

Monday: Mexi-beans and rice something or other, cornbread. 

This meal started out as chili made with white beans because that is what I had. After browning the meat and soaking the beans, I discovered I was out of tomato sauce. (The last of my home grown stash.) I used some broth and a can of tomatoes with chili peppers to make a soup instead. I was afraid it might be too spicy for the little ones. I made rice, and served the soup over the rice to help tone down the heat. My ten year old wanted a name for his dinner. The best we could come up with was Mex-beans and rice. Named or not, everyone liked it. 

Tuesday: (*) Venison round steaks, steak fries, (*) green beans.

Wednesday: Salmon patties, (*) corn, coleslaw

Thursday: (*)Venison roast, black beans, rice

Friday: Homemade pizza

Yes. For the second time this week. Believe me. No one complained. 

(*) grown here

What was for dinner at your house this week? 

Tomatoes in my Tub

There is still snow on the ground here, but soon it will be time to start the tilling and planting for the garden! I can't wait. I've been longing for the taste of fresh from the garden veggies.

This year I am trying to start many of my plants from seed. I tried this on a small scale last year, and was not successful. I think my error was in not properly hardening off my plants. This year I'm investing a little more time, and starting a lot more seeds. Awhile back I hinted to the project that I am now about to share. Do you remember what we are using for a seed starter? 

Yes. Good memory. We've have turned our bathtub into a seed starter. 

When we bought this house, the master bathroom needed quite a bit of TLC. We made some repairs, and started on a remodel. House projects are not top priority around here. They are superseded by farm and garden projects. The bath remodel went slowly. After being here for a summer, we realized that what would really be best for that space was a major re-haul involving removing the garden tub, expanding the laundry room, and creating a breezeway to a garage the currently does not exist. 

Needless to say, that project has not even approached the top of the to do list yet. In the meantime, we are left with a very ugly bath room, and a garden tub that we do not use. I thought the tub would be the perfect place to start some seeds. 

It was space we weren't using. It is an out of the way part of the house, and messes from the dirt and watering could simply be washed down the drain. Keeping in mind some tips learned from Phelan's Box and from the recent tutorial at Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op, we set out to turn the tub into a seed starter. 

Using a gift card, we picked up two fluorescent shop lights and some ceiling hooks. Tim put the hooks in the ceiling. Then he attached the lights using twine. The lights were hung very low, and will be adjusted upwards as the plants grow. We used twine because it was freely available to us. If you have to buy something, chains may be a little easier to work with. 

Next, we wanted to use something reflective on the bathtub sides, to help the plants get all the light they can. What you see in the photo is a solar blanket. This is an item that we once used on back packing trips. They aren't expensive, and this particular blanket, although still very reflective, was pretty much shot for use in backpacking. I cut the blanket in half so the bottom of the tub would not be covered and water could still drain. 

I started some early plants; broccoli  and Brussel sprouts. I intended to wait just a bit longer for the later plants, like tomatoes. 

Shortly after getting everything set up I got an email from a friend asking me if I wanted over two hundred tomato plants. Two hundred? Well that is way more than I need, and they aren't exactly the variety I'd prefer, but I'm not about to pass up free plants.

I need to transplant these soon out of their plugs. Tim used the rest of the gift card to buy some more lights to put up on the sides of the tub. You may notice the tray of English Ivy. There is another of sweet potato vine. These were part of the free tomato deal. As long as I have room, I will keep them all growing, and perhaps sell the tomatoes and add some flowers to make planters to sell with the vines. Remember those log planters I made? I'm thinking of making some more. 

I've also started a bit of lettuce that I am hoping we can eat this winter yet. Store bought lettuce just doesn't compare. Starting seeds and having growing plants helps to relieve a bit of my gardening itch. Now, to get the rest of my seed orders in! 

Amazon Grocery Sale Codes

The Grocery Department at Amazon has a couple of great promotions going on right now. Remember when you are buying from Amazon, shipping is free with a purchase of $25 or more. 

Unilever $25 off $75

Click on the link above to see all the products this applies to. Brands such as SlimFast, Lipton, Dove, Bertolli, All, and more are included. Offer good until February 28. 

Code: FEB9UNIL 

40% of Select Groceries

Click on the link above to browse the complete list. There are almost 500 different items. Among them find, Nabisco 100 Calorie Snacks, several brands of coffee and tea, Ritz, and McCormick, and Oreo. Offer good until February 8th. 

Code: DISCNT40

Hope you find some great deals to stock up your pantry! 

For more tips and ideas, go to Works for Me Wednesday.