Recipe of the week Thursday

This weeks recipe is Pancakes and syrup. If you are not making your own pancake mix then you really should. It is super simple and the pancakes taste just like Ihop or other restaurant pancakes. And syrup is also really simple to make. You could in 1 hour make up enough pancake mix and enough syrup to last months, depending on your family size. We eat pancakes for lunch and for dinner. I have them on my menu at least 7 times in a 2 week period for breakfasts and at least 2 times for a dinner. Pancake syrup 1 cup water 1cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. maple flavoring Put all in a pan heat to boiling, turn heat to medium high and boil until you reach the consistency you like. Longer boiling means thicker syrup. Let syrup cool and store in a mason jar or an old syrup container. I always quadruple this recipe for our size family. Pancakes (Make ahead, big batch) 12 cups flour 4 cups dry milk 3/4 cup baking powder 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbl salt Mix thoroughly and store in airtight container for up to 6 months. I would advise that you freeze your flour for a few hours after you purchase it and you won't have to worry about bugs in your mix. To make pancakes ( This makes about 8 large pancakes) 1 1/2 cups dry pancake mix 1 cup water 1 egg 2 tbl veg. oil Mix all together, Cook pancakes and enjoy!!!! Have a great Friday, Michelle

Good Buy Wednesday

I have quite a list for this week, There are some really good deals out there and I have not done any really large trips in awhile. So here goes for my local readers or any who have these stores. Save a lot Shank ham .99lb pork roast 1.29lb Maxwell house coffee 4.99 6 roll paper towels 3.99 hilshire farms kielbasa 1.99 dry onion soup mix .89 whipped topping .89 bleach .99 snak sak cookies 1.29 I regularly purchase sausage links, flour, sugar,brown sugar, powdered sugar, choc chips,and flats of veggies, beans and soups at save a lot and will this time too. I would compare save a lot with aldi's myself. Dollar tree is next I need my monthly items from here 10 packages of flour tortillas 10 packages of corn tortillas 10 boxes of ziploc baggies total $30 Marvin's Grocery Store Birds eye veggies and steamers .78 - all the coupons that are out there from Sunday inserts, I hope to purchase at least 20 of these with coupons. Kellogg's cereal $1.78 each plus my coupons Skippy peanut butter is .98 each limit 2 plus my coupons 10lb potatoes 2.99 act 11 popcorn 3 pk 5/5 plus my coupons post cereal 5/10 plus my coupons Betty crocker muffin mixes and pizza crust mixes 3/1 mc cormick vanilla 1.99 plus coupons mc cormick taco,burrito,enchilada,fajita seasoning 2/1 sargento cheese 2/4 plus coupons sunny d 2/3 5 lb ore ida potatoes 4.99 maruchan ramen noodles chicken 4 (6packs) $5 2 bars fels naptha soap Country Mart (Coffeyville, Kansas) libby's fruit 10/10 idahoan potatoes 10/10 mc cormick ranch or spinach mix 10/10 worcestire sauce 10/10 pie filling 10/10 del monte fruit cocktail 10/10 dole pineapple canned 10/10 mc cormick potato seasoning 10/10 kraft salad dressing 10/10 teddy grahams 10/10 armour peperoni 10/10 boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.59lb ( This is a great price for here, I will be buying 25lbs) Rice a roni 2/1 yogurt 20/10 green and red lettuce $1 Kretchmar ham off the bone 4.99lb xtra lean ground beef $2.59 lb (Good ground beef is scarce around here so when It goes on sale at Country Mart here I purchase large quantities, I will be getting 20lbs) Other then a few extras from Walmart that will be it for this week. Looks like our meals this next 2 weeks will consist of Ham dinner, Ham and potato soup,Ham sandwiches, Meatloaf, Spaghetti, Ghoulash,Chicken stir fry, Ranch chicken wraps, Chicken fajitas, Chicken noodle soup with dumplings, BBQ chicken, Pizza 2 times. I don't usually purchase lunch meat ham. But I found a great recipe for the kids to make and it calls for it. Layer in muffin tin One slice of the ham lunch meat, Sprinkle grated cheese and bake 10 minutes at 350. They love to make things themselves and this is easy and simple. Gotta run baby is stirring. Hope we are past the teething for a bit here until the next one comes in, I have missed blogging. Have a great rest of the week all. Michelle

Monday Madness

And yes it is, Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow. My cute little quiet boy has gone nuts!!!!! He will not have anyone else hold him just screams and cries. And he will not sleep unless I am holding him. We are going through a phase here and it is very hard being by myself and having the other little ones running around. Anyway just wanted to touch base with you all and let you know I will be back regular blogging as soon as we get through this. I can't bear to hear him cry I am not a cry it out mother lol Have a great week all and I miss blogging already but can't leave little Miah to himself. Michelle

Frugal Friday

Well hello all I am still here, The baby has been battling his tooth all week and I am exhausted and he is grouchy. Well he is starting to pull out of it today I think....One tooth popped up and I think the other one is right there. Gripe water has been helping but he still seems fairly miserable. Anyway hopefully for tomorrow I wanted to post all my seedlings pics and my plan for planting, that is if it ever stays warm enough here, Just when I think after 4 days of 80 during the day and 50 at night cold hits again and it is 25 at night. I want to get my little plants in the ground, I am anxious this year, plus some seem to be outgrowing their little containers. I planted a bit of everything and I will talk about that tomorrow. Just wanted to update on where I have been this week. So now to my frugal tip of the week.......... I use so many rags, Sometimes I can't believe how many rags I use in one week. I was buying them but seemed not right to take brand new washcloths or whatever else was on sale and use for rags. So I started saving and cutting up everything. Tablecloths that were useless, Old t shirts, old bath towels just about everything. I just got done cleaning out the baby clothes and everything he had accidents on or I could not get the stain out of became rags. This saves money buy not buying new and re purposing. It saves from using paper towels which are expensive. It is environmentally friendly and it just feels good. I don't feel the least bit guilty cleaning up something terribly gross and throwing the rag away, it served it's purpose. Well gotta run baby is hungry and tired. Have a great weekend all. Michelle

Saving Money Sunday

My money saving tip this week is gardening. I know there are a ton and I mean a ton of websites that tout gardening as money saving for growing your own food to supplement the grocery store and this does save a TON of money and I don't deny that. But there are other benefits to gardening that save money. I am not in any sense of the word an outdoor girl, I tell people I am allergic hahaha. But gardening gets me outside and I don't have to supplement with Vitamin D3 I get it naturally and that saves money. It takes time to start your seeds and get them growing you can make this a fun time with your kids or like me I use this as "My Time". I go off by myself and have a few hours of planting my seeds. Free me time!!!! Getting your beds ready for planting is quite strenuous for an indoor girl like me, I use muscles I don't normally use so this is free exercise and takes a day so it is free entertainment ( This I do incorporate the kids and the hubby to help and get their free stuff too)!!! Planting your plants and taking care of them the whole season is an everyday activity. The kids love helping and getting the leaves or the weeds out. Some of the days they can do their swimming while I work in the garden, since I have little ones who have to be watched while they swim I would normally get bored and think of a thousand things I need to take care of in the house other then just sit and watch them. Now I can keep busy and watch them at the same time. Lastly, I get darn right giddy when I get even 1 bean to pick!!!! That is a free satisfaction that no shopping trip can compare to!!!!! Try it big or try it small I promise that if you turn your whole backyard into a growing wonderland or if you have a few small containers on your patio or porch you will love it !!!! Happy Free gardening stuff, Michelle

Survival Saturday

Today I wanted to finish up the bail out bag or 72 hour kit for my older kids and the adults. Adult ( older child) 1 pair jeans or heavy pants 1 t shirt 1 jacket 2 pair underwear 4 pairs socks bug spray 4 water bottles granola bars, protein bars, snacks first aid kit medicine kit hand warmers hat pocket knife matches solar charger for phones etc (homemade by son) small blanket ( wool army issue bought at supply store) fishing line and hooks We also have one backpack that is just homemade mre's. Also my children have put some extra things for them in each. I have sunscreen and baby sunscreen in mine also and a roll of quarters. I also have a bar of soap and toiletries in mine and a small bottle of homemade laundry soap. I also have steel wool for starting fires. Michelle

Frugal Friday

I loveeee sometimes I think just a bit more then some other people ( in general) saving money. And here it comes the "But" part, sometimes we end up spending money to save money. You have to be really careful with stockpiling, couponing and searching sales. I believe in in all of these things. I could not have some of the things I have without doing these things.
But if you are not careful like I wasn't when first starting out you will spend way more and I mean alot more then you intended and not really save money. I had to learn this the hard way. That leads me to today at Walmart. They had jackets on sale for $2. This is not abnormal for Walmart or other stores to have sales these deep after season. But for many many years I would have bought them, OMG $2 jackets!!!! Now I stop and think and ponder most purchases. Do my boys really need those jackets, How many jackets do they have at home, Do I want any more clothes to wash which will lead to more spending for laundry soap electricity etc. Well my answer today was no way. They have jackets, One for every type of weather. I have 4 boys I would have purchased these jackets for if I did not stop and think. That would have been $8 and tax. I get giddy when I find a coupon while shopping for something I need that someone left behind or is attached to a product I am buying, Giddy over saving $.25 on something I was gonna buy anyway. So I do not want to throw $8 away on something that is not needed.
I love to coupon and sometimes when I see that there are several coupons that will get me free or really cheap items that I would be buying anyway I will purchase 8 copies of that paper. I have to be able to justify that $8, I have to be able to get my money back for the newspapers and still save money or make money. Some weeks I do purchase 8 copies but some weeks I only purchase 1 or none. If you are truly trying to save money or to be frugal which I might add is not a fad, it is most definitely a mind set and a way of life, you have to think about everything you buy.

Michelle