How to Make Supper and Chicken Broth All at Once

If you have a whole chicken, or a few whole chicken legs, or even drumsticks to cook, here is an idea! Cook them in a slow cooker to make shredded chicken* and chicken broth all in one swoop!

Broth, cooled and ready for the fridge!

Oil your slow cooker (crock pot) and then salt the bottom.

Put the chicken (boneless chicken will render next to no broth, so please use on-the-bone chicken) in a slow cooker and set it on low.

Fill water to the top of the chicken.

Salt the pot of water and chicken.

Cover the slow cooker.

{insert sleep}

Wake up.

Grab some elixir of the gods (coffee).

Use tongs to remove bones and chicken.

Strain remaining liquid.

TA-DA! Shredded chicken and chicken broth all in one!

Refrigerate your broth and use within three days (use good judgement, please), or freeze it for later.

I like to think that Auntie Leila would qualify this as save-a-step cooking. :)

Happy Autumn! Happy cooking!

*The chicken breaks down and falls off of the bone with the low heat and water.

Useful tip: Freeze the broth in ice cube trays for ease of use.

Sleep for Free!

Right now Kohl's has pillows for $4.99 each! 

And they are delivering these bad boys to yer mailbox

So run in store,

grab a discount hand sanitizer

Because you have to hit $10 pretax, says my cashier. 

Then do your thang at checkout so your receipt looks like this:

And your savings total this:

Because if your house is like mine, there is usually a pillow that has seen far too much urine and/or vomit despite 100 trips into the washing machine. Gross. BUT i think I feel a few fist-bumps of solidarity. 

So, go girl! Stick it to the man and get you some fresh ZZZZs!

Beauty of Farmer's Market

While I'm ever at the quest for the most affordable, local and healthy options for my precious family, I always come back to a particular farmer's market in the area.

It's the people whose parents were adults in the Depression...and a few farmers are grandchildren of the Depression-era. There aren't many vendors - maybe five regularly, although it can be as many as nine or 10 in the summer months.

I'm always greeted with warmth and smiles (even when it's in the 20s!).

There is laughter and good conversation - leave your small talk at home (alleluia!).

And the quality: SUPERB.

The service: UNMATCHED.

The prices: FANTASTIC.

Carrots 1.50/bunch

Napa cabbage 1.50/ lb

Parsley 1.50/bunch

Traditional cabbage 50 cents/lb

Red potatoes 1.00/lb

Everything pictured: 10.50

I'm aiming to implement Jeff Yeager's, the Ultimate Cheapskate, principle of paying 1.00/lb or less for all items. This week I purchased no meat, since we have some in our deep freezer. 

Aiming for 1.00/lb or less has been rotten a few times. Literally. Like the food is not quite as fresh or crunchy or maybe it's just "too crendy" as Rita says. Crendy = ????? (no true translation). She has called my hair (on a bad hair day) "crendy" and something this is strange tasting or not to her liking is also "crendy." Best. Kid. Ever. Anyway, the 1.00/lb "rule" has been mostly good, so I do my best to stick to it for produce by purchasing what is in season rather than mark-downs, if that makes sense. I've made it a point not to buy any meat over 3.99/lb, which allows us red meats on sale and always poultry. Some weeks I splurge with bacon, I probably average that splurge once a month. We save so much by cooking at home. I want to cook what we love to eat, hence bacon monthly.

My PSA:

Please visit localharvest.org to find a farmers market near you or if a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) works for you then sign-up! A CSA is usually just a simple pick-up and drop-off system. I enjoy stocking-up on what I can by attending market. But with a baby expected to arrive in April I am considering (although, not too seriously, because sometimes a momma outing is just what I need) a CSA just for this spring (about $10/week for a full brown grocery bag of produce-mostly veggies).

7in7 D-O-N-E!!!

NOTES:

• Hooray to getting the draft count down and to sharing some posts I didn't want to lose and to finally cranking out Jo's birth story - 'cause another is on the way! 33 weeks! Can't go more than a couple days past 41 weeks - I feel like this is the home stretch!

• Happy Happy Sunday and have a happy Mardi Gras! The kiddos have leaky faucet noses so we are laying low, and this momma is happy about that!

• Probably not keeping-up the posting on a daily basis - but going to keep you updated as we await our very active bambino, who happens to LOVE when I eat PB&J.

Buying Herbs in Bulk: A 7QT of Sorts

Seven Quick Takes - All on the Same Subject (I think this might be cheating the rules!)

Totally unrelated but I think pretty. New kitchen rags! Washed, folded and ready for use. 

1. Buying herbs in bulk has been awesome awesome awesome for me!

2. Have you ever visited Mountain Rose Herbs? You should click on through! Serious! Want want want everything I see!

3. I ordered from them...a long time ago...I really honestly can't remember when, but this draft was started in July of 2012. That should give you an idea! (I ordered a pound of raspberry leaves and 1/2 a pound of nettle leaves - just getting low on the nettles now.) The herbs still taste fabulous in tea and I try to whip-up a batch of my home blend of the nettles and raspberry leaves, both of which I ordered from, you guessed it, Mountain Rose Herbs, for any new mommas I know!

4. I know these herbs have a delicate shelf life but I keep them in a dry, cool, dark cabinet and mix-up the two herbs into a separate container so that I'm not dipping into and opening the main bags every day.


5. Herbs that I have found wonderfully helpful to keep stocked (as loose dry leaves):

Chamomile (teething, fever, anxiety, restlessness, sleeplessness)
Peppermint (upset stomachs, gas, nausea)
Raspberry Leaves (pregnancy, nursing)
Nettles (pregnancy, nursing, antihistamine)

6. Other items for herbal remedies:
Lemons
Ginger Root
Onions
Honey

7. In addition, Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs has been super helpful. My brother gave it to me two Christmas' ago and I probably reference it monthly, on average. Every recipe has been really great and helpful.

No one paid me for these opinions - they are mine-oh-mine but if Mountain Rose Herbs wants to say thank-ee that would be cool, or Amazon, I'm not picky!

Anyway, I hope that you are feeling brave! And thinking thoughts that are all Ingalls-Pioneer-ish. Just sayin'! I'm not anti-meds at all but if I can whip-up a little something to help us all out, I'm all about it!

Joining in with Jen and the rest for the seven posts...and I really don't even know what day we are on and I STARTED this on Friday. It's totally my Friday post.

Sweet dreams!

Bone Broth: The Down-Low and Recipe

Anytime I have heard talk of bone broth or stock, or even read about it, I instantly imagine Old Mother Hubbard.  One of the nursery rhyme books had a picture of her, with a spunky brown dog, peering into the pantry.  Now that I read the rhyme, it's not even about making food! It's about getting the dog a bone.  Funny how childhood memories can be skewed in connections.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5meCdKYVA6Jkz-Dz8bu5V2zmixGm-jKopb-WmTD563WVgnc8UjJ7obvSvyKx3k6dCmnH3qdb7fmXCrk35Xf2GnJuv_HgRM6NjVmPlQFmjnkOosOSLqUKRq9oV1wYef4Nj6ELJN9_73iw/s1600/old-mother-hubbard-image.jpg

But look at this photo! Clearly, my visual memory is still flying a full capacity!

My point is: recently I purchased the bones of local, grass-fed cattle at .50 per pound? Yes! Please! Thank you!

Then, I came home, threw the bones into the freezer and went about my week.

Only a week or so later did I work-up the courage to make my second batch (ever) of bone stock.

For some reason, I found this a daunting task, like mopping.  It's so silly, I know.  I get caught-up in feeling like I accomplish "nothing" around our house.  But I really do so much.

Disclaimer: I am NOT the house that not matter when you stop by, somehow the house is immaculately clean, a candle is burning, the throw pillows are actually on the sofa, etc.  I'm talking about accomplishing nourishing hot meals, healthy snacks, breastfeeding every two or three hours (sometimes still for 30 minute intervals!!), washing dishes, keeping abreast (sometimes) on laundry, providing clean cloth diapers, reading stories to the kiddos, singing songs, outdoors play, etc.  

AGAIN! I'm always going off on tangents.  Ok, so I read over this article at Paleo Diet Lifestyle and then got to stockin' the next morning.

If you have a crock pot this is so feasible and easy.  If you don't I'm sure it would be easy but you might have to stay home for a day.  Or maybe you are brave and leave the stove top on, idk.  Or maybe you even have (I'm gasping in awe...teenagers that you can leave home to watch the stove-top! How dreamy, from the land of babies!)  Do what works!

In order to make stock with using perfectly awesome edible veggies, here is a very frugal tip: save the onion ends and skins, the carrot tops and bottoms, etc. when you chop veggies.  Auntie Leila also says you can throw in cheese rind.  This saves from throwing perfectly delicious veggies into the stock.

Enjoy!

(Old post! Not all info (i.e. breastfeeding every 2-3 hours) doesn't apply anymore!)

Handy Dandy Compost Bin (Until You Make it to the Outdoor Compost Pile)

Hoping you are all well!  I have a very quick post for you.

Ta-da!

We were having a bit of a predicament with our scraps for our compost pile, but then a genius idea hit.  I took a ready-to-be-recycled vinegar container, cut out the top (except I left the handle), and now I don't have three or four bowls to coordinate along with a dog and two children when we head to the backyard.

I'm able to reuse a container, save counter space, and simplify the crazy task of going outside.

After three weeks of use, this vinegar container is ready to be recycled.  It is a bit stained from the scraps and I didn't want mold spores living in the porous plastic (although I did wash or rinse with vinegar after each compost trip).

It has been so helpful! I have tried using a milk jug, but the height of the vinegar jug is much preferable than the square and squatty milk jug.

Happy Tuesday!  Hoping your day has pockets of peace and you are able to laugh deeply and relax.

The last of our cucumber harvest...what delicious eating!

Just starting to enjoy these tomatoes...mmm mmm!

Making Stock Frugally

Making homemade stock is a simple task that is so rewarding!

When I first made stock I followed recipes and used entire onions, carrots, etc. and then one day a novel idea whooshed-in from the Holy Spirit and patron saint of cooking...

Save ends, tops, and injured parts of vegetables throughout my day-to-day cooking, so that I don't "waste" precious food on homemade stock.

Onion ends and outer skins, soft celery, celery tops, carrot tops and bottoms, and whatever else is stock worthy gets dumped into a large freezer-safe bag each time I cook.

Then, when I have a chicken carcass or two, or find soup bones at the grocery store, everything is either slow cooked overnight in the cast iron dutch oven at 200, or put in the crock pot on low overnight.  A chicken carcass (or two) yields two batches of stock, but soup bones yield three or four batches.  One batch of stock is usually about six or seven cups of liquid.

I hope this frugal tip helps you!

Homemade stock is so healthy and now you can make it nearly for free!

Oven-Ready Repurposed Compost Scraps

Freecycle Sofa

We have had only a love seat for nearly a year! Our original sofa was HUGE and was terribly terribly ill-fitting in our shared living-dining area. So we purchased new (ah!) with cash (yay!) a love seat and have been hoping for an average sized sofa to join the plush party.

In the meantime I had joined Freecycle and daily receive emails from them about items around our area.

Lo and behold one day I saw "free sofa." On further examination of the post I learned that:
A. The home of the sofa was less than five minutes away.
B. The sofa came with a brand-spankin new slipcover!

Bingo!

Can you imagine our excitement when arriving at this sweet aged woman's home that Tyler's co-worker lives next door and used his truck to bring the sofa home for us?! (YAY to not having to have a sofa hanging out of our SUV on the way home!)

We LOVE the sofa! We love the free-ness. It is super comfortable and a gift to this young family. And when Rita smears her blueberry juiced hands All Over, it's no big deal! Cause we know this sofa already has wear and tear.

Do you have any awesome free finds?


Thank you Lord for this blessing!

Food-ish Things

First, Auntie Leila of {pretty, happy, funny, real} is ill. She has shared so much wisdom with me through her blogging and I know she would greatly appreciate prayers. Please remember her.

Farmer's market = carrots for Thanksgiving! Bingo!

Second, I've heard that you shouldn't double baking recipes because sometimes the chemistry can go wrong. Cue the runny cookies that ended up needing an extra cup and a half of flour and were miraculously squished and baked into a massive giant cookie cake. Sent it to work with the hubster. Great reviews from the manly work crew. Thank you Jesus for not wasting the butter!!!!! It's so dang expensive these days!!  (Cookies are GREAT for postpartum NFP!  Don't be afraid! Bake the day away!)

Third, I'm baking again (I guess the above gave that away, but anyway)!!
BREAD!!! Bread, at least weekly. Therapeutic and delicious. A pretty sure sign I am beginning to move out of post partum ah-my-life-is-a-wreck-what-am-I-doing-and-why-does-no-one-have-clean-underwear slump. Although I think my spiffy new laundry routine is totally thebomb.com and it does a good job keeping me on task. It's so great to just knead dough. Idk. I just find that extremely soothing.

Fourth, we have a visitor tomorrow!!! Yay!!! Jonah's godmother and we are pumped! My to-do is obnoxious and if I nail it, it will be awesome. If not, it will still be an awesome day.

On the agenda tomorrow are sugar cookies, pie crusts, pecan pies, a pot pie for supper, and lots of chopping and slicing veggies in advance for our cozy Thanksgiving meal at home.  Yes, I'm crazy.  Whatever. 

Fifth, I scored BIG at the grocery. Thank you Lord. Spare ribs for...(drumroll)...49cents per lb!!!! Markdown for a roughed-up package? Oh yes thank you!!!! Those puppies are fast asleep in our freezer!

Cell phone snapshot before entering Arctic freeze!

Sixth, have you read A Knotted Life? Great blog! Great humor! Bonnie is a hoot and she is totally not trying to impress or belittle any momma out there.  That rocks.  Check it out!

And there were potatoes too!  Roasted veggies on the Thanksgiving menu!

Seventh (don't really have anything to say buttttttt seven is God's perfect number!) Oh! I have something!
Yeast Bread Rolls! Tried making them and can I say 1. Easy peasy 2. Delicious

Yeast bread rolls...A-mazing! (In the freezer for our...you guessed it! ...Thanksgiving menu!

Eighth, ok, I know, passing God's number .. We had a play date today with all the kiddos from our birth class for Rita. She had a blast at the park! She could swing for hours, I bet! Sweet girl has always liked rocking, and it seems like swinging is glorified rocking!

Ninth, I'm totally out of control and loving it! hahaha! I LOVE my babies but co-sleeping part-time is working best for us.  Part-time = Jo starts off in the Moses basket next to us and ends up in bed like um, every night.  But the sleep I get on my own in great.  And if I'm missing my little buddy, I just reach on over, scoop him up and plop that chunky 15lb 9 oz boy next to me!  He is so chunky and cute!   So it's mostly full-time but it's great!

Really, I'm obsessed with these carrots.  Orange, yellow, white, and deep red.  Gorgeous.

Tenth, Good night!

"Hold you baby! Hold you baby"  Rita, you're amazing.  I love you.

Postpartum NFP: Cooking Ribs

Attention: This is a modestly specific post about postpartum NFP, which could be very helpful or TMI.  You choose!

Signs of the (postpartum) time in our home include lots of delicious baking and cooking! 

Although my cervix consistently says "infertile," the rest of my body cries out of pending ovulation.  Crampy legs, stretchy fertile mucus every three or four weeks, and so abstinence is a big part of our marriage right now (innocent abstinent engaged couples, know you are having good practice for spacing children).  :)

And so, abstinence makes the heart cranky, annoyed, impatient, barking down your spouses throat, ok, eventually, when you have passed through those fires, it makes your heart fonder!  Really!  It does!

Abstinence also has me wanting to show my love in creative ways: enter new recipes to woo my husband, and warm his heart and belly!

THE SAUCE

This week I bring to you country style cut pork ribs with a homemade marinade/basting sauce inspired by this great recipe found via Pinterest (on my Recipe board)!  My sauce lacked a few ingredients, I changed proportions and made substitutions.

OVEN READY

BAKED

BASTED POST-BAKING

This meal was so so very delicious and inexpensive (especially compared to dining-out)!  The pork was only $1.67 per pound (5.18 lbs for $8.65), potatoes (local) $1.00 per pound (one pound cooked), frozen sweet peas* at $1.83 per bag (two bags for $3.66) and the cornbread came from the freezer, made by friends!

We ate supper (two adults, one toddler), packed Tyler's lunch (two ribs, remaining potatoes, sweet peas) with some to share with co-workers (he really loved the ribs = hooray!), set aside a rib for my lunch, sweet peas for me and Rita, and cornbread for me and Rita.  So that's two meals for a total of $13.29!  Each meal cost $6.65!  This means each serving was $2.66 (let's say five servings total between both meals, since Rita eats half of an adult serving, on average, although many days she out-eats me)!
Seriously, our FAVORITE pizza costs us right under $22 and only makes one meal! 

Cooking at home is a great way to eat healthy, delicious (and even local) food!  And I should mention it keeps the man of the house very happy!

PLATED (with roasted sea salt rosemary potatoes, sweet peas, and cornbread)

*I usually purchase our frozen vegetables when they are 99 cents per bag, but as we had eaten through our sweet peas bought at rock bottom, I had to purchase at full price.  Eesh, not a good price!  Our meal total could have been $11.63!

Looking forward to sharing this recipe with you!  In the meantime, you can find it on my Pinterest "Recipes" board.  Happy oven baking to you!

How do you like to cook ribs?

Finding Time for Mending

I've taken to mending during outside play. 
It's calming; simple to start and stop. 
And I love salvaging clothes!

Simple Infant Play

Rather than purchase an infant gym for $25-$40 (I went to the store and priced them, I was considering the purchase that seriously) I was inspired (thank you Holy Spirit) to put this simple infant play gym together for Jonah.

No, there aren't things hanging from the ceiling (he sometimes lays in Rita's crib to see her mobile for back play), but we needed help with tummy time and these simple items achieved that and saved us at least $25!

Items used:

• small mirror
• black and white book
• color wheel (painted by yours truly in Art I in high school!)

Our sweet boy had a blast and played at least three times longer on his belly than normal.  I danced around him as I put laundry away, but if I had been on the floor playing too it would have lasted much longer!

Glad to have a simple, frugal, and minimal way to stimulate our baby.  

Have you found using minimal supplies or re-purposing home items to be better for your budget and just as good for your baby?

Frugal Practices that Work/Save For Us: Water

In order to save water, we do a small variety of things (not nearly as extensive as electricity), although as Rita has gotten older and immensely enjoys water play, we aren't quite as careful as we used to be!

Source: via Marisol on Pinterest

1. Hand wash dishes, having wash water and rinse water drawn beforehand so that the water isn't left running. Then we use the water for our plants outside! The suds help to kill aphids, which is a perk!

2. Shower more often than we bathe. I've nearly perfected the five minute shower that I used to jaw-droppingly admire about my husband.

3. Run the dishwasher on "light." It usually does just as good as normal and uses a few gallons less!

These are simple, but maybe they will spark some ideas for you to share with us!

How do you save on water?

Have a blessed First Friday and Saturday! And pray for a special intention I have, please!

Remember to hit "subscribe by email" if you want comment replies to go straight back to you!

Other posts in this series: How To Save on Electricity

Small Space Living: Nursery Decor

Our journey to create a sweet, simple space for Rita has been fun and I'm so grateful that we are finished!


Choosing to decorate Rita's nursery minimally has allowed me the time to create a space that reflects Rita's interests.  Creating something beautiful for my child has been such a rewarding experience.  She thoroughly appreciates the beauty and simplicity of her room.  What a little joy!

Crucifix hangs above books for when Rita recoups.

There are six pieces that we used to decorate.  Four religious pieces and two non-religious pieces.


The crucifix comes from the Holy Land, and is hung at Rita's height for her to admire Jesus and embrace the Cross whenever she needs.  I really support the idea of hanging art and beauty at a child's level.  It does so much for them.  Yes, this means Jesus wanders about the house with Rita during the day, but who's complaining that their child takes delight in carrying Our Lord!?

One of my favorite artists, Sher Chappell, has gifted us with a few pieces of her art.  You should totally check-out her stuff, by clicking on her name - beautiful, made from recycled/repurposed items, made in the USA, and affordable!  Not compensated, just love supporting artists!  All three are religious mixed media pieces and I am so inspired by them. All three hang on one wall in the nursery. They are at a height that is perfect for Rita when she stands in her crib (we reverted from the toddler bed, as she kept asking for bed and would shimmy out of the toddler bed).  At center is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the left is St. Gerard and to the right is St. Rita.  This is a simple and powerful way to invite the spiritual into our everyday.

DIY bird mobile up-close.  Love the shadows!

The long-awaited mobile (on my Pinterest board) is finished and hung!  The tutorial I used as a rough guideline is here. It cost all of $1.50 (for the stars), thanks to my planning during Christmas clearance!  Rita loves to see her "tweet-tweets" when she wakes up.  Tyler hung it smack over her crib and it looks awesome!


Last is a large giraffe done in oil pastel on cotton cloth.  It comes from this photo (on left) I found and put on my Pinterest board.

Source: flickr.com via Suzette on Pinterest

"'raffe!"  A little blurry due to our psychedelic lighting.

The inspirational art piece (above) is done on a small section of a 2 x 4, so ours is substantially larger (around three feet tall) and a bit different, as I used the inspirational pieces as just that, rather than something to copy exactly.  This hangs right near the changing table and serves as a great distraction during diaper changes (a nice surprise!).


We are so elated that the nursery is complete!  It is the perfect reflection of what is important to Rita, and we are so glad that she loves the Lord and His creations!


Thanks for following along as we worked to create the best nursery in our small space living!

How do you decorate?  What is your best decor tip?  Do you find simple decorating to be sparse or clean?

Be sure to hit "subscribe by email" when you leave your comment - then I can get back straight to you!

Check-out our other Small Space Living posts:

Small Space Living: Nursery Inspiration

Small Space Living: Nursery Beginnings

Small Space Living: Furnished Nursery

Small Space Living: Simple Decor

Small Space Living: My Sanctuary 

Thought on Finance...

So, for some reason I have always associated budgeting as something "poor" people do.  Let me clarify, yes my parents were poor when they were first married and their garden and the nearby bayou were true sources of food, but we have never been destitute.  Not the poverty of a third world country.  


But anyway, budget.  I forever remember us being on a budget.  The thought of having to (GASP!) be on a b...b...budget! Ah!  I'm admitting that I can't have what I want when I want it and that I am lower on the income totem pole than Joe next door (or Fred or Tom...).  And that my life is boring, mundane, restrictive, unfair and cheap.  And that I'm unhappy cause I can't have it now!!


Really?


Seriously?


Do you think Bill Gates got to be where he is because he just blew money like a preschool kid with bubbles?  Absolutely not.  He probably (I really should have read-up on him before using him as an example) scrounged and saved and scrimped and ate Ramen noodles for five years!  Not advocating eating Ramen noodles...but it proves a point.  Once his corporation was booming he probably still didn't get what he wanted when he wanted!  Instead, he probably read-up on investing, or allowed someone competent to do the investing for him to save and prepare for when life threw him a curve ball.  Note: Investing your money is not playing at a casino hoping that the money you've "invested" in the next flashy Adams Family themed machine will tell you that you've just hit the nickel jackpot people!  Even successful individuals follow budgets.  Quite possibly the MOST successful individuals follow budgets.


A budget is simply your chosen method of managing your money, rather than allowing debt collectors, credit card bills and late payments bully your income around.  Familiar with good ole' Dave?  He says (I quote loosely) "a budget is you telling your money where to go."


You may be surprised how freeing a budget is.  It is the BEST lesson in accountability and strengthens the communication between spouses.


Once you find the budgeting system that works for you, you may find, as we have, that a budget teaches you self control (holy cow!!), prudence, patience... 


Do you see the connection?  Not only is a budget part of adulthood responsibility, growing in communication and virtue, but following a budget is part of being a good Christian!  The job(s) that source income into your life are gifts.  May we not forget this!  The Lord has equipped you and formed within you the gifts you need to excel at your vocation.  You aren't poor because you are on a budget my good friend.  You are actually RICH!  Rich in the knowledge of being a responsible consumer and Christian, a prepared parent, a debt-free (or on the way) member of society, a  person of intentionality, a person free to delegate their income to needs rather than flounder for money after satisfying your wants.  


You are rich, you are free, you are blessed and you are a gift to all peoples when you follow a budget and use your income as the beautiful gift it is meant to be!


Have a wonderful weekend!  And maybe enjoy a Georgia peach as much as this cute kid...

Do you budget?  What sort of system do you use?  What are your struggles?

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Homemade Reusable Cloth Wipes: Easy Up-Cycle

For those of you who are just joining us here at jambalaya, where something new is always in the mix, I have had an endless battle with adding a batch of homemade wipes to our current stash.  Just three dozen cloth wipes.  And for those of you who have been hanging-out here, well, you know...


I couldn't get it together and sew these wipes.  When I finally did just last week... I ran out of white thread.  No big deal right?


I really wanted my wipes to look as nice as these that Rachel at Intentionally Simple posted about, and then a friend encouraged me to stop expecting myself to be super mom during these last few weeks of pregnancy.  (I'll have plenty of time for well-crafted wipes once we settle into a routine after Jonah arrives.) 


Do you know how much I needed to hear that??   
It has been so freeing AND I finished the wipes on the sewing table and threw in some more made from Tyler's worn-out but still useful consons*.  Up-cycling existing cloth is really great.  I am able to save us money, create less waste and avoid crazy nutty consumerism.  The wipes that I purchased before Rita was born are not soft and are made of thin, almost scratchy fabric.  By up-cycling existing cloth into wipes we have better, softer wipes for our bebes.


The thread color is a bit off for the two different sets, but my goodness!  I'm seriously using these to wipe baby bottoms!


I was so excited to be finished I nearly cut-up another receiving blanket to make a dozen extra...and then I thought real hard about how I would love to get to bed before midnight.  Now I'm just happy to be writing this post (talk about a late post!) and equipped with 3 1/2 dozen cloth diaper wipes (most of these were finished last week - which is why the photos are clearing showing fewer than 3 1/2 dozen wipes)!  The 1/2 dozen is courtesy of Tyler letting me repurpose his consons!


So here are the better crafted (as far as size and sewing quality) wipes.  

This up-cycled hospital blanket has me daydreaming (at 11:30pm?) of my sweet boy!

And here are the less impressive and much smaller (oops!) wipes atop the better ones.

HUGE size difference!  But they still do the job.

We enjoy using cloth wipes.  We love not having the expense of wipes every month and have found the cloth wipes to be very handy and multi-purposeful during road trips.  


Give cloth wipes a go!  Even if you use disposables, you could cloth wipes at home very easily and save your family a nice sum of money after a year or two of diapering!

Do you use cloth wipes?  How does it work for you?  If not, would you be willing to try?

Be sure to hit "subscribe by email" when you leave your comment - then I can get back straight to you!

*consons = Cajun French word that can be defined as "underwear"

Delicious Savings

Last week while I did my cash grocery shopping I stumbled upon a no-brainer deal.

One gallon of organic milk for $1.50!

Know what that meant?  Time for a super huge batch of homemade yogurt!  

Over the weekend Tyler helped me to make-up a batch of our homemade yogurt.  It turned out nice and delicious, and the fact that the yogurt cost us so little made it even more yummy.  Of the gallon (16 cups) I used 12 cups for yogurt.  Price breaks down to about $1.13 for the whole batch of 96 oz.  The craziest part is that I bought Tyler yogurt "on sale" for only $2.00, but because his yogurt isn't homemade and is prepackaged in single serving sizes it is much more costly.  

The store-bought yogurt comes to approx. .08 per oz while the homemade yogurt for me and Rita costs only a shade more than .01 per oz!

Homemade yogurt on the left and store-bought on the right.

Last night we enjoyed our homemade yogurt after dinner.  It was creamy and extra tasty when mixed with diced apple!  

Have you tried making homemade yogurt?  How do you do it?

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21lbs of Ground Beef

So, yea, I'm talking about 21 lbs of ground beef today.  21 lbs of ground beef, purchased at a mere 83 cents a pound!!   I am so excited about how the Lord has blessed us!


Rita and I were walking through our most favorite local grocery store, looking for the pork loins on sale, when I suddenly saw a confusing sign that said "CLEARANCE: $2.50 FOR 48OZ ANGUS GROUND BEEF - YOU SAVE $7.74!"  I just really didn't comprehend what I read.  How did that even make sense?  

http://www.clker.com/clipart-cartoon-cow.html

As I turned to walk away a woman quickly pulled her buggy up beside me and said, "I just can't imagine why more people aren't getting this deal!"  And she was right - everyone was strolling past, grabbing their one lb packs of ground beef at $3+, and paying no mind to the bright yellow sign that had me a bit confused.


I'm not sure why people in the grocery market seem so oblivious to sales, but I was glad that the woman next to me had shown-up!  I might have been just another shopper, thinking that this "too good to be true" deal must mean something is wrong.  The only "wrong" thing was that the beef had to be frozen by the end of the day.  No problemo!


Needless to say, I grabbed 15 lbs (five packs) of ground beef, continued my shopping, and serisouly discerned whether I should call Tyler and ask for approval to purchase more.  After we had gathered everything but carrots, I gave Tyler a ring and much to my money saving delight he said, "Buy as much as you can!  We can definitely change our menu plan to accommodate this!"  Sigh...a man who even mentions menu plans in conversation - he's such a dream!  I'm so blessed to be his wife!  Ok, anyway, I ended-up determining that 21 lbs would be a nice stock-up amount and that it would leave us with enough "food" money for needed groceries that will come from a different store.


As I learned in the book that I've been reading (and re-reading and studying), I planned on coming home from the grocery and "dealing with" my bulk meat immediately.  I put six lbs to cook in the crock pot, put one-and-a-half lbs to cook for our homemade lasagna, and froze the rest in 3/4 lb portions.  It was A LOT of work, but now I'm done!  I have six pounds seasoned (in a generic way - onions, bell peppers, garlic, salt and pepper), cooked and frozen and another 13 1/2 lbs portioned out and frozen.  


This was such an amazing opportunity to practice frugality and simplify my life.  Simplify, because for the next two months (rough estimate) I don't need to buy beef at $2.75 - $3.50 per lb.  


Know the coolest part?  When I checked the bottom of my receipt, I saw this:








$59.66 SAVED!!!!
Glory to God!


I'm really looking forward to life with a beef stocked freezer (ideally it would be local, grass-fed beef, but for budget purposes we are focusing on keeping our fats, dairy, and chicken organic...God-willing beef will be next!).  


Now, we pray to find us a chicken deal...

Have you ever seriously stocked-up on meat?  We've thought of buying 1/2 or 1/4 of a cow, which would be a most serious stock-up.  Have you done this?  Let me know!  

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