Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap - Flu Helper

With all the hub-bub about the flu this year I thought I'd toss this home remedy out there to help.

We probably all have whole bay leafs in our spice cupboards but did you know that Bay Leaves have been used in home remedies for centuries? Bay leaves can relieve body aches, help relieve coughs, clear up congestion, and fight the common cold and flu. It can also be used an an anti fungal to fight skin infections.

So if you're sitting at home and you or your kids are fighting the aches, coughs, and congestion of the flu, brew up a cup of this and be relieved.

Bay Leaf Tea

Hot Water

2 dried bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey

Boil the water in a pot with the bay leaves. After it boils pour it all in a mug, leaves and all. Add sweetener and drink slowly.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post not your homepage, and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Confession Time

Every once in a while a brave soul asks me if I ALWAYS stick to my menu plan and the big fat answer is NO! Sometimes I forget to thaw the meat or I don't get dinner in the crockpot on time or maybe my day ended up full of surprises or maybe I was just lazy. Whatever the case, when I can't make the meal that I've planned, I have a few standbys that I turn to.

Scrambled Eggs and Toast. I buy 5 dozen eggs at a time and lots of people can't figure out why I need so many. I'll tell you why. Just to feed my family this meal it takes 18 eggs and 3/4 of a loaf of bread. I usually throw some greated cheese into my eggs and sometimes I'll slice up and fry some potatoes in butter with garlic powder and salt. Start to finish..20 minutes.

Homemade Soup and Fried Bread. This is the reason why it's so great to keep homemade broth in the freezer. I thawed some beef broth in the microwave, transferred it to a pot and added 2 fresh sliced carrots, some leftover green beans, a handful of macaroni noodles, a little bit of V8, another handful of yellow split peas and some spices. Out came a thick and hearty vegetable beef soup. I buttered some bread, grilled it in a frying pan and sliced it into triangles to serve on the side. Start to finish....20 minutes.

Grilled Tuna or Cheese Sandwiches. I don't always have cheese on hand so grilled cheese is the rarer of the two but when I make one of these the kids are thrilled. I just butter both sides of the sandwich, layer the filling in and then grill them up. We usually slice fruit on the side or if we're lucky I make tomato soup to dip them in. Another 20 minute meal.

What do you make when you're original plan isn't going to cut it?

Frugality In The News

I've got a new column on bread baking in todays Daily News. You can check it out HERE.

Oh Yeah....Now Those Are The Kind Of Coupons I Like

Most of you probably know that I'm not a big couponer and if YOU are, well then, you go girl! But sometimes when a coupon just lands in your lap, you'd be some kinda stupid if you didn't use it.

And I'm no dummy.

So check out today's deals.

Franz Discount Bread

3 loaves of bread and 2 boxes of donuts $4.70

S & S Liquidators

2 boxes Wolfgang Puck Broth $1.58
4 yellow onions $1.00
15 red potatoes $3.00
2 cans beans $.78
2 lbs Carrots $.79
Golden mushroom soup $.49
32 oz tomatoes $.69

Grocery Outlet

12 double rolls TP $4.99
1/2 gallon soy milk $2.59
Pint buttermilk $1.49
2 cans pears $1.38
green beans $.59
3 lbs smoked sausages $3.99
Bacon $1.99
2 bottles lemon juice $1.98
3 bars soap $.99
Conditioner $.99
Parmesan $1.99

Win-Co

Gallon milk $1.98
Sugar $2.18
Leeks $2.18
Bottom Round Roast $8.23
30 bags of bulk Equal $.90
2.64 lbs bananas $1.53
1 lb celery $.78
.90 lbs bulk lentils $.69
frozen spinach $.88
.16 lbs bulk sliced almonds $.54
Parsley $.38
Vinegar $.97
Margarine $.68
.17 lbs bulk onion soup mix $.50
2.73 lbs apples $2.40
.45 lbs shallots $.71
.37 lbs bulk beef base $1.38

Fred Myers

Quaker Granola Bars FREE with coupon
4 cans pedigree dog food FREE with coupon
20 lb bag of pedigree dry dog food FREE with coupon $1.42 in tax

Grand Total $64.33

Would you like to share your shopping successes? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday

I love winter cooking. I rely a lot on fresh homemade soups. My family really likes a bowl of hot and hearty soup with a crusty loaf of bread for a meal. And soups can be healthy, easy to make and VERY frugal.

So when I came across a new soup cookbook I grabbed it up and I'll be adding one of the recipes to my meals this week. We'll be eating French Cream of Lentil Soup from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. It's chock full of savory broths, soups, and creamy bisque's made from frugal everyday ingredients and organized according to seasonal produce every month. I totally love it!

I also have a few nights off for cooking so you'll see two less dinner meals than usual. One night the kids will be at Grandmas so Chris and I will just nibble from the fridge and another night we'll be attending a family birthday party.

Breakfasts

Banana Berry Smoothies

Oatmeal with pears and brown sugar

Pumpkin Muffins and fruit

Cream of wheat with sliced bananas

Pear and Almond Swedish Pancakes with homemade maple syrup

Scrambled eggs and toast

Leftover muffins or pancakes

Dinners

Slow Cooker Sausage and Potatoes, green beans

Balsamic Chicken Thighs, Garlic Potatoes, Peas

Simple Pot Roast, steamed broccoli, buttery bread machine rolls

French Cream of Lentil Soup and Peasant Bread

Baked Pasta E Fagioli, Crusty French Bread

For more menu plans go HERE and to see how my shopping trip went check back tomorrow for a breakdown of my receipts.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap - Microwave Cleaner

My microwave is always yucky. Six people of varying skill levels use it. It regularly has exploded beans or butter crusted on the walls or anything that the kids tried to cook and forgot to cover. And yes, I admit, sometimes it sits there for a week before I remember to clean it out. So it's hard and crusty and stuck tight. This simple recipe leaves nothing in it's tracks. Everything comes off fast plus there are no chemicals stuck in your microwave and it's super cheap and smells good. Try it and tell me what you think.

Simple Microwave Cleaner

1 cup water

1 tablespoon of lemon juice or a few lemon slices for scent

Cook water in microwave until it boils for at least 30 seconds. For me that's about 4 minutes. Leave in microwave for about 15 minutes. Remove boiling water and wipe down ceiling of walls and microwave. Everything should wipe right off with minimal scrubbing.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please remember to leave a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

And The Winner Is...

We have a winner! Go check out the product and review page to see if you won the Nifty Nappy Organic Diaper Giveaway and get the coupon code for 10% off your next purchase.

Pumpkins Aren't Just For Carving

This was pumpkin carving week at our house. The kids picked four of the largest pumpkins they could find so you can imagine how much pumpkin guts and seeds we ended up with. Now, most everyone knows that pumpkin seeds can be roasted and salted for a great healthy snack.




We sorted the seeds from the goo, tossed them in a frying pan with a little olive oil and salt and toasted them up.




But that's not all you can do. We set aside a few hand fulls of seeds on a towel to dry overnight.




The next day when they were dry, we put them in an envelope....




Labeled them with the date....




and now we have seeds for next years pumpkins without the cost of a purchased seed packet.


So when you're carving your fall pumpkins, don't forget to save a few seeds for planting. They can be grown in a flower bed, or along the side of the house and your kiddos will love watching them get bigger and oranger for next years pumpkin carving day.

There's a new giveaway up at my product and review site. Free Organic Cloth Diapers! Go check it out HERE.

GCC Shopping Round Up

I'm planning on making some homemade yogurt this week. I have about a ton of frozen bananas in my freezer that I need to use up and we like to make yogurt smoothies with them. I whipped up a fresh batch of Russian Friendship Tea and I've got some homegrown rhubarb in my freezer just screaming to be made into a pie.

Here's how the shopping went...

Franz Bread Store

3 loaves of bread and 2 bags of bagels $4.70

S & S Liquidators


2 large cans of V8 $1.98

Crystal Light $1.49 (for friendship tea)

Instant Tea $1.99 (for friendship tea)

2 bags starbucks coffee $5.00

Grocery Outlet

4 foil pans $3.96 (food gifts)

frozen berries $1.99

2 cans green beans $1.18

Win-co

5 dozen eggs $3.98

12 chicken thighs $4.96

half and half $1.68

yogurt $1.78

2 lbs cheddar cheese $4.47

1.73 lbs tomatoes $2.73

2.73 lbs pears $1.86

3.88 lbs apples $3.80

.83 lbs bulk oat bran $.61

2.39 lbs bulk Tang $3.27 (friendship tea)

1/2 lb bulk craisins $1.84

1.8 lbs bulk macaroni $1.42

1.4 lbs bulk cocoa $1.39

1.77 lbs bulk powdered milk $4.81

3.38 lbs bulk brown sugar $2.13

.45 lbs bulk pecans $2.25

30 packets of bulk Equal $.90

Olive oil $3.98

5.91 lbs bananas $3.43

Grand Total $72.40

Would you like to share your shopping trip success with the rest of us? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday

The wind is blowing, the trees are beautiful orange and yellow and the rains have started. I really do love this time of year. It's so cozy with a roaring fire in the evenings and blustery days. It's our most productive time of the homeschool year and being indoors brings out our creativity too. So we're busy dreaming up crafty things to try and reading lots of good books and cuddling. Lots and lots of cuddling.

On the menu this week is a potluck, a date night, and an extra meal for a family with a new baby.

Breakfasts

Toast with homemade jam and sliced apples

Cream of wheat with brown sugar and pecans

Pumpkin Spice Bread and pears

Chocolate Banana Smoothies and bagels

Oatmeal with apples and brown sugar

Poached eggs and toast

Leftover Freezer Pancakes

Dinners

Date night

Korean Roast Chicken Thighs, Roasted Potato Wedges, Green Beans, Crockpot Baked Apples

Bean and Veggie soup with Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

Spaghetti with steamed broccoli

Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Balsamic Tomato Salad

Potluck (bringing pumpkin bread)

Leftover Buffet

For more great menus go HERE.

Check back tomorrow to see how my grocery shopping trip went.

Ugly Duckling Furniture Becomes A Swan

Once upon a time, 15 years ago, a much skinnier girl married a bachelor. When they got married he brought a hurking ugly entertainment center with him. The wife hated it. It's shelves were too deep for books and too small for a TV. But the man wouldn't part with the monstrosity. For years she tried to find things that would fit properly on the shelves. Once she tried kids toys, once she re-tried the books, and finally she stuck it in the basement of her house hoping that her husband would forget about it and she could get rid of it in secret.

Over time the lower shelf doors warped and wouldn't open properly and a few pieces of wood chipped off and the shelf got even uglier.

But when they decided to turn the basement into a master bedroom, the shelf arose from it's basement grave to haunt the girl again. And suddenly she looked at it and thought, "Hmmm, maybe I can do something with this." The girl needed somewhere to organize all her homeschool books and supplies. And since she did most of her homeschooling in her dining room she needed it to look nice when company came over and ate at her table. So she bought some black glossy paint and rolled up her sleeves. Then she found some organizational bins on sale. They weren't exactly what she had in mind but the price was so great that she couldn't pass them up. And lo and behold, her butt-ugly, awkward and insanely heavy shelf that she'd been lugging around for 15 years with total disgust, became a Pottery Barn worthy (or maybe Ikea worthy) piece of furniture.

And the shelf and the girl lived happily every after.

The moral of the story?

Before you give up and toss it try a good coat of paint.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Fall makes me get cuddly. We spend evenings and sometimes mornings in front of the roaring fire and we drink lots of comfort drinks like hot apple cider and hot chocolate. I remember as a kid going over to the neighbors house in the fall and they would serve up a spicy orange drink that I used to love. Recently a friend mixed up a batch of the very same thing and come to find out...it's called Russian Friendship Tea and if you haven't had the pleasure of tasting it yet, I think you'll be happily surprised. This is also great packaged up and given as Christmas gifts.

Yes, it's time to start thinking about that.

Russian Friendship Tea

2 cups instant orange drink (like Tang)
1/2 cup sweetened iced tea mix powder
1 envelope sweetened lemonade mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients well and store in an airtight container. To use, fill a mug with boiling water and stir in 2-3 teaspoons of mix, to taste.

Keep checking back at The Grocery Cart Challenge. I'll be starting my second annual Frugal Christmas Gift series and I've got a giveaway coming up VERY SOON and a frugal before and after remodel project that I'm excited to share.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart challenge.

How To Bring In A Few Hundred Dollars A Year From Your Junk

I'm not a big clean freak. On any given occasion you'll find a light layer of dust on almost every surface of my house and maybe a hairball or two in the corners. BUT clutter is a big one for me so I'm constantly getting rid of excess stuff. If my house is tidy and in order, I can relax. But being the type of person who likes to squeeze every bit of value out of our food as well as our belongings, I usually find a way to get some cash for our no longer wanted items. So my clutter flow chart looks something like this....

• E-bay for small items
• Craigslist for large items
• Consignments stores for clothing
• and if all else fails....donate.

I probably make about $500 a year just listing our unwanted stuff on e-bay or craigslist. Things like unused homeschool books, out grown toys, kitchen wares, old pieces of furniture, replaced appliances and outdated electronics. Things that would have otherwise cluttered up my house.

It's true that one man's junk is another man's treasure.

So if you're interested in learning how to E-bay, I recommend THIS book to get you started. Just think what you could do with a tidy house a few hundred bucks in your back pocket.

GCC Shopping Round Up

Feeling a bit better today so it wasn't as miserable as I thought it was going to be to get my shopping done. Here's how it went.

Franz Outlet Store

3 loaves of bread, 1 bag of bagels, 1 bag of rolls $4.70

S & S Liquidators

2 boxes cake mix $1.58

refried beans $.39

2 family size cans chicken noodle soup $1.98

5 cans spaghetti sauce $3.45

Vanilla soy milk $.49

Grocery Outlet

12 double rolls of TP $4.99

Tortilla chips $1.99

2 lbs shredded white cheddar $3.99

2lbs ground turkey $2.98

2 boxes margarine $1.58

1 lb spaghettie $79

green beans $.59

Salsa $.99

Win-co

1.16 lbs bulk cornmeal $.58

1.94 lb bulk cocoa mix $1.92

gallon milk $1.98

.96 lbs bulk cream of wheat $.92

2.2 lbs bulk popcorn $1.43

.85 lbs bulk barley $.34

Beef $3.15

Vaseline lip balm $.98

2 frozen apple juice $1.76

large can olives $.88

.98 lb bulk steel cut oats $.66

Margarine $.68

cream cheese $.98

shortening $3.06

vegetable oil $1.98

2 lbs yogurt $1.48

2 pkgs sausage links $1.96

10 lbs flour $3.32

2 lbs cheddar $3.20

3.78 lbs bananas $2.19

sour cream $.98

Grand Total $64.00

Ahhh, much better than last week.

Would like to share your shopping trip with us? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please inclue a link back to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Have fun!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm sick. I have a bug. (sniff snort) My body aches (moan, groan) and the thought of my menu this week was not that appealing. I made it in a haze of snot and achy muscles and the gag of drinking Airborne. (whine) But the family has to eat whether I feel like it or not.

Breakfasts

Toast, juice, fruit

Night Before French Toast Raphael

Steel Cut Crockpot Oats with fruit

Yogurt Parfaits

Scrambled eggs, toast, sausage

Pumpkin Muffins

Leftover muffins

Dinners

Spaghetti, garlic bread, broccoli

Beef Barley Veggie Soup and rolls

Taco Casserole and corn

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup and rolls

Spicy Rice and Beans, Cornbread

Sausage Ravioli Skillet, green beans

Leftover Buffet

For more great menu's go HERE and check back tomorrow to see how my $60-for-6-people shopping trip went.

Reader Question...Do You Know The Answer?

Hi Gayle,

Keep up the great work with the blog! I love that reader tip regarding calculating whether toilet paper is a good price based on the price per square foot. I wonder if anyone knows what a good price is for rolls of paper towel or garbage bags. I never know if I'm getting a good deal!

Jeannette

Anyone have some great tips on this subject? I haven't bought paper towels for years so I don't have a clue on that one. Any takers?

Whole Chicken Day 2

Remember that yummy roast chicken you made yesterday in your crockpot? When last we left Mr. Chicken, he was spending the night in the fridge. Now we're going to pull him out and put him back in the crockpot.

Add water to about two inches from the rim of your crockpot and set it on high for about 6 hours or until it boils. Or you could do it on low, overnight. All you need is water because you still have all those chopped onions, celery, and garlic cloves in your pot to flavor your broth. You can also toss in the chicken neck, gizzards and liver you fished out of the cavity yesterday. Can you see the water line here?

When it's reached the boiling point, turn off the heat. This is what you're fresh cooked broth will look like. Look at how rich that is.


Set up your strainer over the top of a bowl or stock pot.

Pour it all into the strainer to separate the meat from the broth. The point of boiling the carcass is to cook the meat right off the bone. The neat thing about this is you'll get to see just how much meat goes uneaten on a chicken.

Let it all cool and then pick out the chunks of meat to be stored in a container. Measure out the broth and store that also.

We are also fighting the flu bug here so not only is homemade chicken broth one of the traditional immune builders but those roasted garlic cloves have mellowed enough to eat whole and build immunity also.



I finished up with 9 cups of broth and one large container of nice sized chunks of chicken meat that will go in my freezer. Make sure to mark the amount and date on the outside of the container and you've got enough for another meal or two.



You could make:

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (you could save the meat for another recipe and just use veggies, beans and noodles in this. This is how I use up pasta odds and ends and veggies that need to be eaten.)

Oven Fried Chicken Chimichangas

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Tortilla Soup

And that is why a whole chicken is both frugal and easy.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap - Whole Chicken Day 1

I purchase whole chickens quite often mainly because they are about the cheapest way to buy chicken and one of the easiest ways to prepare it. Not only that, but I can get two to three meals from one whole chicken. I can usually find them for anywhere between $.88 to $1.20 per pound and I like to buy the biggest one I can so I'll intentionally have leftovers. So here's what I do on Day 1 of a whole chicken.

After opening the packaging make sure to remove any pieces shoved into the cavity. Usually you'll find a neck, gizzard and maybe a liver in there. Surprise!



Then rinse off the inside and outside of the chicken.



Next you're going to make a bed for it in the bottom of your crockpot. Slice up any combination of the following: Onions, garlic, celery, lemon, lime, or orange. Today I had celery, onion and elephant garlic in the bottom of my crock.



Next rub the outside skin of your chicken with seasoning salt.



Then place breast side down on the bed of veggies.


Turn the crock on low and cook for 10 hours or until juices run clear. (some crocks take only about 8 hours but you really can't overcook this unless you leave it in for 24 hours or more.)

Day one is done and look how juicy that is! I didn't add any water. It makes such a moist chicken and we just carve it up while it's still in the pot. When you're done just leave the leftover bones, juices, veggies and meat in the bottom of your crockpot and store in the fridge for Day 2.

I'll fill you in on the details for Day 2 tomorrow

Would you like to share a recipe? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.