- fruitcake fruit -- yes, I actually like fruitcake and intend to honor my mother's memory by making her recipe
- pecans and almonds for baking and Swedish Christmas rice pudding -- a Christmas Eve dessert
- almond paste for homemade, Christmas morning Danish pastry
- smoked salmon -- even though it's been frozen, when thawed and mixed with cream cheese it makes a good spread
- frozen mounds of whipped cream -- good for homemade eggnog
- frozen croissants
- a variety of sausages -- I'll use some in a savory New Year's Eve pie
- several types of homemade pickles, jams, and marmalades
- frozen berries -- the frozen, wild blackberries make a good pancake syrup for cold winter mornings
- cream cheese -- good for pumpkin cheesecake (my daughters make this and it is soooo good)
- mixed nuts -- I plan on making spiced nuts as a gift and for ourselves with these
- baking chocolate, dipping chocolate, and chocolate chips
- peppermint oil for making peppermint patties
- phyllo dough
- lots of standard baking supplies, such as flour, butter, granulated and powdered sugar, spices, extracts, oil, and crisco
With so many wonderful ingredients already in the house there is little I need to buy at the grocery store for holiday treats.
Sounds wonderful! For different reasons, I am eating down my freezer/fridge/cupboards/pantries (one in kitchen, one down cellar). It's a welcome challenge sometimes to use things up, eat up the older ingredients, be good stewards of what we already have on hand for both health, in my case, as well as economy.
ReplyDeleteHi CTMOM.
DeleteI used to read CT on a Budget regularly, although I didn't ever comment. I enjoyed your blog, and miss it. Any chance I can get access?
Angie
I agree. Lots of wonderful ingredients that you work on getting all year round. Have fun with them.
ReplyDeleteI agree also. We have a lot of freezer and pantry items that I need to work through this winter.
ReplyDelete--turkey leftovers are frozen for a casserole or two later.
--a whole frozen turkey breast
--lots of dried pasta
--many frozen pieces of pork
--breakfast burritos I made that are frozen
--breakfast bagels that are frozen
--a half bag of pecans
--big container of homemade ginger snap cookies
--eggrolls I made this summer
--one corned beef, frozen
--lots of pound packages of breakfast sausage, frozen
--boneless, skinless chicken thighs, frozen
--whole chickens, frozen
--a couple of small beef roasts, frozen
--one bag of rye bread, frozen
--onions and carrots and peppers, frozen
--various bagged vegetables, frozen
I have vowed to make use with what I have and not to buy anything other than fresh items. We unexpected needed to replace one of our vehicles so now I have to build our savings again. This is also the time of year a lot of bills are due--winter taxes, car insurance, income tax, car registrations.
Alice
Mmm, sounds good (I admit, I don't care for fruitcake, but everything else sounds delish!). Any chance you could post your spiced nut recipe? I've never tried making them.
ReplyDeleteHi all! Just a brief update/message for right now.
ReplyDeleteAngie-- Carol has a facebook page. Here's the message that she left in the comments a couple of months' back: "I am now on Facebook, it's a closed site so I can screen folks and delete anyone who is inappropriate. Just search "CTonabudget" on FB to find me, and answer 3 questions."
Carol -- I can't view your facebook from my creative savv FB page, but after the first of the year I'll be setting up a personal FB so I can join.
Alice -- it sounds like you are set with a full freezer. That will be great for getting through the expensive winter months.
Thanks, Carol and live and learn.
Kris -- I just posted my mother's spiced nuts recipe on today's blog. Enjoy!