Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for a busy December week

Friday
Yes, one more night of bean burritos. What can I say. I was in the car almost the entire day.

• bean, rice, olive and cheese burritos
• canned corn
• canned pineapple chunks

Saturday

My husband is in Vegas for the weekend, so it's me and my kids for dinner, for the next 3 nights. I am thinking of pancakes for dinner, tonight, using some of that delicious real maple syrup.

• pancakes
• mushroom frittata
• fruit cup of pineapple chunks and orange segments

Sunday

My daughters and son are performing/working in the musical performance at our church, tonight. I believe they will get dinner, in between shows, which leaves me on my own for dinner. I'll scrounge around in the freeze for something.

• skillet dinner saute of 1 frozen cooked hamburger square, some sliced mushrooms, cooked together in the pan, the meat chopped with the spatula as it heated through. Then I added thyme, garlic powder, salt, leftover cooked rice and canned peas, and cooked a couple of minutes until hot. Good, except the thyme. It didn't go well with the flavor of the peas. But it was very easy, and it only dirtied one skillet and one spatula.

Monday

• turkey in gravy from the freezer
• mashed potatoes (made lots for leftovers)
• canned green beans
• baked squash
• canned cranberry sauce

Tuesday

• thick and hearty vegetarian soup made from lots of leftovers, including liquid from canned veggies, beans, carrots, celery, onions and mashed potatoes
• corn tortillas toasted with cheese
• oranges

Wednesday

• mushroom frittata
• baked squash
• green beans
• leftover mashed potatoes with sour cream added
• olives
• Austrian Almond Braid bread

Thursday

• hot dog taquitos, in corn tortillas with cheese
• carrot sticks, celery sticks
• leftover mashed potatoes, mixed with sour cream and leftover canned peas
• watermelon pickles

It's that very busy month of the year, with Christmas performances, holiday parties, final exams, decorating the house for Christmas and New Years, shopping, baking and lots of merry-making. Cooking has meant relying on easy meals. There wasn't one single elaborate meal, this past week. That's okay. It's nice to have a change and shift my focus to other things. And I'm happy to say that even with a busy week, I was able to throw together meals, quickly, using what I had on hand.

I'm still making efforts at cooking big. When I went to make mashed potatoes, earlier this week, I didn't just make enough for one meal, but I made enough for several. After that first night, the potatoes seized up a bit. To make them soft and creamy again, I stirred in sour cream, before heating and serving. I also found the ready-made mashed potatoes to be great for making a pot of vegetable soup, extra hearty.

How about you? What was on your menu this past week? Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Packaging soup mixes for gifts

I think (but I'm not sure) that this is the last of the gifts that I'll post about this season.

There are a handful of people to whom I am gifting soup mixes, for Christmas.

If you recall, I knitted a set of kitchen wash cloths, and I bought a set of tea towels from Williams-Sonoma to go with the dish cloths, to go to my step-mom. Going with a kitchen/cooking theme, I've made 3 different soup mixes for her, to add to the box of gifts. My soup mixes fall under the category of semi-homemade, as I began with mixes from the bulk bins at WinCo.

Before I began, I checked out various soup mixes for sale at a local holiday store. I noticed that many of these had additional items, suggested to add to the mix. In addition, I was able to gather ideas for potential soup "flavors".

For the first soup mix, I used WinCo's vegetable soup blend, and dried tortellini, from the bulk bins. With these items, I added some seasonings, and a packet of Parmesan, to come up with a Vegetable Tortellini Soup Mix. The suggested add-in for this soup is a can of tomato sauce.

WinCo also sells a bean and tortilla soup mix. To the bean and tortilla soup mix, I added more seasonings, and included a baggie of tortilla chips for garnish. The suggested add-ins for this soup are some diced, cook chicken and a chopped tomato. My name for this soup mix is Mexi Chicken, Tortilla and Bean Soup.

The third soup mix began with WinCo's Beanland soup blend. Again, I added some seasonings, plus some dried onion, and suggested cooking with diced carrot and celery.

I tested out each of these "recipes" a couple of times. I did find that WinCo's suggested cook time was off on all of the bulk bin ingredients, so testing was very important.

As I tested, I kept notes on what I added and the timing. I was able to type of my notes, to include as a recipe for the soup preparation.

the soup mix in ziploc bag, a white lunch bag, the printout of instructions

For the packaging, I was working with supplies I had at home. I didn't want to spend more money on packaging supplies, plus I wanted to use up some of the supplies that I have, already.

What I came up with -- ziploc freezer bags, quart, and snack-size bags, white paper lunch sacks, free online images from the internet, to print out in black and white at home, and red/white twine.

I put the soup mix into ziploc freezer bags, separating any ingredients, into smaller baggies, that needed to be added at different times in the preparation of the soup. Along with the ingredients, I slipped in an extra copy of the soup instructions, into the quart-size ziploc bag.

the packaging part

For the outer bag, I found a lovely vintage vegetable image. I cut and pasted this into a Word document, and just below it, I typed the soup-making instructions. This is my label. I printed this label, cut it out, and used a glue stick to attach it to the front of a white paper lunch sack.

I tucked the soup mix into the sack, folded the top of the sack down, then rolled the rest of the sack with label, around, to make a tidy little bundle. I tied the whole thing up with a length of red and white twine.

I like the way these look. A bit homey and vintage. Brown paper bags would also suit this look. This packaging idea could be used for a variety of food-gifts, such as homemade fudge, cookies, mini loaves of quick bread or muffin mixes. It's very inexpensive to make, using a basic home printer for a label, some online images, a small paper sack and a bit of string or twine.

**An update on the birdseed ornaments -- I had one break on me yesterday when I went to pick it up/see if it was all dried. I was squishing it sideways, and it broke.This was the last of the ornaments that I made, it wasn't as thick, and I wasn't able to really pack it well, as I didn't have enough mixture. Plus, I was kind of squishing it absent-mindedly, checking for dryness. (They had been kind of spongey when not dried out.)

The others were fine for wrapping in cellophane and bubble wrap. Just an FYI about really packing the birdseed together.

Also, I read up on using a dehydrator to dry them. This could be really beneficial in damp climates, and especially if you plan on making these well in advance, and wrapping for favors or gifts. Birdseed ornaments seem to be a popular wedding favor, and many brides make these a couple of weeks in advance. Getting them very dry prevents molding. With my next batch, I will try a dehydrator. the suggestion I read was to allow to air dry overnight, then transfer to a dehydrator for 6 hours. then allow to air dry some more for a couple of days, before wrapping. And perhaps, on your gift tag, a little note "handle with care", so recipients don't press or try to squish them.

Making birdseed ornaments (an inexpensive gift for bird lovers)

I had mentioned making some birdseed ornaments last week. There are a few different recipes for these ornaments. I tried two. Both worked well. But I have to say, they took several days to dry, not the 8 hours or overnight that any of the online recipes said. Maybe it's a Seattle thing, with dampness and all. But as I am hoping to use a couple of these as gifts, time for drying is important.

Anyway, the first recipe I tried was for gelatin, water and birdseed, only. I liked this recipe quite a lot, for its ability to hold everything together, and it didn't seize up quickly, so I could take my time making the shapes. The downside was that it seemed to take longer to dry out, than the other recipe I tried. I tweaked the recipe a bit, and have made my suggestions for making these more easily.

Here's the recipe.

ingredients:

4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (2 small packets)
2/3 cup boiling water
2 cups birdseed
string, twine, ribbon

you will also need:

large and small spoons for mixing and filling
parchment or waxed paper-lined baking sheet
non-stick cooking spray
large bowl
pot of boiling water on the stove, for a make-shift double boiler
skewer 

something to shape them:

**best** a shallow measuring scoop -- I liked the way the 1/2-cup, shallow measuring scoop worked, it was easier to un-mold and held together far better than cookie cutters
**I don't have these, but I've read they work well** silicone molds, 1/2-cup
**my last choice** -- cookie cutters, bigger and simpler in shape is better

(note about molds -- for best results, opt for a 1/2-cup, blocky shape, like a shallow measuring scoop or silicone muffin mold. Not quite as "pretty" as shapes like stars, leaves, etc, but the end result will be a birdseed ornament that holds together, well, even for shipping. Save ornaments like the fancy shapes for your own yard, or when gifting in person. The narrow bends in a fancier shape are difficult to pack the birdseed in tightly. My stars and maple leaves were more "crumbly" than the circle.)

1) Pour boiling water into bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin. Stir, stir, stir. If there are clumps of gelatin in the water, place the bowl over the pot of boiling water, and stir until dissolved completely (takes no more than 5 minutes). Remove from stove.

2) Stir in the birdseed, and stir until the gelatin covers all of the birdseed.

If you have soupy liquid at the bottom of the bowl, place it in the fridge for 5 minutes, so the gelatin will begin to set and coat the birdseed, thickly. Stir the birdseed again. If no soupy stuff remains at the bottom of the bowl, your mix is ready to use. (If the gelatin firmed up at the bottom of the bowl, while in the fridge, simply place it on the double-boiler again for a minute and stir.)


3) Spray cooking spray on the inside of the cutters or containers. Mound the birdseed in the mold. Pack the birdseed mixture, very compactly into the containers/cutters, using the palm of your hand for large areas, and the underside of a small spoon for tight corners. (You can also spray a sheet of waxed paper with cooking spray and use that to help press the birdseed into the molds.) Fill small areas of the mold, using a teaspoon, as needed. Then, pack tightly, again. Packing tightly is key for getting these ornaments to hold together.

If using a silicone mold or scoop for your mold --
After about 2 minutes, gently tap the birdseed ornament out of the measuring scoop.

4) Use the skewer to carefully poke a hole in the center of your ornament, all the way through.

If you choose to use cookie cutters,
you'll want to poke the hole in the center, before you un-mold. 

If using cookie cutters --
Before unloading, you'll want to poke your holes, first, while birdseed is still inside the cutter. Use a skewer to poke a hole in each ornament in the center. Then leave the ornaments inside the cutters, for a several hours to firm up. The detail will come out better, if not un-molded right away.

5) Begin the drying process on the sheet of waxed paper or parchment, for the first 24 hours. After 24 hours, carefully move the ornaments to a cake-cooling rack (for air circulation all around). Turn them over, once per day. These will require 5 to 7 days to dry enough to wrap in cellophane or pack in a box.

6) Around day 5, use a yarn needle to thread some twine or thin ribbon through the small hole you initially created. Tie the twine/ribbon together at the top, to form a hanging loop. I added a small bow to the twine, just above the top of the ornament. You could also use a sprig of greenery where I placed the bow.

If shipping these, once completely dried, wrap individually in a sheet of plastic wrap, then overwrap in bubble wrap, and then place in a small box. You will want them to slide about, as little as possible, in transit.

I saved the star-shaped ornaments for our yard, but am gifting the circular ones, as they feel more durable for shipping.


Tips:

• small-seeded mixtures hold together better, and are easier to pack tightly, than large-seeded mixtures of birdseed
• a sprayed, shallow, plastic measuring scoop worked better for releasing the birdseed than the shaped cookie cutters
• the simpler the shape, the better. Points on the star crumbled a bit when removing from the mold. But the circle held together with much less crumbling. 
• some crumbling is to be expected. Don't assume they are ruined if a few grains of birdseed fall off as you move or turn the ornaments. 
• the ornaments that I made with cookie cutters had to remain inside the mold for a day, in order to release them neatly. This meant I couldn't make multiple stars, the way I could make multiple circles.
• allow to dry for 5-7 days, before wrapping for gifting. After 1 day, I carefully moved my ornaments to a cake rack, for better air circulation. These need to be very dry before wrapping, to prevent mold.
• I used a yarn needle (the kind used for weaving the ends of yarn into a knitting project or for sewing knitted pieces together) to thread the twine through the dried ornament. A yarn needle would also allow you to thread ribbon, easily, through the small hole of the ornament.
• leftover bits of birdseed mixture can be placed in tray-style bird feeders, or in scooped out orange or grapefruit shells, and set out for birds to nibble.

Here's the impressive part:

These retail for about $20 in specialty catalogs for anywhere from 3 to 6 ornaments. This recipe uses about 1 pound of birdseed, at a cost of 50 cents to $1 per pound, plus about 30 to 75 cents of gelatin (depending on how you buy gelatin), and it makes 4 half-cup ornaments. So, no more than $2 for a set of 4 ornaments.

I had all of the ingredients at home for mine, but I estimate that my cost was around $1 for the set of 4. Not a bad savings!

Canned pineapple, saving the juice

Around the holidays, I find canned pineapple on sale at several stores in my area. I try to pick up a few cans at this time. On Black Friday, my girls and I made a stop at the local drug store, where we found 20-oz cans for 99 cents. I may find a better price,  as we get closer to Christmas. At the very least, I should be able to find about this same price, perhaps with a limit. So, I can get more, if I want. Knowing this, on Friday, I limited my purchase to 10 cans.

As I open each can, I strain off the liquid, and save this in a glass jar in the fridge, to use later. Canned pineapple juice can be used in sweet and sour dishes, as part of a teriyaki marinade for meat, or, my favorite, as a beverage. I make orange-pineapple juice, combining the salvaged pineapple liquid with orange juice. I get a kick out of the knowledge that my family thinks this is one of those "festive" treats that I provide for Christmas and New Year's morning. When what I'm really doing is salvaging something that others might just throw away.

Pineapple juice can be stored in the refrigerator in a glass jar for up to 7 days. If I don't think we'll use it within 7 days, then I freeze it. Stored in the freezer, canned pineapple juice will be at it's best for drinking, if used within about 2 months, but I've used it in marinades 6 to 9 months after putting it into the freezer, with no issues other than some frost in the container.

Nothing wasted!

Making sweetened, condensed milk

I was making a half-batch of 7-layer Dream Bars, on Saturday afternoon. One of the ingredients is sweetened, condensed milk. I have never bought that stuff. It just seems oddly expensive for what it is, a cup and a half of milk, cooked with a little sugar, with some butter added. In the store, this concoction sells for $1.50 to $2.00. I just can't bring myself to spend that much for about 50 cents of ingredients. (Your costs may differ from mine.)

When I've needed this product for baking recipes, I've always made my own. There are two common methods for making sweetened condensed milk. One uses powdered milk, and the other (which I make) uses liquid milk. Neither method is complicated. The powdered milk method takes minutes to make. The liquid milk method takes a little over an hour of intermittent attention.

Among the merits of making your own sweetened, condensed milk is the ability to make this with any type of milk, including soy or almond, and just the amount that a recipe may need.

7-layer Dream Bars are yummy, but rich and not super cheap, so I usually just make a half-batch. In addition, making my own SCM, for a half-batch bars, is super handy. Buying a can would give me twice as much as I need.

I wanted to pass on this recipe during the holiday baking season. So, here it is.

Homemade sweetened, condensed milk

1  1/2 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together milk and sugar. Bring to a simmer over MED. Reduce heat to low and very gently simmer for about 1 to 1  1/2 hours, or until it has reduced by half. Stir every 5-10 minutes, to prevent scorching.

After 1 hour, begin measuring, every 10 minutes. Pour the milk/sugar into the measuring cup that was used to measure the milk at the beginning of this recipe. When the concoction has reduced to just over 1 cup, stir in the butter and vanilla.

If the milk and sugar are over-reduced by measurement, add water to the correct level. The final amount should be about 1  1/4 cups of liquid.

Allow to cool before using in recipes.

That's it. Nothing special. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the week following Thanksgiving

Friday

• leftovers from Thanksgiving, set out for all to help themselves

Saturday

• leftovers, again, from Thanksgiving dinner

Sunday

Today was the day that I simmered most of the turkey carcass. I froze the roasted legs, separately, for making soup, sometime next month.

• turkey, vegetable and noodle soup
• crackers
• the last of the pies

Monday

• leftover turkey soup, extended with another carrot, sliced, and half a baked potato, cubed
• pumpkin bread with cream cheese

Tuesday
Perfect storm re tonight's dinner. I found mushrooms on markdown today. I have some thawed eggs in the fridge that need using. I baked 2 large acorn squash yesterday, and can quickly mash them, then reheat in the microwave. Dinner should be a quick one to throw together.

• mushroom, cheddar frittata
• brown rice
• baked acorn squash

Wednesday

An easy dinner is in the plans for tonight. I've had a busy few days, and I just need easy.

• bean, rice, cheese and olive burritos
• leftover baked squash
• leftover canned green beans

Thursday

Only 2 will be home for dinner tonight. My daughter has her directing debut this evening, and I want to be there to support her in this. So, I'll meet up with the other daughter and we'll use a coupon to get a free sandwich to share for our dinner. I told the daughter, who's directing a one-act play tonight, that I'd bring something for her to eat in the car on the long drive home. That just leaves my husband and son for whom to make dinner. I've got leftovers from last night. I think that will work great.

• bean, rice, cheese and olive burritos
• leftover pumpkin soup that I made early in the week for lunches

Fred Meyer carries one of their store-brand flour tortillas for 99 cents/1-lb package (10 tortillas). On Senior Discount Tuesdays, I get these tortillas for 89 cents a package. The catch is they are often out of these tortillas by the time I get there. So, when I find any, I buy whatever they have. I bought 3 packages this past week. 

These make burritos assembly so easy. I can make bean, rice, cheese and olive burritos, for under 30 cents, each. (1 tortilla at 9 cents, 3 tablespoons cheese at 9 cents, 1/2 cup of homemade refried beans at 6 or 7 cents, 1 tablespoon of rice at 1 cent, 1 tablespoon of sliced olives at about 2 cents = 27-28 cents.) 

That's only $1.50 for the main dish (1 each, and I make some larger, some smaller, depending on who is eating them), on a busy night, for the family. If I add a can of corn and carrot sticks, my total cost for the meal is right around $2. That's pretty good for a quick and easy dinner.

How about you? What was on your menu this past week? Do you have any favorite ways that you use leftovers from Thanksgiving? or do you do, as my family did this last week, and just serve them, as is?

Is anyone planning to do something to celebrate the holiday season, this weekend? I'm going to an Advent musical production at our church, on Sunday evening. On Saturday, I will get out the holiday decorations, with the help of my kids. If the weather is good, I have one lone, tree-shaped shrub by the kitchen door, on which I wish to put lights. I made birdseed ornaments, yesterday afternoon. They need to dry, still. Once they are dried thoroughly,  I'll hang them on this shrub, with red and white twine. I have this look in my mind, of how I want this to look. White lights, birdseed ornaments, red and white twine, and red ribbons. I believe that I have everything that I need, here, already.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Buying maple syrup, for less

Out west, where I live, real maple syrup is very expensive. In place of real maple syrup, we use homemade blackberry syrup and homemade imitation maple syrup. For special occasions, I've bought maple syrup in small 12 ounce bottles.

With fall underway, and winter quickly approaching, I'm making pancakes for weekend breakfasts more often. There is something about a chilly morning, and waking to the aroma of pancakes cooking on the griddle. This fall, I found myself longing for real maple syrup. But that stuff can be pricey.

At the regular grocery stores near me, real maple syrup sells for around $7.00 to $8.50 per 12-oz bottle (58 cents to 71 cents per ounce).

Occasionally, I find it on sale for around $6.75 for 12-oz. The other day, at Fred Meyer, private label pure maple syrup was $6.69/12-oz (56 cents/ounce). Considering that would only last my family 3 or 4 family breakfasts, that still a bit steep for my budget.

In my search for real maple syrup, at a price that wouldn't make me choke on my morning coffee, I ventured into the realm of buying in quantity.

Pure maple syrup, sold in quarts, half-gallons and gallons, at places like WinCo, Cash & Carry, warehouse clubs and online (such as through Amazon), can yield a substantial savings over buying it in those pretty little glass bottles. True, you do sacrifice the attractive bottle, when you buy maple syrup in the larger quantities. Larger containers of maple syrup are sold in plastic jugs, whether they be quarts, half-gallons or gallons.

Our solution has been to save one of those glass bottles from Trader Joe's, and refill it with maple syrup from the half-gallon jug that I bought at Cash & Carry. (I knew there would be a reason for me to have saved that glass bottle!)

I bought maple syrup in a 64-oz jug at Cash & Carry, at 44 cents per ounce ($28.08/half-gallon). Our area Costco carries real maple syrup for close to that price. WinCo, has real maple syrup in 32 ounce jugs, for about 53 cents per ounce. Amazon carries real maple syrup in half-gallons and gallons for as low as 43 cents per ounce (bought in a 1-gallon jug). Any of these prices will beat my local grocery store regular and sale price.

The trick will be to not plow through a half-gallon in a month! It does taste wonderful, eat-it-right-out-of-a-spoon, wonderful. The flavor takes me back to my childhood, when my mother would sometimes buy maple sugar candies for my sibs and I.

And as a bonus, real maple syrup contains nutrients. It boasts manganese, magnesium, calcium, potassium, riboflavin and zinc. [http://www.purecanadamaple.com/benefits-of-maple-syrup/maple-syrup-nutrition/]

We'll still use homemade blackberry syrup, from time to time, this winter. But having some of the real stuff, for special weekend breakfasts will be a treat, and especially nice that I found it for less.

November 2016 grocery spending journal

This is the big stock-up time of the year, for me. There is a lot to buy, but fortunately, I have a lot in surplus budget from which to draw.


October 31. This came in after I'd finished up my October tally, so I'm including it in November's. At Fred Meyer, I bought 1 package of flour tortillas for $1.19.

November 1. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. I was hopeful I'd find pecans on sale this month, and I did! $8.99/lb, I bought almost 3  1/2 pounds of pecan halves. They're in the freezer already. I also bought 5 half-gallons of whole milk, at 89 cents each, and 1 half-gallon of orange juice at 89 cents (there was a limit of 6 combined of milk and OJ at the sale price). I bought 1 half-gallon of almond milk ($2.25), 2 lbs of butter ($2.50/lb), 4 2-lb bags of powdered sugar (89 cents each), a box of decaf tea ($2.33), a large can of decaf coffee and a large can of reg. coffee ($4.49 each), a package of hot dogs for 80 cents (easy meals), and 2 18-ct large eggs (89 cents per carton, or 59 cents/dozen). I still have lots of eggs in the freezer, but at 59 cents/dozen I'll continue to buy. Total spent $60.96 (half of that was pecans!)

November 4. WinCo for cases of canned vegetables (12 cans/case). I buy 1 case each peas, corn, cut green beans and French green beans, $3.96/case. I also bought 6 bags of assorted chocolate chips, at $1.68/each, 1 container of salt, 54 cents, 3 29-oz cans pumpkin, $1.78 each, 12 bananas, 48 cents/lb, and 6 acorn squash, 78 cents each. I spent $38.97 (that includes my 3 X 6 cents bag credit).

November 8. Fred Meyer. potatoes are on sale for 88 cents/10-lb bag, limit 2. Today was the day that I discovered FM would have every Tuesday through the holidays as Senior Discount days. So, while here, I bought a few items which would qualify for 10% off, including a can of regular and a can of decaf coffee ($4.49 each), container of salt (53 cents), 4 cans of whole berry cranberry sauce (89 cents each), and a freebie of a Hershey's Kiss deluxe. I spent $14.83

November 11.  I was running errands with one daughter. Since we were near Fred Meyer, we decided to stop in and buy more potatoes, at 88 cents/10-lb bag. She picked up her limit of 2 bags, and I got my 2 bags. While there, we found pasta in a variety of shapes on sale for 50 cents/lb. I bought 19 lbs, mostly linguini and macaroni. I also picked up my freebie of Greek yogurt. Spent $13.02

November 11. Also stopped at WinCo, for another case of green beans ($3.96), some candied cherries for holiday baking ($2.43), candied fruitcake fruit ($2.48), baking cocoa ($1.66), chili powder ($1.69), 1.12 lbs of raisins ($2.00), 1 whole wheat fig bar 26 cents), 4 cans of cranberry sauce (78 cents each), 4 cans olives, 78 cents each, 3 bags chocolate chips, $1.68 each, 4 cans of yams ($1.49/29 oz), 4 cans pumpkin ($1.78/29 oz), 1 qt of whipping cream ($3.18) and a 72-ct pack of corn tortillas ($2.18). I spent $44.94

November 15. Fred Meyer, for another day of Senior discount, plus getting one turkey. I bought 3 packs of lady finger cookies for 50 cents each (for making tiramisu), 1 10-ct flour tortillas, 89 cents, 4 8-oz bags of Italian espresso coffee, for $1.49 each, a box of decaf black tea, $2.33, 3 half-gals of orange juice, 90 cents each, 7 half-gals milk, 90 cents each, 3 half-gals eggnog, marked down, $1.50 each, 8 8-oz packages of cream cheese, 90 cents each, 1 package hot dogs, 80 cents, 8 15-oz jars natural peanut butter, $1.35 each, and a 20-lb turkey at 49 cents/lb. I had a $5 off any purchase coupon to use, so in total I spent $47.75

November 18. WinCo for my 2nd turkey. I buy 3 bags marshmallows, 98 cents each. 14 29-oz cans yams, 98 cents each, 4 lbs butter, $2.48 each, 15 29-oz cans pumpkin, $1.78 each, 5 cans cream of mushroom soup, 58 cents each, 9 cans olives, 78 cents each and a 20-lb turkey, at 48 cents/lb. I spent $73.04

November 22. Cash & Carry. I buy 50-lbs of all-purpose flour for $10.99, 12 lbs of butter at $2.09/lb, 1 gal of molasses, $13.49, half-gal of real maple syrup, $28.08, 3 large bunches of celery, for $2.88, 40-lbs oranges, $16.98, 6 bananas, 42 cents pound. I spent $98.65.

I have spent a whole lot on groceries this month, a whole lot. So far, I've spent $393.35. But, including surpluses from previous months, I had $504.40 that I could spend for November. So, I'm actually doing okay, so far.

November 25. Black Friday. Out picking up some deals, and I found canned pineapple on sale for 99 cents/ 20-oz can. not a spectacular deal, but okay, so I bought 10 cans. Spent $9.90. Also got my Friday Freebie, a Christmas themed Snicker's candy bar.

November 29. Last shopping day of the month, with Senior Discount at Fred Meyer. I bought 3 packages of 10 each flour tortillas (they are often out of these), 89 cents each, 1 large can decaf and 1 large can reg coffee, $4.49 each, 3 more 2-lb bags of powdered sugar, at 89 cents each, 1 box of decaf tea, $2.33, 8 half-gallons of whole milk 89 cents each, 2 half-gallons of orange juice, 89 cents each, 2 16-oz containers of sour cream, 89 cents each, just over 10 lbs of whole almonds, $4.49/lb, 6 bottles of Martinelli's sparkling cider, $1.34 each, 2 lbs of mushrooms, $1.98/lb, and 1 head of cabbage, at 49 cents/lb. Plus I had a $2 off coupon this week. Total spent $89.31.

Total spent for the month of October -- $492.56. I had a surplus plus budget, going into November, of $504.40. So, I actually have a tiny amount of surplus going into December, of $11.84!


What I bought:

Produce (canned, fresh, frozen, dried, juice)

6 half-gallon orange juice
12 cans of peas
12 cans of corn
36 cans green beans
22  29-oz cans pumpkin
18  29-oz cans yams
18 bananas
6 acorn squash
60 lbs potatoes
8 cans cranberry sauce
1.12 lb raisins
13 cans olives
3 large bunches of celery
40 lbs oranges
10 20-oz cans of pineapple
2 lbs mushrooms
1 head of green cabbage
6 bottles of sparkling cider

Meat

2 packages hot dogs
2  20-lb turkeys

Dairy

20 half-gallons whole milk
half-gallon almond milk
3 half-gallons eggnog
18 lbs butter
3 dozen eggs
1 container Greek yogurt (freebie)
1 qt whipping cream
64 oz cream cheese
32 ounces sour cream

Pantry staples

5 lbs flour tortillas
3.5 lbs pecan halves
14 lbs powdered sugar
3 boxes decaf tea bags
3 large cans coffee
3 large cans decaf coffee
4 bags Italian espresso coffee
9 bags of chocolate chips
2 containers of salt
Hershey's Kiss Deluxe (freebie)
19 lbs pasta
1 lb candied cherries
1 lb fruitcake fruit
baking cocoa
chili powder
1 whole wheat fig bar
72 corn tortillas
3 packages lady finger cookies
8 jars natural style peanut butter
3 bags marshmallows
5 cans cream of mushroom soup
50 lbs of all-purpose flour
1 gallon molasses
half-gallon of maple syrup
Snicker's candy bar (freebie)
10 lbs of whole almonds

As the end of the month draws near, our pantry is extremely well-stocked in canned vegetables, flour, sugar, molasses, baking supplies, pasta, coffee and tea, nuts, potatoes, and squash. We have enough butter to last through early to mid-summer, and a year's supply of cream cheese. I have stacks of cases of canned goods on the pantry floor. If I had to, I could prepare meals for at least 3 months, without spending a penny. That's reassuring to know.

And now, at the end of this very spendy month, I am so tired of spending money. I have spent and spent and spent. I'm looking forward to a lean January.

How about you? Do you spend more on groceries in the months of November and December than other times of the year? Or is your spending pretty even throughout the year?

Knowing the difference between a "best regular" price, a "good" price and a "great" price

As the prices on goods fluctuates so readily, this can be a bit of a guessing game. I sometimes get it very right. But also, I'm sometimes disappointed that I've gotten it wrong. I use records from recent shopping experience, combined with studying the market with online resources (such as USDA weekly price reports) as best as I can, to estimate if a price is great, just good, or one that I know I can easily beat.

With grocery shopping, I keep three levels of pricing in my head --

• the "best regular" price (or what I am confident that I will find, often, on a regular basis, usually at my low-price leader stores -- WinCo, Fred Meyer or Cash & Carry)
• the "good" price (or a routine "sale" price, to be found once every several weeks, often found in grocery store ads, with limits)
• the "great" price (rock-bottom, once a year, clearance, or closeout prices, such as an item on sale at Cash & Carry or WinCo, or a special promotion at any of the local grocery stores)

It goes without saying that I try to get that "great" price, as much as possible. Knowing when I have it, and when to buy stock-up quantities, is the trick.

Some examples from recent shopping
When I am completely out of a staple item, I will buy just what I need at the moment, at my "best regular" price. Sometimes this is on Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. Sometimes I find that "best regular "at WinCo. And sometimes, the best regular price is at Cash & Carry.

A case in point, I was completely out of all-purpose flour, leading into the Thanksgiving weekend. My "best regular" price was at Cash & Carry, in a 50-lb bag, at 22 cents per pound. I bought just the 1 bag, as I knew that at some point in the year, all-purpose flour will go on sale for a little less than this, likely at Cash & Carry. That "some point" came this week, as the same 50-lb sack of all-purpose flour is on a one-week only sale for $9.99 (just under 20 cents per pound). This will be the lowest price for the next 9 months, is my guess. I go through 1 50-lb sack of white flour every 4 months. I will probably buy 2 50-lb sacks, even though I still have most of the 50-lb sack that I bought last week.

My stock of butter has been depleted, significantly. It's not an emergency, there were still a few pounds left. But my reserves were low enough, going into Thanksgiving week, that I've been keeping a watch for a good sale. At WinCo, last week, butter was on sale for $2.48/lb, with a limit of 4 pounds. Given the current market for butter, this is a good price, but not great. (I've been finding butter on sale at Fred Meyer for $2.50/lb, about once every 6 weeks, this fall.) And I know that $2.48 per pound is better than the current regular price at Cash & Carry, at $2.64/lb in 1-lb blocks. Knowing that WinCo's price was good, but not great, I bought my limit of 4, and didn't bother with attempts to stock-up further at that price.

Later in the week, I saw Cash & Carry had put butter on sale for $2.09/lb. For our area, and at this time, that is a great price. So I bought 12 pounds.

I've been waiting for canned pineapple to go on sale. At the very least, it should go on sale at Fred Meyer or WinCo, for about $1 to $1.25 per 20-oz can, nearer to Christmas. The lower the price, the greater the likelihood of purchase limits. When I found 20-oz cans of pineapple on sale for 99 cents, at a local drugstore, last Friday, I thought about what possible prices I might see. 99 cents a can is not great enough for us to rethink our fruit consumption, and buy several cases of pineapple. But it is a good enough price to buy enough to last until the next good pineapple sale (perhaps at Christmas or New Year, but also I can be relatively certain I will find a similar price at Easter). I bought 10 cans.

Missing my guess
Sometimes, I guess wrong, and buy stock-up quantities at a price that is higher than the rock-bottom price. This happened with whole almonds, a month ago. I still paid quite a bit less than a best regular price. But I see this week, at Fred Meyer, the price is even lower.

What do I do when this happens? If I think the price is truly spectacular, and, I believe we will use more of the item before it goes bad, and, if I have the money to buy more, that is just what I do, I buy more. I accept that I didn't get the rock-bottom price on the first purchase, but I didn't overpay, either. In the end, no one is perfect, and I do very well, most of the time, with our grocery budget. And by buying a little bit more, at this new, lower price, I feel like I am easing the pain of having spent a little too much, the first time.

How to track the "great" price and know how much to buy
A log
You are all familiar with my grocery spending journal that I post at the end of each month. This is a dated log of my purchase price plus amounts that I buy. I am able to go back through the months of this type of post and find out how much I bought (which gives me the approximation of how long any given amount will last for my use), and what that price was.

With the all-purpose flour, I was able to scan the grocery posts from March through now and see that I bought a 50-lb sack in both March and July. It amazes me, but I go through all-purpose flour at a very regular rate, 50 pounds every 4 months. I paid $11.99 and $11.68, in the months of March and July, for a 50-lb sack of all-purpose flour. So, I know that my price this week of $9.99 is a very good price for the year, for my area, on this item.

A log doesn't need to be on a computer. It can be in a notebook. This type of log needn't have prices for everything that you might buy, but items that you buy infrequently enough to not be certain of what you paid, or how much you purchased.

Marking a package
A simpler method for many folks might be to just mark your packages. You can track prices and how long they last by marking individual packages with date of opening, date of purchase, and the price paid. The date of opening would give you some idea of how long a quantity lasts in your home. The date of purchase, combined with price paid, provide insight as to when the prices for an item are at their lowest.

Studying the market
I also use tools like the USDA reports, (google online for these reports), to get an idea of prices on specific food items. I've watched egg, butter, chicken, beef, turkey, cabbage and pumpkin prices, by reading these reports. The reports give me a good idea of what to expect, price-wise and availability.


In the end, its all a guessing game for the consumer. None of us have a crystal ball which can predict what the best price will be, for any season. Even if we get the best deal one week, the very next may see something even better. The bottom line is to set a budget and keep the spending within that amount. Luckily for us, what we buy is quite flexible. If we miss a great deal, for any reason, we can often make up for it, somewhere else in the grocery budget.

Winner of the spa items giveaway, and how Thanksgiving worked out for us

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. As promised, the winner of the drawing, this morning. Linda M, the first comment on the spa items giveaway blog post, your number was selected! Send me an email with your mailing address, so I can get this package off to you quickly. (lili.mounce@gmail.com)

Other topics . . .
You remember my plan to have the entire clan help with Thanksgiving, not just cooking, but all of the additional chores attached to a holiday dinner?

It all worked well. We had 7 people for dinner, and everyone had prepared a different dish to go with dinner (even our two guests).

The 5 of us in my family worked extra chores, both before and after dinner. One daughter was the game-master during dinner, and then washed the serving dishes afterwards. The other daughter filled water glasses before and during dinner, then made tea for everyone after dinner. My son set out the butter, cranberry sauce, olives and pickles before dinner, and then cleared the table after dinner. My husband set the table with plates, silverware and napkins, plus ran the dishwasher before dinner and emptied it out, so we would have room for washing all of the dinner plates. After dinner, he wiped down the counters and stovetop. And I put together the centerpiece, set out placemats and decorated the table for dinner, then put away all of the leftovers after dinner. No one person was burdened with more work than any other. And I completely believe this is how our holiday meals should work for the future.

We kept to a work schedule for preparing our dishes, too. I was very happy with the way use of the the kitchen worked out. Some of us prepared our dishes the day before, and others prepared dishes the day of Thanksgiving. My son and his girlfriend cooked together, which doubled as date-time for the two of them. Other than those two, the rest of us preferred to have the kitchen to ourselves, as we cooked.


Of course, no holiday weekend is complete without at least one disaster. Our water heater sprung a leak overnight, Friday into Saturday. At least we got the full-load of dishes through the dishwasher from Thanksgiving, before this happened.

While I just now called it a disaster, really it isn't. Inconvenient and unpleasant, but not a disaster. Our water heater is in the garage, so no damage to the house was done. And I've been putting aside money, every month, to replace the water heater. So, we are covered, financially.

We've muddled along with boiling water on the stove for washing dishes, and very shallow baths. It's all doable, and the situation will be resolved in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, there is an upside. I'm sure we are using much less water than ever. Without a functioning water heater, there is nothing keeping any of us standing under a prolonged, steady stream of water on a cold morning.

Always a silver lining, isn't there?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the Thanksgiving week

Mexi-bean soup, made from refried beans, canned tomatoes in liquid, cumin,
vegetable liquid, carrots, olives and topped with fried corn tortilla strips

Friday

• turkey, cream cheese, dried cranberry sandwiches on homemade French bread
• canned corn, heated in the microwave
• carrot sticks and 1000 Island dip
• olives

Saturday

One daughter and I worked at a fund-raiser all day. we were blessed with everything to make a large tossed salad for dinner that night -- lettuce, cucumber, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, croutons and dressing. As we were gone all day, I looked in the freezer for something to go with the salad. I found a large container of soup.

• tossed salad
• soup from the freezer, a homemade tomato-beef soup from last week
• corn tortilla chips
• birthday cupcakes (my son's birthday)

Sunday

We went out for a birthday celebration lunch to celebrate both my son's and his girlfriend's birthdays. When we came back home, we had a scratch-baked cake, and opened gifts. We were all so full that I knew dinner would be a small and simple one. Here's what I made:

• large tossed salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, parsley, ranch dressing (all from the fund-raiser that my daughter and I worked on Saturday), plus olives, cheese, turkey, cabbage
• corn tortillas, topped with cheddar, chopped onions, chili powder and olives, then broiled until toasty

Monday

Early week will feature refried beans as the main item. Day #1 of refried beans will be bean, cheese and rice burritos.

• bean, cheese, rice burritos, plus I found one fast-food packet of hot sauce in the fridge, split five ways
• carrots sticks
• leftover cake

Tuesday

Day #2 of refried beans -- turn some of the beans into Mexi-bean soup, by adding some canned tomatoes, liquid from veggies, olives, cumin, carrots sticks leftover from last night, cut into dices and all was simmered on the stove until the carrots were soft.

• Mexi-bean soup, topped with fried corn tortilla strips
• oranges
• leftover cupcakes

Wednesday

Day #3 of refried beans, more bean burritos. Dinner has to be simple tonight as I've been busy cleaning the house. We'll be 7 tomorrow. A friend of my daughters from school will be joining the 6 of us. I hope we've got everything covered.

• bean, cheese and rice burritos
• oranges
• leftover cake

Thursday

The big feast day.

• turkey and gravy
• praline sweet potato casserole
• green bean casserole
• stuffing
• Thanksgiving fried rice, with turkey ham, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and green onion
• pumpkin pie, apple pie
• olives, pickles, cranberry sauce

I know what we're having for dinner tonight, and I bet you can guess!!

For those in the US, I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with family. And for all of us, I guess the holiday season is upon us, now. Holiday music on the radio. Decorations going up in the neighborhood. Black Friday sales, and a few freebies (free donuts and coffee at Fred Meyer, this morning). 

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, to those in the US; elsewhere, I hope your day is filled with blessings

When the details don't go as planned, remember that there are no holidays devoted to perfection.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude, for all of life's blessings, and the lessons learned in our failings.

Some of my personal "failures" from Thanksgivings (and other holidays) past:

• the "turnip" pie. I cooked my pumpkin filling in the same pan that I had previously used for cooking mashed turnips. It was an aluminum pot which absorbs flavors and odors. The whole pie-eating experience was tainted with turnip overtones.
• The Rancid Turkey Fat Disaster of 2011. It was late Thanksgiving night, when I was cleaning up the kitchen from our feast. I had a tall, narrow container of turkey fat/liquid sitting on the counter, with a long spoon in the jar. I reached over to get something, and knocked the whole container over, spilling onto the counter, into a partially opened drawer, all over me and onto the floor. I used every rag in the house to clean it up, along with a couple of bath towels. I threw the whole mess into the laundry room, and added my turkey fat-soaked clothes. I forgot to deal with this until early the next week, when everything smelled like rancid turkey fat. I ran a load of wash, adding additional clothing to the load. After washing, everything in that load smelled like rancid fat. I rewashed everything 3 or 4 times, on hot, with extra detergent. Many items came clean enough, but one sweatshirt and one t-shirt never came clean of rancid turkey fat. I wound up throwing those two items out, as I couldn't wear them without detecting the faint odor of rancidity.
• the too-tough-to-cut-with-a-knife pork roast that I served to my son's girlfriend's parents, for son's GF graduation. I had one opportunity to impress my son's girlfriend's parents -- this one dinner. They live in Shanghai, so it's not like I can invite them for a do-over. I planned this menu very carefully. I really did work hard this day, trying to make everything perfect. But I am lousy with cooking meat. That's just me. I have a good thermometer. I just have bad timing. The pork roast came out so tough, I cringed as I watched our guests work at cutting it into bites, then work further at chewing it all. In the end, they did say that they liked approved of our son, as a BF to their daughter. So, I don't think we ruined his future with them. Maybe I'll get a do-over another year.
• the gravy with more lumps than liquid. I was newly married, and invited my grandparents over to dinner. I made a roast with gravy. I had only made gravy a couple of times before this occasion. My gravy, literally had more volume in lumps than liquid. My grandmother came to my rescue, however. She asked if I owned a sieve (mesh strainer). I got it out, and she showed me that I could push the gravy through the mesh, and make something almost respectable, for gravy. Fortunately, we do get better with experience, and my gravy has improved over the years. (hint: if your gravy looks insipid and pale, use soy sauce to add some flavor and color to the gravy.)
• scorched mash potatoes, burnt green beans, cold coffee served to guests, and more blunders, yet we survived. Holidays are not about perfection, but about celebration. Have a happy holiday, no matter what goes wrong!

Apparently I made raspberry jam this past summer

I say, apparently, because I have no recollection of making this kind of jam. I remember making strawberry, vanilla-rhubarb and vanilla-plum, however. How can I spend an afternoon making something and not remember it?

That's how my summer went. I have several patches of low-memory from the summer. So, when fall slid in, I felt like I never had a summer. I will endeavor to make up for that with Summer 2017!

Anyway, here's the frugal cake that I made to celebrate both my son's (Nov. 19) and his girlfriend's (Nov. 16) birthdays.

The cake, itself, is a scratch vanilla butter cake, using the recipe in this link. I baked it early in the week, and froze the layers. I made a frosting of cocoa powder, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, salt and milk. I had a busy weekend, before the celebration, so I made the frosting a couple of days in advance, and kept it covered in the refrigerator. By doing so, I had the ease of canned frosting, on the day of putting the cake together.

To make our celebration cakes "fancy", I like to split the layers, using my serrated bread knife, and spooning in generous amounts of homemade jam. For this cake, I discovered the homemade raspberry jam in my garage fridge. A delightful surprise to me! (That's the upside of my recent forgetful episode -- lots of stuff come as delightful surprises.) This is a simple trick that really elevates an ordinary layer cake, in a matter of 5 or 10 extra minutes.

Just before putting candles on the cake, I also spooned some warmed jam (warmed, to thin it for pouring) over the top of the chocolate-frosted cake. I love to combination of berries and chocolate.

I estimate that my home-baked, scratch birthday cake cost about $2.50, for the cake, the frosting and the jam. I spent about 1 hour and 10 minutes of hands-on time, making this cake. If I had bought a bakery birthday cake, of this quality, my cost would have been about $25. I compare my scratch cakes to those of a moderate bakery, which would use premium ingredients, such as butter, real vanilla and a fruit filling, in addition to a buttercream icing. In such case, I "earned" about $19 per hour for my time investment.

There are some things in life that matter to me. A cake made with quality ingredients happens to be one of those. I've enjoyed baking since I was 8 years old. It seems fitting that this would be on my personal list of things that brings me enjoyment, both in the consuming and creating.

Making basket filler for gift baskets

Hard to believe, but you can buy shredded paper to use in gift baskets. Retail locations that sell party supplies and gift wrap accessories, sell bags of crinkled, shredded paper, to use as gift-basket bedding, for about $3 a bag.

You can make your own, in minutes, using your home-office paper shredder -- for nothing, if you don't mind using junk mail paper. Or for a couple of pennies, you can use plain paper, or tea-stained paper, or scraps of gift wrap.

Commercially-shredded paper is crinkled. This gives the paper loft and cushions items better than flat paper shreds. When you shred documents at home, you get a pile of matted paper bits. For disposal, those matted shreds are easier to deal with, as they take up less space in your recycling bin. However, for filling a gift box or basket, you want loft in your filler.

You can crinkle your own, home-shredded paper, super-duper easy.

See what happens when you take some of these matted paper shreds --

if you tightly pack these into "snowballs", about the size of your fist,

then fluff it up, you increase the volume of your paper filler, almost by double.

When I was filling my spa basket, I wanted something prettier than our financial documents all shredded up, to cushion the spa gifts.

The day that I tea-stained the poetry scripted papers, I had leftover tea in the baking pan. So, I took an extra few sheets of blank paper and tea-stained those with the leftover tea. Once dried, I put them through our paper shredder. They had a natural look that went well with my basket.

I also had some colorful scraps of wrapping paper that were really too wrinkled or too small to wrap anything. I put those pieces of gift wrap through the shredder, too.

When I tossed the colored and ecru paper together, I had a pretty confetti blend of papers for basket filler, in my spa basket.

I crinkled this filler, using the snowball technique, then filled my gift-basket.

I lined my basket with a large square of pink plastic, which was part of a large shopping bag that I'd acquired a while ago. I opened that bag along the seams, and cut out a large square.

Ten minutes of my time and I saved about $3.

Just a frugal shredded paper tip -- over the holidays, you may receive some gifts wrapped in gift wrap. The good and large pieces can be reused for future holiday gift-wrapping. You can iron on a very low setting to smooth out wrinkles. The smaller pieces, or those with writing on the wrap, or places where tape peeled off the print -- you know, the pieces that you really don't want to reuse -- can be run through your paper shredder in batches of like color. You can make some basket filler for future gifting, with these gift wrap scraps. Remember to tear the tape pieces off, first. They might gum up your shredder.

Okay, it's time for the hand-crafted spa items giveaway! Plus how I made bubble bath for gifting

I've gone through everything that I've made, and I have a small parcel of spa items to give away. Use these items for yourself, or save them as stocking stuffers or a small gift for someone at the holidays. And please, don't be critical of my novice knitting! Ha ha! (Unless that's constructive criticism, of course.)

What's in this giveaway?

• a bar each of Goats Milk Lavender soap and Honey Almond Oatmeal soap
• a packet of Lavender Oatmeal bath tea and a packet of Peach Rose bath tea
• one lavender spa cloth and one ecru spa cloth

This giveaway is open to USA residents (even Hawaii and Alaska) only. To enter, simply leave a comment at the end of this post. This giveaway ends at midnight, PST, on Saturday, November 26, 2016. Check back Monday morning, November 28, for the winner, and I'll get this in the mail as quickly as I can!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, on to making bubble bath.

This bubble bath went into the spa basket that I gave to my son's girlfriend for her birthday this past weekend. (Photo of the completed basket was on facebook a couple of weeks ago, and will be in tomorrow's post, FYI.)

At the end of summer, I found this pretty bottle on clearance at Michael's, for $2.37.

Hobby Lobby carries bubble bath/shower gel base in 32 oz buckets. I used a 40% off coupon, and paid $4.80 for 32 ounces of bubble bath base. To the base, I added a tiny amount of lavender soap colorant, lavender oil and vitamin E oil. It's very, very bubbly stuff, so it can take thinning. My pretty bottle holds 8 ounces, so I used just under 8 ounces of bubble bath base, at a cost of about $1.20. I had the soap colorant, lavender oil and vitamin E oil at home. My estimated cost on those items is 25 cents.

My total cost on the homemade bubble bath in a pretty bottle, was about $3.82. While that's not super-duper inexpensive, it's about half to one-third of what I might spend on a pretty bottle of bubble bath, retail, at a place like Marshall's. (I now have 24 ounces of bubble bath base leftover, in my craft cupboard, to make bottles of bubble bath for gifts in the future.)

The whole process took less than 10 minutes. The base is thick, so I melted what I needed in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Then I stirred in the color and oils. When completely mixed, I poured the bubble bath into the glass bottle. Easy peasy.

The bubble bath base was difficult to locate, retail, in small quantities. I found it at Hobby Lobby, in the soap-making supplies. I also read that you can use unscented, baby shampoo for the base. Although, this bubble bath base was quite thick and bubbly. A retail product like baby shampoo is thinner. So, I'm not sure how much of a savings you'd achieve by using an unscented baby shampoo.

For a quick and easy hand-crafted gift, particularly for making several gifts at once, bubble bath could knock 4 to 5 gifts off your list, with no special skills or equipment required. Honestly, this is much simpler than making soap.

You may already have a couple of bottles that could be used, such as specialty vinegar, steak sauce or condiment bottles, or you could check thrift shops for bottles, if this idea interests you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, don't forget to enter the giveaway before Saturday, midnight, November 26, 2016. And come back on Monday, November 28, 2016 for the announcement of the winner.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers -- or How to have a lazy cooking week

cheese dog taquitos

Friday
Although today was a holiday, I had a lot on my plate for the day. For a couple of weeks, I've been thinking about possible meals I could throw together in about 10 minutes. And what I had come up with was The Canned Food Buffet. It wasn't all canned food, but surprisingly enough, I was able to have everything on the counter and ready for self-serve in 10 minutes. It was quite enough food, and in an odd way, balanced.

• microwaved, baked potatoes, with
• shredded cheese and butter to top them
• canned green beans
• canned peas
• canned olives
• boiled eggs (I made these early in the day)
• leftover chocolate chip cookies

Saturday

• turkey from the freezer, simmered with onions, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and chutney, for a sweet and spicy dish
• pasta-vegetable salad, using last of the garden tomatoes, green peppers and parsley, plus some olives, garbanzo beans, garden herbs, oil and vinegar (I made enough for several lunches during the week, and still had some to add to a pot of soup, on Wednesday.)
• carrot sticks

Sunday

I need to prepare another large main dish. I had thought it would be a turkey-vegetable soup, only to discover that we'd eaten all of the frozen turkey in stock.

So, it's back to the drawing board. I micro-thawed 2 pounds of ground beef and opened a #10 can of tomato paste. I also used some of the canned, whole tomatoes and fresh beet greens from the garden, to make enough Bolognese for 4 nights. Here's night #1:

• spaghetti with Bolognese sauce
• canned green beans
• rhubarb-blackberry sauce from the freezer

Monday

Night #2 on the Bolognese. I cooked a large pot of rice in the afternoon. In a medium casserole dish, I tossed together some of this rice with bolognese sauce, some very wilted, garden greens and a bunch of sliced olives. With a handful of shredded mozzarella on top, the casserole was ready for the oven. Throwing together this dish took about 7 or 8 minutes, once the rice was cooked.

With the bottom of the saucepan of rice, I made some more rice pudding, this time, for me, using vanilla almond milk. While the rice pudding was cooking on the stove, I baked 2 large acorn squash and 5 potatoes. I toasted a couple of cups of almonds for snacking, and some chopped almonds for mixing into my rice pudding. Once the squash and potatoes came out of the oven, the rice-bolognese dish went in for 30 minutes. I was able to take care of a surprising amount of cooking, in about 30 minutes of hands-on work.

• rice, greens and Bolognese casserole
• baked squash (an odd dish to go along with this casserole, but it is what I had, and made a substantial side dish)

Tuesday

I'm low on bread today, so I'll be serving today's Bolognese with a fresh bread product. I think I'll make a triple batch of French bread dough and use a third of it for a deep dish pizza, and the remaining two-thirds of dough for sandwich and toasting bread. Since I baked 2 large squash yesterday, our side dish tonight will be more squash, just heat and eat. Change of plans -- I opened a can of peas and heated them in the microwave.

• deep dish pizza, using Bolognese sauce, French bread dough, mozzarella and sliced olives
• canned peas

Wednesday

Last day of the Bolognese sauce. Today, it becomes soup, when thinned with various leftover liquids in the fridge plus some canned tomatoes.

• tomato beef and vegetable soup (the Bolognese, with canned veggie liquid, black olive liquid, a can of peas plus its liquid, and the last of Saturday's pasta salad), all topped with cheese
• acorn squash muffins

Thursday

I have a busy day, topped off with a meeting tonight. Easy dinner in the plans.

• cheese-dog taquitos
• leftover baked squash
• cole slaw made from some of the last of the garden cabbage

The most of this week's dinners, were made with one very large pot of spaghetti meat sauce, Bolognese. I was occupied with a lot of details and work for the week, and what I needed was something along the lines of easy. This worked. 

What were your meals like this past week? We're using a lot of canned vegetables, these days, primarily for cost, but also, ease. Do you usually use fresh, frozen or canned vegetables in winter?

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Risgrynsgrot -- a very frugal use for leftover rice

Nope, that's not a typo! It's a real word -- in another language.

One quarter of me is descended from people from Sweden. I don't really feel Swedish. But I do like to continue with a couple of traditions from that line of my family. One of those is a rice porridge, called risgrynsgrot. It's a stovetop rice pudding, that is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.

It's also a very frugal dish, using leftover rice, milk (cream if you have it), just a bit of sugar, cinnamon, 1 single almond, vanilla extract and salt. You can add dried fruit, chopped nuts and/or a fruit sauce made from raspberry preserves, if desired. It's not meant to be very sweet. However, traditionally, cinnamon and sugar are passed at the table, to sweeten as desired.

Yes, 1 almond. That one single almond has a role. Whoever finds the almond in their dish is said to be married soon. In households of humble means, rysgrynsgrot, topped with a little extra milk or butter, might have been Christmas Eve supper, all by itself. Much like a bowl of hasty pudding (corn meal mush) would have been a simple supper in humble American homes. In modern times, it's a fun dessert after a larger Christmas Eve meal. (Fun because of the "game" of who will find the almond!)

Here's how I make mine:

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover, cooked rice
4 cups of milk or milk/cream mix
salt, depending on whether the rice was salted for cooking
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 whole, blanched almond
optional -- chopped, toasted almonds, dried fruit (cherries are my favorite), cinnamon/sugar

• In a medium saucepan (about 3-qt capacity), combine 2 cups cooked, leftover rice (I use brown rice, white rice is fine, too), with 4 cups of milk (or milk and cream, mixed), with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, if the rice was not salted, otherwise skip the salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring often to prevent scorching, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 blanched, whole almond.
• Optional: you can add some toasted chopped almonds and/or dried fruit (I use dried cherries), then top with more toasted, chopped almonds for garnish.
• Or, after serving, top with a raspberry sauce made from raspberry preserves, melted and combined with a little hot water to thin, about 1 cup preserves to 1/4 cup water ratio.
• Or, traditionally, pass a bowl of cinnamon-sugar for individual topping, and a pitcher of milk/cream

The basic recipe is adaptable to more or less milk. More milk makes a creamier dessert, but may take longer to thicken. You may substitute 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for the 1 teaspoon of vanilla. You can skip the cinnamon, altogether, but add a bit of lemon zest and nutmeg. Use brown or white rice. Use dairy milk or alternative milk. 

I frequently make just enough for myself, if I find just a couple of spoonfuls of cooked rice in the fridge. I use vanilla soy or almond milk and skip any extra sugar. It's a quick and easy, dairy-free, gluten-free dessert, breakfast, or snack for one.

If you ever get Chinese take-out, this is awesome for that carton of leftover rice that's drying out in the fridge. It rehydrates that lingering rice into something really tasty.

Enjoy!

The Thanksgiving Plan: doing things a little differently this year

We're a family of adults, now, with the two youngest, both age 21. And even if we don't all have the skills needed to execute preparations for a complicated dish, we can still each contribute a simple portion to the meal.

New times, new rules. Each person in our family (girlfriend, included) is required to bring one dish to our Thanksgiving meal. Everyone is also required to do their share in non-cooking tasks for the day. Putting together a large celebratory meal is a huge undertaking, and no one un-paid person should be expected to execute all of the details of the feast. (Now, if my family wanted to pay me for that service, say about $60 per person, I'd reconsider this whole "everyone must contribute" idea.)

I have proposed a list of dishes needed for the meal, with slots for sign-ups. I have also proposed a work schedule for sharing our kitchen space. And I have outlined requirements for using the kitchen and all the supplies and tools, and last-minute work related to the dishes.

We are a family of 6 this year, 2 parents, 4 kids (including son's girlfriend). So, I have 6 slots for foods to be prepared: turkey/gravy, an orange vegetable, a green vegetable, a starchy side dish, pies, and a wild-card. The wild-card is given to my son's girlfriend, as her cooking reflects her Chinese heritage, and frankly, anything she prepares will be interesting to our palates, and appreciated. In addition, I have requested that all side dishes have 12-15 servings, ensuring that we will have all of the usual leftovers for the rest of the weekend's feasting.

In addition to the side dish preparation, I have also penned a list of chores related to the big meal, both before and after serving. Each of us will sign up for one "before" and one "after" These include setting the table and putting on the salt and pepper, decorating the table, filling water goblets and putting a pitcher of ice water on the table, putting out the butter, cranberry sauce, olives and pickles, making sure the dishwasher is empty before the meal, organizing a game or activity, clearing the table after the meal, putting away all of the leftovers, cleaning the sink, stove and countertops after the meal, making and serving coffee and tea after dinner, making whipped cream for the pies, hand-washing the roasting pan and serving dishes.

These are the rules I have established for side dish preparation. Their design is to encourage thought as to others' work and needs:

• You may use whatever you find in the kitchen, that has not been set aside for another meal. (Ask Mom if you are in doubt about what's available.) In advance, check for the ingredients that your dish requires. If you need something that is not currently in the kitchen, let Mom know, no later than November 17, so that she can pick it up at WinCo on the 18th. Otherwise, you are on your own for procuring all of your ingredients.
• hand-wash all bowls, pots/pans and utensils after you finish preparing your dish, so that the next cook has a complete kitchen to work with.
• For serving, use the serving dish that Mom has set aside and labeled for your use.
• Stick to the work schedule.
• You are responsible for bringing your dish to the table in ready-to-eat condition. If it requires last-minute reheating, plan to do so.

These changes to our holiday meal preparation have a couple of happy side-effects. I get an easier week leading up to the big day. My kids and husband have the opportunity to expand their cooking skills, and boost their confidence in their abilities to provide for themselves. And I believe that the whole of this group participation will alter and enhance the conversation and appreciation at the dinner table.

This maturing family unit is forging its way into our future.

For those of you with grown kids still at home, have you requested that they prepare a dish for holiday meals? How else have you managed these big family events?