Avocado Blessings

Our daughter and her family were blessed with a large amount of produce yesterday. She passed on two nice cantaloupes and two 5-count bags of large avocados to us. 

The cantaloupes needed to ripen a few more days, but the avocados were at peak and needed to be used. How was I going to use up ten large avocados in a hurry?

In talking with Amber about them a little while ago, I discovered that she had frozen her avocados in halves. I didn't realize that avocados could be frozen! Wow! 😲

After talking with her, and doing a little further research on the California Avocado site, I decided to turn our avocados into guacamole and freeze it that way.

I saved back two avocados to be eaten fresh. We love them in salads, made into deviled egg filling, baked in the oven with bacon and eggs (see recipe below), and a variety of other ways. 

The remaining eight avocados I turned into guacamole (avocados peeled, pitted, and mashed mixed with lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to taste).

Then I divided it into half-cup portions and wrapped each portion tightly in cling-wrap and flattened to about the size of a deck of cards.

Out of eight large avocados I ended up with twelve pre-made packages of guacamole. 

To be used they just have to thaw in the fridge overnight.

To find out more about avocados and how to freeze them visit the California Avocado page by clicking HERE.

AVOCADO, BACON, AND EGGS

1 avocado
2 eggs
2 strips of pre-cooked, crumbled bacon

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out enough avocado to make a hole that matches the size of your egg.

Stabilize avocado halves by balancing them upright, and level, on the top of a muffin tin. Crack an egg into each avocado half and top with crumbled bacon. I added a sprinkling of black pepper over ours, but you can season, or not season, as you choose.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until eggs are cooked through.

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Low-Spend, Dollar-Stretching Challenge - Update #4

I didn't get a chance to post my final 'low-spend' September update before the end of the month, so am doing it now. 

The end of the month didn't go as planned. We were expecting out-of-town company to come in over the weekend and stay for a week. In preparation, I went grocery shopping for fresh items, meat, and other ingredients that I would have used specifically for company meals, but, in the end, the expected company had to postpone their trip due to a situation beyond their control...so...here we are. I spent extra $$$ that I didn't need to spend, BUT, we're going into October well stocked on fresh items! Yeah!!!

We've still got a lot of grains (steel-cut and old-fashioned oats, flax meal, corn meal, oat bran, etc.), dry beans and peas, squash, and peppers in the deep-freeze, so we will continue to focus our usage on them, but the cupboards are nearly bare, so I plan to restock them soon. This will include replenishing items such as whole-wheat pasta, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, black beans, and chili beans. I'm also looking forward to getting back to frozen fruits and vegetables (strawberries, blueberries, cauliflower, and broccoli), salmon fillets, and other foods that we've been doing without in the midst of this low-spend adventure.

Now...while I'm disappointed with how the month of September started off and ended, I do have to say that, overall, I am quite pleased because, despite all, we managed to hang on to several hundred extra dollars this month and much of that resulted from purposefully saving money at the grocery store. If I can continue to focus on using up the things that we still have on-hand (the cupboard items that we do have, the grains, dry beans and peas, squash, and peppers from the deep-freeze, and the extra items purchased towards the end of the month), we should be able to continue to save back extra $$$ in October, as well.

So...that's how our low-spend September ended. What are some of the ways that you save on grocery $$$ in your home?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Recipe: Fresh Fruit and Yogurt Ice Pops

As a child I loved it when my mom made, what we called, popsicles. She bought this exact set of popsicle molds when I was a little girl and kept different kinds of pops going in the freezer for me all summer long. 

Photo Credit 

That, of course, was back in the days before home air conditioning was common and the long, hot days of summer seemed never-ending. Anything to help keep cool was always welcomed, but something cold that tasted yummy was a real treat! 😋

Fast forward...2018...

My husband and I were shopping at Walmart when I ran across these cute little ice pop molds. I asked my husband if he might enjoy some frozen yogurt pops and he said, "Yes! That sound like fun!"...so...we bought them. The cost per four-pack was under $1.00.

Fruit and Yogurt Ice Pops

Here is the recipe that I came up with. It was enough to make a dozen ice pops...

FRUIT AND YOGURT ICE POPS

2 cups mixed fresh or frozen fruit (I used 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup frozen strawberries and one fresh banana

2 cups plain yogurt 

1/4 cup sugar 

Put fruit, yogurt, and sugar into blender and blend until as smooth or as chunky as you like. Then, pour mixture into ice pop molds and freeze until frozen solid. Enjoy!

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Happy Homemaker Monday - May 28, 2018

Violets, Violet Jelly, and More

Spring 2018 Bucket List

Violets, Violet Jelly, and More

Common Violets - Photo Credit

In early spring violets grows in abundance here in southwest Missouri and our backyard is full of them! 

Cyndi's Candied Violets

A friend of mine, Cyndi Cogbill, of Pawpaw Patch Productions, inspired me this year when she tried her hand at making violet syrup and shared pictures of the candied violets she made and the sugar cookies that she featured them on. Wow! Absolutely beautiful! 

Cyndi's Sugar Cookies Featuring Candied Violets

Cyndi also shared the link to a great article on the virtues of violets from Eat The Weeds and Other Things, Too and that is where I got the original recipe for violet jelly, which I will be sharing my slightly tweaked version of in this post.

Like I said, in early spring our backyard is full of violets! After looking at Cyndi's pictures and reading the article that she posted the link for, I decided to gather my supplies and try my hand at making violet jelly...and I'm so glad I did! Not only is it beautiful, but it tastes delicious! It's sure to be an annual treat in this household from now on! 

The first thing I did, was to gather two cups of violet heads (no stems...no leaves...just heads) and put them in a jar.

Two Cups of Loosely-Packed Violet Heads

 Next, I made an infusion by pouring two cups of boiling water over the violet heads, covering them with a lid, and letting them sit for several hours.

An Infusion of Violets and Water

Immediately after covering the violets, the water started turning a pretty shade of turquoise blue. 

An Infusion of Violets and Water

The longer the violets sat, the darker the color became. I don't have a picture of it, but the water eventually turned an almost dark blue.

After sitting for several hours, I used a coffee filter inside a strainer to strain the flower heads from the infusion. Then, I squeezed the juice from one whole lemon and added it to the liquid.

Upon adding the juice from the lemon, a chemical reaction took place and the liquid in the jar turned a beautiful shade of pink.

After that, using the liquid in the jar, and following the instructions below, I went ahead and made the jelly. One recipe yielded five half-pint jars.

Violet Jelly

VIOLET JELLY

2 cups fresh violets

2 cups boiling water

Juice of one lemon

1 package of pectin (I used Sure-Jell)

4 cups sugar

Place the violet blossoms in a glass jar and cover them with the boiling water. Place a lid on the jar and allow infusion to make for anywhere between 2 and 24 hours (I let mine make for about six hours). The water will turn various shades of blue as times goes on. Strain and discard the spent flowers. Add the lemon juice. Mix will change to a pretty pink. Place liquid in a large stainless steel pan, stir in pectin, and bring to a boil. Add the sugar all at once and bring to a boil again. Boil vigorously for one minute. Skim if necessary. Pour into sterile jars and seal. (I hot-water bathed mine for 15 minutes in a hot-water bather.) Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups jelly.  

That's all there really was to it. The process was simple and the reward sweet. 

Be sure to click on the links throughout this article to learn more about violets and different ways of using them.

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Five Super Simple Ways To Stash Some Extra Cash

Below are five simple ways that my husband and I have learned to save and stash cash that actually results in hundreds of hidden dollars being saved every year. Then, we are able to strategically (and painlessly) use those extra dollars for specific purposes at specific times throughout the year. This has resulted in HUGE savings along the way!

1. Learn to Budget Using a Cash-Only Envelope System - 

By using Dave Ramsey's envelope system we're learning (have been learning for a very long time) to curb spending and save money. When I first started working (part-time three-and-a-half-years ago) I asked for help in setting up a budget. While definitely far from perfect, we have made great strides in learning to adjust and overcome. We leave enough money in the checking account to pay bills and the rest is divided up into envelopes to be used for gas, groceries, and other day-to-day living expenses.

2. Save and Roll All Loose Change - 

This is something that we've done since our children were small (and using the cash-only system produces a LOT of loose change...which is GREAT!!!) But, when the children were small, we'd save our loose change all year long, roll it, and turn it in at Christmastime. Between that and our 'override' checking account system (more about that in a minute) Christmas money was being stashed throughout the year and when it came time to buy all we had to do was take it to the bank and turn it into bills. We still do the same thing now, but, instead of Christmas we use our rolled change to pay for weekend getaways and mini vacations. 

3. Use the 'Override' System in Your Checking Account - 

This is one that drives some people absolutely crazy when I tell them about it, but it's something that we've done since the early days of having a checking account as a couple and it has worked for and benefited us in multiple ways over the years. I don't know why I call it the 'override' system, but that's what I've always called it and I'm not changing it now. LOL! 

What I do is simple. When making a deposit, I write down the actual amount of the deposit in the DEPOSIT, CREDIT (+) column (for example - $353.76), but in the running total column on the far right, I round it DOWN to the nearest whole dollar (using the example above, I would write down $353.00) and that is the total that I go by. In reality, there is a difference of 76 cents in the account that is not showing up in the total that I'm seeing on a day-to-day basis. 

Likewise, when I  write a check or pay a bill or make a payment for something using automatic withdrawal, I write the actual amount spent in the PAYMENT, FEE, WITHDRAWAL (-) column. For example, say whatever I purchased or paid for using my checking account or debit card totaled $24.01...that's what I would write in the (-) column. But, then, in the running total column I round the that amount UP to $25.00. In doing so, I just hid 99 cents from myself in that checking account. 

It all sounds crazy I know, but it's a simple method of hiding money from ourselves and at the end of the year we are usually sitting on an extra $300.00 to $500.00 that we didn't know we had.

I mean, we do know we have it...obviously...because every month when I balance the checkbook I know exactly how much is in the 'override' at that point, but, you know what I'm saying...we know it's there, but we don't acknowledge it being there until we decide to use it for something specific. This method has come in handy over the years to be used for Christmas, in an emergency, to pay towards credit card debt, or to be given away to someone in need. It's a great way to build a hidden savings account a few cents at a time.

4. Take Advantage of Store-Instituted Savings Programs - 
For example, Walmart's Savings Catcher -

I can't say that Walmart, in reality, makes our lives better, but I do save a lot of money at Walmart every year by taking advantage of their Savings Catcher program.

In a nutshell, what the Savings Catcher does (after making your account and going to the trouble of adding your receipt information in each time you shop) is check your receipt against all the other store ads within a so-many-square-mile radius of the store you purchased from, and, if there are any items on your receipt that you could have been purchased cheaper somewhere else, they give you the difference. I guess you could call it electronic ad-matching at its finest (or not). 

Anyway, I save up all my Saving Catcher dollars until I have a fair amount, then I have it transferred to my Bluebird card (this is the ONLY thing that I use my Bluebird card for) and then decide how to spend it. Last year we saved up $100.00 and gave it away as a gift and, just yesterday, I used my savings to purchase my entire $72.51 Walmart grocery shopping trip for FREE.

So...it really does pay (for us, anyway) to participate in this. 

5.  Take Advantage of Store-Instituted Point Programs - For example, Pete's gas station's Kickback card -

I really enjoy my Kickback card! Even though we, occasionally, have to settle for something else, we really don't like running any gas other than Conoco or Phillip's 66 through our vehicles. Those are the ones that our vehicles perform best on and that we get the best gas mileage with. So, we were super excited when our local Pete's chain of gas stations started the Kickback program! 

What happens with it is, after enrolling in the program and by sliding your Kickback card each time you spend money at Pete's (gas, drinks, food, whatever), you receive points. Each point equals 1 cent. You can't redeem the points FOR cash, but you can spend the points LIKE cash. For us, this results in one to two full tanks of gas for FREE each year!

Also, Kickback keeps track of fountain drinks purchased. Buy 9 and the 10th one is always free. 

Well, folks, these are a few of the ways that we've learned to stash some extra cash over the years in our home. When you add them altogether, these have added up to some substantial savings! 

Are there ways that you and your family have learned to stash some extra cash? If so, I'd love to hear your ideas in return!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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My Thrifty Week - Post #7

Hello! And welcome to "My Thrifty Week" - Post #7! 🙋 

It's been a busy week here with a lot going on and not much time for posting. I do, however, have several thrifty happenings to share with you this week. Here are the ones that I've managed to keep track of...

- Received a one month free trial on THM's member site (a $9.99 value) for preordering the new cookbook.

- Only spent 86 cents for 2 peach ice waters at Sonic on the way home from taking my friend to chemo.

- Received $5.00 off at McAllisters for using my birthday coupon.

- Received $10.00 off and free shipping at Puritan's Pride when I did my bi-annual vitamin stock-up. Most of the items received were on sale 'buy one - get two free'.

- Received a free 32 oz. drink at Pete's  as a Kickback Card reward. 

- Purchased 9 totes (normally $7.93 each) on clearance at Walmart for $3.50 each.

- Received a discount on one 4-pack of Oikos Triple Zero vanilla yogurt by using the attached $1.00 off coupon.

That's it for the "thrifty happenings" here this week! What "thrifty happenings" are happening at your house?

Remember..."A penny saved is a penny earned!" Little things done consistently add up to big savings over time! 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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My Thrifty Week - Post #6

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HEARTH AND HOME Newsletter - August 2017

Happy Homemaker Monday - August 14, 2017

My Thrifty Week - Post #6

Hello! And welcome to "My Thrifty Week" - Post #6! 🙋 

How has your week been thus far? Mine has been pretty calm compared to usual and the weather has been beautiful! It had cooled off there for a couple of days and hints of autumn permeated the air, but, now, it has warmed back up and, after the weekend rains, the humidity is soaring. 

(Rebecca whispers) Have I mentioned to you before that I love fall and can't wait for its arrival? 😏 (Rebecca laughs out loud) I know! Only about a hundred times! 😆

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

Okay...so on to this week's "thrifty happenings"!  

- This week we were able to shut the air conditioner off much of the time. I do have it back on now because the humidity is so high, but, over the weekend and for the first half of the week it was off. That should result in a lower electric bill come September.

- I had enough points on my Amazon Rewards that I was able to order a new filters for the vacuum cleaner for FREE! How cool is that???

- I found this huge container of red, green, and gold Christmas ornaments valued at $24.98 for only $2.00 at a thrift store this week. I plan on using the really big ones to decorate the front porch at Christmastime and the others will be incorporated into other decorating and craft project ideas.

   

- I love finding money that I didn't know I had! This week I discovered, by accident, that I had a $13.00 balance at Paypal. I used the money towards an online purchase that I was in the middle of making when the discovery was made. Yeah! 

- I purchased $10.00 worth of zucchini and yellow squash again this week from my friend that grows and sells at a farmer's market. What I get from her for $10.00 would cost two or three times that (at least) at the grocery store, so it's quite a savings for us and it's wonderful getting in on the fresh-from-the-garden summer bounty! 

That's it for the "thrifty happenings" here this week! What "thrifty happenings" are happening at your house?

Remember..."A penny saved is a penny earned!" Little things done consistently add up to big savings over time! 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Related and recent posts that you might enjoy:

My Thrifty Week - Post #5

Making Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles) For the Freezer

HEARTH AND HOME Newsletter - August 2017

Happy Homemaker Monday - August 7, 2017

My Thrifty Week - Post #5

Hello! And welcome to this week's "thrifty week" post! 🙋 

What gorgeous weather we're having this weekend! The high was...like...80 degrees yesterday and the overnight low last night was right at 60! It's feels like a prelude to fall and I'm loving it! 🍁🍂🍁 We are supposed to get a deluge of rain later today and into tomorrow though, but, hey! I'm okay with that, too, as long as the temps stay where they're at! ⛈

Okay...so on to this week's "thrifty" happenings!  

- This week we were blessed with cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash fresh from a friend's garden. The cucumbers were the best cucumbers that I have ever tasted. I peeled every one of them, cut them into cucumber spears, and ate them just like that. Normally, I'm not that cucumber crazy, but these were exceptional!!!

- Later in the week I purchased zucchini and yellow squash from a friend who grows vegetables and sells them at a farmer's market. Bigger squash were 2 for $1; medium-sized ones were 4/$1. My friend threw in quite a few smaller ones that she said were too small to sell for free. I spent $10 and came out with a boatload of squash! I share several, turned most of the zucchini into noodles to freeze for the winter (I will be doing a post on that later), and the yellow squash I saved to saute in butter until golden brown and eat fresh. (I love to serve this for breakfast with eggs, or as a side with lunch or supper...especially with salmon fillets! Yum!)

- My husband and I finally used those two coupons (given to me by a visitor at work) for the free ice cream cones at Dairy Queen. The cost without the coupons would have been $5.15...but, of course...we wouldn't have stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream cones, in the first place, if it hadn't been for the coupons, so, needless to say, it was a real treat! 🍦 

- I received 250 bonus points on my KickBack card as a birthday gift this week (my birthday isn't until later in the month, but they sent the points this week). That was totally unexpected and I'm thankful! A few more points and I will have enough to get a free tank of gas!

- I also received 40 extra birthday minutes from Tracfone when I added 120 minutes minutes to my airtime card, which was great, because it was time to add minutes anyway. 📞

- AND I received a $5.00 off birthday e-mail from McAllister's on my next visit. The offer expires August 31st, but I'm sure I will use it when I take my friend to chemo on the 15th. She and I both love going to McAllister's! The food is delicious and the girls that work there are so good to us! 💓

Well, that's it for the "thrifty" happenings here this week! Remember..."A penny saved is a penny earned!" Little things done consistently add up to big savings over time! 

Until next time...
~Rebecca


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My Thrifty Week - Post #4

My Thrifty Week - Post #3

My Thrifty Week - Post #2

My Thrifty Week - Post #1

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Update - FINAL

Well...this is it...the last day of July. We have the rest of today and our dollar-s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, cabinet-clearing, clean-up-the-food project for July is over! Tomorrow is August 1st and we will be in a whole new ballgame! YEAH! 😄

I have to say...it's been quite an experience and we've learned many lessons along the way. At first it was something that I didn't even know for sure that we could do, but, with the Lord's help and guidance, we did and what a blessing it's been! We saved money (in fact, we didn't even miss the money that we were shorted at the beginning of the month), cleared out our cabinets, cleaned out our freezer, and was, literally, able to start all over with fresh food and a fresh, new food plan. 

After discussing what a blessing this project has turned out to be, John and I have decided to do a repeat performance come January. We figure mid-winter and after the holidays would be a great time to go at it again. If everything goes as well as it did time, we plan to make this a regular biannual event. Saving money and doing with (and using up) what we've got on hand is always a wise idea.

Now that we've got the food situation is in hand, our next focus is to clean up toiletries and cleaning supplies that have been sitting in the cabinets before buying more. I've got several partially used bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body spray, body lotions, and liquid hand soap that needs used up. Many of them are seasonal. 

For instance, I've got several partially used bottles of pumpkin-scented lotions and liquid hand soaps that were purchased last fall at Bath and Body Works. When Christmas 2016 came, I set the lotions and soaps up in the bathroom cabinet and that's where they've been ever since. We have used up several newly purchased bottles of lotion and liquid hand soap since then. No more! Until every drop of what's in the house is used up and gone, I will not be buying anything new. It doesn't matter if we used pumpkin-scented liquid hand soap in October or August. It washes our hands just the same. 

Another thing that I have on hand are household cleansers. Some are still here from when my dad was alive. When we moved in, I just put some of those things under the sink and they're still there. I will not be buying (or making) any fresh ones until the old ones are gone. New or old, their cleaning power is still the same and they can be used up.

All of these things put together should result in more $$$ being saved over the course of the next several months.

Well...that's it! The final installment of our dollar-s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, cabinet-clearing, clean-up-the-food project for July! It's been a lot of fun sharing this journey with all of you here and I'm already looking forward to doing it again in January! 

Have a blessed week ahead!

Until next time...

~Rebecca

Related posts:

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Update - Week #4

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Update - Week #3

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Update - Week #2

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Update - Week #1

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Kick-off

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Plans For July