Embracing Him

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

Every few months or so, I need to “feed the freezer”. This means I spend a couple of days preparing a vast amount of homemade items to stock in our chest freezer.

Feeding the freezer takes a couple of days, but the prep time is well worth it because I end up with several “go to” goodies in the freezer. These goodies are great because later on I may not have to bake a dessert for the coming week or prepare pancakes and sausage after Sunday morning church service.

Yesterday I gave the oven and stand mixer a good workout by baking up some sweet treats. Today I have turned my attention to the stovetop and am cooking again. So, what have I been busy preparing over the past couple days? Here’s a sneak peek at what’s been going on in my kitchen.

Playgroup Granola Bars: Food allergies prevent the girls from eating prepackaged granola bars, so I’ve recently started making my own. These particular bars are yummy and very easy to prepare. I like the recipe because it includes wheat germ (one of my favorite new healthful ingredients) and because the recipe can easily be customized. In a matter of minutes, I can whip up a batch of granola bars full of nuts and a dried fruit medley for JT. Then right after, I can just as quickly make another batch of bars with dried cranberries and chocolate chips for the girls and me.

Jay’s Signature Pizza Crust: We like to eat homemade pizza, so I make up pizza kits and stash them in the chest freezer. Each pizza kit includes a ball of homemade pizza dough, a package of cheese, a package of homemade pizza sauce, and a variety of toppings. When it’s time for pizza, all I have to do is pull out a kit, defrost the dough, dress the pizza, and bake it up.

Lemon Bundt Cake: Desserts reign supreme here. Since I make desserts often I try to make them simple and then freeze them for later consumption. One of the easiest ways for me to make a delicious dessert is by doctoring up a boxed cake mix. Anne Byrn’s books, The Cake Mix Doctor and Cupcakes From The Cake Mix Doctor are my favorite sources of recipes. I don’t have a link for this lemon cake, but if you’d like the recipe, send me an email and I’ll happily pass it along to you.

Deviled Eggs: I love deviled eggs and I like to make them often. Though JT doesn’t usually ask me to make them, whenever I do, he eats his fair share. These aren’t meant to be frozen, but I like to keep them in the fridge for us to snack on.

Buttermilk Pancakes and Dairy-Free Free Pancakes: On Sunday mornings, we like to go out for breakfast after church. This isn’t always possible as sometimes the girls are tired, sometimes the restaurant wait is too long, and sometimes we just don’t want to spend the money.  Rather than stand over the stove with a spatula, I simply pull out a breakfast bag.  Each bag has a family sized portion of pancakes and turkey sausage. When church service is over, all we have to do is warm up the pancakes and sausage and enjoy a big breakfast right here at home.

I’m going to be honest…right now, I’m extremely tired of looking at flour, sugar, eggs! But, I’m going to get back to work now because I know I’ll be happy in the coming weeks and months when I don’t have to do quite as much cooking and baking.

Anyone wanna come and wash a few dishes?

Photo: Courtesy of special eyes (Flickr)

On New Year’s Eve, JT and I will spend a cozy, quiet evening at home. Since we’ll be at home, I’ve planned a fun evening menu featuring a variety of fingerfoods, sandwiches, and dips.

BLT Dip and Buffalo Chicken Dip are easy to prepare and taste fantastic! (Plus both recipes feature cream cheese, one of my favorite spreads!) These dips will be perfect for our low key evening at home but would also be excellent additions to a Superbowl Party menu.

BLT Dip:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 tomato, seeded and diced
6 slices bacon – cooked, drained, and chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. Chill for two hours before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Dip:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup bleu cheese dressing
3/4 cup hot sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into bite sized pieces or shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, bleu cheese dressing, hot sauce, and half of the Cheddar Cheese. Stir until well combined. Add the chicken and stir. Spread mixture in an 8×8 pan and top with the remaining Cheddar Cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Photo: Courtesy of ipanemic (Flickr)

e-Mom is hosting Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis and this month’s topic is 10 Tips for Frugal Living.

When I was a single gal, frugal living never crossed my mind. I was fresh out of college, excited to have a job, and eager to spend my money on the things I had been waiting to own. Though I didn’t spend my money too unwisely, frugality was not on my list of priorities.

Now that we have a family and I am a stay at home mom, I’ve become a real “Frugal Franny” (much to JT’s pleasure!). God has provided JT with a great job and JT does a marvelous job of providing for us. I strive to be frugal because I don’t want to waste the money he works hard to earn and because I want to be a good steward of what God has given us.

Living frugally isn’t as hard as some might think and over the past few years I’ve learned you don’t have to adopt unreasonable ideas or live like a pauper in order to save money. Here are 10 realistic tips for frugal living that have worked for us.

1. Pack your lunch. When JT goes to work or we have a playdate or a daytrip, most of the time we bring our lunches with us. Lunch usually consists of the previous night’s dinner or a homemade sandwich, fruit, and a sandwich bag of chips. Since lunch can cost anywhere between $5 and $10 a person, we save a good amount of money just by eating what we have here at home.
2. Make it yourself. We’ve saved money by making things ourselves. This includes food items such as taco seasoning, spreadable butter, birthday cakes, and pizza dough and household items such as cleaners and even window treatments. When you make things yourself, you don’t have to buy them and you know exactly what is in them.
3. Plan a weekly menu. I have found that if I plan a weekly menu, we are less likely to order take out. I already know what we’ll be eating and therefore can defrost the meat the night before so it’ll be ready to cook in the morning. Menu planning also prevents me from spending money on groceries we don’t need. My grocery list is based on the weekly menu and the staples we need to restock.
4. Venture into a thrift store. You may be surprised by the awesome, money saving deals you can find there. The Goodwill Stores in our area often sell new, overstock items from Target. Once I purchased a set of Corningware baking dishes from Target for $40. The very next day I stopped by The Goodwill Store and found the same exact set of baking dishes brand new for $8. Needless to say, I made a return at Target shortly there after.You can find a plethora of toys, books, and household items there for bargain prices. And if you can find a store in an affluent area, you may be able to score some high end and designer items at rock bottom prices.
5. Shop wisely. For me this means knowing where to shop and using coupons. Though warehouses like Sam’s and Costco can save you money, I’ve found the greatest deals at my local supermarket and drugstores like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. When combined with coupons, you can save quite a bit of money. As I made my grocery shopping list for this week, I realized I’ll be coming back home with 2 toothbrushes, a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, and 2 sticks of deodorant for FREE! My grocery cart will also be filled with items I’ll get for 50% to 75% off just by using coupons. Grab a Sunday newspaper, explore those sales circulars, and start clipping coupons! You won’t regret it. For more shopping tips, check this previous post.
6. Surf the net. There are hundreds of great websites, forums, blogs, and groups online dedicated to money saving ideas. Most of what I have learned about frugal living has come from websites such as The Dollar Stretcher, Money Saving Mom, The Coupon Mom, Hot Coupon World, and The Hillbilly Housewife just to name a few. A simple chat with a few like minded Frugal Frannies often alerts me to ideas and deals I would otherwise have missed.
7. Use your library. We are well acquainted with the staff at our local library because we use the library’s resources so often. Not only do I find great books and DVDs there, I also find free educational activities for the girls there, and even some neat programs I can attend. Your tax dollars pay for the library, so why not put those dollars to work for you. (Just be sure to return items on time. Paying library fines is not frugal!)
8. Create and abide by a budget. (This is such a hard one for me sometimes!) JT and I sit down at least twice a year to discuss our family budget. We each have a set amount of money we can spend each week to cover personal and household expenses. When we stay within the budget we don’t overspend and both JT and I are happier.
9. Spend cash whenever possible. Whenever I use cash I always spend less. I’m going to take this idea and apply it to my spending this week. The envelope system (read more here and here) has been devised with this idea in mind. I will be using cash for my standard purchases this week and I’ll let you know how it goes.
10. Don’t keep up with the Joneses. While my friends and neighbors may take expensive vacations, eat out weekly, employ a housekeeper, and drive new fancy cars, that certainly doesn’t mean we can. We are living within our means and are happy to do so. Trying to keep up with others just for the sake of appearances can often lead to financial problems and is definitely NOT frugal!

Photo: Courtesy of RichSeattle (Flickr)