Frugal Friday, etc.

(I've edited this post to link to some other frugal blogs!)

It's "Frugal Friday" over at "Life as Mom" and I am participating today!

http://lifeasmom.com/2010/04/frugal-friday-get-what-you-pay-for.html

Here is my idea:

I made myself a mini coupon binder. I've tried several methods of keeping coupons, and they all worked great at the time I was using them. But here's the gist: I not only have quite a stockpile (I literally can't squeeze one more thing in the freezer) but there are also only four of us home now since the two oldest have moved out. My younger kids, 19-year-old Nick and 23-year-old James, have schedules that mean I'm rarely cooking for four of us anyway. And I have enough food in this house (barring the need for fresh things like salad or milk or bread) to feed an army for two months.

So...I'm currently not using as many coupons as I was when I was building my stockpile and feeding 6 on a regular basis. I needed something I could just carry around quickly to any store, and the accordian folder thing just doesn't work for me.

I had thought about the idea to use baseball card holders in a big binder, but I couldn't find any. Then I saw these little plastic pouches in Michael's. I think they are meant to hold beads or other small craft items. I bought them with my 40% off coupon. Then I went to the dollar section for a small notebook and some bling-bling. (Some of my bling has fallen off as you can see.)

The pouches have zip closers but I wanted to be able to pull the coupons out easily, so I cut those off. Then I used sticky-dots to 'glue' one pouch on each page of the notbook. I can slip some coupons right in and others I just fold so I can see what they are. This is easy to carry everywhere.

My little coupon binder wouldn't work for a big family or someone just starting a stockpile, but for anyone 'downsizing' or just taking a break from couponing, I think it would be a good idea. Besides, a cute notebook is cuter than any accordian folder, LOL!

(PS--one other thing I would do is to put tabs along the sides to make each category easier to get to!)

Added: I've also linked to "Couponic Stimulus Package" and "I am A Money Magnet," where you will find some other great frugal tips!

http://www.couponomicstimuluspackage.com/2010/04/gathering-coupons-for-shopping.html

http://www.iamamoneymagnet.com/2010/04/thrifty-tip-tuesday-resourceful-ways-to.html

Turkey Dressing (Frugal Friday)

It's Frugal Friday over at Life as Mom. http://www.lifeasmom.com/2009/11/frugal-friday-freezer-cooking-on-cheap.html

Here's my donation. We all love stuffing, but lately I keep hearing that you aren't supposed to stuff the bird. It's because you can't get the internal temperature of the stuffing to a safe number (165 degrees F, I believe) without overcooking the bird.

I think I understand why I was sick on so many Thanksgiving Fridays as a kid. And my mom made/makes the BEST stuffing.

I've had the kind made in a casserole (which I think is called 'dressing') but it just doesn't taste the same. I figured there had to be a safe way to get that 'cooked in the bird' flavor. Then it hit me: turkey broth! And not some canned stuff, but real, homemade broth.

The trick is that you have to think ahead. Buy yourself a small turkey, a turkey breast or legs and wings for a meal. Sometimes, you can find a pre-cooked turkey breast on sale at your supermarket's deli counter.

After you have taken off the meat, throw the bones in a pot, add water, and boil for about an hour. I add Kosher salt and sometimes some pepper corns. Strain it all out when you are done, then put it in the fridge. The next day, take the fat off the top. Freeze the broth, or use it right away.

This is how I make stuffing now:

A loaf's worth of broken up bread
A small onion
A stick of butter
Sage to taste
Homemade Turkey Broth

Chop up the onion.
Melt the butter in a little pot.
Cook the onion in the butter for about five minutes, until the onion is soft.
Add butter/onion mixture to bread and toss. Sprinkle with sage to taste.
Now add in the turkey broth until you get a nice consistency. I like my dressing firm so I don't use too much broth. You can always add more later in the cooking process if you need to.

Put it all in a buttered casserole. Cover and pop it in the oven with the turkey, for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Frugal Friday: Time Saver and a Thank You

First I want to say 'thanks' to Crystal over at Biblicalwomanhood for hosting 'Frugal Fridays' these past few years. I've learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and it has been a treat to find great tips all in one place. Crystal's passing the baton over to a fellow blogger. Details and today's tips here:
http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/frugal-friday-passing-on-baton.html

I've posted before about measuring out dry ingredients for several recipes at once. We all know one of the biggest kitchen messes involves measuring flour! (Okay, maybe that's only true in my kitchen.) But I'm not sure if I posted this idea: measure out the same recipe twice!

Today I'm making Tollhouse Cookies. When I measured out the flour and other dry ingredients, I also measured the same into an empty coffee can. Then I put the sugars I need into a small bag, which fits right in the can on top of the flour. I labeled the can and put it in my pantry. Now, in the future, I've got half the work done when we're in the mood for cookies!

Saving time=being frugal!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Frugal Friday: Kraft Coupon Instant Win

It's Frugal Friday today: http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/frugal-friday-how-i-plan-our-menus-part.html
There are so many good ideas over there! Bloggers are just the smartest people on earth, IMHO.

I found an instant win contest on the Kraft site for $15 in coupons. You only get to play once a day...but I tried today and won! The coupons will come in the mail in a few weeks.

I'm always iffy about things like this, so I stick with reliable companies I know. Here's the link to the Kraft contest:

http://brands.kraftfoods.com/sogoodtogether/

This ends February 2nd, btw! (Sorry, I only just found out about it.) Good luck to everyone.

Frugal Friday

It's Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood, and I actually have something to offer!

http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/

I love sushi. I crave sushi. I even found a recipe and have 98% of the ingredients to try making it myself (California Roll. I'll eat raw fish, but I doubt I could find/afford sushi grade tuna). I'm only missing the green stuff, which I think is called 'nori.'

But this is not about sushi. It's about those cute little containers that sushi comes in. The tops are clear and the bottoms have a pretty Oriental-floral design. Seemed a shame to get rid of them.

So I bleach-clean them and use them for craft storage! I just let them soak a bit, and there is no smell. Really, if your sushi smells fishy...order the tempura.

I've divided up my ribbons by color and am now starting on dividing up my buttons. They stack beautifully and you can easily see what is inside!

Sew Crafty Friday/Frugal Friday

I'm not sure if Shereen is doing Sew Crafty Friday today, since they moved this week. I sure hope all is well and the move went smoothly! But I'm combining Sew Crafty Friday with Frugal Friday, which is featured over at "Biblical Womanhood." http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/frugal-friday-how-to-live-on-beans-and.html Check it out for some wonderful ideas!

The top photo is a beautiful tea set that I bought at a school tag sale last week. All the pieces are there in perfect condition, in the box. Can you believe I only paid $3 for it? It is now up in my attic and will be the gift I give the little girl I babysit. She's almost 9 and has shown herself to be a kid who takes care of things, so I know she'll enjoy this.
This second photo is of two projects I made yesterday. The weird little triangular things are stuffed with rice. They're for a game called "Five Stones." I'm sorry that I forgot where I got the idea from. Basically, though, you put two squares of fabric together and sew around 3 sides. Stuff it about half full of rice or beans. Instead of sewing straight across the fourth side, you fold it so that the seams match. fThen it makes a sort of triangle. I got the cute Japanese fabric from an etsy shop. This is a great way to use up scraps. I have to admit, I can't really figure out the "Five Stones" game. I guess it's 'cause I'm not a kid.
Not sure who's getting this game, but I'm probably going to make a bag to put these in.
I was also thinking you could do five different colored bean bags and put them in a quart-sized paint can (available at Home Depot). A young child would enjoy trying to toss the bags into the can! Or make multiples of the colors for sorting and matching.
Obviously, the cloth bowl is for Halloween. But I plan to make some up for Christmas, too. I'll try to post a tutorial for it later this week. It's very, very easy to do--think 'giant yo-yo'!

Frugal Friday Tip: Butter

It's time for Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood. Wow, there are some great tips this week! Here is mine:

With the holidays approaching, many 'special dinner' foods are on sale. Butter is one of them. We eat butter a lot in this house (btw, my cholesterol is almost optimal--I had it checked), but I sure don't want to pay $5 a pound for it! So when it is on sale, as it is this week, I stock up. You can freeze it just fine. I always have several pounds in the freezer and one pound in the fridge. All the stores in my area are selling it for half price or less. Check your own local circulars, if you happen to like butter. I buy a mix of the salted kind, plus some sweet butter for baking.
Don't forget to see what other things are on sale that you can put in the freezer--like ham and turkey!

A visit http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm for more great, frugal ideas!
(BTW, I'll be back later with my "Sew Crafty Friday" post!)