Slow Cooking Outside

With found curbside logs from downed trees, leaves, twigs, cardboard boxes, and a little charcoal to get it started, I was able to cook an 11 pound turkey and 10 pounds of chicken outside in my cast iron lidded pot. I found it cooked better after I added rocks up around the pot to keep the heat in(not shown in picture). I made this fire pit with chunks of found concrete and an old oven rack. The bottom is lined with pebbles and smaller concrete chunks.

It took many hours, but while it cooked I was able to clean up and compost all those leaves! ; ) The fresh air and sunshine was nice too.

The turkey turned out moist and delicious! If you have a day to do this, it's fun and produces a great result. You can't leave this like a crock pot and come back. The fire and food must be tended and watched the entire time. It certainly makes me appreciate the labor that goes into cooking on an outdoor fire for a family.

A more efficient and environmentally friendly option would be a rocket stove which maximizes combustion requiring very little fuel.This one is portable, but you can build one too with 16 bricks. Rocket stoves burn without smoke which makes them better for maintaining air quality. That's a project for another day. 

In the Garden

Broccoli! A volunteer found in the back of my garden. I've already cut off a few florets to eat.

Hugelkultur Low Irrigation Garden Progress

Working on my Hugelkultur garden today! I've been throwing composting material in it as well as leaves, twigs, and some rotting logs. I'm going to make a run to a Starbucks to see if I can get a bag of used coffee grounds before they throw them out. This makes the soil so rich!

Inexpensive Powder Room Remodel Progress

We ripped out the tile instead of keeping it. It was too difficult to figure out how to marry the concrete that needed to be poured in the area of the old vanity with the existing tile floor. We are going to lay concrete over the entire floor rather than skim coating over the tile and filling in a small area.

A bag of concrete was five dollars, and we will probably need two 80 pound bags. I also got a black color additive for a few dollars. We'll need to purchase a concrete sealer as well.

Other plans include paint for the wall, making a faux concrete floating counter with the existing sink, and the addition of a large mirror after the  hole in the wall where the medicine cabinet was  is filled.

We were quoted $900.00 for the remodel of our powder room, so this is by far a much less expensive way to go.

DIY Seed Starter Window Insert Shelves

Source: manditremayne.blogspot.ro via Alexandra on Pinterest

See here.

Inexpensive Wood Plywood Plank Floors

Source: diyandcraftideas.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

See here.

Wise Old Owl Vintage Bookmark

Old book plate which would make a cute bookmark!

Source: aquieterstorm.tumblr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Frugal DIY Concrete Overlay for Floors and Countertops

We are remodeling our downstairs powder room and decided to try a skim coat of concrete over the existing older cracked tile. The substrate is solid, the tiles are just old, 40+ years old. We took out the vanity, sink, and mirror. I kind of like the old sink, so I'll use the old counter off the vanity as a template, cut out some new MDF board,  and skim coat it with concrete. The vanity could not be saved; it was falling apart from water damage and old age.

The concrete that we plan to use is a resurfacing polymer concrete that will resist cracking. You can't use acid stain with this, but can add color.

I plan to use products from a big box store: a concrete resurfacer and a concrete bonding agent, sold by the gallon.

This is will be a very inexpensive remodel with nice results.  I'll share when we are done.

Here's a video on how to do the floor:

And one for counter tops:

 

Healthy Make-And-Go Refrigerator Oatmeal Recipes

See here.

Source: theyummylife.com via Lori on Pinterest

Hugelkultur Low or No Irrigation Garden Beds

"Hugelkultur is a German term that roughly translates to “mound culture”. The hugelkultur gardening method has been used in Eastern Europe for centuries and is essentially a sheet-composting method that involves burying woody debris (logs, branches, sticks) and other organic matter under a mound of earth. This gardening method mimics nutrient cycling that occurs in nature. When trees and branches fall to the floor of a forest, they act like a sponge as they decay. That sponge-like property allows the wood to soak up rainfall and then release it slowly into the soil use by surrounding plants. Hugelkultur beds are designed to take advantage of this natural water-retention cycle – so much so that some gardeners who use this method claim they never water at all." Read more here.

Source: arcadia-farms.net via Jan La Claire on Pinterest

Dollar Store Organization

Source: madincrafts.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Huge link list with examples!

Frugal Cooking: Charles Mattocks,The Poor Chef

Cheri Sicard: What’s a common myth about frugal cooking that you want to dispel?

Charles Mattocks: That people who cook frugally are poor. I think an educated shopper can be very frugal in a good way, they may use coupons and take more time in the grocery store but they save money.  The way the world is now, I think all of us are trying to save a few dollars.

I have had single mothers that are successful business women that raise families share with me their secrets of cooking or shopping.  With planning they bought fresher food because they used a budget, and that they got more for their dollar when taking time to really shop. So being frugal can be a great thing when it comes to eating healthy and saving money. Read more here.



Eat Cheap but Eat Well

A good book for beginning cooks, and/or cooks who are looking for healthier foods with a little international flavor. Some of his recipes are here, free online. These are his higher priced $7.00 meals, but I could make these for a lot less! If you shop meat sales and use frozen veggies, or veggies from your garden, the price per meals goes down. It's a good jumping board for making your own versions...great for ideas.

Here's one of them:
I'd use a cheaper cut of chicken. I get mine for .69 cents a pound, bone-in. I cook it, take the skin off, and separate little pieces(shredded) to use in the curry chicken. You can make your own yogurt and leave out the almonds.

Granny’s Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder, or to taste
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup yogurt
Minced fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

Television: Content Matters, No Kidding

It seems morally wrong and abusive to expose preschool children to violence for the sake of a study. This is nothing but common sense; however, it puts the "science" behind it, and we value and put great emphasis on the social sciences in our society :

When preschoolers watch educational programs instead of violent TV shows, they tend to be more compassionate and less aggressive, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. 

The study

About 600 families were recruited and assigned to one of two groups. Parents in the first group were encouraged to substitute violent shows with educational and pro-social ones - shows that stressed compassion and cooperation. 

Families were given monthly TV guides listing educational programming for their area: shows such as "Dora the Explorer," "Super WHY," "Sesame Street" and "It's a Big, Big World." Parents were also encouraged to watch TV with their kids.

The children went from watching a half-hour of violent programming a day to 23 minutes. Parents then increased educational viewing from about 30 to 43 minutes a day. 

Families in the second group did not change their viewing habits. 

"This is the first study to try to modify the viewing habits of preschool kids," says Dr. Vic Strasburger, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "That's one of the significances of this study."

After a year, researchers found that children watching less violent and more child-appropriate shows scored better on tests that measured cooperation, a willingness to share or compromise. They also had fewer incidents of aggressive behavior such as yelling and hitting.

"Although television is frequently implicated as a cause of many problems in children, our research indicates that it may also be part of the solution," the study notes.

Read more here.

Great Depression Cooking : Pasta with Peas

More of Clara's recipes here.

Financial Lessons from Great Depression Cooking Host Clara Cannucciari

Her book: 

Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression

Austerity Measures in the Home: Cutting Utility and Gas Costs

A few things we will be doing or have already done to cut back on costs in these lean times.

1. Stay home.

We use our creativity and imagination to entertain ourselves. This means lots of family games, crafts/DIY, reading, gardening, and walks. Pinterest is a good place for free tutorials, ideas, and inspiration.

2. Using only two lights in the home at a time.

Using only two lights(CFL 13W) an average of four hours a day will cost only $4.18 per  year.

3. Unplug all items that use standby power lights, or use power strips and switch off when not in use.


Cutting off standby lights saves us about :

Five watts for 5 surge protectors
Eight watts for router
Eight watts for garage door opener
9 watts for older PC
and probably another 8 watts for various electronic items.

Total savings: $36.61 a year.

4. Flush toilets only when necessary.

Flushing our newer toilets uses 1.6 gallons. The average person flushes about six times a day which equals  9.6 gallons per person per day. We have three people here most days, so we use at least 864 gallons a month to flush. This is about $12.00 a month. If we all flushed once a day only, we'd save $4 per month, or $48 a year.


5. Turn on hot water heater from 5pm - 8pm only.

6. Use low energy appliances to cook: such as a microwave, an electric skillet,  and a table top oven.

7. Time showers to five minutes or less.

A shower uses on average 2.5 gallons a minute, so cutting back on the time saves many gallons of water.

In warmer months, we turn the water heater off all together and use tepid water to bathe.  This cut our natural gas bill in half! We still pay for the pilot light that runs continuously. Heating water for only three hours a day, cuts the bill by a significant amount. I'll have to figure an exact amount, if I can, and add this here.

8. Map out and plan shopping trips to minimize gas useage.

9. Order online when prices match brick and mortar stores, or are less expensive.

I use discounted gift cards, online coupon codes, and shop through rebate sites(see sidebar).

10. Thermostat is set at 57 degrees, down from 59 degrees.

Free Contemporary Pantry Labels

See here.

Source: blog.worldlabel.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Free Printable Perfume Labels

See here.

Source: blog.worldlabel.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

And more here:

Source: vintagefeedsacks.blogspot.com via Kathy on Pinterest