Turkey Sloppy Joes and Peach Cobbler!

  I took almost all of the meat off the bones of the turkey I baked last night and chopped it into a cake pan and added ketchup, mustard, molasses, garlic, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, small amount of left over bbq sauce had in fridge, touch of cinnamon, onions, green pepper, brown sugar, red hot (how ever hot you want it).  Stir, taste, bake until thick and bubbly.  When  it got done we had it on the homemade hamburger buns that I talked about in the last post with shredded cheddar cheese.

                                                SO GOOD AND SO FRUGAL!!!!!!


  Now I took the carcass of the turkey and broke it down and put it into two stockpots and added salt and pepper then water to cover turkey and threw on the stove to boil for awhile to make stock for the freezer to use later in the week in stew, rice, or chicken soup.

  When done pour it through a fine strainer and sit in fridge overnight.  The next day the fat will all harden on the top and you will be able to scrape it off.  Then you can either freeze or use.  Stock is expensive so you are saving alot of money here!  This is alot of stock just from boiling carcass of turkey!

  We've all eaten and now everyone's looking at me because dessert a little later is sounding really good and there is nothing made.

  When I went grocery shopping on Friday I went to Food Lion and they,alot of the time, will have close- outs on the shelves and whatever it is its marked down considerably.  I got large cans of peaches 1.29 a can that are usually 1.99 a can.  I bought all 8 cans that they had because at a time like this when everyone wants dessert and I do not feel like making some long drawn out recipe I can whip together a peach cobbler in minutes and it will be delicious and cheap to make!

PEACH COBBLER RECIPE
Batter:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup room temperature milk
1 room temperature egg
Filling
1 (28 ounce) can sliced peaches, drained
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
1.Melt butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2.Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.
3.Stir in milk & egg.
4.Pour evenly over melted butter.
5.Combine peaches, sugar & spices and spread over batter-DO NOT STIR!
6.Bake 35-45 minutes at 350°F until batter comes to the top and is golden brown.

Homemade Hamburger Buns (DELISH)

   These Homemade Hamburger Buns turned out so good that I wanted to put them on here in case anyone else wanted to make them.  You make the dough in the BREADMAKER. Very Easy!!

Ingredients:

Servings:
12
Units: US | Metric
1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Directions:
1.Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
2.Select dough setting.
3.When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.
4.Cut dough in half and then each half in half.
5.Cut each of the 4 pieces in 3 pieces so you have 12 total.
6.Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
7.Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
8.Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
9Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done. Some reviewers baked these anywhere from 12 to 30 minutes.
10.I brushed the tops with butter after they were done also (optional).

  I am going to freeze a couple of these cause I made 24 to many for today and see how well they hold up and then I will post if they do or don't.  I have a feeling I will not be buying buns again at the store.  Once you taste these the store bought are kind of a joke (in comparison).

BUSY BUSY SATURDAY!!

  I was going to sleep in today but the dogs thought otherwise.  I don't think I would be in such a big hurry to go out in the ice.  They ran out the door like they were free until they realized what it was like out there and they all ran did there business and was back to the door in 5 minutes.  Well I'm up time to get started!

  I got my list that I made when I went to bed now to by pass the living room without looking at it or I will stop and clean it before getting to the kitchen ( too late I seen it, oh no!) and I need to get the breadmakers loaded to make homemade hamburger  buns for todays turkey sloppy joes and I am making 12 extra to freeze for later.

  The grandbabies had alot of fun in the living room while we all watched  Kitchen Nightmares with Gorden Ramsey so it is a disaster and I like it to be clean before I sit down to watch tv or be on the computer. Oh well they had alot of fun!

    Ok off to the kitchen I will have to come back to this in a minute.  I stayed up last night and cooked the turkey I had been thawing in the fridge for the past few days so I could de-bone it today to make the sloppy joes and probably a few more meals also since in weighed 28 lbs.  Paid 10 dollars for it so very frugal.

  Well I also need to tackle the laundry mountain today while I cook its a good thing my washer is right off the kitchen.

 Will be back with pictures in awhile!  Hopefully with clean living room pix and an organized laundry room!

MY IDEA OF PANTRY STAPLES

 I have two different pantry staple lists.  One list is when money is very tight and one is when money is not so tight. So here they are.  If I forget something I will add them on as I remember them.

~Very Basic Pantry and Fridge Staples~

White Flour (Bread, Muffins, Pancakes, Fried bread, Pizza dough, Bread sticks, Cake, coating, thickening 

                     agent, Pancakes, Waffles, Tortilla shells, French Toast with the bread, etc.)

Sugar

Brown Sugar ( Sprinkled with butter over fried bread for a dessert, in baked beans, in cookies, etc.)

Powdered Sugar (Frosting, Sprinkling on Cupcakes or cake, etc.,)

Chocolate Chips

Cocoa (Homemade chocolate syrup, No bake cookies, Chocolate pudding, Chocolate cake, etc.)

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Vanilla (Vanilla pudding, Custard, Banana cream pudding, etc.,)

Rice (Rice Pudding, Casseroles, Cabbage rolls, Chicken and rice, in chicken soup instead of noodles, etc.)

Dried Pinto and Black Beans (ean soup, Chili,Refried beans, Black bean and chicken burritos, Black bean 

              salsa, black or pinto bean veggie burgers, etc.,)

Pasta ( Goulash, in soups, Tuna casserole, Pizza pasta, Taco pasta,  Macaroni and cheese, Macaroni  

             salad, etc.,)   

Canned Tomatoes (Diced and Sauce)

Canned Vegetables (Corn, Green Beans, Peas)

Potatoes ( Potato salad, Scalloped potatoes, Fried potatoes, hashbrowns, mashed potatoes, potato soup

                 Shepards pie, Baked potato w/sour cream, aked potato with chili over, Loaded baked, French 

                 fries, Chunked up in stew, etc.)

Onions

Carrots (baked, roasted, in soups, boiled dinners, carrot cake, carrot cake muffiins, in chicken pot pie,etc.)

Celery (Chopped in potato salad, chicken noodle or rice soup)

Lettuce (Salad, Sandwiches)

Tomatoes (Salad, Toasted Tomato sandwich)

Cucumber (Cucumber salad, on salads, sliced on veggie tray)

Salad Dressing (Sandwiches, Potato salad, Macaroni salad, Chicken salad, etc.,)

Apples ( just for eating, Apple pie, Apple tart, Applesauce, Baked apples, Apple muffins, Cake, Mini pies,  

             mini tarts, etc.)

Banana's ( Banana cream pudding, Banana muffiins, Cake, Bread, Pancakes, Cookies, Waffles, etc. )

Eggs ( Egg salad, in baked goods, Deviled eggs, in potato salad, Macaroni salad, Scrambled eggs, Omelets, 

          Quiche, Egg noodles, Boiled eggs, Poached eggs, etc.)

Mayo

Mustard

Ketchup

Raisins (Rice Pudding, Oatmeal Cookies, Cake, Chicken Salad, Salad, etc.,)

Stick Butter (in place of shortening in recipes)

Seasonings (Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Poultry Seasoning,

                    Cinnamon, Italian Seasoning)

Oatmeal (Oatmeal cookies,Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Oatmeal peanut butter cookies, Oatmeal                                                                                                                   

                and fruit  in crockpot, Oatmeal jam bars, Oatmeal cake, Oatmeal cinamon muffins, blended into      

                smoothies,No-bake cookies, etc.)

Peanut Butter (Peanut butter cookies, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cChocolate chip peanut butter 

                       cookies,  Peanut butter muffins, Peanut butter pie, etc.)

Grape Jam ( cause its cheap)

Cheese- Cottage, Mozarella, Cheddar

Chicken (Can be boiled so stock can be used or frozen and chicken taken off the bones

               and used in place of expensive beef in tacos, Burritos, Chicken salad, Soup, Chili,

                Chicken pot pie, etc.)

Chicken Boullion (add long cooking flavor to soups, stews)

Cabbage (Cabbage Rolls, Coleslaw, in stew, Creamed cabbage, etc.,)

Applesauce (in place of part of butter in cake, Applesauce muffins, Applesauce cake, etc.,)

~Expanded Pantry Staples in addition to above~

Whole Wheat Flour

Shortening

Molasses (aked beans, Molasses cake, etc.)

Dried Great Northern Beans (Beans Soup, White chicken chili, etc.)

Dried Kidney Beans (Chili, Soups, etc.)

Dried Lentils (Lentil veggie burgers, Lentil chili, etc.)

Dried Split Peas (Pea Soup)

Lasagna Noodles (Lasagna Roll-ups, Mexican Lasagna Roll-ups, Lasagna, Breakfast Lasagna, etc,)

Onion Powder

Cumin (Chili)

Basil (Spaghetti, Minestrone, Italian Soups, Pizza Sauce)

Oregano ( Italian Dishes)

Lemon Pepper (Lemon Pepper Chicken, Sprinkled in Chicken Noodle or Rice Soup)

Cajun

Parsley (in Egg Noodles)

Thyme (Stuffing)

Shredded Coconut

Almonds

Pecans

BBQ Sauce ( Chicken bbq's, Beef bbqs, etc.,)

Sour Cream (on baked potatoes)

Parmesan Cheese

Honey (Honey Whole Wheat Bread)

Apple Cider Vinegar (mixed with sugar and mayo for coleslaw dressing, poured over sliced cucumbers

         or tomatoes as a salad, delish)

Raspberry Jam (put in Oatmeal Bars, Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Thumbprint Cookies, etc.,)

Strawberry Jam ( "    "     "     "     " )

Almond Flavoring

Lemon Juice

Lemons

Ground Beef (Meatloaf, Burgers, Goulash, Spaghetti, Lasagna, Soups, Stew in place of stew meat, Meat-

                       balls, Tacos, Burritos, etc.,

Pepperoni (Turkey is what I use, mini pizzas, regular pizza)

English Muffins (mini pizzas, breakfast pizzas, egg sandwiches, etc.,)

Tomato Paste (Tomato Sauces, Stews, Chili, Goulash, etc.,)

Stewed Tomatoes (Stews, Chili, Italian Soups, Goulash, etc.,)

Corn Meal (Corn Pudding, Corn Bread, etc.,)

Green Peppers (Stuffed Peppers, Cut up on pizza's, in scrambled eggs, in sauces or soups, etc.,)

            ~ HALF OF MY  PANTRY BEFORE STOCKING~

          ~THE PANTRY I "WISH" I HAD~

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

  I just found this recipe and tried it and it is delicious!  Its not as thick as store bought  but its not full of corn syrup!  It is very rich because of the cocoa.  My kids love it.  I washed out an empty mayonaise jar to store it in the fridge.  I make a double batch at a time so it lasts longer.  A double batch makes a mayo jar full to top.  It would be good over ice cream also!

CHOCOLATE SYRUP

½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Be careful not to let it get too hot and boil over! Add the salt and the vanilla. Let cool. Pour into a clean glass jar, and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months, but trust me it will be gone before then. Yields two cups.

TIME TO GROCERY SHOP!

  Getting ready to head to the store for a few groceries.  Have to make sure I have a list and a plan for the meals I am going to make so I don't overspend.  There is double coupon to $2.00 which is great but when you go and something that would have been 6 bucks ends up being 2 bucks you think "oh my gosh, what a deal I saved 4 bucks" but really if you don't need it, you are out 2 bucks that you could have bought a whole bag of flour which would make tons of bread then you are spending money when you don't need to.  I always figure unless my pantry is full of  what I consider staple items then I buy nothing else until it is stocked because when you have the right staple items you can make a meal just from those items.  I will list what I consider "staple" items later today and a few ideas of what you could conjure up with them.

                                                   ~ COUPON HOLDER IDEA~

   They say eat before you go to the store well this picture shows what happens if you do eat or if you don't eat at all!   Happy medium, eat a little!

Weekend Preparation (HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD!)

Thursday's are the day I figure out what I have in the pantry or freezer that I can cook on Friday for the weekend.  I usually always spend Sat. doing something away from the house and if I have something prepared or in the crockpot waiting for us to get there and eat then we are way less likely to go out to eat.  Also I try to make it a favorite of everyone so we actually look forward to coming home to it and not bummed that we aren't going out to something better.

For today I had boiled 5 lbs of potatoes whole yesterday and took them out of the water and refrigerated them to make potato salad today. Potato salad is pretty frugal.  I got my potatoes for 3.47 for 10 lbs so it took 1.75 for the potatoes.  I boiled 10 eggs (1.00) and peeled them. Then I scraped the peeling off the potatoes and cut them into medium chunks into a large bowl.  .

Then I chopped all the eggs and 1 large onion and dumped those in.

Then I dumped in 3/4 jar of salad dressing, 3 Tbsp of mustard, 3 Tbsp sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all together well and then taste and adjust any one of the ingredients till its the way you want it.

Delish and is way cheaper and better tasting than the store bought.

  I had left over pinto beans from the veggie burgers so I put them in a baking dish and poured some bbq sauce, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper, pancake syrup and a dash of cinnamon in and stirred it up.  Taste and adjust any one thing and bake until thick and bubbly.

  Then I took 5 lbs of chicken leg quarters ($1.75) and simply placed them in an oiled cooking sheet and sprinkled with seasoned salt and baked for an hour approx.  Alot of food for little cost plus I had left overs for the next day for lunch.

  I have the turkey I talked about in the last post thawing in the fridge for roasting on Friday.  My plan is to look through some websites for turkey recipes and go from there.  I am thinking some bbq's one of the days but we will see what find that sounds good.  I will have a ton of turkey so I can make probably 4 meals. Some for eating and some for freezing for a busy day.

  One thing I do to save money is run 2 breadmakers at a time.  I either make 2 batches of dough to freeze for quick pizza later or I will make 2 loaves of bread so there is 1 for dinner and 1 for french toast or lunches the next day.  You can pick up breadmakers for 5 bucks a piece at yard sales all the time.  I see them at goodwill all the time also.  Good investment!

  We are expecting some freezing rain here in NC tomorrow starting at noon till 10 at night and again on Sat. morning so I am planning on this being a weekend that we will be staying indoors and at home.  Not sure what we will do.  Should do some organizing and sorting because I looked on craigslist and found a church that is doing a clothing swap in Feb. and that is the perfect chance for my kids to go shopping for free.  They will enjoy that.  I sit a box in the hallway of my house and its usually the goodwill box but now its for the clothes swap.

   I am also using all the t-shirts with holes or stains to make homemade baby wipes. Its suprising how many wipes you get out of one t-shirt you would have thrown away.  This isn't just for if you have babies. You can make these to keep in your car for quick clean-ups also.  You can toss or bag to wash at home.  Either way you are saving money and it is a good feeling to know you can have all the conveniences that people who go out and spend alot of money to have and it costs you nothing!

  I found a math bingo game I had bought at a yard sale awhile ago and I thought I could play this with the kids this weekend for prizes.  I thought I would take a couple sheets of paper and cut them into like 2 x 2 pieces and think up prizes for them to win like  1 extra hour of tv, 1 extra hour on computer, a bubble bath with my special bath foam, choice of what movie we watch that night, a sleep over, pick out of 3 choices of desserts I would make or they could make, use my makeup, ride in the front seat of the car next time, sit in the favorite chair, choice of chairs for a whole day, no chores for a day, etc, etc, etc.  FREE and FUN!

  Well should go look at the cookbooks and websites for the turkey recipes.  Will be back tomorrow with what I find.  Have a great night!

EXTENDING SHAVER LIFE

Frugal Tip:
 
Razor blade dullness is from oxidation, microscopic rusting, than from contact with hair. Water that sits on blades between shaves causes this.  Corrosion can cause metal on the blade to flake off and become jagged. That causes blades to pull and tear hair instead of  slicing through them.  Some say that it has extended their shaver life from 2 weeks to 5 months.  Worth a try!!

Big Plans for Today(VEGGIE BURGERS, TORTILLA SHELLS)

  Well I go to bed every night with paper and pen in case I have an idea or think of a recipe I want to try. I just know if I do not write it down I will forget by morning and I usually always come up with all  my best ideas right before I go to sleep.  Of course I wake up having slept on my pen and paper but oh well I at least   I have the ideas wrote down.

  Anyway about a week ago I found chicken quarters on sale at Aldi's for .39 cents a pound so I bought forty pounds with the thought that I would cook it a bag at a time in the crockpot overnight, take the meat off the bone, chop it up and freeze in bowls to use in the place of beef.  I did this and the first batch I froze a bowl of stock and got 4 bowls of cut up chicken.  The next batch I took the meat off  the bone and froze 3 bowls.  I poured the stock through a fine strainer into my big stockpot and chopped carrots, celery and onions up and dropped them in the stock.  I let that boil till veggies were tender,  while that was cooking I mixed up a batch of egg noodles (I will be adding this recipe) and dropped them in along with a couple handfuls of cut up chicken, salt, pepper and a couple tsp of chicken boullion granules (to taste).  Very cheap to make but full of protein because of the eggs in the noodles and the chicken and full of veggies.  One of my favorite frugal meals.  I made a batch of bread dough in the breadmaker (I will be adding this recipe soon), when that was done I put oil in a frying pan and turned on high to get hot then turned it down to 4  1/2 on my electric stove and then flattened out golf ball size pieces of dough  and dropped into pan to slowly (but not to slowly or it will soak up the oil) brown on each side. Fried bread is very frugal and delicious.

EGG NOODLE RECIPE
2 cups flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
1/4-1/2 cup water
Directions:

1
Measure flour into bowl; make a well in the center and add egg yolks, whole egg and salt.
2
With hands, thoroughly mix egg into flour.
3
Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
4
(Add only enough water to form dough into a ball.).
5
Turn dough onto well-floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
6
Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
7
Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
8
Roll dough, 1 part at a time, into paper-thin rectangle, keeping remaining dough covered.
9
I use pizza cutter to cut into whatever size you want.
10
Cook in 3 quarts boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt) (We use chicken broth.) 12 to 15 minutes or until tender.
11
Drain thoroughly.

    I got up way to early for my liking but the grandbabies needed fed, changed and dressed because my daughter had to work.  So up to realize that we had not picked up the living room the night before. Ughh!  I really wish the cleaning fairy would stop in once in awhile cause waking up to a mess is a bad way to start my day. I bypassed the mess to head to kitchen where one highchair was clean and one was not, so that was the first thing on my list to do. Got the kids in their chairs and then looked for something they would eat.  Luckily I made extra pancakes a couple days earlier and that is their favorite so pancakes it is.  Threw them in the toaster (my new favorite way of reheating them) to crisp on the outside slightly and they heat just right. Syrup is a big hit for them so they got plenty of that.  Then my granddaughter thought a big scoop of cranberry sauce would be good so thats just what she got and she ate it all.   Got them done, out, cleaned up, changed and off playing with their toys and watching Dora and I was off to start cooking.

  I have a freezer out in my garage that has not too much left in it because I wanted to get it to a point that I could clean it out so we are using all the food in it up so I can do that.  I went out there and remembered I had bought an extra turkey at Thanksgiving because they had the deal spend 20 on groceries and get your turkey for .49 cents a pound so I bought the biggest one I could find at 28 pounds.  I took it out so it could thaw till Friday and then I'll cook it with mashed potatoes and a veggie then I could take all the meat off the bone and make it into BBQ's for Sat. and boil the rest for chicken noodle soup on Sunday or just freeze the stock for later.  I paid 10 dollars for a turkey that will feed a family of 8 for  3 days for sure and probably the leftovers could be froze for even more meals and lunches.

    I had soaked pinto beans last night so I rinsed those and boiled them till tender and them drained and cooled them.  I had found a recipe for veggie burgers using pinto beans so I thought well I don't have everything they called for in the recipe but I knew I could figure it out so I found the recipe (half the battle) and realized it called for an egg which I am out of, then I remembered I had used egg yolks in a recipe a couple weeks earlier and had froze the whites in a bowl so I thawed them and threw them in, then it called for panko bread crumbs and I had italian  so I threw them in, it called for cumin and cilantro and I am out so I thought, I have a pack of taco seasoning so I threw it in for flavor and mixed it all up.  I had to add extra bread crumbs and I decided to add a half cup of parmesan cause I have alot of it and it tends to thicken things up.  I mixed up and fried in small amount of oil and kids loved them.  It made a ton and it cost very little. (I will add this recipe also).    I am new to blogging so I have to figure out how to add pix but when I figure it out I will add pix of all the meals I make.

  Use your extra grocery bags in the bottom of your bowl to drain any left over oil off the veggie burgers and save your paper towels, if you buy them.  I use wash-clothes for spills so I can wash and reuse instead of  wasting money on something your going to have to replace every-time you use it.

  I wanted to make black bean, chicken burritos a couple days ago and didn't have any tortilla shells so I though well they cannot be to hard to make and guess what they are easy!  Six cups of flour, 2 tsp salt, 2/3 cup and water and roll into golf ball size balls and then roll out and cook on med. on a very lightly sprayed pan and it makes 32  eight inch tortillas that taste great!  I will get this recipe to you tomorrow because it is very late and I am already doing the count down as to how many hours I will get it I go to bed in a half hour.  There is never enough hours in the day.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm tap water

Directions

In a large bowl blend together flour and oil using a fork. Dissolve the salt in the warm water and slowly add water to flour mixture until dough comes together. Shape into a ball and knead for 3 minutes. Return dough to bowl, cover with with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Divide dough into 12 golf ball size pieces. Roll each piece into a 8 inch round using a rolling pin or a bottle. Cook the tortillas in a hot skillet over medium high heat until each side is slightly browned. Wrap in foil and keep in warm oven until ready to use. Unused tortillas may be stored wrapped in the refrigerator

   I have so many ideas to share on here.  Hopefully they will be as helpful to you as they have been to me. I have alot of little projects for instance I have taken a picture of the top of my fridge.  In every place I have ever lived it is a catch all.  I will be organizing that and only using things I make or find in the house and repurpose.  I will take post the pix of before and after and show you what I used.  My room is also a catch-all and I will be breaking it down into sections and giving you ideas on how to do it yourself and how I get it done.

  Well lots more to tell but gotta sleep unfortunately.  I'll be back tomorrow with some or all of the recipes I talked about.  Later!