Christmas Eve 2010

Well this is it! I am trying to stay out of the kitchen because I have a nasty head cold and I don't want to contaminate any of the goodies!! I was sooo geared up to make candies and goodies this year and now I am having to let my teenagers do it all.

Last night I sat down and brain stormed some dinner ideas to go along with the $1 a day grocery challenge. I really think this is doable. Now I have to admit that I am spending a $1 a day per person on groceries and then I will spend more on storage items to stock my pantry something that has gone undone for the last 6 years after we depleted alot of our storage preparing for a job loss or move (thankfully it was a move).

I found an awesome PDF file today on how to survive during an emergency. The title is "The time to Build the Cellar is Before the Storm" you can download it here http://www.justpeace.org/allinone.pdf .
There is even a list of basic food items for a 30 day supply for a family of 4. A great place to start your food storage!!

I am determined to do a garden this year!! I am looking into combining two methods of gardening; Squarefoot and Lasagna Gardening. I am optimistic that I will have a beautiful garden this year!! (I hope!)

Some thoughts that I have had on the $1 a day challenge are:

1. Lots of casseroles with meat spread thin throughout
2. Hitting the yesterday grind sales at our local grocery store to get meat cheap.
3. Making sure I get the paper on Wed. We only have 2 grocery stores and a Walmart in our town so the sales are going to be very important to making this happen.
4. Keeping things basic. The K.I.S.S. rule applies!!

If you haven't already noticed, there is a link in the side bar to join the $1 a day grocery challenge. If you are interested please join us. There are about 17 families nationwide now participating!! The more the merrier!!

More on the $1 a day grocery challenge

Another blog to look at (and follow) is http://dateam365.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html . This is Ashley's blog that she will be keeping during the challenge this next year.

Also take a look at this site to get an idea when is the best time to buy certain items, (very interesting information) http://frugalliving.about.com/od/bargainshopping/tp/Best_Time_To_Buy_Everything.htm

Stay at Home mom musings!

We visited some friends for the Labor Day Holiday and had a blast!! When we got home yesterday I had a surprise in my mailbox! VocalPoint had sent me a fullsize Bounce Dryer Bar!! This thing is cool! You just stick it to the inside of your dryer and forget about it for about 2 months (they say)! No more dryer sheets (never used them anyway because I always forget to put them in).  I have to tell VocalPoint what I think after using the DryerBar but hey it was free I can give my opinion for a freeby.

I enjoy VocalPoint. They will send samples with some awesome coupons. If you haven't discovered their great offers go check them out http://www.vocalpoint.com/ register for an account and start getting coupons, samples, and survey opportunities immediately. The more you participate the more offers you will get! Have Fun!!

Food for Thought

I am trying out a new cookbook!! Our family has had some really yummy meals this week. Breakfast one day was fresh fruit kabobs with a yougurt sour cream and honey dressing. We also tried out 2 cheese and spinach twice baked potatoes that were just heavenly! Maybe tonight we will try the pear stuffed baked potatoes or the ginger cilantro mashed sweet potatoes. Mmmmm! I am getting excited just thinking about it!

I know you are just dying to know the name of the cookbook! Well it is $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook by Chef Susan Irby.

At just $7 a meal (or less), you can feed a family of four using fresh ingredients. I bought the book and dug right in. I made a menu chart and my daughters and I started going through the book and filling in with some of the yummiest looking recipes! I head to the grocery store with my list and came out spending about $270 for our family of 7 for 2 weeks! I was quite the happy camper!!

I would love to share recipes if I wasn't copyright infringing, so I guess you will have to go buy the book yourself! Then let me know what your favorite recipes are!