Halloween Food

Found these on one of my favorite blogs. (Okay, I only follow three.)  But they look delicious.  Going to try them out.

BONES




Super easy.  All it is is marshmallows stuck on the ends of pretzels and dipped in almond bark.

For more pictures and the actual directions click here: 
http://thecraftpatch.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-spooky-dinner-2012.html#.VC61U2ddWSE


Also on the same page  you will find deviled eggs with olive spiders.




And chocolate strawberry ghost- Although I'm not sure of the price or quality of strawberries this time of year.  If you want to try it out it could be a fun experiment.




HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Emergency Preparedness: Financial Reserve

Emergency Preparedness: Financial Reserve

Not all disasters are natural disasters or ones that effect entire neighborhoods.  Some just affect your family.  When hard times hit it is comforting to know you can pay your bills and feed your family.

Way back when I began this blog it was because we knew our money was going to be tight for a few months.  As it turned out we needed our finical reserve to stretch for more than a year.

I have heard the recommendation of putting 10% of your income into savings every month for emergencies.

Dave Ramsey suggest getting a 1,000 dollar emergency fund, paying off all debt, if you have any, and then building your savings to a 3-6 month fund.

When the financial storms come you will also be surprised at all the things you are able to cut out of your budget.  You are simply able to live on less.

I've know people that have been out of work for months.  What a comfort for those that have- and a nightmare for those who don't have- a financial reserve. And you avoid more debt.

This isn't something you build up in one month- it happens over the course of many months.  Being consistent and aware of your money is the key.

Savings is worth it.

Pizza Sauce

I like making homemade pizza, but my sauce was always too runny or too thick.  Recently I discovered the perfect consistency and the perfect amount of sauce for my pizza is to combined one can of tomato sauce with one can of tomato paste.

Now if I can just get the seasonings to perfection, then I'd have a full recipe to post on here.

Food Storage

Where I live we have what is called Case Lot Sales.  Around here people love to store food and case lot sales are a way to buy several months worth of canned goods at a discount price.  I love having food on hand, it's great when needing a quick meal, when you can't just run to the store every day (nearest one from me is 20 miles), or for security in an emergency.  When my husband didn't find a permanent job right after graduating college, it was good to know that at least we would not starve.  Between that and a financial reserve we were able to save ourselves a lot of stress and worry.

I realize most places don't have case lots, but canned goods and other frequently used items do go on sale.  I have a list of things we go through quickly- chocolate chips anyone? When they go one sale, we buy. We also store hygiene and other commonly used products.  Seriously, toilet paper is one thing I want to have plenty of!

Whether you buy food storage slowly as things come on sale or stock up at the once or twice a year sales, things we use everyday are always good to have extra of.  I recommend stocking up on at least a three month supply of items you use regularly and rotating your stock so it does not go bad.


What if you don't have the space???

Be creative.  Some people use long term food storage as a base for a bed. I use all my storage, even the wheat, so I keep it in a more accessible place...our closet.  We also have our cupboards full and an extra shelf in our kitchen. I look forward to when baby comes all we'll need to run to the store for is the perishable items- milk, eggs, cheese, fruit/veggies.

Happy Savings!

Syrup

I love my thick buttermilk syrup, but I also wanted something for those morning when I just wanted pancakes from the freezer and no cooking involved.  My problem was my syrup is best fresh and other syrups I've tried have been runny.

Here is a common recipe on the internet

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp maple flavoring.

Boil for 5 mins. Stir constantly

I added about a 1/2 cup corn syrup to make it thicker and boiled it for just a bit longer.  I was satisfied that it was thicker than sugary water and similar to a store bought version. (Although store bought isn't all that good.)

I will be experimenting more with syrups later.  It is always surprising how much sugar (or fat) goes into many of the things we eat without much thought.  Making things from scratch makes you more aware of that- and me more conscious of my syrup consumption.

Confession: I Buy Brand Name Products

There are those brand named foods that until I get around to experimenting with making them myself I will continue to stock up on when they are on sale.  In my opinion, Bull's Eye BBQ sauce is the best and no knock off version has ever come close to its tasty goodness. However, I wait until a sale before stocking up.

My husband likes a certain kind of soap, okay, I'll get it.  Keeping husband happy is way more important than a few pennies saved.

I have also found certain brands just work better than others.  A good brand of dish soap last us much longer than a cheap brand. Ironically, the name brand stuff ends up saving us money in the long run.  Once again sales and coupons can often be found for these products.

Cinnamon And Sugar

I once saw in the spiced section of a store a premixed cinnamon and sugar.  That was almost as laughable to me as jelly and peanut butter in the same jar.

I have heard a ratio of 4:1 sugar to cinnamon but I like a lot of cinnamon.  I probably do 1/4 cup sugar to 1 1/2 TBSP cinnamon.

Simply put the mix a container with lid, cover, and shake.  Tada!