a yummy recipe and saving money :)

Saving money. That topic has been on my mind a lot lately. I have, for quite some time now, refined myself into one who tries to save rather than spend. Although with a large family, saving is hard to do no matter what ;) I have, however, found ways to cut corners and save money in the kitchen and on utility bills. Every little bit surely counts!

We don't use lights unless we need them. I don't turn on pretty lamps in our rooms unless I'm going to be in the room. We, for two years now, haven't used a heater in the winter time and rely on our fireplace for warmth in the house. I know that isn't possible for every area in the country, but here in the deep south, I've found it to be absolutely no problem and it saves us about $600 or more a year in heating costs.

I make my own laundry detergent, probably spending only $15-$20 a year on it. I don't dry my clothes in the dryer unless I have no other choice. I always try to line dry everything. I love line dried sheets and towels, always hang our "good" clothes on hangers to dry, and only occasionally when we have a rainy streak or the good old humidity comes in to claim any dryness in its way, then I will use the dryer. It saves a lot in energy costs...really! It is also so much better on your clothing...think dryer lint! And, your clothes retain their original, like-new appearance and shape so much longer.

I also like saving money on my grocery bill. I love to save money on groceries, but not with our health being the sacrifice. I typically don't buy any boxed or canned foods, chips, cookies, cakes, sodas, juice boxes, squeezy kid- drinks, etc. I do buy the occasional box of macaroni and cheese and sometimes some cheerios for breakfast, but that is pretty much all I buy from the center of the store. I may only splurge to a small degree for the kids' birthday parties. I do, however, stock up on flour, sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips, brown sugar, sprinkles, and such so that I can bake goodies for the kids at home. I am very aware of the ingredient lists on the pre-prepared foods, cookies, and crackers and refuse to let the kids eat any of it on a regular basis and always make these things from scratch.

When cooking, I try to only cook what we need so that I don't have tons of leftovers to store away. But, when I do have leftovers, I do like to put all my veggies in a freezer container, layering them as I get them, in the container until I have enough to make a pot of soup or casserole or pot pie. I do the same thing with our chicken. When I do have a little piece or two left from supper that we didn't eat, I put them in a ziploc in the freezer, also keeping them until I have enough to add to my veggies for soup, a stirfry, a casserole, or perhaps some chicken and dumplings. (yum!) If your husband or anyone else in your family is into hunting....use the meat! My husband is an avid deer hunter, so we always have plenty of venison and we use it. I usually make a yummy venison stew (we're having it tonight-yum!) and you can even run it through your food processor for a quick hamburger :)


I love finding recipes for store-bought items so that I can make them here at home. My kids all love chocolate milk and between the four of them, they can really move like lighting through the hershey's syrup and it's crazy list of ingredients at about $2 a bottle. I did find this recipe for homemade syrup and we have been using it for a very long time now with never a complaint...it's good!






here's what you'll need:

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

just combine your cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in the pot with the water. whisk around to mix the ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. (medium heat is important because this WILL boil over easily...I know ;) Boil for 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir well. After it cools, pour the syrup into a glass jar or into one of the empty hershey's squeeze bottles. I think it was suggested to refrigerate this syrup....but I never do. I just keep it room temp on the counter top :)


It's much cheaper to make the syrup this way and besides, you know what's in the stuff, even able to pronounce each ingredient! Little things like this make me happy!







So.....what are your favorite money saving strategies, what do you do in your family to make a change for the better? Do you have any favorite make-it-at-home recipes to share? Any favorite ideas for using leftovers? I'm all ears :)