Dessert Quandry Solved

What's cheap, yummy and in season right now? Apples!!

Luckily I have a few leftover from our field trip to the apple orchard that were begging to be eaten. So I added some pantry staples like butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and stuck them in the already heated oven.

Casseroles: A Tightwad's Friend

My normal standby for odd leftovers is soup. But, I've found that my soup is not always received well by the toddler and Big Daddy doesn't like soup leftovers for lunch.

So, what do I do with instant milk that needs to be used up, a cup and a half of leftover rice and a handful of asparagus from Sunday nights dinner? Look up the universal casserole in the Complete Tightwad Gazette of course.

I had no cream soup so I mixed up some instant milk, some dried tvp (for protein and thickener), a sprinkle of spike seasoning and veggie broth powder, and an egg.

I threw the rice, the asparagus, a handful of frozen peas, 1/4 of frozen onion, and 1/4 cup of frozen veggie crumbles in a greased Pyrex pan. I sprinkled some fresh and some dried Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper over the mix and then poured on the milk mixture and stirred it together gently. I topped it with plain and Italian bread crumbs and a handful of french fried onions from an unopened can I found in the pantry. I think the onions are leftover from last Thanksgiving but it didn't have an expiration date on it so I think we're safe.

I also mixed up a batch of biscuits from the scratch whole wheat 'bisquik' I made a few weeks ago. They are cut into cute little circles on top of the stove awaiting their turn in the oven.

I debated the possibility of mixing up a cake since I do have a cake mix but, I didn't feel like being splurgy with the oil. I hate to waste the hot oven though. It's one of those times when I wished I had a jiffy cake mix but I don't buy those anymore. I wonder if I should google a scratch recipe for jiffy cake mix. I love making just a small cake for my family so we have a treat without making a huge cake.

In my book bag: Debt-Proof The Holidays

One thing that I asked sweetie to get me for my birthday (other than a big fat cake) was a copy of Mary Hunt's "Debt-Proof The Holidays: How to have an all-cash Christmas".

I just picked up our mail from the post office and I was so glad to see that envelope in the pile.

I'm not expecting anything major to change my way of thinking about Christmas shopping.
But, I'm hoping it will inspire me to stick with the plan and not overbuy. I'm even thinking of getting out a few rolls of wrap and labels right now so I know for sure who I am done buying for.

Anyway, I'll let you all know if it's a pass, a library borrow or a definite keeper in the next week or so.

I'll have to regale you later with my tales of Goodwill and Big Lots shopping from this morning. Right now I have fourteen minutes to make beds and gather laundry before I have to leave the house.

Pantry Challenge Renewal

Yeah, so it still *looks* full. But, I assure you that it is about half empty of what it used to have in it. I also had enough space to rearrange everything to where it was supposed to go so that it will now be more user friendly. I also took out some big boxes and extra stuff out of the bottom so I could use that space when we bring in stuff from Cosco.

It was nice to come home to a partially empty larder. I had frozen our milk so it wouldn't go bad before we left on our trip. But, I still needed a quick trip to the grocery store to refill our stock items of milk, eggs, bread, and fruit.

I did get some extra stuff to round out our meals as I was missing some favorite veggies like corn, spinach and mushrooms. And I splurged on some sliced cheese and a bottle of diet lemonade. All in all not too bad for one weeks worth of food.



And now it's time to make dinner. We're having boca burger 'tips' in brown gravy and grilled onions on rice and a side of cheesy broccoli.

$Big Ouch$ Big Fun

Since we moved into our current house a year ago we've talked about getting a playland for the kids.
We've looked at the sets at Cosco, the metal swingsets at Wal-Mart and the big company sets that go into big money. Our generous in-laws donated $2500 to the cause because they are suckers for their grandchildren.
And it's been months and we've hemmed and we've hawed because we want quality but we hate the price tag. Today we finally put the order in-- I think it's somewhere in the
$3200 range for the clearance set we decided upon.
I can't help feeling stupid for spending money this way although I know the kids will use the heck out of it and if we do need to sell our house soon it is a selling point.
There are no parks within walking distance either.
I feel incredibly blessed that -right now- we can afford to pay for it up front. (using our discover card and getting cash back helps too.)

Our daughter is already really excited about it so I think it's gonna be a good thing. Just that right now it kinda hurts a bit.
I hope nothing breaks on our house or car soon.

Big Lots Savings

Go here to print out a coupon for saving 20% off of your purchase at Big Lots this week.

Back again

We're all exhausted after five days in Gulf Shores, Alabama and two days in the car to get home.

To summarize: We spent a lot of time beach combing for good shells. We went crab hunting at night with flashlights (not for eating.. just enjoyment). We ate a lot of good food including a huge birthday cake that I bought myself. We played a lot of card and board games. We settled disputes between three four year old girls. We didn't sleep nearly enough. I got to spend some quality time with a sister in law that I barely know after eight years. I got schooled in how to shop for good children's clothes to resell.

My Sil took me to the outlet mall and I learned all about the good brand names that resell really well. Strasburg and Kitestrings were two that we went into and I went into a bit of sticker shock.

But today we stopped for lunch at a place that just happened to be nearby a Goodwill. With my new name brand knowledge I combed the racks for good stuff. I did find a little Kitestrings jacket for my girl and a brand new Ralph Lauren snow suit for the little guy.

Oh well. I'm tired and I've got much to unpack. Tomorrow we renter the world of work and school again. I'll post up some pictures later.

Good to be back. Night all.