MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES

It’s an old expression that dates back, some would say, to the 1800s.

One source I’ve read dates the expression back to 1820 while another to the 1890s.

In both cases, the meaning was the same. Once established, trees produce plentiful fruit, year after year with little effort. One could pluck fruit from the backyard tree but money didn’t come as easily. Effort had to be made for one to come by money. It wasn’t as easy as picking fruit from a tree.

When the Great Recession hit, the Dollar Tree stores surged in popularity. These stores come by other names as well, such as the 99 Cent Store. Everything in the store is one dollar.

Some locations even have a frozen food section. They carry both name brand and generics. I find that if a recipe calls for mango, I can go to the freezer section of my Dollar Tree and purchase a frozen bag of pre-cut mango for just a dollar.

The store shelves carry name brand items such as Heinz, Kellogg’s, Nature Brand breads, Libby, Hunts, etc.

Recently, Dollar Tree store began accepting coupons. I’m finding the savings to be substantial.

I excitedly purchased two bottles of Heinz “no salt” Ketchup for 50 cents each. They were a dollar a bottle but I had two 50 cent coupons which brought them down to half price. Meanwhile, the national/regional grocery stores were selling the exact bottles of ketchup for three times the price.

Money may not grow on [dollar] trees, but on some items it sure seems to go a lot further!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Make a list of items to routinely purchase at the dollar store. Not only for food and grocery items but other household staples as well such as gift wrap, cards, baking tins, plastic trash bags, pot holders, etc. Being frugal is all about stretching your hard to come by money, because it doesn’t grow on trees.

 

THE BUCK STOPS HERE

As a new bride, it was with enormous pride when I planted my first garden in my New England back yard. It blossomed very well and I had more vegetables than I knew what to do with. I was a novice cook so I literally did not know what to do with all those fresh vegetables.

Over time, I had always hoped to revisit my gardening days but it was not to happen.

Each spring, I feel pangs of guilt for not being a successful gardener.

Summertime rolls around and I marvel at all the gardeners that bring their treasures to the local farmer’s market to sell their crops. They reap what they sow. I neither reap nor sow.  

Then it happened! The guilt disappeared the morning that a very large deer grazed through my yard, munching as he roamed; taking his time to devour whatever seemed appetizing to him.

It also solved the mystery of the ever shrinking hibiscus plant. One day it was flowering, the next day the bloom was off the vine. The following day, it was the case of the vanishing leaves.

The mystery is no more.

One thing was for certain. Had there been a garden with vegetables back there, there would be vegetables no more. The “buck” indeed likes to stop here.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: With a good sale on pasta, I like to purchase tri-color pastas that are made with vegetables. It adds brightness and appeal as a dinner side dish or casserole. My price point for a box of pasta is 49 – 63 cents. The lower the price, the higher my stockpile!

 

THE TURKEY ESCAPADE

They say everyone has their 15-minutes of fame.

Mine came and went a very long time ago. Actually, it was 1991 ago. The state newspaper was running an article in their weekly food issue on money saving ideas and sought submissions of proven methods for their story.

I thought I was just submitting my tried and true ideas. Before I knew it, I had my own by-line.

The newspaper sent their photographer to our home. Mother’s Little Helpers were also involved in the kitchen photo shoot.

My 15-minutes of fame?  A 10- lb turkey and dinners for a family of five.

There were other ideas in the article but the photographer seemed most intrigued on how to cut that turkey into sections and eat for a week. Mother’s Little Helpers were cute and well-behaved, but it was the turkey featured in the newspaper that next week.

Before I knew it, someone knew someone who knew someone (you know how that goes) and “Woman’s Day” magazine was calling on the phone! Then it was over. Poof! But to this day, whenever I cut a turkey into sections, I fondly remember that turkey escapade.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Stockpiling meat when on sale will save you future dollars. If you purchase meat when you “feel” like eating it, you will be paying top price and will be wasting dollars from your food budget.

                                          TURKEY WITH WINGS ON TOP

 

 WINGS REMOVED. SLICE ALONG EACH SIDE OF BREAST

 

                                        SIDE VIEW OF WHAT TURKEY LOOKS LIKE
                                                                                               

 

 

BEND TURKEY IN HALF TO CREATE TWO SECTIONS

 

CUT THE TURKEY INTO TWO SECTIONS

                                             PLACE A KNIFE ALONG THE TOP
                                    CUT ALONG THE BONE TO REMOVE MEAT

 

TWO SECTIONS OF BONELESS BREASTS

 

LEGS AND THIGHS AND WINGS CUT INTO SECTIONS

 

KID STUFF

Being the frugal mom that I am, having raised three children with the assistance of their frugal dad, it seems that once Mother’s Little Helpers left home for college…they returned….with stuff. Lots of stuff.

They weren’t home long; two of them for about six months each, one not at all. Still, I got his stuff! His stuff was here, but he was elsewhere. How does that happen!

I’ve tried returning their stuff. It seems they don’t want their stuff back.

There are blenders, hand mixers, plates, measuring cups, etc. My eye caught one kitchen tool in particular. A Sunbeam grill. Larger than the smaller George Foreman version they all went off to college with, somehow one of them came into owning this Sunbeam version.

I offered it back to My Grown Helper but alas, I was told that I could keep it. I was giddy with the possibilities running through my head.  

One of my favorite things to do to save time is make sandwiches in bulk and freeze them.

With a 25 cent loaf of bread from Dollar Tree, a 79 cent package of Oscar Meyer bologna and shredded Swiss cheese, I was ready to make two weeks’ worth of grilled bologna and cheese sandwiches.

Once cooled, individually they were prepared for storage in press and seal wrap for the freezer. I marked them with the sodium content so that I could plan my sodium intake for the days when I included one in my meal plan.

Looking for breakfast one morning, I grabbed a sandwich and added it to my lunchbox. At work, I tossed it in the toaster where it crisped up nicely. The aroma was wonderful. I was the envy of my coworkers. Toasted bread and warmed bologna and cheese….yum!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: There is great satisfaction in buying marked down bread. It is wonderful for grilling sandwiches or making croutons, bread crumbs and bread pudding. Costing a fraction of the price of fresher bread, when reconstructed into a new meal, it’s not even noticeable and the savings is “dough” that makes "sense".

 

 

THE CUT-UP CHICKEN CAPER

An aspect of frugality that I enjoy is keeping money in my pocket by being my own butcher.

When I play pretend-butcher in my kitchen, I feel like Lucy Ricardo in her TV episode when she and her BFF, Ethel, work an assembly line in a candy factory.

I line up all my whole chickens on a cutting board. I take out a platter, another cutting board and a large bowl, along with a stock pot for bones and non-edible parts like wing tips.

Next, I sharpen my knife. With the trash can to left of me, chickens to the right... I'm stuck in the middle with "ewe" as the Mother's Little Helpers would groan at me.

If you do not like the feel of raw chicken, inexpensive plastic gloves can be purchased at your local dollar store and you can dispose them when done with the deboning.

Below is the best picture tutorial that I can offer on how to cut up a chicken. Save all parts! Nothing should go to waste except for the skin.

                                    THE WHOLE CHICKEN

                                            TAKE CHICKEN AND FLIP IT OVER

                               WINGS SHOULD NOW BE ON TOP, NOT ON BOTTOM
                                                    REMOVE WING AT JOINT

 

WINGS HAVE BEEN REMOVED

  

 

                  

 WITH KITCHEN SCISSORS OR A KNIFE, CUT OFF BACKBONE 

                                WHEN ONE SIDE IS OFF, SLICE DOWN THE OTHER
                                  

                                LAY OUT THE CHICKEN FLAT AND FIRMLY PRESS DOWN
                                            

 

SLICE DOWN THE MIDDLE 

                                    

 

DIVIDE THE HALVES INTO QUARTERS

                                        UNDERNEATH THE BREAST IS THE TENDER

 

TWO BONELESS BREASTS, TWO LEGS, TWO WINGS

 

TWO THIGHS

 

The backbone, the rib cages and the wing tips go into a stock pot for soup!

 

 

THE MEGA MEASURING CUP

One of my favorite kitchen investments and most frequently used kitchen utensils was the purchase of my 8-cup measuring cup.

Back when Tupperware parties were the fabric of a housewife’s social life, I bought one. It’s a very versatile item and I’ve never regretted the (expensive) purchase.

First, I like it because it is plastic and lightweight compared to a similar 8-cup measuring cup that I have which is glass. I have some stainless steels mixing bowls but that requires using and washing the measuring cups and then the mixing bowls. I like one-bowl food preparation.

This measuring cup is large enough to do both, measure then mix. With markings on the front of the cup, I can measure in cups or in pints.

Making pizza dough? It a great one-bowl utensil to mix and rest the dough for it rise and double in size.

With a spout at the top of the rim, it is outfitted for pouring into muffin and cupcake pans or for pancakes and waffles.

Using this instead of a mixing bowl limits spills and clean–ups. Less clean-up is a bonus feature when using my mega measuring cup because I like to be as frugal with my time as I am with money!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Yard sales, flea markets, and Goodwill Industries are some of my favorite places to find “old timey” treasures at great prices!

 

THE DESSERT SALAD BAR

When the Mother’s Little Helpers were little, they loved to eat at buffet style restaurants. A light bulb moment flashed when I decided to bring the buffet concept to our kitchen!

With a refrigerator of assorted leftovers, not enough for a meal if served alone but enough if all leftovers were served at one meal, I stumbled upon a new way to use up leftovers.

Everyone loved the idea of picking out their favorite leftovers.

Leftovers were reheated and served from the kitchen counter. Each had a chance to “call dibs” on their dinner. It gave them a feeling of control over what they had for dinner that night and it gave me a feeling of wisely using food and not letting it go to waste.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: The only foods more appealing to my children than the dinner buffet leftovers were the dessert leftovers! It was affectionately called the “dessert salad bar” because it reminded them of going to a restaurant’s salad bar and selecting their favorites and placing them on their plates. In this case, they were to select one dessert. Just another idea of how to use up your leftovers, even desserts, and keep the family happy!

LADY MARMALADE

Some days, this is how I view my freezer. It is a chest of unexpected treasures found in the grocery store.

This weekend, in my quest for a decent price on a gallon of milk, I found a gem of a price on a whole chicken. I wasn’t looking for chicken but flexibility is critical in being a frugal shopper and family cook.

With skyrocketing prices of meats, to find a whole chicken at .79/lb is a real bargain. Prices of meat have increased so much that some message boards that I’ve been reading indicate families are now reducing the number of times per week they eat meat.

I have two favorite methods of cooking whole chickens. Each recipe requires the chicken be split in half. It does not require fancy equipment. A knife and a cutting board will do just fine.

One method is to place the chicken with its skin removed in a crock pot with sliced onions and BBQ sauce. From there, the recipes vary from chopped or pulled chicken on oversized hamburger buns or as lettuce wraps. The cooked meat can be used with cheese in tortillas for chicken and cheese quesadillas. Maybe a side dish of black beans and rice on the side?

Another favorite is roasting the chicken halves (freeze the other half for another dinner or if serving a family of 4, use the entire chicken) in my toaster oven. I like to season it with either lemon pepper and rosemary or I keep a selection of marmalades on hand such as apricot, orange or pineapple and coat the chicken in marmalade, season with pepper and roast at 425 degrees.

Both dinners require little preparation and even less supervision. This will free up time for this busy lady to move onto another household chore!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Multi-task. Try to find meals to prepare that don’t require much oversight so you can spend your valuable time on another task. Meal preparation is quickest when the recipes have as few ingredients as possible. Chicken + marmalade+ pepper or chicken + onions + BBQ sauce. Not only does a recipe with fewer ingredients save you time, it will save you money.

                                                        A PLUMP 5 LB CHICKEN

 

CUT OUT THE BACKBONE AND SPREAD CHICKEN FLAT

 

                         DIVIDE THE CHICKEN IN HALF BY CUTTING DOWN THE MIDDLE

THiS LITTLE PIGGIE WENT TO MARKET

Not all my grocery shopping takes place at the grocery store. Sometimes, I find some really great deals at the national drug store chains.

Every week, I scour the ads of Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid to see what food and grocery items they are offering as sale items for the week.

About every 6 – 8 weeks, Walgreens is good for an egg sale. A good sale on eggs these days seems to be $1.29/dozen but a great sale on eggs at Walgreens is 99 cents/dozen!

One particular week, Walgreens was selling Butterball Turkey Bacon, the 16 slice size for $1.49. When I checked my coupons, there was one for 65 cents!

Yes, my package of bacon cost 88 cents with tax!

For dietary reasons, I carefully dole out when I use those 16 slices of bacon. Bacon waffles? Layered atop a meatloaf? BLT wraps! That purchase was a deal for both price and flavor! With the price of pork bacon, turkey bacon is a gobble-worthy substitute!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: When I think of bacon, I also think of eggs. Did you know you can freeze eggs? You can freeze egg whites, egg yolks, the whole egg and hard-boiled eggs. Instructions can be found on the internet. Stock up and freeze!

 

THERE IS CORN AND THERE IS KORN

One of the Mother’s Little Helpers was a heavy metal/alternative rock kind of teen who grew up to be a heavy metal/alternative rock kind of dad. Amongst the list of bands he favored were Smashing Pumpkins, Cake and Korn. Rock bands with food names. Interesting. That he grew up to be a foodie probably should not have come as a surprise to me.

Summertime is a good time for the other “corn”. You know, the vegetable. Fresh corn at this time of year can be less expensive to buy than canned or frozen. Growing your own is even less expensive! Another one of Mother’s Little Helpers is experimenting with growing his own corn this year and the crop is coming in nicely.

After it’s been cooked, it can be frozen or used fresh as a side dish or in a summer soup.

I like mine grilled with those nice char marks on the kernels. Then I strip it off the cob. In keeping with my frugal nature, I save the cobs for a vegetable stock when I prepare my ‘garbage soup’.

For an evening supper, combine chicken or vegetable stock and add kernels of corn, freshly skinned and seeded tomatoes, sliced onion, chopped garlic, slices of zucchini and/or summer squash, chopped celery and grated carrot to a pot. Add a bay leaf and spices such as black pepper (salt optional) and rosemary. As an extender, I add red kidney beans to the pot along with rice or pasta.

A large pot will feed four. Add salad and a loaf of garlic bread or garlic toast or leftover garlic hamburger buns and you have a meal!  And me? I’m hoping Mother’s Little Helper has a bumper crop of corn this year!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: If you know how to can, summertime is a great time to put up vegetables. Freezing is another method to store vegetables for future use. Stock up now while prices are lower and use them later when your favorite seasonal vegetables are higher in price.

 

RAINCHECK PLEASE!

It can be so frustrating to enter the grocery store, ready to shop the “loss leader” item, only to discover it is out of stock.

What is the “loss leader”? That is the discounted item on sale to draw customers in to the store so they will buy the discounted grocery item. The expectation and anticipation is that the shopper will also purchase other items, in addition to the loss leader.

If you are a busy individual like me, you don’t have time to return to the store several times before the sale ends, to see if the item has been restocked to the shelf. It is a waste of gas and time to do this.

I am a big fan of rainchecks.

Before leaving the store, stop by the Customer Service counter and ask for a raincheck! The manager or his designee will fill out a slip of paper from what looks like a receipt book and write down the desired quantity and the sale price of the item.

Some stores will grant you several weeks to return before the raincheck expires and there are some stores that have no expiration date on the raincheck.  

In these times when every penny counts, it’s worth a visit to Customer Service to inquire about their raincheck policy.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: If you have a coupon which may expire while you wait for the raincheck item to find its way to the store shelf, ask the manager if he/she will honor the expiring coupon when the item is purchased at a later date. Have the manager sign the coupon so that you can use it, even if it has expired when you purchase your raincheck item!