Appliances that will save you money

There is no doubt about it, our lives today are hectic when you have kids. Soccer practise, debate club, PTA meetings and a ton of other activities we work into already full days. My life is just as insane if not more so. These appliances can be life savers for getting an inexpensive dinner on the table.

Breadmaker

Breadmaker? What? How does that get dinner on the table you ask? I use mine a couple times a week to make pizza dough. I through everything in, set it on dough and run out the door to whatever activity we need to go to. When we get home I have dough waiting to be stretched and thrown in the oven. Voila! A  20 minute pizza when we get home for a fraction of the cost. Before you complain about the high cost of a breadmaker let me tell you I have 3 breadmakers that I got at my local Salvation Army store for $5 each. They were missing manuals but I never read those anyway. One of them is a $200 machine with enough buttons to be in the space program. I visit my local thrift store once a month on half price days just to poke around and frequently find something dirt cheap and useful.

Rice Cooker

Another machine that I love is my rice cooker. What can be cheaper than rice? My rice cooker runs 4 or 5 times a week for both side dishes and main dishes. My favorite main dish that I make in it is Chinese Rice. Rice, frozen mixed vegetables, burger crumbles( or precooked hamburger for you carnivores), vegetable broth and 20 minutes of watch free cooking and I have a fast beef rice dish on the table while I try to finishing writing a paper or folding laundry. I also make a big pot of plain rice once a week I portion into quart freezer bags and freeze for super fast stir frys and mexican dishes, as well as a rice dish I make for breakfast on the weekends. I did buy my rice cooker new for about $20 on Amazon.

Crockpot

What's not to love? Throw food in your crockpot in the morning and come home to a great smelling house and instant supper. Mine gets heavy use for cooking a large batch of chicken legs for chicken meat for other dishes, chili or beans for Mexican dishes, various soups and chowders. We love corn chowder, another inexpensive dish that is heavenly in the winter. Just add the milk or cream  a few minutes before serving so it doesn't curdle during the long day of simmering. Chances are you have a crockpot in a box somewhere your mother gave you for Christmas a few years ago. Dig it out, I promise you will love it.

Food Processor

Bread crumbs, mixing spice blends, chopping veggies for salsa, slicing onions for onion soup, making quick work of slicing chopping all kinds of veggies....... enough said!!! Mine gets daily use and is easily cleaned in the dishwasher. Pesto, salad dressings, mixing up homemade biscuit and cake mixes, making homemade gourmet coffee mixes, there is a ton of things you can do with it to save time.


All of these can save you money and make it less likely to grab either drive through food or convenience foods that are expensive and unhealthy. Rethink your preparation and dishes and you may be pleasantly surprised at how cheaply you can get fast nutritious food on the table.

Meal Plan! What Meal Plan?!

I have resisted writing down a definitive meal plan because our life is so chaotic that frequently we change dinner plans at the last minute. But realistically I have 14 meals I make regularly and use as a template for my shopping list. Hopefully these will give you some ideas for a quick dinner. My goal is to post the recipes for these over the next couple weeks but don't hold me to that!

Side dishes are almost always one of three things, oven roasted vegetables, seasoned rice, or some form of garlic/cheese bread. I always serve fresh vegetables, usually what is in season and cheap. By March we are sick of carrot sticks and celery to be sure but in the summer we uually have a good sized platter.

Desert is a -whatever I had time to bake- thing in our house. I am not a big believer in a sweet after every dinner. It's a high calorie finish that really isnt necessary. A couple times a week its a nice treat though. Cupcakes, cookies, and biscotti are our favorites. This time of year homemade ice cream is at the top of our list.

Here goes.......

Fish Tacos
Omelets
Pizza
Roast Chicken Thighs
Vegetable Quesadillas
Chinese Noodles
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Chicken Soup
Shepherds Pie
Calzones
Macaroni and cheese
Burritos
Vegetable Sandwiches
Spaghetti


No, there is very little meat here. I am a vegetarian and, besides, meat is expensive.  Surprisingly in our house the real budget breaker is lunches and snacks. Goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and juice packs for lunch boxes are hard to economize on. So I save where I can on breakfast and dinner.

Blueberry Muffins

Most weekends we hop over to Goss Berry Farm to pick some delicious berrys for eating out of hand or baking into scones and muffins. Of course our blueberry pancakes wouldn't be the same with bought berries. Here's my favorite muffin recipe.

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tb baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
6 Tb melted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup blueberries, lightly coated with flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I use paper muffin liners usually, but if you won't, grease your tin's cups well with the butter wrapper.
In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. In a separate small bowl mix together your wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients and combine until just mixed. A few lumps is fine.
Gently fold in your blueberries. Fill your muffin tins about 3/4 full. You can sprinkle a bit of sugar on them for crunch at this point if you want.
Bake for 22 minutes for regular sized muffins, until golden brown.  Makes 12 muffins.

No Cook Play Dough Updated

We tried this recipe this morning and my 3 year old adored it. I'm not sure it will make it to a second play session, he's eaten so many nibbles there's a wall missing from his castle!

Peanut Butter Play Dough

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all in a large bowl. Mix until dough comes together. That's it, no cooking or letting cool.
How cool is that?

Another favorite of mine....

Gingerbread Play Dough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 tbs ground ginger
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup water

Mix and knead until smooth. Smells delicious and non toxic ( not as good a snack as previous recipe!!) Add more flour if it's too sticky.

Store either recipe in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Don't go out and buy those playdough kits with the little cutters and tools. My kids use various things they find in my kitchen drawers and love them. Old cookie cutters, a whisk, small rolling pin, german cookie presses, plastic knives from takeout( shh, even I do takeout once in a blue moon, lol) and anything else that catches their eye. I think of it like when you buy a big expensive toy and they spend 2 hours playing with the box it came in! So look around your house before you resort to spending your money on toys and art kits.

Taco Seasoning Mix and Potato Wedges

This seasoning mix is good for seasoning beef or chicken for almost any Mexican dish, soft tacos, burritos, quesadillas or even just sprinkled on roast veggies before cooking for some extra flavor.
My boys like this on potato wedges too that I roast for a side dish frequently.

Taco Seasoning Mix

2 Tb Chili powder
2 tb flour
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne or chipotle pepper

Combine in a ziptop bag and shake until mixed.You can definitely leave out the cayenne if you like.

Christina's Potato Wedges

Cut 6 potatoes into wedges. Place in a zip top bag with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add 1 tsp taco seasoning mix. Close bag and shake to combine. Pour onto ungreased baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. The time varies depending on the size of your potatoes and how crispy you want them. Start checking them at 35 minutes. Serve with ketchup or ranch dressing.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

OK OK I finally got a second to post this. Detergent prices are on the rise and more people are willing to explore alternatives. Here is  a fast easy powder detergent I've used for years.

Powder Laundry Detergent

1 cup grated soap
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup Borax


I whirl it in the food processor to take out lumps and mix well but I have tossed around a ziploc bag when I am in a hurry. For the soap I use either Ivory or Dial plain soap and grate it on an old cheese grater.(the kids love to help) Don't use a moisturizer or heavily perfumed soap but I've used whatever was at the local dollar store.

This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. I use the scoop that came with an old Oxiclean tub to portion it but it's around 2 Tablespoons or 1/8 a cup for a smallish regular load.

I splurge on Mrs. Meyers Clean Day laundry soap to use as a pretreater. Its expensive but it lasts forever a dab at a time and works great. I get mine at Drugstore.com.

When I'm feeling decadent I put about 10 drops of lavender oil in the detergent to give it a very light scent but you can certainly leave that out.

Leftover graham cracker crumbs?

If you are like me you always have a bit of crumbs leftover when I crush them for pies or  have a box that's been on the shelf for forever waiting for something to be used in after I make a holiday cheesecake. I found this recipe tucked away in a pile of old recipes I got from a recipe sharing club years ago. I made some up and my boys adored these bars. It got rid of that lonely baggie of crumbs in my freezer too!

Graham Bars

1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8 inch square pan.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla.
Stir in crumbs, coconut, and chocolate chips.
Spoon into baking dish and lightly pat flat if needed.
Bake 25 minutes until lightly browned.
Cool. Cut into bars.
 Yummy bars! Perfect for a lunch box treat or afterschool snack.