Couponing & Goals

I've been working on using coupons for our grocery budget more lately. I had really dropped the ball on this since my son's diagnosis so I knew I was spending more. Right now, I have 45.99 left in my budget for food, but at least there are only 7 days left.

On the other hand, I think Kroger may have a mega sale this week and Big Lots has their 20% off coupon this week so I hate to miss.

I did have a larger purchase at Walmart for food and household items. I had forgotten my coupons so that didn't help matters either. I will work at concentrating my efforts on sales combined with coupons and scratch and dent.

For January, the amount I saved with coupons is at 11%. I hope to improve this to 20% by the end of February.

Happy New Year and Saving on Food Again

I've recently started doing part of my grocery shopping at scratch and dent stores. Here is a page where you might find some in your area http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97055 I know there are more than this in our area, so don't depend o nthis list to be exhaustive. It's not, but it's a start.

I'm also trying to track the coupon savings I do this year. Go to http://www.thecouponproject.com/ and download her program.

Life continues and our home is such a blessing. My older son says things like, "How can you give or get a shot while laughing?!" I guess we're just glad to be living in a time when diabetes can be managed.

I'd love to start making my own mixes again, but haven't found a great deal of info on doing this for a diabetic. I am still looking though. Hope your New Year is blessed.

An Update

It has been some time since I've posted here and it needs to be done. We have now been in our new home for slightly over a year. Getting things like I like them has been a slow process and still evolving.

School is going well and I'm trying to introduce my children to lapbooking. They seem to enjoy learning so much more now than they did one year ago.

My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in August while boys and I were on a trip to Illinois for my niece's wedding. to make a long story short, we ended up at Cardinal Glennon Hospital for 3 days. My husband joined us as soon as he could. The whole thin with 4 shots per day has been a huge adjustment for all of us. The doctor says we are doing well.

With all this, my couponing kind of went to the way side for a while, but now that the bills are coming in, I'm starting again and doing pretty well. My last grocery shopping trip was $130.00 and I managed to knock $30.00 off of that. With better planning, I'd have beaten that!

I liked the picture above so just thought I'd share. I love both cats and chickens!

We are in our new home ....

I never thought I'd be so glad to see an oven rack. Yes, there was a range in the new house, but the oven racks did not fit. We coudn't find anything locally so we ordered via the internet. We had to shop around since the first single one we found was over $45! Yikes! Dh finally found one for $27, but by this time I was ready for one at least so we ordered it and it came yesterday. So far I've made meatloaf, pumpkin pie, brownies and cut-out cookies!

The rest of the house is still not in order, but I'm working on it. I have started homeschooling my 2 sons and realized yesterday we are actually halfway through our math curriculum! Both boys are thriving.

The house is just lovely, except for our moving-in mess. Whomever was here before must have watched a lot of hgtv. My kitchen is red and I love red. I moved here without ever seeing this house. My hubby did a good job. :)

My couponing and refunding is going well and I'm cutting our food costs with every visit to the store. There are many good deals out there if you look! Also, my nieces are getting interested and that helps because they are so excited about cutting their food budget by a third.

I am missing my chickens and hope to get started again soon.

I need to get busy. There's just so much to do in the busy life of a homemaker!

Here is a recipe for dishwasher detergent that actually works! I do not use the essential oils.

1 C Baking Soda
1C Borax
1/2 C Salt
1/4 C Citric Acid Powder

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together. Use one to two tablespoons of detergent per load of dishes, depending on water hardness.

Deer Recipes

It will soon be deer season again. I hope to have a full freezer again soon. This is how I handle deer meat.

First, I prefer my husband get a doe or young buck. It tastes gamier when it's a buck. If he does get a buck, I soak the meat in beef broth to help improve the flavor.

I like to use the crockpot whenever I can. I often chop an onion and put in the bottom of the crockpot. I then add the meat. I then add varying combinations of these ingredients: soy sauce, worcester sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic (powdered or from the garden) , fresh grated ginger and other seasonings. I don't really use a set recipe for this, but my family loves it. :)

One my hubby started making was to put the chopped onion in the crockpot. Then slice the meat and dredge in milk (I use dry milk that's been reconstituted) and then seasoned flour. Fry the meat in a little oil/bacon grease works well too. Place the meat over the onions. Then pour cream of mushrom or whatever soup on the deer meat. I often have made my own cream of soup mix. It's less expensive and has less salt. It works fine in this recipe.

My grandmother always made a deer roast on Sunday. It was similar to a Yankee Pot Roast. I'd go to her house on Monday because she would use what was left to make bbq. It was so good!

You could also use venison for soup, stew or about any other recipe that calls for beef. Remember it is very lean meat and you will likely need to add some sort of fat to it.

HTH

We Are Moving

We are relocating. Realtor is showing our house again tomorrow. I've even heard we already sold it. You'd think we would get an offer first! Such rumors! Anyway, we also have a bid in on a house with 5 acres. We'll see what happens.

I've continued to declutter and I've came a long way. I've even tried to stage some rooms, but it's hard when I'm still here with 2 rough-and-tumble boys. My hubby is already there working. I still have a long way to go.

We have also decided to homeschool our children. We have already started and so far we are doing well. It's exciting to be able to give your kids a Christian education!

Just a quick update. I'm going to go call in some housekeeping help for this evening.