From My Home

Inexpensive Date Night Ideas

February 5, 2013 by frugalmomoftwo Leave a Comment

Since Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, I thought this might be a good time to brainstorm some great and inexpensive date night ideas. Please leave your suggestions and ideas in the comments. I’d love to hear them!

Here are my date night ideas:

Cook dinner together and enjoy your creation.

Snuggle up on the couch and watch your favorite TV shows or a movie .

Take an evening stroll under the stars.

Have dinner at home then go to your favorite restaurant to share dessert.

Use a groupon for a dinner or movie out.

Lunch is less expensive than dinner, so consider having a lunch date ay your favorite restaurant.

Walk around a local museum.

Filed Under: From My Home

Well, Hello Again

February 4, 2013 by frugalmomoftwo 1 Comment

My goodness it’s been a while! I haven’t posted in just over a year and boy have I missed it. 2012 was one heck of a year for my family! As most of you know my husband was involved in a serious accident on January 9, 2012. He was in the hospital for a month and has to date gone through 6 surgeries. He has 2 to 3 more surgeries and will hopefully return to work later this year.

I’m so happy to be back and plan on posting again on a regular basis. I have all kinds of ideas for blogging this year and I hope you’ll enjoy them all. Stay tuned for some great frugal tips and ideas.

I’ve sure missed you all and hope you’ll enjoy reading my blog again!

Filed Under: From My Home

Boost Your Budget ~ Weekly Update 1/9/12

January 9, 2012 by frugalmomoftwo 2 Comments

Well, week one is done and week two has just begun. I’m happy to say my first week started off very well! I took some time this weekend to completely organize my pantry. I went through all the food that was in there and put meals together. I was surprised at how little I need to purchase to make complete meals. I created a menu for the next two weeks off what was in my pantry! This is why I love stockpiling!! Also, this is why it’s a good idea to do a pantry challenge like this. I’m able to use some of my stockpile to make room for more (fresher) products. Plus, I’m able to keep my grocery budget minimal this month.

Here is my menu plan that I created for the next two weeks:

baked chicken with risotto
ham with mac and cheese
chili
spaghetti with garlic biscuits
tacos with cornbread and Mexican rice
baked chicken with pasta side and salad
vegetable soup
chicken with potato casserole
pork roast with rice and black eye peas

leftovers re-purposed:
chili over baked potatoes
spaghetti sandwiches
taco salad
vegetable soup over rice

All of the above can be made with the addition of just a few items. I plan to visit the grocery store later today and will write another post listing all I buy.

I also have signed up for the E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families program which I strongly encourage you to look into. It’s a great program that creates a menu based on your grocery store selection’s sales for the week. You can print out your menu with recipes for the week and print your corresponding shopping list for the week. This not only saves you time but money as well. While I am pulling a few recipe’s from my list(s) I will begin to fully utilize this program next month.

Be sure to check back next week for another update. Also be on the lookout for my grocery store shopping post coming later today. I’ll also have some recipes posted this week, so watch for those too.

Visit all the listed blogs below to see how they’re doing on their challenge. Leave your link below to your post or leave me a comment telling me your pantry goals for this month. You’ll be entered in the weekly contest to win the $25 Coupon Clutch Gift Certificate!!

Filed Under: Blogging, From My Home, Giveaways, Menu Plan

2012 Goals

January 3, 2012 by frugalmomoftwo 2 Comments

Ahhh, the start of a new year! Time to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new. Time to put pencil to paper, or in this case, fingers to the keyboard, and write out my goals for the year.

Personal/Family:

Do volunteer work with the kids at least once every three months
Schedule full physical’s for my husband and I both
Send Birthday cards to family members and close friends around their birthday
exercise ~ my nemesis, the hardest one for me to put into action by far, I need to tone my muscles badly so I pray I can achieve this goal
Read my Bible daily ~ I have recently found out about project 345 which I plan to put into action
Plan a date night with my hubby once a month
Go on a large family vacation this summer
Use coupons more consistently ~ I have really gotten away from using coupons effectively, I plan to change this this year
Become more involved in my church
Organize a get-together with family once every three months

Blogging:

Write 5 posts each day
Plan a work schedule and stick to it
Implement and follow my weekly blogging plan
Write and schedule posts a week in advance
Hire an assistant

Financial:

Continue to work to be debt free
pay off credit card
fund our money market by 50% of our goal
add to our kids’ bank accounts
tithe 10%
Save 50% toward new flooring ~ we have remnant flooring in our home and I really want wood floors, so I’d like to have 50% of our budget saved toward this
pay cash for a new vehicle to replace our van

That’s a basic list of my goals for the year. I plan to revisit this least once every three months and see how I”m doing. Some of these I will post more details about in the days to come.

Do you have a list of goals you hope to achieve this year? If so I’d love to hear about them. Tell me about them in the comments. If you’re a blogger and you’ve posted about your goals, leave me the link, I’d love to check it out!

Happy New Year!

Filed Under: Blogging, From My Home

Boost Your Budget Pantry Challenge ~ Week 1

January 2, 2012 by frugalmomoftwo 3 Comments

I am so excited to be participating in the Boost Your Budget Pantry Challenge!! One of my goals for 2012 is to eat at home more often, so this challenge is a great way to start! I’m co-hosting this challenge with a few other ladies, so be sure to visit their blogs to read how they’ll be participating in the challenge!

This is not a “no spend” month, this is a “make do with what you have on hand and spend as little as possible” month.

Everybody’s personal goals will be different and we can each set our own rules – the point is merely to challenge ourselves and start off the new year with a boost to our budgets! We’re also giving away a $25 Coupon Clutch gift certificate each week to one participant who either leaves a link to a challenge post or a comment about their challenge goals. Won’t you join us? Read more about the CouponClutch here.

I have recently joined E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families. This is a great time-saving and money-saving plan that I encourage you to check out. E-Mealz creates a shopping and recipe list for your favorite store. You print your list each week and take it to the store with you when you do your shopping. They base the list on the current sales for the week.

Besides purchasing needed items for my E-Mealz list I plan to only purchase staple items such as fresh fruit and veggies, milk, bread, and eggs. My goal is to spend under $200 for the month.

I plan to do this by using as many items as possible that I already have in my pantry, plus I can save at the store by purchasing items on sale and with coupons.

Stop by each week to read more about how I’m doing on this challenge. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recipes too! Also be sure to leave me a comment and let me know your shopping goals for the month or leave a link in the linky if your a blogger.

Filed Under: Blogging, From My Home, Menu Plan, recipe's

Buy One Get One Free Philadelphia Cooking Creme Coupon + A Recipe

November 21, 2011 by frugalmomoftwo 5 Comments

Head on over to Kraft and print your coupon for buy one get one free Philadelphia cooking creme. There are also several other great coupons on there, including $1 off Kraft dressing, $1 off any Baker’s chocolate, $1 off Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip, and several others.

Here’s a great recipe I came up with using the Philadelphia Cooking Creme:

Alfredo Sauce:

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a medium saucepan. Add 1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Creme, I like the Herb flavored, stir into butter. Add a small handful of parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Thin with milk or cream to desired consistency.

I make this and mix it with cooked ravioli; my family loves it!

Filed Under: Coupons, From My Home, Printable, recipe's

Homemade Yeast Bread

November 15, 2011 by frugalmomoftwo 3 Comments

I love bread. One year for valentine’s day my husband bought me a loaf of freshly baked bread from a local bakery instead of flowers or candy. This was the best gift! That’s how much I love bread. I could eat it with every meal every day. When it’s freshly baked and just out of the oven is when it’s the best; and hard to resist! I have a great recipe for yeast bread- it’s a beautiful country white bread and makes two loafs. One for you and one for the rest of the family to share. Smile

It can be a bit tricky making your own bread and it takes a long time, but trust me, it’s worth it. This bread is worth the wait. It really only takes a long time because it has to rise twice, Your actual prep time is minimal. Just be sure to follow the directions exactly and you will have great bread.

Country White Bread

2 envelopes active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs (beaten)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

5 1/2 – 6 cups bread flour

In your stand mixers bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the sugar, salt, eggs, oil, and 3 cups of the bread flour. In your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook mix till smooth. Add in the remaining flour to form a soft sticky dough. You may need more that the 6 cups. You can tell it’s ready when all the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer and forms a ball around the dough hook. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with the flour to keep dough from sticking to you and knead the dough a couple of times. Form into a ball and place the dough into a large greased bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm dry area. Allow to rise till double in size, approximately 1 hour. Place dough back onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Form into two loafs and place into loaf pans. Cover with a towel and place back into warm, dark area. Allow to rise till double in size about 2 hours. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes till golden brown on top. Cool for 5 minutes on wire rack, then remove from pans and allow to cool completely. If you can resist that is. Smile

Filed Under: From My Home, recipe's

Recipe Share Group

October 7, 2011 by frugalmomoftwo 1 Comment

Fall is my favorite time of year! The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are falling and changing color, and it’s the start of the holiday season. I enjoy visiting the pumpkin patch with my kids and baking lot’s of yummy treats!

For this fall, I thought it would be fun to organize a Recipe Share Group. This group will be a place that we can all share our favorite recipes. I love having new recipes to try. If you’re interested in joining this group, join my community here and start posting your favorite recipes. Also, feel free to share tips on baking and cooking.

I look forward to getting this group started! I hope you all have fun and get lot’s of great recipes and tips!!

Filed Under: Blogging, From My Home, recipe's

Tuesday Tips ~ Baking Substitutions

September 27, 2011 by frugalmomoftwo 4 Comments

Here’s a great list of baking substitutions for you:

In baked goods-such as cookies, muffins and quick breads-replace each egg with: half a small, ripe, mashed banana; 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, pureed prunes or canned pumpkin

Substitute butter for canola or safflower oil in baked goods. You can also usually reduce the amount by as much as one-third without affecting taste. Use olive oil for other cooking needs

1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar can be substituted for 1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch can be substituted for 1 tablespoon cornstarch

substitute Oregano with Thyme or basil

Cilantro can be substituted with Parsley

Any of the following may be substituted for 1 Cup of Sugar:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 cups corn syrup

3/4 cups honey

For each 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar called for in a recipe, use 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses plus 1 cup granulated sugar

For each 1 cup biscuit mix (like Bisquick) called for in a recipe, use 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening.

Filed Under: From My Home, recipe's, Tuesday Tips

Chicken Stroganoff

August 12, 2011 by frugalmomoftwo 1 Comment

I was recently talking to a friend about recipes and dinner ideas and she shared this great recipe with me. I knew as soon as she started describing it that it would be something my family would like. I prepared it last night, and just as I expected, it was a hit! I love that it cooks in the crock pot all day! I had a lot to do yesterday, so it was nice to come home to a dinner that was essentially ready and waiting. I fixed a nice green salad to go with it.

Thanks Angel for the great recipe! With her permission I’m sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Chicken Stroganoff

Use as many chicken breasts as you normally would for your size family (I used 4), place them in the crock pot and cover them with cream of mushroom soup, approx. 2-3 cans. You can thin out the soup mix with a bit of chicken broth or milk. I used 2/3 a can of chicken broth. Add in some salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Cook over low heat for 6-8 hours or over high heat for 4-5 hours. Just before serving stir in a couple tablespoons of sour cream. Serve over buttered egg noodles.

Filed Under: recipe's