Kool-Aid Mixers and Popsicles

This is yet another area where my daughter experiments. She mixes Kool-Aids. This should be done in a gallon size jug for best results. Mix 2 packets, 2 cups of sugar, ice and water to make a gallon. Here are some interesting combinations:

strawberry-orange

grape-strawberry/kiwi

cherry-orange

pink lemonade-starwberry

 

To save money, let them have 8 ounces a day. It will keep well in the refrigerator. I know that we have one store where we have to pay $1.00 for three, and another where we pay the same for four packets.

Kool-Aid does make great, cheap posicles whether you are mixing them or not. Do this instead of giving your children the drinks, and it won’t hurt them to have one on a hot day.

Have a nice day!

Shannon

My Cucumber Salad, Made from Leftovers

I had about 1/3 of a cucumber leftover from salads earlier in the week, so I decided to create a new salad with it.

I always leave the peel on the cucumber, cutting off the ends. I sliced what was left with it, and put it on my plate. Then I added some sweet pickles from the gallon size jar I had purchased a few months ago. I topped these with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

While helping the neighbor pack last week, she gave me a balsamic vinaigrette spritzer bottle, so I decided to give the salad a few sprays. The result was very pleasing.

Hope you enjoy the salad. It was all made from leftovers, so it was essentially free.

Shannon

Freezer: Using up the Winter Stocks

Since it is the time of the year when we spring clean, I thought that it would be nice if we all considered our freezers for a few minutes. Do you have any leftover produce in the freezer? I know that I still have some eggs and grated zucchini in the freezer that needs to be used. Here are some pointers for using up your winter stores:

* The eggs that you purchased on sale and froze will need to be used up. Since the yolks had to be broken to freeze, you can not make boiled or fried eggs with them. You could make other things, though:

scrambled eggs

french toast

use them when baking

I tend to freeze mine in snack size baggies, which I later wash out and reuse to pinch pennies. I freeze them one egg to a baggie, then I put all of the baggies into a quart or gallon size freezer baggie until I want to bake something. The eggs I will need can be taken out the night before I need them, or the morning that I will spend the evening baking. (I wash and reuse the freezer bag when I am done with it.)

 

* Grated zucchini can be used to make:

muffins

breads

omelets

cookies

brownies

cakes

This site may be helpful: http://basic-recipes.com/veget/zucchini.htm

 

* Diced apples are great for breads and muffins, brownies, cookies and cakes.

* Sliced apples make great crisps, pies and cobblers.

* You can make a great soup from (saved) leftover vegetables, meats and liquids from cooking the veggies.

Happy eating!

Shannon

Trail Mix from Leftovers

What with feeling the money pinch here, I have had to make do with little food in the house on a number of occasions. One thing that I have learned to do is to create trail mixes for snacks.

The first thing I do is to get out a  mixing bowl. Then I get out the plastic snack size baggies that I wash and reuse.

I then go through the cupboards. I throw whatever leftovers I can into the bowl:

a snack size box or two of raisins

the sunflowers seeds that are at the bottom of the jar

the remainder of the nuts from their containers

whatever cereals are left in the boxes

any leftover dried fruit

leftover crackers

what few candies are lying around

 

Pretty much whatever I can find.  The trail mix is then mixed up by hand and spooned into the baggies to be used as snacks. Sometimes, I will air pop corn and divide it between bowls, pouring a bag of trail mix over the popped corn in each bowl.

Very yummy.

Shannon

An Apology, Been Gone too Long

I am sorry that I have been gone so long. We have been dealing with health issues concerning my daughter, and I have been working a lot lately. I have also just begun my spring cleaning and yard work.

I helped my neighbors to clean out and pack up their home so that they could move. They moved yesterday morning. Before moving, we went through her cupboards and refrigerator, and she sent me home with many different food items. They are a big help to us right now.

Unfortunately, we are going to be losing some of our food money. We already do not have enough, and money has to be taken from other areas to make up for the loss. Those other areas are generally bills, and we have lowered household cleaner and personal hygiene money as well. We are doing what we can.

I know that others are feeling the pinch as well. Food prices, and the prices of everything else, are going up. My income is not. I have to make do with what we have right now, and hope the way is clear for me to take in other children to care for. Until then, we will have to make do.

Today, I am writing a few posts for this blog. A few recipes that may be helpful to others. I will post one today, and then post the rest one at a time as I have a chance.

I hope you are all doing well.

Shannon