This winter has been out of control! Â We have had tons of snow here in Pennsylvania. Â Plus we can't forget about the epic "polar vortex" that has been bringing bone chilling temperatures. All of this cold weather has put a significant dent in our bank account. Â Nate and I have been buying oil to heat our home at an alarming rate. Â It. is. so. expensive. Â We are getting by (and we are so thankful for all that we do have!), but things are tight. Â There isn't much extra laying around these days. To help our dwindling bank account get through another week until payday, Nate and I came up with a cheap meal plan for the week. Â I rarely share … [Read more...]
Save Money & Stay Cool with 7 Meal Ideas for “Leftover” Grilled Chicken
The next time you fire up the grill, add some extra chicken breasts that you can use later in the week for any of these simple dishes. It will save some time in the kitchen and money in your pockets. Plus they will help you stay cool since most of them don't require the oven. 7 Meal Ideas for "Leftover" Grilled Chicken 1. Quesadillas 2. Chicken Fried Rice 3. Super Fast Chicken Pasta 4. Lettuce Salad with Homemade Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing 5. Chicken Salad 6. BBQ Chicken Pizza 7. Chicken, Broccoli, & Garlic White Pizza Recently I tried this type of "leftover" chicken meal plan. It was amazing how many meals I could … [Read more...]
How to Start a Cooking Club
My cooking club was one my favorite way to save time and money in kitchen. Â I started it with some girlfriends from church several years ago. Â We haven't been active for awhile now and I miss it! How did it work? Once a month I picked a freezer friendly recipe to share with the other members of the cooking club. Â I made several batches of that one dish, froze it, wrote out the cooking instructions, and then handed it out at our "cooking club exchange." Â Each member of the group would make a different dish at home and bring it to exchange. Allow me to say this again in case anyone is confused: Let's say 4 people were in the cooking … [Read more...]
12 Ways to Use the Heel from a Loaf of Bread
Confession: I always throw away the heel of my store bought bread. I know that is 100% wasteful and sad since there are many people in this world that would love to eat it. I asked on my Facebook page: Do you eat the heel?  What do you do with it? They shared some fantastic ideas that I'm excited to try. 12 Ways to Use the Heel from a Loaf of Bread: 1. Use one heel and one regular slice with the heel turned inward to make a sandwich.  Mind over matter! - Emily R. 2. Toast it, put nutella on it, and drink it with a glass of milk. - Emily R. 3. Soak up bacon grease from the pan - not to eat just for easier clean up.  - Camie … [Read more...]
How to Get Dinner on the Table When You’re Sleep-Deprived
(Since I'm sleep-deprived because of my new bundle of joy, I'm delighted to share this guest post by Lisa from Cooking Up a Sale.) Each time we were blessed with a new little one, I was reminded afresh of how much time and attention newborns require! Time and attention that we are willing and ready to dole out, of course. But also time that (in our pre-new-baby life) we spent on menu planning, grocery shopping, or cooking, among other things. It would be nice if we could just clock out from those duties for a few months, right? But dad, kids, and the new mom still need to eat! So how does a family with a new baby manage to sit down to … [Read more...]
Fast & Easy Vacation Meal Planning
We had a wonderful time on our beach vacation.  It would be have been great to eat at a restaurant for every meal to avoid the dishes and effort.  However, that is totally unrealistic. Number 1: We couldn't afford it. Number 2: Eating at a restaurant with a toddler just isn't as relaxing as it should be.  :-) I told myself that I was going to be super organized for this vacation and have meals ready to go weeks in advance.  That didn't happen.  I literally decided on a meal plan two days before vacation and shopped for & prepared the food the day before we left.  Amazingly, it wasn't that hard. What We (2 adults & 1 … [Read more...]