Good morning my sweetness!
What brings you here today? Are you looking for a delicious recipe? Trying to find something decent to eat or how to make something taste better? Is the budget a little hard to bear at the grocery? Yeah, me too. Boy, me too.
No worries! I have you covered!
We are focusing for the next couple of months on budget friendly and yet, super tasty recipes. Some are oldy goldies and some are dressing up what you might already have.
How about some Old El Paso Tacos? You can dress them up any way you like and they are oh so easy to add some flavor to, here's how.
We had a situation this week where Sarah bummed up some mashed potatoes and needed to come up with something quickly. I still had some instant potatoes in my emergency supply so she doctored those up and boy they were delicious! Here's how to make instant mashed potatoes better!
I only have about 4 burners on my stove, how about you? Sometimes it's hard to get everything cooked on there! Here's how to cook Bratwurst in the oven. It's no mess and uses up space that sometimes sits still during dinner.
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HOT COOKING TIP OF THE WEEK
I've heard, "I only bought a few bags of groceries and it was $100" (or something similar) so many times over the past few weeks that I can't even count. I bet you have too.
So, let's talk some strategies for saving money.
- I know it's a pain, but cook from scratch as much as possible. For example. Precooked rice is a few dollars. An entire bag of rice with many servings is a few dollars. Rice isn't hard to cook, there's a slight learning curve, but it's inexpensive in the uncooked bag form and will fill your belly.
- Make your own sauces. This week to save time, I bought a premade jar sauce. There were only a few servings in a jar that cost $5. If I had made the sauce from scratch (maybe this is the same as the first tip), I could have made the sauce for about a dollar.
- Make your own spice blends - You can do a whole lot in the kitchen with these basics: garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes or cayenne, salt and pepper. In fact, I can season almost anything that way. No need for the "hamburger seasoning" "Steak Seasoning" etc. etc.
- Eat all of the vegetables. Broccoli stalks are edible, did you know that? Sure! They taste pretty good too! Just cut them up smaller and cook them a bit longer. Just not into it? Save them in a freezer bag and use them for making vegetable broth later! Same with carrot tops, cauliflower stalks, celery leaves, cabbage hearts, etc.
- Eat your greens! Collards, mustard and turnip greens are pretty cheap and they taste good too! Add some smoked turkey neck or smoked pork and you'll be right on target.
- Buy in bulk where you can. Do you enjoy garlic powder? Buy a large cannister of it for the same price as the little jar! It isn't going to go bad any time soon.
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THREE LITTLE THINGS
I'm trying to be more thankful for the little things and I'm sharing that here so that hopefully you'll be reminded to be more thankful for the little things too.
- I'm so grateful that a friend of mine called today to see what I am doing over the weekend and we made plans for the whole weekend. My usual crowd is busy and I was looking at a kind of lonely weekend.
- A lady showed up at my back door earlier today, I am unshowered and still in my pj's and my hair is a wreck but I opened the door. She said her name, shared a Bible verse with me and then left. She didn't say where she was from, what church she was affiliated with, she didn't leave any tracks or paper with me. She DID have the nicest smile I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure she is an angel since I needed to hear what she had to say. A nice young man was with her too but he stood back from the door. He had the kindest eyes. If I weren't here alone, I would have invited them in for coffee. Wouldn't it be nice to have coffee with angels? They would have been barked to death and jumped on by my little dogs but it still would have been nice.
- I know a couple who isn't getting along so well. I saw them talking yesterday and my heart is happy for that. I'm praying they work it out.
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A FINAL WORD
I've been remiss in sending out these newsletters. Life has been real lately. Today for the first time I'm a bit ahead with my work but that means I'm a bit behind on other things.
I'm keeping you in my prayers. I hope I reside in yours too.
I don't know who needs to hear this or why, but YOU are a brick in my solid foundation and I appreciate you more than you know.
These times are trying and we will get through them but it's going to take some working together, laying down our weapons and pounding them into plows. It really is.
Peace to you and yours.
I'll see you next week in your inbox, God willing and the creeks don't rise.
I love you bunches,
Wendi Jo
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