frugal foodie tips

from the cheapskate cook
I'm always looking for more ways to save grocery $$

homeade natural bug sprays

that supposedly work!
bug sprays
at first glance, it looks like a lot of these depend heavily on witch hazel and I believe that has a considerable drying factor on skin, and given my dry skin issues and my younger sons eczema, I'm not sure how well this will work....still researching

ultimate food storage guide

from real simple
lots of info here!

All Purpose Cleaner

from my friend Becky T. from Taylor Home Solutions
used in the bathroom, counter tops, hard surfaces, even to clean up woodwork and wash windows! (EXCEPT MARBLE)
mix equal parts of vinegar and water. add 5-10 drops of essential oil to give it a different scent. (you can also use citrus infused vinegar, instead of plain to change the scent. Just pour vinegar into a mason jar and add the rind of a couple lemons, limes or oranges. close the jar and let it sit for a few weeks. you'll notice the color changes to that of the fruit. Just be sure to pour it through a fine strainer or cheesecloth before using it to get all the little fruit bits out. Then pour it into a dollar tree spray bottle and get cleaning!
also as a sink cleaner-sprinkle sink with baking soda and spray with all purpose cleaner. Let it sit and fizz a little and then use a soft sponge to clean the sink. rinse thoroughly.

uses for whey

I've made 2 batches of homemade yogurt in my slow cooker with pretty good success! I learned to add about a 1/2 cup of powdered milk in order to thicken it up a little bit, and the consistency was great for smoothies, but still too runny for straight up eating for me....so I tried straining it...and was left with some nice thick looking yogurt, and a LOT of whey. I've been researching ways to use whey:
whey cool
livestrong.com's advice
I think it's pretty cool that I could try to make ricotta cheese from it....hm.....might try that. :)

sausage stuffed acorn squash

aka, how to use lentils to stretch your meat
claims to be fall in a bowl...
from cheapskate cook
sausage stuffed acorn squash

potato flake sourdough bread

from my friend stephanie s
for the past year or so I have been making homemade sourdough bread using this recipe...and it's good, and tasty, and EASY, but it takes a LOT of planning ahead of time...like almost a week sometimes....at least a day and a half...and after a few batches the starter starts to lose its effectiveness....so I was excited to hear about a recipe that only takes 1 day (or less)

Ingredients:
starter:
1 c bread flour
2T dry instant potato flakes
2T sugar
1 env dry yeast
1 c warm water

bread:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 c oil
1/2 T salt
1 1/2 c warm water
6 cups bread flour

directions:
mix all starter ingred together in a large bowl and set in a warm draft free place for 1 hour.
add bread ingred to starter (after the hour is up) and mix until a dough forms. place on a floured surface and knead 5-10 times until completely mixed. place in an oiled bowl and let rise for 5-6 hours (dough will reach top of bowl)
divide dough into 3 equal parts and knead 5-10 times. place each part into a laof pan and let rise 1-2 hour (until dough fills the pan)
bake at 325 for 30-35 min. (top will be golden brown and hard to the touch)
for whole wheat bread, replace 1 c of bread flour with whole wheat flour (I've found a WHITE whole wheat which isnt as heavy and regular whole wheat.

I've also found that a good place to let the bread rise is inside the oven (turned OFF) with the light turned out....the light bulb creates just enough heat and the closed oven door holds the heat in to help it rise. also try hard to divide the dough as evenly as possible, and in each pan as stretched out and even as possible...I've had some VERY funky shaped loaves!

tomato sauce

from martha stewart
saucehttp://www.marthastewart.com/857058/heirloom-tomato-sauce
cool tip....take a whole tomato, core it, freeze it in a freezer bag. 45 minutes before needing it, get it out to slightly thaw, then you can easily peel off the skin, and grate it with a box grater. then use this recipe!

black bean helpful hints

not sure if this applies to ALL dried vs canned beans...but this is what I have found for black beans...

one 15 ounce can of beans = 1.5 cups of cooked beans (drained) = 1/4 pound dry beans (cooked)

1 pound of dry beans = 6 cups cooked beans (drained) = 4 cans (drained)

1.5 pounds dry beans = 9 cups cooked beans = 6 cans

also I PREFER to overnight soak my beans....but I rarely remember, so here are the directions for quick soak:
QUICK SOAK:
rinse and sort beans. to 1 lb of beans add 8 cups hot water. bring to a rapid boil and boil for 2 minutes. remove from heat. cover and let stand for 1 hour. drain soak water and rinse beans.

OVERNIGHT SOAK:
rinse and sort beans in a large pot. to 1 lb of beans add 8 cups cold water. let stand overnight or at least 6-8 hours.  Drain soak water and rinse beans. (it has been suggested that when overnight soaking the beans, add 1 tbsp of plain yogurt or 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the soak water will help break down the gas producing enzymes and make the beans easier to digest)

COOKING DIRECTIONS:
add 6 cups hot water to drained and rinsed beans.  Simmer gently with lid tilted until desired tnderness is reached, about 1 1/2-2 hours.