Never running out of dinosuars: Priceless

Angie says:

Yesterday morning on our way to breakfast my husband and I noticed a man putting up a garage sale sign. A Sunday only garage sale? That would mean that not all of the good stuff was picked over on Saturday. The man was also driving away in an Escalade towards a very nice neighborhood. All signs of a super garage sale. We wolfed down our food and drove up a hillside (not THE Hillside for all you Anchorage people) for quite a long time. We finally reached the garage sale and it was the garage sale to end all garage sales. It was primarily little kids things but since several of our friend are now having children who will eventually come over to play we figure we should have something more child-friendly for them to play with than say the large display of antique cameras or my grandfather's military collection. The following is a list of what I aquired at this garage sale.

1. punch bowl and cups $2

2. lace tablecloth: $1

3. plastic pail with 5 sand digging tools: $1

4. Fisher-Price doctor set with all the pieces: $1

5. 2 giant floor puzzles of dinosaurs, jumbo pieces that are "easy clean"; $1

6. Giant box of 250 dinosaurs: $5

Free Entertainment

Angie Says:

Molly and I were talking today about our dogs. We are dog people. Molly was talking about how she can regale her husband with hilarous stories about Sadie and he just doesn't get how much entertainment she gets out of the dog. I can watch my dog for hours and just get a kick out of how dumb/smart/silly/weird she is. My husband pretends that he isn't as entertained but he his. As for free; well I guess as acident prone as she is she actually costs us more than the heating bill some months. Let's call her "worth the cost" entertainment, which is more than I can say for the cable.

Entertaining on the Cheap

I'm having a little get together this weekend. A little crafting time with the girls. My husband and I usually go all out when we host events. Not this time. I'm trying to be thrifty right? So, my guests are expecting spectacular but I don't' want to spend very much money. What to do?

I've decided to only use what I already have in the house to entertain. My inventory includes mozzarella, and pepperoni, canned diced tomatoes, a bit of red wine left over, and basil growing in my window=Pizza. It also includes some pasta, italian dressing and frozen peas=pasta salad. And for the finally I have flour, butter, and frozen fruit=pie.

A while ago I learned a very nice trick for canned tomatoes. If you have to use canned (and here in Alaska you usually do) a nice trick is to open the can, drain it (reserve the liquid if you need it later), place tomatoes in a roasting pan and on the center rack of the oven broil for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to brown around the edges. Then remove the pan and add a bit of red wine and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes to deglaze the pan.
This sort of revives the tomatoes and gives it a much "fresher" taste. I dont' mind doing the extra work because I make a LOT of sauce and freeze it.

I'll give an update on how the party goes.

avoiding food waste

Molly says:
Angie's last post (see below) reminded me that I had this post knocking around in our drafts section so I thought I'd better get to publishing it.
I enjoyed this article about a study that estimated we throw away about 14% of the food we buy. There are lots of handy tips on using everything you buy. It advocates reducing waste, cutting costs and safeguarding health by shopping and eating smarter.
Don't buy more than you need. Check fridge often to see what needs to be used or frozen before it spoils. Shop with planned meals in mind. Only buy sale items you know you'll use -- food that's unhealthy or that you don't like is never a bargain no matter what the price.
This is a good article too, talking about how people in Britain are being encourged to return to World War II frugality. It probably wasn't much fun at the time, but I've always loved the idea of the ways in which people cut back during that time period. The masses coming together to grow vegetable gardens and give up many material goods.
My best food-using tip is to check your fridge or cabinet for something that's been sitting there for awhile, waiting for its moment to shine, and search online for a recipe based on that one ingredient, no matter how obscure. For instance, I just opened a little can of chipotle peppers in adobo, and I only needed a teaspoon and I have no idea what to do with the leftovers. The list of recipes is usually really interesting and I get all sorts of dishes I might not have thought to seek out on my own. For instance, these yummy-sounding cheddar burgers with balsamic onions and chipotle ketchup. Or this pan-fried red snapper with chipotle butter. 102 recipes at my fingertips all courtesy of a little can of chipotles.
OH and it that food you throw away is produce, be sure to dump it in a compost heap and not in your garbage can.

Leftover Hater: Yeah, That’s Right, I’m Talkin To You

Angie says-

The thing about two people writing one blog is that sometimes, I'll log in, all ready to post my awesome tips for saving you money and there, sitting in the Edit Posts list is a Draft that Molly is working on about the same darn thing. What can I say? Great minds think alike. I got all jazzed up to write about food waste and then saw that draft. So, I'll just stick to the topic of leftovers, which some people dread. Personally, I love leftovers so I have a hard time sympathizing with leftover haters. I think that most food is better the next day, plus I'm lazy, so to me leftovers are a beacon of light in my fridge at the end of a long day when I'm too tired and/or lazy to cook. But, for all of you leftover haters this post is for you:

My friend is one of you leftover haters, so I thought I’d do a bit on leftovers since they’re such a money saver.
First, if you eat lunch out everyday and spent only $5 you’d be spending about $1300 a year for lunch. That’s a lotta steak and I like steak. So taking your lunch is a wise thing to do.
Second, Each American household throws away 470 pounds of food a year! Seriously. What a waste! It’s a waste of landfill space and a waste of money.

The following article is from The Simple Dollar and offers some good tips.
My first thought when I think of leftovers is “Eww… they save money, but… ewww….” so the first thing I did was make a list of the things that bothered me about leftovers:
1. I just had this stuff yesterday. I don’t particularly want to have the same thing I had for dinner again the next day for lunch every single day.
2. It’s messy. I don’t usually cook sandwiches, if you know what I’m saying. I like sauces and things that aren’t … neat. Thus, transporting them back and forth to work can be a mess if I’m not careful.
3. It takes effort in the morning when I’m already busy. Usually, I’m rushing around feeding my son breakfast with one hand and shaving with the other in the morning. I don’t have time to deal with leftovers.
4. Reheated food sucks. It often becomes homogeneous and bland on the second heating.
That’s a pretty negative list for someone who is trying to convert fully to the brown bag club. So, I tackled these issues one at a time.
1. I take leftovers not the next day but the day after that. This gives me a gap of four meals between a repeated meal, which means that I won’t be grumbling about having what I just had for supper the night before.
2. I use a series of meal-ready Tupperware containers. On the top of each container, I write a weekday on it. When I put the meal into Tupperware, I find the one marked for the day I intend to eat it, fill it up with a solid meal sized portion, and put it in the fridge.
3. I prepare the meals at night. Each night after dinner, I put the meals into the appropriately dated Tupperware containers and put them on the fridge, then I take my lunch bag, put the Tupperware container marked for the next day in it (along with a jar of milk and a fruit) and stick that in the fridge. The next morning, I just grab my lunch bag and run.
4. I include a “spice bag.” Whenever I use spices to prepare a meal, I put a little bit extra into a “spice bag,” a tiny Ziploc bag. I seal this up good and toss it on top of the Tupperware container before I seal it. Then, when I go to heat the meal up, I pop off the lid, dump the contents of the spice bag on top, stir them in a bit, and heat them up. Boom, suddenly the meal has recaptured some serious flavor!
These four tactics have made the cost-saving measure of taking leftovers to work much more palatable and have made me appreciate home-cooked meals all the more. Now, I can just microwave a great meal at work and spend my lunch break doing more fulfilling things than standing in line for some greasy fast food - and also enjoy the jingle of money in my pocket.


That's a pretty good article and I think it sums up what's behind a lot of leftover hating. I know that a lot of people don’t reheat their food properly, making it bland and or tough. Every day at work I see people microwaving meals in a fashion that would make your leftovers pretty gross. If you’re reheating chicken in the microwave soak a paper towel in water to cover it while it reheats. This is actually a good tip for most meat that you reheat, it doesn’t become dry. Also, if you’re making beef that can be cooked separately, such as burgers or steak, cook the extra that you’re making for the next day a bit more rare than you usually would. That way the microwave doesn’t overcook it, while you’re reheating the next day. One more thing: don’t forget to cover your food while microwaving it, or you’ll earn the wrath of your co-workers for spattering the microwave with your burrito.
Speaking of burritos, they make fantastic next day meals. The key to reheating is to turn the plate frequently so that the center gets hot.

One of my favorite shows on the Food Network is Quick Fix Meals. I don't always like some of her tips but what I do love is that she shows you how to buy one cut of meat that can be for two separate meals that taste totally different.

We'll post again later on eliminating food and money waste. If you have any tips, let us know.

Sale alert!

Molly says:
This week Fred Meyer has all its gardening plants on sale for 50% off. I got some sweet-looking herbs for $2 each and they're the best I've seen all season. My favorite is a variegated sage that looks good enough to eat. Which is what you do with sage anyway, but you know what I mean.
And! If you need pots to put those bargain plants in, head on over to JoAnn Fabric and take a look at all their gardening stuff. It's on sale for 60% off. They have some of the best prices around on gardening pots and trellises and other tchotkes. Back at the beginning of the gardening season, I was lamenting how darned expensive all this stuff was. Little did I know the "end of season" sales would happen a mere month later.
The bargain hunter in me isn't complaining, but come on, people. It's July!

On Splurging

Angie says:

I agree with Molly on the meat issue. My husband feels that he NEEDS meat but fortunately he will eat tofu and veggies if they're sufficiently altered to form more than something that looks like just a side dish. If you're splurging on meat, you might be able to have less of it in a week. Still, you want protein in your diet. The following is a recipe that I altered from 101 Cookbooks and it is VERY filling as a breakfast. It's got a ton of good things in it and the portions are easily altered.

Brown Rice Bowl
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion finely chopped
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch of chili powder (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic
3/4 cup extra-firm tofu (1/4 inch dice)
1/2 cup-1 cup chopped fresh cilantro ( I love cilantro so I add a full cup).
2-3 cups pre-cooked whole grain rice (I make a lot of this and freeze it in small bags)
4 eggs

Fill a wide mouthed sauce pan with 3-4 inches of water and bring to a simmer

Separately, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in the onion, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Let the onions soften up a bit. GENTLY stir in the tofu- let it heat up and brown a bit. Now stir in the garlic. Cook a few minutes. Stir in pre-cooked rice and saute until hot. Remove from heat. Add cilantro. Taste for seasoning as well, you might want salt or more cumin.

Now gently crack each egg into a well oiled ramekin. Lower ramekin into simmering water. Lightly salt and pepper egg. You could use this time to add a tiny bit of garlic powder or chili powder if the rice mixture wasn’t seasoned enough. Cover pan with a translucent lid. Cook until the whites have become almost opaque. Cook longer if you like your egg a bit more done. Remove ramekin from water with tongs. Immediately remove with a small silicone spatula. Divide rice mixture into 4 bowls, place egg on top of each. Add more cilantro if desired. Let each person break the egg over their own rice.


What I do, because I don’t have time to make this before work, is to make everything the night before. Place rice mixture into small containers. Cook the eggs less than you would normally and place one egg on top of the rice. Refrigerate overnight. When I get to work the next morning I microwave it for about 30 seconds or less and it’s ready to eat.