Meet Our New Hens!

Our new ladies:) Five Black Sex-Link hens who lay beautiful brown eggs!

Breuster didn't know what to think of all these new girls!

Our new girls have settled in very well. We're getting 3-4 eggs per day from the 6 hens we have but expect that to increase once they've been here for a while. I love having fresh eggs anytime we need them! They lay such wonderful eggs too. Huge brown eggs with rich yellow/orange yolks. If you haven't had a farm fresh egg, go find your local farmer asap! You are missing out!

Cooking Venison for the First Time

Recently, we acquired some venison (deer meat) and I had to share this recipe. It was the best stew I've ever had. Here is the original recipe from the "I'm Hooked, I'm Game" cookbook:

Hunter's Venison Stew

2 lbs. cubed venison

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Salt and Pepper

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6 carrots

2 large potatoes

3 medium onions

3 stalks celery

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

In a large deep saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the venison in butter. Season the venison with salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 cups of water and continue to heat until the venison is tender, about 20-30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, peel the carrots and potatoes. Cut the carrots, potatoes, onions and celery into small chunks. Add the vegetables and crushed tomatoes with juice to the venison in the saucepan. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. 

The way I actually fixed it was a little different. I browned the venison as instructed then placed it in the crockpot with the water, 3 carrots, 5-6 potatoes (my men are meat and potato guys!), 1 large onion, 1-2 stalks of celery, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes. It still turned out GREAT! I cooked it on low for about 8 hours until everything was tender.

Feel free to post your favorite venison recipes in the comments! I'd love to know how other folks enjoy their game!

Frugal Living: Monthly Grocery Planning

Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite tasks. It stresses me out trying to stay on budget while finding healthy food options. In the past, I would follow coupon blogs weekly and hit up several stores each week. At the bottom of my receipt, I was saving half of what I spent! Exciting, huh? Well, there was a problem: matching up coupons and store sales was great but I was purchasing items that weren’t absolute necessities. Most of the coupons are for foods we don’t normally eat so how was that helping us? We were using what I was buying but I still had to purchase some of our regular products as well. I ended up spending about $40-$50 per store which would push us well over $500 per month in groceries (with coupons and store sales!). I decided that HAD to change, especially since we have reduced our income this year. I thought if I could stay out of the stores except for when we actually NEEDED groceries, I was bound to save money. That’s when my friend told me about Save-a-lot and how she shops once per month plus trips as needed only for milk, bread and fresh fruits. Is it name brand? Most of it is not, however, we typically were purchasing store brand products anyway but the store brand products at Save-a-lot are, for the most part, substantially cheaper. Plug for Save-a-lot? Yes, because I’m hooked. Be sure to sign up at their website for a $5 off $25 coupon!

I now shop once per month. It takes me a few mornings to get all of my meals planned out plus a few extra quick ones in case the week ends up hectic. I found some amazing planners at http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads where you can also find some great household organization planners.  Even if you decide to shop on a weekly basis, there are planners for that. There are 2 that I typically use: the monthly planner and the weekly planner. I scratch out my suppers on the monthly planner plus fill in events such as parent nights at school, birthdays, meetings, etc. so I’ll know how detailed of a meal I can fit in. Then add specifics for each day onto the weekly planner.

Once I have my monthly meals planned, I go to Excel and type in every ingredient I need, unless I’m positive I’m fully stocked on the item, and the amount needed. This was a lot of work the first month but now it goes much faster! The first time is a little overwhelming since you’re planning an entire month. It’s hard to know exactly how much flour or cereal you go through until you actually put this plan into action. The second month is much easier so don’t get discouraged.

Don’t forget to list your paper products, pet foods, hygiene items, and other miscellaneous things you’ll need. Once you have your list together (I sort mine into alphabetical order since I’m a nerd) it’s time to hit the store! I always take a pen and write in the price next to the item as I shop. This will help you keep track of what you’re spending and help if the register doesn’t ring the item up correctly. Also, it’s a great idea to use cash since you CANNOT go over your budget.

My final nerd tip, is to fill in the prices into you database when you get home. Next month, revise the quantity needed and you’ll be able to see if the price has changed from the previous month. Plus most of what  you need to restock on is already on your list so planning is much easier.

Here is a small part of my database:

The “W” means I had to go to Wal-Mart to purchase these items. This past month, it was “LF” for Lowes Foods. If I purchased a different quantity, I made a note of that in parentheses. The list on the right is foods that I was fully stocked with already. I left them in my database so I could see everything that was on the planner and could quickly add them to my list for the next month. If you do have certain foods that you only like one particular brand, then you may have to make a separate trip for those items. For example, we only eat Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter which is by far the cheapest at Wal-Mart.

Bottom line, we're around $250 per month now!

I hope this helps you save your family money! Feel free to ask me any questions about my system and also, if you have suggestions, PLEASE share!