Great post!

the envelope system lives on... this post lists reasons why cash in an envelope is still the best method for saving saving on your groceries.

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/07/the-envelope-system--experiment----paying-with-cashwe-all-did-it-at-one-point-when-you-are-a-child-and-are-too-young-to.html

Best recipe book idea ever!

This is what can happen to our recipes over time!

But...I learned the best recipe saver idea from Penny in Rexburg, Idaho last week. She had lots great ideas and here is one of my favorite. My dilemma has always been: how do I make my recipes portable, share-able, accessible, reproduce-able, indestructible, etc, etc. My own recipe book, duplicated for family?? Well sort of.

The solution: Put all your recipes on a private blog, one that is just for you. Label each post by category: vegetables, chicken, cookies etc. Now you have a free searchable data base of all your recipes. It's portable, shareable (if you give out the link), accessible from wherever you are (your sister/daughter's house), indestructible because of the off site storage etc etc. No more "mom can you email me your recipe for..." "Just go to my recipes blog search the label......, honey."

This is easy, nothing fancy, no photos if you don't want them, just all your favorite recipes any time anywhere.... the coolest thing, right?

Fast mashed potatoes.

The goal for me, in the kitchen is to figure out how to do everything, fast, cheap, easy and delicious. Here is something that I do all the time now, that fits the bill: frozen mashed potatoes! I may even go as far as to say this one thing is life changing because if you can pull out potatoes from the freezer, dinner can be on the table fast!

Here's how you do it:

Use Yukon Gold Potatoes (Russets do not freeze well)
Cook and mash them up as you normally would. I like to add a big dob of sour cream and cream
Freeze this now or add another little something special - pureed cauliflower! It tastes good, really!

To make the caulflower, steam a head, then puree it with some cream or milk and garlic (steam the garlic right with the cauliflower) Half cauliflower and half potatoes is a good ratio or use less cauliflower. Salt and pepper to taste, use half for tonight's meal and freeze the rest separately or with the mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Another awesome kitchen!

I just love to look at this...the stove is my dream...but just one

Just an awesome kitchen!

Creating this kitchen wouldn't save you a dime, but it is great inspiration for a make-over! I just love it...if the room has enough natural light. I love this site...now on my "favorites".

http://interiordivine.blogspot.com/

Cool Blog - The Kitchn

This photo (from Google) has nothing to do with this blog other than it reminds me of the pathway to the beach at Melissa's beach house on the Washington coast, where Rob and I were last weekend (Holland was the weekend before. When you fly for free ya just gotta GO! ...right?)

I've been blog hopping lately and have found some interesting ones. I'm going to keep my eye on this one. I particularly like the post on homemade stock (scroll down on the site).

http://www.thekitchn.com/

I'm big on homemade chicken stock. The store bought stock is pricey and making your own is so easy, plus you control the sodium and fat. I use my ice cube trays to freeze stock and not ice. My favorite way to use a block of stock is for cooking asparagus:

- Melt a block of stock in a fry pan

- add asparagus and let steam for a couple of minutes

- when the stock has steamed out, add a little orange vinagrette and let the asparagus fry for another minute or two. C'est Magnifique!

Master Mixes

I have never purchased taco seasoning mix! I make my own...about ten at a time....sooo much cheaper than the dry mixes at the store! The recipe is from the old Make a Mix book, a classic and still for sale on Amazon, revamped and with a new cover. I highly recommend this book and its sequel.

Making master mixes are a great money saving strategy. Back when I was cooking for a big family, master cake mix, pancake mix and brownie mix and basic cookie mix were staples in my pantry. I stored the mixes in gallon glass jars (love those). Each mix was the basis for lots of recipes. Now that we're into brownies right now, I'll have to make the brownie mix again. BTW, the plain Betty Crocker brownie mix with MINT chips in that EDGE brownie pan is awesome!

Here's the recipe for the taco seasoning mix:

Lay out aluminum foil squares,  6 inches square. On each square put:

2 tsp instant minced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili pwd

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper

1/2 tsp instant minced garlic

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Fold to make airtight. Label and store

Taco filling:

1 lb lean ground beef (or gravel) 

1/2 cup water 

1 pkg TACO SEASONING MIX