Grinding Your Own Meat at Home

Do you know how expensive it is to buy ground chicken or pork? Not to mention how pricy hamburger is these days.

Well, I've got good news. If you have a food processor, you can grind your own meats at homes. Buy your meat on sale if you can to save even more money. I routinely buy pork loin at Sam's Club for $1.78 a pound. Then I grind part of it up to use as sausage or simply ground pork.

Ground chicken is very expensive. But if you buy chicken breasts on sale, you can grind your own. You have the added benefit of knowing exactly what is going in to your ground meat.

The same is true for beef. If you can get a roast on sale, use some of it for ground beef.

Here's what you do.

Use the metal blade on your food processor. Cut the meat into slices or chunks. You can leave some fat on it because that will help the meat stick together.

Pulse the processor several times until the meat reaches the desired consistency. Don't over do it, or you'll end up with meat paste instead of ground meat.

Now my ground pork is ready to be made into sausage. I just add the spices I want and mix it all together. In this case, I'm making Italian sausage.

Now my ground sausage is ready to be used in my recipe. More likely than not, I'm going to use this to make Italian Sausage Sandwiches. I've stopped buying sausage links and patties now and make my own. It's so much cheaper and healthier!

Saltine Toffee

Great news!

My oven has been given a second chance at life! The repair guy showed up today and diagnosed the heating element as the problem. He replaced it, adjusted some temperature controls and we were back in business!

I made this easy recipe for saltine toffee to celebrate.

If you're looking for a quick, cheap and easy treat to share this holiday season, look no more. It combines the saltiness of saltine crackers with the sweetness of a toffee layer and chocolate.

And it's so simple. I've made toffee before and had to use a candy thermometer while standing over a hot stove, stirring constantly for what seemed like an eternity. Not with this recipe! You get the buttery goodness of toffee with very little effort.

Okay, so here's what you need:

Saltine crackers (I used a little more than one sleeve of saltines)
2 sticks of butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
Additional garnishes, like finely chopped nuts or crushed Heath bars, if desired

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil. Line up the saltine crackers on the sheet without overlapping. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar until combined. Stir until the mixture comes together completely and starts to boil. Pour over the saltines and spread evenly so they are all covered.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. The toffee mixture will be bubbling. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee. I use a mixture of semisweet and milk chocolate chips.

Return to the oven for a couple of minutes until the chips have softened. With a butter knife, spread the softened chocolate over the toffee layer. Allow to cool, then place in the fridge so it hardens completely.

Once it hardens, flips the toffee over and remove the foil. Break into pieces.

Cheap Elf on the Shelf Alternative

I have to admit, I love the idea of Elf on the Shelf.  An elf comes to your house and keeps an eye on the children. Then he reports back to Santa. The catch - the elf is often naughtier than the kids!

And that's why I love it. It gives me a chance to be a kid again. But I really wasn't looking forward to paying $30 for a tiny little elf. So I thought, why can't I "make" my own Elf on the Shelf? Only my elf is a snowman.

Meet Melton.

I got him at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. I think I paid $10 for him. A whole lot cheaper than an official Elf on the Shelf that everyone else has! Our guy is unique!

Melton came with a letter, explaining he was there to be Santa's eyes and ears. He would let Santa know who had been naughty or nice. Every morning we'd wake up to find him in a different spot. The kids raced downstairs to see if they could find him first.

Watching a Veggie Tales movie with some other snowmen

Uh-oh! Melton TP'd the tree!

Cutting out snowflakes and making a mess!

Melton used a dry erase marker on our family photos!

Reading to the Barbies

He was super naughty - trying to unwrap presents!

Discussing the true meaning of Christmas with the Nativity figures

The night he left to go back to the North Pole, Melton left us something to remember him by.

He decorated our fridge like a snowman

 Our entire family enjoyed this fun tradition. I will admit, it challenged my creativity quite a bit. But it was well worth it. And I loved that Melton was cheaper than the Elf on the Shelf. And cuter, too!

Cheap and cute definitely Works for Me!

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

I'm trying to make more convenience items from scratch, and I've played with some BBQ sauce recipes. It's been really hard for me, because I love Sweet Baby Ray's. But this recipe tastes very similar and I'm satisfied with it!

It couldn't be simpler. Just stir the ingredients together and simmer!

Here's what you need:

2 cans (15 oz each) tomato sauce
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP mustard
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
1 1/2 teas onion powder
1 teas sea salt
1/2 teas chili powder
liquid smoke, adjusted to taste

Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Cover and simmer for an hour or more, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste. Cool and store in the fridge.

I put my sauce in squeeze bottles for ease of use. Mr. Lego loves BBQ with fries or chicken nuggets and on sandwiches. This sauce wins his stamp of approval!

Easiest Cookie in a Jar Recipe

When I was teaching in a Christian school, I used to make cookies in a jar for all of my fellow teachers for Christmas. They all loved receiving a gift they could use during the holidays.

I'd set up an assembly line in the kitchen, packing down the ingredients and trying not to make a huge mess. I'd measure out flour for each jar, then sugar, then the next ingredient and so on until the jars were filled instead of trying to fill them one at a time.

There had to be an easier, quicker way. But I couldn't come up with one.

Until I started thinking about my recipe for cake mix cookies. Why not combine the recipe with the jar idea?

So that's what I did!

All you need is a cake mix, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 cup of mix ins (refer to the recipe linked above for ideas), and a quart jar. You'll also need to print or write out the instructions and attach the to the jar.

Start by making sure your jar is clean. Pour about half of the cake mix into the jar and pack it down. I use my Pampered Chef tart shaper, but anything like a spatula or spoon will do. Add the baking powder next. Then add the rest of the cake mix and pat, pat, pat. I'm using a spice cake mix for this jar.


Layer your mix-ins next. I put 1/2 cup nuts in, then 1/2 cup butterscotch chips. Toffee bits would also be good with the spice cake mix. To give the jar a more interesting layered look, you could put half the cake mix, then half the mix-ins and repeat the layers. It's up to you!


Print the instructions onto cardstock and attach them to the jar. I punched a hole in the cardstock and used a simple curling ribbon to attach it. You can get as fancy as you want to.



The recipe instructions read as follows:

Pour the jar contents into mixing bowl. Add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Stir until well combined. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen.

I can't tell you what a timesaver this is! It used to take me all evening to fill jars, now it takes just minutes! I got cake mixes on sale for $.68, so it's pretty cheap too!

For more holiday tips and gift ideas, head over to Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We are THAT Family.

Black Bean Burgers

Ever since I read Angie's post on making black bean burgers, I knew I wanted to try them. Go over to Angie's Healthy Living Blog and take a peek around. She's got some great recipes if you're trying to incorporate meatless meals into your meal planning.

The first time I made them, I followed the recipe closely because I had never made black bean burgers before. They were really, really good. The second time I made them, I played around a bit and liked them even better.

Here's what you need for my version:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 slices wheat bread, torn into pieces
2 mushrooms, diced
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teas minced garlic
2 TBSP fresh cilantro
1 egg
1 TBSP minced onion
1 TBSP McCormick's Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl, mash the black beans. If you want a smooth texture, mash until smooth. If you want a little more hamburger-like texture, leave a few chunks of beans.

In a food processor, chop up the bread crumbs, veggies, and cilantro.


Add to the beans and mix well. In a small bowl, combine the egg, minced onion and seasoning. Here's the Hamburger Seasoning. It gives the burgers a grilled flavor which is amazing.


Add the egg mixture to the bean mixture, then add the cheese. Mix well by hand.


Form into patties (4 large ones) and place on a greased baking sheet. The bean mixture will be very loose, but don't worry. As it bakes, the burgers firm up. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, then carefully flip and bake for another 8-10 minutes.


Top with your favorite burger toppings and enjoy. Charles went all out with his - ketchup, mustard, mayo, tomatoes, pickles. I ate mine with steak sauce.

Tenderizing steak the fast and frugal way

There's nothing worse than a tough, leathery steak that's hard to cut and chew. Well, here's a simple, frugal, fast way to tenderize steak. Use rock salt. You know, the kind you use for ice cream making. I can buy a 4-pound bag for less than two dollars. That's a whole lot of tenderizing! And in 10 minutes, you can have a flavorful, juicy steak.

Here's what you do:

Liberally cover your steak with the rock salt, both sides. Press it lightly so it sticks.



Let the steaks sit for 10 minutes. Then start scraping the salt off the meat. Use a knife if you want to. The salt will be almost clear instead of white. That's what you want.


The salt breaks down the protein fibers, allowing more "juice" to flow throughout the meat. Now grill as usual, but don't overcook.

You'll be amazed at how tender and juicy the steak will be! I know I was. I was afraid it would be too salty, but it was like a brine. The flavor was distributed throughout the steak and it needed no other seasoning.

If you're hesitant about the salty factor, try rinsing the steaks after tenderizing. Pat dry before grilling.

So what about you? How do you tenderize your steaks for the grill?

For more tips, visit We are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday.

Make your own puzzles

I've been trying to come up with things to keep my children occupied this summer. I posted a couple of lists here and here if you're interested. Making puzzles was on the list. Here's what to do.

Cut up a cereal box as the backing for your puzzle. Let your children color a picture of their choosing. The Princess chose to color a dinosaur picture. No big surprise there.


Trim off any parts of the picture you don't want in the puzzle, like all that empty white space. Then glue the picture to the gray side of the cardboard from the cereal box. Press down firmly.


I use a Scotch craft stick, but you can use whatever kind of adhesive you desire. Chances are after your child has played with the puzzle a couple of times, you'll have to glue down the edges of each piece again anyway. The pressure from cutting the cardboard apart causes the picture to pull away. That's okay, just use a little more glue.


Trim away the excess cardboard with scissors or a craft knife.

Now comes the fun part! Cut the puzzle into pieces. Use all sorts of funny angles and shapes. Why is cutting things up so therapeutic for me?


Here's the Princess putting the pieces back together.


The puzzle Mr. Lego did - Bullet Bill from Super Mario Brothers.



A couple of hints and tricks for you - take a picture of the puzzle before you cut it up. Would you like to try to put a puzzle together without knowing what it's supposed to look like? Even though your child knows today what the picture looked like before it was severed into little pieces, he or she might forget by tomorrow!


Keep each puzzle in a separate Ziploc bag and label it. When you print the picture you took of each puzzle, slide it down in the bag with the pieces for future reference.

We all enjoyed creating these puzzles together. The kids liked exchanging puzzles and seeing if they could put together the other's creation. And it was great fun having Daddy put the puzzles together, too.

You can also use old calendar pages, cards or posters instead of coloring your own pictures. Anything printed on paper can be recycled into a puzzle.

For more money-saving ideas, visit Life as Mom's Frugal Friday blog carnival.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Years ago I found a recipe for homemade cream of mushroom soup and thought, "Hey, I should try that!" I just never got around to it. Besides, who can beat the convenience of soup in a can? Then I started noticing prices creeping up. And up. Not to mention the long list of unpronounceable ingredients in each serving!

So I took the plunge and tried to make it myself. It turned out thick and creamy, just like I wanted. And best of all, it can be made a few days ahead of time.

This is where menu planning comes in handy. I looked at my weekly menu and saw that I would need cream of mushroom in a recipe. So while I had a few minutes (and it only takes a few), I whipped some up and put in the fridge to use later in the week. Also, if you have mushrooms that need to get used up, make this soup and freeze it for when you need it.

Here's what you need:

2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP finely chopped mushrooms
2 TBSP flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teas salt (more or less to your taste)
dash of pepper

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium. Add the mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes until tender.


Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk together. Keep stirring so the mixture doesn't burn.


When the mixture starts to bubble, gradually add milk. Keep stirring until the flour and butter mixture is incorporated.


Reduce the heat and continue stirring slowly. You will see the soup start to thicken. When it starts to bubble, cook for one more minute.


Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and pepper. Use immediately or allow to cool, then store in the fridge. This recipe will replace one can of soup.

See how easy that was? You can also use this basic recipe for other "cream of" soups. To make cream of chicken, use cooked chicken in place of the mushrooms and substitute 1/2 cup chicken broth for 1/2 of the milk. For cream of celery, use 2 TBSP chopped celery and a little veggie broth. And if you want gluten-free, replace the flour with gluten-free flour.

The secret to juicy hamburgers

Hubby bought a book on grilling a few weeks ago and has treated us to some fabulous dinners as a result. This weekend we tried blue cheese burgers. Yum!

But the simplest thing he's learned about grilling hamburgers is to add water when mixing them up. For each pound of ground beef, add 2-3 TBSP of ice cold water. And season them lightly with a little salt and pepper. You don't need fancy seasoning blends that are expensive. Just salt and pepper. We've tried this method several times, and each time, the burgers were fabulously juicy!

We use ground chuck or regular ground beef. Lean ground beef will leave you with dry burgers because of the lower fat content. And be sure not to overcook them. You want the burgers to be done, of course. But depending on the thickness of your patties, cook for 5-7 minutes per side. You don't want charcoal burgers!

Happy Grilling!

For more great tips on everything from laundry to Easter crafts to homework, visit Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Frugal Friday - displaying artwork

I have to give credit to my husband for this idea. Let me give you a little backstory.

Our daughter loves to draw and color pictures of princesses. And horses. Oh, and dinosaurs, too. Not only that, she loves to tape said pictures to the wall. The wall of her bedroom. The wall of the playroom. Basically, any blank surface is fair game to her. But the tape sometimes rips the pictures and, more disastrously to my husband, can pull paint off the walls.

So he came up with a clever, frugal way to let her display her artwork and save the walls at the same time. Not to mention the money we will save on tape!

Clipboards!



He nailed a clipboard to the wall and lets her change out her creations at will. We found a pack of 6 recycled clipboards at Sam's Club for less than $5.

Here's a sample of her artwork for school:


And her impression of a spring flower:


It's so cute watching her decide which piece of artwork gets displayed. And not to fear, we have some clipboards for Mr. Lego to use, too. If we can keep the Princess from commandeering them first.

For more frugal ideas, visit Life as Mom's Frugal Fridays.

Make your own taco sauce

One of my New Year's goals was to make more things from scratch instead of buying prepackaged and canned foods. I've been searching the internet for recipes for crackers, sauces, condiments, you name it.

I found several recipes for homemade taco sauce and combined them to create my own blend. It's so simple and frugal that I had to share it with you.

Here's what you need:

8-oz can tomato sauce
2 teas dried minced onion
1 teas cumin
1/2 teas chili powder
1/2 teas garlic powder
1/4 teas salt

In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients together until well-blended. Let sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight -the longer, the better. This will keep in the fridge for a week or so.

Adjust the seasonings to your family's tastes. This one is rather mild, but a teaspoon more of chili powder would kick it up a notch. Enjoy!

Cheap taco or burrito filling

We've been making an effort around here to cut back on eating meat. It saves on the grocery bill, plus it's healthier. I've done a bit of research and found that lentils provide a great deal of protein and nutrition and are an easy substitution for meat-based dishes.

After some trial and error, I've come up with a cheap, easy way to replace ground beef in tacos and burritos. This is what works for my family. It's very easy to adjust the spices to your family's tastes.

Here's my recipe:

1/2 cup lentils
1/4 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 teas cumin
1 teas chili powder
1/2 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas onion powder
salt to taste

I dump all this in my rice cooker and use the brown rice setting. I just love my rice cooker! It is so convenient to push a button and get perfectly cooked rice without hovering over the stove.

If you don't have a rice cooker, cook the rice, lentils, and seasonings on the stovetop according to the directions on the brown rice package. It should take about 40 minutes.

I can get enough filling for 8 burritos or 10 tacos with this recipe. It's easy to double or triple it if you need to feed a crowd. If this isn't spicy enough for you, add more chili powder or a dash of hot sauce. It costs about 1/4 the price of a pound of ground beef to make this lentil filling. A 75% savings is hard to beat!

You can also freeze the filling to use later. Simply place it in a freezer bag and seal. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat when needed.

For more helpful tips, head over to Works for Me Wednesdays at We are THAT Family. And visit Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap for more recipes using lentils.

DIY Mario Kart birthday party

Mr. Lego told us a while back that he wanted a Mario Kart birthday party. We looked around town to find party supplies but weren't successful. Not suprising since we live in a small town. We searched the internet too but everything we found was expensive. We had decided at the beginning of the year that we would stick to a budget and the party supplies were going to go well over that.

So Charles, bless his heart, decided that we'd make what we needed instead of buying it. By that, I mean he would make what we needed. He's very creative and I stayed out of his way! My contribution was cupcakes.

His first creation was a pinata. If you've ever seen the Mario Kart game, you know there are tons of characters and objects that make up each race. Charles chose a Chain Chomp as the inspiration for the pinata. It's a round black ball with a huge mouth and sharp teeth that can chomp a racer and slow him down during a race.

He started with a plastic beach ball and blew it up to full size. He put three layers of newspaper mache over the ball using a flour and water mixture as the glue. A layer of black construction paper, black spray paint, a red construction paper mouth and white paper teeth finished it off.


After we filled it with trinkets and candy, Charles sealed the hole with black duct tape. We had all of the supplies on hand except for the candy. Pretty frugal, huh?

His next project was to make piranha plants. He took styrofoam balls and cut them half. Each half was painted red with white polka-dots. He shaped floral wire into stems and used the ends as prongs to hold the balls in place. Then he paper-mached the stems and formed leaves, painting them green when he was finished. The pots for the plants were old plastic planters we had in the shed with green aquarium gravel to hold the piranha plants in place. Plastic vampire teeth we had from trick-or-treats past served as the plants' teeth.



Not bad, huh? And we had all the supplies on hand, including the paint.

We used red and blue streamers to decorate our playroom, as well as some gold cardboards stars we found at the Dollar Store. We put gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins on the food table and in the pinata. Here's Mr. Lego taking the first whack at the pinata.



I made cupcakes and frosted them with blue, green or red icing. Then I took white M&M's to decorate the tops. The kids gobbled them right up. To get the white M&M's, I had to buy three bags of Valentine's M&M's, then go through each one and pull out the white ones. I don't know what we'll do with the rest. Wink, wink.


We used simple red napkins and blue cups for the icecream instead of spending tons of money on themed plates and tableware. The biggest expense for this party was the candy for the pinata. We only spent about $20 and had tons of fun!

Part of the entertainment included a tournament in which all the kids got to race each other on the Wii. The winner got a hand-held Mario Kart game we found at WalMart on clearance.

Mr. Lego was so proud to show off the pinata and piranha plants to his friends. He was thrilled that his daddy had taken the time to make them. I'm sure he'll never forget it, either.

Charles deserves the credit for how well this turned out. Paper mache is time-consuming and tedious, but he did it without complaint. Thanks, babe.

One word of advice. If you plan a DIY party like this with a theme, start planning and creating your decorations early. Charles started on the pinata two weeks ago to give himself plenty of time. We're so glad he did because he was out of town for work the week before the party.

Now the Princess is thinking ahead to her birthday. It's in July. Who knows what crazy theme she'll want! We'd better get started now!

This post is linked to Life as Mom's Frugal Fridays.

Frugal Friday - when you don't have a Food Saver

Use a straw! Seriously.

Food Savers are used to vacuum seal foods that are going into the freezer. Air is the mortal enemy of frozen foods since it causes freezer burns.

But you don't need a machine that costs $150 to remove air from a freezer bag. You need a straw. And the ability to inhale.

Here's a bag of shredded cooked chicken. I knew I wouldn't be using it for a week or two so into the freezer it goes. I sealed up the bag except for one corner and tried to squeeze out as much air as I could.


Then I inserted the straw into the little opening I left in the corner.


Pinch around the opening to get a tight seal. Then put the straw in your mouth and inhale deeply. Suck all of that air out of the bag! It will shrink around the contents of the bag. Carefully pull the straw out and pinch shut before any air gets in.

See how the bag squeezes the chicken tightly? Yay!



I saw this tip demonstrated over 10 years ago on an HGTV show and have used it ever since. Your frozen foods will stay fresher longer and you'll avoid the dreaded freezer burn.

But, please, whatever you do....don't try this with meats in a marinade or any other item with lots of liquid. Unless, of course, you'd like a mouthful.

Find some more frugal ideas over at Life As Mom's Frugal Fridays.