Rising cost of groceries...

[amystours]

We struggle. That's all there is to it. I'm definitely going to use several of the hints in this post to try to decrease expenses somewhat.

My DH is one of those "meat and potatoes" fellas that just HAS to have MEAT at every meal, so we can't cut corners there. We've been eating alot of chicken (relatively cheap), and lots of red beans.

My mom has a bunch of cattle. I want her to give me a young heifer so that I can start to raise my own beef. If baby ends up being a girl, we keep her to keep the cycle going, if it's a boy, off he goes, to later be returned to the freezer. I can't process my own "pets". I get too attached.

Deer is out of season right now, of course, but didn't get to do any hunting this winter when it WAS in season. It's an excellent way to feed a fam, and it's an added benefit that the meat is so lean...so lean that sometimes, if you are using ground meat, you don't even have to drain it.

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
If you have enough chickens to sell your excess eggs you can make enough money to pay for your chickens feed and other supplies. We did that at the house we lived at before we bought this house.

If you check out a local farmer’s market near your home they are usually eager to get yard eggs. We usually made enough money to pay for the chicken's feed plus a little extra for our gas back and fourth to the market once a week; that way the eggs you keep are free.

With the cost of gas getting so high I think this time around I’m going to look into the Internet as an alterative way of selling my excess eggs. I’ve heard that people are starting to use the Internet to purchase and have meat, eggs and so on delivered to their homes.

We order a side of grass fed beef once a year from a ranch a couple of hours drive from our house. In her latest email that she sends out to her customers she is starting to include shipping to her service. I’ll definitely consider it when I place my next order.

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
Same here... I go to Costco and buy huge packages of chicken and ground beef. The freezer is my best friend! I'll also buy veggies at Costco, cut them up and then freeze them. Otherwise, I just buy frozen veggies in the bags from the grocery store.
I can come up with 100 different ways to make chicken breast!

 

[Beekissed]

You would not believe what I got yesterday! This couple at church have a lot of great stuff at their house and they have been doing a general cleaning out. This is what I have received so far:

2- 35# sealed tins of red turkey wheat (with a promise of more each time I make them some bread!)

Boxes upon boxes of new BAll canning jars, wide mouth and narrow, pints and quarts, plus lids and flats! Once again, with a promise of more when they find them!

Several stacks of clean, used egg cartons.

A VITAMIX !!!!! They have to find it but they said I could have it....barely used. I bought one of these for my mother 2 years ago and it costed $500!!!!

These folks have already let us tear down a building for the scrap lumber (which I used to build raised beds and a wood shed), gave us old chainlink fencing and all the posts, fasteners, and gates (which I used to build a chicken run), 3 long sheets of galvanized tin (the roofing for my wood shed), and is going to bring me 2 or 3 16 ft. long 2x10s and some rough-cut 2x4s!!!!! He is a construction site manager, so he has access to a lot of great stuff.

NOW watch me can, can, can and process the devil out of everything with my Vitamix! Just when I needed it, God provides! I did promise to give canned goods to this couple. Get this....when I asked the woman why she was giving away her canning stuff, she said she will never can again! Never....can you believe it? She's not old, but I think they have lots of money, so she doesn't worry about food prices.

God is so good!!!

 

[Eggseronious]

Lots more people are planting gardens this year. Our 2 feed stores sold out of many seeds and had to reorder. The live plants wouldnt last till they got off the truck. We save alot of our seeds.

 

[Tutter]

Oh, hooray, Beekissed!!!

I don't have one Vita-Mix, but 3! (Long story.) Different sizes, and wouldn't trade them for anything!!

I make the best scratch pudding in them, but prefer the 3500, as the larger one whips it too much.

You will just love having it, I know! I did have to learn that I didn't need it for everything, but I use it a lot!

And that's great about the rest, as well, (I just bought some more canning jars, and new lids.

), I'd love some building materials; but I think the Vita-Mix was the score of the year!

*Waiting for Beekissed to get her Vita-Mix.*

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, Tutter! You lucky thing you! My mom swears by her VM, says it does everything but cleans the house for her....she grinds her wheat, purees hot peppers for hot pepper butter, makes soups, mixes up oat burger mix, etc. in it. She says if the house burns down in the middle of the night, she'll grab her purse and the Vitamix....oh, and wake up Dad so he can get out of the house also!

Joining Tutter in waiting for my VM.

 

[Tutter]

LOL! Well, I can't say as I blame her!

Yes, I think one of the coolest features is that it can actually cook something. And, without burning it.

I always enjoyed making things like chocolate pudding for the kids, but I prefer the kind you cook to the non-cook version. That means constant stirring, and maybe sticking. I am so spoiled with the Vita-Mix now, though; just put my own ingredients in, turn it on, and walk away! (Not too far, I listen for the sound to change, so I can take it off. It takes about 11 minutes.)

And it's so much fun to try other flavors. Drop in a whole banana, instead of cocoa, for banana pudding.

Or, leave the cocoa, and drop in a banana anyway, for chocolate-banana. Etc.

I'm looking so forward to you getting yours!

 

[seismic wonder2]

A good way to save is to make a two week meal plan, buy the food, cook and freeze it over the week end.

Say for instance you are a couple.
Almost every recipe on the planet serves 4 or more.
When you make your two week menu let's say you have chicken marsala on Monday the 7th, you eat two servings and freeze the other two.
You know you will have chicken marsala again on the 21st.

You can do the same thing with side dishes, individual portions so you can mix and match as you see fit.

It's not the same thing as "Leftovers". You are making a meal plan, being very efficient in shopping, and thawing and heating your food NEVER "RE-Heating".

You can plan your meals to use all of an ingredient. Like celery, How many times have you thrown away three or four stalks of celery? That's money in the trash. If you plan a soup, pot roast, chicken pot pie, and turkey salad pita sandwiches, you'll use the whole bunch of celery.
Same goes for onions, carrots, etc...

Buy flash frozen veggies instead of fresh. Frozen veggies are picked at the peak of ripeness, processed and frozen immediately. "FRESH" veggies are picked early and can spend as much as a week or two in transit before getting to the store.

 

[seismic wonder2]

I love my VM. That thing could grind a brick and make it taste good!

When I fire it up the NEIGHBORS lights go dim!