Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Save Money on Coffee

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It’s a necessity, right? I mean, I thank God for it every morning as I sip my steamy mug and talk with Him. Sooooo good, and my time with Him is rich. Here’s how to save money on coffee.

Perhaps you read about the day I spent $7 on a coffee. It was tasty and fun, and then it made me do some calculating. I couldn’t help myself. :)

Turns out, at home I spend about $1.00 to brew an entire pot of high-quality coffee. How?

I recently spent $10.48 on this bag of coffee at Sam’s. I didn’t take the time to measure each scoop to see how many pots of coffee this one bag would make, but I’m making a conservative estimate that it gives us at least 10 pots of coffee. Likely more! But to keep it simple, let’s say 10+ pots, which means that one pot full of coffee costs $1.00.

A dollar.

For an entire pot. This, without having to buy a “cheaper coffee variety” that doesn’t taste as good (sorry Folgers).

We use big mugs at our house. :) :) So one pot fills 4 mugs. $0.25 for a cup of coffee!

Now, we all add a little something to our cup of coffee. I just add half&half. Matt and the big boys add a shot of creamer. So should we then estimate that our cup of coffee costs a total of $0.35-$0.45??

How to Save Money on Coffee

Well, it seems that the best way to save money on coffee is to make it at home. It’s crazy cheap!!!! And oh so good.

To make it even more fun for our teen/adult sons and their friends who come over, we keep a variety of creamers (just don’t read the ingredient list and all is well) and sometimes a can of whipped cream for them to spray on top. Even with those splurges, the savings are huge compared to buying at a coffee shop.

Ever tried making this Chocolate Whipped Cream and scooping some into your coffee? Oh, it’s good! Here are more fun homemade coffee additions you might want to try.

What do you like to put in your coffee at home?

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Why Did I Spend $7 on a Coffee?

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This, my Why Did I Spend $7 on a Coffee? post, is the intriguing sequel to my previous Why Did I Spend $8 on a Watermelon? post. I bet you wonder what’s next in this series. (Spoiler: Why Did I Take a Nap?)

I did not, in fact, take a nap. That is why I needed coffee. Mmm-hmm.

Why Did I Spend $7 on a Coffee?

I’m here today to make some observations after recently buying an $8 watermelon and a coffee from Starbucks. But first, let’s talk about gas. That sounds fun, doesn’t it?

People are freaking out about the price of gas, basically making Facebook not fun anymore. I want to see pictures of your kids, not a picture of how much it cost to fill your tank this morning. By the way, ever filled the tank of a Ford Transit? That’s what we drive now to accommodate our entire tribe. I could take a picture next time I fill up, but wouldn’t you rather see this?

That’s four of our six littles walking into church one Sunday morning. It was the sweetest so I grabbed a picture. Five minutes later, our two-year-old melted down in the foyer and took off her shirt, refusing to let me put it back on. But this picture is sweet, isn’t it?

Back to the coffee.

Online and in-person, I’m hearing all the woes about the price of a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, and a bag full of groceries. Indeed, inflation is real and we are all feeling the sting right now.

Meanwhile, for the past several years, people have been – without question – lining up at coffee shop drive-thrus as if paying $4 or $5 or more for one cup of coffee wasn’t strange, scary, or painful. Some do it daily, and now it’s an unquestionable part of their normal routine. I’m not criticizing as we are all allowed to enjoy our fun and our splurges!

But why aren’t people complaining about the cost of a coffee? Isn’t its cost outrageous too?

Recently I had a glorious day to myself in which I left all the littles in the care of friends, my husband, and our older sons. I ate a meal at a restaurant (all by myself), shopped at fun stores (all by myself), and went to a coffee shop (all by myself). It was quiet and wonderful and needed. I had been blessed with a gift card for the coffee shop (thanks, Mara!) so I walked up and ordered a large blended iced coffee with cream. I think the gal might have misunderstood some of my request (because most people add syrups and such so me asking for just cream always throws workers off a bit). “That’ll be $7.04 please.”

I didn’t argue and my gift card covered it, and I was super thankful for the amazing treat. But $7 for coffee with ice and cream? As I sipped its deliciousness, I mentally made a list of everything else I could buy with $7 because I’m so fun and practical like that.

A package of chicken. Two bags of apples. Three pounds of strawberries. Many pounds of rice. Three loaves of bread. I’ll stop (except for in my head – five pounds of mandarins, two pounds of hamburger, a big bag of frozen fruit…).

I think we are a funny people

I have inconsistencies too – some things I feel passionate about that completely contradict something else that I don’t even give a thought to. But it might be worth us all recognizing that there are things we spend too much money on while we complain about the cost of necessities like gas and groceries. Just something to think about.

Why did I write this post? I have no idea. My coffee cost seven bucks. It blew my mind because I can make an entire pot of high-quality coffee at home for about $1.00. :)  I couldn’t let it go. And now here we are.

Thanks for listening. I’m sorry I’m weird.

Coffee at home

Enjoy your coffee however you like it!!

Maybe you have the special coffee-shop coffees that you enjoy on the regular. Perhaps you have another non-guilty pleasure. I most certainly enjoy an occasional coffee from a shop as a splurge and treat every once in a while.

Here’s how we make our coffee at home, in all kinds of delicious ways. I calculate that each big mugful costs about $0.35, and that’s a price I can get behind! :)

Which of these cost me $7.00?? Ok, Laura. You can stop now.

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Why Did I Spend $8 on a Watermelon??

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I spent $8 on a watermelon, and I learned a thing or two. I figured it’s worth a conversation here.

Grocery prices are scaring everyone right now. I keep finding myself with the desire to stay calm and positive in the midst of the inflation storm and encourage others that there’s hope at the grocery store. I really do think we are all going to be ok! One day at a time, right? No need to panic. We can still be so thankful that we have plenty to eat. And there are still plenty of ways to save!

So about that watermelon…

Is it worth it to spend $8 on a Watermelon??

A few weeks ago, I was shocked that the watermelon at Sam’s cost $8! “No way,” I thought. “I’m waiting until they go down to at least $5!”

But then I wondered: Is that a thing anymore? Will watermelon ever be $5 again?

As I got closer to the melons I was talking myself out of needing/wanting it. I just didn’t feel I could justify it, even though it’s fruit, and therefore good for us. But then I saw how big these watermelons were (huge!!!). So I decided to go ahead and “splurge” on the $8 melon.

I spy a great big watermelon —>
(And corndogs, which makes you wonder why I overthought my watermelon splurge.)

The next day at home when I cut it all up to make it easy to serve at mealtime and snacks, here’s what I got…

Two 9×13 dishes plus a huge bowlful. It was an incredible amount of watermelon!!! Much to our delight, it was also super sweet and crisp. We ate on that watermelon for a week and a half.

The following week, I bought another watermelon at our local store “on sale for $4.” Guess what? It was less than half the size of my $8 melon. Hmmm…

I learned that I don’t have to always say no to a produce purchase just because its price looks higher than what I typically might want to pay. I need to consider:

  • how many meals and/or snacks we can get out of my purchase
  • how it will help me get good food into my kids
  • how it will provide easy side dishes or snacks that I can grab and put on high chairs and plates

That $8 watermelon provided for our family about 6 meals or snacks worth of provision. (We feed 10+ every day.) Since I spent a few minutes getting it cut and ready to serve, it also provided a really easy-to-grab side dish or snack option for us, which is especially helpful for me right now.

When the price feels high

It’s a good idea to consider:

  1. Fruits and vegetables are one of the best forms of nourishment we can put into our bodies. We need to buy them and eat them on the regular.
  2. What is the cost break-down per pound for the item? My $8 watermelon ended up being only about $0.40/pound. That’s cheaper than bananas. Who knew?!
  3. At the end of the day, I found that I’m actually only spending $1/day per family member to feed us a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Even when I buy more expensive fruits and veggies like organic greens and fresh berries.

Apparently, I can’t stop talking about how affordable fruits and vegetables are compared to most foods. I mean, what else can I fill and nourish my kids’ bellies with for $0.33/meal??

Long live the $8 (which is really only $0.40/pound) watermelon. Thank you for putting up with me. :)

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What Air Fryer I Recommend

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I’ve had multiple people ask me what air fryer I recommend. I’m finally getting around to sharing!

(I’m sharing my recommendation with Amazon links to make it easier for you to find. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

What Air Fryer I Recommend

A few years ago, Matt and the kids got me this air fryer for Christmas. We have given this a big workout and WE LOVE IT.

The one drawback:

It isn’t big enough for our family. Ha, but do they make air fryers big enough for our family?? Others with large families – I’d love to hear what you use!!

I’ve been looking into this so that I can save time in the kitchen. This 10-quart air fryer looked pretty great, so I recently picked it up at Sam’s. WE LOVE IT.

There are fancier air fryers out there, but the simpler the better in my opinion. That’s why I’m drawn to this brand.

What we make in our air fryer

I’ll admit: most of what we make in our air fryer is from a bag. :) Chicken nuggets, fries, tator tots, and sweet potato fries.

Surprising items: We love to rewarm pizza in our air fryer. We also use it to warm up these burritos. And…we toast bread or bagels for 3 minutes in our air fryer. So we no longer use a toaster at all – we use our air fryer for all toasting needs!

Occasionally we make green beans in the air fryer like this.

Do you have an air fryer? What kind do you like? What do you make in your air fryer?

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Big Family Food: How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

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Curious how we afford fruits and vegetables?

How We Afford Fruits and Vegetables

People keep telling me that fruits and vegetables are SO EXPENSIVE. That they can’t afford them. That I’m really splurging when I buy so much fresh fruit every month.

I couldn’t figure out if I was in denial about this or if maybe I’m so used to buying so much produce that I don’t “see the expense” anymore. Or, is it possible that fruits and vegetables really are affordable but the first look at their price scares some people? I really wasn’t sure.

So I did some fruit and veggie math.

We’re currently feeding ten people three meals each day. Our three littlest are ages 2, 1, and 1. Our four oldest household members are adults, so it balances out. :)

Our monthly grocery budget is $1,200. Of that amount, I calculated and was shocked to learn that only about $300 is spent on fruits and vegetables. (I looked online at all my Sam’s, Costco, and Walmart receipts, so handy!) I truly thought it would add up to more than that since my produce purchases are so frequent and big.

So I did the math again to double-check.

Sure enough, only about a fourth of our overall monthly grocery budget goes toward these, and I don’t hold back:

  • Frozen green beans
  • Frozen peas
  • Frozen corn
  • Frozen fruit for smoothies
  • Frozen hashbrowns
  • Fresh spinach (we go through at least one pound every week)
  • Fresh spring mix (we go through two pounds every week)
  • Fresh carrots
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Fresh broccoli
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Clementines
  • Berries ( strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries depending on the season)
  • Melons (cantaloupe, honey dew, and watermelon depending on the season)
  • Grapes
  • Kiwi
  • Pears
  • Canned pumpkin
  • Canned peaches
  • Canned pears
  • Canned mandarins
  • Applesauce (a ridiculous amount of applesauce)

Where I landed after doing the math:

Feeding my family a lot of fruits and veggies is not expensive.

I sort of apologize for my geekiness, but as it turns out, I’m pretty excited that I went back and added it all up! Now I feel like I have an actual answer to the “fruits and veggies so expensive” claim!

If I’m spending $300 of our monthly grocery budget on produce – for 10 people for 30 days? This breaks down to just:

$1/person/day.

Which is $0.33/meal.

This, to fill our bellies with lots of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables in a big variety of forms. That’s actually incredible, I think! Especially when our plates look like this:

Steamed broccoli, corn, raspberries, and nectarine on spaghetti night;
and no, I don’t put sauce on our baby’s noodles because I don’t want the mess. :)

This was our 8-year-old’s first serving. He had seconds of all you see here:

Here’s Matt’s plate the evening we celebrated Asa’s birthday with
smoked chicken, alfredo, and steamed broccoli:

One Sunday lunch was spinach on tuna sandwiches, watermelon, and guacamole.
This was our 6-year-old’s plate. She’s a pretty small eater. Unless it’s cake. :)
(But now, of course, I’ve been putting spinach our the cake so…)

Our three year old asked for spinach on the side with ranch and watermelon with his tuna sandwich that day. Not pictures, his tuna sandwich as he gobbled it down already.

This is my plate filled with Overnight Beef Roast, pears, peas, and baked beans. (In case you need to know, I didn’t actually cook it overnight. I cooked it all day and it was perfect for dinnertime!)

Here’s my plate showing our salmon burger meal with steamed green beans, corn, sweet potato fries, and a tiny bit of asparagus from our garden! (We each only got a little bit of asparagus.) ;)

PSA: The Avocado Mash cups at Costco or Sam’s are worth their cost in that they stay fresh in the fridge for a long time and offer an awesome, easy snack or side dish for babies and adults alike. Our littlest girls LOVE these and will each eat an entire cup with their meal. We bigger people like to eat them with chips. So good!

In case you need to see a chubby baby hand a couple more times:

So, can I afford $10/day to feed 10 people fruits and vegetables?

Absolutely. I can spend a dollar a day on each family member to keep us all nourished. I am shocked that it costs so little to buy so many varieties of fruits and vegetables every month. Is it possible that this food category is what actually costs the least instead of the most as we are all led to believe??

One more veggie-kid photo as we wrap up; here’s Keith after finishing his smoothie (filled with frozen fruit, fresh spinach, yogurt, and milk):

You should try doing the math to see how much you spend on fruits and veggies! Challenge yourself to be sure you’re filling everyone up on all the good stuff – it’s much less expensive than we think!

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Big Family Food: Morning Meal Prep

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Want to see what my morning meal prep looks like?

I’ve always been a planner-aheader. This has been mostly good for me except that God has had to teach me to also live in the moment and not always be working on or thinking about whatever needs to be done next. :)

As I’ve learned to chill out and to let go of what can’t get done (and know that what needs to get done will and what doesn’t won’t) – I’ve truly been grateful that being efficient in the kitchen is a strength God gave me. I have found that I have to be very organized and that I have to keep everything as simple as possible so that I can get everyone fed (and clothed, but you don’t want to see what our laundry looks like).

Here’s our current kid breakdown:

  1. Asa, 25, married and living in Lincoln
  2. Justus, 22, getting married in July!
  3. Elias, 20, a college senior living at home and working this summer
  4. Malachi, 17, a high school senior with a growing video production business
  5. Brayden, 8, a 3rd grader
  6. Bonus Girl, 6, a 1st grader
  7. Keith, 3, a preschooler
  8. Bonus Bonus Girl, 2, fit thrower, little mommy, and snuggler
  9. Bonus Bonus Bonus Girl, 1, mess maker, giggle box, and book reader
  10. Bonus Bonus Bonus Bonus Girl, 1, observer, stair climber, and toothy grinner

Well, all that to say: Whenever possible, I spend five minutes or thirty minutes or an hour in the mornings getting food ready for the day in whatever form I can. I do this:

  • After my morning coffee time with my Bible, prayer, and journal
  • If possible, before all the kids are out of bed, or at least when most of them are eating breakfast or happily playing
  • Before Matt leaves for work
  • And/or after my friend Pam arrives to help (she comes every weekday morning for two hours, and she’s a huge reason I am still alive, bless her dear heart)

Morning Meal Prep

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what I might do during my morning meal prep time. Often it’s as simple as using the five minutes I have to unload and reload the dishwasher. Sometimes it involves cutting fruit or doing a quick clean-out of the fridge. Whatever it is, I find that if I have a minute to get something done, I need to take advantage of it!

One morning the three baby girls slept in until 8, which was amazing and unusual and I took advantage of it! I cut a watermelon and put it in the fridge for side dishes. I sliced kiwi for breakfast to have ready for all 6 littles. And I used up the avocados to make Guacomole to go with that night’s dinner.

Then, I put chicken thighs in a bag with dressing to marinade so that we could put it on our smoker that night for dinner.

Another morning I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Treats, which we enjoyed for breakfast the next two days. I also made a blender full of this smoothie so that Matt and I could just pour and drink as needed at lunchtime.

See the frost-covered ham in the above picture? Someone had given us that and I really needed to use it up! So I set it out to thaw so I could quickly slice and fry it for lunch later. Then I mixed up a crock pot full of Party Potatoes to cook while we were taking a walk and playing all morning.

I don’t usually make “big lunches” like ham and cheesy potatoes. But that day it just made sense and it wasn’t difficult, so I went with it. We were out taking a long walk all morning and got back just in time to be starving, so I was so glad to have this ready to go when we walked in!

We didn’t eat the entire hunk of ham, so while everyone was finishing lunch, I diced what was left and put it in the fridge for our next baked potato meal.

As it turns out, our baked potato meal was the next day.

Keith (3) was so eager to scrub potatoes, so I got a chair and put him to work the next morning. He was so proud!!

I let the potatoes sit, then turned the crockpot on high at lunchtime. They were cooked and ready for our baked potato dinner by 5:15!

I took advantage of a cooler morning and make some muffins and bread so we’d have easy breakfasts and snacks. With so many littles, having these bread items on hand is always very helpful!

I made a triple batch of Pumpkin Muffins (this recipe but without chocolate chips).

Then since I had a few more minutes and the ovens were already hot, I used our ripe bananas to make Banana Bread. See the loaf on the left? That was the pumpkin muffin batter that I had left after filling all my muffin pans!

One morning, we planned on walking and playing at a park all morning, so I planned ahead to have lunch ready to make right when we got home. I am so glad I did, as you’ll see a few pictures below. :)

I cracked a bunch of eggs into a bowl so we could quickly scramble them to go with pancakes at lunchtime.

I set out the pancake mix (a splurge from Sam’s, and it’s really good!), put the prepped eggs in the fridge, and put the skillets on the stove.

Well. It is a very good thing I had everything ready to cook when we got home from playing at the park. The kids were all beyond hungry (as was this mom) and the three baby girls completely melted down screaming at my feet while I scrambled eggs and flipped cakes. Poor dears.

Don’t believe one bit of sweetness you see in this picture. (I mean, they are super, super sweet. But in this picture they were also 100% unhappy.) Blondie Girl was throwing out lids as fast as she could and screaming with every throw. Brunette Girl, well, you can see her whole body was involved in the meltdown. And Baby Girl, oh she was banging that lid with all her might. Elias came home for his lunch break right then, shook his head with a grin, and grabbed the nearest screamer, bless him. We got lunch on the table quickly and then put everyone down for much-needed naps. Oy.

And that, my friends, is why I have to prep ahead in the mornings if at all possible. If I don’t, we still find something to eat, even if it’s stale cereal and mushy apples. Sometimes it’s cheese sticks and slices of turkey lunchmeat. Canned fruit is a lifesaver, so I buy it by the case.

But prepping anything I possibly can in the mornings makes our days a bit less stressful, so I do what I can when I can! :)

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Great Picnic Food Ideas

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My kids are constantly asking, “Can we eat outside today?” Turns out, a picnic can be made from just about anything. Here are some great picnic food ideas!

If we’re packing a picnic to take to a park, we tend to think about sandwiches and chips. But what if anything and everything can turn into “eat it outside” food? Especially when you just head outside to your own yard with your plate.

Two things about our life right now:

  1. With so many littles, our days can be lonnnnnnng. It can be tough to keep so many small people safe and occupied for so many hours. Yes, I am enjoying them. Meanwhile, our days with the kids start around 6:30am and are very intense until 8:00pm with our littles being 1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 – each with some level of special need or trauma. I have to be very intentional about staying on top of keeping our kids busy and occupied, otherwise the meltdowns and behaviors are pretty tough.
  2. So I tend to try to make something fun out of nothing and everything, just to make our days a little bit more enjoyable.

Like eating.

Sometimes food just needs to serve a purpose: to fill our bellies. But if there’s any way I can easily make food fun, the kids love it. Eating a “picnic” outside in our yard always makes them so excited!

Matt was out of town one weekend so the kids and I blew up our tiny baby pool and all seven babes had fun splashing around. (We had seven littles that weekend instead of our normal six because a half-brother/former foster son was visiting us!)

As we toweled off, I had our 6 and 8-year-olds drag our little picnic tables around so we could eat outside after playing. They loved the idea the same as if I’d offered to take them to Disneyland. They sat there loving life and lunch, soggy diapers and all.

I have found that most foods that work well to feed children inside work just as well to feed children outside for a “picnic.” Think beyond sandwiches and hotdogs and simply make any meal a picnic!

Like enchiladas. Weird idea? Well, one evening, Matt was painting a gutter on our house. The kids loved the “show” so as dinnertime approached and I had a pan of these enchiladas in the oven, I simply scooped some onto paper plates and carried them outside for the kids to eat on the trampoline. Again, they thought it was better than Disneyland. (Also, they’ve never been to Disneyland, so…)

Great Picnic Food Ideas

Here are some foods we’ve eaten outside lately:

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas, which I cut into triangles so that the kids could all grab them easily. I washed strawberries and we carried them outside to the table as-is. Then I squirted ranch into a bowl and dumped in some carrots for a community bowl of carrots with dip!

Another day when I was on my own with all the littles, I made a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the morning before the babies got up and covered the plate to grab at lunchtime. I put a can of mandarins and a can of peaches into the fridge to chill. I was so thankful I’d prepped ahead because our morning was full! When we were ready to eat, we took the prepped sandwiches, cold fruit, a jar of pickles, and some avocado cups outside and feasted. :)

We have a fire pit in our backyard, and the kids LOVE it when Daddy gets a fire going. We only do this when Elias and Malachi (our 20 and 17-year-olds) are around because it’s a bit intense to keep so many little ones safe when we’re trying to cook hotdogs and feed littles and oh yes, did I mention that Elias got a dog who tries to eat children? (Just kidding. But she does like hotdogs.)

I shared here about how we pack food to eat on a blanket when we go to our older boys’ games. Hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, chicken sandwiches, burritos – even a container full of hot chicken nuggets! Get more details —>

I didn’t get a picture of any of us eating this particular time, but one spring soccer game day, I made a big batch of Omelet Muffins for the kids to eat while they watched Malachi play. It was easy to transport these and all of us loved them!

Chicken Salad with rolls, croissants, bread, or crackers is easy to take outside or take to a park. Here’s more info about what we took to a fun family picnic when we had time with all of our kids from oldest to youngest this spring.

Snacks to Eat Outside

And how about picnic-y snacks too? If we are outside playing, I often run inside and grab something for the kids to eat outside if I can tell they are getting hungry and need something to hold them over. Eating snacks on the porch is – you guessed it – more fun than going to Disneyland. :)

Apples and cheese fly off the plate when I take them outside.
Why does everything taste better outside?

Here are three of the kids sharing a little bowl of fruit:

We go through a lot of Mudballs at our house, and these are super easy to grab and take outside for kids to eat while they play.

The best thing about eating muffins outside during snack time? All the crumbs fall to the ground instead of under our kitchen table. Here’s a huge list of muffin recipes that I reference all the time.

It’s super easy to grab a container of washed berries or grapes to take outside to eat. Or grab a cutie for everyone and let them peel and eat it as they play.

Sometimes I take out small bowls of frozen veggies or frozen fruit for babies to munch on if it’s hot outside.

Once again I’ll say: If they can eat it inside, they can eat it outside. And if it makes the day more fun with little to no extra effort? I say it’s a win!

Here’s a quick list to reference for easy to grab food to take outside to eat:

What are your favorite foods to feed your family outside?

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Quick Crock Pot Spicy Pasta Dinner

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This Quick Crock Pot Spicy Pasta Dinner came about on a day I was cleaning out leftovers. Therefore, this recipe is a winner that happened by accident!

Have you made my Cream Cheese Salsa Dip? It’s incredible, super easy, and our entire family loves it!

However, one of the recent times I made the dip, it somehow got shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten. I’d just gotten back from a big grocery run, so I was in major “make lunch with whatever food I find tucked away” so that I could make room for all the fresh food.

And there I found Cream Cheese Salsa Dip.

Aha, thought I. This is going to somehow turn into our lunch.

I was just about ready to take our littles out for a long walk, so I dumped some pasta and this dip into the crock pot to see what would happen while we were gone. Sure enough, the results were just like I’d imagined. The pasta was soft and ready to eat in just three hours without any effort from me! I added a shot of cream and stirred in some cooked meat, and we had our meal!

Here’s the easy recipe:

Quick Crock Pot Spicy Pasta DinnerYum

Quick Crock Pot Spicy Pasta Dinner
 
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Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 10-ounces uncooked pasta, any variety
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • 32-ounces salsa
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 pound cubed ham or cooked hamburger meat (optional)
Instructions
  1. Empty package of uncooked pasta into a crock pot.
  2. In a blender, whip together cream cheese and salsa until smooth.
  3. Pour salsa mixture over the pasta in the crock pot.
  4. Cook on low heat for 3 hours.
  5. Stir in heavy whipping cream and meat if desired.
  6. Serve.

Using up leftovers to create new meals is one of my favorite ways to be efficient in the kitchen!

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Simple Snack Recipe: 5 Minute Mousse

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We all need this 5 Minute Mousse in our lives. I bet after we’ve made it a dozen times, we can knock our record down to make it in just 4 minutes, yes?

I used to make this all the time when I was young and only had two kids. Then I forgot about it as other fun recipes became more prominent. Also, I have a few more than two kids now.

I recently dug this recipe out again and wow is it a hit with our current tribe!

Here’s a fun photo our almost daughter-in-law snapped one day of me surrounded by five of our current ten kids. Life is a party, and that party calls for 5 Minute Mousse!

5 Minute MousseYum

Simple Snack Recipe: 5 Minute Mousse
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup sugar or honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. Whip all ingredients together in a high power blender or with a hand mixer until thick and smooth.
  2. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

 

Usually, I don’t take the time to scoop this into individual serving dishes before I put it into the fridge to chill. I’ve found that a large pyrex bowl with a lid works best. Then I scoop the mousse into small bowls and hand them out.

This dessert is brought to you by the mom who now needs to offer dessert every night.

Why? Because we’ve found that our six and eight-year-olds need some special incentives to eat healthy foods. “No veggies equals no dessert.” They also need reinforcement to be sweet. “If you aren’t sweet you don’t get sweets.”

So I’ve been coming up with desserts a little more regularly to help us as we train this new set of kids. :)

And of course, I add spinach to our cake, so they get to earn their cake and it comes with a full-on salad. That’s a mom-win! :)

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How to Save Money on Meat

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Want to save money on meat? Here’s what I’m figuring out!

How to Save Money on Meat

1. Look for meat mark-downs.

We’ve been doing this all along right? But now it seems more important than ever! I avoid marked-down meat if the color looks “off.” But otherwise, I’ve found that waiting for meat to be marked down for quick sale has saved me all kinds of money!

When I bring it home, I freeze it right away or cook it to eat that night.

Recently, I found pork roasts marked down to $1.79/pound! I bought two and put them into the freezer for a night we host a large crowd. This is a GREAT price per pound of meat. My $13 roasts will either feed my big family several meals or it will feed Matt’s entire soccer team during pre-season. :)

2. Eat less beef.

This one is tough for me as I’m a beef-loving girl! But in my neck of the woods, pork and chicken are significantly less expensive per pound compared to beef. Quality ground beef is over $6.00/pound while chicken legs can be found under $2.00/pound. The pork roast I mentioned above was marked down to $1.79/pound. I got pork chops that same day for $1.59/pound – while there sat the beef for $7.00/pound. Long live the cow.

3. Eat less meat overall.

This one is also tough for me. The men in our family do love their meat too. However, I’ve been skipping meat in some meals lately, and no one has noticed or said anything. I’ve been able to get away with making burritos with just black beans, rice, salsa, and corn (skipping the meat) and an entire meal based on these bean and cheese quesadillas. We’re all satisfied and our grocery budget has been saved.

4. Buy directly from farmers.

We’ve done this for years, buying a quarter to a half a cow at a time. We’ll likely do this again in the future, as it does save money on high-quality meat. But for now, I’m finding that buying discounted meat at the store is saving me more overall since we have so many mouths to feed.

5. Buy chicken from Costco or Sam’s.

The last time I priced boneless chicken thighs at our local grocery store, they were over $7.00/pound – ouch! But when I picked up a big package of boneless thights at Costco, I got them for just over $3.00/pound – much better! I also got some marked down at Sam’s, which was a fun find!

Have you found some ways to save money on meat?

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