Old School Pumpkin Bread

This is my recipe for pumpkin bread, retrieved from one of my great-grandmother's recipe book.  I make substitutions based on what I have on hand, or my mood that day.  The original recipe called for three cups of granulated sugar, but it was too sweet for us. Feel free to add more if you like. The recipe is really forgiving.

Ingredients:

• 3C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1C granulated sugar
• 1C brown sugar
• 1C butter, room temp or softer
• 3 large eggs
• 16-24 oz of pumpkin puree (16oz is a normal can size. I add more when I am using fresh because I love pumpkin)
• 1/2C chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray two loaf pans.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the first seven ingredients- flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a stand mixer, cream warm butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy. Add pumpkin puree and mix well.
4. In three batches, add the dry ingredients and mix gently just until incorporated. Scrap the sides of the bowl after each batch. 
5. Pour half the batter in each pan. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Freezes well.

For the bread above, I used 1/2C of butter and 1/2C of applesauce, and it turned out great!  With butter priced at $5/lb right now, I was happy to make the substitution.  I just finished canning a lot of applesauce so I could use it as a substitution in recipes. It adds nutrition and costs less- win, win!

No Spend October

After I last blogged about only purchasing enough food for six weeks during a sale, I went to the grocery store yesterday and hit the motherlode of meat markdowns.  Apparently, this particular grocery store had a lot of meat expiring at the beginning of the month and marked down at least 30% of their stock.

I purchased two packs of chicken thighs for 0.53/lb, steak for $2/lb, organic grass-fed ground beef for $2.19/lb and I also picked up two gallons of milk for $2.00/each.  My one caveat to purchasing a large quantity of food is if it's under your price book minimums, and these prices were definitely below that line.  So needless to say, my end-of-month spending is not going to look great, but the savings will add up long-term.

This has also inspired me to do my first no-buy month. Since we are stocked on meat, and I normally keep a small stockpile of basic groceries, I think we should be able to go through October without purchasing many groceries. I will use fresh produce as my one exception since I go to my local farmer's market every Friday. For that, I will budget $15/week, so I am going to try and keep our grocery budget to $60.00 this month. Anyone care to join?

Pantry Stockpile

When a couple of friends came over last week, they asked if they could see what I put in my pantry stockpile.  I had mentioned in passing that I thought that having a well-stocked pantry was a great way to save money on groceries.  However, I had never said much about what I actually buy to help stock my pantry. Super unhelpful, as knowledge is in the specifics!

My pantry is stocked according to sales cycles. Most products go on sale every six weeks.  The goal of my pantry is to have it stocked with enough canned and dry goods to last through the next time the item will go on sale. The exception to that is if the product is on sale and I have coupons for it.  If the sale makes the item ridiculously inexpensive (according to my personal price book), I buy as many items as I have coupons.

The one warning I would give is- don't become a hoarder!  If you find that you have enough food for a year, or if there are boxes of pasta under your bed.... you might not want to buy anything else for a long time. Every item goes on sale again. A good test- if you have enough stockpile to go on a reality show, you have gone too far.  :)

So here is a look at what is in my pantry...

Basics: all purpose flour, bread flour, salt, white and/or brown rice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and rolled oats.

When I am currently using the stock, I store them in plastic jugs that are from my son's animal crackers. They are 5lb and 3lb containers, so they are perfect for fitting in my pantry.

When I am storing the excess, they are stored the unfinished part of my basement in storage bins. A better alternative for storing flour and sugar would be in the freezer, but I don't have the room in my freezer.

In February, my local grocery store had a great sale on a lot of dry items. I stocked up on lots of lunch and dinner items. This is a typical pantry stockpile for my family: Pasta sauce, alfredo sauce, dry pasta, peanut butter...

Egg noodles, cereal, canned vegetables including carrots, corn, creamed corn, beets, green beans, spinach, peas, diced tomatoes...

Condiments such as salad dressing, mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce. Olive oil, coconut oil, spray oil and shortening are used in all of my cooking and baking. All of the macaroni and cheese, stuffing and gravy is from when my local Aldi clearanced it all after Christmas- everything was 25 cents. And the flavored water was a free-with-purchase find from another local store.

Spread throughout, I also have dried beans, crackers, pretzels, dried potatoes, popcorn, onion soup mix, canned fruit and pumpkin, canned beans, cake mixes, pickles, white and apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, apple juice, beef and chicken bouillon cubes, spices, jam, instant pudding mix, tuna, coffee and tea, soy and coconut milk, evaporated and sweetened condensed milk, honey and extracts.

Every pantry is obviously different based upon the preferences of the family, but most of these are basics that every family would use.  I have mostly basic items since that is the least expensive way to cook, but I also have items for a quick dinner if I don't feel up to cooking from scratch.  This is a very small stockpile compared to some, and a large stockpile compared to others (most specifically, my city friends!).  

If you want to start your own stockpile, start it week-by-week. Choose one thing that is on sale, and buy enough for six weeks.  It will only take a few weeks before you see your weekly shopping list get smaller, and your savings get larger.  You never know when a medical emergency or job loss will hit either, so it's always good to have some pasta in the closet for a rainy day.

Saving Points From Corporations

One of the silly, easy things I do to save money is saving "points" from different companies.  A lot of big corporations try to instill loyalty in their consumers with a points program. Coca-Cola has "My Coke Rewards", Pampers has "Pampers Village", etc.  It may seem pointless to save these codes, but they do add up in a couple of different ways.

1. Double Points Promotions- I save codes from Coca-Cola and Kellogg products.  I usually only get name-brand products when coupons make it even cheaper than generic brands. Several times a year, these companies will set double-points weeks. I save my codes until one of the promotions, and then I will get double the points for the same amount of codes. They usually cap it at around 100 points per week (or 200 during the doubles week), but since I usually have less than that anyway, it really works out for me.

2. Holiday Promotions- I always wait for Christmas to spend my Coca-Cola rewards points. The last couple of years, there has been a holiday program where there are daily prizes that are at least half-off the normal points price. Last year, I redeemed a couple of McDonald's, Home Depot and Best Buy gift cards. I remember that the $5 McDonald's gift cards came in handy when Benji was pleading for a Happy Meal, and it only set me back 30 points. (The equivalent of 5 bottle caps during the doubles week.)

3. School Funding- While it doesn't help save me money personally, I also save the Box Tops for a friend's school.  They receive 10 cents per box top, and it makes no sense to just throw that away. Again, my small stack of box tops is not going to make a huge difference, but I would save a found dime, so why not a found box top?

Offhand, I know that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg, Pampers and Huggies all have these programs, because I have personally used them all.  I am saving my Pamper's points to redeem towards a ticket to Sesame Place. Saving $50 using codes I already have makes me a happy frugalista.

SUMMER FUN

My mom has been visiting from Virginia since right before Benji's 3rd birthday.  Since we live so far away from each other now, we don't get to visit often, but the visits are long so it kinda makes up for the infrequency.  I cannot for a second pretend her visit was completely frugal, but it was F-U-N!  When I got our tax refund this year, I thought a lot about how we should break it down.  It's the last refund from when I was working, and it might be the last time we get a bulk check.  Most of it went towards savings, but I also set aside some for summer fun.  A summer is meant for exploring and traveling, and we definitely have been on the roll with that this year. We did lots of frugal things but we mixed it up with not-so-frugal adventures too. This is what we have been up to in the last month:

1. Manasquan Reservoir is a big water source near our town that has a visitors center, paddle boats, playground, hiking and biking trails, and fishing.  Benji loves the playground, so we went a couple times to let him run out some energy.  All it takes is bubbles and a slide to keep him occupied for a long time.  We also had lunch at the visitor's center that overlooks the lake.  My mom wanted to try the paddle boats but we never got to that- next time!

2. Adventure Aquarium is the state aquarium of New Jersey, and it was one of our non-frugal activities.  The admission was $25/per person, though I purchased $28 tickets online that included a lunch of pizza, fries and a soda.  I debated spending even the $3 since you could bring your own food, but it ended up being a GREAT decision.  Without the pass, a soda cost $3 by itself, and I haven't fully adapted to water only when I am out and about. Plus, Benji got his first slushee type drink, and he was mightily impressed.  The aquarium was fascinating, and I have wanted to go since we moved here.  My favorite exhibits were for the hippos and jellyfish.  My mom hates jellyfish because she was stung a lot growing up in Florida, but I think they are too beautiful to be that hated.

The top floor of the aquarium was for kids, and there were lots of places to play, and touch the stingrays and baby sharks.  My mom got a kick out of Benji grabbing my hand, and telling me to hop on the stingray!  It WAS big... but let's not get crazy.

3. Popcorn Zoo is a sanctuary for rescued animals including elderly wildlife, exotic and farm animals, and birds.  This was one of our frugal adventures since it only cost $5 for entry, and $2.50 for a box of popcorn from which to feed the animals.  Benji shared his popcorn with the birds- as in, one nibble for you, and then I will eat it.  Germaphobes beware.  :)  Our zoo day was relaxed and fun. Benji got to feed the animals, eat loads of popcorn, chase the peacocks and talk to the pigs.

4. Storybook Land was probably the most fun trip of the summer so far, but I'm not sure if I should categorize it as frugal or not. The friend that recommended it thought it was expensive. It's $25/per person, and if Benji didn't end up riding much, I could see how it could be considered expensive.  But Benji LOVED it.  The park was only about 45mins away, which is a big plus in my book, and consists completely of toddler rides.  He rode most rides twice, and I think there were only 2 that he took one look at, and said no way.  There was a tram that went all the way around the park, and a train that went another route around the park.

The theme is nursery rhymes, so we spent time with Mother Goose, Mary and her lamb, Jack and Jill... you get the picture. Since we ended up spending ALL day there, which is almost unheard of for Benji, I really feel like it is a frugal alternative to that big Florida theme park for a couple years.  That fact makes it EXTREMELY frugal for us!

We also planned it for the last week that kids were still in school- so there was never a line, no crowds in the shaded areas, and lots of room for Benji to run and play without worry of losing him in a crowd.  There was also a house that Santa lived in, and a barn with all of his reindeer, so I imagine this would be a lot of fun at Christmastime as well.

Benji and grandma

5. July 4th! Free fireworks in town. Now, that's a lotta frugal.

As for the rest of her visit, we did a lot of this:

We ran out of time before we ran out of fun things to do.  New Jersey really is a great place to have kids. Although, people probably think that about their town too!  Keepin' it frugal.