Thursday on the Homestead


 

Well this has been a crazy week. We stayed up way to late on Monday night, which is hubby’s weekend. His weekend comes around (he has his days off during the week) and it seems we tend to all move towards his schedule (he works nights)! So there we were at way past midnight watching another episode of Alias.  It is our current TV fix. We are in season 3 and all of us can’t wait to see what happens next so we just keep watching. Since that night we have slowly been moving to a more reasonable schedule! 

 

The rest of the week has been about cleaning out the barn and getting rid of stuff, more wood cutting and fun at the pond. Today the weather is a little cooler and the pond does not seem so inviting at the moment.  

 

But what did sound inviting was making a smoothie for me and the younger 3 kids this afternoon. I made a banana blueberry smoothie. It was yummy. I did not follow a recipe, just winged it.. I put 3 bananas in the blender, dumped in some frozen organic blueberries. I added milk and ice cubes (sweetener is optional) and let it blend until smooth.. it was delicious and cold and refreshing and filling! That ended up being my lunch. 

 

Dinner for tonight is Yummy Pinto Beans again. Tobin loves them and they are great on the budget. I used sausage in them in this time (I often will add hamburger to them). I also am serving a watermelon, a green salad, a pasta salad that Emily made yesterday when she got home from work and Sierra is currently making an Oatmeal Spice Cake for dessert.  

 

So this evening’s agenda will be to enjoy what is left of the sunshine, eat a yummy dinner and gather around the TV for the last episode of season 3 of Alias. I ordered season 4 this afternoon and am trying to figure out what to watch when we finally get to the end of the series (which is season 5).

 

Update on Leanne: I got a call from her yesterday!! I was so excited. She was waiting with her team at the airport. They were leaving for Egypt. They had to change planes in Paris then onto Cairo. I keep checking in the Teen Missions website to see if they have arrived. They are great updates. It was good to hear Leanne’s voice.. she sounded happy and excited and ready for this adventure, which was a great comfort for me to hear.  

 

More on Budgets..

I still think one of the best ways for a homemaker to save money is in the kitchen. If you learn to cook more and more from scratch you will be amazed at how much this can save. 


One way I save money is by stretching out my meat with beans. Monday night’s dinner was a good example. We were having tacos. To feed my family tacos with just hamburger it usually takes 3lbs. But instead I cook up 3 cups of pinto beans and turn these into refried beans. And then I cook up 1 lb. of hamburger and mix them together. The meat is enough to flavor the beans and the beans means there is enough taco filling for everyone and there was lunch the next day. Tonight is another example with the yummy pinto beans.. 1 lb. of sausage with 4 cups of dried beans and everyone will walk away from the table satisfied and stuffed! 
  

 

I will continue to share on ways to cut the budget.. it is an important area to discuss in light of the rising prices all around us.

Comments

  1. Crystal,

    I am so glad you were able to talk with Leanne and that she sounds good and happy. I am just so proud of her.

    Thank you for keeping up your post about budgets...I enjoy reading them very much.

    Love ya,

    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I hope Leanne is still having a great time. I bet you are both a little homesick for her to come home, but what an experience she is having!!!


    I love your website, your blog and of course the message boards as well because I am learning so much from you and the other girls. Just wanted to say thanks for all you do Crystal.


    God's BLessings,

    Amy Jo

    ReplyDelete
  3. for saving money. I will look forward to your other ideas as well! Mrs. Joseph Wood

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  4. I love your recipes with beans but my hubby REALLY doesn't like beans. He likes them alright really but they give him a terrible tummy ache-like for 2 days! So he has "sworn off" beans except in very small quantities (like just enough to keep from hurting a cook's feelings). Any other ideas? I cook my bean recipes for lunch for me and the kiddos but would love to be able to save on dinner too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I second the comment above. I kept hearing about LOST from blogs so out of curiosity I rented the first episode for my dh and I and our older kids-12 and older. We were hooked from the beginning. We don't let the 9 and 10 year olds watch but for your family, I highly recommend it. We love it.

    p.s. Other series I recommend are the Waltons, Lois and Clark (the new adventures of Superman-from the 90's) and the Cosby show. I am currently getting hooked on Stargate Atlantis, after watching a couple of episodes last week.

    ReplyDelete

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