OAMC 9 Cheese Mac n cheese

OAMC 10 cheese mac n cheese mix !

Lidls in our area has pretty good prices on cheese and some flavors are put on sale. Yesterday I got 6 packages of 12 oz shredded cheese in 3 flavors- Sharp, colby/jack, and italian blend. Plus 1 package of sliced swiss. That ends up being about 10 kinds of cheese. From these I made 8 packages of ready to use mac and cheese mix, just add pasta!

Using a scale (because I am somewhat OCD about duplicating a recipe once I like it) I took 3 oz from each bag, plus a slice of swiss and bagged them together. I added a half stick of butter and 1/4t salt and garlic powder. With some careful planning I even reused the bags,leaving 3oz in the bottom of each bag and mixing other kinds appropriately- but you still need an extra couple of 1qt bags.

I added labels with directions and placed them in a long cardboard box (recycled from Aldis) that perfectly fit that size bag and store them in the freezer. When needed, grab one bag of cheese and a box of pasta. Ready as fast as Kraft but so much better!

To make, I cook a 16oz box of pasta, adding only enough water to cover so there is no draining, then when it is done I dump in the bag of cheese and butter and stir to melt. Add milk as needed for desired liquidity. Once melted I turn it off and may sprinkle toasted buttered bread crumbs on top.

I typically use my rice/multicooker as it has a nonstick liner, requires little supervision and keeps it warm after cooking even when turned off. (Don't leave it on warm ,the bottom will brown or burn.)

I may add bacon, I get a supply from Golden Corral to-go whenever I am near enough, but that would increase the cost per meal.

Price breakdown:

item	amount in package	cost per package	cost per recipe	amount used per recipe
colby jack	12oz	1.65	$0.41	3oz
cheddar	12oz	1.79	$0.45	3oz
italian blend	12oz	1.59	$0.40	3oz
swiss	10 slices/8oz	1.65	$0.09	1 slice
Butter	16oz	2.5	$0.31	1 half stick
pasta	16oz	0.88	$0.88	1 full box
final cost per meal			$2.54

This could probably be made in a thermal cooker, once I get the hang of pasta in a thermal cooker. Thermal cooking post coming soon...

Why the having the internet is frugal. Installment 1.

Fixing stuff

Last night I noticed my relatively new dishwasher wasn't working.  I pushed the start button and no water came rushing in.  Hmm, that is super annoying!  My DH said he would take a look and 45 minutes later there were tools and parts all over the kitchen floor, but it still wasn't working.

I then suggested looking up the manual online. So I went over and snapped a picture of the model and serial number with my phone, (saved to Evernote for future need) and Googled away.  On the GE site there was a troubleshooter with the problem   "Dishwasher won't fill." That sounded likely, so I watched the video, which had a part that looked nothing like what we could find.  They suggested "hitting it with a wooden spoon or similar tool."  Not kidding.

But there were other sites, including parts sites with exploded views of the dishwasher in all it's pieces and a description of each one. (Evernoted for future reference.)  I was able to find the overfill switch for our model and DH removed it, cleaned it out and returned it. There seemed no good way to "hit it" back into submission.   He then reassembled the dishwasher and it works now.  Yay!

While you can't believe everything you read on the internet, if you use some discernment and research a bit, there is so much useful and money saving information available...for free if you have access to the internet.

This same technique and be used to diagnose car problems, computer problems and even those symptoms you might be having that don't merit a trip to the ER, because you are not about to die from them in the next few hours.

Are Microwave's Worth It?

     Every so often I come upon a discussion of whether or not a microwave is worth the counter space.  Eventually in that conversation someone will mention that is is "less healthy" to use food cooked in microwaves as if it is damaged in some way.  After researching that a bit, I just don't buy it. If anything, microwave cooked food is more healthy because it cooks faster and doesn't sit as long, having enzymes or vitamins breaking down. The unevenness may even leave a few spots a bit more raw and therefore more healthy too as long as your food didn't start with unhealthy amounts of bacteria in the first place.

  An average six year old child can be taught to safely use a microwave with little supervision needed, that is enough of an advantage even if I went no further. 

     At my house, I only use my main oven a few times a season, mainly for baking. On a more daily basis I use a crockpot , microwave, toaster oven, bread machine or counter top grill.

     I have two microwaves in the kitchen and use them everyday.   One has a 30 sec, 1,2,3,4,5 minute buttons which is makes it so easy to use.    The other larger one, requires you push at least 5 buttons (cook, 1, 0, 0, start) to get that same item cooking for a minute.  Small detail but it makes a big difference, especially if you don't have your reading glasses on to see the location of all those buttons. 

Typical day in the life of my small kitchen appliances:

Breakfast- 2 frozen hash browns get popped into the smallest toaster oven I could find, ($12 at Dollar General) for 15 minutes. When that timer dings, I microwave 2 frozen sausage patties for 60 sec each for breakfast for my husband and I.   If we were extra hungry, I spray a small dish with cooking spray, add an egg and some cheese, scramble carefully so as not to scrape the spray off the sides and microwave for 60 sec. This also makes a perfect circle if he wants an Egg McMuffin kind of sandwich too.  Another favorite meal at our house is non-instant grits. 1/4 c of grits, 1/4t salt  and 1 cup of water in a 4 C bowl for 5 minutes in the microwave makes perfect non-lumpy grits. No stirring, no watching.  A handful of cheese and a tablespoon of bacon bits at the end doesn't hurt. ;) 

  

 A pop-up toaster on dark run three times would cook the hash browns to perfection as well, but when the toaster died, I was given the tiny oven as a gift and it has proven well worth the money even though I find I have to replace it every 2 years or so.  The advantage to a tiny oven is it uses less electricity (watts) and time to heat compared to using a larger  oven, even a larger toaster oven because the food is so close to the elements on both sides.  I also use that oven for toast if I need two slices or less. 

Lunch- My teenage son makes mac n cheese or  hamburger helper-type meals for his lunch in the microwave using a 2qt pyrex bowl.   He adds a frozen 1lb block of ground meat, cook on high about 3-5 minutes. If started raw, he then breaks it up and cooks it again  another 8 minutes or so, then proceeds with the pasta cooking.  If he is using pre-cooked meat he adds the pasta, seasoning and water to cover the pasta and microwaves for 8 minutes to cook the pasta.  The advantage to microwave cooking compared to stove top is the microwave turns itself off when it is done so there is little chance of burning it. He doesn't need to be in the kitchen keeping an eye on it. If he gets distracted or busy, the food will be waiting in the microwave.  

Snacks and lunches made in the microwave routinely- nachos with real cheese melted, takes only 45 seconds for a whole plate. Microwave popcorn, though I more often use an air popper as it is faster and cheaper.One cup of cheese or white sauce ("fondue") made from scratch takes 2 minutes in the microwave.  Hot dogs or corn dogs, leftovers found in the fridge, soup or canned anything found in the pantry.  One dish to cook, eat in and clean.  I rarely use a sauce pan on the stove if a pyrexd measuring cup in the microwave will work.  

Dinner-  Most cooked veggies are steamed in the microwave.  Many other elements of dinner are microwaved if I find myself with only 30 minutes or less to get the meal ready. Rice, if I need only a couple of cups takes 15 min in the microwave, larger amounts I use a rice cooker.   Potatoes, Any frozen "pre-cooked" meals or parts of a meal from meatballs to ribs are warmed up in the microwave. Smoked sausage cut into coins take only a couple of minutes for a whole plate full.  Tacos- meat is cooked in the microwave as above for hamburger helper.  

Desserts- Caramel popcorn, takes only a few minutes.  Two servings of freshly made cake takes 1 min, fudge, chocolate covered pretzels...

When entertaining the microwave has saved dinner many times when something was forgotten or under cooked at serving time. 

Someday I am going to do a comparison on how much energy a small and large microwave use to cook food compared to an electric and gas stove or other small appliances.  I suspect the microwave will win many rounds, except when competing against my solar cooker.

All in all, I think it is worth it. 

Paper for free, painless and paperless

If anyone has ever done the "Staples easy rebates" which frequently get you 1-2 reams of paper free every week, you probably already do them online and know about the yards of paper receipts and rebate information that prints out, when you only need a couple of numbers from it. 

 Recently they started advertising that you can get a paperless emailed receipt.  In addition to the other benefits of not having to handle that receipt, with the rebates, you can copy/paste the long 15 digit receipt number  and the offer number onto the rebate site in just a few seconds. Suing all the auto fill features and pay pal option you can get your money on it's way back to an account you own in less than about a minute. Pretty painless!  You have to use your reward number to participate in paperless receipts.

If you have ever had them run out of paper in the middle of the print out, I can assure you it is not something you want to do as they can't just reprint, but the whole order has to be returned and re-rung. 

Coupon Organization- a hybrid system

Coupon Organization- a hybrid system

There are many methods used for organizing coupons.  With only one paper's worth of coupons, most any will work.  But when you collect several copies of a paper things get harder. The two most mentioned are the binder method- involving cutting all coupons as you get them and filing them in pockets in a large binder by category.     Or filing whole inserts and using a coupon database to find and cut only what you need right before a shopping trip. Both have their pros and cons.

The binder method has lots of "front end" labor, meaning you do lots of work at home, in the comfort of your home cutting and filing coupons.  You then take the whole binder to the store with you and everything you need is right there ready to go. Draw back is each coupon pack has about 60 coupons so on a typical week you are sorting 100-200 coupons into your system from the papers alone.  I found it hard to find spaces to put them and to find the expired ones to make those blank spaces.  The binder was large, heavy and hard to flip through in a shopping cart, not too enticing to lug around in each store. Lastly if it fell out on the floor upside down and the coupons fell out, it meant HOURS of work sorting.

The whole insert method means you either cut the coupons at home as you need them, or take the whole business with you to the store and cut as you go with a printed coupon database or mobile access to a web version. With this method coupons are not ready to go, few databases are exact matches to all the papers in an area so you may miss some deals or waste time looking for coupons you never got.  Also you still need a place for peelies and store coupons. But if you tend to get bogged down cutting and sorting coupons every week, this is a way to have access to all your coupons in an organized way with almost no work unless you actually use them.

  The main problem in couponing with several papers a week with either system is the weight.  In order to get the best deals you need to have ALL of the coupons with you ALL the time.  That quickly gets too heavy to want to carry around and couponing becomes not worth the trouble.  

   I have a hybrid system which works only because I found the correct storage equipment.   Whole inserts are stored in five tabbed plastic file folders by month along with All You Magazine in the back.   I normally take at least the current and last month files in the store with me, just in case I see an unadvertised deal.  The rest are kept in the car.  Cut coupons I know I want to use, store coupons, peelies, etc. are stored in two check files.  Non-food coupons  are kept in a small dollar store check file with 13 tabs including each pharmacy. Food coupons are kept  in a large check file with a handle, found only in-store at Staples, with about 25 or so tabs where I include grocery stores tabs as well. "Coupon files" are worthless in my opinion as they are too small so you have to fold the coupons to fit them in.

With this system I can spend as little as a couple of minutes each week sticking that weeks coupon inserts in the file. That way even if I get lazy and don't feel like deal shopping at all, I don't have stacks of insets piling up. If I come upon an amazing deal I can always find the week it was published and cut out what I need.  I only actually use a few coupons per inset, this way I don't waste any time cutting out all those I never use.
I cull the coupon folders when most all have expired, which is when they are about 5 months old. Using a downloadable database site, I sort the coupons by date, inset and expiration. Cut any remaining ones I might actually use and discard the rest.

How to save when you are barely making it?

I read this blog post , and it was good enough to share.  Often I meet people who seem to be in an impossible situation with no end in site. It is hard not to get discouraged.  This post points out some key points, including microscopic goals, which is one of the key things I think is needed for success in any area, not just saving money.

Accomplishing even small goals, sets up habits that eventually reap big rewards. Doing the same thing you have always done just digs you in a little deeper every day.

Make Ahead Bread Mix Day

This week our local frugal support group is going to get together to make  bread mixes. Bread mix is the dry ingredients, pre-measured and packaged together so you can make bread in a machine in less than five minutes. Making bread mix isn't expensive, actually, it is far less expensive than almost any other bread choice, if the ingredients are shopped for carefully.  Yet, how many people own bread machines and don't use them? Because there are so many people who have tried them and not used them, you can find a working bread machine in almost any thrift store or yard sale for $5-20. Well worth the money if you are going to use it.

Our bread mix day included making mixes for basic white bread, pizza dough, Hawaiian bread and two kinds of rolls.  The ingredients were measured into 5c plastic containers (a detail that matters- baggies are a pain to fill, 4c is not quite big enough for some mixes), the containers were labeled and the recipe was written on the lid. (Detail that matters- looking up your recipe to add liquid ingredients each time is an extra step that will make you less likely to use them when you are in a hurry.)  Label the front of the containers as well that way you can see them easily on the shelf.  
Here is what I currently have left in my pantry. Butterhorn rolls are a good recipe to use up extra eggs. I was not on the ball this year putting timed lights in my chicken house and they stopped laying for the winter, so I haven't used up my supply of those mixes.