I'm back!!!!

It has been waaaayyyyy too long since I have blogged about budgeting! I started back teaching in August and added a job on the weekends to the mix. Now, I'm no longer working the weekend job and I am so excited about getting back to sharing with you guys!

Since I have been gone, I inherited a KitchenAid mixer that has changed my life! No joke, the bread hook is AWESOME!!! I will share my bread recipe shortly. As well as other recipes that will tickle your budget friendly fancy. :)

Today's post will be short and sweet. Have a good night y'all!!!

WE MADE IT!!!

First of all, I have to apologize for the fact that I have been absent for 5 days! I'm so sorry guys! Things have been extremely busy!

So here we are! It's the 25th of the month which for us means the start of a new month with our budget. Confusing right? why not just start the month when a new month actually starts? Well, just as a side note, we started it that way 3 years ago when we started Dave Ramsey's FPU, it's just how it fell when we did our first cash flow budget. Anyway...

Here is a recap of the past 5 days...

*We had leftover chicken noodle soup that I had frozen from a previous meal.

*Grilled Italian marinated Chicken with squash that was given to us from someone garden and the last of the frozen broccoli (I used the breast meat from the whole chicken I bought).

*An odds and ends night where we just kinda made a meal based on what each of us wanted out of the fridge.

*My Mom and Stepdad took us out to eat at Zaxby's one day.

*And my Mother-in-law bought pizza the day/night that my hubby picked her up from the airport.

So there you have it...

However, I have a surprise.... WE TOTALLY BLEW IT ON PURPOSE!!!!!!!

Yep, that's right... last night we totally could have done one more meal from the rest of the whole chicken that I had bought. However, as a special surprise for my hubby I decided to surprise him with his favorite place to eat... It occured to me that throughout this challenge there was pretty much no red meat involved, and sometimes no meat at all. That is very hard for my hubby honestly. He could eat a burger every night (thank God he married me so that doesn't happen! LOL). So when he came home from work we went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries as a celebration for the fact that we made it.

So here is what I have learned from this challenge...

* We are blessed beyond measure and though it was hard to eat on pretty much only $100 this month, we had more that enough to eat even if it wasn't what we wanted.

* You don't always have to sacrifice nutrition because your budget is low. Many times it's cheaper to buy fresh fruits and veggies than it is to buy the packaged stuff.

* Incorporate more meals without meat. I think it would be a great idea for us to eat at least one meatless meal a week. Some of the ones I made were so yummy!

* NEVER throw out food! ALWAYS eat your leftovers!

* Plan, plan, plan your meals!

* Look for discount fruits, veggies, and meats!

Words cannot express the changes in my heart and perspective that have happened because of this experience. Unless you go through it, it is hard to explain or understand. You definitely learn to appreciate what you have and although you feel like your a person who lives frugally and on little money to begin with, you realize really quick how much you really didn't appreciate what you were blessed with. I would like to pass off this challenge to someone else. Or at least do one similar. It's definitely something worth trying with your family just so you can gain better perspective into your own lives and more importantly your hearts. Thank you for reading and encouraging me through this experience.

I hope you continue to follow this blow. It will have a new name in the coming days and will continue to have new things added and changed to become a site about frugal living, spending, recipes, etc. You will still be able to access all the Food Challenge links under the tab at the top of the page.
Have a great night and God bless!!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I used to make my own powder laundry detergent, however, I never could really get the granules of soap small enough to dissolve completely. I had read several tutorials about making a liquid version, had bought another bar of soap to make it. And now, one year later I am finally getting around to it!  I am running low on laundry detergent anyway and obviously don't have it in the budget to get more this month. Although I can make it through the month without running out, I still wanted to make some.

The recipe for it is from the Duggar family website.

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm and Hammer Super WASHING soda (NOT BAKING SODA! THERE IS A DIFFERENCE)
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores. Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Here are a few pictures of the steps to make it! :) 

You can find these ingredients at most Kroger's.

Boiling the soap

My 5 gallon bucket I got at Lowe's for $2.69

It's gellin'! 

Done!!! I had kept one of my empty laundry bottles from before.

So there you have it! It's super easy! Although it may take a little more time you have to think about the fact that you won't have to buy laundry detergent for a REALLY LONG TIME! It works really, really well too! You can just store the big bucket out in your garage. 

Days 23 and 24: Dinner recipes

Today's post includes dinner from last night and tonight. Before we get to dinner, I did go to the store. We have only a 1/4 gallon of milk left, however, last time I went to Food City a "Kid's club" coupon printed out and said "good for 1 free Food Club milk." Well, of course it's not a full size milk, but it was a 12oz one and that makes me happy! Plus, it was FREE!!!

While I was there I needed to get meat. I was planning on getting a cheap cut of meat like thighs or legs, however, they had the all natural whole chickens on markdown for $2.73!!!! That's only $.69 a pound! So that and the milk only cost me:

Total: $2.93

Total so far: $99.91!!!! Hopefully we won't need anything else! 

Now, onto dinner. Last night I needed something quick and I did a "no, no" and strayed from the meal plan... I had carrots, onions, a little bit of broccoli, and 2 chicken tenders left so I decided to do some stir-fry. While I was cooking the stir-fry I had rice cooking. 

Quick Stir-fry

2-3 chicken tenders or 1 chicken breast 

3/4 cup broccoli 

half an onion, chopped

1/4 c Teriyaki sauce

1 carrot, chopped

pinch of brown sugar

choice of oil for cooking (olive, vegetable, etc)

Heat 1 tbs of oil in a wok or skillet (I used a wok). Add the chopped carrots along with just a pinch of brown sugar over them. Cook until they start to turn bright orange and get a little crisp. Remove the carrots and set aside for later use. Heat another tbs of oil. Once the oil is heated add chicken to it. Let it cook for a few minutes until the underside is white than flip. Take the chicken out of the wok and slice it into chunks. Add the chicken back to the wok along with the broccoli, onion and the carrots that were set aside earlier. Pour 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce over the top and cook until tender-crisp. 

Tonight I made a crockpot meal. I love using my crockpot, however, I knocked the lid to mine off the counter a few weeks ago and it broke into a billion pieces! Right now my mother-in-law has been so kind to let me use her crockpot. 

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (adapted from "Busy Family Recipes")

5 cups chicken broth (I didn't have chicken broth, but I did have bouillon so I used 5 cubes in 5 cups of water)

1 1/2 c uncooked brown rice

1 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I didn't have one so I didn't use it, plus, my 2 year old is eating this so I don't want to burn him up)

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs cumin

1 tsp salt

2 cans (15ozs each) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbs fresh lime juice

(optional sour cream and green onions for toppings)

Mix broth, rice, onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, and salt into the crockpot. Cover, and cook on low for 7 hrs. or until rice is tender. After rice is done, stir in the beans and lime juice. cover for 15-20minutes. Last garnish your rice with sour cream, green onions, or whatever you like.