Now that I have 'mostly' normal people hours, this leaves me time during the day to plan out meals that can be prepared quickly for when The Hubby gets home from work and I'm AT work. With a little prep and time, you can get what you need to get done around the house and feed the family at the same time without breaking a sweat, or the piggy bank.
The crockpot is one of our staple kitchen accessories around here obviously, just like Ronco says 'set it and forget it'. But what are you going to put IN it?
Beans are a big hit around here obviously, they're cheap, nutritious and filling and definitely Wee Man approved. At least 1 meal a week here is of the bean family. We buy the large bags of dried beans (pintos, northern, etc) rinse out about a pound and a half of them, dump them in the crockpot with about 6 to 8 cups of water, toss in half a package of ham pieces (for seasoning) as one full package is plenty to season two pots of beans. Set on low for 8-10 hours and voila!
The upfront cost for the beans will vary with type of bean and where you live but a 5 lb bag of pinto or northern beans typically runs us about 4 to 6 dollars, the ham pieces run about 1.99 a package here. The full pot will general make at least 2 meals worth with second helpings included, so you can have dinner one night and lunch the next day for a fraction of the cost.
We also typically serve some sort of cornbread or potatoes with this as well, which is perfect for these cold chilly nights.
So with a little thinking ahead dinner doesn't have to be a hassle. Trust me on this.
xoxo
Ouiser
Monday, January 14, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Truvy's Goals for 2013
Because resolutions just scream to be broken, I'm just setting some nice goals.
1. Keep my kitchen clean enough to cook in.
Basically, my house is a war zone. It was looking decent...but then I worked 6 days in a row, and all hell broke loose.
2. Eat healthier.
If I set a weight loss goal, I'll just be bummed when I don't reach it. So I will just strive to make healthier decisions.
3. Be more aware of our finances.
We broke. Nuff said.
So there you have it. Wish me luck!
Now if only the dang UPS man will get here so I can start dinner that would be stupendous.
<3 Truvy
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Moving on a Beer Budget...Take Two!
Yes!!!
Ouiser and Co. FINALLY left the HOUSE FROM HELL. No more spiders, no more wonky electricity, no e.coli infected water, no freezing our asses off...
Okay, so we actually moved BACK to the same trailer park (lovely ain't it?) that we lived in before, but this trailer is larger, MUCH nicer oh and everything works for the most part except that whole dishwasher actually DRYING the dishes thing, but we can live with that.
And yes, we DID manage it on a beer budget this time.
It took approximately 1000 dollars for deposits, etc but that's MUCH better than the almost THREE THOUSAND we spent to move INTO the House From Hell. Sadly, this really ate into the Yule budget and pbbbffffttt! I never got to send my cards and I have a package for Truvy that's been sitting here for damn near three weeks that I can't afford to send yet*lol* But she knows it's here and she knows it's coming, so no worries!
Since our brief hiatus turned into a many MONTHS hiatus (sounds like my writing career!) we have decreed NO MORE! We are back and we will be badder than ever. We've got lots of stuff planned this year, recipes, tips, freebie finds etc and stay tuned for a SPECIAL surprise later this year as I FINALLY publish my first novel!
Yup, lots of good stuff in store here at CM, so stick around!
XOXO
Ouiser
Ouiser and Co. FINALLY left the HOUSE FROM HELL. No more spiders, no more wonky electricity, no e.coli infected water, no freezing our asses off...
Okay, so we actually moved BACK to the same trailer park (lovely ain't it?) that we lived in before, but this trailer is larger, MUCH nicer oh and everything works for the most part except that whole dishwasher actually DRYING the dishes thing, but we can live with that.
And yes, we DID manage it on a beer budget this time.
It took approximately 1000 dollars for deposits, etc but that's MUCH better than the almost THREE THOUSAND we spent to move INTO the House From Hell. Sadly, this really ate into the Yule budget and pbbbffffttt! I never got to send my cards and I have a package for Truvy that's been sitting here for damn near three weeks that I can't afford to send yet*lol* But she knows it's here and she knows it's coming, so no worries!
Since our brief hiatus turned into a many MONTHS hiatus (sounds like my writing career!) we have decreed NO MORE! We are back and we will be badder than ever. We've got lots of stuff planned this year, recipes, tips, freebie finds etc and stay tuned for a SPECIAL surprise later this year as I FINALLY publish my first novel!
Yup, lots of good stuff in store here at CM, so stick around!
XOXO
Ouiser
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Truvy has a phone again!
Huzzah! Black Friday gave me the perfect excuse to buy a new phone...and it was only 40 bucks!! #winning
Hopefully this means more bloggy blog posts as well. Stay tuned race fans!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Ouiser's Freebie Round-Up 6/5/12
Ouiser here and I'm scouring the web today to find all the best freebies, samples and coupons for you! To start things off here's a PERFECT one for Father's Day:
Free Card (no shipping!) at Cardstore.com when you get to the check out after creating your Father's Day card enter "LUVDAD2" in the promo code spot and your card is FREE. I already created one for the Wee Man to give to Hubby and it should be here in a few days just in time for the 17th.
I LOVE Bodycology, especially the body sprays. I've never tried the lotions so I'm pretty excited to try this one out.
If your have furry friends try this pate topper from Meow Mix (they also send a 1.00 off coupon)
I've gotten lots of neat things from Start Sampling so anything they tend to offer is totally worth the few minutes it takes to fill out the forms.
(copy and paste this in your browser):
http://www.startsampling.com/product.iphtml?item=40376
I just signed up for this one (I chose the dozy night dreams) so if I get it I'll obviously let you know how it goes.
I love Quiznos but haven't been in years. This offer expires on June 8th so don't delay.
I love smelly stuff (provided I'm not allergic to it), simply like them on Facebook and pick three scents to sample. I chose Night Orchid, Deep Wood and Summer Rain.
I will continue to look around today and see what pops up and post it on our FB page and here in bloggy format. Please note that I get a LOT of these links from other sources as well as my own personal research. In our next installation, I'll be sharing some of the freebie sites that I frequent.
xoxo
Ouiser
Free Card (no shipping!) at Cardstore.com when you get to the check out after creating your Father's Day card enter "LUVDAD2" in the promo code spot and your card is FREE. I already created one for the Wee Man to give to Hubby and it should be here in a few days just in time for the 17th.
I LOVE Bodycology, especially the body sprays. I've never tried the lotions so I'm pretty excited to try this one out.
If your have furry friends try this pate topper from Meow Mix (they also send a 1.00 off coupon)
I've gotten lots of neat things from Start Sampling so anything they tend to offer is totally worth the few minutes it takes to fill out the forms.
(copy and paste this in your browser):
http://www.startsampling.com/product.iphtml?item=40376
Okay why is this thing jacking up my text...seriously. Okay there we go. That took forever and a day...Anyway. I've received the 5 Hour Energy samples before and used them. Given my addiction to Monster Energy Lo-Carb though I couldn't actually tell you if they work or not. But, I work in a convenience store and we sell a metric assload of these and people swear by them. You'll get a random flavor but usually either Berry or Grape (I got lucky and got a Pomegranate one last time)
I just signed up for this one (I chose the dozy night dreams) so if I get it I'll obviously let you know how it goes.
I love Quiznos but haven't been in years. This offer expires on June 8th so don't delay.
I love smelly stuff (provided I'm not allergic to it), simply like them on Facebook and pick three scents to sample. I chose Night Orchid, Deep Wood and Summer Rain.
I will continue to look around today and see what pops up and post it on our FB page and here in bloggy format. Please note that I get a LOT of these links from other sources as well as my own personal research. In our next installation, I'll be sharing some of the freebie sites that I frequent.
xoxo
Ouiser
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Tonight's Dinner: Delicioso
It's kinda Mexican. It's kinda awesome. It's Delicioso. =) Yea, my lame butt just came up with the name. So if you are looking for something scrumdiddlyumptious, try this out. =D
1. Take any thin cut beef...in the past I used thin sliced sirloin tip...today they had some thin sliced milanesa (i have no clue what it is other than beef, but it looks like it will be super tender!) on markdown, so that's what we are going with. there is 1-1.5 pounds of it...hopefully will feed 6 people and have some leftovers. Anywho, take your meet and cut it into strips roughly 0.5 in by 2 in...don't worry too much...just as long as it is fairly bite-sized, you are fine.
2. Toss your sliced up meat into a bowl. Top with a can of Rotel. I used original today. This recipe was originally created by throwing random things from my pantry together, so this marinade is just what I have tried. Originally I added, in addition to the Rotel, Frank's Red Hot and Tony Chachere's. Today I did Rotel, Frank's Red Hot, black pepper, and garlic powder. Just browse your cabinets and go with what feels right. Put saran wrap over the bowl and stick the whole kit'n'kaboodle in the fridge. Let it sit a little while...I think I let it sit for an hour the first time I made this. This time it will be in there 1-2 hours. If your meat is tough, let it go longer.
3. Get your pan smoking hot. Dump the entire contents of the bowl on in, juice, tomatoes, and all. Cook the meat until it's done, of course.
4. This next part is also a guideline of what I have done. Raid your cabinets and let your tummy and taste buds lead the way. What I do is take a 10 in whole wheat tortilla, heat it up, and spread filling on, then meat, then cheese. The first time the filling was black beans and brown rice that I had leftover from the other night. The cheese I used was Kraft singles. AND IT WAS DELICIOSO! Tonight I will be using black beans and refried beans as the filling and maybe some shredded cheddar cheese. The filling i usually cook in the meat's pan together when the meat is done.
Enjoy! Time for me to go wrangle the youngun and get to work on dinner.
<3
Truvy
1. Take any thin cut beef...in the past I used thin sliced sirloin tip...today they had some thin sliced milanesa (i have no clue what it is other than beef, but it looks like it will be super tender!) on markdown, so that's what we are going with. there is 1-1.5 pounds of it...hopefully will feed 6 people and have some leftovers. Anywho, take your meet and cut it into strips roughly 0.5 in by 2 in...don't worry too much...just as long as it is fairly bite-sized, you are fine.
2. Toss your sliced up meat into a bowl. Top with a can of Rotel. I used original today. This recipe was originally created by throwing random things from my pantry together, so this marinade is just what I have tried. Originally I added, in addition to the Rotel, Frank's Red Hot and Tony Chachere's. Today I did Rotel, Frank's Red Hot, black pepper, and garlic powder. Just browse your cabinets and go with what feels right. Put saran wrap over the bowl and stick the whole kit'n'kaboodle in the fridge. Let it sit a little while...I think I let it sit for an hour the first time I made this. This time it will be in there 1-2 hours. If your meat is tough, let it go longer.
3. Get your pan smoking hot. Dump the entire contents of the bowl on in, juice, tomatoes, and all. Cook the meat until it's done, of course.
4. This next part is also a guideline of what I have done. Raid your cabinets and let your tummy and taste buds lead the way. What I do is take a 10 in whole wheat tortilla, heat it up, and spread filling on, then meat, then cheese. The first time the filling was black beans and brown rice that I had leftover from the other night. The cheese I used was Kraft singles. AND IT WAS DELICIOSO! Tonight I will be using black beans and refried beans as the filling and maybe some shredded cheddar cheese. The filling i usually cook in the meat's pan together when the meat is done.
Enjoy! Time for me to go wrangle the youngun and get to work on dinner.
<3
Truvy
Friday, June 1, 2012
Part 2: Friends
Yes, this seems like a strange topic to touch on in a money-saving series, but hear me out! When I was single, pretty much all of my money went into my friendships...gas, food, events, movies, shopping, you name it. While friends are amazing, they can be a huge financial drain. After I had Lil Bit, I had a friend in particular where everything it seems we did involved money.
Because of my personal experiences, I have found that friends that drain your bank account aren't always the best to have around for reasons other than budget concerns. If you can find a few friends who are more than happy to just come over and chat and do other free activities, chances are these will be the people you can count on in tough times also. But online friends can be even better.
When I was pregnant I joined a mommy website with a big community. One night when I was maybe 7-8 months pregnant I did a random "who's up and bored?" web chat with a bunch of girls, some of which I consider dear friends now over two years later. The lovely Ouiser is one of those dear friends. =)
We have been through a lot together. They are always there when I need them, and I return the favor whenever I can. After a life of having friends that always seemed to need a little more than friendship, this was big for me. I have a group of girls I can depend on without shedding a dime. If I ever do spend money on them it will be a grand meet-up vacation so we can finally see each other face-to-face.
I do have offline friends too, of course. After weeding out the toxic friends, I am left with a handful of people who "get it." Even if we rarely get to see each other, we can call each other up to chat and pick up where we left off a couple of months previous.
And I can't write a post about friendship without mentioning my hubby. =) He makes me laugh. He "gets" me and all my eccentricities, and he embraces them. We can have fun together just sitting home and playing video games or watching one of our shows. The other night we were watching "So You Think You Can Dance" and having a blast talking about the performances. Sometimes I can't stand him, but at the end of the day, he is my best friend. =p
So the point of this post...
Recognize when you are in a toxic friendship. If someone only wants to hang out when you have the money to do something, please examine that relationship to make sure they are really wanting to be there for you instead of looking for someone to do something with. If they understand that you can't go out to eat because you just paid rent or your electric bill without giving you a bunch of grief, that is someone you can benefit from having in your life.
Sometimes it is ok to be selfish. That was one of the biggest lessons in life that I had to learn. And when you are a mommy, you have to be selfish for your kiddo too.
Cherish the friends you can be your true self with without holding back...even the weird, gross, somewhat disturbing you. ;)
<3
Truvy
Because of my personal experiences, I have found that friends that drain your bank account aren't always the best to have around for reasons other than budget concerns. If you can find a few friends who are more than happy to just come over and chat and do other free activities, chances are these will be the people you can count on in tough times also. But online friends can be even better.
When I was pregnant I joined a mommy website with a big community. One night when I was maybe 7-8 months pregnant I did a random "who's up and bored?" web chat with a bunch of girls, some of which I consider dear friends now over two years later. The lovely Ouiser is one of those dear friends. =)
We have been through a lot together. They are always there when I need them, and I return the favor whenever I can. After a life of having friends that always seemed to need a little more than friendship, this was big for me. I have a group of girls I can depend on without shedding a dime. If I ever do spend money on them it will be a grand meet-up vacation so we can finally see each other face-to-face.
I do have offline friends too, of course. After weeding out the toxic friends, I am left with a handful of people who "get it." Even if we rarely get to see each other, we can call each other up to chat and pick up where we left off a couple of months previous.
And I can't write a post about friendship without mentioning my hubby. =) He makes me laugh. He "gets" me and all my eccentricities, and he embraces them. We can have fun together just sitting home and playing video games or watching one of our shows. The other night we were watching "So You Think You Can Dance" and having a blast talking about the performances. Sometimes I can't stand him, but at the end of the day, he is my best friend. =p
So the point of this post...
Recognize when you are in a toxic friendship. If someone only wants to hang out when you have the money to do something, please examine that relationship to make sure they are really wanting to be there for you instead of looking for someone to do something with. If they understand that you can't go out to eat because you just paid rent or your electric bill without giving you a bunch of grief, that is someone you can benefit from having in your life.
Sometimes it is ok to be selfish. That was one of the biggest lessons in life that I had to learn. And when you are a mommy, you have to be selfish for your kiddo too.
Cherish the friends you can be your true self with without holding back...even the weird, gross, somewhat disturbing you. ;)
<3
Truvy
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