Thrifty Mommy » kitchen

5 Ways to Save Money on Cloth Napkins

Karen Weideman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:19 +0000

Recently at Keeping the Castle, I told about my decision and journey to switch to cloth napkins. The switch has gone well and the family is accepting of the napkins.

One concern that some have about switching to cloth napkins is the cost involved. Here are some ways to save.

1) Shop for used napkins. You can find napkins at thrift stores and yard sales. Many times you can find interesting fabrics and laces that you can no longer find in the stores.

2) Make your own. Use scrap fabric that you already have or make them from an old sheet.

3) Check the dollar store or close out store. My mom was able to find three packages of napkins at a pottery store for only $1 per pack. That’s 12 napkins for only $3.

4) Ask your mom or grandma. Mention to your them that you would like to have some cloth napkins and they might just have some shoved in a cabinet somewhere that they haven’t used in years. Moms and grandmas are good for stuff like that.

5) Improvise. We used dish towels for a few days and my hubby and I actually like these pretty well because they are soft and absorbent. One of my readers at Keeping the Castle suggested using bandanas.

Have you made the switch to cloth napkins?

image sxc.hu

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Growing your own garden

kellys — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:16:53 +0000

Don’t laugh at me but I am not a gardener. I will, however, try to grow my own herbs and spices this summer. I loved cooking with fresh basil and bay leaves in my Lasagna Soup and Lindsey was very encouraging.

So try growing something this summer with your kids. I bet they will have a ball. And Lindsey is right, if they help you grow it, I bet they will help you eat it too! What a great way to get some veggies in your kids without a fight.

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What a great lasagna soup!

kellys — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:04:12 +0000

Last night I tried a great soup from Family Fun Magazine. It was a great lasagna soup. It took about an hour from start to finish but it was souper easy! No pun intended. Both Turkey Butt and Little Man loved it. Turkey Butt’s job was putting the cheese mixture on the bottom of the bowl and then putting the mozzarella on top. She loved it. I had never chopped herbs before. I had alwasy used dried herbs but I have a fantastic small processor and use it for everything. It made quick work of both the onions and the basil. Hope you enjoy it.

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Pork tenderloin is thrifty on your budget and time

kellys — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:55:47 +0000

So my family loves pork tenderloin. It is already seasoned and tenderized. All I have to do is stick it in the oven and voila! In 30 minutes, I have a delicious protein and I didn’t even have to do anything to it. I love that. But normally, I wait until Food Lion puts their’s on sale BOGO. Then they are only $4 a piece. I can swing that. So when I was at Wal-Mart today, I noticed that they had their Smithfield Pork Tenderloins for $3.97. That was the recgular price so I bought 3 …

a garlic and herb,
a teriyaki,
and a rotisserie

My family will be very happy tomorrow and I will have a quick dinner on days when I don’t get home until 6:30.

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Watch your price per unit!

kellys — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:49:48 +0000

So I was at Wal-Mart today and was comparing chicken broth. I usually buy the carton broth as it is usually cheaper. But to day I noticed that it was $.06 or twice the unit price as the can. I was shocked to realize that the difference was so much. I got the cheaper version which was actually not the Wal-Mart Brand at all. So my chicken broth was $.031 per oz instead of $.06.

You need to keep this in mind at the bulk stores as well like Sam’s Club and Costco. Take that calculator and watch your per unit cost. It won’t take long to figure out the good deals from the same savings.

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Traditional Rice Casserole for less than $3

kellys — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:31:16 +0000

I jsut went and bought the ingredients for my rice casserole this morning. When I totalled it up, I spent less around $2.70 for all the ingredients for my rice casserole, which will easily feed a family of 6. I thought I would share it with you in case you are tight on funds this year and need an idea or two to save money and yet eat well.

1 can Beef Consume – $.99
1 can French Onion – $.99
1/2 cup butter – $.40 (the original recipe called for 1 stick of butter but I try to cut it in half)
1 cup rice – $.30
1jar/can mushrooms ( I have to leave this out since my wonderful husband thinks they taste like dirt. I married him anyway:)

Here is the hard part … Dump it all in a bowl and bake it at 350 degrees for an hour.

Hope you like it. It is a family tradition at our house. I also hope you enjoy your family this Thanksgiving. Our family will be missing a very important member this year and I hope only to cry a few times.

Happy Thanksgiving from Karen and I. We are so very thankful for all of you.

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Thursday Cleaning Challenge – Bleach that sink!

kellys — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:39:14 +0000

I love a bleached sink. I love the idea of a clean sink. I admit I have a sink fettish! My entire house can be a mess (and usually is) but my kitchen sink has to be clean. This Thursday Cleaning challenge is uber easy. Just fill your kitchen sink with hot water and a cup of bleach and walk away. Don’t even think about it for 10 minutes. Then just drain and rinse. Uber Easy.

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Dishes… old or new?

kellys — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:35:38 +0000

We have used the same dishes since we got married 10 1/2 years ago. Our pfaltzgraff pattern has since been retired and my husband has made the comment lately that they are stained and chipped. You can’t really replace them and I said they were great! Yes, I would love to upgrade but I have other things to spend my money on.

So I was curious, how long have you had your dishes? Do you replace them when you redo your kitchen or do you use the same pattern all year round? Just curious. Tell us both in a comment and vote in the poll. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Top 10 Thrifty uses for Honey

kellys — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:18:28 +0000

I love honey. It is an all natural food that is pure and can be eaten straight out of the comb. I will add not to give it to your infants less than 1 year due to the pollens in the honey. But did you know there are tons of healthy benefits from honey? And it’s cheap! Here are a few that I found are great.

Hot Totties for a cold and cough – 1/3 lemon juice, 1/3 whiskey, and 1/3 honey; heat it and drink a shot every 6 hours
Cough – 1 tsp when needed
Laxative – Put some in your drink to cleanse your colon
Protectant – Bug bites and small cuts can be protected by putting honey directly on the wound to keep dirt and germs out until you can treat it.
Calcium – Some studies have shown that honey can help you retain calcium.
Sedative -Ok this is a stretch but put some honey in a cup of warm milk helps you sleep.
Hangover Helper – Put a few tablespoons on bread to help speed up the metabolism of alcohol.
Eczema - Use honey soap to reduce eczema
Fights bacteria – Honey evidently inhibits bacterial growth
Healthy – Great source of Antioxidants

So enjoy eating honey every day, multiple times a day with no worries. Use it instead of sugar to sweeten your drinks. It has fewer calories and more benefits than sugar. AND it’s cheaper.

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Thrifty dishwashing soap trick

kellys — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:40:16 +0000

I had heard it before and finally had the opportunity to put it into practice. I love the foaming dishwashing detergent when I have to wash my pots and pans but I hate to pay full price for that form as it is much more expensive. But if you buy the regular dishwashing soap and then put a mixture of 1.4 regular dishwashing soap and 3.4 water, then you have the magic formula for foaming dishwashing detergent, only much cheaper.

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