Two Cents Tuesday: Muffin Tin Sorter and Server

September 20, 2011 By 13 Comments

Why I am writing the Two Cent Tuesday? I need to stop having ideas and having Brian tell me it is my idea so it is my post! Here it goes Two Cent Tuesday … a Beth version.

Every need a bunch of little bowls in the kitchen and not have enough. Yeah, that was me a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to get Grace’s Rainbow Cake done. I need to sort the jelly beans by color. I knew I had like 6 or 8 glass bowls but I also have SIX little hands in the house that grab stuff from the table as they desire. I dashed around the kitchen for an instant and remembered the muffin tin that I just saw when I put the cool rack away under the stove. 12 little cups … more than I needed. I then delegated … umm, asked nicely who was willing to help me sort colors. My 5 and 3.5 year old were ALL over this. Matthew even was trying his best little two year old effort of matching colors. In no time flat, I had jelly beans sorted …

I made the cake and left the muffin tin on the table. The next thing I knew the parents were asking if they could eat them. Sure. So I went and grabbed a bag of pretzel M&Ms and added to the empty spaces.

 

The muffin tin was just about cleaned out (minus the black!) at the end of the party from all of the hands grabbing the candy that I had to restock for the pictures … and then the hands were at it again.

Now my muffin tins are well abused … and loved. They show that I use them! So no pretty display but you know what, no one cared. They were thrilled to pick out their favorite color and not dig through plus the kids had so much fun color matching!

A cake post is to come but here was the Rainbow Cake that I needed the jelly beans sorted for …

What have you used your muffin tin for? I know people use them for kid’s lunches sometimes but there have to be some other ideas out there. Leave me a comment and let me know!

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Two Cents Tuesday: Freezing Corn

September 13, 2011 By 6 Comments

It’s corn season!  MMMMMM!  I love fresh corn.  Unfortunately, it all comes out at the same time.  Who wouldn’t like to have that fresh corn taste all year long?  Well, it’s really not that hard.  We have been freezing that fresh summer corn for years.  It takes a little bit of work, but really not much more than you would have spent preparing the corn for dinner in the first place.

It can also save you a lot of money.  We pay to join a CSA (community-supported agriculture) every year and we get baskets full of corn anyway.  This year we are getting our corn from Liberty Mills Farm in Orange, VA.  Even at the farmer’s market or supermarket, though, it can be ridiculously cheap.  We recently saw 2-pound bags of the store brand corn selling for $3 each.  To get the same amount of fresh corn will cost you less that $2 and a little bit of your time.   The best part, in my opinion, of freezing your own corn versus buying it from the freezer section is that you get to freeze the cobs too!  Those simple cobs that we normally throw out can make the most beautiful, comforting stock for soups, chowders, or risottos that can really bring a ray of sunshine to those winter doldrums.  Saving money and getting more for the money that you are saving.  I like the sound of that!

So, without any further ado, here is our simple process for freezing that yummy summer corn for the winter.

(1) Husk the corn and remove as much of the silk as possible.  (2) Place the corn into salted, boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Fresh corn doesn’t need to be cooked much and it’s going to be reheated out of the freezer anyhow.  (3)  Pull the corn out of the water into a bowl to transfer it.  Admire just how gorgeous the corn is!

(4) Place the corn into ice water.  This will shock it to stop the cooking, keep the beautiful color, and cool it down so that you can handle it.  (5) Using a fork in the cob to keep your hands out of the way, place the corn into a deep bowl and slice the outer edge of the kernels with a sharp knife.  You are not looking to go all of the way into the cob; you just want the sweet tasty part.  If you go too deep, though, it’s ok, it’ll still taste good.  If you do not go deep enough, it’ll just make the stock that much better!  You want a deep bowl so that the kernels don’t cover your kitchen.  If you are doing a lot of corn, you might want a deep bowl for slicing and another bigger bowl to hold it all. (6) Admire all of your hard work and resist the temptation to add butter, salt, and pepper and dig in!

(7) Transfer the corn to zip top freezer bags and weigh into the desired portions.  10 oz is usually enough for me, Beth, and our three little ones.  As they get bigger, we are going to have to start adding more.  (8) The final result is over 3 pounds of cut corn and 11 corn cobs for the beautifully golden stock.

I hope that you all enjoy our simple little tip.  It’s easy, saves money, keeps your family a little healthier.  All in all, that’s Simply Budgeted!

Filed Under: Budgeting Advice, Charlottesville, Memes, Simply Food, Simply Local, SimplySaving, Tips & Techniques, Two Cents Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Two Cents Tuesday: Saving Seeds

August 16, 2011 By 4 Comments

Do you have plans to plant a garden next Spring? You can start thinking about that now! If you get a fruit or vegetable you love, you can save the seeds and plant them next year. Saving seeds can be a big budget saver as seed packets can be $1-5 depending on the variety and brand of the seeds.

We had a really nice cantaloupe from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Liberty Mills Farm, last week. Beth decided to save some of the seeds. She washed them off to get the inside pulp of the fruit off them. You want to wash them off because they will rot if they have the fruit still on them. Then just lay them out on a paper towel to dry. Generally you just need to leave them out a day or so. If you do this with bigger seeds such as pumpkin seeds, they will take longer to dry.  Once they are dry, we put them in a ziploc sandwich bag and write what they are, where the seeds were from, and the date. We store seeds we keep like this in the freezer so they don’t get funky. They aren’t processed like the seeds you buy at the store so the freezer keeps them good for the Spring.

Do you keep seeds to plant for next year? If so, what process do you use to store them?

 

Filed Under: Charlottesville, Home & Garden, Memes, Simply Life, Simply Local, Two Cents Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Two Cents Tuesday: Seasoning Blend

August 9, 2011 By 7 Comments

We all do it.  You’re looking for something to give our food that little something extra.  So, you start looking in the spice aisle.  There is just so much to choose from that it can be pretty overwhelming.  Then you see it…there towards the bottom…in that fancy packaging with bright colors, some chef’s face, or some words so fancy that you just know that it has to be good.  Then, you look at the price and cringe just a little before reaching for it anyway.

Sound familiar?  If so, I’m here to offer up a quick, easy alternative to those seasoning blends that will give your food that extra something special using stuff that you probably already have in your spice cabinet.

Spice Mix

Easy Seasoning Blend

This seasoning blend is very flexible.  If you just need a little, use a teaspoon as your “part”.  If you need a lot, use more.  I can easily make it through a week using a tablespoon as my “part”.  If it has too much of any one thing for you, cut back on that one thing.  The blend also works well as a base for other blends.  If you are going Italian, add one part dried Italian herbs.  If you are doing barbecue, add one part brown sugar and a half part cayenne.

Ingredients

1 part kosher salt
1 part black pepper
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1 part sweet paprika

Directions

Combine ingredients and stir well.  Store in a small mason jar or zip top bag.

I hope you enjoy this simple, cheap, and tasty tip.  Let us know what else you add to this base to up the flavor ante in your home.

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Two Cents Tuesday: Meat Tenderizer

August 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Some days are pretty tough.  The kids might make huge messes; laundry may have piled up; doctor’s appointments; dance classes….you name it.  On those days, I find it difficult to want to cook much of anything.  However, I still want to be able to put something healthy onto the table for the family.  On those nights, I use this quick tip:

Put your chicken, steak, or whatever into a plastic zip-top bag.  Take a meat tenderizer and pound it into nice thin pieces (using the flat, not the bumpy side).  If you don’t have a meat tenderizer, use a rolling pin, sautee pan…really anything heavy.  What this does is cut your cooking time waaaaay down.  You can cook at a higher heat, meaning faster cooking (about 2-3 minutes per side).  A whole boneless, skinless chicken breast will need at least 5-6 minutes per side (mine usually take closer to 10 minutes per side to get done all the way through).  Serve next to some rice and veggies or on a sandwich roll with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and a little mayo for a quick easy dinner that the entire family will enjoy.

    

How can you use this tip?  Share your results and photos with us.

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Two Cents Tuesday: Kitchen Scale

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As part of our continued expansion here at Simply Budgeted, we wanted to make sure that we take opportunities to share with you our simple tips, techniques, and tools that make life a little easier, a little cheaper, and a little more healthy.  These could show up anywhere on the blog.  So we decided to join other bloggers out there by calling this new feature “Two Cents Tuesday.”

This week’s tool:  The handy kitchen scale.

You may or may not have one of these.  If you do, you probably don’t use it nearly often enough.  If you don’t, you should strongly consider getting one.  They can save you a lot of money and keep you eating healthier.

Big box stores, like Sam’s Club and Costco, sell huge packages of shredded cheese.  Instead of trying to use up all of that cheese before it goes bad, measure out smaller 1 lb. portions into freezer bags and freeze them.  Pull one out a day before you need it and it’ll be fully thawed, ready for whatever you need it for at a significant savings over the 1/2 lb. bags at the supermarket.

Those same stores also sell large cuts of meat.  A large beef tenderloin could set you back a few bucks.  If you eat beef on a semi-regular basis, however, that purchase could save you a lot on your monthly grocery budget.  These stores normally sell these cuts for around $10 a pound.  A 4-oz filet mignon (so a 1/4 lb piece of the same meat) can cost more than that on it’s own.  So if you cut and weigh these right, you can more than pay for the entire piece of meat with only the small half of it.

As a bonus, the scale let’s you weigh out the portion size.  If you try to eyeball it, you’ll almost always overestimate, costing you money and calories.  Shoot for a 4-oz piece of meat, freeze on a sheet tray, and wrap up in plastic and the meat should last for a couple of months in the freezer.  Use the rest of the meat for tender, succulent steaks and skewers and use the scraps for a yummy stir fry or stew.

Don’t be afraid to weigh out your food.  It’ll help you eat a little healthier and it can ease that burden on your budget.  Leave us a comment telling us how you use your scale.

Filed Under: Budgeting Advice, Memes, Simply Food, SimplySaving, Tips & Techniques, Two Cents Tuesday Tagged With: , , , , , , ,