The End of the Road...


 The End of the Road

My husband will be celebrating his birthday soon.  My gift to him is retiring from blogging today.  We have been married over 50 years, and we want to spend more time together on some other interests we share.  
Without Myrna's enthusiasm and sharing the workload of the blog, I haven't been spending as much time on things that my husband and I want to do as a couple.

Myrna and I made many friends and also became closer as sisters over the years we shared our blogging hobby.  
The blog will be left in place and maintained for the time being, as well as the Pinterest boards.

Thanks to all of you who made this adventure worth while.

$avings $aturday...Getting Our Pantry in Shape

 How are we doing on our plan to use up older items in our pantry?  My biggest concern was canned goods…especially those we buy.  By yesterday we had used 82 jars or cans from our pantry…in a little over 10 weeks since the first of the year.  I count jars of jam, jelly, honey, syrup, meat, soup, pickles and relishes, beans, fruit and vegetables, whether home canned or purchased.  Those jars and cans are generally sized for two people.  I let my spreadsheet that I use for inventory to keep track of the jars on hand and what was used.


A nice little booklet
available online is Ball Brothers “How to Use the Foods You Can”, available to view and download HERE. From 1924, doesn’t have canning recipes, it has lots recipes and menu ideas to use your canned food.  I like the idea that they encourage canning all year round to keep your jars full all the time.  I can meats and soups in the winter after we have emptied fruit and vegetable jars canned in summer.

“What a treasure a cupboard would be with a thousand Ball Jars of canned foods upon its shelves. Learn to can the season through, while cooking.  A jar of pineapple, some uncooked canned strawberries,—cold-water processed rhubarb,—asparagus—tender carrots,—refreshing fruit juices—the seasons through. But would that make a thousand jars,—and how would they be stored? What of the Fall, Winter and Spring months—of the empty jars that stand idle—the Fall and Winter foods that may be used to fill those jars? Apples, citron, cranberries, the last green peppers, cabbages, green tomatoes; fill the jars emptied in October; in November , fill as fast as they accumulate with mincemeat, pumpkin and squash pie filling; in December, orange marmalade, chutney and apple cranberry jelly or cranberry conserve can be made for Christmas presents.”  Ida Bailey Allen, Ball Brothers Book “How To Use The Food You Can.” 1924

So we traveled to our nearest Aldi to pick up some cases of canned items and produce.  I recently canned chicken thighs and sale hamburger into hamburger mix in March to help clean out our freezer so I can defrost it soon, and I canned more bean soup and split pea soup this week, using frozen sale priced ham shanks, to replace what we have used and to get more meat out of the freezer.  

I spent $54 dollars at Aldi…I hadn’t been there since Thanksgiving.  Everything was at least 10% to 20% higher in price.  I purchased 2 cases of mandarin oranges for $27.80 ($1.14 each), a case of chili beans for $6.60 (55¢ each), a case of peach slices for $11.78 (98¢ each) and a dozen 8 ounce tomato sauce cans for $3.72 (31¢ each) plus some celery and onions for my hamburger mix canning project.  
Gas prices went up another 11¢ a gallon the next day.
We have used all our canned goods that predates use-by last year, so we’re in good shape.   Our pantry is mostly basic groceries we use all the time: rice and barley, oatmeal and grits, pasta, dried peas, lentils and beans, flours, sugar, honey, seasonings and condiments in smaller amounts, and other baking supplies and home canned and purchased canned goods.  Most of the non-canned foods are bulk purchases.  We have a freezer in our heated, attached garage.
We find canned goods are useful when we don’t have power to cook as they can be eaten from the jar if necessary, and they include liquid if you don’t have a water supply either in an emergency.  And of course, they are shelf-stable, no refrigeration needed.  It's great not to have to thaw anything before use, making last minute menu changes easy.  The other plus is we rotate them into our daily meals regularly. My mother and mother-in-law both canned and stocked a "fruit-room or root cellar" and we learned to help preserve and eat what our families grew.
Right now, it appears that investing in a pantry has saved us money as we are eating at last year's prices, a better return than a bank account.  I am replenishing the pantry at sale prices whenever possible.  I shop for the pantry and freezer inventory and plan our meals from that instead of impulse buying at the last minute.  I have increased our level of supplies this time because of rising prices and uncertainty about what's ahead.
I have a homemade cookbook binder of recipes we like that use our canned and pantry foods, and some of those are "20 minute meals" so we aren't tempted to buy fast food.  My husband helps by making coffee, setting the table, getting our dessert and salad on the table and cooking breakfast on the weekends, for example.  Kids are good helpers with chores like this too.

Small Recipes...Homemade Biscuit Mix Cherry Nut Muffins


Here’s a tasty muffin recipe using our homemade biscuit mix or Bisquick.  The basic recipe from the Better Crocker’s Timesaving Cookbook 1982 made delicious coffeetime muffins…not too sweet, with a perfect muffin texture, I added the pecans.  The original recipe used the biscuit mix recipe from the book…basically similar to the one I use from an old Martha White cookbook.  Either mix recipe compares to Original Bisquick when used in a recipe. 
                        Cherry Nut Muffins
  1        cup  Homemade Biscuit Mix or Bisquick (5 ounces)
  2        tablespoons  milk
  2        tablespoons  maraschino cherry juice
  2        tablespoons  sugar
  1        large  egg yolk (or half beaten egg)
  1        tablespoon  butter -- melted
  2        tablespoons  maraschino cherries -- chopped
  1        tablespoon  chopped pecans
Heat oven to 400°.  Grease muffin cups.  Mix all ingredients; beat vigorously 30 seconds.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  (I used a size 24 scoop).
Bake about 15 minutes.  Immediately remove from pan.

Martha White Biscuit Mix
                        1 QUART MIX
  1           pound self-rising flour -- sift first (4 cups)
  4          ounces  lard or shortening -- 1/2 cup
Cut shortening into flour with pastry blender or food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature (If using shortening).  Refrigerate if using lard.
Mix will keep well up to 4 months on the shelf if using shortening or in the refrigerator if using lard. 
Recipe weighs 20 ounces; 1 cup recipe weighs 5 ounces.                                
                    

Sunday in Iowa...

 

 Another handsome barn between Sully and Peoria, Iowa

There are actually "barn tours" in Iowa; there are many old barns that are still well-maintained.  Quilt signs are still a popular barn decoration

$avings $aturdays...Sticker Shock!


 We stopped by our local Walmart Tuesday to pick up some replacements for our pantry and supplies.  Sticker shock!
Grapenuts; up 16%
Store brand raisin bran; up 4%
Maraschino cherries; up 25%
Maple syrup, store brand; up 10%
Coffee filters, paper cone type; up a whopping 27%
Toilet paper, store brand, up 4%
Now, it’s been awhile since I bought the coffee filters, but we’ll be getting out that brass reusable coffee filter thingy instead of buying paper ones right now.  But everything else on the list I have purchased since the beginning of the year, so the increase is in 2022.  
Do you know how to calculate the increase in price?  Subtract the old price from the new price.  Divide the difference by the old price…multiply your result by 100.  That’s your percent increase. 
In other words, % increase = Increase ÷ Original Number × 100. 
Here’s an example to work:
Maraschino Cherries          
New price        $2.82  
Old price          $2.24  
Difference        $  .58 divided by $2.24                                    

  The % increase        25.89%

Doing this simple calculation may help you decide if something is a luxury or a necessity.  My husband thinks the cherries are also off the menu.  He didn't think the cherries added enough nutritional value for the price!
He also pointed out that we might want to decide to buy groceries based on nutritional value versus price.  In other words, grains, beans, fruit and vegetables instead of junk food.  
He also added that meat in the right portion is often less expensive than packaged snack foods and sugary cereals.  This week, I could buy a dozen eggs for 88 cents, less than a candy bar. 
I might add that since January 1, we have gotten a substantial increase in our health insurance, car insurance, gasoline, natural gas and this week, a 6% increase in our garbage pickup (they use diesel of course).
About the only area where we can say “NO” is in food and supplies-also buying clothing, cosmetics, household decorations and furniture, dining out, etc. are in for heavy scrutiny.  We don’t need more household stuff; luckily, we are even cutting back and sharing with other family members.  But most seniors on a fixed income are feeling some pinch. 
We see it as a challenge to waste less.  It reminds us of our early married years spent in the military, with Jimmy Carter in office!

Small Recipes with Biscuit Mix...30-Minute Mini Meatloaves for 2


I saw this recipe on the Betty Crocker Website and wondered if the biscuit mix would make an acceptable substitute for bread or cracker crumbs in a meatloaf-like mixture.   I cut this large recipe down for 2 servings…my husband commented that I didn’t even have to slice it to serve it, and that it was nice and tender, but stayed together well.  Mixing and baking took only 30 minutes, as advertised.  I baked it in my Breville toaster oven.  
My husband didn't like the topping as well as I did...I don't use it anymore and I like it that way too.  I just halve the ketchup and eliminated the brown sugar and use just the ketchup in the meat mixture.
This was so quick and easy I now make it more often.                       
                  30-Minute Mini Meatloaves for 2
  2             tablespoons  ketchup
  2             teaspoons  packed brown sugar
     1/2      pound  ground beef **
  2             tablespoons  Homemade Biscuit Mix or Original Bisquick mix
    1/16     teaspoon  pepper
  1             tablespoon  onion -- finely chopped (1/4 cup)
  1             egg yolk
 Heat oven to 450°F.  In custard cup, stir ketchup and brown sugar until mixed; reserve 1/2 for topping (1 tsp+1 tbsp. or 4 teaspoons). In 1 quart bowl or measuring cup, stir remaining ingredients and remaining ketchup mixture until well mixed.
Spray 4x6-inch or 5 x 7" baking dish with cooking spray. Place meat mixture in pan; pat into 3 x 4" rectangle. Cut lengthwise down center and then crosswise  to form 4 loaves. Separate loaves, using spatula, so no edges are touching. Brush loaves with reserved ketchup mixture (topping is optional).
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until loaves are no longer pink in center and meat thermometer inserted in center of loaves reads 160°F.
**Or sub 5 oz ground beef and 3 oz ground pork

Martha White Biscuit Mix
                        1 QUART MIX
  1           pound self-rising flour -- sift first (4 cups)
  4          ounces  lard or shortening -- 1/2 cup
Cut shortening into flour with pastry blender or food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature (If using shortening).  Refrigerate if using lard.
Mix will keep well up to 4 months on the shelf if using shortening or in the refrigerator if using lard. 
Recipe weighs 20 ounces; 1 cup recipe weighs 5 ounces.                                
                        


Sunday in Iowa...

 

This handsome octagonal barn is located in Monroe, Iowa

The barn is something of a landmark on a main highway intersection

Small Recipes Using Biscuit Mix...Coconut Nut Toffee Bars


 I wanted to try this recipe for old-fashioned toffee bars similar to one Myrna and I used to make when we were still teen-agers, but I didn’t want a huge amount, so I tried cutting down this recipe that had a bonus for me…it used Bisquick, so I could substitute my homemade biscuit mix.  I have been trying recipes that use the mix so I can keep it turned over.
They were successful; my husband especially liked the toffee-like crunchiness.  I liked that I didn’t have leftovers, and it took just minutes to mix up and get in my toaster oven.  I used my Le Creuset 4 x 6” casserole dish and got 6 small squares. They made bars that are a little thinner than the regular recipe and that’s what we liked.
 I simply melted the butter right in a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup and stirred in the brown sugar and biscuit mix, spread it in my pan and had it in the oven.  My kitchen was warm, so I finally put them in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.   Our old recipe didn’t use the coconut…we both like it but just nuts are excellent too.            
                     Coconut Nut Toffee Bars
  1       tablespoon  butter -- softened
  2       tablespoons  brown sugar
    1/3  cup  Bisquick or Homemade Biscuit Mix -- 1 3/4 ounces
  2        tablespoons  milk chocolate chips
  1        tablespoon  coconut
  1        tablespoon  chopped pecans or walnuts
  1. Combine butter and brown sugar, mixing until creamy and smooth.
  2. Add biscuit mix or Bisquick and mix until well blended.
  3. Spread dough into a greased 5x5” or 4 x 6” pan.  (I lined my greased pan with parchment for easy removal). 
  4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
  5. Immediately after removing from oven, spread chocolate chips over top of crust and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
  6. Then, using the back of a spoon or offset spatula, spread chocolate to cover evenly.
  7. Sprinkle coconut and nuts over top and gently press in to secure. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack before cutting.  Refrigerate if you have any left to store.
Martha White Biscuit Mix
                        1 QUART MIX
  1           pound self-rising flour -- sift first (4 cups)
  4          ounces  lard or shortening -- 1/2 cup
Cut shortening into flour with pastry blender or food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature (If using shortening).  Refrigerate if using lard.
Mix will keep well up to 4 months on the shelf if using shortening or in the refrigerator if using lard. 
Recipe weighs 20 ounces; 1 cup recipe weighs 5 ounces.                                
                       


Sunday in Iowa...

 


This patriotic barn is in Lynnville, Iowa

Sadly, tornadoes spread throughout our area of Southern Iowa, with 7 dead so far and much damage.  Our family members in the affected area are ok, and the tornado faded out about 5-10 minutes before it got to our county and we only got intense rain and high winds.  Two different tornadoes traveled on the ground for many miles.  60° and tornados on Saturday, 26° and snow overnight Sunday into Monday in the same areas.