1. Reinvent leftover bread. There are a couple different things I do with leftover toast or bread that is getting dried out. If I have a whole loaf of bread that for some reason didn't get used quickly, I make french toast. Sometimes I'll have just a couple pieces of bread that are getting dry. These I rub over my grater and make bread crumbs. I store the crumbs in an airtight container in the freezer until I need them for salmon patties or meatloaf or some other dish.
Sometimes I have a hard time gauging how much toast I need for breakfast. Often there will be a slice or two left on the plate. I throw these into a baggie and store them in my freezer. When the bag gets full, I cube the bread, sprinkle it with Italian seasoning and garlic, and place it in a warm oven to dry out. (It already has butter on it.) It makes the best croutons.
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| Leftover slices of toast and bread for making croutons. |
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| Bag of croutons ready for topping salad. |
2. Plant a garden. My husband likes to plant a garden. I enjoy taking care of the produce, and the kids have the chore of weeding, hoeing, watering, and picking the produce. We make a pretty good team. Over the years, we have saved quite a bit on groceries by having a garden. We do live in town, so we have limited garden space. I've had to weigh out the cost of canning and the time involved and decide what is most beneficial for us to plant. Most things we just plant enough to eat on fresh. However, canning salsa saves me a lot of money. We love salsa! We go through about fifty quarts a year. Each year we plant lots of tomatoes, peppers, and onions. We used to plant enough green beans to can, but because they are relatively cheap in comparison we now save the room in the garden for the salsa ingredients.
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| Michael and Amber helping plant the garden. |
I appreciate you sharing your frugal living tips. We are trying hard to cut our expenses and I have discovered that it really is the little things that add up to making the biggest difference.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is a lifestyle of little things. They add up. When I first thought about doing this, I kept thinking I don't have any "big" money saving ideas. However, I'm asked all the time, "How do you afford all your children?" So, I'm attempting to share the little things. Thankful it has been helpful. Mostly though I've found affording a big family is simple reliance on God's provision.
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