Just a Random Morning Chat

Howdy everyone.  It is sure a pretty morning - yesterday started and ended with storms.  Last night was something - wind, lightening, thunder and downpours.
I did a walk around this morning and I did a little wading in the back forty!!!!  I went out to get the trash can (after trash p/u) and had to wade a little.  I need to go out in a bit and stake up the tomato cages.  They are so heavy with tomatoes and with the ground being saturated the are leaning.
Kitties were here bright and early for breakfast - I bet they were scared when the storms came through.
The sky was pinks and oranges this morning and the sun is shining - nothing damaged in my area - all is good.

I got a request on comments from Sunday post from Judy, asking about my salsa recipe.  Well, it is easy.  Mrs. Wages!!!  I love that stuff - it sure makes life easy.  Now I know some who don't like it and others say I am cheating.  So be it!  The packets contain all the spices, dehydrated onion and such needed - I add my tomatoes and vinegar.  I really like the taste as do the family members that receive in gift baskets - so I am no hurry to change it.
I use Mrs. Wages for pasta sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, and my pickles.  You can also find mixes for canning fruit as well - to make pie filling, etc.  I have never used the fruit mixes.

You can always tweak the mixes if you need to change it up a bit.  I use the leftover  brine from pickles for relish.  I have made Kosher relish and sweet relish.
The mixes work out for me - all the spices needed are in a bag.  Many items I wouldn't use for anything else - so no need to waste them.  I also buy these mixes marked down at the end of the season - and use the next year.  Heck I have even used some that were a couple/three years old.  Just keep dry and cool.

I thought I would mention a good You Tube you might want to watch about stretching the food budget.
The channel is The Bealles - and she recently did a challenge to stretch a small food budget over a week.  She spent just under $40 at a outlet grocery (she got some great deals) and she fed her family of 5, three meals a day, for 7 days.  105 MEALS less than $40!!!!!
She used only ingredients that she bought - as if assuming you had nothing else in the house.  It was really neat to see what she fixed and she DID provide some really nice meals.
I liked one idea she used - she needed to make a little rue and didn't buy flour - so she ground up a bit of the oatmeal she had purchased and used that!  Ingenious.  It worked!

What a great way to get oat flour when you can't find it at the store or you can't get out.  I always have lots of oats on hand - this would be a neat way to add fiber to bread recipes.  Nice way to add a lot of fiber without spending a dime.

There are just so many tricks that we can all use to stretch a budget.  All it takes is a little creative imagination and we can save money and eat good.
I have been seeing a lot of FB posts lately about using dehydrated zucchini and squash as a flour type ingredient.  Dehydrate and grind.  Replace some of flour with squash powder.  Adds hidden nutrients and flavor.
I first saw Vickie at Vickie's Kitchen and Garden  post this and then saw it several other times on FB.
I have a LOT of dehydrated zucchini and yellow squash in the pantry that I need to use.
What a great way to add to cakes, breads, cookies, muffins and even sauces!!!!!!  ALL for FREE!  You could add it to about anything!

I love finding new uses for things and ways to stretch the pantry and the food budget.

Tomorrow we will chat again.  I think I will talk about changing' up some ingredients in common dishes - utilizing what you have on hand and to make things a little fun and interesting.

Have a blessed day and BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING!