frugal tips

Homemade Christmas Gifts You Can Make Now

September 25, 2014 By Thaleia 3 Comments

Right now is a perfect time to think about making homemade Christmas gifts from Fall Harvest abundance. I recently made homemade applesauce and crockpot apple butter which will make nice Christmas gifts. We have also been harvesting medicinal herbs and plants. I am working on gathering enough to dry and make tinctures, hydrosols, and salves. I can see some of these items making their way into Christmas baskets as well.

I know some people think it’s too early to think about Christmas and I am usually that way BUT you really need to plan ahead before it sneaks up on you. These super simple gifts are great to make now while the Fall Harvest is happening especially the applesauce and apple butter.

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Quick and Easy Homemade Apple Butter

September 10, 2014 By Thaleia 7 Comments

Since our family was able to go to a small apple orchard and pick all the apples we wanted for free, it was time for me to learn how to make apple butter. I am totally new to canning besides seeing my mom can at times growing up. I have never really liked apple butter before. I like cinnamon and apples but not too much cinnamon. I left out the allspice and cloves that most Apple Butter recipes call for.

I pulled out my Moto X smartphone and googled how to make homemade apple butter. Yes, that is right. I was standing in front of my stove using the internet to do something “old-fashioned” like canning. (It kinda makes me laugh thinking about the irony.) I saw a few recipes to make it in the crockpot from homemade applesauce. I prepared my apples into applesauce then filled up my 6-Quart Slow Cooker and set it on low. (My affiliate link is used as reference.)

I began cooking the apples down before really worrying about seasoning the mixture. I wrote down two different recipes for spice ingredients but went my own way making it less spicy and more apple flavored. So this might not be a “true apple butter” but I do not care as long as we like it and eat it. I will be giving this as part of Christmas this year (so sorry any family reading this for present spoilers!)

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of Nutmeg

1 Cup of Sugar (if needed)

6 quart of applesauce (before being cooked down)

I keep stirring my applesauce every hour or so because I feel like my 6-Quart Slow Cooker
might cook a little hot. I did not want it scorching or burning. I ended up putting the crockpot on the “keep warm” setting over night just to be on the safe side. During the day I had it on “low”. My applebutter cooked for more than 24 hours. I canned one batch the first evening around the 24 hour cooking mark. Then the second batch I canned in the am of the next day.

Check out a few other related posts:

My Canning Equipment

Homemade Applesauce

Super Simple Homemade Applesauce

September 8, 2014 By Thaleia 7 Comments

Gonna throw this post up quick since I am in the thick of processing apples into homemade applesauce and crockpot apple butter. This is our 3rd year to harvest apples for free from another homeschool families grandparents! We are so blessed to have free apples to enjoy. Usually we dehydrate a bunch into apple chips but our humidity has been threw the roof and the chips won’t dry- boohoo!

Okay, on to my super simple process of making homemade applesauce.

1) Pick your apples. Hope you have a great GMO-free orchard to go to to pick your lovely apples. Remember for sauce that bruises and apples off the ground are just fine.

2) Wash your apples. I dumped mine in our kitchen sink to soak the bugs out of them. I only had to wipe a few that had mud or grass on them.

3) Core your apples either with an Apple Corer or Apple and Pear Slicer
(Using affiliate links for easy reference.)

4) Place cored apples into Stainless Steel 8-Quart Covered Saucepot.
I used a 3 quart pot but bigger would be faster! Cover with 2-4 inches of water. Cook until apples are tender. You may want to stir them up once or twice so the apples on top cook as quickly as the apples on the bottom.

5)Start sterilizing your Ball Jars in Water Bath Canner or large stock pot.

6) Use slotted spoon to scoop cooked apples out into Stainless Steel Food Mill
over large bowl or 3QT Plastic Bowl . I have one without a handle bought at a garage sale for $1 but I could have used my Pampered Chef batter bowl as well. (I used empty ice cream pail for skins and seeds to be dumped into compost.)

7) Ladle applesauce into hot sterilized canning jars using a canning funnel to help lessen the mess. Wipe jar rims to be sure they are free from debris. Apply clean simmered lids using magnetic lid lifter and finger tighten the rings.

8) Using jar lifter gently place filled jars of applesauce into simmering water. Bring to a slight boil for 15 miuntes. Turn off water and remove jars being sure to use tongs and place on towel or cooling rack onto counter.

9) Listen for the pop sound of your jars sealing. Once cooled label with description and date.

Now you will have some wonderful homemade applesauce to enjoy!

Car Snack Bag: A Must for Breastfeeding Moms

August 2, 2014 By Thaleia 4 Comments

Are you a busy breastfeeding mom? Do you take your nursling with you everywhere? Then I can imagine how many calories you are burning going to the park or grocery store plus nursing a baby. I have to admit since I had children that I became a snacker. I was never a big eater before and during my 3rd trimester’s of pregnancy I was always hungry but unable to eat much at one sitting. I battled terrible heartburn and pain but needed to eat. Thus began my life as a snacker!

I started keeping snacks in my purse or diaper back in order to not feel faint. While I was pregnant with Big Red I had to eat every couple hours in order to not be nauseous. We couldn’t even make it to church and back without me eating a pack of peanuts or cheese stick and fruit.

I highly recommend packing a car snack bag. It will save you so much time when you or your child feels slightly hungry and going through the drive thru isn’t an option. Anyone with dietary restrictions will be less stressed by having their own snacks on hand. We check our snack bag on a regular basis. Daily if we are out and about each day otherwise weekly seems to do the trick.

The Bag:

I suggest you use a bag that is easy too wash and includes a few pockets. My bag was a heavy duty fabric bag from the OB. I love that I have two now. One is brown and holds extra clothes and activities. The bright neon green one is our snack bag. It is just the right size to hold a small insulated bottle bag. (Free Similac one from hospital). I have one of our Medela hand pumps just case I’m full and baby is sleeping.

The Snacks:

water or fruit juice- preferably bottles
nuts- individual packages or a whole canister
dried fruit- raisin, cherries, blueberries, cranberries typically Aldi brand
fruit leather- Fit & Active brand from Aldi
Protein Bars- these are JUST FOR MOM!
Crackers- whatever kind the kids like
vanilla wafers crackers in Tupperware container
pretzel sticks in Tupperware container
Jif To Go Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
Jack Link’s Teriyaki, 1-Ounce Packages
GoGo Squeez Apple Sauce On the Go

Our snacks are temperature and weather dependent. In the Fall and Winter we can usually pack 100 % fruit juice AND homemade granola bars without spoiling. During Summer we keep the snacks to things that are not gonna melt or spoil in the heat. We usually grab apples, bananas, or carrots as we head out the door.

This post is part of Latch on and Link up celebrating National Breastfeeding Month for the month of August:

Homemade Rock Kit

July 29, 2014 By Thaleia 8 Comments

What does a resourceful mom do? Figure out ways to create your own rock tool kit including common household tools and ask around for anything that could be handy that is currently being unused. This post will show you a little bit of our evolving rock collection kit and how we have gotten so many nice rocks for free!

Today I would like to share with you some ways to create your own homemade rock kit. Yes, you can buy all types of rock kits, mineral kits, classroom sets, and even rock hound backpack’s but most of those are quite expensive. Since these pre-made kits aren’t in a frugal homeschool budget I wanted to give you ideas of what we have done.

First determine how much your children are really into rocks. Do they really want to learn about them OR do they just want to collect them and play with them? Either way your child can learn, observe, and explore rocks to their hearts content!

If your child really want’s to learn to identify and collect them for further study then I suggest you print rock identification charts or cards from below or visit our post with over 40 free resources for rocks and minerals. Keep an eye out at garage sales or used book sales for rock books. We splurged and paid full-price for Rocks, Gems and Minerals (A Golden Guide). Funny thing is we found an older version of the same book for .50 at a garage sale!

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frugal tips

Check out a few other related posts:

The Bag:

The Snacks:

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