are you cooking different with the economy

[nmeadows0101]

I am trying to cook some more bulk meals and not waste as much, I have a garden planted that is growing.
I am going to try to save a little more meats than before.
I found one blogger that has good receipes for sauce and burritos , it is for 30 days. I am out now but I am going to make some more.

I am wanting to try to make meatloaf in a muffin pan but I need a simple receipe.

How are you going to change your cooking to cut down on the powerbill?

[cheap-o]

I know I am. I am trying to use leftovers for other meals. A lot more salads for us too. In the summer your power bill can run up to $400 using the air conditioning. So salads help with that. I did plant a few things in the yard. I already have 3 citrus trees (babies) that produce a little fruit. I also put in 2 tomatoes last weekend. I think next year I am going to start from seed inside in January. Since we can plant late Feb here.

I have been putting meals in the crockpot and then putting it in the garage to cook. That seems to be keeping the kitchen cool. I also do my baking at night after the sun goes down to help keep the house cooler. Plus it is not prime rate for electricity so it is cheaper to use. (we have a time of use plan and you pay different for different time of day).

My Mom and I just started canning and drying produce. It seems to save a lot of money. We got a whole case of broccoli for free that was leftover at my co-op. I blanched and bagged it. We ended up with 7 huge ziploc bags for the freezer. That wasnt even using the stems. I guess I could have saved those for soups now that I think about it. I also got at 40# case of granny smith apples for $14 from the co-op. We are making apple chips and canning the rest in "apple pie filling". Yummy. Used a lot of sugar from the December baking sales. The canning supplies were a little expensive to start buying. But you can reuse it over and over again. So we will more then make the money back this year. But if you are not canning for 12 people it probebly wouldnt be that much of an investment. If you want to know more I am going to have a post on my blog all about it.

[texxie]

i live in south texas and we live like bacon here starting...oh...about NOW.

i want to change so much in our household to save but it's so overwhelming, i dont' know where to begin. that includes a small garden. i would LOVE that but i am rock stupid when it comes to that stuff.

[nmeadows0101]

I started our garden April , I think around the 1st wk. but it is growing now. I am planning on canning and freezing some , family I am sure will have a few , I promised that I will give to the food pantry at church if there is enough.
There are 4 of us but ony 2 will eat veg. the other 2 are meat eaters strickly.
My son and I will eat about anything.

My powerbill came down last mo. to around $90! woohoo.

I hang out our clothes and then toss them in the dryer for 5 minutes or less , just to puff them.

I keep the blinds closed on the side that the sun shines in to cut down on heat in the house and open the windows.

I started closing the back bedroom / bathroom doors , that seems to be helping some.

I am going to work at checking out on here and blogs for simple / good receipes for summer but may allow me to freeze or put up for fall or winter too.

What is your blog?

[clp8904]

I am trying not to over cook. Esp. if it's something that no one will take for lunch or the kids won't eat the next day. I have stopped eating out for lunch my husband also cut that out too.

I unplug my alot of items that we don't use everyday, since they say that also uses power even if it's turned off. I have also started unplugging my microwave when not in use. I have found alot of good tips online on how to conserve. I also try to get a cpl more dished into the dishwasher before running it, and only wash clothes if it's a full load.

We have a garden also, our 1st. It's not really hard, just water it and keep it weeded. We have bannana peppers, green peppers, cucumber,
onion, and 5 tomatoe plants.

I would love to turn up the A/C when we are not home but we have a dog and I don't think she should have to suffer.

[purplefdu]

I started cutting back on meat in recipes after DH was willing to trust I wasn't going to feed him meatless stuff. 1/2 lb in spaghetti/pasta mixes, same in hamburger helper. Ground beef goes further than cuts of meat. He can usually tell when I try to stretch a steak or chicken.

Its hard to change much with the move coming up, but we've always been pretty frugal.

[Marcina]

I use the left overs much more now, sve in the freezer for soup, nothing goes to waste, got chickens and they eat anything I don't.