Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Money Saving Mom's Book Is Coming Soon

You can pre-order Money Saving Mom's Budget Book now on Amazon.  I am very excited and can't wait to read this book.  If you haven't checked out Crystal's site, please do so now.  She has some wonderful recipes, freezer cooking tips, and so much more!

The Money Saving Mom®'s Budget Book

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

What's For Dinner (And In The Freezer)? Meatloaf

When I went back to work a couple of weeks ago, I knew my time to prepare dinner each night would be limited, so I went in search of recipes that were easily doubled so that I could put one in the freezer.  I decided to start with a meatloaf.  This is a very simple recipe, but it turned out to be delicious.

Meatloaf
2 pounds ground beef (I used venison)
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs (made from dried bread slices)
3/4 cup salsa (I used home-canned),
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning

Mix all items together until well combined.  Divide into two servings and freeze.  When ready to cook, thaw meatloaf in the refrigerator and cook at 400 degrees for approx. 45 minutes.  If you don't have time to thaw, add approx 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time.  I added about 1 cup shredded cheese over the top of the meatloaf and put it back in the oven until melted and bubbly.  It was delicious! 

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of this, but will try to get one when I cook the one out of the freezer and add it at that time.

Surprise Halloween Guests

Since moving to the farm, we have said that we wouldn't have any trick or treaters unless the cows came by.  We didn't know how true this would turn out to be.  Last Monday when we got home from work, we found that the cows had pushed over a section of the fence and had helped themselves to all of the "treats" - hay, feed, collards, turnips, etc.  Needless to say, they left some "tricks" as well. 

We are now hoping that our garden can recover and that we will still be able to harvest some greens from it.  Fortunately, the raised bed gardens were covered and did not get eaten.  It is amazing how well they are growing.  We are hopeful that we will be able to build a larger greenhouse for next fall/winter.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Missing In Action

I'm sorry that I have been missing in action this past week.  My new job has me on the computer training all day every day so I haven't really wanted to log on when I get home at night.  I have been doing some freezer cooking and have some very good recipes to share.