Butcher Shops are they worth It?

Butcher Shops are they worth it? When you go grocery shopping, what is the most expensive thing you buy? (Meat).  Our grocery bill is much cheaper when I buy my meat from a Butcher shop. Meat in the store is so expensive and the quality is not as good. So today I am going to show you how I save a bundle of money by buying from a Butcher shop.

Let’s start with beef, I good pound of ground- chuck can go for over $4.00 dollars a pound in the grocery store. Don’t even look at the steaks prices, they make me cry. Beef is very expensive in the grocery stores. Here’s how I save a bundle on beef. Call around to your local Butcher shops and compare prices. Our family goes to Becks Meats out of Kaukauna. We order ¼ to ½ of a steer at a time and save big time. The price for all the cuts of beef are $2.99 a pound plus this includes butchering and wrapping. Now I can have my steak and not cry. If you are a single person and you don’t want that much meat at a time, ask a friend or family member to split the cost of the meat. Just by ordering a bigger amount of meat up front can save you a lot of money. The meat is much leaner and healthier for you.

Next, let’s talk about pork. A good pound of bacon can cost you over $3.00 dollars a pound. Look at a good pork roast or ham around the holidays and I just get sticker shock. Not any more, I go to Becks Meat Market in Kaukauna and I buy a whole pig for $1.69 a pound. This includes butchering and wrapping. I love pork chops on the grill and those delicious pork brats. The butcher’s shop customizes the cuts of meat to your liking. They ask you how many pounds you want in a package and how thick you want your meat.

At Becks Meats they also do chickens for $1.59 a pound. Each chicken averages around 5 to 6 pounds each. We do all our own chicken ourselves. We order chickens from of local coop and raise them to around 8 to 10 pounds then butcher them ourselves. We do about 25 chickens a year. This a day long project for us. The girls and I wait till dad chops the heads and then does the de-feathering.  Then the girls and I clean and cut them up into pieces. Freeze and enjoy fresh chicken year round.

Always do your research and check several meat markets for prices and amounts or meat you needed to buy to get your biggest discounts. I find I can save hundreds of dollars this way when I buy my meat. Everybody loves some meat, so why not save money and do your meat shopping at a butcher shop. Enjoy that steak, bacon and chicken from Suzie Homemaker.

What to do with Leftovers

What to do with those leftovers! Don’t throw them away, this is wasting money. There are so many things you can do and make with leftovers or food that is getting older or too ripe. Like most families, my children do not like leftovers.  So here are a few ways to use those leftovers without the children knowing about it.

1.       Use those leftover vegetables in omelets for breakfast or make a vegetable soup for lunch or dinner.

2.       Make some smoothies from fruit or vegetables. Take your very ripe fruit and freeze them to be used later for smoothies. I like to freeze raspberries, apples, strawberries and pears. All these can also be used in pies or sauces at a later date.

3.       Make your own stocks and broths from the meat and vegetable trimmings. After I make a roast or chicken I take the leftover juices and turn them into stock for soups and gravies. Just freeze the juices and use at a later date. Why buy broth and gravy from the store when you can make your own.

4.       Freeze those crusts or stale bread. I like to use these for French toast and homemade bread crumbs. Take your bread crumbs add a little olive oil and spice and bake. French toast, all you need is a couple scrambled eggs and milk and a little cinnamon. Dunk your bread in mixture and fry them up.

5.       We do not go out to eat very often, but when we do we ask for a takeout container. Most meals are way too large so the leftovers become a meal for the next day. Another great way to save is to split a meal .Just ask your server to bring two plates and share your meal. I do this a lot with the children because they can’t eat a big meal by themselves.

6.       Once a week clean out your refrigerator. Anything that doesn’t get eaten is now put in the freezer.

7.       Even though the children don’t like leftovers, I declare a day free so mom does not have to cook. Every leftover is taken out and is laid on the table. Everybody takes there pick and makes their own meal. This is a way to have no arguments, because everybody gets to choose their own meal.

Be creative with those leftovers and the whole family will be happy.  Throwing away food is a waste of money. As you can tell I do everything possible to save money.  Being a stay at home mom means finding any way possible to cut costs. Another food savings tip from Suzie Homemaker.

Homemade baby food

Making Home Made Baby Food

            Today I would like to talk to all the new moms who just had babies. The first year can be very expensive. Try going to rummage sales and thrift shops for clothes, baby cribs, high chairs, strollers, and much more. Buying this in a store is way too expensive. So today I am going to tell you how to save money on making your own homemade baby food.

            When my children were babies I never bought any baby food from the store, for one thing it was way too expensive. Since I had a garden, all my vegetables were fresh and easy to make into baby food. First you will need a good blender or food processor. All you have to do is cook your vegetables until they are soft and put the vegetables in your blender with a little water and puree them. Next you will need a few ice cube trays to pour your pureed vegetables into and freeze them. When they are frozen put in a zip lock bag until needed. Buy fresh fruit and repeat the same process of cooking and freezing the baby food. This way you have no added sugars or preservatives in your baby food.  Making meat takes a little more time, just make sure the meat is cooked well done with no spices in the meat. Just remember to always add enough juice so your blender can puree the meat until it is soft.

            Making your own baby food is much cheaper than buying it in the store. Every weekend I would make enough baby food to last a whole week.  Then I would freeze the baby food for the next week. When it was time for meals I either had some baby food ready in the refrigerator or just took out what I needed and put in the microwave to heat up. This saved our family a lot of money on our grocery bill each week. I felt better knowing what was in my baby food because I made it fresh with my own vegetables and fresh fruit and meat.

            As my baby grew so did the meal planning. I had no problem mixing vegetables with meats in my blender too. Just freeze these too the same way and heat up as needed. A little jar of fruit and vegetables can cost over 50 cents each, when you start going through more than 3 or 4 jars a day this adds up fast. Making your own baby food is cheaper and much healthier for them.

            Here are a few of the fruits and vegetables and meats that I made for baby food. I pureed apples, bananas, peaches, pears, beans, carrots, squash, peas, chicken and roast beef. I felt good as a mother giving my children real baby food made fresh by mom. Have fun raising your children they grow up way to fast.

Have fun making healthy homemade baby food from Suzie Homemaker.

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