Harvest Season part 2 Homemade broth saves money

We recently purchased a half a beef from one of my husband's customers. We split that half into 1/3 and 2/3 and shared it with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. So I know have a freezer stocked with beef. Lots of ground beef in 2lb packages, steaks 3 to a package as the boys share 1, roasts in a variety, and misc stew meat, and soup bones.  We ended up paying about $3.00 lb for the beef which worked out to be a good deal especially since the ground beef is very lean.  How does that fit into the harvest season? Well, the beef was ready the beginning of August just like the beginning of the harvest season.
Now what are we going to do with all of this?
So far I have made spaghetti sauce only once,  hamburgers several times on the BBQ,  taco casserole, homemade sausage and hamburger jerky. 
We had a wonderful Italian pot roast last night with fresh garden veggies simmered with Italian Seasoning.  
Before I made the roast though, I made a batch of Beef Broth. I have mentioned making broth on our Facebook page before and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share how I do it.
I LOVE using broth for rice, veggies, pasta, soup, etc. I don't love the price or the sodium content.

I started with 1 package of soup bones (neck bones this time) and my crock pot.
I added  1/2 glove elephant garlic, 1/2 sweet onion, 1 bay leaf, and 1 Tablespoon of salt to the crock-pot and filled it with water (3 1/2 qts) turned it on high and walked away.
I cooked it all day Sunday (from 1:30 until 7:30) and then turned it onto the "keep warm" setting over night as I didn't want to deal with it that late Sunday evening.

Monday morning I skimmed the fat off the top and put it into pint jars.
7 pint jars of strained broth into the pressure cooker.  Refer to you canning/ preserving books for guide (pressure and time can vary)

Now I have 7 pints of beef broth ready for soups, rice, pasta, veggies, etc...















I have been known to buy some broth in cans when I find an amazing sale (usually with coupons during Thanksgiving) but beef is always more expensive. This way I have it ready and it didn't cost nearly what it would have otherwise.

Do you use your own broth? How do you save it?

Harvest Season part 1

Harvest season is here in a BIG way this year.
Our garden is blessing us, our friends' gardens are blessing us,my parents' garden is blessing us,  and our local gleaners group is blessing us.
Yes I used the word blessing four times. Truly the harvest is a blessing.
So far this year we have harvested and put up: cherries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cauliflower, brocolli, kale, corn, greenbeans, apples, and peaches.
On the coming list cabbage, leeks, garlic, squash, pears, more corn, more cauliflower, more broccoli, more kale, and hopefully beets, and root vegetables.

What do I do with all these things?
Can, freeze, and dry them.

I steamed apples for juice. Round 1 on the steamer gave me 4 qts of juice and 5 qts of applesauce as I ran the cooked apples through the Folly Food Mill after the fact so we didn't waste anything.
I added a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 a teaspoon of citric acid for a preservative to each jar.
I still have 8 gallons of apples to juice, dry, and freeze so there will be more to come. I am also hoping for a few more varieties later in the season.

I purged the pantry in late July to get ready for the harvest and took my 18 qts of tomatoes from last year (that is what I had left) and slow cooked them in my electric roasting pan with some italian seasoning for a basic spaghetti sauce. I ended up with 11 freezer containers (a little larger than a pint) ready to go. Now I have the top shelf of my pantry ready for other goodies and I have 11 package of sauce in the freezer ready to add meat , veggies, and past to.

I purchased 4 boxes of peaches (22lbs each) through our gleaners group. I have been putting them in qt and pint jars. I cut them in half, pitting them and stuffed them in the jars. I used a combination of citric acid and honey and water for each jar. We ended up with 13 qts and 7 pints of peaches so far. I am also drying some for snacks and flash freezing the rest for smoothies. I am still planning on at least 1 batch of jam and 2 pies before all is said and done with the peaches.



Later this week I will post more of the harvest season. Kale, veggies, pickles, pears, and organizing it all.

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Cleaning up, on the blog that is

Over the last few months I have wanted to clean things up on the blog a bit, so this weekend I did.
I switched to just 1 sidebar and the footer (still tweaking on that a little). I love my header and blog button and decided to keep a variation on the header the Danielle did last year for me. I added the tabs back to the page top rather than the header and made the blog post space a little larger, I wanted to show off the food pictures so needed a larger post space.
I am working on adding a few new pages over the coming weeks to help sort the posts a bit for everyone. I am thinking of a tab for reviews, scripture, PR/ media kit, about us, recipes, and frugal living. The idea that my readers all come from different seasons in their lives and I want you to be feel like you can find what you are looking for quick and easy.

Hope you have a great week

GrillMates meets burger and veggies and tenderloin, and salad, and...#crowdtap #grillmates

 We had a birthday celebration in the afternoon and decided to take the party to the evening with some friends and the BBQ thanks to Crowdtap and Grill Mates.

I started off with 2 lbs of ground beef we recently purchased from a Washington Ranch. Added Grill Mates Brown Sugar and Bourbon BBQ Sauce and divided it up for burgers on the grill. It really was that easy and since this is very lean beef the sauce mixed it helped keep the patties together.  

I added a quick cabbage salad using olive oil and sesame ginger dressing and served the adults' with a frozen  margarita and the kids' with some simple grape juice.  A simple yet yummy BBQ dinner!

Part 2 of our Grill Mate experience was a little more detailed.

Beef Tenderloin with Memphis rub, zucchini with Bacon and Molasses seasoning and Baby potatoes with Olive Oil and Montreal Steakhouse Seasoning. 

I marinated the tenderloin steaks over night in the Memphis Rub
Seasoned the Zucchini with the Bacon and Molasses seasoning, and marinated the potatoes in olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning all day.
Grilled to perfection and served a our family outside for a perfect evening!

Needless to say my boys are LOVING these GrillMates seasoning and the outdoor cooking just adds to the enjoyment. Bring on the fall grilling season! Yes we BBQ year round here at Unionvale Mom's Spot.

Thanks to Crowdtap and GrillMates for the amazing package of goodies I received including the various spices mentioned in this post. All other Food and Beverage items were purchased by this blogger and not compensated for.

I'm still here, I promise

I haven't abandoned the blog I promise. It is the harvest season and I am up to my ears in harvest and processing of fruits and veggies. I will post pictures and recipes and money saving things soon I promise. I have been asked to speak to a local MOPS group in September and decided I would write my talk via the blog so I hope to put together at least a couple posts covering realistic frugal living with coupons, bulk, local programs, etc..
What are you favorite money saving tips? I would love to hear from my readers some of their great ideas. Real people and real ideas, this isn't an extreme couponing event, this is an event for Moms of Preschoolers and if you fall into that category or have in the last 5 years you remember the challenges that come along with it. Also I want to know what kind of recipes you would like to see. I have several sets of photos saved to share recipes but don't want to waste your time.

Back to School in stylish Shoes at a discount

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Famous Footwear has an amazing deal for the Back to School season: BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon15% off plus Buy 1 Get 1 at 1/2 price. WIth sizes and style for the whole family , this is a great deal to put shoes on everyone's feet.  Between now and the 18th of this month you can print the coupon for 15% off your purchase and combine it with the current promotion of BOGO. I know with two little boys shoes add up fast plus Mommy could really use some new shoes so this promotion is an excellent value for me to consider. 

I also love the new FREE  Reward program they office, get 1 point for every dollar you spend in the store or online and redeem points for certificates for up to $100 a year which turns into FREE shoes. Bsides earning free shoes, you also receive discounts and other perks just for signging up. 

Famous Footwear has the latest styles as well as the traditional work, play , and activity shoes every family needs and with so many locations you won't have trouble finding a store near you or shop online and save as well. Online or in store Famous Footwear has you covered for fashion and family friendly shoes. 

2 boys plus Mom and maybe even Dad will be shopping Back to School Deals with our Famous Footwear location locally and checking out deals online before we head out to make the whole process that much easier. 

This time of year can cost families a lot of money, check out Famous Footwear's promotion of BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon15% off plus BOGO and save your family some money while finding great shoes. 

 

 

Garden Fresh Dinner : Cabbage Bowls yes Please

I love summer for the garden fresh dinners I can create!
Tonight was a perfect mix of flavors and ease.
Grilled in aluminum foil these cabbage bowls where not only easy but full of flavor

I started with a medium head of cabbage cut in half. I peeled off a few layers carefully to create the bottom and top of the bowl. I filled the bottom of the "bowl" with chopped onion, zucchini, and tomato. Drizzled olive oil over the pile and sprinkled with herbs.

I placed the top of the bowl on and wrapped the aluminum foil around the bowl and placed it on a medium heat gas grill for about 20 minutes. 

I topped with some crumbled feta cheese and roasted garlic and enjoyed it for dinner

I will be making this again I'm sure especially since both Mike and I enjoyed it. Hope I have enough cabbage in the garden to keep up with the grilling. Happy Grilling!