save money – Page 2 – Oh Lord Help Us

If You Don’t Own a Cow…

Save, Stay SaneAugust 22, 2014September 18, 2014

I have been amazed at the price of milk (the price of everything, actually). Every time I go to the grocery the price goes up. And up. And up. One day as I was gawking at the price, I ran into the mom of my sons classmate. We were chit-chatting about kids, school, her (4th) pregnancy, and of course the price of milk. She shared with me that her family goes through 3-4 gallons of milk a week! Holy Udders! I can’t even imagine.

Anyhow, I started thinking about how to make milk go further. I remembered hearing about watering down whole milk. Sounds crazy? Well, I’m not the only one who has thought of this because there are several articles out there about doing this to save money. I mean, it is kinda a rip off, charging the same price for skim milk as whole milk. Come on guys!

So this is what we have started doing. At first my ratio was 2:1 milk to water. I have gradually increased it to 1:1. So essentially I now get my milk for half the cost. YeeHaw!!

Honey Wheat Bread

RecipesAugust 8, 2014September 18, 2014

3 cups warm water

4.5 tsp active yeast

1/2 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 Tb butter melted

2 Tb salt

3.5-4 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, add honey and stir. Add bread flour. Let rise.

Add melted butter and salt.

Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, then knead in the remaining flour.

Place in buttered bowl, cover with towel and let sit until double. Punch down.

Divide into thirds, place in buttered 9 x 5 loaf pans, cover with towel until double.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Saving a lot of dough. On your dough.

Eat, Save, Stay SaneAugust 8, 2014September 18, 2014

Here it is. Isn’t it beautiful! This is my go to bread recipe and what we use for sandwiches, toast, and when we need something to put honey on.

Ingredients. Six glorious ingredients (not counting the water), that is all. Check your bread package, how many do you see? Can you pronounce all of them?

3 cups warm water

4.5 tsp active yeast

1/2 cup honey

5 cups bread flour

3 Tb butter melted

2 Tb salt

3.5-4 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, add honey and stir.

Add bread flour.

Let rise. (I usually wait until it’s at the rim of the bowl)

Add melted butter and salt. (I use a spatula and make a hole to pour the butter, then mix)

Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour.

Knead in the remaining flour. (Here is where I was messing up. Knead it until it forms a ball and is completely mixed-no dry flour to be found)

Place in buttered bowl, cover with towel and let sit until double. Punch down.

Divide into thirds, place in buttered 9 x 5 loaf pans, cover with towel until double.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Now, let’s talk about ingredients and costs.

The yeast is Fleischmann’s in the jar. It’s more economical than the packets.

The honey is local, and is oh so yummy. It’s not much more than what I was paying at the supermarket.

The bread flour is King Arthur. Gold Medal is a bit cheaper. Pillsbury is even cheaper.

The butter is generic. I would love to use local grass fed. Just haven’t gone there yet.

The salt is Morton’s.

The whole wheat flour I ordered off Amazon. A 25lb bag of organic whole wheat bread flour from a company called Great River.

Here’s the cost for this recipe:

Yeast .63

Honey 1.09

Bread flour 1.17

Butter .28

Salt .04

Whole wheat flour 1.30

Total: $4.51 for 3 loaves!!!

That’s $1.50 a loaf people!!! And you could make it even cheaper by using different brands. That’s up to you!