Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sunday Kinda Sunday

I spent today baking up a storm. As you see below, I had a special request from one of the dogs asking me for more yummy biscuits....how could I say no to that cute little note? I also made a weeks worth of breakfast muffins for myself and sent a batch home with the Sgt too. I topped off my day by whipping up some bread for the week in my R2 bread maker. I love that little bread maker and use him all the time, it's one of my best auction finds ever and I totally have gotten my $10 out of it! Plus, it saves me lots of time because he does all the hard work for me!

Saturday I went off to an auction just because it's been months since I've been...I wasn't planning on buying anything, I am being faithful to my self imposed frugality, I just needed the fix. I bought absolutely nothing and to be honest, it made me feel extremely powerful. Being frugal has given me a weird sense of power. I love figuring out how, where, and what I can do to save money. Like for instance, I also made laundry detergent this weekend! Now I will never have to buy laundry detergent again....hahahaha...suck it laundry detergent companies! *insert evil laugh here* My philosophy is becoming more and more.....Why continue to buy something if you can make it, fix it, or grow it yourself? I ask myself often....do I really need that? Is that what I want or need to spend my money on? Usually the answer is no and I actually feel better for not buying it! Being frugal gives me self discipline and a sense of power. It's pretty amazing. Auctually, I think living frugaly is living more of a vintage lifestyle then going out and buying all the vintage you can get your hands on with the use of your little plastic credit card. People back then didn't do that. They lived for the most part very modestly. I always think it's funny to see people in today's society trying hard to look vintage and live a "vintage lifestyle" by going into debt doing it. What a complete oxymoron!

Enough with my rant onto the recipes!

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PB dog biscuits.....aka Puppy Crack

6 cups whole wheat flour
2.5 cups of water
2.5 cups PB
2 tbs blackstrap molasses
2 tbs canola oil

  • Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and slowly add flour until a thick dough forms.
  • Roll out dough to desired thickness and cut shapes.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 min. Treats should be crunchy and dry. Let treats dry out over night and then store in an air tight container.

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8 Week Cholesterol Cure Muffins

2 1/4 cups Oat-bran cereal (Quick Oatmeal is what I use)
1/4 cup chopped almonds (I usually don't add the nuts)
1/4 cup raisins (I have started using blueberries also)
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey (I use honey)
1 1/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
2 tbs veggie oil

*Note...I will sometimes through in a cap full of vanilla extract too.

Pre heat oven to 425... combine all ingredients in large bowl and bake 15- 17 min.

Muffins are 130 calories each, are made with no flour and high in fiber! Good for lowering your cholesterol!


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Sour Cream Bread

Water 2 1/2 tbs.
Sour cream 1 1/3 cup
Salt 2/3 tsp
baking soda 1/4 tsp
sugar 1 1/3 tbs
bread flour 3 1/3 cup
yeast 2 1/2 tsp

8 comments:

  1. I love the dog biscuit recipe! I would have never thought to make dog biscuits myself. Definitely going to try this for my pup!

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  2. I'm gonna make those biscuits for my three mutts! They'll think they're in puppy heaven!And the muffins...yum! Will you post the detergent recipe?

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  3. thanks for the recipe! i'm def going to start making my pupps some biscuits :) and the laundry detergent, that's awesome! go you!

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  4. I agree with you 110%. Living frugally is a much more "vintage" lifestyle than buying up all the crap we think we're supposed to. I've been feeling that vibe more and more lately- don't know whether its the economy or I'm just getting old, LOL!

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  5. I agree with you and SusieQT, for me a vintage lifestyle is about living the same way not just dressing the same and most of my frugal habits have come from vintage living. I to am always trying to find new ways to save, will definitely have to give the homemade detergent a try.

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  6. thanks for the muffin recipe! I just made some this afternoon and they are yummy! We don't have a cholesterol issue around here but I am always looking for healthy treats for the kids and they love oatmeal (which I have a ton of)! I have been using eco friendly "green" store bought laundry soap for a long time but have found out it doesn't take out the stink sometimes (like from sweat, feet ect). How have you found that the home-made laundry soap leaves your clothes smelling? I have wanted to make home-made soap for a long time but am concerned it will not remove our stink! I am totally into the frugal life-style thing. I have been reading books on minimalism and have been trying my best to minimize things from our life. My grandma was a frugalist by trade and I use many of her old depression-era tricks. I have been gardening the past year and have happily planted my second garden this year. Saving money just makes sense especially in this crazy and unpredictable economy.

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  7. Alli, Those muffins are great and I eat them for snacks too! The laundry soap is working well for me but I'm just one single gal right now who doesn't sweat much! If you look under the down to earth blog link I posted I think you will find she has some good laundry recipes for getting the tough stink out! Go have a look. I love living simple and I think it's a natural direction to head in for vintage lovers. It really does give you a sense of freedom to be able to provide for yourself and not feel like you need to keep up with someone else to be happy!

    Betsy

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  8. We are on our 2nd batch of muffins! The kids love them! I will have to experiment with some laundry soap mixes to get out our stink! Be glad you are only doing laundry for yourself as I do laundry everyday for us! I am going to make the doggy bones today for the poodles! I am sure they will love them!

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