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Sunday, November 14, 2010

OUR THRIFTY WAYS...

MEN in the kitchen are just plain SEXY...
"i'm too sexy for my shirt..too sexy for my shirt..."
*
Well, they are !
Now, MR. SWEET is a mighty fine cook and
at 76, he may not be considered SEXY...
 but he's so enduring and
so stinkin' sweet
that he seems pretty sexy at times...
LOL
*
We are always on a budget, it seems...
and have to make our dollars streeeetch.......
even in the kitchen.
Veggies for our favorite...
SHISH KABOB.....
UMMMMMM! We love 'em...
*
He makes these for us all the time
using Sirloin steak...
**
Our meat market puts meats into a clearance bin
after they need to go "off the shelf" and sell them for a really hefty DISCOUNT...
you have to get there at just the right time or the meat is totally GONE in a very short time.

MR. SWEET knows just when to go
and he comes home with such good good meats.
*
All packaged up in freezer bags, ready for our freezer...


SIX big wonderful PORK CHOPS...
3 bags, each containing 2, are just right for us.
*
I know we aren't going to have snow up to our roofs,
and that the grocery store is only 10 blocks....
but the OLD FASHIONED feeling of having our pantry stocked
and our freezer full
makes the both of us feel sooo good.
*
When I was a  little girl, a looooong time ago,
my mother always had her cabinets stocked with canned goods
lots of flour, bacon and we always had milk.
She was always afraid we would have a big snow storm and she would run out of food.
One time, we DID have a huge snow...
36 inches of snow !!
We couldn't get our car out of the garage...so going to the store was OUT.
but because she always kept a good stock of groceries,
we did just fine !!!
*
I was a senior that year and several of my girlfriends
walked to my house, got me and we walked into town...
to the local drug store...
with a SODA FOUNTAIN..and a Juke box. SOOO fun!
Come the first COLD, WINTRY, SNOW-BLOWING night,
I'll grill some PORK CHOPS, make an iron skillet full of homemade biscuits,
a pan of creamed gravy and get out a jar of our STRAWBERRY freezer jam
and we are going to be doing the HAPPY DANCE...
UH  HU ....we surely will..
**
Another way we stretch our dollars..
...making a new dish out of leftovers...
The leftover mashed potatoes, egg, cheese, peppers and onions
makes a delicious
POTATO PATTY.
*
 
Fried TASTE best...OF COURSE !
but oven baked is pretty good, too.
*
You can add anything you want to this delicious treat...
 *
There they are, in the middle...
I added bacon bits and sharp cheddar cheese to these and they were so good.

That luscious looking thing in the lower left corner...

A cup of DUNKIN DONUTS coffee with a LARGE spoonful of
COFFEE ICE CREAM...
OH HONEY !
I am linking with

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must be starving to death, no, I know I'm starving to death and there you go again with the picture of those biscuits. I love homemade biscuits and growing up n Texas, every Sunday meant homemade biscuits and bacon country gravy.

I think you post these photos just to torment me cuz I want biscuits so bad - and NOT grands that are in my fridge, lol.

Lynn said...

Great post BJ! I consider a well stocked freezer/pantry taking care of myself! Here in Philly we can get that snow storm, so I think it's just wise:@)

Anonymous said...

Hi BJness! Yummy! I am craving one of your potato patties! That looks so good and sounds delicious!
My mother always had canned goods from the garden stocked up. She made a mean veggie soup and it tasted so good on cold night!
I use your biscuit recipe all the time - it's simply the 'best'! :)
I'll bet your kids can't wait to come back home and eat with Mama! :)
Be a sweetie,
Sheila ;)

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Your kabobs look very tasty!! I am a saver of leftovers too. I have some mashed potatoes that tomorrow will become potato pancakes too. I add some chives, cheddar cheese and then lightly flour them. Then I melt a little butter and fry them....yummy!
xo
Penny
p.s. bread recipes coming soon

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love this post and remembering when we were younger! I have some of the same memories! And wasn't it always the MOST fun to get bundled up and walk somewhere when you had a 'snow day'! Hugs! ♥

Stacey said...

I couldn't agree with you more! Simple foods that come from stretching the budget are often the very best. We love to have the pantry and fridge stocked too. Just makes us feel more secure.

Julie Harward said...

It's the smart way to go..we do it too. I love having my man in the kitchen and helping and he looks out for the good deals too! This all looks so good! ;D

Salmagundi said...

I'm a frugal cook, also; and try to always keep the pantry full. We do get snowstorms in Colorado, but it seems we never lose power, and the storms don't last long. Still, it is nice to have something in the pantry, as I hate to go to the grocery store!! Have a great week. Sally

Blondie's Journal said...

A really great post BJ. I forgot how good and economical shish kabob are, we usually only have them in the summer on the grill. I like the idea of freezing them. We have our BIG share of snowstorms in Chicago, but I like to use my frozen foods and pantry for the nights I just don't 'feel' like cooking a big meal...and hubby always wants a big meal after work and he deserves it. Thanks for the inspiration!

XO,
Jane

Snap said...

Great post. Now I'm hungry!

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

BJ- You are a very smart savy woman. Even if we don't have to stretch a dollar, it is always smart to. Very good advice and wonderul food. I'd come eat from your dollar stretching menu any day!
Yvonne

shannon i olson said...

I have never thought of making and freezing the kabobs! great idea. How wonderful to have great things ready to go, lovely photos!

Love Of Quilts said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Theresa said...

Isn't it so true, Men in the kitchen are sexy! Men doing sweet things for their wives is sexy! My honey makes the bed every morning and I just think that is the sweetest thing! All of your delicious dishes look so tasty! I know Mr. Sweet appreciates all you do, just like you appreciate all he does with the shish-ka-bobs! Have a blessed evening, HUGS!

Love Of Quilts said...

I wouldn't want to get snowed in without food in the house either....think the lord that has never happened but there could always be a first time...I would love it if you would share your freezer jam recipe with us.Sorry I made a mess out of the other comment and deleted it. Trish

A Garden of Threads said...

That was a very yummy post. I love biscuits with butter and jam, soooo gooooood!

Carol said...

Delicious post!
I love a full freezer, my husband says we could survive for years with what I have packed in there!

Robin@DecoratingTennisGirl said...

And to think, Beeeejjjj! I was drinkin' just plain ole Dunkin with alittle milk and sweetner??? Silly me... You're somethin!
xoxo!!!

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

A very yummy mosaic.

From the Kitchen said...

There is nothing better than a man in the kitchen!! They are sexy at any age because real mean cook!!

When we accepted the transfer to Lubbock (from La Jolla, CA), we asked about snow and were told it never really snowed there. HA! The job (at the V.A. Clinic) started in early January. We were a little late arriving because we were stuck in Odessa--snowed in! And, while living in Lubbock (which we truly enjoyed) one Thanksgiving, we were snowed in, couldn't pick up our fresh turkey and had potato soup!! So, from then on, we had a freezer full and an extra turkey--just in case.

Best,
Bonnie

Shirley said...

I think it's something about the cold weather coming that makes you want to "stock up". I remember my mother and father doing that a lot. Of course we had a lot more snow in Erie, PA back then and post war budgets were tight. I don't can but I do have lots of freezer jam : )) I love your delicious looking mosaics!

Kathleen said...

I am like you. Always looking for a good sale. Pork chops on sale taste just as good as the ones that are full price!. Left overs here are called recreations!
You make everything sound wonderful!
Full freezer and pantry here too. Hate to run to the store for something, and it is not that close!

Sarah said...

I think your stocked for the winter, BJ. My husband likes to shop for bargains at the meat counter and plan ahead. He's the cook in our home.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Well now..I don't know about the "not being sexy" part. At 74 those 76 year old men look pretty good to me. I own one.. LOL
He used to cook when he first met me..so...what the heck happened!
I get such a kick out of you!! :)

Pondside said...

I'm married to a man who likes to stock up, and that's just fine by me.
If I wasn't hungry when I started reading your post I certainly was by the time I got to the end! Yummy!

Sue said...

Now I won't be able to sleep because I'll be so hungry! I love potato cakes...I've never put bacon and cheese in mine. That would make them the main course...great idea.

My son is a butcher at our local store. I get a phone call when there is a fabulous sale or sometimes we get steaks as birthday gifts!

Anonymous said...

Looks very taste!!!

Anonymous said...

I am so hungry now!
I want to go out in the snow for a soda and listen to the jukebox so badly too....you have the yummiest posts and i agree we have to stretch those pennies here too,thank you for the tips,
Hugs Kristina xxx

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Oh my!! What a wonderful journey through your post!!! Thank you! It all looks so grand! Cathy

La said...

I'll take a cup of that coffee with ice cream! That sounds out of this world.

Have a great week! La

Susan said...

Oh I gotta try those potatoe cakes. My mother use to make potatoe cakes when I was a child.
I long for the days of old when life was so much simpler!! How did life get so complicated anyway?

Kathleen Grace said...

I really love the idea of freezing kabobs, why havent I thought of that? We have a huge pantry in the basement and I always shop the sales and use my coupons and keep it well stocked with things we use all the time, baking supplies and frugal treats. When I run out of flour or sugar or olive oil I dont have to run to the store, I go downstairs and get a new one. The store is 1/4 mile down the road, but I hate running out of something when I'm in the middle of a recipe! Buying on sale and stocking up saves lots of money too!

Carole Burant said...

I'm going to make you pay for a new keyboard for me because every time I come visit you I end up drooling all over it! hehe Hi BJ, I'm back to blogging after being so busy renovating my living room...come see, I have pictures up:-)

I love it when I can get meats on sale like that, every once in a while I'm at the grocery store at the right time and can stock up. My freezer and pantry are always stocked up so I doubt we'd ever starve. lol Your shishkabobs look soooooo delicious, love those!!

Speaking of men in the kitchen looking sexy, yesterday I brought mom to our church's Christmas Tea Bazaar and it was men who were serving the tea/coffee...we told them they looked mighty fine in their aprons! lol xoxo

Beth said...

Oh, BJ, your honey's shish-ka-bobs and your potato pancakes look delightful! You do great food photography, and cooking, and dollar stretching! I love your story about the 36 inch snow! A fond memory, but aren't you glad you don't have to worry about that anymore? Have a wonderful week and a fabulous Thanksgiving, dear sweet lady!!!
Hugs, Beth

Diane Duda said...

I'm hungry.

Unknown said...

What a great post...thank you! I came here looking for your Pink Saturday but was intrigued by this one first! I will definitely be following. I agree about the cold weather making one want to stock the pantry and start the home-cookin'...I've been in that mode for a couple weeks now. This is my favorite time of year!

Have a wonderful day!

Sarah

Mrs. M said...

I so enjoyed this post!!! I read every word and enjoyed every photo. It's like entering your beautiful world in a moment :-) Thanks!

I'm having a $70 shopping money give-away.Maybe you want to consider this as one thrifty way to fill your pantry :-)

Please come over when you have time.
God bless you. You blessed my heart today.

Liz said...

Food... yummy! Me.... hungry! :)

My RUBY link.

Unknown said...

I found you from, Pink Sat. and I'm so glad I did.
I want to come to your house to eat.
I am following you and invite you over to my blogsite too.
Be inspired,
~Jean

Ralph said...

This is serious food, the potato patties and kebobs so delicious in look, and taste too! I like to cook some, nothing fancy but our kitchen has been modified for the wheelchair. Cooking and experimenting is a fun pastime, male or not...

From the Kitchen said...

Where would you have taken me to lunch? It was over 25 years ago when we lived there and our children were babies so we didn't get out too much--especially me for lunch. However, I remember a delightful little restaurant near downtown. It was called (I think) Crepe Suzette and it was so good. We also went to a place outside of town called The Roadhouse. I can still taste that barbecue!! Also, Furr's Cafeteria was yummy.

Gotta go eat as I'm hungry just thinking about those places.

Best,
Bonnie

Unknown said...

Oh, BJ! Another delicious presentation ... Mother always canned everything 'just in case'.

So share please, the biscuit recipe ...

Lawdy! I'd NEVAH let Harold in the kitchen ... the fire department would be here. He's only allowed on the grill.

Don't forget our giveaway
Have a lovely week ~
TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon

Patti said...

Hi BJ, I had to stop right by after I read your nice comment on Ralph's blog today.

We do enjoy blogging and meeting new friends as well. I have been a bit lazy about blog visiting, but I plan to get organized one of these days. ;-)

The photos of all that food look so good. I haven't had dinner yet. Now I'm hungry!

I love potato pancakes, or patties as you call them.

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

BJ,
These are some wonderful THRIFTY tips and thank you for sharing them with all of us at NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS!!!!

Blessings,
Linda

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

WOW!!!!!!!!!

Snow background and a white peacock!!!

Double WOW WOW!

Needless to say, I'm leaving a big Hooray for your latest blog look! :-)

Oh that old pic of old drug store,
with a soda fountain. Memories! Our family Corner Drug Store had a soda fountain back when we bought it, about half a century ago. And soda fountain lasted until it was COSTING us money, to run it. With a growing family, he couldn't continue, and the soda fountain had to go. :-(

Another one of those things which people love to be nostalgic about. But which don't get supported enough, to keep 'em around. -sigh-

I'd be very, very surprised if you can say that this old drug store is still there. And even more surprised, if it still has its soda fountain.

-sighhhhhhhhhhh-