HSmom

Now that's a cheap meal!!!

 

Today for lunch:

Smoothie made from purchased plain natural yogurt (75c) and home-grown, home-canned plums

Corn on the cob - straight out of the garden

Garlic toast - free "day old" bread, spread with about 10c worth of "garlic spread" from the store.

Soup made from home-canned chicken broth, minute rice, freeze dried peas, freeze dried corn, TVP and salt. (maybe 10c).

Dessert was free "day old" cinnamon bread.

 

Total for three people: less than $1.

 

 

WOW! Have you seen the number of view on this thread? Awesome!

 

 

Here's some detailed info: http://www.eggsafety.org/f_a_q.htm

 

Pumpkins are a great idea! I love the rich yellow yolks. Mmmm...I had sunnyside up eggs - with very runny yolks - just this morning. They are so awesome!!

 

Anyway...if your hens are getting a "layer" feed or even "all-purpose" they aren't supposed to need calcium. I do offer calcium in a separate feeder. Initially, I bought crushed oyster shell from the feed store. Now I just feed them back their own egg shells (well crushed, so they don't LOOK like eggs - you never want your hens to figure out that eggs are food).

 

I've heard different things about grit. I've heard that if they are on pellets they don't need grit, cuz it's just mash pressed together into the pellet shape. Therefore, if they eat "real" food, they would need grit. OTOH, if they are free-ranging, they supposedly will find their own grit in nature, as they go along. I've had these hens about 18 months, and I've never given grit. They eat mostly pellets, with some produce refuse thrown in. They do not free-range, but have a small yard where they can make dust-bath holes and scratch for bugs. At times, I've "tractored" them, but that has proved pretty labor intensive.

 

BTW, your question lumped together grit and calcium. Just in case anyone is confused: calcium is just that. It makes bones strong, and egg shells too. Grit is rocks that ALL birds eat. Birds do not have teeth. The consume grit, which resides in the "crop" (an out-pouching - sort of - of the esophagus). The grit then grinds the food in the crop. I think the idea with pellets is that they disintegrate in moisture - such as stomach juices.

 

Moving on, I've always used supplementary light in the winter. Hens need 14-16hrs of daylight to stimulate the pituitary gland to lay. By nature, they only want to lay in the spring, when their chicks will come into a warming world with increasing food supply. Artificial light "tricks" the hens hormones. I use a CFL bulb on a mechanical timer (CFL bulbs and electronic timers don't get along).

 

I do refrigerate all of our eggs. If they are clean, I NEVER wash them. If they get laid outside the nest and are muddy/poopy, I leave them dirty until I'm ready to use the egg. Then I wash in plain water using only my hands to scrub. If an eggshell is cracked, I immediately boil the egg and give it to the dog (after it cools).

This website http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4029.htm is titled "Saving Money with Homemade Convenience Mixes." It's quite extensive, and well worth a look-through.

 

I taught my child how an internet forum works. lol

 

Said child wandered by while I was perusing Mrs S and asked. So I explained about forums and threads, and siggies and avatars. It was cool!

 

 

I have a feeling that as our economy continues to deteriorate, this thread will see more and more views. I'm back today because dh may only work about half of this whole year.

 

Really, I think all of this is about effort. With a little effort and thought, I can make TERRIFIC cheap meals, but if I'm feeling lazy or short on time, meals get more expensive.

 

Off I go, to make dinner: Individual French Bread Pizzas...on sandwich rolls (free), with left-lover spaghetti sauce, a can of mushrooms, a tiny portion of the pepperoni slices I purchased at Costco, and mozzarella cheese from Costco.

 

Let's see...effort...I should add to this a salad and/or homemade applesauce.

 

 

I pressure cook chicken for the dog and grind the bones right into the meat. Next time, I'll get brave and try a nibble.

Thank you for the clarification, Violet. My canner came with the old counterweight. I recently purchased the three piece weight set. For $20 including shipping, I have SOOOOOOOO much more confidence in the accuracy of my canning. I was NOT diligent about getting my guage tested. Now I find that I was way over-pressuring my stuff (better than the other way around!). It's easy to add on, and one quickly gets the hang of listening to the hissing of the "jiggly" thing, so now I have the added advantage of being able to "watch" my canner by ear, rather than visually.

I stayed home. No money spent.

 

 

 

 

Seriously, I worked on gathering our 2008 tax data, paying bills and the like. I also cooked lunch and dinner from scratch.

This link to the brief safe was posted earlier by Jakk http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/01/2...f-it-works.html

 

Adding to one's knowledge base is (almost) always free.

 

 

 

I do needlework of some sort (knit, crochet, quilt, embroider, etc). Sometimes I read fiction. During gardening season, I spend hours out there alone. Sometimes I walk my dog after dark.

 

The best de-stressing times are those when my body is engaged in something that doesn't require thought. Then my mind can free-associate through whatever is troubling it.

 

Okay, and sometimes....I do mental math. Such as: at my current rate of savings, what will be my balance (including interest) on such-and-such a date.

 

I have two. One for rats & squirrels. The other was supposed to be for a raccoon, but caught a (nasty) oppossum.

FYI, the rat/squirrel trap is currently set. Any critters caught will be named "Bubbles" and deposited -still in the trap- in the large trash can out back (that happens to be full of water).

What if you already have plywood cut for each window?

Oh my gosh!! That's a wonderful idea!! In fact, it had never occured to me. Hang on, gotta go look out the window at the swing set...

Oh yeah!

*HS heads off to the hardware store*

Welcome CoffeeZilla!

 

I, too, order from Azure Standard. the $550 minimum is new Summer, 2008.

 

In addition to grains and beans, I order organic meats, organic cheese, miscellaneous canned and frozen items, non-GMO canola oil (much cheaper than organic olive oil)... and much, much more.

Definately dehydrate (rings), assuming the apples are in good condition. If they're "windfall" or otherwise damaged apples, applesauce is a good option, but too labor intensive for my taste.

 

DoubleD is my favorite person to ask financial questions of.

 

I think it's a personal choice. AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT STILL USING THE CREDIT CARDS, the choice comes down to your personal comfort level. Say you have $100/month to devote to debt and preps (combined), and the minimum payment on the debt is $15. That give you $85 to finesse. Should you pay $50 on the card and spend $50 on the preps? Should you pay $15 on the card and $85 toward preps? Or maybe $100 to the CC and nothing to preps?

 

My own opinion is that this is about balance. I have a credit card balance (older than dirt, but now close to payoff), a savings account, and preps. Plus a mortgage. And my dh's vehicle is still in payments. I put $600 to the CC (min payment is ~$150), $150 to savings (plus most "extra" - unexpected - money), about $75 to preps (plus occasional"extra" money), $150 over principle on my mortgage and minimum pmt to dh's vehicle. When the CC is paid off, I'm going to bolster our savings account to three months, which will match our food of three months.

Dang! That looks like a bunker.

Anyone else drooling?

Your Type is

ISTJ

Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging

Strength of the preferences %

22 1 62 67

 

 

The "S" is pretty weak; other times I've done this I've scored INTJ.

Okay, that banana slicer is funny. Unless you're a caterer, what's wrong with a butter knife?

 

I don't own a mop!

Flushable toilet bowl scrubbers.

 

Baby food (not including formula).

 

Many, many, many cleaning products.

 

 

Thanks Leah. I forwarded this picture to my dh, so he can tease his friends with it. lol

 

I can't believe someone actually sat and did that! :darleneswoon: