Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[TiggerTails57]

Cute basket......and sig pic

 

[Megkel]

Thanks! I got most stuff from the Disney Store (last weeked it was 40% off clearance), Target, and $5 and below. I got 4 Disney shirts for $20 so she would have one for everyday (we currently already have 2 plus one day we are doing BBB)

 

[Mermaid02]

Thanks! I got most stuff from the Disney Store (last weeked it was 40% off clearance), Target, and $5 and below. I got 4 Disney shirts for $20 so she would have one for everyday (we currently already have 2 plus one day we are doing BBB)

That's awesome!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I'm in Maine! I'm not sure where the "day old bread store" is anymore but you have inspired me to find out! Thanks!

Try looking up JJNissen. They seem to have a ton of outlets around here.

 

[mkaccountant]

My mom just reminded me of a cream of soup substitute tonight. I was in the middle of making a Campbell's soup recipe from online and remembered I had used my last can of cream of chicken soup last week. So I called mom b/c I remembered she would never buy the canned soup when we were kids and yet always had it.

You can mix up the dry ingredients, keep for months and just reconstitute as you need soup. One mix equals 9 cans of soup. It's much cheaper and better for you.

Dry ingredients: 2c powdered milk, 1/4 c low sod. chicken boullion, 2T dried onion flake, 1t thyme or basil, 1/2t ground pepper, 3/4 c cornstarch. To reconstitute, simmer 1/3 c mix w/ 1 1/4 c water until thickens.

Recipe is typed out nicely on my blog along with ideas for variations Enjoy!

 

[MELSMICE]

My mom just reminded me of a cream of soup substitute tonight. I was in the middle of making a Campbell's soup recipe from online and remembered I had used my last can of cream of chicken soup last week. So I called mom b/c I remembered she would never buy the canned soup when we were kids and yet always had it.

You can mix up the dry ingredients, keep for months and just reconstitute as you need soup. One mix equals 9 cans of soup. It's much cheaper and better for you.

Dry ingredients: 2c powdered milk, 1/4 c low sod. chicken boullion, 2T dried onion flake, 1t thyme or basil, 1/2t ground pepper, 3/4 c cornstarch. To reconstitute, simmer 1/3 c mix w/ 1 1/4 c water until thickens.

Recipe is typed out nicely on my blog along with ideas for variations Enjoy!

This is a great idea. I have a huge box of powered that I purchase a while back for some recipe that I never ended up making. I may try this "cream of" recipe. Thanks!

 

[kafitty]

@mkaccountant i love that! i'm going to have to try it. i make a lot of casseroles with cream of _____.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

My mom just reminded me of a cream of soup substitute tonight. I was in the middle of making a Campbell's soup recipe from online and remembered I had used my last can of cream of chicken soup last week. So I called mom b/c I remembered she would never buy the canned soup when we were kids and yet always had it.

You can mix up the dry ingredients, keep for months and just reconstitute as you need soup. One mix equals 9 cans of soup. It's much cheaper and better for you.

Dry ingredients: 2c powdered milk, 1/4 c low sod. chicken boullion, 2T dried onion flake, 1t thyme or basil, 1/2t ground pepper, 3/4 c cornstarch. To reconstitute, simmer 1/3 c mix w/ 1 1/4 c water until thickens.

Recipe is typed out nicely on my blog along with ideas for variations Enjoy!

This is a great recipe..thanks. Does anyone know if you can substitute 1 1/2 cup flour for the cornstarch? I would love to make this but I am out of cornstarch and I don't want to go to the store for just one thing...this is my budget buster.

 

[happycampers]

This is a great recipe..thanks. Does anyone know if you can substitute 1 1/2 cup flour for the cornstarch? I would love to make this but I am out of cornstarch and I don't want to go to the store for just one thing...this is my budget buster.

Here's the recipe I use. You can use cornstarch or flour. There are different measurements with each of them. Hope that helps.

I've successfully used this one in casseroles and crock pot dishes. I haven't tried it as a soup itself.

Homemade Cream of ___ Soup Mix
2 cups powdered milk
¾-1 ¼ cups cornstarch or 2 ½ cups flour
¼ cups chicken, beef, or vegetable bouillon granules
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes or 1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram, crushed
½ teaspoon black or white pepper
Combine all ingredients and blend until mixed. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 3 cups and is enough for 9 cans of soup.
To substitute for one can of condensed cream soup:
In a 1-quart saucepan or microwave safe bowl, combine 1/3 cup of soup mix and 1 1/4 cup water. (If made with flour, add ½ cup mix to 1 ¼ water.)
For soup, double the water. Bring to a boil or microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Here's the recipe I use. You can use cornstarch or flour. There are different measurements with each of them. Hope that helps.

Thank you so much. I am going to make some of this tomorrow.

 

[carissanboys]

 

[mousecraszy]

Just wanted to say thanks so much for the "cream of" recipes. I wrote them down and will be trying those out. Thanks again!!

 

[supermommyof4]

Great tips...keep them coming.

 

[Mermaid02]

I decided to make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty's day yesterday- I bought corned beef- cabbage and potatoes for less than $5! Plus there is enough for dh to make some hash for breakfast this weekend!

Just had to share. I was so excited when I realized how little it cost!

 

[Bektasmic]

sorry if this has been posted already, but I've started taking the Wed. grocery ads with me to Wal-Mart and asking them to pricematch the deals. So far i haven't encountered a problem. It has saved me gas and time, plus all the extra money I was spending while in the other stores b/c heaven forbid I just buy the 3 things i came in for! They do this right at the register.

 

[snowwhitesmom]

Subbing! Thanks, everyone!

 

[PinballFamily]

Finally - I have another tip! I love this thread - so many terrific ideas and we've slashed our food/household supplies budget so dramatically!

This may not work for everyone (and it is kind of long!) - it involves my dog's canned food. Daily, he eats dry (Canadae) food, but every once and awhile, I buy a can or two of the Canadae canned food (about $1.75) and use it to pack into his three Kongs. (Much cheaper than the squirt cans of "official" Kong paste stuff-ins.) I then toss the Kongs into the freezer and pull one out each day or so for him to enjoy. This alone saved me a lot of $$$. He's allergic to wheat, so I can't buy many of the cheaper dog treats/biscuits and the wheat-free ones tend to cost a lot.

But, I always had a lot of waste - the can always had lots left after I filled the Kongs, and I would usually give him a tiny bit of the canned food mixed into his food dish, but didn't want him to get to *enjoy* that too much and come to expect it. The canned food goes bad after three days in the fridge, apparently, and I've tossed heaven knows how many half-full cans into the trash after they got pushed to the back of the fridge and were forgotten about. Arrrrgghhhh!

So, I had the idea last week to open a new can, stuff his three Kongs and toss them into the freezer, then immediately make little frozen Kong "plugs" from the leftover food in the can. I put my hand into a baggie as a glove, and scooped out about 2-3 tablespoons for each plug, shaped it very roughly into a log about two inches long onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and tossed it into the freezer. After a couple of hours, I took the little frozen logs off, and put them into a Ziplock in the freezer - I got about 12 logs from the leftovers in the can!

He loves them! I've been inserting one per day into an empty Kong, and he's having a ball licking and enjoying them! (Of course, the frozen little logs DO kinda look like dog poo - as my family has noticed! - but they work really well in the Kong!) And I'm making them from something I had been throwing away. I may start mixing the next can with leftover rice from dinner, as this will really stretch the food even farther.

Hope this helps someone! Or at least sparks another money-saving idea...

 

[rottiemom]

Finally - I have another tip! I love this thread - so many terrific ideas and we've slashed our food/household supplies budget so dramatically!

This may not work for everyone (and it is kind of long!) - it involves my dog's canned food. Daily, he eats dry (Canadae) food, but every once and awhile, I buy a can or two of the Canadae canned food (about $1.75) and use it to pack into his three Kongs. (Much cheaper than the squirt cans of "official" Kong paste stuff-ins.) I then toss the Kongs into the freezer and pull one out each day or so for him to enjoy. This alone saved me a lot of $$$. He's allergic to wheat, so I can't buy many of the cheaper dog treats/biscuits and the wheat-free ones tend to cost a lot.

But, I always had a lot of waste - the can always had lots left after I filled the Kongs, and I would usually give him a tiny bit of the canned food mixed into his food dish, but didn't want him to get to *enjoy* that too much and come to expect it. The canned food goes bad after three days in the fridge, apparently, and I've tossed heaven knows how many half-full cans into the trash after they got pushed to the back of the fridge and were forgotten about. Arrrrgghhhh!

So, I had the idea last week to open a new can, stuff his three Kongs and toss them into the freezer, then immediately make little frozen Kong "plugs" from the leftover food in the can. I put my hand into a baggie as a glove, and scooped out about 2-3 tablespoons for each plug, shaped it very roughly into a log about two inches long onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and tossed it into the freezer. After a couple of hours, I took the little frozen logs off, and put them into a Ziplock in the freezer - I got about 12 logs from the leftovers in the can!

He loves them! I've been inserting one per day into an empty Kong, and he's having a ball licking and enjoying them! (Of course, the frozen little logs DO kinda look like dog poo - as my family has noticed! - but they work really well in the Kong!) And I'm making them from something I had been throwing away. I may start mixing the next can with leftover rice from dinner, as this will really stretch the food even farther.

Hope this helps someone! Or at least sparks another money-saving idea...

This is a great idea! And mixing the food with rice or even leftover veggies is a great way to stretch it even further. Don't bother wasting your money on the Kong Stuffin's...have you read the ingredients ?

Another thing that we do (if you have a Kong loving dog..and our rottie is one) is fill the kongs with things like carrots or other veggies. If you have a veggie hound this is a great way to go because it's a treat that won't help fatten them up. Freezing the filled kongs is great because it takes the dogs longer to get all of the filling out.

If your dog has a wheat allergy stuffing the kongs can be tricky but I might try getting a small bag (or sample?) of grain free kibble, mixing it with cottage cheese, plain yogurt or canned pumpkin & freezing that inside of the Kong. Canidae is good stuff but pricey (we feed it too ) and one of the alternatives might help to save you even more.

It's the kongs themselves that are a budget buster ! After awhile my girl is able to pop them like she pops tennis balls. Maybe giving a breed known for their powerful jaws a toy that strengthens the jaw muscles wasn't the smartest thing I could do ?

 

[winnapooh]

Finally - I have another tip! I love this thread - so many terrific ideas and we've slashed our food/household supplies budget so dramatically!

This may not work for everyone (and it is kind of long!) - it involves my dog's canned food. Daily, he eats dry (Canadae) food, but every once and awhile, I buy a can or two of the Canadae canned food (about $1.75) and use it to pack into his three Kongs. (Much cheaper than the squirt cans of "official" Kong paste stuff-ins.) I then toss the Kongs into the freezer and pull one out each day or so for him to enjoy. This alone saved me a lot of $$$. He's allergic to wheat, so I can't buy many of the cheaper dog treats/biscuits and the wheat-free ones tend to cost a lot.

But, I always had a lot of waste - the can always had lots left after I filled the Kongs, and I would usually give him a tiny bit of the canned food mixed into his food dish, but didn't want him to get to *enjoy* that too much and come to expect it. The canned food goes bad after three days in the fridge, apparently, and I've tossed heaven knows how many half-full cans into the trash after they got pushed to the back of the fridge and were forgotten about. Arrrrgghhhh!

So, I had the idea last week to open a new can, stuff his three Kongs and toss them into the freezer, then immediately make little frozen Kong "plugs" from the leftover food in the can. I put my hand into a baggie as a glove, and scooped out about 2-3 tablespoons for each plug, shaped it very roughly into a log about two inches long onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and tossed it into the freezer. After a couple of hours, I took the little frozen logs off, and put them into a Ziplock in the freezer - I got about 12 logs from the leftovers in the can!

He loves them! I've been inserting one per day into an empty Kong, and he's having a ball licking and enjoying them! (Of course, the frozen little logs DO kinda look like dog poo - as my family has noticed! - but they work really well in the Kong!) And I'm making them from something I had been throwing away. I may start mixing the next can with leftover rice from dinner, as this will really stretch the food even farther.

Hope this helps someone! Or at least sparks another money-saving idea...

We use peanut butter to put in our labs kong. He loves it! He also LOVES veggies; lettuce, carrots, etc. He gets the stems of lettuce (the thick parts that we don't eat), and he thinks it's the greatest thing in the world! I've also made him cookies, and you might be able to find him a wheat free recipe, then freeze them in smaller batches after you bake them.

ETA: If you dog likes doggie ice cream, you can make your own for WAY cheaper than the stuff you buy. Just take canned pumpkin, or peanut butter, dilute it with a little milk or water, and mix until smooth. Pour into those tiny rubbermaid or ziploc container, and put the lid on them (don't fill them full), then freeze. Our dog eats it right out of the container, which we can then reuse because he's really good about not breaking them.

 

[Minnie Lor]

Fabulous ideas for dog treats. I have two Lab's that want something to chew on but totally destroy bones and hoofs. The oldest Lab had surgery in December. She ate a leaf ... a whole leaf. It blocked her intestine and backed everything up.

We have two Kong's - I'll have to go find them. Frozen dog food, pumpkin, veggies - Super ideas!