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February, 2013

  1. Dollar Tree

    February 8, 2013 by admin

    Your local Dollar Tree is a fantastic place to pick up party gifts and household accents.  But as with all bargain shopping, you have to be smart about your purchases.  Just because you’re in a Dollar Tree doesn’t mean that you’re surrounded by deeply discounted items that you should snatch up without any thought.  A 4-pack of toothbrushes for $1 isn’t worth it if all 4 toothbrushes are horrendous and end up in the trash after your first attempt to use one of them.

    Tip #1:  Keep in mind that the Dollar Tree likes to sell single items for $1.  The chocolate bar, light bulb, or sponge aren’t actually a great deal if you are just getting 1 for $1.  Try to recall what you spend at the grocery store and other chains- and the quantity you get for that price- in comparison to what you’re considering purchasing at the Dollar Tree.

    IMG_1523If you need a birthday gift for a child’s party, we highly recommend you head to a Dollar Tree!  Recently, our Plum put together a lovely basket of gifts for her friend with Dollar Tree items (including the basket!).  If we attempted to pick up a similar assortment at Target, our $7 total expense would have been over $15.

    This store is also a great place to find holiday themed items to enhance a main gift.  And if you want things for your home like votive candles or arts & crafts, the Dollar Tree is an excellent money- saving starting point.

    We also head to the Dollar Tree when we want to treat our kids to a gift but don’t have the funds for a splurge; you never know what you’ll find there.  We have been delighted to discover brand name items at the Dollar Tree, like Zoobles, for $1.  A single Zooble on an occasional deep discount at Target will still cost you around $3.

    Tip #2:  Did you know that the Dollar Tree accepts coupons?  Bring in a manufacturer’s coupon for Colgate toothpaste and your purchase might end up costing pennies!

    The next time you pass a Dollar Tree on your way to another store, consider stopping instead and checking it out.  If you’re interested in cutting costs- it could an unexpected treasure trove!

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: , | 1 Comment

  2. Time To Cook

    February 6, 2013 by admin

    IMG_1519

    You may have read our posts about shifting our family grocery shopping away from pre-made foods towards more scratch-made, natural options.  And perhaps you’re thinking, “Yeah, that’s great for you.  But I don’t have the time to do all of that stuff.”  You may not realize that for the majority of our menu, cooking from scratch doesn’t take much longer than serving store made foods.  We actually spend less than an hour creating our dinner on most nights. 

    Cooking fresh food doesn’t take more time, but it does take better time management.

    Even with a full-time, stay-at-home parent, cooking for a family requires planning.  You won’t always have the ability to put your kiddoes on pause while committing to the preparation of a full meal.  But by adopting the following principals, you can have great food each evening, even if you are working outside the home.

    Prep Things Ahead of Time:

    There are many parts of cooking a meal that you can do well in advance of sitting down to eat.  Try to begin on the weekend, or in the evening, if you are working during the day.  If you are a stay-at-home parent, preparation can start during nap time, or other down-times during your daily activities.

    Prep  Ahead Items Include:

    ^Sauces

    ^Soups

    ^Peeling/ Dicing certain types of veggies

    ^Bread Set Up

    ^Cooking dried beans

    Let The Little Ones Help:

    Your child will protest less about your focus on cooking if you let her/him help as the task then becomes something that you are doing together.  It can be fun and educational.  Our Bluey helps with all sorts of kitchen projects, and the young ones in your home can help, too.

    Great Kid Jobs Include:

    ^Stirring and MixingIMG_1472

    ^Kneading and shaping dough

    ^Cutting Vegetables with age-appropriate knives

    ^Cracking Eggs

    ^Setting the Table

    ^Washing Dishes

    Let The Oven/Stove Work, While You Do Something Else:

    When you walk in the door after a long day at work, you want to take care of a few things like checking the mail, changing clothes, or walking the dog. Does cooking from scratch mean that you can’t take the time to settle in at home first?  Of course not!  By planning and prepping ahead, you can walk in the door, turn on the stove or oven, and take care of all the other activities while your food heats up.

    Things you can leave unattended in the kitchen for a period of time:

    ^Boiling water for pasta

    ^Reheating of most soups

    ^Rising or baking bread

    ^Baking of Lasagna and other oven heated goods

    ^Boiling beans and pastas

    It is not impossible for a busy family to cook from scratch!

     

    Category Groceries & Meal Planning | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on Time To Cook

  3. Milwaukee Art Museum

    February 4, 2013 by admin

    IMG_1504We’ve had the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) on our short list of local places to visit.  But we’ve been intimidated by the admission cost.  Even though children 12 and under are free, adults pay $15 to enter.  It is an expensive endeavor, when you consider parking costs and lunch on top of the admittance fee.  But we lucked out with a buy-one-get-one coupon for an adult ticket, and it was finally time to head to the MAM.

    After some research, we discovered that there is a surface lot on the north side of the MAM, where you can park all day for $6.  This is MUCH cheaper than the MAM’s underground lot.  And you get to view the small public display section of the War Memorial Center as you wait for your elevator to the MAM.

    The architecture of the MAM is awe inspiring both inside and out.  The admission staff is incredibly friendly and quickly got us orientated with a map and directions to the free coat check.  Once we were ready to explore, we headed to the Kohl’s Art Generation wing.

    Tip#1:  As in most art museums, the “security” staff is not as family friendly as you would hope.  Just ignore them as they snip at you and they’ll eventually wander away.

    The Kohl wing is a fantastic, family-friendly, and hands-on area of the museum.  You can pick up free art packs, which contain either material for sketching or themed textiles (some with costumes).  You can keep these packs for the day, switch them out if you desire, and enhance your exploring.  When you return the cases, your child will get to pick out a small prize.

    This area also has a large arts & crafts space with a themed project.  But you are welcome to create your own masterpiece with their large supply of materials.  The staff is very helpful and engaging.  They have smocks for you to borrow while working on your art and a large sink area to clean up.  If you ask, you can leave your creations in a corner to dry and then return to pick everything up at the end of your visit.IMG_1511

    Tip #2:  Bring your own food to the MAM to eat somewhere on their gorgeous grounds or inside at a random table or bench.  The MAM’s café is horribly overpriced.  And unless tablecloths, waiters, and hostesses are your speed for a family meal, it isn’t a welcoming atmosphere.

    We explored the MAM for about 2 ½ hours and didn’t come close to seeing all the art.  Even though we had a lovely time, we won’t return to the MAM until the weather is warmer.  We want to be able to enjoy the expansive grounds and witness the opening and closing of the MAM’s wings.

    Tip #3:  Don’t bother with the gift shop unless you have money to spare.  And be sure to experience a ride in the circular glass elevator!

     

    Category Jaunts | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments

  4. You say, Tomato!

    February 2, 2013 by admin

    We are in search of the perfect homemade marinara recipe.  Since we choose to forgo canned goods in our home, we don’t have the main ingredients for a tomato sauce sitting in our cupboard and just waiting to be used.  We’ve easily replaced the star player – tomatoes – with whole, fresh tomatoes that we chop and puree down.  But what do we do about tomato paste?  How do we successfully thicken up our marinara?

    We hate to admit it, but we haven’t yet figured out how to solve this particular issue.  Our marinara is delicious, but a tad watery.  We know that some chefs suggest flour or corn starch as a thickening agent.  Others recommend simmering a sauce for as long as it takes to reach desired results.  We don’t want to use flour or corn starch, mainly  because we think it effects the taste.  And since IMG_1475we don’t have any canned products, tomato paste is out.  So we’re experimenting with simmering.

    We’ve had good success but it still isn’t perfect.  Simmering does result in a much thicker sauce with a more robust flavor.  But even though it’s thicker, the end product is still a bit more watery than we’d really like to experience on our pasta.

    So let’s circle back to tomato paste.  Does the dominance of canned varieties completely preclude our enjoyment of tomato paste in recipes?  No!  We recently discovered that we can make our own tomato paste from scratch!  Why we didn’t pursue this route earlier is anyone’s guess.  It just comes down to occasionally missing what is right in front of your face.

    Of course, homemade tomato paste could be disastrous.  We haven’t tried it yet, so we’ll let you know!

    Category Groceries & Meal Planning | Tags: | Comments Off on You say, Tomato!

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