Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Soon, I'll be spending a lot of time in my kitchen cooking and baking for my two favorite holidays. Here's what our family is stocking up on now for holiday baking. Starting in mid-October, I start trying out the new recipes that I'd like to serve for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and the handful of birthdays we have during that time. I start planning out gifts we want to make, and the kitchen projects the children would like ...
Homemaking
10 Ways to Take the Hustle Out of the Holidays
The holidays can be an incredibly busy time. From Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year's there is always something to do. Here are 10 things you can do now so you can slow down and enjoy the holidays. As soon as the days begin to get shorter and the temperatures cooler, I start looking forward to the holidays. Thanksgiving is all about family and food. Then comes Christmas where we focus on family traditions and time together. In our home, we also have 4 birthdays in the 6 weeks from ...
What do you get from a side of beef?
Last week, I picked up our side of beef from Bringhurst Butchers in Berlin, NJ. I know there was a lot of interest in what you get from a side of beef and the cost. Let me break it down for you. Cost of a Side of Beef On July 1st, I paid $2.99/lb hanging weight for our side of beef. Since we purchase through the butcher and not through a farm, that cost includes custom cutting and wrapping. I like the convenience of one price that includes all of my butcher fees. ...
Buying a Side of Beef
Buying a side of beef is a good choice if you like to cook, you eat a lot of meat, you have storage space, and quality is important to you. The cost savings and peace of mind you'll have from a full freezer are worth the investment. When we got our tax return, I planned on getting our side of beef for the year. That came through in early February, but we still had a lot of stuff in the freezers and I figured we would put it off for a bit. And then things started shutting down. I ...
Buying Produce in Bulk
Buying Produce in Bulk For us, buying produce in bulk usually means I’m going to be doing a lot of canning, dehydrating, freezing, or baking! Although we have a sizable garden, there are some things we can’t grow in our zone, or we can’t grow enough of or its not producing yet, so that’s when I look to buying in bulk. There are many options for buying produce in bulk – Aldi, the grocery store, warehouse stores like BJs and Costco, Restaurant Depot (if you’re lucky ...