Not my week

Here is just some photos to give you the general drift. I will post the back story in the morning.

Mikarose Giveaway over at Not so Idle Hands

Emily an awesome blogger over at Not so Idle Hands is hosting a awesome giveaway.

Have you ever heard of Mikarose clothing?

I hadn't either, but after 5 minutes on the site I sure wish I had 50 bucks to order one of these super fashionable, modest, and down right comfy looking beauties.

I mean what is not to love about these?

So head over today for your chance to win a 60 dollar gift certificates.

Enter at Not so Idle Hands

There are 4 ways to enter (and yes you can do all four for a better chance, I know I just did)

1. Go to the mikarose website, pick your favorite dress, and leave a comment on Not so idle hands blog telling her which dress you love

2. Follow mikarose on facebook

3. Become a follower on Not so Idle Hands blog

4. Post about this giveaway on your own blog

I love blog giveaways, don't you?

All you money saving grocery tip videos

I just made it through this video series (just a few minutes a piece), and I learned so much.

Who knew you could freeze eggs, ginger and oats to make them last longer. 

I recommend you take a few minutes to watch these :) You have nothing to loose, and only cheaper grocery bills to gain. 

All you shopping tip videos


Love the videos and want more tips check out their new cookbook. Available in Walmarts stateside or at walmart.com. 



Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with All you magazine. I have not received any products for free, any that I do have were purchased from my own money or sent as gifts from my family stateside. I am just a huge fan, who has learned so much, and hope to share the great tips with my readers :)

Meal Plan 7th- 15th

Dinners:
Hamburgers with french fries
Baked Penne, broccoli, and krauter bread
Taco ring, mexican veggies
Spaghetti pie, bell peppers, and krauter bread
Nacho bake, mexican veggies
Chicken teriyaki with rice and asian veggies
Minute steaks (pork chops), knoedel (potato dumplings), and bell peppers
Cheesy Pasta with broccoli

Lunches: (only weekend is hot, other days sandwiches)
Tuna salad
Soup with grilled cheese

Breakfast: (only hot weekends, weekdays hubby doesn't east breakfast)
Flaky biscuits with country gravy, bacon, and eggs
German continental breakfast - rolls, wurst, cheeses

What's for dinner at your house?

Holy Cow

I know I just posted how nice the weather has been, all warm and sunny. So it was quiet the surprise to wake up to this.

Depression era cooking challenge

I was incredibly motivated today when I came across a woman on youtube doing depression era recipes. She is 94 years old and sharing the recipes of her childhood. Check her out here. She has even written a cookbook and I cannot wait to get my hand on it.

A simple search of depression era recipes will pull up tons of modern publications emphasizing a rebirth of depression era frugality. Too often we forget that every purchase we make is hard earned money. I hate nothing more then unpacking my groceries to find the same thing in my fridge, or even worse expired foods I never even opened.

There are so many valuable lessons we can learn from the depression. Home ever after, a homemaking ezine even made a week long depression era menu, and had this to say about the recipes of the depression.

Great Depression cooking focused on cheap food, substitutions, and making do with what you had. We can learn a lot from the great homemakers of the past by finding original Great Depression recipes, recorded and passed down the generations, and even adapting them to make some of our own.


By learning the Great Depression recipes that have survived for more than 70 years, we can learn to think creatively and improvise to improve our frugality.  The homemakers and parents during the Great Depression had the same uncertainty and financial worries as we do today, but they were able to pull together, share knowledge, and find ways to make it work.  


I am challenging myself during the week of the 21st, to cook only depression era dinners and take a look at how that compares financially to our normal food budget.


I plan to buy some depression era cookbooks, and later this year once I am done with my course, I will expand this challenge to include all meals for one week. Baked from scratch, all depression era recipes. I think it will be a very educating experience. 


In a world where our economy is facing more struggles daily we have nothing to lose, and any knowledge we can gain about frugal living can only serve to help our financial situations. 


So will you take this challenge with me? One week 7 dinners. 

Looking for your opinion

I was recommended two cooking magazines and both ship internationally. I am wondering your opinions on the following magazines, are they similar as in I should choose one or the other, if so which one? Or do you think they are both varied and worth subscribing too?

Taste of home

Fine cooking

Both come out 6 times a year and both cost about 30 usd a year international, so they are in the same boat for me, just trying to figure out which one would be better.

Thanks :)