Frugal vs. Cheap

Hello one & all...I've been thinking a lot about how society at large views anything that is frugal as being all about deprivation. Really, it is all about choices. My husband and I have chosen for me to be home full-time. That led to other choices. How do we handle presents for the children? Are yard sale toys OK? (YES!) Is there any shame in dressing our children in hand-me-downs and S&A Boutique clothing? (No!) Is it better financial management for us to have a garden or buy at buschel prices from the farmer's market? (Garden on most items!) The list goes on and on. It is not an all or nothing situation. I make my own laundry detergent but buy bar soap. I do not have the proper resources to make producing bar soap a better choice for our family. Frugality is NOT about deprivation and it is not about stark homes and working your fingers to the bone...it's all about making the proper choices for your family...
Today is my husband's birthday and we are serving 20 people for dinner. I could have chosen to just serve snacks and cake but I know how much my husband enjoys providing "the works" so that's what we're gonna do. Bruschetta, apples with cream cheese dip and a cheese plate for appetizers. Lasagna dinner and Sinful Double Chocolate Cake to follow. (My SIL and MIL have graciously offered to provide salad and bread and I answered with a grateful YES!) That meal does not speak derivation but each item is being prepared the most sensible way possible. The bruschetta is made with garlic rosemary bruschetta chips that I got for a steal and tomatoes canned from our garden. The apples were off of my SIL trees...most are destined for applesauce. Cheese I purchased well under market price from a secret source (Wink!) and the crackers are from Aldis's...no Ritz in this house. Lasagna is homemade with beef we bartered for and cheeses purchased at their lowest possible price. The cake is scratch made (so easy!) by our children. All delicious and all made with sensibility and pleasure in mind. I have included the cake recipe...Bake and enjoy!

Sinful Double Chocolate Cake ***recipe taken from Not Just Beans by Tawra Kellam

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 TBSP baking cocoa
1 cup cold water
1 cup mayo
2 tsp vanilla

Mix all together and beat till smooth. Place in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean. Serves 18

Frosting

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Combine all in a saucepan till boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Poke holes in hot cake with a fork. Pour hot frosting over cake.

Blessings, Eve

Go for the TnT

Hello one and all...been spending my days "putting up" the fall harvest. Zucchini relish is in the water bath canner as we speak. Chili sauce...not so very happy with that. I tried a recipe that I found on-line as my sister-in-laws famous recipe has gone MIA...ugggh! This recipe seems to be more of a pickly meat relish...salty and vinegary. I added more brown sugar to offset the sour...took care of the vinegar but now all you taste is salt! Tossed in a peeled, raw potato to simmer for awhile. We'll see if that has the desired effect. If you have never heard of this trick give it a try the next time you accidentally over salt something. Usually works quite well but we are talking A LOT of salty here people. If nothing else, the birds will eat well tomorrow. When I think of the tomatoes, green peppers, celery and onions...not to mention the two days of cooking down. Well, I just want to cry...lesson for the day- Go for the tried and true recipe given by someone who has mastered your particular passion. Chili sauce anyone??? Blessings, Eve