MomsBudget

Many people make the mistaken assumption that once summer is over that you can’t buy from farmer’s markets anymore.  But there is a pretty good chance you are mistaken… just because strawberries and corn aren’t in season, doesn’t mean there isn’t farm fresh vegetables that are in season.  In actuality, there are many in-season vegetables right now.

The most common seasonal vegetables in November are:

• Greens such as kalem bok choy, collards, chard and spinach
• Brussel Sprouts (if you have ever wondered why they seem to be a Thanksgiving vegetable staple, it is because they are in season!)
• Many types of squashes including the common butternut squash
• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes (again, a popular Thanksgiving veggie!)
• Broccoli & broccolini
• Bell Peppers
• Cauliflower
• Celery root
• Pumpkin (of course!)
• Turnips
• Rutabaga
• Parsnips

So next time you are in the neighborhood of your local farmer’s market, drive by and see if it is open or what hours it is open (some might only be open Saturdays and Sundays).  You never know if it is open, and you can save a bundle by buying those vegetables that re in season now, rather than paying a premium for out of season fruits and veggies.  And even if it is closed, you will find these seasonal vegetables should be priced quite reasonably in the grocery store now.

How many in season vegetables can you use in your cooking this month?

Since many of us give our jars of spices and herbs a workout during the holiday season, it is a good time to check and see just how fresh your herbs and spices are.  I don’t know about you, but can you remember how long ago you bought that jar of parsley or thyme?  Here are some tricks o the trade to help you figure out whether that jar is fresh enough or whether you should toss it and buy a replacement.

Color check
Does the color look fairly close to what it was when you bought it?  If your parsley was once a vibrant green but it’s now a dull grey or brown, it definitely needs replacing.  If you aren’t exactly sure what color it should look, make a note of the spices and herbs you need to check and have a look at them next time you are at the grocery store.  Then you can see just how true to the color that jar at home really is!

Smell test
Take a pinch of the herb or spice from the jar and rub it between your fingers.  Is the scent still strong or is it a barely lingering scent?  You should be able to smell it well.  If not, it needs replacing.  For example, when you crush basil, you should really smell the basil.  The intensity you smell when you crush it will relate to the intensity of the herb or spice in your dish.  If you can barely smell it, then you will barely taste it either!

Date it
Many herbs and spices need to be replaced every 6-12 months.  When you buy a spice, write the date you opened each one on the label, or put a small sticker on the top or bottom with the date.  That way you can wait until you notice when spices and herbs are on sale at grocery stores and replace what you know needs replacing, rather than having to pay full price because your rosemary doesn’t smell like anything when it is time to do your holiday cooking.

Have you accumulated multiple shower caps from hotels but you have never used them for anything?  Or wondered what people do with them and have never bothered to take them?  Well, there is a fantastic use for shower caps and it has nothing to do with keeping water off of your hair.

Next time you run out of saran wrap, or you have a bowl you know you will be covering and uncovering a lot over a couple of days and you don’t have a lid for it, just pop one of these plastic shower caps on top for a lid.  The elastic keeps the cap in place over the bowl, and nearly all are clear so you can easily see the contents.  These are also great for using when you need to take a potluck dish and you don’t want to risk losing the cover (I have lots 3 lids at potlucks myself!)

Don’t have a stash from hotel stays?  They are usually very cheap at dollar stores (ie. a dozen for $1 or $2) so you can pick them up there. 

And honestly, does anyone still use these types of shower caps at the hotels anymore, for actually keeping hair dry in the shower?  I haven’t found anyone under the age of about 75!

Especially if you don’t use honey that often, it has the tendency to start to crystalize in the bottle and become hard.  But, did you know that it doesn’t mean the honey has gone bad?  It is quite easy to revive your crystalized honey so you can use it once again.

Get a bowl or measuring cup that is larger than the size of your honey container.  Fill it with hot water, and then set your container of honey (make sure it is shut tight!) into the hot water.  It will take about half an hour, but the honey will turn into liquid again, and the crystals will be gone.

Note: it is not recommended to microwave your honey container, as they are not microwave safe, and can even cause sparks.  And it is also very easy to overheat honey in the microwave, so we recommend you heat your honey using the hot water method instead.

If your kids love hamburgers, it is a great way to get protein in them, and you can make them healthier by using extra lean ground beef or even chicken or turkey instead of ground beef.  Plus, you get to control the seasoning and the extras your kids put on burgers.  And yes, as a busy parent, it can be extremely tempting to buy those boxes of 20 or 40 frozen pre-made hamburgers simply because it is quick and convenient.  But are you paying a lot extra for that convenience?

Yes!  Compare the weight of the hamburgers you want to buy, then head over to the meat section and check out the price of the ground beef for the same weight.  Chances are pretty good that it will be far less than half the cost - and if you pick up ground beef on sale, you can save even more.  Add some bread crumbs (save those end pieces of bread to use as bread crumbs, if your family doesn’t like to eat them) and egg, and some seasonings as you wish, and you have burgers!

You can also buy a large amount of hamburger and make a large batch of hamburgers, shape them into patties and then freeze them, adding pieces of parchment paper between each burger to keep them seperated.  Want some freezer friendly hamburger recipes?  You can find a variety of hanburger recipes that are freezable in our Freezer Cooking Recipe section… and it’s an easy way to get your toes wet in the whole “once a month cooking” idea, if you are tempted to start.

Here are some of our favorite recipes for frozen patties:

• Pesto Burgers
• Chicken Salsa Burgers
• Salsa Joes (not quite hamburgers, but similar idea and kids love them!)

So next time you are tempted to buy those convenient pre-made frozen hamburger patties, remember how much extra you are paying for that convenience, and pick up some ground beef to make your own instead.

It is just about time to start all those Thanksgiving preparations, and it probably includes buying a turkey.  And you’ve probably seen self-basting turkeys in the supermarket but didn’t quite know what exactly that meant.  Sally Kenmore from WA sent us this question, so we set out to get the answers.

Self-basting turkeys are turkeys that have been injected with liquid broth mixture including various seasonings and spices into the meat of the turkey, which results in a turkey that is noticeably jucier since the broth has been injected right into it and one that has added flavors.

The downside is that often they are injected with a mixture that includes additives and chemicals, which some families don’t want added to their turkeys.  It often will add a significant portion of salt to the turkey, which is an issue for those watching sodium level intake.  The label will list all ingredients added to the turkey via injection.  And to get into the nitty gritty, a self-basted turkey will have about 3% added to the weight by the added basting solution.

This is a great gift to give this Christmas season, especially since it is pretty inexpensive to make, but buying crystalized ginger in the store is an expensive treat.

1 lb fresh gingerroot
sugar
water

Carefully peel gingerroot and slice into thin slices.  Place gingerroot in a medium saucepan, add enough water to cover gingerroot and cook at medium low heat for 30 minutes.  Drain water and weight gingerroot on a scale.  Return to saucepan and add the same weight in sugar, using the scale to weight the sugar.  Add 3 tbsp of water and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning.  When the ginger is transparent and the liquid has nearly all been cooked off, remove from heat.  Toss ginger with enough sugar to coat the ginger.  Store in airtight container, such as a canning jar for gift giving.  Ginger will keep in airtight container for up to three months.

When you make your tag to attach to ginger, make sure to include a note that ginger must be stored in the airtight container for up to three months.  If you are making it several weeks before giving, you might want to put an expiry date on it instead, so the dating is accurate.

This is one of those tips you probably won’t want your family (especially your kids!) to know about, because even though they might not taste the difference, many will complain once they know!  It also won’t “taste” powdered milk, like it can when it is 100% powdered milk.

First, you need 1 gallon of fresh milk and 1 empty gallon milk jug that you have washed out thoroughly.  Divide the gallon of milk into the second empty container, so each container has 1/2 gallon of milk.  Then mix up 1 gallon of powdered milk according to the instructions, making sure you stir really well, then add 1/2 gallon each to the milk jugs.

You will now have two milk jugs that are filled with 1/2 fresh milk and half powdered milk.  If the date on the outside of the second milk jug you used have an expired date on it, you can gently scrub it off with soap and water.  Kids usually don’t think to check the expiry date on a jug of milk, but they might notice it if it is sitting near the top in an obvious place, and a jug of milk with a two month old expiry date is a dead giveaway!

Also, if you tend to use a lot of milk in cooking, you might want to keep a small jug of all powdered milk in the fridge and use that in your cooking instead.  When it is mixed in with many other ingredients, it won’t be noticeable at all, and you’ll save money when you use powdered instead of fresh milk.

Also, there are several different brands of powdered milk, so you might want to try a couple of different brands until you find one you prefer.  And don’t worry, powdered milk has come a LONG way since the powdered milk you probably remember as a child!

If you want to get your toes wet with freezer cooking, starting off with some ground beef recipes is easy.  Why?  Because ground beef is inexpensive when compared to other cuts and types of meat and poultry.  Plus, it is often on sale, which means it is affordable for families to buy ground beef in bulk.

Here are some of the most popular freezer recipes at MomsBudget that use ground beef.  And these are all the more unusual dishes – meaning we aren’t going to bore you with the old standbys of meatloaf,  Shepherd’s Pie, Sloppy Joes and Spaghetti (but the links are there if you need some basic recipes)

Here are ten popular ground beef recipes for OAMC

1. Caesar Spagheti (2 lbs)
2. Chipolte Macaroni (2 lbs)
3. Low Fat Beefy Tomato Fettuccine (1 lb)
4. Pizza Pasta Casserole (2 lbs) and Low Fat Pizza Pasta Casserole (2 lbs)
5. Dr. Pepper Spaghetti (2 lbs)
6. Salsa Joes (4 lbs)
7. Pesto Hamburgers (3 lbs)
8. Holiday Spice Chili (2 lbs)
9. Low Fat Beefy Tomato Fettuccine (1 lb)
10. Salsa Burgers (2 lbs)

Don’t forget we have nearly 150 OAMC freezer recipes here at MomsBudget as well as a large Q&A & FAQ section for those brand new to freezer cooking.  And don’t forget all our Freezer Cooking printables to help you plan out your cooking sessions and what is still in your freezer to eat.

Love our recipes?  Sign up to our RSS for more great freezer cooking recipes, and share these pages with others.

Looking to serve a desert wine or something fancy for your Thanksgiving dinner, but don’t necessarily want the expense that goes along with most of the desert wines on the shelf?  Why not make cranberry liqueur at home to serve to your guests after dinner?

Make your own Cranberry Liqueur

You need about five weeks to make this cranberry liqueur, so now is the perfect time to get started making it… and yes, it is very inexpensive to make, especially if you have some vodka in your pantry already.

Don’t have time to make it before Thanksgiving?  It is also perfect to serve for Christmas dinner as well!