My daughter just started back to school this week and it made me think that taking your lunch to school or work would make for a good frugal topic.

My daughter is now a junior and has been taking her lunch since elementary school.

Packing a lunch is not only more economical, it can be healthier.

Most schools rely heavily on processed foods and making a lunch can be as processed or as fresh as you want to make it.

If I had to pay for my daughter to eat at school, it would cost me almost $3 a day.
Packing a lunch doesn’t cost much of anything depending on what you choose to send.
The cost of the groceries can be absorbed into the food budget and you may not notice a difference.

You do have your start up costs.
You should have a lunch box or bag.
You need some containers for food and drink, as well as a wide mouth thermos for anything that needs kept cold or very hot.
An ice pack is also a good idea.

I like to send leftovers.
Heat them up.
Before you put them in the food thermos, heat the thermos with boiling hot water for about 10-15 minutes.

Make up a big batch of pudding that you divide into containers to last the week.

You can do a lot of prep the night before so it doesn’t take much.
Finish it up while they are eating breakfast.

I even saw an idea once for sending a hotdog to school.
Fill a big thermos with boiling water and add the hotdog.
Pack a bun separately.
At lunch, the child can take the hotdog out the the thermos and put in the bun.

If you have a garden, send some fresh veggies.
Green pepper slices or cherry tomatoes or even carrots.
If you don’t have a garden, check out the farmer’s market in your area.

I also like to send popcorn sometimes.

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Have a great Friday!

Just a quick note to let you know I have a Facebook page. I will be posting here later.
If you want to check out my page go to Ruth’s Yummy Stuff on Facebook.

I just decided to go ahead and do it again this year.

Ham and bean soup is a marvelous comfort food. It’s simple and tasty, like most comfort foods.

I always buy the bone-in hams and use the leftover bone and broth for cooking my beans in.
But, use the boneless ham if you prefer.

You will need a 4-5 quart Dutch oven with a lid.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried Navy or Great Northern beans
Ham bone that has some ham still on it OR 2-3 cups cubed ham
Any ham broth you have saved from baking a ham
4-8 cups water- amount of water depends on if you have any broth and how much

Rinse and soak your beans for at least an hour before cooking.
You don’t need to soak if you don’t want, but you do need to rinse them off.
The soaking just speeds up the cooking a little bit, about 15 minutes or so.

Put the ham bone or ham in the pan.
Add the broth if you have it.
Add the beans.
Add water to cover the beans.
Turn on the heat to medium high and bring the beans to a boil.
Turn down heat to medium low and put lid on so it sits slightly off. You want some steam to be able to escape.
Keep the beans to just a simmer. You do not want a rolling boil.
Stir every once in a while.
Cook for about an hour and remove the bone, if you are using.
Remove any ham and return it to pan of beans.
Cook for another 1/2 hour or until beans are done.
To see if it is done, remove a bean from the pan and blow on it. If it is done, the skin will blister and peel away from the inside. If you bite into it, there will be no chalkiness.

If you want a slight creaminess to the finished beans, with a potato masher or slotted spoon, mash up some of the beans in the pot. Stir.

Serves about 6-8 people.
Serve with homemade white bread or corn bread.

Making jams, jellies, and preserves are a great way to make the most out of your fruit.

Jams and preserves have the most in common. Both of them are made with the fruit.

Jams are made with crushed fruit or fruit pieces. You just put chopped or crushed fruit in a pan with sugar and anything else called for and cook it.

Preserves are made with whole fruits and sugar.
You add the fruit and sugar and let it stand awhile and than you cook it.

Jellies are made in a two-step process.
First you make juice from the fruit.
Than, you add your sugar to the juice along with optional pectin to make the jelly. 

All of them are good. 
But that’s what the difference is between them all.
   

You can make so many different meals by starting off with basically the same core ingredients.

These are great cookies! They are chocolately with powdered sugar covering them.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour

approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a bowl, beat the eggs, cocoa, oil,sugar, baking powder, and vanilla. Add the flour.
Stick in the fridge, covered, for an hour or so.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the powdered sugar in a bowl.
Roll the cookie dough into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
If you have a small size cookie scoop, that is a perfect size. Scoop it out and it is pretty much a ball shape in the size you want.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges will be set and the tops will be crackled. They will look soft and to the touch they won’t seem done, but they are ready to take out. They will finish cooking after removing from oven.
Remove right away to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 48 cookies.
Yummy!

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