Friday Funday

I posted last week that we were going camping for the weekend and were looking forward to the Maple Syrup Festival. Festivals are a great family activity and can be very thrifty. We love to find the unique little local festivals. We have been to the "Gizzard Festival", Radish Festival", "Sauerkraut Festival", "Tulip Festival", "The Red Flannel Festival" and a gazillion more. Many times these trips were just a one day adventure.

Something to remember when going to the festivals is they are loaded with "Fun street food" which can generally take a big chunk out of your wallet pretty quick. Decide ahead of time on the maximum amount you want to spend. Pack a cooler with fun picnic foods (Make fun and silly finger foods. It will feel more like a special treat), drinks and snacks. Take a break during the festival to go back to your car and decide where to have a family picnic.

When walking around, each kid can carry their own little backpack to keep a drink handy and maybe a snack or two. Make the drink special by finding a special travel cup at the dollar store, garage sale or thrift store. Only allow them to use during these types of adventures.

If you are camping, go back to the campground during some part of the festival and eat, relax and then go back to the festival for some more fun things.

Talk to your campground hosts. They generally have a wealth of information about fun family things to do that aren't going to break the bank. Also ask them of other campgrounds in the area that offer specials. Talk to locals. They are the ones who are going to be able to tell you things like, "Oh, didn't you know you could have camped for free at the county fairgrounds during the festival?" Yup, this has happened to us several times!


Back to our camping trip this past weekend.

Well, not only did we go and have a fun time but, we ended up staying for a week! LOL. After talking with the campground staff we found out that we could camp for a month for only $75.00 (or $15.00 a night). They also offer free "Honey wagon services" (emptying your gray and black water tanks). They have washers and dryers for campers to use free of charge if you pay for the month. And let's not forget free WiFi! LOL. They have a ton of family activities available plus a beach, boating and fishing. We really found a gem.

Although we headed home today, we are going to go back up next weekend. It was nice that we could just leave the trailer there and not have to haul it back and forth. That is where the big money expense is, gas! So, now we have our travel trailer all set up and just waiting for us. We plan on going back several more time from now until Memorial Day weekend.

I'm going to be doing some online research to find out what other festivals will be in the area of this campground and what other thrifty attractions are to be found.

The point of all that was, you just never know what kind of really good bargains you are going to get until you search around.

So check out church campgrounds and find out what kind of bargains they have. Another way to save on camping is to look at private campgrounds and check when their free camping "clean-up" weekend is. Most private campgrounds (including the church campground we are at) have a set weekend that they offer free camping if you volunteer to help get the campground in shape. We have done these weekends before and they are actually a lot of fun. You become a little community. Usually, during the weekend, they will have some kind of potluck dinner with all the campers. Everyone brings a dish to pass. It's not like you are doing strenuous work. There are things that even the kids can help out with. It's can be a really nice way to feel "part of" a campground.

If you have a lot of time to camp, many campgrounds look for "camp hosts". Your camping is either free or very reduced depending on how much you want to involve yourself. They generally are looking for someone to commit to 6 weeks if you are going to be a camp host and camp for free. However, many campgrounds are looking for people just to do some odds and ends things that you can volunteer to do while you're camping to reduce your camping rates.

Here is a site regarding "Workamping". Workamp News

Once, when we were in Cody Wyoming camping, we met a retired couple that love to travel, so to supplement the cost of traveling, they would decide where they wanted to go and then look for part-time temporary jobs for a few weeks or even a couple of months in that area. This couple was so much fun. We spent several nights sitting around the campfire with them listening to their adventures. That's who I want to be when I grow up! LOL

Another resource is to check out free camping places. Here is one of many sites that tell you about places you can stay for free. Free Camping Directory

Most of those places are places you just want to stay in for one night. They are perfect if you are doing some traveling and want to camp along the way.

A couple of years ago my husband and I (that would have been pre-Little Miss Princess days)decided to go to Yellowstone National Park. We live in Michigan so, it was quite a cross country trip for us. We had a very (and I mean VERY) tight budget. But, that isn't something new to us. We found out that we are quite resourceful! We planned our entire trip across country with a maximum budget of $10.00 camping per night on the way to Yellowstone and on the way back. We were gone for 3 weeks and only hit the max of $10.00 3 times during our travels. Now this was the really fun challenge part. At this time, I was working full time for an online company. I had to make certain that I was at a free Wifi hotspot throughtout our little adventure. But, we did just fine and found places we would never have known about had we not really spent some time and researched prior to our trip.

One place that we didn't realize that has cheap camping is at some hotels and motels. I had never heard of this. We found these places in the middle of the country. They have a campground next to their hotel. Another place was at casinos. They are really big with RV'ers. Places like Cabela's have cheap camping as well.

For RV's, travel trailers and fifth wheels, there are always the truck stops along your trip. What's nice about these are the newer and bigger chains are no longer referred to as truck stops but, instead as travel centers. They really encourage people to stop for the night. They have clean shower rooms, laundry facilities and often dump stations and clean water. There are all kinds of interesting places.

Here is another couple of resources to look at ezine articles
And Gypsy Journal

Did you know that like airlines and hotels, campgrounds generally charge more during Holiday weekends. Make sure you check when that holiday weekend rate starts. Quite often it will start on the Thursday prior to a holiday.

So, look around and talk to other campers and find out where some of their favorite thrifty camping areas are. The internet is a great tool to use to find inexpensive camping tips. There are lots of camping forums online and they can lead to some great ideas.

Want some fun camp cooking ideas that the kids will love? Read my post yesterday (Thrifty Thursday) to get some ideas!

Next Friday Funday I plan to post about fun thrifty activities to do at camp.

If you want to hear more about our time at the Maple Syrup Festival, I hope to get a post out sometime this weekend.

Freebie/Deals

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Even if you are not a full blown vegetarian, the simple cost of meat has probably encouraged you to eat a meal or two week that are meat free. I know we have cut way back on meat as a money saver and well.....er...calorie saver! LOL This might be a good resource to get some ideas of some meatless meals, Sign up to get your free Vegetarian Started Pack. Check it out HERE!

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Sorry about the lack of graphics. I had a bit of a graphic cache issue earlier.
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Posted By Diann to The Thrifty Groove at 4/02/2009 10:30:00 AM

Thrifty Thursday!

I figured since I am in the camping mode (just spent a week camping) I would give you some thrifty fun family camp cooking ideas (Wow! That was a mouth full!). None of us wants to spend our time cleaning up after meals when we are camping! At the same time, we don't want to spend money on convenience type foods or eating out either.

Camping is such a fun family activity so, I tried to pull together some cooking ideas with the kids in mind too. After all, camping is about spending time together, making great memories and having lots of fun.

First off, foil packs are a great way to cook your dinner over the fire with little to no clean-up. One tip to keep in mind, get the good heavy duty foil, not the cheapo stuff. Trust me on this!

There are tons of different combinations of what to make. Here are some recipe site for you:
Allrecipes

Boys Scout FoilCooking Cookbook

And of course tons of Dutch Oven recipes out there. Remember with Dutch Ovens, they don't have to be put into the fire. You can use charcoal. To determine how many you need, take the diameter of your Dutch oven and double it. That’s how many briquette you need to heat it to 350 degrees. So, for a 12-inch Dutch oven, you would need 24 briquette. Each additional briquette will increase the heat about 20 degrees. For baking, put most of the coals on the lid. For frying, put most of the heat on the bottom.



Now on to some fun stuff. Remember, when dealing with campfires watch kids carefully! Use oven mitts(when things are close to the heat).

Okay, why not give a couple of these a try the next time you and the family head out camping?

1.) Biscuits on a stick.
Get a good cooking stick, stretch out a couple of cheapo refrigerator biscuits and wrap them around a stick. Make sure there are no holes in the dough revealing the stick. Seal off the end of the stick with dough. And cook like a hotdog. Keep turning them. The thinner the stretched dough, the faster they will cook.
Eat them as is or get creative. How about a campfire eclair? once the biscuits are cook and you have gently removed them from the stick, you will have a hole down the middle. Fill it with pudding! Or fill with peanut butter and chocolate chips, cool whip and chopped fruit or scrambled eggs.

2.) Campground ice cream.
You will need:
1 1-pound coffee can with the lid (or any other can)
1 3-pound coffee can with the lid
1 pint of half and half (you can use milk as well)
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
add ins: 2 TBS chocolate syrup, 1/4 cup of fruit
ice
rock salt

Add all the ingredients to the 1 pound can, mix well.Put the lid on, secure with duct tape. Place the 1 pound can into the 3 pound can. Surround with crushed ice and rock salt. Put the lid on the 3 pound can. Have your kids sit around on the ground rolling the can back and forth (at least 4 ft. apart). After about 10 minutes check to see if the ice cream is getting hard. If not, add more ice and salt and roll again for another 10 minutes or so.

3.)Ice Cream in a Bag:
You will need:
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 tsp sugar (taste and see if you want more)
Quart sized freezer bags
Gallon size freezer bags
Rock salt (about 6 TBS per bag)
Ice
Put milk, vanilla and sugar in quart bag. Seal well. Put the quart bag inside the gallon bag. Fill around the quart bag with ice and add the salt to the ice. Shake the bag for about 10 minutes or have the kids gently throw it back and forth. The bag gets cold so the kids may want to use towels on mittens or even socks on their hands. Keep shaking or tossing until ice cream comes out to the consistency you want. Makes 1 serving per bag.

4.) Hot Dog in a box.
You will need:
1 hot dog and bun
water
2 paper towels
Heavy Duty foil
1 quart size milk or juice carton
Wet the paper towels (wring them out). Put the hotdog in the bun, wrap the wet paper towels around it. (even the end) Wrap the in the foil (not too tightly, you want air to get in there). Place this into the milk carton. Put it in the fire ring and light the milk carton with a match. It's done when the milk carton is gone.

5.) Tropical Twist Marshmallow
You will need:
1 can of pineapple rings (slices)
marshmallows
your cooking stick
Skewer the pineapples working a marshmallow into the center hole. Toast over the fire.

5.) Banana Boats
You will need:
Unpeeled bananas
chocolate chips
marshmallows (mini marshmallows will work too)
Heavy Duty Foil
Slit the banana lengthwise along the inside curve. Gently stuff chocolate chips and pieces of marshmallow into the slit. Wrap the banana in foil wrap and set on the coals for about 5-10 minutes. Open and peel carefully. Eat with a spoon.

6.) Eggs in a cup
You will need:
Eggs
Wax Covered cups
Water
Metal tongs
Place your egg in the cup (only wax covered cups will work!) and add enough water so the cup is almost full. Place the cups near the campfire. Now don't worry if the lip of the cup catches fire (and let's face it, isn't that a cool thing to see anyway? LOL), the water keeps the rest of the cup from burning. Depending on hot your fire is, your eggs will boil within a few minutes.

7.) RedHot Apples
You will need:
Apples
RedHot candies
Heavy Duty Foil
Core the apple. Fill the hole with redhot candies. Wrap in foil and place around the fire. After about 15 minutes, carefully open packs and eat with a spoon.

8.) Hobo Campfire Popcorn
You will need:
Oil
Heavy Duty Foil
Popcorn
String
cooking stick
(salt & butter optional)
Make a square apprx 18" x 18" out of the foil. place one tsp of oil and 1 tsp of popcorn in the center. Bring foil corners together to make a pouch. Seal all the edges by folding, but allow room for the popcorn to pop. Where the 4 corners meet tie string around the pouch and then onto your cooking stick. Cook over coals and shake constantly.

9.) Can Baked Potato
You will need:
1 Medium potato
Butter
Salt & pepper
Heavy Duty Foil
A Tin Can (veggie can size)
Clean potato. Butter the outside really good. Season to taste. Put potato in clean can and cover top with foil. Set the can next to the fire. After about 20 minutes, turn the can and let cook another 25 minutes. Remember, don't peek and let all the heat out!

10.) Dessert Wraps
You will need:
Flour Tortillas
Peanut Butter
Mini-marshmallows (or chopped up big marshmallows)
Chocolate Chips
(other options are: caramel instead of PB, chopped fruit, raisins, crushed nuts, crushed toffee candy...you get the idea)
Heavy Duty Foil
Let everyone create their own dessert. Spread peanut butter over tortilla and then sprinkle on your toppings. Roll up like a burrito. Wrap in foil and place by the fire. Cook about 15 minutes. Peel the foil back like a banana and enjoy. Remember, be careful while it's hot.

11.) Nachos in a Bag
You will need:
A can of chili
Small bags of corn chips
Shredded cheese (or nacho cheese)
Salsa
Shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
Chopped Onions
Sour Cream
(and any other toppings you like)
Open can of chili and heat by the fire. When heated spoon some in the bag of corn chips and then add your favorite toppings.

12.) Spider Dogs (fun for kids)
You will need:
hotdogs
Cooking Stick
Instead of just sticking your hotdog on the stick, first slice an "X" lengthwise about 1/3 the way down the hotdog. While they cook over the fire, the hotdog starts to curl and looks like a spider. Cut smaller strips 1/3 down and you got an octopus-dog.

13.) Campfire Breakfast
You will need
Muffin tin
6 eggs
Chopped Ham (or cooked crumbled sausage)
Shredded Cheese
Diced potatoes ( best bet, cheap frozen hashbowns)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray
Spray each hole with the cooking spray. In half of the muffin tins crack the 6 eggs (1 into each hole). Top with ham and cheese. In the other 6 holes add the diced potatoes and season. Place muffin tin on a flat rock in the fire pit or a fire grate. Cook until eggs look done.

14.) Campfire Meatloaf
You will need (this is a good one to make before you head out camping so you don't have to worry about the mess and hauling all the ingredients)
Prepared Meatloaf (make the way you like your meatloaf)
1 Large Onion per person
Heavy duty Foil
Cut off about 1/5 of the top of the onion. Scoop out the center. Fill the inside of the onion with the meatloaf mixture. Wrap each in foil and place in coals. Cook about 20 minutes, (Flipping once).

15.) Mini Campfire Cakes
You will need:
Oranges
A boxed cake mix (and whatever ingredients are needed to bake the cake)
Heavy Duty Foil
Hollow out the oranges leaving the peel in a cup shape. Pour prepared cake mix batter into each orange peel. Wrap in foil. Place in coals and bake.

16.)Campfire Cobbler
You will need:
1 Large can of peaches in heavy syrup
Bisquick
Drain off peach syrup. Save about 1/4 cup of syrup. Mix a handful of Bisquick into the 1/4 syrup. You want to get the consistency of pancake batter so, play around. Pour back over peaches in the can. Put the can lid back in place and set in coals. Once the flour as turned into hard little dumplings it's done.


Come back and visit me tomorrow for "Friday Funday!". I am going to give tips on fun frugal camping activities and how to save money camping. I am all about the camping right now! :)

Thrifty Gardening Tips

More on thrifty gardening!

Look at some of the containers that you throw away on a daily basis. Can they be reused in any way to help cut down on the cost of gardening?

How about milk jugs, plastic juice bottles or plastic soda bottles? Any of them can be used as a watering system. Just punch some holes into them. I recommend know how deep your plant roots are and punching the holes accordingly. Dig a hole near your plant(s) and bury the jug in the soil and just leave the top lid part exposed. Now fill with water. Instead of the water sitting on top of the soil, it is now at root level and will seep in as needed.

Got some of those plastic take out containers (the ones with the clear plastic lids)? Those are perfect for miniature greenhouses! Start your seedlings in them. You can do this all year long. Plants getting a little to tall? Use the plastic cake trays with the high dome lids.

So what are you going to do with all those Styrofoam trays that come with meat or veggies and fruits? How about breaking them up and putting them in the bottom on a pot before you plant. They will provide drainage for your plants.

Oh, look under that coffee table in the livingroom...do you see that stack of newspapers? Whatcha gonna do with them? How about making them work for you in the garden? I don't know about you but, weeds breed faster than bunnies at my house! Before you lay your mulch down, spread several layers of newspaper down. I am staking my papers down because we live by the lake and have major winds. After you are done with your newspaper, lay your mulch. This is a big time saver when it comes to weeding your garden!

Still have a paper pile? Crunch up some paper and add that to the bottom of your pots before planting.

What about all the paper cups you get from your drinks at fast food places? those also make a great plant starter pot. Especially the ones that come from ice cream stops. You know the ones, with a dome lid...think mini-mini greenhouse.

Want mulch? Want FREE Mulch? check out your local tree cutting service and ask if you can have some of the wood chips. When you are out and about keep an eye out for city workers cutting down trees. Stop and ask if you can have some wood chips. Remember keep a tarp, large garbage bags to load it up in.

Check with friends, family or neighbors about getting cuttings from their established plants. I know that I am always dividing my herbs and am happy to give them away to someone who wants some. Also check your neighborhood newspaper for "free plant exchanges". These are becoming more and more popular.

Got an old trash can or some other container? Use it as a rain bucket to capture free water. Cut out a milk jug and turn it into a water scoop (keep the lid on...LOL). If you live in a mosquito-topolis like I do, once it stops raining put a lid on the rain barrel otherwise, standing water is the favorite breeding ground for the nasty little pests!

Got a neighbor moving? Stop buy and ask if you could take some cuttings from their plants. They also may be looking to get rid of some of their yard tools before moving. You might find a bargain!

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No room to garden.

Okay, so you have searched "gardening/small places" a million times everywhere on the net and still haven't come up with a idea that will work for you. Well, I want to give you a thrifty and easy way to have a little bit of your own garden when you have little to no space or due to physical abilities, you may not be able to handle a larger garden.

First of all, you don't need to go and buy fancy schmancy gardening pots or hanging planter holders and any of those other "I thought gardening was suppose to be cheap!" kind of stuff.

Here's an idea you might find works for you. Of course, size completely depends on you and the amount of room you have. What if all you have is a balcony because you live in an apartment? How about making a hanging herb garden? Of course anyone can make his also. You could stake these around your shrubbery if you want or any other place that it might work.

How to make:
**gather as many soup cans as herbs you want to plant (if you want bigger plants, go with the large juice cans)
** clean cans completely
** punch some holes in the bottom for drainage
**get creative decorating the cans
Spray paint
left over exterior paint
fabric, decorative napkins, tissue paper, wrapping papers, wallpaper, whatever you can come up with. Glue and or ModPodge in place. If you really like them and want to preserve them spray (or brush) with a sealant. Otherwise at the end of the year, just throw them out and make new next year.
** straighten out wire hangers
**use some pliers and wrap straighten wire around the can a couple of times and secure. Then pull the wire so it is straight up from the can. Make a hook on the end of the wire so it can hang over your balcony or on a hook somewhere.
**line the can with wax paper or a plastic bag. Make sure to punch holes through to match up the holes you already punched in the cans. Trim excess so you don't see it.
** toss in a couple of rocks for better drainage and fill with solid. Plant your herbs!

If you plan to stake these, obviously you would have the wire straightened out and going down from the can. I would use several straightened wire hangers and wrap them together for better stability.

Cut and use herbs regularly because herbs can grow pretty fast and pretty big.

Don't forget, get creative with what you have! Of course, you can use this same idea and plant flowers in each hanging can as well.

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Here is an extra special freebie that I didn't want y'all to miss out on so, I am posting just this one freebie. Domino's is offering a free Breadbowl Pasta on 4/29. This special is running from 11-2pm so, take advantage of it tomorrow! As always, make sure you check with your local Domino's to make sure they are participating in this awesome free lunch!

Freebies/Deals

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Keep this in mind for inexpensive gifts!

Once again, thanks to MyBargainBuddy!

Tuesday Tips!

Today is "Reusing plastic grocery bags". We all use them to line our smaller trash cans, but here are a few more ideas to put those bags to use!

1.) Paint brush & roller protectors. Need to stop painting for a little while and want to keep your brush moist? Wrap a plastic bag around it and then rubber band it.

2.) Vegetable peeling catcher. Instead of peeling over your sink, counter or cutting board, peel over a plastic bag then flip it inside out catching all the peelings.

3.)Wet Umbrella Holder. Instead of having a dripping unbrella lugged around with you, drop the umbrella into a plastic bag and you can slip it into your purse when out and about.

4.) Potting fillers. Crumble up several plastic bags and place in the bottom of your pot (how many depends on how big your pot is). this cuts down on how much potting soil you use.

5.) Garment shapers. Need a piece of clothing to maintain its shape? Stuff it with plastic grocery bag. (same goes for shoes or purses)

6.) Small garment bag. Slit the bottom of the bag and cover clothes that are hung up to keep dust free

7.) Draft Dodgers. sew a cylindrical bag out of fabric and stuff tightly with plastic bags and place at the bottom of doors to keep the cold out.

8.) Gloves for messy projects. This one is pretty self explanatory.

9.) Knee protectors. when gardening, wrap plastic bags around your knees. This will keep your knees or pants from getting stained.

10.) Mail fillers. When sending package, wrap shipped items in plastic bags and then pack around the items with plastic bags.

11.) Dirty clothes bag for Traveling. Keep a few in your luggage and put your dirty clothes in them, tie off to repack when heading home. Also great for putting your shoes in when traveling.

12.) Diaper bag. Always keep a few in there for various reasons!

13.) Soiled Diapers. Before tossing the soiled diaper, put in plastic bag and tie. Helps to keep the odor down.

14.) Ornament wrappers. Wrap your ornaments up in plastic bag when packing them away.

15.) Scraps. When skimming fat, skin and bones out of chicken, double line a bucket, bowl, can with plastic bags and put the scraps straight into it. When done, tie and toss.

16.) Defrosting meats. Put a paper towel or newspaper in the bottom of a plastic bag and place the meat your are defrosting in it. Saves clean up from leaking.

17.) Make a rug. Here are the Directions HERE. Or try other crafts HERE!

Do you have any other ideas to share?