Ah, lean times, they seem to have come to stay except that we've gotten so used to them that they are normal.
God gets us through everything. I do mean everything.
I tell the Lord how much money is in my budget for groceries (as if He didn't already know) and I ask Him to show me where the bargains are. I've been so amazed at what the Lord has done for us.
Just recently, living in a rural area doesn't give you as many options and you have to pray harder sometimes.
So I prayed. God told me to get some pot bellied pigs. Hubby said we couldn't afford them, I said well I feel lead to get them. I got them for free.
He said we couldn't afford the fencing. I got that for almost a steal it was so cheap.
He said he we couldnt afford fence posts. God provided those for free.
He said he wasn't physically able to dig them. God provided the labor for free.
Have we eaten any of the pigs? No.
Have they fed us? Yes
We had to find a way to buy the pig food. The day old bread centers sell pig food by the rack (that's about 20 trays or more of baked goods) We get wholewheat bread, cakes, muffins, rolls, ect. plus enough for the pigs for a month for $10.
We needed some more pig food one day because we ran out during a holiday and the bakery store didn't have any. We called some of the local produce stands and grocery stores.
Suddenly, we had produce coming out our ears and eyeballs. Tomatoes, cukes, onions, potatoes, green beans, citrus, melons, cabbage, lettuce, you name it and God provided it. We are talking bushels of produce.
Now, if we didn't have the pigs, I wouldn't be able to get the stuff because I wouldn't lie about getting pig food. So God made a way to get all of this great stuff and we freeze and can a lot of it.
We eat a lot of stuffing from day old bread. It's cheaper than buying the premix. We use chicken or beef soup base for the stuffing or left over broth.
Also, canned Corned Beef is cheap at the dollar store. We make barbecue beef sandwiches out of it, we cook it with cabbage from the pig food, we put it in vegetable soup from the pig food. We make hash out of it by adding a little worchestershire sauce, a dash of hot sauce, a teaspoon of vinegar some potatoes and carrots and onions. Love that hash. Do it with chicken too.
We get keilbasa packages (I think its gualtney) at Walmart. It flavors our green beans, we add it to rice, we add it to scalloped potatoes and add some veggies to make a casserole, we add it to just about everything for flavoring.
We buy large boxes of powdered milk and that is usually all we buy for milk. I use it in all of my cooking but I don't premix it.
I make my own barbecue sauce from tomato soup.
I use those oriental noodles like they are going out of style. I make whole dinners out of them (2 pkgs or more depending on how long I want it to last.) by adding garlic, mixed vegetables, 1 scrambled egg, green onions, soy sauce, whatever meat I have available, if it's available.
I buy large bags of chicken thighs when they are on sale. I don't like dark meat by itself but I use it in soups, casseroles, salads, ect.
Powdered milk, 1 cup water and a teasp. of vinegar make buttermilk and the best pancakes or biscuits around.
Might I suggest that you get some rabbits? Rabbits reproduce very quickly. They eat grass or whatever peelings you have left over. They have approx. 8 babies at a time and a quick gestation period. They are considered pets instead of livestock so you can grow them in the city. You can grow them in the basement or your yard.
Also, and this might sound gross but they are a delicacy in many countries (ask a local missionary when they come in off of furlow and they will tell you), guinea pigs are a staple just like chicken. They breed them up in size. In reality, the guinea pigs we have here in the US were breed down in size for pet markets. They can reach several pounds, about as big as a rabbit.
Pigeons are an alternative livestock that can be kept in the city. They provide eggs.
Actually, most cities don't have a problem with raising chickens if you don't have a noisy rooster. Hens will lay eggs without a rooster, they just won't hatch eggs for baby chicks.
The chickens will normally produce an egg every other day. So, if you need 4 eggs a day, get about 8 to 10 chicks. Butcher the roosters in the batch when they are three months. Buy them through your local feed store and you will pay less and won't have to pay a huge minimum or shipping.
If they quit laying during winter feed them vinegar.
Wild onions usually grow all over the yard and they are good scavenger foods. Walnuts will be coming in season soon and you can usually find black walnuts along country roads.
Blackberries are usually over with by now, except up north.
I buy a lot of crackers or oatmeal, if I have meat, they stretch it and bind the meat together.
Also, this sounds weird. It is many times cheaper to buy restraunt sized canned goods like tomato sauce and catsup than it is to buy a lot of little cans. I buy large catsups and bags of great northern beans and make the hugest pan of baked beans you ever saw and can them.
Baked beans are a staple in this house. When times are lean it beans and franks, beans and potatoes, beans and whatever we got.
We buy seasoning salt pork. If we run out of oil or shortening, we fry that up and it's great for any beans or stuff we have.
So, my staples purchasing are whittled down to coffee, sugar, beans, vinegar, powdered milk, margarine, seasonings, oil, pasta and rice, flour.
I make mayo, salad dressings, condensed soups, my own box mixes most of the time (ie hamburger helper and tuna helper from scratch), pancakes, buscuits, gravies, ect. all from scratch.