Tag Archives: Frugality

The Home-Gardener’s Sweetener – STEVIA!

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Several years ago our daughter mentioned casually that she was growing Stevia. Wait, Stevia? You mean, the sweetener? You can GROW THAT!!?? I had no idea!

Excitedly I sat out to find a place to purchase the plant. I found it at a local discount warehouse-type store and brought it home. I plunked it into my landscaping bed as part of my edible landscape. It’s a pretty enough plant, so why not?

I’ve had this plant for a couple of years and it always comes back in the spring. But now that I’m growing my own zero-calorie sweetener, what should I do with it?

Stevia is a plant you can grow in your edible landscape. Harvest the leaves to make your very own home-grown sweetener. #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Things – Bread, Tea, Chicken, Storm & Hummingbird

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by Texas Homesteader~

Occasionally I’ll share a short list of 5 Frugal Things I’ve done recently to save time, money and/or the environment. The beauty is that often these 5 frugal things check off all of those categories.

It’s been a while so I thought I’d share a quick list of 5 frugal things I did this week.

Come see 5 Frugal Things we did this week to save some cold, hard cash. It's easy to save money throughout the week if you keep your eyes open. #TexasHomesteader Continue reading →

BBQ Rub & Beer-Based Mop Sauce Recipe

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Every year RancherMan & I host a fun family gathering we’ve always called ‘RanchFest‘. It’s actually celebrated on the anniversary of the date we purchased this little piece of paradise. But we consider it a mini-family reunion.

Back when the kids were young (but before we actually lived here) we’d bring our kids and my siblings would bring theirs. We’d have a big celebration & bonfire. Oh how much fun it was to get together, and the kids loved hanging out with their cousins.

But they’re all grown and most have children of their own now. So every year at RanchFest we get together to relive those fun times. This year we’ll be serving pulled-pork sandwiches using meat from the wild hogs RancherMan’s harvested. He’ll smoke the meat, but we needed a BBQ Rub & Mop Sauce. And he certainly found a good one!

A delicious beer/coffee based BBQ mop sauce and dry rub recipe for smoked meat on the grill. Super easy to whip up in a flash. #TexasHomesteader

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MYO Simple Craft Paintbrush In A Pinch

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by Texas Homesteader~

The other day I decided to try a gardening hack I’d read about. I wanted to paint some small rocks red to look like strawberries. The idea is to Trick Birds Away From Your Garden Strawberries. The birds see the bright-red faux berries and decide to swoop in for a little snack. A few pecks of that rock hard ‘strawberry‘ and they decide you’re an awful gardener and move on, leaving future strawberries for your own harvest.

I already had the paint, I already had the rocks, but I didn’t have a small paintbrush. So I decided to make one on the fly. All I  needed was a tiny scrap piece of absorbent material & an ordinary clothespin.

I needed a small craft paintbrush so I fashioned one in seconds using a piece of repurposed scrap cloth and a clothespin. #TexasHomesteader

 

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Edible Landscape: Planting A Large Galvanized Trough

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I love the concept of edible landscaping. Just because a plant grows something you can eat doesn’t mean it can’t be beautifully incorporated into your landscape plan. I’m fond of adding carrots along the perimeter of my plantings for it’s lacy greenery border. And I love using the bold crinkly leaves of a spinach plant for interest, or to anchor a planting area with a vibrant zucchini plant. I’ve used blueberry bushes in place of typical landscaping bushes. The possibilities are endless!

Recently we had an Outdoor Living room built to extend our back porch. I sat out to Landscape It On The Cheap. As always I strove to plant edibles in two huge galvanized trough planters.

Planting large galvanized water troughs for edible beauty around your home. It's easy and can be done inexpensively too. #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Things This Week: Bird-Feeding & Garden Edition

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by Texas Homesteader ~

We’re all trying to save a little cold hard cash these days. But sometimes it feels overwhelming just knowing where to start. And sometimes it feels if we’re not doing something grand to save wads of cash, we’re not really making an impact.

But I’m here to tell you there are small things you can do every day to save money. And they’re not big bold moves. The key is to make easy, effortless and yet effective decisions. A mind-shift change is all that’s needed. You need to look at your daily activity with a tilt on “I wonder if I could…” You’ll see what I mean. Come see 5 frugal things we did this week to easily save money.

5-Frugal Things: Bird-Feeding & Gardening Edition. It's easy to find little ways to save money. It just takes a different mindset. Come see 5 frugal things we did to save money this week. #TexasHomesteader

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How To Make A Denim Dish-Carrier Using Old Jeans

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by Texas Homesteader ~

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I’m pretty eco-conscious, shunning excessive or unnecessary trash wherever possible. Even when RancherMan & I go out to eat, I bring a small lidded glass dish into the restaurant with me to hold my leftovers. That keeps me from having to accept their Styrofoam packaging.

But one of my self-imposed rules about my crunchiness is that I want to make it ‘un-weird‘ in public to keep RancherMan from feeling uncomfortable. He assures me my eco ways don’t make him uncomfortable, but I still want to be considerate. And let’s face it, carrying a small casserole dish through a restaurant does not blend in with the atmosphere. So I decided I needed a carrier that looked almost purse-like.

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Using FREE Solar Energy To Brew Your Tea

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by Texas Homesteader ~

RancherMan loves his iced tea. I love that it’s a healthier drink option for him than many other choices. And brewing our own tea means no trash. Plus it’s super cheap.

All. Good. Stuff.

But did you know it doesn’t necessarily have to be hot outside to brew tea? All you really need is sunshine. There are a couple of ways I’m able to provide RancherMan with that delicious beverage he loves. Brewed in winter or summer: No purchased energy necessary!

Sun Tea - quick to brew using the power of the sun whether winter or summer. A delicious, healthy and trash free beverage. #TexasHomesteader

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Quickest Apple Crumble Dessert From Pie Filling

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Y’all know my aunt sends me home with bushels of apples every year. I get to work making all sorts of fun things with them. There are some examples of apple recipes we’ve enjoyed at the bottom of this post. But one thing I like to do with those fresh apples is to make & can apple pie filling. Then even when unexpected company shows, homemade dessert is ready in a flash.

For a fast appley dessert I can use that homemade apple pie filling to make homemade Apple Pie.  Or maybe something even faster – Apple Crumble.

Apple Crumble Recipe using apple pie filling. You can use any flavor you like - homemade or purchased. Come see my easy recipe. #TexasHomesteader

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Stop Garden Weeds With Biodegradable Weed Block

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by Texas Homesteader ~

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At the Mother Earth News Fair this year I attended several gardening seminars. One presenter spoke about ‘biodegradable weed block‘. It’s supposed to suppress weeds during garden season. Then it naturally degrades by the end of garden season to just be turned back into the soil. Now I hate plastic weed block because weeds grow right through the blasted stuff, it’s messy, it’s expensive and it’s PLASTIC. But I’ve never even thought about biodegradable weed block.

I wondered how it worked, what it was made of, how expensive it might be, etc. So I went online to research. I found it’s made of ‘wood pulp’. Hey, could that be PAPER??

So I’m thinking of using those heavy paper feed sacks RancherMan’s been saving for me. I’ve always used those paper feed sacks in the walkways of my garden covered by mulch. But I’d never given thought to using it in the actual planting areas. Hummmm…

Biodegradable weed block for the garden? As it turns out, it's really a thing! And it degrades by the end of the season to just mix back into your soil. I hate the plastic weed block, this more natural material appeals to me! #TexasHomesteader

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