Leftover Bread Cookies

I have found a great way to use up old, dried-up bread.  You can use it for really good cookies.

1¼     cups flour

1¼     cups sugar

½     tsp. salt

½     tsp. baking powder

1/3     cup cocoa

½     cup milk

1     egg

1½     tsp. vanilla

2/3     cup melted shortening

2     cups bread crumbs

Stir together all the dry ingredients. Stir together the wet ingredients and then add to the dry.  Add melted shortening and bread crumbs. You may add a tablespoon of peanut butter, M&M’s, or pieces of a candy bar to give the cookies more flavor.  They are also good without anything added.   Drop by teaspoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 13 minutes.

I recently adopted the title of stay-at-home housewife, with four girls, ages one through thirteen.  This opportunity arose, at the ripe old age of forty-two, when I delivered a bouncing baby girl. My prayers to God, to be able to stay at home with the baby, have been answered.

Just to let you know, things get tight; my husband is an artist. We sometimes use the term starving artist in our family. Really, he does a great job at working hard and providing for us.  In a two-income society, it remains a challenge to live on one income.

Not wanting to return to work right now, I assumed the job of trying to save money and found several ways that God has enabled me to do so. We all need to remember that it is not our money; it belongs to God and we should not waste what He gives to us.

I included some tips that I acquired from reading various books and articles. I hope that some of them will help you save.

One week we had almost nothing for groceries. I literally spent thirty-five dollars that week for our family of six.  Not an easy task! I needed whole milk for my one year old, while my thirteen year old easily downs four hot dogs at lunch, wolfs down a big dinner, and asks me what I made for dessert! My eleven year old does not lag far behind.

One of the things that helped me was to scan the ads in our town paper on Wednesday afternoons.  After checking to see which store advertised the best sales, I made a list of things I needed and where to buy particular items. I sometimes traveled to three different stores in one shopping day. I loaded up on the really good sale items, enough to last at least six weeks.  It takes about that long for them to go on sale again.

Certain items I need to buy every week. I purchase fifteen pounds of flour, five pounds of sugar and rice, a bag of popcorn, two pounds of margarine, one pound of butter, two pounds of dried pinto beans, six dozen eggs, and a jar of yeast. I also buy fruit, carrots, celery, and a jar of peanut butter if it is on sale. It is also good to keep corn meal and oatmeal on hand. With these items we can at least eat for a while.

Have you ever considered getting rid of your cable or satellite television?  Since we cut out watched regular television for so long, my kids do not even know what television shows play. We do not miss trying to censor the bad programs or commercials either. We do have a television that we use for parent-approved videos.  Try this money saving tip.  Instead of renting movies, the library lends them for free in our hometown and only charges if you fail to return them after a week! You wait a little longer for the new releases, but I remember waiting years to see a movie before they Invented videocassette recorders (VCR). Our kids do not suffer boredom, as you might think, even without the television.  Instead, they are   very creative and play outside more than most kids in our neighborhood. They love for me to read to them at night, which I think builds their imagination.

Remember, don’t cheat God; give your tithe and mission offerings. Those things are eternal and everything else remains temporary anyway.

Proverbs 19:17 “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
You may need to plan a little and sacrifice some, but you can live on less. May God bless your finances and help you to live more frugally.

Proverbs 13:11 “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”

Written by Jeanie Hanson