Baking On The Grill - Saving On Utilities

I decided to try and bake on the grill instead of in the oven to keep the house cool. There is a bit of a learning curve to this technique. The grill bakes a lot faster and hotter than a traditional oven, especially on the bottom. 

This is a great way to save on your summer electric bills too. We do not have an electric bill, nor do we have air conditioning in our off-grid home. We don't not need it at this altitude. However, we really like the house to stay in the 60's for our comfort. Turning on the oven during the summer months makes it too warm inside the house. It is 62.9 degrees as I am writing this post. As the day progresses it will probably get up to 73-74 degrees. This is about the time it starts cooling off outside, so we open the windows to let the cool breeze in. 

It is still in the low thirties at night. This will change as the summer heats up. It can be a battle to keep the house at an optimal temperature. We use all the weapons in our arsenal like our Sun Oven, grill or our electric pressure cooker to cook our meals and aid us in our efforts to keep the house cool and our propane bills at a minimum. 

First, I needed to raise the baking surface off the grates to keep from the bottom of the foods from burning. I placed a cast iron pan on top of the grill grate before lighting the grill. This cast iron skillet needed to be burned off and re-seasoned, so it was a win win situation. 

Don't let the thermometer fool you. It is a lot hotter towards the grates than what the thermometer reads. 

I baked this pizza in 12 minutes on a medium high heat. In the oven, it is 20-25 minutes in a pre-heated 500-degree oven. It takes at least 25-30 minutes to pre-heat the oven to this temperature. The grill was on for 5 minutes before I put the pizza in to bake.

It was really good...

I baked this French bread in 15 minutes at a higher temperature and I burned the bottoms slightly. 

This was my first attempt at baking on the grill and my first attempt at making French bread. This is when I learned that I should bake with less burners lit than I initially thought and at a lower temperature.

The French bread turned out delicious. It is a keeper. I will be sharing the recipe in a future post. I like to try out most recipes and techniques before sharing them on the blog.

I definitely recommend using the grill for baking outside in the summer months. During the winter months, baking inside is beneficial to heating a home and it creates a cozy atmosphere. The smell of bread baking is divine. 

Mrs. Smith

How I Save Money And Energy With One Small Tea Bag, A Percolator, A Thermos And A Yeti Cup...

One day I decided that I needed a kettle to boil water in on the stove for hot tea and other hot beverages. I used to make tea one cup at a time, but not anymore. Number One found this percolator for me at a thrift store in the city. I know, it seems strange to use a percolator for tea, but I assure you that it makes the a great pot of tea. I have been using it for many years now. 

I started making a pot of tea with loose leaf tea and heating it up every time I wanted another cup. This was problematic for several reasons. Most of all, it was a waste of propane and money. Secondly, the supply chain issues started occurring regularly, including tea shortages. Last year we used more propane than ever before. The cost of propane rose by 79%  this year alone due to shortages and inflation. I came up with a solution for both of these issues by using One Small Tea Bag, A Percolator, A Thermos And A Yeti Cup...

I figured out that I can use a very small amount of tea and get the same results by using a percolator. I'm not in it for the caffeine as much as the comfort of a hot cup of tea. I tried using a small tea bag when I could no longer get my loose leaf tea and it worked. I really like strong black tea and I was still able to achieve the same flavor using the percolator with a small tea bag. It makes an entire pot of tea instead of just one cup. This saved money and helped with the tea shortages I was experiencing. 

My next problem was keeping it hot without using propane. I tried tea lights and a tea pot koozie, but I did not get the results I wanted. I like hot tea not lukewarm tea. I remembered that when we used to travel for work I would use a stainless steel thermos to brew my tea in and it stayed hot for hours. About 16 hours to be exact. However, it was a small thermos and would not hold an entire pot of tea. I do have a larger thermos, but this stainless steel one really does a good job keeping things hot. A friend of ours gave the thermos to me as a gift years ago and Number One literally found the stainless steel Yeti cup last year and gave it to me. How fortunate on both accounts. Talk about keeping things hot, the Yeti is a powerhouse of insulation. You can't hardly drink out of it. It keeps beverages mega hot for about six hours. I pour the hot tea into a mug and drink from it. I will take the Yeti to town and sip on it the whole way there and back. It's quite efficient.

I have put all these tools to use for me and I have really cut down on my propane usage with this technique and other propane reducing ideas.  I was also able to stretch my limited tea supply. We have had to learn to make do or do without in the last 18 months or so. The supply issues seem to be getting worse. Until this crisis ends, we must learn to overcome and be creative to solve the challenges we face, especially with the inconsistencies in product availability and shortages. 

 

I love using my Pyrex percolator with loose leaf tea or tea bags.

 

Pyrex percolator and koozie.

I use these items everyday.

Mrs. Smith

How To Save Money Using Grocery Store Pickup And Delivery Service...

 

We decided to order groceries and other supplies online for pickup and delivery some time ago This seemed very foreign to us at first. We have always enjoyed finding bargains in the isles. If you are a fellow bargain hunter don't worry, bargains can still be found in the online isles. After some time went by we noticed that we were saving a lot of money by utilizing these services. This has helped us offset some of the costs associated with inflation. And now, we wouldn't  go back to in store shopping. Free Pick up and delivery fits our rural (remote) living lifestyle, saves us time and money. 

Grocery stores have weekly sales and big box stores have monthly sales. We take advantage of these sales online just like we would if we went into the store in person. We check out the sales flyer online, place our order and set our pick up date and time. Next, we hold our breath and hope they have everything in stock. We never know what is out of stock until we get an email or text telling us to come pick up our order and what is missing. This is not the case with delivery orders. We are told immediately if an item is out of stock. This gives us an opportunity to try to find a substitution before we place our order.  

The grocery store is where we find and buy most of  our bargains. They tend to have the lowest prices when items are on sale. They are way to expensive otherwise. Sam's and Walmart are our "go to"  shopping places for lower consistent prices.

When we go to town to pick up our grocery order we also run any errands that we might have. This saves us time and money by doing it all in one trip. The closest grocery store is about an hour away along with most everything else. We do have price gouging gas stations about thirty minutes away, so we are already planners out of sheer necessity. This is nothing new to us. We take this up a notch or two in the Winter. An unexpected blizzard is not uncommon. It's not an easy task planning around an ever changing weather forecast.

We also order groceries and supplies that we need from a big box store in the city. It is a four hour round trip to the closest major city, so we benefit the most in this case by using their free delivery service. 

We are also order from  Misfits Market. This is where we get our fresh organic produce delivered to our home. I will be doing a blogpost on this service soon. 

If we need anything during the in between times we will place an order for delivery from Walmart, Sam's Club or Misfits Market. We like this option the best. This is the "We don't have to leave the ranch" option. 

Sam's Club has free delivery and pick up for plus members. Sam's prices are just better than most places. They have better meat and produce too. We actually spend enough money to get our membership for free with their cashback program. I just had a partial order delivered today. I have one more package on the way. Deliveries seem very slow right now. I think it's because more people are ordering online. Keep this in mind for upcoming events like birthdays. Shop early and ship early. 

Here's the rundown:

We save money because we stay home...

We save money because we are not in the store impulse buying...

We save money because we don't have to stop to pick up something to eat during the long trip to the city and back...

We save time by ordering online in the comfort of our home. We don't have to wander the isles looking for the items that we need that are not in stock. Time is money...

We save money and time, because we are not burning up the road...

We save money because we keep a accurate shopping list that includes everything we use from groceries to motor oil... 

We save money by using our vehicle less. Gasoline inflation is up 41.8%, used car inflation is up 48% and the cost of tires have been steadily increasing...

Pickup and deliveries are usually free. Walmart has a $35 minimum purchase order to qualify for free shipping and pick ups. There is a $5.99 fee if you do not meet this criteria. We can't drive to Walmart for $5.99. So far, we have only placed an order when our purchase was eligible for free delivery or free pick up... 

There are plenty of printable freebies online.
Just Google it...

Buyer Beware: Bigger packaging does not mean that it is a better price. I have noticed this at Walmart. I checked several items and the smaller items were the better deal. Be sure to compare the different sizes. Some packaging is the same size with less product. They call this "Shrinkflation"...