Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal… How To Freeze Corn
When life gives you corn… Shuck it!
Last night my husband came home with 3 boxes of free corn from our friend Farmer Ted. Having processed corn before and knowing the task that lay at hand, I called my neighbor.
I offered her half of the bounty if she would help me shuck, blanch and bag the corn.
When she asked if we could process it at her house I nearly fell off my chair. Obviously she has never done this before, I thought as I said “Yes! I’ll bring it right over.” 
If you have never frozen fresh corn before it’s easy. Basically all you need to do is shuck the corn and blanch it in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Then place the corn in an ice bath to cool.
Cut the kernels from the cob and stuff them into freezer bags. It’s really that easy. However, cleaning corn juice and half dried kernels off your counter tops and cupboards is a whole other story.
Many hands (and someone else’s kitchen) make light work. 
FYI: If you are thinking about purchasing a vacuum sealer
{Giveaway} Lifestyles Of The FABuLESSLY FruGAL…
One lucky FAB reader will win 30 rolls of Charmin toilet paper! I know… I know… It’s just what you’ve always wanted. FREE TOILET PAPER!
Why am I giving away toilet paper? Well, last Christmas when I was asked what I would like for Christmas (by several relatives) I couldn’t think of anything. Nor did I really need anything. So when they asked…The FruGAL inside of me told them toilet paper. And guess what? Santa delivered! I received tons and tons of toilet paper. So much in fact that between all the gifted Christmas toilet paper and all the FREE toilet paper I was able to pick up last February at Rite Aid, our family has not had to buy ANY toilet paper this year.
So why a I giving it away? Long story short… Last week when the septic maintenance guy came to check the tanks… Well… umm… Let’s just say we are not suppose to be using Charmin toilet paper. End.Of.Story.
To enter this Super FAB giveaway all you need to do is answer the following question:
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
1 lucky FAB reader will be chosen at random on Monday August 15th!
Chat Pack: Fun Questions to Spark Conversations
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly FruGAL…
Summer is here, and now is the perfect time to stock up on fresh homegrown and local produce. If you don’t have a garden growing in your back yard… No worries… just be sure to check your weekly grocery ads for great deals on what’s in season. If you are fortunate enough to live near a local farm… be sure and stop by and ask what’s on sale… and what they’ll be harvesting in the weeks to come.
Also take advantage of Cathy’s posts HERE about stockpiling fresh produce… She has a wealth of information on how to preserve the summer bounty for the coming months ahead.
And, if you don’t already know about this gem of a cookbook Simply in Season
“An essential kitchen companion for all of us who love to get our food from our own backyard, local CSA or farmers market–and always need new ideas. This is a book I will turn to over and over again. They’ve put the recipes in the most organized, easy-to-use cookbook I’ve seen.” –Catherine Walthers, author of Raising the Salad Bar and Greens, Glorious Greens
So tell us… what FAB deals have you picked up this week on produce?
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly FruGAL…
Yesterday I headed over to Albertsons… Starbucks was passing out free samples so I picked one up before I walked over to the customer service desk.
I had finally got around to opening my recent pile of Summer Sizzlin’ tickets on the 4th of July and was pleasently surprised to find out I had won a $100 Albertsons Gift card! Woot!
Although it may take up to 60 days to receive my prize… It’s not stopping me from trying to decided if I should stock up on meat, throw a big party, or save it for baking season this fall. Wooo Hooo… One Hundred Dollars… I can’t stop thinking about all the FAB ways I could spend it.
So Mavis wants to know… Have YOU won anything exciting yet with the Albertsons Summer Sizzlin’ Sweepstakes? What’s the one game piece you’re still looking for?
Lifestyles Of The FABulessly FruGAL…
I plan on feeding my tribe a wee bit of yogurt next week.
You too?
You don’t say…
I don’t know what you have planned… but here’s a few suggestions:
Breakfast… Oatmeal with yogurt on top.
Lunch… Berry Smoothies… with yogurt mixed in.
Snack time… Graham Crackers dipped in… You guess it… YOGURT.
Dinner… Well… I haven’t exactly come up with a way to incorporate yogurt into dinner yet… Do YOU have any clever ideas?
Dessert… Frozen yogurt… cleverly disguised into Rocket Ice Pops
Ahh… Yes… Everyday is an adventure when you live the FABulessly FruGAL lifestyle.
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal…
It’s no secret I love to entertain… but I think there’s a lot of people out there who are put off by entertaining because they think they need to spend a lot of money to have a good time. It’s sooo not true. I recently had a gathering of 15 woman over at my house for a committee meeting and asked each person to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. I provided the plates, glasses and beverages. Not only did we have a great time… but there was plenty of food. Wanna know what I served? Iced Tea and Strawberry Lemonade. Wanna know how much it cost me? Less than 2 dollars!
Last summer I was able to pick up a bunch of frozen lemonade concentrate for free. I also purchased a bunch of farm fresh strawberries which I sliced and placed in reusable containers and tossed in the freezer to use throughout the year. All I did was combine 2 cans of lemonade, 1 box of frozen berries…added water… packed my 2 gallon beverage canister with ice… and I was ready to go. And for the iced tea? I simply brewed a couple tea bags, added a few snippets of mint (from my garden) poured ice over the top… and I had more than enough drinks to go around.
I just goes to show… you don’t have to spend bookoo bucks to live the FABulessly FruGAL life.
Creativeware 3-Gallon Unbreakable Beverage Dispenser
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal…
How many times are you asked to donate a gift basket or some other item for your children’s school? With the help of THIS $10/$30 World Market coupon I was able to whip up a gift basket for only $22.96. I simply used extra Ronzoni pasta & Classico pasta sauce from my stockpile…then purchased a basket, a few fancy food items and a book I found at World Market. Yay for stockpiles… and double yay for printable coupons! They are FABuless!
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal Giveaway…
Last weekend my daughter and I redeemed a Groupon from The Body Shop we bought a few weeks ago. She saw the Groupon online and wanted to buy her BFF some Body Shop goodies for her birthday. You know about Groupon right? I love all the 1 day deals they offer… not only are they fun to buy… but also super fun to give or receive as a gift as well.
After my daughter picked out what she wanted to “buy” for her friend… we still had $15 left to spend… so we picked this up 3 pack of mini Body Butters (Satsuma, Lemon and Strawberry) to give away to 1 lucky Fabulessly Frugal reader
To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below and I’ll pick one 1 winner at random sometime tomorrow morning.
Stay Frugal,
Mavis
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal…
When people who are new to couponing hear that I’m only spending $100 a month on all our grocery, toiletry and dinners out this year… the first question is always…”What do you eat?”
Sometimes I wonder if they think all we eat is prepackaged processed food.
Take this taco for instance. Last winter I was able to pick up a bunch of free Mission tortillas at Albertsons with the help of double coupons… When I brought the tortillas home… I simply placed each package of flour tortillas in a gallon sized zip baggie and tossed them into the freezer to use later as needed (you’d be amazed at how many product freeze well). I picked up the salsa for .33 cents a jar 2 weeks ago at Albertsons with a double coupon, the Wholly Guacamole was free a few months ago with double coupons as well… and knowing we wouldn’t eat all 6 packages at once… I froze those, along with the free Birds Eye Stem Fresh Whole Grain Rice, and the free Kraft cheese (Money maker last fall summer @ QFC). I did have to pay for the tomatoes though… they were .99 lb at Fred Meyer and I also paid .49 cents a bag Fresh Express Salad (Safeway last week). Oh and the beef… I did a little bartering with my neighbor who’s a hunter for that
I believe the key to feeding your family for the least amount of money possible… is learning the art of building a stockpile.
Once you’ve mastered that… You can switch gears and head into maintenance mode… and simply pick up fresh produce, meat and dairy each week while keeping your eyes peeled for stockpile bargains. Some weeks you’ll be able to pick up free pasta, some weeks it will be free oatmeal. The key for me is to pick up as many different foods items I can each week for free or next to nothing to keep our pantry filled.
So, if you’re new to this whole coupon thing… keep working at it… over time it will get easier and with the help of free websites like this one… you’ll make progress in cutting your grocery budget in no time.
Need a little help getting all the coupon lingo down? Want to learn how to coupon step by step? Want to learn how to start building your very own stockpile? Go HERE and order the Fabulessly Frugal 7 secrets to successful couponing DVD. Use code THANKSMAVIS you’ll save 55% off the purchase price… Now that sounds like a FAB deal to me
Lifestyles Of The Fabulessly Frugal…
Don’t want to break the bank buying bouquets of fresh cut flowers the next time you have guests over? How about buying a small tree from your local home improvement store instead …this one cost only $3.97 @ Home Depot. Simply place the small tree in a clear glass container that you already have on hand… Not only will it save you a little green when compared to the price of cut flowers… it can be planted outside after the guests have gone home
