S T R E T C H I N G IT

 In our home we try to remain thrifty and frugal so that we can afford for me to work as a substitute teacher and still be able to be home part of the time to keep things going here.  It was critical for us to be frugal during our homeschooling years since I had to be here full time to teach our 3 sons and we needed to make it on my husband's income alone.  Now that they are grown, there are other factors which make it necessary for me to just work part time.  My husband and I agree that this is what is best for our family.  To that end, I need to make sure to be a good steward of all that we are blessed with and use my skills to stretch our budget.

We had some leftover sale priced ham from Christmas.  It was .99 a pound and I bought a fairly large one.  We had some for Christmas dinner, then had leftovers for a couple of days.  There was still quite a bit left so today I cut it up, cubed up most of it and froze 3 bags full of those ham cubes to use for future meals. The bone, and the meat still attached to it, went in the Crockpot along with some dry split peas, veggies and spices.  Six hours later, I removed the bone, cut the meat off it and then chopped it up.  I then pureed the veggies and peas and added the chopped up ham back into the pot.  This will make enough for several meals for my husband and I along with some to freeze for future meals.  I love being able to pull a Ziplock bag of frozen soup out of the freezer and let it thaw for dinner on a busy or cold night.  It is also great for having on hand when you don't feel well.  I try to keep a variety of homemade frozen soup in our freezer for us and for our grown kids. 

Now, if you will excuse me, this delicious bowl of piping hot split pea soup is calling my name!