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This is a penny pinching recipe in that it cost me nearly nothing to make. My garden has been abundant with Roma tomatoes.
But, of course, time has a value and this does take an investment of time.
This was my first time making homemade ketchup and I really think the flavor is worth the effort. It’s not at all like store bought ketchup. Much more complex flavor, which is wonderful for me since I don’t much care for regular ketchup.

This is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe based on the ingredients I had on hand today.

For 2 pints of ketchup you will need:
3 pounds of peeled, diced, Roma tomatoes
(Roma are best for this because of their low water content. You can use others but you’ll need an extra pound or so and after chopping them, allow them to drain in a colander for a bit. I’d like to try this next time with some of the different colored heirloom varieties. I’ll bet the colors and flavors would be quite unique.)
1 1/2 cups water
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
one inch piece of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 whole cloves
salt (start with 2 teaspoons and adjust later)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot, over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, basil, coriander, fennel, cloves, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
It’s okay to let them brown a bit. That’s flavor!

Now add the tomatoes and the water. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze the pot and get all the flavor stirred in.
Now you will reduce this by half. Here’s a little (admittedly OCD) trick that I use to judge when it has been reduced by half.
Put a skewer into the pot, all the way to the bottom.

Now mark that skewer where the top of the sauce was so you’ll have a way to judge when it has reduced enough. I use a sharpie.

Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and let it simmer, uncovered until it has reduced by half, stirring occasionally. This took abut an hour for me. And it looked like this when it was done.

At this point, you can push the sauce through a food mill or a fine sieve to make the sauce as smooth as possible and remove the fennel seeds and cloves.
I have a powerful blender and don’t have a problem with a little texture to my ketchup so I just put it through the blender, in two batches, until it was as smooth as possible.
Put the sauce into a clean pan and stir in the red wine vinegar and the brown sugar.
Mark your skewer again, because it needs to reduce by half again.

Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced by half or as thick as you want your ketchup to be. It will thicken a little more as it cools.
This is a good time to check for seasoning and add more salt if you like. If it tastes a little too tart form the vinegar, a little more salt will tone that down.
This took another hour for me and the last half hour needed more frequent stirring as it was getting very thick by that time.
When the ketchup is finished, it can be kept in the refrigerator for several weeks.
I have no delusions that my two kids will choose this gourmet delight over the shiny, bright red gel that comes from the store. So I chose to can mine. This recipe yielded 4 half pints. I processed 3 and put one in the fridge. I’m excited to get some gourmet burgers and fries on the menu this week for my ketchup’s grand premiere!

If you want to can yours, put your water bath canner on to boil during the last half hour of reducing the ketchup.
Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready to use. Do not boil.
Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
Process jars in boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex when pressed in center. Enjoy!

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FALL IS IN THE AIR! And soup-season is here! Yay! I love good soup. I could eat it for every meal when it is chilly outside. Here is a favorite recipe of mine. If you love Olive Garden’s fagioli soup…now you can make it at home!

1 lb ground beef (I usually use 1/2 lb)
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 lrg carrot, julienned (1 cup) sometimes I grate mine
1 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can northern beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can V-8 juice
1 TBL white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 pkg Ditali pasta (short macaroni tubes)

Brown the beef in a large saucepan. Drain off fat, if any. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta according to directions until al dente, or slightly tough, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta to the soup and simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve. Serves 8.

If you find that it is too tomatoey, add some water until you find a consistency and taste you like. This recipe also freezes well. Enjoy!

Group A added this Old Orchard Cranberry Naturals Juice $1/1 coupon this morning.  This is a great coupon, so print it before it disappears!  Remember, you can print each coupon twice.

Zaycon Foods is in process of taking orders for their Chicken Savings Event across the country.  You will need to sign in to see exact ordering timeframe and the pick-up date and time at a location near you.
• 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients
• Comes directly from the processor and has never been frozen
• Sold by the case — 40 lbs in each case (divided into 3 or 4 smaller bags if you want to split with someone else). $59.60 per unit ($1.49lb)
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Being a penny-pincher and trying to reach a more excellent gazelle intensity on my Dave Ramsey plan, I decided to try my own at-home pedicure. It has taken me a few tries to get to a point where I am happy with the results. Here are some of the tips & tricks I have learned so far. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments!

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I will be recommending some products that will help make your pedicure closer to a spa experience. You can choose to pinch your pennies even further by not purchasing these tools, but I figure I have saved enough on the pedicures that it’s worth a little money to make my at-home experience a good one. Most of these things are one-time expenses or occasional expenses as opposed to the regular expense of the professional pedicure. Plus, I found I did not get the same results before these purchases. Having the right tools helps with any job.

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Step 1: Get your toes ready by removing old nail polish and trimming your nails. You will want to cut your toenails straight across in order to avoid ingrown toenails. I think it looks better to keep the toenail trimmed to about the top of your toes. Rub your finger across the top of your toes and you should just feel the tip of your nails. That’s how I like mine. You will want a good set of toenail clippers or scissors and an emery board.

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Step 2: Soak your feet. There are a lot of opinions out there on the best way to do this. You can soak them in a large bowl of milk (lactic acid helps soften callouses), you can soak them in scented water adding tea tree oil to help prevent fungus… but quite frankly, I do something that you can’t do in the salon – I soak my whole body in a luxurious bubble bath. Treat yourself to some yummy bubbles if you want. I do. You may want to hide it from the kids. Get them some dollar store stuff. 😉

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Step 3: Exfoliate your feet and legs. You can use bath salts for this step or these amazing sponges. Yes, they are $5/each. Each sponge lasts about 25 uses and I LOVE them. LOVE them. They smell divine and they really do their job. I do this part sitting on the edge of my tub as the water drains out.

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Step 4: Remove callouses. Okay, this is the area I have spent the most time on perfecting. I live my life in flip-flops and so my heels get pretty bad. A pumice stone really hasn’t been enough for me (although it is a great finishing touch). I own a Ped Egg and it works pretty well, but I finally got brave and purchased one of these. Seriously. Scary. But guess what? It works. Use whatever method you prefer for callous removal. I think it will vary depending on how bad your heels are. Make sure to do the balls of your feet and your big toes as well. I hope that now that I am keeping up on this I will be able to just use the pumice stone and it will keep things under control. We’ll see.

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Step 5: Push back/trim your cuticles. While your feet are still soft from soaking, pushing your cuticles back is a breeze. I just use  my thumbnail, but you can also use an orange stick. I haven’t purchased a cuticle nipper yet, but I probably need to.

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Step 6: Moisturize your feet. You can use Vaseline or Vaseline mixed with some lime juice, but your feet will be slimy. I recommend that if you do the Vaseline treatment you do it right before bed and that way you can put socks on and get an overnight treatment. I really like foot cream because it is designed to absorb quickly and it’s not as greasy as lotion so I can put my flip-flops back on without sliding around. You can do this after your polish dries, but I prefer to do it at this stage. I also apply it before I go to sleep.

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Step 7: Polish your toenails. You may need to use a little acetone to clean the lotion from your toenails. Be sure to use a base coat to prevent discoloration of your nails that comes from frequent polish. I recommend OPI polish because it goes on smooth and the polish doesn’t get gunky after a lot of usage. You can use one of those little toe separators if you want. A little baby oil or olive oil on a cotton swab rubbed onto the nails will help your polish dry faster.

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There you have it, a professional pedicure in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the salon cost. I didn’t think I’d be able to do a very good job, but have been very pleased with  my results so far. I think a lot of it is having the right tools and not being afraid to mess up.

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