Over the last couple years, I have become more and more fond of baking all kinds of yeast breads from scratch. Mostly because it’s healthier, but also because it’s tastier than what I can get at the store.

I’ve made whole wheat bread, cinnamon buns, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, pizza dough and many other varieties. However, my complaint was how much active dry yeast was costing me.

Now I knew not to buy it in the little packets because that was way more expensive than buying it in the jars. Lately, though I had been having trouble finding the Active Dry Yeast in the jar. I can always find the Fast Acting Yeast in jars, but my breads never turn out as well with it.

And if you bake using yeast very often, you know those little packets don’t go very far when you are doing a lot of baking.

My Question: Could buying in bulk be the solution to my dilemma?

I decided to see if I could find a place where I could buy yeast in bulk and maybe save some money in the process. The first place I checked was Amazon.com and almost fell in the floor from shock at the price.

Not because the price was high, but because it was so low for 2 whole pounds (32 oz) of yeast. It was only $9.47 for 2 lbs. Wow!! The brand was Red Star, which I’ve used before, so I knew it was a good brand.

Just the other day, I checked the price at Publix for a little 4 oz jar of Red Star Active Dry Yeast and it was $7.99 plus tax. I know you could probably find it a little cheaper than that at other grocery stores, but that is an almost unbelievable difference.

As you might have guessed, I ordered a pack of that yeast from Amazon. I also needed some other baking supplies, which were also cheaper buying in bulk from Amazon, so I added them to my order to get my total up to $25 for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

I used my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards to pay for most of the order and that made for some very cheap baking supplies! (Not sure what Swagbucks is? Read about it here.)

No more buying yeast at the grocery store for me, unless it’s an absolute emergency.

What about you? Do you do a lot of baking with yeast? How do you buy your yeast…packets, jars or bulk?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

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I’ve got a short week to plan for this week, but it’s going to be a busy one, nevertheless.

My son is playing football this year and has football camp this week each night from 4 pm to 8 pm. Of course, this means quick and easy early dinners each night.

The big event of the week though is a wedding. I’m so excited to say that my baby brother is getting married next Saturday.

Aren’t they such a great looking couple?

~Here’s what’s cooking this week~

Breakfast

• Oatmeal
  
• Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Eggs & Toast
• Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls? (Maybe)

Dinner

• Monday: Pizza (Didn’t have this last Friday because hubby ended up having minor surgery on his arm, so we just went out afterward.)
• Tuesday: Roast and Veggies in the Crock Pot
• Wednesday: Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken Strips, Veggies, Rice
• Thursday: Black Bean Veggie Burgers on Homemade Buns
• Friday: My Brother’s Rehearsal Dinner
• Saturday: ????
• Sunday: ????

What’s cooking in your kitchen this week?

For more menu inspiration, visit Menu Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

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Summers in Alabama mean lots of scorching hot days.  In turn, super hot days mean the kiddos start asking for popsicles. Of course, it doesn’t help that they are everywhere in stores right now.

So, a couple of weeks ago, while I was at the grocery store, I was about to give in to their request, until I looked at the ingredients on the package…high fructose corn syrup…artificial colors….etc…

Even the ones that said they were made with real fruit had ingredients we are trying to avoid as much as possible. That being the case, my husband suggested we just make our own. Duh!! Why didn’t I think of that?!?

Well, it took some effort to actually find the little popsicle maker things (I don’t know what you call them.) I looked at a few different stores and finally found them at a discount store near my house.

Now, my first thought was what liquid to use to make them. Kool-aid?? Don’t think so. If I was going to do that, I might as well just buy the ones at the store, pop them in the freezer and be done with it.

I tried homemade lemonade, but the kids didn’t really care for it frozen. Then my very smart hubby had another great idea. Make them with orange juice. Perfect!

Organic OJ popsicles mean happy kids because they get yummy popsicles, and a happy mom because the kids are getting a healthy treat.

As a bonus, the kids got a kick out of making the popsicles at home instead of just buying them. OJ popsicles definitely work for us!

What kind of treats do you enjoy to keep cool on hot summer days? Do you make homemade popsicles? If so, what do you make them out of?

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