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Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living


Earthquake Cake

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I am not a huge fan of cake mixes, but I do occasionally enjoy doctoring cake mixes. This doctored cake mix recipe was passed on to me by a friend. I can’t remember why, but she showed at my house with this cake (perhaps because I frequently tell my friends not to visit unless theyRead More

Summer Squash Recipes

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The summer squash and zucchini are just starting to come in from my garden. It won’t be long before I am overwhelmed. I only planted two zucchini plants this year, so although I have a lot of zucchini, it is still manageable. However, this year I went wild and planted 3 crook neck squash andRead More

My Favorite Alphabet SOUNDS Song

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I love the Sounds like Fun CD by Barbara Milne and have been singing these tunes to my children for over 19 years! The Alphabet Sounds Song by Barbara Milne is a nice quiet time or bed time song and is the first song that I use to introduce phonics to my children. When IRead More

How to Grow Hollyhocks

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My hollyhocks are finally starting to bloom. They line a fence that separates our backyard with the driveway to the back pasture. I find the driveway unattractive and like to block it from view. There is a foot path on the back-yard side of the fence, so I don’t have room for tall bushes andRead More

How to Remove Permanent Marker from Wood

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Permanent Marker Can be Removed with an Eraser! Don’t Believe me? I didn’t think you would, so I took pictures. On Saturday a permanent marker that had been left out in the sun leaked onto a table. A neighbor, who had stopped by and viewed what happened said, “You can’t wash it off, but youRead More

Menu Plan – Week of July 12th

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Last week I did not create a menu plan. That oversight, coupled with a busy week, meant that I ended up sending my teens to get take out TWICE last week. We go whole months with out eating out, so twice in one week is pretty shocking for our household. I am determined not toRead More

Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians

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Fifteen years ago my husband made a career change. When negotiating his salary he did not take into consideration the increase in living expenses of the new location. And while on paper it looked like he got a raise, in actuality he barely made enough for us to scrape by. Now I am not goingRead More

Gluten-Free Honey Cake

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I continue to play with alternative sweeteners. My favorite is brown rice syrup, with honey a close second.  Honey is sweeter than brown rice syrup, so you can use less of it in recipes, making it easier to create a balance between your wet and dry ingredients. The other advantage honey has is that IRead More

Powdered Cocoa Substitute

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I wonder how many of my posts are inspired by my need to compensate for a silly cooking mistake? This evening after I started making a Cola Cake, I realized that I did not have enough cocoa powder to frost the cake. You can’t just slap any frosting on a cola cake! Cola cake demandsRead More

Using Vinegar on Mildewed Towels

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This is a reprint of a previously published post. It seems appropriate to share it today as we are headed off to the lake and I may be using this tip soon. It is summer and in our house that means mildew. Somebody forgets a wet towel in a hot car or bunches it upRead More

Frugal Family Fun

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This morning when I woke up, I found that my husband had made all of the preparations for a family hike. We spent the late morning/early afternoon enjoying a pleasant hike around the Mount Rose Meadows. My kids were exhausted when we came home, so the teens and I watched the last episode of EurekaRead More

Being Flexible to Minimize Food Waste

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Each week I participate in Food Waste Friday hosted by The Frugal Girl. Monitoring my food waste, and documenting it with a picture, keeps me accountable and motivates me to remain vigilant in my goal to minimize, if not eliminate, food waste in my household. This week I had planned to serve asparagus on Sunday,Read More

The Cream of the Crop: Dairy Free Delights

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Zoe  at Z’s Cup of Tea is hosting this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free round up. This month’s theme is Cream of the Crop: Dairy Free Delights. I really appreciate this event as I have one child who is gluten intolerant, one who is lactose intolerant, and one who does not handle refinedRead More

100 Degrees of Miserable

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In my last post I said that spring had just arrived. Well, it didn’t like what it saw and headed for the hills. In less than 2 weeks we went from night time frosts to 100 degrees. This is hard not just on me and my handful of readers who politely listen to my whining,Read More

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

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The chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies are one of my childhood favorites! I usually enjoy baking for my family, but today it was 101 degrees and I did not feel like turning on the oven. Even on hot days, my children require a bit of sugar to keep them sweet, so I made these easyRead More

Food Stamp Challenge Week 4 and Menu Plan

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  For the month of June, I am participating in the Food Stamp Challenge hosted by Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate. Our challenge is to try to spend less on groceries than what our family would receive if we were to receive food stamps. The average family receives $101 per person. I also have aRead More

Hang On, Little Tomato

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Spring just arrived a week ago and we are not sure if summer is ever going to show up.  Our weather has had a very negative impact on my warm weather vegetables. Many of the plants are maturing slowly, but I am hopeful that there is enough time for them to produce before our firstRead More

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.