Making Pancetta

So last night I got home and found that I had received my pink salt so I could start to make pancetta. With just a little bit of effort I was able to trim the pork belly and remove the skin. Then I just put on the cure and away I went. So in about 7 days it will be ready to hang and dry for two weeks and then I will have pancetta. The pork belly was the hardest thing to find really but now I have a source and I don't think I will have to worry about that anymore. Amazingly enough pork belly is only about $1.69 per lb. Infact the ingredients for the curing rub where probably more expensive then the meat itself. Well if all goes will I think I might shell out some funds for a good smoker and try my hand at that also.

Trying to get back in it

So this summer has been a little expensive for my taste. Its not anything like i took to many vacations, and in fact the few trips I have been on have been very inexpensive. Its just seemed like I have been spending to much. The good news is the fall is quickly approaching and I typically do the bulk of my saving in the fall and winter. Even though I have spend a little more then I would have liked I still reached my savings goals for the year. Next year will be a little more challenging but I think I should reach that goal. In fact I was talking to Dillon and explaining how I in the last 4 years have gotten out of debt and managed to catchup to my savings goals. That being said I think that in fact I think that the hardest years for meeting my savings goals are right in front of me. If I look at some of the things I will be spending money on in the next couple of years I see a number of hurdles to over come. So this is where I feel living a frugal life will start to come in to play. Dillon and I have been doing pretty good, she more then me, about restricting the amount of money we spend out now a days. I will have to start focusing on bring more lunches to work so that I can really maximize that savings. This also directly relates to how we shop. We are looking for more cost-effective recipes that use cheaper cuts of meat and shopping at farmers markets to get better deals on produce. It has all payed off and gotten us ahead to date. The biggest hurdle for me will be to curb my slush fund spending. It always seems to get me into trouble. If I want a Kitchenaid grinder attachment I simply buy it. This has been what has gotten me into trouble as of late. Not to say I haven't used it, oh I have, but did I really need to buy it? I think that those kind of purchases are my weakness but again I seem to always clean my act up in the fall so we will see.

The Busiest Bee

Wow so its been none stop for me over the last couple of months. I have been traveling and working none stop it feels like, which are good things. I think I am finally going to be settling back in to a routine finally though. Something I am currently looking at are buying a new place, starting a restaurant, and/or getting Dillon to agree to do traveling nursing a a couple of years. So a lot on the plate as of right now. This weekend was a pretty great on involving some golf, Olympics, shooting guns, making sausage, and just a good all around fun time. I am hoping that I will get to jot down some brain leakage over the next couple of weeks.