Our pellet stove is getting a real test out this week. With sub-zero temperatures (wind chills down to 20 below zero Fahrenheit) we’re quickly finding out how well our plan to lower our heating expenses is working out. When outside temperatures were in their mid-thirties we only had to turn on the pellet stove in the morning and late afternoon. We shut it down after midnight and booted it back up around 5AM. Now that the frigid winter temperatures are more consistently lower, we keep it running 24 hours a day all week long to heat our 1140 square foot living area. We shut it down once per week for an hour, to do a clean out. The ash has to be cleared out with a special soot vacuum.

The pellet stove is replacing our propane heating system (which we still keep filled to capacity as a back up). The pellet stove runs on electricity but we have a generator should the power fail. The pellet stove is cleaner and easier to maintain vs a wood stove, plus the pellet stove can be managed by a computerized thermostat system. We only need to fill up the hopper once at 5AM and once at night before we go to bed (around midnight).
Our winter heating costs this year went from burning 700 gallons of propane @$2.89 a gallon = $2023 to only two tons of pellets @$250 a ton = $500 total pellet heating costs. That’s a savings of $1523 which is more than enough to cover the initial cost of the pellet stove ($1200) and respective piping ($300). It’s like we’ve been heating our house this winter for free. Next winter we will feel the real savings in our wallets! (I’m certain by now and next year a gallon of propane will have risen substantially.)

When the outside temps were between 30F and 20F, our inside temperature was around 70F. Now that the temps outside are below zero, we’re able to maintain an indoor temp of 67F. The pellet stove is located in the front of the house, which means the back of the house, where the bedrooms are located are a bit chilly. We deal with that by sleeping under an electric blanket (electricity here is very cheap) with the setting set at the lowest possible number, which is ‘1’. We sleep toasty fine!


At the end of the year I thought I would tally up how much money we spent on food in 2021 as compared to how much we spent in 2020. The results were encouraging. We spent $1,280.70 or roughly about 17% less on food this past year (2021) than we did the previous year (2020). Despite the rising food costs due to inflation, we still managed to save on our grocery bill. I credit that accomplishment to buying mostly what’s on sale or as advertised as a weekly loss leader and by preparing ALL our meals from scratch and at home.

I’m back to making our own pizza dough from scratch, every Friday night only this time I make a few and freeze as many as I can. This way I save time and effort. The frozen pizza dough defrosts quickly and I can make any kind of pizza I want from there (i.e. spinach, veggie, Greek-style etc). My home made pizza dough, IMHO, is far superior to whatever they sell in those fast food joints!






As a wrap up for this day’s post, I’ll show a few photos of what we’ve been eating this past week. I seem to make a big pot of anything and then we eat the same thing for a few days. Luckily, we haven’t gotten bored or tired of eating this way. It’s been just too cold here at night to stand, chop and cook. Having something pre-pared seems to be working out quite well.
One of our neighbors gave us a smallish turkey that they had left over from Thanksgiving. Apparently they wanted it out of their freezer so on to our dinner table it went. I still had a package of frozen cranberries in my freezer, so I made a relish. Hubby made a gravy. We baked some potatoes and poured the gravy over everything. It may not look perfect but man-oh-man, it was delicious! I made a big pot of Tuscan Bean Soup with sausages. I had some organic milk that was on the verge of going sour, so I made a Big Mac ‘N Cheese casserole with it. I also tried my hand at baking a Martha Stewart coffee cake from scratch. It tasted great in the morning with a hot cup of coffee (once I put on the powdered sugar!)





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Hi Cindi, Ah! Free food is the best! Cooked sliced Turkey dipped in egg then bread crumbs browned makes the best Turkey fingers and shredded leg meat make great BBQ Tom sandwiches. Last week I baked up 12 huge meaty chicken legs, and sweet potatoes, brown rice in my convection oven, and used this to make 12 meals. I always select the plumpest legs in the case at .99/lb.
First partial month 24 days of my new LED light above the sink and Energy Star refrigerator and even with my Christmas tree lights my electric bill was $20 less only $36 dollars! Down 35% from 2020. My natural gas usage was down 16% from December 2020. I canāt wait to see what the savings is for a full month having these two new items.
My gasoline bill was cut in half being quarantined for two weeks because it took eight days for my negative Covid PCR test results. The local Urgent Care Center used national testing lab QDx lab which was featured on NBC Nightly news which is taking 8 days to get results. I now know to get tested at sites that are affiliated with local hospitals that have in house diagnostic labs. Live and learn. Sincerely, Lara
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Cindi, Can you simmer a pot of soup on the top or keep a kettle of hot water on the top of your stove? My neighbor does this constantly. Sincerely Lara
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Lara, that’s the first question I asked a pellet stove salesperson. The answer is N. I don’t know how your neighbor does that since the top of pellet stove don’t get too hot plus they usually have vents in them that emits the hot air. But still NOT hot enough to cook anything nor keep it warm. The pellet stove only emit heat out of the front, plus upper sides. That’s why they can be placed so close to interior walls….since they don’t heat up that way. Now, a WOOD stove is different. Those get hot enough to cook food on top of them or boil up some water for a cup of tea. If your neighbor is placing a pot over the top of a pellet stove she might be inhibiting the stove from working properly. She should speak with a professional when it comes to pellet stoves.
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Funny you should write this, I saw her yesterday and she has a special top with an open close vent with a metal ring to sit a teapot on or cook to humidifie the room. The manufacturer has closed but the Frireside store is still open where she got it. ISincerely, Lara
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Lara, you will discover that the more our economy falters, the more people will do stupid things. This guy tried to cook bacon on the top of his pellet stove. After 25 minutes, nothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V5_85nuZwQ. The pellet stove simply does not get that hot. Plus, putting water on top of the pellet stove is very, very dangerous. If it spills, your friend will find herself in a lot of trouble. Keep 911 on speed dial! Never get water on a hot pellet or wood stove. This will create steam, sure, but it can also crack cast iron or cause other issues with the heat source. She may wind up causing her house to go up in flames. For what? To save a few pennies from boiling water on the kitchen stove top. Idiotic!
Cooking on a pellet stove typically isn’t possible. Pellet stoves work differently to wood stoves and don’t absorb the heat through the body before releasing it out to the room. As a result, pellet stoves don’t usually get hot enough to be able to cook on.
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Your food, as usual, looks amazing! I love the variety of the pizza! YUM!
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Thanks Sharon. Nick is the chef!!!
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OMG ShopRite Can Can sell continues next week and what I need is all on sale! And beats Aldiās prices! Sincerely, Lara
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I know. I know. Looks like the sale is going to last for 4 weeks!!!!
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