Heat wave

We recently had some super hot, sunshiney weather. While this was great for hitting the pool, or beaching it, my AC unit was struggling to keep up in the afternoons! In order to keep the heat to a minimum, and to save some energy dollars...I closed the curtains. I love to let light in, but with light comes heat. So after lunchtime each day, I closed all the curtains & blinds on the sunny side of the house. I also made a temporary curtain for a full glass door out of a dark fitted sheet. This made it shady...perfect for the napping children. I also noticed my AC did not have to run as continuously!

The County Dump

Check your county central recycling center for free items. For instance, today I got 2 desk/chair combo units with NO RUST, NO DENTS, and NO CHIPs for free - and there were several more, plus highback computer/desk chairs and other odd and end furnishings. I was told they were happy to pass the items on to those that would find them useful instead of having to destroy them -

Happy Hunting!

Pesto on the Cheap

If you buy all of your pesto ingredients at the grocery store to make homemade pesto, then you are going to pay premium price, but there is another way.

1 - grow the basil yourself. It costs $1 to buy a pack of basil seeds, and you can just put it in your flower bed and take care of it with the rest of your flowers, and you end up with way more basil than you and your neighborhood could ever use

2 - grow your own garlic. Buy a bulb from the grocery store, and plant a couple of the cloves (again, in your flowerbed) - look up specifics on drying and storage for your area so you don't get rotten garlic. One bulb produces roughly 15 cloves and each clove produces another bulb, so you may never have to actually purchase garlic again

3 - pine nuts. This is the toughy - you can do one of 2 things - buy them in bulk to save the moolah over time, or go find some pine cones and harvest them yourself. This can be done, but it is a little labor intensive. However if you have the time, go for it - make it a job for kids looking for something to do.

4 - Olive oil - unless you know how to press it yourself, just buy it, and get a good quality.



Put basil leaves (4 cups unshredded is a good place to start), 2 garlic cloves, and 2 tbsp pine nuts in a blender and blend for 20 seconds on pulse. Then, drizzle in the oil from the top of the blender (through the hole made for that purpose, not with the lid completely off) and pulse the blender at the same time until you reach the desired consistency. Easy smeasy - and you can vary it how you like: add in another herb, use a different nut, salt, pepper or cayenne for flavor, add parmesan cheese, etc, etc - have fun with it.

Guest Post - Soap Non-Slip

Hey, ladies. I'm going to share a totally stupid and purely accidental tip.

You know how, in the bathtub/shower, you always have a hard time keeping the soap in place? Well, I do. So you buy those stupid metal holders that rust or the plastic holders that get all gross and mildewy ...right?

All of you have long hair, I know because I know you :). So, spend $3.00, get yourself a dozen ponytail holders with the elastic no-slip grip on them, and put one on the shelf of your tub. Sit your soap on top of that...no-slip soap, no mildew, no rust.

Works like a charm. :)

Courtesy of Jodi

Thanks Jodi - MommyB

Shred cheese

My family loves shredded cheese. We use cheddar & mozzarella mostly. I usually buy the bag kind when it is on sale. But sometimes, the bag stuff will start getting moldy before we can use it all. It is nearly impossible to seperate it to be used. I recently found block cheese cheaper than the pre-shredded cheese. So, I broke out the cheese grater and got to work. I shredded into a large bowl, then divided the cheese into smaller portions to freeze. This way I can not waste cheese, and I don't eat the added cellulose- whatever that comes in the pre-shredded kind to keep it from sticking. I find that my frozen doesn't stick together, even without additives!

Homemade Febreeze

Homemade Febreeze

1 - spray bottle (usually about 22oz)
water to fill bottle to about 90% capacity
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 oz liquid poppouri (sp?)

Mix in spray bottle and enjoy!


**You may be able to add more baking soda, but I haven't tried this yet and I want to make sure it doesn't leave a powdery residue. 1 tbsp won't, but I'll try 2 next time. I want the additional odor absorbing power but not the residue. You could also use less or even no fragrance if you wish, depending on your preference. let me know how it goes


****Don't forget to write on your bottle what it contains******

Nutmeg

I'm going to assume that we are all familiar with the distinctive taste and smell of nutmeg. In the winter it reminds us of pumpkin pie, sweet potatoe pie (in the south anyway) and cinnamon buns. I personally don't use it very often, but I've found other wonderful uses for it such as homemade cake doughnuts, cream sauces, spice cakes and fruit based breads (ie banana, zucchini, etc) and muffins.

Ground nutmeg can be purchased at the dollar tree for $1, and it's fine for awhile, then you have to replace it because it does lose it's flavor. Well, I do something a little different that is worth it in both taste and money.

First of all, I have a nutmeg grater - these tools can be purchased anywhere from $1 to $40 depending on how fancy you want to get. I personally have a Microplane nutmeg grater that I got for about $5. And I buy whole nutmeg. Whole nutmeg is literally the whole nut - dried. You get about 10 in a little glass jar for about $3.50.

I have had my nutmeg for 2 years now and I'm still grating on the first nut (I'm about halfway through it). You see, when you grind your own nutmeg, you don't get the flavor loss issue because your whole nuts don't expire and each time you use it it's a fresh grate. It also takes less because fresh grated has more explosive flavor than powdered. The smell is also phenomenal, and has a subtle sweetness to it.

Come to think of it, I bet if most of you checked your kitchens, you probably have a nutmeg grater, or some variation of it in your home already, maybe as just a plain old box grater - one side of it has very tiny compacted protrusions that most people don't have a clue what to use it for - so use it for nutmeg.

But please don't tell me you've paid $40 for a nutmeg grater - that's just not a 'money saving mommies' thing to do :)

Homemade Pancake Syrup

A few months ago I posted "Homemade Pancakes", well, now I'm posting the syrup recipe to go along with it. I actually just finished making this for my family and they gobbled it up.

1 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

optional:
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup or 1/8 tsp maple extract
other flavoring as desired

Put the water, sugar and vanilla (and any other additive you chose) in a pot and boil rapidly while you make your pancakes. When your pancakes are done, so is the syrup (about 5 minutes of rapid boiling). It will be a little thin while hot, but will thicken when cooled. We actually prefer it hot though since the butter on the pancakes tends to cool them down. If you want it cooled - do the syrup before you do the pancakes so it has a couple of minutes to cool down before using.

Makes about a 1 1/2 cups syrup

Enjoy!

Make your own deodorant

This is taken from an online article in Health in High Heels.

I've been looking for good, healthy deodorant for a while now, but came to the conclusion I wasn't going to find one that I like for a good price and with a great smell that didn't let me smell...lol!

I have to say I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I definitely will be.

Here is what the woman wrote:

"Ok, the super simple recipe: Get out a little container. Mix in equal parts (I use about 1/3 cup each) cornstarch, baking soda, and coconut oil. Drop in two drops essential oil. Let it sit outside in the sun, on your heater, or melt it on the stove (gasp) by placing the container in a little hot water.

Stir it up, and if your coconut oil was solid at your room temperature, let it harden up and just scoop a little out to use it. If your coconut oil was liquid at your room temperature, you can put it in the frig and try to scoop a little out each day. If refrigerated, it tends to get too hard for my liking so I devised a Dixie cup applicator. Go to your mother's house and borrow a little Dixie cup from her bathroom dispenser. Then fill it with the mixed up liquid deodorant and let it harden in the frig. Tear the paper down and apply just like your stick deodorant. You'll likely have to store it in the frig during the summer. Play around with it to see what works best. If it melts and separates, just stir it up and refrigerate again."

If you try this please post a comment and let us know how it turned out and if you have any tips or hints for the everyone else. Can't wait to hear! Have fun & happy "cooking"!

Homemade Bagels

This is one of my very favorite recipes, and if you're really crafty, you can also make your own pizza bagel bites out of these (just make them much smaller). You could also wrap the dough around a hotdog prior to boiling for bagel dogs.


Bagels: Boil:
6 ½ cups bread flour 2 tablespoons baking soda
2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons yeast Topping:
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive) 1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar (I use honey) Other: poppy seed, sesame seed, salt
1 tablespoon salt (I use kosher)

*Combine bagel ingredients but only 4 cups of the flour in a bowl and stir until well combined
*Add in another cup of flour and stir (this should get pretty difficult, that’s normal)
*Turn dough out onto kneading surface (table, cutting board, etc)
*Knead dough while adding the last flour about ¼ cup at the time until the dough feels “as soft as a baby’s bottom” and is not sticky at all (it may take a little more or a little less flour, that’s okay)
*Oil a large bowl and put dough ball into it and roll it around to coat it. Cover with a warm damp towel and put in a corner to rise until doubled (about an hour). Then punch down
*Knead dough ball for just a couple of minutes to get the air bubbles out
*Cut or pull apart into 4oz sections (about the size of a small yellow onion)
*Working quickly, and doing one section to completion at a time . . . . .
*Roll under your palm on a kneading surface until the ball is smooth, then Poke a hole in the middle with your thumb and work the dough from the hole until it is the size of a small bagel with a slightly large hole then immediately place on a cookie sheet
*Boil Water in a pot with 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt
*Boil each bagel for 30 seconds on each side then remove promptly
*When all bagels are done boiling, brush them lightly (starting with the coldest first) with a raw egg that has been beaten in a bowl. (This will help the bagel get a brown chewy crust)
*If you care to add toppings such as kosher salt, poppy seed or sesame seed, do it now
*Bake at 400F until done (about 15-20 minutes)
*Allow to cool before cutting into

Olive Oil

I am always in the pursuit of personal care items that are more natural, and less, well, chemically-concocted. So, I was doing a little 'green' reading and came across an interesting idea - olive oil as a body moisturizer after bath instead of lotions (which are a myriad of chemicals anyway). So I tried it, and I love it (and no, I don't smell like and italian restaurant all day).

So, what you do is take a shower or bath, then, while your skin is wet (or in other words, before you towel off) rub a little olive oil in your wet skin. That's easy. How much? I use a dime sized amount for each arm and a quarter sized amount for each leg and my torso. Just rub it in well before you towel off and that's it.

I don't have to continuously remoisturize, there are no ashy elbows or knees, and the 'heavy' oily feeling (not really heavy, feels about the same as if I just slathered on lotion) only lasts about 5 minutes, then it's gone.

And yes, I use plain old olive oil like for cooking.

Stockpiling

This is a newer thought for me, and I mean stockpiling as being a more intense effort than 'stocking up'. Our economy is not better than it was just 6 months ago, and I have been thinking that it may be wise of me to create a stockpile in case of even more difficult times, especially since we are a single income family.

Creating a stockpile does not need to take up a ton of space nor a big investment. For our family, I plan to dedicate just $5 a week to creating our stockpile. I plan on placing the items in different places around the house, like in the back of closets or in other storage areas where the items will #1 be out of the way, and #2 not be used just as routine items. I also will list them items (like a log or an inventory) of where the items are, what they are, how many and the expiration date (so I can rotate items out seasonally and nothing goes bad).

As a side note, does anyone know how I can post any of my listing/recording keeping documents to share - I can't figure it out.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

I had to make Key Lime Pie today for supervisor lunch and I thought I had a can of sweetened condensed milk, but I was wrong. So, I went searching for a good substitute and this is what I found:

The best make-your-own version is to mix 1 cup of evaporated milk

with 1-1/4 cups of sugar in a saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar is

completely dissolved, and let cool. If you don't have evaporated milk on

hand either, you can make your own by slowly simmering any quantity

of milk in a pan until it reduced by 60%, and then adding the sugar.

This was easy and it worked really well - plus the evaporated milk is about 1/2 the price of the sweetened condensed per can.


*****let it steam for a little while so it can thicken - -about 10 minutes********

Homemade Mayonnaise

Yesterday we were going through a few things we would need at the grocery store and hubby mentioned we were out of mayo. I wrote it down on the list, but then remembered I had a recipe to make my own!

So, I decided to whip up a batch to save a few dollars! Plus, I love knowing exactly what is in my food!

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Mayonnaise (Yield: 2 cups)

1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika (I omitted this)
3 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used canola)

Put egg, salt, sugar, mustard, paprika & vinegar in blender. Cover & blend for a few seconds. With blender still running, add the oil very slowly. Blend until thick and smooth.

Note: you can substitute pasteurized egg substitute for raw egg for pregnant women or elderly persons.

Personal notes: This recipe turned out really well. It was a little tangy, so I think I'll play around with the vinegar and sugar. Next time I will use 2 tablespoons vinegar and add an extra teaspoon of sugar.

Hubby is pretty specific about his mayo and how his food tastes and he approved this, so it was success. No more buying mayo for me!!!

Playpen sheets

If you have small ones, then you have probably had a pack n' play, or some other brand of playpen. If you need to use sheets with them, as I do, you know how expensive this can get! I had 2 of the store bought sheets, but one of them got ruined. At $7 to $15 each, I didn't want to have to buy more. I rummaged in the linen closet and found an older child print twin size flat sheet that did not match anything. (You could even buy a new sheet or fabric, and this would still be cheaper than buying the packages ones!) This was just right to to turn into 4 new sheets for my playpens! I just used the old sheet to mark my sizes on the "new" fabric. Then I just copied the old sheet style to fold the corners & sewed them tight! It took me less than 1/2 hour to cut & sew it. Four new playpen sheets that are nice & tightfitting for nearly free!

Koolaid Cake

No, that's not a type-o. The cake mix most commonly on sale is yellow or plain, and Kool-aid packets (the little ones) are about 4 for $1. Well, if you want strawberry cake, or orange cake, lemon cake or even the lemon-lime flavor, just add a package of Koolaid mix to the cake (2 if you want a really intense flavor and color) during the mixing and bake as usual. The Koolaid mix doesn't alter your recipe because it adds no liquid and very, very little dry volume. If at first glance you say "but Kool-aid has artificial dyes," then I would encourage you to look at the flavored cake mix box - theirs are artificial too. Besides, you don't have to flavor every cake, just have a little fun with it.

Home Garden

A home garden can save you some $$$.


You can grow so many things, and can store some for the winter if you know how (or are willing to learn).
Share your seeds and /or seedlings with friends. (Thanks Mommy B!)
Reuse items. We are using an old trampoline enclosure for the trellis to our beans. Our tomato cages are being re-used from previous years. Some of the plants I bought were buy 1 get 1 free because I started them a little late for the season. Our weed blocker fabric wil be reused for probably 2 more years.
Fresh is best!
If you grow your own produce, you know exactly what has been done to it (important if you like all natural & organic goods), and can cost a lot less than at the grocery store.

The Washcloth

Here is an underestimated tool. Laugh all you like, but here me out. Have any of you ever purchased a pouf? You know one of those plastic fluffy shower scrubber things - well, if you look at them closely, they do not have protrusions to create a 'rough' surface that is needed for good exfoliation like the loofah has. The washcloth on the other hand, has tons of them, and since they are soft, they do less damage than the loofah - and all you have to do to make them work is, well, wet them, apply soap, use a little bit of pressure and a circular motion and then you have it - exfoliation. And I didn't even mention the fact that they are a wash a reuse item. The pouf is supposed to be replaced every 30 days (about $25 annually), and it's a massive germ magnet because it's not designed to be tossed in the washer on a regular basis.

Oh and by the way, you probably already have washcloths, so you don't actually have to buy anything, just use what you already have :) Reduce, reuse, recycle.

What's better than ice cream?

Why, free ice cream, of course!

Oh yes!!

Go check out the Walmart website and put in your zip code to make sure they are participating in Free Ice Cream Day. Then get your bottoms over to your Walmart on Saturday, May 30th between 11am and 4pm and enjoy!

Just don't miss it! It's Saturday, May 30th only!

coleslaw

This is actually pretty versatile. I make mine with shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, onion powder, salt, mayo, cider vinegar, sugar, salt and celery seed. Coleslaw is based on cabbage which is cheap, but also, since it is not a cooked food, you get the health benefit of both the green leafy cabbage and the orange carrot raw which keeps it's nutrients intact.

My basic recipe, and I do modify for fun pretty much every time

2 heads cabbage (any variety you like - or are given)
1-2 carrots (depending on how much you want in there)
2 cups may0
1/4 cup cider vinegar (you can try varieties here, could be fun)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp celery seed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder

Mix the mayo, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt and onion powder in a large bowl. taste it after you mix it to see if you need to make any changes because remember, this is the dressing and it's easire to modify before you put the slaw in it than after - trust me on this!!! After you get it right (and please writed down what you changed as you did it so you don't forget). Shred your cabbage and carrot and add it to the bowl and mix well. It's best if you refrigerate it for at least an hour so all the flavors can mix, but if you don't have the time, it will still be great.