April 29, 2005

German HamburgersExtend your hamburger meat with a few additions for a deliciously seasoned patty.

 

Caramels (A Christmas Favorite)In heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add corn syrup and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cans Eagle Brand milk. Mix flour thoroughly with remaining milk; then add to corn syrup-sugar mixture.

 

Mashed Potato Ice Box RollsDissolve yeast in warm water. Combine yeast mixture, eggs, mashed potatoes, shortening, sugar, and salt. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add flour to make a soft dough and knead until smooth.

 

Recipe for AlfredoIn saucepan gradually mix broth into flour, garlic powder and pepper till smooth. Over medium heat, cook till mixture boils and thickens stirring constantly.

 

Jiffy Cherry SaladCombine graham crackers and melted butter. Press mixture into bottom of a 9" square pan.Reserve some for top. Cream sugar,cheese, and whipped cream and spread over crust. Pour cherries over top of mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate.

 

Chicken Veggie CasseroleIn a small pan, saute 1/3 stick margarine with the bell pepper, onions and celery, till onions are translucent. While hot, add velveeta and mayo, mix well.

 

Chicken Rosemary SaladThinly slice the celery and mix with the chicken in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, mix the mayo, sour cream and rosemary, mixing well. Pour dressing over chicken mix. Stir till all ingredients are well coated. Can serve immediately or chill for a later use.

 

Zucchini and Corn MedleyHeat bacon drippings in a large skillet. Add rest of ingredients; cover and cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or till zucchini is tender crisp. Stirring occasionally. Serves: 8-10

 

Cheap Tortilla DessertOne night after dinner my kids wanted something sweet. I did not have much on hand but a package of tortillas and a plain chocolate bar. So I made this cheap dessert...

 

Car Fluids on DrivewayWhen you car has leaked car fluids on the driveway, use cheap regular clay type cat litter to absorb the oil, etc. Leave over night and sweep away in the morning. If stain is still there, sprinkle with tide and scrub with a broom. Sweep up as much as possible, then hose down.

 

Freezer Containers For The WorkshopThe transparent Glad-Ware Soup/Salad containers make excellent storage boxes for anything from buttons to screws or staples or nails.

 

Pressing Cracker Type CrustsWhen making a cracker or cookie type crust for desserts, try sliding your hand into a plastic storage type bag and pressing the crust into the pan. Makes a lot less mess.

 

Sawdust Gutter for Your WorkshopA good use for old gutters, either wood or metal, is a debris gutter for the side of you work bench. Just attach it to the side of your work bench so that you can sweep debris and saw dust into it.

 

Twist Ties and Rubber BandsTwist ties work well for wrapping up power tool cords and keeping wires together. Rubber bands also have a variety of uses and are good to keep handy. Take an old bike inner tube and cut it into rings to make some heavy duty rubber bands.

 

Friends and OverspendingIf you tend to overspend when shopping with a certain friend, you might want to either go alone next time. Also, "just browsing" tends to lead to overspending. Think to yourself if you really need this item?

 

Saw Blades in Record Album CoversA good place to store saw blades is in unwanted record album covers. If you don't have any record albums just visit garage sales on Sunday when people are closing down their sale. You likely find someone will to give away some records.

 

Testing Dishes for Microwave SafetyTo determine whether or not a dish is microwave safe, put 1 cup water into a glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in the microwave in the dish being tested. Then microwave at high for 1 minute. If the dish being tested is warm and the water cool, the dish is unsafe.

 

Protecting Grapes from BirdsProtect your grapes from birds by inserting the grapes into a small paper bag and stapling at the top until ripe.

 

Organize Tools With Fishing Tackle BoxesFishing tackle boxes work great for keeping small power tools and their accessories and bits organized. Whenever I see fishing tackle box at a garage sale or rummage sale I grab it. You can uses stencils and spray paint to label the outside of the box.

 

Thoughtful "Thinking of You" Gift BasketI once saw a gift basket that made a lasting impression. Included in it were small inexpensive gifts thoughtfully put together. With each gift it had a tag saying "If you're feeling happy open me" or "If you're feeling depressed open me".

 

Grandmas - A Legacy of LoveWhen I was a child our family lived away from our Grandmother. She would occasionally visit and to tell the truth, I really don't have many good memories of her. She really wasn't very loving. All my other Grandparents were deceased. So I missed the love and security most children take for granted.

 

For Safety - Keep A Neat ShopA cluttered, sawdust-filled shop encourages accidents. Keep the floor around machines clear of obstructions that could trip you at a vulnerable moment.

 

Instead of FabreezeTake any liquid fabric softener and add about 1 cup to a 33 0z bottle of water. This works wonders on clothing, furniture, car, rugs, sheets, at a fraction of the price.

 

Putting On Perfume TipWhen putting on perfume/cologne, place on back of knees and wrist, as the scent drifts upward you can smell it. If you put it on your neck, no one can smell it.

 

Storage for Brooms and MopsBrooms and mops left standing on their bristles or heads wear out sooner. It is worth the investment to buy a plastic hanging storage piece for them. By Robin

 

A Peg Board To Organize a WorkshopThe best way to organize a workshop is to use a peg board. After you hang an item on the peg board, draw a line around it, that way you won't have to guess what goes where once everything has a place.

 

Cell Phone Numbers Being ReleasedCell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you may start to receive sales calls. Call this number from your cell phone 888-382-2220 or register on line at http://www.donotcall.gov. It is the Federal Trade Commission nation Do Not Call list.

 

Reuse Rolodex CardsWhen you have used ink on rolodex cards and the infomation is outdated, you can use a label sticker to cover the old information.

 

Work Bench Towel BarI attached a towel bar to the side of my husband's work bench in the garage. This saves him from wasting paper towels and it saves my "good" bathroom towels.

 

The Best Two Hours A Day I've Ever SpentNew Moms Need Help too!! And who could resist two hours of cuddling a new Granddaughter to give Mom a break. Is this not a doll?

 

Attach Jars to Your ShelvesWhen you have loads of small things to store in your shed or workshop, such as nails, screws, etc, here's a cool tip:

 

Buying GingerBefore I bought the spice Ginger, I wanted to try it. It costs $3.59 for the small jar! The produce manager suggested to break off a piece of the "root" and try that! I bought a piece about the size of a finger for 12 cents! Twice the amount I needed for my recipe!

 

Avoiding Workbench ClutterKeep a garbage can right by your workbench to keep debris from cluttering up your work area. If you have more than one work area put a trash can next to each.

 

Looking Through Small ItemsWhen looking for a small nail, screw, button. pin, etc, in your can or jar of misfits and/or left-overs, be sure to dump them on newspaper, typing paper, or magazine.

 

Storing Items In Baby Food JarsBaby food jars are great for storing small nails, screws and other items so that they are easy to see. You can put the jars in a old spice race to keep them together.

 

Storing SandpaperStore your sandpaper in a three ring binder. Just uses some pocket folders to keep the sandpaper organized by different grits in the binder. Label the binding of the three ring binder "Sandpaper" so that it's easy to see when sitting on shelf.

 

Hanging ToolsIf you enough wall space, hang shovels and other garden tools upside down on your walls. For smaller tools you can get a peg board that you can mount on your wall and fit with a variety of pegs and hooks and store tools that you need to have handy.

 

Make a Medical JournalGet a regular journal or spiral notebook, and make a medical journal out of it. Write down any of the past sicknesses in the family and bring it with you when going to the doctor's.

 

New Exercising ProgramThis is a wonderful exercise for older people. I just came across this exercise suggested for seniors, to build muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, so I thought I'd pass it on to some of my friends and family. The article suggested doing it three days a week.

 

Ice (Siberian Husky)This is my 6 month old Siberian Husky puppy, Ice. We got her as a 6-week-old puppy-the mother dog had run out of milk when the puppies were only 4-weeks-old.

 

Well Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs?We recently had a new well driven and the water smells like eggs. Does anyone know what is causing this and if it's OK to drink?

 

Shrinky Dink Instructions Needed?I was recently given a pack of Shrinky Dink plastic sheets. Unfortunately, the pack is a "refill", which means the instructions for how to use them are not on the package. Anyone know what types of markers work with Shrinky Dinks, and what temperature they should be baked at?

 

Freezing Tortillas?Tips for freezing tortillas, post your ideas.

 

How to Unstick Marshmallows?My daughter is doing a very "untraditional" thing at her reception. Instead of throwing rice or blowing bubbles she wants to throw mini marshmallows, I think it will be cute but the marshmallows I have bought are starting to get sticky. Any suggestions as to how to "unstick" them so we can put them in tulle bags?

 

Saving Money on Bottled Water?I buy bottled water due to the tap water not tasting too great but I am wondering about a cheaper way to have good tasting water, I have looked into filters and it just seems like no matter what way I look, it costs me money. I have been all over this site looking for ideas?

 

Passed Over For a Job, Need Ideas To Cheer Hubby Up?Hey everybody, my poor husband is so exhausted from working 2 jobs lately. He works full-time at Coca-Cola (5:30 a.m. to 4:00 pm) and then goes straight to work at Home Depot and works til' closing there. I need to think of something really nice to do for him today before he gets home... to cheer him up. He works his tail off and deserves a reward. My mind is blank.

 

Cleaning Greasy Employee Clothes?I work in fast food, my shirts are always greasy and smelly when i get home from work everynight. I need some suggestions on how to tackle this problem. I have tried everything that I could think of

 

Breaded Zucchini?In visiting a restaurant I had zucchini breaded with some crumbs. How could i fix this at my home?