October 11, 2007

Gingerbread Pudding CakePreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, allspice and nutmeg in medium bowl; set aside. Beat 1/2 cup butter and sugar on medium speed in large bowl until creamy.

 

Aztec SauceCombine all ingredients in blender. Let stand several hours to allow flavors to mingle. Keep refrigerated. Serve with Mexican food. Is especially good as an appetizer with cocktail size frozen beef tacos.

 

Date Chocolate Chip BarsBring dates, water and baking soda to a boil; let cool. Then cream together shortening, sugar and eggs. Sift flour, salt and soda together and add to creamed mixture. Add date mixture.

 

Oysters CasinoParboil oysters in water. Combine chili sauce, ketchup and horseradish and heat over low heat. Place each warm parboiled oyster on half shell.

 

Barbecued Chicken with Honey Mustard GlazeCombine tomato sauce, oil juice, vinegar and spices to make marinade. Marinate halves or pieces of chicken in shallow dish with tomato sauce mixture for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.

 

Heat-Wave Jalapeno PoppersDon't be afraid to try these. They're fun and tasty.

 

Cheese Casserole (Microwave)Melt butter for 30 seconds. Add onion and heat uncovered 3 minutes or until tender. Add chilies, tomato sauce and salt. Heat uncovered for 6 minutes. Beat eggs and half and half and gradually add egg mixture to hot sauce mixture a little at a time.

 

AlmendradoSoak gelatin in cold water. Add boiling water to dissolve; cool mixture. Beat egg whites stiff, but not dry. Gradually add sugar and gelatin mixture alternately to egg whites.

 

Preparing Your Pond For WinterAs the air temperature cools, so does the temperature of the water in your pond. When average daily temperatures drop below 60-70º F, significant biological changes start to take place in aquatic plants and fish. Here are some tips for preparing your pond for winter.

 

Source for Old-Fashioned Cards and EcardsWant to send nice old-fashioned cards - either e-cards or paper ones? Go to www.doverpublishing.com. Right now they have great Halloween images!

 

One Cake, Two DessertsThe next time you trim a cake either to layer or to make a special character for a child's birthday, save the "trimmings". Use these to make a second dessert by placing cake trimmings in a bowl, then topping them with whipped cream or ice cream and fruit.

 

Grocery Shopping Tips To Save MoneyMy grocery shopping is always a chore. We used to spend two to three hundred dollars a week for a family of five. I resolved to cut that back now that I have only one kid at home.

 

Halloween Costume: GhoulteacherFor Halloween one year, I bought the ugliest dress I could find at the thrift store. It was a black sheath dress with yellow, white and gold shear collar and it was sleeveless. I wore black pantyhose and glued spiders and ants on the hose and dress.

 

Tips for Stretching CerealFor breakfast cereal, I try and stretch out the "good stuff" with some healthier stuff. For instance, I buy a box or bag of Fruity Pebble-type cereal. Once I put this into our rubbermaid type cereal container, I put in some Rice Krispies-type cereal.

 

Max And Mya (Daschund)Max (4) and Mya (3) are both dashhunds. I bought both of them about August 2007. For fun, they love running outside, and wrestling with each other. Love at first sight for these two!

 

Toothpaste for CleaningToothpaste is great for scuff marks, marker on flooring, brush marks on skidoo or on the visor of helmets even when someone bumps your car and leaves some of their paint on yours.

 

Use Nail Polish to Fix ZippersYou know those zippers you have (usually on jeans) that just don't want to stay up no matter what? Paint the zipper teeth with clear nail polish.

 

Keep Dirty Dishes Off Your Counter Until Wash TimeCatch those stray dishes between washes and keep your sink clean. I used a dish basin under my sink to catch the occasional plate/bowl/spoon between wash time.

 

Getting Pine Sap Off HandsWhile arranging some pine boughs in a vase as a centerpiece, I ended up with pine sap all over my hands. I tried soap, Dawn, scrubbed, and scrubbed, nothing worked - still sticky. I went upstairs and got some toothpaste. The pine sap was gone - no sticky!

 

Filly On A Foggy MorningThis picture was taken looking out my kitchen window on a foggy morning. It is a picture of our 3 year old filly in our front paddock with the sun rising and the fog around her! What a beautiful sight!

 

Make Hand Cream As A GiftA very inexpensive hand cream can be made with this recipe. I never buy any other kind anymore since I have made this. All items can be bought at the $1 store.

 

Use One Book Or Magazine For Weekly Menu PlanningI have quite a collection of cookbooks and cooking magazines. I love to look through them for menu ideas. Just recently, I decided that I would use just one book or magazine in planning the menu for the following week.

 

Uses for Plastic Trash Bins?I have collected oodles of plastic trash bins, bathroom, kitchen, some with lids, that people throw out on our base. It slays me to see these perfectly good items thrown away, not to mention the petroleum used to make them. Any ideas on how to create something from them?

 

Dog Became Aggressive After Having Puppies?My pitbull terrier has 4 week old pups. She growls at them if they want to nurse and she has shown her teeth to one of them. She has attacked another dog in my home after having the pups. She just is not herself anymore. I am thinking that her aggression will soon cause more damage, I am thinking of having her put down and raising the pups. Is this normal from the mother?

 

Inexpensive French Doors to Replace Sliding Glass Door?I am looking for inexpensive French doors to fit into sliding patio doors space?

 

Using Paper Pulp in a Mold?I've printed off and plan to use your instructions for making paper you can plant. I'm planning to use this for a project for my niece's wedding- here's my question-

 

Planting Flowers in the Shape of Letters?My volunteer garden club at our library are building a berm. It will be the center peice of a very large open area. I wanted to put flowers that make the shapes of letters when bunched together. This is a 3 part question #1 What would be used as a support since the berm will be on a high slant? #2 What is used to make the framing for the letters? #3 What would be the best low work flowers/plants to use to make the lettering stand out? If anyone has photos of or links to web pages that have photos it would help me the best. Thanks!

 

Best Window Cleaning Solution?What is the best cleaning solution for windows?