August 14, 2008

Italian Minestrone SoupSaute onion, garlic, and celery leaves in olive oil until onions are clear, 5 to 10 minutes. Add chopped carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, wine, bay leaves, oregano and pepper. Simmer until carrots are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

 

European Vegetable PiePreheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place cottage cheese in the pie crust. In a heavy skillet over medium-low heat, cook the bacon pieces until they are almost crisp. Stir in onions and cook until transparent.

 

Arctic Salad SlicesCombine cream cheese and mayonnaise; stir in cranberry sauce and pineapple. Fold in whipped cream or Cool Whip. Freeze until firm, 6 hours or overnight.

 

Pot RoastRecipes for Pot Roast.

 

Tomato PastaTomatoes are in season and the prices are good. Here is a family favorite with fresh tomatoes. I simply call it Tomato Pasta. This is a great and yummy meal to prepare and serve quickly.

 

Use Shout Stain Remover For Your TubI have a very old house and the bath tub was nasty. I cleaned it with everything you could think of. Then one day it clicked to try Shout. It removes stains right and boy it cleaned that OLD nasty tub up and it looked new again. So from there, I started using Shout to clean everything around the house. It's Heaven-sent, I tell you.

 

Use Gladwear as a Microwave Pasta CookerAt a recipe site I subscribe to there has been a lot of discussion lately about the various pasta cookers that have been advertised. I use a 5 cup Gladwear container.

 

"Time Of Use" Electricity PlanWe are on a "Time-of-Use" plan for the electricity we use in our home. Our provider is Wisconsin Public Service. From 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. and 24 hours/day on Saturdays,Sundays, and holidays, we are charged $.0549/KWH.

 

Re-cover Chair Seats With Found FabricRecover chair seats (such as dining chairs) on the cheap by using alternative fabric sources such as curtains found at second hand/thrift stores or clearance fabric table covers or sheets found just about anywhere.

 

Take a Little Time Each Night to TidyLike most of us I am besieged by the clutter demon! However I find this does help a little. Every night before I go to bed I tidy up the living room/kitchen area.

 

Store Cilantro in Water to Keep LongerTo keep cilantro from wilting after you bring it home from the store, stand the bunch in a glass of water and stick it in the fridge. It will stay fresh for a week+. The same holds true for parsley.

 

If You Can't Recycle It, Freecycle ItI am very dedicated to recycling everything that I possibly can. It is now just my husband and myself, however, we have two extra large recycling bins and one small bin.

 

Score Your Car Tags To Avoid TheftTo keep your car tag registration sticker from being stolen. Clean the area where it goes well. Window cleaner works best because of the alcohol. After adhering the new one well, score (cut) it several times with a razor blade. Someone trying to steal it only gets bits and pieces instead of it coming off in one piece.

 

Unique Baby Shower IdeasInstead of the traditional games at a baby shower, the hostess introduced us to a representative from the Red Cross who instructed us on how to help a baby who is choking, and also how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation for a baby.

 

Growing A Vegetable Garden In PotsYes you can! This is a picture of my deck vegetable garden - all in pots. This is not my first year to do this, but this is the first time I have had so much (the squirrels usually dig up the seeds before they even get started).

 

Freeze Your Fresh CherriesI found myself with many cherries last week. After washing, I put them into snack size bags, and placed them into the freezer. Whenever anyone wanted cherries, they pulled a bag out, either waiting about 10 minutes, or slightly taking off the chill in the microwave.

 

Meet The Teacher NightIf your school has a "Meet the Teacher Night", this is a wonderful chance for your child to view their new classroom, learn where it is located, perhaps meet a few of their new classmates, and most importantly, get to actually meet the teacher while Mom and/or Dad are there to make them feel a bit more comfortable.

 

Product Review: Raid Flea KillerThis actually worked very well. I applied it very easily. I loved that there weren't any strong odors. but I still washed my hands afterwards to be safe. I checked a couple hours later to see if any fleas would jump on me in our basement and there weren't any. I would buy this product again.

 

Frugal Kitchen Tool: Rubber SpatulaOne of the most frugal tools in your kitchen is the rubber spatula. I use it when I have gravies, pasta sauce, etc. You would be shocked at the amounts of sauce, etc are left in the jar after pouring it out By using the rubber spatula you can clean out all the excess clinging to the can or jar. My husband even got him a set of rubber spatulas to clean out paint cans.

 

Use A Marble For The Very Last Of A Spray BottleWhen using a spray bottle and getting down to the bottom and you cant get the remaining product out. Just drop a marble in the bottle. You will be able to get out every last drop of the product through the sprayer.

 

Frugal Ways To Fill Your GardenHaving beautiful flower beds doesn't have to be just a dream. I have found many frugal ways to fill my gardens with perennials, bushes, and trees.

 

Use Your Old TV for a Security SystemI just have to tell you what we have done with our TV that will not be used after Feb. 2009. We bought a security system at Harbor Freight an now when someone comes to the driveway or the door we can see who it is in the TV set.

 

Use Clear Drinking Straws in Your African Violet's PotI repotted my African Violets. Those furry leaves are prone to damage if they rest on the pot rim. I noticed my mom runs tin foil around the rim, but it is unsightly. What I came up with was to use clear drinking straws!

 

Salt to Keep Drinks From Sticking to NapkinsEver have the paper napkin stick to the bottom of your glass while at a restaurant? Just sprinkle a small amount of salt on to the napkin when first receive your drink. The salt will cause the napkin to not stick to the glass.

 

Removing Garlic Smell From Jar Lid?I like to keep and reuse glass jars from food products for storage, crafts, etc. I recently used up the last of my bottled garlic and love the jar. The only problem is that the cap still smells strongly of garlic even after hand washing, several dishwasher cycles, soaking in white vinegar, and soaking in lemon juice. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of the smell? Thanks!

 

Corn Is Not Growing?We fertilized the field and planted corn. Only weeds are growing. Whats wrong?

 

Recipe For Sheepherders Salt?I am looking for a recipe for an old spice mix for seasoning. It was called Sheepherders Salt. Thank you.

 

Breakfast Casserole Using Ranch Dressing?I am trying to find a recipe for a Breakfast casserole with Ranch dressing in it. Thanks.

 

Weeping Cherry Has Small Leaves?I planted a weeping cherry tree a couple of months ago. Since then the leaves have not grown a bit. They are very small and they don't look healthy.

 

What is this plant? (Crown of Thorns?)Is anyone able to identify this plant for me? It is growing "like a weed"!

 

Keeping Birds from Eating Cherries?What can I use to keep birds from eating my cherries before I have a chance to taste them. I tried pie plates, flags, etc. (anything shines). Even me standing on the ladder in the middle of branches they come to have their meal. And I look like a scarecrow, mind you. I know you'll have an answer to this problem.

 

Riding Lawnmower Won't Stay Running?My 20hp Briggs lawnmower hunts up and down and won't idle. It needs choke to keep running. It happened suddenly after I finished mowing one day. Is the carb shot?

 

Homemade Pudding Recipes?We use to cook our own pudding a lot when I was a little girl. I know we started with cornstarch, but as the years pass the memories vanish. Could anyone tell me how to make homemade chocolate pudding?

 

Orange and Pearl Color Scheme In Kitchen?I just bought a small house and am having trouble decorating the kitchen. We want the kitchen to have some cozy color thus we looked for orange and pearl (for the cabinet) with black for the surfaces and edges. However, we do not know which color for the floor.

 

Removing Alcohol Stain On Credit Machine Screen?What can I use to get the cloudy spot of the screen of my credit machine? Rubbing Alcohol was accidentally spilled on it.