August 18, 2009

Spicy Pork and Bean SaladPork and Beans with a zing. Put chopped onion, and bacon in fry pan cook till bacon is crisp.

 

Brunch SquaresA great versatile breakfast/brunch dish. With a unique crust, meat, cheese, and veggies. I can serve this with toast and fruit for a complete meal.

 

Coconut Pineapple CakeEasy! Mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, the liquid from the pineapple on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 of the pineapple. Stir well and pour into 9 x 13 glass pan.

 

Zucchini Macaroni SoupA very healthy, low fat and easy recipe that is ready in about 20 minutes. In soup pot, put all ingredients except the eggs. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil.

 

Pizza LasagnaI like pizza lasagna because it is a combination of pizza and lasagna. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking, brown and drain ground beef, sausage, and bacon. Crumble bacon in a large bowl.

 

Raisin BreadSpoon or pour flour into dry measuring cup. Level off and pour measured flour onto wax paper. Measure warm water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle or crumble in yeast; stir until dissolved.

 

Furoshiki: Japanese Wrapping ClothI have never heard of Furoshiki before and this is the absolute coolest! Not only is it a green way to wrap gifts (the cloth itself being an extra gift), but it can also be used as a purse/carrying case!

 

Recycled Cake PlateThis is my $2 fruit/cake plate that I made. However, the fruit is not usually scattered on the table, but I needed to show what it looked like without them, which by the way are fake.

 

Christmas Cake DecoratingThis is a photo of a Christmas Cake I made last year. It is a red cherry velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I made it not long after I had taken my first cake decorating class!

 

Garden: Fairy StatueThis is a pretty garden fairy that I just loved.

 

Add Veggies to Frozen PizzaJazz up inexpensive frozen pizza by adding a few left over salad veggies or some picked right from your garden. Place the pizza into the oven to begin cooking, while you chop up a few veggies.

 

Grapevine Hanging Bird BathThis is a cute way to make a bird bath or bird feeder using a grapevine wreath. Get a grapevine wreath and a shallow planter bottom that you put under the planter to hold water in.

 

Use Tomato Juice to Remove Mildew SmellsRemoving mildew smell from towels: Even, large, dark colored ones that can't be bleached. Soak the towels in 50% diluted tomato juice for two or three hours, run the wash cycle to be sure the towels are completely saturated, then rinse two or three times in cold water.

 

Use Newspaper for Weed ControlUse newspaper as an inexpensive alternative to weed-blocker fabric. Place your plants in the growing location, then lay sheets of newspaper around them and cover with a thin layer of topsoil or mulch to hold the newspaper down and hide it from view.

 

Computer Mouse PaperweightSomeone asked in the TF Newsletter how to re-use a broken computer mouse rather than send to the landfill, and I thought I should submit my answer as a craft tip, too.

 

Gray Water SystemHere in the desert southwest city of Tucson, Arizona our average rainfall is supposed to be about 12 inches with 7 of that falling in July, August, September, and October. But we have been in a drought, and so far we are way under in rain.

 

Vase as a Going Away GiftMy niece and her husband just sold their home and followed their dreams to Manhattan. Knowing her space would be limited, as a going away gift I gave her a kitchy little vase and told her husband to keep it filled with the fresh flowers.

 

Keeping Cool at NightRight now we are in the middle of a heat wave and the humidity is out of this world. Since I don't have air conditioning, the nights trying to sleep are pretty unbearable even with the fan on.

 

Measuring From a Pepper GrinderWe like to use the sea salt and pepper grinders that are found in the grocery stores, but when I had to measure for a recipe it was awkward. One day I came up with a very workable solution.

 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel PuppiesThese are Moses and Duchess' babies. Moses and Duchess are 5 years old. Their puppies were 8 weeks. They are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The Mama is from England and the Papa is from South Dakota.

 

Romeo (Black Cat)Romeo is a 2 year old domestic mix kitty. He was born in my daughter's basement, while we were finishing it (a remodel). He loved noise and power tools. As soon as he was big enough to walk, he was under our feet.

 

Freeze Chopped OnionsWhat to do with all those bulk onions? I almost always buy my onions in the 3 lb. bags, but used to end up on the losing end when half of them went bad. I've found a solution to that!

 

Craft: Recycled Jean ContainersI made these for my pre-teen. I took Rice a Roni boxes with the top half cut off. I used old jeans and glued the jean material around the boxes. I used Sharpie markers to write "Live, Laugh, Love."

 

Frugal and Safe Cell Phone ChargingWe have several cell phones in the house. We have a frugal and safe routine down. Two of the cell phones we charge in vehicles while we are on the road. That saves us electricity.

 

Ice Cubes to Limit Dog's Evening WaterIf you have a pet that still has accidents in the house, limit it's water by putting ice cubes in their water bowl after 6:00pm, so they don't feel they have to go to the bathroom every second. It works with my dog.

 

Use Photo Album to Organize ReceiptsI use a photo album to keep my receipts organized. I use the kind of album where I can add more sheets to it as needed. And each sheet has 3 slots in it.

 

Wildlife: Pileated WoodieThis is our resident pileated woodie who comes once a day to the feeder. A young one is also coming now.

 

Product Review: Windshield WonderYes this thing really works! I couldn't believe it. Doesn't streak, easy to use, and took less then 2 minutes to do the windshield. We bought ours at Target for $9.99 + tax.

 

Use Pringles Cans for StorageBesides making the solar hot dog cooker that I've seen on several sites, I use Pringles containers for storing the plastic bags we get from stores. Then, I have a portable dispenser for plastic bags to store in car, hunting and fishing gear, and for gardening.

 

Picking The Perfectly Ripe MelonHarvesting a sweet juicy melon straight out of the garden is one of summer's purest delights. Figuring out when a melon is perfect for the picking, however, takes experience and a bit of luck.

 

Use Recycled Plastic Bag as a "Glove"This idea may sound kind of silly, but I always reuse ziplock plastic bags after turning them inside out and squirting a little dish washing liquid in them and scrubbing them good inside and out.

 

Pin Toddler Outfits TogetherIf you have children at your home whose clothes are strung and strewed all over, crying because they aren't old enough to find something to wear themselves, here's a trick I learned from raising six kids; his, mine, and ours!

 

Chili Recipes?Can someone please give me a recipe for chili? Thanks.

 

Refrigerator Door Does Not Close Properly?My Kenmore refrigerator door does not close properly. It looks like the door has lowered a little. You can tell by the freezer door next to it which is higher up.

 

Pricing Heirlooms for Sale on eBay?As the only child of only children, all the family heirlooms have passed down to me, and I'm buried. I want to list items on eBay, but I'm concerned about knowing the value of an item before I set a starting bid or reserve for any of it.

 

Thinking of Moving to Greeneville Tennessee?My husband and I are tired of Northern Indiana. We are sick of the cold, cold winters and the boring landscape. We want to move to Tennessee. We are looking at a town called Greeneville.

 

Attracting Chipmunks into Yard?OK, I know most people want to repel them, but I want to know how to attract chipmunks into my yard. I have a huge yard with woods on 3 sides and lots of trees in the yard. I have tons of squirrels, some deer, foxes, moles, and even the occasional bobcat.

 

Dog Food Recipes for Dachshund?I would like to find recipes for making food for my Dachshund.

 

Reporting Contest Winnings to IRS?Does anyone know what the rules are about winning various contests in regards to reporting the winnings (whether cash or a prize) to the IRS? Is there a minimum amount allowed that you can win that you do not have to report and declare.

 

Removing Mold from Kitchen Cabinets?There are some mold or mildew growths on my sister's kitchen cabinets. Could someone tell us how to remove them and keep the mold from coming back?

 

Advice for Reestablishing Credit?I was wondering if anybody can me with some advice. If you have bad credit or no credit where can you order from and not have to pay anything until the order is received?

 

Making a Tinkerbell Costume?How can I make my daughter a Tinkerbell dress for Halloween?

 

Baked Low Fat Crispy Chicken Recipe?Seems I have tried baking chicken in all sort of ways, but never have come up with a low fat, crispy chicken recipe. Any ideas? Thanks and God Bless.

 

Children Around a Pregnant Dog?Is it okay if the kids hold our pregnant Shih Tzu? How should they do this without hurting the puppies?

 

Cleaning Cat's Ears?Can I use tee tree oil to clean my cats ears? He has this black stuff inside it, but I'm not sure what to do about it. All I have is Tea Tree oil.

 

Demolishing an Old House?What is the best way to dispose of an old house? The fire department will not burn the house down for us. The house is very old, in bad shape, and needs to be disposed of. Any suggestions would be appreciated.