March 17, 2010

Hash Brown Potato CasseroleQuick and easy. Shred cheese and mix all ingredients together in baking dish. Cook 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

 

Marbled Easter CakeA moist delicious cake bursting with Spring.

 

Green Tomato PieRecipe for making a green tomato pie.

 

Asparagus Del MonicoHeat cream cheese and milk over low heat; stir until smooth. Stir in bleu cheese and onion salt. Serve over hot asparagus. Top with additional bleu cheese, if desired.<

 

Stir Fried Pork and Napa CabbageCut pork across the grain into 1/4 inch slices and then in to bite sized pieces. Stir together vinegar, salt, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl.

 

Fresh Strawberry PieBake pie shell; allow to cool. Clean enough berries to cover bottom of shell. In small pan, cook mashed berries, sugar and flour slowly, stirring occasionally. When mixture reaches a boil and begins to thicken, remove from heat; cool slightly.

 

Chocolate Chip PieEasy, easy and absolutely delicious! Everyone who tastes it asks for the recipe. So I am sharing.

 

Beef Spinach SaladCombine 1/2 cup dressing, soy sauce and sugar with cooled rice mixture. Blend well. Add roast beef and remaining dressing. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Add spinach, zucchini, celery and seeds just before serving.

 

Frugal OatmealMix together a large batch of instant oatmeal and scoop up a serving that costs only about a quarter a day.

 

Crunchy Cranberry SquaresMix oats, sugar, flour, and coconut. Cut in oleo until crumbly. Place 1/2 of mixture in 8x8x2 inch greased pan. Combine cranberry and lemon juice. Place on top of mixture.

 

Monkey CakeMy Grandson, Drake's 3rd birthday. He wanted a "monkey cake." So of course, Grandma had to make sure he got it!

 

Speed Up Tomato Growth with TableclothsInstead of spending $12 on a roll of red plastic to put around our tomato plants (to speed up growth) we purchased 2 red plastic tablecloths from a Dollar Store. They worked great!

 

Deter Fungal Disease on HouseplantsAdd one teaspoon of powdered Jell-O to the soil of houseplants. The gelatin helps the plants to retain moisture, the nitrogen in the gelatin increases plant growth, and the sugar feeds microbes in the soil making more nutrients for the plant.

 

Warning: Emails Instructing WinXP Users to Press F1Microsoft warns NOT to press the 'F1' key if you have WinXP. This is not a rumor, this is real!

 

Count Down to the End of SchoolTo count down the last ten days till school. How about trying ten toilet paper tubes. Fill the tubes with treats and prizes that they get to open each day. Set them in a spot and each day the child can open one.

 

Reuse the Plastic Bags You Already HaveEven though I try to use my own shopping bags when I shop, I still wind up with a lot of plastic bags. I recycle them periodically with the various stores, but I also use them myself. I line trash cans with them and use them for storage and organization of suitably sized items.

 

Peppermint Patty (Domestic Shorthair)Peppermint Patty is 5 years young. She is a domestic short hair, black and white, beauty and full of the devil. I saw her on the internet at a local rescue in Smyrna, DE.

 

A Frugal MindsetBeing frugal is definitely a mindset whether it is a decision made by economic necessity or concern for planet Earth and its inhabitants. My frugality is a bit of both.

 

Place a Rubber Band Around the ShampooPlace a rubber band around the top of your shampoo for easily tell the difference between your shampoo and conditioner while in the shower.

 

Renewing Blue Jeans ColorWhen my blue jeans become too faded, I add a teaspoon of Blue denim RIT dye to the wash load. The jeans come out looking renewed.

 

Craft: Baker's ApronThis is the first apron that I've ever made and yet have been sewing for over 40 years. Whenever I needed an apron, I would find one at a thrift shop or garage sale. I learned how to make it by watching tutorials on You Tube.

 

Patchwork SkirtShe cleaned out her closet and dusted off the sewing machine and came up with a skirt for the little one made of old jeans and t-shirts. She drew squares on the shirt and jeans and let her help cut it out and very quickly came up with the new outfit.

 

Grammar Tip: "Stationary" vs "Stationery"To know whether to use "stationary" or "stationery" in a sentence, use this simple mnemonic: STATIONERY is PAPER. The "er" ending is in both. That means the other one, STATIONARY, means you or some object isn't moving.

 

Extra Vanilla Enhances Brownie MixI wanted to make some brownies yesterday for a couple of my neighbors but just made them from a packaged mix. I decided to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mix and it was just enough to to give the brownies a nice, extra flavor.

 

Thumper (Pomeranian)Thumper. What a silly name! But we are told when he was a puppy he would wag his tail and it would thump on the floor. After rescuing him, we tried several different names but Thumper was the one he answered to.

 

Pom Pom Shamrock PinThis unique pin is easy enough for little ones to do. It would be a great classroom project.

 

Frugal Doggy Dental CareOur Hannah is the latest in the long line of dogs that have owned us over the years, and, at nearly four, has never had to have a dental cleaning and often gets compliments (even from the vet) on her pearly whites. Our others had great teeth too.

 

Embellish Inexpensive Greeting CardsEmbellish dollar store greeting cards with bargains from the scrapbook or discount stores. I find items on clearance (recently 3 packs for $1.00), that can really dress up a plain greeting card; bows, emblems, tiny gems, flowers, words, the choices are endless.

 

Starting a Food Storage SystemAs a young bride I went to the store weekly and bought what I thought I needed for the two of us, then the three, and the four of us. Toward the end of the week, we might or might not have, had much to eat.

 

Fabric Softener Sheet for Smelly ShoesTo freshen up smelly training shoes/sneakers, put a sheet of fabric softener in them overnight.

 

Use Wood Ashes for Clear DrainsTo keep your drains clear and your septic system working a little better, pour the very finest white or gray wood ashes from your fireplace or heater down the kitchen drain, the bathtub and sink drains, and even rinse some down the toilet from time to time.

 

Molly (Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd)Molly is a 3 month old half Great Pyrenees and (we think) half German Shepherd. We had been looking for a puppy for our 3 year old daughter for several weeks.

 

Fading Black and White Shirt?My son has a black shirt that is fading and I would like to bring it back to the bright black color. The only problem is that the shirt has white in it as well. I do not want the black to go into the white.Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Washing Black Clothing in Well Water?How do I stop my black cotton clothes from turning brown when I wash them? This is happening because I have well water.

 

Removing Stickers From a Door?How do I clean stickers off a wooden door painted with gloss paint?

 

Ideas for Birthday Party With Safari Theme?I need some good birthday ideas for my son's 7th birthday party. His cake is Bacugon, but the theme is "safari" because he loves animals. He and I just re-did his room with a safari theme. Please help it is this weekend.

 

Ink Stain on Wood Furniture?How do you get ink stains off of a wood desk without damaging the wood? With alcohol?

 

Making a Decoupage Tile Heat Resistant?I am attempting to make a teapot stand using a white square tile and a picture (of the Mad Hatter's Tea party) I downloaded from Google images. I glued the picture to the tile with PVC glue that dries clear and when dry I painted on another coat to protect the picture.

 

What Breed is My Dog?What kind of dog is Kitty?

 

New Cat Aggressive Towards Resident Cat?We just got a second cat. She is a nice kitty except that she attacks our resident cat, not playfully, she is serious. We introduced them carefully and try not to foster jealousy. The resident cat is a male and the new cat is a female. We are worried we may have to return her to the shelter.

 

Shutting Off the Water Line to an Ice Maker?The water line to our ice maker was shut off for a couple of weeks unknowingly and the ice maker stopped making ice. Will that cause damage to the ice maker and to the water valve for the ice maker?

 

Lightening Dark Eyebrows?How do I lighten my dark eyebrows at home, without a kit?

 

Removing Silicone Spray From Tile and Hardwood Floors?We had a gym set up in our downstairs tiled area. The man sprayed silicone spray on the weights so they move properly, but the spray has gone all over the tiled area and up our hardwood floor staircase. I've cleaned it twice and it's still very slippery.

 

Making Adjustable Yarn Necklaces?I want to make a 5 strand necklace, using ladder yarn with a big hole bead to to make it tighter. I believe you do a crochet stitch and knots. Is that correct?

 

Watering Plants That Have Been Wintered Indoors?I have some potted Asiatic Lilies that have been sitting in my basement all winter. I sat the pots out today (3/17/10) because it's about 65 degrees. The soil looks dry, when should I start watering them?

 

Keeping Bra Straps From Slipping?How do I keep bra straps from sliding off my shoulders?

 

Making Whipped Butter?I would like a good method for making whipped butter with olive oil.

 

Gears in Icemaker Not Turning Automatically?My ice maker makes ice, but will not spit it out without a slight turning of gears with a screwdriver to get the gears started. I have to take the front cover off of ice maker to do this.

 

Silk Plant Cleaner?Where can I find silk plant cleaner for indoor silk plants?

 

Painting a Kitchen With Mahogany Cabinets and Green Granite Countertops?Please help. I recently bought a condo. The kitchen is very small, but very nice. The cabinets are mahogany and the counter top is green granite, a beautiful light green with dark green waves of color and some rust or brown spots in it.

 

Making a Screen Door?This isn't really home Improvement, but store improvement. I work at a thrift store where 100% of our proceeds go to the shelter and we have shelter animals right at the store who are up for adoption (11 cats running around, never a dull moment).