Kitchen Tip: Use a Melon Baller!

 I needed to be precise the other day with measuring out cookies, especially after I made the dough and wondered how I could possibly get 30 cookies from that! (It only looked like enough for 10 of my regular cookies :)

My melon baller solved my problem.

I was able to measure out EXACTLY 30 cookies from the recipe and keep them all a similar size!

This post is linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesdays and Tiny Tip Tuesdays!

Wordless Wednesday: Last Week In Pictures: Nature

 Visit Create-With-Joy for more Wordless Wednesday!

Psa 104:19  He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

Frugal Photo Friday: Our Frugal Blessings

Frugal Photo Friday wouldn't be complete without a boy and his dog. He's giving her free Latin lessons! :)
She barks: Civis Romanus sum!
(Of course you are Abby.) 

We scored these headbands FREE this week at Kohl's! We had a $10 off $10 and the bands were $12, regularly. When I got to the check out she told me the bands were on sale. The total came to $8.40, so they were completely free. I was surprised that I didn't even have to pay taxes! Woo hoo!

Let's move along to the 'bath' section of FPF! This is a a shower curtain and towels that I made sometime back. The liner cost me about $5. I found the fabric on sale for $1 a yard that the curtain is made from. The decorative strips of fabric were in a discount bin for pennies, I just had to piece them together. The towels weren't quite so cheap, but they were cheaper than buying a pre-made.

The kids made sandwiches with my homemade bread for lunch one day this week and toasted it for jelly as a snack, one evening.

The Lord's blessings in reading material this week. Most of this was gifts or found in free bins. I think I have $3.50 total invested in this lot.

Oh and - the Acts and Facts magazines are free upon request from the Institute for Creation Research. I think they are great reading for science! :)

I spent one day last weekend refilling my homemade laundry soap jars. (I use Brandy's recipe with the exception of Fels Naptha, instead of Oil of Olay.)

And finally, we enjoyed recess and vitamin D in our own back yard!

Have you seen The Prudent Homemaker's Interview?

I'm not sure if this interview is new or a repost, but it looks new and I stumbled on it today. It's a great interview with Brandy, The Prudent Homemaker. 

I knew you would enjoy! :)

See the Dove?

 

Wordless Wednesday

Have you heard about "That Works for Me"?

If you haven't heard, it's a fantastic new e-book that is LOADED- and I mean FULLY LOADED- with some of the best tips available in blogland.
There are innumerable links to blogs with tips on every subject under the sun! And yes, there's even a tip of mine in there- woo hoo!

Topics in the book include; Beauty, Gardening, Decor, Blogging, Recipes, Homeschool, Cleaning, Marriage, Hospitality, Craft, Gift, Pets, and more! There are 187 pages of tips, links, and more.

Below is a short video that these two ladies have put together to give you a visual explanation of what you can find in their e-book:

We Are That Family (one of the writer/producers) of this e-book is giving away several copies!

You may also submit a tip to enter their $150 giveaway for a free house cleaning!

Check out Facebook to learn more!

You can purchase the book at the link below for $8!
Click here to visit wearethatfamily.

(*Disclaimer: the last link is an affiliate link.)

The Money Saving Mom's Budget...

Crystal Paine, Money Saving Mom, has a new and very inspiring book about 'budgeting'. I had the wonderful opportunity to hear the audio version for review. Listening to her made me feel as though she was right here, talking to me. I love when a book is read by the author!

The book is very inspiring and encouraging. And it doesn't go straight into dealing with money; it's really budgeting your whole life!

She gives very practical advice and she also shares many stories that give you a sense of hope, no matter how tight your circumstances may be. She shares numerous examples throughout the book that make you feel as though "if they can do it, so can we!"

Multiple subjects for budgeting your life are in her book; clutter, coupons, grocery shopping, setting goals, getting organized, how to cut expenses, issues with credit cards and how to avoid using them, planning for sales and bargains,and much more.

Be sure to enter her giveaway today!

"What I love about the audio edition of The Money Saving Mom'®s Budget is that I
can listen to it on the go - on my run, in the car, or while I'm folding laundry. AND ... I
love that it comes with the downloadable worksheets. I am able to work through those
while listening to Crystal speak. So helpful. Perfect for my busy schedule." --Anne,
blogger (and reformed budget breaker!)

Celebrate with Crystal by entering her iPad2 Giveaway (a GREAT tool to keep track of
your budget!) and RSVPing to the Live Webcast Event on 4/5!

One savvy winner will receive:

• A Brand new iPad2
• The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine, audio
  edition

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends
4/4/12. Winner will be announced at The Money Saving Mom's Live Webcast Event on 4/5.
Crystal will be hosting an evening of chat, laughter and encouragement - bring your
friends! She'll share tips and advice and her husband will be joining her to share how the
principles Crystal outlines in her book have dramatically impacted their family life.
She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, and
much more!



So grab your copy of The Money Saving Mom®'s Budget and join Crystal
and friends on the evening of April 5th for an evening of fun of learning, sharing and
encouragement.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP TODAY and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to
see you on the 5th!

Want more info about the MSM?

Click here!

Kitchen Tip:Get a Handle on Your Pots!

Do your pots and pans have a screw in the handle that secures them to the pot?

If so, it's a good idea to keep check on that little screw from time to time. 

They can gradually wiggle out over time and set you up for a really yucky accident!

How so?

Well, if they wiggle out enough they could come completely off, but not only that... they could come loose enough to weaken the strength of the handle and cause the plastic part of the handle to snap!

That could be a disaster if its full of something hot!

A little checking could prevent scalded feet and a big mess!

Be sure to visit Tammy's Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesdays!

Brandy Has Another Great New Article Up!

It's called:

EAT FOR LESS AND BUILD YOUR PANTRY AT THE SAME TIME

Don't miss the nice job she did with the pictures too!

This pic will take you to her main page:

Brandy Has Another Guest Post About Gardening...

Frugal Gardening: Weighing the Costs is the title of Brandy's latest guest post at Frugal Confessions.

It may be past gardening season in your area, but this article has some 'food for thought'.

Brandy gives several examples of prices of things from the store versus what she got from her own back yard.

You'll love it!

- looping meals throughout the week...

By Looping, I mean tying meals together, sorta.  :-)

When making out meal plans for the week, I look for ways to cut time off meal-prep. This leaves me more time to be creative sometimes, since it cuts cooking time.

For example:

On Monday, I might cook Penne with tomato sauce. I cook extra noodles, toss them in the fridge and use them on Wednesday for pasta salad.

(with broccoli , or roasted peppers, or with peas)

On Tuesday;

I might cook a pot of beans with cornbread-and all the Southern fixin's.

Later in the week, I will make chili or 'saucy beans' as a side, ...or even baked beans as a side.

I might even rinse, drain, and toss them in a salad!

(Or even Bean Dip for a snack. :)

Wednesday we might have fruit compote for dessert, then have the leftover compote over ice cream or plain cake on Friday, or maybe even over oatmeal for breakfast.

A big batch of cornbread on Tuesday (with those beans) may turn into homemade dressing with turkey on Saturday.

Leftover rice from stir fry on Thursday can be breakfast on Friday, or rice cakes at lunch or supper.

(Or they might stretch a Salmon Loaf or even a Meat Loaf.)

Leftover chopped tomatoes on tacos on Sunday gets tossed on the salad on Monday.

Stranger still, leftover pumpkin pie on Saturday turns into breakfast on Sunday. 

Fruit Crisps, the same way....and Fruit Pies!

*************LOOPING meals, Works for Me Wednesday!***********************

Brandy has another guest post.....

Be sure to check out Brandy, The Prudent Homemaker's latest guest post over at Blueberry Cottage.
It's full of all the questions (and answers) you've always wanted to ask!

If you're new to this site or to Brandy's, be sure to check out the guest post she did here last year called;
Christmas On A Zero Budget.

Keeping it simple...

I like to keep homemade pita bread around in ziplocs, for a quick snack or meal. They can be stuffed with just about anything! PB&J, tuna or chicken salad, butter and honey, leftover spaghetti or other pasta dish, leftover shredded meats, scrambled eggs and cheese, beans and cheese, beans and rice, taco fixings, sandwich fixings, steamed veggies, cheese and then heated, and just about anything else! ;-)

This time of year gets busy for our house. Home School is starting back up, we go walking several nights a week, and the winter prep for the garden has to be done as well. Keeping meals good and simple Works for Me!

A main meat dish, often prepared earlier in the day, easy sides, or refrigerator rolls (or butter-grilled leftover bread) all help to pull a fairly quick meal together.

Book It! Free Pizza 4 Homeschool Kids!

These came in the mail this week. There are 24 coupons in all for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut- for kids! I signed them all up HERE, several weeks ago so it may take a little time to get them, unless they are just now mailing them out before their official start date in October?!

I can't believe they gave me so many of them- perhaps they saw my list of six children and thought "she deserves a break today at Pizza Hut"! ;-)

These are great incentives for kids to read more in their spare time.

Mine are already asking; "whatta we gotta do to get 'em?"

What a great treat from Pizza Hut!

Check out more frugal tips on FrugalFridays

Brandy has a great new post....

Brandy has a wonderful new post with some great practical ideas!
Its called:
When You Need Food
Building Your Food Storage While You're Living On It.

Even if you are not working on a long-term food storage, her ideas are still very good for those who may be looking towards winter coming, or tighter financial times coming particularly around the holidays, or even if you are just looking for more frugal ways to get food for your family.

Also, she has added a "What's New" tab on her site. That way you can stop by anytime and know very quickly, what's new and where it is!
*****************************************

On a side note, along the lines of her post, be sure to check your local Free-cycle or LSN (local sales network) and maybe even the newspaper, for people posting ads offering free apples etc just for the picking! And consider posting a free 'wanted' add on those sites too, offering to come pick any fruit or garden food that may not be wanted or needed!

Link to a new post by Brandy...

Brandy did a great guest post last week called "Five Ways to Get More From Your Garden".

Brandy has taught me a lot about the importance of these principles.

I have now developed a habit of trying to set a little $$ aside, here and there, just to buy little "extras" for my garden. Recently, I had saved up $20. I went to Walmart and was able to buy 13 40lb bags of Organic Humus and Manure. This will be used as I begin to pull up different veggies that have run their course, and I begin to till and prepare the soil for a fall garden. It really does help!

I also love Brandy's tip about growing "up"! Its a great tip for frugality and for space! I put this into practice with my grapevines. They run on the chain link fence. I also heard that organic gardeners suggest this with things like cucumbers (as you see in Brandy's pic) because it helps with pest control. ..If you live in the country, I showed you my silly frugal tip here for a free trellis to run cukes. :-)

Be sure to check out ALL of her tips for getting more out of YOUR garden!!

A super cute site....

Here's a site with lots of cute ideas for LOTS of homemade goodies- from food to clothes!
She's also recently featured several links to different recipes found here!
Thought some of you might like to check it out for lots of great gift ideas!

Encouragement ....

I wanted to bring a new post from Brandy, The Prudent Homemaker, to your attention!
Encouragement is along the lines of my When Frugal's Not So Fun Anymore post.
Its written for those, who truly are in a struggle!

Brandy's home page has this comment on it:
This site is dedicated to all those who struggle to put food on the table.
Her new post, Encouragement, was written especially for those.

In this post, Brandy shares a little more personal testimony about some of the struggles that she's been through. Its a blessing to read them and see how she is able to find contentment, in spite of struggles!

I see trees of green- woo hoo!

Last year, we put in these trees. There are 2 Winesap, 2 peach, 1 plum, 1 cherry, 1 pear here and another towards the center of the yard, and we added a granny smith this year.

This year though- right now!- many of them already have fruit! Woo hoo!

God is so good- to bring them back from the brown of winter, make them green again, and give them fruit!

What are you grateful for this week? Please see visit Heavenly Homemaker's for more about Gratituesday!

Ok- WHY is there an army guy in the sink?

This Gratituesday, I'm grateful for: army guys in the sink!

This past weekend, my younger three children became quiet, so I stepped out of my dwelling (the kitchen) to see what they were up to. There they sat, so cute, on the couch whispering and giggling low and curled up with their notebooks! (Not enough school work guys?)

I wondered about the whispering and giggling but its not uncommon for them to sit and write stories and cut up about them.

I walked to the bathroom to find this:
Yeah, an army guy. Not that they are uncommon here, just that they are normally in the toy-box and not the bathroom sink, ya know?
"Ok, kids, WHY is the army guy in the sink?"
"Oh, we forgot about him."
"You forgot him? Well, why was he there in the first place?"
"Well, he got a little wet." (laughing)
"A little we huh? What- were you guys trying to baptize him or something?" (I question, thinking I'm the creative cute one.)
"Well, as a matter of fact...Joe the preacher (another army guy, uhmm chaplain?), was the preacher and Harvey (this army guy) wasn't saved...he had been out drinking root beer, and Joe went after him and told him he had to get saved and get baptized so he dunked him in the sink. Then he decided he wanted to swim around for a little while."
"Ohhhhh, ooookaaaayyyy."
******
Kids have a way of making you SO thankful for army guys in the sink, don't they?
...the story went on but I'm afraid the rest mandates the patience that only their own mother has ears for ;-).... like how Harvey can now smell sin!
-Too funny!-