Our local store had a buy one get two free sale on pints of strawberries. I could not resist the sale, but now I have to use up a lot of strawberries fast and I don’t want to make jam so I am going to make my daughter’s favorite salad: Strawberry Spinach Salad 1/2 lb.Read More
Fast, Inexpensive Do-It-Youself Composter
Make your own composter in under 30 minutes and under 30 dollars with this Home ECOnomics video. The composters that are demonstrated are easy to make and an improvement over my open pit composting. I happen to have the materials to make both of the composters in this video, so it will not cost meRead More
From Grilled Chicken to Pasta Salad
Day 1: Grilled Chicken, Creamy Garlic Pasta, and Garden Salad The secret to perfectly grilled chicken is to bake it! I put my chicken in a 13 x 9 pan and coat it with my favorite Italian dressing (Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian which I buy in bulk when it goes on sale) and bake atRead More
Create a Temporary Greenhouse Using a Plastic Drop Cloth and Recyled Milk Jugs
Last summer my husband made several raised beds for my garden. Instead of making the posts flush with the box, he extended them 1 -2 feet higher than the box, so I could attach chicken wire thus denying Peter, Benjamin, and friends their usual midnight snack. I enjoyed gardening last year and was soRead More
Mistress of the Obvious!
Stop the presses! This news just in: Refrigerating Fruit Keeps it Fresh Longer! I realize that this probably seems very obvious to some, maybe even most of you, but I just realized this last month. Until last month, I kept my fruit in baskets on the counter. My theory was that if my children hadRead More
Do It yourself With a Little Help From Mother Earth News
There is one online resource that has been especially helpful to me throughout the last year and that is Mother Earth News. I found it while searching online for information about perennial vegetables. I have since learned quite a bit about gardening, raising chickens, reusing “trash” and baking from reading their articles. I even learnedRead More
Depression Style Cooking
Many of my ideas for saving money come from stories of my parents and grandparents youth, so I really appreciated the web site Great Depression Cooking with Clara. The 93 year old Clara takes you step by step through the process of making nutritious meals inexpensively. While cooking, she offers anecdotes about the depression andRead More
Cost Per Serving Calculator
On Wednesdays I go through all of the grocery store ads and make my shopping list. Most of the time it is obvious which sale price on meat is the best bargain: whole chickens $0.67 a lb., boneless pork loin $0.99 a lb., etc. However, there are times when the decision is not so simple.Read More
Minimizing Paper Usage in the Kitchen
Last year I decided to go paperless in our kitchen and stopped buying paper towels and paper napkins. I pulled out the cloth napkins and put them on the counter. And most importantly, I introduced my family to kitchen towels. I purchased most of my napkins at after-holiday clearance sales. Some I made myself byRead More
Alternatives to Buying Bottled Water
Or Spending Money to Save Money The tap water in our area doesn’t taste very good. It is safe to drink, but it has a faint taste of chlorine. For a long time we bought 2 1/2 gallon jugs of water to use in our kitchen and cases of bottled water to take with usRead More
How to Make Dishwasher Detergent
I make my own dishwasher detergent because we have a septic tank and most dishwasher detergents contain bleach which is bad for septic tanks. Making my own dishwasher soap allows me to use septic safe ingredients in my detergent. An added benefit of making my own dishwasher detergent is that it is much more frugalRead More
Recycling and Reusing Items to Save Money
We used to live in an area where our waste collection company gave us 3 cans as part of our standard service: One for yard waste, one for recyclables, and one for garbage. When we moved to our present location the waste company asked if we wanted to go with the same plan as theRead More
Miracle Leftover Chili
I find an odd pleasure in making a meal out of seemingly unrelated items. One night a week I have “Miracle Leftover Night”. Miracle leftover night is always more of spontaneous event rather than my usual premeditated dinners. Since it is based on whatever I have leftover, it is somewhat different every time I make it..Read More
Water Saving Tips
The weather in our area varies wildly in the spring and fall. Every time it dips below freezing we have to turn off and drain our sprinklers. It is a time consuming process. It is also painful for me to watch all of the water being wasted as it is draining into the pasture. AfterRead More
Orange Chicken: From Crock Pot to Stir Fry
Day 1: Orange Chicken, Rice, and Glazed Carrots Orange Chicken1 whole chicken1 large orange, zested and juiced (save rinds)1/4 C orange juice1/2 C honey2 T soy sauce2 T chopped ginger root1T sesame seeds Place the rinds in the chicken cavity. Place the chicken in the slow cooker.Combine orange zest, orange juice, honey, soy sauce, andRead More
Premeditated Leftovers
Last summer, during the height of the fuel crisis, I like a lot of Americans started trying to find new ways to save money. Many of the ideas I came up with are not actually new, but things I learned from my parents and grandparents, but had not implemented in my own household because IRead More
