Cinnamon Pear Fruit Leather

I got a 1/2 of tote of pears for free last week.  They are by no means pretty.  It was a lonely tree in front of our schools bus barn.  No spray, no love from anyone, but still produced a lot of edible pears.  And with pears, they all seem to ripen at once.  I'm only one woman.  Now that my husband has a FT job right now (YEA!), he can't help process all the wonderful fruits that the PNW provides.  I saw a recipe somewhere where I could use the oven to make fruit leather.  This is super super easy. 

1. Preheat oven to 170*. 
2. Peel & core pears.
3. Toss them into the food processor.
4. Add sugar & cinnamon to taste.
5. Pour pear sauce onto a silicone lined cookie sheet.
6. Lightly shake the sheet so the sauce is evenly distributive.
7. Bake for at least 4 hours (perhaps more)
8. About every hour or so turn & move (either up or down to the other rack) the cookie sheet.
9. Once cool & dry cut with pizza cutter.
10. Store in a plastic bag or enjoy right away.

I made about 5 tray fulls over the last few days.  My children have eaten all but 4 pieces!  Guess I'm making more!

Say What? Free Hair Cuts?

YES!  I cut my kids hair so this isn't really saving me money, but this could save me some time!  Starting on November 4th, and every Sunday thereafter you can get a FREE haircut for your kids at any JC Penny salon.  I’d still suggest making an appointment if at all possible. (Don't forget to leave a tip, too!)

BTW I did take advantage of their free hair cuts in August.  My oldest hair cut came out wonderful.  Dad took them, I was nervous.  I like my kids hair a certain way.  I was extremely happy when I saw him once I got home from work.  My youngest, unfortunately, who has never had a "professional" hair cut, would not even get in the seat.  He exclaimed "My mommy cut my hair!"  What can I say the kid's got taste!

My Famous Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe

OK Jen this one is for you!  I must really love you like a sister if I'm going to share with the world my famous chocolate zucchini bread recipe!  Remember this!  I can no longer take this bread to MoPs, because everyone will have the recipe.

BTW I shred my zucchini & prepackage them (3 Cups) & toss in the freezer for later use, usually during the winter months when I feel like baking.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 eggs

1 C oil

3 C grated zucchini

2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 C cocoa

1 C chopped pecans (optional)

1 C chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.  Beat eggs until foamy, add oil & sugar, mix well.  Add shreddred zucchini & vanilla.  Mix well.

Combine salt, flour, baking soda & powder, & cocoa separately.  Mix well then add to the previously mixed ingredients. 

Add chocolate chips & nuts.  Mix well again.

Spray 2 loaf baking pans w/Pam.  Split the batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake both loaves at the same time @ 325 for approx 60 mins - Makes 2 loaves.

I've got the skills to pay the bills ~ My Safeway deal

$27.02 OOP a 75% savings!

Seriously, I was only going to Safeway for the cheap creamer & BBQ sauce, but came across a few AWESOME deals.  This is the reason I add EVERY coupon to my card, you don't know when you'll be able to use.  Like the coupons for 7 packages of hot dogs that made me $1.25, which paid for my cube steak, or the Bailey coffee creamer which made me .52.  I was happy to pay $1.37 per package, but to make money is better. The other notable items were BBQ sauce for .24 each and spread for $1.  The chocolate was $1.50 no coupons needed!  Oh how I love the orange "50% off" or the green "75% off" stickers!

Sometimes I impress even myself.  I only had 4 paper coupons totalling $3.05 & 1 - $2 doubler.  The rest of the deductions came off my card.  Don't forget to add all the coupon to you card!

I seriously should've grown up in Ireland.

My mother calls me a dark Irish.  Dark brown hair & neon white skin.  Opalescent to be exact.  Except when we moved to the PNW, now a stay at home mom, my arms are tan, well tanner than "normal" compared to my legs.  My husband says that my freckles just morph into one big freckle during the summer.  Thanks babe, love ya too.   For a few brief months I look good.  I can shed my Irish genealogy & be seen in a tank top. 

In honor of my Irish ancestry I decided to grow potatoes in my garden this year.  Never grown them before, seriously the easiest thing to grow.  No wonder my ancestors have a knack for drinking, you don't have to do too much to potatoes, except water them & give them a nice mound of dirt to grow.

I planted, (like how I said I) two different kinds of potatoes: red & russets.  Went to the good ole feed store & bought potato seed.  Potato seeds are basically potatoes, but they don't have a growth retardant sprayed on them like the ones you find in the stores.  Cut them into pieces so each piece had two "eyes" & plopped them into the ground.  When the leaves are about 6 inches high mound dirt around them.  That's it folks.  Water them once a day & wait until the leaves die back before you dig them up.  Let the potatoes dry in the sun for a couples of days to get the skins hard.

Red

White

Pretty good for just one plant.  The big ones are on the smaller side.  Maybe 1/2 of the size you'd find in a Costco potato bag.  I still have about 24 more of each variety to go!  I know that I'll be putting up a bunch of potatoes this year.

How I nearly started a house fire by trying to be healthly.

I thought I'd try something new the other day making Kale chips.  I was over at our community garden & another gardener said I had to try this.  According to her "They are awesome.  I love making them."  OK.   Challenge accepted.  I should have rethought that decision. 

My first attempt was baking them in the toaster oven 400 degrees at 7 minutes.  No prob.  I went to check on it.  I opened the door and WHOOSH fire exploded.  I screamed & shut the door.  I nearly ripped the socket out trying to get that fire filled appliance out of the house. My children just sat there with their mouths open & watched.  Then talked for hours "How mom saved the house."   Yes kids, I'm Super Mom!

My second attempt was last night.  Nervously I decided to use the oven because it wasn't that hot.  First I cut the rib out of the kale.  Then I sliced pieces & put them on a baking sheet.  I sprayed them with Pam & add desired seasoning.  I'm kinda partial to course salt.

Before

After

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes.  Let rest & eat.  Seriously we, well actually it was mostly me, went through a dozen leaves just today.  They have a taste of a pumpkin seed.  Next year I'm going to have to grow some.  They're quite tasty.

Recipe: Hot Banana Pepper Mustard

I found this on a canning website & had to try this for my husband.  Our peppers are growing sporadically, so I had to get some of them put up.  I can't handle hot & spicy things, but this is mild with a sweet after taste.  My husband LOVED IT.  It is super easy.

I cut this recipe by 3/4 th.  There was no way I had 40 peppers. 

9-‎10 hot banana peppers

1 C yellow mustard

1 1/4 C sugar

1/4 C honey

1 C vinegar (they had apple cider)

1/4 tsp salt

3/8 C flour

1/4 C water (which I forgot to add).

Blend peppers until smooth. Pour into pot add all other ingredients except flour. Bring to hard boil. Whisk flour & water until smooth & pour into boiling mixture. Continue to boil for 5 mins. Process in water canner for 5-10 mins.  This made 3 of those little jelly jars & 2 bigger ones.  At least enough for a years worth.

Safeway Steal: 6 packages of cream cheese for .42

To be honest I haven't been posting my grocery deals.  It seems like prices are increasing daily, the price I'm paying currently is not my rock bottom price, but I may have to adjust for the never-ending price increases.  But I had to show you this dandy transaction I did today at Safeway.  Just remember a few things:

1. Everything was 50% off
2. I had NO coupons (oh the horror)
3. My children were acting like mental patients b/c the sugar from the FREE cookie hit their systems.
4. PTL I added the coupons from Just 4 U program

The cream cheese was originally $1.79 w/50% off =<.90>.  My Just 4 U price was .97.  If I do the math correctly 97-90=.07!  I guess that they don't take the Just 4 U price into consideration for the 50% off!  It worked in my favor.  This is why I add EVERY Safeway coupon to my card.  You never know when it will work in your favor.

The question you're probably asking is "Why did I buy 6?  What am I going to do with that many?"

1. Cream cheese freeze well.  Once it is thawed, mix it up b/c it does breaks apart.
2. I make a killer Chicken Parmesan Spinach Bundle.
3. I make a killer cheese cake.
4. Here is the recipe.

Thrifty Tip: Homemade garlic powder

Yea I know I can buy garlic powder at the store super cheap, but we're waiting to see if my husband will once again get onto the unemployment line (YIPPEE ~ sarcasm right there folks).  So needless to say that we're trying to save money EVERYWHERE. 

So we're looking at everything we eat or use that we can make ourselves.  What's the first thing you do when you wake up? OK second thing.  Eat breakfast.  I have a habit of having garlic toast for breakfast.  A nice crisp piece of sourdough bread with butter, garlic & onion powder with a diet Dr. Pepper is what gets me going in the morning.  I know I'm weird. 

While munchin down on my breakfast of champions I got a quiet moment to read the label.  Do you know what's in garlic powder?  Dehydrated garlic & some other stuff.  Guess what I did?  Yep.  Made garlic powder!

1. Get a garlic clove, double check to make sure that it has big cloves b/c it's easier to slice.
2. Peel & slice clove .
3. Dehydrate slices.
4. Once dehydrated, ground the heck out of the slices.  (I use our Magic Bullet, b/c grinding things into a pulp is the best thing it can do.)

 

Thrifty Tip: Regrowing celery

I don't know where I saw this thrifty tip, but I decided to try it out. You can grow new celery from an old stalk.  I cut the stalks about 2-3 inches from the bottom & re cut the bottom so water would be able to travel through the stalks.

Day 1

 Day 2

Day 3

 Day 4

 Day 5

Day 6

Look at how much it grew in just 6 days!  AMAZING!  Now I don't know if it will taste the same, but it is worth a try.  Nothing was added except water.  I may transplant it into my garden, now that it is warm here.  It's a great way to double your food by cutting your costs in half.  Try it out & tell me how it works for you.

I found the most amazing thing while digging in my mulch

I just have to laugh.  Look at what I found in my mulch!  A geranium!  Right next to it, an onion.  We tossed the geranium out a few months ago, they just don't make it through the winter in the PNW.  I was kinda sad, it was something that my husband's grandmother, who died recently, gave us.  Guess my mulch is just what it needed!

If you don't have a mulch pit yet, you gotta start!  It is wwwwaaaayyyy cheaper than buying mulch for your garden.  Just remember green/brown/green/brown.  A layer of green (veggies, green leaves etc)/a layer of brown (somthing that is already dead, dry leaves or dirt) then alternate.

Thrifty Tip: Starting your garden from seeds.

I know this is late, but I wanted to make sure that this trick worked.  Try it next year or when it is time to start your winter garden.

START YOUR SEEDS IN AN EGG SHELL!

I tried this will all my herbs.  I had heard it from a farmer's wife at MoPS, so if she found success with it, it must be good trick.  This first picture is my basil grown in the egg shell.  Look at how big the leaves are!  We have trimmed these guys at least 4-5 times & it's only June! 

All you need to do is save your egg shells after you use them.  Just make sure that you crack them close to the top or the upper middle, so you have enough room to fill it with dirt.  I washed them out with water and let them dry.  Then when I am ready to start my garden I added the mulch, my seeds & cover them with a little bit of dirt.  I put the shells back in the egg carton & watered them.  Then I put them in a clear tote in a sunny place and waited for them to grow.  I did put the lid on to help keep the temperature inside warm, it never seems to get warm enough here in the PNW during the early Spring.

When you are ready to plant them, just crack the bottom of the shell so you expose some dirt.  Be careful not to disrupt the roots.  I did crack the sides so it would be easier for the roots to break through.  I think I did at least 2 dozen like this with a variety of herbs.  The ones in the egg shells seem to be healthier & more robust. 

This picture is the basil I didn't grow in the egg shells.  They are still good, but not nearly as plentiful as the ones I grew in the shells.  I am guessing it has something to do with the calcium.  But don't hold me to it.  Try it & tell me what you think!  This is the first year we started most of our garden from seed.  Next year I think I will do this with all of our seeds. 

And remember these herbs are completely 100% organic.  I used nothing synthetic.  So if they don't look exactly like the ones in the grocery stores that's because they use all sort of stuff to make them looks more appealing.  Enjoy!

People who love camping must have some kind of disorder.

Yep you read that right.  Why would someone want to leave their comfortable house in order to sleep in the cold & hard ground & then say "IT"S FUN!"  REALLY?  Come on.  There's a reason why God gave us the idea of indoor plumbing. 

I took one for the family this weekend. We went camping.  I do it for my husband & kids.  That's it.  I'll last about a week if I have a shower & flushable toilets, otherwise I'm done within 2 days.  This was a 2 day trip.

Here's my top 5 list of why I hate camping:

5. Dirt. Everywhere.  Kids faces, in the tent, everywhere.

 

4. Sleeping on the ground is not what a late "30 something" should be doing,

especially if you want to be able to walk the next morning.

3.  The pesky chipmunk who was dive bombing our campsite trying to grab

 any scraps that fell from my kids plates or the food that they were actually trying to eat.

2.  Gnats.  When I die I'm going to ask God why he made gnats

 & why does it start with a "G".

1.  Bears.  Yes, both nights we had bears coming through the campground. 

The last night I heard him right next to our tent breathing.  That's how every bad "B" horror camping movie starts & I was living it.  YIPPEE.

Here's my top 5 list of why I kinda like camping:

5. My kids playing with each other & using their imagination.  Who knew sticks were more fun than transformers?

4. Getting away from all electronic devices.

3.  Getting out & teaching my kids about nature.

2. Enjoying God's wonderful gift of pristine land.  I never knew there could

be so many different colors of green & blue.

1.  Spending quality time with my family.  We found out that we like hiking,

even though my kids never stopped talking the entire time!

Next time, I think I'm going to make a reservation at the Best Western.

Sometimes I even shock myself, my trip to Winco!

Summer break will be here in a few short days.  I'm conflicted, I'm happy to have the lazy days of summer but the mom in me is freaking out!  Right now it's pouring rain & about 60 degrees, I'm not really seeing summer here in the PNW.  But in anticipation of summer I wanted to pick up some Kool-Aid & went by our local Winco today.  Boy, did I score!  I was ready to pay some, but not what I ended up paying. 

75 packets for $1.25!

Use the buy 10 get 5 free coupon found in the 5/6 SS (up to $1.25).  Winco sells the packets for .10 each.  For some reason the register gave me the full amount of the coupon $1.25 instead of .50.  I'm stocked up for summer!  My kids are stoked!

This is for you Ash K. Here's my cellulite!

I know a gal from MoPS who is funny.  I mean hilarious!  The kind of funny where you have to go to the bathroom before you read her posts because you know that something will happen.  She has a blog in which she seems to detail my entire life. How does she know that same thing is going on in my house?  I, too, have a husband who thinks showering every other day is the norm.  He's lucky if I get dinner on the table in a timely manner.  Side dishes?  Nope not tonight babe, SOL, maybe on Thanksgiving when we're over at my mom's house.  But, dare to dream that someday it will happen! 

She says things I wouldn't dare say.  Believe me, I can say some shocking things but she does it in a way that it makes me pee a little when I laugh.  Here is her latest posting.

You said that we're productive, so are you!  Raising 3 boys to be men of God is no easy task. Don't worry Ash, my family is one of THOSE families.  It's like trying to wrangle a herd of monkeys on crack & Red Bull.  So when I get something done, I'm excited about it & have to post it.  Sorry I won't be posting unflattering pictures of myself, there are sooo many it would be hard to choose. 

So here is my cellulite in word form:

1. I am forbidden to paint anything.  After the awful turquoise fiasco of 1999, I have been stripped of that privilege.
2. I have an awful sense of direction, I can't find myself out of a paper bag.
3. Decorate? Yea right, see #1.
4. Fashion?  I have NONE.  You're lucky if my shoes match my purse or you can't see my grannie panties.
5. I now know that there are at least 20 different kinds of farts each with their own names & descriptions, taught to me by my oldest.

Be happy in knowing that you posts are productive, informative & not to mention "Don't laugh or I might just pee" funny. 

Too many pee jokes?  Crap I've turned into my kids.  Keep the posts coming!

My Safeway trip $9.55

Yup I spent $9.55 for all of this.  With the Just4U prices & coupons everything was CHEAP!  First log onto Safeway.com & sign up and add your personalized deals to your card.  I would wait a few hours or even the next day before trying to use your deals.

Spinach was $2 each, use the $2 off coupon. 

Jack Daniel’s Barbeque Sauce on sale BOGO (2/$2.99)
Buy 2 Use $1/2 coupon from 5/20 RP insert

Tostitos (2/$5.00) use tear pad coupon $1/2

Best Food Mayo on sale $2.77
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/20 RP insert

Heinz Ketchup (32-36 oz) on sale $1.49 with weekly ad coupon or load it to your card 

Use $.25/1 coupon from 5/20 SS insert

The International Delight creamer, I got free just by contacting the company.  No coupons for milk & potato salad.  I really wish the IRS would give a tax deduction for buying milk.  Now to answer your question as to why I bought 5 bags of spinach, I cook it down & freeze it.  I'm going to try my hand at making raviolis.

Chicken Parmesan

I was in the mood for something different for dinner yesterday.  I scoured my recipe box and found this gem.  I never tried it before, so glad I tried it.  I was even more excited that I picked up a bunch of bagged spinach for free a while ago, cooked it down & froze it!

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

4 oz cream cheese

1 pkg thawed well drained chopped spinach

1 1/4 C mozzarella cheese divided

6 T grated Parmesan cheese divided

6 sm boneless skinless chicken breast pounded to 1/4inch thick

1 egg

10 crushed Ritz (or other kind) crackers

1 1/2 c spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 375*.  Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella cheese & 3 T of Parmesan cheese until well blended, spread evenly onto chicken breast.  Roll up tightly.

Beat egg in shallow bowl or pie plate.  Mix remaining 3 T Parmesan cheese and crumbs in separate shallow bowl or pie plate.  Dip chicken bundles in egg and roll in crumb mixture.  Place seam sides down, in 13x9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30 min.  Served topped with the spaghetti sauce & remaining 1/4 C mozzarella cheese.

I did everything but the spaghetti sauce & the swapped out 6 pieces of chicken with 4, but I did cut them in half.  It was delicious.  The chicken wasn't dried out at all.

Vintage canning tips

The internet is full of handy little tips!  Here is a site that I found that had canning tips from the 40's &  50's from Tipnut.com.  I'm still rather new at canning so I thought it was informative.  These are some of their tips:

1. When canning catsup, pour off the watery liquid on top of tomatoes after running through sieve. Your catsup will have a bright red appearance and cooking time will be cut in half.

5.To label jars of food, write on the jar while it is still hot with a bright colored crayon.

10. Make sauerkraut when the moon is new until the first quarter, and the juice will stay on until it is used.

11. That teaspoon off your metal measuring spoons makes a handy gadget for coring fresh pears for canning, salads or desserts. Cut pears in half and then run metal teaspoon around the core. Presto, out it comes in a jiffy!

This time of year my thoughts are turning to canning

From now until well into October my thoughts are on canning.  What things I will be canning?  Where did I find the best deals last year?  Do I need to can more than last year?  And the ever looming WHAT IS THE YIELD OF CANNED FOOD WILL I GET FROM FRESH FOOD?

This is my fourth year canning.  Each year I seemed to can more & more, due my my growing children & how confident of a canner I have become.  I have to admit, I love it when my children say that they like my canned food more than anyone elses (i.e. can food from the store or school).  I know it's prideful.  But it does this mom's heart good.  I was never raised canning so it took a while for me to come around.  I know it is extremely hard work, but I am so glad when I hear those little voices praising my food.

While perusing through the homesteading books, I came across this little gem of knowledge:

Oooh boy!  I wish I found this a couple of years ago.  Their figures seems to be a couple of quarts off from I remember I did, but it is a good "ballpark" number.

So if it seems like my posts are few & far between during the summer months, you know what I am doing!  I'll be keeping you updated on canning recipes & tips. 

An open letter to my gallbladder

Dear Gallbladder,

Wasn't I good to you?  Didn't I give you everything you needed?  A nice house, easy steady work, anything you can ask for?  Let's face it, you had a pretty cushy life.  Why, oh why, did you stage a revolt against me? 

Yes I know I sometimes ate like a twenty something male college student during rush week or a 5 year old who inhales everything from the pantry while his parents aren't looking, but come on  I was really nice to you.  But in the end you were evicted, you wreaked your havoc & were kicked out.  So long, goodbye, adios, au revior, and vale. . .

All I want to eat this:

But instead I eat this:

I want to eat this:

Now I have to choose this:

I was taking this to help:

 

Now I'm taking this:

I have won the war dear gallbladder.  Mint leaves made into tea helps digestion.  Hot or cold tea, it doesn't matter.  No more ingestion, heart burn, nothing.  It's natural.  Probably better than the sucrose (sugar) and calcium carbonate found in the over the counter stuff.  So long gallbladder.  It was fun while it lasted.

Michelle

My fabulous peach cobbler

This is my go-to recipe when I need to bring something to a party.  It is super easy & delicious! Peach cobbler. I have used the same recipe when other fruit is in season.

2 Quarts of peaches

1 tsp cinnamon

1 box of yellow cake mix
1/2 C softened butter
1 egg yolk

These ingredients are part of the recipe, but I don't put it in.  The cake mix is sweet enough by itself.

3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
2 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray baking dish.  Pour in peaches & add cinnamon.  Toss until coated.  Stir together cake mix, butter & egg yolk in separate bowl.  Sprinkle over peaches.  Bake 30 mins or until golden brown.

76% off @ Safeway today (& other deals I found)

So I had to go to town to today & was kid free so I took advantage of it BIG TIME!  First, I went to Franz Bakery outlet to pick up sourdough bread.  It's much cheaper than making right now so I stocked up.  Bread will freeze fine & we seem to go through a loaf a in week and a half.  Normally they are 3/$5.67 or $1.89 each GREAT PRICE!  But if you know where to look they have yesterday's bread on sale even cheaper 5/$6 or $1.20 each!  I grabbed all 6!  I spent $7.39.  You can go here to find your nearest Franz Outlet.  This location is pretty far out for me, so that's why I bought so many.  Gas is getting too expensive!

Second, I went to JC Penny's.  I have heard about their "Fair & Square" campaign, in addition they have clearance sales every 1st & 3rd Friday, so I wanted to give it a look over.  I wasn't too impressed.  I may have gone on a slow week, maybe during the summer months they might have a better selection.  I have heard from a friend that she got a ton of boys clothes for $2-$3 each.  That's my price!  They did have a lot of bigger boys shirts (14-16), but I did find this 3pc jammie set for next Christmas for $3.  So it wasn't a total waste of time.

Finally, the piece de resistance, Safeway.  I was only going in there to get a cookie for my youngest who has done exceptionally well at potty training, but ended up coming out with all of this.  (Lord, please bless the person who puts those wonderful 50% off stickers on everything, AMEN!)  This transaction is why my coupons will always be in my purse, you never know when you might need them.  The egg were free.  Check Safeway's website, their personal pricing just became available in my area & as a reward I got free eggs.  This transaction was $4.68: for 6 packages of yogurt $3.39 (14 cents each) and $1.29 milk. 

 

Now you've paid your taxes, go do something fun for FREE!

Hopefully you've paid your taxes, because they are due TODAY!  After writing that dreaded check, treat yourself & your family by doing something fun & FREE.  Visit a national park.  April 21-28th you can visit any national park for free in honor of Earth Day.  Go here to find a list.

Look what I found!

I should have titled this "Pay attention people to when the cashier hands you your receipt", but I am overjoyed right now I want to get this posted!  I just happen to look down at the floor of Safeway today & look what someone left.  A $10 OFF COUPON!  That's almost half of my weekly budget!  I asked around to see if I could find the owner, but no one claimed it.  I have many ideas on how to spend this gift.  What are your ideas on how I should spend it?  Should it be on a treat like ice cream, on staples like milk & cheese, or more long term like BOGO meat & laundry soap sale that is going on right now?

Homemade Furniture Oil

Most of us have hand-me-down furniture & I'm no exception.  I have this old square oak table that has been beaten to a pulp over the years.  Since I'm trying to go more natural with my cleaning products due to health concerns I researched furniture oil.  This is easy!

• 1 C olive oil
• 1/2 C lemon juice

My table was so dry it sucked up all the oil, but it looks much, much better.  It didn't cost that much either, I got a cheap bottle of olive oil at the Dollar Store!  I still have some left over.  Can't beat the price about $1.00 for everything! 

Before

After