Did You Know?

I love the foamy hand soap at Bath and Body Works but I don't like the price. Unless it is crazy on sale, I won't buy it.  While I do like the scents, I also really like the foam.  It seems to be easier to spread around your hands and there's far less globs of soap left in the sink after the kids get done with handwashing.

Did you know that you can make any liqued hand soap foamy?  It is the containter that makes it foamy, not the soap.  If you look closely at the foam soap container, you will see there's a little well before the nozzle that has a spring mechanism in it. Apparentently it is this that foams up the soap.



While these two soaps are Bath and Body Works, you can use any liqued soap and get the same effect.  I bought a yummy vanilla soap at the Dollar Store that I will put in another foam dispenser as soon as the original soap is gone.

So save those foamy soap dispensers so you can reuse them!





Spool Book Shelf

Another great idea from "Design Spounge" is this bookshelf made from a discarded wooden spool. I'd love to have this in my spare room where the grandkids stay but have no clue where to find one of these spools. If anyone has a lead on one, please let me know.

Dresser ReDo

You know I love to reuse and repurpose. I found this great idea for redoing an old dresser on "Design Spounge" (one of my favorite sites for design inspiration.  I love how just adding the legs really makes this totally new piece. Amazing!

Before and After Cabinet

Children in the Techno Age

This video exemplifies what I've observed about how children born within the last few years will expect media to work. I am both amazed and saddened; our current "babies" (less than 4) will be so amazingly tech savvy. I think that is awesome. But, on the other hand, it is encumbant on us to educate them of the "old ways" as well.

Popcorn Recipe Book

In Sunday's paper there was an ad for The Popcorn Factory. We don't have a retailer here (I only remember one years ago at the Glendale Galleria). I thought about sending a tin of popcorn to the grandkids for a gift. When I looked on the site, I found their prices are pretty high ($39.99 + $9 for shipping).

A quick search online led me to the Popcorn.org website. It seems to be the definative site for all things popcorn!  They provide a free pdf popcorn recipe book, found here: Popcorn Recipes.  Who knew you could do so many things with popcorn?! Some of them seem a little out there (creme brulee with popcorn topping; popcorn and mushroom crusted tilapia; coconut popcorn crunch pie) but others sound yummy (caramel almond popcorn clusters; bacon and cheese popcorn; easy carmel corn).

Later I'm going to try the Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn. (I'll post pictures and details).  I also think I will make Timothy some Brown Sugar Lollipops for his birthday.

Freebies, Coupons, and Coupon Code Websites

I LOVE to get stuff for free! I troll sites for free samples because I like trying out new products. I get samples that I use for my travel bag (shampoo, conditioner, tooth paste, body wash) or I use to stock a basket of supplies in my guest room.  There's alot of places on the internet that list these but here's a few of my favorites:

Wal Mart Free Samples: These change pretty often so check back frequently.
Buxr Freebies: This is a great site! They not only have lots of freebies but also have fantastic deals (under the coupons tab).
Absurdly Cool: Lists lots of freebies and good deals.

I NEVER pay full price when I buy online!  There are so many sites that list coupons and codes. Here's some of my favorites:

Deal News: I look under the "Editor's Choice" tab. They too list freebies but also coupon codes and fantastic sales. I found the code on here for my Droid that enabled me to get it for free when the Verizon site was charging $200 for it!
Pinching Your Pennies: This site offers some freebie links too but lists alot of sales and coupon codes.
Crazy About Deals: Another site that lists freebies, coupons and sales.
Mommy Saves Big: More freebies, coupons and sales.
Coupon Dork: First, love the name!  This site starts with a pull down menu that you select the store you are looking for (for example, Target) and it lists coupons and free shipping codes.
Just Rebates: A big list of current rebate offers.
All You: The magazine All You lists a wide array of coupons and free samples.
Coupon Cravings: Does what it says! Coupons!
Retail Me Not: Coupons and codes. This is definately one of my "go to" sites when I find something I want online. They usually have a code that enables discounts and/or free shipping.

Finally, Ebates!  Before I buy anything online, I check to see if they participate with Ebates. To use, set up an account with Ebates (for free: use my awanadalla@verizon.net as a referral and I get $5 credit for referring you). Then look for the online store you want to place your order. Click on the store and you will be transferred there through Ebates. Each store has a varying ebate (between 2% for Walmart, up to 26% for Magazines.com). Ebates will then send you a quarterly check for your rebates.  It my not seem like alot but it adds up. I've received $240 in rebates since I joined the site in 2008: Not going to get rich off it but it's still money!

I find Ebates the best for magazines subscriptions. Especially during the holidays, magazines go on sale. The sale, along with the rebate, allows me to get some great deals on magazines (like Cosmo for $9.00 a year subscription). Great gifts!

I know Shana has some favorite freebie and coupon sites as well. Shana, please feel free to share your links in the comments.

Happy Savings Time!

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

I've made crockpot mac and cheese for so long that I don't have a written recipe. But as per Jenn's request, here it is!

• 1 box of macaroni (elbow, rontoni, riggatoni: whatever you like)
• 12ounces of grated sharp cheese (1.5 blocks). While I prefer sharp or extra sharp, I will use whatever I have on hand.
• 4 ounces of cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 t powdered mustard (if you have it. If not, you can make without. I just like the little bit of spiceness this gives).
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 4 T butter or margerine
• 20 ounces of milk (or more)

Cook the noodles as instructed on the box - except cook for 2 minutes less. This helps so the cooked mac and cheese isn't major mushy.  Dump into greased crock pot. Turn on low.

Add all ingredients, except milk, and mix.  Once that is done, pour in enough milk to bring to the top of the noodles and cheese. Stir a little, cover, and let it cook.

Check this in two hours.  Stir and add more milk as needed. You will want to keep the milk pretty high early on. As it cooks, the noodles absorb the milk and it thickens up. Once it starts to thicken up, check back every hour or so to make sure it isn't getting mushy or dried out.

The time needed for this really depends on your crockpot. In some of my crockpots (I have 5!) it takes 4 hours; in others it takes more like 6. 

Yummy, yummy!  Enjoy this Jenn and let me know how it comes out for you.

Homemade Canned Salsa Recipe

Yesterday I stopped by my favorite farmer's market Oak Grove Farms. If you haven't been, it is located off Williams Grove Road in Mechanicsburg. They have amazing produce: All locally grown and incredibly fresh. Their prices aren't much higher than the regular grocery store and you can't beat the taste!

At this time of year they always have boxes of "seconds": Fruits and veggies that need to be used up in short order before they go bad. I always get tomatoes there for canning. Yesterday I got a big box of tomatoes and peppers for only $8.50!

 

I loved the mix of tomatoes and peppers.  So many flavors! (I still have 1/4 box of roma tomatoes and a gallon bag of peppers, even after making all this salsa)!

Here's the recipe:

Tomatoes- 20 cups peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes, which takes about about 8 lbs (yes, quite a few - you remove the skins, seeds and a lot of the water, so it takes a lot to start.)

6 cups seeded, chopped chile peppers (about 2 lbs worth - less if you want a milder salsa)

1/2 cup seeded, chopped jalapeno peppers

5 cups chopped red onions (I used 4: didn't really measure them)

1 head of garlic, finely chopped

1.5 cups cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 tablespoon oregano leaves

1/2 cup fresh cilantro*

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 t chili powder

1 18 oz can of tomato paste

Remove tomatoe skins by dropping cored tomatoes into boiling water. Let them in the water for 3-4 minutes then scoop out and drop into ice water. This process allows you to remove the skins quickly and easily.

Once the tomatoes are skinned, squeeze out the seeds and liquidy insides.  Because I wanted to can this salsa, this step is important. If you don't remove the liquid, the end result of the salsa will be really watery. Chop up the tomatoes and dump into a big enamel pot, turned on medium heat.

I then chopped up the peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro in the food processer, which I added to the tomatoes. Add the spices as well. By this time, the mixture was starting to heat up and there was some liqued in the bottom of the pot. I scooped out about a cup or so and put in the food processor along with the tomatoe past. I whipped this up (just so it would be well blended) and put back into the tomato mixture.

I add the tomato paste because it helps make the salsa thicker. When you heat the salsa during the canning process, it draws the water out of the tomatoes. Eventhough you think you got alot of water out of the tomatoes, they still have a high water content.

I let this mixture cook on the stove for about 10 minutes. You don't need to cook this all that long as the canning process will do that for you.  (Once I got all the ingredients into the salsa pot, I filled up my canning pot and set the water to boil. While that was happening, I filled my clean, sanitized jars with the salsa mixture). This recipe made 12 pint jars of salsa.

Put the filled jars into the boiling water and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the sealed jars and allow to cool on the counter. Viola! Enough salsa to last through the spring!

If you want information on canning, Pick Your Own is one of my favorite sites. They have recipes and canning details, as well as links to local places where you can pick your own produce. 

Crockpot Applesauce

I was a total domestic goddess today!  Yesterday we went to Breanna's new house (looks amazing! They've done so much and it looks wonderful). Her house butts up against an apple orchard so we picked some apples. I came home with a nice big bag of apples.

As you know, I make most anything in the crockpot. I use the slow cooker for multiple reasons. One is because I like to make things in stages. Using the crockpot enables me to do the prep and cooking first, and clean up later. Second, I love the wonderful sweet smells the come from cooking something for hours. This recipe filled my house with lovely aromas of apples and spices for most of the day; who needs a smelly candle when you can get these scents naturally?!

Here's my recipe:

• 10 apples (cored, peeled, and cut into pieces. Mine were about 1" but I wasn't precise)
• 2 t pumpkin pie spice (you can use cinnamon if you want but I like the mix of flavors with pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c water

Dump the apples in the crock pot, add the other ingredients and mix well to coat. Set crock pot on low and cook for 6-8 hours. 

That's it!  Super simple.  I like my applesauce chunky so I don't mash it up. If you like smoother applesauce, mix the cooked applesauce with an immersion blender or stick in the food processer.

This recipe made a quart (which I canned) and about 2 additional cups (which I put in the fridge to eat this week). Try the recipe and let me know how much you love it!

Yummy!

Random Bits of Goodness Angel Mirror

I was so excited and inspired by the original Random Bits of Goodness Mirror that I made another!  For the past few years I've been collecting religious icons, not really sure what I wanted to do with them. I really wanted to create a picture that had representation of many world religions, but I was very heavy on Christianity (including 4 strings of rosary beads - and I'm not even Catholic). Given that, I decided to make this one with crosses, angels, and other Christian artifacts.  I love it!

I love this little cherub. It's actually ceramic.

I picked up this tiny bible somewhere....I wanted to include it but couldn't "bronze" it. So for now, it's just sitting atop the frame.  I may try to attach it somehow.

Another corner with angels and crosses.

Here's the two frames hanging on my wall.