I happen to think of a couple of things today that might help you not only for Thanksgiving but any on the other holidays too.

First if you haven’t already done it clean out your fridge today. It really should be done before you go buy everything for your dinner but if you didn’t, do it now. There is nothing more frustrating then to have a houseful of company and you are trying to stuff leftovers into an already full fridge so clean it now and if you can leave a certain shelf for the things you are going to store before and after Thanksgiving dinner.

Next I don’t think there is anything more dismal looking then a picked over turkey carcass. I am usually so tired from making the meal, being hostess and cleaning up that having to face the turkey carcass can almost put me over the edge.

What I finally learned to do is not to do anything with it on Thanksgiving day. Then the day after we pick on it all day long making sandwiches etc. I then pick the last of the big chunks off . I usually cook my turkey all wrapped in foil or in a disposable pan so I just wrap the foil around it or gently shape the pan around it. Stick it all in a couple of plastic bags, pop it in the freezer and forget it for a couple of weeks or until Jan. when I bring it out and toss the carcass in a large pot for soup. That is when it gets it’s final picking over.

Cooking Boo Boos:

If you didn’t cook your turkey with our recipe it may come out too dry. Don’t panic. Just slice it. Lay it on a platter and pour gravy over it then serve.

If your stuffing is too dry; once again add some turkey broth to it or gravy.

If a side dish burns and sticks to the bottom; just careful pour it out of the pot being sure not to scrape the bottom of the pan or any of the food stuck to it. You can maybe save quite a bit this way.

If your dinner rolls burn; carefully slice off the bottoms. If they all have the bottoms gone people will think that is just the way they are suppose to be.

The crust on your pumpkin pie doesn’t turn out; scrape out the filling and place it in a nice serving dish, cover with lots of whipped topping, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and call it Pumpkin custard.

If any of you have tips on how to fix Thanksgiving cooking boo boos for our beginning cooks and eve some of us old timers feel free to post. You may be the one to save someone’s Thanksgiving. : )

Jill

This is just a little reminder for everyone to take your turkeys out to start thawing Friday or Saturday if it is about a 20 lb turkey. I would start thawing all turkeys at the latest on Sunday. I like to have my turkey thawed at least a day or two ahead of time so I can get it all prepared, in the pan and ready to just pull out and stick in the oven. I have so many things to do the day before Thanksgiving that this is one less thing to worry about.

For all you new or inexperienced cooks be sure to take out the “guts” or giblets as most people call them and neck which are usually stuffed inside of the turkey.

If you are needing to dry bread for your stuffing lay it out this week end to get good and dry. Break it up, place it in the bowl you are going to be mixing it in and have that much done ahead of time.

This week end get your linens for the table washed and ironed and your silverware and dishes organized.

Do as much as you can ahead of time. Clean the veggies for the relish dish and salads or sides on Wed.

If you are making something like a sweet potato casserole get it all prepared and ready on Wed. so all you have to do on Thanksgiving is to pop it in the oven.

If you don’t want to be mashing potatoes two minutes before you sit down; mash them and place them in a crock pot on low to keep warm. You can keep them in there beautifully for 1 hour but no more because past that they get “yucky” fast.

Most of all for you new cooks or those of you doing your first Thanksgiving don’t panic. It is really no different or harder then any other regular meal, you just are maybe preparing more of everything.

If you are really nervous do a trial run this week end. Practice by roasting a chicken, making mashed potatoes, do one or two sides and a dessert. It’s just like a mini Thanksgiving.

If something goes wrong and most of us have had something happen once in awhile just laugh about it. It usually is the Thanksgiving everyone will remember and they will remember it with fond happy memories. It will give you something to tell your future daughter in law, granddaughter or daughter about.

I remember being so scared my first Thanksgiving cooking alone. My friend who was older and going to be one of my guests told me how on her first Thanksgiving everything was perfect, the table looked great everyone was laughing, joking and enjoying the food but half way through the meal she noticed something - she had forgotten the turkey. She had set it on top of the fridge to move it out of the way for a minute and had left it there. No one either didn’t notice or were too polite to say anything.

Things happen but you will do fine.

Jill

I have a problem. I have had this same problem for many years and can’t seem to get over it. I know many of you have the same problem. What is it? I love clipping recipes. I can’t stop myself. If I see a good recipe I have to write it down or tear it out because I am convinced I will try it some day. My problem is worse then most because I have the excuse my readers would love this so I will tear and write guilt free now.

Here are two of the latest I have added to my collection. I wanted to share them with you because if I don’t get to make them maybe some of you will. My timing is perfect because this week cream cheese is on sale and either of these would be nice for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

PS. If you use a lot of cream cheese you might want to stock up. It, like cheese, has a very long shelf life and will last you clear into next year.

This first recipe reminds me a little of those yummy pumpkin rolls but without as much work. I would add nuts to this recipe but you don’t have too.

Also you could add a little of cinnamon or nutmeg to some Cool Whip and top each cupcake with that when it is cool or just sprinkle with powdered sugar. Don’t forget too you can add cinnamon to your Cool Whip for your pumpkin or apple pies.

Creamy Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 pkg. spice cake mix

1pkg. (3.4oz) vanilla instant pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Mix cake mix as directed on package. Add dry pudding and pumpkin. Mix well. Pour into 24 paper lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, sugar and egg together and drop a spoonful into the center of each cupcake. Swirl gently with spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 mins.

Phily Apple Crumble

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 2/3 cup vanilla wafers, crushed

4 cups baking apples, chopped and peeled

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cream cheese and vanilla wafers. Do Not over mix.

in a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish mix other ingredients. Sprinkle with cream cheese mix.

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm. Store leftovers in fridge.

Do you know how yummy these would be with a cup of coffee or tea on a snowy afternoon with a friend or what they would smell like when the kids come in from school?

Do any of you have a recipe like this?  One you would love to share with a friend or to have with a cup of tea on a winter afternoon? If so pop in and share it with us.

Jill (gaining weight just thinking about these) : )

Just a little reminder for those of you who haven’t peeked at the newsletter yet we are having our big Christmas sell this week. We often get asked when is it going on sale again and the time has now arrived.

We often want our children to be given lots of opportunities, to be exposed to and to try so many things. We spend hours and lots of money taking them to music lessons, karate lessons, football practice, dance lessons so they will be well rounded when they grow up.

Sometimes though we get so busy doing all these things we can forget or don’t have the time to teach them basic life skills. Two of those are cooking and being a wise steward of their money. Dining on a Dime helps with both of those so this Christmas instead of giving your collage age child another CD, DVD or electronic toy why not give them a copy of Dining on a Dime to help and encourage them in both areas.

It would be an unexpected gift for that young man moving out on his own and of course don’t forget your mom, sister or best friend. It would even be fun to give a young girl along with a set of tea towels to add to her hope chest.

If you know someone who has lost their job or are struggling financially right now toss in a copy of Dining along with a bag of groceries to help them learn how to stretch those groceries.

Don’t forget to stock up too for the coming year for birthdays, showers, wedding gifts etc. and as a gift for our older cooks. I’m so surprised at how many seasoned (70, 80 years old) cooks we get who say they have learned so much from Dining.

Hope we can help you get a nice chunk of your holiday shopping done this week and to save while doing it.

Jill

One of the main ways I save on groceries is something every one has done since shopping was invented and that is making the most of things which are on sale. Now I know the first thing you all are thinking is “I know buying on sale saves me money so I don’t need to read this.” But stay with me for a moment.

What I want to do today is to help you get more ideas on how to get the most use of your sale items mainly in the area of groceries.

Last week they had half gallons of chocolate milk on sale for $1.00. That is a really good deal if you consider how much it would cost you to use regular milk and mix it with Nestle’s or Hershey’s syrup. Something like this would be good to stock up on especially since you can freeze it (shake it well when you thaw it). Now so far all I have said is pretty obvious but let me take you a little farther and help you think out of the box.

I don’t drink a lot of chocolate milk which might be the case for many of you so at first you think this really isn’t a good deal for you and your family but let’s look at it and see if you could still make it work for you.

1. If you like cocoa it would be great to use hot with marshmallows or served at a holiday get together.

2. Use for making chocolate pudding one night by replacing regular milk with the chocolate milk.

3. Turn your regular bread pudding recipe (or use the one in Dining on a Dime) and kick it up a notch by replacing the regular milk with the chocolate and adding some chocolate chips.

4. If you find it on sale in the summer make Pudding Pops (also found in Dining..). You just add 1 small pkg. of chocolate pudding to 3 cups of the milk and freeze for extra fudgy popsicles.

5. Replace the regular milk in any chocolate recipe you are making like chocolate cake, cookies, frosting with the chocolate milk.

6. If your love cereal like Cocoa Puffs use the chocolate milk when they eat those. The milk turns chocolaty anyway.

What it amounts to is you are replacing your more expensive regular milk when you can with the cheaper chocolate milk. Now don’t have a heart attack over serving your family chocolate milk. It really won’t hurt to do it for a week or so.

The main point I want to get you to see is to look at the regular things you see on sale all the time in a different light and think how can I use them in a different way or can they be preserved.

Jill

P.S. I just told my mom about my good buy and she said they like to pour a glass of chocolate milk and add a dollop of ice cream to it. She said it tastes just like a Wendy’s frosty. You might like to try it.

Don’t forget to hit the after Halloween sales. You can get many other things there besides candy:

Packages of little toys for party favors.

Cupcake wrappers. Ones with pumpkins can be used all the way through Thanksgiving and if it is just for your family most kids don’t mind if their cupcakes have a pumpkin wrapper on it even in January.

Have a graduation coming at the end of the school year and the school colors have black buy your plates, napkins, streamers etc. now. Do this after each holiday. School colors red (Christmas, Valentines), silver (New Years), green (St. Patties day).

Get costumes for next year or pick up odds and ends if your kids are big into drama. We always kept a costume box. It had a lot of basics; black cape, sword, cowboy hat, cowboy vest, clown wig and nose, black gloves etc.

Check out today’s newsletter for some more ideas. Like one year they had a 24 bag of lunch chips for a dollar. This was cheaper then me packaging them up myself.

Happy Hunting,

Jill

You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

Translated in “Jillese” If you pay for something on credit today you will have still have to  pay for it tomorrow. You aren’t getting it for free. The same goes for all those buy now and you don’t have to pay until the year 2011 ads.  Be careful.

I’m not sure why but when we started using credit cards we lost all responsibility for our money. Holiday shopping is already starting so be very careful and think about things each time you pull all that credit card to pay. You will be responsible for it tomorrow (or next month).

That quote goes for other things besides money. You may decide you aren’t going to do the dinner dishes today but trust me they will be there in the morning for you (I hate to be the one to break it to you but there really aren’t any house fairies who come in the night and do them) :) And one day you will have to break down and clean out that closet.

I think you get my drift. It’s Monday so try to get up, make a plan and then work it. Set your home in order for the week.

Jill

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From: Rachel
Tawra and Jill, I know it’s a ways off till
Christmas, but I also know that frugal folks shop
all year for good deals. I thought I would
mention Big Lots. This is a closeout store and a
great place to find things at a huge discount.
About 10 years ago my daughter wanted a down
pillow for Christmas. That was the thing she
wanted the most. I went to JC Penney and had a
look and they were $45.00! This was way too much
for our budget. A few days later I opened the
paper to the Big Lots ad, and they had down
pillows for $7.00!! I told my three year old “get
in the car now!” They only had two left, and one
was soiled, so I grabbed the clean one and
checked out. She was very happy and still has her
down pillow. Big Lots is kind of out of the way
for me, but I did stop in to look recently while
waiting for a thrift shop in that neighborhood to
open. I was really impressed with the selection
and price of the toys they had. I have 5
grandchildren now, so Christmas will be on a
strict budget!

We love Big Lots and do a lot of shopping there for Christmas and birthdays. If you haven’t been there be sure to check it out especially after Christmas. Tawra

From: kimber
Just an Idea while we are talking about back to
school items and stocking up.  You can take
advantage of the stock up items to start
gathering little bits of craft items to put
together in a Christmas box or stocking to
replenish their craft boxes at home and or to
load there stockings with fillers of creative

stuff rather than just candy.  they have way more

fun stretching their imaginations.

Also be on the look out for the sale items for the dorm room
that maybe only get a few items now and stash
back some items for christmas too!  and they can
have a mid year make over or add to and see what
the other roomates contribute first.  then they
can fill in the blanks at christmas.

I saw something on the web the otherday that stated
some retailers are looking at things from a
thrifty trend standpoint and are also possibly
looking at keeping school supplies and stuff out
on the shelves longer and a little bit at a time
so they can also keep their inventories down.  so
if there is a particular item you fall in love
with you might consider it now.  however if it is
something that would be nice but not necessarily a
have to have item, you might consider waiting
them out.

Also, i think i have given this tip
before, but those extra backpacks that go on sale
or lunch boxes are great gift packages to stuff
full of stuff.  like puting a few clothes in or
craft supplies when your child has a birthday
party to go to. I hate spending more on the
packaging than on the actual gift and it is nice
to have the whole gift usable.  Have a great
day!  God Bless - Kimber