How to save money and get out of debt - Living on a Dime

Many Uses of a Pizza Cutter

Tawra — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:39:00 +0000

One of our favorite tools in the kitchen is our pizza cutter. Here are some ideas to use that pizza cutter to make life easier!

Cut homemade noodles
Cut French toast into sticks or small pieces
Cut pancakes and waffles
Cut brownies
Corn bread
Fruit roll-ups (may have to oil lightly)
Hot dogs, link sausages

After a while, our pizza cutter wasn’t cutting so well. I realized it had been 10 years since I had bought a new one. Make sure you get a new sharp pizza cutter and that will make all the difference!

-Tawra

Photo By: citymama

Menu – Cheesy French Dip Sandwiches

Michael — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:46:54 +0000

Tips:

As much as we love to envision our grandmothers in the kitchen peeling, chopping and baking every little thing from scratch, in reality, they often worked long, hard hours just like us. Most of the time, they worked even longer hours than we do. They had just as much stress worrying about their children, money (jobs were very hard to come by at times) and how to make ends meet. In some ways, they were so much wiser then us. We really need to learn from them and try to put into practice their ideas in our own homes.

One of the things our grandmothers did was keep their menus and lives simple. One way they did that was planning a regular routine. For example, they would have roast on Sunday, pork chops on Monday, stew on Tuesday, chicken on Wednesday and so on and they did this every week.

If you are having a hard time planning menus and cooking meals, you might try this method for a while. Don’t worry about your family getting bored because, as I have said before, most families like having the same 10 meals over and over.

This doesn’t mean you have to have the exact same menus each time. For example, Wednesday’s chicken could be roasted one week, chicken and dumplings another week, chicken soup, chicken sandwiches and so on. The key is that because you know what the main meat dish is, you are halfway there.

Kids like routine and often there is a feeling of security and comfort in doing the same things over and over. How often do you hear someone fondly recall how, "Every Sunday my grandma had roast, potatoes and carrots" or "Thursday was always meatloaf night."

You don’t have to do this forever but it can help jump start you and get you into the habit of making meals at home.

Another thing that might help is to run your kitchen like a restaurant. The most successful restaurants have only a few items on the menu and serve very good tasting food with the minimum amount of expense and work for them. Think about that and then apply it to your home. In some ways we need to run our home more like a business, a business founded and based on love, comfort and security.

Menu:

Cheesy French Dip Sandwiches*
Chips or French fries
Dilly Cucumbers*
Fruit
Raspberry Lemonade Pie*

Recipes:

Cheesy French Dip Sandwiches

Roast, slow cooked
Garlic butter
Grated cheddar cheese
Sandwich buns

Make some garlic butter either by sauteing a little garlic in some butter or sprinkling some garlic powder (to taste) into some soft butter. Spread each side of the bun with the butter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is melted. Lay thin slices of roast on one bun and top with the other. Serve some of the roast broth on the side to dip the sandwiches in.

Dilly Cucumbers

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dill seed
1 1/2 tsp. parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. dill pickles, chopped
Dash of pepper

Mix and pour over cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin.

This recipe calls for you to use raspberry lemonade, but you could really use any flavored drink mix you like and change the crust to any cookie, graham, or regular pie crust (or use no crust at all). Cherry or strawberry flavor is a good flavor change to go with the chocolate crust if you prefer.

Raspberry Lemonade Pie

1/3 cup sweetened raspberry lemonade drink mix
1/2 cup water
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 8 oz. carton whipped topping
1 chocolate crumb pie crust (9 inch)
Chocolate syrup, optional

Mix water and drink mix. Add ice cream and beat on low until blended. Fold in whipped topping and pour into crust. Freeze 4 hours until firm. Remove 10 minutes before serving to make cutting easier. Top with chocolate sauce.

Photo By: Rick

Easy School Lunch Ideas

Tawra — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:34:54 +0000

Easy School Lunch Ideas
(Mystery Meat And Other Unidentified Paper-Bag Objects aka UPO’s)

It’s that wonderful time of year that lightens your heart and fills your soul with peace & tranquility. No, I’m not talking about Christmas! I’m talking about school starting!! Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s a bitter sweet time for most moms. Bitter because you’re back to hectic mornings, finding everyone’s books and papers and trying to get them out of the door on time… because you now have 180 lunches to make over the next nine months if you have one child and 720 if you have four — But hey, who’s counting?

It is sweet because the peaceful quietness that penetrates the house is like gentle music to your ears and you can take a lovely relaxing bubble bath without what sounds like the whole US army trying to break down the bathroom door. Well, now that I think about it, I’ve not known many moms that had the luxury of a bubble bath in the middle of the day but I can dream, can’t I?

I can’t help you find time for that bubble bath but maybe I can help you with those 720 lunches.

Here are a few lunch and snack ideas that will satisfy all of your picky eaters:

To keep drinks cold in lunch boxes, pour a small amount in the bottom of the container (not glass) and then set the cap loosely on top. Put it in the freezer overnight. The next day fill with the rest of the drink. The ice should slowly melt all day long, keeping the beverage cool.
Have the kids pre-package chips and cookies in bags on the weekends. Store in a basket. Grab one out as needed for lunches.
Make a large batch of puddings and gelatins on the weekends. Pour into individual containers and refrigerate.
Save the catsup and mustard packets and napkins you don’t use from the fast food restaurants. Use them in lunch boxes.
Puddings – sprinkle with marshmallows, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips (for chocolate pudding) or berries (in vanilla pudding)

Banana, pumpkin or zucchini bread
Tuna, egg or chicken salad sandwich
Tuna salad and crackers
Sandwiches made from last night’s dinner meat (ie. roast beef, chicken, turkey)
Pickles
Ants on a log-celery with peanut butter inside and raisins on the peanut butter
Hot dogs
Canned fruit
Carrot sticks, celery sticks or radishes with Ranch dressing
Homemade granola bars or cookies.

Homemade Granola Bars

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 Tbsp. honey or corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
1 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips*

In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add honey, vanilla and egg. Mix well. Blend in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

To microwave: Press ingredients into a microwave safe dish. Microwave on medium power for 7-9 minutes. Rotate dish every three minutes. Bars will firm as they stand. Cool and cut into bars. Save the crumbs for yogurt or ice cream topping. Makes 24 bars

*The following may be used in addition to or to replace chocolate chips

1 cup coconut
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup nuts
1/2-1 cup raisins, dried apples, apricots
1/2 cup fruit preserves

Apple Oatmeal Bars

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups apples, chopped or 3/4 cup apple butter (omit cinnamon)
1/2 cup sugar

Combine the first five ingredients, and pat half into an 8×8 inch pan. Layer apples and sugar. Crumble remaining mixture on top. Bake 35 minutes at 350°.

Photo By: NIOSH

Slow Cooked Roast

Tawra — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Slow Cooked Roast Recipe

1 beef roast, 3-5 lbs.
1 onion, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup (omit for GF and sprinkle with seasoned salt)

Place roast in pan. Pour cream of mushroom soup and onion on top. Cover tightly. Bake at 250° for 1 hour. Then turn down to 225° and cook for 15 or more hours; 10 hours for roasts smaller than 3 pounds.

*This is excellent for inexpensive roasts. It makes them so tender they fall off the bone and are almost impossible to lift out of the pan. Excellent for Sunday after church or for guests, because it can cook for 2 or 3 hours longer without overcooking. Since no meat is left on the bone you get more for your money. Serves 4.

*Use a meat thermometer to make sure internal temperature reaches 145°.

From: Dining On A Dime

From Tawra’s Inbox:

Hello ladies,

I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU for your recipe for slow cooked roast! It has been a joke in my family how truly BAD my roasts taste. My loved ones dutifully eat it because they see how hard I’ve worked on dinner ( plus they are nearly starved to death by the time dinner is served ) and they see the strained smile on my face as I bring their plates to the table. But even I can barely swallow the roast.

I always followed my "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbook faithfully and would try different cuts of meat, all to no avail; it still turned out so dry and tough.

Enter your help. I have been enjoying flitting about your website and finding all sorts of nuggets of advice. Then I found your recipe! This was the answer I’ve been searching for, lo these many years! I had been cooking it all wrong. I thought I was doomed to buying the pre-cooked roasts-in-a-bag at my local grocery store.

Now my family smiles when they smell the roast cooking as they come home from school. And I feel great knowing I have mastered one of the basic requirements of motherhood… cooking the perfect roast.

Thank you for all your great "tips!"

Sincerely,

Becky H.

"Slow cooked roast calls for pouring soup and onion over roast and to cover tightly. What do you mean by cover tightly? Wrap it in tin foil?"

Thanks, Dennis

Yes, wrap in foil. I just put one or two pieces on the top of the pan and then "seal" the edges with my fingers.

-Tawra

Easy Turnovers (apple, peach, cherry, blueberry)

Jill — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:37:56 +0000

Easy Turnovers – (apple, peach, cherry or blueberry)

1 can of apple pie filling*
1 tsp. of apple pie spice (or 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves)*
1 can of refrigerator biscuits
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar with 1-2 tsp. cinnamon (combined)

Preheat oven to 400°. Add the apple pie spice to the fruit filling. Using a knife, slice apple slices in the can into small chunks. (I add the spices into the can and press the apples against the can with the knife to cut them to avoid dirtying a bowl.)

Flatten the biscuits with a rolling pin or your hand into 4" circles. Add 1 slightly rounded Tbsp. of pie filling into the center of each biscuit. Wet edges of biscuit with milk. Fold in half and seal well. Prick tops with fork. Dip in melted butter and then into sugar and cinnamon mix. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until brown.

*When using the other flavored fillings, you can leave out the apple pie spices. You can add other spices from your favorite pie recipe if you prefer, like a pinch of cinnamon to the peach or almond flavoring for the cherry pie. You don’t have to add anything if you don’t want.

Variation: Add raisins to the pie filling and/or serve with cheddar cheese.

Photo By: wonderyort

Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

Jill — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:33:13 +0000

Parmesan Baked Tomatoes

2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, drained and quartered
4 Tbsp. seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
4 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. margarine

Place tomatoes in a greased 1 quart baking dish. Combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic salt. Sprinkle over tomatoes. Top with cheese and dot with margarine. Bake uncovered at 325° for 15-20 minutes (until lightly browned). Makes 4-6 servings.

Photo By: graibeard

Crocheted Rag Rugs

Jill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:51:51 +0000

We have recently been asked how to actually make a crocheted rag rug. It would be easier to show you, but I’m not able to make a video right now, so I did some checking. These videos are the best I could come up with for the moment. The first two are for a crocheted rug and the last is for what is called a toothbrush rug which is easy to make if you don’t know how to knit or crochet. If you have any questions, be sure to ask.

Jill

Toothbrush Rugs – Complete Video Instructions (Part 1 – Beginners)

Photo By: katerha

Leftover Meat Tips

Jill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:00:17 +0000

Cut leftover meatloaf or roast beef into chunks and add them to spaghetti sauce to make speedy spaghetti and meatballs.
Spicy Hash- Dice leftover roast beef, roasted potatoes, carrots and onions. Add bread crumbs until the consistency is such that you can shape into cakes. Cook over medium heat in a greased skillet until pancakes are light brown and heated through.

Grind leftover roast beef, stew meat, and other meat in your food processor. Add to scrambled eggs along with cubed leftover potatoes for an easy and hearty breakfast.
Spread leftover Sloppy Joe meat in a casserole dish (hamburger with barbecue sauce can also be used). Place sliced American cheese or cheddar cheese over the meat and top the cheese with homemade or refrigerator biscuits. Bake at 350° until the biscuits are done.
Meatloaf Saute – Place 1 large sliced onion in a frying pan. Cut meatloaf into bite sized pieces. In the frying pan, add meatloaf, one 8-ounce can of tomato sauce and a can of peas or mixed vegetables. Heat through.
Chili Pie – Pour 4 cups extra chili in a deep pie or casserole dish. (Add one can corn or other mixed vegetables if you have a little less than 4 cups.) Prepare 1 recipe cornbread according to directions. Drip batter over chili. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is done. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese if desired.

Photo By: misscrabette

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Jill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:19:43 +0000

"It’s Not Easy Being Green," Says Kermit.

I feel like a little baby goldfish in a great big ocean that is about ready to open its mouth and make a statement that will get him in big trouble. He knows the chances of his being heard in that great big sea of even bigger and louder fish is probably very small, but is going to open his mouth anyway.

He is pretty sure that those great big sharks who don’t want to hear him will probably gobble him up before he has a chance to finish his sentence but for the sake of his fish buddies he does it anyway.

So I am going to be brave, too, and speak out like my little goldfish. What I write about next, I write with the purest of motives. I just want to make sure that when you buy things or do things, you do it with your eyes wide open, using your best common sense. I hope to make sure, as a consumer and a person, you are not doing things because of what "they" say you should do or because you are caught up with emotional fear.

As I have said so many times before, "God does not give us the spirit of fear." Any time we act upon something because of fear, we need to really question the reason we are doing it. It isn’t wrong to experience fear, but it is wrong to act upon that fear and let it control us.

It seems the there is such a mob or panic mentality over everything anymore. There is a perfect children’s story that illustrates this same point called Chicken Little.

For those of you who have never heard the story of Chicken Little or have forgotten it, it is about a character named Chicken Little. (Make note: When someone is always afraid, he is called chicken.) One day an acorn falls on his head, terrifying him and causing him to think the sky is falling. He runs to warn the king.

Along the way he meets Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey, and tells each one of them that the sky is falling. They all run with him to tell the king.

Then they meet Foxy Loxy who is sly and cunning. He says, "Oh my, how awful! Let me show you the way to the king," and they all follow him. Instead of taking them to the king, he leads them to his den and gobbles them all down.

This story is often told to children to teach them not to be afraid of things but I think it is also a good example for adults to follow — not to believe everything you hear, even if a whole crowd is saying it. We laugh and think how foolish they all are but we do the same type of thing all the time in our everyday lives when it comes to the things we read, hear or are told.

In the next few paragraphs I hope to point out some of the same type of things people are talking about in loud, panicked voices. It is not my intention to offend anyone, but to open some eyes.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about everything being "green" or "organic". What started out as a very worthwhile cause many years ago has turned into a very commercialized thing that plays on peoples’ fears to promote everything from products to TV shows to platforms for political candidates.

It’s gotten to the point where we can’t do anything: eat, drink, sleep or even breathe without worrying about whether everything is green and/or organic. No wonder we are having more heart attacks and children are more stressed about life. The things we are being told to do to help ourselves and future generations live longer are the very things that are going to kill us, just from the stress of worrying about them.

Am I eating the right food? …using the right fertilizer? …using the right building materials, beauty products, dishes, linen, clothes?? Am I breathing the right air? Let’s buy a vacuum with an air filter, a furnace with an air filter, an air filter itself. Don’t forget, there are also filters for our water and then there is bottled water, but now no one can decide if that is good or bad for you.

How in the world did my generation manage to survive before all of these things? My parents had none of these things but, somehow, they’ve made it into their 80s and are still living.

Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think there is anything wrong with caring for the environment. I do think it’s wrong when we become obsessed about it and then businesses jump on the bandwagon and start commercializing it.

We need to really be cautious when we hear about some new "study". I remember, years ago, when the headlines were full of warnings not to eat eggs. "They will give you high cholesterol and kill you," they all said. It was a really big deal. It almost destroyed those in the business of producing eggs (well not the chickens themselves but the people who raised them : ).

After all of the hype, it was found out that the doctors who had done the studies did the studies on rabbits. As we all know, rabbits normally eat carrots and other veggies, not eggs. Their bodies weren’t built to handle food with cholesterol or anything like that so of course it messed up their systems, but you didn’t see that little detail flashed all over the newspapers.

Now after many, many years and after much damage has already been done to the egg industry, eggs are slowly being given the okay again. This study is like many others that we swear by, which were not done with normal people under normal conditions.

We were told for years to not buy real Christmas trees and instead buy artificial ones because it would destroy rain forests and our tree population. I never could understand this logic since most Christmas trees are grown on tree farms and have nothing to do with any natural forest of any kind. In my mind, farm grown trees would be considered a renewable resource but again the tree business took a beating. Now the green people are telling us not to buy artificial trees but real trees because the artificial ones are filling up landfills. What next? Will they ban trees altogether? …maybe even ban Christmas? I mean, look at what Christmas does to children. They get all stirred up and excited which, I’m sure, is somehow not good for them. I just couldn’t resist being a little tongue in cheek.

Back to bottled water… Ignoring the fact that most bottle water comes from regular tap water and really isn’t any better for you, now "they" have once again found another way to make money off of our fears. "They" are now saying that bottled water isn’t good for you because of the plastic bottles.

And we wonder why we are confused.

Unlike a lot of other people, I kept eating eggs, drank tap water and kept buying Christmas trees when I could afford them. Will I live longer or less? I don’t know. I do know that I probably have less gray hairs than a lot of people my age, which is always a plus when you get as old as I am . I also know that it feels really good not to live in fear all of the time.

Besides fear, "they" also prey upon our guilt. How often we are made to feel guilty if we don’t always buy "green". This is simply manipulation. I’m sorry– I must call it what it is. If you can’t afford something that is "green" or you don’t think that is what’s best for your family, I give you permission right here and now. You don’t need to buy it or feel guilty about not buying it.

I saw an example of this on TV the other day. Someone was trying to convince people that they needed to buy bamboo sheets because they are green and by buying bamboo sheets, which are a renewable resource, you will help save the environment.

What’s wrong with cotton sheets? I’m not sure, but I thought I was taught in elementary school that cotton was a renewable resource. Not only that, it is a renewable resource from our own country. Wouldn’t it be better to buy something grown in our own country rather than something that is imported?

They also gave the impression that these linens were healthier for you. I lived in Japan for a while. I remember well the rice paddy fields and the smells. I could hardly breathe it smelled so awful. People used human manure and fish to fertilize their fields and the smell was terrible. It took months for the smell to get out of our clothes and furniture when we got back to the states.

I imagine that they use the same technique for growing their bamboo. It was totally "organic". I’m not knocking they way they do things in Japan. They may not practice all of this now, but their standards are not the same as ours and that’s fine. I just don’t want someone telling me that simply because something has a green and/or organic label that that makes it better. We say how healthy these things are, but we really don’t have a clue how most of the products we buy are made or grown.

I have read many reviews on these products and one of the complaints I see frequently is that the product smelled awful. Hmmm… I wonder why. Why am I not surprised?

What am I most upset about? I am upset that businesses are trying to make money off of people’s fears and guilt. Tawra and I were talking today and she was telling me about how so many businesses are selling these great "environmentally friendly" canvas bags to put your purchases in.

They make it seem as if they care about the environment and are only concerned about helping the world and you. What it boils down to is they love this green craze. Now, they are making you pay for your own bags, so they make a bigger profit. They no longer have to use their own money to buy bags, but they have not lowered the price of their products, even though the cost of plastic bags has been figured into the price. They love it. It’s a win, win and win some more situation for them.

We are easily brainwashed about many things, so be careful. I constantly hear people say over and over that there is a huge difference in organic eggs or eggs from your own chickens. I had my own chickens for a while, which was a challenge since I am definitely a city girl. Anyway I tried really hard to convince myself that those eggs tasted different than the ones we bought at the store but, honestly, I just couldn’t tell a difference at all.

Just recently, when a neighbor gave me some organic "homemade" eggs, I thought I would try again. Between us, we could not tell a difference. I have tried hard with many other organic things, but the taste just is not different for me.

The mind is a very powerful thing. It can make you feel, taste, hear and smell things that aren’t there. Be careful! Don’t believe everything you see, read or hear unless it makes sense to you. Stop letting fear control every part of your life, including your money.

I can’t afford green or organic products but that doesn’t mean, in my own way, that I can’t be wise in using the things I do buy. A couple of generations ago, people didn’t worry much about the environment because most people did all things with moderation. They made-do, reused and stretched the things they did have. They did more to save the environment than most of us can even begin to think about doing.

Then we had a generation come along who didn’t have to work as hard for what they got and began taking it all for granted, which translated into waste. Now, as so often happens, the pendulum swings way to the other extreme. Neither extreme is the best. We need to have a happy medium. That is why it is called a "happy" medium.

Relax. Stop making a major issue over every little thing in your life. We worry about our children’s physical health so much. We do need to care for them but, when we are paranoid over every little thing, we forget to care for their emotional health. A child’s emotional health is usually better when the parents aren’t stressed and worried all the time. Kids can feel when their parents are stressed, so be careful.

Instead of worrying whether that carpet your kids are playing on has some weird hidden something in it, just relax, sit down and play with your kids on it. It will probably make you both feel better in the long run.

In closing, here is something to think about. Over the centuries here are a few things that "they" (government, scientists, knowledgeable scholars and famous people) said and firmly believed. In most cases it took a common average Joe to blow their firm beliefs wide apart.

The world is flat and not round.
Every time you bathe more of your skin is dissolved off, so don’t bathe too often or you will eventually have no skin left.
If you drive over 35 miles an hour, the force will cause the skin to peel off of your body.
If you drain your body of enough blood, it will heal you.

I could list many more, but I think you get the point. All I want you to do is to be wise and think things through before you follow the crowd.

Cake Mix Cookies!

Tawra — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:04:00 +0000

A friend sent me this recipe. These cookies are so easy and delicious! She said she got them from Mr. Food. I bought the white chips from Aldi for $1.29. I used only half a bag of white chips and that was plenty for me. Tawra

Polka Dot Cookies

1 package (18.5 oz.) devil’s food cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
12 oz. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oil, and eggs. Beat slowly with mixer until
well blended. Scrape bowl often. Batter will be thick.With a spoon, stir in white chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are firm. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Photo By: emseearr