Month: June 2017

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Holy Schnikees! It’s Hot

This week’s post is coming to you from Death Valley. Oh no, wait, I’m still in Western New York. The heat is scrambling my brain cells. You know if I wanted to sweat all day (I mean sweat as in when I put my glasses on they steam up) I would live in Florida or something. Actually, if I lived in Florida I would have central air like my friends, Shannon and Jeff. I’m just HOT people!

Well, enough of my self-pity. On to more cheery, cheap and cool things. I have a few for you this week that I hope will be of interest.

Before starting I want to apologize for the pictures of receipts that were in my last blog post. Once I published my post, the orientation of the images changed. In the staging area for my blog and in my final product on the admin page they are as they should be. I have emailed the host of my site to find out a fix for this and have not heard back.

TEST KITCHEN

If you had a chance to read last week’s post you saw that I tried Cloud Eggs. They were good. I would make them again. In any case, I am kind of a “theme girl”. My friends get gifts with a theme. I create little vignettes in my home around a theme. So, I couldn’t help but try Cloud Bread this week. Cloud bread is low-fat, low-carb, grain free and gluten free. It is supposed to be very good for a paleo diet which seems to be all the rage today according to Pinterest. Here’s the recipe;

Cloud Bread

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

2 ounces of low-fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 to 1/2 garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Separate your eggs. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until the frothy mixture forms stiff peaks like when you make a meringue.

Then place the cream cheese in a stand mixer and beat on high until it is softened. Add the eggs to the cream cheese one at a time until they are incorporated.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps and that they are fully incorporated. To this mixture add the seasonings. 

The final step is to fold the egg yolk mixture into the stiff egg whites. Do this gently so as not to deflate the meringue as little as possible.

Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the mixture onto the lined baking sheets.  I was able to fit 8 such measures on one sheet with 5 for the second baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for up to 30 minutes. The bread should be lightly brown and not jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely and store in a paper lunch sack. There is no preservative so they should be used rather quickly.

My daughter, Sara, and I did this together. We checked the oven every 5 to 10 minutes so that we wouldn’t over cook them. We cooked them for 15 minutes. However, keep in mind that all ovens vary and you might need longer should you try the recipe.

My review of these little breads would be that they would be best for a savory sandwich. The breads are very eggy tasting and I would add perhaps some ham, bacon, lettuce, etc. and have a little sandwich. The ones we made came out about the size of the Sandwich Thins that Arnold makes.  Some people use recipes that make them more sweet than savory.

Let me know if you try them.

PRODUCT REVIEW

I wonder if any of you feel my pain. I struggle with thinning and very light eyebrows. THE STRUGGLE IS REALLY FOLKS! They weren’t always that way but they have been lately.  I have tried gels, powders and pencils. I finally decided on using an eyebrow pencil but always felt like I didn’t do it that well.

When I went to my hair stylist this last time, as she waxed my eyebrows (ok, the chin too!) we were talking about my difficulty. She told me that she had another customer who she commented on the nice shape of her eyebrows. The woman told her she used a stamp to apply a powder! Apparently, the lady’s eyebrows were really on-point.

After I got over the little tingly feeling I got thinking about being able to use a stamp I went right to amazon. com. They have everything! Anything I desire and I am never let down. I searched for eyebrow stamp and several products came up. I read reviews and decided on ordering the 3 Second Brow! With the wonders of Amazon Prime I had my kit in 2 days.

  The kit includes the powder and two types of eyebrow stamps (one more arched and defined and one softer and a little larger). Also included, is a styling wand with a brush at one end to smooth the powder out if needed and the opposite end has a different brush to comb the brows.

 This is the top of the compact with the more defined stamps on the lid.

 Of course, this is the powder inside the compact with a little mirror.

Below are one each of the two types of stamps to show you the difference.

 As you can probably see, I have been using the more defined and arched eyebrow stamp.

I am still trying to perfect my technique. There is a knack to it. Having the product only about a week I feel that I am doing pretty well with it. All in all, I am happy I bought the kit. I think when I practice some more it will be just what I need. Don’t get me wrong, I have done them and worn them out in public. I am not having that much difficulty. However, as they say, practice makes perfect.

MONEY SAVERS!!!!!

I am a techy, geeky person and I LOVE my smartphone! How did I ever live without it? I am not sure but I bet everything was in black and white before I found the colorful world of the smartphone.

Consequently, I really do feel “there is an app for that”! Currently, as you know I love to save money, I have a lot of businesses’ apps on my phone. Now, only the ones that give me special offers! Today I used my McDonald’s app. It is Free French Fry Friday and I wanted to bring fries home for my son. I clicked on the offer and the cashier scanned the QR code with her wand. Viola! Free fries! There were also offers for buy a Big Mac and get one free, buy a breakfast sandwich and get one free and several other offers. You can only use one code per transaction. You know what comes next, right? Due to there being no line and I had a couple of extra minutes, I drove through the drive-thru again and got the Big Mac offer!!! Yep you heard me! Two Big Macs and a medium fry for a grand total of $3.99! I count it as a WIN! Jake was happy with the eats too!

I have apps for Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway (my personal favorite) and a few others. You have to pick and choose but it is relatively easy to save some money and come away feeling like you just “beat The Man at his own game”! It is the modern day version of “hunting and gathering” as far as I’m concerned.

Hey, have a happy weekend and enjoy your friends and family this holiday weekend. Please leave a comment and tell your friends about this blog. My short term goal is still 100 followers and I have 61. I am not too proud to beg! Help me get there.

 

 

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Officially Summer

Yesterday was the solstice and the longest day of the year. Here in our neck of the woods it was a beautiful day! Here’s hoping we have many just like it ahead of us.

RECIPE

I tried a new recipe with my friend Linda and we shared the results with her son, Joe and his fiance, Chelsea. The recipe for Cloud Eggs is below. It was really fun to do.

Cloud Eggs

Ingredients;

*as many eggs as you need for serving

*salt

*seasonings as you desire (We used garlic powder, chopped chives, white pepper, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning as we like things savory.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Separate the eggs, being careful not to break the yolks. In a mixing bowl whip the egg whites with a dash of salt until stiff peaks form. Then fold in your desired seasonings.

As many eggs as you have, form that many “nests” on the baking sheet with a little well in the center that will hold the yolk later.

Bake the “nests” for 3 minutes and remove baking sheet from oven.

Place one egg yolk in each “nest”. We sprinkled with chives and put the pan back in the oven for 2 to 3 more minutes until the yolk was cooked as we desired.

Let me know in the comment section if you try these and what you think. We did enjoy ours!

PROJECT UPDATE

I am feeling a somewhat accomplished and happy with the results of my Civil War Era campaign chair. See below for the finished product. I still am not exactly sure where it will find a home in my house. Don’t worry! I will find a place! Of course, I will share that with you when I do settle on a spot.

Pay absolutely no attention to my supervisor behind the chair. Rudy always has to see what I am doing and monitors me!

My next project is to sand down and refinish a side table that my Mom could always remember having in her home as a child. Sometimes it was her bedside stand or her desk. When she got married she took it with her and it was used as a stand for my parents’ first television (a little, I mean little, black and white number). I actually have a picture of it as a tv stand! On the back of the picture, written in my Mom’s handwriting is, “Huber household, first tv”. I will share all of this with you in my next post. Looks like I will be getting a lot of use out of my DeWalt sander!

RANDOM IDEA FOR RECOMMENDATION

A little while back I started writing my “life story” on my laptop. My intention is to complete it and leave it for my children. When my Mom was ill we did as much as we could to get her life story down for my brother and I and our children. She became too ill to finish it but I wrote for her as she told me stories. I felt that I wanted to do it when I am well and relaxed. My story is actually only up to when I was 6 or 7. It is kind of weird because I will write something and then it stirs a memory and I need to go back and add that new memory in.

I think it is a nice memento to eventually leave your kids and grand-kids someday.  What do you think?

In any case, I won’t be needing to pass it on for awhile as I think I have a lot of years left in me but it is nice to remember things and wonder if when written down my family will gain some insight into the person I am and why I am who I am.

Wow! I am getting way tooooooooooooo deep and philosophical! I better move on. However, don’t forget to let me know what you think of the idea and if you have done anything similar in your families by using the comment section or emailing me with the link that is provided.

MONEY SAVING HACKS

How many of you have noticed that many receipts you get from restaurants and other businesses have  an address for a survey of your experience at that establishment and that there is some sort of reward for you if you do it?

I do these all the time. In my mind they come in two categories. The first category is some tangible reward that you receive almost immediately. The second is some sort of entry into a drawing or contest which usually is a gift card.  The ones that I tend to usually do are the first category. Yes, I’m impatient. Yes, yes, I know.

These things are really money savers for you and I will show you why. Below you will see some examples that I accumulated over the last week or so. There are many more businesses that do this. Always check out your receipt and see what is offered!

This is from Bob Evans restaurant.  When you sign up with them you get great coupons such as $5 of a bill of $25 in you inbox on a regular basis.

Tim Horton’s offers a free breakfast sandwich with the purchase of a coffee and a side for doing their feedback survey.

McDonald’s is one I almost always do. You get a free quarter pounder or sausage McGriddle for you feedback. They sometimes do a buy a breakfast McMuffin or Quarter Pounder and get one of the same free. This is nice to share with a friend!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Denny’s had a card you used when you ate there and it accumulated points which you could redeem toward your bill. The last time I did this I received a coupon for a free stack of hotcakes in my inbox.

The above examples were all from my first category of immediate gratification offers when you do a survey. The next one is the second category I mentioned.

This is for a monthly drawing for a $500 gift card from TJ Maxx. I do them but I am not as conscientious about them as I am the first category. Hey, but as they say in their ads for the New York State Lottery, you never know!

Remember that these are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out all of your receipts. I have done feedback surveys from Home Depot, Wendy’s, Burger King, Valu Home Center, Applebee’s, well, you get the idea! Be sure to let me know what you find and how you feel about taking a couple minutes to do a survey!

I will see you next week with more thoughts and ideas! Have a wonderful first week of Summer!

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It’s A New Week!

Hi there!

Hope all is well with everyone this week. I have been busy on various projects and testing some things.

If you have tried any ideas or recipes from previous blog posts, I invite you to share them with us in the comments. It would be fun to see what unique spin you put on things when you do them.

Money Saver

I’m a AAA member, as I imagine some of you are. When I received my “Member Connection” magazine for this Summer the big headline on the front was, “New Grocery Discounts for AAA Members.” Well, needless to say, we all need groceries and my Spidey Sense started to tingle as I read the headline. I read the short article on the inside and it turns out that AAA has partnered with Tops and Price Chopper supermarkets resulting in discounts on groceries. You can register at http://www.AAA.com/Grocery or you can call 1-800-836-2582. I did it on the website. It only took 5 minutes or less. You just link your shoppers loyalty card with your AAA account and then discounts are automatically applied when you purchase featured items. No need to load or print coupons. The offers will vary regularly and will be posted online at the previously mentioned website. I declare this EASY ENOUGH! 

Updates

I continue to work on my Civil War Campaign chair. This past week I stained it with Rustoleum Wood Stain in Dark Walnut. I bought a half pint and didn’t even use half of it. After making sure the wood was free of any particles left from the sanding job I did, I used a soft cloth and applied the stain. This was allowed to sit for 5 minutes and then I wiped off any excess. I am pleased with the results.

I was in Walmart and in their discount fabric bin for $4 a yard was a Waverly upholstery bolt of fabric. I bought 1/2 yard for $2 and just this morning I sewed the seat for the chair. The seat was sewn like a little sack with one side left open to turn it. I clipped the corners before turning so the fabric would lay flat at that point. Once turned, I folded in the raw edges of fabric and sewed down the fourth side. I will put that side at the back of the chair.

I am really getting excited to get the satin coat of polyurethane on and use upholstery tacks to put the seat on. Where, oh where, will I display this piece? I am scoping out spots as I write!

  The chair so far with the stain.

 This picture is just to show you the fabric I picked out.

Product Review

Recently a friend sent me a free trial of Blue Apron. Blue Apron is one of those services that sends fresh food to your home with everything you need to make three meals for which they have sent the recipes. I mean they send everything! If you need a clove of garlic for the recipe you get that too. Salt, pepper and olive oil are the only things that were not included in the food I was sent.

My free trial consisted of the recipes and ingredients to make Thai steak and rice lettuce cups with green beans, salmon and dill burgers with potatoes, and chicken with a rhubarb honey sauce with potatoes and asparagus. They were all delicious! There is enough food for two people but I found you could really feed three. My daughter worked with me on one meal, a friend on a second meal and I made the last one alone and had a neighbor over to eat.

It was my intention to cancel after the free trial since it is $59.94 for three meals each week and I felt I could make meals more cheaply. It was an expense I didn’t need to add to my budget. (It was fun to try though!) I cancelled before noon on June 3 as I was supposed to do. It was a little bit of a process to cancel because you have to email them and then they send you a code and directions to cancel. However, it didn’t take too long.

I thought I was all set and then the next week came and on my porch was another week’s meals! I thought this was going to be tough. You know, you get something for free, it’s hard to cancel, they get some more money out of you and you’re frustrated. Happily, I can say that was not the case. I tried calling them and because it was the weekend I was instructed to leave a message or to email them. Email was the choice I made. I did this on Sunday. I heard back on Monday with an apology, a confirmation of cancellation and the promise I would see the money credited back to my checking account within five to seven days. Yippee for good customer service.

Not having to send the meals back, I went ahead and have made two of them already. The first was Persian style chicken and crispy rice and the second was steak, sautéed asparagus, radishes, and fingerlings potatoes. Both were very good.

In short, I would say that if you can afford it that it really is a nice alternative and you get to try different foods than you would normally prepare. If you go online to blueapron.com you will see the same offer available to get a free trial. If you are so inclined, go ahead and give it a whirl. I don’t think you have anything to lose.

Recommendation

Lately, I have found myself curious about the whole French press coffee thing. I had always wondered if coffee made that way was good and if it was easy. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a small, one coffee press in TJ Maxx for $5.99 and decided to satisfy my curiosity. Along with the purchase I also did some online research.

What I found out was that the coffee press was invented in 1929 by and Italian. There are versions of the same device called by different names in most European countries.

As far as actually using this is what I found out. It is best to use course ground coffee as the finer grind will seep around the screen on the plunger and you will have grounds in your coffee. First you put your coffee in. It was trial and error for me to figure out how much to use. I like my coffee strong. It took two to three times before I figured out how much I needed to produce the type of coffee I desired. Then you add your water which should be between 199-205 degrees. I heated mine in the microwave. You let the coffee steep for two to four minutes and then slowly press the plunger down. Viola! Coffee!

Presses come in many sizes from small ones for espresso all the way up to 12 cup. Travel mug versions exist too. They are quite neat.

You can make tea in a press as well using loose leaf tea. The same press should never be used for coffee and tea unless you clean it thoroughly. This is due to the oils from the coffee which can change the taste of your tea.

Speaking of the oil in coffee, the French press is said to make better tasting coffee since the paper filters in today’s coffee pots absorb a lot of the oils in coffee and that takes away from the rich, robust flavor the beverage.

 My little one cup press, Isn’t she cute?

Have a great week!! Remember to leave a comment and tell your friends about the blog. I have 58 subscribers so far and my short term goal is 100. Help me get there!

 

 

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It’s June!

It is sure starting to feel a lot like summer. The days are longer and picnics on the deck have begun.

Hope there is something of interest for each of you in this post. I have started to set up the blog post in a more organized manner. Hope it works for you.

RECIPES

Billie’s Salt

(a seasoning salt created and sold by my Mom, Billie Huber)

1/2 cup salt

1 teaspoon each, garlic salt, onion salt and oregano

1 heaping teaspoon each parsley, Accent, marjoram

This seasoning salt is good on any meat or veggie. Give it a try!

Garbage

(this recipe uses any seasonal vegetable you have around and was a concoction my Mom made and I have tweaked a little)

You simply start out sauteing diced onion and pressed garlic in a skillet with olive oil. Saute until they are soft and fragrant. Then you add in any veggie you have on hand. This could include any fresh vegetable (diced or sliced to the size you want) such as zucchini, summer squash, carrots, peas, etc. It is advisable to keep the size of all vegetables consistent for even cooking. Saute those until soft and then add tomato sauce and season to taste. It is yummo and really good for you too! I often brown some hamburg, ground turkey or ground chicken and add it to the mix as well.

This recipe is just the best to use what you have from your garden or roadside stand.

UPDATES

My container tomato plants are doing awesome! The Romaine lettuce, not so much. I read up on how to continually harvest the lettuce and did what I thought they meant but they don’t look that great right now. I did have 3 salads with my own lettuce though.

  

For truth in posting purposes I am going to also reveal the sad lettuce plants. The second one is more pathetic than the first.

  

 

PROJECTS

I am continuing to work on my Civil War Campaign chair. I have all the paint off now and found little metal pieces in the finials at the top of the chair. I had no idea there was metal there until I started sanding. The next thing I have to do is stain it. I am going to use a dark stain, which shade is yet to be determined. I will be purchasing that and material to make the seat today. By my next post you should see a lot of progress!

  

SHARING

A friend of mine, Judy, started a new garden and, with her permission, I wanted to share her idea with you. I just love it and hope you will too! It gives new meaning to the idea of a raised bed garden.

As you can see, Judy took a table, a child’s pool and soil to create a really great garden! She used satin paint in Italian Olive to coat both table and pool. Next summer I am definitely stealing this idea!!

MONEY SAVERS

One of the things I always do is to sign up with any restaurant or store. There is always some monetary benefit to you when you do.

Here are a few examples for your consideration.

– Sign up at the Bob Evans website and you often get money off coupons for meals in the restaurant and for their brand of grocery store items as well. It really makes you feel better about eating out.

– I sign up at all the grocery stores I frequent. I am signed up for Tops, Wegman’s, and  Giant Eagle. They all have apps for your smart phone that you can download from the Google Play Store or I Tunes. You can use the apps on your phone or go to the website on your computer to add digital coupons to your loyalty card and Giant Eagle also has special items each week for members of their loyalty club.

-Denny’s, Friendly’s and Ruby Tuesday also allow you to sign up at their websites and have smart phone apps. I receive emails from Friendly’s and Ruby Tuesday which contain coupons that you can print or show on your smart phone for money savings at the restaurants. Denny’s has had a card that you used each time you ate there and you accumulated points which then were redeemable for money off your meal. That card is no longer valid and they are readying another loyalty plan. Stay tuned for that one!

In general, I just check out any business I frequent and see if they have some sort of loyalty program that I can join. You should see what happens on my birthday! I have lots of little goodies that come rolling in.

LITTLE HACKS

Have you ever gotten one of those nasty white circular watermarks from the moisture of a glass on an end table or coffee table? I have many times. One cure is to take regular mayo (not the fat-free or light) and brush it on the watermark (rather thickly). Leave it there for an hour or two. Then wipe off and the mark should be gone. If it isn’t, it should be lessened and  then just repeat the procedure.

Sometimes you just eat something  you maybe shouldn’t have and you get heartburn or you’re on a medicine such as a strong antibiotic that gives you heartburn. Before you run for the Tums, just keep on hand some of these soft, puffy mints and pop one in your mouth. I have never had to use more than two and using two is rare. They come under many brands. The ones in my picture are Red Bird brand but another famous one is Bob’s.  They are inexpensive and can be found in most stores.

Please leave a comment if you have a question or suggestion. I love to read them! Also, remember to tell your friends about the blog and have  them subscribe to it. See you next week!

 

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