Tag: coupons

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I’m Back!

Hi everyone!

I’m responsible for the exhibit building at our local county fair and have been absent from this blog too long! However, 12 hour days for 10 days straight didn’t leave me enough time to post.

Handy Tip

I thought I would share something I learned while getting ready for the flower department in the exhibit building. We usually ask a local florist to donate flower preservative and I put it off so long that we were getting ready for entry day and I still didn’t have any. My friend, June, suggested that we could make our own.  I looked it up and sure enough you can! We had to make a large quantity but to preserve your occasional bouquet at home you could make a much smaller batch. It seemed to work quite well for us. The “recipe” is below.

Flower Preservative

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon household bleach

2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

1 quart warm water

Stir together all ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.

Recipe

We are heading rapidly toward the harvest season in our neck of the woods. Here’s a neat little recipe that you can use with all those cucumbers, green peppers and onions.

This is something that my mother used to make. I imagine she learned it from her mother being that the term icebox is in the title and people haven’t used an icebox in many decades. My oldest daughter, Melanie, could just sit and eat these right out of the jar! I am sure that she will carry on the tradition of making them with her daughter, Sierra.

Icebox Pickles

7 cups unpeeled cucumbers sliced thin

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup sliced green bell peppers

1 Tablespoon salt

1 cup white vinegar

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon celery seed

Mix cucumbers, onions, green peppers and salt. Set aside.

Put vinegar, sugar, celery and mustard seeds in a pot and bring to a boil. Allow this mixture to cool for at least an hour.

When cooled pour the mixture over the cucumbers. Put the pickles in glass jars and place in refrigerator. They will keep for at least 2 months.

*When I am without celery seed  I use just celery salt in its place.

Money Savers

When I look at saving money I take a global approach. One little money saving tactic might not save you that much but if you take advantage of several it adds up to quite the savings over a month. If you look at what you save over a year it is truly rewarding!

-Ask your pharmacist about the retail price of your medication. It might be cheaper than the co-pay when using your prescription plan.

-If you have homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance and haven’t had a claim in 10 years some companies will give you a discount on your rate. You have to ask because they won’t volunteer the information. It doesn’t hurt to ask. The worst that could happen is that they would say they don’t do that.

-When traveling by air the security check will let you pass with an empty water bottle. Take one with you and fill it once you’re through the check point at a water fountain. It beats paying up to $5 for a bottle in a gift shop.

-Before eating out look for coupons that might be available. You can do this on Google or at restaurant.com.

-Don’t pay for Microsoft Office. You can get a free download of Apache Open Office or LibreOffice. My youngest son used the Open Office Suite all through college. It has everything you need.

-If your car is paid off cancel the collision portion of your insurance. It will save you roughly $300 a year. You are required by most states’ laws to carry liability but not collision.

-If you have a teen driver and they have good grades in school it is possible to get a discount on your car insurance. Ask your insurer! You could save over $200 a year.

Homemade

I made a charcuterie board for myself and one for a friend. Charcuterie is a French term meaning cooked meats or a shop that sells them.  It has come to be used as a term for more than just cooked meats when talking of a charcuterie board. As you can see from the image below, all manner of

hors d’oeuvres can be served on one.

.

You can literally put anything for your guests on a charcuterie board. You are only limited by your imagination.  I created one for my family that was both colorful and tasty. I neglected to take a picture until they had devoured 2/3 of the goodies so I had to use a royalty free stock picture. My board held black and green olives, cheese, pepperoni, crackers, pickles, veggies and dip, etc.

When I was looking into making one the recommendation was to make it the length of your table. It was suggested to be that size so that guests could reach what they wanted from any place at the table.

I made mine 4 foot long and it worked out just fine. I felt that storing a longer one would have been difficult for me. You can decide on the size that is best for you and your entertaining needs.

I purchased  a 1 inch thick and 8 inch wide board. It came in an 8 foot length. Before I left Home Depot I asked the gentleman to cut it in half for me. That made it easier to transport and I was also one step closer to making two charcuterie boards! Before I left the store I also purchased Howard food grade cutting board oil and butcher block conditioner.

I have an electric sander. I used it to make the board as soft and “smooth as a baby’s bottom”. I also rounded off the corners  with the sander. When I was happy with the feel of the board I conditioned it twice with the butcher block conditioner. In between uses of the board I am cleaning it with a clean, warm, damp cloth and using the cutting board oil to treat it. That keeps the board from drying out and cracking.

The charcuterie board has been a wonderful addition to my kitchen! I know my friend has enjoyed her’s too.

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Belated Happy 4th of July!

We had a really nice holiday and I hope you and yours did as well. It was the usual picnic on the deck (with wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much food), sunshine  and family. Next year I have promised myself that I will go to the parade and the fireworks. It really isn’t completely the 4th of July unless you do. This year I opted for quiet at home.

I seem to feel that my posts are always a potpourri of different things and this one is no different. During the week if I think of something I want to share I write it down in my notebook. If I try a new recipe, that goes in the notebook too. Also, if I have an interesting experience somewhere and learn how to save money or do something a little more efficiently that goes on the list. Without further ado, here is this week’s potpourri!

  This wreath was my last-minute decor for the 4th. I had the raffia and the little star at home. At a household sale a few years ago I had bought the 48 star flag, which was the design of the flag when I was born. All I needed to buy was the grapevine wreath. That I  picked up at Joann Fabrics. I saved 20% on that purchase because I signed up for their email notices. It was very cheap and I am always on the lookout for that money-saving angle!

RECIPE

This week I tried Dear Abby’s recipe for meatloaf. I read her column daily. This is an old recipe and a reader recently asked for it to be published again. I thought I would like to try it too. I have always made my meatloaf adding eggs for moisture and as another binding agent. That is the way my Mom taught me. I have never had a complaint but it’s good to try new things. The moisture in this recipe is provided by water and catsup.

-2 pounds of ground beef

-1 cup Italian bread crumbs

-1/2 cup finely chopped onion

-1/3 cup catsup

-1/3 cup water

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

I combined all of the ingredients and made a loaf shape in a pan I had sprayed to PAM. I then drizzled catsup on top of the loaf. The meatloaf went into the oven at 350 degrees for an hour.

First of all, it was delicious. Three people shared dinner with me and all had good comments. No one would get into that dangerous area of whether it was better than the one I usually make. Gee, I wonder why! Let’s just say none of them lack intelligence or, for that matter, the desire to remain alive. Anyway, I did do a couple things differently than the stated recipe above. I didn’t have Italian bread crumbs so I added Italian seasoning to plain bread crumbs. I think it worked very well. I also added about 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Don’t ask me why! I just wanted to and I could, so I did!

 Almost in the oven.

 Out of the oven! You may notice this is only 1/2 a loaf. I forgot to take the picture when I took the meatloaf out of the oven so this is the half that remained after dinner. Whoops!

MONEY SAVER!!!!

You may do this already but for those that don’t I wanted to tell you about the Wal-Mart Savings Catcher. I have used it for a couple of years now and have actually earned a couple of e-gift cards. Here’s the premise. You download the app on your smart phone (from iTunes or the Google Play Store) and create an account. When you shop at Wal-Mart you scan the QR code or the SKU on the bottom of your receipt. You submit your receipt to Wal-Mart. If they find a lower price at another store in your area, they give you the resulting credit. So, for instance, if I buy a pack of Duracell batteries and they find them for sale at another store for a cheaper price they add the difference to your Savings Catcher account. You can claim your money at any time and be sent an e-gift card in your email. At the store you just present that at checkout like you would a coupon. Slick! There’s very little effort.

The only hitch I had at one point was that Wal-Mart Savings Catcher decided it didn’t like my road runner email. I called them to find out why I wasn’t getting my e-gift card and they told me they weren’t sure why but road runner addresses weren’t working and if I had another email to use that one. I have a Gmail account as well so I just used that and there was my e-gift card.

If you would like to read more about this program or sign up the link is provided below.

https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/

SUPER SAVER TIPS

I have mentioned in previous posts to sign up for loyalty programs at the businesses you frequent. There are savings!

Here are some more ideas for you to consider.

  1. If you get a $1 or more coupon for a new product but you’re not sure you will like it, wait until it is on sale. My grocery store periodically runs dollar doubler coupons in their sales flyer. I wait to use the coupon at that time when I can save $2. That way if I am disappointed I haven’t lost that much.
  2. Buy one, get one free sales are always nice. Now, if you’re a discerning shopper you realize that they increase the price of buying one of the items so that it isn’t that great of a deal for you and they still make money. However, you can play their game too. Here is my for instance. The dog food I buy was on BO/GO. It usually is $4.99 a box. They had upped the price to $5.99 but I still was going to get one free so it was an okay deal. I also had two $1 coupons off one box. So, I used both coupons because I was purchasing two units. At the $5.99 price and a total of $2 off I was getting two boxes for $3.99. That is cheaper than I could buy one for at regular price. I call that a win! Even if you have a $1 coupon of two of some item it helps you save.
  3. My grocery store runs special deals to get gas points. You buy 6 items from what they have in the group and you get 200 gas points. Sounds good. I do this only under certain conditions. I have to really use the product. I need to have a coupon. I particularly focus on the items that are buy one, get one when I have a coupon for money off of two. The danger here is that you buy things you wouldn’t ordinarily buy and then the store wins. I try never to do that.

 

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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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