The Parsimonious Princess

6 Reasons to Stop Buying Microwave Popcorn

2012-01-23T16:18:00.001-07:00

Ah, popcorn. A movie staple, a campfire favorite, even a Christmas decoration. We're big fans of the stuff here at our house. The way we enjoy it, though, is the semi-old fashioned way: we make ours with the air popper (the truly old-fashioned way is in a skillet, over a fire, just in case you were wondering). Back in our pre-microwave days in the 1980s, my mom always made popcorn with the air popper. She'd salt it a little and mix in some melted butter. Mmmmm...

Then the microwave relegated the air popper to the back of the cupboards, taking up space alongside the other hardly used appliances. It just seemed so much more convenient to just pop the bag in the microwave. Sure, sometimes a good portion of the bag's contents were either charred or completely unpopped, but that was the trade-off for a pre-seasoned and effortless bag of popcorn. That's the way it was for us, at least.

For Christmas in 2008, my parents gave us an air popper (we're still using the same one) and some fun serving containers. We stopped buying the microwave stuff and have only used our air popper ever since. Though this is our preferred way to pop, there are other methods, like cooking it on the stovetop or microwaving popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag. Each way works well and is better than the stuff sold pre-packaged at the store. Here are six reasons why you should take the boxes of microwave popcorn off your shopping list...

1. Homemade popcorn is frugal.
Hence the mention on here, right? There is no denying that buying the popcorn kernels is much cheaper, especially if you can find it in the bulk food bins at the grocery store (most common in health/natural food stores). With microwave popcorn, you're paying for the bags, the brand, the oils and seasonings, and plastic packaging. For the same price of a few bags of microwave popcorn, you could get pounds of the kernels. It only takes a half cup of kernels in our air popper to yield a big bowl of popcorn. A pound of popcorn goes a long way. Even if you buy the popper (which run around $15-25), it's still the more frugal way to enjoy popcorn. Just by skipping microwave popcorn and getting the kernels in bulk, the popper soon pays for itself in savings.

2. Homemade popcorn is less wasteful.
Whenever I make popcorn, there's maybe two or three kernels left unpopped, maximum. And I've never had burned popcorn making it with the air popper. All those burnt/unpopped kernels at the bottom of the microwave is waste. Unless you've gotten microwaving popcorn down to a science or the popcorn setting on your microwave actually works, waste is practically inevitable.

3. Microwave popcorn takes as long to pop as homemade.
To prove this, I timed how long it took to pop half a cup of kernels (which equals a big bowl of popcorn). Barely over two minutes (plus the 30 or so seconds it took to get the popper out of the pantry, get a bowl out of the cupboard, and plug it in). That's just about as long as it takes to do the microwave stuff. I can't say how long it takes to do it the other ways I mentioned -- on the stovetop or in the paper bag -- but I'm willing to bet it's pretty close. So, really, what are you paying for with microwave popcorn? Is it really that much more convenient?

4. Microwave popcorn is unhealthy. Like, really unhealthy.
I recently read an article entitled, "7 Seven Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips" and microwave popcorn is on the list. Here's why, quoting the article:

"Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize—and migrate into your popcorn. 'They stay in your body for years and accumulate there,' says Dr. Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then."

Yuck.

5. Cheap entertainment.
My older son has been entertained by the popcorn popper since the first time we used it, back when was barely two years old. Even now as a big five-year-old, he still likes watching the kernels spin and then pop like crazy. It's a great way to dispell a grouchy mood. Even though the baby doesn't eat popcorn yet (choking hazard and all), he giggles and squeals as we make it. Homemade popcorn is also better for crafts like popcorn chains (can you imagine stringing greasy microwave popcorn?).

6. Homemade popcorn tastes better.
Microwave popcorn in "butter flavor" doesn't come close to popcorn with real butter. It just doesn't. It might take you a little adjustment at first if you're used to the intensely flavored and super-salty stuff, but once you're used to the wholesome taste of popcorn seasoned with some salt and real butter, you'll think the microwave stuff is gross. Plus, there are other options for seasoning air popped popcorn: cocoa popcorn (my son literally licked the bowl clean), basil popcorn (yum), toffee popcorn (this recipe looks amazing), and more. The best part about homemade popcorn is that you control what goes (and doesn't go) in it. You can make it as healthy or as decadent as you want.

All this is making me hungry. I'm going to go make some now. So should you.

Recipe for Relief: Homemade Teething Biscuits

2012-01-19T07:00:00.068-07:00

Teething. It's one of those things parents dread, right up there with sleepless nights and potty training. My baby is 9 1/2 months old right now and already has a bunch of teeth. Besides Hyland's Teething Tablets (just discovered these -- they're awesome), having something to gnaw on seems to bring my sweet little guy some relief.

A few years ago, I came across a recipe for teething biscuits in my favorite (but now defunct) magazine, Wondertime. Even though my firstborn was well past the teething stage and my second child wasn't even a twinkle in my eye yet, I clipped the recipe because I knew it would come in handy some day. The recipe is super-simple and the biscuits are the perfect size and shape for chubby (and, might I add, impossibly cute) baby hands to hold.

Teething Biscuits (from the February 2009 issue of Wondertime)

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup maple syrup (The real stuff, people. Don't even think of using imitation pancake syrup.)
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir until dough begins to hold together. Dust countertop with flour and transfer the dough to the floured surface.

Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth -- this will take around three minutes. If the dough gets sticky and difficult to handle, dust with a little more flour.

Roll out the dough until it's somewhere between a 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits. You can use a doughnut cutter if you have one or you can use the top of a kids cup like I did, then cutting out the hole in the center with soda-bottle cap. You could also do different shapes and use a cookie cutter, but I prefer the circles because they seem easier for babies to grip.

Transfer biscuits to a greased cookie sheet (or you could use a Silpat. I looove my Silpat.). Bake until they're just barely browned, about 35 minutes. Let them cool completely on the cookie sheet. If you'd like them to harden even more, leave them out overnight (this didn't seem necessary to me since they're pretty hard once they've cooled). Store in an airtight container (they fit perfectly in a wide-mouth canning jar) for up to 2 weeks.

Sometimes my baby loves these, sometimes he just plays with one like it's a hockey puck (seriously, he sends it flying all around his highchair tray like he's playing a round of air hockey). But when he loves them, he gnaws and gnaws on them until they get all gooey and sticky. Which is fine. It seems like babies are often happiest when they're in that sticky-gooey state anyway.

How I Learned to Knit

2012-01-17T14:40:00.007-07:00

I actually kept one of my resolutions from 2011. Please, please...hold your applause...

In a post I wrote at the beginning of 2011, I mentioned that I wanted to learn new and resourceful skills and at that top of that list was knitting. I know exactly why I wanted to learn so badly: SouleMama. As I've mentioned before, Amanda Soule's blog, SouleMama, is one of my favorite blogs out there. Many of her posts are about her various knitting projects (like making twelve sweaters in one year. Twelve!) and after reading knitting posts like this one, I just had to learn. It seemed so cozy, so rewarding, a resourceful skill (hence the mention on this blog), and I'd heard that it was a great way to relax (sidenote: check out this fascinating article about how knitting is better than Prozac. Wow.). It was Amanda Soule's book, The Handmade Home, that helped me overcome my sewing machine phobia and it only makes sense that she would inspire me to take up this newest craft.

My sister-in-law, Kristal (the same one who gave me sewing lessons), got a friend of hers to try to teach us how to knit. Of course, Kristal picked it up without a problem. Me? Yeah, as she was on her tenth row, I was like, "Wait...is this how you cast on?" (Nope). I'll admit, it takes me a little time to figure new things out. I left the lesson feeling confused and decided to forgo knitting for a time. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

But then I saw those amazing posts from SouleMama and I still wanted to learn. I consulted Amazon.com, read a bunch of reviews, and ordered a couple knitting books (more on those later). After perusing the books, I got casting on down really well, but knitting and purling? Not so much. The hard thing about learning from a book is that you can't ask a book a question.

So I turned to YouTube videos since there are a bazillion videos about knitting. I sat in front of the computer with my cheap aluminum needles from Walmart and a ball of old yarn, eager and ready to learn. It didn't work for me. Either the angles of the videos were awkward, the person doing the video was talking/moving too quickly (or making weird spitty sounds with their mouths. It's a strange pet peeve of mine), or the person teaching used too much knitting jargon and I couldn't follow. Sigh.

Then a friend of mine suggested taking a class at a knitting store nearby. In a cozy cabin/store (if you're a local, check it out) last November, I finally figured out how to knit. It was so great to have a person there that could look over my shoulder, make sure I was doing the stitches right, and who could answer all of my questions. I'd say that all my attempts before weren't a complete waste because I picked it up pretty quickly once I had someone teaching me one-on-one.

I am now addicted to knitting. I look forward to places where I have to wait when I have my knitting bag with me. I even find myself happy when I get a long stoplight! I love finding all sorts of fun knitting projects on Pinterest (you can find my knitting board here), The Purl Bee (gorgeous), and Ravelry. It feels strange to not have something to work on after the kids are asleep, when the husband and I stream episodes of Psych off Netflix. And I'm currently trying to figure out how much money to send with my in-laws when they visit Peru this summer (all that alpaca yarn straight from the source!!).

For those of you inspired to give knitting thing a try, I highly suggest taking a class (check out yarn stores, ask around, or use helpful site called Betterfly). I like paying for a class from someone I don't know -- they have to be patient with me because I'm paying them! Plus, if I don't know the person who's teaching me, I don't feel dumb asking all sorts of newbie questions. Everyone learns differently -- it took me trying every way before it all clicked with me.

I'll be the first to say that I'm no expert. Not even close. You should see the first hat I ever made. Yikes. But I love it and I'm still learning. It's a process. Here are a few resources that are helping me get better...

1. Those knitting books I ordered a couple years ago.
The two knitting books I ordered were Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book and Teach Yourself Visually: Knitting. There are things about each book that I really like and each has its own strengths.

Vogue Knitting is a great reference book because it's so comprehensive. I love it for the pages like the one pictured above -- if I can't remember what a certain stitch pattern looks like or if I need a refresher about how to do something, I almost always can find it in this book. It covers everything from beginner stuff to advanced information. There are so many detailed instructions, diagrams, and photographs in this book. It truly is, as the full title says, the ultimate knitting book.

The second book I got, Teach Yourself Visually: Knitting, is a good companion to the first. I think the step-by-step photos in it are more helpful than some of the illustrated instructions in Vogue Knitting. This book is great as a quick reference when I'm trying something new, like when I first tried knitting in the round. There's something that helps my brain when I can see what my hands should be doing when I compare them with the pictures (though mine don't even come close to looking as smooth and manicured as theirs...).

2. Internet Videos
Last night, I was searching through the various videos on YouTube, trying to figure out how to do a technique called the magic loop. There were a bunch to choose from. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with the ones I watched. Again, they were either filmed from bad angles or they moved too quickly for me (even occasionally pausing the video didn't help much). Annoyed, I went to bed and decided to try again in the morning. I went to Pinterest this morning because I remembered a pin on my knitting board about best knitting tutorial site. I check it out and what a difference! The site is called Very Pink and the tutorials are awesome! I highly recommend her videos and I can't wait to check out more.

3. Ravelry
When I took my knitting class, the instructor told me that I had to set up a Ravelry account when I got home. I'd heard of Ravelry before from, you guessed it, SouleMama, but never created an account. Ravelry is a fantastic site, an entire knitting and crocheting community online. You can find all sorts of patterns, forums, yarn suggestions, online help, search engines, everything a knitter could possibly want. Best of all -- it's free to join and a lot of the patterns on there are free, too. It is such a great resource and I've only scratched the surface of it!

***
Knitting works so well for where I am in my life right now. I still love sewing, but it's so hard to get much sewing done with a crawling baby who is into everything (and putting everything into his mouth). With knitting, I can take it and do it anywhere. Even though I'm just a couple months into my new hobby, I am absolutely loving it. I'm even going to start a new feature on here soon about my current projects. Give knitting a try -- you might find yourself addicted like I am.

Wrapping Up 2011: The Year's Most Popular Parsimonious Posts

2011-12-31T13:00:00.004-07:00

I can hardly believe it's New Year's Eve already. What a year it has been! I don't know about you, but it has flown by for me.

It's been an adjustment for us at our house having a new baby. Little Jonah is a dream come true, a perfect and happy little baby (all 22 pounds of him), busy crawling all around the house. Our other son, Max, has really stepped up and become an amazing big brother (though he was already an awesome kid to begin with). We met a big financial goal in 2011 -- we just refinanced to a 15-year mortgage (with our payment only going up $150/month. Hooray for low interest rates!). All in all, we feel really blessed and hope that 2012 will be good to us, too.

I thought it would be fun (at least for me), to look back at the year, glance through the blog statistics, and see what posts were most popular in 2011. You never know what people will find helpful and/or interesting. So, without further ado, here are the top 10 posts on The Parsimonious Princess:

10. The Easiest {and Best} Roast Chicken Recipe
Chicken, lemons, salt, and pepper. Seriously, that's all you need. It's is ridiculous how good this chicken is. Thank you, Marcella Hazan!

9. 8 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Frugally Fatigued
I remember writing this and thinking that I've experienced all eight of those ways. It's easy to get burned-out on living frugally if you don't have the right frame of mind and specific goals.

8. The Latest Concoction: Homemade Bathtub Scrub
A mixture of castile soap, baking soda, water, and vinegar. Makes your bathtub practically sparkle!

7. This Cold House: How to Sew a Draft Stopper
Draft stopper, draft dodger, draft snake. Whatever you want to call it, this easy sewing project can help you save on your utility bills. Now if only I could find mine...

6. Squeaky Clean for Pennies: How to Make Foaming Hand Soap
Just water and a little bit of liquid castile soap. The only bad thing about this experiment for me was realizing how much money I'd wasted buying the stuff before.

5. Meatless Monday: Noodles with Thai Peanut-Chili Sauce
Yum. My favorite go-to meal from the pantry. I make this when I'm feeling too lazy to plan and/or cook anything for dinner.

4. Canned Heat: How to Make an Emergency Heater
Peace of mind for five bucks. I love having one of these in our car in the wintertime, just in case.

3. Functional, Not Fancy: Homemade Nursing Pads
So simple to make and they work really well. I used them all the time during my first few weeks postpartum.

2. DIY Plumbing Project: The Cloth Diaper Sprayer
I will spare you the gross details and just say that this sprayer is a must if you're going to cloth diaper. MUST.

1. How to Make Cloth Wipes & Solution
I'll admit, I was a little surprised that this is the most popular post of the year. We're still using the same cloth wipes I made back in March and they work great (I personally think they work better than the disposable wipes). The wipes couldn't be easier to make. The wipe solution is also simple: water, baby shampoo/soap, and olive oil.

---

I am excited to start the new year (Well, mostly excited. I do turn 30 next year...). I love the fresh start that January 1st brings. In terms of this blog, I've got all sorts of posts planned: more cloth diapering (since those were the most popular posts, after all), Meatless Monday recipes, cleaning concoctions, product reviews (a company actually sent me a sample to review!), Random Reuses, fun stuff for the kids, plenty of canning, and miscellaneous craftiness. As always, if you have any questions, things you would like to see more of, ideas you'd like to share, don't hesitate to shoot an email to parsimoniousprincess(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you so much for reading my blog and best wishes for 2012!

Counting the Days: A Fun, Easy, and Thrifty Advent Calendar

2011-11-30T00:53:00.014-07:00

The anticipation of Christmas Day is part of what makes the season so magical, I think. That's why I love advent calendars. When I was a kid, I loved those European-looking advent calendars with the perforated windows that held a chocolate behind each one. My mom has a wooden advent calendar with 25 little doors and she puts treats in each for the grandkids to enjoy (my son and his cousin started asking about it a month ago). My sister-in-law makes long chains of candy, sectioned off 25 times. And, of course, there are the classic paper chains we all made in school. I remember how fun it was to tear off a paper ring each day as Christmas got a little closer. Ah, the simple joys of childhood.

There are a TON of ideas and tutorials for making advent calendars. I've seen so many advent ideas on Pinterest (You're on Pinterest, right? Love it.) and I've been planning on making one. There are a lot cute fabric ones I want to make (like this one), but sewing has been kind of difficult for me ever since I had my baby, especially since he's crawling and getting into everything now (He's eight months old today! Time goes by way too fast). So, this year, I decided to opt for a variation on the classic paper chain. In addition, I added some extra features to each link on the chain to help my family fully enjoy all the holiday festivities.

I got the idea for the tree-shaped paper chain on Pinterest, pinned from the blog, Make and Takes. Not only was it cute, but it also looked easy to make (hooray!). The supplies to make it are minimal (read: super cheap) and it doesn't take long at all. Today would be a perfect day to get yours made in time for December.

Materials Needed:

Construction paper -- a few sheets of green (I used four), one sheet of red, and one sheet of yellow
A ruler
Pen/pencil
Scissors
Tape

I'd also suggest printing off the page from the Make and Takes post for reference when you assemble the chain.

Once I had all my supplies, I started measuring and drawing lines on the construction paper so I would cut strips that were the same size. I started with 2-inch wide strips, but scaled down to 1 1/2-inch wide strips. As for length, I did the entire length the paper. If you want to follow the tree chain on the Make and Takes blog, you'll need 19 green strips, 5 red strips, and 1 yellow strip.

Here's where I added my own features to the paper-chain tree.

The other day, I saw a post on Simple Mom about doing a simple advent countdown with Christmas activities attached to each day. I thought that was a great idea and I wanted to incorporate it with my paper-chain advent. Then, I saw a list on Pinterest, pinned from Tip Junkie, of scriptures to read each day of December. I thought that was a great way to keep the true meaning of Christmas in our thoughts, so I incorporated that into the paper chain, too. I wrote both the scripture of the day and the activity of the day (the scripture and the activity have nothing to do with each other) on each strip of paper before assembling the chain, as you can see below.

The activities are nothing grandiose, by any means. Just the fun, simple things that go along with the holiday: classic movies (A Christmas Story, anyone?), making cookies (Try my gingerbread recipe. It is THE best.), making popcorn chains, building a snowman, driving around and looking at lights on houses, reading Christmas books, making ornaments, visiting Santa, and more. I kept mine really simple and realistic -- before I wrote any activity down, I made sure it was something I could do, even when the days are busy (as they inevitably are during this time of year).

I also took the activity aspect a little further and kept our calendar in mind. Early in the month, for example, one of our activities is to make ornaments. It wouldn't make much sense to make them a few days before the tree comes down. Closer to Christmas, I want to take the kids to see Santa one night and watch A Nativity Story just a couple nights before Christmas. Also, my husband's birthday is in December, so I wanted one of the links on the chain to be centered around celebrating his birthday.

Anyway, to help me not get all mixed up since the links aren't in a straight line, I kept them as in order as possible (the month starts at the bottom, of course) and wrote the date on the outside of each link so I'd know when to tear off each link. Plus, it helps with the scripture list since that follows a specific order, too.

Once all the scriptures and activities were written on each strip, my son and I taped them into loops and assembled the link as shown in the Make and Takes post. I was glad that I didn't have to figure out that part -- I just checked and double-checked the picture I was following. I tied a little ribbon on the yellow loop on top and hung it from a hook that was already in the door. Really easy. Each day, we'll tear off a link and hang it on the fridge to remind us of the activity and scripture of the day. I can't wait for December to start!

'Frugalizing' the Swiffer, Part 2: How to Make a Cloth Wet Jet Pad

2011-11-17T09:51:00.009-07:00

Yeah, I'm back. I took break for a while there. I could chalk it up to October being a busy month for us (my firstborn's fifth birthday, hosting the annual Halloween party, making costumes at all hours of the night, etc.), but, really, I just needed to take a break. When life gets crazy and overwhelming, it's best to just cut back, I think.

I apologize if you've been waiting on the edge of your seats (ha ha) for Part 2 of my attempts to 'frugalize' the Swiffer Wet Jet. The wait is over!

When we purchased the Wet Jet, a few of the disposable cloths were included. They work really well. I understand the appeal of the Swiffer. I'll be completely honest, my homemade cloth ones aren't quite as nice as the Swiffer cloths, but they do the job. And really, the Swiffer cloths, as handy as they may be, aren't good enough to make me want to spend over $10 for a package of them -- especially since they end up in the trash. This homemade alternative (inspired by a post I found on Pinterest) helps me keep my floor clean and saves money. Plus, they're really easy to make.

What You'll Need

1 package of cloth diapers -- You can get the Gerber padded prefolds at just about any store. The ones I used were flat cloth diapers that were on sale (understandably so -- as I was using them, I couldn't help but think over and over how terrible these particular diapers would be for actually diapering a baby!). The prefolds are easier for this project because you don't have to fold them as much, but if you find some cheap flat diapers, go with those -- I'll show you how I folded them later.
Sew-on velcro -- two 10-inch strips (fuzzy side only) for each pad.
Thread, pins, scissors, a ruler, and a sewing machine.

The How-To

1. Fold and Pin
If you're using prefolded diapers, lay the diaper out flat. Fold the top 1/3 down to the middle (if you're not familiar with prefolds, the diapers are divided by seams into thirds). Do the same with the bottom third. If you're using a flat diaper, I've outlined the steps to folding it into thirds in the photos below.

It's a little hard to explain (I hope the pictures help) -- you basically just fold the edges to the middle so they meet (step 2) and then repeat it again (step 3). You don't have to do it this way exactly, but it worked for me.

Your goal is to have a rectangle that is around 5 inches wide. Pin in place, if desired.

2. Measure and Cut

Once the diaper is folded, you'll have a long strip. Fold it in half and cut on the fold.

Each diaper makes two cloth pads.

3. Pin the Velcro

Cut two 10-inch strips of Velcro. You'll only be using the soft, fuzzy side. With the help of a ruler or measuring tape, pin the Velcro on the diaper about an inch from each edge. It's a good idea to place one of the Velcro strips on top of the folded-over edge of the diaper so you don't have a flap that catches as you mop.

4. Sew the Velcro and Edges

Using a zig-zag stitch, sew down each side of the strips of Velcro. Use the same stitch along each short end of the pad.

5. Mop Away!
Stick the pad onto the Wet Jet and mop. When finished, peel it off and throw it in the wash. Enjoy your clean floors and revel in the self-satisfaction of your 'frugalizing' efforts.

'Frugalizing' the Swiffer, Part 1: How to Refill the Wet Jet

2011-10-06T23:27:00.008-06:00

I hate mopping. At least, I used to.

There's always been two options when it came to mopping for me: using a soapy, wet rag (done with the classic push-it-around-with-your-foot method) or with a drippy (and, might I add, gross) sponge mop. So, yeah, it didn't get done as often as maybe it should. Problem is, I'm married to a guy who's a little obsessive about having really clean floors. Sigh.

Now add into the mix a six-month-old baby. He's not crawling yet, but it's not too far off. With that comes extra vacuuming and, you guessed it, more vigilant floor mopping. Double sigh.

A few weeks ago, we were shopping at the local Walmart and we passed a display of Swiffer Wet Jet starter kits. My husband, the aforementioned clean floor fanatic, grabbed one of them. "This would be so much better than what we've got!" (Enter the gross sponge mop.) My instant reaction to it, although I could see how much better it really would be, was, "No way. It seems great now, but then you have to buy the special cleaning pads and their cleaner, which is full of chemicals..."

Yeah, we got it anyway. As expected, it made cleaning the floors so much easier. Yet part of me, the part that swore off paper towels and that uses vinegar to clean just about everything, still wasn't a fan. That is, until I did some research and found that there are a bunch of Swiffer Wet Jet hacks out there, using all types of methods to make this handy dandy mop more budget-friendly.

I looked through a few of the ideas, watched a video or two, and I am happy to report that I have found the easiest ways to, as my husband put it, "frugalize" the Swiffer.

Today's post is about refilling the Wet Jet bottle...

Before I even looked anything up, I tried to unscrew the lid so I could refill it. No way. That lid is sealed on tight. Some of the methods I came across involved making holes in the plastic lids, using tiny funnels to fill it, and so on. I get not wanting to pay $8 for cleaning solution, but it seemed like a pain. Then I found this super-easy method:

Fill a small saucepan with enough water to submerge the cap of the bottle and bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, dip the cap into the water (as pictured above) and hold it there for 90 seconds. Heating the cap makes the plastic soft enough that a good, hard twist gets it off. I'd suggest doing this with a dishtowel since the cap will be kind of hot.

Once you get the cap off, you'll see that all along the edge are some little notches/prongs (aka, the things that keep you from getting the lid off in the first place). You can clip the prongs off easily with a nail clipper. Once the prongs are off, the lids screws on and off without any trouble at all. Refill the bottle with your usual cleaner of choice (hooray for vinegar!).

Coming soon: Part 2 -- Making Your Own Swiffer Cloth Pads. Seriously easy.

Canning Cucumbers, Part Two: Dill Pickle Spears

2011-09-26T23:17:00.004-06:00

I may not be too fond of sweet pickles, but I love a good dill pickle. There are a variety of ways to make dill pickles -- fresh pack, brined, cooked, canned, refrigerated, lacto-fermented. For my foray into pickle making, I decided to try a simple fresh pack recipe.

Although this recipe doesn't produce the crisp dill pickles I like most (I'm determined to make this recipe next year), they are still delicious and work well in a variety of recipes and on a hamburger or in a sandwich.

Fresh Pack Dill Pickles - from The Ball Blue Book of Preserving

Yield: about 7 pints or 3 quarts

8 lbs. 4- to 6-inch cucumbers, cut lengthwise into halves (we cut ours into quarters)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canning salt (can be found in the canning section in your local grocery store)
1 quart vinegar
1 quart water
3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices (also can be found in the canning section)
Green or dry dill (1 head per jar)
Cheesecloth and kitchen string or a store bought spice bag (For instructions on how to make a spice bag, check out this link -- it's really easy.)

Wash cucumbers; drain. Combine sugar, salt, vinegar, and water in a large saucepot. Tie spices in a spice bag; add spice bag to vinegar mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes. Pack cucumbers into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Put one head of dill in each jar.

For those who are wondering what a head of dill looks like, there it is. The head is made of up the flower at the top of the plant, the part with several stems and little buds at the ends. These heads of dill came from my mom's garden, but you can also buy it in the produce section, by the packaged fresh herbs). You can also use dried heads of dill. (After a little research, I've learned that you can can substitute 1 Tablespoon of dried dill seed for 1 head of fresh dill.)

Ladle hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles by running a rubber spatula around the inside of the jar, between the cucumbers and the glass. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 15 minutes (be sure to adjust for altitude, if necessary) in a boiling-water canner.

Allow 4-6 weeks for these pickles to cure and develop the best flavor.

Have you ever made pickles? What's your favorite kind -- to eat and/or make? Any recipes/links I should know about?

Canning Cucumbers, Part 1: Sweet Pickle Chips

2011-09-21T13:21:00.005-06:00

Yet another reason why I love this time of year: people sharing the bounty from their gardens. I mean, isn't that such a nice gesture? We joke about people unloading all their extra zucchinis on neighbors, but I think it's nice. Like the lady in my mom's neighborhood who gave her eight pounds (eight!) of pickling cucumbers a few days ago. Free homegrown produce? Sweet!

Until this latest endeavor, Mom and I had never canned pickles. Never. But seeing as we had to do something with all those cucumbers, we decided to give it a go. Hooray for learning and trying new things, right? So, I took the kids up to my parents' house (hence the different setting for all the photos in the pickle posts -- I even used my dad's camera) for the day and we canned a bunch of cucumbers I'm happy to report that pickle-making isn't too difficult. So, for the next couple posts, I'm going to share the recipes and techniques we used to make pickles.

Pickle Post #1: Sweet Pickle Chips

I'll be totally honest: I'm not a huge fan of sweet pickles. I don't hate them, but I definitely don't seek them out. But my mom likes them. Plus, she has this childhood memory of eating homemade sweet pickles with a neighborhood friend when she was a kid and she's always wanted to try making her own. My motivation for me to make these: they are an ingredient in my grandma's potato salad recipe (ridiculously good).

This recipe we used was one of the simplest we found (we found it on cooks.com). Many recipes for sweet pickles call for a ton of spices and seasonings. While this one had only a few ingredients, the results were quite tasty. Mom says they're as good as the ones her neighbor made all those years ago.

Sweet Pickle Chips
- yield: 6 pint-sized jars -

4 lbs. pickling cucumbers - washed, blemishes removed, stems and blossom ends removed

Brining solution:
1 quart distilled white vinegar
3 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. mustard seed
1/2 cup sugar

Canning Syrup
1 2/3 cup of distilled white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp. whole allspice
2 1/4 tsp. celery seed

{Note: I don't know if we reduced ours too much during the cooking process or what, but we ended up having to make extra canning syrup. This may or may not be the case for you, but I think it'd be a good idea to have enough of the ingredients on hand to make another batch, if necessary.}

Once your cucumbers are washed and the ends have been trimmed off, cut the cucumbers across into 1/4 inch slices.

In a large pot, mix together the ingredients of the brining solution. Add the cucumbers and stir. Cover the pot and let the cucumbers simmer in the brining mixture for about 5-7 minutes, until the cucumbers lose their bright color and look more dull.

While the cucumbers are cooking, make the canning syrup by combining the vinegar, sugar, whole allspice, and celery seed. Heat mixture in a saucepot until the syrup comes to a boil.

Once the cucumbers are done cooking, drain. Pack the cucumbers into the hot pint-size canning jars (again, we ended up using 6 pint-size jars). Cover the cucumbers with the hot syrup, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove the air bubbles by running a rubber spatula around the inside of the jar, between the cucumbers and the jar, moving the spatula up and down. Adjust lids and bands and process for 15 minutes (be sure to adjust for altitude and add on extra minutes, if necessary).

Product Review: Tattler Resuable Canning Lids

2011-09-19T22:48:00.008-06:00

I first learned about Tattler reusable lids last fall, right after I finished canning numerous quarts of pears, apple pie filling, salsa, and peaches. I remember reading about the lids on a blog and thinking, "Now you tell me!"

In all my years of canning, I only knew about the metal ones that came with the jars. I had no idea there even was an alternative. That said, I always wondered why lids could only be used once. Wasn't there any way around that? That's where Tattler reusable lids come into play.

Tattler reusuable lids are just that -- reusable. The lids are made of a washable, heat-resistant plastic. When used with a rubber ring (which come with the plastic lids) and the regular metal canning rings, Tattler lids can help you preserve your food year after year. The best part is that once you buy them, you never have to buy canning lids again. Even the rubber rings are reusable, so long as there are no signs of damage or wear on them (you can buy replacement rubber rings for a couple bucks). The company says that if the lids ever wear out, they'll replace them for free -- and according to the website and the pamphlet that came with the lids I bought, they've never had to replace a single lid. That's pretty awesome.

These lids are a guaranteed money saver. There is some initial investment (three dozen wide mouth lids for $23.95; $20.95 for three dozen regular mouth lids), but even that isn't much. It usually costs about $4-5 for a box of 12 of the one-use metal dome lids. If you do a lot of canning, the price for lids can really add up. Plus, once they're used, they're trash. With the reusable lids, you get years of use and they eventually pay for themselves. It goes almost without saying that Tattler lids are a much smarter choice. Plus, the lids contain no BPA like the metal dome lids do. Even more reason to use them!

So this is my first canning season with Tattler lids -- I ordered mine about a month ago and couldn't wait to try them out. I only bought the wide mouth ones, but I'm going to place an order for some the regular size ones soon. I've used them with both salsa and jam so far and I can definitely say I won't go back to the old lids for the majority of my canning (I'll still buy a few of the metal lids now and then so I can share jars of my canned foods. No way am I giving away my reusable lids!).

The lids took a little getting used to for me since I've learned with and have been using the metal dome lids for so long. You can't fill the jars as much as you would with the metal lids -- you need about an inch headspace in each jar so that the lids can seal. After a few jars, though, I got the hang of the Tattler lids. You heat the lids and rubber rings like you would with the metal ones. Once heated, you put rubber ring and lid combination on the jar, screw the metal rings (as I said previously, you reuse your metal rings with the Tattler lids) on loosely to keep the lid in place, and then process the jars as you normally would. Once the jars are done processing, you have to tighten the rings on the jars immediately.

My only complaint: I like the way you can tell that the metal dome lids are sealed. When the jars cool, you just have to tap the metal lids to make sure they're sealed. Plus, I love that popping sound of the metal lid sealing into place. With the Tattler lids, you have to unscrew the metal rings (once the jars have cooled, of course) and lift gently on each lid to see if they sealed. It's not a huge bother, but it takes more time. Still, that's not enough to make me even consider going to back to the dome lids.

I definitely recommend Tattler reusable lids. To me, they're one of those frugal no-brainers.

The Return of Canning Season: Some Recipes, Reasons, and How Canning is Sexy

2011-09-12T00:00:00.009-06:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again: one of the main reasons I love late summer-early autumn is canning. I love canning. It's not easy and it can make a big mess, but I love it. It's just so satisfying to rows of beautiful glass jars full of delicious summer produce in the pantry. And opening a jar of some of that in the winter? Lovely.

For the next couple weeks or so, it's all about canning here. Before we get started, though, I thought I'd share a few links to past posts of mine, along with other blog posts about canning that I've enjoyed.

To Get You Started:

Yes You Can! -- My motivations for canning and why I love it.

All You Really Need -- A list of supplies to get you started.

The Fruits of My Labor:
Apples -- Applesauce and Pie Filling
Jam (Pluot jam!)
Peaches
Pears
Peppers

Other Helpful Sources and Inspiration:

Roasted Tomato Salsa -- Doris and Jilly Cook {Mom and I just canned a batch of this. It is the BEST!}

9 Good Reasons to Can Your Own Food -- Simple Bites

Preserving Summer: A Round-Up of Inspiration -- Simple Bites

Preserve! - SouleMama {My favorite blog}

And if you still haven't caught the canning bug, watch the video below. If you're a big canning geek like me, watch the video below. It made me kind of giddy. Classie Parker tells you why you should can. After all, as she says in the video, "Canning is sexy, baby!"

The Canning Queen of the Desert from Etsy on Vimeo.

Misto, Misto: Why I Stopped Using Cooking Spray

2011-09-07T21:55:00.012-06:00

I'll just get this out of the way right now: from the first time I heard of the Misto to just about every time I use it now, I can't help but think of one part from Happy Gilmore. It's the part where Happy (Adam Sandler) is at the nursing home with his grandmother and there's this lady who says, "Mista! Mista! Get this offa me!" Yeah, just about every time I get my Misto out of the pantry, I think, in that lady's voice, "Misto! Misto!" My husband does the same thing, too.

Now that I've got that out of the way, let me tell you about my latest frugal find, the Misto.

I first heard about the Misto from Betsy at Eco-Novice -- she mentioned it in a comment on one of my posts and I was intrigued. The Misto is basically a replacement for those aerosol cans of cooking spray. You simply fill the Misto halfway with any kind of vegetable oil, pump the lid a few times, and the oil sprays out in a fine mist.

The Misto costs around $10. Even if that seems like a lot for a sprayer, buying cooking spray in an aerosol can is much more expensive. In fact, you might even say canned cooking spray is a rip-off. Let me explain with a little bit of math. (Those who know me may have just gasped at the idea of me doing math. Don't worry -- it wasn't too complicated.)

The cheapest I've been able to find cooking spray is at Walmart -- you can get a can of the store brand for around $2. Buy the name-brand stuff and your price goes up. For the $2 can, you're getting about about 185 grams of oil. I figured this by checking the nutrition label's serving size. A serving size (according to the label) is .25 grams. I multiplied that number by 741 (the amount of servings in a can). Once that number was calculated, I found a conversion table to help figure out how many grams are in a cup. Turns out, the conversion varies from food to food. For oil, there are 224 grams in a cup. (I checked another label for a name brand can of cooking spray and there's less in it -- around 158 grams). So, really there's less than a cup of spray in your typical can of cooking spray.

Take it a step further: that's not all oil in the cooking spray. While they all contain some kind of oil (canola, soybean, olive, etc.), you will also find a bunch of other ingredients in a can of cooking spray. Some of these extra ingredients include things like grain alcohol (added for clarity), soy lecithin (an emulsifier), dimethyl silicone (for anti-foaming), dimethylpolysiloxane (another anti-foaming agent), natural and artificial flavor, and propellant. I'm not necessarily saying that these are all bad (though, what is 'propellant' anyway?), but it is a bunch of extra stuff.

With the Misto, you can use the oil you already have on hand, which is a much more economical choice. You can get a 48 oz. bottle of canola oil for $3-5. Considering you get less than 8 oz. (a cup) of oil (plus all that other stuff) in a single can of aerosol spray for almost (if not the) same price, using the Misto is definitely more frugal.

I also like the Misto because I can use whatever oil I want -- I usually have extra virgin olive oil or canola oil in mine. I've been using the Misto for almost six months with little problem (there are some complaints if you read the reviews on Amazon, but I haven't experienced any trouble). I'm not going to tell you it works just as well as an aerosol cooking spray -- I have experienced some minor problems with sticking while baking. That said, the problems haven't made me want to go back to the aerosol spray. The Misto works well for me. Plus, I giggle a little when I use it. "Misto! Misto! Spray my pan!" Yes, I'm easily entertained.

Meatless Monday: Sour Cream & Cheese Enchiladas

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love Mexican food. LOVE it. I especially love Mexican cuisine because the recipes are made of basics -- rice, beans, cheese, and the like -- which translates to a frugal dish. And because many delicious Mexican recipes feature things like beans, rice, and cheese, it's not too difficult to make a meal meatless. Another reason I love Mexican food? It's soooo good, making it something the entire family will eat.

A few months ago, I came across a recipe for sour cream enchiladas on the Pioneer Woman's blog (love her.) and I knew I had to try them. As with every PW recipe I've tried (seriously, every recipe), it was absolutely delicious. These enchiladas have since become part of my repertoire of recipes. When I plan my dinners for the week and ask my husband what he'd like me to make, he'll almost always suggest these enchiladas.

I would just send you straight to PW's blog (really, if you haven't gone there, you must. MUST.) for the recipe and end this post right now, but I have tweaked it a bit to fit my family's tastes and preferences. The big difference is that I use flour tortillas, which may make them less authentic, but we just like them better. This also eliminates the need to fry the tortillas in oil as in the PW recipe.

That all said, here's our version:

Sour Cream & Cheese Enchiladas

Serves 6

6-8 flour tortillas (This number varies because of the size of the tortilla you're using, how much filling you put in them, and how many your pan can hold. I don't mean to be vague, but it varies for me every time. I say, start with six and go from there).
1 can (20 oz.) enchilada sauce
2 cups sour cream (I've used both regular and light with equally delicious results)
3 cups of colby jack cheese, shredded (I prefer this over cheddar. You can use any kind of cheese you want, though. One time I added a little shredded pepper jack and gave it a good little kick.)
1/2 cup chopped chives (If you don't have chives growing somewhere, you can use 1 cup of chopped green onions instead)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cayenne pepper
Pico de gallo (optional but highly recommended)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the sour cream, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, chives, cumin, and cayenne.

To soften the flour tortillas, wrap a few (2-3 at a time) in a slightly damp paper towel or cloth napkin. Microwave for a just a few seconds until they become flexible. You don't want the tortillas to crack as you're rolling them. Sidenote: Lately, I've been using uncooked flour tortillas since so many of the other flour tortillas have preservatives and hydrogenated oils; the uncooked ones only have flour, canola oil, salt, and sugar in them. When I use these tortillas, I'll just quickly cook them up and keep them in a tortilla warmer until I'm ready to roll them into enchiladas.

In a medium saucepan, heat the enchilada sauce. Using tongs, dip the tortilla in the enchilada sauce, coating the entire tortilla well, and then lay it on a plate. Put a dollop (about a couple tablespoons or so) of the sour cream mixture on the tortilla. Roll and place facing down in a 9x13 baking dish. Repeat with other tortillas until sour cream mixture is used up. Pour any leftover sauce over the enchiladas. Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese.

Bake for 15-20 until bubbly. Serve topped with pico de gallo. You don't have to do this, but it is so good. For a great recipe for pico de gallo, go to this link from (who else?) The Pioneer Woman. Trust me, when it comes to cooking just about anything, she knows what she's talking about! Plus, with garden tomatoes ripening now, there are few things better than some fresh pico de gallo.

5 Reasons Why You Should Have an Aloe Vera Plant

2011-08-30T16:06:00.015-06:00

I swear I put sunblock on my shoulders. I mean, I'm the one always reminding (okay, nagging) everyone in the family about sunblock. How, then, did I manage to get the most painful sunburn I've had since the blistery awfulness I experienced back in the summer of 2001? Luckily, this most recent sunburn was only on my left shoulder. Still, it was pretty painful. So, of course, I turned to my reliable aloe vera plant.

Since I was slathering on the aloe vera goo on my shoulder for days, I couldn't help but think that I should write a post about this amazing, dare I say magical, plant. It is so beneficial and so useful. As my husband put it, it's one of those things from nature where God comes close to giving Himself away, a big hint that He exists -- a plant that awesome couldn't happen by accident. (Kevin also maintains that ripe watermelon is also one of those kinds of creations. Mmmmm...watermelon...)

Aloe vera has been used for thousands of years, the earliest mention of it from a Sumerian tablet dating back to 2100 BC. References to the plant have been found in the early writings of various cultures -- from India and China to Greece and the Roman Empire. It's an plant full of vitamins and minerals, making it not only useful but great for your health.

But why mention aloe vera plants on this blog? Because this ever-useful plant doesn't cost much. And since it's a living thing, your plant justs keeps on giving and giving.

Here are a few of the reasons I love having aloe vera plants around the house:

{Note: While I may be explaining some health benefits of this amazing plant, I have to just say up front that I'm no doctor (surprise!) and that all of these remedies are things I've found that work for me or that I've learned through my own research. Basically, follow all of this at your own discretion, with your own needs and history in mind.}

1. Sunburn relief
There are a bunch of different kinds of creams, gels, and sprays on the market for sunburn relief. They work well (Solarcaine got me through the infamous, aforementioned sunburn from my college days) and do their jobs, but I've found that using the gel from an aloe vera leaf works just as well -- in some cases, even better. You simply clip off a piece of the leaf (I usually just snap a section off with my hands), open it up, and rub the gel over the affected area. Instant relief.

From the limited research I did for this post, I learned that aloe has over 200 naturally occurring nutritional substances, along with seven of the eight essential amino acids the body needs but can't produce. In terms of skin repair, it hydrates the skin and actually accelerates the repair due the vitamins, zinc, and polysaccharides (full disclosure: I have no idea what polysaccharides are) that reduce inflammation and stimulate epidermal growth. In fact, I even read that aloe vera has been used on skin cancer patients with pretty impressive results.

One great tip for using aloe vera on sunburns: clip off a big section of the leaf and stick it in the fridge. When you're ready to use it, it's delightfully cold on your skin. Ahhhhh. Sweet relief.

2. First-aid in the kitchen
Just yesterday I burned myself making lo mein. The second I put the onions into the hot canola oil, a few drops splattered up. Burns in the kitchen are common enough for me that I keep one of my aloe vera plants in the kitchen. So, whenever I burn myself, I just snap off the tip off a leaf, squish out the gel onto the burn, and feel better in seconds.

3. Enhance your natural beauty
It's said that the beautiful Egyptian queen Cleopatra used aloe vera on her skin daily. Aloe vera can be used in a variety of ways in your personal hygiene and beauty regimen. It's a great skin refresher and moisturizer. You can use the gel straight from the plant onto your skin or you mix up a homemade moisturizer with it.

To make an aloe vera moisturizer, mix 1/2 tsp or so of the gel with 1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil. Spread an even layer on your face in the morning and/or at night. Leftover moisturizer can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for about five days.

For more beautiful ways to use aloe vera in your personal hygiene routine, check out this helpful link that I found.

4. It's edible!
I've seen bottles and even jugs of aloe vera juice sold at the health food store and I've wondered how it's used. Turns out, taking aloe vera internally is really beneficial. It's said to help with a whole host of health issues, ranging from arthritis to gastrointestinal problems to kidney stone prevention to hair loss and dandruff to diabetes to even cancer (some believe it actually stops tumor growth). I read that Ghandi credited aloe vera juice as one of the main reasons his body could withstand long periods of fasting. I've never tried taking aloe vera as a health supplement, but I'm intrigued. You can find lots of information about the benefits of taking this herb internally here and here.

5. Purify the air in your home
A while back I came across an interesting book called How to Grow Fresh Air. Using the research found by NASA scientists (in their efforts to figure out how to keep air clean on moon bases in the future), the author compiled a list of fifty houseplants that are ideal for air purification. As you can probably guess, aloe vera is one of those plants. One of the reasons it's such a good air purifying plant is that, unlike most plants, it actually releases oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide at night. For this reason, the author of the book recommends keeping an aloe vera plant in every bedroom (which we do). So not only does it clean the air while we sleep, but we have plenty of aloe vera on hand whenever the need for it arises.

One other note about aloe vera: it's a really easy plant to grow. While I'm a pretty good gardener, I'm a notorious houseplant killer. I haven't killed an aloe vera plant yet. All three of our plants have survived numerous clippings and long periods of neglect (read: me forgetting to water them). To take care of your aloe vera plant, keep it in a sunny (or even semi-sunny) area, watering moderately in the spring, summer, and fall; water sparingly in the winter.

So buy an aloe vera plant of your own -- you can find them at nurseries, health food stores, and even the supermarket. I get mine at Ikea for three bucks. With a little bit of water and hardly any work, you can reap the benefits from one of nature's amazing botanical gifts.

Meatless Monday: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

2011-08-22T19:58:00.011-06:00

Sometimes, my husband's lunches catch the attention of his co-workers. As you can imagine, I enjoy this sort of validation, so whenever Kevin gets any sort of comment about his lunch, he passes it on to me. Anyway, one day my husband was eating leftovers for lunch and someone saw him and said, "Is that homemade macaroni and cheese? I haven't had that since I was a kid!" Then someone else dropped by his office for a minute, noticed his lunch, and said, "Is that homemade mac and cheese? I'm going to make that tonight!" Another co-worker, "Homemade macaroni and cheese! Wow!" Those leftovers got more attention than they deserved. Sure, it was yummy, but even when mac and cheese is made from scratch, it doesn't make much time or effort to make.

I love homemade macaroni and cheese for lots of reasons besides it being one of those tasty comfort foods. I initially got the recipe from a Rachael Ray cookbook years ago (incidentally, I'm almost certain this one was the only recipe I made from it) and have since tweaked it a little. I always have the ingredients on hand so it is one of my go-to recipes when I'm low on energy and/or ideas for dinner. If I can't think of anything to make, I'll just whip up this recipe, throw in some frozen vegetables, call it a meal, and everyone's happy and fed. Not only does this make it a convenient and delicious dinner, but a frugal one, too.

As I mentioned before it's really easy to make -- I can whip it up in about 15 minutes (that is, if you don't count the time waiting for the water to boil). And, in my humble opinion, the homemade macaroni and cheese is way better than the neon orange stuff that comes in a blue box. Just sayin'.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese -- adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe in 30-Minute Meals 2

16 oz. macaroni (I buy it 1 lb. boxes so I don't have to worry about measuring), cooked and drained
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (I don't really measure this one -- just a couple swirls around the pan)
3 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk (see below for more detail on what kind of milk to use)
3 cups of shredded cheese (If you want to be traditional, go with cheddar. But I say, use whatever you think would work. We really like it with colby jack cheese. )
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
fresh or frozen vegetables (optional)

To start, in a dutch oven, bring about 6-8 cups of water to a boil (just fill up the pot about 3/4 of the way). Once boiling, add macaroni and some salt. Cook according to directions on box. One variation: since I usually just serve this as the main course, I like to mix in some vegetables. In the past I've used broccoli, peas, cauliflower, and green beans. {The picture above features our dinosaur variation -- I told Max once that the broccoli are little trees and now he always pretends to be a very hungry, plant-eating dinosaur.} Whenever I add vegetables, I'll throw them in the pot with the pasta just a couple minutes before the cooking time is up (meaning I'll add the veggies at the 9 minute mark since it takes 11 minutes for the macaroni to be al dente). Drain.

Meanwhile, as the pasta is boiling...

Over medium-high heat, add the butter and olive oil to a deep skillet. Once the the butter has melted into the oil, add the flour. Whisk this together and cook for just a minute or so. FYI, this mixture is called a roux. Just thought I'd mention it. Don't you feel all culinary and fancy now?

Gradually add the milk and stir constantly until mixture becomes bubbly and starts to thicken.

Note: The recipe I first followed called for whole milk, but I've used 1% and even skim milk before. The lower fat content makes it take longer to thicken and it's not as creamy, but it works. When I made it most recently, I mixed 1 cup of 1% milk with 1/2 cup of cream. It gave it a nice consistency and it thickened pretty quickly.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the cheese. You can measure out the 3 cups of cheese, but I usually just measure by handfuls -- two to three big handfuls works well. As you can see above, my little sous chef went a bit crazy with the cheese. Oh well. Who has ever said, "Hmmmm. This macaroni and cheese is just a bit too cheesy."? In any case, stir the cheese until it combines and melts into the sauce. Add the nutmeg (sounds weird but add it) and cayenne. Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix in the cooked pasta (and vegetables, if using) and stir until the noodles are evenly coated in sauce.

There you have it -- homemade macaroni and cheese. Not only is it easy, but just about everyone loves it...

...especially hungry little boys..I mean, plant-eating dinosaurs.

Squeaky Clean for Pennies: How to Make Foaming Hand Soap

2011-08-11T10:51:00.004-06:00

Have I mentioned my love for Dr. Bronner's castile soap on this blog yet? I'm sure I have. In any case, it bears repeating: I'm a big fan of castile soap, both in bar and liquid form. It is useful in so many ways - for personal hygiene, cleaning, laundry, and more (newest discovery: it got rid of the cradle cap on my baby's head. Hooray!).

A few months ago, I came across a blog post about using castile soap to make foaming hand soap. My interest was instantly piqued, especially when I read that a bottle of the homemade stuff costs about 20 cents. Before I read that post, I routinely bought the more expensive all-natural hand soaps. Just following this simple soap solution was going to save me a bunch of money!

To make your own foaming hand soap, you'll need a foaming soap dispenser (I just reused one once it was empty), some liquid castile soap (I used the almond scented kind), and water. To make it, fill the dispenser almost all the way with water. Add 1 tablespoon of the castile soap. (You may need more or less soap, depending on the type of water you have and/or how big your dispenser is. According to the post I read, if it seems hard to spread around your hands, you need to use more soap. If it seems too slippery and hard to rinse off, you need to use less.) Put the pump back on the top and give the bottle a good shake to mix it up. Sure enough, you get a nice, foamy dollop of lather with each pump!

I made our last batch of this about a month ago, so I can attest to it lasting a while. Not only is this soap all-natural (no triclosan in this soap), but it's also kid-friendly, easy to make, and it has a nice, subtle smell. Plus, you just can't beat the price. Ah, yet another reason to love that castile soap...

Back Again

2011-08-09T14:17:00.005-06:00

It's been a couple weeks since I posted. If you haven't made the hummus recipe that's been at the top of my blog for that time, well, you're missing out.

Anyway, it's been a stressful few weeks at my house as we all passed around some variation of strep throat. First my four-year-old got it, but we caught it early, got him on an antibiotic, and heaved a sigh of relief that no one else caught it. Ha ha. A week later, I came down with it and got it worse than I ever remembered getting strep throat before. I was sleeping under four blankets in July because of the crazy chills I got. My tonsils are the worst (Seriously, the doctor looked at them and said, no joking, "Eww. These look awful." It's pretty bad when a doctor says, "Eww."). To top it off, I still had to nurse the baby when I could barely move AND my husband had to go out of town for a few days. Thank goodness for my mom -- I don't know what I would have done without her. And just when I thought I was out of the woods, my husband and baby got sick on the same day last week. Sigh. The second half of July was absolutely no fun at my house. That's what I get for tempting fate -- I made the mistake of pointing out how many months it'd been since anyone in our house was sick.

So, yeah, I'm still here. I'm glad you've checked back even though I haven't had anything new on here for a while. More posts to come, I promise.

Meatless Monday: Homemade Hummus

2011-07-25T22:04:00.008-06:00

About a week ago, I was out shopping with my boys at the local health food store and at the cash register was a container of hummus and some chips for customers to sample. My four-year-old (who, I'm proud to say, is usually pretty willing to try anything new) dug in. He loved it! I eventually had to tell him to stop, as he kept stuffing his mouth with the hummus-laden chips (I also had to keep him from doing a double dip). I almost added a container of the pre-made hummus to my grocery bill, but I realized that I already had almost all the ingredients to make a batch of it at home. All I needed was some tahini and we'd have homemade hummus in no time.

Although hummus alone doesn't exactly constitute a meatless meal, it's great in a meatless diet/meal because it serves as a complete protein, as well as a good source of iron. Granted, it is high in fat (as in, the good kind of fats) and calories, so eat it in moderation. We love to snack on it with tortilla or pita chips. It's also a great dip for vegetables. It also serves well as a spread on sandwiches -- you can bypass the meat and use hummus instead. Or just eat it plain with some pita bread. Yum!

Here's the recipe I use for hummus -- I think I may have gotten it from an issue of Everyday Food or Martha Stewart Living. I like it because it's a good, basic recipe -- you can take it as it is or adapt it to your tastes with various spices and mix-ins (peppers, different beans, extra garlic, etc.).

Homemade Hummus -- makes about 3 cups

2 cans (15.5 oz.) of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) {Note: when I was buying the tahini, the lady at the register suggested using Great Northern beans. She also said that she's used black beans in the past. Feel free to experiment!}
1/3 cup lemon juice (it took two fairly large lemons for me to get that much)
1/4 cup tahini (stirred well)
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

When you open one of the cans of chickpeas, save 1/4 cup of the liquid. Then, empty both cans into a colander; rinse and drain, shaking off excess water.

Some thoughts on tahini: For those not familiar with tahini, it's similar to peanut butter except that it's made from sesame seeds. A jar or can of tahini can run anywhere from $5-10, depending on what brand and size you buy and where you get it. I got mine at Whole Foods for about $6. That may seem kind of pricey, but a container of this stuff goes a long way, especially if you're only using 1/4 cup of it at a time. An opened container of tahini stores really well -- either on the shelf or in the refrigerator. The general consensus on storage is, if you're going to use it up fairly soon (like in a few months), store it at room temperature; otherwise, keep it in the fridge (where it can last a year -- some say even longer!). Before you use the tahini in your hummus, be sure to stir it really well since the oil and paste separate.

Put the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, reserved liquid, cayenne, and salt into a food processor. Pulse and process until the consistency is nice and smooth.

And that's it -- fresh, homemade hummus in mere minutes. If you like, you can garnish it with some extra virgin olive oil and a dash of paprika. Store in an airtight container (mine's in a glass canning jar) in the refrigerator for about a week or so.

Lovely Links: Middle of Summer Edition

2011-07-15T15:16:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite things in the summertime is harvesting fresh berries from our raspberry bushes. This year we're getting a ton of them. It's my sort of gardening consolation because the rest of my garden is stressing me out. More on that in another post...that is, if I can write about it without having a meltdown. Why must my plants be so stubborn?

Anyway, my Internet was out for a good portion of the week (which ended in me having to spend way more time than I needed to with some technician in the Philippines who kept making sure that I knew what an ethernet cable was. Grr.), so I haven't had a chance to post. Plus, summer is a busy time and things seem to take longer when it's hot. So, I decided this would be a great time to post a few summery links I've come across in the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Creamy Lemon Popsicles -- Nest
Last summer I wrote all about making your own popsicles, asserting that homemade ones are just as good, if not better, than the storebought variety. This recipe for creamy lemon popsicles serves as proof of this fact. Make these popsicles. Lemons, milk, cream, sugar -- how can you go wrong with that combination?

Peas! -- Tend
My first crop of peas were kind of productive (I'll be planting the second crop soon) and we've enjoyed them. This post from Tend (one of my new favorite blogs) features a recipe for homemade stock using pea pods. Pea pods! Why have I never thought of using the leftover, empty pea pods in stock before? It was a sort of lightbulb moment for me when I read about that.

Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies -- The Girl Who Ate Everything
A few weeks ago, I mentioned a recipe for lemon sugar cookies (yum!). Since then, I've realized that my favorite homemade cookies are citrus-infused sugar cookies. I'm addicted to them. They're dangerous to have around the house. I found this recipe for coconut lime sugar cookies (GASP!) and I'm going to report that they're just as delicious and dangerous as the lemon sugar cookies. There's something so fresh and summery about them, too.

Bubble Refill Container -- Come Together Kids
This is genius, really. A container with a dispenser, filled with bubble solution. Why didn't I think of this? Plus, this post is great because it has recipes for homemade bubble solution (Buying bottles of bubble solution at the store is a rip-off. Don't do it.). I've never used glycerin or corn syrup in my homemade bubbles (just dish soap and water for us), but I'm going to give it a try and see if it makes it any better.

Sidenote: the recipes in this post call for Dawn dishwashing soap. I've also seen recipes recommending Joy dishwashing soap. Although I buy the eco-friendly stuff for our dishes, I buy whatever's cheapest for bubble solution. Anyone out there have an opinion on what soap works best for bubbles? Just thought I'd ask.

Perfection: The Thief of Good Enough -- Simple Mom
This post arrived in my mailbox today. Oh boy, did I need it. I've always struggled with the paralysis that comes with perfectionism (see the aforementioned garden angst). Perfectionism can affect all aspects of our lives -- including attempts to live frugally and simply. A good read for just about anyone -- but especially me.

Meatless Monday: Nachos!

2011-07-11T05:50:00.014-06:00

Really, when you read the title of this post, read it like, "Naaaaaachoooos!" When I decided to post a recipe for nachos for this Meatless Monday post, in my head I kept hearing Jack Black say that (hence the picture on the left).

Believe it or not, nachos can be great dinner and the recipe I'm going to share makes them -- dare I say it? -- even somewhat healthy. They're also easy to make, inexpensive, and definitely a crowd pleaser. Who doesn't like nachos?

In fact, these nachos are one of my go-to recipes when I don't feel like cooking or if I've run out of dinner ideas. I almost always have the ingredients on hand in my pantry and fridge, so I can whip them up if I'm feeling tired/lazy/too hot to work in the kitchen on a summer evening.

The recipe I'm going to share is adapted from the one in the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, Simple Suppers (a cookbook I highly recommend for anyone who wants ideas for meatless meals).

Dinner Nachos
4 cups corn tortilla chips (or you can measure them like I do and use four big handfuls of chips)
1 15-oz. can of refried beans
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (Fresh tomatoes are great for this -- I'm counting the days until I can start using my garden tomatoes in everything -- but I've used canned diced tomatoes many times before, especially in the wintertime when the storebought tomatoes are just, well, not so tasty. If you're going this route, use a 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained.)
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (I've used all kinds -- fresh, jarred, red, green -- and they all work well in this recipe. Use whatever you like or have on hand!)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I use mostly colby jack and a little pepper jack.)
2 tablespoons of chopped green onions (or chives, if you've got them)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Choose a baking dish that's 9 x 13 inches, with sides that are two inches high.

Layer all the ingredients in the order given above. It doesn't have to be pretty. If the refried beans are too stiff to spoon over the chips, thin them with a little bit of water). As you can see above, my little guy helped me put the whole thing together, so it's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen (btw, wash and save at least a couple of the cans -- I'm going to be posting some fun, crafty reuses for them). If you end up making these nachos fairly regularly like I do, feel free to add other ingredients to mix things up (I'm planning on adding some corn kernels next time I make them -- the sweet corn roadside stands are back!).

Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the beans in the center are steaming hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Once they've cooled a bit, you can either cut into them and dish them out with a spatula onto individual plates or you can just set the pan of them in the middle of the table (or outside on a picnic blanket in the backyard) and have everyone dig in with their hands. It's the perfect sort of summertime dish (though not exclusive to summer, of course) -- casual, easy, and a little messy. Gotta love finger food!

But watch out -- they go fast!

For the Kids: Homemade Sidewalk Paint

2011-06-29T00:00:00.006-06:00

Really, it doesn't get much easier than this.

For kid-friendly outdoor creativity, mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water in a bowl/cup/reused container. Add a little bit of food coloring (not too much since you don't want to stain your sidewalk. A few drops will do ya.). Stir.

Give the kids some paintbrushes and send them outside. Easy for you, fun for them -- everyone wins.

Meatless Monday: Noodles with Thai Peanut-Chili Sauce

2011-06-27T06:00:00.012-06:00

Almost three months ago, after baby #2 was born (Has it been three months? I swear I had him last month. Weird.), my friend, Renee, stopped me in the hall at church and asked if she could bring me dinner the next night. Not being one to pass up a free meal, I was more than happy to let her.

Sure enough, she dropped off a dish of steaming noodles and a loaf of coconut bread the next day (Did I mention that my friend is from Hawaii? The coconut bread was divine.). Right after she left, my four-year-old and I looked at each other for a second and then dug in, slurping down the spicy, peanutty noodles. We somehow managed to stop and save some of the dinner for my husband, who was still on his way home from work. Of course, I called my friend the next day to get the recipe.

I love this recipe for a number of reasons. One reason, as I've already mentioned, is that it's totally delicious. It's also meatless, adaptable, and super-simple to make. It's a good summer recipe because it won't get your kitchen too hot and it only takes about 15 minutes to make. But I think I love it most because it's one of those go-to recipes that consists of things already in your fridge or pantry, making it a great frugal meal.

So without further ado, here's the recipe for this Meatless Monday...

Noodles with Thai Peanut-Chili Sauce

8 oz. linguine (I've used both regular and whole wheat. I also used a pound of spaghetti once.)
1/2 cup chicken stock (I know I said this recipe is meatless, but I figured chicken stock was kind of an exception since there's no actual meat in it. Plus, I had a bunch of my homemade stock in the freezer. That said, I'm certain vegetable stock would work just fine in this recipe.)
3 tablespoons peanut butter (feel free to adjust to your tastes and add more or use less)
1-2 teaspoons of chili sauce, like Sriracha (Again, adjust according to what you like. I used two teaspoons and it was spicy but no too hot for my little guy, though he's a little more tolerant of spicy foods than other kids. Start with the minimum and go from there-- you can always add more.)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Fresh ginger, about a 1-inch chunk, peeled and grated (tip: store fresh ginger in the freezer -- it keeps longer and is easy to grate)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Chopped green onions or chives, cilantro, chopped peanuts, limes

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, combine stock, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until peanut butter is smooth and all the ingredients are dissoved and melted together.

Drain pasta. Put cooked pasta in a serving dish or bowl. Add sauce. Toss until noodles are completely and evenly coated. Once the noodles are dished out on plates, top with chopped peanuts, green onions or chives, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Just Another Meatless Monday

2011-06-13T07:00:00.010-06:00

Not too long ago, I read about a new movement called Meatless Monday. It's an effort to improve the health of the population, to show people how to make more ethical food choices, and to help the world as a whole by going without any meat once a week (check the link above for a lot of great information about how and why you should go meatless for at least a day). While I think those are extraordinary reasons to go meatless one day a week, I'll take it a step further and suggest it for money-saving reasons, too.

Years ago, my husband and I didn't eat meat. We had fish occasionally, but we didn't eat any poultry, beef, or pork. For the most part, it wasn't that hard to do. Sure, we had to be a little more resourceful and inventive about what to cook since most recipes and meals center around some kind of meat, but it still wasn't so bad. Plus, it saved us a lot of money. Today, we eat meat but not too often -- we go meatless at our house probably 2-3 times a week.

When people would find out that my husband and I were vegetarian, the most common response was a baffled, "What do you eat?" I was surprised by how many people just couldn't get their heads around not having meat in a dinner. Truth is, going meatless doesn't relegate you to a life of solely cottage, cheese, beans, and Tofurky (though I never minded the tofu hot dogs, to be perfectly honest) -- there are so many options and ways to cook without meat, I swear you won't even miss it that much.

That's where my newest feature on this blog comes in -- every other Monday or so, I'm going to share a meatless recipe with you. It might be one of my tried and true recipes or it may be one I'm trying right along with you. And, please, send me your favorite meatless meals {my email address is parsimoniousprincess(at)gmail(dot)com} so I can share them with everyone.

As for tonight, try this recipe...

A couple Mondays ago, I tried out Pioneer Woman's recipe for taco pizza (though I used my go-to recipe for the crust since it's much faster). Yeah, the picture's not much to look at, but trust me, it's really, really good. We'd already eaten half of it by the time I thought to take a picture. The recipe is so simple to make and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. Black beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream mixed with Cholula? Mmmmm...a great way to start the week.

Verde Delicious: An Introduction to Tomatillos

2011-06-09T13:36:00.006-06:00

My garden isn't complete without a couple tomatillo plants. Every season, I plant them in pots on my patio, next to all my tomatoes, and dream about homemade salsa. Tell me I'm not the only one who dreams of salsa in her spare time...

{*crickets chirping*}

Well, it's worth dreaming about because few things are more delicious than salsa made from garden produce -- including salsa verde made from homegrown tomatillos.

Tomatillos are a great addition to your garden because they not only do well in a variety of salsas, but they're also easy to grow and can be very productive. Here are a few things I've learned about this plant, both from research and experience:

Overview

Tomatillos are indigenous to Mexico (in Mexico, they're referred to as tomates verdes), and they are used in stews, moles, and salsas. When grown to maturity, they turn purple and have a very sweet flavor, but they're most commonly harvested when they're green and tart. When cooked, they develop a sort of lemony flavor. They add a really nice, zesty flavor to a dish.

Tomatillos grow on a bushy, spreading plant -- similar to a tomato. According to my copy of Sunset Western Garden, they can grow as a high as 4 feet and just as wide. This hasn't been my experience, but I guess it's possible! You can either let them sprawl or train them to climb a trellis/tomato cage. Each tomatillo grows within a papery husk (they remind me of Chinese paper lanterns) until it fills the husk and splits it. When they are harvested, the husk is removed and the skin of the fruit is sticky to the touch. It's a kind of a weird plant, actually, but I think that is even more reason to plant it!

Tips for Growing

Like tomatoes, tomatillos are a frost-tender annual, so only grow them when all danger of frost has passed. They'll keep producing until the first frost gets them in the fall. You can grow them from seed if your last frost date is early enough -- plant seeds directly into soil 4-6 weeks after last frost; they should germinate in about 5 days.

If your growing season is too short to plant very successfully from seed, you can either start them indoors 6-8 weeks before you intend to plant them or you can do what I do and buy starts at your local nursery. Tomatillo starts can be a little tricky to find -- my favorite nursery is one of the few places near my home that carries them. Then again, my mom found her tomatillo starts at Walmart this year, so maybe they're getting a little more common.

Tomatillos grow best in full sunlight and moist, fertile soil (I have yet to find a plant that doesn't like moist, fertile soil, but I'll mention it anyway). I grow mine in terracotta pots on my patio, one tomatillo start to each 14" pot, planted in potting soil. This method has worked well for me every year I've grown them. You can also plant them in the ground in your garden, like you would with tomatoes. Water them regularly until they begin to fruit; you can cut back on the water then, but be careful not to let them become stressed.

Harvest & Storage

Harvest your tomatillos when the husk changes from green to tan, when the fruit is deep green and about the size of a walnut. The key is to harvest while they're green, before they turn yellow or purple.

For the best flavor, keep tomatillos in their husks until you're ready to use them. They'll keep in their husks in the refigerator for a couple weeks if stored in a paper bag. You can store them even longer if you remove the husks and refrigerate them -- up to three months, one site says. You can also preserve them through canning (be sure to use a recipe formulated specifically for canning) and/or freezing. I froze a jar of my salsa verde last fall and just used some in a recipe for baked chicken taquitos (so good!) a couple weeks ago.

Before using them, be sure to wash all the sticky stuff off the surface of the tomatillo. From there, you can prepare them according to any recipe you want to.

Speaking of recipes, here's the recipe I used with my tomatillo crop last fall. It works well on its own with tortilla chips or in any recipe that calls for salsa verde. Not only is it delicious, but it's also really easy to make. The ingredients are simple and whole process only takes about a half-hour from start to finish.

Salsa Verde -- from a ripped out page of some past issue of Martha Stewart Living

Makes 4 cups

12 tomatillos (about 2 1/4 pounds), husks removed, rinsed well

2 garlic cloves

1 1/2 ounces fresh cilantro (about 1/4 of a bunch), stems included

1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed and discarded (unless you want to keep some for extra heat)

1 small white onion, finely chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil; add salt. Cook tomatillos until pale, about 5 minutes. Drain; cut each tomatillo into 4 wedges. Purée tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, and onion in a food processor.

Transfer tomatillo mixture to a medium stockpot. Bring to a simmer over low heat; cook until thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Go find some tomatillos to grow -- it isn't too late to plant a few starts -- and enjoy the unique and delicious flavor of one of my garden favorites. Before long, you'll be dreaming of salsa right along with me.

Random Reuse: The Cereal Box Guitar

2011-06-07T20:48:00.012-06:00

It's been unseasonably cool and unusually rainy here, which has translated into more time spent inside than both me and my four-year-old son would like. As a result, I've been on the lookout even more than usual for any kind of creative activity for him. Plus, it warms my heart whenever he's working on something at his {messy} art desk.

Not too long ago, I came across the idea for a cereal box guitar on Pinterest. It was pinned from the blog, Made By Joel. I've since fallen in love with that blog and I highly recommend it to anyone who has any influence on children. It's full of awesome, creative ideas. Anyway, being the sucker I am for reusing things, my little guy and I gave the cereal box guitar a go.

To make this simple project, you'll need:

an empty cereal box
scissors (a craft knife is also useful, but I just used scissors)
rubber bands (as many as you like; we used three)
tape (we used masking, but you can use any kind you have)
paint, glue, and embellishments (optional but encouraged)

To start, you'll need to trace a circle for the hole. We used a canning jar, but you could also use any cup/glass.

Cut out the hole with scissors or a craft knife. As you can see, our edges weren't perfectly cut, but I don't think that really matters.

Cut the cut-out circle in half and tape it below the opening. This will keep the rubber bands from resting on the box. To prop it up away from the box, attach it with a thick loop or two of masking tape. You could also do what the tutorial instructed and use the other half of the circle cut-out by folding it and sticking it under the half-circle.

Now this step is optional, but Max had lots of fun painting his "guitar"...

...and gluing a few things to it. I think my favorite additions were the googly eyes and, of course, his name written on it.

Once the paint was dry, we slipped on the rubber band "strings". To keep the sound from being too buzzy, the tutorial we followed suggested taping the strings down (as you can see above).

Final step: rock out! For our pick, we used a bread bag tab. You can also use part of the circle cut-out and fold it into a pick shape. At one point, Max used a colored pencil and dragged it across the "strings" like a violin. Often, the simplest things will get kids to be creative and keep them entertained. In this case, it only took an empty cereal box.