3 Homemade Instant Hot Cocoa Mixes (Recipe)

Nothing warms my fingers, tummy and…well, the rest of me…quite like rich creamy hot cocoa during the cold Minnesota winters.

I’ve tried a lot of homemade hot cocoa recipes but nothing compares to this one. I found the base of the hot chocolate recipe at Mom Advice (scroll down near the bottom of the page for Amy’s recipe).

14 Cheap n Easy Last Minute Costume Ideas

Optimus Prime

Halloween is less than a week away. Weren’t we sitting by the pool sipping a big ole glass of sweet tea last week??? Where did the time go?

We did something this weekend we haven’t done in years: we bought costumes for both the boys. Shocking for this frugal mamma but with trucker hubby on the road, me back in school…I thought this would be the more prudent approach to this year’s Trick or Treating Marathon Event.

Dining on a Dime w/bonus Tater Toad in a Hole Recipe

From time to time the school sends home nutritional and health newsletters from a variety of resources from the FDA to sites on the web.

The information is usually helpful and includes some unique kid friendly recipes but inevitably these newsletters usually end up in the trash bin. I mean, if I kept them all, I’d STACKS of paper EVERYWHERE, right?

Swap Kids Clothes Nationwide!

You can swap clothes the kids have outgrown locally or across the country. You only pay a $13  flat rate shipping charge for the box you receive. Typically there are 10 items in a box. When you’ve collected enough clothes to ship out, it’s picked up for FREE! From what I can tell, there’s only one catch: for every box you receive, you have to ship a box of clothing…hence the SWAP concept!

Join the web's #1 kids clothing exchange for a FREE 2 month PRO Membership! Click Here to access the free 2 month Pro Membership upgrade.

Technorati Tags: kids clothes,swap,frugal,online swap,used kids clothes

Free Fun For the Four Fellas!

We’re still adjusting to trucker hubby being on the road most of the week and now we’ve added two more boys to the mix. Hubby’s two sons, ages 7 and 11, are here for the remainder of the summer. YIKES ~ I’m the only chic in the house!

Money is still really tight since we’re still recovering from his transition from Unemployment to, thankfully, Full-Time Employment with benefits! ;D We’re pinching pennies, analyzing every cent spent ensuring there’s a purpose for every expenditure.

Things have gone remarkably well for the first week with the boys here. No major fist-to-cuffs have occurred nor have we had any meltdowns. ALL. POSITIVE. THINGS! With the extra kids comes extra laundry, dishes, cooking, etc…BUT it also means there are extra sets of hands to help with those chores. Remember the saying, “Idle hands are the Devil’s tools”?

Mission Menu Challenge Cook-off – Win $10k Kitchen Makeover

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

Making homemade flour tortillas is one of those things I haven’t quite gotten the knack of…yet! Until I do, Mission flour tortillas is what I use when we have a Mexi-night. They’re not expensive and provide nutritional value to every meal. They are cholesterol and trans fat free!

I particularly enjoy using flour tortillas to make a quick cinnamon sugared snack chip. Simply cut the tortillas into wedges, spray with some cooking spray or brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture and bake at 350 for a few minutes. MMMM good. Plus the kids can get in the kitchen and make this simple and fun treat for the family.

Unclogging Drains the Cheap Way!!!

Be sure to pop over to MIFS today to see how easy and inexpensive home made drain cleaners are!

This worked on my completely backed up kitchen sink so I know it’ll worked on slow running drains too!!!

See you there.

Strut Your Stuff Weekly Meme

Welcome to this week's Strut Your Stuff Saturday Meme.

MY STUFF
This weekend is Father's Day weekend. I hope you have special plans for dad. If not, I have a few ideas to make dad's day special without busting your budget.

• Fun with hand prints, fingerprints or even toe prints - Grab some fabric paint and a plain tee, tie, or hankie and have the kids add their prints to make dad an extra special keepsake.
• Serve it up - Get the kids involved in making dad his favorite meal. Treat dad like he's at a 5-star restaurant with a full waiter service, linen napkins, and nicely set table. Don't forget the dessert!!!
• Help him take a load off - Pick a few "dad" chores and take them over for the week. Dad will appreciate the extra down time to do his favorite things.
• Plan a special day trip - Organize a picnic, fishing trip, hike or boating trip. Use whatever free resources you have and spend the day outdoors with the big guy doing what he loves as a family.
• Movie night - If all else fails, make a run to the movie rental store or pull up the latest flicks On-Demand and let dad pick out his favorite movie and enjoy it with a tub of freshly popped popcorn and a soda!

These are just a few cheap and fun ideas to prop dad up on Father's Day!

Last Week's Stuff

Chaya has graced us again with two more fabulously tasty looking recipes. Her Balsamic Marinaded Chicken is one of those recipes I bookmarked for future reference. It's easy enough but the combination of flavors promise to be really spectacular. Her red peppers stuffed with creamy mashed potatoes remind me of something I would eat in Cracker Barrel. Stuffed peppers isn't one of those recipes I think to turn to often but she's got me thinking I should!

Save Money at the Grocery Store – 4 Easy Tips

Saving money has become an increased priority in our home. Hubby’s transition from Worker’s Compensation to Unemployment benefits demand a serious restructure in our finances. Here’s a few of my money saving strategies you can easily employ in your shopping routine.

Cook from scratch! Cutting back on the prepackaged convenience foods is the single fastest way to dramatically reduce your food budget. There’s no denying prepared food or food kits cost more. It’s easy and healthy to cook many of these things at home. If you’re not a culinary goddess in the kitchen, no worries! Stop by the library, yard sale or the book store and grab a good basic cookbook to get you started. My favorite is the Better Homes & Gardens plaid cookbook.

Supplement your grocery bill with FREE products. Yes, I said FREE PRODUCTS. Sign up with programs like Kraft’s First Taste and Vocalpoint or other vendors to get coupons for free products or even free product samples sent directly to your mailbox. Recently I received coupons for FREE Ritz Crackerfuls, Digiorno Pan Pizza, Kraft Cheese Melt Downs, KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce and an assortment of other products.

Car Club Car Shows – Free Family Fun

In my neck of the woods, summer means CAR SHOWS. Car club members in Minnesota, North Dakota and even Canada come together several times throughout the summer to show off their fancy wheels. These events are totally free which means a fun family friendly event that’s easy of the bank account.

I’m not a car junkie. I don’t know the difference between an engine and a carburetor but you don’t have to know cars to enjoy the show. The cars are gorgeous with amazing paint jobs and impressively restored interior. Those blue and orange NOS bottles in the back seat make these babies go REALLY REALLY FAST! Hey, I’m not a total idiot. I watched the Fast and the Furious! ;D

What’s a girl to do with ALL THOSE PLASTIC EASTER EGGS???

Plastic Easter eggs are a lifesaver when it comes to buying bulk candy for the kid’s Easter baskets. The eggs are usually about $1 for a dozen. This is how I save a ton of money when making their baskets. Once the day is done, candy has been consumed and the kids are recovering from a sugar coma, we are left with a behemoth pile of plastic eggs.

Now Goby.com is Mobile!

Goby.com, the sponsor of my Create Your Adventure $50 Cash Giveaway, has just announced they’ve gone mobile! That’s right folks, now you can access Goby on the go via your iPhone.

I no longer worry if we have an extra half hour between lunch and a movie. I can quickly find a park close by for the kids to play while waiting for show time. Not to mention the excitement over finding a cool festival or activity in the city when we feel like spending a little more time in town. At least I would if I had an iPhone but they’re rolling out versions for other cell phones later in the year! ;D
I’ve noticed many of you have found some really unique things to do in your own communities or on vacation so I’m sure this will be just as handy for you too. Here’s the official press release with all the details.

Our Amazing Movie Adventure: Alice In Wonderland

The Search Begins

Yesterday afternoon, the boys, hubster and I took to the city on an adventure in Wonderland! It all started right here on the laptop. A simple Google search for “movies” along with my city and state produced listings of movie show times sorted by title and theatre location. I was pleased to find a new theatre, locally owned, we could visit to view Alice in Wonderland.

Normally, I use Goby to find places to eat or things to do but, they don’t have movie listings yet. Don’t worry, I kindly suggested they add movie listings to their search engine!

Destination – River Cinema

River Cinema is a fantastic theatre different from any other theatre in my area. It’s deceivingly large. Located in a strip mall; they have 12 different viewing screens. Equipped with stadium reclining seats, arcade area, private birthday party rooms, comfy couches to hang out while you wait for the movie to begin, even special booster seats for the littlest ones; I was completely enchanted by the facility! They’ve managed to create a place for kids to hang out.

Create Your Own Adventure $50 Cash Giveaway

 Goby.com is a fantastic new search engine to help you find great new adventures for the family. After less than five minutes on the site, I’ve found a new place to eat and a new park to take the kids when we go into the city! This site will come in very handy when we take  hubster for more follow up treatments in Fargo for his back injury he suffered in 2008. Living 180 miles from his back doctor’s location, it’s hard to find kid friendly places to eat and play. Especially when there’s a few hours to burn between doctor’s appointments. Goby.com to the rescue! I don’t dread our next trip as much because now I can fill those empty moments with activities other than video games or in-van movies!

The search engine is fast, free, and easy so I can find an activity quickly which is perfect when we’re on the go. I’m hooked on Goby.com to help fill my family’s free time.

Friday Night are High School Football Nights

If you are looking for a fun fall activity to do with the family, may I suggest a high school football game? Whether your kids are in diapers, elementary, middle school or college, they will enjoy the atmosphere. There is so much fun to be had at the game. Homecoming. Pep band. Playing the rival team. Food. Let's not forget the food!

Some communities organize tailgate parties around the weekly games. Hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, soda, french fries. There's just something about stadium food. mmmm! I don't know what it is about a greasy hot dog, a bag of popcorn and a fountain Coke on a cool night at the big game but it seems to warm me from the inside out!

The cost usually isn't too bad either. Entry into our local game is $5 per adult with $3 per student and little kids are FREE! Not bad if you ask me! If you eat before you head out to the game, you'll have a fun frugal night supporting your local high school athletics.

My local Bearcats team begin division playoffs this Saturday. We are undefeated in regular season play so we're aiming for the State Championship. Game starts at 7pm, playoff admission is $6 for adults and $3 for students. If you happen to be in the Hallock area, help cheer on our team. You'll be in for an exciting game! Maybe I'll even see you there! ;)

Create Your Own Graphics for FREE

I create my own graphic buttons, designed my own blog, create newsletters for print, and customize photos with text and other graphics. It's not a business, just a hobby. This feeds my creative soul but my inner frugalista cringes at the price tag some companies charge just to gain access to their software or graphics. This is why I use FREE graphics and software exclusively.

Unless you're a professional making back the money you're investing in your business then, why spend it?

Here are a few of my free resources you may find useful when feeding your creative soul!

This is an excellent font site with over 9,000 free fonts to download. The download is easy and fast.

1. Find the font you like either by browsing in alphabetical order, categories, or even search with specific keywords.
2. Click the download button or link. You may need to unzip the file after it downloads but it's automatically unzipped on my computer.
3. Click the Start button in the lower left corner and search for "Fonts". Double click to open the folder.
4. With the Fonts folder open and your downloaded font file opened, drag the new True Type Font file to the Fonts folder. Depending upon your security settings you may have to give special permission for you computer to install the new font.

A great site for editing software, manipulating layers and creating your own graphics is Paint.net. Their site gives you a brief history on how it was created as well as what the future plans are for the site. They even have a forum for anyone who wants or needs to use it. This is what I used until my computer crashed a few weeks ago. When I got it back, the tech has removed it and installed Corel Paint Shop Pro which seems to work just as well. I just haven't gotten the hang of it yet.

My FREE blog background as well as some FABULOUS secrets to enhance my blog came from these fabulous ladies. The Cutest Blog On The Block has buttons, banners, blinkies and more for Blogger, Wordpress, Twitter, and MySpace. Drooling over their site is giving me the itch to refresh my blog! They are truly talented.

Another site I couldn't blog without is Photobucket. If you write your own HTML, it's a MUST HAVE! Plus it saves valuable memory space on my computer by storing all my blog buttons and images online.

Kim at Blue Ridge Mountain is where I got my free floral images. I used her free images to create my sidebar buttons and header. Along with freebies, she has so many more images available for purchase and it seems she's having a Retirement Sale ending on December 1st.

Don't forget the Ghost Train is in town for the month of October. There's hundreds of ghoolish freebies waiting for you out there!!!!

Free Coupons - Is It REALLY Free?

The coupon process VERY simply stated:

1. Vendors issue coupons for their products.
   
2. Consumers use these coupons to purchase the vendor's product from the retailer.
   
3. The retailer sends the coupons to the vendor.
4. Vendor sends the retailer a check for the value of the coupons.
   

Lately I've been blessed with an abundance of free coupons. I get them through various programs like Vocalpoint, Kraft, and General Mills new program Pssst. Usually, I place the items in the cart with my regular grocery purchases and during checkout separate them by coupon, price match, and normal purchase to make it easier for the cashier. A happy cashier usually results in a price question swinging my way! Usually with the kids and husband in tow, I don't pay close attention to how the free coupons are processed. I mean, FREE means FREE right? You should get the price the store charges for the product credited back from the grocery bill. WRONG! It all depends on the stores coupon policy.

I discovered this when I made a special trip to my local grocery store to use a few of my free coupons before they expired. I was alone and picked up a Diet Dr. Pepper and some M&M's along with my "free" items. What can I say, I was alone and pampering myself a bit! It was during check out when I noticed it. The cashier scanned my products as usual then she entered a coupon value lower than what I was charged. She entered the store's maximum reimbursement price listed in the coupon's fine print. Since the product was priced $1.50 higher than the vendor's maximum reimbursement, I was left owing the difference. A FREE coupon does NOT always mean FREE! Thinking she made a mistake, I asked about it. This is the store's coupon policy. I was stunned.

The next time, I went to a different grocery store. Used a few more of my free coupons. This time my purchase was free but the purchase price was below the fine print store's reimbursement value so I'm not sure if there policy is "FREE means FREE" OR if it's "FREE as long as we get reimbursed for it." This store scanned everything, products and coupons, so I'm pretty confident they coupon back the entire value of the product. I've worked at retailers where "FREE means FREE", even if the store takes a loss so I am surprised at this.

Needless to say, I will no longer shop at my local grocery store. The regular price of groceries are routinely marked up somewhere between 25% to 50% over other stores twenty minutes down the road. Forget competing with a chain store like Walmart, Hugos, or SuperOne! Because of this markup my free coupons are not really free so I'll gladly take my business to someone who will honor the "FREE means FREE" coupon policy!

My question to you, dear readers, "Should stores honor FREE coupons for their full retail price? Even if it means they won't receive a full reimbursement from the vendor?"

My Frugal Garden Update

My Frugal Garden has turned out better this year than last. Besides a couple intruders nibbling at my plants when it first went in, I haven't had any problems. I did alter my original plan somewhat due to the unusually long winter this year and the flooding we had in the area. We have a short cool summer growing season living in zone 3. It's especially hard to get the garden going when you still see snow on Mother's Day! lol Instead of sowing everything from seeds or rooting from other veggies, I bought a few sprout plants from the greenhouse to guarantee a harvest of some of our favorite things.

Grown from greenhouse sprouts: broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, squash, onion and eggplant.

Grown from seeds: Jalapeno, Banana, & Bell peppers, carrots, squash, parsnips, watermelon, and turnips

Everything but the parsnips are growing well. I had potatoes growing in an old laundry hamper but we had a freak storm come through and blow the hamper into the neighbors yard. Apparently it was too much trauma for the young plant since it never recovered. Next year I'd like to put in raspberries, get my watermelon in earlier, and definitely secure my potato planter! I'd also like to get a few pots of marigolds around the yard and garden to prevent any four-legged pests from getting into anything!

My Summer Addiction

As the weather continues to warm, more summer activities are gearing up. My favorite summer activity is yard saling. If there's a rummage, garage or yard sale within a 15 mile radius, you can bet I'm there! I love finding great deals and yard sales are one of the best.

As many of you know, I live about 80 miles from the nearest metro area so access to thrift and consignment stores are limited. When I lived in the city, thrifting was my mommy crack. Living in a small town has dramatically reduced my access to these stores so I've replaced my summer addiction with yard and rummage sales.

I've found some great things lately. Aside from the great name brand clothes I've found for the whole family, I've scored fishing gear, wall sconces, fabric, books, craft supplies, and a great pressure cooker (quickly becoming my favorite find).

Tell me what's your favorite yard sale find? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Read what some other favorite summer activities at Aloha Friday.

Homemade Cane Fishing Pole

The other day, I gave you a few family friendly fishing tips since our holiday plan was to take the kids fishing. Today, I'd like to share my favorite fishing method as well as how to make a fishing pole of your very own.

I love to fish as much, if not more than, my husband but fishing gear can get quite expensive. In an effort to keep more money in my pocket than in my fishing gear, I prefer to fish with a homemade cane fishing pole. I've had more luck with a cane pole than my husband has with his store bought fishing pole. I've caught catfish, blue gill, crappie, and many other fish off a cane pole.

Cane fishing poles are very easy to make requiring a few minutes of assembly along with a few supplies you probably have in your tackle box.

How to make a cane fishing pole.

1. Find a long straight stick (NOT a thin switch) at least five feet long that bends slightly when pulled at one end. You want a little give but not too much or you will never get your fish to the shore. A stick too dry will break when you try to bring a fish in while a stick too long or short may be difficult to handle when pulling your fish to the bank. Trial and error is the best way to find the right length and diameter. You might prefer a long fishing pole but I prefer the handling of one a little shorter than my height. I suggest you start with a length around your height making adjustments until you find something you are comfortable with.
2. Cut some fishing line at least one plus a half the length of your pole. If in doubt cut it double the length or longer. Length of the needed fishing line depends on where you're fishing (dock, bank, around logs, etc) but I air on the side of caution by cutting my line longer.
3. Wrap your fishing line a few inches from end of the stick several times and tie it off pulling hard to make sure the knot is secure.
4. Tie a hook to the other end of your line, add any weights, bobbers, lures, etc.
5. Add your bait then toss in your line.

If your line is to long then wrap the line around the end of the stick a few times till you acquire the length that's manageable for you.

This is VERY user friendly fishing gear even the kids can craft. My kids prefer fishing with a cane pole and find it easier to catch fish. I use smaller sticks and shorter line for their poles. With a cane fishing pole, they don't have to figure out how to time the casting and the line always goes where they want it! When they get a bite, all they have to do is snatch the pole up and their fish is caught.

Storage is simple. When you are done fishing, either wrap the line around the pole securing the hook to the pole or remove the fishing line, toss the stick in the woods or the water, and place the line back in your tackle box for next trip. NEVER toss used fishing line in the water-other fish can get tangled, it can snag on a boater's engine propellers, or further endanger other wildlife. Be smart when you fish and leave the area like you find it to preserve it for the next person.

Here are some great fishing resources to get your fishing trip started!

Tying a Clinch Knot -the knot I use to attach my hook to my line plus they have other great knots you can use too.
Here's a more professional method of creating a cane pole.
Learn about your states fishing license regulations, marina locations, family hot spots, fishing reports, and MUCH more information here.

Spring Clipboard Craft

With a few items and a creative spark, you can have a fun and attractive clipboard. This is a great & inexpensive way to spruce up your office area, jazz up a locker, or add some spunk to a dorm room.

Here's a super easy way to make your own Spring Clipboard!

Gather your supplies:

• clipboard
• scissors
  
• scrapbook paper
  
• fabric
• silk flowers
• floral wire (optional)
  
• polyurethane
  
• mineral spirits
• foam paint brush
• fine grit sandpaper
• trash twist tie
• hot glue gun
  

Decide on your design. You can use any number of fabric/paper combinations to decorate the clipboard. You can set it up like a scrapbook page or simply cover it in fabric. The design options are limitless! Have all your pieces cut and ready to go before moving to the next steps.

Tie the clipboard clip open with the twist tie. This will help in the next step.

With your foam paint brush, spread a light layer of clear polyurethane on the clipboard. Add your fabric adjusting it till your happy with it's placement. Spread another layer of clear poly over the fabric. Place your paper pieces according to your design. Apply several layers of clear polyurethane to the entire clipboard until it is thick enough to provide a smooth writing surface. Allow each coat to dry in between. Sand any air bubbles to obtain a glassy smooth surface.

Create your pen holder by wrapping half the length of the floral wire around a skinny marker or an over-sized pen. Add any embellishments like buttons or ribbon. Use the other half of the floral wire to hook to the small hole on the clipboard's back.

Add your flower to the clip with a dab of hot glue.

You can make this using photos, newspaper clippings, post cards, etc. Pinking shears would also add a little something to the fabric design but I don't have any so I just trimmed mine with a straight edge and rotary cutter. You can also use modge podge or even a paint glaze instead of the clear polyurethane. No matter how you put it it together, this makes a great gift and can be customized to fit anyone's personality and home decor!

I was inspired by Christy Nelson's May Craft Challenge. Once you sign up for her challenge, Christy sends you the SUPER SECRET craft packet along with the directions on how the challenge works. Once you get your crafty goodies, then it's up to you to create something unique and upload the photos to her Flickr group. I can add anything to the list of Christy's supplies but I had to use at least a little bit of EVERYTHING she sent. This is where it gets challenging!

So what did you create this month???

Easy Makeover Idea

With a few swipes of sandpaper, a little paint and some hardware, you can take virtually anything from the junkyard to the treasure chest. And it's not as difficult as you might expect.

In five easy steps you can go from THIS...

...an old abused dresser we found in the basement when we moved into the place.

to THIS...

...a beautiful contemporary dresser for my daughter's tweenie room.

1. Make sure you are in a well ventilated area and have the proper safety gear. ALWAYS follow the manufacturer's directions for proper use and safety requirements!!!
2. Remove any exterior hardware, handles, etc and sand your surface smooth. If there's several layers of paint, then you may want to consider purchasing a chemical paint remover. Simply follow the manufacturer's directions for proper usage!
3. Wipe away dust and debris with a damp cloth.
4. Apply paint. Allow each coat to properly dry before applying the next. Tips: Spray paint is THE BEST, easiest, and quickest painting method! If you are going from a darker color to a lighter color then you'll benefit from using a primer first. This will help reduce the number of top coats required for a beautiful finish. If you want a SUPER SMOOTH surface, lightly sand in between each coat and don't forget to wipe with a damp cloth. Add a clear top coat to heavily used items to extend the life of your painted piece.
5. Add or replace the hardware and admire your work!
   

See, it's wasn't THAT hard! The process is similar to getting a manicure. The nail technician removes the old polish, files your nails and pushes back your cuticles to create an even surface. Then she applies multiple coats of polish, and finishes it off with a clear top coat! If you paint your own nails then surely you can paint something. Anything. EVERYTHING!

If you're afraid or don't like bold colors, then go with neutral paint colors: whites, grays, blacks, almond, charcoal, etc. You can punch it up with bold colorful hardware plus you can change the look by switching the hardware in less time it takes for your nails to dry!

It's your turn! What in item would you like to makeover? Light fixtures, chairs, tables, lamps, shelving, planting pots, frames, switch plates??? Inquiring minds want to know!

Cheesy Taco Chili Recipe

I was stumped on what to make for dinner Saturday night. All I had thawed was a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork. I wasn't feeling hubby's Friday night Red Beans n Rice when Stacy suggested chili during the Twitter Party. Since it was snowing earlier in the day, chili sounded great!

Thanks Stacy for such a great dinner idea!!!

This recipe makes a huge pot that's lasted us two days going on three for a family of four! This recipe easily freezes and can be reduced by cutting all the measurements in half. Also Stacy reminded me this can be converted to a Weight Watcher's friendly dish by reducing the cheese and using ground turkey instead of beef. Here's my not-so-Weight Watcher's friendly version of Cheesy Taco Chili.

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Beef
2 packets of Taco Seasoning Powder
1 large can Dice Tomatoes
3/4 cup Dry Rice
1/8 cup Minced Onion
2 cans Chili/Pinto/Kidney Beans
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
4 oz Pepper Jack Cheese
4 oz Velveeta Cheese
Shredded Cheese (optional topping)

Directions

Boil or brown ground beef till cooked through and drain most of the water. Stir in both taco seasoning powder packets, large can of diced tomatoes PLUS one can of water and minced onion. Allow mixture to come to a boil then add the rice. Once rice is almost done add canned beans and allow chili to come to a slow boil. Stir in cream and cheeses until all the cheese has melted thoroughly. Serve with shredded cheese topping.

This is the steaming pot of chili as it's nearly done! YUMMM!

Find more yummy recipe ideas here:

Home Cleaning Tips & Tricks

Spring has finally arrived in my part of the country so it's time for a little Spring Cleaning. Here are a few cleaning tips and tricks to make this process easier for you!

• RainX-Use RainX (or a similar product) on all your glass, window, and mirrored surfaces. This works wonderfully on glass table tops, shower doors, and windows (both indoor and outdoor surfaces).
• Car Wax-Lightly coat wood surfaces with car wax to help keep fingerprints, dirt, and dust from accumulating on these surfaces.
• Aluminum Foil Scrubbie-Keep your outdoor grill in tip top shape by cleaning the cooking grate with used balled up foil. This scrubbie also works on other unfinished metal surfaces.
• Foam Shaving Cream-Prevent bathroom mirror fog ups by wiping it down with foam shaving cream (not the gel shaving cream).
• Hip Trash Bags-Make cleaning a room easier by attaching a plastic grocery bag to your pants belt loop. When you come across trash, toss in the bag. After you're done, snip the handle loose from your hip and toss with the regular trash. I also put on on my vacuum cleaner's handle to make vacuuming easier.
• Clothes Basket Organizers-Use several clothes baskets to organize things as you clean a space. Designate one basket for each child or whatever your needs are and then just drop items in as you go through a room.
• Natural Home Deodorizers-Plants act as an air purifier and also help add humidity to a room. We have very low humidity in my area so static build up was a real problem until I started adding more plants to our home. Now we can sit on our couch without an electric shock!
• Dust Sucks-Use your vacuum cleaner's upholstery attachments to suck dust away as opposed to stirring it up with a feather duster. My end tables have lots of grooves and funny lines in it's design making it a nightmare to dust and clean. My vacuum cleaner's attachments makes cleaning my end tables so much easier.
• Baby Oil Goo Remover-Baby oil safely removes goo and adhesive on many surfaces. Goo Gone works great but why buy it if you already have baby oil on hand?
• Baby Oil Polish-I haven't tried this one but, have been told by a friend of mine who uses baby oil to clean & polishe stainless steal appliances.
• Foil Liners-Place a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of your oven after you've cleaned it to catch any future spills.
• Disinfectant Spray-Mix 2 tablespoons of alcohol with 32 ounces of water to disinfect many surfaces safely.
• Shower Head Cleaner-Mix one quarter cup of baking soda and two cups of vinegar (watch out for foaming) in a sandwich bag. Place the bag over the shower head so it is submersed in the solution. Tape the bag to the shower arm and leave for a couple hours. Remove the bag and turn the shower on for a few minutes to clear the deposits and solution from inside the shower head. Use the left over solution to scrub the bathtub!
• Dishwasher Maintenance-Run an empty dishwasher through a wash cycle with 1/4 cup baking soda followed by a vinegar rinse cycle. This should help clean the inside of your dishwasher. Also don't forget to check for debris stuck in the drain traps. Check with your dishwasher's user's manual for other maintenance tips.

What are some of your favorite cleaning tips?

Mexi-Rice Recipe

In honor of Cinco De Mayo, here's a super fast rice dish with a spicy Mexican flare!

Ingredients

1 Cup Dry Rice
Can of Diced Tomatoes w/Green Chile's
1.5 Cups Frozen Corn (or 1 can)
1/4 Cup Cream
Shredded Cheese

Directions
Cook rice as normal but when it's almost done mix in the entire can of dices tomatoes with green chile's, corn, and cream. Continue cooking till corn is heated through and rice is done. Top with sprinkled cheese. For added heat, add a dash of hot sauce or paprika and cayenne pepper.

Margarita's go very well with dish! wink wink
Remember to drink responsibly and Happy Cinco De Mayo!

My Frugal Garden Plan + Homemade Pesticides

For many of you, spring sprang weeks even months ago and now you're busy in your gardens. We're still a few weeks away from "gardening" conditions here in NW Minnesota but I'm planning and trying to get prepared so I can get in the garden as early as possible this year.
This is my second year gardening so I'm by no means an expert. Much of my gardening time last year was spent preparing for this season. There were tons of rocks and lots of brush in my garden area. This took me weeks getting things cleared out and the soil aerated. Last year I didn't expect great results but, this year my hopes are high. I've been paying close attention to morning garden segments, HGTV, plus I've bought a couple books (Reader's Digest: Homemade and Newspapers Pennies Cardboard & Eggs for Growing a Better Garden by Roger Yepson) that may help me produce a fruitful garden for pennies on the dollar. I also plan to hit up Mr Wilson for all his green thumb advice this season.

These photos were taken Sunday only 4 miles from our home. That's a grain bin in the middle photo. Thankfully the standing water in our yard has receded!

Most of my gardening will start from rooted veggies. This will cut down on my waste and help give a better start to my garden than from the seed packets. I have a few potatoes ready to go in the ground, an onion that should be ready soon and hopefully tomato and pepper plants will be available at Wilson's Greenhouse in the next couple of weeks. We've got Okra seeds our friend Sid gave us last year and there will be another attempt to grow squash and broccoli. I may try lettuce again but haven't decided since it was a big FLOP-pesky wabbits! I'd also like to grow some carrots and parsnips. I'll start rooting those inside the house later this week.

Now that I have a rough plan in place for my garden, it's time to focus on keeping my garden healthy. Besides using Miracle Grow (gotta love it) I want to use less toxic means to deterring pests and encourage growth. Pesticides are not great for the environment plus they tend to cost a pretty penny. I have children and pets so I don't want the pesticides seeping into our vegetables through the natural growth process. Here are a few of the more natural pesticides and pest deterrents I plan to use this year:

1. Homemade Insecticide-1 tsp Dish Detergent, 1 tbs Vegetable Oil, and 3 c Water mixed in spray bottle. Apply to plants and leaves.
   
2. Weed Eater-1/4 c Pure Vinegar poured directly on garden weeds.*
3. Aspirin Systemic Insecticide-Dilute 3 regular strength aspirins diluted into 5 gallon bucket of water. Water twice a month and may use in a spray bottle for intermittent treatments.*
4. Cardboard barriers-Cut paper towel and toilet paper rolls will be planted around smaller plants to help protect against underground critters giving the plant time to mature. The cardboard eventually degrades into the soil.*
5. White Flag Deer Deterrent-Tie white grocery bags or fabric strips from an old sheet, towel, rag, etc to posts surrounding the garden. This is suppose to mimic the deer's natural response to danger when other deer flash their white tails to warn of area predators. It's a freebie I'll try but I'm not holding my breath!!!*
6. Soap Deer Repellent-Use bars of deodorant soap or soap scraps tied off in a sock, attach to a tree, shrub or garden stake where ever your problem spot is to repel deer. Replace as soap dissapates with rain. Still not sure if this will work but will give a try if #5 fails.*
7. Earwig Traps-Roll newspaper into a tube shape, tape off one end, dampen and point opening toward end of plant base. Shake the earwigs into a bucket of soapy water the next morning. Not sure what an earwig is but, if we get them, this is what I'll try!*
8. Banana Peel compost-I've heard in several places you can bury banana peelings in your garden for great compost. We'll give it a try and see what happens!
9. Bird & Squirrel Deterrent-Plant a few catnip seeds or plants around the garden area to attract cats to ward away these garden pests. I'm not sure about this since cat poop and pee isn't good for all plants. Plus this would drive my dog, Ruby NUTSO! This is a maybe.*

You've seen my plans, now it's time for you to share yours! What does your frugal garden look like this year?

* Denotes recipes and tips I found from either Reader's Digest: Homemade OR Newspaper Pennies Cardboard & Eggs.

Today's Mama Contributing Writer

I was approached a few weeks ago by Rebecca Delight at Today's Mama to write up a short article all about my favorite subject: Pinching Pennies! I am excited I can share a little bit of what works for my family with an additional audience. I believe everyone can benefit from a frugal lifestyle now more than ever. I'm so grateful to Rebecca and Today's Mama for letting be be a part of this weeks Expand Your Perspectives: From the Editor's.

If you aren't familiar with Today's Mama, it's a great site devoted to moms, moms to be, mommy wannabe's, everyone! Their newest project, Connect, is very similiar to Twitter. It's all about micro-blogging to stay connected with friends and family. With the click of a button, you can follow your Twitter friends who are already members of Today's Mama. They encourage women to share their view of the world through blogging or the new micro-blogging project (aka: Connect). I enjoy finding new blogs in their blog directory and there's a new Perspective every week! Between the giveaways and the mama shop directories, I spend quite a bit of time here, even if it's just to connect with my other mama friends.

You can see my Penny Pinching article along with five other mama blogger's take on the subject. Check out Today's Mama's Expand Your Perspective's page for the full article.

PS-While your there, be sure to check out their Create section of Perspectives for a free kids chef hat pattern courtesy of Kim and Carla at www.YouCanMakeThis.com. I plan to make this later this week with my new sewing machine (more about it tomorrow)!

Homemade Butter & Sour Cream

A few weeks back, Stephanie at Make It From Scratch wrote about making homemade butter. Ever since, I've been dying to try it but I had just bought butter at the store. Wouldn't you know it! Last week we finally ran out which gave me my excuse to try making butter. It's easier than I thought.Pour some heavy cream in a clear container (so you can see the magic)-a clean pasta sauce jar, water jug, etc all works perfectly. Simply shake shake shake. Shake shake shake. Shake your jar! You have to shake through the cream stage till it separates. If you get tired of shaking, get the kids to shake or kick the jar around the house a while. It took me nearly two hours to turn a pint of heavy cream into butter. Once you've shaken your arms silly, you will be left with nice creamy butter with a buttermilk by-product. I've had a rather rough weekend but my intention was to split my butter in half. Half would be left plain but I wanted to add a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), garlic powder and oregano to create a spreadable garlic butter with the other half. Like I said, I've had a rough few days so I'll get to that later in the week.

I also made some homemade sour cream. This was really easy and can be done a couple of ways. You can use a little of your buttermilk by-product and whip in some heavy cream till you get the consistency you like. I wasn't crazy about this version so I chose another route. I added a bit of lime juice (I didn't have any lemon juice on hand) to plain heavy cream and whipped it up. It turned out perfect! You can control the tartness of your sour cream a little better and it tastes more like the store bought stuff without the unpronounceable chemicals and hefty price tag! Next time I'll try adding lime juice to powdered milk reconstituted into a heavy cream. I'll be sure to update you on the results from that experiment!What did you make this week?

As usual, I'll be linking up to Blissfully Domestic, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Kitchen Tip Tuesday so be sure to check out what the other domestic divas are cooking!

I Love My Facelift

I've wanted to dress up my blog for a while but, can't afford a new bloggy facelift. Being frugal-minded and pretty resourceful, I did the blog remodel myself utilizing all the free information, graphics, and programs I found on the web. After hours of searching, editing, coding, copying and pasting, I'm finally done...at least for now. I can add other custom buttons and badges in the future since many of my base graphics are sitting in my photobucket.

 

Speaking of graphics, I need to give a HUGE thanks to Kim at Blue  Ridge Meadows Freebie section for all the base images for my header and sidebar buttons. She's super talented and I simply love all her graphics! My free background and blinking graphic is courtesy of Becky and Ashley at The Cutest Blog On The Block.  You MUST check out their super fabulous section, Blog Secrets, if you're thinking about customizing your own blog. Using the free graphic editor, PaintNet I was able to customize the graphics from Kim's site to create my visual theme for the Frugal Front Porch. (Thanks to one of Becky & Ashley's blog secrets) This was the longest and most creative part of the whole process-not to mention the most fulfilling. Once the graphics were done, coding it all wasn't too difficult after a little searching on the internet for HTML coding. I found Tips for New Bloggers as an excellent resource for customizing your blog including detailed instructions on how to add a favicon (that nifty little image next to my web address).

I also wanted to organize my site for easier navigation and better functionality. I've included some handy navigation bars just under my banner. You can find posts related to recipes, crafts, kids, and even my tips with a single click of the mouse! Immediately below the navigation bar is a clickable tag cloud so you can quickly get to the topic of your choice. For anyone new to the FFP neighborhood, you can see what the site's all about! I've also got some great sidebar buttons to take you directly to my freebie and discount sources as well as my favorite weekly blog carnivals. I even managed to make my own blog button!

Aside from the minor blogger issue last week, all things went rather well and now it's time for a little fun. To celebrate my bloggy facelift, I'm offering a giveaway! It's the first giveaway I'm hosting all by myself (I feel like such a bloggy big girl! *gush*) I'm still working on the details but, I think you'll enjoy the sweet treat I'll be offering up! The giveaway should be ready in the next few days so stay tuned!