"Bean Salad"

The Components:

• A bed of your favorite greens
• diced cucumber
• a slice of sharp cheddar cheese
• hot baked beans
• Ranch Dressing

To make baked beans using canned pork and beans:

Saute onion, garlic and green pepper.  Add beans and season to taste with brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard.  Baked at 400 degrees until hot and thickened.

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This is a delicious combination and a money saver.

You'll get your complete protein in the cheese; a 'good carb' in the beans; and two or more servings of vegetables in the greens and cucumber; fat supplied by the cheese and Ranch Dressing.

Enjoy.

Microfiber and Mighty Mouse Save the Day

My dryer lint filter is in the top of my dryer.  Because it is important to clean the lint filter with each load that is dried, I do.  But tiny pieces of lint--lint dust-- end up all over the top of my dryer.

For years I cleaned up up with a wet paper towel.

Let me tell you, getting wet lint up and off your dryer is no easy feat.  But leaving it dry is worse--the lint scatters everywhere and ends up mostly in the air and on the floor.

Then one day I got a brilliant idea.

I bought a micro-fiber duster at the Dollar Tree.

Voila.  A mini dust mop that captures the lint in one fell swoop.

I keep it hanging beside my dryer.  All it needs for maintenance is a good shake outside--like you'd do a dust mop--once in a while.  And it can be laundered.

No more using those expensive paper towels and no more chasing lint.

And for your viewing pleasure one of my favorite cartoons from the past:

2010 Handbook

A friend sent me a forward with this great list of suggestions for 2010. I'm posting it here 'cause I think it's that good-- it needs sharing. ( Note: I tried to line this up--like I was taught in school, but blogger has a mind of its own, so I gave up.)

HANDBOOK 2010

Health

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in a factory.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society

25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life

32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Clever......

I'm a penny pincher from way back when. When my husband went to college in his late twenties and we had our two kids in private school to boot, money was tight. My motto was "use it up, wear it out, make it do, and do without". In light of today's economy that's pretty good advice still.


Being thrifty, I've always cut the ends off of a tube of toothpaste or hand/body lotion. Why? There's a lot of product down there that you just can't get out no matter how hard you squeeze. To access the toothpaste just stick your toothbrush down into the cut off tube. There's enough toothpaste for one person for another week or possibly two. Obviously you don't share this--open a new one for the rest of the family and when it gets down low, relegate it for your personal use once again.


Now for the clever trick. I hit on it with a tube of lotion from Bath and Body. Take a pair of scissors and cut off the upper portion of the tube--cutting off enough so you can reach the contents at the tube opening end with ease. You'll discover there is a lot of lotion down there. The problem though is keeping the exposed lotion from drying out. I'd been setting the tube in a plastic bag. Not handy and not attractive. But today I hit gold.


I saved the top of the tube that I'd cut off, scraping out the little bit of remaining lotion in the top half. Then I thought--hmmm..wonder if this would slip over the bottom half of the tube? Nope... they were the same size at that intersection. But genius--LOL--prevailed. I gently squeezed together and pressed one outside corner of the lower portion of the tube back onto itself, making the opening narrower, which allowed the upper cut off part to slide right over the lower part...and then---when the folded back part retracted----it caused the top to fit snugly over the bottom. VOILA!!...container sealed. This looks so much better than a baggie and is handier to use. I haven't tried this technique on the toothpaste tube , but it just might work on that too.

If you've always just chucked a tube of lotion when you couldn't squeeze out any more, you'll be surprised at how much remains. Give it a go--you've got nothing to lose and pennies to save.

HOW TO COOK A WOLF

When my husband was in school and we were struggling financially we didn't use credit cards and paid cash. We always had 'enough', by the grace of God. But there weren't a lot of extras. I never bought soda, for example, and we didn't get cable TV until 1993, and then only the basic broadcast stations for $10 a month because our rabbit ears wouldn't pick up the signal at our new house.

I read everything I could get my hands on--from the library because it was free--to help me save money on groceries. One of them was a book by the same title as this post. I don't recall the author, but the title came from the idea of things being so bad, that the wolf was at the door about to bring the house down.

I can't recall anything specific from the book, but so many people are falling on hard times I thought I'd share a few things. Here at our house I've cut back, since husband got a huge pay cut, and likely will lose his job and even if he doesn't it looks like his company will end up bankrupt soon.

For starters, here is a partial grocery list of foods that deliver significant protein and carbs without significant cost.

THE LIST

eggs

peanut butter

cottage cheese

canned wild Alaskan salmon

cheese

ground turkey

milk

plain yogurt

potatoes

cabbage

carrots

baby spinach

iceberg lettuce

unsweetened applesauce

100% orange juice

canned legumes

canned green beans

canned beets

oatmeal

tea bags

This list isn't all inclusive, but most of these foods will supply good amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals-- plus anti-oxidants--for not a lot of money. Throw in some staples like flour, sugar--which eaten is moderation is a lot cheaper than artificial sweeteners or honey, agave and the like--and you can whip up some quick breads or cookies. It's one thing if you can afford the more expensive and possibly healthier options..but if you can't, there's no sense in concerning yourself over it---so much of our health is wrapped up in our genetic predisposition. And taking a walk, which is free, probably could offset a lot of the bad stuff .

Iceberg lettuce makes this list because it's cheap and it lasts a long time in the crisper drawer. To boost the nutrients I add the baby spinach and some grated carrots. I find that the spinach and iceberg last a lot longer than the prepackaged salad mixes and cost less too. And with the fresh spinach, if it does begin to wilt, you can steam it, add some salt, pepper, a little oil and vinegar and it makes a good side.

Wash only the amount of iceberg you need for the meal. Buy the spinach pre-washed and ready to eat. I find the spinach keeps 7-10 days once opened if I keep it in the original bag. Open the bag from the bottom too and use the leaves at the bottom first since it's been weighted down by the contents of the package while in the display case. Then fold the top down 2-3 times and clip shut.

As your budget allows, scout out the produce department for the seasonal buys on fruit and veg. And don't forget to check out the frozen foods for those items. Shop the outside of your grocery and by pass most of the inside aisles.

For a couple of years I've purchased only organic milk, but have quit that too. Kroger's store brand milk does not have the added growth hormone and is around $3.30 a gallon compared to $6 a gallon for organic.

If it's important to you to spend the extra on organic milk or similar, then cut corners somewhere else.

I take all these 'hard times' as a challenge and make a game out of it. But then, I guess maybe I'm an odd duck. I get a huge thrill out of not spending or spending little--getting the biggest bang for my buck is a 'high' for me.

If you're experiencing tough times, try to make it a learning experience and gain wisdom. Remember-- a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. So, work at keeping a merry heart amidst your difficulties and you'll be better off for it.

Three Thoughts, One Thing and A Quick Tip

Three Thoughts

1. Overeating is the symptom.
2. Fat is the result.
3. Discover the real issue. It's different for each one of us.

One Thing

If you have company coming and can only do one thing--empty the trash--particularly in the bathroom. No one wants to use your bathroom and view waxed dipped Q tips and soggy tissues. Yuk.

Quick Tip

Keep a box of dry 'swiffer' type refills in your bathroom. They'll grab the hair that accumulates on the bathroom floor. No need for the stick attachment. Just use your foot or get down on your hands and knees and 'swiffer'. I pack a couple of these when we visit family-- to tidy up the bathroom. My husband is hairy and 'scrubs' the hair off of his limbs with the towel when he dries. I've suggested, to no avail, that he pat himself dry--LOL. And by the time I blow dry my hair there's lots of hair on the floor and after a day or two--well you know. And this beats dragging out the vacuum.