Category: Make Your Own
Make Your Own: Sweetened Condensed Milk
| April 26, 2012 | Posted by admin under Make Your Own, Recipes |
Did you ever go in your pantry thinking you have something to make a recipe you were dying to make to find out you must have used the last of it??? It’s raining outside, it’s almost rush hour, and you have a kid napping so the last thing you want to do is run to the store. That was me the other day. I had acquired a bottle of Nelly and Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice and I was wanting me some key lime pie. I got all my ingredients together but I was missing the sweetened condensed milk… A little Googl-ing (is that a word) and I found a recipe to make your own sweetened condensed milk. Actually I found a couple different ways to make it. I chose the powdered milk version because it was faster:) Here is the recipe: I tweaked a little… You can find the original recipe HERE Make Your Own: Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk #ratingval# from #reviews# reviews Print Author: From All Recipes.com Prep time: 2 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 17 mins Ingredients 1/2 cup water (I had to about 2 TB of water in addition to this) 1 1/8… more
Make Your Own: Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker
| January 19, 2012 | Posted by admin under Make Your Own, Recipes |
This was a recipe and idea I found on pinterest over at Two Little Hooligans blog HERE and just adapted it a little to our tastes. If you want a creamier, heavier ice cream – use cream. I used 2% Milk and it was more like a frozen yogurt consistancy. I also only added a Tablespoon of sugar, but you can add as little or as much as you want. If you want to flavor your ice cream, do it before you churn it. This is a great activity for rainy (or snowy days) and also for kids parties, too:) Little Man loves his hand made ice cream and it’s a healthy snack, too:) more
Having a Kids Party on a Budget
| January 17, 2012 | Posted by admin under DIY, Make Your Own, Save Money, Saving Money |
Little Man’s big 3rd birthday is coming up. It’s so easy to go crazy at birthday time. I have been to parties with bouncy huts, ponies, at expensive kids activity centers. But what if you are a family like us and on a strict budget? Well, I started planning the party last month. I made a meal plan so I could coupon and buy things on sale. I came up with a theme so I could start making all the banners and corresponding favors with the same and I started gathering supplies for games. 1. Hand Deliver or Call in person and invite Postage and printed invitations are expensive. Even if you print them on your computer yourself, you are still paying for the ink, paper and then postage. Plus, when you send them out, you are always running the risk of people just throwing them on the counter and you will have to call them to remind them or find out if they are coming anyways. If you want to give a paper invitation, hand deliver it. Usually the person will look at it right away and let you know if something is going on that day. Worried if you… more
Frugal Holiday Recipes: Frugal and Fancy Ham
| December 22, 2011 | Posted by admin under Make Your Own, Make Your Own Christmas, Recipes, Recipes of the Week, Uncategorized |
Source: stores.hbfoodsinc.com via Jen on Pinterest Did you ever look at those fancy hams in the grocery store or in the Williams Sonoma magazine and you are almost half tempted to spend the $80 so you can enjoy the deliciousness??You know those hams that are perfectly glazed and spiral cut with pineapples lining the outside. Here is our family’s way of making ham that is mouth watering. My hubs ham can beat any of those honey glazed baked concoctions. We start with just the cheapest ham on the bone. Hubs puts it in the Nesco Roaster on a riser (not directly in the juices). He then takes brown sugar and uses it like a rub on the outside of the ham. If you want to get all fancy, you can place pineapple slices with toothpicks on the outside. He mixes maple syrup – the real stuff, brown sugar and a little warm water and lets it dissolve in a bowl and then uses an injector to infuse that throughout the ham…The rest of the mixture, just goes in the bottom of the ham. Then you cook on 350 in the roaster (or crockpot) – times will vary due to… more
Make Your Own: Photo Wrapping Paper
| December 22, 2011 | Posted by admin under Holiday Gifts, Make Your Own, Make Your Own Christmas |
Are you tired of using the same old wrapping paper???? Photojojo has an awesome tutorial on printing your own photo wrapping paper at home with your color printer… It’s a great way to spice up your gift giving! Check out the tutorial HERE They have some great tutorials as well as unique photo gifts on their site. I signed up for their email newsletter and love their tips and tricks. more
A Handmade Christmas – Make your Own Gifts
| December 13, 2011 | Posted by admin under Crafts, Make Your Own, Make Your Own Christmas, Save Money, Saving Money |
The best presents aren’t always the ones bought in stores. Some of my favorite gifts over the years have been thoughtfully hand made by the people that I love. If you are having a tough time figuring out the perfect gift or you want to do something really special on a limited budget, a handmade gift would be a great way to do so. So What Do I Make? Do you have any special talents – like cooking or knitting. Do you have a passion for photography or love to scrapbook? Pick something that you know how to do so that your not learning to knit a week before Christmas! What if I need to be inspired? I turn to sites like Pinterest and Tip Junkie for inspiration. I can get ideas from others and make them my own. I also like the tutorials on Martha Stewarts craft site as well. Most of these resources have step by step tutorials as well. How do I make it personal? Look at them. Are they obsessed with their pet? Do they love to talk about their travels? Do they love a certain food? What are their hobbies and interests? Then go from there.… more
Beer Bread Stuffing Recipe – Beer + Carbs = Deliciousness
| November 23, 2011 | Posted by admin under Make Your Own, Recipes, Uncategorized |
This is one of those recipes I threw together last year around this time and loved it so much I replaced my beloved Williams Sonoma Stuffing. Everyone that tried it asked for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with you:) This is super easy and super cheap to make. All you need is some pantry staples, a beer, chicken stock and an onion. First you make the beer bread. You can see my recipe HERE… Cut the beer bread up into cubes and leave out overnight to dry. If you are making last minute, you can put the beer bread on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at about 250 degrees until it’s dried. Once it’s dried follow the recipe below: Beer Bread Stuffing Recipe – Beer + Carbs = Deliciousness #ratingval# from #reviews# reviews Print Recipe Type: Side Dish Author: Jen Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 55 mins Serves: 4-6 This is the yummiest Stuffing Ever Ingredients 1 loaf of Beer Bread cut into cubes and dried 1-2 Cups of Chicken Broth 1 Large Onion 1 Tablespoon Butter Instructions Place beer bread in a casserole dish… more
A Frugal Thanksgiving – How Not to Go Broke & Crazy Hosting the Holidays Part One – Planning
| November 16, 2011 | Posted by admin under Make Your Own, Meal Planning, Recipes, Saving Money |
I love cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas but it can be a huge budget-buster feeding a lot of people. The easiest way to have a frugal yet fabulous Thanksgiving is to plan ahead and stock up on items that are free and cheap that you need to prepare your meal. Here are some tips that will help you plan your meal ahead of time and save money. Start your menu plan and grocery list this week: 1. Make your Thanksgiving list ahead… Now over the next two weeks as you look through the sales, match them to your coupons and buy those Thanksgiving items ahead of time. 2. Check in your pantry and freezer for items that you already have 3. Keep it simple – more ingredients = more $$ (doesn’t neccesarily mean less taste). 4. See if you can save $$ by making your own ingredients. For Example – I always use chicken stock (for the stuffing). I plan on making a whole chicken this week. I’ll keep the bones and fats and boil it with water to make stock = FREE Chicken Stock:) That just saved me a few $$. Also, I’ll save money by making my own crunchy “fried” onions to top our green… more
Make Your Own….. DIY Mittens For All Plus More Crafts to do With Old Sweaters!
| November 1, 2011 | Posted by admin under Crafts, Make Your Own, Make Your Own Christmas |
Have you ever had a really cozy sweater that you just couldn’t get rid of – even though it’s been shrunk in the wash, stained or getting a little hole-y? I found this article on Martha Stewart‘s website. You can repurpose those old wool sweaters and use them to make things like mittens, felt hats, pouches for your electronics and more. I think I’m going to hit the closet today – I love this idea. Plus, little man’s mittens are MIA from last year… I have no idea where these things dissapear to. To see the instructions and some other ideas on what to do with wool sweaters - go HERE…. Or you can use an old sweater to make this really cool infinity scarf HERE These would make a great homemade gift to give to friends or family, too. If you don’t have any sweaters that you want to part with, head over to the thrift store and grab a few. For my Lehigh Valley peeps – the Thrift Store on 7th Street (heading towards the city – away from the mall) has Buy 1 Get 2 free (certain items) on Wednesdays! When I dropped in a few weeks ago – I got a… more
My Adventures in Canning….. Pear Butter and Apple Butter
| November 1, 2011 | Posted by admin under Canning, Make Your Own, Recipes |
I got a great deal on some organic pears and conventional apples, so I decided to break out the mason jars and make some pear butter and apple butter. I also boiled the leftover peels and parts (below) and made pear jelly with the juice. First I peeled all the pears and removed the core. I put the cores and peels in one container and the other pieces in the other. I filled the pear peels with enough water to barely cover them and simmered on the stove for an hour. While I was doing that, I cooked the good pear pieces with one cup of water until they were soft. Once they were cooked, I pulsed with the immersion blender. Make sure you leave it a little chunky. While all of that is going on, I prepared the jars and the lids I wish hubs would have been home and he would have been able to take a picture of each step… Once the jars were filled and sealed, popped them in boiling water canner for 10 minutes… At this step I realized that only 2 burners on my tiny 4… more
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