Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

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15 Ways to Create Some Extra Holiday Money
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rake leavesOriginally this was going to be a list for my two teenagers but some of these ideas are better suited to adults with a valid driver’s license and a bit of know-how. Some of these take a bit of planning and organizing, but most of them could be done on a fairly spur of the moment case by case basis. The great thing about a lot of these ideas is that you’re spreading holiday cheer by helping to make someone else’s otherwise stressful and overwhelming to-do list a little bit easier. Who wouldn’t pay to have someone come do a few of these things for you? Mostly, what’s important is that you remember to provide a quality item or service to the buyer with a smile on your face and in your heart. Have fun with these!
1. Babysit for people who need to do some Christmas shopping without their little ones tagging along. Anyone trustworthy who is over the age of about thirteen or fourteen can do this one. It’s hectic enough to get in and out of the malls and shopping centers without having to drag toddlers along. Contact friends, family, coworkers, and members of your spiritual community to let them know that you’re available for holiday babysitting. This can include time that the parents need to get away for office parties, charity events, and volunteering to help the elderly and less fortunate members of their community.

2. Grab a ladder and offer to clean leaves out of your neighbors’ gutters. Many people are so busy during the summer months that they completely forget to clean all of the debris from their gutters when the sun is out and it’s dry outside. It’s cold and yucky outside now and many people are too busy to get to it themselves. They’ll probably be glad that you offered and they can check it off of their to-do lists. This isn’t one for the younger kids. However, they can offer to rake up the leaves in their neighbors’ yards. Adults could offer to do both the gutters and the yard as one big project for a nice reasonable price. It could also be a father & son side business that you do together - while dad cleans the neighbors gutters, junior rakes up the leaves in the lawn.

3. Bake something amazing and offer to sell it to your friends and coworkers so they won’t have to do their own holiday baking. You probably have to be careful about selling your baked goods to professional organizations and such, but you could do some sideline baking to help out your friends, neighbors, and coworkers who are going to be entertaining guests over the holidays and simply won’t have the time to do their own baking. Have you got an awesome recipe that stands out as everyone’s absolute favorite? It’s the hit of every potluck? Make up some tiny sample sizes or bring it in to the office break room and serve up samples to your potential clients. Then while their mouths are watering, tell them that for a fee you’ll bring them one to their home the day before their guests are to arrive. You’ll have to work out the scheduling and cost of ingredients and such, but this could be a fun way to make some money and spread some serious joy. The hostess will be so pleased when she pulls your work of art out of the fridge and her guests ooh and ah over the scrumptious homemade dessert she didn’t even have to bake herself.

4. Offer to collect people’s empty soda cans and cash them in. My son raised almost $300 last spring doing this so that he could go to a training course to become a camp counselor for the little kids at our church. He went door to door offering to do yard work and most people just handed him bags and bags of pop cans they didn’t want to take the time to cash in. He collected most of them over one weekend and then cashed them all in the following weekend. We live really close to a grocery store where he could walk to cash them in, so I didn’t even have to get my car dirty with sticky soda drippings! This is a really good one for the younger kids to do.

5. Sell something on eBay. I know a number of people who make a decent second income all year round by digging around for antiques and such from the Goodwill and then fixing them, cleaning them up, and selling them for a much higher price on eBay. You have to know what to look for, but these folks will pick up an old pair of stereo speakers for $10 or $15 and then sell them on eBay for $200. The customer pays for shipping. You can also do this through garage sales, flea markets, and estate sells too. Most of the time and work goes into hunting for the cool treasures that someone will want to purchase.

6. Hang up people’s outdoor Holiday lights for them. As a single mom, I would have loved it if someone had come to my house and hung the Christmas lights on my house for me. My children always wanted us to decorate the outside of the house and I hated not being able to do that for them. I didn’t know the first thing about how to go about hanging them up. I didn’t even own a ladder! So, I would think that you could go around offering to hang up people’s outdoor holiday lights for a fee. It they are like me and don’t even have lights but want to get some, you could offer your expertise as to which kind to buy and where to get the best prices and such.

7. Grab a broom or a shovel and offer to clean the neighborhood sidewalks. This is another good one for the younger teens. There’s always sidewalks that need swept or shoveled. And there’s always someone too busy or too tired to do it themselves.

8. Work a second job as seasonal help at one of the department stores in the mall. Most of the major department stores hire extra help in October or November so they can have them fully trained by the time the really busy holiday shopping season kicks in. They are kept on until after the inventory counts are done in January. Then most are let go if they haven’t quit already. Those who have proven themselves to be quality employees will often be asked to stay on longer.

9. Sell something at holiday bazaars. I suspect that you have to get these kinds of events lined up ahead of time with a bit of preplanning and such, but plenty of folks make a decent seasonal income by selling cool arts and crafts type items at those holiday bazaars. Often a percentage of the sales goes towards a fundraiser, but you still make enough to make it worth your time and energy to create the art and to hang out at the art shows.

10. Sell your plasma. We all know how important it is to donate blood during the holidays, but many people don’t know that you can get paid for sitting through a procedure quite similar to the donation process. The difference is that they run your blood through a machine that separates the plasma from the red blood cells and puts the red blood cells back into your body. It take longer and I guess that’s why they are willing to pay you for your time. Years ago, I used to do this when my kids were really little and we needed some extra money for upcoming birthdays and such. They wouldn’t let you do it more than once a week or so and they only paid about $25 each time, so you had to plan ahead if you were going to raise $100 or $200 for something you wanted to purchase. Contact your local Red Cross or other blood donation centers for help finding the plasma centers.

11. Clean houses for others who have holiday guests coming. Typically, if someone has out of town guests coming for the holidays, they have a lot more on their to-do list then just cleaning their toilets and shampooing the carpets. You could become a real lifesaver for those in a crunch who are too busy, too old, or too tired to do a thorough deep cleaning before the guests arrive. Some might even hire you again to clean up after the guests leave too! Teens can do this just as easily as the adults can.

12. Run errands and do odd holiday jobs like wrapping gifts or delivering packages to the post office. You could start a little side business where all you do is run other people’s errands for them. Drop off and pick up the dry cleaning. Take their pet to the vet. Deliver cupcakes to the charity fundraiser. Pick up a handful of gift certificates from national department stores that will later be mailed out. Address and stamp their Christmas cards for them. Do their grocery shopping. Pick up new printer cartridge and some desk calendars for them. It’s all of those tiny little errands that make for frazzled schedules and crazy timelines. For a fee, you could do it for them.

13. Decorate the inside of people’s homes or offices for the holidays. You don’t have to be a professional interior decorator to be helpful. If you’ve got a reputation as having a good eye for attractive and festive decorating, you can help others to set up their trees, hang garland, and place some nice poinsettia here and there. You can help make people’s homes and their office space a warm inviting environment and also include coming back after the holidays to break it all down into to storage containers as part of the deal. I hate tearing down the decorations and would love to pay someone to put it all back away!

14. Cater some dinners for the extremely busy shoppers or for Holiday parties. Those who are not awesome cooks need not apply for this one! Let’s say that your boss is having the annual company Christmas party at his house and his wife is swamped with running kids back and forth to choir concerts and peewee football camp while shopping and planning for her in-laws who will be flying in to visit only three days after her husband’s company party at her house!!! You could offer to cook and cater the event for her. You’d once again be making someone else’s holiday season so much easier while earning extra money for yourself. Decide in advance on a menu and who’s purchasing the ingredients needed. Then all you have to come up with is a dollar figure for your time and grandma’s secret recipe for those little mini-cakes that everyone loves so much.

15. Chauffer someone’s children to and from school and other activities so the parents have some free time. This isn’t quite the same as babysitting. You’d be amazed at how much time a person can spend picking up and driving two or three kids to different events and hauling musical instruments and sporting gear from one event to the next. You could simply run a taxi service for children and teenagers who need rides from point A to B. You don’t have to hang out and watch them once they get there. Just make sure they arrive on time. Even just having an afternoon at home to cook and clean house while someone else gathers up all of the kids and brings them all home could make a world of difference for someone.

As you can see, some of these services could easily be turned into a year-round side job or they could be dropped as soon as the holidays are over. Perhaps you’ll find that you love catering people’s meals, you love refurbishing antiques, or you love running errands and taxiing others around from place to place. You could go into business for yourself and by next year, you could quit your ‘real job’ and be happily self-employed. Then again, your teenager could discover how much time and work it takes just to raise enough money for some generous Christmas shopping. After learning the value of a dollar earned, they might decide that college is a good idea after all!

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow’s Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. To read more of her articles and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To download free previews of her books, go to www.SkyeThomas.com. photo by iowa spirit walker

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Homemade Potato Chips
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Oh, how I ADORE potato chips. Ever since I can remember, I hoarded the potato chip bag and could hardly manage to share. Yes, how self-absorbed ! So, to get over my selfishness, I decided to share my passion for potato chips by always having a supply on hand - without having to run to the store every 3 or 4 days!

At any rate, I may convert you to a snack-aholic with these beyond belief homemade potato chips that are simple to make and you’ll never want to go back to the bagged, store-bought kind again. Trust me, you’ll love them!

Are you the creative type? How about making your chips of the mixed variety? Make them not just with Russet potatoes, but try making some of your chips from Finnish yellow or Peruvian purple potatoes.

Just be aware that each kind of potato has its own moisture content. So, you’ll need to fry up batches individually. Once finished, you’ll have a lovely mix of homemade delicacies - no longer everyday, but splendidly done potato chips.

Making your own potato chips doesn’t have to be a chore. Enjoy frying up fresh batches and sharing them with your family and friends. The freshness makes such a huge difference and the people you share with, will love you for the little bit of extra effort.

What you’ll need:
- 4 large russet potatoes
- large bowl of ice water
- 2 quarts of peanut oil
- sea salt to taste
- Electric fryer

First, scrub, your potatoes thoroughly. Get all that earthy stuff off of them until they are as clean as they’ll get. Then, with a sharp knife, thinly slice the potatoes, or use a vegetable slicing machine. Place the slices in a the bowl of ice water and soak for 1 hour.

With your electric deep-fat fryer or deep-fat fryer, pour in the oil to a depth of 4 to 5 inches, making sure that the oil doesn’t come up the sides of your pot more than halfway. Heat the oil until the temperature registers between 375 and 400 degrees F. Use a deep-fat thermometer to gage the temperature.

Drain your slices and pat dry with some paper towels. Fry the slices in small batches until golden brown. Turn them frequently using a slotted spoon. Then, transfer your chips to a paper towel to drain.

Season your chips with the salt or use your favorite seasoned salt like Dash or Spike. Seasoned salt gives plain old potato chips a face lift. But go easy! A little seasoned salt goes a long ways.

You can serve these beautiful chips either warm (absolutely my favorite way) or cold. Or, just store them in an air tight container. Definitely make sure you have more on hand than you think you’ll need, because these yummy potato chips will disappear faster than you can say, “Potato Chip Heaven!”
Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipeswhere you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and appetizer soups.

14 Frugal Food Rescuing Tips
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My grandparents, and maybe yours too, lived through the horrors of the Great Depression and two world wars. Times were hard, money was scarce, and sometimes foods were rationed. They simply could not afford to throw away slightly stale groceries, or toss a recipe that wasn’t turning out right. As a result, Grandma learned how to keep things from spoiling or how to “revive” foods that were older and losing their freshness. The results were perfectly edible, and these simple tricks sure helped to stretch an already strained food budget. Why not try a few of these time-honored and tested tips yourself?

* If you are one egg short when baking a cake, substitute one teaspoon of cornstarch instead.

* Do you want to prevent mold from growing on cheese? Wrap it tightly with a sugar cube and store it in the refrigerator. If your cheese is already moldy, simply wipe it off with a vinegar-soaked paper towel. The cheese will then be edible, and the flavor won’t be affected.

* Are you out of oil and need to grease a skillet? Rub it with half a potato. Pans “greased” with potato don’t smoke at high temperatures like oiled pans do.

* Does your brown sugar harden like a concrete block? To keep it soft, store it in a glass jar in your refrigerator or in a plastic bag with a piece of bread or apple inside.

* Don’t let insects ruin your dry foods! Put a bay leaf into containers of pasta, flour, rice and dry mixes to keep them away.

* If your mayonnaise separates or curdles, mix 1 teaspoon mustard and 1 tablespoon curdled mayonnaise in a bowl. Beat it with a wire whisk until it is creamy. Add the rest of the mayonnaise slowly and blend well.

* To keep a fresh fruit salad from turning brown, sprinkle the sliced fruit with lemon juice.

* Is your granulated sugar lumpy? Place several saltine crackers in the container and cover it tightly.

* If you have a block of cheese that has dried out, don’t throw it away? Store it in freezer. When you need to grate it for a recipe, slice it thinly, without thawing. Frozen cheese crumbles easily. It is perfect for making macaroni and cheese.

* Do you need to freshen dried out coconut? Place it in a strainer over a steaming pot of water for a few minutes.

* If you don’t want to throw out a stale loaf of bread, sprinkle it with water or milk and wrap it in aluminum foil. Bake it at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes to soften it. Loaves of Italian or French bread need to be baked for 3-5 minutes more, with the foil open for the last few minutes.

* Sticky rice? Rinse it thoroughly with warm water to wash out the excess starch. This will cause the grains to easily separate.

* Sticky pasta? Add salt or oil to noodles while the water is boiling.

* Did you over-salt a recipe? Add a little vinegar and sugar and then taste. If it is a recipe for stew or soup, add a raw potato to absorb the excess salt.

* Does your recipe have too much sugar? Add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar.

Ms. Zundel is a freelance writer, homeschooling parent, and publisher of a monthly educational newsletter. She specializes in writing educational and family-oriented articles. Visit her website at http://www.fadco.net/~artwhiz.

http://www.frugalvillage.com/food/101-frugal-cooking-a-leftovers/162-14-frugal-food-rescuing-tips.html

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Frugal Breakfast Ideas
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oatmealI am always trying to cut down my grocery bill and breakfast can be one of the most expensive meals of the day, depending on what you serve. Here you will find some inexpensive breakfast ideas that are good and healthy for your family.

1. Cut out all prepared, cold breakfast cereals. Instead use Oatmeal, grits or other hot cereals. These are better for us and are really easy to fix. Your family can “decorate” them to their tastes and your family’s budget. My family loves oatmeal with butter and jelly or grits with butter and a bit of grated cheese.

2. We don’t use expensive juices. We use frozen juice concentrates. This saves a lot of money for us every month. I also only allow juices to be drunk at breakfast and 1 serving per person. This way the juice will last 2-3 days for my family of four.

3. Plan a menu with the same few breakfasts repeated through out the week. You can then stock up on ingredients when they are on sale or buy in bulk.

4. If you can buy some chickens and have some homegrown eggs! We have an abundance of eggs most of the time so we eat a lot of egg based meals. Eggs are high in protein and most kids love them. We mostly eat them for breakfast scrambled or hard-boiled.

5. We buy our bread at the day old bread store. We get 3 loaves for $1.00 that way. We use the bread to make toast for breakfast, topped with butter, jelly or peanut butter and sometimes cheese.

6. Grow a garden, plant fruit trees, or gather what you can from your property. Pretty much anyone can grow a garden. I have a friend who lives in an apartment, and she grows container gardens on her balcony. We have wild mustang grapes that can be made into raisins and jelly, prickly pear cactus (we make jelly out of the cactus pears), mesquite beans (we make a jelly out of them), 2 peach trees (for fresh peaches in season and jelly), and wild pecans. I’m sure there are more items around our property that can be used, but this is what we’ve found so far. We’re also continually adding fruits, berries and nuts to our place. Use fresh when you can or freeze and can for when you can’t use fresh.

7. We make breakfast from left over rice. Whenever I fix rice for dinner, I make enough for breakfast the next morning and put in the refrigerator or freezer. I warm up the rice and add butter, sugar and cinnamon. This is one of my husband’s favorites. Rice is really inexpensive. I don’t use instant rice, but I use long grain brown rice. It has to cook for around 20 minutes.

8. I make milk from powdered milk. My family hasn’t noticed the difference since I did it gradually. I did it like this…I at first made 1/2 whole milk, 1/2 prepared powdered milk, and then kept watering down the whole milk with prepared powdered milk. By doing this, my family has gradually gotten use to powdered milk and now will drink it without any problems. We’re planning on getting a milk cow some day soon, so then we’ll be drinking raw cow milk and also using it to make butter and cheese.

Well, I hope you have found these tips helpful! These have been things that I have done to help trim my grocery bill down and I hope you can use them to help lower your grocery bill too!

Susan Godfrey is a Christian wife, mom and homemaker. She is also the owner of Homekeeper’s Heart, http://www.freewebtown.com/homekeepersheart, a Titus 2 Ministry to encourage Christian women to be the wives, mothers and homemakers that God wants them to be! She has her own blog at http://www.susangodfrey.blogspot.com and also is the owner of the Homesteader’s Heart Blog at http://www.homesteadersheart.blogspot.com where she shares homesteading, gardening and country living articles.

photo by mhaithaca

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Never Fail Pie Crust and Fillings
>Give this pie crust recipe a try.

If you’re short of time pick up a prepared crust and make your own filling rather than buying a pie. Your guests will think you baked it from scratch :-)

Never Fail Pie Crust

1 lb. room temperature shortening
5 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
cold water
1 tsp. vinegar

Cut shortening into flour, baking powder & salt with a pastry
cutter. Continue until pieces are the size of large rice. Whisk egg in a clear measuring cup. Fill to 3/4 cup mark with cold water. Whisk again. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Mix with a fork and then with your hands. Don’t overwork (work until it all sticks together). Makes enough crust for 3 - 4 double crust pies. Divide dough into 6 or 8 balls. Freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap.

For a filled shell:

Flour countertop. Roll rolling pin in flour. Flatten ball of pie crust dough and then roll with rolling pin. Start in the center & roll outwards. Make a circle large enough to fit in your pie plate. Fold in 1/2 and lift into plate. Fit into plate. With a knife cut around pie plate lip to trim off excess pie crust. You can add this to the
dough you roll for another crust. Fill shell with filling & if you need a top crust roll it out. Lay top crust on top. Trim around edges with a knife. Use a fork & press edges together all the way around. Cut 4 slits in the top of the crust, starting about 1/2” from the center of the pie.

For a sugary top sprinkle white granulated sugar on top before baking.

For a shiny top use a pastry brush and brush milk or watered down beaten egg on top before baking.

Baked Pie Shell:

Line tin loosely with crust. Trim edges. With a fork poke many holes in the crust. Bake @ 400F for 10 - 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool before filling.

Apple Pie

6 - 7 cups peeled, sliced apples (use tart, tasty apples)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 1/2 tbs.. butter or margarine

Put a crust in your pie plate. Heap with sliced apples. Sprinkle brown sugar & cinnamon evenly over top. Dot with butter/margarine. Put on top crust. Bake @ 425F for 50 - 60 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and apples are soft.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup melted butter/margarine
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves

Beat together with rotary beater. Add pecans. Pour into pastry lined pie plate. Bake @ 375F for 40 - 50 minutes or until filling is set and pastry is nicely browned.

Pumpkin Pie

1 3/4 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups milk
3 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. white sugar
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

Mix with electric beater and pour into pastry lined pie plate.
Bake @ 425F for 45 - 55 minutes or until a silver knife can be poked in 1” from edge and come out clean. Cool. Serve with whipped cream.

To cook pumpkin: Cut pumpkin in half. Scoop out seeds and discard or save to season & bake. Place pumpkin cut side down in a baking dish with 1/4” water in it. Bake at 375F until pumpkin is soft. Scoop pumpkin out of skin. Cooked pumpkin can be frozen in plastic freezer bags.

Wendy owns and operates http://www.CanadianCountryGifts.com

http://www.frugalvillage.com/food/cooking-from-scratch/186-coffee-can-ice-cream.html

Coffee Can Ice Cream
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The very best thing about having birthday cake is the ice cream that goes along with it. This delicious home made ice cream recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients and a couple of coffee cans.

Learn how to make your own yummy blend! It’s so easy to make and fun to eat! A great hands-on kids party activity!

There’s always room for ice cream. (That’s my motto!)

Home Made Ice Cream Recipe

1 lb. Coffee Can
3 lb. Coffee Can
1/2 cup Rock salt
1 pint Half and Half
1 1/2 tsps. Vanilla
1/3 cup + 2 tblsps. Sugar

For flavored ice cream, choose one:

3 tblsps. of your favorite flavor of instant pudding
1/3 cup of fruit (such as, bananas, strawberries, peaches)
3 of your favorite cookies, crushed into pea-size pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

METHOD:

Mix the first three basic ingredients together and pour into the one pound coffee can. Add flavorings if desired. Place the lid on securely and set inside the three pound can.

Add ice, and alternate layers of ice and salt outside the small can and inside the large can. When totally full, secure the lid on the large can. You may wish to add duct tape for good measure.

Now here comes the fun part! Place a sheet on the floor or wrap the can in a large towel. Let party guests roll the can back and forth for at least 10 minutes. Open the cans and check the ice cream.

If it is not starting to freeze, replace lids and roll 10 minutes more. The ice cream should be frozen to the sides and bottom of the can. If not thick enough, place in freezer and check every 10 minutes or so.

YIELD: 2 cups ice cream

Note: This recipe can be effected by temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors, so make a trial run before attempting in a group setting.

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com- a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog

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Apple Pizza
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Is Apple Pizza a great after school snack or a terrific, yummy dessert? You choose. Even for the every day snack, this one is one of my favorites. Chock full of good stuff for the mind, body and soul, you’ll love it too.

What you’ll need for Apple Pizza:

For the dough and filling
- 1/2 loaf of 8 ounce frozen bread dough (thawed)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups apples (peeled & thinly sliced)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the topping
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons margarine (softened)
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Easy to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, place the bread dough on a greased 12-inch deep dish pizza pan or something similiar. After the dough has thawed completely, just pat it onto the bottom and up 1/2 inch of the sides of the pan. Then, let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

Next, mix together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar, egg and the vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Then, combine the apples, 2/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1/4 cup the flour and cinnamon. Arrange the apple mix evenly over cream cheese mixture.

Then, in a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup of the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the margarine until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add the slivered almonds and then sprinkle this mixture evenly over the apples.

All you need to do is bake your apple pizza for about 40 minutes or until the dough has started turning to a golden brown.

The nice thing about this recipe is you can serve it warm (as a dessert?) or cold (as a snack?) If you serve it as a snack, it can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator ready to whip out at a hungry moment’s notice! Your family will be thrilled!
Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipeswhere you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and appetizer soups.

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Fantastic Frugal Hot Drink Mixes
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Recently my son and I went to a local Starbucks. As we waited for our sweet beverages to be made, we kept ourselves occupied by browsing the items they had for sale. There was lots of great items — many of which fit the cooler Autumn weather that had made its welcome in our area.
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One of the items for sale was a cider mix, that was attractively coupled with a mug and cinnamon sticks. Needing a gift for a friend, I considered making the purchase, but quickly regained some of my frugal sensibility (I was still in a Starbuck’s so I wasn’t be totally frugal to begin with) and realized how I could
put together the same gift for $1 or less.

Compiled here is an assortment of wonderful mixes that when prepared are sure to warm the soul. Pick your favorite and make some for yourself, or a friend!

Hot Cocoa Mix

1 (8-qt.) box instant powdered milk
1 (16 oz.) jar nondairy creamer
1 (2 lb.) box Nestle’s Quik?
1 (1 lb.) box confectioners’ sugar

Sift sugar and mix together. Add 2 cups miniature marshmallows, if desired. To use, fill a mug half full of mix. Add boiling water.

Cinnamon and Spice Beverage Mix

2/3 cup instant coffee
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice

Mix thoroughly and put into a blender a couple cups at a time and blend to a fine powder. To use, add approximately 2 rounded teaspoons per cup of boiling water, or less, to suit your own taste.

Friendship Tea Mix

1 (18 oz.) jar Tang breakfast drink (orange flavor)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup presweetened lemonade mix (such as Countrytime)
1/2 cup instant tea
1 (3 oz. box ) orange or peach Jell-O
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

Combine these dry ingredients and store in an airtight
container. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons per cup of boiling water.
Makes approximately 50 servings.

Malted Hot Cocoa Mix

1 (25.6 oz.) box nonfat dry milk powder
6 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (16 oz.) container instant chocolate milk mix
1 (13 oz.) jar malted milk powder
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 (6 oz.) jar powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 tsp. salt

In large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. Store in an airtight container. Keep in a cool place. Makes about 20 cups or 10 gifts. To serve, pour 6 ounces of hot water over 1/3 cup cocoa mix, and stir until well blended.

Toffee Mocha Beverage Mix

2/3 cup instant coffee
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar, packed

Mix thoroughly and put into a blender a couple cups at a time and blend to a fine powder. To use, add approximately 2 rounded teaspoons per cup of boiling water, or less, to suit your own taste.

Swiss Mocha Beverage Mix

1 cup instant coffee
1 cup sugar
2 cups nonfat dry milk
4 T. cocoa powder

Mix thoroughly and put into a blender a couple cups at a time and blend to a fine powder. To use, add approximately 2 rounded teaspoons per cup of boiling water, or less, to suit your own taste.

Spiced Tea Mix

1 (18 oz.) jar orange breakfast beverage crystals
2 C. sugar
1/2 cup red cinnamon candies
1/3 cup instant tea mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container.To serve, stir 1 1/2 tablespoons of mix into 1 cup hot water, stirring until candies dissolve.

Spiced Cocoa Mix

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, and mix thoroughly. For each serving, combine 1/3 cup Spiced Cocoa Mix and 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve.

Mocha Cocoa Beverage Mix

2 2/3 cups nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup instant cocoa mix
1/2 cup. instant coffee
1/4 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Mix thoroughly and put into a blender a couple cups at a time and blend to a fine powder. To use, add approximately 2 rounded teaspoons per cup of boiling water, or less, to suit your own taste.

Fruity Cocoa Mix

3 cups instant hot cocoa mix
1 pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid mix, any fruity flavor

Combine all ingredients in a a sealable container. Shake well until blended. Store in an airtight container. To use, stir 2 heaping tablespoons into a coffee mug of hot water.

About The Author:
Brandie is an wife, mother of 3, and entrepreneur.If you like this article, you are sure to like other goodies that she offers, including HomeMade Living — a free ezine for stay-at-home mothers.
Subscribe to her ezine at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homemadeliving
Bid on her auctions at:http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/bmvcreations

http://www.frugalvillage.com/food/frugal-cooking-a-leftovers/164—18-tips-for-the-frugal-cook.html

18 Tips for the Frugal Cook
Print
When you make mashed potatoes, make an extra big batch and freeze leftovers in muffin cups. Once they are frozen transfer to a zipper bag. Just get out as many as you need and heat up in the microwave.

Use leftover beef stew to make beef potpie. Just put it into a shallow baking dish and place a pastry crust on top.

If you use applesauce to replace oil in baking, you can buy the large size jar. Pour leftover applesauce into a freezer container and freeze until the next baking day.

If your recipe says use an 11 x 7 x 2 inch pan and you don’t have one, you can use your 9-inch square baking pan instead and you won’t even have to adjust the baking time.

When you find chicken on sale, before you put it in the freezer, go ahead and coat it with seasoning mix. Then it’s so easy to just remove as many pieces as you need to thaw and bake.

Check the prices at your grocery store: it may be cheaper to use squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate than chocolate chips, when your recipe calls for melted chips.

An easy way to drain browned ground beef is to brown it in the microwave oven in a microwave-safe colander, so the fat drains into another bowl underneath.

When making carrot cake or muffins, try using baby food carrots instead of regular grated carrots, to save time.

For a thrifty dip for fresh fruit, add a little brown sugar and some cinnamon to vanilla yogurt.

Write your grocery list on the back of a used envelope. Your coupons go inside the envelope and everything’s handy!

Save your bacon grease to make a treat for your feathered friends this winter. Mix some birdseed in and put it in a shallow dish, maybe a leftover plastic meat tray, and place it in a handy place (for the birds) outside.

Adding a few grains of rice to your salt shaker will absorb moisture and reduce those clumps.

If you have school-age children, keep cupcakes in your freezer. When your child needs a treat for the next day, take them out and frost. You can even frost them while they’re still frozen.

If your chocolate chip cookies spread out when you bake them, chill the dough for an hour or so before baking.

Buy your fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season and they will be cheaper.

Use frozen bread to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or lunches. Spread peanut butter on one slice and jelly on the ther. The sandwich will be thawed by lunchtime and the jelly won’t soak in.

Do you need chunks of pineapple for a recipe and all you have is a can of pineapple slices? An easy way to make chunks is: take the top off the can and use a sharp knife to just cut through all the slices at once at several intervals.

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the “1 Frugal Friend 2 Another” bi-weekly newsletter, featuring creative ideas and tips to help you “live the good life...on a budget!” Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to download a free “Recipe Sampler”.Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free e-course “Taming the Monster Grocery Bill

http://www.frugalvillage.com/food/frugal-cooking-a-leftovers/193-microwave-cooking.html

Frugal Microwave Cooking
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Microwave cooking can save you time and energy all year long. But it is especially nice in summer because it enables you to cook hot meals without heating up your home. Microwave heat is produced only within the food, so the microwave oven stays cool and your house does, too, saving you money on your air conditioning bill!

In general, the microwave oven uses only one-fourth of the energy used by a conventional oven.

In order to get the most from using your microwave oven, remember these tips:

1. Covering most foods will speed up cooking.

2. Use round or oval dishes, instead of square or rectangle, for more even cooking.

3. If you are cooking two foods at the same time, choose foods that take about the same amount of time to cook.

4. Heating continues after food is removed from the microwave oven, so allow time for this additional cooking.

5. Arrange chicken pieces so that the thicker, meatier portions are toward the outside of the dish and the thin, bony parts are toward the center.

6. Foods containing sugar and fats cook faster.

Many of your family’s favorite recipes can be converted to a microwave recipe.

To figure microwave cooking time, start with one-fourth of the conventional time.

Always undercook—if more time is needed, you can always add another minute or two.

Use less liquid because there is not as much evaporation.

It may help to find a recipe that is similar to yours that is written especially for microwave ovens and use it as a guide.

SWISS STEAK

3 tbsp. flour
1 lb. beef round steak, 3/4 inch thick
3 tbsp. dry onion soup mix - shake mix before measuring
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. water
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

Sprinkle half of flour on one side of meat; pound in with rolling pin or meat mallet. Turn meat and sprinkle with remaining flour; pound with rolling pin.
Cut into 4 serving size pieces.

Arrange in 8 inch round microwave baking dish.

In small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, blend well. Pour over meat. Cover tightly with microwave safe plastic wrap. Microwave on medium
for 12 to 17 minutes or until meat is almost tender. Let stand tightly covered for 10 minutes. Serves 4

Steamed Veggies

Vegetable (green beans,carrots, broccoli, whatever)
Small amount of water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Put veggies and water in a microwave-safe container and
cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap,loosely, so steam can escape.

Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute at time, until done to desired tenderness.

Microwave Raspberry Cake

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Mix in preserves. Blend well. Add sour cream and eggs. Beat well. Blend together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add gradually to first mixture, beating well.

Pour batter into greased 8-inch round microwave-safe dish. Microwave on full power for 4 to 5 minutes or until top springs back when pressed with finger.

Cool. Frost with Raspberry Frosting.

Raspberry Frosting

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract and preserves. Blend well. Add remaining 1 cup powdered
sugar and stir until smooth. Spread on cake.

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the bi-weekly newsletter “1 Frugal money-saving tips, recipes and ideas. Visit her online at http://www.cynroberts.com to subscribe and receive the Free e-course, “Taming the Monster Grocery Bill”.

http://www.homesteadinginfo.com/articles/write_an_ebook.html

Income-Earning Ideas Anyone Can Do!

Write an eBook
by: Crystal Paine

Everyone has a gift, talent, or interest which others would love to learn about and they would pay to learn about it. Writing an ebook is one of the most simple ways to do this! All you need to do is write something, put it into pdf, and set it up to sell it.

1. Write Something.

Start by asking yourself what your special interests are or what things you are knowledgeable about which others would like to learn about. What experiences have you been through which other people would find fascinating? Two areas which I’ve found people love reading about are creative home business ideas and ways to save money. Topic such as these will especially attract buyers because they will hope to get a lot more out of your ebook than they paid for it. If they expect the information in your ebook to save them quite a bit more money than they paid for it, they will usually be anxious to buy it. The same goes for ebooks on home business ideas.

Pick your topic and start writing! The nice thing about ebooks is that they don’t have to be long. 25-40 pages is a good size for ebooks, though longer or shorter is acceptable. Be sure to have a couple different individuals proof your ebook; typographical errors are so common nowadays, but that doesn’t make them right or acceptable. Numerous typos in books or ebooks always leaves a poor reflection on the author.

2. Convert Your eBook to PDF.

Once you have written your ebook and have it laid out in an easy-to-read manner, you will need to convert it into pdf or an ebook format using an ebook program. If you do not already have a pdf program, you can download a free pdf converter program here. PDF is best to use for smaller ebook files, if you have a larger ebook file, I would recommend eBook Generator.

3. Set Up Your eBook to Sell.

In order to sell it online, a great program to begin with is PayLoadz. I have been using PayLoadz for my ebooks and have been extremely happy with it. It allows you to set up the book process so that your ebooks can be instantly downloaded once your customer pays for them. This makes it much easier for everyone! Your customers will love being able to instantly download the ebooks and you will love not having to mess with sending them a download link. Once you have your ebook written and it set up on PayLoadz, you can just sit back and allow the payments to come in. You can set up an affiliate program through PayLoadz which allows others to make money by promoting your ebook. (See my affiliate marketing page for more information on this.)

If you are planning to sell a lot of your ebooks and you want to have an affiliate program (which I highly recommend you do), ClickBank is an excellent program to consider using. They charge a $50 fee to set up your ebook and they take out a small percentage of each sale, but they will give you wide exposure for you ebook which you will probably not be able to generate from your website.

In order to sell your ebook online, you need to have a website. It can be something extremely simple as just a two page sales-letter-type of website. There are multitudes of website options available out there. I would recommend starting out with something extremely simple. Two website hosting options you might consider are: Westhost or MicfoGroup. If you know nothing about html, you could hire someone to create it for you or you could use something like Create Your Own Website. Make sure that you put testimonials on your website from people who have purchased your ebook (you can give away some copies in exchange for testimonials!). Testimonials add a lot of credential , especially if the people who write them have their own website or business in a similar field.

If you write an ebook, be sure to write and tell me about it. I may even be interested in promoting it for you! And, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to write and ask!

For more inspiration, here’s an article I wrote last year...

You Can Be An Author
by: Crystal Paine

Continued. There are links at the site to learn more on printing these books.

http://www.homesteadinginfo.com/articles/patiogarden.html

Turn Your Patio Into A Voluminous Vegetable Garden
by: Jill Homer

My first apartment was a second-story condo in an urban complex, far displaced from the groomed suburban landscapes and sprawling gardens I had grown up with. My only connection to the outdoors was a small porch, surrounded by brown siding and a fading carpet of artificial turf.

To add a little color to the patio, I adopted a few small tomato plants from a friend who had started his garden indoors, and planted them in large pots near my railing. To my surprise, they started to grow. Soon I had filled the 5’ x 10’ space with more than a dozen ceramic pots, plastic containers, and beach pails filled with peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and pole beans. Before I knew it, my porch was a curtain of green and my meals regularly featured home-grown vegetables.

Well-planned patio gardens allow gardeners to make the most of a small space while maintaining a degree of control not available to those who plant in the ground. If a plant is not getting enough sun, it can be moved. If it is not draining properly, more holes can be added. Healthy plants prevent pests, and some, such as slugs, are not even a factor. Watering is more efficient, because it must be done by hand, making a patio garden ideal in a drought situation. And at the end of the year, even inexperienced gardeners can enjoy a bounty of vegetables thanks to the built-in advantages of garden containers, which include regular drainage and nutrient-rich soil.

Herbs also make great container plants, as they survive in generally drier conditions. Pots offer the opportunity of bringing herbs inside when the weather gets colder. However, many herbs are fast-growing, so it’s best replant the container each spring.

Starting a patio garden is not difficult. Here are a few tips:

1. Start with 4” plants, which can be found at most nurseries. With a little creativity, just about any vegetable can be planted in an above-ground container, however, the most common seem to be tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, beans, and spinach

2. The size of a plant can vary depending on the variety of seedling used. Make sure containers are large enough to accommodate a full-sized plant. Most tomatoes will need at least an 18” square container. Peppers, however, are perfectly happy in smaller pots.

3. Cover the holes at the bottom of the container with small rocks to improve the soil drainage.

4. Part-fill the container with compost. A slow-release fertilizer can be added at this stage to distribute nutrients as the compost dries out. Fill the remaining space with a nutrient-rich planting soil.

5. Water the plants and let them drain. Take them out of their pots and arrange in the container, packing in tightly. Fill in any gaps and firm all the plants in place. Keep the soil below the rim of the pot for easier watering.

6. Water the container well and move it to its final position. Arrange plants according to their needs. Tomatoes prefer a south-facing porch with full sun, while spinach and lettuce are happier near the house in partial shade. Make sure the place where you want to plant gets at least six hours of direct sun every day.

7. Trellises, cages or poles will be needed for tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and other vines. Patio gardeners can also take advantage of permanent features, such as fences and railings, to support their plants.

8. Containers need to be watered at least once a day in summer. They also require regular fertilization. A fertilizer dilutor can be clipped on to the hose to feed plants as you water.

With just a little time and imagination, any drab patio can become home to lush green vines, red peppers, juicy tomatoes, and succulent cucumbers. Why not start today?

About The Author
Jill Homer is a freelance writer who is happy to provide articles for your home and gardening needs. For more information, contact her at jill@biketoshine.com

Reprinted With Permission from ArticleCity.com

http://www.homestead.org/ReginaAnneler/MarketingHomesteadProducts2.htm

snipped from middle of article......

The internet is large enough that it offers many more opportunities to the opportunistic homesteader. There are several sites on the internet devoted to the fresh, organic producer. Localharvest.org and Newfarm.org are two such sites. These sites can be a shot in the arm for the small producer trying to make a go at self-sufficiency on the homestead. They list many of the local CSA growers and farmers’ market locations, but the biggest and best thing they offer is free advertising for each producer. They provide a list that is free for you register your farm and the products that you raise and produce. They have search engines that allow the buyer to search for producers close to their home areas. They also have a large supply of information available concerning ways to grow and market products.

http://www.Localharvest.org

offers a special support to producers, one that opens the market to a greater degree. They have an online store for producers to list products they have available for online purchase. The website currently lists over 5,000 products available in this manner. It is possible to market wool, soap, dairy, meats, seeds, herbs, teas, preserves, fruits, nuts, processed foods, tinctures, flowers, syrups, crafts, and even pet needs here. This can be a great service to all producers, but through this website even the smallest producer gets a chance to market products of all kinds produced on the family homestead.

The last marketing area can be managed by the homesteader himself. Many producers develop their own website on the internet for the sole purpose of marketing their products to a worldwide market all by themselves. Whether you design a website yourself or use a pre-formed template, a little general computer knowledge is all that is needed to accomplish this. Many producers use pictures as well as words to help market their products. Pictures allow the producer to showcase their many products available for purchases at different stages. If a homesteader wants to market free range chicken eggs, for example, they can use photos as a tool. When buyers see photos of chickens moving around a homestead, free from cages and eating any insects they find, they know that the producing hens are not caged and eating processed arsenic. Next, the producer shows the eggs for sale in a basket or carton. This makes the personal website a dual marketing tool; not only is it offering products that the producer has for sale, but it also allows the buyer to feel a real connection to that producer.

continued.

http://www.homestead.org/KarynSweet/HoneyHealth.htm

Honey Health

Using Honey in Home Remedies,

Baking, and Skin Care

by Karyn Sweet

Dogs may have a challenger when it comes to the “Man’s Best Friend” Award. Honeybees pollinate eighty percent of the fruit, vegetable, and seed crops in the United States. In addition, they are the only insects that produce a food that humans eat. Honey, which the bees have been producing for 150 million years, contains all of the substances necessary to sustain life, including water. And if that (in addition to its delicious taste) wasn’t enough, honey provides us with a myriad of health benefits and can be used in home remedies, baking, and beauty recipes.

The latest research has been looking at honey’s use in healing skin problems. As recently as World War I, honey mixed with cod liver oil was used to dress wounds. There are a number of reasons why honey is so effective in wound healing. First, honey topically numbs pain. Secondly, honey is osmotic; it attracts water. Since bacteria is mostly made of water, it is sucked dry in the presence of honey. Bacteria is further inhibited by honey because honey produces hydrogen peroxide and is acidic. Third, honey activates the immune response by providing glucose for the white blood cells. Finally, honey speeds up the healing process. It creates a moist environment by drawing serum up through the skin tissues that helps “moist scab” formation. Honey also reduces inflammation, helps shed dead tissue, and stimulates the development of new blood cells. Honey’s antiseptic qualities also help prevent infections from moving to other wounds. For these reasons, honey may be very helpful in the treatment of minor burns, open wounds, abscesses, strep infections, Cesarean incisions, gangrene, shingles, and abrasions with debris (when the abrasion is dressed with honey for 24 hours, the honey will actually draw and lift the debris). Its antifungal properties make it useful in the topical treatment of athlete’s foot and eczema.

Honey is a panacea for the digestive system and improves a poor appetite. Honey also contains prebiotics which feed beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacteria (a bacteria that aids in digestion and helps prevent allergies and some tumor growth). Because of its antimicrobial characteristics, honey destroys the H. pylori bacteria that causes stomach ulcers and inhibits the growth of E. Coli and candida. Honey is also a gentle laxative that isn’t “habit-forming” and can be used with children over one year old. Paradoxically, honey has also been used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. Furthermore, honey can help in the prevention of, and recuperation from, a hangover - not strictly a digestive issue but we all need some help from time to time.

Some other medicinal uses include: soothing a sore throat, reducing eye inflammation, healing cataracts, improving night vision, and/or soothing dry eyes by sticking a drop on the bottom lid, typhoid fever, pneumonia, allergies, bronchitis, and sinusitis. Honey can also be a boon to pregnant women - ginger tea with honey can help with morning sickness, warm milk with honey may alleviate heartburn and help the mother to sleep, and tea with lemon and honey can boost the immune system when the mother has a cold and wishes to avoid medications.

In addition to these specific medicinal uses, honey is nourishing to the entire body. As mentioned above, it contains all of the necessary substances for life including vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and all of the B’s, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, amino acids, iodine, and zinc. It is fat free and cholesterol free. Honey has a lower Glycemic Index rate compared to table sugar; this is because honey supplies two stages of energy. The glucose is absorbed immediately and gives a quick energy boost while the fructose is absorbed more slowly and provides sustained energy. Daily consumption is said to stabilize blood sugar and reduce cholesterol. Mix honey with apple cider vinegar and / or lemon juice to alkalinize the body (too much acid may lead to bloating, heartburn, belching, and feeling too full).

The importance of antioxidants is frequently in health news; antioxidants help prevent cellular damage thus slowing down the aging process. They also help prevent chronic disease. And you guessed it, honey’s got ‘em. In fact, the antioxidant “pinocembrin” is only found in honey. Generally, the darker the honey, the more antioxidants. It’s probably easier to get your family to take their honey than to eat all their leafy greens! Honey improves memory, so you’ll be able to remember all of the great benefits it provides. And finally, if you aren’t already feeling good about honey’s many gifts, one or two teaspoons in warm milk is a nice sedative.

To use medicinally, be sure to purchase raw honey from a reputable source. Eat at least one teaspoon three to four times a day for most of the issues listed above. Allow honey to roll down the back of the throat if using to soothe a sore throat and/or infection. Honey can also be used in the appropriate herbal tea; for instance, mix it into an infusion of elder blossoms for a fever. Or chop fresh herbs into honey; coltsfoot and honey helps one to heal more quickly from a cold. To use on skin problems, simply apply the honey and cover with gauze or cheesecloth - messy but effective. Peppermint and/or lavender essential oil may be added to honey to enhance the healing process. While honey may be used topically on anybody, it should not be consumed by children under the age of one year or by those with compromised immune systems. This is because honey may contain botulinum spores; the digestive systems of adults and older children are acidic enough to inhibit the bacteria but a baby’s system is not.

With all these health benefits as well as such a yummy taste, it’s time to start cooking with honey. Generally light honey has a more mild taste while dark honey is stronger. A few pointers will make your kitchen experiments more successful. First of all, store honey at room temperature so that it doesn’t crystallize. Don’t worry, honey will not spoil. In fact, honey was found in King Tut’s tomb and was still edible. Then again, maybe that was the cause of the curse of King Tut, but never mind... Another point to keep in mind is that honey has a higher fructose count than sugar; it’s at least 25% sweeter. One half to 2/3 a cup of honey equals one cup of sugar. Reduce any liquid that’s called for in the recipe by half a cup, add ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

Another characteristic that makes honey so fun to experiment with is that honey tastes much different depending on the flowers that the honeybees visited on their collection flights. For instance, clover honey has a mild taste that is sweet and flowery while buckwheat honey is dark and tastes somewhat similar to molasses. Orange blossom honey is said to be a good all around honey that is light and mild. Here in the mountains of North Carolina we have sourwood honey which is light and reminds me of cotton candy.

Your recipes will turn out differently depending on which variety you use and some varieties lend themselves better to certain types of cooking. For example, orange blossom honey’s mild taste is good in tea and spread on breads and biscuits. “Tea”-totalers may also enjoy alfalfa, clover, and Leatherwood. Heather and clover are possible sugar substitutes in coffee but most find honey a little too “unique” for their coffee. Many mead makers use medium-colored goldenrod. When baking breads, cakes, muffins, etc, use mild, flowery honeys such as alfalfa and orange blossom. Sourwood, basswood, and wildflower honeys are also good in desserts because they impart their sweet floral taste. Toasted food is enhanced by tupelo, fireweed, and Manuka honey. Use buckwheat and macadamia for meat and sauces, or heather and Rewarewa for dishes that contain ham, chicken, or turkey. Acacia honey may be used to complement a seafood dish.

I’ve included some recipes from www.goldenblossomhoney.com to help get you started cooking with honey today:

Trail Mix Bars

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°

Lightly grease a 9x15 inch pan.

Combine the first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla, butter, honey and brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer. Batter will be very heavy. Using a wooden spoon stir in remaining ingredients until well combined.

Press dough into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Cut into bars and cool completely before removing them from pan.

Honey Lemon Yogurt Muffins

Ingredients:

1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon fresh grated lemon rind
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin tin. Melt butter and honey together. Remove from heat. Beat together yogurt, egg, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Add butter and honey mixture. Beat well. Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Make well in center and add wet ingredients. Stir just to combine. Fold in walnuts. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 25 minutes.

In addition to tasting good and keeping you healthy, honey can be used to keep you looking beautiful (or handsome) naturally. Remember how useful honey is for treating skin problems? Those same characteristics make honey a clear choice for inclusion in skin care products. Honey can be added to homemade recipes for lip balms, facial scrubs and cleansers, skin moisturizers, hair shine spray, body bath, anti-wrinkle cream, hand soap bar, skin toner, acne treatment cream, body fragrance, and anti-stretch cream. It can be particularly effective in treating acne. Because of its antibacterial qualities, honey actually attacks the bacteria that causes acne while it also calms the inflammation. The antioxidants found in honey help to feed new tissue and prevent scarring. Honey may be dabbed directly onto blemishes and left for ten minutes before rinsing off with warm water. Or mix three tablespoons of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon and apply paste to blemishes.

Also, honey is a humectant; it attracts and retains moisture from the environment. For this reason, it is useful for keeping the skin moist and soft. Use honey in a cleansing scrub by mixing one tablespoon of honey with two tablespoons of finely ground almonds and ½ a teaspoon of lemon juice. Rub gently onto face and then rinse with warm water. To make a skin lotion combine one teaspoon of honey with one teaspoon of vegetable oil and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice. Rub on, leave for ten minutes, and rinse off with warm water. Another suggestion is to simply add 1/4 cup of honey to your bath to soften the skin. Using these remedies will put you in the company of historical beauties such as Cleopatra and Queen Anne of England.

Honey truly is a gift from Nature. It helps to ease our physical sufferings and brings nourishment and beauty to our bodies. But keep in mind that it takes 556 worker bees and 2 million flowers to produce one pound of honey. In fact, the average bee will only make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. And this is on a good day when the hive isn’t dealing with pesticides, Colony Collapse Disorder, and lack of forage. So when you enjoy that sweet taste on your tongue, please remember to send out a thank you to the honeybees.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.