Hillbilly Housewife

Good Luck Bad Luck and Hot Dog Ramblings – HBHW Newsletter

June 30th, 2010

Editorial

Here in the United States we’ll be celebrating the 4th of July this weekend with picnics, parades, fireworks, and just plain old fun in the sun. We usually cook (and eat!) way too much food, spend as much time outside as we can, and generally exhaust ourselves. I hope you have a wonderful weekend surrounded by family and friends.

In keeping with this big “cookout” weekend, I decided to feature an article that’s an old favorite of many of us here at Hillbilly Housewife, Hot Dog Ramblings. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to see what we’re rambling about!

The inspirational quote and story are about luck – some we make and some that we fall into, whether we like it or not. Luck is a funny thing. We don’t always know when we’re lucky, and sometimes when we think we’re truly the unluckiest person in the world, the opposite is true. Think of some of those times in your life when you felt that luck was just not on your side, and then something wonderful came of that seemingly unlucky situation. It’s just a fun thought this week.

I’ve chosen Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons again as this week’s sponsor because many of us are on vacation over the 4th of July holiday here in the USA and will need lots of ideas to keep the kids busy. And, if you have a house full of kids, you may even want to plan special crafting events for them. I hope you’ll take advantage of this great offer.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

Remember that not always getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
~Dalai Lama~

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News From The HBHW Club

If you haven’t heard about the Hillbilly Housewife Club, it’s a members only forum packed full of great information, resources, and friendly chit chat about the things we are all interested in – fun, frugal living. Come Join Us And See What All The Chatter Is About!

My friend Ellen Braun from RaisingSmallSouls.com has been helping our Club members keep their kids entertained with our latest resource, FRUGAL SUMMER FUN. In this resource, we explore all sorts of ideas to help keep your family entertained and happy all summer long. Many of us are not taking a big expensive family vacation this year, but we’re still keeping our kids happy and having a great time creating lasting memories.

If you’d like to have access to this resource, and many more like it, just click on the link and take advantage of our special offer to join the HBHW club. http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

This is just one of our many informative resources at the HBHW Club. Topics range from meal planning, gardening, making money working at home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget, and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

For just $1 you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.
For just $1 you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Hot Weather Cooking has taken our friends at the Club from salads, to grilling, to the crockpot – anything to get out of the kitchen! One of our friends is even thinking of baking bread in her grill. Can’t wait to see what happens with that. Has anyone tried that before? The grill has a thermostat on the outside so conceivably it should work. This will be a challenge, for sure.

The Walking Challenge may have to be renamed “The Anything You Can Do To Exercise Challenge.” For various reasons, heat being a big concern, we’ve been having trouble figuring out how to fit exercise into our day. Our reluctant early riser is still rising early to get a bike ride in before it gets too hot. We have a friend who can’t convince her dog to walk in the heat but is lucky to have a pool, so she’s swimming. Unfortunately, the sun got the best of her even in the pool. I thought I’d take a spin on the treadmill the other day but the heat coming off of the machine was too much to handle in the already overheated house. This is truly a challenge!

Our Four Legged Family Members can cause some pretty difficult problems in the house at times. Yes, we love the little furry creatures, but that doesn’t mean they don’t frustrate us sometimes. One of our friends has a cat who has decided that he wants to mark the house as his. For whatever reason, he is making a stand. We have some rather knowledgeable friends at the Club (years of experience!) so I hope we can come up with a solution to this problem before too long.

As you can see, our topics have a wide range – anywhere from homesteading, to pet care, to frugal gardening, to health and fitness, to fun projects to keep kids busy at home. If something has to do with keeping our homes and families happy, we’ll discuss it!

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area. Click the following link and try the HBHW Club for only $1.
http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

Craft Blog For Fun And Profit
Frugal Gardening
Simple Summer Cooking
Frugal Family Summer Fun
Pantry Cooking
Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Setting Up A Family Budget
Getting Out Of Debt For Good
Utility Bill Savings
Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week by a Club member:

Victoria’s Frozen Fruit Salad

1 can fruit cocktail
1 t. unflavored gelatin
2 T. lemon juice
1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/4 c. mayonnaise
Dash of salt
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. sugar (I use 1/3 c. honey)
1/2 c. nuts, chopped (optional)

Drain fruit cocktail. Soften gelatin in lemon juice, then dissolve over hot water. (I just heat 30 sec. in microwave.) Blend cream cheese with mayo and salt. Stir in gelatin.

In separate bowl, whip cream stiff, gradually adding sugar (or honey). Fold in cheese mixture, fruit cocktail, and nuts, if desired. Pour into freezer tray lined with waxed paper (I use a glass bread pan.) Freeze until firm, 4-5 hrs. Turn out onto a platter, remove waxed paper, and cut into thick slices. Enjoy!

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

Sauerkraut Salami Salad
More Than Mac & Cheese Salad
Apple Peanut Butter Snack in a Salad
Grilled Maple Syrup Sweet Potatoes

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles – Hot Dog Ramblings

There’s more to a good old fashioned hot dog than meets the eye. If you’ve never explored different ways to cook and serve hot dogs, now is the time to do it!

It’s not just the way you cook them, it’s the variety of things you put on them. And, don’t stop there. How about the different buns you can use? What about wrapping them in a biscuit? Then there’s the old standby Pork and Beans. There are a lot of ways to serve this summertime treat. Do take a look at this featured article and see if you can get some new ideas for your next family cookout.

Hot Dog Ramblings

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

This section is all about you. If you are looking for a particular recipe or a tip on how to do something, submit it here and I will post it in an upcoming newsletter. I’ll give you my input and other readers of the newsletter will have the opportunity to share their recipes and tips as well. So take a moment to post your questions and of course if you have a tip or idea for any question posted in this section feel free to leave a comment under the appropriate post.

I’m Looking For Requests
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I’m Looking For Responses
Below you will find some of the recent responses to the “I’m Looking For” Requests. You may also want to go directly to this section and browse through all the recent submissions and replies. To do so, click on “I’m Looking for” here, and start looking through them.
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Inspirational Story

The Chinese Farmer – Good Luck, Bad Luck
~author unknown~

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and, when all the farmer’s neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?’

A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, ‘Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?’

Then, when the farmer’s son was attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?’

Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

Final Thought

That’s it for this edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading it as I had creating it for you. I also hope that you have found the information helpful and useful. And by all means feel free to forward the newsletter to family and friends or even better, encourage them to subscribe to it.

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Filed Under: Newsletters

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Tomatoes and basil just seem to go together really well. I love sliced tomatoes topped with a little of this chopped herb on top. The classic combination is reinvented in this simple tomato basil soup recipe. It makes the perfect lunch during tomato season.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

4 tomatoes (peeled and diced)
4 cups of tomato juice
14 Basil Leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook tomatoes and juice over medium heat in a large pot for about 30 minutes. Place the cooked mixture into a blender with the basil and blend together. Transfer back to pot and add the cream, butter and salt/pepper to taste.

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The Dining On A Dime Cookbook is packed with over 1,200 money saving recipes and tips, kids tips and snack ideas, gift baskets, menus, food storage directions, Cleaning Cents and Pretty for Pennies. The recipes are easy to cook with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. To make shopping easy and economical, it also includes a pantry list and a shopping list.

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Filed Under: Recipes, Soup and Stew Recipes

Stuffed Tomato Recipe

Stuffed tomatoes are a bit of an acquired taste for me. For years, I didn’t even like the idea of them and it never would have occurred to me to try to make them. Then I had this simple stuffed tomato recipe at a friend’s house and it is now one of my favorite summer treats. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as we have.

Stuffed Tomato Recipe

4 medium size firm tomatoes
4oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil
1 garlic clove (minced)
salt/pepper to taste

Cut the top off of the tomatoes and scoop out the centers. Discard the seeds but try to keep as much of the tomato pulp as you can. Mix the pulp, cheese,basil and garlic and place back into the tomato shell. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetables

Homemade Buttermilk

I would love a recipe for buttermilk. If you have a good one, please share as a comment below.
Thanks.

Debbie

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Green Tomato Relish Recipe

Toward the end of tomato season, we usually end up with a lot of green tomatoes that just won’t finish ripening. It’s a shame to throw them all away. Instead, why not make this simple green tomato relish. It is great on sandwiches.

Green Tomato Relish Recipe

20 large green tomatoes,
3 red and 3 green bell peppers(seeded)
10 large onions
3tbsp mustard seed
3tbsp celery seed
5 cups white sugar
1tbsp salt
2 cups cider vinegar

Place tomatoes, onions and peppers in a food processor and coarsely grind. Drain mixture in a piece of cloth to get out any excess juice. Transfer to a large pot and add celery seed, mustard seed,sugar,salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Then place the relish into sterilized jars.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Convenience Foods, Vegetables

Award Winning Chili – Crockpot

1 lb ground beef
1 lb hot sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
1 tbsp cooking oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper , diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp cayenne
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground paprika
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 small can of tomato paste
2 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Brown the ground beef and sausage in the oil in large skillet, then put in crockpot. In same skillet with meat drippings, lightly saute all the vegetables, then add to crockpot. Add all the spices to the ingredients in crockpot and stir. In separate bowl, mix together the next 5 ingredients (Worcestershire, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes). Then pour into crockpot and stir to combine. Cover and set crockpot temperature on Low. Cook for 7 to 8 hours (or more is fine). During the last 30 minutes, stir in kidney beans and continue on Low.

Serve in bowls along with toppings like chopped green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, black olives, crushed corn chips, etc.

Ready to learn more about crockpot cooking? Get my Crockpot Cooking Made Simple ebook today and find out how you can work this into your meal plan, how to choose a good crockpot and most importantly how to convert your favorite recipes to work in a slow cooker.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/crockpotcooking.htm

Filed Under: Crockpot, Recipes Tagged With: award winning chili, chili, crockpot chili

Most Expensive Is Sometimes Cheapest

A Quick Frugal Tip By HBHW Reader Joyful Joy:

I’m single, live alone. A container of milk lasts quite awhile at my house, and I always end up dumping sour milk. My relatives are food snobs, everything must be the most expensive organic brand. When I made ice cream for the family last month, I used milk and cream from Whole Foods Market, a very expensive, high-end, trendy supermarket. But I discovered that the leftover milk & cream stayed fresh MUCH longer than what I typically buy from Winco (TWO WEEKS longer!), so I didn’t have to dump any. So I’ve learned: buy milk & cream from Whole Foods, stick to Winco for other stuff.

Highly Recommended – Penny Pinching Mama

Find out how Jill Cooper lived on $500 per month. This e-book is filled with over 500 practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income.

Get your copy today at:
www.HillbillyHousewife.com/penny

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Folk’s Peach Muffins

I’ve searched online for a similar recipe for peach muffins from Folk’s restaurant. I love these, and have tried to make them at home, but it’s no where near what I’m looking for. They sell tubs of the pre-made batter, but not the recipe. Can any one help with me with this? Thanks

Jennifer in GA

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends: Secret Restaurant Recipes

Don’t spend a fortune going out to eat. Instead enjoy some of your favorite restaurant fare at home for a fraction of the cost.

These recipes are also perfect for dinner parties or a fun and special family dinner.

Get your copy today at:

www.CookRestaurantRecipes.com

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Mock Spiced Apple Rings Made With Cucumber Slices

My daughter’s ex-mother-in-law makes delicious home-canned mock spiced apple rings using cucumber slices. Sadly they don’t speak anymore and I’d love to find this recipe. I think it might be an Amish recipe, her ex-in-laws used to vacation with an Amish family every summer when they were able. The canning liquid tastes like cinnamon red hot candies and are bright red, also coloring the sliced cucumbers. Does anyone know of such a recipe?

Thanks, Jennifer in GA

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Caramel Cake Recipe

I am looking for a recipe for a good caramel cake.

Thank you,
Debbie

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Fried Green Tomato Recipe

This is a wonderful recipe for that was passed down from my grandmother. It makes a great appetizer when you have company. I also like to make it for lunch when we have quite a few green tomatoes on the vines.

Fried Green Tomato Recipe

3 firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Wash tomatoes and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle with salt and set to the side for a few moments. Combine milk and eggs in a shallow dish. Place flour into another shallow dish followed by cornmeal in the last dish. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Dip tomato slices into milk and egg mixture and then into flour. Dip slices back into the milk mixture and then into the cormeal and place into your hot pan. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown, drain on paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

I hope you enjoy this fried green tomato recipe as much as me and my family have.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends: Secret Restaurant Recipes

Don’t spend a fortune going out to eat. Instead enjoy some of your favorite restaurant fare at home for a fraction of the cost.

These recipes are also perfect for dinner parties or a fun and special family dinner.

Get your copy today at:

www.CookRestaurantRecipes.com

Filed Under: Vegetables

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Kikkoman makes a bottled “pour & stir” stir fry sauce that I really like. Does anybody have a stir fry sauce recipe that tastes like this? Would be really nice to find recipe that stores well in the fridge for a couple of weeks… Thanks bunches!

From The HBHW

Hi Joy, I have a recipe that I’ve been playing with for a while. My daughter loves Asian food and this sauce seems to do the trick, especially for chicken and broccoli or beef and broccoli. I start with a little less soy sauce and then add more at the end if needed.

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

1/3 cup soy sauce (or more to taste)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic*
1 tablespoon minced ginger*
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Whisk the soy sauce, chicken broth, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and pepper together in a small bowl.

Next get out a coffee cup or any other small cup and dissolve the corn starch in a few tablespoons of water. Make sure you work out all the clumps and end up with a smooth milky liquid.

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan. Add the fresh ginger and garlic and cook it for a few seconds until you can start to smell them.

Next, pour the soy sauce mixture into the sauce pan and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Add the corn starch slurry and turn the heat back up a bit. Stir the sauce continually until it starts to get bubbly and thickens up a bit.

It’s now ready to use in your favorite stir-fry. Allow any leftovers to cool and store them in a small container with a lid in the fridge (an old stir fry or salad dressing bottle works well). Use it up within a week.

* The sauce is best when it’s made with minced fresh garlic and ginger. You can however also make it by adding a little dash of garlic powder and ginger powder to make this recipe a bit more frugal.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

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Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests, Savory Sauces, Gravy and Condiments Tagged With: homemade stir fry sauce, how to make stir fry sauce, recipe for stir fry sauce, stir fry sauce, stir fry sauce recipe

Homemade Pizza Snacks

I love these low-calorie homemade pizza snacks. My kids appear out of the woodwork when they smell these baking. They are pretty frugal too. Of course you can easily switch out ingredients to customize this for your kids and your family.

Homemade Pizza Snacks

12-16 Saltine Crackers
1/4 C.finely chopped Portabella Mushrooms
1/2 C. Pizza or Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 C. Monterey Jack cheese is best!
2 Tbsp. Basil(fresh, if you have it)
1 tsp. garlic powder

Lay crackers on a cookie sheet touching each other. Place 1/2 tsp. sauce on each cracker. Sprinkle cheese & mushrooms over all. Sprinkle with garlic powder & basil.Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.Enjoy!

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Snacks Tagged With: healthy, healthy pizza snacks, homemade, homemade pizza snacks, pizza, pizza snacks. frugal pizza snacks, Snacks

Hawaiian Chicken Recipe – Crockpot

This is the recipe that turned me into a crockpot fan. Before I tried this Hawaiian Chicken recipe, my crockpot was hanging out in the very back of one of my kitchen cabinets. I just didn’t know what to do with it until I happened to come across this recipe. I can’t remember if it was in a magazine, cookbook or online (probably not online since it’s been quite some time). I used to make it quite a bit and it was always a big hit with my husband but somehow I had forgotten about it until it just popped in my head today and I mentioned it in the newsletter. Shortly after someone asked me if I could share the recipe. I dug through files and cookbooks and finally found my handwritten note with “Hawaiian Chicken Recipe – Crockpot” scribbled across the top…. so here it is:

Hawaiian Chicken Recipe – Crockpot

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Cut the chicken into large bite-sized chunks. Put everything into your crockpot and stir it around until everything is mixed up. Cover it and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours.

I like to serve this Hawaiian chicken over white rice. Fix a simple salad to add on the side and dinner is done.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/crockpotcooking.htm

Filed Under: Chicken, Crockpot Tagged With: chicken crockpot recipe, chicken recipe, Crockpot, hawaiian chicken, hawaiian chicken recipe, slowcooker

Green Beans with Ham & New Potatoes – Crockpot

2 pounds fresh green beans, snapped in half, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, diced
2 large ham knuckles (with some meat)

1 to 2 lbs. new red potatoes, cut in half
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Put beans, onion, and ham bones in crockpot with just enough water to cover the beans. Turn crockpot to low and let cook covered for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the ham bones and set aside.

Add potatoes and seasonings to crockpot, cover and continue cooking on low for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. In the meantime, remove good meat from ham bones and set meat aside, discarding the bones. When potatoes are tender, turn off crockpot and put good meat in, and stir together. Serve immediately.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/crockpotcooking.htm

Filed Under: Crockpot, Recipes

4 Ingredient Chicken Chili – Crockpot

Technically there are 5 ingredients if you count the water that has to be added. Never-the-less this is one of the easiest chicken chili crockpot recipes I’ve come across and of course very tasty.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

2 lbs of chicken thighs, bones and skin removed, cut into cubes
1 small package Taco seasoning mix
2 cans Navy beans, drained
3 cans diced tomatoes, chilies and garlic flavor – do not drain
3 cans water (use diced tomato cans)

In your crockpot (about 5 quart size) put the ingredients in and stir gently just to combine. Put cover on crockpot and set heat to low. Cook covered for 6 to 8 hours. Stir again gently to combine before serving.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/crockpotcooking.htm

Filed Under: Crockpot, Recipes

Lip Stick Stain Removal

Recently I discovered how to get lipstick out of fabric. Just spray with
hair spray and use a white cloth to clean. Eventually the stain will be gone!

Highly Recommended – Penny Pinching Mama

Find out how Jill Cooper lived on $500 per month. This e-book is filled with over 500 practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income.

Get your copy today at:
www.HillbillyHousewife.com/penny

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Control Journal – Keep Your Household Organized With One Of These

I’ve gotten quite a few questions about control journals or household organizers lately. I’ve kept one for years and couldn’t imagine living without it at this point. It’s the one piece of organization in a midst of chaos. Inside I have everything I need to remind me of what needs cleaned and changed when, emergency numbers, doctors appointments etc. I also keep my meal and cleaning plan in there.

This morning I came across an article about setting up a control journal. It has given me a few new ideas for my own journal and hope it will help you as well.

Getting Your Household Under Control

Several years ago I came across the idea of a household control journal on a website somewhere out there in cyber space. It could have been any number of websites as I have always been a nut for something that could help me stay organized and often did searches for such things.

The idea behind a household control journal is to have one place where you keep the important papers and lists that help you to run your home. This can be a wide-variety of things but typically includes a chores list, your grocery list, your menu planning list, emergency numbers, medical info, financial info, and your child(ren)’s school info.

These are the basic areas I cover in my control journal and though there are some areas, I use more than others they are all ones I would suggest doing. For me, having everything in one place is the best part of using the control journal.

I divided the different categories with a bright colored piece of card stock and labeled each area. The area I use the most or daily is the weekly chores list and the daily routines list. These keep me on track daily with my household tasks.

The other very useful section that I use on a weekly basis is the menu planning and grocery list section. I am a menu planner and therefore this section keeps all my meal ideas in one place. Many people make a master meals or menu list here to go by so that they do not have to think up new meals every week. I also keep my grocery list here to add things to as the week goes on and as I create my menu list on Wednesdays as I shop on Thursdays. Having this information all in one place is quite helpful.

I also use the finances area, but more on a monthly schedule. Each month I create a budget, a bill paying schedule and a savings schedule, because we do sinking funds and deposit the money in a money market account. This area helps me to keep track of all of these things and get the bills paid on time.

The other areas mentioned such as medical info and child(ren)’s school info are mostly used for reference at random times, but at least I know where to find the information when I need it rather than having to dig through piles of papers or search through files.

Using a household control journal has proved to be such a positive experience for me that I recently created a business control journal as well. Plus, it allows me to use one of my favorite organizing items, a binder.

When you create your household control journal, just remember there really is no wrong or right way to do them; the most important thing is that it works for you!

Alyssa Dees Avant is a Christian author, blogger, podcaster, speaker, and business owner, when she is not speaking to audiences of young girls and their mothers, she is writing as a freelance and ghostwriter. Whether she is sharing her passion with girls on the topics of beauty, modesty, and etiquette or with their moms on time management and organizing Alyssa has a true passion for helping others. Visit her on the web at http://beautybydesignonline.com or http://organizedlifebydesign.com

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends: 30 Days To An Organized Home

Something that’s made a huge difference for me is the “30 Days To An Organized Home” ebook by MomsinaBlog.com.

Work your way through organizing and decluttering every room in your house in 30 days. The daily tasks make it easy to follow along and kept me from getting overwhelmed with the task at hand.

You’ll also find some helpful printable checklists that will keep you on task and allow you to track your progress.

Get your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/organizedhome

Filed Under: Frugal Living

Meat Spreads – Make At Home With Grinder

Trying to keep healthy lunch ideas at hand… I’ve been using any & all left over meat from supper & grinding in my “1 cup” grinder then add mayo & sweet relish (or dill) & a bit of celery seed & you’ve got a healthy lunch w/out any waste…sometimes I’ll boil a chicken breast to make it…my family loves it…You can also add onion & even a few ground up leftover veggies…works great & saves $$$$!

Highly Recommended – Penny Pinching Mama

Find out how Jill Cooper lived on $500 per month. This e-book is filled with over 500 practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income.

Get your copy today at:
www.HillbillyHousewife.com/penny

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Baby Poo Stain Remover

I’m a new mom…can anyone tell me how to get poo stains out of baby clothes?

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Quick Pickle Recipe

I am looking for a quick (ie: refrigerator) pickle recipe. The one I am looking for in particular is a sour pickle, but I would love any kind of pickle recipe that does not require canning.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Homemade Molasses Cookies

My mother use to make big round cut out molasses cookies that crackled on top, we can’t seem to find the right recipe, can anyone send it?

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Diabetic Recpes For Toddlers

I’m looking for healthy, but easy diabetic recipes that are “toddler friendly”.

My one year old was diagnosed with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes just before her first birthday (a little over a month ago).

I have struggled to find things that are healthy for her that she doesn’t get tired of because I make them over and over. I have very little time, but would like to prepare fresh things for her. She has 6 teeth and does very well chewing.

Does anyone have ideas that they can share with me?

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests Tagged With: diabetes, diabetic recipes, diabetic recipes for toddlers, toddler

Tomato Soup From Scratch

I was fortunate enough to get quite a few fresh tomatoes from a neighbor with a big garden. We ate quite a few of them fresh, then I used to rest to make some tomato soup from scratch. I thought I’d share my recipe with you. I like to serve this soup with some homemade bread fresh from the breadmaker. If you happen to have some cooked rice leftover, add a bit of that at the end for a more filling soup. Some cooked quinoa would be really good in this too.

Tomato Soup From Scratch

3 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 small cube of chicken bullion
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 tsp dry basil or Italian seasoning
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tbsp flour
1 cup of milk

Pour about a cup of water into a medium sized pot. Add the bullion cube and the tomatoes. If the tomatoes are very large, give them a rough chop, otherwise cut them in half. Heat the mixture and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime chop your onion and celery and saute it in a bit of olive oil or butter until the veggies are tender.

Pour the tomato mixture through a strainer to remove the tomato skins and seeds. Return the broth to the pot.

Scoop a little of the broth into a cup and add the flour to make a slurry. When you’ve worked out all the lumps, pour it back into the soup. Add the vegetables and seasonings and cook over medium heat until the soup has thickened to your liking. Pour in the milk and if needed allow it to cook a few more minutes until it thickens back up.

Serve hot with a slice of homemade bread.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Soup and Stew Recipes, Vegetables Tagged With: homemade tomato soup, tomato soup from scratch, tomato soup recipe

Know When To Relax And Enjoy, Busy Productive Kids At Home, More Frugal Fun Ideas – HBHW Newsletter

June 23rd, 2010

Editorial

Summertime is a delicate balancing act between rest, relaxation, and being industrious. I know when summer comes around in the colder regions of the country, it is often looked upon as a time to get things done around the house. But, there is a time to work and a time to play, and sometimes the two mix.

The article I chose to feature this week is about keeping kids busy with productive, useful things to create at home. Kids need projects to do that are not only fun, but also provide creative and useful things that they can be proud of. Please take time to check out this featured article.

The inspirational quote and story just made me laugh a little. I’ve been focusing quite a bit here (in the featured article, resource, and sponsor) on what to do to keep kids happy, entertained, and busy all summer. But, what parents often long to do is sit back, relax, and let go a little. I guess what I saw in both the quote and the story was an excuse for us adults to take it easy and not let our chores and tasks overwhelm us.

In order for us parents to relax, though, we have to find something to occupy our kids. If their little hands are busy, we can take a break! That’s why I’ve chosen Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons again as this week’s sponsor. You’ll find great projects that will keep your youngsters busy and happy during those long days of summer that are yet to come. Be sure to check it out.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.
~James Dent~

Sponsor

Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons – Kid Tested Crafts That Parents Love Too!

The weather is heating up and it’s getting harder to keep your kids focused on any one thing. If you’ve got a house full of kids, this can get frustrating for both you and the kids.

It’s time to refocus and try something new. How about some new crafts that are kid-created and kid-tested? You’ll have over 200 pages of fresh ideas to choose from to keep your little ones busy all summer long.

Plus, when you order Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons you’ll also receive as a bonus Little Kid Paper Plate Crafts. That’s almost 400 pages of crafts for kids as young as 2 years old. Imagine, keeping your house full of kids busy.

News From The HBHW Club

Keeping kids busy is one thing that my friend Ellen Braun from RaisingSmallSouls.com knows all about. With our latest resource, FRUGAL SUMMER FUN, we explore all sorts of ideas to help keep your family entertained and happy all summer long. Without having to take a big, expensive family vacation, you can fill your summer with great moments and great memories.

Frugal ideas which involve both day trips and projects to do right at home are discussed in this informative resource that’s free to our Club members. If you’d like to have access to this resource, and many more like it, just click on the link and take advantage of our special offer to join the HBHW club. http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

You don’t want to miss any of our informative and valuable resources including meal planning, gardening, making money working at home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget, and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

For just $1 you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.
For just $1 you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Healthy diet and hot weather cooking is a topic that our friends at the Club have been pondering. We have been putting together salad recipes for dinner during the hot summer months, but one issue many of us have is trying to eat a healthy diet. Even though we’re eating salads, not all salads are healthy. We want to find ways to create healthy meals that are also on our diet plans. Salads are a good place to start, but one of our friends suggested crockpot meals as a way to “beat the heat” of cooking and still have a filling, and healthy meal.

The Walking Challenge experiencing a bit of a lull. I know the hot weather has something to do with that. However, our friends have become rather resolute in their exercising and are pushing forward with other exercise options, like swimming, floor ball exercises, and biking. When we can, we’ll get back out there and walk, but until then, we’ll keep up whatever we can to stay active.

The Daily Reflection was especially interesting to me with summer vacation upon us and a house full of kids. Is your home a place of peace or chaos? Can you walk in your door and relax? Creating a peaceful home is important for families because we all need a place of sanctuary from the hectic, sometimes disturbing and frightening world around us. I hope you’ll take a minute to look around your own home and see how you can make it more peaceful.

Along with these topics, we are discussing frugal ideas, homesteading, and gardening. If something has to do with keeping our homes and families happy, we’ll discuss it!

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area. Click the following link and try The HBHW Club for only $1.
http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

Craft Blog For Fun And Profit
Frugal Gardening
Simple Summer Cooking
Frugal Family Summer Fun
Pantry Cooking
Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Setting Up A Family Budget
Getting Out Of Debt For Good
Utility Bill Savings
Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week.

Tuna Veggie Pasta Salad

dressing:

2 cups Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. salad oil (canola)

salad:

1 lb. spiral noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped radishes
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 large can white tuna, drained

Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl until blended well. In large salad bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together, then drizzle on the dressing and toss until coated well. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

I like using the spiral noodles because they “hold” the dressing very well. You can also use penne or shell noodles, or a mixture of a variety.

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

Easy 4 Bean Salad
Marinated Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Cool Calico Rice
Simple Summer Potato Salad

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles – Frugal Fun For Kids To Do At Home

Let’s face it – there are plenty of days this summer when you are not going to want to leave the house. But, you’ve got kids at home looking for something to do, and you WANT them to do something. “Busy hands are happy hands” and not just for kids, right? Busy kids are less likely to squabble and complain about “being bored.”

It’s in your best interest as a parent to find ways to keep your little ones occupied and happy, right? What kids need are projects that are productive, not just entertaining. Check out this weeks feature article to see what you can do to provide creative, and useful, fun things to do around the house this summer.

Frugal Fun For Kids To Do At Home

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

I’m Looking For Requests
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Inspirational Story

The Problem With Dandelions
~author unknown~

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him.

Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: “What shall I do now?”

In due course, the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.”

Final Thought

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Filed Under: Newsletters

Frugal Fun Activities For Kids To Do At Home

You knew it was coming. The kids are home all summer. You have your own work and chores to take care of and you can’t spend all your time running around from one activity to the other. You need ideas for quick and easy things to do around the house that won’t require a big investment in time and money, but will keep the kids happy and entertained. Let’s explore a few options here:

Cooking

Now is the time to get your kids involved in the kitchen. Why? Because summer cooking is usually so simple and easy. We are normally pretty happy to eat on the run and snack on easy to prepare treats. Take “Ants on a Log” for instance. With just some celery, peanut butter, and raisins your kids can create their very own feast.

How about something as simple as PB&J? To keep this favorite sandwich interesting, give your kids cookie cutters so they can create fancy hors d’ oerves. Pull out the pretty frilly dresses and have a whole dress-up luncheon on the patio.

In order to make putting a meal together easier for your kids, you may want to cook up a couple batches of fun pasta and rice and keep it in the refrigerator. Have on hand a variety of ingredients like cut up vegetables, fruit, cheese, nuts, or whatever your kids like so they can throw together their very own casserole with little effort. A cold pasta “casserole” with a little ranch style dressing, chunks of cheese, a handful of frozen peas, and maybe even some peanuts is a dish that’s guaranteed to be kid-friendly when your kids are the ones who put it together.

Depending on the age of your children, put them in charge of as much of the preparation as possible. When your kids make a meal, they not only learn about food preparation, but kids who help cook their own food often are more inclined to try new foods. Get out the ingredients and stand back and watch their creativity and curiosity grow.

Gardening

A great way to have your kids spend time outdoors at home in a busy, and productive way, is gardening. Start with a couple cherry or patio tomato plants. They’re easy to grow in containers and produce fun food pretty fast. If your kids don’t like tomatoes, try planting sweet peas or lettuce. Both are fast growing and will do just fine in a container. You can also have your kids plant easy flower gardens in containers or a small patch of earth near the house. When the flowers bloom, be sure to encourage your child to pick them for table arrangements, or as gifts. The more “activities” you can get out of your garden the better.

Start by choosing a sturdy outdoor-style planter. Make sure it’s washed clean, then have your child fill the pot with clean potting soil that’s suitable for what you’re planting. Be sure your child has gloves, watering cans, and any tools that would be handy to use. This not only is useful but it lets the child know their “hobby” is important.

With a little instruction your child will be able to plant a nice garden that will yield hours of enjoyment immediately and when it comes time to pick their produce or flowers. The first blossoms are a thrill, then watching those blossoms open and become the fruit, vegetable, or flower pictured on the packet of seeds very exciting.

You can teach your child about “organic gardening” by planting a naturally pest-free mini-garden. It’s quite entertaining and easy to do. Choose a larger container and plant a combination of plants that like each other and that fight bugs. For instance, one classic arrangement would be a tomato plant surrounded by green onions and marigolds. These three plants work well together fending off bugs while providing food and beauty.

With just a few reminders to weed and water their little garden, your child will enjoy an entire summer of surprises watching his or her garden grow.

Useful Creations

Kids like to sit down and paint, tape, draw, staple, and glue stuff together just for the fun of it. However, these projects take on more importance when they end up being something useful.

When children work on a craft item that they know will be displayed and cherished, they will pay more attention to detail and take pride in the completion of the project. For instance, do you have a box full of pictures waiting to get put into albums or frames? If your child knew that you would put a collection of pictures in a album they created, they would take special care to create one for you, especially if you were to pick a place on the bookcase to display it.

Start simply by handing your child a picture you’d like framed. Then, with your child, measure the picture and set out to help your child find a frame to decorate. Garage sales and thrift shops are great places to find discarded frames cheaply. Help your child to envision what he or she could do to decorate the frame. Talk about painting it a different color or gluing on interesting items to make the frame more personal and fun. Look for fun embellishments like buttons, old puzzle pieces, yarn, ribbon, pictures out of magazines, playing cards, or anything that you can think of that is fun.

Once you have a variety of frames and all your fun embellishments, get your crafting items together. Be sure to have glue, scissors, paint brushes, and anything your child may need to complete the project. Then sit back and let your child show off his or her creative genius! This is a great project for picture albums, too. You can purchase inexpensive photo albums and have your child embellish them, or you can build your own out of cardboard.

What other items can you think of that would be useful around the house? How about a bulletin board, a box for your reading glasses, placemats, napkins, remote control corral, or coasters for the coffee table? These are just a few ideas for things that could be useful; things that your child would take pride in creating and in seeing you use. When your child is making something that will be used, he or she has a special interest in making sure it turns out well. Kids will spend more time making an object that will be on display than on an object that will wind up in a keepsake box.

You don’t have to go much beyond your own backyard to find ideas to keep your kids busy this summer. Just in your day-to-day life you can find things to do with your kids, things you may do anyway, to keep your kids entertained and happy. Create lasting memories with simple homespun activities you can do with your kids all summer long.

p.s. If your kids really got interested in crafting this summer, you may want to check out this fabulous book, Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons – Kid Tested Crafts That Parents Love Too!

This crafting ebook for kids is jam packed with kid-created and kid-tested activities. Over 200 pages of fresh ideas to keep your little ones busy all summer long – and throughout the rest of the year, too!

Filed Under: Articles, Frugal Living Tagged With: cooking with kids, craft ideas, frugal activities, frugal fun, fun at home, fun with kids at home, gardening with kids, summer activities

Grinding My Own Meats

My husband has ordered a meat grinder, saying we can save money like nobody’s business. Only I don’t know how. I know I can make regular ground beefs, chicken, porks, and with recipes I can make sausages BUT… does anyone have some tips for me? Any tried and true recipes? Any other ideas besides ground meat or sausages? I want to make this purchase pay for itself as soon as possible!

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Greasy Stains on Clothing

A friend of mine made a suggestion for getting out greasy stains from clothing. Her daughter works in a pizza shop and these types of stains are common. Anyway, I have tried it, and it works-Dawn dish liquid! Maybe I’m the only one who didn’t know this, but I tried it on one of my husband’s shirts and it took the grease/oily stain right out! I hope this tip helps some others.

Further Reading – Keeping It Clean

This is a 3 ebook series that will help you spend less time and money on your laundry. Tawra and Jill from Living On A Dime share their best frugal laundry, cleaning and home organization tips.

Grab your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/laundry

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Bread Of Some Sort – Or Dough (Recipe)

I use to have a friend years ago that would make this dough rolled out and then she would put some olive oil on that then olives cheese and some sort of meat then rolled it up like a cinnimon roll then baked it after it was rolled she would put a light layer of egg for browning then put it in the oven and cut it served it hot.

Im not sure of how much and what to add to the dough and how long to keep this whole concoction in the oven at what temp but when it was done it was sure yummy. Reminds me of a bakes sandwich or something. Does anyone have any sort of recipe like this?

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Vinegar For Laundry

Vinegar is something we all have sitting in the pantry. Did you know that it is also a great all purpose cleaner and does wonders for your laundry? Here are a couple of uses of vinegar for laundry.

Use it as a fabric softener. Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle of your wash instead of using fabric softener.
Keep your whites whiter. That same vinegar will also keep your whites whiter and even colors brighter.
Use it as a spot remover. Spray full strength vinegar on stains, then wash as usual. I keep vinegar in an old cleaned out spray bottle for this.
Get your white and light colored dish cloths looking like new. Get out a large pot and fill it with water. Add a cup of vinegar and your dish cloths. Bring the water to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it sit overnight.
Adding vinegar to the wash also removes a lot of the static from your laundry. You can skip the dryer sheets.

Recommended Reading – Keeping It Clean

This is a 3 ebook series that will help you spend less time and money on your laundry. Tawra and Jill from Living On A Dime share their best frugal laundry, cleaning and home organization tips.

Grab your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/laundry

Filed Under: Frugal Tips Tagged With: laundry, uses of vinegar for laundry, vinegar, vinegar for laundry, vinegar laundry tips

Duggar Laundry Soap

Does anyone have a recipe for the duggar laundry soap? I heard them mention it on TV a while back, but never got around to jotting down the recipe. We are trying to cut back on what we spent and I figured I’d give this homemade laundry soap a try.

Thanks in advance.

Julia

Further Reading – Keeping It Clean

This is a 3 ebook series that will help you spend less time and money on your laundry. Tawra and Jill from Living On A Dime share their best frugal laundry, cleaning and home organization tips.

Grab your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/laundry

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Stuffed Zucchini Recipe

My mom used to make these stuffed zucchinis at least once a week during the summer months. It’s the perfect recipe for zucchini that has grown just a little to big to be super tender and it makes a filling, healthy meal. I serve it with some homemade bread or biscuits on the side.

Stuffed Zucchini Recipe

4 medium or 2 very large zucchini
1 medium onion, minced
1small jar or can roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4-1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper
3/4 lb ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese

Wash the zucchini, but do not cut it. Get out a large stockpot, fill it with water and add the whole zucchini. Bring the water to a boil and cook the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes, until they start to get a bit tender. The larger your zucchini are, the longer you want to cook them. Carefully remove them from the water and let them cool for a bit.

Get out a large pan and add the olive oil. Saute the garlic and onions. Add the green onion after a few minutes, then the spices. Next, add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off the grease and set the pan aside.

Cut the slightly cooled zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out some of the soft vegetable “flesh” in the center. Chop it and add it to the ground beef mixture in the pan. Add the chopped roasted peppers and the egg as well and mix everything until it is well combined.

Once all your zucchini halves have been scooped out, put them on a foil lined cookie sheet or even better a large casserole dish. Scoop the meat filling into each prepared zucchini half and top with a little shredded cheese.

Bake the zucchini in a preheated 375 F. oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown a bit.

If you are using a casserole dish, pour a little water or broth in the bottom to keep the zucchini moist and tender.

You can also make this with canned tuna instead of meat. For some different flavor, substitute the red peppers for a little tomato sauce and add a bit of Parmesan cheese to the mixture before filling.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: how to stuff zucchini, stuffed zucchini, stuffed zucchini recipe, zuchhini recipe

Frugal and Healthy Ice Cream

We freeze all kinds of fruits during the summer and also freeze bananas when they reach the over ripe stage. The bananas can be used for banana bread or for this healthy frugal ice cream substitute.

Take a couple of frozen bananas put in blender with just a little milk. Blend. You may need to add just a little milk but you want the consistency to be very thick.

You can add frozen strawberries, frozen cherries (pitted – yes they make a tool for that).

You should not need sugar if bananas were over ripe. You can even add chocolate chips at the very end for a chunky chocolate banana ice cream. Yummy!

Highly Recommended – Penny Pinching Mama

Find out how Jill Cooper lived on $500 per month. This e-book is filled with over 500 practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income.

Get your copy today at:
www.HillbillyHousewife.com/penny

Filed Under: Frugal Tips

Happy Father’s Day, Summer Fun Ideas, Hot Weather Recipes – HBHW Newsletter

June 16th, 2010

Editorial

Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 20th, and I’ve featured several articles on this topic, as well as included a Father-inspired quote and story.

Our featured articles today are about the origin of Father’s Day, some easy Father’s Day gift ideas, and a whole day of delicious recipes to treat your Dad from sunup to sundown. Take time today to gather your kids and plan a Father’s Day celebration to remember.

The inspirational quote and story is, to me, a description of “Father.” As kids, we often think of him as a “man of the world,” going out to conquer and do great things. But, at the end of the day, Father comes home and, as we learn later in life, becomes the true hero. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read and reflect on this topic today and spend time on Father’s Day this Sunday to celebrate the man or men in your life that have given so much of themselves.

Of course, summer is upon us and the first couple weeks of summer are usually pretty lazy. We just enjoy having a little extra time to putter around the house and relax. But, it doesn’t last for ever and before we know it we’re all starting to look around for something to do, something to focus on.

Even though we have a few little excursions planned for the family this summer, that still leaves a lot of time at home. And as the old song goes “busy hands are happy hands” and when those busy hands belong to our little ones, Moms and Dads are happy, too!

That’s why I’ve chosen Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons again as this week’s sponsor. You’ll find great projects that will keep your youngsters busy and happy during those long days of summer that are yet to come. Be sure to check it out.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.
~George Moore~

Sponsor

Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons – Kid Tested Crafts That Parents Love Too!

Yes, summer is here and you’ve got a house full of kids. Maybe even the neighbor kids, too. What are you going to do to keep them busy and having fun?

As the months go by, and the weather heats up, your kids’ attention span is going to wane, and with that, your frustration will grow. You need ideas… and a lot of them!

News From The HBHW Club

What? You haven’t heard about the Hillbilly Housewife Club? It’s a members only forum packed full of great information, resources, and friendly chit chat about the things we are all interested in – fun, frugal living. Come Join Us And See What All The Chatter Is About!

Our newest resource at the Club is all about creating FRUGAL SUMMER FUN for your family. Along with my friend, Ellen Braun from RaisingSmallSouls.com I’ve put together an informative and fun resource that’s packed full of frugal fun ideas for you and your family to enjoy this summer.

We all know that summer can start to drag on, and eventually you’ll hear the dreaded “I’m bored” remark from your youngsters. Don’t we all want to avoid that! You can when you use this resource. Just click on the link and take advantage of our special offer to join the HBHW club. http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

You don’t want to miss any of our informative and valuable resources including meal planning, gardening, making money working at home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

For just$1 you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.
For just $1 you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Hot weather cooking, or should I say not cooking, is the main focus of our recipes this month. Our friends at the Club have requested dishes that don’t heat up the kitchen any more than it already is during these hot months of summer. I’ve tried to include salads that are not just green and fresh, but hearty, too. We’ll also be posting grilling recipes as the weeks go by and hope to get our Club members to submit a few of their own.

Our Walking Challenge has many of us having to get creative and make adjustments in this heat. Some of our friends have taken to swimming rather than walking, and others have had to readjust their schedules to walk in the early morning before the heat gets too oppressive. This isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but we’re willing to do what we have to in order to stay healthy and fit.

Our Daily Reflection had a bit of a twist especially since we’ve been focusing on our exercise and diet programs lately. Can we embrace our bodies… extra weight and all? Perhaps our image of the “perfect figure” needs to change, especially as we age. And, shouldn’t women be curvy and soft? All these thoughts have us wondering if maybe our fitness program should focus on the way we feel and not so much on the way we look. It’s something to think about.

Along with healthy and well fed families, we are discussing topics that include frugal tips for cleaning and cooking, as well as homesteading and gardening. If something has to do with keeping our homes and families happy, we’ll discuss it!

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area.

Click the following link and try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you come join us! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

Craft Blog For Fun And Profit
Frugal Gardening
Simple Summer Cooking
Frugal Family Summer Fun
Pantry Cooking
Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Setting Up A Family Budget
Getting Out Of Debt For Good
Utility Bill Savings
Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week.

Chicken & Rice Asian Style

Salad:

3 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken, cut up bite size
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 small can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 (16 oz) bag frozen Asian style mixed vegetables, lightly cooked and drained
2 eggs, hard boiled, and chopped
2 green onions, chopped, including tops
3 stalks celery, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
salt and black pepper to taste

Dressing:

1 (8 oz) bottle Creamy Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tblsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. curry powder

Combine all salad ingredients in large glass or plastic bowl, tossing well. Cover and chill for two to three hours.

Before serving, in separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until well blended. Pour a little dressing over salad ingredients in bowl and toss together, taste, and add more dressing if desired. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

This is more like a cold casserole than a salad. It’s certainly hearty enough for a hungry family on a hot summer evening.

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

Luau Chicken Salad
Chilly Chicken Chinese Salad
Favorite 7 Layer Salad
Salami Summer Salad

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles – Father’s Day Gifts & Recipes

Since Father’s Day is this Sunday, I thought I’d gather a few special Father’s Day articles together. One is on the origin of Father’s Day. Although there are several ideas of where Father’s Day got its start, this one is widely believed to be true.

Then I’ve compiled a few easy gift ideas for kids both young and old. Many are simple craft ideas just to get you thinking; others are purchased gifts that are also meant to be things that a youngster can easily buy.

Then, what would Father’s Day be without food? Dads are all the same when it comes to their tummies – give them a hearty meal and they’re happy. I’ve grouped together recipes for the whole day, from a filling breakfast to an ice cream treat after dinner.

Click on the links below and start planning your Father’s Day:

The Origin of Father’s Day

Simple Father’s Day Gift Ideas

A Whole Day of Father’s Day Meals

If you’re looking for even more Father’s Day recipes, you may want to check out this fabulous cookbook, Competition BBQ Secrets – A Barbecue Instruction Manual.

Even if your Dad has never actually entered a barbecue competition, these secrets will have him winning in his own backyard! Click on and help your Father in his quest to become the King of the BBQ.

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

I’m Looking For Requests
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Inspirational Story

What Is A Father?
~Author unknown~

A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. He growls when he feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him to be. And this worries him sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road of those of his own who will follow him.)

A father is a person who goes to war sometimes … and would run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his life, (which is making the world better for his child than it has been for him).

Fathers grow older faster than people, because they, in other wars, have to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that climbs on board. And, while mothers cry where it shows, fathers stand and beam — outside — and die inside.

Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men, who aren’t nearly good enough, so that they can have children that are smarter than anybody’s.

Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry away from the breakfast table, off to the arena which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There, with callused hands, they tackle the dragon with three heads; Weariness, Works, and Monotony. And they never quite win the fight, but they never give up. Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers. There’s little difference as they march away each workday.

I don’t know where father goes when he dies, but I’ve an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won’t just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he’s loved and the children she bore. He’ll be busy there too — repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

Final Thought

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Filed Under: Newsletters

Yummy Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

This is my mom’s recipe for zucchini bread that I have modified and changed to gluten free. I hope you all enjoy it.

Mom’s Zucchini Bread, Gluten Free

2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Gluten Free Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups freshly shredded Zucchini
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Gluten Free Flour mix*
1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs, sugar, and oil in a large bowl with electric mixer. Add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and xanthan gum.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir by hand to mix well. Add zucchinni and chopped nuts and stir to combine.

Pour into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let me know what you think of it.

*You can use Bob’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour or the following All Purpose Flour.

All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

1 Cup White Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 Cup Cornstarch

Sift all ingredients several times through a sifter to make sure that they are well blended. Use this flour mix as you would regular all purpose flour.

Mary Blackburn has been gluten free since 1988 and is the owner of http://www.easyglutenfreeliving.com. She invites you to visit her site for more gluten free living tips and recipes. While you’re there, take a moment to sign up for The Gluten Free Gazette, her bi-weekly newsletter filled with articles and answers to your questions about gluten, gluten free living and celiac disease.

Filed Under: Cooking, Gluten Free Recipes

Father’s Day Recipes For The Whole Day

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This is never truer than on Father’s Day. Cook up Dad’s favorite dishes, and you will have a happy fella at the table. Here are five dishes that are sure to please a hungry Father, from sunup to sundown.

Let’s start with a hungry-man breakfast.

Hearty Sausage Quiche

1 pkg. sausages
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 lightly beaten eggs
½ c. sliced green onion
¼ c. milk
½ c. diced sweet red pepper
½ to 1 c. shredded cheese
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1 c. frozen hash browns
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put foil into baking cups and set aside. Cook and drain sausages. Combine eggs, milk, cheese in a large bowl; add salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the vegetables and sauté until tender. Combine egg mixture, sausages, and vegetables. Pour even amounts into the separate baking cups and place in the oven until eggs are set, approximately 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

After a busy morning at work or play, doesn’t Dad deserve more than a plain old bologna sandwich? Put this meal on the table and watch your Father’s eyes light up!

Broiled Citrus Salmon

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 (5-ounce) salmon fillets
2 tsp. molasses
1 orange, juiced

Preheat broiler. Stir together olive oil, lemon and lime juice, molasses, and seasonings in a small bowl. Place salmon, skin side down, into broiling pan. Brush with juice mixture and broil until skin is crisp and flesh is flaky, approximately 7 minutes for each inch of thickness. Remove and sprinkle immediately with orange juice. Best served hot.

Dinner time on Father’s Day means grilling time. Get the ribs ready, then step aside and let the Master Grilling Chef begin! Your job is to make it easy for him, and this recipe does just that. Easy AND tasty!

Beer Marinated Ribs

2 racks pork spare ribs, about 2 lb each
2 Tbsp. seasoning salt
6 bottles of beer
Coarse salt to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-6 seeded and sliced jalapeno peppers
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 c. store-bought barbecue sauce

In a large saucepan, add all ingredients except ribs and barbecue sauce. Bring to a boil. Immerse ribs into liquid and bring back to boil. Lower heat and allow it to simmer for one hour. Turn off and cool. Let the ribs remain in the liquid for several hours. Refrigerate if necessary. Remove ribs and pat dry. Brush on barbecue sauce and place meat side down on the grill. Cook 5-6 minutes, basting, until golden brown and crispy. Turn over and cook until golden brown.

Since the grills hot, why not throw on another treat. These flavorful mushrooms are the perfect side to grilled ribs.

Grilled Mushrooms

3/4 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tsp. chopped thyme
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 tsp. chopped rosemary
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ tsp. salt
1/4 c. olive oil
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced

Put the mushrooms and peppers on skewers. Mix together all other ingredients and brush onto the mushrooms. Grill for approximately 4-6 minutes, or until tender.

To to off the meal, treat Dad to a very simple dessert.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

8 chocolate chip cookies
ice cream

Take a chocolate chip cookie and spread ice cream on it. Then put another cookie on top and press gently. Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so the cookie is nice and cold. Makes 4 sandwiches so maybe Dad will share!

After a day enjoying these yummy dishes, your Dad will be grinning from ear to ear. Now, hand your Dad the remote and enjoy a special movie. You made this Father’s Day very special, indeed!

Filed Under: Holiday Recipes, Recipes

Father’s Day Gift Ideas for Kids

In a few days, Father’s Day will be here. Your kids are probably trying to come up with unique ideas this year. To help them, and you, here are some Father’s Day gift ideas for all ages.

* Make a Father’s Day card using construction paper, crayons, markers, and stickers. Draw Dad on the front with a few simple words written.

* Take teddy bears and dress them up with a hat, tie, and glasses and place a Happy Father’s Day card in the bear’s arms.

* Make a Father’s Day breakfast for Dad and present it to him either in bed or at a specially prepared table.

* Make gingerbread cookies and use piping to draw Dad. The cookie can then be glued to a piece of cardboard and decorated.

* Present Dad with a “gift certificate” containing a list of chores they will do for Dad.

* Make a story book using construction paper, to tell about their Dad and why he is so special.

* Help Mom bake Dad’s favorite cake and the kids can decorate it with Dad’s favorite things.

* Make Dad a handprint using clay and sign their names on the palms.

* Make a special tie using strips of fabric that you decorate with your own drawings using fabric paint. Don’t forget to sign your name.

* Pick out some of your Dad’s favorite TV shows or movies on DVD.

* Buy a subscription to Dad’s favorite magazine.

* Give a gift certificate to a favorite store.

* Cook dinner for Dad.

* Decorate a big comfortable t-shirt with fabric paint and sign your name. Dad will love wearing this around the house to lounge in.

* Buy a small gift to help Dad enjoy his favorite sport, like a box of golf balls, or tennis balls.

* Make a simple remote control corral by decorating a sturdy box with construction paper.

These are just a few gift ideas for kids to either make or purchase for their Dad this Father’s Day. Sometimes, the simplest gifts are the most cherished gifts. With a little thought and creativity, you can make this Father’s Day special for the man or men that have given so much of themselves. And don’t forget; the most important gift of all is the gift of love.

Filed Under: Articles

What Is The Origin Of Father’s Day?

While there are several renditions relating to the origin of Father’s Day, the most widely held version is this:

Father’s Day originated with a young girl named Sonora Louise Smart, who lived in Spokane, Washington. Apparently, after listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, she wondered why fathers weren’t celebrated as well. At 16, Sonora lost her mother and her dad, a civil war veteran, raised Sonora and her five siblings.

Determined to have Father’s Day recognized as a special day and working hard so that would happen, Sonora finally witnessed the first Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910. Subsequently, the idea gained popularity all over the US and thus Father’s Day became a national day of celebration.

In fact, President Woodrow Wilson, noticing the depth to which this day became so popular, approved the idea in 1916. Furthermore, it was President Calvin Coolidge who proclaimed Father’s Day as a national celebration in 1924. In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation stating the third Sunday in June would be officially declared Father’s Day. Then in 1972 President Richard Nixon permanently established the observance of Father’s Day.

What happened to the young girl who started it all? Happily, Sonora Smart Dodd was honored at the World’s Fair in Spokane in 1974 for her contribution in making Father’s Day a national day of recognition.

Today, Father’s Day is celebrated around the world; however, not all countries celebrate it on the same day. Australia and New Zealand, for example, celebrate Father’s Day on the first Sunday of September.

Celebrating our fathers was a little idea that grew with the determination of one person, Sonora Louise Smart, a daughter who was proud of her father. Now we also take a day each year to recognize the man or men in our lives that have helped raise us and protect us. Make this Father’s Day a special day for someone you love.

Filed Under: Articles

Green Tomato Pickle Recipe

Toward the end of the season we always end up with quite a few green tomatoes. They don’t seem to ripen too well on the counter that late in the game, so last year I started turning them into green tomato pickles and they were absolutely delicious. I first came across this process on about.com and modified it to our taste. Here’s how to do it.

Green Tomato Pickle Recipe

4 quarts sliced green tomatoes, loosely packed
1 quart sliced onion, loosely packed
1 cup pickling salt, divided
1 lb light brown sugar
6 cups white vinegar
1/3 cup mustard seeds
1/4 cup celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cloves

First we need to pull some of the water out of both the tomatoes and the onions. Put the sliced tomatoes in a bowl and pour 3/4 cup of the salt over the tomatoes. Repeat with the onion and remaining salt in a separate bowl. Put a plate over each bowl to cover and let them sit on the counter for a couple of hours. The salt will remove a lot of the water from both vegetables.

You’ll notice some liquid in both bowls. Pour it out, then put the vegetables in a clean kitchen towel. You can also use cheese cloth or even paper towels. Gently pat them to get the cloth to soak up more of the moisture.

Put the onions and green tomatoes into a big pot. Add the sugar, vinegar and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer it for about 15 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Scoop the vegetable mixture into canning jars. Add enough liquid to each to cover the vegetables, being sure to leave 1/2 inch of space at the top. Clean the rims really well, or your lids won’t seal during the next step. Add the lids.

Put them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the jars. Once they had a chance to cool down, make sure the lids are sealed tight. Store any jars with lids that aren’t sealed tight in the fridge and use up right away.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: green tomato pickle recipe, green tomato pickles

Cleaning Mini Blinds

I’m looking for a good way to clean mini blinds. My house came with a ton of them, and I need an easy quick way to clean them. I have 12 1/2″ plastic ones and 8 1″ wooden ones. I’ve heard you can just take them out and hose them off on your picnic table, but I don’t really want to get the gears wet in the top housing. The wooden ones take about an hour each to clean each slat by hand, but they’re nice and it’s not too bad. The plastic ones I can’t stand.

Help – I really don’t have the money to replace them.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Cucumber Vinegar Salad

This is a super simple salad with just a few ingredients that’s perfect for hot summer days. It goes great with a light dinner be it fish or something from the grill. I have a bowl of this simple cucumber vinegar salad sitting in the fridge most days throughout the summer. Not only is it cool and refreshing, the cucumbers also help us stay hydrated on a hot summer day. I hope you give it a try.

Cucumber Vinegar Salad

3 cucumbers
1 red onion
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Start by taking a look at your cucumbers. If the skin is very tender, don’t bother peeling it. If it seems a little tough, you can either peel the whole cucumber or just take some of it off… I like to create a little stripe design lengthwise.

Slice the onion and cucumber both thinly and add them to a salad bowl. Get out a small bowl and pour the vinegar, water and sugar in it. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the salt and pepper and pour the mixture over the onion and cucumber slices. Cover your bowl with a lid, a plate or some plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until you are ready to serve your salad. The longer it sits, the better the cucumber vinegar salad gets. I usually make it the night before or first thing in the morning. By dinner time it is absolutely perfect.

The Hillbilly Housewife Recommends – Dining On A Dime

Order your copy today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/dime

Filed Under: Salad, Vegetables Tagged With: cucumber, cucumber salad, cucumber salad recipe, cucumber vinegar salad, cucumber vinegar salad recipe

Tatertot Casserole

Can anyone share a recipe for “Tatertot Casserole”?? Thank you

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

Here is another delicious tomato recipe for you. It combines the flavors of summer ripe tomatoes and roasted red peppers. The end result is a complex but balanced soup that will quickly become a family favorite. I like to serve this soup with some crusty homemade bread like this breadmaker french bread.

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

5 red bell peppers
4 tomatoes
2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic (or a good dash of garlic powder)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups homemade chicken stock (or water and some chicken bullion)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Star by roasting your red peppers. Cut each pepper in half and remove the seeds. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and put your pepper halves skin side up on the baking sheet. Broil them for a few minutes until the skin is charred. Take them out and scoop them into a bowl. Add a plate over the bowl and allow the peppers to cool down a bit.

While the peppers are cooling down, let’s prepare the tomatoes. We need to get the skin off and remove the seeds. Bring some water to a boil in a large pot. Prepare a bowl of ice water for the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water for 30 seconds, then scoop them out and plop them into the ice water. This will stop the cooking process and makes it easy to remove the skin. When the tomatoes are cool, take them out of the ice water bath and cut them into quarters. The skin will slip right off. Cut out the seeds and discard those. Chop the tomatoes.

By now the peppers should be cool enough to handle. Remove the skin and give the pepper “flesh” a rough chop as well. While you are at it, go ahead and chop your onion and garlic as well.

With all the prep work done, it’s time to start cooking. Get out a medium sauce pan and add the olive oil to it. Put it on medium heat and cook the onions and garlic in it until they are fragrant and start to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the roasted red peppers and the chicken broth. Cook it for a few more minutes or until everything is heated through.

Now it’s time to blend the soup together. You can either use an immersion blender, or add it to your regular blender in small batches. Reheat as needed and serve hot with some crusty bread.

Filed Under: Soup and Stew Recipes, Vegetables Tagged With: roasted red pepper and tomato soup, roasted red pepper and tomato soup recipe, tomato soup, tomato soup recipe

Fresh Tomato Pie Recipe

Tomatoes are starting to ripen in the garden and this tomato pie recipe is one of the best ways to use them up (at least in my opinion). It makes for the perfect summer lunch, or serve it for dinner with a big salad.

1 pie crust
7 ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 yellow onion
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp dry oregano

Start by baking your pie crust for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 F. oven until it is golden brown. You may want to cover the edges with a little aluminum foil to keep them from burning.

While the crust bakes up, wash and slice your tomatoes. Peel and slice your onion.

When the crust comes out of the oven, layer the sliced onion in the bottom of the crust. Next, arrange the tomato slices over it. Sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano over the tomatoes.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the two cheeses. Spoon this mixture over the tomatoes and spread it out with the back of your spoon. If you like, you can sprinkle a little more oregano over the top.

Bake the tomato pie for 20 minutes at 350F. It will be golden brown and delicious.

Filed Under: Pies, Cobblers and Crisps, Vegetables

Zucchini Pancake Recipe

It’s sometimes hard to get kids (and other picky eaters) to eat zucchini. My husband for example won’t touch this delicious vegetable unless it’s sliced, battered and fried. One think I tried recently was these zucchini pancakes and they were a big hit. They taste wonderful with this Greek cucumber sauce.

Zucchini Pancakes

3 eggs
2 zucchini
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
nonstick spray

Grate your zucchini into a medium sized bowl. Add the eggs and stir it up. Pour in the flour and keep stirring until you get a batter. It should be about the consistency of pancake batter. You may need to add a little more flour or a splash of milk or water to get the right consistency.

Heat a skillet and spray with a bit of nonstick cooking spray. Fry them up like you would pancakes.

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: how to make zucchini pancakes, zucchini, zucchini pancake recipe, zucchini pancakes

Zucchini Au Gratin

Zucchini is another one of those vegetables that is abundant during the summer months. You can stew it, fry it, steam it, fill it or make soup out of it. Another yummy option is to make a zucchini gratin. Au Gratin is a fancy word for slicing your vegetable, covering it in a sauce made from flour and milk and then topping it with cheese. YUM! It sounds a lot more complicated than it is and the end result is definitely worth the little extra work involved.

Zucchini Gratin

3 tbsp margarine (plus a little extra for the topping)
2 onions
dash of garlic powder
4 zucchini
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp flour
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Peel the onions and cut them in half. Then thinly slice them. Add the margarine to a pan and saute the onion in it until it is tender and translucent. While the onion is cooking, wash and slice the zucchini. I slice mine about 1/8th of an inch thin. Sprinkle in the garlic powder, then add the sliced zucchini. Cover the pan and cook everything for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. The zucchini should just start to get tender at this point.

Add your seasonings and move everything around in the pan to get them evenly distributed. Cook your veggies about 5 more minutes uncovered, then sprinkle in the flour. Stir until it is combined in the vegetable mixture. Heat your milk and add it to the pan as well. Cook and stir on low for a few more minutes until a sauce starts to form.

Pour everything into a casserole dish. Combine the cheese and bread crumbs and sprinkle this on top of the casserole. Dot with little pieces of butter or margarine and bake for 20 minutes in your preheated oven.

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: zucchini, zucchini au gratin, zucchini gratin, zucchini gratin recipe

Where Can I Get Emergency Money?

We’ve all been in tough financial spots throughout the years and sometimes we need to raise some emergency money really fast to make sure we can make our house payment, pay rent or even just get food on the table. If you are asking yourself “Where can I get emergency money fast?” this article is for you. It won’t be easy, it won’t be fun, but the aggressive strategies outlines below will help you “find” the extra cash until you can get back on your feet.

Big Money Problems
By Terry Rigg

Are you scared, worried, unsure of what to do, frustrated, embarrassed and humiliated because you can’t pay your bills and put food on the table?

What happened? Did you lose your job? Maybe you are sick or hurt and can’t work. Did an unexpected expense rip your finances to shreds? Maybe you just used those credit cards too much or bought a house that was more than you could really afford.

Whatever the reason you are experiencing Big Money Problems you have to know that for each and every problem there is a solution. Notice I didn’t say an Easy Solution.

If you have hit on hard times you are going to work very hard to find and implement that solution. You are going to do things that you don’t want to do and give up things you want to keep. Your pride is going to suffer in the process.

But you have to do something to solve the problem. And, quite frankly, most people never think it can happen to them so they aren’t prepared. When Big Money Problems hit they don’t have a clue where to start.

There are many actions that you need to take if you find you can’t pay all of your bills. Below is a list of the most important:

Sit down and evaluate your current situation. Determine how much money you are going to have and what your bills and expenses are. If you have more bills than you have money coming in you need to take action fast.

Take a hard look at all of your expenses to see where you can cut back. You may have to be brutal and cut out things you would like to keep, but this is necessary to provide the basic needs of your family. The most obvious and the ones that can produce immediate savings are:

Utilities
Phone (cell and land line)
Cable or satellite
Groceries
Canceling subscriptions to magazines
Obtaining free or reduced lunches for your school age children
Increase your insurance deductibles and remove any unnecessary coverage
Internet charges
Transportation
Quit dining out
Entertainment

Your next action would be to determine if there is anything that you could sell or cash in that may bring in some needed income. Here is a list of some of these actions:

Borrow from your 401k
Sell a second car or boat
Cash in life insurance policies
Collect unpaid debts owed to you by friends and family
Cash in any CDs, investments, etc.
Sell jewelry and other valuables

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Now that you have cut your expenses and sold or cashed in what you can it’s time to make a monthly payment plan. If you don’t have enough money to cover everything it is very important that you set your priorities to make sure the most important expenses are covered. Using the below priority list is mandatory if you want to make sure you financial problems don’t escalate:

Priority 1 – Food. Make sure you have enough food for your family. If you lost all of your income you will have to apply for Food Stamps or a similar program through your states Department of Social Services. This will include any necessary prescriptions and other health items. It may be necessary to apply for Food Stamps to make sure you have enough food to sustain your family.

Priority 2 – Shelter. After food, you need to make sure your family has a place to live. If you have only enough income to cover food and shelter, use it for that alone. If you lost all of your income, apply for government assistance to help or consider moving into less expensive housing. After you cover your house payment or rent, pay your utilities.

Priority 3 – Other Necessities. You may need your car to look for employment so consider making your car payment and put back money for gas. You may also need your phone so keep at least the basic service.

Priority 4 – Important Loans. If you have any money remaining after the items listed in the first three priorities, you should pay any other bills that may be necessary to allow you to accomplish what needs to be done to keep you going.

Distribute any money you may have after covering the above priorities between you other bills such as credit cards, phone bills, etc.

If you see that you are going to be late on any of your payments call the creditor immediately. Don’t wait for them to call you. Many companies have programs established that can help you by delaying payments or adding them to the end of your contract. Check to see if you have taken out the insurance that covers loss of income. Make sure to do exactly what you agreed to do with your creditors or let them know why you can’t.

Of course, the most important action is to start looking for a regular income. If you need a job then understand that you may have to take one that you really don’t like. If you can’t pay your bills then you can’t be picky.

When you are late on your payments you are going to start receiving phone calls from your creditors. Work with them but don’t let them take advantage of you or threaten you. Under federal law you have rights as a consumer. Please read my article “Your Consumer Rights” to learn your rights: http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/articles/consumerrights.html

It’s also important that you learn from this experience so that when you are back on your feet you know what you have to do to keep it from happening again.

If you find yourself experiencing Big Money Problems get organized, don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment, do what you say you are going to do and be willing to do what it takes to solve the problem. The odds are good that there will be better days ahead.

Terry Rigg is the editor of the Budget Stretcher web site. To Subscribe to The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter just visit his home page at http://www.homemoneyhelp.com or get the Budget Organizer full download version complete with calculating forms and more at http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/BBOdownloadSusanne.html

Filed Under: Frugal Living

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

There is an abundance of cucumber to be found at farmers markets, roadside produce stands and in the regular grocery stores right now. Cucumbers are also very easy to grow at home. Turn them into a delicious salad and serve it with dinner. One of our favorites is this creamy sour cream cucumber salad. It is very simple and comes together quickly.

Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp fresh chives (finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the cucumbers and slices them as thin as possible. If you have a plane grater with a super thin setting use that, otherwise just slice it with a sharp knife as thin as you can.

Get out your salad bowl (medium size should work fine). Mix the sour cream, chives, salt and pepper. Add the cucumber slices and toss it gently. Chill before serving for at least 30 minutes.

Filed Under: Salad Tagged With: cucumber, cucumber salad, sour cream cucumber salad, sourcream cucumber salad

Porkless Sausage Wanted

I don’t eat pork (for Biblical reasons) and I do miss sausage (dinner & breakfast). I found a “turkey breakfast” sausage at Walmart that I use for Sausage Gravy & Biscuits.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Greek Cucumber Sauce

Greek cucumber sauce (also know as tzatziki) is quick and easy to make. It’s a great dip for raw veggies or tasted pita slices. I also like it to make a batch anytime we are grilling outside. It goes well with steaks, grilled chicken or even on a burger. Here’s the recipe:

1 8 oz container of plain greek yogurt *
1 cucumber
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dry dill ( chop the dill if it’s fresh)
1 to 2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Start by peeling and seeding your cucumber. Then get out a box grater and grate the cucumber. Squeeze the cucumber pieces to get a bit of the extra liquid out.

Get out a medium bowl and put the cucumber pieces in it. Add the yogurt and olive oil. Add the dill and then finely chop or press the garlic cloves and add them to the dip as well. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use garlic powder to taste instead. Stir everything together and add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the bowl and chill the Greek cucumber sauce for at least an hour or until you are ready to serve it.

* If you can’t find Greek yogurt you can use regular plain yogurt. Homemade is fine as well. Just make sure it isn’t too runny. If it is, line a colander with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth. Let the colander over a bowl and pour the yogurt in the cloth lined colander. Leave it sitting in the fridge overnight. You will notice that your yogurt will thicken up nicely and you will have some liquid left in the bowl. Use the yogurt for the dip.

Filed Under: Savory Sauces, Gravy and Condiments, Vegetables Tagged With: greek cucumber sauce, greek cucumber sauce recipe, how to make greek cucumber sauce, how to make tzatziki, tzatziki, tzatziki recipe

How To Tell If A Watermelon Is Ripe

watermelon1 Summer is the time for cookouts, picnics, and watermelon. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to break open the first watermelon of the season.

Sometimes your rush ends up in disappointment because the watermelon you’ve chosen just isn’t tasty, which means it just isn’t ripe.

Let’s discuss how to tell if a watermelon is ripe so when you crack it open, it tastes like summer.

The trick to finding a ripe watermelon is to go beyond its appearance. Unlike some fruit, you can’t rely on your sense of sight to determine if you’re about to buy a nice, ripe, juicy watermelon. Take a banana, for instance. If the peel is yellow, chances are it’s ripe. With a watermelon you also have to call on your sense of sound and your sense of smell.

Watermelons, no matter what variety – small round or large football shaped – have a particular sound when you knock on them. A ripe watermelon will give you a “thud” sound when you knock on it with your knuckles. Hold the watermelon close to your ear by cradling it in one arm, then knock on it with your opposite hand; like you’re knocking on a door. You should hear a dull sound, not a high ringing sound. Do this to several watermelons until you get the sound that doesn’t resonate a lot; it sort of disappears into the watermelon. This may not make any sense until you actually thump a few!

The watermelon scent is very distinctive and is another clue to a ripe watermelon. Once you’ve chosen a watermelon with the right sound, you need to use your sense of smell to finalize the deal. Take your watermelon and walk away from the bin so your nose isn’t confused by too much watermelon scent. Get your nose close to the watermelon end and sniff. You should get a delicious watermelon scent.

If your nose is still confused by all the watermelon aromas, walk over to the coffee aisle and do the old wine tasting trick. Clear your nostrils with a whiff of coffee scent. Wait a minute, then sniff your watermelon.

Now that you know how to tell if a watermelon is ripe, dive right into that beautiful pile at your grocery store or farmers market. Bring home a ripe, juicy watermelon for your family today and enjoy the fruit that says “summer is here!”

Filed Under: Articles, Cooking, Gardening Tagged With: how to choose a watermelon, how to chose a ripe watermelon

Tomato Bisque Soup Recipe

A bisque recipe you say… isn’t that a bit fancy for a hillbilly website? Well, I am a big fan of any kind of tomato soup and bisque simply means a creamy, smooth soup. Fancy name, quick and easy to make and oh sooooo delicious.

Tomato Bisque

2 tbsp margarine (or butter)
1 onion
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 can chicken broth (or a cup of water and a pinch of bullion cube)
2 large cans (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Get out a large pot and add melt the margarine in it over medium high heat. Add the onions and sugar and saute for a few minutes until the onions start to turn translucent. Be sure to stir and scrape your pot really well during this part or the sugar will start to burn to the bottom of the pot (which would ruin your soup).

Add the flour and move the onion mixture around really well for a good minute. Again lots of stirring is important to keep things from burning. This process will cook the flour to make sure your soup later on doesn’t have that floury taste to it.

Slowly add the chicken broth (or water) and keep stirring to make a smooth gravy. Add the tomatoes to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer everything for a good 15 minutes. You will notice that the soup will start to thicken a bit at this point.

Next we need to puree everything. You can do that in one of two ways. You can either use an immersion blender and blend the soup right there in the pot, or you can use your blender. If you are using a blender, be sure to puree the soup in small batches. When you’re done, return the smooth soup to the pot and reheat as needed. Stir in the half and half and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Filed Under: Soup and Stew Recipes Tagged With: how to make tomato bisque, tomato, tomato bisque, tomato bisque soup recipe, tomato soup, tomato soup recipe

Watermelon Sorbet Recipe

Here’s a simple summer dessert that’s perfect when you have some watermelon leftover. It’s a light and airy watermelon sorbet that you can make either in an ice cream maker or following the special directions below to make it using your freezer and a food processor. Either way it’s a delicious frozen treat that you don’t have to feel bad about indulging in.

Watermelon Sorbet

about 6 cups of watermelon cut into small chunks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
Pinch salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Start by adding the watermelon to your blender. You want to blend it into a smooth mixture. Depending on the size of your blender you may want to do this step in two or even three batches. Pour the watermelon puree (it’s very watery) into a large bowl.

Put about 1/4 of the watermelon mixture into a large sauce pan and heat it with the sugar, and lime juice over low heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the salt and the remaining watermelon puree. Last but not least stir in the corn syrup making sure it gets well incorported.

Allow this mixture to cool, then stick it in the fridge. Once the sorbet mixture is well chilled, get out your ice cream maker and freeze the sorbet in it according to the manufacturer instructions.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the sorbet mixture into a large casserole dish or baking pan and stick it in the freezer overnight. Cut it into large chunks the following day and throw those in your food processor. Pulse it lightly until you get a nice sorbet consistency.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a week.

Watermelon

Filed Under: Fruit, Pudding, Gelatin, Sweet Sauces and Spreads Tagged With: how to make watermelon sorbet, watermelon, watermelon sorbet, watermelon sorbet recipe

How To Make A Watermelon Smoothie

Watermelon smoothies are a great healthy way to stay cool and refreshed this summer. They are very simple to make and you can very them up quite a bit. These smoothies are also the perfect way to use up all that extra watermelon that’s left when you buy a big one. Here’s how to make these simple smoothies.

Start by cutting some of the watermelon into bite sized chunks. Make sure the rind is off and you remove any seeds. Now you’re ready to work on your smoothie.

Watermelon Smoothie

3 cups watermelon chunks
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (option)
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
sugar to taste if needed

Put everything into your blend and blend until smooth. If the watermelon is good and ripe you should not need any extra sugar. It should also provide enough moisture to turn this into a deliciously creamy smoothie. If the mixture seems a bit try, add a splash of milk or fruit juice to thin it out.

You can also leave out the yogurt if you prefer and just increase the watermelon chunks to 4 cups.

Filed Under: Beverages, Fruit Tagged With: how to make a watermelon smoothie, watermelon smoothie, watermelon smoothie recipe

Cucumber Watermelon Soup

Two of my favorite summer flavors are watermelon and cucumber. They are both so refreshing. This simple cold soup combines the two for a perfect summer treat. It makes a great healthy snack when you need to cool down on a hot summer day. It’s also a perfect appetizer when you are entertaining outside in the summer.

3 cups of watermelon chunks (seeds and rind removed)
a splash of lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley
1 small cucumber (peeled and seeds removed)
pinch of salt

Get out your blender and add the watermelon chunks, lime or lemon juice and cilantro. Blend everything until it is getting pretty smooth. Cut your cucumber into chunks and add it to the blender along with a little salt. Blend until there are still some small cucumber chunks in the soup. Taste and add more salt if needed. Chill the soup in the fridge before serving.

If you prefer a completely smooth soup, put everything in the blender at once and process until smooth.

Filed Under: Fruit, Soup and Stew Recipes, Vegetables Tagged With: cucumber, cucumber watermelon soup, cucumber watermelon soup recipe, watermelon

Be A Part Of Something This Summer, Vacation Planning, Activities For Kids – HBHW Newsletter

June 9th, 2010

Editorial

With kids out of school, summer has officially arrived. A house full of kids calls for some serious strategic planning. From taking summer trips to finding activities to do around the house, today’s newsletter is dedicated to helping you have a happy, as well as productive, summer.

We’ll start with the Sponsor for this week’s newsletter. Summertime means summer fun! Keeping your kids occupied during their time off from school can be challenging. How would you like some fresh new ideas? That’s what Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons is all about. Check out our sponsor today and see what you can find to keep your kids entertained all summer long.

The featured article today is about planning a family vacation. Traditionally, summertime is the right time to take the kids, pack the car, and head out for an adventure. However, there is planning and budgeting to consider. You may need to explore some vacationing options if your budget is tight. Be sure to check out the article this week and see if you can find a way to have fun and save money at the same time.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen today have a somewhat common theme, even if it may not be obvious at first glance. I know that when summer comes along, we all like to sit back and relax. But, our tasks at hand have to come first. Yes, you should lay back in your lounge chair and enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s what industrious people do – we create a world to enjoy. Even our “Little Wave” in the inspirational story is a part of something bigger. I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on the world you’re a part of.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
~Warren Buffett~

Sponsor

Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons – Kid Tested Crafts That Parents Love Too!

Yes, summer is here and you’ve got a house full of kids. Maybe even the neighbor kids, too. What are you going to do to keep them busy and having fun?

As the months go by, and the weather heats up, your kids’ attention span is going to wane, and with that, your frustration will grow. You need ideas… and a lot of them!

That’s what this ebook is all about – creating fun! And the great thing about this particular crafting ebook for kids is that it’s jam packed with kid-created and kid-tested activities. Over 200 pages of fresh ideas to keep your little ones busy all summer long – and throughout the rest of the year, too!

That’s not all you’ll get!. When you order Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons you’ll receive as a bonus Little Kid Paper Plate Crafts. That’s almost 400 pages of crafts for kids as young as 2 years old. Imagine, keeping your whole family happy and busy!

News From The HBHW Club

You don’t want to miss any of our informative and valuable resources including meal planning, gardening, making money working at home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

For just$1 you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.
For just $1 you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Hot weather meals are the focus of our recipe section this month. We’re looking for salads, grilling dishes, and super quick meals that get you in and out of the kitchen in minutes. No stirring a hot pot for hours and no oven cranked up high heating up your kitchen – and you. Our friends at the Club have already started sharing some of their favorite summertime meals with us. I’m looking forward to even more recipes as the summer rolls on.

Dieting isn’t just about watching calories. Sometimes we need help from not only our friends, but a power even higher. When we find our eating habits have taken over our health, and life, there can be answers found in places we might not think about at first. One of our friends at the Club has found her faith in God has helped her create better eating habits. This has been an interesting direction to take; one I am happy to say has helped her lose over 40 pounds, and keep it off. Congratulations!

I’m also happy to say that dieting sabotage is no longer an issue with another of our friends at the Club. Her family (or at least some members of her family) have announced that they are on a diet! This will make things much easier for our friend to stick to her healthy eating habits.

Putting the past behind us and grabbing all the “buffet of life” has to offer is the topic of a recent “daily reflection.” After all, the buffet line doesn’t discriminate between people who have made mistakes in their past and people who have not. It’s all right there for the taking – sinners and saints alike! This was a very fun image that hit home with many of our Club members.

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area.

Click the following link and try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you come join us! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

Craft Blog For Fun And Profit
Frugal Gardening
Simple Summer Cooking
Frugal Family Summer Fun
Pantry Cooking
Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Setting Up A Family Budget
Getting Out Of Debt For Good
Utility Bill Savings
Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week.

Cool Layered Taco Dip

1 can bean dip

1 or 2 avocados, mashed

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 pkg. Ortega taco seasoning

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can ripe black olives
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 green onions, chopped (include tops)
1 small green pepper, chopped fine

large sturdy tortilla chips

Get out a large (at least 9 x 13) pan. Spread bean dip on the bottom, then avocado on top of that. In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream, mayo, and the taco seasoning until blended well. Spread evenly over the avocado. Evenly sprinkle in layers the next ingredients in order; cheese, olives, tomatoes, onion, green pepper.

Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until nice and cold. Serve with big tortilla chips. This is more filling than you might think and tastes great on a hot summer afternoon.

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

Garden Style Red Beans & Rice
Quick Skillet Hoppin’ John
Super Speedy 3 Bean Pasta Salad
Apricot Pineapple Preserves

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles

With kids finally out of school, many parents take the opportunity to plan a family summer vacation. However, if you don’t create a structured plan, you could run into some budgeting nightmares.

There are reasons you may want to plan vacations a little differently, especially if your budget doesn’t allow for a full-out stay in a beach house, mountain chalet, or trip to Disney.

Click the link below to explore some options that may fit your time-frame, and budget, a little better:

Are You Making Plans For Summer Vacation?

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

I’m Looking For Requests
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Inspirational Story

The Little Wave
~Mitch Albom~

The story is abut a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air – until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore. “My God, this terrible”,the wave says. “Look what’s going to happen to me!”

Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him: “Why do you look so sad?” The first wave says: “You don’t understand! We’re all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn’t it terrible?”

The second wave says: “No, you don’t understand. You’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean.”

Final Thought

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Filed Under: Newsletters

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad Recipe

When it’s too hot to cook outside, this salad makes a great lunch. It’s also perfect for potlucks and such. This broccoli and cauliflower salad will always be a big hit.

1 bunch raw broccoli
1 small head of cauliflower
1 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
1 lb. bacon
1/2 sweet onion
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 c. Miracle Whip salad dressing
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar

Start by cooking the bacon until it is crispy. Allow it to drain and cool on paper towels.

Next chop up your broccoli and cauliflower using mostly the flowerets. Give all of them a good wash. I do this in a strainer / colander. Once the water has dripped off, pour the veggies into a large salad bowl. Cut your onion into thin strips. If you are taking this salad somewhere, you may want to use some red onion instead. It adds some nice color to your salad. You could also use some drained pimento pieces (it’s a southern thing) or some chopped up bell pepper (yellow or red). Add the onion and the sunflower seeds (if you are using them).

Crumble up your bacon now that it had some time to cool. Put half the bacon crumbles into the salad bowl with the veggies and such. Give everything a good toss to make sure it’s well combined. Add the shredded cheese and give it another toss.

In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing, sugar and vinegar. Pour this mixture over the vegetables in your salad bowl and stir everything until all the veggie pieces are coated with the dressing. Top the salad with the rest of the bacon crumbles and cover your salad bowl. Put it in the fridge for at least an hour so all the flavors can blend together. Serve cold and refrigerate any leftovers right away.

Filed Under: Salad, Vegetables Tagged With: broccoli and cauliflower salad, broccoli and cauliflower salad recipe

Tomato and Corn Salad

Here’s a super quick summer salad full of corn and tomatos. Using canned goods makes it quick and easy to put together. It is a delicious summer sidedish and perfect for summer potlucks and picnics too.

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) corn
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar

Open both cans and drain the liquid from each. Dump the tomato chunks and corn into a small bowl. Pour the oil and vinegar in a small cup and wisk them together with a fork. Drizzle this simple dressing over the tomatoes and corn.

Variation:
You can add half a chopped onion to the salad and season it with a bit of salt and lots of pepper for a tomato and corn salad with stronger flavors.

This salad tastes good at room temperature. You can also put it in the fridge for at least an hour and serve it cold. Cover any leftovers and store them in the fridge.

Filed Under: Salad, Vegetables Tagged With: Corn and Cornmeal, Salad, salad recipe, tomato, tomato and corn salad, tomato and corn salad recipe

Cauliflower Carrot Soup

Here’s a very simple but delicious soup made from cauliflower and carrots.

1 potato diced
4 carrots diced
1 cup chopped onion
1 head of cauliflower, cut up
2 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp. beef bouillon powder
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup medium cheddar cheese

Add the water to a large pot, then add all your chopped vegetables. Bring it to a boil and cook until all the vegetables are nice and tender.

Stir the remaining ingredients in, then remove the pot from the heat. Get out your blender or food processor and start blending the soup in small batches. If you have an Immersion Blender you can also use it to blend up the soup right in the pot.

Return the blended soup to the pot and reheat as needed. Serve hot with some crusty homemade bread.

Filed Under: Soup and Stew Recipes Tagged With: cauliflower, cauliflower carrot soup, cauliflower carrot soup recipe, cauliflower soup, cauliflower soup recipe

Baked Cauliflower Recipe

Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable. It’s mild in flavor, making it a perfect choice for kids. It’s also quite versatile. You can boil it, mash it, put it in soups and casseroles etc. Today I would like to share one of my favorite cauliflower recipes with you. It’s a baked cauliflower dish that’s absolutely delicious and very easy to put together.

Baked Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
1 can cream of anything soup (use this cream of anything soup mix)
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. baking mix (Bisquick or homemade biscuit mix)
1/4 c. butter or margarine

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Cut the cauliflower into flowerets. Wash them, then boil them for about 10 minutes in lightly salted water or until they are almost tender. Drain them, then move the cauliflower pieces to a casserole dish.

Mix the cream soup (or the prepared version of the mix) with the milk in a medium sized bowl. You can use a fork, but I find it works best with a whisk. Just whisk it together until you have a smooth liquid. Pour it over the cauliflower. Next, sprinkle the cheese over everything.

In a small bowl, combine the baking mix and butter. I like to work it with my fingers. You want to make a crumbly topping. Sprinkle this over the top of the casserole, then bake it for about 20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

You can also use 2 (10 oz) packages of frozen cauliflower instead of fresh. Just pour them frozen into boiling water and cook them until they are almost done.

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: baked cauliflower, baked cauliflower recipe, cauliflower, cauliflower recipe

Cream of Anything Soup Mix

Lots of recipes call for “cream of…” type canned soups. This could be cream of mushroom, cream of celery, cream of chicken, cream of potato etc.

Instead of continually buying the cans, why not make this frugal cream of anything soup mix and use it anytime a recipe calls for the soup. It’s quick and easy to put together and quite a bit cheaper than buying canned soup. It also takes up less room and lasts for up to a year.

Cream of Anything Soup Mix

4 c. powdered milk
1 1/2 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. instant chicken bouillon granules *
4 tsp. dried onion flakes
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp basil – crushed dried
1 tsp. pepper

* For a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable broth bullion instead.

Measure all ingredients and pour them into a container with an airtight seal. I like to use a tupperware type container, but a larger freezer bag will work as well. Be sure to label your container.

To Use The Mix:

Combine 1/3 cup of the mix with 1 cup of water and heat it over medium low heat in a small saucepan until it starts to thicken. This is the equivalent of one can of soup.

Filed Under: Convenience Foods, Savory Sauces, Gravy and Condiments, Soup and Stew Recipes Tagged With: cream soup, cream soup mix, homemade cream of anything soup mix, homemade cream soup mix

Sweet Pickled Cauliflower Recipe

Cauliflower is coming into season and a simple way to preserve it is to pickle it. We like sweet pickled cauliflower as a quick side to go with sandwiches as lunch or to add some extra flavor to almost any main entree. It goes especially well will any type of grilled meat dish.

I also like to just snack on these throughout the day… yep, they are that good

2 med. heads cauliflower
2 red peppers, cut in strips
2 green peppers, cut in strips
3 lg. onions, cut in wedges
1 qt. white vinegar
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. whole cloves
2 tbsp. salt

Remove what’s left of the outer leaves of the cauliflower and cut it into large bitesized chunks. You can cut off and discard most of the thicker stems, but keep the smaller ones in there. Throw the pieces in a large bowl of water (or just fill up your sink) and give them a good washing. Scoop them into a strainer and allow the water to drip off.

Get out a large stock pot and fill it it about half full of water. Put a lid on and bring the water to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a full boil, gently add the cauliflower. Boil it for a good 5 minutes, then remove the cauliflower and discard the water.

Pour the vinegar, and spices in the pot and give it a good stir. Add the peppers and onion as well and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower back in once it is boiling and simmer the mixture on low for 5 minutes.

Carefully pack everything into pint jars that are clean and hot. To heat them up, I set them in some very hot water while the cauliflower cooks. I put some of the vegetable mixture into each jar first (using a slotted spoon), then top each jar off with enough of the vinegar mixture to make sure the vegetables are covered.

Seal the jars and process them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Allow them to cool, then check the lids to make sure they are tight and store them in your pantry.

Any jars that don’t seal properly should go in the fridge (after they are cooled) and eating within a week or two (the pickled caulifower, not the jar should be eaten ).

Cut cauliflower in florets. There should be 2 quarts. Cook in a small amount of water 5 minutes; drain. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Add cauliflower and simmer 5 minutes. Pack in clean, hot, pint jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes.

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: pickled cauliflower, sweet cauliflower, sweet pickled cauliflower, sweet pickled cauliflower recipe

Making Sausage Go Farther

I am looking for breakfast type recipes like scrapple that will make my sausage go farther. I’m feeding 8 kids and four of them are teenagers!

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Help With Mosquitos

hi wondering if anyone knows of something i can burn in my outside fireplace that will keep mosquitos away, yet is not toxic to breath.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Summer Vacation Time Is Here – Are You Making Plans?

feet-in-grass Kids are out of school in most areas by now and parents are looking at each other wondering “now what?” If you haven’t already made vacation plans for the family, you may be wondering what you can do to make a vacation possible.

There are several ideas about budgeting and scheduling a family vacation that our friends at OurFamilyBudget.com have come up with that I’d like to share with you here. After reading this article, you may change your mind about planning a typical summer vacation. Read on if you will and see what you think.

The yearly vacation is a special event that the entire family should enjoy. Get the most out of it by developing a family vacation budget. It will help give you the means to enjoy this special family time each year.

After working for months the idea of a family vacation can seem like the ideal reward. A week or two in a sunny climate in the middle of a cold and snowy winter is the icing on their yearly cake. Vacations are usually costly though and if your job is set a family budget, you’ll want to get the most out of each dollar you’ve allocated to the vacation fund.

There are many important factors to consider if you’ve decided to set up a financial plan that includes money for vacations. It isn’t enough to just take a percentage of each paycheck and put it in a separate bank account that you’ll turn to at the end of the year. With the proper planning techniques in place when you set a family budget you’ll be able to execute a trip that will be unforgettable.

One important consideration is timing. Most people want to venture out on a holiday at the same time each year. The travel industry refers to these times as peak periods and they generally fall in December, March and again during the summer months. The reason for this is because more people are tempted to take off on a trip when their children aren’t in school. The travel industry knows this and prices are considerably higher during these times.

Although school work is most important, planning a trip during a non-peak time and preparing beforehand might be the most economical answer. Research is fundamental when planning any trip. There is an abundance of information on the internet that can give you an idea of the total cost you will be facing for your trip.

If you do decide to travel during a non-peak time and you have children enrolled in school, there are steps you can take to assist them with their studies. Talk to their teachers and have them assign homework for the trip. This is a wonderful method of not only keeping the children up to par in class but it gives them something to focus on during the car or airplane ride. Children can become agitated easily when expected to sit still for prolonged periods of time, but if they are engrossed in studies, the time moves along much more quickly.

Another consideration when you set a family budget that includes a vacation fund is to consider traveling to a destination that offers all-inclusive vacation packages. This includes not only your airfare and accommodations but can also include meals and beverages. The savings with this type of vacation plan can be considerable. It also offers up the benefit of pre-planning all related costs. You’ll know how much you need to save each month to reach your vacation goal.

One of the things that people often overlook when considering vacation expenses as they set a family budget is the benefit of visiting relatives. A destination that involves family members can result in a considerable savings in accommodation costs. Most people welcome the company of relatives for a few days and if you buy them dinner or surprise them with a thank-you gift they’ll invite you back time and time again.

p.s. Still looking for more ideas for family fun this summer? This ebook is jam packed with kid-tested craft projects that will keep your kids entertained and occupied for hours on end. Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons along with the bonus Little Kid Paper Plate Crafts give you almost 400 pages of activities for kids as young as 2 years old. Check this ebook out today and make this summer a memorable one for your kids – and for you, too!

Filed Under: Articles, Frugal Living Tagged With: family vacation, frugal vacation, summer vacation

Canned Diced Tomatoes

Somehow I ended up with several cans of diced tomatoes. First I have to say I do not like tomatoes in my chili, so let’s not go there. But I would love to use these cans before they expire and I would really like a spagetti sauce recipe. Any ideas would be a help.

Thanks, Karen

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Cold Broccoli Salad Recipe

Broccoli is one of the few green vegetables both my husband and my daughter actually like, so I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. I recently came across this cold broccoli salad recipe and it’s perfect for the summer time. My family and I have enjoyed especially when we are grilling outside (hamburgers and such). I’ve also taken it to a church supper and it was gone before you could blink. Definitely a keeper

Cold Broccoli Salad Recipe

1 lg. bunch broccoli
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 c. Miracle Whip
1/4 – 1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar

Start by cutting up the broccoli into bite sized pieces. I also include a good bit of the stems. If you do, be sure to cut those extra small since they can be a little tough sometimes. If your family doesn’t like to eat them like that, save the stalks/ stems and either use them with other scraps to make a big pot of vegetable stock later, or save them, then grate them into coleslaw later (a sturdy box grater works well for this).

Get out your favorite coverable salad bowl. I use one with a tight fitting lid. Add the broccoli, chopped onion, shredded cheese and crumbled bacon to the bowl.

In a small bowl mix the salad dressing with the sugar and vinegar. Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and toss it well. Let it sit covered in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. You can easily make this cold broccoli salad recipe several hours ahead of time and store it in the fridge.

Filed Under: Salad, Vegetables Tagged With: broccoli, broccoli salad, broccoli salad recipe, cold broccoli salad, cold broccoli salad recipe

Poppy Seed Dressing

I’d love to find a good recipe for poppy seed dressing, the white, creamy kind, that does not include mayonnaise.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests Tagged With: poppy seed dressing

Velveeta Broccoli Casserole

This is a great simple broccoli dish the kids will love. It’s very cheese, but also quite economical. Great for potlucks or as a side dish with baked or grilled chicken. It goes together pretty quickly and is a rather frugal recipe. I hope you will give it try.

Velveeta Broccoli Casserole Recipe

2 packs of frozen broccoli
1 med. onion
a little oil or margarine to saute the onion in (optional)
1 can cream of anything soup (homemade is fine)
1 c. milk
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese
3 c. rice, cooked

Start by dicing your onion and sauteing it in the oil or margarine just until it is soft and starts to get translucent. Cook your broccoli for a few minutes in boiling water until it is tender. Drain the broccoli well.

Mix all ingredients (including the cooked broccoli and onion) together. I usually do this right in the greased casserole dish. If you prefer you could also mix everything in a large bowl and then pour it into your casserole dish. I cut the cheese into small cubes before I add it to the mix.

Bake everything at 350 F for 45 minutes.

If you’d like you can pour a few crushed crackers or some breadcrumbs on top of the casserole before baking. It will give it a nice golden crust. Serve your Velveeta broccoli casserole hot. Refrigerate any leftovers and reheat them the next day.

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: broccoli, broccoli casserole recipe, casserole, easy broccoli casserole, recipe, velveeta broccoli casserole, velveeta broccoli casserole dish, velveeta broccoli casserole recipe

Easy Chicken Fingers Recipes

I love making chicken fingers for dinner or even for a special weekend lunch. My daughter loves them and it is easy to make extra to use in sandwiches or to serve with some different sides for dinner another day. If I have extras, I refrigerate them for up to 2 days and reheat them in a toaster oven.

You can use chicken breast that’s cut into strips, or you can use chicken tenderloins. Those can often be found less expensively at the grocery store (unless chicken breast is on sale).

Traditional Chicken Fingers

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves-cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 egg beaten
1 cup buttermilk *
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
oil for frying

Mix your egg, butter milk and garlic in sealable container big enough to add your chicken strips (I use an square plastic container with lid). Add your chicken strips and refrigerate for at least an hour. The chicken fingers will be better if you leave it in for 3 to 4 hours. If you are in a big hurry you can also just dip the chicken in there and move on to the next step. It will still be good, your chicken fingers just won’t be quite as tender.

Get out your fry-daddy or a large sturdy pot and fill it with oil. Heat the oil to about 375F.

Next, pour your flour, bread crumbs, salt, and baking powder in a large resealable bag. Take the chicken strips out of the buttermilk mixture (letting excess drip off) and move them to the flour bag. Close the bag and shake the chicken around to coat every little strip well with flour.

Carefully dip a few chicken fingers at a time into the hot oil and fry them until they are golden brown. Cut one open to check if it is all the way done. There should be no pink and juices coming out of the meat should run clear. Otherwise return to the fryer and fry a little longer. Keep frying the chicken fingers up until they are all done.

As you take them out of the deep fryer, put them on a plate covered with an old (but clean) kitchen towel or a layer of paper towels to get some of the excess oil off.

If you like spicy chicken fingers, add some hotsauce to the buttermilk mixture and some cayenne pepper to the flour mixture.

* If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, take 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp of lemon and let sit for 10 minutes

Healthy Chicken Fingers

If you want to cut some of the fat and calories, give this healthy baked version a try.

12 ounces chicken strips
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard
2 cups cornflakes, finely crushed
Dash of black pepper

Start by preheating your oven to 450 F. Combine the egg, honey and mustard together. Pour the cornflakes into a shallow bowl or container and mix in the pepper.

Dip the chicken strips into the egg mixture, then roll it in the cornflakes to coat. Transfer the chicken strips to a baking sheet. I like to use some parchment paper on it for easy cleanup when I’m done.

Bake your chicken strips for about 12 minutes until they are golden brown. Again, cut one open and make sure the chicken is no longer pink. If it is, just return all chicken strips to the oven for a few more minutes.

Filed Under: Chicken Tagged With: chicken fingers, chicken fingers recipes, easy chicken fingers recipes

Savory Turkey Pot Pie

A good way to use up the leftovers and tastes just like the expensive Marie Calendar frozen ones…only better.

1 turkey carcass
6 carrots
2 onions
6 stalks of celery
4 potatoes
5 or 6 apple peels and cores
5 bay leaves
1 t thyme
2 to 3 t garlic
1 t o2 t sage
Salt and pepper
Water

This is a good dish to make when pies are being made such as September when apples are in season.

Clean all the good meat off the carcass. Throw it, half the vegetables, all the peelings and cores, and the seasoning in a pot. Cover with water until only enough room left to put on the lid. Simmer on medium low for at least 3 hours.

When the veggies are squishy and the bones are clean or you are ready to make supper strain the whole mess threw a colander.

Put half the broth back in the pot unless you used a very big pot in which case put about 1/2 a dutch oven of broth back in the pot. Pick out the veggies and throw them back in the broth. Pick out the bones and discard. Pick out the good meat and put in the pot. Pick out the cores and peels and bay leaves and throw away. Feed the rest to the dogs. Put the other 3 carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Add 4 potatoes peeled and diced and some more turkey meat if you have it. Cook until veggies tender. Thicken using about 1/2 a cup of flour and enough cold water to make it pourable. Cover with pie crust. bake on 350 for about an hour or until crust is golden.

Warning: use a deeper pan than what looks right or put foil under it. The filling gets very bubbly in the oven and tends to make a mess.

Filed Under: Recipes, Turkey

Chili From Scratch

this makes about 4 servings but more if you like yours soupier. I make mine htick enough to stand a spoon in so mine yields a little less. this one is also easily doubled or tripled.

1 lb of dry pinto beans
1 lb ground turkey, beef, or pork
1 medium onion
1 bag of frozen corn or 2 cans of corn
2 cans of tomato paste
salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and chili powder
chipotle flavored tabasco sauce
liquid smoke

the night before put your beans and dry seasonings into your crock pot with plenty of water. you need about 3 times the amount of water as you do beans. if you don’t feel all that technical about precisely measuring your water you can also do like me and “eyeball” it. stir it yup so you don’t get seasoning balls and put it on low. Go to bed. When you get up in the morning taste a bean. It is probably still not done so turn it up on high. Test the beans every half hour or so until they are tender but not mushy. drain off most of the water and return the beans to low. now add the 2 cans of tomato paste and 4 cans of water. brown or microwave your ground turkey and throw it in too. I grilled my onion but it works fine saute’d. In to the pot it goes too. throw the corn in frozen. it will thaw quickly. Then when everything chunky is in add salt, pepper, tabasco and liquid smoke to taste. Also if it is too thick add some more water. Let it simmer until thick and delicious. Serve hot with corn bread, over rice, on a hot dog, or wrapped in a tortillia. This is also good without meat. at under a dollar a serving it is also a nice filling meal on a tight budget.

Filed Under: Beans, Peas & Lentils, Ground Beef and Ground Turkey

Texas FireCrackers

4 sleeves of saltine crackers
1 Cup EVOO
4 Tbsp Dried Red Chili Peppers
4 tsp Garlic Salt

In a large plastic container lay down one sleeve of crackers, pour 1/4 cup of Olive oil evenly over them and dump 1 Tsp of Garlic Salt and 1 Tbsp of Dried Red Chili Peppers. Repeat until all ingredients are added to container. Seal the container and gently spin/shake it to coat crackers and then set it upside down on the counter. Flip ever 15 – 20 minutes. for about an hour to coat crackers evenly.

Filed Under: Snack Recipes

Beauty Within & Freezing Seasonal Fruit- HBHW Newsletter

June 2nd, 2010

Editorial

In the United States, we take the last Monday of May to honor our service men and women who served and sacrificed for our freedom. I’ll take this opportunity to say Thank You to all the fine military personnel and their families who visit with us here at The Hillbilly Housewife.

Memorial Day weekend also marks the “beginning of summer” for most families. It’s the first opportunity to have a few days together during (hopefully!) warm weather. Kids are just now getting out of school in some areas; in other areas it’s right around the corner. We’re happily filling our tummies with fresh fruits and vegetables and we’re firing up the grill. Some of us are even getting the kiddie pools ready!

I’ve featured two articles in today’s newsletter. Blueberries and apricots are quite abundant in many areas and I know several homemakers who are anxious to gather as many as possible during this short season. I say, go ahead and stock up! You’ll be happy when you are craving the taste of fruit in the middle of the winter and your freezer is filled with blueberries and apricots ready to enjoy. Please be sure to read the articles and stock your freezer before the season is over.

I hope our inspirational quote and story this week will put the beauty of a summer day into perspective. Don’t get me wrong – I love waking up to a gorgeous sunny day with a soft breeze and birds singing. But, I also know that the glare of a bright summer day doesn’t always prove to be the prettiest day. Sometimes the beauty of a day, or person, is just beyond those dark skies.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within.
~Horace Friess~

News From The HBHW Club

You don’t want to miss this or any of our informative and valuable resources including meal planning, gardening, working from home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

For just one dollar you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.

For just one dollar you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Because We Have An Abundance Of Blueberries And Apricots, I made sure I got some resources together for our Club members. I put together a couple of articles about how to preserve these bumper crops by freezing them. I decided the articles should be shared with you as well, so they are featured here in the newsletter. Our friends at the Club didn’t waste any time chiming in on this topic. It seems everyone wants a freezer full of fruit when winter comes around!

Replacing Expensive Body Washes With Shampoo was suggested by one of our Club members. This was one of those “ah ha” moments for many of our friends. You know how expensive body washes and gels are – well shampoos work just fine and at a fraction of the cost. And, with teenagers in the house who love to take long showers and use lots and lots of bubbly stuff, shampoo is the perfect frugal answer. Save your fancy body wash bottles and just pour the shampoo right in there. No one will be the wiser and they’ll still feel and smell all pretty!

Safety While Out Walking was brought up by one of our friends at the Club. It’s important to keep in mind not only getting out there and walking as often as possible, but being aware of our surroundings and being prepared, as well. It was suggested that we be sure to bring a cell phone when we’re out walking; not to talk but for emergencies. After all, we need some time in silence or listening to music – unplugged from others. But the safety factor does make it preferable to have your cell phone on you. Another friend at the Club walks with her dog so she will be made aware of any changes around her.

Exercise and Dieting Sabotage is another topic that was brought up at the Club. When someone in your house is NOT exercising or watching their diet, how does that affect you? Some of our friends at the Club were anxious about trying to keep on track with their healthy fitness program while watching those around them sit and snack. Fortunately, one of our friends was pleasantly surprised by a visit from a family member who announced she’s now on a strict diet! No matter what others are doing around you, please stay focused on your own health. Nobody’s health is more important than yours because you can’t be a help to anyone if you are sick.

Healthy Eating In The Summer was brought up by one of our Club members who would prefer not to stand over a hot stove all day. She’s looking for suggestions for ways to cook big meals for a hungry family without heating up the kitchen and without the standard “meat on the grill” meal. You might say just throw together salads, but with a growing teenage son at home, she needs FOOD! We’re going to put our heads together and come up with hot-weather meals that are filling but that won’t heat up the kitchen.

A Newbie Gardener Takes Her First Steps and plants tomatoes and jalapenos! Even though her husband says she could “kill dirt” we know that she’ll be a success because she has her friends here at the Club to cheer her on. And, hey, we’ve all killed our share of plants… live and learn is what it’s all about! We sure hope she gets to slice a few tomatoes and jalapenos this year.

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area.

Click the following link and try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you come join us! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

Frugal Gardening
Simple Summer Cooking
Frugal Family Summer Fun
Pantry Cooking
Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Setting Up A Family Budget
Getting Out Of Debt For Good
Utility Bill Savings
Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week.

Eggplant & Cheese Patty Cakes

1 medium eggplant, washed and diced
1 1/4 cup cracker or fine bread crumbs
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded fine
2 eggs, beaten
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. celery salt
2 Tblsp. olive oil

Put the eggplant in a sauce pan, pour enough water in to come up half way, bring water up to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Drain through a colander. Take a potato masher and mash the eggplant in the colander, pressing all the water out.

Put the cooked and mashed eggplant in a big bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix together well. Then form into small patties. Don’t make them too big.

Heat oil in a large skillet (the oil should only be about 1/8 inch deep) to medium hot. Put patties in hot oil and cook until brown on both sides. Remove to drain on a paper towel on a cooling rack.

Salt again to taste and serve alongside a mixed green salad.

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

Strawberry Glazed Chicken
Whole Wheat Maple Syrup Bread
Ready-Set-Go Rolled Cookies
Creamy Vinaigrette

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles

Summer weather brings summer fruit. Whether you are fortunate enough to have fruit trees or farms where you can pick your own, or you have markets where you can now buy fruit, you’ll want to buy as many as you can and preserve them for future use.

Frozen Blueberries Even if you’ve never preserved fruit before (and the thought has you a bit nervous) you’ll be an expert once you read these articles. The simplest method of preserving fruit is freezing it. But, there are a few things you’ll want to know before you just throw them in your freezer.

Click the links below to learn the proper way to freeze your bumper crop of blueberries and apricots:

How To Freeze Blueberries

How To Freeze Apricots

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

I’m Looking For Requests
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Inspirational Story

The Beautiful Flower In The Broken Pot
~Author Unknown~

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus ’til morning.”

He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. “I guess it’s my face… I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…”

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you. I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come again.

And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning.

As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.

Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly preciou s.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.

“Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!”

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.

I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, “If this were my plant, I’d put it in the loveliest container I had!”

My friend changed my mind. “I ran short of pots,” she explained, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting out in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden.”

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. “He won’t mind starting in this small body.”

All this happened long ago – and now, in God’s garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

Final Thought

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Filed Under: Newsletters

Uses For Powdered Coffee Creamer

I’m looking for recipes to use up a large container of powdered coffee creamer. We bought one for a party we had and hardly any was used. We don’t drink coffee and hate to see it wasted!

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Apricot Coffee Cake Recipe

I made this apricot coffee cake yesterday and just had to share It is very yummy and certainly pretty enough for company. I used fresh apricots that I peeled, seeded and chopped. You could also use copped dried apricots that have been soaked in a little water.

3/4 c. softened margarine
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. each of baking soda, salt & cinnamon
1 c. sour cream
1 c. chopped apricots

Topping

1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Get out a small but sturdy bowl and add the margarine and brown sugar. I usually set the margarine out first so it has a chance to soften up on the counter before I start baking. Then I go about gathering the rest of my stuff and preheating the oven. For this cake you want to go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 F.

While you’re at it, go ahead and spray a bunt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set it aside and let’s get back to making the cake.

Get out a hand mixer and cream your margarine and brown sugar until you end up with a light yellow and fluffy mixture. Add your eggs and vanilla and beat again until everything is well incorporated and fluffy. Stir in the sour cream and set the mixture aside.

In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Give everything a good stir with your favorite wodden spoon.

Pour the egg, butter and sugar mixture into your large flour bowl. Grab the hand mixer and set it on the lowest setting. Once most of the flour is incorporated into the wet mixture, change it to medium and beat the batter until it is nice and smooth.

Get your wooden spoon back out and gently fold in 1 cup of chopped apricots. I like to use fresh ones for this cake, but you could substitute dry apricots soaked in a bit of water to soften them up.

Pour the batter into your bunt pan and top with 1/3 chopped peacans, 2 tbsp bown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 50 minutes.

I was planning on taking a picture of the finished cake for you, but we ended up devouring it before I remembered

Filed Under: Cake and Frosting Tagged With: apricot coffee cake, apricot coffee cake recipe

Southern Style Coleslaw

I am looking for a good southern style coleslaw. Please post if you have one.

Filed Under: I'm Looking For Requests

Thick Mac And Cheese

This makes a good casserole, just add a veggie and you’re set! I discovered this when I wanted macaroni in cheese but did not have anything in the way of protein like hot dogs, ham, bologna to put in it. I did have eggs however. And the thickness of the eggs allows it to taste richer with a lot less cheese making it both cheaper and healthier.

First cook up a pot of macaroni for as many people as you are serving. When it is done drain off all the water and return to the stove on medium.

Now add 2 eggs for each serving of pasta you made, salt and pepper, about a 1/2 inch slice of Velveeta and a small handful of shredded cheese per serving. Stir it all up and continue stirring and folding as the eggs cook.

When they are done spoon out into dishes to cool. This is also a great way to sneak protein into a meal if you have kids who do not like much meat.

Filed Under: Egg and Cheese Recipes, Pasta and Pizza, Recipes

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Stuffed Tomato Recipe

Green Tomato Relish Recipe

Fried Green Tomato Recipe

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Homemade Pizza Snacks

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Tomato Soup From Scratch

Stuffed Zucchini Recipe

Green Tomato Pickle Recipe

Cucumber Vinegar Salad

Cold Broccoli Salad Recipe

Velveeta Broccoli Casserole Recipe

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