Search Results for: crockpot

December 29th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. I want to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year filled with wonderful moments with your family and friends, and all the best in 2011.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest has come to a close and our first three prize winners have been notified.  Congratulations to our winners and Thank You to all who participated.  Please scroll down for a list of our winners and their recipes.  Most of our winners have not sent their email address to us.  Be sure to send your email address as soon as possible so we can get your gifts out to all of you.

Our featured article this week is about a topic that comes up quite often just around New Year’s Eve – resolving to get a handle on finances once and for all.  I hope you’ll scroll down and click on the link to read our featured article.

This week’s quote and story are about turning the page on a new year and making the most of what’s ahead.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

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
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~ T. S. Eliot ~

Holiday Recipe Contest

The recipients of the first 3 prizes in our Holiday Recipe Contest have been selected by you, our readers. Please join me in congratulating:

Nancy Kendrick – 1st Prize for “Brown Bag Apple Pie”
Julie Williamson – 2nd Prize for “Creamy Old Fashioned Egg Nog”
Candice Duckworth – 3rd Prize for “Easy Spinach Pie”

Nancy will receive a lifetime membership from MealPlanningCentral.com;  Julie will receive a lifetime membership from DiningWithoutWhine.com; and Candice will receive a twelve month membership from SavingDinner.com.  Congratulations!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy the great things you’ll find in these memberships to help you accomplish more with your hard-earned money and your precious time.

The remaining prize winners have yet to be notified as we are missing the emails for these winners. Here they are:

Brenda Ohmstead for “2 Ingredient Fudge”
Hannah for “Soft Molasses Ginger Cookies”
Gretchen La Pour for “Cranberry Pudding Cake with Butter Sauce”
Orilla Crider for “Easy Cooked Egg Nog”
Jen for “Eclair Cake”
Marie Grennell for “Girls Scout Chili”
Rosemarie L. for “Creamy Fudge”
Ronda Bowman for “Triple Chocolate Mess”
Laura Hamm for “Grandma’s Toffee”

If you see your name and recipe here, please contact me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know your email address so we can get your prize to you as well as your other gifts.  Thank you and Congratulations!

You should already have received your very own copy of the ebook we put together with your recipes.  I hope you are enjoying it.  Very shortly you will also be receiving another gift to you from my friend Patti Winker of RemarkableWrinklies.com.  Patti has put together a collection of sweet treats that she has gathered over the years.  This little ebook is fun and old fashioned so I know you’ll love it.  Watch for an email from Patti with your gift attached.

As a reminder, here are the valuable prizes we are giving away:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

Thank you again for entering our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Featured Article

Since New Year’s Eve typically gets people thinking about doing things a new way in the next year, I’ve decided to feature an article about one of the things most people include in their New Year’s Resolutions -  getting control of their money.  Creating a good budget on paper is the first step to controlling spending.  But, many people try budgeting and still the money trickles away.  One way to stop the money from disappearing is to see where it’s going. Just click the link below to get started plugging the leak in your bucket:

Where’s the Leak in Your Family’s Money Bucket?

Recipe Sharing

And, since getting fit and healthy seems to be another New Year’s Resolution most people make, I thought I’d share some very easy and delicious soups to help you stay on track with your diet and healthy eating resolution this year:

Cup of Soup Recipes

Coconut Chicken Curry: 1 cup hot chicken broth with a pinch of curry powder, 1 dash cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon dry, unsweetened coconut. 23 Calories; 1g Fat (47.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium.

Country Compassion: 1 cup hot beef broth, 1 teaspoon bacon bits; 1 teaspoon mashed potato flakes and 1/2 teaspoon dry onion. 20 Calories; 1g Fat (24.5% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 39mg Sodium.

French Onion: 1 cup beef bouillon, 1 teaspoon dry onion and a small pinch of garlic powder. 10 calories. 11 Calories; trace Fat (1.3% calories from fat); trace Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 3mg Sodium.

French Onion Supreme: Prepare French Onion above. Crumble 1 saltine cracker into the soup, and add 1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese. 27 Calories; 1g Fat (21.1% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 37mg Sodium.

Chicken Rice or Noodle Soup: 1 cup boiling chicken broth, 2 teaspoons instant rice or 1 tablespoon broken up ramen noodles, 1 pinch poultry seasoning, 1 pinch onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon dry parsley, 1 dash black pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes before drinking. 27 Calories; trace Fat (1.3% calories from fat); trace Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium.

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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" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

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Inspirational Story

A Fresh New Year
~ William Arthur Ward ~

Another fresh new year is here,
another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
to love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
to live each day with zest.
To daily grow and try to be
my highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
once more to right some wrongs.
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
and sing more joyful songs!

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

December 22nd, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

The voting on our Holiday Recipe contest has come to a close.  Thanks for all who joined in the fun.  To take a look at how the votes are stacking up, click on the link below:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-poll.htm

If you submitted a holiday recipe, be sure you send your email to us at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com so we can notify you if you've won a prize, and to send your gifts to you. Be sure also to scroll down and see what we have in store for our participants and prize winners.

Our featured article this week is a special treat I hope you'll enjoy. If you are gathering around the piano during your Christmas festivities or just humming tunes as you cook, you may appreciate having the words that accompany the tunes. I hope you'll scroll down and click on the link to read our featured article.

This week's quote and story are both about Christmas -  true gifts and Christmas in the air. I hope you'll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today's quote and story.

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
It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.
~ W. T. Ellis ~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Creating Cherished Christmas Memories

That magical time of the year is in just a few days.  Have you gotten all your shopping done?  Isn't that the question for the day?  What would happen if we didn't put so much emphasis on shopping for gifts and put more on enjoying the season?  Wouldn't that be a relief?

The joy of the season can sometimes get buried in the commercialization of Christmas – it's all about the gifts.

Well, how about a gift of memories!

The holidays don't have to be about spending more and more money on more and more toys and gadgets. You don't need to max out your credit card to prove that you love your family.

What used to make the holidays so special was time spent with the people you love.  How do we get back to that MAGIC?

What you need to return to those good old days is ideas – good old fashioned ideas for enjoying the season with your family, playing, laughing, cooking, singing, and all those things that we used to do years ago.

My friend Tracy Roberts of MomsInABlog.com has set out to recreate memories with her family this year instead of piling up gifts… and debt.  She has decided to stop shopping and start celebrating and has created a resource so you can do it, too – Creating Cherished Christmas Memories.

This ebook is filled with great tips and ideas to get your holiday out of the rut of frustration and debt.  Take a look at just some of the things you'll find to help you restore the magic to your Christmas:

• Grow closer as a family while instilling strong values about things like giving, empathy, and thoughtfulness.
• Yummy recipes for holiday treats that the family can make together.
• Rein in the season while having fun the whole time.
• Handle sticky situations you’d rather ignore, but can’t.
• Make the holidays last much longer than just one day.
• Give gifts that don’t cost an arm and leg, and are much more appreciated.
• Make visits with the neighbors, relatives, and extended family enjoyable again.
• Reduce your stress with these tips.
• Explore traditions old and new, and make memories that last.

Tracy also includes two bonuses that I know you'll enjoy.  Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today and you'll receive The Big Book of Classic Christmas Tales as well as Tracy's Wacky Party Ideas absolutely FREE. Both resources are perfect for this time of year… and for years to come!

Stuck for a last minute gift? Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today… it may be the best Christmas gift you'll ever give to someone who's tired of Christmas stress.  Click on the link below and download instantly for a thoughtful last-minute gift:
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/christmas-memories

Holiday Recipe Contest

Our voting has come to a close and soon we will be announcing our winners.  This contest has been a lot of fun and has provided many delicious recipes to try.  Along with the prizes we will be awarding to the winners, we'll also be giving everyone who submitted a recipe their very own copy of the ebook we prepared with YOUR recipes in it.  We still need email addresses from some of you, so be sure to send your email address to me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com Thank you!

Along with your own recipe ebook with all the submitted recipes, you'll also be receiving a collection of over 80 recipes for all sorts of sweet treats collected by my friend Patti Winker at RemarkableWrinklies.com The recipes have been collected for many years, so some of them may seen a bit old fashioned, but we love that!  Patti and I are giving you this ebook as a Thank You gift for sharing your recipes with us at HBHW.

So, be sure to send us your email address so we can:

1) find you if you win a prize,
2) send your free eCookbook from Patti, and
3) send your own copy of all the holiday recipes submitted.

If you submitted a recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest, email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know what email address we can us to send your goodies. Thank you very much!

As a reminder, here are the valuable prizes we are giving away:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the
  buy cheap cigarettes

  Crockpot Cooking Guide

• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

Thank you again for entering our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Featured Article

Christmas carols are a big part of the holiday season in our house.  We like both the cute little songs and the pretty stirring hymns, but we stumble over the words sometimes; especially in the second or third verse!  In this week's article you'll find a song book with 39 songs for the season for you and your family to enjoy.  It's my gift to you. I hope you'll print it off , gather your family, and sing to your heart's content. Just click the link below:

Christmas Carol Song Book

Recipe Sharing

Need just one more idea for snacks for your holiday gathering?  I think you'll like these:

Crockpot Cajun Style Pecan Snacks

• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix all your spices together well in a small bowl.  Pour the melted butter into your crockpot, then add pecans, stirring to coat evenly with butter.  Then sprinkle your spice mixture evenly over the pecans, stirring as you sprinkle.

Cover the crockpot and turn on to the HIGH heat.  Let the pecans cook on HIGH for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once.

Remove the cover from the crockpot and turn the heat down to LOW.  Cook uncovered for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure the pecans stay coated and evenly cook.

Cool the pecans on a rack covered with paper towels or a paper grocery bag.  They’re ready to serve as soon as they cool completely.

Frugal Tips

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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/newsletter/recipe-requests/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

Christmas Gifts
~ Oren Arnold ~

To your enemy,
forgiveness.

To an opponent,
tolerance.

To a friend,
your heart.

To a customer,
service.

To all,
charity.

To every child,
a good example.

To yourself,
respect.

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

December 15th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

The poll to vote on your favorite Holiday Recipe contest submission is up and it’s your time to vote. Please take a moment right now and go to

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-poll.htm

Also, if you submitted a holiday recipe, be sure you send your email to us at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com so we can notify you if you’ve won a prize, and to send your gifts to you. Be sure also to scroll down and check out the prizes and gifts we have in store for you.

Our featured article this week is about trying to avoid the stress that seems to surround the holidays, especially in the last few weeks before Christmas.  I hope you’ll scroll down and click on the link to read our featured article.

This week’s quote and story are both about leaving your troubles behind. As much joy and wonder this holiday season can bring us, this time of year can also be difficult for many people, for a variety of reasons. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

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
Drag your thoughts away from your troubles, by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.
~Mark Twain~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Creating Cherished Christmas Memories

That magical time of the year is almost here – Christmas. However, many families are wondering where the magic has gone.

The joy of the season can sometimes get stiffled by the stress and frustration you feel trying to make everything just right for your family.

When every commercial screams at you “Have you done your holiday shopping yet!?” it feels like that’s all that Christmas has come down to… buying more, buying bigger, and buying more expensive gifts.

Are the holidays only about spending money?  Is it your duty to run up impossibly high charges on your credit cards? Are you supposed to spend your precious time shopping for yet another gift?

In short, have you lost that sense of family togetherness that used to make the holidays so special?

You CAN bring back the magic of Christmas for your family.

What does it take? It takes good old fashioned creativity!

That’s just what Tracy Roberts of MomsInABlog.com has set out to do. Tracy has made a commitment to stop shopping and start celebrating.  And now she has put together her favorite memory-making ideas into one book – Creating Cherished Christmas Memories.

This ebook is filled with great tips and ideas to get your holiday back on track and out of the rut of frustration and debt.  Take a look at just some of the things you’ll find to help you restore the magic to your Christmas:

• Grow closer as a family while instilling strong values about things like giving, empathy, and thoughtfulness.
• Yummy recipes for holiday treats that the family can make together.
• Rein in the season while having fun the whole time.
• Handle sticky situations you’d rather ignore, but can’t.
• Make the holidays last much longer than just one day.
• Give gifts that don’t cost an arm and leg, and are much more appreciated.
• Make visits with the neighbors, relatives, and extended family enjoyable again.
• Reduce your stress with these tips.
• Explore traditions old and new, and make memories that last.

Doesn’t that sound more like a holiday season you long for?

Tracy also includes two bonuses that I know you’ll enjoy.  Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today and you’ll receive The Big Book of Classic Christmas Tales as well as Tracy’s Wacky Party Ideas absolutely FREE. Both resources are perfect for this time of year… and for years to come!

It’s never too late to get off the commercialized merry-go-round and get back to creating memories for your family. Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today… it may be the best Christmas gift you’ll ever get your family.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/christmas-memories

Holiday Recipe Contest

We are almost ready to start voting for our favorite recipes.  And, the fun news is you’ll be doing the voting!   Watch for an email from me soon about how you can participate in choosing the best of the best holiday recipes submitted by you, our readers. Along with the prizes awarded to some lucky people, everyone who submitted a recipe will receive their very own copy of the ebook we prepared with YOUR recipes in it. We still need email addresses from some of you, so be sure to send your email address to me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com Thank you!

My friend Patti Winker at RemarkableWrinklies.com has also offered to give each person who submitted a recipe a copy of her new ebook called,  Memory Lane Meals.  Patti has put together a nice collection of over 80 recipes for all sorts of sweet treats. These are recipes that have been collected for many years, so some of them may seen a bit old fashioned, but we love that! Patti and I are giving you this ebook as a Thank You gift for sharing your recipes with us at HBHW.

Then, of course, we have the prizes.  If you are voted a winner for one of these prizes, we’ll need to send your prize to you by email.  So, please send me your email address as soon as possible.

When we get your email address, we’ll be able to do three things:

1) find you if you win a prize,
2) send your free eCookbook from Patti, and
3) send your own copy of all the holiday recipes submitted.

If you submitted a recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest, won’t you please take a moment right now to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know what email address I can use to send your goodies to?  Thank you very much!

As a reminder, here are the valuable prizes we are giving away:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

Thank you again for entering our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Featured Article

When it gets down to the last few weeks and days before Christmas, I can sense the stress all around me. Many people are speeding up to wrap up the last few gifts and meals. This creates just the opposite feelings that we want to have over the holidays. If you’re starting to feel stressed instead of blessed, won’t you click the link below and read our featured article:

Coping With Holiday Stress – Tips To Enjoy This Special Season

Recipe Sharing

This is an aromatic and soothing hot beverage perfect for any holiday celebration. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Crockpot Wassail

• 2 quarts apple juice or cider
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 2 cups orange juice
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 18 oz pineapple juice

Heat on HIGH in crockpot until hot. Remove cloves and cinnamon stick. Simmer in pot to keep warm. 25-30 servings.

Submitted by HBHW reader Susan S. and here is her orange spiced cider recipe. Don’t forget to take a look at these other easy crockpot recipes as well.

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.

Frugal Tips

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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/newsletter/recipe-requests/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

The Trouble Tree
~author unknown~

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farm house had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire had caused him to miss an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pick-up truck refused to start.

As I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. When we arrived he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked to the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles; he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed by the tree and my curiosity got the better of me.

I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, they don’t belong in the house with my wife and children. So, I just hang them on the tree when I come home in the evening and then I just pick them up again in the morning.”

“Funny thing, though,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick ‘em up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remembered hanging there the night before.”

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

December 8th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest has come to a close;  thank you to all who entered their favorite holiday recipe.  It’s very important at this time to make sure we have all the emails for participants in the contest. We have more than 130 participants and only a little over 30 responses to our email request.  Be sure you send your email to us at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com so we can notify you if you’ve won a prize, and to send your gifts to you. Be sure also to scroll down and check out the prizes and gifts we have in store for you.

I’m also in the process of setting up a way for you to vote on your favorite recipe. Look for an email from me about this later this week.

Our featured article this week is about fun, and frugal, ideas to entertain the family this Christmas. The article is a good look at creating memories without spending a lot of money. Written by a fun-loving woman who lives with her family outside of London, the article gives a fresh perspective for those of us who live elsewhere. It’s well worth a read, so I hope you’ll scroll down and click on the link to enjoy our featured article.

This week’s quote is about the blessing of memories. The story this week is a particularly moving one, especially for this time of year, about our wishes and God’s plan for us.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

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
God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.
~J.M. Barrie~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Creating Cherished Christmas Memories

Christmas is almost here. It should be a magical time of year, right?  But many people are wondering where the magic has gone.

Thinking back to special holiday seasons of your childhood, do the memories get trampled by the stress and frustration you feel?

All the commercials are screaming at you to buy bigger and more expensive gifts — “Have you done your holiday shopping yet?” Are the holidays only about spending money?  Is it your duty to run up impossibly high charges on your credit cards? Are you supposed to spend your precious time shopping for yet another gift?

In short, have you lost that sense of family togetherness that used to make the holidays so special?

You CAN bring back the magic of Christmas for your family.

What does it take? It takes good old fashioned creativity!

That’s just what Tracy Roberts of MomsInABlog.com has set out to do; Creating Cherished Christmas Memories for her family.

Tracy has made a commitment to stop shopping and start celebrating.  And now she has put together her favorite memory-making ideas into one book – Creating Cherished Christmas Memories.

This ebook is filled with great tips and ideas to get your holiday back on track and out of the rut of frustration and debt.  Take a look at just some of the things you’ll find to help you find the joy in Christmas again:

• Grow closer as a family while instilling strong values about things like giving, empathy, and thoughtfulness.
• Yummy recipes for holiday treats that the family can make together.
• Rein in the season while having fun the whole time.
• Handle sticky situations you’d rather ignore, but can’t.
• Make the holidays last much longer than just one day.
• Give gifts that don’t cost an arm and leg, and are much more appreciated.
• Make visits with the neighbors, relatives, and extended family enjoyable again.
• Reduce your stress with these tips.
• Explore traditions old and new, and make memories that last.

Doesn’t that sound more like a holiday season you long for?

Tracy also includes two bonuses that I know you’ll enjoy.  Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today and you’ll receive The Big Book of Classic Christmas Tales as well as Tracy’s Wacky Party Ideas absolutely FREE. Both resources are perfect for this time of year… and for years to come!

Please click on the link and take a look at Tracy’s Creating Cherished Christmas Memories.  It’s never too late to get off the commercialized merry-go-round and get back to creating memories for your family. Buy Creating Cherished Christmas Memories today… it may be the best Christmas gift you’ll ever get your family.
http://momsinablog.com/creating-cherished-christmas-memories/?hop=kinderinfo

Holiday Recipe Contest

We are happy to report that your recipes have been gathered into a pretty little cookbook ready to email out to each and every participant in our contest.  However, there’s a little glitch.  Out of the 130+ recipes, we have only received 30 or so responses to our request for email addresses.  We are looking forward to getting your cookbook out to you so be sure to send your email address to me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com Thank you!

Along with your own recipes, we are also giving another great collection of recipes.  My friend Patti Winker at www.RemarkableWrinklies.com has created a fun eCookbook called,  Memory Lane Meals.  Patti has put together a nice collection of over 80 recipes for cakes, pies, cobblers, bars, candies, snacks, and more.  Because these recipes have been collected for many years, you’ll find some of them a tad old fashioned, but don’t we love that! Patti and I are giving you this eCookbook as a thank you gift for sharing your recipes with us at HBHW.

Then, of course, we have the prizes.  We are busy looking at all the recipes and hope to narrow down our prize winners very soon.  But, without your email address, we won’t be able to find you.

So, we need your email address in order to do three things:

1) find you if you win a prize,
2) send your free eCookbook from Patti, and
3) send your own copy of all the holiday recipes submitted.

Please, if you submitted a recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest, won’t you please take a moment right now to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know what email address I can use to send your goodies to?  Thank you very much!

As a reminder, here are the valuable prizes we are giving away:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

Thank you again for entering our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Featured Article

In these last few weeks before Christmas, I’m concentrating on creating memories for our family.  Shopping and gift-giving often causes stress, and is just as often unnecessary to have a good holiday season.  That’s why I’m sharing an article written by Pippa Wright, a great gal with great ideas for enjoying the Christmas season by creating lasting memories.  I hope you’ll spend a few minutes to see how her family finds the joy in the holiday without spending a lot of money.  Just click the link below:

Frugal Christmas Entertainment Ideas

Recipe Sharing

Perhaps coming up with meals during the Christmas holiday season is one of the things that stresses you out.  That’s why an all-in-one-pan meal for anytime of the day is a great idea.  This is an easy, and tasty, Christmas morning casserole I think you’ll enjoy.

Overnight Breakfast Strata

• 4 slices hearty white bread, crusts cut off, and coarsely torn into pieces
• 4 eggs, beaten with a fork slightly
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Lightly grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
Arrange pieces of bread in pan.
In separate bowl, put eggs, milk, mustard, and onion and mix together well, then pour over bread.
Top with cooked bacon, cover the pan with foil, and put in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, remove the casserole from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake casserole, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes.
Uncover and arrange shredded cheese on top.
Put back in oven, uncovered, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and starts to brown.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
This casserole serves 4 people, and can be doubled using a 9×13 pan instead.

Add whatever other ingredients you might want in this, included chopped green pepper, diced tomatoes, sausage, or chilis for more flavor.

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

Trees That Wood
~author unknown~

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”

Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”

Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter” … and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree so I’ll take this one”, and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways.

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

December 1st, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.  We had a busy Thanksgiving in our house and, as usual, cooked way too much food.  We will be enjoying leftovers for weeks and probably months to come.  If you celebrated Thanksgiving last week, I hope yours was just as successful.

Thank you to everyone who submitted recipes for our Holiday Recipe Contest.  We are busy now reviewing the recipes so we will be able to select the prize recipients.  Scroll down and check out the prizes and gifts we have in store for you.  Also, be sure to send your email address to me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com so we can notify you if you’ve won a prize and to send your gifts to you. Thanks again to everyone who took time to share their holiday recipes with us.

Since it’s December now, I’ve started thinking about gift giving.  However, my thoughts never stray too far from food.  Why not combine the two?  That’s what our featured article is about this week – frugal gourmet food gifts.  Please be sure to scroll down and click on the link to see how you can turn food into great gifts.

This week’s quote and story are about giving gifts from the heart; and receiving those gifts with just as much grace. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

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
We can do no great things, only small things with great love.
~Mother Theresa~

BOGO HBHW Gift Certificates

As promised, I have joined the Black Friday and Cyber Monday gang and whipped up a deal for you, my dear readers.  From now until Christmas Eve, you can order one of the new HBHW Gift Certificates and get a second one to use for yourself FREE. The gift certificates are valid for an entire year and can be used on any of the HBHW ebooks. The gift certificates come in four different denominations so you’ll be able to find a price range to fit your budget.  Please be sure to click on the link below and see how easy it is to do your gift shopping right here on HBHW.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/hbhw-black-friday.htm

Holiday Recipe Contest

We have wrapped up our contest and have started the process of gathering all your delicious recipes together.  We’ll be going over the recipes to figure out which ones to award prizes to.  This is going to be very difficult since they all were so fun!  Thank you again for taking time to submit your recipes to us so we all can share.

Of course, everyone deserves a prize in my eyes.  That’s why my friend Patti Winker at www.RemarkableWrinklies.com and I are giving each person who submitted a recipe a copy of her new eCookbook,  Memory Lane Meals.  Patti has put together a nice collection of over 80 recipes for cakes, pies, cobblers, bars, candies, snacks, and more.  Because these recipes have been collected for many years, you’ll find some of them a tad old fashioned, but don’t we love that!

Along with Patti’s eCookbook, you’ll also receive a pretty little document you can download that will include all the recipes submitted to the contest.  We want you to be able to share it with your friends and family and point to your own recipe and say, “My recipe is published on HBHW.”

Now we need your email address so we can do three things:

1) find you if you win a prize, and
2) send your free eCookbook from Patti, and
3) send your own copy of all the holiday recipes.

So if you submitted a recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest, won’t you please take a moment right now to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know what email address I can use to contact you?  Thank you very much!

As a reminder, here are the valuable prizes we are giving away:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

Thank you again for entering our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Featured Article

When I turn my calender to December, I often start to panic.  No matter how prepared I am in the gift-giving area, there are always a few people on my list that I struggle with right up until the last minute.  That’s when I normally turn to food.  Yes, food is still a very acceptable, and appreciated, gift.  But, if you want to make your food gift a bit fancier, take a look at some easy and frugal ways to give gourmet gifts:

Frugal Gourmet Food Gifts

Recipe Sharing

I’m going to share one of my favorite food gift ideas here. This is a very soothing drink mix enjoyed by young and old alike.  Put it in a jar and add as much fabric and ribbon as you like to make it extra pretty.  You may even want to visit your local thrift or resale shop and see if you can find an antique-looking teaspoon to include.

Ginger Tea Mix

• 1-1/2 cup plain instant tea
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup instant powdered milk
• 1/4 cup powdered coffee creamer

In a resealable container combine all of the ingredients and stir with a fork or a whisk to distribute everything evenly. Store on the pantry shelf.

To Prepare: Combine 2 tablespoons Ginger Tea Mix with 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir the ingredients in a tea cup to dissolve. Serve with lemon cookies at tea time.

The English prefer milk or cream in their tea, while most Americans prefer lemon. I have an English grandmother who taught me to appreciate both methods of service. This recipe is very English in origin so it contains milk instead of the lemon most of us are more accustomed to. It is an odd little recipe, and the first time I made it I thought it would be fine for my personal consumption, but probably not worthy of sharing. Then friends and family members got a taste of it, and begged for the recipe. It tastes a little strange at first, certainly exotic, and then it grows on you, eventually becoming an addiction of almost shameful proportions. I recommend you make half the recipe the first time to give it a try, and then see if it casts it’s spell upon you, demanding you prepare it in every growing quantities. Makes an excellent gift for the holidays.

If this isn’t quite to your taste, try this English Breakfast Tea recipe instead, or browse through my frugal beverage recipe section for more ideas.

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

A Box of Kisses
~author unknown~

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

He yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,”Oh, Daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.”

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

It is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as humans have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

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

November 24th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.  Before we get to the meat of the newsletter, I just want to take one moment to say how thankful I am to all of you;  my readers, my friends.  Hillbilly Housewife has become a wonderfully busy community of frugal minded people.  Without you, we wouldn’t be able to produce this website or newsletter.  So, thank you everyone for spending some of your precious time here with me.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is coming to a close soon.  We’ve very much enjoyed reading your submissions.  Be sure to scroll down and read about this fun contest and for an important message for everyone who has already submitted your recipes.

Our featured article is about something a lot of us will be faced with this week – using up leftovers.  Our Thanksgiving always produces a heaping helping of leftover turkey.  Be sure to scroll down and click on the link to see a few great ways to use turkey in tasty new dishes.

This week’s quote and story shouldn’t surprise you as we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week in the United States.  It’s easy to be thankful for all the great things in our lives, but sometimes it’s from the hardships that we receive our greatest blessings.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

Thanksgiving is here and my friend Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” – has just about reached her goal, thanks to all of you who joined in the fun on Facebook.  If you haven’t yet, won’t you help Christine out?  Here’s the fun:  Christine started Oct. 23rd with 1200 Facebook Fans and is hoping to hit 10K by Thanksgiving! All you need to do is visit www.facebook.com/themenumom and click the “like” button on her page.  For every 500 new friends she has a little drawing and if she reaches 10K by Thanksgiving, she plans to give away $10,000 in Lifetime Memberships to her Menu Planning Central Meal Plans.  Anyone who is a fan at the time of the drawing will be entered.  Lots of fun!  Go check it out at www.facebook.com/themenumom and help her achieve her goal!

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
In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
~ Albert Schweitzer ~

Black Friday Fun

I was starting to feel a little left out with all the advertising about sales going on this Black Friday.  The day after Thanksgiving is loosely considered to be the day that retailers are back “in the black” financially speaking; thus the term Black Friday.  So, I thought why not share in the fun and have a little sale myself!  I’m busy right now putting together a few specials I think you’ll enjoy.  Be sure to watch your email for our HBHW Black Friday sales.

Holiday Recipe Contest

All good things must come to an end.  As of Sunday, November 28th, we’ll be closing our recipe contest here at HBHW.  We’ve very much enjoyed all the family recipes submitted so far and now I have quite a list I’m going to try on my own family.

Besides the great prizes we are offering, we also have a special treat in store for everyone who has entered a recipe in the Holiday Recipe Contest.  My good friend, Patti Winker at www.RemarkableWrinklies.com, has been compiling recipes for many, many years; she says “more years than I care to count!”  Not only has Patti been collecting recipes, but she has been busy gathering some of her favorite recipes together in a neat little cookbook.

What Patti has done is put together a nice collection of dessert recipes and all sorts of other sweet treats into an eCookbook and is giving it away to each participant in the Holiday Recipe Contest.  It’s Patti’s, and my, gift to you for taking the time to enter a family favorite recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest. I know you’ll love this ebook.  It’s filled with over 80 recipes for cakes, pies, cobblers, bars, candies, snacks, and more. Now remember, Patti has been collecting these recipes for some time, so you’ll find some of them a tad old fashioned, but don’t we love that!

Now, what we need from you is your email address. Many recipe submissions were missing the email address which causes two problems;
1) we won’t be able to find you if you win a prize, and
2) we won’t know where to send your free eCookbook from Patti.

So if you submitted a recipe for the Holiday Recipe Contest, won’t you please take a moment right now to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com and let me know what email address I can use to send Patti’s eCookbook as well as notify you if you win any of our prizes.

If you haven’t already submitted a recipe, you have until Sunday evening to do so, and have a chance to win one of many valuable prizes, like these:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a valuable prize!

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

Featured Article

We’ve featured crockpot cooking quite a bit here at HBHW lately for a lot of reasons.  Of course, saving time and money is important, and what better way to be frugal than to use up your leftover turkey in the most efficient manner possible?  In my book, using my crockpot to create another meal from my turkey is one of the most frugal things a cook can do.  Please click on the link below to find several of my favorite recipes for leftover turkey in the crockpot:

Using Up Leftover Turkey – Favorite Crockpot Recipes

Recipe Sharing

Before even thinking about using up the leftover turkey, I have to tackle the stock.  Here’s where I start:

Turkey Stock

One of the things I traditionally do the morning after Thanksgiving is to make a big pot of turkey stock. Depending on how early we eat our big Thanksgiving meal, I have even done it that evening. Here’s how I make it.

• 1 turkey carcass
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, cut up
• 2 medium carrots, cut up
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• dash pepper

Add your turkey carcass to a large stock pot. If needed, break it up into pieces. Add everything else to the pot and cover it with plenty of cold water. I usually fill mine up to 2 to 3 inches below the lip of the pot. Turn your stove to medium heat and allow the stock to come to a simmer, turn the heat down to low to simmer everything for 3 hours. During the first 30 minutes skim any foamy buildup from the top with a large spoon. The more you skim, the better your final stock will be.

Allow the stock mixture to cook, then strain it into another pot. Put the stock into the fridge overnight. This will allow all the fat in the broth to come to the top and solidify. In the morning, you’ll have a solid piece of fat on top of the pot. Gentry remove it and toss it. Use your turkey stock in your favorite soup and stew dishes. I like to use it in this crockpot turkey soup recipe.

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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" start_item=""]

Frugal Tips

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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

Be Thankful
~author unknown~

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire;
if you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something;
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times;
during those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations;
they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge;
they will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes;
they will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you are tired and weary;
it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things;
but a life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

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

November 17th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is still going strong.  I’ve been enjoying the variety of dishes that everyone has been submitting.  Just a reminder to  include your email address in the submission form so I can find you if you are selected to receive one of our great prizes. Scroll down and learn more about the excitement we have in store for you during this contest.

Our featured article takes a little different look at crockpot cooking.  This time I have invited an expert in fitness and health to discuss how crockpot cooking can be healthy as well as time-saving and money-saving.  Please be sure to scroll down and click on the link to read more.

This week’s quote and story are about sharing; not just what we have but sharing ourselves, as well. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

Just a reminder that my friend Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” – is having a bit of fun on Facebook.  She started Oct. 23rd with 1200 Facebook Fans and is hoping to hit 10K by Thanksgiving!  Would you mind helping her out?  All you need to do is visit www.facebook.com/themenumom and click the “like” button on her page.  For every 500 new friends she has a little drawing and if she reaches 10K by Thanksgiving, she plans to give away $10,000 in Lifetime Memberships to her Menu Planning Central Meal Plans.  Anyone who is a fan at the time of the drawing will be entered.  Lots of fun!  Go check it out at www.facebook.com/themenumom and help her achieve her goal!

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

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
~Buddha~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend The Menu Planning Central’s Thanksgiving and Christmas Planning Guides

I can’t get over how fast the time is going!  We’re right on the heels of the busiest times of the year in our house.  I’m thinking a lot of you are also starting to feel the crunch coming.  Does planning your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, decorations, and entertainment get you in a panic?

This year why not change all that.  You can enjoy a less stressful holiday season when you have a system and the tools you need to maneuver through the holiday planning. In these Thanksgiving and Christmas Planning Guides you’ll get step-by-step instructions to walk you right through the busiest days.  Here’s what you’ll get:

• The Thanksgiving Planning Guide with organizing and planning tips.
• A Complete Thanksgiving Menu with detailed recipes.
• A Shopping List with everything you need to prepare the recipes of the menu.
• A second Shopping List of non-perishable items you can buy ahead of time.
• Our original “To-Do” List to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.

• The Christmas Planning Guide with organizing and planning tips, decorating ideas, craft suggestions and more.
• A Complete Christmas Menu with detailed recipes.
• A Shopping List with everything you need to prepare the recipes of the menu.
• Our original “To-Do” List to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.

For ONLY $20 and a 14 day money back guarantee, this deal is too good to pass up!  Click on this link and order today so you can take advantage of all the great tips and ideas that these guides have to offer before you get tangled up in the stress of the holiday season.

Holiday Recipe Contest

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their favorite recipe for the holiday season.  If you haven’t yet checked out our contest for the holiday seasons, be sure to click on here and see the details, as well as the recipe submission form.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is a great way to share your favorite recipe and to gather a few new ones for your family holiday meals. I’ve already seen quite a few recipes that I’d like to try out next week for Thanksgiving.

When you submit your favorite recipe it will be posted here on HBHW and you’ll be entered to win one of the great prizes we have.  In addition to that, we’ll be including your recipe in a pretty little document for each participant.  Be sure to click on the following link and fill in the submission form with your very favorite holiday recipe and a chance to win.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

Here’s a peek at the prizes we’re offering so far for various categories:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

I’ll keep you updated as we find more prizes.  So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a valuable prize!

Featured Article

We’ve been featuring crockpot cooking quite a bit here at HBHW for many reasons.  The two most popular reasons to cook with a crockpot is to save time and save money.  But, one area that concerns people is if the meals made in a crockpot can be healthy.  For the answer to that question I decided to ask an expert.  Not only is she a busy mom and entrepreneur, but she’s an expert in the field of physical fitness.  Please click on the link below to learn why crockpot cooking appeals to a fit and healthy family:

Healthy Crockpot Cooking

Recipe Sharing

This is one of the recipes I make in the crockpot that is a healthier choice. I hope you’ll give it a try:

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

• 4 chicken breast boneless skinless (about 25 oz)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tblsp light oil
• 1/2 tblsp light butter (may replace with another 1/2 tblsp light oil)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tblsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp no soduim chicken bouillon granules

Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces. Mine are roughly 1 inch square. The chicken will shrink as it cooks, so keep the chunks a little larger than you would like them to be in the end. As always when you are working with raw chicken, be sure to wipe down all surfaces, cutting boards and knifes well.

Get out a medium sized bowl and pour the flour and spices in it. Add the chicken pieces and cover them to coat all sides with the flour.

Get out a large pan and add the oil and butter. I’m using the butter for flavor and the oil for the higher cooking temperature. If you are watching your budget, you may omit the butter and use a little more oil instead. Put the pan on medium high until all the butter has melted.

Take the chicken out of the flour mixture, shaking off any extra flour as you go and drop them into the hot grease. I usually cook this in two batches. Cook the chicken for a few minutes until it had a chance to brown nicely on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and put it in your crockpot.

Pour the water and lemon juice in the pan you cooked the chicken in and add the garlic and bullion. Stir them to combine and use your spatula to scrape the bits of chicken and flour mixture off the bottom of the pan. They will help thicken the sauce as it cooks. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the crockpot.

Close the lid and cook everything on low for about 3 hours. Remove the lid and cook on high for 30 to 40 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

I serve this with brown rice and a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans. In the summer I serve it with a mixed salad.

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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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

When We Share
~author unknown~

When we share laughter, there’s twice the fun;
When we share success, we surpass what we’ve done.

When we share problems, there’s half the pain;
When we share tears, a rainbow follows rain.

When we share dreams, they become more real;
When we share secrets, it’s our hearts we reveal.

If we share a smile, then our love shows;
If we share a hug, then our love grows.

If we share with someone on whom we depend,
That person becomes family or friend.

And what draws us closer and makes us all care,
Is not what we have, but the things that we share.

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

November 10th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is starting to really gain momentum!  We’ve been receiving piles of recipes from our readers and I am impressed by the variety of dishes, and how good they look.  One thing you want to be sure to do is include your email address in the submission form so I can find you if you are selected to receive one of our great prizes. Scroll down and learn more about the excitement we have in store for you during this contest.

Our featured article is about something I especially enjoy during the holidays – snacks!  During the rest of the year, I rarely make fancy appetizers or snacks, but when the holidays roll around, it’s no holds barred.  Out comes the crockpot, or maybe two or three.  Over the years, I have found that the best loved classic recipes with a few special twists are the most successful.  Please be sure to check this week’s article out so you can see how tweaking a classic appetizer can really make it special.

This week’s quote and story are about compassion and charity. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

My friend Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” has set a goal for herself.  She started Oct. 23rd with 1200 Facebook Fans and is hoping to hit 10K by Thanksgiving!  Would you mind helping her out?  All you need to do is visit www.facebook.com/themenumom and click the “like” button on her page.  For every 500 new friends she has a little drawing and if she reaches 10K by Thanksgiving, she plans to give away $10,000 in Lifetime Memberships to her Menu Planning Central Meal Plans.  Anyone who is a fan at the time of the drawing will be entered.  Lots of fun!  Go check it out at www.facebook.com/themenumom and help her achieve her goal!

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

If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
~Bob Hope~

Sponsor

I thought now would be a good time to say Thank You to all my newsletter subscribers. Without you, HBHW just wouldn’t be the same.  And what better way to say thank you than by offering you a chance to save money!

From now through November 16th, I am offering you my Crockpot Cooking Collection for HALF PRICE! Also, included with this incredible crockpot cooking guide and recipe collection for 50% off, I’ll throw in 4 bonuses absolutely free.

That’s the Crockpot Cooking Made Simple ebook, the Crockpot Recipe Collection, normally selling for $29.95 PLUS 4 bonuses worth $44.80… that’s a $74.75 value for ONLY $14.50!

Here are the bonuses I’ve chosen to include in this offer absolutely free:

• Bonus 1: Homemade Breads and Rolls
• Bonus 2: Pantry Cooking Guide
• Bonus 3: Cut Your Grocery Budget in Half
• Bonus 4: My Favorite Recipes

For only $14.50 you can have this fabulous collection of crockpot cooking tips and tricks, recipes, and all these bonuses.  Please take advantage of this great savings before November 16th by clicking on the link below. And, again, Thank you subscribers for your loyalty and the tremendous support I get from you every day.

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

Holiday Recipe Contest

Many of you have already submitted your favorite recipes and I thank you. This has been a lot of fun already.  If you haven’t yet checked out our contest for the holiday seasons, be sure to click on here and see the details, as well as the recipe submission form.

If your family is like mine, you probably have meals that have become holiday classics. But a few surprises would be nice, right?  Our Holiday Recipe Contest is a great way to share your favorite recipe and to gather a few new ones for your family holiday meals.

Once you share your favorite recipe, not only will it be posted here on HBHW, but you’ll also be entered to win one of the great prizes we have.  In addition to that, we’ll be including your recipe in a pretty little document for each participant.  Be sure to click on the following link and fill in the submission form with your very favorite holiday recipe and a chance to win.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

Here’s a peek at the prizes we’re offering so far for various categories:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

I’ll keep you updated as we find more prizes.  So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a valuable prize!

Featured Article

Cooking during the holidays means cooking special dishes.  In our house we go overboard a bit on the appetizers when we get into the holiday seasons.  Because the rest of the year we try to eat sensibly, serving a fancy appetizer feels very festive.  Although we love our classic appetizers, I have perked them up a bit from time to time.  Click on the link below and find out just how easy it is to take simple, classic appetizers and make them special for the holidays:

Crockpot Appetizer Recipes – Give Your Old Favorites A New Twist

Recipe Sharing

This is one of the recipes I’ve recreated to perk up an old favorite.  I hope you’ll give it a try:

Crockpot Tangy Apple Sausage Appetizers

• 2 lbs apple smoked/flavored sausage links (or your favorite smoked sausage links), cut into bite size.
• 2 Granny Smith apples, or similar crisp, tart apple, cut into bite size chunks
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into bite size chunks

• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons spicy mustard, like Dijon or Cajun style
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey

Put sausage, onion, and apple in your crock pot and toss together a little bit.  In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients until combined well, then pour over the mixture in the crock pot.  Cover and cook on LOW for about 2 to 3 hours, or until the apples and onions are tender, but not mushy.

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

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Frugal Tips

[RSSImport display="3" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/frugal-tips/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/newsletter/recipe-requests/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

Are You God’s Wife?
~author unknown~

New York City: It’s a cold day in December. A little boy about 10-year-old was standing before a shoe store on Broadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said, “My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?”

“I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,” was the boy’s reply.

The lady took him by the hand and went into the store, and asked the clerk to get a half dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel.

By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she then purchased him a pair of shoes, and tying up the remaining pairs of socks, gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, “No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?”

As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words: “Are you God’s wife?”

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

November 3, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Our Holiday Recipe Contest is off to a good start.  We’ve received many tasty-looking recipes from our readers and I look forward to trying them out on my family.  Be sure to include your email address in the submission form so I can find you if you are selected to receive one of our great prizes. Scroll down and learn more about the excitement we have in store for you during this contest.

Our featured article is on a very fun topic, especially this time of year. If your kitchen is anything like mine during big holiday meals, it feels like a poorly run NASCAR pit stop!  Everyone is rushing around, trying to juggle casseroles in and out of the oven to make room for other dishes.  This year I’m removing the desserts from the confusion by reinventing my recipes and making them in the crockpot.  Be sure to check this article out so you, too, can ease the chaos in the kitchen this holiday season.

This week’s quote and story are about taking action and moving outside of your comfort zone. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

Have you heard about the huge goal my friend Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” has set?  She started Oct. 23rd with 1200 Facebook Fans and is hoping to hit 10K by Thanksgiving!  Would you mind helping her out?  All you need to do is visit www.facebook.com/themenumom and click the “like” button on her page.  For every 500 new friends she has a little drawing and if she reaches 10K by Thanksgiving, she plans to give away $10,000 in Lifetime Memberships to her Menu Planning Central Meal Plans.  Anyone who is a fan at the time of the drawing will be entered.  Lots of fun!  Go check it out at www.facebook.com/themenumom and help her achieve her goal!

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

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
~Benjamin Disraeli~

Holiday Recipe Contest

Have you checked out our contest for the holiday seasons?  If not, be sure to click on here and check it out.

I’ve been paging through my holiday recipe binder and have noticed that my collection of recipes needs some refreshing.  I’ll always make the classics that my family loves, but a few surprises would be nice.  I trust you run into the same problem after many years of serving the same meal over and over again.  What we’re doing for our Holiday Recipe Contest is asking you to share your favorite holiday recipe with us.

Once you share your favorite recipe, not only will it be posted here on HBHW, but you’ll also be entered to win one of the great prizes we have.  In addition to that, we’ll be including your recipe in a pretty little document for each participant.  Be sure to click on the following link and fill in the submission form with your very favorite holiday recipe:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

Here’s a peek at the prizes we’re offering so far for various categories:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From SavingDinner.com

3 month subscription (Value $15)

12 month subscription (Value $47)

Christmas for the Freezer menu (Value $10)

I’ll keep you updated as we find more prizes.  So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a very valuable prize!

Featured Article

Holiday cooking can get crazy.  If you have a houseful of hungry folks and a large number of dishes to cook and serve, you are bound to run into a chaotic moment or two.  Mine usually comes about the time I need to get the desserts in the oven. There I am holding my Apple Crisp, staring at an oven full of meat, potatoes, and vegetables.

This year I’m putting my crockpot to work to save me from this dilemma.  Click on the link below and find out how you can recreate your own favorite dessert recipes and make them in your crockpot to save you from some of the chaos:

Crockpot Dessert Recipes – Free Up Valuable Oven Space For Main Dishes

Recipe Sharing

This is one of the recipes I’ve recreated to make in my crockpot.  I hope you’ll give it a try:

Crockpot Spicy Apple Betty

• 3 pounds of crisp cooking apples
• 10 slices of hearty bread, crusts cut off and then bread cubed1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Wash the apples really well.  You don’t need to peel them – I don’t.  Cut each apple into eight wedges, and cut the core out.  Of course, if you have one of those nice combination apple corer and cutter, that’s even better.

Put the apple slices into your crockpot.  Then, in a separate bowl, combine the bread with all the other ingredients, tossing together so the spices and butter combine really well.

Spoon the mixture over the apples in the crockpot.  Put the cover on.  Turn crockpot to the LOW setting and let cook for 2 to 3 hours.  The apples should be cooked but not turn into mush.  This crockpot dessert is sort of like a combination Apple Brown Betty and Bread Pudding.

This dessert will serve about 6 people, more if you’re a little careful.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make this dessert go a little further, and for the extra sweetness!  Very tasty!

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

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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 Comfort Zone
~unknown author~

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn’t fail.
The same four walls and busy work were really more like jail.
I longed so much to do the things I’d never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn’t matter that I wasn’t doing much.
I said I didn’t care for things like commission checks and such.
I claimed to be so busy with things inside my zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn’t let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I’d never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.

If you’re in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile;
Success is there for you!

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

October 27th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

I know many of us are feeling the pinch of a slow economy.  Our income is getting stretched thinner and thinner as we try to make ends meet.  One of my friends, Jill Cooper, knows about getting the most mileage out of a dollar.  And, this week Jill is offering her ebook on the subject for HALF PRICE!  Be sure to check out this week’s sponsor to see just what a Penny Pinchin’ Mama can do with a limited income.

Since last week, we have been very busy putting together a little fun here at HBHW.  With our thoughts turning to cooking up a storm for the upcoming holidays, we naturally have started thinking about our favorite holiday recipes.  How would you like to join in the fun? Please be sure to scroll down and see what we have in store for you during our Holiday Recipe Contest.

Our featured article may be just what you need to get a head-start on holiday baking.  If you’re making your favorite cookies ahead of time to freeze, you’ll find the featured article useful for tips about freezing your cookies or cookie dough.  Please scroll down and check out the article for great tips as well as tasty recipes to get you started on your holiday baking.

Please also remember, this is the last week to check out this fun contest. Front Porch Ideas and More is hosting an Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest during the month of October. If you like decorating your porch this time of the year, you will enjoy all the ideas that Mary and Dave have for your porch. You could win a $100 or $50 gift certificate from Plow & Hearth. Learn more about their fun contest here: Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest.

This week’s quote and story are about being grateful and how sometimes we lose site of the wonderful gifts that gratefulness can bring. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on today’s quote and story.

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

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~Marcus Tullius Cicero~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Penny Pinching Mama

Are you overwhelmed with debt and don’t know what to do?  There is hope!

My friend Jill Cooper knows a thing or two about living on a tight budget. She raised two teenagers on $500 per month. Since then, she has used her expertise to write some of the most highly regarded money-saving guides on the internet. Her e-book Penny Pinchin’ Mama is no exception.

In this informative guide, Jill shares 500 ways she raised a family on $500 a month.  These are practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income.

And, because Jill understands what it’s like to be struggling and  pinchin’ pennies, she is offering this fabulous ebook at HALF PRICE! Yes, you can get Penny Pinchin’ Mama for ONLY $6.48!  This is a limited time offer, so order your copy today.

In this ebook you will learn:

• How to get out of debt – even with a low income!
• How to handle emergencies without using credit cards
• How to find great deals month after month
• How living with teenagers doesn’t have to break the budget

Are you ready to order your copy of Penny Pinchin’ Mama yet?  There is no reason to wait because your order is totally risk free!  And best of all, at only $6.48 this is an affordable ebook that will return your investment many times over.

This HALF PRICE offer is only good this week so don’t wait -  click here to order this incredible e-book at absolutely no risk and start saving money and getting out of debt TODAY no matter how limited your income is!

Holiday Recipe Contest

We are quickly approaching some of our most festive holidays.  And, these holidays usually mean lots of family recipes being pulled out of boxes, binders, and books.  I’m sure you have many family favorites that you have made year after year for your own holiday meals.

How would you like to share those recipes and get them posted here at HBHW?  What’s more, how would you like to win a great prize for your family’s recipe and get your recipe included in a nice little ebook for each participant?

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/favorite-holiday-recipes-contest.htm

That’s what we’ve been up to here at HBHW.  Because one of my favorite parts of this site is the exchange of recipes, I felt that a Holiday Recipe Contest would be a lot of fun.

If you have a favorite holiday recipe you’d like to share, be sure to check out the contest details by clicking on this link.  Here’s a peek at the prizes we’re offering so far for various categories:

From HillbillyHousewife.com

• A copy of the Crockpot Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Freezer Cooking Guide
• A copy of the Meal Planning Guide

From MealPlanningCentral.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

From DineWithoutWhine.com

• Lifetime Membership
• Six Month Membership
• Three Month Membership

I’ll keep you updated as we find more prizes.  So, get your very favorite holiday recipe out and submit it to us here at HBHW.  Just click on the link here and look for the submission form.  It’s easy and fun… and you might just win a very valuable prize!

Featured Article

Last week we talked about freezer cooking and how stocking your freezer can save a lot of time and stress during busy dinner times in your home. The same can be said for holiday times. With a freezer stocked with cookies and cookie dough, holiday baking becomes more relaxed and fun.  Click on the link below and get tips, tricks, and recipes for freezing cookies and cookie dough:

Freezer Cookie Recipes and Tips For Freezing Cookies and Cookie Dough

Recipe Sharing

This is a recipe I like this time of year because it’s pumpkin, but different. I hope you’ll give it a try:

Pumpkin Mousse

Light and fluffy, this Pumpkin Mousse makes for a great dessert.

• 1 package (4-serving size) butterscotch instant pudding mix
• 1 cup milk (reconstituted powdered milk is fine)
• 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground ginger
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 container (8 oz) whipped topping (or make your own whipped topping)

In a large bowl whisk the milk and pudding mix until thickened. Next add the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pumpkin and continue to whisk until blended.

Save 1/4 cup of the whipped topping for garnish and fold the rest into the pudding mixture.

Refrigerate for an hour or until the mousse is set. Top with remaining whipped topping for garnish.

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

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Inspirational Story

Paid in Full
~author unknown~

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his father and said “with all your money, you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father’s house, a sudden feeling of sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still gift-wrapped Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11, “And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him?”

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God’s blessings because we can’t see past our own desires?

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

October 20th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

If you’re like me, your calendar is quickly filling up for the fall and winter months.  It’s amazing how our kids’ schedule gets first billing while we have to work in what we can – even dinnertime.

That’s why I have long relied on a full freezer for those days when there is no way I will have time to spend in the kitchen preparing a meal.  Along with stocking frozen meats and vegetables, I try to keep a supply of casseroles, soups, and breads neatly tucked away in the freezer ready and waiting.  This week I’m featuring my Freezer Cooking Made Simple ebook to give you a chance to explore the possibilities of freezer cooking in your home.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to see what freezer cooking has to offer you.

I’ve also featured an article about freezer cooking this week.  To be fair, cooking a month’s worth of meals at one time isn’t for everybody.  That’s why we need options.  In both my ebook and the featured article, you will find lots of ways to tweak your freezer cooking schedule to suit your own individual preferences.  I have friends who enjoy cooking for the freezer once a month and I have friends who only freeze prepared ingredients to throw together in a recipe when needed.  Both systems work well.  Please read the featured article and see how easy it is to design your own system.

This week’s quote and story were somewhat inspired by freezer cooking.  Stocking the freezer feels like a very old fashioned notion; similar to stocking the root cellar and canning the fall harvest.  Sometimes, old ideas are good ideas, and simple things are good things.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read this week’s quote and story.

Please also remember to check out this fun little contest. Front Porch Ideas and More is hosting an Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest during the month of October. If you like decorating your porch this time of the year, you will enjoy all the ideas that Mary and Dave have for your porch. You could win a $100 or $50 gift certificate from Plow & Hearth. Learn more about their fun contest here: Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest.

We are holding a little contest right here at HBHW as well.  We are just now putting the finishing touches on a fun Holiday Recipe Contest. We’re busy collecting prizes and will let you know soon where to submit your own special holiday recipes.  Be sure to watch for more details in the following weeks.

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

To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones.
~Nicholas Charles Trublet~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Freezer Cooking Made Simple

Freezer cooking is a term that many of you are familiar with.  Although stocking up for the winter is an old fashioned idea, freezer cooking has been enjoying a resurgence among younger homemakers.

For many reasons, cooking frugal meals has become a number 1 concern for many of us.  Whether due to the economy or just out of a general sense of providing stability and nutritious meals for our families, homemakers are anxious to learn how to stock their freezers. Just the feeling you get knowing the freezer is full can give you a nice secure feeling; not to mention all that extra time you’ll have not running around trying to figure out what’s for dinner each night.

You can just cook dishes and throw them in the freezer, but there is a better way.  With a well thought out system and a well organized shopping list, your freezer cooking day can produce more dishes faster and with less effort.  Here’s a glimpse at what Freezer Cooking Made Simple has to offer:

• How to make your first few freezer meals and what you need to get started.
• What foods will freeze well and what foods you should stay away from in your freezer cooking.
• It’s time to to stock your freezer with a week’s worth of dinners (complete with recipes and grocery list).
• Strategies for getting these meals prepared quickly and safely.
• How to keep your freezer stocked and make the most of these simple and delicious freezer meals.

Are you ready to order your copy of Freezer Cooking Made Simple yet?  There is no reason to wait because your order is totally risk free!  And best of all, at only $9.95 this is an affordable ebook that will return your investment many times over.

Click here to order this incredible e-book at absolutely no risk and start stocking your freezer and saving money TODAY!

Featured Article

Not everyone (me included) is cut out for once a month freezer cooking. Some people prefer to fill their freezers with a once a week cooking day, or even by freezing prepared ingredients rather than full meals. Please take a moment to read this week’s featured article written by Peg Baron to find out more about how you can design a freezer cooking schedule that fits your style:

Once A Month Freezer Cooking Alternatives

Recipe Sharing

Having a freezer full of meals is a great way to save time and to take advantage of sales when you find them.  Your freezer is like a vault – the food in there only increases in value as grocery prices rise.  I’d like to share a recipe that my family always enjoys.  I hope you’ll give it a try:

Chicken Mini Muffin

• 3/4 C shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 3/4 C baking mix
• 1 C skim milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C chicken breast meat, cooked and chopped fine

In a large mixing bowl mix together the two cheeses, the milk and the baking mix.
Be sure the baking mix is completely moistened.
Add the salt and chicken and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray the mini muffin tin cups with a non stick cooking spray.
Pour the batter into each muffin cup filling them 2/3 full.
Bake 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.

These make a great appetizer for that special party. Kids even like them for lunch or as an evening snack.

Click on this link for even more recipes for mini freezer muffins. You’ll find recipes that are sure to become your family’s favorites, like these corn dog muffins.  Learn How to Freeze Muffins and stock your freezer with great treats for the whole family, all ready and waiting.

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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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

God’s Coffee
~Author Unknown~

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

“If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.

God brews the coffee, not the cups………. Enjoy your coffee!”

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

October 13th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Most families share two things each fall:  back to school and dinnertime chaos.  One solution I have found for those busy days is to have dinner ready and waiting at home when we get there.  For that reason, my crockpot gets a workout each fall.  Want to learn more about how crockpot cooking saves you from dinnertime chaos?  Be sure to scroll down and read this week’s featured article.

Once you’re convinced that crockpot cooking will save you time and money, you’ll want all the details about how to get started cooking in your crockpot.  But, perhaps even more importantly, you’ll want the recipes!  Please take a look at our crockpot cookbook featured this week.

My efforts to get a meal in the crockpot several mornings each week got me thinking about goals, especially meaningful goals.  The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week reflect my thoughts about goal setting.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read this week’s quote and story.

As a little reminder, I want to tell you about a fun little contest. Front Porch Ideas and More is hosting an Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest during the month of October. If you like decorating your porch this time of the year, you will enjoy all the ideas that Mary and Dave have for your porch. You could win a $100 or $50 gift certificate from Plow & Hearth. Learn more about their fun contest here: Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest.

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

The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business… or almost anywhere else for that matter.
~Lee Iacocca~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend Crockpot Cooking Made Simple

The crockpot has become indispensable in many busy households.  Why?

Picture coming home to a delicious and filling meal on one of those chaotic evenings after school and work.

Picture no more stopping at the grocery store in a rush after work to pick up something to cook for your hungry family.

Picture the money you’ll save by not ordering out pizza or driving through the fast food place on your way home after picking up the kids from soccer, piano lessons, theater, or whatever your busy days require.

Now we’ve got you thinking,  “this crockpot cooking thing could be good.”  Yes, crockpot cooking can be very very good, indeed.  Now that you are thinking about dragging your crockpot down from the pantry shelf, or even buying a new crockpot, you need some information.

How would you like ONE RESOURCE for everything you need to know about crockpot cooking like:

• what to look for in a new crockpot
• how to care for your crockpot
• what cooking techniques can turn you into a crockpot pro
• how to easily convert favorite recipes into crockpot recipes

Once you have all these basics down, you’ll be ready for the fun.  Of course we mean the Recipes!  In this resource, you’ll find almost 500 recipes plus tips to make your crockpot meals come out perfect every time.

Here are just a few of the recipes you’ll find in this incredible cookbook:

• Take It from the Pantry Soup
• Stew Meat Vegetable Soup
• Cheddar, Ham and Broccoli Soup
• Sautéed Curry Chicken Soup
• Kid Favorite Alphabet Soup
• Shepherds Crock Pot Casserole
• Shoestring Potato and Tuna Casserole
• Creamy Mushroom Beef Dinner

Are you ready to order your copy of Crockpot Cooking Made Simple yet?  There is no reason to wait because your order is totally risk free!  Click here to order this incredible e-book at absolutely no risk and start saving time and money TODAY with your copy of  Crockpot Cooking Made Simple.

Featured Article

If you haven’t been convinced yet that crockpot cooking is the way to go, this article is worth a read.  You’ll find well researched and thought out reasons exactly how and why crockpot cooking works to save you time and money.  Please take a moment to read this week’s featured article to find out more:

How Crockpot Cooking Saves Both Time And Money

Recipe Sharing

When you’re ready to fire up the crockpot, you’re going to want a couple family-pleasing recipes.  Here is one recipe that my family particularly enjoys, and I like too because it’s super easy with only 4 ingredients:

4 Ingredient Chicken Chili In The Crockpot

• 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.

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

Meaningless Goals
~author unknown~

A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside waiting for vehicles to come around.  As soon as one came he would run down the road, barking and trying to overtake it.

One day a neighbor asked the farmer “Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?”

The farmer replied, “That is not what bothers me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one.”

Old joke with a meaningful moral:

Many people in life behave like that dog; they go about pursuing meaningless goals.

Set meaningful goals.  Then the work you do to achieve your goals will be just as meaningful.

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

September 29th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. We’ve got another exciting offer, this time from our good friends at LivingOnADime.com.  I hope you’ll check it out.

This week we are talking about grocery shopping on a budget. With that in mind, many of us think about buying in bulk and really stocking our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator.  Some folks are not lucky enough to have large kitchens and freezers so stocking up may not be an option.  Check out this week’s featured article to see how to save money on groceries even with a small pantry.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week are about being frugal.  There are a lot of reasons to be frugal, and it’s not all about saving money. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on this week’s quote and story.

Last but not least, I want to tell you about a fun little contest. Front Porch Ideas and More is hosting an Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest during the month of October. If you like decorating your porch this time of the year, you will enjoy all the ideas that Mary and Dave have for your porch. You could win a $100 or $50 gift certificate from Plow & Hearth. Learn more about their fun contest here: Autumn and Halloween Porch Decorating Contest.

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

Be a thrifty steward of thy goods.
~Sophocles~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend  GROCERY SHOPPING ON A BUDGET e-Course

This week we are fortunate again to share in a great money saving offer.  Our friends Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam of LivingOnADime.com have come up with a fabulous offer you do not want to miss.

When you see the words 50% off don’t you just need to take a peek?  I know the words “half off” bring out the shopper in me!

However, I don’t just want to save money, I want VALUE for my money – even if it is half price.  That’s what Jill and Tawra have come up with in this special offer.  Let’s take a look at what you get. First, you’ll get three informative ebooks filled with tips, ideas, and real strategies to save money.

• Grocery Shopping On A Budget
• Money Saving Meats
• Saving On Cleaning Supplies

Just the  “Grocery Shopping On A Budget” 3 e-book series would be worth the price, but Jill and Tawra are throwing in 4 bonus downloads.  Take a look at the bonuses:

• Eating Healthy On A Budget
• Is Eating Out Eating You Up?
• 224 Meals In A Hurry
• Grocery Savings

This entire package is valued at $57.75 and sells normally for only $19.95.  But if you order by the end of this week, you can get the entire series, including the 4 bonuses for HALF PRICE!  That’s only $9.98!  Remember, that’s for this week only so click here to order today!

Of course, there is never any risk to try this Grocery Shopping On A Budget e-Course series because Jill and Tawra offer a 60-day 100% risk-free money back guarantee.  Yes, you can give this series a good 60 day spin around the block and if you don’t find that it offers you value for your money, you can return it, no questions asked.

There is no reason to pass this offer up!  Click on the link here to order this incredible e-Course at absolutely no risk.  Be sure to order today as this offer is good for this week only.

Click on here and start saving money TODAY!

Featured Article

Saving money on groceries often includes buying in large quantities – but not always.  Be sure to check out this week’s featured article to access a very informative report on how to plan, shop for, and execute frugal meals even when space is tight.

Frugal Living Without A Big Pantry

Recipe Sharing

Since we’re talking today about food and especially food on a budget, I thought I’d share one of the frugal recipes posted here at HBHW.  I hope you’ll find time to try this delicious dish soon:

Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

• 1 cup dried red beans
• 4 cups water, (or more if needed)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco pepper sauce
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (or 1/4 cup onion flakes)
• 1 finely chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves chopped garlic (or a good dash of garlic powder)
• 1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, sliced
• 2 cups diced ham
• salt and pepper to taste

Sort through your beans and add them to your crock pot along with the water. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or until the beans are tender. If you prefer, you can also cook the beans on low overnight. Just increase the water to 5 cups.

Add the seasonings, vegetables and meat. Cook on low for another 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. You may need to add a little more water if the mixture gets to thick.

Serve with cooked white rice.

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

A Frugal Living Poem
~Lao Tzu~

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize.
The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility,
which keeps me from putting myself before others.
Be gentle and you can be bold;
be frugal and you can be liberal;
avoid putting yourself before others and
you can become a leader among men.

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

September 23rd, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. Thank you for your patience while I worked to pull this newsletter together.  I know it will be worth the wait once you take a look at the special offer our sponsor has for you.

I am also featuring an article in which I interview our sponsor, Christine Steendahl of Menu Planning Center.  I hope you’ll scroll down and click on the link to this article as I know you’ll find so many useful tips and ideas for your own family’s meals.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week are about meals, or more specifically, sharing meals.  Since meals and meal planning are on my mind, I thought I’d find a story and quote that reflects my feelings about food. I hope you’ll take a moment or two out of your busy day to read and reflect on this week’s quote and story.

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

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
~Buddha~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend  Meal Planning System

Today’s sponsor is one I definitely don’t want you to scroll by.  Christine Steendahl of Menu Planning Central is making you an offer you simply should not refuse.  Anytime you see a Half-off Sale you just have to stop and take a look, right?  I know I do!

Christine’s Meal Planning System is something I’ve used for years and, believe me, it has saved me more money than I dreamed possible.  And not just money, but that other valuable commodity – time.

Of course, the Meal Planning System alone is a steal at 50% off, but Christine is throwing in some more goodies! Free with your order today are these 8 bonus gifts worth over $178 if purchased separately:

• Family Brunch Recipes
• Family Routines
• Fun Foods For Kids
• Healthy Meals and Snacks
• More Energy For Mom
• Quick and Easy Breakfasts
• Easy Brown Bag Lunches
• Craft Ideas For Kids

Christine doesn’t stop there either.  When you order your Meal Planning System today at 50% off, she’ll also give you instant access to even more bonuses!  Christine wants you to know the pleasure of having meals on the table each and every day for less money and effort and is so committed to having you try this system that she offers you a full money back guarantee.

Try Christine’s Meal Planning System for 14 days risk free at this incredible Half-Off price of only $9.97 a month.  Or, you may want to sign up for a lifetime membership to the Meal Planning System for a special one-time low price.

Not sure this Meal Planning System is for you?  Maybe you’re not convinced yet that menu planning really saves money.  If not, please take just a few minutes and click on to get a sneak peek of all the Meal Planning System has to offer.  Be sure to scroll down and watch the video, too.  Then click on to order and enjoy this risk free offer at half price.  Don’t wait – this offer expires Friday!

Click on here and start saving time and money TODAY!

Featured Article

As I mentioned earlier, this week’s featured article is an interview that I did with Christine Steendahl, The Menu Mom.  She shares some great tips and ideas, as well as her own favorite recipe!  Be sure to click on the article link below and read how Christine figured out the ins-and-outs of saving money by planning her family’s meals.

Family Meal Planning – An Interview With Christine Steendahl

Recipe Sharing

Since we’re talking today about food and sharing meals, I thought I’d share one of the recipes posted here at HBHW.  I hope you’ll find time to try this delicious dish soon:

Homemade Split Pea Soup

• meaty ham bone
• 8 cups water
• 1 pkg split peas
• 1 cup carrots (grated)
• 1 cup onions (diced)
• 1 cup celery (chopped)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Place all ingredients into a large pot and cook on low heat for about 3 hours. Most of the meat will fall off the bone while cooking. You should remove the remaining meat from the bone to put back into the soup and dispose of the bone.

For a finer, smooth consistency place soup into a blender after cooking and “pulse” until you get your desired consistency.

You can also cook this soup in the crockpot. About 3 hours on high or 5 to 6 hours on low will do the trick.

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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

A Very Special Meal
~Mirabai Chrin~

Once there was a very poor and devoted woman who always prayed to the Glory of God, asking very little, if anything for herself. But one thought, one desire continued to recur and finally she asked: petitioning the Lord, that if it were possible she would love to prepare a special meal and have God share at her table. And God, in His Love for this goodly woman, said He would indeed come the next day and share a meal.

Filled with ecstasy, the woman went out the following morning with her meager purse and purchased such delicacies that she felt would please the Lord.

Returning home, she prepared a banquet and waited patiently for her most honored guest. Soon there was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, there stood an old beggar asking for something to eat. Being a woman of God, she could not turn the beggar away, so she invited him in to partake of her table. The beggar felt as if he was in a dream – such a feast set before him. He finished all the food, thanked his hostess and left.

The woman was only slightly disheartened, she gathered up her purse, her coat, and hurried back to town to get more food for her special guest. Her funds were less now and so the food was not quite so elaborate. Nonetheless, she lovingly prepared another meal and sat to await the arrival of the Almighty.

A few hours went by and there was a loud knock on the door. This time it was an old gypsy woman with no teeth, who was deaf, who spoke quite loudly and was, rather rudely, insisting that any true believer in the Lord would not deny her something to eat.

Though the woman had no more money with which to buy more supplies, she invited the woman in and offered her a seat at the table. The gypsy ate everything, did not even thank the woman and left without closing the door.

By now it was beginning to get dark both inside and out. The woman’s faith was strong, so that, though somewhat distraught, she did not give up, but rather, looked around her humble house to see if there was anything she could sell in order to buy more food to set before the Lord.

She hurried to town with a little silver cup that had been in her family for several generations, but she was willing to part with it for the great honor that God was going to bestow on her – the sharing of a meal.

Late in the night she rushed home to prepare yet a third meal. She waited and waited until, once more, there was a knock on the door. Holding her breath, she slowly opened the door to find yet another poor man in the guise of a wandering monk, in search of a meal.

Again, she offered hospitality, with as much grace as she could muster in her disappointment. This man also ate all that was set on the table and left after blessing the woman for her kindness. So discouraged and dismayed was she that all she could do was nod slightly, in acknowledgment of the thanks.

Now it was too late, with no way to buy any more food and no more money with which to buy it. She got down on her knees, weeping such heart-broken tears. She asked God what she had done wrong. Why had God not come to share at the table as He had promised?

And God, in all His Divine Compassion and Mercy, lifted the woman off her knees, and holding her close to His Heart, said, “My child, I enjoyed your hospitality so much that I came three times!”

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

September 15th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Are you settling into your fall routine?  We have a full calendar, as usual, and the days seem pretty tightly scheduled.  But, we’ll get back into the swing of things, like we always do.  We’re looking forward to some crisp fall days and nights and hopefully a lazy day or two thrown in to enjoy.

The article I’m sharing with you this week is about a subject I’ve been confused about for quite some time; good and bad cholesterol.  Most people have heard those terms, but many people, myself included, don’t really understand the difference or what it means to our health.  This article clears up the confusion quite nicely.  Be sure to scroll down and click on the link for this informative article.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week are about the rewards and success we have when we finally focus on one thing and one thing only.  I hope you’ll take one of your moments today to read and reflect on this week’s quote and story.

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

Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.
~Anthony Robbins~

Sponsor

I Highly Recommend  Crockpot Cooking Made Simple

Want to learn more about how to use your crockpot to feed your hungry family easily, while saving money and time?

Get all the information, recipes, and tips you need with my Crockpot Cooking Made Simple ebook. I’ve included tips for buying and caring for your crockpot as well as some simple instructions that will allow you to convert regular recipes into slowcooker dishes.

You’ll also find over 500 recipes for anything from main dishes to soups and stews and even dessert and drink recipes for the crockpot.

Click on here and buy it today to start saving money and time with your next meal!

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

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!

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

Our friends at the Club have been discussing everything from eating well on a tight budget to knitting.  Along with these discussions, we’ve been sharing recipes, too. Here is a recipe I posted at the Club that I’d like to share with you:

Overnight Strata For A Crowd

• 16 slices good white bread like potato bread or oat bread, crusts cut off and both sides buttered lightly
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced into thin circles
• 1  medium onion, sliced into thin circles
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
• 12 oz shredded Cheddar cheese

• 7 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups or milk
• 1 1/2  tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

Butter a large rectangular casserole dish.  Lay 8 slices of bread in dish, top evenly with tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers.  Take about 2/3 of the Cheddar cheese and sprinkle on top.  Cover with remaining 8 slices of bread.

In separate bowl, beat together with a fork the eggs, milk, and seasonings.  Pour this mixture over the top of the bread in casserole.  Be sure this liquid reaches the top of the bread.  If it doesn’t, add more milk/egg mixture; make a batch using a 1 egg to 1/2 cup milk ratio (no need to add more seasonings).

Now distribute the remaining Cheddar cheese over the top and cover the dish with tin foil.  Put in refrigerator overnight.

To cook:  Take out of the refrigerator 1 hour before putting in oven.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake casserole for 1- 1/4 hour to 1- 1/2 hour or until eggs are completely set and knife inserted into the middle of dish comes out clean.  Let stand at room temperature (uncovered) for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

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

• Doubly Cheesy Chilies Casserole
  
• 4 Ingredient Flour Tortillas
  
• 4 Ingredient Popovers
  
• Southern Stewed Tomatoes & Okra

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 Article

If cholesterol is as confusing to you as it is to me, you’ll appreciate this article written by an expert in the field, Deborah Land.  You’ll quickly learn how to identify good cholesterol and bad cholesterol.  More importantly, you’ll find out how to identify the foods that keep you healthy. Please click on the link below and give this week’s featured article a read:

How I Learned to Lower Cholesterol Through Diet

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

Focus Your Thinking
~Brian Cavanaugh~

On a clear, bright sunny day take powerful magnifying glass and a stack of newspapers and go outside for an experiment. Hold the magnifying glass over a pile of crumpled pages. Even though you are magnifying the power of the sun’s rays through the glass lens, you will never start a fire – if you keep moving the glass.

But if you hold the magnifying glass still, allowing it to focus the rays in a concentrated beam of sun energy, you harness the power of the sun and multiply it through the lens – starting a fire.

Focusing also works with your power of thought! Try it and ignite your wandering ideas.
.

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

September 8th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

Labor Day here in the USA is often the last chance families can take a nice trip before really settling into their fall routine.  It’s a three day weekend that often has us frantically trying to squeeze in an outdoor barbecue, picnic, boat ride, and anything that reminds us of the last few months of summer.

We ended up going camping in Huntington State Park with family and friends. Though it was hot and I’m still covered in mosquito bites, it was a fun trip and we made lots of great memories. By sharing a campsite with friends and cooking almost all meals at the campsite, it ended up being a very frugal trip with gas cost being our highest expense.

The article I’m sharing with you this week is about cooking delicious meals with your crockpot even if you are on a restricted diet. Be sure to scroll down and click on the link for this informative article.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week are about seizing your moments and making the most of them.  I hope you’ll take one of your moments today to read and reflect on this week’s quote and story.

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

Why always “not yet”?  Do flowers in spring say “not yet”?
~Norman Douglas~

Sponsor

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Want to learn more about how to use your crockpot to feed your hungry family easily, while saving money and time?

Get all the information, recipes, and tips you need with my Crockpot Cooking Made Simple ebook. I’ve included tips for buying and caring for your crockpot as well as some simple instructions that will allow you to convert regular recipes into slowcooker dishes.

You’ll also find over 500 recipes for anything from main dishes to soups and stews and even dessert and drink recipes for the crockpot.

Click on here and buy it today to start saving money and time with your next meal!

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

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!

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

Our friends at the Club have been discussing everything from gluten free recipes to homemade Christmas gifts.  Along with the discussions, we’ve been sharing recipes. Here is a recipe I posted at the Club that I’d like to share with you:

Savory Slow-Roasted Chicken

• 1 whole large roasting chicken
• salt and pepper to taste

basting sauce:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 lemon, squeezed and zested
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp. vinegar
• dash Tabasco (or other hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

In sauce pan, combine all basting sauce ingredients, stir well, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Wash chicken and pat dry.  Rub inside and out with salt and black pepper.  Place on rack in roasting pan.  Take baster and squirt all basting sauce over entire chicken, inside and out.  Cover chicken with roasting pan cover or foil.

Put in 275 degree oven for 30 minutes, removing cover and basting twice.

After 30 minute cooking time, remove cover or foil and cook uncovered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (depending on size of bird) at 275 degrees, basting every 30 minutes during this cooking time.

Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before carving.

This is a meal that you need to be actively involved in.  You can’t just set the oven and walk away.  The basting is what makes the chicken taste so wonderful.  Plan to cook this meal when you’re busy in the kitchen or house anyway.

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

• Quick Skillet Chicken & Vegetable Meal
• Herbed Corn & Ground Beef Casserole
• Ham & Double Cheese Pie
• Classic Cheddar Ham Quiche

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 Article

Oftentimes when people go on special diets they set aside their trusted friend the crockpot.  The good news is you don’t usually have to.  There are many recipes out there that use ingredients that will fit a low-glycemic diet, for instance.  (Think South Beach).  Please click on the link below and give this week’s featured article a read:

Crockpot Cooking on a Low Glycemic Diet

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

Finding Pennies – Losing Living
~author unknown~

There was a small boy who when walking down the street one day found a bright copper penny. He was so excited that he found money and it didn’t cost him anything. This experience led him to spend the rest of his days walking with his head down, eyes wide open, looking for treasure.

During his lifetime he found 296 pennies, 48 nickels, 19 dimes, 16 quarters, 2 half dollars and one crinkled dollar bill. For a total of $13.96.

He got money for nothing. Except that he missed the breathless beauty of 31,369 sunsets, the colorful splendor of 157 rainbows, the fiery beauty of hundreds of maples nipped by autumn’s frost. He never saw white clouds drifting across blue skies, shifting into various wondrous formations. Birds flying, sun shining, and the smiles of a thousand passing people are not a part of his memory.

Who do you know that is living like this; head is bent down burdened with trivial things afraid of pain and criticism and fear of things that never happen hoping to find that copper penny…for nothing.

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

July 28th, 2010

Editorial

Hello again and welcome to another edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter.

It will be back-to-school before we know it so let’s get into some serious summertime fun.  What does summertime fun mean to me?  A cookout!  My friend Cheryl over at Celebrations.com has created a cookout with all the makings of a day on the open range in the Wild Wild West.  There are recipes for kids and grownups, as well as decoration and entertainment ideas.  Be sure to click on this link to find everything you need for a Cowboy Themed Summer Cookout.

This week’s featured article brings back a very popular subject from the past; the $45 Emergency Menu.  However, as we all know, the cost of food has risen somewhat since the time I posted that article.  So, I have tweaked the menu to more closely reflect today’s grocery prices.  Be sure to take a look at the featured article this week.

The inspirational quote and story I’ve chosen this week are about you; more importantly what you do with your life.  Are you hindering your growth and happiness?

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

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Sponsor

Keepin’ It Clean E-book Series

Aside from groceries, another large expense in most households is laundry.  We are literally throwing money down the drain!

Every time you buy laundry detergent and softener, do you cringe, like me?

And, when it comes to laundry, it isn’t only the money; it’s the time and effort it takes to get the laundry done, folded, and put away.

Finally, I can report that I have gotten a handle on my laundry woes.  I found the answers in this great laundry guide from my friends at LivingOnADime.com

Won’t you take a minute and look at what this E-book has to offer?  Just click on this link and learn how to start saving time and money today:
Keepin’ It Clean E-book Series

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!

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

Our friends at the Club have been discussing canning.  We’ve received some great tips from a long-time canner, along with quite a few recipes.  Here is one of the recipes I posted on the Club that I’d like to share with you:

Old Fashioned Canned Tomato Juice

If you like a salty tomato juice, you’ll want to salt it when you drink it, not before you can it. This tomato juice makes a wonderful marinade or tenderizer for meat.  It’s especially good for any kind of crockpot stew or roast that you make with a less expensive cut of meat.  For any recipe you use, just substitute this tomato juice for some or all of the diced tomatoes you might add.

25 lbs. of tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
14 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh or bottled)

Prepare the quart size canning jars and two piece lids according the manufacturer’s instructions.
Place the tomatoes into a large cooking pot and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Stirring often cook the tomatoes for 30 minutes or until very soft.
Press the tomato mixture through a sieve to separate the juice from the skins and seeds.
Place the juice back into the pot and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Simmer the juice for 5 additional minutes.
Pour the juice into the prepared jars leaving a 1/2 inch head space.
Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each jar.
Release the air bubbles and add more juice if necessary to achieve the 1/2 inch head space.
Wipe off the jar rims and seal down the caps by hand.
Process the jars in a water bath canner for 45 minutes from the point of boiling.
Remove the jars with a jar lifter and place on clean towels in a draft free area to cool.
Check the seals before storing and place any jars with tops that did not seal in the refrigerator.
Use any refrigerated juice within 2 weeks.

Makes 7 quarts

A metal colander works fine for the sieve.

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

• Anytime Strawberry Jam
  
• Fresh Green Sweet Peas
  
• Handy Canned Onions
  
• Pressure Canned Greens

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 Article

For many families on a tight budget, the most effective way to cut costs is in their grocery bill each month.  This one expense is something we feel we have control over.  Planning a menu in detail, with each item chosen for greatest cost savings, can help a family truly stick to a limited budget.

That’s why I developed a menu plan that is easy to follow, including specific dishes with recipes included.  Most people I talk to want and need a plan to follow in order to save real money, and stick to a budget.

Won’t you take a few minutes to read the article and see how you can really save on your grocery bill?  Just click on the link below:
$70 Menu for 4 to 6

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

You Are
~author unknown~

One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St. Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.”

At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: “Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he’s no longer here!”

One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.”

YOU are the only person who can revolutionize your life.
YOU are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success.
YOU are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes.

Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that YOU ARE the only one responsible for your life.

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

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~

Sponsor

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

Here we are right in the midst of the summer vacation time.  You may already have restless kids on your hands.  You may even find the heat too unbearable to go outside and need inside activities to keep those little hands busy.

How would you like over 200 pages of  kid-created and kid-tested ideas to  keep your little ones busy over the 4th of July holiday and all summer long?

When you order Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons you’ll receive hundreds of fresh ideas, and a great bonus,  Little Kid Paper Plate Crafts. That’s almost 400 pages of crafts for kids as young as 2 years old.

Be sure to check out this valuable book and take advantage of the bonus offer today! For only $19.95 you’ll receive two great sources with almost 400 pages of kid-tested crafting projects. This may be the summer you finally avoid hearing those dreaded words:  “We’re bored!”

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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" start_item=""]

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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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

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.

Be sure to check out this valuable book and take advantage of the bonus offer today! For only $19.95 you’ll receive two great sources with almost 400 pages of kid-tested crafting projects. This may be the summer you never hear the words “We’re bored!” again.

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!

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:

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 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

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

March 10th,  2010

Editorial

I’m still hopeful that warm breezes are coming soon.  Are you?  After some long winter months with several unexpected storms, it seems as if we’ll have to wait just a little longer for spring at our house.

But, when the weather finally breaks, I’m taking the family for a nice, long stroll through the countryside.  If you’re thinking that sounds like a good idea, you’ll want to check out our feature article to see how you can make a walk in the country a learning adventure with the help of a great website I found.

This week’s inspirational story and quote are both about saying yes;  yes to your dreams and yes to your abilities.  Are you dreaming about a better life, or are you living a better life?  Are you saying ‘Yes’ I can do this and ‘Yes’ I can make this happen?  Take a minute to reflect on this if you will.

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

P.S. Don’t forget about the Crockpot Cooking Made Simple sale. You can still get the guide, recipe collection and 5 bonuses for 50% off here:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ty

Crockpot Cooking Made Simple 50% OFF

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ty

Inspirational Quote

The secret to living the life of your dreams is to START living the life of your dreams.

– Mike Dooley -

Have You Taken Part In Our Newest Cookbook?

We are almost ready to complete our collection of easy “throw together” meals which will feature many of your recipes.  But, we have room for more, so be sure to gather your recipes for easy, 5 or fewer ingredients, and get them emailed to me at frugal.folks.hbhw@gmail.com as soon as possible.

I know many of you have created great meals with little to go on but what’s left in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer after you’ve exhausted the grocery money.  I hope you’ll take a minute to share those recipes with us so we can get them published in our new eCookbook.

Be sure to include the history of your creation along with the ingredients and simple cooking directions.  That’s all there is to it.

Please email your recipes to me at frugal.folks.hbhw@gmail.com so I can include them.  I’ll keep you informed on when we’ll be releasing this fun new eCookbook resource.  Of course, if you submit a recipe, the eCookbook will be my gift to you.

News From The HBHW Club

The interview with my friend Christine Steendahl of TheMenuMom.com is ready for your review in the  Club resource.  In this interview, Christine and I discuss her menu planning tips and ideas, along with what she learned from her Freezer and Pantry Challenge.

You won’t want to miss this valuable resource.  You’ll learn Christine’s successful strategies for eating on a budget, not just when cooking meals mostly from the pantry and freezer, but year round.   Our discussion about meal planning, budgeting,  and coupon shopping will clear up some of those sticky problems we all have trying to plan meals and save money at the same time.

The audio recording of the interview is available as a resource to members in the Club area.  I’ve also included a written transcript along with the audio for those who prefer to read.  If you’d like to listen to this great, informative, and fun interview, click the link below to join the Club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

What’s been going on at the HBHW Club? Most of us are still in hibernation mode, but with the spring comes some new topics.

I’ll be poking my head into the forum more often to see what’s happening.  I hope you’ll join me there.

Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

After you check out the Freezer/Pantry Cooking resource, be sure to click on and take a stroll through some of the previous resources.  In case you’ve missed any, they should all be there so you can catch up on any you didn’t get a chance to read.  Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further.

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

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

Broccoli Corn & Stuffing Casserole

• 1 egg, beaten slightly with a fork
• 1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 1 small can cream style corn
• 1 Tblsp. onion, minced
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch black pepper

• 2 Tblsp butter or margarine
• 1 cup any seasoned stuffing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients.

In a saucepan, melt the butter or margarine and mix in the stuffing mix until coated well.  Stir 3/4 cup of the stuffing mix into the bowl with the broccoli/corn mixture and toss together.

Turn into a casserole dish and distribute the rest of the stuffing mix over the top.

Bake, uncovered, in 350 degree for 40 to 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

And here are a few more recipes that have recently been added to the member area.

• Country Style Molasses Cookies
• Easy Breakfast Bake
• Nutty Lemon Layer Dessert
• Creamy Crunchy Cabbage Bake

All in all, we have over 343 new recipes in the member area already.

One of my favorite part of the HBHW Club is the Member Forum. Here are just a few of the most recent posts.

Member Forum Posts

• New Resource: Freezer/Pantry Cooking Audio Interview with Christine Steendahl
• Catching Up With Each Other
  

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.

http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

Are you planning to get outside and enjoy a little nature?  How would you like to turn that stroll through the countryside into a frugal and fun learning experience for your family?

With just a little time,  you can turn your youngsters’ natural curiosity about the trees around them into a real learning experience.  Gather some leaves and cones and with the help of a great little website I found, you can identify the trees in your woods or neighborhood.  Check out this article and see how you and your family can enjoy some great frugal fun this spring.

Enjoy Frugal Family Fun Outdoors Identifying Trees

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

A Yes Face

Author – Charles Swindoll

During Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, he and a group of travelers were crossing a river that had overflowed its banks.  Each man crossed on horseback, fighting for his life.

A lone traveler watched the group traverse the treacherous river and then asked President Jefferson to take him across.

The President agreed without hesitation, the man climbed on, and the two made it safely to the other side of the river.

Somebody asked him,”Why did you select the President to ask this favor?” The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President of the United States who had carried him safely across.

The man said, “All I know is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No’ and on some of them was the answer ‘Yes.’ His was a ‘Yes’ face.”

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

February 3rd  2010

Editorial

I hope you had a great week. I had a very busy one. I spent Thursday – Monday at a conference in Atlanta. One of the highlights for me was to meet Scott from the Fatloss Quickie workout program in person. He is such a caring and warm person and has made it his mission to fight Obesity.

I did really well with the workout program for about a week, but sadly didn’t do a single one at the conference or since, but I’m determined to get back on that horse today. I decided to share my weightloss and fitness journey on the Healthy Hillbilly Housewife website and would love to have you join me. Look for it at  Healthy.HillbillyHousewife.com later today.

Now that things are slowly going back to normal, I’ll be working hard on finishing a recipe collection for the crockpot cooking made simple guide and I will let you know as soon as that is available.

Don’t miss this week’s inspirational story. It’s near and dear to my heart, because it is something I struggle with all the time. It’s so easy to get discouraged about anything you set out to do when you hear doubt from those around you. And as hard as it is to ignore, sometimes we just have to close our ears and go for it. One thing that helps me is to ask myself  “What’s the worst that could happen?” Since it is usually something silly like the fact that I may not lose as much weight as I’d like to or that someone tells me no they can’t do what I’d asked them to, it gets me over my doubts rather quickly.

Make an effort this week to become “deaf” to all those naysayers around you and just go for your goals.

That’s it for 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

Life is not about surviving the strom, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

News From The HBHW Club

This section is all about the HBHW Club. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

What has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking a lot about our financial goals for 2010 and about losing weight. In fact we just added a whole new section all about weightloss and exercise to the Hillbilly Housewife Club Forum. It’s a great place to post your goals, check in to see how other members with similar goals are doing and to support each other. It’s quickly becoming my favorite section. I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

There’s a new monthly resource report waiting for you in the HBHW Club area as well. It’s all about making and keeping resolutions in 2010. I did the lot of research and am sharing quite a few tips that have helped me over the years. The tips and strategies will apply to all common “New Year’s Resolution” type goals including losing weight, getting out of debt, stopping smoking, getting more sleep, exercising more, and finding some “Me” time.

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Sandbox Cake

This cake recipe is a great one to make with kids.  All the ingredients are mixed in the cake pan, the “sandbox”, then the kids get to dig holes in the dry ingredients and fill them with the wet ingredients.  This is one case where you can tell your kids that it’s alright to play with their food!

* 3 cups flour
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. salt
* 6 Tblsp. cocoa powder

* 3/4 cup oil
* 2 Tblsp. white vinegar
* 2 tsp. vanilla extract

* 2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In cake baking pan, mix together the first 5 ingredients.

Take your hands or a spoon and form 3 craters (or holes)  in the dry cake ingredients in pan, evenly spacing the craters.  Pour the oil in one crater, the vinegar in the second, and the vanilla in the third crater.  Slowly pour the cold water all over the top.

Take a fork and gently stir ingredients in cake pan until smooth.  Put the cake into your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until firm in the middle. Take out of oven and let cool.

Use any frosting you wish or serve unfrosted with a scoop of ice cream.

And here are a few more recipes that have recently been added to the member area.

• Pork Chop Dinner Casserole
• Quick Scalloped Potatoes
• Chicken Spaghetti Bake
• Mexican Monterey Jack Bake

All in all, we have over 290 new recipes in the member area already.

My favorite part of the HBHW Club is the Member Forum. Here are just a few of the most recent posts.

The Latest Member Forum Posts

• Allo!…
• Everything in moderation…
• Anyone Interested in a Weightloss / Exercise Section?…
• What’s Your Financial Goal For 2010?…
• New Year’s Resolutions…
• January Resource – Making and Keeping Your Resolutions…
• out of town…
• Vegetable Smoothies…
• It’s A Wrap…
• Slacking!…

Why don’t you join us and join in the conversation. I’d love to chat in the member area.

http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

It’s still very cold down here in the south. In fact, Monday was our first Snow Day at school for the year. I tend to get a bad case of the winter blues when it stays cold and gray for too long and I’m ready for spring. Thankfully, there are a few winter comfort dishes that always make me feel better – in addition to warming me right back up after an afternoon of playing in the snow and ice. I’ll share them and invite you to share your own in the article below.

Beat the Winter Chill with some Good Home Cooking.

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 going to be 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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" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

THE FROGS AND THE TOWER

Author Unknown

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs…

… who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants…

The race began…

Honestly, no-one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:

“Oh, WAY too difficult!!”

“They will NEVER make it to the top”.

“Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one…

… Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher…

The crowd continued to yell

“It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up…

…But ONE continued higher and higher and higher…

This one wouldn’t give up!

At the end, everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal?

It turned out…

That the winner was deaf.

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

January 6th 2010

Editorial

I just realized this isn’t just the first newsletter of the year, it’s the first newsletter of the decade. How exciting is that? Instead of finishing the newsletter, I just sat here for the past 30 minutes and reflected on the past decade and how much my life has changed. 10 years ago I was newly married, still in college. So much of my life has changed. Over the last decade we moved cross country and bought our first house, had a child, sold the house and moved back south. We bought the house we are in now, got rid of A LOT of debt that accumulated and I went from working fulltime to becoming a stay at home mom and later took over this website. Lost of changes, and of course there were some great times and some bad times. Overall, I wouldn’t have missed any of it. I’ve done a lot of growing up and changing over this past decade and am excited to see what the next one brings. How about you? Take some time today to look back and see how far you have come and what you’ve accomplished over the past 10 years. Then make some plans for the future.

The one thing that made a huge difference for me and my family was to pay off all our consumer debt. The only thing we have left at this point is our mortgage. If debt is something you still struggle with, take a look at special offer from Tawra at Living On A Dime that I emailed you about earlier this week. Their digging out of debt book has a lot of the hands on advice in it that my husband and I used to pay off our credit cards and car loans. I also like the fact that she bundled the Digging out of Debt and the Dining On a Dime ebooks for this offer. The easiest place to start saving right away is your grocery budget and between the recipes and tips on this site and the ones found in the ebook, you’ll be ready to slash your grocery budget and use that extra cash to pay off your debt.

You can get Digging Out of Debt and Dining on A Dime for 70% off Click here to order: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/livingonadime.htm – but hurry, this offer expires TOMORROW.

Last but not least, if you haven’t had a chance to take a look yet, I encourage you to check out the freezer and pantry challenge I blogged about a few days ago. You can read about it here:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/blog/?p=2568

That’s it for 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 smile is a curve that sets everything straight”. - Anonymous

Sponsor

Now You Can get Dining On A Dime and Dig Out of Debt for 70% OFF

From now through January 7th, we’re offering a HUGE discount on Dining On A Dime and Dig Out of Debt. Click here to order: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/livingonadime.htm

News From The HBHW Club

This section is all about the HBHW Club. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Shredded Barbecue Beef Burgers – Crock Pot

* 1 (5 lb.) rump roast, or other inexpensive cut
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 bottle (8 oz) steak sauce
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite kind
* 1 tsp yellow mustard
* salt and pepper to taste

Brown roast in hot skillet in small amount of oil.  Remove and give the onions a quick saute.  Place onion in crock pot and place beef roast on top of onion.  In separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients and pour over the meat in crock pot.

Cook on Low setting for 6 hours.  Remove beef from slow cooker and fork shred or chop, then return to slow cooker and stir to combine all the ingredients back together.  Put cover back on crock pot and continue cooking on Low for 40 to 45 minutes.

Serve on good quality hamburger buns with mustard, pickles, sliced onion, and cheese slices.  This is a great marriage between a good hamburger and a good Sloppy Joe.

And here are a few more recipes that have recently been added to the member area.

• Sparkling Champagne Punch
• Savory Olives
• Party Time Crab Dip
• Cajun Shrimp All-Bundled-Up
• Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms
• 5 Ingredient Spiced Tea Mix
• Holiday Cheer Egg Nog
• Classic Pecan Bars

All in all, we have over 290 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about this past Christmas and New Year’s Wishes.  I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

What you eat can make a big difference in how well your body does this winter. Here are some tips for what to eat to stay cozy comfy warm during this cold time of the year.

Winter Foods That Will Warm Your Body And Spirit

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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" start_item=""]

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 going to be 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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

CHILD’S DEFINITION OF LOVE

Author Unknown

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.  See what you think:

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.  So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.  That’s love.” Rebecca – age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.  You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy – age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy – age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri – age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny – age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time.  Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.  My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen,” Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,” Nikka – age 6

“There are two kinds of love.  Our love.  God’s love. But God makes both kinds of them.” Jenny – age 8

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” Noelle – age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy – age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared.  I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.  He was the only one doing that.  I wasn’t scared anymore,” Cindy – age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody.  You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare – age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine -age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann – age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren – age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” Karen – age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark – age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it.  But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.  People forget,” Jessica – age 8

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.  The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.  The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.  Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

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

October 28st 2009

Editorial

This past weekend was “Make A Difference Day” – something we always recognize with our girl scout troops. This year we organized a food drive to stock  a local food bank. We also had a nice daisy scout meeting yesterday about making the world a better place. It is amazing how many ideas 6-year-olds can come up with. They included planting flowers, making and sending cards, being nice to other kids even when they are different, helping mom and dad, recycling … These girls just kept going and we all promised to do our part in making the world a better place. Today’s Inspirational Story was inspired by this “theme” as well. It made me cry and I hope it will touch you as well.

The Hillbilly Housewife Blog Tour is finishing up. This week I’m blogging on FamilyFoodies.com as well as a few other blogs. You can see one of my posts about holiday meal planning in the article section below. Once some of the other posts are up, I will post another update with links of where you can find them on the HBHW blog.

The crockpot cooking ebook was such a hit that I decided to keep it on sale for a few more days. If you haven’t gotten yoru copy yet, you can order it here – Crockpot Cooking Made Simple.

For the next few days you can get your copy for $5 here:

Crockpot Cooking Made Simple

Of course I’m still donating 20% of all profits to Breast Cancer Research this month and that applies to any Crockpot Ebook sales as well.

That’s it for 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

“Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things”. -Author Unknown

Shared by Ellie Mae, one of our members in the Hillbilly Housewife Club

Sponsor

Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package- Retail Price – 11 e-books for $45.00

The Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package – 11 e-books for $45.00. The e-books included in this offer (Money Management, Grocery Savings, Cleaning Cents, Kids Cents, Debt Free Holidays, Menus On A Dime, Quick Dinners, Plan Ahead Leftovers, Pretty For Pennies, Moving On A Dime and Gifts In A Jar) are also available separately and are described below. Click Here to learn more about The Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package.

Reader Question

No new reader questions this week. Email me yours

News From The HBHW Club

This is a new section of the newsletter. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Nutty Pumpkin Bread

* 2 cups flour
* 2 tsps baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 1 cup pumpkin
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1 cup chopped nuts – your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, milk, and eggs.

Carefully add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, then add softened butter and combine well.  Add nuts and stir.

Pour mixture into a loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out dry.

And here are some of the other recipes that have been added in the past few days.

• Easy Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Regal Pumpkin Cake
• Nutty Popcorn Crunch
• Oven Baked Caramel Corn
• Spiced Hot Apple Cider
• Elegant Pumpkin Squares

All in all, we have over 230 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about getting ready for Halloween, making petfood, copycat recipes and cleaning grease off the stove.  I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

This week as part of my HBHW on the Road blog tour, I’m writing on FamilyFoodies.com. On Monday I shared some tips on how to plan the big holiday meals coming up (Thanksgiving, Christmas etc.). I find that doing some propper planning ahead of time makes a big job much easier and I actually have enough energy at the end to enjoy the meal and spending time with my family and friends. Here it is:

Planning Ahead For The Big Holiday Meals

Frugal Tips

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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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 going to be 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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

Inspirational Story

WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

- Author Unknown

A teacher in New York City decided to honor each of her graduating high school seniors by telling each of them the difference she felt they made as an individual.

She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told the student how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters reading: “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”

She noticed a considerable attitudinal change in the class. So she decided to do a class project to determine what impact such recognition could have on their local community.

She gave each student three more ribbons, and asked them to go out and spread an “acknowledgment ceremony.”

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company, and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt.

Then the boy gave the executive two extra ribbons and asked him to find someone else to honor, and to in turn give them the extra blue ribbon so they could acknowledge a third person. The student asked the executive to report back to tell him what happened.

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who was known as a rather bad-tempered man. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss was very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon, and asked for permission to pin it on him.

His surprised boss gave his permission. The executive pinned the blue ribbon on his boss’s jacket directly above his heart. Then he gave his boss the third blue ribbon, and told him of the boy’s request.

That night the boss sat his 14-year-old son down and told him: “The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of my junior executives came in and told me he admired me, He gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine that. He thinks I’m a creative genius.”

He then told his son he wanted to honor him, and pinned the last remaining blue ribbon on his son’s t-shirt.

The startled boy began to sob. He couldn’t stop. His whole body shook. He looked at his father through his tears and told him: “Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I was killing myself, and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide after you were asleep. I didn’t think you cared for me at all.”

His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, “Mom and Dad.”

The boss went back to work a changed man. He called in each employee one at a time to let them know that they made a difference.

Who you are DOES make a difference!
Don’t forget it!
And make sure the people in your life
know how special they are!

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

October 21st 2009

Editorial

Hi there… it’s another cold morning here in the south, which isn’t usually a problem, except for the fact that we just found out that our heat isn’t working. It should be fixed in the next few days and in the meantime we’re mak How To Get You Boyfriend Back ing do with thick socks and some blankets and afghans. I’m about to start a big pot of split pea soup and make some fresh bread in the breadmaker for a nice warm lunch.

I’m excited to announce the next ebook in the HBHW collection – Crockpot Cooking Made Simple. And to go with the theme both featured articles this week are on slowcooker cooking.

I mentioned this new guide in an email I sent out yesterday and so far, 80 people got their copy. The feedback has been phenomenal. For the next few days you can get your copy for $5 here:

Crockpot Cooking Made Simple

Of course I’m still donating 20% of all profits to Breast Cancer Research this month and that applies to any Crockpot Ebook sales as well.

That’s it for 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

“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” – Karen Kaiser Clark

Shared by Patti, one of our members in the Hillbilly Housewife Club

Sponsor

Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package- Retail Price – 11 e-books for $45.00

The Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package – 11 e-books for $45.00. The e-books included in this offer (Money Management, Grocery Savings, Cleaning Cents, Kids Cents, Debt Free Holidays, Menus On A Dime, Quick Dinners, Plan Ahead Leftovers, Pretty For Pennies, Moving On A Dime and Gifts In A Jar) are also available separately and are described below. Click Here to learn more about The Living On A Dime E-book Extravaganza package.

Reader Question

I didn’t get any new reader questions via email this week, so I grabbed one out of the HBHW Club Forum. Here it is:

I grew up in a family where I ate everything on my plate. This included kidney beans, lima beans, pinto beans, split pea soup and, well you get the idea.

My family will eat pork n beans from a can that I “doctor” up and they tolerate chili beans in the chili (although my son digs them out of the bowl and refuses to eat them). I want to start serving lentils and other beans in order to stretch my grocery budget and was wondering does anyone have some tips for serving them to picky eaters (or disguising them in a dish). Added to this dilemma is the fact that my husband dislikes cheese for the most part. He will eat it on pizza and sliced extremely thin for grilled cheese but that is it. I love cheese and so does my son so I usually sprinkle cheese on our section of a casserole.

I was thinking of adding lentils to chili or cook them with meat as a meat stretcher – something I have never done. Anyone ideas?

Martha C. from Iowa

Adding lentils and beans to stretch ground beef is an excellent idea. You may also want to try this recipe
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/tacolentilsrice.htm

I’ve made lentil sloppy joes before that turned out great. Cook the lentils, saute some onion in a pan in a little oil until soft, add your lentils and a some sloppy joe sauce. Simmer, then serve on buns.

News From The HBHW Club

This is a new section of the newsletter. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Stuffed Tuna Rolls

* 10 to 15 dinner rolls (depending on size)

* 1 lb Cheddar cheese, shredded
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped fine
* 1/2 cup chili sauce
* 3/4 cup mayonnaise
* dash Worcestershire sauce
* dash hot sauce (optional)
* 2 large cans tuna in water, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice into roll about 1/3 way lengthwise and scoop out some of insides.  Mix all ingredients together until blended well.  Divide tuna filling evenly between the rolls, stuffing pretty full.  Wrap each roll tightly in tin foil and place on baking sheet in 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.  (You may open foil for a few minutes to crisp the roll.   You can substitute crab meat for this recipe if you have it on hand instead of tuna.

And here are some of the other recipes that have been added in the past few days.

• Elegant Pumpkin Squares
• Homemade Shake-It Bake-It
• German Crumb Coffee Cake
• Cajun Cabbage Bake
• Tuna Potato Patties

All in all, we have over 230 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about homemade Christmas gifts (Members are busy coming up with as many ideas as possible for every letter of the alphabet – what a fun post to read every day), implementing things from this month’s resource report about saving on utilities, pressure cooking and more.  I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

I have two articles for you today. Since crockpot cooking has been on my mind quite a bit this week, both of them are on that topic. Here they are:

Quick and Easy Crockpot Recipes

Planning Crockpot Meals

Frugal Tips

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" start_item=""]

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!

[RSSImport display="5" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/feed" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

" start_item=""]

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 going to be 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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" start_item=""]

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.
[RSSImport display="20" feedurl="http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/comments/feed?cat=recipe-requests&withcomments=1" displaydescriptions=true end_item="

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Inspirational Story

A SLAVE TO HIS DESTINY

by Adam Khan, , Self-Help Stuff That Works

One morning a sixteen-year-old boy was kidnapped from his house by a band of knife-wielding thugs and taken to another country, there to be sold as a slave. The year was 401 AD.

He was made a shepherd. Slaves were not allowed to wear clothes, so he was often dangerously cold and frequently on the verge of starvation. He spent months at a time without seeing another human being — a severe psychological torture.

But this greatest of difficulties was transformed into the greatest of blessings because it gave him an opportunity not many get in a lifetime. Long lengths of solitude have been used by people all through history to meditate, to learn to control the mind and to explore the depths of feeling and thought to a degree impossible in the hubbub of normal life.

He wasn’t looking for such an “opportunity,” but he got it anyway. He had never been a religious person, but to hold himself together and take his mind off the pain, he began to pray, so much that “…in one day,” he wrote later, “I would say as many as a hundred prayers and after dark nearly as many again…I would wake and pray before daybreak — through snow, frost, and rain….”

This young man, at the onset of his manhood, got a ‘raw deal.’ But therein lies the lesson. Nobody gets a perfect life. The question is not “What could I have done if I’d gotten a better life?” but rather “What can I do with the life I’ve got?”

How can you take your personality, your circumstances, your upbringing, the time and place you live in, and make something extraordinary out of it? What can you do with what you’ve got?

The young slave prayed. He didn’t have much else available to do, so he did what he could with all his might. And after six years of praying, he heard a voice in his sleep say that his prayers would be answered: He was going home. He sat bolt upright and the voice said, “Look, your ship is ready.”

He was a long way from the ocean, but he started walking. After two hundred miles, he came to the ocean and there was a ship, preparing to leave for Britain, his homeland. Somehow he got aboard the ship and went home to reunite with his family.

But he had changed. The sixteen-year-old boy had become a holy man. He had visions. He heard the voices of the people from the island he had left — Ireland — calling him back. The voices were persistent, and he eventually left his family to become ordained as a priest and a bishop with the intention of returning to Ireland and converting the Irish to Christianity.

At the time, the Irish were fierce, illiterate, Iron-Age people. For over eleven hundred years, the Roman Empire had been spreading its civilizing influence from Africa to Britain, but Rome never conquered Ireland.

The people of Ireland warred constantly. They made human sacrifices of prisoners of war and sacrificed newborns to the gods of the harvest. They hung the skulls of their enemies on their belts as ornaments.

Our slave-boy-turned-bishop decided to make these people literate and peaceful. Braving dangers and obstacles of tremendous magnitude, he actually succeeded! By the end of his life, Ireland was Christian. Slavery had ceased entirely. Wars were much less frequent, and literacy was spreading.

How did he do it? He began by teaching people to read — starting with the Bible. Students eventually became teachers and went to other parts of the island to create new places of learning, and wherever they went, they brought the know-how to turn sheepskin into paper and paper into books.

Copying books became the major religious activity of that country. The Irish had a long-standing love of words, and it expressed itself to the full when they became literate. Monks spent their lives copying books: the Bible, the lives of saints, and the works accumulated by the Roman culture — Latin, Greek, and Hebrew books, grammars, the works of Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Homer, Greek philosophy, math, geometry, astronomy.

In fact, because so many books were being copied, they were saved, because as Ireland was being civilized, the Roman Empire was falling apart. Libraries disappeared in Europe. Books were no longer copied (except in the city of Rome itself), and children were no longer taught to read. The civilization that had been built up over eleven centuries disintegrated. This was the beginning of the Dark Ages.

Because our slave-boy-turned-bishop transformed his suffering into a mission, civilization itself, in the form of literature and the accumulated knowledge contained in that literature, was saved and not lost during that time of darkness. He was named a saint, the famous Saint Patrick. You can read the full and fascinating story if you like in the excellent book How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.

“Very interesting,” you might say, “but what does that have to do with me?”

Well…you are also in some circumstances or other, and it’s not all peaches and cream, is it? There’s some stuff you don’t like — maybe something about your circumstances, perhaps, or maybe some events that occurred in your childhood.

But here you are, with that past, with these circumstances, with the things you consider less than ideal. What are you going to do with them? If those circumstances have made you uniquely qualified for some contribution, what would it be?

You may not know the answer to that question right now, but keep in mind that the circumstances you think only spell misery may contain the seeds of something profoundly Good. Assume that’s true, and the assumption will begin to gather evidence until your misery is transformed, as Saint Patrick’s suffering was, from a raw deal to the perfect preparation for something better.

Ask yourself and keep asking, “Given my upbringing and circumstances, what Good am I especially qualified to do?”

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

How To Get You Boyfriend Back

October 14th 2009

Editorial

It’s been another busy week here are the Myers house. Our daughter finally started feeling better after being sick the week before, but as of last night it seems like we’re going through the next round of cold/ flu like symptoms. It just seems to be one of those years where we’re coming down with a lot more stuff than usual.

I’m also still busy writing on all sorts of frugal living and cooking blogs. This week I’m sharing some tips on freezer cooking on  the Living on a Dime Blog. When you get a chance, stop by and leave some comments. Next week I’ll be on Econobusters.com

I’m still busy working on the next few HBHW ebooks (including one on Crockpot cooking and one on Pressure Cooking). As you know I’m donating 20% of my profits this month to Breast Cancer Research and am working hard to make sure I can write them a nice check. Speaking of which… my latest ebook “Meal Planning Made Simple” is still on sale for the rest of the week for $7.00. Now is the perfect time to get a great deal on this ebook full of meal planning tips  and 6 sample menus and also support a charitable cause.

The newsletter as always was a lot of fun to put together. I hope you enjoy the inspirational story and take a moment to help out a fellow HBHW reader in the “I’m Looking For” section.

That’s it for this week. I hope you’ll follow me along on my blog tour this month and leave plenty of comments. My stop this week is at Living On A Dime. I’m enjoying writing for such a great blog and site.

That’s it for 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

P.S. Remember to do regular monthly breast exams and contact your physician right away if you feel a lump. Early detection and treatment are your best bet for surviving breast cancer.

Inspirational Quote

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. “-Melody Beattie

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Reader Question

I’ve been trying some new recipes and am a bit confused on stock vs. broth. Are they the same or is there a difference?

Jamie

Another great questions – HBHW readers are on a roll here lately

The basic difference is what you boil with it. When you are making stock you include the meat and bones along with some vegetables and seasonings. When making broth you leave out the bones. A stock usually tastes richer because of the addition of the bones during the cooking process.

Susanne

News From The HBHW Club

This is a new section of the newsletter. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Tuna Potato Patties

* 6 cups mashed potatoes
* 1 egg
* 1 Tblsp grated fresh sweet onion
* 1 large can good tuna, drained
* 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Stir egg into mashed potatoes, add onion, then tuna, mixing well, but not over mixing.  Shape into 6 patties.  Heat oil in skillet and fry patties over medium high heat until golden brown.

You can serve these with a slice of cheese on top and in a toasted bun for a nice, big sandwich.   Or serve the pattie as is alongside a big salad.

And here are some of the other recipes that have been added in the past few days.

• Homemade Teriyaki Chicken Bake
• Sweet Potato & Apples Skillet
• Party Time Potatoes
• Crunchy Cheddar Potato Bake
• Pumpkin Lemon Cream Pie

All in all, we have over 200 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about the cooler weather, homemade kitchen crafts and some inspirational quotes. In fact, the quote in today’s newsletter was shared by a HBHW club member on the membership forum. I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

Instead of sharing one of the articles I’ve written on the Living On A Dime Blog this week, I thought I’d share an article by Tawra from that wonderful site with you instead. It’s all about roasting pumpkins and what to do with both the seeds and the pumpkin flesh. Here it is:

How To Roast A Pumpkin

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 going to be 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

FARMER FLEMING AND A NOBELMAN

Author Unknown

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

“I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.”

“No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel. “Is that your son?” the nobleman asked.

“Yes,” the farmer replied proudly.

“I’ll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll grow to a man you can be proud of.”

And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming’s son graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman’s son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill.

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

October 7th 2009

Editorial

I can’t believe this, but I completely forgot to mention that I am posting across various other blogs this month. I meant to mention it in last week’s newsletter and then it slipped my mind. Thankfully it’s still early in the month and you’ll have plenty of time to follow along. Start by reading why I’m going on the road so to speak with my blogging.

I spent last week at Christine’s blog on Menu Planning Central sharing some meal planning information (scroll down to get to my articles).

Why am I doing this? There are several reasons. First and foremost, it’s a lot of fun. I get to hang out with a few of my best blogging friends and of course meet some new people (both bloggers and readers) along the way.

Secondly it helps me reach more people and help them live more frugally and make homemade meals from scratch. I don’t have to tell you that this is a topic I feel passionately about and that I love to write about it.

My third reason has to do with my grandmother. She is a breast cancer survivor and each October during breast cancer awareness month I try to do something to help. This year I decided to go on this blog tour and donate 20% of all my profits from ebook and HBHW membership sales to the the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

I’d love to be able to write them a large check and to do that I’m not only spreading the word about the HillbillyHousewife.com website through this blog tour, I’ve also sat down and worked hard on three new ebooks that will be available in the next few days. One is a Meal Planning Guide I’ve been working on for quite some time, the other ones are a crockpot cooking guide and a pressure cooking guide. Look for an email announcement about those later this week.

That’s it for this week. I hope you’ll follow me along on my blog tour this month and leave plenty of comments. My stop this week is at Showmomthemoney.com. Two of my articles on that site are this week’s featured articles in this newsletter.

That’s it for 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

P.S. Remember to do regular monthly breast exams and contact your physician right away if you feel a lump. Early detection and treatment are your best bet for surviving breast cancer.

Inspirational Quote

“It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Ready to make a Halloween costume with your child? Homemade Halloween Costumes – no sewing required.

Reader Question

recently got a bushel of sweet potatoes, I shared them with friends but I have quite a few left over and I need to know if I can store them in the freezer. Do they freeze well?

Pat

Hi Pat,

yes, you can freeze sweet potatoes. Here’s how to do it. Wash and boil your sweet potatoes until they are fairly soft. Allow them to cool until they are comfortable to handle. Peel them and either slice them or cut them into chunks. If you’d like you can dip the sweet potato slices into a mixture of water and lemon juice to keep them from browning. If you are making mashed sweet potatoes to freeze (for making pies later for example), add a little dash of lemon juice to the mashed potatoes to keep them from browning as well.

Allow the sweet potatoes to cool completely, then transfer them into freezer bags. Be sure to leave some room to allow the frozen product to expand (I leave about 1/3 of the bag empty). Freeze.

Susanne

News From The HBHW Club

This is a new section of the newsletter. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

And to make it even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Split Pea and Cabbage Soup
* 1 cup yellow split peas (soaked covered with water for at least 8 hours before cooking)
* 3 cups fresh cold water (for cooking in)
* 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced (you may peel them if you like)
* 2 cups of water
* 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
* 3 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
* 1 large yellow onion, diced
* 4 cups chicken stock or broth
* 1/2 medium size head cabbage, shredded (or about 1/2 pound)
* 1/4 tsp black pepper (more or less to taste)
* 1 (16 oz) pkg of good quality  sauerkraut (do not drain)
* (optional: throw in some cooked chicken, sausage, ham, or other meat if desired)

Soak the split peas covered in cold water overnight or at least 8 hours, then drain and put in pot with the 3 cups of fresh water and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes or until nice and soft.

Meanwhile, in a big soup pot, put the 2 cups water, potatoes, and margarine, bring to a boil, then cook at a low boil until the potatoes are tender but not mushy.

While that’s cooking, fry up the bacon with the onion until the bacon has gotten somewhat crispy and most of the fat has been cooked off.

Remove the cooked potatoes from the soup pot using a slotted spoon and set aside, saving the potato water in the soup pot.  To the soup pot with the potato water, add the chicken stock, cabbage, and the black pepper.  Bring back up to a boil, then down to a simmer and cook for just 5 to 10 minutes.

When the cabbage is tender, add the potatoes back to the soup pot, pour in the cooked split peas, water and all, and add the bacon and onion all into the soup pot.

To this mixture in the soup pot, add the sauerkraut and any leftover meat or chicken you might want to add.  Mix all together and bring soup up to a low boil, turning down again to a simmer and let it simmer together for about 5 minutes or until the soup is nice and hot.

This is a nice hearty and somewhat tangy soup.  Very warming!

And here are some of the other recipes that have been added in the past few days.

• Savory 3 Meat Meat Loaf
• 3 Layer Zucchini Oven Bake
• Super Easy Pork Chops And Rice
• Home Style French-Fried Onion Rings
• Baking Sheet Chocolate Cake Bars

All in all, we have over 200 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about becoming a stay at home mom and some of the challenges we all face with that transition, cooking smarter (and saving time and money in the process), household notebooks and more. I’m sure you have a lot to contribute to the conversation. Ready to join us? Try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

This week I have not one, but two articles for you. Both of them are about the holidays and are part of my blog tour. Both of them are published on ShowMomTheMoney.com. Here they are:

• Easy Holiday Baking and Cooking – Use Your Freezer
• Frugal Holiday Gift Ideas From The Kitchen

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 going to be 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 STORY OF THE BUTTERFLY
Author Unknown

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.

ButterflySo the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

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

August 25th 2009

Editorial

Last week I told you that I was making some small changes to the HBHW newsletter to make the “I’m looking For” section easier to deal with and more importantly to make sure you get your responses to the requests in a more timely fashion. It’s working out beautifully and it has definitely inspired you to submit even more requests than usual. Take a minute to look through the requests below and leave a comment if you feel you can help out a reader with a recipe or tip. I can’t wait to read what you are coming up with and will head over there myself as soon as I get this newsletter sent out to you.

We also had a chance to vote on the frugal recipes that were submitted the week before. You can take a look at the results here:
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/blog/?p=1713

The winner is Rose with her Honey Garlic Chicken. Second place is Malisa Weber with her Liquid Laundry soap recipe and Debora Powers takes third place with her Poor Man’s Rolls. If each of you could send me an email, I will get your prizes out to you right away.

A big thank you goes out again to everyone that submitted a frugal recipe and also to everyone that took the time to vote. I had a lot of fun with this and will definitely come up with some more contests like it in the very near future.

That’s it for 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

Sponsor

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I ordered mine last night and can’t wait for the first issue to arrive. I’m always tempted to buy one of these when I’m at the grocery store, but just can’t justify the cost per single issue.  $5 a year I can do though

Inspirational Quote

“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Ever time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.” -Dale Carnegie

Reader Question

I just make mozzarella cheese with whole milk, critic acid and rennet.  The rest is the whey, almost a gallon.  What do I do with whey?  Can I make yogurt with whey?  What else can I do with whey?  I just hate to waste it and want to re-use it.
Justine S

Hi Justine,
I wouldn’t throw it out either. It’s a vary nutritious liquid. You can use it in soups and stews. I haven’t tried this myself, but you supposedly can also use it as the liquid in baking your bread, which would instantly add some protein to it. I have used it to make pancakes, biscuits and even corn bread (instead of milk) and it worked out great.

Hope this helps.

Susanne

News From The HBHW Club

This is a new section of the newsletter. Each week I’m going to share some tidbits of what’s going on at the HBHW Club with you. I hope you enjoy these extra tips, recipes and ideas and of course would love to have you join the club.

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month here: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Here’s one of the recipes that were submitted this past week.

Oven Baked Creamy ‘n’ Crunchy Potatoes

* 4 cups mashed potatoes
* 1/2 quart cottage cheese
* 1/2 pint sour cream
* 1/2 cup chopped chives or green onion
* 4 pats butter, more or less as desired
* 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Stir first 4 ingredients together and put into lightly greased 8 x 8 inch oven casserole.  Arrange butter on top, then sprinkle on almonds.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until nicely browned and heated through.

And here are some of the other recipes that have been added in the past few days.

• Herbed Chicken Loaf
• Hash Brown Potato Casserole
• Cauliflower Italiano Salad
• Sauerbraten The Old Fashioned Way

All in all, we have over 170 new recipes in the member area already. This week we’ve been talking about natural heart burn relief, roasting brussel sprouts and have been sharing a new frugal tip of the day.

Ready to join us? We’d love to have you! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

This week’s featured article was inspired by some emails I receive quite frequently. The question boils down to how one can convince the rest of the family to live more frugally. Read my answer in this article about adapting a more frugal lifestyle.

Frugal Living Is A Family Affair

Frugal Tips

You can get about twice as much zest and juice from lemons and oranges by following these easy steps.
(I buy lemons in a 3-5# net bag as they are much less expensive that way.)
1. wash them with a fruit and vegetable wash to remove chemicals and bacteria. 2. dry and put back in the net bag to freeze.
3.Grate the zest as needed while lemons/oranges are still frozen. If you do not need the juice put the lemons/oranges back in the freezer until you need the juice.
4. for juice, thaw the lemons/oranges before squeezing. (You need to think ahead to do this. I usually put the lemons in the refrigerator the night before, or you can thaw them in the microwave, pierce the skin or cut in half and put in a bowl first.)

Fran

When buying Organic Coffee-(because less chemical toxins) grind in the store (or with your own) on the “Finest” setting-”Turkish” and you will use approx. half the coffee you normally would.

Christine from WI

Recipes

I have quite a few new reader submitted recipes to share with you this week. Here they are:

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken
submitted by Lisa Avelar

Pineapple Angel Cake
submitted by Virginia D.

Cheesey Pasta
submitted by Kat

Veggie Corn Fritters
submitted by Amanda

If you would like to share a favorite recipe and have me publish it in an upcoming edition of the HBHW newsletter, go here to submit it:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/submit

I’m Looking For:

This section is going to be 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

BAKING A CAKE

Author Unknown

A very ill little boy was telling his Grandma how “everything” was
going wrong…school was too hard, family problems other than his
illness, his severe pain, just all the hardships he was going through.
Meanwhile, Grandma was baking a cake. She asked the child if he would
like a snack, which of course he does. “Here. Have some cooking oil.”
“Yuck,” said the boy. “How about a couple of raw eggs?” “Gross, Grandma.”
“Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?” “Grandma, those
are all yucky!” To which the Grandma replied: “Yes, Sweetheart, those
things seem bad all by themselves. But, when they are put together in
the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the
same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such
bad and difficult times, but, God knows that, when He puts these things
all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him,
and, eventually the yucky stuff will make of our lives something wonderful!”

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