Frugal Christmas Entertainment and Meal Planning Questions Answered- HBHW Newsletter

December 2nd  2009

Editorial

We’re still fighting a cold around here and as a result I haven’t been getting much sleep, but other than that we are enjoying Advent. We spent some time last night putting up the tree and various other decorations and I’m getting into the Christmas Spirit. How about you?

If you are looking for some inexpensive things to do this holiday season, don’t miss today’s featured article. I also had the pleasure of interviewing my good friend Christine from Menu Planning Central about family meal planning and holiday meals. I even talked her into sharing her favorite recipe. You can read the interview here

Family Meal Planning – An Interview with Christine Steendahl

The special HBHW Club offer page is finally fixed and you can order or 6 or 12 month membership to the HBHW Club here:

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

I decided to extend the offer through next Wednesday. Grab your membership now and consider getting one for a loved one as a Christmas gift as well.

I spent Tuesday afternoon making the first Christmas cookies of the season with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop. We made some simple peanut butter cookies and some oatmeal chocolate chip ones.  How about you? Have you started baking cookies yet? What are some of your favorite cookie recipes? I’d love to have you share them with everyone. You can submit your best cookie recipes here (just choose cookies and bars as the category).

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

Nothing is permanent in this wicked world – not even our troubles. – Charlie Chaplin

Sponsor

Meal Planning

Get your copy of the free meal planning resource pack today at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com or join at http://www.MenuPlanningCentral.com/main.html

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.

Crunchy Swiss Green Bean Bake

* 2 Tblsp. butter or margarine
* 2 Tblsp. flour
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp dried minced onion

* 1 1/2 lbs. frozen green beans (any style, your choice) thawed

* 1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, grated

* 1 cup corn flakes, crushed
* 2 Tblsp butter or margarine, melted

In small saucepan, melt butter over low heat and stir in flour until thickened, then stir in sour cream.  Heat through for 1 minute.  Sprinkle in salt and onion.

In a 9×13 casserole dish, put 1/2 green beans, half Swiss cheese, then half green beans, then half Swiss cheese.  Pour sauce over the top.  Cover with crushed corn flakes, then pour melted butter over the top.  Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

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

  • Sweet Creamy Lima Bean Bake
  • Easy Turkey Devonshire Sandwich
  • Use-It-Up Turkey Broccoli Bake
  • Fancy Turkey Salad
  • Simple Fruit Salad Dressing

All in all, we have over 260 new recipes in the member area already.

What else has been going on at the HBHW Club? We’ve been talking about planning Thanksgiving meals and sharing some of our favorite recipes, holiday gift ideas and finding inexpensive yarn for us knitting addicts out there.   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

We spent most of last night putting up Christmas decorations. It has really gotten me into the holiday spirit and when I came across this article I just had to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Frugal Christmas Entertainment 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 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

I WANT TO BE A KID AGAIN

It was normal to have two or three “best” friends.

Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo.”

“Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly.”

Being old referred to anyone over 20.

It was magic when dad would “remove” his thumb.

It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn’t an Olympic event.

Nobody was prettier than Mom.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.

“Oly-oly-oxen-free” made perfect sense.

Abilities were discovered because of a “double-dog-dare.”

Saturday morning cartoons weren’t 30-minute ads for action figures.

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.

War was a card game.

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.

Ice cream was considered a basic food group.

Older siblings were the worst tormentors but also the fiercest
protectors.

I would love to be a KID again!!! Wouldn’t 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

From The Hillbilly Housewife: Freezer Cooking Made Simple
Are you still eating out, ordering pizza or stopping at the Drive-Thru window on your way home to get dinner? Let me show you how simple it is to put delicious, homecooked meals on the dinner table in less time than it takes you to order takeout. It's healthier and a lot less expensive and best of all, it won't take much time at all to prepare these homemade freezer meals.
Order your copy of Freezer Cooking Made Simple Today!

Comments

  1. Sheila Brennan says:

    Regarding the request for pone bread. I come from a Southern family where lower income families made “corn pone” bread to go with their “greens”. It was based in using cornmeal, but without the usual “raising” ingredients. As I recall, it was made with water and only an egg if you had it. Some drippings from bacon cooking were the “fat” added to the mix. The black skillet was heated on top of the stove, adding the batter when hot. The pone was flipped at some point to brown both sides. It was a very flat, crusty cornbread. I’m not sure anyone had an exact recipe. It was usually a handfull of this and a smiddgen of that. Still delicious!

  2. Becca says:

    This is an overnight cookie with the oven off. I’m not sure which site I got this from.

    EASTER STORY COOKIES

    To be made the evening before Easter
    You need:
    1c. whole pecans
    1 tsp. vinegar
    3 egg whites
    pinch salt
    1c. sugar
    zipper baggie
    wooden spoon
    tape

    Preheat oven to 300ºF. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let
    children beat
    them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain
    that after
    Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Let
    each child
    smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain
    that when
    Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.
    Add egg whites
    to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His
    life to give us
    life. Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them
    taste it and
    brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the
    salty tears
    shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. So
    far the
    ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1c. sugar. Explain that
    the
    sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves
    us. He wants
    us to know and belong to Him. Beat with a mixer on high speed
    for 12 to 15
    minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color
    white
    represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have
    been cleansed
    by Jesus. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper
    covered
    cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb
    where Jesus’
    body was laid. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door
    and turn
    the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven
    door.
    Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. GO TO BED! Explain that
    they may feel
    sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers
    were in
    despair when the tomb was sealed. On Easter morning, open the
    oven and give
    everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.
    The cookies
    are hollow!

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