January 1, 2005

Turkey BurritosHeat tortillas according to package directions. Stir together cranberry sauce and mustard, and spoon mixture evenly down center of each tortilla...

 

Blooming OnionsCut onions into several sections, so they fan out like flowers. Be sure not to cut roots, so onion will stay together. Cover onions with buttermilk and refrigerate several hours.

 

Awesome Lowfat Banana BreadLightly grease 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2" pan; dust with flour. Using electric mixer; beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick and light, about 5 minutes.

 

Chocolate Cream Cheese PieSoften the cream cheese. Then take cream cheese, 6 packs of equal and cottage cheese and blend together...

 

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese SauceI love carrot cake and I have sampled it all over the world.  This recipe makes one of the moistest cakes I have ever had, but what makes it really special is the icing.  Instead of regular cream cheese icing we like to make it with a cream cheese sauce.  When serving the cake just pour or dollop on the cream cheese sauce, as little or as much as you want.

 

Homemade Napkin Rings With RaffiaCut 12 inch pieces of raffia to make napkin rings. Soak the pieces in water or colored RIT dye, then wrap them around cardboard paper towel insert. When dried, they make decorative napkin rings for any occasion.

 

Too Much SaltIf you get happy with the salt shaker and your vegetables taste too salty, just add a whole peeled potato to the boiling water, let boil for an additional 10-15 minutes and then remove the potato. (the potato absorbs the salt) By Belinda

 

Using Fireplace Ashes In Your GardenUse ashes from your fireplace to sprinkle in your garden. It wards off slugs, as well as many other harmful insects. The ashes act as shards of glass as they crawl on the dirt.

 

Take Advantage of Birthday PerksCheck and see which restaurants offer the birthday person a FREE desert or a discount coupon on a meal. They usually will sing Happy Birthday too!

 

Split Your Fries And Drink At Fast Food RestaurantsWhen ordering food for 2 at a fast food restaurant, order one of the combo meals which includes a drink and a "Side". French fries or whatever, and one main entree by itself. (Burger, tacos, etc.) Then share the drink and fries with your guest. Good for the waistline also!

 

Replacing Sugar with Artificial SweetenersIn substituting artificial sweetener for sugar in recipes, you may have a problem trying to eliminate ALL sugar. Sugar contributes more than just taste. It affects things like browning in baked goods, and textures, etc. You will have better luck replacing only up to about half the sugar.

 

Sweetening Plain OatmealTo sweeten plain oatmeal, add miniature marshmallows instead of or in addition to sugar. By Carolyn

 

You Pay Extra For The Instant-On Feature On Your TelevisionMany television models today have an instant turn-on feature. It gives you an instant picture because it's actually operating 24 hours a day. If yours has one, disconnect it, or unplug the set when you're not using it. This device can use up to 50% of the total amount of energy your set uses in one year. By joesgirl

 

Converting to Diabetic Recipe With Sugar TwinIf you want to convert recipes for use by Diabetics, or just want to cut sugar, make sure to use a sugar substitute that can withstand heat. Sugar Twin is a great choice in that it retains its sweetness when it is cooked or baked, and you can get it in a form that measures, cup for cup, like sugar. By Judi in Orlando

 

Preventing NosebleedsIf the cold dry air causes you to have nosebleeds, put a little vaseline in each nostril with a cotton swab every day. By Linda

 

Homemade Non Stick SprayTo make your own nonstick spray, combine equal parts of vegetable oil & liquid lecithin in a pump bottle. Liquid lecithin can be found in natural food stores.

 

Stale Cake TreatSlightly older cake can turn into a new and wonderful trifle. Cut into cubes, and layer with any combination of fruit, whipped cream, pudding, Cool Whip, liquors. With whipped cream and liquor how can you go wrong? By Linda

 

Discontinued Wallpaper ForumWe get a lot of requests from readers looking for wallpaper that has been discontinued or is just hard to find. Feel free to submit your request for wallpaper in this thread.

 

Wallpaper An Old Ugly Colored 'FridgeMany years ago I wallpapered an ugly avocado 'fridge that was past it's prime with a plain textured paper. The 'fridge worked fine but was so outdated! I got lots of compliments on the wallpaper and it was cheaper than buying a new 'fridge!

 

Plastic Floor Mats To Protect CarpetIf you have a table with chairs that have castors; try this to save your carpet. Put the type of plastic floor mats that you use in an office at your desk, under the chairs.

 

ThriftyFun News January 1, 2005 - Food FixesOnline version of the ThriftyFun News. Food Fixes. Volume Seven, Number 1 January 1, 2005

 

Keep Your Radiators CleanNow that the cold weather is here you want to do everything possible to make sure that your heat in your house is reaching its potential. Make sure you brush out your heating radiators.

 

Homemade Shop Vac FiltersDon't spend money on shop vac filters. Use the "panty" part of pantyhose after cutting off the legs and tying them off. By Palma

 

Crumbly BrowniesIf your cookies or brownies crumble and fall apart, don't despair! Just use them to make yummy ice cream sundaes -- put the crumbled baked goods in the bottom of a dish, top with ice cream, chocolate or caramel syrup, whipped cream, nuts -- let your imagination run wild! By Becki in Indiana

 

Repairing Food at Ichef.comThis site has a wonderful resource for fixing various dishes. It is organized from A to Z by food name and then lists the problem along with a solution.

 

Emergency Reading GlassesKeep a pair of $1.00 store reading glasses in your cars in case you forget your regular glasses. By Syd

 

Vanilla Pudding Low Fat, Low Sugar DessertThis is a great low fat, almost no sugar dessert. This also is very low in calories!

 

Saving On Postage, Pay Bills With A Credit CardMailing separate bills gets expensive and the postage is due to go up. I charge bills on a credit card and then pay it off each month. Only if you are a disciplined person and pay the entire credit card bill off each month should you consider this tip. You don't want to pay interest.

 

Fried Potato SkinsWash the potatoes before you peel, removing any scarred or spoiled spots, eyes, sprouts, & the like. Then peel the potatoes and save the skins for frying. Frying them in a little oil for about a minute will give you the same munchy tidbits that bars & restaurants charge high prices for.

 

Stale Danish PastryLeftover, stale danish pastry makes a great breakfast casserole. Slice and lay in a pan (can overlap if necessary). Pour over a batter of eggs, milk,vanilla and cinnamon, a french toast batter.

 

Eating Moldy CheeseMoldy cheese is still safe to eat. Just cut away the mold.

 

Removing Excess Fat From SoupTo remove excess fat from home made vegetable beef soup (or other fatty soups) quickly dip, then remove, an ice cube or two into the soup (keep the ice cube at the surface, and do this quickly). Fat will stick to the ice cube.

 

Whitening A Yellowed Wedding Dress?I made a dress for my daughter to wear in a wedding 16 years ago, and now we would like to use it again, but it has yellowed. I can't remember if the fabric is washable or not - I have had it dry-cleaned. Are there specialty dry cleaners? Or can I do something myself? Dell

 

Treating Rust On Weeping Willow Trees?I planted a 25 gal weeping willow last fall. It now has rusty looking spots on the underneath side of the leaves and some of the leaves are yellow. How do i eliminate this problem? Thanks Designsmith

 

Clothing Washed and Dried With Non-permanent Marker?I accidentally left a non-permanent red marker in a pocket of clothing and preceded to wash and dry it. I now have red marks all over several pieces of light colored, mostly cotton or cotton blend clothing - Help!! What can I do to save the clothing and remove the red marker? Thank you! Michelle from Michigan

 

Repairing A Sofa Button?How do you repair a sofa button? Don Poor

 

Cleaning Carpets and Keeping Them Clean?Does anyone out there have a good suggestion for getting and keeping carpets clean? I have scrubbed with Resolve and then sprayed with a mixture of water and vinegar, then soaked that up with paper or cloth towel. It works well but then the area gets dirty again. Any suggestions?