May 14, 2009

Easy Pie CrustMix ingredients. (It pulls away from bowl.) Roll out on floured board. Fit into pie shell.

 

Pineapple Cheese CasseroleThis is a great side dish to serve with Ham. The pineapple flavor just seems to go with Ham. It is easy to do. And makes a big hit at a covered dish dinner.

 

Italian Mozzarella ChickenThis recipe is a different take on an Italian style chicken dish. I like it because it's so easy to prepare and yet is "fancy" enough for guests.

 

Cherry CrumbMix first five ingredients together and press half the mixture into an 8x8 pan. Place pie filling on top of crumb mixture, spreading evenly. Top with remaining of crumb mixture, covering all the cherries.

 

Pasta With Ribs and CabbageMarinate ribs overnight in garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. Pre-heat oven 425 degrees F. Place ribs in shallow roasting pan cover with foil.

 

Healthy Brownies With a Secret IngredientMy mother never attempted to hide vegetables in my food as a child, for which I am eternally grateful. However, as an adult who prefers sweeties to her greens, I've had to fall back on using evil parent tactics on myself.

 

Use Office Junk Paper for Home Coloring PaperIn my office, we get a lot of junk faxes and other used paper, old statements, cover sheets etc that are no longer needed. Instead of throwing these papers away I take them home for my kids to draw on. Of course there is no personal info on the paper.

 

School Bus CakeA school bus cake I made for a school carnival. The bus is made from a loaf pan cake and the cab is a miniature loaf, the lights are spice drops cut in half, the driver, and children are HEB buddy graham crackers.

 

Hang Purses By Binder Rings In ClosetTo organize your purses in your closet, use a single metal ring binder to put your purses on. One binder ring could hold 3 purses by their handles. Once the purses are on the ring, hang the ring in your closet on the closet rack.

 

Easy Clean-up For Peeling VeggiesI was making scalloped potatoes yesterday and as I was peeling the potatoes, realized that I have a really good tip to share. In the past I found that cleaning up the peels was a pain because they fly everywhere.

 

Avoid Flashed Out Photos With Your FingerThis is a tip for those pictures where you need a flash but then you take the picture and it totally whites your picture, but if you take the picture without the flash it's too dark.

 

Free Lessons and Entertainment OnlineDo you want to learn to play the piano or perhaps take voice lessons? Maybe taking art lessons is more your cup of tea. You can learn to play the guitar and even go to youtube and learn to play the ukulele. All for free. You can take free online classes from universities.

 

Arranging Wall Picture GroupingsWhen I moved into my home 2 years ago, I started each day by facing a large blank wall. The wall was in my bathroom and faced my glass enclosed shower. Fortunately, thrift store "art" came to my rescue!

 

Carry an Insulated Shopping Bag in Your CarFrugal and Green! Purchase one of those heavy duty insulated shopping bags and keep it in your car for when you're grocery shopping. I find it especially helpful here in the South, during the summer.

 

Toby (Jack Russell Terrier/Rat Terrier)Toby is a 10 week old Jack Russell Terrier/Rat Terrier mix. We rescued him from the animal shelter. He was getting ready to go to puppy rescue that same day. He loves to play with and bother our 65lb Black Lab, "Missy".

 

Purple MartinThis glass bird house was supposed to be a decoration, but this purple martin thought it looked good enough for a home.

 

Have a "Grandmother" Baby ShowerI was recently invited to a "Grandmother Baby Shower" for a friend who was expecting her first grandchild. The idea of the shower is to give the grandparent useful things to have at "her" house.

 

Red Balls To Deter Birds From TomatoesBirds had always beaten me to my ripe tomatoes, forcing me to pick them green. I found a simple yet effective solution; light-weight, red, plastic balls! When a tomato begins to ripen, hang a red ball directly on the plant next to it.

 

Paint Panel Door With Chalkboard PaintWe have an old home. The doors have 4 panels in them. I painted the door panels with chalkboard paint carried at home improvement stores. I then painted the name of each grandchild on a panel.

 

Ask a Master GardenerEver wonder what you should plant? For free answers from experts about what grows best in your area, and for questions about insects and garden pests, ask a Master Gardner.

 

Homemade Marionette DollHomemade Marionette Doll. My granddaughter and I made this big marionette doll (24 inch) when the weather was too bad to go outside. We put paper-mache (newspaper strips and flour and water) over a balloon for the head. Let it dry and painted.

 

Gift Ideas for Those With Difficulty Using HandsWe all know someone who is elderly or has arthritis, carpel tunnel or other disabilities that makes it difficult to work with her hands. Those of us who have full use of our hands sometimes don't stop to think of all the things.

 

Checklist Of Things We Should Never Feed Our PetsThere are just some things we should not feed our pets even though we think of them as members of our families. It is not known that some foods which are edible for humans can pose hazards for dogs because of their different metabolism.

 

Cat Snack Recipe1 cup tuna in oil, dash of parsley, some wheat germ, and corn flake crumbs. I just "eyeball" the amount so the tuna sticks together in small meatballs.

 

Make Victorian-Look Gift TagsMake a tag form or use a ready-made tag in ivory color. Cut a small piece of paper that is either old or looks old the size of the tag, minus 1/8 inch all the way around.

 

Cleaning Tomato Sauce Stains from PlasticEver use a rubber spatula on food items like spaghetti or tomato sauce and have the spatula get stained? Or ever use a plastic food container for leftovers which stained the container? I dreaded using my Pampered Chef white spatulas when I needed them for spaghetti.

 

Use Rubber Bands to Close BagsWe keep all rubberbands that come into the house (on newspapers, vegetables, etc.) in a basket in the kitchen. We use these to hold bags closed - chips, rice, sugar, anything that can be kept in its original bag.

 

Sanitize Your HomeIf someone is sick in your home or you are worried about the swine-flu, here's a tip: Take a small spray bottle and fill it with plain rubbing alcohol. Now spray everything your family touches.

 

Store Sour Cream Upside DownStore your sour cream and cottage cheese containers upside down in the refrigerator. It will be good long past the expiration date. I've used mine long after the date.

 

Getting Rid of Bleach SmellIf you are using a cleaning agent (called White King or Demostos as used in Australia) containing a chlorine base (chemical name Sodium Hypochlorite), use white vinegar on your hands and the smell will disappear.

 

An Organized Shopping ListSave a lot of time and money by organizing your grocery list the the location of the item.

 

Window Herb PlanterWash and dry your planting container. Tell the kids that by reusing a container, you are both keeping material out of a landfill and reducing usage of resources by not purchasing a new container.

 

Corner PocketHere is a craft to make using things you already have, that will hold more things you already have.

 

Transplanting a Euonymus Shrub?How do you transplant euonymus?

 

Feeding a Baby Goose?What do you feed a baby goose?

 

Sequined Pin Instructions?I would like to create sequined pins with holiday themes. For example, green trees at Christmas, red hearts at Valentine's Day, etc.

 

Pimples on Scalp?My son has a pimpley rash on his scalp. It looks like red pimples all around his hair line. He is 12 going on 13 and going through puberty.

 

Indoor Hawaiian Luau Party?My daughter will be turning 11 on June 18th and we are thinking of getting a room at the Holiday Inn and having a few friends stay. We were thinking of having a luau theme. I need some ideas for activities, music, etc..

 

Making Soil Acidic for Tomato Plants?I have heard that tomato plants like an acidic soil. Is this right and if so how do I obtain this?

 

Father's Day Crafts for Assisted Living Residents?I am looking for some easy and cheap crafty ideas for Father's day for disabled, elderly residents at an independent living facility.

 

Replacement Washer for Oster Pasta Maker?I was recently given the pasta maker for the Oster Kitchen Center. It does not have the saucer shaped washer that goes on the auger.

 

Bees Drilling Into a Wooden Porch?I have some bees on my front porch that drill holes in the wood overhead that holds the porch cover. The holes are perfectly round and deep, they leave saw dust all over from their drilling.

 

Caring for a Praying Mantis?Where do I keep a praying mantis sac? I keep it on a towel in a bug tent. Is that okay? How do I raise them? I have two egg sacs. How many praying mantis will I have?