3-8-11

Here is my brother-in-law and soon
to be sister-in-law.
They sent out this picture
with their wedding invitation.
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I've been thinking about making
some wall decorations
with fabric and boxes.
Just something to give the walls
a splash of color.

Pictures are so expensive in the stores,
even at thrift stores, so figured
why not make your own masterpieces
for cheap. You could use old picture
frames or even a simple cardboard box.
Cover with fabric and hot glue
it to the backside.

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9:45-10:25am

Peeled and diced carrots.
Just now starting to blanche
them all. Thank goodness for
my slicer because I couldn't of
imagined cutting 5 pounds by hand.
I am reusing my veggie broth from
yesterday along with some more
water added to the pan.



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10:30-11:30am

I've been a chopping fool, lol.
I chopped up, blanched and packaged
a bag of celery, a 3 pound bag of onions,
along with a few other misc items
like garlic and leftover chicken chili.
I had to upgrade my pot to
a larger one to make the process
go faster plus I was able to have
more veggie broth.
That is currently cooling
then will be put into empty,
plastic peanut butter jars
and will go in the freezer as well.

I already have 25-30 ears
of corn in the freezer from
where they went on sale
for .10 cents or less an ear!







So my tips for cutting down
on your food bill is to buy
produce when it is in season
as it will be cheaper, buy
produce that is marked down,
grow a garden.
And when you have an over
abundance of produce that
you know you can not eat within
a couple days to a week then
either freeze, dehydrate or can it to preserve
it longer, for up to a year or more
depending upon the process you use.

And now's the time to start
stocking up your freezer.
With gas prices rising it
will eventually cause the food
prices to rise again.
Plus with all the frost and freezes
they've had down South will
also drive up the prices of food.

Even if the cost of meat rises
and you cannot afford as much of it,
at least you will be stocked up
with vegetables which is more
important than any meat
and is loaded with vitamins
to get you by each day!

When it comes to growing
a garden, visit your garden center
near the end of Fall for marked down
plants! Some plants might take
awhile to mature and produce
so get them in asap
so you can reap the benefits
in the near future.
I have blackberries, raspberries,
grapes, strawberries and pears
that I have planted that were
$1.50 to $5.00 a plant marked down.

11:55am

Well I am off here for now.
It's about nap time and I could
really use one right about now!
My back and hands are aching
so time to give them a rest
from being in the kitchen.

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Sometimes surveys are long and
boring. And don't you hate it
when you get half way through one
only to find out you don't qualify.
That happens so many times.
I finally got through a survey today.
Now up to $95.20!
Slowly getting up there.

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I think for supper tonight
we will have tuna melts
made on the George Foreman
and some mac and cheese on the side.
Something simple.
I need to work on tidying the house
this week. My friend from high school
finally made it to town from
Germany so will likely visit
in the near future.

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5:15pm

Got my veggie broth poured
into bottles. I ended up with 4 of
them. This should make some great
soups. It sure smelled good
when I was blanching the veggies.
Tonight's supper- Tuna Melts
with mac & cheese.
I realized when I started making
them that I was out of mayo
so used fat free ranch dressing instead.
This would have been
good with some lettuce and
a tomato slice, something I don't have.

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7:35pm

Woo hoo, I finally hit the
$100 mark on doing surveys!

3-8-11