Lots of helpful hints, & caramalized onions with turkey
In something like the original Hebrew, “Everything alive will gratefully acknowledge You, & praise Your name sincerely.” I like better the looser translation, “The force that drives all flesh exalts You, our Sovereign, always.”
A very merry Christmas to all of our Christian friends!
HELPFUL HINTS:
You know how difficult it is to tell which paper products are the best value. Comparing the unit price per sheet doesn’t give you much information, since the weight of each sheet varies by manufacturer. The solution? Take a sample of brands to the produce department & weigh each. People may look at you as though you were nuts, but you’ll make the best buy.
I do almost all of my grocery shopping together at the beginning of the month. This makes it easier to budget. If you do as I do, use your fresh produce early in the month, & then turn to frozen & canned goods. It’s a good idea to chop some onion at the beginning of the month & freeze it, so that it will be on hand all month. You can also do this with bell peppers. Celery will last in the produce drawer of your fridge if you keep it in a perforated bag. Garlic will keep in a glass jar in the produce drawer.
Speaking of onions, they actually will last quite a while if you do as I do – first, only purchase ones that have their skin intact around the whole onion. Otherwise, mold can set in. Secondly, place each onion separately into a dark bag (cloth or brown paper), & close the bag. Then you can place all those bags into one large one for convenience.
Many things are washable & don’t need to be replaced. For example, if you use pressed or loose powder (or if your baby does), you don’t need to buy new puffs. Just throw them in the washer on delicate & hang them to dry!
That’s not all the scoop I can give you on powder. Make your own! Just fill the container that you want to use halfway with cornstarch. Add a few drops of vanilla extract (or your favorite fragrance – lavender, anyone?). Close the container tightly & shake for all you’re worth. There you are!
If, like me, you don’t have a microwave for health reasons, & your brown sugar has hardened, you can use a meat mallet to break it up easily. (As I’ve mentioned before, you can avoid this problem by placing half an apple in the brown sugar canister.)
In food containers where you always use the same amount of the food at one time, devote a measuring cup to the container. For example, put a ½ c measure into an oatmeal canister & a ¼ c measure into a raisins container, so that you can easily prepare one serving of the cereal. You can also put a scoop (perhaps 1/3 c if you like) into each flour container. As you know, flour needs to be measured by putting scoops into the measuring cup & then leveling off the top of the cup – since flour in the container is aerated.
The cheapest furniture of all -- & that with the best storage capacity – is made of wooden (storage) boxes topped on every side with foam & then covered with fabric (you can staple on the foam & the fabric.). The basic idea (without the wood storage boxes) is described on pages 440-441 of the 1976 edition of READER’S DIGEST COMPLETE GUIDE TO SEWING. Try Inter-Library Loan, specifying the 1976 edition, to obtain this book.
When you clean a coffeemaker with vinegar, save & label the vinegar. You can use it up to 5 times for the same purpose, without losing effectiveness.
Seamstresses can cover buttons without using the expensive kits found in stores. Just take any old set of flat buttons that are 1/8” smaller than the ones called for on the pattern, & cut a circle of fabric for each that is 1/8” larger than the button (i.e., that is the same size as the buttons called for on the pattern). Then gather the pieces of fabric to fit around the buttons. Be sure to knot the ends securely after gathering.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
Do you love the taste of stuffed turkey, but would like to avoid the saturated fat from the meat as well as reducing the calorie & carbs counts by eliminating the bread? Here’s the recipe for you. You can reduce the canola oil to 3 T, & reduce the salt to ½ tsp, but you’ll lose the full satisfaction of the taste.
Turkey with Caramelized Onions:
½ large or 1 medium onion, cut in half vertically & then sliced across, half-moons separated
¼ c canola oil
Heat, covered, in a 10” skillet, on high until you can hear simmering. Reduce heat to its lowest, & sauté for 20 minutes. Stir thoroughly, cover again, & sauté another 20 minutes.
2 stalks celery, sliced in ½” pieces
1 c turkey, in small pieces
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Add to skillet these other ingredients & stir thoroughly. Cover & cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve to 3.
A very merry Christmas to all of our Christian friends!
HELPFUL HINTS:
You know how difficult it is to tell which paper products are the best value. Comparing the unit price per sheet doesn’t give you much information, since the weight of each sheet varies by manufacturer. The solution? Take a sample of brands to the produce department & weigh each. People may look at you as though you were nuts, but you’ll make the best buy.
I do almost all of my grocery shopping together at the beginning of the month. This makes it easier to budget. If you do as I do, use your fresh produce early in the month, & then turn to frozen & canned goods. It’s a good idea to chop some onion at the beginning of the month & freeze it, so that it will be on hand all month. You can also do this with bell peppers. Celery will last in the produce drawer of your fridge if you keep it in a perforated bag. Garlic will keep in a glass jar in the produce drawer.
Speaking of onions, they actually will last quite a while if you do as I do – first, only purchase ones that have their skin intact around the whole onion. Otherwise, mold can set in. Secondly, place each onion separately into a dark bag (cloth or brown paper), & close the bag. Then you can place all those bags into one large one for convenience.
Many things are washable & don’t need to be replaced. For example, if you use pressed or loose powder (or if your baby does), you don’t need to buy new puffs. Just throw them in the washer on delicate & hang them to dry!
That’s not all the scoop I can give you on powder. Make your own! Just fill the container that you want to use halfway with cornstarch. Add a few drops of vanilla extract (or your favorite fragrance – lavender, anyone?). Close the container tightly & shake for all you’re worth. There you are!
If, like me, you don’t have a microwave for health reasons, & your brown sugar has hardened, you can use a meat mallet to break it up easily. (As I’ve mentioned before, you can avoid this problem by placing half an apple in the brown sugar canister.)
In food containers where you always use the same amount of the food at one time, devote a measuring cup to the container. For example, put a ½ c measure into an oatmeal canister & a ¼ c measure into a raisins container, so that you can easily prepare one serving of the cereal. You can also put a scoop (perhaps 1/3 c if you like) into each flour container. As you know, flour needs to be measured by putting scoops into the measuring cup & then leveling off the top of the cup – since flour in the container is aerated.
The cheapest furniture of all -- & that with the best storage capacity – is made of wooden (storage) boxes topped on every side with foam & then covered with fabric (you can staple on the foam & the fabric.). The basic idea (without the wood storage boxes) is described on pages 440-441 of the 1976 edition of READER’S DIGEST COMPLETE GUIDE TO SEWING. Try Inter-Library Loan, specifying the 1976 edition, to obtain this book.
When you clean a coffeemaker with vinegar, save & label the vinegar. You can use it up to 5 times for the same purpose, without losing effectiveness.
Seamstresses can cover buttons without using the expensive kits found in stores. Just take any old set of flat buttons that are 1/8” smaller than the ones called for on the pattern, & cut a circle of fabric for each that is 1/8” larger than the button (i.e., that is the same size as the buttons called for on the pattern). Then gather the pieces of fabric to fit around the buttons. Be sure to knot the ends securely after gathering.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
Do you love the taste of stuffed turkey, but would like to avoid the saturated fat from the meat as well as reducing the calorie & carbs counts by eliminating the bread? Here’s the recipe for you. You can reduce the canola oil to 3 T, & reduce the salt to ½ tsp, but you’ll lose the full satisfaction of the taste.
Turkey with Caramelized Onions:
½ large or 1 medium onion, cut in half vertically & then sliced across, half-moons separated
¼ c canola oil
Heat, covered, in a 10” skillet, on high until you can hear simmering. Reduce heat to its lowest, & sauté for 20 minutes. Stir thoroughly, cover again, & sauté another 20 minutes.
2 stalks celery, sliced in ½” pieces
1 c turkey, in small pieces
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp salt
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Add to skillet these other ingredients & stir thoroughly. Cover & cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve to 3.
posted by THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair" at 8:46 AM
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