Making cheap turkeys tastier

By Valerie | November 19, 2009

Later today I hope to pick up a couple of the 40¢ per pound turkeys at Walmart. I like to get nice big ones, because I’m planning for leftovers. (I buy 2, freeze the second one, and we enjoy another nice turkey dinner in early spring.) One of the things…

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Stop the smoke when something spills in the oven

By Valerie | October 6, 2009

When you’re baking and something spills in the oven and starts to smoke up the house, the ideal solution is to turn off the oven, let it cool, and get it cleaned up. But what if you’re having company and must get the food cooked… or worse yet, in the…

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Flour Tortillas – Recipe

By Valerie | August 5, 2009

Jump to recipe  Flour Tortillas Cuisine Mexican Category Recipes Persons 36 Serving Size 1 tortillas Ingredients 6 cups All-purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder ½ tsp Salt ½ cup Vegetable shortening — cut into small pieces 2 cups Warm water (about — you may need a little more or less)…

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Cheesemaking – 2nd attempt

By Valerie | August 5, 2009

On the cheese-making front: Success!!! The curd didn’t quite look like the pictures in the instructions, but it definitely worked. It’s yummy, too! I’ll have to work out why my curd looks more like cottage cheese instead of a custard. I wasn’t able to make the ricotta with the whey…

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Cheese Making

By Valerie | July 31, 2009

I’m really getting frustrated. I’ve been to countless stores (okay, I guess I *could* count them) and I can’t find rennet anywhere. Dang if The Original White House Cookbook 1887 Edition that I got at a garage sale for a buck doesn’t have a whole section on making cheese (as…

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Super Sandwich Rolls

By Valerie | July 17, 2009

Valerie’s Super Sandwich Rolls – Serves 12 9 oz beer3 tbsp powdered milk1/4 cup potato flakes, instant1-1/2 tbsp shortening1-1/2 tsp salt1-1/2 tbsp sugar3 cups bread flour2 tsp Yeast, Active Dry* Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Set machine for 1-1/2 lb, dough setting. Start. When the dough is…

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Raisin Bran Muffins

By Valerie | July 16, 2009

It just wouldn’t have been right not to share this wonderful recipe after mentioning it my previous post. The beauty of this is that you can keep the batter in the fridge for up to a month after mixing and just make as many muffins as you need. 1 15-oz…

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Boiling Hamburger to Save Time in the Kitchen

By Valerie | July 14, 2009

[UPDATED 17JULY2023] I boil most of the hamburger I buy (some I make into meat loaves & meat balls). I usually buy it on a loss-leader sale when it’s about a buck a pound (that price was from 2009! a buck a pound would be a dream in 2023 where…

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Couponing Myths Debunked

By Valerie | June 17, 2009

Here’s a link to a creat article debunking a common couponing myth: Couponing Myth: No Coupons for products I use I just found this site tonight and it looks like there are a lot of good resources.

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Frugal Vacations – Camping!

By Valerie | June 14, 2009

I grew up in a family that went camping for vacations and have many fond memories of hiking with my sisters in the Santa Cruz mountains and swimming in lakes further inland. Camping was the time when my mom splurged and bought us soda pop to drink and other treats…

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