Extra Closet Space

I don't know about you, but I never have enough closet space. 

Clothes, jackets for all seasons seem to take a lot of space.

Ok.... I live in Canada and need clothes for Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall 12 months of the year because you really never know what the weather will be like.

In this area we can go from -40 to + 20 overnight!!!

So....how do you keep the clothes you need for any season without having more closet space than living space???????

A simple trick that is soooo easy and costs nothing!!

That's right $0.00

It all starts with the soda that you are drinking right now....

Take off the tab,.......

Now .....simply place it over the hanger part of your clothes hanger..... Like this.....

Now..... Place another hanger through the hole..... Like this......

Now hang in your closet and you have extra room....you really do.....

You could put 3-4 hangers together for an entire outfit...

Now when you want to go out..... Everything is together...

No searching for the right skirt or scarf...... It's right there....

I know it's scary...isn't it ?

The thought of being this organized............

Yikes.......

Split Pea Soup

I love this soup!!

Using a ham bone that I had thrown in the freezer a month or so ago, this soup is economical, satisfying and very filling. 

Serve it with bread or buns for a complete meal.

Split Pea Soup

------------------

10 cups water

1 package split green peas -- about 2 1/2 - 3 cups

1 onion chopped

3 carrots grated or cut finely

Chicken soup mix or Oxo or Bovril to taste ( I use around 3-4 tbsp)

1 clove garlic minced

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp pepper

Whatever ham that is on the bone ( try to save a couple of cups of meat diced)

   * if you don't have a ham bone, just use 2-3 cups diced ham

===============================================================

Boil ham bone in a large pot with the bay leaves and water

Simmer for an hour 

Take out bone and bay leaves. 

Let bone cool and take off meat to add to soup-- dice meat before adding to soup.

To water add onion, carrot, chicken bouillon, garlic, pepper and of course, the split peas.

Add in diced ham

Simmer covered for 2 hours until the peas are very soft and mushy.

Stir occasionally.

Serve with bread or buns if you like.

This soup is even better the next day, and it's darn good the first day!!!

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

This is super easy and sooooo delicious.

Only a few ingredients make up this dish so you won't need to run to the store for some weird and unusual ingredient!!

Serve over rice or pasta or even mashed potatoes if that's what you like.

Sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Chicken Cacciatore 

------------------------

6 chicken thighs, or whatever parts you want

     ( I have boneless chicken breasts so that's what I will use)

2 tbsp oil

1 onion chopped

1/2 - 1 green pepper chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 large can diced tomatoes

1/2-1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

  

Heat oven to 350*F

Brown chicken in oil

Put in medium roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Set aside....

Fry onion,green pepper and garlic until soft.

Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms, sugar,basil,oregano and pepper.

Bring to a boil.

Pour over chicken in roasting pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours uncovered.

Give it a stir and serve over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.

One of my favorite recipes !!

Won Ton Soup

This recipe is really very easy and super delicious.

Wonton soup is really quite easy to make. 

Once you get on to making the wontons the rest takes just a few minutes.

Make a big pot of this for supper and you will have no complaints ( and no leftovers! ).

Won Ton Soup

------------------

3/4 - 1lb of ground pork. ( I have made it with ground chicken and the results were just as good)

1/4 cup chopped green onion 

3 tsp soy sauce

3 tsp cornstarch

1 garlic clove minced or 1/4 tsp minced garlic in jar

2 tsp grated ginger root 

3 tsp sesame oil

=============

1/2 cup of water

2 tbsp cornstarch

=============

7-8 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

5 tbsp sesame oil

1tsp grated ginger

3-4 tbsp of chicken soup base ( 4 oxo powder packs or 3 tbsp of Bovril ) to taste

1 small Chinese cabbage chopped

2 carrots sliced thin

2 stocks celery chopped thin

6-8 mushrooms sliced thin 

1/2 cup sliced green onion

** just use the vegetables you have

   Don't worry if you don't have the exact same ones. It will still turn out delicious!!

------------------------------------

Put the first seven ingredients into a bowl

Mix well to incorporate all ingredients together.

Set aside

In a small bowl mix water and cornstarch together

(This is used to seal the wontons)

Open your wonton wrappers and place one on your work surface.

Place a small amount of meat mixture in the middle of wrapper.

Put a small amount of water mixture on two sides of wonton as shown above.

Fold over to seal.

Wet edges again and bring the three corners together and pinch to seal.

You just made a wonton!!

Continue to make as many as you would like.

We LOVE wontons....so I make them all !!

( The meat mixture can be frozen if you only want to make 1/2 the package of wontons.

The wrappers can also be frozen to use later.)

Ok... On to the soup....

Put the next ingredients except for the vegetables in a large pot.

Bring to a boil

Add wontons and simmer for 5 minutes to cook them.

Add vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes.....

Soup is served !!

Yum

I like sesame oil so I add a bit more to taste at this point.

Adjust the chicken soup base and sesame oil to your own taste.

Enjoy 

Beef Stroganoff

Here is a simple recipe that is easy to stretch
Just add an extra can of soup and an extra 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of sour cream for each time you stretch it.
A pound of hamburger can feed a lot of people this way!!

Beef Stroganoff
---------------------

1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp butter, marg or oil
1 onion ....finely chopped
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper


Melt butter, marg or heat oil in a large skillet.

Sauté onions.

Add ground beef and cook until brown.

Drain fat.....

Add mushrooms.

Cook and stir 4 minutes...

Add soup and milk.....

Cook for another 4-5 minutes on low.

Stir in sour cream, garlic salt and pepper.

Serve over noodles ( I also think this would be awesome over mashed potatoes if that was what you had )

Even the fussiest of the family went for seconds of this....

Happy days!!

.

Meatloaf

Nothing says comfort like a slice of homemade meatloaf.

Sometimes I make it with a gravy, sometimes with a tomato sauce.

This is my recipe for delicious meatloaf that turns out every time.

 

Meatloaf 

----------

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 package onion soup mix

1 onion chopped

1 egg

Heavy oven to 400 *F

Spray loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray

Put soup mix, onion and egg in a medium bowl.

Add ground beef and mix well.

Put in loaf pan.

Cook for 1 hour.

Serve with mashed, baked or boiled potatoes and a vegetable.

Add gravy if you wish. 

Yum...

I've made this for 30 years and everyone loves it. 

Super moist and delicious!

Randy Marsh Cake

Ok... This isn't really on my blogs theme...but

Look what I made for my daughters birthday.

It really wasn't that difficult.

If you've been afraid of using fondant before, don't be.

It's just like play dough.

Welcome!

Hello.
Welcome to my blog!
 I will be posting helpful ideas, recipes, and other money saving tips that I have learned while raising three children with my husband of 30 years.
I have had a fair bit of practice making ends meet while still making sure our children were happy and not feeling too "deprived" .
It's been a fun journey and I have learned from trial and error along the way.
I am new to this so for the next few weeks I will be on a learning curve as I figure out the process of "blogging".
Stick around and check back as I share my thoughts, ideas, recipes and what I have learned , to make money stretch in times that were very lean. We still use all of these and as the economy worsens I am glad to have the knowledge , skills, and the desire to save money where I can.

Follow along and share this with your friends!

No Cost Sweeper Refill

Cleaning the floor is one of the daily jobs we all face.

If your like me, you have hardwood, laminate or linoleum floors and sweeping is how you clean them.

Do you have one of those sweepers that uses expensive refills?

You really don't need to buy those.

It's very easy to make your own sweeper pads for zero dollars!

That's right....they will cost you nothing.

Best of all they are washable and reusable.

I use a model that has a built in vacuum because I have 2 cats that shed like crazy and I find it picks up the hair better than just a sweeper.

This will work for any model that uses reusable pads though. 

First... 

Find a sports sock that has seen better days. 

You know, the one with the elastic that keeps falling down or the hole in the toes.

Size it up to your sweeper and cut off the extra length.

Make it a bit longer than your sweeper.

Now , cut the sock open so it's laying flat.

Trim off the edges and put on your sweeper like one of those disposable ones...

This works great for picking up the dust and dirt from the floor.

Best of all, I can throw it in the washer and think of all the money I save by doing this!!

You must have a sock or two waiting for a new purpose in your laundry room?

Egg in a hole

Breakfast.........

Yep , you just wake up and barely ( if you are lucky) get a few precious sips of coffee before the dreaded " what's for breakfast " question pops up.

Well ..... Here's a quick and easy recipe that requires no thinking , no planning and gets a great reception when served.

All you need is bread and eggs.

That's right ....no fancy ingredients.

Just a very simple recipe that makes 2 ordinary ingredients a little more special.

For Valentine's Day, try heart shapes to show them you love them.

Ok....

Take a piece of bread, and cut out a circle from the middle.

I have a biscuit cutter so that's what I use, but you can just use a cup that is smaller than the slice of bread.

Cut out as many " holes as pieces of bread needed.

Now... Take a fry pan and spray with cooking spray or lightly oil....

Brown the cut out " holes"

I kinda sguished mine...but it really is ok.. :)

Now.. Take these out and put to the side..

Place your piece of bread with the hole out, in the frypan. 

Crack an egg in the hole.

Cook for a couple of minutes on medium and flip....

Cook for a minute or so more... 

You want the bread toasty...

Take out and you are done.

Serve with toasted " round" and a bit of fruit...

Super easy...and just a bit special.