Space Saving #CartonSmart Products for Holiday Cooking

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This post brought to you by Carton Smart. All opinions are 100% mine. This year for Christmas I was sent several products from Carton Smart to try out. Carton Smart products come in recyclable and resealable boxes. This makes them easy to save space (plus keep more on hand), help the environment, and cut down on the amount of dishes needed in order to reduce food waste in your house! It’s no secret that I did not receive any cooking {Read More}

Food Expiration Dates – Understanding the “Use by, Sell by and Best by” Dates on Food.

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when does food go bad

I’ve had many people ask me “how long past the food expiration date is a product still good?”  My first answer is usually “a long time”.  My second is that “most dates aren’t an expiration date, but rather a use by, best by, or sell by date”.  Here’s what you need to know about those dates: Sell by:  This product is nearing the end of it’s freshness, so the stores should sell it so you’ll have time to cook and/or {Read More}

Ways to Enjoy Pre-Sliced Apples Without Them Browning

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apple slicer

Is there anyone who really enjoys eating a sliced apple that’s started to brown?  I didn’t think so! I always thought I had to deal with browning if I wanted to pre-slice my apples for convenience but didn’t want to use lemon juice as a preserver.  Not so!   My friend Angela shared her frugal solution with me recently.  She uses a slicer/corer, then secures the apple with a rubberband to keep it from browning until her son’s lunch time.  {Read More}

When Do Eggs Go Bad?

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eggs

If you’ve ever wondered if eggs can be used past their date – or how long past the date you can use them- here’s the answer! I was always taught that eggs are good a little bit past the date on the carton.  We’ve had no problems cooking eggs about 10 days past the date or baking with them about a month past.  This weekend a family friend mentioned an old trick she had learned to test whether eggs were {Read More}

Guest Post: Saving Money With Your Kitchen Appliances

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The truth is, you use your kitchen appliances. Every day. Multiple times in fact. That fridge is opened at least 5 times a day. Gas stoves are leaking. (not gas, but they are certainly bleeding  cash) They might be less expensive and fast – but energy wise, they are woefully inefficient. These things are some of the biggest uses of your home energy. And it’s certainly no wonder. When you take into consideration the state of the economy, more and {Read More}

How to Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets – Tips from Martha

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A few weeks ago I got to hear a professional organizer speak. Martha Dunlap is the owner of Divide and Conquer, a Tyler, TX organizing and estate sale business.  I’ve taken an organizing class before, but I still learned some new things and I thought I’d share a few with you this summer. One of the easiest ways to save yourself some stress is to prioritize the items you put in your storage spaces.  By placing things near where you’ll use them {Read More}

Organizing the Kitchen Cupboards – I’ve Tackled My Week’s Homemaking Chores Already!

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So far I’m doing really well with my homemaking tasks for this week.  My “extra” goals (not typical cleaning chores) were to clean the microwave & stove and to organize the pots, pans & skillets.  I had asked my husband what things he’d like to see get done this week.  I’m not sure if I’ve been extra motivated because of this, or because I don’t want to clean the bathrooms.  Either way, it’s working – pots/pan/skillets are organized, microwave cleaned {Read More}

Recipe for Your Own Sour Cream Topping Substitution

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Last Tuesday I gave you the link to a list of common kitchen and pantry substitutions.  I’ve used the lemon juice in milk substitution for sour cream in a recipe without any problems.  I’ll be using that much more often instead of purchasing sour cream. While that’s a great savings, I really wanted to figure out a substitution for sour cream as a topping. Here’s what I came up with: Soften 5 oz. cream cheese in the microwave on low {Read More}

List of Substitutions for Common Kitchen Pantry Items

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You may be surprised how easy most of these items are to make yourself Because we often choose to make do with what we have at home, I’m constantly searching for common cooking substitutions. We save a lot of time and money by not rushing out to pick up odds and ends at the store every couple of nights at dinner time. A few weeks ago I happened upon this list of kitchen substitutions over at Joy of Baking while {Read More}

Texas Cheese Toast "Recipe"

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I love Texas Cheese Toast, but not it’s inflated price tag at the store.  A box of premade cheese toast to serve 8 will cost $2 for brand name or about $1.70 for generic.  Since the cost for an entire dinner at our house will usually run between $3 and $4, I’m not about to spend $.80 just for 4 pieces of bread with cheese!  I’ve found it easy to make my own, without having to keep room for it {Read More}