Cooking with a Lamp

 

This is something that surprisingly works great. 

Make a tripod to hang your small cooking pots from that is measured to where the pot is within about a half inch of the top of the lamp. This will ensure that the heat from the lit lamp will go right to the pot. You can easily make one out of wood - making 3 legs and a wooden center to put the hook on for hanging the pot. 

You can quickly boil water, make coffee, warm up canned food, etc. Great way to have warm food when you have no power. You can find these lamps at thrift stores and yard sales all of the time. Great investment. I think , right now, that I have 12 of them! I buy them when ever I see them. LOL I am a kerosene lamp hoarder and I am not embarrassed by it. You can never have enough.  

Food Storage Recipe - Depression Meat Loaf

Great depression era recipe.  Awesome to make a meat loaf with so few ingredients. We probably should dig out all of those depression era recipes these days.  My grandma used hers daily. She lived thru the depression. She could make gravy out of anything. 

Need:

Half cup evaporated milk

2 slices bread

1/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pound lean ground beef

In a large bowl pour the milk over the bread and let it sit until all of the milk is absorbed.  Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Stir it together with a fork until the bread is nice and fluffy.  Mix in the ground beef.  In a baking dish, shape it into a loaf - about 7 inches by 3 inches,  and about 2 inches thick. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until the middle is no longer pink.

Food Storage Recipe - Pasta Sauce

Quick pasta sauce to make.

Need:

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano

1 can tomato paste

1 cup water

Dice and cook onion in oil until tender. Add everything else listed and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over pasta.

Have Personal Cleaning items On Hand.

 

I was sent some items that I really think would be great for anyone to have on hand. I used them all for a few days and now want to share how I feel about them. The first thing I tried was cleansing foam by Medline. I really loved how it cleaned and left my hands feeling soft. That is a plus this time of year. Most soaps that I use leave my hands feeling very dry. This didn't. 

The Medline nourishing moisturizer is also another item that I would recommend to anyone.Now greasy feel and it is made with natural emollients. It left my skin feeling super soft. My Little Man kept asking to feel my hands after I used this. I used it on his back after he took his bath and he didn't complain about itching at all. He gets really super dry skin all fall and winter. I have tried everything. This really helped him a lot. The not having a yucky residue was another plus when using it on him.

I used the Medline hydrating moisturizer on myself and I was really surprised how something that light feeling could really make the dryness go away. I love it. I used it on my face and neck and it had no greasy, heavy residue. All natural ingredients! This is one that I will continue to use.

The last item that I tried out was the Medline flushable wipes. These can come in handy for any time. Great for when need to feel that extra clean and they are flushable. The fibers break down quickly when flushed, yet are still strong in use. Wipes are premoistened with rinsefree formula that cleans, moisturizes and soothes the skin. Formula is pH balanced, hypoallergenic and alcohol free.

 I get a lot of my office supplies at Shoplet and they have a lot of  office stationary and promotional products including promotional shirts. They also have a lot of other useful items that you can get for the home. Like the Medline items that I was able to review.

Food Storage Recipe - Soup In A Hurry

Quick soup for a cool day. Serve it up with a sandwich or cornbread.

Need:

2 pounds ground beef , brown it and drain well

2 cans of condensed minestrone soup, undiluted

2 cans chili beans with gravy

1 can stewed tomatoes

Half cup of mild picante sauce

In a large pot mix all of the ingredients. Stir it up to mix it well and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve.

Food Storage Recipe - Potato Noodles

I was given this recipe by a neighbor and it is really easy, frugal, and good.  I used a kind of gravy over ours that had mushrooms in it.

1 pound potatoes, diced

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 beaten egg

1 tablespoon milk

Salt and pepper

Boil the diced potatoes until they are cooked through.  Drain them well. Mash them up until they are smooth and then beat in the flour, egg, and milk.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mix together to a stiff paste.

Lightly flour a flat surface. Roll out the paste to form a thin sausage roll shape.  Cut it into 1 inch lengths.  Drop the dough pieces into a pot of boiling water and cook a few minutes in it. They will float to the top when cooked. 

Very essy to make.  A great way to make a frugal meal.

Clothes Dryer - Save Money By Not Using Dryer!

I finally moved my shelf/clothes dryer into the kitchen. Much better place for it. In the utility room there wasn't much heat blowing around and stuff didn't dry good. Now it is where the heat from oven, kerosene heater, and vent (if its on) are giving it heat to dry quicker. Great shelf/clothes dryer combo I got at thrift store a while ago for a couple of dollars. Laundry Drying Rack is a great looking one that I found on Amazon. Would be a great gift for someone that is wanting to save some money. I plan on hanging my towels on this to dry so I am not using my dryer so much. Whenever I have a load of towels it takes forever , so I usually hang them outside on my Umbrella-Style Clothes Dryer, but with it getting colder I am wanting something for inside. So not using the dryer constantly. Could even use this for t-shirts and stuff.

Homeschool Minute - Little Man Has Been Sick

Poor little man was sick all week with a very bad cold that we now all have. Awful cold that we have no idea where it came from. But, I was down with it yesterday, but little man was feeling a lot better. Still has cough. So, since we are all under the weather we just cuddled up on couch and watched a couple of the land before time movies. Then he was wanting to do something , so I poured out a bag of colored craft sand in a wooden tray and he played with his dinosaurs in it. He even got creative and got rocks and toy trees. He had fun and didn't wear his self out. Hope we all feel better soon!

Kerosene Heaters - A Cost-Effective Alternative to Electric Heating

 

Kerosene heaters are viewed by most as an archaic, outdated method of heating. But in reality, kerosene is a very cost effective, easy to use source of heat. While most of us picture the ancient glass lamp when we think of kerosene heaters, there are many modern, high efficiency kerosene based heating systems on the market today.
With impressive BTU production, these units are powerful enough to warm a very large living area at a reasonable cost. While many people enjoy the ease of electrical space heaters, the biggest flaw with these units is the very high cost of operation. With electrical bills skyrocketing in recent years, it's a viable option to explore kerosene as an alternative.
Kerosene can be stored for many years, and, contrary to what some might think, it's no more dangerous to store than any of the chemicals that are already kept in your household. Kerosene heaters, in fact, can be considered much safer than gas heating systems. With a gas heating system, even a small gas leak can be catastrophic. Something as simple as a pilot light going out can lead to an entire home filling with gas. In addition to the risk of combustion and fire, these fumes are very hazardous for family members who may be unknowingly breathing them in.
Another wonderful advantage of kerosene heating is the portability. Do you have a garage or workshop that's constantly ice cold in the winter? Having additional duct work run to this area can cost an arm and a leg, and to make matters worse, you're then stealing away valuable heating BTU's from the main living areas of your home. For households with an freestanding structure that's not directly attached to the home, this isn't even an option.
With a kerosene heater, it's as simple as filling it and turning it on. You can use it as needed. Once a day, once a week, or once a month, with kerosene, you pay only for what you use. Kerosene heaters are great for camping trips or outdoor activities as well. There are no wires, no power outlets, no gas lines, and no pilot lights to deal with. Simply set it down and turn it on, and you're enjoying comfortable, efficient heating immediately. An old fashioned kerosene heater can be a great conversation piece as well.
Nothing is more relaxing than enjoying a good book during the winter months in a comfortable chair beside an old fashioned kerosene flame. With constantly escalating electricity and gas bills, it's no surprise that people across the world are searching for alternative forms of energy. With the flexibility to heat only a portion of your home, it may be worth investing in a kerosene heater. Why turn on an entire central air unit and heat up the entire home when you're only using one room? Try out a kerosene heater and enjoy the savings that many people have known about for years!

Sarah writes about ways to save money on heating and cooling bills. Among Sarah's most recent work is an extensive write-up on the topic of portable kerosene heaters and how to effectively and safely use your heater in a kerosene heater safety guide.

Food Drying vol. 1: How to Dry Fruit - FREE Kindle Book

Food Drying vol. 1: How to Dry Fruit was a free Kindle book when this post was written.

Are you looking to learn how to safely store and dry fruit?

Food Drying vol. 1: How to Dry Fruit covers exactly that, giving detailed information on how to prepare and dry more than 35 different types of fruit. From popular dried fruits like apricots, bananas, prunes and raisins to surprise entries like watermelon and cantaloupe, this handy food dehydration guide has you covered.

The following topics are covered in this fruit drying guide:

• Why you should learn how to dry fruit and how fruit drying can save you money.
• What happens to fruit as it dries.
• The nutrients that are lost during drying and what you can do minimize loss.
• 10 different ways to pretreat fruit to prevent enzymatic browning.
• How to dry fruit using the oven, the power of the sun and a dedicated dehydrator.
• Conditioning and pasteurizing dried fruit after drying is complete.
• How to safely store dried fruit to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

Here's a sampling of the fruits that are covered in-depth in this book:

• Apples.
• Apricots.
• Bananas.
• Bilberries.
• Blackberries.
• Citrus fruits.
• Blueberries.
• Cantaloupe.
• Cherries.
• Coconut.
• Dates.
• Figs.
• Dragon fruit.
• Grapes.
• Kiwi.
• Mangoes.
• Peaches.
• Pineapple.
• Plums.
• Watermelon.
• and more . . .

Detailed drying information is provided for each fruit, and includes the following information:

• A brief description of the fruit and its health benefits.
• How to select the best fruits of that type for drying.
• How to prepare the fruit for drying.
• Whether pretreatment is necessary, and if so, what pretreatment techniques work best.
• The drying temperature range that works best.
• Approximate drying time ranges for the oven, the dehydrator and sun-drying the fruit.
• How to tell when the fruit is dry.
• Conditioning, pasteurizing and storing the dried fruit.
• How to rehydrate the dried fruit before use, if applicable.

Buy this book today and learn to preserve your harvest by drying fruit.