Pumpkin Carving? SAVE Those Seeds!

I love roasted pumpkin seeds, and they are really good!
Here's a recipe from Mom Fuse Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!
Enjoy, and if you are carving the pumpkin~save these...we like pie so we use it all...

EASY PUMPKIN for pie
Here is Libby's pumpkin pie recipe AND loads of tips 

even a tutorial on how to make homemade pie crust!

I have grown to dislike the pumpkin from a can.  I like the taste and texture which is different when fresh.  It was my mother in law, Margret who told me years ago how she prepares her pumpkins for pie~Thanks Mom!
So many have said to me, "it's that easy?" when I have shared just how easy it really is~

Steps to Preparing Fresh Pumpkin:

• Wash the outside of the pumpkin.
• Heat oven to about 350 degrees F.
• Cover a cookie sheet or baking pan with foil to catch drippings.
• Stab or place holes with a knife all over the outside of the pumpkin~about 4-6.
• Place pumpkin into the oven and bake it WHOLE until it's outer skin is brown.
• Remove and let cool completely.
• Slice open, remove seeds and strings.
• Scoop out the "flesh" of the pumpkin~no cutting needed: you can literally scrape it off the skin.
• Put into zip lock bags and freeze or measure and make pie~yum!!

• I like to put our fresh pumpkin into a food processor or mash with a potato masher to smooth out the texture.  But boy is this yummy in homemade pumpkin pie~AND Oh so healthy!

HERE's another Tip:

Buy your pumpkins when they go on sale after the season. We've paid as little as 25 cents each!

THIS IS A Cost Saver for sure!

Thankfulness ALL Year Long

It's the season to be thankful.  Of  course, we should be thankful all year long! What are you most thankful for? As a woman working with her family (hub and two kids) I am thankful that we finally saw the situation we were in and where we were heading! I attribute this realization to God who has shown us why it is wrong to be in debt and overly concerned with the possessions of this world. 

So with Thanksgiving in sight, I want to share some frugal ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving. Let's keep the course for a wonderful season of thankfulness!

1. Mindset~This is the hardest part, I think.  Am I truly thankful for what I have? Am I content and fulfilled with the blessings I have been given? Commit now that each day leading to Thanksgiving to think of something or someone that you are thankful for~begin a log or journal.  Write them down if you want to, but purposely begin a "thankful journey" towards the holidays.

2. The Celebration~Menu plan. Guest plan. Decorate plan.
If we get ourselves in gear NOW, things won't sneak up on us to rob us of some of the joy of the day~Ever get caught rushing around at the last minute and feeling rushed? I have~not this year! Let's commit to planning NOW.

• Watch for the sale of your favorite "turkey"~is it turkey for you? Last year we didn't have an oven (we were in temporary housing without an oven, but we were able to borrow a large roaster from our church which made delishious turkey! STRESS over!)
• Are family and friends coming to your home? Plan it now~I would begin the preparations of cleaning and how to set the table or even just seat everyone.  Do you need extra tables, chairs, dishes, pots and pans? Borrowing and lending is an economical way not to hit the rental shops for items needed.  Do you verbally invite by phone or do you send written invites? Plan these now! Or you might be like our family, celebrating with just us.  This is nice too, but I've had it both ways.  I'd say that having family around is wonderful.  I'd even encourage it, if it's possible.  You can invite those who would enjoy your company for the celebration: friends long from home who are new to town, singles, anyone who would enjoy joining you for Thanksgiving.  
• A lot of emphasis is placed on decorations today for every holiday.  I enjoy a pretty table with linens and candles.  Not everyone thinks like this, so if you aren't into it, or prefer the disposables, then by all means go a head~but just remember that using the more convenient items like this can be more costly.  Look around NOW for table covers that are inexpensive.  I have found some of my prettiest ones in thrift stores and at yard sales~sheets: for around $4 you can have a twin flat sheet of almost any color to adorn your table . . . sheets wash up nicely too and are easy to reuse!   

Ideas for inexpensive table decorations:
I like to use what I have.  Do you have a fresh bag of apples or other fruit?  A pretty basket? You can combine these along with some fall leaves from your favorite colorful tree and have a nice centerpiece for the day~I am all about being able to GET RID OF IT after the fact too~but these are not items that I would be wasting or filling the landfill with~my kids would eat the fruit and the leaves will generally fall anyway off the tree and end up in the compost~so it's easy this way...

Do you have any pine cones? I love these, and as a southern gal, seeing these all over the yard: Have the kids made a "turkey pine cone or two or more! All you need are some color construction paper (several colors) and pinecones.              They are really cute for the table!
Another idea is to put pinecones or like this year, I am using Buckeye nuts in a basket for a centerpiece.  Candles are nice. . .what do you like? Do you have some goards or small pumpkins you have not prepared for eating yet?
With apples in mind, you can use an apple as a holder for a floral arrangement.  Core out the center and stick your flowers inside.  This is quite pretty, and you can use pumpkins for this too if you have a huge table.  You can also use a canning jar for a country vase~got any ribbon or yarn? tie it around the top!About.com's table arrangements  Hey, it's almost funny, but I found this exact picture~I didn't know someone else has done these!

Thankfulness is truly a matter of the heart and mind, and being prepared so that stresses don't jump on us will make the holiday nicer!

Being thankful today for ALL my blessings,
I am on budget! Are you?

Making Dirt

I've posted a good deal about our garden and our wonderful tomato harvest this year and some of our methods for growing in the garden in our back yard.  I want to discuss composting as a great way of making soil for enriching the earth for growing medium in the garden.

There are many ideas on composting, but I like cheap...uh...oh...well, I think frugal sounds better~so it's frugal and easy!

I am going to list some links with good methods with summaries of how they are done so at a glance you can take a look to see what will work for your space for composting.

EPA on composting
I found this site to have a lot of information that was even geared geographically.  There is a list of publications and also FAQs.

EPA on Organics for Composting
Very informative about what makes great compost!

Composting 101
Nice website that is informative~has bins to chose from and loads of information.  This writer is in MT so growing is an issue and this is discussed.  How Composting Works is very informative on how to create the place and how it's done. 

OK~here are just a few good sites.  Remember to prepare the garden will require some prep.  Composting 101 suggested putting the compost pile or bin or receptacle near the garden~makes sense to me!

We have a friend who gardens who has prepared his garden for spring by spreading manure for it to 'set' all winter.  This will enrich the soil as well.  But my FIRST recommendation before adding these is to have the soil tested by your county extension agent.  You will want to know what your soil needs FIRST!

Getting READY for a full harvest after a full season of growing which is AWESOME for my budget!

Using It UP~Oatmeal boxes and Coffee Cans

I really hate to throw out stuff that can be re-purposed.  I have a couple of neat uses for ~

Oatmeal boxes:

1.  Cookie/candy give a way containers.  Line with wax paper and decorate with Christmas paper.  Use to give away your fresh baked goods for family and friends.  Let the kids decorate them for a personal touch!

2. Store dry goods.  I have stored extra items such as bulk macaroni and dried beans.  They stay very nice.  It's food grade, so it stores things very nicely.

3. Child's drum. Let your child decorate with construction paper and with the lid on, tap for a drum sound!

4. Sewing thread storage.  Do you have loads of the stuff and have no where to keep it? Here ya go!

5. Small toy storage for a child's room...remember that drum? Well, this box can be decorated and small cars and other toys can be stored inside it.

Coffee Cans:

For metal cans~

Party lights~I like to take an "all" and punch holes for a pattern.  Then I turn the bottom right side up and place a candle over for a neat outdoor party light to line my walkway...

Food storage~everything from bake goods as gifts, to anything that will fit.

GREASE trap~I like to pour grease off my cooking into a coffee can with a lid so I can store it until it's pretty full or before it goes bad and then toss.

Kid's cooking fun~ Take an empty metal coffee can, punch some holes~you can use the can opener or an all, but make some holes so the can will breathe near the rim of the top.  Be sure the label is removed.  Scrub the bottom.  Take a sterno can and light. Place this on a sturday table and place over it the can with the holes with the bottom facing the top.  Prepare grill cheese for the 'stove' and set on top...flip when heated through...This is fun for an outdoor camp out!

For plastic coffee cans~

I like the way they stack.  Store sugar and other dry goods in these.  Label with a permanent marker.
Use as a huge scoop to remove water in larger quantities such as in a pool or decorative pond.  The handle makes this nice!

You can use as storage for food items...but I don't care to use them as gift givers because they aren't as attractively shaped and are more difficult to decorate, but they make wonderful rice, flour, bean, pasta storage and MORE!  Remember these stack really nicely!

What are you doing with these? 

Using It UP~Cardboard boxes

Ever notice how much cardboard comes into our homes? There's packing boxes, shoe boxes, boxes for appliances and gadgets, all kinds shapes and sizes! So what are we going to do with all that cardboard?

Here are a few ideas, and if you have one or many~let me know...

USES:
1. Organizers.  Small boxes can be cut down to fit whatever item needing storage. Cover with pretty paper or fabric of a finished look.

2. Shelving backs. I love bookcases, and my husband has build quite a bit of those for us, but I don't like the backs open where books or other objects can fall right out...but stapeling cardboard to the backs with a stained finish or even wallpaper or painted surface, this will finish off the look of the piece and keep things looking nicer...

3. Signs for various usages.  I have used large card board box panels for yard sale signs.  They can be a large as you are willing to cut and display for your event. It can be used to point the way to all sorts of possibilities.

4. Gift giving. Wrap up your old boxes in gift wrap for a holiday box.

5. Postal shipping. Use your box to ship something to someone else!

6. Moving? Save your boxes! This can cost a lot if you don't have enough! 

7. Furniture.  Sounds goofy, I know, but if you need a side table to hold lightweight items, cover with a sheet or decorative cloth...THERE ya go! Here's a link for a cool chair!

8. Children's blocks. Save up small boxes and let the kids build with them as blocks.

9. Forts/Castles and puppet stages. Again, this could be child's play, but it's a good use and economical! More ideas!


10. Fair/Carnival/Party play.  Use the box for games such as "Go Fish" or other carnival came...Toss the Beanbag into one...it's endless! (See below for the fishing game idea.)

Use up those cardboard boxes...To store them empty, break them down and lay flat. You can store them behind, and underneath things OR even in garage rafters....You can never have too many boxes!

Fishing Game

Large box~big enough for a person or two to get into...the bigger the person~the bigger the box needed.
Fishing poles~make these from willow branches or other soft limbs.  Tie string or yarn onto the end of the "pole" and attach a hinged clothes pin to the end of it.  This is so when the player "fishes" a prize of either wrapped candy OR a small carnival prize can be attached.  Another variation is to have either colored disks (poker chips will work) or even colored note file cards.  Attaching a different color means a different prize that the 'fisher' could win!  The prizes are displayed and the color chip or file card bearing "fisherman" redeems their prize from the displayed prizes categorized by colors: however you desire, but here's an idea: red~biggest prize: maybe a stuffed animal (Do you have loads you need to get rid of???) blue: 2nd place prize (carnival toy~oriental traders type small items (the bulk carnival prize stuff) yellow: 3rd place prize~piece of candy only.  Have fun with your boxes!! AND it's carnival season~whoohoo!

Using It UP~Cardboard boxes!

Using It UP!~Kitchen $ Saving Tool

You aren't going to believe this, but if you already use one, then YOU KNOW how great this little tool is for getting EVERYTHING out and wasting nothing in those jars, cans, bowls, pots and bottles~

THE Rubber Spatula

Yes, that's right~ Sorry to mention something so simple,  but just using a rubber spatula will help you empty to the greatest extreme EVERYTHING out so nothing gets left behind~

This is a simple, but huge Using IT UP tip!

Drag it out or if you don't have one...it's worth the investment!
Let's waste not~Using It UP!