Bake me a cake

It was a busy week last week. So when I realized that I promised one of my students a cake for his birthday Wednesday, I paniced. It was Tuesday after work and I was tired. I didn't have energy to run to the store for a boxed mix. Little did I know that I would find that the recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook (of all places) for yellow cake was easier than driving to the store to buy the cake.

I mixed the cake (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, butter...items any self-respecting baker has) in a bowl and plopped it into a pan. While it cooked, I ate dinner and showered. I went to bible study while it cooled and when I returned, I mixed powdered sugar, butter and milk for the icing. Easy as....cake? Of course. And you should have seen the look on people's faces when I told them it was completely homemade....not even from a box. Priceless.

Actually...cheaper. I can't imagine those ingredients took any more time or money than a box of Betty Crocker and a tub of icing.

Getting the most out of your wardrobe

I talked Saturday about my large number of clothes. Over the years I have shared my tips for keeping your old wardrobe new...but I wanted to share them here.

A while back, I read that wearing the same color of different shades in an outfit was a good way to add some pop. That was when layering was in (but when isn't it?). So, I organized my closet by color. All the shades of red were together and all the grays and blacks. I put bright colors near bright colors and neutrals near neutrals.

When that got old, I organized it by type. All the pants were together, all the sweaters were together and all the hoodies occupied the same space. I kept the button down shirts together and all the "fancy" tops in the same area. All the short sleeves mingled with their like counterparts. I know if I need a cardigan to go over a short-sleeved shirt to keep me warm, that I can choose the best color by seeing them all at one time. This system helps me know exactly where I need to go, depending on the mood I'm in.

• Some mornings, I build an outfit around an accessory. I choose a necklace or earrings that I haven't worn in a while and pair it with an outfit. I do the same with shoes. I have a cute pair of red heels I hardly ever wear, but it's easier to start with them and add black pants and a red top than it is to decide to wear the shoes...because I usually go for the old standby black "teacher" shoes that are comfortable and not really stylish.
• Now that my closet has a section that is hard to get to, I often pull items to the front area. It's usually stuff I haven't worn for a few weeks. It gives me a fresh peek and I can avoid leaving clothes in the back to wrinkle over and over again.
• I still have a lot of clothes that I rarely wear. I keep them thinking if I lose 5 pounds I will feel more comfortable wearing them. When I lost a lot of weight before, I made the mistake of getting rid of ALL my pants, since I went down 2 sizes. I won't do that again. Life happened and I gained the weight back....leaving me longing for those cute pants that used to fit so well. And the reverse doesn't seem to be working. I long to wear the cute smaller sizes, but it just makes me more upset that I worked hard to lose weight and gained it back. So despite what Dr. Phil or Oprah says...keep a few sizes around. I am not saying keep a size 2 if you are a 12...but if you fluctuate between a few sizes...don't part with them too soon.

Dinner ideas made easy

The one thing I miss about living in York is that the Giant supermarkets are more high tech than the one in Shrewsbury. I miss that little machine in the meat department that offers recipes. You can choose a cut of meat, scan the meat and dozens and dozens of recipes are ready for you to print. It's awesome.
For example, pork loin was on sale for buy one get one free. I really only make pork and sauerkraut and roasts before....so I was looking for something new. I scanned the pork and scrolled through the recipes. I ended up choosing Pork Paella. It was basically Cajun-seasoned cubes of pork served over a mixture of rice and beans, wine, clam juice (which I happened to have in the basement...lol) and peas. It was really tasty, filling and not to unhealthy. Pork is a very lean meat (if you trim the fat.)
The scanning machine is just another tool shoppers can use to save time and money. If you are already at the grocery store, you can make sure you have all the ingredients. Some people are intimidated to use new technology, but you will see after the first time you use it...you'll wish you started a long time ago.

Freezing meat

This one is for Jen, because I know she is afraid of freezing meat. I live by it. I am a huge planner, so I buy way ahead at the grocery store. At any given time we have 48 rolls of toilet paper, five bottles of shampoo, eight cans of soup and 50 bottles of water and sports drinks.

When I lived in an apartment, I couldn't buy too much meat ahead because I only had the freezer attached to my fridge. I invested in a freezer when we bought the house, just a small used one that was my grandmothers. When meat is on sale at Giant for buy one get one free, I stock up. You can beat two 2-pound roasts for $10. I always buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts in bulk when they are buy one get one. For about $20, you can get 10 or more large breasts. When I get them home, I divide them into freezer bags, about two to each. I usually trim them down to normal size and freeze the trimmings as chicken tenders. I write what it is and the date on the outside of the chicken and pop it in the freezer. The day before I use it, I put the chicken in the refrigerator to thaw. If it's too much for the recipe I am using it for, I cook it off and save it for casseroles or chicken salad. The thawed chicken/pork/beef is no different than what you buy fresh. Once you add the seasoning, etc, you will never know the difference.
Today, I put a piece of pork that was thawed from the freezer in the slow cooker with beef broth, mushrooms, onions and seasoning. I'll serve it with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. YUM!

My first wood project

I bought this sewing table at an Amish Mud Sale about 2 years ago for $1. No, that is not a misprint. The Amish mud sales get many used items donated from the community that often don't sell for more than a few dollars. I actually missed this one and no one bid on it, so it had a little tag that said "NB." I approached one of the auctioneers and asked if I could buy it for $1. SOLD.

I've always been intimidated by stripping, sanding and painting wood. I mean, it just sounds complicated. But, this table was in sad shape. Look at the top. After tackling my dining room floor, I figured I could handle a small table. I am trying to convince Nate to let me decorate our upstairs office where I keep the sewing table. I want to make it a 1950s-style black and white theme. He says that we have other projects to finish first. But, I press on. So, instead of completely refinishing it, I decided to paint parts of it black and keep some wood.

Since the top was the worst, I started there. I added the same stripping liquid that I used on the floor (Citrus strip). I did the same to the drawers, but removed the knobs to keep them the wood color for a nice contrast. I waited about an hour and simply took a metal scraper (even though the jug said to use plastic, if you are careful, metal works better) and off slid the goo and a decent wood shone underneath.

Then I used an electric palm sander (about $30 at the hardware store) as well as my good old elbow grease to sand out the bumps and dents.

To finish, I used many layers of black paint on the drawer faces and the top until I was satisfied with the look. It took me a few days. I topped it off with a spray clear coat (but if I had to redo it I'd probably try to find a brush on. If you look close, you can see the spray marks.)

Anyway, my project cost me a fraction of what a new sewing table would look like. And even though it doesn't fit into the room quite yet, I promise I'll have Nate convinced sooner than later. Any suggestions on what color to paint the walls of a black and white room? I was thinking like a gray, but that seems so blah for the sunny room at the front of our house. Who knows?

Do you need Christmas ornaments?

I know some people don't realize that Cracker Barrel has a gift shop. They do, and after Christmas, everything is 70 percent off. You can get adorable ornaments for less than 50 cents. They even have blankets, home decor and candy.
Yesterday, I met a friend there and snagged up about half a dozen ornaments and a Penn State Hoodie for less than $15. That was with my employee discount, but still, what a deal. I am going to stow away the ornaments for next year and use them as package decor.
Today, my mom and I are hiting up Kohl's and Michaels. I can't wait to see what bargains we find. I am really getting back into the jewelry making, (I'll post some photos as soon as I can upload them) so maybe I will fatten my stock of beads.

Coupon codes

Don't buy anything online without googling the store name and "coupon code." Retailmenot is a decent Web site to help you with this. It was in an article in Reader's Digest. I did some Christmas shopping at Kohls.com and googled a code and got 20 percent and free shipping on my order without leaving my house.
The savings is worth the extra second it takes.

Keep cookies longer

Let me start by saying I didn't bake ANY cookies this year. I made many pumpkin rolls, but no cookies. I will try to start again next year.

Anyway, I was reminded of the year I made about 12 varieties, one that was pumpkin. When I gave my dad his tin, the pumpkin cookies were growing mold. Eww. How do you know when to refrigerate cookies?

My advice is this: Put the cookies in a tin. Separate varieties by parchment or wax paper and add a piece of bread. The bread will suck some moisture out of the cookies and make them last a little longer.

Saving on holiday gift cards

This year I am so not creative about giving gifts. I put effort forth on a few and then resorted to gift cards. You can't go wrong.

But, instead of running around to each individual store (because you have to at least put in enough thought to get them a card at a store they like or shop at), you can buy them at the grocery store. And thanks to Jen, who pointed out that you save gas rewards points at Giant by doing it. I bought a $25 gift card to Applebees at Wal-mart for $24.75. Not sure why the 25 cent discount. I will, however, be buying the rest of them at Giant, so I can rack up the gas rewards points.

If you visit their Website they even have a list of stores they carry.

Happy gift card shopping!

Back to the blogs

It's so easy to forget you have a blog. I mean, really, isn't life busy enough? I don't feel alone though, because I have read a million and five blogs that started and didn't keep up.

At the suggestion of a co-worker who is going to miss my bargain tips, recipes and ideas at work on a daily basis (**more on that later**), I decided to try really hard to keep the blog updated.

**As of Jan. 2, I will be leaving the York Daily Record/Sunday News, a place I have spend 37.5 hours a week for the past 5.5 years. It's bittersweet. I love this job. I get paid to write about food, fun people and life. It's flexible, laid back and cool. However, I have a larger desire to have a more rewarding job. Summers off won't hurt, either. So, I start classes at Temple Harrisburg in January to get my master's in special education. I will be substitute teaching, mostly for the IU 12. I'll still freelance for the paper to keep my writing sharp and I'll waitress at Cracker Barrel because that's fun, too.

So here is my tip of the day....(sorry Jen, it's one you already know.) The bread outlet behind the West Manchester Mall has a buy-one-get-one-free special on Fridays through the end of the year. That means the already half-price items are now BOGO. I got a pack of two small pizza crusts, rye bread, wheat bread and rolls for $3.50.