Frugal Ways to Wash Fruits & Veggies

 

 

My friend, Holly sent me this -

Organic fruits and vegetables certainly cost more than their counterparts in the produce section. But, if you cannot buy organic because of your budget, you need an easy solution for washing your fruits and veggies that doesn’t cost a small fortune.

Special produce washes can be really expensive but if you are wanting to remove pesticides from your food, they can be very tempting. Honestly, these products are just not necessary. All you really need is a vinegar solution. Cook’s Illustrated tested and found that vinegar kills about 98 percent of bacteria – including salmonella – on the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Instead of spending a chunk of your grocery budget on chemical solutions, try these four, frugal ideas for washing your produce.

Click Here to go to Penny's website to read the entire article.  Super DIY ideas...

So here's how it's going...

I made yogurt yesterday at 3:30pm, it's only supposed to take 4 hours in my not so nifty YoGourmet Yogurt Maker.  I gave it longer, checked it at 9:30pm, it was soup, which entailed me leaving it in the incubator hours longer than it was supposed to be in there and ha vine poor hubby getting up, turning it off and putting it in the fridge for me at 2:30am.  That was the bad news, the good news is that it's yogurt!

Fast forward to this morning, we're heading to see the grandkids.  NOT!  We have ice, Louisville has more ice, so we're hanging around until mid-day hoping the roads clear, "hoping" being the operative word.

In the meantime, I have to give Maggie a bath and she has tangles!  Not fun for her or me, either.  It must be some kind of strange karma this month, every day is a new disaster!

Laughing Quadruplets

Could this be any cuter, really???

Tammy’s Eye Tutorial

 

This woman is simply amazing.  Everybody, regardless of their age, can learn wonderful makeup tricks from Tammy.  I love her eyes, she’s using MAC's Saddle and Down Brown, two of my very favorites.  I just wish my end results looked half as good as hers.  And mostly I enjoy her because she’s so real.  No pretense here, this lovely woman just tells and shows it like it is.

At the end of the video she contours her face, this is absolutely fascinating, ladies.  Enjoy, enjoy… ~ Jan

And don’t forget to subscribe to her YouTube Channel, you will be notified every time she posts a new video.

Here’s her link

Little grandchildren can be brutally honest!

Abby and I just had the following conversation:

Abby:  How many numbers are you, Grammie?

Grammie:  (not understanding what she's talking about) Huh, how many numbers?

Abby:  Yes, Grammie, how many NUMBERS?

Grammie:  (the light dawned) Oh, I'm 63 numbers, Abby

Abby:  Sixty three, SIXTY THREE, wow, those are really big numbers Grammie...

And you know, she's right,  those are  really big numbers, Abby...

It's gonna be one of those days!

I got up this morning, ready to put green beans in the crockpot, and couldn't find the can opener, anywhere!  LC and I have turned the kitchen upside down, even looking in the trash, because I'm not so bright anymore, with no luck, it's gone, kaput, vanished.  How does a big red can opener just disappear?  Only in my kitchen.

So then I'm making bacon for breakfast, because as you all know, bacon is the perfect food.  And I bought this wonderful Wright's Hickory Smoked Bacon at Sams yesterday, so I was in for a treat.  And I always eat mustard on my bacon, always.  Doesn't everybody???  But the bacon splattered and burned my face, it still hurts, waaaaaa.

Then, as the picture shows, the lid fell off the mustard and dumped on my plate.  Which brings up another grievance.  I love, love, love Plochman's Mustard, it's just so much better than that nasty French stuff.  But the cap is horrible.  It clogs constantly, you can't get the mustard out, it's been this way since the beginning of time.  That's why I have this big blob of mustard on my plate and the mess on the jar.  I was squeezing really hard and I just popped the lid off.  I don't know my own strength, obviously.  *blush*

Last year, for a brief moment in time Plochmann's changed that gawdawful lid to  a snap top and I was estatic.  But wouldn't you know, they abandoned the snap top and went back to the old top.  Why????  Which reminds me, I need to send Plochman's an email this morning begging and pleading for the new and improved cap again.  Oh, and it's time for my monthly email to Trader Joes, begging them to come to Heavensville, looks like I'm going to be a busy girl, even if nobody listens to me.  Hey, you gotta have a cause!!

But back to breakfast, I clean up the mustard, hubby announced that he would trek to Wally World this morning to get me another can opener, but it won't be a red Kitchenaid like the one I have now,  but at least it's a temporary fix.  Then I fix coffee.  How can you screw up a K-Cup?  Well, I didn't, but when I poured in my splash of Half and Half that I just bought yesterday, it curdled the damn coffee!!

And it's only 8am!!!  Oh joy...

Brrrrrrr….

The evolution of dinner….

When I was growing up we never had  "dinner" we had  "supper."  But we've eaten "dinner" now for years, thanks to a hubby who has little quirks about these things.  He hates it when people eat supper, and he a has a thing about always including a spoon with the table settings, even if you're just eating a sandwich.  The man has issues.

But anyway,  I was reading a book yesterday, it was from the turn of the century and they were talking about "getting supper."  It made me smile and think how much we've changed.

When my grandmother "got supper" she had to kill the meat and preserve it, grow and can the vegetables, churn the butter, gather the eggs, her whole life centered around gathering food for breakfast, dinner and supper for her family of ten chldren and cooking it on a wood stove.  But in my mother's house, our "supper"  consisted of newly evolving foods from the grocery store.  Things like frozen corn, packages of dry spaghetti sauce,  our beloved Jeno's Pizza Mix in a box, my favorite Blue Bell Bologna and the always present packaged bear claws and Maxwell House Instant Coffee, mom's "treats" that were always in the house.  Oh,  the times they were a changin.'

And then came my years in the kitchen when the boys were young, when "getting dinner" often consisted of boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese, and fish sticks, which our family still loves, with peas, you have to have peas with that meal.  We had things like Hamburger Helper, and Totino's Pizza, Campbell's Condensed Soup and we ate box after box of Velveeta,  it was all about processed foods in those years.  And even though I baked bread, stirred together homemade pasta, baked pie, cakes and cookies, and cooked "real" food for my family, we all enjoyed the salty, processed food that was affordable and readily available in the grocery store.  We bought cooking oil in a gallon jug and fried everything.  I went thru countless tins of Crisco and always used Blue Bell Margarine.  It was so good, but oh, it was not healthy eating.

And now here I am in my old(er) age, trying to eat clean, not much processed food, a lot of whole grains, fresh fruit and veggies, yogurt, olive oil, and lean meat.    But I wonder if I'm in the minority, the younger generation's dinners often consist of eating out, or fast food, or picking up pizza.  Things aren't what they used to be, but when I look back at what has evolved over the years, I'm more than ever convinced that grandma's way was the best.  Fresh meat with no hormones,  eggs, vegetables grown with no chemicals, butter instead of margarine, that's the way people are supposed to eat.  But to do that today costs a small fortune!  

Just an observation from me this week, makes you think about what you've eaten during your lifetime, doesn't it?

Darius Rucker and Adele “Need You Now”

They’re absolutely phenomenal!  It just doesn’t get any better than this….

Precious little grandchildren

 

Oh my, Lindsay sent these today, its the first picture of them playing together. They're growing up so fast...

Posted with Blogsy

Paul and Linda McCartney

They were so young.  A little nostalgia for you this morning, thanks to Carlene who sent me this charming video.

And, this old footage of Merv Griffin and the then unknown, Sharon Stone, touring Kings Row and Carnaby Street is wonderful.  Oh, she was so lovely…

Enjoy this little trek down memory lane on a Sunday morning… ~ Jan

Okay, so I put on my big girl panties and got a flu shot...

This was a major step for yours truly.  Eighteen years ago, the year I got bacterial meningitis, was the only year I had ever gotten a flu shot.  I know it had nothing to do with the meningitis, but I've had a huge mental block about flu shots since, and understandably so. 

But this this year the flu is raging and I have been so leary of getting sick.  I've stayed home the past few weeks, only venturing out a few times, and it's ridiculous.  I blogged about getting the shot days ago, and I still didn't do it.  But we're going to be out this weekend, and next weekend, and hopefully next week, so I just sucked it up, went to the grocery store pharmacy and did it!

The pharmacist was administering the shot, and I'm telling him that I don't even feel it.  "It's because I haven't done it yet," he said. And then he says "damn."  It's a bit concerning when the pharmacist curses, and when I asked why, he said he was just frustrated because the plunger wouldn't go into my arm.  But then I felt a sting, and the deed was done!

But you know what, I had zero symptoms afterwards.  I didn't feel bad, my arm wasn't even sore, it was painless.  Had I not felt the sting, I would have sworn I didn't really get a shot.

And now I'm protected, well as much as I can be, so I'm going out and enjoy my life.

But I didn't get a sucker, and I think I should have!  He didn't even ask if I wanted one.  *sigh*      

Aunt Bea's in the kitchen...

 

Just like Aunt Bea, Jan's in the kitchen cooking.  The kids are coming home for the weekend, the weather is going to be gorgeous, life is good.

Missing the grandkids like crazy, though.  But I'll see them soon, just can't take it much longer without seeing those precious little faces..

Best Friends–a kid, a dog and a puddle…

My friend, Mary sent me the link to this.  Another cute video.  You just can’t beat kids and animals.  This one is precious, but there will never be one as cute as little Emma and her Mustang Cinnamon, I’ve watched it over and over again.

Here’s the link if you want to watch it again, too….

Now the eyelashes are going, what's next????

Actually, the eyelashes are just going on one eye, the one that I got the blob of wax on.  But this happens a lot, I lose a clump of lashes right in the middle of that eye, not the other one just the left one.  Didn't you always want to know this????  Usually when I switch mascara they regrow, but I switched a couple of weeks ago, and so far they aren't coming in when I stare into my 10X mirror.  Eeeeeks!  Panic time!!!!

So I'm researching false eyelashes.  Hey, I'm desperate!  I Googled "Good Drugstore Eyelashes" and these came up.  People like them, they're super cheap, so  I started reading the comments.  Here's what one woman said:

"Use either a safety pin or a needle to apply the glue to the lash line. Press gently with another safety pin to the lash line to apply and the glue dries perfectly without any white showing."

What???? What???? A needle????  Me stick a needle on my eyelid????  Are you kidding me, no way, no how.  This is a disaster waiting to happen!

This obviously isn't going to work, I guess I'll just start wearing a patch.  Or maybe I'll grow my hair long and wear it over one eye like Veronica Lake did in the old days.  I know, you're asking, "who is Veronica Lake?"  Like I remember her???  Even I'm not that old, I just had a brain flash and her name popped into my addled brain.  She was born in 1922 after all, that was my mother's generation, not mine.

Oh I might just as well give up on this, if I did manage to get the things on I would look really stupid!  There is just no hope, there just isn't!  Poor pitiful me!!!!!

Oprah says Lance Armstrong's confession interview is riveting

 

I don't care how riveting it is, I wouldn't give former saint Oprah or Lance Armstrong one minute of my time.

She's in it for the ratings, why he is doing it is beyond me.  They announced on GMA this morning that he left his home in Texas yesterday and flew to Hawaii.  Is this bozo living in the real world?

Maybe not now, but he may be singing a different tune after all the lawsuits hit.

Oh, I'm so opinionated in my old(er) age.  The older I get the more I sound like my mother!

But seriously, does he think he'll get redemption for confessing his sins.  This is the biggest travesty in the history of sports!  The man is a disgrace, not only to his fellow athletes, but to all people around the world that admired him at one time and especially to the the younger generation that emulated him!  Shame, shame on you Lance Armstrong...

Dinner was a TOTAL disaster!

Oh you have no idea how bad this was, it ranked right up there with my jumbo cornburger, one of the most horrible things I've ever made.

I don't know about you, but I have my "go to" meals, things that are quick, fast, simple, and yummy.  One of my favorites is to put frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot with a can of cream of chicken soup, and in 3-4 hours I have tender chicken and a flavored gravy like broth that I can just mix cooked noodles into.  And who doesn't like chicken and noodles, it's comfort food on a cold winter day.

So this afternoon we had to run errands, I got out a bag of frozen chicken breasts, put them in the crockpot, but I only had a few, so I asked hubby to get another package, with a butterflied chicken breast in it, out of the freezer to add to them.  He was such a help, he added it to the crockpot for me, added the can of cream of chicken soup and we were out the door.

We come home to dinner simmering in the crockpot, life was good!  WRONG!!!!!!!

I finish dinner, cook the veggies, cook the noodles, add them to the crockpot, and stir it up like I always do.  But wait, something's not right, there is a brown film on one of those breasts.  I'm thinking, ewwwww, it must have been spoiled.  So then I pulled it apart, and it flaked.  IT FLAKED!!!!  Hubby had gotten out a package of mystery fish, thinking it was chicken, and added it to the crock.

Ever the optimist, I'm thinking, maybe it's a nice mild fish, it will be okay, or if not maybe we can just eat the minuscule amount of chicken and the noodles, right????   So I plate dinner, we sit down at the bar to eat, take one bite, and it's like oh no, oh no, oh no, this is wrong on so many levels.

Poor LC, he felt so bad, he got up and made mac and cheese and hot dogs, while I sat and fussed.

I may never feel the same about chicken and noodles again.  And I love chicken and noodles.

Oh dear, what a flop that was!!!!!  I may need some ice cream to recover….

A little online window shopping on a rainy Sunday afternoon

 

Soft Surroundings - I know, I know, you want the link.  Here it is, enjoy!

and this ring from Sundance

and their Smoky Mountain Earrings

and their gemstone 5 wrap bracelet

and this great ring for spring, i do love turquoise

No, I'm not buying, just dreaming.. Spendy, spendy...

 

 

Film vs. Digital, a little giggle for you this afternoon..

This is so true.  I remember back in the day, when I got ready to take pictures of Ryan's high school graduation, his 8th grade graduation pictures were still in the camera, same roll of film.

Now we take thousands of pictures, which we never develop.  Are mine organized?  Oh heck no, they're strung out all over the computer and backed up on multiple external hard drives .  I remember a few years ago when I got my MAC, I was so excited about iPhoto and face recognition.  Well, that lasted about a week, and I gave up on tagging all those pictures.  And I think at this point, the number of pictures i have is so overwhelming that they will never be organized into any type of albums.  

I suppose when I'm pushing up daisies and the kids are going through my things, they will have to figure it out.  Somehow, I doubt that it will endear them to me, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

It's too mind boggling to even attempt figure it all out, so Scarlett will just let the family go for it!  Let's see, I'm sixty-three now, so if I live another twenty or twenty-five years, that's gonna be a whole lotta pictures.  Forget the endearing, they are going to hate me!  

But they will go through them, because by then they will want to see what they looked like all those years ago.  Sucks to be them, huh...

And remember, no matter how much we dislike having our pictures taken, we will never look better than we do right now.  I look back at pictures of myself from five or ten years ago that I thought were terrible at the time and now I think they don't look so bad.  ;o)

That Cwazy Wabbit Strikes Again!!!

 

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Born to be wild
Born to be wild

I go out on the patio this morning, it's warm today in Heavensville, 64 degrees at noon, Maggie was trotting behind me, anxious to do her business.  I look straight ahead, and there sat Butterbean on top of the waterfall.  He's just sitting up there looking at me.  I look over, one of the doors to his hutch was open, "apparently" hubby hadn't locked it properly yesterday, so who knows how long the little scamp had been running free.

I was in a panic, because even though the patio is enclosed with a fence,  I'm always afraid he will jump off the back of the waterfall to freedom, but apparently he has no desire to do so.  I'm  yelling for hubby, he comes out and the chase begins.  Round and round they go, with Butterbean zooming from one end of the patio to the other.  He's in the shrubs, he's under the shrubs, he's behind the tree, and all the time I'm thinking...

"Run, run, as fast as you can. 
You can't catch me! 
I'm the Gingerbread Man!

He stops long enough to say hi to Maggie.  They're sniffing noses, she gets bored with him, he follows her for a bit, and then he's off again.  I get the bright idea to drag out Petunia's (John and Deanna's bunny) cage, put some alfalfa and a carrot in it, in hopes of luring him inside so that we can shut the door on him, but oh no, he didn't want any part of that.  He stood on his hind legs, sniffed the outside of it, and then he was off to the races yet again.

By now LC is getting frustrated, and I'm reminding him that it's his fault that Bun-Bun is loose in the first place, so he hangs in there.  And finally, finally Butterbean is tired of the chase, and thinking his home sweet home is looking pretty good, after all there is a heated pad to lay on, fresh water, rabbit chow, alfalfa, he has all the amenities, so he "allowed" a frazzled LC to pick him up.

He put him in his cage, gave him his carrot, and now he's happily munching away.

Where is my camera when I need it?????   Where??????