A Thrifty Mom

Chelle who writes The New Mommiez Blend wrote this great post on how to make your clothes last longer, and stain removal ideas.  I thought she had some great ideas, thought you might enjoy it too!

Clothes are expensive. Or they can be. I don’t like expensive.  Here are some great ways to get the most bang for your buck while making your clothes last.

-My first tip would be to not use the dryer. Drying your clothes is a lot harder on them in your dryer than using a drying rack or the clothes line. All that lint you threw away….that used to be part of your clothes! And when you do dry them follow the instructions printed on the tag. They are there for a reason.
-If we all could afford this next one it would be great, but even I can’t right now. Front loading washing machines are tons of times gentler on clothes than that awful agitator twisting and pulling. You would think we were punishing our favorite tee shirt!
-When adding bleach don’t pour it right onto the clothing! Chlorine bleach is corrosive. When I was learning the ropes of doing laundry I would pour it directly on my white shirt and the stain would magically disappear in front of my eyes. I thought that was a good thing. Until months later I would get holes where I had done so.  Chlorine bleach will eat away any fabric. Not to mention discolor and wreck your colorful items. So be careful. Even though peroxide is a great ‘green’ bleach alternative, it still can wreck colored items too.
-You don’t need to use scalding hot water to clean your clothes. Warm or cool is fine! You won’t risk shrinking that favorite sweater. It will save you money too.
-Don’t hang sweaters up on hangers. They are heavy so they will just stretch. We’ve all seen those ugly bumps on the shoulders that came from hangers. Ugh!
-Don’t be afraid to hand wash some delicate items. Everything doesn’t need to be sent to the cleaners. A nice trick I learned to help dry these items is to put them in a towel. Lay item flat on a big bath towel. Roll up. Give a little squeeze, taking care not to crunch, twist or wring the towel. Unroll and most of the water has gone into the towel.
-Trash/reuse/recycle those dry cleaning bags. Plastic locks in moisture which is not good for clothing so don’t keep your clothing inside of these bags.
-Get out those pesky stains! There is nothing worse than turning a shirt into a rag because you couldn’t get that salad dressing or armpit stain out. Follow these tips:

Red Wine - Rinse with club soda. Then pretreat with color safe bleach. If the spill is on a white shirt use a bleach pen for small spots or dilluted chlorine bleach for larger spots. Launder as usual using either a color safe bleach or chlorine bleach.
Coffee - Rinse rinse rinse with cold water. Pretreat with color safe bleach, bleach pen, or favorite pretreater depending on the garment. Launder as usual using a color safe bleach or chlorine bleach.
Berries - Rinse with cold water. If the spot is on a white shirt use a bleach pen for small spots or diluted chlorine bleach for larger spots. Pretreat with color safe bleach if needed for colored items. Launder as usual using either a color safe bleach or chlorine bleach. You can try pouring boiling water on the spot too.
Ketchup - Pretreat right away using color safe bleach or a bleach pen/diluted chlorine bleach depending on the garment. You can try pouring some Mr. Clean on the stain too. Launder as usual using a color safe bleach or chlorine bleach.
Grease/Salad Dressing - Apply a grease fighting dish soap or liquid laundry detergent immediately to pretreat. Launder as usual using a color safe bleach or chlorine bleach.
Lipstick - Dab (very important not to rub!) a cotton ball/cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol onto the stain. Start from the outside of the stain and work your way in. I have also heard that a large amount of petroleum jelly rubbed into it works too. Launder by hand using dish soap.
Armpit Stains - Make sure you know if the stain is actually sweat or if it came from your deodorant. To tell the difference check the color. If it is yellow or greenish and can also be crunchy to the touch it is sweat. If it is greasy and/or clear or white in color it is from your deodorant. Do NOT add chlorine bleach. This will change your yellow stain to something fierce. Pretreat with very hot water. Then equal parts baking soda and peroxide. You can use just peroxide if there isn’t any baking soda handy. If it makes you feel better you can start with a 50/50 mixture of water/peroxide. Take note that peroxide isn’t safe to use on or near colored items. If peroxide and baking soda aren’t available use a laundry detergent geared for grass stains/food. You can also try an oxygenated detergent. Some people (and I am one of those people!) swear by the power of the sun. Have you ever left something out in the sun a couple days? It will never look the same. The sun has bleaching powers. Think highlights from summer! You can try pretreating it with detergent first then laying it out in the sun. This trick works better on whites.
Mud and Dirt - Pretreat with a powder detergent or liquid. If the mud is caked on, use a soft bristled brush to remove excess after it has dried. Doing so before it has dried will smear the mud worse. Be careful not to grind the dirt into the fabric. Think off, not in. Wash as usual.
Bubble gum - Put article of clothing directly in the freezer for a couple of hours. Scrape away gum. Whatever is left use a dry cleaning solvent to remove residue.
Acrylic Paint - Pretreat using rubbing alcohol, ‘pine’ cleaners, and good old hairspray. They all have been known to get rid of paint from clothes. Gently rub pretreater of choice onto clothing and soak. Wash as usual.
Blood - Pretreat with cold water and a dab of shampoo. Never use hot water. It will set the blood stain. If stain is on a white shirt you can try peroxide. Windex is also rumored to treat a blood stain.

As with any stain try to catch it right away. I know this isn’t always the case. One more thing I advise is to not put the stained article of clothing in the dryer after you have washed it. Check the stain. If it is still there try other options before it has set in. You can tell this even when it is still wet. So it’s okay to have to repeat the process. In all the instances above using chlorine bleach you can substitute hydrogen peroxide. I do this all the time. Also, vinegar makes a great residue remover in the final rinse in your laundry. Use in place of fabric softener. Good luck!

Hopefully today you have learned a trick or two and can save some money at the same time. If you follow the tips and tricks above you’ll not only go easy on your clothes you’ll go easy on your wallet too.

Thanks to Give Me Neither for taking the time to work out these scenarios, and showing the best ways to save money on diapers.

Here are a few more deals at Diapers.com for 1st time orders.  You’ll get $10 off an order of $49 or more and free shipping with promo code GIVEMORE.  You can buy any diapers that you want for this promotion.  Here are just a few ideas with prices per diaper.  You’ll be able to buy any size you need, but the price per diapers is based on size 3.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to Diapers.com for a new account (this deal will only work for a new account)
• Add $49 of diapers or formula to your cart.
• Shipping is free for orders over $49 and no tax in most states!
• Use promo code “GIVEMORE” to get $10 off your order.
• Once your order arrives go here, print, and submit the mail-in-rebate to get $14.97 back!

Continue reading Guest Post-Diapers as low as .10 cents each

Thanks to Mojo Saivngs for this guest post, I thougth it was a worth while read and brought up a good point!

Photo Courtesy Of Walmart

Thanks to my lovely wife Lisa for letting me have the floor for a minute. We frequently shop at Aldi and are accustomed to buying generic products. She was unaware that many generic brands are made by name brand manufacturers and almost didn’t believe me at first. I guess the conversation came up because I was commenting on just how good Aldi’s cereal is and in some cases tasted just like the name brand cereals.

Ok, so maybe I had an unfair advantage as I have been in the Marketing, P.R. and the Advertising business for some 20 years but I honestly just thought everyone knew this.

As the economy has been weak for a lengthy period of time and continues to stay weak, I’ve believed for awhile that there would be a fundamental change in consumers values and belief systems and that consumers would be looking more for value over name brand, not just now but for the long haul. I think when you suffer enough pain and bang your head against a wall long enough that surely you will learn something. Perhaps it is the end of the keeping up with Jonses era. Well, lets hope so at least.

Here is a great article that attests to the changing values and priorities of the consumer. How retailers are kicking name brand products off their shelves in favor of their lower priced generic brands by demanding better prices and less confusion with their many different product lines.

GO HERE to read this great article from CNN Money. What are your thoughts? Do you believe this change in Americans values, priorities and beliefs will stick for the long haul? If not, why? Is it good for the consumer?

If you are looking for a Thrifty Valentines idea, then here is a cute idea.   All you need is a plastic bag, scrapbook paper, candy and a sewing machine.  What a fun idea….Check out HowDoesShe.com for the full post.

Thanks to Holiday Haven for passing along this wonder post on how to make a beautiful, yet simple cake perfect for Valentines day!

Tip: If you do not have a heart shaped pan you can use a square or rectangle pan and then cut a heart shape out.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (For cakes this is a very important step).
2. Cut a piece of waxed paper, or baking paper to fit your pan. Butter the pan, lay the paper in, and then butter the paper.

3. Add a bit of your cake mixture to flour the pan. I still use mixes because I am a decorator, not a baker (yes, there is a difference). But if you make cake from scratch, just a little of the dry mixture before adding wet ingredients will do.

4. Fill the pan 3/4 full.

5. Bake!

6. Use a large knife to cut off the rounded cake top.

7. Give cake top to the nearest kid you can find.

8. Frosting: 1c. butter or cream cheese, 4c. powdered sugar, dash of vanilla, and milk added by the tablespoon till it is a good spreadable consistency will make a good buttercream frosting.

9. Put a little frosting on your cake plate to fix the cake to the plate.

10. For the first frosting layer do not worry about crumbs. Spread the frosting somewhat thinly and make sure crumbs on your spatula do not end up in the frosting bowl.

11. Let set for a few minutes so the frosting will set up.

12. Apply another layer of frosting to the sides. The top does not need another layer of frosting as we will be covering it with cherries. Use the back edge of a knife to smooth the sides.

13. Use a fork to give the sides texture.

14. Put some frosting in a zip loc bag and make a small cut a one corner.

15. Use this like a pastry bag to make a raised edge all around the top of the cake.

16. Add cherry pie filling to top of cake.

17. To make a ruffle around the cake you will need wired ribbon.

18. To ruffle wired ribbon cut a piece a bit larger than you will need. Make a hook from the wire on one edge of the ribbon. Pull the other side of the wire out a bit until ribbon is gathered on one side.

19. Carefully tuck around the cake.

20. Enjoy! This cake tastes as good as it looks!

Ali’s Coupon Adventures sent us this great Thrifty way to feed your baby healthy:

Do you have a baby at home who is ready to begin or is already eating baby food? Do you spend what seems like a fortune on baby food in those cute, convenient little jars at the grocery store? Have you ever thought about making your own baby food?

When I had my first child (ages ago) I was young and didn’t really know any different, so I never gave it any thought at all. I just bought the expensive little jars and went about my merry way. Well, then, when I was pregnant with my second child I was actually a caregiver for another woman’s baby during the day. I was amazed that once he started eating baby food, she didn’t send him with any jars. Instead, she sent these little ziploc baggies full of frozen cubes of food. At first I thought she was a little crazy, but then, after some time, I realized how amazing she was. Not only was she saving a ton of money, she was also taking it upon herself to give her baby the most wholesome foods possible. I became very interested in doing the same thing for my next baby-to-be when the time came. I did a lot of research at the time and learned anything and everything that I could so that I would do it right. I have to admit that I was actually kind of terrified. What if I did it wrong? What if my baby didn’t like it? Could I really keep it up? Well, needless to say, I conquered my fears, stuck to my gun, and I did it! Continue reading Guest Post- Thrifty Frozen Baby Food

FYI, I have not been compensated in anyway by the makers of Xtra. I am just happy with the product and want to share it with others!

Thanks to Utah Deal Diva for passing along her post she did  tips for freezing food!  She has some great ideas!

Every time I post a picture of my freezer contents, I get a flood of emails and comments asking about certain foods that can or cannot be frozen. So I thought I’d give a list of items that freeze well, as well as some tips on freezing food.

As a disclaimer, most anything can be frozen. However, the texture and consistency often change, so I’ve tried to be specific and list foods that I choose to freeze, or not to freeze.

Items I Freeze:

Ashley with Frugal Coupon Living wrote a great post on all the different ways you organize coupons.  I personally use the binder method and it works great for me.  But it is import to use what works for you.  So this is a great way to show you a few choices.  If you would like to read my post with photos of  How I organize my coupons click here.

One of the most important things to do when couponing is organizing your coupons. If you don’t know where to find a coupon you have (due to a stash full of unorganized coupons) then you are not able to reach your full saving potential. Below I am going to show you different organizations methods that work.

Method One: Organize Inserts by Date
This method has been the method I have used for years. The funny thing, however, is when searching the internet for other’s organizational methods, I was the only one that I found using this method.

How to Start:
1.) Pull your inserts from the Sunday Paper and write the date on the front.
2.) Hole-punch the left margin of the coupon (In all my years, have not had problem with this messing up barcodes to scan.)
3.) Place your inserts in a large binder with oldest in the back and newest in the front (arranged by date.)

Pros:
1.) This makes finding a certain date’s coupon VERY easy to locate.
2.) All your inserts are in one place.
3.) Doesn’t require much time to organize each week.
4.) Easy to get rid of expired coupons. Clean your binder starting in the back.
5.) You have every coupon that came out in the Sunday paper – no coupons went to waste. So even if there is a coupon for a product you don’t buy, you might find the product cheap/free and you can donate the item.

Cons:
1.) Bulky
2.) When searching for a particular coupon (toothpaste), it is not easy to locate. I could be anywhere in your binder.
3.) There is a lot of “extra” advertisement paper (coupons only take up so much room on each insert.)
4.) Doesn’t leave room for loose coupons – another method is necessary to attach to this style of organizing.

Examples:
• See My Example HERE.

Method Two: Organize Coupons by Type
This method is the most common for couponers. Most coupon “pros” (if we can call them that) arrange their coupons this way.

How to Start:
1.) Pull your inserts from the Sunday paper and cut. (Note: If you have multiple copies of the same type, lay individual, like pages on top of each other and cut coupons from multiple inserts at the same time.
2.) Once your coupons are cut, organize them by type. You can arrange by type using photo sheets or baseball card inserts.
3.) Place photo/baseball card inserts into a large binder. You can add as well a zipper pouch for scissors, pens, paperclips, etc.

Pros:
1.) Organization at its best. If done right, this system is very orderly and neat.
2.) Easy to navigate for type of coupon. When you are in the store you can easily go to your health section for a toothpaste coupon.
3.) Easier to see when a coupon is about to expired.
4.) All your coupons are in one place.
5.) All the “extra” paper in the Sunday inserts are recycled or throw away. You do not have an abundance of extra weight due to unneeded paper.

Cons:
1.) Time – you do need to find time to cut and organize coupons each week.
2.) Bulky.
3.) Hard to find a coupon by date. If you need to go to the 1/3 SS insert, you don’t know which coupon came from where.
4.) You must search page by page for expired coupons when cleaning out your binder.
5.) When cutting coupons, you are most likely throwing away coupons you don’t use/need. If there is a sale where that coupon makes something free or cheap, you don’t have that coupon to donate that product to others.

Examples:
• See Kerri ‘s binder example HERE – She actually sells them as well so you don’t have to make your own.
• See Sarah’s binder example HERE
• See Shannon photo album example HERE
• Coupon Magic Organizer also has a place where you can buy a premade binderHERE.

Method Three: The File System
I have seen this method before, but I was unable to locate a picture or example during my research. It is pretty self explanatory, however.

How to Start:
1.) Acquire a file cabinet or cube crate that can hold handing file folders
2.) Take your inserts and arrange by date. Each handing folder will house a different date’s coupons.

Pros:
1.) Clean and Neat.
2.) Requries the least amount of time.
3.) This makes finding a certain date’s coupon VERY easy to locate.
4.) All your inserts are in one place.
5.) Easy to get rid of expired coupons. Clean your files starting with the oldest date
6.) You have every coupon that came out in the Sunday paper – no coupons went to waste. So even if there is a coupon for a product you don’t buy, you might find the product cheap/free and you can donate the item.

Cons:
1.) Bulky – the most bulky method.
2.) Not really portable. You will not walk into the store with this method in your hand/cart.
3.) When searching for a particular coupon (toothpaste), it is not easy to locate. I could be anywhere in your file system.
4.) There is a lot of “extra” advertisement paper (coupons only take up so much room on each insert.)
5.) Doesn’t leave room for loose coupons – another method is necessary to attach to this style of organizing.

Examples:
• Please share if you have/see an example to where I can link.

Additional Methods
When couponing, you will most likely want to mix in other organizational methods. Of the above methods, method 1 and 3 don’t allow you to do it all in one place. You might be able to do it all with method 2.

Accordion File
For loose coupons, it is nice to have an accordion file. You can arrange this by type of coupon. You organization can be as specific ad dairy or as broad as grocery. Other tabs include health and beauty, baby, cleaning, household goods, etc. The accordion file is VERY easy to carry in the store. It can be as small as an envelope size or as large as a piece of paper (in width and height comparison- not depth.) This is a great place to organize peelies, catalinas, blinkies (store dispenser coupons), etc.

Envelopes
When shopping in a store, I plan my lists ahead of time. Like I have shared before, I do not walk in with my large coupon binder. Instead I carry in envelopes (and usually my accordion file mentioned above.) My envelopes are arranged by store name. For example, when I organize my CVS list I carry instead my envelopes coupons I need for THIS trip, Extra Care Bucks, My CVS Card, and rain checks. At the end of my CVS shopping, the envelope will be 95% empty from what I came in the store with.

Smaller Binder
My particular grocery store, Publix, often has a lot of additional coupon flyers/booklets. When I have extra booklets, I hole-punch the booklets and arrange them in a smaller binder. This I call my store coupon binder. If you desired, you could add some photo/baseball card inserts and place additional store coupons inside this binder as well. These would be coupons earned through rewards cards, food/baby clubs, etc. They usually are mailed, printed, or acquired in the store.

Photos above used with permission from: Save at Home Mommy, The Bargain Jargon, and Frugal Coupon Living.

Thanks to Ali for passing along this “thrifty wrapping paper idea”.  She said her husband came up with both these ideas.  I have to tell you growing up we ALWAYS used the comics for birthday wrapping, so this brought back some good memories! I love these and think they did a great job!  This is a great way to use up all those free comics we get each Sunday with our coupon inserts.

The first idea is simply to use the comics as wrapping paper! This is great for kids and adults alike! It is fun, festive, and FREE! You can even dress it up a bit with some ribbon and a cute tag to make it look a little better. Here is one of the gifts I wrapped for this year…

Also, as I’m sure is the case with many of you, I have decided to make gift baskets for almost everyone this year, filled with lots of goodies that I have gotten free or super cheap over the last few months since couponing. As I am sitting and making my baskets today, I needed some filler for all of those baskets. Now, granted, you can find relatively inexpensive paper shreds or basket filler at the dollar store or at some craft stores, but what about FREE filler? I am all for it! All you have to do is send your comic sheets through the shredder! I then take them and use it to fill my gift baskets! It’s colorful, looks great, and is, again, FREE!

Just thought I’d pass this along in case anyone needed some cheap…er…FREE wrapping paper and basket filler!

Top 10 items that you should never pay for again!

Thanks to Saving your Cents for this post …. hope you find it useful!

The Frugal Girls were kind enough to send this Thrifty Fall Craft! Sarah just loves it! Enjoy:

I love everything about Fall, but especially love pulling out all the festive decorations for our home!

A few years ago, my little guy made the cutest pumpkin craft ~ a Toilet Paper Pumpkin…

It becomes our table centerpiece each fall, and it was so simple to make!

Here’s how you can make one of your own…

What you’ll need:

• 22″ x 22″ square of fall patterned cotton fabric
• 1 Double Roll of Toilet Paper
• 1 yard thin rope or paper cord
• Batting 14″ by 14″ square {or paper towels can be substituted}
• 1 brown paper grocery bag
• Tape {hot glue can also be used}
• 2 silk fall leaves

Lay out the fabric and batting. Place toilet paper roll in the middle.

*If you don’t have batting, you can substitute semi-crumpled up paper towels to add texture.

Begin pulling up the fabric and tucking it down into the center of the toilet paper roll.

Once it has all been wrapped up, it will look like this…

Now, you’ll want to take a brown paper bag and cut out a section that is 12″ long by 4.5″ wide.

Roll it up and then tape it.

Take the rope or paper cord and twist around the “stem”. You can tape the ends of the cord, or hot glue it on. It will look like this…

Insert the ’stem’ down into the middle of the toilet paper roll.

Add the two silk fall leaves, and you’re done!! So simple, and so adorable… for years to come!

We received some great info from a fellow blogger and thought it was wise advice:
5 Steps to Raising Financially Responsible Children

Growing up, things were always tight for my family. I knew that certain things could not be afforded, like ballet lessons, and that certain things were substituted for ballet lessons, like soccer at YMCA. But I never truly understood why it was that my parents were so far behind on their bills or why my Dad had to work two jobs just to support our family. I was never taught the true value of a dollar; I was taught that working to make ends meet was the way life was meant to be lived. But this could not be further from the truth. After beginning the process towards becoming a financially responsible adult, I realized that there are many things parents can do to ensure their children have a successful but realistic financial future. Some children will have trust funds and college accounts and their needs will be taken care of. This article is about raising the other kind of children: the kind of children who develop thrifty habits and value frugality and worth over fanciful and flashy.

Saving money involves each and every member of the family, and there are five simple steps you can take today to get your entire family on board your plans of savings and frugality.

1. Clue them in. Let your children know about your financial situation. They do not need to know about every last credit card bill you charged up in college ten years ago and are still paying on, but they should have a general idea of the financial situation and budget. How much is set aside for sports and recreation activities for each child? If the child knows this information, it is her financial decision what sport to participate in, and this builds character and fiscal responsibility.

2. Set a common goal. What is it that your family would like to accomplish? Paying off the last of the debt? Making the final mortgage payment? Taking a family vacation? Decide what financial goal your family is working toward, and create together a visual reminder. It could be a picture cut out from a magazine brochure clipped onto the refrigerator, or a chart showing how much family debt has been paid off so far. A visual reminder toward a common goal helps keep the family (and the wallets) united.

3. Enlist help in saving. There are ways that each family member, from 0-18, can help cutback and increase the family savings. Encourage your children to help clip coupons and match them to sale ads, and to get the appropriate items at the grocery store. Even my 2 ½ year old loves to hold Mommy’s coupons at the store. Older children can be in charge of finding the best deals for family needs online or finding trendy, like-new clothing for themselves at garage and thrift stores. Sons can scour local secondhand stores for their sports equipment like cleats and shin guards. Your husband or wife can be your equal partner, keeping you accountable for extra spending and helping assist your children in their frugal endeavors.

4. Find frugal rewards for reaching individual goals. Money or gifts have long been traditional rewards for a job well done such as a recital or perfect report card. Learning to replace these material rewards with frugal gifts from the heart cuts back on the budget and fills the soul with love and admiration. Use the skills you already have. Can Dad do woodworking? How about a new shelf to hang his son’s sports equipment on after he wins the last game of the season. Daughter get a good report card? How about a homemade gift certificate for a handmade pizza of her choice and a Netflix DVD night with a friend? Frugality is nothing more than creativity with money and goods.
5. Encourage Charity. Even a 2 year old is capable of understanding that once a month she must choose a toy that will be given to a little boy or girl who has no toys. Encourage charity in your children, with their material possessions and their time. A teenager who cannot possibly part with any of their belongings can still volunteer to help coach ballet or soccer an afternoon or two per week. Giving back to others teaches children the cycle of reciprocity and helps them become adults.

Nadia is a young Army wife and mother of two who enjoys shopping and sharing her frugal lifestyle at ABCFrugality.com

Thanks to Utah deal Diva for these thrifty tipsMany of you have asked what I’ve done with my boxes of apples that were given to me, so I thought I’d take a few minutes and show you! This post has a ton of pictures because I think it’s very helpful to see what I’m talking about.

I don’t have the necessary items to properly can anything, so I froze a lot of the apples in a variety of ways. One item you need to do just about anything with is Fruit Fresh. It’s essentially absorbic acid (vitamin C) that works to preserve the color of the apples even after cut. I bought my bottle at Walmart for $3.44 and after using it constantly for the past 2 weeks, I still have some left! You can use lemon juice, but absorbic acid works much, much better and it doesn’t alter the taste of the apple, which I like.

Freezing Sliced & Diced Apples

One of the most basic things I did with my apples is peeled, cut, cored and diced them to freeze. I borrowed one of those handy apple Peeler-Corer-Slicers like the ones here and it made a daunting task quick and bearable! After you peel, core & slice the apple, put it in a bath of water mixed with Fruit Fresh to sit for about 5 minutes. Next, set the apples out on a cloth to dry out a bit. You can then dice or slice them. I did both! I did 3 layers of each on large trays (pieces of Saran wrap between the layers), which I then put in the freezer. Once they were frozen, they break up individually and I put them all in a large ziplock bag.

I love to use diced apples for pancakes, and muffins, as well as my Double Apple Walnut Bread.
The nice thing about freezing diced apples is that when thawed, they’re soft, so they bake into these items nicely.

Here are some recipes for my frozen sliced apples:

• Basic Apple Pie (incredible!!)
• Apple Crisp
• German Apple Pancake
• Freezer Apple Pie Filling

Homemade Cinnamon Apples

I was going to make homemade applesauce but we decided we’d enjoy homemade cinnamon apples much more. Instead of using the apple peeler-corer-slicer, I just peeled them with a potato peeler and then used the corer-slicer that slices them into larger pieces. I used 30 medium-small apples and this process took me about 20 minutes.

I searched the Internet for a good recipe, but didn’t want something loaded with sugar, so I came up with my own. It worked out great! The only thing is, despite using several tablespoons of corn starch, the juice didn’t thicken much at all! The apples taste delicious though, so I consider it a success. Here’s what I used:

30 medium- small apples, peeled, cored & sliced

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

a few dashes of nutmeg

2 TBSP butter

3 TBSP cornstarch

Place sliced apples in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients, except butter. Pour over apples and stir well. Dot apples with butter. Cook on medium for 4 hours, stirring intermittently. Enjoy!

Note: Depending on how many apples you use, the time required to cook them will vary. Check often after about 3 hours. You want to apples to be tender, but not mush!

Dried Cinnamon Apples

I don’t have a fruit dehydrator, so I made these the “old fashioned way.” It was easy!

Use the apple peeler-corer-slicer and place apples in the Fruit Fresh bath afterwards. Dry apples on a cloth and then make 1 cut through the apple, so that the slices separate. Lay apples out on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit more Fruit Fresh, then follow with a bit of cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake in low oven for 10-12 hours. The lowest my oven goes in 170 degrees. I baked the apples for 12 hours, then turned the oven off and just let them sit for another several hours.

My plan was to use my Food Saver to make pouches of apples, to eat over the next year or so, but each time I make a batch they disappear! Note: you can reuse the pieces of parchment paper several times!

What do you do with apples to enjoy them all winter long? Please share!

Thanks to Give me Neither For this great post.

My wonderful husband planted a bunch of pie pumpkins in our back field this year.  I love knowing that my pumpkins were grown without chemicals.

We love pumpkins in bars, muffins, and pies.  I’m sure we’ll come up with some more creative uses.

Here’s the process that we used to make our pumpkins into puree.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut the pumpkins in half

Scoop out stringy pulp and seeds.  Remove the stem.

Place face down in a shallow pan.

Cover with foil.

Bake in oven for about 1.5 hours or until tender.

Allow pumpkins to cool.  Scoop pumpkin flesh and puree or mash it.

I used a food processor.  You could also use a blender or a mash it with a potato masher.  It really depends on what you have available and what consistency you like.

Make a yummy pumpkin pie.

I use the recipe on the Libby’s Pumpkin Puree can and substitute 15 oz. of our pumpkin puree.  I also make my pie crust from scratch from a recipe that Matt taught me when we were 1st dating.  Nothing beats homemade:)

With the puree that I didn’t use, I measured it into amounts that I use in recipes and froze it.

What do you make with pumpkin puree?