Filling the Tins: Peppermint and White Chocolate Covered Pretzels

No baking skill required.

These sweet pretzels will fill one of the medium-sized tins in my tower. A batch of 60 pretzels took 30 minutes of time and cost about $2.00. The pretzels and candy canes were from Dollar Tree, and the white chocolate was a combination of white baking chocolate and vanilla candy coating (I had the two items in my pantry). I used less than half the bag of pretzels, about half a bag of white baking chips, and 11 mini candy canes. I also used Crisco shortening to obtain a good dipping viscosity to the baking chips.

I prepared my candy cane pieces by laying the canes in the individual packages on the counter, and I broke them up with a hammer.

When I was ready to sprinkle the candy cane bits, I simply snipped the end off of each package and poured out.

I melted the baking chips in a shallow dish in the microwave, adding the Crisco in small amounts until it was the right consistency. A fork works well for tossing and removing the dipped pretzels.

I worked on 15 pretzels at a time. Dipping, then placing on a waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

Next, I sprinkled them with peppermint bits, then I began another 15 pretzels. Once the baking sheet was full, I slipped it into the fridge.

While the pretzels firmed up, I prepared the tin by lining with waxed paper. Do you know how to make a sheet of waxed or tissue paper fit a box or tin near perfectly without cutting? This is a little trick I learned in a gift-wrapping job when I was young. 

You hold the sheet of paper over your empty tin or box and fold up a portion, in the very center of the paper, until the near and far edges of the paper fit the opening. Then you crease the paper into place.

This is half of the batch. I'll add a couple more when the second tray comes out of the fridge, and there will be some leftover for our family.

I made these with white chocolate because that is the type of which I have a surplus. Semi-sweet chocolate is also delicious on pretzels, with or without candy cane bits, and it's even easier to get to the right dipping consistency. White chocolate has a higher sugar content than semi-sweet and care needs to be taken when melting it, lest it scorch. Use brief bursts of time in the microwave, and remelt the dipping chocolate as needed during the dipping process.

Filling the Tins: Nacho Cheese Popcorn

I thought I'd show you what my plans are for the tins that I spruced up about 10 days ago. I have already mentioned that the smallest tin will be filled with spiced nuts. For the largest tin, my daughter is going to make her fabulous flavored popcorn. This daughter is particular about popcorn. She likes the flavored ones, like what you sometimes receive in a large tin as a gift. She made some two-cheese popcorn a few weeks ago that I sampled and thoroughly agreed that it was delicious.

She uses a couple of products -- a butter-flavored oil to pop the kernels in, popcorn salt, and cheese popcorn flavoring. She says that the popcorn flavorings are least expensive at WinCo and Walmart (much more expensive at Fred Meyer and other grocery stores). While plain popcorn is much cheaper, these flavorings take the popcorn up a notch, making it a great gift, if bagged up or for filling a tin, or for a party treat that is comparable to something like Chex mix or chips but much cheaper. Anyway, cheese popcorn will fill the bottom and largest tin of the tower.

My daughter follows a procedure that a friend who works in a movie theater suggested. She pops the kernels in the butter-flavored oil mixed with some of the popcorn salt (we buy Flavocal popcorn salt at Cash and Carry). After the popcorn is popped, she tosses it with some of the white cheddar seasoning and nacho cheese seasoning. I mention her procedure as it never had occurred to me to pop the kernels in oil with the salt. Previously, we always sprinkled the salt over the popped kernels.

So, that's the largest tin's filling.

I Love the Savings

Many supermarket receipts include a savings amount for your current shopping trip. This is nothing new -- stores have been including this information for a while. What is new is the receipt from the library for the two videos that I checked out this past week. Below the information about the titles of the dvds it says, "You just saved $49.98 by using your library. That is the suggested retail price of the items checked out."

I just thought that was a cool reminder of how much money our library saves us. I should start a running total to see how much I save in one year. While it's true that I likely would not have bought all of the items that I have borrowed from the library this past year, I did consider buying a copy of the Christmas movie that I checked out. So, I guess you could say that I really did save about $25 with this recent visit.

Hot Flashes 2.0

In the spring, I mentioned reducing the frequency and intensity of hot flashes by cutting out caffeinated coffee, tea, and sodas. My hot flashes began in January of this year and making this huge reduction in caffeine brought those flashes down to a minimum, overnight. My primary source of caffeine was brewed coffee. I cut back to half caffeinated/half decaf brewed coffee, then went to all decaf brewed coffee. In late summer, wanting to reduce my caffeine even more, I switched from brewed decaf to instant decaf. The amount of caffeine in either preparation for coffee sounds insignificant, but when you figure that a person (me) may be consuming 5 or 6 cups of decaf per day, the amount of caffeine can add up to that of one or two cups if caffeinated coffee, over the course of a day. Some individuals are more sensitive to caffeine and every reduction possible is beneficial. This was the case for me.

To get an idea of how much caffeine is in various preparation methods and roasts, healthline.com provides some data. So, I live in Coffeeland, USA. Starbucks Pike Place Roast Decaf (the standard Starbucks decaf for my area) has about 20 milligrams of caffeine per 12 oz. cup. Home-brewed, supermarket coffee-in-a-can grounds have around 7 to 8 milligrams of caffeine per 12 oz. cup. Grocery store instant decaf granules (the kind in a jar, not the Starbucks single-serve packets) provide about 3.1 to 3.8 milligrams of caffeine per 12 oz. cup. The choice for instant coffee now saves me about 85 milligrams of caffeine per day, in comparison to the brewed decaf that I had been drinking all winter and spring. That is about the amount of caffeine in an 8 oz cup of caffeinated coffee. For this period in my life, this is important for my comfort. My hot flashes are rare, now. This may in part be due to my body making the adjustment to reduced estrogen levels. I am unwilling to experiment with a cup of caffeinated coffee to see if hot flashes resume. (I like not feeling sweaty.)

I do drink a lot of decaf coffee each day. I enjoy the flavor. So, I made the maximum concession, while still finding enjoyment in the activity. It was a matter of weighing benefits against costs. As long as I felt the benefits (no hot flashes or heart palpitations) outweighed the costs (sacrificing some of the pleasurable flavor in brewed coffee), I was willing to make this change. In addition, the heart palpitations that I had lived with for decades practically vanished. I had a brief spell of an irregular heart beat two or three evenings in a row, last summer, but that has been it. I don't know what caused that aberration, but I do associate the near-cessation of palpitations with cutting out caffeine.

There are some bonuses to drinking instant decaf, now. It's quicker to prepare. There are no filters to buy, and no basket or filter holder plus carafe to wash out. The counter space where my coffee set-up previously sat is now freed up for other kitchen activity, or just a cleaner-looking space. I can take my instant coffee granules with me when I go to food courts and similar take-out counter-service restaurants, asking for a cup of hot water to go. I  fact, when I was at the airport recently, I walked up to the Starbucks counter and asked what the charge for a cup of hot water would be. They said it was free. I took my hot water to a table near my gate, mixed in a spoon of instant granules and made a "free" cup of coffee for myself. I wouldn't do this in a restaurant where I sat at one of their tables. That would just seem tacky to me. But in a take-away situation, I don't see why not, if the establishment is willing to provide a free cup of hot water.

Anyway, I am glad to be able to wear fleece again. The occasional hot flashes that I do experience are limited to specific scenarios, such as an anxiety attack or a fever. I am working on calming myself during anxiety attacks. It's similar to a biofeedback process. The feedback comes not from electrical sensors, but from the hot flash, itself. You know the saying, "every cloud has a silver lining?" Well, the silver lining of my hot flashes has been finding ways to live a physically and emotionally healthier life.

How I Made $83 an Hour

First, let me say this, I was super reluctant to take this route. Really, there are some things for which I don't like to compromise my comfort or convenience. When traveling by air, I like the convenience of arriving at the airport by my own car, which entails the expense of high parking rates at the airport. Nonetheless, I am willing to pay for parking, either at the airport proper or at a discounted, off-site parking location, just so I can be more comfortable getting there.

I recently went out of town for a few days. My departing flight was super early in the morning, and my returning flight was late at night. I am especially not a fan of the off-site parking joints when it means I have to get up extra early for a flight or be there long after dark (kinda sketchy area near the airport). So, I had talked myself into paying the full rate at the airport, which would have cost about $140 for the days that my car sat parked. A few days before leaving town, my car began acting up. I didn't have time to get it looked at, and I was very concerned about driving the hour and fifteen each way to the airport. In addition, I didn't have anyone that I could ask for a ride. (Due to the distance, I consider a ride to the airport to be a pretty big favor.) I looked into shuttle possibilities, but as both of my daughters were coming with me, a shuttle would have cost close to $200. After spending a weekend on the fence about driving, taking a shuttle, or daring the public transit, I made a last-minute decision to take a series of 2 public buses and 1 stretch on light-rail for my transport to and from the airport. We had to walk a mile to the bus stop (with heavy backpacks, and yes, it was uphill part of the way) and ride public transportation, which took 2 hours. However, it was worth it, as our cost was $25.50 in total for the 3 of us to get to and from the airport, yielding a savings of $114.50. The additional time, compared to driving to/from, was about one and a half hours. Going on these figures, I estimate my hourly savings' rate at about $76.33. But wait, it gets better. Gas for my car to get to and from the airport would have cost about $10, giving me a total savings of $124.50 or $83/ hour for my time. Of course, I had to get both daughters on board with this crazy plan. So I offered each of them an incentive, $25 to spend any way they wanted while we were out of town. When you're young, beautiful, and broke, $25 sounds pretty enticing (or at least it did for my two daughters). They said, "let's go for it," and we did. With "sharing" that awesome hourly rate (bribing offering an incentive of $50 total to my daughters), my hourly rate for a little inconvenience dropped to $49.67. That's not bad, and I think it was worth the inconvenience.

I also like to remind myself that when I "earn" money by saving what I had planned on spending, those "earnings" are not subject to income taxes. If I had taken a paid job for that same amount of money, income taxes would have eaten into the earnings, and I would have had to work more hours to earn that sum. And truth be told, my area of expertise is in a very un-lucrative field. Convincing someone into paying me $83 per hour would be a tough sell.

Who knows, maybe my car would have made it to the airport and back, or maybe it wouldn't have. I'm glad I didn't chance it. It's in the shop now, and I'm hoping the repairs are not too exorbitant. The good news, though -- now that I've done the bus and rail to the airport, and discovered it wasn't bad at all, I will take this route again. The bonus is we all got a bit of exercise before sitting on a plane for a few hours.

You know, when we travel, I think nothing of taking public transit in other cities. And I take the bus whenever I want to go into Seattle. So, I'm kind of surprised that it took me this long to take transit to and from the airport. I guess I just need a little push in the right direction every now and then.

How about you? Has there been something that you've were reluctant to try, but you did and were glad for the push to get you into that experience?

A Wonderful Box from Last Summer's Free Piles

One late-summer or early-fall evening while driving home, my daughter and I spied this box on a free pile. I snagged it without thoroughly looking through the contents, as I could see it was filled with nice Christmas crafting material. I put it in my trunk and left it there until last week.

Wow! This is full of wonderful material. There are spools of ribbon, several grapevine wreaths and balls, vines, silk flowers, pine cones, ornaments, pots, florist foam, and other tidbits. The stuff was all jumbled together, with tangled ribbon holding everything in large masses. After untangling the ribbon and separating items into piles, I could see that I had found a treasure trove of crafting material.

I have already begun using some of the contents, as you saw on the lid of the tin that I spruced up. So much fun to have new supplies! We'll be making wreaths later this week, and I have a kissing ball in mind with one of the grapevine balls, burgundy ribbon, and silk roses. Lots of fun times at no cost to me.

I had the opportunity to meet the woman who kept her free pile stocked all summer, when she held a garage sale in early July. Apparently, she and her young family were moving out of the area and, therefore, were lightening the load of what to bring to the new house. Not only does she have an interest in crafting, but she also shares my passion for studying art and artists. Their home was just a few blocks from ours, and I was so sorry to discover this kindred spirit just as she was leaving the area. She gave me a few of her art books for my own library, which I'll treasure as mementos of this chance encounter.

Super Easy, Garlic Cheesey Bread

This was a great accompaniment to a pot of homemade soup, this past week. Four ingredients, minimal effort, and very yummy.

1 can of biscuit dough
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4-6 tablespoons shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 X 8-inch baking dish.

Melt butter and stir in garlic. Cut biscuits into quarters and dip into the melted butter/garlic. Place in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden.
I used Parmesan (what I had), but I think these would be delicious with cheddar -- more melty and gooey.

Serves 4.

The Finished Tins

So, yesterday I showed you the assortment of tins that I chose with which to build a treat tower and the results of spray painting 2 of the tins gold. Here's what I did to finish those tins.

The lid of the small round tin has an embossed design.

I covered that lid with a wreath of faux greenery, berries, and blossoms, using a hot glue gun.

I also hot-glued a red ribbon around the bottom part of the large square tin, so it would harmonize with the other tins. Here is a side view of the stack. (The lid does fit properly on the bottom tin. I just didn't want to press it on just yet -- waiting for the paint to harden.)

And here's what the top of the stack looks like. I think it's pretty. I could spray paint all of the tins gold, but I like the way this looks as it is. What do you think?

Reminder of what the tins looked like before.

My total cost for these tins? Nothing. The tins, spray paint, faux greenery, ribbon, and glue stick were items that I already had. I'm pretty pleased. When I make a gift, I try to make it as attractive as possible, so that even finicky recipients will be pleased.

The Treat Tower: The Tins

I've seen these in catalogs for years and always wanted to receive one. I know. The crazy things we wish for, right? Anyway, as mentioned yesterday, I am putting together a tower for a gift, using some of my stash of tins. Here's a photo of the tins that I think will work.

There are 5 tins altogether. The top one and bottom 3 (the poinsettia 2 are side by side) are vendor tins. The bottom and top one have labels on them, while the 2 poinsettia tins just say "Happy Holidays." My thought is I only need to paint the bottom and top tins in the photo, as the other 3 will look fine, as is. I'm using some gold spray paint on those two. I've just sprayed the first coat and will do a second coat in a bit. If any of the design shows through, I'll add some extra trim, like ribbon or spray "snow." The top tin has a raised design on the lid. I plan on covering that with a silk blossom, wreath of silk leaves, or large bow, hot-glued onto the top.

I just checked the tins, and the paint is looking good. Here are the bottoms to the tins. The color is kind of off in the photo. They are definitely gold, and not coppery.

No printing shows through, but I think I will wrap a band of red ribbon around the bottom tin to thematically tie it into the rest of the tins.

On spray painting tins -- I cleaned the interiors with soapy water and dried well, using a toothpick to clean out the crack where the base meets the side. I also used rubbing alcohol to thoroughly clean the exterior, so the paint would adhere evenly. I did not do anything else to prepare the tins. I place the tins, upside down, on boxes, in order to spray the sides evenly, without getting paint inside. I plan on leaving the tins open for a week or so, before putting lids back on, to let the paint thoroughly harden. I am very pleased with how the tins painted. As far as I can tell for now, this is a great solution for sprucing up tins.

Old-Time Spiced Nuts

This is one of my mother's recipes that she found in a ca. 1950s' cookbook. The original recipe called for pecan halves, but I've always used mixed nuts. If using salted nuts, reduce or omit the salt in the recipe. In addition, as there is egg white in the recipe, you may find the info on the foodsafety.gov to be reassuring. The recommendation is to heat an item containing raw, unpasteurized eggs to 160 F degrees. These nuts are baked at 250 degrees for an hour.

Here's the recipe:

Spiced Nuts

2 tablespoons cold water
1 slightly beaten egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups nuts

Preheat oven to 250 F degrees. Butter a large, shallow baking sheet.

Add water to slightly beaten egg white. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt. Let stand 15 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.

Dip the nuts into the mixture. Spread on prepared baking sheet. Bake in a slow oven (250 F degrees) until golden, about 1 hour. (You may need to reduce the baking time slightly for previously roasted nuts.)

That's it! Super simple and makes a delicious holiday treat with less sugar than cookies or candies.

I am making these nuts for a gift. (I'll make sure to make enough for leftovers for our family!) I am putting together a treat and snack tower, using holiday tins. Something along the lines of the below photo:

My tins are a motley assortment, so I plan to spiff a couple of them up with a coating of spray paint. (I have gold paint at home.) The spiced nuts will fill one of the top, smaller containers.

The Festive Holiday Foods that I Found in My Fridge and Freezer

One of my goals for the next few months is to use up everything in the fridges and freezers, saving some money on grocery purchases in the bargain. Here is what was lingering that I can turn into some festive holiday dishes:

• fruitcake fruit -- yes, I actually like fruitcake and intend to honor my mother's memory by making her recipe
• pecans and almonds for baking and Swedish Christmas rice pudding -- a Christmas Eve dessert
• almond paste for homemade, Christmas morning Danish pastry
• smoked salmon -- even though it's been frozen, when thawed and mixed with cream cheese it makes a good spread
• frozen mounds of whipped cream -- good for homemade eggnog
• frozen croissants
• a variety of sausages -- I'll use some in a savory New Year's Eve pie
• several types of homemade pickles, jams, and marmalades
• frozen berries -- the frozen, wild blackberries make a good pancake syrup for cold winter mornings
• cream cheese -- good for pumpkin cheesecake (my daughters make this and it is soooo good)
• mixed nuts -- I plan on making spiced nuts as a gift and for ourselves with these
• baking chocolate, dipping chocolate, and chocolate chips
• peppermint oil for making peppermint patties
• phyllo dough
• lots of standard baking supplies, such as flour, butter, granulated and powdered sugar, spices, extracts, oil, and crisco

With so many wonderful ingredients already in the house there is little I need to buy at the grocery store for holiday treats.

Today, I am . . .

• making pizza from scratch for my family's dinner 
• wrapping Christmas gifts with gently used wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows
• making gift tags out of the fronts of Christmas cards from years' past
• making new bows out of scraps of ribbon
• listening to Christmas music that I downloaded for free through our library's connection to Freegal
• number 5 on the holds' list at the library for a favorite Christmas movie
• wearing pants and a top that I got at the thrift store
• recovering from a busy but fun and frugal weekend
• enjoying the Advent calendar (new and in sealed package) that I bought last January at Goodwill for 25 cents
• back!

How's life been for you?

The Coin-less Sofa Cushions

My two daughters had a late night on Saturday, watching movies in the family room. They pulled the sofa cushions off of the sofa, to use on the floor in front of the tv. Anyway, on Sunday morning, one daughter was putting the room back to rights as I was passing the doorway. She asked why we never find money in our sofa, under the cushions. I wanted to answer with something quasi-humorous about us being so poor that even our sofa has no money. But that wouldn't be true. The answer is that we are simply so careful with our money that we take care with even the dimes and pennies. That doesn't mean we don't have an occasional unplanned expense or splurge. But it does mean that we are mindful with our money. We set some aside for those emergencies or repairs, and add an amount into our budget for splurges. And every penny is counted.

Perhaps it would be shocking for you to know that lately we have treated ourselves to lunch out after church each week. We have felt the need to connect at least once per week, as a way of bonding our family and enjoying time spent together. But we also didn't want to burden any one individual with meal prep or planning activities. (Plus, if we do something in our home, it is just too easy for one or more family members to excuse themselves from the group, in order to tend to something else.) Despite spending a little bit of money on this weekly treat, we are still keeping that expense pretty low. We frequent non-tipping restaurants, use coupons, and order judiciously. I think we all realize that it would be pretty spoiled of us to complain about any aspect of our frugal way of eating out. This once-per-week treat is accounted for in our budget. It is never a break-the-bank sort of outing. Yesterday, we spent about $14.50 for four of us to have burgers, fries, salads, and a parfait. The point of our outings is to connect, not gourmet-dine.

Back to the poverty of our sofa. I think if we ever so much as found a penny under its cushions, we'd mount it and hang it on the wall. I've found toys, hair ties, and scraps of paper under there, but no coins. This is a good thing for us, I think. It means that we continue to plan for the future and our expected/unexpected needs, watching the coins as well as the dollars. By doing so, we are still enjoying a treat, here and there, and able to give generously, where ever it is needed.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Mid-October

Saturday

• nachos platter with chips, beans, rice, beef, peppers, tomatoes (no cheese -- all out)
• apple wedges
• celery sticks

Sunday

• oven-roasted sausage, vegetables, potatoes

Monday

• pumpkin and sausage soup
• brown rice or crackers

Tuesday

• waffles with blackberry sauce and yogurt topping
• bacon
• applesauce

Wednesday

• a delicious casserole of leftovers -- bacon, sausage, mushrooms, rice, zucchini, green onions, and turkey stock. You can't go wrong when leftovers are bacon and sausage.
• steamed cauliflower
• pecan pie

Thursday

• beef and bean chili from the freezer
• baby carrots, celery sticks, olives, ranch dip
• toast

Friday

• looks like it will be another Friday night, frozen corndog and sweet potato fries dinner tonight. It's easy, quick, and had minimal cost. I'll also add some steamed cauliflower.

As this third week of the month winds down I am turning to treats hidden in the "secret" pantry, frozen goodies, and canned items. I bring a couple of packaged treats out of that secret pantry once per week. Yesterday I pulled out a box of granola bars and wheat thin-type crackers, as well as a can of frozen pomegranate juice concentrate from the freezer. We still have a lot of tasty foods in the house, so all is well. 

Anything especially good on your menu this past week? Have a wonderful weekend!