How to make your own Melitta-style No. 1 coffee filters (for under a nickel a dozen) *and* loose tea emp-teas (I call them tea blanks)

Melitta-style No. 1 cone coffee filters for a under a penny per filter

We have 2 coffee makers. One is for a whole pot for both my husband and I, and the other is a one -cup-at-a-time machine, for when one of us (that would be me) just wants a cup of decaf or the like. Our one-cup coffee maker is pre-Kcup craze, but makes a great cup of coffee.

Our cup-at-a-time coffee maker came with a permanent, cone-shaped filter. Permanent, that is, until it developed holes. I searched the web for a replacement, permanent coffee filter that would fit in our machine --  no luck. (Our coffee maker was a hand-me-down 18 years ago, so no wonder I can't find a replacement part today.)

I started buying the paper filters that would work for this coffee maker -- Melitta No. 1 cone-style coffee filters. They come 40 to a box, and typically sell for about $2.50 in a local store, or $1.50, if bought in bulk through Amazon. This gets pricey, at a nickel per cup of coffee, for just the filter.

In need of a cheaper alternative, I began making my own paper filters.

4-6 cup basket style filters sell for $1/150 ct. at Dollar Tree. I can make 2 cone-style coffee filters from every 1 basket filter. And they wind up having the same dimensions as the Melitta product. It costs me 13 cents to make 40 filters, or a savings of $1.37 to $2.37 per 40-ct box. Using a sewing machine, I can make a dozen filters in about 10 minutes.

Here's how I make them.

Take one 4-6 cup basket coffee filter. Fold in half to crease.

Cut in half along the crease.

Fold each piece in half again, making a fan shape.

On the sewing machine, with white, all-cotton thread (I used dark thread here so you could see my stitching), stitch up the long and straight side of the "fan".

Fold the point up about 1 inch. Stitch this fold in place. Your filter should now be of the same dimensions as the Melitta No. 1 filters. They work exactly as the manufactured filters for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emp-teas (or tea blanks), for a fraction of a penny each

I admit it, I'm a bit lazy at times, and don't want to wash out tea balls. So, I make tea blanks, empty filter bags to scoop loose tea into, without the hassle of having to wash up a tea ball later.

I can make 3 tea blanks out of one 4-6 cup paper, basket-style coffee filter.

I fold the coffee filter in half.

Then fold into thirds.

I open the filter up and cut 3 equal-sized pieces out of the filter.

Fold each piece in half.

Machine stitch along the rounded bottom edge, then up one side, to about 1 inch from the point.

This is the opening for spooning in tea.

I just keep a bunch of tea blanks in my tin with packets of loose tea, and fill them as I need them. I spoon tea into a blank, fold the tip over, and staple shut.

(For how to add a fun tag, for gifting see this post from last year.)

Egg substitutes (and how do you know which ones will work in your recipe?)

Last month, I was down to my very last 2 eggs. This makes cooking and baking from scratch difficult, but not impossible. I did a lot of research into different egg substitutes, and this is what I discovered.

There are several options to use for egg substitutes. Knowing which one to use is a matter of understanding the different functions that eggs fulfill in recipes, and what each substitute is capable of doing.

Basically, eggs have 3 functions, to add moisture, add leavening, and act as binding ingredients. In most recipes, eggs will fill a couple of these functions. For example, in cookie dough, eggs both bind the dough together, and they add leavening. In cakes and muffins, eggs add leavening and moisture. In meatballs, eggs serve as binding agents, but also can add moisture.

To give you an idea of why having just one all-purpose, egg substitute won't give you the best results every time, here are examples of different substitutes and how they can and can't work.

Some people use applesauce for an egg substitute. Applesauce will add moisture to muffins and quick breads, but it has no leavening power of it's own. Some people use flax seed meal or soy flour, plus water. Both are great binding ingredients, but neither can leaven. Baking powder can leaven, but has no ability to add moisture, in fact it can dry out some baking.

After much confusion on the subject, I decided that I needed some basic guidelines.

So, here's my list -- the general functions of eggs and which substitutes work best.


In most recipes, the best results will come from doubling up on your substitutes (two substitutes from different categories, such as -- add a moisture sub and a leavening sub for muffins, or, add a binding sub and a moisture sub for meatballs).

Adding moisture

To add moisture to a recipe, for each egg, you can substitute 

• pureed fruit/veg like applesauce, pumpkin or banana (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup for each egg), or
• yogurt (1/4 cup) or
• silken tofu (1/4 cup) or
• 1/4 cup of mayo  

Examples of foods which rely on eggs for moisture include: meatballs, muffins, pancakes and cakes.


Adding leavening

To add leavening to a recipe, for each egg, add

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of baking powder (for cookies, 1/2 teaspoon is generally sufficient -- but see the cookie recommendation below*, for muffins and quick breads 1 teaspoon worked better for me), or the equivalent substitute of baking soda and vinegar

Examples of foods which rely on eggs for leavening include: muffins, breads, pancakes, cakes, cookies

(In a 1-egg muffin recipe, you might substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder. This would satisfy both the leavening power and moisture addition that eggs give to muffin batter.)

For cakes, you'll have the best results if you use a 2-egg, or more, cake recipe, and only substitute baking powder for 1 of the eggs.

Adding a binder

To add a binding agent to recipes which normally call for eggs, for each egg, add

• 1 heaping tablespoon soy flour, plus 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of flax meal, plus 3 tablespoons of water
• 1/4 cup silken tofu

Examples of foods needing a binder include: meat loaves and cookies.


Formula for egg substitute to use when making cookies
*I found with baking cookies, the following formula worked very well:
for each egg, whisk together:

• 2 tablespoons flour, 
• 2 tablespoons water, 
• 1/2 tablespoon oil and 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

• In addition, for cookies that we like slightly moist, like chocolate chip cookies, I substituted 1 tablespoon of applesauce for 1 tablespoon of the butter called for in the recipe.

For quiches, baked custards, or fritattas, you can substitute pureed fruit, veggies or tofu for up to half of the eggs called for in the recipe.

Meringues and other recipes calling for whipped egg whites generally can not use an egg substitute.


So, what did I bake without eggs last month? I made some very successful pancakes, waffles, cookies, and muffins. I had my husband very surprised that I could make waffles without any eggs at all. I made bean burgers that normally call for eggs as binders, but with a flax meal binder, instead. And I baked a batch of cupcakes, a recipe that normally calls for 2 eggs, I made with 1 egg plus a substitute for the second egg.

These substitutions came in very handy for me. I imagine it could be helpful for others as well, such as the mom who is home with a sick child, but wanting to do some baking, meanwhile discovers she is out of eggs,  or,  in bad weather, not wanting to chance bad roads just to go out for eggs,  or,  for the person who lives in a rural area, and doesn't want to drive into town for such a small purchase, or,  in my case, with a small grocery budget and not wanting to feel "robbed" by paying twice what I normally pay for eggs when on sale.

Making Greek-style yogurt with homemade *or* store-bought plain yogurt

This is part 2 of Making Yogurt for Dirt Cheap.

First of all, I forgot to mention in yesterday's post on freezing starter, how to thaw starter for use.

• Thaw only what you need for one batch.
• Thaw in fridge overnight, or
• on counter for 3 to 4 hours. 
• Don't thaw with heat (microwave or stove). 

My unplanned, unorganized method -- when I first get up, I take one 6-oz container of starter from the freezer and leave on the counter. By the time I'm ready to use it, it's thawed completely.

Now, on to making your own Greek-style yogurt.

Greek yogurt appears to be one of the new super foods. It's packed with nutrients. Lots of active cultures, heaps of protein, and less sodium and carbohydrates than traditional yogurt. It makes a good substitute for mayo, sour cream and cream cheese in sandwich and cracker spreads, and dips. Plus, it's lower in lactose than traditional yogurt, which is already a reduced lactose product. The process of making yogurt lowers the lactose in milk, plus straining out additional whey removes even more. For me, Greek yogurt is one of just a couple of dairy products that I can eat.

But, Greek yogurt in the store is a tad expensive for what you're really getting. It's just plain yogurt, which has been strained to remove whey. Nothing complicated about it.

I use homemade yogurt to make Greek-style. You can also turn commercial, plain yogurt into Greek-style, too. It's simple, requires minimal hands-on time, and can save you a buck or two on your Greek yogurt fix.

Take a mesh sieve and place over a bowl. Line with a paper coffee filter, or several layers of cheesecloth.

Spoon plain yogurt into filter. (I can fit about 3 cups of yogurt into my sieve at a time.) Place in the fridge, and wait. Out of 3 cups of yogurt, 1/2 cup of whey drains off in about 1 hour. We're satisfied with a final product that has about 1/3 (1 cup) of the water/whey removed, which takes about 3 hours.

When the desired consistency is reached, scoop into a container, cover and refrigerate. That's it.
Greek yogurt keeps for a couple of weeks.

My homemade, Greek-style yogurt costs about 80 to 85 cents per quart. Now that's dirt cheap for Greek-style yogurt.


You can save the whey to use as liquid in quick breads or muffins. Whey is nutritious in its own right. It contains protein, calcium, potassium and Vit B-2. You could pour the whey down the drain, but why not use it as a nutritional boost to the foods you cook?!

Freezing yogurt to use as starter for future batches (or making yogurt for dirt cheap)

(This link has the full article from 2012, which details how I make yogurt.)

I had a request, recently, for more information on how to make yogurt for dirt cheap. So, I thought I'd share what I do, and what I've found that works for me.

The primary cost is the whole milk. I look for it on markdown -- milk that is close to it's sell-by date. Turning milk into yogurt extends the life of that milk. So, if there's just 1 week before the sell-by date on the milk, I know that I can make it into yogurt the next day and have the yogurt still be good for another few weeks. Traditionally, yogurt-making was a simple food preservation technique. The yogurt contains cultures which produce lactic acid, which, in turn, retards spoilage of milk (see here, article in Mother Earth News).

So, buying whole milk when marked down, due to nearing the sell-by date, is my first step in making yogurt for dirt cheap (most of the time, I spend under $2 for a gallon of whole milk, which makes 3  1/2 quarts of thick yogurt). If I find more whole milk on discount than I need for yogurt-making right away, I freeze the milk and make yogurt at a later date.

My second step for dirt cheap yogurt is free yogurt starter.

I've been making yogurt for 2  1/2 years now, about 2 times per month. For my first batch, I bought one 6-oz container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt for 39 cents. I've been using descendants of that first batch for about 50 batches, now. Based on a price of 39 cents per container of Yoplait, I've saved over $19 on yogurt starter.

What's my secret? I have a method that seems to work for me. I freeze my own homemade yogurt as starter for successive batches.

Some people chain-yogurt (using a bit from each previous batch to make the current batch). I prefer to freeze my starter in quantities large enough to make several batches. The advantage, here, is that if I don't get around to making a new batch of yogurt for a few weeks, I have viable starter waiting for me in the freezer. Yogurt cultures only remain viable in the fridge for about a week to 10 days.

Every 4 or 5 batches, the day immediately following making a fresh batch (after I'm sure it has set), I scoop 6 ounces of yogurt each into 5 or 6 freezer containers.

This is important -- I wait until the day after I have made yogurt (and the yogurt has incubated in my cooler filled with 115F degree water plus has had a chance to finish setting-up in the fridge) to take some yogurt to freeze for future starter. 

I label and date each container. Frozen yogurt can remain viable for many months in the freezer, but why push it. This last batch (1/6/14) was made with yogurt dated June 2013. So, I know for sure that my freezing methods work for 6 to 7 months from the point of incubating to the point of using it as starter. I keep these containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer.

I never let myself use the last container of frozen yogurt, but always keep one in reserve, just in case I do something wrong in the yogurting process.

I've read that eventually the bacterial strains will die out, and I'll have yogurt that doesn't set. But I'm putting this off by freezing several batch-starters at a time. Meaning that I'm probably only about 8 descendants from my original batch made with the 39-cent container of Yoplait.

My yogurt costs me 55 to 60 cents per quart. For our budget, that is dirt cheap.

Update on freezing yogurt starter and its viability

It's March 2019 and I am still using yogurt starter from previous batches. I recently found 3 containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer, dated June 2017. I successfully made batches of yogurt with that starter. The yogurt is just as thick as my original batches. My hope is that you have as much success with freezing 2nd day homemade yogurt to use as starter as I have.

Another update on freezing my homemade yogurt for use as starter
Here it is January of 2020. I never would have believed this would be possible but I am still using quantities of yogurt as starter which are descendants of that original container of Yoplait, bought in 2012. Yes, I've been freezing small amounts of each batch of homemade yogurt, then using those as starter for subsequent batches. I have never had to buy more yogurt to use as starter. The resulting yogurt is thick and tart -- just the way I like it.

Happy yogurting!

Candles. January. Bargain.

I haven't posted much on Saturdays lately, but in case you are out and about this weekend, check out the tail end of Christmas clearance sales for candles, especially in drug and grocery stores.

In January, the bargain candles are all in green, red or white. But white goes with everything, right?

Early January is when I buy the year's supply of candles. (Yes, the YEAR'S supply.) My target price is between 10 and 15 cents for tapers and votives. The other day, I found votives for 10 cents each, and tapers for 12 cents each, at Walgreen's in their Christmas clearance. I've noticed that the candles seem to linger a long time on the clearance shelves.

The tapers that I bought are white, and will go nicely with our dinnerware on the dining room table. And the votives are a mix of white and green. I'll be using these outdoors this summer, and both white and green will be nice in the patio and garden areas.

Bargain-purchased candles are an easy and inexpensive way to add ambiance to our leisure time. Anyone else buy candles after Christmas?


(I also picked up some battery votive candles. These will be for a birthday gift for my daughters in March. I'll make some sort of cute, cheerfully painted votive holder, and they can have these for their room. No lit candles allowed in bedrooms here.)

This is what happens when I get busy and forget what's in the toaster oven

I was doing some mending in the dining room, when I smelled something like roasting potatoes. I just ignored this, thinking it was the pot of soup I had on the stove. Then it hit me. I had a pan of potato skins in the toaster oven, making a nice and frugal snack for myself.

By the time I checked the little oven, this is what it looked like. Yep, burnt to a crisp. Sigh. I picked out the less burnt pieces, then composted the rest. Another time, perhaps.

Do you do anything with potato peels? I usually toss with oil and Italian seasoning blend, and toast until NOT burned to a crisp, but just a bit toasty. They're yummy, full of minerals, and reduce waste -- most of the time.

I was wanting to buy a 3/4 teaspoon measuring spoon . . .

I've been needing to measure 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, often, when swapping out baking powder for baking soda/vinegar. 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda + 1 tablespoon vinegar = 1 tablespoon baking powder.

I searched around for a 3/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, and found a couple as part of odd-size measuring spoon sets. But I was reluctant to fork over my birthday money for one of these sets, just yet.

That's when it hit me. Maybe I already have a spoon that measures 3/4 teaspoon. Off to my kitchen I went, opened a drawer, began measuring the capacity of various spoons, and lo and behold, a Menchie's spoon measures 3/4 teaspoon. My new measuring spoon! Isn't that great?! An awesome find!

And I didn't have to buy a set to get one. Now I can get something much more fun with last year's birthday money!

just a note -- this only works well with a spoon with a level edge to the bowl. Many tableware patterns don't have this level edge (bummer).

Now -- there is something that I do need to buy. My daughters' sport socks are wearing really thin. I'll be looking to buy them new sports socks before Easter (hmmm, can you guess what the Easter bunny is bringing here?)
Do any of you have a recommendation for girl/women sport socks? I wasn't impressed with Hanes this last time around. I'm looking for durability in a crew sock and ankle sock. Thanks so much! You guys always know what's good.

Making cents, while making sense -- basic clothing mending that everyone should be able to do

As the mom and keeper of this house, I see all the holes, gaps, and missing buttons that occur in the clothing of my family. I've encouraged all the members of my family to be pro-active and self-sufficient, and take on the repairs themselves, including my husband and son. Of course, I'm here to help and, in a pinch, take care of a mend for them. What are moms/wives for, right?

There are 7 basic mending tasks that I think everyone should be able to perform. (Oh, one exception -- if you live in a nudist colony, you're exempt from needing to repair clothing!)

Sewing on buttons

Don't wait until the button has fallen off completely. Secure it with new thread when the button becomes loose -- less chance of losing that button. (Have you noticed, buttons never fall off while you're watching.) Just stitch right over the old thread.

Match the color of the thread to the color of the thread on the rest of the buttons, and follow the pattern of the stitches on the other buttons. Some buttons have just 2 holes. But you'll notice if your buttons have 4 holes, there will be a "pattern" to the stitches. Make diagonal stitches or parallel stitches to match those on the other buttons.

Stitches can be parallel

or diagonal (cris-cross)

or a combination of the two

If you do lose that button, you can often "steal" one from an unnoticeable place on the garment, such as the tail of a dress shirt that will be tucked in. Even if this isn't possible, it would still be more cost-effective to buy a package of buttons at the fabric store ($5), and replace all of the buttons, so that they match, than to discard the garment and replace with a new item.

Re-stitching missing top-stitching

The top-stitching on manufactured garments is often loosely tied off. One pull of the thread and your entire top-stitched edge is gone. Again, catching this early is the difference between a quick hand-stitch to secure the loose threads, or getting out the machine to re-do a length of stitching. Either way, one quick repair and you've restored your garment to it's original look. If you match your "new" thread to the existing thread, the repair will be undetectable.

A running stitch is basically your thread running through
the fabric in a line.
The top side of your stitching will look much like
the underside.
Use small, straight stitches to secure a torn seam, by hand
 and even tinier stitches to hand-stitch
missing top-stitching along a garment's edge

Mending a torn seam

This can be done by hand or machine. By hand, a running stitch over the original line of the seam will repair the tear. By machine, depending on the fabric and color, you can often get by with not matching the thread color, and just use whatever is currently threaded in your machine. A mended tear in the seam should be stitched on the inside, and it will be completely unnoticeable from the outside.

Hemming pants

Men's slacks often come unhemmed. Not a problem in a high-end store, as they throw the hemming into the (high) price of the slacks. On the second-hand market, however, finding unhemmed men's slacks can be a steal, as many men prefer NOT to try to hem them.

Women's slacks come in one or two lengths, generally speaking, regular Ladies, and Petite Ladies (there are also specifically Tall Women's shops with longer lengths). If your legs aren't exactly the 5'7" height standard, or the exact length of the 5'3" petite standard, then you'll be either dragging your hems, wearing high-waters or needing to do some hemming.

Doing your own hem, will save $20 off of having them tailored professionally. Hems look best if you can sew a neat whip-stitch, matching the thread color to the fabric, and catching only a thread or two of the outside of the fabric.

Try your pants on, have someone mark the hem-line with straight pins. Pin the entire hem. Try them on again to be sure of the length. Press and hand-stitch. The inner seam is a good place to begin your hem, as you can secure your knotted-thread, well, in this spot, without it being noticed from the outside.

whip-stitching the hem, as seen from the inside of garment

what the whip-stitch hem will look like on the
outside of the garment

It sounds much more complicated than it truly is, and should take no more than 1 hour. That's a cool $20 an hour you just made.

Pulling a small hole in a knit together, and stitching closed

A tiny pin hole in a knit can be sewn closed by pulling the edges together and putting 5 or 6 quick whip-stitches into place. Examples are the tips of mittens, the toes of socks, the toe end of sweater tights, a pin hole in a sweatshirt or sweatpants, a pin hole in a t-shirt or thin cotton turtleneck. These can be wear holes, or simply something sharp caught on the fabric, or was stuck in the fabric (decorative pins, for example).

Use matching colored thread. Turn the garment inside out, and whip-stitch closed. I can get a few more winters of wear from my mittens by stitching the pin holes closed in my mittens each year.

Patching wear holes

Wear holes can be tiny pin holes, or large gaping affairs. Often times, these holes are in inconspicuous spots once repaired (such as the inner thigh area of stretch pants).

inside of fleece pants, with iron-on patch applied
 and zigzag stitching

Wear holes can be easily patched with iron-on patching material, followed up by machine zigzag stitching in a color matching the clothing color. I use patches that I make with Heavy Duty Wonder Under (a strong fusible web -- iron-on, heat-set "glue") and scrap fabric, in a color that matches the original fabric.

outside of fleece pants, after patching/zigzag stitching
this repair is on the inner thigh,
and unseen under normal circumstances

The iron-on patch, alone, will hold through several washings/wearings, but adding the zigzag stitching will "close" the hole in the fabric, as well as secure the iron-on patch. Before ironing on the patch, pull the edges of the fabric as close to closed as possible. (Larger holes won't be able to close all the way.)

Patching the knees in jeans/pants

This is so common in kids pants that every mother will encounter holey knees several times in her child's growth. With my kids, the first holes appeared long before the rest of the jeans looked worn. It's all that time spent playing on hands and knees, I guess.

You can buy heavy duty, iron-on denim patches to cover the holes, or sew on a large piece of denim over the knee with the hole. You can even find fun patches in a design your child would like, if you want to forgo that industrial-strength, denim iron-on look.

When iron-on patches come loose around the edges, re-iron. When the heat-set adhesive wears out, you can use a hot glue gun to re-adhere the patch.


If a person can perform these basic mending tasks, they will easily save $100 or more per year.

Replacing garments that have minor problems is costly. Holey-kneed kid jeans -- $20 to replace, $2 to patch (if buying a ready-made iron-on). Tailor-hemmed dress slacks -- $20 to have a pro do it, under a $1 (for thread and needle) if you do it yourself. Casual pants with pin holes (which soon become gaping holes) -- replace for $15 to $20, or patch and stitch for under $1. Small hole in the fingertip of your mittens? Replace the mittens for a couple of dollars, or whip-stitch that hole closed from the inside, for nothing but 5 minutes of your time. New sweater-tights in season will run about $16. Less than 5 minutes to stitch a hole in the toe closed is practically free (you do need needle and thread). Top-stitching missing on the edge of a shirt or dress? Replace for $15 to $50 (or more), or re-stitch for under $1 (cost of thread). Missing button on your dress shirt or coat? If you don't want side-glances from your boss, replacing the entire garment is a costly extravagance, compared to just getting out a needle and thread and sewing on a new button.

In all cases, catching the hole/loose thread while small will greatly reduce your work, and in some cases, save the garment altogether. A small hole in my daughter's favorite sweater tights could have become an all-out foot opening in a couple of wears. But instead, I was able to sew it shut, in under 5 minutes, while she pulled on her skirt and top.

There's a reason that in olden times, women sorted through the clean laundry and pulled out items needing to be repaired right away. They were maintaining the garments that they worked so hard to produce, by catching problems when small.


There are more involved mending tasks that can extend the wear of your clothing. But these 7 are the basics that everyone should learn to perform. And in my book, basic mending is not just for frugal folks, it's for anyone with an ounce of sense.

Fresh herbs in winter

Two of my favorite herbs to use fresh in winter, are basil and rosemary.

Rosemary is evergreen in the Seattle area. I keep two pots of rosemary on my deck, pulled close to the house when the wintry frosts are prevalent in December and January.

About once a month, I go out there and clip off a few sprigs, to keep in a drinking glass, with about 1 inch of water in it, in the fridge. I don't cover the rosemary, as I do with parsley, but leave open on a shelf.

When I want rosemary for cooking, I simply reach inside my fridge, and there it awaits me. Rosemary sprigs, kept this way, last about 1 month, for me.

Basil is my other favorite fresh herb to use in winter. I keep a pot of living basil on the windowsill of my kitchen.

In early August, I plant a pot of basil seeds, and keep outdoors for a month. Around mid-September, I bring this pot of basil into the kitchen, to sit in the sunny window on the south side of the house. I have fresh basil to pinch off when I want it all winter long.

This last week, I added fresh basil leaves to an onion and cheese pizza, just as I pulled it out of the oven. And rosemary is a regular addition to winter favorites like oven-roasted potatoes, rosemary French bread, lentil soup, and focaccia.

Do you grow herbs indoors in winter? Do you have one of those fun aerogardens, for growing under lights? How about a sunny windowsill where you grow an indoor herb garden?

Some folks get their Christmas treats before Christmas . . .

. . . and other folks get them after Christmas! 

Out running errands on Saturday, and while waiting for my daughter to check out the yarn at Michaels, I checked out the Christmas baking/candy-making supplies. Everything 80% off.

I found peppermint candy-flecked, white chocolate chips, for making peppermint bark, for 59 cents a 10-oz bag. Perfect timing, as that evening, we'd planned our tree and house de-decking party. I usually prepare a few Christmas-y foods or drinks for the event. So, this year, I made some peppermint bark, to go with our marked-down eggnog (49 cents/quart).

While at Michaels, I also picked up a couple of Easter basket stuffers, and next Christmas's stocking candy. I buy our holiday candy on clearance, and save until the next year. I double bag the lot, and store in one of the holiday storage trunks, in a cool closet. That's not all. I found some fun baking things, too, like Christmas paper cups/liners (39 cents) for muffins, cakes and cookies, and a snowflake cookie cutter (19 cents).

Looks like we're set for next Christmas!

Anybody else buy next year's holiday treats at after-holiday clearance sales? Have you found a good way to store what you've bought, so you keep it hidden, but don't forget that it's there? Do you ever buy these after holiday treats to have right away?

You don't need to go out and buy special ingredients, to make something to bring to a potluck

Using what you have on hand can save you a bundle. When I'm invited to a potluck, and I want to bring something special, taking a survey of what's in my pantry, fridge and freezer can yield some wonderful treasures to add to a dish or two.

As so many of us on these blogs are, I happen to be good with bread-baking. So that is my first thought when invited to a potluck. Homemade bread is devoured at these sort of events. I will also offer to bring a dessert. Dessert is a very flexible category. It can be anything from a simple plate of cookies or pan of brownies, to a cake, pie or cobbler. Most potlucks seem to feature home-style cooking, so what may seem like an ordinary dessert, like a cobbler or crisp, becomes a star when you add one or two extras to the recipe.

To the potluck we went on New Year's Day, I brought a golden loaf of homemade rosemary French bread, 2 crusty whole wheat baguettes and a dessert. Believe me, the bread was a hit. People who normally eat shop-bought bread think that homemade bread is out of this world. There were just 3 small slices of the baguettes left (the rosemary bread was gone halfway through the afternoon) at the end of the night. The only addition to make my homemade bread "special', was 2 tablespoons of minced, fresh rosemary from the fridge. I took great care in the baking of the loaves, so that they would be both beautiful and delicious.

For dessert, I took a quick survey of my discerning staff (my two teen daughters). In our conference room (the family room), we "brainstormed" and made pie charts, bar charts, line charts, graphs, etc., and postulated theories as to the demographics of the intended gathering, and came up with this:

I needed to check the kitchen for ingredients, then work from there.

I still had some apples from last fall's harvest, some pecans from an earlier purchase, lots of sugar, flour, butter and spices. But no eggs. So, whatever it would be, it had to be egg-less. That's when I searched online for desserts, listing my key ingredients, apples, spices and pecans. I came up with a recipe for a pecan-apple crumble. It was fabulous. It had a crispy and nutty topping, with soft and spicy apples beneath. I used whole allspice and ground the berries myself, for the freshest spicy flavor ever. My hostess had some vanilla ice cream to go with it. And once again, this was a hit. The men loved it, the women loved it, and my kids devoured the extra little bit that I had made for us.

There was no need to run out and buy special ingredients for the items I brought to the potluck. I used just what I had in my kitchen. And I didn't need to follow any complicated recipes. I stuck with what I know and do best.


For you, appetizers might be your thing. Or maybe it's a salad that you make that's enjoyed by all. Whatever your specialty, use what you have on hand and stick to what you do well. You may have had it so many times that you're growing weary of it. But to others, it's new and delicious -- the hit of the party. There really is no need to pop out to the store for special ingredients. You likely have all that you need at home, to make your signature dish for the next potluck you attend.

A dozen things I did today to save money

In the comments the other day, Belinda from the Frugal Workshop mentioned that there are numerous small ways to save money, but only a few major ways. How true is this. I commented back that I think I must do a dozen small things a day, that save us money.

Well, later in the day, I got to thinking, "do I really do a dozen things per day to save us some money, or was I exaggerating?"

So, I wandered around the house to see what I could find, and took photos, as a reminder for this post. And yes, I did a dozen things, and then some. Here are the first 12 things that I thought of.

1) I made granola for the next morning's breakfast (we'll be out of bread by the end of dinner)

2) I made ham stock from the ham bone, and froze 6 pints

3) with the ham stock, I made split pea soup from scratch, a double recipe for lots of leftovers

4) I made croutons with the end of the French bread, 

to top the soup

5) I served crabapple sauce, made with crabapples from our tree, to go with dinner. It was too tart the last time I served it, so this time I rescued it with a mixture of cornstarch, sugar and additional water. It was not just passable, but delicious.

6) I washed 2 loads of laundry on cold/cold setting

7) I hung those 2 loads of wash to dry, on racks in the kitchen and family room

8) I washed baggies

9) I stayed home all day, keeping the car in the garage, and saving gas

10) I set up autopay for another account, saving postage each month

11) I made another batch of citrus and spice cleaning fluid. I now have 2 quarts stored in the laundry closet.

12) and I reconciled December's budget,

and set up January's budget.

I think we all do many, many small things each day, which wind up saving us money. The next time you feel down about your frugal efforts, see if you can't make a list of everything you've done lately. You might be surprised at just how hard you work at economizing.

The year is off to a great start, don't you think?!

Is this frugal, or is it just cheap?

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2014!

Not much today, just a question. . .

When I find a drinking glass with water still in it, (left by someone in the family), I dump the water on a houseplant.

Am I being frugal, or am I just plain ol' cheap?

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Do you have plans for today? Just hanging around the house, or are you going out? We're heading over to a friend's house later today. I've baked a loaf of rosemary bread (just my multi-purpose French bread dough with 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary added), and an apple crisp (about the last of the garden apples), to take with us.

Have a great day!