7 Tools You Need To Cook Thanksgiving Dinner - My Favorites!

Cooking Thanksgiving is an overwhelming task to many. I have learned the hard way how to make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier. Shop early and start smart with my 7 tools you need to cook your special meal.

My Favorite Tools for Cooking the Thanksgiving Dinner

1. When cooking your turkey, a large granite ware roaster is my favorite pan to cook the turkey in. Nothing fancy. You can buy the insert rack to put the turkey on but I don't have one. I just throw stalks of celery, halved onions and carrots across the bottom and set the turkey on top. It flavors the drippings nicely for good basting and delicious gravy.

Affiliate links in this post.

2. Any kind of meat thermometer is nice so you know when you turkey is fully done. I have had batter operated and the old dial kind. Both work well.

3. A turkey baster is nice to have for easy basting. That oven gets hot and it is the safest way to get the hot juices and baste that turkey.

My Favorite Tools for Serving the Thanksgiving Dinner

4. Turkey lifting forks are to me, the easiest way to lift that hot heavy turkey onto your platter or carving board. I inherited mine from my mom but they are inexpensive.

5. A sharp knife. From dicing and chopping but most importantly carving the turkey, a sharp knife is necessary for serving your meal.

6. Throw away aluminum pans. For really simplifying every step of preparing Thanksgiving dinner, you cannot beat these disposable pans. You can cook and freeze in them and then reheat in them and when the meal is done, just toss. This meal is so much much work that I will do trick like this to save me time in the kitchen so we can enjoy the day more.

7. A crock pot is a must have now too. As I learned to start cooking my meal one or more days ahead, have a crock pot is must have for my mashed potatoes. I cook them on Wednesday, adding a bit of extra milk. On Thursday I put them in the crock pot or slow cooker at least 4 hours before the meal and turn on high adding some pats of butter. I stir a few times but they come out light and fluffy and bubbly. No mashing the day of Thanksgiving is the best.

Read my previous post on how to organize and simplify your holiday meal prep.
And watch my video:

Easy Way To Cure Toenail Fungus

Not a post I ever wanted to write, but folks after one visit last spring to a nail salon for a pedicure, I got a funky toenail fungus. I am going to share how I got rid of my toenail fungus naturally.

Cleaning Your Keurig

Cleaning your Keurig brewer is important. Not only do you need to occasionally clean to kill bacteria in your coffee maker, but I believe it is the key to making brewers last longer. Ours is almost five years old now.






Clean Your Coffee Maker and Kill Weeds at the Same Time
Coffee Recipes, Tips and More
Review of Coleman Camp Coffee Maker
Our favorite coffee to brewer in our Keurig you can find below. We get two cases a month and they come out to only .34 cents a pod. It is really the best tasting coffee we have found. Can't beat the price either.

This post contains affiliate links.

How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths

If you ever have those little brown moths flying around your house then you need to know how to get rid of pantry moths. You never know when you might bring home a bag of pasta or grains that will have pantry moths in them. Here is what to do.

Make Baking Mix And Pancake Mix Last Longer - Kitchen Quick Tip

When you stock up and have food storage you have to stay on top of expiration dates to prevent food from spoiling. If you freeze your baking and pancake mixes you will help them to last longer.

Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes

It's pumpkin time. I love pumpkin pancakes so I came up with an easy way to make homemade pumpkin pancakes. They were so good I want to have them way more than I should.

Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes

• You need to mix up your regular pancake recipe. I have a great scratch pancake recipe if you need one but  boxed mix will do as well.

• Into your batter, add 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree per every two pancakes your recipe is making.

• Add a couple dashes or more of pumpkin pie spice depending on how much spice flavor you want.

• Mix and cook as usual.

Served with real maple syrup, this is such a great fall treat. I think I was yumming the whole time I was eating them. Any leftover pumpkin puree can be frozen until next time.

I made my pancakes in my new ceramic non-stick fry pan. I had been wanting one of these healthier non stick pans and I love it. You can cook without oil too but I find things brown and cook up better with a little oil or butter in the pan. So if you have been wanting to try one of these, I really think they are worth it and not very expensive either.

Check out 10 Yummy Pumpkin Recipes

How To Save Tomato Seeds

One way I save money and garden frugally is by saving my own seeds. Here is how to save tomato seeds.

Growing your vegetables and even flowers from seeds saves so much money. One pack of seeds around 

$1 to $2 can give you many plants where even at our local garden center, one plant is over $3 now.

How to save tomato seeds:

1. Make sure you are using a tomato where the seeds will actually germinate. Grocery store tomatoes might not germinate if they are gmo so try heirloom plants and organic ones to start with. You can try with anything though because what do you have to loose.

2. Pick a great tomato at the peak of season. When you slice it just save some of the seeds in a dish. 

3. Rinse the seeds under cool water in a strainer.

4. Now lay out the seeds on a plate to dry thoroughly. I like to dry them on a plate and not paper so they don't stick.

5. Store in a cool dry place to save for planting next season. These printable seed packets are perfect for saving your vegetable seeds.

You might like these other posts:

Here's how to grow tomato plants from cuttings.
Tomato plant gift idea.
A guide on how to plant tomatoes the right way.

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How To Clean Pots And Pans With Baking Soda

Move over cleanser, start cleaning pots and pans with baking soda. If you want to use more natural cleaners, baking soda can replace cleanser in your kitchen.

Baking soda is a wonder cleaner. I love how it replaces so many other harsh cleaners in my house. Honestly though I was reluctant to ditch the cleanser though it irritates my lungs. I started cleaning my pots and pans with baking soda and won't go back.

Tips For Cleaning Pots And Pans With Baking Soda

1. Use baking soda to scour baking dishes and pans just like you would cleanser.

       I use baking soda to clean:

• Metal pots and pans
• Glass bake ware
• Cookie Sheets
• Crock Pot
• Coffee pot

2. I always try to soak stuck on messes with hot soapy water before I clean a pot with baking soda.

3. Use a scour pad or scrubber sponge just like you would with cleanser. I do not have any non-stick         pans so I cannot give advice there.

4. For a handy baking soda shaker:
             -Take and ice pick and poke holes in the top of one side of an unopened box of baking soda.                   This makes the perfect shaker for your baking soda for cleaning. This shaker box also makes                   dusting your carpets easier to use for my carpet cleaning tip.

Clean Your Coffee Maker And Kill Weeds At The Same Time

Here's a frugal tip on how to clean your coffee maker and kill weeds at the same time. About once a month I clean my coffee maker and Keurig brewer. While I was standing there one day I thought it was such a waste to dump all the white vinegar down the drain when I descale my Keurig. What else could I use it for?

How To Use Vinegar To Kill Weeds

I knew vinegar kills weeds and I always have some in my driveway or in the yard. I use organic ways to kill weeds only in our yard and garden. So now when I clean my coffee maker Keurig brewer, I always take the hot water vinegar mixture straight out to the yard, while it is hot and pour over the weeds. Within a day the weeds are dying and after a couple of days they are brown and dead.

If you need to kill a small patch of grass, say around a sprinkler, this works great as well. Using vinegar in the garden is organic and leaves no toxic residue. I never use Roundup any longer and have not for years. Find organic ways to kill weeds is easy if you do a little research.

Read our post on how to clean coffee maker with vinegar and use it on your Keurig brewer as well.

Know When To Hire A Professional

Keep Things Simple: Know When to Hire a Professional

Frugal habits can add an important degree of satisfaction to your life, especially when incorporated along with other simple living practices. From saving money on groceries to do-it-yourself beauty, gardening, and cleaning tips, you’ll find that cutting out unnecessary purchases are as important as ridding the home of clutter. There are some areas of home care, however, where financial skimping is not advised.

Heating and Cooling Systems Are Complex

Your HVAC system is one of those areas. Heating and cooling appliances are complex and easy to damage when you don’t know what you’re doing. You might be tempted to ask your friend for some help with the A/C or take a look at the heater yourself, but you could wind up paying much more in the long run. If you aren’t sure that you’ll save money by hiring a professional, take a look at some of the following facts:

Professionals Are Trained and Certified

They know what they’re doing. When you work with experienced professionals, the technicians have earned the certification and training necessary to conduct repairs safely. The components inside these appliances often contain hazardous chemicals. DIY shortcuts can lead to fire hazards and the risk of carbon monoxide. Professionals receive on-going training and education to prevent injuries and to decrease the potential for risk.

Local Codes and Regulations

Did you know that your community may have specific guidelines governing the equipment and methods used to conduct heating and cooling repairs? The relevant codes and permit information may change from time to time. Professionals have access to this information, but you may not. Additionally, contractors who conduct repairs improperly can be held responsible if something goes wrong. If you do the repairs, you may have a fight with your insurance provider on your hands when issues arise.

Fast, Efficient Service

It’s also important to consider the comfort of your family. Proper maintenance and top-quality repairs are necessary to maintain an efficiently-running machine. When parts fail or your appliances give in to wear and tear, professional attention can get your family back to their typical routine as quickly as possible with only minimal discomfort.

The Right Tools and Equipment

Experts in the heating and cooling industry understand the best ways to arrive at the right the solution. It’s unlikely that these professionals will see an issue that they haven’t seen multiple times. As a result, they usually have the right equipment and tools on hand to complete the job quickly and accurately the first time.

Keep It Simple, Sweetie

If you’re truly hoping to simplify your life, you need to know when to hire a trained professional and when DIY efforts are appropriate. There’s a good chance that even a well-stocked home repair shed doesn’t have the type of equipment to conduct appropriate repairs on your heating and cooling system. By trying to do this yourself, you risk your family’s safety, the well-being of your home, and the welfare of your checkbook. Keep things simple and hire a professional for any tasks that are outside of your skill set.

To add to this, the one thing I do do religiously is to change our air conditioner/heating units filter every month. If we have not used the ac/heater, I may wait, but because we have three dogs and two cats, I feel it is prudent to keep a clean filter to help keep our indoor air as dust free as I can and to help our unit run more efficiently.

When our hardware store puts the filters on sale, I will buy 3-4 at a time. Our current unit is over 20 years old and proper maintenance has helped keep it in good working order.

How To Deodorize Carpet Naturally

In a house with three dogs and four kids, you need to know how to deodorize carpet naturally. I used to use those spray deodorizers way back when to remove the smell from carpet, but now I don't like to use those chemicals in my home. In our den we have a huge area rug that is costly to have cleaned so I like to remove the smell organically.

It is so simple to do and such a cheap way to deodorize a carpet. I am finding there are so many ways to organically and naturally clean my home and it saves so much money to clean house with safe, inexpensive items you can buy at the grocery store or in bulk.

How To Remove Carpet Smell Naturally

1. You will need a box of baking soda
2. At least 2-3 hours
3. A vacuum cleaner     

First, remove as much off of your carpet as you can. No need to vacuum the carpet first unless it is really dirty. Shake generously, the baking soda all over your rugs or carpet. A shaker with holes at the top makes this easier to do but from the box with just a small opening at the top will do. If you get a few clumps, just spread them with your foot or leave them. You do not need to completely cover the rug so that it is white, just sprinkle to cover as much as you can. Now let the baking soda sit on the rug or carpets for 2-3 hours or even better, overnight. Avoid walking on the baking soda because you will track it around your house. Thoroughly vacuum the carpets with a nice clean empty vacuum bag or canister for optimal suction. Go over with the vacuum one way and then turn around and go over again. 

You could easily do this too after you spot clean your rugs and carpets to help remove any remaining odors. Oh, the wonders of cleaning with baking soda.

If you can have windows wide open, even better to help freshen the room. This method of do it yourself dry carpet smell removal is so easy. You will notice a difference right away and it costs pennies to do. I repeat every month or so. This is nice to do when you know you have guests coming and you want the house fresh as possible. I swear the carpet looks even a little cleaner. Not sure but maybe the baking soda helps pick up a little extra dirt too.

You can find many more cheap ways to clean house and make your own cleaning supplies on our Frugal Tips Page. I have a whole Pinterest page devoted to cleaning house and cleaning tips if you'd like to follow.

January Gardening Chores For Your Best Garden Ever

It's a new year and I am here with some January gardening tips. As you know I live in a mild climate and January gardening in Southern California is far different than a lot of the country, so what I might be able to do, you might have to wait on, but many things can be done as long as you are not deep in snow and can access the soil.

January Garden Chores

1. Soil: Clear out old plants from your vegetable garden and turn soil. If it is frozen you will have to wait but for us that is not a problem. Turning allows birds to clean out larvae of bugs and exposes to sunlight. If you have a compost pile, turn the pile and start adding compost to prepare beds for planting.

We do not have the benefit of killing frosts and freezes to kill diseases and have to be careful to thoroughly clear away all old plants that harbor diseases like tomatoes often can.

If you have a compost pile, turn the pile and start adding compost to prepare beds. Do not add anything to your compost that you lost to blight or disease. Just dispose of those in the garbage. If you do not make your own compost than buy enough to put a good 2-3 inch layer on top of your existing beds. I also put a good layer of compost around the base of my fruit trees and even across the top of my containers.

Also, if you have cats or your neighbors do, ensure that the new soft soil you just prepared does not invite cats to poop in your planters. I know from experience because I just planted a new barrel with greens and left uncovered thinking the rain we were having would keep the cats away. Nope, found a big pile right in the center and to be careful of any contamination I just cleaned the cat poop up and dumped the soil. Not going to eat salad greens from that soil. So ALWAYS cover with wire or plastic. I use old plant trays and love the way they cover and the seedlings can grow right up through.

2. Dormant pruning: This is the time to prune dormant trees and vines. When the trees are bare you can easily see what needs to be pruned. Remember you want sunlight in the tree structure so trim away cris-crossing branches and branches that shoot straight up out of good horizontal branches.

If you need to spray trees, this is a good time to spray with dormant oils.

For fruit bearing vines, I would google the type of vine you have. We have blackberry vines in our backyard and have decided to treat it as a small hedge so we just keep it cut back like an ornamental shrub to keep it in check and from having it spread out of the small planter it is in. It is also a good time to dig up suckers to keep them in check.

3. Seed Starting: Now is the time to order seeds and to start them indoors. This is probably one of the funnest parts of the January garden to do list. Here in a southern California garden, we can direct sow cool season crops. I love to spend as little as possible and consider myself a frugal gardener using items I have to start seeds and get my seedlings growing.

4. Planting: This is a good time to get new bare root trees and vines as well as ornamentals in the ground if you can work your soil. Here in southern California, this is a good time for planting because soils are wet from rains and the late fall heat is passed. I love the practice of intensive gardening and try not to walk on and compact my soils any more than I have to.

5. Garden Planning: Now is a great time to start that garden journal or planner you have always meant to do. Garden planners are a wonderful way to put down a garden plan to plot your beds and to make notes so you can compare and remember garden notes from year to year. Next year you will know exactly what your January gardening tasks are if you list them this year and can make notes as to what worked and what garden chores may need tweaking. Plan now for your best garden ever!

Simple Tricks To Stay Cozy All Winter Long

Simple Tricks to Stay Cozy All Winter Long

Some really great tips you may not know of to save money on winter heating bills and to keep you cozy.

Plummeting temperatures tend to lead to grumbles as you start to turn into an icicle, followed by groans as you spend money to stay warm, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A few easy changes help your home stay toasty without emptying your wallet every month. Here are a few tips to keep your home snuggly warm.

Area Rugs and Carpets Are Your Friends

As much as ten percent of a home’s heat loss can occur through the floor, so it’s important not to neglect what’s underfoot. Not only are area rugs and carpeting stylish, they also act as layers of insulation keeping warmth inside where it belongs. The delightful feeling of an interesting texture on your feet is a creature-comfort bonus! Insulation performance varies by type, size, and weave, so take the time to do a bit of research to find the best match for your décor and temperature-control needs.

Throw Comfort Over Your Furniture

Not much beats the humble throw blanket for creating a cozy bubble of happiness on your favorite sofa or easy chair. Like a blanket for your seating, throws come in a wide variety of fabrics and designs for different seasons and to complement different aesthetics. Choosing a throw that holds in heat while allowing perspiration to pass through is key to staying toasty instead of feeling like you’re in a sauna. The right throw could help you go all day without even turning on the heat!

Change Bedding for More Than Style

Satin and silk feel delightful, but they’re not so great for keeping the chill at bay. When temperatures slide south, it’s time to change the sheets. Consider flannel sheets to help stop heat loss and to avoid the shock of ice-cold fabric against bare skin when you hop into bed. Add nice, thick comforters to create a pocket of coziness you won’t ever want to leave. Pro tip: mattresses absorb ambient temperatures, so a thick, flannel blanket can be a game changer when used directly on the mattress as a sheet.

Give Your Fan New Direction

Take a good look at your ceiling fans from several angles. You’ll find small switches somewhere on the bodies of the fans. Those switches change the direction in which the fans rotate. Flip the switches to one position for a clockwise spin and to the other position for a counterclockwise spin. You want your ceiling fans to be rotating clockwise in the winter at the lowest speed. This produces a slight updraft, causing warm air, which naturally rises, to be circulated more efficiently. Make sure to turn the fan off when you’re not in the room to save even more.

Check the Furnace, Love the Furnace

Everyone’s first response to cold weather is to turn on their trusty furnace. Yet many neglect to ensure the furnace is ready to do the job. It’s one of those things no one thinks about until there’s a problem requiring furnace repairs. Making time each year for a furnace inspection is an important maintenance step every home should take. A furnace that is beginning to fail loses efficiency and costs more to heat your living space. Also, the worst way to find out there’s a problem is to have the furnace go kaput right smack in the middle of winter.

This is my job in our house. I am a stickler about this and in months when we run the furnace, I change the filter every 30 days. Stock up and always have them on hand.

Treat Your Windows

Your windows are easily where most heat is lost. Luckily, just as with throws and blankets, adding an appropriate covering helps stop heat loss. Adding heavier window coverings helps by holding air between the window surfaces and the drapes, which acts as insulation. The denser material also helps keep heat from passing through. Specially designed cold-weather window coverings even include reflective material within the fabric layers, maximizing the amount of heat the coverings hold in. There are myriad choices of colors, patterns, and cuts from which to choose, so your décor won’t have to suffer.

Not a Good Time to Vent

A surprising source of heat loss is the bathroom vent. Bathroom vents lead outside, so when they are in operation, they are pulling the heat being produced by your furnace right out of your living space. It’s like having the heat running with the windows and doors open. You’re just pumping the warm air back out again. You can minimize the impact of the bathroom vent by resolving to run it only when absolutely necessary. When you do operate it, do so only for as long as you need. Don’t leave it running and costing you comfort and cash.

Warm Yourself from the Inside

Your body is adept at producing its own heat to keep you going, but your internal furnace could still use some help. The cold months are perfect times for hot comfort foods, steamy soups and beverages. Put away the cold cuts and iced teas and break out the warm pies and hot cocoa! If you’re worried about your waistline, there are plenty of alternatives that are healthier and less likely to linger on the hips. The key is to make sure most of your cold-weather meals are hot enough to give you some extra pep.

Sometimes You Have to Close a Door

It’s obvious that you should keep your exterior doors closed during the cold months, but not so obvious that you should do the same with interior doors. Your furnace is working to equalize temperature and can do so much more efficiently if areas are compartmentalized. Simply put if you’re not using a room, keep the door closed. This holds heat within the unused room, while allowing the warmth in the areas being used to be more evenly distributed. The result is a more comfortable home without the furnace needing to run as much. Don’t forget the bathroom counts, too!

Snug As a Bug In a (Very Warm) Rug

Living comfortably during the cold months without breaking the bank is a matter of looking at your lifestyle and making simple choices to be more efficient. Recognize where heat is lost and take steps to put up barriers in those places. Stay on top of routine maintenance to keep your furnace going strong. Follow these basics, and you’ll spend your time in Winter Wonderland snug as a bug and twice as happy

How To Remove Smell From Laundry

Here is an all natural tip on how to remove smell from laundry. Getting rid of musty laundry is easy.

Has anyone else ever been faced with this problem? You wash and dry your laundry and then you pull a t-shirt out of the drawer, slip it on and go, "Phew who let the dog in? And did she roll in poop?" Well, everyone in this house has. It was becoming a common problem of clothes coming out of the laundry stinky. Didn't matter if I used my homemade soap or bought soap. The result was the same. Now you can blame it on the six stinky people in our house, or the dog beds I wash weekly or my lineman's filthy work clothes, but something was causing the stink.  

 The easiest solution is to add a little vinegar to the rinse cycle. That's it. I pour about two tablespoons into the fabric softener holder and it never fails; clean smelling washer and laundry. You may smell a little vinegar in the washing machine but you do not smell vinegar in your clothing at all. Cheap and simple solution to my conundrum.

I have also read that the vinegar acts as a natural fabric softener. Also, if you happen to forget a load of wet laundry in the washing machine and you have smelly laundry, just add some vinegar and run through just a rinse cycle and that is how you quickly deal with smelly laundry.

Summer Tips and Tricks To Beat The Heat And Save Money

We are in the dog days of summer. Here are few summer tips and tricks to help deal with the summer heat.

How I Keep The Kitchen Cool In Summer

Summer Time Cooking Tips

Swim Bag Storage

How to Clean those Dirty Summer Feet

Save on Your Electric Bill

And from the web some of my favorite tips and tricks for summer:

What is cuter than this? How to keep bugs out of your drink while enjoying the great outdoors from mom4.real.com

And from Pinterest I spied this tip cause what is summer without watermelon EVERYDAY!

Avoid Stuck On Messes - Kitchen Quick Tip

Another tip in my kitchen quick tip series is avoiding stuck on messes on the bottoms of my pans and bake ware is vital to my happiness. I do not have patience to stand and scrub any longer than I have to. Here is how I prevent stuck on gunk from the bottom of my baking dishes. This is perfect if you are roasting a chicken.

The answer is foil. Now the frugal part of me does not like to waste foil but the stronger urge in me to avoid unnecessary time scrubbing and ruining my hands scraping baked on crud off the bottom of my pans, wins out.

Whenever I am roasting or baking something I know will be a greasy stuck on mess, I line my pan with foil, the dull side up. Get the foil all up the sides because the point is to avoid any of the juices and liquids from touching the pan. Give the foil a shot of nonstick spray and you are good to go.

Now when it comes time to clean up, I just toss the foil and rinse the dish out. Easy as can be now that you have avoided the baked on build up that takes forever to scrub off. If you missed my last kitchen quick tip you should check it out.

How to Cook the Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs - Kitchen Quick Tip

How to boil perfect eggs in this kitchen quick tip.

We love hard boiled eggs and I often do a pan of them once a week. Here is the easiest, most cost effective way to cook perfect hard boiled eggs. Afterall, hard boiled eggs are the original protein bar.

How to Hard Boil Eggs

Always start with a pan of cold water and fill to cover your eggs by an inch or so.

Bring to a boil, with the lid on a medium/high flame to avoid cracking any eggs. 

Once the eggs are at a good rolling boil, turn the flame off (saves $) and leave the lid on. If you like a yellow yolk with no chance of that grey ring, set your time for 10 minutes to achieve perfect hard boiled eggs. If you are doing a large pan of eggs or like a well done yolk then set the time for your hard boiled eggs to 12 minutes.

When the time goes off, drain off the hot water carefully and rinse with cold water and soak in more cold water with ice to stop them from cooking.

Remember older eggs peel the easiest so always choose your oldest eggs for boiling.

Whether you are making scrambled eggs, poached eggs or plain old boiled eggs, you cannot beat the nutritional value of eggs. I love gathering them fresh from the backyard chickens.

My family loves deviled eggs. They are gone as soon as I serve them.

You can find more egg recipes on our recipe page.

Also, remember to save boiled egg water and your eggs shells for the garden.

Washing Silverware the Easy Way - Another Kitchen Quick Tip

Another in the quick tip series. How to wash silverware and flatware the easy way.

I love sharing little tricks that make cleaning the kitchen easier. Here is another great tip for washing your silverware. When you are preparing a meal, take a tall glass that is probably already sitting there ready to be washed. Fill it with a squirt of dish soap and hot water and as you dirty utensils, drop them into the hot soapy water.

By the time I am ready to wash dishes or load the dishwasher, the silverware and cooking utensils have soaked and the stuck on food comes right off or is super easy to swoosh off with my brush.