Give Until It Helps, Gluten-Free Easter Baskets – Pantry Cooking Resource A Big Success – HBHW Newsletter

March 31st,  2010

Editorial

My first official week of spring was spent outdoors whenever possible.  There is always so much to do.  Raking and cleaning up the yard and house after the winter is a big chore.  Then there’s the garden (hopefully soon), and washing the windows,  scrubbing the porch and patio, and on and on.  But, even with all that work, I still love when spring comes!

I also had the pleasure of interviewing Tawra from Living On a Dime about all things frugal gardening for the Hillbilly Housewife Club earlier this week. The interview and transcript will be in the member area in a few days. It was a great interview, we talked for a good 50 minutes or so and I’ve picked up quite a few interesting tips.

With spring comes Easter!  We celebrate the Easter season with new potted flowers, usually a tulip and a lily.  Then, of course there’s the Easter basket.  If your diet is gluten-free, this is one holiday which you can dig in and enjoy all the wonderful treats.   Don’t miss our featured article all about a gluten-free Easter basket.  You’ll be surprised how many choices the Easter bunny has for your gluten-free youngster.

I listened to a debate recently about giving money to charities.  The argument was that some say ‘give until it hurts’ while others insist it should be ‘give until it feels good.’  Which one is it?  I guess it’s both.  In our quote and story this week, we see there are times when giving makes us feel good and there are times when giving hurts a little.  But, even when giving hurts a little, the blessing of that gift is returned to you over and over again, until it feels wonderful!

Those are my thoughts this week.  As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.

– Buddha –

Sponsor

Grab your copy of my Freezer Cooking Made Simple guide at www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/freezercooking.htm.

News From The HBHW Club

What? You haven’t heard about the Hillbilly Housewife Club? It’s a members only forum packed full of great information, resources, and friendly chit chat about the things we are all interested in – fun, frugal living. Come Join Us And See What All The Chatter Is About!

We have a brand new resource available to our Club members. Last month’s resource, Pantry/Freezer Challenge and Meal Planning, was so popular that a follow up resource about pantry cooking was a natural.

The new “Pantry Cooking” resource takes you beyond cooking from whatever you have left in your pantry and freezer to actually planning ahead to stock your pantry and freezer so you never have to be limited or frustrated by your lack of food supplies again.

This new resource is jam-packed full with information about not only what you should have in your pantry, but how to properly store food, what to look for in a storage container, which spices to have on hand, what to keep in your freezer, proper thawing techniques, and much, much more.

Along with all this information, the “Pantry Cooking” resource contains checklists to use when you shop for your basic pantry and freezer supplies. These checklists are also great for keeping track of supplies you have on hand.

But, that’s not all! Our new “Pantry Cooking” resource is loaded with delicious recipes so you can start cooking right away using your newly stocked pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.

You don’t want to miss this fabulous resource. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Not sure about joining the HBHW Club yet? To make joining us even easier, I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer? As an example, for just that one dollar you’ll have 7 days of access to over 350 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day. You’ll also have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club forum.

One of our new members stopped in to introduce herself.  She’s from Virginia and has a real frugal mindset.  She’s lived a frugal lifestyle for many years raising her family and continues to be frugal minded even now when her children have left the nest.  It seems frugality is in her blood like so many of us here at the Club.

The Club is all about frugal folks making choices and sharing ideas.  Topics include cooking, gardening, crafting, kids, vacations, etc.  Trying to maintain a home on a budget, while eating well and having fun,  is a priority for our members.

We’ve been sharing recipes that are healthy and filling.  We have a couple new recipes now for using purple cabbage.  And, with some folks thinking about getting their tomato plants for the garden, we got thinking about Fried Green Tomatoes.  We shared our own HBHW Club recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with you below in this newsletter.  Enjoy!

With our posted recipe for Classic Cornmeal Fried Green Tomatoes, one of our members shared her own recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes.  That’s what the Club is all about – sharing what works for us.

The ideas we share at the Club are often referred to as “Little House On The Prairie” ideas.  Simply sitting down to a meal around the table with your family seems nowadays like a “Little House” idea.  Knitting, sewing, canning, or gardening may be something that you do that has you living a “Little House” life.  It’s fun to hear others share their own experiences trying to live a more simple life.

As a Club member, you’ll be able to join us and share your opinions and your own frugal tips and ideas. Are you ready to join us at the HBHW Club?

Click the link here and try The HBHW Club for only $1. We’d love to have you come join us! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now that you’ve joined us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

• “NEW” Pantry Cooking Resource
• Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
• Utility Bill Savings
  
• Simple Summer Cooking
• Frugal Summer Fun
  

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

As promised, I’m sharing the recipe mentioned earlier.  You’ll find this recipe and many more like it on the HBHW Club.

Classic Cornmeal Fried Green Tomatoes

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 3 Tblsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

• 4 or 5 large green tomatoes

Get a big cast iron skillet ready by pouring in about 1/2 inch deep layer of high-heat oil,  like peanut oil.  Start heating the oil.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into about 3/4 inch thick slices.

When the oil is hot (it sizzles hard when you add a drop of water), dip a tomato slice, both sides, into the dry mix and immediately drop into the hot oil.

Repeat with the rest of the tomato slices, but just fry a few at a time so you don’t  overcrowd the pan and cool it down.  Flip the tomato slices with a tongs and brown the other side.  Remove and let cool on a baking rack covered with paper towels.

I like to add more salt just as they come out of the oil.  Serve warm.

And here are a few more recipes that have recently been added to the member area.

• Peach Cobbler Crumble
• Southern Hospitality Sweet Potato Pie
• Homemade Alfredo Sauce
• Roquefort Spread

All in all, we have over 363 new recipes in the member area already.

One of my favorite part of the HBHW Club is the Member Forum. Here are just a few of the more recent posts, plus a few favorite threads:

Member Forum Posts

• Folks are loving the new “Pantry Cooking” resource
  
• Greetings from new member in Virginia
• Working from home ideas
• Getting ‘post it note’ stain off lab coat

Why don’t you join us at the Club so you can get in on the conversation.  I look forward to chatting with you in the member area.

http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Featured Article

Gluten-free Easter baskets are not only possible, they are gloriously wonderful.  Some of  the best candy that we know and love (Jelly Belly jelly beans, Skittles, Hershey’s milk chocolate bunnies) are welcome in a gluten-free basket.

This article gives you a list of real, name brand candies that your gluten-free child can enjoy – and you too, Mom and Dad!  You’ll also find suggestions for things other than candy for the Easter bunny to put in your baskets.  Great tips for a great gluten-free holiday.  You don’t want to miss this featured article.  Click on and enjoy reading.

Easter – A Great Holiday To Be A Gluten Free Kid

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

This section is all about you. If you are looking for a particular recipe or a tip on how to do something, submit it here and I will post it in an upcoming newsletter. I’ll give you my input and other readers of the newsletter will have the opportunity to share their recipes and tips as well. So take a moment to post your questions and of course if you have a tip or idea for any question posted in this section feel free to leave a comment under the appropriate post.

I’m Looking For Requests
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I’m Looking For Responses
Below you will find some of the recent responses to the “I’m Looking For” Requests. You may also want to go directly to this section and browse through all the recent submissions and replies. To do so, click on “I’m Looking for” here, and start looking through them.
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Inspirational Story

The Given Light

– Barbara Hug –

Once upon a time a man had heard, that in a foreign place, far away, there was a holy flame burning.  So he got up and left his home to find the holy flame and bring some of its light back home to his house.  He thought: ‘When I have this light, then I will have happiness and life and all the people I love will have it too.’

He traveled far, far away and finally found the holy flame, with which he lit his light.  On his way back he had only one worry: ‘That his light could go out.’

On his way home he met someone who was freezing and didn’t have any fire and who begged him to give him some of his fire. The man with the light hesitated for a moment. Wasn’t his light too precious, too holy to be given away for something ordinary like that? Despite these doubts, he decided to give some of his light to the one who was freezing in the darkness.

The man continued his journey home and when he had almost reached his house a terrible thunderstorm started.  He tried to protect his light from the rain and the storm, but at the end his light went out.

To return the long way back to the place where the holy flame was burning was impossible, he wouldn’t have had enough strength to go back this far – but he was strong enough to return to the human being whom he had helped on his way home.

………and with his light he could light his own again.

Final Thought

That’s it for this edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading it as I had creating it for you. I also hope that you have found the information helpful and useful. And by all means feel free to forward the newsletter to family and friends or even better, encourage them to subscribe to it.

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife