A Life Well Lived, Freezer Cooking, New Pantry Cooking Resource – HBHW Newsletter

March 24th,  2010

Editorial

Spring has finally arrived – at least officially.  If you’ve been experiencing any of that “return to winter” weather that so many have, you’ll know what I mean about “officially.”

I do have spring fever, though.  I put aside my cooking this weekend (for the most part) for a day of raking and I have the blisters to show for it.  I took a stab at the garden but the ground is still a little too cold to give it anymore than a quick appraisal.  If I have any time this week I may start haunting the nurseries just for fun.

You’ll want to be sure to check out this week’s featured article.  As spring and warmer weather approaches, I know you will be spending as little time in the kitchen as necessary.  Having a freezer full of easy meals all ready to pop in the oven is one way to shorten your kitchen time and lengthen your play time.  Take a look at the article about freezer cooking to learn how simple, and freeing, it can be!

This week’s inspirational story and quote are both about living a life that’s worth living, and remembering.  The story may seem a bit morose at first, but let’s face it, we all will be leaving this earth.  The question is will the earth be better for having us here?  Every day IS an important day.  What will you do today to make these 24 hours mean something to someone?  Living a life that matters is a matter of choice.

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

P.S. My friend Christine, The Menu Mom is running a special on printed binders with her Kids Approved Meals. It includes 13 weeks worth of kid-friendly breakfasts and lunches. She also has some cute kids-apron for sale that would be perfect for a little girl’s Easter Basket or birthday present. Take a look at:
http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/blog/aprons-kid-approved-meals-binder

Inspirational Quote

“There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.”

– Alexander Woollcott –

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.

We had a couple new members join us last week.  One member is from Wisconsin and the other from Washington State.  They, like you, are interested in finding out how frugal folks are making decisions about cooking, cleaning, gardening, schooling, crafting, or any of the many topics that we deal with every day as we try to create a comfortable home.

One of our newer members shared a recipe with us that sounds very healthy, frugal, and delicious!  And, since many of us are watching our weight and trying to exercise and stay fit, this soup recipe will fit right in with that discussion, as well.

As a Club member, you’ll be able to join us and share your opinions and throw out some of 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:

• Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
• Setting Up A Family Budget
• Simple Summer Cooking
• Getting Out Of Debt For Good

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

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was submitted to the HBHW Club this past week.

Molasses Nibbles

• 3/4 cup Crisco
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed tight
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 Tbsps. Molasses

• 2  1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsps. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger

In a large mixing bowl, add the shortening, brown sugar, egg, and molasses and mix with electric beater on medium low until blended well.

Sift or mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then slowly add to the molasses mixture in bowl while you continue beating on medium low until the dough gets light and creamy.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Take about 1 good sized tablespoon of dough, roll into a little ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten the ball a little with the bottom of a juice glass that has been dipped in granulated sugar first.

Continue rolling and flattening the dough until the cookie sheet is full (leaving about 2 inches between each cookie).

Bake in your preheated oven for about 10 to 14 minutes or until browned around the edges.  Remove and cool for 1 minute, then slide off cookie sheet onto cooling rack.

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

• Super Simple Ambrosia Salad
• Lots-of-Leftovers Fried Rice
• Another Spoon Bread Recipe
• Magic Nutty Cheese Stick

All in all, we have over 357 new recipes in the member area already.

Member Forum Posts

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

• Using Twitter to find brand name coupons
• An introduction from Wisconsin
  
• Joining us from Puget Sound
• Really living on what’s in the kitchen
• Great new use for ketchup bottles

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

Join the conversation now at the HBHW Club forum for just $1

Featured Article

During the last few weeks of cold weather, I like to get my freezer stocked so that when spring finally does arrive, my family and I can be outside enjoying it instead of in the kitchen fixing another meal.

Besides stocking my freezer with the regular supplies, like vegetables, chicken, meat, etc., I like to have some pre-prepared food on hand.  These are the casseroles, soups, and stews that I can take out and pop in the oven or set on the burner and have all set for dinner in a hurry.

When the preparation has been done already, the meals come together in the time it takes to cook the dish.  Won’t that be nice when you come in from a long day outdoors!

Be sure to click on the link below and read all about the basic information you need to start freezer cooking for your family.

Frugal Freezer Cooking Basics

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

What Will Matter

Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

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