This entire list is from a collection of one special lady... Sandee Eveland. Thank you Sandee! Thanksgiving "Memory Tablecloth" Create A Memory! Buy a plain tablecloth and have each guest at your Thanksgiving table sign the tablecloth, tell what they are most thankful for this year and date it! Each year your guest will enjoy reminiscing about the previous years "Thanks." Don't forget to trace those wee hands to preserve precious moments in time! ~~*~~ WHAT I ADD TO MAKE IT SPECIAL - From Taste Of Home ~*~ Perfect Pancakes To make yummy pancakes, I always stir crumbled bacon and 1 tsp or two of almond extract into the batter, then top the cooked pancakes with sour cream shares Nick Novak of Elyria, OH ~*~ Marvelous meat loaf "Instead of making my meat loaf with bread crumbs or crushed saltines, I use crushed cheddar cheese flavored crackers" reports Joan Bagaudae of Spring Hill, FL. They make a very tasty loaf. ~*~ Sensational Carrot Salad "Try replacing half of the raisins in your carrot salad with dried cranberries," suggests Helen Joyce of Centerville, Indiana. "They add color and a tartness that nicely offsets the sweet raisins." ~*~ Creative Chill "My family loves my chili on cold days, especially when I sweeten it with about 1/4 c honey" reveals Pamela Kramerage of Martinsburg, West Virginia. ~*~ Savory Stuffing For flavorful turkey stuffing, use a combination of sourdough, cornbread and white bread cubes. From Marina Ettel, Denver Colorado ~*~ Zippy Pea Soup Says Arnold Matthaei of Gig Harbor, WA, "To me, split pea soup isn't split pea soup without a tablespoon of heated sauerkraut stirred in before heating." Want to turn ho-hum foods into dishes that'll have family members asking for more? Take a look at the special ingredients some readers suggest. ~*~ Extraordinary Egg Salad - "Egg salad is extra special when I stir in crispy cooked and crumbled bacon," assures Cheri Venturi, Vineland, NJ. ~*~ Perfect Potatoes - Whenever I boil potatoes, I add celery leaves, onion and bay leaf to the water," says Gloria Tucker of Palm City, FL. "The extra flavor perks up potato salad and other dishes. ~*~ "For a pleasantly sweet and extra crunchy potato salad, I stir in a chopped apple" explains Maybelle Reaves of Chicago, IL. ~*~ Creative Carrots - "My grandson claimed he didn't like carrots until I steamed them with some fresh mint leaves, recalls Colleen Sherman of Bakersfield, CA. "Now that's how he requests them every time." ~*~ Best Beets - Leah Poeske of Redmond, OR, adds just a hint of ground allspice to fresh or canned beets to enhance their sweetness. ~*~ Better Zucchini Bread - Shares Barbara Clark of St. Albans, VT, "I receive a lot of compliments for my zucchini bread when I add only 1/4 tsp of grated orange peel and the same amount of grated lemon peel. It gives the bread a delicious tang." ~*~ Zippy Slaw - Remarks Robbie Pendergrass of Horn Lake, MI. "For an eye-opening coleslaw that gets noticed, stir in some horseradish." ~*~ Sensational Squash - "To make a more interesting side dish, I add potatoes, bell peppers and onions to my friend yellow squash or fried okra." says Annn Brasher of Tuscaloosa, AL ~~*~~ TIMELY TIPS from Taste of Home ~*~ Large sweet potatoes are often very fibrous. If you use an electric mixer to beat the cooked potatoes, the stringy fibers will wind around the beaters, leaving the potatoes smooth. LaFerne Wright Schellsburg, PA. ~*~ Since cranberries are only available a few months each year, freeze some bags to use later. Carole Dishman, Hampton, Virginia ~*~ The secret to perfectly roasted vegetables is to cut them into same-size pieces and turn them often (about every 15 min.) during roasting so they crisp and brown evenly. Patty Bukowski, Belair Maryland. ~*~ When you're storing carrots, keep them away from apples. The apples give off a gas that can cause the carrots to taste bitter. Nila Grahl Des Plaines, IL ~*~ Peeling boiled sweet potatoes is easy. Just drain off the hot water, then immediately plunge the potatoes into cold water. The skins will slip right off. Pamela Sjoden Houston, BC ~*~ For a taste twist, try substituting asparagus in your favorite broccoli casserole. Cynthia Edmiston Mt. Pleasant, SC ~*~ Here's a quick substitution for a c of buttermilk or sour milk in a recipe: Place 1 T of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add milk to measure 1 cup. Annie Weyher Lake George, Michigan ~*~ Try this pretty serving idea for the holidays. Bake stuffing in a covered grease fluted tube pan. Let stand for 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate or flat serving dish. Slice into wedges to serve. Val Heinrichs, Steinbach, Manitoba. ~*~ Dried fruit will chop easier if you put it in the freezer for about an hour before cutting. ~*~ To make a pretty garnish, cut small pickles like a fan - cutting down the pickle's length but not through the bottom in thin slices. Spread slices like a fan to garnish plates. ~*~ You can easily just rub the skin off carrots after they have been cooked. ~*~ If you need to thinly slice raw meat: beef, pork or chicken, the job will be much easier if the meat is slightly frozen. ~*~ Prevent dried fruit or nuts from sinking to the bottom of your batters by coating them lightly with flour first. ~*~ Adding a pinch of baking soda to icings prevents hardening and cracking so the icing stays moist. ~*~ Use a cosmetic puff in your flour to dust your cookie sheets, and cake pans. ~*~ Raisins should be stored in the refrigerator to keep them soft and moist. ~*~ To add sugar to cold tea, dissolve the sugar first in a glass of hot water. You won't have those hard sugar crystals floating around in your tea now. ~*~ To make big ice cubes for your pitcher of iced tea or lemonade, use muffin tins as ice cube trays. ~*~ To make plain pasta tastier for little ones, put a bouillon cube in the water while it's boiling. Toddlers will love the extra flavor ~*~ Carrots cook faster if you slice them along their length rather than their width. ~*~ Before adding veggies, toss them with a little flour to keep them from sticking to the bottom. ~*~ To keep cauliflower white while cooking just add a little milk to the water. ~*~ The best way of removing extra fat from soups is to refrigerate them until the fat hardens on the top, and you can simply spoon it off. ~*~ Use plain yogurt as a substitute for sour cream ~*~ Boil Overs To keep a pot from boiling over, place a toothpick between the cover and the pot. This will give the steam an outlet. This will also work with a casserole dish in the oven. ~*~To get grease off suede, immerse toothbrush in vinegar and gently rub over the spot. ~*~ Keeping Brown Sugar Moist Generally when you buy a bag of brown sugar to use in a recipe, you use only a fraction of it and the rest turns into a sugar brick in your cupboard. It's nothing like white sugar in its consistency and therefore needs to be stored differently. The best way is in a solid screw-top glass jar. If, however, you have a bag that has gone to stone, you don't need to throw it away (unless it's ancient and has bugs in it)! You can moisten it by adding a dampened paper towel to the bag and sealing it up for a day. The next day you should be able to break it up easily, and THEN store it in a jar. Tip World ~*~ Today's Internet Tip: Deleting E-Mail This tip is for Netscape users, I am not sure if it works with Internet Explorer but you could give it a try to find out. Do you hate deleting email and then having to delete it AGAIN out of the trash? Well I have your solution! All you do is "select" the email) by the way you can select more than one by holding down the "Ctrl" key and clicking on the unwanted email, Now you have them selected you can now hold down the "Ctrl & Shift keys at the same time and then press the Delete key. The mail is now permanently deleted from your system. Melanie Prisella, Savona, NY ~~*~~ KITCHEN TIPS * To get snowy white potatoes, add a teaspoon of vinegar or fresh lemon juice to the boiling water * Making noodles is easy by adding an egg to a package of pie crust mix. Mix; roll out, cut, and let dry. * For a different flavor and less fat, use chicken stock instead of butter or milk when whipping up mashed potatoes. * Keep a small plastic bag in your can of vegetable shortening. When it comes time to grease a pan, just slip your hand in the bag, scoop out what you need and spread it on the pan. * Fresh ginger will last longer by storing it in a pot of sand. ~~*~~ VJJU Recipes ~*~ Spots on your drinking glasses? Try mixing equal parts of water, vinegar and lemon juice in a spray bottle and spray the glasses before putting in the dishwasher. ~*~ To get stubborn stains out of coffee cups and tea cups, add half a teaspoon of salt and a little water before scrubbing with a sponge. ~*~ Lettuce and celery will crisp up if you place them in a pan of cold water and add a couple of slices of potato. ~*~ For a real treat when making pumpkin pie. Place a layer of mini-marshmallows on the bottom of the pie shell. They will rise to the top while baking and make a great topping. ~~*~~ KITCHEN TIPS * Slide a strand of unwaxed dental floss--one end wrapped around the forefingers of each hand--under fresh cookies to unstick them from a cookie sheet. Floss also makes a clean cut through a cake for layering. No more crumbly edges! * For extra smooth, well-mixed oil and vinegar salad dressing: Combine all ingredients in a screw top jar, add an ice cube and shake--then discard what's left of the ice cube. * Use a 1-1/2 inch natural bristle paintbrush dipped in melted margarine or oil to grease muffin tins, cookie sheets or cake and bread pans. It's much faster than using a skimpy pastry brush. * If you put onions in the freezer 15 minutes before you chop them, you'll reduce the spray of vaporized onion oils--which means your eyes won't tear when you cut the onions. * To prevent cream whipped ahead of time from separating, add one quarter teaspoon of gelatin to each cup of cream during whipping. ~~*~~ SHORTCUTS WORTH SHARING - From Taste of Home ~*~ Small bags of nuts, herbs, etc. kept falling out of my freezer or getting burried beneath bigger items --- until I bought a large wire mesh bin to hold all those odds and ends. It sits right on the shelf in my freezer. Now I know just where to look for those small items. Collen Hille, Warrenton, Oregon. ~*~ When I melt bulk chocolate or almond bark to coat candies, fruit or pretzels, I like to use my slow cooker. It keeps the chocolate warm for repeated dips. C.M. Harris, Walker Minnesota ~*~ Here's a neat way to make cutout cookies. After your cookie dough is rolled out, place a piece of plastic wrap loosely over the dough. Use your cutter to cut out the cookies, pressing down on the plastic. Since the plastic wrap is between dough and the cutter, the cutter stays clean. Gayle butler, Millbrook, Alabama. ~*~ To save time and mess, put all your pumpkin pie ingredients into a blender. Blend to combine. Pour into a pie shell and bake. Easy! Ruth Mohl, Orwigsburg, PA ~*~ In science class, I learned a great trick for polishing silverware. Line a pan with foil. Add water and bring to a boil. Add some baking soda and stir. When the water comes to a boil again, put in your silverware and turn off the heat. Wait a few minutes, then remove. Your knives, forks and spoons will shine like new! Jessica Olechowski, Port Orange, FL ~*~ For a quick, economical breakfast, I make up a batch of oatmeal. I thin it a bit with water and cool it, then pour it into ice cube trays. Once the cubes are frozen, I pop them out and store them in freezer bags. For a fast morning meal, I heat as many cubes as I need and mix with sugar and milk. Barbara Franklin, Topeka Kansas ~*~ Don't fuss with a nut chopper. When you need nuts for a recipe, put them in a plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin. Then just pour them from the bag into a bowl with the other ingredients. Dorothy Baxter, Brush Prairie, WA ~*~ To avoid trouble getting the paper coffee filters apart, turn each batch inside-out. This loosens them up and lets you easily get one at a time. ~*~ Before adding filling for a juicy pie, cover bottom crust with 2 T flour and 1 T sugar. ~~*~~ GIVE LEFTOVERS A LIFT ~*~ TURKEY TURNAROUND No one will recognize leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey if you chop it into small pieces, stir into a homemade cheese sauce and serve over toast or noodles. This is a good and quick dish. ~*~ SLOPPY JOE SAVER Layer cooked lasagna noodles, leftover sloppy joe meat and velveeta, then bake till hot. Husbands love this casserole. ~*~ MAC 'N' CHEESE MAKEOVER For a delicious and easy pasta salad, mix mayonnaise, celery and pickle relish to cold leftover macaroni and cheese. ~*~ NOODLE RE-RUN Whenever you have a few left-over noodles, put them in the freezer. For a fast main-dish salad, defrost the noodles and combine them with mayonnaise and cooked or canned seafood. ~*~ Brownie Points Use the size of baking pan specified in the recipe. A pan that's too big will cause the batter to spread too thinly and be in danger of overcooking and drying out. Too small a pan may yield brownies that are underbaked in the center. ~*~ Brownies are done when they just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If in doubt, remove the pan from the oven. The brownies will continue to set after removal from the oven, and baking them beyond the time recommended can result in dry, hard brownies. ~*~ To prevent crumbling, let the brownies cool before cutting them by setting the entire pan on a cooling rack. To prevent big cracks in brownies with a crisp top over a moist interior, lightly score the cutting lines on the surface with a knife while the brownies are still warm. Cut them all the way through after they cool. To keep brownies freshest, cut only what you need. ~*~ Brownies freeze well. Wrap them in plastic, individually or in pairs, and pop several into a self-sealing plastic freezer bag. Thaw, unwrapped, at room temperature, or microwave for a fast, warm treat. ~*~ Remove Candle Wax Easily As you retrieve your holiday decorations from storage, you may find that your candleholders still have wax drippings from last year. To get the wax off, put the holders in the freezer. Once frozen, wax is easy to remove. ~*~ Exciting Uses For Cumin: * Before roasting a chicken or ears of corn, rub with a mix of pounded raw cumin seeds, soft butter, some crushed garlic, and a pinch of cayenne. * Add an earthy flavor to plain rice by adding some raw cumin along with the salt and water. Or sizzle some seeds along with some chopped onion in butter or oil and proceed as you would for a rice pilaf. * Sprinkle coarsely ground toasted cumin seeds over boiled or roasted potatoes, along with cayenne and salt. Transform a simple dip of cucumbers and yogurt by adding some toasted, ground cumin. * Sizzle whole cumin seeds along with a clove or two of chopped garlic and add this at the last minute to lentil soup. * Season a sofrito--the sauteed mixture of chopped onions, green peppers, and garlic--for black beans generously with cumin. * Add whole raw or toasted cumin seeds to cornbread or cheese straws. ~~*~~ KITCHEN TIPS ~*~ When breading chicken pieces before frying, take the time to refrigerate the coated chicken for at least 30 minutes. The chilling sets the crust and keeps it on the chicken. ~*~ Place aluminum foil under the napkin in your roll basket and the rolls will stay hot longer. ~*~ Potatoes will roast in half the time if they are boiled for five minutes, then put into a hot oven. ~*~ If you don't want your fruit pies to bubble over, just stick a piece of macaroni standing up in the center of your top crust, making sure it goes through the crust. This will vent the steam under the crust which is the cause of bubble overs. ~*~ Don't want to spend money renting a movie? Check out a movie from your local library! You'll find plenty of them there, even popular new releases. ~*~ Don't throw away empty butter wrappers. Instead throw them inside a baggie and leave them in the fridge. Later they can be used to grease pans. ~8~ You don't need to buy the new Fruit and Veggie Washes to get your produce squeaky clean. Sprinkle on baking soda, give a good scrub, and rinse with water. Very clean, for only pennies! ~ Add life to your legs by making panty hose snag free. Before wearing, soak them in a mixture of one gallon water and two cups of salt. Let them sit for three hours. Then rinse and wear. ~*~ Save your empty egg cartons. After emptying your kitchen garbage bag, replace with a fresh bag and place an empty egg carton in the bottom. The carton will absorb moisture from coffee grounds and other miscellaneous wet discards. Another solution is to use brown paper bags from groceries, folded and put in the bottom of your garbage can. ~*~ Egg cartons make wonderful drawer separators to keep miscellaneous small items neat in your kitchen drawers or to keep small pieces of jewelry safely stored if you use a jewelry drawer like I do. ~*~ For those of you that have ice makers and don't use ice trays egg cartons make a good substitute for saving egg yolks or whites for freezing, freezing herbs and other individual items you want to package in plastic bags for later use. ~*~ Easy Microwave cleaning Since scrubbing the interior of a microwave is tedious and has the potential to damage the interior surfaces, Sondra Jackson de Cadirola of Chevy Chase, MD devised a simple cleaning method. she places a microwave-safe bowl full of water in the oven and heats it on high for 10 minutes; the steam loosens dried food particles so they can be wiped off with ease. ~*~ Slick Snow Shovel If snow sticks to your snow shovel, you'll work just as hard getting the snow off the shovel as on! To solve this problem, coat your snow shovel with silicon spray or simply rub the shovel with wax paper to make the surface slick. ~*~ Tablecloth Hangers Here's a way to avoid ironing tablecloths (always a worthwhile effort) and free up drawer space. As soon as you wash the tablecloths, fold them lengthwise and store on a hanger in your closet. The cloths remain wrinkle-free until you need to use them. ~*~ After washing out a mustard squeeze bottle, fill it with your favorite cooking oil and keep it on your pantry shelf. It squeezes out a tablespoon of oil for a recipe or for your frying pan with no drips. No more bulky bottles, except to refill your squeeze bottle! ~*~ Rub the top of your meat loaf with cold water before baking it. This will prevent the loaf from cracking. ~*~ Use an old shaving brush to clean pleated lamp shades. The bristles are long enough to remove dust from the folds and soft enough not to injure the fabric. ~*~ Keep Dust Off Plastic Surfaces (televisions, stereo equipment, etc.). Wipe them with a lightly moistened anti-static dryer sheet, such as Bounce. The sheet not only picks up dust - it also contains compounds that eliminate static cling. That disrupts the magnetic-like attraction that plastic surfaces usually have for dust particles, meaning that you will need to dust less frequently. ~*~ Keep Curtains Fresh. Every three months or so, toss them in the dryer on the "air-fluff" setting, with no heat. The tumbling loosens dirt and dust, transferring it to the dryer's filter. Then you simply pull out the lint screen and toss away the layer of debris that it has collected. ~*~ Get Dirt And Dust Off Venetian Blinds. Submerge them, fully extended, in a bathtub filled with warm water and one or two cups of powdered dishwasher detergent. Dip them up and down to clean. Then wipe them with a cloth or kitchen scrub brush. Rest on old towels to dry. This takes half the time and creates much less mess than cleaning them slat by slat. ~*~ The Gas Grill Cleans Itself. Place a double layer on aluminum foil over the cooking grate, so that it is completely covered and drapes over the sides of the grill. Close the grill onto the foil, to seal. Set the grill at a high temperature. Keep covered, until all smoke dissipates. Any burnt-on food will be reduced to a soft, powdery ash that you can whisk away with a small broom and dustpan. ~*~ To keep celery from getting soft pick off leaves, wash, cut away any unwanted pieces. Add a little water to an empty, clean, large mayonnaise jar. Keep celery bunched and slowly slide into the jar, then cover with plastic wrap and an elastic. Keeps it fresh for weeks! You can take out 1 piece at a time and chop for garnishes or use it all. ~*~ When dusting your furniture take the time to go over your light bulbs in your lamps. A quick swipe with he dusting cloth will remove dust and increase your light output by as much as 50%! ~*~ No-mess ginger - Use a garlic press to crush your fresh ginger. Just peel it and squeeze it through. ~*~ Faster biscuits - Instead of rolling out the dough to cut individual biscuits, spoon the dough into a muffin pan. It's less work and they're the same shape. ~*~ Fresher-tasting fish To lessen that "fishy" taste and smell found in frozen fish, thaw it in a bowl of milk. ~*~ Make your own gourmet coffee by adding a few drops of almond, mint, chocolate, cinnamon or other tasty flavoring to the coffee grounds. ~*~ Soap Dish Solution Here's a way to avoid cleaning soap scum off your soap dish. Cut a sponge the size of the soap dish and use it as a pad for your bar soap. The wet soap drips onto the sponge instead of the dish. Clean the sponge simply by rinsing it, and the job is done. ~~*~~ Making Gravy 1. While a roast is cooking, add a little water to the pan drippings if they appear to be evaporating and browning too fast. 2. Beef, chicken or giblet broth in place of water can add more flavor to your gravy. 3. If your gravy is not as dark in color or as rich in flavor as you'd like, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon browning sauce (such as Kitchen Bouquet) (NOTE: I have used this for years, and absolutely swear by it. - gravy not only looks great, but the taste is also wonderful-Margo) or soy sauce to 2 cups gravy. 4. Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If a recipe calls for flour, substitute half the amount of cornstarch. 5. To avoid lumpy gravy, always stir flour or cornstarch into cold water until smooth (I also do this - used to have to strain my gravy to get the lumps out. this takes all the worry out! - Margo)(oh, by the way, they call this a "slurry" if you ever see the term in a recipe) 6. After the flour or cornstarch is combined with all ingredients, be sure to bring the mixture to a boil, then continue boiling for 2 minutes. This step ensures the starch is properly cooked and will eliminate any starchy taste in the gravy. 7. Should lumps for, blend with a wire whisk to break them apart. If the lumps persist, place the gravy in a blender or food processor and process until smooth (or strain :) ) ~*~ To get rid of a lingering odor in the kitchen, bake some orange peels in the oven at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. ~*~ When cut roses start to fade, just take them out of the vase and hang upside down for a week or so until completely dry, then put them back in a vase without water for a dried arrangement that will last almost forever. ~*~If you spill coffee or wine on your carpet and don't have carpet cleaner handy, try shaving cream. Rinse with plain or seltzer water. ~*~ To dot a casserole or pie with butter, use a coarse grater to shred cold butter over the dish. ~*~ When cutting fruit for fruit salad, chop the pineapple first. The acidic juice on the cutting board will prevent apples, pears and other low-acid fruits from darkening. ~~*~~ Clean Your Home With Alka Seltzer! ~ Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china. ~ Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. ~ Polish jewelry. Drop twoAlka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes. ~ Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). ~ Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water. ~~*~~ ~*~ If there are socks that match your baby's outfit, simply pin them to the outfit when you do the laundry. This way you won't be looking all over for them when it's dressing time. ~*~ Love fresh flowers but hate cleaning vases? Place a clear plastic bag in the vase, fill it with water & then insert the flowers. ~~*~~ Here are 3 tips for cooking chicken on the grill (or in the oven)....... 1) Use the skin! You don't have to eat it, but you should always keep the skin intact. Chicken is less expensive when bought this way, but the biggest factor is one of moisture retention. So, as long as you are not cooking your chicken smothered in a sauce, keep that skin on! 2) When applying a rub, lift the skin and apply underneath! Chicken skin is easily lifted from the meat. To apply your rub, simply lift the skin up, rub and then let the skin fall back in place. This way, your rub will penetrate much deeper into the meat. 3) When grilling or cooking, put the skin side UP! This will allow the fat that is being rendered from the skin to flow down and into the meat. ~~*~~ * To banish GARBAGE DISPOSAL odors and clean off the grinder at the same time, freeze leftover lemon or lime wedges, orange peels or other citrus fruit remnants. Then run them through the garbage disposal, followed by a lot of cold water. You can also run fresh citrus fruit waste and drops of peppermint or other extracts down the disposal to deodorize it. * To remove odors from a MICROWAVE, clean the oven with a solution of 4 tablespoons of baking soda stirred into 1 quart of warm water. After washing with the solution, wipe out the inside with a damp cloth or sponge. If odors remain, put 1 cup of water in a large 4-cup microwave-safe bowl and add a few teaspoons of baking soda. Cook on High for about 5 minutes. CAUTION: Don't put your face in front of the door. * To replace unpleasant odors with scents that make the ENTIRE HOUSE smell good, try this homestyle "aromatherapy." Put 1 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin-pie spice in a large microwave bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup and heat on High until it boils. After the boiling point is reached, cook for 3 more minutes. Everyone will think you've been baking pumpkin pies. (Consider buying a pie or two to satisfy the cravings created by the pleasant smells.) Source: "In the Kitchen with Heloise" (adapted) ~*~ Decorate your trees and bushes for the birds. String popcorn and cranberries together for beautiful garlands. Make pine cone hangers by spreading lard on the cone and sprinkling birdseed over the lard, pressing in slightly if needed. ~*~ A teaspoon of sugar for every 3 cups of water used in cooking peas, carrots, cabbage, turnips or onions will improve the flavor. ~*~ Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces ~*~ Don't waste money on those expensive foaming cleaners for your disposal. Pour a small box of baking soda down the disposal then pour in 1 to 1 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar. It will foam and bubble and you'll have a clean, fresh smelling disposal. ~*~ Apply iron-on patches to the underside of the knee portion of children's pants to keep the knees from wearing out or getting baggy. ~*~ To quickly use that frozen juice concentrate, simply mash it with a potato masher~no need to wait for it to thaw! You can also nuke it for a few seconds right in the cardboard container after you remove the top. ~*~ To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing! ~*~ To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap, or baking soda and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove-top~skillet will be much easier to clean now! ~*~ Spray your tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces~no more stains! ~*~ To remove the smell from a tupperware container, crumple up a page of newspaper and put it in the tupperware for a day. The smell will be gone! ~*~ Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle~no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing! ~*~ To aid in washing dishes, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your soapy water~it softens hands while cutting through grease! ~*~ Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties~they make perfect storage bags for homemade bread! ~*~ For fluffier omelets, add a pinch of cornstarch before beating. ~*~ To put the crunch back into soggy potato chips, pretzels and crackers, simply put them in the microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds and let stand for 2 minutes. ~*~ Adding a few dried chilies to dried beans, peas and lentils before sealing them into airtight jars will help protect them from insects til a recipe calls for them. ~*~ Keep your party punch icy cold with frozen seedless grapes. Not only will they add festive color, but unlike ice cubes, they won't melt and dilute your punch. ~*~ To ease out a stubborn cork, dip a dish cloth in very hot water and wrap it around the neck of the bottle. The heat will expand the glass and make the cork easier to pull out. ~*~ Reluctant to toss out pretty bath oil and perfume bottles once they're empty? Keep them. With their unusual shapes and colors, they make pretty bud vases. Just soak them in soapy water and rinse well to remove all residue. ~*~ After Easter, save all those eggshells for your garden. Sprinkling crushed shells around your plants will protect them from plant snacking critters that hate to crawl over rough surfaces. ~*~ Keep your bath soap unwrapped and stored in the linen closet. Not only will it scent your linen, but, exposed to the air, the soap will harden and last longer in the bath. ~*~ Mix your own Easter egg dye. Add a few drops of food coloring to 1 cup water and 1/4 cup white vinegar. Thanks again Sandee!

A huge thank you to everyone! Please alert me if I've left anyone out. A big group hug! Sally Jo Separating Eggs When separating eggs, break them into a funnel. The whites will go through leaving the yolk intact in the funnel. Cooking Chat with Beach Boy Meet with Myron (Beach Boy) at 9pm ET Time: 6:00PM - 7:00PM PST (GMT-08:00) Sundays. Bring your rolling pins! It's at: http://busycooks.about.com/home/food/busycooks/mpchat.htm I'm usually at the chat every Sunday! Lots of fun..... Sally Jo (my chat nickname is SJ ) ~~*~~ My tip refers to chopping onions, then having onion smell on your hands. After chopping/slicing onions, wipe your hands on anything that is stainless steel--such as your sink or faucets. Then dry your hands and smell--no onion smell! You can buy little stainless steel bars from the little "junk mags", but why pay money for something you already have? Another tip is about SOS pads. After using the pads, squeeze them out, and put them right back into the box. They won't rust, and don't leave a rusty spot on your sink! No need for the "frogs" or whatever else you lay them on. take care, Wanda in TN ~~*~~ Hey, Sally! Here is my tip. If you have a sticker on a glass and you can't get it off, try rubbing it with some vegetable oil. Make sure to let the oil really soak into the sticker. Then, lightly scrape off the sticker with a knife or with your fingernail. It makes the sticker really easy to get off and dissolves that sticky residue that's left over after you peel a sticker off. Hope this helps! --Lisanne in NY ~~*~~ Hi there, Here are a few tips.Hope you can use them! ***Gardening -- Instead of buying that black landscaping fabric/weed barrier use your old newspapers! Even quack grass has a hard time trying to get thru! Use at least 5 layers and as many as 10, then wet it down with hose(keeps it in place),then cover with a decorative mulch. ***Shipping peanuts added to the bottom of pot help with drainage and greatly reduce the weight of planters! ***Adding those absorbent crystals to your planters can reduce watering by more than half and keep plants from getting midday wilt. ***We live in a rural area and understand some of you may not be able to do the following: Don't rake!!!! Wait until the spring thaw has come and everything is dried out.Then rake your leaves.I have found that many plants that are not supposed to be hardy to our zone4 climate will return year after year when covered all winter by fallen leaves.Our grass is also always much thicker and greener than our fall-raking neighbors! Wildwood Herbals by Kelly http://site.yahoo.com/hazelnut49862-site/ ~~*~~ When rolling cookie or pastry dough, I use confectioner's sugar rather than flour. It works the same as the flour and doesn't take the sweetness away from the dough. Same idea when rolling chocolate dough, I use cocoa. I got this one in my email from fast and frenzy. HOLIDAY TIPS ---------------------------------- -- Visit your bread outlet (many brand name bakeries have these) or a bakery for specials on rolls, bread, heat and serve rolls or stuffing. -- Often you can get great deals on Turkeys at your local grocery store with an extra $10.00 or $20.00 purchase. Watch the ads! -- Look at thrift stores for wicker baskets. You can use hot, soapy water and a stiff brush to clean. Then place paper doilies in basket and use on the table for rolls, breads, silverware, napkins, or you can even place bowls in the larger ones. -- Have extras on hand to place on the table while guests are waiting for dinner. Homemade quick breads, dips and crackers or even nuts work well. This one is from Yummies Pat ~~*~~ I can't say that my suggestion qualifys as a 'tip' for sure, but may be more like a family tradition that has been adopted by many I've shared it with. Greeting Cards....Birthday, Christmas, and other special days like Mother and Father's days. Save them all in a big file box. When it's time to give someone in your immediate family a card, find one in the box that you've given them before in previous years. We always write something along with the year in every card. When we use it again, we add the year, and the new message. We started doing this in 1977, when our son was 5 years old. Mike has given his dad one of the cards 10 times now for Father's Day. The messages are more precious than you can possibly imagine. Mike is 29 years old this year, and even he is amazed at how sweet his childish messages were for his dad. They are family treasures. Bud and I have exchanged many of the cards over and over as well, and especially the anniversary cards are precious to us....as over the years we continued to renew our pledges of love to one another. It has become as much of a ritual to return those cards to the big box as it is to go through the box looking for just the right ones to give once again. Some years , we buy more cards for one another, but will go through that box, and pick out several of the ones previously given and regive them as well. The old cards are more meaningful than the new ones although the new ones will take their place in time and gradually become more valuable too. Reading of the cards is very special to us, and better than opening gifts. We all gather around to see what's been added, and read what was written in years past. Some are just hilarious, but all are dear and sweet. The big filing storage box is filled now, but if there were ever a fire, we all know to try to grab that box. It represents a lot of major days in our lives, and the caring and sharing we've done and felt for one another. With warmest regards, Julia in Ft. Lauderdale ~~*~~ ~~ How to tell if its going to rain! Red in morning sailor take warning Red at night sailors delight ~~ How to tell if its going to rain all day (Summer Only) Rain before seven - Dry before eleven ~~ How to positively identify poison ivy. Leaves of five stay alive - Leaves of three let it be. To which I add the caveat - Poison ivy has the two side leaflets close together - the central leaflet (sticking up) is on a short stalk ~~ How to tell the time without a clock! Face north! Remember the sun rises in the east so the north is to the left. Face north - stand tall! The shadow caste by your body indicates the hour (standard time - not daylight) ~~ How to find civilization when lost Always go downstream - small rivulets always turn into streams and civilization. May not work in the Arctic. In mountains always go down, except in the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest - Then go up - Why up? The forests of the Pacific slope are impenetrable - Better to go up above the tree line so the search helicopter can spot you. ~~ Making perfect rice! Two cups water, one cup rice put on moderate heat with covered for ten minutes - no more. Don't peek! Turn off heat and wait til it cools. ~~ One minute Lemonade - One cup sugar, one cup lemon juice and two quarts water! Stir! In fact always stir before serving. If you don't stir - it sets up a sucrose gradient which all you with advanced biochemical training understand! Dave the Botanist ~~*~~ >I think everyone will want to know this little tip. I saw it in Heloise >yesterday, she had three really good computer hints. > >A lady from Hillsboro, Indiana wrote to say: > >"When typing the email address, put an X at the end of the address. Then >you can't accidentally send it. When you are ready to send, erase the X." >That would have come in handy last week, when I accidentally send a >holiday page too early. > >Cheers ~ >~ Elizabytes ~~*~~ Hi: Scour thrift shops for new items, still in the package, never opened, or overruns from mills. I just bought 6 new sweatshirts with hoods, assorted colors, tags still on, on a paper bag day sale at the thrift shop $5 a bag. The sweatshirts were only some of the items filling the bag. I also found a package of red bows, never opened. Also visit more than one thrift shop and talk about thrift shops. That's how I found out about the $5 a bag sale as I told a woman in the doctor's waiting room, when she complimented me on my vest, that I buy all my clothes at thrift shops. * Also a Typing Tip: A trick my typing teacher tried to teach us years ago was "sight typing". Don't say each letter as you type it, look and see the word. After a while, you won't even have to say the word to yourself, you'll see a whole sentence. By this time, you won't even be saying the sentence, you'll just be transferring the words from the paper to the computer. Then, you can type a whole page and not even tell what it said because you've not said it to yourself. They teach this technique in speed reading, to read down the middle of the page and see everything on the sides. May The Angels Watch Over You, Betty G. ~~*~~ *I got this from a friend of mine. True? I don't know. But it seems logical.* You can tell which day a loaf of bread was baked by the color of its plastic twist tag. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers do have different colored twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday !! When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness ? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday - Blue Tuesday - Green Thursday - Red Friday - White Saturday - Yellow So today being Thursday, I wanted a red twist tie - not white which is Friday (almost a week old?) The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday thru Saturday. Very easy to remember. But I put a post-it note in my wallet when I first found out about this so I would not forget. Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping. Will Bowden ~~*~~ Thanksgiving Dinner Tips: Don't forget to remove the giblets, neck, and liver! Discard liver. Save the neck and giblets for the gravy. ***** Use the liver too, throw it in the pan with the rest of the "guts", you can either chop finely and add to the stuffing or gravy, or give to the cat or dog, or just eat it! YUMMY! ***** I never pat my turkey dry, just wrestle it in the sink and rinse off and put in the pan and use my homemade cooking spray on it.(this is like Pam, it's a pump bottle for oil.) *****McCormick makes a chicken seasoning that is a killer! I also throw several bullion cubes and a couple of bay leaves in the pan. If you are worried about a greasy bird, put celery sticks in the bottom of the pan before you put in the turkey. I also add water to ensure lots of yummy broth for gravy. I don't stuff the bird (don't like the texture of that kind of stuffing), it usually falls off the bone. I cover it until about ¾ of the time done and check it and uncover to finish browning the bird. ******* I might baste 1-2 times, but quite often I put the bird in before going to bed and it's ready in the morning. I pull the pan from the oven when done and let cool on the stove for about 15 minutes, so I can touch it and not get burned too badly. I use a large slotted turner and take out all the turkey(I usually use a giant pasta bowl for this. I then strain the broth(save the "stuff-celery etc., I throw it in a cooking pot and when picking the turkey, throw in all the bones and make soup/broth,) and save for making the gravy. I pick the turkey and we always have plenty of good food! There's never any waste to a bird in my house. Remember, Thanksgiving with all the relatives is no time to experiment or try to cook your first bird. Try it out on the family beforehand. You don't have to have all the trimmings- just a few choice ones. If you've ever roasted a chicken, it's the same- just bigger. Hope y'all have good luck. Andrea <>< ~~*~~ Put a basket for collecting dirty clothes in each person's bedroom, color code them to make it easier to identify. Keep a pretreater stick or spray bottle in your dirty clothes baskets in order to pretreat stains right away. Use zipper mesh lingeree bags for each person's socks, these can be washed, dried, and returned to their owner. Utilize overhead pipes for hanging clothes or purchase an inexpensive tension shower rod to hang clothes as they come out of the dryer. Amanda :-) FamilyCorner.com Magazine, Inc. http://familycorner.com Practical Kitchen http://practicalkitchen.com ~~*~~ To remove a white ring from a wood coffee table, rub it with a paste made of baking soda and water. Tina I ~~*~~ Spring, my husband keeps a bucket of sand in the garage that he has poured motor oil into ( he changes the oil in our cars so he used some of that oil) when he comes in from the garden, he pushes the tools that he was using into the oiled sand, which cleans the mud and dirt off, and puts a light coat of oil on the metal part and prevents rust! then he stores the tool the way he always does. Love & Hugs Joyce ~~*~~ I use toilet cardboard from the paper rolls to put my tongs in. Keeps them closed in the drawer!! Easy. My girlfriend Sue suggested it and I thought DOING!!! what a simple solution, Carol Cabbage ~~*~~ Using Low-Fat Versions of Meats, Sauces, Cheeses, and Oils. 1. Use half the amount of refrigerated reduced-fat pesto or Alfredo sauces. Add extra Romano cheese. 2. Top fruit with either non-fat yogurt or dessert topping. Yogurt can be flavored with fruit and artificial sweetener. 3. Crock-pot, pressure-cook, or tenderize and barbecue lean meats like chicken breasts or flank steak, for example. Remove fat or skin. 4. Every calorie counts when choosing reduced-fat foods. Low-fat cooking spray and spray butters are very cool! 5. Use tomato sauce, wine, or broths in cooking meats, or rice. Use seasonings, herbs and scant sauces to perk-up dishes without fat. 1. Use pumpkin or apple-pie spice on fruit for a faux pie taste. 2. Use fresh mint and other herbs for salads, chili, stews, fish, or fruit. 3. Use a bit of wine to cooking sauces, soups, stews, and meats. 4. Use crushed red pepper or lemon pepper instead of regular pepper for zest. 5. Using extra, fresh garlic; roasted or sauteed is wonderful. 6. Use sea salt instead of regular salt. 7. Use packaged or bottled sauce mixes, and sparingly; Dijon or BBQ are examples. Kathy Dery ~~*~~ Too many things are foil sealed for "safety" these days everything from asprin to engine oil for your car. I find it most easy to remove said seal by using the cap to puncture the foil seal. Turn it on edge and twist until seal loosens/breaks. Sewing by hand, instead of using a "knot" at the end of my thread, I just sew a stitch over and over again (about five times), I do the same thing at the end of my sewing, it saves from having to worry about the knot coming thru, or having that annoying piece of thread at the begining/end of your work. Computer tips: One enter equals a mouse click, Ctrl c = copy and Ctrl v = paste. (I'm a keyboarder instead of a mouser) Ctrl Tab = switching between applications/programs and Alt + F4 will close your current program. Joy ~~*~~ I'm tipping everyone off to never losing this Hints_Tips_Remedies list... it is fabulous. I use a lot of tips but can't remember them... the only two that come to mind that I do regularly is: 1) When I've printed a recipe out and ready to use it, rather than lay it on the counter which makes it hard to read and having to constantly move it, I get a tall water glass, put a fork in it with the "tines" up in the air and weave my recipe in the tines. Holds that paper perfectly straight and high so I can set it in the back of my counter and joyfully go about the cooking... 2) I add "instant mash potato flakes" to my soups, stews and casserole. I don't do this to thicken it (which I do when something is to the food is too thin/watery), I do it primarily for the taste. Even those soups, stews and casseroles that have potatoes in it, I add those potato flakes. Family constantly mentions how good a meal is when I add those flakes (although they don't know why it tastes different). Take care, Mary Ann ~~*~~ To keep your hands soft when they are feeling dry, mix equal parts olive oil (probably any vegetable oil would do) and Vaseline, rub into your hands, place each hand in a plastic bag and wrap in warm towels for half an hour. With four kids, I don't often get the chance to do nothing, so I love this... Diane ~~*~~ I like to pour a dollop of oil into my hand, add a tablespoon of sugar, rub in well, and wash. Great exfoliant! Tammy ~~*~~ What I do for Christmas for all the adults in my large family rather than giving gifts. I host a Christmas brunch (I do it Christmas day, but you could do it any day of the season). I do all the work, no one can bring anything, as this is my gift to them. It's a lot of work the day before, but no shopping to do, and no one needs anything that they couldn't get themselves. To save on ink on your computer printer, change the default settings to "draft" mode with "grayscale" only. You can always change it back if it is something special you are printing or want to use color. You can change the default mode by going to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Printers", then right click on the printer you use. Under "Properties", select "Main", then click on "Text", check "Grayscale only", then "Apply" at the bottom.. "The Hranks" ~~*~~ To make screws go into whatever it is you're screwing into easier, swipe it across some glycerin soap first. it makes it more slippery and quicker to install :) ~~*~~ I guess my biggest tip is have a positive attitude. For instance - if you have $10 to spend on a Christmas gift NEVER think "what can I buy with only ten dollars" instead think "what is the most creative gift I can find for ten dollars?". Focus on what you DO have, not what you DON'T have. Short on cash, company coming for dinner - cook veggies. Pay attention to the presentation of the meal - (iron a tablecloth, use candles, get a little creative) and serve your dinner with pride. Your guests will go away thinking you went all out to provide them an interesting meal. Darla ~~*~~ I just found a new tip for the holidays!!! if you need napkin rings make your own! take a paper towel or toilet paper roll and cut into rings cover ,paint and add holly or other decorations you have around the house!!! I'm doing this for of Christmas dinner!!! Tracey ~~*~~ I have a couple of food hints One is....always keep a couple of onions stored in your fridge for when you need one.....after they have been stored in the fridge they don't sting your eyes anymore....I've been doing this for years now. The other is...I buy my cheese in bulk, grate it and freeze it. No more waste from chopping off the mouldy bits. I'm sure I'll think of others as the day goes on hugs Helen ~~*~~ I thought their would never be anything I could do for my calloused, cracked feet. Then I began using the alpha hydroxy lotion I use on my face. (The cheap $2 Suave kind...overnight hydroxy cream). In a week, the difference was amazing! My feet haven't been this soft in years! You have to use it every day, just like your face. I put it on at night before bed. Tammy ~~*~~ We make almost everything ahead - all my veggies were picked fresh at the farm and frozen, holiday breads are baked and even potatoes are pre-cooked and frozen. Saves not only time, but money, as all is done whenever the major ingredients are on sale. I love spending holidays with family, but "doing" dinner is expensive. Some of the others can't afford it either, so we often have breakfast or brunch together instead. It is more enjoyable since the little ones aren't all tired out (yet) and saves money too. Deli containers (the nice heavy duty ones) make great presentations for home made bath products and you don't have to worry about them breaking in the tub or on the tile. Greatest gifts: Family oriented things: Last year I gave the kids CD's with pictures from when they were kids, as well as printouts. Used the scanner and Adobe Photoshop, but a lot of different programs will work. They enjoyed them immensely and so did the grandchildren. This year it is cookbooks - with the recipes they enjoyed as kids, as well as some favorites from relatives and a few of my current ones. A plastic 3 ring binder, some vinyl inserts to keep the pages clean and a few bows and pictures on the covers and "voila" Grandma Beth's Favorite Recipe Book! Of course the binders and inserts were on sale, the stickers are 'giveaways' and the bows and stuff are leftover laces and ribbons. The most expensive part may turn out to be the paper. Beth ~~*~~ I wanted to share a couple of holiday gift giving ideas that I haven't seen yet, though they may have circulated in years past. The first is for small refrigerator magnets. Save the lids from the cans of frozen concentrated juices. Cut a photo (or a picture from a card or even a magazine) and glue it inside the lid. Add a small magnet to the back. That's it! The rim of the lid makes a little frame. These have been a hit and the kids love to make them. The other thing I did last year was to make a crocheted or tatted lacy motif and glue it to a CD on the shiny side. On the side with writing I glue a piece of paper or card stock that I have traced and cut to the shape of the CD. The metallic finish on the back of the Cd shines through the openings in the lace. I write a greeting on the paper and make a CD card. I tell people that they can then use it as a coaster or hang it as a sun catcher. I imagine that paper snowflakes would work, too, if you wanted a card or suncatcher. Now everyone gives me their unwanted Cds and I will probably never get to all of them--LOL. Ok, well, I guess that's enough from me. Hope everyone is having a great day! Shari in Fairbanks ~~*~~ My husband does something that may not be financially frugal, but certainly is frugal with his time. While he is blowing the leaves on the driveway and patio, he takes the blower on the roof and blows out the gutters. This only takes a few extra minutes and prevents the leaves from packing down into the gutters. It takes him less time to keep the gutters clean this way than when he cleaned them out by hand. Peace, Liz ~~*~~ My cooking tip is: to use lots of Watkins products ;>) .25¢ on every dollar will be sent to the Disaster Relief Fund. Your family gets a great meal and you'll be helping someone in need as well... Same principle for Fuller Brush,make a clean sweep of your home and brush away all your hair tangles,or dust away those hard to reach cobwebs and clean up those piles of laundry make the kitchen look like new and smell so sweet,with all the time honored Fuller products while helping others in need... My organizing tip: Print out all our daily tips ,and preserve them in page protectors in a 3 ring binder.... (1) binder for cooking tips (1) puter tips & (1) binder for Quotes Frugal Tip: Never throw away your address from incoming mail or all the return address labels we get in the mail for free.... Put them on the back of all your out going cards, you know, where the price is. When the receiver turns the card over to see how much you spent they'll find your address instead.. They'll always know how you thought enough of them to send a card.... Also inclose a loose address label in your mail to a friend, so they can put it in their address book nice and neat, and correct. Ewe ewe ! I just thought of one maybe two...... Cooking: For the person who loves steamed shell fish dipped in melted butter,add no more than a drop (1) of vanilla to the melted butter.... It brings out the flavor of the butter and the seafood, especially lobster but in this case more IS NOT BETTER, a drop is a drop is a drop Cooking: When cooking rice for a chicken meal,add 1tbsp. Watkins chicken soup base & 1/4 cup white wine & 1 whole onion to unsalted water +1 tbsp. grapeseed oil; bring to a rolling boil add rice,cover,reduce heat and cook 20 min.s or until tender... This is also good for fish & pork meals.For a beef meal do all the same except change wine to a red wine. Never use cooking wine,it's loaded with sodium and chemicals you get a better flavor from a cheap wine. I buy it by the gallons and they last me for over a year, so it's only as expensive as you want it to be...Only time I spend a little extra is when I'm fixing Veal Marsala.... If you are cooking carrots as a side dish , slice them on a angle so they'll look nice,then steam them with butter (not margarine) and bourbon...... ~*~ Many people don't like liver and onions, but for years I had someone thinking they were eating steak. I didn't tell them it was steak,I just didn't say it wasn't cause I love it... First I slice up lots of yellow onions,toss them into the frying pan with a couple tbsps. grapeseed oil,stir fry until they are transparent, add a tbsp. flour ,2 tbsp.s Worcestershire sauce and a little Watkins beef soup base (about 1 cup) to make a gravy,add fresh chopped garlic and Watkins black pepper; When it begins to thicken add liver reduce heat and simmer until you see the liver bleed,turn off the heat,let stand for 5 min.s and serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. It will be tender enough that you should be able to cut it with a fork.... P.S. Fuller Brush now Celebrating 95 Years of Time Honored Quality and Service/ Buy or Sell ID# 9201-675 For More Info or Catalog : Send to [email protected] http://www.fullerdirect.com ********************************************************* WATKINS,130 years of Gourmet food items, & highest quality home & health products 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or Your Money Refunded Order ID# 015596N - http://spicesearch.com For more info or Catalog: [email protected] Col. A. E. & Mrs. T. ßennett U.S A.(Ret.) *Tish* ~~**~~~~*~~ Thanks Again everyone!

----- Original Message ----- From: "Deirdre Dee Cox" I just went to the store yesterday & found Reynold's Aluminum holiday lazer print aluminum foil for sale. It's awesome. So many uses for wrapping up our kitchen gifts! * covering cake boards * covering used containers (ie Pringles cans for cookies, or coffee tins for cookies) * making gift bags * making baket fill (although I prefer going to the 2nd hand stores & buying gift wrap for 10 cents a package & then shredding) * just plain old gift wrapping! A 25 foot roll is $2.25 - much cheaper than gift wrap.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Deirdre Dee Cox" * Exported from MasterCook * 1995 3RD PLACE: CHRISTMAS ROCKS Recipe By : Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : blue ribbon chocolate spice w/fruit Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon mace 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 pound candied pineapple 1/4 pound citron 1/4 pound candied orange peel 1/4 pound pitted dates 1/4 pound figs 1/4 cup dried or candied cherries 1 pound chopped pecans 1 cup raisins 1/2 cup dried currants 1 cup unsalted butter -- softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 tablespoon cold -- strong coffee Heat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet(s). Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and spices. Cut candied fruits, dates and figs into small pieces and toss with a small amount of the flour mixture. Combine in a large bowl with the pecans, raisins and currants. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl of electric mixer on high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the coffee. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the fruit and nut mixture to coat all the pieces. Drop batter onto baking sheet in walnut-size mounds leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake until set and tops are lightly browned, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container, with a small wedge of apple to keep them soft. The cookies may be glazed or sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Third-place winner in the 1995 Chicago Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest: by Phyllis Theodos busted by S. Horton 9/15/98 http://saraskitchen.faithweb.com http://saraskitchen.faithweb.com Source: "Posted to Monthly Recipe Swap Cookie Swap 2000" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 1471 Calories; 85g Fat (50.1% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 174g Carbohydrate; 13g Dietary Fiber; 176mg Cholesterol; 217mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 3 Fruit; 16 1/2 Fat; 4 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. NOTES : from zosha's files

This is an actual 911 recording about a woman who never got her taco. She's carrying on a conversation with the police dispatcher and at the same time arguing with the person she thinks took her money and gypped her. The police dispatcher is responding to her comments to the taco employee. This ladies' language leaves a lot to be desired. Funny! Linda Bee Note: I got the original URL from the Folklore List and followed the links to this. http://bayscan1.50megs.com//911taco.wav <A HREF="http://bayscan1.50megs.com//911taco.wav">http://bayscan1.50megs.com//911taco.wav</A>

LMAO i know.. psst btw kath can not go into folklore and delete mail to save you ROTF!! what were you thinking lol i love you sissy its ok i sent the little men in white coats away. you can come out now. kisses missi > i read the email wrong!! > sorry sis > oops >

lmao... you done yet.. it say sisters as in shawna'seas giving lalas christmas presants to auntie ruthie. scratches head mumbles... prints e-mails for later use :) teehee missi > >

tapping foot.. waiting for an apology lmao at silly sister missi pissi sissi read wrong.. > you know how i get when im ---- --- >

> > without me hearing grief from her sisters > > > > better then aunt louis... :P missi

Summit Lifts Lid on the World of Toilets November 15, 2001 8:16 am EST SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The common toilet has many names, but it will be the lone topic at an international summit in Singapore next week. Some 200 delegates from as far afield as Finland, Britain, the United States, India, Japan and Taiwan will discuss design, ventilation, sanitation, incontinence and the future of a device that is still a luxury in many parts of the developing world. Highlights of the summit starting on Monday include a mime performance depicting desirable and undesirable toilet behavior and a tour of some of Singapore's finest facilities. "We'll bring them around to see the technical aspects," a spokeswoman for the organizer told Reuters on Thursday. "We do have quite a few delegates from China and they would like to check how best to build their toilets for the Olympics." Squeaky-clean Singapore will offer the visitors a gleaming example of sanitary etiquette with its fines for not flushing and sensors that send the water swirling when the job is done. And for those who can't wait for the latest in latrines, the summit will be complemented by the four-day Restroom Asia trade show starting on Tuesday at Singapore Expo.

Sunny Daniels Twin Mountain Studio http://www.sunnydaniels.com/

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0111/leo98_apodmontage_big.jpg

i read the email wrong!! sorry sis oops

you know how i get when im ---- --- my blood preasure!!!!!

boy missi your really adding up the browwnie points these days!!!

In a message dated 11/15/01 4:07:24 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > without me hearing grief from her sisters > and what do you mean bye that remark!!! you sound like auntie rutie

punch line > > »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«§:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*: »§« My friends tell me that I refuse to grow up, but I know they're just jealous because they don't have pajamas with feet. Richiele 'Marie <*}}>< MSN [email protected] »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«§:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«

The Best Time of My Life By Joe Kemp It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me. My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas's age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?" Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question: "When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life. "When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life. "When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life. "When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life. "The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life. "When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life. "When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life. "And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life." «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«^i^MISSI ^i^«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§« Richiele Marie [email protected] (Missi) I disbelieved in reincarnation in my last life, too. »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«

> LIKE MAGIC > > Six years ago I was in the process of a challenging divorce, that > somehow insanely inspired me to believe that a Thanksgiving dinner with all > the trimmings was just what was needed to soothe my family's hurts. > I invited my children, my son-in-law, his parents, his sisters, their > respective dates and our family friend Michael. The final tally was nine. > Now, at the time, I had just moved into a one hundred and fifty > year-old farmhouse that not only needed cosmetic overhauling, but was, more > accurately, in desperate need of major reconstructive surgery. Between the > unpainted, plaster flaking walls and the water stained, cracked ceilings, > my home much more resembled a war zone than a comfort zone’ and that was > the good news. > The bad news was that, for most of my guests, this holiday gathering > would be their first glimpse of my new life and its surroundings. So, as > they say, the stage was set. > As my family and friends arrived, they graciously attempted to find > encouraging words for my new home, valiantly struggling to find just the > right adjectives. I totally sympathized with their plight. > While the afternoon dragged on, conversation continued to constrict as > the usual references to past family occasions or relatives were avoided in > light of the dissolution of my marriage. My wonderfully exquisite > Thanksgiving was quickly taking on painfully torturous proportions. So > much so, that when the turkey timer finally popped, one could feel the > collective sigh of relief whoosh through the house, as food offered the > single, non-offensive tradition, which everyone prayed we could relax and > enjoy. > As a thoughtful sharing of family traditions, my son-in-law's mother > had contributed a sweet potato casserole to our gourmet feast. The dish > was fully prepared, save for the last minute addition of marshmallows which > had to be broiled to a golden brown crust. I topped the casserole and > threw it in the oven. > Then, as the rest of my guests seated themselves around the dining > room table, my daughter Lisa, our friend Michael and I began plating our > Thanksgiving feast. It was just about then that the unthinkable dinner > nightmare happened -- the smoke alarm went off. > While I quickly jumped to silence the traitorous squealer, I > simultaneously witnessed a cloud of black smoke billowing out of my oven. > THE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE!. My life was passing before my very eyes and > somehow it was looking a lot like charbroiled marshmallows. > I vainly attempted to muzzle the screaming alarm, but to no avail. It > simply continued to announce to my dinner guests that Christina "Julia > Childs" Abt was burning down her dilapidated home with some, or all parts, > of their holiday meal. My only consolation was that no one knew it was the > sacred sweet potatoes that were smoking -- yet! > As Lisa quickly began scrapping the charred marshmallows off the top > of her mother-in-law's casserole, Michael neatly propped open the outside > kitchen door to try and dissipate the black cloud of smoke, before it > enveloped the dining room. In the meantime, with my efforts to quiet the > smoke alarm proving fruitless, and with no other options left, I did what > any holiday crazed individual would do. I took aim, wound up, and chucked > the relentless siren past Michael's head, out the back door into a > snowbank. > Now, the look of disbelief on the faces of Lisa and Michael following > my action were so incredulous that I just had to laugh. Not small > chuckles, but a full rolling, gasping for breath, tears down the cheeks, > holding my sides, howl. Within seconds, they both joined in. > Like magic, the tension of the day evaporated into the black > marshmallow smoke cloud and flew out the door. We then put fresh toppings > on the casserole, watchfully browned the top, and then all gave thanks for > the chance to be together as a family, for better or for worse. > Despite that memorable disaster, my family continues to willingly > gather at my home when Turkey Day rolls around. The house still has water > stained ceilings and cracks in the walls, but it also offers a sense of > warmth and welcome that my family has come to enjoy. > And in true lemonade from lemon fashion, I rescued the tell-tale alarm > from the snowbank and reinstalled it in a place of honor in my kitchen. > The kids say it just wouldn't be a holiday dinner at mom's if the smoke > alarm didn't go off. And you know what... they're absolutely right! > Martha Stewart eat your heart out! > > «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«^i^MISSI ^i^«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§« Richiele Marie [email protected] (Missi) I disbelieved in reincarnation in my last life, too. »§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«

sniff-snarf <pouty lip> i duno what it is either.. *sigh* missi pissi > Well you really are a natural blonde aren't you? You left off the puncch >