a "been-there" mom of six offers encouragement
to wives, young mothers, and those not so young,
and simple common-sense approaches to
the "ings" of life:
child-rearing (hints and helps), homemaking (all areas),
cooking (simple, cheap, and do-it-yourself)
making (toys and gifts), preparing (for the unexpected),
maintaining (sanity and peace in this increasingly crazy world) and more---
all aspects of making the most of making do on little---
and having fun in the process.

Monday, October 3, 2011

More Simple Penny-Pinching Extenders

Before I offer more cheapskate suggestions I want to bring to your attention something that was brought to my attention yesterday. I learned that readers have tried to leave comments but they have not shown up. If you are in that category I apologize.


I am still new at this blogging stuff and I will try and figure this out. I am simple and I want it to be simple for anyone to make comments. I think it can be done without all the crazy-shaped-type-in-letters or needing to sign-away-your-life but I have to find out how.


I welcome comments and suggestions. Please know that if I have not responded to a comment, I did not receive the comment. I will never ignore them. In the meantime, you can reach me at thecreativecheapskate@gmail.com

As the food budget gets tighter it helps to find ways to make it s-t-r-e-t-c-h a little further. 

My last post covered butter. Here are some others.

Cooked Pudding
Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and one additional cup of milk to a 3 ounce package of cook-type pudding mix. Cook as directed. This will make six servings instead of four.

Gelatin
Add 3 cups of water to a 3-ounce package of gelatin rather than the called for two cups.  Will take a little longer to set up and is a little softer than regular gelatin but it makes two extra servings.

Juices
Add a little extra water to juices (either ready-to-serve or when reconstituting frozen). You will need to experiment with the amount of extra water you "can get away with!"

Cream Cheese
You can refer to my previous extending butter post because you can extend cream cheese basically the same way, but without using oil. A block of cream cheese, after it has been allowed to soften, can be beaten, adding a little water or milk at a time until it is the consistency you want.

Beating incorporates air, making it spreadable----and more expensive! You can also make the expensive-to-buy specialty cream cheese spreads by simply stirring in any ingredients you want. They can all be quickly, easily and cheaply created once you have softened the cheese.  The ideas listed on the butter post will give you ideas for flavored cream cheeses. Think of all the delicious spreads the bagel shops and bakeries provide --- then make your own!

'till we eat again
           Simply, Gail

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