Why Buy Tartar Sauce & Cole Slaw Dressing When. . .

you can make it yourself --- quickly, simply, cheaply 

and much better!

Actually our chips were homemade chips not fries---
and, our coleslaw looked much better.

We had yummy fish, chips and coleslaw earlier this week.  I'll even admit to buying  the ready-to-bake Van de Kamp-brand battered fish fillets. 

But....

I made the "go-withs!"

The following, like most home-made products, can't be beat for

• tasting much better!
• costing a lot less!
• having no unwanted preservatives or other unnecessary ingredients!
• being adjustable to your preferences!

AND

• they are almost as quick to make as opening the jar of the commercial varieties!
• 
  

My Mom's Coleslaw Dressing

(Dave's favorite --- even over his own mother's which he loved)

Start with combining the following 

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard

1/4 cup vinegar

Then stir in enough mayonnaise (probably about one cup) to obtain the consistency you want.

You can adjust measurements to your taste.  Use immediately and/or store in refrigerator.  You can combine the dressing and cabbage ahead of time so it can absorb the dressing flavors. I usually use some of the dressing immediately and, for the next meal,  add more dressing and additional shredded cabbage to the leftover slaw. 

I find most store-bought coleslaw and the bagged pre-shredded cabbage to be fairly tasteless. Buying a small head of cabbage (it shreds into much, much more) will give you much greater flavor for less money with very little extra work.  We shred, chop, grate or slice---you choice--- it somewhat thicker than the packaged. 

Gail's Tartar Sauce  

This is one of those recipes without specific measurements. Please don't let that keep you from trying it; it is only scary the first time!  Just start with lesser amounts and adjust to your taste.   It is basically foolproof.  Occasionally if I have added too much of something I just increase the mayo.

In a small bowl combine of the following. Refrigerate until ready to use and refrigerate leftovers. 

Mayonnaise and/or Miracle Whip-type salad dressing (Dave prefers MW and I like Mayo so I often use some of each)

Sweet pickle relish

Finely diced fresh onions (I often use dried onion)

Small amount of sugar

Small amount of vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

We made the potato chips in the microwave! See my post for those. http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/search?q=potato+chips 

'till we eat again,

         Simply, Gail

In Troubling and Struggling Times. . . 3 Simple Questions To Help Us Put Our Lives into Proper Perspective

1. Did you have a choice of what to wear this morning?
2. Did you have more than one food item for dinner last night?
3. Do you have transportation other than walking?

If you answered "yes" to just ONE of these questions, you are among 10 percent of the richest people who have ever lived.

Think of that. No matter your individual financial means or struggles, your material wealth is beyond the wildest imagination of 90 percent of the people who have ever lived.

We may be struggling with the pains of shrunken incomes but no one that is reading this, on whatever electronic gadget,  is struggling with the severe stomach pains that result from not having enough to eat.

More and more of us are   having trouble making ends meet but most of us, regardless of our income, actually have much more than we need. Much, if not most, of our struggles are the result of having horribly confused our wants with our needs.

As part of that, let me ask three additional questions.

1. Do you need as many clothing choices as you have?
2. Do you need to eat out as often or spend as much money on food as you do?
3. Do you have more modes of transportation, including recreational, than you need or can readily afford? 

If you are a regular reader you know my blog is "muchly" devoted to teaching how to make do well with less --- and discovering great satisfaction and happiness in the process. And it is a process. 

I don't think I am pessimistic but I know I am realistic and I'd like you to humor me in the following exercise.

Let's do some assuming . . .

. . . that things are not going to get better soon. 
. . . that our government is going to shortly run out of its ability to continue bailouts or handouts. 
. . . that FEMA (our federal emergency management agency) will run out of means and manpower to assist  with the ravages caused by natural disasters or other emergencies.
. . . that we will need to depend upon ourselves to help ourselves in any given circumstance.

Doesn't elastic, no matter how strong, how well constructed or how well intentioned its guarantees, have the ability to stretch only so far or in so many directions before it loses its stretch? 

Is our ever-expanding, ever-assuring, ever-promising government any different?

Just in case ---- is it worth your time to spend some time determining between your wants and your actual needs?

AND/OR is it worth the pressure of being constantly in debt because you are too busy and too burdened trying to pay off or keep up with the stuff you thought would bring you happiness?

And then, just in case ---- to begin to make the necessary changes and/or preparations to enable your family to do and make do so that when the need arises you have what you need on hand to make your situation as comfortable as possible?

AND/OR would you welcome the peace and freedom you'd have (mentally and physically) if you took steps to eliminate the time and expenses involved in extraneous stuff.

It is a process --- mentally and physically. I'd like to ask encourage you to begin that process.

Note: After 16 months of writing thecreativecheapskate I have just learned that in the upper left hand corner of my blog there is a small rectangular area. If you float the cursor over it, the word "search" appears. And, also new to me, if you type a word (any word you want!) in that area it will bring up all of my posts having to do with that word.  (If you are saying Duh! you are just seeing another example of simple Gail rather than simply Gail!)

So, to get you started ----

Type Preparedness in that area and it will bring up all the posts I have written on this essential subject --- water, sanitation, light, grab 'n go bag and more.

What are a few to the positives being preparing provides?

. . . Increased self-sufficiency
. . . Personal satisfaction
. . . More control of resources
. . . Peace of mind
. . . A great load will be lifted when you free yourself from debt and from "stuff"

Are there negatives?

When the hour of need has arrives, hasn't the time of preparation passed?

Learning to Forgive

Forgiving is not forgetting the act, for that is usually impossible; nor is it pardoning or condoning or justifying. It is forgiving. Nothing more, nothing less.

            Today my post is an article written by my husband Dave and published in Desert Saints, a Las Vegas magazine, 12 years ago. I know it is long but I believe it contains insight and help that cannot be measured in time. I ask you to trust me on this.

The Old Testament refers to forgiveness numerous times, showing the Lord forgiving His children. During that time period, man's relationship to man was one of retribution and vindication.

With the advent of the Savior on earth, one of those relationships changed. No longer are we justified in striking back at those who have offended or harmed us. The imperative from the Lord is to love one another. And our obligation is to forgive one another.

We are told we are to seek forgiveness for our "debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). It is interesting to note that the only subject in the Lord's Prayer which Christ chose to elaborate on was that of forgiveness. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matt. 6:14-15).

We might be offended or injured in a myriad of ways, physically, emotionally or spiritually. But our duty is always the same, to forgive.

The question is --- How?

The answer starts to form as we examine our frame of mind.

Are we holding a grudge, grievance, or resentment?
Is the offense real or imagined?
Was it personal or general?
Was it purposeful or unintentional? (In many cases the offending party is unaware they have given offense.)

Could it be possible we have done something deserving of criticism? Or perhaps, we have misconstrued or misunderstood someone's words or actions?

Whatever the case, no matter whose fault, the Lord tells us we must not hold onto these feelings. Hanging on causes us to blame others for the way we feel and begins to drag us down and embitter us.

We must "get over it."

While it is usually appropriate to tell our version of the story to a select few, when we repeat it endlessly, we paint ourselves as the victim and begin to justify our feelings. It becomes a search for sympathy, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Forgiving is not forgetting the act, for that is usually impossible; nor is it pardoning or condoning or justifying. It is forgiving. Nothing more, nothing less. Forgiving may not always bring closure but we still need to get over it and move on with life.

Again the question --- How do we do that?

We cannot take personally the act or word that has offended us. There is a difference between having something "done to you," which we take as a personal affront, and done "about you," which is an act performed or words spoken because of something we may have said or done. An example might be what we do when our children misbehave. We may tell our children we do not like what they have done; we must never tell them we don't like them. This is the mind set we need to have to forgive someone.

We must hold ourselves responsible for how we feel today, living in the here and now.

We must get rid of "old news." No one wants to hear it. We can do that by thinking of the many good things in our lives. As the old song says, we can "accentuate the positive."

We must realize that no one makes us feel a certain way. 

We are the only ones who control the way we feel, so we can only blame ourselves for negative feelings.

We must create a positive "rewrite:" how we can overcome the harm that was done to us. Many of us can tell of situations where we harbored resentment that festered in us like an infection.  We must tell "the rest of the story" --- the forgiving part that allows us to move on without the heavy burden of bitterness. Thus we make "building blocks" from the situation.

Forgiveness has nothing to do with who is right or who is wrong. I has everything to do with releasing ill feelings. 
It has to do with saying, "I am sorry for my anger. Forgive me." We are commanded to forgive, whether or not we have been asked for forgiveness by the offender. Also, we are commanded to seek forgiveness for offenses we have committed, and the bad feelings we have harbored.

So many of us cling to an offense as if it were a valued friend. We must realize that in fact, it is a subtle enemy that can destroy us spiritually. Like an addiction, we must ultimately determine that this cancer be removed. Then we must turn to the ultimate physician for our cure.

Not surprisingly then, the formula is a familiar one.

By turning to the Lord in prayer, we are calling on the power that can remove all ills. If we remember that our Savior has experienced every pain and hurt and anxiety, as well as the sins of all mankind, we know He will help us when we ask for His help.

We must pray for the strength to forgive, even though it is difficult. 

Even as He was being crucified, Christ asked his Father for forgiveness for His tormentors. By comparison, what a little thing we care called on to do when we are commanded to forgive.

The Lord's instruction to us is clear. "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10).

Let's not try to fix the blame, let's fix the relationship.


(Dave took some of the material for this article from the book Forgive for Good, by Fredric Luskin)

102 Hopefully Helpful, Simple, and Cheap Posts . . .

gleaned from my previous 2603 weeks of experiences . . . 
are coming directly to you over the next 51 weeks.

I never make New Year's resolutions. Yet, each new year's beginning finds me reflecting on back then and what  now ---- where I've been and the direction I am heading.  This year, probably because we just celebrated our 50th anniversary and Dave and I are both past the Biblical time allotted to us, there has been more reminiscing and introspection than usual.

Those of you who have followed my blog along its way, know that 16 months ago I didn't even know what a blog was nor did I care to learn.  I certainly didn't have the time nor slightest interest in writing one and dismissed  the idea as crazy when daughter-in-law Cheri suggested it.

I have no idea why but almost immediately following that exchange several things happened over a period of about 10 days that led me to know that writing a blog was what I was supposed to do.

Three weeks ago, just before Christmas, I discovered  The Creative Cheapskate passed 10,000 hits!!! I am not sure exactly what that means or how they are tracked but it was exciting and helps me feel that I am somehow helping some of you.

It has been mostly fun trying to share things that I have learned, most often out of necessity and much by trial and error over the past 50 years. I hope it has been mostly helpful, as well as fun for you.

Besides first of the year reflection, many of us try to regroup.  Or at least regroup (or maybe even group!) our s t u f f ! Where to fit what where.  

I am sure he means this nickname  in the kindest possible way,
    and not as a shortened version of  Squirrelly! 

Dave has begun calling me "Squirrel"  as I keep trying to stock up so we are as prepared as possible in this
increasingly nutty (pardon the pun) and uncertain world.


Except, unlike squirrels, I am not shaking a tree to gather the nuts, I am shaking the house trying to find niches for what I have gathered.













Many of my posts have addressed this subject in one form or another but here are a couple of other storage ideas for your tree house.

• If any of your furniture allows for it, utilize the shallow space under it. Our couch has a wood frame that reaches the floor. Ninety-six individually-wrapped rolls of toilet paper repose under there.
• If you have room, place an entertainment center or bed at an angle and you have not only added visual interest, but created an instant triangle of storage space behind.
• Turn a closet into a pantry. Ours is located in the guest room closet. Our freezer also shares guest room space and sports a lighthearted note explaining the two close-at-hand snack sources for super hungry visitors. 
• Stack your extra supplies of hand soap, tissue, etc. in the back of, or along the sides of, your bathroom cupboards, linen closets, etc. 
• Place #10 cans or other storage items in the back of deep cupboards or closets, and/or place a layer on their floors.
• Use a dish drainer as a handy and portable "filing cabinet" for often used papers, bills, receipts and postage supplies. I have a file folder for each family member I accumulate things for, including one for the box tops and labels I gather for a grandchild's school fundraiser.
• Cut a circle in the side of a gallon milk jug and stuff your plastic grocery bags in the through the hole. Since there will be even more uses for plastic bags during hard times, you can cover the hole of a full jug and keep it with your emergency storage.  A gallon jug holds a lot of bags!
• Place empty tissue boxes in a drawer to contain reusable  folded bread and zip-lock bags.
• Use pint and quart canning jars for storing left-overs in the refrigerator. They are easily obtainable (garage sales and thrift stores), take up less room than bowls and the contents are always in sight so there is less chance of waste.

On a final note: It is probably 1) a good idea to make lists of these squirreled away items and 2) put the list where you will remember it.

I need to close now and attack the flat surfaces in our guest room.  It is basically a rat's nest of odds and ends in there that need to be squirreled away somewhere somehow.

Remember, the most important thing you need if you have the need to shake your tree is ----

a thinking cap!

Easy, Yummy, Crunchy Zucchini Chips: Dehydrated

I am having great fun with yummy results using my dehydrator. 

Dried fruits and veggies make healthy and great snacks, are terrific light-weight food sources for hiking and camping and a wonderful means of storage for emergencies. 

My latest efforts have been flavored zucchini and yellow squash chips.

I've read about flavoring apple pieces with kool-aid flavors before dehydrating but that didn't have much appeal to me  ---- although they do look pretty in the jar. Actually they probably aren't much different than the dried fruit-flavored apple pieces you can buy in #10 cans if you want to pay the price.

We do love the apple results when sprinkling them very lightly with cinnamon-sugar before drying. A great snack!

However, as I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, now I am going to tell you about my experiments with dehydrating zucchini.  First off, the first time I tried  it, I tried sprinkling it lightly with Lawry's seasoned salt and/or a few other things like lemon pepper.  I was too heavy handed and once dehydrated the seasonings were too strong so my advice is, if you go that route, sprinkle very, very lightly.

When we dried them without any seasonings we, at first, thought they were kinda blah but quickly became addicted to them. The same, both about over seasoning and no seasoning, for cucumbers.

Top shelf: red (and green) bell peppers,  cinnamon- sugared apple slices,
cinnamon-sugared zucchini slices, two jars of plain cucumber slices and
jar of refrigerated microwaved bread and butter pickles
Bottom shelf:  orange juice soaked yellow squash, pineapple tidbits, jar of spiced apple and
berry fruit leathers, plain apple slices, and maraschino cherries

Searching the web for zucchini recipes recently I came across http://realfoodlittlerock.blogspot.com/2012/05/fruit-snacks-fromzucchini.html --- a site on simmering chunks of zucchini in pineapple juice (and/or grape juice) for 30 minutes before dehydrating.  It sounded intriguing.

I tried it on a smaller scale, using the juice from one can of pineapple tidbits.  The results were okay but the method gave me other ideas. I filled the first tray with the pineapple tidbits and the second tray with the pineapple-juice-simmered and drained zucchini sections.

 I then decided I preferred thin rounds over the small chunks  so I got out my handy mandolin and went from there with the rest of my zucchini and yellow crook neck squash.

Tray 3 - orange-juice-simmered squash rounds --- some sprinkled lightly with dried orange zest.

Tray 4 -  combined-pineapple-and-orange-juice simmered squash rounds.

Trays 5-8,  squash rounds (both the green and the yellow) --- very lightly sprinkled with the cinnamon-sugar mixture before drying.

All were surprisingly good but our favorite is the cinnamon-sugar ones and our least favorite the original ones.  I think 30 minutes was a little too long to simmer.

I soaked the remaining squash slices in the leftover combined juices overnight in the frig and dried them the next day.  We liked them better than the simmered ones!

We also soaked raw zucchini slices in the left-over marinade from a jar of our microwaved bread and butter pickles and then dehydrated them with great results.

http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/search?q=pickles

Basically it all boils down to that thinking cap mentality I keep mentioning and urging. Read about others' great ideas and take it from there.

'til we eat again,
          Simply, Gail

Easy, Crunchy and Fat-free Potato Chips in the Microwave

But first a word from a product I won't be sponsoring only ---- copying! 

I have a few Pampered Chef items that were given to me by a daughter-in-law --- which I like a lot and use a lot. Until last month I had never been to one of their parties.  It was interesting and kinda fun but the cheapskate in me didn't like the prices, or the shipping/handling charge added to deliver it to the home of the hostess.

I'm sorry but that is just how I am or more than likely, how all cheapskates are.

I rarely buy potato chips because I love them and I cannot eat just one! I really liked the PC microwave potato chip maker that was demonstrated at the party but I was really turned off by the price and the fact that it is basically a one-purpose wonder.

I think my brain is conditioned to automatically start thinking up ways to recreate what ever makes my eyes light up. Or the dollar $igns!

 I wanted to buy something to support the party but after less than  two and one-half minutes of rationalizing $26 for two round holey surfaces of microwaveable plastic my brain kicked into gear.

Thus, the photos below I located on the internet (because Dave isn't home to take my pictures for me).

As soon as I got home I raided my microwave-able plastic-pieces storage box looking for holey things. I first  uncovered the old steamer thingey I've had for years (and has been buried and laying dormant for about the same length of time.)   It's the photo with the salmon, lemon slice and sprig of something. Rosemary maybe?

And it did quite a good job making potato chips.

The next day I found it necessary  to drop by the thrift store and found this extremely labor-intensive, and probably, up until now, one-purpose, microwave bacon cooker for $1.25 .  Bingo! (See the photo with the bacon carefully stretched and skewered between the uprights?) That's the Bacon Wave "as seen on TV" for $ 9.88. But,  if you call in the next 10 minutes. . .

Old steamer  thingey

The "Bacon Wave" as seen on TV. . .

Okay, here's what you do.

1. Scrub a potato or two really well but don't bother peeling. 
2. Use the thinnest slicer on the mandolin* to slice the potato. 
3. Place one slice in each of the upright slots. (It seems to work a little better if you either use just the two outer rows of slots or skip every other one. It won't take too long to experiment.
4. Microwave on  high for two or three  4-minute intervals, depending on your microwave.  They will crisp up as they cool down. (Cool off is probably more correct but I liked how crisp up--cool down sounded)

I didn't salt or season them because I knew we were going to dip them heavily into sour cream onion dip! But you could if you wanted. You could also very lightly spray them or rub them with oil but I didn't notice much difference so why the extra calories?

*Mandolin (sometimes spelled mandoline) --- a very handy item that slices and dices thinly and evenly (and will quickly remove part of your finger if you 1) do not use the guard and/or 2) are not careful). You can buy one at a PC party for a lot of money. I just found a used PC one on e-bay for $48.99 and it didn't have the box! You can buy other brands for more than that!

I did find an older PC one recently at my thrift store for $2.50 (also without the box) and I don't think it works any better than the one I bought for brand new at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $10.00, including the box! Actually, $10 is misleading, I used BB&B's 20 percent off coupon!

This is the one I use all the time and it hasn't  failed me yet.

Even if it does finally get dull, compared to the others out there, it would be a small price to pay for a new one. (Especially if you have a coupon!)

PS.  Just so you know I'm not totally cheap or clueless about these party things I did buy a stirrer/mixer/whipper thing that I couldn't figure how to whip up myself ----  it does do three things (stir/whip/mix)
and
I split the shipping charge with two neighbors!

Betty's Best-Ever Barbecue Sauce

Happy New Year --- a few days late.  Hope you all had a great holiday.

The big celebration(s) I mentioned were coming up (when last I blogged) were terrific.  All we'd hoped for and more!!! As the six days of activities were winding down, many of us came down with the nasty flu stuff that is going around. That is why this post is later than I had planned.

Two days ago the newlyweds stopped off for a few minutes on their way back to college. The next day a grandson, also on his way to back to college, spent the night. It is very handy living at about the half way mark between their homes and their schools.  And it makes a nice break for them in the many-hours-drive and a great chance for us to share a short visit.

But what does all this have to do with Barbecue Sauce?

I fed them barbecue chicken sandwiches using Costco canned chunk chicken and my homemade barbecue sauce.  They loved the sauce and, when they found out I made it, asked if it was on my blog. I was even surprised to realize I hadn't posted it, even though I have included it in the booklets I have written and in classes I have taught over the years.  Siera, the newlywed, made me promise I would blog it --- and soon.

So, here it is. This recipe was given to me about 33 years ago, soon after we moved to the Midwest where Betty  introduced us to brisket smothered in her delicious, quick and easy sauce.

Betty's Best-Ever Barbecue Sauce

Combine and mix well. 
2 cups catsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. Worchestershire sauce
1 T. liquid smoke* 

That's it!  It is ready to use immediately.  Store in refrigerator.

*I prefer Wright's Hickory Seasoning Liquid Smoke but Colgin's brand seems to be easier to find and does the job!

'til we eat again,
           Simply, Gail