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Monday, August 29, 2011

Another Freebie From Chick-Fil-A

  This just arrived in my mailbox tonight.  I checked, you don't have to wait for an invitation.  It's for a free breakfast sandwich.  Not anything huge, but we already made our reservation for three of us.  It's a nice treat if you are running out to do errands.

Here's the link
chick-fil-a

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Do You Use SwagBucks?

      You all must know by now that I really like shopping on amazon, when I have money that is.  One of the ways I generate a few bucks is with Swagbucks.  I just keep saving up those points and buying Amazon gift cards until I have enough for whatever is on my wish list, or already in my shopping cart. 
              
       First I'll start out telling you that I've done all kinds of things to try to earn a few dollars here and there online.  I've done many surveys and in fact still do a few of them if they seem worthwhile.  I also do a few reviews and make a little there.  That's just it, none of these things really make a lot of money, and one has to consider if your time is worth the dollar or two you might make. 
   Which is why I like Swagbucks since I don't do much to earn the bucks.  I've been doing Swagbucks for a couple of years and I'm actually making a bit more now.  That's only because at first I was a bit leery of it and still used google for my search engine.  I don't even notice that I'm using it now except when it tells me I've won more bucks.  There are a lot of things on Swagbucks, surveys, games, that kind of thing, but I don't really have time for all that.  I have their toolbar installed right at the top, and every time I look for something or do research I use the Swagbucks search engine and earn bucks.

      If you look at the very bottom of my blog page you will see my Swagbucks button/search engine and it shows how many bucks I have right now.   It's a bit high right now, for me anyway.  Some people get their points up into the thousands.  I do not possess that kind of patience, nope, not at all.  What I do is as soon as I have just over 450 points I try to find a moment to go to the website and buy my Amazon five dollar gift card.  Those five dollars cards applied to my Amazon account do add up though.  I buy things all the time on Amazon, and the money just comes out of my amazon gift card account.  I know some people use it just to buy their cookbooks, or kitchen utensils, things like that.  I just recently used my bucks to buy special vacuum bags for my shop vac. 
 
      So your asking, how do I keep earning these bucks that are transformed into five dollar bills, all while sitting on my back end?  Swag bucks is a search engine,  kind of like google.  You download their toolbar, and when you need to do some research then you type in whatever it is and click on search and win.  On Fridays you'll make more points.   There are a lot of gift cards and prizes you can buy on Swagbucks, but I have determined that I'm happiest with money.  I also have determined that buying the five dollar Amazon gift card is a better value for me than pay pal, or even the higher limit Amazon card.  So, every time I get that 450, I have enough for five buckaroos.  If your looking at my points at the bottom of the page then you know I have almost enough to get two five dollar gift cards for Amazon.  Just be careful to buy the right one, don't get the ca card since that's for amazon Canada. 

     Oh, by the way, I'm not getting paid to say any of this, I just wanted to share one of my little dollar makers.  I have signed up to become an affiliate but I'm waiting on that. 
   So, if you do a lot of looking up things on the Internet, and you want to make a few bucks while doing that, then click on the link in this post, or at the bottom of the page, or go to Swagbucks, (just google it, ha).

Swagbucks  This is my personal link

sorry, no pictures for this article.  My camera broke and I'm using a less useful model. 

Wait, I found one you might like, at my expense too.  You know when this happened to me, I looked at it and saw that letter Y near by, and thought, how true, Y? 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

A Few Tidbits on My Blog E-Mails, and a Few Others

   I'm sure you all have seen how horrible the posts arrive in your mailbox.  When they are written, they are formatted for the actual blog.  Then, somehow when they drift through email land, they arrive looking a bit stretched out and unruly.

    I don't know that there is anything I can do about that, if there is let me know.  I'm really sure that if I made it look nice for the email, then it would look horrible on the blog. 

    One item to note, the post arriving in your email has no advertising, no blog buttons, or links.
I haven't added any new links lately, I will as I do more blog posts, or if I come across something that I think is great. 

     We are still trying to figure out where to start on this damage to our house.  All the specifics will drive us nuts first though.  Buy a new tub while the bathroom is empty, or keep the old tub.  Putting in a tub is not easy work.  Especially when they weigh a ton. Plus, if we do put in a tub, then we will have to tile the wall around it.  You know how that goes, one job creates a million more. 

   I did find a way to organize my clothes.  13 gallon kitchen trash bags.  All the clothes from my closet fit into five of those.  I do have a dresser for my foldable clothes, and a tiny little bureau for underclothes and other things like that.  I think I could probably thin it down a bit more but I don't really want to get rid of good clothing.  I don't want to be spending money on anything new either.  My goal is to make some of my clothing, and I've got a lot of ideas.  I admit, I did get a shirt from the thrift store a couple weeks back.  I wasn't even looking at the clothing, barely anyway.  As my daughter walked up to pay for her purchases, the shirt was just right there in front of us.  We both noticed it, the size was right, and besides, she was paying.  I mean, $2.99 for a shirt isn't too bad.  Better than Macy's clearance racks.

   So, don't forget to check out your local thrift stores.  If you sew then it opens up an entire new area to look through for repurposing your clothing.  We found designer jeans with the most expensive pair at $20.  Considering that they are well over $100 new it was a good deal.  A brand new Goodwill Store not too far away just opened and hopefully it will come in handy. 

   Happy deal hunting this weekend, or beach bumming, or honey dooing. 

Many of our armed forces will be deploying in the next few weeks so I'd like to wish them well. 


 

Friday, August 26, 2011

Easy To Make Frozen Hash Browns

      I used to love those frozen hash browns from the store.  It seemed to make breakfast a bit easier.  But the truth is, comparing the cost to a bag of potatoes,  it loses.  That's why I needed to know how to prepare these and keep those handy bags of shredded potatoes for a busy day. 
     Hash browns can have so many different meanings depending on who you talk to and where they are from.  Our family likes them any which way, whether they are diced, shredded, or filled with corned beef.  I decided for plain simple shredded hash browns for my freezer.  I do it a bit backwards and will explain that, but not sure if I can explain why.

First I peel my potatoes, or not, it's really up to you.  If they are perfect fresh potatoes there really is no need to peel them.  I then feed them into my food processor to grate them.  They can be grated using a hand grater, although that will take a little bit longer. 






When they are grated they should look like this.      







I then dump them into a bowl of cold water since shredded hash browns can turn brown very quickly.  I don't like when they do that.





Then using a slotted spoon, or drain them in a colander, put them into a pot of boiling water.  Boil them for about three minutes, no more than five or you will have mush.  Or rather, mashed potatoes for your next meal.  Pull them out, placing them into a bowl of cold water, or a colander and rinsing with cold water. (Did you notice how I put the proper way and the lazier way?)  Yeah, I use the rinsing method.  Either way, I let them sit in the colander for a short time to drain, shaking them a little to get them somewhat dry. 

  I then load them onto my trays as flat as possible kind of pushing them together to get rectangular flat shapes.  You can choose to keep them looser, and you can also use waxed paper on your tray. They don't seem to stick to my tray.  Then I load both my trays onto the shelf closest to the ice dispenser/bin so they will freeze as quick as possible.  When they are frozen I break them in half or quarters and put them into a gallon size freezer bag. 



When it's time to cook them, I preheat my cast iron or stainless frying pan for a minute or two.  I then add my expeller pressed coconut oil and sometimes I add in a few onions.  I then throw the amount I want into the pan and spice it up.  Salt and pepper is an easy one, but sometimes I like a bit of dill.  I let them fry until brown and then flip them over and brown the other side.  With a couple of eggs on the side and bacon or sausage it makes a great brunch.                                                                                                            

Now I'll explain what I do differently from some of the other recipes.  They cook the potatoes first, then they shred them.  I'll be trying that sometime soon.  I'm sure it makes it easier so you aren't trying to drain or scoop out a bunch of shredded potatoes.  It does make sense totally, but if you've ever seen me make potato salad you would understand why I do it this way.  

Another thing, is some people prefer to cook the potatoes all the way, which is fine.  Some prefer to blanch, or heat through enough to stop those enzymes from turning the potatoes brown, which is what I do.  It's just a personal choice and either way you will have a handy food for breakfast or breakfast for dinner.

        


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Spuds Are Tasty


        Now that I have a large gallon size bag of frozen diced potatoes, it's time to do some other things with all those extra potatoes.  I filled a large casserole dish with the rest of the diced potatoes.  I didn't use a recipe.  Sometimes I just like to just see what happens.  If your new at cooking, or haven't had much practice with this type of dish then I advise you to use a recipe at least the first time around so you understand the basic procedures of whatever you are cooking.  It's good to know cooking times, temperatures, which spices work together and things of that nature.

    Unless your like me and just throw in what sounds or smells good. 

  

For my oven potatoes this time, I started with the diced potatoes.  Then I added oil and mixed it around to  distribute it.  For oil I used expeller pressed coconut oil, but feel free to use butter or the oil of your choice. 



I tossed in some of those onions I had in the freezer all chopped and ready.  Any kind of onion will work, and if you wish to saute' it first that makes it taste great.  I then added some celtic sea salt, pepper, parsley, garlic, cilantro, frozen basil cubes, dulse granules,  and a mixed seasoning.  This is where you can add whatever spices that you like.  Just be careful not to add too much.  Paprika, chili powder, lemon zest would also taste good.  Even just salt and pepper would be fine for this. 

   Then pop it into the oven, I like to cook it at around 350 degrees in my oven.  I like for the potatoes to cook on the inside and then start to get brown slowly.  I usually stir it after about 15 minutes or so to redistribute and check them.  If they start getting a bit soft to stir, they are done.  Or, you can do what I do, jack up the temperature on the oven and get the outside a little more golden brown.

   I was going to show you how delicious these looked when they were done.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  You see, I kept the camera handy so I could remember, but when I pulled the potatoes out of the oven we all converged on them and ate them, and well, it wasn't until later I spotted the camera just waiting for me.  I'll have to work harder at not eating until I get the picture, or at least get a picture of us eating it. 

   There are a ton of variations of oven browned, everyone I'm sure has their favorites.  I sometimes add milk, butter and flour along with the spices to make a creamy casserole.  Throw in some cheese to make it au gratin style.  Add meat and vegetables to make it a complete meal.  That's one of my favorites.  If the casserole is delicious, and you happen to have any leftover, freeze it for an easy reheat meal. 

     Don't forget, cooked potatoes can be frozen, and heat up quite well later.  I first started with mashed potatoes.  It was by accident, or rather, give a man a potato peeler and he just doesn't know when to stop.  So, next time you find good deals on potatoes, stock up on a few bags and start your freezer food collection. 



Monday, August 22, 2011

What Do You Do With Your Potatoes?




     We've love potatoes in this house, just about any way you can fix them.  Or as my husband would say, he's never met a potato he didn't like. 
 
 I found a good deal on potatoes, not great, since it's not potato season.  They were almost past expiration so we needed to use them as soon as possible.






 I didn't even bother to put them away, just dumped them all into the sink and began the peeling process while pondering what exactly I was going to do with all of them.
  


 After the potatoes were peeled and diced I put them into a bowl of cold water to keep them from turning brown.  I decided I would freeze a few batches for one of those busy days. 
    



To do this, I simply boil water, drop the diced potatoes in there for about three minutes.  The main goal is to heat the potatoes through so they don't turn brown.  I then plunge them into cold water, or if I'm lazy, I just throw them into my colander and rinse with cool water and drain. 



Once cool, I put them onto a tray and freeze them.  Try not to pile them too high, like the picture.  A single layer is best, and I try to do that as much as I can. 




Once they are frozen, put them into a freezer bag and that's it. You now have diced potatoes, peeled and ready for a busy day.  Don't forget to put the bag into the freezer.  Label and date the bag also.  Of course it's obvious that it's diced potatoes, but if you decide to add onions or spices you could put that on the label.





What can you do with diced peeled potatoes?   Use them as you would have if you had just peeled them.  They can be boiled, boiled and mashed, fried up or used in soups and casseroles. 


Best Potato Recipes/Freezing Potatoes

Aggie Horticulture   This site uses the blanching method, which is what I do. 


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Just When You Think It Couldn't Get Any Worse.....ha!



   You ever have a thought about things, thinking, well, what more could happen?  Nah, two busted pipes, two bathrooms, one living room, one hallway and one master bedroom all damaged with water, and all the carpeting and well, really, what else could happen.  Almost don't want to drive, ya know? 

     So, dummy me, I really had this idea that I could use that new shop vac to suck out a ton of water.  I just didn't realize it was two tons of water.  I plugged in the steam cleaner, so I had two machines, sucking water.  Now, see, I don't know a thing about amps and circuits.  So, I didn't know plugging two things into the same outlet was a bad idea.  Until I found myself sitting on a wet rug in the dark and I hear a two year old screaming from somewhere else in the house.

     Yeah, so, well, uhhh, I blew the circuit.  I mean, really blew it.  It won't go back on.  I burnt something somewhere and as of today we can't find it.  That's the bad news.  The good news is it didn't affect the entire house.  The bad news, well, it's a real pain to try to remember which lights work and which ones don't. 

     The good news, the shop vac still works.  The bad news, well, the hose is a bit shorter.  Taking a break in the kitchen I thought I could smell burning plastic.  I asked, "anyone else smell that?"  Then all of a sudden I hear my husband yelling french words in the bedroom.  At least I thought it was french.  I didn't want to venture any closer right then.  You see, he has this extremely bright light,....that's hot, very hot.  Melt plastic hot.  The shop vac hose was plastic.  You know that's why they make duck tape right?



The bad news, the fan on my ceiling doesn't work.  The good news, the restoration company that came out put a ton of fans in my room.  Yeah, well, can hardly hear yourself think with those things on.  But then it is a fan.  The bad news is that the dehumidifier makes the room steamy which negates anything good the fans are doing.  The good news, just maybe when I fall asleep I can pretend I'm in a heavy wind in tropical weather, like Hawaii. 

More bad news, they can't get the bathroom dry, they might have to rip it apart.  Noooo, it's the only room that's been remodeled in a nice way.  Well, they started to rip at it, but decided to give it one more night with the fans.  In that last picture you see the dehumidifier, yeah, that took most of the bathroom, our only bathroom right now.  So, needless to say, trying to "go" involved getting over a fan, wedging yourself between the toilet and the dehumidifier.  I can't really describe the next thing nicely, so I'll leave it up to your imagination.  Let's just say, having a fan blow on you full boar while using the commode is an awful thing.  And most of the toilet paper is unrolled and blowing in the air above your head. 

   How did I save any money on this venture?  Hmm, tough one.  These things happen and cost.  We did get the claim money.  I refused the restoration people at my expense, they finally conceeded to me and paid for it.  Aha, I saved the insurance company money since I did most all of the wet drywall removal and some of the water removal, and of course water shut off myself.  I thought shutting off the water was a given, but they were surprised at the work I did, joked about how I did their job and told me than many people had no idea to shut off the water.  Well, I think, ( I could be wrong) it paid off for me in that I was paid for better moulding in my room than what I actually had in there, in the closet.  Just little things like that.  Now, I was also paid at what a contractor would charge reasonably for the work that now needs done.  Which means, if I can possibly do the work myself I will save a ton of money.  I can then take that money and upgrade something else. 
Plus, they also paid me for time spent doing removal of damaged materials, and general removal of closet items. 

   It's not like I planned this at all, but when these things happen it does help to work it all out and think it through.  It's not always necessary to hire someone to do some of the tasks.  Or you might know someone who can do it for a better fee.  I still want to call the electrician, for safety reasons.  You also won't see me using a knee kicker on the carpet. 

Now, if I can just figure out where to put all my clothes.....the rest are all over the living room.  A bit of reorganizing for the duration of this will be ongoing.

NEXT:  Some of the projects I did while my house was falling apart. When I had water that is.

Plus:  What Have You Changed In Your Life This Week To Save Money?  (okay, if you must, change week to month) 

Upcoming Groupon Deal on Elf Makeup, BOL (be on the lookout) 

Friday, August 12, 2011

A New Leak and When Will This Ever End!






     Well here we go again, another leak.  If you all recall, we just did this a few weeks back.  The picture on the left shows how that looks today.  Not close to done and only one bathroom working right now. 
I know I've felt the earth move a few times and it really makes me wonder.  It could just be the crummy pipe from Home Depot.  Either way, knowing that doesn't help at all. 

 

  Ever notice how your never ready for these things to happen?  Anything you were planning to do, or working on is now null and void.  I've been planning some sewing projects for months, really, months.  I was just feeling that I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the hope that I would actually be putting the pedal to the metal on my sewing machine and now it's buried in clothes.  Trying to find a pair of jeans before the insurance plumber showed up became a "where's Waldo" type of game.  Although I'm sure he wouldn't have noticed since he would probably be grossed out by the Frito's in my teeth since I had no water to brush my teeth. 

     That's another funny thing about it.  You know you have no water in the house, you have to keep a bottle near the toilet for flushing purposes, you have bottled water in the kitchen, your socks are drenched yet you still go over and try to turn on the faucet to rinse your hands off.  Okay, maybe you don't do that, but I do.
Just like when the power was out, I walked into my room with a flashlight in my hand, and yep, I flipped the light switch to turn on the light.  Lifelong habits are hard to break I guess.  We do a lot of things that we don't even think about anymore.



      So, okay, I'm not talking about apples today.  I know I said I was done talking about apples, but I lied.  Not intentionally mind you.  But I so want to make fruit roll ups or fruit leathers.  Same thing either way.  Then I realized I don't have the right mats for my dehydrator.  So, maybe I'll just do the oven method.  Your saved from apples right now though, by an intensely huge leak in my bedroom closet that seeps out into the carpeting and another wall. 



   I wanted to share one of my little money making online things, Swagbucks.  I wanted to tell you about my last groupon deal. 
I did manage to dry some of my sage plant in the dehydrator today.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or if it was better left to dry on it's own. 

But life's little leaks get in the way. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Apple Jelly Made From Apples and Peels



   I have fond memories of my Dad taking me out to breakfast and we'd get those little jelly containers in a variety of good flavors.  If I couldn't decide, I'd pick the mixed jelly.  I still love jelly and jam but wish the brands in the store didn't have so many unnecessary ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. 




   Which brings me to my last project with my bushel of apples.  Apple Jelly using apples and the left over peels and cores.   





      I remember making plum jam when my son was an infant, and while I was trying to cook he was fussing so much I had to push his walker back and forth with my foot since my hands were full and the kitchen looked like an explosion in a plum orchard.  Fast forward to now, and I still have a little boy in the kitchen with me, and I don't mind him helping and do give him tasks to keep him busy.  He seems to understand when I tell him to clear out of the kitchen if I'm transferring hot jars from the boiling water.

     Like other canning projects you will use most all of the same equipment.  Your clean jars, 8 ounce are great, a large pot for processing the jars, jar lifter, funnel, your caps and rings, and of course, your fruit.  I've tried many kinds of pectin and this time I tried Pomona's Universal Pectin  and found that I really like it.  It uses low amounts of any kind of sweetener you choose to use which is great.  One thing I really like about it is that it's derived from citrus peel and is activated  by calcium which they include.  Most pectin's require tons of sugar, which is less healthy and more expensive and not necessary.  I followed the instructions inside the box for the first couple of batches ( I underestimated how much I could make) and then winged it for the last batch.  They all came out great and delicious.  For sugar I used sucanat, which is sugar cane natural.  That will explain why the apple jelly looks so dark in the pictures. The Pomona's recipe also called for lemon juice 1/4 cup.  That also will help the jelling process. 



     How did I use peels and apples?  Easy, I threw all the apple peels and cores into a tall pot and added liquid to the top, although the exact recipe uses 3 pounds of fruit and 3 cups of water.  Then I cooked it for awhile, the recipe saying to bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes  Then you stir and mash and simmer for five more minutes.  I simply cook and stir until the fruit is soft. You also can just throw the apples into the pot without peeling or coring, although I would cut them up to make the cooking process go a bit faster.



    I dumped the apples/peels into a colander to strain out the liquid. I don't have a jelly bag, but a clean lint free towel or cloth will work just fine.  The recipe is for 4 cups of liquid and I had about 12 cups.  I did single batches, but it can be doubled or tripled.  After it's strained, you put the "juice" into the pot, along with the liquid calcium and lemon juice. A half cup of my sugar was then mixed with the pectin.  Bring the juice to a boil and add the sugar/pectin mix and stir like crazy for two minutes.  It didn't seem like the pectin was ever going to dissolve.  Then I added the rest of the sugar, and brought it back to a boil.  It was then ready to be put into my jars.  I keep my jars in hot water on the stove so I pull them out onto a towel and fill them to 1/4 inch from the top, put the lid and screw ring on.  When I have enough jars to fill the large pot I'm using I use the jar lifter to place them into the pot of boiling water.  If the water stops boiling, give it a minute or two, and then I give the jars a full ten minutes to boil.  Lift them out and place them in an area where they won't be touched or bothered.  As they cool you might hear the lids popping, and that is a very good thing. 

That's it, jelly or jam is one of the easier home canning projects to start with, and there are so many different kinds you can make with just a few alterations in the recipe.  If you buy pectin they all come with instructions.  One other thing, if you don't find a great deal on fruit, you can simply go buy a bottle of apple juice or grape juice or any other flavor.  It works great, and if you are short on time it cuts out all the fruit preparation time while still giving a healthier alternative to store bought. 
 
My pantry now has a few more jars added to it, I've gained a bit more experience and will approach this with a bit more confidence the next time I see a good deal on fruit.  Or maybe I'll use that bottle of grape juice sitting on the pantry to make grape jelly.

I found many great web links that I was going to add to this post but I think Pomona's Universal Pectin is a good place to start with many
recipes to check out. 

Friday, August 5, 2011

Dried Apple Rings and Wondering Why I Haven't Done This



     This bushel of apples has given me so many different things, and this is one more "first" for me. Typically I'd make one or two different things with my apples since it cuts down on the amount of work but I just couldn't make up my mind.  I also wanted to use my dehydrator again having only used it once on the onions from the garden.  So dried apples became my next little project.


    I say "little" very loosely here since most projects tend to snowball into other projects.  The first thing I realized when I got that apple onto the cutting board is I had no idea how to cut it into rings. It was peeled, but my coring tool slices at the same time.  I know that would work, but rings sounded better. 
     Then I remembered an apple machine thing that had been sitting in my kitchen in some obscure hard to reach area.  (See what I mean by snowball effect?)  My mother had bought it for me years ago.  I dug it out and did what any sane woman would do.  Yep, I bet my husband that he couldn't figure out how it worked, and well, good thing he took me up on it.  I knew it was one of those things that's easy if you could only figure it out.





The little one couldn't wait to start turning the handle, which left me with the job of supervising and delivering the apples to them. 


 
It turned out perfect apple rings that looked like they couldn't possibly have come from my kitchen.  I laid them all out onto the layers of the dehydrator, and turned it on.  I was expecting it to run all night, but they were ready in just about three hours time.  I didn't mind tasting  checking them at all to see if they were done.  I let them cool long enough for me to admire them, and threw them in a plastic container.  I'm sure a quaint jar would have been great. 




There are many things to do with dried apples, besides just eat them that is.  They can be thrown into your trail mix, added to cereals, great with oatmeal, put into any baked good such as banana apple bread, muffins or breakfast cake. 

   


 I found my dehydrator on bookoo.com and so far so good.  It isn't top of the line, but it's already proving it's worth for me.  If I find I am using this a lot more I may decide later to invest in a better one. 

   I kept this project simple, and did soak the apples in some cold water with a little lemon juice added.

Pick your Own is one I looked at which is funny since she has that apple peeler/corer/cutter and it looks like her dehydrator is similar.  My apples didn't need to dehydrate even close to what she says so I am finding there is a lot of room for variations.  It depends on your apples and the temperature.
I'm not sure if I like the car method since I'd forget about them and find them three months later.  They'd probably still be good, but maybe a bit tough.

honey sweetened dehydrated apples  This is another take on dehydrated apples

If I didn't have the dehydrator, I'd probably dry them in the oven at the lowest possible temperature with the door open slightly, maybe even turning the oven off intermittently to keep a low temperature.  The oven light will even add some heat.  That would use a bit more electricity so I'd make sure I cooked a lot more to make up for it. 









  

Monday, August 1, 2011

I Made Vinegar, I Think...


     So, you all know I had a bushel of apples, and made apple sauce, but I had a ton of peels and cores left over.    It seemed like such a waste to just throw it all into the mulch bin, even though that would eventually end up in my yard.  I knew that someone would have something posted about what to do with apple peels and picked two different recipes to try with the first one being vinegar.



      Okay, so call me cheap, frugal or whatever, but why waste something if there is a good use for it.  






 I dug up two huge jars that had other things in them and cleaned them well.   I filled the jars about half way with the peels and then did something different with each jar.  One I added a sugar and water syrup and the other I added just water.  The peels are supposed to be submerged which was difficult (or I'm just a bit inept) and put a baggie with water over the top of the apples to keep them submerged.  That wasn't my own idea by the way.  I then spent a few minutes making a cheesecloth lid before I remembered a reason for why I keep coffee filters in the drawer.  They are not for the coffeepot. 



The coffee filters along with a leftover rubber band from veggies made a perfect top.  I then set both jars into a dark cupboard to sit alone for a week.   I then did check on them but decided not to do the taste test, which will decide if you should leave it for a while longer.  I guess it's a personal taste preference on how strong it gets.  Let's just say, after I smelled it I would almost rather eat a bug.  Okay, maybe not a bug, but you get the picture, it was gnarly dude.  The one with the sugar solution was forming little bubbles and floaty thingies.  It smelled like it was moldy.  It did not smell at all like vinegar, even a tiny bit.  The other jar actually looked better and looks like it's doing well.  But now I'm afraid to taste it, which is dumb I know.  Once I get leery of a food and it's safety I can very easily turn my back on it. 

      Let's just say after you hear a few stories about your grandmother and her canning or you hear the usual botulism jokes you always have that in the back of your mind. 

   I remember once when the family was gathered at the table, (don't remember why) and we pulled out my plum jelly.  When the jar was popped open, it didn't "pop" which should be the end of the story.  I promptly said, throw it out, but my husband tried to say it would be alright.  We begged him not to eat it, and I guess he wanted the challenge and he took one itty bitty bite.  Yep, didn't take long before he was moaning and groaning out on the couch with stomach pains and starting to get dizzy.  I then had to drive him to urgent care and with most food poisoning they don't do anything unless it's so bad your going into something more serious.  So, we went home, and he moaned and groaned some more.  I tried not to think I told you so as he writhed on the couch.  I've never seen him do that again, but I still think he takes chances with "old" food at times.  The joke in the house is that he has a cast iron stomach. 

     Well, back to my vinegar "adventure".  I still haven't tasted it.  I'm quite sure I'm going to throw the one jar out.  I've been giving them a little more time, so I can do a bit more research on the vinegar.  The thing is, even my husband, cast iron stomach and all hasn't even tasted one of them.  He's kind of like the Mikey of the family.  You know Mikey, he'll try anything.  That makes me nervous, since if he won't try it, that is sending a message to all of us.  The kids will say, "even Dad won't taste it? Then throw it out."
vinegar with sugar (and floaty things)

Vinegar fermented with water

      If anyone has made vinegar with success, (key word there) please fill me in on my possible failure.  I mean, maybe the one jar isn't a failure and I just don't know it.  It doesn't smell too much like the Bragg Organic Vinegar that I wanted it to.  Maybe I was expecting too much, after all, I was very excited about making vinegar.

      Will I try this again?  Yup, I sure will, after I learn a bit more, and learn more about failures and why they happen.  I'm sure it must be close to being vinegar since the fruit flies have come to visit those jars, and fruit flies love vinegar.