According to Money Magazine, the average family throws out 14% of the food that they buy each year. Wasting food is a waste of money, and it can be completely avoidable. By following these tips you can make your foods stay fresher for much longer and save money too.
Organize your Fridge
Set the temperature in your fridge to 40 degrees or below. Any warmer and bacteria can grow. The ideal freezer temperature is between 0 degrees and 2 degrees.
Check the humidity settings on your crisper and meat drawers. If you don't have humidity setting in your fridge, check for condensation. If you have condensation then chances are the drawer is too humid.
Don't mix fruits, veggies and meats in the same crisper or drawer. Cross-contamination can occur.
A crowded fridge can prevent much needed air circulation and you're food won't stay as cool as it needs to.
Always wipe up spills and messes ASAP to avoid contamination.
Fridge Anatomy
The best place to put everything in your fridge.
Top Shelf
The top shelf is the warmest part of the fridge. Best for pre-prepared foods like yogurt, cheese, sauces, cooked meats and leftovers.
Middle Shelf
The best place for milk and eggs.
Bottom Shelf
This is the coldest part of the fridge. This is the best place to store raw meat, fish and poultry. Being on the bottom shelf prevents any other foods from being contaminated by any drippings that may come from the meats.
Door Racks
The temperature fluctuates here because it's exposed the most often to outside air. This is the perfect place for condiments, jams and jellies, fruit juice and butter.
Crisper and Meat Drawers
Of course, we all know what goes in the crisper. Make sure you use the correct crisper or drawer for the type of food that you are storing. It helps food last longer if you line your crisper drawer with paper towels to absorb moisture.
Where to store It: Pantry vs. Fridge
Pantry/Room temperature: avocados, apricots, bananas, citrus fruits, garlic, melons, onions, pears, peaches, plums, pineapples, potatoes
Refrigerator: apples, berries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, ginger, jalapenos, leafy greens, mushrooms, zucchini
Now, I'll tell you some tricks on how to store different foods to keep them fresher longer.
Vegetables
Beets, Carrots, Parsnips
Chop off the green leafy parts of these veggies before you put them in the fridge. It also helps if you wrap them in a moist cloth.
Celery, Broccoli, Lettuce
Wrap these veggies in tin foil before storing in the fridge. This should allow them to stay crisp for 4 weeks or more.
Asparagus
Store by cutting the stems, then place them in water, throw a plastic bag over them and refrigerate. They should stay crisp for a week or more. You can do this with parsley and cilantro too.
Green Onions
Freeze them in a plastic bottle for freshness.
Onions
If you store onions in pantyhose they can last as long as 8 months.
Never store onions and potatoes together. They both spoil faster.
Potatoes
Store potatoes with apples to keep them from sprouting eyes.
Squash
Rub a whole squash with vegetable oil and then store in the pantry. This should allow it to last for several months.
Tomatoes
Never store tomatoes in plastic bags. The ethylene gas becomes trapped and causes tomatoes to rot faster.
Unripe tomatoes should be kept stem side down in a paper bag or in a cardboard box until they ripen.
To help ripen faster, store with fruit. The gases emitted will ripen the tomatoes.
Ripe tomatoes should be stored at room temperature away from sunlight, in a single layer, not touching one another, stem side up.
Overly ripe tomatoes should be kept in the fridge.
Fruits
Bananas
Wrap the stems of a bunch of bananas tightly with lots of plastic wrap. They will keep for 3-5 days longer.
Bananas will last even longer if you separate them and individually wrap each one in plastic wrap.
Bananas emit more ethylene gas than any other fruit, so keep them separate from other fruits and veggies.
Berries
Prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider) and 10 parts water. Swirl your berries around in the mixture. Then, drain, rinse and put them into the fridge. The solution is diluted enough that you won't taste the vinegar and most berries will last 1-2 weeks using this method.
Dairy & Meats
Bacon/Ham
Smoked meats can be stored in a vinegar soaked cloth wrapped in wax paper in the fridge.
Bacon can be frozen for up to a month.
Butter
You can freeze butter for up to 6 months.
Cheese
Add a dab of butter to the cut side of cheese to keep it from drying out.
To store cheese, wrap in wax paper, not plastic wrap, and then put it in a plastic baggie.
Cottage Cheese/ Sour Cream
Place the container upside down in the fridge. This creates a vacuum that inhibits the growth of bacteria.
Herbs
Herbs
To store delicate herbs, such as parsley, basil, cilantro and chives, cover with plastic and secure with a rubber band, then refrigerate.
Oily herbs can be tied loosely together with string and hang them up in the kitchen.
You can also freeze and preserve fresh herbs in olive oil. Just use an ice tray. The herbs will infuse the oil while freezing. The ice cubes are very handy to use, as well. You can just pop one out of the ice tray and use it as a base for a sauce. This method works best with rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano.
Everything Else
Bread
You can freeze bread to make it last longer.
You can also rub an ice cube over a stale bread and then bake for 12 minutes and it will be just like fresh again.
Brown Sugar
Keeping it in the freezer will stop it from hardening.
If you already have some that has hardened, soften it by sealing it in a bag with a slice of bread or apple, or by microwaving it on high for 30 seconds.
Flour
After you get it home, you can freeze flour for 48 hours to kill any insect eggs that might be present. Then, place in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot away from sunlight.
To help ward off weevils, put a bay leaf in the container.
Honey
Honey is the only non-perishable food, so don't throw it out. If your honey crystallizes or gets cloudy, microwave it in 30 second intervals until the honey is clear again.
Mushrooms
Store fresh mushrooms in a brown paper bag to keep light from shining on them. If exposed to too much light they can grow mildew.
Nuts
Roast your nuts and then put them in the freezer to use later.
Hope you liked these tips! Let me know how they worked for you.
The first of the month means new movies are coming to Netflix streaming. Here is a look at what new titles you can expect to see added to Netflix on May 1st, 2014.
A View To A Kill (1985)
Backdraft (1991)
Bed of Roses (1996)
Beethoven (1992)
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Candyman (1992)
Cursed (2005)
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Forest Gump (1994)
Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988)
Goldfinger (1964)
Heavy Metal (1981)
Hook (1991)
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
La Bamba (1987)
Live and Let Die (1973)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Paper Moon (1973)
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
School Daze (1988)
Single White Female (1992)
Sneakers (1992)
St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
The Big Chill (1983)
The Big Hit (1998)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
The City of Lost Children (1995)
The Human Stain (2003)
The Juror (1996)
The Legend of the Drunken Master (1994)
The Living Daylights (1987)
The Prince of Tides (1991)
Top Secret! (1984)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
This awesome dessert is so sweet and gooey. It takes a little time to put together, but it's totally worth it. I'm a big fan of toffee, and if you are I guarantee that you will love these.
This picture is right out of the oven, the sweetened condensed milk does tend to bubble over the top. It's easy to make it prettier if you need to, though. Just take a butter knife and smooth over the top.
Here's how to make this recipe:
1. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a large 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
2. To start making the crust and topping, mix the flour and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Take a stick and a half of butter and cut it into 1/4 inch squares. Drop these squares into the flour and brown sugar mix.
4. Then, you'll need to cut the butter in to make the crust. You can do this with a pastry blender, a fork, or use your fingers. I think it turns out better when I just do it the good old fashioned way and cut it in with my fingers. After you're done cutting in the butter, the mixture should be flaky and crumbly but, also, a little coarse. If you would like a more cake-like crust and topping you may add one slightly beaten egg to the mix at this point and blend it in with a mixer. I prefer to leave the egg out because I like a crispier, more cookie-like crust and topping.
5. Now you can stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips into the crust and topping mixture. You can also add nuts too. I've used almonds with this recipe in the past and it turned out really good. My family and I just aren't real big fans of nuts so I leave them out.
6. Get out a smaller bowl and set aside 1 1/2 cups of the crumb and topping mixture in the other bowl. This will be the crumb topping.
7. Now, you can go ahead and make your crust. Press the crust mixture onto the bottom of your baking dish and make sure you form some of the crust to cover about 1/2 in of the sides of the pan, as well.
8. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes. You'll want to take it out of the oven when it's starting to brown.
9. Immediately pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crust while it's still really hot. Top the sweetened condensed milk with the toffee bits.
10. Top that with the remaining crumb mixture and 1 cup of chocolate chips.
11. Bake it for 20-25 minutes or until really bubbly. Cut into bars and enjoy.
Here's the recipe:
Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie Bars
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
2 cups chocolate chips, divided (I use Hershey's)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 cups English toffee bits (I use Heath's)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 in. baking dish. Combine flour and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. ( If you would like a cake-like crust, add egg and blend well with a mixer). Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot crust. Top with toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and remaining cup of chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely and cut into bars.
Hope you liked this recipe! Bye, for now!
Not a lot of new titles being added this week, but the 1st of the month is coming up and that always means new titles will be added. Also, on May 1st they are going to be taking away a bunch of titles, but we'll get to that later. I wanted to remind everyone that these lists I put up are not all-inclusive. I'm not listing every single title that may be added during this time period, but I do make it a point to tell you about the more notable movies and shows that will be added.
Here's the list for this week:
Available Friday, April 25th
Sklar Brothers: What Are We Talking About (2014)
New comedy special from the Sklar Brothers. You may recognize them from Chelsea Lately or @midnight.
Available Saturday, April 26th
Bullet (2014)
Starring Danny Trejo, Jonathan Banks, Julia Dietze
Danny Trejo stars as a renegade cop who will stop at nothing to rescue his grandson and the governor's daughter from kidnappers.
Available Sunday, April 27th
How It's Made Season 13
This series shows how everyday items are made.
Available Tuesday, April 29th
Freedomland (2006)
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Edie Falco
A single mother claims that her infant son was murdered by a black man. An African American police detective and a white journalist join forces to find out the truth about this case.
The Selfish Giant (2013)
Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Glider, Lorraine Ashbourne
Two teenage boys team up to steal copper wiring to sell for cash. Trouble starts within their friendship when the scrap dealer begins to show favoritism towards one of the boys.
Available Wednesday, April 30th
Diana (2013)
Starring Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews, Cas Anvar, Douglas Hodge
This film chronicles the last two years of the life of Princess Diana.
Now, as a bonus, here are some of the titles that are set to expire on Thursday, May 1st:
Bull Durham (1988)
Child's Play 2: Chucky's Back (1992)
Death Wish 2 (1982)
Into the Wild (2007)
Leap of Faith (1992)
Messenger of Death (1988)
Shriek If You Know What I Did Friday the 13th (2000)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
Super Capers (2008)
Taratabong: The World of the Meloditties (2009)
Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
All of the TEDTalks episodes
Bye, for now. Check in next week to find out what's new.
Yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales, estate sales..whatever you want to call them they can be a great place to find a good deal or get rid of your own junk.
Here's some tips on how to make the most out of your garage sailing trip and how to have a successful garage sale of your own.
Going to Garage Sales
I've been going to garage sales for as long as I can remember. When my parents and I would go on weekend outings, we would stop at every garage sale we came across. Since becoming a mom, I have carried on the garage sailing tradition, as often as I can. For a few years, I staked out the local garage sales every weekend for items to sell on Ebay and Amazon for extra cash, with some success. Nowadays, I try to go to garage sales as often as I can, mostly to look for kids' clothes or stuff I need for around the house. I have learned a few things in my many years of going to garage sales that I'd like to share with you.
Try to find garage sales that are close to where you live or find as many garage sales in one area as you can. I used to go to three different cities on my garage sailing trips, and I would do this about 2-3 times a week. This was when I was selling stuff online. In the end, it's just not worth all the gas money it takes to cover that much ground. Even though it's tempting to branch out to try and find an incredible bargain, stay close to home. If you stay close to home, then try to find neighborhood sales or church rummage sales going on in your area. Church rummage sales are the best because they have a large amount of items from most of the members of their congregation all in one place. No walking from house to house or maneuvering through the traffic of a neighborhood sale.
Get up early. The old saying, "The early bird catches the worm" is especially true of garage sales. The earlier you get out, the more stuff will be at the sales and the stuff that is there will be of better quality. After about 10:30 am, most garage sales are pretty thoroughly picked through. If you're looking for anything besides clothes, you'll probably be out of luck if you wait until after that time. On the other hand, if you wait to go to the sales until about 2 pm in the afternoon, you may be able to get items for a reduced price because people are closing up and don't want to pack all their stuff back into the garage. Some people will give stuff away for free, or nearly free. One of my best friends and I had a garage sale a few years ago. My friend was moving and trying to get rid of extra stuff she didn't want to move. As we were closing the sale in the afternoon, a lady came by and made a deal with my friend to buy all the stuff she had left for $10. That lady's truck bed was filled with all my friend's unwanted stuff when she left and she only paid $10 for it all.
Don't be afraid to ask questions or haggle. The later in the day it is the better success you will find with haggling because, by then, people are really wanting to get rid of their stuff. Don't be unreasonable about it. No one wants to feel like some one's trying to get one over on them. Also, don't be afraid to ask the people that are having the sale any questions that you may have about any of their items. Some people don't price their items at all which, I feel, discourages people from buying (I know it has that effect on me). Just because there's no price on it, don't assume that it's too expensive. It never hurts to ask and you may be pleasantly surprised by the answer. Always ask if you can test out electronics and appliances. You want to make sure you know something works before you buy it because there's really no return policy at a garage sale.
Be sure to have lots of small bills and change with you. Even though they should, sometimes people won't have enough change on hand to break big bills. Be prepared with some quarters, dimes and nickles. Having $20 worth of $1 bills is always a good idea.
Having Your Own Garage Sale
My family and I try to have an annual garage sale to de-clutter in the Spring. The first garage sale I ever had was with my best friend that I mentioned before at her house. We had no idea what we were doing and hardly got any business. A few years ago, before my daughter was born, my family and friends got together and we had a huge charity garage sale to raise money for our hospital and travel expenses for her surgery. It was very successful and we raised almost $1700 in two days. Here's some do's and don't's of having a garage sale that I've learned through the years.
Location, location, location. It's true of real estate and it's true of garage sales. If you live very far out of town, you won't get many people to show up at your sale. My friend and I learned that with our first sale. No one came to our sale because she lived about four miles outside of town. Not too far, but far enough to make a huge difference in the amount of customers we saw. If you do live outside of town, find a friend that lives in town to team up with and have a sale at their house. Even though you have to haul all your stuff to their house you'll have a better chance of getting rid of it and making more money in town.
Put up signs. I used to use Craigslist to plan my garage sailing trips. I don't use it anymore because I've had too many bad experiences involving me going far out of my way chasing down a garage sale that wasn't happening because someone put a well-intentioned ad on Craigslist and then just didn't end up having the sale for one reason or another. I don't go to a sale unless I see a sign for it, anymore. You probably won't have many people come to yours if you don't put up signs, either. Make sure to put out your signs starting at a reasonable distance away from your sale. Find the busiest intersection nearby and start from there. Make sure to put out enough signs to guide people in without any confusion. Put a sign at every intersection, sharp corner, stop sign, etc. Also, make sure that you're signs are colorful and the writing is bold enough to be read from a distance. Place clearly drawn arrows on your signs and include the dates and time of the sale. Sometimes, people do not pick up their old signs , so it helps to be able to distinguish the old signs from the new. Which brings me to my next point, pick up your signs after the sale is over!
Have an organized set up. Get as many tables as you can round up so you can display your items without people having to stoop over to look at them. Hang up as many of the clothes as you possibly can. Try to limit the amount of stuff you have out on the ground or in boxes. People may not have time to go through a box or a pile of stuff on a blanket on the ground. Your stuff just looks more appealing if it's organized. Put similar items together. Keep pricier, smaller items close to you to prevent theft. Remember to start out with lots of change. I'm talking coins and plenty of small bills. Mark all of your items with a price tag, unless you constantly want to be asked how much things cost all day long. If you have lots of smaller items that you can group into similar groups, such as books or toys, it's okay to just put out a sign to let customers know that all the books are the same, set price. This saves you the trouble of having to spend hours marking prices on each little thing. It helps to have grocery bags around for people buying multiple items, as well.
Don't charge too much and keep track of your earnings. If you try to get away with charging too much for your items at a garage sale you won't make any money. The key is to not charge too much or too little. If you want to have a garage sale but are unsure of how to price things, try checking out a few sales yourself to see what others are charging. There is a sort of unspoken etiquette about yard sale pricing that all veterans of garage sailing are familiar with. These people are your core customers and you don't want to run them off by charging new prices for used items. While you're sale is going on, keep track of your earnings. This way at the end of the day, you will know how much money is from the change you started out with and how much is from sales.
Hope you enjoyed these tips and you're ready to hit the garage sales this year!
Bye, for now!
These are my daughter's absolute favorite thing (besides chocolate). I always make them when I make ham and beans for dinner. They are so much softer and fluffier than regular cornbread, and they're buttery enough on their own without having to break out the butter knife. This recipe makes 12 big cornbread muffins.
Here's how to make these cornbread muffins:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a regular 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a second medium bowl, whisk the eggs until the yolks and whites are well combined. This mixture will turn out to be pretty thick.
4. Then, add melted butter in three equal additions, whisking after each addition. Your mixture should look like this after step 4:
5. Add sour cream and milk to the egg mixture. You do this in two separate groupings of equal amounts of each ingredient. Add 6 Tablespoons of sour cream and 1/4 cup of milk and whisk to combine. Then, repeat this step all over again. After doing this step, your mixture should look like this:
6. Finally, add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined and there are no dry parts. You need the mixture to be thick and pasty.
7. Fill your muffin cups. Fill each cup until it is nearly full.
8. Bake for about 15-18 minutes. Test to see if they're done with a toothpick. They should be nice and golden colored.
Now, here's the recipe:
Cornbread Muffins
2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
8 Tbsps. butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup sour cream, divided
1/2 cup milk, divided
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs in a second medium bowl, until well combined, about 20 seconds. Add sugar to eggs and whisk vigorously until thick and homogeneous, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add 6 Tbsp. sour cream and 1/4 cup of milk and whisk to combine, then whisk in remaining 6 Tbsp. sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup milk until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until the batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Try this out and let me know what you think! Bye, for now!
