Readers' Tips

Ground Beef Stretcher

In addition to buying ground beef in bulk when it's on sale and precooking with spices, I also add cooked lentils up to one third of the ground beef at this point and freeze. This not only makes the ground beef stretch and cuts fat, but adds other vitamins and minerals as well as fibre. And my hubby doesn't even know it's in there!!!
Kathy C.

Cheaper 'Pump' Toothpaste

My kids always made a big mess with toothpaste in tubes, but I hated the price of the fancy pump type toothpastes. I got some liquid hand soap, used up the soap, cleaned out the pump container really well and squeezed our regular toothpaste into the pump. Because it is thicker than the hand soap, only a small blob comes out each time you pump it. That is more than enough to get their teeth clean and keeps them from wasting so much, and making such a mess. The pump is easy to refill with more cheap toothpaste when it gets low.
PJ

Grocery Savings

Those who want inexpensive meals should consider using ground chicken in ground meat recipes. Its fat content is only 15% and is about a third of the cost of lean ground beef. It has a much milder taste than turkey and is absolutely delicious in meatloaf, spaghetti sauce & tacos.

If you're interested, here's my favorite meatloaf recipe (even self-proclaimed meatloaf haters have reached for seconds & thirds on this one) Feeds 5-8

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2 lbs. ground chicken
2 eggs
1/3 C ketchup
20 crushed, unsalted top soda crackers
1/4 C milk
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Mix everything thoroughly & bake uncovered for one hour in a round 2 qt. casserole or large loaf pan. Can be microwaved if shaped into a ring with an inverted glass in the center to collect fat. (Note the texture of cooked ground chicken is slightly "softer" than low-fat ground beef and it cooks with a slightly pinker cast. With the ketchup in this recipe, it may appear to not be done, but if the juices run clear, it is.)
B.

Dry Bean Soup Mixes

A group of friends and I all got together last November to make up bean soup mix jars to give teachers, acquaintances and anyone for whom you need a homemade last-minute gift. Using the assembly line technique, we filled washed jars (any size that you want, we used 1/2 quart) with layers of different beans (consult a recipe book and follow the instructions for different bean recipes if you're afraid to experiment. We used great northern, black, pinto, lentils, and navy). Layer different shades and colors to give the most beautiful effect. Kids really enjoy scooping the beans and it's a good time to talk about measures, colors, and sizes.

In a small plastic bag place the spices that the bean soup recipe calls for (try pepper, garlic, marjoram, thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf). Place this in the top of the jar and seal it. Pass the jar down the line and have circles cut out of colorful remnant fabric to tie around the top of jar with raffia, ribbon, or even a rubber band. Preprint the recipe you have chosen (including instructions for presoaking the beans) and cut out using pinking shears about 1" x 1". Punch a hole in the recipe and tie the recipe onto the jar. It makes a beautiful gift.
Kris

Dry Soup Recipe

Dried Mix

• 1 (14 oz.) pkg dry green split peas
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg pearl barley
• 1 (14 oz.) pkg alphabet macaroni or other small pasta
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg lentils
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 4 cups dried minced onion

Combine all ingredients. Keep in airtight container. Store in cool place. Makes about 12 cups of mix.

The Soup

• 6 cups water
• 1 1/3 cup soup mix
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1-2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded
• 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (24 oz.) can vegetable juice (V-8)
• 1 lb. ground beef or leftover meat, cooked

Put water in large kettle. Add soup mix and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add carrots, celery, cabbage, tomato sauce, and veg. juice. Add cooked meat. Simmer 20 minutes, until vegetables are cooked. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
D.

Editor's note: more soup mixes and resources at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/981214a.cfm

Toddler Craft Ideas

There are some really fun ideas I've come up with or found over the years. I have a five-year-old. When you are sewing, try giving your toddler a piece of plastic canvas and a plastic needle. These are cheap, and with a threaded needle, she can "sew" on her card. As she gets older, you can draw dot-to-dots on canvas with fabric paints, using numbers or colors or anything that is age appropriate. You can draw paths to have the thread make a picture or just to make random designs with more than one color.

During crafts with clay or similar product, give your toddler Playdough. I never had any trouble with my toddler eating it. Show her the basic things she can make; our all time favorite is making "snakes." Even inexperienced hands can roll out long strings of Playdough, though at first they may be flat and "ugly." If your child ever comes up with something REALLY interesting, you CAN dry Playdough to keep the art project. If you are painting, with fabric paints or the like, give your child an old T-shirt and a marker. Make sure you use washable markers and put down newspaper or cardboard to work on. They LOVE drawing on clothes. Make sure ALL markers are put away after this project or they may decide to decorate their Christmas outfit!
Carol O.

More Craft Ideas

Macaroni necklaces, bracelets, anklets. Put straight macaroni in a jar, drop in a few drops of food coloring and shake gently until you get the desired color. You may need to add more food coloring and keep shaking. Make several different colors. Spread on newspaper or paper towels to dry. Put each color into an old butter tub or other plastic container with a lid. Again, provide child with shoestring or yarn with an end taped and let her/him make necklaces. This is also a good way to teach sorting and order after a while. In the beginning let him/her string whatever appeals; later you might suggest a pattern. Glue stick pictures/collages. You have to cut lots of shapes in different colors from construction paper or out of magazines or the Sunday funnies. Provide child with large piece of construction paper for background, a glue stick (you have to keep an eye on two-year-olds to be sure they don't either apply it as lipstick or eat it) and colored pieces of paper. Remember that at two, this is a gluing experience, not an artistic one.
Mary deJ.

Editor's note: more Toddler Crafts at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/981214b.cfm

From Coupons to Gifts

My uncle every year tells us all he wants a kiss or hug or something like that for Christmas ( you know something that's free!) So this year I decided to do him one better. I recently started shopping with coupons, and since you never know when a cleaner or cereal or anything will go on sale I tend to cut out almost all coupons. My uncle has a weakness for Rice Krispie Treats, so I decided to make him a care package of marshmallows and Rice Krispies. I really hadn't thought of putting anything else in the basket until I noticed the grocery had Suave products on sale. With my coupons I bought two shampoo products, one can of mousse and one deodorant for $0.45. I don't use suave but he does! So I started buying different types of items this way. I ended up with two baskets--one for him that had more than $20 worth of food, cleaners, and health and beauty products that I only paid $4.25 for! I also ended up with one for my grandma, who cleans houses for a living; she had mostly cleaning supplies in hers-- more than $30 worth purchased for only $7.35! I also got things for my sister-in-law who is a college student; she had junk food, shampoos, and snack size ziplocs-- about $18 worth for $4.80 I put her things in a $5 Rubbermaid storage bin in her favorite color; I figured she could use it in her dorm. Everyone else's went in a basket with a homemade ribbon!
Amanda

Editor's note: Please send your tips to tips@stretcher.com. If we use your tip or reply to 'Can You Help' in any of our publications we'll send you the next three issues of our print newsletter as a 'thank you'.

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