My adventures in the kitchen last week once again highlighted why it can be frustrating to rely too much on recipes that use a particular size or brand of a pre-packaged convenience item at the grocery store.  As the years go by, these products may be discontinued or reintroduced inRead More

This week when I turned to my favorite craft column in our Sunday newspaper, I saw a headline that I think all of us DIY crafty types need to hear once in awhile.  It said “Dear Crafters, it’s OK to not make everything this Halloween”.  She went on to sayRead More

One of the homemade recipes that I’ve shared here that I always keep on hand in my pantry is my homemade version of Bisquick.  It’s a simple and frugal mixture of flour, baking powder, salt and shortening.  Because I always have a canister of my homemade Bisquick in my pantry,Read More

  I like having bananas around the house.  Until I don’t.  Bananas sure have a way of turning ripe, brown, and spotty when you’re not paying attention.  And then what? I always have good intentions.  I’ll bake some bread! I’ll make a smoothie!  I’ll freeze them! But usually I don’t.Read More

When a recipe calls for a can of evaporated milk, did you know there’s a quick and easy substitute you can use instead?  This little trick will let you make a homemade version of evaporated milk and it’s easy on the budget too! What Is Evaporated Milk? Evaporated milk isRead More

  This recipe is an oldie but a goodie and has been a staple in my recipe box for years.   When I want a homemade sweet treat, this recipe is a quick and easy one to fall back on that doesn’t take much effort because you can breeze through itRead More

If at first you don’t succeed – try, try, again. And that’s exactly what a reader encouraged me to do after she read about my failed attempt to make your own sweetened condensed milk.  She advised that she’s had good success with one of the same recipes I experimented withRead More

  Now that we know how to make our own graham cracker pie crusts, we need something tasty to fill them up with, right? For summer time, this refreshing lime pie really hits the spot and stirs together super fast too for those hot days when we’re all feeling aRead More

  Sure, it can be convenient to buy the ready-made graham cracker pie crusts, but did you know it’s almost as quick and easy to Make Your Own graham cracker pie crust?  It’s really just a matter of crushing some graham crackers, adding a little sugar and melted butter, andRead More

Today I’m taking a little trip down memory lane. It all started a few weeks ago when I saw something on Pinterest about baking in tin cans instead of using ordinary pans.   I read a little further and smiled because it was as if they had discovered something brand new. Read More

  By now you’ve probably heard the news that Hostess announced it would shut down operations and go out of business. Yikes!  No More Twinkies!!  People are already going into a panic and buying bagfuls of Hostess snacks before it’s too late. But before you totally freak out  – rememberRead More

This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to make a homemade version of brown sugar by mixing together molasses and white sugar.  My first attempt, however, was a dismal failure and I called it my bizarre brown sugar.  But a couple of comments from readers inspired me to try againRead More

  Baking powder is one of those ingredients that can linger in your cupboard  for a long time.  Most recipes need only a teaspoon or two of baking powder and even if you do a fair amount of baking at your house, it can still take months to use itRead More