Make Your Own Iced Tea

By request:

It's so easy to make iced tea that I can't see spending money on another appliance just to do that, or even worse, buying it already made. People have made iced tea for years (probably centuries) without the aid of a plug in contraption that eats electricity and counter space.

Anyway, here's how, and it's a lot easier and faster to do than it is to tell about it.


First, if you can find it, buy loose leaf tea. It's much better for iced tea. It has a fuller flavor, and it keeps better in the refrigerator.


You'll need a small pan to boil water, a strainer of some kind - cheese cloth or a handled fine mesh strainer will work. You'll also need some tea, sugar if you like it sweet, water, a jar or glass pitcher and a long handled spoon.


Put a cup or so of water on to boil and meanwhile get your jar ready. If you're going to use sugar, put it in the jar now. For sweet tea, southern style, use about a cup of sugar for a gallon of tea, but adjust it to your own taste.


Put some cold water into this, a couple of cup's worth, and mix the sugar into it. Use the cold water even if you don't use sugar, to keep the hot water from cracking the jar.


When the water boils, remove the pan from the stove. For each quart of tea, add a scant tablespoon of looseleaf tea (four per gallon). Cover the pan and let the tea steep for 10 - 15 minutes.


Strain the tea into the jar or pitcher, add cold water to fill, and stir.


This is the best and most frugal tea you'll ever drink.

Frugal summer work

Summer is not my favorite season, although I enjoy the fresh vegetables and fruits that it offers. That means it's time to can and dehydrate and freeze and put up what we can for those cold days ahead. I bought a LOT of canning jars from my sister and brother in law last year at a very frugal price, so I won't worry about that.

There are canning lids and rings left from last year and the little dehydrator is still working. I will use the car again this year to dehydrate, too, but I still want a solar dehydrator. One of these days...

Anyway, there are gaps and empty spots in my pantry now, just waiting to be filled with wonderful and brightly colored food. It's satisfying to take the filled jars from the canner and line them up to cool. It makes me feel snug and frugal when they're all stored in the pantry. It makes me ready for winter when it's all done.

Isn't that the way life is supposed to be? I think so.

Christmas in July

Have you thought about Christmas yet? It's coming, you know. (And as fast as time is going, it will be here day after tomorrow!)

Christmas is usually a big expense, so it's wise to prepare for it ahead of time. Either save money each month or payday so you have enough to spend on gifts, or start buying gifts now, as you can find deals for them.

On the Dollar Stretcher forum, there's a thread about the good deals people have found and how they are putting them away for Christmas: Early Christmas Shopping

Another way to gather gifts for Christmas or any other occasion, is to stalk the thrift stores and garage sales for collectibles that the giftee would like. Antiques are found there at times, too. Of course, not everyone is into antiques and/or collectibles, but if you have someone on your gift list who is, now is the time to find the perfect gift.

For those who aren't into that sort of thing, retail shopping can be done very frugally since you have the time to wait and watch for the best deals possible. One place to keep an eye on is a site called Sustoo that keeps you up to date on all things Amazon - at least the greatest sales and mark downs. Amazon has almost everything, so if you shop online, it's worth bookmarking this site and checking it often.

Then there's eBay. You can get some really good deals there, but you can get burned, too. If you buy from them, make sure the seller has a good record and check the retail price. You don't want to pay more than it would cost you down at the local store.

If you craft, don't wait another minute! Get started on those stocking stuffers and other gifts.

It may be sticky hot out there right now, but Christmas is just around the corner. Really. :)

Eat well; eat cheap

I once salvaged a bowl of liquid left after we'd eaten the asparagus at a holiday dinner. My daughter-in-law gave me one of those looks, but I kept it anyway. It makes a rich, delicious and frugal cream soup as does the liquid from other things like potatoes and broccoli.

Another example: I made "half-baked" potatoes - a family "recipe" in which baking potatoes are sliced in two lengthwise, the put face down in a little oil and baked. They're really good, but I digress. ;) Anyway, there were three halves left after dinner. They don't reheat well, like fried potaotes, so I pulled the skin off of them and trimmed off the browned part, grated them, added some salt, pepper and a beaten egg and made very frugal hash brown patties from them. Good eating!

A tablespoon of corn or green beans or peas or whatever... when that's all that's left over, it doesn't seem worth doing anything with. Hold it, though... I don't throw it out. I keep a pint size container in the door of my refrigerator freezer and add the little bits and dollops as they're available. By the time the container is full, I have a good assortment of vegetables for soup or stew - for free. Since I don't eat much soup or stew during hot weather, it gives me a chance to stockpile a little!

Besides things like these, don't throw out radish greens if they're fresh. They're a good cooked green. Salvage large broccoli and cauliflower stems, peel them and eat in a salad or cook as a vegetable.

Got a little leftover rice? Or some chopped raw onions or celery or carrots? How about some leftover hot cereal? Make a frugal meatloaf with it. Add it to ground meat, add seasonings, an egg or two and top with tomato sauce.  

The most frugal way to eat is to not throw out anything, but the best way to eat is when you become creative with food.

Dehydated vegetables for Christmas

So call me nuts. I listen to Christmas music at odd times all year long. When it gets hot outside, I turn on the air conditioner and make Christmas ornaments. When the garden is doing well and summer produce is abundant... I think of Christmas! As in soup mixes (for gifts, of course!)

It's very inexpensive to dehydrate a variety of summer vegetables if you grow them yourself or can buy them inexpensively. I've dehydrated squash and onions on trays in the car when it's in the sun. Any tray with a net or screen bottom can be used anywhere it gets very warm and can be protected from insects and birds. A light cloth will do it if you can clip it to the edges of a tray and keep the tray off the ground where insects will find it.

I wrote a article about dehydrating without electricity that may interest you:
Simple Dehydrators and Other Ways to Dry Food

When you have a good variety of dehydrated vegetables on hand, take a cup or two of each kind or mix them according to your preferences. When you have all the vegetables mixed well, distribute them in individual containers or plastic bags. Remember that dehydrated vegetables are about 1/8 to 1/2 of their original volume, depending on the vegetable, so a cup of dehydrated food will be anywhere from 2 to 8 cups once they're rehydrated.

If you have an abundance of zucchini or yellow squash, powder them in your blender or food mill after they're dehydrated. They make great thickener for the soup mix. Just add it to the individual packages.

Note: Try it before you package up a lot. Make sure you like the combination of vegetables, and make adjustments to that and add spices or other flavorings.

If you're like I am, you'll want to find pretty packaging and maybe tie them with Christmas ribbon. But if you're not thinking that much of Christmas, just think of how good a vegetable soup from the garden will taste when the snow flies.

How does your wild garden grow?

This is proving to be an interesting year! Already, some of the "weeds" in my back yard are going to seed. Lambsquarter and amaranth will start over if I allow the seeds to fall (IF we don't have an early fall), and purslane is edible even after it's gone to seed, but it's still disturbing. Do they know something we don't?


The dandelions are doing very well this year under the plum tree. I never have it mowed back there so that I can dig the roots for dandelion coffee. This year I intend to eat some of the roots as vegetables. I haven't done that yet because I wanted enough to make coffee.

It looks like I'll have enough to do both this year!

Semi-wild: Jerusalem artichokes. If you've never tried this, and you have a little spot you can give them, do it. They're so good in the fall and winter when other things aren't so fresh or crispy and they do spread on their own. I have a good stand of them and I know there were areas that I dug all of them out (I thought, anyway!).

I put some peelings from them in the compost and guess what's growing there now? Yep... "almost" weeds. :)

Smart Tips to Shop Frugally

Guest post by Jack Reed

The need for being innovative and coming up with new ideas to save your hard earned cash has hit an all time high today. With a large number of Americans resorting to debt settlement to settle their debt woes, many are realizing the importance of frugal living and taking advantage of the money-saving opportunities in life. Spending less than you earn helps you to meet all your financial goals and what’s more, it keeps you away from debts!

Perhaps the greatest urge to spend money develops when one goes for shopping. With credit cards in wide use today, the impulse to splurge money while shopping is on the rise. Therefore, keeping some smart tips in mind while you go out to shop can help you save your hard earned dollars. Keep the following points in mind the next time you step out to shop:

1)Plan: This is very important. Decide what you really need to buy. Often, you go to a departmental store and end up purchasing things that you do not really require. Say you just go for an outing to a mall with your friends where a $200 jean strikes your fancy and you end up buying it. Thus chalking out a plan of what you really need to buy can save you a lot of money.

2)Control impulse purchases: Since impulse purchases can cause you to spend much, give time to yourself. You might come across an item which you ‘think’ you need. The best way then is to give time to yourself. Often after a day or two, you give up the idea of buying that item. It means you never really required it, thus this can be a good way to control your unnecessary expenses.

3)Make use of coupons: Coupon inserts can be found in most Sunday newspapers. Start collecting coupons; it really begins to pay off after a month or so. At the end of one month, a couponer should be able to take advantage of several excellent deals at multiple stores every week.

4)Use secondhand items: Look out for thrift stores and consignment shops. You can save hundreds of dollars over the years by purchasing used items such as different kinds of furniture, books etc. from such stores.

5)Buying online: You can google and find out where in the local market you can find the products you are looking for. Local markets and online auction sites are a good source where you can get things at a cheaper rate. The internet is also an easy way to learn and compare prices before you decide to spend your money.

6)Avoid brands: You do not want to pay for the brand but for the item that you require. Why pay a high price for something when you can get the same thing at a much cheaper rate by going generic? Don’t be brand conscious. This can really help you get steep discounts in your purchases.

7)Stop keeping up with the Joneses: Many people try to purchase brands even if they cannot afford it. This provides them an ego boost. If your neighbor is well off financially, you might go buy something expensive to escape feeling inferior! You should get rid of this mindset right away. Finding ways to cut your expenses is a sign of financial wisdom and paves your path for a better tomorrow.

8)Do not carry credit cards: This is a complete no-no! Carrying credit cards while shopping can tempt you for impulse buys. Often, the feel of a credit card is as if it is not real money. That feeling makes it easy to spend too much, as the credit card company pays for your purchases.

It is unwise to consider frugal living as a financial handcuff. Frugal shopping is not about making sacrifices or feeling deprived. On the contrary, it is smart shopping! When you plan to weed out unnecessary expenditure, you develop a sense of financial discipline. So get geared up and start to paint a better financial picture of yourself!

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Jack Reed is a financial writer with Oak View Law Group. He offers advice to people on various debt related issues. He can be contacted at jackrd3[@]gmail(dot)com

Frugal cooking tips I thought everybody knew

But maybe they don't.

To get the most juice from a lemon, heat it first, then roll it on the counter with a little pressure from the palm of your hand. Cut it over a bowl because juice will squirt as soon as you make the first cut.

Make gravy from pan drippings to keep from wasting them. Add thickener in the form of flour, corn starch or arrowroot, then add liquid in the form of milk, water or potato water.

To add flour to a hot dish or pan, put it in a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Add enough cold water to cover, then shake hard. Don't use hot water as it will clump.

When a recipe calls for a cup of sugar, measure it out then take out a generous tablespoon and put it back. The recipe will be just as good and you'll save a little sugar for next time.

When a milk carton is empty, put a couple of tablespoons of water in it, shake it around and pour out the last of the milk. Milk clings to the sides of the carton and a quick rinse will let you use all of it.

Use a dish pan to wash dishes in, and another one to rinse in. It will save you a lot of water and dish soap and does a better job than washing under a running stream of water.

Even if you have an ice maker in your refrigerator, keep a couple of ice cube trays on hand. Use them to freeze concentrated juice, or small amounts of sauces or gravies, or leftover juice, fruit drinks or soft drinks for a "popsicle" treat. Put a saved popsicle stick or short straw in it to use for a handle.

By way of measurement, a cube frozen in a regular ice cube tray is about two tablespoons.

If your garbage disposal smells foul, a dollop of vinegar of any kind will remedy that. More frugal: use leftover pickle "juice." It's diluted vinegar with spices.

Use that leftover pickle liquid to pickle your own cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, onions or whatever vegetables you have on hand, especially if they're getting old. Commercial pickle liquid can be used one more time before it loses it's strength, but no more. Your own homemade varies, so taste it to be sure it's acidic enough first.

That's enough for now, but by no means all the frugal kitchen tips there are. Share yours!

Keeping the house cool

How's your weather? Getting hot? It's heading that way here! I hate to run the air conditioner, so I find ways to avoid it as long as possible. Unless we're having a really hot spell, I can wait until afternoon to turn it on. That's because the back of the house has high windows that don't let in direct sunshine in the summer and because there is a very large evergreen tree at the southeast corner that shades most of the house until the sun gets into the western portion.

Using just those two things can make a difference in the temperature of a home. Did you know that there can be as much as 20 degrees difference in the shade of a tree and in the sun? That's a lot! If you could drop the inside temperature from 90 to 70,(or from 100 to 80) you could do without an air conditioner altogether.

There is a tree - well, two trees - growing on the west side of the house where the hot sun shines in the afternoon, but they're not nearly as big or as thick as the one in back. It will be awhile before they'll do serious shading, so I am careful to keep the curtains closed against the sun and to avoid any dark colored furnishings where they could absorb the heat.

Other ideas I've used:

Fans for air circulation. Just air moving will make it seem cooler.
Stay hydrated. Water, water, water. Avoid alcohol.
Open the house at night and close it tight during the hot hours of the day. I watch the thermometer to know when to open and close the house.
Eat light foods. Avoid heavy meats and sauces and stick with salads and other light foods.
Daydream. Think about cool places or times.

I use many other ways to stay cool as long as I can. That keeps money in my pocket just a little bit longer!

Do you rent?

If you do, have you ever negotiated for a lower price?

Chris Thorman, who blogs about rental property software asked me to link to his (very interesting) article titled How To Negotiate Your Rent in 2010 | A 10-Step Guide - well he asked me to link to the poll on that page because he wants to get a lot of responses to it!

Whether you have or haven't, take the time to click an answer on the poll. And if you do rent and you haven't negotiated for the price, read his article carefully. It has some very good information.