Hello , Hi there and welcome to the next edition of the HBHW newsletter. We've had a rather uneventful week so far aside from a crazy run to 3 different grocery stores to find some frozen pie crusts for my husband's sweet potato pie. Our family prefers it to the more traditional pumpkin pie. In the end it would have been easier to just make the crust from
scratch.
(It's Thanksgiving weekend here in the US which is celebrated with a big family meal that usually includes a roasted turkey along with
other traditional food and of course lots of pie).
Thankfully most of my shopping was done well ahead of time and there was no need to brave the stores today. Instead I'm snuggled up on the couch, listening to the constant rain and writing to you. I love being able to share some of our own favorite holiday traditions with you and hearing about yours. This week, I want to share one last Thanksgiving recipe with
you. It's a new family favorite and from my new cookbook " A Fresh Take On Thanksgiving". I hope you enjoy it.
I want to take a moment to thank you for being part of my online family. The Hillbilly Housewife website and the newsletter wouldn't
be the same without you - the reader. I can't tell you how much it means to have you share your own recipes and tips, try mine and just be part of this wonderful online community. Thank you for your continued support and interest. I wouldn't be able to do what I love without you.
I hope you and your loved one have a wonderful Thanksgiving and if you're not in the US, I hope you have a great rest of the week and a
restful weekend. Susanne P.S. Here's a quick reminder of the Living On A Dime Book Sale I emailed you about
yesterday.
"Get it in time for
Christmas" Sale! Living On A Dime Print Books Up to 60% off!
Whether you need to cut your grocery budget, save money around the house or just make delicious home cooked meals, Living On A Dime print books can help you get organized and
make your life easier! The Dining On A Dime Cookbook is a treasure trove of recipes and tips designed to make your life easier by guiding you through cooking quick and easy meals at home!
"I really can't say enough good things about the Dining On A Dime Cookbook!"
"I gave a copy to my mom and I have one. It's so good I'm thinking of getting one as a gift for my sister. It is my "go-to" cookbook when I'm wondering how to make something from
scratch!" -Tracy
Get this and other great deals along with $121.42 in free bonuses now through Thursday, December 4th! Go check out Living On A Dime's Christmas Sale at
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"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Featured Recipe of the Week |
Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Bacon
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts • 2 tablespoons olive oil • Kosher salt and pepper • 4 slices of bacon
Preheat your oven to 400F.
Clean and trim your Brussels sprouts. Cut larger sprouts in half if needed. In a large bowl,
toss the sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out on a large baking sheet.
Dice the uncooked bacon and sprinkle it over your sprouts.
Bake the sprouts for 30 minutes or until they are tender and start to brown just a bit around the edges.
A Few Related Recipes
You're welcome to share the recipe on Pinterest, Facebook etc. I'm also sharing a lot of recipes on the HBHW Facebook page. Click on through to check it out. As always, likes, comments and shares are much appreciated. :)
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The Hillbilly Housewife's Thanksgiving Planner
Don’t run around like a chicken (or should that be turkey?) with its head cut off on Thanksgiving morning. The Hillbilly Housewife's Thanksgiving Planner will help you plan ahead and stay on top of things so you can actually enjoy Thanksgiving with your family
& friends.
If you take a quick minute to read the first chapter you'll realize how easy your Thanksgiving celebration will be. There are plenty of tips and ideas to make sure this year’s feast doesn't stretch your budget to the breaking point, too.
There are also 2 bonuses tucked inside: A printable planner & checklist and all of the recipes in a printable pdf file. Order the Book on Amazon
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Wouldn't it be great to have access to a magazine, that’s packed full of hands-on advice, delicious recipes for things your family will actually eat and plenty of support from moms and homemakers just like you?
http://www.HomemakersHutch.com It's a digital magazine we are putting together each month full of fun recipes, crafts and helpful tips and ideas. The November issue is packed full of over 50 pages of tips, ideas, recipes and articles around fall and
Thanksgiving. Here's what's you'll find in
the November issue:
- Thanksgiving: Getting The Family Together
- Gratitude and Happiness – A Thanksgiving Message
- Stop Hurrying and Start Living
- How To Oven Dry Fresh Cranberries
- How To Thaw A Turkey
- Best And Cheapest Way To Clean Old Silver
- Thanksgiving Day Stress Relievers for Busy Families
- Frugal Thanksgiving
Decorations
- Melk, The Christmas Monkey
- Get Your Christmas Shopping Done Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes & More
- Thanksgiving Leftovers – Tasty Ways To Use It All Up
- Smoothie Of The Month
- Thanksgiving Crafts to Keep the Kids Busy
- Holiday Travel – Tips For Roadtripping With Kids -Saving Mom’s Sanity ;-)
- Homemade Green “Soft Scrub”
- Colonial Women: Founding Mothers of
Sustainability
- Printables
- A Sneak Peek into our December Issue
Ready to give it a try? Subscribe to Homemaker's Hutch for $5 a month. |
We're having a lot of fun talking about all things frugal and homemaking on Facebook. Join in the discussion at the Hillbilly Housewife Facebook page.
Be sure to like the page so you don't miss a thing. Here's just one of this week's topics. |
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How To Make Candy On A Dime
I love baking and making sweet treats, especially around the holidays. They make great inexpensive gifts and candy making is actually a lot of fun. If you haven’t tried it, here are some great frugal tips from my friends Tawra and Jill at LivingonaDime.com. The tips can also be found (along with all sorts of other frugal tips and recipes) in their Dining On A Dime cookbook.
Candy Tips
Use the leftover
syrup from the candied orange peels on your pancakes, waffles or French toast for a gourmet taste. If you over cook chocolate, it becomes dull looking. To save it, put the pan on low heat and beat in 1 teaspoon shortening or oil at a time until you have restored the shiny, smooth consistency.
When you are melting chocolate, make sure that all utensils are completely dry. Even a little bit of water will make chocolate grainy and lumpy. Buy fortune
cookies in large bags from Chinese restaurants. They cost about five cents each when purchased in bulk. They also make great treats for lunch boxes.
When making candies like peanut brittle or truffles, you can set them outside on the patio table to cool if you’ve run out of room in the refrigerator. Remember, for most of the country there are no bugs this time of year!
Save chocolate bunnies and chocolates from Halloween to use for making
Christmas candy or buy it on clearance after Halloween.
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Candy cooking tests to use if you don’t have a candy thermometer: When placed in a cold cup of water, candy will:
- Soft Ball 234°-240°
form a
soft ball that can be flattened
- Firm Ball 242°-248°
form a firm ball that holds its shape until pressed
- Hard Ball 250°-268°
form a ball that is pliable and holds its shape
- Soft Crack 270°-290°
separates into hard but not brittle threads
- Hard
Crack 300°-310°
cracks easily
- Caramel 320°-350°
mixture coats metal spoon and forms light caramel colored mass when poured onto a plate
For High Altitude? lower candy temperature 2° for each 1,000 feet of elevation.
Featured Article of the Week |
25 Easy Candy Recipes - Perfect For The Holidays
One of my favorite things about the Holiday season is all the yummy sweet treats. There are special cookies, cakes and desserts we tend to only make this time of the year. Today I’d like to share 25 Christmas Candy recipes with you from the Dining on a Dime
cookbook.
Homemade Peanut Brittle Recipe
- 3/4 cup corn syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 cups raw peanuts
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
Grease 2 jelly roll pans. In a saucepan, add corn syrup, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and cook to a hard ball stage, 260 degrees. Add peanuts and cook to hard crack at 290 degrees. Add baking soda and salt.
Stir well. Pour into pans and spread thin. Cool quickly. I usually make this for Christmas and I don’t have room left in my refrigerator so I just set it outside in the snow for a few minutes until it has cooled. Makes 3-4 dozen pieces.
Homemade Peppermint Patties
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 egg white (meringue powder may be substituted)
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 4 small lids peppermint flavoring
(try 1/2-1 tsp. then add more to taste if you need to)
- 1 pkg. (12 oz.) almond bark OR chocolate melting wafers
Mix the powdered sugar, egg white or meringue, butter and peppermint flavoring. Make into small balls about the size of a quarter and then flatten on a cookie sheet. Put in the freezer. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. When the chocolate is melted, take the mints out of the freezer. Put a toothpick through the center of a mint and dip into
the chocolate. If the mints on the cookie sheet begin to soften and thaw, refreeze because they are easier to dip when they are frozen. Put the dipped mints back on the cookie sheet and let the chocolate harden in the freezer. Wrap each mint in a piece of 5×5 inch foil. Makes twenty 2-inch mints.
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp.
vanilla
- 1 pkg. (12 oz.) chocolate candy wafers or almond bark
Cream the butter. Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe dish and melt. Microwave until melted, stirring frequently. Pour a small amount of melted chocolate in the bottom of paper holders. Place the filling inside and then pour more chocolate on top until the filling is covered. Let the chocolate harden before serving. Makes 2
dozen.
*When this homemade peanut butter cups recipe was originally written, you couldn’t buy dipping chocolate or the wafers. If you prefer, you can use something like that in place of the chocolate chips and paraffin. Read the rest of the article, comment, share and bookmark. |
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Please don't forget to "Pin" these articles and posts when you head to the Hillbilly Housewife website to read more. It helps get the word out about the site and the newsletter. Thank you! |
A Little Something Inspirational...
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That's it from me for this week. I'm getting ready to bake the biscuits and corn bread that make up the Myers' family dressing. I love getting together with family and sharing great food.
My favorite part though is getting up early on Thanksgiving morning, getting the turkey roasting and then sitting quietly with a cup of coffee and thinking about all the
people and things I am grateful for.
I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if you don't celebrate, take a minute to think about what you're grateful for at
some point this weekend.
I'll be back in a few days with some tips and recipes for using up all those turkey day
leftovers.
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