Thursday, November 3, 2011

Tasty Thursday - Pumpkin Puree

Now that Halloween is over, what do you do with those pumpkins that have made such a wonderful decoration? Make your own pumpkin puree in preparation for all those tasty Thanksgiving treats!


I had Peter paint one of our pumpkins (we used a tempera paint that easily comes off with water) that we displayed for Halloween, but I had future plans for this multicolored creation!

After scrubbing the pumpkin clean, I only had a pumpkin puree on my mind!


Cut the pumpkin open, clean out the seeds, and cut into 8 pieces. Place the pieces skin side up in a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.



Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. The skins will turn a beautiful red and a fork should easily go through each piece. Set aside and let cool.


Remove the skins, either with your hands or a knife.


Place in a food processor and puree.


To thicken, create a straining system with cheese cloth to remove some of the liquid.


Store in containers and freeze.


Note: I had a 5 pound pumpkin and made 2 pints of puree.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Whatever Wednesday - Our Halloween in Pictures

My little monkey and his unhappy banana.
Total cost to make: $8.50!
Yes, I put my baby in a pumpkin.

"Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a sister and couldn't keep her..."
We carved our big pumpkin and watched it glow!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Day 40, BIG changes, and Homemade Lip Balm

We made it!! Today is day 40 of our 40 Day Challenge! What have we learned and gained from this adventure? I thought we lived a very frugal life but we have discovered that we can be even more frugal with little work! We slowly ate our way through a freezer full of meats that needed to be rotated out, I baked a lot, had to get creative when we ran out of things and when I didn't have wrapping paper for a birthday party, sewed a Halloween costume, and we had fun the entire time! Hubby and I were discussing the past 40 days and we've decided that we will not be going back to the old way. We won't be following our rules as closely as we did, but we saved a lot more money than we ever thought we could!

During the past 40 days I had plenty of time to reflect on my blog. Yep, my blog. My life requires structure and my blog just hasn't had it (hence the random posts that are sometimes consistent and other times nonexistent). So, I have created structure! I will now have themes to everyday to help bring about ideas for myself and consistency to you, my readers.


The BIG reveal
  • Mondays: Munchies Monday - All things snack food. Some healthy, some not, but ALL delicious!
  • Tuesdays: Thrifty Tuesday - Ways to save money! Do-it-yourself projects, bargain ideas, and anything money!
  • Wednesdays: Whatever Wednesday - Who knows where this could go! Fun pictures, cute things my kids say/do, random topics that don't fit anywhere else. The possibilities are endless!
  • Thursdays: Tasty Thursday - All things tasty! Recipes for dinner, breakfast, dessert, YUM!
  • Fridays: Fun Time Friday - Want some fun ideas for the kids? See what kinds of crazy projects we're up to around here!

It all looks and seems overwhelming, but really, this is my life and my blog is a reflection of my life. Now to just snap pictures along the way!


In honor of our first Thrifty Tuesday, I thought I would share my homemade lip balm recipe. I've been making this for a few years but have finally tweaked the recipe enough and have found the perfect ratios!

Melt beeswax and olive oil in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time at half power.

Using a needle, puncture a hole in the vitamin E capsules and drain into beeswax mixture. Stir.

Fill containers. I have seen many different containers at our local natural food store and online. Ours have now been reused multiple times.

Let cool and then cap.
These would make great stocking stuffers!!

Recipe:
1 oz Beeswax (found in the candle section of your local craft store)
2 Tbls Olive Oil
3-4 Vitamin E capsules
  • Melt beeswax and olive oil in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time at half power.
  • Puncture a hole in vitamin E capsules and drain into beeswax mixture. Stir.
  • Fill containers.
  • Let cool and then cap.
  • Makes approx. 10 tubes of lip balm.
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