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A Coupon Queen Shares Her Bounty by Bobbie Jean Knealing Another great money-saving article from Bobbie, this week she shares some of her best tips for finding, organizing and using those coupons! * * * I run my house much like a business in that I always have the bottom line in mind. I utilize coupons as a way of decreasing the amount of money spent on groceries. About an hour or so a week couponing saves 30% or more off my grocery bill. Coupons aren't just for the grocery stores either. You can save money on many of the items you use on a daily basis using coupons and shopping at discount stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Big Lots, etc. I don't recall the last time I paid full price for any paper or cleaning products. Personal hygiene products such as feminine products, shampoo's, bath gels, shaving cream, and toothpaste can all be purchased on sale while using a coupon. Where to Find Them You will find coupons in newspaper supplements (usually on Sunday and Thursday), magazines, and mailings. I get envelopes and coupon booklets in the mail at least once a week. If there are products you are brand loyal to call the toll free number listed on the package and ask them to mail you coupons and to place your name and address on the mailing list. I often get coupons for free products when I do this. Check around at the grocery store you shop at. Mine has extra flyers, and a place where shoppers can drop off and pick up coupons. If I don't have a coupon for an item on my list I check to see if there are any in this pile. If the flyer has good coupons in it and you wish to purchase more, ask at the service desk for an extra copy of the flyer. I have never been turned down once. Get your friends, family members, and neighbors in on the savings. If you have coupons you won't use, you can trade for those that you will. Remember that scene in "Mr. Mom" where they were playing poker and using coupons instead of money? That is one of my favorite scenes. Stores have coupon caddies on the shelves next to some product, check for them as you are doing your shopping. I'm sure you've seen them in the stores before, and if you haven't -- just let your child do the shopping with you sometime and they'll find them for you. Now that you have all these coupons, you will want to create a system to store them and keep them organized so that you can find them. A clipped coupon's no good if you can't locate it to use it. I always have baby wipe containers sitting around my house, and one day I was organizing my envelope full of coupons when a thought struck me. I covered the outside of a baby wipe container with some left over contact paper and cut pieces of thin cardboard to fit inside to use as dividers. I created subjects and wrote the subject at the top of the divider and then sorted my coupons and stuck them behind the corresponding divider. Each week as you are adding your new coupons, just pull the expired coupons and put them in your recycle bin. This will save you time and aggravation at the grocery store. I keep my coupon container in the car when I'm out running errands so that when I go into a store that has a sale I can make the most of my coupons. Check the stores in your area and see if any of them double coupons. None of the stores where I live do, yet I still save a minimum of 30% on my monthly grocery bill. Imagine what you can save if your family if your stores doubles coupons. When you combine your coupons with store sales you will walk out of the grocery store with items you get for free or pennies on the dollar. I write my grocery list on the backs of envelopes that my mail comes in (good way to recycle). While shopping as I place the items in my cart I pull the coupon from the container and place it in the envelope. When it's time to check out I hand over all my coupons first before the cashier starts ringing. If there are coupons for free items I watch for the item to be scanned and I point this out to her. This saves time, as she'll have to enter the amount onto the coupon for redemption at the end of the transaction. When you are first starting out with couponing, it may take you a bit more time to get things organized. Once you have a system worked out for yourself, and your coupons organized and labeled you will be able to spend less time each week and save more money in the process. You could enlist your children to help you and offer them a percentage of the savings. My store lists the total amount saved using coupons so when I get home I put that amount into my savings envelope to maximize my savings. I hope these tips have helped your bottom line. Your grocery bill is one of the very few items on your budget that you can play around with and make changes to. The money you save using coupons and combining them with store sales will be as much or as little as the effort you want to put into it. You can start out small and work your way up to Queen status, like me, but for heavens sakes you've got to start! Now get out your scissors and sharpen them up, the Sunday paper will hit the stands in just a few hours. Using Coupons does really help save money when you buy groceries.

Money Wise in the Kitchen by Beth Waltman Surprise company coming? Stretch you grocery dollars with these money-saving recipes! Feed an army nutritious and delicious meals. Frozen Beef Starter: Use anywhere you normally use plain ground beef! 3 beaten eggs 2 c. soft bread crumbs (3 slices) 1 c. chopped celery 1 c. shopped onion 1 c. shredded carrot 3 pounds ground beef Combine first 5 ingredients and 1 t. salt. Mix in beef. In large skillet, cook half the mixture at a time till lightly browned and still moist. Cool quickly. Seal in 2-c. portions in freezer bags. Label; freeze. 2 Cups substitutes for 1 pound ground beef. Great in spaghetti, lasagna, sloppy joes, chili. Seasoned Coating Mix for chicken, pork, or fish. 2 c. fine dry bread drumbs 2 T. onion powder 1 T. salt 2 t. poultry seasoning 1/2 t. garlic powder 1/2 t. paprika 1/2 t. died thyme, crushed 1/8 t. cayenne Sift all together. Makes 2 1/2 c. mix. Store in tightly covered container. To use: Coat either chicken or pork chops with light buttermlk salad dressing. Roll in seasoning mix. Bake in moderate oven on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cheese-Topped Beef Bake 2 T. chipped onion 2 T. cooking oil 2 T. flour 3/4 t. salt 1/2 t. sugar 1/4 t. dried basil, crushed 1/8 t. pepper 1 16-oz can chopped tomatoes 1 16-oz can cut green beans, drained 1 1/2 c. chopped cooked beef (leftover roast) 1 t. instant beef bouillon granules 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce 1 c. Basic Biscuit Mix or Bisquick 1/4 t dry mustard 2 T. margarine 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. shredded sharp American cheese In a skillet, cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in flour, salt, sugar, basil, and pepper. Add next 5 ingredients. Cover and simmer the ixture 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine Basic Biscuit Mix and dry mustard. Cut in margarine; stir in milk till well blended Stir in cheese. Roll dough out on floured surface to a rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 6 wedges. Turn beef mixture into 10X6X 1 1/2 inch bakeing dish. Top with biscuit wedges. Bake at 400 degrees about 20 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

MILK JUG BIRD FEEDERS Rinse out an empty plastic gallon milk jug with lid. Cut a window in the front of the jug, and make two small poke holes for the perches. Insert pencils for perches and fill the bottom of the jug with bird seed. JUICE CARTON CRAYON BOX Wash and dry an empty cardboard juice carton and cut off the top. Using bits and pieces of masking tape, have the children tape up the entire carton, covering all sides, the more tape the better. Use crayons to color the masking tape box. The tape makes the box sturdier and will make a great crayon holder for their desk or dresser. ALUMINUM CAN CRAFTS Paint an empty and rinsed out tuna can with spray or acrylic paint. Decorate with glitter and glue, pom poms, buttons, lace, or stickers. These make cute holders for barrettes, pony tail holders, paper clips, rubber bands, keys, jewelry, or other small items. Using the same ideas, paint a soup or vegetable can to make a pen or pencil holder. COFFEE CAN WISH BANK Have the kids cut pictures from old magazines or draw pictures of something they want. Decorate the cans with glitter, the pictures, stickers or anything else you have around. Cut a hole in the plastic top of the can for the kids to deposit money. Each time they add money to the can, they are contributing a little bit more to the "wish" item. A great way to teach kids to save money! COFFEE CAN STILTS Using two 1-pound coffee cans, turn each can upside down so that the plastic lid is on the bottom. Using a screwdriver, poke two holes, one on each side of the can. Using several strands of yarn braided or twisted together, or some rope, thread through holes in cans. Tie off inside the can. Cans can be decorated if you like. JAR CANDLES Save the stubs of candles. When you have several saved, melt them together in a double boiler. Color the wax by adding bits of crayon to the mixture. Pour the wax into glass jelly or mason jars or metal cans. Use cotton yarn for wicks, or you can purchase a roll of wick at a craft store. Decorate the outside of the candle holder with acrylic paints. MAGAZINE HOUSE Using an old catalog or magazine, cut out pictures of chairs, tables, curtains, bathroom fixtures and other furnishings. Spread out a newspaper or large sheet of drawing paper. Sketch an "open sided" house. Have children place the pictures of the furnishings in the rooms of their choice. They can cut out more pictures to redecorate their house, cut out pictures of people, toys, pets, anything they like! ALPHABET CATALOG COLLAGE Using old toy, clothing, and plant catalogs, have the kids cut out colorful pictures that begin with a specific letter of the alphabet. Assign different letters to each child. Have them glue the pictures onto a piece of construction paper. Discuss the pictures afterward. PAPER TOWEL RAIN MAKERS Young kids love noise makers. Color, paint, and decorate paper towel rolls. Cover one end of a paper towel roll with waxed paper and close it off with a rubber band. Pour a handful or two of dried beans (split peas work well) in the open end, close open end the same as the other. Poke toothpicks through the rolls at different intervals to add a "rain shaker" sound. PAPER TOWEL TUBE HOLDERS Decorate a paper towel tube with paint, markers, glitter, stickers, construction paper and crayons. This becomes a colorful carrying tube. Roll their pictures up and put inside to take to their teacher, grandparents, friends, or relatives. Some special pictures could be for their Grandparents, a special aunt or uncle, or even for a brother or sister. PAPER PLATE HOLDERS Using two paper plates, cut one plate in half and place on top of the other plate (turn the half plate to form a pocket over the whole plate). Use a paper punch to make holes going around the outside of the plate. Use scraps of yarn and "sew" through the holes of the plate. Start and end at the top of the plate so that it can be extended about six inches and tied. Have your children color, paint or decorate their plates. Now they have their very own place to put prized possessions, notes from Mom and dad, special pictures and more. PAPER PLATE AQUARIUM Color an underwater scene on the "eating" side of a paper plate. Glue goldfish crackers to the scene, a couple pieces of plastic plant for seaweed, and using glue and a little sand or soft dirt, make the sea floor. Using a second paper plate, cut a circle in the middle. Cut a circle of blue plastic wrap 1 inch in diameter larger than your hole in the plate. On the "eating" side of this plate, glue the blue plastic wrap so that it covers and overlaps the hole on the plate. Glue or staple both plates together with "eating" side toward the inside. Punch a hole in the top and string a piece of yarn through the hole to hang your aquarium from the ceiling. TREASURE SHOE BOX Decorate an old shoe box and lid with construction paper, markers, paint, glue and glitter, crayons, googly eyes, stickers, lace, doilies, or whatever else you can find. Be sure to put the child's name inside the lid. This box make a great box for treasures found out in the yard, on the way home from school, or anywhere else your children "hunt". SHADOWBOXES Pain the inside of a shoebox with black or dark blue poster or acrylic paint. Alternatively, you can glue black construction paper inside the box. Using white crayons or stickers, make a night scene with stars and the moon on the black background. Get creative, use small plastic toys to create a scene inside your shadowbox, or make your own with construction paper and glue. Cut out small pictures from coloring books and color and adhere to your scene. Hang a spaceship or shooting star with a piece of string and glue. CARTOON STRIPS Make your very own cartoon adventure with crayons and a pad of paper. At the bottom of a pad, on each sheet, draw a figure (i.e., a dog). The first frame will be on the first page, second frame on the second page, and so on. Change the movement with each page. When you are finished, fan the pages with your thumb to see the show! CREATE A STORY If you have several children together, this can be great fun. Give each child two or three pieces of paper. Have them each drawer a picture and write a sentence. When finished, see if they can put it together to form a story. New pages can be created as you go along. A book cover can be made from two pieces of construction paper, a hole punch, and yarn. NUMBER FUN Pick a number from one to ten. Write it on a piece of paper. Ask the children to draw sets of things in that number. If the child get number four, have them draw four apples, four trees, four dogs, and so on. Have them color their pictures with crayons and markers. ANIMAL JUMBLE Using construction or white paper, ask each child to drawn a different body part of an animal, but to have their animal be a secret. For example, have one child draw the head, another draw the tail, another the legs and so on. let the children pick the animal they want to draw. When they are done have then put the animal together with tape or glue. Have fun coming up with a name for the animal (monk-dog-lion-potamus). PET ROCKS Find smooth, flat or round rocks. Be sure to clean off any dirt or sand and dry completely before starting. Paint with acrylic paints. Decorate faces by using google eyes, yarn for hair, markers, glitter, and any other tidbits you like. BOOKMARKS Great for back to school or as a gift to someone you love. Make fun bookmarks with construction paper, markers, paints, and stickers. You can also use glitter, sequins, lace, doilies, buttons, and any other little bric-a-brac you have laying about. Cut strips from construction paper, painting the construction paper will make it sturdier, or you can visit the local library or office supply to have them laminated for longer lasting use. To complete the bookmark, attach a tassle make from strands of yarn.

Tonights dinner is swimmingly tasty: Enjoy! Home Breaded succulent scallops and shrimp baked in the oven until crispy, Onion seasoned home made fries drizzled with olive oil and baked in a 350 degree oven, Steamed Broccoli with a hint of garlic butter sauce. To die for Cream Cheese Double Fudge Brownies dotted with walnuts. Total Cost per plate per person: .89 cents

I am sure you can all relate to the statement that Diets don't work. An eating plan containing fruits, vegetables and small amounts of meat, dairy products and breads besides a normal portion of dessert will help you lose weight especially if you exercize. Don't forget to drink , drink , drink all the water and sugar free drinks you can!

I found these on MSN.com and I think they're great tips! I'll post in sets of 5. Food Facts 1. Fight breast cancer with broccoli sprouts. Sprouts are the richest source of sulforaphane, a highly potent antioxidant. In a Johns Hopkins University study, sulforaphane reduced by 60 percent the number of rats who developed mammary cancer after being exposed to carcinogens. A one-ounce serving, or about a half cup, of raw broccoli sprouts contains at least 73 milligrams of sulforaphane—the amount found in 1-1/4 pounds of cooked mature broccoli. 2. Cook with soy to save your arteries and heart. Want to lower your cholesterol by 11 percent in six weeks? Try adding soy to your diet. You might even reduce your diastolic blood pressure by six points in the same six weeks. (Diastolic refers to the lowest pressure in the arteries just before the next heart contraction.) Those results came from a study at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in which 43 women ages 45 to 60 ate just two tablespoons of soy powder sprinkled into milk or orange juice or over cereal daily. Otherwise, all it takes is a cup of soy milk, a half-cup of tofu, a scoop of soy protein powder, or a handful of roasted soybeans to make a difference. The secret ingredient is plant estrogen, which may also be of benefit to those fighting arteriolosclerosis or cancer, says study leader Gregory Burke, M.D., of Wake Forest's Department of Public Health Sciences. 3. Take folic acid to drop colon cancer risk by 75 percent. We've all heard about folic acid and its benefits against birth defects and even against homocysteine, a major cause of heart disease. But there's a surprising and lesser-known plus: In the famed Harvard Nurses' Health Study, women who consumed more than 400 micrograms of folic acid daily for 15 years saw their colon cancer risk drop by 75 percent. Women who took the supplement for five to 10 years saw a 20 percent drop, as reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Currently, colon cancer has a death rate that surpasses breast cancer and is second only to lung cancer. 4. Eat blueberries to protect your eyes and arteries. Two-thirds of a cup of blueberries yields the antioxidant capacity of 1,773 IU of vitamin E (60 times the recommended daily allowance) and 1,270 mg of vitamin C (that's 21 times the recommended daily allowance). "The antioxidant anthocyanin not only gives blueberries their color, but also discourages blood clots from forming, thus warding off heart attacks," says Mary Ann Lila Smith, Ph.D., professor of in-vitro technology at University of Illinois. Her studies indicate blueberries may improve night vision and slow macular degeneration by strengthening tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye. In a trial at Boston's Tufts University, aged rats fed blueberries for two months were faster, more coordinated, and better able to run mazes, according to a recent Journal of Neuroscience. 5. Cool your appetite with soup. You might devour fewer calories if you start your meal with soup, according to a study at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Hot soup helped fill the stomach so dieters tended to eat less later in the meal, said John Foreyt, Ph.D., director of the college's nutrition research program. Soup sippers lost more (about 1.3 pounds) than the non-soupers after one year. Mental Exercise 6. Put your emotions on paper. "Take three minutes to write in your journal, craft a love letter, or drop a note to a friend," says Pamela Peeke, M.D., assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and author of Fight Fat After 40 (Viking, 2000). "Especially when you're in a stressful situation, writing your emotions out is a catharsis." Indeed, researchers at State University of New York at Stony Brook found that 47 of the more than 100 asthma and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers in a study had a reduction in frequency and severity of their symptoms four months after writing about the most stressful event of their lives. They wrote for at least 20 minutes each day on three consecutive days. None of those who wrote about nonemotional topics saw significant improvement, reported researchers in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year. So dig deep for inspiration—and better health. 7. Enjoy yourself and live longer. Take in an art show, watch a movie, or attend a concert this weekend. You might live longer. A nine-year study of 12,000 people in Sweden found that those who attended such cultural events were about 36 percent more likely to live longer than those who rarely did so. Why? As reported in a recent British Medical Journal, such pleasures arouse the immune system, helping to fend off ills. 8. Turn on the stereo to crank up your antibodies. Listening to a half-hour of soft jazz music caused levels of immunoglobulin A—our body's first defense against respiratory and other infections—to rise 14 percent in a study involving 66 students at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The study was published in the Journal of Perceptual and Motor Skills. Although the antibody (referred to as IgA) rose, the frequency of colds was not measured. Nonetheless, "music calms, and just being in a relaxed state helps you heal," theorizes Michael G. McGuire, professor and director of Music Therapy at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. 9. Do puzzles to thwart Alzheimer's disease. Exercising your brain may slow the development of Alzheimer's disease. A recent study of 193 Alzheimer's patients and 358 healthy people, mostly in their early 70s, showed that those who were mentally active from ages 40 to 60 were three times less likely to have Alzheimer's disease. The study was done by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. "It makes sense," says James Mortimer, Ph.D., director of University of South Florida's Institute on Aging. "If you go to the gym and lift weights, your muscles grow bigger and you're able to lift more. We'd be surprised if you weren't in fact nourishing the brain by exercising it intellectually." The theory is that, much like trees branching out, brain cells grow branches as new connections are made through riddles, puzzles, board games, and other intellectual challenges. "Lack of use causes our mental trees to drop branches," Mortimer says. 10. Sharpen your mind with a power nap. Just leaning back, closing your eyes, and relaxing for a few minutes will help you make clearer decisions and attend to details. If you're really dragging, nap. "Anything you do to reduce stress makes a difference," says James B. Maas, Ph.D., a Cornell University psychology professor in Ithaca, New York, and author of Power Sleep (HarperCollins, 1999). "Even better: Take a 15-minute power nap. People say they don't have enough time, but they'll take a coffee break. Rather than ruin your sleep with caffeinated beverages, why not pay back the debt in your sleep bank and recharge your batteries? It's amazing how you'll be revived for the rest of the day—and you'll be in a better mood. Body Basics 11. Take a roll to reduce strain. If you're suffering from a tense neck or back, take a tennis ball and place it in a tube sock. Then stand with your back against a wall, place the ball between it and you, and move your back to lower the ball over the areas that hurt but are otherwise difficult to reach. "It can work as a self-massage," says Dr. John Cianca, an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine. 12. Be a sphinx (or a cobra) to relieve back pain. Just three minutes of assuming a yoga posture known as the Cobra, or Sphinx, can relieve some lower-back problems. Lay on your stomach on the floor, holding in your tummy. Keeping your hips on the floor, raise your upper body with your arms until you're on your elbows. "If back pain is muscular in origin this will be a helpful exercise," says Baylor College of Medicine's Dr. Cianca. "But if you've got a herniated disk or arthritis, it won't help. If it hurts, you should stop." 13. Sunglasses help counter cataracts. Wearing sunglasses will reduce your risk of cataracts by two-thirds, as demonstrated in more than a decade of studies of 3,000 Chesapeake Bay fishermen. This study was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association two years ago. "The eye's lens is a living thing, and ultraviolet rays age them just as they age your skin. That leads to cataracts, macular degeneration, and other eyesight problems," says Anne Sumers, M.D., a Ridgewood, New Jersey, ophthalmologist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 14. Take a walk to lose weight. Just a few minutes walking at a brisk pace burns calories—lots more than if you sit around watching TV. Walking as few as 10 minutes daily lets the average 130-pound woman burn off almost five pounds a year if her diet doesn't change. 15. Squeeze in more exercise. You can get a quick overall workout by doing only three exercises: crunches, push-ups, and squats. If floor push-ups are too difficult, do them against a wall instead—you'll still tone your shoulders, chest, and upper back. Stand about a foot away from the wall, and place your hands palms down and shoulder width apart on the wall. Lean in and then push your body out without allowing your elbows to splay to the sides. For abdominal-flattening crunches, lie faceup on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Fold your hands across your chest and curl your shoulders toward your knees. You'll be less likely to pull with your neck if you imagine you're cradling an egg between your chest and chin. Exhale through the mouth on the effort, or as your body rises, and inhale through your nose as you lower yourself. Do squats to whittle your rear and thighs. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and feet facing forward. Lower your body with your weight in your heels. "You'll look as if you're about to sit in a chair, not like you're searching for a contact lens," says Susan Magee, personal trainer and operations manager at Memorial Athletic Club in Houston. Take care that you don't bend much at the waist, and watch that your knees do not extend forward of your toes. Perform each exercise two to three times weekly, building up from 10 to 20 repetitions. Eventually, add sets, taking a 15-second rest or stretch in between. Preventive Maintenance 16. Brush and floss to extend your life. Make yourself feel more than six years younger simply by brushing and flossing every day, says Michael Roizen, M.D., an anesthesiologist and internist at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Roizen, author of Real Age: Are You as Young as You Can Be? (Cliff Street Books, 1999), says that the latest research shows a link between the bacteria pervasive in tooth decay and the bacteria found in artery clogging. "Flossing your teeth every day can make your arteries younger," says Roizen. "Men under 50 with advanced periodontal disease are 2.6 times more likely to die prematurely and three times more likely to die of heart disease than those with healthy teeth and gums." 17. Fight flu by getting your kids to wash their hands. Kids who wash their hands thoroughly with soap at least four times daily missed 75 percent fewer school days, had 25 percent fewer colds, and suffered 50 percent fewer stomach flus over a seven-week period than children who washed less. That was found in a study of 305 elementary school children in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, as published in the Journal of Family Practice. 18. Spice up the battle against food-borne bacteria. Pasteurizing apple juice kills bacteria. Also, just one teaspoon of cinnamon mixed into a 64-ounce bottle of unpasteurized apple juice kills 99 percent of the E. coli bacteria that may be present, found microbiology researchers at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. They also discovered that adding 3 teaspoons of cloves to every quarter pound of hamburger had the same effect. That's much more clove than most of us want, but adding cinnamon, garlic, and oregano helps too. Left unchecked, E.coli can lead to severe food poisoning, damaged kidneys, and even death. "You still have to heat the meat, but spices provide an added safety valve," says Erdogan Ceylan, a research assistant in microbiology. 19. Fess up to your druggist. Take the time to tell your pharmacist about all the over-the-counter—and herbal—remedies you're taking. That's the advice from David Witmer, Pharm. D., director of the Professional Practice and Scientific Affairs Division at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in Bethesda, Maryland. "For some reason, people never think to include cold medicine, antihistamines, or birth control pills—and, most important, herbal products and dietary supplements—all of which can react significantly with prescriptions," says Witmer. The interactions of the foods, drugs, and supplements we take can prove to be deadly, killing more than 7,000 people each year and leading to almost 7 percent of all hospital admissions, according to the Journal of the Geriatric Society. 20. Get a routine blood test to check for silent liver disease. You may be in danger of having serious liver disease that sometimes shows no apparent symptoms if you use cholesterol medications or blood-pressure-lowering drugs, combine alcohol with painkillers, or have multiple sexual partners or tattoos. When healthy, the liver—our body's largest single internal organ—filters waste, manufactures nutrients from food, and regulates our blood. A panel of liver tests costing about $200 can reveal if your liver is damaged from an excess of iron, inflammation, or such diseases as hepatitis C, which caused singers Naomi Judd and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons to put their careers on hold. You should be tested—and then rechecked periodically, if your doctor advises—if you have a family history of liver disease or face a high risk for viral hepatitis. Also at risk are patients who take the medications or participate in any of the activities previously mentioned. "It's a simple blood test, and you need to know," says David Brandhagen, M.D., hepatologist at Mayo Clinic. "If you're having a drug reaction, you can stop the drug, and your liver usually gets better on its own. And if you have viral hepatitis, you need to know because it can cause progressive liver damage and treatment may be necessary."

Always use apple cider vinegar for personal care. White vinegar is best for cleaning. Used as a hair rinse, vinegar neutralizes the alkali left by shampoos. A reader says 'it will give your hair an all out shine!' Corn and callus remover - soak a piece of stale bread (a cloth would probably do as well) in vinegar, and tape it over the callus or corn overnight. Age spot fader - Mix equal parts of onion juice and vinegar and use it daily on age spots. This will take a few weeks to work, just like its expensive relative from the store. Spray your hands with a mist of vinegar, or dip them in vinegar and dry after washing dishes or having them in soapy water to keep your hands soft. Splash vinegar on your varicose veins. The vinegar is supposed to reduce the veins and relieve the pain and swelling. Of course, you might smell like a tossed salad! Use it diluted 50/50 as a skin cleanser as most soaps are alkaline as compared to skin ph. One teaspoon to one tablespoon of vinegar gets rid of hiccups. It's an ongoing battle as to whether vinegar can help you lose weight, but the ones who say it will, say to drink a glass of water before each meal in which you've added a tablespoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of honey. Rinse water for face - pour 1/8 cup in rinse water, rinse face and let it air dry (it seals the moisture in the skin) (great for all over especially when weather is dry) Vinegar restores the natural acid base of your skin, so it's good for skin problems, too. --Pat Try white vinegar on underarms and other areas of the body as a natural deodorant. Will not stop perspiration (which is not healthy anyway) but will neutralize odor. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a quart of drinking water. Helps to deal with heat stress. Also helps to repel mosquitos. It is also helpful when children get lice, if you take warm vinegar and put it on the hair also take your nit comb and dip it in the vinegar. As you run it through the hair it helps remove the nits. It is supposed to be able to help break down the glue the nits use to stay attached to the hair. My dad is 77 years old and his skin on his face is just so smooth and soft looking. His secret is he uses vinegar for aftershave. Also if he gets any rashes or pimples he uses vinegar for that as well. He drinks apple cider vinegar, honey and hot water every morning. The vinegar odor goes away very quickly when he uses it for aftershave. He started this when he always broke out in a rash after using the regular aftershaves. 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar in a small tub of water. Soak your head/hair. It gets rid of dandruff completely, as well as all the garbage that accumulates on your hair from shampoos and conditioners. It's absolutely amazing but my husband does complain about the smell... For cleaning dentures - leave your dentures in vinegar for as long as you would leave them in a denture cleanser - about 15 minutes to half an hour, or longer, if you wish. Then brush them thoroughly. Your dentures will be cleaner and whiter than a proprietary dental cleaner can do it ! Makes a great eyeglass cleaner. Mix white vinegar 1/2 and 1/2 with water. I keep a tiny spray bottle in my purse. Instead of buying expensive facial products, I mix up my own "toner" using 1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar and a few aspirins. The acids in the vinegar force your old skin cells to flake off, much like the store-bought "alpha hydroxy" products. The aspirin is my own anti-acne solution. A lot of acne products use salicylic acid, which is basically aspirin with a few small chemical differences. The aspirin won't dissolve completely, but it doesn't seem to matter. This works especially well against those big, deep acne spots which older people often get. I've been using this twice a day on my face for five years now and people are always amazed when I tell them my real age (44). One caution, though: Be sure to also use a face lotion with at least SPF 15 everyday--even in winter (Oil of Olay knock-offs are fairly cheap)--because the vinegar mixture will make your skin thinner (just like the expensive store-bought ones will) and more susceptible to sun damage. The SPF prevents age spots from forming, and that's worth the money in my book. I color my own hair and when I go to rinse, I first rinse with warm water then I dilute white vinegar with water for the final rinse. Use water as cold as you can stand. This really seals your color so it doesn't fade out as quickly. Nail polish will go on smoother, and stay longer if you clean your finger nails with white vinegar before applying nail polish. If you have hard water put vinegar in your bath water and also rinse your hair with it. It gets out all residue from shampoo and conditioner.

I got this info from a self help book Vinegar - Medicinal Uses NOTE - Nothing here is to be taken as medical advice. Always ask your doctor before attempting to diagnose yourself or deciding upon medication to alleviate any symptoms. A reader says; My best use for vinegar is to use 1 tablespoon vinegar to an 8 ounce glass of warm water for a sore throat. Gargle every hour and swallow after gargling, with two mouthfuls. I got this from a Vermont Folk Medicine book by D.C.Jarvis many years ago. If started at the first hint of a sore throat, it always works, usually within a night's sleep. I don't mind the taste, but some children might. Use for a throat soother. Take equal amounts of honey and cider vinegar, stir or shake until dissolved. Take a tablespoon at a time to cut mucuous in the throat. This reader writes: My grandmother swears by vinegar as an antiseptic for abrasions,to reduce itch from poison ivy or mosquito bites,and even to help rehydrate sunburned skin. This reader says - I hate to wear gloves when gardening (except, of course when working with roses, blackberries or thistles) and once in a while I get a nick or scratch. Since I shoveled most of it INTO my garden, I know what my hands are in, and I'm 120 yards downhill from the bathroom sink and the disinfectant! My trusty spray bottle of full strength white vinegar to the rescue. Stings for a second or two until the endorphins kick in, but I don't have to stop what I'm doing and make a special trip back up hill. I've NEVER had an infection in a scratch since I discovered this trick. Another reader wrote: I am allergic to crabs. However, I love them. I have found that when I dip my crabmeat in vinegar, I don't get an allergic reaction. This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. 1 tsp cider vinegar with one tsp honey taken three times daily helps with arthritis. It dissolves the crystal deposits of uric acid that form between joints (and also in muscles as with muscular rheumatism). Also dissolves osteophytes (bony spurs) over long periods. Vinegar in drinking water is very effective in eliminating the low-grade fevers that are present in Chronic Fatigue sufferers. It also helps eliminate the 'thrush' coating in the mouth which is sometimes caused by antibiotic use. Mix four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of drinking water. Drink up to one gallon each day. From another reader: After years of suffering from athlete's foot, consulting doctors, and spending hundreds of dollars on so called cures (some presciption, some over the counter), I read in one of the magazines in which I subscibe to try soaking in vinegar. Something was said about it changing skin ph so that the fungus could not grow. I soaked three evenings in a row. Now, no more fungus and that has been several months ago. Medicine for toe nail fungus can be very costly, but you can use one part vinegar to one part warm water and soak your feet. Another reader writes: My daughter had toe nail fungus, causing the nail to grow up instead of out, like it should. I started putting a few drops of white vinegar on it several times a day. To my amazement, her nail is almost normal again! Try this one, for those who have the above problem, it really works! Use 2 cups of cider vinegar in the tub to soak sore muscles and add potassium to muscles. And this one: A nurse told me molds grow in humidifiers used in sick rooms. After a couple of days' use, she rinsed out a humidifier, then refilled it, adding maybe 1/4 cup vinegar. She would run this for a couple of minutes in the bathroom, with the door closed and the window open, to kill the molds. Then she'd rinse it, run it again with just clear water, rinse that, and declare it fit for service again. She was also adamant about not just pouring more water in to refill, but rinsed the reservoir out each time to retard growth of nasty stuff she didn't want spraying all around the sick room. Quite often muscle cramps, or 'charlie horse', are caused by too low a level of potassium. I take a tsp. of vinegar when suffering from a muscle cramp to quickly bring my potassium level back up and relieve the cramp. When making soup stock (as all good frugal-ites do), squirt in a tablespoon of white vinegar, to help leach (extract) all the calcium from the bones being used. There's no vinegar taste, and most of us can certainly use the additional calcium. It's never failed me yet: Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with one cup of honey and store this mixture in an air-tight container. Anytime you have trouble drifting off, take two teaspoons of this mixture and you'll drift off in less than a half hour. And you won't be groggy in the morning like over-the-counter sleep aids. A teaspoon of vinegar relieves hiccups more effectively than anything else, including lemon juice or sugar... Another reader writes: I've found that gargling with cider vinegar will stop the most horrible case of hiccups! I find mixing 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey in 8 oz of warm water and drinking before I go to bed has helped eliminate those awful night leg cramps When the weather changes and the sinus start running I get that nagging cough, I simply take 2 tablespoons of any kind of vinegar and that nasty cough stops. I have a history of having problems with boils and bear the scars of them. They are quite painful and at times have had to have them lanced. A few people in my family told me about vinegar tea. One tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, one tablespoon honey mixed in a cup of hot water at least twice a day has dissolved more than one of my boils. Not only the vinegar tea but also, the recommended daily amount of water. Stay away from sodas and chocolate, as they seem to aggravate the infected area even more. If the boil does come to a head where it is going to open contuine to drink the vinegar tea and the water. Use hot packs on the boil for 15-20 minutes three times a day. Doing this has more than once saved an unwanted visit to the doctor. What is also important is not to squeeze a boil. I hope this will help someone out there. Soak (rinsed and dried) egg shells in vinegar until they dissolve. Dilute with water, and drink your (very easy to assimilate) calcium supplement. Oyster shells can also be dissolved in vinegar until dissolved, then drunk, for a calcium supplement. [Pearls may be dissolved also, but this is not very frugal ;-) ] When taking calcium-magnesium tablets/or powder, wash it down with something acidic (like vinegar diluted in water), so that it will dissolve the cal-mag, so that your body can assimilate it. Any time you take vinegar internally, be sure to rinse your mouth with plain water. Acid remaining on teeth will eventually (over time), dissolve your teeth, as it does with calcium deposits around the sink. [i never thought of my teeth as calcium deposits, but, hmmm, I guess they are...like my bones...] We use 1/2 tsp white distilled vinegar to 1 tbsp rubbing alcohol to prevent swimmers ear. Strange as it sounds, vinegar soothes the itching and burning of hemorrhoids. Just take a cotton ball and dab the affected area with full strength apple cider vinegar! Caution: some people find the full strength solution stings. If this happens to you, just dilute the vinegar half and half with water. Sunburn Remedy: At bedtime, cover sunburns with a towel soaked in water and vinegar and try to persuade the victim to sleep this way. Younger ones, of course, will have a struggle with this, especially because of the smell! Put vinegar in a spray bottle and spray on sunburn. It soothes for quite a length of time. Just like store bought stuff. A reader wrote this: I used this on my son when his legs were sunburned. I used half and half which was half water and half vinegar. I saturated tea towels in it and layed them on his legs and he said it didn't smell too good but it sure took out the burning. You must do this several times but it works and then it gives you a nice tan. Vinegar will take the sting out of a sunburn - just soak a paper towel and apply to burn. Smells bad but, hey, if you're in pain, who cares? To relieve swelling and fluid from too much sun, mix a paste of baking soda and apple cider vinegar and apply. This reader says it will draw out the fluid. I met a girl who was told by her doctor to sit in the sun (she had some sort of skin problem). She was to use diluted red wine vinegar to keep from burning. She was out in the sun everyday of the summer and had a nice tan.(You have to understand that she lived in Phila., PA and I was visiting from FL). When I went on a trip to the Keys to spend a lot of time on the water, I used a spray bottle filled with undiluted red wine vinegar. I had my friend spray my back occassionally while spraying the front more frequently. My back did get somewhat burned, but from head to toes the front of me was nicely tanned. (I did look really red from the vinegar, but after showering...ta da...tan) I'm not sure, but using the red wine vinegar has seemed to help me tan faster. Vinegar is extremely effective on yeast infections. When I get an infection, I pour about 1 cup of white vinegar in my douche bottle and finish filling with warm water. I douche twice daily and in about 2 days my infection is gone. The vinegar smell leaves in about an hour. Another reader writes: I have found that the vinegar bath also cures yeast infections, not only mine but also my infant daughter. My midwife suggested the vinegar bath while I was pregnant and it cured it and hasn't come back since. Twice daily and in about two days it's gone. I nurse my daughter who has extremely sensitive skin. It seems that everytime I turn around, I have eaten something that breaks her out. I started giving her vinegar baths. I run her bath water and pour about a cup of apple cider vinegar in. It has been weeks now and her skin is smoother than it has ever been. Put 1/2 cup into a pan to soak your feet in before a pedicure. It softens your skin. I have seen many posts about using vinegar on a sunburn. When I burn myself when cooking I splash some white vinegar on a bit of paper towel and put it on the burn. It stops hurting immediately and if you keep it on, you will not develop a blister. We use vinegar on wasp/yellowjacket stings. Just soak a cotton ball in cider vinegar and hold to the sore spot (can tape it on with bandage tape). Within a few minutes the pain stops. It would work on bee stings too, only you'd probably need to get the stinger out. I have been dealing with a problem of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. If I sip water with apple cider vinegar during the day, those symptoms disappear. It works for me and would certainly be worth a try for those who experience this distressing problem. My great grandmother swore by vinegar for almost everything. Two uses that I have tried and had great success with. For a stiff neck , take a half vinegar half warm water solution and soak a rag in it, then wring the rag out and wrap it around your neck. Put a layer of plastic wrap (to keep your sheets dry) and finish up with a towel (be careful not to strangle yourself). Leave this on over night and in the morning you will not believe the difference. For bruises and swelling follow the directions above, but use cold water. You can hold the "compress" in place with an ace bandage. leave on for at least an hour, but the longer you leave it the better the results. I have personally used this long after ice was effective for reducing the swelling and it works like a miracle. I suffer from migraines and take Imitrex for them. When I dont have any on hand I use vinegar and it always helps me. May not be the cause for everyone though. I take a wash cloth and put water and vinegar on it and put it over my forehead. Seems to work great for me. If you suffer from migraines it is worth a try. An old fashioned remedy for any headache was to soak brown paper with cider vinegar and apply it to the forehead. Possibly something about breathing the fumes helps in some cases, anyway. Being a scuba diver for many years I swear by vinegar to remove the sting of a jellyfish. Soak a cotton ball or piece of paper towel in vinegar, place it on the aching tooth... bite down - in moments the toothache is temporarily gone, giving you time to get to a dentist. Many elderly people with high cholesterol have tried this drink with much success. Recipe: 2 cups of grape juice 1 cup of apple juice 1/4 cup of white vinegar Mix together and take 2 ounces before your largest meal everyday; only 2 ounces is needed for results. Taking a little bit of vinegar with or just before meals isolates the fat in food and it passes through your system. I learned this a diet clinic. it works really great. A couple of years ago I was suffering from a very stubborn infection in both of my ears. My ear doctor tried several antibiotics, but to no avail. Cultures of the infection showed strong resistance to most antibiotics, including Cipro. Eventually they had me on a regimen of intravenous injections (which I had to do myself 3 times a day), and a nurse would periodically come to my home and change the vein into which I would inject the antibiotic. This was all very nerve wracking. That didn't seem to be making much progress, but my doctor learned of an ear specialist who apparently had a regimen that seemed effective in solving tough ear infections. Ironically, the night before I went to see this doctor, my dear old mother-in-law tried to convince me to try using a vinegar ear wash. Seems she had a book on "miracle" uses for vinegar. Can you guess what the Phoenix doctor's special regimen was? Vinegar and water! Use any vinegar, white is fine, and mix in equal amounts with water. Warm slightly so you don't screw up your equilibrium by putting cold water in your ear. Be sure not to make it too warm. Get an ear flush bulb and flush the affected ear 2 -3 times with the mixture twice a day. In a few days my infection was history! For those very painful "Charlie Horses" and muscle cramps, use half vinegar and half water, on a wet towel. Heat in microwave 20 seconds and place on pained area. It works great. I am 49 years old and have suffered with very severe headaches since I was a young girl. I have tried many medications and remedies, but this simple and inexpensive thing can relieve the pain, sometimes within minutes. I usually lie down and rest, or try to nap, after doing this, but it's surprising how fast and effectively it works: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar. Make a "tent" with a bathtowel over your head and breathe in the vapors, deeply and slowly. (If it makes you cough, cut back on the vinegar.) A few minutes of doing this will cure most headaches as well as pills or shots. I have psoriasis and my skin is very dry. After I have showered, I spritz all over with a spray bottle filled with 3 parts cider vinegar and 1 part water and rinse again. There is no soap residue left on my skin and I don't feel itchy. I think it helps body odor, also. I put a capful of vinegar in a glass of water when I am having indigestion problems. It gets rid of the gassy, bloating, diarrhea problems. It seems to help balance the acid needed for digestion. Just one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water at meals can change your life completely. How? Apple cider vinegar contains acedic acid which stimulates the production of stomach acid. The more stomach acid the better as it breaks down your food into smaller molecules. The smaller the molecules the more efficiently your intestines and liver can absorb the nutrients it needs. In the old days the stomach would be producing acid all day long so it would be ready for meal time. But these days when the body is stressed the stomach stops producing acid so at meal time there's not enough acid to digest the food. This creates all kinds of problems; indigestion, gastic reflux, IBS, bad breath, diverticulus, fatty liver, lactose intolerance, allergies, fatique, you name it. But just a little bit of apple cider vinegar gets the stomach working again

Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon luke warm honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses

It's full of omega-3 ess. fatty acids, magnesium, potassium. It also has B vit. protein & zinc. Many people take it in capsule form as a dietary supplement. I've tried cooking with it (bad idea unless you want everything to taste like old fish). check your local health food stores they can tell you more. I sprinkle the oil on my tossed salad and I use the flaxseeds and sprinkle them on my cereal . My doctor started me using Flaxseed Oil and I use all types of it now.

One spoon of fresh honey mixed with the juice of half a lemon in a glass of lukewarm water taken first thing in the morning is very effective for constipation, hyperacidity, and obesity. Honey in warm milk or water can give a soothing effect for patient with sore throats Honey is useful for the skin diseases. It can be applied externally for wounds, sores, and burns. It is also believed to minimise disfiguring scar.

An easy way to get the essence of the lavender is to take glass jar (any size will do) and fill it with as much lavender as you can. The most fragrant parts will work the best, but the essence is pretty much in the whole plant. After the jar is full, you can either pour alcohol (vodka is the cheapest) or distilled water over the lavender until the jar is full. Let this sit for a few weeks, shaking gently once in a while. Then, strain the liquid out into another dark container. Your fragrant essence should be just right and it will only take a few drops to give you the scent you desire in the bathwater.

Here is a recipe for a stain remover that my Aunt shared with me years ago. It works wonders on many types of stains. Combine equal parts of these three ingredients in a container: White vinegar liquid laundry detergent ammonia It even helps on oil stains--although I would probably try using hair shampoo on oil stains first. Shampoo helps remove excess oil from hair, so why not try it on fabric?!!

Peppermint and tea tree are good for senstitive skin for dogs as the tea tree disinfects and heals (dilute if applying not in soap form) and peppermint seems to help with bugs. Used this added to a melt and pour base. Ok for dogs(at current time): peppermint, tea tree, lavender, eucalptus, citronella, cedarwood.

I am available most anytimes. I can be flexible with my cooking for the soup kitchen since I do it here at home then deliver to them early in the am. Just post a time and I will be there.

Just food budget for the month for two people is about 140.00 or less a month with coupon and shopping card savings. Yesterday I went to Aldi's and spent 50.23 dollars for two weeks worth of groceries which included food for three meals a day and stuff to make home made snacks. I was under my budget so I deposited my leftover money in my grocery savings jar. You don't have to pass up fine dining on a budget. At aldi's I bought : 2 Cornish Hens 2-3pks of Boneless Pork Loin Thick Chops 1 large pack of their boneless skinless chicken breasts containing 8 to 10 breasts, These pieces are huge so I split one in half to make 2 servings. 1 10 pk of 90 % Fat Free Ground beef Patties pack 1 all beef hot dogs 1 spiral ham 6 lbs of ground turkey at 59 cents a lb roll All this meat came to 22.78 That left me with 27.00 ( rounded out) for cold cereal- crackers-a family sized box of oatmeal- 2 cases of vegetables at 29 cents a can, fresh celery, onions, potatoes, carrots and bananas plus some oranges, a pk of cheese, milk,2 doz eggs and ice cream and 4 loaves of bread and 1 pk of hamburger rolls and 1 of hot dog rolls all for 27.00 dollars. I have homemade jams and jellys and I make most of my own noodles myself besides my soups stews and gravies and desserts. The only other product we buy is a 5 lb can of Peter Pan peanut butter at Sams twice a month which is about 5.00 a can. Out of the chicken breasts I bought at Aldi I can make fried chicken, barbecued chicken, roasted chicken, sticky chicken, chicken and noodles, chicken nuggets, chicken and biscuits, soup and more... With the pork chops I can make pork fried rice, pork chops and saurkraut, pork peas and potato casserole, pulled pork barbeque, plus more I make meatballs from the ground turkey plus a couple of meatloafs, plus use ground turkey to make sloppy joes and other dishes, With the bag of potatoes I bought we will get several dishes from them. I not only use the hot dog rolls for hot dogs but I will use them for meat ball subs too! The hamburger rolls are used for hamburgers, sloppy joes, ham and pineapple sandwiches and egg and ham sandwiches.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER CHEESE Cheese is an excellent accompaniment to many made-over dishes, particularly to starchy foods and those lacking fat, as it adds both flavor and food value. Being a concentrated food, a little of it goes a long way, so there is no excuse for the least particle being wasted. When cheese comes from the store it should be kept in a cool, dry place. Grate all the little dry pieces as they accumulate, and put in a covered glass jar. It is well to keep a jar or two of Parmesan cheese, which comes grated, always on hand to help out. Care must be taken not to overcook cheese, as this renders indigestible. When it is to be added to a hot mixture let this be done, whenever possible, just before removal from the heat. — – — CHEESED RICE (A) Put in a double boiler of chafing-dish two cups of cold boiled rice and a scant half cup of hot milk, and heat thoroughly over water. Then sprinkle lightly over it half a cup of grated cheese and a few shreds of pimento. Cover tightly and let stand over the hot water until the cheese is melted. — – — CHEESED RICE ( Take half a cup of rice. Take any odds and ends of dry cheese too small to grate and melt them in the oven, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little mixed mustard. Turn the rice out on a hot platter, place three or four poached eggs on top, and pour the melted cheese over. — – — CHEESE WITH CREAMED SPROUTS Make a cup of White sauce (, and add one cup of left-over Brussels sprouts to the hot sauce, being careful not to break them. When well heated add half a cup of grated cheese and remove from the fire as soon as the cheese is melted. Serve on squares of well-buttered toast. — – — TOMATO RAREBIT 1/2 cup stewed tomatoes. 1/2 cup grated cheese. 1 tablespoon butter. 1 egg. Salt and cayenne as needed. Strain out the seeds from the cup of well-seasoned stewed tomatoes, pressing through all of the pulp, and let simmer uncovered until reduced to half a cup. Cook this rarebit over water, either in a double boiler of chafing-dish. Melt the butter and add the cheese, and stir until the cheese melts. Add seasonings and tomato pulp and heat together, stirring constantly. Blend a little of this hot mixture with the beaten egg before adding it. Remove from the heat as soon as the egg is well stirred in, and serve on slices of crisp rye-bread toast. — – — CHEESE DREAMS With a biscuit cutter cut circles from very thin slices of any kind of close-textured bread. Lay very thinly shaved slices of cheese between the bread to form sandwiches. Brown lightly in hot butter in a frying-pan. Serve hot. — – — CHEESE CANAPES With a biscuit cutter cut small circles from rather thin slices of rye bread, and brown them lightly in a little bacon fat. Put a few shreds of pimento on each circle, cover with grated cheese, and set in oven just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve hot as a first course. — – — CHEESE SANDWICHES (OF HOT BISCUITS) Have ready some very thin slices of cheese. Bake a pan of biscuits, and immediately on taking them from the oven break them open quickly, spread lightly with butter, and lay a slice of cheese between each. Cover with a warm napkin and serve promptly. It is necessary to work quickly so the warmth of the biscuit will melt the cheese. These are good for an emergency luncheon. — – — CREAM-CHEESE SALAD Mix an equal amount of cream cheese and chopped nuts well together. Add a little finely minced parsley. Form into balls the size of small English walnuts and set away to chill. When ready to serve the salad, dress a platter of crisp white lettuce leaves that have been well dried, with enough French dressing to moisten. Lay the cheese balls on the lettuce and serve at once. Cream cheese spoils very quickly, so any left-overs of it should be kept very cold and utilized within twenty-four hours. — – — CREAM CHEESE ON CRISP CRACKERS Take any unsweetened crackers. If they are not very crisp, put then on a flat baking tin and set in a moderate oven for a few minutes. Spread with beach-plum or your favorite jelly, and drop a small teaspoon of cream cheese in the center of each cracker. — – — CHEESE TOAST Dry slightly in the oven and then toast as many slices of brown bread as needed. Butter and keep them warm. Make enough White Sauce ( to well cover the toast, using paprika instead of pepper. When the sauce bubbles add one-half cup grated cheese to each cup of sauce, remove from the heat at once, and pour over the toast. Serve very hot. — – — CHEESE MACAROONS Spread some macaroons lightly with any tart jelly at hand. Press two together with a layer of snappy cheese between. — – — GERMAN POT-CHEESE CAKE 1 cup butter. 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs. 1 cup pot-cheese. 1 cup grated bread-crumbs. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cream the butter and sugar well together. Separate the eggs, adding the yolks one at a time, then the flavoring, and beat the mixture until very light. Stir in the pot-cheese and grated bread-crumbs. Fold in the stiffly beaten whites. Bake in a moderate oven. — – — CHEESE AND FISH SOUFFLE Cook half a cup of bread-crumbs to a paste in half a cup of rich milk, and stir in half a cup of mild cheese, grated. To the yolks of two eggs add a little mustard, salt, cayenne, few drops of Worcestershire, half a teaspoon lemon-juice, a little minced parsley, and half a cup of cooked fish, flaked. Add to first mixture and let cool. Fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Set in a pan of hot water and bake about twenty-five minutes. — – — CHEESE SHELL FILLED WITH CREAMED CABBAGE A small head of young cabbage should be boiled in salted water until tender. Drain, chop, and season it. There should be two cups. Put it in an empty Edam or pineapple cheese shell in alternate layers with one cup of White sauce (. Heat in the oven until the sauce bubbles. This will give the cabbage a delicate cheese flavor. Boiled macaroni or rice may also be reheated in cheese shells to advantage. — – — CHEESE STICKS (FROM PIE CRUST) When there is not enough crust for another pie, roll it thin, cut in strips about three inches long and one inch wide. Moisten the edges and spread with a little snappy cheese. Roll up and press the outer edge well down. Brown lightly in the oven. — – — CHEESE BALLS To cream cheese add a dash of Tabasco, a pinch of salt, enough paprika to give it a pink color, and cream to make a paste. Form into small balls and roll in finely chopped black walnuts. Serve with lettuce and French dressing. — – — CHEESE AND GREEN PEPPERS To soft cheese such as is packed in jars add desired amount of chopped green peppers. Use for sandwiches or serve from dish. — – — CHEESE SOUFFLE 1 cup White sauce ©. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 cup grated cheese. 3 egg whites. 3 egg yolks. Dash of cayenne. Make White sauce ©; while hot add cheese, salt, and cayenne, stirring as cheese melts. Remove from heat and add yolks of eggs already beaten until thick. Let cool, cut and fold in stiffly beaten whites of eggs, turn into buttered baking-dish holding a quart, and make in moderate oven twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve at once. — – — CHEESE SOUP 1 1/2 cups milk. 1/2 cup cooked diced carrots and carrot-juice. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/4 cup grated cheese. 1 egg. 1/4 teaspoon ground mace. Little cayenne. Cook milk in double boiler with carrots, adding spice and seasoning. When the carrots are very soft, strain and press through a sieve, pouring liquid on to a beaten egg, stirring carefully meanwhile. Return the soup to the double boiler, re-heat, add grated cheese, and serve when this is melted. — – — WELSH RAREBIT 1 tablespoon butter. 1/4 cup cream. 1/2 cup cheese, broken in small pieces. 1/2 teaspoon lemon-juice. 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. 1 egg, slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. 1/8 teaspoon mustard. 1/4 teaspoon celery salt. Toasted bread or crisp crackers. Dash of cayenne. Melt butter in double boiler, add cheese and cream, and while this is melting stir in mustard, celery salt, and cayenne previously mixed together. When the cheese mixture has begun to thicken and look creamy, carefully stir in the egg. Just before taking up add lemon-juice and Worcestershire. Serve at once on toast or crackers. Avoid overcooking, or the cheese will become stringy. — – — MOCK WELSH RAREBIT 3 tablespoons butter. 1 tablespoon flour. 1 well-beaten egg. 1/3 cup cheese. 1/2 cup cold water. 1/3 cup milk. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 cup white bread-crumbs. Toasted crackers. Cayenne. Soak crumbs in water fifteen minutes. Prepare and measure all ingredients, as everything should be at hand before beginning to cook. Melt butter, add flour, and while cooking add cheese crumbled in small pieces. Cook and stir till smooth, and cheese is almost melted, then add milk gradually. The soft bread-crumbs and seasoning come next. When well blended, add the egg mixed with a tablespoonful cold water. Cook and stir carefully until slightly thickened, pour over hot crackers, and serve at once. — – — WHITE SAUCE ( 2 tablespoons butter. 2 tablespoons flour. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. 1 cup milk. WHITE SAUCE © 3 tablespoons butter. 3 tablespoons flour. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. 1 cup milk. COMMON DIRECTIONS FOR WHITE SAUCE Melt the butter, stir in the flour and seasoning and cook slowly without browning until the mixture bubbles. Remove from the high heat, add the milk gradually, beating and stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. — – — FRENCH DRESSING 1 tablespoon vinegar. 3 tablespoons oil. 1/8 teaspoon salt. White pepper. This is the usual proportion of oil and vinegar, but an equal quantity of each may be used if desired, or more oil. To the seasoning in a bowl add the oil and vinegar, and beat with a whisk or fork until it thickens slightly. Use at once. When made at the table the dressing will thicken more quickly if a bit of ice is put in the bowl with the other ingredients. Remove ice when dressing is made. — – — SURPRISE BISCUITS 1 1/2 cups flour. 2 tablespoons shortening. 3 tablespoons baking-powder. 1/2 teaspoon salt. About 1/2 cup of milk. Make a biscuit dough as soft as can be handled, pat it lightly, roll into a thin sheet, and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake twenty minutes in a hot oven. Serve hot.

(POSTED BY RECI) WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER SOUR MILK AND CREAM CONTENTS 1. BOSTON BROWN BREAD 2. EMERGENCY BISCUITS 3. SOUR-MILK GRIDDLE-CAKES 4. BREAKFAST STRAWS 5. CORN BREAD 6. COTTAGE CHEESE NO. 1 7. COTTAGE CHEESE NO. 2 8. EGG-LESS COOKIES (PLAIN) 9. GRAHAM BREAD 10. SOUR-MILK GINGERBREAD 11. SOUR-CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE 12. CREAM SPICE CAKE 13. CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE — – — WHAT TO DO WITH SOUR MILK AND CREAM It often happens in warm weather, with even a limited milk supply, that some of it gets sour before it can be used. This sour milk should never be wasted, even if there is only a little. It is a valuable kitchen asset. Have a clean glass to pour the remnants in, and keep it in the fridge until enough has accumulated to make from a half to one cup. Then plan to use it as soon as it thickens, for milk becomes bitter if it stands too long. In the following recipes all soda measurements should be level and exact. — – — BOSTON BROWN BREAD 1 cup corn-meal. 1 cup Graham flour. 1/3 cup molasses. 1 2/3 cups thick sour milk. 1 teaspoon soda. 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sift the meal and flour before measuring. Dissolve soda in a little hot water, add to milk. Combine wet and dry materials, pour into greased mold (leaving room for bread to rise), cover with greased cover, and steam four hours. Take off cover and bake in oven half an hour. This will make one loaf. — – — EMERGENCY BISCUITS 2 cups flour. 1 tablespoon shortening. 1 cup thick sour milk. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon soda. Sift the flour, salt, and soda well together. Rub in the shortening with a spoon. Add the milk and stir lightly. The dough should be soft. Drop by spoonfuls into greased muffin-tins and bake in a hot oven about twenty minutes. — – — SOUR-MILK GRIDDLE-CAKES 1 cup thick sour milk. 1/2 cup any cooked grain cereal. 1 egg. About 3/4 cup flour. 1/2 teaspoon soda. 1/8 teaspoon salt. Beat sour milk, cereal, and egg well together. Sift flour and salt and add them. When ready to bake the cakes add the soda and beat the batter vigorously. It should look like thick cream. If too thin add a little more flour, and if too thick add more sour milk or a little water. — – — BREAKFAST STRAWS 1 cup thick sour milk. 1/2 cup dried currants. 1/2 teaspoon soda. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. About 2 cups flour, and enough more to roll. Sift the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon together; add the currants. Stir in the milk quickly. The dough should be stiff enough to roll out. Cut into narrow strips and fry in hot fat. These are good with coffee. — – — CORN BREAD 1 cup corn-meal (scant). 1/2 cup flour. 1 egg, well beaten. 1 cup thick sour milk. 1/2 teaspoon soda. 1 tablespoon sugar. 1 tablespoon melted beef dripping or chicken fat. 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dissolve soda in hot water, put with sour milk. Sift and mix dry materials; add egg, milk, and shortening. Bake in muffin-tins half an hour. A little sour cream, if at hand, may be substituted for some of the milk. In that case omit shortening. — – — COTTAGE CHEESE NO. 1 Cook one pint of thick sour milk in double boiler over simmering water until it begins to whey. Strain through fine napkin, squeeze out the whey, and add three teaspoons of cream, a little salt, and white pepper. Make into small balls. This amount makes four or five. — – — COTTAGE CHEESE NO. 2 To three pints of thick sour milk add one pint of boiling or very hot water. Let stand half an hour, pour off water, and put curd in small bag to drain. Add salt, a little soft butter, and cream if at hand. — – — EGG-LESS COOKIES (PLAIN) 1/2 cup butter. 1 cup sugar. 1 cup thick sour milk 3/4 teaspoon soda. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 1/2 teaspoon clove. Salt. 2 cups flour; enough more to roll out. Cream butter and sugar. Dissolve soda in hot water and add to milk. Mix all together, making soft dough. Use as little extra flour as possible. Chill dough, and use only small portion at a time. Roll out thin, sprinkle a little granulated sugar and two or three currants on top. Bake in hot oven. — – — GRAHAM BREAD 1 cup thick sour milk. 1/2 cup molasses. 1 cup Graham flour. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1 cup wheat flour. 1/2 teaspoon baking-powder. 1 teaspoon soda. Sift Graham and wheat flour and measure. Add baking-powder and salt; sift again. Dissolve soda in hot water, add to sour milk, and mix with molasses. Combine wet and dry mixtures, bake in bread-pan one and one-half hours. This will make one loaf. — – — SOUR-MILK GINGERBREAD 1 scant cup molasses. 1/2 cup thick sour milk. 4 tablespoons melted shortening. 2 cups flour. 1 egg. 4 tablespoons cocoa. 1 teaspoon ginger. 1/2 teaspoon soda 1/8 teaspoon salt. Mix molasses, sour milk, and beaten egg well together, and add cocoa, ginger, salt and flour. Dissolve the soda in very little hot water and add it. Beat in the melted shortening last. Bake in a shallow pan or muffin-tins in a moderate oven about twenty-five minutes. — – — SOUR-CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE Sweeten and chill a cupful of sour cream. Whip it, keeping it cold while doing so, and when stiff fold in a cup of chopped nuts. This is excellent for layer cakes. If for any reason the cream does not become stiff, add one teaspoonful of melted gelatin and chill. — – — CREAM SPICE CAKE 1 cup sour cream. 1 cup sugar. 1 egg, well beaten. 1 teaspoon soda. 1 cup raisins, chopped and floured. Sprinkling of salt (if needed). 2 cups bread flour. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 2 teaspoons grated nutmeg. 2 teaspoons cinnamon. 1 teaspoon allspice. 1/2 teaspoon clove. Mix all together, adding to sour cream the soda dissolved in a little hot water. Bake as a loaf for one hour, or in muffin-tins. — – — CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE Mix equal quantities of sour cream, chopped nuts and raisins. Add a little lemon-juice and powdered sugar.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER FRUIT CONTENTS 1. FRUIT MACEDOINE 2. STEWED-FRUIT MACEDOINE 3. APRICOT SAUCE 4. APPLE-SAUCE CAKE 5. APPLE CHARLOTTE 6. BLACKBERRY JELLY (WITH GELATIN) 7. BLUEBERRY ICE 8. STEWED CANTALOUPE 9. CORN-STARCH PUDDING 10. FRUIT COCKTAIL 11. A CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE 12. EMERGENCY SALAD (FROM FRUIT AND NUTS) 13. FRUIT SOUFFLE 14. SOFT CUSTARD 15. JELLY WHIP 16. GRAPE-FRUIT SERVED IN SLICES 17. HUCKLEBERRY DUMPLINGS 18. HASTY HUCKLEBERRY PUDDING 19. LEMON CUPS FOR DRESSINGS 20. LEMON SYRUP FOR LEMONADE 21. PEACH TAPIOCA 22. PEACH SAUCE 23. PEACH PUDDING 24. SAUCE OF MIXED FRUIT 25. FRUIT SAGO (FROM SYRUP LEFT FROM CANNING) 26. FRUIT WHIP 27. INDIVIDUAL SHORTCAKES WITH STEWED FRUIT 28. ORANGE PEEL 29. CANDIED ORANGE PEEL 30. ORANGE BASKETS 31. RUSSIAN TEA 32. WATERMELON BALLS — – — WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER FRUIT Ripe fruit is perishable, and when the supply is within control, the housekeeper should take care to keep it limited so there will not be large quantities on hand. As soon as it shows signs of softening it is no longer fit to be served as fresh fruit, but should be cooked up at once with a little sugar added, and used as a sauce; or, with more sugar added and cooked longer, almost any fruit can be made into a good jam for future use. Only perfectly sound, fresh fruit is safe to can. Canned fruit when opened spoils more quickly than any other cooked fruit; it is therefore wise always to use any remainder as soon as possible. It can be rubbed through a sieve, a little corn-starch added for thickening, made sweeter if necessary, and cooked until it thickens, and used as a sauce for puddings. It can be molded in a corn-starch mixture, added to a muffin batter and baked, or stirred into ice-cream when the dasher is removed, or poured over ice-cream when it is served. Many other ways will suggest themselves. — – — FRUIT MACEDOINE It often happens that a little fresh fruit is allowed to spoil because there is not enough to go round again. Instead of this two or more kinds may be mixed together very acceptably. The following make good combinations: strawberries and pineapple; raspberries, currants, and a few pitted cherries; huckleberries and a few currants; peaches and pineapple; pears and peaches; orange, grape-fruit, and banana. Keep the left-overs very cold and carefully, to avoid a "mussy" appearance, and serve again promptly. — – — STEWED-FRUIT MACEDOINE A small portion of several fruits, particularly berries, may be stewed together, into an excellent sauce. The following are good combinations: cranberries and a few raisins; rhubarb and huckleberries; raspberries and currants; huckleberries and currants. Avoid long cooking of any of these, as it dissipates the flavor. — – — APRICOT SAUCE Beat powdered sugar, apricot-juice, and pieces of fruit together. Whip white of an egg very light, and add to beaten fruit and sugar, or add fruit gradually to unbeaten egg white, and beat some minutes. Sauce made in second way will stand longer. Different fruits may be used. — – — APPLE-SAUCE CAKE 1 cup light brown sugar. 1/2 cup shortening. 1 cup apple sauce. 1 teaspoon salt. 1 teaspoon soda. 1 3/4 cups bread flour. 1/2 teaspoon each mace, clove, and cinnamon. Put sugar and shortening in mixing-bowl, add apple sauce, then dry ingredients already mixed and sifted. Beat well, turn into deep pan, and bake in moderate oven about one hour. If liked, one cup of floured raisins may be added with dry ingredients. Butter alone may be used for shortening, or part chicken or rendered beef fat. — – — APPLE CHARLOTTE 1 tablespoon gelatin. 1/4 cup sugar. 1/4 cup boiling water. 1 tablespoon lemon-juice. 3 tablespoons cold water. 1/2 cup strained apple sauce. 1 cup whipped cream. Soak gelatin in cold, dissolve in boiling, water. Add sugar, lemon-juice, and apple sauce (more sugar if the apple sauce is not sweet), and set in cool place to stiffen. When it is thoroughly chilled and begins to harden around the edges, beat with a whisk, adding gradually the whipped cream. When stiff enough to drop, pour into mold and chill. The whites of two eggs beaten stiff may be used instead of cream, and the charlotte served with soft custard. — – — BLACKBERRY JELLY (WITH GELATIN) 2/3 cup blackberry-juice and pulp strained fro stewed blackberries. 1 tablespoon lemon-juice. 1/3 cup boiling water. 1/2 tablespoon gelatin. Soak gelatin in two tablespoons cold water; when softened dissolve in boiling water; add sugar if necessary, hot blackberry-pulp, and lemon-juice. Mix, pour into bowl or mold, and set in cool place to form. Serve with sugar and cream. — – — BLUEBERRY ICE 1 pint stewed blueberries (already sweetened). 1/2 cup sugar. 1/3 cup lemon-juice. 1/3 tablespoon gelatin, soaked in half a cup of cold water. 1 cup boiling water. 1 beaten egg white. Strain berries. (Juice should amount to one and one-half cups.) Melt soaked gelatin in boiling water, add sugar, blueberry, and lemon-juice. Cool and freeze. Stir in beaten egg white just before freezing. — – — STEWED CANTALOUPE When cantaloupes are cut they are sometimes found to be too green or too tasteless to be served as fresh fruit. In such cases, cut the pulp out with a spoon or knife, add a little water, sugar according to the sweetness of the melons, and a few thin slices of lemon. Stew until tender. — – — CORN-STARCH PUDDING 1/2 quart milk. 4 tablespoons corn-starch, blended in little cold water. 1/4 cup sugar. 1 egg, well beaten. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 cup chopped cooked peaches, apricots, or pears. Flavoring. Scald milk, stir in blended corn-starch, and cook five minutes in double boiler. Place upper part of double boiler over heat, let corn-starch boil, return boiler to place, add sugar, egg, and salt beaten together, and cook two minutes, stirring constantly. Flavor with vanilla, add fruit, and pour into mold. Chill, and serve with sugar and cream. An excellent way of using up small amounts of canned fruits. — – — FRUIT COCKTAIL Mix one-third cup of pineapple shredded with a fork, one-half cup of sliced orange-pulp and bananas, one cup berries or grape-fruit. Pour over a dressing made of one-third cup melted currant jelly, three tablespoons lemon-juice, and one half cup of sugar. (Jelly and sugar are heated and lemon-juice added.) Chill and serve in glasses. — – — A CREAM FILLING FOR CAKE Take one cup of thick corn-starch custard, and mix it with one-half cup of chopped stewed prunes, drained very dry, and add a few chopped walnuts. — – — EMERGENCY SALAD (FROM FRUIT AND NUTS) Cut a few bits of cheese into neat cubes. Chop six or eight olives. Break a few English walnuts into suitable-sized pieces. Remove the skin and seeds from a bunch of white grapes, if at hand. Slice a banana or orange. Cut one or two small sweet pickles into thin slivers. Mix all lightly together. Take four fair red apples. Polish them well, cut a thick slice from the stem end and take out the core and most of the apple part, so as to form a cup. Mix the salad with a little mayonnaise, and serve in the apples, replacing the slice on top. — – — FRUIT SOUFFLE 3/4 cup cooked and strained fruit-pulp peach, apricot, prune, or quince. Whites 3 eggs. Enough sugar to sweeten. Prepare pulp from canned or stewed fruit; add sugar if necessary; if too sweet, lemon-juice. Beat whites of eggs stiff, add gradually fruit-pulp, and beat until all has been put in. Turn into buttered molds, having them three-fourths full. Place in pan of hot water and bake in slow oven until firm. Serve with soft custard. — – — SOFT CUSTARD Scald milk with lemon-rind, beat yolks, sugar, and salt together. Combine by pouring hot milk gradually on yolks and sugar, stirring meanwhile. Strain mixture into double-boiler and cook until thickened slightly. Remove at once from double boiler and cool. If vanilla is preferred, add when custard is cold. — – — JELLY WHIP 3 tablespoons any tart jelly. 3 egg whites. 1/2 teaspoon lemon-juice. 1 teaspoon gelatin. 4 tablespoons rolled macaroons. A little salt. Soak the gelatin in one tablespoon of cold water ten minutes, and then melt over hot water. Add the jelly and salt to the unbeaten whites and beat stiff with a whisk, adding the lemon-juice and gelatin gradually. Fold in two tablespoons of the macaroons and set away to chill. Put a tablespoon of any juice fresh or canned fruit in small glasses, pile the whip lightly on top, and sprinkle with the remainder of the macaroons. — – — GRAPE-FRUIT SERVED IN SLICES One large grape-fruit can be made to serve four people at luncheon by cutting it into thick slices like a watermelon, removing the fibrous core in the center and filling the space with any fresh fruit at hand, such as strawberries, peaches, or shredded pineapple. Have all well chilled before serving. — – — HUCKLEBERRY DUMPLINGS 1 1/2 cups left-over huckleberries. 4 tablespoons sugar. 1 teaspoon vinegar. 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 3 tablespoons water. Put above ingredients into saucepan and let them come just to the boil. While these are heating sift together one cup of flour, two teaspoons of baking-powder, and one-eighth teaspoon of salt. Beat up one egg, add to it about two tablespoons of milk, and stir lightly into the dry materials. There should be just liquid enough to wet the flour, and make a very stiff dough. Drop by spoonfuls into the boiling huckleberries, cover tightly, and boil ten minutes without removing the cover. Serve at once. A mixture of huckleberries and currants may be used, and the vinegar omitted. — – — HASTY HUCKLEBERRY PUDDING Take four slices of cut bread that has not become dry. Butter the slices on both sides. Place one each in individual sauce-dishes. Grate a very little nutmeg on the top of each, and pour over enough warm, stewed huckleberries to moisten and well cover. — – — LEMON CUPS FOR DRESSINGS When making lemonade save the best skins by putting them at once in cold water. In this way they will keep for several days, and are nice to use in serving salad dressings with lettuce salad, or cocktail sauce with oysters or clams, or cold Hollandaise sauce with fish. — – — LEMON SYRUP FOR LEMONADE Do not allow an accumulated supply of lemons to dry up or mold. They can be made into syrup which will keep for some time, and which can be used for lemonade by simply adding water. To make syrup, boil a cup of sugar with one-quarter cup of water until it threads. Add to this the juice and pulp of six lemons and the grated rind of two, being careful to grate only the thin yellow part. Let all scald together, but do not boil. Strain and bottle. — – — PEACH TAPIOCA Soak one-half cup of granulated tapioca in one and one-half cups of cold water over night. In the morning add two cups of boiling water and a little salt, and let it boil five minutes. Then put into a double boiler and cook until clear. Take the remnants of a can of peaches — there should be at least a cup, and if there is a pit or two all the better. Add a little more sugar, and simmer until the syrup is somewhat thickened, and stir into the cleared tapioca. Remove from the fire, cool, and pour into a glass dish. Serve with sweetened cream. — – — PEACH SAUCE When preserving peaches take the broken pieces and halves not perfect enough for putting in jars and make a sauce of them. Add vinegar, cove, cinnamon, and sugar, and boil all together until of the right consistency. — – — PEACH PUDDING 1 cup flour. 1/2 cup sugar. 1/2 cup milk. Left-over peaches, canned or fresh. 2 tablespoons butter. 2 teaspoons baking-powder. 1 egg. Cream butter and sugar, add well-beaten egg, milk and flour and baking-powder sifted together. Put a layer of peaches in a buttered baking-dish, pour the batter over, and bake. Serve with cream and sugar, or sweet sauce. Over fruits may be used instead of peaches. — – — SAUCE OF MIXED FRUIT One or two kinds of stewed fruits added to a tart stewed plum sauce will improve it and give variety. Rub the sauce through a strainer, add to it two or three Bartlett pears (cut fine and stewed until tender in a very little water), and a few tablespoons of left-over apple sauce. Sweeten and cook together until the flavors of the fruits are well blended and the sauce has thickened slightly. — – — FRUIT SAGO (FROM SYRUP LEFT FROM CANNING) In canning berries there is often a quantity of fruit syrup left over. Take a 1/2 quart of any kind at hand, but raspberry or raspberry and currant particularly recommended, and stir into it when boiling three tablespoons of sago that has been soaked in cold water several hours. Add more sugar if necessary and a little salt, and cook in a double boiler until the sago is soft. Pour in a mold and chill. This can be served with a little fresh fruit or with sweetened cream. — – — FRUIT WHIP Put a little jelly or preserve in the bottom of lemonade glasses. Fill up with sweetened and flavored whipped cream. May be served as an evening dessert with light cakes. — – — INDIVIDUAL SHORTCAKES WITH STEWED FRUIT Measure a pint of sifted flour. Sift with it two tablespoons sugar, half a teaspoon salt, and four scant teaspoons baking-powder. Cut into the mixture one-fourth cup shortening (equal parts butter and chicken fat or beef dripping may be used.) Make a soft dough with about three-fourths of a cup of milk. Bake in small tins, split after baking, butter the halves and spread between and on top any left-over stewed or canned fruits such as peaches, apricots, blackberries, or currants. Small amounts may be used, varying the filling if there is not enough of one kind to go around, or a meringue may be made, for the top, of the beaten whites of two eggs sweetened with three tablespoons powdered sugar and flavored with lemon-juice. — – — ORANGE PEEL Do not make a practice of throwing away the skins of oranges. The grated yellow rind makes a good flavoring for cakes, candies, pudding sauces, and icings, and is much cheaper than extracts. — – — CANDIED ORANGE PEEL Cut the peel of three or four oranges into narrow strips and soak it twenty-four hours in enough cold water to cover, adding two tablespoons of salt to each quart of water used. Pour off the salt water and rinse very thoroughly. Cover with fresh cold water and boil until almost tender. Make a syrup of two cups of sugar and one and one-quarter cups of water. When it boils add the orange peel and simmer gently until it looks clear and the syrup has thickened. Take out a few pieces at a time with a fork, roll in granulated sugar, and spread on a flat platter. Or it may be dried in the oven with the door open, packed in glass jars, and used for mince pies, puddings, etc., cut in small bits. If any syrup remains it can be used a second time, or it will flavor a pudding sauce. — – — ORANGE BASKETS When the pulp of oranges is to be served in small pieces, or the juice alone used, cut the peel in the form of baskets with a handle half an inch wide, and with a spoon carefully remove the pulp. Put the baskets at once into cold water and they will keep fresh for several days. Use them for serving orange sponge, lemon jelly, or a fruit blanc mange. An orange sponge may be attractively served to an invalid in this way. For the sponge take the juice of a medium-sized orange, strain it, add two teaspoons of sugar, and stir until dissolved. Add two teaspoons of cold water to one teaspoon of granulated gelatin. When softened melt over hot water and add to the orange-juice with a few drops of lemon-juice. Set on ice bowl until it begins to harden around the edge of the bowl, then beat with a whisk until the mass is thick and spongy. Chill again and pile lightly in the orange basket after it has been well dried. — – — RUSSIAN TEA Add a slice of lemon and a little preserve — strawberry, raspberry, etc., to tea, served hot in glasses. — – — WATERMELON BALLS Any watermelon left over can be attractively served as a breakfast fruit by cutting it into perfectly round balls with a vegetable or ice-cream scoop, or if this is not at hand, cut the pulp out with a dessert-spoon into oval-shaped pieces, chill, and serve very cold.

Leftover, or stale bread, can be used for bread-crumbs, stuffings, croutons, toasts and puddings. WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER BREAD — From the COOKS.COM Culinary Archive. WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER BREAD CONTENTS CROUTONS STEAMED BREAD TO FRESHEN DRY ROLLS OR A LOAF OF DRY BREAD BREAD GRIDDLE-CAKES (with Sour Milk) BREWIS (from Boston Brown Bread) BOSTON-BROWN-BREAD TOAST BROWN-BREAD RELISH BIRD'S-NEST TOAST SOFT BUTTERED TOAST MILK TOAST BREAD STICKS QUICK BREAD OMELET BREAD CEREAL CRUST COFFEE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING BREAD PUDDING MOCK INDIAN PUDDING BROWN BETTY CURRANT PUDDING CHERRY PUDDING NEW ENGLAND PAN PIE ("Pan-dowdy") SPICED GRAHAM PUDDING STEAMED BREAD PUDDING TOAST PUDDING CREAM PUFFS (from Pop-overs) VEGETARIAN LOAF SAUCES AND SYRUPS BREAD SAUCE HARD SAUCE LEMON SAUCE MAPLE SAUCE SYRUP RAISIN SAUCE VANILLA SAUCE WHITE SAUCE — – — WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT-OVER BREAD The uses for stale bread are so many and varied that it is obviously unwise to waste a particle. The bread-box requires constant supervision and care, especially in summer, when mold forms so quickly. It should be examined daily in hot weather, and in all seasons scalded and aired well before each fresh baking of bread. Small bits of bread should be slowly dried in the oven until crisp and brittle, then ground in the meat grinder or rolled, and kept on hand in a glass jar for breading articles to be fried, for scallops, croquettes, dry stuffings, etc. The larger dried pieces, if cut into presentable shapes, are an excellent substitute for crackers or croutons with soup, and are often preferred to fresh bread. Small pieces and broken slices of stale bread may be used for moist stuffings for meat and poultry, for griddle-cakes, steamed bread, bread omelet, toast points, puddings of different sorts, and for other uses which will readily suggest themselves. — – — CROUTONS Cut stale slices of bread half an inch thick. Trim off crusts (which may be set aside and used for puddings), butter the slices, and cut into half-inch cubes. Place on shallow pan and brown in a hot oven, turning them so that they may not burn. Serve with soup. — – — STEAMED BREAD The very dry, hard pieces may be used in this way: Heat a griddle hot, butter it well, dip the pieces of bread quickly into hot salted water, and brown on both sides on the griddle. Eat with butter or with syrup. — – — TO FRESHEN DRY ROLLS OR A LOAF OF DRY BREAD Dip them quickly into cold water, drain, and heat in oven. — – — BREAD GRIDDLE-CAKES (with Sour Milk) Use equal quantities of sour milk and small, broken pieces of bread. Mix and let stand, covered, over one or two nights. Bits of rice may be added to this mixture if desired. In warm weather a little salt may be added. (In this case omit adding salt later.) When ready to use, put through colander. For each pint of mixture use one egg, one teaspoon soda, one teaspoon sugar, one-fourth teaspoon salt, and about three-quarters of a cup sifted flour. It is always wise to bake a small cake first, that any lack in ingredients may be remedied at once. An extra yolk or small amount of uncooked egg may be added if at hand. Bake on hot griddle and serve with syrup. — – — BREWIS (from Boston Brown Bread) Take dry Boston brown bread and break into small pieces, having two cupfuls. Put into saucepan, add milk enough to cover (one pint or more). Let soak awhile on low heat; when all is soft, increase heat and let simmer until milk is absorbed. Add a little salt and a tablespoon of butter. Serve with cream. — – — BOSTON-BROWN-BREAD TOAST Dry slightly in the oven the needed number of slices of brown bread and toast them carefully. Lay them on a warm platter, butter, and pour over them white sauce, to which one or two spoons of finely chopped cooked ham have been added. Serve very hot. — – — BROWN-BREAD RELISH Put a little bacon fat in a frying-pan. When it is hot add any cut slices of Boston brown bread and brown carefully. Slip a poached egg on each slice and serve hot. — – — BIRD'S-NEST TOAST Cut a slice of stale bread in a large circle. Toast it carefully over a slow fire until a delicate brown. Dip the edges very quickly in hot salted water and put it on a hot baking-tin, where it will keep warm. Butter if desired. Separate a perfectly fresh egg. Add a little salt to the white and beat to a stiff froth. Pile this on the toast, make a depression in the center, into which carefully slip the yolk. Heat in the oven just enough to "set" the yolk, and serve it on a warm plate. — – — SOFT BUTTERED TOAST Toast six or eight slices of stale bread. Melt one-fourth cup butter in half a cup of boiling water in a bowl. Quickly dip each slice of toast in it. place in hot dish, and pour remainder of "dip" over all. — – — MILK TOAST Toast bread to a golden brown, having it dry all through. Keep hot in deep dish in oven. Make white sauce, using one and a half cups for six slices of toast. Pour between and over slices of toast and serve hot. If a softer toast is liked, quickly dip slices in hot water or milk before adding sauce. — – — BREAD STICKS Remove the crusts from any slices of stale, close-textured bread, and cut in strips about five inches long and one-half inch wide. Roll in melted butter and brown delicately in the oven, or fry in deep, hot fat without rolling in butter. These can be served with cheese instead of crackers. — – — QUICK BREAD OMELET 3 eggs. 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs. 5 tablespoons white sauce. Dash of cayenne Salt and pepper. Make the white sauce and pour while hot over bread-crumbs, mixing and mashing them well. Beat yolks of eggs until thick, and stir them, with the extra seasoning, into the white sauce mixture. Cut and fold in the stiffly beaten whites. Have ready a hot, buttered frying-pan, turn in omelet, and cook lightly. Set pan in oven to dry off top of omelet, turn out on warm platter, and serve at once. — – — BREAD CEREAL Dry bread in oven until crisp and brown. Roll on board, or put through meat grinder, having crumbs coarse. Serve warm as a breakfast food with cream. — – — CRUST COFFEE Cut the crusts from slices of Boston brown bread and brown in oven until they are much darker in color, but not burned. Put into saucepan, pour boiling water on them, and let stand covered where they will keep hot for fifteen minutes. Pour off the liquid into a hot coffee-pot, and serve with sugar and cream. An excellent and wholesome substitute for coffee. — – — CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING 1 pint milk. 4 tablespoons grated chocolate. 2 tablespoons butter. 1/3 cup sugar. Whites of 2 eggs. Yolks of 2 eggs. 1 1/2 cups stale bread-crumbs (soaked in 2/3 cup water). 2 tablespoons powdered sugar. Vanilla. Scald milk, add chocolate melted over hot water, butter, and sugar. Stir well and pour over the soft bread-crumbs and beaten yolks of eggs. Add one teaspoon vanilla, pour into buttered pudding-dish, and bake half an hour. Make meringue of whites of eggs beaten until stiff and dry, the powdered sugar, and half a teaspoon vanilla. It may be served warm or cold. — – — BREAD PUDDING 3 eggs. 2 cups bread-crumbs. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 1/2 cup raisins. 2 tablespoons butter. 1 quart milk. 1/2 teaspoon salt. Little nutmeg. Scald milk. Add butter and bread-crumbs. Beat eggs light and add with salt and spice to bread mixture. Bake lightly in moderate oven about an hour. To be served warm with hard sauce or lemon sauce. — – — MOCK INDIAN PUDDING Butter on both sides three slices of white bread, add one quart of milk, two-thirds of a cup of molasses, and a little salt. Bake slowly about two and a half hours, stirring often until well mixed. Serve with cream. — – — BROWN BETTY Place alternate layers of chopped juicy apples, and stale bread-crumbs in buttered baking-dish, having crumbs on bottom. Add cinnamon and sugar to each layer of apple, using more sugar if apples are very tart. Make a top layer with bread-crumbs and add more butter. Bake for an hour, covering dish at first. Crown crumbs on top. Serve warm with hard sauce or white sauce, or if preferred, sugar and cream. Scant sugar in pudding if sweet sauce is used. — – — CURRANT PUDDING 1 pint currants. 1/2 cup sugar. 6 or 8 slices stale bread. Stew fruit, boiling about five minutes. Add sugar just before removal from heat. Cut crusts from bread and fit slices neatly into bowl or dish from which the pudding will turn out well. Pour currants between and over slices, covering all parts of bread. Cover closely, place in the fridge to set. Serve cold with cream and sugar. — – — CHERRY PUDDING 1 cup of fine sifted bread-crumbs. 1 cup flour. 4 tablespoons sugar. 1 cup pitted cherries. 4 tablespoons butter. About 1/2 cup of milk or enough to make a soft dough. 1/2 teaspoons salt. 2 teaspoons baking-powder. 1 egg. Mix crumbs, flour, sugar, salt, and baking-powder together. Rub in the butter with a spoon. Beat the egg until light, add the milk, and stir into the dry materials. Sprinkle the least bit of flour on the cherries and add them. Bake about half an hour. Serve hot with vanilla sauce. — – — NEW ENGLAND PAN PIE ("Pan-dowdy") Apples. Light bread dough. 1/2 cup molasses. 1/2 cup sugar. 2 tablespoons butter. Pieces of stale bread. 1/2 teaspoon clove. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Fill a good-sized baking-dish with juicy apples pared and quartered, cover with a crust made of bread dough (or pastry), and bake until apples are soft and crust brown. Take off crust while adding to apples the butter, molasses, sugar, spice, and pieces of bread. (Amount of bread may vary.) Replace crust, having brown side down, and spread with some of the apple. Cover closely with a pan and bake in moderate oven for two hours. Turn out on flat dish and serve cold with cream. — – — SPICED GRAHAM PUDDING Take half a loaf of stale graham bread before it gets very dry, and cut off all the hard crust. Press seeded raisins well into the bread to cover the entire surface. Make a custard mixture of two cups of cold milk, two eggs, four tablespoons sugar, one-half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon mixed spices, and one-quarter teaspoon nutmeg. Mix the sugar, salt, and spices together and add them to the beaten eggs. Pour in the milk. Soak the bread in this until it entirely absorbs it, turning occasionally so all sides are moistened. Put into a buttered pudding-mold, and steam one hour. Serve with maple sauce. — – — STEAMED BREAD PUDDING 1 pint bread-crumbs. 1 cup cold water. 1 cup molasses. 1 teaspoon soda, dissolved in hot water. 1 egg, well beaten. 1 cup flour. 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 1 teaspoon clove 1 cup raisins, cleaned. 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together and steam three hours. If half rule is used, do not divide the egg. Nuts may be substituted for part of raisins if desired. Serve with hard sauce. — – — TOAST PUDDING Cut five or six slices of light, stale bread half an inch thick. Mix one beaten egg with one cup milk, add one-fourth teaspoon salt, and soak bread in this for fifteen minutes. Brown in hot butter in a frying-pan or griddle. Serve with raisin sauce. — – — CREAM PUFFS (from Pop-overs) Take any pop-overs left from breakfast and make an opening in them just large enough to neatly fill the center. For four to six pop-overs make a filling of one-half cup of cream sweetened with two tablespoons of sugar and flavored with one-quarter teaspoon of vanilla or a little lemon-juice. Add a very little salt and whip it. Stir in one teaspoon of melted gelatin. Place in fridge to chill. When ready to serve stir in half a cup of any fresh fruit that has been sugared, then drain off the juice, and fill the pop-overs. Serve at once. The fruit may be omitted. — – — VEGETARIAN LOAF 2 cups white bread-crumbs. 1 cup milk. 2 cups pecan nuts of English walnuts. 2 beaten eggs. 1/2 teaspoon salt. 1 teaspoon poultry dressing. 1/2 cup melted butter. Pepper and celery salt. Soak bread-crumbs in milk and eggs. Put nuts through meat grinder, but do not use finest cutter, as they should not be as fine as meal. Mix with crumbs, milk, eggs, and seasoning. Grease oblong bread-pan and put in mixture, pouring a little melted butter over top. Bake half an hour, basting often with butter. Turn out on platter and serve hot, or slice cold. Use parsley for garnish. — – — SAUCES AND SYRUPS BREAD SAUCE Cook in double boiler half pint of milk, with a small onion and two cloves. Strain, put in saucepan, and add half a cup grated white bread-crumbs from the inside of the loaf, mixed to a paste with some of the hot milk. Let boil a few minutes, stirring and blending well. Add one-fourth teaspoon salt, a dash of cayenne, and a small piece of butter just before taking up. Two teaspoons chopped parsley may be added if desired. — – — HARD SAUCE 1/4 cup butter. 1 cup sifted powdered sugar. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Nutmeg. Cream butter, add gradually powdered sugar, and beat together until light. Add vanilla, pile in dish in which it is to be served, grate nutmeg over top, and set in ice-box until needed. — – — LEMON SAUCE 1/2 pint sugar. 1/3 cup butter. 1 egg. Juice of half a lemon. 3 tablespoons boiling water. Cream butter and sugar well, add egg, beaten very light, and lemon-juice. Beat all together thoroughly and add the boiling water, a tablespoon at a time. — – — MAPLE SAUCE 2 tablespoons butter. A few drops lemon juice. 1/2 cup soft brown sugar. Scant 1/4 teaspoon maple extract. Cream the butter, add the sugar slowly, and beat well. Then stir in the flavoring. Set in the fridge to harden a little before using. — – — SYRUP 3 1/2 cups light-brown sugar. 2 cups cold water. Cook sugar and water together, stirring until sugar is melted. Skim well while boiling. Boil for about thirty minutes, or until a little of the liquid put on cold saucer will thicken. Syrup may be flavored with maple, using part maple sugar. — – — RAISIN SAUCE 1/2 cups water. 1/3 cup raisins. 1/4 cup brown or white sugar. 1 teaspoon flour Sprinkling of salt. Nutmeg. 1 teaspoon butter. Boil raisins in water for fifteen minutes, add sugar, boil fifteen minutes longer. Thicken with the flour blended with a small amount of water. Add salt and spice, and just before taking up, the butter. Stir well and serve. — – — VANILLA SAUCE 1 cup boiling water. 4 tablespoons sugar. 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or a bit of lemon-rind. A little salt. 1 egg yolk. 1 tablespoon corn-starch. 1 teaspoon vanilla. 1 teaspoon butter. Mix the corn-starch, sugar, and salt, and pour the boiling water over them. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat, beat in the egg, yolk, butter, and flavoring. — – — WHITE SAUCE 2 tablespoons butter. 2 tablespoons flour. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. 1 cup milk. Melt the butter, stir in the flour and seasoning and cook slowly without browning until the mixture bubbles. Remove from the high heat, add the milk gradually, beating and stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.

1. HAM AND MACARONI CASSEROLE 1 c. macaroni 1/2 c. chopped onion 1/3 c. chopped celery 3 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. flour 1 1/4 c. milk 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 1/2 c. diced ham Cook macaroni as directed on package. Cook onion and celery in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. Add flour and blend. Add milk and cook over low heat, until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken soup. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Garnish with almonds, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (This recipe is good with chicken, turkey or tuna. 2. SCALLOPED POTATOES AND HAM 2 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. flour 2 tsp. salt 2 c. milk 6 c. raw sliced potatoes 1-2 c. diced ham (we use turkey ham) Melt butter, stir in flour and salt. Add milk slowly and stir until mixture thickens. Add potatoes slowly and continue to stir until mixture boils again. Add diced ham. Put in greased casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 3. HAM AND BEAN BAKE 1 (16 oz.) can of each - kidney beans (or pinto), large lima beans (or butter), navy beans, great northern 1 lb. pre-cooked ham, cubed 1 green pepper 1/2 c. chopped onion 1 1/2 c. catsup 1/2 c. bean liquid or water 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. Worcestershire 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke 1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce Drain beans reserving 1/2 cup liquid. Combine all ingredients in 4 quart casserole including reserved bean liquid. Stir well. Cook, covered on full power for 20-25 minutes or until boiling. Stir. Continue cooking covered. Cook on 40% for 60 minutes or until flavors are blended. Stir twice during cooking time. 4. HAM AND VEGGIES CASSEROLE 1 (20 oz.) pkg. frozen cauliflower florets 1 (20 oz.) pkg. frozen broccoli florets 4 tbsp. butter 3 tbsp. flour 3 c. milk 6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp. salt 3 c. chopped ham 3 c. fresh bread crumbs, tossed with 4 tbsp. melted butter Cook cauliflower and broccoli in salted water until slightly underdone. Drain and set aside. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in 1-quart saucepan. Stir in flour and blend well. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add cheddar, Parmesan, and salt and stir over low heat until cheese melts. 5. HAM AND NOODLE CASSEROLE 6 oz. broad noodles, no fat no cholesterol 4 1/2 tsp. flour 1 tsp. dry mustard 1/4 tsp. sage 1/8 tsp. each of nutmeg and pepper 1 1/2 c. skim milk 6 oz. (98% fat free) ham, cubed 2 c. or 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen green peas 2 tbsp. (1 slice) white bread crumbs (fat free bread) 2 tbsp. butter buds, liquid Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to package. Leave out salt. Drain, set aside. In saucepan or skillet add flour, mustard, sage, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly whisk in milk and set aside. Add noodles to ham and peas. Pour milk mixture over and mix well. Pour into shallow baking dish. Pour butter buds over. Cover with foil. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover, add bread crumbs, cook 10 to 15 minutes longer 6. Ham and Cranberry Brunch Bake 2 cups egg bread (challah) or other good quality bread, crusts removed and cubed 1 cup diced cooked ham 1/2 cup dried cranberries 3 green onions, sliced 8 eggs, beaten 1 cup buttermilk baking mix (Bisquick) 1 tablespoon or to taste--Dijonnaise 2 cups milk salt and pepper to taste 1 cup grated Muenster cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 quart casserole. In the casserole, combine the bread cubes, ham, cranberries and green onions. Spread out to cover bottom of casserole. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, Bisquick, Dijonnaise, milk and salt and pepper. Pour over the bread/ham mixture. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake 45-50 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Serve warm. Add a fruit salad and some sweet rolls to complete your brunch, if desired. Don't forget the Mimosas for a special, grown-up morning meal. Enjoy. 7.Ham Croquettes 3 1/2 cups cooked ham, ground in a processor 2 cups white sauce, see below 1 Tbsp. minced parsley 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 3 Tbsp. onion, minced pepper to taste 1 1/2 cups freshly made breadcrumbs 1 egg vegetable oil for deep frying Combine the ham, sauce, parsley, mustard, onion and pepper in a bowl and blend well. If the mixture is warm, chill in the refrigerator until firm. Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish, and in another dish beat the egg with 1 tbsp. water. Shape the meat into 1 1/2 inch balls or cylinders. Roll them in the crumbs, then dip in the egg and roll in the crumbs again. Let the croquettes dry in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set the coating. Fill a skillet half way up with vegetable oil and heat to about 360 degrees. Fry a few croquettes at a time without crowding until they are nicely browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. White Sauce This is the normal white sauce that is the basis for many dishes. 4 Tbsp. Butter 4 Tbsp. Flour 2 cups heated milk salt and pepper to taste Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but do not let it brown-about 2-3 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir, as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, stirring, for 2 or 3 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you are making this in advance, cover it with wax paper or pour a little milk over the top so it does not form a skin. 8. Easy Creamed Ham and Peas with Pasta 1 lb of your favorite stuffed pasta(raviolis or tortelinis) 1 jar pre-made alfredo sauce 1/2 pound frozen peas 2 cups cubed ham salt and pepper to taste Parmesan cheese to taste Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Just before the pasta is done add the frozen peas to the water. This is quicker if the peas are thawed. When the peas and pasta are done, drain the water and put the pan back on the burner over very low heat. Stir in the alfredo sauce and the cubed ham and warm until desired heat. Serve with parmesan cheese on top. 9. HAM LOAF 2 1/2 lbs. ground smoked ham 1 lb. ground fresh pork 1 c. cracker crumbs 1 1/2 c. milk (scant) 2 eggs 2 tbsp. sugar (scant) 1 tbsp. dry mustard Mix ham and pork together. Add beaten eggs, sugar and dry mustard. Then alternate scalded milk and cracker crumbs, mix and form into a loaf. Place in bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. SAUCE FOR HAM LOAF: 1 can tomato soup (1/2 c.) 1/4 c. mustard 2 tbsp. vinegar 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 c. butter 1 egg yolk Mix together and simmer 1/2 hour. Serve with ham loaf. 10. Sunday Ham and Biscuits Recipe courtesy Dawn Rush Ham: 1 ham, bone in 1 pint orange marmalade 1 (12-ounce) can coca cola classic Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour orange marmalade into a bowl and add about 1/2 of the coke. Let it set while you prepare the ham. Remove visible fat from ham and crisscross cut the ham. Place in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and pour the marmalade/coke mixture over the ham. Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 20 minutes. This allows the marmalade to set or crisp on the ham. After 20 minutes cover the ham with foil and bake for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Baste with the pan drippings every 15 minutes. If there are not enough pan drippings, mix up some more marmalade mixture to baste on the ham. Uncover the ham for the last 20 to 30 minutes and baste every 7 or 8 minutes. Allow the marmalade mixture to brown until dark brown in color. Remove from oven. Put ham onto a platter to cool before cutting. Total cook time is about 1 hour 5 minutes to1 hour 35 minutes. Use the left-over ham in red beans the next day. Biscuits: 2 cups self-rising flour (summer wheat flour is best) 1/4 cup vegetable shortening 2/3 to 1 cup milk Mix flour and shortening together in bowl until the shortening is well blended into the flour. Make a "well" or hole in the center of the flour/shortening mixture. Add a portion of the milk to the well. Use a fork or your fingers and work from the center of the bowl to the outside of the bowl and blend the milk into the mixture. Add more milk as needed. The dough will be slightly sticky. To make the biscuits coat your hands with flour and pinch off enough dough for 1 biscuit, about 2 tablespoons. Roll and knead the biscuit in your hands just until it looses its stickiness. Place in a cast iron skillet. Continue to make the rest of the dough in this manner. After all biscuits are made put a little water on finger tips and gently rub the tops of each biscuit, this removes any bumps on the top of the biscuits. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Theres always room for romance later in the evening and theres always room for extra people at my table so come on over!

For Cat! 4 cups diced potatoes 2 cups chopped onions 5 tablespoons butter 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs 4 tablespoons butter I cook my potatoes and onions in lightly salted water until they are tender. Then I drain them and let them sit while I make a white sauce. Recipe for White Sauce for Potatoes: Melt butter in a sauce pan Add the flour stirring until blended then slowly stir in milk, pepper, salt and Worcestershire Sauce and stir until thick. Next take your potatoes and onions and add half of them to a a 3 quart buttered baking dish and cover them with half the cheddar cheese. Add the rest of your potatoes and onions then pour the white sauce over the potato mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the potato mixture and then sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the cheese. Dot the top with butter or margarine and its ready to bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes. I love the crunchy cheesy top on this dish along with the rich cheese flavor. Its a big hit in the reci house. Sometimes when I have leftovers I toss them in this dish and have a casserole. You can use any kind of left over meat and even toss in a can of veggies.

I am going to have to make these for Mr. Reci. He can eat peanut butter 24 hours a day and not get tired of it!

Tonights meal consist of: A succulent spiral ham basted with brown sugar, pineapple and cherry juices, Au Gratin Potatoes smothered in Sharp Chedder Cheese that melts in your mouth, Corn on the Cob from last years Harvest Stock String Green Beans From Last years Harvest oven roasted with a spray of liquid butter and a sliver of almonds on top, Home Made Buttermilk Biscuits warmed with dripping butter on the insides of the biscuits Home Made Warm Apple Betty with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Total Cost per Plate per person: 1.00 a plate Checkered Table Cloth laid out on the living room floor minus the ants and a spray of fresh flowers in a mason jar as a centerpiece. Romance- optional and no charge!