HomeMakerEtc.com

I apologize for the late posting this week. I have had company in town and have been experiencing some techincal difficulties with my blog as of late. My host company has made some upgrades and in the process there have been problems with uploading pictures. We had an early Thanksgiving since my husband is working on Thanksgiving day and have the recipes from our feast to share. So, look for that soon. Hopefully things will be getting back in order soon.

Christmas is just around the corner so you better start making your shopping list now. If you have a video gamer on your list, you can never go wrong by giving a video game as a gift. I found a website, igogaming.com, that writes general information about popular video games for different game systems. The Nintendo Wii system is very popular these days and there is a new game out for the Wii called Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is an action packed game that will unite players around the world as they battle each other. You can read up about it here and determine if this game would be a great gift this year for someone on your list.

We had an early Thanksgiving at my house this year. My parents were in town this last weekend and my husband will be working on Thanksgiving day so we figured we should have our feast early. Every family has their own traditions when it comes to what food is served. Some of these foods have been in the family for generations and others are some you create with your own family. Here is what we had:

The turkey is of course the staple, unless you are a vegetarian. Ours this year happened to be a wild turkey my husband managed to get for us. I have never prepared a turkey before and since my mother was in town, I still haven't. So, I unfortunatly can't give you any tips or advice on this. You can however look here to find out how to cook a perfect turkey.

It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving for my family without the Stove Top Stuffing. My Dad has never liked the taste of cornbread stuffing so growing up we always had Stove Top. My Mom would even prepare it when we were together with extended family and serve it right next to my Aunts homemade stuffing. I too prefer Stove Top so that is what we had. If you want to make homemade stuffing give this Southern Cornbread Stuffing a try.

I am not a fan of cranberry sauce but for some reason it just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without it. My Mom loves the jellied kind so preparing it was as simple as opening a can and slicing it up. You can see a recipe for fresh cranberry sauce here.

With this meal we also had mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoe casserole, rolls, fruit salad, and pumkin pie. I will provide the recipes for these in the following posts.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving day foods?

When it comes to stoves I prefer a glass cooktop stove over and electric coil stove. I do not have much experience with the gas stoves so I can't compare the three. I find it so much easier to clean a glass cooktop than a coil stove. Sure you can add tinfoil to the drip pans but how nice does that look? There are many cleaning substances for glass cooktops but I found one that I prefer the most, Bar Keepers Friend.

The other day my mother accidentally set a plastic lid on a hot burner and it melted. Aside from the horrible smell it left behind melted plastic right on the burner. We removed as much plastic as we could while it was still soft but there was still a residue. Once the burner had cooled down I sprinkled a little Bar Keepers Friend onto a wet wash cloth and then rubbed the area. It came off in no time. It also works great for the food splatters and boil overs too. It's safe to use this cleaner on stainless steel, fiberglass, porcelain, tile, copper, and brass surfaces as well.

Using coupons is the obvious way to save money at the grocery store. But there are some other ways too.

Never shop when you are hungry. This leads to impulsive buys which are usually high priced convenience items.
Shop from a list and stick to the list.
Avoid shopping when tired because this leads to purchases of food with high sugar content and lots of carbohydrates.
Foods that are more expensive tend to be at eye/chest level. Look higher or lower on the shelves for the best deal.
Compare the price per unit (oz, lb, fl.oz) instead of the overall price.
For meat, compare the price per serving instead of the price per pound.
When you see the sign that says 5 for $5 do you have to buy all five items to get the discount or is each item priced at just $1? If there is a minimum purchase it will usually say. Many stores advertise this way to get you to buy more. If you don't really need 5 of that item then you can save money just by buying 1 or 2.
Some grocery stores will price match. Wal-Mart is great at this. If you take in the ad from another store they will honor the lower price.
Shop at larger stores because you will be able to get a better price than say a convenience store.

These are just a few ideas and I'm sure there are many more. How do you save money at the grocery store?

HomeMakerEtc.com

Technical Difficulties

Video Games for Christmas Gifts

Thanksgiving Day Feast

Cleaning Glass Cooktop Stoves

Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store