The Best Pumpernickel Bread Machine Recipe!

When the weather starts to cool it is all the incentive I need to make my favorite comfort food dinner - 16 bean soup with homemade pumpernickel bread.

 It is also one of my favorite quick and easy dinner ideas to make when time is short because I use a dried 16 bean soup mix (you can find it here.  I suggest going with a mix that includes the seasoning) in the slow cooker and when paired with pumpernickel bread fresh from my bread machine it makes a filling meal just waiting for you when you get home from work, school, or busy fun activities. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

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Quick and Easy Dairy Free Pumpernickel Bread Recipe

5 Quick and Easy Frugal Way to Save $500 On Clothing This Week

This week the majority of my savings came from repairing something I was convinced we needed to replace (and I admit to using it as an excuse to replace it with something I like better just for the sake of liking  it better) and a surprise shopping spree for necessary items at the cheapest high quality store I know of – my house.

Here are this week’s money saving hacks  that saved me a surprising $500 dollars this week!

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5 Frugal Things: How I Saved Money This Week

Quick and Easy Mix and Match Granola Cereal Recipe

I’ve always been more of an oatmeal for breakfast kind of gal. If I indulged in cold cereal it was the oaty hippie kind but not very often because it is usually more expensive. When I discovered milk solids added to my favorite store bought cereal, I figured it was time to learn how to make my own. (grumbles at food intolerance)

Making a granola recipes is very, very easy and affordable! Especially when you make it with things you already have on hand in the kitchen. The way I do that is with what I can this Mix and Match Granola Recipe.

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I call this cheap and easy baked granola recipe Mix and Match because it is very versatile. All you need is a neutral tasting cooking oil, oats, a sweetener, and dried fruit, nuts, and other add ins if you wish, or in my case, chuck that last little bit of whatnot into the a granola recipe because I need to use it up.

How Not to Burn and Ruin a Baked Granola Recipe

Five Frugal Things – Quick and Easy Ways to Save Money with Cheap and Easy Home Maintenance

When we bought our house, the salesperson suggested we change the filters in our heating and air conditioning system every month on the first of the month to keep it from working too hard trying and using a ton of expensive energy to suck air though a dirty filter. Doing so also helps extend the life of the unit which saves a lot of money compared to buying a new filter every month.

I don’t have kids in school but I still keep an eye on the Back to School shopping sales because it is a good time to get a deal on office supplies, small appliances (think items you use to cook in a college dorm) for early holiday shopping, and clothing – especially if it involves an end of summer clearance sale.

Of course I will save even more money if I don’t go shopping at all and most of the time I do but it’s also nice to check something off my wish list at a deep discount for some up coming events.

Here are five tips I used to save money this week.

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How to Freeze Green Beans

Last weekend my husband and I visited his parents to help them pick and preserve the homegrown bean explosion in their garden.
Photo

You can preserve fresh green beans by canning, freezing, and dehydrating. Although I’m not personally a fan of the taste of rehydrating dehydrated green beans (though Lacey is) I didn’t even give dehydrating a thought. I don’t know how to pressure can and since I was there to do this for my mother in law instead of her doing it while I watched and learn  we were all in agreement that freezing is the way to go.

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Besides we were all in agreement that we like the taste of frozen green beans better.

Five Frugal Things – How I Saved Money on Food This Week

Most bloggers write and post their little posts on how they saved money here and there on Fridays. Which is great but honestly most of time I end up doing those little frugal hacks on the weekends when I have more time to do them. I’m trying something a little different and writing my five frugal things tips about how I saved money in big and small ways during the previous week.

Clear as mud?

Good. Let’s go!

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12 Ways to Reuse and Recycle Can Koozies

I never really thought much of that first promotional can koozie (can Koozies look like this for reference) my husband and I got from a street festival. I chucked it into the could be useful but I doubt it we’ll use it cabinet and forgot about it until years later when I pulled a wet soda can out of a cooler with melting ice and the hostess tossed me an insulated can holder to keep me from dropping the slippery can. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links to the items I use for your convenience.)

It kept me drink cold longer in the searing heat that day too. What a concept!

After that I searched the cupboard for those two now deemed useful coolies and found that left unsupervised they multiplied like bunnies into a nice free promotional big beer cozie* family.

*Or coosie (cozy, cosie.) Or huggie. Or bottle hugger. Or beer sleeve. Or bottle jacket. Or the so awesome I can’t decide which name is my favorite: coldy holdy or the Australian stubby holder.

Whatever you call them, I have a bunch of ‘em.

And believe it or not can Koozies are extremely useful beyond their intended purpose of keeping drinks in cans, bottles, or mugs (with a little scissor surgery) hot or cold!!

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12 DIY Can Cooler Hacks That Save Money