I bought a bag of cherries from the store the other day. I thought it would be a good snack for the kids during a little picnic. I went to the drawer for a combination tool that minces garlic and pits cherries. I can state firmly that this tool is horrible. The pitting portion of the tool is in between the handles making it very awkward to use. It also only managed to hit the pit about 25% of the time.

So, I proceeded to rummage through our kitchen drawers for a chopstick. I had seen tv shows where the chef had used a chopstick to remove the pits. I had tried this method in the past and it too left a lot to be desired. However, during my search I found a tool that worked very well. (Read the rest of this entry »)

Cooking, Tips

Tags: Cooking, diy, instant read thermometer, pitting cherries, tip

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I’m sure all gardeners at one time or another have bought those cute little plastic plant markers. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive. My favorite plant marker currently is good old fashion Popsicle sticks, which can be bought in large quantities at any art or craft store.

But if you are the type of person that likes the look and durability of plastic then we have a cost saving suggestion for you. Someone on the Instructables web site suggests using plastic spoons. He wants you to melt the handle off which creates a nice pointed tip, but that just seems like way too much work not to mention smelly. Just simply cut or snip off the handles and you have cheap plastic plant markers.

Gardening, Tips

Tags: diy, Gardening, plant marker, plant tag, Tips

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My dad and I were discussing how this little product is actually quite expensive. The vacuum itself isn’t really that expensive, I paid $7.00 for mine. They have been running $2.00 coupons in the paper and our local grocery store had the product on sale for $9.00. The problem isn’t the vacuum but the cost of the bags. I bought a box of gallon bags, 9 bags to be exact. This cost me an additional $3.29 or roughly $.37 per bag. Ouch! You better have some really great things to freeze.

I was attracted to the idea because I freeze a lot of the vegetables out of our garden. Unfortunately, I might as well just buy the vegetables from the grocery for that price. Well, I did have another idea. (Read the rest of this entry »)

Cooking, Family, Opinions, Tips

Tags: diy, freezer, garden, Opinion, Reynolds, tip, vacuum bag, vacuum sealer, Vegetables

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