Using Time Wisely

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MeetPenny.com: Free Oven-free Menu Plan

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Meet Penny.com's oven-free August menu plan

Photograph Credit: MeetPenny.com

For those who enjoy the warmth of summer, is it hot enough? I am amazed at how often my air conditioner kicks on during the day. The evening is more sporadic, but the daytime cycles seem much too frequent.

In keeping the heat out of the kitchen, Tabitha from MeetPenny.com offers a free printable August oven-free menu plan on her blog. Woo hoo!

To maximize your savings, compare her menu to what you have on hand. Start with those meals while you scour your store ads for sales and buy one, get one free items. Then enjoy feeding your family without turning on your oven.

Keep enjoying your summer before it’s gone. Stay cool, and happy menu planning! 😉

Question: What is your favorite non-oven-needed meal?

What Do You Think?: Using Bananas Past Their Prime

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Overripe bananas

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Around the blogosphere, many bloggers share their perspective on life. As I contemplate these many ideas (and some are really out there), sometimes I’m not sure what I think.

During this week of What Do You Think?, I share a topic and give you my 2¢. Please share your opinion.

The topics chosen will follow the posting schedule. Thanks in advance for your contributions on this journey to Using Time Wisely!

What Do You Think about Using Bananas Past Their Prime?

Tracy’s 2¢: I peel and freeze our overripe bananas for a baking day. Since bananas sweeten with age and banana bread makes great gifts for teachers and friends, I add the defrosted past-their-prime bananas to my banana bread dough for a sweet loaf of bread.

In reading Five Ways to Use Overripe Bananas, I loved the idea of freezing the bananas in cube sizes, and using them to chill a smoothie. When using ice, the consistency changes from thick and smooth to a watery texture. The frozen banana keeps the smooth consistency while chilling the smoothie.

Might try the shoe polish suggestion, but will definitely test the banana’s medicinal effects on a wart (directions listed in the comments). My kids get planter’s warts from the pool at the water park. The over-the-counter wart remover took 2-3 months to cure the wart on my son’s foot last summer. The banana option is worth my time and energy, not to mention that I usually have bananas around the house.

As bananas ripen past their prime and become too soft to eat, do you toss them, bake them, or find another use like shoe polish or wart remover? What do you think?

Grocery Shopping: Limits on Sale Items Explained

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Understanding sale limits

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Polycart)

After running out of milk 3 days ago, we made it to the first day of the weekly sale at Bi-Lo, where milk is on sale for $2.99 per gallon. Whew!

Having almost run out of gas, completely used up the milk, and down to our last 2 eggs, I either need to plan better or choose recipes without using these ingredients.

With a little creativity, I plan to make our last 2 eggs stretch until Saturday’s one-day sale at Bi-Lo where eggs are 68¢ per dozen with a limit of 2. (My rock bottom price is 99¢ per dozen, so this deal is FANTASTIC!)

Stocking Up with Limits on Sale Items

This one-day sale has some deep discounts (aka, loss leaders), and most of the items have a limit of 2 or 3. However, I will purchase more than 2 at the sale price by separating my purchases into multiple transactions. The limits listed are per transaction.

Per Transaction

If I want to purchase 8 items that are at a limit of 2, then I need 4 transactions. To space it out, I would checkout with 2 transactions at a time. I might even go to multiple stores. Depending on how busy and how empty the shelves, I may choose more or less transactions at the same time.

Per Customer

Some stores specify that the limit is per customer and not per transaction. To cover my basis, I take a helper with me. Though I have not been denied multiple transactions, your store may run differently. If you stay within the limits, refrain from clearing the shelves, and stay organized, then you are on your way to snagging some great deals.

Benefits to Multiple Transactions

Another bonus to breaking up the shopping to multiple transactions is more receipts with surveys. When I complete a survey with Bi-Lo, I get rewarded with a coupon for a free item. From the month of June, I have restocked our tissues from the free coupons.

In using time wisely to plan your shopping trips, abide by the limits. If you need more of that product, then purchase those items in multiple transactions. Learning to play the savings game will net you food for your family while maximizing your savings. Happy strategizing!

Question: How many units of a deep sale item do you purchase?

Beat the Summer Heat: Bake at Night and Oven-free Meals

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Beating the summer heat - oven-free options

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

The temperatures here in South Carolina have dropped to the high 80s. The “cooler” weather is a welcome change from the low 100s we have experienced already. In using time wisely to feed my family, these two solutions beat the summer heat.

Bake at Night

With the cooler temperatures in the evening, I bake before going to bed. This way, I escape upstairs to bed while the heat dissipates downstairs. Also, the heat from the oven does not seem to warm up the house as much at night as it does at dinner time.

Create Oven-free Meals

Using a crock pot, the grill, and stove to create meals minimizes the amount of heat needed to feed my family. I also like the free printable oven-free menu options from Penny at MeetPenny.com for June and July. Sometimes viewing someone else’s menu jump starts my creativity when planning our summer meals.

By baking at night and creating oven-free meals, my family can enjoy dinner without extra heat. In planning and using time wisely, you can save money, energy, and time while feeding your family. Stay cool!

Question: How are you beating the summer heat?

2012: Garden Journal – July Edition

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Using Time Wisely's 2012 Herb and Vegetable GardenOur garden continues to prosper. With the intense heat, we keep watering twice a day – once in the morning and again in the early afternoon.

My son completes the morning watering while my daughter and I take turns in the afternoons. My helpers give me updates on the progress made after watering.

With the fertilizing last month, we saw a huge growth this month and enjoyed eating some of the fruit of our labors. 🙂

Strawberries

Purchased the net this month, installed it, and harvested our strawberries. Success! We picked 6 beautiful strawberries, washed, and munched on them.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - Strawberries in July

Tomatoes

After picking last month’s 4 tomatoes, our plants multiplied. We picked five more this month and have 10+ tomatoes growing on the plants.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - Tomatoes in July

Cucumbers

After a day of watering by my son, I went out to check on the garden. When I saw the cucumber plants lying in the dirt, I went to investigate. Finding the vine heavy, I inspected the plant and found a 3-inch cucumber. This fruit sprouted in a day. It was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. to see.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - Cucumber in July

We have lots more cucumbers growing on the vines, and the vines began climbing the wires this month.

Lettuce

For our salads this month, we have snipped from our garden. Since the bibb lettuce has a tart taste, we only eat our Romaine lettuce. I do purge our lettuce leaves to keep the plants healthy and growing. Not quite sure what to do with the bibb lettuce.

The spinach we planted never surfaced. So, when my children received a sandwich bag of seeds at a Kidgit’s Event, I planted them in the empty section. We are waiting to see if anything comes up.

Peppers

Our pepper plants have buds and the stalks have strengthened. Just watering and watching our peppers for more growth.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - Peppers in July

Herbs

Once our herbs began invading other areas of our garden, I cut the extra and am in the process of drying our herbs.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - herbs in July

In ending the month, we harvested lots of parsley, basil, and oregano along with 4 strawberries and a cucumber.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - harvest in July

After harvesting the overgrown areas, we ended June with a manageable, growing garden.

Using Time Wisely's 2012 Garden - pruned for July

This garden experiment continues to impress us. In fact, my husband would like to double or triple our garden next year.

Though I am still learning, I love checking, weeding, and harvesting from the garden. If you have posted about your garden, please add your link in the comments. I would love to learn from you. Happy tending!

Question: What are you growing in your garden?