When we first moved into this house, 11 years ago, I was looking for a picture to hang in the kitchen. I couldn’t find anything that I like, at a price I was willing to pay.

I finally found a dish towel that I liked, so I took that to the local copy shop. I had the dish towel copied onto large paper. The lady thought I was a little weird at first, but she liked the result. It was only $2. or $3. for the copy.

I found the frame at Walmart, for under $10. I painted, yes painted, the inside mat as it didn’t match the picture. That’s the narrow burgundy strip around the picture. The frame had been black, so I sanded it down and painted it green. I then sanded it again to give it an aged looked. I used craft paint that I already had. So for under $15, I had a nice picture. A framed print can easily cost $30. or more, so I definitely saved money, while getting a picture that I loved.

I still have this picture hanging on my kitchen wall. I still love it!

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday ideas, visit Tammy’s Recipes.

It’s another simple menu week here. maybe soon I’ll have the energy and motivation to go beyond simple.  But my family is satisfied with simple meals, and I’m eating a lot of salads, so no real motivation happening here. Wonder if that will change anytime soon? ummmm……not likely!


Saturday – hot dogs, veggies
Sunday – sandwich day!
Monday – slop – which is fried cabbage,potatoes and hot dogs, salad
Tuesday – spaghetti, salad
Wednesday – leftover day!, salad
Thursday – oven fried chicken, green beans, rice
Friday – hamburgers with all the fixings, maybe potato salad or macaroni salad


For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

I learned this tip a long time ago, and use it quite often.

When your dishes or pans need a gentle scrubbing, put a sprinkle of baking soda on your cloth and scrub away.

It actually works on really tough jobs, also. I used yesterday on a roasting pan that has seen a lot of roasting. It scours off the baked on “stuff” without scratching the enamel finish.

Also, baking soda put on plastic food storage containers takes out any odors left from strong foods like onions.

A bonus is no strong cleaners on your hands. Or your dishes, for that matter.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday ideas, visit Tammy’s Recipes.

I have a new plan! Each day is assigned a category, whether it be a type of meal, or appliance used, for example: crockpot. I used to do this, and it made meal planing so much easier. since I’ve been so uninspired with meal planning lately, I’m hoping this will spice things up.

So, here’s my plan:

Saturday – beef

Sunday – Sandwich day – either simple sandwiches, or homemade sub sandwiches

Monday – chicken

Tuesday – beef

Wednesday – leftovers

Thursday – chicken

Friday – Friday Night Fire – will be anything and everything we can cook over the fire.

So, this is what this weeks menu looks like:

Saturday – Breakfast for Supper-I was tired and used french toast from freezer,along with eggs & english muffins

Sunday – chicken sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, macaroni salad

Monday – baked chicken, baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday – Mexican night – Oldest son has some sort of Mexican style food he wants to cook

Wednesday – leftovers

Thursday – Chicken Potato Pie – From $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Friday – dinner out – leaving for State Bible Drill competition- Go Hannah!

For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie

Visit Pick Your Own.org to see if there are any pick your own fruits and vegetables farms near you.

There were none listed in my county, or in several counties around me.We do know of a place in the next county that we have been to a couple of times where we pick strawberries.

I plan on checking back this summer to see if there are any new listings for our area.

Most recipe holders are for small recipe cards. When you print your recipes off the internet, how do you hold them up of the counter?

I discovered I could use the holder that I keep by the computer to hold papers.

Holding the recipe up makes it much easier to read. And it keeps the recipe clean.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday ideas, visit Tammy’s Recipes