LadyD Books

Review: Pinch Like You Mean It! 101 Ways to Spend Less Money Now

Amazon Snippet

Pinch Like You Mean It! is all about ways to spend less money. Why give so much of your hard-earned money away by spending it? Get 101 free tips on how to spend less right now. Topics include duct tape and other cheap repairs, how to get furniture for almost free, what steps to take in a financial emergency, and many tips on practical ways to spend less money every day.

Pinch Like You Mean It! 101 Ways to Spend Less Money Now

The Friday #56

The house I recently bought came with all sorts of building material, for projects that never got started: stacks of landscape timbers, rolls of fencing, bags of potting soil, a shelf kit, a water fountain kit, and much more.

My Review

I'm a huge fan of watching where your money goes and keeping a budget. Having more doesn't make you happy and living beyond your means can cause major problems. The author has come up with a solution that works for him and offers his experiences in saving money to readers. The book contains 101 practical ways to spend less money. I have already incorporated many of his common sense ideas with my own country lifestyle but no matter where you live, or the amount of money you have, practical sense is found within the pages. It's a good read and easy to apply many of the principles for learning ways to spend less money and live a frugal lifestyle. Don't spend it unless you really need it!

4/5 stars! Recommend to friends.

About The Author

Dr. Penny Pincher has a Ph.D. in engineering and lives and works in eastern Iowa with his wife and two sons. In 2013, Dr. Penny Pincher founded Penny Pincher Journal, a blog about saving money every day. His hobbies include drinking great coffee, annoying his family, riding his cheapcycle (cheap bicycle), and saving money every day. You can visit his blog, Penny Pincher Journal

Pinch Like You Mean It! 101 Ways to Spend Less Money Now

Have you found some ways in which you can cut back? For me as a piano teacher and grandma of five, it's watching how many trips I make to the Dollar Store!

Happy Reading!

“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." C. S. Lewis
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LadyD Books

Living on 2 1/2 acres out in the country is a wonderful lifestyle and rewarding opportunity to grow much of our own food. I am so thankful for this experience and feel so blessed. I just finished reading a book on canning this week and thought I'd share it with my readers.

Here's What The Book Is About

This guide is intended to provide you with the essential information to make your first small jars in a safe and enjoyable way. It will guide you through all stages from preparation to storage of your products.

You will discover the principles of conservation for different types of food, the benefits of home canning, the recommended methods as well as the ones to avoid.

Then you will learn the two proper methods of treatment: the boiling water bath and the pressure canning methods. You will find a list of essential equipment and the detailed steps for a successful canning experience.

Finally you will gain some hands on experience with our easy and delicious recipes.

This guide does not claim to be scientific or complete. We simply want to give you the tools you need to get into the fun activity of preparing your home preserves.

Book Content Inside

12 recipes that will allow you to practice the canning techniques. They are divided into three levels of complexity:

Level 1 = easy. The recipes are very simple. You can focus on techniques for canning without too much worry about the recipe itself.
Recipe # 1 - Apple sauce with a touch of nutmeg and vanilla (boiling water method)
Recipe # 2 - Canned Pears (boiling water method)
Recipe # 3 - Canned fresh tomatoes (pressure canning method)
Recipe # 4 - Canned Carrots (pressure canning method)

2 = medium level. The recipes are a little more elaborate. There are more steps before moving on to canning.
Recipe # 5 - Tangerine marmalade (boiling water method)
Recipe # 6 – Pork Cretons à la JeBouffe (pressure canning method)
Recipe # 7 - Quick and Tasty Green Ketchup (boiling water method)
Recipe # 8 - Marinara Sauce (pressure canning method)

Level 3 = complex. The recipes are longer and more complex. There are more steps before moving on to canning.
Recipe # 9 - Plum jam with cinnamon (boiling water method)
Recipe # 10 - Nectarine Chutney (pressure canning method)
Recipe # 11 - Cherries and Raspberries Spread (boiling water method)
Recipe # 12 - Kedjenou chicken (pressure canning method)

The Friday 56

By following these recipes step by step, we guarantee the success of your first home preserves.

I pretty much peel and chop apples in a dutch oven over the stove, adding some water and lemon juice. Boil down till soft and add some sugar. When it's the right consistency, then I fill the jars and process in pressure canner for 8 mins. Many times I just freeze homemade applesauce in quart bags.

How about you? Oh, here's a recipe from the book:

Applesauce Sauce with a touch of nutmeg and vanilla

Production: 10 - 1/2 pint jars

Preparation: 30 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Apples - 10 lbs.

Sugar - 1 cup

Nutmeg - 1 teaspoon

Vanilla Extract - 1/4 cup

Steps:

1. Prepare a large bowl of cold water and add the lemon juice to it.

2. Peel, core and slice apples. Place in water.

3. Remove the apples from the bowl and drain.

4. In a large pot, cook the apples over medium heat for 3-4 mins.

5. When the apples start to disgorge their juice, increase heat to high.

6. Stir regularly until apples are tender.

7. To produce an apple sauce, put everything in a blender or food processor to create a puree.

8. Add sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla. Simmer for more than 2 mins. to dissolve the sugar.

9. Pour into jars, close and process.

15 mins. in a boiling water bath or 8 mins. of pressure canning under 6 lbs. of pressure.

My Thoughts

Basic information for those who are new to canning and it's a quick read. Not too much new here for me but I thought I'd try the Quick and Tasty Green Ketchup recipe. Photos to go with the fruit recipes would have been nice to see here. 3/4 stars.