Zero Waste: How To Make Lazy Pickles

The easiest pickle "recipe" ever!

I love pickles. There's something about the salty, sour flavor that makes me crave pickles when the weather is hot and stormy. When I buy pickles, they are usually gone before I know it. I save the pickle jar with the brine for making "lazy pickles." There's really no recipe. All you do is clean 'em, cut 'em, and drop 'em in. Simple as that. Chop, chop. Splish, splash.

As if cutting the cucumbers in half would make me eat less... ;)

I also really enjoy purchasing fresh vegetables when they are on sale, or buying "seconds" at the farmers market. I'll post more about seconds in a future blog, however this one covers the easiest pickle recipe ever. If you have cucumbers, carrots, or peppers that started to go soft, cut them up and put them in your pickle brine and set them in your fridge at least overnight to let the vinegar set in.

In case you are worried, the vinegar and salt combo kills any germs there may be so the brine lasts a long  time and is perfectly safe to re-use.

When I get around to doing it, my next pickle post will hopefully be about lactofermentation... exciting! For now, these simple pickles will do.

Do you ever pickle veggies that are going soft? What other ways do you save your soft veggies from going to the trash?

Budget Breaker: Food Waste

 Part 1 of my new series: Budget Breakers! 

Because we all make mistakes sometimes...

Poor piggy...

I was going to write you an article about how to save money buying discounted meat. I found a good deal on chicken at the grocery store. I took it home and put it in the refrigerator and promptly....

I would have saved 44 cents a pound and bought this at a decent price of $1.04/pound.

forgot about it. :(

 I give myself the excuse of being sick, too tired to cook, sleepy from medicine... but really, I should have just frozen it. I have no excuse.

Last night I opened up my meat drawer to find it, and frantically began thinking of ways I could cook it all... only to find out in the end that it had gone bad.

So as much as I hate to waste food, if it smells funny, it's going in the trash.I'll admit, 5 bucks is not that much money to lose but 5 bucks here, 5 bucks there adds up over time.

Moral of the story: Meal planning is your friend. So is your freezer. There will be more on meal planning and freezing soon enough...


How many times have you wasted food? How much does that add up to wasted food and money over a year? A lifetime?

Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon + other deals (Labor Day Week)!

Example only. Click below link for more details.

Hobby Lobby released it’s new circular and sales ad today with another 40% off coupon (valid through September 8th)!
 
You can use the 40% off coupon on any item that is NOT on sale. Follow the links above for more information!

Hobby Lobby is a family friendly company that believes employees should have time with their loved ones. Remember, Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sundays, so the deals all start tomorrow!

*Keep in mind, for Labor Day, they will be closing early at 5:30PM in line with their family focused beliefs.*

 Happy Shopping & Happy Crafting!

It Is Labor Day Sunday!

You know what that means- no manufacturers coupons. There are a few store coupons and sale ads,  but no clipping parties shall there be. Relax. Use the weekend to catch up on old coupons that need clipped, or be like me and spend the long weekend in bed recuperating from the nasty respiratory bug that is going around. :(
There will be lots of sales this weekend, so shop wisely. Keep in mind that you won't actually save money if you are spending more than you normally do. The best way to save is to not spend at all.
Have a Happy Labor Day weekend!