TIGHTWAD TUESDAY - Nearly Free Dog Treats

 I like to spoil my dogs, and give them treats when they are being really good. I also give them treats to train them with, to encourage them to be good, and just because I love them and enjoy watching them enjoy their treats so much. But with the number of dogs I have ended up with, and the majority of them are large, buying that many dog treats on a regular basis just isn't possible. Plus, many of those store bought dog treats have stuff in them that I don't want to feed my dogs.

You can make some pretty tasty dog treats simply out of stale bread and a little of that frying grease that you were getting ready to toss out. Any kind of old bread will do (so long as it is just stale and isn't molded). Our local discount bread store often has what they call "feed bread" for sale. It is bread that is outdated far enough that they aren't allowed to sell it for human consumption, but it isn't molded yet. A bag of it usually has from 4 to 6 loaves of bread in it for $1. Lately they have had a big surplus of it and most of it has had 6 loaves in it.  Let me tell you, you can get a LOT of dog treats out of 6 loaves of bread!

You can also use slices of homemade bread if you actually have any that has dried out beyond use. Stale hamburger buns, old biscuits,donuts, hot rolls, anything of the like can be used.

You will also need some 'tasty' fat. The best thing to use (for your little fur ball's favorite flavor) is that grease you have been frying your meat in and you just don't dare use it again but really don't want to throw it away. You can also use butter (a little more costly), fat that you have skimmed off of soup, or any kind of meat drippings.

Preheat your oven to about 350 F. Lay your bread slices out on a cookie sheet. If you are using burger buns, hot dog buns, rolls, etc, cut them in half and lay them out flat. If your fat is solid and not liquid, melt it in a small pan before your next step. With a basting brush, lightly brush the top of each bread slice with the fat of your choice. A little garlic powder can also be sprinkled on at this time if you (or your dog) likes, but that is optional. Cut each bread slice into the right sizes for your dog to eat. My dogs like them cut into long strips. Spread them out evenly around on the cookie sheet, making sure there is air space around each one.

Place the pan of bread slices in the preheated oven. Bake for about 5 minutes, to get them started drying, then turn the oven down to about 250 F. Bake until they are completely dry and no moisture is left. Be sure and check on them often to prevent burning. When I think they are done. I turn the oven off and let they stay until all is cool to be sure no moisture is left in them. When completely cooled, store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Feed to your dog as a treat as desired. Mine love them! They not only like the flavor, but they love the type of crunch these treats provide. Oh, and my cats love them, too!

Anytime you have a little bit of grease/fat that you would normally toss out, put it in a container and into the freezer to save for when you also have some old bread and then time to make your pet some tasty, and nearly free, treats!

PHARMACY FRIDAY - Wintergreen, Good or Bad?

WINTERGREEN . . . . . . . That wonderful, minty, tasty, aromatic herb! My best memory of it is in those little pink, round candy lozenges. I use to eat those things by the fistfuls when I was a kid. And wintergreen chewing gum was some of the best!(remember Teaberry gum?)  It is, by far, one of my all-time favorite candy flavorings.  But is it safe?

Awhile back I began hearing that it might not be so safe, that it should only be consumed in moderate amounts. Then I heard that it should only be consumed in very small amounts. Then I heard it shouldn't be consumed at all. Then I began hearing of people dying from overdosing on Wintergreen essential oil!!! And those reports are growing. So the question remains, is it safe to use at all?
There are a lot of different factors that figure into the answer to that question. It will be different for each person. Because I used it in some of the skin care products that I make, I have since heavily researched it. From the multitude of research that I have read, it appears that it is safe to use in small amounts, and even very beneficial . . . .  but in large amounts, it is easy to overdose on, causing damage to the liver and even death in extreme cases.
On the downside, Wintergreen essential oil, if used in large amounts, or even small amounts for extended periods of time, can cause serious damage to the liver and even death. Because the component in Wintergreen that is the culprit (methyl salicylate) is also so closely similar to the active ingredient in aspirin, people taking aspirin or aspirin based products can overdose on Wintergreen even more quickly and easily.

Often times, people don't even realize how much Wintergreen essential oil they are ingesting into their bodies. One of the easiest ways to overdose is with those soothing sports/joint creams that contain Wintergreen essential oil. Dancers, athletes, and the arthritic elderly alike use a lot of those soothing joint creams. Keeping in mind that your skin is the largest organ of your body and everything that goes on it, also goes into your body, if you are using a joint cream that contains Wintergreen essential oil, as you rub it on, that wintergreen goes right on inside, right into your blood stream. Sadly, there have been actual cases of athletes dying from overuse of sports creams. (That is a link to a case reported on Fox News awhile back). Massage therapists can also unknowingly absorb far too much of the volatile oil with repeated use on their clients, of massage products that contain it.

Here is also some more good reading on the subject at aromaticsage.com

On the POSITIVE side . . . . . . a very small amount of Wintergreen essential oil on occasional use can be of great benefit! It is a wonderful pain reliever for a variety of joint pains. Used only occasionally and in small amounts, it is very beneficial and generally safe. It should; however, be used only in localized areas and not in large areas or over the entire body.

Wintergreen essential oil, like aspirin, can help reduce swelling, relieves aches, and reduces body temperatures. It can also help relieve nerve pain, relieve sore throats (such as in those little pink candy lozenges) and makes a great breath freshener. It DOES have many great and beneficial uses. Just be sure and read all of your labels, be aware of other items you might be using that may contain aspirin or Wintergreen, use only occasionally and in small amounts, and it might also be wise to check with your health care provider before using, especially if you are planning on using Wintergreen on a regular basis. Wintergreen essential oil is cumulative in your system, and although it does have many benefits, it isn't for everyone.

TIGHTWAD TUESDAY - Milk Carton Uses

      So many people don't stop to realize that, not only are they paying lots of money for that product they are using, but they are also paying quite a bit of money for the package that it is in. Sometimes, more of what we spend on an item may actually go for the packaging than for what is in it!

Most people use up a product, then toss the packaging in the trash without giving it a second thought. But what if I took you to the store, had you purchase a shopping cart full of just packaging, such as boxes, nice glass bottles, plastic containers with tight fitting snap on lids, etc.... you paid for them all, then I took you over to the dumpster and said, "Now toss them all in the trash!"  You would think I was nuts, wouldn't you? Well, I think some people are nuts for throwing away some of the packaging they throw away. For a better perspective of what portion of a product you are spending on your packaging, a visit to Uline might help. Go through their prices, add up a weeks worth of packaging that you would normally toss, and see how much money you are literally throwing into the trash each week. 

There are many ways to save money on packaging, and I will get to some more of those in later posts, but today, I am going to be talking about repurposing some of those packages, namely, milk jugs. That is a lot of good, sturdy plastic to be throwing away! I have somewhat of a system I use for re-purposing mine. I start by rinsing mine out really well.

Their first purpose is as water jugs. Periodically, I have to haul quite a bit of water here and there around the farm (especially during this past year's drought), so they get a lot of use as water jugs. Once they spring a leak, they have other uses.

I then cut the jugs in half through their middle (jug standing upright, horizontal cut through the middle). If the leak is in the top portion of the carton and the bottom is still in tact, the bottom gets used to put under plants to hold water for them. They sometimes also get used as pet food dishes.  Then the top is set aside to use as a scoop. For scooping dry ingredients, it doesn't matter if it has a small leak.

If the leak is in the bottom of the jug, I then use the bottom as a planter, to start veggies in for the garden. Often times I even add additional little drainage holes. The top (without any leaks) then makes a great funnel with the lid taken off.

If I start having too many of these building up, or too many of one half, I cut them into strips. I write on these strips with permanent marker and use them to label my garden plants and herbs.

There are so many uses for empty, plastic milk cartons that I couldn't even begin to list them all here, but we would love it if you would share in the comments, your ideas for recycling/re-purposing plastic milk jugs. This also includes plastic gallon water jugs, as well, and any other plastic gallon jugs. Oh, yes, sometimes I pour up my homemade liquid laundry soap into them.  The reuses are endless! Of course, they could also be completely eliminated by raising our own milk.

(DF) PATCHED PUMPKIN UPDATE!!!!

As you can see, the patch evolved from wax and gauze to blue duck tape with peace signs. Please don't ask why I have such tape, as it is a long story, and complicated.  Anyway, this picture was taken in preparation for picking the pumpkin late last week just ahead of our first serious freeze of the season.  With the poor little patched pumpkin all grown up and a freeze coming, the time was right and the patch had worked at least well enough for the damaged pumpkin to mature.  So we got a good pumpkin for the holidays, though with a bit more effort than the standard.  RIGHT???

NOT SO FAST!!!  Things aren't always as they appear.  I knew that with the pumpkin's injury, it wouldn't likely keep as long as normal.  My full intent was to open it up, take the seeds and cook the flesh for pies.  Who knows, I might have even canned a couple of quarts for later in the winter, or experimented with drying some.  No such luck.  With work, searching for a hay source, unexpected funerals and countless other delays, Friday rolled around with this fine fellow still on the kitchen floor.  It was still fine and seemed solid Friday afternoon, and I went to Anna's  with the intent to set the pumpkin as a priority for early in the week.  Returning home this afternoon, I immediately smelled something amiss.  Yes, our fair, peaceful friend had leaked rotten pumpkin juice all over the kitchen floor. 

After grabbing towels to contain the mess, I found the large stock pot and began filling it with chunks of yellow stench.  Needless to say, I was not happy with this situation, but maybe there could be a somewhat brighter side to it.  I began feeling through the yellow goo for seeds.  Believe it or not, I found quite a few solid, fully mature seeds, which I truly hope are viable. 

In the end, the mess is cleaned up, the chickens were extremely enthusiastic about the remains and there are seeds of hope for a future season.  Though it would be nice to have a pie from our own pumpkin this year, there are other pumpkins available, so no need to complain.

PHARMACY FRIDAY - Cayenne in my Hot Cocoa

Believe me, it is better than you think!

Cayenne pepper is a great remedy for a variety of ails, but the one I use it for most is my joint pain. When I first heard about this, I was skeptical and pushed it to the back of my mind.

Next, I came across some hot chocolate recipes that called for cayenne pepper. My first thought was - "yuck!" But then I kept coming across recipes and hot chocolate mixes with cayenne and became more curious. Yet, once again, I pushed to the back of my mind.

Last winter, as the cold set in, my arthritis pain grew a little more than the year before. Taking so many tylenol starts getting kind of scary. Then I remembered about the Cayenne Pepper for joint pain relief, and that it was suppose to be good in Hot Chocolate, something of which I drink a lot of in the winter. So... I decided to try it.

Gosh, was it ever good! It blends in perfectly with the chocolate, each ingredient enhancing the other. The chocolate tames the heat of the cayenne and the cayenne enhances the chocolaty flavor. I put anywhere from 3 to 7 dashes of powdered cayenne pepper in my bedtime hot chocolate and, much to my amazement, I get an enormous amount of pain relief as I sleep. The warmth of it also warms me up a bit on those frosty cold winter nights.

If you would like to know more about how this works, here is some more great information on the subject at LiveStrong.  Give it a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well it works AND how great it tastes. It doesn't have the sharp, hot bite that I thought it would. It simply, slowly warms you up. Enjoy!