One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1140 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

How to Use Weck Canning Jars

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 23, 2014 · 5 Comments

I posted a picture of my raspberry jam on instagram the other day, and someone left a comment “Please tell me it’s a tutorial with those gorgeous jars!” I had used Weck canning jars for the jam, and thought that there might be other people who wanted to know what they were and how to use them.

I’ve always adored the beauty of Weck canning jars. Last year was the first time I used them and let me tell you Bob, I AM IN LOVE. You can use them over and over again, without having to buy new lids.

Here’s a quick guide on using Weck canning jars:

There are 4 pieces to Weck jars. The lid, the jar, the rubber ring, and the clamps. All four components will need to be washed and sterilized in hot soapy water.
For a hot water bath canning method, follow recipe instructions. When it comes time to put your goods into the jars, place the rubber seals in boiling water for a few minutes, just as you would disposable lids. This will soften them up and prepare them to seal.
Fill your jars with whatever you are canning. Place the rubber seal on the lid of the jars and wipe the rims of the jars to ensure a good seal. Place the lid on the jar and click the clamps into place. The clamps will take the place of the rings in Kerr or Ball jars.
Process your jars as you would regular canning jars. When the timer goes off and you remove your jars, be careful not to disturb the clamps when you remove the jars from the water.
Allow the jars to cool completely. Remove the clamps and check for a good seal.
Store jars as you would regular canning jars.

I’ve bought Weck jars from both Amazon.com and Williams-Sonoma. They are a little expensive up front, but since you can use them over and over, I think I’ll come out ahead in the end.

~Mavis

See all my Canning Recipes HERE

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12 Goals for the New Year – Week 30 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 23, 2014 · 1 Comment

I came up with 12 goals I’d like to accomplish this year with the hopes of being able to cross one off my list per month to make them more manageable. I thought a great way to hold myself accountable to the things I want to accomplish this year would be to do a weekly update.

After all, we all need a little help staying motivated sometimes. Here’s how I am doing so far:

1. ~~Clean, de-clutter and organize my entire home in 30 days or less~~. – So far this year I have cleaned my closet, organized my kitchen, decluttered my bathroom, organized my office, gutted the garage, and tackled the laundry room. We are still purging! It’s amazing how many clothes you can have when you don’t wear the same thing everyday. Sheesh, they should teach kids about minimalism in high school. 😉

2. Fit into the same jeans I wore 8 years ago when we moved into our house. Would you believe I can actually fit into my shorts without spillage? Must be all the walks the puggle princess and I have been going on lately.

3. ~~Travel.~~ So far this year The Girl and I have been to Boston, London, Paris, Portland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia and now Victoria B.C.

Would you believe my next little mini adventure is already planned? It will be more work than adventure, but I’m still hoping to sneak in a little fun.

4. Send my daughter to college without having a nervous breakdown thus spending a week in bed sobbing. I wonder if she’ll be eating out of tin cans when she goes to college…

5. Get 3 new teeth. – I went to the oral surgeon and got the GREEN LIGHT to go back to my dentist and get my new teeth. Wahoooo! Now I just need to make an appointment.

6. ~~Pay off my car~~. Done!

Lucy is the most well behaved dog on the planet when she thinks she might be on the way to the vet. 😉

7. ~~Finish this primitive folk art rug I started 4 years ago~~. Finished! It took me 6 months but I’m done. When I started I had no idea I was making a rug for Lucy. 😉

I started another rug and I’m making some pretty good progress on it too. I’m hoping to get it done in time to set out for Thanksgiving this year and you know what, I think I’m going to make it. My goal this week is to get all the flowers completed.

8. Do something together as a family ever Sunday. Naps. Do naps count? Also, the HH and The Girl started mapping out their road trip to college adventure.

9. ~~Secret Plan #1~~ – Done! – I’ll tell you about it at the end of the month.

10. Secret Plan #2 Making progress.

11. Secret Plan #3

12. Convince the HH we should buy a Salt Box Style House in Colonial Williamsburg. Our 20th anniversary is coming up and I keep hinting…. we’ll see how it all pans out. 😉 At this point I will settle for any type of home on the East Coast. Maybe I should contact the peeps who own Earl Hamner’s House and see if they want to sell. How cool would that be?

13. Spend at least 1 hour a day working in my garden. This week I harvested all our beets and then went back and planted more beets and 2 packets of chives in the same garden bed. I’m hoping to be able to beets for Thanksgiving dinner. We’ll see.

So there you have it, my goals for the new year.

How about YOU? How are your 2014 goals coming along?

~Mavis

P.S. YES, I know I wrote down 13 goals. I’m fairly certain I won’t be able to attain one of them. {gee, I wonder which one?} But I wanted to add it in there anyway because I believe in miracles.

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Free Kindle Books, Lucy the Lazy Dog, Bedding Deals, Kut From the Kloth Jeans, Coupons and More

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 23, 2014 · 1 Comment

Oh Lucy, she’s been such a lazy pup lately. I think she may have actually learned to relax and not be on the go 24/7. Which is pretty awesome if you ask me. We have passed the toddler stage people… and I couldn’t be happier. 🙂 Yay for lazy dogs! 🙂

Have a great Wednesday everyone,

♥ Mavis

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – Up to 35% Off Select PC Components and Accessories

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is here! FREE shipping and FREE returns with no minimum. Head on over HERE to check out all the deals.

Amazon has the Evenflo Amp High Back Booster Car Seat, Carrissa and Green Angles on sale for $39.99 shipped!

Kut from the Kloth … The only jeans I wear are on sale today on 6pm.com. 🙂 🙂 🙂

KUT from the Kloth Catherine Slim Capri $33.99 shipped {I just ordered a pair!}
KUT from the Kloth Pork Chop Short $35.99 shipped
KUT from the Kloth Farrah Bootcut in Lightsome $37.99 shipped

Do you know how to tell if your eggs are still good? There’s a super simple way to tell. Check it out HERE before you toss them or Pin it for later. Find more cool tips on my Easy Kitchen Tips Pinterest Board.

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – ALPS Mountaineering Breeze Pack

Looking for an inexpensive duvet set? Amazon has the Utopia Bedding Queen 3pc Duvet Set on sale for $29.99 Queen and $33.99 King with a variety of colors to choose from.

Are you tired of the junkity junk movies out there? If you’re looking for good, wholesome movies your whole fam can watch, sign up for a FREE 7 day trial of SpiritClips. SpiritClips from Hallmark is a family-friendly movie subscription service showing films that inspire and entertain audiences of all ages. Start your FREE trial HERE.

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Urban Farm Magazine for only $8.99 a year or Country Living Magazine for $5.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire tonight 7/24/14 at midnight EST so be sure and grab your subscription before then.

Check out this freezer meal recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken. It just might be a perfect way to use up some of that cilantro that’s growing in the garden. Get the recipe HERE or Pin it for later.

Amazon has these Vintage Flower Crystal Bubble Bib Chokers for just $4.09 shipped. These would make a great gift for stocking stuffer and come in 4 different colors.

Love the look of a French Manicure but can’t seem to get the lines just right? Now you can get 10 sheets of Nail Art Designs French, Chevron & Teardrop Nail Tip Guides Stickers for just $1.76 shipped and the reviews are great!

$45 for a One-Year Sam’s Club Membership, $20 Gift Card, and Free Fresh-Food Vouchers ($91.23 Total Value)

One-year Sam’s Club Savings Membership (a $45 value)
Complimentary membership card for a spouse or other household member
$20 gift card valid for any in-club, online or fuel purchases
Four Fresh-food vouchers, redeemable at the time of membership activation through Monday, October 27, 2014 (a $26.23 value), including:
- Sliced oven-roast turkey (22 oz. – $7.98 value)
- Ciabatta rolls (8 ct. – $3.99 value)
- Black bean five-layer dip (28 oz. – $7.98 value)
- Apple pie (10” – $6.28 value)

Go HERE to see this Sam’s Club Offer

Check out these New Printable Coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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German Chocolate Brownie Bars

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 22, 2014 · 8 Comments

I’ve never met a brownie I didn’t like. You can even soak a burned brownie in milk and it’s still awesome. So adding more deliciousness to the top of a brownie? I’m totally on board with that. They’re chocolatey and gooey and so full of awesome that if you try to bake a batch to gift to neighbors, you should probably bake a second batch just for you.

Ingredients

Brownies
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping
2 egg whites
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place an overhanging piece of parchment paper in the bottom of an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cocoa powder, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in flour and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and then pour into prepared pan, smoothing evenly and set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix all topping ingredients until well combined. Spread topping over brownie batter. Bake 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. One cooled, lift the parchment paper to remove the dessert from the pan. Transfer to a large cutting board, remove paper and slice into bars. Enjoy.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.