One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1832 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.

Easy Crock Pot Recipes – Homemade Caramel Dip

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 10, 2012 · 20 Comments

I was over at my neighbor Girly Girl’s house the other day, and she told me about an easy recipe for making caramel apple dip. I was pretty interested since there was absolutely no stove top cooking involved. Oh, and there was that whole part about the recipe calling for only 1 ingredient.

I didn’t think it would work. But it did. Who knew you could make your own caramel dip for just 1 can of sweetened condensed milk? This recipe totally rocks, and you can make it in your sleep.

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Supplies

1 Crock pot {I used a 6 quart crock pot*}
Enough water to cover the can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Grab a can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the label, and place the can on an old plate {or in a custard dish} and place it in a crock pot. The reason for placing the can on an plate is that it could rust, and you probably don’t want a rust ring on the bottom of your crock pot. Especially if you have OCD like me.

Fill the crock pot with enough water so the can is totally submerged and place the crock pot lid on. Cook on low for 8 hours.

When the 8 hours are up, remove the lid and let the water surrounding the can cool. Using tongs, remove the can out of the crock pot and allow it to cool for an hour or so. Wipe any rust off the can and then open ‘er up.

Viola! Caramel dip! Serve with apples for an awesome afternoon snack.

Have YOU tried this before? What did you think? Pretty awesome don’t you think?

~Mavis

Find More Delicious Recipes

Looking for more recipes for dips and spreads? Check out Circle of Friends Cookbook By the Goose Berrypatch. The Amazon kindle eBook price is only $.99.

* Direct link to Amazon product

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How to Embarrass Your Kids

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 10, 2012 · 5 Comments

Okay, so for awhile there I thought maybe I was the only parent on the planet who likes to dress up in costumes in an effort to embarras my kids. But apparently not.

You have got to check out the blog Wave At The Bus. It’s about a dad who dresses up every morning so he can way goodbye to his son as the bus drives past their house and on to school.

It’s total awesomeness if you ask me!

I think Monkey Boy and The Girl would totally pass out if I tried to do something like this. Ha!

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Mavis Garden Blog – The Well Has Run Dry

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 10, 2012 · 9 Comments

Well it’s over folks, watering the garden that is. This morning I peeked outside and there was a heavy mist in the air. And since rain wasn’t in the forecast until this weekend, I thought I’d give the garden one last soak today before the rainy season started up here in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

But I didn’t have to. As I walked out the door around 10 am, it started to sprinkle a bit, and it hasn’t let up since.

Ahhh, Seattle. I love your free rain. It makes me smile.

I guess it’s time to dig out the raincoats and rain boots, because even though the weather is cooling down and it’s raining, the garden is still growing {albeit much slower}.

I’m curious, have YOU stopped watering your garden for the year? Or is this just a Seattle thing?

Mavis wants to know.

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Bartering with Mavis – Trading 25 Pounds of Whole Wheat Bread Flour for…

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By Mavis Butterfield on October 10, 2012 · 31 Comments

Yesterday I ran into Mrs. Hillbilly while I was running errands.

While we were talking, she mentioned she picked up an Oster 2lb bread maker* at the Goodwill for a whopping $25! And the bread making booklet was in it too! I could see she was totally pumped about it and I was super happy for her.

Well actually let me back up a second. I’m not sure if I was super excited for her because she had just scored a sweet deal on a bread maker, or if I was totally surprised to find out she shopped at the Goodwill too. Hmmm.

Well anyway, as soon as I heard the words bread maker come out of her mouth, I was instantly reminded of the 25 pound sack of flour I picked up for free awhile back when I cashed in some of my Swagbucks for an Amazon gift card. Now as much as I would like to bake bread every day of the week, I just don’t have any extra time right now. So I immediately told her about the flour and asked her she would be up for a little bartering a little later.

Well fast forward about 6 hours…

And this is what I traded away my 25 pound sack of whole wheat bread flour for:

3 cups raw almonds {for snacking and a recipe I have in mind}
1 red bell pepper {we used it last night on homemade pizzas}
2 pounds mozzarella cheese {used some for the pizzas and still have plenty left over}
1 tub of organic polenta

What the heck is polenta, and what am I suppose to do with it?

I could tell Mrs. Hillbilly totally wanted to get rid of the polenta so I just took it and smiled. But seriously, what on earth is it? Mrs. Hillbilly mentioned something like, “It’s like grits, only you fry it.”

Ummm Okay?

Help!

~Mavis

Find More Delicious Recipes

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