When you hear a word like clafoutis, what comes to mind? Something you eat or something you don’t want to catch? It is actually a baked French dessert of black cherries in a buttered dish covered in thick flan-like batter. Only, I didn’t know that when I made one with peaches from a recipe I found online.  Apparently, any number of fruit options work quite nicely.

What I ended up was a delightfully simple peach dish with a texture somewhere between custard and cobbler. I love coming up with new things to take to our potluck dinners at our campground and despite its fancy name, the peach clafoutis was easy to separate for travel into a bag of dried ingredients, a bowl of peaches and one lemon along with the pie pan and zester. Eggs and milk were stored in a small cooler and the whole thing came together quicker than making a pie and it disappeared just as fast once served. Here it is for your cooking pleasure:

Peach and Lemon Clafoutis

3 medium peaches

½ cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar (plus 1 tbsp to sprinkle on top)

½ tsp salt

1 cup milk

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tsp lemon zest (Optional:  combine with orange zest)

Heat oven to 425F and grease a deep 9 inch pie pan or tart dish. Peel, cut and layer thin peach slices in a flat spiraling layer covering the bottom of the pan. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add milk, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest; whisk until smooth. (Original recipe on BakingBites.com suggests the milder Meyer lemons but I found that regular lemons work just fine for my crowd.) Pour mixture over peaches and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes at 425F. Turn down to 350F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. You can serve it warm or chilled.

This time of year is great for apple recipes too! What’s your favorite?

Reader Tip: If you have a mattress that is non-pillow top, consider turning it over 1-2 times a year to increase its longevity and balance out the wear on it. Submitted by Kim D.

Do you ever watch a reality show on T.V. that truly resonates, that connects with your core instincts and makes you want to jump on the bus and join the gang? There are so many goofy shows out there and then there are the ones that make me want to sign up. I’ve certainly been tempted to write to Survivor and watching Flip This (or That) House makes my husband and I both want to go buy a fixer-upper and make it shiny new for resale. On the other hand, I have to admit that American Idol , America’s Got Talent or even Dancing with the Stars aren’t a temptation for me (though fun to watch); but, we recorded a show off the History channel recently that I just love: The American Pickers. I think it almost beats Mythbusters (by a slim margin) in my book.

In the American Pickers, two gentlemen, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, go in search of treasures in other people’s junk. Sometimes people know the value of their goods, sometimes they don’t. The guys visit old barns, junkyards, attics, garages and really anywhere people have old stuff that may or may not be of value to them. Mike and Frank work with their assistant Danielle, back at the warehouse, to find new locations and to sell some of their specialty finds while they are still on the road.

Watching a recent episode, I was fascinated with the guys and their ability to quickly make someone feel at ease (which is valuable when you want to buy treasures from strangers) and the way they knew their antiques. They knew what was valuable as they would pick and poke and then they would make an offer. Sometimes owners haggled with Mike and Frank and sometimes they wouldn’t sell at all. Other times, the camera caught the fun back-and-forth interaction that happens when people take a couple of turns naming prices to come to an agreeable amount for both parties. In the show, the two guys remind the audience that they have to buy at a price that will allow them to sell these items and end with a profit that will keep them in business. Some of the people they run across want the full value and the guys have to bargain them down or walk away.

So, why does this show resonate with me? Because, I love a good treasure hunt and I love seeing old things find new life. But, what if you have stuff to get rid of? Over the years, we managed to inherit the occasional junk pile from relatives, auctions and other places — including my children’s bedrooms as they grew through various toy stages. Sometimes we’ve sold items on E-bay or Craigslist or given it all to Goodwill , taking the charitable receipt for a write-off. My point in all this is to say, know your treasures and when to part with them. And, stop junk-piling. It’s not good for your health or your home — unless you want the American Pickers to come find you. I saved Barbie dolls from my childhood only to have them fall apart from dry-rot when my kids went to play with them. If I had given them to another child as I grew out of them, they would have been appreciated much more.

If you aren’t sure what you have lying around, start with a closet or drawer today. Decide what you want to keep, toss or giveaway and then move to the next messy spot and get started. You will feel better for doing it and you may even find something valuable!

In the Phoenix, September 4, 2010

In “Car Wash Capers,” the second episode of Warren Buffett’s Web series that teaches kids about financial literacy, Elena gets the Secret Millionaires Club to help the school make their car wash a success by doing a little bit of advertising. Learn more about the Secret Millionaries Club HERE and watch past episodes on YouTube HERE.

It’s as lime as it gets! My 12-yr-old daughter asked for a makeover and LOVES lime green so I consented.  I can tell you these walls are BRIGHT. So are the lime green accessories to go with it, including a lime green bean bag {thanks to CSN} and more!

Here are some pictures of our progress. Laura had a few friends over to help make it go faster.

BEFORE: Here’s Laura removing the ladybug stickums and moving all furniture to the middle of the room.

Then you see Laura in her new bean bag chair covered in a fuzzy blanket to match:

And, then there’s the painting party:

And, the finished product.

Brian even got into the act talking about it on his Handyguys Podcast in Episode # 121. Of course, he gets a little more technical and adds a lot more pictures, so head over and check it out!

{Thanks to One2One Network for sending me this great deal alert!}

Today, Gary Foreman joins me with a post on making your own greenhouse! Keep reading.

Would you like a steady supply of lettuce, spinach, strawberries, cilantro, radishes, green onions, tomatoes, carrots, grapes, eucalyptus, flowers, beans, peas, parsley, etc.? The answer is having your own hobby greenhouse.

Growing your own vegetables year round in a personal greenhouse saves money on grocery bills, but buying a greenhouse from local nurseries or the Internet is expensive. Building your own is not only feasible but can be done frugally.

Finding Plans

There are a variety of places to find plans. Your local high school vocational agriculture teacher or the Local County Extension Office may have plans for a variety of projects. On the net you’ll find plans at places such as snapclamp.com/greenhouse.htm and westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html. Or you can search for “hobby greenhouse contruction plans” which will bring up a variety of plans for different sizes and shapes.

Cheap Construction Tips

Truss kits for garden sheds that use 2×4’s make easy frames to cover with plastic for an instant, inexpensive greenhouse. The overall cost should be around $100, depending on the grade of wood and plastic used. Using recycled wood would make it even cheaper (ask at constuction or demolition sites for their used wood).

Using glass makes the greenhouse more permanent, but adds cost. Check demolition sales and the local newspapers for people selling single glazed windows. The glass will raise the initial cost of building, but will save you from having to replace plastic every two years or so.

To help keep heating costs down to virtually nil (in a mild climate), paint one gallon jugs black and fill them with water, then place them in an area that will receive plenty of light. They will absorb the heat from the sun during the day and help keep the greenhouse from freezing during the night. Double layering the plastic (one layer on each side of the studs) during winter will help too.

Location is the best way to keep heating costs down. Where you decide to put your greenhouse could determine how hard it is to keep warm during the winter months. You may just find that it may be more advantageous to do coldframes against the house instead of a freestanding greenhouse.

If warmth is a concern, consider using a “solar” greenhouse design. The solar greenhouse has superior insulation values and gets more light to your plants than a regular greenhouse. It can be either free standing or attached to your house. If attached to your home, you can get free heat from the solar greenhouse for your home.

The north wall is 2×4 construction with insulation, CDX plywood, and has Therma-Shield glued to the inside of the north wall. If the greenhouse is under 20 feet long, the other walls and roof are double wall polycarbonate. If the greenhouse is 20 feet or longer, the side walls are regular 2×4 construction, just as the north wall is.

Black barrels filled with water line the north wall, so the water heats up during the day and keeps the greenhouse above freezing (with no heater). If you have a concrete walk or a concrete floor in the greenhouse, add black colorant to your concrete mix or paint it flat black. The black concrete also acts as thermal mass heat storage.

Making your own greenhouse can reduce your grocery bills by creating a year-round garden of your own. Building it yourself is completely possible and is much less costly than purchasing one, allowing you to save as much as possible in an environmentally friendly way.

Gary Foreman is the editor of The Dollar Stretcher.com, a site dedicated to frugal living. The site also has more information on how to build a backyard greenhouse.

School is back in session and with it comes the endless battle to balance healthy lunches with items that aren’t too sugary, too refined, refrigeration needy or microwave needy, among other issues. Food needs to last a couple of hours between the time you pack it and the time it gets eaten and finding good choices can be tough. Keeping food fresh from home to the lunch table can be just as challenging for active youngsters who tend to swing, squish and drop their lunches along the way.

Filled with good intentions, I packed mango slices in a snack baggy yesterday and threw a plastic fork into the paper bag along with a napkin. According to my daughter, the fork poked a hole in the bag, the mangos turned to mush and the food fell out of the bag into her tiny locker that doesn’t hold the nice roomy, washable lunchboxes I bought last year for easy cleaning. I like to pack in containers that will make it back home for rewashing but apparently, that’s not “cool” in middle school or so I’ve been told. And now, my other resident expert tells me she is in the .0002% who even brings lunch. So, what’s a mom to do?

When you are trying to pack a balanced meal, I find myself looking for at least one thing each that falls into the categories of protein, good fats, vitamins and fiber.  Protein, of course, can come in the obvious forms of lunch meats and peanut butter. For kids who pick apart their sandwiches, tuna comes in snack packets now (though you have to watch the cost on those.)

For good fats and protein, a snack container or baggie filled with almonds, peanuts (for those who can eat it and for schools who allow it since many more allergies to nuts are appearing), sunflower seeds or cheese slices make a quick and easy snack that should endure the trip from home.

For veggies, cutting up strips of celery or carrots or packing cut apple slices (dipped in lemon to reduce the browning of the apple flesh) take time but they are worth the fiber and vitamins. Try unusual options like spaghetti squash in a container with a fork. Some parents sneak zucchini into delicious bread recipes which kids enjoy but I would strongly encourage getting kids used to eating veggies raw. Hiding nutrients in cooked food can sometimes cook those vitamins right out of the veggie – especially when you removed edible skins that deliver all kinds of goodies to the body. Send a bag of cut-up raw broccoli or baby spinach leaves and little pack of salad dressing.  At some point, you have to decide that your child’s health is more important than inconveniences you suffer coming up with options or they suffer eating the food – like heaven forbid they have to open and pour the salad dressing. They are more than happy to open white icing and dip cookie strips that you find in expensive, preservative-filled pre-packed lunches at the grocery store that I won’t  name here.

For a quick packed multi-nutrient lunch, try making pasta with colorful noodles and Italian dressing that can be eaten cold. Add peas and carrots or cheese chunks for a little extra filling. Now we are talking about making the lunch fun to look at and eat! I found a suggestion by a parent online who said they love to roll out their bread with a rolling pin, slather it with a thin coat of jelly or peanut butter and roll it into a jelly roll. Apparently, kids and teachers both love it. Others cut their sandwiches into fun shapes.

By establishing a healthy, balanced lunch routine early, children will hopefully look for the right choices to purchase and eat when they are on their own.  As for packing lunches on a budget, try to buy snacks, veggies or fruit in bulk and pack in washable containers for the best savings. Send dinner leftovers, too! Or pack soup in a thermos. There are many creative ways to cut lunch costs. Send you own snacks or drinks to add to the school meal if they are buying and it isn’t enough. As always, look for those valuable coupons that cut the cost of everything and keep the money in your pocket for another day.

Back-to-school days are here and there’s no avoiding it. Store supplies are already diminishing and specials on fall clothes, shoes and backpacks fill the flyers. I usually like to take advantage of the weekly specials starting in July but this year we were a little late getting started.

Typically, I look for the cheapest notebooks and pencils and supplies and then get sucked into the pleas of my children for one or two of the more expensive picture folders; however, this year I was invited to participate in a back-to-school with purpose campaign by DaySpring.com and a blogging group called Collective Bias to use a gift card they sent to fill two backpacks – one for my child and one to give away.

At Wal-mart, we found the new inspirational line of DaySpring notebooks with sayings like “Life is forever. John 17:3” and another one with a funky cover saying: I am an alien. I am not of this world, nor do I call it “home.” My desires are not for earthly things that will fade, corrode or burn. I set my heart & mind on things above. My faith & hope are in God alone and I eagerly await His return for me. I’m a citizen of heaven. (Scriptures: I Peter 2:11, I John 2:15-17, Colossians 3:1-3, I Thessalonians 4:17 and Phillipians 3:20). Out of several options with cool colors and fun designs, we picked up a few for us and some for our giveaway bag. The themed notebooks and supplies are also available online on the DaySpring.com website.

So, now I had a bag filled with pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, tape and much more. There are so many good causes and I found a great one right near my home. In Phoenixville, we found a local non-profit called Mom’s House, Inc. of Greater Philadelphia, which is a free state-licensed daycare for single parents attending school full-time. Children are accepted from six weeks up to four years of age and are given meals, diapers and other essentials to prepare them for pre-school. In exchange for services, parents are expected to go back or stay in school (high school, GED, technical school or college) and work to get passing grades, provide three hours of service each week and attend monthly parent meetings.

As the parents who use their services prepare for the Fall semester, so do the staff here – painting school rooms, spreading mulch and stocking supplies. Director, Dottie Frey, says, “We need volunteers to help in the classroom for morning or afternoon shifts during our hours which are 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. We are also happy to help students complete their community service requirements for school.”

Mom’s House is gearing up for their Fall fundraiser – a 2nd annual wine tasting that includes a silent auction on October 23 in the Kimberton Arts Hall. Because they run solely on donations, they also accept memorial gifts, adopt-a-mom donations and community support through goods and services. Currently, they are well-stocked for the fall but gift cards for ongoing expenses are highly appreciated according to interim executive director, Wendy McKeon.

Think about what you can do to get your kids active in the community – finding inspirational ways to live with purpose no matter your income level. Teach your kids to give daily – from the frugally free smile to a positive word to collecting change in a baby bottle. Getting kids involved is one of the best ways to encourage a spirit of giving and hard work.

In the Phoenix, August 21, 2010

Believe it or not, I do remember my college days and I know that text books aren’t cheap if you have to buy them. I typically opted to rent mine through the school program and promised with my life not to highlight them or drop them down the sewer drain, however tempted.

But, some college students don’t have the option to rent their textbooks and they spend the first week or two (or three) of the semester scrambling to see if there are used copies to buy, if the teacher allows buying previous cheaper editions and if they can get away without buying texts at all (which I know firsthand from currently being an adjunct college professor at a local college).

Fortunately for students today, there are many online options for purchasing half-price books, even ones currently in use. Previous edition texts are much, much cheaper but they typically don’t include the newer material that the professor may cover. If unsure, students should always clarify the edition required before making a bad decision and not having the book needed for class.

To see what I could find, I used my new favorite Droid app called “ShopSavvy” (a program on my new snazzy Droid Incredible phone that my husband bought me which operates more like a mini-computer than a phone but I love it). With ShopSavvy, I can use the camera on the phone to scan the barcode on the back of the textbook (or any product with a barcode). As long as I am still enough for it to focus and capture the barcode, it will search online and locally and tell me where I can buy the item online and for how much and where I can buy it locally and give me instructions to get there. Cool, huh?

I found that the textbook I am requiring of my students this Fall was not listed as available locally but could be bought online for a range of $31 at eCampus.com to $88.99 at Half.com to $103 at Borders and $112 at Barnes & Nobles. What a difference. The publisher had it for $118.13 and Walmart beat them at $120 initially but clicking through to the site, I found it for $86. I found other sites with reasonable prices at PhatCampus.com, Textbooks.com and of course, Amazon.com which starts at $62. The nice thing about buying through Amazon is that you can see the ratings of the different sellers using their services to sell used books and you can read reviews to see if they actually send the product when you buy it. Some sellers do not have the best track record and it is better to pay a little more to get a book from a respected seller than buy from someone who may take your credit card number and run.

I also went straight to my Google browser and typed in the text to see what prices I came up with. MyNextCollege.com gave me a listing of where I could rent or buy the text for a reasonable price and Nextag.com gave me purchase prices along with ratings and reviews on the website selling the item. Chegg.com and CampusBookRentals offered rentals in the $40 range which sounded reasonable but like my college days way back, they allow only limited highlighting and writing in notes is simply not supposed to happen. The important part here is having the right text for the right class and showing up on time. Your grade is depending on it.

In the Phoenix, August 15, 2010

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. The winner (or comment #12) will be contacted directly.

Staples is celebrating Back-to-School with fun supplies and DoSomething.org inspired notebooks for everyone!– And, of course, { the real reason you are here} – Staples (in conjunction with the awesome ladies at MomSelect) is letting me giveaway a $25 Staples gift card. See rules and dates below.

Below are some of the cool new goodies Staples sent us to try (& keep )!