Affordable, versitile and nutritious–hot roasted vegetables make a great autumn meal.

This will be the first in a series of $1 dinners that I’m writing for an e-book on the subject.  Many will be posted here, and of course, your submissions and ideas are welcomed! Remember, these are $1 dinners. They should be fairly balanced, but don’t need to be elaborate. This dish is a favorite [...]

You can’t beat rice. Fast-cooking, versatile, and almost universally-liked. We make rice in big batches because the leftovers are just as good. Here’s a few uses for this wonderful food. 1. A base for stir-fry2. In soups in place of noodles3. As a “mash” for breakfast with milk and cinnamon4. Rice pudding with a custard [...]

Maybe it’s living within a few miles of a Ball plant, or maybe it’s sentimental memories of my grandmother’s pickled beets and my great grandmother’s English Relish, but even though I’m not a canner, I LOVE mason jars. They’re the perfect organizer. They’re durable, transparent and timeless. You can put flowers in them for a [...]

They’re not just the “musical fruit” but a great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein! They’re extraordinarily versatile. I’ve lined my kitchen with canning jars full of staples—around the back wall of the countertop that I can’t reach anyhow (I’m vertically challenged). This way I can always see what I have on hand. Pasta, [...]

I’m pretty sure that I’ve been open about our patio composting before. As a container-gardening apartment dweller, it boils my buns to buy dirt, and I hate throwing away compost-able materials. We’ve been composting since winter now and it’s going well, but I’ve recently decided to take it a step further. Now I keep my [...]

We choose this auspicious date not because it’s fun to say 7-8-9, but because it’s pretty much the middle of the year, and it’s easy to remember. We made a pact today to stop eating out until the end of the year. Yep, 12/31/09. No more doughnut runs on Sunday mornings, or Friday pizza deliveries [...]

I’m planning to get back to the 30 days of financial literacy this afternoon (or maybe even tonight after the Town Hall for Hope event), but I was thinking you all might appreciate my recession breakfast recipe. Our favorite affordable breakfast is Steel Cut Oats (also called Irish Oats). These are whole oats, which are [...]

Are you spending less than you make? Are you sure? Better double-check, just in case. I’m getting ready for the Town Hall for Hope on Thursday and thinking about what are the true, simple and basic facts about personal finance. The bottom line really is that you must spend less than you make. The origins [...]

We’ve now reached the point (just a few months in) where I’ve completely replaced my previous work-outside-the-home income with my mobile notary business and my freelance writing. By implementing the tips I’ve been outlining here–even post-layoff our family is coming out ahead of where we were six months ago financially, as well as in peace [...]