Thriftism

Craving pie, but want to keep the summer body? Or maybe you just need to cut back on carbs. Either way this crustless pumpkin gives you all the indulgence of pie with none of the guilt. It's also incredibly easy to make with only a few ingredients and is a wonderful dessert option for diabetics looking to cut back on sugar/carbs. Ingredients 1 Can Pumpkin Pie 1 Can Evaporated Milk (or 2% Milk) 2 Large Eggs 3/4 Cup Sugar 1-1/4 tsp Pumpkin Spice (See recipe below) Pumpkin Spice 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Giner 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1/8 tsp Cloves Preheat your oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a greased 9" pie pan. Back for ~50 minutes, check at 40 minutes or less if using a larger pie pan.  Enjoy with whip cream or plain!

Always have scraps left over after putting together your pie? Try out this nifty cookies to use up your leftovers, leaving you with #nowaste and a great cookie to eat and share! Lay out strips of unused pie crust. Cut into bit size pieces. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake for 4-6 minutes at 350. Adjust time accordingly if baking at hotter or cooler temps.  Enjoy!

A great way to save money on your grocery bill is to make the most out of your garden every summer. While you may already be eating lettuce, peppers, beans, and other veggies from your garden you might be missing other tasty and easy to harvest produce. Squash blossoms are an excellent example of a flavorful, edible blossom that makes a great addition to many dishes and appetizers. If you're growing squash (summer or winter), you'll notice they produce quite the flower display almost daily. While there aren't many female blossoms, there are plenty of males around. This is to ensure the females get pollinated, but there are still more than are actually needed. This makes squash blossoms the perfect candidate to use elsewhere to make the most out of your garden. Squash flowers are edible and have great flavor, not to mention they make any dish more colorful. The flavor is light and won't overwhelm any dish. While you may want to use them as garnishes (nothing l

I've heard many people say that each winter squash plant will only produce 2-3 squash per plant. I personally have never experienced that. The plants in our garden seem to be close to 6-10 squash per plant. Now that we have an established garden (4 years running), we have inherited a plethora of insects to pollinate the plants for us. However, the first year or two we needed to give the plants a helping hand. We still hand pollinate the first couple squash of the year to ensure sooner production. By hand pollinated, you know you will get squash and can also ensure each and every female blossom gets pollinated. Male/Female Blossoms: What's the Difference? Male Blossom (Left) Female Blossom (Right) Male blossoms have a longer, straighter, and thinner stem than female blossoms. They have a noticeable stamen covered in pollen and also tend to stick out farther from the plant. Male Squash Blossom  A female blossom will have a noticeable bulge at the base of the

Another month has flown by, meaning its time for our monthly goal check-in. Here's where we at Thriftism stand: Take 6 Courses Online Began A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment on Coursera (1/11/17) Install Bathroom Heater DONE!! So nice to have a warm bathroom. Stain/Finish Captains Bedframe No progress here, this one seems to be a challenge for us.  Read 12 Books Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown The Summons by John Grisham Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen  Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Lots of textbooks/references, but I'm not sure that counts.   Take 2 Trips (Mexico & TBD)   Trip 1✔ We went to Cancun in January. This is always a favorite of ours.  Where to next??? Planning has begun for a Germany trip, but we are waiting to see when we will have time off to book tickets. Paint & Trim Guest Bedroom Painting is done, trim to be continued. We are planning to stain the rest of the trim in June and h