Action Jackson

Smart Freezing Tip

takeactionjackson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:53:31 +0000

I am preparing some frozen meals to have on hand after baby G comes. I read in the comments from a recipe for Veggie Enchiladas a great idea.
When preparing a casserole to freeze in an 8×8 pan, line the pan with plastic wrap before putting the food in. Then, when it’s frozen, you can pop it out and freeze the casserole in a freezer bag, freeing up the pan. Then, when you want to bake it, just unwrap it and pop it back in a pan. I only have a few pyrex dishes and I hate it when they’re in the freezer!

Recycle it!

takeactionjackson — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:12:01 +0000

I was in a wedding this weekend and along with the rest of the bridesmaids, we are donating our dresses to this organization: http://www.princessproject.org/princess/

Have a fancy dress hanging around? I’d be glad to bring it as well.

Reusing Plastic Bags

takeactionjackson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:18:25 +0000

Ziploc Holding Area

I know that many folks do this, but I was always stumped about the process. Rinse out gently used Ziploc freezer bags and let them dry to use again. Where? How? Where was I supposed to drape this large bag for a few days until it was free of water drops? I didn’t want a bunch of these bags cluttering up my life, I wanted to forget about them until I remembered that it was dry and ready to put back in the box.

My solution was to put them on the fridge, the side I don’t really look at, with a magnet only to the back of the bag. This allows air to circulate freely and the bag is up and out of the way until it’s ready to return from whence it came: the box in the drawer.

Beans, Beans…

takeactionjackson — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:54:11 +0000

Dry Pinto beans at Berkeley Bowl in the bulk section run $1.05/pound.

If you make beans in the crockpot, you can have a great meal for less than a few dollars. No soaking necessary, they cook all day and all you have to do to have dinner is make rice or cornbread.

2 cups dry beans

8 cups water

drizzle of olive oil

chopped onion (if you feel like it)

Combine everything in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. The beans get really creamy and good! Edited to add: when they’re done cooking, salt liberally!

We like these beans soupy in a bowl with cheese on top and cornbread on the side, or in a bowl with less of the liquid with rice with avocado, sour cream and cheese.

Time to plant Sweet Peas

takeactionjackson — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:36:31 +0000

Some of last May's lovelies.

Now’s the time to plant Sweet Pea seeds. They’ll grow slow until it gets warmer but now’s a good time to get them in so you don’t have to remember to.

To be extra safe with colder temperatures, plant a few in a large pot near the house with some supports (like your old tomato cage that is empty this time of year) and you can cut sweet peas for your bedside table this summer.

Heirloom varieties smell strongest (and best!), great ones to look for include “Jilly”, my personal fave: very creamy white with blushed edges and “Cupani”: a dark dark purple two tone.

Sweet Peas are NOT fussy! The ones pictured are from Longfellow Middle School where I am sure they are not being babied yet come back again and again!

Homemade Finger Paint

takeactionjackson — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:01:25 +0000

Very gloppy and fun to play with…not so good at covering paper with color.

Mix together and heat until thickened:

1/2 c. cornstarch

3 TB sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. cold water

food coloring

Baby Stuff Deal

takeactionjackson — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:45:49 +0000

If you’ve never used the website before you can get $50 worth of baby stuff for $25 from Diapers.com.

$10 off for being a new customer (Use JILL7495 as the referral code to get the discount)

$14.97 rebate when you click on the parenting magazine offer shown when you view your cart. You have to mail in your receipt for it.

Free Shipping when your offer is more than $49.

So, there you go…$25 bucks for $50 bucks worth o’ stuff!