Crafts, Reviews, Recipes, & Sisterly Stuff
Family, friends, food, Easter baskets filled with candy, fun decorations – all of that is great. We think the best part of Easter is the baskets! Whoever came up with the idea to use baskets to give gifts on Easter ought to win a prize! Okay, maybe they’re not quite as exciting as opening presents on Christmas, but they have chocolate and sugar! And they’re so cute and fun to make. There are so many ways to get creative with DIY Easter Baskets – and they don’t just have to be for kids. We encourage you to have fun and check out our favorite ideas to get you started. [Read more…]
Going to a New Year’s Eve party this year? December 31 is one of the most popular party nights of the year! Whether you’re hosting an event or going to one, the right food, drinks, and activities help ring in the new year with lots of laughter and fun. Here’s just a few of Sisters Know Best‘s favorite New Year’s Eve party food, drink, and activity suggestions to make your party the best one yet! [Read more…]
Kids aren’t the only ones who dress up and have fun on Halloween. It’s a fun holiday for adults, too – and costumes are just the beginning. Dressing up and going to a Halloween party with your adult friends while the kids are out collecting candy is a great way to relax and channel your inner child. The right Halloween snacks and drinks make every Halloween party even more fun. It’s better than trick-or-treating for candy and gives you a chance to feel like a kid again. [Read more…]
Food is easily accessible in most areas of the country. As a result, we toss a lot of it rather than saving it for future use. This isn’t just wasteful, it’s painful for our wallets, too. According to Save the Food, nearly 50% of the fruits and veggies purchased in North America, Australia, and New Zealand are thrown away. Knowing how to store your food will help you eat more of what you buy, saving you money and minimizing waste. Here are some of our best tips to master your food storage.
Many vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. Some things, like celery, last even longer. To make celery last extra long, try wrapping it in tinfoil! Another fun thing to do with celery is take the base and place it in water. In a short amount of time, you’ll have new celery stalks growing!
If you’re not going to finish your vegetables within a week, most can be frozen if prepared properly. My husband always puts potatoes in the refrigerator, but I’ve learned this isn’t the right thing to do. They should instead be stored somewhere dark and cool for optimal storage. I’ve also heard rumors before about green spots on potatoes and they were right – DON’T eat the green part! It’s a sign of toxins. Yikes! Get the specifics on all your favorite veggies here. Or, if you’re a home gardener and you want to enjoy the benefits of your labors well into winter, check out our post on preserving garden vegetables.
Dairy products get tossed a lot because we’ve been told that once it’s past the expiration date it can no longer be used. The truth is that many dairy products, including milk, can be frozen and thawed later for use. In addition, sour milk can be used to make cottage cheese, cream filling and also be used as ingredients in a variety of recipes as long as it doesn’t smell bad. Milk will have a smell before it has any possibility of making you sick. So I guess my husband sniffing the milk before use isn’t as crazy as I thought it was!
Many people hesitate to buy fruit or wind up throwing a lot of it away because they think it doesn’t last very long. In fact, when stored properly, some fruits can last up to eight weeks! Other fruits don’t last as long in the refrigerator, but they can be frozen and stored for quite a long time. The same applies to seasonal berries, which is great because you can enjoy those yummy flavors any time without paying a premium for out of season produce. An easy way to freeze fresh strawberries is to remove the hulls and place them on cookie sheets in the freezer. Once frozen, the berries can be placed in a plastic freezer bag or container. Easy! One thing I never realized was that bananas should be stored on the counter AWAY from other fruits. They will last longer and so will your other fruit! Also, you can refrigerate bananas once they are ripe to make them last longer. I like to put them, peels and all, in the freezer. They’ll turn a dark color, but be easy to use in recipes such as banana bread. Frozen bananas are excellent in a smoothie as well!
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What are some things you seem to toss out all the time? Our readers might have a solution for you! Your budget and the planet will be happy you found a way to master your food storage!
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – a day to celebrate love – those we love, places we love, and FOOD we love! Let’s get right to the food, shall we? [Read more…]
Ever look at someone’s homemade décor and feel envious? You wish you could make something like that, but you’re “so no crafty.” Don’t sell yourself short. You’re probably craftier than you think – you just need to start with something manageable. Here are a couple of easy ideas to get you started.
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One of my favorite desserts growing up was mom’s homemade strawberry shortcake. Anytime we had biscuits with dinner there was a good chance strawberry shortcake was to follow. Mmmm! Childhood goodies. [Read more…]
The majority of New Year’s resolutions are made up of breaking bad habits and creating new good habits. In our Get Healthy Challenge, that’s what we are mainly trying to do. And it’s the hardest thing to do. Together, though, it’s easier.
Right from the get-go I will say that weather can be a drag! Check out this thermometer!
It’s hard to motivate for anything outside with this temp! I’m lucky that I can plan my outdoor activity around the sun and wait until the temperature rises a bit. Last week Chris shared her ideas for when the weather is less than pleasant. What do you do if it’s uncomfortable to go outside and exercise? [Read more…]
Valentine’s Day is less than a month away already! Where does the time go? This year I’m doing the DIY route for my loved one. I just need to decide which Valentine’s DIY gift to choose. Which of these top 5 DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts for Men would you pick?
Week 3 – middle of our Challenge! The goal is to be healthy. This is not about fad diets; it’s about changes for mind, body, and spirit health. Here’s how each of us are doing.
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Week one is behind us. Has it been a Challenge? How’s everyone feeling? Have you stuck to your goals? Let’s share!
These are pictures of us getting our walks in. Snow, rain… ugh, a half hour and it’s behind us for another day!
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… you make a shotgun shell wreath and centerpiece for the holidays! Or maybe you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to waste things. Any things. Like used shotgun shells. Here’s a couple of easy crafts to repurpose empty shotgun shells. (See our other repurpose projects) [Read more…]
Harvest time is here in my garden and with it thoughts come for how to preserve garden vegetables. I’ve kept up fairly well with my zucchini and tomatoes, but there’s a limit to how much one family can eat! There are easy ways to preserve garden vegetables for another time. And some of my ways are below!
