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Household Hints

MaggieD

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I mentioned to Tom that pecan pie was my very favorite. He was at Sam's Club the other day, and they were sampling one. So he bought this HUGE pecan pie. Lordy. What to do with all of it? I mean, I love pecan pie. But not every single day.

So after we'd had a few servings, I cut up the rest of the pie into wedges that would serve two, put it back in the pie tin and box, and put it in the freezer. IMO, if left in that container (not air tight) it wouldn't hold. So after it froze solid, I took the individual pieces and put them in a large Ziplock bag.

I just pulled a piece out this morning for tonight. It came out easily and I'm betting it'll be delish.

Thought others might find that idea helpful, especially around the holidays.

Have any household hints/tips/shortcuts to share?
 
A self sustaining lifestyle was imposed on me due to my own failures mind you, but when I hear "people can't live on that" I'm reminded of how much "people" waste so I'm glad you didn't lose any of your pecan pie.

When I was 7 years old I hoped out of my fathers pick up on to a rattle snake. Landed right on it, and it was so mad at me it bit me, and I was so mad at it I killed it. Dad made me learn how to skin and clean it right then. Since then I've had the unfortunate encounter several more times and each and every time I am sure to fill the freezer.
 


Don't waste the skin either as they can be quite valuable. To tan the skin scrape any excess flesh from it (using a dull scraper like a butter/putty knife), pin it flat (but not stretched) to a board with the flesh side up and brush it liberally with a tanning solution (50/50 mix of glycerine and denatured alcohol). Repeat the burshing with tanning solution every day (or two) until no more is absorbed - usually about three times will do.

Rattlesnake Skins or Rattle Snake Skins
 
Best kitchen invention ever is the immersion blender. Anything veg that people don't like that we have (yes my wife will buy crap she knows nobody likes just because it is a really good sale) often disappears into a soup with nobody none the wiser. With an immersion blender and a rack of spices, you can make people eat anything.
 

Love your wife's style. But I think I'll pass on the soup.

Just kidding. There's not a veggie in the world I don't like. I DO think that too much broccoli in soup can over-power the brew. But, really? That's a great idea!
 
MaggieD said:
Love your wife's style. But I think I'll pass on the soup.

Just kidding. There's not a veggie in the world I don't like. I DO think that too much broccoli in soup can over-power the brew. But, really? That's a great idea!
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I make really good soups and stews. I am a legend in my own mind in that regards
 
Make your own frozen meals with left overs.
 
I used to work with a guy who believed that WD-40 was the answer to all of life's problems. If he had a headache he would rub it on his head, if he had a stomachache, he would spray it on his stomach and if his knees hurt with arthritis he would spread it on his knees.

Unfortunately he's dead now, which may or may not be a comment on WD-40, but I did see an article the other day about 50 unknown uses for WD-40, which seemed strangely akin to the things he used to say.
 

I have always assumed a lot of those things are the result of the cooling sensation from the propellant, especially when they used liquified gas--basically a temporary ice-bag effect.
 




I've been using WD-40 all of my adult life and it hasn't killed me yet.

I have never tried using it as a treatment for arthritis, but if my knees ever get sore enough I might give it a try.
 
 
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I wonder if that's the stuff in Goo Gone that works so great. Bet it is.
 
Easy and successful window washing.

Vinegar and newspapers....
 
shrubnose said:
I've been using WD-40 all of my adult life and it hasn't killed me yet.

I have never tried using it as a treatment for arthritis, but if my knees ever get sore enough I might give it a try.
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Windex!!
 
Cole said:
Easy and successful window washing.

Vinegar and newspapers....
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I combine equal parts if white vinegar, isopropyl alcohol and distilled water AND also use newspaper. Newspaper is the best of all for no streaks.
 
Great bathroom sink disinfectant that works. I tried every product in the world to get rid of a sickening sulpher like smell in one bath tub drain and nothing worked. It stunk up my whole house and visitors would comment on it smelling. One application of the following killed it forever.

1 tablespoon Borox - pour the powder down the drain and use a stick to get it all the way down. Let it set for 15 minutes.
Pour 4 tablespoons of white vinegar in and again let it work for 15-20 minutes. You should see foaming.
Pour 3 cups of water in to flush it all down.

It has been five years since I did this and the horrible stench has not returned. I do it once a year now.
 
Merely by washing your hands before handling or cutting meat, vegetables and fruit it will last significantly longer. It takes bacteria etc for food to rot. Most comes from people's hands, not the air. When you cut open any of those and touch the inside, you are contaminating it, the same reasoning why doctors keep their hands so clean.

You may have heard of "aged beef." If a quarter of beef is handled in a sterile way, it can be hung in refrigeration for a couple months without spoiling, and the cellular breakdown tenderizes it. Sneeze on your hands and rub all over it? Now it's spoiling.

The Komodo Dragon (largest land reptile) isn't poisonous. But it's bite is deadly. It merely has to nip it's prey and then just wait and watch it. It's salvia is so laced with certain bacteria it literally eats and rots living flesh. Within a day or so the prey is no longer able to walk as that leg rots away and it overall gets sick from it. That is a danger of some monitor lizard's bite too - the bacteria. Not a poison. A biological weapons bite.
 
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Hell, man, watch where you step from now on. Stop stepping on rattlesnakes.

Why is common sense sooooo difficult for some people? :2razz:
 
I rarely step on one any more. It did happen last year and fortunately I landed on its head so it didn't bite me though it did manage to get free, turn and leap but I managed to shoot first so I won the battle. There was something about that one - it tasted even better then the one before it.



joko104 said:
Hell, man, watch where you step from now on. Stop stepping on rattlesnakes.

Why is common sense sooooo difficult for some people? :2razz:
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Yes, snake is actually quite good and easy to clean and cook. There was another thread about dropping dead poisoned mice in to Guam to eliminate an infestation of brown snakes, my thought was " wouldn't cookbooks be cheaper?"
 
tech30528 said:
Yes, snake is actually quite good and easy to clean and cook. There was another thread about dropping dead poisoned mice in to Guam to eliminate an infestation of brown snakes, my thought was " wouldn't cookbooks be cheaper?"
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I saw skinned snake in the store once, the meat was a strange color...but I suppose some breading and deep frying would take care of that.
 
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