Copycat Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil

 

$8.49

I recently attended a nutrition class and during the presentation the nutritionist shared the recipe for copycat Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil Spread and now I want to share it with you. It's simple to make and is a healthy alternative to butter.

Ingredients:

2 Sticks room temperature butter

10 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

In a deep mixing bowl, add butter and olive oil. Mix with a mixer or by hand until smooth. Place mixture into a container, preferably glass and store in the refrigerator. 

My bowl was a little shallow. 

Mix until creamy.

Glass is best for storing most foods.

A whole pint for less than $1.50. Compared to $8.49 it's a bargain!

Number One Husband likes it and doesn't notice the difference between it and butter. It spreads easily and makes tasty cookies and a tasty grilled cheese. Next, I want to use it to make biscuits. If it can make good cookies, I'm thinking that it will also make good biscuits.  

Be in health,

Mrs. Smith 

Organizing My Kitchen...

 

My friend, Miss M, made me a measuring spoon holder. She
knows that this blue is my favorite color. 

On a whim, I decided to make my kitchen more functional for my needs. While it was mainly the kitchen equipment that I use regularly on my counters that I focused on, I did move a few things around in my drawers and cabinets. My counters were getting too cluttered, so I needed to make space for cooking and cleaning without the hassle of having to move stuff around.

I created a baking station of sorts.

I moved the Kitchen Aid stand mixer out of the corner and replaced it with 
the bread bowl and a canister. 

I baked breakfast cookies during this process. This is what
motivated me to re-arrange my kitchen.

I tried different places for my tea station, but nothing worked
quite as well as where it already was.

I went through my kitchen tools and stored the less often used
tools with the others under the counter.

I kept the other tools by the stove.

I also re-purposed a few things.

Some things remained the same.

Number One Husband makes smoothies frequently, so I
made sure that he had plenty of room next to our water filter. 

Having limited space in our small kitchen makes it necessary to keep it organized. I organized the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen a few months ago and before I could tackle the rest, I injured myself. 

This practice of organization also applies to the rest of our home. In the spring we will put away our winter gear and pull out our summer gear. It is a constant battle to keep our home uncluttered. Our storage room is looking rough, but until my body heals completely, I will not be doing anymore lifting. Lesson learned moving my Kitchen Aid mixer and a large bag of baking soda. 

Shalom,

Mrs. Smith

Secondhand Treasures -Thrift Store Hauls - Advice

This is an accumulation of thrift store hauls over a period of time. Most thrifts stores have senior and military discount days. Take advantage of the discounts on those days if you qualify. It saves 15% in most cases. 

$8 tabletop adjustable desk. Retails for $250

Number One Husband surprised me the other day when he returned home from an appointment. He had stopped by the thrift store and found another Sun Oven. We now have three and the ability to cook a large meal like Thanksgiving dinner or we can batch cook freezer meals completely off grid. The Sun Oven retails for $499. He picked it up for $49. 

He also found a set of Pyrex food prep bowls brand new in the box for $5.99. I'm pretty sure that they should have been $15.99 because their prices have increased so much over the last few years. I was so grateful for these bowls. My large stoneware bowls that I love are so heavy that they are hard for me to handle due to the herniated disks in my neck affecting my thumbs.  It is very painful. I can't even use a manual can opener. I will have to pick up an electric can opener the next time we are in town. 

When thrifting we have one rule and that is to not buy anything that we can't use or resale. If an item is not useful, we just don't buy it. It is a waste of money and clutters up our home. It is a nice feeling to walk out of a store realizing that we didn't need or want anything. Contentment comes in many forms.  

We keep mental notes on the items that we are looking for. It is exciting to find something that we have been hoping to find without having to pay retail. Watch for stains, chips, broken or missing parts. They can render an item worthless. 

We always check the value of an item before purchasing, especially resale items and we take the cost of shipping into consideration. Shipping can take a huge chunk of the profit leaving us with little or nothing at all for our efforts. We also check to see if there is a market for every item we buy. Just because we like it doesn't mean that there is a market for it. Ask me how I know? Sometimes thrift stores can be more expensive than retail. Know your prices. Do your research. 

I bought this pretty lace as a gift for my friend who uses lace in her crafts.

This is a large spoon rest. I was using two different ones so I 
wouldn't contaminate my spoon for tea. This one takes up less 
space on my counter and it only needs one spot instead of two. 

Okay, I didn't need this, but I wanted a glass tea mug. This one
is perfect for me. I love tea and honey. I found it while searching
for replacement mugs for my dishware. 

This is also something that we needed to complete a set of 
Chicago Cutlery that we already have. It was .79 cents.

If you are off grid than you know that a low wattage anything really 
helps especially if it uses a heating element. I have been looking for a
 replacement blow dryer for a long time. As far as I can tell it
has not been used.

This is an oldie but a goodie. The motor on older models
just last forever. This one obviously wasn't used much. It
is in perfect condition and for $6.99 compared to $150 it
is a bargain. 

I bought this pastry cloth and rolling pin cover for .90. I got it for
half off the sticker price.

We bought this for our aches and pains.

I have been looking for these two books for a couple of years.
I found them both at the same time. 

My house shoes(boots) finally bit the dust. I wanted the same kind, but I didn't want to spend the $30 bucks, so I compromised when I found these brand-new ones for $4. They are so warm and comfy.

I have been buying up colored pencils for my Inductive Bible Study.
While they are not too expensive at the store, I'm still saving $1a pack
or more. I think I am good now. I needed the glue to add additional
ribbons to my Bibles. 

I have been looking for a certain style of fleece for Number One Husband
for years. They started making them again and I finally found
a brand-new Columbia for $5. 

We have purchased two Instant Pots, a Luxe Mini and an Ultra 6-quart with
no signs of use. The cost for both was less than $30. If I 
would have paid retail both of them would have cost me over
   $300 before taxes which would be an additional 30+ dollars.   

It really pays to avoid paying retail as much as possible. There are things that I would not purchase unless they still had tags on them. Safety and hygiene are important to me. I will wait for a sale if I can when I am forced to pay retail prices. Plan ahead and have fun...

Happy hunting,

Mrs. Smith

Blog Silence and Random Pix...

I am so sorry for the blog silence lately. We both have new schedules that we are getting used to. I hope to be back up and blogging in the next few days. Thank you for your patience. I have some random pictures that I want to share with you all. 

Someone failed to lock the gate properly!

Kettle Pizza

Smoked maple syrup chicken and sides

Study corner

Another study corner

Snow sunsets

New goose down pillows

Thrift store finds

A friend made me this beautiful decoupaged vase

and this decoupaged can. She is really talented.

Bone broth cooking in the Instant Pot.

Lentil crackers

Scuba fins for the pool

Here I am drying tea bags for the same friend for her crafts.

I just liked the look of the ginger in my spoon rest.

This was a cooking day

Laundry day. It was too cold and windy to dry my clothes 
outside on the line.

My kitchen table is not just used for eating. It's a workstation, food prep area,
study area, game table and a sorting a place.

Bone broth before it's strained.

This is my new adjustable tabletop desk. I can stand or sit when I need to. This was a great purchase from the thrift store. This desk new is $250 bucks! It looks brand new. It is nice and sturdy and big. This really helps my neck and back. 

Mrs. Smith