more generics

Sorry, I'm still on a Harris Teeter kick:

Product: Harris Teeter Instant Oatmeal
Review: I can't tell the difference between this and Quaker. Will definitely buy again.

Harris Teeter Spaghetti Sauce: Leads me to the question: Why am I buying spaghetti sauce in a jar at all? Should I really be weighing this stuff against Ragu? No. I should be making my own. When my friend Heidi and I were visiting the Czech Republic too many years back, we made it just about every night (when we weren't making potatoes). Just some garlic, onion, tomato paste, salt, maybe a little cream. It took about five minutes, was way cheaper than jarred spaghetti sauce (which I'm not sure they even had) and tasted better.

Haven't used my credit card yet in 2009. Wonder how long I can keep that up?
I have a friend who's been keeping hers in the freezer. (She read this online or in the paper, I forget where.) You take your card, stick it in a small plastic container, and fill the bottom with water. Freeze. Your card is surrounded by a block of ice. If you really need to use it, thaw under water. The ice makes you think about it twice. I haven't tried this yet, but it may come to that.

Toast!

A simple reminder for my budget-minded friends that toast is not just a little burnt crust on the side of a plate. Toast is a meal.
Consider:

French toast! We like challah French toast best, but in a pinch, white or wheat sandwich bread does just fine.
Cinnamon toast!
Camel Eye or Bird's nest or Bullet Toast. (I always liked the term "camel eye" best.) This is where you butter your frying pan, bite a small hole in the middle of your bread. Stick bread in pan. Crack egg in bread hole. Flip the whole thing over easy. Salt and serve.
Rarebit: This is basically cheddar cheese, doctored up and melted, over toast. Follow the link for a recipe.
A friend of mine likes to put baked beans on toast.
And let's not forget cheese toast!
Pizza toast!
Mushroom toast!
Feta and garlic toast!
Toast.

Lockdown!

That's right! It's Financial Lockdown time again! Some friends told me once they actually looked forward to my budget tips, so I thought I'd let you know that this week, we took the last of our pumpkins and turned them into
a. soup
b. roasted seeds
c. compost!

The soup recipe was in the back of a book called Pumpkin Soup that my son checked out of the library.
The seeds we roast every year, with a little olive oil, salt, and Emeril's original essence seasoning. I put the oven on too high (I always forget the best temp) and they started popping like popcorn so I had to pull them out early. They were still good though.
The compost is looking lovely. (Note: Our jack-o-lanterns from Halloween stayed on the porch until the squirrels were done with them. Obviously they rotted early and were not used in the soup.)

Injuries:
My thumb. Small cut, big blood. I HATE PEELING PUMPKINS. But when you're on lockdown it seems like such a waste to throw a perfectly good pumpkin away.

In other budget news, tis the season to start buying GENERIC PRODUCTS.
When I try them, I'll try to remember to rate them. If you have any products to share, please do.
Today's products:
Item: Harris Teeter Black Olives
Rating: Absolutely as good as brand name
Item: Safeway's Lucerne Mozzarella Cheese
Rating: Ugh.