"Made in the USA"!!! That makes me happy today!

And I have a joy of my own - I've been complaining about not having enough space in my freezer. I like to cook complete meals and freeze them, but really don't have to since I got laid off last June and can't find another job (but can go on SS soon anyway). My brother talked me into getting a FoodSaver, and I spent the afternoon taking things out of the freezer containers they were in, and putting them in FoodSaver bags. I think the bags take up less than half the space of the plastic and glass containers!

And I went to their website and read comments, and someone said they froze the top layer of their wedding cake, and 5 years later thawed it, and it was as good as it was the day they put it in the FoodSaver bag. That got me thinking, I don't like to buy a whole cake or pie or a bunch of muffins (and don't make them either) because I can't eat it all before it goes bad, and don't want a lot of sweets anyway. Voila! Freeze pieces and then put them in the FoodSaver bags.

I found a really good price on bags and rolls at Costco. Compared it to Bed, Bath & Beyond, and the price at Costco was about half.

eahaml,
I also have the FoodSaver and love it. I have recently gone back to freezing many things. You can also vacuum pack photos and sensitive documents. I've placed old irreplacable photos between sheets of acid free paper and then vacuum packed them.

Cheers,
DL

eahamel,

Freezing portions of baked goods that keep their quality was one of my MAIN reasons for wanting a Foodsaver! I LOVE it for that and other things. I bake crazy quantities of zucchini bread in the summer when zucchini is plentiful and we eat it all winter long for breakfasts. I cut each loaf into six pieces and freeze two pieces in each bag for a breakfast portion for DH and me---yum!

One hint: freeze baked goods for a few hours on a cookie sheet first, to keep them from getting squashed by the vacuum! And even so, be ready to hit "seal" manually when the plastic starts to form-fit the contents, rather than waiting for the 100% vacuum that kicks it in automatically, or your baked yummies may be smushed. Enjoy that FS! I use mine almost every day.

DL, I'm happy for my health, my husband, and my big crazy family that all came to my town last weekend (22 people sitting down to brunch on NY's).

And for a jar of lovely garlicky pickles some friends gave me. I don't make pickles myself since DH doesn't like them, but I love the occasional one, so it was great to be gifted with these, and all the more special since I taught these friends how to can last summer.

Z

I'm happy today because I'm getting a brand new semi-dwarf peach tree by mail, that I need to find a place for. Also because I'm 90 today - my birthday. Surprises me - that I still garden, harvest, preserve, plant and enjoy what I'm doing. Thanks to all of you on these forums through these past many years for your inspiring recipes, helpful hints and "how tos." It has been most appreciated.

Bejay

Happy Birthday Bejay and many more! Defintely something to be happy about!

Glad to see you so active at your age. My great-aunt wasn't, and her older brother tries (he still gardens) but at 98 going on 99 he is slowing down. I really think the *trying* is what made all the difference (she was in poor health for many years and died at age 90).

I am a little happy b/c I found some Ball lids and rings today (2 unopened boxes of 1 dozen) at Goodwill for $1 and a box of 22 quart FS bags (again unopened, may be older) for $2. And I will be REALLY happy tomorrow if someone doesn't claim the 16 qt Presto and case of WM pints someone has on Craiglist for $15 - I'm next in line!

Heard from my son yesterday. He is in the Air Force and he received his Christmas Box (really an after New Years box) yesterday and the canned goods that I included made it without breakage. He was happy to receive Annie's Salsa (with Lime), pickled Okra, Peach BBQ Sauce, Raspberry Jam and Creole Tomatoes among the other goodies. I also opened a jar of Annie's salsa for myself today and it turned out fantastic. It is on the repeat least for sure! Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy birthday Bejay!

Happy Belated Birthday Beejay! I'm happy that it's so warm outside! We have saved so much $$ on electric this winter because of this long warm spell. I am happy because I have so many wonderful seeds to plant, thanks to GW seed exchange.

I'm thankful for last year's harvest. This is the time of year I finally get to savor the flavors of all my hard work. Some homemade jelly or jam, on bread made with shredded zucchini or pureed pumpkin for breakfast. For dinner, pasta using my homemade tomato sauce, or some frozen pesto. All of the different herbs, and the powders I made from all the peppers I grew, get used almost daily when I'm cooking. Not to mention the dozens of jars of salsa, jellies/jam, and relish that I was able to give away as Christmas gifts to family and friends. This is the time of year when I realize that all of that hard work gardening and preserving the harvest, is truly worth the effort.

Bonnie

Happy Birthday Bejay!

I have too many things to be thankful for...
....but my most recent is learning how to make marmalade...and making it set!
Thanks to you guys, I'm not embarrassed to give it as gifts....and I don't have to call it glaze! LOL

Corrie

Oh, Bejay, happy birthday to you!

Your posts on this forum are one of the things I'm happy about.

Zabby

I'm happy about how good our Tahitian Squash came out. I got 6 quarts of the puree in the freezer, plus one pie and three loaves of sweet bread! And that was from only ONE squash--and it was the SMALLEST one!

It's good to play the "happy game." Sometimes it is easy to forget to be grateful for some of the simple things.

Jill

I'm happy that I have a new pair of Made in USA pruning shears since I lost the spring on my other ones somewhere in the gigantic leaf piles the other day. (It may turn up when compost is finished next summer LOL).

I'm also happy that I found "Wholly Guacamole" - little pouches of 100 calorie guac I can savor whenever, since no one else here likes avocado's and I crave them.

I wanna be like bejay - 90 and going strong! A wish for you - at least 20 more birthdays bejay!

Nancy

I'm happy that my cabbage made enough juice to cover the weights in the crock. I'm happy that my 10 year old helped me squish the cabbage to make the juice. I'm happy that I have an organic farmer (and friend) just down the road to grow the cabbages for me. (We plan to try to put in a garden this year.) I hope that eating the kraut will help me live long like BJ!

My tomatoes and tomatillos broke soil today. Their so cute when they are soooooo soooooo tiny.

My daughter in the Navy emailed me to tell me she just received the care package I sent her in mid-December. There is something very wrong with Navy mail delivery system.