Repurpose mason-jar rings

photo by oskay (click for LED garden light tutorial, too)
DEAR SARA: What can I use in place of English-muffin molds? I have found a recipe to make homemade English muffins. I have the griddle but not English-muffin molds. They sell them on Amazon.com for $3.99 for four, but I really don’t want to buy them online. If I can recycle something or repurpose something first, I’d rather. If there is no substitution for the molds, well, then, I will have to go buy them. Any suggestions? — Amy, Connecticut

DEAR AMY: You can use a biscuit cutter, tuna can or the rings from mason jars. You can also simply shape them into patties or cut the dough into squares using a pizza cutter instead.

DEAR SARA: Freezing again? Not too sure about this one, but I have accidentally defrosted too much chicken and am wondering if I cook it and refreeze it, will it keep for another night? — Niki, Australia

DEAR NIKI: I tend to cook it and then refreeze it. But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service Web site, you can refreeze thawed meat. (It doesn’t have to still be partially frozen.) “Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods that were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.” This makes sense because plenty of poultry is frozen and thawed in the meat department of the grocery store, and people refreeze it when they bring it home.

DEAR SARA: I don’t usually use coupons to buy groceries. Most everything I buy there aren’t coupons for. I printed all of the wonderful coupons from your Web site that I would normally use. Thank you for that service! However, I couldn’t justify using a single one of those items I clipped. The prices were still much higher than I usually pay at Save-A-Lot, Bi-Lo and Wal-Mart for either the same or store-brand items. When I ate highly processed foods, I could save about $8 to $15 a week with coupons on the prefabbed stuff. Does this happen to you? — Michelle W., South Carolina

DEAR MICHELLE W.: Years ago, I was a coupon queen. I don’t clip and use coupons as often as I used to. My local grocery store doubles coupons up to 50 cents. I’ve streamlined my grocery list and don’t use a lot of processed or name-brand foods that many coupons are for. However, coupons are useful when matched with a good sale, and you can often find them for healthy foods and pay less than you would for store-brand products. Keeping a price book will help you know whether a product is a good deal. You have to know the cost of the products you buy regularly. Many products are cheaper with sales and rebates at pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, too. Check the coupon policies and savings programs, such as loyalty cards or mailings at the stores where you shop. For example, Wal-Mart accepts coupons. Coupons are going to be more beneficial to people depending on what they buy, where they are located, store coupon policies and the amount of time you have to dedicate to clipping, organizing and shopping multiple stores. Finally, keep in mind that coupons aren’t available only from Sunday inserts. You can find them in your grocery store, manufacturers’ Web sites (or give them a call and ask if they’ll send you any), on product packaging, mailers and magazines, to name a few.

Posted by Sara Noel on March 16 2009. Filed under Question & Answer.
Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Uclick. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook