German Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake October 8, 2009

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 ounces German sweet chocolate, melted

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Transfer 1/3 cup to another bowl; stir in melted chocolate until well blended.

Spread remaining cream cheese mixture into a 7-inch pie plate coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with chocolate mixture; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Place pan on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation: 10 minutes

Bake: 25 minutes + chilling

START YOUR OWN GARDEN October 8, 2009

If you have a bit of space where you live to break ground, gardening can be an extremely cost -effective hobby and can be as good as putting money in your pocket. You have to make some up front investments – the cost of hoe or other equipment to break ground, and the time investment needed to tend to your plants – but you will earn a nice harvest at the end of the period. You will have spent a lot of time in the garden on a very frugal activity, time you might spent elsewhere engaging in an expensive hobbies. In some fruitful seasons, you will more than break even with the value of the procedure you grow, and you have the freedom to grow the foods that you like. Don’t have space? Try starting a window garden or a box garden. You can grow a small amount of food in one of these in even the tightest of spaces.

USE CASH OR CHECKS INSTEAD OF CREDIT CARDS October 8, 2009

One method to keep your hands off the credit cards is to switch to using only cash or checks (or a debit card) for all of your purchases for a year.This forces you get in touch with your money again. Without plastic, you are forced to carefully consider each purchase that you make and verify that you do in fact have enough money for that purchase before you make it. Here are some suggestions:

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Do not destroy your credit cards, but instead freeze them in a block of ice. Just pour a small pan about a third full of water and freeze it. Then toss your credit cards on top of the ice and pour some water, then freeze it again. Your cards will be frozen in the middle of that cube, inaccessible unless there is a real emergency; any time you think about getting them, you will have a long time to consider it as you melt or break the ice.

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Remove your credit card numbers from any online sites you use regularly. If you use credit card for billing on some merchant websites, remove your credit card number, if you must, replace it with a debit card number instead so the money comes straight from your checking account

LEARN TO LOVE LEFTOVERS October 8, 2009

Many people turn up their nose at the idea of leftovers. The mere thought of reheating food originally prepared a day or two before convinces many that the food will be bland and rubbery, not worth eating. This assumption sadly results in a lot of good, quality food hitting the trash can before its time. The truth is that with a little bit of careful planning, leftovers can be a delicious and highly inexpensive meal. Some ideas:

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Add additional spices that you have on hand to leftovers just before you serve them. This will create a fresh snap to the flavor of the food.

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Use the leftovers as the basis for a second meal. For example, take leftover spaghetti and sauce, chop up the spaghetti, put it in a bread loaf pan, sprinkle some mozarella cheese on the top, and bake it in the oven. Or take the leftover chicken breasts from the grill, dice them, and add them to a rice and vegetable skillet meal.

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Freeze the leftovers. This especially works well if you have made a large batch of soup and have plenty left over. Freeze it in portion-sized containers.

How to get a raise from your present job October 8, 2009

Getting a raise from our present job makes us feel happy and alive. With the crisis we are currently facing, it is very difficult how to make ends meet.

I just wanna share with you some of the tips I have gathered from experts and from personal experience.
1. Do a better job than is expected of you. One and all, the experts agree that this is the prime essential to advancement. Give more and you will get more

2. Make sure you do the job your boss wants done. As the personnel manager of one large firm says: “You can do the best job in the world, but if it is not the boss wants, he will find it upsetting.”

3. Get along with your fellow workers and others with whom you come in contact. This is very important. Many times people work against themselves in terms of their personality and of course, they seldom realize that they are doing it.

4. Be sure your boss knows what you are accomplishing. Often when a fellow is not appreciated, it is simply a matter of lack of communication.

5. Be able to make decisions. This, according to the president of a job consultant firm, is a must. You’d be surprised what a rare trait this is,” he says. “Most people do just what they’re told and pass all the decisions on the next fellow.”

6. Look for responsibilities beyond your present assignment. The manager of an executive recruiting firm strongly recommends this to the young person on the way up. “A young tiger in the accounting department might say to her chief, If you need any help in the credit union plan, just let me know.” In from five to seven years, this experience predicts, she will be head of the plan.”

7. Study at night and keep well-informed. It is also wise to get involved in the community you live in. I don’t mean just joining things, but really contributing your talents to the library, the hospital, and any good fund raising project that comes along”