Southern Primitive Treasures - Home

Southern Primitive Treasures - Home

I recently had the opportunity to purchase some lovely Christmas items from this store at the local Christmas In The South Trade Show in Savannah, GA. She had some really unique items. They are very well made and her pricing is very fair. She is now selling online so stop by and check out her goodies.

Toothpaste Squeezer

Wanted to share a neat little item with you that I think ROCKS! It's available at the Dollar Store (and online for more) and is well worth your buck. It's a toothpaste squeezer. Basically you take the end of your tube of toothpaste and insert it into the interior dial. Turn the outside knob until your tube is firmly in place on the inside. As you use the product just roll up your tube. These can be used on full size tubes of toothpaste and will wind them up to the tippy top and get every last bit of toothpaste out.

I also like to use tubed Tomato Paste and Anchovy paste for recipes. The tubes they use are more of a metal based tube and are hard to squeeze evenly. So it dawned on me why don't I try a toothpaste squeezer on those. Works like a charm. So for a buck I picked up a couple extras to use in the kitchen.

If you try this out let me know how you like it!

If you can't find it at your local dollar store search Amazon and they have them for sale there. And I'm sure you may be able to locate one on Ebay as well!

Tomato Basil Feta Salad Recipe

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com
I'm a sucker for anything with feta in it but I love the combination of tomato's, basil, and balsamic at any time. This is a great refreshing summer salad! I'm also substituting home grown cherry and grape tomatoes in place of the roma's since I have so many. I just cut them in half. And basil is very easy to grow so if you don't have some fresh basil at home pick up a plant. It's so yummy and great in lots of dishes.

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Ingredients
6 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 small cucumber - peeled, quartered lengthwise, and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1.In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Bacon and Eggs Pancakes

I thought this was really cute. A little time consuming but what great little things like this aren't. And from a Dad no less!! Happy Father's Day!!

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Useful Tip #13 - Fresh Cut Flowers

If you like fresh cut flowers or have a wonderful hubby who on occasion brings them home for you here are a few tricks to make them last longer so you can enjoy them more.

When you first receive them don't just unwrap them and stick them in a vase. Pick a vase large enough for the arrangement. Fill it 1/2 to 3/4 full with lukewarm water. Lukewarm or room tempature water will move thru the stems faster than cold water. Then take a sharp knife or heavy duty kitchen scissors (I prefer the scissors) and cut each stem at an angle as short or long as you want. When flowers are cut the part that is cut will eventually start to seal over or close up therefore making the water harder to get thru the stem. Cutting them again when you receive them opens them back up again to allow the flow of water thru. Then place the arrangement in your vase. Each day you should change the water with more lukewarm water. As certain flowers die out remove them and keep arranging your flowers. I've had arrangements last up to two weeks by tending to them daily.

I've also heard adding an aspirin to the water helps but I have not personally tried this.

Useful Tip # 12 - Mouse Control

Fortunately I don't have a mouse problem. And honestly I really don't mind them although I don't want them taking up residence and having a mouse family in my home. So here are some tips on how to keep them so that you aren't cleaning out mouse traps with dead critters later. That always makes me sad. So try these tips.

Place USED kitty litter from a litter box in small tubs in several places around the garage. Mice think...it smells like a cat--must be a cat - I'm outta here!.

Buy a mesh/net laundry bag that you would use for washing nylons and 5 boxes of moth balls. Put the moth balls in the bag and hang it in your garage near the door to get rid of mice, birds, and bugs. Moth balls also repel snakes

To prevent mice from gaining entry to your garage, stop up any openings with steel wood pads. Mice will not chew through these!

Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper around the garage (inside & out), and especially near entry holes. Pests don't care for the smell of it. Ants also do not like cayenne pepper.

Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle *pure* peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don't want the mice in or on.

If you try these tips or do something that has worked for you please comment!

Lime in the Coconut Cheescake Bars from Betty Crocker

This is a great recipe that I tried out for one of my girls nights out. It got rave reviews!! Great to take to a BBQ!! Enjoy!!

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Cookie Base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
Filling
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (16 oz) cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Topping
1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped cream cheese frosting
1 1/4 cups coconut, toasted
2 teaspoons grated lime peel


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in cream of coconut until well blended. Beat in lime juice, vanilla and 2 eggs until smooth. Spread over cookie base.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until set and light golden brown on edges. Cool 30 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate 1 hour to cool completely.
4. Carefully spread frosting over filling. Sprinkle with coconut and lime peel. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

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Or go to the following website to print a copy!!

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/lime-in-the-coconut-frosted-cheesecake-bars/6c610a34-4786-4688-a134-b6adc547de11