Eliza Cross

Eliza Cross is an author and food blogger who enjoys helping busy people with easy recipes and tips for gardening, holidays, and home. She is the founder of BENSA Bacon Lovers Society and Happy Simple Living, and the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks.

Curate Your Spaces

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Curate your spaces

Dear friends,

If you’ve been participating in some of the January Money Diet exercises like giving away 31 things and decluttering your home’s “hot spot,” perhaps you’ve been enjoying the peaceful calm of open spaces.

This weekend’s challenge is to work

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The Joy of Taking Care of Things

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Fix and Maintain What You Have

People of our grandparents’ generation grew up taking care of things and learning how to make things last, a useful skill that can help stretch dollars today. We honor our possessions when we take good care of them. This quiet January is the perfect time to tackle a few maintenance tasks and take care of … Read more

Weekend Challenge – Tackle a Hot Spot

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Tackle a Hot Spot

Most of us have a “catch all” place (or two) in our homes where things get dumped. For our family, it’s a small kitchen counter that seems to attract papers, mail, magazines, and other odds and ends. Readers have written about tables, desks, closets and spare rooms that are stuffed with stuff. Your challenge, if … Read more

The January Money Diet Begins with Challenge #1

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Give away 31 things during the January Money Diet

Dear friends,

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first day of the 2021 January Money Diet! 2020 is finally in the rear view mirror, and I love the fresh start of a new year, don’t you?

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Chocolate Peanut Butter and Pretzels Bites

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Chocolate covered pretzel peanut butter balls

You are going to love these creamy, crunchy, crunchy, chocolatey Chocolate Peanut Butter and Pretzel Bites! Buckeyes are one of my favorite holiday treats. The only downside of these chocolate-dipped peanut butter-powdered sugar confections is that they’re very, very rich. In an effort to figure out how to eat more Buckeyes in a single sitting, … Read more

Make Your Own Custom Chex Mix

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YOLO Snack Mix

If you love Chex party mix, you’ll love this recipe to make your own custom Chex mix. What a genius marketing idea for Chex cereals when they debuted the Party Mix recipe in Life Magazine back in 1952. The original recipe called for Rice and Wheat Chex.    I was first introduced to Chex mix … Read more

The January Money Diet Needs You

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January Money Diet needs your help

Dear friends,

The next January Money Diet starts Jan. 1, 2021. (You can sign up here!)

As you probably know, the JMD is a fun, free 31-day challenge which helps thousands of people from all over the world save money and start the new year financially strong.

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Leftovers and Long Goodbyes

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Thanksgiving turkey

Dear friends, It was Thanksgiving evening, and my son and I were in our coats. We’d been trying to leave for 20 minutes. I was hot, I’d eaten way too much, and I was starting to feel anxious.   Now our sweet Mama wanted me to take the turkey carcass. “Let me just wrap it up … Read more

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits with Cheddar

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Close up of 7 drop buttermilk biscuits with cheddar on a baking sheet.

Dear friends,

These buttery drop buttermilk biscuits with cheddar are the perfect quick bread to make when you’re craving something homemade. Best of all, you can make them in a flash.

Earlier this month a cold front moved into Colorado, and one chilly Wednesday I made a hearty beef and vegetable stew in the slow cooker.

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Make Your Own Marbled Christmas Ornaments

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Marbleized Christmas Ornaments

Here’s a fun holiday craft you can make with just a few simple, inexpensive materials – pretty marbled Christmas ornaments.  In less than an hour, you can craft several of these pretty ornaments that will perfect for holiday gift giving or hanging on your Christmas tree. Here’s all you need to make your own pretty, … Read more