Complete Tightwad Gazette is a Must Read Book for Everyone

Although this book is 927 pages plus index and I put it to the bottom of the stack on more then one occasion because I didn't want to drag around the five pound weight, it is a great read.  The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn is a fast read because of the short articles and letters based on the newsletter that the author previously published. The book is a compilation of three books previously published.  When deciding what books to get at the library, I looked at the Amazon reviews for this book and 199 people gave it 5 stars so I figured that I better check it out.  I have been reading it non-stop now because the due date is just a few days away and I want to finish it.

The best thing about this book is it gives you ideas from the author and other readers.  I found some great hints and wonderful recipes throughout the pages of the book. There are recipes on paint to make for kids, sidewalk chalk, and other craft projects.  There are helpful hints on gardening and canning to preserve the food.  I loved the recipes which ranged from Tomato Soup, Onion Soup Mix, Choc Syrup, Cream Soup Mix, Seasoned Rice Mix (like Rice A Roni), Cuban Bread, Seasoning Salt, Taco Seasoning, Homemade Stuffing (like Stove Top), Cheese Sauce, Carmel Corn, Soft Pretzels, and Easy Mints.  The most stand out recipe for me was the Breadcrumb cookies, especially since I have two containers of homemade bread crumbs and more bread in the wings to make more crumbs).  I am totally trying this one when my husband is out of the house because I am sure he will not like the recipe but love the final result.  Here is the recipe for those interested:

1 1/4 c flour
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (maybe almond extract or peppermint- my note, not the authors)
2/3 c melted shortening
2 c bread crumbs

Stir together dry ingredients.  Combine wet ingredients and add to dry mixture.  Add melted shortening and bread crumbs.  Drop by spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  I hope that you think that this is as interesting as I did when reading it!  I will try out a few and post them after I make them if I like them :)

The one down side is that it was written in the 90's so there are a few funny places that are dated but I just skimmed through them just in case I ever need to know how to refresh a typewriter ribbon (sad to say that I haven't seen a typewriter in many years).  The author is also not into coupons which you would think would turn me off to the whole book since that is how I get such great deals but things may have been different when the book came out or she has different opinions on how to keep the family grocery budget low.  She does say that she feeds here family of 8 (2 parents and 6 kids) for $180 per month but then adds that doesn't include the money for the dog or personal car products which are an additional $55 per month so the total is $235 for the way that I calculate monthly household expenses.  There are also no websites listed because the web wasn't used when this was written either.  I noted many of the ideas and companies and I figured that I would google them later in case there is more information on the wonderful internet.  Regardless of whether you agree with all of her practices, there are some great pointers on the pages of the book that are worth checking out of the library.  Make sure you don't get other books at the same time because it is  927 pages of reading (or as far as you can get before it is due at the library which is page 758, in my case).