11-29-12

7:30am

Two more trays of hash browns are on the dehydrator, 

about 2 pounds worth, and about another 8 pounds of

potatoes cubed up and soaking in some cold lemon water

getting ready to go on the dehydrator once the

hash browns are done.  I ended up boiling the 
potatoes in the pot some.

I had found yet another bag of potatoes I had

on top of the 30 pounds I recently bought.

I will end up with three different types of

dehydrated potatoes- sliced, cubed and shredded.

8:45am


Got the next couple of trays in the dehydrator with
potato cubes on them.

I'm just amazed that 10 pounds of potatoes
can be narrowed down to about 3 quart sized freezer bags.
I still have 2 trays of shredded potatoes dehydrating
so that would make the 3rd bag,
You can store and keep a lot of potatoes
in your home at this rate. 

10:00am


It's 33 degrees out and feels like 28 degrees.
I turned the heat down to 69 degrees about two hours ago.  
I got the side window blind
open to allow the sun to shine in and
I put the dehydrator on a stool in my living room.
The dehydrator blows hot air over the food to dry

it out then vents that air back out the bottom.

So why not double it's duty and use it 

as a small space heater while it's dehydrating the food!

No need to keep it cooped up in the corner of the

kitchen on the counter under the cupboards

where the heat doesn't have a chance to move around much.

10:30

In 3.5 hour's time the heat in here
has only dropped one degree to 72 degrees.
I turn it up to 73 in the evenings from 5pm to 8am.
Then turn it down to 69 around 8-9am and keep 
it that way til about 4-5pm.
Yes I do it ass backwards than what they tell you.
I figure lower the heat during the daytime when you are active,
baking, running dryers, etc.
At night up the heat when you are less active and it's
colder outside.  My kids and hubby like to kick covers
off while sleeping.  I rest better with the heat increased
at night so I don't have to get up and worry about
covering them up.

So I've been going about 6 or so hours without
having to use the house furnace during the day
by using other options like the dehydrator (when dehydrating) 
and the solar air furnace. 
For every degree over 70 degrees I read
increases your heating costs by 7% to 10%


2:15pm


For supper tonight we are having 
Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels.
I will be using ranch dressing instead of cream cheese.
I will probably serve with some tomato soup.

3:15pm

The temperature inside our home is 70 degrees.

The furnace has not kicked on since about

8am this morning and has been off for about 7.25 hours now.

It's 47 degrees out and feels like 42 degrees.

4:50pm

Oh my goodness, supper was so good or

I was really hungry.  Kids gave it two thumbs up

and said this meal was a keeper for the future.

I tweaked my crescent pinwheels some.

Bacon-ranch dressing instead of cream cheese

and sprinkled it with garlic powder.

I added finely chopped fresh mushrooms

and crushed french fried onions along with the

cheddar and bacon.   

Half I did by slicing it before baking and after

I got flustered with that I baked the other half

whole and cut that in half and gave it to the

kids like a rolled burrito. 

This was served with a couple cans of tomato soup

with a couple cans of water.  

I added garlic & onion powder to the soup

then when serving I added shredded mozarella cheese to each

bowl along with oyster crackers. 

Then to top it all off mom brought down

a chocolate cake with white frosting for dessert.

Oh yeah, that really hit the spot. 


9:00pm


38 degrees outside.
The furnace has not ran for 13 hours today!

Woo Hoo!

This evening after the sun set the dehydrator seemed to

be keeping the living & dining room and kitchen warmed

between 71 & 72 degrees!   I keep asking the kidsif they are cold because I would turn the heat
back up if they were.  But they keep telling
me they are not and they are fine.  Both are even
running around without shirts on!
So I guess it's all good :0)
I don't plan to run the dehydrator when we go
to bed so that's probably when I'll turn the
heat up to 73 degrees.

I'm hoping to see a price drop on January's bills
compared to last years.  I say January's because
that gives everything I've been doing to go into affect.
Between a truck being dropped from our car insurance,
running an electric freezer only a half day on a timer and  
not having to run the natural gas for 
at least 6-8 if not more hours a day.

I'm just amazed once again that a food dehydrator
would keep half the house 71-72 degrees!
If your furnace ever breaks down grab your
dehydrator and plug it in, lol.