More Wisdom for Creating that Greeting Card Binder

As it’s been mentioned in passing before, I keep a binder for my greeting cards and I find it to be very helpful.

In the front of my “Greeting Card” binder is a list of all the birthdays and holidays that require a greeting card purchase, (or kid created greeting card), by month. Behind the list I keep 12 heavy-duty clear sheet protectors that are labeled at the top right corner with the months of the year. Then there are more sheet protectors labeled by occasion, “thank you,” “blank,” “friendship,” “sympathy,” etc. Shopping for cards seems to be one of my biggest mommy challenges. My kids do not have much patience for watching me read card after card looking for the perfect witty choice for a friend. When I am hurridly searching for a funny birthday card for my father-in-law but in the process come upon the perfect card for my girlfriend, Anne, I will buy it even though her birthday isn’t for several months. When I get home the card I found for Anne gets filed under January for her birthday. So, you get the idea.

I thought I was just so nifty with my little Greeting Card binder until my friend Anne called me with some ways to perfect it. She is my go-to bargain hunting friend so she always has the ins and outs on how to get the most out of retail stores which I just tend to try to avoid but sometimes fail. American Greeting stores are having a buy 3 cards get 3 free sale right now. (An even cheaper way to go is to have your kids make your cards for you of course but sometimes you want an actual greeting card.) If you can put aside an hour or so without kids, take a list of all your greeting cards dates with you to your local American Greeting store, or any bargain card store that you prefer, and buy ALL of your greeting cards for at least an entire year and file them in your greeting card binder. While you're reading a zillion cards, be sure to poke around in the congratulations, thank you and other card categories and find some that you'd like to file away. They aren’t likely to have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards or other holiday-specific cards but you can have your kids make those. Also, with everyone using online bill pay it seems more likely that you are without a stamp for a greeting card. Just tuck some forever stamps in the front of your greeting card binder and you can eliminate that problem as well. These are two tips I know will definitely eliminate my forgetting a card event or scrambling around at the last minute to get one.

Healthy Chorizo! No, seriously, really it’s healthy.

Get this. I have no menu for November. No kidding! I am flying by the seat of my pants. Aside from weekend plans to make large batches of freezer-friendly meals, I haven’t even pulled my November 2008 menu to copy. We will be out of town and there's an abundance of things in the freezer and pantry to work with. So, anyway, I asked Shirley, a very health-conscientious gal who runs the child care at my gym, what my family should have for dinner tonight. She is full of good, healthful ideas and even teaches people in her home kitchen how to cook without fats, dairy, meats and still enjoy yummy food. Shirley used to have diabetes and suffered a stroke several years ago and completely reversed the direction her health was taking with some major dietary modifications and exercise. She said to try the Mexican Chorizo Sausage at Trader Joes that is made from soy and is completely vegetarian. She said the spices in the chorizo will flavor a whole stir fry dish of veggies, (She also suggested adding diced tofu), and we could have them with whole wheat wraps. Simple. Sounds good. Sounds healthy. I was in.

When we arrived at Trader Joe’s, my 2 year old pointed at broccoli slaw. I took it as a sign and grabbed it. Why not? So with some onions and peppers I already had at home, broccoli slaw, mushrooms, Soy Chorizo, turmeric rice (for my carb-loving husband), and whole wheat wraps we had a delicious dinner. Get this - the Chorizo was only $2 and I only used ½ of it and threw the other half in the freezer. Thank God I had the sense to taste it before adding the whole package because I found out that it was quite spicy. The veggies were plenty to dull the spice along with some mild salsa so my kids could eat it with no problem.

Mexican Soy Chorizo Wraps

1 onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
½ bag broccoli slaw
4 oz finely diced mushrooms (less complaints by children)

1 can black beans, drained
6 oz Mexican Soy Chorizo
Salsa
1 cup rice – cooked with 1 tsp turmeric

Warm a little olive oil in a skillet. (Shirley only uses water). Cook onion and peppers for approximately 4 minutes, add crumbled Chorizo. Add a few TBs of water if needed to prevent burning, then add broccoli slaw, mushrooms and black beans. Add a little salsa if desired to the vegetable stir fry. Wrap a good layer of rice, veggies, salsa and light sour cream, (if desired), in a whole wheat wrap and enjoy!

Ambitions – Live and Learn

Never again! Unless I can devote an entire 2 or 3 days to baking, never again will I think it is a splendid idea to pick two bushels of apples with my family. I have been baking like a mad woman. My laundry has piled up, social engagements have become stressful, my organizing appointments have not been as enjoyable as they should be and my son STILL doesn’t have his cub scout uniform -- all the while $48 of apples slowly rot in my basement fridge and call my name. They want to be more than just rotting apples. They call me to be made into more applesauce, more pies, more apple hermits, more scalloped potatoes and apple gratins. I have already made several batches of applesauce which my kids have devoured, I have 5 or 6 pies in the freezer and several have been consumed, we have eaten batches of apple cookies and apple / potato gratins with two gratins in the freezer. But STILL there are more apples! So if you have ever contemplated getting TWO bushels instead of one because one seems to disappear too quickly DON’T DO IT.

I did come up with a fabulous new cookie recipe though so I will share that with you. I modified an Apple Hermit cookie recipe I found on allrecipes.com to make them more guilt-free:

Apple Hermits

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
Handful of flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup softened butter
¼ cup FF plain Greek yogurt
¾ cup cups packed brown sugar
¼ cup agave nectar or honey
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts (chopped fine so undetectable to kids)
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup raisins

1. Soak raisins in hot water while mixing other ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Mix in yogurt, sugar, agave or honey and egg. Stir in flour mixture, and mix thoroughly. Fold in nuts, apples, and drained raisins.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

YUM!

Thank you!

Recently, I was invited to speak at the local MOPS group about home organizing. I was a nervous wreck with anticipation of talking in front of the group but I survived. The women were very nice and thankful that I came. They even gave me a cute little rose plant. I just want to say thank you in return for having me there to speak. My kids had a blast in the sitting room and I enjoyed praying with a new group of moms. I hope I left the group with some organizing ideas and and not just an impression of "that crazy lady." Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

I am not a Pickle Jar Wiper!

You know what a “Pickle Jar Wiper” is although you may not have thought of it in those terms before. I am describing a kind of person that is an anomaly to me. The kind I often want to be like but just never really can be. You know the type. Their houses are always immaculate and everything is in order and they always possess a sense of calm, even when kids enter their lives. They seem to live in a magic world of dustless order where things never get messy and certainly not sticky. They always wipe the bottom of their pickle jar before returning it to the refrigerator (so have I have coined them “Pickle Jar Wipers”) as well as the tops of their ketchups. Their good habits are too many to list and include always wiping their shoes on the doormat before entering the house. I am not a Pickle Jar Wiper. It just is not me even though I realize that people think this is the kind of person I am since I am so fond of organizing topics and other household workings. I think I enjoy organization because it is something I HAVE TO DO. (and rather enjoy), and not something that comes naturally. My house gets messy like any one else’s with three young kids. I have recently come to the realization that I have stopped having people over as often as I used to because I seem to have developed this reputation for having that perfectly orderly appearing house. It has been brought to my attention by my wise friend, Tracy, that my house ought to be messy because it means that I am spending time with my kids or doing something more valuable with my time than scrubbing my floors every day. This idea goes right along the same thought as my husband's who never wishes to have a perfectly maintained house. He says that is NOT how he plans to spend his free time once he has it and is retired. It is an impossible image to try to keep up as a Non-Pickle Jar Wiper. Now, it’s true, my spices are always in alpha order and my budget is balanced and I seem to have eliminated paper chaos from my life but my house gets messy and I need to start being ok with that. I hope my friends will be too. My good neighbor-friends who stop in regularly, already know about my frequently messy house but I just want to get it out there to all my friends so that I might feel better.

DO IT NOW!

Doesn’t everyone strive for a joyous stress-free Christmas Season filled with the true meaning of Christ-mas? An entire season dedicated to celebrating God’s gift to us should not be bogged down with tons of “to dos", rushing around and stress. So often this is how our Christmas goes no matter how hard we try. You CAN have a wonderful joyous Christmas filled with baking with the kids, feeding the hungry, adding to your Church’s "needy family gift tree", or doing whatever generous act the Holy Spirit calls you to do without worrying about your Christmas cards, shopping, beating post office deadlines and scheduling get togethers by doing it NOW! That’s right, in October! Give yourself a Halloween deadline to get your Christmas card address list updated, select your family photo or take it to be copied for your cards, purchase your cards or schedule the portrait for your cards NOW! NOW NOW NOW! How can I motivate you to set a deadline of Halloween to be ready for Christmas? Only you can do it. I know a few people who have mastered this skill for years. If you know someone similar, just think of the peacefulness they seem to enjoy during the Christmas Season. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be able to show your kids the TRUE meaning of Christmas? Recruit some friends to take on this challenging goal with you and check in with each other regularly. Think of how much more fun Halloween will be to celebrate this year!

October 2009 Menu

October 2009 Recipes

I am not finished posting the recipes but I will get it done. I feel bad that I haven't been on top of it since I promised some people I would have them up last week. I'm getting it done. This is what i have so far.

1st Grilled Chicken w/ Spicy Orange Marmalade sauce & cous cous & Brussel sprouts


3rd Meatloaf, mashed potatoes & corn/green beans

Pick your favorite meatloaf recipe. Aren't there hundreds of versions?


6th Mac & cheese spaghetti w/ veggie & salad

7th Taco Soup w/ cheese quesadillas
Cheese quesadillas are just flour tortillas grilled in a little oil in a non-stick pan with a cheese of your choice in the middle. It's really just a grilled cheese sandwhich made with tortillas instead of bread. I usually use a mild cheddar and sometimes I'll throw in some Mexican cheese mix if I have it.

9th Grilled Flank w/ Granny Smith & Smoked Cheddar Gratin & Salad

11th Pork Noodle Salad w/ Soy-Buttered Sugar Snap Peas

13th Crockpot Orange Chicken w/ Brussels

14th Chicken, Red Grape & pesto pizza

15th Grilled Salmon w/ smokey tomato salsa & yellow rice

17th Classic Minestrone Soup w/ hearty bread

18th Cranberry Pork roast w/ side veggie & rice

19th Spaghetti With Best Ever Bolognese Sauce & Salad

21st Chicken Paprikosh w/ salad

22nd Crockpot Flank Steak Stuffed with Apple, Feta & almonds w/ broccoli

23rd Jerk Spiced Shrimp & pineapple w/ skewered grilled veggies & cous cous

25th Tangy Sirloin strips (allrecipes) w/ salad & pesto pasta

27th Crockpot Jamaican Salmon w/ leftover pasta

29th Pineapple Pork Tenderloin w/ rice & side veggie

30th – Stuffed Jack-o-Lantern peppers x2 to freeze

More Great Uses for Binders

The usefulness of binders is nearly endless when it comes to keeping order with just about any kind of paper. I thought I had exhausted all possible uses for binders in my house until my friend, Denise, said to me, “Now, you DO have a binder for each of your kids don’t you?” I said, " No,” and thought that I wouldn’t know what to put in a binder for my kids. She explained that she keeps schedules and activities and medical information in her kids’ binders and I thought that was great but I didn’t have a need for such a thing. Shortly after that conversation the school year truly commenced. Oh boy. Papers from school were flying! Then, I recalled the kids’ binder idea and got some old binders out and organized some of the kids’ papers. My two school aged kids now have a binder with their name on it. In the front of their binders I put academic reference materials that are helpful to both them and me concerning how their teacher wants homework completed and returned and a letter and number chart, home address, phone number, etc., for my kindergartner to glance at. The binders also have tabs for each subject that they study in school and I have put some math, reading and writing sheets that I printed out for free from online websites behind each subject tab and some “Parent Tips” sheets that have come home for a few subjects. I now have a place to put all the religion papers that we can review regularly. I even put a tab marked “$$” so they can keep track of their bank accounts and such all in one place. Behind a “Misc.” tab we can find girl scout fliers, boy scout papers and flag football information. (A list of team members and plays their coach wants them to learn). All the papers are easily visible in those handy-dandy clear sheet protectors. It is one of those organizing projects that brought me such peace and when I showed my husband where he can find such things he didn’t laugh at my organizing for once. He nodded so as to say “Good! Now I know where to look for those things.”

September 2009 Menu

I have finally gotten back to posting the recipes that go along with my monthly menu. It wasn't even that hard or time consuming. We will be trying a new veggie Boboli recipe inspired by my friend Megan. I have tried to incorporate a lot more veggies in this month's menu. Maybe there were loads of veggies in the past months but this month there was a real effort to load up on them so hopefully you can see that. There are lots of new recipes that I am excited to try. Thanks to my sister-in-law I got a subscription to Cooking Light of which my friend Barb is a big fan. That magazine may be part of my inspiration to load up on veggies. The recipes look great and healthy. I used to have the mistaken belief that Cooking Light was for people who dieted and ate bland and uninspired meals. It is clearly not true. I have already recommended it to people looking for recipe ideas to feed their family healthy. I too am a big fan. Thanks sil!

September 2009 Recipes

1st: Italian Sausage Pasta

I just throw onions, peppers, garlic and whatever I have together with some Italian sausage and cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes from my garden if I am so lucky). Throw in some basil and whatever herbs I feel like and spread over pasta.



2nd: Roasted Corn, Pepper & Tomato Chowder w/ Grilled tomato/brie/arugula/spinach sandwiches
I didn't get around to the Chowder but I did try the brie sandwich. Why on earth did that sound good to begin with? Yuck. And this is coming from a familly that loves brie!



3rd: Veggie Pizza & Poor Man's Caviar

It really is so easy to make your own pizza crust if you have a food processor. I wouldn't have the time or patience to deal with it if it wasn't for the food processor. I have been gradually increasing the whole wheat flour in this recipe and it seems that I can get away with 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat. My husband LOVES the summer veggie medley. I cut way back on the oil, it just isn't necessary.



4th: Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Always a favorite:



















5th: Sirloin Steak w/ roasted fingerling potatoes & asparagus

My kids will NOT eat potatoes other than french fries. For some reason they think that fingerlings are near enough to french fries that they will eat them (dipped in ketchup of course).


8th: Thai Curry in the Crock

9th: Veggie Pasta
Basically I do the same thing as with the Italian Sausage version (see the 1st of the month) except I try to step up the variety of veggies and omit the meat.

11th: Manhattan fish chowder w/ corn bread

13th: Spicy Sweet & Sour Pork w/ broccoli over rice
I can seem to make a stir fry of any kind without loads of veggies. I am going to add broccoli and maybe some carrots and whatever else my fridge has or my budget permits.

15th: Slow-cooked tex-mex chicken & beans w/ wraps & salad fixings
We wrap the chicken and beans in flour tortillas with salad fixings (leaves, tomatoes, salsa) and sour cream (light of course).

16th: Pasta w/ sun-dried Tomato Pesto & Salad
This is the yummies and freshest and most simple thing ever. A definite keeper! I am too cheap to buy fresh pasta and it was wonderful on the box dried type.


17th: Hummus & Veggie Boboli Pizza
I am not sure if I can bring myself to buy pre-made pizza dough but I'll give it a try. Hopefully I will find a coupon. Anyone???
This was not a hit. I even warned the kids that it wasn't actual pizza but it was "salad pizza." It was "ok" with me but hubbie didn't even like it. I won't waste $$ on this again.


19th: Eggplant Parm x3 to freeze.
I swore last year when I made 4 or 5 of these meals to freeze that I would never do it again. It's such a pain. But it's so delicious that I can't help but make it and suffer for an afternoon.
Recipe courtesy Ann Shenk
Eggplant
Parmesan
Olive Oil
One eggplant
3 eggs
Bread Crumbs
Red Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Oregano
Salt
Slice eggplant into thin slices. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Dip eggplant slices in whipped egg and then dip in breadcrumbs. Place the eggplant in skillet and cook for about ten minutes on both sides. Slices should be brown on both sides and soft in the middle.Cover the bottom of baking dish with sauce, and layer eggplant mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and oregano. Bake at 350 degrees for forty minutes. Enjoy!
Notes: 3 Large Eggplants made 4+ meals, maybe could have made 5, I threw some out and several got burnt and were tossed.

I baked my eggplant this time after dredging the slices in egg and breadcrumb/parmesan mix and it was great. Why on earth have I been wasting my time and calories on frying this? Never again. I took this healthier baked version to a pot luck and everyone raved about it.


20th: 3 Bean Chili x 5 for Freezer Friends
This has been a favorite recipe for years. I hope my FF like it.

21st: BBQ Chicken Zucchini Pizza
I just realized that I have that Boboli pizza scheduled 4 days before this one. They are totally different so maybe it'll work. I may try to space them out more though.

23rd: Phili Cheese Steak Sandwiches w/ fries and salad

I looked up another recipe and combined the two. I threw in some garlic and 1/4 cup of beef broth. I only cooked the sirlion tri-tip for about and hour or so b/c the butcher was kind enough to slice it up for me. I didn't want it over cooked. It was delicious. My hubbie had TWO and a HALF sandwiches on those large sub rolls. Geesh.


24th: Veggie Pasta
See the 9th

25th: Gingered Scallops over rice with Salad & Sesame Sugar Snap Peas

27th: Sirloin Steak w/ roasted potatoes & Veggie
Yes, this is a repeat recipe from the 5th. Usually you will only see pizza and pasta repeated throughout the month but I was looking for a red meat dish and this is just so simple and good and we've only had it once, so why not?

28th: Chinese Lemon Chicken over brown rice w/ salad
I have a hard time getting brown rice to cook so it isn't still crunchy. I like to bake it like Alton Brown says to here. I will probably put it together in my oven, program the oven to turn on and bake, so it's ready when I come home along with the crock meal. If I baked it right before dinner then it would take away the convenience of my crock cooked meal, ya know?

29th: Coconut & Basil Steamed Mussels w/ Asian Noodles & Asian snap pea salad w/ sesame orange dressing
Doesn't that salad look fantastic? I can't wait to try it.

August 2009 Menu

Don't worry. I haven't lost interest in this little blog. It's these kids. They keep me so busy in the summer. We've been having a blast. When they are back at school I will get back to this blog. I already have ideas in the works.

Here is our August menu. I am trying to get the most leftovers while still being realistic. Once a week wasn't working out to be enough, twice a week was sometimes leaving us with too little leftovers, so my husband thinks that we can have leftovers every 4 days. So I'm giving it a shot having mindfully filled the 3 days between leftover days with meals that seem leftover-worthy. I may not get to posting the recipes so if there is a recipe that you want just email me and I will get it to you. Oh and as always, asterisk are new recipes and purple meals are slow cooker recipes.

Laziness is the Goal

This July I have been lazy. Very lazy. I never came up with a new menu. I was away for a week. I have not been doing all the proactive things that I usually like to do to keep on top of things. However, I have not become unorganized and chaos has not taken over. How can this be? I have been monthly planning long enough that once it was obvious that I was not going to get around to creating a new menu for this month I simply pulled last years July menu and roughly followed it. Of course I could have redone last month too if I wanted but I like to mix it up a bit more. This is the perfect example of why it pays off to put in some extra time and effort to get really organized. If you get organized in a way that is truly functional and works for you then you can turn on autopilot and get lazy later. Here is the 2008 menu I followed for this July:

June 2009 Menu

I think this is one of the most simple menus I've had in a long time. I am utilizing the crock pot and cooking up some simple meals that can be taken to the pool. We are so excited for our town pool to open on Monday. We get to the pool nearly every day that it is open and enjoy the most simple basic and free things in life. I think I only survive the 9 months of fall, winter and spring because I know summer is the reward. There is always something magical about being with the kids away from the house. There are no "to do" list distractions, no laundry that can get done, no house . . . anything. So hopefully this menu will allow us to be at the pool as much as possible this June.

June 2009 Recipes

1st: Asian Shredded Beef over rice w/ broccoli



http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/05/crockpot-asian-shredded-beef-recipe.html

3rd Chicken w/ Raspberry Balsamic Glaze over Spinach

½ c chopped red onion (or whatever you have, or nothing if you don’t have)
½ T dry or fresh rosemary
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
4 chicken breasts, trimmed
½ c olive oil
½ c raspberry preserves (seedless is best but I can’t seem to find seedless)
3 T balsamic vinegar

Marinate chicken breasts in rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil.

In frying pan sauté red onions and chicken breasts until cooked. Remove from pan.

Combine raspberry preserves and balsamic vinegar. Using same frying pan over medium heat reduce mixture until thickened slightly (I don’t usually have patience for this and it doesn’t matter and I speed this up by cooking both the chicken and onion in one pan and the raspberry & balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan).

Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
I usually serve the chicken over rice or a bed of fresh raw spinach, then drizzle the sauce on top – the that wilts the spinach slightly and is very good.




6th: Mango turkey burgers (x3 to freeze) w/ Kristin’s strawberry spinach salad & sweet potato fries



http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/perfect-turkey-burgers?autonomy_kw=mango%20turkey%20burger&rsc=header_1



Kristen’s Strawberry Spinach Salad
Dressing:

1/2 cup EVOO
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Salad:
2 lbs. spinach (2 bags)
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 - 1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup chopped, fresh dill

Chill dressing, pour over salad.







7th Chicken Curry Salad (Mark’s recipe)



Curry Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
1 large roasted chicken cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 8-ounce can sliced or chopped water chestnuts drained
2 cup seedless red grapes halved
1 2-ounce package slivered almonds

Directions:
Dressing:
1-cup mayonnaise
1-tablespoon soy sauce
1-tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon prepared mango chutney
Salt

Gently combine the chicken, celery, water chestnuts, grapes, and almonds in a large glass bowl. Combine the dressing ingredients and mix well. Add to the chicken mixture and stir gently to combine. Season with salt, to taste.

Yield: 6-8 servings







8th Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken over rice w/ side veggie



http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-brown-sugar-chicken-recipe.html







10th Squirrel’s Sirlion v/ veggie kabobs & rice



http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Squirrels-Great-Beef-Steak/Detail.aspx





13th Grilled Salmon w/ orange glaze, cous cous & side veggie





Grill Salmon and top with orange glaze.


Orange Glaze:


2 T balsamic vinegar


2 T orange juice


2 t honey


1/8 t ground ginger





Simmer the above on medium low until reduced by half.


14th Momwiches w/ salad & fries

15th Black Bean & Salsa Chicken soup w/ cheese quesadillas
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/11/salsa-chicken-and-black-bean-soup.html

17th Sesame Noodles

Coarse salt
1 pound thin spaghetti
½ cup smooth peanut butter preferably natural
1-2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 English cucumber, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

1 In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl
2 Meanwhile, make peanut sauce: In a blender or food processor, blend peanut butter, garlic, pepper flakes, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil until smooth.
3 Cut cucumber crosswise into thirds: cut each piece lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Stack slices: cut lengthwise into very thin strips. Transfer pasta to a large bowl: toss with sauce, cucumber, and carrots. Serve at room temperature.

20th Grilled marinated Flank steak w/ poor man’s caviar & pesto pasta
The show is really the "caviar." This is delicious and worth the effort.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Poor-Mans-Caviar/Detail.aspx

22nd Tacos w/ leftovers & dirty rice
Dirty rice is just rice cooked with some cumin and chicken broth for flavor, maybe a little cilantro.

24th Crockpot Fillet of Sole with Pesto w/ veggie cous cous
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/crockpot-fillet-of-sole-with-pesto.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/steamed-flounder-with-vegetable-couscous?autonomy_kw=flounder%20with%20cous%20cous&rsc=header_1

27th Wraps w/ black beans & corn on side
I just grill some chicken and throw together some veggies (sugar snap pease and sprouts are always good) which all gets wrapped up in whole wheat flour tortillas and slathered in salsa and sour cream. The kids love it but it's messy. It's a good dinner to wrap in foil and take to the pool.

28th Salmon & Braised Lentils & Salad
http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/grilled-wild-salmon-with-braised-lentils-orange-balsamic-reduction/


29th Vietnamese Pho Soup w/ salad fixings
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-vietnamese-pho-recipe.html

“Efficientize” Kid MealPrep

I get tired of the before-dinner-halt that occurs due to the required cutting up of all of my darling kids’ meals. Sometimes the cooking part is a cinch but getting the food from pan to plate to child takes forever when the little crew is cranky, tired and hungry. So when feasible I get out my handy dandy Pampered Chef chopper! I have heard from many a mom who has been suckered into buying this gadget that they don’t use it. ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!? Just dish out each child’s portion onto plate or bowl and bang bang bang, dinner delivered kitty food style! Here is a picture of the pasta we had last night which reached my kids’ tummies in record time thanks to my chopper. Oh, and if you don’t have one of these handy dandy choppers, I have a friend (Courtney M.) who happens to be a Pampered Chef dealer. I am happy to get you in contact with her regardless of your location.

Time Manage your Kids’ Routines

Your kid isn’t the only kid on the planet that needs to be told TEN times EVERY morning to get dressed, make their bed and brush teeth. I hate it when I start the day getting upset or irritated at the gifts God gave me because they won’t JUST GET DRESSED. Soooo, yesterday morning I played an upbeat dance song that they love and told them that whoever finished making their bed and getting dressed by the end of the song got a little Mike & Ike candy (I just happened to have 3 leftover from decorating some cake with them). It worked! They were downstairs dressed with beds made ½ way through the song. YIPPEE! Then at night I told them that whoever had their jammies on and their book picked out by the time I got upstairs got to watch a cartoon in the morning. YIPPEE! It was better than saying “If you don’t have your jammies on and your book picked out then you won’t get any tv tomorrow morning.” I am quite pleased with these new kid time management techniques. Maybe someone reading will have success with it too. Simple, nearly effortless and it worked!

Designate a High Closet Shelf for Temporary Housing of Items

When you have little ones, there is going to have to be a toy jail or other high up out of reach shelf to place items that must be kept from little ones hands. The last time we moved we had a two year old and the conflicting interest of getting moved in. You know how it is, we were getting pictures hung, painting rooms, hanging shelves, etc. So screwdrivers, levels and other items that we didn’t want our 2 year old to get his hands on ended up on whatever high shelf we could find at the moment. Then when we started another project we had to waste quite a bit of time going around the house checking all the high places to find the tools. Now some things end up high when our kids fight over toys or start to beat another sibling with an object. Generally our fireplace mantel is our designated shelf but sometimes it bugs me that it isn’t more hidden. I suppose it gets me to put the items away sooner than if the shelf was tucked away in a closet. Either way, a designated closet shelf can be the keeper of items that you don’t want little hands to get a hold of or those items that you are using but got interrupted using and didn’t have time to put back in their proper place. This way you have only one place to look for your lost screwdriver and one place to look for those odds and ends that need to be placed back in their proper homes. This can be useful even for households without little ones. If you designate a closet shelf area for such things somewhere on each floor in your home then you will probably spend less time hunting for those things that you didn’t have time to put back.

Just Get a Box, or 2 or 3 and Have At It!

Sometimes getting some boxes or laundry baskets and just hacking away at the clutter that is bugging you is how to get the job done. Categorizing your clutter is often tedious and perhaps boring but it is almost always less painful, takes less time and feels better when it’s over than you initially imagine. If you should just NOT be able to force yourself to do it then call me. I love to do it. Actually I love to do it more if it is someone else’s clutter than my own (as evidenced by my hall closet right now and my desk space – shhh, don’t tell anyone). It is always easier to look at someone else’s situation and see through clear lenses than it is your own, in life or in clutter. So if you can’t afford a professional organizer or you don’t know someone like me who is starting up an organizing business and looking for Guiney pigs, then make a swapping organizing appointment with a friend. Sometimes it isn’t difficult to get organized, it’s just a dirty task that we put off. Spring is the perfect time for getting organized. The air is fresh and it just feels good. Putting off getting organized can waste so much of your valuable time (looking for things) and money (buying things you already have but can not find or don’t realize you have due to disorganization). If you make an appointment or a date with a friend or an organizer then you have no choice but to face the task. Just don’t let the friend that shows up to clear you of your clutter get talked into chips, salsa and margaritas instead. Really make a commitment to each other and you’ll be so glad that you did.

Organizing Your DVDs, CDs and other Disks

I am not sure what the purpose is of saving those breakable-space-robbing cases that CDs and DVDs come in so I haven’t thrown mine out yet. I have placed them in a box in the basement until I feel completely 100% certain that I can toss them. I have taken the disks out and put them in various CD books throughout the house. The kids each have a small book for the music that they like to play in their room (we rip them onto the computer first because they are bound to scratch them up). A larger CD book holds all the other music by the stereo and another book by the tv holds our DVDs. The books with the zippers are great because they prevent CDs from falling out when my kids drag them around. I am a little behind on technology but I do realize that one day we won’t have to have any disks to organize . . . at least for music. It seems that a lot of people, if not most, have fancy tiny things that hold their MP3 files and plugs into a sound system of some kind. One day our house will get up to date on such things but for now we store our disks in CD books.

One draw back on the CD books that I use is that the pages do not come out to rearrange things. I like to have my music disks and DVD disks in alphabetical order (probably doesn’t surprise you, right?). If a new disk is acquired it is nearly impossible to alphabetize it without moving every single disk in the book and who has time for that. So I am on the hunt for 3-ring binder inserts that hold disks or for an inexpensive CD book holder with pages that can be removed and rearranged. I am certain it is out there, I just haven’t seen them yet.

My neighbor keeps a small CD book for his computer system disks. You know, those important-if-disaster-should-strike disks that float around in a box somewhere. Keeping those important CDs in a zipped up little CD book will certainly help you to sleep better – that and a reliable external backup system of course.

May 2009 Menu

Well I’ve had some computer problems. Thankfully they have been resolved so I can finallyshare my May 2009 menu with you. It's amazing how much I rely on my computer. Some sleep was lost but all is well. I will get the recipes together asap.

I am still enjoying a lot more leftovers than I am used to which means less cooking (perfect for good spring time weather) and less shopping. The menu looks so sparse compared to menus prior to April but it’s working. I am just trying to cook extra so we can stretch leftovers. A couple times last month I ran low on leftovers so I just threw some chicken breasts on the grill with a big salad. Simple. Easy. Healthy. That’s my new spring and summer motto.

Organize your Family's Library Books

As most people with kids, we are frequent library patrons. My mother-in-law has passed on some wisdom to me for keeping track of our library books. Pick a number, any number, one that you feel is a manageable number of books to have checked out. I like the number 4. It’s my birthday month and it’s just a nice round number. So each time we visit the library each child may select 4 books. If they choose less than 4 books I just grab a couple on our way out so our total is 4. This way I always know how many books I need to return. Our school’s library has a similar system but the limit is 2 books per child. If a child returns only 1 of her 2 books checked out then she may only check out 1. So the total checked out is never more than 2 per child.

Thankfully my kids love books. Many months ago I deviated from my 4 book system because one of my kids wanted to check out a gazillion books. I decided that it would be an opportunity for him to appreciate my system. I allowed my 7 year old to check out as many books as he could carry thinking that the heavy load would be enough for him to want to limit his book selection. He carried a pile of books up to his nose all the way out to the car grunting and struggling! He didn’t care! He was thrilled! So much for that experiment. I got loosey goosey on limiting the kids to 4 books after that but it got out of control and a bit confusing so now we are back to the magic number 4 system. It certainly is easier to manage.

At home you can make a habit to read your library books in a designated spot like a favorite couch and keep a tote, bin or what-have-you to keep them in. Then you don’t have to go hunting for them. I am all for being organized but if my child wants to dig into a book in her room I am going to let her. So I don’t have any one designated spot for ours. Our limit of 4 is a sufficient system for us.

Make Deadlines Work for You

A couple months ago I thought we were going to have a new guest staying at our house. I got some of those little nagging projects done thinking that the guest would be arriving soon and I wanted the house to be, well, fresh. I got a fireplace, a bedroom and a stairway painted and finally got to putting a much needed new toilet seat in the guest bathroom. The guest ended up not coming but I was thrilled to have been pushed to get some things done.

This reminded me how effective deadlines can be. I’d like to have some self imposed deadlines on these little nagging projects. It is really the lack of deadlines that keep us from completing them. I have a few more small inside paint projects I would like to get done and I am thinking that they ought to be completed in time for the warm weather that is approaching. I don’t want to (and probably won’t) spend warm sunny days inside when I can be outside gardening and playing with my kids. I know that I will be able to appreciate God’s outdoor creations even more knowing that everything inside is taken care of. We’ll see how it goes. If I can meet my inside projects deadline then I can see how imposing the same annual deadline for inside projects could be productive. I also like to keep to a monthly menu deadline of the 15th of the preceding month. If I can complete next month’s meal plan by the 15th then I am not rushing to get it done and I can spend a little time tweaking it to make the most of the fresh ingredients and such. It just works better if I stick to my deadline. Most people have a January 1st deadline for packing away their Christmas decorations. These deadlines just keep us ticking some times.

A wise neighbor once told me that it is of no use to get all those little nagging projects completed because new projects will just step into their place. Her statement made me realize that I operate on the belief that one day all these projects can actually be done! Complete! Finito! I don’t want to start thinking that her wisdom is correct because then I may never attempt to get any of them done. I am determined to win!

Whenever I see a well kept home I point it out to my husband and he says that if his home ever looks that perfect then he’s spending his time the wrong way. Maybe he is right but I enjoy getting house things done, after all one of us should.

Outgoing Bin for Smooth Sailing Mornings

At night, after the kids are tucked into bed, I go scurrying around the house for a few minutes picking up and getting my act together for the next morning. This makes my tomorrow run smoothly. Weekday mornings are crazy with kids. Getting the kids dressed and fed, beds made, lunches packed and out the door are all I can handle in the morning. I use a large open flexible bin placed by the garage door to toss all the things I need to take with me in the car the next day. Things I throw in there include library books, outgrown clothes that need to be delivered to a friend's kid, toys or clothing left behind from a playdate, pants that need to be hemmed, package for the post office, store return, etc. In the morning I simply grab my bin and go about the errands dictated by the items in the bin.

Organize your Kids' Turn Taking

I have received great wisdom from my in-laws with regard to settling turn-taking disputes between my children. My husband and his 2 brothers called it “Priority Day.” Each day someone has “Top Priority." The child with “Top Priority” for the day gets first choice for his/her cup color, who takes his/her bath first, whose room we read night time books in, who gets a toy first if they both want it at the same time, first pick for dessert plate, pushes elevator buttons, chooses whether to put the quarter in or take it out of the cart at Aldi’s, etc. etc. This system works wonders. There have been too many situations to count where I pulled “Priority Day,” out of my pocket when no other dispute resolution tool was working. There have also been several times when the dispute was SO heated that I never thought the "Priority Day" card would work and I witnessed in amazement at it’s power. My third born is 2 years old so I have been using Priority Day with only two kids up 'til now but my little guy just announced, “MY DAY,” so I think we are going to have to start working him into the rotation. Whoever has second priority gets second pick or first pick if the Top Priority child is not home. Occasionally, I do lose track so I will put initials on the calendar to make sure there are no disputes about who is Top Priority but as they get older my in-laws tell me that their boys NEVER forgot whose turn it was for Top Priority. I have heard of mothers doing it week by week but my kids are too young to feel the justice in that so we’ll stick with day by day for now.

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!

Save Time and Money with Click N Pull @ Sam's Club!

Get this! My neighbor, Mark, has opened a whole new possibility for time and money savings with regard to groceries! He told me about the Click N Pull at Sam’s Club. I was not aware that such a magical operation was occurring on a regular basis at my good ‘ol Sam’s Club. I have been walking past several taped off shopping carts full of merchandise at the front of the store and not questioning what they were or why they were there. It should be no wonder since by the time I reach the front of the store at Sam’s Club I am pushing my 100 lb cart ahead of me with my arms locked straight and my body at a 45 degree angle while my 2 year old, (who has kicked both his sneakers off at this point), sits backwards in the seat with the belt on his back after squirming around in a full 90 degree turn and is hollering at the top of his lungs, “DOWN!” So it is no big surprise to me that I never wondered what the shopping carts at the front of the store were. I had no idea that my curiosity of those shopping carts could have changed my life quite some time ago. Thanks to Mark, I may finally benefit from this Click N Pull operation that I didn’t know existed before.

So here is the magic. You can shop at Sam’s Club online, submit your order and someone at your local store will gather all the items for you and a shopping cart will be waiting for you when you arrive WITH YOUR STUFF ALREADY IN IT!!!!!!! Isn’t this HUGE? I’m sure you have some questions as I did so let me tell you what I found out. If you place your order before 5 pm it will be ready the first thing in the morning. If you are a business member it will be ready at 7 am or if you are a regular member it will be ready for you at 10 am. You will get an email to notify you that your order is ready for pick up. You pay when you go to the store to pick up your merchandise, not online. If you do not pick up your merchandise within 72 hours then they will reshelve the items. They place your frozen and refrigerated items in their respective coolers in the back so when you arrive for pick up someone is sent to bring them up front. If you want something that is not listed online, (I had 3 items), you can make a note of it in the notes/substitutions box but my notes got overlooked so it is best to call to notify the customer service desk that you have notes written and they will look for them. My local Sam’s Club has a guy, (Bob), who is the designated Click N Pull guy. He fills all the orders in the morning when he arrives at 6 am and I was told that he never misses the notes. My notes were overlooked because I placed my order in the afternoon when he was gone and someone who isn’t accustomed to filling Click N Pull orders filled mine. If I can figure out all these little nuances this could really be a HUGE time saver as well as a money saver for my family.


Why do I refer to Sam’s Club Click N Pull as a money saver you ask? We all know that when we are going through the isles we end up buying something that we don’t really need and which may also not be in our budget. At Sam’s Club and other wholesale clubs, it usually isn’t an innocent $2 donut purchase that we go home with. Instead, it’s a $5 case of donut purchase that ends up in your cart. Come on, you know what I mean. So, if you can plan your list more objectively at home with your shopping list rather than perusing the isles with a hungry stomach or a sweet tooth I believe that there is no doubt that Click N Pull will be a grocery money savings. I haven’t been this excited about a time saving/money saving scheme since I started monthly meal planning. Ahhhhh, it feels good to be a planning/organizing junkie today.

Discover Aldi's and Save $$

I discovered the unbelievable grocery savings at Aldi’s a few years ago. Once I “got it” I couldn’t believe that I had passed up the Aldi’s experience for the first couple years that we lived near one. Once you “get it” you belong to the Aldi’s fan club. I told my friend Colleen that I had finally shopped at Aldi’s after hearing her rave about it for some time and she said, “I TOLD YOU.” I was officially a member. Let me explain how awesome the savings are at Aldi’s even if you don’t track the price of every item you buy. You know that sick feeling you get in your stomach when you check out at the regular Piggly Wiggly/Giant Eagle/Stop & Shop/Krogers when you hear your total? It just seems that you can never get over the fact that you spent THAT MUCH on harmless little necessary grocery items. Well, you get the complete opposite feeling at the Aldi’s check out counter. You can’t believe that ALL those groceries you bought only added up to the total the smiling clerk tells you. It’s unbelievable the difference you experience at the check out.

What the heck is Aldi’s anyway you ask? It is a small grocery store that sells the best quality items it can at the lowest possible price. It does not try to be a full service grocery because of it's size. Aldi’s started in 1976 in Iowa and has grown to over 1,000 stores from the East Coast to Kansas. They attempt to eliminate the bells and whistles that increase price. You’ll see how they do that by visiting a store once. Be sure to take a quarter with you because you will need it to access a grocery cart. You’ll get your quarter back when you return your cart. Don’t be afraid, it’s simple and intuitive. You’ll figure it out. When you enter the store you will instantly sense that something is different but you may not be able to figure it out. It’s the lack of music, (which I believe large grocery chains insert subliminal messages into to get you to buy more and I am only ½ kidding). The products are shelved in the bulk box cases that they come in rather than placed neatly on fancy shelves by store employees. Aldi’s does not supply grocery bags or a bagger. You will bag your own groceries with bags that you either bring or purchase there (paper for 5 cents or large heavy duty bags for 10 cents each). Aldi’s does not accept credit cards but you can pay by debit card or cash. So, the Aldi’s experience is a little different from your typical large chain grocery store but the differences allow for savings that are passed on to the consumer.

Unfortunately you can’t get EVERYTHING at Aldi’s. And a few things I feel may be lacking in quality but there are some really good finds at Aldi’s that you simply can not go wrong with. Here are some items that I have had consistent good luck with at Aldi’s:

Milk
Yogurts
Sour cream/butter/cottage cheese/cream cheese and other dairy goods
Refrigerated Shredded Parmesan/Romano and other premium cheeses such as feta and blues
Spinach
Blueberries
Lettuce leaves of all kindPeppers – red/yellow/orange are always great
Bananas – sometimes a little browned so they go right into the freezer for smoothies
Oranges, strawberries, grapes
All tomatoes, including grape tomatoes
Cucumbers
Beans – pinto dried and canned refried beans
Flour & corn tortillas
Tuna
Pepperoni
Brown Sugar/Flour/Sugar/Vanilla/salt/pepper/baking powder
Honey
Pickles
Corn Meal
Oatmeal
Oat O Cereal
Generic Cereals: raisin bran, rice krispies, cheerios
Tortilla chips & other chips like generic doritos
Frozen berries
Frozen orange juice
Fruit popsicles (yummy)
Ice creams

I would love to add to this list of things that other people regularly buy at Aldi’s so please post here and I will keep adding to it.

It was a Poppy Turkey Night!

Oh how we love Poppy Turkey. Oh how we love to SAY, “Poppy Turkey.” Poppy Turkey Poppy Turkey Poppy Turkey. It’s just fun to say. I went to Aldi’s yesterday to stock up for a triple batch of Poppy Turkey when I ran into Sue. Sue said that she had made the Poppy Turkey and loved it. I have several friends who have turned their noses up at it because they think the ingredients sound strange. Sue was brave, as was Anne and Marilyn. Of course, they loved it! It’s yummy. It’s creamy. It’s good comfort food and it’s delicious. Be sure to make a triple + batch, (after you confirm that it IS yummy of course), because it freezes wonderfully.

I add peas and mushrooms as you can see by my notes. You can get away with 1 1/4 lb of turkey easily.

Purging Feels Goooooood

I just did some major toy purging this weekend. I got rid of 5 very full trash bags. It feels so good! No, my kids have not yet noticed which is why it is still feeling good.

To get organized sometimes you have to purge your household of all your useless excess stuff. It can be tedious work. You have to be in the right mindset. You have to be ready. You have to be tired of the status quo. You have to be willing to let go. It has always interested me as to what causes people to hold on to stuff that they don’t use. Sometimes there is an emotional attachment to an item or memories that surround the purchase of an item like a special trip. Then, there is the fear that as soon as they rid themselves of an item they haven’t used then they will come up with a use for it and wish that they had it. I believe that the latter motivation for holding onto stuff has deep roots in our past. For instance, if you grew up in an affluent household and were able to easily replace a broken or lost item as a child, you are probably more likely to discard items that you aren’t currently using. You have little fear of never being able to replace the item if necessary. On the other hand, if your parents barely scraped by with what little they had you might appreciate coming across items that might possibly have some obscure purpose sometime in the distant future and therefore have a difficult time parting with stuff. I must confess that it is rather easy for me to discard things. I do not suffer from sentimentality. Besides, you can’t take things with you when you die. We’ve all heard that before. So, unless I am using something or going to use it in the immediate future, I don’t want it cluttering up my home. Photos are a great way to compromise getting rid of a useless item. Take a digital photo of the item. It won’t take up physical space in your home but you can easily keep the image forever.

There are many different approaches that professional organizers use to get their clients to purge clutter. Usually 90% of clutter is easily identified as such and tossed. Beyond that, see if you can discard items by going through these questions: I don’t think it’s all that complicated.

1) Is it useful or necessary?
2) Do you have the space to keep it?

3) Do you have a duplicate/triplicate/etc so that you can purge the extras?
4) Why are you holding on to it?
5) Is there a reason that a digital photo / scanned image cannot replace the original?
6) If you still cannot part with it can you find an immediate use for it even if simply for display purposes?

Beyond that, if you do not have space for something that is not useful, then it is your choice to be tripping over it until you get the courage to discard it. I have some boxes of things in the basement that I have not yet had the courage to toss. I would love to rid myself of these things but cannot. I do not like them. They are not useful. My dear grandmother values things a lot more than I do and has given me some things that I feel too guilty to get rid of because I know she would not be happy if I did. She is also of the mistaken impression that they are valuable antiques. After much research I have proved that they are not valuable but I still cannot discard the items. I need to get the courage to toss them or talk to her about it. Maybe I can push them off on another relative instead (hello mom, Aunt C or Cousin C). Hmmmmmm

I am Not A Whole-Foods Saint

My friend, Amy, had just come home from the grocery store and had all of her purchases out on her kitchen counter when I arrived unexpectedly today. She said something to the effect that I was looking at all of her previously hidden processed food sins as if I were some kind of whole foods saint. Truly, I am not but I can see how someone might get that impression of me. I do believe that the whole foods approach to feeding your family is an ideal that we all ought to strive for but let's face it, we all have our vices. I, for one, am a HUGE sugar addict. I have consumed a pound of jelly beans, (sneaked without the kids seeing), in the last 48 hours after almost 72 hours of yet another NO sugar attempt, so anyone who thinks I am a righteous judge of their grocery purchasing habits is clearly wrong. It may not seem timely now that we are into April but I have some New Year's resolutions concerning processed foods that I want to replace with homemade versions before the end of this year. Here are some of my processed foods confessions and New Year's resolutions:

Tyson Dino Chicken Nuggets
Kraft Mac N Cheese (it just seems like an American childhood tradition, so I'm not sure about replacing this one, I just limit the frequency)
Good Seasons Salad Dressing Mix
Taco Seasoning packets (it's so easy to mix your own, I have just not gotten around to it)
Jiff Peanut Butter - Skippy makes a better whole foods version but I don't have easy access to a bargain price for it


There are some other confessions that I should make that I have no intention of replacing with homemade versions:

Cheese-Its (my husband has these in his lunch every day)
Fishy Crackers (occasional)
Pretzels

I am sorry to tell any true whole foods saints out there that there are no homemade versions that will replace the occasional Oreo, Pringle or Ritz cracker. I think the goal is to feed our family the closest to whole foods as possible considering our culinary experience, budget and time constraints.

April 2009 Menu

I wonder why I’ve been killing myself, (I haven't really), to come up with 25 or so fabulous meals each month for my family when all I really have to do is cook about every other day? I recently organized my friend Jill’s kitchen and when I do such a thing I have the pleasure of bonding with someone over a 5 hour period of laborious tasks. Unfortunately for my friend-clients, they must also spend that time putting up with me and my opinions about everything in the world that doesn’t really matter in relation to their kitchen. Anyhoo, my wise friend Jill told me that they only cook a dinner every couple of days and then they eat leftovers. This idea has sat with me for a couple of weeks now. WHY am I not doing this also? I think partially because I just love food and always have so many new recipes that I want to try. I am also in a habit of torturing, (it’s not really torture it’s a “learning” experience), my children by placing dinners that are healthy for their growing bodies in front of them regardless whether or not they like the meal. I think that having the same meal 2 days in a row that they don’t like lowers their chances of enjoying meal time but, regardless, we are giving it a try. Here is the absolute most simple month I have ever done. It just doesn’t seem right, but I’m going to cook more of every meal to make sure we get a leftover meal out of each one (aside from pizza and the occasional meal taken from the freezer). We'll see how it goes.

Oh and I forgot to add April's in-season produce to the top of my menu for shopping purposes. I will do that now . . . .

Recipes to Accompany April 2009 Menu

2nd: Thai Shrimp Soup w/ Lime & Cilantro (Southbeach Recipe)

4th: Bloody Mary Flank w/ mashed potatoes, gravy & veggie (thanks to Kristin D for passing this along)

6th: Poppy Turkey
This is fabulous. I realize that the ingredients sound weird but it is delicious I promise! It's from a freezer friendly cookbook called "Once A Month Cooking," which is definitely worth checking out.

8th: Calzones or Pizza with Salad (whichever I feel like making that night)

9th: Shrimp & veggie Thai Curry over rice

For this I just loosely follow a recipe on the jar of red curry paste. Use any veggies you like. I use onion, carrots, peppers, zucchini and sometimes mushrooms and always peas (but add frozen peas at the end).S o what I do is throw in some Olive oil in the pan and let it heat up, then spoon approx 1 ½ T of curry paste till fragrant. Then add your veggies in cooking order then add a can of coconut oil and some chicken broth or clam juice. Stir 1 T corn starch w/ 1 T chicken broth (clam juice if using) and add to thicken. Sometimes I add a can of diced tomatoes. Peas and shrimp at the end. Serve over rice. It’s a general recipe and it’s different every time but that’s about how I make it. I have purchased red curry paste in a large can at the Asian market and I just freeze the remaining paste in ice cube trays and then put into a freezer bag for later use. The jar that you can purchase at Giant Eagle is fine to just keep in the jar at room temp for several months.

*FYI: Trader Joes has the best price on coconut milk @ .99 cents/can.

11th: Taco Soup w/ cheese quesadillas

12th: Cranberry Pork Roast in the crock w/ side veggie & rice

15th: Momwiches w/ fried & salad

16: Cornmeal crusted fish fillets w/ side veggie & pesto pasta

18th: BBQ Flank Steak over salad w/ corn bread

20th: TGI Friday Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta (thanks mom)

10 ounces cooked fettuccine (cooked al dente)

1 cup Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce (recipe follows)

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1 boneless chicken breast, cooked and sliced in strips

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce:

2 ounces olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic

1/2 cup onion, cut in large chunks

1/2 cup green peppers, diced in large pieces

1/2 cup red peppers, diced in large pieces

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup V-8 juice

cornstarch (mix about a table spoon with a couple table spoons coldwater to form a slurry)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare sauce: Heat oil in saute pan; add garlic; saute for 30seconds; add onions and saute for 1 minute; add peppers andcontinue to saute for another minute. Deglaze with chicken stockand reduce to half. Add V-8 juice and cayenne pepper; bring toboil; simmer 10 minutes.2. Thicken to consistency with cornstarch; season to taste withsalt and pepper.3. Add cooked pasta to sauce and heat through until hot.4. Arrange on serving dish and top with chicken breast. Sprinklewith Parmesan and parsley.

Serves 2 to 4

22nd: Pizza w/ pepperoni & Salad (homemade as usual)

23rd: Classic Minestrone Soup w/ hearty bread

25th: Meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes & veggie

27th: Chicken Paprika w/ salad

30th: 3 Bean Chili w/ corn bread

Get Your Spices Cheap & Save Loads of Money

Do you ever visit a country store that has flour, oats and spices priced crazy cheap? Have you ever sat in front of the spice bins wishing you remembered which spices you were running low on? I have and then I kicked myself for wasting the trip because I could have used quite a few spices and things and I would have saved some bucks if I had only known what I needed. Now we visit the same country store every Autumn for apple picking so I plan my visits more wisely. My mother also happens to frequent some country stores so I keep a list of the items that those stores carry. (They thankfully keep such a list). If I can’t make my annual trip Mom will pick up some things for me when she goes to her stores.

It is a mystery to me how or why these country stores sell their herbs and spices so inexpensively. However they do it, you should take advantage. I keep quite a number of spices since I am a frequent cook and I like to explore new recipes. I keep the little store size jars in my cupboard for easy access and a bin in my basement pantry for the overflow. In my overflow spice bin I keep a list for my annual country store trip. So when I go to refill a store size jar in my kitchen with my overflow bin and I see that something is running low I add it to my annual shopping list. It is easy to do and it saves a ton of money since I cook a lot.

Here are some examples of the savings I have experienced over the last few years. I have this rather large bag of bay leaves that cost 72 cents at the country store but a store size jar which would be about ¼ of the amount costs around $5 at the grocery. There is also a 1 lb bag of sesame seeds which cost $1.33 but the jar you get at the grocery store holds a measly 2.25 oz (there are 16 oz in 1 lb) and costs around $5. This could easily become a quantifiable category for the “Things I didn’t Buy” savings envelope.

Turn Room Clutter into Fabulous Closet Shelving

Do you have a little book case or old shelves sitting with “stuff” on it making your room feel cluttered? My son had one in his bedroom with his banks on it, some Leggos and miscellaneous books that never stayed neat. By moving the shelving unit into his closet we uncluttered his room instantly. It made such a huge difference in the feel of his room that I am convinced that nearly all open shelving units in a room should be abolished. Of course, I am not into “stuff” or displaying “stuff.” The feel of an uncluttered stuff-less room makes me breathe easier. But let’s face it, we all have stuff whether we want to have stuff or not. So try moving your stuff to a shelving unit inside a closet. Don’t have closet room to spare, you say? You’d be surprised at how much more storage real estate you can gain on shelves in a closet as opposed to empty hanging air space. If you have such a situation, try it out and see how much harder your shelves can work for you when they are hiding inside a closet as opposed to being out in the open and having to look pretty.

It's Springtime! Get your Garage Sale List together!

There are several things that came up in conversation over the Winter that my kids or I would like to have that are clearly garage sale purchases. For instance, my son wants a soccer net. Now, I can imagine that a lot of soccer nets may get torn or broken before they are discarded. I can also imagine that a well built soccer net that has survived a kid or two would be just the kind of cumbersome thing someone would like to unload at a garage sale. There are several of these kinds of things that have come up over Winter which have inspired another one of my many lists. I love lists. They keep me focused, remind and applaud me when entries are crossed off. So, anywho, I made up a Garage Sale list for 2009 just to get us excited for Springtime Garage Sale season. If you keep a Garage Sale lookout list you can share it with other garage saling friends. You may find that someone you share your list with has something on your list that they want to dispose of. For instance, my mom seems to spot things that I am looking for rather quickly (sometimes in her basement!). For some items, you have to tell everyone you know and be patient. There have been two such items that I waited nearly two seasons for before I landed them one of which was an upright freezer. I scored it for $50 and it was only 3 years old! The other was a bike trailer. I told everyone I knew about my desire for a bike trailer. Right about when I was going to give up and pay retail I finally found one right down the street. Now the part where my husband backed the van over the beloved bike trailer is another story. So if you see another bike trailer out there, I am on the hunt again. Ugh!

In case I get lucky with any of my readers, here is my current list. I haven't browsed Craigs List or FreeCycle.com lately so maybe I'll get lucky there?

Garage Sale 2009 List

Hamburger press/maker/shaper
Garlic Press – preferably pampered chef
Pasta maker
Pastry/Pasta roller for ravioli edges
Cake décor tools
Attachments for kitchen aid mixer

Girly Bedroom Lamp
Girly Trash Can
White/floral vintage curtains for girly room

Soccer net for backyard

Always:
Picture frames – black, white & silver 11x14 and bigger
Gift wrap & bows
Girly hair accessories
Kids clothes/snow suits/boots/etc
Picnic table - large with attached bench (octagon preferably but any kind)
Yard tools (rakes, shovels, bulb planter, hand shovels, etc)

Art Management 101

Young children come home from school, Sunday school, and other places with wonderful art projects they've made. We have a craft area for the kids so they can create many masterpieces right at home. I really appreciate the words of advice that our preschool gave with regard to appreciating their masterpieces: Don’t ask what it is, instead ask them to tell you about it. Luckily I got that advice pretty early on in my mothering career so I haven’t made too many of those “what is THIS?” blunders when I should have known that it was an airplane or a self portrait or whatever. Even though I get great explanations about the artwork that enters my house, I can not be the only one guilty of thinking “WHERE am I going to put this?” when praising my child on the 24”x36” poster about God creating the world that they made in Sunday school. I have some rules of thumb to prevent my kids’ artwork from cluttering up my house.

1) If it is mostly school-made and not child-made it goes in the trash the evening of the same day it entered the house

a. “school-made” means that the school printed out, cut out or laid out all the parts and the child merely put them together in the manner they were instructed leaving no creative expression from the child
b. “Child-made” means that the idea or creative spin on the project came from the child rather than specifically guided instructions from someone else.

2) There must be a clearly defined area for artwork to be displayed, (usually a door, a framed bulletin board or some other clearly defined area), and that area is NOT the refrigerator!

3) Coloring pages get bottom priority to all other child-made projects and should not occupy more than 50% of the designated art display area.

4) Artwork must be rotated as it comes in so that it does not spill outside the designated art display area.

a. “Rotation” means that one artwork finds the trash as another artwork finds a place on the designated art display area
b. Should artwork appear that you do not want to find the trashcan but has overstayed its welcome, (beyond 3 months or out of season), see rule 6), 7) or 8).

5) One piece of artwork is not to overlap another. (This keeps the designated art display area from becoming cluttered and it truly shows off the pieces that are there.)

6) If it is something truly wonderful that we want around for a long time it gets a frame and is placed somewhere in the house.

7) If the artwork is of construction paper size or smaller and is very special we may place it in the posterity box or with the seasonal decorations if it is seasonal so it can be displayed annually.

8) If the artwork is something that we do not want in a frame or can not frame due to the size/shape/construction then we will take a digital photo of it (or scan it) before disposing of it and once we have several pictures of various art pieces we will order an art photo book of the pictures for each child/artist.

9) If the work of art is something that can not be taped or pinned to the designated art display area it may sit on the counter for the remainder of the day that it arrived and if the child does not want to part with it they may keep it in their room until their little brother destroys it or I find it trampled on the floor somewhere or it is no longer coveted and I can safely dispose of it.

My kids are not aware of these “rules” and this is the first time I have ever written them. These guidelines that I have implemented really do keep the peace and keep order in our house. The quantity of artwork that will enter this house could easily fill several rooms in our house by the time they graduate high school if I didn’t have some sort of artwork storage/display system. These rules also help to alleviate the mother’s guilt that often accompanies disposing of artwork.

P.S. The picture of Mary with baby Jesus above is in a frame in our living room. Decorating your home with your children's artwork can be both special and frugal.