Mommy's Coffee

Adventures in Jam-making

2011-08-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Making and freezing fresh jam, how delightfully domestic! A few months ago we stumbled across a crazy deal at Safeway which left us with bunches and bunches of nearly free strawberries, more than anyone could be expected to eat. So we tried this recipe which was lovely, but a little runny, and I don't have the experience or gumption to "Can" or properly preserve. Then, having gotten the courage up to try more recipes, I bought some powdered Sure-Jell and tried a fresh no-cook recipe. It turned out good, so I decided to try another cooked recipe, but it was not great, and again I didn't want to can or preserve it. So we tried again, and came out with our favorite which I have now made three times.

Why should you make your own jam? Well, you can control your own ingredients. Instead of what's listed here (high fructose corn syrup alert!):

you can use as little as 3 or 4 ingredients. You can use organic berries, organic sugar, you can even pick your own strawberries!

One more tip, at my farmer's market one vendor sells "Jam berries", which is an entire flat or strawberries or raspberries for $10 (ordinarily at least $25)! This flat has some berries that have gone south, so it needs to be picked through on the same day, but MAN was it worth it! I found about 5-10 individual berries that couldn't be salvaged, but the rest were great. I just picked through and sliced them up when I got home and had a TON. I gave away some baskets to neighbors, had enough for two big batches of jam with leftovers. Ask your farmer's market vendors for jam berries, it's worth a try!

Freezer or Fresh jam is my pick, as you don't have to can or preserve it, and it is made with uncooked fresh berries, so it's faster to make and fresher. It also uses 1/2 the sugar! I like the Sure Jell Certo, because it takes out even 1 more step, as the jell is ready to use from the packet.

Quick & Easy Strawberry Jam

2 cups crushed strawberries
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo

Crush berries 1 cup at a time. You can use a potato masher, but I found it easiest to use a food processor to a fine chop. Bits of fruit should be remaining. Measure fruit into a bowl.

Measure exact amount of sugar and add to fruit. (Don't try to skimp on the sugar, as it won't set properly.) Stir well and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you're feeling really saucy you can add a touch of vanilla.

Stir pectin into lemon juice. Add to fruit and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into prepared containers, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top.

Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set. Refrigerate for 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 1 year.

Enjoy!

Ever read the ingredients on your strawberry yogurt container? Lots of additives there too, and tons of sugar. We buy plain organic yogurt and add some jam to that. Granola on top and it's a yummy parfait too!

Unbored

2011-06-22T14:31:00.001-07:00

Stave off summer boredom with this free craft e-book. This first window that pops up requesting your email address can be closed without entering an email.
I think we'll be trying the "finger friends". Looks cool!

Paris! Paris! Paris!

2011-06-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

1. Drop whatever you're doing, go to oh Happy day here: http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris
2. Enter to win a trip to Paris!
3. Pack your bags.
4. Sit on your chair and wait until June 20th when the contest ends.

Lemonade!

2011-02-25T16:23:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups white sugar
* 8 cups water
* 1 1/2 cups lemon juice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2. Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

(Credit All Recipes)

London Broil Take 3

2010-07-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

I stretched out the London Broil into a 3rd meal (it was a mondo piece of meat)...I've been promising myself to capitalize on my kids love of spaghetti noodles for a while. I used the leftover meat, spaghetti noodles and vegetables on hand (zucchini and carrots, which I shredded, and spinach) and mixed with asian dressing and "stir-fried" ala Mongolian BBQ. So for another .99 cents we had another meal from our cheap London Broil!

Two Dinners in One - London Broil & Steak Salad

2010-07-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Looking for ways to use that cheap London Broil ($1.99/lb) from Safeway?

Tuesday night we did this recipe for London Broil, baked potatoes & zucchini. Wednesday night we used leftover steak, added mozzarella, some fresh heirloom tomatoes (from my dad's garden) and kalamata olives - dressed with some champagne dressing. Yum! And the next-day salad took minutes to put together after all the hard work had been done!

Groceries for 2 dinners:
$5 London Broil (used 1 steak out of a 2 pack, we still have leftovers too!)
$.25 Baked Potatoes (from roadside stand, $1/10 lb bag Russets)
$.49 Girards dressing ($2.49, used $2 coupon)
$1.00 Mozzarella (used 1/2 pack of fresh mozzarella)
Total $6.75 + ingredients on hand

Note about London Broil: Most recipes for this meat will require 3+ hours of marinating, so plan ahead when making it!

Dinner in 20: Caprese & Salmon

2010-07-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

If you haven't tried the salmon I talked about here, now's the time! It's a quick, yummy summer meal and it's on sale at Safeway this week, wild sockeye salmon for $7.99/lb. That's a good price for wild-caught, nutritious salmon.

Get your meal ready in 20 minutes:

Heat grill.
Gather ingredients and mix up marinade, 2 minutes.
Rest salmon in 1/2 of the marinade. Meanwhile gather ingredients for caprese (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, dressing) and start slicing tomatoes, 5 minutes.
Throw salmon on the grill for 4-5 minutes per side. Meanwhile, finish slicing caprese ingredients and prepare by arranging mozzarella and tomato slices on plate, top with chopped basil & caprese dressing or balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Plate salmon and top with remaining marinade, 9-10 minutes.

Dinner's ready in 20 (or less)!

My grocery cost:
$7.99 Salmon (Safeway)
$3.49 Mozzarella -1.50 coupon (Safeway)
$.00 Caprese Dressing (Free with coupon)
$.30 Tomato (Farmer's Market)
$.25 Basil (Farmer's Market)
~$10.50 total, plus ingredients on hand

Yum!

Moms need love too!

2010-06-25T01:14:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled on this article about moms and unsolicited advice on USA today, thought provoking! Sometimes I don't think about what I'm saying or how it might be construed. Good reminder for me to use a little more tact!
We're all a little new at this mom thing...so good job everybody!

District Convention! Tips, recipes

2010-06-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our District Convention finally arrived!

That means prep work for 3 days falls on 1 day, the Thursday before. At least for us, and most of you I'm sure.

Our convention is in San Francisco, and we drove back-and-forth instead of staying at a hotel. I tried to make the days go smoother by having all of our lunches and breakfasts for the most part, ready on Thursday. All clothes ironed and ready, shoes out (check out these cute shoes I got for Noah on Amazon...)

I got a couple of rotisserie chickens from the grocery store and pulled all the meat off, used some for a pasta salad and some for chicken sandwiches. Here's the pasta salad I made and I recommend it. It's pretty tasty and the hardest part of it is boiling the water for the pasta. It's from Allrecipes. SUPER EASY...

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup sesame seeds
* 1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup light soy sauce
* 1/3 cup rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 3 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.

----

So a couple of ideas...

Packing - My cousin Tawnya was telling me about a family that had their daughter carry her own backpack with all her diapers, wipes, etc. from the time she was a toddler. I thought, what a great idea! This doesn't always work, but I wanted to give it a try for the convention. See, we end up hauling our own meeting materials, our food and eating utensils, our kid's books and writing materials, pull-ups, wipes, etc. What a pain! So I packed up the kids with their own books, crayons, etc., Olivia carried her own pull-ups and wipes. They get excited to carry their own bags. After going through the whole convention I can say that for the most part they carried their bags gladly. The exceptions were when they were sleeping, and when we were carrying them. But it really worked for us and I'll be trying it again in the future.

Eating out - If you are staying in a hotel for the convention and thus eating out every night, you might try looking for discounts on meals. One good place for discounts is Restaurant.com. You can get $10, $25, and $50 gift certificates (an example would be $10 off a $25 purchase, $25 off a $50 purchase, etc) for a starting price of $4, $10 & $20 respectively. Then I search for a discount code (right now the discount is 80% using the discount code SUMMER). So if you're keeping track, the price of a $10 off $25 gift certificate will cost .80, a $25 off $50 certificate will cost $2, etc. I find restaurants and if I've never heard of and check for reviews (yelp, etc). Pay attention to restrictions, sometimes restaurant.com certificates will restrict days (usually holidays, sometimes they can't be used on Friday & Saturday!) and times they can be used (sometimes only for lunch, or only for dinner), and you can't use more than 1 at a table, so you and your buds can't both use one. In that case I recommend getting a higher value certificate and splitting the cost and savings.

Later I'm going to try to post a tutorial on modifying an adult tie for a little boy.

Anyway, it's all worth it! Enjoy yours!

Chidren's Medicine Recall

2010-05-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a heads up that certain medicine for children has been recalled by the FDA .
Here is the LINK that tells you which products to throw out, which include children's versions of Tylenol, Tylenol-Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl
More than 40 products are on the list!

Grilled Chicken Parmigiana

2010-04-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a good one, not too many steps and not as many calories as the traditional Chicken Parmesan. The kids should like it!
I like to serve it with creamy polenta, but it would be good with pasta or rice too.

Grilled Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

* 2 pounds thin cut chicken breast, cutlets
* Salt and pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons
* 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 small yellow skinned onion, finely chopped
* 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, such as Muir Glenn brand
* 1 cup, 20 leaves, fresh basil leaves, shredded or torn
* 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 1/2 pound smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions

Heat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to keep it from sticking to the grill. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side and transfer to a foil covered platter to hold. If you are using a grill pan, cook the chicken in 2 batches if necessary. While chicken cooks, make sauce.

Place a medium pot on the stove over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and chopped onions. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes and heat through, 2 minutes. Wilt in the basil and season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Preheat the broiler to high.

Layer the chicken with fire roasted sauce in a casserole dish. Top the casserole with Parmigiano and mozzarella. Brown the casserole under the broiler 3 minutes.

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

2010-04-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well Jessica has been shy to post anything so far, so I'll post something for her ;) I first had these tasty muffins at her house and they are great! This is a Food Network recipe and I alter it a little when I make it at home. I substitute 2 cups of the flour for whole wheat flour, sometimes I put a little wheat germ in as well, but I can never remember how to alter the proportions to use wheat germ. Also I use a little less sugar (I know you're not supposed to mess with the proportions when baking, but it doesn't seem to affect it too much and I think there's really too much sugar in this recipe). The frosting is super yummy, but sometimes I just don't have the mascarpone (or feel like buying it) so I just eat them plain or put a little butter on top. We like walnuts so I add some to the muffin mix. This is great when you buy too many bananas and want to use them up!

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

Ingredients
Muffins:

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 large eggs
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Frosting:

* 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

Healthy Snacks Free e-book

2010-03-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Check out this free e-book with 40 Snack ideas here.

When you first go there is a prompt to enter your email address, but you can just click close and go right to the download page.

I'm always looking for good snack ideas. This book isn't geared just for kids, but a few look pretty kid-friendly. I want to try the Low-fat Banana Yogurt Pops and Dark Chocolate and Cereal Snack mix.

Love these free e-books! I just save them and print off recipes as needed.

Natural Cleaning Products

2010-03-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Now we are all feeling better... thank goodness!!!! I am on the quest for spring cleaning ideas, the weather is so nice but along the sunny weather comes more light which means I can now see the cobwebs etc... I want to CLEEEAAANNNN but I want to get rid of my old cleaning habits i.e. bleach, bleach and more bleach! There is something comforting about the smell of bleach especially in the bathroom. We know by now that it is harmful to the earth and our health so in want of better health and safer products its time to go green. I actually owe this post to Krissi who has already made the switch to Eco friendly cleaning products (for the most part).

So here are a few tips I thought I'd share & that I have put to the test!

# 1- White/Distilled Vinegar is great in the wash... it helps with funky smells, break's down laundry detergent and it is a natural fabric softener. Add with Lemon juice, and you can eliminate the bleach from your washing cycle too.

Pre-mix (equal parts) in a spray bottle for everyday use. In fact with this alone you can get rid of pretty much every spray cleaner you have in your house. This is great for bathrooms, floors, counter tops, kitchens, stove tops... Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, this is great as you don't worry about having your child gulp down the bleach, this will not harm your child at all!

# 2- Baking soda is great mixed with the vinegar, it is abrasive but not to much... use to clean stove tops, Tile etc...

# 3- Lemon juice is another highly acidic liquid, works great well on hard water stains, soap scum and believe it or not rust! Just mix it with baking soda (and Vinegar) and you have a great little paste to help you scrub away those marks!

# 4- Pink Solution this stuff is the BOMB! Totally natural, non-toxic and biodegradable... I LOVE this. Esp. on stained clothes. You just melt it into a liquid rub into the stain leave over night and then wash as normal and Voila! Gone every time... grass, blood, tea, tomato juice the list is endless.

# 5- Rubbing Alcohol Okay this is not non-toxic and is stinky but makes a brilliant window and glass cleaning cleaner.

# 6- Furniture Polish. Use a cup of olive juice and 1/2 a cup of lemon juice. Mix in a spray bottle and use instead of the store bought polish... it's best applied with a rag too!
So my favorite is the vinegar used in a spray bottle to replace all multipurpose cleaners... I LOVED the paste too, it got the grout in the tile back to original white with no used of bleach. I DON'T like the alcohol-based solution it's very smelly BUT it did a great job on the mirror's and windows, so I will be using this again. I do use a bees-wax for the polish so I haven't tried the olive oil recipe yet if you guys try it LMK.
The total cost for two spray bottles, two big bottles of vinegar, three boxes of baking soda, a bottle of rubbing alcohol and the lemon juice was about $40, this is going to last me a long time, maybe 4+ months, so it costs you about $10 a month... how much is a bottle of bleach?

Bleach Spray $3:50
Glass Cleaner $3:50
Clorox Wipes $3:00
Bathroom cleaner $3:79
Wet Jet refill $7.59
Total $32:38
Okay so you don’t replace these items every month but every other? Save money and the environment

There are a ton of great ideas out there to make the switch just Google and you will have pages of helpful hints! So go on make the switch, I dare you to ☺

Spring optimism...

2010-03-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

Every spring, I find myself struck with "Spring optimism", almost on schedule after the time change. Maybe it's the cherry trees blooming and all my favorite bulb plants magically appearing in my garden (right before being eaten by the snails). All of the sudden, it's sunny outside and warm, and I feel like I can finally accomplish everything that seemed impossible in the winter. That pile of fabric will be sewn into the gorgeous fashionable clothes I'm envisioning by the end of the month! Keep the house clean? Well, I've never been able to keep up the previous 30 years of my life, but I'm sure tomorrow will be different...Pioneer? I haven't been able to keep up the national average since the winter, but I'm positive I can do it! Take over the world? Sure! No, I don't need to check my schedule, I'm sure I can squeeze it in.
The only problem is, well, I could sure use some tips in my quest to conquer the world, or at least to keep the house clean. So what have you got?

Chicken Soup for Picky, Sicky Kids

2010-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hopefully everyone is feeling better than we are here at the True house. But if not, I found that this recipe is lovely, warm and satisfying and a little different from the normal Chicken Noodle. If you want to freeze either of these recipes, just omit the rice or noodle when making, then add after thawing.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients

* One 3-1/2 pound free-range chicken, cut into 8 pieces and patted dry
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
* Freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 ribs celery, trimmed, diced
* 2 medium leeks, light green and white part only, diced
* 2 medium carrots, diced
* 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat- leaf parsley leaves
* 3 sprigs fresh thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* 6 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
* 1/3 cup converted long grain rice, cooked according to package instructions

Directions

Season the chicken with the 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the chicken, and saute until well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove meat from the pan and pour off any fat left in the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the remaining butter. Add the celery, leeks, and carrots, saute for 10 minutes.

Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme and bay leaf with a string and add to the pot along with the chicken and broth. Bring the soup to the boil, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the chicken and bouquet garni. Skim any excess fat from the surface of the soup with a spoon or a ladle. When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove the meat from the bones and cut into 1-inch chunks; add the meat to the soup along with the rice. Cook until the meat and rice are heated through. Season the soup with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Divide the soup among warm bowls and serve.

-----

If you are looking for the traditional Chicken Noodle soup, here's my go to recipe (warning, takes a couple pans!):

Rainy Season Chicken Soup

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 leeks (white part only), split, rinsed, diced
* 1 medium carrot, diced
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 large celery rib, diced
* 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons dry white wine
* 4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade), divided
* 1 cup fat-free sour cream
* 1 cup noodles
* salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over low heat. Put in the leeks, carrot, onion, celery, and chicken. Stir gently, and cover to cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Take off the cover, stir the vegetables, turn the chicken, and check for doneness. (The chicken should be about half done.) Cover and cook another 5 minutes, or until chicken is just done—not overdone. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter, vegetables, and pan juices, and stir to cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Slowly add the white wine and 2 cups of the chicken broth. Stir and cook until bubbly and thickened. Add the sour cream very slowly. Allow to cook gently while you slice the chicken into thin, bite-size pieces.

In a large frying pan, bring the remaining 2 cups of stock to boiling, and add noodles. Cook until noodles are almost done. Do not drain. Slowly add the noodle mixture to the hot vegetables and sour cream mixture. Add the chicken and bring back to boiling. Serve immediately.

earache, coughing, scaring & cuts

2010-02-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

#1 The ear.
Any kind of earache can be the first signs of infection and that means howling pain for poor baby, and sleepless nights and tons of coffee for you.
Take some sesame oil you can use olive but the properties in sesame for some reason work better, heat it up (however you like) in the meantime crush up a couple of cloves of garlic and add to the oil, don't cook the garlic but let the oil & garlic both infuse for a couple of minutes, actually really mince the oil & garlic together.

Strain out the garlic, a tea strainer, muslin or sieve will do. Let the garlic oil cool down to warm and then use a syringe to drip into the ear, its best to have them lay on your lap so it can drain all the way in. This actually is very soothing to the child and feels really good.
let it sit there for as long as the child lets you and then just let it drain out. The garlic contains a really powerful natural antibiotic which slightly numbs the pain whilst healing the infection.

This worked straight away with our kids but it may take a couple tries to get rid of a bad infection. I do want to stress this is not a replacement for a doctor so if the infections last for days, please go and see your GP!

#2 Coughing.
VICKS vapor rub on the feet.
Put a thick layer on the soles of the feet and then put socks over to keep it on. Works like a charm (on my kids at least) it also works great for adults too... kind of stinky but better than that chesty cough all night long!

#3 Scars, cuts & Burns

This is a great remedy for all of these things. Just get some (organic in a glass jar) honey and apply to the afflicted area. Honey again has amazing healing properties and works wonders! It contains an enzyme that produces disinfecting hydrogen peroxide when it comes in contact with blood. It also reduces swelling and forms a protective barrier over wounds to speed up healing. More than 500 clinical trials confirm honey's healing properties and its unlikelihood of causing an allergic reaction.

**Please use common sense when it comes to natural methods and see a doctor if any of the above maladies are extreme.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...Your kids say it's Boring

2010-02-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not organized enough to get my tips together yet, but here's one from this little free e-book I got "100 Activities to Keep Your Kids Happy". If you're interested in it email me and I'll send you it. This tip is for rainy days, suggestions to keep kids entertained...Let me know if you're brave enough to try painting a door!

"This little list of rainy day parenting tips, ought to help you through the wet weather.

°Bake – bake freezable healthy treats such as muffins, slices, and snack bars. Children love to help measure and pour, and especially lick the beaters. PLUS the oven warms up the house!

°Make a puppet theatre from a big cardboard carton, and hand puppets from socks and odds and ends. Sell “tickets” and host a show

°Paper Mache Bowls – make a paper Mache paste, from flour and water, and drape strips of paper over balloons. Let them set for 24 hours, and decorate. They make good fun bowls for playing.

°Plaster Boots – Messy, but creative... get your hands on some plaster ban- dages, and cover an old boot – decorate. It makes a fabulous door stop.

°Paint. Paint a glass door, it wipes straight off. (Use water based poster paints of course)

°Give in, get wet, don the gumboots and go jump in puddles!

°Make warm cocoa with marshmallows!

°Make a family book, using a scrapbook and family photos

°Get your children to organise your photo albums

°Make a cubby house

°Involve them in writing your meal plan"

Recipe: Pasta Fagioli Soup

2010-02-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

Shana says: Pasta Fagioli Soup is super super fast, very healthy and a family favorite.

Pasta Fagioli Soup

This Italian soup derives its name—fagioli—and its high fiber content from kidney beans. Serve with crusty Italian bread and a Caesar salad for a quick weeknight supper.

12 ounces Aidelle's chicken or turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked small seashell pasta
4 cups coarsely chopped zucchini (about 4 small zucchini)
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese (optional)

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add sausage; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and pasta; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano, and beans; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Shana A.

Tip #1: Shana's Laundry Tip

2010-02-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

My tip is for not letting laundry pile up which is a vicious cycle
because once it's out of control who has the mental energy
or time to tackle it, right?

So I bought at Kmart (although sometimes you can find them
at the dollar store too) some of those net laundry bags that
fold down super small when not in use. The style I found are
short and lay flat which worked best for me instead of the
tall thin ones. Now what I do is as soon as a hamper is full
for us or the kids I start a load of laundry washing even if I don't
have time to see the whole process through. Later on when it's
convenient I throw it in the dryer. Then once it's dry I put it
in one of the net bags.

If I don't have time to fold it the net bag gets put back on top
of the dryer. Some other time when I have five minutes I'll
fold that load and put it back in the same net bag. Then it
might migrate to outside the door to the room it belongs
in especially if there's a sleeping baby inside. Then later
inside the room etc. Eventually it will make its way to a shelf
or something equally organized ;-)

By breaking up my laundry into a bunch of manageable simple
steps that never take much time I assure that I won't end up
with weeks of laundry that I might be motivated to miss service
to catch up with.

Shana A.

Recipe #1: Easy Yummy Salmon

2010-02-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

My kids are really picky and you would think they wouldn't eat this, but they gobble it down! Really yummy and a snap to make. I half the recipe for my family.

Asian Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 3 tablespoons good soy sauce
* 6 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)

While the grill is heating (I use a stovetop grill), lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits.

Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Sheila T.

Struggling Housewives Club

2010-02-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

So we all need a few tips to get through the day, so let's band together and get those tips rolling in!

Cheap date night!

2010-02-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Going on a cheap date tonight! It pays to go on the weeknight...
(Babysitting, Free, with Nanna & Grandpa. Printed out a Golden Ticket for the kids to use, so they have some printed tickets too!)
Going to dinner at Thea Mediterranean, using our $25 restaurant.com gift certificate (bought for $6). Also made reservations through OpenTable.com, and this is a 1000 point reservation (2,000 points gets you a $20 gift certificate to the restaurant you choose). Both of these are eligible Sunday - Thursday!
Also, movie at 7:00 (Avatar 3D), using the Fandango gift card I got by writing reviews on Viewpoints! Afterward, dessert at Ben & Jerrys. Using the Free scoop we got by signing up for Ben & Jerry's Chunk Mail.

Stretch your entertainment dollars!

Beautiful Hawaii

2009-11-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

Aloha!
We've arrived safely in Oahu and are trying to relax, amid 4 sick children...
But check out the view from our family's living room window! Makes it hard to complain!

Today's Mommy Tip

2009-11-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

When drying clothes in a tumble dryer, don't overdry. Too much heat can ruin the fibers of your clothing. If possible, use the "auto" setting on the dryer, which senses moisture and stops drying at the appropriate time. Use the cycle signal and fold clothes immediately to reduce ironing. Air or line dry all your delicate clothing (like your favorite quite contrary pieces;) to save those embellishments, velvet ribbons, buttons, etc. Hint: A drop of lavendar essential oil on a cotton ball in your dryer makes for fantastic smelling laundry.

Missing friends

2009-11-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

The best kind of friends are the ones that you can really relate to, and with whom you have lots in common. I especially love friends I can sit and chat with, while their kids and my kids can play together. When our dear friends (my cousin and her family) moved to Hawaii we knew we'd miss them. But it's even more evident how much they were missed when our kids started asking to see them too. So, it was really our parental responsibility to plan a trip to Hawaii, which we'll be taking this weekend. Wasn't it nice of them to move to a beautiful island? So it's a mad week to prepare for a nearly month-long trip (yes, you read right!). More from Hawaii....