Meat Rolls

When I studied abroad during college, I went to Australia.  Many of the other students ate meat pies, sausage rolls, and the like.  I have to admit that I never tried one.  They just never appealed to me... until yesterday.

I make a monthly menu every month so that I'll have an idea of something I can make every day of the month.  But, I often veer away from that at the last minute.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I opened up America's Test Kitchen's Lost Recipes cookbook, an out of print ATK cookbook that I found at a book sale.  I found a recipe for Runsas and thought it might be worth a try.  My family ended up loving them!

They weren't as hard as they sounded, but having a breadmaker make the dough does help.  I did forget the cabbage when I went to the store, though, so I substituted 4 oz. steamed spinach and 2 cups of carrots (sauteed) for the cabbage.  I also substituted mozzarella for the American cheese.  Two of my three kids had them for lunch today, which says a lot in my family!

Here's a link to the recipe for the Runsas...  http://www.food.com/recipe/runsas-386848

My son has already asked me to make them again!

Tonight I attempted challah bread and Caribbean Black Bean Soup with Fruit Salsa.  The challah was a salvaged disaster!  The author of the bread cookbook hadn't doubled the recipe correctly and the dough came out of my bread maker as soup.  Well, you win some and lose some!  I pulled it out and dumped a ton of flour on it.  Then, I had to add extra yeast dissolved in water with some sugar to it because the multiplication hadn't been done correctly.  Then, more flour.  My bread didn't turn out to be challah, but in the end it did turn out to be edible and I'm thankful for that.  The soup was more of a success as two people at the table ate seconds and it will definitely be made again in the future.  I couldn't find this recipe online, though, so I can't link to it...

I like making new dishes, but sometimes you never can tell how they're going to turn out!

Salt Shaker Solution

I have three kids--one in middle school and two in elementary school.  The salt shaker has been a tough problem for us to solve over the years.  Invariably, the salt shaker will pour out too much or too little salt on the kids food.  My mom showed them the solution of first pouring the salt into their hands and then sprinkling it over their food.  The problem is what to do with the left over salt if you take too much.  Pour it over the floor?  Pour it on your napkin?  What you're left with is a mess either way you cut it.  I love my mom and her solution was a great start, but here's where we've taken that idea and found a good solution.  

I was recently sent a little bamboo jar for review.  We are using it filled with salt on our dining room table.  

It sits on our lazy susan in the middle of our table. My husband absolutely loves it.  This jar allows us (and our kids) to take a pinch and then sprinkle it over our food and mix it in. It gives us all more control over our salt intake because we can see how much we're putting on before we do it.  But, the bonus is that you only take what you need and you're not left with salt in your hand and nowhere to put it but on your food without making a larger mess.
I do realize that this method of putting salt on your food does presume that the users have clean hands. Each night before dinner, my children, my husband, and I do make a habit of washing our hands.The jar itself is very pretty and opens and closes easily. The magnetic feature helps the jar to rest closed. We love that Bamboo is a plentiful and renewable resource. No guilt there.  You can find it on Amazon here: http://amzn.com/B00NETJGZE

Please note that I received a complimentary jar for review from The San Francisco Salt Company for review.

Mashed Potatoes and Chicken with mushrooms and cream gravy

Last night I made a dinner my family all loved.  Steamed green beans, cranberry sauce (from a can), mashed potatoes, and chicken with mushrooms and cream gravy.

My mashed potatoes were better than usual, but I did something different.  I usually just throw things in, but I thought I'd actually try and put in measurements.  So, here's what I put in.

Mashed Potatoes

Peeled, chopped, and cooked 2 1/2-3 lbs. of potatoes
3/4-1 tsp. minced garlic.
2 large spoonfuls of sour cream (probably 3-4 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 large splashes of half and half on the pile of potatoes in my kitchen aid bowl (again probably 3-4 Tbsp.)

I mixed everything till smooth in my kitchen aid (as smooth as your family likes them).  My kids were very happy with them.  Yay!  I'm going to try and be more exact on the sour cream and half and half next time ;) and then I'll come back and revise this.

I also tried a new recipe today from the Betty Crocker site for Chicken Breasts with Creamy Mushroom Gravy, but I modified it so much that it turned out very differently.  The recipe on the site got only 3 1/2 stars, but my family would have given dinner tonight 5 stars!  But... I changed it a ton.

So, here's what I made last night:

Chicken with Mushrooms and Gravy

2 very large chicken breasts = 1 1/4- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts defrosted
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp. diced white onions
3/4 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp butter

butter and canola oil

1.  Cut the chicken breasts into pieces that you'd normally use for making breaded chicken sandwiches on a normal size hamburger bun.  Then cut these pieces in half or thirds horizontally if they're really thick.  Some I cut in half and some in thirds--to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Place pieces flat (with room to spare) in gallon size ziploc bag.  Use a mallet to pound the pieces to 1/4 inch thickness.  I have a mallet like this one:

I've read that people can even use the rubber mallet you use for working around your house--just be sure to disinfect it with white vinegar afterwards because invariably, the chicken breaks through the bag.  After I've pounded the chicken, I cut it into the size pieces I want to be a serving size of 1-2 pieces per person.  Then, I place the chicken in a bowl next to my stove and move on to the next step.

* After pounding the chicken and setting it aside, I use white vinegar and a paper towel to disinfect my countertop where I was working by pouring a little vinegar on the counter and then rubbing it all over.  

2.  Beat the egg and milk in a bowl together and place next to the chicken.

3.  Place flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 Tbsp butter in a bowl.  But the butter into the mixture until it disappears and you don't even know it's there.  I don't use a pastry blender for this. I just use my fingers and squish over and over until it's all mixed in.  Place flour in a bowl next to the egg.  Set 1/4 cup aside in a measuring cup for the gravy later.

4.  Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1-2 Tbsp canola oil in large skillet (I use my cast iron one) over medium heat .  When butter is melted, dip the chicken first in the egg mixture and then coat in flour mixture and place in pan.  Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side--this depends on your stove and your pan.  Watch it.  It should be a nice golden brown on each side after 5 minutes.  It took me two rounds to cook all of my chicken.  Set aside chicken on a plate.  

5.  While my chicken was cooking, I threw my mushrooms and onions with 1 Tbsp butter in a nonstick fry pan and cooked over med-high heat so that they would cook quickly and nicely.  Medium-high lets them cook through but not get soggy, just watch them so they don't burn.  If you think they're cooking too fast, just turn it down to medium for a few minutes.  This probably takes about 8 minutes or so.  Once cooked, set aside in a small dish with a lid to keep them warm.

6.  When the chicken is done, add 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter to the pan and let it melt, then stir in the 4 Tbsp of flour mixture that you'd set aside until it absorbs the butter.  Then, add the chicken broth little by little.  Whisk as you go so that it's all absorbed.  Pour in about a quarter cup at a time.  There are lumps at first, so keep stirring till all absorbed and add 2 Tbsp at a time if that makes it easier.  If you add too much, you will need to let your gravy come to a low boil/simmer so that it can thicken up.  It will thicken, but it will take time.  After finishing adding all the chicken broth, add the soy sauce. Then, add the milk a few Tbsp at a time until you've added about 3/4 cup.  You can add less if you want it thicker or don't need as much gravy.  

7.  I served steamed green beans and cranberry sauce on the side.  I placed a mound of mashed potatoes on each plate along with a piece or two of chicken.  We topped the chicken with some mushrooms/onions for those in our family who liked them and then put some gravy over top.  My middle daughter doesn't like gravy, so having the elements of this meal separate makes things more edible for her.  

So, that's my recipe... My husband has declared that it's a keep and is one that we'll definitely make for company soon!

One thing each day...

My goal lately has been to do one thing each day on my house--to clean or organize one thing.  Sometimes it's small, sometimes big (mostly small).  The small things have made such a difference to how I feel about the space I live in.

I put all of our kitchen medicines in a basket one day.
I cleaned the shower one day.
I put the extra dishes in bags in the basement one day.
I moved the fish food to a different drawer so they weren't so in the way-- one day.

A friend of mine told me a few years ago that the Fly Lady said to start each day by clearing off your kitchen counters.  I do that.  It gives me a less cluttered feeling as I start each morning.

I'm finding that organizing a husband, children, dog, and house doesn't become a smaller job as the kids get bigger.  Rather, the job gets bigger.  More stuff to keep track of.  More school assignments.  More books (speaking of which--one library book has gone mia right now :( ).

Recently, my oldest daughter admired a larger home that one of her friend's lives in.  I agreed with her.  I love their house.  But, I shared with her that it's also more to take care of.  She realized that if more people were living in that house, there would also be more to take care of than there is now. Comparing apples to oranges always makes the oranges look like something's not right with them.  

So for now, I'll stick to my one thing a day and continually make little steps that will hopefully make my home more comfortable for everyone living in it!

Unorganized Organized

The other day I was walking into Walmart with my children when I said with a smile to my oldest daughter, "Guess what? I have a list!  And it has everything on it!"  My children smiled and laughed with me.  You see, I don't often have a list with me.  I keep it in my head--or at least try my best to.  I do have a smart phone and I put some notes on it, but not as many as I should.

As I walked into Walmart, I looked at Autumn and told her that many people think I'm very organized.  She burst into laughter and my other two children smiled.  I laughed along with her.  I knew what she would think when I told her.

Often our family sees us very differently than our friends and strangers do.  Autumn sees me every day.  She sees that I struggle to stay on time and that I always have so much to do and so much that I want to do.  She sees my piles of papers and the pressure I put on myself.

But, she is a child.  That night I told my husband the story.  His response was a smile with the acknowledgement that I am organized by that I have a lot going on that I'm keeping track of.  I'm not a perfectly organized person who lives by a calendar and is always on time.  But, I would describe myself as "organized".  I think I'm not as organized as people think I am, but I think I'm also a bit more organized than Autumn thinks I am, you see...

My daughter is a child and so she doesn't see my planner with my monthly menu that is my own way of organizing.  She doesn't realize that I can always find things in my home when my family needs them.  She doesn't realize that all of their school books and folders are organized.  She has seen me organize bit by bit, but doesn't know yet that organization is a process.  I take one step at a time.  Last summer, I organized and labeled the bins in my school room and our school supply drawers.  A few years ago, I made my mom notebook.  This fall, I made a medical notebook with pages of information for my husband, myself, and our children.  And yesterday... I was given a drawer organizer by a friend and I took everything out of my desk drawers.  It's finally organized.

I've realized that organizing my home and my life is a process.  To do everything in a day would be overwhelming because it would make me feel like such a failure!  But, tackling one thing at a time makes it doable.  Because life keeps on going.  You can't just take a week and stop everything to organize things.  But, the biggest thing that I've learned about organization is to compensate for my weaknesses.

When I see a weakness in my organization that I'm not able to manage, I consider how to cope with it.  Can I change my weakness?  Usually not, I've found.  Can I put a routine in place or make something that will help?  Do I just need to simplify and get rid of something?  This is how I cope with my life.

This is why we have laminated checklists for setting the table and cleaning the house.
This is why my oldest daughter helps me by getting up in the morning (she's highly motivated).  Once she's going, she helps the rest of us get on track.  The Lord blessed me with her!
My middle daughter loves to organize her room.  She's also my child that leaves everything everywhere.  But, I can count on her to redo her room when it's needed--she has a knack.
My children help me get out the door by helping and taking responsibility for what they need wherever we are going.  I prep them as we're getting home about what we need to do and about what we need when we go certain places each week.
If I need to take something to church on Sunday or another place during the week, I put it in my church bag by the door or straight into the trunk of my car.
The music bag sits by the piano and gets filled every Wednesday morning and then put in the car so we won't forget it for lessons in the afternoon.  (I've found myself two blocks away from my house several times without the bag...)

But, that's my life.  We each have families that need different things from us.  We're all wired differently.  I am amazed at how much some of my friends tackle and keep track of.  I realize that we're all in the trenches together.  In the end, we love our families and our friends and we just do the best we can.

I just watched a movie titled Paradise Recovered and it was interesting.  It was about a young woman who was in a cult-like church and two young men who try to help her see her way out of it.  The main character has a very skewed sense of grace and what it means to be a Christian.  The theology of the church is very twisted.  Being a Christian doesn't mean that we are perfect or that we can be perfect.  It means that we are forgiven.  We try to glorify God in our lives because we love him, not out of obligation and guilt, but out of love.

I get excited when God helps me see a different way to be organized or keep track of things.  I'm thankful for the times when I get to purge my home and pass things on.  But most of all, I'm thankful that I'm a work in progress who knows God's grace.

Ah... the complications of computers!

A few days ago, an app asked for permission to be added to my computer.  It looked genuine and seemed to come from Chrome... Well, it didn't.  All of a sudden, I had pop-ups all over the place.  Ugh!

I looked all over and did a little google searching (amidst pop-ups) to try and figure out how to get rid of them. I checked my chrome settings, my internet settings, and ran an anti-virus scan.

Nada.  Still Pop-Ups!

So, I went into Norton AntiVirus and went to support.  On the Norton website, I was prompted to download the Norton Power Eraser and uninstall unwanted programs.  It found it!  It was an adware/malware program called Stormwatch.  Nope.  I don't want it.  I really don't want it!  A click of a button and it was gone.  Yay!  No more pop-ups.  It was the stormwatch ad that was able to override google Chrome's setting to block pop-up ads.

Then, today...

Flash Player opened a tab on me asking for me to update the outdated of their player on my program... hmmm...  So, first, I googled what they were asking to include...  It was something by conduit that would change my homepage.  Didn't sound good.  So, I declined it.  Then, another app that was being included came up... Stormwatch... Stormwatch!!!  Nope.  Definitely don't want it.  Then two more came up after I declined the others.  I closed the whole tab and didn't do the update.  Hopefully, if my flash player really needs to be updated down the line, the company will actually just sent out an update for-- flash player!

I wanted to share this story to let everyone know about what these updates are trying to sneak onto your computer.  I knew that a lot of programs try to sneak McAfee onto your computer (Adobe being one of them) which is bad.  If you download a second anti-virus program onto your computer and you already have one, they will fight against each other, slow down your computer and potentially cause it to freeze up.

I am no longer going to just say yes to a program update.  I always opt for the notify me option before my computer updates itself or programs update themselves instead of giving blanket permission..

Post Script...

It's been a few weeks since this has happened and I've had to be vigilant.  I learned that what looked like the flash player update was not from them.  It was just a very good imitation.  It has popped up again since then and I've had to erase unwanted programs.  I have to be very careful about where I search and click on the internet.  My husband and I've made the decision to switch me to a mac the next time my computer breaks.  We had such a horrible experience with my children's Dell laptop and my Dell desktop is finicky.  For now, I'm thankful we have computers that work, but I'm very aware that technology does not just make our lives easier.  It also makes it more stressful in many ways.  I prefer tangible books.  I'm going to stick with them as much and as long as I can!

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and Kitchen Counters

This morning as I watched a television program online, I saw two commercials for Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.  Both commercials were focused on cleaning up from raw fish or chicken.

Save money!  Don't buy them.  Just use white vinegar.  Pour a bit of it on your counter and wipe it all over the contaminated area with a paper towel.

Much, much cheaper option! :)

Thoughts on Coffee, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts

We like Starbucks.  We've gone there many times over the past ten years.  So, of course years ago, we got "gold cards".  The refillable cards that turn into gold cards with your name on them when you've earned a certain number of points in a year.  

This past week, I realized that my account wouldn't tell me how many points I had.  I contacted customer service so that I could access the card online and sort things out... No help.  Then, I tried to call and ended up on hold for over half an hour.  I left the phone on speakerphone while doing other things.  Then, I hung up.  My time is compressed these days and I knew I didn't have the energy or time to figure this out beyond what I'd tried.  I'd tried.  

I talked with my husband about it and we thought about the pros and cons of the Starbucks rewards system.  The question we found ourselves asking was, is it worth it?  How does it benefit us?  What affect do the cards have on us?

Really, these cards are a genius marketing ploy that get people (including us) to spend more money at Starbucks.  You load your card.  Then, you spend from your card and it doesn't feel like you're spending as much.  It's easier to justify stopping and getting a cup of coffee.  There's lots of psychological effects, I'm sure.  

When we took a closer look, we realized that the benefits weren't really that much for us.  What it did was make us feel like we should choose Starbucks over going somewhere else that we would have enjoyed too--that may have been closer to home (save money on gas) or different (local ice cream for a snack).  

Credit cards do that too--when someone has a Kohl's card or JCPenney's card, we're more tempted to shop at that store. See this article HERE.  Interestingly, the article focuses very little on that con, but on others instead.  I realize that the idea to not have store cards is very counter-cultural right now.

It's also counter cultural not to have a store rewards card/refillable debit card. Although, I found this great post HERE that summarized the conclusions I came to.  The gold card is really a gold cage.  So, my husband and I've decided to use up what's left on our cards and move on--without regret.  We'll still go there when we want to, but that's the key--when we want to.  When we want to go to Dunkin Donuts or an ice cream spot, that's what we're going to do instead!

As a side note, the one tip I have for Starbucks users who have kids--- I order a Venti frappuccino for my kids and ask them to split it 3 ways (which they've never minded doing).  It saves us a lot!  1 large drink instead of 3 talls saves about $5.50.

Love this Idea!

I don't have much time these day to look around the internet for ideas.  But, my oldest daughter is getting ready for her 11th birthday and we started looking around for game ideas.  We found this one and I love it! So, I wanted to share a link here.

http://thingswevehandeddown.blogspot.com/2013/05/toss-talk-ball.html

Obviously, I'm going to skip the Justin Beiber question at the bottom and a few others like the favorite boy at school question, but it's a great list and there's plenty of questions to choose from.

This ball has huge potential at other birthdays and get togethers in our house.  I'm excited to have it around once I get a ball from the store and use our Sharpie markers to write the questions!

Doll Bed

The new American Girl doll catalog arrived in the mail yesterday.  My oldest daughter loves the bed in the book.  I was curious, so I looked at the price...

ay ay ay!  $175.  Not doable.  So, I began searching the web for an alternative--one that would be more affordable and I found this...

http://ana-white.com/2012/12/plans/kid039s-kit-doll-bed

I've printed off the plans and look forward to trying to make two with the kids!

Listening

I was telling my girls that I love to talk to people because I care and I love hearing people's stories, but I have to admit that I also do love the little things that I learn from people.

Last week, I listened as a friend remarked that she always filled her glass half full of water before adding sweet tea from a bottle.  I felt my brain go, "Hmmm..."  And since we had almost a full bottle in our fridge this week after having friends for dinner last week, I experimented.  I filled my glass half full of ice and then filled that half with water.  Then, I added sweet green tea to fill the glass.  It tasted just fine!  And I have to admit that I felt better about having less caffeine and sugar in the process.  I did buy Tradewinds Tea because it was made with sugar instead of Arizona Iced Tea's comparable version made with high fructose corn syrup.  It was pretty good!

The same friend and I were talking on the phone a few weeks ago about high school math.  Her husband teaches their children math at that level.  She shared his sentiment that any solid high school math book will work.  I asked whether he had ever needed a teacher's edition.  She answered that he hadn't and that all high school texts have the answers to the odd problems in the back of the book.  I had completely forgotten this!  In school, teachers always assigned the even problems because they didn't want us to cheat on our homework.  BUT, as a homeschooler the answers are handy if my child's honest.  They will keep me from needing a separate answer key!  Yay!  I am glad that I will get to save money on high school math and just purchase a public school text!

Little things... but they're little things I'm glad to know!

Appliance Warranties

Every time we buy a new appliance or piece of technology, we face that question, "Should be a warranty?"  In the past, we bought a warranty on the washing machine we bought and the refrigerator we bought when we moved into this house.

I've gotten pretty disillusioned with warranties the past few years.  Often the cost is on you to return to the manufacturer.  When we had a television go bad on us from Costco, it was a bear to get someone out to inspect the television.  The verdict ended up being that it was unfixable.  I think it took several months to get it resolved and get a check from the company so we could get a replacement television.

But, some companies have figured this out and they now offer warranties that they tout as "no deductible" and of great benefit.

Two years ago, we did decide to buy a 5 yr warranty on our side by side Samsung refrigerator.  The warranty cost $250, but because the refrigerator would be expensive to replace since it was a counter-depth fridge, we thought it was worth it.  This is one of those rare occasions when it was.

Two weeks ago, I called HH Gregg because the LED panel that shows the temperature/ice/water controls wasn't working properly.  The man asked all sorts of crazy questions (that were meant to deduce if the malfunctioning was my fault or not).  It wasn't my fault.  It was a glitch.  We hadn't done anything to it.  It was covered.  But, at the same time I asked about one of my refrigerator shelves that showed several cracks on the sides of it.  Verdict?  Not covered.  The new shelf, thankfully, only cost $61, including tax, and I was able to swap out the new and old shelves myself.

The cost of the new part and installation would have been about $500.  So we did get our money's worth this time.  But, most of the time breakage (statistically) happens right after the warranty runs out.

Last year, the computer in my oven went out.  I wish, wish, wish that I had just had it fixed instead of replacing the oven.  The oven barely fits in its spot and I dread the new one ever having to get replaced.  The repair would have cost $400.  I don't feel like I made the right choice on that one.  

We don't have a warranty on our television because the warranty would have cost half of the television price.  

Warranties are tough.  You gamble when you buy a warranty.  Will it break?  Or won't it? Will it break before the warranty runs out?  I once read that statistically, warranties are designed to run out right before an item is statistically likely to break!  What a discouraging thing to read!

I'm learning that with some appliances it's wise to get a warranty and some it's not.  I wish there was a way to know, but I think it has more to do with knowing how much it would cost to replace the appliance if something breaks on it, whether you could replace the appliance if you need to, how much repairs typically cost (and how likely they are to be needed), and how long you'll have to wait for it to be repaired.  

The LED panel on my refrigerator thankfully didn't affect its ability to dispense ice and water and monitor the temperature.  I did have to wait 2 weeks for the part and the repair after the initial visit.  A friend of mine had her washing machine fixed and it took 6 weeks for it to get repaired.  No matter how you cut it, it's crummy when an appliance breaks and we depend on it every day!  Repair time doesn't diminish if you have a warranty, the warranty just diminishes the cost.  
   

Family Medical Records

This morning I'm working putting together a binder that I should have done a long time ago.  But, like most projects, you tackle them when I get the chance.

I think I've mentioned that my mom is sick.  She's been quite sick for about 4 months now.  I have been going to all of her appointments with her.  She carries with her a folder in which she keeps all of her records. Along the way, I bought a tiny lined notebook to carry with me in my purse on which I write notes down about her appointments.

As I was planning for the upcoming school year this past week, I realized that I really should put together a family medical notebook for us and one for my mom.

I was on the Mom's Toolbelt website that I have a membership on (link to Mom's ToolBelt Site).  Side note...I purchased a membership on the site over 5 years ago when I was trying to compile free forms to make my own planner.  At the time, the cost was worth it because it saved me a lot of time trying to scour the web and find free forms.  I have to admit that I am very thankful for it because it is one of those few memberships that I've really found worth it over time and I like that it isn't an annual fee.

I started by getting out a binder and putting a handwritten form on the side saying "Family Medical Forms".  Then I placed 5 dividers inside and labeled them for each member of our family.  In the front, I placed copies of these forms:
1. Pages 2,3, 5, and 6 from http://www.anthem.com/ca/provider/f2/s2/t1/pw_a118331.pdf?refer=provider

Under my husband's and my tab, I placed
1. the Doctor, Medication, and Medical History Logs from Mom's Toolbelt
2. the vaccination form from: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2023.pdf
3. Lab Work/Tests/Procedures page from: http://cshcn.org/planning-record-keeping/care-notebook

Under the kids tabs, I placed
1. the Doctor, Medication, and Medical History Logs from Mom's Toolbelt
2. the immunization record from: http://www.cigna.com/personal/health-and-well-being/hw/media/pdf/hw/form_ug3271.pdf
3. Growth Tracking Form and Lab Work Page from: http://cshcn.org/planning-record-keeping/care-notebook

I know that immunization recommendations have changed over time and the CDC has the most up to date form/schedules on their site, but they were more difficult for me print off and follow than the forms I have linked to above.

I found some great free forms on this page that would substitute easily for the forms I used from Mom's toolbelt: http://cshcn.org/planning-record-keeping/care-notebook
There's a provider list, medication list, appointment log, and several other forms that look very handy!  I'm going to keep track of this website in case I need to add other pages!

I'm glad my notebook is assembled.  Now I need to go fill it in!

Crock Pot Beets--They Worked!

My husband and I like beets.  But, I don't like how long I have to cook them on the stove.  It means I have to not forget (amidst the craziness of life) that I have a pot on the stove for several hours.  Once my beets almost, but just barely didn't, went dry in the pan.  I wanted to find a new way, so I searched online and found a way to cook them in the crock pot.

Here's the method:
Wash the beets.  Take off the bit of end root and tops.  Place 1 beet in the center of a piece of foil and sprinkle a little coarse salt over it and drizzle a bit of olive oil.  Wrap up completely and place in a crock pot.

I layered them up to the top of the crock pot.  I used my smaller crock pot and not the huge one I have.  I had wondered if I would be able to layer them on top of each other or only on the bottom.  I layered them on top of each other and it worked out fine.  I cooked them on high for 6 hours.  Online I read that it would only take 3 hours.  But, I think that because I filled up my crock pot it took longer.  They weren't mushy, but were just right.  

I am so glad that I no longer have to cook beets on the stove!  This was much simpler to manage!  Beets are a great source of iron and I am glad I'll be able to fix them more often now.

New Twist on Quiche

I love quiche.  But, I don't love that it takes almost an hour usually to bake it.  But, this past week I found a recipe that works as a good substitute.  Of course, I modified it a lot (more than I realized at first), so I'm going to post it as I made it.

Pie #1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

1.  Get a deep dish pie pan.  Spray the bottom with cooking spray.  Place a tortilla at the bottom.  I found that a 10" fills the bottom exactly and works well.  Spray the top of the tortilla.

2.  In a bowl, mix 3 cups shredded chicken,
1 cup cheddar cheese, sharp if your family likes it or milder if preferred
1/2 cup. minced cilantro (decrease to 1/4 cup if you are concerned it might be too strong)
A small handful of diced sweet banana pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

3.  Spread mixture on top of tortilla.

4.  Mix 2 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Mix till smooth. You don't want flour lumps.

5.  Pour over mixture in pie pan.  Sprinkle another cup of cheese on top.  Place pie in oven.  My oven bakes really hot on the bottom, so I have to preheat the oven completely, then place my pan on the top rack and place a cookie sheet on the bottom rack.  I bake it for 17 minutes.  I start checking at 15 minutes.  It can take up to 20 minutes to bake if your oven isn't as hot as mine.  

I know it sounds a little crazy that I have to do all of that for my oven (and it was replaced just 10 months ago).  But, I'm just thankful to have figured out how to make it work!  I was constantly burning things or having to lower the temperature to get food to bake through.  An appliance repairman came to fix my dishwasher and he and I discussed my oven.  He explained that ovens now overheat so that they can preheat faster.  Because of this, you have to give your oven longer to preheat.

Pie #2
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

1.  Get a deep dish pie pan.  Spray the bottom with cooking spray.  Place a tortilla at the bottom.  I found that a 10" fills the bottom exactly and works well.  Spray the top of the tortilla.

2.  In a bowl, mix 3 cups shredded chicken,
1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, sharp if your family likes it or milder if preferred
8 oz. sliced mushrooms, sauteed quickly over high heat in a little canola oil
handful of sliced green onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

3.  Spread mixture on top of tortilla.

4.  Mix 2 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Mix till smooth. You don't want flour lumps.

5.  Pour over mixture in pie pan.  Sprinkle another cup of cheese on top.  Place pie in oven.  My oven bakes really hot on the bottom, so I have to preheat the oven completely, then place my pan on the top rack and place a cookie sheet on the bottom rack.  I bake it for 17 minutes.  I start checking at 15 minutes.  It can take up to 20 minutes to bake if your oven isn't as hot as mine.  

I've served this dish for dinner and for breakfast.  I love that it cooks in half the time of a quiche and it sure tastes good!

Yard Sale Treasure of the Summer

Yesterday my middle daughter found a treasure while garage saling.  Part of garage saling is knowing what you're looking for and seeing it underneath dirt, marks, and even paint.  My middle daughter is my shopper.  She loves to shop in stores and she loves to garage sale with me.

We drove quite a ways out of town as we followed signs to a yard sale.  The family had bought an auction lot in order to purchase a dining room set and was selling the rest of it off at this yard sale.  The homeowner said she'd definitely make enough from the yard sale to cover the cost of the lot and pay for their dining room set.  Well, she didn't realize what one of the things from the lot was and how much it would matter to a little girl.

My daughter brought me a doll as I was looking through the movies.  I thought, "Really?  Another doll?"  I am skittish about dolls or anything that has any stuffing and I can't throw into a washing machine to make sure it was clean.  I told her to go ask the lady how much it was.  She told her it was $1.  Okay, I told her.  That will be fine.  It had marks all over its hands and several black marks on the face.  The arms and legs were dirty, but it wore a cute cheerleading outfit.

When we got in the car, my daughter told me she was sure it was an American Girl doll.  I told her we'd check when we got it home.  I cautioned her not to be too hopeful that all the marks would come off.  We'd have to work at it when we got home and see what we could do.

After one more yard sale, we headed home.  Immediately, Sami brought the doll to our kitchen island for surgery.  She took off the doll's clothes and threw them in the washing machine.  I sprayed the pom poms with Lysol and set them on a towel to dry.  We got out the baking soda and a damp rag to begin the cleaning process.  We worked away and got the marks off the face.  The green mark on one thumb wouldn't completely go away.  But, the legs and arms cleaned up.  We brushed the hair (and sprayed it with Lysol).  She was thrilled.

I went online when I discovered a marking that said "Pleasant Company" on the back of the doll to find out if it was an American Girl doll.  Yes, indeed this doll is an American Girl doll complete with an American Girl outfit.  Outfits run between $30 and $40 on their own.

My daughter found a treasure that she is very happy with.  She didn't mind the elbow grease and was very happy to help me.  She has been generous and is sharing it with her sister.

Yard Saling is fun because you never know what you're going to find.  My daughter definitely learned that yesterday.

I am thankful for this blessing for her, but I am even more thankful to see how she is sharing it and how she is simply excited about it rather than bragging about it.

Ah, Paint...

When I started painting my daughter' bedroom, we went to Home Depot and picked out a can of lavender paint.  The girls wanted a darker paint and I explained that I always go one shade lighter because it looks darker when you paint a whole room that color.  So, we picked out timeless lilac and went home.

I painted the corner from the previous post, but my oldest daughter didn't like it.  At first, I was frustrated with wasting the money, but then I stepped back and realized that I would hate to paint a room all one color and then dislike it (like we had disliked the peach on their walls for 2 1/2 years).  So, I headed to the store and bought 1 gallon of a darker shade of purple and took it home.

I painted the corner over (it's the color in the previous post) and both girls liked it better.

Yay.  That's good.

I didn't know what to do with the lighter gallon, but I knew I needed to prime the room, so I decided to use it as primer for the room.

I went to town and painted all four walls.  But, then something strange happened.

They loved it.  I loved it too.  None of us wanted to go with the darker purple.  So, I headed back to Home Depot and got a second gallon of the lighter purple.

I know a lot of people who get the $3 samples from Home Depot and Lowe's.  When you're not sure about colors, this really can save you a lot of money.  After painting every room in three different houses, I felt pretty sure about the paint colors, so I didn't go this route.  But, it left me stuck with a $22 gallon of paint.

Ugh.  But, the best part of this story is that it's not actually going to go to waste.

I mentioned the paint story to one of my dearest friends and her reply was, "I'll buy that paint from you!  I loved it and had been looking for just that shade.".  Really?  My reply was to just give it to her.  I was so glad I could do this because she's taken care of my kids for me several times because she loves them and so I had wanted to do something for her.

I'm glad it all turned out.  But, I'm also glad that I painted the whole room in the lighter color first!

Repurposing and Simplifying

I had several projects I wanted to tackle this summer.  4 closets to paint and 2 bedrooms.  Plus 1 kitchen ceiling.  The closets are done and primer is on the kitchen ceiling, but I'm waiting a few more days to put the paint on because my arm's been in some pain.  

Before...

 

In order to start painting my girls' room, we needed to rearrange the room first.  The girls and I brainstormed where we could the beds.  A friend of my mom's gave me a piece of furniture for my room, so I was able to move a wood colored 8 cube organizer from my room to our schoolroom/den and a white 8 cube organizer to my girls' room.  Then, we removed two enormous bookcases that we had in the girls' room.  We moved their beds and dressers to different spots in the room.  We moved their games.  In order to get rid of the two book shelves, the girls also had to get rid of some stuff.  But, it was okay.  

I sat scrubbing a large sticker off Autumn's bed, while I gave them instructions about how to move things out of the way and go through the process of moving furniture and reorganizing their stuff.  They worked.  Hard. At the end of the day, they were very tired.  But, they were happy with the changes and the results of their efforts.

Now, the room is divided more.  The girls have more space.  We made all these changes without spending any money.  But, Sami needed a nightstand and a lamp because she likes a nightlight and Autumn doesn't. Their beds are farther apart now so it makes it easier for Autumn to shield herself from the light.  

I told Sami we'd look for these things at a garage sale.  But, I went into our school room and found a little table that would work.  I moved one of the desk lamps into Eli's room for his nightlight and then the light in his room (which was more girlish) into hers.  Yay!  Repurposed furniture that didn't cost me anything!  

The only thing I spent money on was some lower watt light bulbs from Home Depot to make the lights give off less light.  

After...

The paint costs money of course and so I had to spend money on that.  But, that's a lot less for a remodeled room than if I'd had to buy some furniture too.  So, I'm very thankful.  

A friend of mine shared with me that she and her husband were waiting longer to purchase new things when something breaks.  They'd made a resolution, or pact, that they would do this.  It gives them time to think about it and figure out what they really want.  I think there are other reasons as well.

My husband and I recently resolved to try and purchase things in stores instead of online whenever possible.  This has had the effect on me of shopping less online and I'm glad for it.  Unfortunately, many of the things I shop for (like homeschooling curriculum) are easiest for me to shop for online, so I can't do that for everything.  But, having to go to the store makes me choose whether or not I really need to get something--whether or not I really have time to go to the store.  It also gives me more time to figure out if I have something else that will work. 

But, there's something else that happens when I wait.  I've realized that it's good to do without for a time.  We live in a society where we can literally have everything now or the next day.  It's kind of amazing and crazy at the same time.  It can easily make us feel like we should have everything we want now--because we can.  When we do without for a time (and the longer the better in some ways), we are so much more appreciative when we receive what we were wanting.

This is the case with my silverware drawer.  When we moved in 2 1/2 years ago, there was a built in organizer in the drawer.  But, it turned out to be extremely annoying.  It constantly slipped and the silverware would get stuck.  I finally came to the conclusion a month ago that I needed to put an insert into the drawer.  Most inserts though don't use all the space in the drawer.  I didn't have time to look for one, so I let it be.  But, then two weeks ago, I came across an adjustable insert at a garage sale.  The gal and I settled on a price of a dollar and I brought it home to clean it thoroughly. After the cleaning, it looked and smelled like new.  Two weeks later, my family and I are still making comments about it when we open the drawer.  We are so thankful for how this little thing makes dealing with our silverware easier to find and put away.  It's also been a good lesson for me.  

I am so glad that the simple changes the girls and I made to their room brought them so much joy and peace.  There is a peace that comes with simplifying.  

But, there was one other thing that struck me in the process of getting rid of these two large bookcases.  The room feels much more open now and my daughters have more room to play.  But, my friend Amy told me an interesting thing that she learned about museums.  In art museums, there are a few things on a wall, not many.  If there were many, it would be hard to focus on each one and really enjoy the ones that were there.  Simplifying helps us to enjoy what we have more.  Taking the big bookcases out and having less in my girls room is helping them enjoy their room more and I am so glad.  

Now, I need to paint it...

So, that's my project for today.

That subject I never thought I'd post about...

I'm a mom.  I've had three kids.  I've now reached the milestone of 40!  40!  What I noticed after each of my three children (sorry for this detail) was that my body changed.  I had to get new jeans after each of my children.  The funny part was that they were the same size.  But, different.  I was very thankful for garage sales!  I've talked to a lot of moms and they went through the same thing I did.  One of my friends had warned me before I had my first child that I should expect always to be one size larger than I was before having children.  In my case, she was right and I appreciated the warning.  

Over the past ten years, I've put myself second.  That's what we do as moms.  We learn to love unselfishly.  We purchase what others need first and save on ourselves where we can.  This is a good thing.  I get such joy from getting my children the things they need.  They are taken care of.  I, like many wives, go shopping for my husband's clothes.  He needs to dress a certain way for work, which has changed over the years depending on the position he's been in at work.  So, that's my family.  

Then, there's me.  It's tricky to take three kids with you to go clothes shopping.  Really tricky.  What's even trickier is to go shopping for undergarments.  Which brings to me what I learned this week and want to share delicately.

A week and a half ago, I went to the O/B for my check up and she suggested that I go to Victoria's Secret to be fitted, because she explained that many women experience pain when their bras are not fitted correctly.  Really???  I am really conservative and Victoria's Secret has a certain reputation.  I hate their advertising and message.  But...  the idea came back to me when I had 45 minutes to myself after an appointment on Tuesday (which I rarely have).  I went to the store to be fitted and I want to share a few things I learned, because I think I have a lot of friends like me who would never go there.

I'm glad I went.

I learned that I was a completely different size than I thought I was.  
I learned that when you buy a bra, you want it to be on the loosest clasp, because it will stretch out over time and you will need to tighten it up.
I learned that the fit should be tighter than I thought it should be.
I learned that loosening the straps makes more of a difference in the fit than I thought it would.

The salesgal gave me a card with the styles that fit me best and were the most comfortable.  I found three basics which ranged in price from $42-$48 each.  This was hard for me to stomach, but then I went over to the clearance area and another salesgal found two that were in those styles (with garish prints) but were only $20 each.  

I am more comfortable now.  I feel more put together.  It may sound silly, but this summer I have found the clothes I needed at garage sales.  A pair of shorts for 50 cents at one and a huge bag of clothes for $15 at another... I got several pairs of pants and capris.  Some fun shirts.  But, I needed to go to this one store and get what I needed.  

But, I wanted to share this piece of advice that I didn't know before I went.  I was talking with a friend yesterday who said she went there once years ago.  They took her address information and it's been impossible to get off the mailing list.  So, this is my advice.  1) don't agree to give them your email (although that's easy to unsubscribe to and block as spam via email).  2) Pay in cash.  Don't given them any of your address information in any form.  Because I didn't do this, I'm going to have to make sure that I get the mail and not my kids or my husband so that I can throw any catalogs that arrive away.  

It used to be that there were other stores that provided the same fitting service, but there really aren't any others anymore that I know of.  In any case, I wanted to share this post in case it might be helpful to anyone.

Mongolian BBQ Asian Sauce Recipe

Last month, we went to Pei Wei with our kids.  We are so glad Pei Wei finally came to an area even close to us.  When one of our orders was brought out after everyone else was done, they brought out an extra Teriyaki Chicken.  Or what I thought was teriyaki chicken.

The next time we went to Pei Wei we ordered Teriyaki Chicken expecting what we got the time before.  Nope!  It was good, but different.  I asked one of the servers and tried to describe the chicken we'd had the time before.  She identified that chicken as probably the Mongolian chicken and gave us a sample of the sauce.  

Yes!  It was Mongolian sauce.  It was so good!

So, last night as I made salmon, rice, asparagus, and cauliflower for our dinner, I decided to try and make some Mongolian BBQ sauce for our dinner.  I found a super-easy and quick recipe HERE.  

I modified the recipe (of course, since I can't seem to leave recipes alone) by putting the oil, ginger, and garlic in a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup.  I needed my burners and didn't want to have to watch the sauce too.
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. canola oil--I actually think that sesame oil would be a good substitution if you wanted to give the sauce more kick.
1/2 tsp ginger powder (next time I'm going to mince ginger and see how it changes the sauce)
2 - 2 1/2 tsp. minced garlic (add more to taste up to 3 tsp.)  Garlic can make things spicy for kids and I didn't want to make it too garlicky, which is difficult to fix once done.  
I microwaved it for 30 seconds and then stirred.  Then, I added the remaining ingredients.  

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
I stirred everything together with a fork and then I microwaved it for intervals of 3 minutes at a time, checking after each interval until the sauce got to the thickness I wanted it to be.  I have to admit that I ran out of time and had to accept it at the thickness it got too because the rest of the dinner was ready. But, I'm sure it would have thickened with just a few more minutes.  

Once on the table and on my children's plates, it was love at first bite. 

Autumn: Mommy, this is so good!

Yes, I agree.  It was so good, unexpectedly good...