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Shared May 14, 2012 comment

Make money writing articles for iWriter.com

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 14, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

iWriter.com is a site that connects writers with websites that are looking to pay for content. If you have writing skills and are looking for extra paid work, this might be something to look into.

It looks like their pay is very much on the low end of the scale (it says you’ll earn up to $15 per article), but this might be a great opportunity to build your writing portfolio and experience, while also earning a little money, too.

Does anyone have experience working for this company? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Looking for more ways to make money writing? Here are three other articles to check out:

How to Make Money Writing for eHow.com

Earn Money Writing for Examiner.com

5 Ways to Use Your Blog as a Springboard to Earn Additional Income

Thanks, Work At Home Market!

Shared May 12, 2012 comment

Freezer Friendly Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket Recipe

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 12, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you’re looking for an easy weeknight dinner that everyone will love, give these homemade hot pockets a try!

These are SO delicious and the recipe is SO simple! These are great to make ahead of time and stick in the freezer for quick lunches.

These Homemade Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets will be a new favorite!

Today’s recipe is one that was one of our favorite law school recipes.

Our budget was so tight when Jesse was in law school, so I only made this recipe when I was able to find ham on some amazing closeout price. Every once in a while, Dillon’s would have it marked down to $0.49 to $0.99 for the small packages of thin-sliced lunchmeat.

I usually had a coupon to pair with this deal, so I rarely paid over $0.50 per package of lunchmeat. I could stretch one package to 5-6 Ham & Cheese Pockets and they were a special treat since we didn’t eat a lot of meat during that season of life.

Since we have more wiggle room in our grocery budget these days, I splurged on thick-cut ham this time around, and these turned out SO good!

Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket Recipe Ingredients

For the dough:

3 cups flour
4 Tablespoons dry milk
3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 cup warm water

For the filling:

Sliced ham (or other deli meat)
Shredded or sliced cheese

Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket Variations

If you don’t want to make your own dough, you can use storebought refrigerated dough (pizza crust dough, crescent roll dough, etc.) You could also buy frozen bread dough and defrost it.

For the filling, you can use almost any type of deli meat or leftover meat for this recipe — and almost any type of meltable cheese works too. Feel free to clean out your meat and cheese drawer and see what combination your family likes best!

Meats like sausage, salami, and pepperoni taste great with mozzarella cheese and a little pizza sauce are also a tasty treat.

How to Make a Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket

To make dough in bread machine:

1. Add ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle.

2. Check about halfway through to see if you need to add a little extra water or flour to make a soft dough.

To make dough by hand:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.

2. Stir in salt, sugar, and dry milk.

3. Add flour and stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes, until a soft dough forms.

5. Add a little more flour, if needed.

To make Ham & Cheese Pockets:

1. Divide dough into 10-14 balls.

2. Roll each ball into a rectangle.

3. Put ham and cheese on half of the rectangle.

4. Fold dough over and pinch sides to seal tightly.

How Long to Cook Ham and Cheese Pockets

Bake pockets on a greased cookie sheet at 350º for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned.

Ham and Cheese Pocket Recipe Tips

Make sure you pinch the dough tightly to prevent the melted cheese from escaping.

Also, watch the tops of the dough pockets so they don’t burn — especially your first time making them if you aren’t exactly sure how long to bake them.

What to serve with Homemade Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets

These honestly taste great with almost anything. They are a filling main dish on their own, but could also pair wonderfully with soup, a salad, raw veggies, fresh fruit, etc. They are a great meal for cleaning out the fridge — just serve these with whatever else you have on hand!

Storing leftover Ham and Cheese Pockets

These leftovers taste amazing warmed up for lunch throughout the week. Simply store them in an air-tight food storage container (or ziptop bag) in the refrigerator.

How to Freeze Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets

Let cool completely. Freeze in airtight ziptop freezer bags for up to 2-3 months.

Reheating this Ham and Cheese Pockets Recipe

Remove desired number of pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated through.

Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350º oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Recipe

Freezer Friendly Ham and Cheese Pockets Recipe

Author Crystal Paine

Course Bread, Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

For the dough:

3 cups flour
4 Tablespoons dry milk
3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 cup warm water

For the filling:

Sliced ham or other deli meat
Shredded or sliced cheese

Instructions

To make dough in bread machine:

Add ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle.
Check about halfway through to see if you need to add a little extra water or flour to make a soft dough.

To make dough by hand:

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in salt, sugar, and dry milk.
Add flour and stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes, until a soft dough forms.
Add a little more flour, if needed.

To make Ham & Cheese Pockets:

Divide dough into 10-14 balls.
Roll each ball into a rectangle.
Put ham and cheese on half of the rectangle.
Fold dough over and pinch sides to seal tightly.
Bake pockets on a greased cookie sheet at 350º for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned.

Nutrition

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Shared May 11, 2012 comment

How to Overcome Burnout and Get Back on a Routine (Part 1)

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 11, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I love my role as a stay-at-home mom, but I am just burned out. I wander aimlessly. I know I need my routines again, I know I need structure, but this once big-time routine-oriented mama is now struggling to get up out of bed. Do you have any advice or suggestions for how I can break out of this rut I’m stuck in? -Chrissy

My heart goes out to you, Chrissy! I am so sorry that you are struggling and feeling so exhausted and burned out. I can’t promise that I have any miracle solutions for you, but I will share some things I’ve learned from my own journey through postpartum depression and burnout two years ago.

1. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep

Sleep is vitally important to your overall health and well-being. If you’re short on sleep, it can affect many areas of your life — including your moods and motivation.

Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep almost every day. If you’re up at night with a baby and it’s impossible to consistently get a good night’s sleep, do the best you can do and let anything go that isn’t a necessity so that you can make sleep a priority. You’ll be much more productive and energetic when you are awake if you give yourself the grace to step away from the to-do list and get some shut-eye instead.

Go to bed early. Studies have shown that those who stay up late and get up late are more likely to struggle with depression. I’ve also found that I feel much more rested (and am more efficient the next day!) if I go to bed early rather than trying to stay up and get stuff done when I’m exhausted, only to wake up feeling all groggy in the morning.

Take power naps. If you can’t get a long stretch of sleep at night because your husband works weird hours and your babies are up multiple times throughout the night, try power naps. I used to think I wasn’t a napper, but I’ve found that if I feel tired in the afternoon, lying down and sleeping for just 20 or 30 minutes can really re-energize me for the rest of the day.

Find your sleep number. No, I’m not referring to the sleep number beds, but to your personal number of hours of sleep that you need to get every night to function at maximum capacity. For most people, it will be somewhere between 7 and 9 hours.

Experiment with getting 7 hours of sleep every night for a week and see if you feel rested and energetic all day long. If not, increase to 7.5 hours of sleep for a week. Continue to experiment until you land on what works best for you and then make that number a priority every night, as much as you possibly can.

2. Get Your Thyroid and Hemoglobin Checked

If you haven’t been to the doctor to get your thyroid and hemoglobin checked and other bloodwork done, I recommend picking up the phone and making an appointment today. Many times, what might feel like an emotional imbalance — or what you might think is just some lack of motivation on your part! — is actually a physical issue that can be easily treated and fixed.

3. Fill Your Mind With Good Things

Read God’s Word. If you are a Christian, make spending time in God’s Word and prayer on a daily basis your number one priority. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a mom, it’s how much I need God — every single moment of every single day.

I encourage you to start your day with at least a few moments in God’s Word and prayer. Take five or ten minutes to pray over your day, asking God to give you strength and grace to face the tasks before you. I also highly recommend reading a good devotional book, along with a passage of Scripture. (I’ve loved Amy Carmichael’s devotionals and am being very blessed by Jesus Calling right now.)

Read good books. Books such as Calm My Anxious Heart or Today Matters, can help encourage, inspire, and re-invigorate you when you feel worn out and lifeless. Even reading just one page per day or listening to three minutes of an audiobook each day can give you a little extra boost — and the motivation to keep on, keeping on. You can see a list of all of the Books I Read in 2011 here and the Books I’ve Read So Far in 2012 here.

Listen to music. When I’m down, I’ve found that music can be a huge pick-me-up. Even if I don’t feel like listening to music, if I turn it on, I usually can’t help but be uplifted. And singing along with some of my favorite songs can also be a big mood-brightener.

Count your blessings. It’s easy to become discouraged if we focus on everything that’s wrong or difficult in our life. However, instead of dwelling on the negative, challenge yourself to think of at least three to five things to be thankful for. It’s amazing how a grateful spirit can change your mood — and even your whole outlook on life!

…to be continued on Monday

What has helped you overcome burn-out or exhaustion? I’d love to hear your thoughts and tips!

photo credit

Shared May 11, 2012 comment

How to Make a Hand Print Photo Family Tree

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 11, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Amanda of The Frugal Greenish Mama:

One day while my son was holding my hand I started thinking to myself, “My goodness how he has grown. His hand is nearly the size of mine and he is only four!” Somehow it got me thinking of hands and I thought… wouldn’t it be a great idea to make a family tree using the children’s hand print cutouts as leaves.

I started by tracing Austin’s right and left hands on a piece of paper. Next I did the same for my daughter Addie. I wrote their names in the middle of each print. Then I cut out the hand prints and we matched them up to the photos we wanted to use.

Having the hand prints cut out allows you to move it around the photo until you are happy with the results. You can either trace with a pencil the outline of the hand print or cut the hand print out of the photo around your pattern. I cut a total of six hand prints, two of Austin’s and four of Adalynne’s. This could vary depending on the size of your family.

I used two pictures of each of the children, one for their right hand and one for their left hand. Since Austin’s hand prints are larger, I stacked his photos on the bottom. The photos of Adalynne were on the next tier up.

Then for the top two hand print leaves, I used just my daughter’s hand print since they are smaller and I wanted to overlay a family photo. I had two of the same photo made and cut out my husband holding my daughter and then myself holding my son. We then overlapped the image to look like they were one larger image.

I used a white piece of card stock to start with. Then we simply used a piece of brown card stock to cut out a trunk image. I glued the trunk to the white card stock. I started with the bottom of the tree and using acid free glue, glued Austin’s hand prints in place. Then I added the next tier to our family tree by arranging Addie’s hand prints. For the top of the tree, I overlapped the two hand prints and glued them in place.

Add a simple frame and you have yourself a one of a kind family tree full of memories!

Amanda is a wife and mother of two striving to return to her roots to live a simpler life the way God intended it. She loves to cook from scratch, bake, and craft. She blogs at the Frugal Greenish Mama about her love of gardening, her journey to a more self-sufficient lifestyle and saving money while trying to eat organically.

Shared May 10, 2012 comment

Freezer-Friendly Pizza Pockets

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 10, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

These homemade pizza pockets are SO yummy and super easy to make!

This Pizza Hot Pocket recipe is the perfect way to fill your freezer!

They are fairly quick and easy to make in bulk — and kids can help too.

Plus, they taste amazingly delicious and can easily be customized based on your family’s taste preferences (or whatever meats and cheese are on sale that week!)

Pizza Pocket Recipe Ingredients

For the Dough:

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons oil (I used olive oil.)
5 cups flour (I used unbleached, but I think half white, half whole-wheat would also work well.)

For the Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup pasta sauce or pizza sauce
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but a mixture of cheese would work well, too.)
Other optional filling ingredients: diced black olives, pepperoni, diced green pepper, and/or diced mushrooms

How to make Pizza Pockets

To make dough:

1. Mix the yeast into warm water until dissolved.

2. Add sugar, salt, oil, and flour.

3. Mix well with a spoon.

4. Dump onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes or mix in a stand mixer.

To make filling (I browned this while mixing up the dough):

1. Brown ground beef with onion and green pepper. Drain.

2. Add pasta sauce and mix together.

3. Add other optional filling ingredients, if desired.

To make Pizza Pockets:

1. Divide dough into 15-20 pieces.

2. Roll pieces into balls.

3. Flatten balls into circles with a rolling pin.

4. Dollop a few tablespoons of filling onto dough circle and sprinkle with cheese.

5. Fold over and seal tightly.

6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 500ºF for 10-15 minutes, or until browned.

How to Store Frozen Pizza Pockets

Cool completely and store in an airtight zip-top freezer bag for up to 2-3 months.

How to Serve this Pizza Pockets Recipe

Remove desired number of pizza pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated throw.

Or, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350º oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Recipe