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Shared Oct 27, 2011 comment

How to Make Freezer Cooking Work When You Have a Busy Schedule

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 27, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Melissa from Mom’s Plans

By the time my second child was born, I was a die-hard freezer cooking mama. I had my freezer cooking session every month, and we ate meals from the freezer every week. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

After my third child was born, I relied on freezer cooking even more. I followed Crystal at Money Saving Mom® and Jessica at Life as Mom and had my freezer cooking day on the same weekend everyone else did. I loved feeling like I was part of a freezer cooking community.

But then I quit my outside job so I could stay home. Without my income, our family could not make ends meet, but I was willing to sacrifice so I could be home with our kids.

We trimmed our budget, but I still found it necessary to bring in some money, so I began to do work as a freelance writer and virtual assistant in the evenings when my kids were sleeping. God does provide, and slowly more and more work trickled in until I was making enough to supplement our budget so that it finally balanced every month.

However, I was no longer able to get all of the work done in two to three hours at night. My husband watched the kids on the weekend so I could go someplace quiet and write for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday in addition to my evening work time.

My weekend work time was when my freezer cooking time used to be. I could no longer find a place to fit a large freezer cooking session, and I was growing frustrated. Shortly before this, Crystal admitted that having a freezer cooking day was no longer working for her, and she turned to freezer cooking in an hour.

I loved the concept! Seeing Crystal’s flexibility created a new way of thinking for me. Instead of stressing about not being able to freezer cook, I gave myself permission to realize that in this season of life, it was no longer working for me.

The five o’clock hour with three small children still gets crazy, so I had to come up with another plan. Now, I prepare our meals based on the week. If it has been a chaotic week, then on the weekend I do what I can which may be only prepping some foods such as veggies to make dinners easier on the week nights.

Last weekend I had time to prep all of our upcoming meals for the week night and put four additional meals in the freezer. This will give me some leeway when I have another chaotic week. Other times I cook all week long, but I double each recipe so I have five new meals in the freezer for another week. In short, I do what I can, and it seems to be working.

Here are some of my favorite meals to put together quickly:

Tacos – We make up a large batch of taco meat and put some in the freezer to pull out on a busy night. This meal is great because it takes no more energy to prep five batches of taco meat instead of one meal size serving.
Chili – I love meals that I can double and put in the slow cooker. I just put one in the freezer to save for another night.
Chicken “Dump” Packages – Simply put the chicken breasts in a freezer bag with the sauce of your choosing. Put this in the refrigerator to use later in the week or put it in the freezer – Simply toss it in the slow cooker in the morning.
Meatloaf – I make three batches of meatloaf, bake them, and put two in the freezer for later.

Don’t forget if you work outside the home to take some of these meals and put them in the freezer in single serving packages. They make quick, nutritious lunches and will save you a bundle.

Also, I love to cook up a bag of dry beans and put the extra in the freezer. I just pull them out when I am cooking; it is like using canned beans without the extra price and sodium.

Thanks to Crystal’s inspiration, I have modified my cooking plans, which has lifted my guilt and made me feel less tense about meal preparations. It is still busy around our house, buy I am much more relaxed about feeding my family.

Melissa is a work-at-home mom to three little ones ages 7, 2, and 1. She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s desire to learn to live a fulfilling life on less.

photo credit

Shared Oct 27, 2011 comment

My attempt to re-purpose a t-shirt into a knit bracelet

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 27, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Ever since I posted this knit bracelet, I’ve wanted to try it making it. So this past Saturday, I pulled out a t-shirt from the rag bag and got to cutting.

I initially was going to do the four-finger knitting, but that didn’t go so well. I settled on the two-finger knitting and that was much easier.

After two tries, I finally ended up with a decent finished product. The girls were especially impressed that I made that out of an old stained shirt!

Speaking of knitting, here’s my latest dishcloth. Slowly but surely, I’m seeing some improvement in my stitches–and that’s encouraging to this not-crafty-at-all gal. 🙂

Shared Oct 27, 2011 comment

Why I Don’t Buy Taco Seasoning Packets

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 27, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Heather from Feel Good About Dinner

Premixed spice packets and sauces promote convenience, but are they really saving you time? If you knew you could get the same (or better) results by adding just a few spices to the pot, would you still buy them?

It is a lot easier than you may think. In fact, once you learn how to use your own spices, you will wonder why you ever bought those little packets.

Not only is it easy to use your own spices, but a lot cheaper. An average spice packet costs anywhere from $0.50 to $2. That sounds pretty cheap, but when you consider that it is only for one meal, it really adds up.

Basic spices can be purchased in generic varieties for $0.50 to $1–or even cheaper if you buy from a bulk food store. These can be used for several meals or even dozens of meals.

For example, I could buy a taco-seasoning packet for $0.50 on sale for one meal, or I could buy $3 worth of spices and make more than 20 taco/Mexican dishes. Multiply that by all of the different mixes we buy, and that is a huge savings over time.

Not only is it easy and inexpensive to season your own dishes, it’s also healthier and tastier. Spice packets add a lot of extra salt, empty calories, and mystery ingredients. In addition, seasoning dishes yourself doesn’t lock you into one flavor, but allows you to adjust the flavor of the dish to your taste.

I have known people who even used both seasoning packets and spices. The packet doesn’t provide enough flavor for them, so they add extra oregano or crushed red pepper. They could have skipped the spice packet all together and just added their favorite spices.

While it can be a time and sanity-saver for some people to pre-make baggies of seasonings, I’ve found it’s easier for me to just have the spices on hand and add them in to a recipe as I need them.

Not sure where to start when making substituting homemade seasoning for seasoning packets? The following is a list of basic spices to keep stocked in your pantry and the types of dishes for which they are used:

Italian Spices
Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Fresh Garlic

Mexican Spices
Chili Powder
Crushed Red Pepper
Cumin
Fresh Garlic

Miscellaneous Spices
Rosemary: Pork, Broth
Sage: Stuffing, Sausage
Cinnamon
Paprika
Garlic Salt

For additional help, find a good homemade spaghetti sauce recipe to learn Italian spices and a taco-seasoning recipe to learn Mexican spices. Think of these recipes as a method and not just a recipe. Once you learn how to use your own spices, it will open up a whole new window of creativity in your kitchen.

Heather lives in a Detroit suburb with her husband, Mark, and two boys, Jonathan (15) and David (10). Heather is a full-time wife and mother and a part-time substitute teacher. Heather shares how to make delicious, healthy meals for the family that are time and budget friendly at Feel Good About Dinner.

Shared Oct 26, 2011 comment

3 Ways You Can Save Money Without Changing Your Spending

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 26, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Rebekah

A frugal lifestyle is more than just refusing to spend money or going after the best deal. It is about being a good steward with all of your resources. Some people are unwilling or unable to change their spending budget. That doesn’t mean they can’t be frugal.

Here are three ways you can save money without changing your spending:

1. Use Less

There are some things that you just have to buy, but if you use a little less of them, you’ll stretch those products further. It is better to go back for a little more shampoo than to use too much to begin with!

Here are some ideas for things you can experiment with to see how little you can actually use while still getting the job done:

shampoo/conditioner
toothpaste
laundry detergent
hand soap
dish detergent
lotion
toilet paper
milk – in your cereal or coffee
electricity – Turn off lights and other devices when you’re not using them.
heat – Use a blanket, sweater, or hot drink to warm up.
baby wipes – Tear them in half and only use what you need.
gas – Crystal shared 15 ways to save money on gasoline here and here.
water – Turn off water when possible, take shorter showers, or recycle “gray” water.

2. Use it All

Don’t waste what you’ve already paid for! I shudder just thinking about how much money I’m “throwing away” each time I clean out my refrigerator. Food is the most obvious thing people struggle to use completely, but there are more.

Here are some ways you can be sure to get your money’s worth out of products by using all of it:

Keep a container in your freezer for leftover veggies that you can add to regularly. Then when the container is full, make soup.
Swish some water in your “empty” shampoo/conditioner bottle to get out the last drops.
Freeze over ripe bananas to use for baking or Crystal’s chocolate banana smoothies.
Peel off that last annoying, glued-to-the-roll square of toilet paper and add it to the next roll.
Cut the tops off your “empty” toothpaste, face wash, and lotion to access some hidden product. There is more left in there than you think!
Save stale bread for making bread crumbs or go on a duck feeding adventure.

Wear Clothes More Than Once When Possible

3. Use it Twice

There are some things that you can truly only use once. That dab of toothpaste on your toothbrush? Yeah, I’d love to see you try to use that again! Then there are other things that really can be used again and it will save you money in the long run.

Here are some things around your house that can use twice or more:

laundry – Do a sniff test. If it passes, then what’s the harm in wearing it again?
paper towels – Do you use one to cover your food in the microwave? Use it over & over or use it as your napkin for that meal.
tin foil – Did you cover a dish without it getting messy? Fold it up & save it.
old t-shirts – Cut them into rags or make a necklace.
gift bags – Use them for a future gift. If they are too wrinkled or ugly you can use them to carry things around.
gift bows – Put a piece of tape on the back and use them over and over.
tissue paper – Did you know that you can iron tissue paper?
plastic food storage bags – I don’t recommend doing this with meat, but you can wash and reuse bags several times.
plastic grocery bags – Use them in small trash cans, to pick up behind your dog on walks, or as a “wet bag” in your diaper bag.
q-tips – If you use one end for touching up your make-up, save it to use the other end next time.
birthday candles & decorations – They are used for such a short time. Why not save them for the next birthday?
disposable swim diapers – Put swim diapers in your laundry and use them several times before throwing them out.

You don’t have to be a coupon queen or a penny pincher to save some cash! Those things certainly help, but when you’ve done everything you can to save money, try these three tactics to stretch your dollar even further.

What suggestions do you have for getting the most out of your products?

Rebekah is a stay-at-home mom who blogs about frugal lifestyle tips, going green baby steps, and all of life in between at SimplyRebekah.com.

Shared Oct 26, 2011 comment

Simple & Easy Autumn Meals on a Budget

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 26, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Make a Hot Breakfast in Minutes

In the colder months, there’s just nothing that beats waking up to a hot breakfast. But you don’t have to get up in the wee hours of the morning to pull it off.

You can take a half hour one weekend and make a quadruple batch of Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal. Then, you can pull out a pan of it the night before you plan to serve it.

Or, mix together all the dry ingredients for my Baking Mix and then use it to make Cinnamon Roll Biscuits in just 10 minutes or less. If your family loves waffles or pancakes, you can mix all the dry ingredients for your favorite recipe ahead of time and then just add the wet ingredients at the last minute, saving you prep time.

I’ve also mixed up pancake or waffle batter a day or two ahead of time and refrigerated it and used it in the morning. It gets a little thicker, but it still works well. If need be, you can always add a little extra water or milk to thin it down.

If you’re on the run a lot and don’t have time to sit down for breakfast, try Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos. You can assemble them on the weekend and freeze them and then just pull one or two out and zap in the microwave before heading out the door. They are delicious and so much better for you and less expensive than anything you’ll find at McDonald’s.

Have some extra time? Wow your family with these Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls or amazing Pumpkin Scones.

Double the Pot of Soup

Soup is one of the best antidotes for chilly weather. I like to make a big pot of Hamburger Vegetable Soup or Three Bean Chili Chowder to use for multiple meals that week. If your family doesn’t mind eating the same thing more than once in a week, this might work well for you, too. If not, you can freeze half the pot and save it to serve again in a few weeks.

Serve some yummy Homemade Bread, Bread Machine Buttery rolls, or World’s Best Honey Cornbread and you’ve got a nutritious and scrumptious meal that will fill everyone’s tummies up without costing you an arm or a leg.

Use Your Crockpot

The sooner you can become friends with your crockpot, the easier your life will be. If you’ve never used the crockpot before, start with something really easy like my Italian Chicken Recipe. If you don’t want to mess with freezing this ahead of time, just dump the bag of frozen chicken and the bottle of dressing into the crockpot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. You can also do the same idea with your favorite barbecue sauce to make barbecued chicken in the crockpot.

Crockpots aren’t just good for quick and easy main dishes. You can also make Applesauce, Apple Butter, Pumpkin Puree, and even yogurt in your crockpot. For hundreds of other crockpot recipes and ideas, see the Crockpot 365 blog.

What are your favorite quick, easy, and inexpensive autumn meal ideas? I’d love to hear!

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Shared Oct 25, 2011 comment

Cooking with Leftovers

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 25, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Jenna from Wichita Coupons

I know this is something that many of you already do and it is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time, but just could not quite get used to the idea of it. But, I’m happy to say that my husband and I have started cooking with leftovers.

I can’t tell you how many times we would make dinner only to have food left over. We would put it away in Tupperware and toss it in the refrigerator with every intention of eating it. However, a few days or even a week would pass and we would end up throwing it out.

I know, I know! This goes against my saving money policy, but let’s face it: some things just don’t taste very good when reheated.

Last night was our second attempt at cooking with leftovers. On our first attempt, we used leftover grilled chicken drumsticks. I pulled all of the chicken off of the bone and we used some of it for chicken enchiladas and put the rest in freezer bags for casseroles. It was a great success.

Last night, however, we decided to use our leftover burgers from a party this past weekend. I looked online for different options and many people suggested freezing them and just eating them as burgers later. But we decided to break up the patties and make Sloppy Joes. This way, we used both the burgers and buns.

They were quite delicious, thanks to the amazing sauce my husband made. Tonight, we’re going to make sloppy joe quesadillas; we’ll just add some cheese and put the Sloppy Joe meat between tortillas. We still have hamburger patties left, so later this week we will probably use them to make chili.

I know we are not making anything gourmet here, but we are using what we have and not letting it go to waste. I’m excited to see what else we’ll be able to come up with and I look forward to no longer having to clean out the refrigerator and throwing away perfectly good food.

What are some of your family’s favorite leftover meals?

Jenna is mom to two, soon to be three, and loves finding great deals and ways to save money. She currently shares all of her money saving ideas and bargains at Wichita Coupons.

photo credit

Shared Oct 25, 2011 comment

Ask Jesse: How do you feel about keeping life insurance as a form of inheritance?

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 25, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

My husband and I are currently switching our life insurance policies from whole life to term, thus resulting in better coverage for the same premium. We are wondering how you felt about keeping our life insurance as a form of inheritance for our three children (our youngest has severe autism). We are in our lower 40’s.

I understand the premium will go up as we grow older but we want to insure that all of our children, especially our son with a disability, is covered. He also has a special needs trust. – a reader

I applaud you for taking the bull by the horns and thinking long-term. It is not often that people, when still younger, not only think about but make preparations for the care of their children, in the event of your death.

I think it is important for anyone, whatever their age, if they have dependents, to make sure to have a lawfully executed will with guardians set up for their dependents. So many people do not have this and, instead, leave it to the state to determine who gets what and who takes care of the children, if both parents are gone.

The purpose of life insurance is to make sure your children have something to take care of them for their support and maintenance when you die. It should actually be called “death insurance” or “care insurance” but that is beside the point.

Because you have a special needs child, it sounds like you have done the necessary estate planning to make sure he is cared for with a special needs trust. This trust can be funded with life insurance by naming the trust as beneficiary of the life insurance. The trustee would then disperse and manage the money according to the terms of the trust, while the other children would be named as beneficiaries and get the money outright (unless they are minors at the time).

If you did not have the trust set up by an estate planning attorney, I would highly recommend it and have them look at the methods of funding. Most trusts go unfunded and the last thing you would want is to have this special trust not funded properly and your child not benefit from your planning. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

That said, while at this point you can fund with that life insurance, your goal should be to fund it with other assets developed over time so you don’t just have to rely on the life insurance–especially if that life insurance is the term insurance. While you could always reapply for term insurance, which is wise to do when the term gets close to being up, it would be good to have a real asset there to fund the trust if that life insurance is no longer available.

Thus, I do not think that it is necessary for you to keep both the whole life and the term policies going simultaneously, especially when you can get quite a bit more insurance for the price of the whole life with term insurance. The term should work just fine as long as you keep on the ball with estate planning.

Again, I would recommend you talk with an estate planning attorney in your state to make sure all i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.

Jesse Paine is a licensed attorney who owns his own law firm. He’s married to Crystal and is the numbers nerd of the MoneySavingMom.com team! If you have a question you’d like him to answer in a future column, you can submit it here.

The content of this column intended for informational use only and is not to be construed as providing legal, investing, accounting, or other professional advice. Your situation is factually specific and you should accordingly seek qualified professional counsel concerning your specific legal, investing or accounting needs.

Shared Oct 25, 2011 comment

Homemade Go-Gurts

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 25, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Update: Here’s the link to the MSM recipe for Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot.

Guest post by Angie

My kids barely know what a Go-Gurt is, but since I’ve been making yogurt by the crockpot full, I thought making homemade yogurt tubes would be a fun way to eat it up as well as travel with.

First, I made a batch of yogurt in my crockpot. I estimate it costs me about $2 for a half-gallon of yogurt… but you can buy your yogurt too.

Ingredients for Homemade Go-Gurts:

a half gallon of plain yogurt (here’s our homemade yogurt recipe)
various mix-ins (pudding, jam, juice, etc.)
snack-size zip-top bags

How to Make Homemade Go-Gurts:

1. Divided your yogurt into four bowls (roughly 2-2.5 cups each)

2. Add ONE of the following options to each bowl.

1/2 cup jam + 1/4 cup sugar
1 small box (4 servings) of instant pudding mix (we used vanilla in one and chocolate in another)
1/4 cup lime juice + 1/4 cup sugar

3. Stir until fully combined (taste test if necessary).

4. Scoop roughly 1/2 cup of yogurt/pudding mix into snack-size zip-top bags, squeeze out any extra air, and zip closed (you could also secure it with a piece of tape).

5. Lay go-gurts flat on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer.

6. When they are frozen, cut off the ends and enjoy them just like a regular go-gurt.

The bags make them basically spill-proof and easy to travel with—which is what I was hoping for!

I made 22 “go-gurts” from the batch of yogurt and they came out to be about $.09/piece!!

You can also make homemade popsicles with these ingredients.

Recipe

Easy Homemade Go-Gurts

Author Crystal Paine

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Freeze Time 3

Equipment

snack size bags

Ingredients

½ galon plain yogurt
1 box chocolate instant pudding the small 4-serving siez box
1 box vanilla instant pudding the small 4-serving size box
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup sugar
½ cup strawberry jam or any type of jam
¼ cup sugar

Instructions

Divided your yogurt into four bowls (roughly 2-2.5 cups each)
Add ONE of the following options to each bowl.
– 1/2 cup jam + 1/4 cup sugar
-1 small box (4 servings) of instant pudding mix (we used vanilla in one and chocolate in another)
– 1/4 cup lime juice + 1/4 cup sugar
Stir each bowl until fully combined (taste test and make any adjustments if necessary).
Scoop roughly 1/2 cup of yogurt/pudding mix into snack-size zip-top bags, squeeze out any extra air, and zip closed (you could also secure it with a piece of tape).
Lay go-gurts flat on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer.
When they are frozen, cut off the ends and enjoy them just like a regular go-gurt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gogurt

Love this recipe?

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Angie is a homeschooling mom of four, a lover of the Lord, coffee, books (including Quickbooks), and all things frugal and DIY.

Shared Oct 24, 2011 comment

10 Weekly Goals

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 24, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So, slowly but surely, I’m making progress in the right direction around here. I’m still far from where I want to be, but I’m encouraged that I’ve been getting more sleep, I’ve been spending more quality time just enjoying my husband and children (which is hard for a Type A chained-to-the-to-do-list gal like me to do!), the house is staying cleaner, the laundry pile is not a permanent fixture in our bedroom, and I’ve just been feeling more overall balance in my life.

Now if I could just be more consistent about running and not try to read five books in one week, I think I’d be doing really good. 🙂

Here are last week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

~~1. Finish reading Paul Revere and The Imagination Station: Showdown With the Shepherd aloud to the children.~~

~~2. Take children to a soccer game.~~

~~3. Take at least 30 pictures of the children this week~~ (I’ve been trying to train myself to take more pictures; I always seem to forget and then we miss having photos of some of our most special moments and memories!)

Personal Goals

4. Run 10 miles (total). {Um, should I confess that I ran a total of 3 miles last week? Yes, almost a complete fail, I know.}

~~5. Finish reading The Rose Conspiracy~~. Still working on EntreLeadership, The Rose Conspiracy, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, and In Search of Balance.

6. Finish Rag Quilt and ~~knitted dishcloth.~~ {I tried so hard to do the Rag Quilt on my own, but apparently it is way beyond my meager sewing abilities because I jammed my machine multiple times and basically made a big mess of things. So I’ve decided to bring in “professional help” (e.g. a friend with much more sewing experience!) to help me finish this long overdue project!}

7. Go to bed by 10:30 p.m. every night. {I did this 4 nights so that’s progress, right?!}

Home Management Goals

8. Follow this 15-minutes-a-day cleaning schedule {I almost followed it, but I didn’t completely complete two of the days, so I can’t cross it off.}

9. Do one load of laundry from start to finish every day. {Again, I did this all but two days.}

Business Goals

~~10. Finish writing and do a run-through of our workshop the Relevant conference with my husband.~~

This Week’s Goals:

Here are last week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Read Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? aloud to the children.

2. Make Johnny Cakes with the children.

3. Wrap some fun surprises for the children to open while I’m at Relevant.

Personal Goals

4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, and In Search of Balance.

5. Get 8 hours of sleep Sunday through Wednesday nights (in preparation for short nights at Relevant).

6. Take extra Vitamin C. (Last year, I came back from Relevant and was sick for almost a week, so I’m trying to make sure I’m well-rested and all “vitamined-up” this year so that I can hopefully avoid getting sick!)

Home Management Goals

7. Get all the laundry done and the house clean before I leave.

8. Make homemade ranch dressing (my friend made a mix up for me. I’ll share the recipe later this week.)

Business Goals

9. Attend/speak at the Relevant conference.

10. Host a reader meet-up in Harrisburg, PA for around 50 local readers.

photo credit

How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!

You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.

Shared Oct 24, 2011 comment

This week’s abbreviated menu

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 24, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Since the Relevant conference is Thursday through Saturday of this week (I’m so excited about it I can hardly contain myself!), our weekly menu is a little different.

I’ll be flying out early Thursday morning and not getting back until Sunday afternoon. Except for some snacks I’m bringing for traveling, all of my meals are provided at the conference. Jesse will be flying out for part of the conference since we are giving a joint workshop on The Business of Blogging and the children will be staying with family during that time.

So, I’m only planning meals for five days this week, since the rest of the meals will be taken care of. I made sure to plan very simple and easy meals since I’m determined to actually arrive at the conference rested up and relaxed, instead of frazzled and exhausted like I did last year. 🙂

Breakfasts

Cinnamon Roll Bread, fruit, scrambled eggs
Johnny Cakes (a homeschool project since we’re studying about early American history. Let’s hope these are better than last week’s hasty pudding recipe!)
Granola bars
Cereal x 2

Lunches

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, crackers, cheese, apple slices
Cheese Quesadillas, apple slices
PB&J, carrot sticks, apple slices
Tossed salad hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and dried cranberries
Lunch out for children & Jesse

Dinners

Dinner with extended family
Parmesan Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli
Frito Chili Pie, steamed corn, fruit salad
Cheesy Beans and Rice, fruit salad
Crockpot Tortilla Soup, fruit

What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.

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Shared Oct 24, 2011 comment

Why Should I Plan a Menu?

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 24, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Emily from Our Frugal Happy Life

I am what you might call a hard-core menu planner. During the last week of each month, you are guaranteed to find me sitting down with my menu planning binder and a blank calendar. Yes, that’s right. I plan our dinner meals one month a time! I started doing this about 14 months ago and it has made such a difference in how our household operates.

While you may not want or need to plan your meals one month a time, I encourage you to try menu-planning in some form. For some homes, planning one week of meals at a time works better. If that’s best for you, go with it!

Six reasons menu-planning benefits our family:

1. There’s no what’s-for-dinner panic at 4:30 p.m.

This is probably the main reason why menu-planning is a must in my home. If left without a menu plan, you will find me staring at my refrigerator and pantry at 4:30, totally unable to come up with anything for dinner. With a menu plan, that doesn’t happen!

2. The entire family knows what is for dinner.

My husband knows to check the menu plan if he wants to know what’s for dinner. It hangs on the side of our fridge all month.

3. It allows for flexibility.

When I plan our month of meals, I take into account meetings, get-togethers, church functions, etc. that may affect whether or not we eat dinner at home. I can plan simple, quick meals for nights when I know we need to leave at 6:00. And if our schedule changes abruptly one night or week, I can switch a few meals around in the plan.

4. It encourage variety and trying new menu items.

I like to put a few new meals on the menu each month when I make the menu plan. By doing this, we have found a number of new favorite meals, like homemade Spanish rice, Chicken Enchilada Dip, and Cheeseburger Soup, to name a few.

5. It helps you plan ahead for shopping.

Because we live in a rural area, we don’t grocery shop on any sort of regular basis. We typically pick up groceries whenever we are in a neighboring town that has a store. With my monthly menu plan, I know in advance what items I definitely need to pick up on one of my shopping trips. This also helps because I know what to look for in the sale ads.

6. It’s fun!

Let’s face it: menu-planning is just plain fun. Or is it just me who thinks that?

I am an organized person, so menu-planning fits well with that. While I don’t enjoy dreaming up dinner on the fly, I do enjoy sitting down once a month and planning our meals. And honestly? Cooking dinner is more fun when I already have a plan in place!

Do you menu plan? Why is menu-planning helpful for your family?

Emily has celiac disease and is gluten free. She is a pastor’s wife in Wisconsin and a homemaker. She blogs about celiac disease, gluten free life, coupons and frugal living at Our Frugal Happy Life. She is here to say that it’s possible to be gluten free, frugal and happy!

Shared Oct 22, 2011 comment

Freebies In My Mailbox

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 22, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Here are what freebies arrived in my mailbox this week:

Free Twinnings Tea samples

Free Kleenex Cool Touch samples

Free RedMonkey Seasoning samples

Free AXE Hold + Touch sample

Free can of Progresso Soup coupon

Free June Jacobs Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque

Free Infusium sample

Free $10 Babies R Us Gift Card plus Aveeno Baby sample

What freebies have arrived in your mailbox this week?

By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!

Shared Oct 22, 2011 comment

Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Easy Italian Breadsticks, Chocolate Banana Bread, Crockpot Tortilla Soup

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 22, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I did a quick Freezer Cooking in an Hour session on Thursday morning while the children worked on some homeschooling projects at the kitchen table. I had picked really simple and easy recipes, so everything went off without much of a hitch.

11:oo a.m. — Set the timer and threw all the ingredients for the Easy Italian Breadsticks in the bread machine.

11:05 a.m. — Put all the Crockpot Tortilla Soup ingredients in the crockpot to simmer.

11:18 a.m. — Started making the Chocolate Banana Bread. Jesse called and we talked for a few minutes while I finished up the bread.

11:22 a.m. — Stuck the bread in the oven and sat down to finish our morning homeschooling lessons while yummy smells wafted through the house.

12:30 p.m. — I pulled the bread out of the oven and let it cool. Then, we taste-tested some Chocolate Banana Bread before I sliced the rest and froze it. (It was so good that I knew it wouldn’t last long unless I froze it right away!).

Later that afternoon, Kaitlynn helped me make the dough into Easy Italian Breadsticks and we baked those.

All together, it took me about 55 minutes total to make a batch of Easy Italian Breadsticks, a loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread, and a big pot of Crockpot Tortilla Soup that will last us for two dinners and one lunch. Being intentional about cooking ahead a little bit once or twice a week can really be a sanity-saver!

Note: The breadsticks and banana bread were fantastic. We thought the soup was just so-so.

Did you bake or cook anything to freeze this week? I’d love to hear about it and see a link to your recipe, if you have one.

Shared Oct 21, 2011 comment

48-Hour Giveaway: The Ultimate Guide to Freezer Friendly Meals Eook (10 winners) + $50 Amazon.com gift card (2 winners)

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 21, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I was really excited to see The Ultimate Guide to Freezer Friendly Meals: Chicken ebook that two bloggers put together. It was well-laid out out, organized, and full of yummy-looking recipes.

Many of the recipes were ones that are already our family favorites or looked like something we’d love. I especially appreciated that the recipes were simple and used basic, normal ingredients (no leeks or mussels listed!).

I did want to mention that I was expecting all of the recipes in this ebook to be freezer recipes, but from what I counted, only 12 of the recipes actually included detailed freezer/thawing instructions. Many of the recipes just used frozen or fresh chicken and were intended to be prepared and served immediately. Most of them could have easily been adapted for freezing and I would have loved to see that element added to this ebook to make it live up to its name more.

But otherwise, I thought it was a great ebook and would be beneficial to someone who buys chicken in bulk or is looking for some tried and true chicken recipes.

Would you like to win a free copy of The Ultimate Guide to Freezer Friendly Meals: Chicken ebook? To enter to win a free copy or one of two $50 Amazon.com gift cards, just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. 10 winners will be chosen and posted on Monday. This giveaway ends Sunday, October 23, at 11:59 pm, CST.

Shared Oct 21, 2011 comment

Books Read This Week: The Rose Conspiracy, Forgotten God, Don’t Make Me Come Up There

Published: by Crystal Paine on October 21, 2011 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

The Rose Conspiracy — This is the second fiction book I’ve read this month. If you know me well, you know that is very out-of-character for me, but I’ve been trying to break out of my non-fiction rut a little bit. And Craig Parshall’s book was good enough to capture my attention and keep it. In fact, I knew I was going to enjoy this book after I didn’t want to put it down after the second page.

If you enjoy legal fiction, you should definitely check this book out. It’s intriguing, thought-provoking, and overall well-written. Some of the plot was a bit weak, but it was still very engaging.

Forgotten God — In typical Francis Chan style, this book will make you think, examine your heart, and plumb the depths of your beliefs about the Holy Spirit. You may not agree with all of the author’s conclusions, but I can guarantee you that it will make you think and re-examine Scripture in a new light. Highly recommended.

By the way, if you’ve not read Crazy Love, I’d heartily recommend that book as well. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

Don’t Make Me Come Up There — If you are a mom or care for children on a regular basis, you will find this book hilarious. Kristen is an incredibly gifted writer who knows how to communicate spot-on truth in a laugh-out-loud-funny manner. I hope this is the first of many books she writes. I will definitely be buying them all!

Read-Alouds:

Paul Revere — I read this book when I was a youngster, so it was fun to get to enjoy it with my children. The Imagination Station: Showdown With the Shepherd — Another book in our well-loved Imagination Station series. And once again, the children were so captivated by it that I could have read the whole thing in one setting!

Currently reading: EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, In Search of Balance,and listening to Purple Cow audiobook. You can see all of the books I’ve read in 2011 so far here. Read all of my book reviews here.

Have you read any good books recently?

(Note: The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

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