Pesky Perishables!

While conversing with other parents at my daughter's elementary school, we all agreed that there was not enough time during school hours to run errands like grocery shopping. How do we pick up our children in time or run another errand without wasting those pesky perishables?

Simple: Keep a small cooler or a beach bag sized cooler bag in the trunk!

Wipe Away

Children's toys come with many small parts and it's not easy to always put them away in their proper place, or have your kids do so.

I like to upcycle and decided to transform my baby wipe pouches into easy and portable toy storage.

I simply used decorative duct tape to cover the words and labels on all four sides. I doubled it as an activity and let

my 5 year old help.

Your imagination is your limit. Stretch it!

Have fun.

40+ meals for less than $8 a day!

I saw on Pinterest, which led me to www.whoneedsacape.com, that a mom prepared 40 meals in 4 hours. I was excited by this post because mealtime was becoming the bain of my existence. All I could wonder is what we were going to eat for lunch and dinner. None of my previous attempts to plan meals worked and I was willing to try anything.

I approached 40+ meals in 4 hours as a personal challenge. I made 37 meals in 5 hours but later realized that I used too much meat in some recipes and had a lot of leftovers. Think of it this way, an actual chicken only has 2 breasts, 2 thighs and 2 wings so try not to use more than this in a recipe that calls for chicken.

Go to www.whoneedsacape.com for a master grocery shopping list but you may have to do some of your own research to determine how long certain frozen items last in the freezer or deep freezer; the type of freezer makes a slight difference.

I've also included the MASTER GROCERY list that I used BELOW. All recipes can be cooked on low between 6-8 hours in a CROCKPOT.

My favorites are Mongolian beef, Curry Chicken, Pollo Guisado (Stewed Chicken) and Ropa Vieja. Those were the most delicious to date.

Ultimately, I spent $272 on groceries and made 37 meals. That's $7.35 per meal! I've attached the recipes.

BJs & Local Supermarket Prices

•  3 cans of Diced Tomatoes    6 @     $6.29
• 72 Hefty 1-gal Storage bags              $8.49
• Soyvay Teriyaki sauce                      $3.29
• Agave Nectar                                    $6.49
• 1 Sweet Baby Ray Buffalo Sauce     $1.99
• 2 Sweet Baby Ray BBQ Sauce        $2.00
• 2 Real Lime                                       $3.98
• Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb                  $4.99
• Lipton onion soup (4 or 6 pack)        $5.99
• Italian Dressing                                 $3.00
• Pataks Chicken Tikka Masala 2@    $4.99
• Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard            2@ $6.99
• Goya Sofrito                                     $3.99
• Garlic Stuffed Olives                        $6.99
• Brown Sugar  (4lb)                           $2.99 
• 12 pk boneless chicken breasts         $20.81
• 12 pk boneless chicken breasts        $20.36
• 12 pk boneless chicken breasts        $18.39
• 12 pk boneless chicken breasts        $23.56
• 12 pk chicken thighs                        $10.14
• 30pk chicken wings                         $17.04
• 4 Pork Tenderloins                           $15.09
• 2 split chicken breasts (4lb)              $13.00
• 4 lb beef stew chunks                       $16.20
• Top round steak                                $17.08
• Baby back ribs (2 racks)                   $15.10
• Bag of frozen peas                            $6.49
• bag of frozen peppers and onions     $5.99

                                                         Total: $271.68

Other spices needed (I already had):

•   cumin
• ground mustard
• ground nutmeg
• ground thyme
• dried oregano
• salt
• pepper
• allspice 
• soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce

• Ketchup
• All purpose flour
• 2 c. plain greek yogurt
• 1 quart of heavy cream
• 2 cans (20 oz) diced pineapples
• Curry powder
• chili powder
• cayenne
• paprika
• garlic salt
• Onion powder
• sesame seeds
• 2 fresh onions
• 20 fresh garlic cloves
• 2 oranges
•  fresh ginger
• 3 bags baby carrots
• garlic oil
• vegetable oil
• olive oil
• peanut oil
• balsamic vinegar
• white vinegar
• Dried Chipotle peppers

 RECIPES: (REPLACED all HONEY with AGAVE)

·     Agave Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin (See pic) X2

    BBQ Ribs (see pic) X2

•     Cook on low 6-7 hours and then broil in oven for 5 min for char

·      Jerk Chicken X2

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 1c. water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg &  allspice
• 1 tsp salt, cayenne pepper & ground ginger
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 c. frozen onions and peppers

·      Curry Chicken (my recipe) X3

o   4 breasts

o   3 tbsp curry powder

o   2 c. frozen peas

o   1 can diced tomatoes

o   1 c. heavy cream

o   1 tbsp garlic salt

o   1 tsp ground black pepper

o   1 tbsp garlic oil

·      Chicken Tikka Masala X2

o   2 breasts

o   1 jar patak’s tikka masala mix

o   1 c. yogurt

    1 tsp cayenne pepper or 8 oz of pineapple juice (it will cut the acidity)

Or you can follow recipe below.

·      Buffalo Chicken Wings X3

o   Pour Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo sauce onto wings until they are covered

• Bake covered for 45 min at 350 degrees F
• Bake uncovered for 15 min (bake longer as needed so that skin is crispy)
• Broil for 5 min 

·      Pollo Guisado (stewed Chicken) X2

• 1/2 GOYA Sofrito container
• 1/2 can tomato sauce
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1-1 1/2 c. of water

·      TeriyakiChicken X2

o   4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

o   small bag of baby carrots

o   1 20 oz cans of pineapple, undrained

o   4 garlic cloves, chopped

o   1 medium red onion, cut into chunks

o   1 cup Teriyaki Sauce

·      OrangeChicken X2

o   1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)

o   3 tbsp peanut oil

o   juice of 2 oranges

o   1 tsp fresh ginger

o   3 tbsp Soy Sauce

o   handful of cashews (as garnish)

·  Chipotle Lime Chicken X3

• 1 lb Chicken Breast
• juice of 4 small limes
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried chipotle pepper
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 handfuls chopped fresh cilantro

·      Garlic & Herb Marinated Chicken X3

o   4 breasts

o   1 c. Italian dressing

o   3 tbsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herbs

o   1 red pepper

·      Ropa Vieja (old clothes)/Shredded Steak (see pic) X3

·      Peruvian Beef Stew (see pic) X 1

·      MongolianBeef X3

o   1 lb. stew meat

o   2 tsp. olive oil

o   1 onion, thickly sliced

o   1 tbsp. minced garlic

o   1/2 cup soy sauce (I used wheat free tamari)

o   1/2 cup water

o   1/2 cup brown sugar

o   1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger

·      Agave Mustard Chicken Thighs (see pic) X3

·      Lechon (pork tenderloin) (see pic) X2

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Krafty Kid Fun

Creating portable games that can fit in a tin are a great way to keep your children entertained while traveling! You can get as creative as you want.

I used an old tin from a magnetic poetry set but have seen others use an Altoids tin. I've mixed and matched pieces from existing games lying around the house. The checkers magnets are from a backgammon set. The purple outlined cards, purple putty, paper die and blank sheets came from a fast food kids meal. The cards have challenges like come up with a silly song, tell a knock knock joke, etc and are double sided. This translate into limiting little idle hands.

I handmade the checker, tic tac toe and leafy dice game in the picture below. I even added a few magnetic words so my kindergartener and soon-to-be first grader can practice constructing words.

If you have an iPhone or android phone, then I recommend that you download the FREE PBS kids APP for shows on the go during small shopping trips and even in-the-car entertainment. My toddler loves it.

Taking a few board books along also helps.

Shea Butter = Better Body

For those who aren't familiar with shea butter, it's a creamy product that is smooth like creamy peanut butter and is made from the nut of the Shea tree native to west Africa. Shea Butter is great for eczema, burns, psoriasis, stretch marks --I swear mine almost disappeared-- and other skin conditions. I still use it on myself and my family! It costs about $7 USD for 32oz (946mL).

Even National Geographic was raving about it. Apparently, other countries use Shea butter for food product which is a testament to it being truly all natural and non-toxic.

Just be careful because the yellow color can stain white clothes or sheets. It's difficult to wash out of the whites.

I love using Shea butter and am a little upset that it has become such a fad with the mainstream lotion companies. They probably only add an extremely small amount but this is the pure raw uncut stuff. 

Body Butter Recipe:
8 oz. Organic Raw Unrefined Filtered Shea Butter
4 oz. Organic Coconut Oil
4 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
1/4 oz. essential "scented" oil (ex: lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, etc)

1. Melt Shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat until temp is below 60 F

2. Stir in the sweet almond oil

3. Place oil mixture in freezer for 20 min or until the mixture is partially solid

4. Remove the mixture from the freezer, add the essential oil and mix for 10 min

5. Place the mixture in the freezer again for another 10 min,
then whip until a butter like consistency is achieved.

6. Place the butter in a clean jar --you can use those clear travel jars or anything you choose-- which you may store away from heat and humidity.

Ziplock Your iElectronics

My kindergartener and toddler always want to use my electronics, iPhone and iPad, and I don't mind letting them. What I do mind are the umpteenth fingerprints and nondescript sticky/wet residue found across the screen.

I bought a waterproof protectant for my iPhone once upon a time but never opened it. I stumbled across it recently and put it on my phone. Afterwards I realized that the sealer covered the holes for me to change my phone or connect it to another device. What a waste. 

It randomly occurred to me to put my iElectronics in a ziplock. Before letting my toddler play with the phone, I'd throw it in a sandwich bag that snapped closed. It was a great and quick temp solution & it's portable for car rides & beach trips (we went on one yesterday)! Then I thought, why not extend this idea to the iPad. I just needed a larger ziplock & voila, it works well. 

The kids can have their fun and I don't have to worry about them spilling something on it or transferring whatever is on their little sticky fingers. Now lets just hope they don't drop them too hard!

MEMORIAL DAY

This day is to celebrate those who have sacrificed and lost their lives for this country. Let's also celebrate those who put their lives in danger for this country but haven't lost it. Here's an idea!

Medallion Heart Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup & Lifer-Juice (coffee)!
Give your soldier a purple heart! or multiples for that matter.

Other Ideas:
Apple Pies in a Mason Jar for your JarHead
Dog Tag mini-candybar

Have fun with it!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!!!

When Springtime and Summertime return, the first thing my kids and I want to do is grab a popsicle or ice cream. It's always nice when the warmer seasons return. Allergy attacks not included. However, this unpredictable New England weather leaves me in the habit of not ever having any cold treats on reserve for those "just-in-case-it's-hot" moments. Lately, there have been more of those moments than not which forces me to spend more money than I would like to. I waste money on gas and cold treats when I have to constantly make runs to the supermarket to restock or bypass the grocery store altogether and have an off-the-cuff family outing at the local ice cream shoppe.

On my most recent ice cream and popsicle run, I stumbled across a DIY popsickle mould. That's when my light bulb went off! Why hadn't I thought to do this before? After all, that is what I do. I bought the mould and planned to be prepared for the next heat wave.

       

I used to subscribe to all of those cooking and parenting magazines, once upon a time, when the internet option didn't quite exist. Ah, being a first time mom. I went through some of the articles I saved and stumbled across some popsicle making ideas. These are what I found from a Parenting Magazine from 2008:

Parenting Magazine 2008

Parenting Magazine 2008

Parenting Magazine 2008

Parenting Magazine 2008

In the words of the late Dunkin' Donuts spokesman, "It's time to make the popsicles." Well, not his exact words. Remember to let each tier freeze for an hour, no matter what you put in, before adding the next tier.

Here's what we came up with, Vanilla Yogurt, Apple Juice with Blueberries Popsicle. There are as many possibilities as you can think up!

                                 

Stay cool!

Happy Mother's Day

She smoothes my edges and keeps me on balance.

She's my mother.
She saw me draggin' my feet,
heavy from burden, and gave me her heels.
She's my mother.
She satiated my emptiness  with love.
Reconstructed my self-confidence with care.
I'm under construction.
She's still building.
She's my mother.
(original poem)

(Stock photo taken from internet)

I live in southern NJ which I also consider to be a suburb of Philadelphia. On mother's day, I love to go to the Silver Diner and get my free carnation and give my 5 year old quarters to put in the jukebox. We eat pancakes and listen to oldies. The simple but meaningful lyrics take me to my "happy place" and then we stop by the aquarium to collect yet another free carnation and spend more time together. It's great. So to all the moms out there, with or without a physical child, Happy Mother's Day!

Loose Laundry Socks UPDATED

What to do with those loose children's socks?

1. First cut the tip of the toe and also cut a hole for the thumb. I've found that the added thumb hole keeps the cut sock from rolling and sliding up kid's arm. Have your kids wear it as an 80's "bracelet" when they're snotty. Instead of wiping snot on their sleeve, the cut sock can act as a boogie wipe!

2. Create sock puppets!!! For the non-DIYer, don't feel embarrassed. These basic toys are a gem!

Edible Beauty Products

The TV was randomly on the live well network channel which I didn't even know existed and saw some really cool ideas. I'm not a fan of make up and wear a lipstick for a special occasion. I also don't believe in spending tons of money on beauty products because I can't understand what 99% of the ingredients are and don't trust the product. What's great about these natural beauty products below is that they can be composed with items found in the grocery store or in your pantry and are so safe, they're edible!

(Stock photo taken from internet)

Java Exfoliant Scrub

• 2 cups ground Coffee
• 1/2 cup Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 3 Tbs. Almond oil

(Reduces appearance of cellulite)
Scrub on hands, gets rid of dead skin

Sencha Mask

• 3 tsp. Green Tea Powder
• 2 tsp. honey
• 2 tsp. water
• 2 egg whites

Make mask & chill in fridge
Apply and let sit for 15 min. Will last a week.

Ginger-Grapfruit Elixir

• 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 Tbs. honey

These can be great gifts for friends and family if put it in a glass or see through jar and tie with a ribbon.

Drool vs. USB Drive

My USB drive was in a small container that snapped closed on the sides. I gave it to my toddler as a "rattle" of some sort to entertain her while she sat on my lap watching TV. Consumed by my social media, I didn't notice that she opened the container and had been treating my USB drives like lollipops! I'm grateful that she didn't shove them down her throat but have to unfortunately learn the hard way of who won the battle: drool vs. USB drive. I texted my techie husband right away and told him what happened. Here's what he prescribed: immerse the drives in a bowl full of rice for 24 - 48 hrs depending on level of exposure to liquid and wait.

In the end, the drives survived. The rice worked quickly to absorb all of the moisture.

RECYCLE: Cards for All Occasions

Save cards that you get for any occasion and reuse them. If the back of the front cover isn't written on, convert it to a postcard or unique card for whatever occasion. If the front cover is written on and you don't mind covering the message, then cut out a piece of print or construction paper and glue it over the words. Afterwards use it as described above. Here are some examples:

Card 1

Card 2

Both Card 1 and 2 have texture on the back. For that reason, I am going to cut and paste paper to the back.

Be creative and make whatever design you like. You can also use stamps, markers or crayons to give your postcard a personal touch.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

...Now let's kill some weeds!

Earth day is a nice idea about learning about nature, wildlife and weather. I think of it as something peaceful and a reminder that we should care and respect Mother Nature since we depend on it to live. Right now, however, I'm interested in talking about killing a part of nature...weeds!

Did you know...

That you can eat dandelions and a series of other weeds?

You can walk around your house or field nearby and make a salad from edible weeds? Talk about doomsday preppers! In all seriousness, I do think its cool and interesting.

Dandelion Salad

You can also kill weeds with:

1. Vodka. I first saw this tip in a "This Old House" magazine. Don't judge me!
2. Vinegar
3. Cornmeal
4. Boiling Water
5. Table Salt
6. Your Hands by pulling weeds

You can use weeds for simple medicinal purposes like treating sunburn, chapped lips, acne, etc

Good luck on your nature adventures and HAPPY EARTH DAY!

SPACE SAVER SUNDAYS: The Toy Box

This post is about making your own toy box. Upholster ikea bookshelf with solid wood front. Instead of mounting it to the wall, lay it flat so that it looks like a trunk and upholster the "door."

You can also upholster the doors on your old bookcase. It has to be a solid door like the ikea bookshelf. Lay it flat to convert it into a bench/toy chest! It's pretty fast and cheap. You will need medium density foam, batting, fabric of your choice and an upholstering stapler. All of this can be found at Joann fabric. Only one trip is needed and takes about 45 minutes to do the entire project.

Here's what I came up with:

It holds a lot of boardgames, puzzles, Wii remotes and accessories and whatever else you can think of.

Good luck!

Baking with Love!!!

I love baking and even more so with my daughter so when I found these faux antique skeleton key measuring spoons, I just had to buy them! It says, 1/4 teaspoon of Bliss, 1/2 teaspoon of Hugs, 1 teaspoon of Trust, and 1 tablespoon of Love.

I'm from New England so when bananas get too ripe, everyone in the house knows its time to make banana bread. My daughter loves hers with chocolate chips but you can omit that ingredient for plain banana-nut bread. Below is the recipe on how to make your own.

Choco-Walnut Banana Bread

Dry ingredients:
1 2/3 c. All purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. applesauce as a butter replacement. Makes loaf moist!
1 c. white sugar
2 mashed ripe bananas

Gather all the ingredients and proper measurements. Mix everything together. Set the oven to 350 F and bake on middle rack for 50 minutes. #bakingwithlove

Make your Kid an Author

I found this clever packet on helping your child write and illustrate their own book. It was so cute and creative that I had to get it. What's even better is that it can be stretched out into a week long activity.

Here's how:

Monday
     My husband works in unison with my daughter every night to construct a bedtime story. He begins and she ad-libs character names and antagonists in the story.

To begin, take time thinking up some fun or any of your kid's favorite story ideas. Brainstorm by writing down the ideas and then picking one that interests him/her the most.

Tuesday
     Edit the story, rewrite it neatly for your child so they can copy your "adult writing" and have your child come up with a title.

Wednesday
     Begin illustrating. Stickers are provided to help with the stories but you don't have to use them. Start by having your child decorate the cover.

Thursday
     Then have him/her illustrate the story in the pages throughout the book. This may take a while but it really depends on the individual.

Friday
     Lastly, decorate the back cover.

And repeat! The kit comes with 3 blank books.