Product review - Jamberry Nails

My niece had an in-home party for a product I'd never heard of. Jamberry Nails After a quick check on Google, I was interested.

Here's my final result.

Jamberry are nail "decals" that put fun designs on your nails.  I've tried other brands such as Sally Hansen and I wasn't particularly thrilled with them.  They were a pain to put on and they didn't last long.

These have a 30 day money back guarantee, so I took a flyer on it, and heck, it was for my niece.  Love that girl!

They come 18 on a sheet, and unless you have really long nails, one decal is enough to cover two nails. Here's what I used to do 10 nails.

Like the other brand, they are a pain to apply.  Took me about half an hour to do 10 nails.  Then again, when I paint my nails, it takes me much longer than that, so.....

I like to do fun designs on my nails and I change them pretty much weekly.  The wide variety of designs available intrigued me and I really like the detail that I couldn't possibly do on my own.  This style is called "Vacay."  I did then since it's summer and July 4th is Friday.  They seemed rather appropriate.

They do also carry styles or designs you're not going to get elsewhere, such as collegiate and sorority.  There are also matching Mommy & Me styles for you and the little girl in your life.

Price wise they come in about the same as the drug store brands.  Since I can get at least two uses out of these, more if I'm doing my toes, the set of $15 for Jamberry comes in pretty much dollar for dollar with the drug store cost of $6 - $8 for one set to do 10 nails.

One thing I did find out as I was going was to heat them as long as you can.  The application instructions say 3-5 seconds, but when I heated them for 7 - 10 seconds they went on easier.  The ones that weren't heated as long have more wrinkles in them.  However, with the design I used, you can't really see the wrinkles.  And as with most things, using your non dominant hand to apply them is harder.  If you can have someone help you, it would probably go much easier.

So, the jury is out to see how long they last.  I didn't top coat or anything and the instructions didn't tell me to, so I'm going as is.

S'Mores bar - pump up your S'Mores

For my 30th birthday we had just purchased our first home and we had a birthday party in our back yard.  We live in the country.  Between the land that we own and the land that surrounds us, we have about 70 acres of vacant land.  My birthday is in August.  What did we do?  You betcha'!  We had a giant bonfire.

What better summer event than sitting around a fire with good friends, good drinks (of course) and good laughter and talk?

Of course, if you're having a bonfire, you must have S'mores!

One of our friends set up a "s'mores assembly line," which was all well and good, until someone bumped the log that all the ingredients were on and dumped them into the fire.  It was all good and served as a good laugh for the night and stories for years to come.  It is a birthday I'll never forget.

You don't need a party to have S'mores.  Any fire night is a good night to roast some marshmallows.  It always brings back memories of our group camping adventures when I was a kid.

Instead of sticking with the traditional S'mores, why not set up a S'mores bar?  Allow everyone to make their own creation?

You can buy different flavor variations of marshmallows, but you can really get creative with the other ingredients.

Varieties of chocolate

Toffee
Peanut butter cups
Caramel filled
Peppermint patties
If you like nuts, use a chocolate with nuts in it, or a candy like Turtles
Miniature candy bars instead of plain chocolate

Cookies instead of graham crackers

Fudge stripe cookies
Peanut butter cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Pull out some of the Girl Scout cookies you bought!!
Snickerdoodles
Gingersnaps
Oatmeal raisin
If you want more gooey insides, split an Oreo or Nutter Butter, or other similar sandwich cookie open, and place your chocolate and marshmallow between them.

Get creative with your combination and see what you can come up with.  Report back with what your favorite is/was.

You're having a hysterectomy - Getting to the hospital

This may be your most stressful time.  It wasn't for me.  I couldn't wait to get these painful units out of my body!!

You should have been instructed by your hospital where to go to check in.

Even though you have given the hospital, and probably about 8 other people along the way, but make sure to take your ID and your insurance card as well.  Also, get used to giving your name and birth date numerous times throughout your stay.

Once you are called in and given a room, get ready to be a lab rat and talk to more people than you probably see at Christmas time!!  I quit counting after 10 people were in an out of my room.

You have your doctor, which will probably be one of the last people in the parade. You have to have a urine test to make sure you're not pregnant (if you're still of child bearing age), blood pressure, temperature, and all the usual tests. You'll change into your fun gown and be given some socks to wear.

You will have your IV put in.  I have issues with this because my veins roll.  I always make sure to tell the nurse this so they don't use me a pin cushion. I usually have great veins that are easy to find, but since I did my cleanse the day before, it was difficult to get the IV port in.  2 nurses, 3 sticks and 3 ugly bruises later, it was in.  If you have difficulty giving blood, make sure you tell them this ahead of time.

The anesthesiologist and the assistant will come in, along with a slew of other people.  Reminder, you're going to give your name and birth date to all of these people.

Finally you're going to be taken into the operating room.  Truthfully, I remember very little about this.  I remember being transferred from the gurney onto the table, being asked my name and birthdate, again, the IV getting hooked up, and the mask going over my face.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in recovery.  I remember waking up in recovery and asking what time it was.  When they told me it was 11:00 AM, I knew something had gone wrong during surgery. I was scheduled for surgery at 7:30 AM, but it was after that before I went into the OR.  It was supposed to be a 3 hour surgery, which would have put me at 10:30 into recovery.  The fact that I was waking up this early in recovery told me that things did not go as planned.  Apparently I was told at some point in recovery that I had to have the traditional surgery, but I have no memory of this at all.

The other thing I remember is being transferred to go back to my room.  The nurse or tech or whoever asked me if I thought I could transfer to the gurney myself or if I wanted them to slide me.  LET THEM SLIDE YOU!!!

Once you get back to your room, it will be mayhem and you'll be poked, prodded, blood pressure, temperature and a repeat.  No pregnancy test this time though.  :)

Next installment... what happens during recovery.

You're Having a Hysterectomy - What to Expect

I AM NOT A DOCTOR!!  If you doctor tells you something different, listen to your doctor!!

This is my personal journey and what I'm leaning along the way.  Hopefully this will help to prepare you for what you are facing.

First and foremost, talk to your doctor about what TYPE of hysterectomy you'll be having.  There are 4 different variations, and talking with your doctor is the best way to decide which procedure to have.  That is not to say that things can't change.  I was scheduled for a robotic laproscopic hysterectomy, but due to complications, I had to have to the old fashioned one.  That means a much larger incision and longer healing.  If your doctor doesn't do the robotic or the laproscopic, ask for a referral!!  The healing time is shorter and the incisions are much smaller, so you want that to be an option.

The best advice I can give you is ask questions.  Keep a notebook with all your questions.  No question is dumb.  This is YOUR surgery, your fears and your body.  If you start to talk to your friends, you may find that quite a few of them have had the procedure.  However, medical advances change quickly.  Even though I had the "traditional" surgery, the advancements are making my healing go better.

It's best to bring someone with you when you talk to your doctor.  While it may be a "routine" surgery, if you're nervous, you may not hear everything, or you may forget to get answers.  Another set of ears of thinks of question that you don't.  Anytime you're talking surgery, take a friend, spouse, parent, or someone else with you.

You may plan to work up until the day of surgery...DON'T!  Because all the parts that they will be working with are close to your colon and bowel, they will usually have you do a "cleanse" the day before surgery.  Trust me, you do not want to do this at work!! It involves laxatives and Gatorade or something similar mixed with two week's worth of a different kind of laxative.  You just really don't want to be sprinting to the bathroom at the office.  And it will stink.  Set up your bathroom with a book or your tablet, and a candle!!  You'll thank me later.

You will also have to do a clear liquid diet the day before.  If you've every had a colonoscopy, this will be familiar to you.  If you haven't, I've heard the prep for that procedure is much worse.  Oh joy.  You are very limited on what you can eat, but quite honestly, I was so bloated from the prep, that I didn't feel like eating.  I was also told that tequila, vodka and rum do not count as clear liquids.  They weren't much fun.  :)  In fact, there is no alcohol and no intercourse for 48 hours before your surgery.

In addition, you will have some kind of antibiotic before the surgery.  There is the normal oral kind, or a vaginal kind, similar to a yeast infection treatment.  Your doctor will tell you which one he/she prefers.

And then there's your body.  Nair those legs before you go in.  You're not going to be bending over to shave them for a while after the surgery.  If it's winter, eh, who cares.  In addition, think about the other hair on your body.  My husband is an EMT and at his part time job he works with various surgery techs.  He was discussing my surgery and his partner of the day gave him/me one word bit advice.  "Ladies, tidy up."  You don't have to get rid of all hair, but it will make your clean up easier afterward, and depending on where your incisions are... You don't want the adhesive tape ripping THAT hair off!!  Do a close trim to make things easier on you and your surgeon.

In most cases, you will be kept overnight, so pack a bag.  You don't really need to take much, because they'll give you most of what you need, but here are some things that I forgot, or that were very helpful.

Pack some granny panties a couple sizes larger than you normally wear.  Your stomach will be very distended after the surgery and you don't want anything tight on your body.  You may not wear them for long, but trust me, they'll be a Godsend.  They do have special undies for you to wear while in the hospital.

Bring loose clothing.  I found these awesome pants at Walmart for $10.  They come in both capris and full length pants.  Pajama pants work great too.  Again, you belly will be distended.  You want loose clothing.  You'll want clothes that are easy to put on for awhile after your home, and these types of pants will work great. One friend told me to use pregnancy pants, but using the loose ones that I bought have worked fine.

Lip balm - yes, this sounds stupid but I didn't bring my full purse, because, well, I didn't need it.  I didn't have any lip balm and my lips were horribly dry.  You will have a tube in your throat and the rooms are dry, which will make your lips dry out.

Bring a pillow - I had several friends tell me this and it was a life saver.  Not a pillow for your bed.  A pillow for your belly.  Use it to support your belly when they get you up to walk, an they will.  Here is the one I took.

As you can see, it's not much larger than the span of my hand, but that's really the size you need.  The other key is that it's firm.  You don't want a soft, squishy pillow.  You want support.  I make these pillows and sell them on my Etsy store, so I could make it exactly as firm as I wanted.  You can also place this pillow between your belly and the seat belt when you're driving home.

Whether or not you bring a nightgown is up to you.  They won't let you put it on until you're off all forms of IVs, so depending on how long you're in, you might not have time to change.  I just brought one that covered my butt, so when I was walking the halls, yes, you walk the halls, I wouldn't be hanging out the back.

I wasn't at all nervous going in.  I had so much pain from a 5 cm fibroid that was twisted, I couldn't wait to get the part removed.  However, my doctor did tell my husband that I was tense during the surgery.  Must have been  subconscious reaction.

The last thing I'm going to say is to talk to your doctor about any medications you take.  You will be told to go off all your medications, even over the counter, for the week before surgery.  This is because they don't want you on blood thinners and many over the counter meds are blood thinners.  I have severe allergies, which can also lead to severe migraines.  Not having any of these meds for  a week would have made me miserable.  We went through what I take, and what would be safe, and what dosages.  However, do NOT take meds without consulting with your doctor first.

Don't be afraid to ask.  You will hear horror stories from people.  Ignore them.  Just because they had a bad experience, doesn't mean you will, and who knows how long ago they had their procedure and what type of procedure it was.  You can't directly compare it to you.

A friend of mine referred me to a website called Hyster Sisters.  It does have plenty of forums to ask questions and get recent information.  Always take the advice of your doctor first!!

Salad ingredients

I have some stuff going on right now and need to get my behind moving and lose some of this behind.

Naturally, salads are a 'diet food" but they can get boring.  If you have a good list of ingredients you can add, you can mix things up a bit.

I actually like to mix fruit into my salads.  I have a sweet tooth, so this a way to get some of that sweet, without adding a bunch of calories.

Here's a list of ingredients you can add.  Mix and match to fit your tastes.

Protein
Chicken
Beef
Ham
Turkey
Tuna
Salmon
Shrimp
Egg
Chickpeas
Bacon - sparingly - unfortunately
Cheese - Try feta or sharp cheddar or other strong cheeses so you get flavor and don't use as much
Tofu - I don't like it, but other people do
Beans
Nuts


Vegetables
For the "base" I like to mix spinach with spring greens.  Spinach has so many more vitamins in it.  YOu can do straight spinach if you want.  I just like the mix of textures and tastes.
Cucumber
Carrot
Peppers
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Avocado
Asparagus
Corn
Onion
Celery
Radishes
Mushrooms
Okra
Zucchini

Fruit
Berries - blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry
Apples
Dried cranberries
Grapes
Mango
Citruses - Orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime
Pomegranate
Pineapple

You can add some grains if you like.  A nice couscous or a whole wheat pasta.  Quinoa if you're gluten free.  Add some crunch with baked tortilla chips.

If you're still not inspired, check out Pinterest.  There are great recipes for making a week's worth of salad in a mason jar.

If your kids are picky eaters, set up a salad bar and allow them to pick toppings for a salad.  You might be surprised by what they choose and what they'll try.  My daughter actually likes asparagus!!  We love a salmon, asparagus and feta salad with a hot bacon dressing.  I had this in a restaurant and loved it, so we make it at home now.

What's your favorite salad topping?

Small Business Spotlight - Allechant Boutique

Sorry for the gap in posting  I took an actual vacation with my husband and daughter.

Today's small business is one of my favorites.  Allechant Boutique in Plymouth, WI.  This is a boutique store with reasonable prices.  Most everything in the store is under $100.

This is a fun shop with scarves, jewelry, clothing, purses, vintage jewelry and vintage clothing as well.  My daughter calls it "the fancy shop" and she always finds something she likes there.  I took my husband to the store one day, and he was surprised.  They carry a lot of items that he didn't expect.

This is my go-to shop for gifts.  I can always find something unique.

You can shop via their new website.  It's a work in progress right now, but if you see something you like and you're looking for a similar item or a different color, just give them a call.  The number is in the photo above.  You can also find them on Facebook.  You will find photos of many of the items they carry.  Again, if you can't find something, give them a call.

If you, or the gift recipient, is a plus size, not to worry.  Allechant has you covered.  There is a great selection of plus sized items as well.  The smaller sizes work well for teens, as well as the jewelry, scarves and other accessories.

Check out Allechant for gifts for the ladies on your list, or treat yourself to something wonderful.  You're worth it.  If you stop in the store, don't forget to sign up for the free drawings they have, and sign up for text alerts for sales.

Meals on a budget

I went grocery shopping today for the next 2 weeks. I spent $106.  Here are my purchases.

As you can see, there is produce, meats and pasta.  Being frugal does not mean you have to eat junk.  In fact, I am renewing my commitment to get healthy, so health was a large decision in my shopping.

If you know me, or follow this blog, you know I despise grocery shopping and cooking.  The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away, so I must plan meals.  There is no quick running for a missing ingredient.  I have ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner here.

This is our menu for the next couple of weeks.  Maybe a little bit longer because there will be leftovers.

One of my keys, which I have blogged about before, is my slow cooker.  Several of my meals will be bagged up to go in the slow cooker.  But I do all the prep in one day, so my cooking time is minimal each night.  In fact, I set up that my husband can actually have dinner on the table when I get home.

Right now my slow cooker is working with a whole chicken.  Part of it will be used in salads for me for lunch.  The rest will go in

Moroccan Couscous Salad - I am not a fan of chick peas, so I take them out and put in chicken instead to keep my protein.  I also change out the raisins for dried cranberries.  I like the tart taste with the chicken.

Chili - Fall is approaching and that means chili around here.  The recipe is not hard.  1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 6 oz can tomato paste a can of kidney beans and some ground meat.  I use ground turkey for the health benefits, but you can use whatever you want.  In our area, we are known for putting pasta in our chili.  Try it some time.  It's quite good.  This is all bagged up and will go in the slow cooker.  A nice slow cooker all day brings the flavors together.

Spaghetti-  Since I made the ground turkey for the chili, I made all of my ground meat at one time.  I bagged the cooked meat with the spaghetti sauce.  It just needs to be thawed and combined with the hot cooked pasta.  Add a salad and we're ready to go.

Pork chop, veggie and rice bowls- This recipe is just for a veggie and rice bowl, but my husband doesn't do vegetarian, and I struggle with keeping my protein up, so I'm adding pork chops to this.  The boneless chops were the cheapest this week, so that's what we got. They will go in the slow cooker with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and some soy sauce.  This will tenderize them enough to be stirred into the rice and veggies and just break apart. The soy sauce will work well with the rice.  I use a quick cooking brown rice, again for the health aspect.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak - My husband is a beef man.  This recipe works for him.  I bought a bag of mini peppers.  They were around $3.  If you have ever tried to buy colored peppers, you know they are expensive.  This bag of peppers is affordable and has enough for this dish and the couscous salad above, plus a few left over to top a salad.  Served over rice, this is a meal in itself.

Chicken Alfredo - This is often requested at home and it's a quick dish.  I know jarred Alfredo sauce is loaded with fat, but I don't have time to make it from scratch.  What I do is buy a small jar, and add one half to a full jar of skim milk to it.  It stretches the sauce, and reduces the calories because you're not getting as much sauce.  I cooked a 3 pound bag of chicken breast.  Some of it is diced for this dish, and the rest will be used in another dish to come.  Cook the pasta of your choice, and steam some broccoli.  Mix together and you're good to go.

Chubby Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos - My husband loves "messy food" so this one is for him.  This is where the rest of the chicken breast will go.  It has spinach in it, so it helps with the veggies, and it will use low fat cream cheese.  Again, add a salad and we're good to go.

Fish tacos - I eat these when I go out to lunch with my friends from work. I love them and our daughter loves fish, but hubby, not so much.  I have tilapia in the freezer so we're using that and we have fresh veggies from my trip to the farmer's market.  Tortillas will be used for this and the taquitos.  I bought an extra package, which I'll explain in the breakfasts.  Corn tortillas make this a great gluten free meal.

Grilled Kielbasa and Pesto Penne - I cooked this tonight and put it in a bag.  It will just need to be reheated.  We're going to have Roasted Okra along with this.

There's one recipe that's going to be an experiment to see if it goes over.  Hopefully my husband has quit reading by now and doesn't see this.  It's Pasta with Eggplant Sauce.  I bought an eggplant at the farmer's market, so I'm trying this.  I like eggplant, the child has never eaten it and hubby says he hates it.  I'm wondering if he'll notice it in this sauce.  It's loaded with veggies and when I add a salad, even more veggies.

OK, that's the dinners. Yes, this is from the $106 that I spent, and I still have more to go.

For lunches I can eat things that I know my husband won't eat.

A great fall lunch is a Stuffed Acorn Squash, which also happens to be gluten free.  I made the ground turkey for this when I made the rest for my dinner dishes.  

I found this Tuna and Asparagus Salad.  It calls for being made in a bread bowl, but I'm just doing it as a salad.  Who needs the extra carbs?

We have a toaster oven at work so this Baked Avocado Dish is a quick lunch.  I also got some artichokes to add to this.

And my dinner tonight after a couple of hours in the kitchen is a grown up version of grilled cheese.  It's a Tomato, Avocado and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese.  Here I'm using up the leftover avocado from the recipe above.

I'm still on the same $106.  And remember, I have leftover chicken to make salads or sandwiches.  And I can have leftovers from other meals for lunches.  I did buy 2 frozen dinners in case I run out of stuff, but that's still in my $106.

Now for breakfast.  You may have noticed that I bought fresh berries.  I also have a couple of bags of pears from a friend that had an abundance.

I have the extra tortillas and some English Muffins.  I'll put peanut butter and fresh berries on the English Muffins, or rolled up in the tortillas.

I can also roll up the tortillas with peanut butter and some of the pears, thinly sliced and some granola.

I also have a quick breakfast from my childhood.  My grandparents had a farm so we grew up with fresh dairy products.  One of my grandfather's things was to put sliced cheese on buttered toast.  Very simple, but very good. You don't melt the cheese.  Try it sometime.  I'll eat it on the English Muffins.

And all this on $106.  

Whole chicken in a slow cooker

One of the easiest, and most economical, things is to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker.  There really isn't a fancy recipe.  Buy a whole chicken, add the seasoning of your choice, about half a cup of stock/broth, plop the top on and away you go.  8 hours on low will produce a juicy chicken that falls apart.

My favorite seasoning is from Costco.  It's an organic no-salt seasoning.  It has a bunch of different spices in it and works in everything.  I just sprinkle some of that on top.  If you don't have a Costco nearby or don't want to get a membership, you can order it on Amazon as well.

You can serve the chicken for dinner, or I use it for various meals.  It works perfect on salads, mixed with rice and vegetables, or one of my favorites, a Moroccan Couscous Salad.  I've changed up the ingredients using whatever happens to be in the pantry.  I throw in chicken breasts and it makes a full meal.

You can use the chicken in soup, sandwiches, kids meals.  All kinds of things.

Experiment with different seasonings and see what you like.

Getting Healthy

Yes, I need to get healthy.  I've seen this simple "solution."

Really, how much simpler can it get?

A few days ago, we got an extended lunch hour (actually 2 hours) to go to the farmer's market.  I actually LOVE fruits and vegetables.  The farmer's market was a plethora of wonderful finds.

I got green beans, beautiful red tomatoes, assorted lettuce (which my husband actually liked), eggplant (which my husband does not like), okra and a bouquet of flowers for myself.  And I spent under $20.  I could have bought a lot more, but the 1 mile walk back to my office with arms laden with produce did not sound appealing.  Hitting the farmer's market tomorrow, does.

I'm also trying to set a good example for my daughter of making healthy choices and setting new habits for our family.

I'm making a commitment to get back in shape, so I'm looking for some good, healthy recipes.  What's your favorite?

Freebies, Extreme Couponing and Helping Others

I've been very absent lately.  I started a new job in March and many other things in life have had me very busy.  But back to posting....

If you do couponing, or participate in rewards cards offers, you probably get free items.  What do you do with them?

We donate them to homeless shelters or abuse shelters.  We keep a paper bag that we drop our freebies or samples in.  Once a year we donate them to a shelter.

This is the start of our donations.  

If you read my blog, you know that I shop at Ulta and get free gifts.  I don't need the free gifts, so I throw them in the bag.  There is toothpaste, razors, make up cases and various other things.  

I also use Facebook and other sites to sign up for free items or samples. Anything we don't need goes in the bag.

If we are using coupons and getting free items, anything that is more than what our family needs goes into the bag.  

Shelters can always use personal hygiene items, and these items often end up being free with coupons if you're really watching your coupons. 

So, instead of amassing a massive stock pile that will take you years to use, how about giving some things to people who are truly in need?  I assure you every donation we have given has been greatly appreciated.  

Product Review - Immaculate Baking

I discovered this brand purely by accident.  My family loves carbs.

I needed a quick breakfast items.  While I was checking out the canned cinnamon rolls (yes, I know they're unhealthy) I found these.  The brand is Immaculate Baking.

I happily bought them when I saw the label.  No bleached flour, no high fructose corn syrup, organic and non GMO (genetically modified).  A convenience food that I could feel good about serving to my daughter.  Double bonus, she LOVED them.  We also blueberry and cinnamon rolls.

Triple bonus, I found out they have gluten free products as well.

I found this cookie dough when I was picking up some more breakfast food for the kiddo.  They had this Fudge Brownie and Chocolate chip.  The chocolate chip is OK, but these are just fantastic.  There is no way to tell they are gluten free.

It's so rare to find a brand that is healthy, convenient, and better yet, affordable.  Yes, they are pricier than other brands, but I'll pay the little bit extra to feed my family some healthy food.

Most of the time I do my own baking, but when I don't have time.  It's nice to know I have an alternative.

I found these in the refrigerator section at a Super Walmart.  I haven't really looked other places for them.  You can also like them on Facebook.

Dinner for the next 2 weeks

Whenever I post on Facebook that I'm doing my 2 week batch cooking, people ask what's for dinner.  Here's what we're having.  My total on checkout at Aldi was $120 and that included snacks and lunch items as well.  Some of the leftovers will be used for lunches as well.

So here's the menu

Mexican chicken - I traded kidney beans and used black beans instead

Cheesy Chicken & Rice - A family favorite.  However, if you're GF, you know that cream soup has gluten in it, and face it, it's really not all that good for you.

I found this homemade substitute online.  It has just a few simple ingredients.  I call it "Cream of No Crap Soup."  This is the first time I'm using it, so we'll see how it does.

Sausage and baked beans - Again, I made some substitutions.  I bought turkey polish sausage and used canned baked beans.  I don't really like beans, but I can suffer through baked beans.  The black beans in the Mexican Chicken is a stretch for me.  But you can use whatever beans you want.

Bacon Quiche - This is a versatile dish.  You can throw in any veggies you want.  Add ham or leave out the meat altogether if you want vegetarian.

Pork Chop Meal - A simple one dish meal.

Peach Pork Chops - Pork Chops, a bag of frozen peaches, some seasoning and a little bit of chicken broth to keep the moisture content correct.

I even got the 11 year old involved this time.  She enjoyed bagging up our meals and she did some chopping.

Our last slow cooker dish is Beef Stew.

I used a pound of stew meat, but I checked prices on other cuts.  Since it cooks long and slow, you can use different cuts.  Round steak, top sirloin or cube steaks work well.  Stew meat was the cheapest per pound this time, so that's what we're using.  Since there are three of us, we cubed three potatoes and sliced a bunch of carrots.  Add some seasoning and  some beef broth or bouillon and water and you're good to go.  

I make my own gravy.  I'll use the juice from the stew after it's done cooking.  Bring it to a boil, and add a slurry of corn starch and water.  No, I don't have measurements. I have done it this way for so long I just know by looking.  This also keeps it gluten free and doesn't lump like using flour does.  

My "just in case" meals, (in case we forget to put something in the slow cooker) are Ravioli and Poor Man's Stroganoff.  That's one pound ground turkey, the Cream of No Crap Soup mix and some rice. I also have a pizza for the hubby and kiddo when I'm not home.  

I have several containers of already cooked rice in the freezer.  I can thaw them as needed.  I'll mix them into the Mexican Chicken and the Chicken & Rice as well.  

We will also have leftovers, and some of the leftovers become lunch as well.  I use them for my lunches quite often.  

I love Pinterest for my recipes. I find things that are good and healthy and I can "keep" them all in one place and not have to dig for recipes.  

Happy Eating!!

Product review - Enjoy Life not nuts!

I found this product at a local Festival Foods in the gluten free and health food section.

I don't like nuts, except peanut butter.  I don't like the taste or the texture.  So many trail mix blends contain nuts.  I don't want to pay for trail mix when I'm not going to eat half of it, and I don't want anything with carbs.

I was delighted when I found this, even more delighted when it tasted good!

For any of you out there with allergens, this product is free of wheat, tree nuts, fish, dairy, egg, shellfish, peanuts, soy, casein, potato, sesame and sulfites!  Even better it is made in a gluten free and nut free facility, so there is no cross contamination.

Here is the nutrition information.  6 oz bag contains 6 servings.  8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat.  13 grams of carbs with 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.  Not too bad.

There are two varieties of the seed and fruit mix.  You can view them here.

I don't remember the exact price, but I want to say it was around $3.  I used this as a snack on my way home from work.  I eat lunch at noon and don't get home until almost 6 PM.  This allows me a healthy snack that won't fill me up before dinner.

I think I'll be stocking up on these.

Gluten Free Lunches

I brown bag it, because I'm frugal.  My office is just a few blocks from a wonderful public market with gluten free and organic food, but I can't afford to eat there every day.  I wish I could.

Here are some things I pack for lunch.  If you are trying to cut carbs, these will help you since they are all gluten free.  I avoid using gluten free replacements.  They are expensive and quite frankly, most of them don't taste very good.  There are some good ones, but it takes a lot of trial and error, or the recommendation of friends, to find them.  So most of my lunches are naturally gluten free.

I found these great lunch containers at Wal-Mart. They were $4 each for a set of two and come with the  fork, and knife in the rectangular containers.  The salad containers have a separate cup for the dressing, so you can make salads up ahead of time.  These containers allow me to make lunch at one time instead of every day.

Salads - I buy the bagged lettuce and spinach and mix them together.  You can add whatever vegetables you want.  For protein I use chicken breast, tuna, salmon, whatever I happen to have on hand.

Quesadillas - Corn tortillas, cheese and your choice of other ingredients.  Chicken, beef, spinach, beans, whatever you want.

Portabella mushrooms - Flip a mushroom cap upside down.  Top with spinach, marinara sauce, sliced tomato and mozzarella or provolone cheese.  Bake at 350 until the cheese is lightly brown.

Veggie lasagna - I made this veggie lasagna last week.  It makes a 9x13 pan and I'm the only one who will eat it, so I cut it into single serving pieces and froze it.  I can just take out a single serving and put it in my lunch container.

Breakfast - Eggs are good protein.  Scrambled with some veggies and you're good to go.

Egg salad is a good option.  Mix in a half of an avocado for extra protein.  Spread it on sandwich bread, put it in a lettuce wrap, or eat it plain.  Here I added some cottage cheese and I'll grab a pear for my fiber filled fruit.

Last week I experimented with a recipe.  I made a spaghetti squash. (If you want to save time, pierce the squash a bunch of times, then microwave it for about 15 minutes. )  I mixed the squash with some parmesan cheese, a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and some canned salmon.

Wraps - Just because you're gluten free doesn't mean you can't do wraps.  Use corn tortillas or lettuce instead of bread.

Get creative with your meals.

Frugal Living - Gluten free batch cooking

I've been absent for several months.  Life has been just plain crazy.  I think things are getting back to normal, so I have several blogs planned.

In the last few weeks I have gone gluten free.  No, I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, but I am doing it because of arthritis in my knees.  When I talked to my wonderful friend, Ruth, she explained to me how going gluten free had helped her Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I suffer from arthritis in both knees, no cartilage in either knee, and my knee caps slide, bone on bone.  I am in pain on a regular basis.  So, I decided to give it a shot.  Within about a week, a lump on my left knee disappeared!

If you are gluten free, you know how expensive some of the products can be. I cook so that we are naturally gluten free, not adding expensive items to our budget.

Today I did my grocery shopping for the next two weeks.  I still use my slow cooker, especially since from the time I get up in the morning, until I get home, it's 12 hours.  I'm too tired to cook.

Here is what I bagged and froze for the next two weeks.  Just click on the title of the recipe to be directed to the recipe website.  These are not my creations, so I want to give credit where credit is due.  All of my meals come straight from the freezer and get dumped into the slow cooker.  They usually cook for about 8 hours on low.

BBQ Pork Chops - This one doesn't need a recipe.  Take some pork chops, put them in a plastic bag and pour on your favorite BBQ sauce.  Our family favorite is Sweet Baby Rays.

Pork Chops Cacciatore

Peach Chicken - I ditched the fresh peaches and used a bag of frozen peaches.  I'm all about saving time.

Cube Steak with Gravy - I ditched the packaged gravy mix and just added beef broth.  I'll add a little slurry of water and cornstarch to thicken it up.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps - This is not a slow cooker recipe, so I don't know how it will turn out.  However, my husband is thrilled with recipe.  It has bacon, brown sugar and chili powder.  It is a bit messy to put together, but it sounds good.

Beef and Broccoli- This is a family favorite. I alternate between stew meat, sirloin, or top round steak.  Depending on what is on sale. They all work out fine.  Go with the cheapest.

Applesauce BBQ Chicken - I used chicken leg quarters because they were cheaper.

Crockpot Mexican Lasagna - I put this together in a dish lined with foil.  When it's frozen, I'll put in a bag, still in the foil.  Then it can be easily transferred to the crock pot.  My husband will put it in when he comes for lunch, since this one doesn't need to cook as long.

Edit:  I discovered if you are cooking this from frozen, it does need to cook for 8 hours.  If you're not freezing it, 4 hours is fine.  

I have some meetings this week and won't be home for dinner, so I have ingredients for spaghetti and pizza since the rest of the family doesn't have to be gluten free.

There are some things that I do to save time.  It doesn't affect my budget very much and the time savings is SO worth it to me.

1) I use slow cooker liners.  They are from Reynolds and they can be found in the aisle where you'd find bags and foil.  They are awesome.

2) I don't measure seasoning.  I have a blend from Costco that I love.  It's an organic no salt seasoning and I use it on everything.  The link is to Amazon if you don't have a Costco near you.  It's a little pricer than Costco, but it is so worth it.

3) I buy pre-sliced when I can, if it's not that much more.  At my favorite Aldi store, the pre-sliced mushrooms are reasonable and save me a bunch of time.  There is also a jar of chopped garlic.  It's only a couple of dollars and worth every bit of it.

The other thing that I love about Aldi is that they carry their own brand of food and most of it is naturally gluten free.  If you're gluten free, you know about hidden gluten.  Aldi's brands don't have it in the places you have been looking.  Not in the Teriyaki sauce, or the chicken broth, or the other hidden places.  It's such a treat to find a naturally gluten free item that you can afford!

4) I make a big batch of rice at one time.  I use long grain rice, so it has to cook for 45 minutes.  I make the entire package at one time, so I'm not spending 45 minutes each night making a small batch.  All I have to do is spice it up.  Some nights I add some diced garlic and a little bit of olive oil, other nights I add veggies, and some nights it goes into the dish I'm making.

I spent a good bit of time making breakfasts and lunches for the next week as well, and those will be coming in future posts.  Enjoy your meals.

If you're on Pinterest, follow me and you'll see some of the recipes I use.  Not all are gluten free.

Frugal Living - Slow Cooker & Batch Prep

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to bake, but I despise cooking.  The drudgery of deciding what to make every night is draining to me.  The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away so there isn't a "wing it" dinner.  Meals need to be planned to make sure we have all the ingredients.

Since I hate cooking, I love my slow cooker.  Throw some food in and let it go.  It's done when I get home.  How can it get any better?  Well, if I had a personal chef it would be better, but I don't, so I do this.

After work today, I did the drudgery of shopping.  I had my meals planned and my list in hand when I hit my Aldi store to get all my groceries.

When I got home, I prepped everything and put it in labeled bags with any additional instructions.  For my Tortellini Soup, I need to add the tortellini about an hour before serving, so that instruction is on the bag.

All my veggies were cut at one time and nothing needed to be cooked ahead, so there are no dishes.  Another benefit of slow cooker or crock pot cooking.  Usually the only thing you need to wash is your crock pot.  It took me an hour to get everything together and I have 12 meals prepped.  All I have to do is pop them in the crock pot before I leave in the morning.

I do have ingredients for spaghetti as a back up in case I forget to dump something in the slow cooker before I leave in the morning.

On our menu for the next couple of weeks.....

Swiss Steak
Tortellini soup
Chicken & Dumplings
Cheesy chicken & rice
Soup pork chops  (pork chops with a can of chicken & rice soup)
Beef stew
Chicken leg quarters (add a packet of onion soup mix and some water) and I am making extra so I have leftover chicken to make a stir fry.
Balsamic vinegar chicken (this is a regular oven recipe that I'm making in the slow cooker instead)
BBQ Pork Chops
BBQ Chicken breast

If you're on Pinterest, you can find most the recipes on there.  I make life as easy as I can.

The great thing is that most of these recipes are naturally gluten free for those that need to follow a special diet, and they are pretty healthy so I can keep on track with my weight loss program.

Now I can settle in for the night and get my other chores done, knowing that cooking won't be on my agenda for the coming weeks.

Frugal Living - Batch Cooking

I have an 11 year old girl with a fabulous metabolism.  A bowl of cereal will not keep this kiddo full for any length of time.  She eats big breakfasts.  Once a month or so, I will spend a couple of hours making up breakfasts for her.  Good, healthy, filling breakfasts.

I'm also a mean mom.  I don't buy Pop Tarts or Toaster Strudel or any of the other things that kids WANT to eat.  It's just not healthy.  As a general rule, I use as little processed food as possible.  That's not to say it's 100% processed free, but I cook from scratch as much as possible.  I'm trying to teach her better eating habits that I have developed.

This is what I made today.  Starting in the center and going left... Stone Fruit Pancakes (peaches, nectarines, and plums), peanut butter and banana oatmeal squares, pumpkin scones, ham/egg/cheese biscuits, blueberry muffins and oatmeal raisin muffins.  This will last about six weeks.

Peanut butter oatmeal bars

My daughter has taken an interest in cooking, so she has started helping in the preparations.  The only processed food is the biscuits.

Press some canned biscuits into the bottom of a muffin tin, top with scrambled eggs, ham and cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

All of  these things will be frozen and she will just microwave them in the coming weeks.  These are all things she likes, and they're easy to make.  They are certainly healthier than many other options, and gives her servings of fruit she might not eat otherwise.  They are much higher in protein than cold cereal and have nutrients that aren't high in other foods.

Pumpkin Scones

And because I cook with the seasonal ingredients, I can save money.  The cost per serving is significantly lower than pre-made things, especially when you have a child who eats larger quantities.

The best thing is, you cook once and clean up once.  I'm not the June Cleaver type who is going to get up every morning and cook a hot breakfast and I certainly don't run a short order kitchen!!  My daughter can choose what she wants, and she gets some input into what I make. She also takes great pride when she eats something she helped prepare.  If she wants to help cook, I'm not going to turn down help.  What do you think I am?  Crazy?

Frugal Living - Homemade dryer sheets

I was doing laundry today and I ran out of dryer sheets.  We get a lot of static in the dryer, so I need to use dryer sheets, but my sensitive skin means that I need to be careful of fragrance and dyes.  It makes it very difficult to find dryer sheets.

I also have to be careful about hanging my laundry outside since I am very prone to allergies, and hanging laundry outside puts the allergens onto the laundry. 

I got to thinking…. That’s a dangerous thing for me.  J  My friend Tess has been making baby wipes for her daughter.  They are wonderful!  You can also make your own anti bacterial wipes, so I wondered if you can make your own dryers sheets.  The answer is YES!  They are significantly cheaper and depending on your “recipe” some are reusable.  I found several different ways of doing this online, so I’ll share them with you.

If you don’t have sensitive skin, and want to be “easy” simply soak a cotton cloth (cut up t-shirt or flannel) in the fabric softener of your choice, and hang them to dry.  Toss one in the dryer.  The sites I found said you can reuse each one up to 40 times before you have to resoak them. 

If you do have sensitive skin, look for a natural fabric softener.  One brand I saw mentioned several times was Ecover. 

Other sites say to mix ¼ C fabric softener with ¾ C water, place your cotton rags in an airtight , pour the mixture over the rags and cover.  Then add “sheet” to each load.  This idea doesn’t thrill me.  I don’t do laundry every day and the potential of breeding mold sets my allergy meter on high alert.  Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s not the method I’ll use.

There are two more natural ways to make sheets that allow me to control the ingredients more for my sensitive skin.

Fill a spray bottle halfway with fabric softener or hair conditioner and then fill the rest of the way with water.  Add 20 – 30 drops of essential oil if you like.  Spray this on your clean cotton cloth and toss it in the dryer with your next load.

And the last “recipe.”

Combine

6 C water

½ C baking soda

3 C plain white vinegar

20 – 30 drops essential oil – if you want

Add water and baking soda to a large container and stir to mix.

Slowly add the vinegar and allow the chemical reaction to do its thing.

If you like, add essential oil, but this isn’t necessary.

Soak the cloths in the mixture and hang to dry.  Toss into a load. 

Since I am a knitter, I have a stash of knit “dishrags” in my house.  I will use these since they are 100% cotton and I know they are safe for me.  

Edit - If you use the last recipe with the vinegar and baking soda, be sure add the vinegar SLOWLY!  Even though the baking soda is diluted, the vinegar still reacts and causes a volcanic eruption!


If you want to add essential oils, you can add then to energize or calm, or to add an additional germ killer.  Check out the Doterra website to learn more about which oils to use.  Lavender and Clary Sage work well for calming, citrus for energizing and there are several oils in the Doterra line that help with germs.

Book Review - Cooking with Spirit

Cooking with Spirit by Jasmine Rose is a cookbook that you need to have, even if you don't cook.

The author is fun and lively woman.  If you have ever met her in person you know this.  If you haven't, sit down and read the cookbook.  Yes, I said read the cookbook.

It is filled with tidbits and trivia about various ingredients.  Each recipe highlights an ingredient and gives you the history and health benefits.

Yes, the foods are healthy, but they are also full of flavor.  If you think these are recipes that you won't really want to eat, guess again.  Gooey Chocolate Dessert Scones will make you change your mind quickly.  Northern Lights Salad, Aye Karumba Pasta Salad, Sort of Corn Quiche, but Not Really and even Designer Oatmeal are all fabulous recipes.  This is just a sample of what you can find.

Even if you never cook a single recipe, you will find this cookbook good for the soul.  There are fun family photos, quotes to lift the spirit and what other cookbook will tell you to do a Rhumba all over the kitchen?  Really.  I'm not kidding.

The directions for the Sort of Corn Quiche include:

"I'm going to tell you a little trick.  Put about 1/2 C of the the egg mixture in a small jar.  Add the two kinds of flour and the mustard.  Put the lid on.  Make sure it's on tight and shake.  Do a rhumba all over the kitchen.  Move that body!  Work up an appetite."

So, get this cookbook and start whipping up some fabulous meals. And if you ever get the chance, meet the author.  She gives great hugs and makes your spirit sour when you meet her.  Talk about a person who exudes positive energy!

Frugal Living - Home Decor

I'm one of those people that decorates everything else first and saves our bedroom for last.  My kids have always had great bedrooms, but we usually don't.  I decided to put my husband and me on the top of the list for a change, but being me, I did it on a budget!

This is the before picture of our bedroom.  Nothing exciting, right?

I am very aware that I share the room with my husband, who is not into girly things, so I tried to strike a balance of pretty, but not overly girly.  I wanted to do something with peacock colors, but not overly so.

Here's part of the after.  The comforter that we had still worked fine, but it was getting a little ratty, so I elected to go with a duvet cover, which just slips over the existing comforter.  I paid $23 for it on Target online, and with using my Target card, I got 5% off and free shipping.  The pillows and bedskirt were from the old set, just reused.

I also got curtains from Target.  Again, 5% off and free shipping.  The best part was that if I didn't like them, I could return them to the store.  I didn't have to deal with shipping them back!

The peacock wreath above the bed is the best deal in the entire room.

I saw it when I was at a Michael's store in Madison, which is about 2 hours from my home.  I didn't buy at the time, because I didn't have my 40% off coupon with me.  I'm glad I didn't.  When I went to the store nearest me, they didn't have it.  It had to be transferred in from Madison.  I considered making one until I priced the materials.  The price was $19.99 in Madison and would have been around $13 after my coupon.  I couldn't buy the materials for that price.  When it came in, my husband went to pick it up.  It rang up for.............  How much do you think???

$1.99!!!! Yep.  It was 90% off!!!  I couldn't beat that deal.

I found some candles online that I liked, but no way was I paying the price they were asking!

They were anywhere from $16 to $33 each.  Yeah, I don't think so.  For the spot I was using them I needed 3 of them.  My friend, Jen, gave me the wall hanging candle holder they are on.  This woman wouldn't spend $48 - $99 on decorative candles.  Especially not when I can make them myself.

Total for the 3 candles... $9.  I had the two cream candles already, so I used those.  I purchased the green one for under $3.  The peacock and blue feathers were all on one "stem" originally priced at $8, but I had a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby.  The ribbon was on sale for $1.  So, I made my own candles for about 90% off what I would have paid online.

I decided to make the main colors the blue, green and brown, with just pops of purple here and there took keep it from being too girly.  The poster in the  middle is from Michaels craft store.  Originally $12.99, but I had a 40% off coupon.  If you are looking for home decor items, don't be afraid to check craft stores.  They have a lot more than you think and both Michaels and Hobby Lobby offer coupons on their website, or your smart phone.  Many times they are for 40% off a regular priced item.  I use these frequently.

The blue and purple "feathers" are actually pens from Pier 1.  The little wooden vase that they are in was a gift from my best friend when she went to Jamaica to get married.  It was the perfect place for these pens.

The lamp to the side was also purchased at Pier 1, along with the hook and candle holder in this photo.

















The pens, hook, candle holder and lantern were all a total of $30.  It was originally $50, but I had a coupon for $20 off a purchase of $50 or more.

The last thing is the scarf you see hanging off the hook. I made it.  The yarn was the colors I wanted, it was $5.99 a skein at Hobby Lobby and I had my trusty 40% off coupon.  The yarn was a total of $7.20.

So the grand total for my bedroom makeover.... Just over $100.  And that was spent over about a 3 month period.

I haven't decided on a wall color yet.  I'll gladly take suggestions.  I want something neutral, but I'm not sure what.  I'm also looking at doing a new headboard that I saw on Pinterest.  It uses as an old door, painted in your choice of colors.  We had "extra" doors laying around our house, so the only cost would be a couple of quarts of paint.

I'm not sure what colors I'll use, but I think it would be a neat accent in the bedroom.

My husband is happy with what I've done and even happier with the amount of money that I didn't spend.  Thrift stores are another great place to find home decor items.  Check out my friend over at the Two Men and a Little Farm blog and see what he has done with the some thrift store finds.