Recently in homemaking Category

I had a few minutes of computer time this morning so I went over to The Domestic Church Blog to catch up. I enjoyed her post Queenship of the Home Part 1 about getting one's house in order. She also pointed me to this post from Evlogia Blog. It is just what I needed to hear so I am requoting the full piece.

The Treasure Hunt

As a mother of many children, attending the divine services is a matter of constant movement. My arms are rarely empty and, as far as I can recollect, I have never ended a service standing in the same spot in which I began. Long ago I let go of the naive notion that the distraction of caring for young children amounted to missing the spiritual benefit of attending the services. Quite the contrary. The situation of having my will repeatedly cut off has proven far more profitable than the peace and quiet that I desire.

Women shall be saved in childbearing (1 Timothy 2:15).

Yes, she will be given the opportunity to learn to live for another person besides herself.

My spiritual father often reminds me that mothers must learn to be creative in prayer. It's a matter of taking utter chaos and, by God's grace, using it to affect the ordering one's heart. This is the creativity of motherhood. Nursing a sick child in the middle of the night becomes an opportunity to keep vigil. The repeated interruption of a meal in order to serve a hungry child becomes an opportunity to fast. An overflowing basket of laundry becomes a reminder to pray for each member of the family as each piece of clothing is folded and put away. Little ways to capture grace in the smallest of moments.

I spent the first decade of motherhood waiting for a moment of quiet. As soon as the children are older, I can pray. As soon as the house is clean and organized, I can be at peace. As soon as we get through this trying time, then I can be the kind of wife and mother that I truly want to be.

Always missing the opportunity to engage the present moment and instead, living for an imaginary one.

The older I get, the more the present moment becomes a treasure hunt. Where is it? Where is the grace of this moment? God is here. Where is He in this moment? While I used to hunt for quiet, I now spend my time as a mother learning to listen amid the noise and have made it a practice to creatively search for any opportunity to catch a brief spiritual word of encouragement.

It's amazing how much better you can hear the quiet of God's voice when the noise of one's complaining ceases.

For instance, if I had to guess, I would say that on average I typically hear about five minutes of a 20 minute homily on any given Sunday. Yet God is infinitely creative and somehow that brief word proves to be the one that I most needed.

My five minutes today were probably more like two. Nevertheless, having no idea of the context in which they were posed, I found something to ponder in these questions:

When my children are disobedient do I first stop and pray for them? Does my pain of heart lie in that they are doing something that might cause them to loose the grace of God? Or does my irritation rest in that they have not done my will?

I wonder how a family would be blessed if a mother were to keep a watch over her heart, constantly asking these three questions of herself.

I think I'll test it and see. With God as my helper.

And the treasure hunt continues.

Thanks, Evlogia!

Now that the weather is cooling down, it is the perfect time to dust off the slow cooker and whip up some tasty meals. I asked my sis EML to send me her fave recipes and she did. So now I'm sharing them with you! The charizo one looks really yummy although I have to tone down any spiciness right now or else JP will let his disapproval be known loud and clear. ;-)

Slow Cooker Lentil and Ham Soup (Bobbi's note: I think I'll try this one first.)

Slow-cooker Turkey Chili

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
I added some cooked chicken and cheese to each bowl when I served it.

Peppered Beef Soup

These three aren't slow cooker, but they are good and I assume you could throw everything in the slow cooker and cook it that way.

Devilish Chorizo Chili with Hominy

Minestrone
Edith LOVES this soup. (Bobbi's note: Edith is my adorable niece.)

Potato Broccoli and Cheese Soup

www.southernliving.com has a slower cooker section that has some good recipes.

This site ( crockpot365.blogspot.com) also has some good recipes.

Enjoy!

The site has been getting a lot of search engine hits from people looking for All Saints Day costume ideas so here is the link to an old post at RoL for saint costume ideas and pics of Bella and Andrew in their costumes.

Here's a cool site to check out when you want to combine your love of cooking with your love of the Catholic faith - Catholic Cuisine Blog.

When you are done there, head over to Fr. Leo's Grace Before Meals.com.

Well, the finale finally came and Brian and I were so proud of both Melissa and Jeffrey. They did great! But when the final announcement was made I couldn't have been happier - unless they gave both of them their own show! :-) I can't wait to watch Melissa's new show next week. Be sure to check it out on Sunday at 12:30pm/11:30c. It'll be called "Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian." Watch the trailer here. Sounds promising! :-)

A friend of mine mentioned that she is reading the e-book Simplifying Your Domestic Church: A Spiritual Journal to Help Declutter, Organize and Systemize the Home. I was interested in it because with another little one coming into the house, I've been trying to declutter and make more room, but there is room for so much more improvement!

I downloaded the ebook this morning and have started reading it. Each chapter has pages of practical tips on different areas. (ie. organizing, managing your time, money budgeting etc.) There is a page of self-examining questions. (ie. Do I have a hard time detaching from this of this world?) Then there is a page of saint quotes/scripture for each day of the week and a blank page for your notes. Some of the tips are geared towards a homeschooling family but I was able to adjust them to our own schooling situation. The book totals 110 pages and you can print it out or just read from your computer.

To learn more about the book, the author and her apostolate Project Nazareth check out this article. You can order the book at Catholic Heritage Curricula.

I was just putting together the new pages of my planner when I came across this Catholic version. I use the Franklin Covey system simply because I like the "pocket size" versions that fit easily in my purse/diaper bag. But if I were to go to a larger size, I'd definitely enjoy this Catholic Woman's Planner by Family-Centered Press. and I have a feeling when I show Brian the Catholic Men's Planner, he is going to want me to order one for him!

Also be sure to check out the "Freebies" column on the left if the page. There are printable pages of Family Budget Forms, Fitness Logs, Menu Plans, Liturgical Calendars and Homeschooling Resources. Very cool.

I love to make enchiladas but I didn't like the fact that it was a bit time consuming. Now when I want the taste without all the frying and rolling, I make this enchilada casserole instead. (Note: I don't care for the taste of canned sauce so I use a sauce recipe my dad put together. If you like the canned stuff, you can sub with that instead.)

Ingredients for Sauce

1 28oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
1-3 tsp of chili powder (For flavor but mild heat, use only 1 tsp. You can add more after if you'd like.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Casserole/Lasagna

2 dozen tortillas (estimate)
Cheese - Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or a Mexican Blend (I usually make sure I have at least a small block of cheese. You can use more if you want it extra cheesy.)
Filling - You can pretty much use anything you like: beef, carnitas, turkey, chicken, fish or just cheese. You can get as fancy or as simple as you'd like. My family especially likes when I use 1 lb of ground lean turkey, 1 sautéed chopped onion, 3 sautéed minced garlic cloves, 1 can chopped olives and salt & pepper.

To Assemble

Mix the sauce ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Let cool. (Note: This is enough sauce for a 13x9 baking dish.)

Warm about 2 dozen corn tortillas. (You can substitute with flour also.) You can use a grill to warm them and place them in a folded dish to keep them soft. You can also warm them in the oven wrapped in tin foil.

Cut the tortillas in half. Spread sauce on the bottom of you pan. Make a layer the tortillas. Spread sauce to cover tortillas. Make a layer of your filling. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with sauce. Make another layer of tortillas. Repeat the process 2-3 more times, depending on how thick you want it.

Cover the dish with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Take out of the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Here is the next installment of EML's Tightwad Tuesday.

We just took a vacation to CA for my brother's wedding so I thought I would compile a short list of some of the way we keep our cost down while on vacation.

1. Don't just look at discount sites for airline tickets, but also check the companies site directly for sales. We usually fly Jetblue or Virgin America since they have direct flights and it is almost always cheaper to buy directly from them. Virgin America was actually having a sale on round trip tickets from DC to CA for $160 round trip!

2. Do some reach for your destination spot and see if they have any "off season." We usually fly to CA in the colder months
(January-March) since airline tickets and car rentals seem to be cheaper then.

3. When I am looking for a hotel, I always make sure it comes with a free breakfast. I am actually surprised at some hotel's free breakfast since it is like going to a sit down restaurant.

4. Get a hotel room that comes with a fridge and microwave so you can bring and prepare your own food. For our honeymoon, we stayed in an extended stay hotel and it came with a complete kitchen! We saved quite a bit of money by packing our lunch and making our dinner. It was nice to go out a few times on our honeymoon, but I actually preferred the homemade food.

5. Think about going on vacation with a group of people to help cover cost.
a. When you have a group of people you can see about renting a house in the area rather than staying in a hotel. However, renting a house usually requires week long stays.
b. Carpooling will help you save money on gas.

7. Most cities have tourist websites so check out what free things you can do in the area.

8. Set a budget of what you can spend on the vacation and stick to it.
If you are the type that always goes over then only use cash that way you have a more clear idea of how much money you have for the trip.

What are some of your ideas to save on vacation and still have a great time?

Here is the next installment of EML's Tightwad Tuesday.

For quite some time, I didn't use coupons because we didn't get the newspaper and they didn't come in the mail. However, after reading a number of blogs that showed the wonderful deals they got by using coupons I thought it might be worth it to buy the Sunday paper. We have received the newspaper for 3 weeks now and it has already paid for itself. I also discovered that you can print many coupons on-line from manufacture websites and other coupon sites. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but is well worth the time and effort. Here are a few things that help me with my coupon chipping.

1. Don't clip every single coupon. I only clip coupons for products that I actually use or similar products.

2. Keep them in a coupon holder or binder of some kind and organizer them in the way that works for you. I have them filed by category and then put the ones that expire in two weeks in the front so they won't go to waste.

3. After you make up your shopping list for the week or two, pick out the coupons you plan to use and paper clip them to your list. That way when you actually get to the store you have them right there and you don't have to be search for them.

4. Bring your coupon holder with you, in case you remember something you need that you didn't list or see a clearance item at a good deal. I have a small coupon holder that I keep in my purse so I have it ever where I go. I usually give it to my daughter to hold it so she gets used to using coupons. Of course, she is only 7 months old so I think she just thinks of it as something to chew on. :)

5. Start small. You hear about people who buy $100 of groceries for $10, but I am sure they have been at it for a long time. If you expect that from yourself on your first shopping trip with coupons and you don't reach it, you may get down on yourself and then give up. Any money you save is good even if it is a few dollars. As you shop with coupons more and more often, you will become a pro and be getting $100 or groceries for $10 or less.

Below are some blogs about coupons that I have found helpful:

Coupon Cravings
http://www.couponcravings.com/

Money Saving Mom
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Frugal in Virginia
http://www.frugalinvirginia.com/

Let me know how you do your coupon clipping.

Bobbi's note: I must admit that I hate clipping or carrying coupons. Or when I do take them to the store, I forget all about them until AFTER I've already paid and am back home. Last week I thought I'd give the coupon thing another try so instead of paperclipping the coupons to my shopping list, which I tend to shove in my pocket when I am unloading the groceries and then forget to take back out, I stuck them with my money so I am sure to see them before I pay. It paid off because I bought about $30 worth of food for $10. My sister's good habits are starting to rub off on me! And as an added incentive, I take whatever money I've saved by using coupons and place it in a jar. The hassle becomes much more bearable when I see the dollars being saved for something fun - like our next trip to Disneyland. :-) So start that clipping!

I am happy to see that my sis EML has started her own blog called Barefoot and Sometimes Pregnant. Be sure to check it out!

Here is the next installment of EML's money saving tips.

Homemade

Making things from scratch is a great way to save money and you have the added benefit of knowing exactly what is in your food. While it does take some planning it is well worth the effort and time. For the past week, I have been trying to make more things rather than just buying them and so far I have been happy with the results.

These are some of the things I have made in the past week:

Wheat bread
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Honey-Bread/Detail.aspx
This was good, but got hard very quickly. I am still trying to find a better recipe.

White bread
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Light-Oat-Bread/Detail.aspx
This one is really good.

Wheat hamburger buns
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Wheat-Sandwich-Rolls/Detail.aspx
I used all wheat flour and added some vidal wheat gluten. I would use something that is at least 4 inch to form the buns or they will be a little small.

Apple sauce
http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm
Apples were dirt cheap last week so I bought 12 lbs and made 4 quarts of apple sauce. It came out to be around $1 cheaper than store bought apple sauce.

Baby food
Home-made baby food is so easy to make that I don't think I would ever buy jars of food. Using a steam basket, I place the vegetable/fruit and steam for 10-15 mins. Then I just place in the blender and make the puree. If it needs to be thinned downed, then I add the water from the pan. I pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze. Once they are frozen, I pop them out and store them into a freezer bag/container. Then when my daughter wants to eat, I just take out 2-3 cubes and defrost in the microwave. I currently have around 12 different fruits and vegetable in the freezer ready to be eaten.

Snack Packs
I used to buy the pre-made snack bags of chips, crackers, etc for my husband's lunch because it was just easier, but I knew that it cost more so last week I decided to make my own. It is actually very easy if I do it all at one time. I divided the chips, etc into serving sizes and then put them in those fold over lunch bags which are cheaper than the Ziploc snack bags. Then to keep them fresh I put everything into a Tupperware.

To make bread products, I would recommended getting a bread machine. It makes things much easier. I was able to get mine for free, but I always see them at thrift stores for $10-$20. I think it would pay for itself after a few weeks depending on how often you use it. The average loaf of wheat bread cost $3-$5 and it only cost me around .80 - $1 for an all wheat loaf. I will make the dough in the machine and then bake in the oven, but when I am short on time I just put everything in the machine and 2 hours later I have a loaf of bread.

This week I am going to try making some tortillas, waffles/pancakes mix, English muffins, granola, and hot chocolate mix. I will let you know if I find any good recipes. Let me know what home-made items you make to save some money.

Here is the next installment of EML's money saving tips.

Buying Used Items

We all have to buy things at some point, but you do not always have to buy new. Gently used items do the job just as well and they will cost you much less than something new. Here are three places you should check out the next time you need (want) something.

First on the list are thrift stores. I recently discovered a thrift store that is operated by a local church and I went to check it out since I was looking for some clothes for Edith. Well, after spending 30 mins there I left with a bag full.

This is what I bought:
Bead maze toy - $1 (I had seen the same thing at Target for $15.)
2 paperback kid books - .53 (New around $10.)
BabyGap shorts - .50 (New $16.50)
BabyGap pants - .50 (New $24.50)
Old Navy sweater - $1 (New $19.50)
Adias track pants - $1 (New $20)
2 Carter t-shirts - $1 (New $24 for both)
Lilly Pulitzer sweater - $1 (On Lilly Pulitzer's website, the sweater sells for $58.)

I only spent $6.86. If I had bought these items new, it would have run me up $187.50 plus tax. All the clothes were in excellent shape and one of the sweaters actually still had the tags. This is my usual experience with thrift stores. Sometimes you will have to hunt for the bargains, but they are always there and well worth the time to find them. Most thrift stores sell clothes, household items, sport equipment, furniture, books, paintings and electronics.

The second place to check-out is www.craigslist.com. You usually will not find items as cheap as things at a thrift store, but it is a great place to find some thing in particular. Most of the baby items I have bought (stroller, car seat, pack-n-play, etc) have been Craig's list buys and they were purchased for at least 50% off the retail price.

They also sell larger items such as houses, cars, rooms for rent, farm equipment, pretty much anything you may need. I actually purchased my car from someone on Craig's List. I paid $1300 for it and have put around $500 worth of work into it, but after 3 years, it still has not cost me more than $2000.

Craig's List is also a great place to sell items around your house that you may no longer need. I have personally sold around a couple hundred dollars in the last few months.

www.freecycle.org is a place where you can find things people are trying to get rid
and will give to you for free. You are also able to post things that you are looking for and if someone has the item, they will give it to you. I was looking for a new car seat cover for a car seat I picked up on Craig's List and someone gave me theirs for free. I have picked up canning jars, clothes for Edith, books, and some kitchen items that people were looking to give away.

Speaking of frugal tips, here is an article worth browsing.

Learn to cut your food bill 25%.

My sis EML is a natural money saver. (I, on the other hand, am not.) So when she offered to send me weekly money saving tips I could post on the blog, I was all for it! Here is the introductory installment.

Tightwad Tips by EML

I have always thought of myself as a somewhat frugal person, but recently have been wondering if I am as frugal as I could be. After discovering one of my friends having a food/household budget of around $100 less than ours, I figured there must be a lot more that I could be doing. I decided then and there to go on a journey of deeper frugality. I thought I would share with you the things that I found.

Every Tuesday, I plan to share what money saving tips I have discovered for the week, recipes to make things from scratch, things that I have done around the house to save money, blogs that share the idea of saving money and other odds and ends that will help you save a few dollars.

My first tip: Learn to say no to your kids and yourself. Not buying anything at all is the greatest money saver!

(Bobbi's note: Ya know, I keep trying to tell Brian I saved money by buying something on sale and he insists that I'd save even more money if I never bought it in the first place. Hmm...maybe he's got something there...)

This morning I saw Alex make a recipe for an Apple Brown Betty on Food Network's Cooking Loft and it looked so tasty! Guess what we're having for dessert tonight?!

Apple Brown Betty

Ingredients
6 apples, Granny Smith or Braeburn, peeled and cored
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 1/2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 additional tablespoon for greasing the baking dish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Equipment: 5 creme brulee dishes, shallow and oval
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the center of the oven.

Place the apples on a flat surface, cut them in half, and then into thin slices. Put them in a medium bowl and coat them with a light layer of zest from 1 of the lemons and all of the lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, mix together the butter and bread crumbs. Season with salt. Set aside.

In a third bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Mix to blend and add the apple slices.

Grease each baking dish with the remaining butter. Layer the bottom with the apples and cover with the bread crumb mixture.

Cover the dishes tightly with aluminum foil and place in the center of the oven. Bake until the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil, raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake until the top browns. Serve immediately.

I was laughing this morn when I read on a friend's blog that her son likes to play "food network" in the kitchen. Lately I've been trying to involve Bella in the kitchen more and she loves it! However, we always have to act out our recipe with me bring Rachael Ray and she being Rachael's daughter. I asked her what she'd like to bake with me on the weekend and she said, "How about Zabaione?" She doesn't actually know what that is but she loved the way Lisa from Next Food Network Star kept saying the word. So we skipped the zabaione and decided to make the recipe we received from Auntie EL instead. We'll let you know how it comes out!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter and milk.
4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until blended. Be careful not to over mix.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Pour batter into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. (It will have some melted chocolate, but no crumbs.)

Brian and I have been baby proofing our house for months now that Andrew has mastered walking and climbing low objects. However, we were still struggling with what to do about our brick fireplace hearth. We considered buying one of those specialty gates that go around it, but they are pricey. In the meantime, we simply blocked off the sitting area by the fireplace with our dining room chairs entwined like a puzzle. (Yeah, that was real attractive.) But our incredibly small Hercules always figured out a way to move the chairs or wiggle his way through them. Finally, I saw a perfect solution in one of those parent magazines sitting in the doctor's office. A mom suggested using one of those connect-a-mat floor puzzles to cover the hearth. Brilliant. We tried it and I'm happy to say, it works! (At least until Andrew discovers how to disconnect it.)

Hey there. I hope you had a great 4th of July holiday/weekend. Some wonderful friends invited us up to their place for a BBQ/potluck and we had a great time catching up with them and meeting some new people – finally able to meet some of the creators of blogs I’ve been reading! Since it was a potluck and I didn’t have time for my usual pot of chili, I made a corn salsa I found online at on the Food Network site. It is the perfect dish to make during the summer, when corn is so fresh and delicious! The original recipe is here and my slightly altered version below.

(Non-spicy) Corn Salsa
2 cups fresh cooked corn*
24 cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Chop the tomatoes then toss them in a colander with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Let drain for 10-15 minutes. When done, combine the corn, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, lime and olive oil. Mix well. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

* Note: I usually get about ½ a cup of corn per cob, depending on the size. If you’re not sure how to cut the kernels off corn, watch this. You can also use thawed frozen corn.

Being green is certainly not my priority in life but it plays a part in being a steward of God's earth, so for Earth Day I purchased these cool recyclable bags from greenconceptonline.com. I liked the one with the Scripture quote but I preferred the look of the dark brown one with flowers. Plus, it had to be wider for my groceries so dark brown it is.

Having just gone to the grocery store and wondering why I spent so much for so little, I found this article very interesting. A family of seven lives on $33,000 a yr without any debt or credit card use. Amazing. Check it out.

How Cheapest Family in America Saves Cash

I don't know if it is because I am pregnant or because this stew is so delicious (probably a bit of both) but I have been craving Dave Lieberman's (from the Food Channel) Mexican Chicken Stew every day! I have been making a big pot each week and enjoying it all week long! However, I do modify the recipe when it comes to the jalapenos. I don’t want it really hot so instead of chopping it into the stew I quarter the peppers (don’t forget to wear gloves!) and let them simmer in the stew to give it a little flavor but not too much heat. I remove the peppers just before adding the rice. Give this one a try! Yum!

Peony of Two Sleepy Mommies asks:

"An organization question: How do you deal with organizing paper? 'Official' papers (like bank statements and tax papers) goes in our filing cabinet, of course, but how do you handle stuff like catalogs you want to take a peek at someday but don't have time at the moment, articles you printed from the Net that you want to take a look at, recipes, craft ideas.... all that kind of flotsam and jetsam. I have a files for recipes I want to try, and am starting a file for craft ideas. Maybe I should start one for my hoard of articles."

I have been going through the same thing since I've started early on my spring cleaning, particularly since it looks like we'll be moving in a few months. I too have paper and catalogs that need to be organized. I recommend keeping the new catalogs in one spot where you tend to have at least 5 minutes to yourself - in the chair where you nurse the baby or on your nightstand while the kids are sleeping. Or my personal favorite - in the bathroom. haha! After I look at a catalog it either goes in the trash or in a designated magazine rack on our book shelf. One rack has Catholic catalogs we frequently order from and the other has my "regular" catalogs I want to keep for future use. When the "spring" issue arrives I dump out the previous "winter" issue. (Although some of my friends keep the old issues in a big bin instead so their kids can cut out the photos for projects.) That has pretty much helped me to keep my catalogs in check.

As far as all the papers and recipes go, it's an ongoing project for me. I keep a folder on my desk that says "articles to read" (most from magazines.) That piles up for a week or two then I go back through the folder and dump out the articles I'm no longer interested, often saying to myself, why the heck did I cut out the article "How to Survive a Blizzard and Entertain Your Kids with the Craft of Quilting and Still Have Time to Cook A Gourmet Indian Dish All In One Afternoon!" Sure it may have sounded great at the time but considering that it doesn't snow here, I can't sew a button, and don't care for Indian food, let alone gourmet stuff, I shouldn't waste my time. That eliminates a lot of my "must read" folder. The rest that's worth it gets skimmed over. And if I can use it again in the future for an article or personal use I put it in my personal file cabinet by my desk. I've labeled each hanging file with topics such as "baby care" or "apologetics" or "crafts" or "printed directions", etc.

Online articles get put in my computers "favorites" file. I read them when time permits (don't you love that phrase?) and only print out those that I will use immediately. They too go into my personal file as above.

Small recipes go taped onto a 3x5 card and into the recipe box. For online recipes I cut & paste it into Word, reduce the size and print it to fit on a 3x5. For large magazine recipes with photos I put them in a recipe binder using those plastic sheet covers. You can use dividers to organize by subject. Granted when I make my weekly menu I usually say "hey, I should try one of the recipes in my binder" but then the phone rings or Bella says "I go potty" and I land out ignoring the binder and cooking something I already know. Oh well.

I still have piles of papers I'm sorting through but I have made one huge improvement - our owners manuals are organized in one spot! I got a huge white binder, plastic sheet covers, and alphabetized dividers. As soon as a manual comes in it goes straight in the binder - from TV manuals to instructions for setting up the baby crib. It may sound a little "too organized" but I was desperate. The other day we were trying to figure out what some of the obscure buttons on our DVD remote where. I went to find the DVD manual and it took two hours to remember that I last looked at it when I was talking on the phone to my sister who asked me about the date of our trip down south which reminded me that I needed to schedule an oil change on the car which reminded me that I had to make a deposit in the bank to pay the guy which reminded me that I haven't gotten online to check my bank statement which reminded me that I was supposed to place an order from the new catalog I received which reminded me that I left the catalog in the magazine holder in the bathroom...and alas, there was the DVD owners manual right where I finally laid it down - in the bathroom magazine rack. Sigh. See what a little oganization can do for you? haha!

Yesterday I thought I would honor the first day of autumn by baking some wonderful smelling cookies! It was such a Martha Stewart moment....Okay, truth be known I had some disgustingly black bananas that had to be used ASAP and I was tired of banana bread. So I found a basic recipe for banana oatmeal cookies at cooks.com and changed it a bit to fit the ingredients I had in the kitchen. The cinnamon and nutmeg smelled so good as they were baking and it was a great change of pace from regular ol' banana bread. (Needless to say, they were a big hit with Brian and Bella!)The cookies were pretty moist (my favorite type) although I would like to experiment with making them crunchier. In the meantime, try them yourself and let me know your own variation!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 c. butter, margarine shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. banana (about 2-3)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. quick oatmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 - 1 c. raisons (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg. Add banana. Mix well. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the two mixtures together. Add raisons. Drop tablespoon-sized portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. (This is a soft cookie so bake a little longer for a crunchier cookie.) Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Happy baking! b.