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My daughter, Christina, has entered several of her photos into contests. I would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to vote for her pictures and write her a nice review!
Happy Homemaking!
Malia Russell
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Happy Anniversary
It's the one year anniversary for the Homemaking 911 web site! To celebrate, we decided to roll out a new product and also include some great bonus items from our friends."What Homemaking 911 items do I get with this special?"
- NEW! Chaos to Order E-book ($10 value) — Available for the first time in PDF format! This encouraging book is solidly based on the fundamental truth of God's word, Malia's personal experiences, and insight gained from working with hundreds of women every year. Each chapter is filled with practical information, personal application and Scripture. This e-book helps turn modern homemakers from overwhelmed to overjoyed!
- Chaos to Order MP3 ($5 value) — This encouraging MP3 download was recorded based on our popular conference presentation, which has been presented at the CHEK conference for the last two years as well as to several mom support groups. Download this immediately after purchase to hear how to bring order to your home!
- Save Gas Money PDF ($3.70 value) — After gas prices soared to over $3.70 a gallon, I compiled all the useful, practical tips into a quick e-book for my readers. These are 30 tips you can use immediately. Were you once told that it was smarter to leave your car in idle than to restart your car? Is that true? Do you know? Is it better to run your A/C or roll down your windows? The answer will probably surprise you. Where can you find out the lowest prices in your town without driving around? Get this e-book for answers and start saving on gas money!
"And the bonus items?"
- Cindy Ruston's Mommy Care Package ($30 value) — Six audio MP3's from Cindy Rushton. Tired? Weary? Find yourself overwhelmed by the tremendous load of motherhood? Do you consider this one of the most demanding, yet rewarding roles you will ever fill…yet that send shivers down your spine? Join Cindy as she exhorts you in your high calling. You will love this entire set of audios as Cindy ministers encouragement and direction straight from the Word of God to your heart, soul, and mind! Audio MP3's include the following: Say Goodbye to Super Mom! Would the Perfect Mother Please Step Forward???
- Help! I am SO Tired and Weary Fill-R-Up! Taking Care of Mom! Let's Simplify! Oops! My Cup is Empty and My Coffee Pot is Broke! A Woman of Worth e-Magazine ($12.95 value) — A one-year subscription to the e-Magazine version of A Woman of Worth, from Melissa Ringstaff's A Virtuous Woman site. You will also get the Spring 2008 issue for instant download!
- Soups and Stews for Busy Moms ($9.97 value) — From Marilyn Moll of The Urban Homemaker.
- Scripture Scavenger Hunt ($3.95 value) — A summer fun idea in your back pocket, from The Carriers at Values Driven Family.
- What Homeschool Moms Really Need to Know about Computers — Ten minute audio from Phyllis Wheeler of Motherboard Books
You'll be getting more than $75 worth of materials for a great price!
Click here to buy buy this great deal that ends August 1st!
Happy Homemaking!
Malia Russell
Monday, July 7, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Freezer Cooking
I used to struggle constantly with what to have for dinner. I learned about freezer cooking (also called Once a Month Cooking or OAMC, Investment Cooking, Make-Ahead Cooking) and decided I wanted to learn all about it. After researching I tried the Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet and quickly became a fan of freezer cooking! I started 30 day cooking alone, then joined friends who were also using this method, and finally started to teach new people all about freezer cooking.
Since I started my Homemaking911 ministry in July 2007 I have 100s of women freezer cooking. Many women wanted to have a manual to help them when they were on their own at home. Instead of making a whole new resource, I am now offering the updated version of my favoite freezer cooking book through my website. This works out great because I do not have to do all that work (writing a book!) and you can purchase it through me and save on shipping! It’s a great deal for all of us. Plus, I get to help support the site that helped give me knowledge and confidence to get a meal on the table with ease.
Here are some photos of my freezer cooking day with my friend Kathy Enix. Two of my four children were also helping me that day, Christina (age 17, seen stirring the Mexi-Chicken) and Anne Mary (age 7, washing potatoes). The others were off playing together.
Enjoy the pictures!
Since I started my Homemaking911 ministry in July 2007 I have 100s of women freezer cooking. Many women wanted to have a manual to help them when they were on their own at home. Instead of making a whole new resource, I am now offering the updated version of my favoite freezer cooking book through my website. This works out great because I do not have to do all that work (writing a book!) and you can purchase it through me and save on shipping! It’s a great deal for all of us. Plus, I get to help support the site that helped give me knowledge and confidence to get a meal on the table with ease.
Here are some photos of my freezer cooking day with my friend Kathy Enix. Two of my four children were also helping me that day, Christina (age 17, seen stirring the Mexi-Chicken) and Anne Mary (age 7, washing potatoes). The others were off playing together.
Enjoy the pictures!
Decluttering Challenge Day
We woke up one Saturday morning with nothing on the calendar, so decided to have a de-cluttering day. I looked everywhere and knew there were a lot of things that were ready to go bless another family. At 8:30 we made sure everyone was up and dressed, and as they ate breakfast, I told them the plan. “Today is de-cuttering day! Today we are going to all work together to get rid of the things we do not need.” Then I outlined the rules for them, and with great excitement and enthusiasm, I put the incentives on our white board.
If (as a family) we get rid of 100 items, we would get dessert with lunch.
If we gave away 200 items, we could go out for icecream one night this week.
If we gave away 300 items, the family could go out to eat for dinner.
If we gave away 400 items, we could have dinner out, with dessert!
Trash did not count in the numbers. Every item had to go through the dining room for mom to make sure it was suitable to give away. Every item was to be tallied on a note pad kept in the dining room. Everyone got straight to work. My oldest daughter emptied her truck and turned down the seats to hold the loot. My middle daughter got the trash bags and boxes ready. My youngest daugther got the laundry baskets to use to transport stuff from the rooms to the dining room.
It did not take long for the excitement to build as the kids discussed the “poor children” who would love to get their toys that they no longer cherished but were still in terrific shape. They joyfully brought out some little dolls that were always underfoot, but rarely appreciated. They brought out clothes that were outgrown, and made room in their drawers for the things they needed in there. Around luncthtime the truck was FULL. Our item count was very close to 300. Over lunch the kids discussed the progress so far and were excitedly planning when we would go out to icecream. They the question came up about ”What if we hit 500 items?” That got the excitement growing again and after lunch everyone got back oin gear. We were all getting pretty tired by then, but kept saying: look for one more thing, keep going! Almost to 400! Soon, we were all in the garage and the number neared 500. Anne Mary declared that 500 items should be a family movie night with POPCORN! “YES!” everyone shouted! The excitement built as the 499th item was in the box. Then, they started talking about donating their winter coats, shoes, umbrellas, and one another’s clothes.
I am ashamed to say we could probably do this over and over again and still have too much stuff, but I was excited to see the family pull together with a common goal and a lot of fun. We know others will be blessed by what we gave away. The children do take care of their things and they are usually in very good shape when they have outgrown them. Think about how your family could be a blessing to others today. Perhaps you could set a goal for each person to give away five things, or ten things. Make it a fun challenge and celebrate each act of generosity. Your family will be blessed!
O Lord, help us to be content, Whatever we possess; Protect us from the foolish lie That “more” brings happiness. - David Sper
If (as a family) we get rid of 100 items, we would get dessert with lunch.
If we gave away 200 items, we could go out for icecream one night this week.
If we gave away 300 items, the family could go out to eat for dinner.
If we gave away 400 items, we could have dinner out, with dessert!
Trash did not count in the numbers. Every item had to go through the dining room for mom to make sure it was suitable to give away. Every item was to be tallied on a note pad kept in the dining room. Everyone got straight to work. My oldest daughter emptied her truck and turned down the seats to hold the loot. My middle daughter got the trash bags and boxes ready. My youngest daugther got the laundry baskets to use to transport stuff from the rooms to the dining room.
It did not take long for the excitement to build as the kids discussed the “poor children” who would love to get their toys that they no longer cherished but were still in terrific shape. They joyfully brought out some little dolls that were always underfoot, but rarely appreciated. They brought out clothes that were outgrown, and made room in their drawers for the things they needed in there. Around luncthtime the truck was FULL. Our item count was very close to 300. Over lunch the kids discussed the progress so far and were excitedly planning when we would go out to icecream. They the question came up about ”What if we hit 500 items?” That got the excitement growing again and after lunch everyone got back oin gear. We were all getting pretty tired by then, but kept saying: look for one more thing, keep going! Almost to 400! Soon, we were all in the garage and the number neared 500. Anne Mary declared that 500 items should be a family movie night with POPCORN! “YES!” everyone shouted! The excitement built as the 499th item was in the box. Then, they started talking about donating their winter coats, shoes, umbrellas, and one another’s clothes.
I am ashamed to say we could probably do this over and over again and still have too much stuff, but I was excited to see the family pull together with a common goal and a lot of fun. We know others will be blessed by what we gave away. The children do take care of their things and they are usually in very good shape when they have outgrown them. Think about how your family could be a blessing to others today. Perhaps you could set a goal for each person to give away five things, or ten things. Make it a fun challenge and celebrate each act of generosity. Your family will be blessed!
O Lord, help us to be content, Whatever we possess; Protect us from the foolish lie That “more” brings happiness. - David Sper
Making Your Own Baby Food
Your initial investment for homemade baby food should be very small. You will need:
8 ice cube trays
Freezer Quality storage containers or Freezer bags.
A Blender (if you do not have one, it is not absolutely essential)
If you start with fruits:
The easiest one to make at home is applesauce. You can purchase a huge economy size jar of Unsweetened organic applesauce and simply open the jar, pour it into the ice cube trays, cover with foil and freeze. If you want to get crazy and make your own applesauce you can actually make your own from scratch, but for the money it is probably just as effective to buy a huge jar. We did go buy organic when we could. But it is not absolutely necessary.
Bananas are just as easy. When they get a tad bit ripe, fork mash them if you do not have a blender and put them in the ice cube trays. Whenever we had bananas going soft I would just mix up a batch in the blender and put it in trays. If you are concerned about the color (it will look a little brown) you can add a drop or two of lemon juice….but I would not do this unlessbaby is older and has had citris. You do not want to introduce two foods at once.
If you want to start with veggies, pumpkin is the absolute easiest. Go to the aisle where you buy canned pumpkin (what you buy to make pumpkin pie). Check the label. Some of it is 100% pureed pumpkin. This is what you need. Do not get any with added spices. Buy the biggest can. Open it and put it into ice cube trays. Wrap it in foil and freeze. Other very easy ones are: Sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, green beans, peas.
In a day or two when it is hard frozen, you pop the cubes out and place them in the freezer baggies.
I used to keep one Tupperware container in my freezer that had all veggie cubes and one that had all fruit cubes, then each day I would go through and grab what I needed. I usually just thawed them in the microwave. Mix them well and test the temperature with your finger. If the food is too thick (maybe it will be at first) you can mix it with a touch of water or breast milk or formula.
As baby gets older you will use 3-4 cubes per meal, but at first you may just use one cube per meal.
These are highly portable. I just had a few little containers. I put the frozen cube in there and if we went out someplace it would melt, or I could add a little hot water and melt it quicker if needed, then mix in cereal to get the perfect consistency.
Apple sauce, bananas, avocado and pumpkin are the simplest to make and if you do nothing else, that will still save you money.
If you want to go a step more, All the fruits and vegetables can be prepared for her by simply cooking them until softened (retain all the water that you use to mix in to make it soft and runny). The water will have a lot of vitamins in it after the veggies have been cooked in there. Once they are soft, run them through a blender. Keep adding in the water that you used to cook them until it is a soft, baby food consistency. Once it is nice and soft, pour it into the ice cube trays. Freeze. Ppop it out a few days later and wash your trays to use again.
I did a big batch of something about once a week. Then the next week I would do a different batch.
Check the library for a book called: Super Baby Food. In there it gives great details about how long to cook each vegetable, and how much water you will need to add. I just used it as a spring board to get started, then referred to it occasionally when I was trying a new food.
If you decide you want to try to make your own cereal at home, it is easy too.
To make about a two cup batch of baby cereal, once she is ready for adding protein:
1/3 cup whole dry grains (brown rice, millet, oatmeal, barley, etc)
2 Tbs dried legumes (lentil, dries split peas, etc)
Put those in the blender (DRY) and grind it to a powder. It will make about 1/2 cup of powder. When you are ready to cook the cereal, you stir that into two cups of boiling water. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes (double that if you include soy beans). Whisk it frequently while cooking. You can just store this in the fridge for two or three days or freeze it. Be sure you freeze it in small portions. This recipe came from the Super Baby Food Book. She has all kinds of great recipes to make nutritious foods from scratch for babies.
Once she gets older and is ready to try meats, your regular blender will probably struggle with that. We have a really nice blender (called a Vita Mix). I did not have one when I had David, so I would cook up several chicken breasts with just water (no seasoning). Then I would take a fresh pear from the grocery and put it in the blender with a piece or two of chicken, adding enough water to make it smooth. (She will be old enough by this age to eat raw pear that is mushy) I would freeze that and use it rather than the baby food meats. Those smell yucky anyway, and the homemade chicken smelled quite appetizing. Since I did not have a strong blender, I would take it to a friend’s house who had one and grind up a bunch at one time, then freeze enough to last several weeks. You could use a food processor as well.
You can also add formula or breast milk or baby juice to any food to get it to the correct consistency.
Finally, we also freeze David’s milk in ice cubes (even now because he must use Goat’s Milk and does not use it up very quickly). So if you have milk in the fridge and you know you are leaving for a few days, you can freeze it to make it last longer, and use the cubes when you need fresh milk but do not have any. These will work fine in making your homemade mashed potatoes or for baking.
If you start with fruits:
The easiest one to make at home is applesauce. You can purchase a huge economy size jar of Unsweetened organic applesauce and simply open the jar, pour it into the ice cube trays, cover with foil and freeze. If you want to get crazy and make your own applesauce you can actually make your own from scratch, but for the money it is probably just as effective to buy a huge jar. We did go buy organic when we could. But it is not absolutely necessary.
Bananas are just as easy. When they get a tad bit ripe, fork mash them if you do not have a blender and put them in the ice cube trays. Whenever we had bananas going soft I would just mix up a batch in the blender and put it in trays. If you are concerned about the color (it will look a little brown) you can add a drop or two of lemon juice….but I would not do this unlessbaby is older and has had citris. You do not want to introduce two foods at once.
If you want to start with veggies, pumpkin is the absolute easiest. Go to the aisle where you buy canned pumpkin (what you buy to make pumpkin pie). Check the label. Some of it is 100% pureed pumpkin. This is what you need. Do not get any with added spices. Buy the biggest can. Open it and put it into ice cube trays. Wrap it in foil and freeze. Other very easy ones are: Sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, green beans, peas.
In a day or two when it is hard frozen, you pop the cubes out and place them in the freezer baggies.
I used to keep one Tupperware container in my freezer that had all veggie cubes and one that had all fruit cubes, then each day I would go through and grab what I needed. I usually just thawed them in the microwave. Mix them well and test the temperature with your finger. If the food is too thick (maybe it will be at first) you can mix it with a touch of water or breast milk or formula.
As baby gets older you will use 3-4 cubes per meal, but at first you may just use one cube per meal.
These are highly portable. I just had a few little containers. I put the frozen cube in there and if we went out someplace it would melt, or I could add a little hot water and melt it quicker if needed, then mix in cereal to get the perfect consistency.
Apple sauce, bananas, avocado and pumpkin are the simplest to make and if you do nothing else, that will still save you money.
If you want to go a step more, All the fruits and vegetables can be prepared for her by simply cooking them until softened (retain all the water that you use to mix in to make it soft and runny). The water will have a lot of vitamins in it after the veggies have been cooked in there. Once they are soft, run them through a blender. Keep adding in the water that you used to cook them until it is a soft, baby food consistency. Once it is nice and soft, pour it into the ice cube trays. Freeze. Ppop it out a few days later and wash your trays to use again.
I did a big batch of something about once a week. Then the next week I would do a different batch.
Check the library for a book called: Super Baby Food. In there it gives great details about how long to cook each vegetable, and how much water you will need to add. I just used it as a spring board to get started, then referred to it occasionally when I was trying a new food.
If you decide you want to try to make your own cereal at home, it is easy too.
To make about a two cup batch of baby cereal, once she is ready for adding protein:
1/3 cup whole dry grains (brown rice, millet, oatmeal, barley, etc)
2 Tbs dried legumes (lentil, dries split peas, etc)
Put those in the blender (DRY) and grind it to a powder. It will make about 1/2 cup of powder. When you are ready to cook the cereal, you stir that into two cups of boiling water. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes (double that if you include soy beans). Whisk it frequently while cooking. You can just store this in the fridge for two or three days or freeze it. Be sure you freeze it in small portions. This recipe came from the Super Baby Food Book. She has all kinds of great recipes to make nutritious foods from scratch for babies.
Once she gets older and is ready to try meats, your regular blender will probably struggle with that. We have a really nice blender (called a Vita Mix). I did not have one when I had David, so I would cook up several chicken breasts with just water (no seasoning). Then I would take a fresh pear from the grocery and put it in the blender with a piece or two of chicken, adding enough water to make it smooth. (She will be old enough by this age to eat raw pear that is mushy) I would freeze that and use it rather than the baby food meats. Those smell yucky anyway, and the homemade chicken smelled quite appetizing. Since I did not have a strong blender, I would take it to a friend’s house who had one and grind up a bunch at one time, then freeze enough to last several weeks. You could use a food processor as well.
You can also add formula or breast milk or baby juice to any food to get it to the correct consistency.
Finally, we also freeze David’s milk in ice cubes (even now because he must use Goat’s Milk and does not use it up very quickly). So if you have milk in the fridge and you know you are leaving for a few days, you can freeze it to make it last longer, and use the cubes when you need fresh milk but do not have any. These will work fine in making your homemade mashed potatoes or for baking.
Easy Homemade Self-Rising Flour
For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”
1 Kings 17:14
In a large mixing bowl, sift together:
6 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking powder.
1 tablespoon salt.
Measure self-rising flour like regular flour.
Keep all dry goods in airtight containers to avoid moisture and infestation.
1 Kings 17:14
In a large mixing bowl, sift together:
Measure self-rising flour like regular flour.
Keep all dry goods in airtight containers to avoid moisture and infestation.
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