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The most budget friendly meal is to go through your pantry and freezer to make use of the things you have.
Other ideas:
Baked Potato Bar. Bake some potatoes, add butter and whatever other ingredients you have on hand: broccoli, cheese, bacon bits, garlic salt, parsley, etc.
Chicken Soup: Buy inexpensive cuts of chicken or a whole chicken if you can afford it. Put the chicken into a big pot of water and bring to a boil. Then turn it down and simmer until well cooked. remove the skin and bones, then chop the meat and put it back into the water. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand. Add salt and pepper, onions (real or dehydrated). Cook until heated through. If you have bisquick or flour on hand, you can add dumplings and a spot of milk (powdered or regular) to add a little creaminess. You can also add pasta or egg noodles.
Spaghetti and Sauce. Add ground beef to the sauce if you have any. Include applesauce or salad.
Burritos. Buy Tortilla shells, refried beans, cheese (shred your own if it is cheaper).
Macaroni and Cheese.
Breakfast for dinner: Homemade pancakes, biscuits, eggs, fruit, buttered toast, etc.
Brown 1 lb.of ground beef, add a can of mushroom soup, and milk for creaminess. Pour over cooked egg noodles. Spice as you like it. I just use salt and pepper.
Tuna casserole : 1-2 cans of tuna, cooked rice, cream of chicken soup, chopped onions and celery (sauted in olive oil or butter), cooked broccoli (optional). Bake until it sets up at 350 around 30 minutes.Top with a small amount of cheese if on hand.
You can also cut back the portions sizes of your more expensive foods and still serve them. For example, for our family of six I will sometimes make a pasta as a main dish (like mac and cheese) and take a couple of chicken breasts, bake them and cut them into slices. Everyone takes a slice or two instead of getting a whole chicken breast. If you have plenty of healthy side dishes, you can stretch your money a bit. Some healthy side dishes include: frozen vegetables, homemade bread, applesauce, sliced apples, even cooked apples.
Happy Homemaking!
Malia
Homemaking911
Monday, June 23, 2008
Guests Coming to Stay?
If you have guests coming in town, here are some ideas to help you prepare for their coming:
Low Energy?
For the past year I have really suffered from being low energy. In January, I discussed this with a friend. I shared with her my concern with low energy and she told me she used to have this same problem, then discovered a product that has really helped!
Even though I was skeptical, I decided to try a whole food supplement called: Bee Strong. Also, I knew I had a compromised immune system. I was catching everything my children brought home and more. She suggested another supplement called: Berry Well.
Literally the first day that I took both I felt a surge of energy and I kept going steadily from 5 am to past midnight. I did not feel jittery or funny, just energetic and strong. This has continued now for 7 weeks!
Now, I do naturally go through cycles where I have more energy than others, so I wanted to wait a few weeks before talking about it at all to be sure I was not just on one of my “High Energy” cycles, only to crash a few days later. After about a month I became convinced that it was helping and I sent some to my mother (70) who was really feeling tired as well. She told me she was very skeptical, but experienced the same thing I did. She loved it!
Additionally, all four of my children have been sick with the flu over the last four weeks (passing it back and forth). My husband and I decided to stay on the Berry Well, and amazingly neither of us got sick. That is truly amazing because I catch EVERYTHING from my kids. My oldest daughter tried the Berry Well and got better within a couple of days.
All this to say, I love it enough I decided to contact the company and see if I can carry it on my website. They said YES! If you want to know more about these products (and another one I am trying out now called: Bee Immune), just check out our descriptions and see the complete details on my website HomeMaking911.com
Even though I was skeptical, I decided to try a whole food supplement called: Bee Strong. Also, I knew I had a compromised immune system. I was catching everything my children brought home and more. She suggested another supplement called: Berry Well.
Literally the first day that I took both I felt a surge of energy and I kept going steadily from 5 am to past midnight. I did not feel jittery or funny, just energetic and strong. This has continued now for 7 weeks!
Now, I do naturally go through cycles where I have more energy than others, so I wanted to wait a few weeks before talking about it at all to be sure I was not just on one of my “High Energy” cycles, only to crash a few days later. After about a month I became convinced that it was helping and I sent some to my mother (70) who was really feeling tired as well. She told me she was very skeptical, but experienced the same thing I did. She loved it!
Additionally, all four of my children have been sick with the flu over the last four weeks (passing it back and forth). My husband and I decided to stay on the Berry Well, and amazingly neither of us got sick. That is truly amazing because I catch EVERYTHING from my kids. My oldest daughter tried the Berry Well and got better within a couple of days.
All this to say, I love it enough I decided to contact the company and see if I can carry it on my website. They said YES! If you want to know more about these products (and another one I am trying out now called: Bee Immune), just check out our descriptions and see the complete details on my website HomeMaking911.com
My Favorite Vitamins - SuperMom
After trying these for two months now, I am ready to give my stamp of approval to some vitamins I started taking in February.
After experimenting with some products from the Beeyoutiful Company, I decided to try their SuperMom vitamins. I am kind of a skeptic when it comes to these things, so I kept my testing to myself until I could see some results of some kind.
My first day taking them, I acquired a headache. I continued to have headaches for a few days. This obviously was a concern to me, so I started researching whether it was possible for a vitamin to cause headaches. I read several posts online that stated there may be a temporary period of “detoxing” which may result in headaches, but this occurrence is very rare. All these symptoms can be alleviated by reducing the dose (instead of two caplets, take one, or cut one in half), and building up your system to be used to them, but for the most part all these symptoms would go away in about two weeks.
The jury was still out. My nails were growing beautifully. My hair and skin look and feel better. My energy was still pretty high from taking the Bee Strong and Berry Well. I actually felt even better on this vitamin than when I was taking the other supplements alone, but the headaches HAD to stop before I could consider this a long term use vitamin. Soon, I noticed I had no more headache (yeah!). I still felt good. My nails still looked better. I still felt good and strong. Now I am a believer. I decided to carry them on my site because I do think they are terrific, but be aware, you may be one of those precious 10 % that have some sort of detoxing side effect.
I looked at the cost of the vitamins, and while they are more expensive ($36) than the Sams Club variety I was taking in the past, they are not terribly so. They come in a huge quantity, making them last three months! There are 180 in the bottle, and you take two per day. If my budget would not allow for the full cost, one of these per day would be better than what I was using before.
Have you tried the SuperMom Vitamins? Did you have any of the De-Toxing Effects? What other vitamins have you tried and loved?
After experimenting with some products from the Beeyoutiful Company, I decided to try their SuperMom vitamins. I am kind of a skeptic when it comes to these things, so I kept my testing to myself until I could see some results of some kind.
My first day taking them, I acquired a headache. I continued to have headaches for a few days. This obviously was a concern to me, so I started researching whether it was possible for a vitamin to cause headaches. I read several posts online that stated there may be a temporary period of “detoxing” which may result in headaches, but this occurrence is very rare. All these symptoms can be alleviated by reducing the dose (instead of two caplets, take one, or cut one in half), and building up your system to be used to them, but for the most part all these symptoms would go away in about two weeks.
The jury was still out. My nails were growing beautifully. My hair and skin look and feel better. My energy was still pretty high from taking the Bee Strong and Berry Well. I actually felt even better on this vitamin than when I was taking the other supplements alone, but the headaches HAD to stop before I could consider this a long term use vitamin. Soon, I noticed I had no more headache (yeah!). I still felt good. My nails still looked better. I still felt good and strong. Now I am a believer. I decided to carry them on my site because I do think they are terrific, but be aware, you may be one of those precious 10 % that have some sort of detoxing side effect.
I looked at the cost of the vitamins, and while they are more expensive ($36) than the Sams Club variety I was taking in the past, they are not terribly so. They come in a huge quantity, making them last three months! There are 180 in the bottle, and you take two per day. If my budget would not allow for the full cost, one of these per day would be better than what I was using before.
Have you tried the SuperMom Vitamins? Did you have any of the De-Toxing Effects? What other vitamins have you tried and loved?
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Flying Creatures of the Russell Yard
Birds continue to visit our yard for their snacks, and now in addition to the suet we have been putting out, we have been scattering seeds on the snow and putting them in the feeder outside my bedroom window. This morning there were doves happily cooing and snacking on the layer of fresh snow.
Photos by: Christina Russell
Photos by: Christina Russell
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day can be simple and delightful. For Valentine's Day 2008, we started the day making homemade pancakes from freshly milled wheat. This is always a special treat.
Then, for lunch the girls used their Book-It Pizza Certificates from Pizza Hut to go out to a special lunch. Our local Pizza Hut will let us use the coupons for the lunch buffet. Home Educators can get the Book It certificates: www.bookitprogram.com. NOW is the time to order for NEXT year.
Then, for dinner we had our "Red and Pink" Theme.
We made pink heart shaped cakes (with red sprinkles, of course!), Lasagna, and Salad with Red Bell Peppers. We decorated the table in pink and white and added the flowers that Duncan bought us. We were able to send some heart shaped cakes to the neighbors, as well. The day was fun and special.
I have been learning slowly but surely about the Internet and the Business side of all of it. A friend of ours referred us to a great site that has all kinds of free help and suggestions for building a successful internet business. If you would like to see this site, see the link below.
Internet Business Mastery
Let me know if you check out their site and what you thought of it!
Internet Business Mastery
Let me know if you check out their site and what you thought of it!
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