French themed Day Outing

I love to go on adventures with my daughter who is 8. Recently she has been harboring a Paris obsession, so I decided to plan a France themed outing for us.

For extra fun, dress French by pairing breton stripes with slacks or a skirt, sport oversized sunglasses, ballet pumps, and hey - red lipstick! But really anything classic will do!

Then get in the mood by listening to some French Pop music in the car! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/6rA8yW2rgUTNLgA16Jay01?si=ZC6yAV9-S9mLL2G2i1UqtQ

Here are some ideas to find a little Paris in your city:

1. Check out Impressionism or other French art at your local art museum by French artists such as Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro.

2. Lunch at a French cafe or Creperie. My daughter loves Nutella Crepes!

3. Find a bakery that sells Macrons. (This was a true adventure!  Two Macaron bakeries were out of business when we arrived and the French Cafe didn't have them. But finally, we prevailed at the Sweet Hut Atlanta).

4. Check out French architecture. (Provincial or Normandy)
Check this out.

5. Go see a Puppet Show ( Puppetry is big in France).
Here is one in Atlanta.

6. Go to a Cirque de Soleil show.

7. Use Duolingo to learn French.

Dairy Free Bourbon Pecan Pie

Use a 9x12 casserole dish.
Pre-heat Oven to 375°

Ingredients

Blend 6 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup maple syrup

½ tsp salt

6 tbs Smartbalance non-dairy butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 mini-bottle bourbon

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp almond extract

Double Pie Crust

In a bowl, whisk eggs and white sugar until smooth. Add maple syrup, almond extract, salt. Melt the Smartbalance butter and stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar, then add to rest of mixture. Mix together in a dish 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 bourbon mini-bottle then add to mixture. Add in pecans. 

Line casserole dish with pastry using finger tips to smooth seams (or use to pie shells). Pour pie mixture into pastry shell.

Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Store in the refrigerator.Yield: 8 servings.

Pour in pie crust

Bake 45 mins

375 degree

Quick Asian Dinner #dairy free #gluten free

Bake chicken breasts at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
(To meat temperature of 165).

Marinade:
1/2 juiced orange
grated orange rind (about 1 tsp)
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs honey
1 tsp cornstarch

Put chicken in marinade in plastic bag until ready to cook. Pour marinade over chicken then bake. After 15 minutes, baste chicken using brush. Then baste every ten minutes until chicken is done. Then broil for 2 minutes. I recommend using a meat thermometer.

Stir Fried Pork Rice
Chopped leftover pork (we had some we had just smoked - made it so goooood).
Leftover rice.
1.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables (rinse under warm water before throwing in pan)
2 tbs seasame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic
powdered ginger

Put oil in pan. Add veggies and pork. Add seasonings/soy. Stir for about 5 minutes. Add rice. Cook for 5 more minutes.



I cook without recipes, so when something turns out delish - I blog it - mainly for myself!

Capsule Closet for Kids!

The Capsule Closet craze runs rampant across blogs and Pinterest, but many people don't think about using it with their kids. I don't know about you, but at one point my daughter's closet seemed to overflow with an excess of "great deals" and well-intentioned "hand-me-downs."

How it saves you time:
1. LESS LAUNDRY!!
2. LESS OPTIONS = LESS BATTLES
3. Streamlines the morning rush!!
4. Capsule closets work best for seasons and the constant outgrowing of clothes!

You NEED 10-14 outfits, so that you don't lose your mind if you can't do laundry one weekend!

Girls:
1. 1 Casual Dress (Red is great as it works for lots of holidays)
2. 1 Sweater Dress
3. 1 black skirt
4. 1 patterned or tuille skirt
5. 1 Denim button down shirt or jean jacket
6. 1 solid color hoodie (Fall/Winter/Early Spring)
7. 2 Pairs of Jean Jegging, Black Pants (Preferably athletic style), Navy or Khaki Pants (4 Pants)
8. Black and/or Navy Leggings, Patterned Leggings (3 Leggings)
9. 5 - 7 Tunic length or long shirts (tunic length will last all year even if they grow taller)
10. 1 Puffy Vest in a solid color for cool days.

Note: Don't send your kids to school in shorts until 4th grade. Protect those knees! Capri leggings are great!

Note: Use layers! A short sleeve shirt with a hoodie and a puffy vest on a cold day!

Creamy #Budget Mushroom Soup #DairyFree #Gluten Free

Ingredients

16 oz mushrooms. Sliced
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 cup chopped carrots
Optional: Diced raw chicken or sausage

1/2 can Coconut Milk (add after cooking)
1/2 TSP salt (add after cooking)
1 Egg Yolk

4 cups water
1 Bay leaf
1/2 TSP black pepper
1 TSP Coleman's powder mustard
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 TBS light soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry, white wine,
(or 1/2 cup beer or 1 cup chicken broth)

Optional if you have it
1 TBS Mrs Dash
1/4 TSP celery salt (or 1 stalk Diced celery)
1/4 TSP paprika
1/2 TSP nutmeg

Alfredo Sauce. Gluten and Dairy Free.

As someone who is completely dairy-free and gluten free, I still crave rich creamy comfort foods.

I found that most of the #Alfredo recipes relied on a roux to thicken the sauce rather than authentic egg yolks.

Also, I am not vegan, just dairy free, and since I raise my own pasture fed hens, I love recipes that use eggs. Egg yolks are a great binding agent, especially since they are a way to thicken sauces without flour. #glutenfree #dairyfree

Ingredients :

3 tbs oil

1 Clove garlic

salt and pepper

1/4 cup wine

1/2 cup dairy free milk

1 cup cashew cream

2 egg yolks

1 lemon

Directions:

1.  In the morning, put half a cup of raw cashews and 1 cup of water in your bullet blender (but don't blend yet). Let this sit till you are ready to cook tonight. Blend just before cooking.
2. If you want to make Broccoli Alfredo, start by sauteing onions in a little oil in a deep skillet. Once onions are translucent, add in your broccoli to the pan and stirfry till the color changes. Transfer to a bowl. (I used Cascadian Farms Frozen Broccoli - organic frozen vegetables go on sale frequently). Alternate: You could microwave the broccoli and omit the onions.
3. Separate 2 egg yolks into a dish. Beat.  (Put egg whites aside, so you can make your breakfast later). Then add 1/2 cup dairy free milk. Mix.
4. Add 3 tbs of mild oil to your deep skillet on medium heat. Use a garlic press to crush garlic into your pan. Fry 1 minute.
5. Add 1/4 cup white wine or sherry. Add juice of 1 lemon. Stir.
6.  Add cashew cream. Stir till heated.
7. Add egg yolk and milk mixture while stirring quickly. Sauce will thicken. Add salt and pepper. If needed add additional milk to adjust thickness.
8. Stir in Broccoli.
9. Stir in noodles of choice. I use gluten free.

Budget Saver: Canned Salmon Patties. Quick

Preheat Oven to 350.

Beat egg in mixing bowl then add all ingredients. Form into 4 patties and place on tinfoil lined baking tray that you have sprayed with oil. Bake aprox 20-25 minutes.

• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup Oatmeal (blend in bullet)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (14-3/4 ounces) salmon, drained
• 1 tsp dill

You can stretch this to make 6 patties by adding more oatmeal and additional vegetables like green peppers. Add olive oil and lemon if needed to provide moisture. 

Serve with roast vegetables that cook in the oven along with the patties. 

#CouponTip

Publix frequently puts coupons for .75 off canned salmon in their in-store coupon magazines. 

Inexpensive #DairyFree #GlutenFree Dinners

While I am a big couponer, I often find the most inexpensive meals come from whole foods. Here is a week of budget friendly menus that are both friendly to Gluten & Dairy Free diets.

Be sure to buy your veggies at a vegetable stand to save money. And remember make your meal plan for the week based on the sales that week;-).

1. Baked Tilapia, Yellow Grits in Rice Cooker , Roast vegetables. Cucumber salad. (Tilapia frequently goes BOGO).
Note: Simple homemade cucumber dressing is quick. Vinegar, Sugar, Oil, Salt, Pepper.

2. Salmon Patties (using canned salmon), Coleslaw with homemade dressing, Corn on the Cob.
Note: Throw oatmeal in your bullet blender for quick budget friendly yet Gluten-free bread crumb substitute. ( I personally can not bring myself to buy expensive Gluten-free flours.)
Note: Publix frequently has coupons for canned salmon.

3. Ham and bean soup. Cornbread. (Soup can be served over rice).
Note: An instapot pressure cooker allows me to cook with inexpensive dry beans that come out perfect everytime.
Note: Smithfield ham steaks are frequently BOGO, which work great in this recipe.
Note: Cornbread mixes often go BOGO. If you have an actual gluten allergy, there are Gluten free corn bread mixes too.

4. Venison or 1/2 lb Ground Meat Burritos/Tacos (Corn Tortillas) with leftover beans and leftover coleslaw.
Note: Pick up peppers for cheap at a Mexican grocery or Veggie stand. Sautee peppers and onions to add to ground meat to stretch half a pound for a full meal.
Note:  For big families, add potatoes to meat mixture to stretch it further. Potatoes are actually really good in burritos.
Note: I don't use taco seasoning packets but you can. But DIY Taco seasoning is very simple to make a big batch of. 

5. Spaghetti with 1/2 lb meat. I usually add veggies  to jarred sauce.
Note: Ground Breakfast sausage also works great in Spaghetti sauce for tight budgets.
Note: I fix gluten-free noodles only for myself if I have them.  In a pinch, I just eat the sauce over rice while my family eats regular noodles. Or I eat the sauce over Zucchini if I'm being xtra good).

Buy First Day Back to School Outfit while sales are on this week! Then wait till September for the rest!

It is always tempting to make a one stop shopping trip during the first week in August to get the back to school clothes shopping knocked out.

But for most kids, it makes more sense to get one new outfit, then let kids wear their summer clothes for the first few warm weeks of school. By the time the weather cools down, the prices will have cooled down as well.

Plus by waiting, you will know what other kids are wearing or if any knew trends come up in the fall.

The same goes for school supplies. Send your student to school with a pencil and paper the first day, then see what the teacher sends home for school supplies.  This is especially true for Middle School and High School where supplies will change from teacher to teacher.

Below my youngest daughter's first day of First Grade outfit. (Obviously I don't get to plan the high school student's outfits anymore!).

Bonnie Jean 6X purchased for $22 on sale.

Chill-icious Lunch Box from Thirty-One Gifts on sale for $9.

I am going to make one hair clip myself and let her wear some aqua leggings that we already have from the spring. After that, we will be getting some more wear out of those summer shorts outfits!

Side Table Caddy.

Keep a few DVDs and your remote controls handy with a small bin like this one from Thirty-one Gifts.

Make your Own Chemical Free Detergent Laundry Detergent & Save Money!

I see a lot of posts about making your own laundry detergent. Unfortunately, most of these posts seem to be written by people who are making the detergent for the first time.  Know that laundry detergent is a "chemical" process in that you are mixing different ingredients together like a recipe. Therefore, your liquid detergent is never going to be as clear and smooth as commercially made detergents that are full of chemicals. But your detergent will clean your clothes just great.

As a cost saving measure, I have been making my own laundry detergent for about four years.

1. Yes, you do save a lot of money!
2. I make my detergent about once every 3 months.
3. This is an unscented recipe. But if you want to add some scent, you can add a few drops of essential oils to each load of laundry. You can, of course, also add the commercial scents currently being sold in the laundry aisle (but that adds chemicals).
4. I like to do this after dinner while I am watching TV, then I leave the soap to gel overnight. In the morning, I mix it and dispense it into old detergent bottles.

Ingredients:

2 Bars of Ivory (1 if it is a big bar)
1/2 Bar of Laundry Soap

1/2 cup Liquid Castile (Or another 1/2 bar of Castile soap)

1 cup of Washing Soda

4 tbs Glycerin

4 tbs salt (canning salt recommended).

Herbs from Garden (Thyme, Mint)

Steps.
1. Make an herbal tea as your base. Optionally put 1 cup of chopped fresh herbs into your stockpot that you have filled 2/3rds full of water. Let this simmer for about an hour to create an herbal tea - then remove the herbs. You can either put the herbs in cheesecloth, a teabag, or just strain them out. I recommend only doing this if you actually grow herbs because if you buy the herbs at the store, then the detergent will be too expensive.

2. Put your grated soap into the hot tea water. Keep the burner on low until all the soap has dissolved.

3. After grated soap has dissolved, add all other ingredients. If you have soft water, reduce the salt to 2 tbs. If you have hard water, you may want to add an extra salt.

4. Allow the detergent to sit until it has gelled (become solid on top). You can just leave it over night.

5. Blend the gelled detergent using a stick blender. Then dispense the detergent into old laundry detergent bottles (than have been cleaned).  Fill the bottles but leave a few inches so that you can add water to the bottles that you use last because they will thicken up over time.

6. Add 1 - 2 laundry cap-fuls of detergent per load (before loading clothes). You can add extra detergent for very dirty man clothes;-). The measure is approximately one third cup per load. You can also add your essential oil such as Sweet Orange.

7. To further boost cleaning, you can add 1/4 cup of additional washing soda per load. So for example, if your husband is a construction worker, he may have very dirty clothes. Be sure to start the cylce before you begin adding his clothes.

8. For very smelly clothes, for example if you have a teen athlete, you can also add 1/4 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.


You can also make body wash with this recipe by just leaving out the washing soda and adding more glycerin (and don't use laundry soap, use body soap - but you knew that).

Teenagers ate my House!

Okay, so they didn't eat the actual house. But where you find one teenager, you will generally find ten! It seems like we have had a wonderful flow of kids in and out of our house all summer, but I have to admit is daunting to feed the crew without breaking the bank!

[Note: This post is still being updated and completed]

So here are my top suggestions!
1. Teach your teens to make quick meals because they (and maybe, you) might be making 3 to 4 of them a day in the summer time.
2. Skip fancy ingredients because they add up (Capers - Really - I don't think so).
3. Skip salt filled pre-made items that are easy to make anyway. (Boxed Mac N' Cheese - No!)

Organization:
1. Make a list of Recipes that can be made from the standard contents of your Fridge/Freezer/Pantry. Post this on the front of the refrigerator, preferably with color pictures. I suggest you laminate this sheet, because well, teenagers!
2. Put the recipes in sheet protectors in a small binder. Keep this in the kitchen.
3. And while you are at, go ahead and buy some reusable plastic cups and plates because you know there are going to be broken dishes when teens are involved. (And you might want to buy some plastic forks because your silverware has been known to end up in the trashcan).
4. Keep a large pitcher of sweet ice tea in your fridge (to encourage them to NOT drink an entire gallon of milk everyday!)
5. Buy some snack size containers for portioned snacks like Terrific Trifles, Berry Good Parfaits, Hippy Humus, Cheese Dip, and other quick grabs that you can stock your fridge with.
6. Take 1-2 hours every weekend and make somethings to Stock the Freezer with. Make the teenagers help you do this! They are going to college soon, they need this skill!


Funny Story:  So my husband and his younger brother are both over six feet tall, as they were when they were teenagers. Their Mom worked as a nurse, and she became very frustrated that every time she bought groceries, her boys would eat ALL the groceries in one day. So she put a LOCK on her pantry and refrigerator! Now today, they would be calling DSS. But I feel her pain!

Go ahead and understand that teenagers, especially boys, need a lot of calories to grow. Your tall teen athlete may need up to 5,000 calories a day. OMG!!!! Yes, and probably at least 3,000 calories for a regular teen.

Easy Lunches / Dinners (Most they can Learn to Make)
Macaroni Noodles with melted Velveeta (and Ground Beef and a few Veggies)
Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Pasta Salad (with Green Peppers/ Cucumbers)
Hotdogs with Chilli and Baked beans
Tuna Melts with French Fries and Cucumber Salad
German Sausages with Sauerkraut. French fries.
Chilli
Homemade pizza (keep frozen pizza crusts, English muffins, or pita bread)
Quesadillas (Velveeta, Leftover meat, Tortilla)
Sweet Sausage and beans (10 minute recipe)
Tuna Casserole (keep Bechemel sauce portioned in your freezer)
Turkey Burgers
Club Sandwiches with Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato.
Ruban Sandwiches


Make Ahead Items to Freeze:

Potato & Sausage Casserole. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Potato-Sausage-Casserole
Spaghetti Sauce in individual portions
Bechemel Sauce (white sauce) in individual portions
Chilli
Pizza Crusts
Cooked Beans
Portioned Cooked Bacon
Biscuits
Sausage Gravy
Pancakes
Muffins (Savory and sweet)


Items to Stock in Your Freezer:
1. Turkey Burger Patties
2. Hamburger Buns
3. Hot Dog Buns
4. Corn (Buy a Bag from your Local Farmer. Shuck the outer Husk, cut off the ends, then Freeze).
5. French Fries
6. Fish Sticks
7. Chicken Breasts (See if there is a whole sale meat distributor in your area or use Sam's)
8. Portioned frozen vegetables (split the frozen veggies into individual bags).


Snacks:
Homemade Rice Krispy Treats
Popcorn
Cinnamon Baked Popcorn from Taste of Home
Popsicles made with real fruit
Muffins (Like Cheddar Sausage!)
Nachos (made with Velveeta)
Hippy Humus
Terrific Trifle
Berry Good Granola Parfait
Ranch Yoghurt Dip with Carrots

Thirty-one Uses for Shower Curtain Rings

My Husband's Desk: Get Your Man Organized!

To get started, I checked out some of the office spaces featured at major retailers. They have some pretty spaces, but some lack real functionality.

I like the shelves in the above picture from Restoration Hardware, which can also be accomplished with floating shelves. I also like the wire basket to hold blue prints.

I like the look of some of the Pottery Barn desks, but there are no drawers or anywhere to "hide" file boxes or work supplies.

The Crate and Barrel desk on the left is great if you aren't planning to actually work at the desk, but the desk on the right would be great as it has storage, plus the floating desktop so wires can run beneath.

The First step in organizing any desk is to figure out what kind of work you plan to use it for, then what types of supplies and files you plan on storing and using to support this work.

Below are some of my favorite products to make your tools and supplies easily accessible and in order.
 

Organizing Products On Sale at Target.

Target has many organizing products on sale right now, including wreath storage boxes and ornament storage boxes.

Merry Christmas: My Favorite Things

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas. We had a great holiday spent with friends and family! The highlight was certainly having 30 family members over on Sunday night to exchange presents, fellowship, and enjoy a family meal.

Both the kids and adults really enjoyed the English tradition of Christmas Crackers (also called poppers). It is a great interactive tradition that gets everyone wearing silly hats and reading punny jokes to each other - plus the kids love the toys that come in each cracker. This year I bought mine at World Market, which worked out great.

PRESENTS!!

My husband did a great job with my Christmas this year (mainly due to the help of a Christmas list - lol). I love the Cookware Stand he bought me, to keep my dutch ovens and other cast iron pots on. We don't have as much cupboard space as I would like, plus cast iron pots like Le Creuset can be a bit bulky (but beautiful and functional). Now I can store 6 pots vertically, freeing up two whole kitchen cabinets.

My mom bought me a great lighted mirror for my vanity. A vanity in my bedroom keeps our shared family bathroom free of make-up and hair accessories.

Vanity Saver

Organizing my Vanity was one of my biggest challenges. I finally settled on using a combination of products including an Ikea Rolling Cart. I have several Little Carry Alls on the top shelf, then several zippy pouches on the second shelf. I keep my hair dryer and curling iron on the bottom shelf.

 

Get Organized with Thirty-One Conference Call

Thank you to everyone who particpated in the conference call tonight! I hope that you were able to take away some ideas to help you and your friends become more organized!

Please feel free to post any questions, and I will be happy to answer them as best I can!

Thank you, again, to those of you who took time out of your busy lives to conference with us! I learn so much from the friends I have made during my time as an independant Thirty-one Consultant.

If you missed the call, you can listen to it here:
http://rec001.freeconferencecalling.com/mp3/1099797/486441/LA3977_12202012180424464_1070254.mp3

More Bathroom Ideas!

I am so excited about the new Spring Thirty-one catalogue! They have so many great organizing ideas - it is more like an organizing idea book!!!

His Space: Organize Your Hubby with Thirty-one!