I’m from Florida, we always made peanut butter pinecone feeders. Now in TN we don’t have any pine cones in the yard but we do have bagels.
You Will Need:
A day old bagel (cut in half) or a pinecone
Lard, peanut butter or honey
Birdseed
String or ribbon
To Make the Bagel or Pinecone Birdfeeder:
1. Spread the sticky stuff (lard, peanut butter or honey) on the bagel half or the pinecone.
2. Roll the bagel or pinecone in the birdseed. (Or put with birdseed in a large ziplock bag and shake.)
3. Tie the string ribbon through the hole of the bagel or top of pinecone.
4. Hang your treat from a tree.
Most of us already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day… This is especially true when it comes to kids. We need to ensure their little bodies receive nourishing foods to help them grow and thrive.
Here are some healthy, quick breakfast ideas the whole family will enjoy.
Smoothies - Smoothies are certainly a great way to get a good dose of fruit. Chop up some fresh fruit, throw it in the blender and you have a healthy and delicious breakfast. For a heartier breakfast smoothie add some yogurt or a little high-fiber cereal.
Breakfast Muffins - For breakfast try a savory or fruit muffin. For a healthier muffin use whole wheat flour and instead of sugar mash a ripe banana or a little honey into the mixture. Unless you’re an early riser you probably won’t have enough time to make muffins in the morning. Simply make them ahead and either freeze or keep in an air-tight container for a few days.
Wholesome Eggs - Eggs are very versatile and most kids enjoy them. Try a turkey ham omelet with a little cheese or scrambled eggs with chopped tomatoes. Try a prepare-ahead breakfast casserole for a hearty family breakfast.
Don’t Forget the Oatmeal - Making your own oatmeal is much healthier than the flavored instant packets. Cook up according to packet instructions and add a little fruit for extra flavor.
Healthy Breakfast Bar - Make up a batch of healthy breakfast bars the day before and use them for a quick, on-the-go breakfast. Use a low-sugar recipe and include lots of healthy dried fruits.
Fantastic Fruit Salad - Serve a chopped fruit salad with a yogurt dip. Mini muffins are delicious dipped in yogurt too.
Breakfast Burrito - Scramble some eggs and place them in a tortilla with chopped tomatoes, a little grated cheese, turkey ham or other favorite toppings… roll up and enjoy a yummy breakfast burrito.
Spruce up your Toast - Try whole wheat bread and serve with peanut butter and sliced bananas, cream cheese and raisins (sprinkle a little cinnamon on top), or cream cheese and a fruit jam (pure, no-sugar added jam is best).
Pizza for Breakfast - Why not? split a couple of English muffins in half, top with a little pizza sauce, grated cheese and some chopped ham or even eggs. Place under the grill for a few minutes and you have a nutritious breakfast pizza. You can make bagel pizzas too.
Dried fruits and nuts - Take a selection of dried fruits, nuts, and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, etc.) and mix together in a bowl. Then place a handful or two of the mix into individual plastic bags. So even on the busiest of mornings you just grab a bag on the way out. This makes a great on-the-go healthy breakfast idea.
Those are just a few healthy breakfast ideas to help keep things interesting. And don’t forget parents need breakfast too… we’re usually so busy looking after the kids, we end up skipping breakfast ourselves.
For tons of easy, family-friendly recipes, kid cooking recipes, nutrition articles and cooking tips visit http://www.easy-kid-recipes.com
Tackle dry winter skin with goat soap. Once I started showing with goat soap I gave up Oil of Olay and Caress. All the dryness and itchiness is gone. I use goat lotion for feet and elbows.
Our goat twins are too little for milking this year (we may breed them next year). So I buy my soap at our local goat shows. You can buy goat soap at many drugstores and online. Just type in goat soap at Google.com
James Pickavance from http://www.keeping-goats.comexplains: Goats’ milk is rich with nutrients like proteins, vitamin A, B12, B6, E, beta casein, and minerals. Skin absorbs beta caseins easily and helps in rapid hydration of the dry skins. Goats’ milk helps in moisturizing and soothing the skin as it is natural emollient.
It can make soap creamy, moisturizing, as well as lovely. More over goats’ milk will lower the Ph value of soaps, so that it becomes skin friendly. Goats’ milk soaps are effective for acne treatment as well as other problems of skins. With these qualities, goat milk soaps have positives for regular use. One can easily make goat milk soap at home. You might be wondering how to make goat soap at your home.
How to Make Goat Soap at Home
With or Without a Goat
For soap making goats’ milk soaps, milk is used as either liquid milk or powdered milk. It is easier to buy powdered goat milk from food stores. Use either pure milk or equal quantity of water and milk. There is hot process and cold process for making soap with liquid milk.
Two ounces of glycerine, three cups of goats milk, two teaspoon of borax, six and half ounces of lye, one and half pounds of fat etc makes a simple recipe for goats milk soap. Like this, various recipes are there for making goat soaps.
Melt and pour method is widely used for making goat milk soaps. You can buy both bases of pour soap as well as goats milk melt. Decide the recipe for the soap. Decide the type of molds for using.
Decide the shape of the soap that you want to make. Once you stock the goats melt milk as well as base for pour soap, you can look for colours and fragrances for the soap.
It is important that you follow the recipe for goat soap making. Using Vaseline, grease the molds properly so that soap does not stick after it sets. Melt the fat and cool it up to temperature range of eighty-five and ninety-degree Celsius. Pour lye into the paper cup, and then add goat milk. Slowly keep adding the lye. Mix the solution with hand mixer.
Chemical reaction will change the colour of milk to golden one, and the mixture becomes hot. So let the mixture to cool up to eighty-five degrees. To this mixture add glycerine, oatmeal, borax and mix well with the hand mixture for at least fifteen minutes.
Then keep it to rest and then mix at regular intervals of five minutes. Until noticeable changes takes place in consistency keep continuing the above process.
Pour the mixture of soap into the molds and allow it to set. Cover the top part of the molds with cheesecloth. For 24 hours, keep this soap at room temperature, which must be constant.
Remove the cloth off the top of molds and then take the soaps out of it. If the molds used is larger one, cut the soap into equal sized bars.
It is better to cure the soap by the air-drying method for a period of four to six weeks before using.
Visit http://www.keeping-goats.com for all your goat farming and produce tips and get a free report on How to Make Goat’s Cheese!
Ever burn popcorn in the microwave? Stinks the whole house up. Here is a tip to remove odors and clean any spills.
Add four tablespoons of lemon juice to one-cup of water in a microwave-safe, four-cup bowl. Boil for five minutes in the microwave, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe clean.
The moisture from the water will loosen anything that has spilled over, or blown up. The acid from the lemon helps cut the grease and it also smells nice.
There is nothing better than a hot bowl of soup on a cold and/or stormy day. Add a salad and fresh bread for a complete meal. This recipe is a great way to use up all leftover vegetables in the refrigerator and provide a healthy/nutritious meal that will last for a couple of days. I love leftover soup.
Vegetable Beef Soup
2 pounds lean stew beef cut into bite size chunks.
1 (46 oz.) can of V8
1 lg onion, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 can or frozen bag butter beans
1 can or frozen bag Corn
1 can green beans.
1 can kidney beans
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 garlic clove, diced
2T Mrs. Dash
4 Beef bouillon coups
2 Chicken bouillon cubes
3 cups water
salt to taste
1 cup barley (optional)
2 lg potatoes diced (Boil separately and add at the last minute to the served soup. Do not freeze soup with potatoes.)
Brown ground beef in a large pan. Add V8 and other ingredients. Cook over low heat for 2 hours or until veggies are tender. Or after browning the meat, pull all ingredients into a crock pot on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. This recipe makes a lot, leftovers can be divided up and frozen (don’t freeze with potatoes).
Works for Me Wednesday is a “blog carnival” (explained here). Be sure to check out lots of great tips on Works for Me Wednesday.
Joyful Expressions combines God’s Word with counted cross-stitch design! This site offers beautiful needlepoint patterns and custom patterns.
I just ordered three of the 5 x 5 inch designs for my granddaughters. They fit easily into a CD case which becomes the instant frame. All the designs feature a Bible verse and most are both fun and easy to make in just a few short evenings. Beginners can complete many of the designs because there are only three stitches.
Designer Sandra creates art that fits into standard 5 x 7″ or 8 x 10″ frames. She offers Name Blessings designs. Customers submit a name (often a grandchild), and Sandra charts out the name, name meaning and matching Bible verse in an attractive border.
You can order the patterns for download or complete kits to receive by snail mail. Start your own for your home, make a gift, or get your daughter or granddaughter started.
Be sure to visit your local grocery story for current coupons. Combine with online coupons for super savings.
Free GOOD Grocery Coupons Online - List 4 U - Coupon Mom has collected lots of sites and info — her page with printable grocery coupons had 72 when I tried it, and boy — it had lots of stuff I already use. Wish I had this before I went to the grocery last week!…
Works for Me Wednesday: Restaurant and Non-Grocery Coupons - Whenever this happened, it was either because (a) I had procrastinated on filing the most recently clipped grocery coupons or (b) the coupons in question were not for grocery items and had no place to call home until they were needed.
Coupon Mom - - The Coupon Mom provides free Grocery Coupon Deals lists for Target, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and 36 grocery stores in 50 states, updated weekly! Find your store list in their Grocery Deals section.
Grocery Game - Coupons are a big business. About $300 billion worth of grocery coupons will be distributed this year, and 86 percent of Americans report that they use coupons, says Charles Brown, vice president of marketing for NCH Marketing Services, …
Target Grocery Coupons - Here’s the complete list of Target grocery coupons:. - $1.50 coupon for lean beef.
15 Steps to Creating and Maintaining a Coupon Box - There are necessary grocery purchases where you have little control over the prices that are posted for the week – such as milk and meat. But you can cut your grocery bill quite a bit by taking advantage of manufacturer grocery coupons …
Grocery Coupon Q&A - Swap coupons with your friends, family and co-workers. Once a week, get together for lunch while sharing coupons. Don’t just use your grocery coupons at the grocery store.
What to Sell on eBay - Grocery Coupons - Did you know that you can buy grocery coupons on eBay? Some sellers purchase 20 or more Sunday papers with the coupon inserts, and spend their time organizing and sorting the coupons to sell in batches or lots on eBay. …
Grocery Coupons And Food Secrets - How can grocery coupons cost you more than they save? When is whole wheat not really whole wheat? Why are some frozen foods better for you than fresh foods?
GroceryGuide : Grocery Coupons and Deals - Grocery Coupons: See if there are any coupons for grocery products you’re looking for. Sale/Coupon Alerts: Get notification alerts for new deals and coupons. Add desired grocery deals to your shopping list.
MySavings.com Grocery Coupons - Do you guys look for brand coupons online? Then come to this place now at mysavings.com where they offer tons of brand Grocery Coupons that you can never find on any other website.
Grocery Coupons - Hubby learned not to burn what he calls junk mail because he figured out from me that we can save money through those coupons. Grocery Coupons can help to let us buy some things that we wanted. …
Grocery Coupons at Mysavings.com - Coupons are quite popular these days, shoppers all around the world have always been enthusiastic about the discount coupons and Grocery Coupons. They are like paper money that you can use like cash while making any purchase. …
Put the Internet to Work for You Helping You Save Money - By spending just a few minutes online before you make a purchase, you can often find online discount codes, online promotion codes, online coupon codes, online coupons, and even printable coupons such as printable grocery coupons and …
Roast turkey is a great family favorite, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But after the feast, comes the question – how to use the leftovers? Here are four ways to make the most of your festive bird.
Leftover Turkey Sandwich Recipes
Use thick slices of turkey breast and add a little of the dark meat for flavor. Use different breads, like ciabatta rolls, baguettes, wholemeal bread, or toasted white bread. Add other ingredients, such as:
Leftover Turkey Salad Recipes
Use both white and dark meat. Cube or shred the leftover turkey.
Toss with toasted almonds, thin slices of fresh mango and soft salad leaves. Dress with a light vinaigrette.
Mix with cubed avocado, slivered yellow and red pepper, sweetcorn and halved cherry tomatoes. Dress with olive oil, whisked with lime juice and chilli.
Stir shredded turkey breast meat through cooled cooked thin rice noodles. Add shredded lettuce, matchstick slices of carrot and cucumber, and dress with a well-blended mixture of 2 parts light soy sauce to 1 part sweet chilli sauce.
Leftover Turkey Soup Recipes
Add diced turkey to a basic vegetable soup recipe. Try it with celery and apple, in a chowder with sweetcorn, or as part of a spicy oriental soup, with noodles and shredded leaves.
Liven up turkey soup with herbs and spices. Try thyme and oregano, ground coriander, smoked paprika.
Leftover Turkey and Pasta Recipes
Mix diced turkey into tomato and sweet pepper sauce and serve with rice or pasta.
Stir pesto through chopped leftover turkey for an instant pasta sauce.
If you have more leftover turkey than you can use straight away, carve off slices on the same day that the turkey was cooked, interleave with cling wrap, overwrap with foil, pack in airtight plastic bags, and freeze. Keeps well in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Elizabeth Martyn is webmaster at http://healthy-eating-made-easy.com, where she provides information, tips and recipes on using seasonal, fresh ingredients to feed the family healthily and without hassle. Visit the site for more leftover turkey recipes and ideas for great family meals.
These are my favorite cookies. I make the first double batch for Thanksgiving and usually a triple batch in December. Chock full of fruit and nuts, they are chewy and crunchy.
1 c Raisins
1 c Candied cherries; coarsely chopped (red only NO yucky green ones)
1 c Candied pineapple; coarsely chopped
1 c Dates; coarsely chopped
1 c walnuts; coarsely chopped
1/2 c Shortening; “golden flavor”
3/4 c Sugar, granulated
1 Egg
1 ts Vanilla
1/2 ts Almond extract
1 1/4 c Flour, all purpose
1/2 ts Baking soda
1/2 ts Salt
Combine fruit and nuts. Mix well. Cream shortening, sugar, egg and flavoring on medium speed of an electric mixer until light and creamy. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture, beating on low speed until blended. Stir in fruits. Mix well. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
“When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open, and love steps forth to heal everything in sight.” –Michael Bridge
Send out invitations or call guests on the phone so you know how many people to expect. If guests will be bringing any dishes, add them to the list next to the guest’s name.
Equipment
Make sure you have the correct equipment and enough of everything to serve your guests.
Table big enough to serve guests
Chairs
Plates
Sharp knives
Coffee maker or pot
Sugar bowl
Silverware
Water glasses
Wine glasses
Cups and saucers
Laundered napkins
Table cloth (that fits table)
Refrigerator space to hold turkey
Pan big enough to cook turkey
Large bowls, pots, serving platters
Cream pitcher
Bread basket
Gravy pitcher
THIS WEEKEND
It’s time to start shopping to avoid the late rush at the supermarket.
Decide on seating chart (will you need a kids’ table?)
Decide on what can be cooked in advance
Write up shopping list, start shopping (purchase wine for the adults and apple cider for children)
5 Days Before
Getting down to the big day. Don’t panic, everything is running smoothly.
Declutter house (including refrigerator)
Put fresh towels in bathrooms
Finalize shopping list
3 Days Before
Start defrosting the turkey
2 Days Before
Create cooking schedule for the big day (figure out how much time every dish will take to cook, write down the time that everything needs to go into the oven so that all food is cooked by dinner time. Do not forget items that need to be defrosted or reheated.)
Final trip to the supermarket (consider getting some disposable containers for guests to take home some of the leftovers.) Start cooking things that can be cooked in advance to be reheated on Thanksgiving.
1 Day Before
Set the table so it will be ready for tomorrow
Set up coat hangers for guests and clear out closet for guests’ coats
Clean bathroom that guests will be using
Thanksgiving Day
Enjoy the fruit of good preparation and organization.
Now you need to find some printable to-do lists to get you organized for the rest of the holiday season. But, while printable to-do lists to get you organized are useful tools, they can’t help you declutter your house for the holidays. If clutter is weighing heavy on your mind and you really want your house to be holiday ready, it’s time to declutter now.
Don’t you owe it to yourself and your family to hold your holiday celebrations in a clean and organized home? It’s easier and faster to do than you think.
This is snowball. She has never been touched by a human until this week. She lived in our barn for about 6 months. It took months to get her on the porch and weeks to get her to our steps. Then she let us sit nearby and now she is inside. Tonight will be her second night in the house. It’s 30 degrees outside–she is no dummy.
Our house cats Shadow and Shiloah do not like snowball.
Tackle it Tuesday
I got my Thanksgiving decor unpacked and set up.
Hey Lynn, look where I put the bird house you gave me!
Tackle it Tuesday is a blog meme to motivate you to tackle a project each week. Go over and read through the encouraging posts.
It is the time of year to stock up on lip balm. Lip balm can be used as a lubricant much like household oil:
Prevent windburn by rubbing lip balm on your face before you go into the cold wind. Great for babies and toddlers.
Unstick a stuck zipper. Rub a little lip balm up and down the teeth of a zipper to smooth its action
Unstick sticky drawers by spreading a bit of lip balm on the tracks and wheels.
Remove a stuck ring
Groom wild eyebrows and mustaches
Stop bleeding from shaving cuts
Prevent outdoor light bulbs from getting stuck by coating the the threads with a little lip balm before setting them in the socket. Removal will be easier.
Frugal Friday Tip: If you run out of lip balm and need relief for chapped lips, Olive oil works great.
This is why I love blogging. Two daughters called this week and asked me what they needed to make the Thanksgiving cookies and I said, “I posted it on my blog!”
Tammy called this morning asking for my Bean Soup recipe. So here it is. It’s my hubby’s favorite; I keep several containers on hand in the freezer. A few drops of vinegar in a bowl gives it a wonderful flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
1 package 16 Bean Soup (found packaged in 1 lb. bag in grocery aisle near other dry beans)
Soak the beans overnight in water. Drain and rinse well (rinsing helps with gas).
Combine first six ingredients (liquid should cover beans 2 inches) in large pot. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes, or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients and turn to low temperature; cook for additional 1-2 hours. Add more chicken stock or water if needed. Remove turkey bones. Meat should fall off easily.
*We don’t eat pork. I have served this dish many times and everyone thinks the meat is ham. Pork doesn’t really have much taste. The taste comes from the smoked flavor. I use smoked turkey in many dishes.
This freezes well.
Healthy: Low fat, high fiber and protein. Yum!
Spending a few minutes making a plan organizes the week, helps you save time and money. MPM is hosted by I’m an Organizing Junkie,
Our daughter, Tammy, was catalog shopping with our 2-year-old grandson, Tyler. When he saw the John Deere toy tractor he said, “PaPa?” Is that too cute or what? He hasn’t seen us for months and remembers PaPa’s tractor!
Meat is probably the best item you can buy in bulk to save money. I buy meat and poultry in large quantities at Sam’s Club or when on sale at the grocery store (10 lb. hamburger, chicken legs, etc). Then I repackage it into smaller quantities that are easily removed from the freezer and used on demand.
If you need to weigh the meat you can use a postal scale. I usually store meat portions in Vacuum Sealed Bags, but my machine broke recently so in this photo I am using freezer bags. I divide the hamburger, then shape into a log so I can roll the air out and conserve space in the freezer. Don’t forget to date your packages.
Time to decorate for Thanksgiving and start gathering recipes.
These cookies have been our family tradition for almost 20 years now. Making them is a special time the children look forward to every Thanksgiving. Giving them to neighbors and friends is just as fun.
No Bake Turkey Cookies
Ingredients:
Fudge Striped Cookies
Chocolate bonbons (Christmas candy aisle at Walmart)
Semi-sweet chocolates
Candy corn
Directions:
Melt some of the semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave on low setting to use as glue. Cut one-fourth of the cookie off to make the tail. Coat the flat part of the bonbon with melted chocolate to “glue” to the center of the cookie (covering the hole).
Cover one side of the candy corn with melted chocolate and press on the bonbon to make the face.
Use a toothpick and melted chocolate to make two eyes. Use two unmelted pieces of semi-sweet chocolate to make the feet. Place each finished turkey on a plate (or wax paper) and refrigerate until firm. ENJOY!
Works for Me Wednesday is a “blog carnival” (explained here). Be sure to check out lots of great tips on Works for Me Wednesday.
I sew, quilt, smock and crochet, but I never learned to knit. I’ve always wanted to. Yesterday, I bought a skein of yarn and needles.
I watched a few “learn to knit” videos on YouTube and the Learn to Knit website and today I have a 5 x 6 piece of eh, something - we’ll call it practice. I love it. Our kittens love the yarn. I’ll post my first creation when finished.
Most of us already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day… This is especially true when it comes to kids. We need to ensure their little bodies receive nourishing foods to help them grow and thrive.
Our goat twins are too little for milking this year (we may breed them next year). So I buy my soap at our local goat shows. You can buy goat soap at many drugstores and online. Just type in goat soap at 
1 (9-ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 pounds lean stew beef cut into bite size chunks.
Times are tough all over so I’m sharing my favorite frugal tips and links.
Leftover Turkey Salad Recipes
Leftover Turkey Soup Recipes
TO-DO LIST
Make sure you have the correct equipment and enough of everything to serve your guests.
Sharp knives
Refrigerator space to hold turkey
Thanksgiving Day
1 package 16 Bean Soup (found packaged in 1 lb. bag in grocery aisle near other dry beans)
cookie off to make the tail. Coat the flat part of the bonbon with melted chocolate to “glue” to the center of the cookie (covering the hole).
