Penny Smart

What's for dinner? The age-old question still haunts many of us, but that's okay. It is normal for those of us who are responsible for this household responsibility to wonder what we will fix for breakfast, lunch and supper every day. The recipes we have developed or that were handed down to us from previous generations of our family are, in all honesty, not unlimited. Space and time restraints may also limit our use of traditional paper cookbooks. That is where the internet comes in very handy.

A quick Google search can yield endless possibilities for recipes from ideas for pizza to chicken, restaurant copycat foods, cake, chocolate and other dessert items and much, much more. I have a few tried-and-true websites, however, which are my first choice when it comes to finding recipe ideas online.

Here are my top five most favorite recipe websites (in no particular order):

1) http://allrecipes.com/

I love this website because it contains user reviews and comments as well as a wide range of recipes ranging from drinks to bread to soups and appetizers to main course dishes and so much more.

2) www.cdkitchen.com/copycat

CD Kitchen's restaurant copycat section has an alphabetical list, so if you want to copy the Wendy's Chili recipe, for example, all you have to do is search under W. All the recipes within the alphabetized categories are also alphabetized. One word of warning, however, this site does have a lot of pop-ups. I recommend turning on your pop-up blocker prior to viewing it.

3) http://www.supercook.com/

This site is awesome! I use it when I have some ingredients that I need to use up. Supercook's user-friendly interface allows you to choose which ingredients you do and do not want to include in your food and gives you recipe suggestions based upon your search criteria. For me, it's almost like a very intelligent recipe search engine. Brilliant!

4) All You magazine is specifically designed for the budget conscious consumer. Their recipe section shows you how to get the most bang for your buck when doing meal planning.

5) Rounding out my top five favorites is the lifestyle recipes section of the Woman's Day magazine website. This website offers helpful explanations, dinner ideas, a dinner diary blog a place to create your own virtual cookbook and much, much more. Another section of the website even offers free "month of menus" printable calendars and shopping lists which takes much of the guesswork out of pairing main dishes with sides. Click here for more information.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Reduce Food Waste By Freezing Dairy and More

September 2nd 2010 02:21

: Creative uses for ice cube trays

When I was growing up I thought that only rich people used an ice maker. Now, although I am far from rich, I have one of my own. The funny thing is, I never use it. I still use my good old fashioned ice cube tray.

An ice cube tray has its advantages. My household typically does not use a lot of ice cubes. Honestly, I can use the space that the cube maker's bin takes up for other things such as meats that I find on sale. A tray is much more space friendly. Making ice cubes in a tray also allows me to have more control over the number of ice cubes being produced and used at any given time. This prevents the problem of cubes at the bottom of my automatic cube maker's bin becoming stuck together with freezer burn.

Ice cube trays can be used for much more than just freezing water as well. I remember several years ago viewing a Martha Stewart television special in which her guest of the day froze lemonade and tea into cubes. The logic behind doing so is that when the cube melts, it does not water down your drink as a cube composed of water would. On her website, Martha also suggests doing this with coffee. You can read her article about coffee and tea cubes here.

Ice cubes are also very handy with dairy products. My household consumes approximately 3/4 of a gallon of milk between my grocery store dairy runs. That can make it a challenge for me to purchase the right amount of milk sometimes. At first I tried alternating between purchasing a gallon one week and a half gallon the next. I could not help but be frustrated, however, by the lower cost per ounce of the full gallon. That is when the light bulb went off. I remembered the Martha Stewart episode and decided to use one of my ice cube trays to make milk cubes. The milk cubes are great for coffee and can be thawed as needed when I see that I am running low. (Side note: milk expands, so do not fill the tray's compartments completely).

My milk cubes made me wonder if there were any other ways that dairy products could be frozen in ice cube trays. I did a quick google search, and sure enough I found it. One writer says you can freeze eggs in them. Although I have not tried this one yet, I am looking forward to experimenting with it. To find out how, click here. Please keep in mind, however, that the cube tray should be washed thoroughly following the egg cube removal.

Another thing I love to freeze is fruit. Sometimes it can be hard to find my favorite fruits in season when I am craving them. Freezing them allows me to enjoy them for a longer period of time. Tipnut.com has some excellent advice for how to use ice cube trays to freeze pureed ripe fruits into toppings for ice cream. Find out more here.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

How to Save Time Cleaning Bathrooms

August 25th 2010 14:59

: Essential Bathroom Cleaning Supplies and Tips

One of my least favorite rooms of the house to clean is the bathroom. Streamlining the tools I use and the way I do things helps me make this chore a bit less burdensome, however.

Common areas of the bathroom which need to be cleaned on a regular basis are the shower/tub, mirror, counter(s), toilet and floor.

For the shower/tub, a good bathroom cleaner and a clean rag are essential. Personally, my favorite bathroom cleaner is the 32 oz trigger Lysol Bathroom Cleaner..

Now lets tackle the mirror. For this I really like a good all purpose glass and surface cleaner like Windex Multi-Surface Antibacterial.. A good multi-surface glass and surface cleaner can also be used for the shower/tub in a pinch. For the mirror, I like to pair the cleaner with some paper towels. First I spray the paper towel. Next I use the paper towel to wipe the mirror in either an up and down or side to side motion. This minimizes streaks and leaves a nice clean look. While Bounty and Brawny paper towels work well, I have personally found Scott Towels to be the best value for my money.

Next is the counters. I purchased two shoe box size Sterilite brand clear plastic storage boxes to hold my and my husband's personal care items which we like to keep on the counter. Putting multiple items into the boxes saves me cleaning time because it gives me less to move. For counter cleaning, nothing that I have found beats the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Extra Power. It is very easy to use and can tackle quick cleanups and tougher messes like stuck on toothpaste with relative ease.

Now for the dreaded toilet. The toilet has two areas that need to be cleaned - the inside and the outside. For the inside, I am honestly torn between Clorox with bleach and Lysol Cling toilet bowl cleaners, so I usually buy whichever one is on sale. I use a toilet scrub brush rather than a disposable toilet wand because I think it just makes more economic sense and feel that I can do a better job of scrubbing with a reusable brush with a caddy from a quality company like Rubbermaid. For the outside, again, I am torn between Lysol and Clorox disinfecting wipes. I like to use these because the cleaner is already built in to the towel and I can dispose of them and the residue on them quickly and easily when the job is done.

The final bathroom surface is the floor. For this, it is best to have a small broom and dust pan handy to tackle the big dust bunnies such as the Rubbermaid dustpan and lobby broom set. When the bathroom needs mopping, I splurge on the Swiffer Sweeper with a wet cloth.

One last essential item to keep your entire bathroom nice and tidy is a trash can. All too often, you can get into a hurry and leave trash lying around in the bathroom. Having a trash can at your fingertips can help you keep the trash to a minimum.

Well, there you have it, your bathroom kit is now complete.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Ten Ways to Spend Time with Your Children Without Breaking the Bank

August 16th 2010 19:48

: Free and Cheap Family Fun Activities

In today's uncertain economy families are tightening belts, paying off debt and struggling to build an emergency fund savings cushion like never before. One of the first variable expenses that is scrutinized is generally entertainment. Certainly we all want and even need to have fun, but higher priorities of basic human survival such as food, clothing and shelter still exist.

Tip 1: Evaluate the interests, schedules, likes and dislikes of each family member. Brainstorm ideas with your spouse and children as well as friends and relatives.
[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Free Activities for Kids Available through Lowes, Home Depot and Habitat for Humanity

August 14th 2010 00:13

: Craft building workshops for children

Are you looking for a different activity to do with your children? Are you tired of taking them to the mall, the movies, the park or any other place that you have been a hundred times? Do you want to teach them some valuable life skills? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your child is old enough to participate in this activity and you or your spouse can participate, I have an out of the ordinary family activity just for you. Let them build something. Yes, build something.

Lowes, The Home Depot and Habitat for Humanity all offer programs designed especially for children

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Online Classified Websites

August 12th 2010 00:37

: Clean Your House and Make Extra Cash

America is becoming an increasingly cyber-oriented culture. We rely upon computers for nearly every aspect of our day to day lives from online banking to grocery shopping and other retail purchases to commuting to work, corresponding with customers and associates at work and much, much more. Why, then, is it that we seem to limit ourselves to yard sales or garage sales whenever we want to eliminate items from our homes such as out of date sofas, the dusty set of golf clubs we never have time to use and other high ticket items. Local online classified ads are becoming more and more common and can be a free or low cost valuable tool in reaching a broader market for our gently used goods.

One word of caution: In cyberspace, anyone can portray an heir of friendliness, honesty, etc. You do not know, however, who is on the other side of the screen. Exercise the same good judgment and common sense you would in placing a newspaper classified ad if not more when you place an ad online. If possible, meet the person buying the property at a public location and do not go alone. Use other common sense safety measures available to you as well, particularly if you are a woman.
[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

No fuss foods

August 10th 2010 21:41

: Dump it in cooking

Tonight my husband wanted a home cooked meal, but I wasn't feeling quite up to alot of fancy preparations. I turned to my old faithful Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe which contained three of my favorite words.... "combine all ingredients." Adding all the ingredients at once saves me precious preparation time which means that I can get on with the rest of my chores more quickly while the meal is cooking instead of using a recipe which has multiple ingredients which are added at various stages in the process.

Today's recipe was for meatballs, but some of my other favorite recipes also allow me to combine all the ingredients. Some other examples I have found are recipes for marinades, baking mixes, salsa, sauces, dressings, smoothies, dip mixes, various crockpot recipes, cake and cake icing, spices and seasoning blends, barbeque dry rubs, punch, and pasta salad

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Avoid Work at Home Job Scams

July 27th 2010 15:19

: Earn Extra Income

According to a September 2009 careerbuilder.com statistic featured on csnbc.com, sixty-one percent (61%) of the United States workers surveyed by Career Builder lived paycheck to paycheck last year. As mind boggling as this statistic may seem, it is a reality for a good majority of Americans. This reality combined with an increasingly insecure job market has many of us seeking out alternative sources of financial resources.

Do you think you have what it takes? If so, how can you get started? Well, first you need to think about your available interests, talents and resources. What are your hobbies? What skills have you gained in the work force which might be applicable to a home based business? Do you have unused items in your home which you can sell at a garage sale or on e-bay to supply you with some start-up money? The second step is to consider any obstacles that stand in your way and devise ways to overcome or work around them. For example, maybe you are afraid of failure, unable to travel to get supplies for your business, etc. Next, devise goals using a S.W.A.T analysis. The SWAT analysis combines your personal Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) with external Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) to set goals for success

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Complimentary Treats to Celebrate Your Special Day

July 21st 2010 15:05

: Free Birthday Goodies

Well, today is my birthday. Being another year older is a bitter-sweet experience. On the one hand, I look back over the past year of my life and the new things I have learned and friendships I have made with awe and excitement at what is to come. On the other hand, I look in the mirror and remember the good old times when I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain an ounce and think about all of the things that I have yet to accomplish in my life that I want to do.

As I reflect upon the many intricacies of life, I am thankful for people who recognize and celebrate my special day. That is one reason why I am so thankful that some of the retail stores and restaurants that my husband and I frequently visit offer special thank you gifts on my birthday. It makes me feel like they appreciate my business and value me as a customer. Yes, I know, at least on a subconscious level, that they really probably care more about my business than my birthday, but, hey, it's my special day, so indulge me for a moment

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

AARP Survey Results

July 8th 2010 22:44

: Money In the News

My husband loves to listen to talk radio. Generally speaking, I tolerate it at best, but a news story we heard this afternoon grabbed my attention and really made me think.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (A.A.R.P.), (click here for article) United States citizens between the ages of forty four (44) and seventy five (75) are, on average, more afraid of running out of money than they are of dying. Sixty one percent (61%) of the men and women in the research study claimed that money fears were more frightening for them than meeting their maker

[ Click here to read more ]

119

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: MPmomof3 - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

September 2010

2 Posts

August 2010

5 Posts

July 2010