My GO TO Fast, Healthy Dinner Idea

I probably make this dinner twice per month because it is fast, easy, healthy, and above all, delicious! My family loves it, and often there are leftovers for lunch the next day! I usually make a double batch (see my double batch post) and freeze one half.

**Please note that measurements are approximate as I don't usually measure any ingredients and just add in whatever I think looks right or whatever I have on hand.**

**Please feel free to omit or add any ingredient you see fit--these are only suggestions. I do not always add everything.

Beef Vegetable Soup (yields one batch, serves 4)

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. stew beef, leftover beef roast, leftover rotisserie chicken, or chicken breast

2-3 cubes beef, chicken, or tomato boullin

6-8 cups water (more or less depending on how much water you like in your soup)

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 large potatoes or sweet potatoes, cubed

1 cup butternut squash or similar, cubed

1-2 fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can stewed tomatoes (I like to use fresh because less sodium)

1/4 head of cabbage, chopped

3/4 cup each of frozen corn, peas, and/or beans

1/2 cup frozen okra, sliced

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 medium yellow squash, sliced

1 choyote squash, cubed

1 can kidney beans, rinsed

Italian seasoning, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

chili flakes, optional

1 jalapeno, chopped, optional

fresh herbs of choice

1. Add water, meat, and boullin to large soup pot. Heat to boil. Boil rapidly until meat in cooked through (if uncooked).

2. Add broth ingredients (onion, garlic, celery, jalapeno, and tomato), continue to boil covered. *Note--for more flavour, saute these ingredients in olive oil first, if time permits.

3. Add hard vegetables (i.e. potatoes, carrots, squash, etc.) as they require more cook time.

4. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and chili flakes (if using dried herbs, add now, if using fresh, add at the end of cook time).

5. Add frozen vegetables, reduce heat to medium low to keep a slow boil.

6. Add softer vegetables, kidney beans, and fresh herbs, reduce heat to simmer.

7. Check hard vegetables to ensure they are cooked thoroughly.

Serve with a crusty bread, dinner rolls, or toast! Add a large glass of milk and you have hit all the food groups!

***This can also be done in a crock pot set on low all day.***

***To be more time efficient and maximise your time, chop vegetables as the meat is cooking and broth is being boiled. Add ingredients in order of broth ingredients first, then hard vegetables, and softer vegetables.***

Bon Appetit!

Organized Travel--Packing Tips

My family and I travel frequently and sometimes at the last moment! I have a system for making it easier and faster to pack for our family trips. Please keep in mind that my husband and I have two children, ages 9 and 1. Here are the things that I do to keep traveling organized:

1. Luggage/bags: I keep our large luggage and travel bags in one spot in our basement. If you do not have a basement, store them anywhere you have extra space. Place smaller bags inside larger ones to take up less space. I keep our smaller weekend/overnight travel bags in our master bedroom closet. It makes it easy for last minute road trips.
2. Childrens' Toiletries: For the children, I have a small basket with their travel needs in it. I put their things into a small, clear pouch. I try to use refillable, travel-size containers whenever possible. Some things I keep in the pouch are travel-size shampoo, body wash, body powder, vaseline, and diaper rash cream. I have a thermometer and medicine dropper in it as well. I also put any medicine in there that either of the boys may need. You never know when they can get sick! I try to always plan ahead!
3. Adults' Toiletries: I do the same thing for us. I have travel necessities in a clear zip-lock bag. I usually end up bringing the large version of shampoo, etc. for us. For me it just seems easier, especially on longer trips.
4. Childrens' Clothes: A few days before we leave, I check the weather to the destination that we are going. This helps me prepare what to pack. I lay the boys' clothing out by outfits into neat stacks. Each stack represents one day. I try to pack clothing that can mix with different outfits.
5. Adults' Clothes: I am the worst at overpacking! I have learned now that traveling with children, I really needed to downsize my own clothing and shoes! Now I plan all my outfits, including shoes and jewerly, and lay them into neat stacks just like the boys' clothes. I try to stick to a similar color scheme with interchangable pieces for different outfits. This helps me to only pack a few pairs of shoes verses needing a separate piece of luggage just for my shoes! My husband seems to never overpack and usually takes up the least amount space of all of us!
6. Misc.: About a week before we leave, I make a list of items that I can potentially forget. The day before we leave, I check off the items off my list. If they are not in the luggage, they go in a pile near the door. Items such as, passports, cell phone chargers, camera chargers, any documents needed, diaper bag, baby front carrier, etc. go in the pile near the door.

I am very organized, so usually finding things at the last minute are easy for me. I rarely forget anything! If you keep the travel items in the same area all the time, you will not have to search for anything. This makes last minute travel a breeze and not stressful at all! If you have any other tips you would like to share, please post a comment!

Laundry Out of Control?

One night my friends and I were talking (I really mean griping!) about our household tasks. One task that we all had difficulty with was how hard it is to keep up with laundry...especially with children! We felt that is was too time consuming and never seemed to get put away once it was folded.

I am probably the odd ball here because laundry is one of my favorite chores! However, I don't enjoy all aspects of it. The part I don't like about laundry is ironing and putting away the clothes. I have come up with some suggestions to make it less time consuming, less of a headache to deal with, and less work for you!

1. Get LOTS of Laundry Baskets!
Go to the dollar store and stock up on laundry baskets. Simple plastic ones will do the trick, and make sure that you AND YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS can carry them easily. I typically do not like the fancy wicker ones because they are not easy to carry and tend to harbor ordors!

2. Divide and Conquer!
I have three baskets in the master bedroom closet (one for whites, colors, and jeans/heavy duty). I have one basket in each of the children's bedrooms. I have one basket in each bathroom where bathing takes place, and one basket in the laundry room.

3. Laundry Day
Pick a day(s) of the week that you will be doing laundry. Since the master bedroom will have three baskets (one for whites, colors, and jeans/heavy duty), TEACH your family members to sort the contents of their baskets from their bedrooms into your baskets. As for the baskets in the bathrooms, have your children alternate weeks and do the same thing with the contents of those baskets as they did with their laundry baskets. The laundry basket in the laundry room is for kitchen towels and other misc. items.

***TIP--by giving your family members and/or children some of this responsibility is equals less work for you and teaches them a valuable lesson about contributing to the family!

Also, please note that when teaching your family try not to be too critical or too much of a perfectionist or they are not going to want to participate with helping out!

***IMPORTANT--have a separate basket for delicates, items that need hand-washing, or cannot be put into the dryer! I would do that load myself to ensure that items do not get ruined!!

4. Washing/Drying
Decide on who will be putting laundry into washer and dryer. I for one, am a bit particular about laundry, my husband wouldn't even know how to turn the washer on, so I am the one that does it all. However, you may want to give older children/teenagers this responsibility. Afterall if it is all sorted now and brought to the laundry room/area, the easy part is loading the washer and dryer!

5. Fold and Put Away as a Family
In our house, we fold as a family in front of the TV. If you have children old enough to help fold, teach them how you want clothes and towels folded so you are not refolding items. Have a basket on hand for each person and/or bedroom. Load baskets with items for each bedroom and/or family member. Load one basket with linens to put away. Have members of the family bring their basket back to their bedroom, and again, if old enough put his/her OWN clothes away neatly! You may have to check their work a few times to ensure they are not just tossing things into drawers.

6. Ironing
This is my least favorite task! I typically tackle ironing once or twice a month. I do it in front of the TV usually when the kids are sleeping or napping. If you have teenagers that are capable of doing a good job with this, you could have them do this chore or do a portion of it.

Other Tips!

• Start loads of laundry at night. Not only will you be saving energy (and money!), you will be one step ahead of the game!
• Do not let items sit in the dryer. Otherwise, you are creating more work for yourself if they are all wrinkled when you go to iron. If you do put laundry in the dryer at night, fluff the load for a few minutes before folding in the morning.
• Line drying (again for energy consumption) is something I take advantage of in the summer months! I love the feel of line-dried towels, and the smell of line-dried clothes! This is something that family members can help out with as well!!!
• Do not put wet or damp items into laundry baskets! That just creates stinky laundry and often the mildew smell is hard to get out of clothes. Moreover, mold can grow on items, which is virtually impossible to get out except by using bleach. Teach children to dry items first by handing them on the tub or towel racks!!

I hope this helps you loathe laundry less! By getting your family involved, you are teaching them responsibility and the value of helping each other out. You will be giving yourself more time to be with your family instead of a bystander doing all the chores while they are having all the fun!!! Even very small children can help out too. Give the appropriate tasks to the appropriate age!

Good luck and happy laundry day!!