Homemade Waffles For Family Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, I love to make homemade food items for my family such as waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelets, etc. I am not a huge fan of store bought breakfast items as I feel that you can make your breakfast up during the weekends and then freeze it for use during the week when you have less time to spend in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe I like to use when I make homemade waffles.

2 egg whites, whip stiff and fold in
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or butter flavored shortening, melted

Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Add milk and vanilla to the well beaten egg yolks. Sift in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter (after the butter is cooled) very slowly. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour sufficient batter on the grill to come within one inch of the edge. Cook each waffle for approximately 5 minutes.

Once done, you can let them cool for 15 minutes. Then wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and freeze in a zipper closure bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Shelly

Health Benefits Of Adding Fish To Your Weekly Diet

There are many health benefits of consuming fish on a weekly basis because of their omega-3 fatty acids content.

Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They help prevent the formation of clots by making them less sticky. It decreases the risk of embolic and thrombolic strokes. Other benefits of omega-3 fatty acids guards against hypertension, breast cancer, depression and lowers the risk of heart disease and reduce inflammation in arthritis.

Wild salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, sardines, hoki and halibut contain the most omega-3 fatty acids.

Here’s a simple and healthy salmon dish that is packed with flavour. It’s wonderful on a bed of salad.

Salmon over Greens
Try it with any green leafy vegetable like a spring mix. Add cubed cucumbers to the greens and any regular or flavoured balsamic vinegar dressing. Set aside.

Take a salmon filet (remove skin) and cut into chunks, add a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Sear the salmon chunks, add salt and pepper and about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Toss well. If your frying pan is oven proof put it into a 400 degrees F oven, otherwise transfer it into a corning ware and bake for 5-7 minutes or when done depending on your oven. Serve over the salad.

My family also enjoys lingcod with a fruit salsa. Lingcod is not high in essential fatty acids, but it’s high in vitamin B12 and selenium.

Fruit Salsa
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup strawberries cut up
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 red onion diced
Salt & pepper
2 oz lime juice
Touch of honey
1 tsp roasted cumin

Mix all ingredients

It is recommended to eat two servings of fish per week. If you’re not a big fish eater other foods such as walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil all contain omega-3 fatty acids or you can take fish oil supplements.

~Sophia

Home Sewing Box Essentials

When it comes to putting together a home sewing box or kit, it is important to be prepared for all of those home mending jobs.

You can store your mending items in a large metal tin, a shoe box, rubbermaid or plastic bin or go out and purchase a box that is specifically made for housing sewing supplies.

Here are the items I feel that every home sewing box needs to include.

1. Sewing Thread (Basic Colors) – white, black, brown, red, green, yellow, orange, tan
2. Needles – various lengths and tips
3. Straight Pins – one box of pins (I prefer rust-proof pins)
4. Measuring Tape
5. Scissors – I recommend a high quality pair of fabric scissors
6. Buttons – You will want to stay stocked with various colors and sizes of buttons
7. Safety Pins – I recommend various sizes in both silvertone and goldtone metals
8. Seam Ripper – Every good sewing box needs a great seam ripper tool.
9. Needle Threader – Even if you have great eye sight, a needle threader can save you precious time when you are in a hurry.
10. Iron-on Patches – I keep white, black, denim, navy, tan and brown iron-on patches in my sewing box at all times.
11. Fabric Glue – If you are in a hurry and need a quick fix, you can hem a pair of pants or fix a seam with a few dabs of fabric glue.
12. Thimble – Protect your fingertips and invest in a good thimble.

What kind of items do you like to keep in your sewing box so that you are always prepared for mending emergencies?

Shelly

Homemade Chocolate Bark with Marshmallows Recipe

Over the weekend I was hungry for some homemade chocolate bark candy so I decided to make my own. Here are the ingredients you will need to make some delicious chocolate bark.

1 full tub Baker’s Milk Chocolate Discs
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup broken pretzel bits
1/4 cup broken graham crackers
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Follow the directions on the Baker’s Milk Chocolate and melt the chocolate discs in your microwave. Once melted, pour the chocolate into a mixing bowl. Stir in the marshmallows, pretzels, graham crackers and chopped peanuts. You can omit any of those items that you don’t like.

Lightly spray a round glass pie pan with nonstick vegetable spray and spoon/pour your chocolate batter into it. Place foil or a lid on top and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes so it sets up. Remove from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. You can break it up into pieces (like a brittle) and store in an airtight canister or you can cut it into slices.

~ Shelly ~

How To Make Felt Valentine’s Day Refrigerator Magnets

When it comes to making Valentine’s Day crafts with older kids, this is a quick and easy project that will cost less than $1.50 to make. I recently made this project with a group of girls that range in age from 8 to 11 years old.

Here is what you will need:

red and pink craft felt
red embroidery floss with blunt tip sewing needle
2″ wide piece (strip) of magnet
scissors
paper patterned heart measuring 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall
disappearing ink marker
all-purpose craft glue

Pattern: You can just free-hand a heart pattern by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting it into a heart shape that measures approximately 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall.

Trace your heart pattern onto a piece of red felt. Using scissors, cut off 1/4″ around the edges of your paper pattern and then trace the smaller heart that you just made onto a piece of pink felt using a disappearing marker.

Using a blunt tip sewing needle and three strands of red embroidery floss, hand stitch the word LOVE onto the pink heart. Once that has been completed, use three strands of red embroidery floss to blanket stitch or simple whip stitch the pink felt heart to the red felt heart. You will want to stitch around all of the edges to attach the pink heart to the red heart.

Cut an 8″ long by 1/4″ wide strip from red felt. Using the photo for reference, make an arrow from the strips and hand sew them to the back side of the red felt heart. Once completed, use all-purpose craft glue to attach a magnet strip onto the back of the red heart. Let dry for 1 hour and then your new refrigerator magnet is ready to use!

This craft project idea is copyright 2010 by Work At Home Business Options, All Rights Reserved. Please do not reprint this project, instructions or photo without our permission.

Are You Prepared? 10 Wintertime Snow Emergency Tips

When it comes to nasty winter weather, are you and your family prepared? The time to think about preparedness is before the winter storm hits which for me…is at the beginning of the winter weather season.

Here are 10 wintertime snow emergency tips that I think you will find useful the next time you are preparing for a winter snow storm.

1. Have emergency supplies readily available at home. These supplies should include plenty of food (including items that don’t need to be cooked, incase you lose power), several gallons of bottled water and juice, batteries for flashlights, battery operated emergency weather radio, cell phone and a back up plan in place in case of an emergency.

2. Carry a small bag of salt or kitty litter in your automobile trunk…it will help with traction if you get stuck.

3. Carry a box of emergency supplies in the trunk of your car, such as: blankets, flares, bottled water, first aid kit, jumper cables, battery powered radio, snacks, etc.

4. If possible, bring all domestic pets indoors…if it’s too cold outside for you, it is too cold outside for them.

5. If you have to go out in cold snowy weather, dress in warm insulating layers. You want to make sure you keep your feet, hands and head protected from cold temperatures and frost bite.

6. Pre-treat your sidewalks and driveways with salt or chemical mixtures before the storm hits. Once the storm arrives, treat them again.

7. If you live in a dwelling that has a ‘fragile’ roof such as a mobile home or travel trailer, you will need to periodically go out and remove snow from your roof. If you let it pile up, you risk roof damage and cave-in.

8. When it snows…keep up on your shoveling. Go out every 2-3 hours and remove the fresh layer of snow. Don’t let it pile up to where it becomes heavy and unmanageable.

9. Shovel out all fire hydrants in your neighborhood so that emergency crews can easily find them and access them quickly.

10. If you don’t need to travel, then don’t! By going out to do things that can wait to another time, you are risking your life and those who travel with you.

When it comes to surviving bad winter weather and doing so in comfort and warmth, it is all about being prepared ahead of time and knowing what to do once the bad weather has arrived.

~ Keep Safe and Be Warm ~

Shelly

Frugal Valentine’s Day Card Holder Ideas

When our daughter was little, every year we would sit down and make our own handmade Valentine’s Day greeting card holders. Since this holder was only used for a few days every year, we would always try to make one with items we had around the house… aka…the frugal way of doing things :)

Here are a few ideas that we did over the years.

1. Take 2 foam or paper plates and cut one of those plates in 1/2. Use a hole punch to punch holes around the edges. Using some ribbon or yarn, thread the ribbon through the holes to attach the two plates together. The 1/2 plate should be the one on the front. Then use stickers, left-over gift wrap, contstruction paper, magazines, etc and let the children decorate their new card holder.

2. Take a cereal box and cut it in half. Use construction paper, stickers, gift wrap, magazines, etc and let children decorate their own box.

3. Plastic or paper shoe boxes make great card holders. Give children some crafting and art supplies and let them decorate shoe boxes to hold all of their Valentine’s Day goodies.

4. Empty round cardboard oatmeal containers. These containers are the perfect size to hold those little Valentine greetings the kids exchange at school. Give your child some craft and art supplies and let them decorate their own container.

Making your own Valentine’s Day greeting card container doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Look around your home and grab up some of your left-over arts and craft supplies and let your children spend the afternoon crafting up some Valentine’s Day Items!

Shelly

Valentine’s Day Family Craft Activities

Do you enjoy decorating your home for Valentine’s Day? Are you looking for some easy family craft activities that incorporate the Valentine’s Day theme?

When our daughter was a little girl, we enjoyed decorating our home for each and every holiday along with the various seasons…and Valentine’s Day was no exception.

Here are some crafty ideas that you can make with your children this year.

1. Cut out pink, red and white hearts (various sizes) from construction paper. Use a hole punch and punch a hole in the center top area of your heart. Thread some satin ribbon through to make a hanging loop. Give the children some glue and let them glue on some rhinestones, beads, charms, glitter, buttons etc. Then use some suction cups and hang them up on your windows or household mirrors.

2. Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards…you can make them simple or elaborate using construction paper, stickers, markers, glutter glue paint pens, etc.

3. You can make a heart banner by cutting out and decorating paper hearts from construction paper. Use a hole punch and punch a hole in the side of each heart and thread them together with satin ribbon or yarn. Then proudly hang up your banner some where in your home.

4. If you are crafting with older children, consider doing some baking. You can bake cupcakes and cakes and decorate them in a Valentine’s Day theme. Children love to add sprinkles and little candies to the frosting!

~ Shelly ~

Prostate Health and Pumpkin Seeds

If you didn’t eat your pumpkin seeds last Halloween then this is a healthy reminder to make use of them this year. Pumpkin seeds are really beneficial for the prostate. Pumpkin seeds contain a protective compound called phytosterols that may help in shrinking an enlarged prostate and help in bladder problems. Phytosterols also have cholesterol lowering properties and reduces the risks of many cancers.

Pumpkin seeds contain:

Zinc – benefits osteoporosis.
Beta Carotene – immune booster, antioxidant.
Potassium – lowers high blood pressure.
Magnesium – Prevents osteoporosis, heart attack, migraines, leg cramps, gallstones and kidney stones and more.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Prevents heart disease and lowers cholesterol.

You can enjoy them in salads, baked in your oatmeal cookies, homemade trail mix, or just roasted.

~Sophia

Do You Remember To Clean The Little Things?

When it comes to cleaning things around our home to prevent infections, do you remember to clean the little things?

I know as a mother and grandmother, I often get busy and just do my basic house cleaning…but part of my 2010 New Year’s Resolution was to get better cleaning the little things that harbor germs and bacteria around my home.

Here are some of the items we all need to remember to clean on a weekly basis.

Telephones and Cell Phones
Remote Controls to TV, Stereos and DVD Players
Light Switches
Door Knobs
Cabinet Knobs and Drawer Pulls
Handles on our appliances
On/Off switches on our lamps
Gaming Consoles (especially the controllers)
etc.

It is important to remember to clean and wipe down those little things in our homes that our families frequently touch.

You can go out and purchase ‘green’ cleaners or you can use those handy dis-infecting wipes…either one, just as long as you get into the weekly habit of wiping these types of little things down.

~ Shelly ~

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