Yesterday at the store the Iowa Chops were looking pretty tasty at the meat counter. I decided to pick up a few for the kids and I to eat. Now since they are Iowa chops, I usually don’t use any of the recipes from our fried pork chop page. These are usually good all by themselves. Sometimes I can’t help but use a little white wine to fry them up though. (And it’s probably how I’ll fry these up!) However, my favorite pork chops usually come from the page I linked above. Depending on my mood, I’ll either fry them in the pan with white wine and fennel seeds or I’ll fry them in oil and add cream of mushroom soup. Once in awhile I feel the need to get out of my rut, and pull a recipe from the pork chop recipe ebook. There are some really good ones in there, and make for some awesome pork chops! It seems...
If you are short on time like we are, you may be thinking a craft kit is the way to go. I know I don’t have a whole lot of time to gather certain supplies for different crafts (let alone know WHERE to find them half the time). The craft ideas for kids listed on Idea Queen are very simple crafts. You don’t need a whole lot for them. But if you are looking for a more complicated craft, craft kits might be the way to go. That’s why we added a whole section on craft kits for you to check out. I think you’ll find many of the craft kit ideas listed are priced pretty well, with some unique ideas for a craft. Just in time too – Christmas is right around the corner, and many of these would make absolutely PERFECT Christmas gifts. You can either make the crafts with your kids as gifts, or wait and give the kits to your...
I came across this today, and thought this would be a pretty neat idea. Regardless of where you decide to hold the birthday party (and if you need ideas for where or what, you can check the teen birthday party ideas page on Idea Queen)…..why not send the invitation by email? Almost all teens are connected in some way or another, so it only makes sense the invites go out where they spend the most time. Visit AmericanGreetings.com for a wide selection of invites, eCards, and printable cards for every occasion. You may never need to search the store for cards again! Worth checking out their free trial at least for the teen birthday party. Read More →
Another Thanksgiving craft was added to Idea Queen today, and it sure is a cute one! This one comes directly from one of our visitors, so we hope you will enjoy. Construction Paper Turkey Traci Fuentes Beady Queen Designs www.BeadyQueen.com Need: ~1 white paper ~1 brown paper ~different colored paper for feathers ~black crayon 1. Cut one circle out of brown paper for the turkey’s body. 2. Cut a smaller circle out of brown paper for the turkey’s head. 3. Cut out feathers using different colors of paper. 4. Glue the shapes onto the white paper to make a turkey. 5. Add details (like eyes, beak and feet) with crayons. 6. On the back you could write a story. Remember to submit your crafts if you’d like to share. Read More →
A few new Thanksgiving dinner ideas have been added to Idea Queen – be sure to check them out! A visitor submitted a few side dish ideas (one for green beans, one for broccoli) and a yummy desert idea. Remember to submit your ideas if you have any – we are always on the look out for new and unique content to add to the site. The more ideas rolled together, the more we all benefit. Read More →
One of my favorite “quick dinner” ideas is quesidillas. Even if I’m missing a few ingredients, no one seems to care much. As long as the basics are there – cheese and tortillas – you can add or not add anything you want. Our “real” quesidilla recipe includes the following: - Tortillas - Shredded Cheese - Pico De Gillo I make what I call an “americanized” version of pico de gillo that’s pretty simple. I chop up tomato and onion, then put them in a container. Then add a few drops of lemon juice and a few shakes of cilantro. Shake it up and there you go! The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it tastes. So for the best, make sure you make it at least an hour before you make your quesidillas. These also make for perfect snacks that kids can even make themselves. Just cover the...
Americans are getting serious about buying toys not made in China. We thought it was bad when there was lead paint in our toys, but now a recent recall is actually seriously harming our children. It all comes down to the big companies wanting to save money to put in their own pockets, and skipping USA standards on what’s safe in the process. Christmas shopping season is now here. Instead of seeing half your child’s Christmas toys on the recall list, let’s buy American this year. Not only will you be buying SAFE toys, but also putting food on the table for all those American employees. This is a topic that has really hit home with me, what with Whirlpool buying out Maytag and putting several hundred employees in my hometown out of work. My own father being one of them, who put in nearly 20 years at Maytag’s original...
There’s all kinds of ways to organize recipes, and at some point we need a little help. I’m going to share a few items I found at Amazon, my favorite place to shop for just about anything from books to toys to recipe organizers. Recipe Albums & Binders Probably one of the easiest ways to store your recipes is in an album or binder. Most come with protective pages and for various sized cards or pages, so it fits just about anything you have shoved in your recipe drawer right now. Here’s a few I found at Amazon: Collected Recipe Organizer – Binder One of the lowest costing yet best forms of organizing recipes there is. This recipe album features tab dividers and comes with 4×6 recipe cards to write on and insert into clear protective pages. Also includes fun stuff on the inside cover for measurement conversions...
These are two more recipes just in from our request for Thanksgiving ideas. These two Thanksgiving dessert recipes can also be found on our Thanksgiving dinner ideas page. Spiced Apple Muffins By Heather Leach www.momcents.com Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2/3 cup brown sugar 2 eggs (beaten) 2/3 cup milk 1/4 cup butter (melted) 1 cup peeled and grated/shredded apple 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Directions: In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk and butter. Mix well. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix (do not over mix). Fold in apples and walnuts (if using). Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for...
I’ve been tagged by my friend Lauren, directly after I tagged her a few days ago! The post is “7 Things You May Not Know About Me”, so here we go…. 1. I’m a single mom Yup, it’s the truth! We get along fine though, just me and the kids. I’ve been divorced for several years (which is a GOOD thing if you knew my ex!) 2. I like odd colored fingernail polish I own quite a few bottles of fingernail polish, but not a one is pink or red. I only wear blue, black, purple, green, or any other funky color I come across. Sometimes I even put on combinations of different colors. It’s my way of being unique! 3. Give me silver, not gold Continuing with the weirdness of my fingers, I also prefer silver rings over gold. The only time I’ve ever worn a gold ring was when I was married. I’ve since...
