Idea Queen Tips & News

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 like a must to have a form of potatoes with our pork chops. My favorite of course being garlic mashed potatoes. Over the weekend I picked up a potato sack, and I’m exited to try it out! I have no idea how my potatoes are going to turn out in the microwave, but I guess we will see, eh?

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 kids for Christmas. Either way it couldn’t be a better time for them.

Enjoy!

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.

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.

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.

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 tortilla in shredded cheese, sprinkle on the pico de gillo, and pop in the microwave for about a minute (or until the cheese is melted). You can also make it on the stove, be we always do it in the microwave.

How do YOU make your quesidillas?

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 plant. Their reason for closing the plant the small town was so proud of, was so they could save money by making washers and dryers in another country. It’s sad, it makes us all sick, and it’s time to put a stop to it all.

Without further rambling, here is our list of places to buy toys NOT made in China:

Zebulon USA
A nice resource of finding toys and other items not made in China. All products they sell are made in the USA ONLY.

Amazon.com
Yup, Amazon DOES have toys made in the USA. The link above will take you to ONLY toys marked “Made in USA”. I’m sure you could probably find more if you searched long enough, but a list of 200 should keep you busy for a little while.

OompaToys
This one doesn’t have all American made toys, but they do have a handy guide that tells you what is made where. See the “Where our toys are made” guide for all the codes, and shop accordingly.

Monkey Bean Toys
Again, not all come from the US. However, the toys are “hand picked” and come from US, Germany, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Thailand, and England. None made in China, which is most important to us.

This search is not over - we’ll be looking for more places to shop and hopefully be posting more soon!

Alright so this may be one of the last posts I make that deals with organizing. You might all be getting rather sick of it….or maybe feeling a little guilty, I’m not sure. Either way I’ll try to make this the last.
This obsession started when I was looking for a way to organize my recipes. While I did find a few at Organize.com, I had to go back to my favorite store. Which of course is Amazon.com. It’s just way too easy to find all you want there, and you can even read reviews from others who have purchased that same item.

I trust Amazon 100% - I know I’ll always get my order as promised with little problems. Plus a lot of the items qualify for free shipping over $25. My last order ended up being more cost effective than buying it offline, plus I got EXACTLY what I wanted (local stores had “almost” what I wanted, but not quite).

Anyway, here are a few recipe albums I found on Amazon that have very good reviews. Just click on the links to see more details. Each link goes to the detail page of the product on Amazon.

My Favorite Recipes Blank Cookbook Organizer
Isn’t this one cute? Comes complete with 6 different “chapters” so you can store your recipes by type (for example, breakfast, dessert, etc). It also has three blank sections so you can name your own.

Family Recipes Memory Book
This one is cute as well, and allows you to really get creative. This one is perfect for protecting those old family recipes and making somewhat of a useful scrapbook with them. It includes 60 pages with 8 pocket dividers. I make a mess when I cook, so anything that will protect my recipes is a VERY good thing.

Recipe Keeper
I had to post this one because it has the best reviews from quite a few people. Everyone seems to love this particular recipe album, and I can see why! Not only can you write your favorite recipes inside it, but you can store clipped and printed recipes as well. It’s also very inexpensive. Includes 80 pages in a 3 ring binder.

These recipe albums aren’t the only ones at Amazon, but they are my favorite picks. You can see a whole lot more recipe binders at Amazon.com. If you need some recipe cards, remember you can find printable recipe cards at Idea Queen!

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 approximately 20 minutes or until golden and baked through. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
By Heather Leach
www.momcents.com

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cups brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or dried cranberries

Directions:
In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs and oil. Mix well. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir well. Fold in the cranberries. Transfer mixture to two lightly greased loaf pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for approximately 45 to 55 minutes or until golden and baked through. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

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 ditched the diamond and gone back to my good old sterling silver rings.

4. I don’t like doctors
So maybe you DID know this about me, I don’t know. I don’t trust doctors, specialists, or anyone that comes out of medical school. We are somewhat of a “natural” family, and treat most ailments (what little we have) with natural home remedies.

5. I sell candles
Again, something you may have known. The “secret” is that I don’t make them. My mother does. She is my partner with Prairie Soy Candles. Trust me, you wouldn’t want them being made in my house around the kids. Who knows what would happen to them if they were being made here!

6. I have a Pontiac obsession
I’ve been driving for more than 10 years now. In those 10 years, I’ve owned a total of 3 cars (the last I bought a few months ago). All three have been the same model of Pontiacs…..kinda. The first was a Sunbird, and the last two Sunfire (the replacement Sunbird). I usually drive them until they die, but they sure are good to me!

7. I’m only in my 20s.
When I started working online several years ago, I was only 19. Everyone guessed me much older, and I think they still do! Ironically enough, they guess me much younger in real life.

Now who to tag?  How about…..

Anita
Lynn

Have fun ladies!