Idea Queen Tips & News

 While I don’t use my crockpot a whole lot (crazy aren’t I?), I do pull it out on occasion. When I do decide to get the crockpot out, I usually dig through my crockpot recipe cookbook.

My normal style of cooking is on the stove or oven, but once in awhile I do get the crockpot out. Usually it’s days where I know I just won’t have the time to cook a full meal due to after school schedules. I’m a bit of a fanatic when it comes to giving my kids a home cooked meal - frozen dinners just aren’t an option most of the time. Since we live in a small town, fast food isn’t an option most of the time either.

Anyway, there are some really great recipes in that cookbook. I especially like the ones that involve creamy chicken and BBQ pork.

Enjoy!

Homemade tacos are good, but the restaurants are usually better right?  Not around here! Years ago when I was in high school, my after school job was at a fast food taco place. Not only did it teach me responsibility at 16, but it also taught me how to make perfect taco meat.

First you’ll need to ignore the directions on the packages of seasoning. They are so wrong it’s not even funny. Ditch the pan too, because you’ll need a small pot or saucer pan instead.

Add your hamburger, package of seasoning, and 3/4 cup water (if using leaner beef, add 1 cup of water instead). Use a masher or something similar (I use my pastry cutter I got from Pampered Chef several years ago). Yes you will be turning it into meat paste.

Cover, and let cook on medium heat, stirring or mashing occasionally.  It’s almost like you are boiling the meat instead of frying it.

That’s it! Nothing to it really, and you end up with real taco meat just like they make in the restaurant. Yes this really is how we made it in the restaurant, but with a much larger pot and a whole lot more water. A much bigger meat masher too! Regardless, it’s not hard to make real taco meat on a smaller scale.

We’ve had some pretty cold days here this week, and the kids have been stuck inside. While they’ve been pretty occupied with new toys they got for Christmas, we’ve still needed to come up with some ideas for activities.

The oldest has been pretty happy with his GameCube, but my youngest daughter (5 yrs old), needed something to do. Since she loves jewelry, we got her some beads and things for Christmas. We sat down together and spent part of the day making bracelets, necklaces, and other interesting things. She absolutely loved it, and it’s a pretty inexpensive craft.

If you need more of a complete kit, you can find kids craft kits at S&S Worldwide. They have a pretty large selection of kits, many of which come in bulk. Meaning you can make more than one of the craft shown. Since Valentine’s day is right around the corner, you may want to check out their holiday specific items as well. There’s really enough here to keep them busy for hours for a little bit of nothing.

Have fun!

This box could be used for just about anything, but I used it as somewhat of a bread box. It was actually given to my uncle and his girlfriend with their homemade bread. It was a simple box with a velcro latch. I could have added some extras and made a slightly different design, but I ran out of time. Really you can do whatever you’d like with this.

To start, you’ll need 4 squares (about 7×7 for a large box, but you can adjust this size) all the same size of one fabric, and 4 squares all the same size of another (I used a plain white as the lining). These will make your three sides and the bottom. Now cut another piece of each fabric that’s the same size wide, but more than twice as long (about 7×15). This will be your 4th side,   and flap that will cover the the top.

Start by sewing the two different fabrics together (right sides together), making individual sides of your box. One fabric will be your outside of the box, the other will be your inside. Leave one side open so you can turn it inside out. Do not sew just yet! Do this with all 5 pieces.

Next take cardboard and cut to fit inside 4 of the pieces (excluding the bottom). Make sure the cardboard is slightly smaller than your sides so they fit. It’s alright if they are quite a bit smaller, they are only to give the box a shape. All 4 pieces of cardboard should be identical - your flap should not have cardboard inside.

Now it’s time to sew it all together! Start with one side and the bottom sewing them together (right sides together). Sew another side to that side, and so on. Finish by sewing the sides to the bottom. Flip your box right side out.

For the finishing touches, take a piece of velcro and sew to your flap. Sew the other part of the velcro to the opposite side. Adding a handle is optional (this is something I wanted to do with mine, but ran out of time).

To make a handle, cut out a thick strip of each of your fabrics (At least 2 inches thick).  Sew together (right sides together). Turn right side out, and sew to each side of your box on the inside.

That’s it! Now you have a decorative place to store your bread, or a nice gift box for homemade bread.

Finally, the kids are back in school and we’re back to some sort of normal around here. The house seems to be back in order, and the tree is already put away. Since two sets of family come here for Christmas and we usually entertain on New Years, Christmas vacation is usually spent cleaning and organizing. The tree comes down shortly after Christmas to make room for New Year’s celebrations, and all new toys find a home very quickly.

Unfortunately, I had planned to do some rearranging and organizing over our vacation and that just didn’t get done. I won’t bore you with details as to why, but the kids “together toys” need to be moved into a new area. Thankfully the number of “together toys” are decreasing very quickly as they get older, so there’s not a whole lot to move.

I’ve realized though moving and organizing is going to be a whole lot easier if I get more bins and toy boxes. Possibly more shelves too. Either that or clean out the “storage room” that sits right off the area I plan to move all these toys. Of course, that means I have to find a new hiding places for Christmas and birthday gifts. That’s a minor sacrifice for a more organized and cleaner looking house though.

That said, I’d love to hear your stories about how your Christmas went, and your organizing tips. I think we could all use some help!