Tea Time - or how I clean my kitchen and do my laundry!

I love tea. I drink lots of tea. I boil water in a kettle for each and every cup. It takes about 7 minutes from pouring the water into the kettle until my tea has steeped to the correct flavor. I clean as fast as I can in those 7 minutes. I can fold a load of laundry,  unload the dishwasher, clean out a cupboard, sweep the floor, wash the kitchen windows, clean out the fridge, start dinner. Oh the things I can accomplish are many! These little bites of time are perfect, they help to keep my house in order and I don't mind working for my tea!

What about you? What can you do in seven minutes? 

This totally Works for Me!

Dinner with Dougie, and the Best Ribs Ever

Tonight we had "pig" ribs. They were fantastic - the only problem is I used Pepsi instead of Coke to cook them. Yes, pop is my secret ingredient and WHO KNEW that it wouldn't be fall off the bone scrumptious with the competition???? So, if you make these, believe me when I say COKE is what you need and NEVER EVER EVER NEVER USE DIET!!! (Recipe at the end)

My son lives 2 houses away and works for his dad - they see each other ALL the time. He however rarely just comes over. I don't blame him, when I moved out at his age I lived 4 miles from home and didn't come home for like 3 months. I loved my parents, my little brothers and sisters - there were no hard feelings, I just had too much going on. And I started dating my husband to be and we spent all our time together.

HOWEVER now that the shoe is on the other foot I feel desperately lonely and neglected. "Stop in -I'll make you whatever your heart desires for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner." Part of the problem is I am a "luck of the draw" kinda cook. The last time I cooked for him and his fiance I dang near gave them salmonella (I followed the instructions but still undercooked the chicken by a LOT) So, I don't think she is willing to eat here anymore. Sigh. It makes me sad - but I totally understand - I have chicken issues myself.

TONIGHT I made The Best Ribs Ever and called and invited them over. I am confident in my ribs turning out. Unfortunately She had class but Dougie came, brought my sweet grandbaby and his roommate....YEA! I love me a full table! I love feeding my grandbaby. I love having guests and I especially love having all my children in the same room!!! I know these opportunities will become fewer and farther between and I am so glad I was able to see the gift it was and is.

Here is the recipe that made it all happen!

Best Ribs Ever

1-2 slabs of pig ribs
Steak seasoning
2 litre of COKE
BBQ Sauce

Put the ribs in a foil lined pan (for ease of clean up)
Sprinkle liberally with steak seasoning or just use salt, pepper and garlic
Pour COKE over - cover tightly with foil.
Cook at 270 degrees for 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Fire up the grill, put cooked ribs on grill, baste in BBQ sauce and cook for about 15 minutes - until the sauce gets all yummy!
That's it! Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

I linked this to Chatting at the Sky's Tuesday's Unwrapped and Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday. and Heavenly Homemakers Gratituesday.

Bang Bang Chicken

I bet you thought this was going to be a recipe. Nope. It is a method, a method for getting shredded chicken without using 2 forks, or a knife or even your hands. "What?! Impossible!" you say. No it is super dee dooper easy.





Cook chicken. Let cool, debone if necessary. Put in a ziploc bag be sure to let the extra air out. (Important step or your chicken will fly all over the kitchen, trust me) Get out your rolling pin. Now beat the tar out of your chicken in a bag. This flattens it, and shreds it nicely. You can now use it in any sort of recipe that calls for shredded chicken. I have not tried it but I bet it would work for pork or beef also.

You will want to use this to shred your chicken for Chicken Enchillada Lasagna.

I got the idea from a recipe for bang bang chicken.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!




This totally Works for Me!
And because I think this is a great frugal idea - I have linked this to my other blog -Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy.

Flies Flies Everywhere

Over at Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy I posted about making your own flystrips. Riveting reading if you ask me. You didn't? Well I promise it is worth a click if you want to get rid of all those pesky flies and don't want to buy the flystrips full of chemicals. I'm just saying!

It's Birthday Time Did Your Cake Turn Out??

It is April and April is Birthday Time in my family.

Josh and Sylvia have birthdays along with my Mom, Mother-in-law, 2 sisters, a brother, a niece, a nephew and a a great nephew .

So, the thought of birthday cakes comes to mind! I have always thought that how they came out was something of a crap shoot - NOT SO! In a lovely old church school cookbook, I found some great recipes. Which I am putting in separate posts. But what I thought was the real find was the following list of common problems and the reason why.

What a great find!

I don't bake a lot of cakes but when I do I want them to turn out.

Cake Failure?
What Happened?

Cake too brown
1. Baked too long
2. Oven too hot
3. Too much sugar

Not brown enough
1. Too big a pan
2. Too little baking powder or inactive baking powder
3. Not baked enough
4. Too little sugar

Holes in cake
1. Too little mixing
2. Too little liquid or shortening
3. Too cool in oven

Crumbly texture
1. Too little mixing
2. Too much shortening or sugar

Dry cake
1. Too little shortening or sugar
2. Too much baking powder
3. Over baked

Heavy cake
1. Too much shortening or liquid
2. Wrong proportions of sugar and flour

Cake humped or cracked in the center
1. Too hot an oven
2. Too much flour
3. Or a combination of the above

Sticky (?)
1. Too much sugar or shortening
2. Under baked

Cake falls
1. Under baked
2. Substituting self rising flour and not reducing leavening

Food Wonders Common and Simple, Fort Wayne Christian School

Buy Local and in Season

One of the frugal and green hints that almost all blogs, lists and books bring out is to buy local and in season. Rarely did they tell me what was in season where I live. I know I *should* know what is in season but I don't. I found this site and now I know! Hurray!

God Bless,
Christy

The 80's had Reagonomics we have Reconomics

Reconomics? Yes, if you have ever bought something used - book, car, or house you are a reconomist.

The Reconomy is good economy. Good for the planet, good for the pocket book. Recycle, resell, reuse, rehab. Buying, selling, donating and sharing "gently used" items rather than always going for the brand spankin' new gizmo or gadget.

The Reconomy also promotes simplicity. By getting rid of the stuff you don't want or need anymore through selling, donating or sharing your life becomes simpler.

Not only does each item that is reused, recycled, rehabbed and or resold help both parties it one less thing that needs energy to be produced, it reduces the size of your personal environmental footprint and one less thing landing in the landfill. I love reconomics!

This week I was a reconomist in the following way:

• gave my sister all my leftover diapers for her babies
• bought Christmas flannel sheets from the Salvation Army to make into gift bags
• purchased a red hat lady book from a rummage sale for a 40th BD gift for a friend
• found 3 bags worth of stuff to donate to the Goodwill
• bought Ellie a pair of army pants from a rummage sale
• refilled and refrigerated numerous water bottles from the tap
• took the leftover broth from my mom's beef and noodles home to make soup (there was a half gallon of delicious broth which she was going to pitch.)

How about you?

The reconomy is economically frugal, environmentally friendly and really rather fun!

God Bless,

Christy

Freecylce Yardsale

I was meandering around the frugal sites and happened upon a post about having a Freecyle Yardsale. Brilliant I say. I do not have the time, energy or umpf to post often to freecyle but I have tons of stuff to get rid of. This lovely lady suggests posting to all local freecyle groups that you are having a freecyle yardsale and then after having ruthlessly gone through your house haul it out to the driveway and wait and watch as people come. Once you have gotten rid of a lot of your excess it is easier to be frugal when your house isn't cluttered.

God Bless,

Christy

Crockpot Oatmeal

OK, I tried this today and it was yummy. Lest you think this blog is becoming a food blog I am adding it to help with time management.

Crockpot Oatmeal

3 cups oatmeal
4 cups cold water, 2 cups ice
pinch of salt
sprinkle liberally with cinnamon (makes it smell sooooo good in the morning)and we all need more cinnamon in our diet)

opt.: chopped apples, or raisins or other dried fruit.

SPRAY the inside of your crock first - VIP I think it took me days to get it clean.
add all to crock, turn on low, go to bed, snuggle with dh, wake up to yummy breakfast. Can add raisins or dried fruit in the morning if you like it chewier.

God Bless,
Christy