1. Measuring Messy Ingredients

   One of my favorite kitchen tools, an adjustable measuring cup, makes accurately adding sticky ingredients such as honey, mayo, peanut butter, and sour cream a breeze.

   Simply slide the 2 pieces apart to adjust it to the measurement you want and fill. Hold over the bowl and push to release the contents. A swipe of a spatula to finish and no more scraping to get the contents out.

   The two pieces separate for quick cleaning.

2. Getting tomato paste out of the can

   Getting tomato paste, refried beans, and other thick canned goods out of the container is sticky business.

   Using the same plunging idea as the adjustable measure cup above, Cooking Louisiana has a wonderful solution. Open both ends of the can and push the lid through on one side pushing the entire contents out. More great kitchen tips are available on their site.

   
   

3. Corn without any silk left

   Getting the silt off the corn with a vegetable brushes doesn’t seem to do the trick for me, and we are left eating pulling off a few strands as we eat.

   My blogging friend, Allen, found a wonderful technique for cooking corn and ended up with ZERO silt left on it. See the video at Simple Life Prattle. Purchasing corn still in the husk is cheaper, so there is no excuse left not to indulge in a few ears.

   
   

4. Peeling tomatoes

   When a recipe calls for peeled tomatoes, I go with the canned version. Now that I know the trick to make this easy, I will opt for fresh tomatoes next time.

   “To peel tomatoes, place 2 cups of boiling water in a container, add the tomatoes and heat on high for 1 min. Plunge into cold water and the skin will peel of easily.” Tip compliments of Waveware.com.

   
   

5. Keep lettuce fresh

   Wilting lettuce isn’t appetizing. HomeEverAfter.com gives a few alternatives to keeping your lettuce fresher longer.

   I wrap mine in paper towels before placing them in the crisper.

Got any Kitchen Tricks to share?

Turn that time you spend waiting
…and waiting
…and waiting
into productive moments.

How much time do you spend at these places?

1. Waiting rooms

2. Car line

3. Sporting/Music Events – the time before they start

4. Airports/Bus

Use the extra time to:

• Catch up on some reading

  Keep reading material (books, magazines, newspaper) handy in the car and take advantage of the quiet time.

• Meal planning

  Keep a small notebook in your purse or car. Plan fives days-worth of meals.

• Make appointments

  Waiting in a car line is a great opportunity to knock a few calls off your to-do list.

• Relax with some music or a book on tape

  An ipod and a set of headphones can go a long way in making the time pass quickly.

How do you spend your waiting time?

Cooking in bulk saves money and time

Stock up your freezer by cooking twice as much of your favorite meals, and freeze half for another night.

Dishes that freeze well include:

• pasta casseroles such as homemade macaroni and cheese, baked spaghetti casserole, or lasagna
• enchiladas
• desserts such as coffee cake, cookies, and pies
• soups
• vegetable side dishes such as broccoli/squash casseroles
• taco meat
• spaghetti sauce

Bulk cooking

Bulk cooking is the same idea on a larger scale. You spend a day or two cooking and fill your freezer with a variety of foods. I’ve done a small version of this before. It is a lot of work, and you need a lot of available freezer space. However, you can save a lot of money by purchasing your meat in large quantities.

Learn more about bulk cooking from these sites:

• Bulk Freezer Cooking
• Wise Bread
• 13 Bulk Cooking Recipes

My favorite “cook and freeze” recipe

On a busy day, my favorite meal to throw together is spaghetti. I can thaw the homemade sauce in the microwave and have dinner done within 20 minutes. Lasagna is a close second, so I like to stock up on both.

The following makes about 1 large or 3 small lasagnas and 3-4 dinner’s-worth of spaghetti sauce. I have some great recipe’s for more complicated sauces, but this is the easy and quick version that I make most of the time.

First you need to make a large batch of Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

• 3lbs of meat of your preference. I use:
  • 1 lb. ground turkey, browned and drained
  • 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage, browned and drained
• 4 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (look for buy one get one free sales on these)
• 1 large tomato sauce
• Italian seasoning to taste (I add about 2 Tbsps)
• 1 Cup of water

Simmer all the ingredients on low for about an hour.

Easy Lasagna

• 1 box of lasagna noodles
• Small Ricotta cheese
• 1 package of provolone cheese slices
• 2 packages of 5 Italian cheese -shredded

Cook the noodles for about 10 minutes and drain.

Use a one cup measuring cup to scoop out a cup of sauce and spread it out to cover the bottom of the pan.

Alternate the following layers until you fill the pan:

Noodles
ricotta cheese
Sauce
Provolone cheese (rips into small pieces)
Sprinkle some shredded Italian cheese

Repeat.

Wrap up and label items for the freezer

Wrap for freezer and label

After the lasagna had been made, the leftover sauce is frozen in dinner-serving sizes.

Prepare your food for the freezer by wrapping them in foil. Use a Sharpie to write what it is and the date. I wrote “SS” which stands for Spaghetti Sauce in my special shorthand.

Freezer to Oven

Bake the lasagna in a 350 degree oven for about an hour if frozen and 30 minutes if thawed.
5 minutes in the microwave will thaw the spaghetti sauce.

Get in and out of the grocery store in record time

I hate grocery shopping! My kids know I am avoiding it when I serve breakfast for dinner in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

The secret to speedy shopping

Write your grocery store list in the order of the store. The shopping will take less time, and you will avoid the frustration of multiple laps through the store.

This is a huge plus when your four-year old insists on riding in the “car” cart monstrosity that maneuvers with all the grace of a big rig through the tight aisles.

Create your menu plan and grocery list at the same time. As you add items, picture the list as the layout of the store.



I created a diagram to print and use to make it easier. The test run yesterday proved it was a real time saver. The categories also reminded me of a few items I needed while I was writing up the list.
(Publisher version or PDF version.)

Many grocery stores have an aisle layout map available. Inquire about one at the customer service desk. This is especially helpful after they decide to rearrange the store to confuse shoppers.

Now…if I could just read my writing…

Have any other tips to make grocery shopping easier?

What’s for dinner tonight?

Credit for these quick and easy dinners goes to my good friend Melissa, a busy mom of 5 kids who also owns a photography business. She certainly knows how to serve up a delicious dinner in a matter of minutes. Check out her gorgeous photography at: www.contemporarycaptures.com/blog

Stuffed Pasta Shells with Sauce

• 1 box frozen stuffed large shell pasta
• 1 large jar prepared spaghetti sauce (26 oz)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Lay the frozen pasta shells in a casserole pan, pour sauce over them, and top with cheese.
Note: if you like spinach, you can add a layer before adding the sauce.

Cover with foil.

Bake at 350^o for 45min-1 hour until the shells are warm.

Serve with a salad and bread.

Chicken and Yellow Rice

• boneless chicken breasts
• olive oil
• garlic salt
• Vigo yellow rice packet
• peas

Drizzle chicken with olive oil and sprinkle on some garlic salt.

Bake at 350^o for 45min-1 hour until done.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

Cook the yellow rice according to directions. For better flavor, substitute part or all of the liquid required with the the chicken stock from the baked chicken.

Mix the rice, chicken and a can of peas (warmed and drained) for a complete meal.

Pepper Steak

Melissa said this recipe is a family favorite. It was a huge hit at my house, too. Confession: I craved this steak for several days after eating it...it was so good. I may have dreamed about it.

• favorite steak sliced into thin pieces – flank steak works well
• 3-4 green peppers, sliced
• garlic salt
• 1 or 2 gravy packets

(Note: I left out the gravy to save calories and it was still wonderful)


• white or brown rice

Cook the rice according to the instructions.

Mix the gravy packet, according to the instructions, and heat in a small pan until boiling.

In a frying pan, cook the steak in a pan with garlic salt and a pad or two of butter until browned. Let the pieces drain on a paper towel.

Toss the green pepper slices in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the steak back to the pan and pour in the gravy. Mix well.

Serve over rice with a salad.

Mini Hamburgers with Gravy

• ground sirloin, about 1/4 lb per person
• 1 packet of gravy
• egg noodles or rice

Form the meat into small patties, add in seasoning to taste.
Make the gravy in a small sauce pan according to the directions.
Cook the mini patties in a skillet until done.
Add the gravy and serve over rice or egg noodles.

Spaghetti Casserole

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
• 1 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

Brown meat and onion with any seasonings you prefer.

Mix together the spaghetti sauce, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, cooked noodles, and soup and stir well.

Add mixture to a casserole dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake 20-30 minutes in a 350^o oven until heated.

What is your family’s favorite quick and easy meal?

Organize with a RSS reader

High tech moms and dads use RSS readers to organize and manage tips from the wonderful assortment of blogs and websites available today.

Not high-tech yet? Well I’m about to change that. Then you can brag to your kids about how technically savvy you are.

New to RSS?

Give it a try for a week and you will be hooked. You may be saying, “Now, Melinda, that stuff is way too technical for me.” I promise it is very easy to use and no tech-wiz ability is required.

You can subscribe to many sites by email, but using the RSS reader option will keep your subscriptions neatly organized in one place without clogging up your email’s inbox.

Setting up Google Reader

If you don’t already have a Google account, you will need to make one. See the “sign in” at the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Sign in and go to Google Reader to see what the reader looks like.

I have a more detailed description of how RSS works here at my tech blog.

Google Reader will feel very familiar since it resembles an email program. The subscriptions are listed on the left. Click on a subscription and browse the topics to see if anything interests you. Nothing interesting? Mark them as “all read” and continue to the next subscription.

RSS saves you time

Now you can keep up with websites in a more efficient way because the information comes to you. A great time-saver!

Add Subscriptions

Simply go to a site you enjoy and look for the RSS symbol. Click to subscribe and select the Google Reader option. You will need to be logged into your Google account. It will send you to your reader and you will see the subscription added to the left of the screen in the list. Occasionally it will require you to confirm the subscription by clicking a button at the top right side of your screen.

Finding blogs on subjects you like

There are blogs on every subject you can imagine. Like to sew? Search for some sewing blogs full of great ideas. Go to blog directories and search the subjects are you interested in. A few include: Blog Catalog, AllTop.com, and Blog-Search.com.

Some sites I love to get you started

Organization sites:

Don’t forget to subscribe to mine here.

Lifehacker.com – Search any term. One of my favorite sites!! Good stuff!
OrganizeWithSandy.com
OrganizeYourStuffNow.com
Unclutterer.com
GetSimplifized.com
HealingOrganization.com
ClutterDietBlog.com
MonicaRicci.typepad.com
MeckMom.com
OpenSpacesFengShui.com/blog
ProductiveAndOrganized.net
ElaineShannon.com
PenelopeLovesLists.com
Blog.Rubbermaid.com
Lifehack.org

Mommy/Daddy/Family blogs:

Mommy/Daddy blogs are all the rage these days and have been featured on countless TV shows. Find some great parenting tips and share your own in the comments. You may discover a great community of other parents that you can relate to.

MyDeliciousAmbiguity
5MinutesForMom.com
YummyMummyClub.ca
BalancingMotherhood.com
MommyMaria.wordpress.com
Busymom.net
LoveLifeFamilyAndThenSome.com
MomMadeThat.com
MomSpark.net/

Money Saving tips:

MoneySavingMom.com
CentsationalGirl.com
CouponMom.com
Coupons.Smartsource.com
CouponCabin.com
CoolSavings.com
Valpak.com
MyCoupons.com

Going Green

GreenMoms.com
MamaGoesGreen.com
OrganicKidz.ca
Green.blogs.nytimes.com
GreenLivingIdeas.com
Treehugger.com
FullCircleHome.com

Recipes

Collect some new recipes and make your own cookbook.

SmoothiesRecipe.com – I’m a smoothie fanatic, so I was excited to find this site!
SeriousEats.com
Great list of food blogs at Delish.com

If you have others to recommend, leave them in the comments section.
Write one? Add it, too!

Happy RSS reading!

It’s 6:00 pm and you, tired and hungry, are just walking in the door. Whether you have had a stressful day at the office, just finished a chaotic taxi shift to various activities with the kids, or simply forgot to defrost the meat for dinner, you want something easy and fast.

The kids are revolting and dramatically threatening to pass out if they don’t get food “right now”.

Easy dinners to the rescue

The exhausted chef hands the kids some yogurt to hold them off (and get them out of the kitchen) while coming to the rescue with a delicious meal created in under fifteen minutes.

Avoid breaking down and running to the nearest fast food by keeping the ingredients for quick meals on hand.

Here are a few of my family’s favorites.

Meatball Subs

• 1 package of frozen meatballs (small bag…or get a large and use half)
• 1 jar of Marinara sauce
• 1 small package of mozzarella cheese
• 4-6 Hoagie rolls from the grocery store deli

1. Defrost the meatballs in the microwave for a few minutes if you didn’t thaw them in the refrigerator during the day.
2. Place the meatballs and marinara sauce in a skillet and warm them up for 10-15 minutes on low.
3. Spoon warm meatballs and sauce into hoagie rolls and top with mozzarella cheese.

Add a side salad and some fruit for a complete meal in minutes.

Vegetable Tostadas

• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes, drained well
• 1 can of yellow corn, drained.
• 1 small can of sliced black olives, drained.
• Basil – 1 tsp dried or 1 Tbsp fresh
• Feta cheese (optional)
• Cream cheese or can of refried beans – your choice
• Package of tostadas

1. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, corn, olives, basil and cheese.
2. Spread cream cheese or refried beans on the tostada.
3. Top with the vegetable mixture.

It is that simple. This is one of my favorite summer meals. You could play with the ingredients and create variations with other vegetables.

Chicken Salad

• 1 can of chicken (or leftover chicken from last night’s meal)
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp Sweet pickle relish
• celery, two stalks, chopped
• bread

1. Mix the chicken, a small amount of mayo, pickle relish, some juice from the pickle relish (to keep the mayo amount to a minimum), and celery. Stir well.
2. If too dry, add more pickle relish juice.
3. Toast some bread and make sandwiches.

Add a salad and a fruit and you have a light, fast dinner.

Looking for more recipes – help!

Can you ever have enough quick dinner recipes? No way!

I am looking for more last-minute dinner ideas. I am creating a “Quick Meal” recipe book for the website, so you can print the meals you choose and add them to your own Try-It Cookbook. Add a new category for “quick meals”.

Have any family favorite last-minute meals to share?

I need more recipes! Leave them in a comment or email them to me at info@simplehomeorganization.com. Don’t forget to let me know how you want to be credited for your contribution such as “Julie B.” or “Fabulous Mom in Texas”.

There is a conspiracy going on in my house that can be described with one word: Laundry.

It is my personal goal to one day have all the laundry in the house both clean and put away.

I realize this is an unrealistic goal for a mother of three, but a mom can dream, can’t she?

Every time I return to the laundry room to fold the final load with great anticipation of rejoicing in domestic bliss at the ultimate accomplishment, I find a freshly-deposited pile of clothes awaiting my attention…maybe next time. The kids must be ensuring my job security.

Do you know how much laundry you have to do?

Is it all in one spot and sorted?

I have a little nook in my laundry room that wasn’t being used, so I turned it into a laundry sorting system.

Three trash cans were assigned a certain type of clothes (towels, white/light colored clothes, dark clothes).

I put the labels on the picture so you could get the idea. They aren’t actually written on them. However, while you are training everyone in the house, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tape a temporary label on each one until everyone understands the system.

Dirty clothes are brought to the laundry room and sorted into the correct container. My rule is, “check pockets and zip zippers” before this step. However, I don’t really trust this step since I’m kind of fond of my clothes and don’t want a crayon to add new color to them, but it helps.

Now I can quickly look and see if I have enough clothes to run a load. A full trash can is about a load of laundry. Yikes!…as you can see I have about three loads to do today.

My kids didn’t have room for clothes hampers in their rooms, so this solved the problem of where to put all the dirty clothes. This idea will not work for everyone due to space restraints, but perhaps you can adjust this idea into a new form that works for you.

One day….one day the impossible will happen. I WILL win the battle of the laundry.

Got other laundry tips? Please share.

There…I said it. I admit it!

When it comes to folding clothes, I am the world’s worst.

I just don’t have the time, patience, or talent to fold shirts.

With 2-3 loads to do per day, I don’t mess around when it comes to laundry.

For example, the other day my girls got a kick out of finding the four-year-old’s underwear in the stack of dishcloths in the pantry. O.K., even the best of organizers have an off day; however, it’s a good example of how I like to race through the folding process. By the way, I simply responded with, “Get a pair of underwear out of the pantry and get dressed.”

My solution? Hang all shirts in the closet.

In the time it would take me to fold one shirt (possibly because I am so bad at it), I can hang up five shirts on hangers AND take them to the appropriate closet.

Advantages of hanging shirts vs. putting them in a drawer folded:

• They don’t wrinkle
• They don’t end up in a wadded disorganized mess in the drawer. Let’s face it; kids dig through drawers of clothes, so shirts never stay in nice neat stacks.
• They don’t have that folded crease on them.
• It is easier to look through the shirts hanging in a closet. The indecisive teen can easily look through the choices without making a mess or driving her mother crazy.
• Shirts don’t get lost in the back of the drawer, never to be found again until they are too small.

Organize the clothes in the closet

Grouping like items together in the closet makes finding the shirt you are looking for easier. Tee shirts, jeans, jackets, sweatshirts, etc.

What do you do with all that extra drawer space now?

I am sure the kids will have no problem finding uses for the empty drawers. You’ve gained at least one drawer that can be used for things that might otherwise be cluttering up the top of the dresser. (Hair accessories, combs, brushes, etc.) For older kids, a drawer could store hand-held electronics, cords, chargers, etc. so they aren’t scattered around the room.

Any use of the drawer is fine by me, unless it is collecting trash. That will result in Mom’s lecture #233 “Learning to use the trashcan”, and my kids don’t want to hear that one again.

Got any laundry tips to share?