Easy Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

With school right around the corner, mornings can be quite chaotic trying to get the kids to eat a good breakfast. Well, I've found a recipe that I thought would be great, especially for the quick out-the-door-for-school kind of breakfast. This is a quick recipe that can be made the night before so there is no rushing around in the morning.

Ingredients:

1 C. Buttermilk
1 C. Oats
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/4 C. butter, melted and cooled
3/4 C brown sugar
1 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray or use paper muffin cups. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and oats. Let mixture soak for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg with a fork until light in color. Add melted butter, brown sugar and oat mixture to the egg.

Gently fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin tins (or paper cups) 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 servings.

Freebies-Week of July 30th, 2008

We all know how important Amber Alerts are! The speed in which an Amber Alert reaches the public and the percentage of that public that is reached can be critical to how fast a missing child can be found. Sign up for FREE Amber Alerts sent right to your mobile phone.

Other great freebies (and inspiration) for the digital scrapbook enthusiast can be found at Sugarplum Paperie. I love her colors she uses and the kits. There are several items on sale for 50% off as well. You can find her website by clicking on the above link or there is a link on my blog as well. Give it a try!

And...almost free! Today, July 30th, in celebration of their 30th year of business, The Cheesecake Factory is promoting their dine-in guests a $1.50 per slice of cheesecake. To confirm this, visit their website at http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/ Enjoy!

Mama Mia!

I normally don't like to go to the movies because of crowds, or the movies out lately have unsuitable content, but when I went to see "Mama Mia" with my cousin Sharon last Friday, I had a blast! Not only did we surpass the long lines by using the "ATM" of movie tickets, but the movie was actually fun! As for Pierce Brosnan singing? He can't but I'll give him an A- for trying. Yes, it did have a couple of suggestive comments/scenes, (which they could have left out) but all in all we were laughing a lot and I know I was singing to the tunes of ABBA in my head the whole time. Ahh, it brings back memories...Anyway, where was I? I would recommend this movie especially for the crowd who delights in the songs of ABBA, or for a quick back in time to the 70's. It truly was a hilarious and fun movie! Don't forget to stay through the credits or you'll miss more songs and action-packed fun!

Caging Vegetable Plants

I found some tomato cages just laying around the backyard. I almost threw them away thinking that there was no use for them. Then I thought I could use them another way other than how they were intended for. Although they are hard to see in this picture, I just simply turned them upside down and covered my cucumber plants, bell peppers, and my tomato plants with them, so that the heavier end is at the bottom. One of my tomato plants' has the cage the normal way, due to my husband's "help". Then my plants can crawl up their cage and wrap themselves around it so that the cucumbers and tomatoes can nicely hang from it. In another one of my posts, Tomato Plant Support, there are some other ideas I've found on the internet if you don't like the caged ideas using wire. I've also found the last month and a half or so since I've started my container garden, that the amount of sunlight that my container garden spot receives has been perfect. It receives about 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. According to a master gardener at the Arizona Cooperative Extension office, root crops and leaf crops can tolerate partial shade, but vegetables grown for their fruits generally need at least 5 hours of full, direct sunlight each day, and perform better with 8 to 10 hours. Container gardening lends itself to attractive plantscaping. A dull patio area can be brightened by the addition of baskets of cascading tomatoes or a colorful herb mix. With my little garden on the back patio, I now have a nice little salad display.

A Pain in the...Wrist!

So I finally went to my doctor's office today. I somehow sprained or strained by right wrist and for the last few days it's been hurting. After examining and x-ray'ing my wrist, I've needed to purchase a wrist thingy (well, actually it's called a Wrist/Thumb Immobilizer by Ace). So I'm gingerly typing this post. Who knows what the next few days will bring with me typing and in pain. Stay tuned...

Layered Summer Pasta Salad

Since there have been sales lately on boxes of Betty Crocker's Suddenly Salads, I figured I'd post this recipe that I found. It a very healthy and refreshing dinner meal enough for 10 servings.




Ingredients:

1 box Suddenly Salad Ranch & Bacon pasta salad mix
1 1/4 C. Ranch dressing
3 C. torn romaine lettuce
2 C. shredded carrots
2 C. fresh broccoli florets
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or handful of cherry tomatoes)

Directions:

Empty pasta mix into a 3-quart saucepan with 2/3 full of boiling water. Gently boil uncovered for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Shake to drain well. In medium bowl, stir together seasoning mix and dressing. Add pasta; toss to continue.

In a 3-4 quart salad bowl (or glass bowl to show layers) or 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish, layer lettuce, carrots, broccoli and pasta mixture. Top with tomatoes. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.


Prep Time: 15 minuutes
Start to Finish Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 10 servings (1 C. each)


Do-Ahead:

Make this salad up to 24 hours before serving.

Time-Saver:

For easy preparation, purchase bags of shredded carrots, broccoli florets and romain lettuce.


Layer, toss and serve. What could be easier for a simple 30-minute summer salad!

Summertime Pandamonium!!

So I didn't post anything yesterday 'cause my grandson and daughter came over early Saturday morning. My grandson, Jameson, ended up staying overnite, which means I didn't get much done. He's 2 1/2 years old, full of fun, mischief and wonder. So I'm making up for it tonight by posting at least something. We went to a multi-level indoor playground on Saturday called Makutu's Island for something fun to do. When living in Arizona in the summertime, all the activities should be indoors. I have to say that the place was very crowded, loud, and tons of kids running around. We were mostly running after my grandson Jameson so he wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He had fun, I had a headache! After spending about 2 hours there, we went to lunch and then headed home. Because he didn't have a nap, he fell asleep in the car. The rest of the day was devoted to Jameson. Water activities in the backyard and watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog's Really Big Movie" and "Peter Pan" for the 3,000th time (although "Chicken Little" peaked his interest for 1/2 of the movie). He finally went to bed or I should say I put him to bed (he still wanted to do the "Panda Dance" to "Kung Fu Panda") at 10:00 p.m. I was wiped out to say the least but knowing he had a fun day at Grandma's means all the world to me.

The Business of Paperwork

So I got down to business today. The business of filing that is. It has been about two weeks since I filed all the paperwork that was sitting in a basket, in its respective folders. These are papers such as bills, receipts, letters, and other documents. I usually do this on a weekly basis, however, time just slipped away from me this past week and it was starting to become out of hand. So here I've listed my usual 3 rules for filing:

• File your papers on a weekly basis

If you do this, paperwork will not start to pile up making it harder to just sit down and file them.

• Have a "home" for each piece of paper

Create folders for each bill, subject, etc. in a file cabinet.

• See if it's tax deductible.

If it's tax deductible, file right away in that folder so you will be ready come tax season. I make a tax deductible file in January.

Keeping your papers organized, you will feel a sense of relief knowing that you can go to where it's filed and it will be there when you need it.

How to Feed Your Family Frugally

When it comes to feeding your family, it can be quite tough trying to stay under budget, especially when food prices have soared through the roof. I have a menu plan for 1 week, keeping with the advertised sales and still be able to eat. When you shop Albertson's grocery stores this week, you can feed a family of 4 quite inexpensively, under $20 per week. Here's a sample menu with what's on sale.



Breakfast: Waffles and sausages

1 pkg. Farmland Sausage = $1.00

1 Albertson's Waffles with slices peaches = $1.00

1 1/2 gallon milk = $1.00

Total: $3.00

OR

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls & Milk
1 pkg (4 count) Bakery Fresh cinnamon rolls = $1.00
1 1/2 gallon milk = $1.00

Total: $2.00

OR

Breakfast: Cereal & cantaloupe

1 box Albertson's cereal = $1.00

1 1/2 gallon milk = $1.00

1 cantaloupe = $1.00

Total: $3.00

OR

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls & Fruit Juice

1 pkg (4 count) Bakery Fresh cinnamon rolls = $1.00

1 pkg (3 count) Tree Top Apple juice = $1.00

Total: $2.00

OR

Breakfast: Cereal & Peaches

1 box Albertson's cereal = $1.00

1 lb.sliced peaches = $1.00

1 1/2 gallon milk = $1.00

Total: $3.00

Lunch: Bologna sandwiches & chips

1 pkg. bologna = $1.00

1 loaf Country Farm bread = $1.00

1 Pringles potato chips = $1.00

1 Minute Maid punch (64 oz) = $1.00

Total: $4.00

OR

Lunch: Hot Dogs, potato chips & potato salad

1 pkg hot dogs sliced = $1.00

1 Pringles potato chips = $1.00

1 lb. Reser's potato salad = $1.00

4 SoBe Life Waters = $4.00

Total: $7.00

OR

Lunch: Macaroni and hot dogs

1 Suddenly Salad box = $1.00

1 pkg hot dogs sliced = $1.00

4 AquaFina Flavor Splash bottles = $.400

Total: $6.00

OR

Lunch: Tacos

2 cans Taco Bell refried beans = $2.00

1 pkg. Taco Bell shells = $1.00

1 iceberg lettuce = $1.00

1 pkg Albertson's Mexican cheese(use 1/2 pkg) = $1.25

1 2-litre pop =$1.00

Total: $6.25

OR

Lunch: Chili

4 Dinty Moore or Hormel Chili = $1.00

1 pkg Albertson's Mexican cheese = $2.50

Total: $3.50


Dinner: Spaghetti & Salad

1 Albertson's pasta noodles = $1.00

1 Hunt's spaghetti sauce =$1.00

1 fresh leaf lettuce = $1.00

1 avocado = $1.00

1 pkg mini carrots =$1.00

1 2-litre bottle of pop =$1.00

Total: $6.00

OR

Dinner: Pork Chops & pasta

1-2 lbs pork chops =$1.00 or $2.00

1 box Pasta Roni = $1.00

Total: $2.00 or $3.00

OR

Dinner: Chicken Tacos

2 cans Hormel chicken = $2.00

1 pkg Taco Bell shells = $1.00

1 iceberg lettuce = $1.00

1 pkg Albertson's Mexican cheese(us 1/2 pkg) = $1.25

1 16 oz sour cream = $1.00

1 2-litre pop = $1.00

Total: $7.25

OR

Dinner: Pasta Salad & bread

1 box Suddenly Salad = $1.00

1 loaf Country Farms bread = $1.00

Total: $2.00

OR

Dinner: Chicken,pasta & cole slaw

1 Sanderson Farms family pack of drums, thighs, or leg quarters(1 lb = $1.00)

1 box Pasta Roni = $1.00

1 pkg Fresh Express Cole Slaw = $1.00

Total: $3.00 - $4.00


After dinner Desserts:

4 Blue Bunny, Haagen Dazs, or Ben & Jerry's Personal cups = $4.00

OR

1 box Albertson's Microwave Popcorn = $1.00

OR

1 box Little Debbie snacks = $1.00

OR

1 box Albertson's frozen novelties = $1.00

OR

peaches (1 lb = $1.00) or cantaloupe = $1.00

If you have a larger family, just double up on the sale items. This sale is good now through July 15th. So you see, you can feed your family this week for cheap!

Homemade Bread Simply Made

I made my homemade bread this morning in my Bosch bread machine, and the smell lingering in the air as I write this post is a wonderful aroma in the house. Ahhh!!! I make bread about every other week and what I don't use, I either give some away or I freeze the rest to last me the week. Bread prices at the stores have soared lately as has everything else. Below is a simple recipe I use, making approximately 4 medium loaves. You can use about 3 C. of white flour and the rest whole wheat flour if your family aren't big fans of wheat.

Whole Wheat Bread

5-6 C. hot tap water (hot to the touch but not enough to burn finger)
2/3 C. vegetable oil
2/3 C. honey
2 Tbs. dough enhancer
2 Tbs. instant yeast (I recommend SAF Yeast)
2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. wheat gluten
12-16 C. freshly ground whole wheat flour

Pour warm water into your Bosch mixing bowl. Add approximately 6 C. flour on top of the liquid. Add dough enhancer, oil, honey, yeast, and gluten. Use the momentary (M) switch to mix well. Then add approximately 5 additional C. of flour, and your 2 Tbs. salt. Turn to speed 2 on your machine. Continue adding flour 1/4 C. at a time until the dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading at this speed for another 5 minutes. Oil or grease hands and counter with oil. Divide the dough into equal portions and shape into loaves. Put into well greased pans. Let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Top of loaves can be rubbed with water or butter for shiny and moist appearance. This dough can also be used for the pizza crust or cinnamon rolls. Yummo!!

Freebies of the Week

Here is a listing of miscellaneous freebies for this week that I've found while searching the internet:


Free 14 day supply of Nature Made Liquid Soft Gel Vitamins (US only)


Free sample of Pledge Multisurface Wipes (US only)


Free Tend Skin sample


Free Apple-Cinnamon Nutri-Grain Bar


Free Nivea Extreme Comfort


Free Symbicort information pack


Free Target $5 gift card if you purchase 10 SoBe Life waters or 10 Aquafina Alives.


Five Freebie Foods:


Free ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. http://dairyqueen.com/- Join the DQ crew (US only)


Free taco at Del Taco. http://deltaco.com/ - Choose your favorite hot sauce and get a coupon for a taco (US only)


Free appetizer at the Macaroni Grill. http://macaronigrill.com/ - Join their "Mac Pack" club. (US only)


Free appetizer/purchase of two adult entrees at Red Lobster. http://redlobster.com/- Join their club (US only)


Free coupon for a free appetizer/purchase of entree at TGI Friday's. http://tgifridays.com/ (US only)

Naturally Reducing High Food Costs

Want to reduce the high cost of food prices? Did I get your attention? I sure would like to. It seems that as of lately, due to the high cost of food, we are needing to get back to the basics in order to feed our families. I came across an article in a local newpaper regarding seeds. It got my attention. I'm talking about saving seeds from vegetables grown in your own family garden. Now my brother does this and at first I thought he was crazy! He has a garden and he saves (or recyles) the seeds. Why not just go and buy another vegetable plant instead? Good solution I thought. He not only saves money by doing so, he has become self-sufficient. Well, as it turns out, this article shows you how to make the most of your garden seeds. For example, did you know that the large seeds produced by melons, peas, squash, beans and corn are simple to gather and clean? For the most consistent results from seed collecting and saving, try these tips:

1. Steer clear of hybrids and other varieties such as broccoli and radish that tend to cross-pollinate with other plants.
2. Look at your calendar for your hardiness zone.
3. Gather seeds from your hardiest plants in your garden rather than those that are earliest to mature.
4. When you harvest your seeds, label and store them in either dry envelopes, plastic containers or glass canning jars. Keep them cool and dry.

If you would like to learn more about gathering and saving seeds, there is a book called "Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More than 100 Vegetables, Flowers and Herbs by Carole B. Turner. Click on the Amazon.com button below on my site if you would like to see or purchase this beautiful book. Happy harvesting!

I Put My Foot Down!

As I am writing this I have my foot propped up with an ice bag (mine's a frozen vegetable bag) around my ankle. I must have done a lot of walking lately... This last Saturday I went to the mall with my daughter and grandson, and while I was walking along, one of my ankles suddenly became extremely painful! I hobbled over to a chair and rested awhile after which it became easier to walk again with this rest. Now my daughter has the same problem every now and then so I decided to look towards the internet for any information and here's what I found on http://webmd.com/. From reading the articles I probably had a high ankle sprain. In a "high" ankle sprain, a less common type of injury, the ligaments that join the two lower leg bones together above the ankle, called the syndesmosis, are injured. This usually happens if the foot is forced up, or if the leg is forcefully twisted while the foot is planted. This injury can occur either by itself or with an inversion or eversion sprain. If the ligaments of the syndesmosis are injured, the sprain is more severe and takes longer to heal. I don't know how I caused this painful ankle situation but I do know that it sure hurt to put my foot down. The symptoms range from extreme pain at the site first, such as I had, to feeling better soon thereafter. The treatment for an ankle sprain is to use is the PRINCE approach:

• Protection-Use a brace of some sort, or wrap it for 24-36 hours.
• Rest-Do this until the pain subsides
• Ice it-Use an ice pack every 10-20 minutes until swelling goes down.
• NSaids (acetaminophen)-These include ibuprofen (such as Advil, Motrin, or Nuprin) Commmon types of acetaminophen include Panadol, Tempra, or Tylenol.
• Compression. Use an elastic compression wrap to help decrease swelling. This should be worn for the first 24 to 36 hours. with an elastic bandage. Compression wraps do not offer protection, except by reminding you to be careful of your ankle.
• Elevation. Raise your ankle above the level of your heart for 2 to 3 hours a day if possible to decrease swelling and bruising.

So I rested my ankle on Sunday, and kept off of it for most of the day feeling much, much better thanks to the information I found. I still have some tenderness in my ankle today though, hence the need for the "ice" bag.

A House for Sale

We have a house for sale and I went to check on it and tidy it up today. I did this because I thought that the open house was today, or at least I thought that. Well, I either didn't hear my realtor say that it would be next weekend, or I just didn't listen. In any case, it's spit spot once again and ready for the open house on Saturday, July 12th.

Summer Water Fun!!

There are some summer activities that can be as memorable for children as well as for the adults. Take for instance water activities. Give a child a garden hose and a bucket and they're set for some outdoor fun. Throw in some fun, colorful floating toys to enhance the activity. Please remember that toys in the water or pool will draw the attention of small children. Always bring in the toys when done playing so that children will not be enticed to reach for them when you're not there to watch them. Then there is the good ole' sandbox. Kids will have fun digging in the sand and making sand castles out of different shaped buckets. Make it fun for children to enjoy their summer and you will also have fun with them creating memories to last a lifetime.

Cupcakes & Sprinkles

Happy 4th of July everyone! Well, today was a good day. I had fun with my grandson. I made these cupcakes and he put the sprinkles on top. He was delighted and was so proud of himself. I just made it from a cake mix and plain vanilla frosting in a can. A fun and simple recipe that everyone loved! This picture says it all.

Where's That Bill?

Ok, so I made a goal, if you will, to write about finance tips on Fridays, but since this Friday is a holiday, I will post finance tips this Thursday instead. Have you ever gone to pay a bill and found that you cannot find where you put it, let alone when it's due? I may have a solution for you. I've organized a system dedicated to opening, paying my bills, and organizing them. Here's what I do. When I get a bill in the mail, I immediately open it up, glance over it for any suspicious activity on the account, then I jot the due date down on my calendar. My calendar happens to be inside my "Bills Due" folder, so it's effortless. I then file it away in a 3-ring binder under that bills' title. For example, if my electricity bill from SRP is due on July 7th, I note that down on my calendar, then file the bill under SRP in my notebook. Do this with all of your bills so you know when they are due. I also have my bill categories in alphabetical order so I know where to easily find the bill.
So, here's the rundown:

• Receive bill
• Look over for unauthorized charges
• Write down the due date on a calendar
• Immediately file the bill away

This simple process of opening and scanning your bills as they come in is how you start controlling your money so it doesn't control you. It also takes very little effort if you stay on top of this every day. Nothing lost, nothing overlooked.

Freebie Forwarned!

Here are a couple of freebies for the upcoming week:

July 11th: Chick-Fil-A is giving away a free combo meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) IF you come dressed head to hoof like a cow. What? That's right, it's Cow Appreciation Day. Or, if you're chicken, go for the partial cow look. If that's the case, you can get a free entree for your effort. It's udderly insane!!

July 11th : 7-Eleven stores are giving away a free slurpee. I always do this one every year. What a fun treat for the summer.

You can't go wrong with free!!

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Tomato Plant Support

My 1 tomato plant (out of 3 I bought) is in need of support soon. So I turned to the internet in hopes of finding some help. I had forgotten I recently subscribed to a gardening club. I wanted to get more exposure on the how-to's of gardening, especially vegetable gardening. I came across an article about how to support your tomato plants. Here are some good ideas that members sent in that I'd like to share.

Rack it:
One woman uses old wooden clothes-drying racks. She plants 2 or 3 tomato plants at the center of the racks, and ties the tomatoes to the racks as they grow. Then in the winter, the racks fold flat to store.

Don't fence me in:
You can use welded-wire fencing (although where you live, you will have to be careful not to burn the plants in the summer). Roll into a cylinder and place over the plants. Harvesting of tomatoes is a breeze with large cut openings in the wire.

Climbing over:
Use an arbor that normally is used for a dramatic entrance. This makes an impressive addition to your garden.

Frame it up:
Another member used an A-frame type of support. Here's what he did. String twine from the center ridgepole of the frame to the ground. As the plant grows, wrap it around the twine.

Fencing lessons:
One way of saving space and picking tomatoes is to use staple basic fencing (looks like plastic chicken wire) to the fence and train the tomatoes to grow up the fencing. They get plenty of sun by growing up instead of out.

The stakes are high:
Cut (1) ten-ft. horizontal piece of electrical conduit and (2) 7 1/2-ft. vertical pieces. Attach them and push the vertical pieces into the ground, approximately 18 inches. Hang (6) cords across the 10-ft. crosspiece. Tie them to the stakes and anchor the stakes next to the tomato plants. As the plants grow, pinch off the suckers and wrap the plants around the cord.

As you can see, these are just a few examples I've read, about how-to take care of your tomato plants. Can you think of different ways to support your plants?