In...

Printable Shopping List v.1.0

The other day, I had a ton of stuff to get from the store, and was getting a ride to the store with someone. Since I wanted to make sure I could get everything and also not have the person driving be frustrated with me for taking too long, I tried categorizing my shopping list.

While I still missed a few things and ended up going back and forth, it was a lot better and easier. Thus, I decided to try making a printable categorized list.
The idea is that you can go to each aisle/section of the store and get everything you need from there all at once, without having to loop back and forth across the store, or without forgetting something and being too tired (or short on time) to go back for it.
Just fill in what you need under the appropriate category. Simple!

This version is not the best, so I'm already working on an improved (and smaller) printable version. In the meantime, enjoy!

Shopping List (<---click here)

Fat Free, Quick and Easy Breakfast Scramble

My husband just got home from a 20+ hour trip on multiple buses from out of state. Upon getting home, he was--of course--hungry. So, I whipped this up for him. It only took me around 10-15 minutes to prepare. So easy!

This recipe is fat free, meat and dairy free, and contains protein.

• Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage [fat-free, vegan, and has 7g of protein per serving!]
• Multi-colored peppers (I used four small ones; quantity depends on your preference)
• Egg whites
• Cooking spray

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Cut up desired amount of soy sausage, leaving the pieces somewhat chunky, and put them in the skillet. Turn burner onto medium-low heat. 

While the sausage is beginning to brown, wash and chop the peppers into short strips. Add them to the skillet. At this point, I think I turned the burner up to about medium heat, so that the peppers would saute quickly, and the sausage would brown faster. 

(It's not real meat, so you don't have to worry about it cooking all the way through. You just have to warm it up, and brown it.) 

Periodically stir the mixture around. Make sure both sides of the sausage pieces are browning. 

Meanwhile, separate the egg whites and yolks. (Or just use the pre-packaged egg whites. I didn't have any, so I separated them myself.) 

(In the bowl I separated the whites into, I added some pepper. I also added some more pepper to the skillet once I put the eggs in.) 

I personally waited for the sausage to brown a bit more before adding the egg whites, but it's all about your personal preference. 

Once the sausage has browned to desirability, add some more cooking spray to the skillet. Then add in the egg whites. Stir/flip mixture, to keep the egg from burning. 

Once the egg is cooked, you're ready to go! Voila--a healthy, light, quick, and easy meal!

Handy Tip #7

I've often found myself with bananas that ripen to the point of having totally brown peels--not bad yet, but likely not going to last another day or two. On a hunch, I once tried freezing them (I like to use over-ripe bananas for banana bread, but I don't always have the time and ingredients to do it right away). It was fantastic: The bananas froze well, then I thawed them and mashed them to make the banana bread. It was great.

So, if you have over-ripe bananas that aren't going to last much longer before they go from super-ripe to bad, throw them in the freezer--peel and all. You don't have to prep them in any way.
When you're ready to make the bread, take them out and thaw them. They are easy to peel.

I actually put mine in my toaster oven to get them to thaw faster. The bananas got mushy, though, and did not entirely maintain their original shape--so if you thaw them in the oven or microwave, make sure you put them in or on something. Don't just throw a frozen banana on the oven rack! (I never actually did this, but I can deduce the result. ;) )

You can also thaw mashed bananas in a baggie, to use for later.

Photo source: http://www.finecooking.com/item/5694/bananas

In...

Art Class #3

If you read my last post about my Going Green in Art project, you'll know that it didn't go over so well with the age group I was working with. So, instead of doing the pt.2 as planned, I moved on to the lentils project.

Originally, I was going to have the kids do some kind of mural with lentils. But my mother pointed out that I'd been doing a lot of that kind of thing already, and--when I told her about how the last class went over--she suggested I just give them clay to work with.
I decided to do the lentil project using clay--and it was a big hit.

I was supposed to have three kids today--a 9 year-old girl, a 7 year-old boy, and a 5 year-old girl. However, the boy (whose sister is the 9 year-old) got swapped out for another girl.
(I didn't know before hand, but I'm pretty laid back, so it was okay. The girl is also 11, which is higher than the age cut off I'd originally set in place.)

Considering the age span, this was a great project. All three of them were really into it, and really excited about it.
(I'm not sure if the success of this class had anything to do with the class being all girls--like, if the girls were more comfortable together. I'm pretty much positive that boys would enjoy this too--mainly, it's the personality of the kid and whether or not (s)he's creative that matters, more than the gender.)

I had out two plates of orange and green lentils. I like to give the kids room to express themselves, as I've said before, so I gave them each a chunk of clay and told them to make whatever they wanted.
I told them they could stick the lentils on the wet clay, wait for it to dry and then glue them, not use lentils at all, etc. In general, I try to encourage each child to make the project her own.

The girls loved working with the clay, and were also fascinated with the lentils.

Lentils pressed in; some still fell off anyway.
Example I made the night before. Was a turtle, but his
still-drying legs broke off. Whoops. 

I personally have found so far that the lentils tend to fall out of the clay as it begins to dry, unless they are pushed in really deeply, or kneaded in before being sculpted. The clay projects are staying with me to dry until next week, at which point I told the girls they can glue on any that fall off.

Kneaded in. Not my preference. 

The 5 year-old asked multiple times for more clay, and ended up making a lot of little projects (in large part because she was less focused on details, being 5). A few times, I had to encourage her to try making something else because she'd finished before our class was over, but she didn't need much prompting and she didn't seem to get bored. The girls and I also talked about various things, and that helped keep everyone entertained.

This project was so easy. I used a tub of Crayola air-dry clay I bought at Target for around $5, and some lentils (I used some my mom had gotten already at the Farmer's Market). The finished sculptures were placed on different paper plates that they can dry on (and I can move around easily).

I was and still am incredibly pleased and impressed with the creativity the girls showed, as displayed below.
This was probably my favorite class so far!

Love this!!

The one I worked on while the girls were working. ;)
Think I'm going to try gluing the lentils on after it dries this time.

Handy Tip #6

This Handy Housewife Tip is particularly useful if you have curly color-treated hair (aka, prone to frizzy-ness and dryness), like I do.

After washing your hair, apply a heavy amount of conditioner. Pile the damp, goopy hair up on top of your head, and cover it with a shower cap. Go about your house hold tasks with the cap over your hair.
Now, even while you vacuum, you are getting a nice conditioning treatment!

Rinse the conditioner out, and enjoy silky, moistened hair.

(I think I actually left my cap on for multiple hours because I was so busy, and I was really pleased with how hydrated my hair ended up being. Also, I bought my shower cap at Dollar Tree!)

I bought the blue one in the middle. ;)
Check out your local Dollar Tree and get one of your own!