June 20, 2012

Quick Dish Washing Tips

Filed under: Cleaning,Home Organizing,Meal Planning,Stress Free Living — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Miss Moxie @ 11:33 pm

Here are a few quick dish washing tips to hopefully make your time in the kitchen go a little more smoothly.

First off, the longer you wait to wash the dishes the more impossible it will seem to wash them all. It’s like they multiply or something. :-)

dish washing tips

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Our dish washing tips that I have learned over the years and works especially nice if you are responsible for everyone’s dishes in the house is to fill the sink with water and soap as you are cooking. Once you’re done using a plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife, or whatever, just wash it! Make it a part of your routine and eventually you will get used to it. Just drop the used utensils in the soapy water when you are done with them. They will be waiting for you once you are done preparing your meal or when you are done eating.

This tip also helps your spatulas degrease as you are enjoying your meal. And if you use a dishwasher you will skip the step of having to rinse everything off before loading and running your dishwasher cycle.

Another of our dish washing tips to have in your repertoire are good quality utensils and soap. Now most of us these days use the dishwasher. If you have one a good detergent goes a long way. We use a lot of Melaleuca® brand products in our home and our clients homes as their stuff is organic and concentrated. Melaleuca® dish washing detergent soap is by far the best one we have used. It is a little more expensive but you don’t have to use very much per load of dishes and our dishes always come out great. Another tool is a good quality brush and scraper. We have yet to be disappointed with Pampered Chef® tools. This kitchen brush is no different.

Hopefully some of these dish washing tips will help you the next time you need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cleaning up. Have yourself a glass of wine and/or a piece of chocolate. You earned it.

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May 9, 2012

I admit it, A New Approach on How to Meal Plan

Filed under: How To,Meal Planning — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Miss Moxie @ 6:03 pm
how to meal plan

photocredto: theguiltlesslife.wordpress.com/

How to Meal Plan effectively and efficiently has to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. I never know what to cook! I can look at a whole chicken and have no imagination as to what to do with it.

Meal planning and how to meal plan for my lifestyle has helped me spend less time on worrying what to cook and given me extra time to worry about the food not burning.

I do my grocery shopping every Sunday or if I am feeling extra rebellious every Wednesday when the grocery specials are out. I save time also by collecting all the ads of the local competitor grocery stores to get a price match *pats self on back*

Before going to the grocery store I look through my fridge and pantry and start making my list of what to get to make SURE I do not buy another jar of peanut butter that we do not need. Once I have my list ready I am ready to go grocery shopping! Unless I go to Super Target where I can find both food and clothing all in one convenient location! But if you want to truly save money on your bills, stick to your list.

Now that we are in the 21st century there are tons of “How to Meal Plan” websites and apps that can help you prepare your meals electronically! All Recipes is a nice one and while I have yet to try it the meal planning tools on Food On the Table seem cool. I think the biggest benefit to these tools may be the ability to keep track of what food you already have so that you don’t continue to buy things you already own. They help you plan your meals based on what you own to help save you money. If you are more techy these online approaches to How to Meal Plan may be more your speed.

With all that being said, I can now plan my meals for the week, for a day, or even just plan a last minute meal when you are in a pinch. I recommend weekly planning of your meals to get it all done at the same time and for the biggest savings at the grocery store.

 

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May 30, 2011

Menu Planning Monday (or Sunday)

Filed under: How To,Meal Planning,Stress Free Living — Tags: , , , , , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 3:16 pm

Sunday afternoons are my time to get planned for the coming week. A big part of our goal of organized living is getting our food in order. We’ve discovered the hard way that, if we aren’t planned, we end up spending WAY too much time and money on food during the week.

In the spirit of Menu Planning Monday (which you can find ALL over the web!), I planned out 7 meals to cook for dinner, but I also wanted to get a few things ready to make sure we can have healthy breakfasts, lunches, and snacks through the week.

Here’s what our dinners look like this week:

The title doesn't lie, these recipes are all quick and easy!

Monday: Indian Tofu and Spinach with Almond Rice

Tuesday: Chian Mai Curry Noodles from Quick and Easy Thai

Wednesday: GRILL NIGHT!! Preseasoned beef filet tips from Fresh and Easy, Grilled zucchini and yellow squash (tossed with olive oil and Kosher salt)

Thursday: Healthy Bowtie Chicken

Friday: Stuffed Sole from Omaha Steaks, Steamed broccoli

Saturday: Chicken and Broccoli Thai Curry

Sunday: Vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli

Once I have decided what we are going to make during the week, I organize the recipes on my Moxie Girl Meal Planning Worksheet. This allows me to note which recipe book the meals can be found. If they are recipes from online, I simply print them off and hang them behind the worksheet. The benefit of being this organized? If I am running late, my husband can start cooking because he knows what the plan is, and where to find directions. It’s practically fool proof!

I realize that some of the names of these can look very intimidating, but trust me: I am a LAZY cook! If a recipe takes more than simple chopping, sauteeing, and boiling, I don’t do it. These are all pretty darn easy!

For those of you with kiddos, don’t be afraid to give these a shot. I can’t guarantee kids will like the Indian tofu dish, but the Thai dishes are pretty mild, due to the coconut milk. For those of you adults who are afraid of curry, Jon will attest that I HATED curry for the first 5 years we were together, but he took me to some of Phoenix’s best Thai and Indian restaurants and let me keep trying his curry dishes. After a while, the curry flavor started to become more familiar, and now it has become one of my favorites. Just like kids have to keep tasting new things to develop their palatte, so do we as grown-ups.  :-)

One final note, if you haven’t use fish sauce before, don’t let the smell scare you off! It is the key ingredient that gives Thai food it’s unique taste. It is super important to use it in the dish, even if it smells like dead, rotting, fish. Just do whatever you can to NOT get it on your hands!!!

I’m creating a separate blog for the breakfast and snack food that I made today. Keep an eye out for that one soon!

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May 18, 2011

Penny, the “Not So Crazy” Coupon Lady

Filed under: How To,Meal Planning — Tags: , , , , , , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 1:28 am

The idea of couponing is a little overwhelming, and slightly frustrating, for me. I love to clip coupons, but I forget to use them. Then, there are the stories about the Crazy Coupon Ladies who have a closet full of mustard, just because they got it for $.02 a jar. I have no desire to become a hoarder, so how do I effectively use coupons to cut my grocery bill by 75%?

I decided to talk with a couponing professional, Penny Parker, founder of ClipItBaby.com. Her stories amazed me, and her tips were so helpful that I just had to share. It’s a little bit long, but worth it! I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did!

MG: How did you get started couponing?

Penny: I have a long personal history with using coupons and found out at an early age what they could do for me. Initially, it was just to convince my mom to buy me junk food (Look! We have a coupon!). As I got older, I used the money I save each year to fund my summers in Italy. I did this for FOUR years. And now it enables me to live debt free in today’s uncertain economy.

Penny Parker, founder of clipitbaby.com

MG: How cool! What has been your best success so far?

Penny: Last month I went into a Fry’s Food Stores (the local Kroger affiliate) and was able to purchase $285 worth of groceries & toiletries for $18 by combining manufacture’s and in-store coupons.

MG: Wow! That’s amazing! What tips would give to new couponers, like myself?

Penny: First, get your coupons organized. Most people are familiar with the small accordion type file that is small enough to fit in your purse, but a three-ring binder with baseball card style pockets works great too.

Next, keep all your store and restaurant membership club cards with your coupons, and carry as many coupons as possible with you at all times.  Not all sales and clearances are advertised.  You will miss out on a lot of items if you do not have your coupons with you and they are sitting at home.

Finally, find a set time to clip and sort coupons each week, possibly during your favorite TV show.  File them as you clip them to stay as organized as possible.

The more time you spend upfront on getting yourself organized, the easier the system will be to use and you will quickly save more money.

MG: How do you keep from becoming the “Crazy Coupon Lady?”

Penny: It is an unwritten law that you never clear the shelves of any product, period. If the sales are really fantastic in any given week, I always make multiple trips & shop at off hours as to not to hold up the checkout lanes.

MG: Who is a “typical” couponer?

Penny: I always thought “typical” couponer  was someone on a limited income until I started doing research for my coupon book. I was really surprised to find out that the more affluent households dominate coupon usage: 38% of “super heavy” users and 41% of “enthusiasts” come from households with incomes greater than $70,000. [ The Nielsen Company, The Coupon Comeback, April 13, 2010.]

MG: Where can we find more information about you?

Penny: You can visit my website where you can print online manufacturer’s coupons. I also have a daily newsletter that compiles all of my deal postings for the day.

Your contact information:
Name: Penny Parker
Email: Penny@clipitbaby.com
Website: www.clipitbaby.com

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March 15, 2011

Epic Kitchen Fail….

Filed under: Meal Planning,Who are the Moxie Girls? — Tags: , , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 5:10 pm

Making homemade ravioli, and a mess

 This weekend I was feeling adventurous in the kitchen. I wanted to make homemade ravioli, but didn’t want to take the time to make the pasta dough from scratch. Instead, I grabbed a box of pie crust mix that had been in our pantry for longer than I would like to admit, and mixed it up. I rolled it out super thin, cut circles, and filled them with a homemade pumpkin and ricotta filling. All was going well until I tried to cook them.

This was when I discovered that, if you put pie dough in boiling water, it will not cook – It will completely disintegrate. When I realized that the mushy, foamy blobs would not be edible, I thought maybe baking them would be the answer. This created something closer to an empanada than ravioli. I probably should have stopped while I was ahead and announced we were having these “appetizers” as dinner, but I was determined to have made ravioli, so I smothered them in marinara sauce.

It was not pretty, and it certainly didn’t tasted good, but it did help me learn a couple lessons. First, it’s important to know your dough. Second, it’s ok to improvise and even better to quit while you are ahead if your plans take a nasty turn. Finally, I have the best husband ever because (bless his heart), he ate an entire plateful, and with a pained look on his face, even told me they “weren’t that bad.”

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March 7, 2011

Meal Planning Worksheet

Filed under: How To,Meal Planning — Tags: , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 6:05 am

Here is the worksheet I use every week to plan our meals and plan my grocery shopping.

Family Dinner Worksheet

Please enjoy and share with your friends. 

Amanda

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February 15, 2011

Tuna and Noodles Casserole Memories

Filed under: Meal Planning,Who are the Moxie Girls? — Tags: , , , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 8:20 pm

My love of cooking goes back many years. I still remember being in 5th grade and surprising my friends with homemade Tuna and Noodle Casserole. I thank my childhood in South Dakota for giving me an extensive repertoire of dishes that can be made with a can of Cream of Chicken Soup….

Now that I am older and more comfortable in the kitchen, I love branching out and trying new things even more. Every once in a while we play Iron Chef and improvise, but for the most part we follow recipes we find online. If you are thinking of starting your own family dinner routine, or are just looking to spice it up a little (pun intended), here are a few of our favorite easy dishes from www.Food.com:

Ratatouille - This is one of our favorite dishes to make in the crock pot. 15 minutes chopping in the morning, and you get to come home to a complete veggie and sausage dish.

Chickpea Curry - A very quick meal that costs about $3 for the whole thing. If you like yellow curry, this can’t be beat!

Chicken Tenders with Lemon-Spinach Rice - Sounds and looks fancy. No one needs to know it only takes 10 minutes to prep!

Goulash - Our “old reliable” for ground beef. Mmmmm

Let me know if you try any of these, or if you have a different favorite you would like to share.
Bon Appetit!

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October 11, 2010

Whoever Doesn’t Cook, Cleans

Filed under: Meal Planning,Stress Free Living,Who are the Moxie Girls? — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 5:13 am

When my husband and I started dating, he always cooked for me. Sometimes it was the romantic, courting type of cooking, but more often than not, it was just a normal dinner. If he didn’t feel like cooking, he would announce we were going out for dinner. One night, about a year into our relationship, I invited him to my house and cooked him a gourmet, 4-course dinner. When we sat down to eat, he looked at me with a blank stare and said, “You can cook?” I simply smiled and replied, “You never asked.”

Now that we have been married almost 4 years, the dynamic in our kitchen has changed slightly. My husband still cooks occasionally, but for the most part I do the cooking. I am the first to admit that I am not the most coordinated chef (I have been known to flick sautéed vegetables across the stove, fling tomato sauce up the cabinets, and dump a whole cup of couscous on the floor), so some days I really feel bad while I watch Jon clean up after me. Then I remind myself that it took 45 minutes to cook dinner, so the 20 he spends cleaning up is totally fair.

Before you start thinking we are one of those couples who happily divvied up the household chores, I should tell you that our “Whoever doesn’t cook, cleans” rule came out of a huge fight which included a major melt-down by yours truly. From this I learned:

Marriage lesson #1: Men are NOT mind readers. If I want my husband to do more around the house, I have to ask.
Marriage lesson #2: Men quickly learn that doing the dishes makes a wife happy. And a happy wife makes a happy husband (wink, wink).

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September 28, 2010

My New Love: A mini food processor?

Filed under: Meal Planning,Stress Free Living — Tags: , — OMG - The Original Moxie Girl @ 7:07 pm

Do you ever get a new gadget for your kitchen and FALL IN LOVE? You know, the kind of love that makes you wonder how you ever managed without it? The kind that, if this thing breaks, you may actually cry and give up cooking? I’m having that love affair with my Cuisinart Mini Food Processor right now. Shhh, don’t tell my husband!

Mini-Prep Food PROCESSOR 21 oz - Stainless Steel DLC-1SSI met this little piece of heaven a few months ago and we had an immediate connection. We shared common interests, like chopping onions and nuts, and even grating cheese. Last night, it even surprised me after I accidentally bought whole coffee beans instead of already ground. After a long, tiring day, the thought of having to return the coffee beans and exchange for ground coffee almost had me in tears. Luckily, with a switch of the blade, this little lifesaver had the whole pound of beans ground for me. If we were married, I would have asked to renew my vows right then and there.

Please excuse me while I go hug it again…

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September 27, 2010

Don’t Cry Over Sour Milk

Filed under: Meal Planning,Stress Free Living — Tags: , , — Miss Moxie @ 10:24 pm

As a little girl growing up in a household with siblings and two parents, I possessed a childish ignorance of all things pertaining to sustaining life. How long did milk last when I was younger? Forever! How did we get more? My mom went outside and harvested the Money Tree before going to the store and buying it. The harsh reality of living alone for the first time: milk goes bad. Pretty quickly. This Moxie Girl learned that the hard way a few months ago. The day I took a gulp of sour milk was the day I decided that embracing independence would also require brushing up on my kitchen savvy. Now, I’m proud to say, I am a fridge-stocking expert (complete with a frilly vintage apron and glittery pink ruffled rubber gloves…whoever said style and domesticity didn’t overlap was clearly unaware of Barbie’s Dream House)!  I learned everything I know from Real Simple–one of my favorite lifestyle magazines–and I’m passing it on to you. Go here for the complete article.

  • Cheese, hard: six months
  • Butter: 1 to 3 months
  • Olives and pickles: one month
  • Fresh eggs (in shell): 3 to 5 weeks
  • Cheese, soft, unopened: 3 to 4 weeks
  • Cheese, soft, opened: 1 to 2 weeks
  • Bacon, cooked: one week
  • Hard-boiled eggs: one week
  • Steaks, roasts, uncooked: 3 to 5 days chops
  • Bread dough: 3 to 4 days
  • Fish, cooked: 3 to 4 days
  • Mashed potatoes: 3 to 4 days
  • Meat, cooked: 3 to 4 days
  • Poultry, cooked: 3 to 4 days
  • Stuffing, cooked: 3 to 4 days
  • Soups and stews: 2 to 4 days
  • Fruit or pumpkin pies, baked: 2 to 3 days
  • Chicken or turkey, fresh: 1 to 2 days
  • Fish, fresh: 1 to 2 days
  • Fruit or pumpkin pies, unbaked: 1 to 2 days
  • Gravy, meat broth: 1 to 2 days
  • White wine, recorked: 1 to 2 days

Don’t sweat the small stuff–I make the mistakes so you can avoid them! Have a domestically blissful week :)

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