Getting excited about my garden !

I am really getting excited about my garden lets pray the weather is better this year.  NO droughts this year please Lord.  Any way the onions and chives that I planted last year and I thought got cooked by the scorching sun are up and thriving.  I bought my seed tonight and am excited to get my hands dirty.  I couldn't resist buying my tomato plants also.   Please Please Please Lord Jesus in heaven no more snow.  Thank you and Amen.  Oh and may I mention NO Floods if its not to much to ask.  In Jesus name I pray Amen.  ~ Ethel

Printable Menus

I like to write out my menus and hang them on the fridge.  It makes meal prep easier.  I can look at it early in the day and know when I need to start supper and what I need to start.  It also helps me keep from stressing out during a busy week.  If I have to take the kids to ball practice, then I know I need to plan something quick and easy for that day.  If I have it written down and posted on my fridge, then I won't forget what I had planned.
Sometimes, I make a more detailed menu.  This is helpful for weeks when I have several events going on and I want to remember to make a specific crock-pot meal for one day, then a 15 minute grab and go meal on another day.  I also use this when I have a few special meals to plan for in the week, such as a birthday meal or a holiday meal.
Here is a template for that kind of menu:  You can print it out and use it if you would like.
Weekly Menu Template

Other times, I take a more relaxed approach.  This is when I need a little less control during a less stressful week, or when I have to quickly throw together a menu and don't have time to be so detailed.  I always try to make a good mix of quick and easy meals, crock-pot meals and take-your-time-country-cookin' kind of meals.
Here is a template for my weekly meal plan:  You can print it out and use it too.
Weekly Meal Template

Tip of the Day - Banana Peels

Bananas are $.29 at Aldi's this week.  Get even more bang for your buck by putting those banana peels to good use.  Bury a banana peel right under your roses.  They will decompose and feed the rose bush, making the rose bush, happy, happy, happy.

Tip of the Day- Lemon Zest

The yellow peel (but not the white pith) of a lemon is an excellent place to find tons of flavor.  Zest a lemon by grating it with a micro plane.  Lemon zest is wonderful in baked goods, vegetable sauces and marinades for meats and fish.  Never waste the zest of a lemon.  If a recipe calls for the juice, but not the zest, simply store the tiny little slivers of flavor in a baggie in the freezer until you need them.

All Natural Sanitizing Spray

This is a wonderful alternative to Lysol and Clorox sanitizing sprays.  It is all natural and very effective.  I also love the way it smells.

Ingredients:

2 oz. rubbing alcohol

8 drops of lavender oil

6 drops of tea tree oil

20 oz. water

Shake together in a clean spray bottle.  Mist over surfaces and allow to air dry.

Disinfecting Wipes

Wiping up messes around here is a never ending job.  At any given moment, there are at least 32 messes that need wiped up.  A Mama needs a serious weapon in her arsenal to win such a battle.  These wipes are my serious weapon.  I like to keep a canister of them in the bathroom and the kitchen at all times.  They really do a great job, and the homemade version is much less expensive than the popular store bought kind.
My recipe is very very similar to my all-purpose cleaner recipe.

Here is what you need:

1/3 cup rubbing alcohol

1 tsp clear ammonia

1 tsp mild dish soap

1/2 tsp lemon juice

a little less than 1 2/3 cups of cold water

Measure the alcohol, ammonia, dish soap and lemon juice into a 2 cup measuring cup.  Then fill it the rest of the way with water.  Stir just until it looks combined.

You are also going to need an entire roll of a nice and sturdy paper towels.  Viva works great.  I am using the Aldi's brand here and they work very well, too.

Pour a little of the solution into the bottom of a nice large canister.  You could be creative, as far as the type of container you use is concerned.  You could get a nice glass canister with a clasp on the lid, or you could use an old wet wipes container and recycle that.  The only requirements are that it has a lid that seals tight and it is large enough to hold an entire roll of paper towels.

Next, you start stuffing the paper towels in, trying not to tear them apart as you go.  Not that it would be the end of the world if they tore, I just find it more convenient if they stay stuck together until I am ready to use them.  

After you stuff about 1/3 of the towels in, pour some solution on them, and then stuff more and pour more  and repeat, until you have all of the towels stuffed in.  Pour the last little bit of solution on top of the towels and let them rest a bit.  The solution needs some time to soak into each and every towel. 

I use these on almost everything.  They are great for wiping down the bathroom at the end of the day.  I even use them on the mirror.  I also always have something handy to wipe up the kitchen counter or a mess on the floor. 

~Rebecca