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Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Cauliflower Soup

Posted on 06:03 by Unknown
I have an amazing sister-in-law, Lisa. She inspires me in so many ways. And to top it off, she's an excellent cook. This is a recipe that I've adapted from one that she shared on her blog Finer Things Club where she wrote "I dream about this soup on dreary days. I know once you try it, you will too." And she was right. I do. I dream about it a lot...and I make it a lot. And my family doesn't mind because they love it a lot. It is comfort food in its purest form.

I've been waiting for quite a while to post this recipe until I came up with the pressure cooker method for cooking it. I'll include both the pressure cooker method and the regular stove top method here, but I love that the p/c method seriously takes minutes. Either way, it's such an easy soup and tastes delicious. We've had a lot of cold, dreary cold, winter days. Why not enjoy a bowl of this for dinner tonight?


Pressure Cooker Cauliflower Soup
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped in pieces
1 tablespoon of parsley, fresh or 1 tsp. dried
1 Quart chicken broth (or use vegetable broth)
3 Tablespoons flour (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch)
1-1/4 cups of whole milk
1 teaspoons of salt
Sour Cream

DIRECTIONS:
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pressure cooker over medium heat (or use the saute' setting for electric cookers). Add the diced onion and stir for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat until onion starts to soften. Add chopped carrot and celery and cook about 5 minutes or until veggies are almost tender. Then add the cauliflower pieces, parsley and 1 Quart of chicken broth. Lock pressure cooker lid and bring to Low Pressure and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pan on the stove melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Then add 3 Tbsp. flour until a soft paste is formed and stir with a whisk for a minute or two until mixture is bubbly. Slowly pour in 1-1/4 Cups milk and whisk well. Heat mixture until thick and then add 1 tsp. salt to make a white sauce. When pressure cooker time is up, let the pressure release naturally for about 5 minutes and then do a quick release. Add the white sauce to the pressure cooker and let it incorporate and simmer for a few minutes. Serve the soup hot, adding a dollop of sour cream to individual bowls, if desired. Serve with a fresh roll or slice of homemade bread.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com



Cauliflower Soup
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped in pieces
1 tablespoon of parsley, fresh or 1 tsp. dried
1 Quart chicken broth (or use vegetable broth)
3 Tablespoons flour (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch)
1-1/4 cups of whole milk
1 teaspoons of salt
Sour Cream

DIRECTIONS:
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large saucepan. Add the diced onion and stir for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat until onion starts to soften. Add chopped carrot and celery. Then add the cauliflower pieces and parsley. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Then add 1 Quart of chicken broth and let it simmer over medium heat. You want the cauliflower to be melt in your mouth tender. In a separate pan melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Then add 3 Tbsp. flour until a soft paste is formed and stir with a whisk for a minute or two until mixture is bubbly. Slowly pour in 1-1/4 Cups milk and whisk well. Heat mixture until thick and then add 1 tsp. salt to make a white sauce. Once the cauliflower has reached that melt in your mouth point, add the white sauce to the soup pan. Let it incorporate and simmer for a few minutes and then serve hot. Add a dollop of sour cream to individual bowls, if desired. Serve with a fresh roll or slice of homemade bread.

Recipe Source: Adapted slightly from Finer Things Club

This week I'll be linking to some of these link parties.
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Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Posted on 09:00 by Unknown
Today I'm sharing a delicious recipe for garlic roasted smashed potatoes. You can make these potatoes easily in either a pressure cooker or on the stove top and I'll be sharing with you both methods. My preferred method to make these is the pressure cooker simply because it's faster, but if you don't have a pressure cooker you can still enjoy these savory, flavor-packed potatoes.

I realized that it's been a while since I've posted a pressure cooker recipe. Now let it be known that that is in no way an indicator of how often I cook meals with my pressure cooker. I love my pressure cooker and use it religiously to cook at least two or three (usually more) meals a week. The reason I haven't posted any pressure cooker recipes for a while is because of the learning curve. I'm still not a pro at determining cooking times and it usually takes me several times to get a recipe right. Since my family balks at eating the same meal two or three or four times a week (I guess most folks do...). I have to wait a while until I cook the same meal again. But I have several recipes that are really close to perfect and I hope that in the next month or two I'll be able to share them with you.



That being said, this is a great pressure cooker recipe that I really enjoy. The original recipe that I used actually comes from a recipe from Chef Brad's Pressure Cooker Cookbook. I've modified it slightly in a few ways. First, I've left the skins on the make them garlic smashed potatoes. Smashed potatoes are great because potato skins have lots of vital nutrients and vitamins that our body's need. Plus, I don't have to sit and peal potatoes. Call me lazy, but I don't like to peal potatoes. 

Also in this recipe, I modified a method that was shared by hippressurecooking.com to roast garlic. I cooked the garlic in the pressure cooker a little longer than she suggested, simply because I wanted to cook the garlic together with the potatoes. Because I only needed 6 cloves of roasted garlic, I wrapped the cloves in a piece of tin foil and steamed and then roasted just what I needed rather than roasting the entire head. It worked great. 

Pressure Cooker Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
6 Large Potatoes, washed and quartered  *See Note 1 below
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp. olive oil
1-12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cube butter
Salt & Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In the pressure cooker, place the potatoes and 2 Cups of water. Place whole garlic cloves in a piece of aluminum foil with 1 tsp. olive oil and wrap tightly. Place the garlic tin foil ball on top of the potatoes. Heat pressure cooker to high pressure for 8 minutes. After the cooking time is up, use a quick release method to release the pressure. Open the tin foil ball with the steamed garlic cloves and place the open foil under a hot broiler for about 5 minutes to caramelize and turn golden (*See Note 2 Below). Then remove garlic skins, and crush. Drain off the water from the potatoes. In a large bowl (I use a large Bosch mixer) add the cooked potatoes, the crushed, roasted garlic cloves, the evaporated milk, 1 cube of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potatoes until smooth (I use the whips on the Bosch). Serve immediately or keep warm in the pressure cooker until serving.

*Note 1: You can peel the potatoes before cooking them if you prefer mashed potatoes. I usually keep the skins on to add nutrition and save a little time. Just make sure you scrub the potatoes really well if you leave the skins on.

*Note 2: You can also skip this step of caramelizing the garlic if you're in a hurry and still get a strong, delicious garlic-y flavor in the smashed potatoes.

*Recipe Sources: Recipe adapted from Chef Brad's Pressure Cooker Cookbook and roasted garlic method adapted from hippressurecooking.com

No Pressure Cooker? No problem! You can still make this recipe using the following method.

Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
6 Large Potatoes, washed and quartered  *See Note 1 below
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp. olive oil
1-12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cube butter
Salt & Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Place quartered potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Heat to boiling, turn down heat to simmer and then cover potatoes and cook until tender. Meanwhile place the whole garlic cloves in a piece of aluminum foil with 1 tsp. olive oil and wrap tightly with foil. Place the garlic tin foil ball in the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until garlic is golden brown and tender. Then remove garlic skins, and crush. When potatoes are tender, drain off the water from the potatoes. In a large bowl (I use a large Bosch mixer) add the cooked potatoes, the crushed, roasted garlic cloves, the evaporated milk, 1 cube of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potatoes until smooth (I use the whips on the Bosch). Serve immediately or keep warm until serving.

*Note 1: You can peel the potatoes before cooking them if you prefer mashed potatoes. I usually keep the skins on to add nutrition and save a little time. Just make sure you scrub the potatoes really well if you leave the skins on.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com
I used a Bosch Mixer to whip up the Smashed Potatoes until creamy

For more pressure cooker recipes, please see my pressure cooker recipes page or follow my pressure cooker recipes board on pinterest. 

This week I'll be linking to some of these link parties.
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Posted in Side Dishes | No comments

Friday, 15 February 2013

Frugal Friday: How to make your own pinata

Posted on 07:49 by Unknown
Birthday parties are lots of fun, but sometimes they can be costly. In today's frugal Friday post I'm going to share how I saved money on my son's birthday party by making him a pinata out of cardboard that cost next to nothing. I've made several pinatas for birthday parties and this is by far my favorite method. It is simple, cheap, quick, and held up very well to lots of kid's batting it. In addition, I'll also give you a few ideas for low cost, frugal ways to fill a pinata.

I specifically made a dinosaur pinata, but you can follow these instructions to make a pinata in whatever shape you would like!


How To Make Your Own Pinata:

YOU WILL NEED:
  • Large pieces of cardboard. A large cardboard box works well
  • Masking Tape (I've heard duct tape is a no-no because it's too sturdy...)
  • Colored Crepe paper
  • Glue stick
  • Things to fill the pinata (see below for some frugal ideas)
  • Accessories as desired (I used pompoms for the eyes and rolled up paper for the teeth)
  • Rope for hanging pinata

DIRECTIONS:
  1. First trace a design for your pinata on the cardboard and cut it out. The simpler your shape the easier the later steps will be. We were doing a dinosaur theme party so I cut out a simple dinosaur shape. Once your first shape is cut out, you will need to trace that shape onto another section of cardboard so now you will have two identical pieces of cardboard for front and back pieces of the pinata.
  2. Now I forgot to do this step and it make it a little difficult so I'm adding it to help you out. Punch a hole in the same place for the front and back pieces of cardboard where you will hang your rope. I suggest several inches down from the top to make sure it has some strength at the top where the rope will hang.
  3. Next you will need to cut strips of cardboard out to tape around the pinata to make it three-dimensional. I used about 3" wide strips of cardboard. It doesn't matter how long each strip is. The amount you will need depends on how large your pinata is - it will cover the whole circumference of whatever shape you chose. 
  4. Starting at the top of the pinata (which is where the hole will be where you can fill the pinata), start taping the front and back pieces on either side of the 3" wide strips of cardboard. Keep going around the shape of your pinata (this is why the simpler shape the better). When one strip runs out, just use another strip and line it up right where you left off with the other. When you get back to the top, leave a hole in the top with a strip of cardboard left over that you can tape later after you fill the pinata. This part doesn't have to look pretty - it will be covered. :) Use more or less tape depending on how sturdy you want it. This will depend on the age of kids and how many you would like the pinata to last through. The amount of tape shown in this picture lasted through about 10 five-year-olds.
  5. Fill the pinata with whatever you would like (see below for some frugal pinata filler ideas).
  6. Once your pinata is filled, tape the opening you left earlier so that it's secure.
  7. Now it's time to decorate the pinata. Take the colored crepe paper and cut strips to the length that    you will need to cover one layer from side to side. These strips will be different depending on where you are at on your pinata. You can fringe the crepe paper by cutting part way through as shown in the picture. Starting at the bottom of the pinata, glue on a layer of crepe paper fringe across the bottom. Then glue on the next layer just above that one, allowing the fringe to overlap and hide the ugly cardboard and tape mess underneath. Repeat all the way up that side and all the way up the other side (yes this is a bit time consuming, but it goes quick when you get the hang of it). Then do the same thing on the 3" sides, starting at the bottom and go up either side with the fringe crepe paper pieces.
  8. Add a fringe to the crepe paper to make it look more decorative
  9. Add any accessories that you would like to make it look more realistic. For our dinosaur pinata I added a white pom-pom to either side (I used a permanent marker to black out an eye). And for the teeth I just rolled up pieces of paper into cones and glued them on the bottom of the mouth.
  10. Thread the rope to hang the pinata through the holes that you pre-punched earlier (they may be slightly covered by the crepe paper fringe but that's okay).
  11. Now your pinata is done and ready for the party. When it's time, hang your pinata (we used a broom with my husband on top of the playhouse moving it up and down) and let the kids go to town. Watch as all your hard work becomes disintegrated in a matter of minutes. But seeing the laughter and smiles on the faces of your child and his/her friends will make it all worth it.

Here are a few frugal ideas you can use to fill the pinata:

Frugal Ways to Fill a Pinata
  • Confetti - Strips of newspaper, all those polka dot things from your hole punch, paper from your shredder, use recyclables you have on hand. Confetti will give the appearance of the pinata being more full and just make it more fun when it opens up.
  • Pennies - Will be a lot cheaper than other fillers and the kids will love running around collecting money
  • Leftover candy from Halloween or Valentines or Easter or whatever holiday is closed to your child's birthday. Let your kids eat it for a day or two after the holiday, then absorb it into your "pinata collection" and use it for the next birthday party.
What about you? Have you tried making your own pinata? Do you have any frugal pinata filler ideas? I'd love to hear them. Happy Frugal Friday everyone. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Linking with some of these link parties.
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Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Oatmeal-Banana Muffins

Posted on 11:10 by Unknown
Here's another delicious whole-grain, sugar-free recipe for you to try. If you remember from my post last year about oats, oats are really good for helping to lower your cholesterol levels and have been shown to boost immune system response, which is important this time of year with all the sickness going around. Our family loves these oatmeal-banana muffins and they are quick and easy to make. I hope you enjoy them too.



Oatmeal Banana Muffins
Printable Recipe

*Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 Cups Quick Oats
1-1/4 Cup Whole Grain Flour (I like to use Wonder Flour or White Wheat Flour)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large ripe banana, peeled and mashed
3/4 Cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 Cup canola oil
2 Tbsp. honey

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 F. In a medium bowl combine quick oats, whole grain flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. In another bowl combine mashed banana, milk, egg, oil, and honey and mix to combine.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and stir lightly just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over beat or your muffins will be tough and shot through with tunnels. Grease muffin pans or line with crinkly paper cupcake liners. Spoon in the batter until it is divided evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned and springy to the touch.

*Note: I like to make a double batch of these when I make them and freeze some for later. We reheat our frozen muffins in the microwave for 30 seconds and they are delicious.

Recipe Source: Adapted from a recipe in the book Eat Better, Live Better



Linking with some of these link parties.
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Posted in Breakfasts, Snacks | No comments

Friday, 8 February 2013

Frugal Friday: Eating healthy on a budget

Posted on 06:13 by Unknown
Sometimes people have the misconception that to eat healthily they must spend more money. We see this all the time. Advertisers target people wanting to go on diets by creating prepackaged "diet" foods that are expensive. What you don't see on the outside is that these products often contain more harmful ingredients than good. Our family has discovered that a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to cost more money than an unhealthy one. While their are some products where the healthy option does cost more than its unhealthy counterpart (e.g. butter vs. margarine), this is an exception rather than a rule. Here are some ideas that we've found to lower your food budget and still eat healthy food:
Some vegetables we harvested from our garden last year
  • Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Adjust your recipes according to the season you are in and what is available or on sale at the store.
  • Grow a garden - growing a garden forces you to eat healthier because you have a multitude of healthy food literally in your backyard.
  • Limit the amount of processed foods you eat. Eat more whole grains and legumes and cook from scratch rather than "quick" foods.
  • Shop sales and stock up on items that you use regularly that go on sale - check expiration dates and don't buy more than you will use before they expire.
  • Eat all leftovers before they go bad. If you don't like to eat the same meal twice in a row, make smaller meals or freeze a portion for later.
  • Look for produce that lasts longer and buy that instead of it's counterpart (e.g. Romaine lettuce lasts longer than green leaf or red leaf).
  • Bring a sack lunch to work or when you go on trips. Eat out only for "special occasions."
  • Don’t buy specialized ingredients that you will only use for 1 recipe - I do this quite often and more times than naught it is a waste of money. It's good to try new recipes so don't let this discourage you from doing that, but try to find new recipes that you can use ingredients you already have or ingredients you could use for more than one recipe if you didn't like the one you were trying.
  • Create or find recipes based on what you already have in your pantry - rotate & use items that are getting close to expiration dates. Brandon is really good at this - he can look at what we need to use up and come up with a wonderful meal based on those things.
  • Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry or around meal times - you always spend more money.
  • Limit your shopping trips - I've talked about this before, but it's true and it really works. The less time you spend in the grocery store the more money you will save. Sometimes I even go to a smaller grocery store as opposed to a larger one because I know I will find fewer things I "need" there.
Here's some Frugal Friday posts from the archives that you might find helpful about this subject:

Cost Analysis: Homemade Bread
Cost Anaylsis: Homemade Tortillas
Cost Analysis: Homemade Yogurt
Foraging for Fruit
Frugal, Healthy Snacks
Helping Your Family Enjoy Leftovers
Saving Money without Coupons
Stocking Your Pantry
Stocking Your Pantry - What to Include


I'd love to hear your ideas. What are some ways to cut our food budgets and still eat healthily?  Happy Frugal Friday. Hope you have a great weekend.

Linking with these link parties.
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Tuesday, 5 February 2013

Delicious Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

Posted on 05:56 by Unknown
I've always been a homemade white roll type of gal. Don't get me wrong. I've made my share of whole-grain rolls and love them a lot. But white rolls have a special place in my heart that just wasn't satisfied by a whole-grain roll....until now. Now don't get your hopes up too high....these aren't 100% whole grain...this isn't quite that perfect of a world. And really they're not that healthy. But I'm posting them on this blog because they are "healthier" than 100% white rolls (thanks to the secret ingredient, cornmeal) and because they really are amazingly tasty things that just speak of homey love and happy families. Indeed, they've snuck into my heart and taken over my "dreamy white roll" spot. And I don't think I'll ever be totally satisfied with a plain white roll again.

They've snuck into quite a few other hearts as well. My family of course - they love me when I make these. But others too...I taught a bread class last week and we made these. Everyone loved them. Also, my husband works with a group of young men ages 12-18 in our church. I make these quite often for them to enjoy after a long, hard bike ride or other strenuous activity. I've had some of those tough boys even come give me a hug over these rolls. Yep, they are heart-winners. This being Valentine's day coming up, you might want to try them out and see if you can win a few hearts as well. :)


Delicious Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Printable Recipe

*Makes 2 dozen rolls

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups milk
2/3 cup yellow corn meal (I use freshly ground popcorn)
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
5 ½ – 6 cups flour (or the amount needed to get the correct texture - see explanation below in the directions)
1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
1/4 Cup melted butter, for brushing on the rolls

DIRECTIONS:
On medium heat, heat the milk to just below a boil so bubbles are just appearing around the edges (this is called scalding milk). Add the cornmeal and cook and stir until thickened, lowering the temperature if needed so the mixture doesn't boil. Pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (I use a Bosch). Cut up the butter into 4 or 5 pieces and add to the bowl. Then add the sugar, the salt and the eggs. Add 3 cups of the flour to the bowl and the yeast on top of the flour. Turn on the mixer to a low speed and mix well until combined. Add the flour gradually until dough barely starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn up the speed of the mixer (I usually do a 3 or 4 speed) and mix for 6 minutes.

Divide the dough into three pieces and roll each into about an 8-10 inch circle. Brush the top lightly with butter. Cut into 8 wedges and roll each wedge up starting from the wide end so it forms a crescent roll shape. Place each roll on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap or a thin dishtowel. Let the rolls rise until doubled (about 30-45 minutes). In the winter I sometimes warm  up my oven just barely and let them rise in there a little more quickly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Recipe Source: Adapted slightly from a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Note: for a double heart-winning experience: try these rolls spread with this yummy pear jam. You won't be disappointed. :)


*For a full-sized Bosch, you can double this recipe so you can freeze some for later…if they last that long…


Linked to: Recipe Box, Mouthwatering Monday, Tasteful Tuesday, Sugar & Spice
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Friday, 1 February 2013

Be your Best Self! Part V: Using Time Well

Posted on 07:53 by Unknown
This is the last post in the Be your Best Self series for the New Year. If you missed any, here are the others I've posted in this series:

Be your Best Self! Part I: Exercise
Be your Best Self! Part II: Eat Healthy
Be your Best Self! Part III: Sleep
Be your Best Self! Part IV: Beautify

Next week I'll resume my regular Frugal Friday posts, where I post ideas and tips about saving money and being frugal. I've revamped this blog a little in the last few weeks and added a page on the top of my blog called "Living Frugal" that lists all of my Frugal Friday posts to date. Check out that page to find an archive of Frugal Friday posts to help you live your life a little more frugally.

Oh and just a little announcement. Today I'm grateful for my unfrozen washing machine. It's been frozen for a couple of weeks and finally decided to thaw itself this week. I know how it feels, poor thing... Brrrr... Having it frozen has helped me appreciate all of my little time-saving electric maids a lot more.

And that leads me right into our Be Your Best Self Tip #5: Using Time Well. I want to introduce this topic by sharing a quote from Hartman Rector Jr.:
"You can only feel good about yourself if you are on the way to reaching your potential."
Being your best self is about being on the way to reaching your full potential. You're not there yet, but you're on your way. An important part of being your best self is making good use of your time. I've found that when I fill my time by doing the best things, I'm the happiest. Not just good things but the best things. The things that bring my life happiness. Here's some time tips to help you make sure that your time is being well spent.

My good husband spending a little one-on-one time with our son
TIME TIPS FOR BUSY MOMS (& DADS):
  1. Set Priorities - Every one of us has a limited amount of time each day. Our priorities should dictate how we spend our time. By setting priorities and eliminating distractions, we can make sure that our time is spent doing the best things.
  2. Don't Over Schedule - Too many of us try to do too many things and end up not anything well. If you've found yourself in that situation, take a moment to step back and realize what's most important and then cut out the things that don't matter.
  3. Use a Daily Calendar - We are busy people and it's easy to overlook some of the important things going on in our lives. Using a calendar and checking it frequently throughout the day can really help. Are you scheduling priorities on your calendar? Family time, time with children, etc. Those things are important and deserve their rightful place on our calendars just like other appointments do. 
  4. Learn to be prompt and on time so it doesn't waste others time - time is a gift that we all have been given. Wasting other people's time is like telling them that your gift of time is more important than theirs. It's selfish and inconsiderate. Now I'm not always the best at this one either, but I'm working on it. It's something we constantly need to be working on to become our best selves.
  5. Say no to some good things in order to do the best things - we need to learn to say no to some of the things that press on us for our time so that we can make sure our priorities get the time they need. This one is hard for me too, but I'm working on it. And so can you.
  6. Set Limits for time hogs - Are you wondering what time hogs are? Things that hog our time that might not really be that important - computers, TVs, games, phones, ipods, etc all like to hog up time and compete with our priorities. Set personal and family limits for these things so that priorities don't get pushed out the way by the time hogs. 
  7. Have a family calendar and talk about schedules - be open and discuss what is and isn't working. We have a family planning session once a week. When we miss it, it's amazing how fast things start to get off track and out of balance. 
I love this quote that I've already posted by Rosemary M. Wixon. It deserves a second showing:
"It takes time to focus on things that matter most. Talking, listening, and encouraging do not happen quickly. They cannot be rushed or scheduled - They happen best along the way. They happen when we do things together: work together, create together, and play together. They happen when we turn off media, put down worldly distractions, and focus on each other."
How about you? I'd love to hear your ideas. Are you using your time well or is there still room for improvement? Do you struggle with time management or do you have something to share that you've learned that will help all of us? Happy Friday everyone. Have a great weekend.

P.S. I'm excited for my Tuesday post because I'll be sharing a yummy roll recipe that I've kept hidden for too long. Oh my they are good....stay tuned.
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