this changed my life {and my sanity}

I seriously cannot tell you all enough how much I love E-mealz.  I has revolutionized my life!  I don't endorse or talk about many other companies on this blog... so you know it has to be good.  Please give me five minutes to convince you, too.



I love to be organized and efficient with everything I do.  But I had never gotten the hang of meal planning, grocery shopping, then actually cooking the meals I planned.  It took too much energy and too much time.

Until I discovered e-mealz!  {No one from the company has asked me to write a blog post, I just love it that much.  I'm pretty confident you will at least want to TRY it after reading what I have to say.}

The program is simple.  You can sign up for a 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month subscription.  (of course, you save the most with the 12 month).  Then, you choose the plan that works for you:

Regular
Low Fat
Low Carb
Portion Control
Vegetarian
Gluten Free
or Natural & Organic

There is a plan for everyone.  After paying {which is on the cheap... between $5 - $7 per month}, you can download your menu sheet and shopping list every Sunday.

Here is a sample of the menu sheet:

And the shopping lsit:

I went shopping with my list for the first time last week and it was so easy to follow.  Everything is sorted by section in the store AND since you choose the store you shop at most, E-mealz will plan your menu based on the sales that week!!  This is like couponing on steroids {but without the side effects and absolutely no cutting, clipping, or printing}.

And can I just tell you about the meals?  I've cooked three so far.  And each time my husband has literally praised me for how delicious they taste.  Every meal has taken me less than 45 minutes to prep and prepare including the suggested side dishes to go with each one.  We've had a delicious peach salsa chicken, creamy chicken pasta, and white chicken chili... all to die for.  With the exception of the chili, we always had leftovers for lunch the next day.  And, the site claims they do not rotate recipes frequently, so this gives a lot of variety to my weekly menu.

My only qualm is that I can't pick the meals I want to eat each week, but there is something nice about not having to think.  And if a meal doesn't look good {which hasn't happened yet}, my plan is to just swap it with a previous meal we've had and LOVED.  The shopping list items are numbered to correspond with each meal, so deleting or changing one is easy.

When it comes time to prepare the meals, I have everything I need to make it happen.  No clunky cookbook and no open laptop with the latest Pinterest meal recipe - just one sheet of paper hanging on my fridge with simple instructions.

The best part?  My family is eating healthy AND AROUND THE SAME TABLE.  I don't have to scrounge around to find something to cook.  I know exactly what is for dinner each night {with absolutely no work outside of pushing print to get a menu together} and my life feels so much more in control.  Know what I mean?

Dave Ramsey endorses the program, for heaven's sake!  So you know it has to be good for your budget, too.  Plus, I found a coupon code (NEWYOU) that got me 20% off my subscription.

What are you waiting for?  Make your evenings enjoyable and delicious.  Go sign up!  I'm hooked after one week and will never be going back to another system again. 

a tip worth pinning

We spent this past weekend in St. Louis - and were able to see quite a few family members.

My mother in law is a great cook and she made spaghetti for us one night.  Except she didn't use the same kind of pot that I would have used to boil my noodles.  And I never will again.

Goodbye normal 5-quart pot.

Hello wide, shallow stir fry pan!

Seriously, how did I not think of this before?  I always hate that half of my spaghetti gets cooked before it starts to sink slowly down into the boiling water.  Now, all my spaghetti will get evenly cooked.

Really, sometimes it's the littlest things in life.

{and I couldn't very well hide this new little tip from all of you, could I?}

yummy taco biscuits {using leftover taco meat}

Does anyone ever have the problem with way too much taco meat left over after taco night?

I think I need to remember to buy more than one package of taco shells - or cook less meat.

Or, I could just continue creating new recipes with my leftover meat.  It's great on lettuce leaves or in pasta, but last week I tried something completely different.  And it was SO delicious and SO easy that I had to share with you here.

I took a can of Grand's Flaky Biscuits, laid them out on a pan and flattened them into small pizzas.  {keep the outsides a little higher than the inside}

Piled a little leftover taco meat into the middle of each one {it was already seasoned from our previous meal}.

Sprinkled with cheese.  And baked in the oven at 350 for 15-17 minutes {or follow the instructions for your flaky biscuits}.

They were seriously SO good that the three of us at the entire batch.

BLB of the day:

The Rachel

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post} 

christmas in november with delicious treats

Our house is getting into the Christmas spirit.  Yes, I know it's not even Thanksgiving.  But once you hear what's going on under our roof, you won't blame me for encouraging the developments.


A few weeks ago, my husband asked me if we could have a weekly budget for buying CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.  I about fell out of my seat.  He's not asking because I overspend on decorations and he feels the need to put the reins on me.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I bought a Christmas decoration.  He's asking because he's excited about decorating our home for the holidays!


{this craft blog must be getting to him in the deepest way possible}


So this desire to create a budget category just for decorations is entirely HIM.  I, of course, encouraged the idea and started to plan what I might purchase with our weekly budget of $5-$10 on decorations. 


Yesterday he comes home with a Christmas tin, candle, cookie dough, and adorable card that reads:


"Let's have a lot of laughs and a lot of fun with this holiday season.  You always bring joy to my life so I'm glad we get to make our own traditions and spend the holidays together."


{cue the "awwwwwww" from the crowd}


Turns out his inquiry for Christmas decorations was just a ploy to spend money on ME!  Christmas has already started here in the Smith house.  And I couldn't be happier.


To celebrate, I thought I'd introduce you to a special treat I just discovered for the holidays.  A SUPER easy treat, I might add.  And delicious.

It was really simple.  Just required some Vanilla flavored chocolate bark from the baking aisle - melted, of course.  JUMBO marshmallows.  And crushed candy cane.  Dip the marshmallow in the melted chocolate, and sprinkle with candy of your choice.


I used red, yellow, and orange sprinkles here for JoJo's Fireman party in October.  They were supposed to resemble a fire.  You get it, right?

I also tried the same thing on a graham cracker and ended up liking it even better.  These would make such cute neighbor gifts for the holidays.

My neighbors never got a taste.  Not even my husband.  I ate all eight of those the next morning for breakfast.  Being an adult is so fun!

Graham Cracker Ice Cream Cookie

You'll thank me later.

{After you eat them, of course}

These are  

DELICIOUS 

 ice cream cookies.

For very cheap

and very low on calories/fat!

Just take two graham crackers and spread Cool Whip in between.

Pop them in the freezer overnight.

The next day, you can enjoy a tasty ice cream sandwich...

Guilt-free!

Guest Post: Photo Book Girl

I am THRILLED to have Photo Book Girl guest posting for me today!  I stumbled upon her blog awhile back looking for the best photobook deal.  She is constantly posting photobook coupons and deals that I take advantage of often.  And has an A M A Z I N G photobook wizard that guides you to the exact photobook you're looking for (in your price range)!

Little did I know that we had been following each other this whole time!

Thanks for posting Photo Book Girl! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make Your Own Digital Cookbook

If you’re a fan of Better Life Bags like I am, you certainly appreciate creative and high quality, custom gifts. I’m excited to have this opportunity to write about a topic that I know is of personal interest to Rebecca, and a topic she tells me is of interest to her readers as well.

Have you ever thought about making your own cookbook? The ease and widespread availability of print-on-demand photo books and books in general, have opened up tons of creative possibilities for users. No longer does having your creations professionally printed mean spending a lot of money and stockpiling a hefty minimum order of copies. You can now print 1 or 100 books at a reasonable price that look like they came straight from the bookstore.

Making your own cookbook does not require any expensive or overly technical software. Photo book companies offer free and easy to use software to create your project – you only pay if you decide you want to order a copy. Many allow you to share your creation on line for free as well. Choosing which company to print your project depends on how much flexibility and design options you wish to have.

Pre-Made Cookbook Templates

The easiest route is to pick a company that offers a cookbook theme complete with pre-made layouts and clip art to embellish your pages. All you have to do is to add your recipes and photos. I did a survey of photo book companies and found that the following have ready to use cookbook templates (the links below will take you to my review/overview of the company where you can find more specific info about each company).

The screenshot below each company shows a sample of each printer's pre-made templates.

AdoramaPix

Blurb

Inkubook

Mixbook

Picaboo

Please note the companies above are not an exhaustive list, but just an illustrative list. There are other companies out there and I have more information and reviews of various companies on my site. If you’d like to be able to design your cookbook from scratch, you can also opt for a company that will allow you to completely customize your own layouts. All the companies above except for Inkubook allow you to create custom layouts.

If you’re lucky and you have an external design program like Adobe InDesign or Photoshop, even better – you can save your layouts in jpeg format and upload them straight to any company.

Tips and Steps to Making Your Own Digital Cookbook

1) Gather those recipes – from friends, from family, from your own kitchen, the more the better, but 25 to 30 recipes is a good number;

2) Type them up on your computer in a program such as Microsoft Word and use spell check to proofread them;

3) Group your recipes into categories if you wish (such as soups, salads, beef entrees, fish entrees, desserts) or group the recipes by the family or friend that contributed them;

4) Select a photo book company to print your photo book;

5) Create your layouts from scratch (or use premade cookbook templates) and copy and paste your recipes onto the pages;

6) Add photos of the contributing cooks and/or of the dishes (a mouth-watering photo is always welcome in a cookbook);

7) Add any embellishments such cooking-related clip art for fun, or add shadows, frames etc. to customize the look

Make it a Collaborative Effort

Instead of one person collecting the recipe and designing the book, think about making it a fun group project. I have a good group of friends who love to cook and we often get together to share our creations at various potlucks. I suggested to my friends that we make a collaborative cookbook / yearbook complete with our favorite recipes and photos we’ve taken throughout the year. Because I wanted my friends to experience the process of making an online book themselves, I selected Mixbook for my cookbook project since the company allows several collaborators to work on the same cookbook project file. Each person signs up for a free account to upload their own recipes and create their own pages from their comfort of their own home.

Here are some shots of my group cookbook project. Note that every page of the book was created with the software and clip art provided within the Mixbook program. There was nothing that we had to pay for and nothing special added except our own photos and recipes. In particular, I like that Mixbook has very usable and what I would call “non-cheesy” clip art. I’ve sent my cookbook in for printing, so I’m looking forward to receiving it and posting a review of the final product soon!

Custom Cookbooks Make Great Gifts

I’m sure that many of you have either given or received a personalized gift that has remained a treasured gift for years after it’s been gifted. I have made several traditional scrapbooks as gifts in the past and my friends love to show me that they’ve kept my gift years later. What’s great about digital cookbooks (versus say making a scrapbook by hand) is that you can create your book and then order multiple copies for friends and family – although I still love traditional hand made scrapbooks, it would be quite time consuming to make several of them.

Cookbooks would be great for:

-School, Church or Club Fundraisers

-Passing down family recipes to a newly married couple

-Holiday gifts

-Birthday gifts

-Family reunions

After the cookbook is done, a perfect way to celebrate together is to cook up a bunch of the recipes and throw a cookbook signing party!

______________

Photo Book Girl is hopelessly obsessed with photo books (and with food!). She writes a blog reviewing photo book companies and tracking coupons and deals, as well as providing tips on how to create your own online masterpiece. You can also find her frequently jabbering away on Facebook (which is how she learned of Better Life Bags). Many thanks to Rebecca for this opportunity to share this with you!

Turkey Cookies

Every year since I can remember, my mom has been making these adorable Turkey Cookies.

She sets them at each place setting.

And often, it's the first thing I eat!

I asked permission to share them here so you can all enjoy this fun tradition, too!

Here's what you need to make one Turkey Cookie:

Fudge Stripe Cookies, Rolos, Gummy Lifesavers, Candy Corn, and chocolate frosting

Take one Fudge Stripe Cookie and lay it with it's stripes vertical.

Using some frosting, "glue" one Gummy Lifesaver at the bottom.

"Glue" your second Gummy Lifesaver on top with a little more frosting.

Unwrap your Rolo and frost the top.  "Glue" it to the bottom of the lifesavers.

Finally, "glue" a candy corn on upside down for the turkey's face/beak.

Make some more and lay them all on a cookie sheet to dry.

Once the frosting hardens a little, you can stand them up!

I just LOVE these.

Almost as much as I LOVE my mom!

Thanks for starting this Thanksgiving tradition, mom... 

I know Little Bug will have fun helping me make these some day!

I'd love to hear some of YOUR Thanksgiving traditions, too - maybe we'll adopt them as our own!

Cider Mill and Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll

A few weekends ago, we went to visit one of the Cider Mills in town.

While I have been to many apple orchards, I had never been to a cider mill.

Apparently, this is where the apples are turned into CIDER - pretty self explanatory, right?

That wheel behind us actually does all the work.

 

 Little Bug enjoyed the apple cider donuts.

But wasn't too sure about feeding the goats.

One thing I was sure of as we left was that I NEEDED to make something delicious eat!

It put me in the mood for something sweet and fall-like.

So, I found this recipe from the McCormick website.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll

It was paired so deliciously with a cup of coffee...

... and a date with my husband after Little Bug was in bed.

PLEASE go try out the recipe.  The cake was so moist and the cream cheese filling was the perfect addition of sweetness.
Mouth is watering as I type.
Good thing I have more canned pumpkin to make another roll!

Anyone else have good pumpkin or apple recipes to try?
Please post the recipe or link in the comment section so I can try them out!
Who knows... I might even do a blog post about how delicious your recipe is.

Cherry Oat Bars Recipe

This is our pediatrician...

 

We absolutely love him.  He is homeopathic - which we didn't know when we first picked him, but quickly found out at our first appointment with him.  

Here were our faces as he starts to spout off all the vitamins we should be taking...

 

That day, he told me to stop taking my pain medication the hospital gave me.  He said if I let my body heal itself, it would in 3 days.  I didn't believe him.  But I tried it anyway and 3 days later I was completely fine.  Our bodies are apparently made to heal themselves if we would stop getting in the way with modern medicine.

Still forming all my thoughts and beliefs on this.

Anyway, we found out we are moving to Hamtramck, MI.  My first thought was about our doctor.  So, I started searching for a similar doctor near Hamtramck.  

And I found something wonderful.  Someone wonderful.

Dr. Sue

Not only is she accepting patients, but her website (click on her name) is incredible.  It's just what I've been looking for to get some guidance in this crazy, all natural lifestyle!  I'm following her Ten Steps (on the side of her page).  We are working on steps two and three.  

Anyone want to join me in the steps?  I just made these cherry oat bars.

All natural.

All real foods.

Totally delicious!

 

Mexican Seasoning Mix Recipe

I'm sitting here smelling dinner.  Mexican Chicken Tacos... yummmmmmy.  I'm feeling especially proud of my meal because it includes a HOMEMADE Mexican Seasoning!  Yes, we all know we can purchase packs of taco seasoning for .99 at any grocery store.  But, did you know you can make your own for 28 cents?!

Thanks to a new cookbook I have, here is the recipe.  Try it out for yourselves and post the recipe you used the seasoning in as a comment to this blog - it can be used in place of any taco or chili seasoning packet!

Mexican Seasoning Mix

Makes 5 mixes

(can be used for taco or chili seasoning)

-1/4 cup flour

- 2 T chili powder

- 1/4 cup onion powder

- 2 tsp. garlic powder

- 4 tsp. salt

- 4 tsp. paprika

- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

- 2 tsp. sugar

- 2 tsp. cumin

- 2 tsp. oregano

Put all of the ingredients in a blender, cover, and blend 5 seconds or less until powdery (don't over blend). Use the "pulse" feature if your blender has one. Add more cayenne pepper if you prefer it hotter.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. (I'm planning on getting a smaller one, but as you can see from my picture, I LOVE these airtight containers).

Three tablespoons of this mix equals one purchased packet of taco or chili seasoning mix.

Enjoy!

Oh, and with all that extra money you're saving, why not dump a few extra coins in the Starbucks tip jar... let's make lives better!