Favorite Side Dish- Mine takes less than 10 minutes!

Seems like every few months I reach a "rut" in my meal prep where I feel like I make the same things over and over again. I can mix up the the meat options a little, especially now that the weather is good for grilling but I need some new, quick sides. Do you have a favorite?

I'd have to say that my favorite QUICK side dish is to take a can of Campbell's condensed cream soup (Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, etc.) add that to a pot, refill the can with water and add that, stir it up and bring it to a boil. Fill the can with rice and once the liquid boils, add the rice, put the lid on the pot and give it 5-6 minutes. It will still be a little "soupy" so it needs to sit for a couple minutes then add a little salt and pepper and it's done! A quick side in less than 10 minutes and I almost always have rice and some variety of that soup on hand.

Hopefully this comes in handy for you, do you have any side dish ideas you can share?

Trash to Treasure Party a Success!

Hopefully you caught my first Trash to Treasure post back on April 2nd, if not click here.

We had our party on Saturday and not only was it a lot of fun, there were some great finds too! For example, a friend of mine brought a single size electric skillet that she had never used but was given to her as a housewarming party gift several years ago. When my grandmother saw it she decided that was the perfect size for her!

I got a couple of Disney movies on VHS from someone that had upgraded to DVDs, while most of what we have is DVD at home, we have a TV downstairs with a VHS player and those will be perfect when my daughter needs to be distracted downstairs for a few minutes.

There were also lots of people that picked up hair products and other beauty products there were either used a couple times or not at all- a great way to try new products! Same with bags, purses, and shoes, we all know that you get tired of those things long before they wear out, so many people got new items for their spring wardrobe.

As you can see we had lots of fun and got some great items too! We kept our food simple with some fruit, a couple dips, shrimp cocktail and some delicious desserts. Each person brought a beverage to share (wine or soft drinks) and we spent several hours on Saturday relaxing and having fun.

Whether it's yard sales, consignment shops or parties like this one I hope you think of creative ways to turn your trash into treasure!

Talk Derby To Me!

I love our city this time of year! This is when we make the national news for great reasons and this weekend marks the halfway point of the Kentucky Derby Festival. If you live near Louisville, KY and haven't been to any of the events (there are plenty of free ones) then you are really missing out! Sure there are crowds and at many of the free events they do ask that you purchase a Derby Festival pin but from the Thunder fireworks to balloon glows, glimmers and races there is a lot to do for the whole family including parades, parties and fun all over the city! (They have a website that lists all of the events and details.)

I've had the privilege of attending some the ticketed events including being on the Belle of Louisville during the Steamboat Race (it's not as exciting as it sounds), sitting front and center for the They're Off Luncheon, being on Millionaires Row for the Celebrity Luncheon before Oaks Day and seeing Thunder from a riverfront suite, 18 floors up!

Regardless of your seat though, witnessing some of these events in a crowd of people can be breathtaking. When you are surrounded by hundreds of people, the sun finally sets and a field suddenly fills with dozens of rising hot air balloons, it's amazing! Or to watch those horses coming around the back stretch at Churchill Downs, even on a non-Derby day race, you feel their energy, power and you understand the passion that some people have with horse racing.

Like I said, this is definitely my favorite time of year here, the streets are clean, everything is in bloom and there is this "feeling" that everyone is putting their best foot forward to show the nation what we're all about. I hope your city has a celebration or event that makes you proud and want to be a part of it, we're all part of something much bigger and I think those events that put in into perspective are fun, exciting, and magical.

Earth Day

I hope everyone has a great Earth Day! We are having great weather here in KY after several days of cold temps and rainy weather.

Whether you are pulling weeds, planting trees or teaching a child about the benefits of recycling I hope you have a wonderful day today!

If you are looking for something do to today, check out my post from two days ago about the Kroger contest where you can send them your idea for a bag and get a reusable free bag!

Living with a Ghost

I think I live with a ghost. Why do I think that? I sat down on the couch last night after bath time and bedtime and pulled a soup ladle out from under the cushion. I grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and out fell a plastic shovel. As odd as those things were I went to the kitchen and found half of the drawers pulled out, some green beans in the fridge, still in the can, the UN opened can. I put those in the pantry and found shredded cheese, yes, from the cold section in the store. As you can see, I may live with a ghost!

On second thought, I went to the grocery and my daughter helped me unload the bags, then she helped me make supper and played in her room. Maybe I don't live with a ghost after all.

Going Green- Kroger Contest

I have a confession...I LOVE the reusable shopping bags that everyone seems to be selling and promoting. However, I also have to confess that I don't always carry them into the grocery with me. They are in the car and I always use them to minimize my trips in the house and I do use them when I go in the store for a non-weekly trip but having a cart full of groceries, a child, a purse and a teenage cashier than rolls her eyes when I pull out 15 bags to use for my groceries isn't my idea of a good time. Even though I am thinking, I bought these are your store and when you are an adult and wearing an oxygen mask due to the pollution I hope you remember all the times you rolled your eyes!

Anyways, my point is that I found a contest that Kroger is offering where you can design a reusable bag! If you submit an entry you get a free bag and if yours is selected you could win $1000! I didn't read all the rules yet but the link is here. I did see that you need to be over 13 years old to enter so moms who are teaching their children about the environment and recycling might be interested and with Earth Day on April 22nd it could be a fun family activity!

Back Off!

I believe in assertive driving, I really do. I think there are times in life and on the road that you don't need to "pushed around" but I have a real issue with aggressive driving. My complaint this morning is passing and tailgating.

We live in a rural county that neighbors a county that is very populated with a large city so our area has come to be known as a "bedroom community" meaning that people live there but make the drive to the next county for work. Because of that combination I am accustomed to passing slower traffic on the one 2-lane road out of our county. I drive to work each morning in the dark so when someone is driving much slower than myself I wait for clear section, put on my signal, pass them, then get back over and give them plenty of room. But every once in awhile I pass someone that was either half asleep or on the phone and then decide that they want to drive faster now so they speed up and tailgate. The morning was one of those times. I did what I always do and then it happened. They sped up, turned on their brights and followed too close all the way to the expressway, where the 2 lanes open up to 4. When this person got beside me I saw a young girl and judging by the stickers on her Jeep, was still in high school. I was furious!

I am not always a perfect driver but I am cautious and I take things into consideration. If someone is speeding, maybe their late or have an emergency but things like this are just rude and dangerous. What I don't understand is that if someone passes me with a grocery cart I don't walk faster or run up behind them. Or if someone walks around me in the mall I don't glare at them. Why does a car make someone feel entitled to act like that?

I don't think the girl this morning knew I had a child in the car, or thought she was doing anything dangerous but I hope one day when she's a mom and has a child in the car that she thinks long and hard about how she drives and how it effects others around her. Until then I hope she doesn't tailgate someone that slams on the brakes faster than she expects. Cars are not safety capsules and if you don't have at least two seconds between you and the car in front of you BACK OFF!

Need A Button

I'm looking for a blogger out there with their own button, my question is, how did you create it?

I'm pretty web and computer savvy but can't seem to figure this out on my own so any help is appreciated!

$mart and Involved Shopper

Are you an involved shopper? Let me explain what I mean by that question. I have always been the type shopper to call a product manufacturer if my package was supposed to have 5 items in the box and only had 4 and, without fail, they send me a coupon for a free item replacement and thank me for my call. I've not been rude, I just explain the case and see how they offer to help.

BUT a fellow new mom friend is much more involved than me. She bought two packages of diapers, got them hope, opened them, and noticed that one package was different. It was the same brand she's been buying, same packaging on the outside, but the closure and lining of the diapers in one pack were a little different. She sent them an email to ask if they were changing their product and her store and receipt information and in addition to a response saying they were testing some new ideas, she received $50 in coupons for free diapers! Again, she wasn't rude she just wanted to know if they were changing their product and being an involved shopper really paid off! I haven't had any luck that good but my experience so far has been that manufacturer's want to know what you think and if you love a product, tell them, it may really pay off!

No Sugar Added Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! We had a great time with our daughter's first egg hunt, coloring eggs and lots of fun with family. She also received her first TWO Easter baskets! Some people have asked about the type of baskets she got because my husband was raised in a NO SUGAR household and we are doing the same with our daughter. It's not for medical reasons, it's for general health reasons.

In the past week I've heard stories from other parents about the baskets their children have received that are full of chocolate bunnies, sugary peeps, and other treats that we all saw stocked on the shelves for the holiday. But her basket had a kite, a Bible stories book, several small outside play balls, a couple books, goldfish crackers, a daisy plant that she can assemble with help, and lots of other goodies but no candy. I wanted her to have a basket but I didn't want her to need a sugar detox after the weekend.

I can't say that it was always be easy, especially once she's older and can make her own decisions about the food she eats but I hope we raise her to choose healthier options and reserve sweets as treats!

Do you have healthy treat options for your kids? She loves fruit smoothies and they are her favorite treat but I'd love to have a couple other options!

Trash to Treasure Party- Spring Cleaning Idea

I'm so excited! Some of my friends and family are getting together in a couple weeks for a Trash to Treasure Party!

It was something we came up with after a couple conversations about spring cleaning and the fact that we always end up with boxes or bags of things that aren't really garbage but we aren't sure what to do with the stuff. For example, I love to try new hair products but my curly hair isn't always so excited so I end up with great products that have only been used a dozen times...not really trash but not useful to me anymore. Or purses that I carried a season or two, gently used. I wouldn't mind to GIVE it away but I don't really want to THROW it away! Sure, I could have a yard sale but it's not really THAT much stuff. Now as I start cleaning out closets, going through clothing and accessories, I have a mission in mind! The hard part will not be coming home with too much "trash" that I decide is a treasure.

I'll keep you posted about our party but this should be lots of fun and a good reason to get together and "shop for free"!