Kitchen Tools ~ Crock-Pot® Casserole Crock Slow Cooker

My children bought me a Crock-Pot® Casserole Crock Slow Cooker for Mother's Day. I absolutely love it! I have made several recipes in it including this one with fantastic results.  It cooks faster than a regular crock pot, is super easy to clean and comes in really cute designs and colors. I highly recommend you get one! :)

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Strangers and Pilgrims On Earth

Healthy Fast Food

You really can feed your family "fast" without making a trip through the drive thru. It takes a little planning, but it is well worth the effort.

Here are a few ideas for preparing healthy "fast food" for your family.

1) Cook large quantities of chicken in your crockpot. I roast several chicken breasts at a time. (I usually season the chicken with mojo, adobo and garlic). I package them with my Food Saver Vacuum Sealer and freeze them for use in casseroles, soups, tacos, etc.  When I have a busy day I simply defrost and add the cooked chicken to my recipe.

2) I also brown and season ground beef or ground turkey in large batches and freeze it in food saver bags as well. Having the meat already cooked saves so much time! I can make chili, tacos, and casseroles fast!

3) I have an electric pressure cooker that is a big time saver. I can cook beef stew in about an hour. I also cook big batches of rice (it's takes about 4 minutes!) and freeze it in 1 cup size bags. (I also cook beans in my pressure cooker. No soaking required!) I can easily defrost and add to my recipes.

A good resource I use for recipes for homemade mixes is Make A Mix. I love this book! I can control the amount preservatives, salt and sugar in a recipe and have mixes on hand for quick meals.

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Raising Homemakers

Deep Roots at Home

New Life On A Homestead

Vintage Remedies

A few months ago, I discovered the Vintage Remedies website. I was intrigued so I ordered a couple of books. These books have been such a great resource, I just had to  pass the information along.

The Handbook of Vintage Remedies  "opens up the world of natural medicine" for your family. The breakdown of individual herbs, what they are good for and how to use them is very helpful. This book is very user friendly even if you have very little background in herbs and natural remedies.

Real Foods on a Budget is packed with tips on how to purchase and prepare real, healthy, food. This book will help you to stock your pantry with real foods without spending a lot of money. The author gives information on where to get the best deals and lots of yummy, healthy recipes to try.

The Vintage Remedies website also offers Study Programs in several areas of natural wellness. The Vintage Remedies for Tweens  looks like it would be a great homeschooling health resource. I am so impressed with these materials that I am considering taking this course!

If you have taken any Vintage Remedies courses, I would love to hear about your experience.

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The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

 

Over the past few years I have been trying to prepare healthier meals for my family. I have tried to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet, but I have learned that I need to be very careful when buying them. Who wants GMO's or fruit and veggies full of pesticide? Not me! We try to grow some of our own fruit and vegetables and buy as much organic as we can, but when I can't, I have found that the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list is very helpful.