sausage efficiency

2012 is all about efficiency.  This year, I will provide tips on increasing efficiency in your meals, parenting, shopping and living.  As you know, I enjoy quick tips so some of these blog will be well…short, simple and EFFICIENT.  

Home made sausage from Healthy Green Kitchen

Sausage.  The girls love love breakfast sausage and probably feast on this twice a week.  But I abhor the greasy sticky hands after forming refrigerated sausage rounds. Keep it frozen and then take a really sharp knife and cut slices. My other tip is to cook it on my knock-off George Foreman indoor grill.  Efficiencies - Less mess, way easier to clean, the grease drips off into a nice cess pool.  And your sausage have these cute grill marks.  View organic breakfast sausage and indoor grills here.  Here's a recipe to make your own sausage.

Lappie top

VTech Brilliant Creations Advanced learning laptop

Another big hit for Christmas this year was a VTech Brilliant Creations Advanced learning laptop.  We bought a Barbie one at Costco for only $32, but the mediocre games,  two color screen, lame graphics, and Barbie theme made me return it.  The My Own Leaptop laptop @ 21 bucks is great for 1-3-year olds because it only has 6 learning stations that are very basic.  I do like that you can choose from 8 email messages and personalize them for your kiddie to enjoy.  Here's why we love the VTech laptop:  LCD color display, animated graphics, 120 learning activities including foreign language and Math.  It also has a back-light so it works well when you travel at night and your kid can create and save letters and art.  Read more reviews here.

I read the whole book!

My little 4-year old is getting ready for the big K next year.  For Christmas we bought her BOB Books Sight Words Kindergarten...and she is in love reading now.  Sight words are common words appearing over and over in your kiddie's reading. You get 10 little books for 12 bucks on Amazon.  Each book has simple stories and short vowels. There's also lots of repetition and your little one will feel very successful after reading a 12 page book. Read on...

BOB Books

Ice cream cone cupcakes

Betty Crocker Ice Cream Cone Cakes

They love ice cream.  They love cake batter.  Slap them together and they will fall over with joy.  I'm making these tasty treats for Belle's upcoming 5th birthday.  Here's what you do:  Mix your cake batter according to your recipe, place cupcake liners into  muffin tins, pour in the batter, place ice-cream cones on top and bake 15-22 minutes.  Cool, remove liner, frost and sprinkle with love. Here are some organic cake recipes. Send me your pics and comments when you make this one!  

Almond milk

I am lovin' some almond milk.  Nutritional bene's:  less calories than milk, low sugar, no cholesterol and a lil protein. I hide mix it in the girls' waffle and pancake batter, oatmeal, and cold cereal.  I also throw some in my decaf chai tea. Here's the recipe for making almond milk at your casa.  My other love is almond meal.  Read more here. Yum.

crayon making

Make new crayons from recycled ones!

Yes, you and the kiddies can make crayons. Too easy. Take the wrappers off your broken crayons, place them in greased muffin tins. Place in a 275 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Pour into lightly oiled (they pop out easier) candy molds or into cookie cutters placed on a foil lined cookie sheet. Then put them in the freezer for another 10 minutes.  Instant fun and crazy colored crayons.  Great inexpensive recycled Christmas gifts.

Toothless Fairy

This week I introduced the Toothless Fairy and the girls ate it up.  This fairy loves candy, not your kid's baby teeth.  Just leave the sweets and she (you) will leave a small gift in return.  Here's what happened:  the girls picked three pieces of their favorite candy from their loot and the rest was left for the fairy on Monday night.  In exchange, the fairy left a new hat/glove/scarf set for each girl the next morning. I dumped the rest of candy in the community bowl at work.  Next up...Valentine's day.