Not your momma’s goulash: One price, two meals, endless flavor possibilities!

Ok, for most of the world, it’s that time of year again. The time we crave warm, savory, comfort foods. Fall is a wonderful season, especially for the food. But, all the pumpkin-flavored recipes and chili dishes are a little monotonous. For this reason, I am sharing a very easy, very versatile recipe that will have even your picky children asking for more.

Please keep in mind that this recipe does have endless possibility in way of flavor. Stick with the base, change the seasonings to create a Mexican, Mediterranean, pizza, or gumbo flavored dises! Add in different vegetables or meats to fit your own tastes!

As my dear friend Anne says:

“(the goulash) its so versatile and budget friendly”. And isn’t that what all busy moms need? An easy, versatile, and budget friendly recipe! Yes!

Anne adds in extra vegetables to make it healthier and stretch the meat, which is the most expensive part. Anne also created the second meal from this, stuffed bell peppers by combining the goulash, rice, and corn, then baking it in blanched bell peppers.

Ok, so enough back story, how about the recipe and some pics?!

Not your momma’s goulash:

IMPORTANT: SERVE WITH BROWN RICE! Not white rice. Brown rice has a different texture and is healthier than noodles or white rice.

Ingredients (which I bet you have on hand!) & Instructions:

1lb hamburger

1 small or medium onion

2-3 cloves garlic

1 big can or 2 small cans tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes (optional)

 1 ¼ cups water (do you want chunky or soupy? Soupy keep as is, more chunky change to 1cup)

1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce

¾ tsp oregano

½ tsp basil

1/8 tsp majoram

**********Note: You can substitute these spices with 2 tsp Italian seasoning

                 Also: this is where you can add in vegetables or different spices for different flavors. But try this one first!

Steps:

#1:  Start cooking your brown rice according to instructions. Chop onion and garlic, and cook WITH ground beef.

This gives the beef itself an amazing flavor. Always cook your beef with onion and garlic.

#2: Once beef is cooked, drain grease. Throw into a big cooking pot and add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil and turn down heat to low simmer.

#3: Cover and let simmer 20-40 minutes.

#4: Serve over brown rice and ENJOY!

 

Ok, now what to do with the leftovers ('cause we made enough to end world hunger)? Mix any remaining rice with the goulash. Place it in the refrigerator. The next day, blanch some bell peppers by throwing them in boiling water for a minute or two. Fill with goulash mix and bake in the oven (@350) until heated through. Top with mozzarella cheese, bacon, or whatever else you want! Quick and easy!

 

If you love this recipe, please pin it, share it, and follow us for more! If you’ve altered it, please share so we can try it too!

Yours truly,

Isabelle

Ha! Finally one post without snarky remarks concerning being a mom! I can do ANYTHING!

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (Homemade Chicken Broth)

So, this morning I was up at two am with a sick child. And because 2am for me means much much later in the day for my sister, I called her. Her family was sick this week as well, which is quite the coincidence, but she was telling me about the chicken noodle soup they made and how GREAT it was. She told me how to make it, including my own broth, and I was surprised at how EASY it seemed! Can you believe I started cooking this at 4am? I AM crazy.

Please note, I did make some adjustments to what I had on hand, I hope my sister posts her recipe later! (Hint Hint) ADJUSTMENTS: using frozen mixed veggies because my "fresh" carrots weren't so fresh and I didn't have enough flour to make homemade noodles.

Also, I have tried many, many times to make homemade chicken noodle without success. Even using store bought broth and/or bullion. This was a hit!

Here is the finished product!!

And for the easy-peasy recipe:
#1: Fill big cooking pot to handle (see picture, or just fill close to top of pot) with water (water will significantly boil out, so you will end up with a pot approx. half-filled with broth) Throw in six raw boneless, skinless chicken breast, salt, and pepper.

#2: Boil the chicken until it is cooked. Remove chicken from pot and put in the fridge.

#3: Now skim the water in the pot to remove the white foamy stuff and what little fat is on top.

#4: Add in about 1/2 chopped white onion, two cloves chopped garlic, and veggies (1-2 cups). Add more salt to taste. Your broth should taste like broth, not chicken-flavored water. Salt makes it oh so yummy. Add more pepper to taste as well.

#5: Bring to a boil, covered.

#6: While boiling/simmering broth, shred or cube about three of the cooked chicken breasts (or more if you prefer).

#7: Add chicken and 1+cup bowtie noodles (or what you have on hand if you also lack the flour necessary to make homemade). Bring to rolling boil (covered) for the time the pasta package says to cook noodles.

#8: Taste again, add salt if needed, and enjoy!

BTW the longer the soup sits, the more the onion, garlic, veggies, and chicken flavor it. Keep it simmering on low throughout the day OR
cool it in the fridge,  place in freezer bags, and freeze for an easy future meal!

As always, if you enjoy, please share and talk about our blog!

Yours Truly,
Isabelle

Natural Carpet or Upholstery Refresher!

Ok, so I had one of those lightbulb moments this morning. I was going to meet a friend and ride together today and needed to clean out my mom wagon. After getting the miscellaneous toys, trash, food particles off the floors and out of the crevices (yes, I have those crazy things called kids that can ruin even the new car smell in less than two seconds flat), I realized my car desperately needed a little freshening up. You know, the kind of freshening up women do before going to the OBGYN. Yes, bad example but the only one I could think of.

Back to the car, in a rare moment of inspiration, I took some Epsom salt, baking soda, and mixed those in a bag with lavender and rosemary oil (not a great scent combination, fyi). After mixing, I poured some into a little satchel and shook it all over the car’s flooring. And took some pics while I was at it!

Yes, I just made homemade and NATURAL carpet refresher. You know, the kind you buy in the store that is like crazy expensive compared to how much you actually get in the container? Not to mention, those probably have some questionable ingredients.

 

Since I do not have carpet in my home, I am not going to make a big batch. BUT if you have carpet, here’s a tip: repurpose an old parmesan cheese container (or any container with holes and a lid) and use that!

 

Other uses for this “carpet freshener”:

In satchel form for cars, shoes, closets, dresser drawers.

In mega powder form for carpets, couches, mattresses, area rugs.

I am certain you will find other uses as well!

To make, mix together equal parts baking soda (to eat bad odors) and Epsom salt (to hold essential oils). Add desired essential oils (maybe a lemon scent or even vanilla?!! The possibilities are as endless as the selection of essential oils at your disposal!). Shake. Pour onto surface. Let sit for a few minutes or more. Vacuum, and voila! Refreshed fabric!

I think I should note to avoid peppermint oil. As much as I LOVE the smell of peppermint, it can irritate skin. It does not bother my skin, but when I was using peppermint in my homemade laundry softener, my son kept getting light rashes. Lavender oil is great for providing anti-bacterial anti-fungal protection, btw. Which is why I usually always use lavender in everything even though it is not my preferred scent.

As always, if you found this helpful or enjoyed, please pin away, follow, and talk about it!!

Yours truly,

Isabelle

A Second Introduction

Hello and welcome to our blog! I am Paigette. I get to stay at home with my three young children The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby. My day revolves around taking care of them and my home. I am constantly searching for a more natural, yet frugal, and at the same time relatively easy way to do so. This is my life!

Before children, I had the typical American lifestyle and diet. I ate too much fast food and everything that I “made” at home came out of a can or box. I cleaned my home with heavy chemicals that choked me up irritated my asthma and broke out my skin. All this because nothing would be truly clean otherwise (or so I thought).

After having my first child several years ago, I realized there was a better way. Something just clicked. The Mommy Switch, I guess. I realized I had a passion for the “natural way” of things; exclusive breastfeeding was the stepping stone for that. I had motivation for a frugal way because I quit my paying job for the stay at home one. On top of it all I need things to be easy and practical. Who doesn’t?!

These new motivations have helped shape who I am today. While my sister and I may be totally different in many ways, we are just as much the same. Our families inspire us to be better, do better, and to never settle on the conventional or text book way of things. Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes, so together we have created this blog. We plan on sharing our methods and Aha! Moments, and our everyday adventures in Mommyhood.  Please enjoy!

 

Tricks of Busy Moms

Ok, so it’s been a long time since my last post. A recent family illness, among other things, took precedence over blogging. For that, I apologize to my probably non-existent fan base (who I truly appreciate).

 Moving on, life gets busy. This is a fact whether you are single with work and a social life or a SAH mom with kids and schedules. This post may be titled Tricks of Busy Moms, but don’t let that fool you. Everyone can benefit from some EASY organization that makes getting out the door in the morning more efficient-therefore EASY.

In this post, I am going to share some of my most valued, and some new, tricks that help me survive this thing called parenting.

Item One: Bath Time:

Ok, so kids love love love bath toys. But bath toys and products are annoying. First, the toys usually end up lying in soapy bubble scum at the bottom of the tub. Second, they get gross and need cleaned. Third, where to put all those cleaning necessities? Please look to your left for how to organize cleaning products (read: shampoo, conditioner, soap, scrubby poofs, and washcloths). As for those bath time toys: buy or use a strainer (or any basket with holes on the bottom). This helps the toys dry out completely between bath times and makes cleaning them even easier.

 

To clean with ease and quickly, simply pick up the basket or strainer (toys included-obviously our toy basket is a tad full right now), and dip into a sink of bleach or lavender water. If bleaching, do a quick rinse by dunking in a sink of plain water. Place back into tub. DONE! I use the same kind of storage for toothbrushes, except not dunking in bleach but in warm lavender water and follow with a rinse.

Item Two: Mornings

Ok, getting a kid ready for school in the morning is a pain in the tush. Seriously, starting to curse my M-F mornings. To make this easier (and for those of you without kids, aka people with social lives) I made a place for ALL the necessary leaving house items (purses, backpacks, motorcycle vest, gym bag, etc.). To do: use or buy cheap three shelf and invest in some command strips (some heavy duty to withstand backpack weights). Take out the shelves, command strip away, and place baskets on top for important things. For my family this means hair ties and bows which eliminates hunting them down when I am trying to get my poor daughter’s hair from ‘homeless’ to ‘pinterest-approved’.

Item Three: After-school

Coming into the home, shoes go into shoe bins directly next to door (separate kids/parents shoes), keys go on key hook by door (no more searching for these), and bags go back to the shelf.

 

School books are organized as well: Non-fiction on top of the going-out shelf, and fiction go on another shelf. The rest of the fiction books go into a bin in the kids room.

Now notice the table. All the tools needed for homework and storing important school info is set in one corner of the table. And that is where it stays. Speaking of school, I keep a jar with scissors in the kitchen for saving those boxtops!!!  Please also note the table cloth.

 

Did I say table cloth? I meant fabric shower curtain. That’s right. SO SO SO easy to clean. Trust me. Another use for fabric shower curtains? How about in a pre-packed beach bag? Sand does not stick to them, they can get wet, and are easy to clean! Not to mention you can buy them in so many cute patterns & colors, talk about personalization!!!

Item Four: Beach Days (or Pool days) 

And speaking of beach bags (or pool bags) this is how I keep mine ready:  One container of vinegar (in case of beach stings which, yes, is in a margarita mix bottle...), sunscreen, fabric shower curtain, baby powder (for removing sand, IT REALLY WORKS!!), plastic bag for wet towels/clothes, and water proof bag of beach toys. Notice these all go into another water proof tote.

Those are all the tricks I am sharing for now, but many moms have great systems that deserve to be shared and noted. Feel free to share your own in the comments!!  I hope to add more tips and tricks to help make routines and getting in &out less painful and much faster!

 

Again, if you enjoyed or know someone who needs this, please pin, share, and talk about it! :)

Yours truly,

Isabelle

Clean the Air in Your Home, Naturally!

Ok, so in the debut issue of Mother Earth Living, a wonderful magazine btw, they had an article discussing a home that had an atrium in it. The owner’s testified to how the oxygen levels in the home cured asthma and allergies. Yes, we are all a bunch of Earth loving hippies. The thing is, I thought there might be something to that. We all know plants put some much needed oxygen into the air.

But did you know the extent to which plants actually filter out harmful chemicals? Think chemicals from the paint on your walls, the chemicals in your carpet, and those awfully smelly (and toxic!) cleaning supplies. And our homes are so well insulated these days that these harmful pathogens (no I am not a doctor so I may have used this word incorrectly) just hang around in our homes until the get trapped in the air filter.

My solution? Fill your house with plants! According to those genius people at NASA (yup! Geniushood is required for employment at NASA), house plants are AMAZING!

Here’s why:

The plants listed below filter out benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and carbon dioxide. Some plants filter different airborne bad guys better than others, so be creative and mix and match! Also, Boston Ferns act as natural humidifiers! How cool is that?!

For those of you lacking a green thumb or are serial plant murderers, FEAR NOT! At least one plant on the below list is impossible to kill, short of setting it on fire and dancing naked around it while chanting, of course. Please do not do that. In fact, please do not do anything I suggest. Except give houseplants a try. They need homes too.

               Some of my plant babies, mmmm, smell that clean air!

 

Ok, so NASA studied plants:

(not sure if there are any pet/child toxic plants on here-double check before you buy!)

English Ivy (so pretty and low maintenance!)

Spider plant (also very low maintenance)

Golden Pothos

Peace Lily

Chinese Evergreen

Snake Plant (If you kill this plant, well nevermind, you CANNOT kill this plant. That’s why it’s commonly called a “mother-in-law” plant—no kidding).

Heartleaf Pholdendron

Selloum Philodendron

Red-Edged Dracarna

Elephant Ear Philodendron

Cornstalk Dracaena

Janet Craig Dracaena

Warneck Dracaena

Weeping Fig

Now, those are the ones NASA focused on. If you are a serial plant murderer, I am going to suggest the snake plant, spider plant, and English ivy combo. These are very easy to keep alive even under the harshest, most neglectful conditions. Also talk to the employees in the garden center where you shop, they are there for a reason and plant knowledge is that reason. Ask them what plants you can’t kill, what plants will do well in bathrooms, kitchens, low light, highlight, and so on.

Also, very very important note: For optimal results in cleaning air, it is recommended to use 1 houseplant for every 100 sq. ft. of house. So you live in a 1200 ft apartment? You need 12 plants.

Happy House Planting!

Yours Truly,

Isabelle

As always, if you enjoy please talk about it, share it, pin it, follow it!

 

Some information taken from  http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h110indoorair.html,specifically.

Google search NASA study on houseplants and clean air and a plethora of results will come up. J

Easy At-Home Fixes for Scratched Tables and Water Spots

I know I promised a post on houseplants, but something more pressing came up. So, the other day a friend asked if I had any homemade tricks to get rid of scratches on the table top. I completely understand her question, sadly, as I also have two children and nothing that stays “new”.

Ok, I am not sad about having kids themselves, I am sad about the side-effects of kids. Kids are a joy. You should have a couple, really. It will be fun!  (Have a kid they said, it will be fun they said…) Yes, that was a bad joke. Have a kid or don’t, not my business and definitely don’t base your decision on anything I say. Back to the table:

Well, honestly, I did not have any little tips or tricks. I kind of let my table go off the deep end. It is stained, nicked, scratched…you name it, from its former life as a kid buffet of paints, coloring, play-dough, food, dirty diapers (once upon a time), toys, vomit, birthday parties, and really, this list never ends.

And that is when the inspiration hit! What a wonderful post! I decided to Google my way through multiple, natural-like methods of repairing scratches on table tops and share this journey with the world!

 Please note, the following solutions are a collection of Google search results and Pin-spiration! I found a lot of the same solutions; therefore, I’m not listing specific sites.

Ok, so here are nine methods I tried:

Equal parts olive oil and lemon juice (buff)    

Equal parts olive oil and vinegar (buff)

Brown Crayon (color)            Eyebrow Pencil (color)

Toothpaste(buff)                   Tea Bags (left on 1 hour)

Coffee (Left on 1 hour)          Mayonnaise (left on 1 hour)

Walnuts (rub)

 

Doesn't the mayo look like yummy icing??? I just want to sprinkle those walnuts on top of it and pretend its cake.

Everything but the coffee, mayo, and walnuts was a fail. The tea bags actually left water spots- so frustrating.

That said, the coffee grounds were a big mess. Finished product kind of worth it, but the mayo was just as great and much easier to clean. The mayo also made quick work of some annoying water spots! Yaya!

Walnuts were AMAZING on those white scratches!! (Bottom right corner of pic below)

 

               Wish I could take a better photo of the entire table, sorry!

Final Thoughts:

Don't try these when you are hungry. I craved every smell, from wanting to eat coffee to a roast beef sandwich drowned in mayo, among other slightly odd and alarming cravings concerning said materials.

I really wish I had just rubbed nuts all over the table first, then slathered on a thick coating of mayo.

I am happy to say that my table has mostly recovered from its former life as a child’s play thing! Rehab was an interesting experience, but I am hoping with the support of a table cloth and my Aunt Betty’s vinyl table cover style, Table will stay on the road of recovery. We remain hopeful, as always, and hope the table in your life finds the same happiness.

Yours Truly,

Isabelle

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Cleaning hardwood floors, or, Homemade Floor Cleaner

I have wood floors. I hate hate hate wood floors. Yes, they are pretty. Yes, spills clean up nicely from them. Yes, they don’t collect the dirt like carpet. So why do I loathe wood floors so intensely? They are impossible to keep clean and streak free! Really, I vacuum and mop and then catch streaks of cleaning solution in a glare or infinitesimal crumbs everywhere .

Enough! I decided to try two things to combat this. First, I dumped my old mop (both of them, a Swifter mop and a steam mop) and tried Hoover’s Floormate(It was a lovely anniversary gift from my darling, thoughtful, and caring husband ). I will get to a review on the Floormate in just a bit. Second, I made my own floor cleaner. Again, I will get to this in the next few paragraphs.

Back to the Floormate. The Floormate has three settings: Vacuum, Mop, and Dry. After opening the box and setting up, I tried a dry vacuum. Ultimate fail on the after-lunch mess from my kids. I set it aside with every intention of returning it. Interestingly enough, I was also babysitting my neighbor’s kid around the same time and always mopped right before she came over.

Wait, you don’t frantically clean your food-covered, kid infested floors before witnesses arrive? You also don’t require visitors to provide you with a specific arrival time so you can ensure maximum cleanliness when they show up? Ok, so I like to pretend that I have it all together, it is like a grown-up version of dress-up and playing house in one. Getting side tracked, back to the Floormate.

 So one random day before my neighbor friend came over, I decided to give the Floormate mop setting a chance (I hadn’t gotten around to returning it yet). I threw some homemade floor cleaner in it and went to town. Again, I was not really happy. It felt like it took forever, just like shampooing carpets except wood floor version. HOWEVER this same day my friend compliments how great my floor looks. Really, she had never done this once before. Not one compliment after many visits on my freshly and laboriously cleaned floors until this day. I was sold, hands down, on the Floormate mop.

 

               My floor before mopping tonight. Gross right? What is that????

                              Ahhh, much better. Post mop.

Some things I enjoy about the Floormate after using it for a few months:

#1: Automatic drying feature-not perfect but still fantastic!

#2: Seeing the dirty water tank. Yes, it is gross but I love seeing all the crap that is permanently off my floors!

#3: This machine sucks up the little particles my dry vacuum misses while I mop!

#4: The numerous compliments I get about how great/clean the floors look!

#5:  I do not feel like mopping takes forever. I feel like it takes the same amount of time as steam mopping.

 

       Dirty water ONE DAY since last floor cleaning. Another EEEWWWW!

Ok, so back to the homemade floor cleaner. I don’t have an exact recipe. If I did measure, this is what I guess it would be:

5-6 cups water

1-2 cups white vinegar  (My go-to cleaner for just about everything!)

¼- ½ cup rubbing alcohol (completely optional-I do this because alcohol helps dry up moisture. I feel this reduces mopping streaks)

3-4 drops peppermint oil (Hawaii has lots of bugs, this is my natural bug deterrent)

5-10 drops (possibly way more than that) lavender oil (antibacterial, anti-fungal, and so much more!)

And that is it. I put it in an empty juice container, shake, and use! The essential oils mask the vinegar smell (my husband hates this smell) and I kind of enjoy the peppermint/lavender combo.

  All the ingredients to a great floor cleaner!

Another note, I am not a wood flood expert. I don’t know if our floors are laminate or real wood, or if that makes any difference when using this cleaner. To be safe, I recommend finding a small test area to mop before taking on your entire floor.

Needless to say, after several wood floor mopping fails, I am excited and happy to mop now! I hope you find this information useful and that it helps make your own life a little easier, cleaner, and greener!  Happy Mopping!!

Don’t miss next week’s post about houseplants and cleaner air! I promise it will be worth the wait!!

 As always, if you enjoy please share, follow, and talk about it!
                                                          Yours Truly,
                                                             Isabelle

Hello! I think it appropriate to introduce myself in the first blog post. As you can see from the description, my sister and I share this blog. My sister can introduce herself later.

My name is Isabelle. I am a stay at home mom of a four-year-old and a three-year-old. If you think that's rough, wait until you meet my sister! We grew up (mostly) in an extremely rural area. Backwoods does not begin to describe it.. For example, a "Farmer's Market" is the off-chance that someone you know planted too many tomatoes and begs you to take some. No sidewalks, one school PreK-8th grade in a small building, one gas station, and yea, that about covers an entire 20 mile radius.

                            Just a little pic of where I live now <3

As adults, we both relocated to more urban areas. I use this term loosely, urban means any place with an actual population and more than one store. I admit that I often feel a little out of place, or extremely sheltered, in that I am often completely oblivious to the wonders of civilization. That said, I am still learning a lot about healthier living, raising children, and finding my place in the world. It is quite a journey!

With that in mind, we created this little blog to share our experiences, survival tips, and possibly epic fails that make our lives incredibly rich. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer! And if you do, please share!