Tools

One of the few items I would not want to live without in my kitchen is this baby!
The list I have used it for:
beating eggs
making pie crust
mixing cake mixes
chopping / slicing veggies and fruits-including potatoes for round fries:)  and apples for pies and.....
smoothies
whipping cream
chopping up cooked ground meat
making bread dough
julienne just about anyting

My Special Needs Friend: My Crockpot

I have an older version of this crock.  It's the Smartpot but my timer thingee doesn't work anymore.  My lid gave up a long time ago and I ordered a new one.  That one gave up, too.  Now, they don't make the lids anymore and I refuse to buy the same style crockpots in the store that I know that they are not gonna have replacement lids for!!!  So, until I find a big crockpot with a glass lid, I am not buying a new one.   Period.  So, I improvise.  Been doing it this way for a while.....like more than a year.

I love my crock pot.  I really, really love it.  It is faithful.  It no longer has a lid but it never stops cooking.  I even used it to make homemade yogurt in  yesterday...but I will write up a separate post for that, as it wasn't the way crockpot365's blog says to use it.  I sorta did my own thing.

Yes, I said that it doesn't have a lid and I use it almost daily for a variety of things.  I use it for anything I would use an oven for.  Anything....well almost.  I don't bake bread in it, although I know some do.  But I have made desserts, baked potatoes, breakfasts...really almost everything. 

Here's how I used it for my meatballs this past week:

First I made up my meat mixture, with seasonings and whatever you add-I added onions, green peppers, eggs to hold it together, a few bread crumbs and some seasonings.  After I used my mixer to mix it all up, I scooped out meat with my ice cream scoop to form balls and placed them into the bottom of the pot. 

 Then, as you can see below, I layered with aluminum foil and repeated the same thing.

 Here's my crock just cookin' up a storm:

I wrote up one of my meatball recipes here.  But on this day, I was making meatballs in sauce for meatball subs.

A word of warning (or a tip, whichever way you see it)  :  if you cook with foil instead of a lid, it cooks much, much faster than with the lid.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  I only cooked these meatballs 2 hrs and waited to warm them until 2 hrs before I was going to serve them and they were steaming hot when we ate!

Organization: Home Management Binder

You are looking at one of my most treasured homekeeping tools!  I used to do the Flylady type Control Journal.  That has since morphed into my Home Management Binder.  I don't have the time to follow an entire notebook system devoted solely to housecleaning.   This binder manages each area of our home, in as much detail as I can manage. Simplify and streamline.  That's what works best for me.

Here's a look at what mine contains:

1. Meals and recipes

There is a recipe section for things that I have printed out and do not have the time to transfer to little index cards. I have a monthly menu made up and will hopefully share that soon and I'm planning to make a grocery shopping list to go with each of those weeks so that the lists is already done for me.

2. Homeschooling

This section contains all those little notes that you write down along the way or lists that you must print out and have no place to store.  For example, I have a 3-pg list of narration starters.  Where would I put that? Also, if I have pending orders I would put email confirmation paperwork in there. 

3.  Personal

This section has a chart with each person's name, date of birth and social security number for easy access.

There are gift ideas and clothing sizes.  This is also where I do some of my "doodling".  I plan for my garden, write down home dec ideas, etc.

4. Household

My secretarial spot.  It has the name, phone number and account number of every agency and business with which we hold accounts.  Also, the library, our hair lady, medical offices' numbers, etc.  There is also a rough schedule in there, just to keep me on the path, but nothing like a Flylady get-up.  We do jurisdictions each day and try to encourage each other to clean behind ourselves as we go along.  Also contains husband's drill schedule and any info that he needs me to have handy.

5.  Ministry

Contains contact list for church families and ideas/notes I have in my head for things church related stuff.

Now the front inner pocket contains immediate needs, such as delivery confirmation slip from the Post Office, or other things I would want immediately at hand on a day-to-day basis and I don't want to leave it out on the countertop to catch a spill.

I do have the zipper pocket in the front (Flylady) that holds handy stuff like pens, paper clips, etc..

Can I see yours???
Link up with me to share our Home Management Binder ideas!

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