Substance of Living

Day Menu Item Shopping Sunday Onion Rings Bette Hagman pizza/french flour mix (or gluten free “all purpose” flour mix) 2 Large Yellow Onions Monday Vegan Dude Food: Chili Cheese Fries 2 Russet Potatoes Ground Paprika Chili Powder 1 package Gimme Lean Beef 1 Onion 4 Cloves Garlic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce*** Tomato Paste Hot Sauce Vegetable Stock Cumin Raw Cashews Lemon Nutritional Yeast Dry Mustard Vegan Nacho Cheese Tuesday Guinness Meat Pie 1 Small Brown Onion Minced Beef** Tomato Paste Gravy Powder Frozen Mixed Vegetables ½ can Guinness* 2 cups mashed potatoes 24 pcs puff pastry shells (vol-au-vent cases) Wednesday Skinny Artichoke Dip 13.75 oz Artichoke Hearts packed in water Shallots Fat-Free Greek yogurt Light Mayonnaise Parmesan Cheese Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese Bread Crumbs Thursday Deluxe Nachos Corn Tortillas Dark Red Kidney Beans Olive Tapenade Shredded Cheese Salsa Greek Yogurt (or dairy-fr...

I'm the last person that will tell you to not keep a list of things to do.  I'm the queen of lists.  I'm visual.  I like to color code my events with highlighters or changing the font on the computer.  Guess I haven't given up my box of crayons. I am one of the first to say to keep it simple.  My life hasn't always been that way, but the simplest methods have stayed with me through the years. If you're anything like me, you might have a list in the kitchen telling you what time of day to do a particular chore.  For example, sweeping the kitchen floor, cleaning out a drawer, going over my to-do list in the morning while the coffee is brewing.   In the evening, my list might include doing a load of laundry, sort the mail, scrub the tub after baths are complete. DH and I have pinky promised each other that we will completely 100% unpack and put everything away in our new home.  See, we've moved so many times that we get, I don't know, 80% maybe...

Sports and libations have gone together as long as the two have been around.  Golf is no different. Since moving, I've been taking golf lessons so that DH and I can enjoy a morning out. This past Thursday my instructor and I were talking about what drinks we enjoy.  We both enjoy a good martini and in honor of us sneaking on to the 10th hole, I wanted to celebrate him with a drink neither one of us have had. For those of you who play golf, you know that the 19th hole is actually the libations hole.  In my case we snuck on (please don't tell anyone) for a quick terrain-reading course; which was in fact, the 10th hole. Ingredients 3 oz. (2 shots) Lime flavored Vodka 1 oz. Grenadine   P.S., We're linking with Sumo's Sweet Stuff Please share me with your friends! Please forward this post to your friends or better yet share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  THANKS!  Your comments and help in spreading the news about this site is ALWAY...

Gluten-Free websites I've learned about this month: Please join me in a new journey to find at least 5 websites each month that will be highlighted in (at a minimum) the following categories: Gluten-Free Vegan Vegetarian Decorating DIY Money Management If you have a website or know of an author that you'd like to see showcased please let me know. A Gluten-Free Day A Gluten-Free Day Emilia , the author/chef/photographer of this site lives in Finland.  She cooks gluten-free along with some soy-free, egg-free, and diary-free.  She prefers psyllium husk powder over xanthan gum and feels the former lends a texture more similar to gluten when baking. Emilia answers a question many of us have:  " What I do if I accidentally eat gluten?" "I always know when I have eaten gluten because I get at first a strange empty feeling in my stomach, after that I start having pains. My general strategy is to take L-Glutamine powder one t...

Are you like me and secretly wish you were more like Martha Stewart when it comes to your house, garden, decorating, entertaining, and just about every other aspect?  If only Martha could advise me on finances I'd not need look any further. However, I've recently come to start channeling Suze Orman where my finances are concerned and went online today to find a spreadsheet by her and wasn't able to find anything.  She has several books about family planning, trusts, and why finances are so important but sometimes just the basics are needed.  Do you remember the show where the guy says, "Just the facts, Ma'am."?  So, until Suze starts emailing me personally, here are some budget worksheets to get us started.  There are more out there for holidays , vacations , gift purchasing , weddings , and just about everything else. Here are the basics... Quick-Start Budget by Dave Ramsey Household Monthly Budget by Practical Spreadsheets Household ...

You've probably had maple butter with your hush puppies at fish camps or all-you-can-eat fish restaurants.  This would be delicious as well. This will make a delicious gift.  Gifts from the kitchen are economical and always appreciated.  There always seems to be a last-minute gift to give or dinner to attend and this can be made with plenty of time to spare.  This is such an easy item to make and combine a couple loaves of bread during the holidays for a gift. Ingredients 1/2 cup Butter 1 ripe small to medium Banana 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar 1 teaspoon Carmel Liqueur Allow the butter to soften.  This takes about 5-15 minutes depending on the type of butter you're using.  I like to freeze bananas when they become a little too ripe to eat so I brought one out and thawed it in the microwave for about a minute. Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and using your mixer, start out on a low speed to incorporate ever...

Stuff is sticky .  I don't think I'm hoarder but I've certainly been known to collect things.  Now, I'm in the process of downsizing and simplifying. I've assigned sentimental value to my collections.  This , I received for my 20th birthday; This , I bought while visiting Texas, This , oh my goodness, I can't get rid of this - this was found on the trail while hiking on a break during a bike ride.  The memories are there every time I look at an item. What I've found over the past few months is that the memories are still with me.  I don't need the stuff to keep the memories alive.  In fact, some of the memories are allowed to slip away if they so choose. Some items were sold on Craigslist , word-of-mouth, or through a moving sale.  The majority, however, were donated to local charities .  Then some of the things were passed along to family, friends, or neighbors. Initially, the thought of having to get rid of things fo...

Day Menu Item Shopping Sunday BBQ Chicken, Spinach and Pasta Frittata Elbow Pasta 1 Small-Medium B BQ Chicken 1 Small Red and Green Capsicum* 5-6 Scallions Garlic Fresh or Frozen Spinach Fresh Basil Eggs Cheddar Cheese Parmesan Cheese Chili Flakes Lemon wedges for serving (optional) Monday Vichyssoise 3 Large Yukon Potatoes 1 Large Onion 15 Ounces Chicken Broth 1 Pint Sour Cream green onions (optional) Tuesday Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole Chicken Broth Brown Rice 2 Large Onions Soy Sauce** Basil Cauliflower Florets Broccoli Florets 4 Medium Sweet Red Peppers 2 Garlic Cloves Salted Cashews Cheddar Cheese Wednesday Broccoli Three Cheese Bake French fried onions 1 bag Frozen Broccoli and Cheese Sauce   Cream Cheese 1 Red Pepper Red Pepper Sauce Thursday Mom's Minestrone Soup 3 (14 ounce) Cans W hite Beans Pancetta or Bacon (Vegan Bacon) 2 Cloves Garlic 1 Onion 2 Celery S...