Cooking & Living It Up On A Ground Beef Budget

Yoplait is introducing their new Frozen Yogurt and it is yummy!

You kind find it in the freezer section available in a variety delicious flavors in pints and bars! I picked up the Harvest Peach ones and they are wonderful. Yoplait Frozen Yogurt is a good source of calcium, natural flavors and contain live and active cultures.

Head over to Yoplait.com to learn more. Click on over and like Yoplait on Facebook.

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Fill Some Tummies This Winter

The end of the year is one of the busiest for a few reasons; there are flights to book, cards to write and gifts to buy, not to mention the seemingly constant string of holiday parties to attend and potlucks to cook for.  But while you’re enjoying your home-cooked lasagna, followed by a steaming mug of hot cocoa and plate of freshly-baked cookies this winter, it’s important to keep a much bigger picture of food in mind.

According to ConAgra Foods®, over 1 in 5 kids in the United States don’t know where their next meal is coming from and over 16 million (almost 22% of all U.S. children) are considered “food insecure,” meaning they don’t know how long the food they do have will last.  The statistics are scary, but luckily there are many ways to help bring this number down—and what better time to give back than as we head into a new year?  The following are simple ways to fill up some hungry tummies this winter:

Donate

Donating food might not be the most original way to give back this season, but it’s a popular activity because it’s just so valuable.  Non-perishable goods like canned fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice and beans can be lifesavers for hungry families and help ensure regular meals.  Drive down the street and you’ll probably find somewhere looking for food donations, from churches and synagogues to office buildings and corporate chains.

Use Your Words

There are other ways to donate food that don’t involve shopping at all.  Slim Jim® is a prime example: they’re currently running a promotion where they will donate one Slim Jim for every short note written to the troops through their website (you can do this here).  It takes all of two minutes, you don’t have to leave your house and you can still feel good about feeding someone deserving.

Start Cooking

For those of you who feel most comfortable in the kitchen, donating homemade food to families in need is another excellent way to give back to your community.  Some food banks and other donation centers accept holiday cookies and other goodies to give their patrons some treats that are a little more festive and enjoyable than typical food donations.

Volunteer Your Time

If you can’t stand the kitchen, try something a little more social.  Volunteering at a soup kitchen requires zero culinary skills but still allows you to feed dozens of people in need.  For some, actually interacting and talking with those they are helping can be make the experience especially rewarding.

Giving back feels good—both for you and for the hungry child or adult whose tummy you’ll be making very happy.  So take a minute this season to remember that health and happiness are some of the most valuable gifts out there, and that giving them is one of the easiest things you can do this winter.

Author Bio: This is a guest post written on behalf of ConAgra Foods, who demonstrates their commitment to helping children and families get access to food and live healthy lives through their participation in the Child Hunger Ends Here Project and their dedication to the ConAgra Foods Foundation.  For more information, visit www.conagrafoods.com.

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We were out and about doing some Christmas shopping the other day and stopped in one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, Panera Bread.  The weather is getting cooler here in the south and their wholesome soup will just warm you up!

My daughter had her favorite Broccoli Cheddar Soup along with the new Big Kid Grilled Cheese. Yum!

( I had to try a bite of that Big Kid Grilled Cheese and loved it.)

I just had to try the new All Natural Sonoma Chicken Stew and my favorite sandwich Bacon Turkey Bravo! I love, love, love the Thumbelina Carrots you will find in the Sonoma Chicken Stew. super tiny, round whole carrots. They really are tiny carrots with big flavor!

A lot of details go into the soups and stews as with all of the items you will find at Panera.

 So when you are out and about in this cold weather stop in Panera Bread and warm up with some soup and a sandwich.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Panera Bread gift card to sample the soup as well as a stipend for my time in writing the post. All opinions are my own.

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This morning I ran out of my liquid laundry detergent and had to have some so I made a powdered version. Quick and easy!

1 bar of Fels Naptha or Ivory soap finely grated (*See my Ivory instructions below)

1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (** NOT Baking Soda)

Mix well and store in an airtight container.

You may need to shake the container before each use to mix it up. Let the dust settle before you open the lid. Use 1 tablespoon for a small or medium load or 2 tablespoons for a large load or in a an frontloader. This does not get all soapy and sudsy. Suds are not needed to clean your clothes.

Keep out of reach of children.

If you choose to use Ivory here is a super easy way to get fine flakes. Place 1 bar of Ivory soap in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave for 90 seconds. It will expand tremendously and look similar to meringue. Allow it to cool completely and with your hands flake it apart. If there are still chunks microwave in increments of 15 seconds allowing it to cool and continue to flake apart. Don’t try microwaving other soaps it won’t work!

Click on over and see my recipe for liquid laundry detergent.

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