Goodbye Facebook! (For now)

I have decided to take a break from Facebook. It was wasting far too much of my time and I also felt like I was becoming narcissistic. Having studied psychology and reading many "self-help" books, I tend to analyze and maybe, more accurately, over-analyze myself. (Other problems cropped up, too, that I won't get into here.)

John advised me to keep my Facebook account but just not go on there very much. Hello? I do not have the self-discipline for that, and I openly admit it. I have been going on John's account so that I could still play Word Challenge. But as for getting on and reading my friends' posts, making my own, and commenting..those days are gone, for now.

Please do not think that I consider YOU narcissistic if you use Facebook. I don't. The analyzing extends to myself only. I would find myself posting something (often trying to be funny or clever) and then going back frequently throughout my day to see what my friends would comment. Uggg!!! AND, I would also read some of my friends' posts and, if I disagreed or found the post controversial, would be annoyed. Sometimes I would even post a comment and, more often than not, would get myself into some trouble.

Ho hum. Ultimately, I decided to disable my account. It was hard at first, but I'm really glad I did. I don't get on the computer everyday like I did and I am much more productive with my time. But, if you would still like to send me a message, I am on my husband's account. He changed his name to "John Cynthia Watkins."

So, Goodbye Facebook. Maybe we can be friends again someday...

Simple Meals: Final Installment

Joe's Special

1-1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, browned and drained
1 lb of spinach, fresh or frozen (I use frozen)
1 onion chopped (I use dehydrated)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
12 eggs, beaten
10 oz cheese

Cook ground beef with onion and drain. Add spinach, salt and garlic salt. Heat until spinach is hot. Add eggs and cook until eggs are done. Then add cheese and heat until melted. You can serve this alone or over rice or pasta.

*****5 stars. Everyone likes this.

Well, I have now shared a week's worth of meals from us simple (and cheap) folk. From time to time, I may share more. Below I have listed some timesaving/money saving tips. When you are feeding 2 adults and 6 children (2 of whom eat like adults), you have to stretch your grocery bill. And, when you don't enjoy cooking and have limited time to cook, you also need to make quick and easy meals. Here are some tips:

1. Buy family size packages of ground beef (about 5 lbs). Cook and divide into one pound batches. Refridgerate or freeze.
2. Eat potatoes. This week I got 10 lbs of potatoes for $.68 at Walmart. I actually need to go back and get more.
3. Eat pasta. Whenever there is a good deal, we stock up. Recently we bought tons of pasta @ 2lbs for $1.
4. Eat beans. Per pound, they are a lot cheaper than beef, chicken, etc. I never buy beans for more than $1 per pound. They are a great source of protein and take on the taste of whatever you're cooking them with. I often put them in spaghetti sauces, lasagna, and other dishes that require ground beef.
5. Eat eggs. Eggs are another great source of protein and are very cheap. We stock up when eggs are less than $1 per dozen.
6. Frozen veggies are often cheaper than fresh and they taste just as good.
7. Have cereal as a weekend breakfast treat and have pancakes during the week. Pancake mixes that you just add water to are so convenient and quick. I buy both regular pancake mix and whole wheat, then combine them. I also add quick oats to them, too (I got this idea from my s-i-l, Bonnie.)
8. Have 2 or more meatless dishes per week.

If you have any timesaving/money saving ideas for meals, please share in the comments! Thanks!

Dinner- 6th Installment

Tonight's dinner was as follows:

Cereal and milk
Toast

Dinner-5th Installment

NOT YOUR BORING OL' POTATO SOUP

I love this recipe. You can cook it in a crock pot or not. I don't. It takes about 1 hour to prepare. This makes ALOT of soup...so cut recipe in half if you have a smaller family.

10 c. water
12 potatoes peeled and cubed
8 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 stick of butter
1 c. diced celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. dehydrated onions (you can use fresh onion, I like dehydrated because my kids never notice them, they are really small and seem to disappear)
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 c. milk
8 oz of sharp cheddar, shredded
1 pound frozen chopped broccoli
1 pound frozen chopped baby spinach
Combine all ingredients except the milk and cheese. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes and broccoli are tender (about 20 minutes or so).
Add cheese and milk. Heat through until cheese is melted, maybe another 5 minutes.

If you do this in the crockpot, cook all ingredients except milk and cheese for 7-8 hours on high. Then stir in milk and cheese. Heat thoroughly, until cheese melts.

I served this in bread bowls. My kids (the younger ones) think it's pretty fun to eat out of a bread bowl and so they seem to eat more. : ) ****4 stars

So far, can you tell I like one dish meals?? So much easier... and I NEED easy!

A Spring Sunday

Today was a typical Sunday. Although church begins at 1pm, we didn't make it on time. *sigh* It really cuts our day in half to have church so late. By the time we come home and have dinner, the day is pretty much gone.

We decided after dinner to go for a drive. This is a family favorite. We all piled in and drove around, looking for baby animals. We headed out towards Benjamin and down to Payson, driving by the fields to see if we could spot any baby cows or lambs. We did! We also saw some baby goats.

In Payson, we were driving and I spotted some little lambs. They were adorable! As I tried to get John's attention to pull over, I was squealing and could not form my words to let him know. He figured it out, however, because of the squealing. I was incoherent, but me squealing = something cute. Hee hee. They were adorable and we all enjoyed oogling at them.

By the time we got home, it was pretty late. Sundays always go by way too fast and I stay up way too late in a vain attempt to keep Monday from coming. It never works and then, here I am Monday morning, extremely tired. I always regret it, but never change it. Oh well.

Here's what we had for dinner...this is a family favorite and gets ***** 5 stars because everyone loves it.

Creamed Corn Over Toast

3 or 4 cans of creamed corn
2 or 3 cans of corn
butter-maybe half of a stick
1/2 can of condensed milk
garlic salt, onion powder and pepper to taste
Combine and heat.
While that's warming, toast some bread. We need 1 loaf. Then to serve, break up a piece or 2 of toast onto your plate and then pour the creamed corn over top. Sooooo good and very easy. A great meal for a Sunday.