Chicken Curry

This is one of our families favorite recipes! I learned the original recipe from my sister Hannah and she learned it from her friend who grew up in Pakistan ! I have adapted it a little and its a hit every time! This is a great way to use part of a whole chicken..I usually roast a chicken once a week and try to get three meals out of it! anyways...thats for another post for another day...


Chicken Curry

6 tablespoons olive oil ( or any healthy fat ...ghee, coconut oil, butter)

2 cups chicken ( chopped in bite size pieces)

4 cups tomatoes or 1 large can diced tomatoes with juice

1 large onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

3-4 tablespoon chili powder

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 to 2 teaspoons turmeric ( more or less depending on how spicy you like it..I usually do 1 tsp)

1 large bunch cilantro chopped

Directions:

add olive oil ( or other fat choice) to large cooking pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until tender and translucent. Add chicken, tomatoes and spices. Mixture should be wet enough that it can simmer easily and not become dry. add more fat if your worried. once mixture is simmering put a lid on the pot and let simmer for 45 minutes. Its important that its left to simmer on low for awhile...this makes all the flavor come together! Once mixture has had a good time simmering turn off heat and stir in chopped cilantro!

I serve over rice!

Yum!

Natural ways to calm baby on airplanes

I recently flew back home to San Diego with Anna and I found chamomile tea to be very helpful!

The morning of our departure I boiled some water and seeped two bags of chamomile tea for about 30 minutes and also added a little honey (Note: Do not add honey if  they are younger then 1 year old , you could do a little pure maple syrup instead) . I then put it in the fridge until we left. Security did not mind me bringing her sippy through with liquid in it but if that makes you nervous you can do it all once you get into your terminal. I am sure Starbucks would glady give you some hot water!

Thats what I did and it worked great! She played for a bit and then fell asleep for 2 hours! I have also heard that rubbing lavender essential oil on the bottom of their little feet can help calm as well!

Happy flying!

Homemade OxyClean!

I found this today on another blog and thought I would share it! The real stuff at the store is so expensive! I am going to whip it up this afternoon and we shall see how it works the next laundry day!

Homemade OxyClean

1 cup water

1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

1/2 cup baking soda

Mix together and soak laundry in it for 20 minutes to overnight and then wash as usual. Or you can just skip the water and pour the peroxide and baking soda directly into the wash with your laundry soap and wash as usual.

My Anna Girl !

I Love being her mom! 

Homemade shampoo and conditioner recipe!

A few of you have asked for the homemade body care recipes I make, so over the next few days I will post them. First up, shampoo and conditioner!

Most commercial shampoos and conditioners have many harmful ingredients in them that sneak right into our skin , these recipes are wonderful alternatives, plus making your own saves lots of money!!There are lots of different recipes for homemade shampoo if you google it but this is the one I like! It is "The no-poo method":)

2 Tablespoons Baking soda
1 cup of Water

Put contents in an old shampoo bottle and shake well before use. Get hair VERY wet and squirt some on your scalp and work down toward ends. It does not foam up like normal shampoo so you really have to work at getting it all through your hair. Once your finished massaging it in to your hair/scalp wash hair clean. Work EXTRA hard at washing hair or it will leave a residue. I have had to experiment a few times with the measurements of baking soda to water content but the above recipe works well for my length and thickness of hair. Don't get discouraged if it does not work the first time and you have to tweak it to your hair type :)

Conditioner

1-2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup water

Add it to a small spray bottle and spray on ends. Rinse well. You may smell like a pickle at first but it washes out fine ! There are other recipes that can be found instead of this one online as well if you cant stand the smell of vinegar.

There ya have it! Happy "no-pooing"!

My new found friend: Coconut Oil!!!!

Have you ever heard of coconut oil? I had not until about a month ago and it has been one amazing find! It is a very heathy alternative to hydrogenated cooking oils such as canola and vegetable oils. I have been on a health food discovery journey, which I will talk more about in the coming post's, and coconut oil has been a handy companion to have join me! In my cooking I use it for cooking oil, and I also try to substitute it for recipes that call for shortening. Not only is it delicious ( I think it is at least, if you don't like the taste of coconut you can get the expeller pressed one that has no taste) but it also has many wonderful health benefits such as protecting against degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease as well as arthritis. It also can help you loose weight and improve your digestive system! You can learn more about its benefits here and here. I found it on Amazon under the "subscribe and save section" and got two bottles of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for 11.75! Almost 6 dollars a bottle which you may think that is a alot! But with all you can do with it , it is actually a amazing deal!Not only do I use this glorious oil for cooking but I also make many hygiene products with it! Such as:

• Tooth paste
•  Lotion
• Aftershave for my hubby
• Diaper Cream
• Leave in conditioner
• Chap Stick

I will give the above recipes over the next few days!

Why not give Coconut Oil a try for yourself? :)

The Joy of an organized home-Cleaning schedule

I have not always been a very organized person. I have always liked order but would never want to do what it took to get there. Since I have become a wife and now a mother I have had to work harder at this task of organization and have found that being organized is actually freeing and can even be fun! Today I will share the joy I have found in having a house cleaning schedule. I found most of my ideas on this from ' Confessions of an organized Homemaker' by Deniece Schofield , which is an excellent book !

When I first starting putting my home together and then tried to keep it together! It was often very discouraging. I felt like I was always cleaning, sorting, planning, rushing to come with what to make for dinner ( more on this later) and so on....now I feel like I can relax and my home is not perfect but It has order and peace. I also have more time to do the things that really matter and things I want to do! This is what my cleaning schedule looks like:

Monday- Plan my weekly menu/ grocery shopping list, making sure I am all stocked up on home supplies and add any to my list that will be out soon. Laundry.

Tuesday- Dusting. Bathroom. Order food not bought at grocery store ( we are part of a food Co-Op in which some things need to be ordered online)

Wednesday- Make baby food, wash Anna's cloth diapers.

Thursday- Floors ( I usually do a quick sweep downstairs everyday but this is the day I mop.). "Pick one spot" ( this is for that " nagging project that you always look and wish you could have the time to do ( organize a closet, switch out summer/winter clothes etc...) ) I love this one! It is so helpful!

Friday- Grocery shop/ pick up food at Co-Op, quick tidy up for the weekend.

Saturday- Run another load of cloth diapers if needed

Sunday- Rest!!

This may all seem like a lot but i mostly get it all done before lunch , if not before. Obviously this is my schedule for what my home and family needs and you would need to fit it to your family needs.
Truly doing this has been so helpful for me and the nicest part is when I sit down to relax during Anna's nap time I can rest knowing that I don't need to worry about the floors if they are little dusty because that is a job for another day!

You may be like me and not think you are very organized but give it a try for one week and I promise you will have a lot more peace in your home because things will be running more efficiently.Give it a try and let me know what you think!