How to Make Lemon Garlic Chicken with a Wonderbag

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Wonderbag, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #WonderBag http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

Recently I was trading quick dinner recipe ideas for the busy holidays on one of my Facebook groups. Most of our ideas were slow cooker recipes especially when it comes to this Lazy Budget Chef. I swear sometimes we would not eat if it weren’t for our slow cooker!

Then I got a little jolt of how wonderfully different my friends are when one of members of the group said she doesn’t have a slow cooker because she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving it plugged in when she is not home. Huh. I never thought of that.

I had her in mind when I got an offer to try cooking a meal in a  Wonderbag, a non electric heat retention and insulated slow cooker.

10 Sweet and Savory Roast Pumpkin Seed Recipes

Do you know how to make a little dog smile?

Buy her a pumpkin.

Or four.

When Lacey gets nervous, or anxious she sometimes has an accident and tries to eat the evidence (gross.)

Our behaviorist suggested we give Lacey either pumpkin or pineapple because it is something dogs can eat safely that "goes down tasting good and comes out tasting bad." Lacey quickly cleared out my fresh pumpkin puree stash in the freezer.

When I thought Lacey was over this little issue, I stopped adding dehydrated pumpkin to her food and she proved me wrong. That's why I bought Lacey four pumpkins for Halloween. Lacey might get a few more if I can find a deal on pumpkins after the holiday.

All of these pumpkins are for me to eat?! Thank you Lisa!
It doesn't look like Husband and I are going to any fresh pumpkin pulp treats this year but that's OK. We can roast, flavor and snack on the seeds. Here's how.

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Gaia Herbs’ Liquid Iron Giveaway!

Apparently I live in some sort of vortex that stacks extra commitments and projects on top of a personal project that already has a tight deadline.

Well, it could be that I have a problem saying no when someone asks for my help, but I’d rather blame the tired and blah feeling I get from being so busy to The Vortex.

I usually bounce back the following week by clearing my schedule, eating balanced meals again, and chilling out with my husband and Lacey. Pop! My energy returns and I am good to go.

Lately, I’ve been feeling tired and blah. I’ve made a strong effort not to place multiple personal high priority deadlines in my schedule. Working with Lacey on her behavioral issues guarantees that I am exercising. Hmmm…diet perhaps?
 
I had to make changes to my whole foods diet to deal with my lactose intolerance over a year ago. I wondered if I was getting all of the nutrients I need since cutting out milk ingredients. I kept a food diary of everything I ate and drank for a month. Then I showed the food diary to my family doctor during an office visit because, you guessed it, I was feeling worn out, draggy, and tired.

The food diary revealed I am inconsistent in getting some of the nutrients I need every day since I have to skip food containing milk ingredients when I’m not eating at home. No wonder I am tired most of the time! Fortunately, taking (or in my case, remembering to take) a daily supplement should fill in any gaps in my diet that sometimes occur.

Gaia PlantForce Liquid Iron 

Martha Stewart: Bloggers are Not Experts (Unless We Do Her Bidding)

I have mixed feeling about yesterday’s Martha Stewart’s interview when she dismisses bloggers with a wave of her hand and says in that elitist tone she’s been know to use:

Who are these bloggers? They’re not trained editors at Vogue magazine. I mean there are bloggers writing recipes that aren’t tested, that aren’t necessarily very good, or are copies of everything that really good editors have created and done. So bloggers create a kind of popularity, but they are not the experts. And we have to understand that.

In case you have not seen it, I’m embedding the Bloomberg.com video interview below:

I'm very disappointed with Martha Stewart's disparaging comments about bloggers especially when many of the blogger she insults, buy, use, and sometimes promote her products.

Sadly I’m not surprised Martha feels this way about bloggers because she sees us as competition and the reason why her company is losing money, 

7 Ways to Remove Sticky Jar Labels

 When I told Husband about my plan to pest proof the rest of our pantry and kitchen because a photo of a friend’s pantry moth invasion skeeved me out he finished my sentence for me, “by putting everything in jars like a crazy person?”

He knows me.

Because I’m taking everything out of  boxes and bags and putting it into jars like a crazy person.

I clean out and consolidate as time and empty jars permit. I like to reuse empty food jars as much as I can to free up my mason jars for canning. It is cheaper too.

 Pin this post to Pinterest for later! Share this tutorial with your friends!

Glass jars are my favorite because they don’t absorb odor. I don’t have to check and double check if they are BPA free either. Fortunately, our salsa habit is helping us with this recycled jar organization and moth proofing project.

19 Fancy but Easy Jam Recipes

Now that I am not afraid of canning (or as afraid of canning as I used to be), I found I really like making jam. I especially like making recipes that have something like an unexpected spice mixed in with the fruit and sugar.

Hey, I figure if If I am going to go to the trouble of making jam instead of buying it, then it better be something special or different than a basic fruit and sugar recipe I can buy at the grocery store or farm market.

I'm collecting interesting jam recipes on my Pinterest boards (give me a follow, pretty please?) and making my favorites. I figure it is only neighborly to share. The recipes. I can’t share the jam because many of these recipes are small batches, make 1 jar (perfect if you don’t want to can it!), or are for freezer jam.
These recipes look and taste all fancy pants gourmet but they are super simple to make.  I like having extra homemade jam on hand so I can help Santa out in the gift and stocking stuffer area on Christmas day. We’re tight like that.

Let’s jam!