Ziploc Omelets

This works great!!! Good for when you're alone or when all your family is together. Great for camping or a sleepover breakfast. The best feature is that no one has to wait for their special omelet. Have the guests write their name on a Quart Size Ziploc Freezer Bag with a permanent marker.

1. Crack 2 eggs into the quart size Ziploc bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them.

2. Put out a variety of ingredients such as: Cheeses, Ham, Onions, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Hash Browns, Salsa, Etc.

3. Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake the bag to mix them well.

4. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.
5. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. If you have more omelets, make another pot of boiling water.

6. Cut the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.


7. Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and it becomes a great conversation piece.

Imagine having these ready the night before, and putting the bag in boiling water while you get ready. And in just 13 minutes you have a nice omelet for a quick breakfast




Head over to Rocks in My Dryer and Works for Me Wednesday for more ideas!

Works For Me Wednesday

Our family has been using reusable shopping bags since last November and I can't tell you how much we love them!

I have purchased several from Publix, Wal-mart and a new one yesterday from Winn-Dixie. What I love most about them, beyond the reusable aspect, is that each bags holds as many groceries as 3 plastic bags. That means less trips to and from the car and with the long shoulder straps I can sometimes get all my groceries in one trip!

We also use them for sleepover bags, book bags and Justin keeps his karate gear in one.

When we first began using them the biggest problem was remembering to take them to the store with us. To remedy this I would put all the bags into one and then keep them in my car. There were them several times I'd send one of the boys to the car while I was in the checkout line to get our bags. Now it's pretty much habit. We keep the bags on hooks in the entryway and grab them as we head out to shop!

Beyond carrying and using these bags I've also requested to NOT have a bag for small things that would fit into my purse or even no bag for a few things I can easily carry.

Before I go here are some plastic bag statistics:
Up to 1000 - Estimated years for a plastic bag to decompose.
1460 - Plastic bags used in a year by an average family of four in the U.S.
12 million - Barrels of oil used to make the plastic bags that the U.S. consumes annually.
Less than 1% - Percentage of all plastic bags that get recycled in the U.S.
88.5 billion – Plastic bags consumed in the U.S. last year.
500 billion – Estimated plastic bags sold worldwide each year.
San Francisco has banned non-biodegradable plastic bags in large grocery stores.


Works for me!
~Michelle

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW

Conecakes

A great spin on cupcakes.

This idea was submitted by Amanda and just reading the titled reminded me of birthdays gone by and traveling to Mother's Day Out with a tray of ice cream cone cupcakes!
I really like the ice cream cone and cupcake together; surprisingly tastey.
I shall make them this summer!

Here's how I make them:

Items needed:
1. Cupcake recipe and ingredients this includes boxes
2. Package of flat bottomed ice cream cones.

Instructions:
Mix up your regular cupcake batter.

Pour the batter ice cream cones. Leave room for them to rise. I fill to the line that forms the wider top of the cone or just above it.

Carefully place your cones in a deep baking dish and bake for the time and temp for your cupcakes.

Carefully remove them and allow them to cool.

Frost and add sprinkles!
Enjoy!

Here are some of the more pretty ones...


mine look more like this one...


Works for me!

We'd love to hear what works for you. Send us your tips or link us to your if you post your own.

Make Your Own Popcorn

Here's a quick, easy, HEALTHY, CHEAP way to make your own microwave popcorn.

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
2 tsps oil (can use buttery oil made for popcorn)
1/8 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a small paper bag and staple it shut. Staple does fine in micro
3-min in microwave

Enjoy!
I got this recipe from a friend last summer and we've enjoyed making our own popcorn ever sense!
Works for me!
~Michelle

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW (sorry we're not with the theme this week)
Please send us your ideas- what works for you??

Easy, Good Recipe.

I have a confession to make.
I don't really like to cook. Bake, yes; cook, no so much.
So when a tasty, easy meal comes my way I make it 'til no one wants it anymore.
Here's a great meal that I make often for family and friends.
I love to double it and make 2 meals for the time-price of one!

Swiss Cheese Chicken
4, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4, slices of swiss cheese
1 can, cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup wine or grape juice or water
1/2 cup- 1cup Stove Top Stuffing
2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place chicken in bottom of a baking dish
Cover chicken with Swiss Cheese
Mix wine and cream of chicken, pour over chicken breasts
Sprinkle the stuffing on top and drizzle with melted butter
Bake 35-45 minutes or until chicken is done

Serve with a veggie and extra stuffing is need be
Enjoy!
Works for me!
~Michelle

Works for Me Wednesday

Another tip from the Thursday night small group I attend.
Salt in your washing machine will stop colors from running. (i.e. your whites won't turn pink!)

I also found this link on some other tips for using salt in your laundry. I've also listed them below!

~Remove perspiration stains on white shirts. Dissolve 4 tablespoons of salt in a quart of very hot water. Sponge the solution onto the stain until it disappears.

~Wash new towels in salt water. Add a cup of salt to the wash the first few times the new towels go through the laundry to set the color and stay brighter longer.

~Use salt as a laundry pre-treatment when away from home to tackle grease stains from foods such as salad dressing. Saturate the area with table salt and work into the fabric to absorb as much of the stain as possible. Launder as usual.

~Remove gunk from the iron's metal soleplate. Sprinkle salt crystals on a thick section of newspaper laid out on the ironing board. Heat the iron turn off the steam option. Run the iron over the salt until the gunk is ironed off the plate.

~Treat a fresh blood stain by covering it with salt. Use a clean cloth and dab the salt with cold water until a clump forms. Work it into the stain and continue until the stain disappears.

~Remove mildew stains from clothing with a paste of lemon juice and salt. Spread the paste over the mildew and set the garment in the sun to dry.

I'm happy to know that I can use table salt, at the restaurant, when something gets spilled or dribble on me.
Works for me!
~Michelle <><

Works for Me Wednesday

Summer survival with kids home from school.

Summer is almost upon us and with that comes no school and no school means children home with us ALL DAY LONG! Each summer my kid count goes up by at least 3 kids, many times 4-5 extras, so over the years I've found a few things that work for me making the noisey day much more bearable.

My two best kept secrets would be 1.) mandatory outdoor time and 2.) mandatory quiet time. When I throw the word mandatory in their I find there's less arguing or excuses. After breakfast I usually "kick the kids out", they have to spend 2 hours outside. This allows me to clean up, do my devotions if I haven't had a chance yet and prepare for lunch and the rest of the day.

Then usually around 1:00pm all the boys go down for quiet time. Quiet time consists of each child in their own space. I usually put 2 in the bedroom on beds, 2 in the living room on sofas, 1 in my sewing room, 1 in the lego room and I keep an area open for me- to sit and relax or even catch a little nap. Usually the first week or so is tough. They want to talk or move about. I insist on them staying still and quiet. I roam the house like a hall monitor reminding them the timer will start over if they can't stick to the rules. The first 30 minutes they MUST be reading and the last 30 they can read or draw or play quietly with action figures or whatever they want. I try to not allow music during this time.

Two years ago we participated in a contest to keep track of # of minutes spent reading, # of minutes being active (outside time) and # of minutes participating in a service project. I'm hoping to plug into something of this nature again this year.

So with summer around the corner and our days filled with kids all around- these 2 tips work for me!

~Michelle

Head over to the main Works for Me Wednesday site for more ideas.

Works for Me Wednesday

Today's edition is a Doesn't Work for Me Wednesday. Since I was at a training all day Wednesday my mind is fried and I just don't have anything. So actually I guess sitting in a conference all day and then having to share something on a blog, doesn't work for me!

Check out this link to see what doesn't work for others- it may save you some time and money; and please if you read this, e-mail us what works for you and what doesn't and we'll post it to share with others. It doesn't have to be elaborate just tips you find help you out!

Works for Me Wednesday

When the boys were little we traveled a lot and for long distances! This was the time before flatscreens in cars so we resorted to audio media to keep us entertained.

It was during a trip to Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs in 1998 when we discovered Adventures in Odessy. The boys, with a little help from us, participated in a scavenger hunt at the Focus Welcome Center and for completing it their prize was an Adventures in Odessy audio tape. It consisted on 2 stories and for our 8-hour trip home, it's all we listened to. I'll never forget those stories, the boys were 2 and 4 at the time.

These tapes/CD's slowly inched their way into our everyday lives. At night before bed the boys pick out an adventure to listen to. They range from Bible adventures to character building adventures, history of holidays to adventures in relationships. We've learned a bunch over the years through Adventures in Odessy and we've gotten attached to the characters as if they were our friends.

You can purchase them online here, or at your local Christian book store. I think the recommended age is age 8 and up but my boys were interested well before age 8. Audio tapes help build imagination and engage the mind, Adventures in Odessy do this and encourage children to seek God, act on their faith and serve others. I even counted them as part of their homeschool- character building. Check some out!

~It works for me!

Head over to the main Works for Me Wednesday site for more ideas.

Works For Me Wednesday

Welcome to EAC Women's first ever participation in "Works for Me Wednesday"!

Each week we will showcase an idea or tip that works for us, and link our site to the main WFMW over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Recently at my Thursday night women's group some ladies were talking about sharing ideas with one another. You know ideas that make life easier, or save money, or tips on parenting and home life; after all if it takes a village to raise a child, then I think the village better start talkin' and sharin' in one anothers lives! Fits into our theme verse here at this blog:

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13

That Thursday night one of the ladies said,"Did you know that if you take your Chick-fil-A children's toy back to them unwrapped you can get a free child's ice cream! Isn't that exciting!"

Since I have a friend who works at Chick-fil-A I asked her and sure enough if you take an unopened Kids Meal toy back to them you can get a FREE child's ice cream, cone or dish.

This is a great simple way to save money, to recycle and keep the clutter out of your car and home plus get a FREE treat for your little one. This is a great tip! Thanks!

~It works for me!

Head over to the main Works for Me Wednesday site for more ideas.