3 More EASY Recipes for the Busy Mom/Dad

As promised, I am back today to give you another THREE wonderful recipes that you can try out in your kitchen! 


FROM BROOKE'S KITCHEN
Sausage Mash Potato Pie

1. 1 pouch (from 7.2 oz box comes with 2 envelopes) Garlic mashed potatoes
2. 3/4 cup milk
3. 1/2 c water
4. 2 eggs beaten
5. 1 lbs Italian Sausage
6. 1/2 c onion
7. 1 c tomato sauce
8. 1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven 375 spray glass pie plate.  Cook 1 pouch potatoes with 3/4 c milk and 1/2 water (DO NOT FOLLOW BOX DIRECTIONS FOR INGREDENTS). Let stand for 5m and stir in eggs. Spread into greased pan and up along the sides.

Cook sausage and onion until sausage is cooked through then add sauce, reduce heat for about 2 minutes and pour into pie plate.

Bake for 25-30 min until crust edges begin to turn golden brown, sprinkle cheese and cook until cheese is melted.

FROM LORETTA'S KITCHEN
Ground Meat and Gravy Over Mashed Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs ground meat
1 bag frozen peas/pearl onions
1 Lg jar Heinz Brown gravy
Salt/Pepper

Mashed Potatoes - either "Simply Potatoes" Microwave mashed potatoes or homemade - what ever is easiest to save time! You can find the already prepared ones in your meat sections of the market.

Brown the ground meat in large frying pan and drain.
Add in the brown gravy and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Stir in the frozen peas/pearl onions and continue to simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes.

Salt & Pepper to taste

Serve over top the mashed potatoes.
Make a quick salad and Walla....dinner is done!

FROM MY KITCHEN
Enchilada Casserole

1 Can Chopped Green Chilis
1 Cup Chicken Breast Meat (I used canned chicken)
2 1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
1/3 Cup Salsa
1 Large Onion (chopped)
1/2 Stick Margarine
BIG Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
Bag of Tortilla Chips (we sometimes use Cool Ranch Doritos for change of flavor) - Crushed/Broken

Brown onion in butter and ad chilis and chicken soup.
Layer in the Crock Pot - Chips, Chicken/Soup Mix, Cheese, Chips, Chicken/Soup Mix, Cheese, Chips, Cheese. 
Heat on Low for about 2 Hours.

Serve Over Chips (like nachos).  We make a soup or salad to go with it and TADA, there is supper. 

Send Me Your Favorites
I would LOVE to make Recipes for the Busy Mom/Dad a weekly topic on my blog so, please feel free to send me an email with some of your favorite, easy recipes to cdheims@yahoo.com.  Not only will I be blogging about them, but I will probably be trying them out in my own kitchen!!

Pumpkin Carving Time

Halloween is quickly approaching.  Carving pumpkins is a very exciting time for us!  We make it a family event and have a great time getting our hands all messy with pumpkin seeds!

Kaitlyn dug out her pumpkin all by herself and drew her own face - Chad still cut it out for her because Mom is a bit nervous of handing a 10-year-old a knife.  Dillon had his first experience digging the seeds out of his pumpkin.  At first, he wasn't sure about it, but eventually he became a big fan!  Emy just watched this year.

John came over to participate in the pumpkin carving party!  His first challenge was that he had us pick out a BIG, FAT pumpkin so he had to dig out a TON of seeds.  The second challenge was deciding what to carve.  He wanted to be creative so, he settled on BEARS.  Now, how to carve it???  It was funny, but he got it done. 

Top 3 EASY Recipes For The Busy Mom/Dad

Everyone has walked into their kitchen at suppertime, looked in EVERY cupboard, the refrigerator and the freezer, only to find that you are incredibly bored with the same old recipes.  Your family is going to be hungry in an hour or less so, where do you turn?!?  Usually I go to the Internet and use a search engine to look for a new, exciting recipe and find that I am missing ONE ingredient for each recipe that I find.  :*(  No new recipes tonight.

Well, I would like to share with you some of my family's favorite recipes (my favorites too because they are so easy to make).  Believe me, as a busy, work-at-home mom these recipes don't require a lot of prep work or unique ingredients! 

French Dip Sandwiches

Cook a Beef Roast on low in the crock pot all day with 1 can of French Onion Soup and 1/2 Can of Beer.
Serve Meat on French Rolls.
Dip Sandwiches in Au Jus (which is the soup and beer mixture).

I serve a fruit salad, vegetable, or french fries with the sandwiches and it makes an awesome meal.  Seriously, prep time is about 2 minutes - just open a couple cans and throw it all in a crock pot!

Bubble Pizza

Combine into Greased 9x13 pan:  

1 pound of Browned Hamburger

1 tube of Crescent Rolls torn into small pieces

1 can of Pizza Sauce

Optional - 1 Can of Mushrooms

Optional - Chopped or Minced Onion

Preheat Oven to 350 - Cook for 20 minutes.

Add Cheddar Cheese to Top and Cook for Additional 10 minutes.

I serve this with a second tube of crescent rolls and usually fruit.  Prep time usually takes about 10 minutes by the time you brown the hamburger and tear up the crescent rolls.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1 Box Macaroni and Cheese (prepared without butter) or Homemade Macaroni and Cheese - Prepared
1 Pound Browned Hamburger
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese
Optional - Chopped or Minced Onion

Combine ingredients.  Preheat Oven to 400 and Cook for 10 minutes. 

I serve with rolls and a vegetable/fruit.  Prep time is about 10-15 minutes to brown hamburger and prepare macaroni.

Send Me Your Favorites
I would LOVE to make Recipes for the Busy Mom/Dad a weekly topic on my blog so, please feel free to send me an email with some of your favorite, easy recipes to cdheims@yahoo.com.  Not only will I be blogging about them, but I will probably be trying them out in my own kitchen!!

A Fun Day at Bloomsbury Farm

Chad, Mom and I took the kids to Bloomsbury Farm on Saturday for a day full of kid fun!!  The weather was absolutely perfect for a day out on the farm - a bit chilly when we arrived.

There was a big jumping pillow that the kids could play on.  We had a coupon for half price on unlimited jumping (can't beat that).  Kaitlyn and Dillon started jumping and were having an incredible time.  When more kids started jumping, Dillon decided that it just wasn't as much fun anymore.  AND... it probably didn't help that he saw the tractor start moving. 

So, next it was off to the tractor ride!  Dillon could have stayed on there all day, but Kaitlyn was a bit bored on the tractor ride.  It was more of a little kid ride, but Kaitlyn was a GREAT sport because she knew that the day was about "family fun" not just "Kaitlyn fun".

They also enjoyed playing on the tractor tires, the fun house, and the "Dred Shed".  I use the term "they" a bit loosley.  Dillon did not enjoy the Dred Shed - he screamed because he was SO scared, but Chad and Kaitlyn enjoyed it. 

That pretty well concluded our morning, so we stopped to each some lunch - hot dogs and burgers all around.  Then while our food settled a bit, we stopped to pick out pumpkins for Kaitlyn, Dillon, Emylia, and our favorite not so small kid, my brother, John. 

The Loot For Kate, Dillon & Emylia!

The last thing on our agenda for the day was to complete the adult corn maze.  Kaitlyn and Chad were working together as our guides - I thought we might be in trouble with those two in charge!  Emylia took a nap and Dillon was VERY relaxed in the stroller while we navigated through the paths in the corn.  We made it through and got to every check point, maybe not in the correct order, but we got to each mailbox AND, the two of them only managed to make us walk a few extra circles!

All and all, we had a wonderful day.  If you live in or near Atkins, Iowa, Bloomsbury Farm comes highly recommended from the Hook/Heims Family!

Power of Positive Thinking

Do any of us really know the true power that a positive attitude and outlook can have on our lives? 

The definition of positive is confident in opinion or assertion.  Attitude is defined as manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc. with regard to a person or thing, tendency or orientation, especially of the mind.   

Positive thinking and attitude are the root cause of many positive life benefits.  You are more likely to be successful, to live longer and happier with a positive attitude. 

A positive thinker is more likely to be a creative and constructive thinker as well.  Positive attitude provides you with inspiration, motivation and confidence to accomplish your goals. 

If you have been a pessimist or had a negative attitude your whole life, don't worry, it is not too late to change your ways!



Here are some tips to change from a pessimist/negative thinker to an optimist/positive thinker. 

1. When you begin thinking a negative thought, turn your thoughts towards the facts and evaluate.  What are the FACTS, not the FEAR, the FACTS?
2. Come up with alternate explanations and future outcomes.  Maybe your FEARED outcome is not the only outcome.
3. The last thing that you can do to change your way of thinking is to repeat affirmations to yourself each day like, "When a negative thought enters my mind, I am going to evaluate the facts and think of positive alternatives to the situation."

Positive attitude and thinking will change your outlook on life and your financial future.  Whatever it is that you want to achieve in life, you must start your journey by positive thinking.  The possibilities in your life are endless when you start looking at life with a positive attitude!

Let Me Show You Something Powerful in Network Marketing

I recently purchased a book called "The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life" by Don Failla.  He writes about 10 "Napkin Presentations".  The first "Napkin Presentation" made an incredibly powerful impact on me and even though I read the book at least three weeks ago, I still think about it on a daily basis.  I am going to give you the basics of this first presentation and hope that it really changes the way that you are thinking about your network marketing business or the way that you look at network marketing in general. 

The Nuts and Bolts of the First Presentation. 
You sponsor TWO people into your organization and teach those TWO people to do the same, they teach their TWO people to do the same, and so on.  Here is the mathematics of your new team to four levels deep.

You x 2 = 2 (Personal Downline)
2 x 2 = 4 (1st Generation)
4 x 2 = 8 (2nd Generation)
8 x 2 = 16 (3rd Generation)
Total Members of YOUR TEAM = 30

Now say you increase the number of people you bring into your organization by ONLY ONE PERSON.  You sponsorTHREE, your people sponsor THREE, etc.  Here is the math.

You x 3 = 3 (Personal Downline)
3 x 3 = 9 (1st Generation)
9 x 3 = 27 (2nd Generation)
27 x 3 = 81 (3rd Generation)
Total Members of YOUR TEAM = 120

One more time.  Increase your TWO by THREE and sponsor FIVE people, teach your people to sponsor FIVE people and so on.  Prepare yourself for this mathematics.

You x 5 = 5 (Personal Downline)
5 x 5 = 25 (1st Generation)
25 x 5 = 125 (2nd Generation)
125 x 5 = 625 (3rd Generation)
Total Members of YOUR TEAM = 780

Let's imagine that each of our team member's shares the product or service our company offers with only TEN people.  In our first example where each person sponsors TWO people, your team has 300 customers - PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!  In our final example where we sponsor FIVE people, your team now has 7800 customers - WOW!!

By minimally increasing your efforts and teaching each of your team members to do the same, you will be rapidly expanding your organization and in turn, your paycheck.