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by Angela on November 29, 2011
I love Thanksgiving. I love everything about it; I love the purpose of Thanksgiving, the food, spending time with family, and the leftovers! You may love Thanksgiving too, but if you are starting to get the turkey leftover blues don’t fear, I found several recipes that you can use your Thanksgiving leftovers with. Remember, half your work is already done, you’ve already cooked lots of great food, now let’s see what you can do with it to save time and make something tasty!
Of course the Butterball web-site has several from including one for Cajun Style Red Beans and Rice with Turkey to Turkey Vegetable Soup with Angel Hair Pasta. On the Food Network site I found 5 Ways to Use Leftover Canned Pumpkin .
Then I struck the leftover goldmine! Serious Eats had tons of recipes for just about every leftover! Brussels Sprouts, Potato and Turkey Hash with a Poached egg, Cranberry Salsa Salad, AND much more! The one I will definitely be tying is the Turkey Tortilla Soup from Serious Eats (pictured above)! We are actually having our second Thanksgiving tonight, just me, my girls and my husband. So I’m ready to enjoy it all over again, and I can’t wait to make my favorite leftover recipe…Turkey Tacos!
Enjoy!
by Angela on October 12, 2011
Funny how these tips are always inspired when my husband is not around. Ha, ha. I am very fortunate that my husband is around most of the time to help with the night-time routine. But there are times when he is not and I have to do it all, like many parents out there who have to do it all on their own every day. So, in these situations I seem to really look for ways to streamline the dinner process without having to resort to take-out.
Here’s my story.
Last night it was me and my girls and it was time to get dinner ready. On the menu was Ravioli Caprese. First time saving tip: We bought a rotisserie chicken the day before and had chicken, sweet potatoes and salad, then used just ½ a cup of the chicken for today’s recipe. It’s a nice way to use one chicken for two dinners. Second time saving tip: we cheat a little with the recipe and use won-ton wrappers instead of making the dough. I found them in the produce section (in the refrigerated section) in my grocery store.
My girls were restless and hungry and they love to help in the kitchen. So I started giving them little things to do (third time saving tip). My youngest was helping to mix the filling for the ravioli; I would add the ingredients and she would dump them into the bowl and mix. My older daughter was gathering ingredients and measuring cups, etc. for the sauce. Then the girls took turns laying out the dough/won-ton wrappers and sealing the ravioli. The girls LOVED it and we were done much quicker than if I would have done it all myself!
Finally, the ravioli’s were almost ready and I really wanted to make a salad but thought that it would take too long to get all our salads together, so ***Bright Idea*** I asked them if they wanted to build their own salad. Of course they screamed “YES!.” So, (fourth time saving tip) I had them get everything out while I finished getting the last raviolis out of the pot. It was so helpful! You can see their salads on the left and our salad bar in the photo at the top of the page.
My final time saving tip is that when we were all finished eating I asked the girls to put the salad bar away and they did!
So that’s my story…what’s yours? I would love to hear how you are getting your kids involved in your kitchen to help save you a little time. Write a comment below or post to the POSH Space Facebook page.
Happy Cooking!
by Angela on November 16, 2010
The holidays are just around the corner, and with them holiday card season. If you like sending cards, but hate the hassle of addressing, stamping, and posting dozens of individual envelopes, perhaps Send Out Cards is just what you’ve been looking for!
Send Out Cards is an awesome card sending service that I’ve been using for over a year now for every card-sending occasion–holiday cards, birthday invitations, thank-yous, and even just random greetings.
At their website, you can choose a card from hundreds of designs, write a personalized message inside, enter the mailing address, add a small gift (if you want), and then hit the send button. That’s it! In less time than it takes to walk down the greeting card aisle at your local store, you can have a real card printed and mailed for you without even leaving your office. It’s amazing! You can even customize your card with your own pictures!
Here’s to a stress-free card sending season!
Angela
by Angela on August 31, 2010
Monday morning I had a brief heart palpitating experience. I stopped by a local coffee shop before a meeting and realized that I did not have my wallet. I know some people lose or misplace their wallets often, but this has never happened to me! So I went through my head recalling my recent activities and where my wallet might be. The last place I remember making a purchase was a craft store Saturday afternoon. That evening we had a party at my house and Sunday we went out but I never needed my wallet. I was sure that my wallet had just been left out somewhere on accident and because of my distraction from the party I had not noticed it.
As I was driving home from my meeting (very slowly in order to not get ticket since I did not have my wallet) I started to think the panicking thoughts. “What if I DID lose my wallet? What if it’s not at home?” I know I have heard that you should make copies of your wallet contents, but I have had my reservations about that. I think it’s because I have all my files in order so I always assumed if I lost my wallet I could always find my account numbers and the phone numbers very easily. This is may be true, but in the event of an emergency it would be much quicker to have all these numbers in one location rather than flipping through files and going through my head to determine which cards were actually in my wallet.
So here are two different ways you can keep track of your wallet contents so you can be pro-active in case you do lose your wallet:
1. Copy your wallet contents. The easiest thing to do is to make a copy of the front and back of all the cards that are in your wallet. Account numbers are typically located on the front of the card and many credit card companies include a phone number on the back of the card. Make copies of ALL your cards including: credit cards, bank cards, insurance cards, driver license etc.
2. Make a list or spreadsheet of your wallet contents. Include the name of the card or type of card (example: American Express card, Blue Cross Insurance Card), the account number, the expiration if applicable, the companies phone number. You can save this on your computer or simply write it out by hand if you do not feel comfortable having all your credit card numbers stored on your computer.
Ideally, you should keep the copy of your wallet contents in a fire proof safe, but a simple file in your filing cabinet will work too. Just remember where you put it and update it as you get new cards in and out.
In the event that you do lose your wallet, check the web-sites or contact all the entities (credit card companies, the Department of Motor Vehicles, Insurance, etc.) for the cards that you have lost. Most likely they will issue you new cards with new account numbers. If you are having anything automatically drafted from a specific account, be sure to update your information with your new account numbers.
In case you are wondering, I did find my wallet within just a couple of minutes of arriving home!
Here’s to being proactive!
Angela
Copyright (C) 2010 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
by Angela on December 14, 2009
By now you have probably already begun to receive a flurry of cards in the mail from your friends and family. Smiling faces and beautiful cards are such a sweet treat during the holidays. But, if you haven’t so much as put the first thought towards your holiday cards, relax, there is hope for you yet!
1. Mailing deadline. If you’ve been keeping up with my 18 Days of Holiday Organizing posts you probably already know that the deadline for First Class Domestic Mail is December 21st. So if you have your cards in the mail by the 21st they are supposed to arrive by December 25th. So there really is still time to get your cards in the mail. See my previous post Three Must Have’s – Holiday Shipping for more tips for getting your cards to the right location.
2. Send Out Cards. This is an awesome card sending service that I learned about this year. You can choose a card from hundreds of designs, write your personal message in the card, enter the address and then hit the send button. Then Send Out Cards does the rest, from printing your card, addressing your card, putting a stamp on your card, and getting it in the mail. It is amazing! They send a real card for you. You can even add your own pictures! You can see more details on this at Send Out Cards.
3. E-cards. If you are rushed for time you can also send an electronic or e-card. You can visit Blue Mountain and Hallmark . Many of these services cost a small fee, but the fact that they are so easy to do may be worth it! You are also being environmentally conscience by not sending something that will most likely get tossed in the trash.
4. Buck the system. If the holidays have you so stressed out that you just don’t know how you can get holiday cards out then perhaps you should opt for New Year’s Cards or Valentine’s Day cards. This has been a long standing tradition in my household and we get many comments from friends and family who love this. They have told us they can enjoy our card more because it is not arriving at the same time as 50 other cards.
Don’t be afraid to get some help this year with your holiday cards. Whether you send them electronically, use a system like Send Out Cards to help you get them addressed and in the mail, or you just put the cards off until the New Year, give yourself a break if you need one.
I hope you enjoyed the bonus tip, today’s blog should have been: Four Things You Must Know About Holiday Cards!
Good luck and happy card sending!
Angela
Copyright (C) 2009 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
by Angela on August 20, 2009
Woo hoo! I mean, boo hoo…back to school is almost here. In case you don’t have children or don’t already know what the back to school dates are here is a run down of the Austin area school districts.
August 24, 2009: Leander, Austin, Eanes, Georgetown ISD
August 25, 2009: Pflugerville and Round Rock ISD
If you are traveling in these areas on the first day of school be aware that traffic will be heavy. You should consider leaving early or later than usual to avoid the traffic. Also be sure to watch for school zones. You don’t want to ruin your morning with a speeding ticket.
If you don’t live in the Austin area you can Google the city and school district that you live in to find out what day school will start in your area.
Here’s to a safe first day of school!
Angela
Copyright (C) 2009 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
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