Panko!!

This is probably going to be the quickest tip EVER!! Use Panko Bread crumbs when breading fish, chicken, etc. Your local supermarket should carry them.

What are they, you ask?

Panko (パン粉^?) is a variety of flaky bread crumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods, such as tonkatsu. Panko is made from bread baked by passing an electric current through the dough,^[1] yielding bread without crusts, and it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine.^[1] Outside Japan, it is becoming more popular for use in Asian and non-Asian dishes, is often used on fish and seafood, and is often available in Asian markets and specialty stores. Increasingly, it is also available in many large supermarkets. Panko is produced worldwide, particularly in Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, and Vietnam.


There ya go, that's straight from Wikipedia! :-)

They are so good and light and yummy and delicious and crunchy. I think you'll love them...

Have a quick tip to share? Simply comment below and perhaps we'll feature YOUR quick tip on the blog!

~Lauren

Hook & Loop

This quick tip Wednesday is brought to us by one of our readers, Ashley. She shares with us that when sewing Hook & Loop aka Velcro onto your item, keep it secure with double sided tape instead of pins! Works great!! Brillant!!

Have a quick tip to share? Simply leave us a comment and perhaps we'll feature you on the blog!

Have a wonderful week,

Lauren & Page

Mmmm....COFFEE!!!

How many of you LOVE coffee?!?! I DO, I do, I do!!! I even drink decaf for the sake of my little guy and still love it!

Well, did you know that you can actually use it as an odor neutralizer?? Have a stinky fridge? Place some grounds (please use cheapo coffee for this and not your good stuff!) on a shallow tray and place inside your fridge. You'll soon notice that those darling coffee grounds have absorbed all of those icky odors!

For more intensive smells - such as a room that has just been painted (aka my nursery), recently stained furniture, etc. You can simply take an open container of fresh coffee grounds to absorb the odor. BUY a cheap brand for that purpose, but then make sure you throw it out afterwards. ;-) It really works!!

See, I bet you didn't realize that coffee had more than one delicious purpose?!


Have a Quick Tip to share? Please leave it in the comments below and we'll feature it on our blog!!

~Lauren & Page

Cleaning Shoes!

This Quick Tip Wednesday might seem a little strange, but it really works!
We women know that a woman's work is never really done, there's always SO much to do around the house. Why not try cleaning in some supportive, tennis shoes?? They will motivate you to get moving and will support your back in the process. My friend, Ashley, mentioned this great tip and I agree - I definitely notice a difference when I have my "special shoes" on. :-) I'm much less likely to just feel like sitting down on the job.


Do YOU have a quick tip to share? Comment below and we'll gladly feature it in our Quick Tip Wednesday posts!

~Lauren & Page

Hobby Lobby, How I LOVE Thee!!

This week's "quick tip" might be pretty exciting for those of you addicted to Hobby Lobby (like me). I frequently fail to print out a HL coupon and find it frustrating to realize it AFTER I am in the store and filling my cart with wonderful goodies.

Did you know that you can pull up a Hobby Lobby coupon on the internet via your cell phone and show it to the cashier at checkout? They simply need the coupon code from the online coupon. I was SUPER excited about this fact and have already done it twice (thank you Page, for informing me about this!).

Have a quick tip to share with us? Comment below and we might just feature your quick tip in next Wednesday's post!!

~Lauren

"Puttin' on the Ritz"

It's time for another "Quick Tip Wednesday".

Don't you just love how you discover something by accident, or just be truly needing to be creative? I have discovered that I prefer crackers - Ritz crackers to be exact, in the place of bread crumbs. I realized this some time ago, when I discovered I was out of Italian bread crumbs while trying to make some delicious Eggplant Parmesan (Mmmm!). I simply crushed the Ritz crackers, added my favorite Italian seasoning and voila' -my husband LOVED it!! Now I can't even imagine making Eggplant Parm without using my Ritz crackers!

Have a recipe that calls for bread crumbs? Try substituting crackers instead (especially the buttery kind aka Ritz). I use them to top my homemade Mac n' cheese, to bread chicken, eggplant, etc. Next time you make dinner, consider "Puttin' on the Ritz" - I think you'll find it very satisfying!


Have a "Quick Tip"? Comment below and we might just feature your tip in next week's "Quick Tip Wednesday"!

~Lauren

Quick Tip Wednesday: Try it!

So, this "quick tip" is not anything uber amazing-but just some thoughts and ideas to help save in the calorie department! Who can't use a little help in these areas? : )

Try It: Without Butter

Hold on--I think Paula Deen just fell off her chair and half the south wept at the thought! : )

In all seriousness, I have learned to love so many things without butter--that I once thought couldn't come without it!

Some of the biggest culprits? Corn on the cob and restaurant bread/rolls. I rarely have butter on these items any more. Honestly, (to me) they just don't need it. Just give it a try (or two)--you'll learn to love these items for what they are--which is wonderful--without all the added calories.

Try It: With a little less or no salt.

Is Paula Deen crying now? (Ha ha! No worries, Paula! I still love your cooking shows!)

I don't think most realize just how much salt they eat in a day! (Or how much comes in the food they order!) It can be just out right ridiculous!

All I'm saying is--just give your foods a try with less (or without)! Some things may take some adapting--some just may not be edible with out some salt. But, just try it! You may surprise yourself at what really doesn't need much, if any, salt on your plate!

Try It: Veggies you've always hated--or ones you've been afraid to try!

My tastes have changed so much since I was younger. I used to cringe and gag at the thought of greens or pinto beans--but now, they are things that I love or maybe even crave! (No--this is not just a prego thing! : )

Just try a little--here and there. You may still hate these items--or you may surprise yourself with a new item to love!

Do you have any other "Try It" tips? Let us know!! Every little bit helps! : )

~Page

Quick Tip Wednesday!

This "Quick Tip" comes from one of our readers , Ashley, who has a great little cooking blog. You can check it out here.


She tells us that you can FREEZE RICE!! Neat, huh? You can make your own little steamer bags and just pull them out when you need them.

"On a day with spare time pull out your rice maker, or whatever you use to make rice, and make a batch of rice. I like to do a large batch, 6 cup water 3 cup rice. Once it is done cooking I fluff it up, and fill up a Qt size freezer bag and seal it removing all the air. Be sure to label it "Rice Heat 4-5 min, High" then when you are ready to use it. just pull it out and plop it right into the microwave frozen and sealed.. the ice crystals will help it steam right up just like the store bought ones, When it is done place in a bowl and fluff it with a fork and there you go 5 min rice ! I hope you find it as useful as I do! "

Thanks for this great tip, Ashley!! :-D

Do you have a "Quick Tip" to share with everyone?? List it below in the comments with your name, and perhaps we'll blog about it in your honor!! ;-D

~Lauren & Page

Quick Tip Wednesday!

I learned about this nifty little tip a couple of years ago and felt SO stupid for never realizing it before!!

I'm sure we've all grabbed the aluminum foil, plastic wrap, etc, and accidentally yanked the entire roll out of the box in the process! That is SO annoying!!

However, did you know that there are these neat little tabs at the end of each box to lock the roll into place?!? I know that many of you probably already knew about this and are pretty brilliant to have avoided yanking the entire roll out of the box because of it. ;-) However, for those of you who were like me a few years ago....please take this "quick tip" to heart! It's so useful!!

Do you have a "Quick Tip" to share with everyone?? List it below in the comments with your name, and perhaps we'll blog about it in your honor!! ;-D


~Lauren

What Does Your Facebook Status Say About YOU?

This is a topic that most can relate to since Facebook is the new and improved way to connect with friends, family, acquaintances, clients, co-workers, etc. I find that like most things, it can either be used for good or for evil. Like everything in life, it surely has its pros and cons.

Something that I've noticed a lot lately is the ever popular FB status. I don't think that many people really "think" about what they write in their status. I've found that FB never fails to truly reflect the individual, because as the Bible says in Matthew 12:34"...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.". It can be a sad thing to really be introduced to the real person through FB. Other times, it can be a true blessing and encouragement!

What does your Facebook status say about YOU? Are you encouraging and edifying? Are you a complainer? Do you use FB to vent your frustrations (not really thinking about the fact that you're venting to a whole lot more people than you intended?) Do you berate your spouse, not really caring that you're disrespecting him/her to the FB world? Or do you take the time to respect and praise your spouse, thanking the Lord for him/her? Do you use your FB status to send secret messages that really aren't that "secret"? Are your status updates hypocritical? Does your status say one thing and your life reflect another? What about those status updates that you regret? Why not think through it first?

Facebook can be used for good, it can be a true blessing to those around you. It's a forum that you can openly share your heart, faith, and life in. We have over 500 contacts on our FB, and there are SO many status updates that encourage us, glorify God, or give us a good laugh. The next time FB prompts the Q - "What's on your mind?" -why not think through it first and try to leave a FB status that you know you won't be ashamed of later. Think -Funny, witty, biblical, encouraging, edifying, loving, instead of disrespectful, spiteful, bitter, negative, and venting. (trust me, you'll make your friends that much happier being "friends" on FB)


With that in mind, see ya around the "FB world" :-D

~Lauren

The Power of a Thank You

I don't know about you, but I feel so special when I receive a "thank you note". It gives me those warm fuzzies inside and always makes me think "aww, that was so nice of them to remember to say thanks". The power of a Thank You note -it's definitely a lost art nowadays, but something that makes such a huge impact on others! It's truly a way to show that you appreciate and take notice of when others are a blessing to you. It may not be thanking them for something they did, but even something like thanking them for being the friend that they are to you. In any case, this is one of those "lost arts" that I talked about back when I wrote on hospitality. These "lost arts" are things that people used to do for others years ago, when life wasn't quite so techy, when people weren't quite so busy with "things". Doing something as simple as writing a thank you note, is taking time to invest in someone else's life. It's not just the words you write, but the fact that you took the time to hand write them! Try it, and be a blessing to someone today!

~Lauren

A Bowl of Cherries

What's your favorite fruit? Peaches, cherries, apples, blueberries? There's nothing quite like a good piece of fruit in season, that's why I was so looking forward to eating the gorgeous cherries I had purchased from Sam's Club. I washed them and proceeded to eat the luscious fruit (with the help of my husband and sister).
A little while later, I was NOT feeling good. My stomach was quite unsettled, and I just couldn't figure out what was going on. I had won the prize for eating the most cherries, and was paying the price, experiencing painful abdominal cramps. We all came to the conclusion that it had to be the cherries that were making me feel so ill, and I proceeded to GOOGLE "cherries". I was surprised and disturbed to find that I was not alone in my "cherry sickness". As a matter of fact, there were others who had eaten cherries and had even ended up in the hospital!

As I was researching, I found that cherries test VERY high in the amount of pesticides & chemicals found on them. Their thin skin allows the harmful substances to sink in and no amount of washing will get rid of them. The chemicals become part of the cherry. After reading this, I have to say that I felt angry. I felt like I had been poisoned, by our food industry! Do they realize how harmful these chemicals are?? Do YOU??

Needless to say, the bowl of beautiful cherries weren't quite what they seemed, hence the moral of this story.

To buy ORGANIC or not to buy, THAT is the question. Page & I both are firm believers in avoiding pesticides & undue chemicals at all costs. However, we do not have a money tree growing in our backyard, so we pick and choose what we buy (though trying to buy as much organic as possible).
We'll be sure to cover more on this topic at a later date, but until then we wanted to give you a helpful lists of fruits/vegetables to buy organic, the "dirty dozen" those that have tested the highest in having harmful chemicals. We are also including a list of the "clean 15" those with the fewest pesticides.

"Dirty Dozen" (best to buy organic)

CHERRIES, Peaches, Nectarines, Apples, Strawberries,Blueberries, Grapes (imported), Celery Bell Peppers, Lettuce/Spinach, Kale, Potatoes

"Clean 15" (fewest pesticide residues)

Onions, Avocado, Sweet corn, Sweet peas, Asparagus, Sweet potatoes, Cabbage, Eggplant Kiwifruit, Pineapple, Mango, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapefruit
Honeydew Melon

-Obviously not all varieties of produce are listed above, but a good rule of thumb is that if the fruit/veggie has thin skin, it's going to have higher amounts of pesticides in it.

*ALWAYS wash your produce regardless; we use GSE (grape seed extract) it's safe and very effective.

Next time you're grocery shopping, just remember my little story about the bowl of cherries, and maybe it'll cause you to think twice about the importance of buying organic. What price do you put on your health?

~Lauren & Page

Bad hair day??

I think we've all experienced a "bad hair day" -you know, the day when your hair won't do a thing?!? Yeah....

Well, a friend of mine recommended these Goody spin pins, that help you create that messy bun/chignon look. I love to wear my hair like this, and I just had to try them!
At first glance, these spirals look like they'd do anything BUT hold your hair in place. However, I'm here to recommend these awesome lil' corkscrews to you! :-) You form your hair into a bun and screw in one pin from the bottom, and one from the top, being sure to keep the ends of your hair tucked under. It might take a couple of attempts to get your hair looking just the way you want it. Once secure, your hair will naturally adjust to the pins and take on that tossled, messy bun look. SO cute! They also come in several different colors, to match your hair -which is neat.

** Now, I've heard that they don't work as well for people who have very thin, fine hair. Just an FYI. If you happen to have thick, coarse, curly, textured hair - you will LOVE these!! If you have thick hair that's fine, these could still work for you. Simply allow your hair to become "dirty" and textured, they should work just fine once your hair isn't silky soft.

Try them, and let us know what you think!!

~Lauren