A Natural Medicine Cabinet

As my experience in the natural world deepens, my cabinet contents have shrunk. We used to have numerous over-the-counter medicines and toiletries - antacids, pain killers, anti-fungals, anti-itch creams, cleansers, lotions, and potions that I used for a while, didn't like, but still kept. At this point, my teensy home is seeing less and less clutter because of my newish-found ability to concoct natural products at home.

I've had some time off of work recently, so naturally the first thing I do is wake up at 6:00 AM and organize the linen closet (totally normal, right?). Our sole bathroom is exceptionally little, so even though we utilize the medicine cabinet in the bathroom with our immediate needs (toothpaste, deodorant, face cleanser), the linen closet not only houses our linens, but the overflow of toiletries.

I organized my little heart out. Alongside the flannel sheets, towels, and extra blankets, there was a beautifully organized, crunchy little collection of essential oils, homemade salves, and spray and dropper bottles full of homemade potions. Happy girl. Here's what you'll find in there:

Maters & Eggs

Happy September, you guyssss!! September makes me happy for a couple of reasons:

1. Growing up, it meant school started. I loved school when I was growing up, and I love working at one, now. Everything. The environment, the excitement, the colors, the energy, and the kids. Ohhh the kids crack me up. Love, love, love my job.

2. September is when my oldest kid was born. YOU GUYS, he's going to be EIGHT! #imanoldlady

3. September = autumn. Autumn = sweaters. I'm so excited to wear sweaters and not sweat profusely at work. I just. love. sweaters.

4. I saved the best for last. Well, not really, my kid's the best, but the thing I'm actually excited about (certainly not that my sweet, squishy, giggly little baby is almost as tall as I am because you guys,  that is NOT COOL...). You guys. Comfort food is officially IN SEASON!

I love cooking comforting food like my chicken soup and chili, and now I have a new one for ya  - this is definitely one of those warm-your-belly types of recipes, good for chilly autumn days (even though "chilly" to Arizonans is like, 70 degrees). Its a little spicy, but totally avoidable if you're not into spice (just omit the peppers).

Next Stop on the Tour of DIY Blogland

So there's a tour of Blogland, didja hear?

I get to answer some questions and then get excited to share one of my favorite DIY blogs!

So here's the deal: Gina from Ladygoats is one of those people that just touches things and they turn to gold. She brought sexy back with a bookshelf, you guys. One time, she text e-mailed me plans she drew out on a hotel memo pad to build a faux fireplace... whilst on vacation. She cracks me up. I love this girl - she is truly talented, and reminds us that we all have an inner Rosie the Riveter - why ask your husband to build your toddler a big kid bed when you can dang well do it yourself?! The fact that she featured me as someone she considers worth reading in the DIY Blogland Tour is quite the honor! <3

Chiles Rellenos

It means "stuffed peppers" in Spanish. Like everything, there are variations up the wazoo, because of taste preference, spiciness preference, regional traditions, and straight-up lack of or overabundance of know-how. I pretty much don't care at all about any other variation because.... well, this shiz is amazing, and ya don't fix what's not brok(en).

The recipe is cheese, encompassed in a vegetable, egged, fried, put into a delicious heart-attack sauce.... and accompanied by tortillas. Its a caloric nightmare, high in fat (at least its good stuff), and absolutely smothered in dairy. Healthy in any way? I'm not even going to try to justify it. There's some coconut oil in there, and some full-fat dairy... and veggies, but other than that, this isn't a good dish to eat on a regular basis. But is it delicious? You bet your buttons it is.

As always, this is a ridiculously time consuming recipe with way too many steps, but the outcome is delicious and technically vegetarian AND gluten free!

You're going to need a mixing bowl for whipping egg whites, a small bowl to hold egg yolks, a pan for roasting your peppers (every time I write "peppers," I first type "chiles," then have to delete it), a pan to make and contain your sauce, a pan to fry the peppers in, and a cooling rack for the chiles to rest on. Its a long list. And you're going to have a lot of dishes. This is also a doing-5-things-at-once recipe, so novice cooks, beware.

(Photography compliments of my phone - my four year-old decided my DSLR needed to be the catch of the day when he went "fishing" with his belt - when he saw that I saw what he was doing, he straight up dropped it. Children are not expensive because of food and clothing. Episodes like this are why children are expensive. Woosah...)

They're smaller than store-bought Poblanos,
but I GREW these sexy peppers.

Banishing the Alligator Skin

So my kids are both dry-skinned little ones. The big guy was diagnosed with eczema when he was teeny - probably two months old. The doctor prescribed him a topical steroid. She even told me, "if you apply this every day, it can thin his skin." And I still used it! (Can you believe that?!)

Eventually, at about age three, his skin softened up and we just stuck with using regular lotion on his extremities after a bath. He was fine.

Then the little one comes along, and he was a health nightmare! Among several health issues, he of course, had eczema. I didn't want to thin his skin with steroids - I was a bit more educated in natural approaches than I was both my big guy. While littlest was nursing, I eliminated meat, dairy, and peanuts from my diet to see if those were causing issues. They weren't. Dietarily, I was going about it improperly, but I didn't know that, three years ago.

When the little one turned three, his skin did not clear up. It got worse, in fact. He not only had dry skin, but it was rough, scabby, slightly discolored, and the poor guy complained that it itched  constantly. When I went to my [holistic practicing] doctor for my dry skin and allergies, she suggested eliminating dairy and gluten. Isn't that just a fad? I already buy organic, whole wheat flour, shouldn't that be enough? Pffft.

It took about four weeks for me to see any difference, but my face cleared up, my stomach deflated a bit (no, I didn't lose weight, sorry friends!), I could breathe (that was a plus), and I didn't need to scratch my legs with my driver's license every evening because they were so itchy. Mkay... fad or not, no gluten meant yes happy.

Meanwhile, I'm soaking my kid in oatmeal baths, exfoliating him with sugar scrubs, blobbing on straight Shea butter, and not using soap but twice a week on his dry, scabby skin.

Stomping Out the Man Flu

This is my secret weapon. Its what I make if I ever want to comfort someone via the belly. So my sharing this with you... makes you pretty stinkin' special.

I learned how to make chicken noodle soup when I was still crushing pretty hard on my husband, before we were officially "together." He got sick for the first time in forever, and was....well, acting like boys do when they get sick.

My granddad had given me a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for Christmas that year (what I wouldn't do to know where the heck that thing went!), and when I learned my hunk-a-burnin-love wasn't feeling well, I went home to make him some soup from my BHG cookbook... as soon as I got out of seventh hour.

Its been a favorite of his ever since, because to him, food is love. I think he realized I was head-over-heels for him when I went out of my way to make this, then ride the bus to his house with a giant pot of soup - and that feeling remains. So I could make it every week, and he just smiles and gobbles it up.

In the past year or so, I've started occasionally adding dumplings to the soup instead or rice or noodles. My mom made chicken and dumplings when I was little and I remember picking out the dumplings and scarfing them down. I could have sustained life on those things. I'm a total starch-o-holic.

I'll start by giving you my basic recipe for chicken soup. This is a very hearty soup, almost a stew. I include rice/pasta in the recipe, and the starch from the rice or pasta (since we don't rinse it) thickens the broth - it is very filling! If it's dumplings you want, the broth will be more like a broth - liquidy. I suggest omitting the rice/pasta if you're going with dumplings - there's enough starch in the dumplings, trust me!

Pay Attention to the Fluffy One

Disclaimer - if you are squeamish, I'm warning you now! There are no photos, but there is speak of gross things!

K, so I love my dog, Moose. My kids love my dog. My husband secretly loves him, as well.. but since he's a girly poodle-dog, I'm not sure he'll fully admit it. Moose is possibly the most awesome dog... maybe ever. I struggle to love people this much, sometimes ... just because humans can be so disloyal and hurtful, then you have a fluffy, mildly nappy little prancing pup at home who wants nothing more than to jump on you, snuggle you, and kiss your face. Um, yes please.

He is also possibly the lowest maintenance dog I've had. As my friend says, "Moose is a trooper, he survives solely on 12 calories a day!" He eats very little, has close to zero health problems (he does have an occasional ear infection due to his floppy ears - he has medicine for it) and has had the same toy since he was a tiny puppy and still loves it. 

I take regular care of him - he's neutered, I get flea/tick prevention for him every year (buying in bulk saves some cash), renew his microchip subscription annually, care for his teeth, get him groomed, and keep him up to date on shots like a "responsible" pet owner.

But sometimes... even with the best care available... things happen with our animals. They're called "emergencies," and I swear, veterinarians are banking on them happening. So Thursday morning, when my big boy woke me up to tell me he was bleeding from his neck, I FUH-REAKED OUT.

Chilli. Just Chilli.

Once upon a time, we lived on a military base. There, we had a man-neighbor. He once made my family chili. I asked man-neighbor for the recipe, so he showed me a piece of paper. Listed on it was cans, packets, and jars of stuff mixed into a crock pot.

Are. you. serious.

So being the food snob that I can be, I wanted to duplicate the flavor, but eliminate the processed food items and make it from scratch.

"1 lb ground turkey."
First item of business - change ground turkey to organic, grass fed ground beef. It just makes me happier.

"1 packet McCormick chili powder."

I went to the grocery store and looked on the back of one of the packets. Minus the MSG and preservatives, I think I could combine paprika, cayenne, cumin, bay leaves, salt, and pepper all by my big-girl self.

"1 can diced tomatoes."
I have knives and a cutting board for those... What's "a can," like, a cup's-worth?

"1 can of pinto beans" + "1 can refried beans."
 So... one's just mashed pinto beans? I got this. I can do beans. Shewt, I'll even throw in some black beans for texture variation.

"1 can Contadina tomato paste."
Okay, I could probably make this, but they sell organic tomato paste at my most favoritest store in the world, so I won't get too picky. I'll give man-neighbor some credit on this one. One day I'll get the guts to make my own tomato paste. Until then, cans it is.

"1 bell pepper."
Can do. I used a sweet red pepper and it was a bigger hit with the family, so either/or, I suppose!

"1/2 onion, diced."

Psht. Why not throw the whole onion in there?

Avoiding the Actua Chill Pill

I'm gonna get a little personal on you here, for a minute.

I have a blessed/lucky/awesome life. Lets count my blessings, shall we? My husband never fails to care for our family. He loves me regardless of the emotional hell we've been through, he still laughs at my weird sense of humor, and for whatever reason, he still reminds me of how smart and beautiful he thinks I am. Crazy man.

My kids are 100% healthy, and we have a great relationship. I have a roof over my head that isn't about to cave in, running water, electricity, food in my belly, and the most awesome memory foam mattress topper... possibly ever. Any health problems that I have, we know what causes them - I don't have a mysterious incurable disease. I have 100 reasons to smile and laugh on any given day, and my crazy little caveman/warrior children and scruffy dog with an underbite make sure of it.

Given the fact that my life is surely rockin', the truth remains, I have stress issues. Anxiety (and other issues) run in my family, so naturally, I'm a wreck. I care way too much about what people think, and take most of it personally... It builds up after a while, and wanes on my energy levels. I've even had a few panic attacks in the middle of nothing. I think they call that the breaking point. I even stress myself out about trying not to stress. That makes sense.

The other night, my husband suggested I go soak in the tub. He may have been trying to wriggle out of doing dishes, but he had something, there. Huh.

So I took a quick shower, then filled the tub with the hottest water I could stand, epsom salt, and lavender essential oil. I think I laid in there for an hour, deeply breathing in the lavender.

I don't normally soak in the tub, it seemed futile up until now. But when I got out of the bath that night, I felt calm, and... for lack of a better word, content. I put some lavender skin salve all over to preserve my happy, post-soak skin. I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, and ready to take on my day. (Doesn't that seem like a bunch of BS? Its not, I promise). I was hooked. It helps so much to just spend 30 minutes taking in the silence... and thinking about nothing. 

Roasted Squash with Onions

I am quite possibly the worst when it comes to getting creative in terms of vegetables. I know how important they are to our diet, so I really do make a conscious effort to include them, but I'm so boring about it! I shy away from salads because my littlest will sit there for six hours before he ever eats a raw leaf (plus, I can't have ranch or blue cheese dressing, what's the point?!) My go-to recipes are usually just steamed carrots or a smoothie with spinach or kale. I'm glad no one ever fusses about those two things, but after it being a daily thing, it just gets old. Fortunately, as fate would have it, we figured out something new by accident.

When left to his own devices, my husband developed a love for kebabs. They were simple, filling, and pretty nutritious the way he was preparing them. He grilled them up for dinner a couple of times, but would frequently sacrifice the veggies to the gods of the charcoal, because they would overcook and fall off before the meat was cooked.

My solution: make only-meat kebabs, and just roast the veggies in the oven. 

Now aren't you lucky - I picked these honkin' zucchinis from my garden this morning, so lets use 'em up, shall we? There will be a proper recipe at the bottom of the post.

Take a picture of your shoulda-picked-it-two-days-ago zucchinis. Then set your oven to bake at 425 degrees.

Slice 'er up.

Dice 'er up.

Roughly (do you see this picture? I'm serious when I say "roughly") hack up some onions.

Mix it all together with butter (or oil of your choice), garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

(I had some yellow squash in the fridge that needed to be used, so I threw some of that in there, too).

Potato Preservation Venture.

Hi, I'm Meg, and I have an addiction. ("Hiiii, Meg....")

I love Costco. When I buy food or... anything really, I always compare prices. Usually, Costco has the best price per unit. If it is a PENNY less per unit, I would rather buy it. It's a penny! A hundred of those and you have a buck! That's a Toothfairy stuff, right there!

So the last time I went to Costco, I noticed the price of my favorite little red potatoes, and nabbed a bag.
I prefer these vs. Russets
because:

- When I make baked potatoes, the boys have a perfect little serving size, and they eat the whole thing. Skins included.
- I'm convinced the color in the skin = higher vitamin level.
- They hold together better (vs. Russets) when I fry potatoes for breakfast or make french fries.

Basically, I don't buy Russets. So I got a huge bag of red potatoes. Moving along....

They sat in my pantry juuuust fine for a while, then one started to smell. Have you ever smelled a rotting potato? Holy hot dogs, Batman! I'd change a thousand breastfed-baby-converting-to-solids diapers before I ever preferred smelling a rotting potato. I couldn't let my money go to waste - my solution? Freeze them.

Here's what I did:

1. Clean out the sink. Plug the sink. Put all your still-good potatoes in the sink. Fill the sink with water.

2. Pour about a cup of vinegar in the water. Let potatoes soak for about 10 minutes. Shove your hand in the sink and agitate the potatoes, kinda like a washing machine. 

3. Drain the sink. Assure no potatoes went down into the garbage disposal. 

4. Gently scrub each potato, then set in your cutting area.

5. Cut the potatoes. Dice them, slice them, cut 'em into french fries. However you choose. I chose to dice them all, since I can use them diced in country potatoes, morning scrambles, soup, and roast them in the oven with squash in onions. It was the most versatile cut for me! 

6. Rinse out the sink. Plug the sink back up. Fill it up with clean water. Dump all of your newly sliced potatoes into the clean water, and let them soak for about 10 minutes. 

7. Lay a towel on the counter (I had two towels). Drain the sink and put all of your soaked, cut up potatoes on the towel and spread them into a single layer so they can dry for about 30 minutes.

Spicy Meatballs

... not really. Its only spicy if you put a ton of red pepper flakes in it... which I do... 'cause my husband likes it spicy. Rawr.

I make a ton of these at once because they're perfect for lunches (which I pack four of on a daily basis!), and a quick addition to dinners on tee ball or basketball nights. These make me happy because there's no gluten involved - so my little one doesn't have the alligator arms two days later.

They have a distinct, smoky flavor, so they don't need a sauce or gravy. I suggest serving them on their own alongside other things, rather than smothered in a sauce or mixed into something.

Meg's Meatball Recipe:

*2 lbs ground beef (or 1 lb beef, 1 lb pork)
*2 large eggs
*1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
*1/2 C rice flour (take dry rice and put it in the blender. Bam: rice flour)
*1 Tbsp salt
*1 Tbsp black pepper
*1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
*1 Tbsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika with a tbsp of liquid smoke)
*3 Tbsp minced onion
*3 Tbsp granulated garlic
*1 Tbsp turmeric - yes, I know. Just do it.



1. Throw all ingredients in a huge mixing bowl. Now stick your hands in the bowl and mash everything up with your bare hands until it is all incorporated (mix it really well, there's nothing worse than biting into a hunk of salt!).

2. Roll meatballs that are about an inch in diameter. I get something like 40 meatballs, give or take.

3. Put a thin layer of cooking oil of your choice in a large pan, and heat slowly on low (about 3 for those of us with numbers on the stove dials). Put the meatballs in the pan, searing each side. One pan-full of meatballs usually takes me about ten minutes, but stoves, pans, and meats (more or less fat content) will vary that time, so just cook slightly longer than you would a hamburger patty.

4. Place cooked meatballs on a cookie rack to drain excess cooking oil.

Your meatballs aren't going to be perfectly round, but they'll be perfectly delicious. Lemme know how yours turn out!

The Budget.

I loathe spending money, even if its for something that I have specifically saved. I get this burning sensation in the pit of my stomach- and if its a lot of money (like our Vitamix was), I feel sick to my stomach. I keep the receipt for months under a magnet on the refrigerator, and refuse to throw away original packaging just in case I decide to return it.

But sometimes, people need a car, or a house, or an insanely expensive item for school like the crazy things my Mr. needs. We don't make a lot of money, so I cut corners where I can, but we still didn't have enough in savings to make large purchases or cover huge emergencies, if needed.

Where's the Money Going?

I am mathematically challenged, so I had to keep this a basic as possible. To determine where it was all going (and how much I could start setting aside), I started with a basic chart that included every single bill we could possibly have. I assumed nearly all of our money went to bills, groceries, gas, and vehicle maintenance. I don't really actively decorate my home, I'm fashionably challenged so I don't buy a ton of clothes, I try not to drive to save gas, I cook at home, and I don't have payments on anything... So where's the money going?

I even included the credit card that is like a cuss word in our home (seriously, we don't say "credit card" in front of our kids!) and we had a zero balance on. I included the amount due ("cost"), the due date, and the amount paid. The reason I included both the amount due and amount paid was because of the credit card - I typically will add a few dollars onto minimum balances due, to reduce accrued interest in the end. To avoid interest entirely, we only use the credit card when there is no other option.

It All Adds Up

At the end of my chart, I would calculate the total amount of our income that was to be used towards bills. At the time, we got paid on the 1st and 15th of every month. So I then would calculate how much money of our income was due to bills prior to the 15th, and after. 

I filled in some random numbers and dates for a visual. So, for the first paycheck of the month, only $677.69 is going to be used toward bills. For the second paycheck, only $237.02 will be used. I only pay bills that are due before the 15th with the 1st of the month paycheck. I also only pay bills that are due after the 15th with the 15th of the month paycheck. Does that make sense?

The total amount that went to bills that figurative month was $914.71. That's all? So now that we knew where is going, that means we can figure out how much to put away each paycheck. Remember - you still need to pay for gas and vehicle maintenance, groceries, and have spending cash on top of what you already pay your bills with.

Other Things to Consider

Another money-saving tip I used was asking myself if I really needed something before purchasing it. Would it save me money? Would it improve our life that significantly? Also, can you borrow it from a friend? Can you find it used? Have you really scoured Craigslist, thrift stores, and yard sales that well? Consider these alternatives to purchasing new items every single time.

Some people like to separate their cash into envelopes for a better visual, but my chart worked well for me, I could just post it on the fridge and mark it as the month went on.

So there you have it, I hope it makes sense to you and helps you if you are looking for it. Do you have any tips or tricks to help you manage your income?

Just a Little Picket Fence

A few posts back, I published some pictures of my 2013 garden. If you'll notice, there was no fence.

Please excuse my neighbor's awesome need for 45 cars. 

There was no need for a fence. This year, the second anything had a leaf, we got a visitor.
A fuzzy, quiet, hopping, leaf-eating visitor. Little Bunny Foo Foo has a thing for tomato leaves, apparently. Where was Little Bunny Foo Foo last year? Well. This had to be handled.

It was time to build a fence. We were strapped for extra cash at the time, so my husband grabbed a roll of chicken wire and cut a couple 1x4s in half. Then he cut an angle at the end of each 1x4 so they were stakes. Then he hammered a stake at each corner of the garden, and just wrapped the chicken wire around the stakes. It was horrific - the chicken wire was floppy and... well, it was classy (not).

It really ups the class when you have toys strewn everywhere... geez.

I knew that was just a temporary solution, so I didn't fret too much. I could still bend over the fence to weed and harvest. But the problem remained. I wanted a sturdier and far more attractive fencing solution for my garden. Firstly  because I hate rabbits when they're not food or pets.  Secondly, because chickens apparently love spinach. Jerks.

Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill

I make salmon the exact same way every time. There are only so many ways you can make salmon when there are picky eaters in the house (and one of them is a grown man)!

This is a recipe I think my mom learned in cooking school, then taught it to her mother. My grandmother used to make it for most of her dinner occasions , so I thought it was her recipe until my mom spoke up, recently.

Disclaimer: I cook with "a little bit of this" and "add that till it tastes right," because I don't typically use processed food - and nature never, ever tastes the same twice. So even though this has mayo in it, there's still the dill and lemon which vary greatly depending on different factors. I'm taking a page out of my mom's book and throwing nonspecific measurements at you. So this is a "to taste" kind of recipe, for sure. Take the measurements lightly!

Ingredients:
* slab-o-(raw) salmon (I usually use 2-4 lbs so we have leftovers. This one is 3.5 lbs)

* 1 C mayonnaise. (If you can't make it yourself, get the kind with actual egg in it - the low fat junk has artificial WTF listed on the label and doesn't brown in the oven).

* Juice from 1/4-1/2 a lemon. (I like it tart, but you may not. Start small!)

* 3 Tbsp dried dill. Or more. Because I. Love. Dill.

Just Grow Something!

I don't really *do* dirt. I get ticked off when my kids track it into the house, I get annoyed when its under my fingernails, and ohmigawd when it gets in my eye I could just scream. But I, for whatever reason, decided that I wanted a garden.
I needed  a garden. I've had failed planter disasters (read: "American Bulldog puppies like to dig") before, and have somehow kept a sweet mint plan alive for the past four years, but other than that, my green thumb was more brown, as they say. 

So last spring/summer, my mister man dug up a little plot for me, probably rolling his eyes every 5 minutes because he knows of my issues with commitment... But he does it for me anyway because I pack his lunch every day and he knows he'll get an unopened can of tuna and an old pear if he doesn't (we'll touch more on enabling in another post). So I got a lovely 8' x 3.5' plot to plant whatever my little heart desired. 

I planted two types of kale, two types of cucumbers, radishes, carrots, white onions, jalapeños, purple(!!!) tomatillos, serrano peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes. I had herbs, too - basil, cilantro, and mint, and lemon verbena... all in mismatched containers, of course.

Mom's Pancakes

I. love. pancakes.

My mom raised me on uh-may-zing pancakes. Father's day, birthdays, and Christmas always involved those beloved, fluffy heart cloggers.

The only major holiday exceptions were Mother's day (which was reserved for blueberry waffle/mimosa brunches at Grandma's house- hello, first taste of real maple syrup), and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, I don't even remember what we ate in the morning. I think I just snuck ginger cookies or something- Mom was too busy prepping everything. Heh, heh, heh...

My mom always cooked everything for family occasions. The funniest part? She loathes cooking. She'd probably rather be sewing something. Or rescuing poodles. Or gouging her eyes out with rubber-tipped baby spoons. 

So when I call and ask her for a recipe of any kind, she gets all flustered and is like, "Gawd, Meg! I dunno, I just ... ya know... throw a bunch this and summa that in there, sprinkle it with cinnamon and its zucchini bread. But I'm sanding this friggin' cabinet right now, so can I just call you later?!" 

Yes, Mom. Call me later. And elaborate what the #*%$# you just told me to do. 

I decoded and experimented with a basic pancake recipe Mom spewed at me in the middle of her experimentation with her brand new serger, and it is even better than my Mom's. Yes, Mumsie. Oh Yes. They're like IHOP and Jesus got together and whipped somethin' up. I will eat gluten and dairy on pancake days. Gotta make sacrifices for the pancakes you love.