Rural Recipe

One thing about living in a rural area is that you have more time then somebody living in an urban area. One recipe that I love is cheese stuffed shells. This is a recipe that we use at my work and even though it's a little bit more time consuming, if you have the time it is worth it.

Ingredients:
12 oz. shells
1 1/2 lbs. cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 (8 oz.) package of mozzarella cheese
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chopped parsley
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 c. tomato sauce or meat sauce
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Cook shells in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well. Combine ricotta and Mozzarella cheeses with eggs and blend with salt, pepper and parsley. Fill the shells with the cheese mixture. Spread a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish. Place the stuffed shells, 1 deep, in the baking dish and top with balance of sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

This recipe usually takes me about an hour to make from start to finish but like I said before it is worth the work. Another nice thing about this recipe is that you have lots of options to make it different. You can add meat into the cheese mixture for cheese and meat stuffed shells or add more cheese or more sauce to it. One of my coworkers even chopped up some vegetables to add to the cheese mixture before she baked it and that was very well also. Have fun experimenting with this recipe!

*RS*

Daily time saving tips

If you are like me it feels like your to do list is getting longer and your days are getting shorter. While looking online I found a list of some ways to help save time during the day. These ideas are really helpful, especially if you are living in a urban area and really need all the time you can get.

One thing that is always a problem in my house is when somebody gets a glass, uses it, and sits it down. By the time that person goes to get their glass it's in the dishwasher because somebody else didn't know if it was being used or not. A great tip to help this is to designate a spot for cups that are being used on one of your counters. This way nobody will be trying to guess whether or not the cup is being used.

Another tip I like is that when you are cooking save all of your trash in one area and then take it to the trash can in one trip that way you are not making frequent trips to the trash can. This tip can also be used for other times when you are not cooking but have lots of trash that you need to throw away.

A couple months ago I wrote down a date that was a couple weeks ahead. When I went back and looked at my note I didn't know what the date meant. It turned out that the date was my grandma's birthday, that is why keeping your your important dates on one calendar is also helpful so that you are not forgetting why the date is important.

One thing that I really dislike other then forgetting why a date is important is when I get home from the grocery store and realize I forgot to get something I really needed and have to go to the store again just to get that one thing. One way I have learned to avoid this is to keep one shopping list somewhere that you can write everything you need as you realize you need it. I have found that it is easy just to make a note about the stuff you need in the notebook tool of your cell phone if you have one.

Hopefully these tips will help you to save time so that your days feel longer then your to do list!

*RS*

Home Remedies to Fix Everything!

Something I always found interesting about my grandma, is that she always has a way to fix, or clean something, by using an everyday household item. Here's a list of things that I thought were interesting, and may be helpful for any of you =) :

Non-Gel Toothpaste:

Removes crayon marks on walls by gently rubbing the crayon mark, then rinse with warm water.

Deodorizes hands (from garlic and onion scents) by washing hands with toothpaste instead of soap.

Dryer Sheets:

Rub a used sheet over static-filled hair to tame the craziness.

(My own uses: Place in the bottom of a trash can to battle trash odors. Also, used dryer sheets make great dust rags!)

Coffee Filters:

Use as a mitt to clean windows and mirrors for lint and streak-free results.

Line flower pots so the dirt won't get stuck in the drain holes.

Other helpful hints that my grandma passed to my mom, which was passed to me:

For stubborn zippers that won't zip, rub a crayon on the teeth of the zipper.

Don't have a tide-to-go pen? Dab shirt stains with soda water.

For rust stains in clothing, squirt lemon juice on the stain, let sit in the sun, then wash.

For ink stains, apply hairspray to the stain, then wash.

There are soooo many more at-home remedies. One site where I found many of the ones listed (and more) can be found here.

Rural Dinner on an Urban Time Clock

Everyone loves a home cooked meal but if you live in an area like mine the traffic alone makes it tough to get home in time to prepare one. When I first moved to this urban city I found myself eating at restaurants more frequently but then I found a way in which I could eat a home cooked meal without the fuss of cooking. I found the wonderful world of crock-pots and here is a recipe you might want to try. You can come home from a busy day and viola, dinner is there waiting.

What You Need

1 cup diced cooked chicken

2 onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sliced almonds

What To Do

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot.

2. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

3. Serve with sliced almonds lightly toasted.

Enjoy!!

-JA-

Whatever happened to clotheslines?

We all know what a clothesline is for, and I'm sure we've all seen one used... at least in the movies; but how many people can say that they currently have one, and use it? Our culture has become so fast-paced that we now use dryers to dry all of our laundry, even in the summer. As a child, one of my chores was to do my own laundry. We almost never used the dryer in the summer time, because "Why waste electricity, gas, and energy, when we can use the breeze outside?"
What's funny is that somehow that clothesline has now disappeared from my backyard, and my family is now caught up in our culture of fast-paces. Using the dryer is much quicker, bug-free, and we can leave the clothes sit awhile if we haven't the time to fold them. However, there is a new "clothesline" which is used indoors for the dry hang only clothes. I found it useful when I was away at school, and lived on my own for awhile. I had to pay to do laundry, which gets really expensive. So I found a way to save a little bit of money by using a drying rack. The only difference it has from a clothesline is that instead of lines, it has bars. Clothes hang off of the bars as opposed to clipping them to a line, but essentially they dry the same and use much less energy than dryers. The only down side is that they are big enough to hang an entire load of laundry from.
If you live in the country, you may still use an actual clothesline. If you live in the city, a drying rack is probably more efficient for you. It's the same concept of saving energy and and money, except you can use it inside.

On The Urban Side

If you have had a busy day rushing around and really don't feel like making dinner there is a great sushi place in Mishawaka. Busy lifestyles in urban areas make cooking difficult but the importance of good eating habits remain.

Check out Hana Yori at:
3601 Grape Road in Mishawaka, IN 46545

Their lunch menu ranges from around eight to fourteen dollars but their dinner menu is a bit more expensive ranging from about fourteen to thirty dollars. One thing that is really great about this restaurant is that they do offer a kids menu as well. The atmosphere is nice as well as entertaining. It is a nice break from the rush of urban lifestyle.

JA