Slow Cooker Cooking Day 14 Shredded BBQ Chicken

 I think this was my favorite recipe so far!! :) 

Shredded BBQ Chicken

1 1/2 lbs skinned and boned chicken thighs

1 T. olive oil

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. Cider vinegar

1 T. yellow mustard

1 t. ground red pepper

1/2 t. garlic salt

6 hamburger buns

Brown chicken for 4 minutes on each side of hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and place in a 4 quart slow cooker.

Combine ketchup and next 6 ingredients. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook 5-6 hours. Remove chicken from sauce; shred chicken. Stir shredded chicken into sauce. Spoon mixture evenly onto buns. Makes 6 servings.

Money Matters Monday: Tackle your debt!

 Welcome to our second Money Matters Monday! Today we are going to talk about tackling that debt. And its ugly. And it doesn't matter if your debt is 5,000, 50,000, or more! You HAVE to get control of it or it cripples you, stresses you out and it can even destroy families. I want to set an example for my kids on how to live debt free and not be in debt. If that is the standard we set, then hopefully that will be the standard they will live by as well.


Let's get started!


Make a list of EVERY single debt that you owe. Period. ALL of it. I don't care how ugly it is, get your list. Make it. Tackle it. Let's do this! Get your pen and paper and your statements. Go. I will wait.


Okay, make a list of all of your debts, from the highest to the smallest. You can include your mortgage if you want to but I don't. Not yet. I am tacking student loans right now, because that is all we have. After those are gone, that mortgage is getting a beat down! ;) But do what you have. If you want to list your mortgage, then do it. But I suggest starting small and tackling credit cards, loans, whatever first. List them to the penny! EVERY cent counts!


Make a list of all of your sources of income down to the penny. Including mystery shopping, blog advertising, selling stuff on ebay, your regular income, whatever.


Get your handy budget that we made last week. How are you doing with that? Are you feeling the weight of stress being lifted now that you have a budget and are sticking to it?


Look at your debts. What can you consolidate, or refinance? For example, I refinances our van last year. Then I completely paid it off 6 months later. I still saved several dollars in interest. It was worth it. Saving every cent is important. If you can't respect pennies, those pennies add up to dollars and those dollars add up to hundreds of dollars. And that money you are wasting could be going to your debt dummy! (yep, called you a dummy! Thats what you GET if you are throwing away pennies!) That is why you need to know what your debt and incomes are to the penny! Don't be a dummy! :) haha


After you have established what you can refinance or consolidate, refigure your list if you need to. Some people say to pay off the highest interest first. I know usually that is the smart thing to do, but thats not what I did. For me I wanted to knock out small stuff first so I was motivated to keep going. I did pay off our vehicle first and it was 6k and I had a student loan that was 5k. I went with the vehicle because it was 4% interest and my student loan was 3% interest. THEN I paid off the 5k student loan. Next I have a 15k student loan at 6% interest. I know I probably should have tackled that big student loan first. BUT if I would have tackled it first, I wouldn't have seen results as quicker. By eliminating our vehicle and small student loan I was able to see results and be motivated to continue! :)


After I paid off our vehicle, I took that money that was going to our vehicle payment and began putting that towards the 5k student loan. After I paid off the 5k student loan, I took THAT loan payment and the "vehicle payment" and applied them to the BIG student loan. I also figured out what I was spending on wants and not needs and it was $600 a month!! So I began putting that towards the debt as well monthly. Instead of buying magazines, coffee, entertainment that was not in the budget, I put that money toward our debt.


Get a blank envelope. Begin to put extra cash you come across in there and write on the envelope the amount and where the money came from. It ALL adds up! I would sell a few items on craigslist, ebay and put that money in the envelope, and put that towards our debt as well.


Become the boss of your money! You earned it! You get to be the steward of it and where it goes. Do you know why wealthy people have money? Because they are good stewards of it! Most "real" wealthy people I know are wealthy because they SAVE it. They live well below their means and have no debt. I have a friend that makes over 150k a year. Guess what? She shops at the goodwill for her and her family and budgets and menu plans every meal. She takes amazing vacations. She can do that because she lives super frugal and is debt free! She is a good steward of her money.


Do you want to go on a vacation or fill your closet with clothes as a vacation? New clothes or vacation? Your vacation is in your closet with the tags still on them. Don't buy anymore clothes! :) Wear what you have!


How do you tackle your debt? If you disagree with me, let me know! :) I love new ideas and respect other opinions!


When you link up, please be sure to link up to ONLY your money saving posts and NOT your blog itself! Thanks!

What I am reading...

Good morning! What are you reading this week? This is one of my favorite things to ask my Aunt Susan and Paula. They are big readers too and they ALWAYS have great recomendations! :) We even swap books, isn't that great? Sometimes it is no fun when you read a book and you LOVE it and you have no one to talk about it with who read it too. Plus I love getting book ideas from my blog friends too! :)

This is a great book so far! As you know, this is our year to become debt free and we are showing our kids how to be wise with money as well.

I can't remember how I stumbled upon this series of books. But I am so glad that I did. My Mom reads them too. They are great.

And this is what I am currently reading...

What are you reading? Any recommendations? I LOVE going to bookstores, finding ideas and then getting them at the library. Is that cheating? :o)

Don't forget tomorrow is Money Matters Monday! You can link up your money saving posts and get out of debt in 2012! :)

Want to look 10-15 years younger?

These pictures just leave me speechless! That is my Mom and Dad and these are the before and after of my Dad. He began taking the Shaklee vivix in March of 2011. This picture on the left was taken in the spring of 2011 and the picture on the right was taken approximately 6 months later! He looks SO much younger! His skin looks amazing, his hair is growing in thicker and isn't as gray. He looks amazing! 


Now let me tell you what is even MORE amazing. He has been a diabetic for probably 15 years now. He has suffered from severe neuropathy in his feet to the point where he wakes up in severe pain in the middle of the night and is unable to sleep through the night. He told me that within a few weeks of taking the vivix he has slept through the night! He said his feet feel so much better and he loves taking it. He is so grateful to get a good nights sleep and not have to be in pain or take pain medication anymore. He looks and feels great! I would say that is worth it!

This is the vivix. I currently have over half of my clients on this anti-aging tonic and they have it on autoship. You take just a teaspoon full a day and it is amazing. I have said on here before that I take the vivix to keep my migraines away. I love it. I have been migraine free for almost a year now. I will NEVER miss a day of taking this. I never want to suffer from a migraine again.


My friend Sharon has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She takes the vivix, vitalizer, and nutriferon and has eliminated a lot of her medication that caused her to gain weight and have severe mood swings. She now still has a little bit of pain at times but not NEAR as much as she did have. She is able to sleep better, feels better about herself by not gaining any weight and actually is LOSING weight. She said she felt as if the resveratrol in the vivix jump started her metabolism. She has these three items on auto ship and has SAVED money taking these 3 items because she was able to eliminate the medications that were costing even more than these products.

So, I want to know...how do you feel? Do you suffer from migraines? Do you have diabetes? Do you want to get serious about your health this year? Email me if you are serious about getting healthy and making 2012 your year to be healthy and free from illnesses and stress on your body that are completely unneccessary.


Here is the best part...

 

This label is on ALL shaklee products. Which means if you try ANY Shaklee products and for some reason are NOT happy with it, you get your money back guaranteed. Now tell me, when you get your vitamins that quite possibly are NOT quality vitamins from CVS, walmart, or walgreens, do they give you your money back AFTER you take them for 30 days if you aren't happy with them? I think not. And the markup on them are really high. Did you know that a lot of them aren't even approved or regulated? Buy quality!

So give it a try! :)

Cursive writing not being taught in schools

I had a surprising discussion with a family member recently. She mentioned that cursive handwriting was not being taught at her children's school. I was so surprised! How can cursive handwriting not be taught? This is so weird to me!


I was relieved when my third grade son Kameron came home and announced he now writes in cursive and loves showing me his work. NOTHING is cuter than a kid's first attempt at cursive. Its so cute!


Maybe I am just old school but I was thinking that it is SO important to be able to read and write cursive! What do you think about this?


I read a lot of articles and one of the main themes was that kids are now texting, emailing and cursive is not needed. What about their signatures? What about our history? I think if they are unable to write it, how can they read it?


To me it is just SO lazy! Another way that the media is getting its hold. I also read that the average American watches 9 hours of tv or computer time a day! UGH! We are making an effort to turn our tv off more and have more quality time with our kids.


What do you think? What is your view on cursive writing? I want to know if you disagree or agree. Should it be taught and do you think it is important?

Meet Katie from Building a House of Love

 Meet Katie from Building a house of love! I just love her blog! :)

How are you meeting your New Year Resolutions?

Remember this post about my New Year Resolutions?

Well…I have found something amazing to help me achieve both of them.

Shaklee

I have desperately wanted to create a healthy household and I am taking steps in the right direction. I firmly believe that changing brands is changing our lives.

I have goals and dreams for my family and I’m going to work hard to get us there! So I decided to start my business with Shaklee.

I don’t know about you but I get SUPER excited to get mail. So I was even more excited to receive my boxes of Shaklee products!

Shaklee- Creating Healthier Lives

Congratulations! It felt so good to read these encouraging messages.

After my helper (Tryp) took out all the new products he went to bed and I went around the house collecting all our old cleaners. I put them in a box and threw them out. They are gone and it feels so good. I now don’t have to worry about Tryp grabbing a Clorox wipe to clean his hands and face instead of a baby wipe. (Yes, this really happened once!)

I have learned so much about how my old products were so bad for us and I had no idea.

Do you ever hesitate cleaning because you are afraid to clean around your kids because of cleaning residues and chemicals they can breathe in while you are cleaning?
How good is a cleaner if it is also a POISON? (Have you ever thought about that?  Did you know that real clean has no smell?)
Can you comfortably let your baby crawl across your floor and then put their hands in their mouth without worrying about possible toxins, carcinogens and other harmful chemicals they are placing in their mouths?
I know that now that I’ve switched to Shaklee that I don’t have to worry when Audrey does start crawling!
Shaklee products are naturally safe and proven effective.
Just Some of Shaklee's NO List:

• NO Parabens
• NO Triclosan
• NO Phthalates
• NO Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
• NO Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES)
• NO 1,4-Dioxane
• NO Propylene Glycol
• NO Volatile Organic Cleaning Compounds (VOCs)
• NO Hydrochloric Acid
• NO Ammonia
• NO Sodium Hydroxide
• NO Butyl Cellosolve

• NO Formaldehyde
• NO Bisphenol-A
• NO Petroleum Distillates
• NO Toluene
• NO Chlorine Bleach
• NO MSG
• NO Dyes
• NO Trans Fats
• NO Artificial Sweeteners
• NO Toxic Inks
• NO Banned Substances

Check out Shaklee’s products! I’m confident you will love them as much as I do!

Slow Cooker Cooking Day 13 Taco Soup

Hi there!  It's Andrea from Maia the Bee and I'm so excited to be sharing Day 13 with you!

It's finally started snowing here in Germany and there's nothing I love more on a cold, snowy night than delicious soup!  Add tortilla chips and shredded cheese…and well, that's pretty much a perfect meal!


But wait…all you have to do is toss it into a slow cooker and come back 7 hours later??  Now THAT'S a perfect meal!!


I made Slow Cooker Taco Soup and it's yummy.  My husband loved it and has already requested that it be made again!  It's simple to make...


I took all of the ingredients and put them into the slow cooker.  Diced onion, corn, tomatoes, chili beans, and black beans first.  Then I measured out 12 ounces of beer.


Yes, folks.  Beer!  I was totally skeptical but it turned out delicious!!


Then I mixed in a packet of taco seasoning.  Stir is all up and it looks like this:

Next you add the chicken breasts and submerge them.  Turn the slow cooker on Low and prepare to smell delicious soup for the next 5 hours!


After 5 hours, remove the chicken and shred it.  My chicken was still not cooked through and I was a little nervous, but I shredded it and tossed it back it.  It still cooks for 2 more hours - I promise there was no raw chicken in the end!


As an alternative, you could use rotisserie chicken instead.  (We LOVE rotisserie chicken in this house!!)  I would leave the soup to cook on Low for a few hours and then toss the shredded rotisserie chicken into the mixture just long enough to warm up.  I think next time I'll use rotisserie chicken…


After it's cooked for a total of 7 hours on Low, you are ready to eat!  We served up yummy bowls of it and enjoyed every bite!

Add shredded Cheddar or Mexican cheese on top and serve with tortilla chips.  It's delicious!


Slow Cooker Taco Soup printable recipe can be found HERE.


Thanks, Erin, for letting me share my recipe today!  Enjoy!

 

Money Matters Monday: Make a budget

Welcome to our first day of Money Matters Monday! Every Monday we will be doing a link up party to your money saving tips. Today we are going to talk about making a budget. First I want to give you a little history. I haven't always been good stewards of our money. Not by far. I know talking about money is taboo to some people. If you don't like it, you don't have to read. :) But if you want to learn to become debt free and manage your money, then welcome aboard! Lets do this! :)

When I was first married at the age of 18, my ex-husband and I made HUGE financial mistakes. HUGE. And what is funny is that a few months ago, when we were switching off the kids we talked about how stupid we were and how much better each of us are doing with each of our family's now. He is remarried and so am I. We recalled some mistakes we made and talked about how far we have come. When we divorced I had 28k in debt that I paid off and he had debt as well. And I am not talking student loans or vehicles. I am talking credit card debt. I was 22 years old, had 2 babies, no college education, a crappy job and 28k in debt. I paid it ALL off in about 2 years. I worked 2 jobs, saved every penny. I have never had credit card debt again since I was about 24. NEVER. I have credit cards too. But I never buy something that I can't pay for that month.

Fast forward to 2012. I have student loan debt and last year we had vehicle debt. I decided I didn't want ANY debt. So I decided to eliminate it. I will admit a very sad and embarrassing fact. Up until December 2010, I had NO idea how much our bills were, how much money we made, I wasn't even sure which bank we used. I was CLUELESS! My poor husband was managing all of our money since we married when I was 25. So for almost 5 years he handled it all. I didn't even look at my pay stub. I just shredded them. I knew he was handling it all and everything was getting paid and direct deposited. In my defense for 3 of those years I was working full time, working at internships and attending school full time along with having kids and a husband. I was SO busy. When I graduated college, my husband decided to go back to school. I felt guilty having him handle everything so I offered to take over. He was skeptical at first but he showed me everything. I was so overwhelmed. It was SO stressful learning all of our bills. But we did it. And we sat down and we made lists of what we could change, what we could pay more on and so on. It was a lot of work, but everyday we are coming farther and farther. It is just amazing how far we have come in the past year. And we have done it together as a team.

So, lets talk about making a budget. You all want to know or you wouldn't have sent me emails. I want to help you! :)

Print out your bank statement, credit card statements, whatever you have. Grab two different colored highlighters. Highlight everything in YELLOW that is a NEED. These are examples of needs:
Mortgage/Rent, food, phone, Insurance, daycare, utilities, medications

Highlight in PINK items that you could have and probably SHOULD have lived without buying. These examples are:
fast food, Starbucks, Magazine subscriptions, gym memberships, cleaning/lawn services, cable/tivo, Entertainment, clothing, gifts, etc. Add these totals up and then pick your jaw up off the floor. Then STOP buying these things! :)

Make a list of all of your needs. I keep all of mine in a composition notebook and I compare them with a program we use called mint.com. I know it sounds like a lot of work but it won't be once you get it under control! It is COSTING you money not to be in control of your money!

Be sure to give yourself and your husband an allowance. I get $60 and my husband gets $80 every month. I just take less because that is all I really need. My husband works on the go all of the time and he likes to get fast food so he uses a little more. I work nights and pack all of my lunches so I don't need it for that. I spend mine on pedicures sometimes. :)

Also set up a budet for dining out. We spend $100 a month on eating out as a family. If we eliminated it completely that would not be realistic. We enjoy going out as a family so we set a realistic budget.

Make a list of bills you can break down to a cheaper way. For example, our trash company was over $90 every 3 months. We switched to a cheaper company for $60. We were paying over $1500 every year in auto insurance. We called around and got the same insurance coverage for HALF of that with a cheaper company. HUGE savings! We also had DVR, expensive cable, and we brought that down to basic cable saving us over $1200 a year! TV is just not worth that. Be patient with this step. It takes time. I worked on this for a few weeks and it was time consuming. Be patient and just continue striving to break bills down. When you start seeing results it is such a good feeling!

Watch your bank statements like a hawk! You should know where EVERY cent of your money is going at all times. If you don't, you are foolish. Let me give you an example. My first husband and I NEVER looked at our bank statements. We realized two YEARS later that AOL was taking $30 a month out of our checking account regularly. We never even HAD AOL. It STILL makes me sick and that was about 10 years ago. Disgusting. Know where every cent is going.

You can manage your budget with a lot of great programs out there. We use mint.com, but you can use quicken, whatever you want. You have to do what is comfortable for you. But know where every cent is going and track this religiously from here on out. It might make you sick at first to realize where money is bleeding out but once you get it under control, the bleeding stops.

How do you budget? Do you have any ideas? Track everything within your budget and you will start seeing results! Cut out the junk and the things you can live without.

You can follow my new page on facebook HERE and get your daily money saving tips and ideas! :) Feel free to post your own too! :) 

Link up rules: Link to your Money saving post, NOT your blog. Your link must be about saving money in some way or I will have to delete you! :( Please do not use this to promote your business either. Good luck and enjoy your money saving tips! :)

Upcoming! Money Matters Monday AND a giveaway! :)

Don't forget tomorrow is my first day of Money Matters Monday! :) You can link up and join in! :) Let's get rid of debt in 2012!


Now for the BEST part! I have a giveaway for you! 

 

Cindy, has offered to host a giveaway on my blog! She is giving away a beautiful ABC apron! :)

 Of course if you are anything like me and are messy when you cook and clean, you need an apron! :) She has a super cute blog and apron store! You can get recipes, ideas and aprons from her blog.


To enter this giveaway you must:
-Follow Mimi's Apron's blog HERE
-Like her Facebook page HERE 
-Leave a comment telling us what your favorite meal to cook is for your family! :) 

That's all! So leave your comments and we will pick a winner by January 26th at midnight! :)

Slow Cooker Cooking Day 12 Spicy Buffalo Dip

Warning! This is a VERY spicy dip! :) I made it at a party that I had at my house and it was super spicy but yummy! :)

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 lb shredded chicken

1/2 cup hot sauce

1/2 t. cumin

We used celery sticks and chips with it. Yum! :) I liked that I could keep it warm during my party in my crock pot.