Free Printable Grocery Coupons
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Popularity: 8% [?]
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Job layoffs are becoming a weekly occurrence. Somewhere in America, at least one company decides to layoff employees. Layoffs are becoming so common that you may know someone dealing with one firsthand. In fact, that person may be your husband or wife. Losing a steady full-time income is stressful. You may have your own worries, but you need to be available to support your spouse after their job lay off. How?
Be there to talk. Sometimes, you just need to listen. Your husband or wife will go through different stages of emotions. Anger is usually the first. Listen to them rant and vent. Then, fear and panic usually comes next. Assure them everything will be okay. It may take a few months, but they will find a new job. Moreover, there is still your income to fall back on. If the situation does not improve, depression may come next. Unfortunately, your shoulder to cry on and ear to listen may not be enough. Professional help may be needed.
Talk about health insurance. Many families have two health insurance options, but rarely need two coverage plans. For that reason, either you or your spouse are providing health insurance for the family. If your wife was laid off and she provided insurance, closely examine all options. This should be done immediately to ensure your family, especially the children, are not without medical coverage. Is it cheaper to buy COBRA coverage or health insurance through your work?
Provide support with finding a new job. With the poor job market, it is harder to find a job after a layoff. There are millions of Americans looking for work. In the past, a job that may have only had 50 applicants may now get as many as 250. Your husband may have a great job interview, only to later learn he didn’t get the job. Finding a job in today’s economy isn’t easy; it will be a bumpy road. Once again, be there to listen and provide support.
Tactfully provide advice. Some Americans getting laid off from their jobs have worked with the company ten, twenty, or even thirty years. If your spouse is one of these individuals, he or she likely hasn’t job searched, applied for jobs, or had an interview in years. They may not know where to start and they are likely to make mistakes. It is easier to catch them from the outside looking in. Notice your wife isn’t dressing properly for a job interview? Mention it, but be polite. In fact, offer to take her shopping to get a new outfit.
Give your spouse freedom to make a new choice. They may want to go back to college, take a few career-training courses, or even change career fields. As long as you can afford it, let them try. Not only that, offer your support and encouragement. Layoffs are scary, but they provide many Americans with a clean slate.
Don’t expect your spouse to do it all at home. If actively looking for a job after a layoff, your spouse will be in and out of the house. However, much time will be spent right at home. Do not create unrealistic expectations. Yes, your wife is home each day; however, that does not mean you can expect her to have dinner ready each night, clean the house, and care for the kids. Take it one-step at a time. Of course, they should not spend their days at home sitting on the couch doing nothing, but don’t overwhelm or burden them with too much.
Popularity: 58% [?]
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Cooking great Cajun food is truly an art. There really is very little science to this particular form of cooking that includes a lot more than mere lagniappe from the pantry or the spice cabinet. Cajun cooking is something that has often been imitated around the country and around the world but can very rarely be accurately duplicated.
One of the fascinating things about Cajun cooking is the fact that there are very few exact recipes. Most, if not all authentic Cajun cooking is done to taste rather than measurements. Even more amazing is that from day to day one person can make the same dish over and over and it is quite likely to taste a little bit different each and every time it is made. The major reason for this is that in addition to being an art form in and of itself, Cajun food is often made even more delicious or mysterious simply by the mood of the one doing the cooking.
I’m sure that many of you have watched as Emeril Lagasse makes some special concoction and exclaims “Bam!” there is a good bit of that when it comes to Cajun cooking. Something that goes far beyond the ingredients in the recipe and somewhere into the heart and the soul of the cook in question. There is a reason that many southern cooked dishes are referred to as soul food and you should not for one second forget that New Orleans is in the heart of the Deep South.
The most difficult thing, perhaps when it comes to preparing good Cajun dishes outside of the New Orleans region is finding the right ingredients. It is nearly impossible to find the fresh seasonings and spices that are essential to most Cajun cuisine outside the heart of the old south. Not only that, but fresh crawfish and andouille sausage are a little difficult to come by during the heart of a Michigan winter.
If you are determined to learn to make Cajun food of your own, you must first find the ingredients. Specialty food shops or those that will special order might be your best bet. There are some grocers that will carry a limited stock of Cajun seasonings on their international food aisles. Keep in mind that these sources are extremely limited. Once you have the ingredients, it’s time to let a little jazz blare from your speakers in order to set the mood. Most of the best Cajun dishes require a substantial amount of time for simmering and this should be considered. Cajun food is not to be rushed—much like the citizens of the Big Easy. The food will be ready in time and as the one cooking the food you must learn to accept that about Cajun food. It has a way of letting you know when it is ready that is almost mythical until you’ve experienced it for yourself.
Cooking Cajun food will try your patience, try your talents, and in some cases zap your energy, as it tends to be an emotional process for many. On the other end however, Cajun food is some of the richest and most delicious food on the planet. When you master the art of cooking Cajun you will be addicted.
Popularity: 51% [?]
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How many of us put cooking at the top of our priority list? In fact, far too people have made learning to cook a priority in their lives. This means that we often exist on convenience foods and boxed mixes rather than taking the effort to prepare healthy meals for our families and our own personal enjoyment.
The same holds true for lunches when we often resort to a can of soup or box of macaroni and cheese or some other such product rather than putting our creative efforts into making a quick and easy yet delicious lunch. You will see many ideas in this article and the hope is that these ideas will not only get you off to a great start for ending the lunch rut we all seem to find ourselves in at some time or another but also to try new things on your own.
First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will require the use of the microwave and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before hand and reheated. The choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them. I certainly hope that some of these ideas will become main features within your own home.
Lettuce wraps. These mike delightfully delicious lunch treats and the filling can be prepared ahead of time, which leaves only reheating the filling and wrapping when you’re ready to eat. This is a fun lunch to share with your little ones and it teaches them that lettuce is much more versatile than people often give it credit for being. Some people choose to go with a teriyaki inspired filling; my family likes taco inspired fillings for our lettuce rolls. You are perfectly free to come up with a favorite filling of your very own.
Try sandwiches with different breads. Believe it or not, my children love trying new things. It’s a rare trait for which I am extremely grateful. Believe me I understand all too well how fortunate I am. My youngest however, has a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Her favorite sandwich choice has become Hawaiian sweet rolls. We put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in her roll as if it were a bun and she’s thrilled. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats. Other great bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and paninis (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panini press).
While this is by no means the end all be all guide to cooking quick and easy lunches it is good food for thought. Now you know some simple things to make your family a healthy lunch without taking too much time.
Popularity: 51% [?]
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Do you find your time stretched to the limit and it is an effort to prepare good meals for your family? Unfortunately, cooking a good family meal requires both time and energy. A few wise moms have discovered a concept that has become known as once a month or freezer cooking to assist in those nights when time, energy, or both are in short supply.
The thought behind once a month cooking is that for one or two days (if you prefer to spread the process out over a couple of shorter days rather than one long day of cooking) of intense culinary effort your family can dine well for an entire month. Many women who have tried this have also discovered that not only does it help by always having something nice and home cooked for dinner, but also helps families stay within budget.
Far too many mother’s will guiltily raise their hands when asked whether or not they’ve ever resorted to fast food or junk food meals simply because they were too tired to cook or were missing one ingredient for a meal and did not feel up to running to the grocery store in order to pick up the missing ingredient. This practice can get expensive over time and rob your family of some well-earned fun money.
There are some important things you must keep in mind if you are considering once a month cooking as a way of life for your family. The first thing you need to keep in mind is that planning is the key. You will need to set aside a day (or two) for the cooking when nothing else is on the calendar. It is simply too difficult to see to all the details if you are planning your cooking event around car pools, soccer games, or dance practices. You need a full day that will be relatively uninterrupted. If you have a spouse, partner, or family member that can take the children for the day this will be the ideal situation. Otherwise be sure to have plenty of distractions on hand for the little ones or find a way to enlist their help with any cutting, chopping, slicing, dicing, or peeling that may need to be done.
You should also create a thorough menu followed by a list of each and every ingredient you will need. Shopping needs to be done on a day other than when you are planning to cook. This means that you aren’t likely to rush through the shopping trip and forget something as a result. Bring your menu and your list and get everything you need in one trip whenever possible. You can also save money by planning your meals for the month according to the sales circulars and coupons you have for the week in order to stretch your budget a little further.
Finally, you need to make sure that you have all the supplies, dishes, and containers you need in order to prepare and store the meals you’ve prepared properly. You should also make sure that the recipes you are using for your once a month cooking marathon are recipes that freeze well. It is even better if you have recipes that double well so that you can get twice the results from the same effort.
You should also make sure you are mentally prepared for your marathon cooking session. Beginning with a nice and tidy kitchen is a great start. Folding card tables make an excellent flat surface for storing things out of the way and freeing up valuable counter space for preparing and assembling the foods that will be prepared. You should also utilize as many appliances in your kitchen as possible for maximum efficiency. Don’t limit all cooking to the oven. Find dishes that freeze well and can be prepared in the crock pot or on the range top. Cook only once a month is challenging but it will save you time and money.
Popularity: 58% [?]
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Corn Dog Recipe
Are you wanting to know how to make your own corn dogs? Corn dogs are yummy and easy to make at home. This homemade corn dog recipe is one the family is sure to love. This corn dog recipe offers an easy and delcious corn dog recipe that you can make instead of using the store bought ones.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
oil or shortening for deep frying
1 pound hot dogs, about 10, or use 1 pound of cocktail hot dogs
wooden skewers, popsicle sticks, or toothpicks for cocktail hot dogs
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and chili powder. In another bowl, beat the eggs with milk and the 1/4 cup of oil. Stir egg and milk mixture into dry ingredients and whisk together until batter is smooth.
Heat oil in the deep fryer to 360°, or until it’s just about to smoke. You want the oil to be very hot so that when the corn dog is put into the oil it begins to fry immediately.
Lightly flour each weiner. This makes the batter stick to the wieners. Insert a wooden skewer or popsicle stick into each hot dog, to make a handle for the hot dogs. Holding the stick or skewer, dip each hot dog into batter, turning to coat thoroughly and evenly.
Fry corn dogs in 2 or 3 batches, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Don’t cook anymore than 3 at a time so they cook correctly. Drain on paper towels.
Popularity: 90% [?]
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