BellaOnline Forums Family Moms homemaking help???

Hi Meg Jenna here...

I am 41 now, I have 3 kids...mostly grown and gone now, my youngest is the only one left and he's 14 now. (that's him on the side)

I taught myself everything...since I spent alot of time at home, I watched alot of cooking shows. there are some really good ones on PBS if you don't have cable.

One recipe that I saw one day and think is really good is Chicken Parmagan:

1. Skinless Chicken Breasts or Frozen Chicken patties work just as well
2. Mozzerella Cheese chunck sliced kind of thinnish.
3. One or Two tomatoes sliced into rather thick slices (wide)

So you cook the chicken breasts in the oven with salt and pepper, and when they are just about done, you take them out, put on one or two tomatoe slices and cover it with the cheese. You can use some individual tinfoil shaped into little cups to keep everything together. Then you turn up the oven to "broil" and slip the chicken breasts in the broiler to melt the cheese. By the time the cheese is melted and has a nice brownish tinge, the chicken breasts are cooked all the way, the tomatoes keep the chicken from being dry.
You can cook up some spagetti noodles and add some crushed, sauteed garlic* and butter and parmasen cheese or prepare a salad** with some bread sticks. The stores have these frozen bread sticks that you just unroll and put in the oven.

*To sautee the garlic all you do is
1. peel the garlic clove
2. separate the actual cloves
3. peel the cloves untill you are at the smooth pieces.
4. Take a knife and turn it sideways and "crush" the cloves.
5. Pour some cooking oil (not very much just line the bottom) in a small pan (small flat is saute pan)
6. Turn the burner on high and wait until oil is hot, then add the garlic
7. Stir it around in the hot oil until it begins to sizzle and turn brown
8. Add it to the spagetti noodles and stir it in.
9. Add the cheese..it will stick real good because of the oil.

** The best way to make an "Italian" salad is:
1. Take a head of regular lettuce and tear or chop it up after washing it.
2. Shake it dry and use a clean dish towel or paper towel (preferrably) to dry the lettuce.
3. Add some Italian salad dressing, tomatoes, purple onions - chopped, some green peppers - chopped small pieces, and then some parmasan cheese
4. toss it all together.


Another recipe I learned how to make from watching Tv was breaded porkchops and baked potatoes:

1. Any kind of pork chops
2. a couple eggs
3. salt and pepper
4. One Big Bag of Lays Potatoe chips

Break the eggs in a bowl, scramble (uncooked), and add the salt and pepper. Open the bag of chips and pour a good amount onto a plate. Crush all the chips into crumbs...add more if you need to. Take the pork chops and dip them into the eggs, then immediatly lay the chops in the chip crumbs. cover the chops completely with the chips. and put on a cookie sheet. Add more salt and pepper if you want. The chips are pretty salty so you may only want to add more pepper. Remember, pork chops don't take a real long time to cook, a good rule of thumb is to watch for the "goo" to stop oozing out of the chops, then they are done...cut to make sure they are cooked all the way through.

Baked Potatoes:

Take medium size potatoes (brown ones), wash in clean water and dry. Poke ALOT of holes with a knife or fork and roll in some semi melted or just soft butter. Salt all the way around and then wrap in tin foil with only the top showing. Don't cover the potatoe all the way because it takes longer for them to cook. You know when they are done when they are "pinchable" but do it with a pot holder cuz the potatoes are really hot.

You can add some country gravy if you want to...goes real good with this meal. Salads are a good way to get veggies and bread or biscuits go good with this too.


These are just a few... I've got a ton.... But these should get you thinking and cooking anyway. Both of these recipes can be frozen and warmed up...

As far as housework....my favorite cleaner that I use is Lysol anti-bacterial cleaner...good for the kitchen, walls and doors and bathroom...if you have young children, I would avoid cleaners with bleach. try to vacuum at least twice a week to keep allergens from building up. Dishes have to be done everyday, if your like me and don';t have a lot...otherwise you could get "critters"....yuk! And laundry can be washed all together in cold water...nothing will shrink or bleed in cold water.... when in doubt airdry... Good Luck..don't get bogged down...take it one day at a time.

Enjoy your children, don't worry about the other stuff. Keep the kids stuff clean for their health, but as they get older they love to help mommy. 2 year olds are GREAT dusters and they can push a Swiffer around real easy. They can learn to fold towels and stuff too.... One other suggestion is paper plates a paper cups...disposable...lol...use tin foil to cook with as much as possible..saves clean up time...

As you can tell - I can't spell "Parmasgan"...lol