Plain and Not So Plain – Page 1008 – Free Homeschool Books & Resources for Every Family

Potato bacon chowder soup and mess free crackers

amy / 06/06/2013

We all need more hours in our day. Preparing and serving meals takes up much of that time. Soup is a great time saving meal, that is enjoyed by all. I love having a big pot of soup simmering on the stove all day, served with a nice fresh loaf of homemade bread–unfortunately today was not a homemade bread making day, so we served it with crackers, still just as good. You can modify this depending upon the size of family you are serving. This makes one large pot, enough for our dinner plus lunch the next day.

Start by peeling and dicing 10 lbs of potatoes.

When your hand has fallen off, from peeling and dicing all of those:)its time to move on.

Add a package of bacon bits to your pot, you can also fry up a package of bacon, but I am looking at the ease right now.

You can then add some diced onions, I didnt have any on hand, but did have some dehydrated ones that will do the trick. We added 2 Tablespoons, or you can dice up a whole onion, depending upon what your likes are.

Fill your pot almost up to the top with water and add some chicken bouillon to taste. I added about 6 Tablespoons, but you can add however much your family enjoys.

Cook on medium heat until all your potatoes are tender.

Then it is time for your thickener. I like to use instant potato flakes, baby rice cereal(yes if you have lots of leftovers from babies like we do) or today I am using leftover mashed potatoes that I have previously frozen.

Place it in your pot and slowly stir away. It should start to thicken in the next few minutes. Start by adding about 1/3 of the box of instant potato flakes, baby cereal or 2 cups of mashed potatoes. Then as the soup thickens you can add more depending upon how your family likes it.

After it is all heated and thickened, add a 16 oz container of sour cream and stir. Don’t boil the soup any longer or the sour cream will separate.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with green onions.

Here are the “lower half” children’s soup

Our children really like saltine crackers crushed into their soups. But with 6 little ones all crushing crackers at the table, it can get very messy real quick.

Here is what we do to solve that. Take a package of crackers.

Let your children help crush the crackers inside the package. Be careful not to break the wrapper.

Pour on top of the soup

Is this cool enough to eat yet Mom?

7 tips for the harried housewife

1. Keep things practical and simple.

When we live and work in the home, if we have a lot of stuff it feels cluttered. There is always something that needs cleaning, or straightening. Always something getting in the way. I find that if I don’t use something for a whole year, I get rid of it. I try and go through my house and weed out things that are unused at least 2 or 3 times per year. Give away to a friend, or sell online and pay off some debt. Make rooms as simple as possible. Ask yourself “Do I really need this? Or what purpose does this fill?” Work on a room every month, in a years time you should have made significant progress.

2. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

I can’t stress this enough…..organize…….organize…….organize. I could do this weekly. I’m always thinking of a better way to do things or to make them more efficient. Train your family to place items back where they got them from. Yes, it takes lots of time but eventually the 2 year old will get it!

3. Do 15 minutes of quick clean up.

Amazing what you can do in 15 short minutes of time. Set the timer and everyone work. Fill the sink with water and start cleaning up the counters, placing all stray cups in the sink, wipe down counters, backboards, and stoves while filling the sink. Wash a few dishes and let air dry, soak the crusted on pans while you sweep up the kitchen floor.

4. Keep odors under control.

Smelly homes are bad, they send a messages to unexpected guests that you are unclean. Keep bathroom trashes empty, wipe bathrooms down daily. Use a paper towel and cleaner in a spray bottle and do a quick wipe of sink, then toilet, then floors before you leave the bathroom in the morning.
For your diapers, keep your trash lid closed or throw diapers in an outside trash can. If you use cloth make sure to keep them in a closed in area preferable away from the normal household activities. Keep a few candles around to light in a quick pinch. My favorite is banana nut bread—-yummy.

5. Teach child preventative maintenance.

This takes time and patience but in the long run will yield good fruit. Train your children when coming into the home, take off your shoes and coats and put them away immediately. When done washing their hands and brushing their teeth, wipe up the mess in the bathroom. These little helps will go a long way.

6. Moms, get your sleep.

I know the one foolproof way for me to end up “losing it” is by not getting enough sleep. When we are not rested we will not be fit to take care of our children. The rule is if you are not blessed to have your babies sleep through the night then goto bed when they do. Its so easy to get wrapped up in reading blogs or by watching TV but it will take a toll on us in the morning. For myself, I have a nursing baby who eats every 3 hours, a 2 year old that has slept through the night maybe a handful of times since she was born, and a 3 year old who occasionally still gets up. Sleep is just not for me:-) I figured when I retire I’m gonna sleep till noon everyday:-)

7. Spend time in prayer.

When things look overwhelming, and you just don’t know what to do…goto the Lord. Ask him which things are most important for you to do right now and which can be put off till later. Or maybe you just need to vent and get some reassuring comfort.

As with everything know that to tomorrow is a new day and you can start out fresh again.