All posts by NerdMom

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 5/30

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So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

If you might be interested in sponsoring Contesting Monday, please email me! Mom@nerdfamily.com

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

 

life

Can Someone Give Me Style?

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I am a fashion dud! I have always been a fashion dud.

That is an extra sad statement because I love the fashion shows and do a pretty decent job picking out things for my very skinny, petite and adorable best friend.

Now I am not the kind of fashion loser who wears the crazy colors and stuff. I am the opposite. I love classic looks with a new twist on them. But I see the great new styles that are even in plus sizes and I am too wimpy to try them. When I try the cute new styles I never feel that they look right on me due to my size. I am afraid to really try much new because I am sure that if I get attention it is because I am committing a major fashion don’t! I don’t want to be the fat girl trying to hard to wear clothes that are just all wrong!

So here I am at 35 (almost 36) with little style! I have never really developed a style (other than what I have found on the clearance rack;) that I really feel comfortable with. I like some pieces but I am not convinced that they look good enough to pay full price for. So I just chicken out and buy clearance pieces (which isn’t always a bad thing). But I want something that looks cool, classic and pulled together!!!

So I hope that I get picked for the Secret Style Suite at BlogHer11!! Come on M.O.M. Squad and help a girl out! I am a homeschooling, blogging, stay at home mom of 4, can you give a girl some style;)?

Food

Turkey Bacon Burgers #firststreetvip

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If burgers actually had a season, this would be it!!! So when I was issued the challenge to develop a recipe with Smart&Final’s First Street brand products that is where my mind went. I have done standard burgers for years but I have never made a turkey burger. Mostly because people have scared the snot out of me about how hard they are to cook because they get dry and fall apart. When I asked for recommendations on Twitter someone recommended actually adding olive oil to the turkey meat to prevent it from drying out. So I started thinking….What has fat and is delicious? Bacon of course! Instead of adding it to the top, as is standard, I basically shaved it super thin and added it into the meat! The fat of the bacon kept the burger moist and tasty!!! These were a huge hit!!!

Ingredients:

3lb ground turkey
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
6 oz shaved raw bacon
1 tsp pepper
1 tblsp dehydrated onion
1 tsp kosher salt
Buns
Provolone Cheese slices


Process:

This is super easy!!! First take your bacon out of the fridge and slice it super thin, basically shaving it. This is important because you need it to be small so that the bacon will completely cook. Then mix everything (except the buns and cheese) together. I formed the patties about the size of my hand and fairly thin. Remember that the burgers shrink and bulk up in the middle.

I cooked these inside on my griddle because I was afraid that they would fall apart on the BBQ but I think I would have been fine on the BBQ. So I cooked them on a griddle set on 325 degrees. I cooked it about 7 minutes on the first side. Look for the color to change about 1/2 up the patty and some yummy caramelized patches on the bottom. Then flip. Look for the color to change all the way up.

Then I feel to see if it is done. You may need to practice a little bit. But basically if I press down on the center and it is firm, then it is done. If it is squishy, let it cook a little longer. Then I put the cheese on the burger and left it on the griddle about 30 second longer. Then take it off the griddle and place it on the bun. And serve!!!

Makes 11 generous sized burgers!

Want to try some of these awesome First Street products from Smart and Final? Make sure that you stop by Smart&Final’s facebook page to enter a giveaway for a giant bag of products and a $50 gift card!!!

(I was compensated for this post from #collectivebias as part of a social shopper insights study. They provided the motivation and I provided the recipe!)

Food

Meal Planning: Getting Started

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So I do weekly meal plans here at the NerdFamily house and recently I was in a conversation at MOPS about how to get started. I recommend that you sit down with a pad and ask everyone in your family what dinners they like. I recommend doing this when you are all sitting down to dinner. Then I take that list and compare it to the weekly supermarket ads. Then just pick 5 meals. I leave 1 night for takeout and 1 night for leftovers. Then make a grocery list based off of that menu. Now many times I will rearrange my meals part way through the week but that isn’t a big deal.

I also post my meal plans as part of Meal Plan Monday. This has worked out for me in a couple of ways. Not only do I not need to figure out every afternoon what we are having, NerdDad will often help get things out to thaw the night before or the morning of. I would remind you to remind everyone else in your family of an addage we use here in the NerdFamily House, “This is the plan but plans change”. Otherwise you can sometimes get dissapointment when husbands don’t get the meal they were looking forward to;).

So what are you waiting for? Go make a Meal Plan!

(Originally published 10/8/2008)

Deals, Online

Target 1 Day Deal

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I love a good deal, this is news to no one;). Today Shop at Home is giving you 15% back on everything you buy at Target online!!! And Target always has a daily deal (that comes with free shipping) and today’s deal is a Nintendo DSi starter bundle! They even have clearance online!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 5/23

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So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

Before you add your giveaways make sure that you stop by my Pirates of the Caribbean giveaway!!!

If you might be interested in sponsoring Contesting Monday, please email me! Mom@nerdfamily.com

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

 

headlines, politics

Bibi Schools Obama Like a Parent

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I loved this whole exchange;). I could go into why what the Prime Minister said is true but that is every where right now. Just leave it at he was right and Israel isn’t going to just going back to the 1967 borders. Period.

But something made me chuckle when I saw this (ok, many things about this made me chuckle). This little speech was made after Obama’s public speech calling for Israel to go back to 1967 borders. It reminds me of a parenting tactic my mom took and I have threatened with.

I hate how kids try to back you into a corner sometimes. The idea that they will to wait and ask you for something in public. It is that thing you usually say no to but they are hoping that by asking you in front of people you will concede. My way of dealing with it (and my mother’s before me) is if you try and embarrass me or put me on the spot, I will go into detail explaining to you why you can’t have what you want. I will go into the detail that you already know and it might be embarrassing to you.

I hope that Obama was more than a little embarrassed. Partially for trying to ignore history. But also for pretending that Hamas is this innocent organization when the US already knows better.