Sometimes we just need  a really fast recipe to make a good home-cooked meal.  Boneless skinless chicken breasts are perfect for this.  Here are three quick and easy chicken breast recipes that are perfect for busy weeknight dinners.

Grilled Lemon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup lemonade

4 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 4 tsps garlic in oil

the juice and zest of one lemon

fresh ground pepper

1 tsp rosemary

1 large resealable strong freezer bag

Method:

Four to twelve hours prior to dinner, combine the lemonade, garlic, lemon juice and zest and rosemary in a small bowl and pour it into the freezer bag.  Seal it and mix it up (make sure it is sealed tightly).  Once all the ingredients are well combined, add the chicken breasts, seal it once again, shake it so each piece is well coated, then chill in the refrigerator for four to twelve hours.

Just prior to cooking, heat up the grill or barbecue, or turn the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove chicken pieces from the freezer bag, reserving marinade in a small saucepan.  Cook  chicken on the grill until it is no longer pink inside.  If baking in the oven, place each piece on a greased baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until it is cooked through.  While the chicken is cooking, heat the marinade to a boil.  Boil it gently for fifteen minutes, adding more lemonade if required.  Once the chicken is cooked spoon the marinade on each piece prior to serving.  This dish goes well with leafy mixed greens such as mustard greens or a field green mix.

Honey Dijon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp liquid honey

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:

In a small glass dish, combine flour, salt and pepper.  Dip each piece of chicken in the mixture.  Use a separate small dish to combine the honey and the mustard.  Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use a heavy skillet to heat the oil at a medium-high setting.  Brown the chicken quickly on both sides. Place on greased baking sheet and spread with the honey mixture.  Bake for ten to fifteen minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Any of these easy chicken breast recipes are delicious served with a side dish of  Lemon Rice Pilaf and a dark leafy green salad.  Serve poached pears with Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream for dessert to have a well-balanced meal that includes each food group.

Oven Baked Salsa Chicken Breasts Recipe

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 1/4 cups salsa

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

juice and zest of 1 lime

4 cloves of garlic, minced, or 4 tsp chopped garlic in oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Use a large bowl to combine the salsa, Dijon mustard, lime juice, lime zest and garlic.  Use parchment paper to line an eight by eight inch pan when creating all of these easy chicken breast recipes.

****DO NOT USE TIN FOIL***  Place the chicken breasts in the pan and pour the salsa mixture over them.  Bake for 25 minutes, basting halfway through the cooking.  Serve with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

What are your family’s favorite easy chicken breast recipes? We’d love to know! Share them in the comments section below.

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Are you struggling to support your family on the money you get paid to write? If so, you have to earn more, or you have to write more, or both.

Working as a freelance blogger or writer has many benefits, including the freedom to work as much or as little as you like. That freedom can be a double-edged sword if you are not disciplined enough to keep on track and make your goals.

Many writing jobs (especially web content) are low-paying, and if you are a content mill writer, producing a large volume of articles or blog posts each day is critical to generating a lot of articles quickly. Whether you get paid to write 500 word blog posts at $200 or at $25, these five tips will  increase your writing productivity and your writing income.

5 Tips to Produce More When You Get Paid to Write

The Pomodoro Method

This intense time-chunking productivity method involves working without any distractions and focusing on the writing task at hand for 25 minutes, then resting for five minutes. (If you are like me and work from home with an assortment of children running around, this may only work when they are napping or not in the house.)

After four “Pomodoros,” you have earned a longer break. The Pomodoro technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo over 25 years ago to increase productivity through time management. It is based on the idea that working in short bursts with small breaks keeps the brain and body fresh, and therefore improves productivity, important to those of us who get paid to write.

While it is used by people for all kinds of work, the Pomodoro technique is very effective for writing. I found that after a week of working with this method (during my daughter’s nap time), not only did my writing speed increase, but I began to think of different writing assignments in terms of the number of Pomodoros it took to complete them. This allowed me to better compare my hourly writing income on writing assignments, and adjust my rates and client base accordingly.

Use Negative Reinforcement Theory

I discovered another great free online writing tool to keep me on track  when I took part in Nanowrimo 2011, and it really worked for me.

Based on negative reinforcement theory, Write or Die encourages writers to write continuously, within a text box. Choose between writing for a set period of time, or achieving a word count. Before beginning a writing session it allows you to choose between the Gentle, Normal, or Kamikaze modes.

In the Gentle mode, you are reminded by a pop-up box to continue writing after a few seconds of keyboard inactivity. Normal mode exudes a harsh “unpleasant” sound while Kamikaze will start to delete the previously written words until you have completed your Write or Die Session!

While a $10.00 premium desktop downloadable version is available, the free online version worked just fine for me.

Use An Online Time Management Tool

Online time management tools are especially useful for writers who bill hourly. I use the free version of Toggl and recommend it for anyone who wants to work more efficiently. I’m actually using it right now as I create this post.

Track the time for each task you are working on, not just the pieces you get paid to write, but even the unpaid ones, and see how much time you really spend on Facebook or Pinterest, checking emails, surfing the Internet, etc.

The key to using Toggl effectively is to remember to hit “stop” when you leave your current task, and to be honest with yourself. A graph shows your total daily work production for the past week, and you can also access older reports. While the online version of Toggl is free, a paid version with a few more bells and whistles is also available.

More Articles for Work at Home Moms and Writers

• How to Be an Organized Mom: Single, Working, or Work at Home
• Work at Home Moms Business Ideas
• How Kicking Craigslist Jump-Started My Freelance Writing Career

Stick to a Daily and Weekly Writing Schedule

Experiment with writing at different times of the day. Some writers find they are most productive early in the morning, and can get more done before the sun rises than they can during the rest of the day. Others are slow to get started, and work well into the night. Use one of the methods above to identify when in the day you are most productive.

Try to schedule at least one day off a week to avoid burnout, and make sure you set aside time each week to send out applications for new writing gigs, marketing your web content writing, and taking part in an online writers community like the one at The Freelance Writers Den.

Limit Research Time

As a freelance online  writer you need to write efficiently, effectively, and consistently.  As you complete assignments for different clients you will get a feel for how long it should take you to research and write the piece. If you spend too much time researching or writing your freelance earnings will suffer.

When I used to get paid to write for the content mills, I allow myself fifteen minutes to find usable sources, and if the allotted time passed and I hadn’t found what I was looking for I released the title and moved on to something else. (Thankfully I replaced all my content mill work and low-paying Craigslist job board gigs with better paying clients over the past 18 months.)  If you still write for the mills, choose subjects that you know inside and out to minimize time spent on research.

The key to boosting your productivity and earnings when you get paid to write is to research and write efficiently, time yourself, for each subject matter and client, calculate your hourly earnings, then replace the lower paying writing gigs with better paying ones that you can write well and quickly.

The post Get Paid to Write? Produce More and Earn More appeared first on Avamum.

Are you looking for emotional and practical support during pregnancy? Maybe you need a doula.

A doula is a person who provides non-medical support to a mother and father during pregnancy and childbirth, and the period immediately following.

Doula comes from a Greek word meaning female slave. Doulas, sometimes called “birth attendants”, have existed in an informal role through the ages and in many societies and cultures, and are becoming increasingly used in modern Western Society as a resource to new parents in addition to a family doctor, obstetrician, or midwife.

Training and certification requirements for doulas vary greatly from country to country. According to DONA – Doulas of North America, a doula is defined as “a woman who is trained and experienced in childbirth and provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a woman during labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period.”

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Looking for a great granola recipe? Give this one a try.

My mother used to make what she called “crunchy granola” for us when I was a little girl in northern Ontario.  She mixed it up in a huge bowl, then baked it in the oven, and stored it in a big tin once it had cooled.

Homemade granola is a different consistency than storebought;  this granola recipe makes bite-sized clumps that are just the right size for little hands to hold and snack on.

When I was a girl, we ate Mom’s crunchy granola with yogurt for breakfast,  with stewed apples and ice cream for dessert, and took it in little containers for snacks on our canoe trips.  Today many families enjoy granola from the grocery store or health food store, but it is easy and cheaper to make it at home yourself.

Here is a good basic granola recipe that is very adaptable to your family’s taste, with a list of variations and additions at the bottom.  If you prefer your granola crunchier, bake it a little longer, but watch out if you have raisins or dried cranberries as they can burn quickly.

Granola Ingredients

5 cups large-flake rolled oats (NOT quick cooking oats – they will get mushy)

2 cups barley flakes

1 1/2 cups raw unsalted chopped almonds

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup sunflower  seeds

1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

1 cup skim-milk powder

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

3/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil

1/2 cup black strap molasses

1/2 cup organic honey

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

2 cups raisins

Method

NOTE: You can either mix this in a large mixing bowl or small bucket, then lay it on two rimmed cookie sheets to bake, or mix and bake it in a large roaster – the kind you would use for your Christmas turkey.  The second method makes softer granola.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine oats, barley flakes, raw nuts, all seeds, skim-milk powder, wheat germ and coconut.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl, stir together oil, molasses, honey and cinnamon.  Mix well with oat mixture until it is completely combined.  Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until it appears to be a golden brown colour.  Use a wooden mixing spoon to stir the granola mixture even ten minutes while baking.  Cool in pan, then stir in raisins.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Nutritional Information

Per 1/2 cup serving

241 calories, 3 grams dietary fiber, 14 grams fat, 24 grams carbs, 7 grams protein.

Granola is good high energy food, but is also high in calories and fat and should be eaten in small quantities with fruit, low fat yogurt or skim milk.  Try the following substitutions and use your imagination to develop your very own favorite granola recipe.

Granola Recipe Substitutions and Variations

Nuts: try chopped pecans, peanuts, or walnuts

Seeds: flax, chia

Molasses: – if black strap is too strong, use regular cooking grade or fancy molasses.

Honey – change it up – try buckwheat honey for an interesting flavor variation.  You could also try maple syrup.

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Ambrosia salad is one of the easiest and most delicious recipes you can make and take to a potluck or summer get-together.  Also known by several other names, including 5 Cup Salad and Ambrosia Fruit Salad, this delicious and moist side dish uses as little as five ingredients, and doesn’t require any cooking or baking! Perfect for non-foodie types who need a fast and easy dish to take to an event.

While there are many variations, the easiest Ambrosia Salad Recipe is included below.  This has been a family favorite of ours for over twenty years, and is a staple of our family get-togethers. It tastes best if made the night before and chilled. In the summer I make it with multi-coloured mini marshmallows and plain or peach yogurt instead of sour cream.  We serve it at barbecues and put it out as part of the main course, though it is more of a dessert item.

It is easy enough for a child or teenager to make – just remind them to drain off the juice from the cans of fruit (we learned that one the hard way.) This versatile coconut and fruit salad can be enjoyed all year round and ambrosia salad ingredients leave lots of room for substitutions.

Presented in a crystal glass bowl and garnished with red maraschino cherries, it becomes a festive Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert. It is easy to double or triple – and make lots, as everyone loves it.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ambrosia Salad

1 cup light sour cream OR yogurt

1 cup mini marshmallows (plain or multi-colored)

1 250 gram bag of shredded unsweetened or sweetened organic coconut

1 can of mandarin oranges

1 can of diced pineapple

maraschino cherries to garnish.

Mix the yogurt and mini marshmallows together in a large mixing bowl.  Add the mandarin oranges and diced pineapple slowly, stirring them in well.  Don’t be alarmed if the mandarin oranges start to break up a little; the flecks of orange against the creaminess of the sour cream or yogurt looks very pretty. Fold in the shredded coconut, and combine gently. Pour into a large crystal serving bowl, or individual glass dishes.  Chill  in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.  Just prior to serving, garnish with maraschino cherries.  Refrigerate unused portions immediately and use within three days.

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Grapeseed Oil Benefits

Grapeseed oil is made from the byproduct of wine-making. Once grapes are crushed and juice extracted for wine, the fleshy fruit and seeds that are left is called pomace. Instead of being used for compost or simply thrown out, organic grape seed oil is produced.

Lighter in flavor than olive oil, it is popular with cooks and chefs as it has a very high smoking point of about 216 degrees Celsius, which makes it a good choice for deep frying and sauteing. As it has a mild, somewhat nutty flavor it also lends itself well as a base for herb salad dressing recipes.

Use this oil for cooking, baking, and in cosmetics  for hair and skin. Recently, organic grape seed oil has been garnering increased interest for its health benefits. Rich in anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids, studies show health benefits of grapeseed oil include a reduced risk of heart disease as well as naturally rejuvenating aging skin.

Grapeseed Oil For Skin
Grapeseed oil is good for your skin. It can help slow the signs of aging by minimizing wrinkles and fine lines naturally. Containing oleic, linolec, palmitric and stearic acids, it is becoming more and more popular with women over forty who are looking for all natural anti-aging products. Remember, when applying anything to your skin you want it to be easily absorbed rather than sitting on your face and possibly clogging your pores, causing pimples,and/or blemishes. And if something is going to be absorbed into your skin it should be all-natural and free of chemicals. Here is a list of just some of the cosmetics that benefit from organic grapeseed oil, many of which can be made at home.

• Massage oil
• Bath oil
• Sunscreen
• Lip Balms
• Body Lotion
• Facial Lotion – locks in moisture
• Acne treatment – it is mildly astringent and has anti-inflammatory properties
• Eye Creams – helps slow the signs of aging skin

Recipe for Organic Grapeseed Oil Facial Moisturizer

Try this at home – be sure to store it in the fridge in a dark glass jar, and use it within the week.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Cold Pressed Organic Grapeseed Oil
• 1 teaspoon Organic Honey – preferably a medium to dark honey
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Mix all together, and apply as needed. Try lime juice if you prefer. If you use buckwheat honey, you may find the smell a little strong.

Storing Grapeseed Oil

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What is Kamut?

Ancient grains are growing in popularity as people across the world search for organic and healthy whole grains.  Cookbooks and websites tout the benefits of quinoa, teff, amaranth and other whole grains as a high protein and low-fat alternative to processed white breads.  Many of these grains are suitable for gluten-free diets, and kamut is garnering attention for its uniquely digestible form of gluten.  Some individuals who must avoid gluten find they can tolerate kamut pasta,  and breads made from kamut flour, though as it is still a wheat individuals suffering from celiac disease should avoid it.  Green kamut is available online and in health food store in a powdered form, and may be mixed with water for a nutritous drink, or sprinkled into baking.

Kamut flour is similar in taste and consistency to durum flour, and may be substituted into recipes for pancakes, breads, and pastas.  It is important to note that Kamut is actually a brand name for khorasan wheat, and is widely available in alternative markets across North America.  Here is a recipe for a quickbread using Kamut flour.  It can also be made with amaranth flavor, and makes a great healthy snack or quick breakfast.

Kamut Pecan Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups organic all-purpose flour

1 cup ground pecans

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cups of kamut flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup skim milk

1 organic egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 tsp organic vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 5 x 13 loaf pan.  Use a large bowl to mix together all-purpose flour, ground pecans, sugar, kamut flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  Use a medium bowl to beat the milk, egg, melted butter and organic vanilla together.  Pour the milk mixture carefully into the kamut flour mixture and stir until it is well combined.  Pour into the greased loaf pan.  Bake for 55 minutes, then use a clean knife to check the middle of the loaf.  If it comes out without batter sticking to it, the kamut bread is ready.  If there are batter bits stuck to it, slide the loaf back into the oven for another five minutes.  Allow the baked bread to cool in the pan for five minutes, then remove from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.

Kamut pecan bread is delicious spread with low-fat cream cheese, butter, apple butter or almond spread.  If you prefer walnuts or almonds to pecans, try them instead.  Other substitutions include using amaranth grain flour, spelt flour or durum wheat flour for the kamut flour.  Alternate additions include dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, or dates.  This kamut bread recipe can also be frozen once it has completely cooled, however wrap it well as it dries out easily.  Happy Baking!

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Are you looking for an all-natural, thick and creamy body butter? Make Calendula cream or body butter at home – it is easy and affordable.

Commonly known as Pot Marigold, Calendula Officinalis comes in as many as twenty varieties of shrubs, perennials, and annuals. A native flower of Egypt and the Mediterranean parts of Europe, it arrived in North America with the pioneers and is now a common ornamental flower in gardens and flower pots across this continent.

Calendula cream is a topical skin cream whose main ingredient is the flower of the genus Calendula (species Calendula officinalis ). As more and more people choose to use natural and herbal remedies over chemical and synthetic skin care products, lotions, ointments, and creams, Calendula cream is a popular option as a skin therapy cream.

This dry skin cream is effective at combating excema due to the anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties of the Calendula flowers. It is becoming increasingly popular with mothers of newborns dealing with babies and dry skin, and now baby calendula cream and baby calendula ointment is often available at drug stores and pharmacies.

Due to its healing properties, calendula cream is also gaining notice as an alternative to aloe vera gel. Note: Calendula is a daisy-like flower, and is NOT of the same family as the native American Marigold. Calendula should NOT be ingested if you are pregnant.

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Cheesecake is a one of my favorite desserts, and adding pumpkin to it just makes it better. Here is the best no-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe ever! It combines the flavors of pumpkin, ginger, apple and spice for an absolutely fabulous dessert. Be warned though, at 19 grams of fat per serving (this recipe serves 12) it is decidedly decadent. And there is a price to pay for not turning on the oven – you will use no less than four bowls plus a saucepan and a 9 inch springform pan. But guess what? It’s worth it.

Ingredients for the Crust:
1 1/2 cups of gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Ingredients for Filling:
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp or 1 package of unflavored gelatin
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
8 ounces low fat cream cheese at room temperature
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cups whipping cream
1/4 tsp each of ground cloves, cinnamon and ginger
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin or pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
Dark chocolate shavings or curls

Method:
To make the crust, mix together the gingersnap crumbs, butter and brown sugar. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Place the pan in the fridge.

For the filling, use a medium saucepan on low heat. Add juice, sugar and salt. Sprinkle gelatin in and until it is completely dissolved. Beat in egg yolks carefully in a medium sized bowl. Slowly pour in the hot apple juice mixture from the saucepan, then pour everything back into the saucepan (if you add the eggs into the saucepan directly the eggs will start to cook right away and the texture will be off). Turn the heat up to medium, and continue stirring until the mixture is thickened. Add vanilla and blend in well, then remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to beat the softened cream cheese and lemon juice together. Add the gelatin mixture and continue beating until all lumps are gone. Place the bowl in the fridge and chill for about 30 minutes.

Use a small to beat the egg whiles until they are stiff. In yet another bowl combine the whipping cream with spices, and beat that until stiff too. Take your big bowl of well-chilled mixture from the fridge, and carefully fold in the whipped cream, egg whites, and pumpkin puree. Gently combine, then pour into the springform pan. Put the pan back in the fridge and chill until firm – it takes about an hour and a half in my fridge. Decorate the no-bake pumpkin cheesecake with dark chocolate shavings or curls before serving. Enjoy!!

Try more delicious pumpkin recipes to add Vitamin A and fiber to your family’s diet.

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