MacKenzie-Childs: In My Kitchen

M-C ran a series of contests in July 2020 to appease the multitude of Fans who were disappointed in their cancellation of the annual M-C Barn Sale ('coz of Covid-19). First contest was to post pictures of MacKenzie Childs in your kitchen. Why, don't mind if I do!

CC Cutting Board

MC 3-quart Tea Kettle

Breezy Poppy Runner Rug

Courtly Check Owl

M-C Breezy Poppy Washable Runner Rug

M-C Parchment Check Collection

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Budget Meals: Using Freeze-dried Vegetables

Hubby works from home during Coronavirus season -- which usually means no OT, sigh. So, when we found cans of freeze-dried/dehydrated food, I was thrilled.  What can be cooked with these in order to save money?  We will need to work within certain limits (3 varieties in 5 cans) which might be repetitive after a while (like Manna of the OT),  but I am certain Mrs Moses found a  multitude of ways to make-do and have interesting meals. 

How To Survive On Freeze-Dried Vegetables

by Food Storage Moms

Have you often wondered if you could survive on freeze-dried vegetables? Do you sometimes wonder how do they taste? What do they look like? Here’s the deal, with freeze-dried foods you can literally eat most of the vegetables right out of the can.

Get A Can Opener

Be sure and get a good can opener, friendly reminder. Yep, we need to be able to open those #10 cans. I think I have ten can openers stashed throughout my emergency preparedness stockpile. If you can cook from scratch you can cook with any of the freeze-dried vegetables.

You don’t need a special food storage cookbook because these vegetables are just vegetables with the water removed. Dehydrated foods must be cooked, but I will talk about them another day. You don’t need a special cookbook for them either.

Freeze-Dried Food

You can throw the freeze-dried vegetables in any soup base if you have rehydrated them with tepid water, you just drain them and add to your pot of soup. They cook faster than dehydrated vegetables, so therefore, we would use less power or zero power if we ate them directly from the can.

If you are using a water-based soup you can just throw the veggies into the soup without having to rehydrate them in water first. If you use a cream-based soup you will want to rehydrate them or the soup may become too thick.

Either way, they are easy to use and taste as close to fresh vegetables as you can imagine once we rehydrate them. They taste a lot better than canned vegetables, plus, the variety is endless.

Let’s be honest here, they are not exactly the same as fresh vegetables, but they taste great! Let me give you some ideas on the different ones I have and use regularly. The fabulous part about these is the fact we don’t have to wash the vegetables, cut, chop or slice them!

Plus the companies like Augason Farms, Thrive Live and Honeyville freeze-dried vegetables have a shelf life of 20-25 years unopened in optimal storage conditions. Please do not store any food storage in your hot garage. I only store my food storage in my home, and it’s a small home.

Read the full article by Food Storage Moms H E R E

pc: Costco

One of the meals I make now and then is Breakfast Burrito. You can put anything in them. Eggs meat and cheese. You can add veggie’s or not. I get a package of tortilla wrappers and use for breakfast or lunch or supper.
I work at a convenience store and we sell Donuts, if we have any left we box up and sell the next day for cheaper. They are just as good and you can freeze them and they will last just thaw and eat.
Also I check my local Walmart for breads and sweets they bake to much of the day before. You can get a loaf of French bread that is a day old for 70 cents ( price depend on area). You can buy a few loaves and put in the freezer. People today need to realize day old doesn’t mean old, nasty, stale items. I over heard one lady customer in my store say ” Oh day old, we don’t want those” that is a bad habit to teach your kids.
Check for Buy One and get one free offers too. On the back of our receipts from some stores are coupons for meals discounted or a free item. See if your area has those. I also use Ibotta and get money back on items I buy at the Grocery store. I get to chose what Gift cards I get in return. I usually get Walmart and get more Groceries.
I learned Budget meals from my mom and Grandma. We make Macaroni and Tomato Juice. Just cook the pasta, drain and while draining add the tomato juice to the pan, add butter, salt and pepper then add sugar to cut the acid in the tomato juice. Add the pasta back in and heat till pasta is hot again. We have made meals on that or added meat to it or as a side. I have other meals but don’t want to write a book in a small area. -- June K. 

How To Survive On Freeze-Dried Vegetables

Dirt Cheap Budget Meals-What To Eat When You Are Broke

Food Storage Moms

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My Recent MacKenzie-Childs Purchases

pc: Horchow

1.  Let me begin with this little cutie -- MC's Top Hat Snowman Pot Climber.  After all, it is approximately 5 months before Christmas 2020, God willing! Note: Can be used anytime of the year.


Mr Snowman is made of hand-painted resin.  My main worry is our pets bumping into it and toppling it. Resin is still breakable. Thus, location of plant is important.

Mr Tophat Snowman with my bamboo plant

2.   Courtly Check Deer  modeling face mask. Made with MC's Parchment Check cloth.

3.  Courtly Check face mask made with Mackenzie Childs CC material (right).  

4. Funny Bunny Pot Climber

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)

ISAIAH 41

Funny Bunny Pot Climber

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Kitchen Renovation: Kitchen Island Alternatives

I  truly like my kitchen island.  It was a good choice for us as we removed our kitchen walls to open up our space. Yep, it cost a lot of money $$$.  Here are cheaper alternatives per Wayfair

1. A Console Table + Counter Stools

To get the look in a smaller space, add a slim open-bottom console table and bring in a pair of counter-height stools to tuck underneath.

2. A Floating Shelf + Dining Chairs

For off-to-the-side casual seating, hang a wall shelf waist-high to create a countertop. 

Then add a pair of dining chairs to complete the look.

pc: ETSY

3. A Butcher Block Kitchen Cart + Backless Stools

For easy flexibility, bring in a kitchen cart with wheels and pair it with lightweight stools. To free up space, roll it to the side and stack the seating together.

pc: etsy

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Jesus speaking, John 6:47

Etsy: Wall Hanging Dining Table

Wayfair: Kitchen Island Alternatives

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Philippines: Living in a Simple Hut in Bohol

pc: wikipedia

Covid-19 season has had me watching home tours from the high end of the wealth spectrum to this cutie. Yeah, we all probably want to impress the neighbors; but to CHOOSE to live simply and be content in a little house during these modern times, Wow.  I am quite impressed with this young couple's choices. If I were to be honest, I do worry what the next major typhoon will do to this structure. Note the hubby's mode of transportation.

Casa Redonda, wikipedia

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (1 Tim 6)

Philippine: Nipa Hut

1 Timothy 6, KJV

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A Year Ago at MacKenzie-Childs' Barn Sale, Part 1

Black Tie Chandelier

Barn Sale 2020 has been cancelled, sigh. Last year, we began our phenomenal week by travelling from our home in IL to Ontario, Canada (resort located near Georgian Bay, Lake Huron) for a Family Reunion which lasted 3 days.

 Then, the icing on the cake of our phenomenal week was our return trip across the border of the good ol' USA into Aurora, NY for the MacKenzie-Child's (by Cayuga Lake) annual Barn Sale of 2019. Thank You, Lord, for the unforgettable memories!

Who could forget browsing the MC store on the premises!!

Quatrefoil Table Lamp 

Marquee Accent Chair

Boheme Sofa

Spindle Cabana Outdoor Loveseat

Boheme Daybed

Butterfly Dining Chair

Dotography Sofa

Dotography Chair

Cutting Garden Accent Chair

Jumbo Flower Pot

Flower Market Pumpkin

Rejoice in the Lord alway: 

and again I say, Rejoice.

( Philippians 4)

MacKenzie Childs Blog

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Budget Buy: Make Your Bathroom Look Bigger for $3

The $3 Drugstore Buy That Makes My Bathroom Look Way Bigger  Can you guess what it is? 

- Anna Kocharian, Domino Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUGUSTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Here’s my qualm with really small bathrooms: We console ourselves with the idea that filling the space with splashes of color—typically by way of a “fun” shower curtain—will be a good enough compromise for the lack of square footage. What they don’t tell you is that the moment you hang that vibrantly patterned curtain, you suddenly lose half the room. We never realize the impact something as seemingly insignificant as a solid sheet can have on the visual depth of a small area.

When I moved into my tiny studio, with an equally tiny, square-shaped bathroom, I knew that I had to get creative. Taking a shower, more or less, felt like I was confined to a box with limited light, thanks to the lack of windows and the two lone bulbs meant to illuminate the space...

Find out what Anna Kocharian (Domino Magazine) purchased to solve her dilema H E R E

pc: Nordstrom

Make Your Bathroom Look Way Bigger

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