Cluttered Thoughts

Another completely random post starts out with what is on my mind...clutter! Though the picture above is not my house, sometimes it feels like that. I got rid of several boxes of items at our last garage sale and the kids sold several toys (Becca made $18 and Jacob made $8) we still have too much stuff. It may be a never ending battle, as we are a family of five with three small children who are constantly outgrowing their clothing, moving on to different stages of toys, collecting new favorite books, etc. but my goal for this weekend is to fill one bag of items to drop off at the donation center and one bag of clothing to drop off at the clothes closet at the church down the street. With my husband at work all weekend it will be nice to go on a clutter purge and see a tiny difference in the house.

It's a beautiful day today so we are keeping the air conditioners off and opening the windows, after weeks of having the air on. I'm not sure if it has just been an unusually hot and humid summer (seems like it) or if we have gotten used to having the air on, but this is the first time that I can remember that we have had the air on so much. I don't like it...I miss hearing the birds outside and I really dislike the electric bills, which shoot up sky high when the air is constantly running, add to that the 14% increase in costs and I am not a happy camper.

With nice weather comes laundry day! The days in which I can hang out laundry has been few and far between as of late. July has been such a rainy month that I have been using my dryer much more frequently than I would like. Today I will be trying to play laundry catch up. Then again, in a house with kids it is impossible to fully "catch up" on laundry! Wishful thinking, I know!

With everything there is to do today I best get hopping! I need to run a few errands yet this morning before the post office closes as well. Don't forget that tomorrow marks the start of the budget challenge!

Odds and Ends

With some changes in my hubby's work schedule he is home today (yay for family time) but will be working all weekend. Looking out the window this morning and seeing the dark and rainy skies, I assume we will not be enjoying any outdoor activities today.

My goal this weekend is to make some freezer jam so I am hoping to find some fruit on sale somewhere today. I also plan to bake some goodies using a product that was sent to me for review. More to come about that later!

School starts here on August 16th. I was caught off guard when I learned how early it starts this year, but am calm now that I got all the books ordered yesterday. There is nothing as fun as opening up a box of brand new texts and workbooks! The kids are excited for school to start and this year I will have a 1st grader and a kindergartner.

So for now I need to get everyone dressed and ready for their day (on such a dark day the kids all slept in which was a nice change of pace!) and then get my grocery list written out.

I hope you all have a terrific Friday and enjoy your last weekend of July. This summer sure has gone by quickly!

Not Just a Budget Challenge...

Not only is August going to be my $1,200 budget challenge, but I'm also adding another challenge to the mix. We have a large freezer that we bought several months ago and I want to make the most of it. Since it is not even half full right now, and my garden is doing poorly so I doubt that I will be getting anything out of it to freeze, I want to fill my freezer up! Not just with food, but with already prepared food! Yep, that's right, I will be doing freezer cooking.

I'm not going to the extreme of once a month cooking, which is where you cook 30 meals or more at once to stick in the freezer. Rather, my goal is to double a recipe at least once a week in order to stick one meal in the freezer. I'm starting off small so as not to overwhelm myself.

It saves money to have already prepared meals in the freezer. On days when you are overwhelmed with your to-do list, running around town like a frantic woman trying to get errands done, home late from an all day trip, sick, tired, or just too lazy to cook you are able to pull a meal out of the freezer and pop it in the oven instead of ordering take out.

It saves time as well. It takes nearly the same amount of time to make two casseroles, pots of soups, and so on as it does to make one. All the prep work and cooking is done at once. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!

I started last night, as a matter of fact. We now have cavatini in the freezer for a future meal. I would like to work myself up to where we have at least seven meals in the freezer at any given time. I've done this before with one or two dishes, a batch of cookies or a pie but then I'd pull them out and we'd eat them and never replace another dish in the freezer. My goal is to slowly, over several months, build up a nice supply of main dishes, side dishes, breads, and desserts so that on any given day I can make a whole meal out of the freezer.

For now I am focusing on one main dish a week. I will profile the recipe for those who are interested. Look for that in August as well!

Do any of you do freezer cooking? What are some of your favorite freezer meals?

Salmon Patties

My camera seems to have kicked the bucket. The screen still shows an image but the camera just won't take a photo! I'll be messing with it later to see if it is time to really just give up on it but for now I'm back to my very basic, very old digital camera.

Yesterday I mentioned salmon patties. This is another of my mother-in-law's recipes and we are fans of this healthy and inexpensive meal! Salmon patties, sweet corn, and tomato slices are a perfect summer time supper.

My patties always seem to fall apart but instead of complaining I go with the flow and realize that they are just easier to serve to the kids that way...no cutting required by me! We always eat these plain but I imagine that they would be good on a bun and served similar to a hamburger.

1 can salmon, liquid drained (I pick through the can and discard the skin and bones. I know, I know...they are edible and have health benefits but they aren't appetizing to me or anyone else I know!)

1 slice of bread, torn into small pieces

1 egg

1 small onion, diced

Mix everything together. If too wet, add a pinch of flour to hold things together. Heat 1 T. butter in skillet (my trusty iron skillet is perfect!). Form into patties and place in skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Fry in butter until bottom is brown and crispy. Flip, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and fry until other side is brown and crispy as well. Serve and enjoy!

Charlie's Soap Coupon Winner

The winner of the Charlie's Soap Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off coupon is:

Jody said...
I have never heard of this product but it sounds like great stuff!

Please e-mail me at babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com by Friday, the 30th of July, to claim your prize!

Odds and Ends

I was planning on a post about my salmon patties (yum!) but my batteries in the camera are dead and the tomatoes on the counter were looking almost too ripe so we opted to have tacos instead. This is my food challenge month, after all, but I've been slacking on the recipe posts lately. Don't despair, my budget challenge next month will also include several more recipes. My salmon patty recipe will be sometime this week.

Add to my weekly food budget challenge $3 for a gallon of milk yesterday. Then add another $3 for a gallon of milk today. Because sometimes multi-tasking just doesn't pay off! We took a wonderful family bike ride yesterday and decided to go for some slushies/ice cold sodas (some had slushies, some had soda) afterwards. We picked up a gallon of milk at the same time but then got to driving around town and checking out the sites (read below to learn why) and once we got home we all left the van...leaving our poor milk behind. No one noticed until this morning when we went to make cereal. I'm guessing the milk would be more of a cottage cheese constancy now, though I'm not asking hubby if there were lumps in the sink as he poured it down the drain!

Add another $3 for more sweet corn. We found a little sweet corn stand off the beaten path and though the ears are tiny they were delicious! Best sweet corn of the season...you can be guaranteed that I will be back for more!

Why were we driving around checking out the sites yesterday? Unfortunately, with all the rain we have been having (some spots around us saw more than 11 inches in 24 hours) our town had major flooding issues. In fact, it reached the highest crest that has ever been on record.

While the picture above may not look too impressive, you must realize that that small "dip" is typically a 15 (or more?!) foot drop. The river swelled so much that there was no longer a waterfall at all.
This is just part of the downtown area. Many businesses were filled with water, and many had windows burst out or the whole sides of the buildings torn off. Not only was the water high, but the current was swift. Homes have been flooded and even in neighborhoods that saw no standing water, there were basements that couldn't keep out the water from the soaked ground. We were lucky that our 120 year old rock foundation was solid enough to keep the water out. Which is a great metaphor...

What's worse is that some areas in surrounding towns were completely flooded out and people we know had their houses hit so bad that they may not be repairable. Luckily, the most important thing is that as far as I have heard no lives have been lost due to the flood.

Seeing such devastation makes one feel helpless. Donations to the Red Cross or food pantry can help some families get back on their feet. Which reminds me of a challenge that is going on at The Path to Frugality. Martha writes " My challenge for the month of August for myself and for anyone else is to donate 10% of what money you spend on groceries to a food pantry or a charity that directly helps the poor. For many of us that amount would range from $25 to $40." I think that this is a wonderful challenge and I intend to do this. A charity that I fully support is Food For the Poor and I will be sending extra in September when I add up the 10% costs of our food for August. I urge you all to join in this worthy challenge!

(Photo credits: Daniel Kenyon)

Challenge Updates

Many, many thanks to Chrissy over at Traveling Light for making me a new blog button. Chrissy doesn't know me from Adam but was kind enough to make me not one, but two blog buttons! What a doll! Thanks so much, Chrissy!

This blog button will apply to any of you who want to take the challenge and not limit you to a certain number. If you so choose to join in the challenge (just following along is dandy as well!) you can set your own challenge. For some families the number may be smaller (I would love to see some of these challenges!) and for many it will be larger. But the goal is to try to get your monthly budget as low as you think it can go, just to see if you can get it that low.

I realize that some of you may like the sound of the challenge but prefer not to go to the extreme. After all, cutting your spending by $600, $700, or more for a month is difficult. You can challenge yourself to just save an extra $100 from your budget for the month. Or decide to give up eating out for the month and reducing that extra expense. Anything you do to change your budget for the better in August can be part of the challenge.

I hope some of you will join me in The Budget Challenge!

Boring Menu and Shopping Trip

I don't have any photos of my groceries today. We traveled an hour away to shop and forgot the cooler so when we arrived home I rushed to get everything put away.

Our Menu for the week:

Homemade Tacos

Boca Burgers

Broccoli Alfredo

Homemade pizza

Salmon patties

Cavaitini (double batch...one goes into the freezer)

We bought a lot this shopping trip and I'm going to be lazy and not list it all this time around. I can't think of a single unhealthy thing we bought though, except a package of Little Debbies that my hubby threw into the cart. Guess I haven't been making enough homemade goodies for him! We spent $97.17 this week...which is under the $100 weekly goal and we spent less than $45 last week so if all goes well this week we will be well under $400 for the month.

I've learned a lot this month, such as to buy the vegetables and fruits that are on sale that week instead of buying whatever we feel like. We get a lot of variety that way and can afford a lot more produce as well. I hope each month to gradually change things so that hopefully in a year or so we can be where we want to, diet wise.

I hope to highlight a few more recipes for you all this week...and then on to the $1,200 challenge next week!

$1,200 Is Back!

It seems as though the $1,200 Budget Challenge was the winner for what you all prefer for August so it will be back a week from tomorrow! For those of you who have no idea what this challenge was about, feel free to scroll through my June posts to learn more.

I encourage some of my readers to join in with this challenge once again to see how low you can go. $1,200 is not the magic number, it is the number I have set for myself (remember, I failed last month and went over $175). You can still take the $1,200 Challenge no matter what your low number may be. I encourage you to sit down and add up all your fixed expenses, then tack on an amount that you that you find reasonable for all the unfixed expenses (you know...food, extras, entertainment, eating out). For example, after our fixed expenses for the month I will be tacking on around $300.

This time around my school supplies will be exempt. As a homeschooling mother I will be buying all the school books and supplies in August and I could not do that with such a tight budget. As other readers pointed out, this is not something in a regular household budget each month anyway, so I shouldn't feel bad for not counting it. For you mamas wondering how you could do a challenge such as this in August with all the school costs coming up...feel free to not include those in the challenge. Just your regular monthly household spending will do nicely.

So what say you? Are you interested in joining in this challenge? You have one week to sit down and organize your spending and come up with your number for the challenge. Feel free to steal my challenge button on the right and throw it on your blog and let your readers know what you are up to. For those without a blog, or others who prefer not to blog about their progress, every Friday will be check in dates here and you can all update us on your progress. Remember, my motto is not live within your means, but rather, live beneath your means!

Hubs and Cooter

My husband found out last week that a few Duke's of Hazard celebrities were going to be nearby for a car show. My husband grew up watching that show and my own children have grown up watching the DVD sets of the show with their daddy. They all loved meeting Cooter and Rosco and getting a few autographs and pictures taken!

Charlie's Soap

I've heard of Charlie's Soap before but never paid it much attention. After all, I often make my own laundry detergent or buy it cheaply when it is on sale.

Then I was lucky enough to be sent some of their product to test out and try. I now realize why people rave about it. My homemade laundry detergent is cheap to make, and fairly friendly to environment. It got my clothes clean. But it doesn't do what Charlie's Soap does. Charlie's Soap cleans all the way to the fibers and rinses clean. That means that your clothes are naturally soft and clean smelling, without needing to add a fabric softener. I noticed this difference right away when taking the clothes out of the washer...they were soft and clean but there was no feeling of residue leftover from the detergent. Plus, it is economical. See the tiny clear bag at the bottom of the picture? That is all you need to wash one load of clothing. This stuff costs pennies per load!

While I was impressed with the laundry detergent, I was even more impressed with the "Pocket Charlie's" all-purpose spray that they sent. In less than a month you can see that I've used half the bottle and I'm a believer in this stuff! It is safe for the environment (as is all their products) and safe for anything washable. I first tested it out on my children's clothing; the seat of their pants get muddy and grass stained and the fronts of their shirts are often stained with whatever we ate that day! I've thrown too many good clothes away due to grass/mud stains or food stains that just won't come out. I have tried so many pre-treatments and in wash boosters and haven't found a product that really works...until now. It didn't get every single stain out but when I sprayed the stain as soon as I noticed it, it came out in the wash. The more set in stains were lightened enough that the clothes could still be worn. I haven't found this in any other stain remover.

I also used this on a mustard stain that was on the carpet. Our dog ran into the office carrying a hotdog that he stole from one of the kids. He ate the hotdog and left the mustard, which I discovered an hour or so later. I tried scrubbing the stain out and then tried my carpet cleaner on the spot. Neither way worked. I then remembered my pocket Charlie's and sprayed it on the spot and scrubbed. The stain was gone! This will remain a staple in my cleaning/laundry cabinet!

One lucky reader will win a Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off coupon for Charlie's Soap. This is an excellent deal for those of you who already buy this soap or for someone wanting to try it for the first time. This coupon is good for anything on their site! Just leave a comment below and a winner will be chosen on Tuesday, the 27th at noon. Good Luck!

Exhausted!

This week I feel that I have been playing catchup from last week. Being gone for two days helping at our garage sale (which was a flop, basically. Having one during Fair Week is apparently not a good time) and being gone all day Saturday, among a few other things, has left me exhausted. I actually went back to coffee after seven years of being coffee-free just to see if it could wake me up a little! I am sipping on a cup of it right now as we speak. I don't think it's working.

Someone mentioned to me that I forgot to list my menu and shopping list for this week. I didn't forget to list it, I forgot to do it! I didn't make a menu this week and just ran to the store on Monday for a few essentials. I can't find my receipt now but I can tell you that I bought enough things to make a big pot of chili (which is kind of strange, considering our sweltering temperatures this week!) and Vegetable Lo Mein, along with vegetables, fruits, bread, milk, and so forth. I spent $38.51 and then we picked up a dozen ears of corn for $3 so I am far below our $100 grocery budget this week. We have mainly been making things out of the cupboards and using up what we have on hand. It hasn't been the healthiest of fare and I've come to realize that when I am stressed or crazy busy I tend to rely on comfort foods (as in, 90 degree weather and a pot of chili?!) and easy fixin's.

My dear hubby is not on call this weekend (finally!) so I intend to make a good menu and shopping list and do a big shopping trip tomorrow or Sunday. Too bad that the air conditioning in our van, that we just got fixed three weeks ago, is now not working again. It's never fun driving around with three sticky kiddos and two crabby adults! One can hope for a big cool off for the weekend though. :)

Reader's Poll

In just over a week it will be the start of August. I've been thinking about what challenge I will be doing (and have been asked by several!) so I need your help! Would you like to see this food challenge continue into August? A new challenge? Any ideas for a new challenge? The $1,200 challenge? I was planning on doing the $1,200 challenge but forgot that I will be buying all the school books and supplies in August which will cost at least $100 or more so that would hurt the budget. Tell me what you are most interested in seeing me do in August!

Easy Peasy Snack

Sometimes I just want a crunchy snack. My go-to snacks for those times used to be chips or crackers. I am trying to find other snacks that meet my need that are also healthy and I have recently found a new favorite! Crunchy Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans).

They remind me somewhat of corn nuts but these are actually healthy for you...and oh so easy to make!

You can start with dried chickpeas and soak and cook them but so far all I have been doing is buying the cans of them. Drain the liquid out, toss in a bowl with 2 T. of olive oil, put in single later on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with whatever spices you wish. I especially enjoy just salt and garlic powder, or chili powder. There are a million different combinations that you can try. I bet you could even make a sweet tasting one with a little brown sugar or cinnamon, though I'm not quite sure how that would taste. Bake at 350 degrees for an 45 minutes to an hour or until crunchy enough for your tastes.

Making Breakfast Fun

My kiddos are a lot like me and aren't big eaters in the morning. I could go without breakfast and not be hungry until lunch time, but I do get cranky when I don't eat breakfast...and my kiddos do as well.
I try to make breakfast fun and enticing with something that they will want to eat. In the warmer months it is something simple such as toast with peanut butter and slices of bananas or a yogurt parfait. Just layer fruit with yogurt and you have a delicious breakfast that is both healthy and enticing. A breakfast like this is always gobbled up quickly!

Frugal Quick Tip For Frugal Mamas

Amazon has marked a lot of diapers down and they also have a promotion going for their subscribe & save program. Usually you save 15% for signing up for subscribe & save but for a limited time you can save an additional 15% when you sign up. This subscribe & save program can be canceled at any time (I always cancel it after my order ships) without loosing your discount. You do want to remember to cancel or else you will be receiving regular shipments of these diapers. Canceling is as easy as going to your account, clicking on your subscribe and save account and hitting cancel.

It gets even better though! The newest issue of Parents magazine has a 20% off any diapers on Amazon coupon. This makes for some very cheap diapers.

I bought the diapers above and after the 30% subscribe and save promotion and the 20% off Parents magazine coupon I paid $20.xx for 176 diapers delivered directly to my door. Seeing as how I had Amazon gift cards from my Swagbucks I actually paid nothing out of pocket.

Vegetable Lo Mein

We all love, love, love Chinese food. There are days that I just crave me some vegetable lo mein and pepper chicken. I have been searching high and low for a vegetable lo mein that is similar to the one at the restaurant that we frequent. I finally found one that comes close, but is still missing a little something. I think I will add some sesame oil next time to see if that changes it. The original recipe is delicious though so I'm posting it anyway, before tweaking a few things.

3 T. olive oil

16 oz. spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained

1 medium onion, sliced in strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes

2 to 3 cups of coleslaw cabbage mix (the bagged kind you see in the store with cabbage and carrots)

1/3 c. soy sauce

Heat olive oil in skillet. Saute' onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Add cabbage mix. Once slightly wilted, add spaghetti. Stir in soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes until heated through.

You can also add bok choy, bell peppers, or other vegetables of interest. Add some chicken or pork to make a meaty lo mein. The sky is the limit!

What A Fun Day!

I mentioned on Saturday morning that I was leaving for a day long trip. My sister and I left bright and early and traveled two hours to meet a group of three other women for some fun, food, and shopping. What a fun day it turned out to be!

Our first stop was the bakery in town where I enjoyed a super duper giant cinnamon roll and orange juice. Everyone chatted for a bit and then we headed off to an Amish bent and dent store, bulk food store, and the cheese factory...

My children would have loved to be able to see the actual cheese being made so I snapped a photo for them and brought them some fresh cheese curds home, which squeak when they are fresh. The kids have been munching on them all day!

Next we ventured to a lovely antique shop. This particular shop had an old farmhouse filled with antiques and a small cottage with some newer items. I fell in love with the shabby chic decorating style. The owners of the shop are quite talented in finding spectacular ways to arrange things. Seeing as how I haven't been shopping without my children in over a year (besides the grocery store) it was lovely to browse through a store slowly...a store that I would never step foot in with children. I just had to take a photo of the staircase in the shop:

And a photo from the loft:

These were both snapped in the small cottage, which held a lot of newer things. I wish I had thought to take a photo inside the old farmhouse as each room was so full of decorating inspiration. We all got several new decorating ideas from our stroll through the shops and saw a lot of things that we wish we could afford!

It was so wonderful to get a girls day out with friends and we are already talking about a fall gathering, where we hope that a few friends who couldn't make it this time around will be able to join in the fun! (I'm the one in orange at the far right.)

Peach Cheesecake

This picture just doesn't do this cheesecake justice. This is a delicious cold treat on a hot day and one of our family favorites. I can't call it healthy, at all, but yummy is sometimes just as good! This recipe makes two cheesecakes and we often keep the extra one in the freezer for several weeks and pull it out when we want a quick dessert.

4 8oz. packages cream cheese

3/4 c. sugar

1 pkg. peach jello

1 15 oz. can peaches, drained, cut into small dices or two fresh peaches peeled and diced

1 8 oz. Cool Whip

2 Graham cracker crusts

Beat sugar and cream cheese. Mix in jello mix. Stir in peaches and Cool Whip. Pour into two graham cracker crusts. Cover and freeze. Thaw 20-30 minutes before serving.

MIA

I've been missing in action for a few days now. I've been busy with a garage sale the past couple days and am heading out today on a day trip with my sister to visit several friends and shop and eat. Sounds like the perfect day to me! :)

I'll be posting some fun pictures soon (my fun day today! and a celebrity that my husband was able to meet). Also my menu and grocery list when I get a moment to sit down and plan a meal.

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday. It is going to be a HOT one today so am I ever grateful that I got the air conditioning in the van fixed!

Child-Friendly Lunch Plates

Here are a few more child-friendly lunch ideas:

*Whole wheat ravioli

*apple slices with peanut butter on top

*kiwi slices

*Homemade pea soup (we like ours lumpy...but this batch didn't turn out very good. It was missing something; we did still eat it)

*Kiwi slices

*watermelon chunks. We weren't intending to have watermelon that day but Joe threw the whole watermelon off the table, splitting it open. We cut it up and enjoyed it for lunch.

What is your go-to lunch that is a hit with everyone?

I Love Summer!

Typically on a day like yesterday we would have been grilling out some hamburgers. In our effort to cut back on our meat consumption I purchased MorningStar Veggie Burgers. These are actually quite delicious and while they are somewhat processed sometimes a busy mom has to take a few shortcuts. There is no question that they are healthier then some ground beef from a cow that was raised in a feed lot. The kids all loved them topped with a bit of cheese (ah...yes, um...processed cheese...forgive me!), onions, lettuce, and some ketchup and mustard.

The pea salad was thrown together. Just a can of peas, drained, sliced onions, chunks of cheese, mayo, and some Nature's Seasoning. Something was missing so I'll add some celery in next time.

We had the first sweet corn of the season! I've bought sweet corn at the store recently but I'm sure that was from Florida or another far away state. Tonight we saw a truck parked out by Walmart selling sweet corn and I just had to buy some local corn! Which means I spent $4 more on groceries but am still under budget for the week. The man warned us that the corn was real tiny and a bit buggy (with the wet weather we have been having lately I think one would be hard pressed to find corn that wasn't a bit buggy) but that it was good. He was right...we ate all 16 ears of corn for supper! I'd be scared to see how much a bigger family would be able to go though!

On a side note, we got our first cucumber from the garden today and the kids scarfed it down in seconds. Joe also tore the half ripe cherry tomatoes from the vine and popped those into his mouth. I thought for sure he would spit the first one out but that boy loves tomatoes so much that he even enjoys the half ripe ones! I can't wait until we are getting more from the garden and I'm anxiously awaiting my first bite of a garden fresh cucumber still warm from the sun!

Giveaway Winners!

I used Random.com to draw the numbers for these giveaways. It's funny because they picked #1 and #2...doesn't seem quite so random! lol

Anyway, the winner of the Real Salt giveaway is comment #1

You know, I learn something new everyday. =] I never even knew there was such a product out there! Thanks for letting us know, I will definitely have to try this stuff! -Rose :)

The winner of the adorable umbrella from Kidorable is comment #2

What cute umbrellas! I love how far they come down on the sides. Kelly

Rose and Kelly, you have until Thursday at noon to contact me at babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com to claim your prizes or another winner will be drawn. Congratulations and thanks for entering everyone! Hoping to have some more fabulous giveaways in the near future!

Tuna Noodle Salad

This is one of my husband's favorite dishes. Tuna Noodle Salad and garlic breadsticks. The breadsticks aren't quite healthy as they are made from breadsticks in a can, but I had a can sitting in the fridge needing to be used up. Just bake them up and when hot from the oven spread some butter on top and sprinkle with garlic powder.

The tuna noodle salad is a variation of one my mother-in-law makes. Hers does not have cheese and she puts tomatoes in hers. When asking my husband for some meal ideas he always brings this one up.

Tuna Noodle Salad

1 package egg noodles, cooked

1 can tuna, drained

1 onion, diced

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

1 chunk of cheese, cubed

enough miracle whip (or mayo) to coat

Nature's Seasoning

Mix everything together in large bowl and sprinkle with Nature's Seasoning. Serve warm or can be made ahead and served cold (I prefer it cold).

Nature's Seasoning is made by Morton and can be found at most grocery stores. We love it on this dish, as well as other pastas, chicken, and soup. We always have a bottle of this on hand!