Home Ec 101

It's hard for me to believe, but Home-Ec101 has been around for 9 years. Ivy and I officially launched it on March 1, 2007. It started out as a little project by two friends who were just trying to figure out how to manage life.
Thank you all for sticking with us through the hard times and the good.
If you have a favorite memory related to Home Ec or even just the reason you found the website in the first place, I'd love it if you would share it with us here.

Today over at PlainChicken, there is a great recipe for Reuben Crescents - an interesting twist on a St Patty's Day favorite. Give them a try and see if they're right for your celebration.

http://www.plainchicken.com/2016/03/reuben-crescents.html

Organizational Challenge #10 - THE JUNK DRAWER
http://www.home-ec101.com/organizational-sunday-10-the-jun…/

Boiling vs Simmering. What is the actual difference?

http://www.home-ec101.com/the-difference-between-boiling-a…/

Around this time of year, "Thinking Green" takes on a whole new meaning. That's right, St. Patricks Day is right around the corner. If you're not in Chicago or Savannah for a traditional parade, why not get in the mood with some Irish Beer Cheese Soup from A Spicy Perspective;

http://www.aspicyperspective.com/irish-beer-cheese-soup/2

It's Taco Tuesday / Super Tuesday / One Day Closer To Friday!
Let's try something festive from Slow Cooker From Scratch;

http://www.slowcookerfromscratch.com/…/casserole-crock-satu…

Have you joined our Organizational Challenge yet? This week is one that just about every household needs to tackle; Clearing Your Counters

http://www.home-ec101.com/organizational-sunday-9-clear-yo…/

Since today is the third Friday of Lent, we're offering up another meatless suggestion. Our Simple Alfredo Sauce can be paired with broccoli (for vegetarians) or with shrimp (for those avoiding meat & chicken).

http://www.home-ec101.com/fast-and-simple-alfredo/

This is why we need to teach all of our children that everyone who lives in the home helps take care of the home.
Found via my friend Janet Lee

We went a little out of our usual comfort zone grocery shopping this week and stopped by Costco. And one of the things we ended up with in our cart was avocados (and dvds, books, swim goggles, and OH LOOK A 55 GALLON JUG OF CRANAPPLE JUICE!).

When thinking of something other than guacamole to make with them, I thought of MyBigFatCubanFamily's avocado salad recipe.

http://www.mybigfatcubanfamily.com/avocado-salad-cuban-styl…

One of our favorite Hispanic dishes is authentic Mexican carnitas; pork shoulder simmered until it's fall off the bone tender. As it turns out, this is actually fairly easy to make. Get your slow cookers ready because Letite's Culinaria has a fantastic recipe for it.

http://leitesculinaria.com/…/recipes-carnitas-mexican-brais…

If you're like the average American family, then chances are you seem to throw away a lot of food. Food that could possibly still be eaten if it were still fresh and could then save you money because you're being more efficient. Here's 12 Food Hacks to Keep Groceries Fresh from our friends at MomPrepares;

http://momprepares.com/food-hacks/

Looking for something warm on these cool nights? A Spicy Perspective has a great recipe for Mexican stuffed crescent rolls that's quick and easy. Give it a try!

http://www.aspicyperspective.com/mexican-stuffed-crescent-…/

It's Friday, and that means that during Lent, most Catholics won't be eating meat. An alternative? Seafood. Did you know that this is the exact reason McDonalds invented the filet-o-fish? PlainChicken has a great recipe for Easy Shrimp Tacos. Much better than a filet-o-fish!

http://www.plainchicken.com/2014/08/easy-shrimp-tacos.html

We LOVE user questions. We try to answer them all as they come in, but sometimes one or two jump to the top of the list because they just HAVE to be answered. In this case, it had to be answered quickly so that this reader wouldn't do something foolish. Like follow their friend's advice!

http://www.home-ec101.com/how-to-remove-hard-water-stains-…/

With the cold weather's end seemingly on the horizon, our attention gets focused towards Spring. And with Spring comes gardening. Whether you're an experienced gardener or just trying to figure out if it's something you want to do, give a listen to A Prioritized Life's latest podcast on the subject;

http://aprioritizedlife.net/…/episode-14-14-benefits-of-ga…/

With the amount of chicken that the average family consumes, there's bound to be some leftover meat. Here's a light, spring-themed chicken salad to use it for and start imagining when the weather will be warm again!

http://www.home-ec101.com/leftover-chicken-try-chicken-sal…/

It's a cold holiday weekend in most of the US today, and there's a certain amount of joy that a little comfort food can bring to the dreariness. Try the baked macaroni and cheese recipe from Leite's Culinaria this week and it will surely bring a smile to the faces of family members;

http://leitesculinaria.com/…/recipes-baked-macaroni-and-che…

Have you been following along on our Organizational Challenge lately? Today is a great day to start if you haven't; it's time to clean out the fridge.

http://www.home-ec101.com/organizational-sunday-challenge-…/

When you're first dealing with a wheat allergy or going gluten free, it's easy to just give up on breads and muffins. But you actually don't have to. Here's a easy recipe for jalapeno cornbread that is gluten free and really easy to make;

http://minimalistbaker.com/gluten-free-jalapeno-cornbread-…/