Author Archives: Gelayne Blyden

Photo taken from elanaspantry.com

Even though spring is almost here (on or around March 21) it is still officially winter. Initially, I was not a big fan of soup but I found myself wanting more and more soup during the winter months. This caused me to make a hearty soup to satisfy these cravings and boy-oh-boy was it good! Here is my very own recipe for a beef soup that is sure to warm the soul.

Ingredients:

Fresh Pumpkin (you don’t need a whole pumpkin. A couple of hearty pieces will do) Tip: The richer you want the soup the more pumpkin you will need

1-2 packs of beef chuck (try to get the pieces with some bone it in; I believe this adds to the flavor of the soup)

5 Carrots chopped

4-5 Potatoes (with or without skin)

2-3 Cups of white flour and water for dumplings (you cannot have this soup without it)

A handful of Spaghetti

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Salt

Paprika

Hot Sauce

Photo taken from Caribbeanpot.com

Directions:
1. Fill a  pot with water. And boil the water. The size of the pot will depend on the amount of soup you want to make. Peel and cut the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into square chunks and boil the pumpkin in the pot of water. The pumpkin will eventually melt and become a delicious base for the soup.

2. Next, wash your meat. You can use vinegar, lime, lemon, etc. to wash your meat. After you have washed your meat season your meat with your salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika and add it to the pot that you have boiling with pumpkin. Because the meat is cooked for so long in this recipe it will become tender and will flavor the soup nicely.

Tip :You want to make sure you turn down the heat because you don’t want the soup to burn. Remember as you add more ingredients stir the pot to prevent food from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.

3. Wash, peel and chop your carrots. Add them to your boiling pot.

4. Wash, peel (if you desire) and cut your potatoes into thick chunks and add them to your boiling pot.

5. Make the dumplings and add them to your boiling pot. See how to make dumplings below.

6. Grab a handful of spaghetti break it in half and add it to the boiling pot.

7. Add more seasoning; salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce to get the flavor of the soup to your liking.

Note: Because pumpkin is so thick it can tend to soak up the water (liquid) in the soup after and sometimes before the soup has been refrigerated. If this is the case no need to worry; just add more water to your soup and add more seasoning to retain the flavor. Enjoy! 🙂

How to make dumplings:
Dumplings is a simple food that uses flour (we will use white flour) and water.

1. Take your 2-3 cups of white flour and put it in a bowl. Slowly add water (you want to have enough water to make the flour stick together.) The flour and water mixture should begin to look like dough.

2. Once you’ve added enough water, kneed the dough into a big ball.

3.  Next take little pieces of the dough and shape them into dumplings. You can shape them into little pancakes, balls, or logs. I usually do a combination of pancake dumplings and log dumplings.

Total Cost: Estimated at $22
Cost Per Serving: Estimated at $3.14 per serving

If you are like me you need a little help with organization. Okay, okay I admit it. I need more than a little help with organization. Give me a break you know I’m not the only one. Anyhow since this is an area I need improvement in I’ve decided to look up articles/blogs that will help me and hopefully you get everything in its place.

Photo taken from www.families.com

The first article I want to highlight is found on a young adult website called Boundless.Org. In his article, “The Slob Reform” George Halitzka recalls his unorganized and haphazard college days. He was the self-proclaimed “Heavyweight Champion of All-Nighters.” He encourages others that organization is a learned skill; a skill which he learned and you can too. He gives readers several organizational tips that will help them get organized over time. One of my favorite tips: give everything a home. I know what you’re thinking: I already know that its commonsense. Yes I know, but do you actually do it? If you give things a home for example, keys or important documents, it will save you time and energy when you need to retrieve these things in the future.

The second blog I want to highlight “7 Keys to Letting Go of Clutter” comes from simplify101.com; a websight which specializes in organization. The blog mentions that there are no set rules to organization; in other words you have to find what works for you. I like this idea because it gives individuals the opportunity to be flexible and avoid unnecessary pressure. Lets face it the process of organization can be stressful. Why add the unnecessary stress of trying to do what doesn’t work for you? The blog list several organizational tips; one I would even call genius: “Anticipate and remove your obstacles.”

“7 Keys to Letting Go of Clutter”
www.simplify101.com

For example, some of us have a difficult time parting with items that we know we need to get rid of because we paid good money for it.  The fact that you paid good money would be your obstacle. However, what you paid for the item is already a sunk cost. Holding on to the item won’t give you your money back but getting rid of something that you don’t need will get you one step closer to getting the space that you want to see. Think about it. Now does throwing away that expensive item seem so bad?

‘The “Gift” of Beautiful Storage’ by Courtney

The third blog I want to highlight comes from the IHeart Organizing Blog spot. In the blog ‘U Heart Organizing: The “Gift” of Beautiful Storage’ by Courtney, the blogger and mother of two shares how she organized her gift wrapping room. While you may not be all that interested in gift wrapping reading the article can steer you in the right direction of organizational success. Simple things like a rod and plastic bucket system or removable hooks that you can attach to the wall are inexpensive but can create a world of difference when it comes to organizing.

Remember organization is only going to happen one step at a time so please don’t beat yourself up if you don’t achieve success in a day! If you do fall off the organizational wagon pick yourself up and get back on again. Try to be consistent and have fun. Following some of the advice from the blogs/articles that I have mentioned above should have you on the way to creating a space you are proud of in no time!

Happy Organizing,
Gelayne

So Valentine’s Day is coming up and we know love is in the air! There are many people offering opinions and suggestions on how to make that day special with that special someone. But how do you spend Valentine’s Day if you’re not married, dating, or in a committed relationship? That my dear single friend is the dozen rose question? No worries. I’ve done some research and I’ve got you covered. Here are a list of three blogs/articles that think of singles on February 14. Who knows this may be your last Valentine’s Day solo :o).

6 Valentine’s Day Do’s and Don’ts! by Cheyenne Bostock
Huffingtonpost.com

The first blog I wanted to highlight is “6 Valentine’s Day Do’s and Don’ts!” by Cheyenne Bostock. In his blog Bostock encourages singles to “date themselves” and let singles know they don’t need a man to make them happy (and I’m assuming that a man doesn’t need a women to be happy either). He warns and advises people not to get caught in the Valentine’s Day trap. You know the drill: chocolate, candy, gifts. His sentiments are that you shouldn’t have to wait one day out of the year to let someone know you care about them. I agree. If you love somebody you need to show it more than once per year.

Hey, Single Ladies! 7 Ways To OWN Valentine’s Day This Year By Stephanie Castillo

My second blog highlight is “Hey, Single Ladies! 7 Ways To OWN Valentine’s Day This Year” by Stephanie Castillo. In this blog Castillo suggests that instead of feeling sorry for  themselves, single ladies and gents should get up and do something. Things like: spending time with your friends, throwing a party, or spending time showing love to someone else, or simply loving you. I love this notion of loving you for Valentine’s Day. We can get so caught up in the trap of having someone to love that we forget to love one of the most important people in our lives: ourselves. Castillo suggests doing something for you, and if you do want that special someone to come your way, then decide what you want and take steps in that direction.

Being Single on Valentine’s Day
A Survival Guide
Advice from Professor Laura S. Brown
Chiff.com

Lastly, I wanted to highlight “Being Single on Valentine’s Day A Survival Guide” posted on the website Chiff.com. In this post Dr. Laura S. Brown a professor of psychology at Argosy University/Seattle offers advice on how singles can enjoy Valentine’s Day. She reminds and encourages singles that we (yes I’m in this category) do have an identity outside of a romantic relationship. Dr.Brown reminds us that Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday and of all the money you’ll be saving yourself if you don’t buy into it –and who doesn’t love saving cash! She also says that if you are single and you enjoy being single, it is OK. If this is you nothing is wrong with you and you are not weird. Again, your relationship status does not define you.

I’m wishing you a Happy Feb 14. By the way: I think I will take Bostock’s advice and date myself this year. Who’s with me?
Signing Off,
Gelayne

Photo taken from https://www.rubylane.com

Who doesn’t love peach cobbler? This decadent dessert is a southern treat; talk about southern hospitality! I had my shot at preparing my first ever peach cobbler last Christmas Eve. How did it turn out you ask? Let’s just say my sisters and I fought each other for the last piece. Sort of, well not really. The recipe has simple and readily accessible ingredients plus a secret special ingredient! Even if peaches aren’t in season, frozen peaches will do. The recipe is not my own. I retrieved it online from Allrecipes.com and the recipe is from Aeposey. So here is what you will need:

For the Filling:
8 fresh peaches- peeled, pitted, and sliced into thin wedges – if you don’t have fresh peaches frozen will do plus it will save you the grunt work of peeling and pitting peaches
¼ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
¼ cup of boiling water

Photo taken from http://www.gettyimages.es

For the Sprinkle Topping:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Special Ingredient: Love (food always tastes better when you cook it from your heart)

Directions:
1. So the first thing you would need to do is preheat your oven to 425 degrees F or (220 degrees C).

 
2. The next step is for you to combine all of your filling ingredients in a large bowl. This is your ¼ cup of white sugar, ¼ cup of brown sugar, peaches, cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg, cornstarch and peaches. Make sure that the peaches are coated evenly put this in a baking dish (a 2 quart one is recommended) and bake it in the oven and your preheated temperature for 10 minutes.

3. While the peaches are baking you are going to work your crust: you are going to combine all of your crust ingredients except the water. This is your flour, baking powder, salt, ¼ cup white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and butter. Press in butter with your fingers until the mixture texture resembles coarse meal. Add water until combined.

4. Remove your peaches from the oven and add the topping over it with a spoon. (If you don’t have enough toppings to cover your peaches repeat step three and add the additional topping to your peaches). Sprinkle the entire cobbler with white sugar and cinnamon mixture (again if you need more sprinkles make another mixture and add it to the top). Bake until mixture is golden brown or about 30 minutes.

5. Enjoy! (or eat and repeat if you prefer).

Total Cost: Estimated at $30
Total Calories :Estimated at 318 per serving

Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
Photo by Gelayne Blyden

Food is everywhere! It’s in the news, on T.V., in blogs, radio, newspaper and magazines. If you live in NYC eating out can be pretty expensive, especially if you’re a student and always on the go! So what’s a girl or guy to do? One answer: cook!

Yes, cook. Sound old fashioned? Or maybe you’re thinking “I don’t know how.” I have some news for you: me neither, but I’m in the process of learning. Recently some of my sisters and I decided we need to step our game up in the kitchen. Our first mission: Shepherd’s Pie. Shepherd’s Pie is a baked dished made with ground meat, mashed potatoes, and cheese. Vegetables are optional but make a good addition in my opinion. The Shepherd’s Pie was a hit and didn’t last very long after we made it. If you want to know how to make Shepherd’s Pie, here is a link to one on the Kraft website: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-shepherds-pie-108691.aspx.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Photo by Gelayne Blyden

We live in the age of technology if you don’t know how to do something, Google it! The possibilities are endless. It’s going to take some time and like everything else, practice.

You can live but so long on pizza, burgers, and fast food (trust me I know), your body requires more. Even if you think you can survive on fast food and have thus survived so far, let’s see how much eating out can really cost you. Let’s say you spend an average of about $8.00 per day on lunch five times a week. That’s $40 a week and $160 a month on lunch alone! If you buy an $8.00 lunch five times of week for a year it will cost you $1,920! One thousand nine hundred and twenty dollars! Think about it what else could you do with that?

Grocery Bag Photo taken from http://poetluckerate.wordpress.com

With that kind of money, you can definitely start an emergency fund (see my other blog Don’t Let Life’s Financial Emergencies Take You Off Track). So even if not for your own personal survival, give cooking a go for your pocket’s survival.

Emergency Fund Piggy Bank, Photo by Gelayne Blyden

According to a report released by The Consumer Federation of America and The Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards, Inc. 38% of households live paycheck to paycheck. This means if you don’t get paid once, you’re in serious trouble.

You need an emergency fund. An emergency fund is exactly what it sounds like, an account that is funded for the purpose of emergencies. An emergency fund has 3-6 months worth of expenses in a liquid, or easily accessible account.

Dave Ramsey went bankrupt at age 30, four years prior he had a $4 million real estate portfolio. Since then Ramsey has used Biblical principles to build wealth and get out of debt, his course Financial Peace University, FPU teaches others to do the same. Baby Step One at FPU is building a baby emergency fund of $1,000 if you make more than $20,000 annually or $500 if you make below $20,000 annually. Saving has to become a priority.

Consumer Cards, Photo by Gelayne Blyden

The thing about life is emergencies happen, so expect them.You may be thinking I can’t afford an emergency fund. But can you really afford not to have one? You and your family’s welfare are important, and the emergency fund is there so that you can get things done when facing the unexpected or crisis. For example, what if you lose your job and your severance pay is not enough to even pay your rent. With an emergency fund you’ll be able to meet your obligations while looking for another job.

Money Tree,
Photo by Gelayne Blyden

See an emergency fund as an investment in your security, not an extra financial burden. Think of what would have happened if you had cash when you faced a bind? A good piece of advice is to actually define what an emergency is. This will help you decide what you can and cannot spend the money on in the future. If you’re married, you and your spouse should be on the same page. If you’re single, maybe you could try getting an accountability partner to keep you on track.