Cowboy Beans

Last weekend we had plans to go to Lake Erie, which is pretty close to our house. In under an hour we can be there, ready for some water fun. Adam wanted to fish from the bridge access, and the kids are always up for a swim. I knew I would be busy packing the towels, floats, changes of clothes, and snacks for the next day, and I certainly wouldn't want to come home and cook after a hot day on the beach. So, I pulled out my slow cooker and made a big batch of cowboy beans. We happily reheated them, and had hearty meals for 4 days. We could have stretched it to 5 days with the addition of potatoes or smoked sausage, but we were pretty full of beans at that point.

Cowboy beans are awesome. They make enough to feed a crowd, so they are perfect for potlucks or family meals. They reheat like a dream, and they are budget-friendly.

Ingredients

2 28 oz cans of baked beans

1 15 oz can of pinto beans

1 15 oz can of great northern or navy beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of pork n beans

1 1/2 pounds of bacon

1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

1 cup of ketchup

a few dashes of steak sauce or bbq sauce

1/4 brown sugar

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons of mustard

Directions: 

Brown the ground beef, drain.

Fry the bacon until crispy and drain.

Open and drain your canned beans (not the pork n beans or baked beans!)

Chop the bacon into small chunks.

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and stir.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Why we love this recipe: 

It is protein packed, easy, and pairs well with corn bread, potatoes, hot dogs, smoked sausages, and more! 

It has plenty of smoky bacon flavor in each bite.

It can feed a hungry crowd AND it is budget friendly!

I always have plenty of canned and dry beans in my pantry to whip this up, even when I am low on ingredients for other dishes.

Find more crock pot recipes here: 

Chicken and Dumplings

Slow cooker dinner rolls

Shredded chicken tacos

 

5 Strategies for Raising a Happy and Healthy Child

 All parents want their children to be happy and healthy. After all, this won’t just ensure that they have an enjoyable childhood, but can also set them up for success in their adult lives, too. It’s much easier for young adults to find success in all aspects of their lives, including their professional and personal relationships, if they’re mentally and physically in tip-top condition.

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There are, of course, many variables that’ll influence your child’s existence, some of which might negatively impact their overall well-being. The way to combat those is to do what you can — and you can do a lot — to nudge their physical and mental well-being in the right direction.

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In this post, we’ll run through a bunch of strategies for developing a well-rounded child, all of which are relatively easy to follow.

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Healthy, Delicious Meals

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Eating healthy meals is paramount for ensuring that your child’s mental and physical well-being can be in peak condition. Varied meals consisting of fresh, healthy ingredients can have a significant impact on your child’s overall health. In contrast, unhealthy meals — such as those that contain processed foods — can have the opposite effect. By taking the time to prepare good-for-you meals, you’ll be giving your growing child’s body and mind the sustenance they need to be at their best. Research also suggests that children who follow a healthy diet in childhood tend to go on to lead healthy lives as adults, making this approach a gift that’ll benefit your child for the rest of their lives.

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Fun Physical Activities

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Did you know that this generation of children is the least active on record? Thanks to the rise of personal devices and other factors, many children just simply aren’t getting the levels of exercise they need to be at their best.

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Yet it’s important that children do engage in physical activity, which isn’t only beneficial to their physical wellbeing, but also boosts their mental health and confidence, too. The key to getting your child moving is to find an activity that they enjoy. After all, it’s simply not realistic that they’ll be eager to put on jogging shoes and go for a long run multiple times a week. Signing them up for exciting activities such as soccer, dancing, or karate classes will ensure that they get their full dose of physical activity while also having fun. Plus, aside from getting fit, they might just discover that the activity they choose becomes a passion that sticks with them for the rest of their lives.

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Self-Care Habits

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You won’t always be there to look after your child’s mood or emotions. Teaching them how to do it themselves can be powerfully influential and can result in long-lasting benefits that can set them up for success in their later lives. Teach them the power of meditation, yoga, exercise, and sleeping well, and they’ll have a lot of the tools required to make themselves happy and healthy.

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Limit Screentime

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It’s probably not possible, nor recommended, to prevent your child from using screen devices all the time. Still, it’s important to be mindful of the effect that excessive screen time can have on a child’s overall well-being. Studies suggest that too much time in front of a screen can increase a child’s risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

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So how do you manage screens in a world that encourages us to use them all the time? It’s simple — you set boundaries. Your children may not like that the internet is turned off after a certain hour, or that you have screen-free Sundays, but it can be a gamechanger for their well-being. Without screens, they’ll have the time and space to engage in other, genuinely beneficial activities that support their health and happiness.

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Be a Happy Parent

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Finally, keep in mind that raising happy and healthy children is about more than what you do for them. What you do for yourself counts for a lot, too. Children pick up a lot from their parents, much more than simply what they’re told. You’ll be a role model for their happiness, and as such, it’s important that you treat your own well-being as a priority. Many parents put all their energy into their children because they believe that it’s the right thing to do, but actually, it’s vital to invest in your self-care too. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and in any case, your child will be much more  likely to walk around smiling if they see that you have a smile on your face. Remember: positivity is infectious!

Effective Strategies to Boost Retail Sales

 Running a retail business in the economy isn't easy. While brick-and-mortar stores are experiencing a comeback post-COVID pandemic, it's still not the easiest sector to thrive in. This complexity can leave many retailers scratching their heads as to how to improve things and boost sales and profits.

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Because when the usual strategies aren't working, you need to dig deeper and find new methods to embrace for your future success.

Rethink Layout and Merchandising

First impressions matter in any business, and if your store is messy or cluttered or doesn't have the best displays capturing people's attention as they walk through the door, chances are you'll miss out on important sales.

Take a walk through your store and put yourself in the customers' shoes. How easy is it to move around? What is stopping people from browsing? And are you able to navigate the products with ease? You need to have a smooth flow through the store that maximises high-impact areas, i.e., promotions at the door when people walk in, and you need to utilise end-of-aisle displays and locations that can nudge people towards making impulse purchases, such as till points.

Improve Customer Service

If your customers don't feel happy shopping in your store or are not appreciated, they won't be back; that's a given. However, good customer service is hard to pin down and implement consistently across retail stores. You need knowledgeable, approachable staff who are happy to be there and engage with customers. You need to implement regular training sessions and ensure all standards and expectations are adhered to in relation to customer service, so you're finding the sweet spot that works for your customers - use customer feedback here to help guide you to improve on what you're already doing.

Increase Payment Options

Nothing kills a sale faster than limiting how people can pay. These days, the majority of shoppers prefer flexible payment options, and more people than ever are opting to use digital transactions to complete the sale. This means you need to incorporate payment options that work for your customers. So remove that "cash only" sign and bring in credit card equipment that allows you to accept payment methods such as chip and pin, contactless and mobile wallet options for purchase.

Promotions and Loyalty Schemes

Special offers are proven ways to get people in the doors and the checkouts ringing. Multipurchase offers, loyalty rewards that bring down the cost of next purchases or giving out freebies when a certain threshold of sales is met, are all excellent sales drivers and great ways to encourage repeat custom and deliver extra value to your regular customers.

Work with your team and customers to see what would work for them. Would collecting stamps to get a free purchase or a certain item be more enticing, or would a discount code when they've spent a certain amount work better? It might take a bit of time to find the right offers for your customers, but it's definitely a great way to build a loyal customer base.

Don't Forget About these for a Wedding Budget

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A wedding budget can be hard to wrestle with when funds are low. Prices can change over time, and weddings are pretty expensive at the best of times. While there are many things to include, there are some common expenses that most couples overlook when planning their budget.

The Costs of Food and Drink

One of the most overlooked expenses when budgeting is food and drink. Finding a reliable caterer like https://chutzpahdeli.com/catering/ can be hard due to availability and your budget. However, it is best to make a shortlist of vendors who fit in the funding, and give or take 10%. It will also help to book the food and drink vendors as early as possible so you can agree on a price and pay them, as this can help beat rising costs and increased billing due to inflation.

Taxes, Fees, and Tips

One of the biggest expenses you will face when holding your wedding is the venue. Paying for the place isn’t as simple as you might expect. First, there is a time cost to find somewhere you love that falls within the budget. However, the budget doesn’t only include the cost of hiring. There are also hidden taxes that can pop up. Venues may also charge extra fees for services, and the staff might expect gratuity, so always request a final price when discussing the venue.

Include Invitations in the Wedding Budget

The average cost of a wedding in the US is $33,000. That’s a lot of cash that most people don’t have lying around. This means wedding planning for most people relies on a budget. You may overlook invitations as they are sent out early, but they, too, can add up to a large amount:

• Materials, inserts, and envelopes can cost a pretty penny for invites and save-the-dates.

• Printing services can charge excessive fees based on the number of invitations.

• Even DIY supplies can cost a small fortune if you choose to make the invites yourself.

Clothing and Alterations

Attire for your wedding extends to more than just the bride’s gown. The outfit as a whole will need extras such as shoes, the veil, and accessories. However, there are also bridesmaid dresses, usher attire, and an evening dress for the bride’s reception. Then, of course, the groom will also want to look his best. But even before you wear any of these, there could also be fitting costs and extra fees for altering the clothing that anyone involved will wear before the big day.

Necessary Legal Fees

Getting married is an expensive affair, and you may not even realize that there are legal fees. For example, you will need to attend and pay the registry office for a legal name change, or hire a registrar for the wedding. This makes the name change legally official. However, this means you will need to change your name on all official documents, including your passport, driving license, and bank account. Any of these can incur extra fees for the administrative work.

Summary

The cost of food and drink can get surprisingly high, so always include what you need in the wedding budget. Invitations are also overlooked, but mailing and printing can get pretty pricey. Then there are some legal fees associated with getting married, such as a name change.

Declutter your Home in A Month with This Guide

 If you feel as though your home is just full of clutter and you want to do something about this, then you have come to the right place. This guide will talk you through all of the steps you can take to not only declutter your home, but also get it done in a month or less. If you want to find some useful tips, then all you have to do is look below.

Start Small

One of the first things you need to do is try and start small. Take a look around your home right now, and take note of the areas that drive you a little crazy when you see them. It may be the pile of mail that is on the kitchen counter, or that you have shoes by the door that really never seem to be moved. It may be tempting to tackle the whole room, but at the same time, if you can narrow the focus down to one small area, then this will work wonders for you. It’s also less overwhelming, so you are not biting off more than you can chew. You will see quick results this way, and you may also find that you are able to see visible progress, which is huge to say the least. 

If you are ready to get started, then one of the best things you can do is take a timer and set it for 15 minutes. You would be amazed at how much you can get done in such a short space of time. You can sort things out and toss them as you see fit, and you know that you are never going to be obligated to do more than 15 minutes at a time. On top of this, you will also find that you are able to pick up where you left off tomorrow, which is great to say the least.

Source: Pexels

Create Quick Habits

You also need to try and create quick habits if you can. The real drive behind decluttering comes from you being as consistent as possible. It’s really like brushing your teeth. You need to make sure that you do something small every single day, as this stops you from getting things out of control. If you can make your small actions have a big impact, then this will help you in more ways than one. One of the things you can do is tidy up all of your surfaces. You can also clear the countertops, and you can wipe the nightstands down once every day. Sort the mail, too. Instead of letting it pile up, you can then work towards dealing with it as time goes on, which will help you a lot. Sometimes a quick nighttime sweep can make the mornings feel so much easier. Stick to small habits and keep your space organised if you can. If you miss a day, then it’s not a big deal, just pick up where you left off the next day.

Declutter by Category

Another thing you can try and do is take the time to declutter by category if you can, rather than going by room. You need to make sure that you don’t go into a specific room, trying to take care of everything in it. You need to try and focus on a type of item across your whole home if you can. If you can do this, then you will find that it is easier for you to stop clutter from adding up. It’s never just in one place either. If you have shoes scattered in the hallway, then they have probably ended up in the bedroom as well, which will add to the general mess across your home. You don’t need to deal with things like this, so take the time to sort through everything now, so you can stop it from becoming so much of an issue in the future. This is a great tip that will save you hours later on. 

Let Go of “Someday” Items

Everyone has items that they use sometimes, and not others. Believe it or not, these types of items can add up, and they can make a major difference to your home. If you want to do something about this, then you need to try and remove items like this. That way, you won’t be carried away by the feeling of guilt when you try and get rid of them but never do. Ask yourself when the last time you used that item, and you will find it easier to make huge progress with your items. If you have a lot of junk, it could be a good idea to hire the services of junk haulers. When you do, you can then rest assured knowing that you can get all of the stuff you need taken away with ease, without having to worry about a thing. Things like this can make a huge difference to you, and you would be surprised at how easy it is for you to clear out when you don’t have to wait for your recycling to be taken each week.

Don’t Strive for Perfection

Decluttering doesn’t have to be perfect at all. There is no need to wait until you have the right system; in fact, the goal is for you to try and make progress and not to try and achieve perfection. Some days off are fine, and it’s also okay for you to take a bit longer to clear a room. You just need to make sure that you try your best to get back on top once you can, and carry on. If you try and achieve perfection every time, then this won’t get you anywhere, you may even find that it ends up burning you out as well. If you want to put an end to this, then you need to take the time to do what you can, and permit yourself to stop if you are already on a win.