Classical Homemaking

Thursday, August 15, 2013

#ad Chicken Bacon Ranch Ciabatta with Tyson Grilled & Ready #ClipForSchool #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and their client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Even though we homeschool, the end of summer always signals "back to school" for our family. We begin wrapping up the summer and planning for an organized fall season. One way I keep my family in a routine is by making sure there's always something in the cupboards to make for meals---even quick ones. My Chicken Bacon Ranch Ciabatta was easy to make using Tyson's Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips.

For this quick dinner idea, you'll need a bag of Grilled & Ready strips, a ciabatta roll, a couple slices of cooked bacon, some ranch dressing, and some extra fixings like lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese, and red onion. Assemble it and enjoy!

I have used Tyson's Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips for awhile now as a solution when I don't have time for the extra step of preparing meat. There's often a bag in my fridge or freezer---and now I can also help my local schools out when I buy them! Visit my Google+ Album for more about my trip to Safeway to shop for these.

Did you know that Tyson has a program to benefit your area's schools? By participating in the Tyson's Back to School Project A+ Program, you can earn 24 cents per label for your school---that's a lot more than other school donation programs!

When shopping for Tyson products, look on the front, back, and sides of the packaging to see if the product you're buying is a participating product. Here is a list of all participating Tyson products.

Signing up your school is easy! First, go to the Project A+ website, find the "Get Started" button on the right side bar and see if your school is already signed up.

If not, you can sign them up quickly and easily. I was excited to see that homeschool associations are eligible to participate in this program. In fact, the Tyson Project A+ Program is open to all accredited schools in the US, including public, private, parochial, homeschool organizations, and military schools (both here and overseas).

Once your registration is processed, it's just a matter of getting the word out to your community to let them know to start collecting Tyson labels. The coordinator will gather them up and send them in and Tyson will redeem 24 cents for each one. This is a great way to earn some money for your school!

If you shop at Safeway, like I did, you can also add a donation to your local school by signing up for Safeway's Back to School 10% School Donation program. When you use your Safeway card during check out, 10% goes back to schools! Visit their website and follow the easy directions to get your school registered and ready to earn some much needed cash back!

Just look for the special yellow Back to School tag on some of your favorite products at Safeway and, for a limited time, Safeway will donate to the school you've indicated during your registration process.

In our homeschool association, we like to provide scholarships to families in need, as well as purchase equipment for our many outdoor activities throughout the year. The Tyson Project A+ Program is a great way to help earn the money we'll need to accomplish this.

For more information on Tyson foods and programs visit:

Tyson's Project A+ Program website

Tyson on Facebook

Tyson on Twitter

Linking with:
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Thriving Thursday @ Serving Joyfully
Homeacre Hop
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
Think Tank Thursday @ Saving4Six
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Create It Thursday
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Fit & Frugal Family Friday
Faithful Fridays
Ultimate Blog Linky Party
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Finding the Pretty & Delicious @ Your Homebased Mom
30 Min. Linkup @ 30 Days
Sharing Creative Ideas @ Made By Joey
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios
Character Corner
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good
Domestically Divine @ Far Above Rubies
(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Wisdom Wednesdays @Simply Helping Him
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays
Encourage One Another @ Deep Roots at Home
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Home @ Rose Chintz Cottage
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
Watcha Work-Up Wednesday
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above
Home Link Up at Raising Arrows

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Easy Saucy Pasta for the Homemaking Party

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! Tonight I want to share with you an easy way to prepare a quick pasta dish with leftovers from your fridge---plus a few things you probably already have on hand!

Easy Saucy Pasta

1 pkg. pasta
1 can chicken broth***
2-3 Tbs. corn starch***
salt & pepper
garlic (powder or fresh)
basil (dried or fresh)
1 Tb. oil
leftover cooked meat, cubed
chopped, uncooked vegetables

Cook the pasta. In the meantime, mix cornstarch, spices, and any dried herbs together in a bowl. Whisk in broth and set bowl aside. Heat oil in large skillet and stir fry meat and veggies for a few minutes. Add cooked pasta, any fresh herbs or garlic, and broth mixture. I always whisk the mixture again right before pouring in. ***see note below*** Stir together well, and let the broth mixture come to a boil---stirring constantly. When sauce has thickened, it's ready to eat! We like to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and serve with crusty bread.
***This recipe makes a large batch because we are a big family! If you're making a small amount (like just half a pkg. of pasta) then I'd recommend only pouring some of this broth mixture into your skillet and stirring. You will want to control how "saucy" it gets if you are making a smaller batch.

Now for the linkup. Please remember to return the favor by adding my button or a text link to your post. Have a great weekend!

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Linking with:
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Thriving Thursday @ Serving Joyfully
Homeacre Hop
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
Think Tank Thursday @ Saving4Six
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Create It Thursday
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Fit & Frugal Family Friday
Faithful Fridays
Ultimate Blog Linky Party
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Finding the Pretty & Delicious @ Your Homebased Mom
30 Min. Linkup @ 30 Days
Sharing Creative Ideas @ Made By Joey
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios
Character Corner
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good
Domestically Divine @ Far Above Rubies
(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Wisdom Wednesdays @Simply Helping Him
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays
Encourage One Another @ Deep Roots at Home
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Home @ Rose Chintz Cottage
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
Watcha Work-Up Wednesday
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above
Home Link Up at Raising Arrows

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Autumn Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Today I'd like to share my recipe for Pumpkin Bread. This is a great recipe for those larger cans of pumpkin as it makes 3 loaves. It's a perfect big family recipe---but it freezes well for a small family too!

Autumn Pumpkin Bread

1 29oz. can pumpkin puree

1 1/2 c. oil

3 c. sugar

6 eggs

4 3/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. cloves

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 3 loaf pans. Mix the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients and then stir into the wet mixture. Pour into pans and bake 45 min. or until done all the way through.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Daily Planner Review and Giveaway: Homemaker's Friend

Today I'm happy to introduce you to a great resource I recently became aware of: the Daily Planner from Homemakersfriend.com. I was given two planners in exchange for a blog review. All opinion are honest and are my own.

**After you read my review, make sure to enter to win your own set of 2013 and 2014 planners!**

One thing I immediately noticed about this planner was the large spaces for writing in my daily "to do" list, week by week. I often don't have room in other planners to list everything I want to remember to do in a day. I also like the separate dividers for tasks, projects, info, and shopping. As a busy homeschooler, I think this planner is just right for organizing everything I need to remember in one handy place.

I like the convenient size of the planner, as it fits well in my purse. I also like the inspirational quotes and Scripture verses sprinkled throughout.

Homemakers Friend is currently offering a free 2013 Planner with a 2014 Planner purchase so you can begin utilizing this new organizational system right away!

Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win a set of planners! (May take a moment to load) a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Apple Doodles {Snickerdoodles with Apples} for the Homemaking Party

I've been thinking about apple recipes for Fall lately. I know, it's still summer---but Fall is my favorite season and I just can't wait for it to come! Some yummy Fall recipes with apples that I've featured here before include my Apple Cider Beef Stew and my redo of a vintage recipe for Apple Cinnamon Rolls. Today, I bring you: Apple Doodles. Which are, essentially, Snickerdoodles with apples!

Apple Doodles
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar mixed with 2 tsp. cinnamon for rolling

Preheat oven to 400. Mix sugar and butter until well blended. Stir in eggs one at a time. In separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Chop apple then add to wet mixture, along with flour mixture, and mix until well blended. Roll dough into small balls and roll in cinnamon mixture. Bake 8 - 10 minutes until slightly brown but still soft.

Now for the linkup. Please remember to return the favor by adding my button or a text link to your post. Have a great weekend!