The following post is from contributing writer Kristia.

Homemade lasagna is the ultimate comfort food. This recipe is quite tasty and my husband and kids hardly noticed that it was meatless. If you’re looking to increase your family’s vegetable intake, give this Vegetable Lasagna a try!

More recipes from Kristia

Find more delicious meal ideas at the The Happy Housewife Recipe Index.

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Kristen of Thyme at Home shares her goals which includes a home management binder.  She includes helpful links in her post.  She says,

“I started off last year by making my top 3 organizational goals. I think starting off with your top goals for your home/life/space is really important! I will be doing this again this year! Thankfully, they are different ”

For more ideas to help you simplify and organize one day at a time, visit the Organized in 365 Archives.

Have you shared a great organizing tip on your website? I’d love to feature it on TheHappyHousewife.com. Submit your Organized in 365 tip.

Don’t have a blog, but have a great tip? Submit your Organized in 365 guest post here.

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The following is a post from Tabitha

A few weeks ago my husband saw a mother holding her daughter’s baby. No, not her granddaughter, but a computerized ‘baby’ for learning about human development and taking care of a new baby. Something that apparently, many American teenagers don’t learn about unless they are in a class similar to the one this mother’s daughter was taking.

Our children saw one of these ‘babies’ at church a few weeks ago as well. They were, at first, wondering why a teenager had a baby doll. I tried, and I think failed, to explain what the baby was for and why it was important. I tried to explain that this girl was taking a class about babies and needed the doll to show she knew how to take care of a baby.

My teens were slightly incredulous. Now, I know not every teenager has the opportunity to learn about small children and babies in their own home or even at church or friends’ homes. Babysitting classes and courses such as this one are probably great resources.

I grew up in a home where I was called upon to babysit, both my own siblings and families from church, or even friends of my parents who had small children. I learned every day how children learn, grow, and develop. My parents taught me all about such things and helped me know how to help these small children learn and grow as well as take care of their physical needs. It never occurred to me that there might be a more formal need for learning.

My own children are also skipping that ‘formal’ learning about taking care of babies and small children. My 13 year old changes diapers almost as well as his parents, who have been changing diapers for 15 years now (longer if we’re talking about other kids as well as our own).

My 15 year old knows how to keep order in the home when parents aren’t home, and even if we are, can sometimes be found mediating a disagreement between some of the younger siblings. My 12 year old know how to sooth a baby even if she’s not very experienced at it.

My 2 year old was holding a baby doll just yesterday, slightly rocking and bouncing as she made small, gentle noises and held the baby close. The 4 and 5 year olds run to comfort the newest baby in our home, just 1 month old, when she is upset.

There's nothing like a real baby.

They know about babies. They know that each is special and is a small person with wants and needs just like them. They are learning about what those needs are and they want to help. They know what isn’t good for her, and know what they can do to make her happy. All in age appropriate terms from the 2 year old to the 15 year old. They know…

• Babies are special
• Babies take special care
• Babies need gentle handling
• Babies can’t talk
• Babies can’t tell you what they need
• Babies cry sometimes
• Sometimes babies cry when they don’t need anything
• Babies cry when they do need something
• Babies sleep a lot
• Babies eat a lot.
• Babies can’t eat what big kids eat
• Babies need different food, mostly milk, whether breastmilk or formula.
• Babies take a lot of mom’s time.

There are many, many more things that a family can learn from a baby. However, we’re still learning ourselves, as well as teaching our children, so alongside the AP test preparation, 7^th grade logic, pre-reading activities, life science, and math at all levels from Geometry to counting, we are also learning about babies.

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Almost twenty years ago I bought my first sewing machine. It sat gathering dust in my closet for the next 10 years because I didn’t know what to do with it.

During our tour in GTMO I met a Gaby, who was a clothing designer and professional seamstress. I was fortunate enough to take sewing lessons from her for a year and have been using my sewing machine ever since.

Not everyone has a Gaby in their life, but you still might want to learn how to sew. Even basic sewing skills can save you a lot of money making small repairs on clothing so they last longer!

Craftsy is offering a FREE sewing machine 911 class. Sign up and take the class on your own time, whenever you want. It never expires!

In the class you’ll learn:

All about the typical ills most machines suffer from, and how to easily remedy those pesky problems. Gain confidence in troubleshooting your own machine issues with my tips and tricks. All of these machines can sew, and they can sew well when the user understands them correctly. Work with Claudia Miller and get to know the ins and outs of your sewing machine, including the basic components of each machine, spotting symptoms, knowing when to take your machine to a professional, and much more!

It’s totally free and you can sign up for the Sewing Machine 911 class here.

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Just in time for camping season!

Download this free RV Cooking Cookbook Kindle edition on Amazon.com today. And check out more campfire recipes in the KOA Campfire community.

If you don’t have a Kindle, then you can still download these free eBooks to your smart phone or computer. All you need to do is download one of Amazon’s free reading apps.

Remember that Amazon prices fluctuate constantly, so verify the price before purchasing.

Carol of Are We There Yet? shares how to use plastic baskets to organize your side by side freezer.

For more ideas to help you simplify and organize one day at a time, visit the Organized in 365 Archives.

Have you shared a great organizing tip on your website? I’d love to feature it on TheHappyHousewife.com. Submit your Organized in 365 tip.

Don’t have a blog, but have a great tip? Submit your Organized in 365 guest post here.

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The following is a post from contributing writer Jami.

We love wood counters at our house.  They are classic, provide a warm, homey look (usually contrasted with white beadboard!), and – most importantly – are inexpensive. So we were pretty happy to discover that using basic tongue-and-groove flooring makes an easy DIY wood counter.

We have wood counters in our bathrooms and laundry/mud room, and plan to install them in our kitchen in the next few months. For the bathrooms and kitchen, where a smooth finish is necessary, we use Ikea’s butcher-block counters.

For our laundry/mud room, though, we just wanted a counter that looked nice, but was cheap and easy. So, making the 4-hour-round-trip car-ride (towing a trailer) to our nearest Ikea – easily adding at least $60 to the cost of the counter – was not in the equation.

A trip to a local building discount store, however, turned up 6-ft. long pieces of tongue-and-groove fir flooring for only $3.99 each. Since we needed seven to cover our base cabinet width (21″) our total for the wood came out to about $28.00 (compared to $59 + $60 for the Ikea counter). Cha-ching!

Any type of basic tongue-and-groove flooring will work for this (our part of the country carries mainly fir – in other areas it’s pine), even used wood flooring, if you can find it for a decent price.

And making the counter? It was as simple as gluing the tongues into the grooves and using a clamp to hold them while they dry. A few small nails around the edge and it was ready to be finished – which is another easy couple of steps.

I really love how it turned out (though the cabinet itself is not quite finished…eh-hem).  It looks great in the room and has been a good surface for starting plants as well as holding goods for the freezer and baskets of laundry. And it’s got me thinking of all the other things I could use this easy DIY technique on: rehabbing an old side table, dresser, or topping an old table in the garden shed.

Materials Needed:

• Tongue and groove flooring lengths – enough for width and length of counter (we found fir flooring at a local discount store – here’s a similar product from Home Depot , as an example)
• Wood glue
• Large (25-36″) bar clamps (we used 3 for our 6-foot counter - here’s an example of one like ours)
• Finish nails (1-1/2″)
• Hand-held sander and paper (or just a wood block with sandpaper wrapped around)
• Wood pre-stain
• Wood stain in desired color
• Water-based polyurethane
• Foam brush/applicator
• Paint brushes
• Optional: quarter-round molding- enough to cover side and back edges

Instructions:

1. Cut wood in desired lengths (or if you’ve bought them at a store, have them cut for you).

2. Apply wood glue lightly to one tongue at a time, setting each into a corresponding groove until all the pieces have been used and your desired width is reached. Make sure to wipe away any traces of glue while it’s wet or the stain won’t take in those places.

3. Space bar clamps evenly (we used 3 clamps for our 6-ft. long counter) and tighten to hold all the pieces together securely while it dries. If it seems to want to bow slightly, use something heavy to hold it down, like a brick or piece of wood.

4. Once dry, attach counter to base cabinets with finish nails along side and back edges only, 1/8-1/4″ from edge.

5. Sand counter in preparation for staining. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly smooth – this counter shows its flooring heritage. We actually didn’t finish our counter for about a year after installing it  so there were some water stains to deal with- though they were only lightened a bit by the sanding. Hey, more character!

6. Wipe counters clean and apply a water-based pre-stain wood conditioner according to directions.

7. Apply wood stain according to directions. We used an oil-based stain (that worked with the water-based pre-stain and topcoats) in walnut, so I found it easiest to use a disposable foam brush/applicator. If, after wiping extra and drying, the stain is not as dark as you’d like, apply more coats as desired.

8. Once the stain is thoroughly dry, begin applying the polyurethane topcoats according to directions. I applied 5 coats total and didn’t sand between coats (I rarely do since none of my projects are about perfection!).

Water-based polyurethane only needs 2 hours between coats, so I simply wrapped the brush in a plastic bag until the next coat.

By the way, the counter the bag-wrapped brush is on was created this same way, but about six years ago- in a very busy laundry/mud room area and has held up very well. There are just a few scratches- and those aren’t much, they really just show up in the photo, and aren’t noticeable in person.

Since we used a dark stain, the nails along the edges aren’t noticeable to us (and you can tell here that we’re really not perfectionists – bent nails and all).

Thus, we haven’t attached any quarter-round molding to this counter – yet. I think it’s on the agenda…someday. If you’d like to add edging, there are just a few more steps.

Optional edging steps:

1. Cut quarter round molding to fit edges. Simple miter cuts are needed for corners which are easy using a miter box and saw if you don’t have access to a powered miter saw.

2. Stain molding and finish to match counter.

3. Attach using a thin line of wood glue and a couple of small (1″) finish nails to hold in place.

Step back and enjoy your classic wood counter – full of character for a fraction of the cost of traditional wood counters (and even Ikea’s!).

More posts from Jami

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The following is a post from contributing writer Jami.

We love wood counters at our house.  They are classic, provide a warm, homey look (usually contrasted with white beadboard!), and – most importantly – are inexpensive. So we were pretty happy to discover that using basic tongue-and-groove flooring makes an easy DIY wood counter.

We have wood counters in our bathrooms and laundry/mud room, and plan to install them in our kitchen in the next few months. For the bathrooms and kitchen, where a smooth finish is necessary, we use Ikea’s butcher-block counters.

For our laundry/mud room, though, we just wanted a counter that looked nice, but was cheap and easy. So, making the 4-hour-round-trip car-ride (towing a trailer) to our nearest Ikea – easily adding at least $60 to the cost of the counter – was not in the equation.

A trip to a local building discount store, however, turned up 6-ft. long pieces of tongue-and-groove fir flooring for only $3.99 each. Since we needed seven to cover our base cabinet width (21″) our total for the wood came out to about $28.00 (compared to $59 + $60 for the Ikea counter). Cha-ching!

Any type of basic tongue-and-groove flooring will work for this (our part of the country carries mainly fir – in other areas it’s pine), even used wood flooring, if you can find it for a decent price.

And making the counter? It was as simple as gluing the tongues into the grooves and using a clamp to hold them while they dry. A few small nails around the edge and it was ready to be finished – which is another easy couple of steps.

I really love how it turned out (though the cabinet itself is not quite finished…eh-hem).  It looks great in the room and has been a good surface for starting plants as well as holding goods for the freezer and baskets of laundry. And it’s got me thinking of all the other things I could use this easy DIY technique on: rehabbing an old side table, dresser, or topping an old table in the garden shed.

Materials Needed:

• Tongue and groove flooring lengths – enough for width and length of counter (we found fir flooring at a local discount store – here’s a similar product from Home Depot , as an example)
• Wood glue
• Large (25-36″) bar clamps (we used 3 for our 6-foot counter - here’s an example of one like ours)
• Finish nails (1-1/2″)
• Hand-held sander and paper (or just a wood block with sandpaper wrapped around)
• Wood pre-stain
• Wood stain in desired color
• Water-based polyurethane
• Foam brush/applicator
• Paint brushes
• Optional: quarter-round molding- enough to cover side and back edges

Instructions:

1. Cut wood in desired lengths (or if you’ve bought them at a store, have them cut for you).

2. Apply wood glue lightly to one tongue at a time, setting each into a corresponding groove until all the pieces have been used and your desired width is reached. Make sure to wipe away any traces of glue while it’s wet or the stain won’t take in those places.

3. Space bar clamps evenly (we used 3 clamps for our 6-ft. long counter) and tighten to hold all the pieces together securely while it dries. If it seems to want to bow slightly, use something heavy to hold it down, like a brick or piece of wood.

4. Once dry, attach counter to base cabinets with finish nails along side and back edges only, 1/8-1/4″ from edge.

5. Sand counter in preparation for staining. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly smooth – this counter shows its flooring heritage. We actually didn’t finish our counter for about a year after installing it  so there were some water stains to deal with- though they were only lightened a bit by the sanding. Hey, more character!

6. Wipe counters clean and apply a water-based pre-stain wood conditioner according to directions.

7. Apply wood stain according to directions. We used an oil-based stain (that worked with the water-based pre-stain and topcoats) in walnut, so I found it easiest to use a disposable foam brush/applicator. If, after wiping extra and drying, the stain is not as dark as you’d like, apply more coats as desired.

8. Once the stain is thoroughly dry, begin applying the polyurethane topcoats according to directions. I applied 5 coats total and didn’t sand between coats (I rarely do since none of my projects are about perfection!).

Water-based polyurethane only needs 2 hours between coats, so I simply wrapped the brush in a plastic bag until the next coat.

By the way, the counter the bag-wrapped brush is on was created this same way, but about six years ago- in a very busy laundry/mud room area and has held up very well. There are just a few scratches- and those aren’t much, they really just show up in the photo, and aren’t noticeable in person.

Since we used a dark stain, the nails along the edges aren’t noticeable to us (and you can tell here that we’re really not perfectionists – bent nails and all).

Thus, we haven’t attached any quarter-round molding to this counter – yet. I think it’s on the agenda…someday. If you’d like to add edging, there are just a few more steps.

Optional edging steps:

1. Cut quarter round molding to fit edges. Simple miter cuts are needed for corners which are easy using a miter box and saw if you don’t have access to a powered miter saw.

2. Stain molding and finish to match counter.

3. Attach using a thin line of wood glue and a couple of small (1″) finish nails to hold in place.

Step back and enjoy your classic wood counter – full of character for a fraction of the cost of traditional wood counters (and even Ikea’s!).

More posts from Jami

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Over the past few months I’ve traveling quite a bit and unfortunately all the traveling has taken its toll on my back. Six years ago I had back surgery and up until a few months ago had been virtually pain free. All the flying and sleeping on airplanes hasn’t been very good for my back.

Since the chances of needing another surgery is pretty high in my case I decided it was time to get serious and start going to the Y. Now, those of you who know me, know that while I’ve always been really active (you know chasing seven kids around) I’m not a big fan of working out. But going to the Y is much better than having my spine fused together, so I’m going almost every day.

I’ve also cut out soda (I know, again) and most sugar. You’ll see that I’m still making recipes that have sugar in them, but I’m hoping to slowly change some of those recipes to have less sugar over the next few months.

Breakfasts

Baked Banana Split Oatmeal

Whole Wheat Corn Waffles

served with fruit

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

served with smoothies

French Toast

Eggs, Cereal, Oatmeal, Breakfast leftovers

The Lunch List

• Homemade Pita w/ Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Sandwiches
• Tuna Melt Quesadillas
• Quesadillas
• Grilled cheese
• Leftovers
• Macaroni and cheese
• Smoothies
• Cheese and crackers
• Yogurt
• Fruit and veggies
• Baked Potato
• Sweet Potato
• Tuna Salad

Dinner

Baked Bruschetta Chicken

served with pasta, salad

Garlic Shrimp and Spinach Pasta

served with salad

Venison Steaks

served with wild rice, vegetables

Easy Black Bean Soup

Homemade Pizza 

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook for daily breakfast ideas. 

For more than 300 Menu Plans each week visit Org Junkie.

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I love the Motivated Moms. Planner and have talked about it previously on this site.  Motivated Moms is having a Mother’s Day special on their planner.  On Mother’s Day, May 13, 2012, you can enter the code MOTHER to receive $3 off the planner.   That makes it only $5.  This is  the best code they’ve ever offered!

In addition, the iPhone app is on sale today for $4.99.

For more ideas to help you simplify and organize one day at a time, visit the Organized in 365 Archives.

Have you shared a great organizing tip on your website? I’d love to feature it on TheHappyHousewife.com. Submit your Organized in 365 tip.

Don’t have a blog, but have a great tip? Submit your Organized in 365 guest post here.

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• Setting Goals & Creating a Home Management Binder
• Organized Freezer
• Magnetic Bobby Pin Strip