Glitter only helps on Valentine's Day

Guest post written by Emily Lawson

I have quite the little craft station in my home. I've always loved making things, although I'm not as ambitious as I used to be when I was younger. I have a job and kids to take care of now instead of just sitting around and crafting all the time. So I thought that I would do something special for my daughters and make them some nice little valentines with all of my craft supplies to really fit their personalities.

I looked online to get some ideas about what I should do with their valentines and while I was doing that I saw information on debt counseling options. I bookmarked it to come back later to so my husband could see it too because we're in a tough financial spot and really need to actually do something about it.

I made one of them with a unicorn that of course had a sparkly horn! Hannah is obsessed with unicorns. While I made the other one with a soccer ball on it for Alyssa. She loves soccer almost as much as she loves glitter!

Making Italian Food With Pasta

For many Italian food lovers and aspiring Italian food chefs, the first dish to be attempted from home is typically a pasta dish. Pasta is known as an Italian food that is easy to make. However, homemade Italian food dishes with pasta often end up falling flat. Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing pasta at home.

First of all, your attempt at Italian food will only be as good as the pasta you use to make it with. When shopping for your pasta make sure you are buying a good brand that uses only quality ingredients. For instance, if buying dried pasta you should only buy brands that use just semolina flour. Any other type of dried pasta will taste like counterfeit Italian food. A good quality pasta will have a rough surface. The texture of the pasta will determine if it will be able to hold onto the sauce that it is served with. Smooth pasta is an instant indicator that you are dealing with an inferior brand. It is also important that the pasta be dense and heavy for its size.

If the pasta is too light it will fall apart when it is cooked. You want to make sure to avoid the mass produced and cheap pasta; otherwise your Italian food will not be satisfying. When shopping for fresh pasta you want to make sure that you pay attention to the expiration date, unlike dried pasta, fresh pasta does not have a long shelf life. Take a look at the pasta and if it looks cheap then it is. If it looks to have a good quality color and texture and is heavy, then that is the pasta that will give you the best tasting Italian food. The best bet when shopping for pasta is to see if there is a bakery that specializes in Italian food. Many such bakeries make pasta fresh daily and the quality will far out do anything that you will find at the store. The best way to get authentic Italian food is to get it from Italians.

Once you have bought your pasta you are halfway to enjoying good Italian food. The most important thing to remember when cooking pasta is to not overcook it. Mushy pasta is never good. For good tasting Italian food you want the pasta to be tender, yet firm to the teeth. Fresh pasta will take less time to cook than dried pasta. You want to make sure and use a large pot with an abundance of water. Bring the water to a boil and then liberally add salt. If you don't salt the water then the pasta will taste bland compared to the sauce it is served with. After you've salted the water it is time to add the pasta. If you have plenty of water that is brought to a vigorous boil before adding the pasta then you shouldn't have problems with the pasta sticking and it should cook evenly. Good Italian food sauce makes use of the water that was used to boil the pasta, so make sure to save a cup of it to add to the sauce. Also, don't ever rinse the pasta after you've cooked it, otherwise you will be stripping away the flavor of your Italian food.

Hopefully these tips will help you make better Italian food. If you haven't tried preparing Italian food yourself then give it a try starting with the most fundamental Italian food, pasta.

30 Minute Meals

 I would love to say that I have the time to whip up amazing meals each night. There are a few problems with that thought. For one, I am not the best cook in the world, and secondly, I just don’t have a lot of time. I remember my grandmother would spend most of her day in the kitchen, and that was something that she seemed to enjoy. For me, however, it is just not possible. Instead, I look for great and interesting meal ideas that I can make fast. That means that the 30 minute meals you can find are some of the best options for me.

I was never sure how I felt about Rachel Ray, but I love her 30 minute meals. Not only are they pretty easy, they are also meals that is not the ordinary fare that I give my family all of the time. We get stuck in a rut sometimes with the same meals over and over, and that is mostly because they are tried and true favorites. The meals in 30 minutes are great, and they don’t have to be extremely complicated to keep everyone happy with our menu.

Many of the 30 minute meals are so easy that someone like me can do them. I have make many mistakes in the kitchen, and I think it has to do with my short attention span. Finding great meals to make in 30 minutes is just about right, and is something I can concentrate on. These are not your average meals either, so it does require some extra shopping. However, if you can plan your 30 minute meals ahead of time (a week or two ahead) you can get all of your shopping done without worrying about being out of or missing something essential.

You can watch Rachel to get your 30 minute meals, or you can find listings online if you want to plan ahead. You can also find meals in 30 minutes by buying one of her cookbooks. Because she is so popular right now, you can find her books almost anywhere that sells cookbooks, or you can find them easily enough if you do a search online. After a while, you may even be able to come up with some of your own meals that you can make in a half an hour or less. You’ll learn a lot about food and cooking by following along and figuring out how to put things together in a pleasing and fast way.