Ingredients.
Boneless chicken Onions Green pepper Red pepper Garlic Spices (maggi/knor) Salt Oil Curry Slice your vegetables (as in photo #1) And slice the chicken into small cubes as well. You can use chicken breast since its very fleshy or some times you'd get the boneless chicken sliced in bigger cubes in a supermarket, all you'll need to do is make it smaller. Add them all in a pan and add the spices and a small amount of oil and keep stirring till it starts to look like the chicken is done. The chicken won't take so long to get done coz its in small cubes so each one will simmer in a few minutes. Add soy sauce if you wish to add to its taste and color and add a small amount of water and keep stirring. More water will come off of the chicken so u don't need too much water. Leave for about 5 more minutes and its done. :) * All the spices are added at the same time, before the cooker is turned on...the oil, & the vegetables as well...so once you turn on the cooker all you'll do is keep stirring till its done. Ingredients •1 tablespoon olive oil • onions, finely chopped • Carrots, peeled, finely chopped • Other veggies, trimmed, finely chopped • Minced meat • 1 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • Salt & freshly ground black pepper and other spices •Butter • irish potatoes, peeled, chopped • 125ml (1/2 cup) milk • Melted butter or egg white, to brush • Cheese sheets •Step 1» Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and other veggies and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add minced meat and cook, stirring to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until meat changes colour. •Step 2 » Add soy sauce and tomato paste. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. Taste and season with salt and pepper... add spices •Step 3 » Meanwhile: cook potato in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Return to the pan with the butter. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add milk and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. •Step 4 » Preheat oven to 200°C. Spoon meat sauce into a 2L (8-cup) capacity ovenproof baking dish... lay ur cheese and top with mashed potato and use a fork to spread over lamb mixture. Brush with butter or egg white. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until mashed potato is golden brown. Serve immediately. Written by : Zainab Labaran We discussed about two of the main areas of the home in our previous articles and now we would discuss about the third: The Living Room. No matter how big or small your house is, you have at least two of these sections, and once you've mastered the art of organization with the few tips we've mentioned as a guide, you can bring back the homely feel into your house while beautifying it and making it truly a place of comfort and solace for you. So for the living room, we would give just general tips because the setting of each living room varies by the person and the size of the house. Some houses might have more than one living room, making each one less crowded with furniture and more spacious, while others might even have their dinning section within the living room rather than having a separate room for the dinning table. Whichever the case may be, your living room is most likely the place where you receive your guests and also the first place you enter upon returning to your home. Needless to say, you'd want it to be clean, airy and well-organized always. So here's what we need to do; 1. Define the purpose of your living room. If you have your dinning section in your living room, make sure you don't get things mixed up. No leaving dishes on the dinning table and try to not to eat elsewhere either. (Yes, i said try, i know how hard it can be especially if the chair isn't facing the TV area). If you have two or more living rooms e.g. one for the kids upstairs, one for receiving formal guests or hubby's guests, one for receiving your friends; make their purposes clear also. 2. If you have a bookshelf or other kinds of shelves in your living room, get the books and other items acquainted with their various homes. don't let them get too comfy lying on the sofa or elsewhere. 3. I know you probably come back home exhausted most of the time but please don't dump your bags, coats or veils on the couch. I'm pretty sure your bedroom is just a few steps away, you're almost there :) 4. For the One-millionth time (not exactly)- have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. it helps cut clutter by a great degree. Imagine going out for an urgent meeting and realizing on the way that you forgot something important...would you have a hard time finding it? if everything/everywhere is always well organized, then chances are you'd find it as soon as you go back, because it won't be hiding beneath a pile of clutter or pushed aside by other stuff...but otherwise; perhaps you'll find a good excuse for being late for the meeting instead. 5. Take time to actually, thoroughly clean; spick and span. It could be every weekend depending on how much free time you have. Clean, Dust, Sweep out and Mop every space and corner. I personally love to change the positions of the furniture every now and again, i feel it gives my home an occasional "new" look, plus it helps to fish out any pile of dirt hiding beneath the furniture, and sometimes to create more space as well. 6. Everyone loves to have a nice smelling home, and I'm hoping that includes you. Some homes even have a characteristic fragrance that you just perceive right from the door. We have traditionally prepared incense "Turaren Wuta" with different lovely scents that you can use or you can spray home fresheners of your choice. You can also spill some drops of perfume on your mopping water while mopping the floors to give the house a long-lasting beautiful fragrance. However you want to do it, try to keep your house smelling good always. And perhaps you may want to keep kitchen doors (that are linked to the inside of the house) closed when cooking, while leaving the windows open ofcourse for proper ventilation. I would have you Remember that All this is for yourself first and foremost; Your comfort and satisfaction. Building yourself and improving yourself is a lot easier in an environment that is beautiful, peaceful and comfortable. Additionally, raising a family in such a comfortable and stress-free environment would not only be a joyful experience but would mean the same impact goes on them as well, which is a double bonus for you. And the icing to the cake is, your guests would always look forward to returning to your home to share the lovely feeling with you all over again (that's plus if you also have enough goodies to keep their mouths full). That's all. I hope you found this Series beneficial. If you did, Please like, share and subscribe for more of such articles. And if you have anything you'd like to share with us, we'd be delighted to receive it in the comment section below or through any of our contact details. Stay Blessed, TIW. As mentioned in the previous article, cleanliness and organization is not a one-day task but a habit to adopt and a series of attitudes with a mindset that makes us do what we have to do at the time we have to do it.
So proceeding to the kitchen here are a few tips to keep it as organized and clean as everywhere else. 1. Don't pile up dishes. no matter how busy you may be, a few dishes would only take a few minutes to clear. leaving it till later and when its all piled up will only make the task more daunting and stressful. And then you'd have to use more time which could've been used for something else. 2. Clean as you work. not just the dishes but everywhere. mop as you spill, wipe the slabs as you soil, the cooker, the top of the fridge, wherever it may be that is made unclean as you're cooking, try to clean as you work. Imagine having a friend or your husband pop in as you're cooking? what would they think if they saw everywhere really messy? how would they even feel about the food being cooked in such an environment? Plus, the net effort and time you'd use when you clean as you work is a lot less than when you leave everything till in the end. 3. Have a place for everything and put everything in its place. Plates, Pots, Cups, Cutleries should all have their separate drawers if possible. That way things are easily accessible and there are less chances of having much clutter. 4. Foodstuff should also have their separate places in the store. best to put them in plastic containers with labels rather than bags, spices should be well arranged, and have the things for the fridge (e.g Vegetables and fruits) always refrigerated. 5. Occasionally check the fridge and the store for expired/spoiled foodstuff or those that are about to. You can even make a food-time table to ease the task of having to go through the foodstuff and finally select what to cook. that way you can check to make sure the stuff you need for the meal are available before the next day, and you can be proportionate in your shopping. 6. Have separate rags for cleaning the dishes, the slab, drawers, fridge, top of the cooker and the kitchen walls. and make sure all of these places are kept clean always. 7. Your kitchen floors should always be kept neat and dry. Mop regularly, Mop wet first and follow with a dry one. You can have two mops available for this. and Always mop the floor with clean water, change the water regularly. 8. You can place a note on the kitchen door or make a list of kitchen rules in your home especially for the kids so the cleanliness routine is maintained. and remember to lead by example. 9. Keep in mind that your kitchen is a very important place in your home and its condition can affect the overall health of yourself and those living with you. 10. As you read these tips start putting them into practice immediately :) And....The Last part is coming soon. Stay Blessed, TIW. So now ask yourself this question; is your home organized and functional? How often do you have to exhaust yourself searching for something when you need it? Do you feel like your house could need some extra space but you just don’t know where to start from? Perhaps its time to de-clutter your home! A clutter is a collection of things lying about in an untidy manner, most of the time not even where they are supposed to be. This causes disorganization of the home and stress each time you need to get something done. You end up spending a lot more time, doing things you could finish in a few minutes. And if your home is filled with kids playing around, I know, the struggle is real, but don’t give up so easily, your home can still be kept well-organized and beautiful nonetheless. So let’s take it step-by-step starting with; The Bedroom- Before I say any further, I’d like you to know something about being organized. Its not a one-day thing, its not just about cleaning up today and fixing things today, its about making a habit of it. Its about adopting the cleanliness routine. When you clean up the kitchen for example, wash the dishes, take out the garbage, does your kitchen remain that way all year round? Do you not accumulate some new garbage by the next day? So you have to make a habit of cleaning up and the whole aim of organization is to make this task a whole lot easier for you. When your things are well-organized, you spend a lot less time cleaning up than you ever would otherwise. So, starting with the bedroom: this is one of the most important places in your home. You get the most peaceful sleep in a room that is airy, well-organized and clean. And besides, having an organized bedroom means less stress each time you come back to it, and a lot of energy conserved. Alright, so where are the main areas in your bedroom? You have your closet, shoe rack, bed-side drawers, dressing mirror…(add/delete as it applies to you). Every item should have its place. The clothes should be neatly folded and kept in the closet, each type in its drawer. If possible, have a particular drawer for veils, another for skirts, one for tops, etc and life would be a lot easier. But if you don’t have that many drawers, its okay, just have a place for everything and always put all items in their place. Shoes must never be left lying around, no matter how tired you are, it would only take a few seconds to hang them on their rack. Your cosmetics should never be found in the closet or elsewhere besides the dressing table. Putting everything in its place is the first step to cutting clutter around the house. Its easier to arrange them if they’re all atleast at the place where they’re supposed to be. One more thing, don’t stack up too many things in a place. Periodically, sieve out the things you no longer need. As you buy new things, have the courage to let go of some of the old things you have, otherwise soon you will run out of places to keep them. Your jewelries, underwear, toiletries should all have their separate places. Clothes that need to be taken to laundry, should have a laundry basket to go into. NO dumping clothes on your bed! At best, you can have a couch in the room for worst case scenarios: when you are just too tired to put the things in their right places. But tell yourself, nothing’s going to spend more than _hrs on there, and you’ll always try to find a way to clear it up as soon as possible! Always have your bed neatly made, and the floor/carpet kept clean. there is an air of satisfaction that comes with looking at your room and seeing everything in place and all tidy. you don't even want this to change and it won't, if you keep everything in its place and do what you have to do, when you have to do it. All set, we’re moving to the kitchen, in our next post in sha Allah… Stay Blessed, TIW. Whenever you go out, do you feel happy coming back to your home or do you feel tense as though you’re back to a prison?
When you come back tired and exhausted, do you feel relieved and at peace in your home or is it the other way around? Don’t you ever think of your home as an essential part of your life? Its your personal space; a reflection of your taste, style, goals, health, well-being and memories. Organizing your home is one of the most important steps to take in improving your life as a whole and this has a big role to play and a huge impact on the overall quality of your life. Its not necessarily about how much you spend on the furniture and the interior design, its about putting in that welcoming touch and homely feel. This series will be all about how we can organize our homes and make them as homely as possibly. This is for both the married and unmarried (don’t think you’re not included because you’re not married; you have to have to start getting used to it from now). Its not just about taking care of your body and becoming more sexually appealing, you have to be an all-rounder and know a little bit about everything as well. I used to tell my friends that knowing a little bit about everything is really important and it even helps us to live with people generally, without having any problems. You can be with someone for hours discussing on various issues without having to gossip about anyone because you don’t know what else to talk about. Generally, you will always have something productive to do with your time. So, we’re starting with “De-cluttering your home” in the next post in sha Allaah Stay Blessed, TIW. How to make roll up bread Bread rolls are perfect and easy to make. This is a meal that your whole family will enjoy :) Steps:
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'Home-making is not something that stands in the way of our deeper fulfillment; it becomes the ground that feeds it' Archives
May 2016
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