How to Peel Garlic in 10 Seconds

In our family we use a lot of garlic, and it takes time to peel a lot. We are all for saving time whenever possible. When we found this little trick we were so excited. lol
Garlic is also a natural antibiotic. Any time someone seems to be coming down with something we load up on garlic, fresh and we use this garlic. We have been able to overcome several illnesses with garlic.
Here is a video showing you how to peel a whole bulb of garlic in 10 seconds.
Crush the bulb with the palm of your hand to separate the cloves.
Scoop the cloves into a bowl, cover it with another bowl and then shake for 10 seconds. Then all the cloves are peeled. This is great!

What do you think?
Parent of a Dozen

An Easy Way to Decorate for the Fall

We really like to decorate for the fall, not for Halloween. Here we decorated our front porch using a pumpkin and squash from our garden, corn from the corn stalks we used, and a lantern. We also scattered pine needles to give it a very natural look.IMG_3319

The Shaklee Difference


How are you doing today? How do you feel? Are you getting the most for your money? We have been using Shaklee products for 12 years and we really like using the products  and are now  independent Shaklee distributors. Some people don’t realize the difference in using these products compared to other products. These are the reasons we use these products.

SHAKLEE PRODUCTS ARE:

always-safe1[1]
• No artificial flavors
• No artificial sweeteners
• No dyes or trans fats
• No hidden fillers
• No animal testing
• No banned substances
• No Chlorine Bleach

always-works1[1]  

• Over 80,000 annual quality control tests
• Guaranteed potency—third party verification of botanical ingredients
• Guaranteed purity—350 contaminant tests conducted on EACH new botanical ingredient
• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

always-green1[1]
• $250 million invested in testing research and development
• 70 published clinical studies
• 60 Shaklee scientists
• 55 patents and patents pending
• 50th Anniversary Landmark Study showed that Shaklee long-term supplements users have markedly better health than those who took only a multivitamin or no supplement at all

If you are interested in more details, here is a short video.



Since we have been using these products we have not had to have our children on any prescription medicine.

Go to our website and join as a member for 15% discount on ALL orders and email us at Parentsofadozen@live.com for an additional special.
Parents of a Dozen
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Campout in the Yard

How are you all doing? How has the weather been for you? This past weekend was beautiful. We went to the apple orchard, and two fall festivals, and the fall color was perfect.
A couple of weeks ago we had a little campout in the back yard. We have gone camping a few times in the past but it has been a long time and is really hard to plan and pack for a camp out with all the kids. It is either too hot, too buggy, too cold, not having the time to spend preparing and packing for a camp out. And not to mention schedules. Could you tell we are not campers. lol! So we decided to have a little campout in the back yard with the younger children. The weather was cool but not cold, and we decided that afternoon. The older boys helped set up the tent.
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How to Make a Baby Bib

Here is our little girl wearing her new bib. I can’t believe she is already 7 months old. (Here she is 6 months.)  She is very small for her age. She was 8 pounds and 2 ounces when she was born. I started giving her baby food at 5 months. I could tell she wasn’t getting enough from just breast feeding. Since then she put on around 2 1/2 pounds, is filling out, and is more content.IMG_2964

How to Install a Brick Paver Patio

We showed you the changes we made to the exterior of this house here. Now we are going to show you how we installed a brick paver patio. The previous owners took their patio with them when they were foreclosed on. Then the weeds grew and grew!
We knew to sell the house we were going to have to clean up this mess. We decided to put another brick paver patio in.

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Beef Stew and Baby Food Recipe

Having a large family, I like to find recipes that are easy to make, healthy, and easy to serve, especially on days when everyone is unable to eat at the same time due to work, sports, dance, and practices.

This recipe is one of our family's favorite, one dish meals. These are nice because everyone could take what they want before they go to a game or when they come home from work. I really like making meals like this on cool fall or winter days. I am going to give you the original recipe which we follow (mostly). I definitely double, sometimes triple, this depending on what we have in the house.

One of my time savings tips is that we do not peel the potatoes or carrots. The skins have more nutrients, fiber and it saves time. I use 2-4 pounds of carrots and 5 pounds of potatoes and that is a lot of peeling. I also use our food processor to chop the onions and garlic.

Beef StewIMG_2556

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When everyone was done eating I put all the leftovers in to my Cusinart food processor and blended it small enough to feed to my baby. She loves it!!!IMG_2575I put the baby food into the freezer in these Tupperware Freezer Mates, and then lable them.  I have had these for years and I use them all the time.
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I use different sizes, and they all stack together nicely.

Here is the recipe for beef stew that I got from my Mom also a mother of a Dozen.

2 pounds of beef stew chuck: cut into bite size cubes.  Browned in a hot skillet (I use what ever beef I have, and is always bought on sale.)
2 medium onions: sautéed in 3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic:  Minced or crushed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worchester sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon salt: I usually add more to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 dash all spice or cloves
6 carrots: I will add whatever I have.
8 potatoes: I may add more or less depending on how big they are.
4 cups water: I use enough to cover the meat and vegetables.

Brown the beef, add the sautéed onions and garlic, then add the rest of the seasonings.
Cook for 2 hours on medium heat.
Add the carrot for the last 30 min.
Add the potatoes the last 20 min.
When the vegetables are tender, thicken with water and flour.
I add about 1/4 cup flour to a cup of cold water then mix onto the pot with everything else.

How does this compare to your beef stew?
Do you ever feed your baby  table food?

Parents of a Dozen

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