How to Lose Weight Slowly And Naturally

The holidays will be over soon enough, and you (and I) will be busy with the top New Year's resolution -- Losing Weight!

Like me, you've probably researched every method possible, but let's get real. Crash diets don't work.

Yes, you'll lose weight fast, but it'll come back even faster. Seriously, the last crash diet worked for a minute, didn't it? And then the pounds crept back on, one by one. Crash diets are a temporary modification of our eating plans. They don't solve any of our long term problems of over-eating.

So, what can we do to change that scenario?

I'm going to go with the Tortoise Diet Plan -- slow but sure is the way to go.


Check it out: How to Lose Weight Slowly And Naturally

How to Make Stovetop Meatloaf

This is an easy way to make a meatloaf without turning on the oven and heating up the entire house. It's also great for camping, you can even fix it on a camp stove.

You can use your own meatloaf recipe if you prefer, and just cook it using this method.

Come check it out at eHow.com -- How to Make Stovetop Meatloaf.

How to Make Gluck

Gluck is my family's FAVORITE way to use up the holiday turkey and leftovers. It's delicious!

For instructions, please check out my article How to Make Gluck on eHow.

How to Make Gift Basket For A Twilight Fan

Some people are just so darn hard to buy for. If your friend or loved one is a huge Twilight fan, I have a few suggestions for a gift basket to help feed their Vampire addiction.

For more, please check out my How-To at How to Make Gift Basket For A Twilight Fan at http://www.ehow.com/.

Christmas Gifts for Under $5 - My eHow Articles

I've written several articles on how to buy or make inexpensive (but very cool) gifts for under $5 per person. Rather than copy the entire article, I'll just give you the links. And hey, thanks for looking!

How to Make A Family Gift Calendar in Publisher
This is a favorite Christmas gift for my whole family -- and so easy and inexpensive for me! Even if you're not the office geek (yup, that's me!), if you have Microsoft Publisher you can make a great little calendar for your family!
http://www.ehow.com/how_5570180_make-family-gift-calendar-publisher.html

How to Find Christmas Gifts For $5 Or Less
Money is tight right now, and with the holidays coming up quickly, budget is a huge issue for many families. It is possible to be very frugal and still get nice gifts for your family and friends!
http://www.ehow.com/how_5694387_christmas-gifts-_5-less.html

How to Make A Financial Planning Basket
Many young people will be leaving home soon. A Financial Planning Gift Basket would be a great gift for Christmas. (I wish someone had given me one when I left home!)
http://www.ehow.com/how_5710208_make-financial-planning-basket.html

How to Make A Cold Winter Night Box
I make a lot of gift baskets and boxes during the holidays. The Cold Winter Night Box is a great gift for the young parents or college student.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5710212_make-cold-winter-night-box.html

How to Make A Tranquility Gift Basket
I often make gift baskets for my family, usually as Christmas gifts. I know that everyone is highly stressed these days, so I came up with a Tranquility Basket.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5710204_make-tranquility-gift-basket.html

Christmas Year Round Spot

My friend on eHow has her own how-to blog, featuring Christmas ideas from eHow!

If you want cooking, decorating, gift giving ideas, or have just been overcome by the commercialism of the holidays, this is the place to look for great Christmas ideas: http://christmasyearroundspot.blogspot.com/

The antidote to Christmas overload isn't ignoring the holiday, it's wise selections in all that you do...

... and remembering the reason for the season.

How To Prepare A Last Minute Buffet

Have you ever had plans that fell through at the last minute, and you ended up with a house full of hungry people? If you can distract them with chips and dip, in less than 2 hours you can have a budget buffet ready to go!

On the Buffet:
Chips and dip
Vegetables and dip
Chicken in marinade
Sweet and sour meatballs
"Swedish" meatballs
Potato chunks
Beans
Rice
Noodles
Vegetables
French Bread
Butter
Recipes

Step 1
Inventory your supplies and recipes. No need to panic, you can do this! If necessary, send someone to the store with a list and cell phone for last minute "I need that" items.

Step 2
Put the frozen chicken in a microwave safe pan, cover with marinade, and put on "quick defrost".

Step 3
While the chicken is thawing, start the meatballs. Either divide frozen meatballs into two pots or make meatballs. Pour your favorite sweet and sour sauce over half of the meatballs.

Make a thin white sauce (recipe book!) and mix with a can or two of condensed cream of mushroom soup. Pour over the rest of the meatballs.

Start both pots simmering gently on the back of the stove. If you have crockpot(s), you can put the hot meatballs into them, set on "high", and put on the buffet table.

Step 4
Put a pot of water on the stove for noodles. Start the rice in the rice cooker.

Step 5
Back to the chicken. At this point you can bake it in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes, put it on the grill, or sauté it on top of the stove. Assuming you're grilling or sautéing, once the chicken is about 80% done cooking, put it into an oven safe pan, add more marinade, cover with foil and put into the oven at 200 degrees.

Step 6
Put the noodles in the boiling water, cook according to package directions. Once it's done cooking, drain and toss with butter, put into a bowl, cover with foil. Put it on the buffet table and cover with a doubled bath towel to keep it warm.

Step 7
If you're fixing prepared canned beans, like brown sugar beans or chili, start them now. Add your own special embellishments, like chopped onions, more brown sugar, or green chiles. Simmer. Or you can make my California Style Black Eyed Peas (go to my articles at http://www.ehow.com/members/razzberry-jam-articles.html to find the recipe) using canned black eyed peas. Simmer while you're cooking the potatoes.

Step 8
Fix the potatoes. If you have small potatoes, just scrub and put them into a large pan. If you're using larger potatoes, scrub, cut into quarters (don't peel), put into pan with butter, garlic and onion powder, and rosemary. Cover and simmer until tender. Stir now and then. If you're baking the chicken, start the potatoes at Step 5, put into an oven safe pan, cover with foil and bake in the oven at the same time as the chicken.

Step 9
Once the potatoes are nearly finished, slice the French bread. Put it into a bowl and cover with a towel so it doesn't dry out.

Step 10
Cook the fresh or frozen vegetables. Toss with butter and put on the buffet table.

Step 11
Put plenty of plates, silverware and napkins on the table. Put all the rest of the food on the table.

Eat.

Step 12
Don't hesitate to recruit a clean up crew. You cooked for them all, they can help you clean up!


Things To Remember:

• Adjust this buffet according to the contents of your freezer, budget and tastes. There's nothing wrong with hamburgers and hot dogs!
• This is the budget buffet. You can make a faster (and more expensive) buffet by going to the store and getting potato salad, submarine sandwiches (slice them into thirds), cooked chicken wings and/or buckets of chicken, chips and dip, etc.
• There's lots of recipes right here on eHow, do a search of the website for quick and easy recipes.
• Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
• If you're using the marinade from the raw chicken, put it in a pan and bring it to a boil, keep it bubbling gently for 15 minutes. Now it's safe to put over the cooked chicken.
  

How To Properly Tip A Server

Tipping may seem to be obvious to most people, but considering how many times my ex has embarrassed me, and even argued about the amount of tip I've left ("That's too much!"), I think it's a topic that needs a step by step analysis.

Here's some easy steps to determine how much to tip:

Step 1:

Evaluate your own behavior.

How difficult of a customer were you?

Did you change your order 10 minutes after you ordered your food?

Did you send back food that was too cold or that the cook got wrong? (There's nothing wrong with sending back cold food or a wrong order, but it's not the server's fault, it's the cook!)

Did you or your kids make a big mess around and under the table?

Remember, if the cook screwed up your order, the server can only take it back and try to get it fixed. Having worked in food service, I can tell you that some cooks and chefs can be very difficult to work with...

Add 10% to your tip if you were difficult.

Step 2

If you were a difficult customer, how was the server's attitude?

Was it service with a smile, no matter what?

Apology for wrong orders and an "I'll fix it" attitude?

Or did the server have a surly attitude?

Subtract 10% for a bad attitude.

Step 3

No matter what else happened, did your server take care of you?

Water, coffee, beverages delivered quickly and with a smile?

Mistakes handled with a smile and an apology?

Dirty plates picked up fairly quickly?

Bill delivered in a timely way?

Plus 10% for good service.

Step 4

A normal tip for good service is 15 to 20% of the total bill. So if you had great service, you should add another 10% to the tip. If you had poor service, you should subtract 10% from the tip.

Step 5

Last, please remember that servers are taxed on their tips whether or not they actually receive them!

Yes, the Feds have figured out how to "do" the underpaid servers too, you aren't alone...

Things To Remember:

• Be honest.
• Whether or not you and I agree with subsidizing low wages because the restaurant is too cheap to pay living wages is immaterial, the server has to work because he/she needs the money!
• Servers are taxed on tips whether or not they actually receive the tips.
• Cheap tippers receive poor service if they're regular customers. The reasons are obvious...
• Cheap tippers often don't get more than one or two dates, unless they dating another cheapskate.
• Cheap tippers often become cheap husbands/wives. Carefully consider if this is a deal breaker for you. Do you want to live with this for the rest of your life?

How To Smoke Your Holiday Turkey

I always smoke my turkey for the holidays. That frees up my oven for all the rest of my holiday cooking. It's really not that hard, but you have to start about two to three days ahead.

You'll Need
Smoker or BBQ
Wood chunks - hickory, mesquite, oak, fruitwoods

The Recipe
Turkey
Salt
Sugar
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Lemon pepper
Rosemary if desired
Tamale pot or cooler
Plastic bags
2 Onions, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Oranges, peeled and cut into quarters
2 Apples, cored and cut into chunks
At least 2 cubes of Butter


Step 1
I always brine the turkey first.

Start 2 or 3 days before you're going to smoke the turkey. Put the frozen turkey into a tamale pot. If you don't have a large enough pot, you can use double layered trash bags (don't use bags made of recycled materials) and then put into a cooler.

Pour one cup of salt, one cup of sugar, 1/8 cup of garlic powder, 1/8 cup of onion powder, and 1/8 cup rosemary (if desired) over the turkey. Cover with cold water. Weigh the turkey down with a plate and cover the pot. Set in a cool place.

If you're using a cooler, do the same thing, then tie off the garbage bag tightly and close the cooler. Use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure the turkey stays at 40 degrees or lower. Add ice if necessary to keep the turkey cold. Soak for at least 24 hours.

Step 2
Prepare the smoker or BBQ grill. A smoker is best but you can use a deep BBQ grill if you prefer. Put wood chunks in the bottom pan and water in the center pan in the smoker.For a BBQ grill, put the pan in the bottom of the grill, centered under the turkey. Make sure it's as big around as the turkey. Fill with water. Surround with wood chunks. Light the wood.


Step 3
Prepare the turkey for smoking. Take the turkey out of the brine. Take the giblets and neck out of the turkey, set aside. Rinse the turkey. Put the chopped onion, oranges, apples and a cube of butter inside the turkey. Add garlic and rosemary if desired. Set the turkey on the grill, breast side up. Brush the turkey with melted butter. Cover the smoker or grill.

Step 4
Smoke the turkey. Watch your smoker closely. You want to keep it hot, so you'll add more chunks of wood at intervals to make sure there's plenty of heat and smoke. Also watch the pan of water, add more water if necessary. Smoke for 4 to 8 hours, depending on the size of the turkey and your ability to keep the smoker hot. Try to avoid removing the lid unless necessary to add water or wood chunks.

Step 5
Check the interior temperature of the turkey. Using a meat thermometer, start checking the turkey at about 4 hours. Stick the thermometer into the breast. When the thermometer reaches about 150 degrees, the turkey is nearly done.

Step 6
Remove the turkey from the grill. Put it into a covered roaster or pan and cover with foil, set aside for at least 20 minutes while you finish preparing your holiday meal.


Step 7
Remove the skin and carve the turkey. The skin will be blackened by the smoke. Remove and discard the skin. The meat will be pink, but you can tell by the texture that it's cooked, it won't be rubbery or yucky. It will be very juicy.

The dark meat may not be completely cooked. Put it into a pan with some of the juice from inside the turkey, cover with foil and either set it back in the hot smoker or put it in the oven for another 20 minutes or half hour while you finish carving the turkey and setting the table.

Step 8
Make Cheating Gravy (see recipe in the next post down) or use your favorite gravy mix. Put the dark meat on the platter and set the platter on the table or buffet. Eat!!

Things to Remember:

• Plan ahead.
• The turkey will be heavy. Ask for help!
• When removing the turkey from the grill, it will be hot and heavy. Use potholders to lift it to a nearby pan. The potholders will wash and you're removing the skin anyway, so it doesn't matter.
• If you drop the turkey, don't trip. Pick it up, rinse it off, set it back in the smoker or on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove to pan for carving.
• Be sure to keep the turkey cold enough while brining it!!
• Set the grill or smoker somewhere so there's no danger of the heat damaging the side of your house, the fence, etc. It will be hot for a long time.
• Dispose of the hot wood properly. Let it burn out and then pour lots of water over it. BE CAREFUL.

How To Make Cheating Gravy

I always smoke my turkey for the holidays, so I don't have drippings to use for the gravy. And then again, sometimes you just don't have time to make proper gravy with drippings. Here's a way to cheat.

The Recipe
Giblets if desired
Bits of turkey or chicken
2 cans Condensed Cream of Chicken soup
Water or milk
Flour

Step 1
Boil the giblets in water with some chopped onion, garlic, and lemon pepper while your turkey is smoking. Add more water if necessary to keep it covered. Do not add salt!!

When you're ready to make gravy, chop the giblets into tiny pieces and put back into the juice in the pan.(This step is optional. Some people don't like giblets.)

Step 2
Chop bits and chunks of turkey (or chicken) into tiny, tiny pieces. Add to the pan.

Step 3
Open two cans of condensed chicken soup to the pan. Add one can of milk or water and start heating the pan.Bring the pan to a gentle boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Step 4
If the gravy is too thick, add water or milk. If it's too thin, shake about a tablespoon of water in a jar with 1/2 cup of water. Add to the gravy and bring to a low boil for at least two minutes. Taste and add any other spices to taste.

Step 5
Pour the gravy into the gravy boat and put on the table or buffet.

Eat.

Things to Remember:

• You can add a packet of turkey gravy to the recipe if you like. I don't.
• If the gravy is lumpy, put it into a blender and blend on low. Be careful, it's hot!! Pour back into the pan and wash the blender before anyone realizes that you cheated.
• Be careful, you just boiled that gravy. Don't spill on yourself!!
• Don't add salt. The condensed soup has more than enough salt in it!!

How To Download Free Clip Art From Microsoft Office

I often use clip art from Microsoft Office when putting together things like the family calendar, the kids' birthday cards, retirement flyers, or some other non-commercial use. Remember, the art is available, but only for personal use. If you want to use it to illustrate your book, or silkscreen on the T-shirts you sell down at the Boardwalk, you have to get permission from owner of the art or photo (and pay for using it).

Step 1
First, go to the Microsoft Office website (see link below).

Step 2
Next, type in the image you're looking for, like "computer". Click on the "Search" button.

Step 3
Wow! More than 1200 items! To reduce the number of hits, look on the left side of the page under "Filter by Type". Click on the drop down that says "All Media Types" and click on "Clip Art".

Step 4
Still more than 1200 hits. You can filter again by going to "Filter by Category", clicking the drop down, and then clicking on the type or style of art. For example: "Abstract". This brings up only 18 pages of clip art to select from.

Step 5
To get a closer look at any clip art, just click on the image. If you like it, click on the box "Add to selection basket". If you don't like it, just close the pop up.

Step 6
Once you've selected the clip art(s), again look on the left side of the page under "Selection Basket". Click on the "Download [x] items" link.

Step 7
A new page will come up. Click on the "Download Now" button. If a dialogue box opens, click on "Open". The clip art will automatically download to the Microsoft Clip Organizer on your computer. You can now close the Organizer box.

The clip art is now on your computer.

Things to Remember:

• Personal use ONLY!
• Add the website to "Favorites". That way you don't have to try to remember the address.
• This article is specific to PCs with Microsoft software. It MAY work for other programs but no promises!
• If the clip art won't download, sometimes you have to clear out your temporary files and then try again.
• Don't try to download too many clip arts at one time.
• Once you've inserted the clip art in your document, you will have to format it. That's another whole post...

Links

Microsoft Office website: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/download.aspx

Microsoft's rules for using clip art from their website: http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/permissions/default.mspx