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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Peggy's Pointers Peggy Bledsoe Houston County Extension Coordinator Resolve to be clutter-free Today is the last day of 2008! It’s time to stop and reflect on the happenings of the past year and make plans for the upcoming one. What New Year’s resolu tions have you made? Maybe you have decided to get active and begin a walking program, or eat healthier, or remove the clutter from you home, or do more for oth ers, or spend more time with your family, or nurture some friendships. Whatever is on your list of items to accom plish in 2009 ... good luck! The time between Christmas and New Year’s is an ideal time to conduct an inventory of the clutter at your house. This may reveal to you that you are a pack rat that does not want to let go of anything. The top 10 excuses for holding on to items are: 1. It is too good to thlrow away. 2. It will be worth some thing one day. 3. I’m sure it will come back in style. 4. It was a gift from ... 5. I paid good money for it. 6. As soon as I lose weight, I’ll wear it. 7. It just needs fixing. 8. They don’t make these anymore. 9. I’m saving it for ... Incoming mail, newspa pers, toys, and magazines can create clutter. Holding on to empty boxes and bro ken things can fill up a closet quickly. Piles of clothes can quickly clutter up a house. Take time to do a clutter inventory. Answer these questions: What needs orga nizing? What needs discard ing? Check every room of your house as well as the attic, garage, basement and outside storage buildings. Once you have completed your inventory, it’s time to create a schedule to handle your clutter. Clutter control contributes to the smooth running of your home. Organize your clutter by giving items away, selling items or recycling. Cut down on the amount of ornaments on display in your home. Having too many ornaments scattered around the house can give the illusion of your home looking too busy. Make it a habit to store items where they are used. After use always, put items back in their place. Create a system for the mail. Determine the system that works best for you. Get in the habit of handling things once. Discard the junk mail and identify a special location for the bills to be paid. Sort the mail daily and cut down on mail clutter. Do you have some closets that look like they are about to burst? Furthermore, you can’t find what you need when you need it. Clear the closet completely. Identify the items to keep, give away or recycle. Then organize the closet by putting pants together, shirts together and fold all sweaters and store in containers. A shoe rack may be helpful, too. The best way to control clutter is to deal with it regu larly. Quit making excuses and just do it! Peggy Bledsoe is the Houston County Extension Coordinator working in the area of Family and Consumer Sciences with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at 478-987- 2028 or pbledsoe@uga.edu. FOOD&HOME i ifc A - Light Sangria is festive by non-alcholic .-JET \ m wfji ; vv' Jtitia/ R& SI rZtwmmk ft *■ & I JBHHEL r «£ a M;* TnlP ” 'i ‘• a Hr |TnißHßrWirPil * I i K~- ilf - HirflrnTn’ WSEwiMK «&, aKateUi>-’S r y.*’** .. jiff U - -v y-'m |gr p.-; National Porkßoard Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Sweet Potatoes celebrates the New Year with a southern accent. Try this budget-wise Irish Stew From staff reports Now’s the time to bring out the dutch oven, the slow-cooker and the cas serole dish and save a little money while eating well. Start with this Irish Stew from the Idaho Potato Commisson 2 pounds Idaho Potatoes (4 medium potatoes) peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick 3 cups onions, peeied, cut in half and thinly sliced 2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths 12 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dry thyme salt to taste fresh ground black pepper to taste 2 pounds boneless blade steaks (6 lamb shoulder chops can be substituted) 12 ounces prepared beef broth 3 tablespoons flour fresh chopped parsley Preheat the oven to 350° F. « On the bottom of a 3-quart casserole dish or heavy pot with a lid, spread half the potatoes, onions and car rots. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Top with 6 sprigs of fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon of dry thyme. Place the blade steaks or chops on top of the vegetables. Top the meat with the remain ing potatoes, onions and car rots. Season well with more ‘salt and pepper. Top with remaining dry thyme. Cover the stew with the beef broth and enough cold water to barely cover the top layer of vegetables in the pot. Place the lid on the pot and cook for 2 1/2 hours until the meat and potatoes are fork tender. To serve, remove the meat, potatoes, and vegetables from the pot. Discard the thyme stalks if using fresh thyme. In a small bowl, blend 3 tablespoons of flour with enough water to make a smooth paste. With a wire whisk, blend the flour mix ture into the hot broth. Stir well to dissolve the mixture. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, place the pota toes, vegetables and a piece of meat on plates or in large See BUDGET, Page iB Here’s to a Happy & Healthy 2009 40rnmmm Hfcai * Yvonne's Corner Yvonne Sutherland Columnist yvonnes@windstream.net If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to eat a health ier diet, now is the time to think about exactly what you are putting in your body. The festive menu below is healthy and delicious beginning with a light Sangria instead of a cocktail. The first course is a black-eyed pea soup made with turkey sausage. After all, we must have black-eyed peas for luck! And remember * I jflr •i - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008 black-eyed peas are low in fat and sodium and they contain no choles terol. In the South pork is traditional for New Year’s dinner. Fortunately, today’s pork is leaner and contains less saturated fat than the pork of yore. It also requires careful cooking if it is not to dry out. The recipe below is from the National Pork Board and is coated with a seasoning mix to hold in the moisture. If we are to be rich in the coming year, we have to eat our greens. Georgians are particu larly fond of greens. According to the USD A, Georgia grows more than 25% of all leafy greens. Greens are full of anti- See loop, Pagezß Idaho Potato Commission SECTION: B Notes from AFarr Agnes Farr Columnist farra@alltel.net Time to cut the calories Well it has been a busy Christmas season, I have enjoyed it. I have had a lot of correspondence from people wanting some low-fat, low calorie recipes. I haven’t had time the thoroughly think through a plan for this but I am working on it. However, I did come across this little clip that I had saved. Thought I would share with you. After you read it, you will prob ably want to hide the remote, shred all the fast food cou pons, put on some sweats and start walking. See you around town, aaf God’s Diet Plan And God populated the earth with broccoli and cau liflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so man and woman could live long and healthy lives. And Satan created McDonalds and McDonalds brought forth the 99cent dou ble-cheese burger and man gained pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan froze yogurt and brought forth chocolate, nuts, and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt. And woman gained pounds. And God said, “Try my crispy fresh salad. ” And Satan brought forth creamy dress ings, bacon bits, and shred ded cheese. And there was ice cream for dessert. And the woman gained pounds. And God said, “I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them.” And God brought forth running shoes, and man resolved to lose those extra pounds. And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so that man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And man gained pounds. And God said, “You’re run ning up the score, Devil.” And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutri tion. And Satan peeled off the beautiful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also. And man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol. And Satan saw and said, “It is good.” And man went into cardi ac arrest and God sighed and created quadruple by-pass surgery...and Satan created HMOs... Just a few things to think about when planning your grocery shopping: •Add more fruits and veg etables to your diet. • Buy the cheaper, leaner cuts of beef •Whenever possible, sub stitute Olive oil. • Do not buy pastries or candy. If it is there, chances are you will eat it. • Skin chicken and add more fish to your diet. • Park as far from the store as possible. The walk is good for you. • Never go shopping when you are hungry. • Plan your menus, make your list and stick to it, unless there is a good sale that you can substitute. •Substitute the non-fat dry milk in your cooking.