I’m so glad you’re here! My name is Jessica Lawson and I am here to share my life hacks with you!
I am a mompreneur, who loves Jesus, my amazing husband and my five kids who range in ages from 1-15.
We have a tiny little homestead where we raise a garden, chickens and kids!
I love to share recipes, prep meals for easy access on busy nights, and many other tips for babies, cleaning, organizing, and just life as a work from home mom.
Please contact me and let me know if my posts are helpful to you and share ideas or questions any time!
In our family, Taco Tuesday is a tradition that doesn’t often get bypassed! Even the pickiest of the Lawsons love Mexican food!
I usually brown some lean ground beef or even ground deer, turkey, or chicken and season with our favorite taco seasoning. I lay out a variety of toppings from shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, and any peppers we have ready from our garden!
I will steam some flour tortillas and everyone lines up and builds their own favorite creations!
Sometimes, in addition to our standard tacos, I will make homemade salsa or even some homemade enchiladas.
These enchiladas are wonderful and easy! They can be served fresh, or can be frozen in these handy aluminum pans with these lids for a quick and easy meal later!
18-24 Corn tortillas
2 pounds of browned Taco meat
1 large can Enchilada sauce (you can use canned, or homemade, my recipe is coming soon!)
3-4 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
This is super easy and so yummy!
Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Starting the first layer
Layer tortillas, beef, shredded cheese and repeat until out of tortillas. Sprinkle more shredded cheese on top.
Ready for the oven!
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and bubbly!
Ya’ll, my family’s love of tacos runs deep, so of course, a taco bar is my go to menu when we have people over for parties, football games, or any other family gathering!
Getting set up for tacos!
I love doing tacos because of the variety that pleases many tastes, as well as the ease and ability to prep everything ahead of time which enables me to enjoy the function instead of spending the entire time in the kitchen. Win win!
Here is a list of what I include:
Taco meat
Spanish Rice
Refried Beans
Black beans
Cheese dip (type recipe)
(I make these first five items ahead and leave in a crockpot on “Warm”)
I will turn my oven on very low and keep some crunchy taco shells there so they stay warm and fresh throughout the game!
I will also keep flour and corn tortillas set up with a steam rack and a pan of water simmering so we can steam a fresh tortilla before making a plate.
Getting ready to steam tortillas!
The day before I will grab serving bowls and fill with these toppings and cover so all I have to do is set them out right when it’s time to eat!
This is always such a hit with our family because it caters to such a wide variety of tastes. People can add as much or as little of the various toppings they like, and the leftovers are just as delicious the next day and it saves this busy momma from cooking!
Sometimes, if we are having a big crowd, or if I want to have more variety, I will thaw one of my make ahead Beef Enchilada Casseroles and serve as well!
Easy Beef Enchilada Casserole
What are your favorite taco bar items? I am always adding or taking away toppings based on our tastes at the time, so comment or message me and share your ideas!
Bringing home baby chicks is such an exciting time! They’re so fluffy, tiny and oh so cute! If you have kids, they’ll no doubt be so excited they can hardly stand it, but as the momma, you might be a little nervous about this new venture. Let me reassure you…don’t be nervous!
Chickens are so much fun!
Our first week with baby chicks!
During the baby/child phase, or until they’re about 6 weeks old, you do have to pay pretty close attention to your baby chicks and make sure they’re happy and healthy. After that, they’re considered adults and can pretty well tend to themselves if they have a steady supply of clean water and food!
Here are a few things to pay attention to:
1. Handling:
During the first 24-48 hours, you’ll be so excited and will want to hold and handle your little babies all the time…but don’t.
Give them a little time to settle in and calm down after being transported to and from the store and home. Once this first couple of days is over, right the opposite is true.
Hold them all the time!
The more they’re handled, the more they’ll grow to love and trust you, which means they’ll be much easier to handle when you need to put them in their coop, vet them, or any other reason for handling.
2. Bedding:
The first couple of days, I use paper towel or newspaper. This prevents you handling your chicks unnecessarily and stressing them out! I will check on them every few hours a put a layer of paper down over any areas that have been soiled.
After the first couple of days, once we have started handling our babies, I will pull them out of the brooder and clean it well. I will put the soiled newspaper into my compost pile, wipe out the bottom of the brooder, and fill with pine shavings.
We have also used straw, and that works really well, but the pine shavings are much easier to scoop and clean, they break down easily in my compost, and I can get them cheaper. At our local feed store, I spend about $5 on a bag that lasts anywhere from 6-7 months!
I usually will scoop out any really dirty spots I see throughout the week and put into my compost, and I will clean it all the way out and replace shavings weekly.
3. Feeding:
What you feed your chicks is totally up to you, but I prefer to stay as natural as we can.
The first week, I only feed them unmedicated starter/grower feed.
Check your local feed store for what is available in your area. Purina has worked well for us and is available in most areas!
This first week will let you know if everyone is healthy and eating well, and if so, I start giving them treats like diced boiled eggs or vegetable scraps. The boiled eggs are also good to help perk them up if they are sickly in the beginning.
I also like to add electrolytes to their water for the first 6 weeks. There are special supplements you can buy, but I use products that we would eat. In a pinch, you can dilute some Gatorade or Powerade in their water, but ideally, you’ll want a healthier electrolyte source. I mixed my own and it was super easy!
Electrolyte mix:
1 c hot water
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
Mix to dissolve and let cool. Add 1 tsp of liquid mixture per gallon of water.
If you have a baby chick that is acting lethargic or sleepier than the others, sometimes an electrolyte boost will help! I’ve even had to administer with a baby syringe and it worked wonders!
Once they’re a few weeks old, I like to give them a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. They eat far less commercial feeder, plus I feel like natural food is better! They also love to eat bugs and worms they find in our yard. We let ours roam free as much as we can and then lock them in their chicken tractor at night.
4. Overall Health:
Some baby chicks are easier than others, just like human babies!
I’ve had a baby die within the first 24 hours of being home, even after electrolytes and tender care. Sometimes it just can’t be prevented.
I’ve had other babies that never needed a single thing from me besides food and water…and I’ve had all the ones in between too!
The best way to make sure your babies are off to a good start is to visually check them over 3-4 times a day, or more, if time allows.
Check them to make sure they’re not pecking each other or harming each other.
Make sure they’re not sleeping more than the others or acting lethargic.
Check their butts! A pasty butt is what happens when soft baby poop sticks on the feathers and stops up their vent. This can be VERY dangerous for a chick. Imagine if you couldn’t poop!
Sometimes a simple, gentle wipe with a warm cloth will be enough to clean them up and get them pooping again, but sometimes they get pretty irritated. I’ve found that over the counter hemorrhoid cream will work wonders!
Just keep an eye on your babies if they get pasty butt because they could die if it’s not corrected.
5. Brooder:
Your baby chicks need a safe and very warm environment to live in.
Many places will try to sell you expensive brooding boxes and accessories, but really it’s not necessary.
Use what you have on hand!
My husband cut a few 2×4’s to create a barrier around the wall of a dog crate. We bought some new heat lamp bulbs for a clamp light we had on hand, hung a thermometer, and we were good to go!
Loving our chicks!
Keep your chicks warm and they’ll be happy! Here is a little list of age appropriate temperatures so you can keep an eye on your babies, but their behavior will tell you a lot. If they’re huddling together under the lamp, they’re not warm enough. If they’re staying to the outer edges of the brooder and away from the lamp, they may be too hot! You can raise and lower your lamp to adjust the temperature for them.
Minimum temperature for baby chicks:
Week 1 – 90
Week 2 – 85
Week 3 – 80
Week 4 – 75
Week 5 – 60
Week 6 and beyond – they should have adult feathers and be able to regulate their own body temperature
Our babies are now 20 weeks old and I gathered our first two eggs this morning! They are like members of our family and they each have their own little personalities. I’m so glad we have them!
Our first eggs!
Do you have any tips to share about raising baby chicks? Do you have questions or suggestions about more information I can share with you? Let me know!
I have been asked by a few new moms what I carry in my diaper bag. With five kids in tow, sometimes it’s hard to know what you really need in a diaper bag without carrying the contents of my whole house!
After almost 16 years of parenting, getting places without what we need, or carrying way too much stuff around that isn’t needed, I’ve finally perfected the contents of my diaper bag so I can seriously take ONE bag that suits the needs of me, my hubby and every single one of my kiddos! The first several years of parenting, I might have had one or two (dozen) times that I got out running errands or going to appointments and didn’t have a spare outfit to change a kid after a blowout, or didn’t have enough diapers, or had a whining kid who just needed a snack to make it to the next stop. (Sorry kids, you get your hangriness from your mother!)
I love this awesome backpack!
So much room!
The first part of being organized and able to suit the needs of so many kids of varying ages is the bag. My kids are 15, 13, 6, 3, and 16 months and I also help with my nieces who range in age from 18 months to 5 years old. So when we are out and about between stores, school pickups, dance, church or wherever, I like to know that in a pinch, we have what everyone needs! I found this bag on Amazon and it is super cute, versatile, and holds soooo much stuff, yall!
I have experienced diaper blowouts, spilled food, “Aunt Flo” coming unexpectedly, breast milk leaks, scraped knees, bug bites, and so much more, so hopefully this list will help you to be prepared for what comes your way with your little ones!
Yep, ALL of this stuff fits!
I use zipper bags to hold contents for each kid. This is multi purposed. This helps with organizing the bag so everything doesn’t wind up in a wadded ball in the bottom of the bag, but also, the bag serves as a way to contain the dirty item without soiling the rest of the bag. Win, win!
Individual bags for kids
My littles each have a weather appropriate outfit or sleeper, an extra pair of socks, and potty trained kids have an extra pair of undies/panties.
I also keep a zipper bag with an adult tshirt, pair of socks, and a pair of panties. This is pretty versatile because the shirt and socks will fit me, my husband, or my older two kids in a pinch, and the panties will help if me or my daughter are in need.
I carry a light baby blanket and burp cloth as well. Both of these items have been used in many ways for our family! The blanket has been used as an extra cover for the baby when needed, but it has also served as a clean place to change a diaper, a sunshade over a carseat, a clean barrier to sit on after a diaper blowout in a car seat, and even a towel when we have had a spill! The burp cloth has not only been used for its original purpose, but has also been perfect for a runny nose, a small spill, or even for a baby to snuggle if we accidentally left a lovey at home.
My baby is 16 months old, so we no longer carry bottles, but there is still room if you do need bottles!
Snacks for all the hangry children (and maybe adults, too)!
In the various pockets, I keep a small bag with first aid supplies and toiletries, an extra pacifier, diaper rash cream, an empty grocery bag, an extra gallon sized zipper bag, a bottle of water, and snacks for the kids. I will attach a detailed list below!
All there, with room to spare!
I hope this helps when you’re packing your diaper bag! Are there any must-have items that you carry that I have forgotten? Please share your ideas with me!
Diaper Bag List….(yes, this all fits with room to spare!):
Light blanket
Burp Cloth
Adult T-shirt
Adult socks and underwear/panties
Each child’s bag – seasonal outfit, socks, undies/panties
I don’t know about you, but there are days full of chasing kids, working, cleaning, errands…never ending lists of to-do’s and dinner is the last thing on my mind until everyone is starving and I have nothing prepared!
What do you do?
Drive through another fast food place and spend way too much money filling your kids up on junk?
Order pizza again?
I have a better idea!
With a few bucks and an hour or so, I can prepare a few casseroles that can sit in my fridge and be popped in the oven and ready in 20 minutes, or even frozen for later use!
This last weekend, I decided to do a big meal prepping session! I spent about 3 hours in the kitchen and ended up with 12 casseroles, 3 full sized chicken pot pies, 3 mini chicken pot pies, 4 pear pies (I shared with my neighbors so they’re not all pictured!), two bags of frozen vegetable beef soup, and pear pie filling for future fried pies!
Our freezer is full and so will our bellies be when we thaw and serve these amazing meals!
Meal prepping can be done in small batches or in one big batch like I did this time.
When I’m doing casseroles, it saves me tons of time and work when I cook all of my meats at the same time. Regardless of how many casseroles I’m making with taco meat, I cook it all together and divide out as equally as possible. The measurements aren’t exact, but that’s ok! These dishes come out perfect anyway!
I will cook my chicken in the instant pot because, well, let’s be honest…I never remember to thaw it in time, and it can be cooked from frozen in the instant pot and takes very little time.
I also save a lot of time and work by shredding my chicken in my stand mixer. I can’t imagine how long it would take me to hand shred or dice enough chicken for a dozen casseroles! This method is super easy. Simply put your cooked chicken breasts in the stand mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment, and turn on low until the meat is all broken up like this! Fast and easy!
Shredding chicken in the mixer saves so much time!
It’s great for pulled pork, too!
I also use my mixer to combine my casserole ingredients, dump into the aluminum pan, cover with cheese, label and place the lid on top, and freeze. It’s super quick and easy!
Here are a few of my family’s favorite meals to freeze. Full recipes and tips coming soon!
Here in Arkansas, the temperature is hovering steady around a million degrees…ok, fine, it’s around 100 degrees but it feels like a million with this humidity!
The electric bill will cost a small fortune because it’s going non-stop in order to keep us comfortable because we dare not go outside unless life depends on it! This has me wishing for and anticipating all things fall!
Today I bought some “Pumpkin Farm” wax melts at the grocery store and I’m already planning my fall decor and my Razorback football Saturday menus. This has me thinking about delicious desserts that I love to make for our family when we have company over for football games.
One of the favorite desserts I make and is almost always requested by my brother is homemade apple pie! I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I can’t. It’s been handed down for several generations in our family and was taught to me by my great grandmother.
She was the middle child in her family, so at the age of 7 she was responsible for cooking and cleaning and babysitting her younger siblings while her parents and older three siblings worked their farm.
When Mamaw taught me to cook, I was around 8 years old. She had about 75 years of cooking under her belt at that time, so I think she’s the best teacher I could’ve had! I spent years learning to make this apple pie, and that’s no joke! It’s because my Mamaw never measured anything! She “eyeballed” it all and would tell me things like “use about an egg sized scoop of shortening”. What’s an 8 year old modern day kid knows about that?!
So fast forward many years and many failed pies later, I finally mastered the art and got Mamaw’s thumbs up approval when I was about 18 years old. Only a decade of learning, so not too bad, huh?!
During this process I wrote down actual measurements and adjusted after each pie until she finally told me the final product was right, so I will share the recipe with you!
Before I start the process of pie making, I always prepare my work surface and lay out all of my ingredients so the process flows more smoothly and I make as little mess as possible with my messy hands! And I’m quite a messy cook anyway, if I’m being honest!
I lay out my silicone mat, my Mamaw’s wooden rolling pin, all of my crust ingredients, and most importantly, a cup of ice water. Not cold water, actual ice water! This is a must for delicious flaky crust!
One of the keys to the perfect pie crust is handling it as little as possible, and that’s why I love using a silicone mat to roll my pie crust on. It helps peel and fold it without as many tears when I go to move it into the pie plate, which prevents me from having to overwork the dough. It also requires less flouring than a countertop so I don’t dry my crust too much.
If you do take multiple attempts to perfect this process, don’t stress it. Your dough won’t be as flaky and may be a little more tough, but it will still be delicious! Practice makes perfect and the more you make this crust, the better you’ll get at it!
I start my measuring my flour, shortening and salt and cut them together using a pastry cutter like this.
This is the part that takes practice because I cut it until the mix is pretty crumbly. I don’t really have a scientific measurable description, but this picture may help!
Starting to crumble
I will usually grab a small handful of this crumbly mix and squeeze. If it holds together, then I know it’s ready. If it still crumbles, you may need to add a little more shortening.
Ready to squeeze!
Perfect!
At this point, I add my ice water and continue to mix with the pastry cutter until it’s sticking together. I then use my hands to finish incorporating the mixture into a ball but try to not over handle. I then use a knife to cut the ball in half. One half will be the bottom crust and one the top crust.
(This recipe makes enough for two crusts, so for pies that only require a bottom crust, you can use this recipe for two pies, or you can freeze half for later use. Our apple pie requires a top and bottom crust so this recipe makes one apple pie.)
I set out one half of the dough ball on a lightly floured silicone mat and sprinkle a little flour on top of the ball and on my rolling pin. I then roll the dough almost paper thin, making sure it’s big enough to cover and overlap my pie plate. I prefer using glass pie plates, but when I’m gifting pies, the do fine in the aluminum disposable plates like these.
My 6 year old is a big help when it comes to making pies!
Very carefully I will fold the crust (using the mat to help me) in half, and then in half again, making a small triangle that I can easily transfer into my pie plate and gently unfold, in order to cover the plate. Now the bottom crust is done and ready to be filled!
Now I preheat my oven to 300 degrees and clean up my mess from crust making and start to prepare my pie filling.
This part can actually be done ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator overnight or can even be frozen or canned for future use. Sometimes I will even make several whole pies and freeze those as well!
I use 4-5 apples depending on size, and spice them very thin. The variety isn’t very important. I’ve used red delicious, gala, fugi and many others and the pie always comes out perfectly!
Slicing these apples very thin is crucial and you don’t want to get lazy on this part! I’ve had some delicious apple pies with awful texture because of huge chunks of apples that don’t cook unevenly. In fact, my Mamaw used to tell me over and over “paper fine, sis…paper fine” when I would lazily start slicing the apples a bit thicker to save time!
After your apples are peeled and sliced, I add the peels and cores to a bowl for my chickens to enjoy, but they’re excellent for compost too! Then place in a large mixing bowl where you will add thinly sliced softened butter, sugar, flour, and apple pie spice and gently stir until well incorporated.
Now you can dump this into your bottom crust and repeat the process for rolling out the top crust.
Gently fold and place the top crust over the pie using the same method we used for the bottom crust, and use your fingers to pinch the two layers together all around the pie.
Ready to bake!
Now use a sharp knife to trim off excess crust, cut a few vent holes in the top of the pie, and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, depending on your oven. Some ovens I’ve been able to pull them out at an hour and 15 minutes, some have taken a full 20-30 minutes longer, so just keep an eye on it. The finished product will be a light shade of brown and your house will smell amazing!
Baking and making the house smell amazing!
As tempting as it may be, don’t cut right into your pie. Let it cool for about 20-30 minutes just to let the center set so it doesn’t run and make your crust soggy.
If you have frozen your pie before baking, don’t thaw it. Place it directly from the freezer into the preheated oven and bake it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, watching the color of the crust.
I hope your family loves this delicious recipe as much as mine does!
Feel free to message me or comment if you have any questions. I would love to help if you need me to!
There’s a lot of talk going on these days about modern homesteading and the desire to be more self sufficient…but what is a homestead? If you’re picturing acres upon acres of row crops, grazing cattle, and roaming chickens you might be right…but not entirely. Homesteading is simply becoming a settler on a homestead…which is a house and it’s outbuildings. That’s it! So homesteading, in my mind, is simply making a home!
In today’s hustle and bustle, everything is super fast paced and tailored to convenience, which isn’t always healthy. Many of us are looking for ways to live more simply, more healthy and frugally. This desire fuels our modern day homestead!
My family lives on a very small homestead that is just under an acre that includes vegetable gardens, fruit trees, chickens, cats, a dog and five kids! We are always looking for ways to cut cost, improve our health, and become more self reliant. I love to share tips on gardening, raising chickens, cleaning and organizing, meal prepping on a budget, canning and so much more!
A few of our hens roaming the yard
I love being able to share what works for our family, as well as hear new ideas on ways to make our home run as efficiently as possible. Feel free to email me and share ideas that work for you!
I’m so glad you’re here! My name is Jessica Lawson and I am here to share my life hacks with you!
I am a mompreneur, who loves Jesus, my amazing husband and my five kids who range in ages from 1-15.
We have a tiny little homestead where we raise a garden, chickens and kids!
I love to share recipes, prep meals for easy access on busy nights, and many other tips for babies, cleaning, organizing, and just life as a work from home mom.
Please contact me and let me know if my posts are helpful to you and share ideas or questions any time!
Jessica Lawson
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