Mommin' It Up since 2004!
Remember a few days ago when I said I was going to hibernate? Well, this is what was outside my front door when I woke up this morning:
Soooooo, I am going to begin TODAY. Nighty-night everybody! Talk to you in three months! Emily, please don’t let the blog fall apart while I’m snoozing, mmkay??? Now, where’s my NyQuil??
Well, this Works For Me Wednesday is about that terrible crisis we all have at least a couple times a week month…”What the heck am I gonna fix for dinner????” In our house, the recipe I throw together on the fly is one that was passed down to me from my mother-in-law. It’s called “Mexi-Stew.” I think we all have our own variations on it, but this is the basic recipe:
2 cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans corn
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans mild chili beans
1 pressed garlic clove (or 1 tablespoon garlic powder)
1 tablespoon chili powder
Cut-up hot dogs or polish sausage
Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes or so….it’s soo yummy and it’s even better leftover! It’s also very good meatless…I always pick the meat out of mine and give it to my hubby. We add lots of shredded cheese on top too.
If any of you try it, let me know! For more great on-the-fly recipes, head over to Rocks in my Dryer.
Sunday, Andy and I were watching 60 Minutes and heard the story of Nicholas Negroponte, a professor at MIT. Two years ago he founded a non-profit organization called “One Laptop Per Child,” through which he recruited a bunch of techies to design a low-cost computer for children in need.
This laptop is sturdy, meant to stand up to the harshest conditions (like being owned by a child), and small. It runs on a Linux operating system and has a built-in wireless connector, among other super-cool features. It costs $200.
For children in countries like Pakistan who don’t have schools to attend, Negroponte calls his laptop “school in a box.”
This laptop isn’t for sale in the United States, but from now until the end of the year, they have a program called “Give 1, Get 1,” where the general public can go online and, for $399, donate a computer to a child in need, and they will then send a computer to the donor as well. Since the fair market value of the computer is $199, $200 of the contribution is tax-deductible.
I was so intruiged by this story, and I spent some time yesterday searching the internet for various stories about this mission and this computer. Like everything, it has some naysayers, but most of what I read was very positive.
I had been thinking about getting a door-buster $400 laptop after Christmas, but now I think I may do this instead.
Did anyone else see this piece on 60 Minutes? Have you heard of this program before? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it… please leave a comment on this post!