Hi friends! Thank YOU for coming back to join me for your Weekly Dose of TLC!
As always, I will be focusing on 3 good things for the week in this single post – everything Teacher-Life-Coach is all about:
T: The teacher in me…
L: Life hacks, good finds, and general fun
C: Motivation and inspiration
So, with that, let’s get started with this week’s Dose of TLC!
T – Fix It and Forget It
The [busy] teacher in me craves meals that don’t require a lot of work.
Now, completely transparent (often-repeated) disclosure: I am NO gourmet chef, but I am not afraid to try new recipes and what I cook I can cook pretty well…
I love a good slow cooker meal, and these tend to be on my meal rotation for the weekends. It allows me to spend a few minutes putting it together in the morning, and then I can go about my day without having to thinking about it.
With all the different doctors’ appointments this past week, it was the perfect time for a slow cooker meal, so beef tips in gravy it was! I popped the meal in the Crock Pot in the morning, and by early evening dinner had [almost] served itself. It gave me some time to get things done.
Recipe below, if you are interested. I like to make extra gravy with mine because it’s so good over egg noodles.
Slow Cooker Beef Tips
2 lbs of stew meat (my store has them already cut up into diced size pieces)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup of water
2 packets of Beef Gravy Mix (dry mix)
1 packet of Beefy Onion Soup Mix
Lightly spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
In a skillet, brown the beef tips over medium heat turning until all the edges are no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. (This step is optional, but it helps the meat hold the flavor.)
Add the cooked meat to the slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix together the soup, water, gravy mix, and onion soup mix. Once well mixed, pour over the meat in the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. (I usually do the low when I can). Meat should reach an internal temperature of 165 when done.
Serve over egg noodles, potatoes, or on its own!
L – Little Luxuries, Part 2
If you joined me for last week’s Dose of TLC, you will remember that I wanted to bring you a quick mini-series on some little luxuries we can incorporate into our day-to-day. If you missed last week’s (and my reasoning behind this), you can check it out here:
This week, I wanted to focus on our hands. We use them to heal others, but they could always use some healing themselves.
Since I am on a strict schedule of administering meds/drops to my mom, I have to make sure I’m washing my hands a lot…and with that comes VERY dry, cracked skin. I am an avid lotion user, but sometimes that’s just not enough. That’s where these little goodies come into play – I’m sharing an affiliate link below the photo if you’re interested in taking a peek. (I have linked two different options.)
Aveeno Hand Mask (fragrance-free): https://amzn.to/4ha6HtL
Aveeno Cica Hand and Foot Mask Combo: https://amzn.to/4h6DWy6
I knew I had these tucked away in my ‘supply’ closet, but I haven’t turned to them in a while because – well, I never thought I had the time. So, that brings me to this – I realized I could give up 10 minutes in my day to sit down and apply these hand masks (once a week is all you need), even if I am wearing them at dinner (hmm, that just might be an option one of these days). These 10 minutes became my time to reset, a chance to regroup – my little luxury, if you will.
C – Be Kind to Yourself
Let’s finish out our weekly TLC talking about kindness.
We go about our daily lives, paving the way with acts of kindness toward others. We do good deeds, speak kind words, and pay it forward on the daily because, well, we want to make others feel good. And, as my favorite quote and life motto reads, “We rise by lifting others.”
But, too often the one person we forget about in our kindness practice and mission is the one doing those things: ourselves.
More often than not lately, I have found myself saying “It’s not a big deal. I am fine. I can wait. I can do that for myself later.” You get the picture. And, maybe those things are true – maybe I am fine or I can do [whatever] later. But, maybe I sometimes I tell myself that, and I really do need little kindness thrown in my direction, even if it’s just a little grace and knowing that I’m doing the best I can.
So, take some time today or tomorrow or the next to be kind to yourself, whatever that may look like. Just as we rise by lifting others, we can also rise by lifting ourselves, too.
Sending you kindness and light…
~S~
Teacher-Life-Coach 