Susan Merrill's Blog, page 22

Slow Cooker Lasagna, Broccoli Casserole, Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Growing up I spent at least one weekend a month at my grandmothers. She was old school Italian and that meant everything she cooked was from scratch. She worked as a seamstress all week and on the weekends she cooked. I spent Saturday mornings at the market shopping with my grandfather for ingredients and Saturday afternoons in her “cooking” kitchen. She had two! The basement kitchen was my favorite. My grandmother and her 4 sisters would gather and go to work hanging long strands of pasta, k...

3 Ways to Boost Your Bandwidth

When my husband Mark is frustrated, it’s written all over his face. And if I can’t see it in his face, I can hear it in his tone. That’s the way if went down last night. He was frustrated with the internet speed on his laptop and…it wasn’t the first time.

“Susan…” he began, “You’re eating up all the bandwidth on our Wi-Fi!”

I looked over at my laptop and realized he was right. I had two different search engines up: Google Chrome and Safari. Plus, between Pinterest, Facebook, emails, and a vario...

How to Divert Your Kids When Headed for Trouble

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It doesn’t matter how old or young your child is, they can run into trouble. Especially when it comes to opportunities and choices with friends. Getting into trouble is a bit of a slippery slope these days because kids have access to so much. Or maybe I just felt like my kids were at risk more because I was pretty particular about things my kids were exposed to like movies, music, crude language, clothing, etc. I have 5 kids all within 6 years of each other, so I know lots of kids and lots of...

Beef Tortilla Bake, Green Beans and Donut Holes

I love to cook for my family. But it is really hard to find the time! Sometimes the process of figuring out what I should make, looking up the recipes, and putting it all together in a meal pushes me over the edge to take-out instead or worse, drive-through. And the worst part about the drive-through is not health related–it’s relational. There is nothing I hate more than a hurried meal in the car, with little conversation and zero eye contact.

There is more to dining together than food.Eating...

What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Having Sex

It’s no secret that men tend to desire sex more than women. According to WebMD and University of Chicago Professor, Edward O. Laumann there are several differences in the sex drive of a man and a woman. They are:

Men think about sex more.
Men seek sex more avidly.
Women’s sexual turn-ons are more complicated than men’s.
Women’s sex drives are more influenced by social and cultural factors.
Women take a less direct route to sexual satisfaction.
Women experience orgasms differently than men.
Women’s l...

I Married a Porcupine

I learned the truth years ago: I am married to a self-proclaimed porcupine. Of course Mark is a great husband and most often fun to be around. But, there are definitely moments when his resemblance to a porcupine is overwhelming (and quite hysterical!). Well, let me clarify that—it is hysterical after the fact. It actually can be painfully prickly in the moment.

For those of you who don’t know much about this little animal, let me fill you in. What makes them so unique is their an armor of sha...

How to Stop Missing Miracles

When my kids were young, we lived in a small house Mark had bought when he was single. Each day when I’d take the kids in the yard to play and ride bikes, I’d worry because there was no sidewalk separating them from a busy road. This may seem like a silly thing, but I began praying for God to give us a house with a sidewalk.

Soon enough, I saw our dream house. In a nearby neighborhood, I just happened to drive by a beautiful older house on a corner surrounded on two sides with…the perfect side...

Teaching Your Kids Self-Control

Self-control is tough at every age (I know that’s true!), but it’s especially hard for children. Still, there are ways we can teach it to our kids, and it’s important that we try. In fact, one research study that I find fascinating, makes that point loud and clear.

7 Life Hacks for Wives

Every mom needs a few life hacks.

The Urban Dictionary defines a hack as a clever solution to a tricky problem.

Being a wife is a tricky problem–it shouldn’t be, but it is. The world–the culture that I live in bombards me with images and ideas that make me think I have a problem. What I need is a clever solution to fight back. So here are 7 of my life hacks for being the wife I want to be:

Television, movies and magazines tell me I need more romance, passion and intimacy. What I really need is a...

Baked ‘Fried’ Chicken, Sweet Potato Casserole, No-Bake Cookies

This is a delicious, easier, and less messy alternative to frying chicken in a fryer or skillet. But, it still tastes like fried chicken – yum!

Baked ‘Fried’ Chicken in a Bag

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces (you can also use skinless chicken)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sage (if you don’t have sage on hand, the recipe will still work)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Melt...