Smart Thoughts http://pksmart.com Live a Smart Life Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 My GTD Road Map http://pksmart.com/organize/gtd/my-gtd-road-map/ http://pksmart.com/organize/gtd/my-gtd-road-map/#comments Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:29:37 +0000 PK Smart http://pksmart.com/SmartThoughts/?p=268 How to setup Outlook Contacts for GTD How to set up Outlook tasks for GTD How to set up OneNote for GTD How to set up Outlook email for GTD How to set up Outlook Calendar for GTD How to set up Outlook for GTD

This is my GTD Road map. Click on components for How to set up each element.

]]> http://pksmart.com/organize/gtd/my-gtd-road-map/feed/ 0 Homemade Chicken Stock – The Secret Ingredient http://pksmart.com/smart-cooking/recipes/homemade-chicken-stock-the-secret-ingredient/ http://pksmart.com/smart-cooking/recipes/homemade-chicken-stock-the-secret-ingredient/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:41:03 +0000 PK Smart http://pksmart.com/SmartThoughts/?p=123 [...]]]> Take your cooking up a notch and use Homemade Chicken Stock in recipes.  This is the secret ingredient to wonderful tasting dishes.  You will forget about all those cans and boxes of stock once you have made and used your own!  Making your own chicken stock is easy and frugal – home cooks and chefs alike have been making stock since the beginning of fire. When you make your own stock, you know the exact ingredients so you know that it is healthy and without salt and chemicals.  Let me repeat this.  Do NOT put salt in your stock.  You will be using the stock as a base for many other dishes – you will be adding salt as you cook truly amazing meals with this sauce. There are several methods of making Chicken Stock, but the ingredients will be the same (although sometimes I skip the leek).  You can use a Stock Pot on the stove, a slow cooker (crock pot), and even a rice cooker.  The method I am showing you today is using a stock pot on the stove. What do you do with Chicken Stock? I use Homemade Chicken Stock in many of my favorite dishes including:

  • Chicken Marsala
  • Mushroom Rice
  • Cream of Chicken & Rice Soup
  • Senate Navy Bean Soup
  • Chicken Rice
  • Chicken Noodle soup
  • Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients
Homemade Chicken Stock Ingredients
  • 1 or 2 chicken carcasses
  • 1 onion
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 leek
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 10 whole black pepper corns
  • 10 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tablespoon dried)
  • 10 sprigs of fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
  • Filtered water

Equipment
  • Knife and Cutting Board
  • Colander ( I use my Salad Spinner )
  • Stock Pot
  • Large Spoon

Mise en place (get everything ready)
Smart Thoughts on Smart Cooking. Rough Chop an onion Rinse the whole onion. Cut off the ends and do a Rough Chop. A good Rough Chop in this case is simply cutting the onion in half, then cut each half into quarters. Notice that its okay to leave the skin on. The skin will actually make the stock a beautiful color
Smart Thoughts on Smart Cooking. Rough chop carrots Scrub the 3 carrots and cut off the ends. Rough Chop into 3 or 4 pieces each carrot.
Smart Thoughts on Smart Cooking. Rough chop celery Rinse the celery making sure you get off any dirt. Rough Chop into 4 to 5 pieces. The leaves are full of flavor so use them as well.
Smart Thoughts on Smart Cooking. Rough chop leeks Leeks can have dirt in them. Do a Rough Chop, separate the layers and rinse well in a colander.
Smart Thoughts on Smart Cooking. Rough chop garlic Chop off end of garlic and Rough Chop by simply cutting in half.

Directions

Storage

Tips and Tricks
]]> http://pksmart.com/smart-cooking/recipes/homemade-chicken-stock-the-secret-ingredient/feed/ 0 Cutting the Clutter and Downsizing http://pksmart.com/frugal-living/clutter-control/cutting-the-clutter-and-downsizing/ http://pksmart.com/frugal-living/clutter-control/cutting-the-clutter-and-downsizing/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:13:40 +0000 PK Smart http://pksmart.com/SmartThoughts/?p=5 [...]]]> I started my de-cluttering in December of 2009.  I was reading posts about the cost of things and realized that I simply had too much stuff.  I have moved several times in the last few years and spent days packing up everything I own without thought to how much stuff I had.

I will be moving again in July and the light bulb finally went on – I will have to pack up and move all my things again!

I decided to take a good hard look at my possessions.  Why am I holding on to some of this stuff?  Some items were things I bought, some were gifts, some things I have no clue where they came from.

I made a note to myself in my new 2010 planner:  Do I need it?  Do you love it?  Does it make me money?  If not then out it goes.

Also in my new 2010 planner, I made a note on every day for a month simply stating 10 items.  I planned to rid myself of 10 items a day.  This was very easy for the first couple of weeks.  I loaded up boxes and bags full of items I no longer wanted and gave them to Goodwill.  But a time came when I figured that I have stuff that others would want – perfectly good stuff that can make me money!

So I stated selling on ebay.  So far I have made a few hundred dollars and others are enjoying the things I once did.  I also have large pieces of furniture that I plan to sell on Craig’s list as soon as the weather is better.

Smart Thoughts:

  • Think about how much stuff you have.  Do you simply have too much?
  • Think about de-cluttering.  Make cleaning your home easier!
  • Make money from the treasures you no longer want.

PK Smart

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