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Archives for June 2016

Why I prefer ancestry.com for my genealogy work

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I’m a big fan of ancestry.com!  It’s no surprise it’s the leading genealogy research website in the world. I’ve been a “world explorer” member of ancestry.com for a little shy of 10 years now.  Over the last five years, Ancestry has added exciting new features that I’m going to talk about today.

First and foremost, Ancestry.com has amazing customer service.  They actually have a toll free number (1-800-262-3787) where live people will answer the phone and verbally talk to you!  It’s such a wonderful breath of fresh air. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called with a question over my family tree or how to use a new app, and they have always been so helpful.  In this day and age, I really appreciate a live voice.

Secondly, Ancestry.com is always improving their census records and databases regularly.  This includes updates on ancestry DNA matches.  They recently added the new fold 3 military records, but that is not for free.  Ancestry.com members can purchase a membership to fold3 for 50% off like the newspapers.com membership.

Thirdly, Ancestry.com has mobile apps you can download on your smartphone and iPads.  This makes your family tree portable and so nice if you are visiting a family member and want to share your family photos and new discoveries with them.  I can’t tell you how many more hours I’ve spent on my iPad since downloading the ancestry.com app.  Best part is it’s free.

The AncestryDNA database is growing every day, and with every new sample submitted, increases your chances of a more accurate picture into your genetic DNA if you’ve already provided a saliva sample.  Ancestry makes it affordable, and regularly offers discounted prices on DNA kits around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  You can easily acquire a kit for less than $80!  This is a small price to pay for someone who is adopted or just curious to take a peak into your genetics from 4-10 generations ago.  I love the easy option of being able to contact a cousin or family member who is matched with me with a simple click on their name.  Ancestry makes connection easy and that is the entire point of genealogy for me!  Connecting with new family, old family, even connecting to history.

Ancestry.com is more expensive to use than other sites such as familysearch.org (a totally free site that is quite impressive!) but you get for what you pay for.  Ancestry.com needs to make profit in order to provide quality genealogy services and continue their research and development into new DNA adventures.  I am confident that the company will be around for decades to come, which means a lot to someone who is invested in their genealogy research and values and depends on their information to be kept safely and securely of years to come.

As you can tell, I’m passionate about Ancestry.com because it allows me to become the genealogist I’ve always wanted to be.  Ever since I was 8 years old, I knew I wanted to know more about my grandparents and their parents.  I started taking pictures of my oldest family members and asking them what life was like growig up.  It was just what I was naturally curious about.  Guess what?!  I’m still bugging family members with annoying questions about their lives.  Some are more willing to offer information than others.  Ancestry.com helps me organize my facts and interviews and stay organized.  Sure, I could write it down in a notebook some day, but what if it was lost?  What if there was a fire?  Now I’m not saying you should depend 100% in ancestry.com to keep all your records. Each year you should invest in printing out physical copies of your family trees and other important contact numbers, etc.  I think that’s important because you never know.  You should also keep a copy of your raw DNA on your computer hard drive so you always have that info as well.  Don’t forget to keep other family member’s raw DNA on your hard drive as well, if you were lucky enough to acquire Grandma’s saliva.

Happy Researching,

Rebecca

 

Roasted Chicken

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Don’t be a chicken…try this chicken!

Looking for an easy meal for the family that’s healthy and delicious?  Look no further than a simple roasted chicken.  Roasted chicken is so delicious and easy and it will make your house smell fantastic!  There are many many ways to roast a chicken, but for today I will show you the SIMPLEST way to roast a chicken and have it ready to eat in less than 2 hours.  That’s shorter cook time than a pot roast and it’s a little more appropriate to eat in the summer.


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Start off by buying a nice 3 lb chicken.  I bought mine at Woodmans, but you can get one at Sam’s club or your local grocery store.  Some people prefer natural or organic or grassed.  I try to get mine as close to nature as possible because I try to use every bit of the chicken- the meat for a dish, the bones for chicken stock, the chicken stock for a homemade soup, you catch my drift.  You want a nice quality chicken.

Once you have the chicken, rinse it well and pat dry with a paper towel.  Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.  Yes I know that sounds high, but it will brown your chicken nicely and you will not cook it that hot for the entire roast.

Next, chop up all your onion, celery, and carrots and place them in a 9 x 13 baking casserole dish.  Put a hefty amount of olive oil on there, about 2 T, sprinkle a little salt (I use kosher) and fresh peppercorn on top.  Mix it all up so all the vegetables are covered with the goodness.

Take your chicken breast side up, and place it on top of the vegetables.  No need for a rack because the vegetables will help raise the chicken slightly and all the juices from the chicken will drip down onto the lovely veggies.  Put it all in the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until the chicken begins to brown.

While the chicken roasts, get a small bowl and mix together 2 T of olive oil, 1 T salt, and pepper to taste.  Go to your garden or refrigerator and pull out some fresh herbs that you might have on hand.  I like Rosemary, oregano and basil.  Feel free to get funky with your herbs!  Don’t be afraid to try different combinations.  They add so much flavor to your chicken.  I especially love Rosemary on chicken.  Here’s what my olive oil mixture looked like.image

When the chicken is brown, open up the oven and pour the olive oil mixture all over the chicken… Make sure you don’t miss a spot.  Reduce your oven to 275 degrees and bake for another 60 minutes or until the chicken is done and juices run clear.  * Don’t forget to let the chicken rest after taking it out of the oven!  Cover it with tin foil and place a towel on top of that and do not peak for 10 minutes.  This is going to ensure your chicken is juicy and full of flavor.

Serve your chicken with some beautiful asparagus and whole grain couscous and VOILA!  You’ve got a healthy meal that cost less than $12 and only took aroun 2 hours from start to finish.  Now that’s hard to beat!

 

Roasted Chicken
 
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So simple and declious, this roasted chicken will not only feed a large family, but I if you save the leftover bones and skin you can make homemade chicken stock out of it.
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Healthy Eating
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 whole 3 lb chicken, giblets removed
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 5 carrots, chopped
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 T salt
  • Pepper to taste
  • Fresh herbs, chopped, about 1 T or so
Instructions
  1. Preheat your Oven to 500 degrees
  2. Start off by placing all your chopped onion celery and carrots in a small baking dish. (9 x 13 is fine)
  3. If you want to, you can add some olive oil, salt and pepper on top of vegetables, but it isn't necessary
  4. Rinse your chicken and pat dry with paper towels, place on top of the vegetables
  5. Put it all in the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until the chicken starts to brown.
  6. While the chicken roasts, mix together your olive oil, salt and pepper and chopped herbs.
  7. Pour olive oil mixture on top of chicken after the 20 minutes and cover the chicken with it completely.
  8. Reduce your oven temp to 275 degrees and bake for 60 minutes or until chicken is done.
  9. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. To do this simply place aluminum foil on top and a towel on top of that and allow the juices to really sit. This will help it stay moist and delicious

 

Next time I will show you how to make homemade chicken stock from your leftover bones and skin!  It is so simple and easy and again will have your kitchen smelling amazing.

BTW, my 7 year old is a super picky eater and she had seconds of this stuff. If you have a picky eater in your family, serve the chicken with a little bit of honey.  It’s natural and yummy and less calories than ranch.

 

Organic Spinach Salad

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It’s officially summer and all the kids are out of school!  Time to have some healthy ingredients on hand for lunch!  I can’t honestly say all my kids will eat salad (right now only my 3 year old does because she doesn’t know it isn’t cool yet).  This little delicious treat is all for me–and I am proud to say I’ve lost a good amount of weight by eating salads for lunch.  It’s loaded with calcium and vitamins essential for brain function.  I don’t feel sluggish after eating this!  Sometimes I add glazed nuts on top when I’m feeling like a little sugar!

One simple tip with salads:  Always make your own salad dressing!  It’s so simple, all you really need is a nice oil and a nice vinegar like balsamic.  Mix it together with a little sugar or agave and BOOM you have homemade salad dressing that literally just took you a minute to make.

Here’s my favorite balsamic oil right now:

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I just use whatever organic olive oil I can find, usually whatever is available at Sam’s Club.  I find the better balsamic makes a real differences, especially if it’s flavored like this one is—raspberry!

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Organic Spinach Salad
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Handful of organic greens
  • Handful of fresh blueberries, rinsed
  • 1 T pistachios
  • Handful chopped red onion
  • Goat cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
  • Homemade vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar and agave sprinkled with salt and pepper.)
Instructions
  1. Add all your ingredients into your salad bowl except the homemade vinaigrette.
  2. Find a coffee mug, and fill the bottom of the mug with olive oil. (about 2 T). Next cover half of that with balsamic vinager (about 1 T) and last add about 2 t of the agave. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and whisk until it is mixed well. Add right away to your salad and enjoy!
  3. *add cooked/grilled chicken to this for an extra filling lunch