Tuna Chow Mein Casserole Recipe

Looking for a new twist to the traditional tuna noodle casserole? If so, you have got to try my brother's recipe for Tuna Chow Mein Casserole! While it sounds a little strange...it's delicious and very easy to prepare. Even his two teenage picky eater boys will eat this one!

Tuna Chow Mein Casserole Recipe

1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp. green pepper, finely chopped or grated
7 oz. canned tuna fish
10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/3 cups chow mein noodles
3/4 cup salted chopped cashew nuts
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Saute celery, onion and green pepper in 2 tbsp. butter or margarine. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, reserving 1/3 cup of the chow mein noodles.  Pour into a buttered 2 quart casserole baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chow mein noodles.

Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Great served with white or brown rice.

Quick and Easy Natural Microwave Oven Cleaning Tips

If your family is anything like mine...they make a mess every time they use the microwave oven. For some reason they won't grab a paper towel and cover what they are reheating and they certainly do not clean up the splatters. Cleaning up the microwave used to be a real chore for me until I discovered a few quick and easy cleaning solutions.

Tip #1 - Keep after your microwave and don't let those splatters and crusty food drips get out of control. I wipe out my microwave twice a week (Wednesday & Saturdays) and stick to that schedule. If you keep on top of it you won't have to spend an hour cleaning it up.

Tip #2 - Fill a glass bowl with some tap water and add in 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Set your microwave on 50% power and microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. You want the water to get nice & hot and a lot of steam to occur. (plus it will smell good too!). Carefully remove the hot bowl of water from the microwave and set it aside to cool. While it is cooling wipe out your microwave with a clean damp cloth. Once the lemon water has cooled, use it to wipe out the microwave again. Lemon naturally cleans and deodorizes and the steam will loosen up food debris.

Tip #3 - If you have a lot of hard baked on food debris...sprinkle some table salt onto that debris and scrub it off with a clean sponge. The salt acts like a natural abrasive and will loosen it up for you. Then wipe out with your lemon water and let dry.

Tip #4 - When the microwave is really filthy you can sprinkle some baking soda on those tough stains and food debris. Mist the baking soda with some tap water using a spray bottle. Let it sit for several minutes and then use a clean sponge to clean it up. Baking soda will act as a natural abrasive, deodorizer and it can remove stubborn stains.

Tip #5 - I am not a big fan of the smell of vinegar so I usually don't use it. However, My mother makes a spray solution of white vinegar and tap water - 3 to 4 teaspoons of vinegar per spray bottle mixed with tap water and uses that to clean out the inside of her microwave. It works like a charm. Like I said, I just don't care for the smell of vinegar so I rarely use her cleaning method. 

I always finish cleaning up the inside of my microwave with lemon water and then I towel dry or air dry. My microwave smells good and is sparkling clean. At most I spend cleaning my microwave is 5 minutes, twice a week. I don't use any type of chemicals as I don't want that near my family's food.

Spinach Apple and Pear Homemade Juice Recipe

Juice cleansing is all of the rage right now and celebrities have been doing it hot & heavy for the past few years. Even though I have never tried a juice cleanse...I am always looking for healthy juice recipes to make for my family.

 Omega Juicers has teamed up with Leanne Vogel, holistic nutritionist, of Healthful Pursuit to create a simple healthy home juice recipe.

Just looking at this juice makes me feel like it’s working it’s healing magic on me! This recipe will take approximately 10 minutes to prepare and will make one 750ml serving.

Spinach, Apple & Pear Homemade Juice Recipe

1 pear

1 apple

2 cups spinach

1 bunch of kale

1 celery stalk (about 10 sticks with leaves)

1 cucumber

Instructions - If you have a 'low' setting on your juicer, begin with the softer veggies first - spinach, kale and cucumber. Then turn to 'high' and juice the pear, apple, and celery.

New Swagbucks Swag Code for September 20th

Hey everyone -- Swag Code Alert! Here's the new Swag Code available on Swagbucks.com: 



9/20 - ListenUp (4 SB)
10am-11:30am (1pm to 2:30pm EST) on Blog  (US) Facebook (UK/IE, CA)

Make sure to go to Swagbucks.com to get your free Swag Bucks before time runs out! If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online.

In addition to earning Swag Bucks through the Search engine, playing Games, Watching videos, taking Surveys & more, they also like to give out Swag Codes for bonus Swag Bucks. The more Swag Bucks, the more free gifts cards! In fact, Swagbucks.com has helped me pay for my new backyard porch swing, new curtains for my kitchen, a new area rug in our family room and a new comforter for our guest bedroom! I love redeeming the swagbucks that I earn for Amazon.com gift cards!  Don't miss out on all the savings and free rewards -- sign up for Swagbucks here.

New Swagbucks Swag Code for September 19th

Hey everyone -- Swag Code Alert! Here's the new Swag Code available on Swagbucks.com: 



9/19 - LandLubber (5 SB)
3-5pm PDT (6pm to 8pm EST) on Twitter - All except India


Make sure to go to Swagbucks.com to get your free Swag Bucks before time runs out! If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online.

In addition to earning Swag Bucks through the Search engine, playing Games, Watching videos, taking Surveys & more, they also like to give out Swag Codes for bonus Swag Bucks. The more Swag Bucks, the more free gifts cards! In fact, Swagbucks.com has helped me pay for my new backyard porch swing, new curtains for my kitchen, a new area rug in our family room and a new comforter for our guest bedroom! I love redeeming the swagbucks that I earn for Amazon.com gift cards!  Don't miss out on all the savings and free rewards -- sign up for Swagbucks here.

How I Make Over $125 a Month with Swagbucks + My Swagbucks Tips!!!

I have been a member of the online rewards site called Swagbucks for well over a year now. There are many online reward sites that I have participated in online but NONE of them make me as much money as Swagbucks and Swagbucks pays you to do the things that most of us do online!

You can earn rewards (Swagbucks) for taking surveys, answering the daily poll, watching videos on Swagbucks TV, for interacting with brands (companies like following them on Facebook, Twitter or watching a specific brand video), using the Swagbucks search engine to search for things (it's a combination of Google & Bing, so it's a lot better) and you are randomly awarded with Swagbucks on your searches.

There are all kinds of different rewards over there and you can earn rewards for shopping from stores that are affiliated with Swagbucks, playing some FREE online games and all kinds of fun & rewarding things! Hubby and I both love the Swagbucks site!

I am often asked how do I rack up so many Swagbucks in one given month and today...I thought I would share that with all of you.

1. I do the daily poll every day for 1 Swagbuck.

2. I do the daily NOSO offers (just click no and submit) for 2 Swagbucks

3. I play 20 FREE Swagbuck Games and earn a total of 10 Swagbucks every day. You earn 2 Swagbucks per every 2 games you play up to 10 Swagbucks per day.

4. I look through the survey's every day and try to do one of those but I am selective on which ones. I don't have an hour to spend doing survey's so I look for ones that take only 5, 10 or 15 minutes max. You are rewarded various Swagbuck amounts depending on the surveys and for me...that is mostly 50 to 75 Swagbucks per survey. With that said, there are higher paying ones but they are pretty time consuming.

5. Do to my other "real paying" job...I do a lot of keyword searches every day when I am researching topics for my ghostwriting clients or researching topics for my own blogs. I usually earn rewards 2 to 3 times a day by using their search engine and those Swagbuck rewards vary from 6 Swagbucks up to 80 (that was my max).

6. I try to watch a few videos on Swagbuck's TV and for every 10 videos that you watch...you earn 3 Swagbucks! I like watching the cooking ones, home improvement ones and sometimes the ones with current events & the news. You can earn a MAX of 150 Swagbucks every day by spending some time watching the videos.

7. Every day check out the Swagbuck's blog, Facebook & Twitter pages for Swagcodes! That's right..usually once a day but sometimes more...Swagbucks will post a Swagcode and all you have to do is copy & paste that code into the redemption box on the home page and you are rewarding with FREE Swagbacks! Super cool!

8. I print out coupons from the coupon section on the Swagbucks site and take them to my local store. I only print the coupons that I definitely know I will use. You are rewarded a few weeks later with Swagbucks for using each of the coupons that you print & you are saving money on your grocery bill at the same time! It's a win-win for you!

9. When I do get the hankering to purchase something online...I head over to Swagbucks to check out their Shop & Earn section to see if the store is participating and if not...I look for a store that sells similar items. If you are going to buy online...why not earn some Swagbucks in the process? Yay!!! You can really rack up the Swagbucks and in one day alone...I earned close to 1,000 Swagbucks by just going through the Swagbucks site.

10. Click the DISCOVER TAB on the home page and check out some of the Special Offers! You can earn swagbucks for doing all kinds of tasks and you earn them per task you complete. A lot of these tasks are FREE and only take a few minutes to complete!

11. Refer your friends & family members to Swagbucks! Once they join through your referral link you will earn matching Swagbucks when they are rewarded with them for searching (using the Swagbucks) search engine up to 1,000 Swagbucks! Those referral Swagbucks can add up super fast! 

If you are new to Swagbucks...I have a starter deal just for you!!! When you register & sign up for FREE through my referral link in this post you will be given 70 SB instantly when you redeem this code upon registration. The code is TTLM70SB. In addition to the 30 SB you get for filling out your profile, etc., you will start out with 100 SB total just for signing up through me and using the sign-up code -- that's already 1/5 towards your first $5 gift card.

* Make sure when you sign up, you must click on the text “I have a sign up code” (it can be small and hard to see, but definitely look for it!) to put in the code.

I love the Swagbucks site and I do earn quite a bit of money (rewards) for participating. Most of the time I cash in my Swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards but from time to time I also cash them in for direct Paypal.com Deposits. You can get rewarded and earn online too! You can sign up for FREE and get started today! If you have any questions or need any additional tips...just leave a comment here on my blog. You can also follow me on Twitter @ClassyChicShel and tweet at me if you need some help getting started or need additional tips. I am here to help and you too can make a lot of extra money over on Swagbucks!

Disclosure: This post contains my Swagbucks affiliate link.

Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing Casserole Recipe

I love to buy chicken in bulk and then spend one Sunday afternoon cooking it up to use in various recipes throughout the week. On weeks that I do this...one of the recipes that I like to make is this Cheesy Chicken & Stuffing Casserole that my great auntie gave to me about 15 years ago.

The recipe is really easy to prepare and will feed a family of 4 easily. If you have a larger family...you can double the recipe ingredients and use a 4 quart baking dish instead of a 2 quart one that you will need when making it.

Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing Casserole Recipe

4 cooked chicken breasts, bones removed and cut into cubes
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups chicken broth

In a large 2 quart casserole dish, combine all of the above ingredients. Do not need water...the soup should thin down with the addition of the chicken broth.

Topping:

1 cup chicken broth
1 stick butter
10 oz. bag stuffing mix
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine together the chicken broth, butter and stuffing mix. Sprinkle stuffing mixture on top of the ingredients in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese on top of the stuffing.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place baking dish in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

New Swagbucks Swag Code for September 17th

Hey everyone -- Swag Code Alert! Here's the new Swag Code available on Swagbucks.com: 


9/17 - Foliage (6 SB)
9am-10:30am PDT (12pm to 1:30pm EST)  on Blog - All except India and Australia

Make sure to go to Swagbucks.com to get your free Swag Bucks before time runs out! If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online.

In addition to earning Swag Bucks through the Search engine, playing Games, Watching videos, taking Surveys & more, they also like to give out Swag Codes for bonus Swag Bucks. The more Swag Bucks, the more free gifts cards! In fact, Swagbucks.com has helped me pay for my new backyard porch swing, new curtains for my kitchen, a new area rug in our family room and a new comforter for our guest bedroom! I love redeeming the swagbucks that I earn for Amazon.com gift cards!  Don't miss out on all the savings and free rewards -- sign up for Swagbucks here.

Cheesy Haddock Casserole Recipe

Hubby and I have been trying to incorporate more fish into our daily diet and last week we made this Cheesy Haddock Casserole Recipe that we found in an old cookbook from the late 1970's. The casserole was very easy to prepare and once done...delicious!

Homemade Cheesy Haddock Casserole Recipe

1 lb. haddock fillets, cooked & broken up
5 slices of bread, buttered & cubed
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut up
1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1/2 can of milk
2 large eggs, beaten

Optional: dried bread crumbs and shredded cheddar cheese

In a casserole baking dish, combine together the bread, Velveeta cheese, soup, milk and beaten eggs. Stir in the broken-up haddock fish pieces. If desired, you can sprinkle on some dried bread crumbs and shredded cheese onto the top. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place casserole into the oven and bake uncovered for 20 to 22 minutes or until done. Serve immediately. Any leftovers...cover & refrigerate.

Our Annual Family Trip to Wildwood NJ

Every year we go down to Wildwood New Jersey during the month of September and during this particular trip we decided to take the family down with us. We took my mother, my daughter, her fiance, my grand daughter and then hubby and myself were all along for the adventure.

We love the north Wildwood area and it's our favorite area on the Wildwood island. If you are ever visiting the area, I highly recommend that you talk a walk up to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and walk behind it and up onto the sea wall.

Once on the sea wall you will get some spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Inlet and the surrounding areas. In my opinion, this is the prettiest part of the entire Wildwood island and a MUST SEE when visiting. You will find a beautiful white sandy beach, lots of sand dunes and sea grass and if you are really lucky...you will see a few dolphins swimming by. This is where we usually see them swimming when we visit.

There are a lot of things to see and do while visiting Wildwood New Jersey like a day trip to the Cape May County Zoo, a hike at the Nature Conservancy down in Cape May, tour the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse & the Cape May Lighthouse, check out the World War II Lookout Tower & Bunker on the Beach in Cape May and of course make sure you have some amusement ride fun on Morey's Pier.

We are hoping to head back down there in late October for one last visit before the weather here in PA gets really cold and the winter weather moves in. But if not...we will be back down again come May 2014. Yay!

New Swagbucks Swag Code for September 13th

Hey everyone -- Swag Code Alert! Here's the new Swag Code available on Swagbucks.com: 


9/13 - BlackCat (4 SB)
6-8am PDT (9am to 11am EST) on Facebook - All except Australia

Make sure to go to Swagbucks.com to get your free Swag Bucks before time runs out! If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online.

In addition to earning Swag Bucks through the Search engine, playing Games, Watching videos, taking Surveys & more, they also like to give out Swag Codes for bonus Swag Bucks. The more Swag Bucks, the more free gifts cards! In fact, Swagbucks.com has helped me pay for my new backyard porch swing, new curtains for my kitchen, a new area rug in our family room and a new comforter for our guest bedroom! I love redeeming the swagbucks that I earn for Amazon.com gift cards!  Don't miss out on all the savings and free rewards -- sign up for Swagbucks here.

Beautiful Views of the Atlantic Ocean in Wildwood NJ

We were on vacation all of last week and had a wonderful time down at the Jersey Shore....more specifically, in Wildwood New Jersey. We go down to North Wildwood several times every year and just LOVE that area! While the rest of the Wildwood island is pretty, our favorite spots are in North Wildwood.

We love to go onto the beach right behind the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and if you ask me, that is where you get the best views of the Atlantic Ocean. If you love watching sunrises, this is also the best place to catch those while visiting the Wildwood area.

The beach here is pure white...wide and beautiful! You will find a lot of sand dunes, sea grass and if you are a beach comber, you can pick up some seashells too! One of the things I love about this particular area is that you can see the Inlet, a sand dune and then the Atlantic Ocean behind it, as my photo above shows!

You can click on the photo to enlarge it to see the pretty details. If you look really close, you can see some sea gulls on the edge of the water too! We sat on the beach for awhile that day and then got up onto the sea wall and sat on a wooden bench. The ocean & beach views behind the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse are some of the best on the entire Wildwood island.

Well there you have it! My "almost" Wordless Wednesday post for this week. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some additional photos from our vacation. Enjoy!

New Swagbucks Swag Code for September 10th

Hey everyone -- Swag Code Alert! Here's the new Swag Code available on Swagbucks.com: 

9/10 - Skatergirl19 (4SB) 
1-2:30pm PDT (4pm to 5:30pm EST) on Blog - All except India

Make sure to go to Swagbucks.com to get your free Swag Bucks before time runs out! If you don't know about Swagbucks yet, it's the largest rewards website that gives people free gift cards for the things they do online.

In addition to earning Swag Bucks through the Search engine, playing Games, Watching videos, taking Surveys & more, they also like to give out Swag Codes for bonus Swag Bucks. The more Swag Bucks, the more free gifts cards! In fact, Swagbucks.com has helped me pay for my new backyard porch swing, new curtains for my kitchen, a new area rug in our family room and a new comforter for our guest bedroom! I love redeeming the swagbucks that I earn for Amazon.com gift cards!  Don't miss out on all the savings and free rewards -- sign up for Swagbucks here.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub Recipe for Beautiful Skin

I love using homemade recipes for natural bath, body and beauty products and this one from Indie Lee looks fabulous! I am going to go out and get the ingredients tomorrow and try it myself.

I hope you are enjoying these last moments of summer! As the heat comes to an end and you reach for your favorite seasonal latte from Starbucks, let Indie Lee, creator of the eco-chic and all-natural skincare line, soothe your sun drenched skin and give you a flawless fall complexion with her DIY Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub. Inspired by the Indie Lee fan favorite Coconut Citrus Body Scrub, which will be returning to the line in October, this delightful DIY is as good as a slice of pie, but without the calories! Leaving you wrapped in a warm harvest scent, this amazing autumnal scrub will have you relaxed and ready for the crisp months ahead!

Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub Recipe

2 cups organic fine granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup pumpkin pie mix

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients until fully blended. Next add Coconut Oil and Pumpkin Pie mix and blend until smooth (if scrub is too runny, add more sugar). Lastly cover the scrub and let it sit for an hour before indulging in this guilt-free pumpkin polisher.

Hamburger and Rice Casserole Recipe

I love making a variety of casserole dinners for my family and I love making them to give as get well gifts when friends or family are ill. In my opinion, casseroles are always appreciated when someone is not feeling well & it saves them from cooking.

This hamburger and rice casserole is one that I make often for my own family and one that I like to make & give to others. It's really easy to prepare and tastes delicious. If you are pressed for time and want to reduce the cooking time...use cooked rice and bake the casserole for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.

Hamburger & Rice Casserole Recipe

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 cups hot water
2 beef bouillon cubes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Fry up the lean ground beef until it's done, drain away grease. Stir in the onions, carrots and minced garlic, simmer for an additional 3 minutes. In a small bowl, dissolve the beef bouillon cubes in hot water.  In a casserole dish, combine together the ground beef mixture, bouillon mixture, salt, ground black pepper and the rice. Cover baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place casserole dish into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove and serve immediately.