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Guest post from Aliesha of Feathers in Our Nest Restaurant-style fried rice is easy to make at home! It’s a frugal recipe to serve for lunch (or alongside some homemade Asian food) and it is great for incorporating sale produce or using up veggies in your fridge that are about to go bad. This recipe is very flexible – just use what you have on hand and adapt it to your family’s taste preferences. We like to make it using leftover rice from another meal, but you can definitely cook rice specifically for this recipe.
Quick & Easy Fried Rice INGREDIENTS: - 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1-2 cups vegetables, cut in small pieces (such as carrots, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, etc.)
- 4 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce (more or less to taste)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup leftover cooked chicken (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat.Add diced onion and the veggies that take longer to cook (like carrots). Sauté for a few minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add in the other veggies and sauté. Add rice and stir thoroughly and quickly. Pour some soy sauce in and stir. Add more soy sauce until desired flavor is achieved. Using the wooden spoon, make a “hole” in the center of the fried rice, exposing the bottom of the wok. Crack in 2 eggs (depending on the amount of fried rice you’re making) and stir quickly to scramble. Mix in scrambled eggs with the rest of the fried rice. If desired, mix in leftover cooked chicken as well. Taste, and add more soy sauce if desired! Aliesha is a stay-at-home wife and mom with three precious blessings ages three and under. Her blog home is Feathers in Our Nest, where she writes about family, ministry, food, and frugal living. Aliesha loves to read, shop thrift stores, drink coffee, and cook for her "foodie" husband.
Since we’ve moved to Tennessee and restructured the way we do life, I will be honest and tell you that it’s been a challenge for our marriage. It’s brought a lot of new issues to the surface and we’ve had many long, hard talks (and yes, some out-and-out arguments) as a result. As we’ve struggled through together, our marriage has grown and it’s been good. Not easy, mind you, but good. And I know our marriage is going to come out stronger as a result. Working through these things and not giving up until we find resolution and oneness has made me appreciate our marriage even more. Some days, we might be at odds and frustrated with each other, but because we are both committed to our marriage “till death do us part”, these storms are making us stronger instead of ripping us apart. If you’re going through a tough time in your lives right now, I wanted to share five keys that have helped us to have a strong marriage — even during the recent storms of life: 1. Stop Coasting A good marriage doesn’t just happen; it requires a LOT of work and time and effort. Just like you couldn’t expect to build a muscular body without putting in a lot of time weight-lifting, so you can’t expect to have a strong marriage if you’re not constantly building it up. Make time for your spouse. Go throughout your day looking for ways to build up your spouse, encourage your spouse, and love your spouse. If you’re too busy to invest in your marriage, you’re just plain too busy. 2. Don’t Keep It G-Rated Seriously, people. You are supposed to be lovers, not roommates. Act like it.  Look for ways to keep the spark alive. Flirt with your spouse. Whisper sweet-nothings. Think about what you used to do when you were dating, engaged, and newlyweds and bring some of that romance back into your marriage. Truly, what happens in the bedroom will affect just about every other area of your life. In most cases, if you make romance a priority, it will clear up a host of other problems and issues. Need some encouragement and practical advice in this area? I highly recommend reading Sheet Music, Red Hot Monogamy, and Rekindling the Romance. 
3. Find the Good and Praise It There are always a host of things we can point out, pick at, nag, and criticize. If we spend all our time focused on that, we’ll be frustrated with how far short our spouse is falling from where we want them to be. On the flip side, there are always, always, always good things to praise. Become a noticer of the good. Go throughout your day looking for things to be thankful for about your spouse. These could be little, everyday things or big, major things. The more you focus on the good, the more good you’ll probably see. 4. Ask Forgiveness Often A good marriage is built around a lot of humility and the ability to say, “I was wrong, will you forgive me?” Those are hard words to say, but they are necessary. We all make mistakes. We all say words we shouldn’t say. We all respond in anger at times. When that happens, be willing to admit you are wrong. Don’t stuff things and just try to be extra nice to make up for your short-comings. In addition, don’t blame your spouse. Owning our own mistakes and apologizing for them is the first step in restoration. 5. Learn Their Love Language While I don't like to box people into specific categories, every person has a unique love language — the way they feel most loved. If you're unfamiliar with the five love languages, they are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. In many cases, you'll be a mix of a few of these, but you'll almost always have one that is dominant. If you're not sure what you love language is, you can take this quiz here (and be sure to have your spouse take it, too!) Once you know what someone else's love language is, it really helps you to be able to demonstrate love in a manner that means the most to them. For instance, my dominant love language is Words of Affirmation. It means the world to me when Jesse tells me how much he appreciates me and how proud he is of me. This speaks love to me much more than buying something for me does. Jesse's love language is quality time. It's very important to him that we spend time together and just be together — without me acting rushed or like I'm busy. As a Type A person who does not have the love language of quality time, it's been a learning experience for me to figure out that just being with him is extremely meaningful to him. It’s taken us years to figure these things out about each other, but as we’ve put forth effort to learn each other’s love language and to be intentional about expressing it, our marriage has grown much stronger. And it’s been every bit worth the effort! 
What are some ways that you have found help keep your marriage strong? Note: This post was written for couples who are in healthy relationships where both parties love each other and want to work on issues together and personally. If your spouse is abusive, please, please, please don’t hide the abuse out of fear or let your spouse convince you it’s your fault. Get help immediately. 
Who wants to win a FREE Photo Canvas from Easy Canvas Prints?? I LOVE custom photo canvasses! They are such a fun way to capture a beautiful picture and have it hanging on your wall as a constant reminder of a special memory. Easy Canvas Prints offered me the opportunity to have a photo made into a canvas. I chose this one of my husband and me. I’m so happy with how it turned out and also am very impressed with the quality of the canvas.  Easy Canvas Prints also offers the option to turn your Instagram photos into a custom canvas, too.
Would you like to win a free custom canvas? Just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. Two winners will be chosen and posted next week. This giveaway ends Sunday, August 3, at 11:59 pm, CST. 
We are going to be traveling some over the next couple of weeks, so my grocery spending was lower this week because we won’t be eating every meal at home. This gives us some wiggle room to eat out when we’re on the road. And… to be perfectly honest, I am guessing there will be at least one impromptu grocery shopping trip made by my husband and children at some point before we leave to buy “necessities” for our vacation. That kind of grocery trip is funded straight from the “splurge” fund, and my husband has strict instructions to put the receipt somewhere that I will never, EVER see it. :) 
Fresh Produce from a Friend’s Garden — Free! 
Harris Teeter 1 gallon milk – $2.97 2 16-oz packages Mueller’s Pot-Sized Spaghetti (B1G1 @ $1.75) – $1.75, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled) - FREE after coupons (I actually got overage, making these a $1.25 MM, but that was because the coupons beeped and my cashier manually entered them in!) 2 Head & Shoulders Shampoo (@$5.00 each) – $10.00, used $5/2 Head & Shoulders Full Size Product, exp. 8/10/14 (P&G 07/27/14), plus $5/2 Harris Teeter evic - FREE after coupons 2 16-oz Kraft Salad Dressings (@$2.00 each) – $4.00, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled), plus $1.00/2 Harris Teeter evic - FREE after coupons 2 boxes Kelloggs Rice Krispies cereal (@$1.99 each) – $3.98, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled) from Kellogg’s Family Rewards – $0.49 each after coupons 4 cans Ortega Green Chilies (@4/$3.00) – $3.00, used 2 $1.00/2 printable - $0.25 each after coupons 9 cans Chicken of the Sea Light Tuna (B1G1 @ $1.29) – $5.80, used 3 $0.75/3 printables (doubled) from here and here - $1.30/9 cans after coupons 2 8-oz containers Land O’ Lakes Butter with Canola Oil (@$1.50 each) – $3.00, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.50 each after coupons Total after Sales, Tax and Coupons: $6.70 
Aldi 2 bags Carrots (@$0.69/each) – $1.38 1 pint Blueberries -$1.49 I package Sweet Mini Peppers -$2.29 2 packages Mushrooms (@$0.79/each) – $1.58 1 package Romaine Hearts – $1.99 1 head Cabbage – $1.29 1 package Zucchini – $1.29 1 carton Egg Whites – $1.99 1 bunch Bananas (@$0.49/lb) – $1.63 1 package (32-oz) Brown Rice – $1.29 Total: $16.22 
CVS 1 Dawn Dish Detergent – $0.99, used a $1.00 off any 9-oz Dawn CVS email I received - FREE after coupon 3 jars Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (@3/$5.00) – $5.00, used $0.40/2 Ragu Product, exp. 8/24/14 (RP 07/27/14 #2) – $4.60/3, plus receive $3 ECB 2 bottles Seltzer Water (@$1.00 each) – $2.00 used $3 ECB from a previous shopping trip, plus $3 complimentary ECB sent to me from CVS Beauty Rewards Club for my birthday Total after Sales, Tax and Coupons: $0.60, plus receive $3 ECB back 
Farm Market 1 head Reduced Cauliflower – $0.99 Fresh Local Peaches (@$0.99/lb) – $3.14 Total: $4.13 Weekly Total: $27.65 Menu Plan for This Week Breakfasts Cereal, Oatmeal, Eggs and Toast, Smoothies (using frozen fruit), Veggie Omelettes Lunches Tuna Sandwiches/Bananas/Carrot Sticks; Cheese Quesadillas/Cucumber Slices/Cantaloupe; Macaroni and Cheese/Peaches; Build-Your-Own-Salad Bar; Stir-Fry Veggies and Rice; PB&J Sandwiches/Blueberries/Pepper Slices Dinners Burritos (using homemade tortillas and ground venison for the taco meat), Green Rice, Sliced Peaches Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Baked Potatoes, Steamed Carrots, Easy Whole Wheat Muffins Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole, Sauteed Zucchini, Tomato and Cucumber Salad Breakfast for Dinner: Best Ever Blueberry Muffins, Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Hashbrowns Spaghetti, Dill Bread, Tossed Salad, Green Beans Leftovers | 
