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Easy mid-week meal | Sausage Gumbo Recipe

As a busy mom, I do what I can to take the occasional shortcut at mealtime to help give myself a break. I cook dinner 5-6 times a week and sometimes I want to go with something quick. One of my go-to meals is a simple Sausage Gumbo. I have made traditional gumbo before and it took 2 hours! With this recipe, you don't need a lot of ingredients and the entire meal takes under 30 minutes to cook from start to finish.
All you need is:
1 package sausage of your choice
1& 1/2 cans of stewed tomatoes
1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn
1 bag of frozen cut okra
1/2 bag of frozen onion and pepper blend or you can use fresh if you want (frozen cuts out chopping time)
Ketchup
Sugar (optional)
Sriracha (optional)
Dried seasonings of your choice. I use my usual ones.
Rice of your choice (I use Jasmine)

I start off by putting my rice on to cook. Usually by the time it is done, the rest of the meal will be close to being finished. Next, I slice the sausage in circles and toss them in a heated pan with just a touch of oil. Brown the sausage to your liking and add in stewed tomatoes, okra, corn, onion and pepper mix and about 1/4 cup of ketchup. I add some dried seasonings at this point but avoid too much salt. I add a pinch or two of sugar and a few squirts of sriracha to balance it out. Now add some water. The amount will depend on how soupy you want your sauce. Usually around 3/4 cup works. Now you just simmer on medium heat until the okra gets tender. Taste for any additional seasonings and you are done! You can even add shrimp or chicken if you want to.

I like to bake some corn muffins sometimes and eat the gumbo as a soup without the rice. It's light yet filling and the family loves it.
Shelly, Mom Files
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Old Orchard Juices and Teas Review & Coupon Giveaway {5 winners}

Are you looking for ways to save on giving your family juice and drinks and not sacrifice quality and taste? Old Orchard frozen juice and tea concentrates might be the answer you are looking for.
Old Orchard offers many flavors to choose from including Southern Style Sweet Tea, Classics like Grape, Apple, Pineapple and Orange, as well as a variety of juice blends. I found the Old Orchard frozen concentrates at my local Walmart. There were so many to choose from! I picked out the Sweet Tea and the 100% Juice in Pineapple Orange. I really love the convenience of having a frozen concentrate for those times that we run out of drinks. The plastic containers can be microwaved if you are in a rush and recycled. Of course you can't go wrong with having less packaging. I plan to save the containers to use as seed starter pots for my Spring planting.

I mixed up the Pineapple Orange juice as directed on the container and enjoyed a glass of it with my breakfast this morning. For those calorie conscious folks, each serving of Old Orchard drinks have only 90 calories. Not bad at all! The taste? Absolutely delicious. I will have to keep a half dozen of assorted flavors in my freezer at all times. To find a store near you that carries Old Orchard frozen juice, go here. Stay connected with Old Orchard on Facebook and Twitter.

I have a set of 4 coupons for any variety of teas or juices for 5 Momfiles readers to win. Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on February 14, 2013. Five winners will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

Old Orchard provided me with coupons for FREE products in exchange for a product review. All thoughts/opinions expressed here are my own, as always.

Shelly, Mom Files
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The pros and cons of making a will online


With the prolific rise of the internet, it is possible to buy practically anything from the comfort of your own home. And it’s not just useful for its ability to allow you to buy a new pair of shoes or a new handbag; the World Wide Web has also paved the way for people to create legal documents online and even make a will.

Creating wills online is a modern phenomenon and being so new many people have concerns and reservations about the validity of creating a will via the internet. If you are thinking of making your will online as opposed to going to a bricks and mortar solicitor, you may want to take a look at the following pros and cons of online wills.

Less expensive
Making a will on the internet is considerably less expensive than having it made out by a professional solicitor. An online company that specialises in creating wills will generally charge a one-off fee for the service which would work out significantly cheaper than having a solicitor create the document as they usually charge by the hour at quite a hefty rate.
Further savings can be made when writing a will online as many companies offer discounts to people who get their friends and family signed up for the service too.

Quicker
It can take several months for a solicitor to draw up a will for you. Using the internet for the service can significantly reduce that amount of time, and you can even have a documented will and testament in as little as 15 minutes. Whilst this is only a sample will, and may need to be taken to a solicitor’s office to be verified, the bulk of the work will be done saving you time and money.

Less security
One of the main reasons we create a will is for peace of mind. It is important to remember that if a will has been created by somebody who is not deemed mentally capable then it is not legally valid. In this sense it is perhaps safer to personally interact with a professional solicitor to give you that additional peace of mind but many online services offer phone helplines and other services to help bridge this gap.

Shelly, Mom Files
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I'm a Smooth Fitness Ambassador #SmoothBlogger

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to announce that I am an official Smooth Fitness Ambassador. I will be receiving a new treadmill very soon to keep and review. Me and my husband have been talking about getting one for months now so this is perfect timing for us! I am not a big fan of working out in front of other people so the gym membership we had was wasted. This treadmill will be a great asset to our family.  

I will be posting about my family's experiences using our new treadmill over the course of the next four months. Each of us have our own fitness goals. My daughters want to keep their bodies conditioned for the sports season, my husband needs to lose some weight and I need to build up my strength. I turn 40 this year and really need to step my fitness game up. Here is what our folding treadmill will look like... 
I can't wait to share the details of this gorgeous machine and look forward to answering your questions as well. Connect with Smooth fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.
Shelly, Mom Files
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