OK, as you may or may not already know, I am a little challenged when it comes to taking care of my house. Or cooking. In this section, I will share tips and links to products that make my life MUCH easier.

This month's tip is about Swiffer. If you aren't already a Swiffer user, I highly suggest you check them out next time you are shopping.

Swiffer has a ton of products to make life easier. My favorite is the Wet Jet. Now, contrary to popular wives tales, it DOES NOT harm your pets. Unless you let them drink it, which I know you won't do.

The Wet Jet allows you to quickly spray and clean your floors. Our house has a ton of tile and I have issues with washing the floor on my hands and knees a la Cinderella style. The Wet Jet allows me to regularly clean up my floors. Now, it doesn't give you a deep down clean, but it will look clean on the surface, which is better than what I had without it.

If you visit the Swiffer website here you can get a coupon for $5 off a starter kit. Once you have the basic set it's pretty cheap to buy the solution for it.

My next purchase will be the dusters - we have a ceiling fan in each room and since I am only 5' 2" I don't get up there to clean them as often as I should.

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If you have a DC tip to share, please email me. If I use your tip in the newsletter, you will win a free copy of my book Domestically Challenged!

I am a sucker for any recipe that has the word "easy" in it, so this month I am including two recipes from my favorite recipe site - All Recipes. If you join their community, you can save your favorite recipes, which is handy when you are always misplacing papers.

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Easy Beef Stroganoff

INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces fresh mushrooms,
sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
2 pounds lean ground beef
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles, cooked and drained

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onions in 2 tablespoons of butter until soft; remove from pan.

3. Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook ground beef in melted butter until browned. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook all until slightly thickened. Stir in mushrooms and onion mixture and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling. Serve sauce over egg noodles.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2005 Allrecipes.com

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Easy Chicken Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup salsa
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast meat 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
6 (6 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese and salsa. Cook, stirring until melted and well blended. Stir in chicken and pinto beans. Fill tortillas with the mixture, roll and place into the prepared baking dish. Spread cheese over the top. Cover with aluminum foil.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with your favorite toppings such as lettuce and tomatoes, or sour cream.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2005 Allrecipes.com

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If you try out these recipes, let me know how they work for you at info@alanamorales.com.

As a work at home mom, one of the things I have had the most trouble doing is taking time for myself. As I write this, my husband is playing golf in Las Vegas. Moms typically don't take off for weekend trips like this. That doesn't mean we shouldn't - we just don't.

Lately my release has been reading. I have read 5 books for 2006 already and that comes with a fair amount of sleep loss.

As moms, whether we work outside the house or at home, we all need to take time for ourselves.

My challenge to you is to think of an activity to do once a week, just for yourself. It doesn't have to cost money, it just needs to be for you. You could go to a movie, read a book or magazine, take a bubble bath, do some yoga, scrapbook - the list goes on.

Let me know how you do with this month's challenge at info@alanamorales.com. Next month I will share how some readers took time for themselves.