The Operations Feed the Family and Keep the Family Happy reached an all-time low over the past few weeks. I literally was stopping by the grocery store daily to pick up a bag of some variety of frozen, pre-cooked chicken product because there was literally nothing else in the house that Ty was supposed to be eating–and even these were sketchy. The chorus of my other children was, “We’re EVEN out of (insert some basic household staple)!”

In my defense, I was pre-occupied with getting a new project to support adoptive and foster moms ready to pre-launch. And there’s a freezer full of grass-fed, local, free-range ground beef downstairs that someone could’ve done something with. No one needed to starve.

So real quick, the project is called The Adoption Connection, and it’s a podcast by and for adoptive and foster moms. I found out this year that I love the podcasting medium, but it kind of lacked direction. What I hear most from you all are questions about adoptive parenting and my experience as an adult adoptee. So, I partnered with my friend, Lisa Qualls at One Thankful Mom, who is also an adoptive mom, but also a birth/first mom. Between the two of us, we represent all sides of the adoption triad.  We make a stellar team and are fully committed to being a resource you can count on.

No worries. I will continue to write here and bring you must-read content like how to keep your family happy when you don’t want to cook.

My secret?

Bacon.

I bake it, so it literally takes less than 5 minutes of the precious time that I’d rather be using to scroll through Instagram help adoptive and foster mamas.

Just follow these simple steps.

1. Buy bacon every time you find yourself in a grocery store.

2. Line a shallow pan with foil. I use a metal jelly roll pan. (Yes, that’s an affiliate link. How else will I fund this bacon madness?)

3. Lay out the bacon in a single layer.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until desired crispiness.

5. Drain bacon on a paper towel.

6. Leave on counter.

7. Say ,”Yes,” whenever someone asks for a piece. (Yes, you can sneak trust-based parenting tactics in anywhere!)

Notice that the complaints about the lack of milk, cereal, cheese, bread, deli meat, etc. seem wonderfully absent.

If you’re starting to feel twitchy about summer (despite the bacon tip), you can find more great tips in my book 5 Tips to Save Your Summer which you can get by clicking here and clicking the orange button that says, “Get Your FREE Summer Survival Book.”

Go! Make people happy!