Today, for our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing celebrated our Grandparents. Grandparents Day is this Sunday, 9/10.
The show hosts shared how their grandparents impacted their lives.
The Morning Thing Friday Favorites – we LOVE our Grandparents
The 2023 Fredericktown Tomato Show is this week!
WNZR is going “On The Road with Big Blue” this week to the Fredericktown Tomato Show!
Join us for 4 days of family fun! This year’s theme is “Sweet Home Fredericktown”.
The Morning Thing spoke with several board members about this year’s event. Listen in to the conversations below.
– We talked with Chris Well about Little Miss Tomato contest, entertainment and the annual Plate Auction.
– Kyle Lepley also shared how this year’s Plate Auction is on Saturday at 7:30pm. 10 limited, hand-painted edition plates are auctioned off to benefit the fair. This year the plate features Bonhomie Acres Pure Ohio Maple Syrup. The plate features the “sugar house” from a 1964 photo when the Brown families tapped about 1,000 trees to produce maple syrup o the farm.
– Carol Ruggles talked about this year’s Kids Parade on Thursday at 6:30pm
– Lesley Ruggles shared details about the annual Baby Crawling Contest, Friday at 6pm
– Cale Grubb talked about Big Wheel Races, Rids and the many choices of FOOD!
Click HERE for a full schedule for the 2023 Fredericktown Tomato Show.
Click HERE for details on Big Blue’s visit to Fredericktown.
Click HERE to register for prizes with WNZR!
Got tomatoes? We have recipes!
Today, The Morning Thing celebrated the start of the 2023 Fredericktown Tomato Show. In honor of all those wonderful tomatoes from your garden, we shared some yummy recipes to try in your kitchen.
Click HERE to see 18 simple recipes from growjourney.com that will help you use up the tomatoes.
Here are some of our favorites:
Classic tomato salsa
Ingredients:
*Makes a little over 2 cups of salsa, or four servings.
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (~1 lb)
- 1/2 cup diced red onions
- hot pepper to taste, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- juice from half of a lime
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed (or you can use fresh cilantro to taste)
- cumin to taste
- sea salt to taste
- Blend all ingredients until there’s an even consistency, then serve at room temperature. Or chill first, then serve if you prefer cold salsa.
Greek-style tomato cucumber salad
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup cucumbers, sliced thin and into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, freshly crumbled from block
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- sea salt to taste
Instructions:
Combine ingredients. Chill or serve fresh at room temperature. Stores for ~12 hours in fridge before the tomatoes lose their fresh tomato texture.
Savory tomato soup
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds fresh tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup chicken or veggie stock
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt to taste
Instructions:
- Dice onions then saute in pan with olive oil until lightly browned. Put onions in blender with chopped tomatoes and blend until smooth. Keep the skins on your tomatoes – a little extra fiber is good for you!
- Place onion-tomato blend in sauce pan and add stock. Bring to boil, stirring to make sure soup doesn’t stick. Then turn to low and let simmer until enough water has evaporated for soup to be desired thickness. (This will vary depending on the water content of the tomato varieties used.)
Fire-roasted (or oven-roasted) tomato sauce
Oven-roasting tomato sauce has a more nuanced flavor than tomato sauce that’s simply been cooked on a stovetop. And it uses a lot of tomatoes!
For this recipe you can either roast your tomatoes in a conventional oven or over a grill.
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs fresh tomatoes
- 2 large yellow or white onions, diced
- 10 cloves garlic, diced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons fresh diced rosemary
- 5 tablespoons fresh diced thyme
- 3 tablespoons fresh diced oregano
- 3 tablespoons fresh diced basil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. (Or get your grill hot, if you’re going with fire-roasted tomatoes.)
- Slice tomatoes in half then face them sliced-side up on a covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. If using a grill, just place tomatoes face up on grate.
- Bake until skins and tops have begun to brown/caramelize. Remove from oven then let cool.
- In sauce pan, saute onion in olive oil until translucent, then add diced garlic (garlic cooks much more quickly than onions so don’t add at same time). Cook until slightly browned.
- Put garlic/onion mixture plus roasted tomatoes into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into saucepan and add diced herbs.
- Bring to boil, then turn down to low and let simmer 30 minutes. Can or freeze extra.
Lori Jones-Perkins updates us on the United Way of Knox County’s 2023 Campaign
The new Executive Director of the United Way of Knox County, Lori Jones-Perkins, gives us some details about the 2023 United Way Campaign. Their goal this year is to raise 1 million dollars to support the education, finances, and health of our community. She tells us about the events the United Way has planned, and she gives us details on how to give. Lori also encourages new donors!
Go to the United Way of Knox County’s website to learn more!
The TAC Color for a Cause Race is Tomorrow 9/2!
WNZR joins KSAAT (the Knox Substance Abuse Action Team) and New Directions of Knox County to support the 2023 Teen Advisory Council’s Color for a Cause Race.
Have the time of your life with your family, friends, and/or co-workers. The Color for a Cause Race is hosted by the Teen Advisory Council and takes place at Ariel Foundation Park in Mount Vernon.
This event is all about fun, family, friends, and healthy lifestyles! Join the TAC for a little exercise and lots of colorful FUN! Your day will consist of a 3.1 mile run/walk or a 1-mile run/walk through Ariel Foundation Park as colorful, washable powder flies. Cross the finish line colored like a rainbow to get your medal!
Check-in is at the Park National Bank Pavilion. All pre-registrations will receive a white t-shirt, race number, finisher medal, and most importantly, Color Run Swag!
Join the fun at Ariel Foundation Park! Registration and packet pick-up begins at 4 p.m., and the race begins at 5:30 p.m. A Kids Fun Run will take place at 5 p.m.
WNZR will broadcast from 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
TAC, the Teen Advisory Council is hosting the event. All proceeds will benefit TAC, Knox County’s youth-led prevention group. The Teen Advisory Council focuses on preventing unhealthy behaviors among Knox County youth before they begin. TAC students from all Knox County schools plan and execute prevention projects. They actively work to end teen dating violence and sexual violence, as well as the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and substance use among peers. TAC members are ambassadors of healthy, safe, equal, and non-violent relationships among their peers and in the community.
Registration pricing options are:
Individual (Ages 13+) – $30
Individual (Ages 5 – 12): $10
Kids 4 and under are FREE
The Kids Fun Run is FREE Team of 4 – $100 through Race Day Team of 10+ – $15 per runner through Race Day
(Children under 12 must be accompanied by a participating adult)
Online registration is available HERE
Remember to wear white clothes because there will be multiple color stations!
Call New Directions at 740-397-4357 with questions.
WNZR talked with Libby Barteau, TAC Advisor about this year’s Color for a Cause Race on Saturday 9/2!
MVNU goes “Back to School” for September First Friday
Downtown Mount Vernon will be busy with activities tonight (9/1). Don’t miss the Back-to-School Celebration for September First Friday!
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is joining in the back-to-school celebration with a department and organization fair on West Gambier Street. Be sure to stop by to participate in activities and learn more about all the great things students and faculty are doing in our community!
Click HERE to find out more information about September First Friday.
Click HERE to find out more about Mount Vernon Nazarene Univesity. (Check out the NEW website)!
The Morning Thing shared conversations with 3 MVNU Faculty members about the activities planned for tonight.
– Dr. Rachel Young, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Traditional Social Work Program Director & Department Chair and GPS Social Work Program Coordinator
– Dr. Jessica Grubaugh, Associate Dean for the Jetter School of Professional Studies
– Dr. Dora Hawthorne, Professor of English and Chair of the English and History Departments
September First Friday is tonight (9/1) in downtown Mount Vernon!
WNZR is excited to be part of September First Friday tonight! Our Big Blue Crew will be on-site sharing updates and giving away WNZR goodies.
Please stop by our location, near the MVNU Dog Fountain, and register for our special “Clean Up, Drink Up, and Frame Up” prize basket featuring:
· An entire house cleaning from Carefree Cleaning Company. Amy McDougale gives you 4 hours of house cleaning (Valued at $120)
· One $15.00 gift card to Happy Bean Coffee Shop
· An 8 X 10 color portrait from Seavolt’s Studio Photography (Valued at $150)
Plus, WNZR goodies including an “On the Road with Big Blue” t-shirt, NIV Bible, coasters, cups, micro-fiber cloths, hand fans, Frisbees, guitar flyswatter, magnets, chip clips, and more!
The prize package is valued at over $300!
Experience Mount Vernon Board Member, Lisa Lloyd, shared highlights of the event with The Morning Thing. She talked about the “Back to School” Theme, food choices, and parking options. She also shared special thanks to the sponsors for September.
Click HERE for all the details about September First Friday.
Click HERE to stay connected and up to date on Experience Mount Vernon and all the upcoming acitivies in downtown Mount Vernon.
The Morning Thing Friday Favorites 9/1/23 – Forgiveness
Today for our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing celebrated National Forgiveness Day. The hosts shared about a time when they experienced forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Making the most of mealtime with your family
Did you know that families who eat a meal together are happier and healthier? Perdue University’s Extension Nutrition Education Program encourages families to make mealtime family time as you cook, eat, and talk together! This can build your family’s relationship, promote healthy eating, foster your children’s sense of family stability, save money, develop everyone’s cooking skills, help your children develop important social skills, and even let everyone try new foods.
Click HERE to learn more from Perdue University Extention Nutrition Program.
Need some cheap and easy dinner ideas for your family? We shared some recipes from Country Living. They include pictures of every recipe so you can see what amazing food you can make You may even have some of these ingredients in your pantry now so you could even try one tonight!
Click HERE for 68 cheap dinner ideas for families from Country Living.
Would you like to save money for your family?
Today on The Morning Thing, we talked about money. If your family is like ours, you are always looking for money saving tips. Today, we shared multiple ways to stay on the family budget.
Check out the full article HERE.
17 Money-Saving Tips for Families on a Budget
1. Make a Family Budget Together
2. Trim Your Family’s Grocery Bill
Some of the ways you can trim your spending on food include:
- Making a Shopping List. A shopping list saves money by helping you avoid buying products you don’t need. The simplest way is to track consumables as you use them. Keep a magnetic notepad on the fridge and jot down what you need as you run out. If you’ve got an Apple HomePod or Amazon Echo device, you can also create shopping lists by voice command.
- Reading Sales Flyers. Review each store’s flyer and match what’s on sale with what’s on your list or plan meals around sale items. Or you can download Flipp to see sales flyers and make grocery lists by tapping to add sale items on the flyer to your list. It’s sometimes more cost-effective to visit multiple stores in one week to get the lowest prices possible.
- Using a Cash-Back App. Install a receipt-scanning app such as Fetch Rewards or Ibotta on your smartphone to take advantage of cash-back offers from grocery and discount stores. After grocery shopping, scan your receipts, and the app applies any special offers to your account.
- Starting to Meal-Plan. Meal planning is deciding what you’ll eat for all or most meals for the week so you always have food ready to go. It helps you avoid last-minute fast-food runs, maximize your purchases (so you waste and spend less), and even eat healthier on a budget.
- Avoiding Grocery Shopping When Hungry or Stressed. Hunger and stress can make you do strange things, like buying lots of chocolate or gimmicky processed foods. Plan to go to the store when you’re well-fed and relaxed. That way, you can stick to your list and not overspend on food you don’t need.
- Trying a Pantry Challenge. Part of saving money on groceries is making sure your family consumes everything you purchase. Every month or so, hold a pantry challenge during which you use up as many pantry goods as possible before you shop again. A pantry challenge cuts down on waste and lets you get a sense of how much you’re overbuying.
- Reducing Waste. A 2020 study published in the Nutrition Journal found that the average American spends $1,300 on wasted food each year. Adopting better grocery shopping habits is one way to cut back on wasted food and money. Make a list of everything you throw out without using, such as spoiled leftovers or soggy lettuce, to get a sense of the full scale of the issue.
3. Never Pay Full Price on Products and Services
4. Cut Back on Subscriptions
5. Negotiate With Your Service Providers
6. Save Energy at Home
Some energy-saving habits to teach your family include:
- Turning Off the Water. Teach your kids to turn off the water when they’re brushing their teeth or washing dishes rather than letting it run. You can make it easy for them to remember by putting little stickers on the wall or mirrors near the sinks.
- Switching Off Lights and Devices. Another way to lower energy costs is to turn things off when no one’s using them. For example, turn off lights and televisions when they’re not in use. Put little notes by light switches to remind your kids (and adults) to flip the switch as they leave a room.
- Adjusting the Thermostat. Teach your children the value of putting on a sweater when it’s cold out and wearing shorts and T-shirts when it’s warm. You can also set thermostat rules to ensure no one turns it up or down too much. A smart thermostat learns your family’s habits and can start to adjust itself, saving you money on bills. You can also program the thermostat to save even more. You can find models for less than $100.
7. Buy Reusable Goods
8. Go Thrifting
9. Hold a Swap
10. Get Stuff for Free
11. Get Deals on Gifts
12. Save on Parties and Celebrations
13. Take Advantage of Free Entertainment
14. Visit Your Library
15. Make It a Staycation
16. Right-Size Your Home
17. Sign Up for a Rewards Credit Card
WNZR encourages you to use this fabulous resource – Crown.org
Crown Financial Ministries offers budget calculators and tools, online courses and credit counselors to help you with your finances.
WNZR shares their feature My Money Life each weekday at 3:50pm.
You can listen to tips and insights from Chuck Bentley on how to manage your money life while still living on a budget!
Rise and Shine 