Meal Plan Monday 14

Here's this weeks meal plan.
Since the weather was so nice last night we didn't have beef stew, we decided to splurge and grill out some steaks.

Monday- Beef Noodle Soup
Tuesday- Fried Chicken
Wednesday-Inside Out PotPie
Thursday- Pork Chops

Friday- Stromboli
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday-Salmon Fillets

If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Sunday Funday

Today my sweet hubby, our puppy, and I went to the Flea Market.  I have blogged about the glorious finds at the flea market before, today was no exception.  As we were walking through I noticed this horrible, hideous chest/trunk contraption.  It was sea foam green (which is a color I love, but not this particular shade) and it had the worlds ugliest fabric on top.  But I saw something that could be beautiful.  I went over to it and lifted the lid, it was in great shape!  The man came by and my hubs asked the price, $30.  Serial?  No one in their right mind would pay $30 for that hunk of junk.  Told him we would think about it and left.

We continued walking around the flea market and the conversation went a little like this:

Me:  Do you know what I could do with that?  I could make it into something beautiful.
Hubs: I am going to offer him $15 dollars for it.
Me: Good good, insult the man and we can get it for $20.
Hubs:  Yes, that's about right.

So we went back to the man, and sure enough it was still there.  So hubs offers $15 for the trunk and the man grabs his chest.  Haha!  He said, "I'll let you have it for $20"  SOLD!

So here it is, in all its seafoamy glory in my garage.  Just wait until you see what I come up with...

Girly Baby Shower

Helped with a baby shower today, I love hosting/helping with parties.  I was told today that I should hire myself out to do these kinda things, Oh what a dream come true that would be!!!  Here are a few pictures of the event.

First I will start with this cute little clothesline that I did.  I've seen a semi-similar idea online somewhere (sorry, I can't remember where) and I took it and ran with it.  I appliqued the onesies, one with a mermaid, and one with a T for Taylor.  I filled in the gaps with little sock, a bib, and little baby caps.  I think it turned out super cute and is in the vault for use at other showers.  Plus, it is a sweet gift for the mom to be at the end of the shower.  

Here is the gift table with all the presents!  I won't lie that the presents that are not it baby themed or colored gifts bags or wrapping paper bother the OCD part of me (which is most all of me).  This is where my grandma would smack me and say, a gift is a gift and you should be thankful for it.  She is right, as usual. :)  She also doesn't understand why I have a gift wrapping station, but that is for another day...

Going along with decorations that double as presents is the diaper wreath that I made.  I love this idea and this is the second diaper wreath I've made.  Basic idea is taking a wreath ring and wrapping it with diapers (totally usable when taken apart).  I then attached little pink baby items such as, socks, rattles, binkies, powder, lotion and a sweet little T for Taylor, the baby's name.  This is also the first bow I've ever made, so I am pretty proud of that.

Now for the food.  Yes, it was delicious and if it wasn't for my niece I wouldn't have gotten to try any (she made me a plate when things were running out)!  So anyways we served Chicken Salad with crackers, a cheeseball, a veggie tray, pickles *the mom-to-be's favorite*, nuts, cake squares, pimento cheese sandwiches, and my almost famous black bean salsa.  The day I was given that recipe was a glorious day!  You can see the diaper wreath above the table and my attempt to cover a switch box and pole.  I swear I would like to hurt the person who decided that the middle of the focus wall would be a great place to put that... Once again, that's the OCD in me shining through...  And finally we come to the punch.  This is the most wonderful slushy punch recipe that I found online and have tweaked to perfection!  I love doing that, finding recipes and adding/removing ingredients to make it your own.  I think people went back for fifths on the punch, the double batch we made left it a huge hurry!  I only got one little glass, thanks again to my niece!

All in all the shower was a huge success!

Friday Favorite 13

Party planning.  I love hosting parties of any description.  I am helping with a baby shower for my sweet cousin tomorrow and it has been a lot of fun for me coming up with ideas and recipes to use. 

A few sites that I love to look for party ideas are:  Celebrations at Home, Kara's Party Ideas, Party Perfect, Reluctant Entertainer, and Stem.

Stay tuned and I will post pictures on Saturday after the shower of all the sweet little girl goodness we came up with :)

Under the Weather

I'm still a bit under the weather, getting better but I slept most of the day away... felt good.  When I wasn't sleeping I was indulging in my favorite networks:

and

I could watch hours upon hours of both of these... Some of my favorites are: Design on a Dime, and Paula Deen.  Oh, and I watched the Price is Right (I miss Bob Barker) and Oprah (David Arquette is insane).  All in all a very restful day, back to the grind tomorrow but at least its Friday!!!

Tuesday Tip 13

This is going to be a quick little post, as I am not feeling very well :(

This is a neat little trick to use when ordering things on Amazon.com that have free super saver shipping.  The catch, you have to spend $25 to get it.  Usually not a hard task, but if you are just a dollar or two short, this website shows you what items you can add to your cart to get free shipping!

Amazon Filler Item Finder

Meal Plan Monday 13

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- Potato Soup
Tuesday-  Beef Bourguignon
Wednesday- Salmon Patties
Thursday- Salsa Chicken
Friday- Pizza
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Beef Stew

If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Work Work Work

Sorry this blog post is late, and it is also going to be short.

I have to give 2 presentations tomorrow and I am kinda nervous about them.  Therefore, I've been using the computer for work, not blogging.

I'll be back tomorrow with our weekly meal plan.

Mug Rugs

These little mug rugs make me wanna run right up to my sewing studio and get to work...

Check out more of these cute creations at Pleasant Home

Friday Favorite 12

Wonderful warm weather is this week's Friday Favorite!  Come on spring, hurry up and get here!  I am really ready to see flowers bloom, to plant a garden, spending days outside on the porch, speaking of porch I bought myself a sunny day present :)

Now to get hubby out there grilling a steak! :)

Drool Worthy...

If I had lots of money to waste, I would buy these...

You can find them on Etsy.  Beehive Kitchenware.

Wordless Wed. 12

Tuesday Tip 12

This weeks tip comes from Good Life Eats.  Hate peeling hard boiled eggs?  Here's a few tips to make it far less annoying.

Picture from www.seriouseats.com

• Put the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water completely with an extra inch of water over the eggs.
• Add one teaspoon of salt to the water.
• Bring the eggs to boil over high heat, you want a good rolling boil for a minute or two.
• Remove the pot from the heat, and cover.  Let the eggs sit for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon, when cool enough to handle peel!
• Also, peeling eggs under cool water helps.

Now, if you didn't want to do all that, you could always just get an Eggstractor!

Meal Plan Monday 12

I feel like trying a few new recipes... I'll let you know if they are keepers :)

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- Valentine's Dinner Out
Tuesday-  Chicken Crescent Squares
Wednesday- Tacos
Thursday- Baked Ziti
Friday- Super Nachos
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Garlic Shrimp Bake

If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Happy (Almost) Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow I thought I would post a few links of some super cute Valentine ideas I have seen around the internet.

First in the adorable wreath from She's (kinda) Crafty

How about some cute things to give?

These little flower suckers are from Better Homes and Gardens

And how about a few sweet treats?

These love bug cookies are from Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle

Cookie Pops would be great!  There's a how to over at SmileMonsters

Then there's this genius idea... Brookie bites.  That's a brownie wrapped around a cookie dipped in chocolate.  Yes please!  Make some yourself over at Inside BruCrew Life

Well you are going to need something to put all these goodies in and I think this is just the cutest thing around.  These sweet mail pouches are from At Second Street 

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Canning

I've been reading a lot about canning lately... Thinking I might like to try my hand at it.  This post from Cottage Industrialist was probably the main reason I wanted to try it.  It is a great post with lots of free printables and links to helpful sites.  Just look at how cute this invitation is to a canning party!?  I bet those aren't invitations you see every day.  :)


I had read this post awhile back and had bookmarked it to blog about and what got me thinking about it again was going to Anthropologie with my cousin the other night and looking through their home section (which I love).  They had a few cookbooks that I was drooling over...

Like this one, Canning for a New Generation and they also had one called Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it, and Other Kitchen Projects

So stay tuned, who knows, I might just try this! :)

Friday Favorite 11

This Friday Favorite is a true favorite... Facebook.

Pic credit: http://technorati.com/technology/article/whats-after-facebook/

I love Facebook.  I love to post status updates, comment, tag pictures, upload links, give likes, and chat.  I am always connected and it is a great feeling for me!

Recipe Cards

I found the cutest printable recipe cards online!  So you could make your own recipe book.

They have ones you can type in & ones you can write in.  Boy, do I have an idea brewing using these!

There's a link at the bottom for you to print out your own!

 

http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/10/free-printable-recipe-page-template/

Wordless Wed. 11

Tuesday Tip 11

Remember the Whole Chicken I cooked in the crockpot?  I mentioned using the homemade broth.  Well in today's post I am going to show you how to preserve that broth.

I was going to freeze it in ice cube trays but I didn't have any ice cube trays.  Standing in my kitchen thinking what I could use, I had an "ah ha" moment... mini muffin pans.

Take your broth and pour it into something with a spout to make your life easier.









This is what it will look like when you are done pouring the broth.  I had enough to do 2 mini muffin pans, so 48 broth cups.








Overnight in the freezer gives you this!  Now to get them out I filled a roasting pan with warm water and dunked the bottom of the muffin pans in the water so they could be easily removed.

Pop them out and place them in a gallon ziplock bag.  Now when you need broth you can just take out however many broth bits you need.  I would say 4-5 make a cup of broth.

Meal Plan Monday 11

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- Leftovers
Tuesday-  Shrimp Orzo
Wednesday- Pizza
Thursday- Pot Roast
Friday- BBQ Chicken and Potatoes
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Spaghetti

If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Super Bowl Snacks

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, I celebrate Super Bowl Sunday for 3 reasons:
1. No more football for awhile!  Yay!
2. Commercials
3. Food, I love any reason to eat appetizers

So here are a few of my picks for the big game:

Crockpot Apricot Buffalo Wings

 Bar-B-Cups recipe courtesy of Jill but you can see a similar recipe here

 Cheese Fondue originally posted here













And a new recipe that is going to be a keeper!
Sausage Stars!  I've tweaked this recipe from the blog Less Cake, More Frosting.

Here's what you are going to need:
1 pound ground sausage, browned
1 cup Ranch dressing
3 cups of shredded cheese.  I like the Mexican Blend for this recipe.
1/2 cup of diced red pepper (half a pepper)
1 pack of won tons (you can find this in the refrigerated area of the produce section)
 
 





Pre-heat oven to 350.


Combine all ingredients above (except won tons).  Mix until combined.

Place wontons into mini muffin pans.  You could use regular muffin pans but I like the crunch that the minis provide.

You need to pre-bake the wontons without the filling for about 4 minutes.  After this step pull the pan out of the oven, and place a spoonful of your mixture in each wonton cup.  Bake another 5 minutes.

Ta da, delicious appetizers!

Side note:  This recipe make a lot.  The mixture keeps well in the fridge, so you could make it the day before and just through it in the oven before your guests arrive.

Finders Keepers

Look at this little gem that was sitting by the curb!  It is about a foot tall and I think it is made to hold scrapbook paper as that is what fits inside perfectly!

Of course, this is what it looks like after I took some Goo Be Gone to all the Lisa Frank unicorn stickers...

Reason 1,342,629 I love my husband, he never tells me I'm nuts and carried this home for me :)

Friday Favorite 10: Glass Storage

This Friday Favorite is something I wish I had... glass food storage.

When I was a newly engaged lady I registered for a great rubbermaid food storage set.  All the lids locked, it stacked nicely and it took up very little space.  Loved it!  But now, it is stained and no matter how hard I clean it, it still looks dull and grungy :(

I want to replace it with glass.  This month's issue of Woman's Day had an article all about storing food.  You can read it here, I have also read other articles about glass vs plastic online.

Basic winning factors for me:
freezer to oven to table to fridge to microwave- perfect!
toxin free- who wants anymore toxins?
squeaky clean- no more stains!

Here's the set I would love to have:

This lovely set is from Anchor Hocking and you have to know why I want it.  Look at that lime green!  Available at Amazon, Walmart, and Target.  They even have rectangle storage containers, but they do not come in a set.

I also love these little cuties from my favorite place The Container Store, but they are a little expensive...

Heart in a Cupcake!

A friend of mine posted this blog on her facebook the other day, and it was an instant add to my blog roll.  Thanks Amy!  It is called Bake It In a Cake.

Here are little Valentine's Day Cupcakes that I would love to make!

Picture Credit: www.bakeitinacake.com

Check out her other mouthwatering recipes!  I think I am going to have to try a bunch of these!

Giveaway Link

A blog I really enjoy checking out daily is having a giveaway!
If you'd like to enter, visit A Bowl Full Of Lemons

Wordless Wed. 10

Tuesday Tip 10

This is a tip that is super useful to me and I hope you think so too.

In front of my house I have a cute little flag pole.  So I started buying garden sized flags for different seasons.  Then I didn't know what to do with them when I wasn't using them... until I stumbled across this fantastic idea.

Take those cheap throw away pants hangers you get for free at the store and clip your flags in them and hang them in a spare closet.  You could totally do this for large flags as well, just fold them.