Diary of a Chocoholic

Devilishly Cute!

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

I have quite a few crafty friends. They have much more talent than I do, which is why a few of them have opened Etsy shops. One of my particular favorites is Shelly's shop, Devilishly Cute Designs.

I've known Shelly for a few years and she has helped me and gifted me with quite a few wonderful handmade things. She helped me do many of the decorations for my wedding.

One year on my birthday, she gave me a lovely bright red scarf with a green R on it. The scarf is nice and thick and warm and I get complements on it whenever I go out. Its so beautiful!

Most recently, she gifted me with a lovely, long, turqouise scarf. She knitted this scarf in front of me, but kept telling me it was for another friend of hers. I was mooning over this scarf. It was so pretty and sparkly and it matched my sweater just fine. And what do you know, she gave it to me for Christmas. I was so happy.
And it happens to look a lot like this one, for sale in her Etsy shop!

She's also got some great wreaths, hair clips, and hats for sale. Go check her out and stock up goodies for gifts! Her headband holders are flying off the virtual shelf!

Stashbusting #12: Peppermint Biscotti

2011-12-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

This was my first time making peppermint biscotti but it quickly became my favorite treat this year. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Homes Cookies cookbook. I say adapted because I could only get about 1/4 cup of my peppermints to crush so I basically left them our. It made about 3 dozen pieces.

Cookies:

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2.5 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 1/4 cup all purpouse flour
1 tsp baking powder
* 1 cup crushed peppermints (if you can crush yours!)

Frosting:
12 oz semis sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one a time. Beat in extract. Stir in flour and baking powder until well blended.If desired add in 1 cup crushed peppermint candy.

Divide dough in half and roll out onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Move to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

On a cutting board, slice diagonally. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate and shortening, stirring until smooth. Dip the biscotting in chocolate. If desired, roll in peppermints or in sprinkles. Place on waxed paper until set.

Its Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

Last week we put up a tree and decorated the house. Our tree looks so much better than it did last year. The only thing its missing is some tinsel. But buying some has proved elusive! I think if I drove out to Target I would have better luck but thats almost an hour away!

Tree!

Here's the postcard wreath I made!

Our stockings!

Snowmen given to us by a dear friend

Stashbusting #11: Carrot Cake Cookies!

2011-11-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

While I have been failing to blog a new recipe every week I have actually been trying a new recipe every week. I failed miserably one week at quick and easy apple dumplings a few weeks ago. But this week I succeeded in making birthday cookies for a dear friend of mine-Shelly/Lyric (who also has a fabulous etsy shop I hope to be reviewing this week). Shelly loves carrot cake but I was aprehnesive about sending one through the mail so I started looking for ideas and I found this recipe at Eats Well With Others. It says it makes 18 cookies. I got 10 sandwich cookies and enough frosting for 20.

For the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
5 tbsp butter, softened
2 tspvanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

For the cookies:
1 stick butter melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup all ourouse flour
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup quickoats
1 cup packed, finely grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine together butter, sugars, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Stir in flour, ginger and salt. Add flour mixture to butter. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins.

3. Drop dough by tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Bake until the edges are crisp, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

4. Make filling - combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on until well-combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Increase the speed and beat until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. Pair up cookies according to size so that they match. Frost one cookie, top with the other and press together.

Stashbusting Recipe #10: Apricot Yogurt Scones

2011-10-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from the Tribune Review. I took them to work but no one (well one person) ate them! They claimed they didn't like scones, didnt know what a scone was or didn't like apricots. Can you believe them? Scones are totally fab.

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Scone Ingredients:
1 cup roughly chopped dried apricots
2 cups flour
1tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsps butter cut into small pieces
1 large egg
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup milk

Glaze Steps:

Whisk together all ingredients. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Scone Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400F andl ine a pan with parchment paper
2. Plump apricotsi n one cup of hot ater fir about ten minutes. Pat and set aside.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and sosa, sugar and cinnamon.
4. Cut the butter into the flour
5. Add the apricots and toss to coat with flour mixture
6. Add in egg, yogurt and milk. Combine well-until there is no more dry flour.
7. Scope out scones and drop onto baking sheer. Gently pat into discs.
8. Bake for around 20 minues. Once cooled drizzle with glaze.

Stashbusting #9: New England Style Pierogi Dinner

2011-10-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

When you work seven days a week your days start to run together and Monday quickly turns into Tuesday. And its quickly becoming Wendesday....but here it is. This week's stash busting recipe from my Woman's Day Cookbook. As usual, the recipe is as I made it not as printed

Ingredients:

1 box of pierogis (potato and onion)
1 tbs cajun seasoning
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded/torn
2 ears of frozen corn, cut in half
4 Italian sausages, sliced
4 tbsp butter

Steps:
1. Saute pierogis over low-,medium heat.
2. Meanwhile boil one cup of water and the seasoning.
3. Add cabbage, corn, sausages and 2 Tbsps butter. Cover and cook about 20 minutes, turning occasionall.
4. Add cooked pierogis to pot along with reaining butter. Toss to mix.

The verdict?

I loved it, and I'm not a big pierogi fan. I love cabbage, corn on the cob and butter so this dish was perfect for me.

Mike requested the leftovers for lunch (it beat out baked ham, homemade burritos, his momma's chili, and sweet bologna sandwiches) which is a pretty good rating. Its second to "When are you making this again?" and on the opposite end of the spectrum from "Do you plan on making this again? And he's not a cabbage person.

Try it and let me know what you think. If you have it, the recipe calls for Old Bay instead of the cajun seasoning.

Stash Busting Monday #8: An Alliterative Snack

2011-10-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

This week we had a lof of yummy meals, some tried and true favorties, a new recipe or two and a store bought deli made chicken pot pie. Which I consumed entriely by myself. I also made salty sweet squares to share with my co-workers, which they ate entirely by themselves. In five minutes flat.

Salty Sweet Shortbread Squares, as adapted from Marha Stewart Living

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup salted small pretzels (I used Newman's Own High Protein Pretzels)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter
1.2 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1/2 bag semi sweet choc chips (Aldi brand!!)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a small casserole pan.
Pulse 1 3/4 cup pretzwels in a food processor until powdery. Transder 1/2 cup to a bowl and discard the rest. Stir in flour and baking powder. Roughly chop (or pulse) remaining pretzels.
Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluggy. Beat in egg yolk and then pretzel flour mixture until combined. Mix in 1/2 cup chopped pretzels..
Press dough evenly into pan. Top with 1/4 cup choppped pretzels. Press slightly.
Bake until pale and firm aprox. 25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool one hour
Melt chocolate with a double boiler. Drizzle over cooled shortbread. Let harden then cut into small squares.

Yumo!

Stash Busting Monday: Lucky Number Seven

2011-10-02T16:27:00.001-07:00

We have ALOT of frozen veggies in our freezer, thanks to the wonderful but sadly terminated Angel Food Ministries. This week I was looking for a recipe that would make use of the veggies as well as delight Mike's picky tasty buds. I found the answer in my Woman's Day Cookbook. I'm posting the recipe as I modified it, not as it appears.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

1lb bag carrots, sliced
1 lb parsnips, peeled and sliced
2 medium beets, peeled and cut in wedges
1 medium onion, cut in chunks
9 oz brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper
ginger

Heat oven to 450F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

Combine veggies in a large bowl, lightly coat with olive oil. Toss with salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and dried ginger.

Divide between baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes.

The verdict? I am a new fan of parsnips! Mike liked everything in the mixture but the brussel sprouts, which I could have predicted because of their texture. Dinner received two thumbs up form both of us!

She's Not Talking to a Foreigner

2011-10-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

In addition to cashering and freelance writing I work part time in customer service for a local paper. This mostly involves talking with irritable people for 7.5 hours a day.

Here is a most recent example, I swear this lady had an evil agenda when she picked up the phone:

Me: Company's Name, How may I help you?

Bitchy Woman: You sound like you're from a different state.

Me: (Opens my mouth to explain that I may sound far away because I've been having phone trouble)

BW: Where are you located? Are you even in PA?

Me: Yes Ma'am. I'm in Greensburg Pa.

BW: You don't sound like it.

Me: I'm sorry. How can I help you today?

BW: I want to order a subscription for a friend but I don't know if you have delivery there. She's in Friendlyville.

Me: I can check for you. Whats the zipcode?

BW: Are you even in PA?

Me: Yes ma'am, I'm in Greensburg.

BW: Do you even know where Friendlyville is?

Me (considers honesty as the best policy) : No, ma'am I don't.

BW: How are your from Greensburg and not know where Friendlyville is?

Me: Ma'am, I'm not from Greensburg but I am in Greensburg.

BW: You just told me you were in PA! What's the name of the Director of Circulation of the Pittsburgh Trib?

Me: Ma'am I don't know their name but there are some managers in my office, whose names I do know that I could transfer you to if you'd like.

BW: How do you not know their name?

ME: Just a minute ma'am. I'll see if I can find out. (I place caller on hold and ask around my office. No one knows the name of the Director of Circulation. The Director doesn't handle customer service but the technical side of circulation and is in an office an hour away from mine) Ma'am I'm not sure what their name is.

BW: YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU WORK FOR?

ME: I don't know the name of the director of circulation ma'am. Would you like to speak with the director ma'am. I can transfer you.

BW: YES! I'M TIRED OF TALKING TO A FOREIGNER.

Yeah......I'm pretty sure she could use a field trip to Friendlyville. I

Back to Menu Planning

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's what we're planning on eating the next two weeks. I've had to plan more meals lately since Angel Food has shut down. What meals are you looking forward to?

Last night- Fish N Chips
Tonight- Pumpkin Alfredo (sauce from Giant Eagle)
Wednesday- Blackened Steak with Sage Mashed Potatoes *new recipe!
Thurs-leftovers
Friday-Pork and Roasted Fall Veggies *new recipe

We'll be gone SAT/SUN so no meals then!

Monday- Peirogi Casserole *new recipe
Tuesday-clam chowder with loaded baked potatoes
Wed- leftovers/bookclub
Thur- Steak and greenbean salad
Friday-Potroast and Potatoes

Looks like a yummy week for us. I'm excited about getting to use my crockpot again this season. What fall favorites are you looking forward to?

Stasu Busting Monday #6: Gimme Some Gumbo!

2011-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

I love gumbo. I used to eat two platesful when the cafeteria at my college would serve it! Since I graduated last December I haven't had my beloved gumbo, so I knew I had to make it soon.

This recipe is adapted from a Better Homes and Garden Cookbook that my mother gave me when I first left for college. In my opinion the only thing that would have made it better was the addition of shrimp.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup all purpouse flour
1/3 cup cooking oil
3 cups water
12 oz smoked sausage links, sliced
2 cups frozen okra
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chpped green pepper
1 stalk chopped celery
4 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
3 cups hot cooked jasmine rice

Steps:
1. Make a roux by stiring together flour and oil until smooth in a mde saucepan. Cook over med-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med and cook 15 more minutes or until a darkred-brown. Cool
2. Placce water in a crockpot, stir in roux, sausage, vegetables and seasoning.
3. Cook in low heat for about 7 hours. Serve over hot rice

Stash Busting Monday #5: Nacho Cheese Beef Bake

2011-09-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

This month's Taste of Home was packed with delicious looking recipes (causing me to add more recipes to my stash, but we're busting one of them so it's all gravy). This is the first one I decided to make, partly from the yummy picture and partly from the excess of frozen hamburger meat hanging out in my fridge. I'm presenting the recipe as I prepared it, not as it is in the magazine.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1lb ground beef
1 can condensed nacho cheese soup
4oz can chopped green chiles
handul of cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
ranch dressing
1/2 chopped onion
shredded lettuce

1. Cook noodles according to package. Also, brown and drain meat.
2. Return meat to pan and stir in soup, chilies, onion. Bring to a boil, reduce hear and simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
3. Stir in noodles, transfer to 11x7 casserole dish, sprinkle with handful of shredded cheese and bale at 350F for 15 minutes.
4. Top with tortilla chips and shredded lettuce. Drizzle with ranch dressing.

This was as easy as hamburger helper but tasted better! My huhsband gave to two thumbs up and has already requested it again.

Stash Busting Monday's #4: Randy's Turkey Burgers

2011-09-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

(I know, this should be number 5 but it was a holiday and my parents were up from SC!)

This recipe wasn't given to me, exactly but I watched a friend make them and then tasted them. YUM! So I wanted to try and recreate the recipe.

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
blackened cajun seasoning
buffalo sauce
4 slices of garlic/cheese texas toast
colby cheese, sliced

1. Combine turkey, bread crumbs and cajun seasoning. Shape into four patties. Grill until cooked thoroughy.
2. Toast Texas Toast according to directions.
3. Cut each piece of toast in half, to make 8 pieces.
4. Using the Texas Toast as buns, assemble sandwiches with cheese and buffalo sauce.

ENJOY!

Stash Busting Monday #3: Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

2011-08-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

This recipe from BHG has been hanging out in my "Try Me" notebook since April so I thought I'd give it a whirl!

I'll post the recipe with my modifications and note where it differs from the original

Ingredients:

4 bone-in pork chops
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion chopped into wedges
1/2 cinnamon applesauce (o called for 1/2 cup apricot perserves and 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup water
1TBSP. spicy mustard

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. In a skillet heat olive oil, add pork and onions. Cook 3 minutes, flip, cook 3 more minutes
2. Combine applesauce, water, paprkia and mustard. Pour over pork. Reduce hear and cook covered ten minutes.

3. Serve and enjoy!

The recipe suggests serving with roasted sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes. I served it with leftover macaroni salad.

I thought the porkchops were fabulous, but Mike didn't care for them.

Stash Busting Monday #2: Choreos

2011-08-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

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While filing through my recipes to find something sweet to make for our new neighbor, I realized that I had a recipe for Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Choreos save in several places. I think that the orginal recipe came from Picky Palate.

I followed her recipe to a "t", well I tried to. And then I was half a cup short of flour and had to use a half cup of whole wheat flour. That being said, I think the cookies turned out fabulous and don't have a strange taste/texture due to the substitution. However, my batch only made around 15 cookies, and not the two dozen that hers did.

I made these for our neighbor and planned to make them for care packages as well, but since they made less than expected I may have to send a bag of assorted goodies, instead of just choreos.

Here's the cute gift bag for the neighbor:

Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman: Speaking Encouragement

2011-08-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 31: 26-27

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tounge is the law of kindness

The above section of Proverbs 31 verse is what inspired me to participate in the 30 day Husband Encouragement challenge. For the next month (so until September 17th) I am not suppoused to say anything negative about my husband, to him or anyone else. I am also suppoused to say something positive about my husband every day to him and to someone else.

I am hoping that this challenge will make me realize how often I speak badly to my husband and work super-duper hard to change that. I want to make a new habit, not only of biting my tounge but of dissolving the negative thoughts about my husband and realizing that I most likely do not feel negatively about my husband but rather about the situation.

As part of my personal challenge to become a Proverbs 31 Woman I want to change old habits and make new ones. Not only when it comes to my husband but throughout my entrie life. I want this encouragement challenge to bleed over into the way I speak with everyone- even my rude customers at work.

My therapist friend says that if we take something away we must feel the void with something. I am going to take away talking and thinking negatively about people and replace it without a more structed thought process that allows me to analysis situations before issuing a carefully thought out, positive response.

I know this sounds like a bunch of sounds good goobly gook, but it is something that is important to me and something I AM striving to change and not just talking about.

What habits are you trying to do away with? What habits are you trying to replace them with.

The Saints Are Marching In...

2011-08-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

My husband is a huge Saints fan and they play tonight so I worked hard today to make sure my wreath was ready to reveal tonight.

I found the inspiration for the wreath while browsing pinterest. The pin linked to here. Its really a fabulous site, you should check it out!

I didn't have any of the supplies I needed so I had to take a big shopping trip on Wednesday, after indulging in Peach French toast from Denny's.

Supplies:

2 spools of curling ribbon, 1 in each color
hot glue gun and glues sticks
letters
black and white spray paint
brown paint
painters marker
letters
football shapes
wreath form (i had a poofy foam one because it was cheaper but in retrospect I would choose the flat wooden ones because there is less area to decorate)

Step 1: Spray paint form black, letters white and paint/decorate foot balls. You may want to use the paint marker to make your letters polka dotted, but since my letters were smaller than I wanted I was afraid that if they had polka dots they would get kost in the wreath.

Step 2: Cut 6 inch lengths of ribbon and staple 4 of each color to each other, to create bundles of 8. I think I had close to 100 bundles.

Step 3: Curl bundles and hotglue around the form, filling in as needed.

4. Arrange letters and footballs and hotglue onto ribbons!

That's it! Its simple. It took me three days of on and off work to finish the wreath. I always say that I can envision things bunt not create them and I am starting to learn that I do have some skills but have a real lack of patience.

Favorite Things Friday!

2011-08-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

I like to use Fridays to reflect on my week or to share some of my ATM favorite things. This week I want to reflect.

Some of my favorite things that happened this week are:

1. I discovered meetup.com and have joined a group of ladies that I hope to get to know and participate in fun activites with.

2. My Martha Stewart Living magazine came in the mail!

3. I picked up a cute, polka dotted business card holder.

4. I finally got the schedule for my new job!

5. I had two days off in the middle of the week!

6. I participated in a blog swap.

7. I set some crafty goals.

Revisiting: 7 in' 11

2011-08-18T17:33:00.001-07:00

I think its time to check in on my resolutions:

1. I wanted to work out 3-5 times per week. I did really really well with this until summer time and then I lost all motivation. Hopefully starting my new job with a more consistent schedule will energize me!

2. I think I'm following through on number 2: learn to cook. I make dinner almost every night and enjoy trying new recipes. I can only make a few things from memory- pancakes, mexican manicotti, beet eggs, blueberry cake filling, twice baked potatoes, macaroni salad. But thats more than when I got married!

3. I'm making or altering most of the cards I send out to friends so thats a check for goal number 3!

4. As for sending out care packages, my two roomies got one while they worked at camp. And back to school care package gifts are chilling on my guest bed!

5. I have a job! So thats a check for number 5! I have two actually, and start my 3rd on Monday!

6. As for doing more crafts, I've been making more cards. I've got a wreath going right now. I haven't made a scrapbook or my wedding box yet but its coming!

7. And I haven't gained weight...yet. I better get going with goal number one!!

Goals Are Always Nice

2011-08-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

So lately I have been in a super crafty mood. I've yet to actually craft anything but I have been digging around for inspiration and making plans.

Here are my goals:

1. Make a Saint's football wreath (started today! my husband keeps asking me what I'm doing and I won't tell him!)
2. Make a Christmas wreath.
3. Make a shell wreath.
4. Make back to school packages (supplies bought!)
5. Make homemade vanilla
6. Make poinsetta pillow covers
7. Make 25 more Christmas cards.
8. Make gifts off of Pinterest.
9. Make vintage post card wreath for kitchen (just need postcards....(
10. Make man's shirt totebag

What are your craft goals? Have you started your holiday crafting yet?

Blog Swap with Sarah The Writer!

2011-08-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today I am swapping blogs with Sarah from This Writer's Journey! She has a wonderful, eclectic blog filled with tasty recipes and interesting posts! Our topic was "Summer".

Hello all! I’m Sarah the Writer from This Writer’s Journey. Rachel and I were paired up for the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap. I hail from Washington state, a small city somewhere between Seattle and Tacoma and I blog about all kinds of things: interesting stuff that happens in my life (which isn’t often); recipes I bake; and my musings.

Now, I’m supposed to reflect on my summer, talk about cool vacations I took. The thing is, I kind of already did that. Back in June, my family (my parents, my two younger brothers, and I) went to Boston for a week, mainly to celebrate my and my middle brother’s college graduations. We planned just about every day. I documented the whole week in my blog, which you can read here. My only regret/wish from that week is for my mom and me to have gone to the American Girl Place Boston, which is really about a half hour out of the city. But because we walked everywhere and riding the T train would’ve been a 2 hour trip, we decided to forgo it. Besides, one just opened up here in the Puget Sound about a month ago. We can go then. I did love going to the science museum and the Red Sox game (despite the pouring down rain).

Other than unsuccessfully search for jobs (like I said – recent college grad), I spent a week in central Washington in a little town I like to call “paradise.” It’s a small town with plenty of time share resorts around a lake. We go every year with most of my dad’s immediate relatives and their families. A whole week of sun, family time, and pool – perfect for mid-July. It’s pretty much the only time I go in the pool, and over the past few years, I’ve only wanted to go in with my cousins. I guess that’s part of growing up? Anyway, this year while poolside, something happened that I know we’ll never forget: we found a butterfly! But don’t worry – we were gentle with it.

So there ya have it, folks. My summer in a nutshell. Kinda boring, I know. My only excuse is that I’m too shy to make friends to hang out with. I’m hoping to try and not transfer that shyness to my blog now that I’m done with school, but at the same time, I’m still kinda new to this blogging thing. Anyways, hope to see you over at This Writer’s Journey!

Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman: Listening to What Your Husband Needs

2011-08-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Over the past year or so the verse, Proverbs 31 has popped up more and more in my life. And I think things like that happen for a reason. Here is the verse (emphasis mine):

Who can find a virtous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
so he will have no lack of gain
She does him good and not evil
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax
and willing works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
she brings her food from afar.
She also rises while it is yet night,
and provides food for the household,
and a portion for her maidservants.
She considers a field and buys it;
from her profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength
and strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchanise is good,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
and her hand holds the spindle,
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of now for her household,
for all her household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
when he sits among the elders of the land
She makes linen garments and sells themm
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
she shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tounge is the law of kindness
She watches over the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also and he praises her:"
Many daughters have done well
but you excel them all"
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised
Giver her the fruist of her hands,
and let her own works praise her in the gates

Everytime I read the verse I focus on something different or walk away with a new understanding. One of my most recent understands lead to the life application that I need to keep house in a way that helps my husband.

My husband has a touch of OCD and finds it hard to function around clutter. Literally, walking into a cluttered room overwhelms his senses and stesses him out. When he is already stressed out from work or illness a cluttered house becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back.

My husband needs me to change the way I keep house. I am a piles person. Everything has its pile and occasionally (on weekends) those piles get sorted out and put away. Its my process. But it doesn't work for him. I don't make piles becase I am lazy but because it has become my default organizational system. So I am starting from scratch and making sure every item has a place. And yes, a designated junk drawer counts as a place. I am working hard to remember to put hins away right after use and not leaving them out to stumble upon them again. I can stumble upon them again and think "oh yea, I need to put this away" and go do it. However, my husband sees the item laying out and starts to stress out. If I can take a few extra moments of thought and work to leave a place looking organized and prevent us from having a pointless argument over left out scissors then its worth it to me.

My husband is helping me with this endeavor and has recognized that creating piles is my "method". He's suggested that if I am having a stressful day and feel the need to create piles then I should do it in the guest bedroom and shut the door. It's out of his sight, gives me more time to come back later and keeps the rest of the house looking neat.

I'm not saying that he needs or expects me to keep a spotless house on my own. But I think that he needs me to change my cleaning and organizing habits. And if changing those habits benefits my husband, and my marriage and doesn't hurt me then why wouldn't I?

The verse says much much much more to me but I want to explore it bit by bit.

Stash Busting Monday #1: Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake

2011-08-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my first recipe stash busting post!

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We had friends come over this weekened for a cookout to see off a soldier. He requested a strawberry cheesecake as dessert. Knowing that his wife is on a gluten-free diet I wanted to make sure that I made something she could enjoy too.

I used the recipe I had saved in my favorites folder from the last time they came up. Here is the link.
The recipe calls for a crust made of gluten free graham crackers but I decided to just skip the crust and added the nutmeg into the cheesecake itself.

Ingredients

2 pounds softened cream cheese ((4 8-ounce packages))

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping

1.5 pints sliced strawberries
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Soften the cream cheese and then beat it with the sugar and nutmeg until creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla, cornstarch and sour cream. Mix until well blended and smooth. Pour into a parchemt lined pan and bake at 325 F for 45 minutes.

Whisk together all of the topping ingredients except for the strawberries. Remove cheesecake from oven and carefully spread topping. Turn off oven and let cheesecake set in oven for 15 minutes. Then chill 4 hours, top with strawberries and serve.

Ratings? My sister-in-law described the cheesecake as "very light". And my friend ate two good sized pieces within the hour.

If you want to share your stashbusting post, feel free to leave your link in the comments!

Introducing Stash Busting Mondays

2011-08-11T04:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past year or so I have accumulated a huge stash.

Of recipes. I have cookbooks, cooking magazines and a whole folder in my favorites devoted to them.

I've decided that over the next 52 weeks I will make a minimum of one new recipe (savory or sweet) per week. And that the recipe will be one that is already in my possession.

Next Monday will be the first in my series. I encourage you to join me in a "stash-busting" adventure!

PS: Does anyone know of a good, free linky tool? I've tried mister linky but haven't had any luck making it work! I haven't found one, but in the mean time you can use my button to link your page over to mine!

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Customer Service

2011-08-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

When was in school (high school and college), if you would have asked me if I would like a job in customer service, I would have told you no way. I am not good with people. And I waitressed once and the worst part of the job was dealing with the people.

Yet, here I am about to transition from one customer service position (cashier) to one that actually has customer service in the title. Yep. I'm going to be a customer service rep at the Tribune-Review. It's a newspaper that's over the one that I currently freelance for.

I was reflecting the other night, trying to come up with a reason for why I seem to only be able to get customer service type jobs lately, and realizing a fear of being stuck in that job path.

And that was when God spoke to my heart. He's placed me in customer serving positions so that I can work on my lacking people skills. And its those skills that I will need to move on to the next bigger/better thing that he has planned for my life.

I am grateful to have received this insight because I think it will help me have more drive to succeed and actually learn skills as a customer service rep rather than just skating by until I could find a more suitable job. I see now that I have things to learn. I also think it will help me to be happy when I experience bad days on the new job.

When has God given you insight into His plan for your life? When have you realized that God's plan may not have been exactly what you had been hoping for?

$2 per trashbag full

2011-08-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

I went to a yard sale at a church this weekend. They'd had one the past few weekends and this was the one where you dump everything you want in a bag and pay two bucks.

I walked out with:

7 books inlcuding, The Kite Runner....a fantastic read.

2 pot holders

4 dessert plates

1 salad plate

1 wallet

1 set of notecards

2 Christmas tins for Christmas baking

1 shell shaped salsa dish

3 Chrismas ornaments

I think I did pretty well. There was a cute round mug with feet that I wanted to get but I forgot to put it on top of my bad :(. Darn it!!

If you break it down I spent roughly 9 cents per item.

Five Questions for Friday!

2011-08-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to My Little Life for the questions!

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?

I have a younger sister and yesterday was her birthday! I think the older we get the closer we're getting

2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?

As long as its slightly in either direction I think I'm okay!

3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?

I love funnel cakes and caramel/candy apples!

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?

I don't have kids!

5. Pool or Ocean?

Ocean all the way baby!

Too Many Cakes Too Little Time

2011-08-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

I've been given a sneak peek at my next baking challenge. It involves making a cake. So I'm trying to decide what flavor I want to make.

I'm strongly considering

An almond cake with apricot filling...and either a vanilla or almond butter cream
A choclate, peanut butter, banana cake with some combination of banana slices, pb cream cheese frosting and a chocolate ganache
A peach, mango, pineapple cake with caramel cream cheese icing
chocolate rum cake
strawberry champagne cake, filled with champagne soaked strawberries

Which option would you choose? What is your favorite cake flavor or flavor combination?

My First Gluten Free Baking Experience

2011-08-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

We're having a cookout next weekend in honor of a friend who is getting deployed. His wife is on a gluten-free diet and has mentioned how she doesn't like that it limits her sweet tooth so I thought I would try to bake some cupcakes that she could enjoy.

I started with a recipe from Cupcake Project and decided to follow through with the chocolate hummus frosting.

The recipe calls for twice sifted flour and I usually skip sifting all together but after reading the whys behind sifting it I decided it was an important step. I set my strainer over my collander which was over my mixing bowl and and my Goldberg contraption was rolling.

Sifting made the dry ingredients really light and fluffy! Which is good considering the garbanzo bean flour makes cake denser. I guess the sifting counteracts that.

Everything was going along normally, until I added the boiling water. Everything was super liquidy and not at all like a cake batter. So I turned to Cupcake Project (via facebook) and was reassured that this was in a fact normal.

So I kept going and the cupcakes baked beautifully, but didn't dome- which I was expecting. So I frosted them with the chocolate hummus and didn't like them. I'm not sure if its the "off" texture or the flavor but they just don't jive with me.

I'm having a friend test them tomorrow and she will decide if they should go in the dumpster or off to work with Mike.

Here Me Roar!

2011-07-26T15:52:00.001-07:00

I AM WRITER! HEAR ME ROAR!

The lady doing my eyebrows asks...so what do you do?

My husband's friend from work...where do you work?

And my standard response?

I'm a cashier. I work at [enter name of crazy grocery store]

Why? Why is that my answer?

That is not the job I identify with, not the job that is most important to me, not the job I have the degree for or even the most experience in (althought I do spend a lot of waking hours there).

But for some reason thats the answer I give. I don't feel like I'm afraid for people to think of me as "a nutty artsy person". I sometimes like being that person.

I don't care if some people don't think thats a "real job". I do it. I get paid for it. I love it. How can it get any more real than that?

I don't know what my deal is but to help myself articulate my job to others I've ordered cute business cards so now I can say "I'm a writer. Here's my card."

On the subject of jobs, I have/had two interviews this week. One Tuesday and the other Thursday.
The first is to work in a library and plan and implement their children's programming. Dream job material! Except its only 25 hours a week.

The second is work at the newspaper as a receptionist. Its upside is its fulltime with benefits at a place I'd like to write for. Can you say, foot in the door? The downside is its a receptionist poistion and doesn't involve kids.

A Week (or so) of "Bentos"

2011-07-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Todays cucumber sandwich, corn on the cob, mushroom bento went off without a hitch!

At work I came up with a few ideas for the next handful's worth of bentos:

Tomorrow- Bunless Turkey Burger w/Cheese, Kiwi, Strawberries and Chocolate!

Thursday I'm off so I'll be having pancakes

Friday- Turkey and Cheese lettuce wraps with pretzels

This weekend we're camping in my mother in law's trailer park.

Monday: Roastbeef and cheese rollups with mushrooms and carrot sticks

Tuesday: PB, Apples and Berries

Wednesday: Brown rice and a banana...as odd as this seems I had it in a hospital cafeteria (which I could eat at everyday their food was THAT good) and have loved it ever since

Thursday : Peanut Butter and Apple Butter half sandwich with cucumbers and hopefully tomatoes

What will you be having for lunch this next week?

Bento Day One: Mostly Successful

2011-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last night I made my first bento box lunch. I used a tupperware that I bought from Aldi. It was divided into 2 small sections and 1 large.

I should have taken a picture but I'll do my best without one.

In the first small section I stacked slices of kiwi and off to the side a bite of Tolberone.

In the second small section I put in some mushrooms.

In the large section I put carrot slices, peppered cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes.

The lunch was tasty and filled me up but there were two problems.

The chocolate was sweaty so it smeared on my hands. Maybe if I keep the chocolate tucked in purse?

I washed, peeled and sliced the carrots, but somehow some of them had brown edges when I went to eat them. I'm not sure why?

Tomorrow's lunch?

Mushrooms, leftover corn on the cob and cucumber sandwiches...mmm

Monthly Menu Plans

2011-07-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday I'm picking up our Angel Food delivery (and then we're going camping in my mother in law's trailer park- but more on that later)

Using the food we're getting I've developed a lsit of 23 meals using mostly the food we'll be getting, which brings the cost per meal (for both of us) to about $4.39, but with a few random things leftover to create other, more creative meals, the cost will decrease once I account for all of the food.

In no particular order:

Chorizo
Burgers
Burgers
Fettuccini Alfredo
Vegetable Soup/Mashed Potatoe casserole
Chicken and Vegetable Spaghetti
Turkey Spinach Wraps with carrot fries
Garden Spaghetti
Green Onion Grilled Chicken and Homemade Fries
Wings, grilled potatoesand green bean salad
Crabcakes with veggies
Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas
Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Mac N Cheese
Steaks, potatoes and corn on the cub
Pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup, hashbrowns, eggs and sausage
Lean Cuisine Meal dinner
Stouffers Meal dinner
Chicken Jambalya
Hamburger Helper
Clam Chowder with Baked Potatoes
Pork Chops Primavera
Steaks with Sweet Potatoe fries
Mediterranean Style Tuna Casserole

If I buy extra chicken meal 24 will be Chicken and Dumplings, using the triple veggie blend included in our package . What yumminess (sp?) are you cooking up this month/week?

Going Bento

2011-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about buying a bento-style lunch box. But first I want to experiment with packing bento-style foods in my regular lunch carriers. I tend to "snack" more than eat full meals in the summer time, and at lunch time year round, at least when left to my own devices anyway.

So next week I'm planning on packing a few veggies, fruit, cheese cubes and a few other things as lunch instead of the increasingly boring, turkey and cheese on wheat.

I do not like many traditionally asian foods (bento is a Japanese lunch box). I do like gimbop but I do not have the urge to make it. So I was wondering what non-japanese foods you use in your bentos/lunchboxes to make your lunches a little more fun and a little less sandwichy.

What do you take for lunch/pack for others? How do you keep your lunches from getting too mundane?

I'm "different, but in a good way"

2011-07-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

According to my nephew, who's been staying the week with us I do things that are "different, but in a cool way." Well, at least he put me and cool in the same sentence.

He mentioned this when I:

- put carrots in to our sloppy joes
-put cheese on sloppy joes
-wrapped my husband's birthday gift in the Sunday comics
- made homemade garlic bread using old hamburger buns

I wonder what else I can do to suprise him with my "weirdness"....hmmm

Oh, when I asked him to shred the lettuce for our salad he asked me where the shredder was... HA!

Mary Mary How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-07-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Its got lots of cherry tomatoes:

Beets that may be made into wine:

And yellow squash!!

What I Wore Wednesday:

2011-06-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever done one of these posts but I bought a cute outfir the other day and I just wanted to share.

It caught my eye when I was shopping with my sister-in-law and her daughters but I didn't have time to try it on the way I wanted so I went back and got it later.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies!

2011-06-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

I bought a pound of cherries at Aldi for around $2. I ate a few in my ice cream and failed at making a cherry milkshake, but there were still a lot left so I decided to make cookies!

I found a great recipe at Cooking Debauchery, based on a recipe from Alton Brown who I think is fabulous.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

2 1/4cups flur

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

6 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups milk and/or semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup sour cherries

Steps':

1. Pit and slice the cherries. Pour vanilla over them and let stand for 1 hour.

2. In a small saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Cook on lw until the butter turns a golden caramel color Set aside to cool for a few minutes. (I missed the cooling step and think I almost caramelized my sugar!)

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Put the sugar in a bowl and add the butter. . Mix on medium until the sugar is thoroughly coated and beginning to melt. With the mixer still running add the egg, egg yolk and milk. Once thoroughly combined begin adding the flour mixture in several parts.

5. Stir in chips and cherries. Transfer dough to fridge for a least one hour.

6. Preheat oven to 375. Cook 6 on a tray for approx 12 minutes at a time.

These turned out yummy, but a little more cake-like in texture than I like my cookies to be. That didn't stop me from eating a handful of them. But I did make some to share!

I wonder what lucky person will receive this later in the week:

Weekend Plans:

2011-06-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

Friday: clean and organize fridge and freezer, organize downstairs drawers, clean out car, watch big bang theory, and shop at wer seal and old navy. kick myself all night long for not buying the discounted rewards card. eat a smore.

Saturday: pick up Angel Food, possibly stop by new organic food store, pick up husband and go car shopping, hunt for car title that has mysteriously dissappeared from our safe keeping spot, argue with husband about whose fault it is, hopefully find it, make budget for next month, less $25 last nights shopping spree

Sunday, wake up early and exercise, lunch with inlaws- in cute new outfit, picture post to come, work on blog posts for July's "meltdown", read The Fiery Cross (Outlander). clip coupons.

What are you doing this weekend?

Good Deal Day!

2011-06-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a grand total of 1.96 on grocery items at 3 stores (no extra gas because I was on the way home from already scheduled errands (ie: a trip to the mall)).

I came home with:

2 colgate toothbrushes (giant eagle)
2 scotch tapes (cvs)
2 bbq sauces (shop n save)

Thats an average of: 33 cents an item!

What is your latest shopping success?

Busy, Busy!

2011-06-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

You can tell that my life has gotten busier, now that the snow is melted, because although I have made it my goal to post every day I always mess up on the weekend!

Friday I was just busy with work and doing things around the house.

Yesterday we went car shopping to try and replace my outlander and went to Mike's grandfather's/aunt and uncle's house. We chilled on the porch drinking sweet tea out of mason jars! It was great. We found a few cars we wouldn't mind buying but nothing that we really wanted.

Today I had to work at the grocery store and ended up staying over an hour. I came home, called my father and wished him a happy father's day, ate a boston butt my husband cooked, did laundry, clipped a tiny amount of coupons out of the paper and laughed over the comics. I love the one that poked fun at Oprah, and the Family Circus was really cute too.

Before heading home I scored a good deal at Giant Eagle

Hamburger Helper is usually $2 each.
This week the sale is $1 each. If you buy 5 you get a coupon for $3 off any brand of beef, chicken or tuna.

I bought six and used two coupons for a total of $3 off.
6-3=$3 +$3 Meat coupon= essentially free!!

PS: Do you have any good dessert recipes that don't use the oven?

OH! And please don't forget to vote!https://www.mkmakeovercontest.com/US/EN/Gallery/?Id=53f2b265-c360-4b5d-9187-c3555c67e994

Get Beautiful, Give Back! Vote please!

2011-06-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

I could really use your votes! I entered a makeover contest for a chance to win a trip and $$$ to a charity of my choice. You can vote 5x a day per email address. Please vote for me! Voting opens at NOON TODAY!

I know my pictures are not the best ones up. We had to retake them last minute because the first ones turned out too dark. The first ones I looked better in though.

But I also had to write a paragraph on what I would do to give back if money, time and talent were not an issue. I wrote that I would do anything and everything I could to help children in need. In need of anything, love, food, shelter, education, time, clothes. That being said, if I win I will choose a child related charity for the money to go to.

So if you like me, like children or like feeling beautiful, please vote for me. You can go through the link below or up above where it says please vote for me. Vote as many times as you can and share it with every one you know.

https://www.mkmakeovercontest.com/US/EN/Gallery/?Id=53f2b265-c360-4b5d-9187-c3555c67e994

Do you Pin?

2011-06-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of pinterest?

It's a great site that lets you make virtual bulletin board stlye collections of your favorite things on the net.

I've divided my boards into a few categories.

My most populous boards are:

For the Home
Travel
Etsy Wishlist

But I'm slowly building the other boards up.

You should check it out. Its a lot of fun, and slightly addicting.

Not again!

2011-06-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

So on the way home from my successful coupoing trip yesterday my car overheated and had to be towed

It was close to 5:30 pm and I was ten minutes from my house when my service engine soon light came on. I thought that since I'd never had any problems and had no reason to suspect an immediate problem, thought I could make it the rest of the way home and could then get my husband to look under the hood.

Well, about three minutes later, I was passing my place of work and the gas pedal started making a metallic clicking noise whenever I pushed it. I decided to pull over into the parking lot.

To get to the parking lot, I had to make a left turn at an intersection. I am making the left turn and can no longer push the gas pedal. I see what looks like smoke. I pray "Please let me make it to the parking lot". It seems as if my car will stop dead in the intersection. The next thing I know I am in the parking lot. I think that God put my car there. I don't remember coasting in.

I called my husband and he called a mechanic shop that tows 24/7. The guy said to put antifreeze in my car, start it and drive to the shop. We put antifreeze in and it poured out the bottom of my car. Eventually the tow truck came and we made it home a little after 8pm over 2.5 hours from when I pulled over.

Basically, a gasket blew and we can pay $1200 to "try to fix it" with no guarantee or $2400 for the motor to be replaced with a used motor that has more miles on it than my car or sell my car to a junk yard or we can wait.

We're going with "wait". A lot of my husband's friends and family that are mechanics have stepped up and are looking around for a better deal on a used motor for us.

It's Official! I'm addicted to CVS!

2011-06-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Shopping at CVS was so seamless and they were so friendly and eager to point out good deals that I now want to go back every week.

Transaction 1:

John Frieda Styling products Retail Value: 13.44
Sale Price= $2/10
-$5/1 q
-$2/9
=$3.18 OOP + $3 ECB

Transaction 2:

Hydro Razor Retail Value: 9.49
Shick Shave Gel 3.79
Sale Price: $8
-$4/1 Q
- $3ECB
- 3.79 Free shave gel the CASHIER GAVE ME
=1.06 OOP +$4 ECB

Transaction 3:
2 Hershey Drops Retail Value: $8.48
Sale Price: 2 for 4.30
Wrigleys Retail: 1.37
Trail Mix Retail: .74
-$2/2 Q
-$4 ECB
=.41 OOP

Then I went to Rite Aid where I didn't do as well as I wanted:

Transaction 1:

2 Degree Retail: $9.58
Sale: 8.88
- 4.44 B1G1 Q
- .75/1 Q
= 3.92 OOP +$3 wellness bucks

Transaction 2:

Bayer Retail: 3.99
-$2/1 q
-1.99 rebate
= FREE + 1.99 wellness bucks

Transaction 3:

2 Shick BladesRetail: 23.98
Sale: 2 for 11.99
-$1/1 Q
-$2/1 Q
-$3 wellness bucks
-1.99 wellness bucks
= OOP 4.24

Total Spent: 12.81
Total Saved: 63.25
Savings Rate of 79.75%

Total Haul:

2 John Friedas
1 Bayer
2 Degree deodorants
1 Shick Razor
2 cases of relacement blads
1 gum
1 trail mix
2 hersey drops

12 items=1.06 per item!

Whay drugstores do you prefer? Have any tips? Did you score any good deals at CVS this week?

Strike One

2011-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Whoops!

I've offically lost on my goal to post every day in June! That just means I've got to make up for it in July! I'm not letting myself off the hook for June though- I'm still going to try to post everyday. Hopefully this week I can get some posts built up so I don't have to worry about missing.

Anyway, here's why I didn't post yeterday:

I was having fun!!!

We had a couple over for dinner and game night and we had such a blast playing scategories, taboo and loaded questions (my 3 favorite games!). The couple have been friend with Mike for many years and I'd met them via Skype when we were in Korea but this was my first time hanging out with them in person. It was fabulous! We laughed the whole night through and I felt like I had known them forever. I hope we have many more nights of laugheter ahead of us

I made a pot roast in the crock pot with asian spices and root veggies. I southerned it up a it and made a broccoli casserole. Although, I'm not sure how "southern" a recipe is if you get the recipe from a Californian while you're in Glasgow Scotland!

Yesterday I wanted to blog about a job offer I recieved Friday via voicemail through a staffing agency I've been trying to work with. They left the message at noon while I was cashiering. I called back at 3:30 when my shift ended and the offer had been filled! Why did they even bother leaving a message?!

So tomorrow I am applying at Aldi because they are advertising a starting rate of eleven bucks! Sounds good to me! I'm also dropping my resume in the mail for an activities assitant job that I think would be really fun to have.

Tomorrow I'm attemptinh my first ever CVS and Rite Aid couponing trips. My fingers and toes are all crossed that I'll make out okay. I've gotten deal match ups from a few different blogs, have cut my coupons and sorted them into envelopes labeled with the store names. I've also included coupon policies and an instuction sheet that breaks down my shopping list into transaction listed in the order they should be completed. Learning couponing is exciting and fun, but also a bit exhausting, confusing and nerve racking at the same time. But it is something I am dedicated to learning so I'm going to push through and see if I can figure out how drugstore couponing works.

5QF

2011-06-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't done this in awhile but today I'm particiapting in Five Question Friday over at My Little Life

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

Close but not there. I wanted to be famous, be a well read author, be married, be a college graduate and have kids. So far I'm a married college grad. I also wanted to live somewhere sunny and that is not currently home.

2. What is one must have item for the summer?

A lawn chair! I can layout in a tanktop and bitty shorts but I need something comfy to lay out in!

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

I love to read so I would always do the summer reading programs and we would occasionally do workbooks to keep us uptodate.

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

Nope but I really want to learn. I'm the type of person that needs a hands on lesson thought

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

Eh. On the weekday yes and then I check my email while my hair drys- weekend I lounge around gor a bit first, unless I have somewhere to be

I Have More Street Smarts Than You Care to Admit

2011-06-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Certain people in my life (namely my father, sister and husband) are always getting on me because I like to read and the fact that I'm a little short changed when it common sense, and in fact they tend to form a relationship between the two which I think is dumb of them but anyway. I am not known for my street smarts, but I may have proven a few people wrong yesterday.

Here's the dealio:

A man got into my line and his total came to $2.12 and he handed me a $100 bill. I checked it and started to count out his change.

He stopped me and took back the $100 bill and put it in his pocket and said he had the $2.12 instead****.

Then he says to me that he doesn't have the $2 but gave me the 12 cents and asked me for $98 change instead. So I count out the $98 and set it on top of my register (At this point I knew what was going on and waas making sure to be extra cautious). I asked him for the $100 bill.

He told me he gave it to me. I said no you didn't. He told me to look in the bottom of my drawer, that he watched me out it there. I put my hand over the changed and quickly flipped through the bills. I told him I put it there when he first handed it to me and then he put it in his pocket and never gave it back to me.

He handed me $2 and left.

**** Indicates when I first realized what was happening. Bells went off in my head beacause I read an article about how conartists try to swindle hot dog vendors out of extra cash by confusing them about what bills were given to them by trading the money back and forth a lot during the transaction

1 Mrs. BOOK SMARTS 0 Mr. Street Smart Loser

Take that!

Coupon High!

2011-06-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today I racked up on cleaning supplies at Giant Eagle.

Here's how it went down:

1st Transaction

Charmin Sales Price: 2 for $13
- .25 ecoupon
-$1 mfg coupon
= 11.75 + (-3 OYNO)

2nd Transaction

Cascade Action Packs Sale Price: 2 for $8
Mr Clean Sale Price: 2 for $5
-.25 cascade ecoupon
-.75 -.75 mr. clean coupon doubled
-.75 -.75 mr. clean coupon doubled
-.50 -.50 cascade coupon doubled
-.50-.50 cascade coupon doubled
-$3 OYNO Coupon
=5.23 + (-5 OYNO)

Third Transaction

20 GE Yogurts Sale Price: 20 for $10
2 Yopliat Yogurts reg price: .70 each
- 10% worker discount on GE yougurt
-$5 OYNO Coupon
=$4.95

Grand Total Spent: 21.93
Grand Total Saved: 16.09

I saved 42%!Thats not too bad considering my goal is 60%

I'm telling you this stuff is addicting. But one of the biggest things I've learned right now is pay attention- and save up. Don't use your coupons the Monday after you clip them and pay attention to store sales, clearances and randomly placed coupons.

One more tip: Don't leave your car keys by the Cascade.

Have to make the changes

2011-06-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

Writing a blog everyday for the month of June is just one little step I'm taking to become the person I want to be. I want to be a well published/well read author and I want to be someone who makes a difference.

I just haven't decided/realized how I plan/need to make that difference. I come up with ideas, thoughts and plans but haven't put many of them in action. These ideas come in the form of perssonal improvements I want to make just to make myself a better person to thinngs I want to do for my community. I'm starting to realizing that I need to step up and make some changes happen and not wait for the oppertunity to present itself.

So I'm off to do some sould searching to identify where my interests match up with needs and then go from there!

Coupons

2011-06-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Mike and I watch the Extreme Couponing show. It excites me and encourages me to try to match deals with my coupons and not just using the coupons alone.

My husband doesn't see the point in couponing unless you do it on an extreme scale. He doesn't get that if I save $10 a month that equals $100 a year and $500 in five years- just by cutting up the Sunday paper! He doesn't seem to see any value in that saved money because we're not directly applying that money to say our student loans or hotel reservations. I see it though. I know that I would love to have an extra $100 at the end of the year that I can use towards a goal- or even just an extra $100 to spend on higher priced items like fruit. And I definitely save more than $10 a month

Then he says "you're not saving money that way". Which is true in a sense but I am putting the saved money towards the fruit which we would otherwise go without- basically we're getting more for our money. I don't know what about that concept is hard to grasp. MEN!

Anyway, I scored a good deal at Giant Eagle today. They were havign a BOGO sale on razors and I had two coupons. One for three dollars off and one for two dollars off.

Original Price: 2 for 13.96
Sale Price: 2 for 6.98
After coupons: 2 for 1.98!

Thats around 85% savings! Which is really good considering a lot of my research has lead me to believe that couponing on the scale I currently do should save me an average of 60%. I think thats a good goal to shoot for.

I'm hoping to return to Giant Eagle tomorrow or Wednesday and score some good deals (OYNO coupons) on Charmin and Cascade and maybe yogurt! I'm going to also look into getting decent deals on much needed batteries (my voice recorder is dead!) and maybe free toothpaste.

What deals have you scored lately? What couponing tips do you have to share?

Angel Food Ministries

2011-06-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Angel Food? I hadn't until I moved here. Its basically a bulk buying program that helps families get their groceries cheaper.

Mike and I decided to give it a try for next month. We ordered two different menus for a total of $103. That means I won't do much grocery shopping except to pick up small things like fruit, butter, cheese etc that maybe needed to make a few foods into a dish.

That's where ya'll come in. I'm going to list the foods we'll be receiving and I would appreciate recipes using the listed foods as the primary ingredients

(1) All Natural Whole Chicken
(1.5 lb) Whiting or Flounder Fillets
(2lb) Boneless skinless chicken breasts
(1.5 lbs) Boneless center cut pork chops
(1.5lbs) Turkey Burgers
(2lb) Clam chowder (yumo!)
(2lb) Sloppy joe mix (yucko)
(2lb) Lasagna
(1.5lb) Smoked sausage
(1lb) ground beef
(1lb) ground chicken (might make chicken cakes with these!)
(1lb) carrots
(1lb) green breans
(1lb) triple veggie blend
(1lb) sugar snap peas
(24oz) natural cut french fires
(28 oz) baked beans
(1lb) white rice
(1lb) pasta
(26 oz) pasta sauce with mushrooms
Jiffy Cornbread Mix
(5ct) Oatmeal
(32 oz) milk
(1 doz) eggs
7.5 oz cookie dough
2.5 lbs Angus rib eye steaks
2lbs Angus burgers
1.5 lb bone in pork chops
2lb salmon fillets
1lb sugar snap peas
4 ct corn on the cob
20 oz twice baked potatoes (Mike is ecstatic I am not)

See any tasty combinations?

A Short Shoutout...

2011-06-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

to my soul sisters!

Two of my bestest buds now have blogs all their own:

K10 @ Yada Yada Yada

And the chica I call Lyric, over at Life is a Many Splendored Thing

And of course I can't forget the blog I share with my friend Luisa- Hotglue Baking Challenges. We're getting ready to have a "meltdown" over there and share 14 no bake recipes to help you get your sweets while still beating the summer heat. Feel free to leave us comments suggesting recipes for us to try- here or over there-.

And don't forget to stop over and show my two buds some love and encouragement!

New Manifesto

2011-06-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

Chocolate is a choice!
Sweets are a treat!
Exercise makes you feel good!
Maintainence is part of organization.
Cleanliness is.....well clean.
Speak up when you have something to say.
Writing brings you joy, do it daily. Maybe it will turn into a lifelong career.
Edit everything.
Sending mail is the best way to receive mail.
Make an effort at least once a day to brighten your husband's day. (And any one else's)
Pray.

I know there was a big gasp after the first one, I made one myself as I wrote it, but its true.

These are principles, and ideas that I want to work on incorporating in my life. Yes, I love chocolate but I shouldn't feel like I need it. I should spend more time putting pen to paper then lazin' around on FB. I need to voice my opinions to others and to myself, and in doing so I hope to discover new passions.

I need to work on sticking with my cleaning and organization routines. I enjoy putting them together but don't fare so well on following through with them. Everyday. But I'm determined to teach myself that skill.

I want to write more, love more, exericse more, enjoy life more and I think that the 11 items above, in addition to a few more I am still mulling around in my noggin' will helo me do that. One of them is that I want to present myself like I sell Mary Kay. What would I wear, how would I do my hair, make up etc?

What are "rules" or "principles" that you are trying to teach yourself? What goals do you have?

Notes From Small Town Grocery Store

2011-06-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not as witty as Bill Bryson, but I have slightly stolen a title from one of my favorite books of his.

I work as a cashier at the only grocery store in town. Yep. Double sad face.

I hear lots of interesting things as a cashier. Here are some examples:

1. Me: May I have you (insert name of store loyalty card here)?
Old guy customer: No. I'm not using mine anymore because they're illegal.
Me: I hadn't heard
Old guy customer: Yeppers, my buddy told me.

2. Me: Would you like your gum left out of the bag?
Middle-aged lady customer: *takes her gum out of her mouth and sticks it on her finger and waves it at me* This? You want this?
Me: No Ma'am. I mean the gum you're buying now, do you want me to put it in a bag?
Middle-aged lady customer: Oh, ummmm....no

3. Me (just returned to the register from sweeping): Hi, How are you?
Strange man customer: You're such a good little sweeper. Do you sweep like that at home?
Me: Nope, I make my husband do it.
Strange man customer: You're married?
(I guess he really did think I was 4)

4. Me: Plastic bags okay?
Another strange man customer: Paper please.
Me: *packs order in one paper bag*
Strange man customer: *pats my hand* Atta girl! (Hey, I packed your bag, where are my Beggin strips?)

5. Me: And your total is $19.25
Confused lady customer: No.
Me: Excuse me?
Confused lady customer: I said no.
Me: Is there something wrong?
Confused lady customer: No
Me: Okay, that'll be $19.25
Confused lady customer: *pays bill and leaves*

6. Strung out lady customer: Can I buy my cigarettes here?
Me: Yeah but you have to buy them at the customer service desk
Strung out lady customer: If I get you money can you go over there and get them for me?
Me: No, they need your ID.
Strung out lady customer: I can give you that too.
Me: I'll ring up your order and if you want you can go get them while I'm working on it
Strung out lady customer: Ugh. You just can't get good service anymore.

7: Me *cannont ring up anymore groceries because both sides of the belt are full and there is no where to put anything. The customer has not put any bags in her cart. I pick up a 24 pack of Pepsi.* Can you take this?
Annoying Lazy Lady Customer: No.
ME: Can I put this in your cart?
ALLC: No. Can't you hold it?
Me: *Puts pepsi in ALLC'S cart while thinking : "Yes, I can balance a 24 pack on my head while ringing up and bagging your order*
ALLC: dramatic sigh

High School Dreams

2011-05-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

This post is inspiredf by a Mama Kat prompt that went something like :What were your plans and dreams when you first graduated high school?

I had this problem when I graduated highsschool, but it was probably one of the better problems you could have. I had too many dreams and not enough direction.

There were som nay things I could do, wanted to do dreamed of doing, that it was hard for me to pinpoint a major.

I dreamed of writing popular fantasy novels (still do)

I dreamed of being an archaeologist, experimental archaeologist or urban planner

I wanted to be a TV reporter, or talk show host.

I wanted to graduate from college (check), get married (check) and have kids before I turned 27 (no way jose!)

I wanted to be a Girl Scout leader (still do).

I wanted to travel the world (I've since been to England, Scotland, France, N. Ireland and S Korea and have dreams of visiting many more places)

I dreamed of volunteering.

I dreamed of publishing many things.

Of working for the Girl Scouts, and eventually being a CEO because the current lady sucks monkey butt.

I thought about going into advertising.

I thought about living in Charleston SC.

I wanted a red convertible VW Bug.

I wanted a job in PR/Comunications.

I wanted to be an event planner.

What were your HS dreams? How have they shifted? How are you living your dreams?

Plans

2011-05-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

I plan on posting a blog everyday in June. I need to get back to writing, and this is an excellent place to get my juices going. I think getting in the habit of writing something every day is a good habit for me to get into and I hope this will help.

Please feel free to join in. Or if you don't want to blog everyday maybe you could suggest prompts or ask a question that I could answer in a post. I plan on writing at least one prompt a week from Mama Kat. Although they may not be the current week's prompts.

Upcoming topics include:

Notes from a Small Town Grocery Store
Chicken and Dumplings recipe
High School Dreams
Back to job hunting
and hopefully, ABC posts on letters R-Z.

Menu Planning Never Ends

2011-05-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I came back from my graduation vacation to a house with no food. Mostly because I'd left it that way on request. Mike said he wanted to eat out with a friend some and would take care of the rest. So I left him the coupons (nope, didn't touch them).
So seeing as we really needed something for dinner last night (we had yogurt, macaroni noodles, wheat bread, 6 eggs and half a jar of peanut butter) I made a quick menu and grocery list. It won't get us as far as it usually does (a month) but I was hungry and in a rush.
Lastnight : Frozen garlic butter pasta (apparently it got a thumbs down for not being "manly". I ate the leftovers for lunch) At $2.99 for 4 servings, it wasn't bad!
today: Philly Peppers
until we run our of food:
1. Mexican Manicotti - it was a huge hit last time so hopefuly I'll share the recipe
2. Chicken and Dumplings, one of my favorite foods but not his because I boil the chicken
3. Pasties (another favorite, this time with Racheal Ray's modifications)
4. breakfast skillet
5. pancakes and bacon
6. veggie meatloaf and mashed potatoes (hopefully he won't notice the hidden veggies)
7. Bouchons au Thon
8. Roast and veggies
9. Peaches and porkchops (will probably recieve the not manly enough complaint)
10. Lo Mein
11. Burgers

Hotglue, I love you!

2011-05-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Since I am going to see my best friend on Thursday I thought it would be appropriate to answer the Mama Kat prompt "Describe how you met your best friend."

Luisa and I met the summer before our senior year of high school in Charleston, SC. We both attended the Governor's School summer program on the College of Charleston campus.
We were suitemates. She was the roommate of another, now lifelong friend, and I roomed with a snotty girl who obsessively bleached her upper lip.

We became fast friends over meals, late night games, picnics, brick theft, trips to the beach, walking around King Street and not feeding the squirrels.

She helped me end, and cope with the aftermath of an emotional/mentally abusive relationship. Since then we've seen each other date oddballs (mostly on my end) and meet some real winners.When we left we both cried, and she wrote me a very sweet note. Since then our friendship has only grown deeper (thanks in part to another summer program and sharing a college town).

The counselors at Governor's School promised us we would make lifelong friends, and for that gift I am eternally thankful.

Getting Excited....

2011-05-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

In 5 days I'll be heading south, to the sweet Carolinas. My niece will be traveling with me and our first stop will be in Winston Salem to visit my grandparents and the onward to my home sweet college town for my college graduation.
I'm so excited about seeing a lot of my friends and family. It will be the first time I've gotten to spend time with any of them since the wedding.
We should arrive in my collegetown Thursday morning. I want to spend my Williams Sonoma giftcard that I won through With This Ring and then spend some time with my former roomies, followed by graduation rehearsal and dinner...followed by...
BAKING WITH HOTLGUE! LIVE AND IN PERSON! Hopefully, we'll be making Baklava, giving each other our new challenges and maybe maybe doing a vlog!
The rest of the weekend is filled with my niece and I getting in our favorite southern bites (waffle house for her, brusters and cookout for me), hanging out with my long missed buddies and of course, graduation festivites.
I'm secretly hopeing my niece will fall in love with Converse like I did and will make plans to go to college their.
In preparation I stocked up on chips (4.99 after coupons, orginally 8.99), hershey's bliss (2.75 instead of 5.29 after coupons), free crunch bars and 20 cups of yogurt for $9. Now all I have to do is grab a few bottled waters for fifty cents apiece and we'll be good to hit the road!
I can't wait for warmer weather and good friends.

Kickin' Off the Season

2011-05-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Out of the few days that have been both sunny and warm I'm glad this past Saturday was one of them. It gave Mike and I the chance ot kick off our yard sale-ing. We went to a 15 family yard sales and then went to the Salvation Army, Chipotle for lunch (if you have the choice go to Moes instead. Moe's rocks the pants off Chipotle) and then to Gabriel Brothers ($15 sketchers!!) and Sears for some sales (can you say half off a mattress because it was a store display?!).

Mike scored some jeans at Salvation Army and as usual, I walked away empty handed. I found a cute pair of heels that fit perfectly and then we noticed that they had paint all over one side of them. Sigh. I think men in general donate better clothes than women do. We wait until it is decades out of style to get rid of something.

We did fairly well at the yard sale though. We walked away with:

A cooler and four books:

A cute strawberry to hang in the kitchen:

A vase that Mike picked out (it fits the fruity decor that came with the apartment):

A photo album and gift box:

And a shell soap holder than I'm going to use on my nightstand as a jewelry holder. I can put my earrings in it before bed and it will give me the appearance of being more organized.

I almost bought something very similar on this trip but thought Mike wouldn't like a beach themed bathroom. He said I was right. So, my corner of the bedroom can have a little beacy going on!

Have you started yard sale-ing yet? Found any good deals? I think we may be hitting up three sales this weekend!

Drive Baby Drive

2011-04-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

A past Mama Kat prompt was about things you do that drive your spouse crazy.
While Mike and I are alike in many ways and for the most part gel fabulously we are also very different people.
If he sees a mess during the meal and he knows he has to clean it up, he won't enjoy dinner whereas I have selective seeing and can focus on my food and forget about the mess until after I've satisified my grumbling tummy.
Along the same token, I tend to kick my shoes off by our big super chair. They're in the same place everyday, but because they are not lined up by the coat closet it drives him nuts.
But if I had to pick just one thing...I couldn't do it...it's a tie between these two:
1. When we go on long drives (he drives usually) I like to prop my feet on the dashboard. Unlike my mother, he doesn't mind that all all. What drives him bonkers is that I unconsciously cross my toes. Yeah....
2. I'm a forgetful person and I forget to turn the lights off quite often. I never leave the house with them on, but if I leave the bedroom to go downstairs I'll probably forget to turn the light off. I've also gotten into a habit of turning lights on as I walk. Going to the upstairs bathroom? I'll turn the light to the stairway on and the bathroom light and will probably leave both of them on. I don't like being without lights. It probably stems from my fear of the dark
What things do you do that drive your spouse batty?

Haircuts Make All The Difference

2011-04-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a crummy day at work (grocery store, not the paper). I got yelled at by a customer for something that wasn't my fault and got scolded a few times by management for nonissues, but I'm not going to go into too much detail. I am going to tell one story though.

I worked the 6am-1pm shift, which I love, so everything was going great until I got this one customer. I asked him fir his store card. Without the card you don't get store sales or gas points and your coupons don't double. This man had a bunch of soft drinks and asked if he had to use his store card. I told him that he never had to use it but that if didn't use the card he wouldn't recieve any of the benefits, such as gas discounts and sale prices. He tells me that the few dollars the soft drinioks he's buying aren't worth the card (Basically, he's too lazy to reach into his pocket and hand me the dang card). So I ring up his groceries, and he hands me a coupon, which I scan and he pays.

As he is walking away away he looks at his receipt and asks me why his coupon didn't double. I explain that coupons don't double without your store card.

He says to me "Well, why didn't you tell me that."

"Sir, I explained that you wouldn't get any benefits of the card without me scanning the card."

"Well I didn't know that meant coupons wouldn't double. You should have asked me for my card."

"Sir, I did ask you for you card".

And then he snarled at me "You did not!" and stormed away to customer service, where after he left I was scolded for not repeatedly asking him for his card. Next time I'll stick my hand down his pocket and fish it out. See how he likes that.

Anyway, that was just the start of the day and I left the store fuming. I bought a chocolate chip cookie the size of my head and ate it in my car while the ran poured down around me. I felt like crying but had a hair appointment in less than half an hour and didn't want to go in smudge-faced.

I got my hair cut and eyebrows done for $25, which really made my day as I was expecting to pay close to $40. I usually pay $10 for my eyebrows alone.

I came home, took a nap, did some speed cleaning, changed into a hot outfit and did my makeup and then my husband and I went out to a hungarian restaurant and it was amazing. We were greeted with steaming bowls of cabbage and tomato soup and potato bread. We had perogis and I orderd chicken crepes that came with mashed potatoes and carrots with parsnips. And then I had a chocolate rum rasian cake, that was good but not as good as our wedding cake.

And now my hair is all ready for....get this....

MY JOB INTERVIEW on Monday! I've got an interview for the assistant event planner!

Random Thoughts

2011-04-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

I just got super jittery when I sent my resume off for a super cool job as an event planner's assitant. I have no clue what the pay is but it seems like it'd be more enjoyable than being a cashier. I'm not sure what my chances are on it so I'm not saying much about it now, but if by some miracle I do get it I'll be sure to let ya'll know.

2. I have lots and lots of extra cream. Please send yummy recipes my way. But please, none that require to many fancy schmancy or unique ingredients. The idea here is to use up ingredients, not buy more. 3. I'm getting my hair cut on Friday and I want it to look like this:

4. I am traveling to SC for graduation and hopefully will get to have a baking session with Luisa. We are hoping to make baklava (I love it! It was served at my wedding ,and I've had the best yet a few weekends ago). Any fool-proof recipes out there?

5. I may or may not be making bacon scones tonight. And caramels. Depends on my energy levels.

Brilliant Mind Alert: Do Not Attempt to Melt an Entire Bag of 'Mallows In Your Micro

2011-04-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Umm. Yeah.

So Mike and I have been arguing lately: he likes to nap on Sunday afternoons and I like to bake on Sunday afternoons.

So what? And what's that have to do with melting marshmallows? Well hang on there little missy and I'll tell you.

He likes to nap in the superchair which is next to the entrance ot the kitchen. I am by no means a "whiz" in the kitchen and am in fact, quite the clumsy baker. So there tend to be a lot of knockin', bangin' whacking things around and of course a few "owies" coming from my corner of the kitchen. So the two activites do not mesh up. So I tell him to nap upstairs. But the freebie mattress is to firm for napping comfortable and the air mattress, while the ideal balance of soft and firm, is not located near a television and he claims he can not nap properly without a television. But I say, its not like there's a stove in the guest bedroom. Maybe we should remodel. Wonder what our landlords would think.

Anyway, I decided to be a quiet baker today and make cereal bars. This way I would not have to lug out the mixer or any other noise making appliances.

So I look up this recipe. which calls for minimarshmallows, peanut butter, margarine and frosted flakes cereal. Perfect, I have marshmallows and cereal and of course the peanut butter and margarine.

Exactly. I have MARSHMALLOWs and FROSTED MINI WHEATS. And I failed to recognize that 4 cups of minimarshmallows and regular marshmallows are probably not the same, but no matter it'll work out and me marshmallow yummy. And 2 cups of marshmallows equal about half the bag so I dump the entrire bag of marshmallows into my pretty microwave safe bowl and melt away. They melt and fill up approx half the bowl. I follow the instructions and add the margarine. Before putting the bowl in for an additional three minutes I top it with the splatter lid thingy my grandmother gave me to prevent an explosion.

No matter. The marshmallows lift the splatter lid off the bowl and ooze out from underneath it and splatter all over the microwave, which I just cleaned about a week and a half ago.

So I continue on and start to add the 7 cups of cereal, when it dawns on me that frosted min wheats are def not the same thing as frosted flakes and that my marshmallow coating will not possibly cover 7 cups of min wheats. So I stop after 2.5 cups and add them to the 13x9 pan. And it covers less than half of it. So much for cereal bars.

And then I go to clean up the microwave and notice that it was really gunky even though I just cleaned it. Apparently, Mike can never find the splatter lid, which has a "place" people. It is ALWAYS on top of the microwave, either to the left of or directly behing the red snack basket. Geez.

Anyway, I learned my lesson (s):
1. Never attempt to melt an entire bag of marshmallows at one time
2. I should learn to recognize my cereals.
3. My husband needs to be trained to clean the microwave.

What about you? Have you had any brillant baking moments lately.

PS: Mandy, if you're reading this I think I earned the loser cook awared!

Book Review: We Be Big

2011-04-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

<p$1>I've recently stumbled across the booksneeze program that gets books to bloggers in exchange for two reviews. The first book I selected to review is We Be Big: The Mostly True Story of How Two Kids from Calhoun County, Alabama, Became Rick and Bubba. I picked this book because 1. I thought my dad would enjoy reading it once I reviewed it and 2. I remembered watching their tv radio show on Turner South as a kid and I remembered that they always made me laugh.I always struggle a bit with book reviews because I don't want to give away the plot but I think that the title pretty much serves as a plot summary as well. The book alternates from Rick to Bubba's POV chapter by chapter. I really enjoyed that aspiect of the book. I liked being able to read about the same event from two different perspectives, especially in the early sections of the book before Rick and Bill were Rick and Bubba. When I first started reading the book I thought it was a bit dry but the more I read, the less I wanted to put the book down. It's a good book and I enjoyed reading it. After the first few chapters, it kept my interest and kept me intrigued. It has its funny moments and gets better and better as the book goes on. I didn't remember the Rick and Bubba show expressing their Christian beliefs as much as they do and say they do in the book, but I was a kid when I watched the show so I may hae just forgotten that part. So it was a pleasnt suprise to realize that Rick and Bubba are Chrisitians and do their best to out on a Chrisitan, family-friendly and funny show.I think that the Christian overtones and messages in the book were wonderfully done. The book didn't hit me over the head with the author's believes but I was able to understand their thoughts and beliefs. So if you're not a Christian please don't shy away from this wonderful read. Want to buy the book? Check out the links on the top-left side of the post.

First Trip to the Steel City

2011-04-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Mike and I decided to go to Pittsburgh yesterday. We got stuck in an awful traffic jam on the way into the city, but that was the worst part of the trip, so after we got into the city things went smoothly.
We stopped off first thing for lunch. We had pizza at a place where you can watch them toss the dough. My half was bacon and pineapple, and his half was bacon and spicy peppers. My half was the perfect combination of salty and sweetm and it was fun to watch the pizzas being tossed. Next time though, I 'd like to stop at food stands for tacos, gyros or kebabs.
After lunch we stopped and I bought a piece of the most perfect chocolate baklava in the world, which I munched on throughout the day.

After stopping for the baklava we checked into a few oriental grocery stores so Mike could look for his Korean favorites. We eventually found a specifically Korean store, and overheard the cashier speaking Korean. Mike tried to speak a little Korean to her, but she just blew him off. When he asked her about a few specefic items, she looked at him like he was crazy and said "I don't even know what that is.", and went back to what she was doing. Regardless, we still ended up buying kimchi, mando, and some kind of wasabi peas that Mike likes to snack on.

We then went to the place I'd been excited to go to Mon Aimee Chocolate. It was wonderful to look at all of the different types of chocolates and chocolate products. Everything was quite expensive, as to be expected I suppouse at a speciality store in a city. But, I did walk out with a small bacon chocolate bar, which is on my list of 101 things to do. I'll let you know how it is.

Afterwards we walked around the city a bit.

And then we went to a Pirates baseball game! I'd been to the Greenville Drive games twice but this was my first *real* game, and I had a ball. (Pun intended)

Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

2011-04-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

This book was recommended to me several times by my mother, so it made it onto my list of books I want to read by 2013.
Its the first of a series, and one I plan to continue reading. However, I when I first began the book I thought it would take a lot for me to finish it.
It starts out slow, but by the time the book ended I was all "no way. that can't be the end. I need to go get the second book". I think part of the reason that the book was so hard for me to get into at first was that because the book takes places in Scotland, the majority of the book is written in Scots or a strong scottish accent, I'm not sure if its technically Scots. But once you read enough of it and get into the story you're able to ignore it. Still, I think it was a major editing mistake to allow so much of the book to be published in that style. You can get the feel of the place without having to struggle through unique spellings.
Now, about the story. I'm always nervous about this part because I don't want to give away to much of the good stuff but I do want to give you the gist.
So basically, the main character is finally able to honeymoon with her husband when she is suddenly transported back to to 17th cnetury Scotland. She's stuck in the midst of clan wars, and the planning for the Jacobite Revolution. She falls in love with a clansman and must decide whether to stay in Scotland or to try and make it back to her husband, who she also loves. While in the 17th centurty she also struggles with the descion to share her knowledge of future events to help or hurt certain causes.
Have you read Outlander? What do you think? What's on your must read list?

The House That Built Me

2011-04-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

We moved from our small two story yellow house between my kindergarten year and first grade year. I cried and cried and cried.
I wanted to take my ballerina teddy bear pink and white striped wallpaper with me. I wanted my pretty white ceiling fan.
I wanted to keep going to my supercool school that had twin yellow slides that my best friend Chassidy and I could ride while holding hands.I
wanted my yard and our 20 or so cats, one of which was named Mr. Barbie. I had so many memories of playing in the yard, riding my dogs Sandy/Beau around like horses, riding my little red car around with a parade of cats behind me.
I loved doing handstands in the corner of the stairwell. Even though I hated having to slide down the stairs on my "hiney", because I would start going to fast and be unable to stop until I had tumbled my way down to the bottom.
I loved sitting at a desk, in front of a mirror and doing a talkshow about my "homework".
I hated our realtor and was very bratty to her.
And then I fell in love with my big room, connected to my sister's. I loved being able to whisper to her at night. My mother says she would come check on us because she heard us talking, only to find out we were both babbling in our sleep.
I loved my new pink ceiling which was later painted white, so I could have a leopard/jungle themed room. (I loved the trunk my daddy built me and the bookcase. I loved my bench of a window seat and the cushion my mother sewed for it. )
I loved playing on my Barbie rug and swinging on the porch swing at night. And I loved helping change the flag on our flagpole.
I loved not having to slide down stairs. I loved that the yard was still big enough for my swing set, and a fort, and a garden! I loved that my daddy had a garage that he would work in, and sometimes let me help. I loved that there was a big magnolia tree to climb and play in, and rough up my knees on.I loved that we could still have cats, a dog and a bunny!
I loved finding treasures in the old house left from previous kids.
I loved my supercoll remote controlled ceilingfan. (man I miss that thing!)
I loved living in a neighboorhood. We lived in the perfect place- I had kids to play with my age, and lots of lovely older ladies, and couples that would always watch out for my sister and I, buy GS cookies from us and make us special treats at Halloween
What do you remember about your childhood home(s)?This post was inspired by a mama kat prompt.

Bouchons Au Thon- It's What's for Dinner!

2011-04-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Who da what?

Thats what I thought when I first read the name of this recipe in Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. And then I saw that the recipe was for tuna. And I thought no matter who da what, no way. I don't like tuna. And then I remembered that Mike has been asking for tuna and had even stockpiled some in the cabinets. So, I thought what the hey...lets give it a try. And I'm glad I did because now I can say I like tuna. And I'm also now a big fan of Gruyere...which I'd been wanting to try for awhile.Ingredients:
6 oz can of tuna packed in water, drained
1 cup lightly packed finely shredded Gruyere
1/3 cup cream
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 large eggs
1/4 cup finely (don't ignore the finely) chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons of basil (recipe calls for italian parsley)
1/4 teaspoon of salt...I left it out and didn't noticeSteps
1. Preheat to 325F. Grease 8 muffin cups.
2. Put the tuna in a medium bowl and mash it into small pieces. No chunks bigger than a dime.

3. Add the other ingredients, mashing and stirring as you go, until the mixture is a light orange-pink color.

4. Divide evenly between the eight muffin cups.

5. Bake for 25 minutes until they look set on top. Set on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a small thin knife around the edges toremove from tin. They cave in a bit as the cool.

I served these with fresh steamed green beans in a garlic butter sauce and a broccili/carrot/cauliflower mixture.

half eaten veggies, I couldn't wait for the picture

For the green bean sauce:
Cook 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 glove of mashed garlic until tender. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Toss with cooked green beans

And for dessert?
Instafondue! Strawberries, banana and marshmallows ~~slathered~~ drizzled in chocolate syrup. Mmmm!

Meal Planning Tuesday

2011-04-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

I wnet grocery shopping on Saturday. Here's the upcoming menu:
Tu- Bouchons Au Thon
W Chicken and Dumpling (I can't wait)
Th Brats and Beans
F Penne Pasta (my moms recipe!)
Sa Leftovers
Su Leftovers
M Mexican Manicotti
Tu Chicken Enchilidas
W Cowboy Beans
Th Corn Frittata
F Slow Cooker Spicky Chicken with Broccoli and Cheese
Sa Leftovers
Su Leftovers
M Chicken Chili
Tu Cheddar Chicken and Black eye peas
W Chile Relleno Casserole with Tortilla chips
Th Pasties with mac and cheese (my scottish favs!)
Upcoming baking:
Frosted Flakes cereal bars
Mounds Bar Cupcakes
And something from somewhere else...probably scones
I promise I haven't dissapeared and that I have more posts coming up soon

Things My Mother Taught Me*

2011-03-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

1. How to Bag Groceries
My mother was always very picky about how the baggers at grocery stores bagged her groceries. Something are no brainers- like bread and eggs seperated from everything else, but other things she insisted on seemd strange to me at the time, or, judging by the heavy sighs, to the cashiers as well. However, if I pack everyone's groceries as I would pack my mother's most customers seem to be fairly satisified and occasionally complement me on my bagging job. Others either insist I shove everything into one bag or glare at me and mumur something along the lines of kids can't do anything right, when I fail to bag their groceries- plastic in paper in plastic, two items maximum per bag- without being asked.
2. To Always Do My Best
Dealing with the public and ringing groceries several days a week as never been my dream job, and certainitly won't be a career for me, but while I'm there I suck it up, smile, and do my best to ring fast, pack well, be courteous, and remember 8000 codes. This belief was instilled in me from my mom always insisting that I do my best, even if it was something I didn't care of or didn't excel at.
3. Be Nice to Everyone
My mom was like the mom in Bambi. I frequently heard "If you can't say anything nice then don't say anyything at all." I learned that everyone deserves respect and should be treated nicely. As for the rude customers who think the grocery store revolves around them and that I can balance their 12 pack on my head while ringing and baggin their groceries, I "kill um with kindess". This belief gets a bit tricky when it comes to dealing with my mother in law because she is ANNOYING.AS.HELL. She calls almost everyday, and if we don't pick up she will continue to call on the hour, and will alternate between our house phone and cells. She always asks (both of us) the same questions, several times, in the same conversation. She even told my husband that she does that because she doesn't listen to our response. As far as being mean to her goes- I want to explode and tell her everything she does that drives us both crazy. The worst thing I've done so far is hang up on her. Like I said, "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" :)
4. Volunteering
My mom instilled in me, at an early age, a desire to volunteer and help others. As a Girl Scout I picked up trash, helped out a camp,served at nursing homes, held food drives, worked with children at Head Start and helped with Hurrican Katrina relief. I volunteered a lot in college too- helping with the Children's Shelter, Girl's Home, baking cupcakes for the soup kitchen, cleaning at a woman's shelter and a varieety of other things. Helping others is missing from my life right now, and I miss it. I'm looking for something to get involved with in my area, but I keep coming up short. There seems to be a shortage of nonprofits in my town, as well as the next one over, there doesn't seem to be a soup kitchen and the food bank is also about 45 minuts away and has a confusing volunteer system. The only flyer I've seen is for a lunch buddy program, but I tend to work during hte lunch hour. Any suggestions for programs to check into? Perhaps something that I can do with my inconsisten work schedule?
*This was inspired by a Mama Kat prompt

2 Easy Recipes= 1 Great Dinner

2011-03-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

I made these awhile back and just haven't gotten around to finishing the post. That actually happens a lot. As many drafts as I have I should have a new post going up every day but that rarely happens.
I'd been craving fried chicken but didn't want to go out to a fast food place for some, and as luck had it I happend to be flipping through channels when I stumbled upon some blonde lady, that I didn't recognize making "easy fried chicken". Sold!
Easy Fried Chicken!
Take your chicken breasts, or thighs or whatever you prefer, and let them soak in buttermilk for 20 minutes or so. Dip the meat in to a 1 part paprika 3 parts flour mixture, back into the buttermilk and then back into the flour mixture, pressing to adhere it to the chicken. Pop into hot oil for three minutes. Promply remove and bake in a 350 degree oven, on a bakng sheet for about 30 minutes. Presto- a crunchy "fried chicken"
And to go with it I made Twice Baked Buttermilk Potatoes. I'd always had twice baked potatoes from the store and thought they tasted like regurgitated cardboard. But Mike likes them (along with instant potatoes that you make from pieces that look like cardboard. I swear that boy must have not had a decent culinary childhood. But I digress), so I thought I would try to make them at home...and they turned out super yummy!
Twice Baked Buttermilk Potatoes
I put two potatoes in the microwave until tender and then let them cool until room temperture. I scooped out the insides and mixed them with 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1tbsp melted butter, salt and pepper and chunks of cheddar cheese. I popped the mixture in the microwave to insure that the butter and cheese melted and mixed all into everything else. I filled the skins back up, sprinkled with paprika and popped into a 350F oven for 15 minutes. YUMMY!

Go Win!!

2011-03-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

Ends March 31. Win some chocolate!

Ends March 20. Win a scarf!

Ends March 22, Win cotton bags.

Ends April 6th. Win candy!

A Quad of Q's

2011-03-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

Q is for....Quilts

My mom knows how to uilt, as do the mothers of my friends and some of my friends. Lyric explained it to me in principle back in the fall. I've been tossing around the idea for some time now of learning to quilt and making all of the tshirts that I don't/can't wear anymore but have sentimental signifigance into a quilt. What do you think? Has anyone done this? I know there are places that will do this for you but I think it would be a neat skill to learn.
2. Q number two is for....Quotes

I get to interview and quote people in my freelance writing and I love it. People have such great stories, and I'n such a nosy person that this works out fabulous. I really hope to find a way to make this my fulltime job.

3. Q is for quirky

My friend described herself as quirky in a recent interview and got strange looks back. She meant that she was an individual, and an out of the box one as that. But the connotation her interviewers read was "weird, odd, strange". Thats not what I think of when I think of quirky. It's like an "innocent different". An extra bit of personality, in a good way. What are your thoughts?

4. Q is for Quinn.

I've happened to catch a few episodes of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman lately (reruns of course). And I remember how much I used to love that show, although I pick up on a lot more things now than I did when I watched it the first time. It's a good show, and I still think Sully is hot!

Tempting!

2011-03-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Here's what has been tempting my tummy this week!

Mexican porkchops

Chicken Fajita pasta

Breakfast Casserole

Wine and Cheese Cupcakes

Homemade Mashed Potatoe Candy (we always but it, but I'd lole to make it)

Another Breakfast Casserole

Go Win Wed March 9th

2011-03-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Not much here this week, but still work checking out:
Win 2 handbags.
Win a shop credit to a cute etsy store!

Completey, Totally Yummy!

2011-03-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

I could eat this stuff for days- it is that good. It's a recipe for Cowboy Beans and Sausage that I found in my Woman's Day cookbook. I followed the recipe and then topped it with grated cheese and crumbled cornbread. But you have to use Aldi's Baker's Corner cornbread mix. I've never had any mix other than Jiffy until the other night and this stuff knocked my socks off. It was very light and had a slight honey taste to it. Mmmm!
Here's the recipe for the Cowboy Beans and Sausage
1 can pintos1 can kidney beans1 can black beans8-16 oz Kielbasa or smoked sausage1.5 cups chopped onions3/4 C bbq sauce2 tbs pancake syrup or sugar1 tbsp cider vinegar
1. Brown the sausage and remove from skillet.2. Add onions and cook until tender3.Add bbq sauce, syrup and vinegar and bring to a boil.4. Cook 15 minutes, covered over medium heat. 5. Sprinkle with cheese and serve with Aldi's cornbread- I loved my cornbread crumbled into it! Mmmmm!

Meal Plan Monday

2011-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

I need to go grocery shopping but until then this is the menu plan I'm tossing around

Monday- Fried Chicken with Twice Baked Potatoes (turned out fabulous!)

Tuesday- Honey Lemon Chicken and Black Eye Peas

Wednesday- Breakfast

Thursday- Pork Tacos and Stuffed Jalepenos (grocery shopping day)

Friday- Stuffed Cheddar Chicken with Black Beans, Amish Cake for dessert! (We'll have company!!)

Saturday: New and Improved Pasties (I made these before but they didn't turn out the way I hoped, so I hope with some Racheal Ray inspired modifications these will be the way I remember!!)

Sunday- Turkey Pita Burgers with Amish Black Beans

Monday- Spaghetti with homemade sauce and turkey meatballs

Tuesday- Amish Cheeseburger Pie

Wednesday- Taco Quiche

Thursday- Breakfast Casserole

Friday- Chicken Fajita Pasta

Gotta Love Bend and Dents

2011-03-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

We try to stop at Little Barn, a bed and dent store, everytime we drive over to visit Mike's family. This shopping trip we spent around $30 and got:

antibotic bandaids
4-5 cans of Campbells soup
hot chocolate
popcorn
2 bags of chips
dried black beans
2 boxes of ceral bars
granola bars
granulated sugar
chocolate chips
pb chips
sweetned coconut
2 rice mixes
a bag of seasoning for wings
salsa
enchilda sauce
cream of chicken
beef consome
marshmallows
peanut butter
apple butter
grape water
ferror rocher candy

I love going to this store because I can get my baking supplies on the cheap, as well as extras like popcorn, hot chocolate, chips, chocolate candy and apple butter that I wouldn't normally buy because of the price. If you total it out we spent on average, $1 an item.

What's Been Going On

2011-03-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

1. My husband is healing.
2. I've been working for the paper and loving it.
3. The paper's freelance photographer has taken to calling me "Word Girl".
4. I enjoy working as a cashier- everyones been very nice and helpful...but I can't help but wonder what it would be like to work in the bakery...have you every done that?
5. I'm reading Ernest Hemingways Moveable Feast, and enjoying the majority of it. Any suggestions on what to read next?
6. Today we're going to an amish store to purchase some mashed potatoe candy.
7. Tomorrow, we're trying out a new church and I'm making mango cupcakes, to complete my challenge.
8. And this time next week, Mike's best friend and his wife should be up to visit!

What I Wanna Make!

2011-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some recipes that have had my mouth watering lately.

Plantains with a Coconut Caramel Sauce....I love plantains!
Chocolate Carrot Cake
Turkey Pot Pie
Tex Mex Manicotti...I love manicotti, and tex mex so this seems perfect!
Triple Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread....3 chocolates? YUM!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Torte

Have you made any of these? What have you been craving lately?

I'm linling up with Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Go Win Wednesday: March

2011-03-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

Ends March 4th. Win a microwedge bag!Ends March 7. Win Marshmallow pops. Ends March 8th. Win a salt and pepper shaker.Ends March 17th. Win a $20 gift code!

A Little Bag of Goodies!

2011-03-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

I won a shop credit to Piecefully Home, a super cute etsy store!
And this is what I picked out:

2 cupcake and polka dot napkins

2 rocket and stripe napkins

1 beautiful set of gift tags

Go check her out!

Easy Pineapple "Gumbo"

2011-02-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

I discovered thsi tasty concoction last night while throwing together a bunch of leftovers. I used:

1 box of rice a roni (rice pilaf) and followed the directions
leftover smoked sausage or kielbasa, chopped
leftover pineapple chutney (pineapple and onions tossed with salt pepper and 1 tsp of hot sauce and heated in the skillet)
raw mushrooms
shredded pepperjack

I made the rice according to the directions. While that cooked I reheated the sausage and chutney and mushrooms in a skillet. When they were both done I combined them and topped with cheese.

What a perfect way to sneak in five food groups grains, fruit, dairy, veggies and meat!

Raw Vegetable Amish Casserole

2011-02-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

I loved this! But Mike only thought it was "so-so", but he's not as into his vegetable as I am. I can't get enough of them. This meal reminded me of when my Girl Scout troop would go camping. For dinner we would wrap Veggall (sp?), potatoes and hamburger meat in aluminium foil and throw them in the fire to cook. MMMMM!

In a caserole dish, layer cabbage, slice potatoes, onions, zucchini, carrots and more onions. Do that in any order, but start with the cabbage. Salt and pepper between the layers. Optionally, butter the potatoes. On top sprinkle approx. a pound of raw hamburger meat. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1.5 hours. Top with lots of cheese before serving!

The only picture I remembered to take was during the layering process

Have you made anything like this?

Friday Favday

2011-02-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

Here's what I've been craving over the past week!
Caramel Apple Cake....this sounds llike heaven on a plate
Chocolate Churros...I discovered churros in Ireland and have been wanting to bake them since
Chocoalte Chip PB Biscotti
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce....I love teriyaki flavoring, so it'd be great to be able to whip it up
Baked Potato Pizza...Mandy is brilliant, what else is there to say?
I'm linking up with Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Go Win Wendesday: Feb 23

2011-02-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

Here's what's going on in the giveaway world:

Ends Feb 25th. Win a cute letterpress print.

Ends Feb 28th. Win an Amazon giftcard!

Ends March 3. Win a cute headband and brooch!

Ends Monday. Win two cute headbands!

Ends March 2. Win a pair of pretty earrings!

Ends March 11th. Win tea and a mug.

Ends Feb 25th. Win a scarf

Ends March 4th. Win a CSN gift code.

Woot Woot!

2011-02-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

Celebrate!

I have a few reasons to be extra happy this weekend!

1. My husband is feeling better and knows what has been causing him pain and worry. And has a way to ease his pain! Praise God!

2. Our new dining room set came today! We got a really good deal. We bought the table and chairs for $599 and it came with a queen sized mattress and box spring set! It's not the best quality mattress but it sure does beat sleeping on the couch and chair and half. And, we plan on moving my parents old bedroom set up this summer for our guest bedroom. So when that happens we can move the free mattress on to it and buy ourselves a nicer mattress.

3. I've been writing pretty steadily for the local paper and started my training at the grocery store last week.

4. Yesterday was sunny and warm enough that I was able to sit outside and read my FREE subscription to Better Homes and Gardens!

5. I've knocked a few things of of my 101/1001 list lately. The latest item was not as hard as I thought it would be. "Cook 15 new non-dessert recipes." And I did it! Suprisingly, before the similar goal to cook 15 new dessert recipes! You can check out my Kitchen Adventures page to check out the recipes I've tried and liked enough to blog about. A few more should be coming this week! Knocking that goal off my list means I've completed 32 of the goals on the list!

What good things happend to you this week?

What I've Been Eyeing!

2011-02-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of posts that caught my attention this week!

Cannoli Pound Cake.....mmmmmm I love cannolis

Gorgeous Handmade Poinsetta Pillows...I want to make these by Christmas

Strawberry Jalepeno Cupcakes....Mike isn't big on sweets but I think he might like these

Parmesan Crackers....these look simple and tasty

Baked Skinny Fries....I think we'll have these for dinner tonight

Fruity Breakfast Burrito....I had my version of these for breakfast this morning...more later

Magic Refrigerator Bread.....is rising as we speak!

I'm linking up with Friday Favorites!

"Chocolate Banana Snackin' Bars"

2011-02-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

I made these the other afternoon for us to snack on throughout the week. And they're only 70 calories apiece. My first impulse was to eat one warm out of the oven. And it was incredibly dry and dissapointing, so I bagged them and stuck them in the fridge. Deciding to give them a second chance, I tried another one the next morning and it was incredibly moist! So resist all urges to a hot and fresh one and refrigerate them awhile before diggin' in.

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium)
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1/ cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salr
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Steps:

Preheat to 350F. Line a baking SHEET with foil and grease/spray.

Beat on medium speed- mashed bananas, sugar, oil, milk, eggs, powder and soda, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. On low speed beat in flour until well combined. Stir in chocolate.

Spread into pan. Bake 15-20 minutes until it passes the toothpick test.

Let cool and then cut lenghtwish into four strips. Cut each strip into ten pieces.

Menu Planning...Thursday

2011-02-17T04:49:00.000-08:00

Somehow we've gotten into the habit of almost running out of dinner foods on Wednesdays so that's when I've been doing the grocery shopping and meal planning gets posted after that. So while it's not Monday, it works for us and tends to last us at leat 1.5 weeks and occasionally 3 weeks. I'm exctied about this upcoming meal plan because it holds a lot of new recipes for me to try.

W- Hamburger Helper

Th- Raw Vegetable Amish Casserole (recipe coming)

F Grilled Chicken Sandwiches and Fries (recipe coming)

Sa Leftovers or Perogis

Su Kielbasa and Cabbage or leftovers (recipe coming)

M Pork Stirfry with Broccoli and Pineapple Chutney

Tu Meat and Potato Pasties (recipe to come)

W Cowboy Beans and Sausage (recipe to come)

Th Breakfast with Jimmy Dean SW Skillet....I love those things

F Spaghetti

Sa Leftovers

Sunday Leftovers

M Italian Grilled Chicken

Tu Pork chops...I haven't decided how I want to do these yet.

Go Win Wednesday!!!!

2011-02-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

What's up for grabs this week?

Worldwide. Ends Feb 19th. Win a $15 shop credit to a cute etsy store!

Valentine's Dinner

2011-02-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

I'd planned on having cheddar chicken for dinner last night, but since it was valentine's I wanted to make it a little more special.

Thankfully, Rachel Ray stepped in and on her talk show last week showed me how to butterfly and stuff a chicken breast. Basically, you gently cut the chicken breast open like a book.

I did that and then sauteed onions in butter and then stuffed them into the chicken and then followed the rest of the recipe as usual. I served it with field peas (one of my favorites). Mike had, to my suprise, never had them, but loved them! And I made extra breasts so that we both can have valentine leftovers for lunch today! As for dessert? Well, Mike's not much of a sweets eater so I sent cookies with him to work!

What did you do for dinner last night?

Valentine's Day Cards

2011-02-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

I mailed out a bunch of homemade Valentine's cards at the end of last week.

K10 loves yellow and the yellow blue combo

Chocolates for Hotglue

Lots of hearts for my mom/dad/sister

Blue and Green are my "little's" favorite colors

A fun, simple card for Lyric

I also made a purple leopard print card for my divaish little cousin and a red, pink and white lacey card for Mike, but of course I forgot to take pictures!

Love Lesson #1: Love is Patient

2011-02-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

(Remember, I picked LOVE to be my 2011 word) I've had a hard time with this lesson lately. I'm not a patient person, but lately I've been unfairly unpatient with Mike. He's had a lot of health problems and trips to the emergency room over the past month. Wanting him to be better quickly, I would jump on the bandwagon with any pills or treatment that any of the myriad of doctors he's seen suggested. Even when he told me he truly felt like a certain set of pills would do him more harm than help. I pushed him to at least purchase the pills, in case he would change his mind. I was tired of the countless visits to the ER and postponed plans. I just wanted my husband back, and I wanted him back now.
After much prayer, on both of our parts, and more ER visits, Mike and I have come to the conclusion that the prescribed medication was not what he needed and that there was a deeper cause to his symptoms.

Slowly, I've been learning to be more patient, with God and with my husband. Somedays it takes a lot not to snap at him or get moody over something that he can't control. But I think it is no coincidence that my Bible study planned lined up to have me reading about Job's wife around the time this started. I've constantly had a reminder in my head that comes out everytime I get the urge to be mean or snotty to my husband when I'm stressed or even sometimes inconvenienced by his health issues. It whispers to me that I don't want to be negative like Job's wife.

It reminds me that I want to be supportive, helpful, loving and patient. That the things going on are not my husbands fault and that his suffering is even greater than mine.

As for a health update, he has an appointment with the GI to check out some things. Other than that I can't say much because he has expressed a wish that I not blog in detail about his health.

ATM Favorite Dessert Snack

2011-02-11T17:27:00.000-08:00

We had lots of leftover canned pineapple rings from last week that I've been snacking on. I love to take two of them, put some pieces of my hazelnut Ghiradelli chocolate bar in the the center of the ring and then sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese. It seems like an odd combination but I love pineapple and choclate and I love pineapple and Cheddar. And the chocolate has nuts in it which helps up the "savoryness" that is associated with the cheese.

Swagbucks Wishlist

2011-02-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

The last few things I bought with my Amazon gift cards that I earned on Swagbucks, were items that had been lingering on my wishlist for quite awhile.

The last things I traded my swagbucks gift cards in for were:

1. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
2. Wilton Assorted Jewel Mini Cups, 100 Count

3. Wilton Recipe Right 3 Tier Cooling Rack Set

Whats next?

Well, I'd like to get:

1. BonJour Creme Brulee Chef's Culinary Torch with Fuel Gauge, Brushed Aluminum
2. Norpro 6 Piece Porcelain Ramekin Set
3.Sterling Silver Marcasite and Garnet Colored Glass Heart Pendant, 18"

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2011-02-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

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Getting Creative in the Kitchen!

2011-02-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

After we had Bacon Pineapple Burgers for dinner we had a few leftover slices of pineapple and lots of juice left. I wanted to keep the slices for snacking on but I didn't want to throw out, or drink the juice straight up.

So I started to look into cookie recipes. I looked at basic recipes like shortbread, sugar cookies and butter cookies. I couldn't decide the best route for the pineapple cookies I wanted to use, so I sort of combined a butter cookie and sugar cookie recipe, but subsituted most if the sugar for brown sugar and honey, because I thought those flavors would best compliment the pineapple. I then brushed the cookies with a glaze I made from melted butter, honey and brown sugar.

They came out with a nice texture, but didn't have a very pineapple-y taste, but I only used 1/4 cup of the juice because I didn't want them to come out too acidic. But if I make them again, I will probably double the amount of juice and maybe add in some cinnamon and a little bit of milk.

I'll leave you with the recipe I ended up cobbling together but appreciate your suggestions on how to make a better pineapple flavored cookie.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup regular sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup pineapple juice/syrup from canned pineapples

tablespoon of honey
tablespoon of brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

I beat everything in the first set of ingredients together and scooped onto a greased pan and baked about 13 minutes ar 375 F. The recipe made about eighteteen cookies which I brushed with the second set of ingredients once they were mixed together.