Weekly Menu - Did you see the Beef Prices?

Just to keep it real - I don't have a menu planned yet.  Well, I did, and I even went to the store on Friday night but the store was HOT and BUSY and my list was long . . too long.  I hate it when I do that so instead of trying to recreate the wheel menu while standing in an aisle, I left and came home.  I'll try again today. 

Ideas for meals? Probably Teryiaki Chicken Thighs, Spaghetti, and breakfast for dinner.  Plus we will have some fun stuff on Sunday - just need to narrow it down . . . I had way too much stuff planned!!


That's it for today :-)

Food Friday - Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Yes, I realize that you don't really need to make Sloppy Joes in the Crock-pot but that slow cooking really helps the flavors blend well plus, it sure is nice to put dinner together earlier in the day and forget about it!

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

I have been searching for a Sloppy Joe Recipe for a long time.  My mom always just "threw" hers together and no matter how many times I try to make them like she does, they do not turn out.  When I saw this recipe it really appealed to me because I love Worcestershire Sauce :-)  Now, I knew when I taste tested this recipe earlier in the day I knew exactly what my husband would say - that it was too sweet and guess what?  That was his one complaint!  This is a very sweet recipe but the nice part is that you can use mustard on it without it being over powering.  Granted, next time I am going to cut the brown sugar in half and see how it goes.  Also, if I was serving this at a party, would add an additional 1-2 pounds of beef without increasing the sauce - this is a very saucy recipe :-)

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

 

• 2 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp prepared mustard
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 16 hamburger buns
• 16 slices of cheese, optional (we like american or provolone)

1. In a skillet, brown ground beef and onion together until beef is cooked. Drain off fat.
2. Place beef in the slow cooker and add remaining ingredients.
3. Stir until well combined.
4. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
5. Serve on buns with a slice of cheese on each bun.

And here is how my family looked while they were eating !!

 Can you tell he liked it?  Just look at the sauce all over his mouth!!!

Show Us Your Life Fridays - Singles!

I haven't done a "Show us your life" Friday post in a long time because . . .. the topics did not pertain to me.  Well, this weeks does so I am linking up over at Kellys Korner.  It is showing off your singles . . and well. . .. I'm . . .NOT single HA!!  You were all a little worried, weren't you?  So why am I doing this?  Because my niece Marisa IS single so I want to link up with all the other single posts to maybe find her someone wonderful!

Some simple facts about Marisa:

19 years old

A missionary kid - she has spent a good portion of her growing up years in Brazil

She is great with kids - and currently works at a day care while her family is back in the states.

She is the third of 4 kids and is a total 3rd child - an extrovert to a tee.

She is short (well, she is! - we tease her that she probably needs to sit in a booster seat - but she is really over 5 feet tall . .. ok . . or maybe just under 5 feet tall but she is soooo close!)

She has a great talent for photography that she is just now really starting to experiment with and learn.

Currently she is planning to return to Brazil and work in an orphanage there (but I would love for her to stay in the states .. just saying!!)

Marisa is a Christian and loves the Lord - she is seeking what He would have her do right now (and as her favorite Aunt, I'm praying really hard too!!) She has recently completed a counseling class and is also taking a class related to teaching English as a second language. 

Marisa enjoys music very much and yes, she can sing :-)  At family gatherings, she provides comic relief (or maybe we just all enjoy laughing at with her!) and really is so much fun!! 

Marisa is "my sweet Marisa" and has been since she was born.  I love her to death - she has a tender heart, a sweet spirit and is fun!!! 

Feel free to leave a comment on this post to contact Marisa - I'll be sure to forward the information on to her. 

Recap of Cleaning and House Goals/February Cleaning Plans

You may or may not remember this Post where I shared a few cleaning goals for starting out 2012. 

One was 14 days to get clean and organized with Ask Anna - well, I did nothing with that one.  One, I noticed that what she was posting about, I was already doing or they didn't apply and two, I don't think she did 14 days - either that or I just missed them HA!

Second was the 40 bags idea -which was basically a list of 40 areas to clean in the home and to throw away/give away as much as possible.  I did do a handful  but then, January got busy and, honestly, I totally forgot about the list.

Third was my own "Do one thing".  This was the perfect plan - really it was!  I had a list of 31 things so basically, just doing one thing a day.  It was all good . . until I discovered the one flaw in my plan . What was that flaw?  Weekends.  HA!  I don't clean on the weekends.  No way, no how.  I tried to keep up with it but again, things got busy and it just didn't happen. 

So, what is the plan for this month? 

I posted this idea in a recent Too Cute Not To Toot post and it is a phrase that I love but struggle with in this house.  With out closets or good storage areas, we find that we have piles all of the time no matter how hard we try.  Stuff just doesn't have homes.  So, my goal for cleaning this month is to try and solve some of those issues and, in the process, get rid of some eye clutter.  I'm starting in the kitchen this week and basically, cleaning from top to bottom, side to side, inside and outside cupboards - everything.  In the kitchen, I need to make sure that the things taking up space are things that are useful - otherwise, they need to get stored elsewhere if it is something I use a few times a year or given away if I haven't used it in over a year.  Following the kitchen, I'll be "walking" through each room the same way - resolving issues in each room and (hopefully) coming up with some true solutions to all of the storage,clutter problems. 

When I'm all done, I want to order vinyl to make that framed piece above and then, hang it somewhere as a reminder. 

As a side note, I'm also going to be taping off my kitchen as I clean it and taking down the last few things from the walls because it WILL be painted this month!!!  It NEEDS to be painted and finished up!!  I'm actually picking up the paint this week (I should have it in hand by the time this posts) thanks to a Home Depot card we've been hanging on to for over a year.  Then I'm hoping to pick up the roller this weekend!!! 

In case you are wondering - I get extremely bored with cleaning.  I almost hate it.  So, because of that, I'm always trying to play mind games with myself in order to try and enjoy it.  Don't get me wrong, I love a clean house, I wish it would stay spotless every day, but I really don't like getting it to that point :-)

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I want to start out with an idea that I actually asked a blogger about because she posted about it.  This is one of my favorite blogs to read called, Superchikk, and she shared an idea about creating a photo book for your child.  She gives one to her kids as a stocking stuffer each year that contain 100 photos from the year.  What a great little treasure for kids to hold on to and use as a reminder of people and things.

Oops!!  I started this last week and then forgot that I hadn't finished it so, I'm going to post this idea for today and try to remember to create this post the right way for next week!

Pinterest - Recap of my January Pinterest Goals

To begin with, I have one final item that I completed this month and that, of course, is a recipe.  Yes, recipes seemed to be the easy thing to do this month!  Even though I pinned this on Pinterest, it actually comes from a blog that I follow, Jenna's Journey, which gave me a little comfort since I've tried some of her recipes before and they turned out well.  This recipe was for a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.

I was sold on this for two reasons.  1) We love pumpkin and 2) We love Chocolate Chips.  Put the two together and they are perfect. 

So, first, to give you a good laugh before I even tell you anything else about this recipe, this is what mine looked liked.

Notice that it is in three big chunks and it isn't a nice round cake?  LOL  Before I go any further I will say that this cake tastes fantastic, I just made a "baker's" error.  Do you want to know what I did?  Very simply, I tried to flip it out of the pan before it was ready and it just fell apart.  That's all.  So when you make this recipe, WAIT the full 15 minutes the recipe suggest BEFORE turning it out of the pan.  By the way, the rest of the cake I just dumped into a bowl and we ate it with dinner just using forks.  It was too good to throw away.   I don't actually own an bundt pan so I used an Angel Food Cake Pan and had to cook it for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 - 15oz can of pumpkin puree

3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, fresh nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.

Separately, whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar in a mixer. Mix in eggs, one at a time. On low, add flour and pumpkin mixtures in batches. Mix just until combined, do not over mix. By hand, fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spoon cake batter into pan, smoothing top. Pound the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean in the center of cake, about 1 hour. Cool the cake in the pan, on a rack, for 15 minutes. Invert rack over cake and re invert cake onto rack. Cool completely before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

So, now to move on to my other ideas that I did not complete this month.

First up is an idea from Peppermint Creative and it was actually an idea I found prior to Pinterest but then ended up also pinning it.  It is the 52 Things Deck of Cards Album.

Now, this is a great idea, don't get me wrong.  But, after I had gathered my scrapbook paper from my collection, found a deck of cards, and starting thinking about this project I realized that for all of the work it would take, it would end up sitting on a table or shelf after my husband looked at it.  It would be two big to put in an album later so it would gather dust.  Why would I want to spend my time on something that will get dusty? :-)  So, in the end, I decided that I did not want to create this idea.  I think I can create a card for my husband for Valentine's Day that will express just as much but be something that I could actually keep in our scrapbook. 

Another idea that I still really like comes from Christina Williams and is for Canvas Silhouettes.  I think that this are classic and would actually really love to make them but I knew that it just wasn't going to happen this month or anytime soon. 

I actually had a 2 pack of 16x20 Canvas' in my cart at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago but those just seemed so big; the difference in price to buy two 8x8 frames was pretty big. (The 2 pack was on special for $7.50 . .. verses $15.00 for a single 8x8) Plus, I would need to get some contact paper and blow up photos . . .it was becoming a very extensive project that I just didn't have the time or the money to do right now.  I think I need to print a couple 40% coupons one of these days and have my husband and I each pick up a canvas in the size I want - then go from there.  So, you may see this idea show up on my goals before the end of the year!

Finally, this idea comes from Diary of a Quilter but I've seen it so many other places as well and it is just for the simple homemade magnets.

I'm halfway into this project - I've purchased the glass beads/marbles but need to get magnets still.  Then I can cut the scrapbook paper and I have plenty of letters to use as well.  These are great to use for learning letters or for doing all of the magnet worksheets.  I also want to pick up some inexpensive cookie sheets to use with these as well.  I do plan on finishing up this project in February. 

I did complete 4 items on my goal list (plus a few that weren't) but sadly, those 4 items were all recipes!!  Better luck next month :-)

Recapping my January Goals

At the beginning of January, I posted my Goals for the month (and yes, it was a funky post because I tried adding my spreadsheet into the post and well, it only kinda worked!)  I wanted to take time to recap those goals and let you know what I actually accomplished.  I am the first person to tell you that I know that I will mostly likely not complete every goal I plan but I try to work towards completing them; you know, just make progress. 

Here's the low down, real life truth:

1. Our Mantel: We do not have a true mantel but my goal for January was two fold.  1)To pick some place to do a little decorating each month for the holiday/season and 2)To decorate it for January using snowmen.  Well this one gets a great big Check for being done!  I decided to use our dining room table and the top of our refrigerator as our "mantel".  The refrigerator because it is what you see when you walk in the house and the table because, obviously, we eat there and can see the decorations.  Here are a few photos of what I did for January:

 I love these snowman and I love that I can keep them out from Christmas through January :-)  I'm also trying to use table clothes again - I love them and now the boys won't pull them off like they used to! 

2) Holiday Celebrations:  One of my goals was to get some cards out on time.  Well, I totally missed one anniversary and my niece's birthday was Friday and her card just went out today.   I had planned to head to Frankenmuth to see the Ice Sculptures but those plans didn't pan out so instead we spent some family time on Saturday the 28th.  Finally, we've decided to celebrate half-birthdays so I've been working the basics of those ideas (these will just be with our little family of 4 for something fun to do!) and also a birthday board to use for the real birthdays :-)

3) Date Night: This was an easy one this month - we went away for the weekend to our niece's wedding :-)  We had planned to stay over on Friday night thanks to points my husband had used and ended up staying a second night due to the awful weather conditions! 

4) Daily Something Special: Does having good intentions count?  I did create my January binder and printed off some great ideas.  I also make a calender with what I wanted to do and put everything in order.  We did a few things like baked some cookies and colored but then. . .well, that was it HA!  We still have some things I would like to do but those might now carry over into February :-)

5) Pinterest Challenge: Check back tomorrow (Tuesday) and you will see the updates on this part of my goals!

6) Too Cute Ideas: 1) I made lots of ideas for February decorations but you will have to wait to see those - I'll be doing some crafty posts over the next couple of weeks! 2)  I did not create the birthday board but I did make my notes on what to do!  3) I finished up the clip boards this past weekend as well as the growth chart.

7) Quiet Books: No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get these going!  I'll try again in February :-)

8) Celebrate Me: Crash and burn on this one :-)  Lets try for round 2 in February. 

9) Misc Items: I finally brought my nephews books inside this past weekend . . .I still need to research the best ways to list them and sell them.  I did write out my scrapbooking goal (and am already ahead!!) but I have not started the February binder as of yet!

10) House Projects:  I did make a list of house projects and even wrote a post about it.  That is as far as I got. . . I did not paint the kitchen . . . and we cancelled the big room switch.  We are all staying put!

11) Vacation/Camping - We haven't secured any dates or set anything in stone yet but I have done some beginning stages of planning.

I FELT like I got a lot more done then it appears . . .I think I need to be a little more specific in February HA!