31 in 31 - Day 11

Today we had a family day and went to Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.  Darryl and I have not been there together since the first year we were married when we went to see the Christmas Trees right after Thanksgiving.  We were shocked by how fantastic it was and can't wait to go back.  Currently there is a special exhibit by Chihuly.  So here's my picture of the day - a breathtaking glass sculpture.  When I saw it from afar, I actually thought it was a real plant. 

We also had a blast in the Children's garden - Josh could have seriously played all day in that area.  If you haven't been in awhile - you should really check out the Gardens especially while the Glass exhibit is there!

31 in 31 - Day 10

Today was grocery shopping day and I had a goal - to only spend $74.50.  Why that number?  Because my budget is $75.00 for everything - Toiletries, cleaning supplies, animal food/supplies, baby item etc.  Normally I am anywhere from $5.00-$30.00 over and I get very frustrated with myself!  So I took my coupons, bottles to return, and calculator and headed to the store.  In the end, I had to put a few items back by eliminating one "fun" item I had thrown into the mix for the week but otherwise, I got what was on my list.  This is where it landed:

In case you can't read it - it says $74.98 - I was $0.48 over . . had I double checked my "cheese" drawer before leaving home, I would have seen that I had one box of cream cheese so I wouldn't have had to buy 2 and I would have ended up being about $1.30 under!!  Oh well :-)  So very close!!

Rigatoni Bolognese

This is a new recipe I tried out on Monday and despite the fact that I had to substitute a few things it turned out well.  I did forget to take a picture at this point though!

Regatoni Bolognese
Serves 6

1 box (1 lb) rigatoni pasta
2 medium carrots, halved
1 medium onion, quartered
1 pkg (8 or 10 oz) whole mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp olive oil
3 links Italian Turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2  chicken stock
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in thick puree

Cook pasta as box directs.  Meanwhile, put carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped.  Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute chopped vegetables 6 minutes.  Add turkey sausage and cook, breaking up clumps, 4 minutes or until no longer pink.  Stir in rosemary, salt, pepper and stock; boil 1 minute.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.  Spoon over drained pasta

My substitutions (sounds better than errors!):  I often read a recipe and don't comprehend it LOL  When I read "links Italian turkey sausage" I thought it meant breakfast sausage??  But realized as I was cooking up my maple flavored sausage links that they are not the same.  Oops!!  I don't care for mushrooms so planned to substitute yellow squash to use up some my Mother-in-law gave me but they were both bad . . .so my sauce had a little less veggies.  Finally, again, not comprehending, I bought pureed tomatoes not crushed tomatoes so I was missing the chunky tomatoes in mine.  Despite ALL of that - my husband and I both loved the recipe.  It's easy and pretty inexpensive as well!

40 goals by 40 - Update

Since it has been a few weeks since I posted my 40x40 list, I figured it was time for a little update.  There are a few that I'm working on currently.
1) Canning - I have canned Jam - Peach Jam to be specific; and some of it even turned out
2) Scrapbooking - I am working towards the goal of being current; in all honesty, my goal in January was to be current by year end.  I've made a lot of progress so we'll see!!
3) Owning a German Shepherd - We contacted a breeder back in May hoping to get one this month but were unable to save up the money yet; so we continue to be on each litter's wait list as I continue to save my change :-)
4) Finish my quilt - I just need to finish a small area of binding and I had hoped to get it done by month end but the project I'm forcing myself to finish before I start that - my library update - is taking slightly longer than planed.  I still have a week and half though! 

Instead of posting the full list on the sidebar; I"m going to post the updates - meaning I'll put the # and name and update it or mark it completed; hopefully you'll see that list grow!

Mocha Frappe!!

If you know me - you know we (both Darryl and I) love McDonald's Mocha Frappes.  We've searched for a recipe that was close and this one is as close as I've come so far - it' is supposed to be the Starbucks version but I've never had a Starbucks Frappe so I don't know how close it is!

In a blender:

2 cups of Ice

1 cup of skim milk

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons Hershey's Syrup

3/4 cup of double brewed coffee, chilled (put twice the amount of coffee into the filter as required and brew)

Blend until all the ice is broken down and enjoy

This makes two large glasses!! 

Tips:  You can cut this in half to make one large glass instead - it works very well.

Also - change this up as much as you want.  I'm not a huge coffee fan so I don't double brew the coffee otherwise it is really strong (which Darryl LOVES  -- LOL).  Even when I cut it in half, I still use the same amount of chocolate.

You can also leave out the chocolate or use caramel instead

** Make sure the coffee is chilled/cold otherwise you'll just end up with a cold drink as the coffee will melt the ice!

31 in 31 -Day 9

This one caught me by surprise - I had just finished putting both boys down for a nap and was walking through the dining room when something caught my eye.  It was all these cars lined up on my piano!!  Apparently, Josh decided to play there while I was busy finishing up the peaches in the kitchen.  Notice they are all in a perfectly straight row?  Yep - that's Josh.

This weeks song - If We've Ever Needed You by Casting Crowns (update!)

I originally posted this earlier this week BUT I learned a lesson - always listen to the song you put on your blog LOL  I had a friend say "that's a really fun song" which made me think . . .something isn't right because "If We've Ever Needed you" is a more serious song!  So, apparently the song listed as this in the player is not correct!  I've removed the obnoxious song that was on #1 and instead added a YouTube video with RIGHT song!  So if you want to listen to it, make sure and pause the player and than play the video.  I guess sometimes, you learn as you go!

This weeks song is "If We've Ever Needed You" by Casting Crowns. When thinking about a song for this week, I had about 4 in my head to chose from; so how did I chose?  Simply - this song I sang ever since I first starting thinking about it.  I sang it in the morning while getting breakfast, while in the car, while making jam - it just was always in my head.  I think it has a great message, it's a great reminder, and it's just a great song!  It is the first song on my Play list this week so unmute your computer and take a listen :-)

It's amazing what music does to different people.  I was reading another blog and she posted a song that made her cry - "Blink" by Revive.  The concept behind the lyrics is that everything happens in the blink of an eye.  When she hears that, her life plays like a little power point (remember when we used to say slide show?) in her head - meeting her husband, getting married, and now watching as her babies grow.  It touches her heart to the core.  When I hear it - it does nothing !!  Seriously, I've heard it many times and just always thought it was a peppy song and we needed to remember that life goes fast.  That's it.  So maybe you have a song that touches you - what is it and why?  Music is a great outlet and a great way for God to touch each of us - make sure your heart is always open - not just your ears! :-)