MISCELLANEOUS MONDAY

Anybody else loving the Olympics like I am. I'm watching the 3 to 4 hour shows each night on NBC and biting my lips a lot, especially watching the skaters.  

I have to say that I loved the opening ceremony. I'm a little tired about hearing about the ring not opening. Sure it sucked that it didn't work but the rest of the show was excellent in my eyes. I really liked the use of color and the choreography was impeccable. 

These dancers were one of my favorites. The men and 

woman in the background were amazing! 

I also enjoyed this colorful one too! 

I made some Chicken Enchilada Soup in the crockpot on Saturday. It is delicious and definitely my favorite so far. I will be making this one again and will also be eating it for dinner every night this week. My friend Alexis at Running Away! I'll Help You Pack! posted it last week.

Mine didn't come out as dark as hers or the original post but I'm thinking it is because I didn't have chicken broth so I used vegetable! Otherwise I didn't change up anything else. Give this one a try, it's so yummy......

I also spent a lot of time this weekend working on my address book. My old book must be over 20 years old and has about 100 crossed out address. I'm surprised I could even find an address in it with all the note and post its along with the little return addresses torn off of envelopes! 

So I spent time working on address labels on my computer and putting in all the important names, addresses, phone numbers and children's names, etc. Then I printed them out and put them on the proper pages under the proper alphabet letters in a new address book. It looks absolutely amazing and definitely organized. I tried to take a photo but without giving out names and addresses there just wasn't a good way to capture it. 

I'm enjoying getting my things in order....this is the year to get organized and implementing a "less is more" attitude. 

Mark landed safely in Europe at 2 am this morning and I will be spending Valentine's Day alone this year....sigh! But I'm going to keep busy and look forward to him coming home over the weekend. Right now I have sweet potato chips in the oven for the dogs and I even had some mashed sweet potatoes for breakfast.

We went to see Inside Llewyn Davis IMDb almost two weeks ago. It is a simple story about a folk singers life and we thoroughly enjoyed it! 

"A week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961."

We had the opportunity to see Blue Jasmine IMDb on DVD from Netflix. We are Woody Allen fans and this movie was in true Woody form and very enjoyable........

"A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks a million, but isn't bringing money, peace, or love..."

Happy Monday!

GIVING MYSELF A PAT ON THE BACK!

I amaze myself when I actually get motivated to cook. My family can thank blogging and Pinterest for the inspiration. Adam came over on Saturday for a visit. (Tristen was in Miami at a conference) We have been talking about how long it has been since I made a meatloaf so that was the plan for Saturday. I also had the new recipe for the potatoes and decided to make the asparagus I made a few weeks ago. I also made the Creamy Berry Goodness that I seem to make almost weekly! 

These can be found on my Pinterest board called Things I have made - check! Below are the direct links. I have been making this meat loaf for as long as I can remember so it is our family favorite. I almost didn't pin the potato recipe because it's one of those annoying long ones. Why do people make those? Yes they bug me!!! Also when I make the Creamy Berry Goodness I make heavy whipped cream and use two small Fage' Greek plain yogurts. I use about 2 cups of frozen mixed berries from Costco.

BALSAMIC ASPARAGUS

SCALLOPED HASSELBACK POTATOES

MEAT LOAF FROM FANNIE FARMER

CREAMY BERRY GOODNESS 

Click on pictures to enlarge....

My Fannie Farmer Cookbook is from 1979. It has always been my staple cookbook that I turn to for help. To this very day I still look up the timetable for cooking turkey every Thanksgiving!

As I mentioned in another post this was my first time making Corned Beef and Cabbage. I decided to make a Martha Stewart recipe I found. I also made some Irish Soda Bread for the first time. (I added caraway to this recipe) This meal was so good and I'm sure I will make it again next year. I also want to thank a woman at Trader Joe's for helping me with the selection of purchasing a corned beef. I was clueless! 

A few of my Easter decorations.
Mark and I will be alone for Easter. I'm trying to convince
him that we should go out for dinner. Doesn't that sound like fun?

I don't know why I haven't done this before but maybe because we always buy Romaine and I never gave it a thought. Mark has decided to eat some regular bib lettuce. It does remain fresher longer but doesn't have the vitamins like Romaine :(  Anyway I had a light bulb moment and decided to make myself some wraps. Doing low carb we normally do not have any bread in the house so I will roll turkey breast and eat cheese slices for lunch. It's been such a thrill to have these wraps.....so crisp and crunchy!

Have a Great Weekend.....

TOP O' THE MORNIN' TO YA

Irish slang for "good morning." 

Usually spoken as the speaker opens a bottle of Killian's. 

Pronounced with a hugely Irish accent that could choke a donkey.

(Urban Dictionary)

~Happy St. Patrick's Day~

So I am doing something today that I have never done before. Can you guess what it is? Well after last weeks Wednesday Hodgepodge question about Corned Beef & Cabbage I was intrigued, so I found a recipe for making it in the crock pot. No one in the house is excited about this except me so I may be the only one passing gas from the cabbage this week.............................

What's at the end of your rainbow?

As you know I was pretty upset with the announcement of Google taking away our reader in July. I do not like change and let me tell you that I was so stressed over this I gave myself a stiff neck that went all the way down my back along with being on the verge of tears. Unknown Mami was the first post I read that told me about this event and she posted some very helpful information. But I am not that good at some things and I just couldn't get it to work. I actually turned off my computer and left the house!

The next morning I saw a post from Mad Snapper called "Here I am come to save the day". She was my rainbows end. The place is called Feedly and it worked for me. Everything transferred with all of my files intact. I haven't spent a lot of time there yet and it is definitely different but also very doable. I also belong to Bloglovin' which I signed up well over a year ago. I still have to go in, make folders and sort through all my bloggers but at least I feel I have two places to work with after July 1st. 

Now before I did any of the Feedly I went ahead and switched myself over to Google Chrome because no doubt that at some point we will all have to use chrome. My entire day is spent with Google. I've had gmail since it first started back in the early 2000's when it was by invitation only. The main reason I have a Droid 2 phone is because they are a Google product base. Chrome isn't bad just have to get use to a few differences. So everything transferred within seconds for me and I am a happy camper today. Can't answer about tomorrow........

P.S. A special thank you to Mad Snapper for answering all my (20+) emails!

MY NAME IS DEBBY AND I'M A PROCRASTINATOR

Some of you know just how much I want to organize my home but haven't found a way out of my laziness slump that I have been in. Blah, blah, blah, right? I'm actually working very hard at pushing myself into a routine to "get er done!" So guess where I started? Right here on my blog. It was just looking to busy so I went back to only one sidebar and moved things into the above categories. I am not done so when you visit there will most likely be changes.

 

You know how people pick a word when the new year comes. Well two years ago I picked the word "Simplify" and I'm no further along than I was then. Funny thing is I can remember talking to friend from church years ago and we were both going to simplify our lives. That was at least 10 years ago! So now you know I am the biggest procrastinator out there, although I did get rid of an enormous amount of things when we moved six years ago however I am pretty good at shopping and filling every space I can. Enough...........I say enough already!

 

 

I wanted to share a few things with you and it's all that I have right now. When Mark went to Europe he brought back some really cute items for me which I haven't taken pictures of. A sweet set of thimbles (no I don't sew) with pictures of the famous sites on them and a cute phone booth key chain. Also Phil's mom (the man who works with Mark but is originally from England) also sent me a lovely gift. They visited Cotswold where the Lavender fields grow and she sent me a lovely tea towel along with potpourri.

 

So I had come across a chicken recipe on Pinterest that I thought I would make for dinner but as it turned out I didn't have sour cream in the house at the time. So I did a little more research on Pinterest and found another one. There is no link so here it is on my Pinterest page and it should be the first one. Let me tell you in my opinion this chicken was delicious and Mark loved it too. We will be making this one again.

 

 Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast

1/2 c Parmesan cheese,

1 c Greek yogurt,

1 tsp garlic powder,

1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt,

1/2 tsp pepper,

spread mixture over chicken breasts,

bake at 375 for 45 min

Enjoy!

 

 

Update: Now a month later from my last

post  this is how my poinsettia is doing

after it's death...you can read it here.

 

 

 

EASY PEASY PATTY MELT

I can make an awesome burger on the grill or sometimes I have a taste for a Red Robin burger or the ever famous In-N-Out burgers. But sometimes I am looking for a quick fix meal and this is one of them. A few years ago we came across the Angus Beef Patties at Costco and they are pretty darn good. They are easy to make in the microwave or you can grill them. For the Easy Peasy Patty Melt I will make open face grilled cheese sandwiches while the burgers are in the microwave and then just place the patty between the cheesy bread. There you have it and with the help of the low carb bread we bought at the Julian Bakery this was a low carb Patty Melt!

I also made these zucchini pizzas a few weeks ago. They are so easy and low carb. I think they baked for about 30 minutes. You can find them on Pinterest, I see them all the time.


I found this on Pinterest and tried it a few weeks ago. You use grapefruit and kosher salt to clean your shower or tub. I used it in my shower and I think it did a pretty good job. I started with the glass and used the grapefruit without the salt. The best part is that it didn't bother my lungs at all which under normal circumstances the chemicals in cleaners will set me back for days.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

Head on over to Java's place and join us.

Questions:

1. How do you order your steak?
I order my steak medium, I use to do medium rare but medium is still pretty rare when you go out to eat. I had a delicious steak on Friday evening with a thick black olive paste on it at Mario's Place in Riverside, CA.

2. Are you superstitious about anything?
No I don't think I am.

3. Who is your best friend (not including your spouse)?
I can't answer that for sure. I have several.

4. When is the last time your wore a dress (for the guys...a suit)?
Oh my, it could be as long as almost 9 years ago at our daughters wedding.

5. Do you have any trips scheduled?
No, I think I did enough this year but hope to go maybe in February to see my dad in Florida and I think my brother will be visiting him from Wisconsin.

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So I came across a recipe yesterday that I think you should try. Go over and visit my friend Tonja at Tonja's Gatherings for this recipe, it's a Paul Dean one. I was wondering what we would eat, was reading her blog and realized that I had all of these items in.the.house! It was so easy and it tastes amazing so head on over & grab this potato soup crock pot recipe.

Have a great week.

WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM FOR A......

~Hiatus~

Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee needs a (well deserved) break from Random Dozen so now I have to think for myself ~ OMG ~ what's a girl supposed to do! (hopefully it will be back in July)

On Monday I said I was going to have some pictures from Sunday's dinner at our house. Here they are!

I made The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe for Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler from Ree Drumond. It was a hit with the family. (I didn't have self-rising flour so I did a baking powder addition to my flour.) It was very easy to make and I will make this again.

The asparagus recipe is from Simply Recipes, we like it and have made it before. Years ago back in Chicago we had a neighbor who lived across the street who was from Germany. Boy could she cook. She would make parmesan monkey bread from scratch and I have made her recipe many times. Now I just buy Bridgeford parkerhouse style frozen rolls and do the same thing. Roll them in butter and then into parmesan cheese. I am still playing around with this to get them to rise correctly. We also had steak, mashed potatoes and corn.

Just to round things off we also had some Daiquiri's with the frozen mix that we buy. We also played Wii and a new game called Sequence although the game isn't new to me. My sister actually made this board game herself in Florida years ago so I have played it before. It was a fun Sunday :)

Charlie with a ball in his mouth that has a moustache attached. Skye telling Charlie a secret! (I don't know how many times I have to tell her that it's not nice to tell secrets:) Both of them sleeping in my office as I type away at the computer. Skye in her bed in the hallway which is so funny. My daughter had vacuumed the family room leaving her toy box and bed in the hallway. She was tired and didn't care where her bed was. (a crazy tongue shot!) You should see her play with this ball. She goes from room to room pushing it with her nose. I need to get this on video.

MONDAY MONDAY,

so good to me, .....

Just thought I would share what I have been up to lately.

Sex and the city 2!

Did I tell you that my heart TP roll was famous.

I made a French Toast Casserole for our bowling party.

I served it with syrup/powdered sugar.

Very easy to make and would only change one thing ~

stirring as I put cinnamon & sugar on.

(it's not burnt, just darkened cinnamon)

My two Keepsake Ornament Club pieces arrived the other day!

What are they looking at ~ a lizard!

You should have seen their craziness a few minutes before.

(Please note that the lizard is only about 10" long

but looks like an iguana in this zoom shot!)

My favorite fruits, my new sunflower plant,

a little bit of Skye and my new Tony reusable bag!

(just above is where the bees were, her favorite corner)

Weekend project, putting stones down to finish a few sections

we made some changes to. ( also replacing bark areas)

Hope your having a wonderful Holiday Weekend!

We had steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, corn and parmesan monkey bread on Sunday.

Made Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler by The Pioneer Woman Cooks :)

(pictures to come soon)

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REMEMBERING ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES

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P.S. If you want the lyrics to the Mamas And The Papas song you can go here. Boy does that song bring back memories.

DEBBY WAS IN THE KITCHEN AGAIN...

Yes, I actually did some baking last week and a slow cooker meal on Tuesday. I made scones that sounded really good over at Carrie's @ Cottage Cozy. Mine look a little different because I used blueberries but they were delicious. My husband could not stop eating them. They are pretty healthy too so go on over and get the recipe.

Then I made the Peanut Butter Blondies that I made at Christmas from Dana's post @ These Boys Are My Life. My son loved them so I brought him over a batch when we went to celebrate his birthday on Sunday. So my daughter asked why didn't you make the Orange Cream Cookie Bars that I like. Duh, it's not your birthday and I will make them in May for you!

Then I made Salsa Chicken from A Year of Slow Cooking out of the cookbook Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. My friend IRL Headless Mom @ The Adventures of The Headless Family made it the other day and we talked about it at bowling so I tried it. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for the suggestion Headless Mom. You ladies need to get this cookbook, I am really loving it. Headless Mom even has a recipe in it!

Then I made Lemon Ice Box Bars which I saw posted on Dinning With Debbie and they were delicious. I didn't have all of the healthier ingredients so I used what I had.

We used the Lemon Bars to sing Happy Birthday to our son last Sunday. Then we also got dessert at the restaurant. (Twice is nice!)

PORK CHOPS IN THE SLOW COOKER = YUM

So Alexis over at Running Away? I'll Help You Pack! posted this recipe last week for pork chops in the slow cooker which she got from CDKitchen. So I mentioned to my husband that I have a new recipe to try. So when he did a Costco run on Friday after work he picked up some of their delicious thick pork chops. So on Sunday around noon he said "are you making those pork chops today?" I said "it's almost noon, it says 7-8 hours on low!" Since I've been making several recipes in the slow cooker lately I thought that maybe I could try these on high to get them done in time for dinner.

Next questions, do I have everything I need? Well I had to change a few things that I thought would be close to what the recipe called for. So I used whole bean cranberry sauce because it's what I had on hand and I used pomegranate juice because I didn't have cranberry. I did add Caraway because we ALWAYS put it on pork & chicken. (It's a Bohemian thing) Well they were delicious and done in 4 hours. (I used 5 very thick chops) Now when I make this next time I will make sure I have all the ingredients that Alexis lists in the recipe. (and we will be making it again according to my husband) 2 thumbs up or is that 2 forks up? Made some green beans to go along with it and we always keep some of Costco's Reser's Main St. Bistro Restaurant - Style Mashed Potatoes in the house. DINNER WAS AWESOME :)

SLOW COOKER

So I recently made the Taco Soup on page 135 in the Make It Fast, Cook It Slow cookbook. It was so delicious, we loved it. Give it a try!

I don't know if you have one of these but it is from Pampered Chef and you can brown your ground beef really fast in the microwave. The tool helps break up the meat! You can go over here to buy one from my friend Sarah.

I forgot to take a picture after it was done!

I forgot to post about the Cowboy Stew. It was very, very good and is on page 189 of the Make is Fast, Cook It Slow Cookbook. This recipe came from my friend IRL. Give this one a try too!

I am really enjoying this cookbook.