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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Scrapbooking....Where/How do I start?

OK,I'm a little behind with it all. Since we went to all digital cameras,I am WAY behind in printing photos--Say about 7-8yrs behind! I was doing good until we had a computer crash and I lost a bunch of baby pics,and things just went down hill from then. I'm trying to do better. Every couple of weeks I've been printing out about $20 worth of photos and either putting them in a photo album or putting them aside to scrapbook. I have a couple of basic scrapbooks that I have tickets from events we've gone to or special cards or other sentimental items--but not those pretty scrapbooking pages I've seen everyone on tv doing-with the little cutouts and photo collages. I've decided to take the plunge and scrapbook. My first project is going to be to make a scrapbook with some photos from our wedding (almost 11yrs ago-yeah I'm behind!). I found a gorgeous book at Amazon.com and am going to get started working on it today. Anyone have any tips or tricks to share with me? Anyone have any fave online places to buy scrapbooks supplies at? HELP!

Exercise

Let's face it,we all should do it,but sometimes it's hard to find the time-especially for busy moms-and especially for this homeschooling mom/housewife. I've been hearing about PILATES for a while now and picked up a basic pilates dvd and ball last year. I love it-the exercises are gentle,but if you stick with it you will see results. I saw Susan Lucci on HSN with the Malibu Pilates Pro chair. At first,I was skeptical,but I watched and did a little research and after seeing the promo spots several times,I finally decided to give it a try. I have an exercise bike,but I get bored easily and it wasn't in a room where I could exercise and watch tv or anything. I've since had hubby move it to the downstairs room where his big tv is so I can now exercise and watch music videos or something-but that's another story.Back to the PILATES chair. It is such a great value and no I'm not getting paid to say that.The exercises with it are also gentle and have options for beginners. I am so excited about it! It came with 6 different dvd workouts. I can't wait to move from beginner and work through them all.

Minute Steaks/Swiss Steak...it's what's for supper

My husband LOVES fried minute steaks. I hate to cook them because I don't like frying foods and it can be messy. I've tried baking them but he says it's just not the same-they always turn out tough. I saw an ALTON BROWN show on FOOD NETWORK a while back showing how to cook a tender swiss steak. Now,swiss steak traditionally has tomato product in it-but I am allergic to tomatoes,so I leave it out and end up doing a cross between swiss steak and my husband's fave minute steak. It's delicious! And because that's what's for dinner today,my husband is counting down the minutes until he can eat! Here's the original recipe from Alton Brown on Food Network.

My version of minute steaks-cooked swiss steak style

1 pack of minute steaks
flour for dredging
chicken stock
1 large onion sliced thin
salt/pepper/fave seasonings
a few TBS of canola oil

Heat oven to 325*F--in a large dutch oven,add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan-heat until it's at frying temp---dredge the steaks in flour and shake off excess--add to the hot oil and fry until they are golden brown on each side--don't over crowd the pan while cooking the meat--I was only able to do 2 at a time--remove from pan and place on plate--add in the onion and cook until soft--add the meat back into the pan and pour in the chicken stock--the original recipe called for 2 cups but I used the whole box because my pan was so large--place lid on dutch oven and place in oven and let cook until meat is "falling apart" about 1 1/2 hours
**you can either season the meat when you finish frying it or you can add the seasonings to the flour when you dredge the meat.

Monday, January 23, 2012

White Chili







For a while now,I've been wanting to try a "white chili" since I can't eat tomatoes. I found one over the weekend and decided to give it a try. I based my version on THIS recipe. And as usual,I changed it up a bit.

Turkey Chili

1 can of green chilies
2 pounds of ground turkey (or chicken)
3 cans of cannellini beans (or your fave white bean)
1 large onion diced
salt/pepper/chili seasoning to your taste
1 bag of spinach
1 TSP canola oil (or olive oil)
3 TBS of flour (or cornstarch or your fave thickener)
handful of corn kernels
1 large box of chicken stock (4-6cups)


in a TBS of oil,brown the onion-add in the meat and cook until it is done-drain well-return to the pot and add in the chicken stock--rinse the beans and add into pot--add in the can of green chilies--bring up to a boil--in a separate cup dissolve the flour in about 1/3 cup of warm water--pour it into the pot--add in the bag of spinach and corn kernels--bring back up to a boil--let boil for a few mins--reduce and let simmer on stove for about 20 more minutes.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Rings.........




After the husband dropped his wedding ring down the toilet a few months ago, I have been debating whether or not to get him a new one or to just pull the fancy one out of the safety-deposit box at the bank. He said that he didn't really want to wear it to work because it could get beat up. Makes sense. So I decided that I would find him something that he could wear without worrying about whether or not it takes a battering. I found some cool stainless steel bands on Amazon.com and then after a little more searching, I found these. I decided to get us matching ones. I think the tribal/swirly pattern on it kind of looks like a tattoo. And since I married "mr tattoo dude"-it's just perfect. I love it. Now I can wear this when I don't want to wear my fancier rings.

A New Year






HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope that 2012 is a great one for us all-despite what the Mayans warn us about come December.


We rang in the new year the same way we always have--at home. I had a very chilled bottle of Proseco that I planned to finally pop the cork on-I had bought it about 2 years ago and it's been waiting in the fridge for me. Let's just say I don't like Proseco anymore than any other "adult" beverages that I've tried. I was very disappointed. The kiddo asked to stay up till midnight and he made it until about 11:30pm. By the time the fireworks went off I think he was sound asleep. The fireworks and gun shots drove poor Tinkie crazy. I am surprised she can even bark today. I got to sleep in for a change,so this has been a great laid back morning. For our late afternoon/early evening meal, I have a glazed ham in the oven and black eyed peas and collard greens to go with it. It smells divine! I'm not hungry yet,but hubby can't wait to dive into things. Down South,we eat black eyed peas and greens for prosperity in the new year. I used this glaze for our Christmas ham also.


Glaze For Baked Ham

a few giant heaping spoons of citrus marmalade
a few giant scoops of dijon mustard
about 1 cup of apple juice
about 1 cup of brown sugar

**I used 3 citrus marmalade and pineapple preserves today
**I don't measure when I make this glaze-I just add and taste as I go along.....