Breakfast Food

Here is one of my "famous" breakfasts. I say famous, because some people at church go crazy for them. This one is Spam n Eggs. You'll find that I always add shredded potatoes to my scrambled eggs dishes for extra bulk. Plus...I love potatoes.

Here is a variation in how to serve Spam n Eggs. Take one Pita pocket and a slice of American cheese. Cut off a small piece at the top of the pita, insert slice of cheese and add Spam n Eggs.

You will end up with this delight...a handheld breakfast sandwich. Works better if the side doesn't tear. haha

You can also wrap it up in a flour or wheat flour tortilla for a meal on the go.

A little spray paint makes old look new again...take 2

Ignore the fact that I didn't sand off those little rusted pieces of metal...they'll be covered by a plant anyway. What an improvement... I LOVE spray paint.

A little spray paint makes old look new again...

I was in the painting mood last night, so I decided to make these ugly plant stands look pretty.

Stay tuned for the finished product...

Breakfast

What is this concoction you ask? Well, I'll tell you...it's a great tasting, hearty breakfast. It's easy to make and you only dirty one skillet.

For my family of three, I use:

6 eggs

8 oz. ground sausage

approx. 2 cups shredded potatoes

Put some oil in the skillet and add potatoes, salt

When potatoes have cooked to almost done, add sausage. Break into pieces and cook until you don't see any pink.

Crack eggs in bowl and beat them with a fork or wire whisk. Add a little salt.

Pour over potatoes and sausage and scramble.

For funsies, you can add some cheddar cheese.

Serve with toast or in a burrito.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving in March

One of my besties gave me a turkey so I decided that Saturday would be Thanksgiving in March at our house. I got up early (for a Saturday) and got the turkey ready for the oven using my mom's "recipe". I plunked that sucker in the oven and half hour later, I realized that I didn't turn the oven on!

Soon it was time to get busy making the mashed potatoes. As the potatoes were boiling I got busy chopping up the onion, celery and carrots for the stuffing. When that was done, I started on the creamed corn. I use the Summit House recipe. Delicious!! Ok, back to the potatoes...drain, smash, add milk, salt and butter. Taste. Ready.

Saute veggies and finish up the stuffing. Done. Put creamed corn in the oven. Check. Then it was time for the easy stuff...opening the can of whole cranberries and the can of gravy. Whew!

My husband put the brown and serve rolls in the toaster oven, buttered them when they were done and carved the turkey.

In all my craziness, jumping from one dish to the other, I forgot to take pictures...which brings me to today. I made turkey pot pie. You can see the before and after pictures. I didn't get any comments from my son but my husband LOVED it! I thought it was pretty good too. :) Mmm, Mmm

Spring has Sprung

Here are some pics of my front yard. Ignore the ugly door and brick flower bed...look at the cute decorations. My dear friend Shirley purchased these for me and I LOVE them!!

I'm finally coming out of the dark depression after losing one of my sons two years ago and taking joy in planting and sprucing up my yard. Thanks Shirley for thinking of me. :)

My first attempt at Distressing...

Since there was a break in the rain, my son and I were taking care of some yard projects. He was planting and I was cleaning. I came across this metal planter that was sitting empty out on a table. It was a brownish black color and with Matt's spray paints always handy, I picked this springy looking pink. Because I have no patience, I only waited about 1/2 hour before sanding off the raised parts. All in all, it looks ok for a first try...don't cha think?

Church Food

Here's a dish I made for church on Sunday. I work at Whittier Area Community Church hosting the coffee cart. In the kitchen, I make food for people that are there a good chunk of the morning...like our dear ushers. I usually have a crock pot full of something. It tends to be some kind of egg dish but every once in awhile, I like to mix it up.

This is Penne Pasta covered with Ragu Traditional Spaghetti sauce simmered with ground beef, ground turkey and ground Italian sausage. Whenever I use spaghetti sauce from a jar, I add in some Italian seasonings, oregano and basil. This gives the Ragu a little more of a homemade flavor. I sprinkled some grated Parmesan on top along with some mozzarella mixed in for good measure. :)

Everyone at church enjoyed it but my son said it had a little too much garlic. I didn't add any garlic so it must have been from the sauce.

Silhouette Machine Giveaway

To all you crafters out there...Decorchick is offering a chance to win a Silhouette Machine. Follow this link to find out how you can win...

http://www.decorchick.com/giveaway/silhouette-machine-giveaway-and-a-discount-code/#comment-22565

Target Dollar Bin Finds

I found some great stuff at the Target dollar bins today! The little flower pots were 2 for a dollar. They had a nice green metal pail but the handles were broken (I'm going to check another Target). The pail with flowers was $2.00. I fell in love with the little metal plant stakes and the bag of wildflower seeds has 19 varieties! :) Spring is in the air...

Dinner for Wednesday

I had a great time today at Huntington Beach with my dear friend Gemma. I left beef stew cooking in the crock pot and left a note for Matthew to make some bread. You just can't beat a day at the beach and to come home to dinner cooking...well, that's just icing on the cake. Here are a few pictures...

The planter box is done

Here is a picture of my new planter box. See the hands in the dirt? That's as much of a picture of him that my son will allow. ;)

I couldn't decide what color to paint it so I picked a few of my favorites from Matt's spray paint container. The yellow is really a lime green. I left it up to Matt to decide and he chose to stripe it for me. I LOVE colors...can you tell?

Thank you dear son!!! I love it and I'm so excited to get planting. Of course, Matt will grid it out and decide how we plant. Left up to me, I'd throw it all together without thinking. :/

Getting Closer...

When I came home today, this is what I found. Matt had put together the planter box. Yay! Now we need to prime it for paint and put some legs on it. I say we but I really mean he..as in, Matthew. haha

So far I have one big beef tomato plant and 3 types of bell peppers waiting to be planted in their new bed. I'm also thinking of planting some lettuce, green onion and mint. Any other suggestions?

Dinner for Thursday

Seriously, I need some kind of light box. The food really does look better in real life...I promise.

Here we have a classic (boring) salad and baked pasta shells. The shells were stuffed with ricotta cheese, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning and a mixture of shredded parmesan, romano and asiago cheeses.

I sauteed Italian sausage with onion and garlic and added a jar of Bertoli's alfredo sauce. I put some sauce down in the serving dish, stuffed the shells with cheese mixture and laid them face down. I then covered them with remaining sauce and added some mozzarella cheese on top. I baked this at 350 for 30 minutes.

It came out ok except the sauce was a little strong. In the future, I would use a different sauce or try making my own.

Use what you got...

The table was not wide enough so Matt had to make do with what was available...two metal chairs and containers of equal size. Necessity is the mother of invention right?

Getting Ready to Cut up the Plywood

Here's a picture of Matt as he measures and sets up in preparation for the cutting. :)

A Planter Box in the Making...

A Planter Box in the Making...

Here is a picture of the dinner I made tonight. Chicken tacos with refried beans. This was made with boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced thin. I cooked it in a little olive oil with orange bell pepper and green onion. I also used a tiny bit of water and taco seasoning. I think the seasoning gave it a really good flavor. Both the tacos and beans are garnished with jack cheese. Yum!

Monday's Dinner

Monday's Dinner

Ok, so maybe it doesn't look so appetizing but I think it's because I need better lighting. This was our dinner tonight...Salisbury Steak and Potatoes au Gratin. To round it out, I guess I should have added a vegetable but I was quite happy just the way it was. I thought it was quite tasty. My son and husband, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic. "It's alright." was their response.

The potato recipe was taken from the Pioneer Woman website and the Salisbury steak recipe was taken from a Pillsbury Hamburger recipe book.

Update on Menu Planning Experiment

Update on Menu Planning Experiment

I have to say that the experiment went very well. I was excited about cooking. I posted the menu so the question of..."What's for dinner?" no longer needed to be asked. Amidst some of the same old recipes, were some really great new ones! Best of all? We didn't eat out for the whole two weeks.

I planned a whole new menu for the following two weeks. So far, that hasn't worked as well since I've been sick. I almost felt the need to order pizza today but was able to defrost just enough ground beef for homemade burgers. Yum!

Next on my wishlist is to add photos of these "masterpieces" when they are done. :)

Menu Planning Experiment

Menu Planning Experiment

It seems like forever since I've written a post. I almost forgot I had this account!

Today I'm going to write about an experiment I want to try...Menu Planning. What a concept. I usually don't plan much in the way of cooking. It's just something I do and I'm told I do it well. Let me clarify...I'm told by those outside my household. Here in my house, I think I'm taken for granted. Even last week while I was sick with the stomach flu, I still made breakfast and dinner every day.

We're not exactly rolling in dough so I only get $150.00 every two weeks for groceries and toiletries. I realize this is more than some people have so I am appreciative for whatever Rene is able to give me. For awhile now, I've felt that I go to the market and come away with little food for the price I pay. We also seem to eat too much fast food. I calculated how much we spend in eating out in a two week period and it almost equaled my grocery money allotment!! I will often run through the drive thru just because I'm so bored with cooking.

On to my experiment...

I came up with a menu plan for Feb. 15th through Feb. 28...from one payday to the other. I asked Matt for input and was able to fit in a different dinner for each of those 14 days. I then made a master grocery list so that everything I need will be on hand and I don't have to make any last minute dashes to the market...you know the one where you go in for one thing and come out with bags of stuff you really didn't need? The menu plan also has some things on there that I haven't made- thus, a cure for the boredom of the same old meals.

Today is the day I shop and cook the first of my new dinners.

Since I have a dinner planned for each day of the next two weeks, that means I have no excuse for running to a drive thru...

Maybe for lunch??