Way to go "B"!!!

This post is in honor of my sister "B".  She has been reading blogs along with me and gets hooked and also gets some really great ideas.  "B" and her husband go to lots of Auctions and garage sales and get really great items for a fraction of what it would cost in a store.  WAY TO GO B!!
Here is a picture of her chalkboard that she just made and also a picture of her new coffee table that she found at an Auction for $9.00!!  Yes, we are all jealous. 
  I am officially cheering her on in the blog world.  I can't wait to see what she makes and finds next.

Loving my white dishes!

Hi, I thought I would share with you my white china cabinet that is overflowing with white dishes.  I have a few blue pieces mixed here and there.  I have taken a picture of few of my favorite pieces.

See the huge soup tureen?  My sister and I found that at a flea market type store.  We both fell in love with it at first sight.  It is decorated with the prettiest rabbit pattern.  We paid less than $20 for it.  I can't remember the exact price. She graciously let me buy it because I had mentioned I was looking for a soup tureen. 

  I hope you like the pictures.

Pot Roast with Gravy and Vegetables

Last nights dish came from Fix-It and Forget-It Slow Cooker Magic Cookboook

3 to 4 pound bottom round, rump, or arm roast cut in half
2 to 3 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp. kitchen bouquet or gravy browning sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
4 to 6 medium sized red potatoes, halved
 4 carrots, quartered
1 green bell pepper, sliced

1. PLace roast in slow cooker.  SPrinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Make paste of flour and cold water.  Stir in kitchen bouquet. and pour over roast.
3. Add garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots and green peppers.
4. Cover and cook on high 4 to 5 hours or on high 1 hour then on low 6 to 8 hours.
 Enjoy!!

 This was a great easy weeknight meal.  We really enjoyed it.  The only thing I would leave  out is the green peppers.  They seemed to overwelm the other flavors.  I loved it just like this but the kids would have liked it better without the green pepper.

Hope you try it.

Yard sale finds!

On my last yard sale excursion.  I was able to find this chair for $5.00 and this Avon bottle for $1.00.

The chair is sooo comfortable and will go great with my daughters desk  when we can finally take it off my sister and brother in laws hands.  I was hoping to sell the Avon bottle on Ebay but it doesn't look as though it is a good seller.

I sooo want to go yardsaling tomarrow but I really need to get rid of some of this excess stuff I've got laying around.

Hope you find some good deals soon and will share them with me.

Pampered Chef Chicken Enchilada Ring

My kids and I loved this recipe. It sounds hard to make but it was ooohhh so good.

Chicken Enchilada Ring
2 cup coarsely chopped chicken
1/4 cup chopped pitted ripe olives
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack/Cheddar blend
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 plum tomatoes
1 lime2/3 cup finely crushed tortilla chips, divided
2 pkgs. crescent rolls
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix chopped chicken, olives, cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise and seasoning mix in bowl. Seed and chop one tomato. Slice lime in half. Juice one half of lime to measure 1 t. of juice. Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and lime juice to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 T. crushed chips and add remaining chips to chicken mixture. Mix well.
Sprinkle reserved crushed chips over flat side of a large cutting board. Place dough onto chips and press down so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles, chip side down, in a circle on a 13" baking stone. Wide ends should overlap in the center and points should be toward the outside. There should be a 5" diameter opening in the center.
Scoop chicken mixture onto the wide ends of the triangles. Bring points of the triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends. Do not cover filling completely. It should show in between each triangle.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. For garnish, cut remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices, cut in half. Arrange between openings of ring where filling is showing. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

I'm loving it!!

This past summer I went up to my sisters house and came home with this gorgeous sewing machine table!!! FOR FREE even!! My sister and brother in law just gave it to me, aren't they great? I am loving it. I needed to get my sewing machine off of my closet floor and somewhere that I would use it. I am sooo happy. Now I get to look at all of these great blogs and come up with something fun to make.

I really like the old wood look, but am kindof thinking of painting it either white or black. Which one should I do? Isn't it a beauty?

Country Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Here is another good recipe from Cooking Light. It is from The Best of Cooking Light Cookbook.

Country Fried Steak with Mashed Potates and Mushroom Gravy
3 Tablespoons fat-free milk
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. onion powder1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 (4 ounce) sirloin cubed steak
2 tsp veg. oil
2 1/2 cups frozen mashed potatoes
1 1/3 cups fat-free milk
2 cups mushrooms, quartered
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, low salt beef broth
Parsley sprig, optional

1. Combine 3 tablespoons milk and egg whites in a shallow dish, stirring with a wisk. Combine 1/3 cup flour and next 4 ingredients- through pepper- in a shallow dish. Working with 1 steak at a time , dip in egg mixture then flour mixture.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add steaks, and cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove steaks from pan and keep warm.
3. While steaks cook, prepare mashed potatoes according to package using 1 1/3 cups milk. Keep warm.
4. Add mushrooms to pan, and saute 3 minutes. Combine 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, and broth, stirring with a wisk. Add broth mixture to pan. Bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Spoon over steaks. Serve with mashed potatoes.

My kids and I loved this recipe. It is a keeper. The only thing I did different was to make my own mashed potatoes.

I hope you try it too, Enjoy

Our Museum Trip

Here is some pictures of our day trip to the Berman Museum in Anniston Alabama. The kids really liked this museum. They loved the Knights in Shining Armour and the Kings hat. Ty liked all of the old guns in the last picture. It was a great way to spend a hot summer afternoon!

Cooking Light Recipe

Well, with the kids back in school it is time to get our house organized and decluttered. I have sooo many cookbooks that I need to go through. I always say I am going to make a new recipe a week. It's high time I got the cookbooks out and make the recipes instead of just enjoying the pictures.

We made a new recipe from Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook.

The name is Deep Dish Pizza Casserole.

It calls for
1 pound of ground round
1 (15 ounce ) can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce
Cooking spray
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
6 (1- ounce) skices part-skim mozzarella cheese, devided

Cook meat in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessaary and return to skillet. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated.

While meat cooks, coat a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish. Line bottom of pizza crust with 3 slices of mozzarella cheese. Top with meat mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 12 minutes. Top with remaining 3 cheese slices, and bake 5 additional minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Yeild: 6 servings

The kids loved the recipe, it is a keeper. I hope you enjoy it also.

Blogs in Italy and France

I've been pretty busy with summer and trying to get the house uncluttered. I have no idea what this blog is for, still trying to figure it out.

I was playing on the computer this morning and came up with these websites. I haven't flown in 18 years and it does not look like I will be traveling anytime soon. So I've looked for blogs in countries I would like to go to. Italy and France. Just dreaming. Did you know you can put in blogs from France or blogs from Italy in the search engine???

Click on this link, it is a guy in France. So funny and dare I say he is cute?

http://season2.bonjour-america.com/archives/002.html


And here is a blog called Ms. Adventures in Italy.

http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/

Enjoy!!

Warning- by Jenny Joseph

Warning
When I am an old woman,
I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go,
and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy
and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples’ gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats
and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked
and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
— Jenny Joseph

A few of my favorite things

Just a post of a few of my favorite things. At this house we are obsessed with Twilight. Dr. Carlisle Cullen is my favorite character.

I have always loved pictures of Austria. If I could go anywhere in the world that is where I would want to go. Aren't these pictures beautiful?



And of course my favorite dessert is Boston Creme Pie. Aren't I making you hungry?

Another church gathering recipe.

Here is another great church recipe. Today the church had a Easter Egg Hunt and some nice ladies brought some goodies. Of course we had to check out the goodies.

This recipe is Cream Cheese bars. I found the recipe on Cooks.com. I asked the lady for the recipe and she told me but of course I did not have a pen. So right after I got home I found this recipe!! YAY!! They are delicious. Try them.

CREAM CHEESE BARS
1 box yellow cake mix 1 egg 1/2 stick of butter 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 3 eggs, beaten 1 box confectioners' sugar, sifted Mix first 3 ingredients and press in 9 x 13 inch greased pan. Mix remaining ingredients with an electric mixer until well blended; pour over crust in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand until cold. (May fall in the middle.) Cut into small bars.

I am loving Church Dinners

Last night we had dinner at our church and the kids ate sooo good. They served thin chicken breasts breaded and baked, corn, baked beans, yeast rolls and Eclair Cake.
The cake was sooo yummy and sounded easy to make. Here is the recipe that I found online for it. The reviews say it is better to heat the icing in the microwave a few seconds and to let the dessert sit overnight in fridge.
THe beans tasted just like Big John Beans. I will have to ask for the recipe for that.
Enjoy. Yum Yum!!!

Eclair Cake

SUBMITTED BY: Cathy Gordon PHOTO BY: UDSTUDENT

"This is a very quick and simple no bake dessert cake. It uses graham crackers and a pudding mixture. It tastes just like an eclair, but there is enough for a crowd!! It is a great recipe for children who are learning to cook, there is no baking involved or any power kitchen tools. Just a bowl and a spoon!"

RECIPE RATING:

Read Reviews (365)

Review/Rate This Recipe

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PREP TIME	25 Min
READY IN	4 Hrs 25 Min
Original recipe yield 1 - 13x9 inch pan

SERVINGS

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Servings
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INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3 cups milk
• 1 (16 ounce) package graham cracker squares
• 1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk.
2. Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers.
3. Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan. Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

FOOTNOTE

The frosting will be easier to spread if the cake is covered and chilled for about 30 minutes before spreading.

Loving these fairies

Here are some fairies that I am loving. They are made by Mark Roberts. I have seen them in Gift shops but they can also be purchased at Amazon.com. These are the small ones 9 inches tall. I think they would be great for decorative trees or to sit on a shelf. Maybe the cooking ones would be good for a kitchen tree I am planning for!!
This first one is the Cookbook Fairy. This is the Kiss me I'm Irish fairy

Here is the Secret recipe fairy. Aren't these fun?

Land of the birds

In the winter the birds are so loud and fly around from one yard to the next. I am always afraid to walk out there because I may have bird droppings land on me. So far I haven't. If you go outside you can see a sea of birds on the grass or on the trees. Once some start flying they all take off.

Here is the Army things that fly over our house. They get so close at night I turn on my porch lights so they don't run into the house. Usually they fly in groups. Enjoy

I love these berry bushes!

We have these berry bushes in our neighborhood. At Christmastime my neighbors clip some branches and make arrangements from them. The bushes in the top 2 pictures are going to be taken out to make room for smaller bushes. I hate to see them go.

I have never seen bushes like the ones below. The berries grow like grapes hanging. I hope you like them. Let me know if you know the names of these bushes.

Happy New Year!!

Here is a picture of our livingroom mantle. I love the Santa picture over the fireplace. I got it at Kirklands 2 years ago. Also I love the many stockings hanging waiting for Santa.

Here is a quote that I have loved for the last couple of years. I think that this would be a great way to live life. See if you agree-

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming:

WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!