So far, So good...

Ok.

So we've got a ten in ten list...here.

My mini-recap is as follows:

1. FINALLY organize the office/dining room.-DONE! Woot!
2. Paint Will's Headboard - Not even started!
3. Hang my chalkboard and washboards in the laundry room - Haven't thought about it but I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...
4. Make fridge photo frames - I'm on it. Gotta find the magnets I misplaced though. Hmph. :(
5. Finish Kids artwork display Project - I need a 1x4 and therefore, I need a trip to the store.
6. Finish Family Rules Canvas - FINITO!!!!! YES!
7. Work on my door turned dining room table - Ugh! I want to work on this...I do! I will! Yes...I will.
8. Put up beadboard in kitchen - I need the man's help...wish me luck.
9. Finish painting (kitchen, trim and hallway) - I painted the trim (I hate it now, remember?) but it's a work in progress.
10. Make gourmet caramel apples - WTF did I do with those apples? Hmmm...seriously now. Hmm.

Sooooooo...that's where we're at right now. Tonight I've made a vow to RELAX. I'm making appetizers for dinner (FUN!) and hoping to coerce the man into watching a movie after I blast my way through some design work I need to finish up. Sooo...tomorrow. Tomorrow's my night. I hope. :) Lots to do...I'm on my way!

(FYI...photos will be shown soon. I'm saving my family rules canvas for DIY day on ASPTL and a couple other linky parties! But it will be up soon! Promise!)

xoxo

Sick Kid, Update and Beef Stew...oh my!

Remember the recipe I promised yesterday? Yeah, well, I ran around like a crazy woman all night and didn’t get to it. I was getting the house ready for my PartyLite shindig and taking care of my five year old who was lethargic (scary) and running an “Anti-Fever”…he was CLAMMY (sweaty…wowza!) and said he was warm, but his body temp hovered around 96° which is pretty low for him (his normal is well over 98). Still not sure what that was all about but he seems to have fully recovered today, so that’s a relief!

So as an update on my LIST of “10 in 10”…dining room is ALMOST DONE!! WOOT! And I have plans to do the family rules tomorrow so that will be GREAT! I painted my trim and have now decided I HATE it! LOL! Soooo, that’s going to be a do-over but at least I got this far, right?

Ok…ok…onto the recipe! I found this recipe on the "lifeingrace" blog. LOVE her blog (and her KITCHEN!) If you’re not familiar with her you must go check the blog out…I suggest becoming a follower! :) This girl’s got some YUMMY recipes! In fact, my slightly altered variation of her stew recipe is the most delicious six hours I’ve spent in a LONG time!

Best EVER Beef Stew

2-3 lbs Stew Meat (I have a big family!)
Flour, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Salt and Pepper
Oil
½ cup red wine
1 small bag baby carrots, cut in half
½ sweet onion – coarsely chopped
8 small red potatoes – cubed
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms – coarsely chopped
Olive Oil
Approximately 2 cans of beef broth
Worcestershire sauce
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. honey
1 c. heavy cream
1 can peas

1. Start with your stew meat…salt and pepper and Montreal Steak season the meat, then dredge in flour. Be generous with the flour as this will help thicken your stew later.
2. Heat a Dutch oven or stew pot with a decent amount of vegetable oil over med-high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides.
3. Add minced garlic and allow to cook for a minute or two.
4. Add red wine and enough beef broth to cover the meat.
5. Cover your pot and bake at 250° for 3-4 hours.
6. About half an hour before your meat is done, begin to prepare vegetables.
7. Chop baby carrots in half into bite-sized pieces. Cube potatoes and coarsely chop onion and mushrooms.
8. Salt and pepper veggies and lightly sauté in olive oil.
9. Remove stew from oven and add veggies. Add more beef broth if necessary to just cover the veggies. You don’t want TOO much liquid so if there are a few vegetables not completely covered that is a-ok!
10. Add a splash or two of Worcestershire sauce, a couple shakes of paprika and 2 Tablespoons of honey.
11.Recover and put back into the 250° oven for another three hours.
12.When ready to serve, remove from oven and add one can of peas (drained) and 1 pt. of heavy cream. Stir until well mixed. Taste and add salt/pepper as you see fit (I added a bit of salt, but I generally lean towards "sodium-junkie") :)

This is SO DELICIOUS! We served ours with warm dinner rolls and it was a HUGE hit with the whole family! Definitely worth the 6 hours of cooking time! Hearty and warm and filling...ohhh...just perfect! It is the only beef stew recipe for me, from here on out!

I'm linking this up at ASPTL's DIY DAY! Stop by Kimba's to check out the other fab DIY goodness going on over there!

Am I NUTS?!?!

Yep! I think I might be!

So my kitchen and living room sit unfinished...we refloored (yay!) and painted the living room walls, but that's as far as that went. We never did get to putting the trim up (yet), and the kitchen remains without it's new fun GREEN paint on the walls, the beadboard never went up over the tiles (still), and that HIDEOUS linoleum is still haunting the entryway...BUT, what do I decide to do? THROW A PARTY!

Yep, you heard right! I am hosting a PartyLite party (Ooo...I LOVE me some PartyLite!) tomorrow in my unfinished palace! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!

The man TRIED to talk me out of it, but I would not be deterred...OH NO! I was tired of putting it off...been promising to schedule for weeks, so I finally went ahead and did it. And now, I've got to try to create a presentable area for HOSTING A PARTY overnight. And of course, I choose THIS week to do my 10 projects in 10 days!!!

Yep...I MUST be nuts! Luckily, I made a HUGE pot of stew yesterday that will easily feed us tonight also, so at least I'm off the hook for dinner! I'll share that recipe later today...check back!!

Oh...and as a mid-day update to my list...I started the dining room, and I bought the apples...and that is as far as we've gotten. :)

A.D.D.

Project A.D.D. that is! I am the master of starting things and then leaving them unfinished. In fact, if there were a "Land of Unfinished Masterpieces", I would be their QUEEN!

Gina at the Shabby Chic Cottage has issued a challenge...complete ten unfinished projects in ten days! Do I think I can do it?? Hmmm...probably not. I have a busy week this week...BUT, if I get even a few things on my list done, that's an accomplishment, right?

So, onto my list...my never (ever) ending list...in no particular order

1. FINALLY organize the office/dining room.
2. Paint Will's Headboard
3. Hang my chalkboard and washboards in the laundry room
4. Make fridge photo frames
5. Finish Kids artwork display Project
6. Finish Family Rules Canvas
7. Work on my door turned dining room table
8. Put up beadboard in kitchen
9. Finish painting (kitchen, trim and hallway)
10. Make gourmet caramel apples

Whew. I'm tired just THINKING about all of that! Now like I said, there is no way I'm going to get it all done. (Just being realistic here.) BUT, having the list out there for everyone to see will keep me accountable and I know I can get SOME of it done! I will post a daily update and a recap on October 15th!

Check out the Shabby Chic Cottage blog if you want in on the challenge! Ready...Set...GO!

Zucchini Bread

I LOVE zucchini bread. It's taken some time to perfect my recipe, but my family and friends all love it. The kids especially!

Jenn's Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup cinnamon applesauce
1 cup white sugar
I cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts

**I use 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts, but you can use whatever you prefer or have on hand! Raisins would be a delicious addition as well!


1. Grease and flour two bread pans and preheat your oven to 325.
2. Stir (or sift, if that's how you do it) flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. (I just use a fork and mix well.)
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients slowly into the wet mixture, and beat well.
4. Stir in zucchini and nuts.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until center appears to be set. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and cool completely on a rack.

Mmmm...the cinnamon-y (yes...I made that word up!) smell just OOZES Autumn to me! Gosh I love fall!

Enjoy!

Tired.

I'm tired and I'm sick. Sick and Tired if you will.

I'm battling an infection and have not had one extra ounce of will power for anything. Want proof?

I love to cook...we know this. My children had PIZZA ROLLS for dinner last night. That's right...pizza rolls. (Not that there's anything wrong with pizza rolls...it's just that there's something wrong with ME if I don't feel like cooking! LOL!)

Soooo...I'm on some different meds and trying to get better and when that happens, I'll be back to posting regularly, I PROMISE!

I've got some fun projects coming up...a family rules canvas, my kids art-work display, the work-in-progress that is my kitchen, lots of painted furniture (will post that as we finish pieces), makeover to my "mud room" (entry hall), and dining room/office makeover. The work never ends...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ok...back to work (aka: gazing absentmindedly at my computer monitor wish I could lay down while trying not to fall asleep at my desk...ahem.)

Less Sloppy Joes!

OMG! Maybe everyone knows this trick already (and if so, I can't BELIEVE no one told me!!)

My family LOVES sloppy joes...and what's not to love, really? But the little guys are forever complaining about all of the meat "falling out on the plate"! I always figured that's just the way it is...until last weekend.

I was at a friends house and she made sloppy joes for lunch. She brought plates out and there was a bun, standing on it's side, full of sloppy joe meat and ready for eating. Almost like a Sloppy Joe "Hot Pocket".

Apparently, it's a trick she learned from her mom. You buy unsliced homemade hamburger buns. (Up North here we call them "hard rolls" but I'm not sure if that's a regional thing? Anyone...?) Put a slice in the side...NOT all the way through to the bottom. Take a tablespoon and spread the bun open just enough to fill with your favorite sloppy joe meat mixture.



VOILA! A perfectly NOT SO SLOPPY, sloppy joe! So much easier for us, but especially for the kids! I love it!

Give it a try! :)

Now...go check out ASPTL, for Kimba's DIY Thursday Linky Party! GOOD stuff my friends!