Goals for March

Remember my New Year’s Resolutions? Well, how am I doing on my goals?

I have joined one committee at church, lost 5 pounds and totally organized my office. My Italian is still behind and I am struggling to read one book. We are planning a vacation after the weekend but not to a historic site. I will start researching some choices for the family to decide in the near future.

1.      

1.     Involved in two committees at church

2.    Take a knitting class
3.    Lose weight… a perennial favorite
4.    Read 6 books, not cookbooks, my first love.
5.    Organize my office
6.    Learn Italian
7.    Visit one U.S. historical site with the family. 

 In addition to my yearly goals, March also brings lots of chores that have to be completed. 

1.     Paint the living room

2.    Pressure wash house
3.    Wash outside windows
4.    Finish the guest bedroom
5.    Organize the garage

6.    Fertilize, aerate and add new grass seed to the yard

7.    Purchase new computer
8.    Finish all the favors for the wedding.

With Easter in April this year, I have some time to get some big chores done in March. This time of year always makes me want to clean and polish the house a little more than during the winter.

Spring brings the joy of re-birth. A garden that is beautiful without weeds or bugs. Spring bulbs blossoming. What are you March goals?

Cooking: Menu Week Ending March 5th

This week, I am giving my student’s an exam. So in preparation for spring break, my project is to paint the living room all week, with maybe a special day… please make room for a special day. The wedding projects are going to be finished this month so I have to wrap one of them up this week. Also, the yard will be seeded, flower beds weeded and broccoli and cabbage planted. Very excited for spring planting!!! What is on your menu? What is your plan for the week?

Sunday

Mustard Cream Herb Pork Chops

Roasted Green Beans

Baked Potatoes

Monday

Leftovers

Tuesday

 

7 Layered Salad

Wednesday

Church

Thursday

Steak Stromboli

Crudities

Friday

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Linguine

Cesar Salad

Fresh Baked French Bread with Parmesan Butter

Saturday

 

Buffalo Turkey Chili

Garden Salad

Mustard Creamy Herbed Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon instant beef bouillon granules
2/3 cup milk or light cream
2 tablespoons white cooking wine

Trim fat from meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook the pork chops in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn chops and add carrot. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes more or until no pink remains. Remove chops, reserving drippings and carrot. For sauce, stir in parsley, flour and basil into drippings and carrot. Add light cream all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir in wine or water. Return chops to skillet and heat through. To serve, spoon sauce over chops. Makes 4 servings.

Confession: Did you ever wonder why your dog loves you?

Last week, my daughter was busy with tests and she didn’t come by our home for several days. However, on Saturday, she stopped by to drop off some items and her lovely boy for me to granddog sit. 

Well, the puppy loves her, very much. And he somehow missed her coming in the office and go upstairs. He heard her come in but could not find her.He diligently looked for her for a solid 15 minutes until he figured out she was upstairs. Well, he threw himself into her arms and proceeded to kiss her (read lick) her for 5 minutes. 

When my dogs come in from doing their business, they search all over for me. Why? 

Why do they love me so? Why do they need to sit under my feet as I type, sew, watch TV? 

I don’t deserve their adoration but love to know that despite how difficult my day is, they always love me. 

And Lord knows, I need it.

Chocolate Souffle

I have always wanted to bake a soufflé. I mean, talk about accomplishing a challenge. A soufflé always brings to mind a fancy dessert that is so tempermental, if you were not careful, it would deflate over a fly flapping. Well, when Valentine’s Day came around, I decided to try my hand at a chocolate soufflé. However, we did have a back-up dessert, if my soufflé flopped. Hey, those kids want sweets on Valentine’s and I better have it for them.

First, brush a large ramekin or soufflé dish with soft butter, then coat with sugar. Put the dish in the fridge until later.

Set an oven rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.  In a glass bowl, add this chocolate and butter.

Bring a medium size saucepan, filled with about an inch of water, to a boil. Do not let the water touch the bottom of your glass bowl.  Stir the chocolate and butter occasionally until both have melted. 

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.

Combine the egg yolks and warm water in another glass bowl and beat until  it is frothy. 

 

 

Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue to beat for about 5 minutes.

 

Very lightly fold the yolks into the chocolate mixture. Do not use this same bowl for the egg whites. 

Next, remove the dish from the fridge. Put the egg whites and lemon juice. Beat on medium until frothy, gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and increase speed to high. Beat until the whites hold a stiff but not dry peak.

Very quickly and carefully, fold about a third of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten. 

 

Then fold in remaining whites until thoroughly blended. 

 

Gently ladle or spoon the souffle mixture into the prepared dish. 

 

Immediately bake until the souffle rises  and the top is touched with brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

 

Chocolate Souffles

Bottom of Form

Ingredients

• 7 ounces finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus for preparing the molds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 8 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Confectioners' sugar for garnish

Routines

Do you have a cleaning routine? How about a routine for repairing items in your home? SA gardening routine? 

People always ask me how I get so many things done in a day or week. One of the keys to accomplishing goals is to have set routines. Now I know routines have gotten a bad rap!! Routines are boring, uninspiring and go against a free-spirited nature.

But establishing routines allow me the freedom to accomplish other things in a day rather than chasing your tail all day long. You know the type of day I am talking about… waking up late, no breakfast, trying to iron an outfit, chasing kids around to get out the door, car has no gas, no lunch prepared, and finally, finishing work and driving through a fast food restaurant for dinner.  

Establishing a routine brings calmness and order to rule in your home. 

One of my favorite routines is to clean my bedroom on Saturday morning. First, I sleep as late as possible, until 7:30… Horrors!!! After feeding the boys, I dust and Windex the bedroom in my pj’s, picking up any miscellaneous items that may have worked their way into my room during the week. I read all the unread papers for the week, eat breakfast in bed, clean the bathroom, lay out some clothes for church and finally, change the sheets and re-make the bed. I vacuum almost every day so I do not need to perform that chore.

  

I am finished in about two hours but honestly I love this time on Saturday morning. It is delicious!!! Absolutely delicious!!!! 

Do you have any routines? If so, what are they? If not, don't worry, we are going to make some new routines in the next few weeks to create order in your life!!!

Steaks with Herb Butter

Oh I love steak!! But I tried this herb butter and now I am addicted to it. For Valentine’s Day , I made the kids steaks with herb butter. Delicious.

 

First, pulsed roughly chopped basil leaves and shelled pistachios in the food processor several times. Add lemon juice, garlic, softened butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Pulse for 30 seconds to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.

On wax paper, shape the butter in log shape and chill until firm, approximately 6 to 8 hours.

After the steaks have been cooked, slice some of the herb butter and place on top of the steak.

As you know, winter foods need as much flavor as possible. These steaks are heavenly!!!!

Herb Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios or hazelnuts
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 Tbsp. butter, softened (NOT margarine)
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 rib eye steaks OR salmon steaks

Preparation:

In food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except steaks. Process or blend till mixture is even. Cover the blended butter and chill this mixture and then form it into a roll 1" in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm, up to 24 hours. For longer storage, freeze the butter.

Organization: Closet cleaning

After the children moved to their own homes, I decided to move my winter clothes into my daughter's huge closet.

Her closet is big enough to house the washer and dryer

 with a Ballard design dryer rack (my new favorite thing)

 

and a cute laundry sign.

 

This closet holds my cute mannequin into the closet to hold all my long necklaces and fancy pins.

This shadow box holds all my brooches, watches and big costume jewelry ring. And the door keeps them all free of dust.

 

The round table, found at a yard sale for $5, is small enough to fit neatly into the closet but also makes a wonderful folding table. 

Okay, enough about my favorite closet. Organization in a closet is very important. It allows you to see all your sweaters, and other items, such as shoes, scarves and necklaces. Every Saturday morning, I check the clothes I have worn that week to see if the shoes need polishing, buttons need some stitching, folding sweaters neatly and putting everything back in place. As simple as this chore sounds, and it is, it provides order in my life. The entire chore takes approximately 20 minutes but more importantly, it prevents the need to block out large periods of time to clean the closet.

Are your closets organized? Are your shoes polished? If the answers are no, don't worry. Set some time this weekend and spend 20 minutes putting things back in place. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in 20 minutes.

Cooking: Menu Week Ending February 26

This week, all the boys come home from their journeys. So I am putting on the dog for them. They do not eat home cooked meals all week and I thought they would love the Pioneer Woman's flank steak. Still painting but now I have started cleaning flower beds. This week, I also have to prepare an exam for the students and a presentation for their project. 

Wedding plans are still coming along great. However, I need to wrap up all my February wedding goals to keep up with the schedule. On Wednesday, I am cooking up a big batch of blackberry jam. Although we picked the blackberries in the summer, I hate to heat up the kitchen and wait for a great time to can jam in the winter, when you don't mind the kitchen heated up.

Sunday

Spinach, Bacon and Mushroom Frittata

Monday

Lasagna Rolls

Garlic Bread

Cesar Salad

Tuesday

Leftovers

Wednesday

Thursday

BLT's 

Sweet Potato Fries 

Friday

Pioneer Woman's Flank Steak

Baked Potatoes

Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots 

 

Saturday

Corn and Crab Soup

Entertaining in a small intimate way!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to entertain more during the year. Now we give several great parties throughout the year, our huge Fourth of July party is one of the biggest!! But I never get to spend quality time with friends, family and neighbors during the party. I am always trying to ensure that there is plenty of ice, food, kids entertained or just trying to be the best hostess.

So I decided this year to have friends or neighbors over to dinner on Friday evenings. Fridays are a day where everyone is on their way home from work, taking the time to pause and looking forward to the weekend.

Since my goal is to spend quality time with friends, I make delicious and simple food. Sometimes, feeding my guests in the warmth and comfort of the kitchen. However, as delicious as the food is to eat, the focus of the evening is not the food. The focus is to laugh, reconnect and take time to honor those people that I love.

So how do I entertain on a Friday night.

1. Set the table during the week.
2. Pick a menu that is easy to put together, using leftovers during the week or items that can made on the weekend and cooked on Friday.
3. Pick a theme for the night. Board game, cards, old movies or just sitting and reconnecting. The important point is to enjoy the night. Not stress. You should treat your guests as family. 

 

Is it a little effort? Yes but their smiling faces make it worth it. So let's make it a point to reconnect with our loved ones; friends, neighbors or family.

Flower Arranging - Tulips

I absolutely love tulips, either in the garden

 

or left loose in the vase.

They are one of the only flowers that look better several days after they are cut. They continue to grow. Spring is right around the corner and my home looks like it.

Buy yourself some tulips and bring some of spring into your home!!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is packed with so much flavor and more importantly, very easy to make. You have to try it while the weather is still cold.

Using a slow cooker, add one pound of cooked and shredded chicken, a 15 oz. can of whole tomatoes, can of enchilada sauce, a can of green chilies, 2 cloves of garlic. Add one medium onion, chopped. Add 32 oz. of chicken broth and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and one bay leaf. Add 10 oz. of either canned or frozen corn. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Now how easy was that? Garnish with either corn tortillas brushed with oil, cut into strips and baked for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

For one of our Friday Night dinners, I paired it with a seven layer bean dip  made the day before and some margaritas.

Slower Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb. cooked chicken
15 oz. can of whole tomatoes
10 oz. can of enchilda sauce
4 oz. green chilies, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
32 oz. chicken broth
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. bay leaf
10 oz corn, frozen or canned
1 T. cilantro for garnish

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's day, if only to stop and appreciate the ones you love. These are my favorite people in the entire world!! I love them with all my heart!!

Happy Valentine's Day, dear hubby!!!

You at your Bulldog Gator Bowl!!! Go DAWG's!!!

My daughter and her fiance, both who I love... Can't wait for your wedding!!

My dear precious son..

All the boys!!!

Have you honored the ones you love? I know people are cynical about the holiday, a Hallmark day, but how often do we really tell the ones we love how important they are to us?