Sunday, February 16, 2014

Taste Testing and a Great Sale for Kids

We have been enjoying recipes out of Barefoot Contessa at Home and Southern Living Easy Week Night Favorites cookbooks.  We still have some left overs from our Valentine's meal, I've been selling Kelly's Kids clothes all weekend and I am flat tired from a fun night out with good friends last night at a Dueling Piano event.  Cozy PJ's and clearing out food in the fridge is what is on tap for tonight. So I thought I would catch you up with our yummy taste testing since we won't be having a big Sunday Supper. 

During the week, I make something quick and easy and here are a couple of examples.

 
 


Weeknight Enchiladas
1 pound ground chuck
1 small onion, chopped
1 10 ounce can tomato soup, undiluted
1 10 ounce can mild enchilada sauce
8 8 inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
sour cream

Cook beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring until it  crumbles; drain and return to skillet.  Stir soup and enchilada sauce into the meat mixture.  Spread 1/4 cup meat  mixture onto each tortilla, sprinkle evenly with one cup of cheese.  Roll up tortillas; place seam side down in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Pour remaining meat mixture over the tortillas.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese; bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.  Serve with sour cream.

I served this with a can of refried beans and a packet of Spanish rice. 



Three Pepper Pork Cutlets
1 pound pork tenderloin (I opted for 4 pork chops)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
vegetable cooking spray

Cut pork crosswise into 12 slices.  Place each pork slice between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap, and flatted to 1/4 inch thickness, using the heel of your hand or meat mallet (or do what I did and buy four  pork chops).

Combine paprika and next 9 ingredients, rub over both sides of pork slices.  Place pork on a broiler rack coated with cooking spray, place rack in broiler pan.  Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat with door partially open for 3-4 minutes on each side or until done.  Keep an eye on this part as broiling can be tricky and you need a clean oven.
*this can be expensive if you don't already have the spices on hand, which I did.

* I served this with cheddar broccoli and a mashed potato packet.

From Barefoot Contessa at Home, we enjoyed these yummy recipes:

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo - find the recipe here


Chicken Piccata - find the recipe here that we paired with her Mixed Green Green Spring Vegetables - find the recipe here


We also enjoyed her Cornish Hen with Cornbread Dressing but I did not take a picture - boo hiss.  It was delish!!!

As you can see, we have enjoyed some yummy meals and I need to find my way back to the gym pronto!

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I sell clothes for Kelly's Kids.  There is a great sale going on through midnight.  If you are interested, you can place your order at www.kellyskids.com/leebogle with Party ID 19247.



xoxo,
TSS




Friday, February 14, 2014

Be Mine Breakfast

My wee ones could care less about Valentine's Day at this point (although they did have fun helping me make their classmates presents) - but this Mama still took advantage of a special day to fuss over them.  However, I was outsmarted by the little cupids as this is what I woke up to.

 
 
Swooning. How did I get so lucky?

After I enjoyed my breakfast, this is what I treated my love bugs to.

 
 
 
With happy, full bellies, we are off to enjoy another snow day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo,
TSS

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Emergency Car Kit Copy Cat

Today I am sending you straight over to Dixie Delights for her post on Emergency Car Kits

Having been born and raised in Atlanta, I watched horrified of the traffic problems that occurred a couple of week ago.  Anyone who knows the area well cannot blame "stupid Southerners" for not knowing how to drive, nor can they blame government officials.  Yes, people should have been aware the storm was coming and made better calls should have been made about when to ice the roads and close schools down; but the issue was the traffic.  What people also don't realize is there are nearly 70 mayors that support the city of Atlanta. By the time you factor in all the cities that make up "metro Atlanta" - it ain't a small area.  And the infrastructure simply does not support the growth that Atlanta has seen.  On a good day, traffic is a nightmare - sometimes just because of the glare of the sun.  So if you want to blame government officials - you really need to go back 20+ years to the boneheads that didn't support legislation to build better roads in and around Atlanta as it was growing.  There have been studies from other cities (Charlotte for example) on how to grow without dealing with the traffic problems Atlanta has endured............but I digress and will get off on my soap box.  What really warmed my heart was seeing the outpouring of support for people in a position to help.  True Southern Hospitality at its finest as I waited for to loved ones to get home.

So I was thrilled when Amanda at Dixie Delights shared this awesome kit.  I hope my friends in Atlanta or in other cities, that commute or have jobs that put them on the road will take note of this great idea.



And to update you on the snow here - we waited patiently for snow to arrive yesterday.  We woke up wondering where it was...........




decided to sled through the house despite snow............


and woke up to this lovely site (pic courtesy of my sweet neighbor)...........


Here's the courtyard I mentioned the other day.  It's not such a "hot mess" in the snow.


Now, off to let the wee ones run some energy off in the snow!

xoxo,
TSS

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Valentine's Day Fun

The wee ones may or may not get to celebrate Valentine's Day with their classmates on Friday due to the pending snow storm.....but if they do, here is a sneak peek at their fun goodies.



Harrison opted for this cute Star Wars themed card complete with a glow stick for a light saber.  I found the printable on Pinterest here



I saw a super cute printable for Spencer's gifts but the link was dismantled - so I made my own......not as cute but he's three so hopefully, the kiddo's won't be too disappointed.



The last Valentine special is for my church sweeties.  I co-lead the 3-4 year old Music Friends from 6-6:30pm on Wednesday nights at Church followed by the 3-4 year old Mission Friends class from 6:30 - 7:00 pm and I just adore those cuties.  I got this sweet printable here.  The card is attached to a mini bubble bottle.



Well, I'm off to watch for snow.  The notice went out last night at 5pm that school would be cancelled and there is nary a speck of snow on the ground or drizzle from the sky.......but it is supposedly coming.  Yuck, yuck!  I just pray we get more snow than ice and that the power doesn't go out. 
 

 
 But yeah for a fun "snow day" with the kiddos!!!

Stay warm and safe!

xoxo,
TSS


Friday, February 7, 2014

5 on Friday



Links I love on..............Gardening
 
 
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to eliminate the eye sores from my home.  Please find Exhibit A below..........
 
We live in a very small yet charming cottage style home (did I mention it was small???).  We bought it prior to children when we didn't realize all the mess that comes with children.  I adored the house as soon as  I saw it and knew it was "home". 
 
One of my favorite aspects of the house was its adorable courtyard in the back.  It is bricked in with ivy, a wrought iron gate entrance and a faux picket fence enclosure.  It is adorable but a lot of upkeep.  So much so that I am not going to even show you pictures of the hot mess it is in its current state.  But this little plot of land has begged me to turn it into a vegetable and herb garden and this is the year it will happen.  I am blogging about it only to hold me accountable.
 
In a couple of weeks, the hubby will find on his "honey do" list to pressure wash the area and helping me till up this ground.  The furniture needs painting, cushions could use some love and I just can't wait for it to warm up so we can get started.
 
I have been blowing up my Pinterest account with all sorts of gardening ideas and here are the top 5 that I am in love with.
 


Williams Sonoma Agarian
I basically love this whole line but this garden kneeler will certainly come in handy.

 
 
Mason Jar Soil Tester - learn how here
First up is to get the proper soil
 
 
Starter Seed Calendar
 
 
Small Garden Planting Ideas
 
and the most brilliant of all - muffin tins for measuring the perfect seed spot
 
 
 
I can't wait to see what my garden produces this year.  The boys are excited to help me and it will be so neat to say, "hmm - let's have tomato sandwiches for lunch - let's go get one from the garden".  I am being positive as this is quite the undertaking and I have a lot to learn; but, you've got to start somewhere!!!  So I am off to say a quick prayer for my black thumb and get on with my day.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
xoxo,
TSS
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Happy Birthday, Facebook!

If you are on Facebook, your feed probably blew up yesterday with everyone's "movie".  I caved last night and did mine.  Here is a glimpse of my life outside of the blogosphere........

Here’s my Facebook movie. Find yours at https://facebook.com/lookback/ #FacebookIs10

Crazy week here but hope yours is going well!

xoxo,
TSS