Crock Pot Salisbury Steak

So I got this amazing recipe from my mother and I love it! not only do I love it but so does David! Yeah life!

Crock pot Salisbury Steaks

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix
• 3/4 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs, and milk using your hands. Shape into 8 patties.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the patties in flour just to coat, and quickly brown on both sides in the hot skillet. Place browned patties into the slow cooker stacking alternately like a pyramid. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, au jus mix, and water. Pour over the meat. Cook on the Low setting for 4 or 5 hours, until ground beef is well done.  Serve over egg noodles.

The Zucchini side is just a green zucchini chopped into long pieces.  I tossed the pieces in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and basil.  Then I put them in a skillet and fried them up.  When I took them out of the pan I sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese.

I would definitely check this recipe out! It is amazing!

Candy Cards

As a kid growing up one of my favorite parts of my birthday were the cards from my mother.   Every couple of years we would get a 'candy card' like this one.

Source: shechive.files.wordpress.com via Leslie on Pinterest

I loved it so much, its not the cheapest thing but I think it is a great gift for visiting teachies, husbands, kids, friends, and neighbors.  All it takes is a little creativity and $15-$20 is candy bars.  I can say that it definitely made me feel special and will be making it for my hubby for Valentines day this year.

Packing Liquids in your suitcase

So this pin  has the potential to be amazing.  According to this girl if you place a piece of plastic wrap under the lid of your shampoo, sunscreen, and so forth it will not explode all over due to pressure change.

Source: selectstudyabroad.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Well... I did this, but failed to screw the lid of my conditioner on straight.... dun dun dun :(  Lets just say there were tears (also I had an unopened container of baby formula explode in the other suitcase... not sure which made me more angry.)  However none of the liquids that I got the lid on right did no leak.  I will have to try this again next time but for now I give it a hesitant thumbs up!

Packing for little ones

I went to a seminar for my Church's women's group a year or so ago and they had a lesson from a woman about keeping your home clutter free.  Then a while ago I found a pin about one of the things she mentioned about helping keep little ones organized.  The pin says (and the speaker agreed) that when traveling with little ones it is easiest to pack their outfits in zip-lock bags.  So take a zip lock bag and put in a pair of underwear, a top, bottoms, socks, and any accessories that you would not mind seeing your child wear together.  Then when you get to your destination unpack the bags and you can let your little one pick their own outfits.  No clothes strewn everywhere, kids get to be independent, and you don't run the risk of your kid walking around your home town (or ending up in the big family picture) wearing an outfit you hate.

Source: kimmccrary.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Now my little guy is not big enough to pick out his own bag.  However I did this for a trip we took a month ago and it was so nice.  All I had to do was reach in my bag and grab out a zip-lock and get him in the outfit.  But my favorite part... Putting all the dirty clothes back in the bag they came from! No dirty clothes floating around my bag and no lost baby socks.  Over all this is a win!

Monkey Bread

So this is pin that I grew up with.  Monkey bread was a staple food at youth activities and early morning treats.  You take pillsbury biscuits from the can and dip them in melted butter then in cinnamon and sugar.

Source: pillsbury.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Line at bunt-pan with the coated biscuits and fill the pan continuing to dip. Some people like to add brown sugar as well.  bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 min.  Enjoy the gooey yummy amazingness!

Upcycle Baby Food Jars: Spice Bottles

So I have tons and tons of empty baby food jars that I hate to throw away but am not willing to drive an hour and a half to recycle.  I also have a ton of spices that are in a bunch of different sizes and shapes and take up tons of room.  So I copied this idea of using baby food jars as spice jars.

Source: davisongoons.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Now she made hers into magnets on the fridge but I just stuck mine back in the cupboard and saved so much room.

Also now I can buy spices in bulk and Winco and not worry about trying to get those dang spice jars open!

I used the basic sized baby food jars.  Cleaned them and then boiled both the jars and lids in water for 15 min (my dishwasher is unreliable at best so I went the old fashioned way).  I dried them off and went to work.

For my paper I used DCWV Nana's Kitchen stack so they would all be coordinated easy without stress.  I cut the pages into 1"x8" strips.  Now the girl I copied used mod podge to attach the paper to the jars, and if you are going to have them on the fridge I would do that as well.  But since mine are staying in a cupboard most of the time I chose to leave them a little more textured and just used hot glue.  Also if I really hate the paper I can start over much easier.  Then I wrote the spice name on the jar and filled it up.

A side note, what did I do with all those empty spice jars?  I tossed them in D.J.'s toy bucket of course.  Why pay for toy food when you can give them their own versions of the real stuff.  My mom put stuff like that is a drawer in our kitchen growing up that we could play with while she cooked.  I think it played a huge role in all of her children loving to work (well cook) in the kitchen.

Quiet Book page: Noah's Ark

So I am in the quiet book co-op where we each do one page but you do it for 12 people and then they each give you a page in return.

My page was Noah's Ark.  I got some of my ideas from this girl.  But really went my own way with it.

Source: laurathoughts81.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

I did the animals as finger puppets (much like my earlier nativity post).  I did lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and turtles.

The ark opens at the top (like a jean pocket) and all the animals fit inside.

Because I didn't want to do 120 animals I only did one of each but if you are doing it just for you you could easily do two of each.  Create your template my drawing you tomb stone shaped bodies on paper the size you want them. Mine are about 2 1/2 inches tall and and inch wide.  Then cut out the paper and use it to cut out your felt.  Remember you will need two for each animal.  For the elephant the ears are actually one piece with a middle that threads through the body.  The turtle legs and head are the same way.  Actually with the turtle I didn't cut out two bodies I just used the shell as the other side of the puppet.

I am really happy with my page.  Hopefully I'll be able to share the other ones we did soon as well.

Any good ideas for scripture quiet book pages.  I want to do an all scripture one on my own and need ideas for which stories and how to do them.

Book Review: Freedom Road by Howard Fast... Aka the 5th book to change my life

When I was 16 my father introduced me to Freedom Road by Howard Fast and my life changed.

Source: goodreads.com via Leslie on Pinterest

It is a book about a community in the South during the Reconstruction period (the era after the civil war when the north was punishing the south for the war).  The community of former slaves and poor whites work together to create a flourishing town with educated children, and even a congressmen.  But as the North decides to stop their efforts to create equality outside people come in and in an apocalyptic moment burn the community and all of its members to death ending the era of peace and prosperity.

Yes this is a book about equality, and yes it is about race.  But the thing about this book that changed my life was how it showed to me more than I had every before seen that education is power.  That what the people bringing down the people feared and hated most was the fact the the blacks and poor whites were lifting themselves up through learning and college education.  For the first time I truly realized what my goals were really for, and what they meant.  That I didn't want to go to college just so I could get a good job but so I would never be under the power of others because I didn't know how to learn.

This is a great (and rather obscure) book that I think every one should read.  Look for it and check it out!  I read it every time I started to hate school and all the work I had to do, it reminded me just what my education meant, and why I needed to stick with it.

Cleaning a stove/grates

So I have a nasty old gas stove.  I may have mentioned before how much I hate this thing but if not let me say right now, IT IS THE BANE OF MY CLEANING LIFE RIGHT NOW.  No matter how hard I scrub.  No matter how fast I get to it I can not get the black burnt circle off one of the dang thing.  So I thought I would try this remedy for the grates on the whole stove top.  I did exactly what she did (except I put my stove top in a garbage bag instead of zip lock) and put them on my patio over night.

Source: pinchingyourpennies.com via Leslie on Pinterest

 In case you don't want to look at the blog she put her stove grates in zip lock bags with a 1/4 cup ammonia for 12 hours and then the scuz just wiped off.  So I did that, and then did it bigger with my whole removable top in garbage bags tied up.
.... 
Well it worked on the grates.  It helped on the stove top but not by much.  Oh well.  Any ideas?  I'm about ready to throw in the towel and except defeat. 

Detox diet... i don't know if it works but it does suck if you are trying to cook for others

So I wanted to try the detox diet I saw on pinterest a while ago.  I really liked the look of it because you could eat as much as you want of the foods on the list and it lasted a week.  Each day was a little different.  Now if I had a whole week where I only had to worry about feeding myself and keeping the 'good foods' in the house I might have been able to stick to it.  But having to cook yummy food (aka carbs) for my husband every night did me in.   I mean I stopped and started this diet 5 different times.  And never made it past day two.  I might try it again and just make him fish (which is one of the 5 things I don't eat) every night for a week.  Ah well.  Maybe I'll just do a detox shake thing instead.

Source: justinandashleyrefresh.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Vacation

So my little brother is getting back from a two year mission for our church this next week.  DJ and I are going to my parents home in California for 3 weeks to hang out with him (DJ will be meeting his uncle for the first time).  Because of this I wont be blogging till I get back.  However I'll make some promises for up coming posts:

1. 12 different quiet book pages
2. a detox diet
3. cleaning a bathtub
4. book review
5. stove cleaning

That right there is 16 post I promise to share within a week of getting home.  aka by July 18th.  See you then!

I Failed.. Still want to know how she did it?!!!?!

So my sweet little D.J. was born a month before Christmas so I thought it would be cute to do a hand print ordainment like this one.  Well, I failed.  I could not get little man to open his hand or hold it still enough for me to get a print that was not smeared horribly.  I was really disappointed cause I wanted to make it so bad.  Oh well.  Maybe some one out there has ideas that will help me do it for the next kid (or even D.J. this Christmas).  In the mean time I will look at this one with envy and frustration.  Any ideas anyone?

Source: asortafairytaleblog.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Felt Finger Puppet Nativity

So I grew up in a home with a Mother who LOVES nativities.  I don't know how many she has now but last time I checked it was around 75.  From cheap Walmart ones, to homemade, to foreign she loves them and decorates every inch of the house in them during the Holidays.  My siblings and I have started giving her a new one every year (not an easy feat anymore).  This year, in celebration of having her first Grand-baby, I decided to make her one that the grandchildren could play with without breaking.  I got my idea from these two pins.

Both of these are sewn, and well.... I have very little patients with my sewing machine and small pieces.  So... I used hot glue.  Now you may be asking "wont little fingers pull that apart?"  No they wont!  I went at those things with hot glue like a kinder-gardener with elmers glue.  I wanted to do a sheep and a camel but ended up not.  They would be pretty easy though.  Any who for pictures and tips if you want to do on yourself.

All of them together (excuse the glare)

Angel... so you can see the brown line around her.  I used marker to trace my pattern and on the lighter felt is soaked through... sad days.  Also the wings are a solid piece behind the body.

Joseph... If you wanted you could stitch marks on the lantern to make it more obvious as to what it is.

Wise man #1.  I just cut a left over square of fabric for the gift.

Shepard.  So I couldn't get the 'crook' to hold up well so I cut the curvy part off so it wouldn't droop.  If you are determined you may need to iron stiff stuff to the back

Wise man #2

Mary and Baby.  I chose to put them together.  You could do a separate one with the baby in the manger like in the Esty pin.

Wise man #3

Donkey.  Not super happy with this one but not sure what to do different.  Any ideas?

The Cow.  I am actually really proud of this one.  He makes me smile!

Honey Mustard Chicken

This is David's favorite new dish.  And I like it a lot too.  Mine never turn out as pretty as the picture but they are still delicious.  They are off the Weight Watchers site and sometime they can be snotty about letting you on if your not a member so I'm going to share the recipe here.   We don't use the scallions or dill but that is because I don't have them around the house all the time.  They are delicious! We serve them with sweet potato fries and green beans.  So much deliciousness!  *smacking of lips*

Any good baked chicken recipes out there?

Source: weightwatchers.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken (16 points)

Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2/3 cup(s) lite honey mustard dressing
	1/8 tsp table salt
	1/8 tsp black pepper
	2 tsp dill, freshly chopped
	1 medium uncooked scallion(s), finely sliced
	1 cup(s) cornflake crumbs
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz pieces

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a shallow pan with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, dill and scallions; remove 1/3 cup and set aside.
• Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into dressing mixture and then cornflake crumbs; place in prepared pan.
• Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.
• Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve. Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1 1/3 tablespoons of dressing per serving.

baking soda and vinegar as a drain de-clogger... my first dud

Alright... so here is my first dud pin :) I'm kinda excited but at the same time disappointed that it was this one.   I really wanted it to work.  According to the blogger , by mixing 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup vinegar down the drain covering it and then pouring boiling water down should solve your clogging problems.  I'm going to continue tinkering cause I really want it to work but that formula did not work for us.  I tried it on both the kitchen sink and bathtub and not much changed.  It took the edge off but I'm still finishing my shower standing in 2 inches of water (this is especially sad when you are trying to rinse dye out of your hair and your feet change color).  Oh well, like I said I'm going to tinker and see if I can find a better mix... guess I need to get baking soda when I'm off to the store.  I'll let you know what I find.

Any ideas for de-clogging my drain?

Tin Foil Grease Trap

So I have this problem... My husband loves bacon... I love my husband... so I make him bacon... however!! I AM TO IMPATIENT TO LET THE GREASE COOL AND THROW IT AWAY.  In fact I'm pretty sure I all but killed the bush outside my apt by pouring hot hot grease on it too many times (sorry plant).  I just want all that stuff of my nice electric skillet before it becomes all... goopy.  So this sites idea about using a 'tin foil bowl' to catch it all and then let it cool in the foil before balling it up and throwing it away was amazing for me! HAHAH! So I tried it today and guess what.. worked like a charm!  This is a winner ladies and gentlemen!

How do you get rid of excess grease at the end of cooking?

Source: indulgy.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Mother Son Relations

So I pinned and then read this article about Mother and Son relationships in modern society.  It was a really interesting article.  She pointed out that though most of societies gender attitudes have changed (for example the relationship between father and daughter is encouraged) over the last 50 years, the attitudes about the Mother Son relationship has stayed the same.  She pointed to research that Mamma's Boys are less likely to be violent and act out and are also more likely to go to college.  Though I agree with her to an extent I have some problems with her ideas as well.  On the face of it I agree that mothers and sons should have very close relationships.  My mother and brothers are very close and there was a tight bond there.  I also hope to have that kind of close relationship with my son.  However, I also believe that boys should be aloud to be boys.  Lets just admit it *boy and girls are different* while a teenage daughter may want to talk about her feelings with a parent most boys don't.  And I don't believe that they should be forced to (except in situations of danger of course).  The door should always be open for communication but I don't believe it should be pushed on children, especially boys.  Now I want my kids to talk to me about things, and if I think they are into drugs or something else that is not appropriate then I will push the issue.  But if its about why they broke up with their girlfriend, if they don't want to talk about it I don't want to force it.

She also talked about sharing her problems with her son.  I feel like that is unhealthy for any child, boy or girl.  Parents should not be seen as perfect but it is not fair to burden children unnecessarily with your problems.  It goes back to the old saying 'you are not your child's best friend, you are their parent.'  I think that there is a very special bond between parent and child, that they can be close, share things, and have fun.  But I feel like that relationship is degraded when you call it a friendship, it is so much more.  My mom is my hero, my confidant, and my example,  she is so much more to me than any friend could ever be and I love hanging with her.  I hope someday to have that relationship with DJ and any other children that may come along.

What do you think about Mother Son relations?  Does being close to his mom make a sissy boy?

ABC Book

Another one I did before pinterest.  But I really love it.  I gave this blank ABC book to DJ for his first Christmas.  Now we can fill it in with clips from magazines and stuff as we go along.  Super cheap and when he starts learning letters I feel like it will really help him to point them out and then help put them in him book.  First there's then mine.  Oh I also did number up to ten and shapes.  Obviously his is still empty but we are gonna start pretty soon.  Not that he is really ready to learn but I would like some stuff on the pages before we begin.

Hers

cover

letters

numbers and shapes

How do you teach your kids their letters and shapes?  Any good books you really like?

Wedding Shadow Box

Now I want the record to show that I did this myself before pinterest even existed.  However I thought I would share my version because I love the idea so much.

pin

I did not have my bouquet or a huge shadow box so I used my sisters (she was a brides maid).  I also didn't include the invitation.  But I did do our cake topper and my garter instead.  I really like the way it turned out.     I got my frame at Target for like $10.  Proof you can go small and still have it turn out great! I really think this is a must for any new bride, it is one of our most treasured keepsakes from our wedding.

Mine (ignore the tea set... or admire if you wish)

How did you preserve your bouquet?  What is your favorite wedding memorabilia?

Saint Patrick's Day Decor

So my congregation is doing a craft group every month and for march we did this one.  Sorta.  I loved ours so much that I hung it in our room year round!

The inspiration pin

So instead of doing wood, we did cork board, paper and ribbon.  I think it turned out really well.

ours.

So here we go.

What you need: Cork board, three types of green scrapbook paper (2 12x12 pieces each), a three hole punch, scissors or a paper cutter, a cricut machine (or pre-cut letters), glue, and green ribbon.  Pictures optional

Step One: pick out 3 different kinds of green scrapbook paper and choose one for the backing, front, and letters.

Step Two: Cut out your letters.  We used a Cricut machine, you may want to look and find already cut letters if you do not have access to one or something like it.

Step Three: Cut your cork board into the size you want.  Remember you want at least a half inch around each of your words.    You will end up with 5 rectangles, one for each word.

How do you decorate for Saint Patrick's Day?  Any fun crafts?

Step Four: Cut the paper you chose for backing to the same size as each of your cork boards and glue them on.  Then cut the front paper out a little smaller.  I wanted a smaller boarder but some people like bigger ones your choice just make sure you leave room for your letters to go on and not look squished.

Step Five: Arranged and glue the letter on to your pieces.  

Step Six: Punch holes in each end of the pieces.  We tried the hand held punchers and broke 3 of them.  The heavy duty 3 hold punch work best.   Using the holes tie the pieces together with ribbon.  Dangle picture of your choice from the sign.  I only did 3 but some girls did all five.

Baby Food

Okay so I should being this post by saying my son is a beast! Not that he is huge mind you (he is 6 1/2 months and still in 0-3 month clothes). He can down food like there is no tomorrow.  For example today I went to Golden Corral with DJ and Grandma.  DJ is of course at the 'if you are eating big people food then I want to eat big people food' stage.  So I got some mashed potatoes and gravy and thought I'd feed him some and finish the rest.  Well... 2 cups of mashed potatoes and 1/2 of my orange sherbet (yes I know ice cream... don't judge me... at least there was no milk it it) later I finally had to get up and remove him from the food so he would stop eating.  SERIOUSLY! This kid will eat till the cows come home.  Any who, we obviously can't afford to feed him tons of store bought baby food so I used this pin.  And used some of there recipies.

 *my* Swaccoli and Apples

DJ loves the Swaccoli (Sweet potatoes and Broccoli) and the apples went over really well.  In the apples I used Nutmeg instead of cinnamon for half of them and he likes those ones better.   I also used their instructions for peaches to do nectarines.  Only I left the skin on them.  DJ loves the nectarines.  He eats them at the end of every meal and actually prefers them to the sweet stuff my husband is always trying to give him.  *score for healthy*  Now we have not tried any of the recipes over the 6-9 month range but the ones younger are great.  Maybe in a few months I'll revisit this and let you know about the older ones.  But at least for pureed stuff, this site is a winner!

What is your kids favorite baby food?  How do you make it?

Christmas Baby picture

DJ was born at the end of November.  So of course we decided to combine birth announcements with the Christmas Card.  We saw what this blogger did and had to try it.  Thanks to our killer photographer Heidi (check her out) we were able to do a great version that we loved.  Our announcements turned out great and I couldn't have been more happy.  Tip: they did not actually stick him in the stocking but just laid it on top of him.  We also got the hat off of a Christmas Teddy bear.  Isn't my son the cutest?

The pinner's original 

Our version up close... this is the one on our Christmas card

Our version pulled back

Our version... isn't he the cutest thing ever!!

What pictures did you do for babies first Christmas?

Car Seat Canopy

So I love these! The first one I made for myself took me about 2 hours but now I can whip them out in 30 minutes.  They are an inexpensive and yet very nice baby shower gift.   I got the idea from both of these pins.  I melded both patterns.   I did not like the buttons or the Velcro, especially for gifts (you never know what kind of carrier they will have and what size the handle is).  Instead I used ribbon.  That way you can tie it on no matter what size you want.  I'll show the picture of the one I made for my son.  We really love it! A definite MUST DO for any mom.  Don't pay the $50 plus dollars, even the most basic sower can do this.

 Pin number 2

blog number one

Mine... still has buttons, I changed it after a while to ribbon

Did you buy or make your canopy? If you made it did you modify the pattern in anyway?

Baby picture

My little brother, Clark, was on a mission for our church when my son was born.  They havn't met yet but for Christmas my brother sent DJ "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish".  I wanted to document this sweet gift and send it to Clark so he would know how much we appreciated it.  Conviently DJ's newborn pictures were right around the corner so we borrowed this pinner's idea.

Her's

Ours

We changed it around a little but I really like how it turned out.  I'm actually thinking of trying it again the exact way she did now that he is a little older but we couldn't get new baby DJ to work with us on it.  Here is our version

What fun newborn pictures did you take?  Did you include any special things in them?