Tomorrow is the Big Day!!

Tomorrow is big the day!!!        You can do it!

It only took me a few minutes, even with all the picture taking for my post!

Won't you join me?  Prizes are involved and not just from me!

Okay, here I gooooooo

My purse...over flowing

Top view....not too scary...yet

I done went and did it. I dumped out the entire contents.

How did all of that fit? Seriously! That is three weeks worth of junk....only three weeks!

Sorted into piles

Wha? This is from my son's phone. 

It came with this blank when he got it and he just put his old sim card in it. 

Why do I still have it?

Ear plugs and a safety mask for cpr

I don't even remember eating anywhere that gave out plastic forks...hahahaha

Fabric sample for thread matching purposes.

Can you guess the fabric? C'mon......I know you can. 

Yes, that is a lime green jump drive/

$3.71 in change that was on the bottom of my purse. 

I can see a Mac's Lounge Mini-meal in my future. 

Time to put everything back. 

Feminine protection products and some odds and ends in a little bag.

My nook...Ghastlie, isn't it? he he he

All back in my purse.

Now, prize time!

I am offering Kathi Lipp's Book. "The Get Yourself Organized Project" 

and 4 inspirational book marks to one lucky reader!

How to get it? 

1. Just post a picture of your dumped out purse on facebook or your blog
2. Comment here with a link to your picture (today or tomorrow's post)
3. Make sure and leave your contact info
4. Wait impatiently until Friday, May 19 for me to visit the random number generator and post the winner!

That isn't the only thing you can win!!!!
Visit Kathi's blog for a chance to win some serious awesomeness! The rest of the deets tomorrow!


So stay tuned in! Same blog channel, same distracted diva!

Day 5 - The What's for Dinner Solution

Today we wax poetic about our favorite kitchen appliance and how it works to help get dinner on the table.

My first favorite kitchen appliance is the phone..can you say take out? LOL This whole project has been an exercise to make family meals fun, affordable and better for your family....so easy on the take out it is.

I think my favorite appliance is my stove. My real favorite is a heavy cast iron pot, but that is not an appliance. LOL

I braise, fry, saute`, boil, sear, simmer.....it's how I get supper on the table. I am lucky enough to be a domestic goddess (housewife) and I cook almost everyday, sometimes more than once. 

How did this week of meal planning go for you? I actually didn't fret one single time about supper. I know, right! I always fret, but I posted the menu and stuck with it....yes, even when my taste buds were screaming for a Round Table pan pizza. I think I just may plan out next week's meals too. 

Wednesday night's supper:

Your project, tell me about your favorite kitchen tool, gadget, appliance; anything that helps you get supper on the table for you and yours!! 

All comments get your name in the drawing for this great little book and fantabulous bookmark!

You have a few more days to leave your comments...I am doing 7 days of meals to give those of you that can only check your blogs once in awhile, a little extra time to play catch up.

Monday......a padded envelope could be headed your way....c'mon......play along!!


Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Day 4...The Go to Meal

Does your family have a meal that satisfies everyone? Chances are you have one or two.

My family has such a varied taste profile, it's not easy to make everyone happy at one meal. My daughter and hubs, spicy, spicy and more spicy. Me and the boy, simple and flavorful, but easy on the herbs and spices. I am probably the plainest eater. I could eat a very boring menu and be perfectly happy 98% of the time. 

Our go to meal is: TACOS. Giant burritos...pretty much just a tex mex meal.

I am suppose to post a recipe, but I don't really have one. I'll just tell ya what I do, k.

*Meat:

My son prefers seasoned ground beef. I use the Taco Bell brand seasoning packet for that.

*The rest of us can go shredded chicken, beef or pork. If I am making this kind of meat, I totally plan a L.O.O.P. meal. Pot roast one night, season, shredded meat the next.

*Corn and flour tortillas. Yes, lightly fried into a taco shell shape. Not too hard, not too soft...jjjuussssttt right.

*The extras:

cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, avocado, hot sauce, hotter sauce, hotter even still sauce, seasoned rice, refried and/or whole beans, lemon or lime wedge and a tall glass of iced tea. Okay, the tea is optional but it is really refreshing. 

Your project: tell me your family favorites. 

You can also buzz on over to Kathi's Blog for a sweet little ecookbook surprise!

Okay, now for a book tease.

This recipe is in the book. S'more Brownies

All you have to do to get this recipe and the rest of the book is play along!! Ah heck, you could just go and get one at a brick and mortar store or online. It really is handy dandy and a fun read.

Happy cooking!!

What's for Dinner, Day 3

Can you find what you need? If you are like me, you have a place for just about everything and the other people in your house never, ever seem to put things back where they find them. 

I keep trying to teach them about organization, but so far...eh.

Your project for today......it's soooooo easy!!

What are your favorite organizing tips? what it it that you do that is really workin' for ya?

Guess that means I do the project too!

• I use large glass jars for things like pasta, tea bags and the like. They are old Vlasic pickle jars....so they are affordable free too!! Up-cycling is green!!
• I have two silverware sorty containers...one for the pretty, matchy stuff and one for the "yes, you can put it in your lunch pail or dig in the dirt with it" stuff.
• My kitchen has almost no storage, so all my baking supplies are kept together in the dining room buffet.
• My big freezer has dedicated shelving: meat on one, sweet on one, etc..
• My cookbooks stay together...always (can you say anal? Sure, I knew you could. Don't EVEN mix the big forks with the little forks either.....I have no words, really!)

Remember, every project (comment in this case) gets you one step closer to this awesome prize!!

Let's get LOOPy!!

Day 2 of the What's for Dinner Solution challenge.

What is a LOOP meal?

Left

Overs

On

Purpose.

You make a meal and plan to use the leftovers later in your weekly meal plan.

Mine this week was my 5 bean chili. Last night we had it with cornbread and tonight it will be wet burritos. (one of my faves) You get a slotted spoon and scoop out the beans, place them in a warm, ginormous, flour tortilla, add cheese and other fixins, roll it up then top with the chili sauce and some cheese to make it all pretty. I am drooling thinking about it.

Update: dinner pic!!

My recipe:

• I can each (approx. 16oz), drained and rinsed:black beans
  white beans
  kidney beans
  cannellini beans
  pinto beans
  petite cut tomatoes(undrained)

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped or you can use canned green chilis
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin (I use a lot more cuz I really like cumin, so use this as your baseline for flavor)
• 2 tablespoons chilipowder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, I use mexican oregano...but regular will do
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• a small wedge of lemon
• (opt)a small can of taquera sauce (very spicy thin salsa, not tomato based)
• chicken broth ( or veggie broth or beef broth or any combo of the three)

Put a little oil in a dutch oven
add onions, garlic and peppers. saute until soft and mostly cooked
Add everything else.Use only enough broth to make your ''soup'' and thin or thick as you like. I use a lot so I can have ''enchilada sauce" the next day.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat, simmer for 30 minutes.....longer doesn't hurt it a bit.
Serve with grated cheese, cornbread, tortillas, tortilla strips, avocado....whatever makes your tastebuds smile. Yes, you can add meat too.


Let me know, in the comments section, your favorite way to use leftovers. Remember, each comment gets you one step closer to winning your very own book!!

You can also go to kathi's Blog and see her favorite was to use chicken as a LOOP meal.

* * * The "What's for Dinner Solution" Challenge * * *

My friend, Kathi Lipp, author, speaker and wild woman, is hosting a blogger challenge designed to help all of us who provide the evening's repast (din-din, supper, tea, grab and dash) with some tools and tips to keep a little stress out of our evening rush. This challenge is as much for me as anyone, because I am VERY guilty of not knowing what I am fixing until 4:00pm lol

To quote the infamous Barney Stinson, "challenge accepted!"

A short, publisher written, intro:

For many women, dread turns to panic around 4:00 in the afternoon. That’s when they have to answer that age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” Many resort to another supermarket rotisserie chicken or—worse yet—ordering dinner through a drive-thru intercom.
   In The “What’s for Dinner” Solution, popular author and speaker Kathi Lipp provides a full-kitchen approach for getting dinner on the table every night. After putting her 21-day plan into action, women will

• save time—with bulk shopping and cooking
• save money—no more last-minute phone calls to the delivery pizza place
• save their sanity—forget the last-minute scramble every night and know what they’re having for dinner

The book includes real recipes from real women (one from me!!!), a quick guide to planning meals for a month, the best shopping strategies for saving time and money, and tips on the best ways to use a slow cooker, freezer, and pantry. With Kathi’s book in hand, there’s no more need to hit the panic button.

This book, replete with custom made bookmark, can be yours!!

How, you ask?

Follow the challenge directions each day on my blog. That's it! At the end of the week, I'll put all the comments in a jar and pick a winner. Check out Kathi's blog or facebook page for more information.

On to the challenge...

Project One:

In the comments section, post your menu for the week

If you'd like a menu guide, you can find one here and here are some dinner ideas.

My menu--

• Monday: Multi bean chili, cornbread and a big ol' salad
• Tuesday: LOOP meal (left overs on purpose) Use the strained, leftover chili in a burrito and use the juice as enchilada sauce for a ''wet'' burrito.
• Wednesday: Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, two veg and some homemade biscuits.See my tutorial for biscuit making here.
• Thursday: Leftover night. We are all over the place this day and we all eat a different times, so this is "eat it before it goes bad night" here. LOL
• Friday: If the kids are home, chicken and rice and warm flour tortillas, if it's just me and the hubs, breakfast for dinner.
• Saturday: BBQ Burgers, it's a tradition. The hubs can't get enough BBQ - ever!
• Sunday: Hubs choice, usually something on the BBQ

Coffee anyone??

My latest effort...

a coffee apron for Kathi Lipp.

Hope she likes it as much as I do!!