Category Archives: Homemaking

Soup-Tacular…because it’s cold, y’all

 

It's A Soup-Tacular!

I’m joining BooMama and others in the bloggy world for Soup-Tacular. If you’d like to see more soup recipes click here and enjoy the carnival…

I found this wonderful recipe in the Better Home and Gardens Hometown Cooking February 2000 edition. I tweaked a couple things.

Mexican Corn Soup (prep: 15 min. Cooking: 10 min.)

1 – 16 ounce pkg. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 – Cup chicken broth (I used the whole can of chicken broth and just 1 cup of milk instead of two so I wouldn’t have a half a can of broth left.
2 – Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 – 4-1/2 ounce can diced green chili peppers
1 – clove garlic, minced
1 – Tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or l tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 – tsp. salt
1/4 – tsp. ground black pepper
2 – cups milk (I used one cup see chicken broth above)
1 – cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 – cup chopped tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes w/jalapeno, med/hot)
1 – cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (4 oz.)
cilantro as garnish if you like it

[The soup is great with the full can of broth and tomatoes. I do not like half cans left over. ]

In a blender container combine half of the corn and the chicken broth. Cover; blend until nearly smooth.

In a large saucepan, combine corn puree, remaining corn, butter, chili peppers, garlic, dried oregano (if using), salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in milk, chicken, tomatoes, and fresh oregano (if using); heat through. remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired (this is where I substitute cilantro instead)

Enjoy

If you’d like my mother’s recipe for a great pot of Russian Borsch click here.

WFMW ~ Last Minute Meal with What’s in the Pantry!

Here it is folks the easiest meal in the world that my kids have loved for years! They are adults now and they still like it. It’s pretty boring but you can spice it up a bit if you like by adding a little onion or garlic or more mushrooms. BUT we’re talking about what kids will eat (I think) and this is one they seem to eat without complaint.

Throw the noodles in salted water that is boiling. Cook them to al dente. In a bowl mix the tuna (I use one can of albacore and one can of the regular cheap tuna) and the cream of mushroom soup add garlic or onion powder if you want and add a little milk. When the noodles are ready drain the water then throw the tuna mix in and heat through. That’s it. I don’t even throw it into the oven. When the kids were little we always had a can of Green Giant corn niblets with it!

So this is such a beige meal you might want to add a nice green salad or green beans to make it look healthier! 🙂

You can also make a tuna melt with bread, tuna, and cheese. Serve it with a can of tomato soup!

Now here’s something for the adults to have after the kids finish the tuna noodle.

A PUMPKIN PIE MARTINI

3 oz. vanilla vodka, 1 oz. pumpkin puree, 1 oz. half and half, 1 T. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. McCormick pumpkin spice

Shake all ingredients until well combined. Strain into prepared glass.  (wet rim of martini glass and dip it in brown sugar) pour combined liquid into glass.

Ok we tried this and it’s one stiff drink.  A nice shot of whip cream would be great too….

To see more last minute meals head over to Shannon’s at Rocks in My Dryer.

Fall Y’all! Bloggy Giveaway ~ October 29th – November 2nd

Update: Besides the U.S. and Canada I’m also opening up this drawing to anyone in Great Britain or Ireland just because I’m so drawn to these countries…

Ellen B. at the Happy Wonderer is giving away an Apron for the Fall Giveaway sponsored at Shannon’s BloggyGiveaways.com

The apron I’m offering is an April Cornell Classic Floral ~ “Bring nature into your home with classic colorful floral prints.”

Hope you enjoy my Classy Ironing Board Model!

Just leave a comment with a good email address and I will randomly draw the winner when the contest is over. Blessings on you all and may the best Homemaker win 🙂  My giveaway is open to anyone in the United States or Canada! Giveaway will close at noon on Friday. I will announce the winner by 6:00 PM on Friday!

To see many more giveaways go to bloggygiveaways.com.

 

WFMW ~ Spice Up Your Leftovers

 Sometimes even though there are only two of us we’ll cook a large portion of beef. This past weekend we BBQ’d a Flank Roast. For dinner on Monday night I decided to spice it up and make sandwiches.

I sauteed onion and 2 Anaheim chiles in a little olive oil.

I added the cooked beef till it was heated through…

 Voila, a leftovers meal spiced up. Delicious! If you’d like you could also melt cheese onto the roll before your add the meat, pepper and onion mixture on top. Bon AppĂ©tit! This works for us. I hope it inspires you…

And while I’m at it, I love that pan. I have used it 5 nights in a row to make different meals for Dear and I. The pan is a Tools of the Trade (Macy’s) Rangeware, Encapsulated Impact Bonded Induction Base 12 Inch. I got it on a super sale and I have not been disappointed about my Under $20 purchase!!!

For more WFMW click here.

 

ellen b. will be participating in the the Fall Y’all! bloggy giveaway hosted by Shannon at her bloggygiveaways.com site. So y’all come back here on Monday October 29th – November 2nd to see what you can win!

Show and Tell Friday ~ Lavender Bathroom

Today I’m showing you my little dark lavender and green master bathroom in Washington. We have a Gambrel roof so the ceiling is slanted and cuts into our wall space. This gives us limited room for cabinets, etc.

This is a view to show you the slanted ceilings

We added this little cabinet above the toilet to give us some storage space.

I decided to use lavender accessories in the cabinet and most of these items are gifts I have received.

This Abalone shell and other shells are from a collection Dear’s parents had.  The whole Master Bedroom Suite has a nice cozy retreat feel because of the slanted ceilings. They are the only rooms on the top level of our home in Washington so it’s a very private retreat. Thank you for visiting my site today. May God bless you with His peace and joy. Have a wonderful weekend. Oh and thank you for your comments. I do read every one and appreciate your kind words and the time it takes to post them…

For more show and tell head over to There’s No Place Like Home.

WFMW ~ Motivation to Get Going…

You can call this motivation to get going or an antidote to mild depression…

Step away from your computer and go find one of these in your house…

Now set it for 15 minutes. Walk to the sink and wash any dishes that might be dirty and do any general clean-up until the buzzer or bell goes off.

I guarantee you that you will be amazed at what you can get done in a mere 15 minutes. I think you’ll feel better about yourself and your house. Once you get into this you can try doing it once every hour. You might even consider increasing the time to 30 minutes. Once you get to the 30 minute activity time try going out and walking…

This always amazes me and works for me. I hope it will work for you too! Now head over to Rocks in my Dryer to see more tips.

Tea for Two ~ Vintage Blue

Tea for Two in my Library

Welcome back

I’m including this recipe for  tea sandwiches that my mom made for us a while back. .

 Curried Chicken Tea Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

     2 cups cubed, cooked chicken,
    1 medium unpeeled red apple chopped,
    3/4 cup dried cranberries,
    1/2 cup thinly sliced celery,
    1/4 cup chopped pecans,
    2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions,
    3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing,
    2 teaspoons lime juice,
    1/2 teaspoon curry powder,
    12 slices bread
    Lettuce Leaves

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
  2. Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and curry powder;
  3. add to chicken mixture and stir to coat.
  4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  5. Cut each slice of bread with a 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter.
  6. Top with lettuce and chicken salad.

 

So happy you stopped by my library for tea. You can still see more tea parties at Make Mine Pink.

 

WFMW ~ Simple Lists & Rewards

This simple 6 x 8 notebook is my organizational wizard. I use this each week to organize myself and to get things accomplished. With a pencil I line out 7 boxes for the 7 days of the week starting with Monday. Each box has the date and day of the week. I put the set appts. in each box. Along the left side I list all the tasks I’d need to accomplish or would like to accomplish that week. I add more as I think of them during the week. In the upper right hand sidebar I list any birthdays that are in that month. Below that I keep a running list of anything I need to buy at the store. Nine times out of ten if I have something on this list it gets done. I take great joy in crossing off accomplished tasks or purchased items. I put fun things to do on these lists too. Below are some pictures of one of the fun things I always try to include on my to-do list.

This is Leticia our waitress at our favorite local Mexican restaurant near our home in Washington. Eating at her family restaurant was on my list this week and voila here we are!

The restaurant is called La Corona and we’ve been here often enough that they know what we like to order and we have more than casual conversations with Leticia about herself and her family.

Laura and Josh joined us for a late celebration of their anniversary.

Dear, Ellen b. and Katie stuffed already on our favorite salsa that they make here. Katie’s friend Heidi joined us too after the photo-op.

So not only do I schedule chores but I schedule some fun too. Bottom line what works for me is organization with my little binder and eating out at a Mexican Restaurant at least once a week!

To see what works for other people head on over to Rocks In My Dryer and join the frenzy fun!