Category: MISC

~*~Menu Plan Monday & 5 Night Dinner Challenge~*~

hosted by I’m an Organizing Junkie

Done in conjunction with Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy and 5 night dinner challenge hosted by Sommer designs.
  • Monday ~ Stuffed Spinach Manicotti Shells & Salad
  • Tuesday ~ Grilled Mahi Mahi & Salad
  • Wednesday ~ Hamburger steaks & green beans & twice baked potatoes
  • Thursday ~ Saucy baked Chicken & Glazed carrots
  • Friday ~ Beef Stew & Salad
  • Saturday ~ Pork Chops & Potatoes Au Gratin
  • Sunday ~ BBQ Beef & baked beans

~*~One World One Heart 2nd annual Event~*~

What IS ONE World-ONE Heart?
It is a blog-wide giveaway event. Get aboard the Love Train. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it……friendships that are still going strong.

I’ve joined the fun and am participating in the~ One World One Heart Event ~hosted by Lisa Oceandreamer @ Heart of the Nest. She’s more than quadrupled (426) last year’s count of participants.

My giveaway is for this darling SERENITY PRAYER ANGEL.
This has gotten soooooooooo big. I’m adding a second & third prize of some pretty stationary sets. Can’t take a picture until hubby finishes painting and moves everything from in front of the closet door wherer they are stored.

Meet and greet other bloggers whom you’ve not met before and see all the spontaneous generosity happening with their individual give-aways!

Please leave e a comment AND a back link to your blog, so I’ll be able to notify you if you win. If you do not have a blog and would like to enter, please be sure to leave your email address in your comment. I will accept comments up to 11:59 PST February 13th. The winner will be notified February 14th.

Follow-up to Dog tries to stake out couch as his own ~ MASTER WINS!!

My dad used to make these great oak tops for old sewing machine bases and turn them into tables. After he passed away we found several completed tops with no matching bases and I’ve hung onto them as lap tray and such. I forgot about them until I needed one the other day and then the idea struck. They’re not big and bulky and easily store under the couch if company stops by unexpectedly. I’d still like to find some of those snap tapes, but these will work in the meantime.

~*~Sauteed Garlic Shrimp Pasta~*~5 night dinner challenge update~*~

This is the simplest recipe and smells and tastes great too.

16 medium shrimp
1/2 pound organic spaghetti
2 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons minced jar garlic
1 bunch chopped green onions
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cream sherry
shredded parmesan cheese

Trim Shrimp and rinse well. In skillet melt butter and oil together and bring to a medium high heat. Add shrimp and saute’ well. Add garlic and onions and continue sauteing about 5 minutes. Add sherry and lower heat and cook until a thick glaze sauce forms. Toss with pasta. Shred parmesan on top and serve immediately.

~*~Vintage Heart Swap~*~

I received this great package today from Tamy over at Simply Mein for the Vintage Heart Swap. It is absolutely adorable. I put the stitched red & pink hearts on my mantle. Inside was the cutest vintage valentine, fringed red and pink garland, heart doilies, a recipe I can’t wait to try for a chocolate raspberry cake, conversation hearts and some fun crafts pieces. The box has a vintage music liner and and great ‘valentine wallpaper’ outside. The swap was hosted by Dolly over at From My Cherry Heart.


~*~Grandma's Oatmeal Chews~*~

2 cups oatmeal (quick or regular)
1 1/2 cups flour + 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel Ice Cream topping*
1/2 cup Mrs. Richardson’s Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping*
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup Nestle’s milk chocolate chips**
1/2 cup walnuts

  • Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
  • Generously spray the bottom of a 10×15 jelly roll pan (stainless steel cookie sheet).
  • Combine oatmeal, 1 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, baking soda and butter. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1+ cup of mixture. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.
  • Combine butterscotch caramel topping with 1/4 cup flour and whisk until smooth. Drizzle this over prepared crust when removed from oven. In a complimentary pattern drizzle hot fudge. Top with raisins and chocolate chips and nuts if desired. Crumble reserve oat mixture over top.
  • Bake another 15 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

*You may need to microwave for 20-30 seconds so this is pourable
**I often interchange these for peanut butter chips for a little different flavor

Living Room is done…. well almost


the living room is done… well almost… the floors will be last throughout the entire house. They had told us the hardwood floors were in good shape, but once again they lied ~ wow big surprise. Since the hardwood floors have such bad patches in them, we think we’re probably going to carpet this room as well as most of the house. These pictures make the room look yellow, but it’s called Oklahoma wheat and is more of a golden wheat color. They also tell us it will darken for the next 2 weeks as it cures. I still need to do the windows, but that will wait till spring since it requires dealing with old lacquer. I also broke one of the antique globes on the ceiling fixture, but will start searching the restorations catalogs to find a replacement.

~*~Favorite Ingredient Friday – Individual Oven Omelettes~*~


Ingredients are per person:
2 eggs
1 ounce heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
PURE
1/3 cup finely diced ham, sausage or crumbled bacon
1 slice cheddar cheese, the size of a single layer over the meat
1/4 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese


Using oven proof Pyrex dishes generously spray them with PURE. In the bottom of each one, layer the meat, slice of cheese and salt & pepper.

Whisk together the eggs and cream and then add the baking powder and whisk until smooth. You can whisk all the portions together and then proportion them out after. It just makes it less of a mess and hassle ~ especially if you’re preparing for a large number of people.

Pour equal amounts into each dish and top with shredded cheese. Place them all on a cookie sheet and bake for a total of 25 minutes or more as needed until centers don’t jiggle and edges are golden brown. Check after 10 minutes and adjust oven temp if necessary. You want the centers to quit jiggling about the same time the edges turn brown. The pictures above in the oven were taken at 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 25 minutes. As you can see, they become like little souffle’s.

My Vintage Heart Swap hosted by From My Cherry Heart

I love doing swaps, especially for holidays. They’re so much fun. This one is hosted by Dolly at From My Cherry Heart.

I have an unusually spelled name despite it being a common name and Dolly thought it would be cute to pair me with someone that has the exact same unusually spelled common name. My partner is Tamy at Simply Mein. I just love irony! I’d never met another spelled exactly the same way.

Here was the swap scoop…..
You will be paired with one partner…..
for your partner you will fill a container with hearts
The container can be of your choice, store bought or handmade…
ideas… heart shaped basket, bowl, box, stocking, bucket, etc
Fill it with anything with hearts on it or heart shaped!
examples, hankies, chocolates, vintage valentines, note pads,
plate, bowl, candy dish, linens, laces, ribbon, scrap booking goodies,
candles, soaps, confetti, stickers, barrettes, etc.
My five simple requests are…
1. keep the color scheme pink, red and white
2. include at least one vintage heart item
3. all of the items have to be heart shaped or have hearts on them!
4. make sure your partner receives their goodies before valentines day February 14th!
5. please please please communicate with your partner!

So, I had an excuse to go shopping both out and here at home through my trunk of vintage goodies I save just for swaps. I found this great red basket and started filling. I was amazed how much would fit in there. As you read this list I think you will be too! I started with a Vintage heart item of a wooden checkerboard (my aunt made these a number of years ago) with a cute stenciled bag of heart pieces. The board fit nicely under the basket. In the basket she’ll find: a recipe, heart cupcake liners and heart sprinkle to make red, white & pink cupcakes, a package of cellophane bags covered in hearts to put the cup cakes in, a jar of homemade applesauce from the apples off my tree, note cards with a heart border, red Twizzlers, strawberry pink malt balls, Brach’s conversation hearts and socks covered in hearts. I also found a vintage pink Hallmark heart ornament with the gold tag daughter on it (after all she is a daughter) and vintage pink napkins with Dept 56 red cutlery napkin ring holders. Then I found room for some pink chap stick, a Jolee’s red flower for scrap booking, a Teddy Bear heart tea light candle holder with adorable red, white & pink heart tea light candles and a package of red, white & pink pencils. Then I found still more room for a package of Country Horseradish & bacon dip mix and 2 hearts & a floral corner Stampin’ Up stamps. I sure hope she likes it!