Looks like a new house!

  The painters are almost done and it looks like we have a new house! We are waiting for the neighbors to comment - but that may not happen . Anyway we LOVE how it turned out.  I think they are going to do another coat on the front . The front shutters are not yet done.( Bob is doing those- and I may get to help)
This is not the best shot- got the sun coming through  but I just had to share!

Easy Vegetable side dish

 Melt butter and olive oil together. Throw in the rest of the ingredients.Toss so all is coated. Saute until desired doneness.  We like ours crisp tender. It works perfectly in the copper chef!

I am using my new copper chef pan and loving it.  We have a veggie  side dish that is easy to make and good for you too!  It is Sauted Cabbage!

Olive oil-  a little( add as needed)
butter-  1 1/2 tablespoons
Cut up cabbage ( for the two of us we usually use half a head)
garlic cloves- 2 or 3 cut fine (optional)
onion slice thin (optional)
salt
Pepper

Extras: bacon, shaved carrots, shredded brussel sprouts,  oregano,  basil, thyme, ( you get the idea here?)

Product Review- Copper Chef Pans

      We recently purchased  our Copper Chef Pans and we are loving them!  They are exactly what they claim. Very easy to cook on and to clean up.  Just wipe and you can start cooking again.  So far we have  made eggs( several ways) ,  sauted cabbage,  and pork chops.
 
       I , of course, had watched the infomercial , read  and watched reviews, and looked at some of the recipe video's before ordering.    We were in the market for new skillets because our  nonstick  pans were looking like the non-stick coating was coming off.  I did not want  nonstick again but was unsure on what to get that would work for us. We do a lot of cooking so we wanted something that would hold up for a while.








http://www.copperchef.com/

Table wear by Pioneer Woman/ Flowers

     The other day Bob went to Walmart   for some items that we needed. He came home with placements  for our dining room table.  They are Pioneer Woman's new line of linens . We had looked at them another time in Walmart when we  there.  
    
       Theses of course match our  new dishes that we have ( previous gifts from myself and my mother!)   I love Pioneer Woman's new line of dishes  and glassware!  They are so colorful and every time we use them, we comment that every type  of food looks so so on them, no matter what it is! 

   So we now have the matching placemats.  I am going to sew up some napkins I think to go with them. I am not sure  if they have matching  napkins  but I am thinking with just a yard of fabric I can whip up some napkins that will go with these and some of the other placemats that I have.

  Also  you will  see the beautiful flowers I received  from my niece and her boyfriend . They are staying so good and they look fabulous with our placemats and dishes!

Netsmartz.org- teaching children about interent safety

     Netsmartz.org    is a webstie for parents and educators to help them teach  children and students the importnace of being safe online.This has lots of  links , ideas, videos discussion guides , handouts, etc for parents and educators   to help   them educate thier children and students l about the safe use of the internet
   NetSmartz is an interactive and educational program of the National Center for Missing and Exploited children.  It consists of age appropriate resources  for students 5 to 17 to be used by parents, and educators.  There are  many resources here  which include videos, games, lesson plans, activity cards, and presentations.
     The programs are  both educational and entertaining. My students love the NS teens and go back  to replay the games and look at the comics.  If you poke around you will find something you can use with your own children or students.

   Did anyone  find anything similar?  I am constantly on the look out for more sites like this that have excellent content for use with the students.

Meatless Mexican Dinner- Recipe

  On Friday , we were trying to think of what to eat for dinner . We wanted it to be meatless , since we do not eat meat on Fridays during  lent.  I am guessing that you may actually have most of these items in your house.
 We ran through a variety of options that we had in the house.  This is what we came up with.


Leftover rice- we used yellow rice   about 2 to 3 cups
1 small can chopped black olives
I can drained black beans
 Salsa- about 1 & 1/2 cups ( from Aldid)
cheddar cheese
Crushed up taco chips


Bob put a layer of taco chops on the bottom. the rest of the ingredients was mixed together , He put a layer of  the rice mixture another layer of taco chops and then another layer of rice in a deep dish pie plate. nHe  sprinkled some cheese and taco chops  on top. We popped it in the over at 350 for about  45 minutes ( because everything was cold)

We had his with some applesauce, Salad would have been good. It was yummy!

My Valentines Day-

If you don't know , I love the Pioneer Woman- I like her website, her books, and I LOVE her new  line of dishes!!! Anyway  This is what I got from Bob- He brought home  this cute, cute, cookie jar ( it is Charlie the dog) and of course some cookies to go in it. And also the tea holder!  This goes along with the dishes and the glasses that I had already received from  my Mom and him for other occasions!

My Valentine's gifts!

Valentines Day!

I made a jar of hearts for Bob. I found a heart shape  online and printed them out on pink paper.  Cutting them out was relaxing! I love easy crafts!
 And on each one , I wrote something I Love about him.  I could have gone on and on but I ran out of room in the jar!  I hope he will like it!

Another supper for a cold Friday!

  Last night I pulled out a Cream of Potato soup from the freezer.  It was a good night for that. Then we also make tuna melts-  We had not had them in a long time. We put them in the broiler and they were done in seconds!   We had a few whole wheat pretzels   to go with it!

  For desert we had  some chocolate chip cookies- !

Dinner - last night- Chicken Fingers & Cauilfower

  We had a simple but good dinner last night. Bob took two huge chicken breasts. He cut them in half and then into tenders. They were breaded in egg wash and bread crumbs  which had seasonings and parmesan cheese.  Before  going into the oven, they had a sprinkle of paprika   tossed over them.

      I made oven roasted cauliflower to go along side them in the oven.  I first put aluminum foil on a sheet pan and sprayed with pan. Then I dumped the cauliflower  on the pan , drizzled with olive oil and massaged them with my hands so that  they were covered . Then I sprinkled on Mrs . Dash . I also added a few chunks of garlic.

  They both went into a  400 degree oven. After about 20 minutes I turned it down to 375. It roasted for another 10 minutes or so and then was done.  We had some coleslaw and  potato salad  along with it and decided it was a tasty easy meal!

Easy Supper!

One night last week ,I made a chicken in the crock pot. It was almost 5 lbs so there were left overs.  Last night I took the gravy, cut up the veggies, and a few frozen veggies and cut up  some of the chicken. I tossed it all in a pie plate and cover it with a pie crust. In about 35 minutes  in the oven at 400 , the crust was golden brown, and the inside was bubbling. With some applesauce, we had a great dinner!  ( And there is enough for me to take for a lunch this week!)

  Bob said I should have taken a photo but I did not! On Well!

Book Review - Come Rain or Come Shine

Come Rain or Come Shine/ Jan Karon was totally worth the time . It is the story of Dooley and Lace's   getting ready for their wedding and how they wanted it- at Meadowgate with their closest friends and family.
 It seems like this would be a great new series for Jan and with lots of interesting  new characters interspaced along with the old.  If you have not read this one yet , my advice is beg, buy ,or borrow it and read it.  Like all of the others of Jan's books this one will be uplifting .  You will get to the end and want to keep on reading to see what happends next!

Winter is here !

So very cold for the last few days-  finally feels like winter. I got out my winter sweaters just the other day. The menu last night was stuffed shells, salad, and bread. No photo- tasted so good ! We ate it all up.

  I just started reading  Come Rain or Come Shine / Jan Karon. So very I am enjoying it as I have all her other books. I will do a review when I am finished.    I got a new computer light that I am trying out ,  and will make a comment about  also in the near future.

Pioneer Woman Cookies

I got the new Pioneer Woman Cook Book out this year and I am loving it! I also got some of her dishes for my birthday and Christmas! ( will show them later! ) I made the slice and bake cookies in the back and they came out really good- the sugar cookies are excelletnt .

 I did not go out and buy the colored sugar . I made my own . Here is what I did- I took some regualr sugar and dropped several drops of food coloring in the  sugar, then I mixed with a spoon,. After that I put the cover on the container and shook it really hard! It worked- !!