Win A Free Handbag

Visit Handbag Planet and register. It's VERY easy. All you need is an email address. Blog about it and get more entries. You even get to choose the bag you like best.

Roasted Noodles

This is a simple and very inexpensive dinner to make. It was one of the things I grew up eating. This dish is also a great way to use up leftover noodles or pasta from a previous dinner.

You'll need:

Pasta or noodles (I usually make the whole bag or box, 1 lb)

3-4 large eggs

Ham (my mom used the canned ham, and is completely optional)

Directions:

Place a tablespoon of oil in a skillet, add your noodles. Let them get a little golden. Once they become golden, beat your 3-4 eggs and add them to the skillet. Gently stir until everything is coated in egg. Once the egg is cooked, you're done! If you decide to use ham in the recipe, add the ham in the beginning when you add the noodles. When I was younger, my mom would also serve this with a little strawberry or grape jelly on the side. It's the sweet salty thing, yum!

Menu Plan Monday

Another week, another menu plan :)

Monday--roasted noodles

Tuesday--Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas.

Wednesday--chicken Parmesan, angel hair pasta.

Thursday--Pot Roast, scalloped potatoes, cauliflower.

Friday--Pizza.

Saturday--leftovers.

Sunday--Laberkaese, german potato salad.

Bathtime Rodeo

I just gave all 6 dogs a bath, separately of course. Good Lord, some of them bucked like wild horses LOL. The largest and the smallest were great it was 2 somewhere in between that gave me a bit of a hard time. Oh well, at least they smell good and I didn't get too wet.

Thursday Thirteen

This week's Thursday Thirteen will focus on my 13 current favorite TV shows (in no particular order):

1. How I Met Your Mother

2. Big Bang Theory

3. House

4. Bones

5. Lipstick Jungle

6. Ghost Hunters

7. Paranormal State.

8. Family Guy

9. No Reservations

10. Bizarre Foods

11. Deadliest Catch

12. South Park

13. Robot Chicken

Wordless Wednesday

Another award :)

Thank you Savysuzie at the Recipe Mission for my newest blog award.

Here are the rules to follow:
When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.
Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

My choice of blogs to award this to:

Savysuzie at her other blog The $200 Mission

Jenn P. at The Peacock's Nesting Place

Frogs In My Formula

The Stiletto Mom

Tina at Mummy Diaries

Jamey at Walking by Faith

I love reading all your blogs and thank you for the support of my blog!

Rouladen

I know, I know, I said I was going to post this recipe yesterday. I'm sorry! The posted recipe makes 12 rouladen. When I make them I make a lot because the rouladen themselves and the gravy freeze very well.

You'll need:

12 thin slices of top round (at my grocery store they are already cut like this and come in a pack of 3, if you can't find them, ask the butcher to cut them for you)

Regular yellow mustard

Hamburger dill pickles

Turkey Bacon (you can use regular bacon, I prefer the turkey)

Ketchup

Beef Base

Water

Toothpicks

Cornstarch

Directions:

Assemble your slices of top round side by side along your counter (make a little assembly line). On each piece of meat place a line of yellow mustard, 1-2 slices of bacon (depending on how wide your slice of top round is), and 3-4 pickles. Do this on each piece until they are all at this point. Then fold in each long side of the top round to where the sides meet in the middle. Once it's folded in, roll the beef up and secure at the top with a toothpick. Once you have done this with all of the meat, get a roasting pan nice and hot on the stove. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place each rouladen in the roasting pan and brown on each side. On the stove top, all you're wanting to do is brown the pieces. Once they are all browned, remove the rouladen to a dish or paper place temporarily. Fill your roasting pan half way with water. Add about a cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup of mustard, and 4 tablespoons of beef base. Whisk this all together and make sure you get all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. The gravy should taste a little beefy and tangy, so you can adjust the amounts needed to your taste buds.

Place the rouladen back into the roasting pan and place the lid on it. Slide the roasting pan into the oven and leave it for 45 mins. At this point, you want to remove the rouladen again, temporarily, and add enough cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Once it's thick, place the rouladen back into the gravy and serve. I serve this with German potato salad and homemade spaetzle (those recipes will be another day) lol.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll be more than happy to elaborate :)

Menu Plan Monday

If you think you've clicked on the wrong link because this week looks awfully familiar, you haven't. I haven't had much of an appetite at dinner time so I've just been cooking something for DD and going to bed with a glass of milk. The meal I have starred as a family favorite will have the recipe posted tomorrow. It's difficult for me to write out a lot of the recipes that have been handed down as most, if not all, don't really have specific measurements for things. You just kind of figure it out as you make and tweak it a little each time.

Monday--leftovers.

Tuesday--Grilled cheese.

Wednesday--Creamy crock pot chicken thighs, rice and broccoli.

Thursday--Breakfast for dinner.

Friday-Roast chicken, German potato salad.

Saturday--**Family Favorite** Rouladen, with noodles.

Sunday--leftovers.

Things That Make You Smile

I was getting my DD ready to go down for a nap. While she was jumping on the bed (a whole other post lol), she started singing "ring around the rosey".

Here is her rendition:

Ring around the rosey

Asses, asses, 

we all fall down!

Now I know she was trying to say ashes, but apparently the "h" was a little silent. I just had to chuckle to myself a little.

100 Foods to Eat or Not Eat Meme

I found this fun easy meme over at my HBFF Tammy's place and i wanted to play too.
Here are the Rules:a) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructionsb) Change color all the items you’ve eaten.c) Cross out, bold or italicize any items that you would never consider eatingd) Leave them regular if you aren't sure what they are or just haven't had them before.
So red i have have eaten, pink i would like to try, and blue there is no way i would try it!
1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile/alligator

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. baba ghanous
11. Calamari
12. pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted Cream Tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insect

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more

46. Fugu Fugu to eating blowfish!

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbread

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears, and funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. Horse

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

Wordless Wednesday

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Thighs

This is a very simple and easy recipe. It might not look like a lot, but it's very yummy and kid friendly.

You'll need:

2 lbs. chicken thighs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
seasoning salt
water

In your crock pot, add the chicken thighs, both cans of soup, then 2 cans worth of water to the crock pot. Add the seasoning salt (I don't measure this, but if I had to guess maybe 1 teaspoon, add to your taste). Give it a little stir. Cover and turn it on low. Let it cook until the chicken thighs are falling apart. Serve over rice.

Menu Plan Monday

This week was a little more difficult for me to plan because DH is going out of town again sometime this week. This week's menu is also using things (i.e. meats) that are in my freezer, this week I bought no new meats because neither of the stores had any great sales.

Monday--crock pot stuffed tricolor peppers and rice.

Tuesday--Chicken Caesar Salad, with homemade Caesar dressing.

Wednesday--Creamy crock pot chicken thighs, rice and broccoli.

Thursday--Chicken Noodle Soup.

Friday-Roast chicken, German potato salad.

Saturday--Rouladen, with noodles.

Sunday--leftovers.

Father's Rights

I know I'm a "mommy" blog, but this is something I was thinking about today. What should a father's right be? Where is the line drawn?

I heard today's society referred to as being "schizophrenic" when it comes to the rights of fathers. At first I was a little puzzled, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. We want dad's to pay child support, even if when the baby is first born, he says he's not interested in being a father. He goes to court and is subsequently slapped with a payment amount. Yes, I agree this to some extent is fair. However, when a mother maybe decides to give up a child for adoption or even decides she wants an abortion, where does the father's right enter into play?

The mother is carrying the baby, I understand; however, that baby is 1/2 the father's too. Personally, I just think it should be a joint decision, or at least one that is discussed. Not where the mother goes and makes a decision on her own without involving the father.

What are your thoughts on this?

How much rights does a father have?

High Heels For Babies

Chalk another fashion debate for babies. The people at Heelarious thought it would be a good idea to make heels for babies. When I say babies I mean 0-6 month olds. Now I'm fine with toddler shoes that have a tiny kitten heel, but why in the world does a 3 month old need a pair of pumps?

I guess the heels will match their super mini skirt and halter top they picked up earlier that day.

The Cupcakes Club Contest

CONTEST
The Cupcakes Club, along with MomDot, is giving away a 10K Gold, Diamond Cupcake necklace ($250 retail) to a lucky contest winner by simply signing up for a free membership at The Cupcakes Club and go to MomDot to let them know.

This delightful pendant will be a delicious sweet sight shining at your neckline. Red, blue and yellow diamond accents decorate a miniature 10k yellow gold cupcake charm.

Little Things Make Me Giddy

The other day, I received an email from Al who works for Country Bob's. In his email, he said he had gotten my name from The Southern Plate and wanted to know if I was interested in getting 2 free bottles of Country Bob's to try and blog about. Umm, YES! I tried the Country Bob's coincidently that same morning in the beef stew I was cooking in the crock pot (which by the way was awesome) and I am looking forward to trying more recipes with this sauce. Well guess what the UPS man just dropped off, yup my 2 bottles. When I get done kicking strep throat's butt I'll be back cooking and trying more of this sauce in recipes. Thank you Al and Country Bob's!

Remembering 9/11

Who would have thought 7 years ago this date would hold such meaning. For our parents the question was "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" For our generation the question is "where were you on 9/11?" So much has changed in 7 years. Our country found patriotism it has not seen in years and as a nation we supported each other through very hard times. Let us all take a moment of silence and remember those who lost their lives on this day.

Wordless Wednesday

The Case of the Missing Trashcan

We live on a tiny little road with 4 other houses on it. We take our trash to the main road and it sits in a little homemade trashcan holder (some 2x4's nailed together). Since my DH has been working out of town, I typically leave our 2 trashcans in their little holder and then just take a trash bag up to the road when I need to. Much easier than shoving a stinky trashcan into the back of an suv. Anyways, last week I noticed only one of our trashcans by the road. We have a "C" spray painted on the cans to avoid this situation of someone taking it lol. I thought maybe someone drove by, decided they needed a trashcan and refused to buy one, so they just took ours. Ok fine, cheap ass LOL. So trash day comes and guess what?! Our missing trash can has appeared. Hmm, now me thinks it's our new neighbors who took the trashcan. So I thought ok, they just moved in and needed an extra can, no problem. Well at the end of trash day, the can is missing again. WTF? Apparently our new neighbors do not understand the trash cans by the road belong to people. So now I'm sick and stalking the garbage men. Waiting for them to get the trash so I can haul butt up to the road and get my trash cans safely back to the house. Fun times!

Menu Plan Monday, Week of 9.8-9.13

There's only one "do-over" from last week's menu. Hope you guys find this week's menu inspiring or at least find a new blog or recipe to enjoy.

Monday--Beef Stew, the recipe can be found at The Southern Plate.

Tuesday--Spaghetti.

Wednesday--leftovers.

Thursday--Lentils and Egg Noodles.

Friday--Kielbasa Pasta.

Saturday--Pork Medallions with sour cream gravy, rice, veggies.

Sunday--Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad.

Coupon Organizer Giveaway

Mindi over at Mom's Need to Know is offering a giveaway for a great coupon organizer.

It's called the Couponizer and the contest ends September 11 at 8:30 pm (EST).

A little info about the Couponizer:
The Couponizer- a heavy duty spiral bound notebook with a pocket for each category
Your Guide to Smart Savings - giving you the basics on how to use this great system to maximize your savings.

CoupStacker - presorting mat - this thing is great! You can use it to sort your coupons as you clip them, or if you are using the Couponizer in addition to a larger system, this can really help you plan your shopping trips!

Shopping List - no flipping through your coupons as you visit each aisle! Just write out your shopping list and mark the space if you have a coupon for that item!

CoupTracker - record monthly savings - this can be one of the biggest motivator to continuing the use of coupons. When you see how much money you are saving with every trip, you will see that your efforts are worth it.

Scissors - You can never have too many pairs! And having a “special pair” devoted to coupons? Bonus!

Carrying Bag - clear plastic protective bag - anyone who has ever dropped their coupons in the store, car or house will appreciate how wonderful it is to have everything contained!

Head on over and enter for your chance to win (even though I really want this lol).

My First Blog Award

I am so flattered to get my first blog award :)

Thank you so much to Jenn P. over at The Peacock's Nesting Place for giving me the "I love your blog award".

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Monday

When you read this week's menu, you may have a case of deja vu. The hubby is back in town for a few weeks, so it'll be easier to stick to my menu, instead of eating cereal for dinner when I didn't feel like cooking.

Monday--leftover chicken n dumplings.
Tuesday--Goulash, egg noodles.
Wednesday--going out for my birthday dinner.
Thursday (Happy Birthday to me)--Kielbasa pasta, garlic bread.
Friday--Tacos.
Saturday--baked chicken ziti, cheese biscuits.
Sunday--Asian Pork Tenderloin, jasmine rice, zucchini.