Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello Friends and happy Monday ☀️ 

It's a lovely one here today. Actual sunshine!! It feels like we haven't seen the sun in weeks. It has either been cloudy, gray or rainy. This whole week ahead looks lovely though. More sunny days and warmer than normal temps in the 50's. I'll take it! 

Did you have a lovely weekend? It was a fun one here. We had dinner with my Mom and step Dad on Friday. Wanted to treat them for watching Ruby and Bubba when we were in Green Bay. We also played cards and just caught up, talked about our wedding plans... All of the fun things. 😉 

Then Saturday Aaron and his sweetie Jill popped in just to say hi... and we ended up spending the whole evening with them. Played cards, went to dinner and came back here and played video games. We had a blast! 

We did all of our usual Sunday things yesterday and I won't even talk about the Packers. 🙈 Just definitely our growing year. Lol

Matt & I also have been getting in some lovely walks - especially with this wonderful weather! And here we are, all too soon beginning a new week! I hope yours is starting beautifully. 💗 

*Thank you again for all of the kind comments and support about the privacy stuff. I'm going to take a lot of your advice and not let others bother my joy of blogging and if I can't do it privately in a convenient way to all of you....I will just continue on normally. I sure adore you all! xoxo

        

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

just coffee - had to run to an appt for Annie this AM

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Annie's hockey games, Annie check-up appt, groceries, errands, friend over for dinner, home projects, work on Thanksgiving lists, shampoo carpets, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:  

excited we booked our wedding venue! yay!! But still mainly focused on all things holidays ahead 🦃 🎄 

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

Sun is streaming in and it just makes me smile! I'm listening to some fun Celtic punk music my son is in to. I was just visiting with Matt as he has been doing more trainings from home - and has been working in the lower level of the house.  

CURRENTLY READING

A Slice of Summer by Melissa McClone - because the second book is an autumn one after this one (have been slacking but determined to finish reading this and I'm still browsing through Christmas magazines!)

ON THE TV TODAY:

  Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, Shark Tank, Jeopardy, The Morning Show, Great British Baking Show, Ghosts UK, some movies taped

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY -  cheese tortellini with marinara (& meatballs on the side - Annie is not a big meat eater), roasted veggies, garlic bread

TUESDAY - buffalo chicken pizza with ranch drizzle, fresh fruit & veggies

WEDNESDAY -  slow cooker ham & scalloped potatoes, salad

THURSDAY - Slow cooker Italian chicken soup (will share recipe soon),

salad, foccacia bread

FRIDAY -  maybe out for dinner? 

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

Have a friend over for dinner, work on Thanksgiving and Christmas lists

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

I shared about these fun pumpkin pie boxes done by my friend Deb in a post last year...and how I used them at Thanksgiving. I'm planning to do something similar with a little twist this year. But you can read about what i did last year in that post under the "from the camera" section of the post. You should be able to get to the post by clicking here.

FROM THE CAMERA:

Empty deck now...I'm sure just a matter of time until we're covered snow

I wanted to share this yummy dessert from a mix I made this weekend. I used to be able to find it in the grocery store every Fall - but it's been years since I had seen it and so I went on a "hunt" for it.  I found it on amazon of course. Lol It's pumpkin bars with a gingerbread crust and they are SO tasty!! They are by the brand Krusteaz and if this link works you can find them here. I highly recommend them for a wonderful treat you can whip up very easily. 😋 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and the Middle East and for all parts of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence. For all our Veterans.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For His Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere.  For Matt's Mom and for my gf both dealing with health issues. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I saw this and thought it was funny. Have you ever had days like this too? ;) 

I'm sharing this post with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday. Have a blessed week Friends! xo

Ramen Chicken Soup Hack & an Update

 

Hello Friends and happy Thursday to you! 

It's a gray and dark one here today. It's been kind of a gray week this week. Haven't seen much sunshine, which doesn't help with pep and energy. Lol But I've been getting my workouts in and they do help my brain wake up :) It looks like a more mild, and potentially sunny, forecast going into the weekend - thank goodness! ☀️ 

However, the nice thing about cool gray weather is that it equals yummy soup time! And we had a tasty one yesterday. I had a ramen soup pack needing to be used up (I have them around sometimes for my son). And a rotisserie chicken to use up. So I thought the best way to use them both was to make a sort of semi-homemade chicken soup with them. I had veggies and a carton of chicken broth too, so it came together pretty easily. 

I didn't get a pic of the process, but I did get a pic of some of the items I had on hand to add to the flavoring. 

Have you ever had Pho soup? I love it and I love it's rich warm spicy asian broth. So I kind of channeled that a little. 

I satueed some chopped onion, celery and carrot in a little olive oil and butter. I added salt, pepper and some chinese 5 spice (for that sweet spicy taste). I cooked the veggies until they were soft. I then added a carton of chicken broth and some water so it equaled about 6 cups total. I brought that up to a boil. I then added the ramen noodles from the packet and cooked for 3 minutes (until they were done). I took the pan off the heat and added in some chopped rotisserie chicken, about a tbsp of soy sauce, a tsp or 2 of rice wine vinegar, and a tsp of sesame oil. I put back on low heat until all was heated through and served it up. Aaron was over and he and Matt both gave it 2 thumbs up! It was pretty tasty. I found it a quick and easy way to make a different kind of chicken noodle soup. It's fun to shake it up once in a while, right? 😋 

**Also, I wanted to share an update as far as the privacy thing related to my blog. I was really hoping there was a way to have it be private and yet that I could provide a link where you friends could request access. I found out there are some people reading my blog that I would prefer not know my business. I did make sure I didn't have any links in social media anymore. And I took off the ability for search engines to find it. When I did make it private for a few days, as I worked on it, I received the sweetest messages from many of you on the blog here (& in private messages) saying you enjoy my blog and were sad if you couldn't access it. It went right to my heart and I would rather keep it available to all. So I'll hope that the others will grow bored and fade away from it. If not, so be it.  

I absolutely love the connections and friends I have made in this blogland community and I would miss it if we couldn't connect. So I'm not planning to go anywhere. 😊 💕 

Thanks again for the kindness and support I've always felt in this space of fellow momma's and like-minded homemakers. I treasure my friendships with all of you!! I hope there to be many years ahead sharing with you all! Blessings always. xo

Wordless Wednesday

 

*(banana chocolate chip bread - I think a smoother batter would have shown the detail even more - but I still love this new Autumn pan 😍 )

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello Friends and happy new week to you! 

November has arrived and it sure looks like it around here. Most of the leaves are gone, trees are bare, the ground is brown and leaf covered (except where Matt used the leaf blower Lol), and the geese are flying over in huge groups. Most mornings there is a little bit of ice on the bay. All signs that winter is knocking on the door. 

Did you have a lovely weekend? It was a fun one here. We went out for dinner Friday night. Then Saturday did housework, ran errands and then went to dinner with the C's (& Annie to). Then came to our house and played games (Annie too for a while), and then played cards until late. Sunday was church, brunch and watching football. Then last night we all went to Annie's volleyball banquet. She got several awards (lettered, for academic achievement, and basically the positivity/kindness award - so proud of our girl!!)

Now on to this rainy chilly cozy looking week ahead...

*trying to figure out privacy settings and still not sure if I've got it right - so thanks for your patience!! 😊 

**addendum: I realized it didn't offer a place for you to ask permission to join blog - so I put back to public for the moment. I will get it figured out eventually! Lol

        

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

activia yogurt, blackberries, coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

gf lunch, errands, dinner with my Mom and step Dad, meeting up at Annie's school about a future trip she's taking, Annie's hockey, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:  

focused mostly on the holidays for now...but I am in contact with our hopeful future wedding venue already and we are beginning some wedding planning ♥️ 

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

It feels so cozy. It's gray outside and raining on and off. Everything is brown and bare. I have the little kitchen lamp on and I'm listening to Christmas music - don't judge! Once Halloween is over I fully go into Christmas music mode. I don't decorate (other than outside) until after Thanksgiving though. I put way some Halloween things around the house and I have a few of my Thanksgiving kinds of things out now. 🍂 🦃 

CURRENTLY READING

A Slice of Summer by Melissa McClone - because the second book is an autumn one after this one (still reading and some Christmas magazines!)

ON THE TV TODAY:

  Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, Shark Tank, Jeopardy, The Morning Show, Great British Baking Show, Gilmore Girls episodes, movies taped

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY -  salmon baked in basil pesto butter, satueed asparagus with lemon and parm, salad

And making Matt's favorite peanut butter pie for our 2 year "anniversary"

TUESDAY -  roast chicken, cheddar mashed potatoes, salad kit

WEDNESDAY -  cheddar broccoli soup w/ chicken, fruit, veggie tray

THURSDAY - breakfast for dinner? (maybe french toast & sides)

FRIDAY -  out for dinner? 

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

going to lunch with girlfriends, play cards with my Mom and step Dad, Christmas shop, read

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

I can be a big gum chewer at times. Do you like gum or does it help you with concentration? Stress? etc

FROM THE CAMERA:

Happy Anniversary to this Sweetheart! 💝 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and Israel and of all parts of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For all of the families of the victims in the Maine shooting. For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For His Light and Love to cast out the dark everywhere. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Have a cozy week ahead! I'm linking with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Sheet Pan Meals

 

Hello and happy Thursday Friends! 

I, first of all, wanted to thank you so much for your touching words of love and support for our engagement! You all mean so much to me and moved me with your joy over our news. 😢  We're so very excited, and right now in such a perfect month, as we also have hearts filled with GRATITUDE! Here's one more pic from the Green Bay weekend:

I'm not sure if I ever shared that the Packers actually brought us together? So getting engaged at Lambeau was pretty clever on Matt's part, as it was kind of a full circle moment (even though I said no public places! Ha! 😂 ) 

The GB connection is that when we were both on the dating apps - he came up on mine and I thought 'oh he's cute, but too young for me and hasn't had kids of his own so he won't understand that commitment' etc. Just silly things when I look back now. So I wasn't going to talk to him. But then I saw that this guy that grew up in Illinois and lived in Montana and then Minnesota...loved the Packers. Well I thought 'I've got to tease this guy a bit before I move on' So I sent him a message basically sharing I was astonished he was a Packers fan and gave him some crap. And the rest, as they say, is history! I truly would have passed him by if he hadn't shared he was a Packers fan. Lol So God is good  (& so are the Packers - even if the scoreboard doesn't show it this year 😉 ).

Anyway, on to food...which is what I really came on here to talk about. I just need to share that over Halloween I made a recipe recommended by my sweet Friend Billie Jo at the blog Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea. She has shared this recipe every Fall, and I've always wanted to try it. So when we were invited to a little gathering by our friends I brought a couple of dishes and one was this dessert. It's called spider web munch and it's a recipe by Nestle Toll House. It was a hit and I only caught a pic when it was mostly gone but here's the picture:

And you can see the recipe if you click here. I definitely agree with Billie Jo about it being a wonderful one to add to your traditions each Halloween. Thanks for sharing it - it's soooo good!  🕷🕸

And now on to the main event of this now lengthy post. Lol 🙈 

The other night Matt and I made a sausage and vegetable sheet pan meal. It was so easy and so tasty. And if you look on pinterest there are so many amazing recipes (or just online in general). I even have a whole board on pinterest called sheet pan meals you can find here.  The main method to most of them is to take meat or seafood and some veggies and toss them in oil (or oil mixed with butter). Season them up and then roast in the oven. But there are lots of versatile ideas for all kinds of sheet pan meals. Here are a few that are on my board:

Asian style (sticky ginger & sesame chicken w/ crispy brussels sprouts)

Seafood style (lemon pepper salmon & parm asparagus)

Breakfast style (bacon & egg bake w/ tomatoes)

Pasta style 😋 

Again, all of these can by found on my pinterest board "sheet pan meals" with direct links to each. I think it's such a creative, yet easy way to come up with some fun meals. 😋  If you try some I hope you enjoy! 

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday