Monday, March 25, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday



Happy Monday Friends 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend that left you nice and rested to tackle another Monday. I'm a little late today because my poor Annie did something when she was getting ready this AM and tweaked her shoulder & neck. We worked on it with a heating pad, ibuprofen and some stretches and thankfully she didn't need to go to the walk-in. She was able to go into school late...but may need to avoid her sports for the next few days and rest it. 

We had a lovely weekend here in the northwoods. Some lovely weather - which was so nice. And I finally got out my Spring and Easter decorations, yay! My Mom and my Brother and my SIL came over yesterday and we had game night and ordered pizza, and I made pie and ice cream for dessert. Always such a fun time ;) Now time for the week ahead...











THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

















ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING

strawberry yogurt and some vanilla iced coffee












RIGHT NOW I AM:

listening to Joshua Bell music and working on my calendar for the week














AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW


I love seeing the snow banks go down like crazy. And now there's even some bits of grass peeking throw some of the snow in our backyard. I have a window open for a little fresh air and I can hear birds singing. C'mon Spring!!














AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The games are still sitting out from our game night. We played some wits and wagers (not to brag but I won - ahem) Lol 
And then we played trivial pursuit...and not to brag again but our team won. Just sayin' ;) 












ON THIS WEEK'S TO DO LIST:

Aaron's choir concert, Annie cello concert this week. Volleyball and hockey practices. Dentist appt for me. Volunteer time. Errands. Bring meal to FIL. Help my Mom. I keep putting it off but I need to tackle my craft room more. Finish some projects. 




 












CURRENTLY READING

I'm still actually between 2 old books I was reading - working to finish them up. I've been falling asleep earlier lately. Must be the fresh Spring air. Lol  I did pick up Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens to read next. I saw a thing about it on Sunday Morning (tv show) and it sounded good 















ON THE TV TODAY:

The Resident, The Good Doctor, The Rookie, New Amsterdam, This is Us, Spring baking Championship, Greys Anatomy, Will and Grace, Survivor, American Idol, miracle workers, Buddy vs Duff on food network

 













ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY:  chicken salad sandwiches, chips, fruit


TUESDAY: mini dutch baby pancakes with lemon curd & berries, bacon


WEDNESDAY: BBQ pork burgers w/ pimento cheese & slaw (BA meal)



THURSDAY: nashville hot chicken with maple kale & mashed sweet potatoes (BA meal)


FRIDAY: broccoli cheese soup, muffins, veggies & dip













WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT

scrapbook gift for a relative, craft room

















NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

I finally shared my orange french toast last week (if you missed it and want to go back to that post) I plan to share more recipes this week - not sure yet which ones...













TIP OF THE WEEK:




this interests me as I am working on losing 20 lbs. But I'm focusing on doing it slowly and right. If you recall I had lost almost 40 lbs about a year and 1/2 ago and I've gained back about 10ish of that. I'm determined to go the other way again. I have a reward planned for myself when I do that I will fill you in on some day in the future. It's fun to keep you guessing...Lol  What are some things that you would reward yourself for reaching a goal?? 

I am also just going to start doing some intermittent fasting to hopefully help this journey be more successful too. Have any of you tried it?













FROM THE CAMERA



such gorgeous blue skies and warm sunshine here saturday and grass peeking through the snow










Got out all things Easter & Spring and now I have bunnies playing  among my good china ;) 








Gotta love the bunny butts - complete with cotton tails - on the bunting hanging on the mantel






Even the clock wasn't spared ;) 












Love this pretty teapot and glasses I picked up at Pier 1





I made a yummy mixed berry pie for our game night -complete with some blueberries that were still in my freezer from being picked last summer. It was SO good  :P



PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:
Image result for family inspirational quotes


I'm linking with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Orange French Toast




Hello Friends! 

Checking in today to share this yummy recipe with you. It's a nice fresh citrus take on french toast. Just perfect for Spring. ;) 



I'm not even really sure where I initially found this recipe. Somewhere online. But I've had it for many years. I love to make it for dinner, but I have made it for Christmas morning breakfast before too. I didn't get any great after pics on a plate - just while it was cooking in the oven. 


You basically make a simple french toast batter, but you add in some orange juice and orange zest. This works really well with thicker bread and with cinnamon bread especially. 








However, I only had some thinner french bread on me when I made it earlier in the week for dinner and it was fine. I just couldn't let it soak as long in the batter. Then the bread is placed on greased baking sheets, but make sure well greased otherwise they will stick. Or could even use parchment paper. I increased the batter by about 1/2 more and made 12 pieces (recipe is for about 8 pieces) You can then leave them in the fridge for the day (or overnight if making for breakfast)






Then you bake them until they're nice and golden and caramelized. We had ours with some syrup, bacon and cantaloupe. Yum! I love breakfast for dinner. Don't you?  Here's the recipe:


ORANGE FRENCH TOAST

6 eggs
3/4 c. Orange juice
1/2 c. Half & half
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest

Thick bread - cinnamon is great with this (about 8 pieces)
1/4 c. Melted butter

In a shallow bowl combine the lightly beaten eggs with the rest of the ingredients, other than bread & butter. Dip both sides of the bread in the egg mix and soak for 5 minutes. Place on greased sheet pans. Cover and let sit overnight (or for several hours). Uncover and drizzle with melted butter. Bake in preheated 325* oven for 35-40 minutes








Monday, March 18, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday




Happy Monday Friends 

I hope the sun is shining on you today and you have great energy for the week! We had a busy weekend as Annie has been helping out a volleyball team that needed a replacement for an injured player. So we watched our girl all day Saturday play in a tourney. Yesterday was busy cleaning, helping my Mom out and Annie had friends over all day so I was cooking for all. Lol Then last night she had hockey practice for her summer team already. My sporty girl ;) 

Sun is shining here and looks like a beautiful week so let's get to it...









THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:


Looks like a much more mild week in the northwoods - yay!















ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING

cheddar and pumpkin seed crackers with a slice of cheese and some apple slices with hazelnut coffee














RIGHT NOW I AM:

listening to Celtic music (still in the mood post St. Patty's Day) and working on my weekly calendar














AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW


Beautiful sunshine and it's so nice to see our snowbanks finally going down a bit!!














AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

Bright and cheerful in here this morning. I didn't get my Spring decorations out this past weekend due to Saturday being so occupied, but hope to start this week and finish next weekend. ;)













ON THIS WEEK'S TO DO LIST:

volunteer time, errands, MD appt, help my Mom, religious education, Annie volleyball practice, get out spring decorations, other projects - outside too





 









CURRENTLY READING

I was reading Anne's House of Dreams to a resident at the hospice house previously and she sadly passed away before we could finish, so going to read the rest of it on my own in her honor (finishing it up)













ON THE TV TODAY:

The Resident, The Good Doctor, The Rookie, New Amsterdam, This is Us, Spring baking Championship, Greys Anatomy, Will and Grace, Survivor, American Idol, miracle workers

 













ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY:  orange french toast, bacon, cantaloupe (I didn't make it last week)


TUESDAY: whole wheat sandwich wraps, tomato or chicken noodle soup


WEDNESDAY: busy night so something easy? not sure



THURSDAY: Khao soi-style wonton noodles with zucchini & peppers (BA meal)


FRIDAY: roasted red pepper pasta with roasted broccoli & parm (BA meal)














WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT

scrapbook gift for a relative, craft room

















NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

sorry I've been such a slacker here - but I hope to share some soon ;) 

I'll do a big catch up post with several recipes












TIP OF THE WEEK:



91 iron inside out












FROM THE CAMERA









Annie and I decided to spring up our hairdos. So she chopped off 3 &1/2 inches and got bangs. And I chopped off 4 inches! And added more blonde again. We're ready for Spring break soon! 






Our girl in action this weekend ;) 



this sweet memory came up on my FB recently. Just babies!! 





PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:
Image result for spiritual inspirational images

I'm linking with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.