P365 ~ Week 5

Sunday
Check out this awesome Bible bag that Martha from church made for me. Isn't it the coolest? It holds everything I need to take to church. I love it! Monday
Mom gave me a new lunchbox. Kathy got one too, hers is red. Mom packed my lunch. When was the last time your Mom packed you a lunch? And it was all super yummy!Tuesday
These adorable mugs were a gift from a friend. Aren't they cute?Wednesday
Kathy and I made empanadas and took them over to enjoy game night with two sweet ladies. We played Rook and had a great night. Thursday
Paul heading out to grill up some delicious hamburgers for us.
Friday
Can you guess what has been going on at the house?
That's right... new coats of paint are going up. My bathroom is done and the painters did a fabulous job!
Saturday
To enjoy the gorgeous day God blessed us with we had a picnic with some ladies from church and these three precious boys.
How did you enjoy your last week of January?

TSMSS ~ I Sing The Mighty Power of God

Thanks to Amy @ Signs, Miracles, Wonders for hosting Then Sings My Soul Saturdays. Now go check out her blog and all the other participants.

Crescent Cheese Tartlets

Crescent Cheese Tartlets

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
¼ cup chopped cooked breakfast meat (bacon, sausage or ham)
1 Tbsp chopped green onions
1 egg
3 Tbsp whipping cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll dough into 1 large rectangle on work surface. Press into 12X9 inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Cut dough into 12 squares. Gently press squares into 12 ungreased mini muffin cups, shaping edges to form rims ¼ inch high. Spoon cheese evenly into dough-lined cups. Top each with breakfast meat and onion. In a small bowl, beat egg and whipping cream with wire whisk or fork until blended. Spoon slightly less than 1 tablespoon of mixture into each cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is set. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups. Makes 12

P365 ~ Week 4

Monday

Our office was closed for the holiday which made it a great day to work at home. Mom and I did some rearranging of furniture, along with some unpacking and organizing. I found a great place for Mike's flag, picture, dog tag and his Marine ball cap.

Tuesday
We had a potluck at work. I made some really yummy Mac n' Cheese. Kathy and I were cleaning up and Brandon was finishing his food when I realized I didn't take any pictures of the potluck so I snapped this quick picture of Brandon.
Wednesday
We had a girl's night with Tammi (our Pastor's wife). Our kitchen was still without counters and plumbing so we took her out to dinner and then came home to teach her how to play Hand and Foot. I had one of the specials that night... it was a salmon with two shrimp on top. On the bottoms were some very delicious and uniquely seasoned mashed potatoes. The red sauce was a spice red pepper and honey mixture. We had a fabulous night!
Thursday
Mom has been an amazing help. I went to work with my room empty and came home to my new bedroom furniture put together, arranged and everything looking a little more like home.

Friday

We stopped at Home Goods to look for a mini muffin pan and walked out with the deal of a century. This Coke tin container was marked at $49.99 and it rang up at $5.99. I couldn't believe it. I love it and it fits in perfect in our Coke kitchen.

Saturday
We had a special day with Miss Wylma. She is a sweet 92 year old lady from our church. We invited her over for tea time. It was wonderful getting to know her better. She told us all about her family, where she has lived and her pet bird. Sunday
After an entire week of not having a functioning kitchen Mom was eager to get cooking. She made 4 different mini muffins for tea on Saturday. When I woke up this morning she had these sausage crescent bites (recipe coming later this week) baking to take to church. And she has so much time she also made eclairs.
Since I didn't share any kitchen pictures yet, here are some pictures of our new, lovely granite counter tops.

Now it's time for me to read about your week.

TSMSS ~ Ben Everson

Ben Everson came to our church in December and I have been listening to his CDs ever since. He is an amazing and talented man. Check out this video that he created. God has truly blessed him with some major talent! God Bless!

Thanks to Amy @ Signs, Miracles, Wonders for hosting Then Sings My Soul Saturdays. Now go check out her blog and all the other participants.

52 Weeks of Organizing

This has been a BIG week for organizing, decluttering and changing things around. The two big reasons for such a successful week for me

1) I bought new bedroom furniture that gives me more storage

2) my Mom... if it weren't for her my room would have never gotten to look this good. Thanks Mom for all your hard work.So my next step is to go through all the "stuff" that was in my room and find a new place for it all.

Thank you Organized Junkie for hosting.

Grilled Chicken-and-Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese

Today we had a potluck lunch at work. I signed up to bring the main dish. I tried a new recipe I found in the February 2011 EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine. This little corner piece is all that was left from a big lasagna pan so I guess the recipe was a success.

Grilled Chicken-and-Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese (my version)
6 slices of bacon - cooked and crumbled into pieces
1 lb pasta - cooked 1 minute shy of Al Dente and then drained
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - grilled and cut into pieces
To make the sauce:
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 rounded Tbsp flour
1/2 chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock and milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until sauce coats the back of a spoon (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add thyme, paprika, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese until melted. Add to pasta, chicken and bacon and mix all together. Place in casserole dish and broil for 5 minutes until bubbling and browned.

Serves 4 to 6

P365 ~ Week 3

Monday

One of the perks of working at an insurance office... free Starbucks!

Tuesday

Kathy and I made chicken parmigiana to feed 20 people. Our church was hosting a church planters conference so we signed up to provide some food.

Wednesday

I had to take this picture because Mom was telling Kathy what things needed to be done to the house to make it a "home". Kathy just kept shaking her head yes. It was so funny.

Thursday
Kathy took two days off to spend with Mom. We went out to breakfast before Kathy dropped me off at the office.

Friday

We are getting new counter tops in the kitchen and the workers came out and removed the old counter tops. Of course they also had to disconnect the sink. I never realized how difficult it would be without running water in the kitchen. Can't wait till the new counter gets installed.

Saturday

Mom and I focused on getting the garage organized alittle better. There is still alot I need to go thru but now things are organized in piles of garage sale items, things for me to look thru and Craigslist items. Sunday

This was a very special Sunday for our church. We officially became a church, signed in members, voted in our Senior Pastor and voted on our 2011 budget. I am so thankful that God has brought me to this church. Thank you Lord! Now let's see how the third week of 2011 went for everyone else.

TSMSS ~ People Need The Lord

Steve Green is one of my favorite singers. For Christmas I wrote up an IOU to Paul and Kathy for tickets to a Steve Green concert. Well this week I bought those tickets. The first weekend in March we will be driving to California to go see Steve Green in concert. I can't wait!

Thanks to Amy @ Signs, Miracles, Wonders for hosting Then Sings My Soul Saturdays. Now go check out her blog and all the other participants.

52 Weeks

This week I came across two challenges that I want to join. I am joining now and going forward you will see posts on how I am progressing on these projects.

• I'm An Organized Junkie is hosting 52 weeks of organization
• Can you imagine what the house is going to look like after 52 weeks of focusing on organizing something in the house?
• I am so excited!

• Mimi's Memories is hosting 52 Weeks, 52 Letters challenge.
• I totally agree with Mimi's statement "I feel like handwritten letters are a dying art". I probably mail out more cards than most people because of course I enjoy making cards and sending them out to friends and family.
• I look forward to blessing more people this year with hand made cards that have hand written messages in them.

StripSteak

I wanted to share the delicious meal we enjoyed because of the computer work Paul completed at our work.
StripSteak is a restaurant inside Mandalay Bay Casino and let me just tell you it is fabulous.

We were brought some fries complements of the Chef. These weren't just any ordinary fries. They were fried up in dusk fat and seasoned 3 different ways. The first was seasoned with paprika, the second one they used truffle oil and the third cup was herbs. They were all yummy and tasted even better since they were free!

Maine lobster bacon wrapper fritters... need I say more?

Kathy ordered this delicious salad that had fresh mozzarella.

Then came the main entree... is your mouth watering yet? This is the skirt steak I have ever eaten! We also enjoyed baby brussels sprouts and scalloped potatoes with caramelized onions and goat cheese. I didn't get the picture of the sides... sorry.

Dessert consisted of vanilla bean creme brulee, biegnets and a cup of coffee. After getting this post all ready I realized that I didn't take any pictures of Paul's food. I guess we will have to go again! :-)

Mulligatawny

Here is the recipe I promised. Kathy found it on the ever so famous Pioneer Woman site. We love curry and this was fantastic. Kathy made it alittle different by adding bow tie pasta. It was delicious! And this is one of those recipes that the meal tasting just as good if not even better the next day.