Tackle it Tuesday!

THE ONLY WAY TO EAT AN ELEPHANT IS ONE BITE AT A TIME!!!



This last week while trying to accomplish one of my tasks, I became very frustrated. I was struggling to find all my pictures. Where were they? It is a sad state of affairs when you are still unpacking 1 1/2 years after moving. Sigh!!

While stewing over this lack of organization hubby said tackle the problem one box at a time. Simple isn't it!?!? But hubby couldn't be right...could he???
I think someone was trying to get a point across to me this week because the very next day I was watching Peter Walsh from "Clean Sweep". He was asked "where do you start an organizational job?" and his response was "my grandmother always said the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time!" Lightbulb flashed overhead. The only way to get from point A to point B is one step at a time. Hubby was right...but please don't tell him ;-)

With this new affirmation leading the way I have since taken time each day to empty, sort, purge and fling one box daily. Some days I have been lucky and done a few more. It took time to get to this point - it will take time to get where I want this house and my life to be.

So this week other than my daily box I want to clean off the baker's rack in the kitchen. It has become a catch all for many things. As you can see its time to do the recycling too.


BEFORE





AFTER



Okay is anyone else finding this project tackling addicting???
Now what to do next.......

For more inspiring tackles check out Tackle It Tuesday

#24 - cook an ethnic meal

Cooking has always been a source of enjoyment for me, but lately I have noticed that I cook mostly the basics or tried and true recipes. My sense of adventure and curousity has been limited. So on this journey, I have decided to make an "ethnic" meal at home atleast every 2 months.

One of our family favorites is Chinese food. I have noticed lately however that much of what we get as take-out does not meet our standards and we have been left disappointed. So I thought why not imitate a couple of these family standards.
Sorry...no recipes. I just tossed in a bit of this and that til my tastebuds said YES!




Firstly I made homemade egg rolls with store - bought wrappers, coleslaw mix, shredded chicken and spices/sauces to taste. After assembly I fried them in some oil till golden brown. Hubby asked if they were store bought :-) Not sure, but am taking that as a compliment.



Fried rice is another standard of any Chinese takeout. My only complaint of most fried rice is that the veggies/meat are few and far between. I sauted ginger and garlic with some onions. Cut up waterchestnuts, bamboo shoots, carrots, baby corn and broccoli and sauteed this ginger/garlic mixture...added rice and soy sauce. Yum!



Finally I made hubby's all time favorite - Pineapple chicken. VH sauces now has a Pineapple sauce. I lightly battered small chunks of chicken breast and fried in oil til golden. Then I added to warming pineapple sauce.

All in all...the Chinese feast was a hit and I will be doing this again for sure.

Menu Monday - Mach 30th - April 5th

Surprize! Surprize!! I actually followed my menu this week. LOL
And it made my days much more pleasant.

This week is using up items in the freezer so grocery shopping was for fresh produce, milk and snacks only.

Sunday: Meatloaf burgers, home fries, broccoli, coleslaw
Monday: Roasted chicken thighs,gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, corn
Tuesday: Salmon, rice, green beans, coleslaw
Wednesday: Pierogis, sausage, coleslaw
Thursday: leftovers or wraps
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

For more appetite pleasing ideas check out I'm an Organizing Junkie

Friday's Feast #13 (185)

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?

The color dark green makes me think of nature and all its calmness.
Trees, grass and all the serenity that goes with the experience of world around us.

Soup
How many cousins do you have?

Many....LOL
8 first cousins on my mom's side
5 first cousins on my dad's side
And then their kids, and their kids' children


Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

I rate honesty very highly and strive to been honest as much as I can.
Of course there is the occasion "white" lies do happen....the phone solicitor you just don't feel like dealing with or the ones we share with our children (tooth fairy, santa, easter bunny)

I would say I rate about a 9 on the honesty scale.

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.

Happiness because your happiness comes only from your state of mind...nothing else.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Some People Realize Inspiring Notions Generally.

For more feasting check out Friday's Feast

Booking through Thursday #11

This week’s question comes from Julie, who asks:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

Book design usually has very little do with my reading enjoyment. My library is full of hardcovers, softcovers, plain covers, eleborate pictured covers, fonts of varying sizes and literature that is main stream and off the beaten path. I am often drawn to a book by the author, or how catching the blurb is written inside the jacket. At times I pick a book just on a whim or something recommended by a friend/family member.

The only time I think book design has any effect on me is when I am travelling and my space is limited. Then I look for small paperbacks. Something that is light and takes up a small space.

For more viewpoints check out Booking through Thursday

Wordless Wednesday #9

#23 - New Dessert Each Month

As part of my "101 things in 1001 days" project, I wanted to start cooking more...and new things! Things that I have never tried - but always wanted to.

For March's new Dessert I wanted to go with something that I could use to celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Oh we all know the typical stuff of Corned Beef and Cabbage with Soda Bread. But what is a typical dessert? I browsed the internet and came up with this recipe.


Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam Roly - Poly

Filling: 1/2 lb rhubarb, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Dough: 2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp frozen unsalted butter
2/3 cup ( or more) iced water
1 tbsp whipping cream with 1 tbsp sugar

For filling : Combine rhubarb, sugar and 1 tbsp water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Cover; cook until rhubarb softens to thick pulp, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Mix in jam. Cool. Can be made one week ahead. Cover. Chill.

For Dough : Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Using large holes in box grater, grate frozen butter into mixture; stir to blend. Cover and freeze atleast 15 minutes. Add 2/3 cup iced water to flour mixture, tossing to form soft dough. Trasfer to floured surface and knead to form ball. Roll out dough to 12 x 9 rectangle.



Spread 6 tbsp filling over dough leaving 1 inch border all around. Starting at long edge, roll up jelly roll style; seal seam. Place seam side down and seal ends. Brush with glaze. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Cool briefly.





Vanilla Custard Sauce

1 1/2 cups half and half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar

Place half and half in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 30 minutes. Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl until thick. Gradually whisk half and half with vanilla bean into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir custard over low heat until thickened enough to leave path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 6 minutes. Do Not Boil! Pour into bowl. Chill uncovered until cold, atleast 2 hours. Discard vanilla bean before using.




Reviews: DD loved it!
Hubby said was good but thought with custard, an apple filling might be
better. Time to search for an Apple Roly-Poly :-)

Tackle it Tuesday!

Another week! Another tackle!!
This project of tackling something each week, started as something "fun" to do and has now grown into a compulsion. Each Monday night I start looking around the house for something that needs to be completed. Believe me...my list is endless!!

This week's projects....

1. DD has FINALLY cleared out her closet. 4 bags for donation later and a bunch of other stuff boxed and waiting patiently for a home somewhere in the room, I was able to remove the existing clothes hanging set up and put patch fix on the walls. Today I plan on sanding down the patched spots....reapply patch fix if necessary and picking up white paint to finish off the walls.

2. A project that cannot be put off any longer. My side of the family is having a family reunion in June and a cousin is piecinig together a Memory book. Each family needs a page put together and I have been putting off this task. But it is needed before April 1st...so today out comes the photo albumns and boxes and I will be going down "memory lane" and putting together a page of my family.

3. If time allows I would very much like to reorganize, clean and purge the fridge freezer.

Happy Tackling everyone. Pictures of my finished tackles to follow.

To see more things that people are accomplishing...check out Tackle It Tuesday

Menu Monday : March 23rd - 29th

It's Monday again. Another week and another menu. Yup! Reoccuring theme!!!
Last week's review....wasn't a week I followed the menu very closely. Started the week okay, then I wasn't feel great and then we were home and it just fell apart. Friday we snacked on hot wings because I wasn't in the mood to cook much. Saturday, we ate out for lunch and no one was very hungry come supper time.

Monday I did make the "Irish" stew and potato rolls.
Stew was pretty standard but the rolls were from a new recipe. And we will definitely be having them again.



Potato Rolls

2 small russet (baking potatos), peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
5 - 5 3/4 cups bread or all purpose flour
2 pkgs active dry yeast
2 tbsp butter, melted

In a small saucepan, cook potatoes, covered, in enough boiling water to cover for 15 ot 20 minutes or until tender; drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Using a fork, mash the potatoes; set aside. Add buttermilk, the 1/4 cup butter, sugar and salt to the hot cooking liquid; heat until warm and butter almost melts.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and the yeast. Stir in the buttermilk mixture and mashed potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining four to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic ( 6 to 8 minutes total) Shape dough into a ball. Place in a buttered bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour)

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease three baking sheets ( or line baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into a 10 x 6 inch rectangle (3/4 inch thick). Cut each rectangle of dough into fifteen 2 - inch squares. Place squares 2 to 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush tops with the 2 tbsp melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Bake in at 375F for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove rolls from baking sheet. Cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm.

Oh well....time to try again. LOL

Sunday: Tacos, Mexi-fries
( I know its Easter but I still have turkey and ham in the freezer from Christmas and New Years, so we dared to be different)
Monday: Fritatta, Salad
Tuesday: Pork chops with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Wednesday: Egg Rolls, Fried Rice, Pineapple Chicken
Thursday: Leftovers or wraps with veggies
Friday: Chicken thighs, gravy, mashed potatoes, beans, salad
Saturday: Steak, baked potato, salad, corn


More menus can be found at Organizing Junkie