What's Up Wednesday - 2/22/17

I'm joining in again today for What's Up Wednesday with Mix and Match Mama, The Larson Lingo and Sheaffer Told Me To. It's been a while so I thought it was about time to make time for it again.

1. What we’re eating this week
Monday was a hamburger stew throw together meal. That probably sums up the meals for the week. Throw it together with whatever we have on hand. I sadly do not have a plan for this week. Hopefully one will come to me. :) 

2. What I’m reminiscing about
The long weekend I just had. The hubby and I took off Friday to do some hiking and exploring on our land and try to get closer to deciding where to build. I'd much rather be back out in the woods than at a desk.  

3. What I’m loving
Nicer weather and being outside! We've had some beautiful days here the last week or so with temperatures just right and no rain. I'm ready for spring! 

4. What we’ve been up to

We did some hiking which was wonderful, several birthday celebrations this month, we've eaten way too much food, took a day trip a few hours north to visit a yummy bakery and some architectural salvage stores. Now we're just back to the regular schedule of the work week. Boo!

5. What I’m dreading
Nothing too much at the moment. 

6. What I’m working on

We're working on designing a house plan. I think I have looked through thousands at this point and some days I feel like I don't know if I'm coming or going and which end of the house is up. We're going to get just the right one though. There has been much prayer over this and I know it is going to happen! I just have to keep reminding myself of that when I feel like we'll never figure it out.

7. What I’m excited about

Designing a house plan and getting closer to identifying where to build! Even though it feels a little overwhelming at times I'm very grateful and blessed to be going through this process. I'm excited to see how God is going to work it all out as we walk this out. 

8. What I’m watching/reading

I just finished The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Amazing book. I need to find a good one to start next now. Not really watching anything in particular. Lots of Fixer Upper and HGTV when I can. :)

9. What I’m listening to

I've been listening to a lot of streaming music at work with my earbuds since moving into a shared cubicle office type space. It helps to create my own little world some days. Sometimes it's worship, sometimes TobyMac or Michael Buble, it all just depends on the day.  

10. What I’m wearing

Still wearing layers, but more short sleeves recently which is awesome.

11. What I’m doing this weekend

Traveling to meet some out of town family half-way between their town and ours to do a very belated Christmas gathering.

12. What I’m looking forward to next month

More spring weather, lots of events for colon cancer awareness month and our annual 5K fundraiser. It's going to be a busy month but it is always lots of fun too.

13. What else is new

We got new boots to go hiking through our property so now we can go through the creeks and my whole lower leg is covered by boot which makes me much more comfortable all around. :) That has opened up more options for outdoor exploring. There's really not that much new right now. 

Bonus question: What is your "can't live without" beauty product? That would probably be moisturizer, my skin gets really dry after showering or washing my face. I love the feeling of putting a good moisturizer on after my shower. My personal favorite is Clinique. I use the plain yellow, been around forever moisturizer at night, but I love a great sunblock so having a moisturizer with SPF is always a favorite of mine too. I've been using their tinted moisturizer with SPF for a while now during the day, but just found out it's being discontinued (boo!) so I guess I'll be finding a new one.

That's all for me today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

Roasted Potato and Kale

This was one of those nights where you look around and see what you have that needs to be used and then you throw it all together and put it in the oven. :)

We had a few potatoes that were nearing the end of their usefulness and some leftover kale from making sausage, potato and kale soup. So I threw them together as a side dish to go with some baked chicken. 

First I chopped up the potatoes and tossed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and basil. 

Then I coated the kale with olive oil and tossed with the same ingredients. I just neglected to take a photo of that part.

After that I spread it all out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven on about 375-400 degrees for 20 minutes or so. I was able to bake the chicken at the same time.

The kale turned out pretty good but I must confess some of the potatoes didn't have a great texture. I think perhaps they needed more of the olive oil coating them? Any suggestions for next time would be appreciated. 

Overall it was pretty good and I think I'll try it again sometime and see if I can't dial it in a little more on the potato part. Happy eating!

Window Picture Frame

This is a project I've been wanting to get done for a while now. I wanted to make a wooden window frame out of some reclaimed wood we had to hold pictures. 

My plan was to use it to hold photos of the outdoors and things I love to put on my desk at work, help motivate and remind me about what I'm there and get me through the day. 

I started out by measuring out the size I wanted the final frame to be and then the talented hubby helped me with the cutting, design and building. He used both glue and nails to hold everything together.

 Once the frame was complete I laid out the photos I wanted to use and tried a few different methods for attaching them. 

I looked at using some wire or wood pieces to attach them, but found the simplest method and one I liked the look of the most was just a good old fashioned wooden clothes pin.

So I took four clothes pins and hot-glued them to the back of the frame so that each one would hang down into the opening below. We'll see how well the hot glue holds up and if I have to change it. 

I'm happy with the final product and think this will help brighten up my space and bring a smile to my face a little more often. :)

Red Pen

So I'm just gonna go ahead and put this disclaimer out there. I'm sure there are plenty of errors that could be found on this blog, BUT this is just for fun and usually written on the fly.

Ok. Now that I've gotten that out of the way... Here are my deep thoughts for the day: "did they even read that before they published it?". I'm talking newspapers, magazines, "professional" letters and emails, business websites, and other similar avenues. I seriously need to start a side business of proofing things for people, because there are a whole lot of "uh ohs" out there.

I've always been known amongst family and friends as the one who was born with a red pen in hand. If there is an error, I will find it. (And I will want to point it out and fix it too) We're talking errors that someone should really catch. It's like the whole twelve men on the field penalty in football. There should literally be someone that has the sole job of counting to eleven on every play and making sure they don't get penalized. Just count!

On the same token, just read the text before letting something go out there. See if it makes sense and is accurate, then post.

This public service announcement is provided to you free of charge. If anyone needs me I'll be over here with my red pen.

Pizza Roll-Ups

This was a fun snack we made for a football game toward the end of the season. Speaking of the season, gut.wrenching.finish. I had to remind myself it's just a game and my favorite team will be back next year with more motivation. Roll Tide! #Greatseasonanyway

On to the food. This is a recipe you can easily make your own with whatever you have on hand. I started with a basic pizza dough. This one is homemade from a Pioneer Woman recipe, but you could use store bought too.

I rolled it out to a nice rectangular-ish shape.

Browned some meat with Italian spices.

Spread on some tomato sauce and added some more Italian spices to it.

Sprinkled on some cheese.

Then rolled the whole thing up nice and tight (it's a little messy, but that's okay)

Then we sliced it into pieces about 1-1.5 inches thick and placed in a squared baking pan. We popped it in the oven and baked according to dough directions until golden brown. I don't think I have any photos of the cooked product. I might have taken one on the hubby's phone but I don't have it on hand. Take my word for it though, they were a big hit, delicious and so easy!

Life and Vegetable Soup

Well, it has been a while since I've posted anything. I keep meaning to and then there doesn't seem to be time. Between things going on at work and in life it just went to the back burner.

I'm going to try and change that and get back to posting again. It is a welcome little break for me. I have thought about it and even taken photos of meals with the intention of posting recipes.

Of course now, it's been so long since I made some of them, I really don't remember what ingredients I used. :-/ Bummer. Well, for now I'll start back with a short post and include a few random photos with no recipe because hey, it's all I've got! HA!

So this was a quick meal we threw together recently and one of my first attempts at making a vegetable soup or stew. I've just never really been one to cook it very much, but it sounded like a good idea on this night and something we could basically just use whatever we had on hand to make.

I do remember going to shower and leaving the hubby with instructions to add a little bit of pasta to the finish up the soup. This is what I came back to... 

I think he basically used the whole box. Overabundance of pasta or not, it turned out quite tasty. I think I even made cornbread this night to go with it.

Here is a fun little train cake I made with a Christmas gift from a few years ago. This is my most requested chocolate chip pound cake recipe baked in the train pan. One day I might share the cake recipe, but I haven't gotten to that yet either. I love making fun and festive treats around the holidays.

We actually got a little snow ice recently. It doesn't happen around here often, so it's a nice break from reality when it does. The neighbors dog was enjoying walking through it on the porch. All these prints made me laugh. :) 

And a couple more random photos from the last couple months of my blogging absence.

Happy New Year! I can still say that since it's January right? Ok, good.

Black Bean Roll-ups with Salsa

Well it's been a little while since I've posted. I haven't forgotten,  just been a little bit busy and a little challenged at finding good times to sit down and blog.

I've still been cooking a lot for the holiday season, parties at work, and football. ROLL TIDE! :)

Here is a quick football snack I threw together the other day. It's the first time we've tried this version of roll-ups and they were gone pretty quickly. I think you could mix and match a lot of different varieties. This one is pretty basic.

Black Bean Roll-ups served with salsa

Ingredients
1 can or about a cup of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (about 4 oz) Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (you could use pepper jack if you like it a little spicier)
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt, onion, pepper, or whatever seasonings your heart desires
3-6 flour tortillas, depending on tortilla size and how thick you want the inside layers

Directions
Mix together cream cheese, Monterrey jack cheese, sour cream. I threw in a little onion and salt, but you could season with a lot of different things and it would give it a whole different twist each time.

Use a food processor to blend the black beans to a smooth consistency. I started to add a little olive oil to help with this part. I didn't, but I might try it next time.

Spread the smooth black beans on a tortilla, leaving about an inch around the edge. Then spread the cheese mixture on top of the black beans.

Roll up tightly and secure with a toothpick or wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 20 minutes. You can leave in the fridge longer if you like too.

Remove from fridge and cut (I use a serrated knife) into about 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Serve with salsa of your choice! I was very excited to use my Christmas dishes for this. First use of the season. You can't really see the pattern with the food in it, but trust me, it was pretty and festive!