What's on your plate? {on Thursday}

Sooo … let’s talk Meatloaf.  I have been craving this lately so we have had it twice in 2 weeks. YES!

A couple of things to mention are: 1) I started the make my loaf of good-ness then realized we had no egg and no milk-two items the recipe calls for; and 2), I cut my thumb while chopping the onion.  It was just a little cut. No band-aid required.

All you’ll need:

2lbs Ground Turkey -> I use 1.25lbs because that’s the size of the package and it’s enough for 3 with leftovers.

1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 Onion, Chopped -> I use about ¾ of an onion

1 Egg -> oopsies

1Cup of Milk -> oopsies again (when I have it, I use a little less then a cup)

1 Clove of Garlic, sliced and diced

Back pepper, enough for taste

Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce, enough to cover the top of meatloaf

[insert panic mode] I added a little ranch dressing and a little water since I didn’t have milk or egg.  Guess what? It came out good.  I couldn’t tell a difference and the family loved it the same as last week’s. Woot!

All you’ll do:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix all of the above, except the bbq sauce, in a bowl.  Form into a loaf pan, I used mine from Tupperware. 

Cover the top of the loaf with bbq sauce.

Bake for 1 hour.

Mmm mmm GOOD. {in my opinion}

Tootles.

What's on your plate? Asparagus!

I made a yumma oven roasted asparagus last night.  No joke, it really was yumma!  Yumma enough that I couldn't wait to share it with you. 

I am going to share the recipe I found on one of my favorite sites and then tell you what I did. So here ya go ...

All you'll need:

1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed ->Mine were medium thickness

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced (optional) -> What? optional? Extra please!

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional) -> I did not use

All you'll do: (per the recipe)

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

All I did: (I did not measure anything)

Preheat oven [check!]

I lined the asparagus in a row on one of my favorite Pampered Chef stones (shop here for the amazing stones). I poured some olive oil in a small dish then brushed it on the asparagus.  I then sprinkled the asparagus with grated parmesan cheese, sea salt, black pepper and chopped garlic. (I chopped the garlic very fine to practice for when I am on a cooking/kitchen show. HA!)

Bake for 15 minutes minus the lemon juice. Next time I will bake for 10-12 minutes since I like my asparagus a bit more crispy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tootles!

This craft is {sew} cute ...

... and sew easy!  Check it out.

[via]

I am so glad mason jars have so many uses.  Why? Because they are cheap. This one is definitely on my to do list.  I want them made and ready by the time I get my sewing machine.  I already have an adorable vintage table to put it on and the perfect spot too.  Yes, I am still expecting a sewing machine for Christmas.  To my Peeps; I will be putting the bug in Hubber's ear again very soon so be prepared incase he calls for shopping tips. ;o)

Tootles.

Flashback Friday {decor}

Hiya! As you know I have a love for most things vintage. Yep! If I had the time I would definitely be a frequent visitor to antique stores, thrift shops, garage sales, etc.  I'm sure you catch my drift.  

While I was browsing one of my favorite sights, Pinterest, I came across this adorable wreath.  It's retro and looks like something I can make. YAY!

[via]

Cute, fluffy, festive and retro, Do you agree?

I will let you know if I take a stab at it and if I do, I'll show how it turns out.

Tootles.

What's on your plate? {Just for the Pups}

Hey Peoples, this is a special What's on your plate? just for the pups in our lives.  This sweet little recipe is not only healthy for our four-legged children, it's super easy and fun to do. Check it out!

DOG BISCUITS BAKED WITH LOVE

All you'll need:
2 Cups unbleached wheat flour
1 Cup Cornmeal
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
2 Teaspoons chopped fresh Parsley
3/4 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth 

[Daughter and Gma Janet]

All you'll do:


1) Preheat the Oven to 400F


2) Mix the flour and cornmeal in one bowl.


3) In a separate and larger bowl, whip the egg with the oil, parsley, and chicken broth.
Add the flour mixture and mix until a soft dough ball forms.


4) Knead the dough and roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cuth the dough into canine-pleasing shapes such as cats, cars, fire hydrants and bones.


5) Bake for 15 minutes. Cool the biscuits before serving.

[Ready to bake]

Important: Remember there are no preservatives so keep them in the freezer and pull out as needed.  They thaw quickly and some dogs even like them cold.  -Yes they do!

[All done and ready to freeze]

This recipe makes a lot. We only have one pup and Grandma has two and there was still enough for Daughter to deliver a baggy full to each neighbor.

I hope your pups like these as much as Jeter does.

Tootles.

These Two + 1

... are my Lovies.

Aren't they just so cute? Jeter snuggled up to Daughter on the way

home from our softball tournament on Sunday.

Then he crawled in her lap to check out what she was reading.

It's official, I have a super-d-duper adorable family.

Speaking of softball, we have put tournament #4 in the books.  It was another exciting weekend full of wins, a tie, losses and lots and lots of learning and developing. We also welcomed a new player to our team - YAY!  It can only get better from here and we are pretty stoked about that!

Tootles.

  

a Fall love {it's a fashion thing}

One of my favorite things about Fall is the fact I get to bust out all of my cozy clothes that have been tucked away for months while sweating out the Summer. I [heart] Summer, I do.  It’s just by the end of it I am ready for the cool down. Ready for the cozy clothes. Ready for my boots.  I am a boot lover.  I might be addicted to them actually.

How cute is this outfit?

[via]

I put this cute little outfit together on Pinterest.  Gosh I [heart] that site. It's fun. You should check it out if you haven't already. Just beware: It's addicting.

As I am typing this post I am wondering if my mother-in-law or Grandma Flossie can make a sweater like this. I absolutely love it! I'm going to check on this.

Have a great weekend y'all! I am required to check on this sweater now.

Tootles. 

A Whole Chicken In The Oven {Yep!}

I was at it again. Oh yes I was. Back in the kitchen cooking up some goodness. And that it was - pure goodness. Just ask my family. :o)

A while ago I discovered a crockpot chicken. Simple and tasty. I had every intention of cooking our chickens in the crockpot or on the bbq because it tasted so yum yum done either way.  Well, one day a few weeks ago I got the chicken out of the freezer to thaw and forgot to prepare it for the crockpot. I didn't realize this until I was already at work. What does a girl who struggles in the kitchen do? Oh yes, she remembers she has a Pampered Chef deep dish baker that has never been used so she goes online searching for recipes for the chicken. And wa la!  A couple of recipes for baking a whole chicken in the oven.  Momma like!

The recipes were easy but I didn't necessarily like all the ingredients in all of them so I took a little of this and a little of that to make, um, the best chicken ever! So moist. So good. So much better then the crockpot chicken.

What I used was: The chicken, lemon juice, butter, crushed garlic with black pepper seasoning, New Mex seasoning, Garlic salt, Cayenne Pepper.

What I did was: One recipe called for lemons cut in quarters and stuck inside the chicken. I didn't have lemons so I squirted lemon juice all over inside.  I put the mixture of seasonings on the inside and rubbed them all over the outside.  One recipe called for butter inside and out. Well, that's a lot of butter so I put 5 little spoonfulls over the top of the chicken and squished them down a little (I was hoping they wouldn't slide off right away).  Then I placed the chicken in my deep dish baker, put the lid on and baked it for one and a half hours at 350 degrees.  Then I removed the lid and baked for an additional 10 minutes.  I checked to make sure the internal temp was at 180 before calling it done.

That was a delish chicken I tell ya!

Tootles.

Another Season Has Begun

Hiya! Two seasons actually; Fall [the actual season] and our Softball Fall Ball season.  Anyhoo, I love them both.  By this time of year I am pretty much done with Summer so I welcome the blusterey cold days, with some sprinkles, with open arms. {big hug}

Speaking of softball; Our mighty, mighty Mizuno girls moved up to 12U for the Fall season. Fall is considered a developmental season which is why you should move up the Fall before you are required to do so in Spring. This means we are a young team playing girls that are 1-2 years older in a lot of cases.

We have played in three 12U tournaments so far and the girls are doing so good.  They are learning so much.  Playing the older, bigger, kids has really brought out the drive in these girls. And when I say big I mean we are wondering what these kids are eating and if they are driving already.  Wholey heck!  :o)

Our team looks so tiny compared to some of these older girls.  One of our parents said in the beginning of the season, "we do more with less".  Meaning less meat on their bones.  I guess that's what you get when you have amazing coaches - they have the team really rockin'! Like I've said before, I'm amazed with these girls and their talent.  They are fun to watch.

We have another tournament this weekend. Stay tuned ...

PS: What's on your plate will return next week. It's a special one just for the pups.