Old Favorites

 

One of our granddaughter's favorite toys is the Fisher- Price Family Play Farm. She loves opening and closing the barn doors. The moo still works. She carries the horse and cow everywhere. We put the smaller parts away so we didn't have to worry about her swallowing them. We still have the silo, but the top has a hole in it. What makes this so special is that this was her father's toy. He's 29 now. He's the one responsible for chewing the hole in the silo. She has tons of other newer toys, including the new verison that Fisher Price has released this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this toy. It's a far cry from the original. I'm so glad I saved this. Little did I know a sweet granddaughter would be playing with it.

Ham Loaf

If you've visited my blog before then you know I'm always looking for easy to prepare recipes. My mother gave me this recipe, and it has become a family favorite. You can make this the night before then pop it into the oven when you get home from work the next night.

Ham Loaf
1 lb. ham, ground
1 lb. fresh pork, ground
2 eggs
1 ½ cup crackers – crushed
1 cup milk
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
¼ cup vinegar
Combine ham, pork, eggs, cracker crumbs, and milk. Put into loaf pan. Combine brown sugar, mustard and vinegar and pour over top of ham loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Check out Colleen's blog And Baby Makes Five for her weekly recipe swap. I can't wait to try some of the recipes that have been submitted this week.

Fast Forward

How many times have you said to yourself, I can't wait until.... (the weekend, vacation, this is over)?  It seems like many of us are wishing our lives away.  On Friday night I watched a movie called Click. Michael (Adam Sandler) is a workaholic. He is stressed to the max with trying to get a partnership in the company. Unfortunately he is neglecting his family obligations.  When he goes to the department store to buy a universal remote, he meets a weird salesman named Morty. Morty offers him a remote control that will enable him to control his own universe. Michael uses the control too much and loses control of the device. He ends up having his own life controlled by the remote control.  Michael soon finds out that he is missing out on the worthwhile parts of his personal life.

Instead of fast forwarding through our lives, we need to cherish each and every moment. We need to enjoy the small pleasures daily. Each of us needs to ask what we can do to make sure we are not missing out on the worthwhile parts of our personal life. For me that means bringing less work home, spending more time with family, and spending more time enjoying my hobbies.

Chipped Ham Sandwiches

Winter is the perfect time for soup and sandwiches.  Try these with your favorite soup or with one of my favorites, Hash Brown Potato Soup.

Chipped Ham Sandwiches

1 ½ lbs. Chipped Ham (cut in strips)
½ cup catsup
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
½ cup water
Boil ingredients and pour on top of ham. Cook in skillet for 30 minutes.

You will find some other tasty recipes at Colleen's weekly recipe swap at And Baby Makes Five.

Look Who's One

One year ago our lives were forever changed. Our granddaughter was born. She has certainly been a blessing. It's been so much fun to watch her grow and change. She's always happy and enjoys exploring her world.

Amazing Trick

Are you having trouble getting out those carpet indentations that are left when you rearrange your furniture? I don't know where I heard this trick (probably HGTV), but I've found it works amazingly well.  Make a tray full of ice cubes using distilled water. Place ice cubes over the indentation. Let the ice melt. After the carpet dries fluff it up and sweep.  No more ugly holes.

Crock Pot Spaghetti

After working all day, slaving away in the kitchen is the last thing I want to do. I'm always on the look out for easy recipes or crock pot meals.  I've used this recipe ever since I purchased  my first crockpot.

1 pound ground beef
1 Tablespoon instant minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon each: mace, allspice, and pepper
8 ounce can tomato sauce
3 cups tomato juice
4 ounce can mushrooms (optional)
4 ounces dry spaghetti (approx 1 1/2 cups) broken in 4"-5" pieces

Brown ground beef in skillet and place in crockpot. Add all remaining ingredients except dry spaghetti; stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (High: 3 1/2 hrs. ) Turn to high last hour and stir in dry spaghetti.

Serve with a salad and Texas toast for the perfect no fuss dinner. 

If you are looking for other tasty recipes check out Colleen's weekly recipe swap at And Baby Makes Five

One Little Word

Each year Ali Edwards chooses a word that will be her focus for the year. This year she has chosen the word story. Since she's a scrapbooker she will be using this as inspiration in some of her projects. I've decided to choose a word that I hope will be an integral part of my life. That word is cherish. For me that means slowing down the pace of my life and taking time each day to enjoy and be more appreciative of the people and small pleasures of life.

The following quote pretty much sums it up.

“Time is a companion who reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again .” -Anonymous

Pineapple Casserole

Colleen at And Baby Makes Five is hosting a  weekly recipe swap. Check out her blog for some yummy recipes.

Today I'll be sharing a favorite family recipe. It's a great side dish for any meal.

10 oz. can pineapple tidbits, undrained
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
8 Tablespoons margarine, melted
1 pkg. Ritz cracker, finely crushed

Pour pineapple into a greased 9 inch square baking dish. In a separate bowl combine cheese, flour, and sugar. Sprinkle over pineapple. Combine melted margarine and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and brown. Serves 4-6.

Soups On!

Winter is the perfect time for soup. Someone brought this into the place where my husband works, and he loved it and asked for the recipe. He doesn't usually do the cooking, but when we decide we want potato soup he's the one to prepare it.  It's delicious and goes perfectly with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Hash Brown Soup

2 lbs. frozen cubed hash browns
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon chopped dried onion
3/4 cup sliced celery
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups milk
1 small pkg. cubed fully cooked ham (approx. 1 cup)
1/2 Tablespoon of parsley flakes
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon of bacon bits (optional)

In a soup kettle, combine the first seven ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add soup and milk; stir until smooth. Add ham, parsley, and garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy!

Snow Day

Yippee!  We hardly ever get any days off for snow, but the word went out early this morning. We started with just a 2 hour delay, but eventually the decision was made to close schools. This is what it looks like out my back door.  Brrrr.....

A snow day is an unexpected pleasure. I usually take advantage of these unplanned days off to just do things I like to do instead of the usual household chores. My husband is usually off on Tuesdays and he usually babysits our granddaughter, so today I'll get to enjoy some time with them. I also plan to do some reading and playing around in the craft room. I need to do a little straightening up in there first, then I'm going to pull out a few of those unfinished projects to work on.

Young Adult Book Challenge

I've decided to participate in another book challenge J. Kaye is running a YA reading challenge. You can sign up here.

Here are the rules:

–The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
–Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
–Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
–Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

I love reading young adult literature. I taught reading/language arts for 27 years. I'm now a district librarian. Even though I deal with students in grades K-12, my first love is still YA books. I've decided to try to read 50 young adult novels.

I will be listing my books below as I read them.

1. Hunted: Whiteout by Walter Sorrels
2. Just Another Hero by Sharon Draper
3. Claim to Fame by Margaret Haddix
4. Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
5. City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
6. The People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau
7. The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau
8. The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne Duprau
9. The Dead and the Gone be Susan Betf Pfeffer
10. The Enemy has a Face by Gloria Miklowitz
11. Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub
12. Lily Dale: Believing by Wendy Corsi Staub
13. Lily Dale: Connecting by Wendy Corsi Staub

Brrrrrrr!

I'm sure glad my plans today are just staying home. The temperature right now is 6 degrees with a windchill of -7 degrees.  There is a dusting of snow on the ground. Sounds like a good day to plant myself in front of the fireplace with a good book, a stitching project and my laptop for some blog reading.  Maybe I'll find a good movie to watch this afternoon.  A catnap will probably be in store too.  Tomorrow it's back to work, so I better enjoy today because there won't be any more breaks for quite a while. Unless.........we have some snow days.  Can't blame a girl for wishing can you?  I'm as bad as the students.

Applesauce Bread

I decided I wanted to try out a new recipe today. I love the recipe books by Gooseberry Patch. I found this one in the book Holidays at Home.  My husband loved it.  Hope you will give it a try.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins

Mix ingredients together. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

New Year's Resolutions

The older I get the faster time seems to fly by.  I'm not one to usually make New Year's resolutions, but decided that this year might be a good time to think about making some changes in my life. 

I resolve to:

1. be a better blogger. I need to post on a more regular basis and make comments on other blogs instead of just lurking in the background.
2. read more. I'm taking part in a reading challenge, so this should inspire me to visit my local library and read on a regular basis.
3. eat healthier and be more active. Both of my parents have had open heart surgery in the last year. I can't change my heredity, but I can make some changes in my lifestyle. I know many make a goal to loose so many pounds, but that's never been very effective for me.  This needs to be a lifestyle change. My goal is to feel healthier and less tired so that I can keep up with my beautiful 11 month old granddaughter.
4. scrapbook, sew, and craft more. I have tons of unfinished projects so that's going to be first on the list of things to work on.