Wordless Wednesday: Feathered Friend

A Very Merry Disney Senior Trip: Animal Kingdom

Today was our Animal Kingdom Day and everyone was ready and on the bus by 9 o'clock.
 
The decorations at AK were my favorite!!!






First things first: Festival of the Lion King!!! Everyone LOVED it!! It's my favorite show at Disney!






Next up lunch: the grads stopped in Pizzafari, but I suggested Yak & Yeti for us and it did not disappoint.


this picture is from our 2011 trip, but this is what I ordered again this time-YUM!!

 While the guys rode Expedition Everest, the girls got tattoos.

We did a little shopping, then we all met up again to take the Kilimanjaro Safari.








There were lots of animals out today and we got some awesome pictures! After the safari, we split up again, but most of us headed straight for Everest!!

a fresh new look........

a few more kitchen make-over pictures............











It's amazing what a coat of paint can do for a room! I am so happy with the color I chose, the gray paint has given the kitchen such a fresh, clean look. Color: Valspar Rocky Slope
Here's the before:



This color (Cracker Bitz) was too "country" looking, and was just blah against my oak cabinets. Painting the trim white helped, but painting the walls gray has given the kitchen a great new look! I eventually want to have the cabinets painted white and get a new countertop, but for now, the gray has really perked up the kitchen. I'm almost finished with all the painting, I have a little more to do behind the cabinets, which I hope to get to tomorrow. I also want to add a few more yellow touches to the room, but for now, I'm using most of the stuff I already had.....I see another trip to Target and Hobby Lobby in my future! I found the perfect gray/yellow rugs at Target which I haven't put down yet.
Another update: I finally gave my pie safe a new look. Dad built it for me years ago, and up until now I have kept it just like he finished it, stained pine wood. I finally changed out the punched tin doors last year, but decided it really needed a complete make-over. I painted it white, painted the insert panels Martha Stewart's Cement Gray. I also changed out the black hardware to silver. I love how it turned out!


before:

I also need to get pictures of the island Dad made. I finally finished painting it and added some new hardware. It turned out even better than I thought it would, and has added that extra workspace that I needed.

Menu Plan Monday Feb 04-10

I'm going to try a different approach to this. Instead of planning a meal for a specific day, I'm going to just plan out 6 meals. This way I can be more flexible on what we have for dinner, depending on how busy my day turns out to be! Since Nathan always has dinner with Mom & Dad on Sunday, and it's just Peter and I, I'm going to keep that day open and just fix whatever we're in the mood for. So for this week, the menu includes:
(1)Breakfast Casserole
(2)Roasted Chicken
(3)Beef Stroganoff
(4)Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese
(5)Steaks
(6)Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ Rice
I'm starting on track today with a make-ahead breakfast casserole for dinner. I'm hoping to get lots of the painting done in the kitchen, so this will help free up a little more time-plus, who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? Our family rarely eats breakfast, so it's always a treat!!

Pioneer Woman's Perfect Potato Soup

On Friday, I made Pioneer Woman's Potato Soup. While I've tried several potato soup recipes over the years, I think this one was one of my favorites. It's creamy, but not too thick.
Ingredients
6 slices thin bacon, cut Into 1-inch pieces
1 medium Onion, diced
3 carrots, scrubbed and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 small potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 T. flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 t. salt
black pepper- to taste
1/2 t. Cajun Spice Mix (I didn't have this, so I added a dash of red pepper flakes)
1 t. minced parsley
1 cup grated cheese

Add bacon pieces to pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.

Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine.(I scooped out about 2/3 of the veggies in a large bowl and mashed with a spoon, then returned to pot). Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley. I ended up adding a can of cream of onion soup, because the veggie taste was too strong, and I wanted it to be a little creamier. I thought the soup was then the perfect consistancy.
I topped with grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces, and served with grilled cheese sandwiches. We finished the soup the next day for lunch topped with oyster crackers.

Menu Planning Catch-Up....

I really love this idea of meal planning, but somehow life just seems to get in the way of my organizational plans and I start rearranging everything or filling in with something not on the menu! Let me back track a bit to revise my meal plans for the past two weeks.....
Jan 21-27
Monday- Baked Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken, w/Roasted Brussels Sprouts, baked potatoes
Tuesday- Potato Soup w/ grilled cheese sandwiches crab meat melts
Wednesday- Meatloaf, glazed carrots
Thursday- Chili & Corn Bread
Friday- Caramelized Chicken Legs,Glazed Carrot-Pork Chops w/rice
Saturday-Pork Chops w/ Rice Grilled steaks w/onions & mushrooms, potato salad, string beans, rolls
Sunday- bbq ribs steamed oysters
Last week was so busy! Although I had planned out my meals, I never got the chance to post them. Here's how last week went:
Jan 28-Feb 03
Monday- Peter had an appointment, so we decided to stay away for the night. We had an awesome lunch @ Lin's and tried sushi for the very first time. Peter is now a fan, me...well, I'm fine if I never eat it again! My sweet & sour chicken was awesome though, as was Peter's beef & broccoli. For dinner we ate at Texas Roadhouse. We are die hard Outback fans, but the last few times there were just ok. We decided to go to TR and had THE BEST dinner!!
Tuesday- we brought subs home with us and just had soup & subs for dinner tonight.
Wednesday-Hungry Jack Casserole This is a childhood favorite of mine. It's so easy to make, but soooo good! Here's the recipe:
1 lb. ground beef
1 t. salt
1 16 oz. can pork & beans
3/4 cup bbq sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. minced onion
1 can Hungry Jack biscuits (10 ct.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef; drain. Stir in next 5 ingredients and heat until bubbly. Pour into a 2 qt. casserole. Cut biscuits in half, place cut side down around edge of dish. Sprinkle w/ cheese.
 
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until biscuits are brown.
Thursday- Pizza  & Salad
Friday- Pioneer Woman's Potato Soup {recipe in next post} & grilled cheese
Saturday- Parmesan Chicken, Risotto, String Beans, Rolls
Parmesan Chicken
6-8 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 T. parsley flakes
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1 t. garlic powder or 1 clove fresh-chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 16 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Oil

Combine milk, egg, parsley, garlic in bowl and set aside. Put crumbs in another bowl. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then crumbs and fry in hot oil. Drain on paper towel.

Place in baking dish, spoon tomato sauce (mixed with water) over chicken, then sprinkle with cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake @ 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I made a side of Risotto using the recipe on the back of the package-it was pretty good.
I never seem to get any pictures of the finished meal....everyone is always too hungry to wait!!
Sunday- bbq ribs & fries for dinner
Super Bowl Snack: Cheese & Sausage Dip (Crock Pot)

be my valentine......

I {{heart}} Valentine's day! It's one of my favorite holidays- for several reasons....I love the decorations, the candy, the Red Velvet Cake, the cards, the flowers, a special dinner together, pretty much everything about this special day! I especially love the excuse {not that I really need an excuse} to show those closest to me just how much I love them! 


my February chalkboard

my mantel


I kept the clear cylander I had on my January mantel, but added some red felt hearts to the branches. I used a piece of baker's twine and an X & O tag to spruce up a simple white candle.

jars filled with Valentine candy....

gray & white printable in a silver frame

<3BE MINE<3 banner that I made last year {a Pinterest printable}
Although I'm trying to keep my mantels simple, I feel like this one needs a little something.....hmmmm, I may have to tweak it just a bit....

I saved this gift from Christmas....Red Velvet is the perfect scent for this month!