It's time once again for




This week I have a lot of little projects all over the house that would bore you out of your mind. It's also Mardi Gras weekend here, which means gumbo, red beans and rice, an adult beverage or two, and good friends. It also means nothing productive will happen on Saturday. Except for a good time with good friends and it doesn't get more productive than that in my book.

I have one project that might interest you, though. We are starting our tomato seeds so they will be ready to put out in the garden at the end of March.



The pellets expand when wet, and then you just drop your seed into them and it grows. Like magic. When you are ready to transplant you just put the whole deal into the garden. They are made of coconut husk. Pretty groovy.

We have several heirloom varieties that we are trying this year, mainly because I can't stomach the idea of giving Monsanto my business, but also because we are making self-sufficiency a goal. It will take a while to achieve it, but if these guys can do it in Pasadena, then we can do it in the Dallas suburbs. One of us is eventually going to have to be the president of the HOA to remove some of the ridiculous restrictions, but for now we're changing what we can, and when nothing is left to change legally, we'll start working on that end of things.

Wow, that's probably more than you wanted to know. How about I start over.

We're planting tomatoes this weekend. The end.

What's your project this weekend? Post the link to your Weekend Warrior post so we can come encourage you. Please link directly to your post and not your blog, and then edit that post with your follow up pictures. That will make it easy for everyone to find your entire project.




Get to work, Warriors!

Labels: Gardening, Weekend Warriors

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Thomas Jefferson

I thought I'd throw a twist into the Meal Plan Monday thing by telling you what we ate last week, along with some tips/critiques about the meals. Maybe it will be a little more useful to you that way. Or you can laugh at my folly. Which is likely. Just don't do it to my face.

So here we go ... last week's menu.

Saturday
breakfast - oatmeal
lunch - lunch at Dickey's BBQ; this is a recurring theme because KIDS EAT FREE!
potluck dinner with friends - I made tortilla casserole and this was a delicious and easy dish. I had never made it before, and the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce gave it a yummy flavor. The link is Cook's Illustrated, so if you want the recipe and you don't subscribe, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Plus, I'm getting all crazy and experimental with it and making soup this week instead of cooking it in a casserole.

I'm nutty like that.

Sunday
breakfast - toast and jelly
lunch - at Petra after church, our favorite interior Mexican food restaurant
dinner - Superbowl snacks at a friend's party

Monday
breakfast - french toast and sausage
lunch - leftover tortilla casserole
dinner - grilled sausage with caramelized onions and marinara sauce on big bread (that's what we call french bread around here)

Tuesday
breakfast - biscuits with honey
lunch - leftover sausage
dinner - takeout pizza (Bud was out of town and I don't cook so much when he's gone)

Wednesday
breakfast - cinnamon toast and bacon
lunch - buttered noodles with veggies
dinner - at Bud's mom's house

Hmmm. It doesn't seem like I actually cooked that much this week. How come I was ALWAYS in the kitchen?

Thursday
breakfast - cold cereal
lunch - ham sandwiches
dinner - baked ziti - this is a GREAT recipe, however, as I assembled it I began to realize just how large a portion of my grocery bill went to the ingredients for it. And doesn't it seem that one should be able to make a meatless dish of pasta, sauce and cheese with some seasonings without sacrificing a child's college education? I am going to try this again soon, substituting some of the more expensive ingredients and see what I can get.

Crappy pasta probably.

Friday
breakfast - cold cereal; there was quite an uproar that not only did my children have to eat cold cereal, they had to do it two days in a row. Poor things.
lunch - leftover ziti
dinner - chili and cornbread. Now this recipe turned out really well. And it prompts me to share an embarrassing story with you. I am occasionally a sucker for marketing. Actually, it's pretty rare, but sometimes I fall for a good marketing plan.

In the fall of 2007, when the air was just getting crisp...scratch that. We don't get crisp air in Texas. When Texans were imagining crisp air, I went to the grocery store. And there on display was a beverage that I was sure would transport me into a world of brightly colored trees, cozy sweaters, and crunching leaves under my feet.

Pumpkin Ale.

I excitedly brought it home and didn't even unload the groceries before I opened a bottle from my six pack.

In my life I'm not sure I've ever been so disappointed in a purchase. It was disgusting.

Which is why, up until last week, I still had 5 of the nasty brews in my refrigerator.

Then I made chili. And the chili turned out good!



I certainly wouldn't purchase this for making chili, but if you have it on hand, it turns out pretty good.

In my chili recipe I also used a 27 oz. can of pinto beans and 1 lb. of ground buffalo instead of 2 lbs of ground beef. Plus, I cut the chili powder by about half. One third cup of chili powder would scar my children for life. But I bet it would be good with it in there.

Enjoy the recipes. And, I'm always looking for good suggestions and recipes, so leave 'em if you got 'em.

Labels: Cooking

Okay everybody, it's Friday. Time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

For us it's a busy weekend. Peyton has play practice in the morning, then she and Bud have the Daddy/Daughter Dance tomorrow evening. That means much of the afternoon will be taken up with primping, etc. It takes a lot of work to get Bud ready for a date.

On Sunday after church, a local organization is holding a Cut-a-thon to benefit a children's clinic here in town. If you are in the North Dallas area, you should participate. It's quite a deal and for a good cause, too. And, let me tell you that it could not be more timely for this shaggy family. Those hairstylists may rethink being so charitable after they are done with us.

And finally, on Sunday evening we host our Bible study. The best night of my week.

So it's a busy weekend, but not completely jam-packed. During the inbetween times I plan to install toe kicks.



Also, at some point in the weekend, I intend to get that game of Sleeping Queens put away. That might be shooting too high, though.

So what about you? Add your link here on Mr. Linky so we can see what you are going to be up to. I know I'll come by and give you a hiney kickencourage you to get to work. I bet there are others like me who would love to be inspired by your projects.

Please be sure to link to the specific post instead of to the main page of your blog. That will not only make it easier today, but in a few months when someone wants to see how you faux-painted your dining room, it will be alot easier to find.

Update: Finally I got on Blogger. It was being mean to me. We had a full weekend and completed our list. The toekicks are in:



You'll notice the Sleeping Queens have been put to bed.

Rimshotthankyouverymuch.

The plan is to install toekick drawers and a pullout stepstool by the baking area (for Peyton) and use the toekicks as drawerfronts. But that's probably a summer project. I just need to get the place looking put together right now. Translation, I'm tired pressing my face against the floor and the base of the cabinets to reach all the stuff that rolls under there. It's getting old.

Bud was also a Warrior this weekend:



Please ignore the green sponge. It's not even there. It's your imagination.

He installed the casing around both pantry doors, and the hallway to the laundry area. AFter a few pieces of baseboard are in place it'll be time for filling/sanding/painting and it's really going to start to look finished.

Be sure to check out Dy's link below and see her fabulous futon!

I hope you join us next weekend and be a Weekend Warrior!



And don't forget to comment after you leave your link! Happy Warrioring!

Labels: Kitchen remodel, Weekend Warriors

This post is part of Randi's Recipe Box Swap!

After you're done here, go check out some of the other great recipes!

Over on the GSCI post, Dy suggested that perhaps I left out a unit on lard. I totally get that Dy is embracing the whole Alabama thing, and that shortening or lard is often used to make a nice flaky pie crust.

But we don't do lard around here. We just don't do lard.

I'm sorry, Dy.

Like Dy, though, I did have my concerns about the whole pie crust thing. You want it flaky, not crumbly, and lard or vegetable shortening are a surefire way of making it flake.

The thing is they don't taste like butter. And if you want to know my philosophy of cooking it goes something like this:

Make it taste like butter.

So, if you are like me, and not prepared to forgo the butter for the flake, I present to you the Best Pie Crust Evah, in which you shall have both.


When you make pastry with butter, the key is keeping it cold. When rolled out, the cold butter makes layers of sheets between the dry ingredients. Like little sheets of happiness. If you let the butter get warm, it will just melt into the dry ingredients and you'll have a tough crumbly crust. Keep your butter cold!

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes and chilled
6 tablespoons sour cream

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, and combine till mixed. Add the butter, and mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Now you want to chill your mixture for about 15 minutes to keep that butter cold.

Add the sour cream to the mixture and mix until the dough comes together in the bowl. Gather the dough into a ball and knead it several times on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two pieces and form each into a disk about an inch or so thick.

Now wrap it up and chill it for 30 minutes up to a few days.

You can make this in a food processor, being careful not to over process the mixture - stop at that coarse meal stage. You can also do it by hand with a pastry cutter thing or two knives. I can't do that. I stink at that.

This makes two pie crusts. So you should make two pies and send one to me.

It's Works for me Wednesday and today I'm wondering about chores and allowance.

My 10 yr old and 8 yr old have always had chores. But I've been of the mindset that you don't get paid for chores, you do them because you are part of this family. You also get some spending cash because you are part of this family. But Bud has a different opinion and we've recently changed over to a chore-based allowance system. It's still in the early stages, but working pretty well. It just needs some fine-tuning I think.

The thing is, I can barely get my own chores done. What do I know?

The basics:

• Everyone has to keep their own room tidy, fold and put away their own clothes, and generally be responsible for their own messes. The payment for these chores is room and board. Also, no getting paid for other chores if these things aren't taken care of to the boss's satisfaction. Lucky for them she's not really that particular.



• The following chores are mandatory:
  
  
  
  • setting the table for dinner
  • clearing the table after dinner
  • keeping the bathrooms tidy with full soap dispensers, clean hand towels and tp on the roll (setting it on the back of the toilet tank does NOT count)
  • keeping Romy's toys organized
  • cleaning out Mom's diet coke cans from the minivan
  • keeping the media room tidy
  • keeping the gameroom tidy
  • keeping the front porch tidy
  
  
  
• At the beginning of the week each child chooses four of the chores and is responsible for them all week.



• Both kids are required to work in the yard and garden as part of their daily chores.



• The above is all mandatory. If they want to earn more, they can ask for additional jobs for more cash.



• Ten percent of their earning must go to church and an additional 10% must go to long term savings. We will match anything they save or give over that initial 10%. Unless they become particularly frugal or philanthropic, then they'll learn that parents aren't to be trusted.

So we're off to a slow start. Things are being forgotten. They are learning what needs to be done. But it's getting smoother.

I'm wondering: How old are your kids and what chores do they do? Do they get paid for chores or just for being in the household? What do you expect for your children to pay for with their money?

---

Don't forget to come by this Friday for



I'll put a Mr. Linky up on Friday morning so you can link us to your blog and we can read about your weekend plans. That way we can follow one another's progress and encourage eachother over the weekend. I can't wait to see what creative and talented things you'll be getting done this weekend!

Labels: My Troubled Children, Weekend Warriors, Works for me Wednesday

Well, we got the doors up. You'll have to use your imagination here, because I'm showing you a lot more of the kitchen than I intended to this early on, but the doors are so cool I couldn't help myself.



We have quite a few things left on our punch list.

1. Install trim molding around the openings of the pantry doors
2. Install the toekicks. After I remove all the produce.
3. Install lighting. It was a sad day today when I received my pendants for over the island and the breakfast table. They looked like disco balls.


I had to send them back.

4. Install lighting on the open shelves - you can't see it from this picture but it's on the end of the kitchen to the right of the picture.
5. Change all the outlets and light switches from white to black. Very poor planning that.
6. Install some filler pieces in the cabinetry, above the fridge and below the cooktop.
7. Install side panels on the cabinets flanking the hood.
8. Install backsplash. Nine weeks and counting.

Now don't forget to get ready for this weekend! It's the comeback of





Plan out your projects and get your before pictures taken. Then you will have no excuse but to get 'er done.