my blessed life

Longhorn Soup: it's the easiest soup you'll ever make and so delicious! Longhorn Soup (from my friend Ashley) 1 lb. ground round, browned & drained 2 cans beans (I prefer black beans) 2 cans Progresso minestrone (or 3 cans of Campbell's minestrone) 1 can mixed vegetables 1 can stewed tomatoes 1 can tomatoes w/green chilies Cavender's Greek seasoning, to taste ~~~~~ In a large stock pot or a crock pot, combine the ground beef with all of the canned vegetables. Mix well, then sprinkle desired amount of Greek seasoning into mixture and stir well again. Heat through and serve.  Goes great with cornbread!

I know this may not be the most glamourous of meals, but it is truly comfort food! I've been making it so long, I can't even remember where I got the recipe. I do know that it's written down on a collection of cards that I had to do for a home ec. class my senior year of high school. So that means I've been making this one for over 20 years now! (Am I really that old?!? lol!). Anyway, this is definitely a family favorite! It's economical, too. And let me preface this by saying: I do this one from memory and I am quite *free* with the amounts of butter and Worcestershire sauce that I use. Don't be shy about embelishing the measurements! Enjoy ! Hamburgers Diane 2 Tbls. butter 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 small onion, sliced 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper ~~~~~ Melt butter in large skillet; add Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, onion and mushrooms. Cook and st...

Just wanted to show you what we did with some of our crayon hearts : I used double-sided sticky foam to apply them to the cards. They turned out really cute! The kiddos are so excited to give them to their friends. These are the silhouette cards that we made for our family (so if you're a family member reading this...STOP NOW!!:). Yesterday was a busy day of Valentine-making! Today we're moving onto to Valentine cookies.... This is linked to Show & Tell at There Is No Place Like Home .

I've been wanting to try this little project for quite a while now! I can't even remember where I first saw it, although since then I've seen it several places. I used to throw away the broken bits of crayons from the kiddos' crayola box, but recently I've started saving them all whenever I clean out their box. This is a great way to recycle those broken pieces! First, take your broken crayon pieces and strip all of the paper off. Cut them down into smaller bits if they aren't already small enough. Next, preheat your oven to 175F. Then take your old muffin tin (or line one that you plan to still cook in with foil papers). I found this heart silicone pan on clearance at Michael's and it worked GREAT! You can also use candy or soap molds. Fill each slot with an inch-thick layer of crayons. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crayons are melted. Allow the crayons to cool completely, then pop out and grab some coloring books!

Last week while we were in Arkansas the weather really warmed up! We decided to take advantage and head to the city park. It was a nice change of pace! There were swings to swing on and stretch our legs (I still love to swing, don't you?!). There were some monkey bars to monkey around on. I thought the moon looked so cool in these shots. There was the lake to see. The kiddos looked so cute here. We headed over the top of the dam at the end of the lake for a walk through the wooded area. The Princess loves to *strike a pose* for the camera (I can so remember doing that, too:). Mr. B stumbled and got a *boo boo*. We saw a beautiful heron in the water. We got too close for his comfort and I caught him taking off. The kiddos had a great time with their Aunt Kari. The weather here in Alabama is still unseasonably warm. Has your weather been strangely warm for this time of the year, and if so,how have you been enjoying it? I'd love to hear about it!

Yesterday we were able to go to Tulsa to meet our new nephew (or cousin, depending on who you're talking to). He's such a sweetie!

I'm so happy to be back to planning my dinners this week. I've actually missed it--is that weird, or what?! I guess I just like my routine--probably because we've been out of ours for what seems like forever and we need to get back to it! I did my planning while I was away this week, so it's all from memory as to what's in my freezer, pantry, etc. But there's a grocery run in order anyway, in case I forgot about something. Monday: pizza night Tuesday: cheese manicotti, salad Wednesday: hamburgers Diane, twice-baked potatoes Thursday: chicken fajitas, rice Friday: Small Group Night (soup & salad) sesame almond salad Saturday: Valentine's Day --hot date with my hubby!! Sunday: Marlboro Man sandwiches & onion strings How about YOU ? What's on your dinner menus this week? Do you like to go out for Valentine's day or do you cook a romantic meal at home? If you need inspiration, just check out I'm an Organizing Junkie .