mmmMonday!

14 Monday Jan 2013

Hey Friends. How was your weekend? Ours was fun. Our Friday night adventure was a little trip to a very small neighboring town. They have a little fish house there, by the river. It was wonderfully quaint. Right up my…~~dirt road~~…alley. Just a really great time with family. Saturday had a DIY project thrown in. ( I will show you later in the week.) Sunday was a wonderful day of worship and relaxation. Blessings abound and I am very thankful. So…that brings us to mmmMonday! Are you ready? I sure am. mmmMonday! is helping me get fired back up in the foodie department. 🙂 I was feeling a little bored in my kitchen and that is NEVER good at our house.

So last week was our very first mmmMonday! post. That night when I had my plate fixed I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture for you guys. Isn’t that nice? Yeah…I know…that is just how I am. 🙂 Anyway, I am trying to lighten up our meals a tad after all of that holiday food, and this was what I came up with. It was very good. To give credit…where credit is due, I saw a version of this in my Food Network magazine. (One of my little treats to myself. Love…lovity…love that magazine.)

So, this is so easy. No recipe required…because it’s really just “each to his own.” I grabbed some steak out of the freezer and cooked it in the iron skillet. Season with whatever you like. I did freshly cracked pepper, salt and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. After I cooked the steak I let it rest a tad and then sliced it against the grain. We ate ours on a bed of spinach with feta cheese. Other toppings: grape tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, cucumbers and onion. Ranch dressing was a must with my bunch, even though I am known to go with vinaigrette, more often than not.

I hope that you have a wonderful mmmMonday! out there. May your Monday night supper be wonderful and relaxing, Dirt Roaders. You deserve it after a busy day.

Really now?

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by Kelli in everyday stuff

≈ 6 Comments

I am hanging my head in shame. Not really, but I kinda feel like it. Today, I am going to share with you, my sweet Dirt Roaders, something ridiculous. It is our glass and cup collection. Really now? A family of five need a bazillion and a half drinking glasses and cups? Please tell me that we are joking. It’s nuts!

(These pictures are not the greatest because it was evening…but you will…um…get the picture. I know…I just winced.)

It will be so nice to unload the dishwasher and not have to fit the glasses in like puzzle pieces!

To our credit…we are big drinkers. Hiccup. I’m keeding….I’m keeding…not that kind of drinkers. Like…sweet tea (Mine with Splenda please.) and other yummy things. The occasional cup of coffee and milk for our Oreos. We sound awful. We are not. We try to be a little more healthy than we sound. 😉 I do have to say that I usually have a glass filled with some kind of icy, refreshing, sweetness sitting on the kitchen counter. (Are we thirsty yet? I’m getting cotton mouth just blogging about it.)

(I lost my edited version somewhere...pretend my badge is on there. ;) ) Sheesh...look at all the cups!

(I lost my edited version somewhere…pretend my badge is on there.) Sheesh…look at all of those cups and glasses and doesn’t include stemware!

Really though…that does not mean that we need all of these cups and glasses. Remember when I mentioned the January Purge to you? Well…it has happened at our house. Our first major phase. It is wonderful. I do have to say, that my Mr. did the boxing up while I was cooking pancakes and bacon and eggs. He asked if things got to stay or had to go. It’s so easy for him. (I spied those little Tupperware tumblers that our babies used to drink their milk out of at snack time…but I left them in the box. *sniff) While this was going on, I was consoling myself in my mind, that they would still be in the basement in the box. Get a grip woman!

ahhhhh……simplicity helps me breathe.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, Dirt Roadikins. (My spell check doesn’t recognize “Roadikins” and suggests goatskins. I would never call you Dirt Goatskins.) May you squeeze your loved ones extra and make wonderful memories…over glasses of sweet tea!

p.s. Mother-in-Law…if you are reading this…thank you for going to the nursing home with me on visitation yesterday. You seemed pretty comfortable there. That makes me feel better. 😉 (I’m keeding…I’m keeding!)

Burn…baby burn!

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Kelli in livin' a little healthy

≈ 4 Comments

Hey ya! How is it going? It’s Thurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsday! 😉 (I know…I know. It says Wednesday at the top…because I’m writing this to you on the night before. 😉 ) Aren’t ya glad. I thought so. So…burn…baby burn? I know….I know. Strange. I just thought that I would share my little aloe vera plant with you today. She is so cute. She deserves her moment of stardom.

When I was a kid, it seemed like mom always kept an aloe plant around. When I was seventeen I had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic and wound up with hives. The only thing that would help, in the middle of the night, was to rub that goop out of the aloe plant on the rash. If you have never had hives…count your blessings. I don’t EVER want to go through that again. So…the aloe, has a special little place in my heart.

About a year or so ago, our pastor’s wife gave me a little aloe vera plant. I was so excited. I know, for me, it’s the small things. It has actually done really well. She says that they thrive on neglect. Sounds good to me. 😉

Pretty little aloe.

Are you guys good with house plants? Do they drive you crazy? Were you a kid during the eighties, so they bring back bad memories of hand-made macrame plant hangers and plants that grow all the way around the room? What was up with that anyway? I think that my granny had one like that. It’s kinda sweet if you think about it. Who cares if it’s the in thing or not? See if you can get your plant to grow all the way around the room. She is still excellent with house plants.

I hope that your Thursday is excellent, Dirt Roaders. ~~If you burn yourself…stop by and I will give you a hunk of aloe.~~ Scratch that…just be safe. 😉

Lemon Fresh

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Kelli in fluffin' the nest

≈ 2 Comments

Hey friends. Are you crazy busy cleaning out your pantry and all of your cabinets? Yeah…me neither. Not yet anyway. I had to scrub our bathrooms before I could even think about the other. I will get there though. The January Purge…is always nice. That brings me to Lemon Fresh. It’s a little crazy, what I am getting ready to tell you. Hey…I just promised you a friendly little blog…not a sane one.

This is kinda weird. When everyone else is knee-deep in one season of decor…I am already thinking about the next. It’s not something that I talk about…it’s just the way that my mind works. I don’t go ahead and put it into play, I just keep those ideas in the back of my mind. Soooooooo….while everyone was enjoying their Christmas trees and garland, I was thinking about lemons.

I have these wonderful fake lemons. My friend Shanny actually had some and they were so pretty and so “real” that I needed some too. I just kept thinking about them during the Christmas season. Actually…I kept thinking about the freshness of January and all of the things that I love to incorporate into our home during that month. Clean surfaces are one of the main ones after all of the holiday decor. So the lemons, they kept calling to me from down in the basement: “Kelli, come and get us. Put us in a cloche on your breakfast nook table. Put that topiary in a non-Christmas pot, so we can stay there together.” Okaaaaaaaaay…so that is a little scary. Seriously though…I love the brightness and the freshness. Lemon fresh… just says organized and clean to me.

Beautiful inspiration.

Do you anticipate decorating for the next season? I would love to hear all about it.

Have a wonderful Tuesday, Dirt Roadies. Don’t forget the lemons!

mmmMonday!

07 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by Kelli in Yum for the Tum

≈ 4 Comments

Hello! I’m back. You know…I have been thinking. I have kinda been holding out on you all. I have a confession to make. (You will understand mmmMonday! pronto.)

Hi, my name is Kelli and I am a foodie.

Isn’t this a lovely little ramekin that my friend Jerri gave me?

There. Now you know. 😉 I guess in the midst of home decor and chickens and boxwood I had forgotten to mention to you lovelies just how much I love to cook, shop and read FOOD!!! It’s crazy I know because a friend and I even have a little Facebook page called What’s for Supper? One of my favorite ways to spend my lunch time is with a food magazine. There I am munching and reading and planning meals for my little (so precious) family. So….that brings me to something else.

Do you remember when I mentioned that I wanted to add a bit of structure to the blog? Well this is the first phase. We are going to start having mmmMonday! I thought about doing Foodie Friday…but hey, we all need a little inspiration at the first of the week right? Right!

I may even have to steal a recipe from my MIL once in a while, or Candy (today) or my friend M&M, who is a foodie herself. I might even feature a favorite kitchen gadget along with our recipes. Who knows? We can fly by the seats of our pants…right? I knew that you could do it. 😉

I just want us to grow this year. My goal is to grow spiritually and emotionally and well basically… just in every good direction. We can do that together…right? Of course we can.

While we were partying at Christmas…my cousin’s wife Candy made the MOST awesome Buffalo Chicken Dip. I wanted it to be our first mmmMonday! post. I hope that you enjoy as much as we did.

CANDY’S BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

2 cans of chicken, drained

1 c. of Franks Wing Sauce (original)

cheddar cheese to taste (I just grated as much as I thought we would want.)

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (I just eyeballed this too…maybe like half a cup.)

2 blocks of cream cheese

Directions: Let your cream cheese soften for a bit, then just start mixing everything. Taste….add more of whatever you like. Refrigerate leftovers.

You can serve this dip w/tortilla chips or whatever you like but Ms. Candy serves it with these flat pretzel crisps! YUM! They even come in Buffalo flavor!

*note: The Mr. LOVED this. Your Mr. might too…with Super Bowl parties or whatever coming up.

*note again: (:) ) I love recipes that you can adjust to your own taste. You will find this out on our new little journey. Simple and easy without a lot of fuss…that’s me.

Do you have any appetizers that you want to share? If so, let me know! Have a wonderful mmmMonday! Dirt Roaders. Share some food!

p.s. Candy said that this is delicious served hot too! I would say…pop it in the oven on whatever temp you think..’til it bubbles a little. Use your own judgement…you guys are smart! 😉

Wreathed in Smiles

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Kelli in fluffin' the nest

≈ 8 Comments

Hey guys! I just wanted to check in with you for a bit today. I have something so fun to show you. I actually got it back before Christmas. I was DELIGHTED! Have you been seeing those preserved boxwood wreaths all over blogland? Welllllllllll…..I ordered one for myself. I found this one on the Antique Farmhouse site. Have you all ever checked that out? LOVE IT! All things “farmhouse-y.” Anyway…I will go ahead and show you why I am wreathed in smiles.