In my kitchen...

I was thinking today how my best investment ever has been my Sunbeam bread machine. I got it about two years ago from amazon.com for $35 and it has saved hundreds of dollars! Now it's double that price, but to be honest, I'd still pay it. I make bread, yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls, and have even made jam. Honestly the jam was a bit of a waste because it didn't make that much and we go through jam like crazy in our household. Anyway, yesterday was a full day of cooking and baking.

First off, I made some chili soup, which is yummy and full of fiber. I didn't have macaroni noodles but did have fideos so that's what I used and it worked just fine! I did also add some cayenne pepper to give it a bit of a kick. I've decided that weekly, I'm going to make a big container of soup to eat for lunch. Lunch has always been my downfall. I'm generally good during breakfast and mostly during dinner, but lunch has always been difficult. I sometimes wait too late to eat therefor when I finally get a chance to eat, I scarf down whatever I can and it's not good so I'm determined to eat some healthy soups. Of course healthy is the key here. There are tons of soups out there that are the equivalent of eating a cheeseburger with fries so I'm sure to look for good soups.

Then I made some buttery yeast rolls BUT...made them for cinnamon rolls. Now I know that's not healthy but I wanted to try them and wanted to make some for my husband to take to work. They turned out pretty good for my first time I must say but after putting the mixture of butter, sugar and cinnamon was very dirty. The yeast rolls are very fluffy and are meant to roll into balls to rise again, but I tried to roll them out which was okay but after rolling them up and then cutting them, my counter, knife, and myself were terribly dirty. That being said, they turned out to be pretty good for my first time.

After that I finally made my meatloaf. This was recommended by a friend and they turned out yummy! I did what my friend Dori suggested and invested in a good muffin pan. Wilton I believe and I'm really glad that I did. I had about two pounds of ground beef, a box of Stove Top Stuffing (chicken flavor), and egg and about 3/4 cup of milk. I mix it all up and made it into little balls then patted them down into my muffin pans. I had too much meat mixture to fit into the twelve slots so I got my little muffin pan that has six and three fit in there. I was going to make creamed spinach to go along with it but was too tired and time was not on my side so I just made green beans and mashed potatoes. Obviously we had too a lot of leftovers so today, I'm going to make homemade hamburger buns and use those little mini meatloaves and make sliders with french fries.

Sad

It amazes me how silly I can really be at times. Especially when it comes to death. If someone dies that I haven't seen in a while, I am of course instantly sad when I first hear the news, but when I hang up the phone, I kind of go about my business thinking of that person and when I last saw them. In my mind, they're not gone and it's not real. To me, they're hundreds of miles away doing their thing and I'm doing mine, the way it's been done since the last time I saw them. That is until I actually see the obituary. Then, it becomes real and the sadness becomes real.

A family friend that I have known literally all my life lost her husband, Ricardo Torres, Jr. Monday. He was too young, she was too young, it's just terribly tragic. 41 years old is too young to have to plan a funeral for your husband. 41 years old is too young to die. Ricardo was married to my sisters best friend, Melissa. As I said, I've known Missy all my life and wanted to be like her when I was younger (still do lol). She met Ricardo and they married in 1995. He was a great compliment to Missy because she always had and still has a great smile with perfect teeth, just like my sister. He had an equally wonderful smile and was just a decent guy with a calming demeanor. I really cannot imagine the loss that is felt by Missy and their families and I pray for them.

May our brother in Christ finally be at peace and may the Lord accept him with open arms.

Sittin' pretty

Finally, at 11:29pm I'm sitting down to "relax". Is relaxation even something we moms are able to do? I'm watching a Young & the Restless episode on DVR and trying to think what else I can do to tweak my latest English Chinese Curry recipe attempt. This one was pretty good, but definitely needs room for improvement, as with anything. You really have no idea how difficult it is to get an English style recipe for food that's not English if you get what I'm saying. We haven't been to London in about 4 years and that's the longest we've gone so naturally my husband starts missing his comfort foods. I naturally want to make him comfortable so in I go giving it the old college try.

He was gracious in his review and gave me some great constructive criticism which I already knew about the recipe but needed confirmation in his critique. I didn't have the luxury of curry paste so I had to make my own. I had a bit of coconut milk, curry powder, ground tumeric, ground cardamom seeds and a bit of cinnamon. Next time I will definitely add some honey for the sweetness and I did add some flour to thicken up the sauce. I didn't cook any veggies with this, well other than the peas that were in the recipe, but I will definitely cook some veggies. Birdseye Asian Medley is delicious and would go great with it.

I think I could probably eat Asian or Indian food every night of the week so finding new recipes is a must!

Tomorrow is my final day in the Amish friendship starter bag so I can make some yummy Amish bread. I have to say I'm really taking to cooking, especially from scratch. I don't see the need to buy anything prepackaged because it's a waste of money and definitely doesn't taste as good. In fact, a lot of the time it tastes like what it is...processed.

Speaking of bread, I'm having difficulties with my Amish white bread splitting. I found an awesome website with some great tips and I can't wait to try them. I think I'll probably be cooking a lot tomorrow...again.

As for dinner, I have no idea what will be on the agenda tomorrow. Since I plan on baking a lot, I may as well do a meat loaf, something easy. A dear friend of mine came over for dinner Saturday night and brought some mini meatloaves made with milk, egg, and stove top stuffing in 2lbs of ground beef. It was some of the yummiest meatloaf I've ever had. I usually make an Italian meatloaf but for a more traditional meatloaf, this hit the spot. I made this with a corn/cream cheese concoction (again, another friend recipe). It was a quick, easy, yet yummy dinner so I think that's what will be on tomorrows agenda.

Hey good lookin...

What am I cookin'? I used to listen to Anthony Bourdain and thought that Rachael Ray was a lame chef/cook whatever you want to call her. Bourdain might know a lot about cooking, and food, but does he know how it is to cook a yummy meal on a budget with a toddler running around? Probably not. I was recently in a slump and had Food Network on TV and Rachael Ray was on. I admit her voice is a little annoying but I thought, what the hey...I'm gonna check her out. SO...I watched her and lo and behold she had an awesome recipe that used pretty much everything I had. Mind you, this is when I was watching my friends kids and I wanted to make something healthy and good, something I'd want my son to eat if he was at someones house. Anyway...she had this recipe and I made this simply by watching what was on her show.

Mind you...I didn't do the whole thing verbatim. I substituted the white wine with chicken stock, and I made instant mashed potatoes minus the apples and brie. For one, I didn't have brie and I didn't add the apples because I didn't have apples LOL. But I followed everything else the way it was written. I got glowing reviews from all at the table and it was a very simple dish. And yes...I am a Rachael Ray fan now.

And on to everyday life...I have been super busy training for a new position with Westathome. If anyone is looking to work from home, feel free to click on that link and check it out. Now that I work at home, lots of people are asking me how I do it and that is how! It's wonderful that companies like these give moms like me an opportunity to actually DO some work from home so we can be home with our little ones. I remember being small and wishing my mom stayed home with me and sometimes faking sick just to be home with her. I know she did what they had to do and I appreciate it all but I have always wanted to stay home and be with my kiddo no matter what age he is and now that he's going to start school, I feel it's double important that I am here when he gets home. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to bring in much needed money AND be home for my son. No one to answer to if he gets sick or just needs extra attention and NO office politics!!

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to help any way I can.

MAMA DRAMA!!

Okay, for anyone who has been following the Real Housewives series, you KNOW how much drama they have! Well right now, I'm following two LOL ( Call me a Housewive Whore) and Holy Estrogen Batman...these chicks will fight and argue over ANYTHING!! I swear a chicken wouldn't walk on all those eggshells they've got set up!

I don't think I could ever live like that and have those "friends". Seriously, this is why I enjoy having the friends I do, because you don't have to walk on eggshells or be scared every little thing is gonna piss them off and you certainly don't have to be worried they're gonna call you out in front of a crowd! LOL Oy vey....for some reason Jill Zarin comes to mind. I'm happy in my little middle class neighborhood and yes it sucks to not be able to spend $20,000 on a shopping spree but I'd take Target any day over Saks if it means I can have real friends and real relationships!

I started posting something about this yesterday but had to promptly shut down my computer because of some nasty storms we got. I found a JOB!! Like a JOB JOB, like one where I'm hired and stuff! I still have my gig with LiveOps but I found one with more stable income and I'm so excited! I'm telling anyone who will listen!! WWW.WOMENFORHIRE.COM is awesome!! They have a lot of legitimate work at home jobs and some have small fees but none will ask you to give a considerable amount of money (to me, a considerable amount is over $100) and I have found great success with them. I'm always hearing women talk about how they'd love a work at home job and then nothing happens...well you can work at home if you don't look!!! Anyway...I'm off to make my coffee, my day is just getting started and I foresee Sams Wholesale Club in my future.

Life in general

I was in such a slump the last few weeks and I am slowly forcing my way out of it. I'm really not meant to stay indoors for a long period of time, so this is unusual for me. A few great things that came out of this is I have been cooking like a champ, which my husband is super happy of and I've also been able to work some (although not enough) but now I'm ready to venture out in the the world of the living!

I have Simon's fourth birthday coming up next week which should be fun. My whole family is coming in to celebrate with us and of course we'll have a fabulous cake made from our own cake baker. I have to be honest, I'm not much of a child's party planner. I tend to forget things and someone always has to pick up my slack, but not this year! This year I'm making it simple and orchestrated. My husband and I agreed on a date ahead of time and agreed on the menu. What's on the menu? Hot Dogs, Chips, and cake. That's it. I'm slowly learning the people don't always judge you and what you give them, they'll likely accept and with pleasure! I know if I were to go to a party (and I have) with just hot dots and potato chips, I've been as happy as a clam and so has Simon!! So why in the world in my mind, do I feel the need to have a buffet of food and then I get so overwhelmed I do nothing?!? Not this year, I'm finally realizing that it's okay to have something simple yet delicious and that the parties are for the kiddos and to stop being so self conscious! It's a party, a celebration and I'm sure people will just have fun when their kiddos are having fun ;o) And the cake...ahh the cake. That is surly the piece de resistance! I'll be sure to post a picture of this masterpiece before it's completely devoured.

So what's in store for today? Making a traditional English roast. Roast beef, steamed brussell sprouts, carrots, peas and zuccini with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding and for dessert? Custard pie!! My family will certainly be happy as will I!

Other than that, I'm gonna lay low. I went out with some friends last night to just have a couple of beers and relax. It was REALLY nice to be able to go somewhere that wasn't a grocery store or run errands and it was especially good not to have to worry about anyone but yourself. I LOVE being a mom but sometimes you just need those down time with friends that you can just hang with and not have to worry about stepping on toes or pissing off.

Ugg...how do you say "I'm sorry" enough?

My apologies to my readers (even if there is only 1 or 2 LOL). I have been a super BAD blogger. I'm sorry!! Life has been happening and what can I say? I had to deal with it. There has been A LOT going on in my life right now and it's been pretty hectic, crazy, exciting, and tiring to say the least. First off...my mother in law left back to the UK. It was a sad couple of days for me and I cried like the big baby that I am and had to learn a new routine so I did. I have to keep in mind that she will return and we'll go and see her, I just really hate goodbyes.

Okay so then...I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!! It's a work at home job which is awesome because I never have to leave my house (like I do a lot anyway *rolls eyes*). I just go upstairs to my office, sign on and start working. It can be done. I hear a lot of people say that they wish the could find a job where they can work at home and there really is NO SECRET, you CAN find one if you truly want to!! I work for a company called LiveOps and so far so good. I won't go too much into detail as I'm sure there are some confidentiality rules to it but I can say that it is a great way for a SAHM like myself to earn some real money and never have to leave your kiddies.

I'm very fortunate enough to have met some great women & men on there that have helped me tremendously and are true inspirations. Some earn a little, others earn a lot, it all depends on YOU and what you want for yourself and your family. As of this moment, I'm earning a substantial amount but plan on working more when my son goes to school in August. I work some nights and weekends while my husband can look after Simon and it seems to work well for us. I really wanted to contribute, pay off some debt, save some money for vacations or emergencies and just have something to do and this has really been a God send.

Okay and what more? Well I've been baking my own bread since about March. I bake about two to four loaves a week (sometimes more, sometimes less) and it's been a real money saver. Not to mention the wonderful taste and smell that only homemade bread can bring. I know what the ingredients are and feel great about giving it to my family. I have been dabbling in bread making for about 2 years now and never found a recipe that worked for me. FINALLY, one of my good friends gave me this recipe that kicked ass! *Shout out to Dori!* And since then, no more store bought bread for us. I use my bread machine of course, but I just use that for the dough bit and I roll out the dough when it's finished, and put it in bread pans and bake it. Wanna know this recipe you say? It's Amish White Bread and it's delicious. If you're looking for a way to save some $$, make healthier foods for your family and want something delicious, try this! I do make some very slight modifications so if you want to know just let me know and I can give you my little mods.

Family is all good, the boy is growing every day and is using words I never thought I'd hear him say. Like "Mom, that man is awesome!!". He's really into super heros these days and his birthday is coming up so fast I can't even wrap my head around it. He'll be 4 years old! Where did the time go? I love him more and more each day and can't imagine what life would be like without him to brighten up my life. He's truly a blessing which makes me so glad that we named him after an Apostle.

On a sad note, my dear grandmother Francis is not doing so well. She's had some issues with falling a lot lately and this last fall really took her out. She's a very strong woman and has held on with all her might through congestive heart failure, a blood infection, AND pneumonia. She's doing okay right now but is a bit confused but she's amazing held on tight and still fighting! We keep her in our prayers every night and pray that she pulls through this tough period.

Anyway...I gotta cut my boys hair (another money saver). I've been cutting it since he was a year old but now that he's getting older, I need to brush up on my technique so I'm watching a Youtube video of how to cut hair and I have to say it's pretty cool!

Till next time friends! And I promise I will try not to let next time come sometime in the fall!