Z

Z is for Zella!

So I found this adorable Z in Hobby Lobby and thought about my friend DeAnna out in Las Vegas.  I immediately knew what I wanted to do with this!  I thought it would be a cute decoration for her little girl, Zella, for her room.  I modge podged the heck out of it with a scrapbook paper that says things like "Star" and "Follow Your Dreams".  Sweet Zella is going to be an amazing young woman and is loved by so many!  My hope for her is that she follows her dreams and her heart just like her sweet Mama! 

I can't wait to send this to her Mama!

- Julia

Delicious Mini-Meatloaf

I made this adorable mini meatloaf dish for my family last week and they loved it.  It was pretty easy.  As far as the sauce I just mixed the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard to my desired taste.  When I make these again, I want to try some different barbecue sauces we have at home.  

Here is the recipe and the pictures are below!  This recipe is from MyBlessedLife.

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 c. cheese
• 1/2 c. oats
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t. salt
• 1 lb. ground beef
• ketchup, mustard, raw sugar {or brown sugar}

Before you get started, preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray a muffin pan.

In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, cheese, oats, oregano, onion powder, garlic and salt.  Add ground beef and mix well.  {Take off your rings and mix with your fingers.}

Evenly divide the meat mixture in muffin pan.  This recipe makes approximately 10 mini meatloaves.  In a small bowl, mix ketchup, a tad of mustard and a teaspoon of sugar.  Evenly divide the glaze over each mini meatloaf.

Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until meat is done.

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Do-It-Yourself FUN!

SO much FUN! :)

For New Years this year I decided to make some do-it-yourself fun photo lips and "staches"!  They turned out great and my family are AWESOME sports!

I downloaded the free printables from "CatchMyParty"!  Loved them! :)  My cousin is coming into town in the morning and I am totally going to get her and her hubby to take a "stache" pic! :)  Have an awesome weekend everybody! 

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I love this recipe from "MommyInCharge"!  Follow her link for instructions!   One thing I really liked is that she mentions freezing the extra soup into "toddler" size servings for later so I decided to do that!  I made a batch, froze it in muffin pans and hen put the "pucks" of soup in freezer safe containers to take to work.  I had it for lunch today and it was delish! :)  Four muffin sized servings make for an excellent lunch for an adult! :)

DIY Jewelry Organizer by my sis, Jennifer

One of my most favorite gifts from this holiday season was a jewelry organizer that my sister, Jennifer, created for me!  Here it is all hung up and I love it!  We used some S hooks to hang the necklaces and at the left top corner I hung up one of my most precious show gifts from Beauty and the Beast, made by Rick and Kim from the beautiful fabric that Belle's dress was made out of!  Could you see yourself making something like this?

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

I am really having fun with this whole cooking kick!  Let's hope it lasts!  Here is a recipe that I cooked for New Years Eve dinner!

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

I chose some veggies to add and in hindsight I would cut up the zucchini differently next time. They were a little mushy for my taste but got the bro-in-law seal of approval!  (But he's pretty awesome, so he would support my efforts as a budding chefanista! (my word by the way) :)

I hope you enjoy it!

Julia

Barbecue Chicken

I am working on a blog about the yummy pork tenderloin dish I made for New Years' Eve dinner, quick chicken soup and a make-up magnetic frame I am working on.  In the meantime I will share this quick Barbecue Chicken recipe I made for the fam today.  Have a wonderful start to 2012!


I love using the crockpot.  We needed a quick recipe so I borrowed this one from "Stick A Fork in It".

The only thing I did differently was that I added carrots, red potatoes and onions on top of the chicken.

Here is the recipe:

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (I threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. 

Enjoy!

Julia