Recipe Clean Up!

How fun!!! I spent this month working on my recipes and getting them organized, and WOW! I was able to get rid of ones I never use, share recipes with friends and even use my creative side! First I tackled Brian and I's favorite recipes, quiche. We like them so much, that I decided to make a cookbook dedicated just to quiche.














This is a Close to My Heart 9x9 scrapbook that I made in a class. I had never done anything with it, but this is the perfect opportunity!!















I divided the cookbook into different categories based on the main ingredient and scrapbooked the recipe and a picture of the finished product. Since it is a scrapbook, I have lots of room to expand!















After I made our quiche book, I decided to tackle the recipe box. I dumped all my recipes out and started sifting through what I wanted.

I then took all my recipes and rewrote them on matching cards. I have lots of extra so, once again, any future recipes will match. I then put them into the correct categories and alphabetized the categories. The cards I bought had extra tabs, so I made categories of my own such as drinks, spices and even a tab for all my recipes that can be made in a mug!

I filed them in my Longaberger recipe box that has a lip on the top to make it easy to read whatever I am making at the time! Yes, my recipes are also Longaberger, BUT I just loved the daisies!! My basket is clean and concise, fits on the counter easily and even has a lid, that fits, to keep the dust and food particles clean.

I didn't think it necessary to take another picture of the cabinet. I removed all my cookbooks and put them back in depending on main ingredients and topic. I removed the extra stuff sitting on the shelves, and distinguished the categories by tabs. I will admit that I love organization a little too much, but now that it is done, it will be easy to keep up! Best of luck to everyone else in their organizational challenges! I can't wait to find out what next month's challenge is!

Starting to get organized

I realized the other day that I hadn't taken pictures of what I was doing to get my recipes organized, so I did that tonight..

Here is my cabinet of Pillsbury cookbooks - one of my favoritesHere is my pathetic attempt of keeping a recipe boxAs you can see I have printed recipes stuck everywhere

Recipes are a true passion of mine, so I joined an organizational group to get mine organized. I have them stuck everywhere, as you can see. I am working on this with a group on the Organizing Junkies blog. Feel free to jump in, and if you want some great tips and techniques, this is the blog to go to! Have fun and I will keep you posted on my progress!

Dinner and a Movie

I figured my hubby and I had reason to celebrate tonight... He is getting to go back to work on Monday. Scary I know, but something I am dealing with. Anyway, I had a Chicken helper in the cabinet that I had decided to fix, and I also knew that I had an abundance of potatoes in the house. I decided to make potatoes graten and a fun 5 minute mug cake recipe that I had received from my sister. She sells Longaberger, which their pottery is oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe, so I thought, why not! We don't keep sweets in the house since I would eat them if they were here, and this makes one mug at a time - win-win situation..

As I was finishing dinner I thought we might put a movie in and get out some of the "good stuff". In our house, the good stuff is juice from the Post Families Winery in Arkansas. Very Yummy - our favorite is the Altus and the Muscadine. I even got out the stemware! We watched Diffidently, Maybe and cuddled on the couch.

It was a great, cheap night and we did it all at home. I thought it might be fun to share some of these mug recipes that I have... another thing I need to get organized!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (more like a brownie)
4 T. Sugar
4T. all-purpose flour
2 T. cocoa
1 Egg
3 T. Milk
3 T. oil
3 T. Chocolate Chips, optional
Small splash of Vanilla

Add dry ingredients to a mug and mix well.
Add egg and mix thoroughly
Pour in milk and oil and mix well again
Add the chocolate chips, if using, and vanilla and mix for the last time.

Put in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but it is okay. Allow to cool a little - we like ours with vanilla ice cream!

Hope you enjoy this fun little recipe.. I will post the other mug recipes that I have in the coming weeks!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Brian and I had a beautiful evening... he took me to the Gilloiz for a big screen showing of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. She is my favorite and I loved seeing her on the big screen. We went with our very good friends Mark and Andrea. It was both of their first times to see this wonderful romance. We had a great time, but an even better one listening to the woman behind us.. she was laughing so loud and having such a good time! It was a great evening!

After we took this picture Brian informed us that the girl that took it was the one that had been laughing throughout the movie! What a funny turn of events!

Happy Valentine's to All and to all a good night!

A very full week

This week has been very busy. First of all, I am feeling much better! The flu is a nasty thing, but I did manage to not give it to Brian. :) Yeah Me!

On Tuesday, I had the privilege of accompanying AJ to his Valentine Tea. It was a wonderful time and AJ even served us. He is such the gentleman!

That afternoon, I took Brian to one of his doctors and he was released from the brace. He has done great with it, even though I think he does more than he should. However, the doctor did release him to move, bend, lift, push and pull at will. I just don't want to see him do too much. If that didn't make me nervous enough, the doctor today did.

Today we saw the new rehab doctor. He says Brian is healing really well and making great progress. Therefore, he can now be left alone for short amounts of time until he feels comfortable being left longer (Or until I am ready to let him). The doctor is also ordering over Brian's speech rehab records and if he likes what he sees, then Brian will go back to work 4 hours a day next week. THEN as soon as they do another EEG and decide that Brian isn't having any seizure activity, he will be able to start driving again. All of this is happening a month earlier than we thought it would. I know the progress is great, but I can't help but worry, it is what I do best. I pray that Brian will be able to handle the stimulation at work and do well. Oh! On top of this, he is back in rehab for a few hours three times a week. I think I am going to be living in my car for the next 3 weeks. It is at that time that he will go back for 6 hours a day if he is doing well.

Pray that I have the patience and fortitude to handle this.. I know God will give me the strength.

My turn

I have successfully gotten the flu. Not that it was ever my goal, mind you, but I have it. At least I am over the getting sick part, but now I have lost my voice and have the nasty cough. Needless to say, I will be putting off posting until I can be up for more than a few minutes at a time. All I have to focus on now will be keeping Brian from getting this!

Just a side note, my final grades are in - 2 A's and 2 C's. Not at all good, but considering, acceptable.

Bloging Newbie

I'm sorry this is all so foreign to me.. Here is the correct link (again, I think) to the organizing round up! I am soooo excited! My recipies are a mess!

http://orgjunkie.com/2009/01/org-junkies-monthly-organizing-round-up-2.html

PS - as for the Ginger Snaps - they are okay with Splenda, but it doesn't melt around the cookie like sugar does, so if you can, I would go with the real stuff! Enjoy!

Taking advantage of the time...

I am taking advantage of the time at home to catch up on some fun new blogs... If you know me very well, you know my love language is organization. I have found this fun blog/website called I'm an Organizing Junkie. I have found lots of great tips and she does a monthly organization project, which I have decided to participate in for February. The February challenge is recipes. This is perfect since I am having so much fun sharing my favorite recipes on my blog. You can follow this link

http://orgjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/roundup.jpg

to find out more about her schedule for organizing this year. If I have posted this link wrong, I will correct it as soon as I figure out how. I am also working on getting a picture of my recipe mess to post online so I can track my progress.. Would you like to join me? Leave me a message if you are up for the challenge and then check out the link above!