Recipe of the Week: Rouladen

When I lived in Virginia, my friends and I used to get together every few weeks and make Rouladen, a German dish that has become one of my personal favorites. We had a blast getting rid of our pent up aggressions, then laugh as we cleaned up our mess. I hope you do the same! This recipe is for a dinner for four.

You'll need:
1/2 cup diced onion
mustard
salt
pepper
1 package bacon
4 thin sliced beef steaks
2 cups water or vegetable stock

With a meat tenderizer, pound the steaks so they may be easily rolled.
Spread mustard over top of flat steak.
Sprinkle with diced onions
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Lay uncooked bacon side by side on top of steak.
Roll the steak tightly. Secure with thread or toothpicks.

In a deep pan, sear the rouladen with leftover onion, and bacon. Continue until meat has a nice color to it and onions are somewhat caramelized.
Add water or vegetable stock and reduce heat. Cover and continue to slow roast for about an hour or until meat is tender.

My family enjoys this entree served with potatoes, and beans. The sauce is great poured over top the beans.

Crazy Train Rider WoodNGoods

Let me just say, that I admire anyone who can create such lovely pieces of art from plain old wood. WoodNGoods uses scraps and leftovers from flooring stores and job sites to make her wonderful artwork. Those pieces would otherwise just be burnt. To keep the natural look of the wood, no coloring is used except for an occasional leather dye to add more depth to the piece.
So amazing is the talent of this soccer mom of four kids, that some of the designs have been featured in Scrollsaw Woodworking and Craft Magazine. These original, one of a kind ornaments and wall art are sure to be passed on from generation to generation. My favorite: the MooShoo Dragon Mirror found on Artfire.com.

Crazy Train's BrokenHallelujah

My first blog about a Crazy Train Rider, and I am so glad that it's BrokenHallelujah. I have been eyeballing her scarflettes since the first time I heard about her. Working retail for so many years, I have seen trends come and go, and these neck warmers are going to be the next big thing.

A self proclaimed "yarnoholic", this 22 year old chic is going places. She's been selling her designs for four years but won't sell her secret. Her patters are all original and she doesn't have any intentions of selling them at this time. Can you blame her?!
Aside from the scarflettes, you can find headbands, bookmarks, hats, and another one of my favorites: slippers. These slippers look super comfy and cozy.

I just read an article that really makes my blood boil. I really detest inconsiderate and selfish people.
As a mother, I hate to think of what is to happen to my children when I am gone. I know that they would be cared for and genuinely loved, so I try not to think about it. Then again, I'm not a celebrity, and no one but my family would be interested in taking care my kids, so I really don't have anything to worry about.
We all know that Micheal Jackson was a character in and of himself. Beloved by most, he was an interesting man. But say what you want about him, I truly believe he adored his children. You rarely heard about them in the press, so he obviously didn't want them exposed to the media. So why can't people just leave them be. Their father just died and they can't even mourn him without preying eyes.
Now, this guy comes out and says that he may be the father of one of the kids. Those poor children. Why now, what does it matter now? Can these kids just move on with the next chapter of their lives?

Wednesday's Dinner Party

I love to cook, and I've been told I do a pretty fine job, so I thought I'd share the recipes my family seems to just eat up. Every Wednesday, I'll post a new one, and I hope to hear how they worked for you and yours.
Last night's entree was:
Pork Chop Casserole

you'll need:

• 1 26oz can of Cream of Mushroom
• 1 10 3/4oz of Cream of Broccoli
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups rice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1tbs chopped onion
• 4 boneless pork chops

1. Preheat oven to 375degrees.
2. In a large casserole dish, combine Cream of Mushroom, Cream of broccoli, water, and rice. Mix well so that rice is covered.
3. Placed pork chops on top of mixture. Sprinkle garlic and onion over top of the pork chops. You may add salt and pepper if you wish, but I find the garlic is salty enough and the onion gives enough kick so as not to need any pepper.
4. Bake, covered for 45 minutes, stirring once so the rice doesn't stick.
5. Uncover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until rice is tender.
6. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

By Golly, I think I got it.

I want to begin by giving a big thank you to all the feedback I have received. I got to say, I'm just still not too accustomed to staying at home, I guess. When I was working at my old job, I spent roughly around 50 hours or so away from home. So in the little time there, I cleaned the house, got the groceries, ran my errands, and hoped I would have enough time to play with my son if I wasn't too exhausted after all that.
When I became a Full Time Mom, I didn't realize I would still be cleaning all the time! I thought I would have more time. I had no idea I would need time management skills when I am at home all day. I realize now, that of course, the dogs aren't locked up all day, and little man isn't at the babysitter's, so the mess is constant. But I found my rhythm. I did it.
Breakfast and coffee..check
Dora or Diego....check.
during Dora/Diego, I get to check my mail, my shop, Plurk/Tweet, Vote Handmade, and check out the forums. A total time of 30 minutes. Not bad, huh.
Then it's time to clean. I don't know about yours, but my son loves to clean. I hand him a broom, and he thinks he's "the man". We get the regular traffic daily areas and then we play for a bit.
Come nap time, I can re-check things on the computer, list products if needed, and then work on my jewelry some.
If I have any errands to run, I wait till he gets up from his nap, we eat lunch, and off we go. When we get back, it's normally nap time again, so I can maybe get some blog time in. Whether it's writing or reading.
By the time all that is done, well, Daddy's home.
Cook dinner, eat, play, bath, bed.
Now, Mommy can relax. I work some more on my creations while enjoying a little TV, and then off to bath and bed myself.
So far, so good. I finally found my rhythm.