Tuesday Project

Before and after pictures of my de-cluttering that I did today. Hurray! I hate that my desk gets like that, but it was fairly easy to clean up. I actually do have spots for most of my stuff, I just don't put it there. I'm going to very slowly get to where I do. I put away a ton of papers and wiped off the desk and dusted and it feels so good. That binder tucked in the corner is where I put all my important info--scrapbooking assignments, contact info, that sort of thing. Maybe tomorrow I will tackle the table next to my desk. It's already piled with school info, but I was proud of myself and I didn't move any of my computer clutter over to the table.

Tuesday Project

Yesterday I went through my hanging clothes and got rid of a ton of things. You should see the pile of stuff! So, that is one good thing. I've been working on getting the rest of the house in order. This morning I actually cleaned the bathroom. Hummm, suddenly I feel like going to Arctic Circle (if you haven't heard their ad campaign, it's basically, "Do something completely ordinary? Reward yourself). Good thing Melissa and I have a lunch date to go tomorrow. ;)

Yeah, poor neglected blog

See, I told you this probably wouldn't work (why do I suddenly feel like Grover in The Monster at the End of the Book?). So, intrepid homemaker that I am, I'm going to try something different.

Have you ever done Flylady? If not, check here out at flylady.com? She is a genius. If I could actually do her program, I would be a great homemaker. Anyway, I thought maybe it was time to start getting back on the bandwagon, so of course, if I blog about it, I may hold myself accountable.

Anyway, here's the plan
Monday--Weekly Cleaning (mopping, mirrors, that sort of thing)
Tuesday--An Organization Project
Wednesday--Office Day (Organize digital files, return emails, plan meals, make grocery list, clean out fridge)
Thursday-Errand Day (Xander to piano lessons, grocery shopping, library)
Friday--Another clean up day (clean out car, purse, bags, work on projects)

Ok, I will report back. Maybe.

Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) cup chicken broth
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Bill Echols Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Calzones

Dough:

1 tbs. yeast
1 ½ cups hot water
mix and let dissolve

2 tbs. sugar
2 tbs. olive oil
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Mix all. Roll out into circles. Put toppings, sauce and cheese on bottom half of dough circle. Fold over and crimp. Brush tops with beaten egg or butter. Cook at 350° for 20 minutes, until brown

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

YUM! One of my favorite desserts ever.

You can see the original recipe here: Apple Struesel

1 pouch Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix
1.2 cup firm butter
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cut sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat over to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in better until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

Sherbet Punch

You can see the original recipe here: Sherbet Punch

1/2 gallon lime or raspberry sherbet, softened
1 liter ginger ale
2 cups lemon-lime soda
2 cups grapefruit or citrus soda

Just before serving, place sherbet in punch bowl. Add ginger ale and soda; stir until sherbet is almost dissolved.