Turkey Stuffing Casserole

Some of you may know that Huron has a large turkey plant in town. Because of this they recently opened a storefront to sell their products at majorly reduced costs. I would have to check with Marc but we got a HUGE bag of sliced turkey for 10 dollars. Crazy. And it is delicious! But...you can only eat so many turkey sandwiches before you start to go crazy. And since we don't have a deep freeze like every other self-respecting Midwesterner, we have to eat this stuff pretty fast (in fairness we did freeze half in our tiny freezer). So I am finding myself at my wits end trying to use this stuff creatinvely. At my mom's suggestion I came up with this recipe. Feel free to try it out with chicken or turkey of your own. And if you live in Huron you have GOT to pick up some turkey from the market!

4 cups sliced turkey broken up into shreds.
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 oz) bag of frozen veggies (I used an asparagus blend with sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
16 oz. of reduced sodium low-fat chicken broth
2 boxes of turkey stuffing mix (6 oz boxes)
2 cups gravy (turkey gravy works great, made from scratch or mix)

Mix together all the ingredients. I used a HUGE pyrex bowl and just put it straight in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then add the prepared turkey gravy and bake for another 5 minutes or until hot throughout.

SO GOOD. Vera scarfed this down. She loved it. I don't even usually like stuffing that much, but this stuff is so delicious and not at all dry. Try it today and let me know what you think.

Sorry there are no pictures, I didn't even think of it until I tasted it and realized I had stumbled upon amazingness. ;)

Puke in the Pot, Please

My daughter isn't old enough to understand where to puke, but from what I hear from my friends, it takes quite a while to ingrain that in your dear children's heads. I heard a great idea recently! Once your kids are old enough to enjoy money, you can bribe them to puke in the pot!

According to experts (other moms), this works wonders. $1 per puke correctly deposited in the toilet! Brilliant. I chronicle this here to allow other moms to bask in the brilliance of this idea. May all the pukes at your house be properly placed!

Club Project: Are you with me?

Have you ever fantasized about getting big projects done around the house but you just can't seem to find the time/energy/help to do it? I know I have. Here is an idea I saw on Pinterest and I want to get one going here in Huron!

The blog Jilly and Mia shared a great idea about a group they have called Club Project. Here is some info from their site.

"Made up of 6 handy girls, we take turns spending all day at one of our homes conquering things like updating cabinets, reupholstering sofas, wallpapering dining rooms, decorating niches, tiling back splashes, and refurbishing furniture.

Here's how it works.

Every sixth months, each member gets to choose a day that's convenient for her
(it's usually a Friday) and from 8am-4pm she has

a team of design assistants at her service.

The hostess is in charge of beverages, lunch (we break for 30 minutes at noon) and rounding up all the tools/equipment we'll need for the job. If one person can't make it, it's up to them to pay back the hours on their own time."

Love it? I know I do! I'm thinking that we could also alternate where one of the ladies watches the kids (if members happen to have them) each time so that we don't have to worry about childcare. Perhaps we could use our church for the person doing childcare so they didn't have to get their own house all messy.

Here are some ideas I have:
-Organizing/decorating/designing my craft space
-Mural in Vera's room
-Painting my clawfoot tub
-Spring cleaning

What do you guys think? Any takers?

The New Addition

Here are the newest additions to the Anderson household. Don't you love them! I found them on Craigslist for only $75 as a pair. AND the sweet owner dropped them off at our house for free and even sent me these great photos. I think they will be perfect for a nursery for our sweet little girl!

The dresser and wardrobe are going to get a fabulous makeover and I just can't wait to get started! Does anyone have an electric hand sander we could borrow? :)

Inspiration

I may not have a house, but a girl can dream, right? I love this guest bathroom (photo from Country Living). The window, the gray walls, the sloped ceiling, the claw foot tub, the pedestal sink...the only thing I would change would be the flooring (I would LOVE reclaimed hardwood).


So once Marc starts making the big bucks as a pastor I'll make sure to put this bathroom makeover on my to-do list. Ha ha!

Might as well add another post today again...and again

I want this! $18 for two of these ADORABLE shabby chic tea towels. Just the right amount of girly to get me through the dishes. :) LOVE IT!

Buy it for me here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34424413&ref=em

Okay, NOW I'm going to bed.

Things I want to try...

http://elmstreetlife.blogspot.com/2009/09/homemade-bagels-homemade-deodorant.html

http://elmstreetlife.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-natural-recipes.html

http://elmstreetlife.blogspot.com/2009/08/diy-life.html

Great idea for a cheap side-table

Need a cheap side-table for a bedroom or guest room? Here is a GREAT idea that I stumbled upon today. I got the idea from Primatives ~ Life ~ Art. This is a great site for fun trash to treasure ideas. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Primatives. Seriously.

Steps:
1. Find an old drawer. I would suggest going to a junk store or an estate sale. I haven't done much on Craigslist yet (it is pretty picked over in the Waco area and I just haven't had the time to devote to browsing the "nooks and crannies" of the site. Or, perhaps you even have a great shop in town like Laverty's here in Waco! I know I have seen tons of old drawers there at Laverty's, and since they have no obvious "purpose" to most people, they are usually very cheap and affordable.

2. Here is a photo of the "before" from the Primatives site.


They chose to take off the knob and fill it with wood filler to make a smooth top to the side-table. I think that it could be fun to leave it on there so that you can tell what it used to be in its "former" life.

3. They then cut some wood for the middle shelf and attached some 2x4s to the bottom for legs and then painted it. Here is the after picture from their site. Isn't it cute?


If I were making this, I think that I would try to find some fun old legs at the junk shop rather than using simple 2x4s. I am thinking that they probably chose the 2x4s (as Marc suggested) to make it a little sturdier. What a wise hubby! I still think it would look cute with fun legs, but it would all depend on what you could find.

I think this would be perfect for a little lamp in a guest room or for some bedtime books and a night-light lamp in a baby room or kids room. You could also use this idea (minus the legs, of course) to make a wall shelf for toys, figurines or even (hint hint, Marc) Willow Tree figurines. :)

Thanks, Primatives!

CRAFY CRAZINESS!

First, an idea from a crafty place. I don't like their web design, but I love their ideas. The site is http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#topic=Crafts&url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.robomargo.com%252Fquickprojects.html... that was a mouthful! :)

This would be fun to give to a couple getting married. I think... :)

Having a crafty day! I started the day with a trip to Esme's, a local treasure/antique/junk shop. Esme's is only open on Saturdays, so I've only been there once before. however, it was a sad day. I got inside and the owner (Esme?) said they were actually closed today, but she would let me look around anyway. And then she dropped the bomb--they are closing next week! SAD!

However, she said that they are having a huge sale next weekend. Everything must go! And this store is FULL of treasures, my friends! I'm excited for next weekend.

And on top of all that, I got a great deal on some fun stuff! I got three frames (no backing or anything, just an empty frame w/o glass. I also got an old index file drawer - I have been eyeing these for about a year now! No, I don't know what I'll hide in it yet. :) Mine is an army green color - I think I'll paint it the same hammered metal color as the tray below.

Speaking of the tray, I got this tray (see picture below)! No, it wasn't nearly this beautiful when I bought it this morning. It was a nasty shade of floral and black ickiness! I painted it a hammered metal color. I'm going to hang it on the wall of my office with a decorative ribbon (glued to the back to hang it). I will use it as a magnet memo board.

Here are the frames (two of them anyway) that I bought today. I painted them a robin's egg blue/green.

I also painted these cork trivets. One is blue and two are yellow gold. They will be strung together with ribbon as a cork board in my craft area.

Here are the gold ones! :) Oh, and I only spent 12 dollars for all this plus a yellow train case to use for a sewing box! :) More pictures later, Marc needs the computer to write a sermon! :)