{ Blog 365 #55 - A yummy stuffed sandwich }

 

Well hi there friends.

Come in out of the cold, it is currently 30 degrees and not exactly pleasant to be out there.  

So, it is Friday....yay!!!  Friday and Saturday are by far my favorite days of the week, and I'm about to shock you when I tell you my third favorite day, which actually happens to be Monday.  

*collective loud sigh*

But really, it is, I love Mondays and Fridays and Saturdays.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with today's post.  I have to say though, I am quite proud of myself for having a post every.single.day, since January 1st.  Wow!

 

OK, so, for today, I wanted to bring you a recommendation for a pretty inexpensive dish, that you can definitely stretch and serve to a crowd, or make it even for just one or two people.  It's up to you.  

It uses very few ingredients, but the result is delicious and filling and just ooohhhhh.  Love it ♥

This recipe or rather this dish, is from Brasil and it's known as Buraco Quente.  It's usually made with ground beef, but you can certainly use beef, or chicken or smoked sausage which is what I used for mine.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that if I have to translate exactly, word for word, to English, it means Hot Hole, and I don't know about you all, but that does not sound appealing at ALL when talking about food.  LOL

So, I just call them Stuffed Sandwiches.  Much better!

If you give these a try, do let me know what you thought, if you enjoyed it and all that good stuff.

 

 

 

 

Smoked Sausage Stuffed Sandwich

Buraco Quente de Linguica

Bread Rolls (I made some of my french bread sub rolls, and cut them in half)

Drizzle of olive oil

1 package smoked sausage

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic

parsley and cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

oregano to taste

1 can Media Crema (table cream)

Shredded cheese

In an oven proof dish, take each roll, cut a small piece off the bottom so that it stands flat.  Place the rolls in the dish, then take a small knife and cut out the inside, creating a hole.  Don't leave the edges too thin, or it will fall apart when you fill it with the meat mixture.

In a saucepan, add a little bit of olive oil.  Dice up the smoked sausage.  I cut it into slices, then cut those slices in half then half again, creating little cubes.  Saute them in the olive oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook for a minute or two until the onion is translucent.

Season with salt and pepper and oregano, add the cilantro and parsley to taste, stir well to combine, then add the can of media crema, give it another good stir and remove off the heat.

Fill each sandwich with some of the sausage mixture, then add a sprinkle of shredded cheese of your choice.

 

Pop into the oven for a minute or so until the cheese is melted, then serve immediately.

 

{ More yard work, tons of homemaking and cooking }

This week, I've been blessed with 3 days of not having to leave the house.

To some that may seem insane, but to me, a homebody, it has been heavenly.  I've started my mornings off slow, pottered around, washed laundry, hung laundry out to dry, ironed, cleaned, organized, started my seeds, did schooling and have been cooking and baking up a storm.

It has just felt right.

I don't mind having busy days, and I also don't mind leaving the house and driving and so on, but I do prefer being at home in my space with my belongings, and truly homemaking the way I love to.

We've so much rain lately that everything is springing to life.  The grass has come in green and strong, needing to be mowed already.  Trees are sprouting new life, and Spring is just around the corner.

I very much look forward to spring and summer, my husband however doesn't share that much excitement because to him, it means mowing 3 acres and a lot of yard work in scorching summer temperatures.

Nonetheless, we've started getting ready for the warmer temperatures.

I started my Saturday by giving the back porch a huge, and I mean huge clean out.  It was to the point where there was minimal space to walk, there were patio chairs and a table, flower pots and old hoses and whatever else you can think of.  It seems to be a catch all during the winter months.

Truthfully, it was driving me insane and the minute the temperatures warmed up, I was out there.

I added this corner shelf and some of my plants.  They are so happy out there, not in direct sunshine but soaking up fresh air and light.

While I did that, Curt got on the mower and started the long job of mowing.  We are so thankful to God for the ride on mower, it was an expense that we didn't have to get into when we first moved into this house, but you can't have 3 acres and a push mower.

I mean, you can, but trust me, it is not fun.

We are still trying to get the greenhouse finished off.  The material that Lowes suggested for the outside, was not able to withstand our crazy strong winds, and so it's torn off the top and some of the sides.  Will have to figure out what to use and how, without breaking our bank to do it.

Regardless, I really need this greenhouse up and running soon.

In the meantime, I've started my seeds inside and hopefully they will move to the greenhouse within the next few weeks.

Sunday morning, Curt and I did a lot of work around the porch area.  We dug up all the grass, got the stone pavers into the ground and started to mulch the area.

My idea is to have mulch in specific areas around the greenhouse.  It's hard to describe what I want the finished vision to be, but you know I'll share it all with you as we go.

It may not look like a lot of work yet, but believe me when I tell you, it killed our backs for the rest of the day.  Not to mention, me and my allergies have the hardest time being around all that soil and dirt.

I can't wait to see this whole area looking the way we want it to.

On Monday, I moved my bedroom around again.  I do it twice a year.  I just love being able to sit on my bed and look out the window into the fields behind the house.  Especially enjoy it during Spring and Summer when I can have the window open and just listen to the birds outside.

Laundry has been a constant, which also means a constant pile of clothes to iron.

Also washed all the rugs and mats in the house, including bath mats.  I love clean, fresh and newly washed rugs.

Cooking and baking has also been huge on my list this week.  I've now updated the food blog with 6 new recipes, so if you're interested in my cooking and baking, make sure to go on over to Full Bellies, Happy Kids.

You'll find recipes for:

Sauteed Kabocha Squash
Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread
Creamy Garlic Bread
Mexican Bolillos
Brazilian Cornmeal cake
Roast Chicken legs and potatoes

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed sharing on my food blog, and it's been quite neglected for a while, so it feels good to be back on a regular basis.

I will be sharing more recipes every week.

Today, I need to get some schooling done with Nick and also work on my new meal plan.  I am thinking that there are going to be mainly Portuguese meals the next two weeks, as my family has been missing that kind of food.

Tomorrow it's back to driving back and forth, Friday I have my mammogram and grocery shopping to do.    Saturday we need to take Nick for a haircut and we're also going to my brother and sister in law's house to help with their garden.

So, pretty much back into a busy routine, so I think today I'm going to sit back, relax and take it easy.  I've worked hard all week, moved things, shoveled and packed and organized, and my lower back is needing a bit of a break.

It's also rainy and cloudy outside, so the perfect day to sit on the couch, watch tv, work on the menu, read and cuddle with my Marley.

I hope you've all been having a fantastic week so far.  I'm so glad it's Wednesday, just 2 more days and then I can sleep in without that 5AM alarm clock.  :)

Bunch of this, and that, and nothing in particular

And there goes the cute blog title award.

If there was such an award, I am certain that I would not even be thrown into the running, cause truth be told, I am awful when it comes to blog titles.  Hahah

Anyway, it's been a day of a little of this, a shake of that, and a whole lot of nothing in between.

So, you have a choice, you can either keep reading to see if anything interesting catches your eye, or you can click right on out and go on your merry way, I promise I won't take it to heart.  We can't always have exciting days right?  As I get older, I am more than ok with boring, simple days.

{ Lemon tree and Pineapple juice }

I try to start all my mornings with a devotional.  It helps to set the mood for the day and things usually run smoother, but I'm human and sometimes I fail and don't get to my reading until right before bed.  That's ok, God forgives me and understands :)

Our weekend was filled with random thunderstorms, beautiful shows of lightning and loud booming thunder that at times seemed to rock the house.  My perfect kind of days, if I'm behind honest!

It actually got so dark in the house, that it was 9am and seemed to be 9pm.  Crazy!!

Sunday we dropped Jasmine off at work, and there is a Home Depot not too far, so we popped in to see if we could get some more items for our raised beds.  Well, raised beds is what we would love to have, but sometimes you need to go with what you can and whether we get exactly what we wanted, is yet to see.

However, we are simple folk who are easily pleased, and as long as I have a little area designated for my veg and herb garden, I'm ok.

If you remember when we were stationed in Arizona, I often mentioned our lemon tree.  It was our pride and joy and while we were at Luke, we were blessed enough to live in two different houses, both with lemon trees.  I mentioned the Beauty of Growth, I asked you How does your garden grow, I mentioned the Things I see and Do, I showed you when my lemon tree just randomly fell apart and I then talked about the reason it DID seem like it was falling apart, in my It's Raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring post.  I showed you how many lemons we had on our first lemon tree on base, and it all started on our Home Sweet Home post where I first showed you the walkthrough AND the huge lemons we got off the tree.  So, if you're interested, or bored, you have a lot of lemon tree and home posts to go browse through.

The scent of the flowers was one of my absolute favorite things.  You would take one step out the back door and were immediately overpowered by the beautiful gentle scent of the lemon flowers.

I think you can understand just how much I loved the lemon tree, so when we were at Home Depot, we spotted some baby Meier Lemon Trees and I just HAD to have it.  There was no way I was going to walk out with that baby in my hand.  I don't usually make spur of the moment purchases because we can't justify expenses like that, but she was only $13 and I started imagining the lemons and this gorgeous lemon tree filled with beautiful flowers.....yeah, I had to have it.

As you can see it already has a few little lemons growing on it.

I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to keep it alive, I will do my absolute best.  I've been researching online and figuring out how much water it needs, how much sun and all that.

If you do have any ideas and advice on keeping Meier Lemon Trees alive in my area, PLEASE leave them down below.

Right, now let's shift gears and talk about pineapple.  I have a tip for you.  If you buy the full pineapple like I do, and peel it and chop it up for your family, don't throw away the pineapple skin.

I used to, until I found out that I could use it to make juice.  What is better for you than pure, fresh, natural juice?

Some of you may already know this or do it yourself, but for those that don't, here is the how to.

You'll need the skin from the pineapple you peeled, water and you may need some sort of sweetener if you find the pineapple is too bitter.

Pop the skins into your blender and add water.  I start off by adding just about half so that I don't end up with water spitting all out of the blender and all over the counters.

Blend for about 2 minutes or so.  Then using a strainer, pour the juice into a different container.  You want to get as much of the pulp out, and obviously don't want he actual skins in there, just the goodness, vitamins and the taste.

And that is it.  Delicious, natural juice using what you already have on hand :)

Right, I am now off to pick Jasmine up from work and then I have to rush home and get dinner done.  I don't like when she gets off around 4pm because that's usually when I start my dinner, so on days like these we eat later than usual.

Tonight's dinner is one of our favorites Ono's Hawaiian Grilled Chicken and I'll either do Potato Salad or the Ono's Macaroni Salad.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of Tuesday.  It is pretty warm here today, 88 degrees so I'm going to grab my lemon water and some grapes from the fridge and head out the door.

See you all tomorrow :)

Retracted eardrum???

Hey everyone :)

Goodness, it's been a few days since I've done an actual chatty post, I did put up two book reviews and I know some of you enjoy those, but I also know that not all do.

It's been a bit of a.....how can I say it?  Not too busy or insane, but just a bit off I guess.  This whole ear issue has been slow going and it's made me have some down days of not wanting or feeling like doing anything.

So what about that title???

Well, that's where we are at the moment.  So I went back to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon, my ear still didn't feel right, I still have some static/buzzing/ringing going on, feeling a bit dizzy at times and that feeling of the ear needing to pop but not being able to.

The doctor had a look in my ear, and good news is the fluid is all gone, it's pretty clear in there.....but....and there's always a but with me isn't there?  LOL

Because of the amount of fluid, the swelling, the pressure being off in the middle ear and all that nonsense, my eardrum is now slightly retracted.  That all explains the symptoms I'm still having and the onset of dizziness once in a while, almost like vertigo due to the retracted eardrum.

It's not serious, it will sort itself out with time, but the doctor has instructed me to use my allergy nasal spray in the morning, and then at night do the Flonase which is more of a steroid spray and that will reduce the swelling and get everything back to normal.

She did put in a referral to an ENT which she wants me to see in about a month just to focus on the sinus/ear issues which are exacerbated by the allergies.  She also recommended Allergy Therapy.   So we will see what happens.

For the moment, it's only been two days of the sprays and she said it will sometimes take a few weeks for the eardrum to fix itself.

This ear issue has consumed a lot of my time, due to different reasons, whether it be doctor appointments, or feeling unwell and needing to lay down etc.

But I've not let it interfere with my housework and have actually found homemaking a much needed reprieve.

So let me show you just a few shots of what my past week has consisted of.

As you can see above, my cactus is now flowering, isn't it beautiful?

My plants in general are doing amazing, and that may just be due to the fact that I've been a lot more attentive to their needs and providing them water and the amount of sunshine they need, so forth.

My clothesline has been getting a lot of use with the warmer temperatures, and with that being the case, I whipped up a super quick clothes peg bag to facilitate things.  There's nothing more annoying than trying to gather clothes from the line with a handful of pegs, dropping either clothes or pegs to the ground and so on.
This way my bag is full, I just pop it on the line and move it down with me as I go, reaching in to grab a few pegs as needed.

I've also used this past week to work on some crochet placemats.  I'm loving making these and I'm going to be selling them as well, to anyone that is interested.

The first set of 4 I made are in this gorgeous cotton aqua/mint green color.

I just love the way they look, and I'm imagining a whole table set with pretty placemats.

I've made a few for myself using leftover cotton scraps that I had laying around, but I will be purchasing more cotton yarn this weekend and working on a few more sets.  So if it's something you're interested in, keep an eye out because I'll be selling these very soon.

Along with our beautiful spring temperatures in the afternoons, we also have cooler mornings, which means a blanket of fog when we get up.

It usually dissipates by 8am, but it sure makes for some pretty photos doesn't?

Food has been a hot topic this week.  I've jumped right into cooking mode and have been whipping up some yummy meals along with some naughty sweet treats as well.

Last night I made a quick Blender Pie for dinner.  I had a pound of ground beef to use and not really sure what to make with it as I didn't feel like having what was on the menu.

I did leave the recipe for the batter on Instagram, you can check it out there, but I will be adding it to the food blog as well soon.  Again, I apologize, I just haven't felt up to editing and posting and compiling recipes for the blog, so it's fallen a bit to the backburner.

Anyway, I really just wanted to come in and say hi and give you an update on what is going on around here in my little corner of the world.  I need to make my bed real quick, curl my hair (it needs washing and I'll do it tonight, but curling makes it last a little longer....just keeping it real folks), and then I have to take Jasmine to work and go grocery shopping real quick, come home and pack it away and head back out to pick her up.

Her schedule today is a bit weird, she only works 4 hours, but then tomorrow she will be in for 10 and a half hours.  Crazy!!!

I think I might head to Aldis for groceries and then just pop by the commissary for meats or anything that I didn't find at Aldis.

I hope you all have a blessed Friday.  I'll be back tomorrow with my grocery haul and the new menu plan :)

{ I'm back on it....the homemaker groove that is }

Remember when I told you that after we moved from Idaho, I seemed to have kind of lost myself and even though I love being a homemaker, I wasn't exactly acting like one.

I did the bare minimum to get by, but the love for the homemaking craft itself seemed to have dwindled.

I would be lying if I told you that I didn't struggle to find it again, matter of fact, and to be quite frank with you all, it took almost 3 years.  But, I found it, I found the homemaking groove again and I'm so incredibly content at the moment.

Everything about my life is love.  It is filled with family and moments of laughter.  That's not to say that there aren't tough moments, health issues, or times when things aren't exactly going to plan, but overall, I feel such immense contentment with my life and where I am in this journey.

That love overflows from inside the home to the outside as well.  When I was in Arizona I had grown so many veggies, had tons of plants that were thriving and growing beautifully.  I haven't been able to do that in a long time, firstly because we were moving and had just left the military and everything was up in the air.

Then we moved from Idaho and again it was all just so chaotic, I wasn't really feeling myself, feeling a good homemaker and so things fell to the wayside.

As I get back into the groove, one thing I'm itching to do, is get back into gardening and growing.  I have all these plans and thoughts and ideas about what I want to do in our yards this summer, and hubby is on board so I'm super excited about that.

On Sunday when we dropped Jasmine off at work, we stopped at Walmart for some meds, and then Curt and I had a little mooch around.  I went straight to the garden center, not because I had something specific in mind that I wanted, but I love looking around during this time of year.

The garden area is filled with colorful flowers, huge potted plants, trees and shrubs, vases and patio furniture, and everything you could possibly want or need to set up a beautiful outside area.

We walked around a bit and settled on some plants to bring home, they were the cheap $1.98 ones and I just couldn't resist.  I knew I had to bring them home.

Yesterday morning I got them all repotted and situated and then pulled out some faux leather fabric I had and started a project I had wanted to make for a while.

Fabric planters.   The possibilities are endless and the fact that you can make your own means that you can use fabrics that will complement your home.

I had some faux leather fabric that I had bought back in Arizona and had been keeping for just the right project, whatever that might be.  I knew that I wanted to use it for these plants.

I wasn't quite sure how to make them, or how I would do it and so these first two that I made were pretty much me winging in and using the easiest method possible.  I measured the height, the width and the circumference of the pot, added about half and inch more, and then grabbed my hot glue gun and went to work.

These are not perfect, not by far, but I love how they turned out and as I make more, I now know what works what doesn't, and how to make them neater.  I still am very pleased with the result and think the flowers look gorgeous in the fabric planter.

If you're wondering, the fabric planters are not filled with dirt.  I merely placed the flower pot into the fabric planter.  When it's time to water, I take it out and wait until it is done draining, before placing back in it's fabric planter.

I've been busy fluttering around the house.  The minute Spring comes about, I am no longer wanting to stay in bed or under covers, in a corner of the house.  I want to be up as soon as the sun is rising, opening windows, homemaking, cooking and baking and crafting.

I've made delicious food for my family's meals, I've crocheted spring and summery placemats, I take immense pleasure in washing clothes and hanging them to dry, planting and creating and so on.

As the weather warms up, my mind goes to homemade treats, especially those that we know the family will be gravitating towards, like ice cream.

Soooooo, yesterday, well, last night actually, after dinner, I quickly threw together some homemade raspberry ice cream.  You won't believe how easy it is to make and it only takes 3 ingredients.  Yes, that's right, 3 ingredients.

I'll share the recipe tomorrow, but let me tell you it's delicious, the hubby and kids love it and I'll be making more this summer, using all sorts of flavors.

I have been sharing a bit more on Instagram, it's just easier sometimes to do stories and show you my day in the moment, so if you're interested you can hop on over there and see what I'm up to.

But yes, I'm back in my homemaker groove and I'm hoping to continue sharing my days with you all, tips and tricks, recipes, snapshots of what I'm doing and my home and all sorts of things.

I'm so glad that you've all stuck around and have walked with me through this craziness I call life.  I know I haven't been the greatest at commenting back and I apologize for that, I want to try and be better at that so please bear with me.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed a sneak peek at my newest plants, crafts and yummy goodies.

I'll be back tomorrow with more :)