Slow Cooking Thursday!

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

World's Best Chili Verde
Marta Norton, Redlands, California

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
3 lb. boneless pork roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 bell peppers, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cans tomato sauce
1 7-oz. can green chilies, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped coarse
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup beef broth
2 tsp. salt to taste
2 jalapeños, chopped fine (optional)
1. Combine all ingredients in a crockpot. Mix. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Serve with flour tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

Wanna Try That Wednesday!

- I've been wanting to make Homemade Laundry Detergent for a long time, so while searching the internet for a good recipe, I came across this one from Instructables. Sounds easy enough!

- With all the craziness and the recalls on Peanut Butter lately, I'm thinking I may just start making my own, and maybe even get the kids involved.

- I'm going Easter Egg crazy, crochet and fabric etc, but then I stumbled across these Secret Pocket Easter Eggs and thought....YEAH, I should make one each for the kids and hide it during their Egg Hunt. I'm sure they'll love that!

- I just have to try these Baby Bluebird Cupcakes from Annie's Eats, I mean, have you ever seen anything cuter?

- And if that is enough to make me drool, I came across this Butterscotch Finger Cake which I just absolutely.positively MUST TRY.

- I'm always looking for great movies to add to my Netflix Queue, and North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is one I am wanting to see. Unfortunately it's not available at Netflix, but I'll have to hunt it down somewhere else.

- I'm starting my Spring Cleaning and Julia at Ohdeedoh, posted a wonderful link to help us courtesy of TLC.

- I LOVE English Muffins and Pennies on a Platter has a great recipe to make some.

- My kids love bubbles and I hate buying them because they make a mess, and they're sticky and half the time they don't work right. But when I saw the huge bubbles Candace at Sparkle Power made, I just knew I had to try them. Guess what we'll be making this weekend?

- Since I'm into crocheting right now, I'm thinking this Crochet Clothespin bag may just be my next project.

- I smiled when I read this post from Attic 24. She summarized so well what I feel with my children and how sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the everyday life and instantly say no to every little question the kids ask.

- Oh and before I forget, we're also making Flubber this weekend. I saw it over at Scribbit and then this morning over at Knowledge House Academy, it just made me want to go ahead and make it. Should be a very productive and fun filled weekend with the kids, there will be tons of photos to share, I'm sure.

Winners Galore!

Alrighty people, I'm supposed to wait until tomorrow but I'm not, I'm just going to draw up the random winners right now....

BELLA SARA HORSE TRADING CARDS

first up are the two winners of the Bella Sara Sets.


#22 - Life on the Hay Farm
#16 - Heather's Stitches

Congratulations ladies, please email me your addresses so that I can pass them on to the wonderful folks at Bella Sara. They'll be sending the prizes straight to you!

**************************************

The Mighty Queens of Freeville

Ok now for the winner of the book I reviewed here.



#1 - Michelle from Michelle's Family Life

Congratulations Michelle, email me your address and I'll get the book out as soon as possible!

I've done lost my mind!

You know those mornings where you wake up and right from the bat you KNOW you're going to have a nutty day?

Well I slept through my alarm which is something I never do. NEVER! But thankfully I actually was woken up by the sweet Eden, who was calling me to ask me a question. She left a message on the machine and I went to go call her back on my cellphone....and this is where I lost my marbles.

Let me give you a little backstory first. Every afternoon, I go and pick up the kids from school and I always take a snack for them, I take juice and some crackers or apples or whatever. When I get back home, I throw out the empty wrappers and the plastic bags they were in, but far too often, I pop my cellphone in the same bag to make it easier while carrying backpacks and jackets and whatnot.

So I get to the kitchen.....are you with me still? *snicker*

I look at the counter where I usually leave the phone, and it's not there. So I check in my purse thinking I put it away and it's not there. Then the paranoia hits me, I do a quick mental check and realize that I may have thrown out the cellphone inside the plastic bag.

Next thing I know, it's 7am and I'm digging through my trash. DIS.GUS.TING! Keep laughing, because I hadn't even had coffee and was elbow deep in empty juice pouches, leftover cereal and other things that I can't even describe.

Then I hear it....a ring and I start digging faster and deeper. I'm surprised trash wasn't flying around the kitchen. The phone kept ringing and I kept digging.....until I stopped for a second and realized that the ringing was coming from my purse. Somehow when I first searched through it, I missed it. The cellphone was in the purse all along!

Here, take a kleenex and wipe the tears from your eyes, I can hear you all cackling from over here....and now that it's over, it's actually pretty funny. HAHAHAHAHAH

But it gets better because apparently I had one single marble left which I done lost right as I started typing this post.

After cleaning up the mess, taking a shower, and grabbing my coffee, I sat here at the laptop ready to check email and blogs etc....and I reach over and grab my cellphone and start moving it around (thinking it was my mouse). WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I was getting pretty irritated because the pointer wasn't moving at all, then I hear Jasmine's voice "Mommy, what are you doing with your cellphone?"

BUSTED! By my own child, in a moment of insanity! Folks, I'm only turning 35 years old, there is no excuse for these things happening LOL

Now I'm going to get kids ready for school and start my day, I'll leave you all laughing over here and here's a little bit of advice....next time you hear your cellphone ringing, make sure it's in your purse before you dive for the trash can.

Because handmade is so much better....

and because it's relaxing and because I love the look on my children's faces when I show them one of my latest projects.

Like these adorable crochet eggs, so quick to make and so darn cute, they make me smile. I am making at least half a dozen for Easter, but earlier I went into the refrigerator while preparing dinner and found this....

One of my kiddos decided they belonged in the egg tray, replacing the empty egg spots. Who am I to say otherwise? I am thinking I may just make a bunch to use in there to replace the eggs as I use them.

And when I'm wanting a break from Crocheting, I pull out the sewing machine and make some fabric eggs. I want to make at least one each for the kids to add to their Easter Baskets.

I followed the super simple tutorial from Retro Mama and used up some cutsey red fabric from one of my old dresses.


You can download the egg pattern right here and when you're done, why not go ahead and post your eggs to Retro Mama's Flickr Group.

One thing though, I made this egg almost double the size of the pattern she gives. I wanted one BIG Easter egg in there.

Tomorrow, while the kids are in school, I'll be making a bunch more.

Moving on to other things, I just started The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and even though I'm only on page two, I'm hooked, I think it's the author's wit, the way he writes so fluidly as if in conversation with the reader and the story itself. I can't wait to finish it and let you all know what I thought.

I also have Into The West from Netflix, I'm thoroughly enjoying it, I think it's written extremely well, because for me, I have found it hard to find a good story about the west where I don't feel that either the Pioneers or the Indians are being portrayed in a negative way. I'm learning SO much which is wonderful for me.

Now I'm off to get my babies to bed and then post my new Two Week Menu plan at the food blog, I have so many goodies to try the next few weeks, I can't wait to share it all with you.