Cooking Thursday - October 28

Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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Bifanas - Pork Sandwiches

Pork loin chops or pork cubed steaks (you need at least one for each person)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
paprika
bay leaf
white wine
Portuguese Rolls (or any other roll that is thick and doughy)


The whole trick to getting that wonderful taste is to marinate the meat for at least a whole day before you cook it. You can do it overnight or first thing in the morning so you can use it for dinner, the longer it sits in that marinade, the tastier it will be.

I roll mine up and put them in the tupperware bowl and then pour about 1/2 cup of white wine over. Cover it up and place it in the refrigerator.

When you're ready to cook, add some olive oil to a skillet and then add the pork steaks, top with some butter and fry until cooked through and nice and brown.

Yum!

Once they're cooked, slice your bread rolls in half and then take them and dip them into the drippings in the pan.

You don't want to cover the bread, just get a little of that tasty sauce on them.

Slice the sandwiches in half and serve with some homemade fries or salad.

Wednesday Night!

On my bedside table:

O Pioneers by Willa Cather

2011 Taste of Home Annual Recipes

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

On board from Netflix:

The Tudors Season 3 - Disc 1

The Tudors Season 3 - Disc 2

Latest interests:

Homesteading

Learning about US History

Photoshop Actions

On my mind:

Halloween this weekend

My husband's PT test next week

Learning:

How to have patience

Cook the perfect Turkey

To tell myself that we don't have that much time left in this place

Making:

Crochet Granny Stripe Blanket

Looking forward to:

Homeschooling

Returning to Idaho

A trip up to Flagstaff to see the changing leaves

Enjoying:

Visiting new blogs
The cooler temperatures
Seeing my library basket full of books to read

Pumpkin Carving

There were little pumpkins and seeds scattered about........

It's a family tradition, when this time of the year rolls around we sit at the table ready to get our hands dirty

Concentration abounds

Scooping the insides is one of our favorite parts, you get to dig your fingers in there and smoosh the insides all together

Mommy usually does the tops, it takes precision and small little saws that bend after the first cut...Ugh!

The end result is what we're all waiting for, no matter how frustrating or tiring it may get, the glowy pumpkin designs are all worth it.

At the end of the night, we walk away with orange stained fingers, roasted pumpkin seeds to munch on and a huge smile on our faces.

Yes, the pumpkins have found their home.

Would you like a $25 Gift Certificate to Whole Foods Market?

If your answer is yes, then don't miss out on this opportunity to win either the gift card to Whole Foods Market OR two full sized Kikkoman Products.

Run on over to Full Bellies Happy Kids and enter my Kikkoman Giveaway.

Hallmark's Recordable Storybook Review and Giveaway!

I have been extremely blessed to be contacted quite often by amazing well known companies and asked if I would consider reviewing one of their products.

Such is the case with Hallmark who wanted to know if they could send me one of their new Recordable Storybooks called Bright and Beautiful .  Here is a little tidbit of what they said:

Following the introduction of Recordable Storybooks last holiday season, Hallmark received numerous letters from servicemen, servicewomen and their families sharing how they were able to share special moments with their distant loved ones through the Recordable Storybook. In fact, this video contains one of these stories from a military family located in North Carolina (their story starts around the 2:00 mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9vUstEdziU.

As a military wife, I know full well what it's like to have a husband deployed and to have those extremely short phone calls which half the time you can't even hear your loved one's voice on the other side....it's even worse for the kids who struggle with not knowing why their father had to leave for months on end, but also struggle with not hearing their voice.

I was so excited to receive the recordable book and I immediately gave it to my husband to record his voice, this way, whenever he is forced to be away, the kids can still hear him.

The book I received was the Bright and Beautiful:  A child's Blessing which is a story based on the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful", it allows you to tell your child or children just how unique and special they are.  How wonderful is that????

Hallmark has a wonderful selection of Recordable Books perfect for any occasion, you can learn more about them here.

• Is your spouse serving overseas? Capturing the voice of the
  soon-to-be-deployed parent is a great way to help a child feel
  connected during Mom or Dad's absence. Also, a Recordable
  Storybook read by the little ones and mailed to the enlisted parent will be a great surprise and a breath of fresh air.
  
• Do Grandma and Grandpa live far away? A book recorded by the grandparents will help close the distance and keep grandchildren familiar with their voices.

I am so thankful for this opportunity, not only because I help such a great company bring to light an amazing product, but because I have a memento of my husband to keep forever, it's something the kids will always have at hand, even if they're having a bad day or daddy is working extra long hours.

But here's the best part, the wonderful people at Hallmark,  have offered TWO books to be given away on my blog to TWO lucky winners.  Now you too get a chance to give this book as a gift or to keep for yourself.


Here's what you have to do:

- Leave me a comment and let me know if you are keeping this book for yourself or if you're planning to give it away to someone special.
-  Please Please and I can't stress this enough, leave an email address so I can contact you.

Rules:

- This contest is open to US Residents only
- You will have 2 days to get back to me if you are one of the winners, if I don't hear from you by then, I will pick a different winner.

This contest will run until next week Monday the 1st of November.  I will draw a winner using Random.org.


Good Luck!