Menu Planning Monday and Funnel Cake recipe

Well, technically it's still Monday here...barely. I had my menu finished early but didn't have a chance to type it up.

Monday- Out of the park burritos (LA style...see link on last week's post). These were actually surprisingly tasty. Also had some macaroni salad with it.
Funnel cakes for dessert-see below for recipe!

Tuesday- Homemade Pizza-I'll have to share the dough recipe when I get a chance.

Wednesday- Sweet & Sour chicken (soy chicken actually. And just a jar of sauce I keep saying I am going to use but haven't yet.), rice and sauteed spinach or other veggie

Thursday- Lentil Stew (same recipe as last week...I have a ton of lentils and it was quite tasty. of course, I added a few other spices and things. I can't ever just follow the directions!)

Friday- Chili. Not sure what kind yet. Steak, veggie or chicken chili. LOL Depends what I am in the mood for I think.

Saturday- Some sort of pasta. Jury's still out on this one. Quite possibly Spaghetti alla Ceci (Rachel Ray) Homemade breadsticks or fresh bread.

Sunday- Chicken & Dumplings(I have a YUMMY recipe that I have tweeked and combined various recipes until I got it just so. Will definitely share one of these days.), garlic peas (new recipe for me)

Funnel Cakes

I was craving a powdered donut. But since I really don't know how to make donuts and didn't have the patience to research a good recipe, I made my old faithful funnel cakes and doused them with powdered sugar instead. I originally got this recipe from All Recipes a couple of years ago and made a couple of small changes.

1 2/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 TBSP white sugar
1 egg (I actually used a vegetarian egg substitute which I like better...the dough tastes less "eggy". If you don't have this, I would probably try just 1 egg white instead of the whole egg.)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup of milk
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Oil for frying(I used Canola)

1. Put about an inch of oil in a big skillet to start heating up. Technically, it's supposed to be 375 degrees but I don't have anything to measure that so I set mine about medium high.
2. Mix together the egg, vanilla and milk.
3. In a separate bowl, mix up the rest of the ingredients (except the powdered sugar).
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
5. Pour batter into a ziplock bag. Snip the end. Start with a small snip. you can always cut it bigger but you can't make the hole smaller.
6. Squeeze the batter into the oil, moving it around to make little swirly cakes. I fit about 3-4 per batch in my pan. Flip over when golden brown. I get about a dozen from this recipe.
7. Remove cakes and place on paper towels to soak up the extra oil.
8. Dust with powdered sugar. (I actually like a LOT of powdered sugar on mine...but I went with a normal amount for this picture so I didn't seem like a pig. LOL)

Camping

We went camping this weekend to the beautiful mountains. It was cold at night but the days were perfect!




Yummy roasted marshmallows!!

Guess who's using the potty?

He did it!!! After many months (Hmmm...we first started trying over a year ago!! But he lost all interest for a long time) he finally decided (ok, I decided) to become a big boy. I am sure we are in for some mistakes here and there but he's been doing great and we are on the third day of no diapers! Yay!!!

We have a winner!

I was totally blown away by the number of comments for the prize! I hope you all continue to visit my blog and leave some comments. Your feedback really means a lot to me. I will be implementing some of your suggestions soon...thanks!!!

I don't really know how to do the whole random.org thing and make it work with the extra entries some of you got for posting on your blogs so I did this the old-fashioned way. :) Ok, so I suppose copying and pasting into Word isn't really old-fashioned, but you know what I mean. LOL

Here's the winner!!!



Congrats!! Please email your name and address to me at mrslokovic@yahoo.com.

I'll have another giveaway in a couple of weeks with some boy goodies so keep checking back. In the mean time, I'll have some new menus, recipes, layouts and cards to post. (And maybe I can find time to add a new sketch to warm us up for Sketchapalooza coming up at the end of October.) Also, make sure to check out the new card sketches I posted on my sketch blog (link in sidebar).

Have a great weekend!!

Who wants goodies?

Thought I'd have a fun giveaway this week! Just leave a comment to this post letting me know what you like about my blog and what kind of things you'd like me to post more. For an extra entry into the drawing, post about this little giveaway on your blog-let me know in your comment if you posted it. :) I'll pick a name on Friday. Thanks!!
(I'll have a boy themed giveaway in a week or two so check back!)

Card and a reminder

Here's a card I made for fun using a couple of goodies I received from Shaina! I won her blog giveaway last week! Fun stuff...Thanks Shaina!
And don't forget about the Design Team call for Feeling Scrappy! See details in an earlier post.

Custom blog contest

Lindsey has a great new blog about all things mommy. I "know" Lyndsey through a really good friend of mine (Emily) and I've been stalking her blog when I get blog reading time. :) I love reading about her adventures living as a missionary family in Panama. She's also been doing some designing and her blogs look great! She's giving away a custom blog design right now so go check it out HERE and leave a comment to be entered. :)

(I also posted the button on the sidebar for future reference. ;))

Menu for the week!

Here's my plan for the week. :) (Recipe links for most items.)

Monday- Lentil Stew and garlic muffins (maybe some sort of side with spinach)
Tuesday- Sausage Strata, salad (I can't find the recipe online...a friend photocopied this for me. If it's good, I'll share the recipe.)
Wednesday- Stuffed Pepper Soup (I am going to try to use soy beef in this one.)
Thursday- Southwest Chicken over rice
Friday- Chicken Alfredo pasta (just a packet mix for the sauce-I think I'll add some sundried tomatoes)
Saturday- 8 can dump soup (recipe from Jayne! See below.) and cheddar bay biscuits (I already have some made in the freezer that I just need to reheat-these freeze great!)
Sunday- Out of the park burritos (Never tried these but I have a package of hot dogs we need to eat soon. :)

8 can dump soup
Thanks for posting this one on the Feeling Scrappy board, Jayne! Sounds yummy!
1 can chili with beans
1 can chili without beans
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can veg-all
1 can potatoes
1 can tomatoes or rotel
1 can vegetable soup

Pour all cans into pan (do not drain) mix heat and eat.

1 cup = 1 point


Happy planning and eating!!

September How-To class is posted

My September How-to class is posted on Paper Popsicles in this thread! It's a school memories album that you can use to record small things about each year of school for your child. I used a bunch of Bazzill cardstock and some awesome 3 Bugs "Autumn" paper available in the Paper Popsicles store. I hope you like it!! Let me know if you make one! My kiddos aren't in school yet but I will make another one and hold onto them.

Design Team Call and fun announcement!

Sadly, it's time for Feeling Scrappy's current DT's term to end. Rachel and Kari Ann have been FABULOUS to work with-full of incredible ideas and creativity!! I have really enjoyed getting to know them and working with them.

We are changing things up a bit over at Feeling Scrappy-more details to come in October. But for now, I can say that Jayne has asked me to stay on as the Design Team Coordinator and we're working on some fun and exciting changes. I am thrilled to get to keep working with Jayne-she's such an amazing person and friend! Thanks Jayne!!

So here's the scoop on the DT call-

Feeling Scrappy, an exciting spot on the web that offers on-line classes for every level of scrapper, has an opening for one designer and three guest designers on our Design Team! We are seeking creative and fun scrapbookers who have the ability to inspire and motivate others with their work. Design Team member will be for a six-month term (October 2008-March 2009) and the Guest Designers will each serve a different two-month term (October-November 2008, December-January2009 and February-March 2009). No previous design team experience is required – we encourage all styles of scrappers to apply!

Design Team Members and Guests will be expected to do the following during their term:
1.) Design 4 layouts per month (based on classes) to be used as examples.
2.) Promote Feeling Scrappy whenever possible and create a link on your blog or website if applicable.
3.) Participate daily and actively on the message board (and/or blog) working to make it a fun and inspiring place to be. This includes posting and assisting with contests, crops and challenges.
4.) Be active during classes and supportive to students.

For your commitment you will receive:
Regular DT member - recognition as a Design Team Member, a scrap supply kit every other month and free regular classes during your term.
Guest DT members – recognition as a Guest DT Member, a free class during your term and ½ off the next class if you choose to take advantage of it.

We will accept applications for the Design Team call from Friday, September 5, 2008 until Monday September 22, 2008. *Regular DT members limited to US addresses only please due to shipping costs. Guest DT may be located anywhere.

How to apply:
Send the following to feelingscrappydesignteam@yahoo.com
1.) Your basic information: name, address, phone number, e-mail, and username at Feeling Scrappy.
2.) Five 12x12 scrapbook layouts (at least one of which should be a new layout not posted anywhere on the web) and one altered project of your choice.
3.) A link to your blog and/or image hosting site (if applicable)
4.) A short bio about yourself that includes the answers to the following questions:
How long have you been scrapping?
Are you active on any message board and if so which ones?
Are you on any other design teams? If so, why do you want to be on more than one?
Why do you want to be on a design team?
How would you be able to promote Feeling Scrappy classes?
How much time per day or week can you devote to Feeling Scrappy?
What do you feel you could bring to the Design Team at Feeling Scrappy?
Would you be willing to serve as either a regular DT member or as a guest DT member?
If you would be interested in serving as a Guest DT, are there any months between October and March that would not work for you?
We encourage everyone to apply. We look forward to getting to know you and hope you will join our message board so that we can get to know a little about you as a person. For more information visit www.feelingscrappy.com or if you have specific questions e-mail us at feelingscrappydesignteam@yahoo.com