Menu Planning Monday and new layout

Here's a page I finished over the weekend. I used a sketch from 52 Sketches 52 Weeks and combined it with a challenge from a weekend crop at Scrap 4 Life.


I haven't been very good about posting my menu for the week. I love menu planning to help me prepare in advance and it keeps us from eating out too often. I'm doing a lot of crockpot things this week so I don't heat up the house with the oven.
I also like checking and linking to http://www.orgjunkie.com/ because it helps keep me accountable to plan our week every Monday. If you haven't checked out the site, you should! Not only are there hundreds of menu plans every week linked there on Mondays, but they have other great organizing ideas as well.


Monday- Crockpot smothered meatloaf, steamed veggies, potatoes and maybe some rolls or other bread
Tuesday- Crockpot BBQ chicken, Rancher's Potatoes, Corn
Wednesday- Crockpot taco style lentils and rice (probably to be used as burrito filling with lettuce, tomatoes, etc.) *This recipe was surprisingly good! We froze leftovers for tacos and burritos later.
Thursday- Crockpot Mexican Chicken Soup
Friday- Crockpot Asian Chicken (new recipe), fried rice and veggies
Saturday-Homemade pizza
Sunday- Keilbasa, black beans and rice

**Hope you have a nice week!!!

Kielbasa, beans and rice

This is super yummy! We like to use turkey kielbasa to make it a little healthier.

Kielbasa
2 cans black beans-drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
cooked white rice
avocado-optional but really good with it
Directions:
Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Throw it in a skillet and sear. Toss in the garlic, cook another minute or two then add the beans and tomatoes and let it all simmer til you are ready to eat. Serve the bean mixture over rice and garnish with sliced avocado. Serve with cornbread if you’d like.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken Soup

A yummy and healthy soup that's easy to make. This recipe is from my friend Jayne.

Mexican Chicken Soup
1 lb chicken breast
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 cans Rotel or Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can 14oz tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
Directions:
~Cook in crock-pot 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and enjoy.
1 cup = 2 WW points
**I generally add some extra spices to suit our taste such as cumin and fajita seasoning.

Rancher's Potatoes

This is a fabulous potato side dish from Dirt Road Scrapper in the ScrapShare cookbook.

Rancher's Potatoes
6 large potatoes, washed & cubed into chunks
1 can chopped green chilies
5 strips bacon, cooked & chopped
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. Ranch dressing
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
Directions:
Place potatoes in a large casserole dish with a dash of water and microwave on high until almost tender. While they're cooking, combine all other ingredients and stir well. Stir into potatoes. Place dish in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Card

Here's a card I made with the metal embellishments that I dyed with alcohol ink. You can see detailed instructions on the Feeling Scrappy Blog. http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/
Hope you are having a great Sunday!

Tutorial-metal embellishments

I have an easy and fun little tutorial up on the Feeling Scrappy blog this weekend! Today I show you how to change the color of plain metal embellishments and tomorrow I have a new project sample. I hope you'll stop by!
http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/

A couple of pages

Here's a new layout I created using an old kit from Paper Popsicles. I love these papers!!


And a layout from the Feeling Scrappy Ink Class last month.

Bring on the bling!!

Shimmer, Sparkle and Shine starts Monday at Feeling Scrappy. I have been having so much fun adding lots of shimmery goodness to my projects! nothing I can share right now with you...but fun stuff!!

http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/search/label/Classes

What's your favorite way to add some sparkle to your projects?

Weekly card challenges

In case you haven't heard, Paper Popsicles has a weekly card challenge!! You can see this week's challenge on the blog here- http://paperpopsicles.blogspot.com/2009/06/challenge-card-2-winner.html It's a recipe challenge this week and the prize is some free digital designs (a new feature in the PP store!) I hope you'll check it out!! They also have a great message board and gallery if you'd like some scrappy inspiration, challenges, or to chat with some other scrapbookers.

Visit with a great friend!!!!

Adonica, Vince and their beautiful baby Adrian stopped in for a couple of days. It was soo nice to see them!!! The kids loved watching the baby and I loved visiting and hanging out. I am so glad you were able to make the time to visit, Adonica!!!! I look forward to our next visit! And OF COURSE we scrapped a little(just a couple of hours). Mostly, my pages are reserved for the next class over at Feeling Scrappy so I can't share them yet :) . Have a wonderful day!

I love that I don't look like I've gained an extra 40 pounds in this photo!!! LOL