Monday Meal Madness

This week I'm posting one of my favorite crock pot recipes that a friend gave me. Just the other day while I was perusing the pages at A Year of Slow Cooking, I saw the recipe and fell in love again!   Stephanie's recipe varies a little from mine but not much at all.  :)
This will be going on my menu next week,  I have enough food for this week and would switch out a meal but it's birthday week around here and when it's your birthday, I make you your favorite dinner.  We've already had stromboli and  beef stroganoff. and next on the menu is spaghetti.

Peperoncini Beef in the Crock Pot

Beef Pot Roast (any size)
16oz beef broth
one package dry onion soup mix  (I've started skipping this part and using real onion instead)
2 cloves of garlic (I love garlic so I probably use more!)
1 jar peperoncini peppers


Let cook all day in the crock pot until it's falling apart.  We serve this on toasted french bread with provolone cheese melted on top.  Yummy!  You can use the broth left over in the crock pot as an au jus for dipping.

I'd love for you to link up below with one of your favorite recipes!  I'm always looking for new recipes to try!  I'm also linking up at :

and:

Thanks and Happy  Monday!

Our Kitchen Remodel Part 2

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This summer while working on the exterior, our neighbor suggested we take out the octagonal window and put in a window that would allow us to see out into our driveway without having to run and look out our dining room window.  After going back and forth on the idea most of the summer, Mr. A and I decided at the last minute to replace the window. We waited two weeks for it to come in, which put our project on hold because there wasn't much else to do but finish up the north side of the house where the window needed to be put in.  The neighbor that suggested this little window remodel also said he would help put the new window in.  What a guy!   Here are a few before pictures, that I actually remembered to take, I'm so proud of myself!!!!

BEFORE:

During:

Discussing how to best put the window in or maybe planning a new Drive-up meal service? 

AFTER:

I didn't take any pictures of what it looked like when the window was in but the plaster wasn't fixed.  Just imagine an octagon shape off the right top corner of the window with some insulation shoved in there and that was the way it stayed for a few months.   Yup, I'm fast to start a project and very slow to ever finish it, completely.

Here it is again, before:

After:

I  like the functionality of the window but I miss the charm of the old one.  Debating a valance for Ithe window, not sure yet.  I am ready to move on to the dining room corner hutches.  I bought my fabric for the dining room chairs today at Hancock Fabrics, 3 yards for $12!  Woo hoo!  I love a good deal!  Stay tuned for the next project.......

Peperoncini Beef in the Crock Pot

Peperoncini Beef in the Crock Pot

Beef Pot Roast (any size)

16oz beef broth

one package dry onion soup mix (I've started skipping this part and using real onion instead)

2 cloves of garlic (I love garlic so I probably use more!)

1 jar peperoncini peppers

Loaf of french bread or hoagie rolls

Slices of provolone or swiss cheese

Let cook all day in the crock pot until it's falling apart. We serve this on toasted french bread with provolone cheese melted on top. Yummy! You can use the broth left over in the crock pot as an au jus for dipping.

2011 House Goals or Wishful Thinking?

The Nester just posted on her blog 2011 Home Goals for her home. It's so nice to see other bloggers who have beautiful homes still have those spaces that aren't perfect and have places that they would like to work on.
Mr.A and I sat down last night to decide what project we were going to tackle next so we could figure out the budget and all the boring stuff that I don't like figuring out.   If it was up to me, we'd just dive right in and figure all that out later. Good thing Mr.A is around to keep me somewhat grounded.
So I am going to post our goals for our home this year as well and hopefully by December 2011 I can look back and see some of these accomplished!

Install the dining room corner cabinets
Paint the cabinets
Paint over the brown on the bottom and possibly a new color on the top as well
Reupholster the dining room chairs.
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep the table cherry or repaint it, possibly white.
Another thought is adding some board and batten to the wall but that might be too much with the cabinets, we'll have to see as we go!

Next on the list is the hall closet/playroom.

With four children we have a lot of games, puzzles, coloring books, craft type stuff.  This closet is usually a little more organized but with Christmas presents combined with Christmas break and a toddler that loves to get into stuff, the closet is looking less than stellar.  I'm embarrassed to put this picture out there but I'm just keeping it real.

We hope to turn this closet into an office, like this one from Country Living:




Which leads to the playroom and all it's glory.  We have two closets, one is pictured below, looking a mite bit scary.  Again, just keeping it real, it's 11pm and I don't have the energy to make it look pretty right now. 

Install shelving units in the two closets for toys, games and playroom crap stuff
Move the bookcase/shelving units out of the playroom
Replace the carpeting with some type of flooring that is not carpeting  as the dog thinks it's fun to pee on carpet
Paint the doors white or replace them with white doors
Install window trim and paint the trim around both windows, a project left over from this summer when we replaced the windows in the playroom
Repaint the playroom and get rid of the curbside couch, make it have more of a hang out/kid friendly feel to it

Rip out the desk between the two closets and make a cute little bench seat

 

On a side note, I think I clean this desk off about once a week but really it's just a catchall and the kids' computer area which doesn't get a lot of love during the week.  Don't judge me, k? 
Moving on from that scary mess......

When we bought this house, it came with a lovely white and green diamond patterned tile entryway floor.  It was as slick as ice and if you made the mistake of stepping on it with wet shoes, you were in for a wild ride!
One day while using my floormate I hit the tile and a little green diamond popped up off the floor.  I was able to pick up almost all the tiles by hand without any effort.  A few actually were grouted to the hardwood floor but about 80% came up with ease.  The floor has remained like this for about a year and a half now.

I would love to refinish this but that might have to wait until we refinish the living room and dining room floor as well.  So, not sure what we'll do right here but I'd like something done so it doesn't look so unfinished.

This is it for now, I have a ton of landscaping that I would like to accomplish this summer as well but it's kind of hard to show pictures of what I'd like to redo because everything is covered in snow!

There are more things I could put on here, like both bathrooms needing makeovers,  main floor laundry, figuring out what we are doing with our bedroom sitation (3 girls in one bedroom is just the beginning), knocking out the wall between the kitchen and the playroom which then would mean no office closet, refinishing the hardwood floors on the main floor, I could keep going but I'll just stop there!

I love my home but sometimes I feel like I"m always trying to improve it without stopping and just letting things be for a while.  I don't have a Country Living worthy house nor will I probably ever.  What I want most is a home that is safe, comfortable, inviting, warm, welcoming and inspiring.  A place for my family to think back on fondly when they are grown.   A place where they bring their teenage friends to hang out, their children to visit in and where they will always call HOME!  Unless of course I get the bug to move in a few years.  ;)

Thanks for checking it out and I'd love to hear from you!

I'm linking up at The Nesting Place.

Monday Meal Madness - Cheesy Potatoes

Well I've finally figured out how to use the linky tool on my blog, it only took me 6 months! So, my new blog feature is Monday Meal Madness. I will post a recipe every Monday and you can link up with your recipe as well! I am looking to add some new meals to my rotation so hopefully you can all join in and post some of your favorites each week. It doesn't have to be the main course either, I consider dessert a part of the meal, along with salads, sides, appetizers, or whatever else. Here is my side dish that I am posting, I know a lot of people have this recipe but there are a lot of variations on it.

Cheesy Potatoes

2 pounds hash browns thawed (you can use either the shredded or cubed, I prefer the cubed)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chickens soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for one hour or until lightly browned on top. You can also make these in the crock pot.

Some people like to top these with crushed up chips, saltines or Special K cereal. I don't top mine with anything because I like the crisp top of the potatoes.

I also have been adding 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup to give it some more flavor and then not using an entire cup of sour cream. This recipe is one that you can definitely play around with and there are quite a few different versions out there. Thanks for linking up and don't forget to check out some other links that people post. It's always fun to get new recipes!

I'm also linking up at: