Worthwhile Challenge 2011- #1

I put "#1" in the title because if all things go as planned, we should end up with "#52" by the end of December.

We'll see how it goes.

Tonight I tried the first new recipe of the year.

It is from this book:

If you are not familiar with Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, you should head over to their website. I have not looked through all of their product line, but I have several of their cookbooks and I just love them. They're fun and homey, with little tidbits to read along with fabulous recipes.

So tonight I made "Waikiki Meatballs." It was supposed to be an appetizer, but I paired them with some homemade fried rice and some pineapple and made it a meal.

The recipe itself was simple and I had everything on hand except the pineapple tidbits, which I picked up at the store today. I'll share with you the variation that I went with. That is what I'll be doing on this whole journey, because I usually tailor recipes to fit our specific tastes. For example, this recipe calls for chopped green peppers in the sauce. None of us like peppers, so there were none in my batch!

Since I changed the recipe does that make them Maui Meatballs instead of Waikiki? Or how about Oahu Balls? You decide.

Mix together 1.5 lbs lean ground beef, 2/3 c. cracker crumbs, 1/3 c minced onion (I didn't feel like mincing an onion so I just used the dry flake stuff and not that much), 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 c milk. Mix together and form into one to two-inch balls and brown in skillet. Set aside. In a saucepan (that will hold all your balls too), combine 1/2 c brown sugar with 2 Tbs of cornstarch. Whisk in the juice from a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks, 1/3 c vinegar, and 1 T soy sauce. Bring to a simmer. Mixture will thicken as it simmers. Toss in the meatballs and the pineapple (and the 1/4c chopped green peppers if you like) and simmer until all is heated through and the meatballs are happily coated.

Here is my plate:

Brooke gave this two thumbs up. (The picture is a little wonky because I discovered later my camera was on the night setting. weird). She had her meatballs gone before I even sat down with my plate. Such a good eater.

Hannah had spaghetti-os. She's a horrible eater right now. She eats waffles with chocolate chips for breakfast. Spaghettio's with meatballs and nuggets for lunch and dinner. That's about the extent of her repetoire..though on a good day I can get her to eat some apples with peanut butter or even more rarely brocolli with ranch. I'll keep trying though!

Matt says it's a keeper. I liked them too.

I think the sauce would actually be fairly versatile... you could put in browned chunks of steak for a sweet-sour-beef type dish... I even think some grilled chicken might be good.

What new recipe are you going to concoct this week? If it's yummy, do share it with me!

Worthwhile Challenge - 2011

I bet you think this post is going to be about New Year's Resolutions.

I prefer to not call this project by such a name.

NYResolutions never seem to make it.

Granted, since I am going on a cruise in 5 months, you can bet I'm stepping up my exercise regimen and stepping down my calorie intake. I have a new bathing suit to buy. (blech).

And granted, I'm hoping to get myself to kick the nail-nibbling habit AGAIN. I did it before, then when Brooke started kindergarten it kind of sent me into a tail spin. I've gotta get back on track there, because I'd like pretty nails on the end of my fat fingers.

But the Worthwhile Challenge 2011 is a challenge I'm putting upon myself that I am going to share with you here on this blog, and with my family at the kitchen table.

I'm challenging myself to try at least ONE new recipe PER WEEK. Now, Julie on "Julie and Julia" made about 370 new recipes in one year. My goals are not that lofty, nor am I that crazy. But I've got a slew of cookbooks, and a bunch of cooking sites/blogs that I like, so I figure it's time to set forth a plan to actually try some of the stuff.

Each week I will post a report on the recipe I tried for that week. It may or may not include pictures. But I'll tell you how I made it, how it turned out, and if we think we'll eat it again :)

So if a week goes by without a "new recipe report".... give me a nudge and remind me!

And perhaps on the weeks where the new recipe is high in calories, I'll also report my excerise accomplishments too ;)

Who wants to join me in this challenge? If you do, leave me a note....and each week you are welcome to send me your recipe to include on my report as well. (Or link to the recipe if it's online). If you've got a blog and want to link back to this post and do the Worthwhile Challenge and report it on your blog too- go for it :)

Have a great day!

2010 Picture Recap

I take a lot of pictures and if I hadn't been so busy the last few weeks I probably would have done a "year end review" photo montage to entertain you. Instead, I'm going to give you a 2010 Month by Month photo recap, sharing with you a favorite picture or few from each month of the year.

Our 2010....

Apparently the highlight of January 2010 was SNOW because I have a lot of sledding pictures, like these:

In February, Hannah turned two! Her birthday fell on show-and-tell day for Brooke, so Brooke took Hannah to school for show-and-tell.

March had us going to see Sesame Street Live,

and hosting Brooke's Pirate themed birthday party, (that red room is my office if you didn't know!):

April was a big month with Brooke turning 6,

and Matt getting his pilot license! We went flying with him;

but we haven't really gone much since....he got the license on a company scholarship (thank God), but now it is $50/hour to fly and build up time to the bigger plane. Should you wish to contribute to the flying fund, please contact me.

May....ah....my favorite month of the year. Not only does it have a wonderful holiday--My Birthday-- and Matt's birthday too--but we usually take our vacation in May. This year was no exception. We had a superfabulous trip to Disney World where we stayed at the property we "own" at for the first time. I spent a lot of time recapping it on the blog starting with this post, and then another post here, even more here. I had a lot to write about so there was also post four, and the final post. If you are bored this holiday weekend and looking for some reading material, check out the Disney posts if you haven't. Seriously the highlight of our year I think. Here are a few of my favorite pics from that trip:

One of my favorite pics of brooke from the entire year;

Matt's parents went with us;

I hope you're not bored yet because we're only halfway through the year! In June, we had a family get together in Kansas City with my mom's side of the family. I can't find the pictures, but it was so great spending time with them! We also did a night at Great Wolf Lodge.

I got highlights for the first time:

Brooke lost her first tooth:

And I completed my first month of cake classes:

July found the summer in full swing with us spending A LOT of time playing outside. We love to go swimming and play in the sprinkler. We got a fence finally this year too, so we could send the girls out back to play on their own while we got dinner ready, etc. It was a fun summer!

One of my favorite pics of Hannah from the entire year;

In August we had a fun trip to Iowa to visit family. We enjoyed the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Indianola, spent time my mom, step dad, nephew, bro and sis in law. Then we went to Red Oak to see my dad's side of the family. It was our last hurrah before school started, and we spent our 11th Anniversary in Iowa.

Brooke started First Grade on August 17th.

We didn't have our bus driver from last year, but after a few weeks of difficulty with the new guy, we got Greg back. It was a very important part of the school year!

September is usually a pretty laid-back month...settling into a routine, enjoying the fall weather. We did just that, but got some cute pics of the girls in the meantime:

My accidental little side gig of doing cakes/cookies/cupcakes really started to take off and I gave it a name, "Worthwhile Moments Sweet Shoppe"... I'm amazed at how busy it has kept me the last few months, which worked out nice with it being a slower time in my travel biz!

In October, we had a trip to Great Wolf Lodge

More cakes

a trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

I took some pics of the girls for their "1/2" birthday:

and of course, Halloween:

The weekend after Halloween weekend, my brother, sis in law and nephew Brayton came down to visit us! They'll be having a little girl in January to add to our family! We always love it when they come to visit!

Started decorating for Christmas after they left. We put up 8 trees, so it takes awhile! We also enjoyed going to see the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular;

My mom and stepdad came down Thanksgiving weekend so we could do our Christmas with them

Whew...almost done...! It's taken forever to get all these pictures dragged to the right spot. Is dragged a word? I'm usually such a grammar person but my brain is fried after this Christmas break!

So December.... A visit from Papa Terry and Grandma Diane,

A slew of Christmas pictures, Christmas decorating, and Christmas enjoying.

Thanks for hanging in for the long post.... since I was a total slacker on Christmas card letters this year, hopefully this makes up for it!

Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with many blessings!!