The Simple Woman's Daybook~April 27th Edition

For Today...

Outside my window...the tulips are finally blooming in shades of red, yellow and orange

I am thinking... how overwhelmed I am by the decisions that I have to make in the coming weeks and months.

I am thankful for... my husband and his dedication to our marriage

From the kitchen... Banana Bread for snacks, Country Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes for dinner tonight.

I am wearing... my summer robe and a towel on my head.

I am reading... Simple Abundance, Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber, and the standards for the National Board Certification in Early Childhood.

I am hoping... that these last few weeks of school go quickly.

I am creating... our outdoor spaces for spring and summer living.

I am hearing... cars on the street, the stillness of the house.

One of my favorite things...red tulips.

A few plans for the rest of the week...work, laundry, cleaning and cooking. DS has hockey tryouts tonight. He'll have two teeth pulled on Wednesday. Since we''ll be home recovering, the repairman is completing the recall work on our fridge. I have class on Friday night. On Saturday we're attending my cousin's wedding.

A picture thought...

Read more day books at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Have a blessed week,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, April 27, 2009

It seems as those spring has finally arrived to my little corner of the world. The weekend's weather was hot and sunny. The tulips that didn't freeze finally bloomed and look beautiful. The fruit trees are in full bloom and the perennials are peeking out from the soil.

Of course warmer weather will mean more meals from the grill. I love trying new recipes during the spring and especially during the summer months. I can't wait to share them here.

This week will be another busy week. Only 27 more days until vacation!

Here's the menu plan:

Sunday~ BBQ Jack Chicken, Tortellini Salad, Fresh Fruit

Monday~Country Fried Steaks, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans

Tuesday~Montana Paninis, Homemade Fries and Veggies with Ranch Dip

Wednesday~Grilled Steak, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Zucchini

Thursday~Chicken Enchiladas, Salsa Rice and Salad

Friday~Prep Classes, dh and kids will eat out or order in

Saturday~ Wedding Reception

Check out more menu plans at http://orgjunkie.com

Have a week full of blessings,
Lisa

Flower Cupcakes

While searching for a cake idea for a friend's birthday, I came across these cupcakes at Betty Crocker.com The flowers are made from marshmallows, snipped into petals using kitchen shears, then dipped in colored sugars. I used pastel m&m's for the centers, but the original recipe suggested a candle in the center. These cupcakes will travel, so I chose the candies instead. I hope she loves them!

Blessings,
Lisa

Paper Crafting Wednesday

Today is Paper Crafting Wednesday at Kelli's House. Be sure to stop over and visit her blog to see some great ideas for cards, as well as check out other crafters' handiwork.

This is a card that I made for a dear friend's birthday this weekend. It's made using materials from the Stampin' Up Simply Sent Card Kit. I love the kit because I can feel crafty and everything I need is in one box, which helps since I don't have a designated crafting area.

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, April 20, 2009

Last week was busy, but the weekend was busier. I started National Board Certification Prep Classes on Friday night. On Saturday, we were busy around the house until attending a First Holy Communion Party for our cousin Matthew. Congratulations Matt and Happy Birthday to you too! Sunday was Mass, grocery shopping, and more chores. It's amazing what you can do in two days. This week begins hockey try-outs for ds.

Here's our plan for this week:

Sunday~Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce over Spaghetti, Veal Parmesan and Breadsticks

Monday~Cheeseburger Sliders, Oven Steak Fries, and Baked Beans

Tuesday~Best Grilled Pork Chops, Olive Oil and Garlic Pasta, Sugar Snap Peas

Wednesday~Sloppy Joes, French Fries and Corn

Thursday~Grilled Steak, Baked Potatoes, and Tossed Salad

Friday~I have class. DH and the kids will have hot dogs and macaroni and cheese

Saturday~Pizza and Wing Night

Check out more menus at: http://orgjunkie.com

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Pork Medallions with Lemon Sauce

This recipe is from the April 17th issue of All You Magazine. The pork was really tender and very delicious. I served it with rice pilaf and sugar snap peas. I forgot to take a photo, but here is the recipe:

Pork Medallions in Lemon Sauce

1-1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch slices
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Flatten each pork slice to 3/4 inch thickness by pressing it with flat side of a chef's knife. Sprinkle pork slices with slat. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge pork slices in it.

2. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, cook pork medallions, turning once until well browned on both sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer pork to a plate.

3. Add wine and lemon juice to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and parsley. Return pork to pan and warm through, turning slices to coat with sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Lisa

My Mosaic

I saw this at Homekeeping Heart and thought it was worth a try.

The rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite book?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (If you don't have a flickr account, just use some screen name you have)

Let me know if you do one (and post it) so I can see how it came out.

Blessings,
Lisa

Easter Celebration

Our Easter began with the kids finding the baskets the Easter bunny hid and checking out their goodies.

Then we attended the final Easter Mass at our current parish. Here are the kids in their Easter outfits....

and with their handsome daddy.

Following Mass, we hosted Easter dinner with my family at our home. Here's our family minus my dad (the photographer...)

Here's our dinner table. Everything was delicious!

Following dinner and clean up, there was an Easter Egg hunt for the kids in our yard. Here are some action shots:

After the egg hunt, I was able to get a picture of the kids outside with the egg tree...

How was your Easter?

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, April 13, 2009

Hello! This week's menu has a few meals that we didn't have last week. The Buffalo Chicken Pizza was tasty and well received. Here's this week's menu:

Sunday~Easter Dinner

Monday~Ham, Green Beans and Potato Soup

Tuesday~Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken, Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad, Fruit

Wednesday~Pork Medallions with Lemon Sauce, Rice Pilaf, Sugar Snap Peas

Thursday~Dinner out with Friends

Friday~Pizza and Wings

Saturday~Grilled Steak, Baked Potatoes and Tossed Salad

View more menu plans at http://orgjunkie.com/

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Easter Table and More...

This is our dining room table for Easter dinner tomorrow. I made the egg topiaries using styrofoam eggs and hydrangeas.

Here's a closer look at our centerpiece.


A place setting using my new silverware by Pfaltzgraff in the Winslow pattern, antique dishes in the Rosemont pattern by Thomas Ivory and crystal stemware. The little baskets are filled with Easter grass and a small chocolate egg. The napkin is tied with ribbon with a tulip tucked behind the bow. I made the place cards using a pattern from http://hubpages.com/hub/Easter-Decorations1 They have lilies and a pink bow on the side with Happy Easter below. Too cute! The tablecloth and napkins have a tulip design.

This is my Italian Easter Bread fresh out of the oven. I've been making it for 12 years now and is the perfect compliment to ham.

These are the flowers we bought as gifts. I printed and cut out the bunnies on cardstock and put them on skewers as gift tags.

Hope you all have an Easter filled with Blessings!

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Blessings,

Lisa

Easter Eggs 2009

Make a Smilebox greeting

Easter Menu

Hydrangea plant from dh for Easter

Our Easter Menu

Baked Ham

Kielbassi~Holiday, Hot Pepper and Cheese

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Pickled Eggs and Beets

Creamy Green Bean Bake

Italian Easter Bread

Desserts

Jelly Bean Bites

Coconut Cheesecake

Beverages

Coffee

Iced Tea

Assorted Soda

Wine

Have a blessed Easter!

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, April 6, 2009

The weekend and last week were very busy, and this week is just as busy it seems. I'm looking forward to the lazy days of summer. Here's the plan for the week:

Sunday~Beef Stroganoff over Egg Noodles with Sugar Snap Peas on the side

Monday~Beer Can Chicken, Creamy Italian Pasta Salad and Fruit

Tuesday~Open House and Hockey Practice

Wednesday~Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce over Spaghetti and Veal Parmesan

Thursday~Pork Medallions with Lemon Sauce, Rice Pilaf and Green Beans

Friday~Fish and Chips, Coleslaw

Saturday~Buffalo Chicken Pizzas and Salad

Read more menus at http://orgjunkie.com

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

Gardening....

This is my first time starting plants from seeds for our garden. They are finally beginning to sprout, and will be thinned out later this week into flat trays for planting outside sometime next month. It's still too early to put anything out yet. From left to right are basil, green pepper and tomato plants.

I'm trying to convince dh to build a raised bed in our backyard for this summer. I want to plant some lettuce, broccoli and cucumber plants too.

Blessings,

Lisa