We're Building A House....

After much thought, consideration and about five house plans this is the house that we decided to build. It is a modular, and will come to us in pieces and be set upon a foundation. It isn't huge, but does have 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and a den. We'll finish the basement area into a family room/man cave. ;0)

The floor plan came out smaller than I thought, but you get the idea. There will be a center island in the kitchen and the peninsula wll be gone. We will have a french door out to the patio in the nook. I just wanted to share...it's getting down to the BIG decisions now. We are hoping to be in our new home by July 1st. Our current house is on the market and we have an interested party, but are waiting to see if she is open to having us remain here until the new house is completed. Please keep us in your prayers!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Pollo alla Panna

This is one of my most requested dishes. I made it tonight for dinner and it was delicious as always. You can substitute chicken stock for the wine and the recipe easily doubles or triples for extra servings.

Chicken Cutlets in Cream Sauce

2-6 ounce chicken breasts, boneless & skinless, well trimmed, pounded 1/4"
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, not extra virgin
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic , chopped
1 tablespoon shallots, chopped
4 ounces dry white wine
4 slices lemon
4 ounces rich chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
salt and white pepper to taste
Garnish:
2 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh sage


Preparation:

Dip the well trimmed and pounded chicken breasts in flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt. In a sauté pan that has been preheated along with the olive oil and butter, put in the chicken breasts as the oil mixture begins to bubble and turn slightly golden . Cook until light golden on both sides, about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Now add the shallots and garlic and cook for one minute, (do not brown). Add the lemon slices, white wine and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to half its original volume. Remove the lemon slices and add the heavy cream. Season with salt and ground white pepper to your liking, I would start with 2 or 3 dashes of white pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and simmer until the volume is about 6 ounces. Place the warm chicken breast back in with the sauce and cook half covered for 3-4 minutes to re-heat the chicken. Add the chopped parsley and serve with pasta of your choice, thin linguini is a good choice. Garnish everything with sprigs of parsley and sage.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Small Successes~February 26th

I am a day late in sharing my small successes for this week. Our lives were turned upside down on Sunday, when we received a call that my brother had fallen 20 feet from a ladder and was at the ER. He had fractured his vertebrae, in a sense his back is broken. My Sunday was spent in the ER, then on Monday he had some serious complications. On Tuesday, he was in better shape and finally on Wednesday afternoon, he returned home. I was pretty overhwhelmed with it all, and was in prayer constantly. I thank God for his healing and that he wasn't paralyzed and didn't require surgery. He is in a vest to support his back and can't work for at least six weeks, but he is home and is recovering well.

We also received an offer on our house. We are now hoping (and praying) that the woman accepts our counter-offer, allowing us to live here until our new home is completed.

Now onto my successes:

1. I haven't completely fallen apart with all the things that are going on, although I'm on the edge.

2. We had a family movie day...lunch and Alvin and The Chipmunks Squeakquel on Sunday. We had a great time!

3. I have managed to keep up with the laundry despite our jam-packed week and am so thankful to be home today due to the major storm we're having today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Sunshine Award

Thank you to Mel at Mel's Backyard for this Sunshine Award for my blog. I'm so glad she is part of my blog family! Love you Mel!

Blessings,

Lisa

Simple Woman's Daybook 2.15.10

FOR TODAY... Monday, February 15th, 2010 President's Day


Outside my window... it is cold and overcast, with another 6 inches of snow starting this afternoon and through the night.

I am thinking... how odd it will be to have a full day of school. We haven't had one in two weeks!

I am thankful for... the generosity of family.

I am wearing... my robe, slippers and a towel on my head.



I am remembering... that I have to make baked oatmeal right now!

I am going... to have another jam packed week with hockey, dance, did I say hockey? and work.

I am currently reading... a Catholic Woman's Devotional Bible


I am hoping... for my prayers to be answered.


On my mind... selling this house....what more can I say about that? The sign is now posted and the waiting has started.

Noticing that... it is very quiet this morning.

Pondering these words... Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens. Psalm 36:5


From the kitchen... chocolate cupcakes, meatball hoagies for dinner

Around the house... maintaining and painting.

One of my favorite things~ chocolate covered caramels

From my picture journal...

Summer at the Lake...

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 2.15.10

Welcome to another menu plan Monday hosted by Laura at http://orgjunkie.com

This week is jam-packed with activities, games, and classes for the kids. Along with the usual chaos of life, we also officially have our house on the market. We are praying daily for a successful sale. Our realtor seems confident that we will find a buyer. I love that! Here's our plan for the week:

Sunday~Valentine's Day~Heart Shaped Pizzas, Italian Salad, Chocolate Cupcakes for dessert.

Monday~Meatball Hoagies, Homemade Fries and Salad

Tuesday~Tacos with All the Fixin's, Corn and Mexican Rice

Wednesday~Beer Battered Fish, Pierogies and Coleslaw

Thursday~Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes

Friday~Cheese/Veggie Pizza, Salad

Saturday~Movie Day with the Kids~we'll eat at the theatre

Be sure to check out more menus at http://orgjunkie.com

Have a week full of blessings!

Lisa

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

DD and I made cupcakes today for Valentine's Day. We baked chocolate cupcakes, then frosted and decorated them with coconut (for me!), read and pink sugar and conversation hearts.

Here's a photo of my little helper in her ballerina apron.

Ds is filling out his valetines for his classmates. I'm sad that this was his last year exchanging valentines.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Thankful Thursday~Love

It's been quite awhile since my last Thankful Thursday blog post. It's a snow day, so I actually have lots of time to do some things I like to do...read blogs, post on my blog, catch some of my fav HGTV shows, play with the kids and more. To read more thankful Thursday posts, please visit Iris at Grace Alone.

Today's theme is love.


I am so thankful today and everyday that God loves me just as I am.

I am so blessed and thankful to have the love of my husband, who I've been with for 19 years this month. God brought us together and remains the center of our marriage and family.

I am so thankful for my loving, awesome children. They bring God's love alive each and every day.

I am so thankful that spring is just around the corner.

What are you thankful for today?

Love and blessings,

Lisa

Small Successes~February 11, 2010

Here are this week's small successes:

1. I continued to work out daily on the Wii fit and am 1.5 lbs away from my next goal. I feel so much better since I started exercising almost 2 months ago.

2. We listed our house with the realtor yesterday. Small steps in the big picture.

3. I have everything ready for school and home for Valentine's Day. The treats are ready for three classrooms, valentines are written out, cards for family are in the mail. Snow days are a blessing!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, 2.8.10

Good day! Thank you for stopping by for another Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at http://orgjunkie.com Laura posted that she is in the midst of selling her home. We're getting ready to put our home on the market this week. Our house is really clean, and it will be next to impossible to maintain with two tornadoes, I mean kids, in our home. So, on top of the pressure and stress of hoping and praying someone will buy our lovely home, I'm worried about toys on the floor, dirty towels, dishes in the sink, crumbs on the floor, juice dribbles and more.

Anyhow, back to the menu.....


Sunday~ Tailgate Sandwich Ring, Taco Dip and Chips, Brownies


Monday~ Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Veal Parmesan, Salad

Tuesday~ Enchilada Bake, Salad and Mexican Rice

Wednesday~Ham Steaks, Mashed Potatoes with Country Gravy and Green Beans

Thursday~BBQ Pork Sliders, Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Beans

Friday~Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~ June's Chicken Casserole, Rice Pilaf, Carrots


Have a week full of blessings,
Lisa

Snow Storm 2010

We've gotten about a foot of snow since yesterday a noon, when the snow started falling. This is a shot outside the picture window in the living room.

This is a view out of our back door....

The snow is piled to the bottom of my Valentine's Day mini flag.

The other corner of the back yard....

This is a picture off of the front porch. You can see where the paper boy stepped in the snow to leave the paper on the chair on our porch.

More snow is expected throughout the day with the warning ending at 6 pm tonight. I wonder if Walmart is open? lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, 2.1.10

Welcome to the first MPM of February 2010. This week is jam-packed with activity, as seems the norm these days. We followed last week's menu pretty closely. The Italian Wedding Soup was delicious and comforting on a single-digit winter day. Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~ Lasagna, Hot Sausage, Salad, and Garlic Bread


Monday~Away Game~dinner out


Tuesday~BBQ Pork Ribs, Crash Hot Potatoes, Corn

Wednesday~Philly Cheesesteaks, Oven Fries, Salad


Thursday~ Herb Chicken Breasts with Honey Butter, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans


Friday~Dinner out with work friends to celebrate Jen completing her year of chemo treatments. Congrats Jen!

Saturday~Pizza and Wing Night

Be sure to visit Laura's for 1oo's of weekly menus at http://orgjunkie.com

Blessings and peace,

Lisa