My Meat Grinder

Or should I say my meat grinder attachment.  For my birthday this year, I asked for a Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment.  Having watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on hulu has been eye-opening to say the least.  I WISH that I could afford to purchase all my groceries through a co-op, Farmer's Market or Whole Foods.  Since that is not an option, I decided that I could take a small step by grinding some of my own meat in order to avoid added water and chemicals and "sludge" (aka fatty parts, bone, cartiledge).
Bed Bath & Beyond's price was $49.99 and with my 20% off coupon, I paid $40.  T & I made our first recipe on Monday, just something I created in my head.  It turned out pretty good!  As usual, my measurements are not precise as I throw a little of this & that in the bowl, but these are a rough estimate.

Tex Mex Chicken Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chilled & cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
2 canned chipotles (in adobo sauce)
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup masa
2 eggs
Adobo seasoning or garlic powder
Sea salt

Alternately grind chicken breast, chipotles & onion with coarse grind.  After all ground, change blades and process half of the mixture through the fine grind.  Add both course & fine grind mixtures together.  Add eggs, breadcrumbs, masa, about 2 tsp. adobo and 1 tsp. sea salt.  If mixture still feels too wet, add some more masa.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil.  Using large scoop, form meatballs a bit larger than golf ball.  Place in  pan and cover with foil.  Bake about 30-40 minutes.  Check that they are cooked through and let cool with foil covering.  I froze half and the other half I used to make lettuce wraps.

We wrapped a meatball in a huge Romaine leaf with a bit of Queso Fresco tucked inside.  A slice of avocado or dollop of guacamole would be fantastic, too.

The fat content is super low on these & they are really flavorful.  My husband says they are excellent.  But then again, he says that about pretty much any food, so probably not the best critique;) 

Love my husband!  Soo glad that he is not a picky eater.

Birthday Fun

The sun always shines on June 26th!!  In all seriousness, I cannot recall a birthday with cloudy skies and this is my 38th b-day.  Today was beautiful, sunny and not too hot and humid.  After church, I took a nap (best gift ever!) and later we went to the Promenade to walk around with the boys.  My passenger side window was malfunctioning so we stopped at my parent's house to check on it.  It was nice to spend time there and the boys loved playing games with their Grandma. 
At 7pm, we started home and I decided to make an impromptu dinner: pizza croissants.  We slathered sauce and sprinkled Mozzarella on split croissants and broiled.  It was really simple and good, but not so healthy. 

Sold stuff on etsy that I need to prep for shipping tomorrow. 

Here are some pics from yesterday night when my sister's family & my dad joined us for pizza, salad and a trek to the DG Rotary Fest.

Charlie loved the classic car ride and was quite upset when Daddy took him off.  T, C, R & I riding on the "hot air balloon" ride.  Daredevils only need apply; I & R bravely had their hands up most of the time.

Big Old Storm

These are the massive roots that you are looking at!  The tree fell into neighbor's yard & spared my tomatoes:)

North side of yard above

My favorite pine tree, toppled.

We were struck by a monstrous storm last night and the damage is unbelievable.  At my parent's home right now until we get power.  Will post pics.  3 massive trees were completely pulled up by the roots in our yard and the power lines are on the ground.

Despite the mess, we are so grateful that our home was spared.  We also feel honored that we can be a blessing to our neighbors. 

Tea Dye Fail, Sprinkle and Soccer

Well, not much to say about the tea dye.  It actually looked pretty decent, but the dark spots on the shoulders (realized from a hanger) still showed.  And I decided to do a tie dye effect in dark chocolate.  In my haste to remove the rubber bands to see the results, I accidentally cut a hole in the dress.  Oops.  At least it was only a $1.50 "experiment".

T's soccer season is over and it was a fun year.  They placed 1st in their division.  Here is T, C and T's best friend.  It has been such a blessing to form friendships with all the wonderful families on the team.

The annual Wilton sale is over.  The boys went with me and we got our usual haul: meringue powder, cello bags, parchment & some sprinkles.  When we came home I organized my sprinkle stash and decided to use a vintage spice rack to make a cute display.  After I yanked the spice rack from my etsy site (it cost me $4! at the thirft store), I cleaned the bottles in hot, soapy water.  After they dried, T & I used a funnel to fill with sprinkles.  It looks darling on the counter and will serve its purpose well.

VBS went really, really well.  It was a wonderful week and I was surprised at how much fun I had.  My craft room ladies were the best!  14 children made a decision for Christ and I think we made every child feel loved and safe.

Tea Dying

Now that VBS is over, I am excited to "officially" start summer with my boys.  T had an excellent report card so we celebrated by going to the A&W.  He loves the corn dog nuggets and smothering his fries in malt vinegar.  We were the only people in the restaurant so it was relaxing and a nice night out.
My etsy business is picking up.  It's so fun to field questions from buyers and research items.  Thank you, Lord, for giving me the passion for nostalgic "stuff"-I get to make some rag money & have fun, too.  Tonight I posted some high end shoes and started to work on a cream colored dress that I found.

The dress was a bargain at $1.50, marked down from $3.  There was a small yellow spot on the front that I was able to easily remove at home (thank you, Tech stain remover!).  After putting it on Irene, I noticed that there were two square shaped dark spots on both shoulders.  Not sure what they are, but was debating as to whether I should bleach the dress or not. 

Then I had an idea to tea stain the dress.  For years I have been wanting to try this and $1.50 was not a steep gamble. 

Here's the pot.  There are about 10 tea bags in there.  Not sure why it looks purple?

Here is the once-white dress.  Will post the "results" tomorrow.

Pandamania!

It's on!

Today was day #2 of Pandamania VBS at church. So far it has been a fantastic 2 days. I am so grateful for the many workers that have come to help: moms, grandmas, dads, grandpas, teens....we are a motley crew!

Woke up with chills, aches and what feels like a sinus infection. Grateful for Tylenol and Mucinex. Will post recipes, garden pics, and more vintage finds after our busy week is over.

Recycled Wrappings

Recycled curtains from my Grandma's old house, chiffon rose made from old nightgown & wooden button. I think it is a book that I wrapped??

This is probably a purse. Used old toile upholstery fabric, topped off with a satin flower I made by burning edges.

Quick post.

Do I love to wrap pretty packages for my etsy customers? Yes!!

Tonight I wrapped the purple & gray package-a vintage aluminum 3 tiered cake carrier-in recycled jersey material. I sewed a fabric bag and popped on a big old flower.

The tan & blue package is two milk glass plates that I am shipping tomorrow. Some of my old cashmere sweaters had seen better days so I used them for mitten lining and wrapping. I had enough blue cashmere scrap to fashion a wee rose to fasten onto striped ribbon.

I hope my customers feel like they are getting a special gift!