Thursday, September 27, 2007

Spicy Oven Fried Potato Wedges

Spicy Oven Fried Potato Wedges
A Maggie recipe


2 pounds potatoes, about 4 large
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 450º. Measure the oil into a 9 by 13-inch rectangular baking pan. Swirl it around so that it covers the pan evenly. Set aside.
Scrub the potatoes and cut each into 8 wedges. In an empty bread bad combine the flour and seasonings. Shake to blend. Place the potatoes, a few at a time, into the bag. Close the top and shake the potatoes to coat them with the seasoning mixture. Arrange the coated potatoes, skin side down, in the oiled pan. Continue until all of the potatoes are coated. Bake the potatoes at 450º for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.
These are similar to the ones available at some fried chicken places. They are nice and spicy, crunchy and tender all at the same time. We love these. I've only recently developed the recipe, but they are quickly becoming a family favorite. We serve them with oven friend chicken or oven friend fish. Yummy

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

GRAND OPENING!!



I'm proud to announce the Grand Opening of my new store BUTTERFLY SCENTSATIONS on Friday Sept 28, 2007!!!

Visit my website www.ButterflyScentsations.com and use the discount code blog for 5% off of your order for my readers. :)

MrsB

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Random Ramblings

Just some random ramblings from a tired, but not sleepy, mama. :-) My little one has mastered rolling from tummy to back. Its so sweet. He is working hard one back to tummy rolling, but he's not quite there yet.

I've decided on a business name. Butterfly Scentsations. I'm working on my product line and website now. I can't wait to officially unveil my products.

I also did some sewing today. I made a super cute blankie for CJ. He loves it. :-) I have some cute duckie material that I plan to make a changing pad/blankie/catchall for the diaper bag next. I had originally bought both pieces of fabric to make diapers, but I don't forsee that happening anytime soon.

We bought these pretty Christmas candles at Big Lots for $1.50 for the whole set! They are Home & Garden Party, so I'm not sure why they were at Big Lots. But I bought them nonetheless. :D
MrsB

Monday, September 10, 2007

I got a new light!

Awhile back the motor in the ceiling fan in the kitchen burnt up so we had to take it down. Well since then theres been nothing there but the cover. So yesterday MrB bought a beauitful new light fixture for my kitchen. I forgot to take a picture of the cover before he took it down. So I took a picture of the ceiling after it was off and the cover itself laying on the floor.


And here is my new light fixture! Its got a marbled glass bowl on it. And it puts out such beautiful lighting.

These are the beautiful carnations I got yesterday also. The red ones were bought for me, and the purple and white ones were bought for Mama but the vase was too small to hold all them them. So I added the extras to my vase. :-) The vase, by the way, is a tall cookie tin wrapped in tissue paper. :D They smell wonderful and are something pretty look at when I'm on the computer.
MrsB

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Sunday Ramblings

Well today is Grandparent's Day and of course I forgot the cards. Oh well, CJ is too little to sign them this year anyway. But I wanted to say HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY to any grandparents that happen to stop in. (and my Mama who drops in occasionally :-D)

I also wanted to post a Maggie recipe since I hadn't done that in awhile. I love Maggie's recipes. yum yum!

Fruit Smoothie

Fruit, any kind
Juice, any kind
Milk or yogurt, optional
Ice cubes, optional
Sweetener to taste (optional)

This is more a method than a single recipe. You do need a blender to make smoothies. Food processors won't blend the fruit finely enough to make a good beverage.
After you have a blender you need fruit. I use leftover fruit, like that half a banana or half eaten apple left over from lunch. Fresh fruit which is ripening faster than it can be eaten is custom made for blender drinks. Canned fruit, with the juice from the can, works well too. I often use canned pineapple, peaches, pears, applesauce or fruit cocktail which has been sitting in the fridge for a few days, and doesn't look like it will be eaten.

Fresh fruit, cut into chunks, like apples (with the peels, but not the cores); peeled bananas; oranges,peeled and seeded; or any other type of prepared fresh fruit can go into the blender container. One exception to this is grapes with seeds, I only used them once. The seeds were very time consuming to remove, and then some wound up appearing in the smoothie anyway, no matter how meticulous I was about removing them. A few stray orange seeds don't seem to bother me the way those grape seeds did.

Fruit juice, especially any which might turn into cider or vinegar in the next couple of days, is really good in a fruit smoothie. The slightly sour taste adds a nice zip to the finished product, although you might want to add a little more sugar than usual for sweetness. Most of our juice is from frozen concentrate. Any time I use a recipe which calls for part of a can of frozen juice concentrate, I use the remainder, diluted somewhat casually with water, to make smoothies. Regular flavors at my house are orange juice and apple juice. Grape juice is good in a smoothie too, but it isn't quite as versatile as apple or orange juice, because it is so strongly flavored. When I have extra grape juice to use up, I usually mix it with unflavored gelatin to make real grape gelatin. The kids prefer this to grape flavored fruit smoothies.

Next add some milk, or yogurt if you like. I prefer to use yogurt, because to my taste buds it mixes very nicely with fruit. I do use milk sometimes though, depending on my mood, and the contents of my fridge. Lastly add sugar or honey to taste.

The procedure goes like this: Put a cup or two of fruit juice, or syrup from canned fruit, into the blender. Add fresh and/or canned fruit (cut into chunks if necessary). Use about a cup or two of fruit. Next add yogurt or milk if you are using it. About a cup or two will be sufficient. Put the lid on the blender and whirl it around until it is all smooth. When it seems smooth, turn it off. Take the lid off of the blender and taste the mixture with a spoon. If you think it needs sugar or honey, now is the time to add it. Usually 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar is plenty. Blend briefly to dissolve the sweetener.

If the blender isn't too full, I often add a few ice cubes, especially in the summer time. Put the lid back on the blender, and whirl it around until the ice is finely chopped Now it is done. Pour the mixture into 6 or 8 ounce size cups or glasses. I recommend this size because Fruit Smoothies are pretty filling as a rule, and the kids won't drink as much as they think they can, unless they are in a growth spurt, in which case, they will eat you out of house and home for a good week or two.
If you have any leftovers, this mixture makes very nice frozen popscicles. Pour it into popscicle molds, or into small paper or plastic cups (3 ounce size). When it is partially frozen, shove popsicle sticks down into the centers of the cups. Popscicles made this way are almost better than the Smoothies.


Tuesday night CJ and I rode in the big truck with MrB to keep him company since he has been working so many nights. Here are a couple pictures of CJ's first big truck ride. And of course in the first picture we were still in the driveway when I took the picture. It was late at night when we left so the pictures are kind of dark and I couldn't take anymore because CJ went to sleep. :-)



MrsB

Friday, September 7, 2007

Show and Tell Friday



Its been awhile since I participated in a Show and Tell at There's No Place Like Home. But I have quite a few pictures to share so I thought this would be the perfect time. :-)

CJ in his new walker :-) and CJ sitting up on his own! :-)




Me and CJ doing laundry with my homemade Ring Sling :-)

Daddy and CJ reading a book

OK thats all for now. Be sure to check out Kelli's for more Show & Tell.
MrsB

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Shiny Sink and Grocery Shopping

I've been trying to get CJ into bed earlier and its finally working! The past few nights he has been asleep by 9pm. yay! That means I get to spend some time with MrB and get my bedtime routine into swing. I've been trying to do a pick-up of the living room and kitchen at night before I go to bed. Well. Last night I had all my dishes done and decided to shine my sink. It was alittle dingy from where I mopped the kitchen floor the other day. Boy did my kitchen smile at me this morning when I got up! It felt so nice to come into a clean kitchen with a nice, shiny, smiling sink!

Today I went to the grocery store because my poor freezer was crying for food! I know I've been terrible about posting my totals from my regular grocery shopping so here are the totals from today.

Sirloin Tip Steak .69# ($2.99/#) $2.06
Sirloin Tip Steak .62# ($2.99/#) $1.85
Boneless Pork Chops 1.12# ($2.99/#) $3.35
Boneless Pork Shops 1.09# ($2.99/#) $3.26
2.55# Bananas $1.01
BBQ Sauce $0.79
1# Bass Farm sausage $2.50 (Man! I'm just looking at my receipt for the first time and I see this rang up $2.99 which is the reg price! They ALWAYS do that and yet I continue to forget to look.)
Lipton Tea Bags 24ct $1.69
Mac & Cheese $0.99
1# Baby Carrots $1.19
Del Monte Sweet Peas $0.79
Total: $20.37

Also got milk, cheese, cereal and juice with my WIC.

Then to Dollar General to get my sugar since its cheaper there and right across the street.
(2) 4# Sugar $1.65 each

Off to get the clothes off the line. :-)

MrsB

Monday, September 3, 2007

Happy...

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

I hope everyone enjoys their day!

MrsB

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Cool breezes, Good deals, Great movie,

Wonderful times.....Life is great!



Friday night, MrB, CJ, and myself met my friend Hayley, her hubby and their 2 kids at CiCi's pizza for a nice night out. We had a coupon for 2 adult buffets and 2 drinks for $9.99, not a bad deal for us to eat out.


Then last night MrB, CJ and myself enjoyed a wonderful Hallmark movie called "What The Deaf Name Heard" lent to us by Mama and Sis. It was funny, it was sweet, and best of all it was a nice clean movie that the whole family can enjoy. If you get a chance check it out.


Today we woke up to nice cool day with a wonderfully delightful breeze! So of course, off went the a/c and up went all the windows! I love it when I finally get to open my windows! MrB took me to Wal-Mart today to get my WIC and we found some great deals on toys for Christmas presents! :-) And some caramel apples as a treat for me and MrB.



Playskool Busy Elephant with 8 activites reg ?? sale $11


(2)4pc Puzzle Blocks reg $2.44 sale $2


(3)Stacking Activity Blocks reg $8.44 sale $4


4 pk Caramel Apples with nuts reg $2.98 sale $1 these "expire" tomorrow :-) But I think we'll enjoy them tonight.







Then I had some coupons I wanted to use so I got:


Huggies Natural Care baby Wash reg $2.82 after coupon $0.82


Huggies Naturally Refreshing diaper Wipes reg $2.53 after coupon $1.53


Huggies Shea Butter Disposable Washcloths reg $2.82 after coupon $1.82


Huggies Clean Team flushable Moist Wipes reg $2.57 after coupon $1.57


I also picked up 2 green rubber duckies for $0.97 each. One is a new one for CJ who loves playing with his rubber ducks and the other for our nephew who is turning 1 on saturday.

Ha! I didn't realize one of the elephants ears is folded back. opps! I really should get better about checking those kinds of things. Oh well.

Have a great Labor Day!
MrsB