The commonplace

"It is the treating of the commonplace with the feeling of the sublime that gives to art its true power."
-Jean-Francois Millet

And the same goes for homemaking, don't you think?

Household Organization

American Housewife
Some of my key organization tools are my notebooks and my small calendar that I carry in my purse. January always seems like a great time for re-evaluating so I've been thinking about how these tools are working for me. There's no point in continuing to use a tool that is no longer the best fit for my life.

I've realized that I don't use the calendar in my notebook at all, I only use the one in my purse. I write things in it while I'm out. For example, when the kids were at the dentist last week, I made appointments for the 2 who need cavities filled, and for the next round of cleanings. I immediately wrote them in my calendar. I do the same when I'm at a PTA meeting or at church. I just pull out my calendar and write everything down immediately. That way I don't have to keep up with those little cards from the dentist, the PTA newsletter and the church bulletin.

I still use my menu notebook when planning my week's menu and making my shopping list and I store important receipts and tax documents in my household notebook. I was using the budget section every month until I started using mint.com for that. I love that mint can track our spending trends and give us averages of our utilities, grocery spending, gas spending, you name it.

Now that I have my duct-taped, been to Iraq and back laptop courtesy of Greg, :) I am finding it so much easier to do things online, so I have been looking at online organizers. I have played around with several. I have looked at Rememberthemilk.com, Cozi, and Springpad. They each have some really neat features. I think my favorite so far is Springpad because it is very customizable and is basically an online notebook. I also love that I can have it email me reminders of certain events or tasks. It also has a place for my weekly meal plan, favorite recipes (no more printing recipes from various websites, I can just put them on my Springpad), diary, shopping lists, and pretty much anything else you can think of. I'm on the computer a lot (maybe too much? don't answer that!), so it's easy to open up my Springpad and enter information from my calendar, enter a recipe or plan a menu. It even has a pantry inventory to help with planning menus.

I don't plan on giving up my old notebooks and I'll continue to carry a calendar in my purse, but I think the majority of my planning, budgeting and organizing will now be done digitally.

Have you made the leap to digital organizing? Why or why not?

By the way, I was not asked to review any of these online organizers. This is just meant to be helpful information for you.

Pasta and Italian Meat Sauce

This is an easy recipe that I make time after time. My family loves it. It's from the January/February 2003 issue of Martha Stewart's Everday Food and is an adaptation of Ragu alla Bolognese (sauce in the style of Bologna). I changed it up slightly.

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 pound fettuccine
grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan.


Stir in the carrot, onion, and garlic.


Add the ground beef and cook until it is browned.



Add the tomatoes and their liquid. Stir in the milk, bayleaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the fettuccine until al dente. Drain the fettuccine and return to warm pot. Add meat sauce and toss. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and with crusty bread.


Now clean your plate! :)

Le Menu

Sidewalk Cafe Menu, Paris, France
I took French in college and I just think "Le Menu" makes my plain old menu sound so much better. :)

I'll be back with A Day in My Life tonight, but I want to share my menu for the week with you. Part of my "to-do" list for the day includes grocery shopping. By the way, my mom brought me lots of ground beef from their ranch (plus it's organic and grass fed) so we can eat lots of ground beef dishes this month.

Suppers:
Ragu alla Bolognese (I'll share the recipe later. It's really fettuccine with meat sauce)
Frito Pie (a Texas favorite)
Beans and Cornbread
Chicken strips with mashed potatoes, corn and gravy
Burritos with Spanish rice
BBQ chicken drumsticks
Pasta salad with chicken (or turkey)

Lunches:
Homemade pizza
Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (probably potato soup or turkey noodle soup)
PB&J sandwiches
Tuna salad sandwiches
Leftovers
Mac & Cheese with tuna

Breakfasts:
Pancakes
Baked oatmeal
Muffins
Cereal
Bacon, eggs, and biscuits
Some of these will be repeated through the week.

Curried Split Pea Soup and Naan

I am loving my new crock pot, so here is another recipe for you. :) It's healthy and yummy (great combination).

Rinse a 16 oz. package of dry split peas.


Add split peas, 1 pound sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabellas), and a bay leaf to slow cooker.

Peel 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes, and add to slow cooker.

Slice 3 green onions (and of course add them to the slow cooker as well).

Add:
1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 - 3 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (less if you like things mild - this was fine for my kids, but they like spicy)
salt and pepper to taste

Pour 4 cups chicken broth over all (you can use vegetable broth is you want to keep it vegetarian).

Add 2 cups water and stir

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Sprinkle with snipped fresh basil if desired.

I made naan for the first time to go with it (using this recipe). I didn't have a grill, so I used my cast iron skillet like when I make tortillas. Didn't look all that great, but tasted really good! :)

I made a pdf of this recipe thinking that would be so much more helpful for you to just download and print. Only problem is I don't know how to post it! Any ideas?

Banana French Toast

This is what I made for breakfast this morning and it was SO good. I used homemade bread and bananas are cheap so even though I haven't worked out the exact cost I'm thinking it was pretty minimal.

Ingredients:
4 eggs (I only have 2 showing in the picture)
1/2 cup milk
2 bananas, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon oil
Sliced bread


In a blender, combine all ingredients except bread. Blend until smooth and pour into a pie pan.

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot. I recommend non-stick for this recipe. Soak bread in the banana mixture, turning to coat both sides.

Place bread in the skillet. Cook 5 to 7 minutes until golden brown, turning once.

Serve with additional sliced bananas, powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Tex-Mex Dinner

In honor of my new Crock-Pot I am sharing my first Crock-Pot recipe of 2009. :) I have a feeling there will be many more to follow.

Mix together:
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

Stir in:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 pkg. chili seasoning mix (my favorite is William's)
1 teaspoon salt

I can diced tomatoes (14 1/2 oz.)
1 can corn, drained (15 1/4 OZ.)
1 can sliced black olives, drained (2 1/4 oz.)

Spoon mixture into slow cooker. Isn't my new Crock-Pot cute? It's red!

Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Sprinkle with 8 oz. package of shredded Mexican blend cheese and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Serves 6.

My husband said this reminds him of a tamale. I'm sure I'll be making it again. It tastes good AND it's economical! My kind of recipe. :)