Silly Sera

5 Minutes for Mom is holding another photo contest, and I couldn't resist posting this recent picture. Sera is posing and showing off her long, orange hair. You really need to click on the shot to get the full effect of her smug grin. I personally love the way she's leaning back on her arm. The theme for this contest is silly kids. I think Sera definitely qualifies.

Crazy Cleaning Confessions

The gang at Mom Central are hosting a blog tour. The good news is there's a contest, and you can enter to win a Kenmore appliance. Who couldn't use a new appliance or two?

All you have to do is videotape yourself cleaning and giving us some crazy advice on what you'll do to get clean laundry and dishes. I was checking out the entries in the gallery. There are some cute ones, but I have to say my favorite is Manly Traditions in Laundry. Isn't it wonderful when good cleaning advice is passed down from father to son?

I don't know about you, but there is little I dislike more than cleaning. Unless it's living in a mess. Kind of have a problem there, don't I?

I'm sure that a lot of my quirks come from the fact that I didn't get married until I was 38. Add to that is the fact that I pretty much lived by myself for the previous 10 plus years. I got into the habit when I was on my own of cleaning at some pretty bizarre times. I would also tackle one room at a time while moving everything that didn't belong in that room to the next room. Then I'd tackle the next room, putting away anything that belonged there and moving the rest on to the...well, you get the idea. The thing is that my schedule usually had some pretty wacky hours. I usually found myself doing this cleaning at 1:00 am.

Fast forward to my life now with a husband and a 3-year-old and the 1:00 am cleaning time just isn't practical anymore. What I've learned about myself is that I still prefer cleaning by myself. I don't mind everyone pitching in on the picking up part, but when it's time to start scrubbing? Well, then I want the audience gone or doing the work for me. And when it comes to laundry, just get out of my way. I do all our laundry. Jim throws in the occasional load, but I've found that I much prefer to do it myself. That way everything gets folded the way I want it folded. The things I want to air dry, get air dried, etc... When it's time to put it away though, you're on your own. Pick up your clean clothes and get them outta my way.

The other thing that really helps me clean is actually pretty embarassing. It's 100% effective though. It's just not very pretty to observe. What is it, you ask? Annoy me. I mean really. Do you very best to make me as mad as you can. This is most effective during a certain week known as PMS week. Get me really riled up, and I will scrub everything around me. There's something about the adrenalin rush associated with getting really, really mad that gets me going. I can clean everything in about half the normal time, but you really want to be very, very far away when I do.

In conclusion, I'd have to say that my craziest cleaning tip is to go on a PMS anger-fueled cleaning frenzy.

What's your craziest tip? Will you make a video and try to win a new washer and dryer or dishwasher? Let me know if you do!

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kenmore and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Who Doesn't Want Free Stuff?

I can't imagine anyone who doesn't like to win something. 5 Minutes for Mom is doing their back to school giveaway. Good luck!

Performance Anxiety

Apparently my oven has it.

A little history. We moved into our house exactly nine years ago this month. Brand new house, brand new appliances. Within the first year, we had an issue with the oven. It just stopped working. I called the company who makes our oven and arranged for a repairman. A simple swap of a part that was apparently causing issues with many customers' ovens and we were back in business. At least for a few months until it happened again. Replaced the same part, and no more trouble for years.

Until Thanksgiving 2008, when the oven stopped working as I was roasting our Thanksgiving turkey. Of course, my father and stepmother were visiting us for the first time at our home. The oven would just stop working. I would restart it, and it would start back up and work for a bit before stopping again. That turkey took forever to finally get done. We figured we'd wait until the holiday weekend was over before calling a repairman, but the oven worked just fine after that day. It didn't happen again.

Until this week. This time it was a chicken I was roasting and our guest is our niece, Theresa. The chicken went in the oven at 5 and should have been finished by 6:30. It was 9 by the time it was finally cooked. We'd already given up and eaten Li'l Ceasar's $5 pizza by the time it was finished. It made a fine dinner the next night though.

Now what do I do? Call the repairman to have him come out and the oven works just fine? Or wait until it is well and truly dead?

Ready, Set, Cook!

It's that time of the year again. The holidays are just around the corner. Are you ready? We're excited this year because my dad and stepmother are coming to visit. The sad part (not really) is that I don't even have to adjust my Thanksgiving menu. We can easily accomodate two more people with our normal menu. I say normal because I don't think Jim would let me change a single dish on it. It might help if I made them more often. I always say I will, but he gets this meal only once or twice a year.

Overwhelmed is once again hosting her Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style. Be sure to visit her tomorrow to see all the wonderful recipes and post your own. Make sure you let me know you're posting, so I don't miss it.

On my sidebar, you'll see the link for the previous edition. It links to some really amazing recipes.

I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Casserole Challenge & Giveaway

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON 11/1/08. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR VISITING.

Recently, I was contacted and asked to pass on news about Velveeta's Casserole Challenge. Five bloggers are participating in the challenge. Click the logo above to meet all five and visit their sites. The winner will be decided by voting between October 30th and November 23rd. You can also enter their essay contest to win some great prizes. The challenge is to make a casserole in a 13"x9" pan for under $20.00.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I received a Le Creuset casserole pan and six coupons for free Velveeta (up to $9.00). The casserole pan is now in my refrigerator with leftovers, but the coupons will go to six of you.

My casserole is a work in progress, but I'll share the my results with you. The background information on this recipe lies in my past life as a restaurateur. My family had a couple of fast-food style Mexican restaurants in southern Alabama and northwestern Florida during the early 90s. One of our best selling items was called the Mucho Burrito. I took the basic ingredients of that burrito and am turning it into a casserole.

Always begin with a cute assistant.


First, I made the queso. Cube one pound of Velveeta, add 1/2 cup of milk,
1/2 can of condensed tomato soup, and 1/2 cup of salsa.

Heat over low until cheese is melted.


Brown one pound of ground beef with one cup of onions. Add taco seasonings and water according to package directions. I did this the night before. This allowed me to degrease it more by removing the orange chunks of solidified grease. Heat with one can of your favorite refried beans.

Pour half of the bean and beef mixture into your casserole pan,
and top with diced tomatoes.


Cover with queso.

Add a layer of flour tortillas, and cover with the remaining meat. Now here is where I went wrong. I decided there wasn't room for another layer of tortillas. I was wrong. I covered the rest of the meat with the queso and put it in the oven. I should have put another layer of tortillas between the meat and the queso. The flavor was great, but it came out a little soupy. I want to try this again with another layer of tortillas. I'd also like to try it with tortilla chips, instead of tortillas. The chicken burrito was always very popular, too.


For a bonus, I'm including my Spanish rice recipe. It's a variation of what my mother would make when I was a child.




Saute the 1 1/2 cups of rice and 1/4 cup of onions in vegetable oil until the rice is translucent and slightly brown. Watch carefully as it burns easily.

Pour can of tomato sauce into measuring cup, and add water to make 3 cups of liquid. Add this, 2 teaspoons of chicken base, and peas. Bring to a full boil. Cover, and turn stove to low. Simmer for 25 minutes.

This is what you do when your casserole is too runny. Grab
another tortilla, heat to soften, and make it a burrito.




The advantage of the burrito is you can put your cold veggies inside before you wrap it.

I'll be trying some different variations of this. Let me know if you do, too.

Leave a comment if you'd like to win up to $9.00 of free cheese.

Mucho Burrito Casserole

Queso
1 lb of Velveeta cheese
1/2 c milk
1/2 c salsa
1/2 can condensed tomato soup

Add all four ingredients to a saucepan. Heat over low until cheese is melted and ingredients blended.

Meat & Bean Filling
1 lb ground beef
1 c chopped onions
1 pkg low-sodium taco seasoning
water
1 can refried beans

Brown ground beef & onions. Add taco seasonings and water according to package directions. Add refried beans, and mix.

1 pkg flour tortillas
diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
sour cream
sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 350. Pour half of meat & bean filling into a 13"x9" casserole. Add a layer of diced tomatoes. Ladle queso over the top, and cover with a layer of tortillas. Add remaining meat, another layer of tomatoes, and queso*. Place in oven for 25 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and black olives.

*I'd add another layer of tortillas between the last layer of meat and queso next time.

Spanish Rice

vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups rice
1/4 cup diced onions
2 teaspoons chicken base
1 can of tomato sauce, plus water to equal 3 cups
1 cup peas

Saute rice and onions in vegetable oil until rice is translucent and slightly brown. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a full boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 25 minutes.

UPDATED: I made it a sticky post.

Another Photo Contest

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting another photo contest. It seems like everytime they do, I happen to have something that fits the theme perfectly. This time was especially hard because I have about six pictures of Sera from our vacation that were perfect. I chose this one because it shows our tent, fire pit, and chair. There's no doubt we were camping. But mainly I chose it because of the joy on Sera's face. She was having so much fun playing with this beach ball. You've already seen the picture I took a few minutes later.