Fried Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbl. soy sauce, or more if desired
Add any of the following:
shredded carrots, sliced celery, bean sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, green bell pepper, ham, scrambled egg, shredded pork, or shrimp.
Directions:
1. Stir-fry onion and veggies.
2. Add any cooked meat, if desired.
3. Stir in seasonings, soy sauce, and rice.
4. Place in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

*Thank you Barbara Lamb for teaching me this yummy recipe!

Sister Price's Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/2 cup and 1 Tablespoon sugar, keep separated

1 1/2 Tablespoons warm water

1 cup milk, almost scalding (1- 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave)

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups flour, sifted

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, 1 Tablespoon sugar, and water in a small bowl, stir and set aside.

2. Pour milk into large bowl (or mixer) and add melted butter and remaining sugar. Stir until dissolved.

3. When milk mixture is warm to the touch, add yeast mixture.

4. Beat three eggs with a fork and add to the mix.

5. Add salt and stir.

6. Add 2 cups of sifted flour, then stir.

7. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and stir well.

At this point the dough will look sticky, bumpy, and a little wet- Don't worry.

8. Place in a large bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled.

9. Once dough has doubled in size, you can-

roll out dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness, cut into triangles, then roll into crescent shape

OR

shape into balls, about the size of a golf ball

10. Place rolls on a greased 9X13 cookie sheet, cover, let rise again until doubled.

11.Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch carefully, once they brown they are done.

12. Rub melted butter on finished rolls and enjoy!

MAKES 2 DOZEN

*Thank you Brooke for this recipe!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
7-8 red potatoes, leave skins on
4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
3-4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
3-4 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons parsley flakes
2-3 Tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
1. Quarter potatoes and place in a large pot of salted water. Add whole garlic cloves and bring to a boil.
2. Cover and reduce heat for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
3. Drain well, add all remaining ingredients.
4. Mash to desired consistency, add more milk if you like your potatoes smooth.
5. Serve immediately.

Salisbury Steak

*this is not one of the most eye pleasing meals, but it has tons of flavor and is so good.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (you want to use a higher fat content to keep beef tender, I use 80/20)
1 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, minced
1 26 oz. OR 2 10.75 oz. cans of cream of mushroom
1 envelope onion soup mix

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine ground beef, bread crums, egg, and onion.
2. Form into 5-6 patties.
3. In a separate bowl, combine cream of mushroom and onion soup mix.
4. Place patties in a lightly greased 9X13 pan and pour soup mixture over patties.
5. Place foil over pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove foil the last 30 minutes.

Bookshelf Makeover

BeforeAfter

This is a bookshelf that was given to us a few years ago. When we got it, it was white washed and had that pink hue to it. I hate to admit it, but we spray painted it white and threw it in my little boy's room. Now that I am in the process of re-doing his room I decided it needed a make over. A few coats of chocolate brown paint and a little bead board for the back panel.....much better!

Valentine's Wreath

*I've had a lot of questions about this wreath. Just to clarify, I used only one fabric above. The other color you are seeing is the reverse side. You can use as many fabrics as you'd like.

What you need:
styrofoam heart

pencil

tacky glue

scrap fabric (about 1/3 of a yard), cut into 2" squares

scissors

ribbon

What you do:

1. Fill a small bowl with glue.

2. Place the tip of the pencil in the center of the fabric square (print side facing the pencil), then dip the end of it in the glue.

3. Press the pencil tip into the styrofoam.

4. Remove the pencil and the fabric should stay in place.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until entire heart is covered. (make sure it looks nice and full)

6. Tie a small loop around the finished wreath with ribbon, then thread enough ribbon through that to hang your wreath.

*I'm pretty sure I got this idea from Little Birdie's Secrets

Cute Bank for a Cute Girl

Every Christmas Grandpa does a "money toss" for the grandkids. When we got home I discovered Aliza didn't have a bank to put her money in. So....of course I had to buy one....NO!.....MAKE one!

What you need:

Mod Podge

brush

scrapbook paper

paper trimmer

embellishments

container of choice (4x5 clear plastic w/removable lid pictured)

drill

What you do:

1. Cut the money slot out of the top/lid of the container. (I recommend letting your husband do this, I did.)

2. Cut scrapbook paper to size for all sides.

3. Mod podge paper to container and let dry.

4. Once dry, add an outer coat of Mod Podge to seal the paper to the container.

5. Add embellishments. (I added Swarovski crystals to this one) ribbon, chipboard, an initial, anything!

Just wanted to share....

I just wanted to share my favorite after Christmas find. If any of you had your eye on one of these guys this holiday season then you know they aren't the most afforadable decoration around, especially since it's only displayed one month out of the year! I scored this beauty at Designer Blvd. for $20, originally $80. I was so excited, I just had to share!

Valentine's Day Decor....Already

Remember this guy? He used to be filled with Christmas balls. This is his new look for Valentine's Day.

I bought these wired, glittered hearts at JoAnn's and stuck them into a styrofoam square. I placed red tulle in the bottom to cover the styrofoam. I re-used my same red beads from before and there you have it!

Breaded Chicken & Rice

*this was a last minute meal that I threw together with ingredients I had on hand. It actually turned out really good! (sorry for the bad picture, the lighting is off)

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 stick butter, melted

3 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Combine cream of mushroom soups with sour cream and place in a greased 9X13 pan.

2. Dip each chicken breast in melted butter, then coat with seasoned bread crumbs.

3. Place chicken breasts on top of gravy mixture.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Serve gravy mixture over hot rice.