I Eat Meat.

Ok, if you know me, you are probably really surprised by the title of this post. And yes. It is true! I know some of you carnivores and making a check for your side again and loving it.

I started being a vegetarian on Easter and ended being a vegetarian on Easter, just by coincidence not on purpose. I was a vegetarian for 2 years and what some may not call a vegetarian for 1 year, because I ate fish. But I was getting bored that last year and needed some variety. There is no real reason why I stopped being a vegetarian more than I just didn't want to do it anymore. I was bored with making separate dinners and eating before I went places. I will say though, that I will choose to follow a mostly vegetarian diet. But if I want to eat meat I will. I am trying to be conscious of where my meat is coming from. Meaning I will try to choose local farm raised meat that doesn't have hormones or antibiotics. On that note...I have been told that I make a killer meatloaf and now I can actually test to that!! And yes, it is the bomb! So for all the carnivores (or omnivores) out there, this ones for you!

Oh Yeah Meatloaf

Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 1 hour 10 minutes at 350 degrees Stand: 10 minutes Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or 2 cups soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-1/2 pounds lean organic ground beef
• 1 handful cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, basil, and pepper. Add ground meat and cheddar cheese; mix well. Lightly pat mixture into an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan.

2. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F.

3. Spoon off fat. In a bowl combine ketchup, sugar, and mustard; spread over meat. Bake for 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into eight slices.

Come On! Get Down With The Sickness

I hate when my kid has a cold and is totally miserable! B has been coughing for the past 3 days and nothing really helps. He mostly coughs at night and I have to be there for all of the necessities of coughing and hacking up yuck stuff all night. Poor guy! *insert sad face*

 I try really hard to not give him cough medicine. I tried to give him a teaspoon of honey because that is all the rage on the homeopathic front. He was psyched about it because he thought he was getting a teaspoon of candy. He put the whole spoon full in his mouth and immediately started gagging and spit it out in the garbage saying it was "yucky". I had to basically force him to do honey half teaspoon with a water chaser afterwards. *I did have thoughts that maybe I am foreshadowing with some bad vodka-chase-with-sprite stuff for later in life. But I will deal with that if it ever comes.* The honey didn't work anyways. Still coughing.

I do swear by the Vick's vapor rub on the feet with socks over it and Vick's on the chest. But who knows if that really even works either. I even did the strong, at least for kids, cough medicine and that doesn't work either. There really is no point to this rambling, I am just calculating my madness due to the sickness-whatever it may be.

For now we are winging it and I am not feeling too on the ball in the creativity department. I did, however, try to get back on track and make some cute pincushions from an old teacup and an old jar. Well, it wasn't really disastrous, but they didn't turn out quite as I had planned. They are still cute but one isn't stuffed enough (the tea cup) because I couldn't get the diameter of the circle right. After like 5 times of measuring and cutting I gave up and used the last one I made. Also on both, the hot glue gun that I used to attach everything was just drying too fast for me to stick the fabric too. I ended up putting on a lot more than I really wanted to. I guess in error we learn....deja vu? Here's how they turned out.

Not enough fluff, but useable.

Cute, but could be improved.

I have had some time to peruse the internet since I am quartined with B and I have to say that I have caught the antique bug! I am in love with looking on Etsy.com via the vintage search. I have a few items I am looking for, but haven't found the perfect one at the perfect price:

-Vintage sugar bowl with lid and spoon  Found!

-Pyrex cassrole dishes (want them all to match just need to decide which colors I want to look for)

-A big lamp with a bright, yellow base, or any funky, tall lamps

-A circular table, or cool shaped end table to put between B and L's beds Found!

-High back chairs with armrests, preferrably funky fabric or wooden with sturdy cushions

-A cake stand with a lid

-Planters in white or bright colors, with drains

-Table, cabinet, or shelf to put in my back room so I can put DVD's, CD's or games in it plus somewhere to put my plants

It get's hard though! It is very overwhelming to go in there and there is so much stuff I forget what I was looking for in the first place! I am going to need to make a list and keep it with me at all times so I know what I am looking exactly for! This also makes me long for garage sale season..sigh...soon enough.

I will say while being at home, I made this bomb ass Tuna Noodle Casserole! I don't have any pics, but we all know what it looks like! I followed a normal tuna casserole recipe, but instead of putting bread crumbs and parmesan cheese on top at the end, I mashed up BBQ chips and mixed that with butter and also sprinkled some extra crunchy peices on top ( I can't take credit for this because my hubby was the one who suggested it). It was DEELISH! Also, for the shredded cheese I used velveeta instead of regular cheddar cheese. Hey, I didn't say it was a no-fat casserole...I said it was bomb ass!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

via PinchMySalt.com



K’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

(The pink italics is what I substituted)

6 oz. egg noodles (wide or extra wide), cooked (I used riggatoni noodles)1 small can of tuna, drained and flaked with a fork
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen peas, cooked (I used a can of peas, drained)1/2 cup (or more) grated sharp cheddar cheese (Or Velveeta)1 cup fresh bread crumbs cooked in 1 T. butter until slightly crisp
   fresh grated parmesan cheese (Or 1 cup BBQ chips, any kind you like, smashed while still in bag so less mess and mixed with 1 T. butter)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, stir together first six ingredients until well combined.*3. Spread into a small greased casserole dish then sprinkle bread crumbs and parmesan cheese (Or chips) evenly over the top.
4. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes and serve warm.

yield: four servings

*To save time at dinner rush, I made everything and mixed it together a couple of hours ahead of time and put it in the fridge until ready to bake.

Hope all is well on your end and hope you are not down with the sickness!