{Banana Nut Waffles}

So, I LOVE me a good waffle, but add in some mashed up banana's and some walnuts, and I am in waffle heaven!

Check out my latest creation:




Banana Nut Waffles-
What you will need:
4 eggs
1C. milk
1T. baking powder
1/2t. salt
1 1/2C. All Purpose Flower
1/2C. wheat flour (you can use all wheat or all AP to taste)
1/2C. (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1T. sugar (I used all natural!)
1T. vanilla
2 over ripe banana's, mashed
1C. walnuts, chopped

In a bowl, beat your eggs until fluffy, then add in butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk.

Sift in dry ingredients, and mix just till combined (there will be some lumps, this is ok!)

Fold in mashed banana and nuts
(I left this step for last, because if you have picky eaters, the waffle recipe is perfect by its self, so you can make your kid's waffles first, then add in the banana and nuts for you!)

Cook on your waffle iron until done! :) ENJOY....

I know Lagan did!!

{End of the Grocery Challenge!}

The All You grocery challenge is over!!!!! I'm so sad...but I had an amazing time blogging recipes and food posts and sharing money saving tips!

Thanks to everyone for putting up with my lack of decorating and projects while I was food crazy! hehe

I have posted my final totals on the side bar if your interested. All of my receipts are in a baggie and labeled for safe keeping! :)
Gosh, I hope I win!! hehe

As to everyone who asked if I would still be making recipe posts...YES!!! Just not every day! :) But I will be posting recipes and more food photos, so stay tuned.

{Sunday Inspiration...Moving Forward}

Today in church, I witnessed Christ in work, right before my eyes!

One of our amazing Pastors was talking about the Bible stating we are all Priests, a Royal Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9-12). Priests are there to help people when they need it, cry with them when they need someone to cry with, pray with them when they need someone to pray with, etc. We should all be able to do this as the body of Christ. Not because we are perfect, but because God calls us to as His people.

So, Pastor Earl asked for everyone who has lost their jobs due to the economy to raise our hands. Many, many, many hands went up in the air.

Then he asked, who will not be able to pay their rent this month? A lady sitting a few seats away from us raised her hand, and Pastor Earl asked her to come forward. The lady's name is Ann.

Ann said that she left New York and a good job to move here to take care of her 6 month old grandson, because his parents are in jail!
Pastor earl asked her..."how much is your rent?" "$890.00" Ann said.

Pastor Earl then said "Can anyone in here be a Priest for Ann?" I stood in awe with tears running down my face as 3000 people walked to the front to hand cash to Ann. Some with $1.00, some with $100 or more. Adults, Children, people in wheelchairs, Christians, and those that had not yet given their life to Christ...all being Priests for this woman. I stood there thinking...Jesus...you are here right now! I can feel you, I can see you, I know you are here!

I am crying right now writing this because I know there are so many people who have lost hope. They are living in the world and don't have anyone to give them direction. They don't have a Priest to go to. As Ann left the church, she told my step dad that this was her FIRST time at our church! God had a plan for her, and He has a plan for you!

So I want to share this song with you as a reminder....we are all Priests to someone. What can you do, big or small to help someone move ahead with their life?

Let's all....Move Forward! :)
Blessings

I'm not going back
I'm moving ahead
I'm here to declare to you
my past is over
In You old things are made new
Surrender my life to Christ
I'm moving moving forward

What a moment
You have brought me to
Such a freedom
I have found in You
your the Healer

You make all things new
Yeah Yeah Yeah
I'm not going back
I'm moving ahead
I'm here to declare to you
my past is over
In You old things are made new
Surrender my life to Christ
I'm moving moving forward

You have risen
With all power in Your Hands
You have given me
A second Chance
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Yeah Yeah Yeah
Yeah Yeah Yeah

I'm not going back
I'm moving ahead
I'm here to declare to you
my past is over
In You old things are made new
Surrender my life to Christ
I'm moving moving forward

You make all things new
You make all things new
I will follow You forward

{I NEED YOUR HELP...YES...YOU!!}

Hey Everyone! So....I need your help!! I was surfing around blogs about a week ago, and I found this BEAUTIFUL kitchen that someone had redone with the bead board wallpaper, and she had painted the whole thing red. She also had a beautiful island and her dining table had a modern drum-shaped light hanging over it that looked almost like burlap!

Has ANYONE else seen this blog? If so, could you PLEASE let me know what the address is in the Comments below?! Thanks so much awesome readers...and don't worry, I will be back with some recipes soon!!!! :)

{How To: Spruce up a bulletin board}

I am so excited to finally get this posted! I have been so stuck on food, I had forgotten about my DIY projects I have been working on! :)

Today I am going to show you how to take an UGLY old bulletin board (or a new one if you want, hehe) and make it FAB-O!!

Here is what you need:

a bulletin board

fabric (enough to cover the front)

spray adhesive

ribbon (enough to go around the edges)

hot glue gun

scrapbooking paper

glass marble things from the floral department of your craft store

modge podge or school glue

pushpins that are almost flat

Craft paint (optional)

ok, here is what I did, I started by painting the edges of the frame so they are white. Then I measured and cut the fabric BACKWARDS to make sure it fit:

Next, I sprayed it down with spray adhesive:


then flipped it over CAREFULLY, make sure your sides don't stick (you might want someone to help you on this step) and press down fabric so there are no gaps or bubbles:


next, you want to cut your ribbon to fit each side...make sure they are separate cuts, not all one long piece, then use your glue gun to glue down to the sides:

Then you will want to make your push pins.
I started with these large glass thingys


and I cut our scrapbooking paper to fit the bottoms, glued it on using modgepodge, and then hot glued a push pin to the back:


Then you can push them into your board, and its ready for hanging! :)

Dont forget to check out all the awesome DIY projects at Kimba's Blog:

http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/2009/08/diy-day.html

{Meals from Monday: Week 4}

Wow...week 4 is already here, I can not believe we are almost finished with the all you grocery challenge! I have had a really fun time being creative with a budget and what I already have on hand! Its been really fun blogging about it with all of you as well!

On a quick note...to everyone who was praying for us on Sunday, Lagan is just fine, doctor said everything was normal...no cancer or anything! Thank you Jesus!!! :)

So, on to food...
for breakfast this morning I made my awesome oatmeal with apples and biscuits. (just click the names to be taken to the recipes)

lunch was spaghetti...Lagan's fave!

Dinner, I made turkey meatloaf. If you have a larger family, you might want to double this recipe...after all, if you have leftovers, you can always make meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow!


What you will need:
1lb ground turkey meat (extra lean if possible)
1C bread crumbs
1/2C ketchup
1T. dried onion
1/2t. each salt and pepper
1/2t. garlic powder
1 egg
1/2C milk

stir all ing. together and mold onto cookie sheet (make sure you spray it with cooking spray REALLY well!) until it looks like a loaf and bake at 400 for 1 hour.

I served mine with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli :)

{Meals from Sunday, Week 3}

Sunday was busy with church and having the family over, so meals were simple! :)

Breakfast was sweet rolls (pre made from the store...not as good as mine, but ok!)

Lunch we picked up Jack in the Box's new meals that are $2.99, pretty good value! (added about $14.00 onto my bill though...)

Dinner was BLTA's...Bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwiches with baked chips. These were really great!

{Meals from Saturday, Week 3}

I'm so sorry readers, I know I am behind, but I am catching up now to the grocery challenge!! So check back through the last few posts to make sure you didn't miss anything!! :)

Meals from Saturday included:
yeast donuts made easy! WOW...these were SO much easier than my other donuts, and I have to say...a lot better tasting and CHEAP!


All you have to do is take a pop tin of biscuits (the ones in the dairy section) and push your thumb through the middle gently and stretch out a small hole. Then drop them in the fryer for a few seconds until golden brown on each side! SO GOOD!!!
(for frosting I just mixed powdered sugar and milk until it was as thick as I wanted it)

lunch was egg salad sandwiches...mmmmmmmmm....
and for dinner I made cheese enchiladas, per my own recipe here, and faux fried beans, recipe here.


It was SOOO good! And my brother in law and sister were here all day helping us with the house, so I was feeding 6 people all day and still stayed on budget! :)

{Meals from Friday, Week 3}

Wow, I cant believe Week 3 of the grocery challenge is almost over!

Here is what we ate on Friday:
Breakfast was my version of the "Shack" Taco served with strawberries

This Taco has eggs, chorizo, potatoes, and cheese all in homemade tortillas! MMMMMMM.... These were made famous by a little taco place called, duh, The Taco Shack!

We had lunch @ my sister's because my daughter was in a play from Music and Drama camp this week! :)

For dinner, we had our bible study group and I made homemade baguettes and served them with spinach and artichoke dip. I didn't get a photo before it was all gobbled up, but I did get the recipe! hehe

Baguette Recipe
Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

{Meals from Thursday, Week 3}

Breakfast on Thursday was oatmeal with apples and toast.
Lunch was leftovers from the week, and for dinner I made tuna cakes served with broccoli cheese rice and peas!


Tuna Cakes recipe here: TUNA CAKES
these were SOOOO good!!

{Meals from Wed. of week 3}

Wednesday was fun and easy...pancakes and sausage for breakfast, cheese quesadillas for lunch, and Migas for dinner! YUM!

Migas for 2:


4 eggs, scrambled
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
1 corn tortilla, torn into bite size pieces
1C. shredded cheese

In a small skillet, cook tomato, jalapeno and onion until onion turns clear.
Add in tortillas and cook 1 more minute.
Add in eggs and scramble all ingredients together.
Top with cheese and serve with tortillas! :)

Meals from Tuesday of week 3!

Tuesday morning I made omelette's with fresh spinach, leftover black forest ham and cheese...yum!


Lunch was tuna salad sandwiches...we love these!

For dinner, I made a southern fave...fried catfish, now this can be baked really easily, since it has a cornmeal crust, it will get nice and crispy in the oven! :) I also made hush puppies (recipe below) and coleslaw with low fat dressing. Dessert? Yeah...Peach Cobbler Baby! Got to take advantage of those fresh Texas Peaches that you can pick right off your tree in your backyard and throw into a cobbler!! :)



Hush puppies (all measurements are an estimate...I don't measure these!)
1C. yellow cornmeal
1/2C. flour
2T. baking powder
1t. salt
pinch of sugar
1/2C. chopped onion
enough milk to make it all come together about the consistency of pancake batter.

Put all ingredients together and let set about 15 min...mix will rise up and consistency will look like mousse.

Drop spoonfuls into your hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels.


For cobber, check out this recipe: Salt Lick Peach Cobbler