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Cheeseburger Pie

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Cheeseburgerpied

One hallmark of a favorite recipe in my kitchen is how messy the page in cookbook has become. It's a bit better if I remember to use my cookbook holder, but frequently I forget, and in this case, I started making cheeseburger pie long before I had a cookbook holder. There was some interest in the recipe, so here it is. I don't change anything in it, but I'm sure ground turkey would work just as well as ground beef.

Crust:     1 1/4 c. Perpperidge Farm Stuffing mix (I use their crumbled herb stuffing mix.)

                1/4 c. melted margarine

Mix together and press into a 9" pie plate.

Filling:   1 lb. ground beef

                1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or oregano

                1 small onion, chopped

                1/2 c. bread crumbs

                4 oz. tomato sauce (1/2 can)

Brown beef with onion about 5 minutes. Pour off all the fat. Mix the meat and onion with everything else, and spoon into crust.

Topping:   8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I use part-skim, sharp cheddar.)

                    1 egg

                    1/4 c. milk (I use skim.)

                    1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

                    1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix together and spread on top of meat. Bake pie at 425° for 20-30 minutes. (The recipe calls for 30 minutes, but last night mine was done in about 20 minutes.)

Sauce: Mix the other 1/2 can of tomato sauce with chili sauce or ketchup. Bring just to a boil over medium heat. Serve with pie. (I use chili sauce.)

This has been one of Tracy's favorite meals ever since I made it for the first time in 1973. The left-overs are good too.

   

Right Now

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I just found these sentence starters on Jocelyn's blog and decided it would be fun to finish them myself.

Outside my window . . . gray skies and cold temperatures

I am thinking . . . I am ready for spring three months early

I am thankful for . . . a warm house and a loving family

I am wearing . . . a turtleneck, fleece, and jeans

I am remembering . . . I have to get up early tomorrow

I am going . . . to dinner with a good friend tomorrow

I am currently reading . . . "The Happiness Project"

I am hoping . . . to get going on the layouts for "Yesterday and Today" that I let go in 2009

On my mind . . . getting back to the gym as soon as the physical therapist gives me the OK

Noticing that . . . I am being more productive since I set my intentions for 2010

Pondering these words . . . "enthusiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability" (Gretchen Rubin: "The Happiness Project")

From the kitchen . . . cheeseburger pie (from a cookbook I bought on our honeymoon 36 years ago)

Around our house . . . lots of projects

One of my favorite things . . . snack mix from my mother's recipe (one reason I need to get back to the gym)

From The Simple Woman's Daybook

Embellish with Hearts

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Embellish_heartsCC

The Embellish Color Challenge with Hearts was the perfect opportunity to make a couple of valentines today. Both cards use Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy, True Black, and Sweet Blush cardstock.

Embellish1 

A look at the embossing done with the Quickutz embossing folder and the Hearts Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

Embellish1Detail 

Pale pink gems (Michaels0, patterned paper Black and White Basics (Papertrey), Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars), ribbon from my stash.

And my favorite of the two:

Embellish2 

Hearts cut and embossed (Spellbinders Nestabilities), circle punches, Swiss Dots Embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Black and White Basics patterned paper & Pure Poppy twill (Papertrey Ink), metal charm (Making Memories).

Cold Snap

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Although it was a bit warmer today, it's been cold and snowy ever since Christmas. Last week I went to Highland Park, briefly, to take some photographs, and over the weekend, I walked around the outside of our house for a few more. I thought I'd try putting a few of them in a template I downloaded last spring. Once I finished it, I was inspired to make a layout for the 365 Challenges. This one is for the Clean & White challenge. I didn't want to ruin the clean look, so I put the journaling on the back of the layout.

ColdsnapLO

Cardstock (Bazzill Swiss Dot), snowflakes (Reminisce), alpha stickers (Scenic Route), and template #64 by Timounette.

Here's closer look at the snowflakes:

ColdSnapDetail 

And the journaling:

JournalingColdSnap

Photo-a-Day 2010

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I'm still deciding how I want to organize my Photo-a-Day Project this year. For now, I think I'll post a few favorites from the week here on Sundays. One of my favorites was the frozen bud I posted with my Weekly Gratitude page yesterday so I decided not to post it again.

IcyWindow
Our windows have looked like this all week. It has rarely gotten above 20 degrees.

Birds
The crows seem to flock to our trees outside the bedroom window at dusk. There are a hundred or more of them, and they are incredibly noisy. I think I'd like the photo better without the icicle, but they are hanging from every eave.

Matt
Matt was standing at the stove, and I said "Smile," so he did.

(Coffee Shop Vintage Frames)

Gratitude

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This has been printed and added to my Gratitude Journal for this week.

Gratitude1.9.10w
I took the photo this week in Highland Park, and it will show up again tomorrow as one of my favorite photos of the week.

Journal Your Christmas–Done

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I finished the last two pages of the Christmas Journal today, and I'm please with the end result. The smaller size inspired me to do a lot more digital work so I could include more photos. Once again, it's apparent that our holidays are filled with good times, dear family, and wonderful friends. There's always something new and different, so I'm expecting to do another journal next year. But I'll have to find a bigger basket for them.

PackedUp 

And a total lift from Ali Edwards, although a much reduced version. We no longer get very many family photos, and what we do get come in the way of newsletters so I just punched squares from lots of the cards we received and picked nine to close the journal.

JYCLastPage

Apples to Apples

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Another of my intentions for 2010 is to post a layout every week. Maybe I'll get on a regular schedule with this, but I want to complete more layouts. Today I finished one for the sketch Katie posted on the Scrap-Mart blog.

ApplestoApplesw
I used my Slice machine and Calendar design card to cut the apples and words for the title. Cardstock (Bazzill Swiss Dot and red and green papers from scrap files), journaling card (Pebbles), patterned paper (Sassafras Lass Me Likey "Fresh Pick")

Weekly Gratitude

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In 2008, I made this gratitude journal:

GratitudeCover
Gratitudep1 

There were 52 pages, some large, some little journaling spots, some envelopes so that I could record my blessings week by week. I made it to March, fell behind, and gave up. It's been sitting on my shelf just above my MacBook ever since. I pull it down occasionally and think I ought to start it up again. Finally the inspiration has come through a new site Weekly Gratitude.

Thanks to Karen Grunberg (once again) there are photo overlays, and today there were journaling templates by Kim Hurst available. My intention is to post a gratitude page each Saturday. In fact, I made this page last Saturday, but just today got around to taking the photo. I also included a card for 2010 as a transition from the 2008 entries.

2010Intro
Gratitude1.2
I used one of Karen's photo/journaling templates for this page. I'm not thinking that every week will have a photo, but I'm quite sure I'll add some of the new templates to the existing journal.

CPS 148

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It's been a while since I've played along with the challenges on CPS. I like this sketch a lot, and needed a baby card for a friend's daughter whose baby was the #1 baby in her county for 2010. Just a little extra excitement.

CPS148
Here's my take:

ForBaby 

All Papertrey Ink except the velvet rickrack, embossed cardstock,  and buttons which were from my stash.

Morning Inspiration

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A favorite photo from last June in our backyard which is now covered with snow!
  

I've been thinking about Photo a Day again, and having mixed feelings about it. I get overwhelmed by the number of photos, and although I got off to a great start in 2009, I wasn't able to keep up with the recording/scrapping part of the deal. I have the photos, but after June, they never got posted or put up on my Photo a Day blog. In November, I started using Shuttercal, and I do like that alternative. Finally I decided I'd do a favorite photo a week, since I was pretty sure I'd take a few photos every week. Over the weekend I downloaded a "freebie" from Designer Digitals by Katrina Kennedy. I took a great online course with her through Get It Scrapped last spring. It's a 17 page booklet with over 400 ideas for photos, and great suggestions for how to keep track of your photos. I decided I'll give it another go after all. You need to register at Designer Digitals to access the book, but they send links each week for free digital templates, brushes, etc. so registering is a good thing. I've also purchased quite a few templates from them as well.

Intentions

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My little project is finished and ready to go. In the "Reclaiming My Time" class at BPS, we spent three weeks thinking about how we use our time, keeping track of our time, and making a wish list of how we'd like to spend our time. Karen asked us to group all the things we do in a week into categories. I ended up with 13 groups, 8 of which are in the book. The other five I'll do no matter what, so my intentions there aren't so important. Thinking all this through was very helpful to me. 

Another trick I learned from Karen's blog was to make lists. So each two-page spread includs an envelope that houses the lists I've made to help me stay focused on the things I want to accomplish. For instance, I made a list of 41 books I'd like to read this year. In 2009 I read 36 books, so it's possible I might read 41 books, but that's not the purpose of the list. The list does not include the books my book group will choose for 2010, and I'm sure I'll read a review of a new book and decide to read it instead of one on the list. But the list includes all the books I've been wanting to read (and many of which I own). Each group also includes a photograph and a quote I liked about each subject.

Cover 

Album (Tinkering Ink), patterned paper (Paper Loft), stickers (SEI)

InsideCover
Clocks (Heidi Swapp), spinner (Tim Holtz), number stickers (from stash), patterned paper (Paper Loft)

Family
I haven't attached the envelopes to the right-hand page, but may decide to do that later. Patterned paper (Paper Loft), stickers (Frances Meyers), Quote: "Family is the greatest blessing."


Friends
Patterned paper (Paper Loft), stickers (Frances Meyer), Quote: "Friendship is what gets you through the bad times and helps you enjoy the good times".

Read
Quote:  " Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."–Charles W. Eliot

Learn
Quote: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

Internet
Quote: "The heart of blogging is linking . . . linking and commenting. Connecting and communicating-the purpose of the internet."–George Siemens  

Photography
Quote: "A camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera." –Dorthea Lange

Crafting
Quote:  "The true are of memory is the art of attention."

Exercise
Quote: "Commit to be fit."

LastPage

On a different topic, we've seen two movies in two days. Highly unusual; I don't remember the last time we've seen two movies in a month. Yesterday we saw Up in the Air with George Clooney. I loved it; the acting was superb, the writing excellent, and there was no trite ending. Today we went with friends to see Sherlock Holmes. It was well-done, but too many violent fights and explosions for my taste. As my friend said, "Hardly your grandmother's Sherlock Holmes."  

A New Year

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New Year

Morning light from our bedroom window.

 It's a new year, and the beginning of a new decade. I love beginnings. The start of a new school year was always my favorite time of year. I loved setting up my classroom, getting to know a new set of students, creating new lessons, and being back with my friends. I feel much the same way about 2010. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how I want to spend my time this year than ever before. I'm sure that's due to Karen Grunberg's Reclaiming My Time class at BPS. I thought I would have a project to post today celebrating my thinking and my word for the year–intention–but the project is taking more time than I anticipated. The class, and Karen's blog, have really helped me think through how I want to spend my time in 2010. Her process has resonated with me, and I'll share some of it when I share my project.

Intention:
1.  A course of action that one intends to follow. 2.  An aim that guides action; an objective.

I decided "intention" really fit my needs this year. I always make resolutions; I'm good at keeping some of them, terrible at others. This year I've made some lists that I'll be sharing to help me focus on my intentions. As I love new beginnings, I also love making lists. They help me prioritize as well as stay focused. I'm hoping that stating my intentions will help me be more productive. Here's to a great new year!