Joyful Abode

A while ago I was posting about how we were using our cheap on-sale bottom round steaks.

I never ended up posting this one though… which might actually be the best incarnation of it.

Through the experimentations with this meat, I found that salting it (sprinkling liberally with kosher salt and letting it sit for about 30-40 minutes before rinsing all the salt off) helped make the meat a bit more tender. Also, cutting it into teensy pieces did something for it as well.

On this particular night, we were totally out of flour tortillas, but we had some corn tortillas. So I made corn chips out of them with the plan of doing SOMEthing a la chicken taco nachos.

I sauteed some onions and green bell peppers until they were soft, then added tiny cut up pieces of the meat and browned them. I’m pretty sure I also tossed it around with a bit of Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt.

Add a side of salsa and one of sour cream, and this dinner was a hit.

The man piled his plate with chips, then smothered it with the sauteed mixture, salsa, and sour cream, while I preferred to scoop bits of the meat/onion/pepper stuff with a crispy chip, then top it off with the condiments. I don’t like my chips to get soggy!

Not really a recipe, but there you go.

Technorati Tags: bottom round steaks, recipe

So far, in the last month or so, I’ve broken two sewing machine needles and bent one (today). This is getting ridiculous! I know I’ve been sewing like a crazy woman lately, and when I worked at Hancock Fabrics there were people who came in and bought needles all the time… but this seems excessive.

Sewers, is this normal? Or do you think maybe I need to get my sewing machine checked?

I guess I’ll be picking up some needles this weekend… and JoAnn Fabrics has a 50% off coupon valid this Friday and Saturday, which I am definitely going to take advantage of (not for the needles though; for something more pricey).

Technorati Tags: sewing machine, sewing, Hancock Fabrics, JoAnn Fabrics

I made myself a schedule for the countdown ’till the Bizzare… and I’m already behind. Hopefully I’ll catch up over the next few days!

I’ve also been going through the motions of becoming a “legal” small business, so that I can try to make Joyful Abode bigger and better! I got my sales and use tax permission from the state of Florida today. Sometime soon, I need to go down to the tax collector’s office and get my business license for the county of Santa Rosa, and apply for my Fictitious Name (DBA, or ”doing business as”).

I was worried about the fees associated with these things because I thought I’d have to start from scratch every time the Navy moves us. But I called the Small Business Development Center today, and found out that the Fictitious Name, which was the largest fee, will follow me for 5 years regardless of location. So I’ll just have to get a business license (usually under 40 dollars) and tax id (free) when we move again. So YAY!

A question for you:

Do you feel like your work and your hobbies are balanced? Or do you wish there were more (or less) of something? Expand on that question as you see fit.

I love my “day job” as a preschool teacher (it’s what I’ve wanted to do since I can remember, and I absolutely adore preschool), but I do wish there were more time for me and my other pursuits. Especially now that it’s winter, and being on the east side of the time zone. It gets dark SO EARLY here. It’s like the middle of the night when I get home at 5:30.

Technorati Tags: becoming a “legal” small business, sales and use tax, business license, Fictitious Name, ”doing business as”, Small Business Development Center, tax id, work, hobbies

So delicious, and so easy.

8 oz. Cream Cheese

half a packet of dry Ranch dressing mix

Mix it up.

Chill for a few minutes, so it’s not so sticky.

Shape into a ball.

Cover with Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Pepper.

Serve with wheat thins, bagel chips, Melba toast, or some other hard cracker (not like ritz).

The best part? You can keep all of the ingredients on hand in case you need to whip something up to take to a party, or unexpected guests drop in.

I joined. I joined a while ago. I wasn’t going to, but then I realized I was already about halfway through the month and had posted every day. So… I joined. And then I was halfway sort of a little ashamed that I jumped on the bandwagon, so I didn’t tell anyone.

Some really neat people have visited my Joyful Abode because of it, so I’m happy I did! I’ve also read some fun blogs on the Randomizer. So… I’m coming out and saying “I’m a NaBloPoMo…Fo!”

So in the vein of blogging about blogging (meta-blogging?) I want to mention a few other things.

• If you view Joyful Abode in internet explorer, it will probably look weird (You’ll have to scroll down to see the posts). Internet explorer evidently fixed their issue of adding extra padding (and screwing up formatting) in their latest version, so update to ie 7!
• If you read Joyful Abode through livejournal’s RSS feed, please do not comment in the feed’s comment area. If you want me to see a comment on one of my posts, please click to the website. LJ doesn’t notify me when there are comments on the feed, so I might never see them. Thanks!
• I am still overrun with spam… it stopped for a while after I added the “Did you pass math?” commenty thing… but then it came back, especially on my highest-ranking pages. Anyone know what to do about this?
• To the NaBloPoMo people who “tagged” me for the 7 things… I already did it. Sorry!!! I know you just joined in during November, so you didn’t know… but there it is.
• And… you all rock. That’s just the truth. You seriously rock.

And… say goodbye to Petunia! She’s going to her new home in Pittsburgh.

And Allison should be in Georgia by now. Along with three sets of recipe cards. Yay!

Pick up your own recipe cards, aprons, and bias tape at JoyfulAbode@Esty.

Less than 2 weeks left until Belmont’s Bizzare. These two weeks will be filled with tons of crafting after work. I have a bunch of aprons left to finish, as well as other little projects.

I just finished 1 “batch” of lined zipper pouches. These would be perfect to use as gift bags for the bias tape or recipe cards. And the recipient can use them later to stylishly carry makeup, feminine products, or just the essentials in place of a purse (cell phone, money, keys, driver’s license).

Sorry for the bad pictures! It’s night!

I have another batch of these all cut out and waiting to be sewn, too.

Belmont Arts Center in Pensacola, FL is hosting a funky arts and crafts show December 8th, 2007.

And guess who will be there as a vendor… yours truly! So if you’re in the area, you definitely need to come check it out.

I’ve been crafting up a storm…

Making lots more bias tape, in the hopes that sewers and quilters will be in the mix.

And working up a new project.

Of course I’m making lots of aprons too… no pictures of those yet! But come out to the bizzare and bring a friend or 20.

(Look at my etsy after the show for some shop updates, probably.)

Mmm… leftover turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole. So delicious.

We didn’t eat dinner today. Lunch was like another Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmmm….

Our Thanksgiving get-together was a lot of fun. We had six guests, so eight in all. It was me, the guy, five of his friends from college, and one girlfriend of a guy.

We had some interesting situations, like running out of chairs and sending one guy back to his house to get his roommate’s dining room chairs…

And like the turkey being done an HOUR earlier than we had thought. After only an hour and a half of roasting. I wasn’t even planning to check it for at least another half hour, but on a whim decided to stick it with the thermometer. Again, and again, and again… and every time it read 160 degrees Fahrenheit or slightly higher. So I went ahead and got the sides in the oven and everything turned out well.

So that I remember next year… we brined the turkey in a solution with a cup of kosher salt, 2 cups of lemon juice, and half a cup of sugar. Before baking, I injected the meat with lemon butter and brushed oil over the skin. I also put a few cups of water in the bottom of the pan so the drippings wouldn’t burn.

The turkey baked at 500 for half an hour, then we reduced the temp to 350 and shielded the breasts with tin foil. That is Alton Brown’s idea, and I’m not sure why he does it… but I’m sad the breasts didn’t get all pretty like the rest of the bird. Then after another hour of baking, the turkey was done! 160 or slightly higher in every part I poked.

We also had my mother-in-law’s sun-dried tomato artichoke heart stuffing (mmmm), green bean casserole, pumpkin crumble, cheese balls and crackers, and lots of sides brought by our guests.

Everyone is gone now… and so are the extra chairs. But we haven’t put things back to normal quite yet.

We broke out one of my new big folding tables for dinner and used our regular dining table as the buffet. Also… now you get your first real sneak peek of the dining area and kitchen. More later.

<sappiness>

I am thankful for having a husband who loves me (and washes dishes too), dear friends who may as well be sisters of mine, actual sisters of mine, a huge loving family, a house we have quickly made into our home, food in the fridge, savings for our future, having two “healthy” cars, breezy 70-degree days, and snuggles.

Oh, and for the hundreds of subscribers (I can say that if it’s 204, right?) who read Joyful Abode every time I write. I feel like I’ve made some friends by putting a part of me “out there” and I appreciate you all.

</sappiness>

If you asked me this afternoon how many people were going to be at my house for Thanksgiving this year, I would have told you four, including me and The Man.

Then I extended an invitation to a co-worker, who may be coming and bringing another co-worker. So four, maybe six.

Then I got home, and the guy told me that two more of his buddies said they wanted to come. So six, maybe eight. And actually…maybe nine, because another of his buddies might also come.

Awesome! I am hosting a real live Thanksgiving feast!

Having grown up with my extremely talented, stress-free, and organized stepmother, I decided to use some of the techniques I’ve learned from watching her prepare for big shin-digs.

First, I made out a list of all of the things I could possibly do TONIGHT instead of tomorrow.

Then, I created a schedule of tomorrow’s preparation “events” so that I don’t end up trying to take something out of the oven…that was never actually IN the oven to begin with!

To make the schedule, I started at the bottom, 3:00pm, which is our “Dinner is Served” time. Then, I worked backwards with the turkey, writing down all of the turkey events. Then I did the same thing with each of the other dishes.

(Ohmygod I misspelled spinach!!! I spelled it correctly on the other one though…)

After I did those things, I made index cards with each side’s “name” on them and placed them in the appropriate serving/cooking dishes they will need to use. I also paired up the serving utensils with everything… that way, I won’t end up trying to serve green bean casserole to my guests using, well, a measuring cup because everything else is dirty. Instead, everything will be waiting and ready!

Then I donned my apron and got to work.

Tomorrow, my primary concern is making sure that the bird is decently yum. I actually made the green bean casserole tonight, except for the crunchy toppings and the final baking. They’re ready to just get topped and go in the oven.

The stuffing should be a simple mix-and-bake proposition, and the spinach salad components are all ready (a bowl of chopped egg, a baggie of crumbled bacon, a gladware containter of dressing, chow mien noodles, and bags of spinach) to be thrown together.

The pumpkin crumble is easy enough and will make the house smell yummy when I make it tomorrow.

Now, after prepping and cooking tons of delicious things tonight, I’m going to chill on the couch with my guy and partake in a frozen pizza. Mmm… (Then we’ll get the turkey in a brine.)

What did you do today to prepare for Thanksgiving?