JANUARY WRAP UP

Good morning my darlings. I hope you are feeling good and staying warm and dry this crazy morning! It’s a whopping 36 degrees here. Well this is it… the last day of the month. Man can you believe it went so soon! I can’t. Its crazy really… sitting back I can’t even think of where half of my 2009 went! Guess what… today is the final day before we find out who the winner of the crock pot is… are you excited?? I am! Its been fun reading all the comments and ideas. I thank you for them and don’t stop just because the contest is coming to a close… keep them coming. I’m also planning another crazy fun contest game soon, so be watching for that!



Well the DH was a very sweet man yesterday. He had to run a couple of errands and he knew I wasn’t feeling well. So he stopped by my favorite restaurant and got my favorite meal (Chinese) and then he got me a dozen red roses. Aren’t they pretty?? Normally that’s a “Sorry I screwed up” move he makes so it was a pleasant surprise LOL!

OK so I did absolutely nothing yesterday… I was quite ashamed. I know I was supposed to clean and do some crafting, but alas… the pain took over and I stayed down all day. SO the DD and I watched movies and ate popcorn LOL! We watched the new MJ “This is It” movie and a few other oldies but goodies. I’m gonna try to do better today. She wants to go to Party City to check out a few things, and I have to clean and maybe get some crafts done! And I’ll warn you now so you don’t worry… more than likely tomorrow I will be blogging in the mid morning to afternoon sometime. I have a couple of things to do first thing in the morning. But don’t worry, I will be here!

OK crafts… hmmm crafts… Honestly I am not feeling very crafty right now. But I will share with you this one project I found that I am doing for my DD’s room. It’s the recycled message center and I found it originally on Thrifty fun. Granted, I am doing hers a little different… and yes I’ll share pics when I’m done and its all together, but the concept is the same!



Craft Idea of the Day: Recycled Message Center

Supplies:

Recycled cork board
Recycled shelf
Spray paint
Fabric
Decorative pins
Butter knife

Instructions:

Spray paint the entire cork board and shelf the same color (you might want to remove any hooks first). Let dry.

To add visual interest, add some fabric along the bottom half of the message board. To do this, simply use a butter knife and slowly work the fabric into the frame of the cork board. Fold over the top part of the fabric as you slide in the sides. Use decorative pins to hold the fabric in place along the cork.

Attach the cork board and shelf to the wall right next to each other so it looks like one big piece.

Presto! Add a calendar or other important papers. If your shelf has hooks, it's a perfect place to hang keys or other essentials.

Okie dokie… what’s for dinner? Well I saw this on allrecipes and I thought it was very pretty and I wanted to try it. The first time I made it, I was like OMG this is scrum-diddly-umptious!!! So I think I’m making that tonight… check it out!



Beef Tenderloin With Roasted Shallots

Ingredients

3/4 pound shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups beef broth
3/4 cup port wine
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 pounds beef tenderloin roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 slices bacon, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 sprigs watercress, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In 9 inch pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

In a large saucepan, combine beef broth and port. Bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the volume is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Whisk in tomato paste. Set aside.

Pat beef dry; sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat on the stove top, saute bacon until golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to pan; brown on all sides over medium high heat, about 7 minutes.

Transfer pan to oven. Roast beef until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125 degrees F (50 degrees C) for medium rare, about 25 minutes. Transfer beef to platter. Tent loosely with foil.

Spoon fat off top of pan drippings in roasting pan. Place pan over high heat on stove top. Add broth mixture, and bring to boil; stir to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to simmer. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture, and simmer until sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining butter. Stir in roasted shallots and reserved bacon. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut beef into 1/2 inch thick slices. Spoon some sauce over, and garnish with watercress.

Well gang, that’s all for me. I think I am gonna go bake some homemade cinnamon rolls to wake the house up and drink a monster to try to get moving. Then I have to run DD and a couple of the other kids in band with me to Party City, I need to clean, and get some crafting done. At some point, I also have to make out a shopping list so while the kids are at school, I can get that done too… being out of a few vital things tends to stimulate you to do that LOL! So as you can see, I have a lot to get done and never enough time, so I love you all and I will see you tomorrow! HUGS!