A Day of Domesticity

We just got back a short while ago from McChord. It wasn't that busy there, surprisingly, but probably because of the Seahawks/Packers game. Lance is watching it now. The Packers opened the wood shed, as Lance says, and an ass whoopin' is in effect! He's a Vikings fan, but despite the Packers being their arch-nemesis, he is rooting for them this game.

Anyway...we got our cute dining set out of layaway! So soon we will have that installed in our kitchen, and will be one step closer to finishing our redecorating project. There is still a lot to do, however. Lance wants to put hardwood floors in the kitchen, but I told him I think that would be overkill on the wood. Unless we change out the cabinets, I think it would just be too much. But that's a post for another time.

Lance got me an early Valentine's gift. A pretty objet d'art caught my eye...it's most obvious use is a candleholder, but it's not expressly made for that purpose. It was crackled glass with a painting of flowers and butterflies on it and it says "Love Blooms and Takes Our Breath Away." They had a limited quantity, so he figured he better get it now. I have it on the fireplace mantel with a tealight inside.

We got our commissary shopping done and the drive back wasn't too bad. I guess we can owe that to the game as well. We brought a cooler with us this time, so I didn't have to worry about any food spoiling on the way home.

The only thing I couldn't find at the grocery store was sundried tomatoes. Must pick up some of those, because I have a mind to use those in a few dishes in the coming weeks.

I put groceries away, reorganizing the pantry as I did so. Now we have a full pantry. I chopped up a huge onion and fried it...I'm going to keep caramelized onion in the fridge to add to meals. Lance doesn't eat onion, although he's not opposed to the flavor (it's the texture he doesn't like), so I put onion powder in things that require onion and then can add caramelized onion to my dish. I got baked beans in the oven now and I'm making sloppy joe casserole tonight (it's a twist on regular sloppy joes, in that it has a cornbread crust on top and it's baked in the oven with cheese sprinkled on it).

Laundry is being done right now. There are plenty of other household things that need doing too. I will have to put Staples on my agenda for tomorrow. I need to make color copies and get a nice folder to assemble my writing portfolio.

We had a missed call while we were out...a name on the caller ID that we didn't recognize, so it was either a wrong number or it was Ruth calling to let us know she arrived. I'm sure she would've left a message, though. The area code isn't from around here anyway.

Sloppy Joe Casserole

girlfromsouth asked for the recipe, so I thought I would share. Super deliciousness! I served this with baked beans and a pile of caramelized onions...mixed everything up together, and devoured. Really filling and satisfying.

This comes from some Betty Crocker casserole & slow cooker recipes magazine that came out in the fall of 2006.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion (or sub 1 TBSP. onion powder)
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 TBSP. packed light brown sugar
2 TBSP. worchestershire sauce
1 TBSP. yellow mustard (I used honey mustard and it was fine)

Cook beef and onion until meat is browned, about 6-7 minutes. Drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and cook until mixture is boiling, stirring frequently.

While meat is cooking, mix together one pouch Betty Crocker cornbread mix (6.5 ounce packet), 1/3 cup milk, 2 TBSP. vegetable oil and one egg.

When meat mixture is done, spread into 8 inch square pan. Top with 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Top with cornbread mixture, being sure to spread it evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Five minutes before cooking time is up, sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese on top and put back in the oven to melt the cheese.

(Note: I used reduced fat ingredients for this wherever possible, as well as the leanest ground beef I could find. The result is something that tastes completely sinful, but actually isn't all that bad in terms of fat and calories).

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Karyn's Baked Beans

I don't really measure ingredients, but if you give this a quick taste before you put it in the oven, you'll be able to judge if it needs anything additional.

1 can Van Camp's pork and beans, liquid mostly drained
Heinz 57 sauce (somewhere around 1/4 cup)
1 TBSP. onion powder
squirt of mustard
1 TBSP. packed light brown sugar
several dashes of worchestershire

Mix up in a baking dish. Cover and bake on about 250 degrees for a couple of hours. If you bake something else with it, it can withstand the heat being turned up, but check it periodically to make sure the beans don't get dry.