First Concert T-Shirt

What a great way to ring out the summer...going to your very first concert. The intimate setting of seeing Colbie Caillat at the Pabst Theatre was a great way to get her feet wet:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

The Remodel

It has been quite a ride already. We started before the 4th of July looking for a contractor to put siding on our house because the brick was pulling away:

Since then, we have met with 8 contractors, 2 banks, 1 mason, 1 engineer, 1 plumber and 1 basement specialist. We have had to dig up gardens, move a retaining wall, move electric, move plumbing and we lost a door. Now, the basement guys are digging a giant hole in my yard to see if we have to replace drain tiles.

Keep your fingers crossed...that's a $5000 difference!

I feel tackled already! Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Ground Beef Stroganoff

According to the author: "This easy, fast, and economical recipe sure to please. It is equally good over rice. Serve this family favorite with a green salad and a light dessert."
I am doing my menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie. So, here is my menu this week:



Also, $5 Dinners inspires us all to make low cost dinners. In that spirit, I am taking what Pick N Save has on sale, pairing it with coupons and coming up with the tastiest money saving around! Ground beef was on sale for 2.99/lb. (normally 4.29/lb.) and sour cream was on sale too for $1.00 per 16 oz. container (normally $1.55).  So, I grabbed a bunch of both to make my featured recipe today:

Ground Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup beef broth
1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles

Directions:
1. Break up ground meat into a large skillet, and add onion, mushrooms, garlic powder, and mustard powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until the meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off excess fat.

2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and beef broth. Stir into beef mixture, and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not stir too much.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain. Serve sauce over hot noodles.

Servings: 4

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (8.4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 521.78
Calories From Fat (66%) 342.16
% Daily Value
Total Fat 37.65g 58%
Saturated Fat 13.3g 66%
Cholesterol 117.79mg 39%
Sodium 473.01mg 20%
Potassium 402.24mg 11%
Total Carbohydrates 20.95g 7%
Fiber 0.82g 3%
Sugar 3.09g
Protein 23.71g 47%

Recipe Type
Beef, Main Course

Source
Author: Linda Russell
Source: allrecipes.com
Web Page: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ground-Beef-Stroganoff/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=27916053&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2009-12-02&prop28=DailyRecipe&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1

Recipe Cost: $6.78 ($5.48 on sale)
Serving Cost: $1.70 ($1.37 on sale)



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Saving Roses During a Remodel

As part of the remodel, I had to dig up two of my gardens. I experienced physical pain ripping my babies from the earth. I wanted to keep everything but the repairs are going to take me well into October. They will not have a chance to reestablish before the ground freezes. So, I have to stash some in my veggie garden over the winter. Here is how I did it:

1. Dig a hole:

2. Fertilize the hole:

3. Fill the hole with water:

4. Put the rose in the hold and pack with dirt:

5. Water well and keep watering well for the first two weeks. This will help everyone settle in.

Wish me luck:-)

First Time Alone on the Big Slide

One of the things that has kept me away from my blog this summer was fun activities like going to the Wisconsin State Fair where they have a big yellow slide. This is my youngest's first solo ride:

That's pure terror on her face!!!

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

She Was a Brick House

Wow! I sure have been gone a long time! On top of preparing for my new positions as PTO President and Girl Scout School Organizer, we are in the position where we HAVE to repair our house. Here is the story:

This beautiful Roman brick...


...was pulling down our front stoop and poking a whole in our basement wall:-( If you think it sounds expensive, you would be right! We have found ways to keep the cost down. For example, our contractor wanted to charge us $1000 to take down the brick. We found a brick reclaimer who came took down the brick for free AND pay us a nickle a brick! Now, that is smart!!! But, here is what it looks like:




Quite the mess, right? Oh AND, they didn't take the mortar away. So, we had to haul 3 trailer loads of cement to the dump. No THAT is sweat equity!

And, the fun will continue. As a result of this, I have plenty to write about. Like how to menu plan when your plate runneth over. Not to mention, how are we going to put our palace back together. And finally, I get to redesign a bunch of my gardens. So stay tuned for all the mad-cap fun.

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .