Author: Lois Houston

I'm a sweet tea drinkin' southern gal who loves to cook, bake, crochet, and read. Check out my blog for posts about parenting, faith, books, crafts, planning, baking, cooking, and life in general.

Yummy for Your Tummy

I tried a new recipe today – another crock pot recipe. I’ve told you I am big (*huge*) fan of the crock pot. I mean, seriously, why wouldn’t you be when it takes a cheap cut of meat and makes something scrumptious out of it with little to no effort on your part? 

And this was definite scrumptiousness.  SuperMan said it reminded him of something his mom would’ve cooked. High praise, let me tell you, and something I have never  heard with regards to my cooking in almost 20 years of marriage.

So, this one is worth trying out.  Ok?

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I actually had both crock pots going tonight. I had the big one with a batch of tortilla soup that I had made earlier in the week and felt like it needed a little more “doctoring.” So, I added a can of enchilada sauce and put it back on to simmer for a while.  The little one had tonight’s dinner yumminess in it.

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The recipe comes from a Taste of Home Slow Cooker recipe book.  It’s called “Beef in Onion Gravy” but I think that sounds way too bland for how this tastes.

Here’s the recipe, and my modifications are noted as well. (because I hardly ever cook anything exactly like the recipe, unless I’m baking)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used the low fat variety)
2 Tbsp Lipton Onion Soup Mix (I used the whole pack)
2 Tbsp Beef Broth (I used about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
1 lb beef stew meat (I used 1 1/2 lbs)

  1. (I seasoned my meat using Houston House Seasoning and then browned it off in a skillet for about 10 minutes)
  2. In a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker, combine the soup, soup mix, tapioca, broth.  Let stand 15 min (I let stand while I browned the meat)
  3. Stir in the beef. (I also used about 1/4 cup water and deglazed the skillet and added that yumminess (the fond) to the crock pot)
  4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs (I cooked on high for 4 1/2 hrs)
  5. (While it was cooking I thought the gravy mixture was too gelatinous so I added about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of water and mixed it in. )
  6. I cooked some egg noodles al dente and dumped them in the pot with the beef and gravy just before serving.

We served it with a salad. 

My 8 year old said, “Mom, when I first saw this I thought it looked gross. Then, I tasted it and it’s YUM!”  She proceeded to clean her plate.

So, kid-tested and hubby-approved.

I hope you give it a try and let me know how your family liked it!

Another Template for You

Ok, SBC+ ladies… I have a mid-week goodie for you.

I thought I would share another template I have made.

Here’s the template:

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And a page I created with it:

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The papers and embellishments are CM’s Vintage Digital Power Palette
(except for the button – can’t remember where I got it from)

You can download the template from here.

I hope you enjoy and I would really like to see some of your pages! Post a link to your blog in my comments section!

I want to make these

Now that I have been bitten by the knitting bug, I have been snooping around on the web trying to find videos of stitches, patterns, etc. 

I also made a quick trip to the store today because the Big Girl has decided she must also do yarn/needle crafts if Momma is doing them. She picked out the biggest, chunkiest thread I’d seen. It is a deep teal, very pretty, but it looks so huge compared to the yarns I’m used to. We got her a size 13 needle (I think) to crochet with and the stitches are ginormous, but they are cute and very fitting of something a pre-teen would do. She has decided she is making bookmarks and maybe a “Friendship Bracelet” with her yarn.  I guess I am going to have to hook her up with Ms. Pam and get some real crochet lessons for her. 🙂

My little Polly Pocket blanket has morphed into the beginnings of a scarf, which Big Girl has already laid claim to. I am learning, though, and enjoying what I am doing. I have learned that this is very calming for me. When I am stressed, I’m grabbing the needles.  Which, after a day like I had today, was a LOT!  I am also noticing that I knit much better when I am not trying to referee the kids, answer ten-bajillion questions, and rock someone in the rocking chair. (Little Bit is sick with strep)  I have been finding mysterious extra stitches on my rows whenever I do that. Ah well, it is my first attempt, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.

RodeoBut, as I was saying earlier, I have been rummaging around the web and I stumbled across some of the absolute cutest little knitted animals.

I mean, is he not just stinkin’ cute?

I am going to have to figure out how to make one. Big Girl and Little Bit have already put in their requests.  The only rub is that it calls for circular needles.  Hm…  I may be hitting up my friendly neighborhood knitting teacher for some advice on Thursday night.

I didn’t get any scrapbooking done today, in spite of my best intentions. After a trip to the pediatrician, the pharmacy, WalMart and Michael’s, I had to bring Little Bit home for some rest.  And that wasn’t as restful as planned because she absolutely, positively, did not want to take her medicine. Much hysteria and drama ensued and then she finally gave in.  After all of that I was mentally and physically (and emotionally) exhausted.  I just sat in my rocking chair and knitted and tried to relax for about an hour.

Thank goodness SuperMan came home shortly afterwards and took Big Girl to ballet so I didn’t have to get Little Bit back out in the craziness.  I love that man. He takes good care of us.

So, if you are hoping to see the latest weekly challenge, or any new templates, you may have to wait a couple more days. First I have to get the little princess healthy again. Then, I must figure out where I left my sanity.  THEN, I will try to do some scrapbooking!  Oh, and find out if I’m too much of a beginner to do this cute little hamsterveil.

Isn’t he just adorable?

A goodie for you

I had a little time this weekend to create a couple of templates. I thought I would share with you.

Here is the template:

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The embellishment is from Creative Memoires’ Digital Freebies page. Have you downloaded any of theirs? Some of them are really nice. I especially like the flourishes that you can find there.

And here is the page I created with the template:

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The paper and snowflakes are from Jen Allyson’s blog.

If you haven’t checked out her new digital scrapbooking store, you should. Design House Digital, it’s called. There is some beautiful stuff out there. I go browsing and I just want it all!

So, here is the template, if you’d like to download it to play with. (it’s for StoryBook Creator 3.0)

I’d love to see what you do with the page!  Post a picture of your layout!

Have You Seen This?

This video is going viral on the net right now.  Normally, I don't bother forwarding, but this one is quite funny and very spot-on with the observations of society these days.

I hope you enjoy!

Coming Soon…

Just a quick note to let you know I will be hosting a few guest blog posts in the upcoming weeks.

Kate over at Liberty Cottage , Helen over at Furry Little Monster and I will be guest-posting on each other’s blogs in the coming months.

I thought I’d give you early notice so that you could check out their blogs – they are both so creative and I’m always inspired when I go for a little visit to their sites.

It’s official

I am a knitter!

I had such fun last night with the ladies at the knitting circle. It reminded me a lot of what crops are like, minus lugging the paper, trimmers, pictures and other paraphernalia I take when I go to a crop.  I traveled lightly. I took a little tote bag with two different skeins of yarn and my knitting needles. I also took my knitting board and a scarf I had made using it because I wanted to show them that I had at least done something before showing up last night.blogpost

You might remember this little scarf I made over the Thanksgiving break. I used the knitting board for that. It was part of what got me so interested in learning to knit.

A little back story here. 

There is a really sweet lady at church that I have met through our mutual volunteer responsibilities. She has also been so kind to my girls and they look forward to seeing her every Sunday morning and loving on her between services.  I mean, they just crawl all over her (literally) and tell her all about their week and what is going on. She is so patient and kind with them. It’s really touching.

She also happens to crochet. Beautifully.  And I have seen some of her finished pieces.  One Sunday I made a comment about how I would love to be able to learn to crochet like she does. We chatted a bit more and I confided that what I really wanted to do was learn to knit.  She reached around and pointed to a lady sitting about three rows in front of us. “You need to talk to her,” she said.

So, you know what I did?

I just got right up (it was before the service started, don’t worry) and marched up there and introduced myself.  I told her I had heard that she was an awesome knitter and that I had always wanted to knit. I asked her if she knew of anywhere I could go to learn to knit. She said she would teach me.  She mentioned a knitting circle that she had started and that they met on Thursday nights at the local Starbuck’s.  She invited me to join them (hooray!) the next time they met.

So, Thursday night I met with them for the first time.

I was so excited and a little intimidated as these ladies had obviously been knitting for a long time. They had all these patterns and elaborate projects (beautiful, elaborate projects with the most gorgeous yarn I’d ever seen) they were working on.

Finally, Jane sat me down and showed me how to get started. I was scared to death to take the needles from her and get started. I was afraid I’d mess up what she had done.  But, you can’t learn if you don’t do. So, I took them and got going.  Before I knew it, I was knitting! I was actually knitting.  So cool.

By the end of the night I had knitted a very nice little bedspread for a Polly Pocket.

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Ha!

It was not really supposed to be that, but it was about that big.  Little Bit decided that she really, really needed it for her Polly Pocket so it may actually end up being a bedspread after all.  Which would be ok, I guess, because I want to learn how to cast on/off stitches myself and that would give me the excuse to do so.

One thing I realized last night, as I was driving home from my knitting night out, was that this could quickly become a new hobby of mine. The knitting circle is a lot like the crop – the social aspect anyway – minus all the extra luggage.  I enjoyed the time I spent relaxing, chatting with and getting to know these ladies. And the tactile part of knitting was very soothing to me.  Which is something I’m missing now that so much of my scrapbooking is digital.

It will be interesting to see how this develops.  But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll keep you posted. 🙂

A Revelation

The other day, I had a revelation.

I am a digital scrapbooker.

Ha! Are you laughing?

I’m serious!

It dawned on me the other day as I was unpacking my recent shipment from Scrapping Simply. (which are beautiful page prints, by the way. Their printing services are awesome.) 

It dawned on me as I was unpacking the forty-six pages I had scrapped (digitally) since September. FORTY-SIX pages! As I counted the pages, I realized that I have never scrapped that many pages traditionally in a four month period of time (except maybe before the kids were born) other than at a retreat.  FORTY-SIX pages!!

I thought, WOW!  So, in addition to being mess-free, apparently, for me, digital is also inspiring me to scrap more.

I am going to a crop tomorrow night with a friend and I don’t have that much that is waiting to be done.  And, I’m thinking I may just take it easy on my back and take the ole laptop and scrap digitally at the crop. How cool is that?

So, while I have been operating under the idea that I was still a paper scrapbooker who was dabbling in some digital, I think I must change my perception of myself.

I am a digital scrapbooker. (she pauses to let the concept sink in to her brain)

Who knew?

2010 Scrapbook Resolutions

I have said before, I don’t make new year’s resolutions.2010

And I don’t intend to this year, either.  I have some general goals, but they are not things that are related to the new year, or that have begun at the start of the new year.  They are ongoing. I prefer longer-range goals and usually set mine at 5 year increments… like where do I want to be in 5 years? Stuff like that.

Anyway.

I read a very interesting blog post today on the Scrapbook Update blog.  May Flaum was posting the things she resolves to use in her scrapbooks in 2010.  That got me to thinking and I decided to document the things I intend to do in 2010 that are scrapbook related.  They are not resolutions, but rather intentions… 🙂 Semantics, I know, but it makes me happy.

So here goes:

  1. Use up my existing stash of papers, stickers, and embellishments. 
    I want to try to whittle my stash down – and at the same time resist as much as I can the nifty new stuff that comes out on the market. Normally, this is a very difficult thing for me to do.  I am a “gotta have it all” kind of gal. But, what I have realized, is that I kinda do have it all.  And, I need to quit purchasing and start using.  Along those lines is my next intention:
  2. Remember to use my embossing tools more often – and my glitter – and my stamps – and all those other cool tools I have.
    More stuff I bought that I thought was cool. And I love using it, but I never remember to.  So, I’m going to try to remember to incorporate some more of the fluffy stuff on my pages in the future.
  3. Scrapbook every single week.
    Whether it is a digital, hybrid, or traditional page (or, hopefully, more than one page) I am planning to set aside time each week to do a little of what makes me happy. It’s not about “catching up” but more about doing what I love and remembering to focus a little time on my hobby each week.
  4. Challenge myself to try new things and learn new techniques.inc-binder-big
    If you have looked at our     Scrap Weekly in 2010 blog, you know that this one is already in progress.  I am participating in the weekly challenges and will be contributing challenges there several times during the year. I have never really gotten into challenges before but I want to step outside my usual scrapbooking habits and style and learn some new things this year.
    I am also taking Cathy Z’s Design Your Life class on     Big Picture Scrapbooking. I am hoping this will help spread my horizons a bit – once I actually get around to starting the class (cough, cough).  I am also hoping to re-start or start anew a 365 project using Becky Higgins’ Project Life kit.  I got mine in the mail today – it is sooo pretty. I can’t wait to use it.  I am thinking it will become my “chronological” album which will allow me to:
  5. Scrap more moments and memories and less events.51SRkWNdUZL._SL500_AA240_
    I am really going to push myself this year to get away from the traditional yearly albums I have done for the past, oh, fifteen years.  I am going to have a family album, the Project Life album, and then, well, I don’t know. I am re-reading Stacy Julian’s book Photo Freedom.
    I am thinking I may try to tackle her Library of Memories concept. Up till now it has seemed rather daunting. But, with my move away from chronological albums, it seems like something that will really free up my scrapping mojo. There is a class over at Big Picture that is being offered in the spring, but I’ll have to see if I am ready for another class after the Design Your Life one.
  6. Try some hybrid pages.
    So far, I have either done digital or traditional, but I haven’t mixed the two. I have to ask myself “why?” and I don’t really know. Other than the fact that the PC is downstairs and the scrap spot is upstairs. Not a good enough reason. So, it is time to start mixing things up a bit.

So there you have it. My 2010 not-so-resolution-y intentions.

What are you going to try to do in 2010?

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Rice

First of all, let me apologize right away for not having photos of this delicious recipe.  I was all wrapped up in “Suzy Homemaker” mode yesterday and totally, completely forgot about taking pictures!

But, I will promise you this is a very yummy recipe and worth fixing for your family.  My picky-snicky girlies even loved it.

And, who doesn’t love a crock-pot recipe? I mean, the crock-pot is the greatest kitchen appliance of all time (next to the stand mixer and food processor, but who’s counting?) and probably will be until someone invents a device to help you cut onions without crying your eyes out like I did this past Saturday – but that is another story for another day.

On to the recipe. 

I found the original recipe on All Recipes. I love that website. I love that I can search for a recipe, or ingredient list, and then read the recipe, but ALSO (and this is the best part to me) read the comments that other folks put out there about their experience with the recipe. How the tweaked it, what worked, what didn’t, etc.  Awesome.

Ok, I digress again. Sorry.

Here is the recipe, really.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Rice

  • 4-5 servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients:

4 pork chops (I used bone-in)
2 cups uncooked white rice
1/4 cup butter
1 can beef broth
1 cup water
1 package Lipton Mushroom & Onion soup mix
1 package Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic soup mix
1/2 cup flour
Houston House Seasoning (see link here for recipe)
1/2 cup frozen corn
olive oil

  1. Season chops with House Seasoning.
  2. In a large bowl, mix flour, generous portion of House Seasoning and 1/2 of the packet of the Herb & Garlic seasoning.
  3. Heat a skillet with about 2 tbsp of olive oil.
  4. Dredge chops in the flour mixture. Cook in skillet until they are lightly browned.
  5. Coat insides of crock pot with olive oil. (or just spray with some Pam)
  6. Layer in the crock pot: rice, butter, broth, water, soup mix (both packs) corn.
  7. Mix gently.
  8. Once chops are browned, layer on top of rice mixture.
  9. Cook 4-5 hrs on high. (I haven’t tried this on low and for a longer time because I was afraid the rice would get mushy)

Check on it (if you can) about an hour before cooking is complete – I noticed I needed a little more water in mine.

This is soooo yummy.  I hope you enjoy!