Becka's blog

Do you procrastinate about some aspect of homemaking? I know I do at times.

I thought I would share with you a few things that have helped me to avoid procrastination over the years.

1. Many years ago I read an article which talked about the Orange Peel Principle. The basic story was that a woman had a guest drop by and as she sat conversing with her guest she noticed an orange peel on the floor. She couldn't concentrate on her guest because all she could think about was the orange peel (which her guest probably never noticed.) She sat there thinking she should have swept and mopped the floor when all she really needed to do was to pick up the orange peel. Often we make our tasks more complicated than they need to be. There is something to be said for having a basic cleaning schedule and certain standards of cleanliness, but when several people share a home it is going to look "lived in."

Is there an orange peel in your life? Sometimes housework can get overwhelming when we set a standard of perfection for ourselves. If there is some area of your home which really bothers you try to tackle it first. If you keep noticing that your blinds are dusty and it bothers you put that task at the top of your to do list. It will lift your spirits and you may find it takes much less time than you had thought it would.

2. Try to break big jobs down into smaller, more manageable sections. Not many of us can clean all our kitchen cabinets in one fell swoop, but we could clean one or two shelves a day. Most jobs can be broken down like this and often after you start a task that gives you incentive to carry on.

3. Just get started. Often big jobs can seem daunting, but when you get started and see some progress in your work it can actually start to be fun and you can do more than you had originally intended.

4. I once read a book by Marla Cilley, aka the Flylady, who has developed a system of cleaning and organizing your home. One piece of advice in her book I have found to be very liberating is: "Housework, even poorly done, blesses my home." Even when you can't clean as thoroughly or do everything you would like to be able to do, every effort you can put into cleaning, organizing, and straightening up your home will bless it.

How about you — can you share any tips for motivating us in our work?

Becka

We tried a couple of new recipes this weekend. Both originally came from on-line.

Sunday morning Rob made these delicious Sour Cream Cherry Scones that I found on a Land O'Lakes website some time ago. They were delicious and very attractive. Keep this one in mind if you need something different for brunch or for a morning bridal shower, etc.

Sunday for lunch we made Brushchetta Chicken. DD Megan has made this recipe for me for the last two years for my birthday, but we had never made it before. Megan is a scrapbooker and she found this recipe on a site by Becky Higgins who is the author of many books about scrapbooking.She has a section for recipes on her blog. (If you go to the link scroll down the page. It is the second recipe pictured.) It worked well for after church on Sunday. Rob grilled the chicken while I prepared the side dishes.

Here's the recipe for those who can't get to her blog:

GRILLED CHICKEN BRUSCHETTA

Sundried tomato salad dressing
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (I used less)
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small pkg. fresh basil, chopped (I used dried Italian Seasoning)

Marinate chicken in sundried tomato dressing ahead of time. Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and dressing (as much as you desire; I did about 1/3 cup). Back to the grill - Turn chicken over; place on the foil-covered part of the grill, cooked-side up. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

I pounded the chicken breasts to make sure they were all about the same thickness. The trick in the recipe for grilling the chicken first on the grill grate and then flipping it over onto foil works really well.

I often find recipes on-line and print them out. Unfortunately I sometimes have a hard time locating the recipe when I want to make it. Recently I have come up with a new system that has been working well. After I print out the recipe I place it in a notebook that I have prepared with dividers for different categories of foods. When I try the recipe I note any changes, comments, etc. If I want to prepare it again I copy the recipe onto a recipe card and put it into my recipe file for future reference. (I still have a couple of files of recipe booklets, pages from magazines, etc. that I need to cull through, but this is helping me keep organized with the new recipes I come across.)

Do you try very many recipes that you find on-line? What are some of your favorite recipe websites?

Becka

Rob and I have been wanting to go to the mountains for several weeks now and were finally able to take a little trek yesterday. Before we left we tackled two big jobs that we have been wanting to accomplish for quite a while: cleaning out the garage and washing the car. Rob is also writing about our day on his blog in a post called A Saturday not like All the Rest, and he will tell more about what he discovered while cleaning out the garage and give other details of our day.

Our first stop was for lunch at a fairly new little restaurant I had heard about recently, the Cafe at Williams Hardware in Travelers Rest, SC.

As the name suggests, the cafe is in a former hardware store. It also boasts a gift shop with many nice little items. The cafe was doing a brisk business and we saw several people we knew as we enjoyed our lunch there.

From TR we headed up near Asheville, NC and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway after making a brief stop to purchase a few apples. The parkway was lovely — the skies were very clear and there wasn't a bit of fog. The automobile traffic was not heavy but we did encounter many motorcycles. It's probably a lot safer place to ride a motorcycle than on the highway since the speed limit is 45 mph and no large trucks are allowed. We stopped at several overlooks along the road to enjoy the lovely views.

We headed down from the Parkway toward Brevard,NC and stopped at the Cradle of Forestry where we enjoyed looking around in the nature center, gift shop, taking a simulated helicopter ride, watching a film about the history of the school, and a one mile hike through the forest viewing the old buildings that were a part of the forestry school.

Some of the buildings had people doing various crafts. We had not visited since our children were small and we discovered that the center has been expanded since then. It costs five dollars for each adult to tour, but children 15 and under are free, so it could be a pretty inexpensive place for a family to visit. There are picnic facilities on the property and also nearby on the parkway. To see everything you should probably plan to stay there at least three hours.

It is open April through November and they have many special events on the weekends.

We will both be working tomorrow, so that was our big adventure for this Labor Day weekend. How about you — any special plans for Labor Day?

Becka

A while back when I posted some crockpot recipes one of my readers, Ann, sent me a broccoli casserole recipe for the crockpot. I tried it this past Sunday and served it with a turkey breast that I roasted in the regular oven. I had wanted to try a new turkey recipe that you bake in the crockpot, but my turkey breast was too big so I switched gears and did the turkey in the oven and the broccoli casserole in the crockpot.

I don't know what is happening in your neck of the woods, but here in the Greenville, SC area turkey breasts have been on sale for 99 cents a pound for the last five weeks. This week the sale is at Publix. Now might be a good time to buy ahead for Thanksgiving or just to stock your freezer if you have room.

Ann's recipe was very tasty, so I thought I'd share it here on the blog:

Broccoli Casserole

18-20 oz. frozen broccoli, thawed (if using spears, cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 1/4 grated cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup crushed crackers (I used Ritz type)

In a large bowl combine the celery soup, 1 cup of cheese, crackers, and broccoli. Pour into a lightly greased crockpot. Cover and slip a toothpick between the lid and the cover to vent. Cook on low for about 4 hours or high for about 2 hours. Just before serving sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Becka

As many of my faithful readers know, my husband Rob teaches French. Each year the Modern Language Department has a gathering for the students and they serve refreshments. One year they had each of the teachers (or their wives) prepare this recipe:

Easy Week Night Fajitas

1/3 cup Italian Salad Dressing
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
1 bell pepper, cut into large dice (I usually use a combination of colored peppers)
1 onion, cut into large dice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

In a large bowl pour dressing over chicken, peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano. Toss lightly and refrigerate for at least 10 mins.

Drain and then stir fry or grill until chicken is browned and no longer pink. (We grill this using a grill grate that has holes in it.)

You can stir in some chopped tomato at this point if you'd like.

Serve in warm tortillas. These are delicious in the gordita shells that I posted about earlier.

A side dish that I often serve with this is:

Jan's Rice

1-2 Tbsps. oil
1 clove garlic
1 cup rice
2 tsps. chicken soup base (or two bouillon cubes)
2 cups water
1/4 cup salsa

Heat oil in large skillet and then add the rice and crushed garlic. Stir until the rice turns white but does not brown, about 5 mins. Add water, salsa, and soup base. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 mins. or until liquids are absorbed and rice is tender. At this point I like to turn off the heat and let it sit a few minutes. This seems to make a fluffier rice.

A while back when we had this meal I had some of the fajita mixture and some of the rice leftover. I also had some cooked pinto beans in the freezer. I combined them together in some chicken broth, a little salsa and some seasonings to make a delicious soup that we eat with a few tortilla chips on the side. Now, whenever I make fajitas I try to make extra so we can have the soup at another meal. The grilled vegetables give the soup a wonderful flavor.

When you are in the mood to grill something I hope you will give these a try.

Becka