I will be out of town for the holiday weekend, more posts coming next week.

Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

• One boneless beef roast
• 1 jar of salsa
• 2 beef bullion cubes
• Garlic powder
• Water

Brown roast on all sides then place in crock pot. Add a jar of salsa, 2 bullion cubes crushed, garlic powder to your liking, and enough water so the roast is almost covered. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Take the roast out and shred the beef with a fork. We serve our shredded beef on a tortilla with black beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

I love this meal because you can have everything prepared in advance, it is great when company comes or when you have a busy evening.

Easy Guacamole

• One avocado, that is slightly soft to the touch
• Salsa
• Lime Juice
• Salt

Cut the avocado in half and scoop out the insides. Mash in a bowl with a fork. Add about a tablespoon of salsa, a splash of lime juice, and a dash of salt. Serve immediately.

Beefy Bean Burritos

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can rotel tomatoes and chiles (drained)
• Shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• Tortillas

Brown turkey meat on the stove top. When meat is browned add the tomatoes and chiles ( you can also add a pack of taco seasoning if you desire). Cook for another minute or two and then add the can of beans. Cook until the beans are heated. Spread the beef and bean mixture on a tortilla, add a spoonful of enchilada sauce and some shredded cheese. Roll up the tortilla. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray and line the rolled tortillas in the dish. Cover all the tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake covered for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tortillas

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teas baking powder
• 1/2 teas salt
• 2 Tablespoons of butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup of warm water

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and butter in a medium bowl.

Gradually add water and mix until a smooth dough is formed. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.

Roll dough into one and one-half inch balls. Set on a plate and cover. Let rest for ten minutes.

Flatten one ball at a time between two small plates and then roll into a six inch circle.

The flatter you roll the dough the more it will resemble soft tacos, thicker dough is more like a gordita.

Place the tortillas on a griddle and cook over a medium heat until the tortillas turn white, then flip and repeat.

Ready to eat.

You can even make these for dessert. Just follow the recipe above and when the tortillas are right off the griddle, butter them and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Delish!

For more quick and easy recipes visit WFMW.

One of the hardest lessons I have learned as a mom of preschoolers is that really fun preschool activities can be really, really messy. I have this dream that my house will always be neat and presentable just in case someone stops in our house. For many years this kept me from allowing my preschoolers to do certain crafts and activities because I didn’t want to deal with the mess, and everyone knows that preschoolers don’t clean to the standard of a 30 year old. So before I go on with my preschoolers series, I want all moms of preschoolers to accept a little mess now and again. It is okay, and it can be cleaned up.

Here are some fun and sort of messy activities for preschoolers.

Play-Do- My kids love this stuff. One way to contain the mess is to purchase plastic tablecloths on clearance (after Christmas is a great time to stock up). I put the cloth under the table where they are playing. When they are finished, gather up the tablecloth and shake it into the garbage. The mess will be contained.

You can also use play-do to help with number and letter recognition. Shape the play-do into numbers and letters (lower case) and help your kids identify them. You can also have your kids try and create the numbers and letters themselves. You can also do this with shapes for your younger children. For older kids see if they can spell their name in play do letters.

Inflatable kiddie pool - These pools are small and sell for a dollar at Walmart. Purchase several now so they will last you throughout the year. I then purchased several bags of puffed rice and set up the pool filled with rice in my kitchen. I gave my kids measuring cups, spoons and bowls to play with in the puffed rice. Discovery toys makes a stacking cup set that works well in the rice too. You can help your children measure and figure out how many smaller cups equal a larger cup. They can also just play in the rice. I have also filled the pool up with a small amount of water and let them build ships either out of cardboard, toothpicks, and paper to sail across our lake.

Name practice - Instead of writing their name with crayons or pencils get creative. Take shredded bits of colorful paper and help them write their name with Elmer’s glue. Then have your child put the paper over the glue to spell out their name. Have your child write their name in shaving cream, or put some shaving cream in front of them and have them use their finger to write their name. You can also have them practice in salt, or sugar.

Sugar Cookie Shapes- Use homemade or store bought dough to make cookies in basic shapes. Your preschooler can help you cut out the shapes. When they are done they can help decorate the cookies with colored frosting. Make sure you are repeating the name of the shape as well as the color as they are doing this activity. When you are done take a plate over to a neighbor. Your preschooler will learn about giving as well as their shapes and colors.

Remember, you don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for a high priced curriculum for your preschooler. There are many great activities you can do that use items you already have in your home. Next week I will be talking about great preschool books and toys. If you have a favorite book or toy let me know and I will share it in my next post.

Although I am thankful for her every Tuesday, since she is turning 14 this week it was time to send a little thankfulness her way.

She is my oldest, and was kind enough to ease me into parenting. I was a young mom and didn’t have any idea what I was doing with her. She was a happy, wonderful baby who was content anywhere, doing anything, she even attended college classes with me a few times in her stroller. As she grew up, she continued in her cheerful ways.

She is a wonderful daughter, big sister, cousin, granddaughter, and friend. She makes friends quickly and is always looking for ways to serve others. Over the past few years her dad and I have watched her turn from a cute little girl into a beautiful young lady.

I remember on your third birthday I cried after your party because I thought you were growing up too fast. Now that you are fourteen, I realize how quickly the time has passed. Although this year, I did not cry after your party. I realized that every year you have been in our family is a better one than the year before. You are a wonderful example to your brothers, sisters, your dad and me. Your positive attitude is contagious and we are a better and stronger family because you are in it.

We love you, and wish you another wonderful year!

For more Gratituesday visit Laura’s blog.

Guess Whats

• 1 Stick of butter (you can use margarine)
• 2 Cups of sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 Cup of Milk
• 1 Cup Peanut Butter
• 3 Cups Oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large pot, add the first four ingredients.

Stir over a low heat until everything is melted. Once the ingredients have melted, slightly increase the heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture starts to boil.

This is what I mean by boiling.

Boil for one minute, no more, no less.

Remove from heat and immediately add the vanilla and peanut butter. Mix together quickly then add the oats.

Quickly spoon the mixture onto wax paper. Spoon quickly, the mixture firms up very fast in the pot. They will be ready to eat in about five minutes.

These cookies are so delish! I have even convinced myself they are healthy because of the oats! Actually if anyone has a healthy version of the recipe please share. If I had to try a healthy version, I would use natural peanut butter, skim milk, and substitute the sugar for something… hmmm, any ideas?

Store in an airtight container.

For more Kitchen Tips visit Tammy’s Recipes. For more Frugal Ideas visit Mary.

I started on my bedroom today. Before I began it was difficult to walk around, but now I can actually enjoy my room. My friend and I painted the walls sage green last week. I love the color, it is so relaxing. I still need to find a new comforter for my bed, I think the red and green look a little too much like Christmas.

Before photos:

After photos:

I am excited that I finally found a place to hang the window pane. It has been sitting behind my couch for a few months now. Since I don’t have a headboard, I thought the window pane would help dress up the wall behind my bed. My dust ruffle really needs to be ironed… ugh!

There are two boxes under my dresser that I still need to sort and store. I think one is baby items from one of my kids, so it will probably end up in their closet. I just love my dressers they are from my mother-in-law. I had been admiring them for years at her house and was excited when she decided she didn’t want them anymore. Can you see the yellow dresser in the background? That is part of my bathroom… can you believe you can fit a dresser in there? Question for my readers… should I paint the bathroom green too, or should I keep it white?

This is my husband’s dresser. Hopefully he will decide to participate in the Conquer the Clutter challenge :).

As I was taking pictures of my room, I realized that almost everything (furniture/ accessories) in the room was either given to us, purchased at a yard sale, or picked out of the trash. I decided I need to be patient while waiting for a new bedspread. I wanted to rush out and purchase a set this weekend, so my room could be perfect (ha ha), but that wouldn’t be frugal. Since I don’t know exactly what I want, I don’t want to make a quick decision and regret it a year from now, if not sooner.

I still need to organize my closet, but I am excited you can actually walk around my bed now! Check back soon for more clutter updates.

Visit Lara’s blog for more Tour of Homes and 5MFM for Tackle it Tuesday.

I am so excited about the Conquer the Clutter challenge being hosted at my other blog this month. When we moved (and displaced all of our stuff) much of the junk rose to the surface and now sits in piles around my house waiting to be sorted, tossed, filed, passed on, put away, etc…

I have a few problem areas that I will be focusing on this month.

School Cubbies - For some reason this area is clutter central. As the school year goes on, these become the dumping ground for all things school. I hope to clean out the old stuff, organize the new stuff, and create a new system for the coming school year.

Top of my food cabinet- When we moved, everything small that didn’t have a home went on top of this cabinet. It is all still there…waiting…. and waiting…

The black hole - Actually we have made significant progress on the garage since my last garage post, but I want to wait until I am totally done for the big reveal. I promise you will be impressed!

My room - We painted my room last week and now I need to put it back together and throw out the things I don’t need. My closet could probably stand a little makeover as well.

There are several other clutter areas I need to attack this month, but I think I have enough for now. I will update periodically on my progress. I hope to conquer a lot today since my brother and his family will be arriving tomorrow for a week long visit.

For more Clutter Conquering visit my other blog Happy to be at Home.

Visit Crystal’s blog for Making your Home a Haven Monday.

]]> http://thehappyhousewife.com/conquer-the-clutter/feed/ http://thehappyhousewife.com/monday-meanderings-15/ http://thehappyhousewife.com/monday-meanderings-15/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:19:26 +0000 TheHappyHousewife http://thehappyhousewife.com/?p=893 Another busy week here! My brother and his family will be coming on Tuesday for a week. As I type this I have 10 children sleeping (or not) in my house celebrating my daughter’s 14th birthday. They made their own pizzas tonight, ate strawberry banana triffle and Rice Krispy treats for dessert and our now giggling away in the play room. I hope to get much accomplished tomorrow because I would love to take it easy while my brother and his family are in town. On Thursday we all leave for a family reunion for three days. We are really looking forward to it. I am bringing snacks for about 40 people so I need to grocery shop on Monday night.

My list for the week.

• Consistent Parenting - with the move we have slacked off a bit and it is showing.
• Clean bedroom- It was painted last week, but is still a wreck from the painting.
• Make grocery list and shop - Hopefully this will be done Monday night. You can view my menu here.
• Get a haircut - My hair is not working right now…
• General house clean up
• Catch up on laundry
• Return bedspread
• Mail in rebate form
• Make July Budget
• Pay bills
• Mail coupons
• Clean out the car
• Pack for trip
• Coordinate meeting times for the trip

Have a great week!

For more Monday Meanderings stop by Tiany’s blog.

I will be posting my grocery budget in my sidebar again this month after falling down on the job in June. I have decided on $700 since I will be hosting 16 extra people at various times throughout the month of July as well as providing snacks for the reunion.

Breakfast —Waffles, pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, French toast, cinnamon rolls

Lunch—Sandwiches, muffins, smoothies, leftovers, cut up fruit and veggies

Dinner

Monday- Steak, roasted potatoes, green beans, bread
Tuesday- Shredded beef tacos
Wednesday- Crock Pot sloppy joes, hot dogs, raw fruit and veggies, chips
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – out of town

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 2 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Brown turkey meat, when turkey is almost done add onions and cook for a few more minutes. Put turkey and onion mixture into the crock pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for about 4 hours. Depending on the temperature of your crock pot you might want to add a little more water.

Serve on hamburger buns.

Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

• One boneless beef roast
• Jar of Salsa
• 2 beef bullion cubes
• Garlic powder
• Water

Brown roast on all sides then place in crock pot. Add jar of salsa, 2 bullion cubes crushed, garlic powder to your liking, and enough water so the roast is almost covered. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Take the roast out and shred the beef with a fork. We serve our shredded beef on a tortilla with black beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

I love this meal because you can have everything prepared in advance, it is great when company comes or when you have a busy evening.

For More Menu Plan Monday stop by OrgJunkie.com.

]]> http://thehappyhousewife.com/menu-plan-week-of-june-30th/feed/ http://thehappyhousewife.com/one-way-to-get-paint-out-of-the-carpet/ http://thehappyhousewife.com/one-way-to-get-paint-out-of-the-carpet/#comments Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:30:18 +0000 TheHappyHousewife http://thehappyhousewife.com/?p=890 How do I know this… well, I tripped and spilled about a cup of paint on the carpet today while I was finishing the playroom. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of this little mishap, although getting the camera did cross my mind in the initial moments of panic.

When the paint first spilled I grabbed the towel next to me and put it directly on the spill. I was trying to blot it up, this worked a little bit, but there was too much paint. I did this several times, blotting, not scrubbing, and was able to remove the top layer of paint. While I was doing this I was thinking that there had to be a way to remove this paint, and then I thought about how you remove paint from a paint brush… water! I called for every rag in the house and a pitcher of water. I poured water on the spill zone and then blotted it up, I continued this process for about 30 minutes, I could have gone longer but we ran out of rags. I removed about 90% of the paint using this method. Fortunately I spilled bright yellow paint on beige carpet so it did blend once the paint had faded significantly.

After my constant flooding of the carpet I put a fan on the carpet to help dry it out.

You can see there is a little yellow tint in a few parts of the carpet. The paint was sunshine yellow, so I was happy with the results. I think if I would have spent more time adding water and blotting I probably would have been able to get it all out.