Steak and Hassellback Potatoes

Sorry folks, it's been awhile since my last post. We've been so busy trying to pack (and seriously failing) to move that I haven't had much time to type up a post! Well here I am again and this time with a new recipe. And by new, I mean it just came out of my oven new. We're in the process of using up all of the random groceries that we have so that we can start fresh in the new house. This has been great to weed out close to expired things.

Tonight's dinner was steak and potatoes, our favorite nights! The steak I prepared last night and let marinade overnight as well as through the day. The marinade was made with: 

Easy Marinade For Flank Steak (Taste of Home)

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine or reduced-sodium beef broth

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

2 fresh sage leaves thinly sliced, or 3/4 tsp dried sage leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 beef flank steak (1 lb)

She's Ready to Pop!

It's Marvelous Monday and time for another project! 

A few weeks ago I threw a shower for my best friend and her soon to be baby! It was so much fun! I had the whole thing planned out from the moment I found out she was pregnant. Thanks to Pinterest (as usual), I had so many cool ideas for this shower. I ended up with many projects that I can't wait to share. So without further ado.... 

She's Ready to Pop 

Here were the invitations that I made on Photoshop. They went right along with our theme of "She's Ready to Pop!" 

To go with the "Ready to Pop" theme, we had "Pop"corn and Cake "Pops". There were four different types of popcorn. If you'd like to try them, we used these RECIPES. We had four kinds, Cinnamon Bun Popcorn, Blue Party Popcorn (Originally Pink, but she's having a boy), Popcorn Brittle, and Plain Popcorn. The crowd, and my, favorite was the Cinnamon Bun Popcorn. It sounds strange but seriously melts in your mouth! The Blue Party Popcorn was my second favorite! 

The spread. The caramel corn looking popcorn was the Cinnamon Bun Popcorn that everyone loved. You can see the cake pops on sticks placed in plastic cups with rocks left over from my wedding.

We of course had to sample everything! 

Menu Board

Keeton: “What’s for dinner?”

Jennifer: “I don’t know. What sounds good to you?”

Keeton: “I don’t know. How about you?”

ONE HOUR LATER

Keeton: “So… what’s for dinner?”

Jennifer: “I still don’t know… How about popcorn”

Sound familiar? This is how we spent the first months of our marriage, living off of popcorn. Every day I’d come home, stare at the fridge, sigh, and pop popcorn. It was driving me nuts. I couldn’t understand how my mother always had dinner on the table and it wasn’t cereal or popcorn.

I tried different things to plan my meals. I planned on paper each week for about a month until that was too much work. I even tried planning out the month on paper but for some reason that just didn’t work for me either. Finally, after another afternoon on Pinterest, I found a new idea, a magnetic calendar, color coded with all of my meals for the month.

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my blog! 

Before I jump into my blog I'll share a little about myself. My name is Jennifer and I married my wonderful husband Keeton in July 2011. We currently live in a little rental home in a little town surrounded by cornfields in northern Indiana. In the following weeks we will become first time homeowners! Our soon-to-be home is an older home in great condition but in need of some major updates. We are so excited to move and to begin the many projects to make the house our home.  


Keeton is a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. His main job is teaching math at the nearby school district. In the fall he coaches jr. high football and in the summer jr. high baseball. Right now is baseball season so he is helping with varsity baseball and hopes to take on the freshman team himself. On top of all of this he also takes care of our local cemetery (I have to say, this took awhile to get used to when we met!). When he finally has free time, he spends it with me! 


I am currently a Title 1 teacher at the local elementary school. For those of you that don't know what Title 1 is, it's a reading program for struggling students. I spend my days pulling Kindergarten through fourth graders out of their classes to work on reading and writing skills. This is a transition for me as I would love to be a classroom teacher next year! In the free time that I have when Keeton isn't home, I LOVE to read. It is seriously my favorite thing to do. I also enjoy painting, organizing, and other coming up with fun, creative projects to make our house a home! 


Now that you know a little about me here's a little about my blog. I plan to post my favorite recipes, projects, and tips from our house to yours! I am constantly trying new things in the kitchen and the ones that make the cut may just make it on here! Pinterest has been my inspiration for projects. Unfortunately it is slightly addicting so instead of actually doing projects I tend to just pin them. I plan to change that as soon as we move. And finally, I will pass on any tips that I find helpful as we start a new home, continue to grow in our marriage, as we start a family, and as I someday take on a teaching job. 


Thanks for reading! 
Jennifer