Childrens Room Organization

I went to Ikea this past weekend and came home with so much.  Yesterday I started putting together and organizing everything.  The biggest project that I had planned was to organize my little boys playroom.  I wanted to add a bench and something that would hold a lot of toys.  Plus I wanted it to fit next to the "Critter Cage" that we made for the boys stuffed animals.  As you can see, it fit perfect...

Sorry the picture isn't the greatest.  I tried taking it straight on but it wouldn't fit everything in the picture. 

Run down on what it cost...
Trofast Frame  (bench style) - $39.99
Trofast Frame (stair style) - $49.99
Trofast Storage Bins (large) - 9 @ $4.00 each ($36.00)
Trofast Storage Bins (small) - 3 @ $3.00 each ($9.00)
Vissla Bench Pad - $14.99

The bench pad doesn't fit too well because it isn't designed for the Trofast bench so I recommend skipping that.  I didn't know that or I wouldn't have purchased it.  I live too far away to return it so the kids will just have to deal with it. lol  Like they care anyway...

These really are awesome units for storage.  Super sturdy and they hold a ton of stuff...

Pantry Organization

A while back I posted a picture of my pantry door and since then I added to it.  I thought I would share it again even though it isn't much different.  I added an extra basket, rod, and more utensil buckets...

I love Ikea!!!  (That's where I bought almost everything.)  For those that don't like the look of the metal buckets, they are also available in a light green and a cream color.

The buckets are not all filled yet but I wanted to share anyway.  I hope this helps someone with their organization dilemmas.

Coconut Lemon Bars

My son only had three requests while he was home on leave. Chili, perogies, and lemon bars...  So I had to make sure I made all of them for him.

Coconut Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
3/4 cup cold margarine or butter
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cups coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In medium bowl, combine flour and confectioners sugar.  Cut in the margarine until crumbly.  Press onto bottom of lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, granulated sugar, baking powder, and lemon juice.  Pour over crust.  Top with coconut.  Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and cut into squares.  Store in refrigerator.  Depending on the size you cut the bars, it makes 30 bars.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

As I pulled into the driveway last night, my husband met me at the car.  First thing he said to me was, "what is for dinner?".  Needless to say, that kind of ticked me off, so I ignored him.  After a long day of running kids to appointments, it would be nice to at least get out of the vehicle before I have to think of what I have to make for dinner...
Since I really didn't put any thought into it, I made the first thing that popped into my head.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Super easy to make.  Dinner was ready in less than a half hour...
I made a double batch but I will give you the ingredients for a single batch.

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets
1 medium onion
4 cups of chicken broth (I use water and add bouillon)
2 cups of half n half (or milk)
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons of margarine (or butter)
5 tablespoons of flour
pinch of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup or mild cheddar cheese



In a large pot, combine broth, onion, broccoli, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until broccoli is desired tenderness.  Times will vary.
Move soup mixture to another bowl.  Is same pot, combine margarine (butter), flour, and half n half.  Stir until mixture begins to thicken.
Note:  It will not completely thicken.  If you want it a little thicker, add more flour.  Remember that it will get a little thicker once you add the cheese.
Add the soup mixture to the pot and continue to cook on low for about 10 more minutes.  Add cheese and serve.  I sprinkled a little more cheese on my soup before eating it.  Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving.  I doubt anyone wants to bite into that...
I hope you find this recipe to be a keeper as my family does. Enjoy!!!

Crockpot Pork Loin

Sorry the picture isn't the greatest.  I was in a hurry.  Plus I was trying to recreate a picture I saw on Pinterest that was for crock-pot pork chops.  I served this with mashed potatoes.  The kids didn't want a vegetable to go with it and since I wasn't going to be home to force them to eat, I decided not to make one.

Crock-pot Pork Loin

Ingredients:
6 pieces of Pork loin (sliced to about a 1/2 inch thick)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
6 tablespoons of ranch seasoning

Place the pork loin in the crock-pot.  In a medium size bowl combine the soup and the ranch seasoning. Mix well.  Pour over the pork loin.  Cover and cook for 6 hours on low.

If you want to make a little thinner gravy, you can add a some milk to it. I added just a little to mine.  More to make it go a little farther but also so that it wasn't as thick.

I used a lot more pork loin than just the six pieces because I have a lot of mouths to feed.  The two cans of soup were still enough though.  I also doctored my mashed potatoes up a little by adding some Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic to it.  I didn't measure, just started shaking...

My kids rate this as a keeper!!!

Crockpot Mushrooms

I LOVE mushrooms!!!  A few days ago I tried my hand at cooking them in the crock-pot.  They turned out awesome.  I didn't get to eat very many of them because it was Valentines and my husband and I were going out for dinner.  When we got home they were all gone.  The couple I did get to taste were very good though.
Crock Pot Mushrooms

Sorry for the "not so great" picture.  I was in a hurry and wanted to snap a picture before I walked out the door.
I was using my large crock-pot  for some pork loin that I was preparing for the kids so I had to use my little divided one.  The mushrooms didn't fit as well so I had to quarter them.  Still tasted just as good though.

Ingredients:
Fresh mushrooms
1 stick of Margarine (or butter)
3 tablespoons of Ranch seasoning (or one individual package)

Clean the mushrooms and place them in the crock-pot.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt the margarine (that's what I used) and mix in the ranch seasoning.  I buy the ranch in bulk since I use so much of it but you can purchase single packages of it too.  Pour over the mushrooms.  Cook on low for about 4 hours.  My little crock-pot only has on and off so it cooks a bit faster than the normal ones.  I only had to cook them for about 2 hours in there.

These taste great by themselves but would be even better over a steak or grilled chicken.  I could eat mushrooms with anything...

Freezer Crockpot Beef and Barley Soup

It's been a few days since I said I would share this recipe but life gets super busy...
On a good note, my son has been home on leave.  So it makes the busyness very worth it.  I haven't seen him in about a year.  He is stationed down in Texas but was deployed to Japan for 6 months.  I am so happy to have him home.  Even if it is for just two weeks.
Okay, now on to the recipe...

Freezer Crock-pot Beef and Barley Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of stew meat
1 large onion
8 medium sized carrots, peeled and sliced (I used baby carrots and just estimated)
3-4 stalks of celery (I didn't use this much because I am not as fond of celery as some.  I probably used more like 1 stalk.)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons beef soup base or about 3 bouillon cubes
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
3/4 cup barley (pearled)
5 cups of water

If you plan to cook it now, just put all the ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Time will vary depending on how big the pieces of stew meat are.

If you are making it as a freezer meal, put all ingredients, except for the water, in a gallon size bag and freeze.  Make sure you label the bag so that you know to put the water in when you make it.  I write the cooking time and what to add.  I added the date also so that I knew what meals were made when.   When you are ready to cook it just take it out of the freezer the night before and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.  It is quite filling so I didn't serve it with anything but you could add a salad or some garlic toast.

My family enjoyed this recipe very much.  I even got the little "picky" boys to eat it.  Definitely a thumbs up!!!

Freezer Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

In my quest to make my life run a little smoother I decided to try my hand at preparing some freezer crock-pot meals.  I have currently prepared about 15 of them for the month but I have only tried 2 of them so far.  I will let you know how the others turn out.  Tonight we will be having beef and barley soup.  Hopefully tomorrow I will find the time to share that one with you.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) pkg frozen fully cooked meatballs
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 (16-18 oz) bottle sweet & sour sauce
1 cup of pineapple tidbits, drained








Instructions:
Place the frozen meatballs, peppers, onion, and sweet and sour sauce into a gallon-sized freezer bag.  Tightly close bag and place in freezer.
When ready to use thaw in fridge overnight.  Empty contents into crock-pot and cook on low for 3 hours.  Add the pineapple and continue to cook for an additional hour (4 hours total).  Serve over rice.
Now for the extra little tips that I found useful...  The very first thing I did was label the gallon size bag with the name of the food, the date, and any cooking instructions (such as how long to cook it).  Since I was making multiple crock-pot meals at the same time I used only 1/2 of the red pepper and added a little yellow pepper as well.  With the pineapple, I used chunk pineapple and cut it into smaller pieces because I already had that in my pantry.   If you are already going out to buy the ingredients you might as well buy the tidbits to make life a little simpler.  If you bought a larger bag of meatballs you can divide it up into multiple meals.  I used about 32 meatballs per meal.  You can use more or less depending on how much you want.  I found the rice to be very filling so 32 was perfect for us.  One other thing that you could do is experiment with the different types of rice.  I tend to use the quick instant rice because that is something that I keep in my pantry at all times.  This recipe serves about 6 people so I used 3 cups of instant rice and 3 cups of water.  I brought the water to a boil and added the rice.  I removed it from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Turned out perfect...