Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Reads



At the beginning of January I set a goal to read 50 books throughout the year. I've mentioned many times how much I love reading, it's always been one of my favorite activities to do. Since I read a handful of books each month I thought I would try to post at the end of each month which ones I've chosen and a brief recap. I love seeing what others are reading and maybe you're the same way.

All Gone: A Memoir of My Mother's Dementia. With Refreshments

All Gone: A Memoir of My Mother's Dementia seemed to be a perfect book for me to start the year off with. My grandmother is suffering from dementia right now and as a family we are still struggling to understand this disease. It's hard on everyone, she has days where she's just fine and then others where she's constantly repeating herself, asking the same questions and even hallucinating at this point. In the midst of reading this touching memoir I could relate to the author a little bit. I could feel her heartache for what she was going through. She found comfort in her mom's recipes, cooking meals and dishes that she grew up with were a big help in dealing with everything. I loved reading the stories of their family, stories behind these dishes and of course the recipes all sounded wonderful as well!


Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More

I've had this particular book for many years, I believe I picked it up at our local Christian bookstore when I first had gotten married and was starting to work from home. I know I've started to read it before but couldn't remember if I had ever finished it or not. Living Simply was an okay read to be honest. It wasn't one of my favorites. The author definitely made some good points; I totally agree with her when it comes to not having our schedules so jam-packed, keeping Sundays open to spend time with family and eliminating excess clutter from our homes as much as possible. 


Always Put in a Recipe and Other Tips for Living from Iowa's Best-Known Homemaker (Bur Oak Book)

I came across this at our library one day and thought it looked interesting, mostly because the author is from Iowa and she writes a newspaper column filled with tons of tips for homemakers, as well as updates about her own family and neighbors. Always Put in a Recipe and other Tips for Living was an interesting and quick little read. After writing for 63 years, Evelyn has compiled some of her favorite columns into one book. You'll find everything from recipes, what it's like to live on a farm and even stories about her own family traditions.


Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should (and Shouldn't!) Cook from Scratch to Save Time and Money

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter was by far one of the best books I read this month. I would consider it a cookbook but it's filled with so much more than just recipes. Jennifer shares tons of recipes to help you cook from scratch more while saving time and money but she also tells lots of hilarious stories too. The book is broken down into different categories such as breakfast dishes, desserts, chicken, ducks, etc.  There were quite a few recipes I'd like to try myself sometime. This is one book I definitely recommend you to read, I think you'll get a kick out it!


The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

This was actually on my reading list from last year and I just never got around to it.  If you're looking for a good detailed book to help you eliminate clutter, get your home more organized and just overall simplify life in general; then I think The Joy of Less is a great read for you. The author breaks the book down into four different parts, she helps you understand the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle. You'll find in part three a detailed plan to help you go through each room of your house and eliminate the excess clutter. You'll be forced to really think about each possession and if it's really necessary in your home. I didn't actually do any of the steps outlined, I simply just wanted to read the book but I certainly did feel the need to do some decluttering afterwards!

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table

The final book I read for the month was A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table. I picked up this book last July while on vacation and now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read it! What a great memoir, seriously. It was very hard to put this book down each night and actually go to sleep. I loved all of Molly's stories and her recipes are just wonderful. The book itself is composed of several stories from her life, I know you'll find yourself laughing right along with her and maybe even catching yourself with a  tear in your eye. If you love to read and you love to cook, then this book is just right for you.


Did you read any good books this month? Please share them in the comments, I'd love to hear! Here's a peek at my stack for February- I can't wait to get started on these!


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Homemade Hamburger Buns


Sunday we were stuck at home all day due to an ice storm and I stayed in my pajamas all. day. long. I can't remember the last time I got to do that. We had a busy Friday and Saturday so it was nice to catch up on laundry, spend time reading and even do a little baking.

I didn't have time for the usual grocery shopping on Saturday and grilled chicken sandwiches sounded good for dinner that night. Of course we were out of buns and I wasn't about to attempt driving to the store. Making my own sounded like the perfect plan.

This has been on my DIY to-do list forever and I'm so glad I took the time to give it a whirl. Homemade buns are seriously one of the easiest things ever! I think even for someone who's not experienced in baking can pull these off. We have a friend that's recently started his own catering business and my hubby tells me his homemade buns are great. I've yet to try them so I can compare but my hubby said these were very good.


You've got to give these a try, especially when grilling season comes around. I can't wait to see how good these taste with a nice, juicy hamburger on them.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Ingredients:
2 tbsp dry yeast
1 c plus 2 tbsp warm water (110 degrees)
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 c bread flour
1-1/2 c all-purpose flour

Directions:
In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water, add in oil and sugar. Let stand for 5 mins. Add egg, salt and flour, mix together until a soft dough forms. Turn dough onto a flour surface and knead for about 3 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces and shape into balls. Place onto two greased baking sheets, six on each one. Cover and let rise for 10 mins. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Banana Bread French Toast


I can't believe it's taken me this long to try making this dish. I made a batch of banana bread two weeks ago hoping we've save some to try for breakfast but that didn't quite happen. So last week I had two lone ripe bananas staring me in the eye, of course I had to make another loaf.

My hubby was working from home a couple days last week and I treated him to a late breakfast one morning, consisting of this fabulous french toast and fresh fruit. I can't tell you how amazing this was! The bread itself is sweet enough you don't need much for syrup but a little certainly does taste good.


I dusted a few slices with a bit of powdered sugar, topped them with bananas and drizzled some warm maple syrup on top. It sure was a nice start to my day.


Banana Bread French Toast

Ingredients:
6 slices of homemade banana bread
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Heat a medium skillet on stove over medium heat. Meanwhile in a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Once skillet is heated, dip bread into egg mixture, let excess mixture drip off bread before adding to the skillet. Let bread cook for about 1-2 mins on each side, until browned. Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate, repeat with remaining slices of bread. Serve with desired toppings and syrup.


Friday, January 25, 2013

Mini Tostada Salads


I'm making this quick today, as soon as the last kiddo gets off the bus we're packing up their things and dropping them off at grandma and grandpa's for the night. The hubby and I are going out with some friends for the night to celebrate her 40th birthday. I'm pretty excited for a night out, her husband has even rented a limo for the night and we're eating at a new restaurant (well new to me anyways).

We made these cute little salads earlier this week for a light dinner. I added some chicken for extra protein but these would be great for an appetizer or side dish. I baked small tortilla shells in the wells of a muffin tin to form the bowls. The girls loved filling theirs with their choice of toppings and dressing. With spring just around the corner it always seems like weekends are busy with bridal and baby showers. These would be a wonderful addition to your menus, something light and refreshing!

Mini Tostada Salads

Ingredients:
6-8 small flour tortillas
2 c chopped romaine lettuce
1 tomato, diced
1/4 c frozen corn, thawed
1/4 c black beans
handful of chopped cilantro
diced grilled chicken, if desired
Choice of dressing or vinaigrette

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds until soft and pliable. Quickly press each tortilla into the well of a muffin tin, carefully overlapping the sides and making the bottom as flat as possible. Bake 10-15 mins, until golden brown.

While tortillas are baking, combine lettuce, tomato, corn, black beans and cilantro. When tortillas are done, remove from muffin tin. Fill each cup with lettuce mixture, top with chicken and dressing.

Adapted from: Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Baked Oatmeal


Here in the Midwest we've been experiencing some really cold weather in the last week. We'd been sort of spoiled with temps in the 30's and 40's but last weekend it just got too darn cold! My girls are big oatmeal eaters, we make it for breakfast at least once or twice each week. It's filling, cheap and I love sending them off to school after they've enjoyed a warm bowl, knowing their tummies are full.

I've made a few other fruity baked oatmeal recipes but my girls always like this simple brown sugar and cinnamon kind better. I love to add raisins to mine but they always enjoys their portions plain with a little milk. Use this as your base and add whichever toppings you like best; dried cranberries, chocolate chips and even coconut would be great additions. It's just as good the next day too. We ate half the pan yesterday and finished it off this morning. It's seriously a great start to our day.



Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:
3 c old-fashioned oats
1 c brown sugar
2-3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c milk
1 stick butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs


Directions:
Combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add in milk, butter, vanilla and eggs and stir to combine. Pour into a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 40 mins or until top is golden brown. Serve immediately with a little bit of milk and desired toppings.

Monday, January 21, 2013

PB&J Monkey Bread


We're enjoying a nice, relaxing day at home. Inside of course, it's seriously frigid outside. I went out for a little bit to get some groceries and that was enough time outside for me. I don't know about you but I'm ready for spring to come anytime now.

I mentioned on Saturday we had a very busy weekend in store and I've been so thankful to have today to recuperate. It was great to not have to wake up to an alarm today. We seriously lived at the bowling alley; the girls did great in their tournaments and we raised a lot of money in our friend's honor. The money goes towards scholarships for high school students and I'm so happy that we were able to be apart of that.


Monkey bread is one of those snacks that's well loved by all kids. We don't make it often as it certainly has no nutritional value but every so often I like to surprise the girls with this cinnamon-sugary goodness.

For Christmas I received a stack of cookbooks, one of my favorites has been the Picky Palate cookbook. I was intrigued by Jenny's twist on the standard monkey bread recipe so we decided to give this peanut butter and jelly version a try last week for an after school snack. I'll be honest, it received mixed reviews. One child does not like peanut butter, never has and I'm sure she never will. I think it was okay, I'm not a big pb&j fan either but it wasn't bad. I added some of my homemade strawberry jam, but you can certainly use whatever jelly or jam you have on hand.

If you're a big pb&j lover I think this fun snack will be a hit in your household. If not, you'll have to give it a try and see what you think. You just might be surprised.


PB&J Monkey Bread

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated biscuits (8 count)
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 c jam
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cast iron skillet, 8x8-inch baking dish, or 9-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. I used a 10-inch nonstick skillet that is oven safe. Cut each biscuit into fourths. Add melted butter to a medium sized bowl and then add in cut biscuits. Toss biscuits with butter, add in sugar and mix to combine. Pour the coated biscuits into prepared skillet or pan.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat peanut butter for about 30 seconds. Do the same with the jam and then drizzle over biscuits. Bake for 20-22 mins, until cooked through and golden.

In a small bowl mix together powdered sugar and milk. Stir until icing comes together, add more milk or powdered sugar if necessary. Drizzle over warm biscuits. Serve warm.

Adapted from: The Picky Palate Cookbook


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Chicken Taquitos


It's been a busy couple of days around here, I've spent most of my time baking away for cupcake orders for my cake/cupcake business. Now that it's the weekend, we're spending a large portion of our time at the bowling alley. The kids are participating in a city-wide tournament as well as another tournament honoring a good friend of ours that passed away at such a young age 2 years ago.

Crazy days like these make me thankful to have some quick and easy meals stored in my recipe files. These chicken taquitos are perfect for a weeknight meal or even weekend lunches. We love Mexican food and these are sure to give you your fix.


The kiddos are sure to gobble them right up as well. Similar to a taco, you just can't go wrong. Serve these alongside salsa, guacamole and Spanish rice for a simple, yet delicious meal.

Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 of a red pepper, finely chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
handful of chopped cilantro
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 pkg 10-inch flour tortilla shells
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in bell pepper, let cook for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and let cook for 1 minute. Next add in chicken, tomatoes, cilantro and seasonings, let cook for about 3-4 minutes until heated through. Remove from heat. Add about 1/4 cup of chicken filling to the center of each tortilla shell and top with a handful of cheddar cheese. Roll tightly and place seam side down onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees or until tortillas are crispy. Serve with salsa and/or guacamole.

Adapted from: The Picky Palate Cookbook

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Stuffed Sausage and Spinach Shells


I've got another great stuffed shell recipe for you. Before you non-spinach lovers freak out, I promise you won't even tell it's in there. You kids won't think anything of it either. I had the girls up at the counter with me helping mix up the ricotta filling and stuffing shells, or rather by that point they were just snatching up plain shells to eat.

I'll be honest here, I'm not a big fan of ricotta cheese. But when I took on the challenge of cooking my way through a cookbook this year I knew there would be recipes that I wouldn't normally make for myself or my family. I'm all about trying new things though. Much to my surprise we all loved this even with the ricotta filling. I made a few changes to the original recipe, like omitting the mushrooms, sorry just couldn't go there. Maybe someday.


The filling in these is great. I decided to go with a mild pork sausage; along with the other spices it gave the dish a wonderful, hearty Italian flavor. This would also be a great make-ahead meal, I wish I would have thought of that. Monday nights are super busy for us, we have to be out the door to dance class by a little after six and boy were we cutting it close.

Stuffed Sausage and Spinach Shells

Ingredients:
12 oz box jumbo pasta shells
15 oz. ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp dried basil
pinch of salt and pepper
3/4 lb. mild pork sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
3/4 c frozen spinach, thawed
2-1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar of marinara/spaghetti sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions. In a large bowl combine ricotta cheese, eggs and spices. Add sausage to the mixture. Squeeze the moisture out of thawed spinach and roughly chop if needed. Add to ricotta-sausage mixture and mix well. Add 1-1/2 c of mozzarella cheese. Spread marinara or spaghetti sauce over bottom of 9x13-inch pan, save a little bit to drizzle on top of shells before baking if desired. Fill each shell with filling and place filled shells on top of sauce. You should be able to fill about 24 shells. Top with reserved sauce if desired and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 45-50 mins or until bubbly all over. Remove foil during the last 15 mins of baking time.

Adapted from: Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Homemade Yogurt


Yogurt is a healthy breakfast option, snack and a great addition to smoothies. I know it can also get expensive depending on what kind you enjoy and if you're able to find a good sale. Our family goes in spurts but we do enjoy eating yogurt each week and incorporating it into our fruit smoothies. I try to stock up when I can find a good sale.

I've been hearing about making your own yogurt for awhile now and finally decided to give it a try on Friday. It's my one day off during the week and it was a fun little project for our youngest and I to enjoy together. I really can't get over just how easy this was, the end result was great! I will forever now make my own yogurt and in return save our family some money.


If you decide to make this for yourself, which I hope you do, you'll need to remember your yogurt will not taste as sweet as what you buy in the store. We added some homemade strawberry freezer jam and fresh fruit to sweeten ours up and it was just enough. It's also not as thick as what you buy; the longer you let it set, the thicker it will be. Also using whole milk will result in a thicker yogurt, but feel free to use whatever kind of milk you have on hand.

Homemade Yogurt

Ingredients:
4 c whole milk
1//4 c instant nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 c plain or vanilla yogurt (Once you've made a batch, you can then use this as your starter)

Directions:
Heat milk in a large saucepan until a thermometer registers 180 degrees F. The milk will be steaming but not yet boiling. Turn off heat and slowly whisk in dry milk powder. Let the mixture cool to 115 degrees F, about 20-25 mins. While mixture is cooling, preheat a slow cooker on low. Once milk mixture is cool, whisk in plain yogurt.


Pour mixture into preheated slow cooker and turn off. Cover with lid and wrap slow cooker with a thick towel. Let sit for 10-12 hours, the longer it stands the thicker your yogurt will become. Do not stir it while in the slow cooker.


Once the yogurt is done, spoon into a container and transfer to the refrigerator. When ready to eat, you can sweeten with jam, honey or fruit if desired. Makes about 5-6 cups.

Adapted from: Ten Dollar Dinners

Friday, January 11, 2013

Blueberry Crumb Muffins


Our family loves muffins, they're a fairly quick breakfast item and they make for a nice sweet snack in the afternoon. I haven't been in the muffin baking mood lately so I surprised the kids with these for snack the other day. They sure didn't last long!

I've tried tons of recipes in search for the perfect blueberry muffin. I've said before how I do like to cook from scratch as much as possible but sometimes I'm not afraid to take a little help from Betty Crocker. For whatever reason our family really likes the flavor of the Betty Crocker blueberry muffins, but they cost almost $3.00 a box. So I don't buy them often.


I adapted these muffins from the Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites cookbook. One of my goals for the year is to cook my way through this new cookbook I received for Christmas, it's filled with tons of great looking recipes and I'm ready for the challenge.

They sure didn't last long in our house, the kids inhaled them so I think it's safe to say they were well liked by everyone. I made some without the streusel topping because I know my husband doesn't care for it. In this case I think they are much better with, my oldest even said they could have used a little more. I added extra lemon zest just because I love it, some extra buttermilk and vanilla for extra richness. While I'm still not sure these are the perfect blueberry muffin I've been searching for (I'd like to find a recipe without the streusel), they are pretty darn good!

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Ingredients:
1-3/4 c flour plus 1 tbsp, divided
2-3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar plus 1 tbsp, divided
Zest of one whole lemon
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
1/3 c canola oil
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, don't defrost before using)

Streusel topping:
1/4 c sugar
2-1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 tbsp cold butter, cubed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside. In a medium sized bowl add 1-3/4 c flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 c sugar and lemon zest, whisk together. Make a well in the center of mixture and add in egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir together just until moistened. Combine remaining 1 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp sugar in a small bowl, toss with blueberries until they are well coated. Gently fold blueberries into the batter. Spoon batter into lined muffin tins.

For streusel topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over batter and bake for 18-20 mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 mins. and enjoy!

Adapted from: Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites

If you'd like to share your favorite blueberry muffin recipe with me, I'd love to try it out! You can email any suggestions to beentherebakedthatrecipes@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes



Can you believe that I've never made real twice baked potatoes before? I figure I don't have a need when we can enjoy mashed potatoes this way. I've been making these for awhile now, we don't have them with our meals too often because well, for one, they aren't exactly good for you. I'd say we enjoy them a few times throughout the year; since the dish makes quite a bit I like the prepare them when we have company.

A couple weekends ago I had my family over for dinner, I made pulled pork and served it with these mashed potatoes and various other sides. It was the ultimate comfort meal!

You can certainly cut the recipe in half if you're not feeding several people. Otherwise I highly encourage to give these fabulous potatoes a try, your family is bound to request them over and over again!


Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
20 med-sized potatoes
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c sour cream
3/4 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 slices cooked bacon

Directions:
Peel and cut potatoes up into small chunks, place in a large pot of cold water and cook over medium-high heat. Cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes and add to a large mixing bowl. Add in cream cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder. With an electric mixer, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Stir in a few slices of crumbled bacon and 1/2-1 c of shredded cheese. Mix together and transfer to a lightly greased casserole dish (I generally use a 2 qt. dish). Sprinkle with remaining cheese and crumbled bacon. Bake at 375 for 25-30 mins. or until cheese is melted and potatoes are heated through.  Serves about 12.


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Fried Mozzarella Sticks + A Few Goals for 2013


Happy New Year! We had a pretty low-key evening on Monday. My parents invited us over, the girls had fun playing amongst each other, we enjoyed a couple adult beverages and snacked on some appetizers. These mozzarella sticks were part of the spread and they were great!

I've started going through some of my cookbooks and bookmarking recipes I want to try. That way when I'm in the mood to try something new out, I can grab one and know exactly what recipes I'm interested in. These are in the newest Pioneer Woman cookbook and I'm really glad we decided to give these a try.

They didn't take much time to prep and only call for a few ingredients; everyone loved them. The recipe yields 32 small sticks so we took half with us and then left the other half in the freezer for another time. The only adaption I made was by adding some Italian seasoning to the panko crumbs. Next time I also might try adding one more coating because we did have some cheese peeking through. Overall another great recipe from Ree!


Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients:
16 pieces string cheese
1/2 c flour
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
1-1/2 c panko crumbs
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Canola oil, for frying
Marinara/Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:
Set up your dredging station using three separate bowls. Add the flour to one bowl. Mix the eggs and milk in another. Add the panko crumbs and Italian seasoning to the last. Remove the string cheese from their wrappers and cut in half for a total of 32 pieces. Start by rolling each piece of cheese in the flour, then briefly dunk them into the egg/milk mixture. Finally, roll in the panko mixture. If necessary, use your hands and pat the crumbs onto the cheese. Place mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and place in the freezer for 30 mins.

To fry mozzarella, heat 1-1/2 inches of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add mozz sticks (6 at a time) and watch closely, turn over to brown evenly. You should only have to cook for about 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately with marinara or pizza sauce.

Slightly adapted from: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier


Have you taken the time to reflect on the past year and make some goals for 2013? I like to make some goals to work towards each year. Last year I shared with you my pretty extensive
goal list. I did well with some and others like my DIY projects I bombed. This year I've decided to not over-do it and just focus on a few things, especially activities that I really do enjoy.


1.  I wanted to give myself a good challenge this year, something that I would enjoy doing. I've had this idea in my mind for a couple weeks now and I think I'm ready to just give it a go. I'm going to cook my way through the new cookbook, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites. My goal is to finish by the end of 2013, I figure I will need to cook 2-3 recipes from it each week. I've never tried anything like this, I think it could be a lot of fun.

2. Household Organization- This is always an on-going process but my hope this year is to continue clearing the clutter from our home and really start working with the girls on responsibility- make them help out around the house more and keeping their own bedrooms clean.

3. It's no secret that I love to read. I don't watch much television and use most of my spare time reading. So it's pretty easy for me to finish a book within a few day's time. Last year I read 35 books, I even had a few months where I didn't do much reading. So this year I'm challenging myself to read 50 books. I didn't make a list to follow because I'm always finding new inspiration from the library, etc but you can follow me on Pinterest, I keep track of the books I read throughout the year as well as books I'm wanting to read soon.

Well there it is, a few goals I'm working towards this year. I'd love for you to share some of your own!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...