Timbercreek Farm Organics

We got our "goodie" box of organice fruits and veggies today and it included a recipe for Ratatouille on the Run, and I had all the ingredients on hand, including fresh basil from my big basil plant/bush. Not suprisingly, I was the only one in my family willing to try this dish...and it was very good, nice side dish...I crumbled a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese on top.

Here is the recipe:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp garlic garlic
1 large eggplant unpeeled, diced
2 green bell peppers diced
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 onion cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large zucchini cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat oil in BIG heavy sauce pan or wok over med heat. Add garlic garlic; stir. Add eggplant, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, zucchini and basil. Saute 5 minutes. Cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, stirring occassionally, about 25 minutes. Uncover pot/pan and simmer until juice thickens, stirring occassionally, about 10 min. Mix in vinegar, season to taste w/salt and pepper.Preheat oven to 350. Spread ratatouille in 9 inch-diameter pie dish. Sprinkle w/cheese, if desired. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

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On the homefront I went to the Courthouse today and in literally 3 minutes, I got a copy of Anna's birth certificate. I was mightly impressed w/the experience, have you ever heard of getting in and out of a government office in less than 5 mintues??? So I was able to take that along w/a bunch of other paperwork over to the schoool in our district that offers preschool...So do you know what that means? In less than 3 weeks all 3 kids will be taking buses to school and I won't have to drive anyone to the park district back and forth and back and forth. And I'll have about 2.5 hours of the day to myself....but really it's all about the environment and not driving my car as much...it's not about being able to sit and think in silence or being able to clean the house and have it stay clean for a few hours, or catching up on my reading, or getting on TS offered conference calls, or going for a run every morning...really it's not about me..it's about the environment!

His own room

For six months my younger brother was living with us in our basement. He moved out this past weekend to head out for the big city...NYC.

And the moment he left, Patrick was packing up his stuff to move into his own room. This was all young Patrick's idea, and boy is he happy about having his own room...except when it's time to sleep. That has been a bit of a work in progress involving a nightlight and several back up lights on throughout the basement.

I'm very excited that Patrick now has his own room, there is less fighting btwn him and his brother and he has a place for all his important stuff...such as a bottle cap...a ragged Miles Kimball catalog, lots of little legos, an an assortment of Spongebob stuff.

He also found and had me hang up several St. Patricks Day related school art works. Such as a paper potato wearing a green leprechan hat. St. Patrick's Day is Patrick's day you see?

When Patrick is not writing in his Imagination Journal on his makeshift desk he enjoys this meal...

Boneless Chicken Breasts marinaded in Balsalmic and Basil Dipping Oil and baked.

Roasted Potatoes: I take potatoes leave the skins on and cube them up then toss them w/a bit of olive oil and Tastefully Simple's Italian Seasoning Salt and put them on a Pam sprayed pan and bake those...

And

Broccoli steamed w/a little of our Seasoned Salt.

3.5 hours early

This morning the Feldco guy came to look at the windows we have that need to be fixed. 3.5 hours early. The appt was for noon to 2 (a two hour window) and then he called at 8am...Tom answered the phone, I probably would have let it go to voice mail...and asked if he could come at 9am instead of noon. Then he showed up at 8:30. I had to hide in the bathroom and get dressed. Nevermind that the kids were in their PJs....

830am on a Saturday, me personally I am not ready for company of any sort at that time!

Today was exciting. I have all the school supplies bought and divied up for the boys. I have a sneaking suspicion that one bryce starts, they are going to ask him to get more supplies...seems like there wasn't too much to his list. Now if I could only find some info on when I can pick up Patricks info --the really important stuff that we need to know like--ah what time is the bus coming to pick him up and where is the bus stop??? LOL

Tonight we are going to see the Simpsons at the drive in. Here's hoping the rain holds off until Midnight.

Only one week...

Until my birthday. I'll be 26. LOL. My birthday always means that ragweed season and the start of school are around the corner. So take notice now, quick do some fun summer stuff, the summer fun clock is ticking down very quickly!

The Ty Warner splash pad is a great place to find summer fun...as you can see here, Anna is having a great time.

A note to anyone watching their weight. You'll want to avoid Jewel this week as Ben and Jerry's ice cream is on sale. Did you know they have this ice cream called Cinnamon Buns? Oh it is so good. Sinfully good!

Speaking of Cinnamon...

Apple Nut Cinammon Muffin Melts

Submitted by Denise Grant (TN)
Ingredients Cinnamon Muffin Melt Mix™

1 cup water

1 chopped apple

1/2 cup chopped pecans or nuts of choice

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

Directions Prepare muffins with water; stir in apples and pecans. Bake as directed on package. Roll in melted butter and reserved cinnamon sugar packet. Cool and serve. Makes 12 muffins.

August 2nd. Yep, no creative title

I think the heat has gotten to my brain. I cannot think of a clever title for todays blog and I can't remember what I had for breakfast. But I do remember what I had last night at dinner...I made the most delicious 'silver treasure' foil packet potatoes w/garlic infused olive oil from Market Day and a sprig of fresh rosemary. and some of our TS Italian Seasoning Salt. Oh it was soooo good. I also did this...

Cut a giant zucchini lengthwise, pour our brand new salsa that I got as an attendee of National Conference on top and that you can get for yourself 9/1, then sprinkle on shredded moz. cheese over that and bake. Oh it was so gosh darn good!!!



Also can you see the graphic for eWomens networking? I cant but the link is still clickable. If you could email me and let me know what you see? yourTSconsultant@aol.com

On Tuesday night I participated in an Idea Party as part of my 8 week Success Team class, boy it was wonderful. I have 2 giant pages filled with ideas on how I can achieve my goal this year of becoming a member of Tastefully Simple's Gold Leaf Executive club. Now I have no excuses and now that you know it is my goal, you too can hold me accountable! The incentive period is July 1, 2007 to June 30th, 2008, so it's a year long goal. In order to reach this goal I'll have to work harder than ever...but to reach such a career goal will be worth all the effort. To find out more about Success Teams go to http://www.shersuccessteams.com/

About 10 Tastefully Simple consultants reach the Gold Leaf club each year. In order to be a member I'll be working toward having $65,000 in personal sales, welcoming 16 new team members and helping 3 team member become Team Leaders. It's a tall order...but as they say...nothing ventured...nothing gained!

And when I reach my goal, not only will my business be definitely taken to the next level, and not only will I be recognized on stage at Nationals next year and get to hug the CEO, I'll be going on an all expense paid trip of a lifetime w/the hubby to Puerto Vallarta!

Dog Days of Summer

Well looks like we'll be looking at the mid 90s this week. Which is right for this first week of August. So what does the second week of August bring? Nod. yep. my birthday. Tom got me a camera already for my birthday, now all I have to do is pay the CC bill when it comes. LOL I really really like my almost paid for camera. It is a Casio Exilim, I think this is the one I have...

And it takes nice pics here is another one from our Tastefully Simple National Conference

Are you wondering why we are wearing cowboy hats? That's because the theme of conference this year was Kick it Up!

We have some fabulous new products coming out including one called Mild Red Pepper Dip, this one is just like our retired Sweet Pepper and Jalepeno Jam only a bit more pourable. I think it will be a must have product this fall.

Grilled Asian Aura Steak Salad

1 peeled cucumber

1 red bell pepper

1 zucchini

1 1/2 lbs. trimmed boneless 1 inch thick sirloin steak

Asian Aura Dressing

Chopped fresh cilantro

Slice vegetables into matchsticks, about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide, set aside. Brush steak w/1-2 tablespoons Asian Aura Dressing; grill over med. heat for 3-4 minutes on each side for med. rare. Toss vegetables w/5-6 tablespoons Asian Aura Dressing; arrange evenly on 4 plates. Thinly slice hot steak; arrange over vegetables. Drizzle with additional Asian Aura Dressing to taste; sprinkle w/cilantro for garnish. Makes 4 servings.

Me and my Birthday Buddy Kim J.

Back from Conference!

Wow I had such a great time! It's wonderful to be part of a forward focused company! This year our key note speaker was Connie Podesta, very very funny and inciteful. Her website is http://www.conniepodesta.com/. We have such a wonderful fall line this year. I can't wait to share it with everyone, especially our exquisite gift collection, the gift department truly outdid themselves this year.


The picture I posted is a picture of me w/my birthday Buddy Kim J.


So many great things coming along to help us to grow our businesses and reach our goals, I cannot wait to share all w/my clients and hosts. Now is the time to start a Tastefully Simple business!

I will share more and recipes tomorrow.

Go Go White Sox, Boo Tigers!

Last night Bryce and I had the first annual Brycie's Special White Sox Day. I have a couple of pics of the evening, but photobucket is down so I can't upload them tonight from my phone to the site and then download the pics to my PC so I can upload them here...LOL I love technology.

So there we were at the game and who sits right in front of us?

Ya a loud lady who looooooooooooooves the Tigers and her 2 kids who love the Tigers and her husband. Sigh, I just really don't like sitting by someone loudly taunting the home team. I want to be surrounded by the sox fans. This lady was extra annoying because when she wasn't on her feet yelling cause her team scored...and that happend 9 times..the times the sox were doing well, she was texting. Grrr. or getting up so I can't see to go to the bathroom Grr.

But then Bryce keep making me laugh. The kid was Superfan! He was singing Go White Sox Go. Chanting Let's Go White Sox Let's Go, and each time a Sox was up to bat and they announced the player's name Bryce would go wild as if Babe Ruth was coming to the plate! The kids in front of us were supremely annoyed to have a screaming 5 year old White Sox fan behind them. I had to laugh.

Bryce made some friends w/the Sox fans behind us and exchanged hi 5's and the fans were telling me I had the best kid ever. LOL Bryce can be pretty loud and wild most of the time, so I guess Cellular Field is his nitche.

Ah such fun, too bad our guys lost!

And now for a few more summer recipes....

Veggie Pizza
Submitted by Kris Sayers (IL)
Ingredients Mediterranean Herb Quick Focaccia Bread Mix
12 oz. beer
Farmer's Medley Dip Mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Sliced cucumber
Chopped broccoli
Diced carrots
Thin sliced yellow peppers
Directions Prepare Mediterranean Herb Quick Focaccia Bread Mix as directed on package with beer; spread onto a pizza pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°; set aside to cool. Prepare Farmer's Medley Dip Mix as directed with sour cream and mayonnaise. Spread Farmer's Medley Dip over cooled bread; top with vegetables. Slice into appetizer size pieces.

Merlot Burgers
Submitted by Deb Goodman (ND)
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. Merlot Sauce
1 tsp. Onion Onion™
1/2 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 lb. ground beef
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
Directions Combine all ingredients; mix well. Shape into 4 patties; grill. Serves 4.

Dreamsicle Chiller
Submitted by Stephanie Adkisson (CA)
Ingredients
2 scoops Vanilla Bean Chiller™
5 oz. cold orange juice
1 1/2 cups ice
Directions Combine ingredients in blender; blend on high until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Dinner Impossible

For those of you who have cable, and are familiar w/the Food Network, maybe you've heard of this show? Each week Chief Robert Irvine is thrown into a situtation and giving the challenge of serving a bunch of people and a strict deadline. For example he did a challenge where he had to cook a dinner party for a group that runs a pilgrim visitor center (where you can visit and see people pretending it's the 1600s. So he had to do a dinner party using the tools and foods of the time.

Well this week the challenge was serving a gourmet dinner to a group of 200 of Chicago's finest and their friends on the US Cellular Fan Deck at our very own US Cellular Field.

Why am I mentioning this? Well because I was at the game and went to the consession stand where the Chief was working and saw a bit of the filming!

So I just had to share my 'celebrity' sighting now that the show is on the air!

Here are a few recipes to make dinner less impossible!

Texas Grilled Potatoes

Submitted by Lynn Carnes (TX)
Ingredients

4 large cubed potatoes

4 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon Bacon™ to taste (optional)

Directions Place potatoes on aluminum foil; dab butter on potatoes. Sprinkle with Garlic Garlic™ and cheese. Seal foil, leave space on top so cheese does not stick. Place on grill for about 20 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with Bacon Bacon™ prior to serving.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Crispy Salsa Chicken

Submitted by Holli Henning (VA)
Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix™

1 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup water

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Corn, Black Bean Salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions Combine first 2 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Place water in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken in water, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Put chicken on greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons Corn, Black Bean Salsa; sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 3-4 servings.