Every Day Grilled Duck

When Amy first contacted me about participating in her Iron Chef Challenge and I saw that the first theme ingredient was duck…well, I was skeptical…I’ve never cooked or even tried duck! I have always associated duck with expensive Christmas dinners…covered in some rich orange sauce. So, when I accepted the challenge, I decided to try looking for a way to cook duck that wasn’t just for  special occasions and so rich. My biggest challenge turned out to be finding the duck! I was looking for Maple Leaf Brand as they are the sponsor for her challenge. We have two grocery stores in our little town and neither one carries it. I finally made it to a Kroger which is about 45 minutes away and found duck packaged in a way that was just perfect for every day cooking!

It’s a frozen breast fillet with just a thin layer of fat left on. In my reading about duck, I learned that they are very fatty and that is what makes them so rich. Packaged this way, I didn’t have all the fat to worry about and all I had to do was thaw   and cook! So, while it was thawing out  in the refrigerator over night, I let it marinate in Weber’s White Wine and Herb marinade. It’s so easy to mix, just 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of water! It has been my go-to marinade for other meats, and it didn’t let me down with the duck! 

This evening, I used my George Foreman grilling machine to simply grill the marinated duck breast and it turned out fantastic! Moist and flavorful, with most of the fat running away from the meat and  out of the grill. It only  took about 25 minutes to cook and the clean up was a breeze!

I served it with Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice and steamed broccoli for a fast and easy every day meal that tastes like it came from an upscale restaurant!

MMMMMMMM…..

My girls don’t like to try new things, especially when it comes to different meats, but my boys and hubby and I really enjoyed it! Thank you Amy for the challenge, and the opportunity to try something new!

You can check out all the duck recipes at Amy’s Duck Linky Party by clicking the button below!

 

Inspiring and Creative Printable Word Art! A Gift From Kristin…

the  Betty Crocker Wannabe and  founder of SimplyKlassic blog Design! I fell in love with her Scripture Word Art Christmas Tree in December. I’ve always wanted to have scripture in my home as art, so after seeing what she had done with Luke 2, I asked her if she thought she could create something with The Fruit of The Spirit from Galations 5:22-23. This has always been a favorite scripture of mine and one that I have wanted to have as art, out in plain sight as a daily reminder to my family and I how we should live each day. I’ve had a peek at what Kristin has done, and with Valentines Day just around the corner, she has focused on the fruit of LOVE in her art. Well enough of me….Heeeere’s Kristin!

 

My name is Kristin, aka the Betty Crocker Wannabe. I started blogging nearly a year ago, with the idea that I would share some recipes, and maybe add some new ones to my menu. Blogging ended up being so much more than that for me. My blog became a collection of recipes, photography, tales of adoption and motherhood, with a few crafts and decor ideas thrown in. One of the things I became really interested in was digital design. I have designed a number of printables, all of which can be found on my blog.

I have never considered myself creative, but I have really developed a passion for digital design. I am self-taught in Photoshop, which is what I use to create all of my printables.

When Sharon contacted me to guest post on Keen Inspirations, and asked for a Fruit of the Spirit printable, I'll admit, I was skeptical that I could do it. I'm usually at my best when an idea strikes me, not by request. But I played around with the words and came up with this:

You are welcome to download the word art for yourself. Just click to enlarge, then right click and save. Size is 8" x 10". For personal, non-commercial use only. I recommend printing on cardstock. Most recently, my passion for digital design has inspired me to open up a new blog design business last week, and I would love to work with you to come up with a new, stylish blog design for YOUR blog! Visit me at Simply Klassic Design, and make sure to stop by Betty Crocker Wannabe as well, where I'm having a giveaway for a FREE BLOG MAKEOVER! The giveaway ends Friday, January 21 at 11:59 pm PST. Thanks Sharon, for having me visit today, and for making me think outside the box. I had a great time designing this for you!

Thank you Kristin for creating this for us! I’m glad you were willing to think outside the box and even enjoy it! :-) I can’t wait to see what else you will come up with! I’ve been stalking following you almost daily since I found you! :-)

If you download Kristin’s word art, please take a minute to stop by her blog (she has lots of great stuff there to print too) and tell her thank you…remember to enter her blog makeover giveaway too!

I’m off on a final “Duck Hunt” so that I can participate in Amy’s Iron Chef Challenge!

I WON…I actually won something!

I’m not a real big winner…in fact, I haven’t entered many giveaways just because I know my luck! :-). Well, I entered a giveaway for this book

over at Tracy’s Trinkets and Treasures. She was giving it away as part of her One Year Anniversary for her blog…and I WON!! Unbelievable! I’m so excited, this looks right up my alley “Making Everything Easier” . I need “easier”! :-) Yay for me and Congrats to Tracy on her One year Blogaversary!

Tracy has inspired my to take a renewed interest in my digital photography and use of Photoshop! I want to be able to do this:

Like Tracy does! :) Isn’t  it amazing….creating art from your own photos!!!  I love the depth she has created!

Thanks again Tracy! Check out her link party on Tuesday.

Come join us!

LOTT’S Going on this Weekend!

No, I didn’t misspell LOT’s, I borrowed Amy’s Spelling from her blog, A Latte with Ott, A. She is hosting an Iron Chef Challenge and has asked me to participate. It is going on now on her blog. You can click on the button in my sidebar to find out more about it. It goes for four months with different ingredients each month. January’s ingredient is duck! I’ve never cooked with duck before, but am up to the challenge. I’ve found a recipe and am off to find some Maple Leaf Duck! They are the sponsors of this month’s challenge. We are off to the big city of Atlanta today, so surely I will be able to find some there…our little town must not have much call for duck, cuz I can’t find it in any of our two whole grocery stores or “small”-Mart the new version of Walmart going in around rural Amercia..

So while I am gone to the big City today (with the hopes of stopping at a Dollar Tree!) I will leave you with some giveaways to check out along with Amy’s Iron Chef Challenge.

House of Hepworths is having an awesome giveaway this weekend from

Check it out here:

And Kristin from Betty Crocker Wannabe is launching her new endeavor

 

She is offering a free blog makeover!!! Check it out here:

 

That should keep everyone busy if you are still snowed in…if not get out and enjoy some sunshine! :-)

Enjoy your weekend!

“If You Don’t Ask, the Answer is Already NO”…

I learned this principle from a  wise business woman, Mary Kay Ash. I have used it to encourage my family, but have sometimes  found it hard to apply to my own life, especially when it comes to asking for something for myself. I’ve been that way since I was in school. I’ve never been comfortable with “putting my self out there”. My MK training has helped, but I still have  a hard time “asking”. Like when I entered my Peppermint Candy Stand

in the Dollar Tree Flair for Crafts contest. I struggled with asking for votes…yet the only way to win was to ASK people for their vote! :) I appreciate all of the support  for my candy stand,  unfortunately it didn’t make the top five. :(  So, I think that I’ve learned that you can’t expect someone to believe in and support what you are doing if you don’t appear to believe in it yourself!

This is something I will be working on this year! You will see that here on my blog. If there is something that I believe in, whether it’s your project or mine (I usually don’t have a problem asking for votes or support for others though) I’m  not going to be afraid to share it!  Soooo… that brings me to two things which I believe in and want to share. First, I’m going to ask for something for myself as well as for your …here goes:

Have you ever heard of:

I first heard of them on Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Jen’s blog is the first one that I ever read. She is a gifted writer, speaker and blogger. She also loves swagbucks! After reading that she funds a lot of her Christmas by earning Amazon gift cards with them, I should have signed up right away! But, I was afraid that it would take too long to earn enough to amount to any thing…wrong! I signed up in late October or early November and have already  earned 1221 by simply doing my regular internet searches through the swagbucks toolbar and doing a few of the daily polls! That’s almost enough for $15 in Amazon gift cards…not bad for not really “doing” anything! There are other ways to earn, by watching videos, playing games, getting codes at various times and places. You can also earn through referrals…so I am asking you to consider giving swagbucks a try and to click on the sign up button in the bottom right of the “swidget” in my sidebar.It’s that huge thing in the upper right corner…if I can’t figure out how to make it smaller, it’s going to the bottom of the blog!  I really haven’t found a downside to this but if you should decide you don’t want to continue after you sign up, all you have to do is remove the toolbar….simple! You can read more about how to use the swagbucks you earn here.

I have done some other asking…but this time it is for YOU! I asked Kristin of Betty Crocker Wannabe if she would be willing to create some of her beautiful, printable subway art using The Fruit of The Spirit from Galations 5:22-23 to share here with my readers. She has graciously agreed!!! I am excited to see what she has for us…check back in a day or two…you won’t be disappointed! Meanwhile you  see some of Kristin’s work here:

Okay, so I’ve just learned the hard way that Live Writer does NOT have auto save!!! I don’t even know what I hit, but I lost this post the first time that I wrote it! I wasn’t about to be beaten by a computer, so I re-wrote and this time I saved and saved and saved ‘til I was finished! Now I’m tired of sitting and really tired of typing so…

Good Night!

Figuring Out What Works For Me…A Conversation with Myself…

Well, it is was the beginning of a new year. I can’t believe this month is almost half over! I’m still stuck in the first week, at least when it comes to resolutions, plans, projects and even blogging. Yup, my last post was dated January 2nd, so this  must be only the 3rd or 4th, right?

 

Really, I do know what day it is and realize how much time has passed in the new year already and that I am spinning my wheels once again! I had so many ideas and plans for my home and blog: cleaning, organizing, decorating, projects, menus, recipes, new methods to try, new routines, exercise, diet and the list goes on….The “New Year” is always the perfect time to turn over a new leaf and start fresh, right? Two weeks later when I still don’t have a written plan, no menu made, not much cleaning or organizing done and exercise, what’s that?, and even though I actually have a lot of things to share  blog about, I can’t don’t because of guilt…it’s also the perfect time for a perfectionist to CRASH and BURN! So after crashing into yet another basket of laundry that needs to be folded and put away, and burning with frustration and and fueled by a little anger, I had to ask myself “why isn’t this working?”                                                                            Self answered “Why isn’t what working? To which of the many things that you plan to change all at once are you referring?                                                                            I replied “Well, all of it! I really haven’t even started with most of the things I plan on changing or doing…and the one thing I thought would be easiest and I got started with, I am already way behind in!                                                       

Self was quiet for a minute or two….I could tell she was thinking and then she let me have it  “Well, aside from the trying to change everything all at once just because it’s a new year thing that you do every year, getting on someone else’s plan and timetable may not be the best idea for you, right now.”

“What?!?! I always work better under pressure, don’t I? And I have a strong competitive spirit too…so joining challenges and linking up finished projects can only help me get things accomplished, right?”

Self was looking a little smug. “I suppose that depends on what things you want to accomplish…”

I was getting a little angrier…”You know how much I have to do…from cleaning to completing the basement…and then there’s the kids school and co-op and groceries and coupons…and don’t forget about my blog….”

“That’s all true, but it’s the specifics to which I was referring...You definitely need to clean but did you really need to start with your sock drawer? You have a list of great projects, but do you really need to make the decorative jars before you make the shelf that they will be displayed on just because there’s a Jar -Themed linky party this week?”

I started to cringe…self was hitting the nail on the head and painful as it was, it was definitely time for some re-evaluation! 

So yesterday, as I worked on getting caught up on the laundry (too bad there isn’t a linky party for that! lol) I finished the conversation with myself and did some home and blog re-evaluation. Here are a few of the decisions we I reached.

Blog:I started my blog to inspire others and to share how I have been inspired. I also wanted to record and share what my plans are for finishing and decorating our basement which is where we live as we build up. I let myself get side tracked by getting so involved in the many wonderful and fun linky parties and challenges! While they are inspiring and feed my spirit of creativity and competition they don’t always help me reach my goals for my home, family and blog.  So instead of doing a project for the party, I will be doing my projects as planned …probably with a few deviations for challenges that I just can’t resist:-) and I will link up where they fit.

Home(which ends up carrying over into my blog): I do need to clean and organize…almost every room! There are many wonderful challenges out there to help with this including Toni’s over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. Her button is in my sidebar so check it out for some motivation. I will be applying the same principle to my cleaning and organization that I am using for my blog. I will clean and organize what needs it most in my house and link it up it if it fits. I found that trying to keep up with the challenges kept me tripping over laundry and Christmas stuff yet to be put away while I was busy organizing something behind a door or drawer that could have waited a day or three…or even a week while I tackled what was in plain sight and everyone’s path!

Family: As a large (but shrinking all too quickly for this Mom) family, we do many things “differently”…well, I thought they were different, until I started blogging and found that the many creative and or money saving ideas I use are already being shared in abundance on some awesome thrifty/frugal living blogs! I have let this keep me from sharing some of what my family does to save money and enjoy life. Well not anymore! :-) Although I don’t want to re-invent the wheel, I will be sharing cooking, shopping and other fun and creative money saving ideas here…with no guilt! :-)

There! I’ve said it…and I do feel better but with that all being said, I am now off to tackle some of my cleaning projects and this time in the order that will clear the paths fastest! ;-)

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the organizing “challenges” that I have accomplished. Thank you for sticking around to the end and hearing or …ummm…reading  me out! Has anyone else had to re-evaluate  their New Year’s resolutions/plans/goals already? I’d love to know if I’m the only one…

Out With the Old and In With the New!

Happy New Year! Isn’t that everyone’s theme at the beginning of the year? We resolve to try new things, to be better at the old things; we clean out the old to make room for the new; we organize what we have. We strive to eat better, exercise more, be better with our finances, and the list goes on…
Well, I’m right there with everyone else! I have many of the same goals and typical for me, it’s only day two and I’m already at least one day behind!!! I only have my goals and lists in my head, they aren’t even written down yet! I have acted on a few of them and here is where they stand:
1. Lose weight, eat healthier and exercise- I entered to be a contestant over at Win Lose or Blog…but I wasn’t chosen…and rejection is not the best way to start out the new year! So with that, I’m looking for a plan B!  The upside: now I don’t have to have my actual weight posted for my friends, family and all of blogland to see!
2.Better Financial Stewardship- We will be giving some of Dave Ramsey’s ideas a try this year, starting with the Debt Snowball

Which when you think about it is a no-brainer, but having the self-discipline to actually do it is another story!
3.Better Home and Family Organization-To kick this off, have joined Toni’s 21 Day  Getting Organized Challenge over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. It’s not too late to get started so click on the button and join us! Today is a great day to catch up as she doesn’t post a new challenge on Sundays!!

Her Day #1 Challenge is (Organizing the "junk" drawer). I have two “personal” junk drawers in my room where I throw things that I want to be safe until I can decide what to do with them. Here is  the drawer one before:

and after:
 
I do need a way to organize my frequently worn jewelry. I was about to throw away an eyeglass case (one of three I came across in those drawers) but decided it would hold my earrings nicely!

Drawer Two:

And after:

It was mostly a matter of finding the right homes for the stuff I had in there and throwing some some away, and that left the drawers almost empty!
Later today, I would like to make one of these Mobile Command Centers:

also from Toni! I am so excited about what she has already shared, that I can’t wait to see what is yet to come! A couple of ladies have created a few things to help out with the organization process. Kim, over at Its A Crafty Life has provided labels:

and Ellie at Switcheroom had made some amazing calendar pages!

You can go directly to their sites or check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more info!
Last, but not least, with my house in need of attention, all my Christmas decorations still up and none of my weekly preparation even started (homeschool and co-op begin Tuesday!) I began a blog makeover! Out with the old and in with the new! First things first, right? ;-) I added a background but a friend said that she doesn’t see it and I don’t see it on my smaller monitor. Do you see it on the sides? If no one can really see it, then there’s no need to have it there, is there?
I hope that your new year is off to a running start!