Happy Easter

To all who celebrate, Happy Easter!!  My husband & son went to church today without me, I had to work today.  They went to Sunrise service at 8am, stayed for breakfast & egg hunt, then regular Sunday school, Church service & Communion...they were literally at church for 5 hours. I only wish I could have been there to see my son take his first Communion.  Maybe next year.

Tomorrow is April 1st, and this is no joke...EVERY party in April that totals $200 will receive the usual 20% FREE merchandise, 2 half price items, BUT, every party that reaches $300 or more will also get 3 items from our new Penelope Ann line.  This is super exciting!!  Visit my website to check out the Penelope Ann line, then tell me in the comments which 3 items you have your eye on.  And don't forget to share so your friends get a chance at getting their 3 free Penelope Ann items too.

Meatloaf

I remember the old days of making meatloaf.  Mix your ingredients together, press into a pan of your choosing, and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes.  These days it's much easier thanks to my bean pot.  Yes, once again, I've found another reason to LOVE my bean pot.  I came home from work today and took a 2 hour nap.  When I finally woke up, the natives were hungry for dinner.  My meatloaf recipe came from a Kraft food magazine several years ago:

Ingredients

2 Lbs Ground beef

1 package Kraft stuffing mix

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1/4 barbecue sauce

Mix all ingredients together except barbecue sauce, top meatloaf with barbecue sauce & bake on 350 for 30-45 minutes until done.

Sometimes I make substitutions to this recipe, but the one constant is the stuffing mix.  This saves me time from having to cut onion, celery, spices, and crumbling bread crumbs or crackers.  The other way I save time is by mixing all of these ingredients in the bean pot I'm going to bake it in.  Also saves on having to wash a bunch of dishes in the end.  I have one bean pot to wash, & bowl or pan I've made a veggie in, everyone in my house washes their own plate & silverware.  

Ok, so this is the way it went.  I woke up from my nap, grabbed 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef from the fridge.  Crumbled it in the bean pot, added the stuffing mix, egg, and water, then mixed well with my (clean) hands.  When I was finished mixing, I pressed the mixture into the bottom of the pan as evenly as I could, put the lid on the bean pot and popped it in the microwave for 12 minutes.  When it was done, I checked the internal temperature with a meat thermometer...don't want to give my family food poisoning. It was just under 160 degrees.  Since I'm out of barbecue sauce & ketchup, I grabbed the shredded cheese out of the fridge and topped the meatloaf with that.  I put it back in the microwave for 3 minutes to melt the cheese, and when it came out, it was the perfect 160 degrees.  While this was going on, I put our veggie of choice in a pot on the stove, covered with a lid and let it simmer while the meatloaf was cooking.  That's it, meatloaf dinner for my family in 15 minutes flat.

Are you as excited as I am about having a bean pot? You can get one here.  Don't forget to comment and share if you found this interesting or helpful.

Join me on Social Media

So after listening to a Rock Your Talk tele-seminar the other day about getting out there on social media, I spent literally hours tracking down the URL's to all of the social media sites I'm a member of.  I want you all to join me on social media, keep up with my crazy life and the business of blessing others with Celebrating Home. Instead of making you spend hours looking for me on these sites, I'm just going to give you the links to find me.

Linkedin
Facebook
Youtube
Pinterest
Twitter

Penelope Ann Line

Celebrating Home is launching the new Penelope Ann product line April 1st.  This line features items such as purses, jewelry, scarfs, Travel bags, and more!

I am a huge zebra print lover, so I can't wait to get my hands on some of the zebra bags, Lol.  My husband just shakes his head every time I start talking about getting my hands on something new that's zebra print.  

In our summer supplement catalog, we will have zebra Bean Pot's, Dishes, Aprons...you name it.  Oh I feel like a kid at Christmas just knowing what's in store!!

Now, you may not be as into zebra print as I am, and that's ok, there's something for everyone in the Penelope Ann line, and the summer supplement catalog. Click here to visit my website and don't forget to share this post.  

Oh, one more thing...In April, hostesses who's party reach $300 will receive 3 Penelope Ann items FREE in addition to the 20% free you'll get when your party hits $200.  What Penelope Ann item is on your wish list?

12 minute Baked Pork Chops

I needed something quick for dinner tonight.  I decided on Baked Pork Chops, and a pasta side.  My pork chops were mostly frozen, so I just seasoned them, and put them in a bean pot. I put the lid on and microwaved for 6 minutes, turned each of the chops over and microwaved another 6 minutes.  Voila, baked pork chops in 12 minutes...from (mostly) frozen at that.

For the pasta side, I just used a package and the microwave instructions in my Celebrating Home mixing bowl.  It took 10 minutes to cook.

There you go, a dinner worth Celebrating on the table in 22 minutes flat.  Would be perfect served with a salad or other steamed veggie.

Egg-Cellent casserole

This recipe comes from my Meals, Moments,& Memories entree cookbook.
12 medium or large eggs
1 pound of cooked sausage or 1 pound of cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in your bean pot and whisk until well blended. Place lid on bean pot and microwave 4 minutes. Scramble again and microwave 6 minutes. Leave in ban put to serve.

Cherry cheese Danish

I want to thank my friend Tami for teaching me how to make braids in my hospitality set.

I do not sell these hospitality sets but you can get one free when you and 2 friends host a $200 qualifying party.

2 cans crescent rolls
1 package of cream cheese (I used 2 because the men folk at my house like it extra cheesy)
1 can cherry pie filling (or any fruit filling of your choice)

Layer crescent rolls in hospitality set, spread cream cheese, layer pie filling on top, braid together (ends first), bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.