Birthday Brunch

Happy Birthday, Mom!

 Singing to Granny

Counting my nine grandchildren, my sister's four and my brother's four, my mom has 17 great-grandchildren.

The other Great-grandchildren are

Alexis & Olivia and Mandy & Amy

Julianna, Maxwell, Harrison and Vivienne

My mom has thirteen grandchildren.
(she calls them her baker's dozen)

a cupcake tower

 I send prepared meals to my mom
and something she likes for breakfast is

Baked Oatmeal

here is the easy recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (I omitted these because she doesn't like them.  I might add raisins for myself)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in dried cranberries. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

 Always good to get together!

♥

A Stare Down

Intense expression

Attentive posture

Disappointed puppy

Johns heart isn't swayed a bit by the begging of a pup.

Especially when he is enjoying his breakfast.

Not a crumb for Raider

: )

Corned Beef Brisket with a Mustard Glaze

Since it is St. Patrick's Day I had to make a corned beef brisket.

This time I finished with a twist that added a subtle sweetness and a nice browned top on the meat.

I began by following the instructions on the package.

I covered the brisket with water and added the flavor packet that was included.

I let it simmer on the stove top a couple of hours then added 5 peeled and cut carrots and a head of cabbage that I cut into wedges.

When the vegetables were tender, I removed the meat and trimmed the excess fat.

Placing it on a rack in a broiler pan, I basted the brisket with a glaze made of 1/2 cup light corn syrup and 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard.  I broiled it (about 5-inches from the heat) for about 10 minutes, basting a couple more times.  It made a wonderful caramelization on top. 

~*~ 

 Today is my mom's birthday so St Patrick's Day has always been a special day.

I am planning a small Birthday Brunch for her this Saturday morning.

Probably just my sister and brother, Jamie and family and other grandchildren that can come by.

We are looking forward to getting together.

Organization & Storage in the Garage

This certainly is not the prettiest room in our home but it sure does have lots of functions and helps with organization.  I am showing you our garage, wort's and all.  Just as we live with it day in and day out.
Our home has ample living space but storage is a problem without having a basement.

We created some storage space in the garage using purchased wood (2x3's, 2x4's, particle board and Luan board) and wood-like boards that were being discarded by a neighbor.  The storage units were built many years ago but I only got around to painting them recently.

 Along one side of the garage, John built these storage cabinets.  The bottom is open allowing room for trash cans, recycle cans, Paper Trash, Dog food container.  There are also two cabinets up high that contain among other things, Easter and Thanksgiving Decorations

Entering the garage from the house and right on the left is for quick access to things we use frequently.  We can reach items without even stepping out of the house.  It is also where I temporarily stick things that I need to get out of the way or that will need my attention in the near future.  It is like a pre-sorting zone :)

The opened doors reveal a tremendous amount of easy to access storage

My favorite part of this storage cabinet is this great place to store large platters and trays.

The other side holds serving and decorative plates

It isn't pretty but it sure makes it easy to get to an item I need.

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Along the wall opposite the garage doors are three cubbies.  When the girls were little these held their book bags, coats, boots, etc. (I couldn't get all three cubbies in one photo so I morphed two photos together)

The other wall is where John has his big table saw and other wood cutting saws.

 Since all of this storage space is around the perimeter of the garage, we can still fit a car inside.
As you can see, there are still lots of touch-up that could be done.
But overall, it has helped tremendously in keeping the many items needed to run a household more easily, within easy reach and easy to put back.

 I am linking to a site that I recently found and like a lot, called Organized and Decorate Everything.Stop by to see other links filled with great organizing ideas and projects.

 Linking to Cindy@My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday!

Yum!  The tartness of the cranberries and the sweet cake topping make this a favorite to me.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for added sweetness.

Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake

 2010, Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for stems
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and medium-diced
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt. 

Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a tooth-pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Joining Lynn @Happier than a Pig in Mud for her Celebrity Cook-Along! She picked Ina Garten for our Celebrity Cook.  Stop by to see other Ina recipes!

St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl

Sweet Kathleen @Cuisine Kathleen is hosting her third annual,
St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl
linking lots of great

St. Patrick's Day posts beginning March 15th.
Also linking to JanMary's
St. Patrick's Day Bloggy Carnival 2011

I had but one St. Patrick's Day decoration... this little leprechaun that belonged to my mom.

This year I crocheted a shamrock garland similar to the
blue heart garland I made for Valentine's Day.

Butter Cookie Recipe post here.
Shamrock Milkshake Recipe post here.
Minty Ice-cream Shamrock Cookie Recipe post here.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe post here
Crocheted Shamrock Garland by Skip to My Lou

.

Linking to Cuisine Kathleen 

Linking to  JanMary's St Patrick's Day Blogging Carnival

Linking to Mary's Mosaic Monday