Apple Sloppy Joe's

Last night I made a twist on Sloppy Joe's or Messy Fred's as we call them.  I had a friend in college who always said that and it has stuck. 
I have been in a terrible dinner making rut.  I just feel so uninspired to cook.  I was looking through some recipes and was going to make a chicken with apples, but we only had one chicken breast.  I hear Costco calling our names.  I did have one thing of ground turkey and my mom had some Sloppy Joe's in the crock pot the other day and it had smelled amazing, so I went with it.  The apple idea from the chicken was already in my head so I combined them.

1 lb of ground turkey or beef
1 apple - chopped or minced - depending how chunky of a texture you want
1 cup of ketchup
3 T of spicy mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T cumin
1 T red chili powder
garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup apple juice

Brown meat in a saute pan.  Add apple and let saute on med heat to let the apple become soft for about five minutes.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Pour over the top of the meat and let simmer for a couple of minutes.

The Sloppy Joe's turned out so sweet and good.  I really liked the added twist with the apple.  I added the apple juice as a last thought because everything seemed a little dry and it made a huge difference.  I also added some fresh dill from our garden and it was very yummy as well.

Picture Wall

I did this picture project at the same time as I did the valance below.  I thought, oh, I'll wait a day or two and then post it.  Two weeks later, here I am.  We finished a painting project I have been working on for almost a year.  Trust me, not that complicated, just hard to find a block of time to paint when your three year old wants to "help."  Once the painting was done I hung some family photos, many of them that I have had set aside to hang up for a few years.  I guess the title of this post should really be procrastinators anonymous or something.

 

It did take a lot of measuring, but worth it to have everything even.  I bought most of the frames at Walmart for only about two or three dollars a piece.  I made sure to get a couple different varieties of frames so I could add over the years and it wouldn't be too obvious.   I am really happy with the ribbon and overall how the wall turned out.

Cherry Valance

I bought the cherry fabric that is in the middle of the valance for another purpose.  I really loved the fabric and should have bought more, but you know, hate to buy more than you really need.  Just for fun I had thrown it over the curtain rod in the kitchen to see what it would look like.  It ended up staying up there for about five months.  Yesterday I finally got my act together and sewed it into a real valance, instead of a jagged piece of fabric.

I had a half yard of the cherry fabric and sewed a five inch boarder of red gingham to each side and the bottom.  I was originally going to just leave the valance hanging straight, but it seemed like it needed a little more to it and I just saw a cute tutorial on a valance with the tie ups.  I grabbed a little ribbon, pulled it all the way around and tied the bows.  I definitely like it better with the tie ups.

The valance looks a lot better than a little piece of fabric thrown over a rod.

Ribbon Organization

Really should have rolled up all the ribbon before taking the picture.  Oh well, I think I was getting a little too much help!

My husband made me this stand a long time ago to display scarves I had made for a few craft shows.  Since then it has sadly been hanging in our storage room going unused and mean while my ribbon has been in a jumbled mess.  I have been in major craft organization mode while setting up my cabinet and getting all my stuff moved from one location to the next.  It is taking a long time.  Hopefully when it is all done I will be happy, organized and ready to go.  I do know one thing for sure, I am not allowed in the fabric store for a long time.

Anyway, while organizing, it seemed like a good idea to marry these two together and create something useable!

Little Fawn

This little guy was hanging out in our back today.  So cute.  He was happy to let us watch him for quite awhile and then his mama came and they moved along.  When I am driving a half hour to and from work everyday I need to remember this moment and why we choose to live in the boonies. 

New Work Station!

I don't have a technical sewing room or office.  We do have a guest room which houses all my mess most of the time, but I am hoping that space has a different purpose some day and want to get all my stuff out of there.  I am trying to get all the mess reorganized and moved into the storage room now that my amazing husband has build some awesome shelves.

I saw in a magazine awhile back ago about sewing spaces how a woman had a Hoosier Cabinet as her sewing space.  I have been scouring antique shops and Craig's List ever since.  I really liked the cabinet idea because is that it has doors in which you can shut away your mess. I also liked that a true Hoosier should have a work space that slides out when you need it and back when you don't, which is great for a workspace in the middle of the family room.  Finding a cabinet with the slide out work space was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Most of them didn't have that function which is what I wanted most.

Counter pushed in

Counter pulled out

Finally, I found success on Craig's List and we packed up the fam and went to take a look.  The woman who owned the cabinet was super nice and had a cute house.  They were retiring and down sizing and she was wanting to de-clutter her life.  I understand the need for de-clutter completely.

I have been working slowly to get it organized exactly how I want it and moving all the other stuff into the storage room.  I will show that another time.

I love the door rack and that it has shelves inside the cabinets

Apparently this little secret drawer inside belongs to the kiddo.  I didn't know when I bought it, but it does!

Hoosier's were first created to give kitchens a good work space before we had all the counter room that we do now.  So part of most traditional Hoosier's were flour bins and sifters.  This one still has the bin and sifter intact.  They are really cool, although I don't really know what to do with the flour bin, so it kind of is a waste of space, but I like the tradition of it.

I will include a future post with it all decked out and ready to go.  Here's to non-traditional work spaces!  To be honest, I'm not sure I would even really want a sewing room as I kind of like to work in the middle of the fray.  I feel like I am part of the action and can easily meet the need of the kiddo.