Meatloaf

Alright, sixth times the charm apparently. I've tried almost every day for a week to make this update but it wouldn't let me upload my pictures and that was very frustrating. Anyway, my husband, Brad, has been out of town since Holloween. He went up to New Jersey to help with the storm clean up and is coming home tonight!! He is doing well since the surgery and my life has been very hectic as my schedule at work has changed around all summer long and I've been called in for other people being sick a lot so I haven't had much down time. Brad and I have joined a local church and love being part of it and having a church family. It is the first time I have been a member of a church. Other than that life has just been a bit of a blur. 

I made meatloaf the other night with my regular recipe but cooked it in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker for the first time and oh my gosh it was so moist and yummy. I will be cooking it like that from now on. Definitely a good choice to try that. Here are my pictures and recipe.....

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup, divided
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken 
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp, dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup chili sauce or BBQ sauce

*now I didn't have egg so i used 1/8 cup ketchup plus 1/8 cup flour and mixed them well before adding them to the mixture. Also I used the savory herbs stove top because I had that instead of the chicken mix but that's what I usually use. I don't use the dried thyme as my husband doesn't care for the flavor

the ingredients

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix meat, 1/2 cup of the soup, stuffing mix, egg, onion and thyme. Press evenly into 8x4 in loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray (again I used my DCB)

before going in the oven, covered

 

 

 

Bake 55 mins

Meanwhile heat remaining soup with chili or BBQ sauce in small saucepan

BBQ sauce and tomato soup

Spoon over meatloaf just before serving

the finished product

The recipe is super easy and really, really good. I serve with mashed potatoes and veggies. I love doing green bean casserole with it but my husband and son aren't as fond of it as I am, and the one I make is a two day recipe so I have to think ahead of time which is difficult for me. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out and if you tweak it or not.

Weeks.....

Alright, been trying to sit down and update for weeks now but everytime I do something happens. A couple of days ago I tried to upload some pictures so I could do a food post and it wouldn't work. I'm trying again tomorrow after work. Until then,
            Brandi

Surgery

Sorry I haven't posted since last week but this week has been crazy with Labor Day and getting back to school and work after a week off because of the storm. On top of that Friday my husband, Brad, had surgery to repair a hernia and so I've been having to take care of him and Dre and give him his pain meds every four hours. I'm a little worried about going back to work tomorrow and leaving him home alone. The good thing is that I don't work that far away and my boss is very understanding so it's not too bad but I'm still worrying. I can't wait until he is all healed so I can completely relax. I promise to update and do another review this week!

Tide Pods Review

Tide Pods have the detergent, stain remover and brightener all in their innovative, multi-chambered design that separates them until they are in the washer for outstanding cleaning power. It dissolves quickly in front and top load machines and they are available in three scents: Spring Meadow, Ocean Mist and Mystic Forest.  You can find them at your local grocery store and of course all the major stores. Their website is http://www.tide.com/en-US/product/tide-laundry-detergent-pacs.jspx

 I noticed my Mother-in-law was using Tide Pods at her house and she said she liked them so I decided I would try them as well. I bought a small pack (16 ct) of the Mystic Forest at Target after we ran out of our bottle of Gain. The first thing I really liked about them was of course the pod. I didn't have to measure out the liquid, and spill it all over my hand as I usually did. I just opened the bag and grabbed a pod and throw it in my washer before loading it.

I was pleasantly surprised when my first load finished. It came out clean and soft and the smell lasted a long time on our clothes, which we really like. I love how easy it is to do a quick load of laundry, I don't have bottles of detergent and liquid fabric softener sitting out and the best part for me is I know exactly how many loads of laundry I have left before having to get more detergent. If I have 3 or 4 pods left I need to go to the store soon to get more! I used to hate going to do a load of laundry and realizing I had no detergent left. I was very cautious to try them after seeing them on tv but am super happy I did.

Post Isaac

Well we made it through Isaac safely. We were very lucky and didn't lose power through the storm, well Wednesday morning we did for about 7 minutes but it came back on and stayed on. We did have some damage to our roof and lost about a 6 ft section of the coupling that was in the center of our roof. Our apartment maintenance came out and fixed it yesterday I think but they are going to have to replace/repair our bathroom ceiling and we have some water damage in our master bath and most likely in our spare closet. But over all very little damage and nothing compared to what most people have. One of Brad's former co-workers had a tree crash into her house and probably has a total loss on that and there is a lot of flooding East of us. We are praying for everyone and hope that their lives can get back to as normal as possible very soon. In just a little bit Brad and I are going back to church and helping them clean up from a tree that fell and damaged a part of the cemetery as well as a neighbors fence and yard. The thing I love about the locals here in Louisiana is that after/during a large storm neighbors come together and help each other. When Brad and I got out Thursday after the storm you could see people all around getting out of their houses and cleaning up their yards and helping their neighbors. My in-laws lost power and after Hurricane Gustav they got a generator and when we pulled up they had a line going to their neighbors to power their fridge/freezer so they wouldn't lose all their food. You just don't see that everywhere like you do here. Yes we have big storms but we get out and clean up and rebuild quickly. Well as promised I have my first review ready and will be posting it next!

Isaac

Alright, so because of Hurricane Isaac I haven't had a chance to post my review so it will probably be after he blows through unless I have some time tomorrow or even later tonight. Between our super busy weekend and not getting very good rest I am exhausted. I worked this morning and been trying to plan what we are doing for the hurricane, checking on family and friends' plans and dealing with some other personal stuff it's been a lot. I am about to go to bed, unless I can't sleep yet again, and will try and post in the morning. We have decided to join our new church and so far have been very welcomed into their family which makes us very happy. I am so glad for my family that we have found a wonderful church home for us and I feel this is the right path for us. If I don't post tomorrow I will definitely post on the other side of Isaac on how we fared. Until next time, Brandi

Community

Last night my husband, son and I went up to our church and helped them paint the gym. Well Dre played more than helped. And we were there until about 11pm and then today we went and helped the new youth minister to move into his new house. It's been a lot of work this weekend but there is definitely a feeling of community and accomplishment going on. Tomorrow we plan on actually going to our first service there. I have been an Awana leader with them for two years but haven't made it to one of their services for one reason or another and I feel that Brad and I are ready for a church home. I am getting a night off to go out with a good friend and let off a little steam and it is very needed. I thank my wonderful husband for him allowing me to go use my groupon that a good friend gave me for my birthday. I hope to post my first review tomorrow. I just wanted to stop by and catch up and let everyone know I haven't left you yet :).

The Beginning

All right. So here we are, a new blog and a new venture for me. I am a 27 year old wife of 7 years and mother to a 6 year old boy. I also teach at Gymboree Play & Music and sell Pampered Chef. I have bi-polar disorder and insomnia so I'm a bag of fun :P! My goal for this blog is to review products I use and find around that fit my busy lifestyle. I will also post about good deals and the occasional recipes I find that I like or want to try. I try to be crafty and am always looking for ways to organize in the way I find helpful. My dad is a carpenter so I love working with tools and don't shy away from getting my hands dirty from time to time. And there will be the life posts as well as what my family and I are up to. So I hope you come along on my journey and find things that work for your life on my blog.

           Your friend,

                 Brandi