A Rosemary Wreath and a Comfort Food Recipe

Yesterday, Centsational Girl posted instructions on how to make a Rosemary Wreath. I had decided to take it easy that day and not really work on very many projects so that I could ease my stress level. But then, she posted those instructions....and it turns out that I have a rosemary TREE growing in my front yard.....and one thing led to another, and......

It only took about 20 minutes. So that's ok, right?

I have been doing my best to try to keep some sense of normalcy for the kiddos thoughout this move. We took a week off of school so that we could get moved in, but then this past Monday, it was back to work again! We found a church that offers AWANA so that the two oldest could attend just like they normally would. We're trying to get in the swing of things.

But the truth of it is, we're strangers here. We don't know anybody, we (ok, so I'm only referring to myself here) don't know where anything is (and to be honest, people here are CRAZY DRIVERS...this is not an exaggeration...even they acknowledge that they are horrible!!!), and it's difficult to find a solid routine. I'm not sure exactly how we will fill our days once the job of unpacking and settling in is over.

So one of the things that I've tried to be consistent about is our mealtime. At home, I always cooked from scratch, and that means pretty much everything; last winter I learned how to make Amish White Bread, and we had it several times a week (the recipe is on Allrecipes if you're interested...it's not hard, I promise!). And the kiddos love these meatballs, so I'm giving you the recipe today. It's not anything terribly special, but it always goes over well in our house.

Mandy's Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup (or whatever you think looks good) bread crumbs
1 egg
Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

I put all of these into my KitchenAid mixer and then just let it whirl for a while. I find this makes the meat (and so the meatballs) very tender. I think a "real" Italian meatball has a variety of meats, but I don't really have the money to do that, so I just fake the flavors as much as possible! ;) Then I use a Pampered Chef scooper and and scoop the meatballs into a cast-iron skillet; this makes all the meatballs the same size and I don't have to touch the raw meat with my hands. I let them brown a bit and then cover them with sauce to finish cooking.

Also, sometimes I use store-bought bread crumbs and sometimes I take my leftover Amish White bread, crumble it up, add some herbs to the crumbles, and toast them in the oven. (This is what I did last night.) I hate letting good food go to waste!