Sunday Recipes: Grandma's Swiss Steak

I am going to try to post a recipe every Sunday....Mike and I love to cook-so I thought I would share some recipes we cook often as well as some new recipes we have been finding!

This one is a favorite in our house. I got it from my Grandma...

Grandma's Swiss Steak

Ingredients:
Round steak, Sirloin steak, or sirloin steak cubes (any will work)
1 can of italian style diced tomatoes
1 onion
salt and pepper
1 Tbs. of olive oil

Heat oil in skillet. Cut the steak into 4 pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown steak lightly on both sides. (turn off heat) Slice onion top over steak, and add entire can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil - simmer for an hour.

Serve with noodles , mashed potatoes and/or a veggie! We love green beans or broccoli with this one!

It's a very healthy light recipe. Perfect in the summer - when you don't want to turn on your oven!

Yum-0!

Our Dream House would include...

We are meeting with our Realtor Saturday morning. She asked us to do some homework and it bring with us....

She requested a list of things our 'dream' house would include. She asked to have fun with it-nothing boring like # of bedrooms or bathrooms, etc...

Here is what we came up with...

· Fireplace-in living room and master bedroom

· French doors (instead of sliding doors)

· Big Kitchen with Island in the middle-with lots of cabinet and counter space

· Breakfast bar in kitchen

· Lots of big windows in kitchen

· Dining room with chandelier

· Big master bedroom with a private bathroom-with a bug tub and fancy shower

· Vaulted ceilings

· Finished basement with a bar

· Attached heated garage

· Hardwood floors

· Hot tub or pool

· Big laundry room

· Fenced in backyard

· Playground set with clubhouse

· Big deck-2 levels- one on the bottom and the top coming off the master bedroom

· Screened in front porch

MUST HAVE:

· Basement

· 2 bathrooms

· Place for dishwasher

· Central air

· Garage

I'd like to think we are pretty simple and practical people...if we don't get all these luxuries we'd be happy. But it's always fun to dream!!!

What what your dream house include???

Automatic Approval!

Today we found out some great news!

We got an automatic approval for a home loan!! We get to do some REAL window shopping now! I'm just so excited right now...I had to share the news!

We have found a lot of houses we like on the internet. So, we have to narrow them down and pick our top favorites. Then contact our Realtor and go see the houses!

It's all so exciting...yet kinda scary. If you asked me 2 years ago if I would be married and house hunting-I would have laughed in your face. But Mike and I are ready for this next big step and are looking forward to starting a family in our new home.

I will keep you posted on our house hunting adventure!

No smoking

I have been smoking since I was 18 or so. And I will honestly admit I enjoy it. However, I do realize it is not healthy for me or my husband. And of course it is not a healthy environment for our future children....

So, I decided to QUIT. This past Friday I started Nicorette gum. The first day wasn't too bad. I had my cravings here and there. But I was babysitting-which took my mind off things. And I felt very sleepy so I took a nap. I also couldn't sleep Friday night. I woke up every hour with these horrible dreams. I only got a few hours of sleep... Saturday...was hard. Really hard. My husband Mike and I went to the mall to walk. And I started getting really irritated and I felt really MAD. I wanted a cigarette so badly... When we got home I had a meltdown. I started crying uncontrollably, and the cravings just got worse and worse. It's something I had never felt before. It was horrible.

So, I remembered my doctor had given me a Chantix prescription a while ago. I decided to go to my pharmacy and fill it. And I also went and bought a pack of cigarettes. *Sigh...

As I read the side effects (vivid dreams, nausea, etc.) I read that during your first week you are suppose to smoke-but also try to 'wean' yourself to none by the end of the week. It has this great Get Quit program that I have signed up to. They will email you activities daily and give you added support. I took my first pill on Sunday morning. And have made my quit date 7/26/09.

My first activity is to write down all of my cravings in the first 24 hours. So, far I have coffee and boredom. I also have a bad tendancy to smoke while being on the computer, sometimes I don't even realize I do it.

I'm off to go buy myself some regular gum...and some straws to chew on. Not sure if it will help. But you never know!

Wish me luck to a smoke-free life!!

Welcome!!

Welcome to my new blog!

Doesn't this one suit me much better?!

A BIG THANK YOU to Bella over at McIntyre Musings for making this blog for me. She is one of my best friends and she is a blog making wizard!! Thank you Bella! You are the BEST!

I have lots of things to share with you...but you can see my wedding recaps HERE. But this is my new home. So, make sure you put this new link in your blog roll :)

I have lots of ideas to post in this blog....lots of exciting events happening in our lives. Looking for a new home, possible babies in our future, new jobs, new recipes, my quitting smoking experience.....

Please stay tuned!!