Anne Taintor Saturday- 5 o'clock

Oh look, it is!

Anne Taintor Saturday - Paradise

Amazing Giveaway!

Design Dazzle is a great blog with endless information and right now she is doing an unbelievable giveaway! Just follow the link and follow the instructions, it's that easy!



Good luck everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope you all have wonderful days today!

Anne Taintor Saturday-Clean House

That's all I want for Mother's Day :sigh:

Happy Military Spouse Appriciation Day!

This is to all my fellow spouses who keep me sane during crazy exercises, TDYs and deployments, for all the ladies who take me under there wing when we arrive at a new base and for all the ladies who I have grown to love during my years as a military spouse!

The Silent Ranks

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens,
But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders.
Salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.

I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get.
But my husband is the one that does,
this I cannot forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon,
who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough. I'm the one that's left behind.

My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man
and the call to serve his country, not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed
to keep this country free.
My husband makes this sacrifice,
but so do our kids and me.

I love the man I married. Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks
Known as the military wife.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

From me to you!

My Love For Spray Paint

I wish I would have taken before pictures but, alas, I did not. I am currently obsessed with spray paint and go through thrift stores on the prowl for new things to paint. I have been on the lookout for a spice rack to hang on my wall so I can free up some counter space and found this one for FREE! Got it home, sprayed it black and voila, a new spice rack!



Doing that spice rack inspired me to dig this one out of the depths of my garage and finally do something with it. I do not yet have all the jars to go with it so it has been sitting in my garage since we moved here to Germany 2 years ago. It was a cherry colored wood which I have none of in my home so, once again, I used the black spray paint. Looove it! What a difference a coat of paint can make!

Fuss-Free Ravioli and Cheese Bake

This is a great, easy recipe! To make it that much better, we shredded fresh parmesean cheese on top that we bought in Holland and paired it with a fresh loaf of bread a friend had brought over that day! So yummy!

What You Need
1 jar (16 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli (we used frozen ravioli, cooked)
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Make It
Heat oven to 375°F. Combine spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, broth and dressing in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add ravioli; toss to coat. Cover with foil.

Bake 50 min. or until ravioli is tender.

Remove foil; stir. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted.

Substitute
You can also use frozen ravioli - no need to thaw, just use like fresh.

Special Extra
For a delicious flavor twist, stir 1 Tbsp. pesto or 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil into the ravioli mixture just before sprinkling with the cheese.

Mexican Stuffed Pizza

I was super confused while reading the directions on this one so I decided to take some extra pictures to show how we put it together. I wasn't quite sure what to expect taste-wise from this but it was sooo good! I wanted seconds but I (somehow) controlled myself! We did put some sour cream and hot sauce on and it was great!

1 (15-ounce) can chili with beans (we use turkey)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
2 (8-ounce) packages refrigerated crescent roll dough
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sliced ripe olives, and shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Combine chili with beans and chiles in medium bowl. Slightly overlap crescent dough triangles around edge of 10 to 12-inch-round pizza pan, positioning top half of each triangle so that it is hanging over the edge of the pan. Spoon chili mixture in center of each crescent roll triangle.

This is what ours looked like


Bring top half of each triangle over chili and tuck under pointed end. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Fill center of pizza pan with toppings.
Makes 4 servings.

Smoked Turkey and Salsa Pizzas

This recipe is easy, delicious and the kiddos devour it! How can you go wrong?

Ingredients
1 (16.3-oz.) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup salsa
1/2 lb. smoked turkey breast (from deli), cut into 2x1-inch strips (2 cups)
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded 4-cheese Mexican cheese blend

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press or roll each to form 5 1/2-inch round. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. for 10 minutes. Cool.
2. Spread each biscuit with 2 tablespoons salsa. Top each with 1/4 cup turkey strips and 3 tablespoons cheese.
3. Return to oven; bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Anne Taintor Saturday- My Garden Kicks Ass

No, seriously, it does!

My Container Garden

Since we are living overseas as US Military, we do not own a home so we cannot plant our own garden. In this case, a container garden is the way to go!

Start out by deciding what seeds you want to plant.


Next, I put coffee filters in the pots to help keep the dirt and water from pouring out of the holes in the bottom of the pots.

My 5 year old loved to help put the soil in the pots and sprinkle the seeds in!


I bought a secondhand plant stand to help group all of the pots and I love the finished look!

Doing this also motivated me to clean up my whole front porch. I am so glad we are going to be able to better utilize the space now!