That's a spicy meatball!! Not really...but they are good!

So this past weekend I was home visiting family and having a pampered chef party for a friend in Forest Park. One of the ideas I picked up along the way was a new twist on meatballs. I got the idea from my grandma. She has tea with some older ladies from church at a retirement home. This is no ordinary retirement community - it's pretty nice. Anyway, there's always a different array of food. One of the selections that stood out to my grandma was spinach stuffed meatballs (they served them with a side of alfredo sauce).

I don't profess to be an amazing cook, but I'll try anything at least once. Since I didn't have a recipe I used what I had at home and came up with the most delicious meatballs.

1 lb of Italian Sausage

1 egg

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1 clove of garlic

1/3 cup of ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Italian seasoning

Mush all the ingredients above together. Then take fresh spinach and roll into small balls. Just pack the sausage around it. The meatballs come out quite large. I think it only made 7-8 meatballs. I put them in the skillet to brown them on all sides and then put them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

They were delicious!! The spinach was cooked just right and it had some great flavor from the fat in the sausage!! I served them over just plain old spaghetti. I'm not a leftover lover, but I was good with having these two nights in a row.

Now I need to make a bunch and freeze them so I can take a few out at a time to use in spaghetti. I have also used cooked meatballs in lasagna... well broken them up and crumbled them as a layer. Oh the possibilities!

The Kitchen - Before and After

I realized that I started this blog after we did most of the rejuvenation to our home - it was in desperate shape to say the least! I'm going to do my best to take you through one room at a time. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the kitchen/ dining room! Yes, the island is moving... and it is 5'' shorter than the other counters. Yes, the first things I did in the kitchen was remove wallpaper and brass knobs from the cabinets. I think my MIL bet someone that the wallpaper would be down within 2 hours of closing on the house - she was right! I spray painted all 40 knobs a bronzed metal color to match the new light fixtures throughout the kitchen.

I try my best to reuse... so we reused the carpet in the "dining" area for the gray bedroom. We cleaned it after it was relocated. It was in good condition, so the green carpet got the boot - no where to reuse that carpet, but at the dump!

Kolin tried his best to get this crazy drapery pole down... it resulted in 4 huge holes in the wall. It's a good thing we ended up having to texture all the walls so we can no longer see the holes! Also, the sea foam green curtain is one of my favorite drop cloths.

The first thing that was installed at the house was DISH (see TV on the counter). I think the installation guys called us while we were still at the closing, Kolin might have to go to TV rehab someday.

This is the dining room after we did the following:

• Installed a darker wide plank laminate floor
• New crisp white trim
• Textured the walls
• Painted
• New light fixture/ reused the others and just painted them with the same spray paint as the knobs.
• The buffet was a find at the thrift store - $60 and a little black paint
• The other furniture is from our old house. I'm still thinking of getting a rectangular table for more seating.

This is the kitchen finished. New knobs, floor, trim, appliances. It's just crazy to me that this is the same kitchen. I think the flooring is really what changed the look. I was hoping for more of a contrast in the wood floor and cabinets, but maybe I'll paint the cabinets someday.

I'm still planning on replacing the countertops and possibly extending the island. I am thinking of ordering the countertop longer than it needs to be and possibly build a small shelf underneath for support, while still allowing room for 3-4 bar stools. We have the room, but I still need to think through how this will work... and save for the countertops. Also, what material?? So many more decisions and so many more ideas!!

A few more fall decorations

Fabric for the rosey velvet chair

So I took a drive Sunday and wound up at the fabric store... how did that happen?? Well I saw the sign at Hancock Fabric - 52nd Anniversary Sale. I knew it was going to be a good one. I started in the back of the store where the clearance is - then I saw it! A neutral damask print and she was even on clearance! Originally $30 a yard... marked down to $15!!

I knew I needed about 5 yards to cover the chair and the price tag was still a bit high. I took it to the counter to see how much was really on the roll. I asked them to check the price as well. To my luck another discount... she was marked down to $7.20/ yd!!! I can handle that!

So 5 yards later and $36 dollars invested I'm on my way to recovering my first chair!

Make an offer!

That's what the sign said... So I made one - $5 for the 3 drawer dresser, he said $10, I said $7 and he took it. Then I saw this beaten up bench and remembered a fellow blogger's post about a bench she'd recently transformed. I had to have it. I asked $10 for everything and he took it.

I'm thinking of making a cushion for the top since I don't know how to cane. I'm leaning toward putting this in the kitchen! Wait and see!

I'm going to be busy the next few weekends so I'm sure these will be collecting dust, but I promise they will turn into something beautiful.

Saturday Brunch

It's basketball season... that means 8am practice every Saturday morning till around Christmas. It also means I'm home along on Saturday morning. Since I didn't make the usual pizza last night, I had leftover sausage to use. I decided on another quiche. This quiche recipe is made with a pastry crust. I used sausage, cheese, onion and broccoli.

Here's the recipe:

• 3/4 lb. pork sausage
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. broccoli, chopped
• 1 1/2 c. Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. milk
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. garlic
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake crust while preparing quiche. Brown sausage and drain. Saute onion and broccoli and mix in sausage. Combine cheese and flour; stir in sausage, onion and broccoli. Spread on crust. Mix remaining ingredients (eggs, milk spice) and pour over sausage mixture. Bake 35-40 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before slicing.

Free Chair

So last week I got a phone call from a friend in town. She recently purchased some new bedroom furniture and didn't have room for the chair anymore. She thought of me and I gladly accepted this chair:

As you can see the chair is a dusty rose velvet. She was just going to take it to the thrift store, but we removed the middle man (aka thrift store) and I took it. It's in great shape, rocks and swivels. Now the real challenge comes...RECOVERING.

I've started some research at apartmenttherapy. What do you think? I'm not sure where I'm going to put it or what pattern of fabric I'll use. I think I'm going to try to enlist my grandma as she used to upholster furniture with a friend - I know you're reading this Aggie... when are you coming to help?? :)

I can't wait to post the recovered chair!