Goode Goodeness: Busy Mom's Meatball Subs

Tonight was not unlike many others. Dad had to work over and Mom had to pick Add up from Grandma's after work which meant that it was going to be a late dinner after a very long  exhausting day.

So what is a busy pretend supermom to do? Ask Dad to pick up some HEAVENLY $.50 bread from Jimmy John's :)

If you have a Jimmy John's around... ya gotta take advantage of their "day old bread".  It used to be a quarter, but even at double the price it is the best way to make yummy sandwiches at home for cheap :)

This bread is the best base for my Busy Mom's Meatball Subs. 

Ya start with an egg

Then you add 1 lb of extra lean hamburger

Then you squirt on a bunch of ketchup. I don't measure cause I don't feel the need to wash another dish if I don't have to ;)

Then crunch up 1/2 a sleeve of saltines.

And squirt in a little grape jelly

Toss in some salt and pepper and mix'er up

Now, if this were Meatball Subs and not "Busy Mom's" Meatball Subs, I would have added chopped onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and/or mushrooms after cooking them in a little olive oil.

BUT-- this is Busy Mom's Meatball Subs soooo this mama didn't have any time for all that monkey business.  So, I just rolled them up into 12 meatballs.

Then you grab some parm ;)

Make sure you call it parm... it sounds better that way.  Then sprinkle it on each meatball.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes--flipping them half way through.

In the meantime, put a jar of pizza sauce in a microwaveable bowl.

Har, har ; P

Heat it up for 3 minutes on high.

Then get out your Jimmy John's

Ahh Jimmy how nice of you. If you are familiar with Jimmy's lack of manners you would find this little holiday note a bit out of character-- nice but out of character.

Ahhh forget the niceties ... cut 'em up

Each loaf makes 2 adult and 1 child sandwich easy. That is 3 sandwiches for $.50!

Now grab your meatballs out of the oven.

Wait...use an oven mitt :) Don't want ya to get burned.

Now I know they don't look to perdy, but we are gonna dress them up in just a sec.

Toss the meatballs in the sauce and toss.

Then take the bread and add some cheese--I like American but Add prefers Mozzarella :)

Yum!

But not as yummy as the smiles of a little Monkey who loves her meatball sub ;)

And that ladies and gentlemen is why us busy moms make meatball subs even when we are exhausted and just want to go to bed.

Goode Memories: A Tradition Continues

Over the holiday the Benefiel gals got to their usual tradition of puttin' up Grandma's tree. Sounds simple enough--but ahhh it is so much more.

The tradition starts with Grandma and Aunt Lou trying to figure out why the tree won't stand up right. It happens every year... Seriously, I have a similar picture for every year :)

Only difference this year is that Miss Add and Gilbert "helped".

HELP! The tree is eating Grandma!!!

While this is entertaining, it ain't nothin' compared to when it comes time for Aunt Lou and me to put on our first ornaments from our first Christmases.

Sure, it looks friendly.  But what you don't see is the step ladder and chair we are standing on for our upcoming knock down drag out ornament placing.

The rules of the game are:

1. Try to place your ornament higher.

2. I always win ;)

And this is my face after Aunt Lou tried to knock me off of the step stool.

"MOM! She's cheatin'!!"

And this is Lou's face after I locked her outside when she threatened to throw out my 31 year old Christmas ornament.

It could be that she threatened such a thing after I threw her 27 year old ornament in the back room... but I am not exactly sure that is why... it could be she is just mean.

"MOM! She got my socks wet!!!"

I told you this was serious business;)

And this is us after Grandma-- aka "the referee" --took away the climbing props. Note: I am winning ;)

Our ornaments at the finish line :) Lou's is blue and mine is the higher placed white one ;)

All kidding and winning aside ;) We had such a good time doing the simplest--and silliest thing.

I heart the holidays.

Rest assured--the tradition continues.

It's a Goode Life: Now back to your regular scheduled program

Well I am back from the land of dial-up:)

 

The last few days have been an unplugged whirlwind full of food, family and fun... Oh and Black Friday and Gray Saturday shopping ;)

 

I am recovering nicely from my shopping regimen as well as my blog, computer AND CAMERA withdrawals.

 

YES, I said camera. Imagine my HORROR when I realized an hour into my drive to Thanksgiving Dinner that I--Mrs. Shutterbug-- FORGOT my Nikon at HOME!!! I seriously felt ill.

 

I spent the next 20 minutes trying to determine if I could convince Puddie to go back and get it. But, considering that we still had to make all of our dishes when we got there, I figured the fam (including Puddie) would likely frown upon such a thing.

 

So I took a deep breath and told myself to pull my big girl panties up and get over it. After all, the holidays are about much more than RAW SLR images : /

 

To my delight, when I arrived my mom showed me a handful of pics she snapped on her Kodak of Add making of my Mama's Yeast Rolls--the best rolls ever I might add.

 

I was captivated.

There was something about watchin' my little gal make something that my family has enjoyed for years that made it all better.

  

But that was nothin' compared to watchin' her enjoy them herself (and snappin' a few pics myself with the Kodak) :)

Yummo!

And while we had a fantastic time and the sky did not fall due to a forgotten Nikon--you better bet your sweet bippy that a certain SLR will be padlocked around my neck come Christmas time :)

For all you foodies out there:

Mama's Yeast Rolls

1 pkg           Dry Yeast
1/4 cup        Water
1 cup           Milk
1/4 cup        Oil
1/4 cup        Sugar
1 tsp            Salt
2 1/2 cup     All Purpose Flour (divided)

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (set aside) 
2. Scold 1 cup milk (make sure to apologize afterward ;) ) 
3. Mix milk with 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp salt and heat until lukewarm
4. In a large bowl, combine liquid with 1 1/2 cup flour. Then add an additional 1 cup of flour to form soft dough 
5. Place in a small greased bowl. Turn once to grease surface 
6. Sit in warm place and let double (about 1 1/2 hr) 
7. Roll out to 3/4 inch thick and use a glass to cut rolls 
8. Place in a pan and set aside. Let them double in size 
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes 
10. Top with butter

  

 

 

It's a Goode Life: This blog has been high-jacked by dial-up

I have some very lovely photos to share with you of little Addie making the Benefiel family yeast rolls at Grandma's. However, Grandma's dial-up has other ideas.

So, instead... I have decided in the spirit of the season I will list 10 things I am thankful for:

1. I am thankful I don't have to fight dial-up at home.

2. I am thankful to have a wonderful family and the ability to visit them (despite their lousy dial-up :) ).

3. I am thankful for my beautiful, healthy, smart monkey and all the joy she brings into my life.

4. I am thankful for my best friend Puddie and the fact that he makes me smile everyday.

5. I am thankful for my God and the peace and purpose He gives my life.

6. I am thankful for creative outlets such as photography, graphic design, cooking and blogging that keep me sane ;)

7. I am thankful for a great job with great people and their commitment to supporting those who feed the world.

8. I am thankful for those who make it possible for me to live in a free country where anything is possible.

9. I am thankful for all my friends and the ability to talk to them every night on facebook :)

10. I am thankful for all of my readers who check in on this crazy blog regularly. I heart you ;)

Wishing you and yours a great day of Thanksgiving.

Not So Goode Things

Tonight is pet peeve night. Why? Oscar and I are grouchy.  And, I am giving myself permission to be grouchy because I know the next several days are going to be so full of joy-- I just need to get this out of my system.

Pet Peeve #1: Aggressive drivers.
Newsflash--you have no more of a right to get somewhere than the rest of us. I don't care if your Mac truck is bigger or your sports car is faster or your smart car is... um smarter? --Get off my butt, out of my lane and wait your turn.

Pet Peeve #2: Target-get rid of your lousy ads.
I have always loved Target's branding. And while I am sure the blond chick has tons of fans-- WHY sacrifice such a quality image for such a cheap laugh. Boo!

Pet Peeve #3: Too much to do with too little time.
Whether it be at work or at home-what gives?!? I know I only have 24hrs a day, yet somehow I think I am superwoman and can cram like 28 hrs of responsibility into it and totally guilt myself when I don't measure up to my unrealistic expectations.

Pet Peeve #4: Mommy/ Fellow Woman Judgment:
While I have not felt this personally recently, I have witnessed a lot of it recently. Seriously-- if you got it all figured out, I am happy for you--but please keep it to yourself.  I am too exhausted and so are the poor women you are targeting (see #3).

Pet Peeve #5: Having to wash/clean dishwashers and washers.
Why on earth-- in this day in age --do we have to clean our washing machines and dishwashers when ovens (who have no mainstream cleaning responsibilities mind you) have been self-cleaning for decades? Seriously. What gives?

Pet Peeve  Humorous Annoyance #6: Bacon ice cream and my husband's obsession with making it.
There is a time and place for bacon --usually next to some eggs (over-easy please;) ) and a nice stack. And, while watching my husband fret for hours over why his ill conceived bacon ice cream (thank you Food Network--really) would not set up--no matter how hard he tried-- was kind of funny... the resulting chunky, milky goo was too much.

Pet Peeve #7:  Laundry and its need to be folded.
So needy. So annoying.

Pet Peeve #8: Big's habit of chewing up everything.
He is such a good puppy. Light of Addie's eye--(that is until he gets his chops on Gilbert one of these days--another story, another day). However, I am amazed at what that dog can find and let alone chew into a million pieces. My real issue is with the million pieces... and my having to pick up 999,999 of them. (I always miss at least one.)

Pet Peeve #9:  Yummy sweets and their anti-skinny jeans agenda
How can something that tastes so good have such bad, evil intentions?

Pet Peeve #10 Fan Remotes
They are really more trouble than they are worth. I spend wayyyy more time hunting for the remote than I do the light switch. Convenience? I don't think so.

Feel free to add to my list. Oscar and I don't mind...

Goode Things: Dear Santa I want Bandaids for Christmas

My fingers are trembling.  They are skeered. Why?

Because Pampered Chef wants me to "discover the chef in you"... I think they mean me...so let's just go with it.  You can discover your own chef, k.

Puddie's wallet is scared too... but that is another story for another time.

Back to my fingers... they are fearful of these puppies...

PC self-honing knives. According to my friend Jen over at From Mess Hall to Bistro, these knives stay sharp forever... so my pinkies are scared for however long they last (my fingers not the knives).

Don't they look scary...mwwuuahhhaaahaaa

Can't you just hear the "Shhhhiiiinnnnggg" as the sharp blades swoosh out of the sheath?

And what is a knife demo without the tomato slicin'

These knives are sharp... I tell ya.

That's why my fingers are scared. I told Jen I needed to ask Santa for Bandaids for Christmas. Jen said liquid adhesive works best. Somehow that didn't make my fingers any less scared.

I mean look at that poor tomato

But whatever you do, don't look at my index finger placement on the new fancy knives.

Too bad Pampered Chef doesn't sell knife skills with the knife set. : /

And no, I don't sell PC.  Believe me I ... errr... Puddie paid full price for them :)

But if ya need a dealer --I got the gal for ya. Email me.

It's a Goode Life: My Girl

I've got sunshine

On a cloudy day.

When it's cold outside,

I've got the month of May.

Well, I guess you'll say

What can make me feel this way?

My girl. (My girl, my girl)

Talkin' 'bout my girl. (My girl)

I've got so much honey

The bees envy me.

I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.

Well, I guess you'll say

What can make me feel this way?

My girl. (My girl, my girl)

Talkin' 'bout my girl. (My girl)

-My Girl by The Temptations