Domestic Divas

Name:  Ann ( Andrea ) Cook

Age: 26

Location: Livinston, Montana

Tell us a little about your family (children, partner, pets):  For now it's my husband, kurt, and I with four insanely destructive cats ( I'm sure I'm heading to become crazy cat lady ). Kurt's from Idaho and I'm a Pennsylvania girl.

What's the cheesiest album you listen to when you're alone? Anything Weird Al

Describe the best party you've ever hosted: Helping out with some Amish friends back in PA, we managed to get together a big auction and barn raising to help out a family who had a fire. We chose leaders to help cook and oversee the different foods. I was given the birds and pies and main host to help seat and serve..  We got out about 500 turkeys, 30 odd chickens, and over 1,200 pieces of cooked and fried chicken. I guess that counts, huh?

In what unique or special ways do you keep your household happy? Simply. I give personal attention, keep open spaces clean and use lots of whites and light colors to keep our small basement apartment looking cheerful.

Give us a domestic tip: Instead of buying Fabreeze for 6 and 7 dollars a bottle, I use a simple spraybottle with a dryer sheet in the bottle, and fill it up with water. I leave it to sit overnight and then spray on whatever I need to freshen up. A handful of dryer sheets costs pennies, you can adjust the scent and strength by playing with the dryer sheets, and you can add perfume extracts and citrus essence for added yummyness.

What is your domestic superpower? I can stretch the budget that my neighbor spends on a week's worth of eating out and turn it in to about 5 or 6 weeks of homemade goodness, without anyone noticing leftovers.

What is your favorite livejournal.com community, and why? I'm still pretty new so I can't say I have a specific favorite. I guess, if I had to choose, ljchristians is good, since living so deep in Montana it's hard to connect to people outside of our small town who share the faith. The people there seem very supportive and nice, and honest. Honesty is an important thing to me.

Why do you think you are a domestic_diva? My husband and I, like the vast majority of our small town, live on very little money compared to most other places. The way I watch our spending and do with what we have, my husband has praised me on our standard of living which, in many ways, is much higher than others in town in our same situation. He used that reason to urge me to join domestic diva, saying that it was the place I belong. If Kurt's going to support me, and friends see the difference when they come to visit, then who am I to argue?

How did you find our community? Looking through random blogs I came upon it, and it looked like some really fun people.

What is your best dish? Thai Ribboned Chicken: Lemon sesame for me and peanut sauce flavor for my husband.

As requested… here are the recipes from our 4th of July barbeque. I think I’ve posted my cheese grits, squash casserole and green bean recipes before so I’ll just hit on the new dishes we tried!

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I’m excited about Independence Day! We get a little mini weekend in the middle of a busy work week. Lovely!  Melanie thought we should post our yummy menus for tomorrow, so here it goes... I have a big family so I tried to come up simple dishes that would appeal to everyone!

 

4^th of July Menu

 

Starters

Venison Sausage with homemade remoulade dip

B.L.T. dip with toasted rounds

 

 

Main Course

Grilled Chicken w/ homemade Barbeque Sauce

Grilled Stuffed Dove Breasts (jalapeno & cream cheese stuffing)

 

Side Items

Cheese Grits

Fresh Tomato Pie

Squash Casserole

Fresh Cut Green Beans

Picnic Pasta Salad

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Dessert

Do-it-Yourself Banana Split Bar

Complete with Neapolitan Ice Cream, Chocolate Syrup, Nuts, Whip Cream, Cherries & Sprinkles!

 

I think that should cover it. I need to remember to take LOTS of pictures so I can attach them when I post these recipes later.  I hope ya'll enjoy the Holiday! 

We made cookies/decorated them for Ruby's playdate on Saturday

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And tonight for dinner

Chicken with Provençal sauce, roasted red potatoes, parmesan asparagus

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Neal actually got me something for Valentine's Day..we never do that...(it's a new bedspread)

Chicken Enchiladas
1.5 lb chicken (if you want low fat, use boneless, skinless breast)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1/2 c. chopped green onion
1 5-oz can green chiles
1.5 T cumin
1.5 T chili powder
1 14.5-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 lb mexican cheese
sour cream
flour or corn tortilla shells

1. Place chicken in 2 cups water and bring to boil
2. Lower heat and cover...allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until juices run clear
3. Remove chicken from saucepan and allow to cool. Set broth aside until it comes to room temperature.
4. Pour tomato sauce into saute pan, add cumin, chili powder and 1.5 cups of reserved broth. Bring to boil. Slowly stir in 1-2 T of flour and bring to boil stirring constantly. Lower heat and allow sauce to thicken.
5. Shred chicken breast in a large bowl. Add chopped cilantro, chiles and green onions and toss to mix.
6. Soften tortilla shells by either dipping them one at a time into the sauce or by spooning a little sauce onto a plate.
7. Place 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in center of shell and roll tightly. Place in a 9X13 inch glass baking pan (it helps if you either oil or Pam the dish first). Continue until all chicken mixture is gone (usually makes 5-6 the way I do it)
8. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with cheese.
9. Bake 450F for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
10. Top with sour cream.

For lowfat version, use boneless skinless breast, lowfat cheese and lowfat sour cream...
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Since there is so much talk about handwritten thank you notes, I thought I would share my version with you all. This is a picture of the last thank you card I made. Yes that's right, handmade handwritten thank you notes. Each card was made with pressed flowers i grew in my garden. I simply fixed them onto nice parchment paper with craft cement and viola, a handmande handprinted very personal all occasions card. :)
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