Audra Krell

On the Menu- Taco Soup

Per the title, I have one meal planned for this week and it’s for tonight.

Margi’s Taco Soup

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1 16 oz can tomatoes w/liquid
• 1 16 oz can black beans w/liquid
• 1 16 oz can pinto or kidney beans w/ you guessed it, liquid
• 1 15 oz corn w/liquid
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 pkg. taco seasoning

Garnish: Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips

Brown ground beef and saute onions in meat. Drain off fat. In a soup pot, put tomatoes, beans and corn. Add tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Add meat mixture. Stir all together. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve in soup bowls and add garnishes as desired. This can be frozen and thawed for another time, serves 6 – 8.

Head over to www.orgjunkie.com to see what else is cookin’!

Works for Me Wednesday (CVS disaster)

What?  A CVS disaster works for me?  Let me tell you what happened.

Last week I decided that I must get in the CVS game. 18 of you lovely ladies gave me your best help in understanding how to play. Most importantly several of you told me not to give up, to give it at least three months.

I bought my first Sunday paper in ages, studied the CVS circular and cut out coupons.  I made lists of needed school supplies with prices.  I studied blogs dedicated to CVS and memorized your comments.  I spent a few hours trying to learn the rules.

The first mishap occurred when I tried to download a national CVS coupon for $3.00 off, in two places. Neither would print.  Waited a day, found the link wouldn’t even open.  Taking all my "paperwork" and two of the boys, we carefully set out anyway to enter CVS.

We did our shopping and rang up our items.  The receipt said  there was a problem with my new CVS card.  Their were no ECB’s at the bottom of my carefully planned bill.  The manager told me to call customer service when I got home.  Huh?  And tell them what?  That I didn’t get $200 for passing go?

Then the manager took me over to show me the red electronic coupon box, but it was out of paper.  He wasn’t sure how to change the paper.  We had been there for 45 minutes at that point, so I took my items and we left.

Okay, so now I remember why I don’t like to do coupons. It was downright painful.  But, I do remember all of you telling me not to give up.  So I won’t.  Bring your A- game again CVS, in fact bring everything you’ve got.  Only one of us is going to win this game, and it won’t be you!

Perseverance and patience will work for me!

Cow in a Chicken Shirt

Friday was National Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A.  We got $26 in free food for dressing up like this. Even the fifteen year old slapped on a patch of cow print and enjoyed his chicken nuggets.

Hey it’s hot here, what else are we gonna do?  BTW, for those that don’t know me, I’m not the one in the red T-Shirt. : )

Stay tuned as the Krell’s dress for success at National Burrito Day @ Chipolte.

Menu Planning Monday

In an effort to stay organized I have found a great site with all kinds of helpful tips at www.orgjunkie.com. Every Monday over two hundred women participate by adding great recipes and organizational plans.

This week one contributor suggested keeping a best priced foods book.  All of her entries are done in pencil so she can erase when she finds a better price on the item. This would work for me, because as a writer I already have a notebook, pens and pencils in my purse. 

Keeping a foods book reminds me of something that happened while we were at the beach.  On July 1, I had an assignment due for my Christian Writer’s Guild class.  It was the toughest, longest one yet and I kept putting it off, hoping it would shrivel up and die. Instead it grew into a terrible monster that seemed to have a life of it’s own.  I couldn’t face our trip with the assignment looming over me.  I stayed up late the night before, agonizing and analyzing prose from over 100 years ago. 

My mentor returned my assignment while we were at the beach. Before opening it, I told my husband that my mentor might tell me to never write again, not even a grocery list. (He is an incredible man and has been nothing but encouraging to me.)  I opened the assignment and fought back tears at the comments which included "well done."  To experience that much joy from an earthly mentor made me realize how much more I long to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant," from our Father in Heaven.  The assignment inspired me beyond writing, straight into living well.

Back to menu planning, this is my first week attempting to plan meals ahead.  So, in an effort to not set myself up for failure, I can only plan tonight’s menu as a good start.

We will have:Sloppy Joes on toasted multi-grain buns, a green salad and corn.

I am off to write my grocery list and then to start my next assignment…..I can’t wait to see what God’s got for me this time!

Works for Me Wed. (Peach Cobbler)

This week Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer gave us the theme of "5 ingredients or less Recipes."  Head on over to Works for Me Wednesday to see all kinds of great things to make!

Peach Cobbler

1. 2 Cans Peaches
2. 1 Yellow Cake Mix
3. 1 Stick of butter

Pour peaches with syrup into a 9 x 13 baker. Sprinkle dry cake mix on top, covering completely and evenly. Slice butter thinly and place on top of dry cake mix.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes or until until edges are brown and bubbly.  Serve warm with ice cream on top or cold for breakfast. (It does have fruit in it!)

You can use any kind of pie filling or canned fruit, just be sure to use the syrup!   

Instant Smores

This post is part of Shannon’s blog carnival HERE, head on over and see what’s working for everyone else!

Well this probably won’t be news to anyone, but you can make smores in your mouth!  Simply take a Teddy Graham, two mini marshmallows and as many M&M’s as can fit in your mouth, chew them all together and you’ve got delicious smores anytime you want!  These make an incredible mid afternoon snack when you are writing!  The chocolate sure stimulates the brain.

So to our great friends the Doans, as you make smores at the beach this week, don’t worry we won’t be sad because we’ll just make them in our mouth!  Yummy!  Since I can’t go to the beach, it will just have to work for me!