Cooking, organizing, and painting.

This past weekend, I managed to knock off FOUR things from my 101 in 1001 list!

I spent Friday at my mothers house learning how to cook the infamous brisket/pot roast. Turns out they are two separate things (pot roast is cooked over the stove and the brisket was cooked in the oven.)

We prepped the two cuts of meat and all that goes with it over the course of the day. I plan to do a separate post on how we cooked them so I can add that into my recipe page but for now, consider this one checked off my list and another $5.00 to my savings account.

I am also considering this as "doing something with my mother other than shopping" because we spent the day together cooking when I could have easily just called her for the recipe. So, another one check off the list and another $5.00 to my savings account. 

While we were waiting for the meats to slow-cook, I helped my mother with organizing her recipes. She has accumulated an insane amount of random recipes throughout the years through printouts, friends jotting down recipes on scrap pieces of paper, news paper clippings, and who knows where else. They were piling up in a book and she had been complaining that she could never find what she needed.

We started by separating the recipes into piles based on categories (i.e. appetizers, desserts, breakfast, breads, chicken/turkey, drinks, etc.) and throwing out the ones that she decided she would never make again. We put them in plastic zip-lock bags and labeled the bags to help keep ourselves organized. We then transferred all of the random note papers and newspaper clippings onto index cards so they would all look uniform.

piles and piles and piles of recipes

I brought her two photo albums with extra pages if needed and we inserted the recipes into the album.

So, her recipes have been organized and I can add another $5.00 to my savings account for checking that off of my list.

Total so far: $15.00 and that was for Friday only! 

On Sunday, Ryan did an incredible amount of yard work while I stayed inside to finish painting the living room/kitchen/dining area. It is a great room, separated by a giant brick fire place. A few weeks ago, I got the living room area completed and I finally finished painting the dining area and kitchen area over the weekend. A few touch-ups yesterday evening and it is finally completed.  Add another $5.00 to my savings account for completing the painting process! Wahoo

Prepping in area. 

Gotta mix the paint

Before painting. Please excuse the massive mess and clutter all over the counter-tops

Painting around the beams was tough!
There was plaster coming onto the beams so it made it look very messy.

                   

Check back for official before and after pictures and a complete post on the transformation of the space.



Oh, and check this out. I bought this on impulse and so glad I did. It was less than $10.00 and all you have to do is fill it with the paint. When you find a spot that needs to be touched up, shake the thing and twist the top. It rolls right on to the wall. Now all those little touch-ups will actually get done. It's such a pain in the ass to go to the garage, get the paint, mix it, pour it, make a mess, clean the brushes, etc.

Question for you:
How do you organize your recipes?
What housework projects are next on your list?