Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Making my home a haven!

I have been missing participating in Crystal's Make Your Home A Haven each week. Either we have been sick or catching up from being sick and I just can't seem to add this in. But, this week I was excited because our "assignment" was the kitchen and I needed to clean my kitchen!

Here are the before pictures:

I cleared the counters and then scrubbed them. Put away the clean dishes and washed the ones in the sink and cleaned out the sink.

Now, it looks like this:

For dinner, I tried a new recipe for the Crock Pot!

Hot Ham Sandwiches (from Taste of Home)

3 pounds thinly sliced deli ham
2 c. apple juice
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sweet pickle relish (I did not use this)
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. paprika
12 kaiser rolls, split

Place separated ham slices in the Crock Pot. In a bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients (except for the rolls) and pour over the ham. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through.

I only made half of this recipe, so put mine in for about 2 1/2 hours. These turned out really yummy! I served them with a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of the ham. And, for sides - we had chips and watermelon. Simple and tasty!

21 comments:

Judy said...

Hi Monica! I really enjoy your blog and I usually check in daily. I just wanted to let you know that I have made your delicious banana bread recipe twice now. Everyone loves it! In fact, I wanted to come over to your blog and let you know that this week I am a guest blogger on Happy to be @ Home http://happytobeathome.net/ . I am sharing my week in the kitchen. Well yesterday I shared your great recipe---And gave you credit for it!! I hope you check it out. I called it "Homespun Heart Banana Bread".
Thanks!
Judy

Wendi said...

I love it when my kitchen is clean! It makes me feel so much better.

I look forward to trying the ham recipe. I think I will leave out the relish also!

Anna said...

You have a beautiful kitchen!

I tend to just "lurk" on the blogs I read, but yours always blesses me and today I wanted to let you know that I so much appreciate your transparency, creativity, and enjoyment of homemaking. I have no idea how you manage to do what you do with three little ones ... I struggle with just keeping my house clean with a 6yo and a 1yo! :) Anyway, thank you - you inspire me!

Katy said...

Your kitchen looks GREAT monica! :) great job! And that recipe sounds really good too! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh what a good feeling to have a clean kitchen -- good job! Glad you found a CrockPot recipe you like. :) Love you, Mom

Anonymous said...

I make this. In PA we call it Ham BBQ. Yes, it is wonderful...especially with some potato salad!
Ruth, PA

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Your nice clean kitchen looks great!

I can't wait to give the sandwich recipe a try. We are always looking for great sandwich ideas for the summer months.

Take Care,

Trixie

Anonymous said...

Your kitchen looks great!

I wanted to let you know that I tried your brownie recipe and loved it. I also posted about it over at my blog.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Leslie said...

wow, you have a nice kitchen. I can never seem to keep my counter tops clean! I guess I'll have to work on that!

Elise said...

Well, your before pictures look like mine!! I was wondering what you did for paper pile-age. Maybe its all in the enamel roaster(?). That is definitely my struggle-where to put the papers that I do need/want to keep. It looks like a paper volcano erupted in almost every room!!
That recipe sounds delicious-I may have to try it!!
Elise

gail said...

hi monica,
the recipe looks yummy! i'm going to have to try it. also, what is in your enamel roaster? my paper piles drive me insane and i'm looking for a good way to store/file them. how often do you clean it out? also, where do you keep your small appliances: like the toaster, coffeemaker, mixer, etc mine are on my countertops and i think that is part of my problem with keeping the counters looking good.

Amy said...

Thanks for sharing that yummy recipe! I will have to try that sometime.

Your before pictures look like my after pictures :) One of these days I am going to join in on this challenge!

Anonymous said...

Your kitchen is beautiful....we have the same stove. You did a great job. I love the home haven challenge.
Have a blessed day.

Dawn said...

Your kitchen looks wonderful. Thank you also for sharing the recipe. I am always looking for easy meals for Sunday nights after church. This will be better than just a plain sandwich.

More than Survival said...

YUMMY!!! We will be trying this soon!!! If we love it I will be putting it on Simple Family Supper for August.
Thank you!
Heather
PS... your kitchen clean up is GREAT!

Michelle said...

Stopped by...enjoyed reading and looking at your recipes...they sound great...think I'll try this one. I just baked a spiral ham do you think the leftovers would work?

Thanks for sharing....

Monica Wilkinson said...

Yes, I think the spiral ham would work. The main thing is the texture that would be different. I think the taste would be the same. Might it take a bit longer to heat through? Just check it to make sure...

Carolina Mama said...

Looks great! And your Okra looks even better. You did great!

Lylah Ledner said...

i love that sparkle! and i love the heart of your blog...

blessings....lylah

Renee said...

Hi Monica:)

I think I will try the hot ham sandwitches they really sounds yummy! I have some ham in the fridge that I can use up. But I probably won't use the relish for dh's tastes.

Thanks for the recipe.
Renee
Mama to four

Annette said...

This sounds yummy. I am going to give this a try. I love to cook in the crockpot.