It has been a wild and wooly couple of weeks around here – first I was down with the death ful, and then we had a medical emergency of the parental kind and I’m now up in Sacramento hanging out with my parents and trying to keep my mom from quilting so she can heal. So here are the long overdue winners of the Husband Projec Mini-Project. If each of you could email my assistant Sunnie at Sunnie at kathilipp.com we will get your booty right out to you!
Ingredients:
•3 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
•14 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
•6 oz. can tomato paste
•1 cup chicken broth
•1 onion, sliced
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 cup sliced mushrooms
•1/2 cup dry red wine
•1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
•1/8 tsp. pepper
•1/2 tsp. salt
•2 Tbsp. cornstarch
•3 Tbsp. water
Preparation:
Put all ingredients except cornstarch and water in your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.
For a thicker sauce, combine cornstarch and water in small bowl and mix well with a fork to remove lumps. Stir into slowcooker; cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes until thickened. Serve with hot cooked pasta, if desired. 6 servings
I guess I am hunkering down for winter – here is my second recipe in a row that is for the crock and is all about the beef…
And who can blame me – I made the tri-tip on Monday and let it simmer all day in the slow cooker. It was the warmest, coziest day I’ve had in a long time. There is just something about the smell of dinner in the pot in the late afternoon that is a very good thing…
SLOW COOKER BEEF STROGANOFF
2 lbs. beef (round, sirloin or stew meat)
2 med. onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sm. can mushrooms
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. bouillon
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 c. sour cream mixed with 4 tbsp. flour
Brown beef; add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté until onions are golden brown. Put in crock pot with the remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.
Please share your favorite crock recipes here. Who knows – you may be included in my next book, The “What’s for Dinner?” Project.
I has been a long week. I have had the flu and after feeling super-yucky for a while, I came home after a speaking engagement on Thursday and (if I were living in a Jane Austin novel,) took to my bed.
I will announce the winners of the Husband Mini-Project on Wednesday. (I will let my super-assistant Sunnie handle the details – otherwise I will start sending out books to people randomly.)
It the meanwhile, I would love to spend this week sharing and collecting great slow cooker recipes. This is so the time of year to be dragging out the Crockpot! Plus, if you share a recipe that I love, it may be included in my upcoming book, The “What’s for Dinner?” Project.
So please, share your best slow cooker recipes with me and check back each day for something new and yummy.
Here is the first recipe from my agent Rachelle Gardner (if you are interested at all in writing, be sure to check out her award-winning blog.)
Salsa Tri-tip Sandwiches
1 bottle beer (can be non-alcoholic)
1 jar salsa (mild to hot, your choice)
2-3 lbs tri-tip roast
Sandwich rolls
Mayo
Put the tri-tip in a crock pot and cover with beer and salsa. Cook for about 6-7 hours on low. To serve, slice it thinly or shred with a fork, put on sandwich rolls with mayo. Use the extra sauce in the crock pot for dipping (as “au jus”). Easy and the whole family loves it!
If you don’t have a crock pot, you can put the meat, beer and salsa in a baking dish, cover and bake in 400 oven for about 3 hours.
If you’ve heard me speak on the subject of The Husband Project, you know I love the post it note project.
All I’m asking you to do today is to write a post it note and post it somewhere that your husband will see it. It can be something encouraging, it can be something flirty.
Here are some examples of what you could write:
Crib Notes: 21 Post-It-Sized Encouragements
1. I’m praying for you today.
2. Those jeans are really working for you…
3. I love you.
4. You are the best dad!
5. You’re the kind of husband that makes the other wives jealous.
6. You rock my world!
7. Can’t wait to see you tonight – meet me upstairs…
8. Thanks for working hard to provide for us. I appreciate all that you do.
9. You make me feel beautiful.
10. I thank God for you everyday.
11. How did I get so lucky, being married to a guy like you?
12. You’re great!
13. You make everyday more fun.
14. Have a great day.
15. You’re hot!
16. I feel so safe with you.
17. Smart and good looking – I’ve got the whole package in you!
18. You can be very distracting, you know…
19. Our kids are so blessed to have a dad like you.
20. That smile I wear – it is all because of you.
21. God have blessed me in big ways by letting me be your wife.
All you have to do to be entered into our drawing giveaway is tell me what you wrote in the comments below. Have fun and happy encouraging/flirting.
OK so I got a little behind (I wish I had a little behind, but that is a different blog post…)
So here is Project #3
Wear something he likes. Yep – that’s it.
Wear a color you know he likes, a shirt he complimented you on, or your good butt jean.
Oh. And lingerie works.
In the comments below, let me know what you did and I will enter your name into the drawing for today’s book:
I know it comes as no surprise to you that I believe one of the most powerful ways for a woman to love and support her husband is to pray for him – so that is what I’m asking you to do today – but putting some power behind those prayers by putting some scripture into it.
Here are some of my favorite scriptures to pray for Roger:
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
So for today’s drawing of the GREAT book THE 150 MOST IMPORTANT BIBLE VERSES, just tell me in the comments what scripture you would pick to pray for your husband. (And if you want to use one of the ones above, that is just fine and dandy…)
First off – the winner (who was randomly picked) of last week’s give away is:Susan Bringard. Please send your mailing address to Sunnie @ kathilipp.com by Wednesday and we will get the book in the mail to you.
Impromptu Husband Project 5 day challenge:
Each day this week, I will post a little challenge here on the blog. If you actually DO the challenge, let me know by putting it in that day’s comments, and you will be entered to win that day’s giveaway. All winners will be drawn on Saturday, so you have a couple of days to finish each task if you need it, but really? I am going to keep them so simple you will be able to do them with no problem (hey, isn’t that what The Husband Project is all about?
Project #1 YOU D’ MAN – Spreading some great gossip about your man.
In this project, all you have to do is do a little bit of bragging about your guy. (And no, bragging in the comments here on the blog to a bunch of people your husband doesn’t know does not count…)
I want you to tell someone you both know how great your husband is (or maybe that he is super sexy because he did the dishes without being asked.)
And bonus? You get double entries if you brag about him to either of your mothers or kids.
So post in the comments what you said about your man and to who, and you will be enterend in the drawing for Red Hot Monogomy! (But really, the real reward? Making your husband feel like a Rock Star…)
I hope you’ve had the chance to read some of the true-life confessions on yesterday’s topic of women’s most over the top mom moments (and if you don’t laugh out loud to the one mom’s resignation letter written to her daughter, I can’t help you.)
So here is my very own, “I don’t think I’m qualified for this job” mom moment.
I was driving to a friend’s house to drop off a rubber stamp she had ordered from an at-home party I had hosted. I was doing my best to set expectations for Justen,5 at the time, and Kimberly, 3 and strapped into her car seat. “Yes, we are going over to Miss Tammy’s house. But we can’t stay and play with the kids. Mommy has a lot of errands to run and we don’t have time. Yes Kimberly. I know that Julia is your friend and you want to play with her, but you will not be getting out of the car. I don’t care how much you cry and pout. You are not getting out of the car.”
So, I went up to Tammy’s front door to drop off the rubber stamp and chat with her for JUST A MINUTE while the kids waited in the car in her driveway. When I got back to the car, everyone had settled down.
And that’s when I sat down and the driver’s seat went SQUISH.
After much investigation and forcing Justen to rat out his sister, I got the details of the events that had occurred.
Kimberly had:
1. Managed to get out of her car seat. (Safety seat my foot.)
2. Climbed into the front seat.
3. Removed her Pull-up.
4. Whizzed in my seat.
5. Pulled up the Pull-up
6. Gotten back into her car seat.
And now. 15 years later? Kimberly is still very proud of that moment in her life.
Be sure to leave your own story to be entered into our drawing.
If that isn’t the weirdest title for a blog, I can’t help you.
I was speaking at a great retreat for Cornerstone in Livermore, CA and met author Wendy Hagen. She gave a copy of her great book (look left) and asked her if I can give away a copy here.
Little did I realize she was a TV star. If you – like me – loved a little Growing Pains growing up, you will love the fact that Wendy had a scene with Leo (you know, we are talking Titanic Leo here.) So I’ve hugged someone who has touched Leonardo diCaprio. And if you’ve hugged me… the mind reels…
I asked Wendy to tell us a little bit about her writing journey and include a video that will take you right back to those Growing Pain days.
If you want to win a copy of her book, just tell me (in the comments below) a time you were totally desperate as a mom. I need a laugh today. Tomorrow – I will tell you my most desperate mommy moment! Post by Friday and we will announce the winner on Monday’s post. Here’s what Wendy has to say:
A few years ago I spoke at MOPS at Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore, CA. Author and speaker Debbie Alsdorf was in the audience. She approached me after my talk and told me I had to write a book and title it Totally Desperate Mom. At the time, I was pregnant with my fourth child in five years (ages 6, 4, 2 and one in heaven), and thought Yeah, right. Then that baby came and desperate mom book material was hurled at me on a daily basis. So, I began to write Totally Desperate Mom: Keepin’ it Real in the Motherhood . . .
Being a mom is totally awesome and utterly difficult. So much monotony and yet filled with the unexpected. It is the best job in the world. It is the hardest job in the world. There are days that seem to go on forever and appear to be more like punishment. You know, like the kind when your son decides to fingerpaint all over his room . . . with his poop! But even those days are filled with moments of wonder and blessing, because the same toddler with a gifting for fingerpainting busts out with, “Mom, you’re my girl.” Then, I tell him that I love the sweet little things that come from his heart. He replies, “Like one time when I prayed and used the word justice?” Oh the dichotomy of motherhood. Are you with me?
Wendy Hagen is a speaker, writer, blogger, former childhood actress, wife, and Totally Desperate Mom to three young children -- who have given her more than enough quality material for this book. She earned a degree in Communication Studies from UCLA . . . which did not prepare her for motherhood. Check out Wendy's hot scene with Leonardo di Caprio!
