Simple Supper Recipe - Mini Meat Loafs

If you are from the rural midwest you call your evening meal "supper", not dinner!  Last night Adam was helping out a neighbor so I was on my own to make supper.  Summer meals are usually a tough decision since we eat lighter and cook more on the grill.  Unfortunately I am not a grilling expert, in fact grilling kind of scares me, (grilling is Adam's specialty) so I had to come up with an alternative plan.  I found this simple supper recipe for mini meat loafs on Pinterest.

This is a super simple recipe and only takes 30-40 minutes max!  Click here for the original recipe from the food network by Rachel Ray.

I made a few modifications to the ingredients but followed the same overall instructions.  Here are the ingredients I used:

Meat Loaf

2 lbs ground beef

Small onion

Half green pepper

1/2 - 3/4 cup Instant Oatmeal

1 egg

Lawry's salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Grilling season of your choice to taste

Mix all of these ingredients together and divide into a muffin pan.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes I took the mini-meat loafs from the oven and put the sauce on top of them (ingredients listed below) and put them back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Sauce

Ketchup

brown sugar

pepper

Mix these ingredients together in whatever proportion you want.

I kind of wondered what Adam would think about this new recipe but he loved them.  We agreed they are better than a single meat loaf because they don't get dried out.  Plus, for those of you that have kids I think this is a great idea!  If my  mom made meat loaf like this when I was a kid, I probably would have liked it better.  Haha! :)

For other recipes I like, check out my Pinterest board titled 'Yum'! Enjoy!

How To Create A Global Look

A global look is definitely a design trend lately and I am really beginning to love this look plus it is SO simple to create.  Here are a few design boards I created to get you thinking and a few simple tips for how to create a global look in your home.  

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

1. Use Rich, Bold Colors

A global look uses rich bold colors in the designs.  Try a chair, side table, or pillows to add these colors.  An area rug will add these beautiful colors also!

2. Add Shine

Next, add shine to the look by adding a floor or table lamp, or metal side table. 

3. Texture & Pattern

This is the easiest and most fun to add to this look.  Lamp shades, side tables and lamp bases easily add texture to the design while pillows add pattern.  When I think of creating a global look, I think of damask, ikat and small floral prints.  An area rug is an easy way to add these two elements also!

If you have a global look and feel to your home - please send pictures, I would love to see it and share them on my blog.  If you like this look and would like help creating this look in your home, let me know, I would be glad to help you out!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Outdoor Porch Pillows: Vote for your favorites!

I am going give our front porch a little spruce-up by adding some outdoor pillows.  Originally, I wasn't going to spend the money to add them, but I've found that we are out there a lot on summer nights.  Plus - it is a great place to entertain and the first impression of our house.  So, I'm giving in and making the purchase.

I need your help though!  I am a terrible decision maker when it comes to choosing accessories so I need you all to help me decide which pillows to get!  I've narrowed down my choices to 9 (that's still a lot but I narrowed it way down).   

Here they are - please leave a comment below with the number of your selection(s) or vote on the Design Your Dwelling Facebook page by clicking "like." If you feel strongly and want to vote multiple times - please do!  My plan is to have two different styles that compliment each other.

Here is a look at my outdoor furniture for reference.  Pretty basic against a grey house so anything will work!  (The star in the back will be replaced so no need to take that into consideration)

Thanks for your help! :)

Outdoor House Cleaning

As most of you know I live on a farm in rural Iowa and I love it!  Ok well, there is one thing that I don't like... flys and they have attacked the front of our house!  I guess they come with the territory so I'm going to have to live with it.  I couldn't stand how our house looked anymore so I decided to clean it - which hasn't been done at least since Adam has lived there (4 years) so it was pretty bad!  

Be prepared the next few pictures are absolutely disgusting!

Yep - that's four years (at least) of fly poop on our house.  I told you it was disgusting!

Here's is what I used to clean the outside our house.

The dish soap and water didn't really work but it was probably good to scrub the house with it anyhow.  The magic formula was the scrubbing bubbles - I swear by this stuff!  I sprayed it on the house and used the car washing brush to scrub it. Then I took the garden hose and rinsed off the house.  If your house is as bad as ours, don't be surprised if you have to go through the spraying and scrubbing process twice! I also cleaned all of the windows with Windex... a lot of Windex! 

It only took 2 hours but the result was so worth the time spent!

Can you believe the transformation?!  I am totally ready to host a little porch party now!