Project Three - Mundane Mania!

I do lead a very glamorous life.  I mean, doesn't every stay-at-home mom agree?  It's all about exotic lunches out, evening gowns, and foie gras.

You don't believe me?

Well, you shouldn't.  The true life I lead is quite mundane which I'm sure all my fellow stay-at-home moms agree on...it's more like lunches over the sink, sweat pants, and PB&J crusts from my four-year-old's sandwiches.

So this week's Once a Week is dedicated to the mundane tasks I've been putting off.  Believe me, there are multitudes more to do, but I'm just one girl getting as much done between returning library books and PreK drop off as I can.  Might as well bullet my way through the list so bear with me.

• Under the microwave counter of doom....It's that catch all area where school papers, catalogues, returns, recipes, etc go to die.  It seems impossible to keep up with the inflow of stuff into this area, but this week I conquered! Christmas plates back in the attic, school papers and mail recycled, filed, or returned to school, hair clips, errant toys and ephemera returned to their homes.  Ah, the counter can breathe for a few moments until the build up begins again.
•  Christmas gift returns!  Finally met my goal of making the Christmas returns before the month of January came to a close.  Now I know you might think this seems so simple and like such a joy, however the simple joy of an exchange can be brutal on top of already must be accomplished errands like groceries with a sixteen month old in tow.  Picture me frantically sweeping up goldfish while a rack of greeting cards tumbles and Lulu toddles off yelling down the aisle.  Shopping becomes less glamorous, no?  So with the goal of returning one item each week the Christmas duplicates are now back where they belong, on the shelf.
• And finally, please don't judge, a project I began last August.  A lovely attic mirror needing an update received a black high gloss make-over for our entry way.  After years of wallpaper stripping, plaster repair and painting our walls are sadly bare downstairs.  Finally, one mirror is in its rightful (or not) spot on the wall complete with wall anchors into the stud for added safety with door slamming kids.  Looks pretty nice from a distance (read: don't look closely, please). 

 

• And now, to spare you from further tedium, here are the final items checked off the list - thank you notes completed from both the kids and me, dining room table cleared off of months worth of toys and detritus, fun table cloth purchased and added to dining room table, baskets full of folded clothes finally put into drawers, and permission slips sent into school. Phew!

Feels good to knock a few things off the old list!  Nothing too glamorous, but that's the goal of Once a Week - progress!

Project Two - Family Food

Ever have one of those family projects you've talked about doing for YEARS? Literally. Years. It's one of those things we talk about doing most family get togethers with the adult grandkids and just never ever get around to actually scheduling. Isn't the year of the weekly project a great excuse to just schedule it and do it?

Yes, yes it is!

My husband's family has been cooking pierogies during the winter (and to indulge out-of-town relatives in the summer) for as long as anyone can remember. With a Monday off as an excuse, and with my sister-in-law and cousin leading the charge, we made pierogies using the family recipe that's been passed down generation to generation. The recipe is simple and super easy if you use a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with a dough blade. If you are a purist, Grandma used to mix by hand on her giant wooden cutting board. Rolling, cutting, and stuffing the pierogies takes a little finesse and a lot of time so we scheduled an afternoon of cooking and letting the kids run amok.

Dinner was fantastic and it was agreed that the pierogies were almost as good as Grandma's! (because could anyone ever make them as good as Grandma?!)

Family Pierogies

Dough:

3 Cups Flour

2 Eggs

1 Cup Water

Filling:

2 Cups (or so) Farmers Cheese

Sugar to taste

Add flour followed by eggs until combined. Grandma does this by hand; we used a stand mixer and food processor. Add water slowly checking consistency as you go. Dough should be dry and not too sticky to the touch.

Flour a clear work surface and rolling pin and roll out to desired thickness; Grandma's are pretty thin but held their shape without issue. Once they are rolled out to a consistent thickness cut into uniform two inch squares.

Using Grandma's special cutting board made the process more authentic.

Fill with a combination of farmers cheese and sugar - we used around two cups of farmers cheese with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. To fill, pick up a dough square and hold on the diagonal. I probably used half of a tablespoon of the farmers cheese for each pierogie. Put on half of dough, fold in half, and then pinch shut on all sides.

Grandma's storage trick is to line a tray or plate with the assembled pirogies and freeze for 15-20 minutes so they begin to get firm and then transfer to a storage bag to prevent from sticking together.

Aren't they cute? If you are cooking and enjoying the fruits of your labors now, add the assembled pierogies to a pot of salted boiling water for seven to ten minutes to cook through. Once finished cooking, mix with melted butter and enjoy with family. Be sure to tell stories about making pierogies as a kid with Grandma between bites.

This picture doesn't do them justice!

This project was a great excuse to have some family time and share a really special meal together. The kids (who are all under the age of eight) weren't into the pierogies, but I think in the coming years as they get older and can share stories they will grow to love them like we do!

Project One - you're lookin' at it!

This is kind of cheating, but I think project one is...

This blog!

I've been an avid nightly reader of blogs for the past few years; using them as education and inspiration in so many areas of life. After a night of champagne, puzzles, and New Years declarations I thought why not make a move from just reading to reading and writing and *gasp* doing a little technology type work?

So project one, or "Once a Week", by virtue of this post, is 95% complete! If possible, I'd like to do a little customization and try throwing in some fancy thing such as writing a blogger profile and embedding a link on the tool bar. Once these items are complete I've officially completed my FIRST project of Once a Week!

Crowd cheers! Husband acknowledges wife's skill at follow through! Others begin doing their own Once a Week projects. To do lists are tackled throughout the land. Accomplishment.

Here We Go!

Just one, that's it.

Just one project.

Each week.

House projects, kid projects, stuff to cook, stuff to paint, stuff to build, places to visit. The to do list always grows but the completed list seems to languish so here, today, in celebration of 2012 I'm starting the Once a Week project!

The whole concept is to tackle one project, no matter the size, to complete each week of 2012. The once a week blog will serve as a record of my success or failure at this project and hopefully provide some inspiration to others to get working on their list!

So here's to progress and let's see what we can get done together!

Cheers,

Sarah