This week, Thad will only be home for dinner two nights. Actually, next Friday he is home and I am going to a happy hour in honor of a coworkers wedding next weekend. So I typically shop and cook for convenience the nights he won't be home.
All recipes are posted at the bottom!
Sunday:
Breakfast - Biscuits and Gravy (just finished!)
Lunch - Turkey sandwiches with fruit and crackers w/ pimiento cheese
Dinner - 4 Cheese Cavatappi with Bacon
Monday:
Breakfast - Pancakes w/ fruit
Lunch - Soup w/ Grilled Cheese (pack lunch for Jack)
Dinner - Chicken patties with corn on the cob and tater tots
Tuesday:
Breakfast - Rice Cake for mom/Cereal for kids w/ fruit on side
Lunch - Whatever I want! Kids are in school! (Turkey probably)
Dinner - Chicken Paprikash (great hungarian meal)
Wednesday:
Breakfast - Belgian Waffles w/ Berries
Lunch - Egg salad for mom and chicken nuggets for kids
Dinner - Pepper Steak (family recipe)
Thursday:
Breakfast - Rice cake w/ Peanut butter and bananas for mom/Cereal and fruit for kids
Lunch - Whatever I want!
Dinner - Tortellini and Sausage Stew (from Family Circle)
Friday - Pizza Night!
Recipes:
Four Cheese Mac
Click Here: Mac Recipe
Chicken Paprikash
6 Chicken Cutlets
1 cup of sour cream
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbsp of milk
2 Tbsp of Paprika
1 bag of "No Yolk" Egg Noodles
Season chicken w/ salt and pepper. In large skillet, start cooking the chicken. Brown on both sides. In the meantime, in large pasta pot, bring lightly salted water to boil and cook pasta. When chicken is complete, combine sour cream, milk, and soup. Mix with chicken and scrape up bits, lower temp to medium. When pasta is done, drain and spoon mixture over noodles. Serve with broccoli on side.
Pepper Steak
1 Pound of Boneless Beef Sirloin - 3/4 inch thick cut into strips
1.5 cups of sliced Green Pepper (1-2 Green Peppers)
2 beef boullion
1- 1.5 cups of water
4-6 servings of white rice (follow directions on box)
Cook sirloin strips (spray a bit of non-stick spray in skillet first) in skillet - saute until cooked through. Add Green peppers and saute about 3 minutes. In the meantime, start the rice. Then add a cup of water and 2 beef boullion. When boullion dissolves, add a bit of Wondra or cornstarch mixed with a bit of water to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice. (This is a balancing act, so if you want more gravy, add more water and boullion. Just add a little at a time.).
Tortellini and Sausage Stew
Click here: Stew Recipe
Hope you are inspired....and hungry!
8.29.2010
Meal Plan Curiosity
I may have my shortcomings in organization (hard with three kids), but one thing that I am good at is meal planning. I meal plan for 3 reasons:
1) I control costs by balancing economical ingredients and luxury ingredients (do I want saffron....? $12.00 per jar? No, this week will be paprika - again)
2) There is no guessing at 4 in the afternoon as to what we are having for dinner.
3) I can search for recipes based on common ingredients I am already using. If I find a recipe using freshly grated Parmesan cheese, I will try to use that item twice that week.
I shop every Sunday or I online shop on Monday. Sundays I have Thad to watch the kids, Mondays I drive through and pick them up at our local Harris Teeter (three kids in the grocery store is my own personal hell).
I do NOT clip coupons. Only for diapers and formula. I cannot get into couponning. I buy what I like, I do not buy things because I have a coupon for them. Also, we should as a society be eating more whole foods on the perimeter of our grocery store and there are never coupons for grapes and milk!
Coupons remind me of my love/hate for Costco. Do I really save when I walk out those doors with my "box" of goods? No, I can find good deals through store promotions down the street (and I walk out with 30 Lady Bics and a half a pound of Dentyne Ice that were not on my list). Do I really want 25 frozen chicken cutlets? No, because I don't like my meat frozen in time unless I do the freezing and it will sit in my freezer longer than I am comfortable with (I have OCD about food by the way, thought I should mention that - Jack does too). I still love to go to Costco though!
This post won't save you any money, but maybe reinforce how easy meal planning can be. Because I am a "foodie" and have am quite an epicurean, I am going to try to post my meals on Monday....or Sunday for that matter. I have had requests for recipes and requests for my meal plans - sharing with you will be helpful for me as well!
Enjoy!
1) I control costs by balancing economical ingredients and luxury ingredients (do I want saffron....? $12.00 per jar? No, this week will be paprika - again)
2) There is no guessing at 4 in the afternoon as to what we are having for dinner.
3) I can search for recipes based on common ingredients I am already using. If I find a recipe using freshly grated Parmesan cheese, I will try to use that item twice that week.
I shop every Sunday or I online shop on Monday. Sundays I have Thad to watch the kids, Mondays I drive through and pick them up at our local Harris Teeter (three kids in the grocery store is my own personal hell).
I do NOT clip coupons. Only for diapers and formula. I cannot get into couponning. I buy what I like, I do not buy things because I have a coupon for them. Also, we should as a society be eating more whole foods on the perimeter of our grocery store and there are never coupons for grapes and milk!
Coupons remind me of my love/hate for Costco. Do I really save when I walk out those doors with my "box" of goods? No, I can find good deals through store promotions down the street (and I walk out with 30 Lady Bics and a half a pound of Dentyne Ice that were not on my list). Do I really want 25 frozen chicken cutlets? No, because I don't like my meat frozen in time unless I do the freezing and it will sit in my freezer longer than I am comfortable with (I have OCD about food by the way, thought I should mention that - Jack does too). I still love to go to Costco though!
This post won't save you any money, but maybe reinforce how easy meal planning can be. Because I am a "foodie" and have am quite an epicurean, I am going to try to post my meals on Monday....or Sunday for that matter. I have had requests for recipes and requests for my meal plans - sharing with you will be helpful for me as well!
Enjoy!
8.20.2010
I Promised - Good Stuff!
I found something great: Reusable Snack Bags.
I know that's nothing earth moving and I am behind the times, but I love them. These are sold by an Etsy artist known as Circus Peanuts. They are very well made and adorable.
Eco-friendly, adorable and sewn to perfection. Here is a link to her store: Circus Peanuts
Here is our latest purchase:
They have a velcro closure - Gigi was practicing opening and closing them today! They have a wipeable lining and a gusseted bottom (they will sit by themselves).
May need to get more, for me!
I know that's nothing earth moving and I am behind the times, but I love them. These are sold by an Etsy artist known as Circus Peanuts. They are very well made and adorable.
Eco-friendly, adorable and sewn to perfection. Here is a link to her store: Circus Peanuts
Here is our latest purchase:
May need to get more, for me!
8.05.2010
Tour: The Studio (only crafters will thoroughly enjoy this post...)
I always refer to my "Studio" or "Workroom". Everyone says "how nice, you have your own place to store and work". It is nice, but it is completely on accident.
My house is a good size, but it is very poorly planned. When we bought it, we had no children. Anything was awesome then. Now that we are a functioning family of 5 with 2 dogs and 2 fish, this house is just plain "stoopid."
My workroom is our former living room which was a former dining room. We remodeled it after deciding we didn't want a dining room. It is our "first impression" room. The first room you see when you walk in our humble abode. When we had children, the "pretty room" was no longer a good idea. Then I started my business and the evolution of my workroom began. Here is a tour:
This is what you see when you walk in (and it has vaulted ceilings with a long ceiling fan):
The table in the back left corner is an antique from my mom's side of the family. It sat at the top of the stairs in my parents home which was my grandparents home for over 44 years (and is older than that). It has been in my home for 5 years. It has ball and claw feet in brass. Delish.
To the right of this photo is sewing supply central:
The bottom bins are full of fabric, tightly folded. I don't keep sizes larger than 1 yard typically since my projects are small scale. The mirror was handmade from my Grandpa Novak and also hung in my childhood home. Many faces have been reflected in this mirror. Strangely comforting.....
To the right of this corner is the opposite corner: Packing and Shipping.
I bought that floral tin at an antique fair in rural Illinois. It holds my change and church envelopes...lol. I have all my stationery there and packing supplies hidden in the credenza. On the wall is my giant college diploma, my pride and joy. Yes, they are that large. A representative from each department signs it.
And last, my desk:
Works of art! I wish I could say that is my only ribbon stash, but I have yards of hundreds of ribbons in a rolling bin to my right in this photo. I keep that photo of Francesca there to make all the other kids think I like her best...kidding! I just put it there because it needs to be hung....
So, there you have it. When I say I am going to the workroom, I sneak away here, and I wave to all my neighbors walking their dogs, kids and spouses out the front window. Perfect!
My house is a good size, but it is very poorly planned. When we bought it, we had no children. Anything was awesome then. Now that we are a functioning family of 5 with 2 dogs and 2 fish, this house is just plain "stoopid."
My workroom is our former living room which was a former dining room. We remodeled it after deciding we didn't want a dining room. It is our "first impression" room. The first room you see when you walk in our humble abode. When we had children, the "pretty room" was no longer a good idea. Then I started my business and the evolution of my workroom began. Here is a tour:
This is what you see when you walk in (and it has vaulted ceilings with a long ceiling fan):
To the right of this photo is sewing supply central:
The bottom bins are full of fabric, tightly folded. I don't keep sizes larger than 1 yard typically since my projects are small scale. The mirror was handmade from my Grandpa Novak and also hung in my childhood home. Many faces have been reflected in this mirror. Strangely comforting.....
To the right of this corner is the opposite corner: Packing and Shipping.
I bought that floral tin at an antique fair in rural Illinois. It holds my change and church envelopes...lol. I have all my stationery there and packing supplies hidden in the credenza. On the wall is my giant college diploma, my pride and joy. Yes, they are that large. A representative from each department signs it.
And last, my desk:
Works of art! I wish I could say that is my only ribbon stash, but I have yards of hundreds of ribbons in a rolling bin to my right in this photo. I keep that photo of Francesca there to make all the other kids think I like her best...kidding! I just put it there because it needs to be hung....
So, there you have it. When I say I am going to the workroom, I sneak away here, and I wave to all my neighbors walking their dogs, kids and spouses out the front window. Perfect!
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