This is going to be an easy week! The boys are out of town, and Billy and I have coupons/gift cards for a few free meals here and there! I'll cook one night because I have some mushrooms I need to use, but I'm sure there'll be plenty of leftovers to get us through the rest of the week.
Monday
FREE Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad from Chick-Fil-A (calendar coupon)
Tuesday
FREE dinner at Corner Bakery (gift card from Christmas from Billy's boss)
Wednesday
Pasta with Garlic Butter Mushrooms
Caesar Salad
Thursday
???
We need to go by Costco for a few things, so I'm thinking I might want to eat out at La Madeleine...!
Friday
leftovers, maybe with a little grilled chicken tossed in...
Saturday
sandwiches
We'll be meeting and lunching at Cracker Barrel to pick up the boys, so supper will be light.
Sunday
sandwiches
Our church is holding its first of three summer fun family nights. This night we'll be entertained by a ventriloquist and his troop of crazy puppets. Then we'll have a fellowship afterward with lemonade and cookies. We'll need something a little more substantial when we get home!
Next week we have a fairly easy summer schedule with just one day out, so I'll plan on cooking more next week. I've got several things in mind I want to try: pasta with spinach and ricotta, and Fiesta Rice with Chicken (a recipe I'm noodling over in my mind...); as well as some family favorites: a breakfast supper, and spaghetti with meatballs.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Green Frozen Treats
(Green, as in environmentally friendly - but color could work, too!)
Billy and the boys love to snack on popsicles during the summer, and it seems I have to buy a new bag of them every other week. The plastic sleeves make a mess everywhere, and I usually end up with sticky drips on the floor between the snack bar and the trash can.
A few weeks ago, the boys saw a big bin full of mesh bags of popsicles at the grocery store and their cravings began. Last year, it seemed every bag I touched had sticky popsicle residue on it. I was in no mood to wander around the store with sticky hands, so I put the boys off, telling them we'd get some later. Then I remembered the plastic popsicle molds we used to have a long time ago. In our many moves, they'd been lost or misplaced, or maybe I sold them in a garage sale or threw them out. I was on a new mission.
I spent about $6 on three sets of popsicle molds at Wal-Mart, enough to make 12 popsicles at a time - and they're a perfect fit inside the freezer door!
We started out making ice pops from tropical punch-flavored Kool-Aid, which the boys love. They were a hit!
Next we tried strawberry yogurt. (Jacob's big thing lately has been putting his yogurt containers in the freezer, but then he struggles with digging the frozen yogurt out with a spoon. He loves the taste, but after a while he loses interest and sticks it back in the freezer. I've ended up throwing a few away because he never finished it or he left one on the counter to thaw and forgot about it...) These were great! Now the boys can have easy-to-eat frozen yogurt on a stick in the flavor(s) of their choosing.
I can also eat them because they're only 50 calories each. I've gotten so used to eating plain fat-free yogurt with homemade granola for breakfast every morning that I find the flavored yogurts too sweet. But this is the perfect amount - and it's more like an small ice cream bar.
We've also talked about freezing fruit or chocolate chips in with the yogurt or making pudding pops. I think the boys are eager to try banana chunks in chocolate pudding or banana cream pie-flavored yogurt. They're also looking forward to lemonade pops and some made from different fruit juices. I want to try watermelon! We're also considering filling the molds with homemade ice cream and seeing how they freeze up. We've got plenty of options to carry us through the summer!
We're reducing our trash by not having to throw away those troublesome plastic sleeves or the mesh bags - and we're reusing our popsicle molds on an almost daily basis. Now that's $6 well spent!
Billy and the boys love to snack on popsicles during the summer, and it seems I have to buy a new bag of them every other week. The plastic sleeves make a mess everywhere, and I usually end up with sticky drips on the floor between the snack bar and the trash can.
A few weeks ago, the boys saw a big bin full of mesh bags of popsicles at the grocery store and their cravings began. Last year, it seemed every bag I touched had sticky popsicle residue on it. I was in no mood to wander around the store with sticky hands, so I put the boys off, telling them we'd get some later. Then I remembered the plastic popsicle molds we used to have a long time ago. In our many moves, they'd been lost or misplaced, or maybe I sold them in a garage sale or threw them out. I was on a new mission.
I spent about $6 on three sets of popsicle molds at Wal-Mart, enough to make 12 popsicles at a time - and they're a perfect fit inside the freezer door!
We started out making ice pops from tropical punch-flavored Kool-Aid, which the boys love. They were a hit!
Next we tried strawberry yogurt. (Jacob's big thing lately has been putting his yogurt containers in the freezer, but then he struggles with digging the frozen yogurt out with a spoon. He loves the taste, but after a while he loses interest and sticks it back in the freezer. I've ended up throwing a few away because he never finished it or he left one on the counter to thaw and forgot about it...) These were great! Now the boys can have easy-to-eat frozen yogurt on a stick in the flavor(s) of their choosing.
I can also eat them because they're only 50 calories each. I've gotten so used to eating plain fat-free yogurt with homemade granola for breakfast every morning that I find the flavored yogurts too sweet. But this is the perfect amount - and it's more like an small ice cream bar.
We've also talked about freezing fruit or chocolate chips in with the yogurt or making pudding pops. I think the boys are eager to try banana chunks in chocolate pudding or banana cream pie-flavored yogurt. They're also looking forward to lemonade pops and some made from different fruit juices. I want to try watermelon! We're also considering filling the molds with homemade ice cream and seeing how they freeze up. We've got plenty of options to carry us through the summer!
We're reducing our trash by not having to throw away those troublesome plastic sleeves or the mesh bags - and we're reusing our popsicle molds on an almost daily basis. Now that's $6 well spent!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Menu Plan Monday: May 23
Last week's menu got changed up some (as usual), and I ended up cooking quite a bit over the weekend - which is very unusual! Saturday night we had blackened tilapia, scampi-flavored pasta (Lipton/Knorr package mix), and steamed broccoli. Sunday we trekked out to a nearby farmers market and bought some delicious fresh veggies. I ended up cooking quite a bit for supper: sausage with fried cabbage and onions, cornbread, purple hull peas, creamed corn, and stir-fried/steamed zucchini and summer squash, served with fresh sliced tomatoes and bread & butter pickles (which we also bought from the farmers market). It was delicious - and we have leftovers!!!
Since I did so much cooking over the weekend - and since the boys have testing three days this week - it's going to be a fairly easy one...
Monday
Peperoncini Roast with tortillas
Caesar salad
Tuesday
scrambled eggs
grits
bacon
toast
Wednesday
leftovers
Thursday
leftovers
mac & cheese for the boys
Friday
out
Saturday
chili cheese corn dogs/hot dogs
It's home team night...
Sunday
???
I'm not sure what's going on with us and the boys and grandparents for the weekend/next week... Guess I need to find something out.
I'm looking forward to an easy week. It's been a while!
For more menu plan ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.
Since I did so much cooking over the weekend - and since the boys have testing three days this week - it's going to be a fairly easy one...
Monday
Peperoncini Roast with tortillas
Caesar salad
Tuesday
scrambled eggs
grits
bacon
toast
Wednesday
leftovers
Thursday
leftovers
mac & cheese for the boys
Friday
out
Saturday
chili cheese corn dogs/hot dogs
It's home team night...
Sunday
???
I'm not sure what's going on with us and the boys and grandparents for the weekend/next week... Guess I need to find something out.
I'm looking forward to an easy week. It's been a while!
For more menu plan ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Menu Plan Monday: May 16
I never got around to planning my menu for this week before I went to the grocery store last Friday, so I tried to wing it. I didn't do too badly, but we seem to be eating a lot of sausage this week...Monday
Tuscan Sausage Pasta
Caesar salad
Tuesday
soft tacos
chips, salsa, & guacamole
Wednesday
breakfast burritos
Thursday
blackened tilapia
rice pilaf
broccoli
Friday
leftover buffet
Saturday
Peperoncini Roast
creamed corn
salad
Sunday
leftover Peperoncini Roast sandwiches (on toasted hamburger buns with some melted provolone...)
Now that AWANA is over for the summer, I have to start planning meals for one more night. We might just continue with sandwich night on Sundays. As much as I like to cook, I don't want to do it all the time.
So, there's Italian sausage Monday night and breakfast sausage in Wednesday's burritos. I'm also planning to have some Sausage with Fried Cabbage and Onions one night next week... Then I think we'll have some chicken.
For more menu plan ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Lost: Inspiration
One of my goals for this year was to blog more about life in general instead of playing the meme game so often. I did a little of that, but I seem to have fallen off that horse in March or April. I don't know why. Life didn't get any busier than normal. I think I just lost my inspiration.
I've also dropped off quite a bit in my reading. By this time last year, I had read more than 20 books. I'm currently reading book #9. It was Lord of the Flies, my classic for April. But I got George W. Bush's Decision Points from the waiting list at the library, so I had to focus on it. I put LOTF away, lost interest, and returned it to the library. I also lost my interest in reading one classic a month. I just want to read what strikes my fancy, when it strikes my fancy. I'm still reading Decision Points. It's a slower read for me than most books - non-fiction usually is - but I'm really enjoying it. I'm also finding it very timely, what with Osama bin Laden's recent death.
Another area I've lost inspiration: photography. I WANT to take pictures, but I just haven't taken the time to do it. What I want to photograph is hard with the boys in tow. I haven't participated in the weekly Photo Friday meme in months. I haven't gotten back to my Project 52 since I rethought my angle two months ago. I found my new angle, but I haven't done anything since. I've also basically quit participating in a Facebook photography challenge group.
Maybe I just need to finish out this school year with the boys. We have just over a week left. Maybe then I can find some new inspiration.
I've also dropped off quite a bit in my reading. By this time last year, I had read more than 20 books. I'm currently reading book #9. It was Lord of the Flies, my classic for April. But I got George W. Bush's Decision Points from the waiting list at the library, so I had to focus on it. I put LOTF away, lost interest, and returned it to the library. I also lost my interest in reading one classic a month. I just want to read what strikes my fancy, when it strikes my fancy. I'm still reading Decision Points. It's a slower read for me than most books - non-fiction usually is - but I'm really enjoying it. I'm also finding it very timely, what with Osama bin Laden's recent death.
Another area I've lost inspiration: photography. I WANT to take pictures, but I just haven't taken the time to do it. What I want to photograph is hard with the boys in tow. I haven't participated in the weekly Photo Friday meme in months. I haven't gotten back to my Project 52 since I rethought my angle two months ago. I found my new angle, but I haven't done anything since. I've also basically quit participating in a Facebook photography challenge group.
Maybe I just need to finish out this school year with the boys. We have just over a week left. Maybe then I can find some new inspiration.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Menu Plan Monday: May 9
Last night, my next-door neighbor sent over a paper sack with a few big handfuls of serrano peppers inside. I've never cooked with them, only jalapenos, but I did read that they're hotter. I have a plan to work some of them into one of our meals this week, but I want to do something different with the others... I'm thinking about stuffing some with mozzarella cheese, coating them with Panko bread crumbs, and baking them until they're tender. Kind of like jalapeno poppers, but smaller and hotter. Am I asking for trouble on this? :o)
This week will be easy since we'll be heading out to see family for the weekend: two nights of cooking, one night of leftovers, and one night of whatever you can find. :o)
Monday
new recipe! Szechwan Chicken Fried Rice w/ Peanuts
Tuesday
Tony Chachere's Dirty Rice
steamed broccoli
Yeah, I didn't get around to this over the weekend...
Wednesday
Chicken Enchiladas (from the freezer) with a fresh-made cheesy serrano sour cream sauce
mac & cheese or hot dogs for the boys
Thursday
leftovers
Friday
We'll probably grab a bite to eat on the way out.
Saturday
We'll be having our belated Mother's Day weekend with Billy's and my parents at a cookout. And my sister Melissa and her friend Stacy will be cooking us a Caramel Apple Crisp over coals in a Dutch oven for dessert. Yum!
Sunday
sandwich night - After a day of traveling, I'm not going to feel like cooking. At all.
Now I need to get to work planning next week's menu so I'll be ready for Friday's grocery shopping. I have a few ideas...
This week will be easy since we'll be heading out to see family for the weekend: two nights of cooking, one night of leftovers, and one night of whatever you can find. :o)
Monday
new recipe! Szechwan Chicken Fried Rice w/ Peanuts
Tuesday
Tony Chachere's Dirty Rice
steamed broccoli
Yeah, I didn't get around to this over the weekend...
Wednesday
Chicken Enchiladas (from the freezer) with a fresh-made cheesy serrano sour cream sauce
mac & cheese or hot dogs for the boys
Thursday
leftovers
Friday
We'll probably grab a bite to eat on the way out.
Saturday
We'll be having our belated Mother's Day weekend with Billy's and my parents at a cookout. And my sister Melissa and her friend Stacy will be cooking us a Caramel Apple Crisp over coals in a Dutch oven for dessert. Yum!
Sunday
sandwich night - After a day of traveling, I'm not going to feel like cooking. At all.
Now I need to get to work planning next week's menu so I'll be ready for Friday's grocery shopping. I have a few ideas...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Menu Plan Monday: May 2
I'm getting off to a slow start this week, but a pressing deadline has come and gone and I'm ready to get back into my routine.
This week's menu has a little carried over from last week's because of some sudden changes of plans. The boys were invited to go to a pizza/play restaurant with a neighbor for his birthday, so Billy and I ate light instead of cooking. Then I was busy with mopping and vacuuming the next day and didn't feel like cooking. Oh, and Billy and I had a quick project to finish up that we had forgotten about the night before - when the boys were gone...
Monday
Pepperoni Pasta
garden salad
(This is the recipe Jacob found in a kids' cookbook. We made it, but I tweaked it with my own sauce recipe and a few ingredient substitutions. It was surprisingly good, especially considering I'm not a fan of pepperoni. Yeah, I know I'm Italian...)
Tuesday
pancake night
(regular for Billy, blueberry for me, and chocolate chocolate chip for the boys)
Wednesday
leftovers
Thursday - Cinco de Mayo
Black Bean Quesadillas
chips with guacamole and salsa
Friday
Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Saturday
Tony Chachere's Dirty Rice
salad
Sunday - Mother's Day
OUT!
For more menu plan ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.
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