Weekly Menu

I haven't forgotten my weekly menu, I just had to make the weekly grocery run last night so I didn't have time to post. I got out my Deceptively Delicious cookbook to get some new healthy recipes...I am getting tired of the same ole thing! I won't be putting in purees of other veggies (which is the whole point of her book/method) this time, but I will be using the recipes themselves because they are good!

Here goes the menu:

Tonight: Family is coming in, so I am not sure what we are going to do for dinner.

Saturday: Vegetable soup, my mama's recipe (to come) that I have made a few minor changes to

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Chicken quesadillas

Tuesday: Lasagna (recipe from Deceptively Delicious--to come)

Wednesday: Chicken, homemade mac n cheese, and rice balls

Thursday: Chicken and steamed veggies

Breakfasts will be oatmeal, whole wheat oats with fruit and brown sugar mixed in (Jude), and eggs & toast (me).

Lunches will be pb&j (I found a great jelly without high fructose corn sugar in it!), or leftovers.

Oh! And I am trying my first bread baking session today. Hopefully it will turn out well. I will post about it, for sure!

Glaze

I searched and searched for salmon glazes, but they all had honey, or bourbon or something weird in it that I don't have. So, I think I'm going to go with a brown sugar, EVOO, melted butter, salt & pepper (can't forget those), cumin, paprika and roasted red pepper flakes.

A sweet friend pointed out that I didn't post any daily pictures of my boys, but to be honest, I was just being lazy. Here I am catching up!

Weekly Menu

So, today starts the weekly menu planning. I will post all of my meals here, and then daily I will post the recipes. I decided to do it this way because I found there wasn't enough time to try to get all my recipes done in one day. And, I think I am going to try 1 new thing a week. I want/need to expand my cooking abilities, so this is me saying it because I am more likely to do it if I actually say it out loud.

So without further adieu, here is my weekly menu:

For breakfasts, we usually do oatmeal, cereal, or eggs&toast. Lunches are sandwiches (pb&j--yeah!), or leftovers.

Tonight - Marinated pork chops, smashed potatoes, and biscuits made from some bisquick I need to use up

Friday - Grilled salmon (with some kind of glaze, not sure what yet) and veggies

Saturday - chicken noodle veggie soup

Sunday - leftovers

Monday-Homemade chicken pot pie (recipe to come)

Tuesday - Spaghetti with somewhat homemade sauce (recipe to come) and more biscuits

Wednesday - tilapia quesadillas

Thursday- fresh snapper, sweet peas and steamed carrots

The new thing I am going to try this week is attempting to bake my own french bread. The Frugal Girl has inspired me to start baking my own rolls and some breads. I want to move us away from eating breads that have bleached flour and lots of preservatives in them. Although I have to admit that I am a little intimidated about this. Baking bread is an art that takes a lot of refining to get it right. Eeeek! I'll let the blog world know how it turns out!

Rough Nights

Having a baby means some nights are just plain rough. Sometimes they get sick, or hurt or sometimes they just can't settle down. I am not sure what was up with E, but I think I finally got to sleep somewhere around 5am. Then, with Bible study starting back up this morning, I was back up at 7:30 to get ready. Needless to say, a nap was to be had today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did not feel guilty at all!

BSF was fun this morning. I am excited to get to know all the new ladies in my group, and even see some faces I already knew. It should be a good year!

I have no idea what I am cooking tonight. I know, I know, I was all high and mighty with my accountability post yesterday. But, tonight is grocery shopping night (if I want to get anything productive done, I do not take the kids), so I may just get something easy for us to eat tonight. And tomorrow, I will figure out my weekly meals and post them for all to read. I know you are super excited, ha!

Realizations

I just realized as I was typing out my dinner plans last night (that later were changed) that I need to be more intentional about planning out my meals. Reading through my previous posts, they usually read like this "Well, I think I am going to make this, but I'm not sure, or I could make this, or this, or this..." and then they end with "we'll see!" I don't know about you, but that is frustrating to me! I usually don't get started with dinner until 5:30 or 6 because I can't flippin decide what I want to cook, which means we eat late, which isn't good. Soooo, starting this week (after grocery shopping), I'm going to post a weekly menu of what we'll be eating so maybe I can bring some order and accountability to my life. Help me out here, friends!

We're getting ready to go to our first fall story time at the Library...which just happens to be one of my most favorite places. Jude will usually only sit through a little bit of the time, but he's a little boy. What do you expect? :)

Oh, for tonight, I am definitely cooking some fresh fish caught by our super awesome friends Derrick and Ashley. She said the fish was taking over her whole freezer and was ready to get rid of some. I said, "We'll take it!" I'll probably drizzle it with lemon juice and some spices, cook some roasted red potatoes and sweet peas to go with it. And maybe I'll get to make a grocery run tomorrow and start my weekly planning!

POST EDIT: I decided that fried fresh catfish sounded better than baked and drizzled with lemon juice. So, fried it is!

B-E-Autiful day!

Just because I know you can't go a day without seeing my sweet boy's face...

I watched two good movies this weekend. Killers and I Could Never Be Your Woman. Killers was cute, light, fun (except for the killing people part) and had 2 of my favorite people to watch on screen. I Could Never Be Your Woman is an older movie that was really funny, cute and had my favorite funny guy in it (Paul Rudd)--although I have to add that the parenting in it isn't my style at all. Just watch it for fun and not for parenting advice, and you'll enjoy it. We also watched a really disturbing movie called Harry Brown. I honestly wish I could unsee it. Just erase it from memory. Where is Eric Northman when you need him? Unless you like movies about revenge, kids and drugs, with very strong violence and language and disturbing sexual content, I wouldn't recommend seeing it. I guess I need to be a little more knowledgeable in my movie choices next time.

I can't figure out what meat I want to make for dinner. We have a ton of fresh fish in our freezer, but I'd have to thaw it a certain way in which I should have started this morning and I did not. And I am soooo sick of chicken. Maybe I'll cook the frozen salmon and veggies? I am a super indecisive person, can you tell?

I am so in love with fall. I can't decide if I like fall or spring better. They are both so lovely. What about you? Which one do you like more?

POST EDIT: I ended up cooking chicken with a red sauce drizzled over it and parmesan cheese and steamed broccoli and carrots. Yum yum!

A great little discovery

While Jude and I are eating grapes, doing our daily music lesson (first a classical piece - Brahms's Hungarian Dance was actually a neat little piece...and then he asked for Elmo's Song, go figure), I thought I'd share a fun little discovery I made this morning. As I was preparing my eggs, usually scrambled because I am just that lame and unoriginal, I was trying to think of a new way to spice them up. Literally. So, as they were cooking, I dashed some cinnamon and curry powder in them. I know that probably sounds disgusting, but I love curry powder. I put it in a lot of things. Those Indian folk know what they're doing when it comes to curry powder. After I put that and the cinnamon in (I know. Weird, right?), I immediately regretted it. I said out loud "I bet this is going to be the most disgusting batch of eggs ever made" because I have to admit, it smelled kind of weird. I was prepared to eat something that resembled the taste of sandpaper...or vomit...but certainly not eggs. When I took my first bite, I was skeptical, but it actually was quite tasty. It gave the eggs a little something extra, but not too much extra. Keep in mind, I just sprinkled a dash of both on there while they were cooking in the skillet. Don't go throwing the whole container in there, or you will be sorry for sure.

Seriously, try it. You just might be surprised!

Tonight may be a homemade chicken noodle/potato soup kind of night. I know soups are usually a winter kind of meal, but I can get away with it since it's fall now, right?

Anyway, here's the recipe.

I have to include the daily dose of cuteness. Ezra likes crackers...sometimes. When he can figure out what to do with them.

Back to the daily grind

I ::heart:: three day weekends. We were visited by loved ones. The park had a visit from our family of four. We slept in (does 8:45 count?). Watched lots of Willy Wonka. It was heavenly. The three day weekend left us feeling somewhat rested, rejuvenated and loved, but weekends can't last forever, right? We were sad to see it go, but accepted it nonetheless.

And with the new week starting (Monday/Tuesday? It's confusing.), it was time to start level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. Wow. That Jillian sure knows how to kick your butt. I seriously think she's a sadist.

Tonight for dinner is a simple bbq flavored chicken, corn and fresh green bean night. Nothing too spectacular, I had to go easy tonight to ease myself back into the week. :)

Here is my beautiful niece...I love this girl!

Happy 9.02.10!

Ok, I'll admit it. I was a huge fan of Beverly Hills 90210 back in the day. What's not to like? Bad hair, bad clothes, bad acting, bad story lines. And who didn't love Brenda and Dylan? Or Kelly and Dylan? OR Kelly and Brandon? What about when David got addicted to meth? Or Dylan and his love for alcohol? Or Kelly and her bad cocaine addiction? Trashy, you think? No way. Silly? Not even a little. I am almost ashamed to admit I actually loved that show. (I won't mention that I recently watched season 6 on dvd and was glued to the tv. Talk about rotting your brain!)

Now, on to more important matters (ahem)...

Tonight for dinner, I am making some fish and chicken (not together!) quesadillas. I usually bake the meat beforehand, then I smoosh (I like the word smoosh) it out on a whole wheat tortilla-taco size, then I sprinkle tomato, lots of cheese, beans, and corn on it while the EVOO is heating up in the pan. Then, I cover the top with another tortilla and put it in the pan to brown it. It gets good and crispy, then I flip it to crisp the other side. It's pretty easy to make and it usually just takes a few minutes to cook...oh, and don't forget the salsa! I usually dip mine in salsa while eating it. Yum yum!

This is how we roll around here

Still in pjs at noon (ok, not every day), playing outside with our rain boots and hat on.

Whew! This afternoon I have been researching preschool ideas like crazy (that will be a post for another day). I am tired just from doing that! Time to get my butt up and get to Shredding. But first...

Tonight for dinner, I'm thawing out some porkchops and plan to marinate them in my curry mix (EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic salt, curry powder) and bake them.

Homemade mashed potatoes, maybe? If so, always red-never white, and with the skins on.

Fresh green beans. Seriously, try them. Once you eat the real ones, you'll never want canned yuckies again.

Tonight's menu

A whole chicken is going in the oven tonight. I'm going to stick butter, salt, pepper and garlic into all it's cavities (yes, I just said cavities) and bake it for a few hours.

Steamed veggies - zucchini, carrots, and maybe broccoli with some butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Can you tell that I like garlic...and salt...and pepper...

I am making myself hungry just talking about it!

Ahh, the beginning remnants of fall

Today is a beautiful day. Jude and I went outside, it was not humid and 83 degrees out. Pure loveliness. While we were walking around, looking at bugs, playing with the neighborhood cat, and trying to mosey into the neighbor's backyard, I looked around me and saw a few signs that fall is indeed coming, which made me oh, so happy!

Berries starting to sprout on our bushes...

Leaves falling to the ground...
And here, as promised...the two men in my life that take up most of my time (but are totally worth it)

Ezra is almost 7 months old now. Can you believe how fast time flies?! I will spare you the "it seems like yesterday" sentiments, but believe me, they are true. So yes, the past 7 months have flown by so much faster this second time. I want to stop time sometimes because it just happens too quickly.

Facts about little E (as we call him):

• He weighs almost 18lbs - big boy!
• He's 251/2 in long
• His head it a bit on the large side...but we love it!
• He can finally roll over both ways. It took him a long time to do this.
• He sits up pretty well by himself. Ok...with support, but he can hold himself up for a few seconds before falling over.
• He really loves this certain light-up noise-making toy. It's so cute to watch him grab it, watch it, hit the buttons and study it so very hard. He's really fascinated and it's so sweet.
• My personal favorite - Jude is his favorite person. Who knew that big brother would be the only one who can make him really guffaw?
• He loves to smile and talk to anyone who will listen. Attention is what this boy loves.

Sweet boy, you fill my heart with such joy...I so love being your mama.

What's for dinner? I have no idea. Some chicken, zucchini and something else...although I don't know what yet. If you made it to the end of this long post and are reading this, please share any relatively quick, easy and healthy recipes you have. I'd love to try them and post about it!

Last night's dinner menu

Ok, I think steaming veggies is my new favorite way to cook all veggies. I fixed a chicken, veggie, pasta casserole last night and it was tasty! I actually made a sauce that was good to go in the casserole. The base was a half a can of both cream of chicken, cream of celery, some half n half, and a bunch of other things-some wheat flour (I only use wheat flour now, no white), cheese, lots of different spices, and even a little almond milk. I know that sounds weird, but it tasted pretty good! I am trying to learn how to make my own recipes by just throwing stuff together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I also needed to make something that produced enough leftovers so that we all had something to eat for lunch today!

Here are the veggies...I included squash this time. I'm not a big fan of squash, but I am branching out by trying veggies I don't each very much. It gets tiring eating the same ole same ole after awhile. Besides, I thought I could disguise it in the casserole with the other veggies.

The finished product. It doesn't look near as good as it tasted!

Mr. F is not a casserole person. In fact, I refrained from using that word last night when he asked me what I was cooking because I didn't want him to get any preconceived ideas about it. After he finished, he said "A casserole that I actually like!" and all was well with me. (not to mention, I was feeling good and full myself) And then he went on a smoothie run for dessert, which made me almost as happy as his comment.

Stay tuned for pics of the boys...to come later!

What was for dinner last night?

I forgot to post ahead of time, and didn't get pictures either! But, I did try a new meat (boneless skinless turkey breasts), marinated them in some EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic power, chili powder, parsley and basil. They were YUM. I also fixed some whole wheat egg noodles and made a white sauce that wasn't very good. I am just not that good at sauces...something I need to work on. It tasted ok, but it sat so heavily on my stomach that I felt yucky afterward. I topped that off with a side of sweet peas. Peas aren't my favorite, but they're really good for you so I make myself eat them.

On another note, I started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred on Monday, and I thought I was sore yesterday. I am even worse today that it hurts to even sit down. But secretly, I love it. I actually like being sore. It makes me feel like I've actually done something. Jillian works me out super hard...it's definitely a love/hate relationship.

Win for steamed veggies!

Well, the steamed veggies were delish. Ross loved them, I loved them...well, Jude didn't love them, but he doesn't like any veggies. We're working on that.

I went from this...
To this...
Yum!

What's for dinner tonight?

So ok, I forgot to post pics of my last dinner meal. Usually when I'm in the kitchen, I'm trying to hurry because I am feeding a pack of animals-or men, whatever...or I'm trying to shoo a busy toddler out from underneath my feet who is trying to grab everything off the counter. Sometimes he helps me, but not always. Maybe I will remember tonight. It's super exciting stuff, I tell ya.

Now, onto tonight's meal...

Baked Tilapia - I think I'm going to use my breadcrumb/parmesan mixture to coat it in before putting it in the oven.

Steamed asparagus and carrots

I usually just boil vegetables, or saute them. However, as I was researching recipes online today, I remembered that I have an actual steamer that I have never used. There is no better time than the present. We'll see if the veggies are edible when I am finished.

One other tid bit: Parsley, Basil and Curry are my now 3 favorite seasonings. I put them on/in a lot of things and I have to say, it always makes dishes more yummy!

What's for dinner tonight?

Fried chicken strips - I mix the breading myself, and the key that makes it pop is to put parmesan cheese in the mix. It makes them taste oh, so good! I also fry these in EVOO so it is a little bit healthier, although I'm not sure how much.

Fresh cooked spinach

Homemade Mashed potatoes - red, not white. Red potatoes are YUMMY.

Pictures to come later!