What a Great Weekend!

So I have officially crept that much closer to "mid-thirties" turning 33 last Friday. It's an uncomfortable number for me. I'm totally out of shape, I have somehow reverted back to age 14 acne, and I'm constantly tired! I could live with 33 if I could get my skin looking better and have the ability to run up the stairs without dying! Fortunately, I am committed to doing something about it.

My birthday weekend was great! Started Friday night with dinner with my folks at Anthony's and continued through Saturday at the Owl & Thistle in Seattle and then a trip to the Comedy Underground. (My favorite birthday tradition!) We had a great time and it was really nice to get out with our friends again - it had been SO long!

Today was back to reality and work. Dinner this evening was REALLY good though. Tonight was a new recipe night and it was TO DIE FOR! Roast pork tenderloin and brussel sprouts. The brussels were steamed and then quick pan fried with bacon, shallots, sage and dried cherries. I'm trying to get the family used to the 1/4, 1/4, 1/2 plate configuration where the biggest portion on your plate is veggies. This isn't hard in my family as my children love vegetables. What other kids do you know that cheer when you tell them, "Tonight we're having brussel sprouts!" And, they were really upset after their first portion when they found out there weren't any more. (Gosh, I love them!)

Spent the rest of the night getting some things together for tomorrow. One of my best friend's just found out today that she is going to have a baby girl! I am SO excited for her!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Ok, 1 chance to guess what we had for dinner tonight....

OF COURSE, it was corned beef and cabbage. Cooked in the slow cooker all day long (broiled with Brie'ns special sauce - super yummy by the way Bri!) and fresh baked beer bread hot out of the oven! Gosh I love Saint Patrick's Day! Every year I buy an extra package of corned beef (it's cheap this time of year) to make another Patty's Day meal at some other time but I NEVER end up doing it. I don't know what it is about this time of the year that just makes it taste better but we usually end up with just one corned beast a year.

Now granted it is not the Saint Patrick's Day of my younger years - you know, Up & Up burgers and green Busch Ice, but it'll do!

Every year I buy the kids St. Patty's Day shirts. This morning Logan got dressed, came into my room and said, "Mom, what does my shirt say?" "Kiss Me I'm Irish," I tell him. He stops, puts his hand on his shirt and gives me "the look." Then he says, "I'm putting tape over this today. I DO NOT want anybody to kiss me!" Ahhh, little boys. I know the time will come shortly when he'll be DYING to have somebody kiss him. I'm happy to have the cute, funny little boy that runs from me when I try to give him a kiss!

Late night activities = one of the ol' standby's!

Although tonight was certainly not our most packed evening ever we did end up getting home pretty late. Logan had baseball, I had to stop and pay the mechanic for repairing Brandon's vehicle (UGH $725 later), and we had to go BACK to the mechanic's so that Brandon could actually get his vehicle. When we finally got home - through the monsoon that was pounding on our car and Lilly's singing Frank Sinatra at the top of her lungs - it was nearly 7 o'clock. And we still needed to make a trip out to the garage to feed and water Big Momma and her chicks!

Luckily I had enough coffee before we left this morning to plan for the busy evening and choose a quick and easy standby for dinner. This is one of those Hamburger Helper/Top Ramen/Frozen Pizza equivalents, though maybe just a tad more healthy. Dinner tonight? Pot Stickers, egg rolls and broccoli. The kids LOVE this dinner which makes it an even more desirable dish for me.

Potstickers and egg rolls from Costco are a saving grace on nights like these. Toss a large bunch of broccoli in the steamer and dinner is only 15 minutes away!  And, shockingly enough, Lilly ate quick enough that we still get to listen to Daddy read Harry Potter tonight. (It may have been a record for her.)

I can hardly wait for dinner tomorrow.... Who can guess what we're having?

Simple and Delicious

Dinner tonight was yummy and simple. No elaborate recipes, no new ingredients; Quesadillas! One of the kids favorites and super easy to make. I cooked up some chicken in taco seasoning and pan fried some onions and peppers to stuff them with. Add sharp cheddar cheese/Monterrey Jack mixture and whole wheat tortillas and you've got yourself a meal! On the menu for tomorrow? I'm debating between another new pasta dish or chicken & quinoa... Guess we'll see what I feel like taking out of the freezer tomorrow morning.

Brandon was running late tonight so the kids and I sat at the bar and ate dinner. Does anyone else get irritated when your kids touch and play with things while they are supposed to be eating? I'm sure that it is normal for little boys to not be able to control their impulses but Logan seems to be especially adept at this annoying habit. Because the counter was randomly strewn with books, papers and couple of toys I could tell it was going to be nearly impossible for the boy to resist putting his cheesy, greasy fingers all over it. Even with gentle reminders the attraction of dirty hands to library books is impenetrable. (I hope the library forgives the one fingerprint on Henry & Mudge!) It's funny, Brandon and I had a roommate in college that would absent-mindedly touch, pick up and move things around our house. We thought it was a bizarre, unique habit of his. Turns out he just never left that 6-year-old part of him behind!

My annoyance with my daughter is something altogether different. I somehow ended up with a girl who could perhaps be the S - L - O - W - E - S - T person I've ever met. Me, the girl who can't keep from twitching uncontrollably as I "lounge" in the armchair at night; the girl who perceives every request or chore as needing an immediate response; the girl who cannot stand waiting more than 30 seconds to get an answer to my text. I ended up with this child who saunters through life to the beat of "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" I swear the girl's fast forward is just approaching the average person's slowest speed. She can literally make dinner last for over an hour. And in our house, where everyone sits at the table until the last person is finished, this can be extremely irritating.

Despite their annoying habits (which they must get from their father because I don't have any - wink wink), I do find their idiosyncrasies endearing and can often get a good laugh giving them a hard time for them.

Maybe tomorrow we'll be done with dinner before the sun goes down!

Menu Planning

Brandon and I have always thought that eating as a family is especially important. We do it every night…almost. To avoid having pb&j’s every night I write out a menu. Two weeks’ worth of meals, grocery shopping bimonthly (except for some staples), and the question, “What are we having for dinner tonight?” answered. Over the years I’ve had people ask me about what we do, why we do it and where to find good, fast, easy meals. Here are the answers to some of those questions.

There are always some good ol’ standby’s on the menu, but I usually work at least 4 new recipes into the mix. They may come from friends, cookbooks, magazines or the internet. Whatever form they are in, once they are tried, and approved, I transfer them onto a recipe card and ditch the random sheet of paper they were printed or scribbled on. The first time I try a new recipe I try to stay true to it. After the first time, it’s open season….literally. There is rarely a recipe that I don’t modify in some way.

In the summer, when there’s no homework and the nights are long, we also try to work a brand new ingredient we’ve never tried before into the mix. I do this as much as I can during the winter months, it just doesn’t happen nearly as often and the produce just isn’t as diverse in the winter. The kids think it’s neat if they get to pick it out (although sometimes I have to go surfing the web trying to figure out how to cook it) and because they picked it out they will try it without prodding. Not that they have a choice; in our house EVERYTHING gets at least one bite – EVERY TIME WE HAVE IT! (Lilly has gone from liking to disliking mac-n-cheese about 10 times.)

Now, we are not married to our menu. There are always the late nights at kids activities, or we’re just plain tired and don’t feel like cooking at all, where we stray from the list. (See pb&j, above.) Anything that doesn’t actually get made in the two week rotation goes on the next list.

At times I have been extremely anal about my menu planning: pre-made laminated lists (sorted by aisle at my favorite grocery store) and ready for the dry-erase marker, printed menus hanging on the fridge complete with check off boxes, recipes neatly attached. This is still my favorite way of doing this, I just don’t always have time to accomplish it.

The reason why I write about this now? I’ve been relaxed on my menu writing and, as much as I hate to admit, we’ve had more than a few Hamburger Helper and frozen pizza nights. Don’t get me wrong, I think these are both fine meals. I just LOVE to cook...and eat. Every mealtime presents itself with another opportunity for culinary bliss. I restrict myself from eating incessantly so I hate to waste an opportunity to indulge my taste buds!

Tonight: Pasta Fagioli, a recipe I clipped out of a magazine (Family Circle, Feb 2011). I like to find recipes that incorporate kale. It is a superfood and it’s super easy to grow here in the Pacific Northwest. Prep time was excitingly short – only have to chop up onions, garlic and kale. Everything else is in a can. Total time from start to finish was 35 minutes (REALLY. Sometimes when I get done making a recipe I look back at the total time they estimate and wonder if they have a personal sous chef hidden in their pantry.)

Here’s the recipe:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano

2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth

8 oz small pasta shells, uncooked

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 bunch fresh kale, tough stems discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cans small white beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp tomato paste

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Grated Parmesan, for serving

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. 2. Stir in tomatoes, broth and 3 cups water. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Add pasta and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. 3. Stir in kale; cook 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium and stir in beans, tomato paste, slat and pepper. Heat through. 4. Ladle into bowls; garnish with Parmesan.


Turns out it was a hit! Everyone really liked it! Into the recipe box it goes!

February Resolutions

It seems that, like everyone else, our resolutions slowly wane as we make it through the year. While some we have been pretty good at, others not so much. So here are our wins and losses:

I'm proud to say that we nearly met our "No Eating Out" rule (with the exception of hot chocolate at the mountain).

Our total spent on eating out for the month of February: $14.17

I had a goal to stop talking, especially negatively, about work at home. I think I did a pretty good job. I did have some discussions at home about work but I was careful not to focus on the negative and stayed away from droning on and on about how ridiculous some of the things that happen there are. Of course, I have been talking IN GENERAL about work, what with the events transpiring in Wisconsin. The difference? Talking about the way our system works, including our rights to assemble and protest, and explaining my political and personal views about workers, employers, the public sector and government to my children not only gives them some perspective but also helps me solidify my own beliefs. I'm proud to talk about that stuff at home, even if I did compare Scott Walker to Hitler. Ok, that was a bit negative :)

I don't think Brandon achieved his goal of losing 10 lbs. this month. However, he was sent to Oroville again (or what he lovingly refers to as Orificeville) for two weeks this month. Hopefully he will be able to get back on the horse as I know he feels better when he's working out regularly. Course, he's been snowboarding almost every weekend so he's definitely getting exercise!

I need tonight to continue to consider my March resolution. I'm not sure if we will do the eating out thing again. I think it's smart to keep it in mind but my birthday is this month, and I really want to go out, so we'll see how successful we can be. If that's the only dinner out this month that will be ok with me!