Creativity and the way it spills out

I've always been a creative person. In fact, when I don't get the opportunity to express some creativity I feel a little suffocated. My biggest problem is that I am my own worst enemy. I love to be creative. I'm also painfully obsessed with order and control making it difficult to be creative when I know there's laundry to be done, or dishes in the sink.

My mentor often makes fun of my need for order and control. Mostly because in my line of work there's no way to maintain it. It is an exercise in futility - much like keeping a house in order with two teenagers, a dog and three cats. While the logical and reasonable side of me understands that, the crazy side still wants it all - the perfect clean house, all the time in the world to be creative, happy kids that don't fight, a nutritious Pinterest-worthy dinner, time to play games and have fun, time to read, well you get it. I want it all. Still. Even though I've been fighting with myself for years to let those futile thoughts go. It's my crazy - I've been working on it for years. It's gotten better. But it's who I am.

By some weird universal urging I went through my vacation accrual last week. Apparently I've taken so little vacation since I started this job that I'm to the point that I will no longer accrue it if I don't take it. If you know me, you know I work ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME. Even when I'm at the game I'm coaching a steward on filing a grievance. I'm the dick at the movies that's trying to hide my phone under my jacket frantically typing that one last email. I'm the one you're cussing at from behind as I sit at the light too long (*as a side note, with the change of the new law, and Lilly's constant interrogation, I am getting VERY good at disciplining myself not to touch my phone in the car). I care about the folks I represent. I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to maintain their faith in the labor movement; that if they are disenfranchised with something about the Union, it's not because of me.

Funny though, because as little vacation as I take I am constantly arguing with my co-workers, and the members, to take time off. Again, here's my logical side fighting with my crazy. I KNOW that time away from work is essential to maintaining balance. And yet I find it hard to tackle myself. Fortunately, the penny pincher in me is more powerful than the work horse in me - losing vacation equals throwing money away - I was not about to do that!

So I took two days off - for reals - like not answering my phone, not looking or answering emails, not looking at my work FB page. I had planned on working all weekend painting the deck rails. But I just didn't want to do that. Mike and I spent a leisurely weekend (SO incredibly rare for us) relaxing instead. It was something we both desperately needed.

Waking up this morning I thought about how I could spend these next two days. My creativity bug was itching to come out. I had a ton of squash my mom so generously shared from her garden. With the exception of squishing in a half day or so for Christmas baking I can't remember the last time I spent all day in the kitchen. I used to do it often - it satisfies a number of crazies in me: no wasting food, creating, making something yummy for my kids, doing something useful - but rarely spend 20 minutes in the kitchen anymore.

Grabbed my coffee and pulled up Pinterest for some inspiration. I rarely follow recipes, but I do like to look at a few as a basis. I decided to make a few different kinds of breads. Ironic since Mike and I don't eat sweet breads. But the kids like them and I can freeze them. I went to work shredding the squash (I wonder if you can see the results in my biceps yet?). Five or six hours later I'm left with the results of my labor - 23 little loaves of deliciousness.

Oh, and since Mike and I don't eat this stuff, I made us some energy & protein bites.

I feel good. (Maybe that's the wine coolers I've been drinking since 9am? I don't know. C'mon, I'm on VACATION!)

I'm proud of creating something. And I'm happy that I get to share with the ones I love. Wanna loaf?

My Pantry is so Tumblr....

Inspiration strikes at some of the funniest times, places and circumstances. There are times when you are searching for something in particular; something that will fulfill a need you have – whatever that need might be. And sometimes you’re just stupidly wandering when you’re smacked in the face with an idea.

As I wandered around World Market on Christmas Eve (so that Mikey could grab something in Target I couldn’t see) I came upon this wire rack that hung on the wall. I saw it from across the other side of the store. I was drawn to it. I wanted it. I didn’t know what for. And I do that enough to know that I CANNOT buy something because I think I MIGHT have a use for it. (Incidentally, these are all the really cool things other people end up scoring from me on the BuyNothing site when I finally decide to get rid of them. Sorry Buy Nothing folks, I’m trying to reign myself in.) I walked away. And then I thought of something I could do with it. I have unused space in my pantry! I could put it there, rearrange my kitchen, put all my food in the pantry instead of having it in the cupboards, it would free up space to have easy access to my small kitchen appliances, oh my goodness it would look really cute too….aaaaaannnnnnd, Mikey showed up, “time to go!” And there ended my spiraling idea reel. I said a silent goodbye as I got one last glimpse at the rack….

I COULD NOT stop thinking about it. And, after Christmas, I had EVEN MORE new small kitchen appliances! (As a side note I have made two more meals – one with the InstantPot and one with the zoodler – and both were Ah-mazing.) I told Mikey about my idea. And here’s the thing I love about him: He instantly started asking questions. Where do you want to put it? What will you use it for? How will that help you organize in the kitchen? I had answers to all of those. And so he said, “Well, let’s go look at it.”

After a couple of hours at the thrift store fulfilling our recent book obsession, we ended up at the World Market in Woodinville. At first, I couldn’t find it. But then, hiding in the back corner of the store, was this jewel; this space saving, Tumblr worthy (that’s a term Lil uses – I only pretend to know what it means), fix all my kitchen woes, rack.

Him: (he picks it up and makes a face) “It’s kind of chintzy.”

Me: (in my head) Ugh.

Him: “$129.99! What the fuck?!?!”

Me: (Dreams dashed just a little bit more) “Really, you think it’s chintzy? I like it.”

Him: “I’m sorry sweetheart, I just think it’s overpriced and not well built.”

Me: (in my head) Damn.

And so we meandered back to the front of the store. My pantry wall was doomed to be ugly, bare and useless.

One more stop before we hit home to settle down with a nice charcuterie plate for a quiet New Year’s night. All we wanted at Costco was a package of assorted meats. But my mom had just bought this cat tree, and I thought we should look at them. Maybe that would keep the bastards from clawing up my stair rail. (More on the feline idiots later.) As we walked back to the refrigerated food section we passed by some metal baskets. I picked one up.

Me: “This isn’t chintzy. It’s actually pretty nice. Do you think it would work?”

Him: “These are pretty nice. And they’re less expensive than that chintzy rack.”

Me: “What do you think? They come in pairs…..6?”

Him: “I think we could fit 8. I could definitely affix them to the wall for you.”
Me: “Are you sure? They’re kind of heavy. And I want to put a bunch of food in them.”

Him” “I’m sure. Let’s get them.”

Me: (in my head) YES! Damn I love this man. Pantry bliss is on it’s way!

Who rearranges their kitchen after living in a house for 11 years? I DO! I was so excited to see them going up. I could barely wait for him to have them all installed. I was already pulling everything out of the cupboards and envisioning how I would carefully group everything.

It only took about an hour for Mikey to have it all up and ready to go. He sauntered off to the office to write. I spent the next 2 hours pulling everything out of drawers and cabinets, throwing old stuff away (Seriously? I knew no one ever drank that mixable lemonade but I didn’t know it expired in 2011!), and cleaning out said drawers and cabinets for new kitchen appliance homes (because no one likes moving into a dirty home!)

I can’t thank Mikey enough for not letting me buy the rack from World Market. These baskets hold more, look nicer, are well made and look amazing. Now my pantry’s mission in life is fulfilled: complete usable space. And I get to drink my coffee every morning looking at my Tumblr pantry.

The Holy Grail....I Think I Found It!

Me and my big ideas. I’m always searching. Always on the lookout for something awesome that could make a difference in my world. Sometimes because I’m just curious, and sometimes out of necessity.

My Crock Pot has been something of a monkey on my back since I got it. First, I wanted a programmable Crock Pot, and I got one. Except it isn’t programmable on the front end, only in its cook time (start in the morning when you leave and then it holds your food on warm until you turn it off). Second, it cooks FAR hotter than I believe a Crock Pot should cook on low heat. Third, the handle slowly started to crumble – not a huge functional issue, but a pain none the less. Fourth, I must’ve slammed it down on the counter a little too hard one time as one of the legs is dented in so that I must put a kitchen towel underneath so that she stays level during use. Mostly, I just needed a new one.

A shot of the handle on my ghetto Crock Pot with the gangsta lean

In spending some time searching for the Crock Pot of my dreams some other appliances passed through the Google indexes – some of which I had noticed before only briefly, and some that I had never heard of. I was looking for a number of things in a slow cooker:

1. A machine that would take whatever I dumped into it in the morning and make it into a delectable meal by the time I got home from work.
2. A machine that was programmable…ON THE FRONT END! I want to put my food in the pot, and if it only takes 4 hours to cook, and I’m leaving at 8am, and returning at 4pm, it will not start cooking until noon.
3. A machine big enough to cook a roast that is several pounds.

And then I noticed the Instant Pot. I quickly scrolled through article after article on Pinterest. I searched through recipes, through what to do if you’re a beginner, I Googled what it would cook, how it could be used, how big it was, what you could put in it, how easy it was to figure everything out. And when I was done with my research, I KNEW that the Instant Pot was what I wanted. I quickly added it to my Wish List (something I’ll write about another time).

The battle ensued between Mikey and my Momma as to who was going to present this culinary treasure to me on Christmas. My Momma emerged the victor – though Mikey will likely reap most of the spoils. My parents got me the Instant Pot, a lid, and a cookbook to help me start making delicious, healthy meals.

I pulled it out of the box on New Year’s Day and read the entire manual. (Yes, I’m THAT person.) After reading the manual, and a few articles from Pinterest on how to start out, I cooked myself some water – a first step in preparing the machine for other gastronomic magic.

In our house we try to eat healthy – as healthy as possible. And we love to snack on hard boiled eggs. Side note: Did you know hard boiled eggs provide good fats, are naturally high in protein, contain good amounts of vitamin A & D, and is only 80 calories? When I found a recipe to cook hard boiled eggs in 5 minutes – YES PLEASE! Incidentally, being a pressure cooker, the Instant Pot should help us keep out of restaurants so much. To demonstrate how much time it saves: It will cook dry beans in under an hour!

I followed the very simple instructions on how to cook the eggs: 1 cup of water in the pot, add steamer tray, place eggs in, close lid and set timer. That’s it. The recipe promised perfectly cooked eggs, with shells that peel off easily. And it did not disappoint! No more ugly deviled eggs!

I haven’t had a chance to cook anything else in my Instant Pot yet (spent the following day zoodling (more on that later) but I’m ready to roll. I seriously can’t wait to put my ol’ Crock Pot on the Buy Nothing site….and maybe my rice cooker too!

Menu #5 of 2013

Well it's easier to make a menu when you get to carry over a bunch from the previous! I'm kind of excited about this menu because there are many times that we get to the end of the menu and I've either put off all the things that take a little longer or I just don't feel like cooking the couple of things that are left. That's the dilemma right? Trying to make sure you have 2 weeks of stuff you actually want to eat. It's just so fun in the beginning of the menu period when you have 14 delicious meals to choose from. When you are down to two time-intensive meals, both of which are not what "you feel like tonight," it's much harder to resist running to a restaurant.

So here's Menu #5:

• Thai Peanut Wraps
• Chiken Broccoli Packets
• Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
• Crockpot Zuppa Toscana
• Tortellini Soup
• Steak w/Chicago Marinade & Baked Potatoes
• Italian Chicken & Noodles
• Shrimp Scampi
• Salmon (AGAIN, I actually made this last week) with Roasted Vegetables
• Baked Eggs & Hashbrowns
• Hamburgers & Buffalo Cauliflower
• Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage
• BBQ Pork Fried Rice
• Chicken Fajitas & Mexican Rice

Tonight we had the Pesto Pasta and it was delicious! And fast! I really recommend this one. The kids were immediately saying this one was a keeper and Logan doesn't even like pesto. We didn't hardly modify the recipe so here it is, copy and pasted from Gimme Some Oven: (my notes are in purple)

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts  

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb (16 oz.) orecchiette (or any pasta) [I used whole grain medium shells]
• 4 chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian), sliced into 1/4" thick coins [I used 5 - Aidell's Apple Chicken Sausage from Costco]
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pesto
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together brussels sprouts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined.

 

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. (My batch of tiny sprouts only took about 12 minutes to cook.) [We cooked ours for 15] Remove from oven and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. (I begin heating my water while preparing the brussel sprouts, and added the pasta to the boiling water just after beginning to cook the sausage.)

 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.

 

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

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Menu #4 of 2013

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t posted ANYTHING since February 5^th! February has been a busy month though. The hubs had to go to LA for work for a good chunk of February so I was single-mom-ing it for a while. My last menu was made before Bud went to LA and, while I was pretty good at still coming home and making dinner, we did fudge a few nights.

Here’s menu #4 of 2013:

·        Chicken Broccoli Packets

·        Enchilada Casserole

·        Hearty Chicken Stew

·        Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Chicken Salad

·        Thai Peanut Wraps

·        Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

·        Crockpot Zuppa Toscana

·        Brazilian Shrimp Soup & Pao de Queijo

·        Grilled Pork Chops, Grits and Brussels

·        Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

·        Tzatziki Pasta Salad

·        Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

·        Salmon & Roasted Brussels

·        Hawaiian Grilled Chicken & Spinach

I wish I would've gotten this post up when I originally wrote the list but alas, life gets in the way. So there are some carryovers to next menu because of the following:

Lilly was having a VERY bad day one day and told me that she would feel better if she got to have Chinese food for dinner. So I stopped at Lucky Dragon on the way home. She was right, I saw her smile after that.

I hadn't been feeling great - and my back had been hurting - so one night I swung by Pizza Hut and let them make dinner for us.

Because we just weren't in the mood to make Enchilada Casserole, we decided to go to Playa Bonita instead. It was a Friday. I really needed a margarita. :)

Since Brandon was gone and I was still cooking we ended up having a good amount of leftovers so one night I took the easy way out and cleaned the fridge.

Another night I forgot to take anything out to thaw and the kids said they wanted hot dogs, so we had hot dogs...and a can of baked beans....and store bought potato salad. It was yummy but UGH the preservatives we ate that night!

Here and there I think I quickly made something that was easy to grab from the freezer too. I definitely can't say that this was the ultimate home cooking couple of weeks. However, I did manage to make a good amount of new dishes - even one from Brazil! - and mostly they were all delicious.

Since I'm so bad at posting recipes (or linking to them), if you find me on Pinterest you'll be able to find these recipes. If you want to know what I did differently just let me know!

Happy cooking....and better luck next menu :)

BLTA's & Mushroom Soup

Like many American's my family loves a good BLT. I mean, it's bacon, do I need to say more? The hubs and I have always liked our BLT's with tomato soup but my dear girl isn't much of a fan. When I found this recipe for Mushroom Soup I knew we had to try it - and what better to pair it with than a delicious BLT(A) - my way!

Mushroom Soup
Click on the link for the recipe I re-pinned. I only made super minor modifications

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of white button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 3/4 cups of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 c porcini mushrooms
1/2 c portobello mushrooms (gills removed) diced small
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 c vegetable stock
2 Tbsp flour dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
2 c half-n-half
Dash of nutmeg
Fresh cracked pepper
Wondra for thickening

1. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add butter and lightly sauté garlic on medium heat.
2. Add in mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat for 6 minutes.
 

3. Add in chicken broth. Stir occasionally until broth boils, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4 Add diluted flour in, and stir constantly (while simmering) until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Finally, add half-n-half, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat off.
6. Serve hot in your soup bowl. Add freshly ground black pepper.

I specified the mushrooms I used and liked and also left out the choices of dried vs. fresh thyme (I aways prefer fresh herbs and I happen to have a ton of thyme growing outside). I also try not to use heavy whipping cream anytime I can avoid it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE vegetable broth and use it often in place of chicken broth. Usually I buy the Knorr brand vegetable broth cubes. They dissolve quickly and easily and have great flavor. Also, I generally totally shy away from the use of nutmeg - for some reason I can taste it in almost anything and, for me, it overpowers a lot of dishes, but I did use just a pinch and it really worked.

BLTA's
I know you probably know how to make a BLT. But I like to put a little twist on all of the sandwiches I make - just so you know I made it :)

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon
4 large leaves of iceberg lettuce
3 lg Roma tomatoes
1 lg avocado
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
mayonnaise
sea salt & pepper to taste
8 slices multi-grain bread

1. Cook the bacon. I don't know about you but I hate when I bite into a BLT and the bacon all falls out the back. I've seen this technique across the internet for weaving and baking bacon for burgers and so I tried it for our BLT's and it works amazingly well.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Separate bacon into 4 groups of 4 slices. With the four slices stacked on top of each other, cut one third of the bacon off.

Next, line a large aluminum pan (with a lip) with tin foil. Place each of the four bacon slices next to each other. Using the pieces you cut off weave the bacon through, starting by alternating one piece over, one piece under to make a woven piece of bacon the size of your bread. Repeat for each of the 4 bacon groups.

Put the pan in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

2. Slice tomatoes. Sprinkle with fresh sea salt and lemon pepper

3. Peel the avocado and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork until it looks something like a really chunky guacamole. (Simply slicing avocados and adding them to your sandwich will have the same "fall out the back" effect as the bacon and again, I hate that!) Add the lime juice, the garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste.

4. Toast bread.

5. Take the bacon out of the oven and drain on paper towels.

6. Assemble your sandwich by spreading some of the avocado spread on one side of the bread and mayonnaise on the other. Lightly sprinkle oregano on the mayonnaise. Add tomatoes to the avocado side, and lettuce on the mayonnaise side. Place bacon weave on the tomatoes, close the sandwich and cut at an angle (perfect for dipping).

Like I said, I know we can all throw together a BLT. I just like to give mine a little bit of flair!

Menu #3 of 2013

I can't tell you the elation I feel when I've gone through all of my Pinterest food boards, planned out my menu, looked through my cupboards, copied the recipes, made my grocery list and cut out all the coupons that I know I'm going to use before I go grocery shopping. Oh, and I usually clean out the fridge in the process too. But not this time.

I have been sick. I don't know about you but when I'm sick our whole schedule gets thrown off. The hubs, bless his heart, tries his best to pick up the slack but for whatever reason things still just don't go quite as planned.

Because of my being under the weather, our dinner plans changed a bit. Here's what our menu ended up looking like:

Corn Dogs & a can of Corn

French Dips & Mac-n-cheese

Tuna Melts & Salad

Shake-n-Bake pork chops & canned Green Beans

Chicken Pot Pie from IGA

Pizza

Lasagna Rolls & Caesar Salad (I found a homemade Caesar dressing that is delicious!)

Mushroom Soup & BLTA's

Leftover Lasagna Rolls

Baked seasoned Chicken, Roasted Green beans and Rice-a-Roni

Mississippi Roast (tweaked my way, of course)

Linguine with Clam Sauce

Appetizers for Dinner (we went to a friend's house)

Superbowl Sunday snacks and sandwiches

You know that I'm sick when Corn Dogs end up on the menu. I'm usually pretty against having any kind of processed foods for dinner. We get enough at lunch or other times. I like our dinners to be made from fresh ingredients. But when you feel like death-warmed-over I'm happy just getting something edible on the table.

Saturday we were invited over to our friends house. We had a great time. I had a little too much vodka and, even though I brought my stuff, I never ended up getting my grocery list done. Luckily, because of the last two weeks I have plenty of dishes to carry over to this next menu. Here it is:

Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole

Greek Quesadillas & Greek Salad

Tofu Pad Thai

Flank Steak Rolls & Ratatouille

Turkey Melts & Baked Pickles

Enchiladas (see here's one of those favorites)

Shrimp Fried Rice

Crockpot Zuppa Toscana

Chicken Tiki Masala with Brown Rice and Naan

Ham Steak & Roasted Vegetables

Almond Chicken Pasta

Mexican Haystacks

Crockpot Honey Apple Port Roast & Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aoili

Steak, Baked Tomatoes & Bacon-wrapped Green Beans

For the recipes I have tried I will post them on the blog, with my modifications of course. I try SO very hard to make a recipe exact at least the first time I try it but sometimes I just can't resist. I've considered posting all of the recipes with the menus on these posts but I think it will make them too long.

Try anything new and exciting lately? I'm always looking for tried and true recipes that are not a part of our regular repertoire so send them to me!

Menu #2 of 2013

After a December of stopping at the store every evening on the way home from work, or eating out, or eating whatever junk we could throw together I am SO happy to be back to meal planning. I've been following my first menu of 2013 almost exactly and it has been great. Made the menu and bought all the ingredients - all I have to do is pick which recipe I want to make. While some of the recipes I make take some time and effort I always feel like I spend as much time or more just figuring out what to make when I don't have a menu. Besides, trying all of these new recipes is fun, I enjoy putting them together and, so far, almost everything has been really tasty!

As has been my modus operendi lately I pulled many of these recipes from Pinterest. Don't get me wrong, we have favorites at our house - those trusty old standby's that always hit the spot - but I love experiencing new tastes! So here's menu #2:

• Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole
• Greek Quesadillas & Greed Salad
• Tofu Pad Thai (Lilly LOVED this recipe)
• Flank Steak Rolls & Ratatouille
• Tuna Melts & Baked Pickles
• Enchiladas (see here's one of those favorites)
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Crockpot Zuppa Toscana
• Chicken Tiki Masala with Brown Rice and Naan
• Lasagna Rolls & Caesar Salad (I found a homemade Caesar dressing that is delicious!)
• Mushroom Soup & BLTA's
• Mexican Haystacks
• Crockpot Honey Apple Port Roast & Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aoili
• Mississippi Roast (tweaked my way, of course)

I've been considering posting all of the recipes (maybe on a different page of my blog?) and/or creating a shopping list. Is there anyone out there that reads my humble little blog that would benefit from that? When I create my own shopping list I only write down the things I don't have on hand - and I usually have A LOT of things on hand (my friends say that they will be coming to my house in case of the Apocalypse).

Here's my family's review of Menu #1:

Steak and Shrimp - Baked potato - Caesar salad (New Year's Day).

This was the special at our local IGA and Brandon cooked them wonderfully!

Linguine with Clam Sauce.

One of my new stand-by's. I got this recipe from a Family Circle and I don't think I tweaked hardly anything. Everyone loves this one and the total cost for the entire meal is about $6.00 and it feeds the 4 of us plus one or two lunches the next day - depending on whether Logan is on a growing spurt.

White Chicken Chili.

Another stand-by. I picked this one because I can crockpot it for wrestling nights. One of my favorite recipes EVER.

Pork Carnitas Burritos.

We are having these tomorrow so no report yet.

Tofu Pad Thai.

I know a lot of people scrunch their nose up at the mention of tofu but it really can be quite tasty. I like to marinate it in an extra batch of the sauce for the Pad Thai and fry it until it is crispy. If you are hesitant I would encourage you to try it AND make sure you buy the extra-firm tofu - it has the consistency of chicken. The whole family loved this dish too and you can put it together in about 30 minutes.

Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers & Roasted Yukons.

Holy Smokes! These were delicious! I found the recipe on Pinterest - if you're on there you will probably have seen it. The problem is I used to work for a Philly Cheesesteak restaurant, run by a guy from Philly, who had his ingredients shipped from Philly and this recipe called for deli roast beef. I'm sorry but no proper cheesesteak, or cheesesteak-type food, can be made without prime sliced ribeye. That's what we made ours with and they were phenomenal.

Shrimp in Jalapeno cream sauce - Pinquito beans - Mexican Rice.

Another recipe we haven't quite gotten to yet. Maybe Sunday?

Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake & Veggies.

This is one of the first recipes I made in the new year and while Logan is not especially keen on pesto, I found these to be incredibly delicious, as did the hubs and Lil.

BBQ Kielbasa - Coleslaw - Potato salad.

Hubs and I are both working at the wrestling tournament this weekend so this will be a pretty easy dinner for Saturday night.

Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice.

I'm slowly but surely working this miracle food into our diet more and more. This was not my favorite recipe. I'm not sure I would make it again. It was ok, and everyone ate it, but it was not show stopping.

Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken.

The kids and the hubs really enjoyed this meal. I found it to be lacking in peanut flavor and think if I make it again I will use a different type of peanut butter.

Parma Rosa Veggie Primavera.

This is just a throw together recipe for me. We love the Knorr powdered sauce mixes you find near the taco seasoning. Parma Rosa is one of our favorites. I like to work at least one or two vegetarian meals into each week. This isn't because I have anything against meat, I think that vegetarian menus use ingredients in new and innovative ways and that is something I really like. For this one I chop up whatever veggies we have around - zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onion, red bell pepper - toss in a bag with 1/4 cup of butter, garlic and lemon juice and roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cook your pasta and drain. Make up the sauce according to package directions and mix all together. Top with Parmesan cheese. Yummy!

Breakfast for Dinner.

Need I say more.

Seasoned grilled chicken over Zuchinni & Roasted potatoes.

This is a dish I had at Applebees (off their 500 cal and under menu) and decided I could recreate at home. Everyone liked it and it was super simple and quick to make.

Quinoa & Sweet Potato stuffed Portobellos.

This was another vegetarian dish. I LOVE that my kids have a dinner such as this one and ooh and aah over it. I'm so glad that I do not have picky eaters. I guess it helps that in general I'm a pretty good cook, and they've tried things in the past they didn't think they'd like and have been wrong, and so in general they trust me when I tell them I think they'll like it. A definite keeper. Can't wait to enter it into my Reedy Family Recipe Cookbook.

Stuffed Acorn Squash - Veggie Rice.

This one got the boot this time because I could not find acorn squash ANYWHERE! This is a really good recipe - especially in the fall when the weather is just turning colder and the leaves are falling outside. (Ok, I'm nostalgic) I replaced it with mustard rubbed Shake-n-Bake pork chops, roasted asparagus and Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Crockpot Noodle Bake (Brandon asked that I not call this lasagna. My homemade lasagna is his favorite and he cannot believe that this dish will do it justice - awww, what a guy).

Ok, I will admit it, I couldn't do it. I broke down and just made lasagna - the old fashioned way.

Tortellini Soup (Lilly's Birthday Dinner with Family).

One of the kids very favorite dinners....tripled in size! This recipe is good even doubled or tripled and is great for a laid back family get together.

Dinner out for Lilly's Birthday.

Maybe I was hungry but the Old Spaghetti Factory hit the spot!

I hope you all are inspired to try new foods. If you come across something you think we need to try please send it my way!

First Menu of 2013

Well, 5 days in and I'm just now getting around to posting in the New Year. I had this idea that since we were spending New Year's Eve at home I would play games with my family, blog a little, surf the net a little, and watch the Space Needle's fireworks at midnight. While we did get some games in, the hubs and I ended up falling asleep on the couch by 9:30pm. The kids played the Wii until midnight and then woke us up to go to bed. Nothing like feeling old....

In any case, I did spend some time at the end of December coming up with our first menu of the New Year. Because I wasn't going grocery shopping until this weekend I had to make up a 5 day temporary menu and then my usual two-weeker. Here they are:

• Steak and Shrimp - Baked potato - Caesar sald (New Year's Day)
• Linguine with Clam Sauce
• White Chicken Chili
• Pork Carnitas Burritos
• Tofu Pad Thai
• Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers & Roasted Yukons
• Shrimp in Jalapeno cream sauce - Pinquito beans - Mexican Rice
• Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake & Veggies
• BBQ Kielbasa - Coleslaw - Potato salad
• Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice
• Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken
• Parma Rosa Veggie Primavera
• Breakfast for Dinner
• Seasoned grilled chicken over Zuchinni & Roasted potatoes
• Quinoa & Sweet Potato stuffed Portobellos
• Stuffed Acorn Squash - Veggie Rice
• Crockpot Noodle Bake (Brandon asked that I not call this lasagna. My homemade lasagna is his favorite and he cannot believe that this dish will do it justice - awww, what a guy)
• Tortellini Soup (Lilly's Birthday Dinner with Family)
• Dinner out for Lilly's Birthday

Our first new recipe of 2013 was the Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers. They were delicious - though I did substitute the deli roast beef in the recipe for Prime sliced rib eye. I used to make Philly Cheesesteaks for a living and could not bring myself to try to pass off lousy roast beef into anything labeled "cheesesteak."  I have a goal to post that recipe, and my changes to it, soon.

Anything sound good? Got any suggestions for the future?

Back in the Swing of Things...Menu-wise at least

At the beginning of this year I had this grand idea that I would blog every day, or at least a few times a week. I did really well for a while but, like all New Year's-type resolutions, it slowly faded out. This summer, with the kiddos being at grandma's, Brandon and I didn't really have a set meal schedule. Some nights we ate yogurt and crackers....

But, the school year has begun and we are back on track. I had this idea that I would post the menu's I've had since the beginning of school but now I can't find them. And so I'm posting this one for the upcoming two weeks.

As usual if you want any of the recipes please let me know. I've been indulging heavily in Pinterest lately and many of the recipes that have been making the list have not only been new, but have primarily been from Pinterest.

You'll notice that we have quite a few Crockpot meals. Since soccer started we've either got practice or games 6 days a week. And starting tomorrow Logan will be wrestling three times a week as well so I'm relying on the 'ol Crockpot to help us stay on budget and help us continue to have healthy meals at home.

• Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff
• Fish Tacos - Pinquito beans
• Ham, Potato & Cabbage Soup
• Chicken Tamale Pie
• Crockpot French Dips - Autumn Salad
• Tortellini Soup (I've posted this recipe before. It's Logan's favorite)
• Crockpot Sweet-n-Sour Chicken - Rice
• Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
• Crockpot Red Beans & Rice
• Quiche
• Crockpot Minestrone
• Burgers - Beet chips
• Crockpot Ranch Pork Roast
• Stuffed Peppers - mashed potatoes

I've included a few of our old standby's in this menu because I've been trying so many new recipes we haven't really been having some of our normal favorites. Plus, I know how to put them together without a recipe which saves me time.

I also bought the ingredients and this weekend tried a new recipe for Crockpot Oatmeal that you cook overnight. I always like to make sure the kiddo's get a hearty energy-charged meal before soccer games and so this particular recipe with steel cut oats, apples, and chia seeds was perfect. We woke up to a wonderful smelling house and a delicious breakfast. And both of the kids had excellent games. I'm going to go ahead and attribute that to my oatmeal. ;)

Happy October!

Apparently I only like Kraft....

I have never been a fan of mac-n-cheese. I do like the Kraft stuff but nothing else. No off brand, definitely no Velveeta, and no homemade. I would probably even turn my nose up at your grandma's famous recipe. I don't know why I don't care for it but I just never have.

However, I have been pretty infatuated with trying Pinterest recipes and this one had rave reviews (and I'm in LOVE with goat cheese) so we tried it.

Here's the recipe from Cook Like a Champion. These are my pictures of the process.

Three Cheese Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

3/4 pound penne (I used rotini because I didn't have any penne)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
5-ounce log goat cheese
3 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup packed freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons sour cream
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
salt and white pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)
1 extra large egg yolk

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400º. Butter a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
-In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
-Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring heavy cream, onion and garlic to a simmer.

-Transfer 1/2 cup of the cream to a medium bowl and gradually whisk in flour; return mixture to saucepan. Set the bowl aside for later.
-Whisk over moderate heat until thickened, about 3 minutes.
-Remove from heat and whisk in goat cheese, cheddar and half of the Parmigiano until melted.

-Stir or in the sour cream, zest and 1 teaspoon thyme and season with salt and pepper.

-Add egg yolk to medium bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup cheese sauce. Whisk egg/sauce mixture back into saucepan.
-Pour cheese sauce over pasta and toss to coat evenly.

-Add pasta to cast-iron skillet and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano. Bake for about 25 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining thyme.

-Allow mac and cheese to rest for about 5 minutes (if you can stand it), then serve.

 
Serves 4 as an entrée

Now don't get me wrong, it was ok. But I didn't feel like there was enough flavor to it which is surprising considering the pungent taste of goat cheese and the sharp white cheddar. I wouldn't make it again but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would find it delicious. As a side note, the wine - Cellarmaster's Riesling from Columbia Wineries - and asparagus were phenomenal.

My Boy's Favorite Meal....Right Now

On their birthday we have always let the kids pick whatever they want to have for dinner - restaurant, favorite meal Mom makes, whatever they want really. A few days ago it was my son's birthday. Now, we are foodies - we love food. I love cooking. I love using fresh ingredients, I love making new things, and I love experimenting with foods we've never had before. I am always in search of a new recipe that everyone will love. And my biggest fan? Logan. While Brandon has definitely given me accolades throughout the years, and really every day, Logan is by far my most vivacious fan. He never fails to let me know how delicious the food I make is, or how lucky he is for having a Mommy that is such a good cook. Honestly, I'm getting worried for his future wife...hope she will have some talent in the kitchen!

Anyway, for my Logan's birthday dinner he didn't want to go to a restaurant, he didn't want hot dogs, or macaroni, or any other kid-type food, he asked for my Tortellini Meatball Soup!

Now I must give credit where credit is due. I started with this recipe out of the March/April 2009 issue of Country Home, but of course I've tweaked it a bit.

I encourage you to try it. It really is delicious....and fast.

Tortellini Meatball Soup

Ingredients:
8 oz. sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's)
1/3 c. breadcrumbs
1 c. chopped Walla Walla Sweet onion
10 baby carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 quarts of water
6 teaspoons of beef bouillon base (you could use bouillon cubes)
12 oz. refrigerated tri-color cheese tortellini
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
3-4 c. fresh baby spinach, chopped
5 Tbsp. chopped bottled roasted red pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and Fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
8 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

1. First make the meatballs my mixing the sausage and the breadcrumbs together. Shape into thirty-six to forty meatballs (they should be fairly small).

2. In a dutch oven heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes or until tender.

3. Add water and bouillon and heat to boiling. Add raw meatballs, tortellini and Italian seasoning. Return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes.

4. Add spinach, red pepper and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes or more or until tortellini are done.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in fresh basil. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Honestly, this soup is delicious. Paired with homemade beer bread (my sister's recipe is fantastic!), or fresh french bread you can't beat it. And it's even light enough to have in the summer!

Menu Hiatus

So, I haven't been very good about maintaining my menu's. Seems something kept getting in the way: the kitchen being remodeled, four baseball games and a soccer game in 1 week, meeting and after meeting after meeting.

Don't get me wrong, we still ate (none of us are the type to skip a meal)....we just ate whatever we happened to have around and could put together quickly. In light of that I thought I'd list a few of our go-to dinners so that we don't have to eat out and waste money and we can maintain a more healthy diet.

• Spaghetti
• Stir Fry (with whatever meat & veggies we have around)
• Potstickers, Egg Rolls and Rice
• Sauce Marco Polo (a tuna dish so no thawing necessary)
• Make-your-own-pizzas
• Fettucine Alfredo (I always keep sauce packets on hand in case of emergency)
• Hot dogs
• Hamburgers
• Quesadillas
• Tacos

This is not an all inclusive list, but some pretty common standbys for us. Anyone have any other quick go-to meal ideas? I'd love to expand my collection. If you send me a recipe and I try it I will post it here with my thoughts. :)

P.S. We've been better at adhering to a menu starting this week. I will post it shortly.

Menu (kind of) #8 of 2012

So I had this great idea for this menu whereby everything on the menu would be very Pinteresting. Every meal, for two whole weeks, all recipes found on Pinterest that we had never tried before. Unfortunately, my kitchen floor is not cooperating with me.

As you may have read, we have been remodeling our kitchen since January. We were almost done, but the flooring was NEVER in stock. We ended up having to wait over 8 weeks for it to be in stock and then another 7-10 days for the delivery. By the time it reached us it was the end of March, Brandon was back to work and we had already committed ourselves to other activities on the weekends.

This weekend, after all the waiting, Brandon decided to tackle the kitchen floor. Except we had a soccer game, and a baseball game, we got invited to poker, and we had a concert to go to. So it took a while to get the floor down. And now, when he's ready to grout, the glue still isn't dry.

And so we are kitchen-less. We can't walk in the kitchen so we have limited access to all of our dishes and food (unless we climb along the counters). Since I didn't really prepare for it I didn't buy a bunch of hot dogs and hamburgers that we can grill. Our oven doesn't work (in the living room) because we can't plug it in anywhere. And so this is our menu this week:

• Subway sandwiches
• McDonald's
• Grilled Steak and microwave baked potatoes
• Albertson's Fried Chicken
• (Hopefully) something easy I can cook in a crockpot (if I can get to it)

And so my Pinteresting menu will have to wait until Sunday. The floor better not take any longer than that!