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Another week has come and gone. We didn't get around to a couple recipes last week so I'm going to repost them this week. If you see repeats thats why. Pioneer Woman was a hit last week. The Hot Crash Potatoes were so yummy that there were only about 2 left out of the dozen I made. This week's experiment that I'm excited about is the Pork Chops with Stuffing and Apples. It's sounds pretty easy and tasty. You brown 6 pork chops and prepare a box of stuffing according to the package. Next, take a can of apple pie filling and put it in a casserole dish, place the pork chops on top and then top with the stuffing. My recipe book is downstairs so I can't remember how long to bake it or at what temp. If it's good I'll post the recipe and picture.
I'm digging the Winder Farms. This week I ordered one of the pancake bundles. It came with a box of organic pancake mix, a quart of fresh all natural buttermilk, and we got winder farms boysenberry syrup. We loved them! I also got a half gallon of strawberry milk with a coupon. Next week I'm going to order the steakburgers made with Piedmontese beef which is suppose to naturally have "44% less calories, 71% less fat, 21% less cholesterol, but 28% more protein." We'll see how they taste. I've been impressed with everything else.
On Monday whe are having leftover cowboy beans which I made for my aunt's birthday party. They basically canned pork & beans with browned ground beef, a browned onion, some brown sugar, ketchup, and a bit of vidalia onion dressing. They are super good and I'll try to post the recipe with a picture this week. Here's my menu for the week, and if you're looking for more menus check out The Organized Junkie.
MENU
MONDAY
Hot Dogs
Tater Tots
Cowboy Beans
TUESDAY
Island Kielbasa in a Crockpot
WEDNESDAY
Pork Chops with Dressing and Apples
(One Dish Meal)
THURSDAY
Red & White Tortellini (alfredo from Winder)
Cheese Toast
FRIDAY
Easy Chicken Paprika
Green Beans
Rice Pilaf
It's been a busy week. Last Sunday was our anniversary and my husband and I took Monday and Tuesday off work. My wonderful in-laws (and I don't just say that because they stop by here sometimes) watched my children over night on last Sunday so Pat & I could go to dinner and a movie. Although going out messed up my menu planning for last week, it sure was fun to have a night out with the hubby. Tuesday night I didn't have to plan because we went to my nephew's graduation party and my sister-in-law (who is a wonderful cook, and I say that even though she doesn't stop by this site) fed us a really good meal. Outside of that we spent three meals at McDonald's this week so I can really see how menu planning helps my budget. Both my wallet and my pants are going to be feeling tighter than they normally do.
I also started a food delivery service by a company called "Winder Farms." What got me interested was the all natural milk comes from cows not treated with growth hormones. It's also fresh from the farm and lasts longer in the fridge. The website claims: "Fluorescent light on grocery store shelves destroys milk's nutrients. Because our milk never sees a store shelf it arrives with all of its nutrients intact." I have never liked to drink a glass of milk but their stuff is pretty good. The bread is also made without preservatives but I have yet to try it. The organic baby carrots and organic cherry tomatoes are on my standing weekly order. Unfortunately, they don't carry all the grocery items I need so I still have to go to the store. I wish I could get the Super Wal-mart to deliver.
Here's the menu for the week:
Monday
carne Asada Tacos
Rice
Beans
Carrot Cake
(leftovers from Mom's house)
Tuesday
Rib-eye Steak
Crash Hot Potatoes
Lettuce Wedge with semi-homemade ranch dressing
(I call this "Pioneer Woman" night since all the recipes come from her site)
Wednesday
Baked Ziti and Meatballs
Five Cheese Toast
Thursday
Hot Dogs
Tater Tots
Friday
Easy Chicken Paprika
Green Beans
Rice Pilaf
For more menu planning check out The Organizing Junkie, she does a wonderful job at hosting this every week.
I can't believe I didn't post at all last week. I'll have to make up for it this week. I have pictures of Connor's preschool fieldtrip, his graduation, an almost finished crocheted dress, and a recipe for last week's Cola BBQ Pork Chops. Speaking of those pork chops, they were pretty good. I think I added a little too much cola, so they were a bit watery, but they were still really good. The Raising Cane's sauce was pretty good too, but I had to add more mayo for that one. We are having the Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake tonight because we got a little behind in our meals, but from the smell of it I think it will be awesome!
This week, I am looking forward to Pioneer Woman's Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs. I didn't have the "Morton's Hot Salt" so I'm going to use the Zataran's seasoning that I bought for the Cane's Sauce. I also just realized that I forgot the lemon juice so I guess I'll have to make another trip to the grocery. Okay, on to the menu:
Monday
Pot Pie Night
Tuesday
Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs
Mashed Potatoes with Pan Gravy
Mixed Greens
Wednesday
2nd Chance Meals
Thursday
Kielbasa, peppers and onion sandwiches
Crispy Tater Tots
Friday
Pizza Pasta Casserole
Salad
Three Cheese Toast
For more menus go to The Organizing Junkie
- mood:
rushed
Whew! It's been a busy weekend so I just threw this together. Couple of new ones this week. Somehow I ended up on a YouTube watching "Cooking with Jolene, the Trailer Park Cooking Show." I thought it was funny and I'm still not sure if its a gag or not. I've heard that Cola BBQ pork chops are pretty good so we'll give 'em a try. Anyway, we skipped our pork dish last week so I still have pork in my freezer. Friday's Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake is a recommend from Laura, the Organized Junkie herself. It sounds fantastic and love spinach. Here's the menu:
Monday
Carne Asada Tacos
Spanish Rice
Beans
Tuesday
Shake & Bake Chicken Strips with Raising Cane's Special Sauce
Tater Tots
Carrots
Wednesday
Cola BBQ Pork Chops
Baked Beans
Green Beans
Thursday
Second Chance Meals
Friday
Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake
PS I just read Jolene's profile on YouTube and it seems that she's also a comedian. I guess that answers my question about it being a gag. I'll let you next week if the recipe was any good.
- mood:
busy
This is a great recipe for a potluck. If it's a big group I double it and I make it all up the night before, then bake it in the morning. Be prepared to bring a copy of the recipe if you do make it.
1 bag (20 oz.) frozen peppers and onions hashbrowns
1 can (10 1/2 ox.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup toasted bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the soup and sour cream. Add potatoes and blend into mixture. Spread into an ungreased 9"x13" baking dish. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter: arrange over top of casserole. Bake for 45 minutes.
- hideout:home-skizzle
- mood:
nerdy
Temperatures are now in the triple digits. According to weather.com tommorrow's high will be 105 degrees. I didn't feel like going to the grocery store so Monday's night's meal is just from my stock on hand. I also didn't feel like cooking tonight so hooray that there is an In-N-Out close by. I can usually feed everybody for under $15 but I got two shakes tonight and it was a little over $16. Not bad for 4 people, even if two of them share a burger. I love the secret menu too. I only want my burgers animal style now. Sometimes I get the fries animal style too. When I was pregnant with the girl I had diabetes so I would order my burger protein style and my sugars didn't seem to be affected that much by it. We got our fries well-done tonight. I didn't like In-N-Out fries before I discovered them well-done and animal style. I also learned that you can order a neopolitan shake where they layer the vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavors in the cup. I wish I would have remembered today because I would have tried. Well, this has been an exciting post hasn't it? On to the menu:
Monday:
Tri-Color Rotini with Meat Marinra Sauce
Salad with Ranch Dressing
Three Cheese Toast
Tuesday:
Country Style Chicken
Mixed Greens
Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday:
Teriyaki Pork Chops
Vegetable Chowmein
Thursday:
Leftovers
Friday:
Island Kielbasa in a slowcooker
Green Beans
Dessert: Butter Pecan Cake with Vanilla Frosting
More Menus at "I'm an Organizing Junkie"
And, just because I'm mean:
PS Ever notice this on the bottom of your cup?
- mood:
thirsty
I get requests for this recipe a lot so I thought I'd put it here. This recipe makes a lot of enchiladas. Feel free to cut it in half if you're not feeding an army.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix 1 bag fiesta cheese, queso cheese, cream cheese and green chilies. Set aside for now. In a pan, on low, warm up enchilada sauce. Take a tortilla and dip in sauce, then place on a work area. Add about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture and thin layer of chicken. Roll tortilla and place in casserole dish, seam side down. Do this until you are out of tortillas. *Note, each casserole dish should hold 12 enchiladas. Add second can of enchilada sauce to enchiladas. Sprinkle any leftover chicken or cheese mixture over enchiladas. Sprinkle last bag of Fiesta a cheese over enchiladas. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 24 enchilada.
- mood:
sleepy
Ever wonder why it's called Menu Plan Monday if it's posted on Sunday night? Me too. Maybe it's because the meals start on Monday? It's one the great mysteries in life I'm sure. Anywho. I think I'm getting the hang of this. If I make sure that I have a couple of meals that will keep (i.e. boxed pasta, jarred alfredo, frozen cheese toast on Tuesday) then I can skip making them when we have too many leftovers. I'm also trying to have a one new recipe a week. Nothing new this week but it's been a VERY long time since I made my famous green enchiladas so they may seem new. Last week's new recipe, Onion Mustand, Pork Chops, were a hit and a miss. I liked them because they were 3 ingredients but the mustard wasn't me or my husband's thing. Surprisingly the picky halfpint liked them and said he'd eat them again. I had two chops leftover so I'm going to make those tonight with either BBQ sauce or Teriyaki instead of mustard. Heres this week's menu:
Monday:
Green Chicken Enchiladas
Spanish Rice
Refried Beans
Horchatas
Tuesday:
Eileen's Meatloaf
Creamed Spinach
Wild and Herb Rice
Wednesday:
Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo
Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Cheese Toast
Thursday:
Hot Dogs
Tater Tots
Friday:
Meatloaf Sandwiches
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli with Cheese
Check out "I'm an Organizing Junkie" if you want to participate.
**Here's a special Mother's Day Picture
This is what my son made me for Mother's Day in his preschool class. The hands are cut outs of his hands and have the words "To hug her" on one and " & kiss her" on the other. The poem reads:
"Best Friends Forever, Mom and Me, Picking Flowers, Climbing Trees. A Shoulder to Cry on, Secrets to Share, Warm hearts and hands that really care! Happy Mother's Day!"
That was the first homemade something I've gotten and it was pretty special so I put it here. Thanks for looking.
- mood:
hungry
Oh sure, I could have had my husband do it, but then when would I get to play with the power tools? The top two shelves are going to be for books and I want to get baskets for the bottom shelves for toys. There is a perfect spot for it in the closet, right on the floor where his books currently reside. I just wish I'd measured it first. Oh well, it will fit on the other side of the closet if not in that space. The best news is it was only $20 and I think the baskets I saw at DollarTree will fit for a total of $22.
- mood:
satisfied
An Odd Animal
The Aleryan is an animal that has burnt orange fur with slime green spots on its toenails and nose hairs. Its tail is shaped like a clown which it uses to hop dirt mounds. An adult Aleryan may weigh more than 15,627 pounds and stand over 7,892 feet high.
The Aleryan can be found only in Burma and France. Although its favorite food is grapenuts, it also likes to eat corn dogs. If you ever see an Aleryan, be sure not to ever sing “The Bad Touch by the Bloodhound Gang.” That song makes it sticky. Instead, give it a few grapenuts and be on your way.
All I can say is, "Sweat, Baby. Sweat, Baby..." Ewwww...I'm sticky
- mood:
amused
Last week's menu planning had it's ups and down. It was great to know what was for dinner every night, but I planned too much. We had so many leftovers that I didn't make Thursday's meal (Thai Chicken and Sushi Rice) because I didn't want all of it to go to waste. Also, last week I planned a lot of meals around using my oven. Well, it's already too hot for that out in the dessert. This time I have more stovetop cooking planned and the couple of meals for the oven i did plan should fit in my oversized Toaster oven. Lastly, there was too much prep involved last week. I work alot of overtime and I just want something simple to create when I get home. Hopefully, I solved these issues with this weeks menu. So, here's my menu for Meal Plan Mondays.
Monday:
Tacos
Mexican Rice
Refried Beans
Tuesday:
Frozen Pot Pies
Spinach Salad
Wednesday:
Mustard Onion Pork Chops
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Thursday:
Alfredo Pasta
Spinach Salad
Cheese Toast
Friday:
Shake & Bake Chicken Strips - Ranch flavored
Shells and Cheese
Spinach Salad
Last year I entered the Love Knot dress by the same designer and here's a picture of that one.
Notice I got two ribbons, a first place and a fine arts award. I also one a prize of a hotel room in Mesquite and two prime rib dinners. I didn't get to use the prize but it was still pretty cool to win. I've got to plan something bigger for next year. Once you've been a contender there's no going back.
I love to go to the county fair and it's become a tradition to go every year with the kids. My favorite part of going is the food. I love to get a hand dipped corn dog, or a cone of cotton candy, or a homemade root beer.
If Connor had to pick his favorite thing it would be the pony rides. See how happy he looks?
If Katie had to pick her favorite thing at the fair it would be anything but the pony rides. She yelled, "DOWN!" the whole time.
- hideout:home
- mood:
accomplished
Also, the menu planning is showing to be more time consuming than I thought. I was hoping to prep the dishes the night before then I just have to cook them when I get home but today I got home about 4:30pm and didn't get out of the kitchen till almost 8pm. That doesn't work for me. I'm going to have to plan quicker meals next week.
I didn't take a picture of tonight's Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables because it wasn't very pretty, but here's a pic of Sunday's dinner. We had Lasagna Alfredo Roll-ups and they were Yummy. Enjoy!
Just a quick post. I'm trying to get more organized so I've decided start menu planning for the week. I've been inspired to try this from the Organizing Junkie and here's my first stab at a menu. There is not a thing on here that my son will eat so we'll see how the week goes. Luckily I made a chocolate cake tonight to bribe him with.
Monday:
Crockpot Chicken & Vegetables
Applesauce
Spinach Salad
Tuesday:
Eileen's Meatloaf
Corn Casserole
Rice
Spinach Salad
Wednesday:
Bowtie Alfredo with Ham & Peas
Apple, Grape, and Walnut Salad
Cheese Toast
Thursday
Thai Curry Chicken with Onions and Bell Peppers
Sushi Rice
Friday:
Leftover Meatloaf Sandwiches
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli
Night!
Well, I think this is a good start for now. In the next few updates I’ll try to recap some of the good things that have happened over the past year and some of the crafts I’ve done. Time to take my Loritab. Say hello to my little friend.
- mood:
sore
So here's what happened. I was on my way out to my car to go to work. I thought I was being careful of the ice but I must have stepped right on it. I went down on my knee and heard it crack. After about five minutes of rolling around in pain on the sidewalk and trying to pull myself to my front door I decided to try the cell phone that was beeping at me the night before that the battery was dying. I had enough of a charge to call Pat and he came outside and carried me in the house. His parents came to watch the kids for us and he took me to Urgent Care. I couldn't straighten my leg and informed the x-ray techs that if they tried to do it they would have to peel me off the ceiling, because it would hurt that bad. They took two x-rays with my knee bent and the head tech came over and said, "Ummm, yeah, you're done. We don't need anymore." I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing and she answered, "I can't give you any information but don't move your knee." Here's the x-ray:
They took me to my room and the doctor came in and said I broke my knee. He gave me two options, either we straighten my leg and put a brace on it or we leave it alone and I could try not to move my knee on my own. I let them straighten my leg and it wasn't too bad. I'd didn't hurt so much if I had my foot against something. They got the brace on and then gave me morphine. Yup, they straightened my leg then gave me morphine. Jerks. Anyway. I don't get to see the orthopedic doctor till Monday, and I'm on pins and needles to find out if they will need to put pins and needles in my knee.
While I'm off I plan on catching up on my crochet projects because after all my arms still work. lol. Pictures of projects to follow soon!
- mood: sleepy
Here is the blanket from hell.
Okay, it's not that bad, but it is tedious to make.
The center is 94 rows and each stripe is two rows. Next is a ruffle that is 9 rows around. That's when it gets tedious. It seems that I frog as many rows as I crochet when I get to this point. Then it is 7 rows of netting, which cover up all the pain and suffering that went into the previous 9 rows of border. Next is the inside border. This is the light at the end of the tunnel because not only is it just 3 rows, but I only have one more row of crochet left after that, the trim. You can't really see it in the pic, but it's a single crochet row that is done between the netting and inside border. Lastly, I just hide the ends and weave the ribbon thru it. I also add some flay check to the edges of the ribbon so they stay pretty. Iadmit that the blanket is beautiful when it's done. The first time I made it in pink and white yarn and won 3rd place at the county fair. Not bad. While I'm thinking of it, the yarn is TLC baby soft, in case anyone was wondering.
My current WIPs are a dress for Katie, some preemie hats, and a granny square baby blanket. I will be putting all this on hold again because of another commissioned piece, the sweater and hat from the Sun Fairy pics. Hopefully, I'll have more projects to post soon.
excited
