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  • Meal Plan Monday 12/26

    Meal Plan Monday 12/26

    Well, with our recent dining room remodeling project I have a very simple menu this week. We’ve got to move the dining table to the living room, so meals also must be as mess free as possible with 3 little ones.
    Monday – Leftover Ham and Potatoes
    Tuesday – grilled sandwiches and tomato soup
    Wednesday – Baked Potato Bar
    Thursday – Chicken Nuggets
    Friday – DATE NIGHT! (Mark’s sister gave us a certificate to a bed and breakfast! It’s going to be such a nice break!)
    Saturday – Chicken Cordon Bleu (family New Years Eve Tradition)
    Sunday – Sandwiches
    Since I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get our kitchen put back together, I’d love any ideas for simple cooking you may have!
  • Tuesday Tips – Recipe Organization

    Tuesday Tips – Recipe Organization

    I love to cook! I love to bake!  Most especially, I love finding and trying out new recipes.  It’s really rare for us to ever eat the same meal, even if it was pretty amazing!  Mark has told me before, and I think he gave up, to please make something we’ve had before!  One of my goals for 2012 is to organize and minimize my recipe collection so that we have at least few tried and true recipes to eat again and again. 

    The left side of my recipe cupboard (above the stove) is full of cookbooks. From classics like Betty Crockers Baking to exotic from Vienna, and from Breakfast to Desserts, I have plenty of cookbooks.

    So why wouldn’t I add on to them, by piling up recipes from magazines, like Taste of Home and Better Homes and Gardens? 
    Here’s my problem! I have so many recipes, and places to look, that some never get touched!  This past year I added a new system to my cooking. As I chose a recipe out of a cookbook I kept a pencil nearby.  After eating, I tried to get a consensus of how well it was liked. If everyone enjoyed it, a penciled in a smiley face next to the recipe.
    If it was ok, or not even touched by the kids, a frowny face was penciled in.
    Eventually I will be able to go through each cookbook, and tally up the smiley’s and frowny’s.  If there are more frowny’s then that cookbook will not be kept. If there is a specific recipe in it that was truly amazing, I can write it down on a recipe card, and add it to my handy recipe box. 
    By the end of next year, I’m hoping my recipe cupboard has a few less books.  Of course new ones wouldn’t hurt, but I think I need to get rid of some first.
    Another way to organize your recipes, is to go paperless!  My new favorite website, and where I spend a fair amount of time, Pinterest!  If you haven’t heard of pinterest yet, I warn you, it is amazing, and thoroughly enjoyable!  Here is a sampling of some of the recipes I’ve pinned to my food board
    I’m linking up with Confessions of a Frugal Mind

  • Menu Plan Monday 12/19

    Source: etsy.com via Adelina on Pinterest

    This completely states how I was feeling this morning! I allowed myself to sleep in and skip my morning routine, which meant a not good start for anyone. I got up to the Princesses hands in the cookie jar. When I told them no cookies, and we were having cereal for breakfast fits were thrown. It didn’t help that Princess R figured it all out and threw her bowl across the room, and when I returned it with cereal she promptly turned it over and continued to scream at me. So I gave up. I got me breakfast and sent the kids back to their room to play. About an hour later, they all told me they would like some cereal. 
    So when I hopped on pinterest this morning to clear my head, I couldn’t help but laugh at this awesome menu sign from etsy!  Here’s what our week of food looks like

    Monday – PB&J.  We’re headed to Temple Square to see the Lights tonight, so I wanted something easy, that the kids also enjoy.
    Tuesday – Personal Pan Pizza’s. Another pinterest find, these are made using cake pans!

    Wednesday – Ravioli
    Thursday – Going out to eat. Mark got a gift card as his work bonus, so we’re headed up to Ogden’s Christmas Village.
    Friday – 5 Ingredient Bubble Up Enchiladas

    Saturday – Ham and Potatoes, plus lots of yummy yummy stuff with my family here!
    Sunday – Leftovers. I may make some poffarages or aebleskivers for breakfast though.

    I’m linking up to Organizing Junkie’s Weekly Menu Plan

  • Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta: Review and Giveaway

    We had the opportunity to review Green Giants Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta.  I chose the Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli. The Princesses love macaroni and cheese, so I knew they’d enjoy this. Whether they would eat the broccoli or not, I wasn’t sure.
    Princess V said she liked the pasts but didn’t like broccoli. I think it was more a general statement from her, because I’m not sure she even tried the broccoli. She did tell me she likes carrots though, so next time maybe I’ll mix some carrots in hers.
    Princess C loved every last bite of it, and even asked if she could eat the rest of Princess V’s. 
    Princess R, will eat just about anything, but she too, didn’t eat her broccoli. She did at least try it. I think maybe the broccoli was still a little too hot for her though. 
    My personal opinion, it was very good. the packages don’t contain very much though, and it would definitely be better as a side instead of a meal (I served it for lunch), or as a meal for one. I would love to see these come in larger family packs.  The ease of putting the bag in the microwave and then serving, really made lunch smooth for us. Princess C has morning preschool and Princess V has afternoon preschool, and lunch can be quite a hassle sometimes. Having the Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta to serve really helped to save time in our rushed schedules.
    I received a serving bowl, fun surprise face spoon, two Green Giant Placemats, a broccoli stress reliever and a coupon for a free Steamers! Now one of you will have the chance to receive the same package!!
    To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter form below
    *note: look at the prize name on the giveaway. If it is the Cranberry Naturals prize, to enter the Green Giant Giveaway, click on the title of this post!*
    **“Disclosure: Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.” All opinions are my own**
    RafflecopterSettings = {
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  • Meal Plan Monday 11/28

    Meal Plan Monday 11/28

    Monday – Chicken and Stuffing. This may change though, since Mark isn’t feeling too great today
    Tuesday – Tuna Helper
    Wednesday – Bean and Cheese Burritos
    Thursday – Soup and hot cocoa. Perfect mood setting for putting up our Christmas decor!
    Friday – Church Christmas Party. I’m taking some form of potatoes
    Saturday – leftovers

    Last week, I did hardly any cooking, since we were out of town for Thanksgiving. I did however, make some fun treats inspired by Pinterest!

    Blackberry Lemonade
    Frozen Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie!
    (this was the first pie to go!)
  • Menu Plan Monday 11/21 Thanksgiving Week

    Menu Plan Monday 11/21 Thanksgiving Week

    This week I’m not really planning any menus.  We’ll be with family almost the whole week, so I don’t know what we’ll be eating, other than Thanksgiving Dinner at my Aunt’s house.
    So instead of sharing my non-existant menu plan for the week, I’ll just share my pinned mouthwatering desserts I’m going to attempt making this week.

    mmm, chocolate, pumpkin, salted caramel cupcakes!

    Just recently some of my cousins were diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Although I know my aunt will be making items they can eat, I wanted to try my hand at some gluten free foods as well.
    Flourless Chocolate Cookies

    Flourless Chocolate Cake

     And this I’m thinking of making for Princess C’s preschool Thanksgiving party tomorrow

    I want to know! What are you eating this week?  Making anything special? Also, if anyone has any tips for cooking for Celiac disease, I’d love to hear them! 

  • Tuesday Tips – Plastic pie lids

    It’s time for another Tuesday Tip! I’m thrilled to have found Tip Junkies Tip Me Tuesday to link up with! So if you’re visiting from Tip Junkie, thanks for stopping by! 
    Tip Junkie handmade projects

    I’ve been wanting to get this tip out to you guys for awhile, but somehow everytime Tuesday popped around, I kept forgetting. I blame it on my scrambled pregnancy brain.
    I personally, love french toast! I would eat it for breakfast every morning, if I could. My biggest struggle with making French toast, is finding the right sized bowl, to soak the bread in. All my bowls curved too soon, or were enormously huge.  I remember my mom using pie tins growing up. They really are the perfect size. I just don’t own any pie tins (I do have a deep dish stone pie plate).  I love those premade graham cracker pie crusts though, and around the holidays, I have an abundance of them. One year, I tried using the empty foil pie tin for my french toast, only to realize a little too late, when I cut the pie, I also cut little holes in the foil. 
    This year, it dawned on me though! The pies come with a plastic lid! Normally, I open the pie shell, toss the plastic lid, and usually have no leftover pie. This year, I had some leftover pie, and so I had kept the lid. And then, voila! I realized it was the right size (obviously since it’s the same size as the pie tin itself) for French Toast! 
    So this year, don’t throw those plastic pie lids away during your holiday baking. Hold on to them, and you’ve got instant French Toast soaking bowls. If you make a lot of pies, like me, you could even dispose after each use, saving the washing time. Or you could continue to use forever (which is what I’ll be doing).


    Now go enjoy some pie and French toast! Together if you really feel like it.  I might add here, that apple pie spice makes a great substitution for cinnamon when making French Toast!

    I’m also linking up over at

  • Meal Plan Monday 11/14

    Meal Plan Monday 11/14

    Last weeks menu fell through the cracks! I just got so busy with other things, and ended up improvising at the last minute most days.  It didn’t help I also forgot some of the ingredients for last weeks menu when I went grocery shopping. Aw well, it happens. This week should be much better!
    Monday – Cheesy Broccoli soup in bread bowls
    Tuesday – Pasta and Aspargus
    Wednesday – Chicken Stir Fry
    Thursday – Eating at my parents: Mark will be on his own
    Friday – Smoky Black bean Chicken wraps
    Saturday – leftovers
    What’s on your menu this week?

  • Apple Pie Spice Muffins

    Pinterest has become my new friend lately. I’ve been using it a for awhile, but I caught the baking bug, and pinterest just adds fuel to my fire. Check out these yummy looking and sounding French Toast Muffins!

    My only problem was, I forgot I ran out of cinnamon! Now that should be a staple in every pantry, but I keep forgetting it at the store. So I went through my spices, and pulled out the Apple Pie Spice! It really was good! I think I would’ve preferred cinnamon, but the Princesses gobbled these all up before lunch!  Definitely a hit.

  • Fried Apple Peach Pie

    Fried Apple Peach Pie

    It must be the weather, or the closeness to Thanksgiving, but I’ve started craving pies!  I had one problem, I didn’t want to go to the store, but I only had one can of peach pie filling and one can of Fried Apples.  I decided to throw caution out the door (as I often do when I cook) and mix the two together for a Fried Apple Peach Pie. Princess C helped me make the dough while Princess V was at school and Princess R was napping. I love these special moments I get to have with Princess C. 

    I am not going to give you the dough recipe we used, because it was the one part of the pie no one liked, and it was really really hard to work with. Sorry.
    After we got the dough ready Princess R was up and helped me taste the filling.
    She liked it, and then was mad I wouldn’t let her eat it all before cooking it.
    Before baking
    No it doesn’t look pretty, the dough really was very hard to work with.
    Shortly after baking
    There is less than half left this morning! Turns out apples and peach go pretty well together in a pie, who knew?  Ok maybe I’m just slow and this is a common pie, but it was new to us, and we liked it!
    For my filling I just combined Cracker Barrel’s Fried Apples
    and Comstock Wilderness More Fruit Peaches
    Comstock and Wilderness product
    Happy Holidays!
    Don’t forget while you start your holiday baking, to check out the 2011 Rodelle Baking Challenge! Share your baking stories and you could win a years supply of Premium Rodelle Baking ingredients and a KitchenAid mixer!