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  • Menu Plan Monday 10/31

    Menu Plan Monday 10/31

    What’s on your menu this week?  If you plan a menu, make sure to link up over at Organizing Junkie (just click the picture!) to win a $75 visa gift card!!
    Monday – Burgers and Mummy Dogs
    Tuesday – Hamburger Helper
    Wednesday – Chicken Lettuce Cups
    Thursday – Pasta and Salad
    Friday – Bean and cheese Enchiladas
    Saturday – Leftovers (is this a trend or what?!)
    Sunday – Chili
  • Menu Plan Monday 10/24

    Menu Plan Monday 10/24

    Monday – Soup in Bread Bowls
    Tuesday – Hamburger Helper
    Wednesday – Chicken Enchiladas
    Thursday – Pasta and Salad
    Friday – Chili and Soup at the church (Mark signed us up for Gumbo, I signed us up for dessert!)
    Saturday – leftovers/hot dogs
    
  • Menu Plan Monday 10/17

    Menu Plan Monday 10/17

    Last week was pretty successful with using our food storage. We definitely felt the difference, but I am feeling much more confident to continue it this week.

    Monday – Cheesy Potato Soup with Rolls
    Tuesday – Hamburger Helper
    Wednesday – Beef Enchiladas
    Thursday – Chicken Ramen Noodles Salad
    Friday – Date Night (I purchased a gift card to Chili’s from Savemore for 50% off!!)

    What are you eating this week?!!

  • Menu Plan Monday 10/10

    Menu Plan Monday 10/10

    I’m linking up with Organizing Junkie as I plan our menu’s this month!
    We are trying to get on top of our finances, and I noticed our grocery budget had gone up a fair amount the last month. So in order to give us a little more breathing room, this month I’ve decided to eat out of our food storage. Yes we’re those people that like to stockpile on the food. Sadly though our food storage hasn’t always been a large priority either, so it’s a little skimpy. This months meals are going to be innovative, and hopefully tasty!
    I will still buy certain basics, but it should cut our grocery bill at least in half (milk, bread, cheese).
    Monday – Pasta and Breadsticks
    Tuesday – Rice and beans
    Wednesday – Tacos
    Thursday – Food Storage Lasagna
    Friday – Chicken Enchilada Casserole
    Saturday – Leftovers
    The one thing this food storage living is going to make me do is Menu Plan! It will be very hard to try and throw something together last minute out of our food storage. It is going to take some creative thinking
    If anyone has any good Bean recipes, I could sure use them! We have probably close to 100 lbs of dried beans.

  • Bertolli Olive Oil WINNER

    And the winner of the Bertolli Olive Oil
    is……
    Laurie A.
    You have 48 hours to respond to the email, or a new winner will be chosen.
    Thanks for entering.
    While you’re here make sure to enter this great giveaway
    
  • Lets Cook App Review and Bertolli Olive Oil Giveaway

    Lets Cook App Review and Bertolli Olive Oil Giveaway

    Have you ever turned on the cooking channel and wished you didn’t have to go search the internet for a recipe, or sat there trying to write every ingredient down?  Yeah me too! All new from Fabio Viviani Top Chef All Stars and Season 5 Fan Favorite, is the Let’s Cook App for Ipad, Iphone, and even Itouch!! I was really excited to try out this app. I love cooking, and I love Top Chef. Fabio is definitely a favorite here.
    The Let’s Cook App features
     – More than 5 hours of video right at your finger tips (no streaming required)
     – 16 step-by-step video recipes in full HD
     – 100+ recipes hand-selected by Chef Fabio
     – A dozen of Chef Fabio’s cooking and entertaining tip and menu suggestions

    Here’s a little teaser for you!

    After first downloading Let’s Cook I started browsing the recipes.  Oh my goodness there were so many good looking ones!!! It’s been a lot of fun to watch Fabio cook and read some of the tips.  I learned that cutting cherry tomatoes, is actually pretty easy!  Here’s what the app looks like. On the right is a scroll bar where you’ll find the video recipes, more recipes, and tips. On the left is Fabio. He gives you a little introduction, welcoming you to the App. Let’s Cook is a very friendly, easy to use app!
    So for dinner one night last week we had some Fresh Fettuccine with Crispy Pancetta, Mushrooms, and Cherry Tomatoes. It was divine.  My kids ate it up like it was the best stuff ever, and Mark asked if there was more. We had no leftovers, a very odd occurrence in  our household. 
    Don’t worry I’m not going to just leave you with the picture, and my review. Why don’t you try it for yourself? Here’s the recipe!

    FRESH FETTUCCINE WITH CRISPY PANCETTA, SAUTÉED MUSHROOM AND CHERRY TOMATO
    by Chef Fabio Viviani
    Serves 2, double ingredients for 4 servings
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
                             
    2 cups cherry tomatoes (20 small), halved and seeded
    2 Tbsp. Bertolli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Salt and fresh ground black pepper
    2 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced
    1 Tbsp. Bertolli® Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil
    4 to 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    12 ounces oyster mushrooms, very thinly sliced
    1/2 cup chicken broth, divided
    8 ounces fresh fettuccine
    2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
    Shaved Parmesan cheese
    Preheat oven to 475°. Drizzle tomatoes with Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Arrange in baking pan and roast 5 to 10 minutes or until wilted.
    Sauté pancetta with Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil over medium-high heat until crisp. Season with fresh ground black pepper and very little salt. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown.
    Add roasted tomatoes and 1/4 cup broth to sauté pan. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered.
    Add fettuccini to boiling water over high heat, stirring occasionally until it floats, approx. 5 to 8 minutes.
    Add cooked fettuccine to sauté pan and remaining broth. Increase heat and drizzle with Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add parsley. Simmer 2 to 5 minutes.
    Top with shaved Parmesan and serve.
    We also tried the Bruschetta Margarita.  A simple, yet delicious Bruschetta!
    * I was provided with Let’s Cook App for Itouch to review. All opinions are my own. I was also provided with a bottle of Bertolli Olive Oil to use with the Let’s Cook App, and one to giveaway.
    Head on over to the Let’s Cook site to learn more and download your app today! Then make sure to enter the Rafflecopter form below to win you’re own bottle of Bertolli Olive Oil, the featured Olive Oil in the Let’s Cook App!

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  • Tuesday Tip – Eggs

    Tuesday Tip – Eggs

    Welcome to another Tuesday Tips!
    I have a lot of eggs in my fridge right now. My mom has been buying them fresh from a neighbor. When she asked me if I would like to take a few home this weekend, I said sure. I was a little surprised when she brought me 18! Whoa, that’s a lot of eggs. My kids have been in a non-egg mood lately, and I don’t get up early enough to fix some for Mark’s breakfast (althought I should try harder). So what am I going to do with all these eggs? 
    Devil them of course! I love deviled eggs! Plus these pregnancy hormones make me feel like I need to constantly eat, but I don’t always feel like cooking. So I decided I’m going to make a large batch of deviled eggs to eat as I need (and probably send some to work with Mark).
    While I was looking around at what to do with these eggs though, I came across this great article.  Did you know you can freeze eggs? Oh yeah! You just can’t freeze them in the shell. So if you want to freeze the whole egg, beat them up until well blended, and seal in an airtight container. If you just want the egg whites, do the same thing, just without the yolks. However, if you just want the yolks (I’m not sure what you would for, but you never know) you need to add a little sugar or salt. It doesn’t matter, except for what you plan on making with them.
    Now you can buy your eggs in bulk and not worry about them going bad!! Because we all hate finding bad eggs.
  • Thai Salmon Fillets with Cucumber salsa

    Thai Salmon Fillets with Cucumber salsa

    Mmm, it’s what’s for dinner tonight! Well, was for dinner, I should say. It turned out so good. I am a salmon lover. I could eat a good cooked salmon every day. Unfortunately Mark is not, so it is a rare treat for me. When Grandma P was in town she took me grocery shopping and insisted I get some Salmon…I wasn’t going to say no to that!
    The recipe comes from Pampered Chef. I’m not sure what gadget I bought to get this recipe, but it must have been a good one.
    So without further rambling, here is the recipe. Enjoy
    Ingredients
    1 TBS peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped (I substituted crystallized ginger and just crumbled it)
    2 TBS sesame Oil
    1 TBS snipped fresh cilantro (I used basil..why is there no cilantro in my house?)
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp black pepper
    1 1/2 lbs salmon fillets
    1 cup Cucumber, chopped
    1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
    1/4 cup red onion, chopped

    1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I left this out)
    1 garlic clove, pressed
    3 TBS Rice Vinegar (I used white vinegar)
    2 TBS vegetable oil
    1/4 tsp sugar
    1/8 tsp salt

    Directions
    Combine Ginger root, sesame oil, cilantro, salt and pepper; mix well. Place Salmon Fillets in a resealable bag, and pour in marinade (I just put them in a bowl, and drizzled the marinade on top). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 6 hours. 
    For Salsa, place all the vegetables in a small to medium sized bowl. Press the garlic into the bowl. Add vinegar, oil, sugar and salt; mix well.
    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the salmon from the bags and place in a baking pan (I used an 8X8 pan). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the Salmon is opaque and easily flakes with a fork.
    If yours is still frozen like mine was, you may need an extra 20 minutes to completely cook. Serve with Cucumber Salsa.
    I made mashed potatoes for a side, but I served mine on top of the potatoes. It was extra yummy!

  • Wordless Wednesday – Okra

    Wordless Wednesday – Okra

    Out of about 50 seeds, we got one Okra to grow.

    Supposedly (from my research) once it blooms we should see okra within 6 days! Whoohoo!
  • Chicken Cordon Bleu

    Chicken Cordon Bleu

    I’d have to say this is one of my absolute favorite dishes ever. I could probably live off this goodness. Growing up, we shared a duplex with my Aunt, Uncle and Grandma. Holidays were great because we had so much family under one roof. Every year for New Years, my Aunt would make home made Chicken Cordon Bleu. 

    When I was in high school we moved, and no longer lived near my Aunt. We still had CCB for New Years, but it was the frozen kind. It worked, but just wasn’t the same anymore. So when I got married, a few weeks before New Years I called my Aunt, and got her recipe.  Now 6 years later, I make it more often than just New Years. Tonight for example, it was just what was needed to overcome my evening nausea (and thank goodness it didn’t add to it, or I would’ve been very sad!)

    *Updated 11/2/2013  The picture has been updated. We also decided to try topping it with a fresh avocado, and oh my. You will enjoy!  Also served on top of stuffing, which completely enhanced the flavor of the whole meal.