Ok, sorry I am terrible at blogging. Just seems like most days there is nothing to share that is interesting or I am too busy to sit down and type it out. I did go to France last week for a little R&R with some other women. It was an amazing time! We had wonderful food prepared by lots of different people and saw some beautiful sights. Plus SHOPPING! Some in some parts of town I could NEVER afford and some much more reasonable. My husband did a great job holding down the fort while I was gone. He did tell me it was a good thing I left him a detailed schedule to follow with a menu plan that included breakfasts, lunches to pack, and dinner. He also told me he was going to increase my pay! Woo-Hoo!!!! :-)
I am not fully back in the saddle of menu planning and I can tell! Its already Tuesday dinner time and I was just sitting searching for what to fix for dinner! Boo!
Well here is this weeks meals thus far.
Sunday we had Shepherds pie at hubby's request and it was delish! I don't usually follow any recipe too a "T" and this was no exception. Not that you really need a recipe for it. I added a splash of red wine to the ground beef mixture and it gave it some great flavor.
Mon I made Chicken Carbonara-ish. I say 'ish' because no recipe just sort of winged it and I thought it was pretty good.
Tues Well like I said I was sitting her trying to figure out what to make. I was checking out other people's menus (on Orgjunkie.com) and Two Girls and an Appetite had a recipe for Minestrone soup. Well I started thinking of what I had in the freezer and fridge and out popped this!
I had left overs from a pot-roast (meat, potatoes and carrots) frozen for a soup base. SO I pulled that out and threw it in a pot with a big can of diced tomatoes, some dried basil and oregano, garlic and onion powder. Added a can of drained white beans and some pasta and a small amount of mushroom bullion and water. Hubby just took a bite and said it was good. Oh and it was SOOO quick, hubby said "Be sure to keep that one in your back pocket for quick meals". I would have loved to have thrown in something fresh (veggies or cilantro) but didn't have any on hand and was in a major hurry.
Wed we will have a meeting so dinner will be something tex-mex like. I will take homemade corn chips and dessert.
Thur Hubby works late so the kids and I will go to the neighbor's for dinner and so the kids can play.
Fri I am leaning towards sloppy joes for the adults and hot-dogs for the kids, not sure if they will eat sloppy joes. The last time I made them they didn't. And popcorn its Family Movie Night
Sat TBD
Anyone else cook this way? I generally use a recipe as a guide and add or subtract what I have. Problem is sometimes, I forget what I have done so most of the time it won't taste the same when I make it again.
Hoping to get better planned out for next week! I am also working on slimming down and trying to figure out how to get more veggies in my diet. Any ideas?
Oh yeah for lost more menu plan ideas check out orgjunkie.com
Now if I could just figure out how to link up to her site from mine...help!
Well at least we have gas!!
A 'snow storm' hit our city and the power was out most of the day (2/5). It did come one for about 3-4 hours in about 2 hour increments. Here are a few pictures of how we adapted and overcame.
Thanks to my parents we have a stove top percolator which is great for times when the power is off. We were missing the piece that holds all of the grinds into the basket (but didn't realize we were missing it until I found it LOL) So Kenney made coffee in it on the stove top then he poured it into our glass coffee pot and put that on the oven door with the gas on to keep it warm. It worked :-)
Then I found the kids in Devyn's bed watching something on the ipod, isn't technology grand.
We went outside to play in the snow for a while (in which time the power came back on and went back off).
We put candles in the bathrooms, and then I cooked dinner by candle light.
The lights came back on just as we sat down to eat, but only stayed on for about an hour or so. Just long enough to charge the computer batteries and we could still have family movie night and popcorn...popped on the stove, of course.
The power finally came on sometime in the night. And went back off just as breakfast was about half way done. So the kids decided to make an 'obstacle'. Of course it was nothing more than all of our blankets on the floor and the couch cushions but they had a blast for about an hour. Now, at least for the time being, have power!! And I am very grateful for the gas!!
...from over here
Thanks to my parents we have a stove top percolator which is great for times when the power is off. We were missing the piece that holds all of the grinds into the basket (but didn't realize we were missing it until I found it LOL) So Kenney made coffee in it on the stove top then he poured it into our glass coffee pot and put that on the oven door with the gas on to keep it warm. It worked :-)
Then I found the kids in Devyn's bed watching something on the ipod, isn't technology grand.
We went outside to play in the snow for a while (in which time the power came back on and went back off).
We put candles in the bathrooms, and then I cooked dinner by candle light.
The lights came back on just as we sat down to eat, but only stayed on for about an hour or so. Just long enough to charge the computer batteries and we could still have family movie night and popcorn...popped on the stove, of course. The power finally came on sometime in the night. And went back off just as breakfast was about half way done. So the kids decided to make an 'obstacle'. Of course it was nothing more than all of our blankets on the floor and the couch cushions but they had a blast for about an hour. Now, at least for the time being, have power!! And I am very grateful for the gas!!
...from over here
2/1 Menu
So, anyone who knows me knows that I HATE routine and I am not very organized or good at follow through. I just like to say that I am easy going, but I know there are character flaws deep inside. Ok, I admit it! LOL But I have been LOVING menu planning.
So here is this weeks. By the way, can someone help me with posting links so that they actually work. I am using Blogger. I have tried before and it just didn't work.
I am trying to plan breakfast lunch and dinners now too. SO here goes...
2/1 B-eggs (egg in a hole or scrambled) L-Lentil soup with grilled cheese D-Farmhouse chicken from Tammy's recipes.com
2/2 B-Baked oatmeal L-maybe Lentil soup again or sandwiches D-Potroast
2/3 B-PB&J muffins L-Hot Roast-beef Sandwiches D-Meeting
2/4 B-Leftover baked oatmeal L Salad & Borscht D-Hoppin John using leftover black-eyed peas I made over the weekend.
2/5 B-cold cereal L-speghetti with garlic sauce D-FMN Homemade Pizza & Popcorn!!
The lunches listed are mostly for my hubby and I. I pack lunches for my kids for school too, but they aren't too interesting.
I would love to be able to link back to the blogs I found some of these recipes on so if you can... PLEASE HELP!!
Thanks!!!
...from over here
So here is this weeks. By the way, can someone help me with posting links so that they actually work. I am using Blogger. I have tried before and it just didn't work.
I am trying to plan breakfast lunch and dinners now too. SO here goes...
2/1 B-eggs (egg in a hole or scrambled) L-Lentil soup with grilled cheese D-Farmhouse chicken from Tammy's recipes.com
2/2 B-Baked oatmeal L-maybe Lentil soup again or sandwiches D-Potroast
2/3 B-PB&J muffins L-Hot Roast-beef Sandwiches D-Meeting
2/4 B-Leftover baked oatmeal L Salad & Borscht D-Hoppin John using leftover black-eyed peas I made over the weekend.
2/5 B-cold cereal L-speghetti with garlic sauce D-FMN Homemade Pizza & Popcorn!!
The lunches listed are mostly for my hubby and I. I pack lunches for my kids for school too, but they aren't too interesting.
I would love to be able to link back to the blogs I found some of these recipes on so if you can... PLEASE HELP!!
Thanks!!!
...from over here
Special Bond
My daughter and son have created their own bedtime routine without any encouragement from us. Every night my daughter has to read a simple book or two for school. So after they are all ready for bed, they will get into her bed and she will read to him. Last night, it was late and I just put her to bed and had her read one quick book to me. After I went into my son's room to tell him good night. The first words out of his mouth were "Did sissy read her book already?" And when I told him yes, he burst into tears and was inconsolable for about 5 minutes. It broke my heart, but melted it at the same time. What a special bond they have created.
...From over here
SNOW!!
The kids were eating snow.
We finally got some snow today! Dylan was out of school but when we got up this morning to get Devyn ready, we found an email that school had closed. So the kids went outside with Daddy after breakfast. Then a friend came and took them out to play with her kids while I made lunch. I joined them for about 15 minutes. Then the kids and I made lemon scones for tomorrow's breakfast. And I am about to make some cranberry coffee cake too. Kenney commented that I was cooking it up today. I put 2 chickens in the crockpot (they are small), made chicken noodle soup from scratch for lunch, lemon scones, a cauliflower salad to go with the cheeseburgers I made for dinner and not to mention the eggs, grits and bacon for breakfast.
I never got around to posting my menu this week over at organizing junkie, but it looks like this.
Mon, tacos
Tues, cheeseburgers, with cauliflower salad and Doritos
Wed, I think I am having a Girl's night out, so I will leave spaghetti sauce from the freezer for K and the kids.
Thur, Gonna try corn chowder, Devyn has been asking for it, although I am PRETTY sure she has never had it. ;-)
Fri, FMN will be dinner at a friends house. Not sure yet what I will bring.
I am trying to figure out if anyone can tell me in the comment section, how to link my recipes to my site. I have found some great recipes and want to be sure to give credit to the right people, but haven't yet been able to find out how. At least not that I am able to understand.
Here are some pictures of the kids in the snow. This was Dylan's first time seeing snow.
...from over here
What's for dinner
I love to cook and am trying to do some menu planning. Last week was my first week and it helped sooooo much!! And it went pretty much as planned. Here is last weeks menu and what I have planned for this week as well. I actually stumbled upon I'm an organizing junkie and found the menus listed to be some great help! So hope this helps you too.
1/11 Garden chowder (I threw in 1/3 of a cup of Bulgar to give it some bulk and it was great) It's a new fav!
1/12 Chili using left over meatloaf. I just crumbled the meat loaf with my hands and threw it in instead of my usual ground beef.
1/13 Guys were supposed to go out and kids and I were going to a friend's but she wasn't feeling well so we ended up having egg salad sandwiches and the kids had PB&Js.
1/14 Baked Terriaki chicken with homemade egg rolls, rice and garlic carrots. (Allrecipes.com has a few good egg roll recipes. I made the wrappers and then baked the egg rolls. THEY WERE GREAT!!)
1/15 FMN (Family Movie Night) Homemade mac & cheese with hot dogs and of course Kenney makes Popcorn for the movie
We had dinner Saturday at a friend's house and Sunday we had Family dinner and I took re-fried beans to go with the chicken enchiladas.
This weeks menu looks like this...
1/18 Spaghetti
1/19 Coconut chicken with rice and egg rolls (we had a lot of the filling left over from last week so I will use it up).
1/20 Staff Mtg dinner TBD
1/21 Chicken/Spinach pasta bake
1/22 FMN Homemade Meatball subs, homemade oven fries and POPCORN!!
Saturday and Sunday TBD
Hope you get some inspiration from my menus and thanks for looking!
...From over here
1/11 Garden chowder (I threw in 1/3 of a cup of Bulgar to give it some bulk and it was great) It's a new fav!
1/12 Chili using left over meatloaf. I just crumbled the meat loaf with my hands and threw it in instead of my usual ground beef.
1/13 Guys were supposed to go out and kids and I were going to a friend's but she wasn't feeling well so we ended up having egg salad sandwiches and the kids had PB&Js.
1/14 Baked Terriaki chicken with homemade egg rolls, rice and garlic carrots. (Allrecipes.com has a few good egg roll recipes. I made the wrappers and then baked the egg rolls. THEY WERE GREAT!!)
1/15 FMN (Family Movie Night) Homemade mac & cheese with hot dogs and of course Kenney makes Popcorn for the movie
We had dinner Saturday at a friend's house and Sunday we had Family dinner and I took re-fried beans to go with the chicken enchiladas.
This weeks menu looks like this...
1/18 Spaghetti
1/19 Coconut chicken with rice and egg rolls (we had a lot of the filling left over from last week so I will use it up).
1/20 Staff Mtg dinner TBD
1/21 Chicken/Spinach pasta bake
1/22 FMN Homemade Meatball subs, homemade oven fries and POPCORN!!
Saturday and Sunday TBD
Hope you get some inspiration from my menus and thanks for looking!
...From over here
A whole new world
I have been in desperate need of a hair cut. I really can't remember how long its been since I had mine cut. Sometime back in the states...at least 3 months ago but probably more like 4. So, I know this American here and she seems to have hair like mine and its always so cute. So after talking with her and finding out where she got it done, she made me an appointment. Now, I ended up going by myself, which ended up being fine. But I had to take the public transportation and again I did fine! First time all alone, about a 15 minute bus ride, 2 metro stops, a few blocks walking and then all back home.
The salon was cute, very BIG and just a cool salon. Of course I was so nervous about just getting there and not speaking the language and not wanting to make a total idiot of myself that I couldn't really relax and enjoy it.
They did offer me tea or coffee but I didn't take any, maybe next time.
This was an experience like I have never had. 1st this girl takes me to wash my hair and was a little rough (at least by American standards). Next she takes me to a chair and they guy comes over to start the cutting. Now he spoke GREAT English but we only exchanged about 3-4 sentences. I didn't really notice a lot of chatter, but then again, I already said I was nervous. So he starts cutting and in the very beginning, she reaches behind my head and 'helps' him cut my hair...or something. At first I thought maybe she was catching the hair, but pretty sure she didn't. LOL
So, he finishes cutting all the while she is standing there watching him. I figured out that was her job...
So he walks away, she blow drys it (without any product in it) and then he comes back and asks me if I want him to brush it out. Well, I had been warned by my friend that the price would almost double for him but at this point I was thinking "Darn it, I don't care, I want the whole experience". So here is where the interesting part comes in...She HOLDS the blow dryer for him while he holds the nozzle part of the blow dryer to direct the heat and TOGETHER they blow dry my hair...INTERESTING!! It look fabulous when I left and perfectly straight although he didn't put a thing in it and I never even saw a flat iron. I was able to watch others and that is the way their hair was being done too. Oh yeah, the price stayed the same, we will have to see what happens next time. VERY interesting.
All in all it was a great day!!!!
From over here...
The salon was cute, very BIG and just a cool salon. Of course I was so nervous about just getting there and not speaking the language and not wanting to make a total idiot of myself that I couldn't really relax and enjoy it.
They did offer me tea or coffee but I didn't take any, maybe next time.
This was an experience like I have never had. 1st this girl takes me to wash my hair and was a little rough (at least by American standards). Next she takes me to a chair and they guy comes over to start the cutting. Now he spoke GREAT English but we only exchanged about 3-4 sentences. I didn't really notice a lot of chatter, but then again, I already said I was nervous. So he starts cutting and in the very beginning, she reaches behind my head and 'helps' him cut my hair...or something. At first I thought maybe she was catching the hair, but pretty sure she didn't. LOL
So, he finishes cutting all the while she is standing there watching him. I figured out that was her job...
So he walks away, she blow drys it (without any product in it) and then he comes back and asks me if I want him to brush it out. Well, I had been warned by my friend that the price would almost double for him but at this point I was thinking "Darn it, I don't care, I want the whole experience". So here is where the interesting part comes in...She HOLDS the blow dryer for him while he holds the nozzle part of the blow dryer to direct the heat and TOGETHER they blow dry my hair...INTERESTING!! It look fabulous when I left and perfectly straight although he didn't put a thing in it and I never even saw a flat iron. I was able to watch others and that is the way their hair was being done too. Oh yeah, the price stayed the same, we will have to see what happens next time. VERY interesting.
All in all it was a great day!!!!
From over here...
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