Play with your food!

My kids traditionally don't love eggs, but I make them about once every one to two weeks just because I think they need an opportunity to get used to them. The other day I saw a post on facebook about doing a "quick dye" to boiled eggs to make it more colorful and appealing to kids. I thought that was a good idea, but I tweaked it for my kids and my temperament. I boiled eggs (usually the kids only eat about 1-2 bites of a boiled egg) and gave them markers. Dean didn't want to peal his artwork off, but I promised him that I'd take a picture of it and that sufficed. The kids LOVED drawing on their food. The real test was would they eat it? YES! Dean ate his WHOLE egg and Walt got through about 3/4 of his!!! Crazy.

Good feeding promotes good eating

In the last few weeks (months) I've noticed that Dean's progressively gotten worse and worse at eating what is made for meals. He's turned into a wandering snacker and drinks the majority of his diet in the form of milk with a little isagenix mixed in to each cup. After reading a post by my friend Jeremy's wife, I decided his poor eating was at least partially due to my lax eating rules, and I decided to put my foot down. It really is amazing how quickly his eating has improved since implementing just a few rules.

I try and keep all meals and snacks "balanced" so he has a small amount of a few things on his plate. Like today at snack he had 3 triscuit crackers and fruit snacks (yesterday he had apples and 1/2 a cheese stick). At lunch he had pears, broccoli, carrots, and celery with ranch, and mac n' cheese. At afternoon snack he had a granola bar (which he asked for but didn't actually eat). At dinner he had soup, salad, and a biscuit. He didn't eat everything at every meal or snack, but he ate WAY more than he normally does.

Our new rules:
1. Stop letting him drink his appetite away!

• At meals he would start with his milk or diluted juice and just chug away. He'd then ask for more and more and more and then wouldn't eat much.
  

2. Meals and snacks are served at the table in the kitchen. No wandering eating.
3. Set regular "times" for meals and snacks. If he chooses not to eat at the designated time, he doesn't get food (or milk) until the next designated time. He can have as much water as he wants throughout the day.

• Sippy of "chocolate milk" (milk + a little isagenix) when he wakes up at 7.
  
• Breakfast at 8.
• Snack at 10. (At the table.)
  
• Lunch at 11:45-12.
  
• A sippy cup with milk at 12:30 in prep for his nap at 1.
• Snack after his nap. (at the table)
  
• Dinner at 5-5:30.
• Sippy with milk at 6:30 in prep for bed at 7.
  

4. Only water with meals (so that he wouldn't drink his appetite away).
5. No leaving the table until mom or dad is finished eating and has gotten up. Even if he's done eating, he has to stay at the table till one of us is finished.

Seriously, he's eaten soooo much better at meals. And he really hasn't complained much about the new set up yet. I have to be way more organized and structured, but I think it will really help us in the long run.

Rejuvinated and redeemed

I am very thankful that I'm feeling back to normal today. The last couple of days I've felt 2 1/2 parts crazy to 1/2 part sane. My "normal" is probably 2 1/2 parts sane to 1/2 part crazy, so I was really thrown for a loop. I don't know if it was postpartum hormonal issues, lack of sleep, or both, but man. I felt like I was living in crazy land in my head. I couldn't even get myself to make dinner the last two nights!

But today I felt much better when I woke up. I made some delicious blueberry muffins for breakfast (recipe soon to come to my other blog); I did the big "restock" shopping trip I've been putting off since I had Walt; I rearranged a couple cupboards to accommodate for the new food; I'm close to finishing up folding a mountain of laundry; I cleaned Dean's bathroom; I made a great dinner (mini meatloaves, garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, sauteed zucchini and mushrooms) ; I had an enjoyable day with my boys. I still need to do dinner dishes and put away said clothes, but all in all it's been a much, much better day.

Now for my redemption. I once confessed that meatloaf is one of those foods I just can't ever get right. Well I got it right tonight! I am convinced that I was just trying a whole lot of crappy recipes because this one was easy and DELICIOUS! It's slightly more time consuming than regular meatloaf, but the extra step is well worth it. I followed the recipe exactly (well, as exactly as I can which is not exactly exactly, but pretty darned close.) This is a keeper for sure. Matt liked it and said he'll even take it in his lunch tomorrow as a leftover. The consistency was great. The taste was great. Dean ate it really well. I am redeemed.

The best way to eat a steak

Matt made up some cheese steaks for dinner tonight. Honestly, this is by far the best way to eat a steak. I thought it was way better than the cheese steak we just got this week at a sandwich shop. The flavor was great, the meat (rib eye) was cooked perfectly, the onions and cheese (I had provolone, Matt had white American) were right on for me. YUM. He doesn't cook often, but when he does it's usually pretty darned good.

Menus: back in the saddle again

I was super good at meal planning the first four months this year. That's the longest streak I've ever had with planning out menus. It's the only thing that saved me when I was having pregnancy nausea. Well, I stopped when Matt was traveling for work and I never got back into the groove. I know I'm spending more on food now, and yet it seems like we never have anything decent to eat when meals roll around. So, I'm trying to pick myself up off the kitchen floor and start once again.

The problem is, nothing sounds good. My stand by meals sound too over done and I don't have the energy to search out new meals that are cheap enough, easy enough, and delicious enough to fit the bill. Waa, waa. I know. I need to get over it and get going.

Any favorite ideas, links, or dinner recipes people want to share?

Reaping what we sow

This is our third year in attempting a garden. We've always gotten something out of our garden, but we've had our share of failures and problems. This year Matt put me in charge of planting, and I kind of messed up a bit.

I put the zucchini closest to our fence since that row had the most room, but it also has the most shade. Matt's had to spray the plants daily with neem oil to keep the powdery mildew from taking over. We've never had much luck with our zucchini, unfortunately, but we'll keep trying. At least it's not the vine borers yet this year...

I also have the watermelons and cantaloupe sharing a row right next to the cucumbers. They're going a bit crazy and it's hard to keep the vines all separated. While I did thin the cucumbers, I guess I didn't thin them enough, so Matt's had to do powdery midlew spraying on them as well. Additionally, I either didn't plant the seeds deep enough or our storms took off a bit of our top soil, so Matt had to use potting soil to cover some of the exposed roots. *sigh* I never have claimed to have a green thumb.

Despite my mistakes, we're starting to get some veggies. Yippee! We've had a couple great dinners with our fresh green beans. Two nights ago I made some delicious chicken fajitas with fresh bell peppers from our garden (and fresh onions from the farmer's market). We also have little veggie buds on our squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The carrots seem to be doing well, though they take AGES to grow. Our strawberries had tiny marble sized fruit, but something (I'm guessing birds since we have a fence around the garden) ate them before we could pick them.

It's always exciting to eat stuff we grow ourselves. It feels like such an accomplishment, and I feel so self-sufficient. I got a water bath canner this year (and proper tools so I don't burn myself like last year) to can our picklers. Oh divine. I cannot wait for homemade pickles...

And here are two pictures showing our fence damage from the storm. The remaining sections on the front fence are not stable at all. I've been getting quotes to replace the fence (rather than repair...it's just such junk wood and it would be a ton of work for Matt to repair) and we're looking at about $3000 for the front and side with the most damage. Boo!

My time as a vegetarian

I haven't felt much inspired to post recently. Spring/summer fever perhaps?

For the sake of getting a new post up, I thought I'd answer a request posed a couple months back in a comment.

What is the story behind my vegetarian years?

Well, when I was about 7 years old I made the solid connection that the chickens running around in Annie Frost's coop were the same thing as the chicken on my dinner plate, I pretty much was grossed out big time. I'm sure I knew that meat came from animals, but I'd never really thought about what that meant exactly.

It wasn't an animal rights issue. I wasn't worried about the poor beasts being slain for my consumption. It was the thought that I was eating the muscles of something that really got to me. *shudder* It still grosses me out a bit. That's why I still have an incredibly hard time eating meat off of bones.

I guess I couldn't be called a true vegetarian because I would eat meals with meat (like lasagna or something), but I'd pick the meat out. I never, ever expected my mom to make me something special. It just didn't work like that at my house. I'd also use chicken or beef broth to reconstitute my TVP meat substitute or eat regular soups but pick out the meat. I'd very occasionally eat thin meats like bacon or lunch meats. Those were easier to forget that they were animal flesh.

My family ate roast and potatoes (and lots of other stuff) every Sunday growing up. My little brother loved to torment me. "Ooooohhhh. Yuuuuum. This cow is de-li-cious!" and then he'd take a big bite of the roast. I think I was supposed to eat a bite of it because I remember often having one or two tiny shreds on my plate, but it wasn't strictly enforced or anything.

What did I eat?
In the way of protein, I ate lots and lots of cheese and beans, peanut butter, eggs, and meat substitutes (though this was more later high school and college). I liked pasta well enough, but it wasn't a main staple for me. I ate lots of salads or wraps with eggs and meat substitutes. Honestly, for lunches I often ate meal replacement things from whatever MLM my parents were in at the time. In Jr. High I had an Amway food bar every day for lunch. In high school I came home for lunch, so I often had quesadillas, burritos, or nachos always accompanied by salad made by my mom. In college I had Nutrition for Life SlenderAge shakes and bars for 1-2 meals a day for sake of ease and time. Now I drink Isagenix shakes maybe every other day for a lunch. The SlenderAge probably tasted the best, but I feel the best after Isagenix.

Why did I start eating meat again?
Well, I started dating Matt my freshman year of college. He asked why I didn't eat meat. When I said I didn't because I didn't like the texture or taste, he asked how long it'd been since I'd really eaten it. When I said about 10 years, he said I ought to try it again and if I didn't like it I could continue not eating it. Sure, that made enough sense. I didn't really try to eat it until he left on his mission and I left for China. I was in a situation where I couldn't be as choosy about my meals, so I'd try some meat here and there. It was fun to write Matt and tell him I'd tried different meats. I started very, very slowly with small amounts and worked my way up to eating a full chicken breast at a meal after a couple years. I still wouldn't touch or prepare meat when we were married three years after we met, though. I only started touching raw meat after I became the cook at a residential treatment center called New Haven in UT in 2004. I cooked for 25-35 people 5 days a week for 2 years. Couldn't avoid using meat in that situation. So, I've gotten pretty good at cooking and eating a variety of meats.

Do I like meat now?
It is nice to have more variety in my meals, but I did not grow to like the taste (or texture) of meat very much. I will eat most meats, though steak and other thick slabs or anything with bones still grosses me out and I avoid them. Ground beef and chicken are probably my most used meats since they're so versatile. I actually still hate the taste of all meats (except salty cured meats like ham and bacon) and won't eat them unless they're well seasoned or marinated and have no "meat flavor" left. I still only eat a very small slice of turkey on Thanksgiving. I don't like roasts unless they're crockpot cooked and shredded. I've tried to work fish into my diet as well, mainly for variety (neither of us like seafood much). The only fishes I will actually use regularly are halibut and tilapia since they're so mild.

If I'd married a vegetarian I am positive I'd have continued with it with no problems or regrets. We still eat "meatless" dinners a couple times a week. I'm very lucky that Matt's not one who needs meat every night. The last couple months I've not really wanted meat, but I force myself to use it occasionally for Matt's sake and so I don't become anemic while pregnant.

That's the long answer. Good job if you actually read the whole thing! Questions? Comments? Concerns? ;oD

Mother's day deliciousness

When Matt asked what I wanted for dinner on Mother's day, I told him he could make anything but Mac n' Cheese from a box! I was very happy when he said he was going to make habichuelas con arroz y tostones. It's Puertorican/Dominican red bean and rice dish with smashed and fried plantains on the side. He had it often on his mission in Philadelphia (he was Spanish speaking and there were many Puertoricans and Domincans there). When we lived in UT he made habichuelas every so often, but I don't think he's made it here in TX. I don't generally make it because he makes it much better than I do. I haven't felt much like eating meat recently, so this really hit the spot.

Boy was it good!!! I'd never had the tostones; they were good despite the fact that the plantain was slightly under ripe. (We'd never bought one, so we didn't quite know what to look for. Now we know.)

Here's a picture of Matt's plate (He couldn't finish it all. We both had eyes bigger than our stomachs!) It really was tasty and I've eaten it for lunch the last two days.


Church was good. Dean was mostly good during Sacrament meeting, but at one point he kept trying to bite my leg, so Matt took him out. That meant I got to actually listen to the speakers! He integrated so nicely in nursery I only stayed about 15 min. and snuck out to sunday school. I later found out that while he didn't notice I'd left immediately, he clung to Matt and stopped playing like he had been when he realised I was gone. Baby steps. I got to stay for all of Relief Society, so I felt like I almost had a full 3 hours of church! It was a good Mother's day.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Well, we didn't die from (or even contract) the Mexican swine flu, so I celebrated by making a delicious Mexican meal for a nice Cinco de Mayo dinner tonight. I was trying to decide why we even "celebrate" cinco de mayo here and what significance the date even holds in Mexico, but I gave up guessing and just cooked instead!

I wish I'd taken a picture, but I was way too hungry by the end so I just ate it instead. So, here's what I made (visualize with me if you will):

• homemade flour tortillas
• homemade quacamole
• homemade pico de gallo
• homemade horchata (seriously, I was so happy with how this turned out! It's been a long time since I've had it. yuuuum.)
• tried a new homemade seasoning recipe mix for taco meat
• cannery refried beans
• lettuce, sour cream, olives, cotija cheese (fresh Mexican cheese that's nice and salty)

Dean even ate more of his little bean burrito than normal, even with the unusual (for him) additions of the pico, sour cream, and cotija cheese (though I bribed about 4-5 bites out of him by telling him he could have olives for his fingers. he LOVES olives, especially sucking them off his fingers. He's not nearly as fond of broken olives.)

I am stuffed!

Oh, and I made our anniversary dinner last night successfully! When Matt came into the kitchen he said it was one of the best smelling meals I've ever made. And when it was all done he said it was delicious and successful! Now, if you know him well, two compliments at one dinner is not common! So I was happy. We had:

• Alice Spring Chicken (honey mustard marinade, bacon, mushrooms and topped with cheese...so rich we might have this once or twice a year! But boy is it tasty.)
  
• Corn on the cob (very, very rare here. we eat corn maybe less than 5 times a year, including canned corn. I don't really consider it a vegetable since it's not green, so I haven't figured out how to work it in. Plus, the few times I've tried to give it to Dean he's been extremely unreceptive.)
• Baked Potatoes

The chicken was a little involved, so I kept the sides simple. I'll try and post all (or at least some of) the recipes on my food blog sometime soon.

We're all feeling much better here. Dean and I have gotten over our stomach bugs and Matt can put on shoes again! The swelling is completely gone now and his blister just scabbed over after he popped it on Sunday night. Gross I know, but I figured I'd give an update.

Maple Shortage

I just found out today that there is a maple shortage this year. The cost is about $70/gallon some places. That's about twice the price as last year.

Costco isn't currently carrying real maple syrup because of it. I ended up buying Mrs. Butterworth today for Matt and a sugar free syrup for Dean and me since I couldn't stand the thought of high fructose corn syrup as the #1 ingredient. I don't mind it in small amounts, but Dean and I have been eating waffles or french toast a couple times a week. We'll see how the sugar free syrup tastes. I'm super sad about this. I've become really fond of the good stuff.

The Messiah and my Easter Miracle

I had a wonderful Easter today! I accompanied Dean to the first hour of nursery and left him the second hour so I could go to R.S., and Matt said he did pretty well. Progress! While I was there I tried to encourage him to go play with toys on his own rather than sit on my lap or have me play with him. He often came over to say hi to me, but I think that it helped.

Last year for Easter dinner I went all out and did a full fledged Mediterranean dinner. I really loved how that turned out, but I knew that it would not be practical this year since I was performing in the Messiah choir tonight. So, I split up my Passover (I know what I made is not a traditional Seder meal) and Easter meal wishes into three nights. Friday night we had Matzoh Ball Soup before heading to the Temple (thanks again Erin!). Saturday night we had Indonesian Chicken Satays, Israeli Couscous with grilled veggies, and a cucumber salad. And tonight we had a glazed ham, party potatoes, deviled eggs, and green beans. It all turned out successfully, even though I can always say, "It needed a little more..." (I will ALWAYS think now of President Uchtdorf's amazing talk from the last General R.S. conference when I start a sentence like that!)

As we were warming up our director told us a little about his music background. He grew up a Baptist and felt he had been issued a calling from the Lord to become a minister of music. He ended up ministering for the Methodist church for something like 10-15 years and then switched to the Presbyterian church for about the same amount of time. He was approached by a woman in our stake (my Bishop's wife) 10 years ago to conduct Handel's Messiah and has done so every year since except 1. That one year his pastor over him "read him his rights" and pretty much said he should not conduct the choir for the Mormons and that it was displeasing to God and a disgrace to his calling. He felt compelled to not conduct that year (though he couldn't refrain from singing in the choir!), but he later decided there was no way the Lord could be displeased in such an open and loving act of praise for Jesus Christ. He found a new church to attend after that and has since resumed conducting the Easter Messiah choir!

Every year the choir members pitched in for a small gift for him as a token of gratitude. Because this year was his 10th anniversary of conducting, the woman in charge asked the Stake President if we could fly Jim and his wife to SLC to watch a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, either the pioneer day celebration performance or a Christmas Performance. (He is a huge fan of MoTab even though he's not LDS.) What ever the choir members didn't cover the Stake was going to. She emailed all past and present participants with this suggestion and together we contributed over $1000 to help with the expense! They presented that gift to him tonight after the performance and he was estatic and very touched. When she sent out the suggestion in the email, I was so touched I actually became teary eyed!

I was so grateful to Matt who took care of Dean while I practiced the past 6 Saturday mornings. He also brought Dean to the performance tonight even though it started when he should have been put in bed! Dean did so well. He sat on Matt's lap and listened for probably 20 min. and happily ran around in the back the rest of the time. I could see him pointing up at me and waving. It was very cute.

The performance turned out so well! My absolute favorites to sing were the Hallelujiah Chorus (the audience stood and sang what they knew with us), and the Amen Chorus. I just couldn't keep from smiling and I felt such a strong sense of gratitude for my Savior and for the opportunity I had to sing praises to Him! And that was my Easter miracle! I have had HORRIBLE allergies the past week. My nose has been stuffed constantly and today I felt hoarse most of the day. I was quite worried about my ability to actually sing tonight, but for that one hour I didn't even notice my allergies, my nose was not stuffed, and I was able to sing to the best of my ability!! I sang strong and well and felt very blessed for that. (When I was pregnant with Dean I couldn't sing the entire pregnancy! I don't know what caused it, but my voice continually cracked and broke. I was worried it would last forever. I was just thinking tonight how grateful that I am that recovered from that and that it has not been a problem for me this pregnancy!) The full orchestra really added so much to the performance. It was rich. I felt rich for having had the opportunity to do this. What a beautiful way to celebrate Christ the Lord on Easter!

He is Risen!

Arnold Friberg’s painting The Light of Christ.

Foods I can't ever make right

While I am a fairly decent cook and can follow most recipes, there are a few things I just stink at. I know the list is actually longer than this, but these were the dishes I could easily think of. I think many of my problems are a result of being a vegetarian for 10 years. I am quite new (ok, so I've been cooking with meat for 5 years now) to meats, especially red meats. Considering I wouldn't even touch ground beef with my hands when Matt and I got married, I think it's a good accomplishment that I will try to make these things! (Oh, and Matt always makes our hamburgers. I think I can season them decently, but he always cooks them.) I'm just glad that Matt doesn't require red meat every night (or even every week!). When I was in high school my mom once asked me what I'd do if my future husband wanted a steak. I said, "Well, he'd better make it himself!" It's honestly not that far from the truth. hehe.

Meatballs. If I were to eat meatballs, I honestly would rather buy the pre-mades at Costco since they taste better (and are easier) anyway. But don't get the pre-made meatballs from Target (archer farm brand). Those are much worse than my not so great meatballs.

Meatloaf. This was one of my most despised meals growing up. Not like I ate it since I was a vegetarian. But the thought of it made me sick. I have attempted to make it a number of times (with different recipes) since Matt likes it, but it always ends up resulting in a loaf of edible but not great tasting or great textured meat.

Steak. We really don't eat this often at all, but when we (and I use that term loosely since Matt usually ends up with a steak and I have a portabella mushroom or something) do make it, Matt has to do it so I don't over cook it.

Beef and Broccoli. This is partially because I can't slice the beef as thinly as I want it. I should try getting the butcher to slice some very thinly for me.

Soups in the crockpot. I blame this on bad recipes. The veggies and/or beans always end up overcooked and it's a soggy, disgusting mess. I especially dislike any soups that call for a ham bone. They end up totally greasy and unpalatable.

Coconut cream pie. I've only tried making this 3 times (with 3 different recipes), but none have turned out well. I am going to chalk this up to bad recipes for now. I got a recipe from a lady in our ward who (I hear) makes a killer coconut cream pie. If I fail on that attempt I will then blame it on my poor custard skills and beg her for a coconut cream pie baking class for enrichment! I hope it turns out well (I'm thinking of making it for Easter dessert), though, because it's one of Matt's favorites.

-----------------------------------------------
Since I don't want this to be a totally self-depreciating post, one thing I totally made well this past week was a perfect loaf of (3 hour) french bread. The pictures and tips on that post helped out a lot. It was super delicious. We used it for garlic bread one night and toasted club sandwiches the next. Yuuuuuuummmmy. The only thing I did differently than the recipe states is add 2 tsp. of sugar. I just can't fathom using yeast without sugar since that's what it feeds on. I baked both of my loaves at the same time on my 12 in. pizza stone for 20 min. and it was at the very hottest the bread *should* be at by the end. The crust was darker (though not burned) than the one pictured on the recipe, so I would probably do it only 17-18 min. next time for my oven.

Results of the Green Pasta

Well, I posted the results and recipes of my totally homemade spinach lasagna on my cooking blog if anyone was interested in seeing. I was quite pleased with the results.

Click here.

Boo-de-hoo--hoo

As Matt and I were driving home from my Dr.'s apt. today we thought we'd just swing by Taco Bell to grab a quick bite before Matt headed into work. To our shock and horror it was gone. GONE. Not closed. It was totally demolished and gone. An empty lot. It hasn't been more than a couple of weeks since we ate there, and it was always busy. ALWAYS. I just can't figure it out. Awhile back we heard that there was supposed to be a new one built close to us, but apparently that has changed. The new one is being built WAY further away. There's one that's close to our church building that shares with a KFC, but the food there is junk. The tortillas are always hard and they don't have the one item I order every time. (Bean burrito with green sauce.)

I'm so unhappy! It's the only fast food we eat really.

Happy St. Patty's and the Ultimate (though unintended) food insult

Well, as most of you probably know by now, I don't do a whole lot in the way of decorating for holidays as of yet. I do, however, try and do something great in the way of food. This year I had hoped to make fresh spinach pasta for st. patty's, but yesterday was too hectic to get the pasta started. So, instead I made Tilapia and Emerald Green Risotto tonight. I generally don't make risotto because it takes so long to soak in all the broth, but I had all the ingredients (well, I did substitute asparagus for the green beans) and it sounded better than my alternate veggie fried rice. I think it's only my second time in making it at home. I thought it was good. When I asked Matt if he liked it he said, "Yeah. It just reminded me of Rice-a-Roni though."

What???? That was an unintended slap in the face. I told him I would never, ever make risotto again if it really made him think of rice-a-roni. I used fresh veggies, feta and fresh Parmesan cheese, short grain rice, good broth, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, etc. Surely it had to be better than a $1 box of rice-a roni. Grrrr....

(I have to insert here, I am incredibly proud of my cooking efforts lately. I've actually cooked things that take some extra effort and thought. It's been awhile since I've done that because of pregnancy woes and exhaustion. Last week I made homemade hamburger and hotdog buns. Yesterday I made Mediterranean grilled chicken salad with a homemade feta dressing and homemade naan. And then of course I've already told you about my dinner tonight.)

Anyway, I started the spinach pasta this afternoon and didn't get around to rolling it until about 9 pm. Remind me to never, ever attempt to roll pasta again without a pasta roller machine! It took me an hour and a half and I am beat! My feet are killing me. Plus I don't know if I really got it as thin as it should be. I tried my darnedest though. It looks pretty, but I hope it dries properly and tastes good! I want my effort to be worth it dang it. Here is all my pasta:


Dean and I went to a new park (for us) today (the aviation park) for a "Mom and Me" church group. It was by far the best park I've been to here. It had a good mix of things that appealed to little and big kids. It was easy to supervise without being right by his side. And there were planes taking off right next to the park. Dean loved it! We had a lot of fun there. It's a quite a bit further than our normal park, but I think it's worth a little drive for some variety.

Here he is giving you an Irish kiss (17 seconds):

Evaluation of Resolution

One of my resolutions was to do 1 month of menu planning and evaluate at the end of the month. My goal with this was to lessen stress at meal times, cut down the number of late meals by prepping earlier, and to go to the grocery store only once or twice a week (hopefully resulting in spending less money).

I originally thought I'd do a menu for the whole month in one sit down, but I quickly found that was not going to work for me. So, I ended up making a fairly comprehensive list of items we eat pretty regularly, or at least enjoy eating. The list really helped me in planning meals for the week. Most of the time I planned on Monday during Dean's nap and went shopping after he woke up.

My master list: (Sorry it's messed up, I had to transfer it over to paint to turn the table into a picture. Click on it to get a readable view.)



I was able to keep my shopping to 1-2 trips per week which is fairly amazing for me. It also did help lessen stress over meals, especially when I didn't particularly feel like thinking about food. We ate out a little less. By the weekends I normally am burned out thinking about food so we end up getting at least one meal out, usually just taco bell or something. I don't know if it really saved me money, but it probably did. The first two weeks I felt like I spent a lot (but it's kinda hard to tell when you have diapers and other non-food junk mixed in), so the third week I did a "make only what you have" menu. I think I spent about $10 that week on milk and produce I didn't have. I'd make a menu for the week and shop for that specific menu. I did end up trading around meals within the week, but I did pretty well at sticking to the items on the menu. When I changed the menu in real life, I changed it on the print out so I could see what seemed to work from day to day for us, and so I could have an accurate picture or what we really do eat.

January's Menu:

Lots of new recipes up

I've put of a lot of new recipes on my cooking blog. I have been horrible about posting regularly, so I thought I'd just put up some of my favorite and most used recipes.

My friend LeAnne at Everyday Celebrations had a super amazing suggestion for reducing kitchen clutter. The quote from her site is, "Basically, put the recipes you consistently use on a sheet of cardstock and attach it to the side of your fridge. (Only include the ingredients and basic instructions, since you make them often you should remember the process.)" Genius! I am one of those people who often has post its with recipes floating around. I always have to look up recipes again and try and figure out where I got them from. This has really helped with that problem. She has a sample of how it's done on that link above. I've made up a double sided sheet. One side has breakfast recipes and the other has breads and dinner recipes. I really need to laminate it though. Most of these recipes are on my breakfast side.

Today's additions on my blog include:

• Biscuits
• Peanut Butter Granola
• Puffy Oven Pancakes
• Basic Granola
• Buttermilk Pancakes
• Chicken Taco Soup
• Easy Beans and Rice
• Easy Black Bean salsa

The foods I'm loving

When I was pregnant with Dean I never really felt like I had cravings. The closest I came was eggs in most forms, but I didn't crave them. They just always sounded good.

I have definitely had cravings this time; not "I have to go get some right now or I'm going to die" type cravings, but cravings nonetheless. The two things I've craved are more general categories rather than specific items.

Salty:
Anything tasty and salty. Chips, fries, crackers, seasoned bread sticks, jerky, plain old salt, etc.. (Yes, I will admit I have recently put salt on my finger and licked it.) Now, I've always had a weakness for salt. I'm sure I've admitted here before that when I was a child my siblings teased me by saying things like "It looks like it snowed on your plate!" or "Would you like some food with your salt?". But upon marrying Matt and just getting older, I've reduced my salt intake dramatically and definitely upped my other spice intake, especially pepper. This has gone by the wayside the last little bit, and the salt has made a comeback.

On a related topic, after 3 years in TX I finally, FINALLY purchased some DELICIOUS PINK GRAPEFRUIT! I tell you what, ruby red is NO substitute. Blech. I've also had some bad pink and yellow grapefruits here, so I was hesitant to try again. But oh divinity. And then to sprinkle some salt on the beloved and I am in heaven. It reminds me of going to my grandparents' in Mesa and picking fresh grapefruit off their trees. My grandparents ate it with salt, and as far as I can remember, all the kids did too. It just offsets the sour so nicely. My sister recently told me that all of her kids and all of another sister's kids eat them with sugar! A travesty! I let Dean try the grapefruit. He spit the first bite out, but he came back for another try. He ate two small bites, but he was funniest when I was squeezing the grapefruit half into my mouth at the end. He really wanted some of the action. So I squeezed it in and he loved it. Every time he got some juice he made the "aakhhh" sound after he swallowed. He's such a crack up.

Sour:
I have always love sour things as well, so it's no surprise to me that my desire for it has increased. Sour patch kids, sour starbursts, citrus fruits, homemade pickles (yes, it's so funny!), warheads, a cranberry topped shortbread I made (I'll post the recipe sometime) etc. Mostly at night too. I couldn't care less for most baked goods or chocolate right now. Just give me something sour. yuuum.
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Since I'm on the food topic, I thought I'd throw it out there that I bought some delicious natural ham at the Target deli the other day. It's not cured and has no nitrates. It was so good. Dean loves it too. He also loved the natural turkey that was being sampled. He's never been into meat, so you better believe that I'll be buying some deli meats so long as he's willing to eat them! He's not loving beans at the moment, so it's nice to have a non-dairy protein he's willing to eat. Oh, and Target has Gruyere cheese on sale (at least here) for 4.99/lb. It's normally $11/lb!! I already had some other swiss, but I bought some anyway!! If nothing else it makes delicious fondue and really makes Chicken Cordon Bleu extra tasty.

And for my own record, Dean's appetite made a comeback today! He ate quite a bit of dry homemade granola, half a yogurt, and about half a nectarine for breakfast. He ate a handful of grapes for a snack, and at lunch he ate 3-4 slices of the deli ham, 2/3 of a cheddar cheese stick, 3 crackers, half a banana, and attempted to eat a carrot stick but didn't like it much. He also had a little apple, but those are also slightly too hard and cold for him to chew well. So, remember Celia, babies' appetites wax and wane! Just remember to offer small portions of a variety of foods and go from there.

Redmption and Consumption

I had a good feeling about Thanksgiving this year. The past few years something has gone awry and marred my perfect Thanksgiving spread. Last year I accidentally used kosher salt (and too much of it at that! NEVER MEASURE SALT OVER THE PIE FILLING!) in my pumpkin pie. I ate it, but Matt said it was too salty and inedible. The year before that I had a major migraine while cooking my pies and I forgot that my crust recipe made 2 crusts, but my pie filling only made 1 pie. It tasted good, but they were only half the size they were supposed to be!

This year I was bound and determined redeem myself and get that darned pumpkin pie right (especially since I pride myself on my pie skills, and it's supposed to be one of the EASIEST pies to make, and I have done it successfully before). My pecan pies have turned out fine for me every year, but this year I wanted to try a black bottom pecan pie with a layer of chocolate on the bottom.

Both pies were a success! The chocolate/pecan was a good combo, but I think Matt and I both prefer it without. I also have to admit that I had a nice sized serving of each pie and didn't feel one bit bad about it! It was nice after being on sugar block for 3 weeks!



Our friends Erin and Christian came over. She brought some stellar homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, a lemon meringue pie, and a vegetarian lasagna for Christian.

Matt brined and took care of the turkey and the gravy (if I had to do be in charge of the bird, we'd just not have turkey!! Preparing a whole bird is just too much for this ex-vegetarian to handle!). We've had problems in the past with the drippings burning, so this year we sprang for a good roasting pan. It worked! No burning drippings. No smoke. We didn't have to add broth to the bottom of the pan to keep it under control. It was great.

I made the aforementioned pies, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and dressing. I've made a different dressing recipe every year for the last 5 years and I think this one was one of my favorites. I need to write down what I did some time soon so I don't forget it! I got general amounts from this recipe, but kinda just winged the seasonings and added two eggs. Doesn't Matt's plate just look like the perfect Thanksgiving plate?!

Dean especially loved Erin's rolls and cranberry sauce! While he ate some, he wasn't so sure about the dressing, green beans or mashed potatoes.


Right after dinner it was Dean's bedtime (such great timing!) so I took about 10 min. and put him down. After that the 4 adults played Rockband for a couple hours. It was a lot of fun.

Also, here's a glimpse at the current project that is consuming my time: a patchwork Christmas tree skirt. I have been working on the blocks the last couple weeks, but I just finished the top tonight. Now I just have to sandwich and quilt it (I am going to attempt to free motion machine quilt...I might be crazy!!!!!), cut out the opening for the tree, and bind it. I got the idea from Crazy Mom Quilts' tutorial. We have a small tree so I reduced the size a bit. It's coming together nicer than I thought it would...
I should also mention that Matt's vacation time this week has been consumed by upgrading our light fixtures. We now have all matching lights. All of the ugly brassy-gold fixtures were tossed out and replaced by nice brushed nickle fixtures. Not only that, we also have all new brushed nickle door handles through out the entire house. Yay! I love upgrading.

Healthy Eating Challenge: Day of Reckoning

Ok ladies! The goal day is here. Yesterday was the last day of the three week challenge and today we report in! Tell me how it went, what you did to make it, and if you think it helped in the long run. Even if you didn't make your goal, I'd love to hear how you did, what went wrong, and how far you got (if you're willing to share).

Here's one little thing I didn't tell you.

If you had a brain lapse moment and put a piece of candy in your mouth, or took a bite of cake, etc. but you realized your mistake and quickly corrected your behavior, I'm still going to count you as achieving your goal. If you said, "Ah, to heck with it" after realizing, then I will not count the lapse as ok, and you will be disqualified from the drawing.

The drawing:
All those who report in by Friday as having achieved their goal will be entered into a drawing for a prize. The winner can either have Betty Crocker's Healthy Home Cooking Cookbook or your choice of an item listed on my homemade gifts sidebar sent to you. I'll just have to get your preference and mailing address when it's all said and done.