Pinterest

In case you're ever interested in what's coming up or what we've already made and love, you can find me on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/jenntiger/trying-soon/

http://pinterest.com/jenntiger/tried-and-true/

:-D

December's menu coming either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Menu and list for 11/18-11/24

With thanksgiving next week  (and weekend for us), there isn't much of a dinner plan this week to follow.  For the recipes this week, I really wanted to keep it simple since we're doing a lot of cooking on Thanksgiving and again the Saturday after.  I decided to scratch the ham and cheese loaf from Monday night because I'm having a crafting event at my house and didn't want to spend a lot of time cooking before hand.

Sunday-  Tomato garlic pasta via Reservation for Two
Monday- Rotisserie chicken from the store with mashed potatoes and frozen veggies
Tuesday- BBQ Meatballs via AllRecipes.com
Wednesday- Grilled cheese and tomato soup ala Cambell's
Thanksgiving Thursday
Friday- Turkey sandwiches with cranberry and cream cheese using leftovers
Saturday Thanksgiving part deux

The shopping list is really short and sweet.


2 cups rigatoni pasta
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups sugar snap peas
2 cooked Italian sausages
16 oz package frozen meatballs
18 oz bottle bbq sauce
Shredded cheese of your choice (for the grilled cheese)
Soup of your choosing
1 rotisserie chicken
bag of frozen steam fresh veggies
1 pouch of instant potatoes (we're really going simple this week)
cream cheese

Stuff you should already have-
Olive oil
garlic cloves
ketchup

bread

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! If you don't celebrate it, have a great week!

No thank you, Stomach bug

This week has been awful. Seriously. So much not fun stuff going on with my stomach that I haven't eaten much, let alone cooked. This is the perfect example of why you should be flexible in your planning. We were able to move around the week's meals so that the hubs would be able to make dinner and watch the minion without having to do something in a recipe he hasn't done before- like making a roux or prepping the crock pot.

I'm not 100% yet, but I'm well enough to post next week's menu and grocery list tomorrow morning. As long as I don't have a sudden urge to die, that is.

Oh noes!

As you can tell, I completely forgot to update my blog to show this week's dinners. It's getting pretty late so I think I'll do it in the morning.

I would like to take a minute to admit that I'm not perfect. I know. Shock and bewilderment must be washing over you. Sometimes I end up changing my mind last minute or we have dinner parties to go to. I can't schedule for every birthday or surprise date, but keeping our dinners flexible is important.

Even after my menu is planned and printed, I still cross out some meals and replace them with other recipes. Sometimes I switch nights. Sometimes I decide I just don't feel like whatever I have scheduled. That's alright. Unless you have some ultra perishable foods, you can hold off a day or two. If you're missing an ingredient, don't give up on the whole night. Make a new recipe or dig in to your pantry stash and make something similar with what you do have.

These are exceptions, not the rule. I don't want to let myself get in the habit of not following the planner. Do what you can and keep reminding yourself that it's much easier to work with a plan than to come up with new ones daily or an hour before dinner should be done.

Have a great night. See ya tomorrow.

November Menu

As promised, here is November's entire dinner menu.  Each week I will post where to get the recipes and create the shopping list for you.  Feel free to substitute out anything you don't like and add in foods you do.   In case you were wondering, The only meats that we eat in our house are chicken, turkey, pork, and beef.  I don't eat fish or other furry creatures.  Sometimes it can make things kind of boring for people who eat more variety, so make this menu your own.

(Click to enlarge)

Weekly Menu 11/04-11/10

I hope you all had a great Halloween! Weather in the Northern California Central Valley is pretty flip-floppy.  The weekend was warm, Monday and Tuesday were kind of warm, Wednesday threatened Halloween with rain, and next week looks like it’s heating up again.  I’m sure all you summer lovers out there are happy to have just a little more heat before winter takes over.  The minion and I are not. Haha We love our cold weather.

Last week’s menu turned out fairly well, I think.  There were some recipes that I knew would be winners and one that turned into a “do this if I have nothing else” kind of meal.  Bean didn’t seem to care for the chicken, sweet potato and apple skillet.   It might have something to do with the fact that she was throwing a fit in the middle of cooking the sweet potatoes and they got…. Darkened. I won’t say burned because they were still edible and only one side was visually unappealing.  Silver lining, people! Did you love the baked sweet and sour chicken as much as we did?  That’s getting a monthly spot. 

Hopefully, crossing my fingers, this blog has been helping you get a hold of your menu planning.  If not, I’m sorry.  I’ll try better if you leave me feedback.  If you change up a recipe, use a different dinner entirely, or you love something, tell me. I’ll try to incorporate suggestions. 

This week:

4	5	6	7	8	9	10
BBQ ribs	Crock pot carne asada	Pesto Stuffed Shells	Bourbon Street Chicken	Chicken Ravioli Soup	Steak and Potatoes Stir-Fry	Chipotle Bowls

Sunday-Easy BBQ Ribs (in the slow cooker!)

Monday- Crock Pot Carne Asada 

Tuesday- Pesto Stuffed Shells (a huge favorite)

Wednesday- Bourbon Street chicken

Thursday- Chicken Ravioli Soup

Friday- Steak and Potato Stir-Fry (another favorite!)

Saturday- Burrito bowls- adapted from 5 Dollar Dinners

This week’s shopping list will be a little tricky because of the burrito bowls. We kind of just toss whatever we have together and call it good.  That usually means meat with taco seasoning, rice, black beans, sour cream, and cheese.  Hubs doesn't eat fresh tomato, so it would be a waste to cut part of one up just for me. With that said, I’ll leave off that recipe so that you can decide on your own what you want to make out of that highly adaptable recipe. J

The shopping list:

*****Please keep in mind that this list is based on the assumption that you are making the full recipes and following them exactly. If you are cutting them in half or altering them in any way, don’t forget to change your list!*****  

2 lbs pork (baby) back ribs

1 cup barbecue sauce

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth

3 diced tomatoes 

2 jalapeno peppers chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped 

2 cups onions

2 pounds Steak
12 oz box of Jumbo shell pasta

15 oz part skim ricotta

4 oz shredded mozzarella

½ cup basil pesto

2 cups spinach

3 cups (1 jar) pasta sauce

¼ cup Apple Juice

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 cups chicken broth

2 ½ cups carrots

½ cup diced celery

2 cups frozen cheese ravioli

1lb. boneless beef sirloin steak

2 cups cubed potatoes

2 cups sliced mushrooms 

¼ cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Stuff you probably already have:

Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil
Olive oil

Ginger

Crushed red pepper flakes

Ketchup

White vinegar

Cider vinegar
Eggs

Paprika
garlic cloves
chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Corn starch
Soy sauce

Brown sugar
Cooking spray

Seems easy enough, right?  This list is pretty short compared to last weeks! Remember to add the burrito bowl ingredients to the list.   You might like to add a container of cherry tomatoes to the list, too, for the steak and potato stir fry. We leave out the mushrooms, add about half a cup of halved cherry tomatoes and double the vinaigrette. For the stuffed shells I add shaved parmesan cheese if I happen to have some in the fridge.

I will be posting November's menu either tomorrow or Saturday.  Have a great week!

Meal plan for 10/28-11/3

Fridays are paydays for the hubs, so they are also my official shopping day.  Since he gets paid every two weeks and it's easier for me to do one big trip than a bunch of small ones, I buy most everything on payday.  Obviously some things will spoil before the end of the two weeks, so I still end up making a smaller trip for things like produce and milk.  

It can be intimidating to look at a two week long list. I decided that I would just post my monthly menu at the beginning of each month and get into shopping lists weekly.  I think I'm also going to leave out the breakfast/lunch portion of the menu.  I'm not too sure anyone is really interested in what Bean and I scrounging up for meals that most working people aren't home for. ;)

This week, we're trying out a bunch of new recipes and a few tried and true.

Sunday- 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna (via Martha Stewart)
Monday- Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs (via Six Sisters' Stuff)
Tuesday- Addicting Chicken (via Food.com) and Sweet Potato Muffins (via My Love for Cooking)
Wednesday- Chicken Crescents (via Comfy in the Kitchen)
Thursday- Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Apple Skillet (via 
Friday- Italian Sausage Soup (via Crock Pot, shared by Family.Go.Com)
Saturday- OMG Chicken Tenders (adapted from The Enchanted Cook)

There are things I do different in some of the recipes, like leaving out the brussel sprouts in Thursday's dinner or using sour cream and chicken tenders instead of mayo and whole chicken breasts in Saturday's.  It's all personal preference.  The shopping list, though, shows the ingredients for the recipes as is, with the exception of Saturday, which shows the tenders and sour cream change. At the end is a second list of things that you should already have in your pantry.  If you don't, you really should invest in them.  They're used in quite a few recipes and quite annoying to run out of. The shelf lives for most of them are ridiculously long, so if you end up not needing it again for a few months, they'll be fine. 

Shopping list for week of October 28-November 3

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
About 1.5 pound chicken breast tenders
3 slices 30% less fat center cut bacon (recipe used Oscar Mayer)
1 1/2 c Brussels sprouts
2 med sweet potatoes
1 med onion, chopped
2 Golden Delicious apples
7 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
43 ounces canned whole peeled plum tomatoes (from a 28-ounce can and a 15-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 box (12 ounces) no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, shredded
2 and 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
32 oz. package of precooked, frozen meatballs (you could use turkey meatballs)
13.5 oz can of unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 large green pepper, diced
1 (8 or 6 jumbo count) package refrigerator crescent rolls
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
½ cup and 4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (should be something you already have, but I’ll keep it here)
1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup mini pasta shells (or other small noodle)
1 bag (10 ounces) baby spinach leaves

*****Please keep in mind that this list is based on the assumption that you are making the full recipes and following them exactly. If you are cutting them in half or altering them in any way, don’t forget to change your list!***** 

Stuff you probably already have:

Salt

Pepper

Corn starch

All-Purpose flour

Garlic salt

Red pepper flakes

Paprika

Vegetable oil

Olive oil

Vanilla extract (never imitation!)

Milk

Oats

Baking powder

Baking soda

Dried parsley

Dried basil

Dried oregano

Dried thyme

butter

Brown sugar

Soy sauce

White vinegar

Eggs

Cinnamon

Garlic bulb

I really hope this is a help.  I would love some feedback. Any questions, comments, or suggestions?  :)

Meal Planning

Recently, as an attempt to lose weight and save money by not eating out, I began diving into meal planning.  At first I started out planning a week at a time.  It didn't take too much energy to plan and the trip to the grocery store didn't last too long. That was especially nice since the baby was barely walking and didn't like shopping.  Now, almost a year later, I'm planning my meals almost a full month at a time and shopping once every two weeks for the bulk and small trips once a week for milk, produce and other highly perishable goods.


I have an awesome PDF and Excel worksheet that I use, and it usually contains 2 snacks between the meals, as well.  Also keep in mind that my toddler eats everything on this menu, the same as I do.  Sometimes plans change and it gets altered, but it doesn't usually change too often. I make notes when I need to freeze half of the recipe for another night and when what I'm making for dinner that night is from my freezer meal stash.

EDIT: I did a print screen of the worksheet I have, so it should look at least a bit more presentable. ;)

Without further ado, here is this weeks menu, starting 10/21/2012 (click to enlarge):

Recipe Resources: -- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna-- http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/spaghetti-squash-lasagna.html --Pizza Pasta-- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pizza-pasta/ --Chicken and Dumplings-- http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/07/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings-its-easy-really.html --Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken-- http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html --Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake-- http://www.theslowroasteditalian.blogspot.com/2012/09/meat-lovers-pizza-pasta-bake.html --Chicken Nuggets-- http://sammyw.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/homemade-chicken-nuggets/ --Yogurt Cereal Bars-- http://www.food.com/recipe/yogurt-cereal-bars-310692 I'll work on making a prettier way to show it on the blog. Until then, I hope this works for you.  If anything is unclear, or you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Upcoming Election

I won't make a habit of this. I try to keep myself focused on crafts and whatnot here, but I wanted to make this note.

As a woman I am TERRIFIED of what will happen to my rights, the rights of my friends, my family, my DAUGHTER if Romney-Ryan is elected. As an American I am fearful that the progress we've made will be reversed. Don't like Obama? I don't agree with your views but I respect your right to have them. I hope everyone can recognize that Obama is the lesser threat to your life. Don't set us back. Send us FORWARD.

Wow!

I have been Biz-Ay!  My sister-in-law got married on July 7th.  I didn't know there was so much left to plan and do a month before the wedding, so I jumped on board and got it all done before the wedding weekend! The wedding was hot pink and black, and we added flourishes as design elements.

I'd love to post pictures of the program I designed, but there's too much personal information on it.  Sorry, loves.

Check out the garter I sewed from scratch.

I'm so dang proud of this. 

She had a cookie buffet for favors, too.  This was the most fun to set up and decorate. The cookies were gone before the cake was even cut.

The bride and groom had their own 6" top cake to cut and had 200 cupcakes made (By the lovely 

Kristina Tavares). That meant we needed 200 cupcake wrappers. That's 400 layers of paper.  My poor Cricut was tired. We went through 6 cricut mats since nothing was working to restick the mats. Of course, after the wedding was over my father-in-law worked magic on them so they're almost like new.

There were 18 big versions of these table centerpieces already constructed from a previous wedding but we still needed 4 more smaller ones.  The books are just 3x5 notecards with Mod Podged covers.

My hair! Thanks so much, Em!

This is getting to be a picture-ific post, isn't it? There's more!

Can you believe I beaded a veil? Who needs to spend $100 on a veil when you can get crafty with a $15 veil from Michael's? Even better, I used a coupon and got it for $7.50.

Onto the jewelry.  There were 2 maid of honors and 5 bridesmaids. The black necklaces were worn by the MOHs. The pink was made for the BMs.

And, finally, the wedding gift (better late than never!):

Glass frame with the back removed, and vinyl letters cut using the Cricut Expression machine and Cricut Cuttables vinyl in pink and black.

I hope you guys enjoy my little mini-gallery.  We had a month and almost nothing prepared and busted out an entire wedding!  If you're in the Stockton/Lodi area and need a wedding planner... ;)

Mother's Day

I have to post this project. I did this for mother's day for my mom  (she hasn't seen it yet).  It is SO cool!  It's an 11"x14" shadow box with vellum and scrapbook paper butterflies and a white LED branch!

Lights off

Lights on

Isn't it cool?!  Now I'm off to figure out how to hide the battery pack. 

Another cake?

Okay, so I did end up making another cake. I couldn't go out like that. The party turned out nicely.  We didn't show up early enough to decorate so we had help as people started showing up.

These fabulous rainbow cupcakes were baked by the amazing Kristina. The cupcake wrappers were made by moi using the Cupcake Wrappers Cricut cartridge, polka dots wrapper in purple, pink, green, and orange.

This sad cake actually was quite tasty.  rainbow layers with Fluffy White Frosting and tropical twizzlers (inspiration found here)

I LOVE this banner. Made it using George Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge and Cricut Craft Room software.

A combination of projects here: rainbow dot sewn paper garland (inspiration here), along with a timeline of Bean from birth through 12 months, and the bottom third tier of the Happy Birthday banner (see above).

I think this might be the only picture I have of the amazingly awesome and fantastical ribbon topiaries I made for the tables.  Each topiary was done in rainbow ribbons and put in a bucket in each color of the rainbow (instructions at Polka Dot Birthday)

This curly ribbon wreath took a beating before guests even showed up. We don't know how it happened since it was hanging on the door.  I was quite sad. But it was still a cute addition. (Instructions right over here)

I'm also pretty sad that our photographer (Hubby) didn't get any pictures of the candy buffet (drowned out by the presents, anyway) or the time capsule, or the fruit tray (which was so good it was gone before anyone touched the candy).

Happy Birthday, Bean! (topiary!!)

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

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No cake for me

What was that? I didn't quite... You want me to bake a cake? Oh I'm terribly sorry but I cannot oblige. Why, you ask? You see, when I try to bake cakes, disaster happens. See picture of the 6-layer rainbow cake.

Birthday wreath

I am NOT doing a great job of blogging! Cranky baby finally took a nap today so I finished a project! One of many needing to be finished for her first birthday party. This bad boy sent me hunting around my town and the one just south of here, cost around $15 to make, and took about 20 minutes to put together. Without further ado, the curly ribbon birthday wreath!

Birthday Plans

With the minion's birthday less than a month away, I've been in full blown party planning mode. We *finally* found a place that wasn't booked. As soon as we get the invites in I'll feel more accomplished. Until then, here's a preview of table decorations!

Whew!

Classes are over in two weeks. Minion's bday is coming up in a little under two months. There's still a lot f half finishe projects laying around the house. Yup! It's about time for Spring Cleaning. I'm reclaiming my craft room! After I try out a few more Jello cake favors, of course. ;)

Lagging

I've been lagging a lot on projects. It seems like there are a million things preventing me from getting down to business. I _have_ had time to start planning Minion's birthday party (in April haha). I've decided it's rainbow themed but I like the bright colors instead of the primary colors. This works out perfectly for her bday dress, which is absolutely adorable. It's Bonnie Jean Baby Polka Dot Birthday dress. Quite the splurge. :-x

I've got a Pinterest.com board dedicate to ideas for her party and I think I've even decided on invitations. I definitely have a cake in mind as long as the experiment works out this weeked.

So forgive me for never finishing the Valentine wreath. I am spraying Hubby's deck of cards with Krylon (found on CLEARANCE!!! at Joann's) tomorrow if the wind has died down by then. I'll get back to her wall right after I finished some hefty class assignments this weekend.

Thanks for hanging' with me. <3

Project 3 update :-D

Here is the finished candle project! Finished on Valentine's Day morning while Hubby was at work.