Menu Plan For The Week...

~Tortilla Soup~

Breakfasts:
Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal*
Cereal
Egg and Cheese "McMuffin"
Strawberry Oatmeal
Bagels, Fruit
Blueberry Bread, Fruit

Lunches:
Triscuits with Summer Sausage and Cheese, Kiwi
Leftover Tortilla Soup, Quesadillas
Turkey Sandwiches, Chips
PB&J Sandwiches, Chips, Kiwi
Grilled Cheese, Pineapple

Dinners:
Baked Chicken, Whole Green Beans sauteed with Onions and Garlic, Salad, Biscuits
Tortilla Soup with Sour Cream, Cheese, Tortilla Shreds
Cheeseburgers with all the trimmings, Steak Fries
Waffles with PB and Maple Syrup, Grits, Eggs, Hashbrowns
Potato Soup with Homemade Breadbowls, Salad
Chicken Minis, Salad, Green Beans
Broccoli and Spinach Quiche, Fresh Pineapple and Mango
Homemade Pizza

Snacks:
Cheddar Penguins
Fresh Fruit (Bananas, Pineapple, Mango, Kiwis)
Crackers
Dried Fruit

Extras:
Olive Oil
Trash Bags
Ziplocs
Toilet Tissue
Paper Towels

Amount Spent At Aldi's:
**$87

*Attempting to use up all of my canisters of oats!

**This amount does not reflect items I already had in my pantry.  I am simply using it as a tool to track my spending.

What's For Dinner?

In hopes of having an easier time discovering what to make for dinner (and b/c Nathan has the camera with all of my other blog fodder), I've decided to start doing some posts on "What's For Dinner?"  That way, I can get
ummm-- "inspired."

Tonight's Dinner:
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Steamed Rice and Veggies

I make the sweet and sour sauce homemade using pineapple juice, brown sugar, a little red pepper, vinegar, and a little cornstarch.  It is so easy and many times I have these ingredients already on hand.  The worst part about this meal is cutting up the chicken in small pieces.  I thought I would've have matured to the point that raw chicken doesn't bother me-- guess not.

Dinner with boys is never boring!

Haven't forgotten that I still haven't finished my "How We Make It Work" series.  Coming soon!

Tortillas and Sopapillas...

These past couple of weeks, I have tried my hand at making a couple of new mexican breads.  I didn't take pictures of the sopapillas, but let me assure you, they were puffy, chewy, and delicious!  Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and then drizzled with honey-- mmm, MMMM!

Nathan loved the tortillas; however, I thought that they were just a bit better than store-bought-- perhaps not enough to entice me to go through the mixing and rolling and grilling again.  Next time I will try the refridgerated uncooked tortillas from the store and see how they stack up against my homemade.

I really don't enjoy cooking, but I love to experiment with baking.  Cooking is a chore (how ungrateful I am when there are so many around the world who would LOVE to have a pantry full of good food to cook-- forgive me!)  Baking on the other hand, is a relaxing way to make the house feel homey and cozy.  It makes me nostalgic and my mind wanders to what it must've been like a long time ago, simpler times where a chocolate cake put everything to rights!  Maybe that's why I love to have a chocolate cake on the counter :)

Anyway, try this recipe for sopapillas-- 15 minutes to ooey, gooey, sweet cinnamon satisfaction!

 Real Sopapillas courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients:


4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons shortening

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 quarts oil for frying

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and shortening. Stir in water; mix until dough is smooth. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.  (many commenters stated that they didn't wait the whole 20 minutes.)

Roll out on floured board until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Documentary Filming...

Some of you may know that I am currently involved in filming a documentary for the Fit and Fabulous Mommy Club.  Basically, it is an amateur web series following the lives of 3 moms as we go from flab to fab.  Or for me, from bones to fab.  We work out 5-6 days a week with a lifestyle coach and on Saturdays we go for a mommy adventure.  So far we have hiked a mountain, snowboarded, and went on a 20 mile bike ride.  I am AFRAID of what our next adventure will be!

Anyhow, the other 2 girls in my group have a goal to lose weight, while mine is to gain 10 lbs. of muscle.  I believe I've gained about 3lbs. so far.  Thought you might be interested in our meal plan, so here it is (with a few adaptions for me omitted).

Breakfast:
Protein Shake and Hot Cereal (made from oatmeal and grapenuts)
 or
3 Egg Whites and One Whole Egg and Hot Cereal

Mid Morning Snack:
1 Shake and 1 Small Red Apple
or
1/2 c Fat Free Yogurt with 1 Scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder and 1/4c Granola

Lunch:
Tuna Seasoned w/ Lemon Pepper, One Slice Ezekiel Bread, and 1c Steamed Broccoli
or
4oz of Grilled All White Meat Chicken, 1c Fresh Spinach with Fat Free Dressing, and 1c of Yam

Mid Afternoon Snack:
Raw Carrot Sticks, Peppers, Snack Peas, and a Tuna Pack
or
Power Crunch Bar

Dinner:
4oz. Grilled Salmon, 1c Green Beans Steamed
or
Turkey Burger made with all white meat, 2c Spinach Cooked with Olive Oil and Garlic

Late Evening Snack:
Protein Shake and 12 Raw Almonds
or
1/2 c Fat Free Cottage Cheese and 4 Strawberries

The BEST EVER Way to Serve Leftover Mashed Potatoes...

Yesterday we had mashed potatoes with crock pot chicken for dinner. I'm not a big leftover fan, so I was trying to find a way to make them taste different. "Mexican" food is always welcome! I made chicken enchiladas with the leftover chicken, but what to do with the mashed potatoes??? Well, on Valentine's day I ate the most delicious mp ever at Abuelos and I've tried to recreate that here. It was so good I was dipping my fingers into the pot and licking them clean!

{This is not an exact recipe!} Add to the leftover mashed potatoes: sharp cheddar, garlic, and diced green chilis to taste. Put in a few dollops of sour cream and you will have achieved mashed potato nirvana...

Elon's Sweet Reminder...

that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

Pretty Much The Best Gingersnap Ever...

Grandma's Gingersnap Cookies-- Allrecipes.com


Ingredients
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.

3.Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

4.Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Made these for the out-of-towners. They raved about these cookies! You MUST sift twice, it makes all the difference in the texture. Oh, and I added cloves and extra cinnamon; I like mine spicy. These are delish!

More Fall Fun...

Elon is vacuuming right now with a stick vac. What a great way to release some energy! We just returned from Bible Study and now it's almost time for he and Asher to take a nap-- hopefully me too! It's finally getting cooler out {at least it hasn't been in the 90's the last couple of days} so we were finally able to wear pants today {that wordage makes it sound like we were n*ked before}. I don't know about you, but when winter seems long I'm ready to wear skirts and flip-flops and when summer is nearing it's end I am always anxious to trade tanks and shorts for sweater and jeans! The grass is always greener...

Since it's cooling again, it's time for some more fall fun! I know what you're thinking... "Does all fun have to do with eating?" ummm yep, perdy much! Elon really enjoyed helping me dip and eat these caramel apples.

Sporting his "Junior Baker" apron.

Carefully dipping his first apple.

The look on his face when he finds out we have to let them cool first.

Struggling to get a big bite!

Maybe if he uses his hands...

Pure gooey satisfaction!

This was my first experience with caramel apples. I found that even though I dipped mine in caramel, chocolate and nuts, I still enjoy candy apples better. Elon seems to enjoy both equally ;P

Harvest Party Cupcakes...

Yesterday we went to a Harvest Party at a friend from MOPS house. Her home is a gorgeous 4100 square foot spread, with a lush backyard, playroom, bounce house, fort, and view of the golf course. {And can I just mention that it is PAID FOR!} Anyway, to the point, the kids had lots of fun playing and crafting. Elon and I brought cupcakes and toppings for the kids to decorate like this:

Thanks to brightideas.com for the photo!

Because I didn't have large marshmallows, the kids could choose between mini-marshmallows, sixlets {remeber those? love em!}, after-dinner mints, or raisins for eyes. The hair is chocolate sprinkles and the legs are pull n' peel twizzlers {black pull n' peels are even cuter but I couldn't find em'}

These came out really cute! Most of the kids actually chose to do mini-muffins which are super-cute as well. Give this recipe a try, it's easy and the boys just love making "bugs."

The Quintessential Chocolate-Chip Cookie...

Something about Autumn makes me want to bake. There is nothing better than sitting in front of an open window with a nubby blanket thrown over my legs, a book in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. {Ummm yeah, that was before I had kids... now it's Elon jumping up and down demanding another "chocwate-chip coookie" while standing under a fort using my blanket while I'm trying to nurse Asher while trying to hold a book in one hand while shoving a chocolate chip cookie in my mouth with the other hand which he's trying to grab and eat-- the cookie, not my hand!} Anyway, back to my warm fuzzy thoughts about Autumn bliss... ah yes, the quintessential chocolate-chip cookie... lately I've been munching on these:


I find that chocolate-chip cookies eliminate stress rather effectively. When I bite into a warm, chewy cookie the cares of life melt away like chocolate chips on my tongue. All of sudden the room is clean, Elon is quietly looking at books, and all is at peace in the world. Yikes! Judging by the looks of this messy room I may need to eat a dozen right now!

In case you missed the link above, this is a really good recipe for chocolate-chip cookies; it uses vanilla pudding to keep the cookies soft. So what's your favorite chocolate-chip cookie recipe?

Award-Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Chili's Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Don't know about you, but I love me some Chili's Spinach and Artichoke Dip. So creamy, so spinachy, soooo good! A few nights ago, I realized I needed a quick appetizer for a MOPS meeting-- what's a girl to do? Why, turn to trusty ol' Allrecipes.com of course! I found this recipe for spinach-artichoke dip and as it turned out, I had most of the ingredients on hand. Happily, Elizabeth had just given me a jar of Alfredo sauce and I had picked up the LAST jar of marinated artichoke hearts from the 99 Cents Only store a few days before {love that store!}.
I was so pleased with the results; it tastes almost exactly like the dip served at Chili's-- only Nathan said it tasted even better! I may never spend $7 bucks for a tiny bowl of spinach dip again!

*I did not have the mozzerella cheese; I found it wasn't necessary, but if you like, go ahead and add it and let me know what you think! Oh, and I prefer mine served with warm, crusty bread instead of the tortilla chips they serve at Chili's.

**Photos courtesy of chili's.com and 99 cents only.com

Wednesday's Ritual...

On Wednesday's, Elizabeth and I are working together to cook all/most of the recipes from this book:

This Wednesday, we made the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from Bennigan's. It was nice to have someone to keep me motivated in the kitchen-- especially since it's usually just Elon, Asher, and myself. The chicken popped oil on me about 100 x's but ended up tasting really good and both Elizabeth and I had plenty of leftovers to keep. But, I'm still trying to decide if it was worth the burns. Hopefully next week's recipe won't involve frying...

A Birthday Dinner...

Tomorrow, I am having a birthday dinner for Elizabeth and Kathy {Nathan's Grandpa's Wife}. At 5:00, we will be partaking of this:

Asian Chicken and Mandarin Salad

Mini Eggrolls

Grilled Fruit Kabobs With Vanilla Icecream

Watergate Salad

Raspberry Tea

I know it's 2 desserts/salads, but on a hot summery day, I couldn't resist Watergate Salad!

Ever have your lettuce wilt in just a couple of days? Before you toss it, try this tip to save a few cents! Soak the leaves in ice cold water for a couple of hours and watch them "spring" back to life! This works for lots of different greens {although I haven't had luck with iceburg}. For more helpful tips, check out We Are That Family!

Before:


After:

Ok, so not the greatest pictures...

Waking Up On The Right Side of the Bed...

Woke up feelin' mighty fine and decided to make homemade strawberry muffins! They look better than they tasted-- if that's any indication. BTW, do not use the muffin recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, it's a bust :( Word to the wise-- spreading with melted butter and sprinkling with confectioner's sugar can make anything delicious!

Cookie Exchange

I made these for the cookie exchange that I went to on Tuesday. It was nice getting together with other moms allowing both Elon and I a chance for some socialization. More about the cookies I recieved later...

BTW, does anyone have a really delicious shortbread cookie recipe? I got this one off of Allrecipes.com but it was a dud.

Gooseberry Patch Oatmeal-Chip Cookie Mix

Katheryn requested the recipe for the jar of mix I made as a gift the other day.

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. quick cooking oats
1 c. rice crispies cereal
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder

Layer first 5 ingredients in order listed, in a one quart mason jar. Press down firmly on each layer before adding the next ingredient.* Combine flour, salt, and baking powder together, mixing well. Add flour mixture on top of chocolate chip layer. Add a gift card with the following instructions:

~ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies ~
Mix the contents of this jar of ingredients with 1/2 cup softened margarine, one beaten egg, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract, blending well. Shape into one-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Taken from Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 2, Pg. 80

* I had a bit of a hard time getting all the flour into the jar. I'd advised pressing down each layer very firmly and putting this together near the kitchen sink-- the flour poufs!

** I also thought it much more time-efficient to make two of these jars at a time. You can always give the extra jar away or simply store it in the pantry to pull out on a day you need to make cookies quickly.

Star Of Wonder

Ten straight Christmas perfomances have got me beat. Looking forward to tonight's last Star of Wonder production. Not sure I'll be doing this again next year-- it sure is a big commitment!

Meanwhile, I have been making these:

as a small gift for my MOPS table group leader. So easy and with ingredients I have at home. Now I need to begin baking my 4 dozen cookies for tomorrow's cookie exchange. I hope to take a couple of photos and post a recipe tomorrow.

It's Happened...

...I am officially a grown-up. It looks like I may be in charge of Thanksgiving Dinner. Yes, THE Thanksgiving Dinner in which I and my family, plus my in-laws and their kids will be partaking of... this could be scary. I haven't really ever cooked for that many people {around 13}. Oh, and did I mention that I've never cooked a turkey! So I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to cook and how much of each thing I'll need, when I really should be putting away all the summer clothes I drug out and have scattered throughout the house! Procrastinating is such fun!

Anyway, I'd LOVE to hear what your family normally has for Thanksgiving Dinner and if you put any interesting spins on the entrees. Leave a comment in the box!

Celebrating Fall...

Despite the temperatures still reaching into the 90's, Elon and I decided to have some fall fun. Nothing says fall better than candy apples! These were made using Galas at only $.59 per pound! Helpful Hint: Learn from my mistake and read the instructional tips-- adding shortening to the syrup gets rid of the bubbles.

Elon was more than happy to take care of the leftover candy syrup!