Weekly Menu - February 11

Hello again!  Welcome back to another installment of my weekly menu.  Thrilling, isn't it? :-)

We've made a few minor changes in our house and by minor, I mean m.i.n.o.r.  Up until Christmas time, my kids could care less about cookies or other treats but, after having lots of fun stuff on the cupboard during the holidays plus their growing height that allowed them to see things they couldn't see before (like the cookie jar) I knew I wanted to replace what I kept on the counter.  So, I put away the "cookie jar" that has been sitting my kitchen counter for over 10 years. (Well, it was actually a Cake dome that I got as a wedding gift and loved so much, I used it to put our sweet treats in through the years) and now keep fruit out on the counter instead.  Guess what?  The boys (and the adults) are eating more fruit.  Eventually I will do a trick that someone shared with me and keep a small bowl of fruit on the kitchen table for them to grab from each day - grapes, strawberries, sliced apples, oranges, ect.  The cookies are now kept up in a cupboard in a Ziploc container and we all eat less of them.  Small changes are good, right?  My kids are very healthy but I also desire for them to want to snack on the good stuff so there is no time like the present to build some good habits and who knows, maybe I'll pick up a few along the way!

On to the menu :-)

Saturday: The boys had chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches; We are ordering from our favorite local Italian place for an at home date night.

Sunday: Roast, potatoes and carrots.  (This is the only way my kids eat carrots - cooked with a roast - they literally inhale them!)  My husband has a concert this evening so I bought something easy for the kids to eat on the way home and then I have a new recipe for a dip I wanted to try and we'll have that for "dinner" after the concert.  It is called Cheeseburger Dip.  If it is good - I'll share the recipe soon!

Monday: Beef Brisket, Twice Baked Potatoes, Brown Sugar Carrots and Puff Pastry Twists

Tuesday:  For Valentine's Day we are having our traditional meal:  Homemade Spaghetti, Homemade Garlic Bread, Roasted Asparagus followed by a special Valentine's Day dessert using Twinkies and Raspberry Jam and, of course, we will dip Marshmallows into Chocolate!

Wednesday: Crazy Bacon and Chocolate Waffles with Smokey Links

Thursday: Lemon Chicken, Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole, and Easy Peasant Bread

Friday: Gravy Baked Pork Chops, Roasted Cauliflower, Sweet Potato Casserole and leftover bread from Thursday.

I have to admit - there are quite a few great recipes I'm using this week that I'm kinda surprised I haven't posted about yet so you'll probably seem them in future weeks!

Our sweet treats for the week are two different brownie recipes - one will "Knock you Naked" and other is just Cheesy Good! 

Enjoy!

Food Friday - Roasted Green Beans

One thing we often lack on our plates is vegetables so over the course of the last year, I've tried to find some specific recipes for veggies that we love.  The majority of the items we like are roasted so when I saw this recipe for Green Beans I had to try it!

Roasted Green Beans
adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

There isn't a whole lot to say about these except they are very good.  I could have eaten them like candy.  Even my 2 year old liked them . . .dipped in ketchup :-)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese

What I'm Reading

I totally missed this post last week – completely forgot to write and did not even notice that nothing posted on Thursday until Friday morning! I will admit that even though I finished a couple of books during that week, nothing was worthy to be written about – yep a couple of duds so I’m glad they were free! This week though, I found a great series. So great, that after I read the first one, I actually used some gift card money and picked up books 2 and 3.

Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith is currently still FREE!! (at least at the time I wrote this post!!) and I highly recommend it. This book fits into the Christian Fiction category and takes on you on the journey of the middle child, Joan, as she discovers what a true walk with Christ really is all about. No, it is not overly “churchy” at all but rather uses new people in her life (including a single good-looking doctor who moves in next door) to help her see what her true potential is with God. It is one of those books that when I got to the last page, I was disappointed that the story was done and immediately (for real!) went to Amazon and look for other books in the series. Which brings me to the book I’m reading right now, book 2 in the series.

Age Before Beauty is the story of Joan’s older sister Allie has she faces challenges of new motherhood, a mother-in-law she does not like moving in with them, and a husband who enjoys spending more time with his female co-worker then her. It is another great read and I’m already glad I picked it up (even if it wasn’t free!!)

Lets Get Crafty!!

I know you might find this hard to believe but I have actually completed a few crafts and I wanted to share them with you!  I'm going to share a few today and few later in the week. 

First up, I really have wanted to start making wreaths for each month.  I have a flag for each month that hangs outside on the garage and I think a wreath hanging on the door would look nice too.  The inspiration comes from Lolly jane boutique and looks like this!

Can you see why I loved it when I saw it??? Plus it didn't seem too complicated so I headed to Hobby Lobby to see what I could find!  I actually went searching for an actual Heart Styrofoam shape so I didn't have to cut my own out of cardboard but the small size was gone.  I did pick out Pink Boas - I found less expensive ones in the party section for a little girls princess party.  I'll share my process with you but if you click on the link above, you can also view the original instructions as well.

 I cut a heart shape out of a cereal box - I will admit that when I was all done, it was a little big and I should have made it much more of a defined heart due to the boa kinda "hiding" the shape.

 Then I just spray painted it a raspberry color only to hide the cardboard look in case any showed throw the boa (which it did).

 Then I just wrapped the boas!  I actually purchased 4 because they were 1/2 the size of the regular boas but I could have easily used one more.  I hot glued the end to the heart and the just wrapped it, using hot glue to attach the other end. 

Now, when I look at my final product, I do like it alot, but my thought was that it looked nothing like a heart.  Well, I put it away (since I completed it in January) until February 1st and then hung it on the door.  Both of my boys pointed at it and said "Mom, a heart!"  So I guess maybe it isn't as shapeless as I thought!! 

One other simple decoration idea is Subway Art.  I came across this one last year from She wears flowers and knew I wanted to use it this year.  This is my final product:

I picked up a very inexpensive frame from Hobby Lobby, printed the Subway art (yes, I realize that it is not perfectly centered), attached it to a piece of scrapbook paper and . . .how easy is that??? 

I am linking up over at:

Pinterest Challenge

Welcome back!  I wasn't sure if I was going to have anything to post this week - I really have to plan to make sure I actually accomplish something but then, I realized I had "accidentally" done quite a few things :-) 

The first idea is a simple one, it is just a printable from living locurto, aren't they adorable?

Several months ago, I won a chore chart for the boys which I really like but, honestly, they aren't  ready for it (or maybe I'm not HA!)  First, I think they need to master some basic skills on their own plus the 4 items in the routine shown above are on the chore chart as well.  I love that we can start with these and then it will be a natural transition into the larger chart.  So, I printed these and am working on a small reward system.  They currently love pennies so I'm thinking that for each item they complete in the morning, they will earn a penny and they can drop it into their piggy bank.  Plus pennies are easy on Mom and Dad too - I can almost guarantee that I have 50 pennies on hand each week - probably in the car somewhere :-)   I may also just start with one or two of the cards and then add another one once they have mastered the first two.  See? Easy, Peasy. 

The next few are recipes - between the Superbowl and testing out ideas for an upcoming shower, I ended up with several things I made all at once!  First up is a drink.  I've mentioned before that I'm always looking for a refreshing "mixed" drink - we do not drink alcohol at all so by mixed I just mean a mix of flavors instead of Crystal Light or Soda.  First, I will confess, unlike most of the world, I am not a Sonic Fan.  We've been twice and I really do not see what the excitement is about.  But, I saw this idea from The Little Brown House and thought it might be really good for a shower because you could serve it in a pitcher instead of punch bowl, which gets messy. 

I made this for our drink for Superbowl Sunday . It was good - nice tart flavor - but after drinking one glass, I was done.  I think my husband drank 1/2 glass and said he couldn't drink anymore. It is pretty acidic.  Maybe if you love Sonic's Cherry Limeade you will love this .. . I just felt like it was Sprite on Steroids :-)  It is pretty though :-)


We have a favorite Mexican Restaurant and one of the things I love to get is there Southwestern Egg rolls so when I saw this recipe from Cake and Allie, I knew I had to try them plus I thought they would be a great addition to the shower menu IF they were taste worthy. 

I used Wonton Wrappers because that is what I had and they worked fine.  But, I must admit, they didn't have a ton of flavor and neither did the dressing.  I was hoping for the same flavor as the ones I get at the restaurant and they weren't even close.  Probably not something I will make again unless I can refine the flavors more!

That's it for this week.  I do have some more simple things planned to get done before next Tuesday to share.  I feel like February is slipping away and I haven't done much yet - I think the fake spring we are having is just messing with me - I need SNOW to get stuff done in February HA!  Oh, and for the record, neither of my hopeful recipes (the egg rolls or the drink) will make it to the shower.  Don't worry thought I have tried and true things I plan on using - I'm just looking for that one special new thing to add though!

Too Cute Not to Toot!!

Ok, sorry again about the big old forgotten post last week - I've been trying to have posts ready 1-2 weeks in advance and completely forgot that I had never completed the Too Cute Not To Toot! post.  Oops!  As soon as I posted it last week, I started searching for ideas for this week to make up for it :-)

Here we go!

With Valentine's Day coming closer we are all looking for ideas to tell our sweety we love them - here's a great idea from How Does She.  I like this idea better then the 52 ideas because I only have to think of ten (not that I couldn't think of 52 but they would start to sound dorky after awhile!!)

I love party ideas - I think they are fun and who really knows when I'll need them!  I love this circus party idea from Vixen Made - I wonder if my niece would mind a Circus Themed Bridal Shower HA! (Just joking!!!)

These cookies from Sugar Bean Bakers are super cute and a very easy twist on the typical Peanut Butter Kiss cookies.

Sometime around this time of year last year I posted about Valentine's Pouches for the dining room chairs.  I went back to that post this year and was going to make them for the boys . . .until I read the instructions and realized I wasn't ready to sew that project so when I came across this idea from Oopsey Daisy I had to save it for future reference!  Such a cute and fairly simple idea!!

This next idea is a great tutorial for the 52 Reasons I love You project that I did not complete last month.  Paper Vine gives some great information on how to create this project - maybe I will try this one some other time this year!

I have a very specific reason for wanting to post this tutorial from Shindig Parties To Go . ... I needed to know how to make cupcake wrappers for an upcoming shower I'm helping with!  This will be awesome for that and for future birthday parties too!

Clean and Scentsible  shares a really cute card idea using one of my favorite things - the kids handprints!!

We love football and, as the boys get older, I look forward to some Sunday Football traditions so when I saw this table runner, I knew I had to save the idea from Everything has its wonders.  I for sure want to make this before this fall so we can use it for special games as decor.  :-)

And to go along with the football idea, this neat craft from Mom On Time out would be something fun to make next year on Superbowl

That's it for this week!  I'm really hoping to get some inspiration for March decor soon - I need some ideas for my "Mantel" and for a new wreath!! 

February Goals

On Monday, I recapped my January goals.  Today, I want to share my February goals.  Maybe this will inspire you or maybe it will bore you but I like to share these because I like to read others :-)  (I figure I can't be the only one!)

1. The Mantel:  Just put out the February decor - it is all made and I'll be posting pictures soon!

2. Holiday Celebrations: I would like to take the kids to a place called Play World; Mail the family birthday cards on time; Complete all of the printables that go with the birthday board I want to have created by October.

3. Date Night: Darryl's birthday is this month so my plan is to do something on the 25th.  I'm not sure if this will be a family date or not; my plans are not finalized.

4. Daily Something Special: Plan Special Activities around the Valentine's Theme - doing something daily doesn't seem to be working so I'd like to do at least 2 activities a week; Put together the February binder with all ideas I've collected; Plan our little Superbowl party with some decorations and special treats.

5. Pinterest Goals: I actually have 10 items I want to complete this month.  Four of them are recipes - three of which are for our Superbowl party.  The other 6 items are a mixture of some really quick and easy things like printing and framing something to actually sewing a few things.  Watch my weekly posts to see what I've completed and I will give a recap at months end.

6. Too Cute Ideas: I have 7 ideas from recent Too Cute posts.  Some are just printables, a few recipes, and then, again, some things I actually have to "make".  I know I won't complete them all but I couldn't narrow it down!!

7. Quite Book: This is a repeat from January - I would like to complete 2 pages in each book.

8. Celebrate Me:  I want to actually accomplish those discipline areas.  Also, after practicing for my niece's wedding, I realized how much I missed playing so my goal this month is to work on two songs and have them ready to play.

9. Misc Items: Work on my nephews books and get them sold; Design/create march Mantel items

10. House Items: Prime and Paint the kitchen!!!!!!

11. Scrapbooking: Complete 2011 Digitally; make sure everything is uploaded and ready to order when I can order it; Finish my "old" photos; Complete January 2012 Traditionally; Update the boys books; Finish Nate's baby book!

Yes, in case you are wondering, there is way more on this list then I can accomplish in one month but the variety allows me room to accomplish things that I want.  Sometimes, things that look good at the beginning of the month, lose their appeal by the middle of the month.  When I under plan, I tend to do nothing - I'm an over planner :-)