meals for 4.25.10 to 5.1.10

we're not shopping this week - except for things like milk and some fresh fruit... :) we have a nice menu, though...nothing to scoff at... :) and if tonight's dinner is any indication of what our week holds, we'll be enjoying full bellies... :)

and yes, if you want to call this "Pioneer Woman" week, feel free... :) it wasn't intentional... :)

Sunday: homemade sloppy joes (Pioneer Woman), leftover cheesy noodles & green beans
oh my goodness, these sloppy joes were so soooo soooo good... W.O.W. :) make them...seriously...they're good...

Monday: chicken rice soup (Pioneer Woman) & maybe some homemade french bread

Tuesday: breakfast for dinner (pancakes? french toast? omlettes? not sure yet...)

Wednesday: leftovers

ry's parents and sister will be arriving on Thursday afternoon, so i am not 100% sure what the rest of the week will hold as far as our menu. ry's mom is an awesome cook...so i'm sure she'll be in the kitchen for some of meals for the rest of the week...or we'll be eating out... either way, i'll leave the rest of the week blank...
(and, honestly, while i'm LOVING cooking, i'm kind of looking forward to a little kitchen/dinner vacation... :))

BUT... i'm thinking of making a pork tenderloin in the crockpot for Thursday... they're on sale this week... too good of a deal to pass up... :)

Thursday: pork tenderloin?

Friday: ? :)

Saturday: ? :)


enjoy your week... :) hope you spend some good time around the table with your friends and your family! :)

playin' at Grandmas

my mom has a little red wagon that she sits various little stuffed animal friends in during the year... during the holidays, little reindeer and bears sit in it...in the Spring, she decorates it with little bunnies and lambs...we played with the wagon a bit when we visited in early March... when we walked in for our Easter visit, the very first think K went to play with (after giving Grandma kisses :)) was the wagon...we also enjoyed playing with Grandma's cabinets, Daisy's dog toys (my parents' dog), and opening and closing the door... :)

just tall enough to reach the door knob :)
"bahll"
ridin' in the wagon :)
drinking and riding :)

Easter egg hunt

we had a very basic Easter egg hunt with K at my mom and dad's house on Easter Sunday...
she napped just before the official hunt, so my mom spent a little time "stuffing" the eggs with various toddler goodies. the eggs had animal crackers, fishies, and the epitome of Easter treats - yellow Peeps! :) the hunt was quite funny... while the eggs were in plain sight, K's attention wandered very easily... :) we had a lot of fun trying to encourage her to get the eggs here and there... and of course, when she discovered that the eggs were holding little treasures...well, that just about made for the longest Easter egg hunt... :)
nevertheless, we had a lot of fun and made some special "first Easter egg hunt" memories... :)

hmm, what's this?
serious egg hunter

ohhh! a Peep! :)

hmmm, what's in this one?
attention diverted - a pine cone! :) (it's kind of shaped
like an egg, right? :))

ohhh, yah, these eggs have treats inside :)

(thanks, Grandma, for carrying my basket :))

i have the treat, let me put the egg back in the grass :)

meals for 4.18-4.24

it's gonna be slim pickins around this house for the next two weeks... we're pretty much going to eat what we have... not a lot of $$ for grocery shopping...unless Uncle Sam sends our refund checks soon... :)
i don't think we'll suffer... :)

Sunday: leftovers - macaroni soup & grilled cheese
Monday: hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, veggies
Tuesday: lasagna & french bread
Wednesday: french toast
Thursday: leftovers (lasagna)
Friday: hot dogs, cheese noodles (paula dean), & veggies
Saturday: free for all - eat whatever

:) happy eating this week... :)

playin' outside :)

it's so much fun to have a little one walking around this Spring.... :) it's nice to put her down in the green grass and watch her explore everything around her... :)
we don't have a lot of "fun" kiddy things to do in our yard {like a sandbox (which would become a wild kitty litter box, no doubt) or a swing set}...so mostly, we just chase her or chase the balls that she kicks or throws... she doesn't seem to care, though...and neither do we :)
here are some photos from the last few weeks :)

kickin' the ball with Daddy :)
her "wow!" face (love it :))

ohh, a lightsaber?

ohhh, grass :)

let's play! :)

runnin' away :)

learning that your hands get dirty when you touch the ground :)

we're working on the "brush it off" technique :)

meals for 4.11.10 - 4.17.10

i have been such a spending grocery shopper in the last few weeks that i'm going to not shop this week and we're going to eat what we have... and we have plenty... :)

this is what our week looks like for meals...i think... :) i always find that it's hard to "get back into the swing of things" after a week off... :)



Sunday: strombolis or homemade pizza

Monday: out to dinner to celebrate Ry's birthday - his pick: Chinese

Tuesday: chicken hot dish

Wednesday: macaroni soup

Thursday: leftovers - chicken hot dish

Friday: leftovers - soup and any chicken hot dish

Saturday: grill out - burgers or hot dogs


:) enjoy your week! :)

catch up

it's been awhile... :)
i feel like there's a lot to write about but nothing that is remotely interesting... :)

we've been busy in the last week or so...mostly going here and there...
Ry's very short spring break (thank you, February snowcation) bought us a little time to head north to visit my parents for a few days... we were going to head to DE to visit Ry's family, too, but our schedules, combined, just didn't allow for a lot of time to see them... so, we all decided to just wait and enjoy a visit in a few weeks...
anyway, we had a nice time in PA...didn't do a whole lot, but that's part of the fun. i really just enjoy spending time with my mom and dad...we don't have to be on the go all the time or anything... :)
we drove back to VA on Wednesday and K and I had a quiet but busy day on Thursday when Ry went back to school for a very short week... :) on Friday morning, we headed up to Washington, DC with intentions of seeing some pretty Cherry Blossoms... however, we were too late... we mostly just got to see some brown petals on the ground... we'll have to head to DC a little earlier next year, i think, in order to take in the pretty flowers! :)
we did get to do some touristy things in DC, though...so that was nice. :) it was a long day with A LOT of walking, though...wow! my feet were killing me when we finally got back to the van to head to dinner... :) i don't know how far we walked, but we were on our feet for a good 6 or more hours...

i just got the pictures from the last few weeks loaded on the computer, and as long as the computer doesn't crash between now and later (been having some issues with good old Dell), i will get them posted and write some more details on the last few weeks... :)

in the meantime, i need to do the piles of laundry that have accumulated and plan our meals for this upcoming week... yep, i think it's back to the "grindstone" with our regular schedules... :) bittersweet, if you ask me...it's kinda sad to go back to a predictable schedule but at least it means that in about 8 more weeks, we'll be saying hello to summer vacation. :) the last week was just a taste of what's to come soon... :)

more later...just wanted to let anyone who reads know that we haven't disappeared... :)
have a wonderful Sunday! :)

secrets from Dr. Oz

i admit that i'm a little addicted to Dr. Oz...
maybe it's because i've always wanted to be a doctor myself...maybe it's because he's so "real" and i find his passion about health and medicine refreshing...maybe it's because he cares a lot about the people he helps...

i always learn something when i watch him... it doesn't even have to be something earth shattering... sometimes i learn how my plate should be divided into fractional parts representing food groups to guarantee that i'm eating healthier...
sometimes i see a new recipe...
sometimes i hear his audience members questions and think, "oh yah, i wondered about that myself!" :)

mostly, however, i really find that listening to what he's teaching is changing my life for the good...

there are times where i miss the show...but fear not, i keep the DVR set to record new shows... :)

i started to watch a show from last week and found some great information...

the topic: toxins...
the show is discussing what toxins our bodies are "excreting" into the water supply because we are not watching what we put into our body.
these toxins are causing fresh water fish to develop both male and female reproductive parts... can you imagine what they're doing to us?

these toxins are found in frying pans (non-stick), bottles, plastics, and yes, even in our lotions...
the toxins are responsible for cancer...and for children starting puberty earlier and earlier...
the toxins mimic hormones...and well, they're bad for us!

we want to stay away from these toxins if we have the knowledge and awareness that they are bad for us!

here are a few:

phthalates:
these chemicals are found in so many products...
*non-stick pans (ever see your pans smoke when you're getting ready to put new pancake batter on it...yep, the smoke - that's the bad stuff)
*flexible plastics
*lotion
*shampoo
*toys
*canned foods
*flooring
*baby powder

~by the way, a lot of times, phthalates are not "listed" on the ingredients that you can find on the back of your favorite products. oftentimes, phthalates are in beauty products - and specifically, in items with fragrance. so, if it has the word "fragrance" on the product...don't use it... (so sad about this!)

BPA (Bisphenol-A):
this chemical is found in hard plastics, including our favorite water bottles, food containers, baby formula cans, canned food, and toys.
the BPA doesn't stay in the plastic; it leeches into us...
BPA can raise breast cancer rates and also cause challenges in reproductive health...

in plastics, you want to use things that are BPA and phthalate-free...

you can also look at the bottom of the plastic for the "recycling" symbol.
if the symbol has the numbers 3, 6 or 7 in the center, do NOT use them...

and, you should never microwave your food in any plastic container... always use glass... :) (and this goes for the microwave meals, as well... you should never microwave your food in the containers they provide!)

basically, these pollutants are not as strictly regulated as they seep into our water supply... the drinking supply is regulated, but only 91 of the contaminates are regulated... and well, when we shower, flush, drink, wash dishes...all of those chemicals are going down the drain and into our water system...thousands of chemicals and toxins...

it looks like i have some important changes to institute myself... not only for me, but also for my family, especially K... :)

meals for 3.28.10 through 4.2.10

Sunday: chicken hot dish (from last week - didn't get to it)
Monday: taco casserole
Tuesday: leftovers (chicken hot dish)
Wednesday: leftovers (taco casserole)
Thursday: out to dinner, probably - if not, strombolis or homemade pizza
Friday: soup and sandwiches

breakfasts: sweet potato muffins, waffles, cereal
lunch: leftovers from dinners, sandwiches

desserts: jell-o jigglers, fruit

recipe nervousness turns into a good meal! :)

i love staying at home with my sweet girl... i love that my "stress" now is getting dinner on the table... :)
being at home has moved me into a new phase of life...one that i find to be a little challenging but fun... :)
i'm trying to learn how to really REALLY budget...and in meal planning, i'm learning how to make a list, stick to it, and make some healthy meals for my husband and picky but sweet baby girl who rarely eats what i give her...(but that's for another post) :)

i really enjoy trying new recipes...

i really dislike when i try a new recipe and it's a total flop - like the meal is just not good or worth putting in a mouth to count as calories (yep, i food journal , too - i need to get some serious lbs. off of this body)...

recent flops...
some sort of mexican casserole...
some kind of chicken wrap things...

i admit that i was a little nervous to try a new recipe after these not-so-tasty meals...if i spend time in the kitchen making something, i want it to taste good! :)

i love soup...and even though Spring is knocking on our door, soup is a meal that lasts for another good meal...if not a little more. :) and it's so easy to have lots of veggies in soup... :) yum!

i found this recipe in my mom's very small hometown newspaper - the Sidell Journal... :) it's been a few years since i cut it out, but i'm also organizing my folders of recipes into a bindered photo album with sticky pages... :) so, i'm finding these little treasures along the way... :)

i took the new recipe plunge again and made this on Monday...
it was SO YUMMY! :) and it used a crockpot! :) ya gotta love those crock pot recipes... :)
with a little corn bread, this was a real belly pleaser... :) like we couldn't wait for leftover night :)

go ahead...try it :)

Hamburger Stoup <---not a typo like my husband thought on our meal board - it's a play on two words - soup+stew :)

3 large potatoes, sliced (i peeled mine too)
3 carrots, sliced
1 lb. frozen peas
1 onion, diced (i used a sweet onion)
2 ribs of celery, sliced thin
salt & pepper to taste
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of ground beef browned and drained
10 3/4 oz can of tomato soup
1 soup can of water

1. put veggies in the crock pot in layers as listed. season each layer with salt and pepper (i just used seasoned salt)
2. layer beef on top of celery. mix together soup and water in a separate container and pour over the ground beef.
3. cover & cook on low for 6-8 hrs. or high for 2-4 hrs., stir occasionally.

(i cooked it on high b/c i forgot to make it until 3 that afternoon...turned out fine...and i didn't see the "stir occasionally" when i was making it...i didn't stir...it was fine... :))

really...it's so good! :)