Menu Monday

Here's what we are eating on this week...

Mon: Creamy Portobello Soup

It's a blustery and cold day here today (gross - it's May, seriously?!), so I thought soup would be good.  I've been meaning to make this for a while, but I just never get around to it.  I'm also going to make some garlic bread to go with it.

Tues: Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken

I love balsamic vinegar.  It's so sweet, but tangy and delicious.  This looks really easy and Aldi had all of these veggies majorly on sale, so it was actually a really cheap meal to make.

Wed: Brown Sugar Grilled Salmon with Corn on the Cob

We aren't high class enough to have real salmon, so I'm using some walleye that KB caught and I froze.  Hopefully it'll work out.  If not, we have some really good corn on the cob that KB's mom put up last summer.  We'll just eat a lot of corn.

Thurs: Hawaiian Pizza Salad

This is my favorite type of pizza.  It's so delicious and I think it's all because of the pineapple.  I got a fresh pineapple on sale at the Aldi for 50 cents, so I'm going to use that instead of canned.  I'll probably also use ranch dressing instead of italian.

What are you going to be eating this week???

Menu Monday

After the stomach virus from hell, we are finally eating normally again.  Thank goodness!

Here's what we'll be eating this week...

Mon: Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatos

We have a big bag of leftover BBQ from my in-laws in my freezer that needs to get used up like crazy. I'm not too sure how I feel about this, but it could be good. I like both of these things separately, but I'm not sure how I feel about them together. We'll see.

Tues: Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

I'm going to tweak this a little but, but overall it's a pretty easy recipe. I'm going to sub in ground turkey instead of beef since that's what's in the freezer. I'm also going to make some cheesy garlic bread.

Wed: Parmesan Chicken Bake with Corn

I wanted to make pesto chicken, but KB was sitting next to me when I was making my grocery list and told me that it looked gross. So this was the compromise. I looks pretty easy and I feel like I've made something similar to it before.

Thurs: Chef Salad

I need some greens in my life after a steady diet of Sprite and crackers. Chef salads are so easy to make and taste so good. I'm going to try making my own Ranch without a spice packet too...we'll see how that goes.

What are you cooking up this week???

Menu Monday

Last week was ca-ra-zay at work so ye olde blog took a backseat.


I'm back this week though!

Menu Monday is a little boring this week because KB is gone all week turkey hunting.  The good thing about that is that I can eat all of the things that KB hates that I love.

First up:

I know I could technically drink this anytime, even when KB is here, but it's more fun to drink it when he's not.  This stuff is really good, but it's also a little expensive for my taste, so it's a treat.

Kale Caesar Salad

I'm going to go halfsies on this one and use some romaine too.  I really like Caesar salad, but KB thinks that if it doesn't have meat in it he's not getting enough protein and the world is going to end.

I love these pizzas.  We don't eat a lot of convenience foods when KB is here so they are a treat.  They are also expensive and he can eat a lot of pizza.

I'm also planning on eating lots of salads with crunched up Ramen noodles (it's my new jam) and some egg sandwiches (because the neighbor's chickens have been working overtime).

Menu Monday

Here's what we'll be eating on this week...

Mon: Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches



Since it's already almost 2 and I haven't even thought about the Crock Pot, I'll probably just make these on the stove top. I've never actually had a really philly cheese steak, so I'm not sure how these will compare, but they look pretty good.

Tues: Tortilla and Black Bean Pie



I have quite a few random tortillas to use up from recipes I've made recently, so this one looked like a winner. I'm going to mix it up and use corn AND flour tortillas.

Wed: Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake



I've made this quite a few times before because it's easy and it uses up a lot of eggs. Our neighbors were gone for spring break last week, so we got all of the eggs from their chickens. They have almost 20, so there's a lot of eggs up in here. I'm going to add some sausage to this to make it a little bit heartier.

Thurs: Healthy Broccoli Raisin Salad and Regular Salad



I like this salad, but KB is not a huge fan because he hates mayonnaise. This recipe doesn't use mayonnaise and instead uses cashews. I don't have a VitaMix so I'm a little scared that my sauce will be too chunky, but oh well. I'm also going to leave out the raisins because they are really gross. I might put some fresh grapes in there instead.

What are you going to be cooking up this week???

Friday Fives

Here's five random things on this Friday.....

-I have to work today.  Boo.  My company gives us President's day instead of Good Friday.  Yay America.

-KB's grow light operation has been working well....a little too well.  We transplanted the seedlings into bigger pots yesterday because they were starting to die.  Now my house looks like something off of Drugs Inc.  Lots of pots.  Lots of lights.  Lots of water.  Our neighbor actually asked us the other day what he should tell the cops we are growing when they show up.

-I got bitten by a tick 2 weeks ago.  It still itches like crazy and has this really nasty scab on it.  Ticks are seriously so gross and there is snow on the ground.  What was a tick doing out at that time (I sound like its mom)?  Before you go crazy and think that I have some nasty tick borne illness, I don't.  We have extensive background in that (KB is a tick magnet) and I don't have any of the symptoms.  It's time to break out the DEET I guess.

-I'm still going back and forth on paint colors for our house.  At first I wanted something dark and woodsy, but after thinking about it I think that would look kinda weird on our house.  I think I've settled on a sage green color for most of it, a cream trim, and dark red accents.  Now I just need to convince KB to pay someone to do it and not try it himself.



- Everyone should vote for Cheerwine in Garden and Guns bracket of the best southern foods.  North Carolina come on and raise up.

Pinteresting Wednesday...

I haven't linked up in a while, so here goes!  Link up with The Vintage Apple to play along.

Here are my favorite Pins of the last few weeks...

Source: neverhomemaker.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: javiergd.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: obaz.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: tasteofhome.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: designinthewoods.blogspot.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Source: tearfuldreams.tumblr.com viaRachel on Pinterest

Nom Nom Nom

I can't stop eating this....

Source: thehartsocks.com viaTheresa on Pinterest

It's so creamy and coconutty (but not too much) and delicious. I got a bunch of them on sale at Aldi because sometimes they have random Greek yogurts in there.

It's a pretty good snack for under 200 calories and has a ton of protein. It also doesn't have high fructose corn syrup (just good ole American sugar...ok the sugar probably isn't from America).

Menu Monday

Here's what we'll be eating on this week....

Mon: Roasted, Garlic and Chicken White Pizza

Source: dinnersdishesanddesserts.com viaRachel on Pinterest

I'm not a huge fan of white pizza. It just feels wrong. I do really like roasted garlic though, so I'm hoping that will make up for it. I might add a little bbq sauce to it too because you can't go wrong with bbq sauce.

Tues: Roasted Mushrooms, Onions and Gouda Grilled Cheese

Source: shewearsmanyhats.com viaRachel on Pinterest

I love mushrooms and onions that are cooked down until they are dark brown and almost nothing. So good. Aldi also had some smoked gouda on sale this week, so I splurged and got the good stuff. I might heat up some tomato soup to go with these, but we'll probably just end up eating them as is.

Wed: Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Source: crockadoodledo.blogspot.com viaRachel on Pinterest

I haven't used my Crock Pot nearly as much as I used to when I wasn't working at home. I'm going to try to make a point to use it at least once a week (especially once our kitchen demo starts). This recipe looks really easy and I feel like I've made it before (and it turned out okay).

Thurs: Freezer Food and Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Source: allrecipes.com viaRachel on Pinterest

This is going to be a mish mash of a dinner. I have a big head of cabbage that I need to use up and I also have quite a few frozen things of soup and beans and random things in the freezer that I need to use up also. I really like fried cabbage and the bacon will make it even more delicious.

What will you be cooking this week???

Menu Monday

Here's what we'll be eating on this week....

Mon: Smothered Chicken with Greens

Source: turvs.net via Rachel on Pinterest

This looks really good and I have some mushrooms that are on their last legs.  We'll be having this with some extra greens from KB's grandparent's house on the side.  I'll probably dress them up with dried cranberries and apple cider vinegar.  Yum yum.

Tues: Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Salad

Source: cooklikeachampionblog.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I've had these pinned for a really long time and kind of forget about them. Aldi had goat cheese majorly on sale, so I stocked up. I'm also going to make a salad to go with these with some kind of mustard vinaigrette. Our friends gave us some really good spicy mustard and I can't wait to try it out in this.

Wed: Chicken Fajita Salad

Source: iowagirleats.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love salads like this because they are easy and taste way richer than they really are. I'll probably not use the dressing. I made some like this last week and it wasn't very good. I'll probably make some jalapeno ranch (which is totally not cultured or healthy, but whatever).

Thurs: Avocado Egg Salad

Source: neverhomemaker.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that KB will not like this dish. He pulled an avocado out of the fridge yesterday and asked me what it was and who was eating them. That would be me. All the time.

Extras!:

Peanut Butter Pie Cookies

Source: onesweetheat.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Sometimes I eat things and I'm like "I'm really glad I'm not allergic to peanuts...or milk...or gluten..etc. This is one of those things. I made these for a cookout with our neighbors on Saturday and they were really good. I'm pretty sure their kid at about half of them.

Easter Egg Bread

Source: breadexperience.com via Margaret on Pinterest

We had another cookout to go to on Sunday afternoon for some friends that have chickens, so I thought it would be fun to make this. It turned out terrible. I'm just not good at baking. It didn't rise hardly at all and is really hard. KB thought it was good though, so he's been eating it for breakfast in the morning. I ended up taking a bottle of wine to the cookout instead. That's probably more fun anyway.

Grow Grow Grow

We have lift off....

KB wanted to try starting some seeds inside this year.  Almost all of them came up.

We planted Black Krim tomatoes, Right Bite tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, squash, cucumber, zucchini, impatiens, alyssum, and some gourds. Holy produce Batman.

Menu Monday

Here's what we'll be eating on this week....

Mon: Corn Chowder from a cookbook I have

I'm not going to be here for dinner because I have a hot dinner date with some lovely ladies so I'm going to thrown this soup in the Crock Pot for KB to eat when he gets home.  He's been working a lot recently because of tax season, so there's no telling when he will actually get home to eat.  This recipe is a pretty normal corn chowder recipe....I'm sure you can find it on the Internet if you really want it.

Tues: Turkey Pesto Sliders

Source: reluctantentertainer.com via Rachel on Pinterest

These look so good. My grandmother used to make little sandwiches like this sometimes with ham and swiss cheese and they were so amazing. I loved them. I've tried to make them before and they just didn't turn out the same. I'm hoping this recipe is a little closer. The onion glaze that goes on top of them looks amazing.

Wed: Cheesy, Chicken and Black Bean Bake

Source: tastykitchen.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I'm going to be leaving out the chicken and recplacing it with double the black beans. We used to not eat meat very often for dinner (maybe once or twice a week) and I'm trying to get back to that. This looks pretty good and easy (especially since I don't have to cook the chicken).

Thurs: Tomato, Avocado, Onion Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Source: laylita.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Besides eating meat too much, we've also been lacking on eating salads for dinner. I really like avocados and onions, so I would probably eat this without the dressing on it, but the dressing looks really good too. KB is not a fan of onions so I'll probably leave those off of his.

What will you be eating this week???

Menu Monday

I was rushed going to the grocery store again, so this week's menu is kinda thrown together as well.  Last week turned out pretty good though, so maybe my luck will strike twice.

Mon: Egg, Bean and Veggie Wraps

Source: self.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I really like huevos rancheros, so when I saw this wrap that looked like huevos rancheros wrapped up in a tortilla - I was on it. Things like this are so easy to make and most of the time taste really good. I got some peach/mango salsa too, so it will be delicious no matter what. You could put that stuff on anything and make it taste good.

Tues: Ground Sausage and White Bean Chili

Source: cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com via Rachel on Pinterest

It's supposed to snow here on Tuesday and Wednesday (oh joy), so I thought this soup might be good to make on Tuesday night. I got some spicy sausage to give it some kick. I'm most excited about crumbling up my corn bread to put in it.

Wed: Slow Cooker Garlicky Chicken and Rice

Source: prevention.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I haven't used my slow cooker as much as I normally do now that I'm at home during the day, so I wanted to bust it out this week. I saw this recipe on Prevention (which normally has pretty healthy recipes but sometimes the sodium is astounding) and it looked easy, so why not.

Thurs: Mexican Cole Slaw (recipe on Pin) and Hot Dogs

Source: frenchknots.net via Rachel on Pinterest

The people we house sat for gave us some really good mustard the other day, so I want to use it on some really good hotdogs. Slaw is the best thing to put on a hot dog in my opinion. This mexican slaw looks pretty easy and a little different from the normal slaw recipe. I'm hoping it doesn't clash too bad with the mustard we got.

What will you be eating this week???

Menu Monday

I got a flat tire on my way to the grocery store (luckily I was still in my driveway and KB could fix it), so I didn't have much time to plan/go.  This week's menu is a little lackluster.....but I have a fixed tire and working car, so that wins.

Mon: Breakfast for Dinner

We're going to have more than just these, but these will be the star.  Tomorrow is KB's birthday and since tax time is right around the corner, he'll be working 80+ hours from now until the end of March.  These are not my personal fave, but whatever.  I'm also going to be making eggs, toast and bacon to go with them.

Tues: Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Source: emilybites.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Tuesday is KB's birthday, so I'm going to make him something really good. He loves meat and pot roasts and stuff, but I'm normally too cheap/lazy to cook them. I'm actually going to be using pork (hope it turns out) because Wal-Mart was having a major sale on some pork roasts. He's also getting a birthday cake. He always asks for yellow cake out of a box and chocolate frosting out of a can. Can't argue with that.

Wed: Freezer Food

We have tons of food in the freezer and I might go to an exercise class after work.  Looks like it's pinto beans/collard green and black eyed pea soup/random Mexican food casserole for dinner.

Thurs: Breakfast Pizza

Source: bornfreenorthernvirginia.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I don't normally repeat recipes, but this one was really good (and really easy). It's another breakfast food, but it doesn't really taste like one. The key is the cream cheese on the crust - it makes it so creamy and smooth.

Extras:

Easter Egg Bread

Source: breadexperience.com via Joan on Pinterest

Since we watched chickens last week we now have a ton of eggs. I was planning on making this over the weekend to leave at the house we were watching, but I watched a whole season of Girls instead. Go me.

Menu Monday....on a Tuesday

I had yesterday off for President's Day.  I thought I was going to get so much done (including updating this), but I didn't.  I ate a huge lunch, went to the grocery store and then came home and slept on the couch for 3 hours, then worked some.

Pretend that you are reading this on Monday.

Mon: Easy Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken

Source: allrecipes.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I made this last night and it was really easy (so easy that while I was on a conference call KB did most of it). I substituted turkey bacon because I like it better, but I'm sure it would be even better with real bacon on it. I also used dijon mustard instead of regular because that's what I had. It still tasted very honey mustard-y though.

Tues: Sweet Corn Frittata and Salad

Source: prevention.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love eggy things like this. They are easy to make and they taste really good. I couldn't find shredded swiss cheese at the Aldi and I didn't feel like grating it myself, so I'll be substituting an italian blend. I'm thinking it will probably taste the same.  I did score lots of grape tomatoes for 50 cents a package though.

Wed: Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice

Source: littlemagnoliakitchen.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Red beans and rice is so easy to make and tastes really good (even though we are a bit late for Mardi Gras). I couldn't find red beans at the Aldi, so I'm going to be substituting with pinto beans. I'm not sure if it's going to work, but I figure for the most part a bean is a bean. I also don't have any cajun seasoning, so I'm just going to make my own. We'll see how that goes.

Thurs: Tangy Tzatziki Pasta Salad

Source: myrecipes.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I love greek food and greek salads, so I'm going to plan on mixing this pasta salad in with a greek salad to pump it up a little bit. I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes, so I'm going to cut up some of the grape tomatoes I got on super sale and see what happens. I also got some of those spicy little green peppers that are in greek salads.  Hopefully that will be enough to throw KB off of the fact that there isn't any meat in here.

What will you be cooking up this week???

Pinteresting Wednesday

I'm back on the Pinterest bandwagon.  Here are my favorite Pins of the week (okay really the last few weeks, but who's counting?)

Source: budgetsavvydiva.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: pinterest.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: jossandmain.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: cozamia.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: pitterandglink.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

What are your favorite Pins this week???