peelosophy

I didn’t get to two of my menus from last week because we had some impromtu dinner invitations – LOVE THOSE!  So you may be seeing some repeaters from last week.  The lesson I’m learning is that I need to save a day for  leftovers because of impromtu invites and for just left overs or the “All-Stars Dinner” is what we refer to at our house.  The new menu we tried last week, which was a hit, was the Beef and Cheese Manicotti, everyone loved it and I froze some for dinner later.  It’s definitely not a “30-minute meal”  though — stuffing all the insides of the noodles was a little frustrating at crunch time at 5pm.

For more yummy menu planning check out – orgjunkie.com.

MONDAY: Totinos Party Pizzas; I had Physical Therapy tonight and apparently John had been storing some of these babies in the basement freezer.

TUESDAY: Beer Brined Chicken (New!)

WEDNESDAY: Katy’s Chicken Enchiladas

THURSDAY:  Eggs to Serve, Bacon and Toast

FRIDAY:  Leftovers

SATURDAY:  Linguine and Clam Sauce

SUNDAY:  Pesto Chicken Pasta

Yea! -these posts are actually helping me stay accountable to menu planning and I’ve been actually getting excited about it.

The new recipes that were favorites from last week were the Crock Pot Chili and Karin’s Shrimp Creole.  In Karin’s recipe she gave me, she substituted the tomatoes with “fire roasted” tomatoes – which I LOVED.  And John really liked the chili, which is a huge compliment b/c he is the “chili-man” in our house and I seldom make it.  I didn’t get to the manicotti on Sunday, because we ate at Peggy’s where she served up Beef Tenderloin, Scalloped Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli and Pineapple Upside down cake.  SO good.

On the menu for this week, is mainly all tried and trued recipes except for the Beef and Tomato Manicotti and Katy’s Chicken Enchiladas.  Can’t wait – but holy pasta Batman – I’m on carb crazy lately.

For more yummy menu planning check out – orgjunkie.com.

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Hey! It’s kind of a weird week for menu planning because we may take a spontaneous trip out of town this weekend.  So I guess I’ll plan it and if we don’t eat it, you may see it on our menu for next week too.

Also, the Pesto Chicken Pasta I made last week, John said, “It was the best thing I’ve made in a long time.”  So you may want to try it.

MONDAY: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Rolls

TUESDAY: Chicken Chili and rolls

Chicken Chili

3 cans great northern or cannelloni beans, drained
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium red peppers, seeded and chopped
1-4oz can diced green chilies
3 cloves if garlic, minced
3 ¬Ω cups chicken broth
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano

1. Combine all ingredients in crock-pot.  Mix thoroughly.

2. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

WEDNESDAY: Homemade Pizza and salad

THURSDAY: Eggs to order, bacon and toast

FRIDAY: Date Night — eating out

SATURDAY: Pulled Chicken Sandwich and Home Fries

SUNDAY: Ground Beef and Tomato Manicotti (new recipe)

I’m hopping on board with Menu Plan Monday with I’m an Organizing Junkie – or for this week at The Happy Housewife.  Well, because I’m bored with cooking and menu planning, so I thought this may actually help me plan better, spice it up a bit and I get a post from it.

Don’t expect any culinary cuisines from my menus, but it may inspire you to think outside your normal meals and try something new.  And please comment with your family favorites or share recipes with me too.

I’m only listing dinners for now, I kinda like to be spontaneous for breakfast and lunches.  But maybe in the future, I’ll put those in too.

MONDAY:  Northwoods Baked Chicken, Sauted Zucchini, Grapes and Cheese

Northwoods is a house spice blend from Penzeys Spice Shop.  It’s awesome.  Here’s what I do:

On 4 Chicken Thighs, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle Northwoods Seasoning, let marinate for as long as you can – I usually do a couple of hours.

Set oven for 350 degrees.  Put another sprinkle of Northwoods on chicken and also sprinkle garlic salt.  Then cook for about an hour in the oven, depending if you are using bone-in or boneless thighs will vary the length you cook.   You can also grill for 7 minutes on each side.

TUESDAY: Eggs to order, bacon and toast…yes for dinner!

WENESDAY: Sloppy Joe’s (the Manwich variety tonight), home sweet potato fries and fruit

The fries I do this:

Cut sweet potatoes in quarters.  Put in a bowl and coat with olive oil, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Place on sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes until crispy.

THURSDAY: Pesto Pasta with Chicken and a Salad

FRIDAY:  Out at a party

SATURDAY:  Homemade Pizza Night with a Salad

SUNDAY:  Chinese Takeout from Webster Gardens

Pop Pop Pop! – katherinemariephotography: I don’t remember how I came across this blog, but before you click it, if you are having serious feelings of inadequacy as a mother, save it for a later date.  Seriously, these themes of the week that she does with her kids are gorgeous and totally off the hook as far as I’m concerned – that’s a compliment from afar.   She is clearly an amazing designer and photographer and I have become addicted to the beauty she is creating, but have allowed myself to only take a peek when I can  admire without feeling bitter.

Back to the Basics: Batch Cooking – SimpleMom: I have been waiting for something like this post to get me exited about batch cooking again.  I used to do it here and there a couple years ago, but lost my rhythm.  I thought this post was great to jog my memory and to encourage ideas that I haven’t tried before.

Before/After Chad’s Filing Cabinet Planter – Design Sponge: I don’t have time.  I have so many unfinished projects.  But I want to do this – I know exactly where it would go and what I would plant.  Oh well.

Dirty Little Secrets: The Riverside Church Blog: I  love this post that Kim wrote.  I loved reading the comments that people wrote about it.  I have read this book too. There are so many ideas from this book that really resonated with me, but I could never put it into words and this book does a great job.  I’ve always wondered where parenting righteousness comes from and why is it so hard for moms/women to be honest with each other;  this book addressed alot of this for me.

I went to Aldi yesterday for fruit – glanced in the freezer section and they had…JELL-O PUDDING POPS.  I don’t know if they are coming back or not, maybe they are overstock from 1985.  Don’t know, don’t care.  I’m super excited!!!

You should be out the door already to get you some.  Maybe you need a memory jog.  Bill Cosby.  Vanilla, Chocolate and Vanilla/Chocolate Swirl flavors. Jell-O Brand. Made with real pudding.

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This has been many moons in the making and will never be to the detail that I want it, but it helps me so I thought I would share.  It’s my price book.

What is a price book you may ask? It is some sort of book to keep track of prices.  I use it to keep track of grocery prices.  For example, I never know if that’s a good deal on peanut butter or not, so I would look in my price book for reference. I’ve learned that not every sale is a sale.  I get the prices on items I buy from my own grocery receipts or sales ads and mark it in my price book.  It sounds a little consuming and it is at first, but once you get into it, we buy most of the same things at the store and eventually my price book runs itself.

I have used a paper notepad before, but have switched to an Excel document in the recent year in hope of accessing it from my iPhone when I’m at the store. I’m hoping to put a link on the main page of peelosophy soon too.

Here is the link if you want to access my price book: peels price book

Here is also the grocery list template I use too: market list

Yes, I love tools and spreadsheets.  Let me know if you have any ideas for improvement on these.

For the last four years, John has gone on a fishing trip and I throw a girls party.  Its usually the first weekend of May, so this year it was last weekend.  The party is something I look forward to months in advance, because I enjoy it so much!

I wish I had pictures to share – but I didn’t think about that…next year for sure.

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My friend, Penny, says that a big part of managing kids is marketing.  And she is so right.  Whether it’s a trip to the grocery store, trying on “nice clothes” (for boys this is a challenge) or just everyday dinner – the more I market it and talk it up, the more likely they are willing to participate.

The case in point was dinner tonight.  In the past, I have done various things to make dinner more exciting, like renaming different meals to appeal to the boys, you can read about it here.  Tonight we were having leftovers with several options to choose from. I, personally, love leftovers within reason, but just the name leftovers…very unappealing.

Tonight, in the moment of telling the boys what was for dinner, I switched my words and told them that we were having an “All-Star Dinner” tonight.  I’m not a sports fan – at all.  I vaguely know the concept of an All-Star game.  What I do know is that the All-Star players are chosen from a popular vote from the fans.  Like meatloaf was chosen by JJ tonight and the “white stuff” (chicken tetrazzini) was chosen by Henry.  I know, this idea is bit cheesey, but it worked…will see how it plays out next time.

My friend Liz and I were talking about Trader Joes last weekend.  She told me she never knew what to buy there and  that she could never find the yummy stuff everyone else did.  I remember that feeling and started compiling a list of my favorite things from TJs,  mostly from trying them after a friends recommendation.

I only go to TJs about once a month.  Most often it because I need to bring something to a party or I’m having people over.  I know lots of people who do all of there shopping there who would know way more about the goods than I do.  (Hint Hint – share what you know) But here’s my little list and Cary made one too on her blog here. Check it out.

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