Magazine Challenge: May Planning

So.
It's May.
In education, when you come back after March Break, there is one month left, affectionately known as "Aprilmayjune". We have added to the insanity by deciding to move.
The house closes June 3, and we're moving June 6.  I have to pack.  And empty my freezer.  It's scary.
But enough about what's going on around here.  My absence around these parts has been due to not really cooking while trying to sell a house.  Now I need to use up the supplies of things that I have amassed to use at "some point", like 3 pork tenderloins.  Or a rather large rack of ribs.
The May 2008 issue of Everyday Food may help in some regards.  I was commenting to J that it's the first issue where I've actually made a few things.  But let's get on to the list of 6, shall we?
Here's what I'd like to make from this issue:

• Better-than-Basic Muffins
• Hamburger and Grape Tomato Pizza
• Sausage and Asparagus Saute over Soft Polenta
• Spinach and Feta Turnovers
• Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs with Feta and Mint Sauce
• Roasted Carrots with Honey

I think I've made the Pizza, and I make the Sausage and Asparagus Saute regularly.  The rest of this list looks doable.  Here's to May and packing!

Son of Magazine Challenge: November Planning

So.
It's only halfway through the month, and I'm finally getting around to posting what I'm planning to make from the November 2007 issue of Everyday Food.  It's of course the Thanksgiving issue, which is a month too late for those of us north of the 49th parallel, but there were lots of interesting looking things, and I've already made one, so that's good.
Here's what I thought might make it onto our plates in the month of November:

• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken
• Spinach and Cheese Puff
• Green Bean, Watercress and Crispy Shallot Salad
• Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
• Cornbread and Beef Skillet Pie
• Cheese tortellini with Broccoli, Tomatoes and Garlic

Sounds doable, right?  Let's see what happens!

Son of Magazine Challenge: October

Wow.
It's almost the end of October.
J and I have had a busy fall.  Between football and work I'm not spending as much time cooking as I might like.  We've been eating a lot of simple meals that go together quickly.  The good news is that we've been eating at home during the week, seeing as we're so often out on weekends right now.
Despite this, I did sit down with the October 2007 issue of Everyday Food at the beginning of the month and made a list of things to make.  Surprisingly, there is a lot of dessert on the list.  I haven't had a list like that in a bit.  But, when I've been choosing so many entrees for the last little bit, perhaps it's best that there's some dessert to even it out.
Here's what I thought looked good from the issue:

• Sweet Potato Souffle
• Apple Crisp
• Warm Almond-Cherry Cake
• Chocolate Pudding Cake
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

Only 5, but they all look doable.  And if not, they all look yummy!

Son of Magazine Challenge: September Planning

So.
I know that there's no July/August planning post on the blog.  That's because the July/August 2007 issue of Everyday Food was a big bust for me.  I found 2 recipes - 2 that I wanted to make, and one I had already made in the past in my pre-blog days.  I may get around to making the Roasted Summer Vegetables and Pasta again, because it was good; and then again I might not simply because it doesn't stick in my mind as something I should make again.  The ice cream sandwiches, however, were fantastic and I will make those again.
Frankly, after 3 years of the challenge I'm surprised that there's only been 1 issue where I really haven't been thrilled with what was on offer.  I draw from a large variety of sources for what we eat, so I didn't know if it was that I just didn't like the sound of anything, or if I had reached saturation point with Martha Stewart and was starting to find things repetitive.  Perhaps it's a little from Column A mixed with a little of Column B combined with summer ennui.  No worries, though.  I soldiered on.  Everyone can have an off issue.
I wasn't sure what to think when I sat down with the September issue.  Would it be feast or famine (kinda literally)?  But with a cover boasting "No-fuss Family Fare", I had high hopes.  It was definitely better than what I had encountered last month.  I came up with a list of interesting things to try to make up for July/August.  A return to interesting food just as I return to work.  Sigh.
Here's what we're going to try on the Mountain this month:

• Stuffed Tex-Mex Yellow Squash
• Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce
• Pigs in Blankets and Citrus Spritzers
• Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish
• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Herbed Couscous
• Family Dinner Menu featuring 3-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese, Sauteed Green Beans,  Garlic-Roasted Tomatoes, and Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake

Looks like a good month.  Here's to fall!

Son of Magazine Challenge: May Planning

So.
I've been hideous at keeping up here.  It's not that I'm not cooking.  I'm just not writing these days.  Hopefully, the writing muse will return and all of my pictures will be used to show you the delicious things I've been up to.
Case in point:  the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food.  I have 1 recipe made already, and another on the menu for this week.  If I haven't blogged it, it's not marked as made.  I think there are 5 things made that I have yet to blog.  5!  At some point, I need to catch up.
But getting back to May, there's lots of good looking things.  Once again, this will be the first time I've made something from this issue.  Better late than never.
Here's what we're planning from May 2007:

• Artichoke Dip
• Spinach-Stuffed Flank Steak
• Lemon Sandwich Cookies
• Lemon Cream Pie
• Panko-Crusted Fish with Herb Dipping Sauce
• Rosemary Meatballs

Looks like a good month.

Son of Magazine Challenge: March Planning

So.
It's a new month, and I've already made one of the recipes from March's Everyday Food.  Just as well.  We're going to Montreal for a bit during March Break.  While we won't be gone for the entire week, we will be gone for most of it.  Last year, I did a gigantic amount of cooking that week to post.  That won't be the case this year.  Frankly, based on my reading, I will be eating myself into oblivion.  When I haven't been heard from in a while, check the raclette restaurants or the Nordic Spa.
March 2007 featured dinners that should come together in minutes.  There are boil and toss pastas, and a speedy chili.  I came up with 6 things that I'd like to try:

• Chicken, Ham & Cheese Rollups
• Omelette
• Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto
• Cheesy Hash Brown Bake
• Sage Pork Chops
• Parmesan Rice

We've already had the chicken rollups.  They were delicious.  Let's hope everything else this month is as good!

Planning: January 4-10, 2015

So.

This is our new kitten, Raven.  Isn't she cute?  It's just as well, because she's also a pain in the behind.  Just ask our other cat, Missy (Raven looks almost exactly like Missy, but smaller).  You can also ask me while I'm eating dinner and fighting to keep Raven away from my plate or off the table.  Missy has no interest in people food so it's really just the ongoing struggle with Raven.
You could say that Raven helped me meal plan for the upcoming week.  She helped by trying to chew on the Everyday Foods strewn across the dining room table and lying on top of the sales flyers from the grocery store while buzzing at top volume.  Like I said, she's cute.  See?

Raven also left her teeth marks in the pages of my meal planning notebook.  Thankfully, we prefer food to paper.  I hope she does someday, too.  Here's what we're eating on the mountain this week:

Sunday:  My mother gave me a new soup cookbook for Christmas.  We're having a Spinach Tortellini soup recipe from there for dinner.
Monday:  J has requested meatloaf.  So, that's what we're going to have with mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Tuesday:  Leftover meatloaf etc.
Wednesday:  Hamburgers on the grill.  I have discovered that there are huge number of packages of burgers in our freezer.  We need to use these up on  my quest to empty the freezer.
Thursday:  Pork cutlets with Sauteed Tomatoes and salad. J doesn't like pork, but after he requested both meatloaf and soup for this week, he told me I could make something I wanted.  He's lucky we aren't eating buttered parmesan spaghetti or cereal for dinner so I don't have to cook.
Friday:  This is the wild card.  I'm starting at a new school tomorrow, so we may just go out.  Otherwise, there are Beef Pastry Pockets in the freezer.

Sounds like a good week.  And because this is a post featuring my kitten, one more picture.  There are never enough cute kitty pictures on the interwebs.  In this one, she could be mistaken for Missy.  But she's right where she wants to be:  in the sun, contemplating the next thing to chew.  Sigh.

Son of Magazine Challenge: January/February Planning

So.
A new year means a new year of old Everyday Food Magazines!  This year, I'm working through the third year of EFs that I have in my cupboard, 2007.
2007 was a momentous year here on the mountain.  J moved in, we got married, and I started my last year of teaching before joining the ranks of administration.  Exciting!  Perhaps I should blame all of those things going on in my life for why I seem to have made very little from these issues the first time around.
But no matter.  In one of the few instances where hoarding isn't a problem and can be viewed merely as an opportunity, I'll revisit the issues this year and see what gems there are to be gleaned from their pages.
The Jan/Feb issue, as always, is the Light issue.  It promises to be Heavy on Flavour, and includes a French menu.  Can you guess what piqued my interest?  It also boasts 122 recipes and tips.  I only need 6.  Just as well, when I started looking at recipes.
The All in 1 Bag feature relied heavily on turkey, which J doesn't eat.  There were also a variety of things that I didn't think sounded appetizing to me.  I was commenting to my mother last month that when I look at the recipes that I choose every month, there are very few desserts now.  That is once again the case with only 1 making the list.  Frankly, any of these should be delicious.  And in exciting news, I've already made my first recipe!  I present to you now what we plan to eat around here from the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Everyday Food:

• Molten Mocha Cakes
• Ginger Carrot Soup
• Salmon Tacos
• Pork Cutlet with Arugula and Sauteed Tomatoes
• Weekend Dinner Menu:  Wine-Braised Chicken, Salad with Celery, Red Onion and Croutons, Steamed Potatoes with Parsley, and Crepes with Sauteed Apples
• Wild Rice Pilaf

So here's to a new year and the delicious adventures that await!

New Year, New Goals: 2015 on the Horizon!

So.
Last year, my resolutions here weren't just about the blog, but also some personal ones.  I did pretty well with my blog resolutions, but not so much the rest.  This year, we're keeping things just about the blog and what we're up to around these parts.
When I look at my posting patterns, I post the most when I'm on vacation (obviously), when I take part in an event (because I have to), and when mentally I'm in a good place.  October, November and December weren't great, and it shows in the amount I post and try new things.
I have so enjoyed the Magazine Challenge the past couple of years.  I've tried a ton of new things, most of which have worked, and have found a few things that we'll be eating again.  There's no way we wouldn't continue with the next year of magazines.  I need to set up a chart on the Magazine Challenge page to keep track of what I'm thinking of making.
Meal planning continued in earnest this year, and I'd like to keep up with that.  I find as well posting our dinner menus here keep us on track, and keep me buying only what I need at the store.  J and I work together to some degree on what we want to eat.  But ultimately, I make most of the decisions.  The good thing is, as my number one taste tester, he's willing to try pretty much anything.  That's not going to change anytime soon.
Here's what goals I'm setting for the blog for this year:

1. Post 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).  I make enough new things that I can queue posts for times when life's busy.  I just have to do it.  I know I don't have time for everyday, but three times a week should be doable.
2. 6 recipes per issue of Everyday Food, 2007.  I got closer to this mark in the past year, and actually had a couple of months where I made 6 recipes.  I don't think it's ever going to be a case where I make them all, but it's a goal.  I've already got everything to make my first recipe from Jan/Feb 2007.
3. Eat at home.  J and I continue to work on this.  Meal planning is the way to do it.  Continue to post meal plans on Sunday.
4. Continue to reach into the blogger community.  I've enjoyed the year I've spent with the Secret Recipe Club, and with the #10DaysofTailgate event I participated in this past fall.  I'd like to do more of this and connect with other foodies in the coming year.

I think that's enough.  Here's to the possibilities of 2015!

Planning: December 7-12, 2014

So.
The year is quickly drawing to close, and there's so much to do!  One of the things that often falls by the wayside when it's busy and I don't know what to do is eating.  Eating out is easy.  Not cheap, not nearly as good for me, but freakishly simple and one less thing to worry about.
This month is becoming a case in point to that:  I'm busy, I'm quickly losing motivation to do much of anything, and eating out sounds good.
While it sounds good, it's not healthy, nor is it cost effective.  J and I have talked about the fact that we're trying to be smart with our money.  One of the smart things we can do is eat at home.  This week is the only place to start with that.
Here's what we're planning to eat on the mountain this week:

Sunday:  Sausage and Tomato Risotto.  My first Magazine Challenge recipe in a bit.
Monday:  Mini Shepherd's Pies and Broccoli.  These are freezable.
Tuesday:  Crockpot Lasagna and garlic bread.
Wednesday:  Leftovers
Thursday:  Shake n Bake Chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes and broccoli
Friday:  Dinner out.

Sounds good.  On paper, this sounds totally doable.

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Yikes!

So.
I'm behind.  To put it mildly.
Somehow, November has morphed into December and I have as of yet to do a planning post with the recipes from either month for the magazine challenge.  It's kind of sad:  I've tried and done pretty well at keeping up with 6 recipes a month from Everyday Food until fall and football and weekends away and life.  But there are still things I want to make, and some of them are even making it into mhy plans for Christmas dinner.  More on that to come.
November's issue of Everyday food is filled with ideas for Thanksgiving and make-ahead food.  This was actually a month where I couldn't come up with 6 things I wanted to try.  There are 5.  Here's what I want to make from November 2006:

1. Herbed Biscuits (freeze and bake)
2. Tomato and Sausage Risotto
3. Maple cake
4. Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
5. Blue Cheese and Walnut Spread

I'm thinking maybe the biscuits and definitely the spread for Christmas here.  My mom's coming back with us, and we're celebrating late.  I think we're having prime rib.  There's one lurking in the bottom of the freezer.

December is the first issue in the 2 years that I've been doing this project where I've made 2 things before:  Warm Chocolate Puddings and Mint Chocolate Brownies.  The Brownies are over the top, and so rich.  You bite into them, and you wonder how long it will take before your teeth start falling out.  They're worth it.  Trust me.  Once again, I only have 5 things to try, but I don't consider that cheating because I've already made the 2 desserts listed above.  Here's what I want to make from December 2006:

1. Rasberry Trifle
2. Apricot Stuffed French Toast
3. Parmesan Spirals
4. Glazed Shallots
5. Tortilla Pie

The trifle, spirals and shallots are also probably going to be incorporated into Christmas feasting.  I'm thinking French Toast for New Year's.  This is working out well!

Here's to the end of 2014...and 2006!!

Planning: October 25-31, 2014

So.
As I was digging through the freezer for something this week, I realized that we have been in the house more than 2 years and I have yet to defrost my freezer.  The reason I realized this?  Large amounts of frost on the walls.  I have now determined that we need to eat to the bottom of the freezer so that I can defrost and restart the process of filling for the purposes of not having to cook as much.
I figure that it will take a while until I can get to the actual process of defrosting.  Like, maybe Christmas vacation.  In the meantime, there will be lots of things to eat that I've previously made, and I am fairly sure that I also have a good deal of meat that will need to be used up.  Not a bad thing on the food budget either.
As a result, I see a lot of chicken in our future.  And pork tenderloin.  Life is rough.
J and I have a fairly normal week, so meals need to be easy and quick or I won't want to make them.  Here's the plan:

Saturday:  J's making chili.  It's been bubbling on the stove since about 10:30 this morning, and smells wonderful.  I need to make cornbread.  I've also finally made the Cherry Oat Cereal bars that I bought marshmallows for more than a month ago.  A month.  Yikes.
Sunday:  Lunch is leftovers - Shake n Bake drumsticks, and the dust from a bag of broccoli mixed into hot rice.  Dinner is Chicken Fajita Salad and Garlic Bread.
Monday:  Something from the freezer - Salisbury Steak Meatballs over noodles and broccoli.  Have I mentioned that Costco has changed the packaging on my 5- pound bag into smaller interior steam and eat bags?  I'm not a fan.  I liked the 5-pounds, take what you need approach.
Tuesday:  Beef Pastry Pockets.  These were so good, and used up that last little bit of roast that always seems to be left.  I promised J that I will make more of these...after we eat our way through the freezer.  I think there are even a couple of roasts in the freezer that we can use for this later.
Wednesday:  Chicken Ranch Foil Packets.  I can assemble these before my guitar lesson, and pop in the oven when I get home.
Thursday:  Grilled Steak, Crispy Oven Fries and broccoli.  

Sounds like a great week!  Let's see how it goes.

Bride of Magazine Challenge: October Planning

So.
Life happened.  Since the end of #10DaysofTailgate, I have been overwhelmed, under pressure and otherwise incapacitated.  And beyond all that, we're talking about getting a kitten.  Cause, you know, life's not crazy enough.
The October edition of Everyday Food features Easy Comfort Food.  I have also made and blogged 1 recipe from this magazine:  Potatoes Gratin.  They're delicious.  I highly recommend them to a friend.  I'm sure there will be some more winners this month.
Easy is the name of the game right now.  Frankly, we've been eating out or eating frozen meals.  I'm kinda enjoying the frozen meals I made in the summer.  Baked Spaghetti, Beef Pastry Pockets, and soup with Chicken  Bacon Taquitos have been fantastic after a busy day when I just want to put on pajamas.
In better news, we're home for 18 nights.  Sleeping in my own bed!  Sleeping in on my birthday!  Cuddling and playing with a new kitten!  Making the current cat feel important!  Making myself a birthday cake!
Here's what we're planning this month from the October 2006 issue:

• Rocky Road Bars
• Roast Beef with new potatoes and shallots
• Crispy Oven Fries
• Red and Black Bean Pies
• Ginger Pumpkin Bread
• Roasted Broccoli with Manchego Cheese

Here's to what's left of the month!

Bride of Magazine Challenge: September Planning

So.
J calls this time of year bittersweet:  he misses the warm weather, but it's now football season.  I don't really think that way: I'm going back to school, and I'm not always sure that I want to be.  Summer is a time of sleeping in, cooking and getting things done sssllllllooooooowwwwllllyyyy.  But the structure of getting up and going to work is probably just as well.  I'm sure J's just as happy that I'm going back too.  He and the cat can get back into their routine that doesn't include me.
The September issue of Everyday Food is full of "family favourites" which is kind of back to school-y.  There are a few things that can be frozen, and as always a couple of desserts that I'm more than ready to enjoy.  Here's to back to school!  Here's to seasonal weather and pumpkin spice lattes!  Here's to what I want to make from the September 2006 issue of Everyday Food!

• Spice Grilled Chicken
• Buttermilk Baked Chicken with Spinach Salad
• Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Onion
• Wilted Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
• Shredded Pork Tacos
• Cranberry Oat Cereal Bars
• Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Planning: August 24-29, 2014

So.
I start work full-time again tomorrow.  While I realize that it sounds like I'm whining, I do like my job.  I just find that being home is so much more appealing.  Especially when I still get paid every two weeks.  To that end, this is the last week of making freezer food before we start eating freezer food as a complement to some fresh things.  Football weekends also start next Friday.  Plans get shorter as we're away 7 weekends between now and the end of November.
This week is a bit of an odd clean out the freezer week.  I found a recipe that makes something for the freezer that uses leftover roast beef.  I knew that there was leftover roast in the freezer...and I found some.  Along with the end of a grilled pork tenderloin and a single slice of ham.  I'm planning to use up all 3 this week.  Here's how:

Sunday:  Beef Pastry Pockets.  I told J that these are essentially savory pop tarts.  I hope they're as good as pop tarts.  They're freezable for a quick dinner.
Monday:  Bacon Chicken Ranch Taquitos.  Bacon and Ranch.  How could these be bad?  A new recipe, also freezable.
Tuesday: Pork Fried Rice.
Wednesday:  Grilled steak and potatoes.  I have guitar lesson, so we need something simple.
Thursday:  Buffalo Chicken pizza.  So yummy, nice and simple. 

For the last lunch plans I will write for a while, we're having leftovers, frittata, and leftover pizza.
For dessert, I want to make zucchini bread this week.  I may also make a batch of cookies one evening if there's time.
Looks like a great week.  Let's see what happens!

Planning: August 17-22, 2014

So.
I'm starting back to work this week.  With the weather as it has been for the past little bit, I'm not sure how sad I am about this.  It means that I will cook less, but we'll start eating out of the freezer soon!  When I came home from the grocery store, J informed me that we aren't allowed to move any time soon because there's no way we'd be able to eat to the bottom of the freezer quickly!
To that end, you'd think I wouldn't be making freezer-friendly food this week, and yet I am.  We are having a pool party and BBQ next Saturday, and there's a box of burgers and a couple of Costco-sized bags of buns in the freezer right now.  Removing those will make space for the things I'm making this week to put into the freezer.
So here's what we're planning to eat on the Mountain this week:

Sunday:  Garlic-Marinated Chicken, grilled potatoes and vegetables
Monday:  Baked Spaghetti - this is a freezer recipe, so make one to eat and one to freeze
Tuesday:  Bacon Chicken Ranch Taquitos (from Pinterest) - also a freezer recipe
Wednesday:  Salisbury Steak Meatballs, buttered noodles and broccoli - also a freezer recipe
Thursday:  Beef Pastry Pockets - also for the freezer
Friday:  Pizza

Lunches are leftovers, sandwiches, frittata, and soup.
Dessert:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Raspberry Cream Sandwich cookies, Cherry-Pecan Loaf

Looks like a good week!

Planning: August 9 - 14, 2014

So.
J and I are staying on the eating at home kick.  It's been good so far.  The challenge is to keep it good after I return to work.  Luckily, there's another week before I start easing myself back in.  I haven't been sleeping well (I am having trouble falling asleep), so I'm hoping that getting back into a schedule can help with that too.
Yesterday, we went to Walmart after other things, and I got myself a fun new magazine to play with from Taste of Home.  It's all things for the freezer!  We're up to enchiladas and burritos in there right now for the fall, and I've made an frozen an experiment to see what I think that will be coming up soon if it worked out.  I spent a good deal of time poring over the magazine and looking for things that we might like and would work for us.  I've incorporated 2 into this week's plan.
My mother is also coming this week, and we're planning a BBQ with friends for Saturday night.  That amounts to extra dessert and some new recipes with people to help eat them up.  Here's the plan for this week:

SaturdayDinner:  BBQ with friends - Burgers, Hot Dogs, Vegetables and dip, Chips, Lemonade, Ice Cream Cones and Chocolate Ricotta Icebox Cake.
Sunday:
We're going to the ballgame with my mom.  We're eating the frozen experiment for breakfast with fruit salad, and I don't know what dinner will be.  Lunch is a sausage from a vendor outside the Rogers Centre.
Monday:
Lunch  Mom is staying with us, so macaroni and cheese for lunch with leftover vegetables from Saturday night, and a dessert of some description.  I don't know...cookies?
Dinner:  Chicken Spinach Dip Bread Bowl (from the frozen dinner magazine), salad, and leftover Icebox Cake
Tuesday:
Lunch:  Leftover Bread Bowl.
Dinner:  Steak and Potato Salad
Wednesday:
Lunch:  Frittata.  I didn't make one this past week.  With the other vegetables I need for this week, this will use up the odds and ends from the fridge.
Dinner:  Provolone Beef Pastry Pockets.  This is also from the frozen dinner magazine.  They look interesting.  I'm hoping J thinks they're worth it.
Thursday:
Lunch:  Not sure...that's not a good sign.
Dinner:  Grilled Sausage on a bun, salad.
DessertI've thought about Peach Cobbler, I still haven't made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, I'd like to make and freeze some of the Cherry Pecan Streusel Loaves, and perhaps a batch of cookies that I haven't decided on yet.

Looks good!  Let's see what happens.

Planning: August 3-8, 2014

So.
Now that we're back and doing stuff again, it's time to start cooking again.  My mother and I traded produce this weekend:  I bought her sour cherries for making pies (there weren't any in her part of the world, but I got them in a 10 lb pail at the grocery store), and she bought me my dill pickle making supplies.  I brought the dill home, put it in a juice jug of water and put it up on the top of the china cabinet so the cat can't nibble on it.  She now stands in the dining room on the table, looking at the top of the china cabinet and crying.  She's not spoiled in the slightest.
I'm also planning to start the freezing plan this week, so we're making some extra to freeze.  Here are the plans here on the mountain this week about what we'll be eating:

Sunday:

• Lunch - Leftover Tandoori-Style Chicken burgers (recipe tomorrow.  They're stunning!) and lime cheesecake bars
• Dinner - We were commenting the other day that we hadn't had chili dogs in a while, so we're having Rudy's 

Monday:

• Lunch - Easy, because I'm making pickles this morning. I'm thinking sandwiches.  Although when I look at this, that's 3 meals in a row of sandwiches.
• Dinner - Garlic Marinated Chicken with grilled potatoes and asparagus

Tuesday:

• Lunch - Bean burritos, seeing as I'm making them for the freezer
• Dinner - Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Pasta and Garlic bread

Wednesday:

• Lunch - Frittata.  It's amazing what I unearthed while cleaning out the top of the fridge.  I have a couple of single slices of ham that I think will be best chopped and use in this way.
• Dinner - Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas.   I'm making a double batch to freeze

Thursday:

• Lunch - Wonton Soup.  I keep threatening to make this.  I might actually get that far this week.
• Dinner - Leftover Enchiladas

Friday:

• Lunch - Leftover Soup
• Dinner - Chicken Fajita Salad and Garlic Bread

Dessert:

I want to make Cherry Pecan Streusel mini loaves, Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream, Raspberry Buckle, and Chocolate Ricotta Icebox Cake. The loaves are for freezing for later, but the rest is for eating.

I think it will be a great week if we can stay on track.  We'll see how it goes!

Fall Planning: Stocking the Freezer

So.
It is a month today that I return to work.  A.  Month.  Today.  I'm working on not being sad.  Frankly, I return to work before then.  September 2 is the date that students return for classes and we start the next academic year.  I am already starting to panic.
J and I have been discussing how much we spend on eating out.  It's frightening.  In an average week, we probably spend $120.  How crazy is that?  That would be an average week.  In a week where I'm going mach 9 with my hair on fire and I'm so exhausted that I can't think straight, it would be way worse.  This is a trend that needs to stop.
Football season is almost upon us.  Starting at the end of August, we will be away 7 weekends.  Think of how far the restaurant money could take us in terms of hotels, parking and food.  We have resolved to do better in terms of stocking the freezer with items that will keep us from putting on our shoes, picking up the car keys and heading out for dinner.
When we were at Walmart last week, I saw a Taste of Home magazine of freezer-friendly foods.  I need to go back and pick it up for some more ideas, but I've been perusing past recipes here on the blog as well as on Pinterest of things that I want to make this coming month to prepare for the fall.  We've continued to work on eating to the bottom of the freezer, and so we're now ready for the restock.
Here are some of the things I've come up with that I've made in the past to freeze for easy meals that we enjoy:

• Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake
• Calzones:  I have a few recipes Here, Here and Here
• Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells
• Salmon and Feta Burgers
• Mini Meatballs and how to use them Here and Here
• Bean Burritos

I've also been busy pinning on Pinterest.  Here's what I've come up with that I'd like to try:

• Homemade Egg McMuffins
• Salisbury Steak Meatballs
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos
• Tex-Mex Enchiladas (this is Magazine Challenge material!)
• Prosciutto and Cheddar Hot Pockets

I would also like to freeze some muffins and cookies so there's something else around for breakfast or dessert.  

What do you like to hide in the freezer for nights of desperation?

Planning: July 19-23, 2014

So.

J and I are about to go on vacation.  Originally, we were to be gone 3-4 weeks on a cross-country road tripping journey that I'd really been looking forward to.  We're still going to Seattle, but by air for a long weekend.  I'm sure it will be fun, but I still want to visit Mount Rushmore.
Despite the fact that we're really going to be gone only 5ish days, I'm working on cleaning out the fridge like we're going away for 3 weeks.  We seems to have a good deal of stuff lurking from other things I've made recently.  That does mean, however, that I need to buy rolls and maybe butter at the grocery store this week.  Kind of a nice side benefit, seeing as we've spent a good deal on food in the past couple of weeks.
Here's what we're eating on the mountain this week as we get ready to spend some time visiting family out west:

SaturdayLunch - Hot dogs, chips, pickles, and the end of the carrot and celery sticks I found soaking in the back of the fridge.
Dinner - Pork Fried Rice.  I grilled pork tenderloin late last week.
SundayLunch - Bean and Tortilla Salad and garlic bread.  We're going to the movies in the afternoon for the Monty Python broadcast, so we'll be having junk then.  I want Junior Mints!
Dinner - Grilled Chicken, Foil Potatoes and Broccoli
MondayLunch - J's going out.  I'll be eating whatever I find.
Dinner - Volcano Sanwiches, chips and the end of the dill pickles that I made 2 years ago.
TuesdayLunch - Leftover Pork Fried Rice
Dinner - Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches, salad
WednesdayLunch - There will be something, or bacon and eggs.
Dinner - We're on vacation!  

DessertChocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Peanubutter Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip-Cherry Muffins
 

Should be a good week.  We'll see how it goes!