Its been WAY TOO LONG!

I haven't done much on this blog for the last several months.  Life takes over and as I am busy in other pursuits as well, I let this slide. 

Our family schematics changed this summer... my two college-aged daughters came home for the summer and that kept us all busy... I have two teenage sons as well.... and two beagles... yeah, it's been crazy at my house.

We went on a week-long Orlando vactation with my siblings and parents... that was fun and since my husband has kept the finances this last year, the trip was paid off the moment we got back and that included the $200 in Disney t-shirts we bought.  Can you say "rip off?"

I "work" with our state PTA for about 30 hours each week as a volunteer so that has kept me very busy. I also do mystery shopping which brings in some money and pays for some fun times at the movies.  It paid for Batman & Spiderman & The Avengers.  It's been a superhero summer.

Expenses changed this summer.  Our grocery bill skyrocketed but I did get more help preparing meals which was a huge blessing.  Once my girls leave it is back to me cooking a lot more.  I let my couponing slide as I was so busy I just did what I had to do to get by.  If I had been less busy outside of the home I would not have let dinner happen last night the way it did... Mandarin Chicken (SO YUMMY!) but NO RICE ANYWHERE!  We have had buckets and buckets of rice in our home and this summer - abracadabra - it is ALL GONE!  Thank heavens for Macey's grocery store and their case-lot sale this week.

Both girls have kitchens at college this fall so I am going shopping today to get them some staples to start the semester off right with.  They just have to promise me that they will use the money for groceries on fresh fruits and vegetables.  I need healthy children!

I have even backed off Bountiful Baskets the last two months as I am so tired that I haven't wanted to get up early on Saturdays to go pick them up.  But I start again this Saturday.  I'm looking forward to having some new fruit and vegetable options.

August 18, 2012 ... That is our 23 year anniversary and the day it goes back to four in my household.  Me and my homeboys.  Don't get me wrong, I love my daughters, but once they start leaving the nest, I am rather content with them roosting somewhere else permanently and coming home for visits.  Yes Mom, I totally understand what you have been saying all these years and now you will hear these words from me "You were right."

Love Making Dinner!

Just had to share that it really makes me feel good when I make dinner for my family and both my teenage boys come and give me a hug afterwards and thank me for making a great dinner.  Last night was Hawaiian Beef... YUMMY!

Photos of Food Prep Day

Tonight's Dinner: Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder

Tuesday Night (made today because I have a busy day tomorrow): Quick & Easy Zesty Sausage Pasta

My favorite soup to put in freezer for a quick meal sometime: Chicken Gnocchi Soup!

Dinner sometime this week: Lasagne, ready and going in the freezer. 

• I also chopped green onion, carrots, broccoli, celery and radishes that were used in some of the meals as well as ready for use in later recipes.
• I would have had one more full meal (Shepherd's Pie) done and in the freezer but I don't have ANY mashed potatoes of any kind, nor regular potatoes.  I still put the meat mixture together with the beans on top and put that in the freezer.  I will pick those up sometime this week at the store.
• Pork roast is ready to be marinated tomorrow so that it goes in the crock pot on Wednesday night.

Whew!  I'm beat, but ready for a busy week and no-stress meal time!!

Food Prep Day!

I have a busy week coming up so this morning I am doing all the prep work for dinners for the week.  My menu is:

• Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder - Monday
• Quick & Easy Zesty Sausage Pasta - Tuesday
• Kaluah Pork - Wednesday
• Hawaiian Beef - Thursday
• Lasagne - Friday

Tonight's dinner is easy and can be put together in 30 minutes.  This morning I will make the Sausage Pasta for tomorrow night's dinner and we can reheat tomorrow night.  Wednesday is a crock-pot meal so I will throw that in the crock-pot on Wednesday morning.  Thursday I will prepare the lasagne and put it in the fridge so it is ready to throw in the oven on Friday evening.  Thursday night will be the Hawaiian Beef and I will be home in time to prep that meal on that day.

If you want the recipes, comment on my post and I will post the recipes with photos. 

Recipe Book

So I mentioned earlier in the week that I worked on creating a recipe book for my neighbors.  It was a lot of work but am I reaping the rewards.  Here is what the cover looked like (Thanks to Megan Burnside who created that)

The pages look like this: 

I used the computer software that my business partner, Donna, and I created to do it.  You can make your own recipe book with your family's favorites as well!  Wouldn't that make a wonderful Christmas gift for your family! 

Fun with Dinner!

So, simple ham and cheesy (funeral) potatoes for dinner tonight, but I took it to a new level.  Sometimes I want to be a bit more creative so I decided to serve dog, owl and bear for dinner.

Yup.  That's right.  I took cookie cutters and made shapes.  My boys laughed at me (because they are teenagers) but it was a fun twist on dinner. 

I thought I would share as you can do this with lots of different foods.  And... as Sandra Lee says... Round Two (and Round Three) Recipes:

All the scraps aren't going to waste!  I took them and chopped them into cubes and am going to make ham & beans one night and fried rice with ham another night.

Now that's thrifty!

New Recipes this Week

I am trying out a bunch of new recipes this week for dinner.  I was lucky enough (if you call it that) to compile a recipe book for the ladies in my neighborhood as a Christmas gift.  I got to test out a lot of them as I went along and now have a few more to try this week.  I will post pictures and the recipes as I do them so you can share in the fun!  Shopping for ingredients today... simple ham and funeral potatoes tonight.  I;ll keep you posted!