Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Sunday 9/27

Recap: The ribs Tuesday night were delicious! I bought the boneless ribs because they were BOGOF @ Winn Dixie a few weeks ago. I thawed them, boiled for 10min. then grilled while brushing Bar-B-Q sauce on them. (Thanks Mom for doing the grilling part while I went for my walk!) We served with corn on the cob & peas.

Thursday Roman had a football game so Mom (aka Gammy) made the pork chop dinner for us while we were out. Our gas had run out on the grill so she had to cook the pork chops stove top. Everything was fantastic! I'll have to get a picture of the yummy pears next time.

We didn't make it to the kabobs so we're doing that this week.

This week:

Sunday Lunch: Crock Pot Coney Dogs

The coney dogs were good, we had them today after church for lunch. The chili was thinner than I would have liked but we served them in our new pasta bowls so it worked out well. YUM I think next time I'll take the lid off the crock pot for the second half of the cooking time.

Sunday Dinner: Grilled Cheese

Nick makes the best and we have to do something quick because it's a school night & we have a family book to read. We've been trying to read books as a family most nights that both boys can test on the next morning. That means it has to be a high enough level for Roman but an easy read for Dallon. This is such a fun time that all three boys look forward to! This was our book tonight:

Monday: Nick has school so we'll do leftovers or something quick, no cooking tonight!

Tuesday: Steak kabobs w/pearl onions/potatoes/pineapple, Salad (We marinate flank steak in teriyaki)

Wednesday: Dinner @ church, can't remember what we're having..

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner!! My family LOVES when we do this!! We're having Scrambled eggs w/cheese, Sausage, Toast (would do biscuits if my oven worked), Grits & Fruit (Probably strawberries because they are my boys' FAVE)

Friday: PIZZA ordered out!!! We haven't done this in a long time & I have been craving it!!

Saturday: Nick & I are attending a wedding @ 2pm so I'm not sure if we'll be eating at home or not.. If so we'll probably grill out..

This is going to be an easy week in my kitchen!

Happy Cooking!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Sunday 9/20

Recap: The roast/potatoes/carrots were awesome, as usual! It's a no-fail recipe.

This is what they looked like at 8am: This is what it looked like at 4pm: I don't peel my carrots ever since I heard Rachel Ray say I didn't have to! It was so freeing for me since I'm a rule follower...lol

Finished product:We didn't get to Thursday's Bar-B-Q Chicken because the church sent lasagna home with us & Nick didn't eat it Wed. My boys loved it we actually had it Wed. & Thurs! Friday we had a fantastic time on Girls Night Out, Red Lobster & Love Happens. Deanna & I split two appetizers, Lobster pizza & Lobster Artichoke Cheese dip/chips. They were both yummy & our checks were less than $11/each INCLUDING TIP!! Although I added to my tip because Chris is a great waiter. (Yes, I know the waiter by name now, spent last two weekends getting to know him.) Saturday we had various leftovers, trying to make room in fridge.

This week

Sunday: For lunch I had a BLT (my FAVE sandwich) but my boys had their fave, Daddy's spaghetti! For dinner I think we'll hit Wendy's...been a while..

Monday: Leftovers since Nick's at school

Tuesday: Bar-B-Q Ribs on grill w/corn on the cob & Salad

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie @ church

Thursday: Grilled Pork Chops (sprinkled w/dry steak seasoning), Mac-n-cheese, Green Beans (sprinkled lightly w/onion powder, garlic salt & Parkay spray then microwaved in my Pampered Chef steamer), Pear halves (w/a dollop of mayo, sprinkle of shredded cheese, half cherry on top) I grew up on these pear halves! They make a beautiful display & are either loved or hated. We have 3 that LOVE & 3 that won't even try them, bah humbug! Let me know what your family thinks! You're not going to believe this (OK, maybe you will) but I googled & found this picture! I'll try to remember to take my own too:

Friday: Steak kabobs w/onions/potatoes/pineapple, sliced green peppers, tomatoes & cucumbers

Saturday: Crock Pot Coney Dogs Just seems perfect for a football day! Will have to make some plain ones for the boys..

Happy Cooking!!

Menu Plan Sunday 9/13

Recap: Everything was pretty routine this week. The new dish I fixed (FIX AND FORGET HOTDISH) was good. I think I liked it better than everyone else. Because of that I'm not sure I'll do it again unless I'm looking to use up some ground beef, which is why I did it to begin with. The Tuscan Chicken Simmer (kraft.com) is always good. I added about a 1/4 can peas to sneak veggies in on my boys. (I don't make them eat the mushrooms.) The recipe says to put the cheese on in the pan but it melts & blends to quickly so we do it on each plate. Here's a picture:

Close up:
Friday night we ate @ St. Johns Seafood with some couples from church. Saturday night Nicky & I went on a date to feed his craving for the AUCE shrimp feast at Red Lobster. Great service, great food! Look forward to our GNO there this Friday. Ladies, we still have 3 spots open, join us!!

This week's menu:

Sunday: For lunch we had the meal we never got to. Chicken Sausage w/Mac & Cheese & Green Beans We buy Harvestland Chicken Sausage and grill it. Here's what the package looks like. It has Asiago cheese and peppers in it, very tasty! For dinner we had leftovers.


Monday: Leftovers since Nick's @ school


Tuesday: Roast cooked in crock pot w/potatoes & carrots
Spray crock pot, cut a 3.5-4lb roast in half, rub flour all over it & place in crock pot
Mix 1 pouch of onion soup mix & one pouch of brown gravy mix w/2cups of water, stir together well then pour over roast
Wash red potatoes & place in crock pot (small or cut to small)
Put carrots on top
Cover & cook on low 8 hours
**Roasts are BOGOF through Tuesday @ Winn Dixie**


Wednesday: Lasagna @ church


Thursday: Bar-B-Q Chicken on grill w/corn on the cob & Salad
You could add a starch..we try to load up on veggies and not do as many starches, although technically corn is a starch! As for the chicken, we buy the large bag of flash frozen Tyson breasts at Sam's and I'll brush Bar-B-Q sauce on them while grilling.


Friday: GIRLS NIGHT OUT! I'll be eating with 12-15 women at Red Lobster and the boys will fend for themselves.


Saturday: Not real sure yet but thinking kabobs.. Steak, pearl onions, pineapple, potatoes, tomatoes

Happy Cooking!!

I love this time of year!

Leaves falling, breeze blowing, something comforting about the calm in the air.. Whenever I pass by I Am A Promise preschool and see the HUGE leaves falling it takes me back to 'Falls' gone by. We have lived here almost seven years and absolutely love our small town.

I'll be bringing out my fall & halloween decorations soon! Along with the cool breeze and the fall colors adorning everyone's porches comes football. I'm not much of one to watch a game but I love fixing yummies for those who do watch. I love the sound of a game in the background. The boys have started flag football at our YMCA. Dallon's team is called The Turtles, appropriately so.. And Roman's team is called The Weazels. Nick coaches both teams despite his already very busy schedule. Here are some pictures of their first games today.

Dallon's game

Roman's game

Wordless Wednesday

For Sale, $150

It's time to say good bye to the crib & changing table that all three of my precious babies slept in. Roman had a Classic Winnie the Pooh 7 piece crib set, Dallon had a Pottery Barn denim set to go w/his tractor, farm theme and Rocco's room is western cowboy so this was his crib set. Rocco's been out of it for over a year but I have procrastinated on putting it up for sale. If you know someone that is looking for a matching crib & changing table, this is a deal! I'm including the mattress and Eddie Bauer crib set shown. I'm also throwing in a custom made denim curtain I made for the changing table. Contact me if interested!

Menu Plan Sunday 9/6

Recap:

• The No Peek Beef was awesome, as always. But I did do a few things different. Since my oven is broken I cooked it in our crock pot from 7:30am-1:00pm on low. I also used a can of Cream of Onion in place of 1 of the cans of Cream of Mushroom, because that's what I had. I through in about a cup of sour cream we had left in the fridge so it wouldn't go to waste. Yummmmmmmmmy! Served it on some weird thin lasagna noodles that no-one knows where they came from, but were yummy, lol. (Remember we are remodleing so they must have been in the back of one of our cabinets.)



• The pork chops were scrumptious w/some Taste of Home's 'Garlic Garlic' & Montreal Dry Steak Seasoning on them, grilled!



• The grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing is never a let down!



• Tacos = Yummy

We pretty much stuck to the plan this week.

Here's what we're shooting for thist week:

Sunday: Nick's Famous Spaghetti & Garlic Bread

Monday: I originally had Leftovers/fend for yourself, I'm not cooking because Nick's at school.. Until I realized he's off of school for Labor Day.. So we're having Cheeseburgers on the grill w/Sliced veggies & Baked beans

Tuesday: Trying a new crock pot recipe I found - FIX AND FORGET HOTDISH
1 1/2 lb. ground beef 3/4 c. uncooked rice 1 can mixed vegetables with liquid 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix 1 can cream of celery soup 1/2 can water
Brown beef, add the rest of the ingredients and blend, cook for about 4 hours. (Do not cook rice)

Wednesday: Pork @ Church

Thursday: Tuscan Chicken Simmer (substituting tomatoes w/fresh mushrooms, doubling sauce) served on pasta, Salad (If you have not tried this it is SO yummy! Everyone in our house loves it!)

Friday: Eating out w/friends from church

Saturday: Chicken Sausage w/Mac & Cheese & Green Beans We buy Harvestland Chicken Sausage and grill it. Here's what the package looks like. It has Asiago cheese and peppers in it, very tasty!

Happy Cooking!!

To Poppy Seed or Not to Poppy Seed

After making the yummy Poppy Seed Chicken a few weeks ago I wondered why the recipe included poppy seeds. Do they even have flavor? Would the recipe taste the same without them? Are there health benefits? Do you really have to avoid them if you will be taking a drug test soon? After all these questions I told a friend of mine that I would research & blog. So this is for you Jenn!

Poppy Seeds are obtained from Opium Poppy. The unripe heads contain opium but the white or grayish blue seeds do not have any narcotic properties. In China, they are used to treat vomiting and nausea. The poppy seeds and poppy seeds oil are rich in omega 2 fatty acid and a good source of carbohydrate energy, oleic and linoleic acids. They do contain a moderate amount of calcium.

Poppy Seeds are tiny nuttytasting, bluegray seeds inside capsules on Papaver somniferum, a yellowish brown opium plant indigenous to the Mediterranean.

Health Benefits of Poppy Seeds:

• Adding flavor - Poppy seeds are good at adding flavor to a number of food items like breads, rolls, cookies and cakes. You may depend upon these seeds to add delight to your party menus.



• Grinded form - People across the globe make use of ground poppy seeds in dishing up various types of desserts.



• Sauces - Poppy seeds are also utilized as thickening agents for various types of sauces available in the market.



• Cooking - Poppy seeds are also used in cooking different dishes like vegetables, noodles and fishes to add flavor and aroma to these items.



• Consumption of half teaspoonful of poppy seeds helps asthma and cough.



• Drinking a decoction of the seeds (25ml) once a day helps all the nervous disorders.



• A paste made up the seeds, 4gm, taken twice daily helps insomnia.



• A paste made up the seeds, 3/4gm, taken twice daily helps diarrhea.



• In case of abdominal pain, colic and sciatica, powder made up seeds taken with ghee, 3/4gm, benefits the conditions.



• A poultice or paste made up poppy seeds and applied over the affected areas gives relief, in case of any swelling and joint pains.



• Heart diseases - The presence of linoleic acid in poppy seeds protect human body from heart attacks and other heart disorders.



• Breast cancer - The oil made from poppy seeds is helpful in treating breast cancer, as it contains oleic acid.
  

Even though opium and poppy seeds are correlated, poppy seeds do not contain any narcotic properties and hence one can benefit from poppy seeds nutrition without the effects of opium. The fluid present in the bud which becomes opium is absent in the poppy seeds once the seeds are formed. Although....Eating poppy seed bagels or poppy seed cake can cause one to test positive for heroin and/or opium on a drug test. This was confirmed on MythBusters. Heroin is a semi-synthetic opoid made from Morphine. If a test is sensitive enough it can generate a false positive simply by detecting the poppy seeds. Lawsuits have actually been filed and settled due to this phenomenon.

Sooooo....my vote: TO POPPY SEED. Here is a great recipe: Creamy Poppy Seed Chicken http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/chicken-crock-pot-recipes/poppyseed-chicken.htm

A Few Ideas to Get You Started
Poppy Seeds are a classic addition to buttered egg noodles, fruit salad dressings, and fragrant yeast breads. Poppy Seeds add nutty flavor and texture to cookies, cakes, breads, strudels, pastry crusts, and pancake and waffle batters.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Wordless Wednesday