Meals for this week

One of our favorite meals from last week were the chicken empanadas with chorizo and olives. I ended up using puff pastry crust for the dough because I didn't have enough time/energy to make my own. They were delicious and the crust was light and flakey! We ate the leftovers for lunch the next day mixed in with some eggs. perfection.

This week we are trying something different with our meals. I usually meal plan and grocery shop for one week at a time. However, after reading this blog I was inspired to switch things up a bit and try to plan and shop for 2 weeks. It definitely takes a LOT of planning initially but I think we saved a little money and I'm hoping I'll be able to save time next week by not having to go grocery shopping. It was fun looking through different recipes trying to find out how to best use our groceries. I'm not very good at it yet but I hope I will continue to get better and maybe one day I will be able to shop for 4 weeks worth of groceries like Danielle. I love having fresh produce but I have found that my veggies/greens have been lasting about 2 weeks anyway so I'm not worried about running out. One good way to get some veggies in would be to blend down some greens while they are still fresh, freezing them in ice cube trays, and throwing the cubes into smoothies at the end of the second week.

Here are our meals for the next two weeks:
Week 1

• Pesto noodles with ground turkey
• Clam chowder (Sunset magazine) and cheddar biscuits
• Turkey Burgers + Veggies 
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps (freeze leftover chicken for next week)
• Apple & Quinoa stuffed acorn squash with sweet potatoes
• sesame soba  with chicken
• Beef and butternut squash stew with sourdough (freeze leftovers for next week)

Week 2

• pancakes & eggs with salad
• Chicken tacos (with leftover chicken from week 1)
• Meat loaf with veggies & sweet potatoes
• White bean & Swiss chard pot pies
• Beef and butternut squash stew (leftover from week 1)
• Rice noodles with chicken sausage, spinach, and parm

Things I'm loving lately

Here are some things I have been loving this October!

Cast Iron - non stick, non-toxic, and oven safe - definitely the best cookware around! I use my cast iron for everything: soups, quiche, fish, burgers, pancakes, and everything in between.

The perfect chocolate bar in my opinion. The nuttiness of the hazelnuts compliments the sweetness of the currents and the chocolate perfectly! I love the added crunch of the nuts too

I have always been a fan of Burt's bees and this tinted lip balm is no exception. With just a hint of pink its perfect for every day wear or a special occasion

The Clarisonic Mia. It's like a massage for your face that leaves your pores clean and your skin as soft as silk! I look 10 years younger thanks to my clarisonic mia. Haha, not really, that would be a little extreme. My skin does look the best it ever has though! So soft and smooth

I have been eating seaweed snacks like crazy! They are so delicious: crunchy and salty, light and healthy. I could literally eat these all day long

Weekend Adventures

We spent this past weekend relaxing and recovering from a busy week. Saturday morning we got up early and went to the Maltby Cafe for breakfast! I love going to breakfast; its so nice not having to lift a finger and getting yummy food in return. We got the hugest cinnamon roll I have ever seen! It was the size of a large dinner plate and we couldn't even eat 1/2 of it. The food was delicious; we will definitely be going again soon!

I came into Lewis's nursery and found him standing! This boy is growing way to quickly

 It has been pretty chilly here so we had to bundle little Lew up for our walks

Such a relaxing weekend with my two favorite boys

Meals for this week

Jeff was gone on a business trip last week so I stuck with simple, easy to prepare meals. My favorite was definitely the spaghetti squash with veggies and marinara. Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to eating noodles. I wasn't sure I would like it but it was so delicious! I just cut the squash in half, scraped out the seeds, drizzled the inside of both halves with olive oil and salt + pepper. Bake at 375 for 30-40 min.  I sauteed some onions, mushrooms, zucchini, red bell pepper, and carrots and served those, along with the marinara sauce, on top of the cooked spaghetti squash.

Meals for this week

Split pea soup - Moosewood Cookbook
Chicken & chorizo empanadas
Spaghetti squash & marinara for me, spaghetti for Jeff
White bean, swiss chard, and turkey pot pies
Italian sausage stew

7 months

Our little baby is 7 months old (as of the 15th)! He is changing more and more each day.  Some new things:

• 6 teeth (two front are new!)
• Foods: peas, carrots, sweet potato, banana, apple, butternut & acorn squash, pear
• Biting... he thinks its the best thing ever to suck on my arm until he can get a little skin in between his razor sharp teeth to chomp on. OUCH
• Crawling: he is moving around all over the place. Of course he loves trying to get at everything he isn't supposed to have (computer cords!)
• Intense loathing of diaper changes: changing his diaper and clothes each day has become something of a nightmare lately. As soon as I put him on his changing table he will let out a pterodactyl like screech and roll onto his stomach. Little monster!
• Loves: Cowboy Small, Mr. Panda Bear, his brush, mesh feeder stuffed with banana, walks, and peekaboo! 

Big mouth full of teeth!

Sucking his thumb on our walk today

Crawling all over the place

Stood up by himself resting against Jeff's leg!

Meals for this week + Everything but the kitchen sink soup

Meals last week were delicious! I haven't really been cooking from recipes for the past...8 months or so and I forgot how time consuming and tiring it can be. Everything I made tasted delicious which was a good reminder of why it is sometimes nice to follow a recipe instead of just winging it.

Meals for this week are simple

Stuffed acorn squash  + veggies
Spaghetti Squash with marinara + sweet potato
Lentils and ground turkey with broccoli & zucchini
Burgers
Steak & Potatoes

Last night I was trying to figure out how to use up our produce/leftovers in the fridge before going grocery shopping today. What resulted was a hearty soup. I can't say it was the most delicious soup that I have made but it was pretty tasty and filling. I would classify it as "dirty fresh"

Everything but the kitchen sink soup - mine had chicken stock, zucchini, onion, garlic, carrots, garbanzo beans, lentils, quinoa, swiss chard, red bell pepper, potato, and some leftover chicken. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, sriracha, and braggs (soy sauce). 

Hello old friend

Oh how I love fall! Colorful foliage, crisp air, crunching leaves underfoot.

'Tis the season for cozy sweaters, soup, pumpkin...everything, caramel apples, and getting cozy by the fire. This afternoon I'm making a loaf of pumpkin bread. What are you doing to celebrate the fall season?

Meals this week Oct 8-12

After a long hiatus from actually sitting down and planning meals I have finally started to get my act together. My goal is to meal plan/grocery shop/prep for the week on Sunday so that I don't have to worry about it on Monday.

This week:

Turkey pot pie
Fajitas from Cooks Illustrated (recipe coming soon)
Thai inspired noodles with chicken and broccoli - Cooks Illustrated
Sausage and Sweet Potato Stew
Quinoa salad with chicken and veggies

Another batch of apple butter! So delicious and easy. Im going to throw in some different ingredients this time, I'll let you know how it turns out!

Laughter is the best medicine

We've got a laugher on our hands!

His little giggle is contagious and we have such a fun time making each other laugh! 

Take me out to the ball game

A few weekends ago Jeff took us to a Mariner's game! We had a wonderful time.  It was so fun to get out as a family. The delicious hot dogs and garlic fries ( fries absolutely LOADED with raw garlic) were a fun bonus

Lewis was more interested in the hot dogs

Such a fun family date in Seattle