Mega Menu Planning!

This whole post would have been WAY more impressive had I actually posted it when I started thinking about it...  When we were three weeks out from our June 4th C-section date, I did some major menu planning along with a massive grocery shop!  Honest, this was all put together weeks ago ;)

Before I share our list of "last" meals, I want to rant and rave about homemade microwave popcorn!!!  Josh and I had seen an episode of "Good Eats" in which Alton Brown showed how to make your own microwave popcorn.  I also saw an idea on Pinterest for something similar.  We decided to give it a try, and it took a few different trials before we found the perfect recipe.

Perfect Microwave Popcorn Recipe

1 microwave safe plate

1 brown paper lunchbag

1/4c popcorn kernels

1t vegetable oil

salt and butter to taste

Place the brown paper bag on the plate.

Add popcorn kernels and oil and shake bag to combine.

Fold over the top two inches of the paper bag.

Place plate and bag in the microwave for about 3 minutes, but stop popping once the pops become spaced out.

Empty into a bowl and add salt and butter to your taste :)

I can't remember each of the recipes we tried, but we learned that you definitely should NOT staple your bag shut as some recipes suggest and the plate keeps the oily mess off of your microwave "floor!"

There was some tweaking, but here is the original list:

Monday: Sweet and Sour Chicken with rice--this was YUMMY!

Tuesday: Italian Sausage Pizza Bake

Wednesday: Leftover chicken

Thursday: Leftover Pizza Bake

Friday: Leftovers from freezer

Saturday: Chicken Parm Bake with salad, fruit, and Chocolate Break Pudding

Sunday: Mother's Day Make-Up: Qdoba :)

Monday: Friends over after golf outing--Burgers and hotdogs on the grill with fruit, potato salad, chips, chips and salsa/guac, and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (recipe below)

Tuesday: Leftover burgers and salad

Wednesday: Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps (I used ground beef this time, and it was quite tasty!  It will be even better next time when I remember to mix in the taco seasoning like I had planned...) with salad (I was quite proud of what I did with the salad--I bought the bag of Dole Ultimate Caesar Salad, but I added grape tomatoes and mixed salsa with the dressing--yummy!)

Thursday: Leftover Chicken Parm Bake 

Friday: Leftover Southwest Wraps

Saturday: I can't remember now--but it was probably easy ;)

Sunday: Thai Cilantro Grilled Chicken, Three Cheese Potatoes on the grill (SOOO GOOD), and fruit

Monday: Steaks on the grill, Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Honey Butter (these were REALLY good, but I wouldn't use as much honey in the butter next time), and fruit

Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with leftover rolls

Wednesday: Avocado Pasta

Thursday: Slow Cooker Orange Chicken with rice

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: BBQ at the Sacbibits'

Sunday: Last Meal before we are a family of FOUR!!!

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup oil (I substitute applesauce)

3/4 cup water

1t vanilla

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1 bag chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients and then add chocolate chips at the end.

Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (I used a 13x9 pan because I don't have a bundt pan, and it worked fine!)

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy :)

There are a few recipes I have tried in the recent past that I wanted to share too:

French Dip Crescents

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Menu Plan Monday: Super Bowl Recipes!

Monday: Homemade Eggs Benedict for a late lunch and then soup for me and leftovers for Josh, I think--I wasn't feeling so hot...

Tuesday: Chili and cornbread
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Quesadillas and rice
Friday: Leftover chili
Saturday: picked up pizza
Sunday: SUPER BOWL!

Bloomin' Pizza Bread
Fat Dip--This was AMAZING!!!  Super easy too: Combine in Crock Pot--2 packs of sausage browned, 2 packs of cream cheese (8oz each), 2 packs of chive and onion cream cheese (8oz each), and 2 cans of Rotel with chilis.  Let it melt together and get all gooey.  Dip chips, veggies, or anything else you can think of!  SOOO good!!!
Lots of cut up veggies
Wings in the Crock Pot
Meatballs with a variety of dipping sauces
Black Forest Brownie Pecan Pie

For more yummy recipes, check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday: Double Issue

Sunday: Steak seasoned with salt and pepper topped with avocado butter and roasted red potatoes as a side.  S'mores Cheesecake for dessert!  The avocado butter was ok.  Josh thinks it would be better on chicken or pork...  The cheesecake, however, was yummy :)

Monday: Stuffed Belgian Endive with rice.  We just discovered the Food Network show Ten Dollar Dinners, and this was the first episode we watched.  Everything about this dish was yummy...except the endive!  LOL I am not a huge cabbage fan--texture or taste.  We are thinking of trying this recipe but with potatoes instead of endive...

Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan Casserole--DELICIOUS!!!  I can't wait to make this again!  SOOO easy, too:)  The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was that the website posts the list of ingredients, but you have to watch a video to get the instructions, including the cooking temperature and time :(

Wednesday: 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta--SOOO yummy!  Can't wait to make this again!

Thursday: Leftover Chicken parm

Friday: Little Ceasar's $5 Hot and Ready :)

Saturday: Dinner at The Yanceys': Pan-Fried Chicken with a DELICIOUS sauce, green beans, and mashed potatoes.  Then, Susie made S'mores Brownies for dessert:

I'm pretty sure this was the recipe:
Lay graham cracker sheets on bottom of 13x9 pan.
Top with brownie mix prepared according to box directions.
Bake according to directions on the box.
Sprinkle mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips on top of the cooked brownie.
Bake under the broiler until marshmallows start to brown.

Sunday: Out of town

Monday: Hamburgers and homemade fries

Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Soup with biscuits

Wednesday: Dan Dan Noodles--this was really yummy!  Next time we plan to try it with chicken or shrimp mixed in.  I only put in half the garlic, which I think was a good decision.  Josh even said he would not add as much chili oil.

Thursday: Leftover soup

Friday: Leftover soup with grilled cheese

Saturday: Date Night :)

For more yummy recipe ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday

We were on vacation most of last week, so this is the previous week's menu (we were lucky enough to have friends make us dinner and have us over when we got back, so there really was no cooking for me last week!).  I also threw in the two pumpkin recipes I made yesterday :)


Monday: Pizza and fries
Tuesday: Chicken Parm Subs with salad
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Tacos and rice
Friday: Burgers, hotdogs, salad, chips, and grilled peaches with ice cream for dessert
Saturday: dinner out at BGR
Sunday: First day of Virginia Beach vacation!!!


Extras:
We made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins toward the end of the week to take on our trip :)  Recipe coming later...


I also forgot to post that I made Fruit Salsa when Mom was here, and I cheated a little and used applesauce instead of whole apples.  It turned out really well, and was super fast to make!  I think my next move might be to try substituting some faux sweeteners...


Pumpkin Snickerdoodles--delicious!  They weren't as pumpkin-y as I had hoped they would be, but they were a good, lighter cookie.  RecipeGirl said she left out cream of tartar which is in most snickerdoodle recipes, but she WOULD add it next time.  So, I looked up a few standard snickerdoodle recipes and went ahead and added 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar to my batch--seemed to work fine!


Pumpkin Dip--YUMMY!  Believe it or not, I've never had pumpkin dip!  I made it to take to book club last night and everyone seemed to like it :)  I brought bananas, strawberries, nilla wafers, and pretzels as dippers.  But, the possibilities are endless!


For more yummy recipes ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday

Picture Credit: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/07/bloomin-pizza-bread.html

Monday: Baked Prosciutto and Egg Cups for breakfast while Mom was still here and Grilled sausage and chips for dinner after she was gone :(
Tuesday: Grilled Salmon and Asparagus with Balsamic Butter
Wednesday: Trader Joe's Orange Chicken with rice
Thursday: Leftover soup from the freezer with Bloomin' Pizza Bread to accompany--this was A.MAZ.ING!!!  I told Josh we should have it once a week for dinner with a salad ;)
Friday: Taco Bar at our neighbors' house--I made Nutella Marbled Banana Bread to bring (I also made Shoo Fly Pie per Josh's request.  He really likes it!  I'm apparently not a huge molasses fan, therefore I don't care for it.  But, it was super easy...especially because I used a store-bought crust...)
Saturday: Hawaiian Grilled Chicken with coconut rice and grilled pineapple--everything was SOOO good!  The chicken recipe explains how to make coconut rice, and it was delicious!  The marinade for the chicken looked and smelled amazing, so we boiled it down and made a reduction to pour over the chicken and rice--YUM! (I also only used 1.5 cups of soy sauce and water instead of the recommended 2.)
Sunday: Chili with biscuits made from the recipe on the back of the baking powder!!!  They were quite yummy :)  Our neighbors brought us these amazing cookies tonight, so I just needed to share: S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Check out more yummy recipes at Menu Plan Monday hosted by Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday!

***DISCLOSURE: This was NOT a fancy week!  There was Labor Day at the beginning of the week, and then my mom flew into town Thursday around lunch.  But, here is the menu anyways!

Monday: grilled steaks with baked potatoes
Tuesday: Used FREE pizza code for Papa John's--YUM!
Wednesday: Pigs in a blanket with fries
Thursday: We tried out dinner at Wegman's after Mom got into town
Friday: Ocean Spray Blueberry Bran Muffins for breakfast and then we found an excellent Chinese place just down the street: Montclair Chinese Cuisine
Saturday: Grilled pizzas and salad 
Sunday: Tim's Rivershore Restaurant with Prosecco Raspberry Gelee (This was sadly disappointing :(  I do love Prosecco, but something went wrong with the gelatin and just last night we finally saw a little "gelling."  We poured our "sauce?" over some angel food cake, but I found the whole thing too alcohol-y for a yummy dessert.)


For more yummy recipes, visit Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday!

 Monday: (Joe's birthday so Josh helped him cook dinner using his new toy...I mean, grill!)  Steaks topped with Bacon Butter (I'm not sure if this is the recipe they used, BUT it is the same ingredients and this particular recipe looks beautiful!!!) and accompanied by grilled asparagus and texas toast.  Dairy Queen for dessert :)  
Tuesday: Pizza Bake and salad
Wednesday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas with rice and watermelon
Thursday: Leftover Pizza Bake and salad
Friday: Leftover Enchiladas and watermelon
Saturday: Potomac Nationals Game!!!
Sunday: Japanese BBQ Lettuce Wraps (recipe in THIS blog post), fruit, and Quad-Chocolate Ice Cream Cake!!! (Pictured above!  Similar to THIS cake, but here are the specifics: Brownie "crust," crumbled Oreos, hot fudge, vanilla ice cream, Cool Whip, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and maraschino cherry topping.)


For more yummy recipes, check out Menu Plan Monday hosted by Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Trader Joe's Orange Chicken and rice
Tuesday: Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps and chips
Wednesday: Gnocchi with baked asiago cheesey bread (I found a loaf at Walmart!) and salad
Thursday: leftover Cheeseburger Wraps and fries
Friday: In Staunton with Josh's family
Saturday: In Staunton with Josh's family
Sunday: Baked chicken with baked potatoes


I LOVED the Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps, but Josh said he'd like to wait awhile before seeing them again.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I think they are definitely worth a try :)


For more yummy recipes, check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday!

This past week was CRAZY!!!  It started out pretty calm, and then we had houseguests for Thursday and Friday.  The Buerstattes were getting their house packed up and the truck loaded to head to Mississippi, so we offered to let the kids hang out at our house so they stayed out of the way :)  They all slept over both nights since their stuff was all packed up--it was great to have such together time right before they left :(  (I meant that in all sincerity!!!)  I enjoyed making a more extensive menu plan to include more substantial breakfasts and lunches for everyone to grab on their way out in the mornings and afternoons!


Monday: Taco Bell :)
Tuesday:  Book Club for me so Josh had to fend for himself ;)  I made Margarita Cake Balls to take for dessert...  They turned out a bit key-lime-pie-ish, which is not a bad thing.  I was just not in the mood to make them and the candy coating gave me a little trouble this time.  They were tasty, but I just wasn't that satisfied :(
Wednesday: Philly Cheesesteak Kabobs
Thursday: Freezer Meal!  Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken and Veggies, sweet potato waffle fries, salad, and Chocolate Pudding Cake
Friday: Krusteaz Cranberry Orange muffins and bananas for breakfast (it's been a long time since I made muffins from a box since I got my KitchenAid, but these are SO yummy!), chicken salad made from a Wegman's rotisserie chicken, and then Grilled BBQ Salmon, grilled corn on the cob, fruit, and leftover cake for dinner
Saturday: Pioneer Woman's Sonic Breakfast Burritos and then dinner at The Bascom House
Sunday: Five Guys and Dairy Queen to properly welcome Joe back home!!!


The Philly Chesesteak Kabobs were pretty darn awesome, as was the grilled salmon!  Brandi did an experiment with some freezer meals for the Crock Pot, and our conclusion was they are a bit tricky.  The veggies were pretty mushy, and we needed to add extra seasoning even though she added some originally.  We are thinking it might be better to focus on preparing the meat part of the meal for the freezer and adding the spices and veggies day-of...  


For more yummy recipes, head over to Menu Plan Monday hosted by Org Junkie!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Pizza Muffins and Caesar salad
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas with rice and beans
Thursday: dinner at Brandi and Scott's
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: pizza and fries
Sunday: Grilling on our NEW grill!!!-- hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon, chips, and an AMAZING caramel apple pie our neighbors brought to dinner :)


For more yummy recipes ideas and menu plans, check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday

We didn't have anything TOO spectacular for dinner this week until my dad got into town this weekend, but then we had some really yummy things :)


Friday: Ooey Gooey Chocolate Butter Cookies
Saturday: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast with bananas, coffee, and juice
Sunday: Individual French Toast Stratas with Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips for brunch with coffee and juice

We LOVE the Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies, so I thought I'd substitute a box of chocolate cake mix for the yellow.  They were yummy, but they didn't have quite the same ooey-gooey-ness or addictiveness.  Maybe a good thing???


The Individual French Toast Stratas paired PERFECTLY with Fruit Salsa!  I highly recommend it :)


For more yummy recipes, click over to Menu Plan Monday hosted by Org Junkie :)

Menu Plan Monday: Mega Edition

Several weekly menus and recipes shared at once...because I've been a bit behind... :)

Monday: Pizza Bake

Tuesday: Book Club night, so Josh had leftovers.  I took Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Pita Chips for dessert to BC

Wednesday: I ate out for a friend's birthday, so Josh has leftovers...again :/

Thursday: 

Friday: dinner at neighbors'

Saturday: BBQ Salmon, Corn with mayo, chili seasoning, and Parmesan cheese, and Tahitian Coconut Bread (recipe below) with Homemade Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt (recipe below) for dessert

Sunday: Red Robin for Brandi's birthday dinner with Chocolate Stout Cupcakes for dessert

Monday: Pigs in a blanket with fries

Tuesday: Date Night :)

Wednesday: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Thursday: leftover BBQ chicken sandwiches

Friday: BBQ chicken quesadillas with salad

Saturday: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lasagna with salad and Chocolate Bread Pudding for dessert

Sunday: We spent the day in Annapolis, MD!

Tahitian Coconut Bread (this is a recipe we got at the Polynesian Cultural Center while in Hawaii!!!)

2c coconut

4c flour

2t baking powder

1 1/2c sugar

1 1/2c water

1.  Combine coconut, sugar, and water

2.  Blend flour and baking powder

3.  Mix all together into a doughy mix adding a little flour so it's not too sticky

4.  Form individual loaves, and wrap each loaf in aluminum foil and bake.

5.  Bake at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours

Homemade Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt

Plain Greek Yogurt makes a great base for this dessert--I used the Chobani brand.  For each two cups of yogurt, mix in 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar.  

1.  Mix to your desired peanut-buttery-ness and sweetness.  

2.  Freeze

3.  Thaw on counter for about a half hour before serving.

4.  Fresh fruit is really yummy as a topping!  I've tried it with peaches so far, but there are tons of choices!

For more yummy recipes, head over to Org Junkie for Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Sloppy Buffalo Joe's and fries
Tuesday: Dinner at the Buerstattes': Macaroni and Cheese Soup and Buffalo Fries
Wednesday: Dinner at the Yanceys'
Thursday: Leftover Sloppy Buffalo Joe's and chips (way too hot to turn on the oven!)
Friday: Chicken Parm Subs, fries, and salad
Saturday: Housewarming Party!!!  We served Buffalo Chicken Dip with veggies and crackers, chips and salsa, pretzels, hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, watermelon, grapes, pickles, Ooey Gooey Cookies, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cucakes
Sunday: Sonic Breakfast Burritos for breakfast and leftovers from the party for dinner


Mac n'Cheese Soup
Makes  about  7 cups
Total time:40 minutes
11/2  cups dry  elbow macaroni (6 oz.)
1/2 cup minced  onion
1/4 cup minced  celery
2  Tbsp. unsalted  butter
1/3 cup  all-purpose  flour
1/2 cup  dry white  wine
2  cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. ground  nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cayenne  pepper
2 cups whole milk
4 cups shredded  sharp  Cheddar
1 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
1/4  cup  crumbled  blue  cheese
2  Tbsp.  minced  fresh chives

1. Cook macaroni  in a pot of salted water according  to package directions;  drain  and  set aside.
2. Sweat  onion and  celery  in butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until  soft, about  5 minutes.
3. Stir in flour to coat and cook 1 minute. Deglaze  with  wine  and simmer  until nearly evaporated.
4. Stir  in broth,  mustard.  nutmeg, and  cayenne.  Simmer  until slightly thickened,  5 minutes, then whisk  in milk  and warm through.  Do not let boil or base may become  grainy.
5.  Add  Cheddar,  1 cup  at a time, allowing  it to melt completely
before  adding the next  cup.
6. Stir in macaroni,  lemon  juice,  and  salt; remove from  heat.
7. Combine  blue cheese  and chives  in a small bowl. Garnish  each  serving with  blue cheese  mixture.


Buffalo Ch icken " Fries"
Makes  4 servings  (1 lb.)
Total time:20 minutes
1/3  cup  hot  sauce  (such  as Frank's)
 1/2 stick  unsalted  butter, melted
1  Tbsp. honey
1  lb. boneless, skinless  chicken breast  halves,  sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide  strips,
seasoned with salt  and black pepper
1/3  cup  all-purpose  flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

1. Whisk together  hot sauce,  butter, and  honey  in a large bowl.
2. Toss  chicken  strips with  flour in a large  resealable plastic  bag until coated;  shake  offexcess  flour.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp.  oil in a large saute pan over medium-high;  add half the chicken  strips, saute until  browned about  2 minutes per side, then transfer  to hot sauce  mixture and toss  to coat. 4. Repeat  with remaining oil and chicken strips.

Visit Org Junkie for more yummy Menu Plan Monday ideas :)

Menu Plan Monday: Memorial Day Week

 Our Memorial Day dinner crowd :)

Monday: Chipotle Lime Soft Tacos with Corn and Black Bean Salsa, Oaxacan Grilled Corn, watermelon, and grilled peaches in sundaes for dessert

The shrimp is in the middle, all skewered and ready to be taco-ed.  The corn is still all wrapped up, but the recommended mayo, parm, and chili powder topping was AMAZING!  We are thinking of making it as a paste to just brush on next time...

Our grilled peaches sundae bar!

A delicious finished product example :)

Tuesday: Nutella Marbled Banana Bread

Wednesday: Baked Acorn Squash Filled with Italian Sausage and Pasta

Thursday: Leftover filling from night before

Friday-Sunday: Out of town in Covington visiting Josh's grandmas

For more yummy meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday Hosted By My Adorable Sous Chef!

There is A LOT to cover in this post :)  Let me begin with my meal plan for last week, and I'll sprinkle in the rest!

Monday: A chicken and biscuit recipe that seems to have potential, but was an epic fail when I made it :(  There was confusion as to whether the noodles should be cooked first or not...  I'll post it if it is successful in the future...

Tuesday: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast and Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork for dinner with Quaker Choc-Oat Chip Cookies for dessert.  The cinnamon rolls were TO DIE FOR!  This was one recipe I was super-pumped to have my KitchenAid for since I didn't have a dough hook before.  The only challenging part of this recipe was I wanted to serve them to Josh before he left for his first day in his new position (YAY PROMOTION!!!) around 6:30...  I made the dough and got the rolls ready to go on Monday.  I got up at 5am on Tuesday to let the rolls sit in a cold oven with a pan of water for 30 minutes before baking them!  That's right--an early morning--got lots accomplished though :)  They were a HUGE hit!  The pulled pork was a special surprise dinner for Josh's first day accompanied by his favorite cookies.  Jackson LOVED helping me make special cookies for Daddy!  I was super excited that the KitchenAid wasn't as noisy as the hand beater so Jackson enjoyed watching the mixing process.  He previously would run into another room whenever I made "noise"/mixed :(  

Checking out the new mixer...

 All ready to help!

 LOVED wearing his fabulous apron and helping Mommy bake!

 He quickly learned this was the best part...

 He was very good at it :)

 Stirring

 A mountain of deliciousness!

Wednesday: Leftover pulled pork in quesadillas with rice

Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Friday: Pizza for movie night

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: dinner at friends' house

Last Tuesday was a busy day for us!  First day of his new job for Daddy, a day spent cooking and baking, and a haircut for Jaxie!  He is still a sweaty mess in this heat, but I don't feel AS bad without the mop of hair on his head...

 The yummy treat we are making will be shared next week...

Check out more yummy recipes at Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday

My KitchenAid had its first three maiden voyages this week :)

Monday: Taco Bell!!!
Tuesday: Pizza Bake with Dole's Ultimate Caesar Salad (AMAZING!) and garlic bread
Wednesday: Dinner out with Mom
Thursday: Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones for breakfast and Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup with Biscuits and this amazing Strawberry Brownie Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake for dinner!!! Really, this is an excellent way to link to my good friend, Cassie's, blog: MacGruber's Mama.

Friday: Chinese Chicken Salad with leftover garlic bread and biscuits
Saturday: Crock Pot French Toast for breakfast and Grilled burgers and brats for dinner
Sunday: Leftovers, including the last of the ice cream cake :(


Comments
The scones were delicious!!!  I was very sad they only made 8, so I made another batch yesterday and doubled it.  I'm working on figuring out our new oven--it's fast!  I'm working on master making that work successfully with the given cooking temps and times.  Anywho, I did add the almonds the second time, and to be honest, it didn't add a whole lot.  I think I'll leave them out from now on.  They also weren't cooked exactly long enough because I was worried about burning them, but still tasty!


The ice cream cake was amazing!!!  I can't wait to try it with different ice creams, toppings, and fillings...stay tuned :)


The Crock Pot French Toast was quite yummy!  Believe it or not!  It wasn't crispy, but it wasn't soggy like a lot of people were wondering about.  I used a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and it was pretty yummy.  I think I'll double the cinnamon and vanilla next time to add a little more flavor.  My mom and Josh gave it two thumbs up...on the morning we made it.  Josh and I tried heating it up for leftovers yesterday and it was not so fabulous. But, we only tried the microwave.  Perhaps the oven where it might crisp up would go better???


All in all, a wonderful start to cooking in my new kitchen :)

For more yummy meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday

This week had a couple great successes, and a not-so-hot first run...  Friday night's dinner was quite delicious!  It was the first time I made both recipes, and I highly recommend them both!  Sunday night's dinner was on the right track, but our shrimp wasn't the freshest.  It wasn't bad or anything, just not quite plump and juicy.  This recipe was tried in an attempt to use up some bags of frozen shrimp in the freezer.  The sauce the shrimp were tossed in was delcious, so I think there's promise...


Monday: dinner out at Firehouse Subs
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: our last Lou Malnati's pizza :(  and salad
Thursday: leftovers again?  (we can't remember!)
Friday: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lasagna with salad and Chocolate Bread Pudding for dessert
Saturday: dinner at friends'
Sunday: Sesame Lime Shrimp Salad with Lettuce Wraps and Pillsbury biscuits


For more yummy recipe ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan Monday...on Wednesday?

Ummm..yeah, it's definitely not Monday anymore, but I still wanted to share a few yummy recipes!  I made a list last week of all the food that is in our pantry and freezer and am trying to create meals until we move using those items.  So far, so good :)


Monday: Pasta
Tuesday: Chicken Parm Sandwiches and fries
Wednesday:  Cilantro Crusted Roast with Horseradish Cilantro Pesto 
Thursday: leftover Cheeseburger Soup with grilled cheese
Friday: dinner out
Saturday: Slow Cooker Taco Soup (I had mine over noodles)
Sunday:  leftover roast and cheesy potatoes with Fresh Strawberry Bread

For more yummy menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie!