T-fal and time!

Life has been busy even though it's still summer break. Just a week before our long planned family vacation Oliver, then Carter, followed by Nolan all came down with hand foot and mouth disease. While they recovered in time to be cleared to head to the beach, it put a damper on our planned vegetable party with friends to highlight T-fal's new line of fun kitchen gadgets. Instead of hosting our veggie share playdate in mid July, we had to bump it to early August. That darn contagious virus!!

 I still want to share the new Ingenio line now in July with everyone and will come back and post pictures from the playdate. At our party, every mom is bringing along a favorite fresh veggie and we'll clean, prep, and chop them for the kids to explore and taste.

Included in the pack to share and show friends was the following:
• T-fal Ingenio Rapid Chopper

• T-fal Ingenio Micro Edge Peeler
• T-fal Ingenio 4 Quart Bowl
• T-fal Zen 6” Utility Knife
• T-fal Ingenio Tripod Strainer
• Good Cook Poly Cutting Board

I've been using each ever since with lots of luck. Some of the highlights of each gadget include the small gouging piece on the side of the edge peeler which helps pop out potato eyes. My favorite, no surprise, is the hand powered rapid chopper. I made a fun video highlighting how well it works! I ALWAYS break the small electric choppers so this is the perfect replacement. It quickly prepped nuts for our salad. 

Knives are another gadget I need more of in my kitchen. Surprisingly we've never purchased a nice set and only have a mis match of non sharp knives. The 6" Zen utility knife has been great for prepping lunches for the kids. I chop veggies and fruit in no time and the cutting board has made for easy cleanup. 

If you thought T-fal was just pans you're going to be surprised! Check out their entire Ingenio line and more online at http://www.t-falusa.com/

 

Meal Plan Monday

Here's what's for dinner!!

Monday

   Cowboy (not)Lasagna 

Tuesday

   Enchilada Cups 

Wednesday

   Chicken Noodle Casserole 

Thursday

   Sloppy Joes with veggies

Friday

   Pesto Salmon with iIalian Style Veggies

Sunday Suppers

Getting my meal plan published a day early for this week!! We have a busy week with lot sod appointment and plans so early on in the week I need to rely on my crockpot a bunch! Those are handy recipes I have made forever so no real recipe to follow but if you need some help just comment and I'll come up with one.

Monday
     Marinated Baked Chicken with Curried Couscous
Tuesday
    Crockpot Meatball Subs
Wednesday
  Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday
  Mexican Black Bean Pasta
Friday
  Roasted Tomatillo Curry with Pita Bread and Hummus

Mealplan Monday

... a day early!! Here's our menu for the week!! Remember you can always modify the recipes to your families needs. Purchase all organic, swap out creamed soups for homemade sauces, spice it up a bit! This is our inspiration, not our exact recipe list.

Monday
   Ham and Cheese Tortellini Bake with Peas

Tuesday
   Cajun Shrimp Casserole 

Wednesday
   Black Bean Quinoa Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday
   Crockpot Beef Stroganoff 

Friday
   Chicken Enchiladas Verdes with refried beans


How do you make your own "Cream of Soups" you may ask. Wellness Mama has a great recipe for one that can be a starting point. I tend to start with onions, garlic, a bit of butter, and fresh milk and go from there.

Mealplan Monday

It's a new week and time for a new menu board. Ours got an upgrade this week with a coat of paint on an adjacent door. I'll post picture with next weeks plan once everything is finished. 

Monday

   Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole 

Tuesday

    Fundraiser for our son's school so we're eating out!

Wednesday

   Honey Lime Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 

Thursday

   Shepherd's Pie (see below)

Friday

  BBQ Pot Roast over Ranch Cheese Grits with steamed carrots

Shepherd's Pie

ground beef

potatoes (and seasonings for mashing i.e. butter, milk, salt to taste)

mixed vegetables

garlic

onion

worchestershire sauce

garlic powder

chicken bouillon

pepper

shredded cheese

Brown ground beef with garlic, and chopped onion. Cook potatoes for mashing. Season to taste with garlic powder, pepper, Worcestershire sauce (2T minimum) and chicken bouillon. Once almost cooked add 1-2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. Prepare and season mashed potatoes. Layer casserole dish with beef mixture on bottom, mashed potatoes on next and top with favorite shredded cheese. Bake until bubbly (15-20min) at 350 degrees. 

Mealplan Monday

Another week another meal plan!! This week I start off with smoked chicken leftovers from a fun cookout this weekend. I'll be turning that into Brunswick stew along with some leftover bratwurst and corn on the cob. Check the links for any inspiration recipes I may be using.

Pretzel buns I made last week!! These were amazing as buns for our smoked chicken sandwiches!

Monday
  Brunswick Stew
    -This is a fun dish I make to my liking now no real recipe we follow. The broth is a mix of canned tomatoes (diced and include juice), BBQ sauce (homemade or bottle), and a bit of vinegar (ACV even) for tanginess. Mine usually includes potatoes, smoked meats, corn, lima beans, and carrots/celery/peppers as we happen to have them on hand.

Tuesday
   Bourbon chicken over brown rice with roasted broccoli
 
Wednesday
   Baked marinara pasta with ground beef
    - this week I'm not doing spaghetti but another random pasta shape. Wednesday is our fast nigt as Nolan eats before soccer!

Thursday
     Salisbury style meatballs over mashed potatoes with carrots
   - I've made these before with a little of my own twist to the recipe but they are amazing and everyone asks for more. All kids ate and hubby too no complaints!!

Friday
     This is our easy peasey night as hubby won't be eating with us. I might even do frozen pizza... gasp!!

Mealplan Monday

Need cooking inspiration?? Here it is. Again as always, I sub out ingredients and add more sometimes too. I strive to add extra vegetables and remove processed items but the recipes I link to have given me the inspiration for the meal.

Monday

  Chicken Yakisoba  

     A spin on our normal stir fry! For this I used the noodles from 3 Ramen packages (only cost $0.60), fresh cabbage, fresh carrots, water chestnuts, fresh green beans, fresh onions, fresh broccoli, and our normal stir fry sauce with a random combination of soys sauce, homemade teriyaki, garlic, sriracha, and ginger. 

Tuesday

   beef crunchy tacos with black beans 

Wednesday

   salmon burgers with skinny chickpea salad 

Thursday

   Spaghetti and homemade bread

Friday

   Copycat Pizza Uno Pizza with Pepperoni and Italian Sausage 

EXTRA

 Tomato pie 

I also started Monday off right by making two loaves of our favorite bread (Buttermilk) and banana muffins for our playdate tomorrow!!

Menu Planning

Disclosure: I received this product as part of an advertorial.

Like everyone else I know, I struggle to come up with healthy dinner ideas for my family. We usually end up in a rut eating the same few things. I turn to Pinterest but after a while Tim gets tired of trying new things like buffalo ranch lasagna or cauliflower crust pizza. I needed a simple way to come up with normal, wholesome, and healthy meals that wouldn't break the budget. Enter Relish! Meal Planning Services. I've never tried out any of the e-planning services before but know lots of friends who have. Now it's my turn!!

Relish! allows you to choose the dinners you want to make and easily print out the grocery list and recipes. They also offer comprehensive freezer meal recipes for those who like to cook in bulk ahead of time.

Here is how it works. Each week you choose from a new list of recipes. You then edit the side selection and build your grocery list by adding and deleting from the master list of groceries your recipes require. If you already have something in the pantry you just uncheck it form your list.

Having one thorough grocery list can cut down on your grocery bill and the time it takes to do your shopping. They say on average 5 dinners and sides cost less than $90 per week at the grocery store. A Relish! subscription is only $7 per month or as low as $4.90 a month when you sign up for a year.

Some of my menu items for two weeks ago when I started included Bang Bang Chicken with Jasmine Rice, Shrimp Creole Stew with Buttermilk Cornbread, and Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Burrito Bowls.

Being gluten free and menu planning can be difficult. I'm used to substitutions and easily know which type of meals work best for our family. I simply avoid the gluten heavy meals and sub out when necessary. Easy peasey! All of the above were easy to make gluten free. I really enjoyed each of the menu items but found that we usually use a lot more spices than others so I did adjust the recipes accordingly.

The recipes on Relish! tend to focus on healthy eating with whole, fresh foods.  When you're ready to cook the printable version of each given recipe is simple and straightforward. The ingredients are separate and followed by the directions for preparing the meal. Additional info such as weight watchers points and nutritional facts are available for each recipe.

I have a reoccurring problem finding new and still complementing sides. Relish! gives you a huge list of possible sides to choose from for each menu plan.

Side item list for the week for me blurred out to avoid any copying issues.

It's definitely worth the $7 a month (if you choose to buy just one month) and an awesome deal for the $4.90 cost to buy a whole year. Let me know if you menu plan and what tips and types of meals you enjoy?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Meal Planner!

I've been slowly completing projects in the house. The nursery is 95% done and wall decorating has begun. A few weeks back I made our meal planner/calendar. I wanted something nice but easily accessible. Here is what I came up with.

I found great large frames at a  local church garage sale. This one didn't even need repainting! I then took apart the frame and covered the artwork inside in white paper. This hid the print. My outer layer is burlap and both it and the paper are secured to the back of the artwork. To section out the board into the seven days of the week, I used black ribbon also secured on the back (pinned then glued). JoAnns sells nice vinyl letter stickers so I found a font I liked to label the days of the week. Once all of that was done, the frame backing was put back in place and wah-la!

I now have a write on wipe off meal planner that matches our kitchen nicely! Because everything is behind the glass, it makes it easy to wipe off and clean. Another plus is that it looks like a piece of furniture not just an organization tool.