Meal Planning & The Efficient Grocery List!

Can we first discuss that yesterday, on my THIRD meetup.com attempt, I finally made it to one (semi) on time and was SUCCESSFUL! The organizer of the "park day meetup" recognized me right away and introduced herself (yay for not awkwardly introducing myself). Then I made a friend. She asked for my number and everything.. seriously, we're besties now. But in reality I am so relieved to be making progress in the "mom friend" department.. it's stressful business!

To bring you up-to-speed on today... things started off with a lot of promise:

Adorable right?

I'm all confident this morning about how we will trek over to Trader Joe's (it's 20 min away) and grocery shop amongst the beautiful healthy food and then play outside blah blah blah WRONG. Teething monster strikes again! Now that Jack is FINALLY napping I have had to reevaluate my whole plan! Like go to Meijer instead of Trader Joe's (WOMP WOMP)

Now, I have been in a HUGE cooking slump lately.. like not excited about it at all because we are trying to be "healthy". I have been "attempting" to follow this SUPER bland meal plan for like 3 months now that doesn't ever work out and so it is time to find some cooking inspiration again! 

I headed over to skinnytaste.com and picked FIVE recipes I want to try over the next week. MEAL PLANNING PEOPLE! It takes work/time but it's important to sticking with a healthy lifestyle and EVENTUALLY it saves time AND $$$$ (da moneys). 

So here's my guide to creating the EFFICIENT grocery list:

-When you are trying lots of new recipes I'm thinking it is pretty normal to write down ALL of the ingredients for each recipe (or is this just me?) I usually end up with pages of notebook paper that look like this

Then I get to the grocery store and spend about 2 HOURS going back and forth up and down the aisles gathering the ingredients for each recipe one at a time. Pre-Jack this was fine, whatever, I can spend 2 hours at the grocery store because, who cares? Well now, Jack cares, he cares A LOT.

So now.. 

1. I write down every recipe I want to try

2. I start a NEW list and categorize the ingredients by things like produce, spices, dairy, etc. 

3. I first put down the things I need just in general (daily staples) 

4. THEN I got through each recipe and add the ingredients under their designated category (There are apps for phones that do this too but I am a CROSS IT OFF WITH A PEN kind of girl)

5. When I get to the store I BREEZE through the aisles checking things off like cray cray and we are out of there in no time! 

It takes a bit more time and forethought but the end result is worth it! I'm sure there are other methods, even ones that are maybe even MORE efficient?? I'm open to suggestions!

I also like to bring my groceries home to a clean and organize kitchen. This means clearing off the shelves of expired/half eaten/leftover items in the fridge. Last night there were a few things in the fridge and cupboards that hadn't been used or that were left over from other recipes so I whipped up a makeshift casserole. I am SO uncertain if this will actually taste good.. but it's what's for dinner tonight.. hahaha

chicken, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, cream of chicken soup.. 

Recipes I am TRYING this week:

1. Crock Pot Asian Pork with Mushrooms

2. Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos

3. Skinny Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

4. Chicken with Leeks, Sun Dried Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce

5. Stuffed Pepper Soup

Now this little naked napper just woke up so it's time to head to the store.. don't let that cute face fool you - there are teeth in those gums that are causing all hell to break loose in this household!

Wish me luck!

The Best Valentine's Day EVER

This is going to be a long post - but after having the BEST Valentine's Day ever, it's worthy of sharing all the details! Yesterday I tried to get the house spotless, grocery shop, and have everything perfect for when the hubs arrived home. ESPN was on the TV, I was baking a pie... I'd say that is a housewife success :)

What the table looked like when John got home

I also finished John's gift! I really got my cheese on. That is something that's not easy for me.. John loves it, and I am BAD at it. But he deserves it, and although it's not craft perfection, it's something that we will have forever!

Once upon a time...

 In a faraway land called East Lansing (Home of MSU)

There was a lonely Princess (I was Sleeping Beauty Halloween 2010)

 She had many friends...

 And attended MANY "Balls" (more like bars)

 But she never found what her heart desired MOST. Her one TRUE love.

 Little did she know... there was a handsome prince searching for the same thing (in ALL the WRONG places).... (John was a "king" Halloween 2007)

 One ::magical:: night there was a party in the Princess' castle. She wandered into the dungeon and there he was!!! They danced & laughed. The Princess put on the Prince's hat, it had magical powers that made the 2 inseparable! (You can't see these pictures very well.. but it's us on the night we met, me dancing in his hat & the two of us in the background of someone else's picture looking like we are in love)

 They fell in love INSTANTLY!

 Then... A MIRACLE happened!!

 Many obstacles were thrown in their way...

 But the Prince & Princess were brave

 FINALLY they were rewarded for ALL of their struggles

 Their marriage was celebrated

 Throughout the land. They were KING & QUEEN of their castle

 The King, The Queen, and their little Prince...

Lived happily ever after!

I wrote John a note on the last page. He seemed to really love it so it was worth all of the hard work! Lucky for us Jack decided to go down for a nap around 6.. I usually don't like to let him nap so late but it was a special occasion so I didn't argue with it! John decided to give me the rest of his surprise. This requires a little bit of a background story: 

Bubba puked on my computer about 2 months ago so I have had to use John's (Which is on it's LAST LEG) I accidentally came across a powerpoint his high school girlfriend's little sister had made about the couple. I fake got all huffy with John about why WE didn't have a powerpoint documenting our love story.

So when John finally got me to walk away from the kitchen and sit down on the couch he had his computer open to a powerpoint he had made about us. It was funny and cute and made me smile from ear to ear. He ended the powerpoint by singing me a song with the guitar (MY FAVORITE!). He has such a beautiful voice but will hardly ever play for me. He changed around the words to the song The Show by Lenka to be about us and it was funny and sweet. I wanted to make him play it over and over! 

Once presents were done it was time to get started on dinner. Our original menu was Cedar Plank Salmon, Creamy Orzo with Asparagus, a side salad, & Upside Down Apple Pie for dessert. Well - the grocery store didn't have cedar planks. This is usually the ONLY way I like salmon so I was a little dissapointed- BUT, we were able to make our own recipe and it turned out delicious!

Lemon Garlic Baked Salmon

INGREDIENTS:

Salmon Filet

Garlic

Pearl Onions

Lemon Garlic Seasoning

Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. On a piece of tinfoil put a tablespoon of olive oil & 3/4 c. chopped pearl onions

3. place salmon filet on top of the onions & brush with olive oil

4. Brush Salmon with 1/2T of lemon juice

5. Rub 1T of lemon garlic rub onto salmon

6. Top salmon filet with 1/4 cup chopped garlic

7. Bake for 40 min or until the fish flakes off easily with a fork

8. ENJOY!

Creamy Orzo with Asparagus & Parmesan

I found this recipe on pinterest. You can find it here!

 It was SO yummy - will definitely make it again! 

We also made a side salad with pearl onion, tomatoes, shitake mushroom, crumbled feta, and a blue cheese vinaigrette.

Our table ended up looking so beautiful! I put on a dress and heals, John threw on a tie and sport coat, and our kitchen was transformed into a fancy restaurant. We enjoyed our food, drank some wine, & it was romantic and fun and PERFECT. 

It was fun to use our wedding presents - beautiful candle holders and serving platters. ALL the wonderful kitchen appliances that made cooking this dinner a breeze. Getting married is the best for SO many reasons:) 

After dinner was done, we woke up Da Bubba, cleaned up the kitchen, and fed him a dinner of bananas and rice cereal. We changed into sweats and ate pie on the couch. Jack was HYPER. We didn't get to go to sleep until later than normal because Bubba was jumping around in his saucer and yelling out just to hear his own voice. When he finally went down, we snuggled into bed (I just washed the sheets - is there anything better than going to sleep in fresh sheets?!). We both agreed it was the best Valentine's Day ever. I am more in love with John this year than I was a year ago. A song on the guitar was more precious to me than a diamond (I know, I know - crazy right?). Making dinner was more romantic than an elaborate (and expensive) gourmet meal. And snuggling with Bubba on the couch as a family was more fun than a wild night out. Oh how things have changed! 

I know I left out one very IMPORTANT recipe - and that is the Upside Down Apple Pie. This is a SPECIAL pie that deserves it's own post.. so stay tuned :) I hope everyone had wonderful Valentine's Days. It's always nice to make the people we love every day feel EXTRA loved one special day a year! 

Pulled Chicken & Veggie Quinoa Soup

I promised to share all kitchen successes (and failures) as I attempt to domesticate myself.. last night was a SUCCESS (yesss!) John and I were dead on the couch (and feeling worse today than yesterday) when we started talking about dinner. We really are trying to be more frugal so instead of instinctively deciding to order in I decided to have a "use what we have" night. This resulted in me hauling out the crock pot (a very under-appreciated appliance in our kitchen), where this fantastic recipe was born!

ingredients:

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

3 cups vegetable broth

2 roma tomatoes (seeded and diced)

1/2 large sweet onion (chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 cups of carrots

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)

1 tbs jerk seasoning

s&p to taste

1. Place chicken in the center of your crock pot and cover with broth, set your slow cooker to high. I didn't think of this recipe far enough in advance to have a thawed chicken breast on hand so I just put it in there frozen. This worked out fine but I obviously had to cook it longer than if it had been thawed. I set the timer for 5 hours - but just kept my eye on it.

2. Halfway through I added the tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, and seasoning

3. I use my rice cooker to make quinoa, but you can cook it using your own preferred method (I got this going when the crock pot had about 45 min to go)

4. When the chicken looks fully cooked, shred it with two forks. 

5. When quinoa is finished add it to the crock pot, stir, & serve! 

makes about 6 servings 

John and I were really wishing we had a big hunk of homemade bread to go with the soup (We ended up putting a little olive oil/garlic in a frying pan and toasting up some whole grain skinny bread) ... obviously this is a recipe we are keeping and hoping to improve on. We are having a lot fun improvising together :)

On an unrelated note... remember when I mentioned John wishing I was back to my old self? Well I have now decided that the KEY to becoming my old self again is a planner by Erin Condren. Call me a nerd but watching the little video on her website about her planners gets me excited.. Too bad they are quite pricey (womp womp) BUT, great news! A wonderful little family blog is doing an Erin Condren giveaway for a $25 credit to her store.. YESSS! Check it out here.