menu 1.29 - 2.4

sunday
lunch - out after church
dinner - stuffed baguette (recipe found on pinterest but i will be changing it up a bit, naturally)


monday
leftovers on our own


tuesday
cheesesteak chimichangas


wednesday
chicken cordon bleu soup


thursday
pizza night: we still have two groupons to one of our favorite takeout places to use by mid-february, so we're having pizza out :-)


friday
slow cooker thai beef (new recipe)


saturday
lunch - pigs in a blanket
dinner - sausage ravioli lasagna

menu 1.22 - 1.28

sunday
- lunch: bbq cheddar chicken pitas (recipe to come, likely friday)
- dinner: anthony is cooking, hamburger helper is the rumor

monday
- on our own

tuesday
- takeout with our friend natasha

wednesday
- pastrami sliders (new recipe...will post if it turns out good!)

thursday
- pizza night! this week i'm changing it up a bit and making buffalo chicken stromboli.  i'm tweaking the recipe slightly though, so watch for changes on how to make it healthier!

friday
- he's having a guys *weekend* so i'm not sure what they're doing.  i'll be having food at the house i'm babysitting at, so who knows?

saturday
- i'm making brunch and dinner.  brunch is tbd (likely several things since there will be hungry guys around), but dinner will be chicken burgers with garlic rosemary mayo

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 1.10

hey, it's ok


...to plot your next cooking adventures with a friend all morning
...to leave the baby in her pajamas until noon on a chilly dreary day.  i mean, it's not like we're doing anything.  i'd be in my pajamas if that were possible!
...to be hopeful that swagbucks earnings can pretty much fund at least half of christmas this coming year.  i have a plan, y'all. (and seriously, if you haven't signed up for swagbucks it's the easiest thing ever.  if you click the link above and sign up i get a referral! and i'll be glad to share my tips and tricks :-)
...to plan your meals out monthly.  it actually helps me budget wisely for groceries and eating out.  and so far we've come in under budget for groceries since we've been married so *something* is working.
...to be glad that my regularly watched shows are now spread out over several nights.  no boring evenings in the kitchen -- i can just turn on the dvr!
...to eat ramen and kimchee at any opportunity, which for me means when i'm at home for a meal and my husband is nowhere around.  he can't stand cabbage, much less the fermented spicy stuff!
...to not be able to resist creamy goodness.  my boss had ranch sour cream dip AND french onion dip in her fridge last week.  she had a bit less after i spotted them!
...to be planning to somehow re-create one of my favorite dips from trader joe's. i'm tired of spending the money on it AND running out quickly.  ha.  i'll share it if it's successful.
...to apparently be hungry as i write this since over half of my points have to do with food.  so i suppose i'll sign off and go make lunch!


(visit amber and share your own list)

menu (1.8 - 1.14)

i'm not home a lot this week, so we won't be eating like royalty, but it is what it is.  right?  right.


sunday
thai coconut curry soup -- a pinterest find that my friend natasha and i cooked together.  we also made thai tea...yummy!


monday
leftover night: tomato basil soup for me, along with a grilled cheese or something resembling that.
also, we're planning to pull out the breadmaker tonight and actually make some bread.  i may be begging for help next week, or sharing what we did...it all depends!


tuesday
quiche -- my friend laura is coming over and we're making it together.  i'll post my standard quiche recipe (which actually came from her) here eventually...


wednesday
on our own (i'm babysitting...i think he's doing hamburger helper)


thursday
pizza night--we are going OUT or at least getting carryout


friday
on our own (i'm babysitting again...)


saturday
bbq cheddar chicken pitas (which reminds me, i need to post that recipe! i have a lot of those to post apparently...)

meal plan 12.11 - 12.17

getting this up a bit late!

sunday
it was a fend for yourself night since we found ourselves going in two separate directions.  i had kimchee with ramen, a particular favorite combo of mine that anthony will never ever taste.  not a fermented cabbage guy, i suppose ;-)

monday
we're having savory stew (which is exactly what it sounds like) at the in-laws for anthony's sister's birthday celebration.  i've also heard mention of derby pie.  yummy!

tuesday
leftover tikki masala (ladies and gentlement it was GOOD.  definitely remaining in the rotation)

wednesday
pastrami sliders on rye.  (new recipe)

thursday
homemade pizza night, of course.  we didn't get to do this last week after all, so i think we'll do a meat lovers pizza in our own way :-)

friday
we'll be in indiana with my parents...so whatever's on THEIR menu

saturday
still in indiana.  likely we'll be either dining at our favorite german place or eating with our friends brian and angie.

meal plans 12.4 - 12.10

here's this week's food lineup!


sunday:
taco soup (anthony's making this while i'm at a birthday party...i'll eat leftovers monday night though!)


monday:
leftovers on our own (likely taco soup for me!)


tuesday:
enchiladas (a recipe anthony found here)


wednesday:
gnocchi with wild mushroom ragu (a new recipe that i have been itching to try.  i'll post it here soon if it's good!)


thursday:
homemade pizza...something with meat, i'm thinking


friday:
slow cooker tikki masala (recipe found on pinterest and looks amazing!)


saturday:
it's our holiday open house, so lots and lots of yummy stuff :-)

3 in 30: and now for december

first a recap of last month's goals:


1. have grandpa's house cleared of my stuff, except the freezer stuff that we'll keep there.
done.  
2. have at least one meal weekly (preferably the evening meal) that is vegetarian or even vegan
i've been successful, and have usually done more than 1 meal a week, considering i bring a vegetarian lunch somewhat often.  yay veggies :-)
3. MOVE.  500 minutes or more of exercise.
i didn't quite make it, but because i was sick for awhile i'm giving myself a pass here.  i was about 50 minutes short of 500.  frustrating because 500 is not THAT many, but i'll get there :-)


now for december's goals!


1.  get both guest rooms in working order (read: guests don't have to sleep between boxes...) and the garage organized
2.  MOVE.  i'm sticking with the 500 minute mark until i make it, and then i'll increase it :-)
3.  come in well under budget in at least 3 of our categories this month.  this is clearly a combined effort with my husband, but we did really well this past month so i see no reason to not make it a goal!

meal planning: 11.27 - 12.3

easiest.meal.plan.week.EVER.


sunday 
thanksgiving leftovers


monday
on our own...it's an annie chun noodle bowl with a side salad for me 


tuesday
cheesesteak chimichangas 


wednesday
thanksgiving leftovers


thursday
on our own, anthony has a work party and i'm not invited.  
i'm planning to make a cilantro tomato ranch pasta salad and perhaps eat some other foods he wouldn't like ;-)


friday
MY office Christmas dinner


saturday
orange chicken (from trader joes) with rice (cooked in our new rice cooker)


told you. embarrassingly easy this week, but since it was just the two of us for thanksgiving we have a few more leftovers to plow through!


(ps, don't forget the brownie giveaway!)

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 11.22

hey, it's ok


...to lick the spatula when making brownies
...to be ready to black friday shop.  i don't do it like anyone else i know...much more relaxed approach, and i still get good deals.  without killing anyone or getting up ridiculously early. (amazon's online deals help a lot, but i actually DO get out and go!)
...to skip meal planning this week, as far as the blog goes.  we have a "plan" but i'm not going to get stressed if we don't stick to it.  hello holiday week!
...to, however, be planning out our open house menu.  i'm including some gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options this year as well as the normal fare, so i want it to be balanced. (if you have favorite holiday finger foods i'd love to hear about it!)
...to love rachael ray, but to be really tired of the "smellavision" comment she makes all.the.time.
...to spend the entirety of baby g's naptime catching up on shows on demand so that i can delete them off the dvr when i get home :-)
...to have way too many photos stored on my computer.  currently in the process of backing them ALL up to disk.
...to be ridiculously geeking out and excited that there's now a container store in my city.  i'm planning on hitting it up on friday, actually!
...to be quite excited to put up our Christmas decor here in a few days.  this will be our first year decorating together, and we have 3 trees planned as well as other fun stuff :-)  we do need stockings though.  nice ones.  any suggestions?
...to be nearly ready to post the giveaway that' i've had for a little over a month and am just now prepared for.  in fairness, it came RIGHT before the wedding.  i've been a little busy.
...to have placed a clue about the giveaway in this list of things that are ok.  extra entry if you correctly guess the right one BEFORE i post about the giveaway :-) (seriously)


visit amber's blog. mostly because she's awesome, but also because she hosts this weekly fun!  join us!

weekly meal planning 11.13 - 11.19

unfortunately our week kinda went...crazy.  i'm updating to what we are ACTUALLY having :-)


sunday
lunch out with friends
dinner: bbq chicken cheddar pitas (recipe coming soon: these were GOOD!)


monday
dinner: on our own, i'm working late.  i'm having tortellini minestrone leftovers


tuesday
dinner: at the hockey game.  brats anyone?


wednesday
since we both worked past 8, we met for dinner at ChickFila


thursday
italian shells hamburger helper and salad


friday
pizza, salad and brownies for dessert


saturday
breakfast: blueberry crumb breakfast cake
lunch: chili cheese dogs
dinner: french onion soup (new recipe)

meal planning 11.6 - 11.13

as i mentioned last week, i'm not cooking at home again until i get back from this friday - monday babysitting gig.  so this week's menu is a bit off...

sunday
lunch: leftover spanakopita and whatever else we could find in their freezer
dinner: we're getting bbq from our favorite texas bbq place down the road because we're so close!

monday
anthony is on his own.  i believe he mentioned hamburger helper :-)

tuesday
we have a info meeting on a possible trip at the pub, so yay!  pub food!

wednesday
stir fry night (his and her bowls)

thursday
pizza night -- either calzones or a frozen pizza this week.  we're working on cleaning out the rest of grandpa's house and want it done by the weekend!

friday
tortellini minestrone soup

saturday
brunch: blueberry french toast bake (a pinterest find; i'll post the recipe if it's worth it :-) )
dinner: anthony and i are going on a surprise (to him) adventure.  i know what we're doing for dinner, but if i post it here he may read it and realize where we're going, so we'll go with "out" :-)

geez.  what an easy week for cooking!  guess i need to vamp it up a bit next week :-)

meal planning 10.30 - 11.15

sunday
...we ate out both meals...oops...

monday
reuben soup
(a recipe i am putting together...will post if it works! :D)

tuesday
bbq cheddar pitas
(a recipe that anthony found that looks pretty yummy!  we're not changing it, so no reason to wait to post my version...)

wednesday
taco mac
(one of my easy, go-to, throw it all together comfort food recipes...i can post it here if anyone wants it, but it's embarrassingly simple)

thursday
pizza pot pies 
(we are having friends over, so vegan version for at least a few of them!)

friday-monday of next week
i'm doing a weekend babysitting gig, so anthony is on his own :-)  there's plenty in the pantry for him to make, and he'll come over saturday and sunday to hang out so we'll eat their food :-)  yay for a lower grocery bill?

meal plan 10.23 - 10.30

it's easy food again this week, as my hours at work have changed, he's working lots of overtime, and we're in a bit of a money crunch from the week of not working for both of us!  between not having much time or money to spare, well, there aren't a whole lot of fancy meals on our agenda.

sunday:
we actually eat at two different houses today for lunch and dinner...so yay free food? :-)

monday
meatball subs

tuesday
hamburger helper (no judging, please)

wednesday
spanakopita (new recipe, will post later)

thursday
pizza night -- we're getting it out this week.  last week was pizza pot pies.

friday
potato leek soup (new recipe, will post later)

saturday
lunch - pigs in a blanket and mac & cheese
dinner - he's having a guys night while i do an overnight babysitting gig, which likely means leftovers or something quick and easy for both of us.

meal planning 9.25 - 10.1

it only gets simpler (food-wise) from here to the wedding...

sunday
lunch: gnocchi from trader joes.  eaaaasy!
dinner: taco soup

monday
chicken burgers with rosemary garlic mayo

tuesday
taboulli salad (recipe to come), hummus, pita and veggies, falafel (frozen from trader joe's)
(easy girls night stuff -- it's the hair and makeup trial time)

wednesday
leftovers night or dinner on our own

thursday
pizza night: i think we're going to go to our friends house with takeout pizza since that was actually canceled 2 weeks ago

friday
either with friends, or greek meatloaf and mashed potatoes

saturday
lunch: black pepper chicken (new recipe, so will post soon)
dinner: DATE NIGHT

meal planning 9.18 - 9.24

so as i go through and make some of these recipes again i'll be updating the recipe posts with step-by-step pictures when needed...and at least better quality photos of the end result!  my new kitchen has much more room to spread out, and incredibly better lighting. 

sunday
dinner: lasagna.  his mom's recipe, and he's cooking it! woo!

monday
flank steak wheels with greek salad

tuesday
stir fry night (ginger noodles for me, terriyaki for him) with trader joe's chicken cilantro wontons

wednesday
shepherd's pie

thursday
bbq chicken pizza with anthony's sisters (two pizzas: sweet bbq sauce for him, spicy for me)

friday
dinner on our own: he's having a guys night in while i'm having a kitchen/linens shower at one of their (our, i suppose :-) family friends houses

saturday
lunch: chicken burgers with garlic-rosemary mayo
dinner: on our own.  i'm babysitting...so i'll take leftovers with me

meal-planning 9.11 - 9.17

i'm getting into this meal planning thing again
mostly because our shapers have worked overtime
and i have a monthly (yes.  monthly) meal plan schedule

i'm happy in my organizational mode
probably because i have a huge kitchen to cook in
and plenty of room in the pantry to stock staple items

so here's what's on the menu this week.  a fairly simple week...don't expect anything too fancy between now and 10.8  ;-)

sunday:
l - pigs in a blanket (easy meal due to football and getting the house ready to entertain for dinner)
d - stuffed mushrooms (recipe to come shortly), tortellini minestrone soup and tiramisu

monday
hamburger helper night (hey, don't judge us ;-)

tuesday
steak and veggie kabobs

wednesday
tomato basil soup with grilled cheese sandwiches

thursday
pizza night (a weekly thing) -- this week we are picking up pizzas from a local place and taking them to a friends house to hang out

friday
dinner on our own -- it's my lingerie shower and bachelorette!

saturday
l - on our own (although we're helping a friend move so pizza is likely)
d - panini bar (since there are sure to be a few straggling overnight guests from the previous night!)

what i'm loving wednesday (8.10.11)

i'm loving that my schedule is getting ready to switch up for the FINAL time this year.  i'm going to have a 'normal' weekly schedule which means it will be SO much easier to actually schedule in a life ;-)

i'm loving fresh tomatoes from my garden (and from my dad's since i brought home an entire box last weekend!)

i'm loving the lifestyle changes that this diet has brought.  in my future i see stevia-flavored sweet tea, lower carb menus (at least 2-3 days per week with very few or no carbs), different approaches to cooking in general, and more balance between protein and veggies/fruits

i'm loving getting into a more realistic sleep schedule

i'm loving that we had a fantastic trip to indiana last weekend -- saw people i hadn't seen in years, some great friends, and ended up spending an impromptu evening with some great friends

i'm loving already meal planning with my future hubby.  i think we've come up with a system that will work so that we incorporate favorite recipes, have easy dinner nights, try out new recipes, and not get bored.  oh, and eat out once in awhile too :-)  our 'practice' month will be september

i'm loving our save the dates that we finally emailed a couple of weeks ago.  (feel free to visit our website if you so choose)

hcg week three wrap-up

sunday
- breakfast: 'sweet tea'
- lunch: chicken 'stir fried' with cabbage
- snack: orange & melba toast
- dinner: tomato and ground beef soup, garlic melba
- snack: strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water (YUM)

monday
- lunch: cottage cheese and strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs and onion petals

honestly?  i don't remember after that.  i DO know that i totally cheated while we were in indiana and there was a fantastic german buffet spread.  but at the end of the week, even WITH that cheat, i'm down a total of 13.1 pounds and 19.5 inches.

(and 2.5 jeans sizes, if anyone is counting besides me)

hcg week 2 wrap-up

sunday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftovers with pickles
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef tips (not great...) and a couple of tomatoes.

monday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and salsa
- dinner: tuna "salad" with celery

tuesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and cucumber
- dinner: italian "soup"

wednesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: buffalo grilled chicken over a bed of cabbage
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs with onion petals

thursday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftover and tomato
- dinner: tuna and pickles (it was a late night)

friday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and tomato
- snack: orange
- dinner: "stif-fried" chicken with amino acids, splash of hcg safe chicken broth, hcg safe chili paste, cooked with sliced onions

saturday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef and cabbage leftovers
- snack: orange
- dinner: buffalo chicken tenders with sliced onions cooked together
- drink: sliced strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water

as of sunday morning, 9.8 pounds total loss and 12.5 inches lost

not half bad ;-)


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