Sometimes Dinner Just Needs to Be Simple

I'll never forget talking to my friend Crystal for the first time after she became a mom. We had been friends and roommates in college, married within weeks of each other, and she was the first to achieve the milestone of motherhood.

Sharing her many challenges with a newborn, she chuckled, "Sometimes we just eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. And that is okay."

I was kind of stunned by her brilliance. PB&J? Really? That was allowed?

True story: there is no such thing as the dinner police. Even a simple sandwich can count as dinner on occasion.

I'm not advocating neglect or laziness, and of course we should be considerate of our husband and children's tastes and health when preparing meals... but sometimes life circumstances make legit cooking extremely challenging.

Whether you just had a baby, are suffering through an illness, or are even just occupied with holiday preparations, know your limits and give yourself heaps of grace. There's a good chance that you may need to dial down your food prep time for a spell.

Although baby #3 has been a much easier transition than I expected {all of grace, friends!}, one of the ways I've made it even easier on myself is by keeping meals simple.

This post isn't meant to be a how-to on keeping dinner simple {but if you wanted my list of meals, it includes pasta with sauce, stir fry with meat and frozen veggies, baked potato bar, pancakes with eggs, omelets, and yes, sandwiches- rinse and repeat}, rather to be for you what Crystal was for me: permission to pare down to essentials in times of need.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and worn thin, maybe it is time to step back. What can you let go of to make things easier on yourself? Of course your family needs to eat three times a day {and so do you!}, but maybe you can serve cold cereal for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs, or roast beef sandwiches instead of a pot roast.

Maybe food isn't the toughest thing on your list- apply this principle broadly, and simplify whatever is taking the most time or adding stress.

We have limited time and energy as wives and moms, so figuring out what our priorities need to be and then budgeting our resources accordingly is essential.

I think Carolyn Mahaney said it best- "Honey... fix your husband a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner and give him great sex after dinner, and he will feel prized by you!" {Feminine Appeal}.

So there you have it. Cooking dinner might not be the most important item on your agenda today ;).

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Meatless Meals Your Husband Won't Mind

I married a true meat and potatoes kind of man. And to be honest, I am a meat and potatoes loving kind of gal... so it pretty much works. Yet every once in awhile, for both health and budgeting purposes, I try to serve meatless dinners.

I love baked Mediterranean veggie dishes, don't mind beans or lentils, and could survive on crunchy peanut butter indefinitely. My husband has a harder time stomaching such kitchen ventures.

Trying to strike a compromise in the kitchen, here are a few dinners that he is {mostly} happy with {on occasion}, no meat required.

Breakfast for Dinner. Pancakes or French Toast {especially when served with fresh berries} are big family favorites around here. While we'd all prefer them with a little bacon, no one complains when I serve them cheesy scrambled eggs for protein instead.

Pizza. I make this homemade crust recipe often, mostly because it is so quick and easy. Then I just toss on whatever toppings we might have on hand- bell peppers, sweet corn {new to me when I married Niall, but apparently totally normal in Ireland}, fried onions, etc.

Homemade Refried Beans. This recipe is so very delicious- I've served it to friends who didn't think they liked refried beans, and made converts out of them. I either wrap them up into burritos, or serve them with veggies and tortilla chips for dipping. That is more of a snacky dinner, which makes it more fun. And simple for this mama to prepare.

Also, hot tip: pick up the large bag of pinto beans at Aldi, and make them all up into refried beans at one time. I freeze them in old peanut butter and pickle jars so that I always have some on hand to pull out in a pinch.

Soup and Bread. A simple vegetable soup or vegetarian chili may not be too thrilling on it's own, but paired with a loaf of fresh homemade bread {each slice coated heavily in butter} and now we are talking :). Some of my favorite loafs to make are this honey whole wheat. failproof french bread, and artisan bread in 5 minutes a day.

Chickpea Curry. We love a good Indian dish around here. While I would much rather eat it out then make it myself, chickpea curry with coconut milk {most recently, this recipe at our house} is one meatless meal that I can count on my husband enjoying. I like to serve it with a side of garlic naan.

Are you able to get away with meatless cooking in your kitchen? What recipes does your whole family enjoy?

My Go-To Smoothie Recipe

Recently I had a root canal {boo, hiss!}, and was put on a five day round of antibiotics. Naturally, I've been beefing up on my probiotics ever since to replace the healthy bacteria in my gut. Enter, favorite smoothie recipe.

You should also know that I have a second-hand blender a very nice old man gave me for free. The poor darling barely works, and every time I use it I fear it might be its last. So if I can make a smoothie, I am sure anyone can. And if anyone wants to buy me a Vitamix, I won't complain ;).

You will need:

1 very ripe banana {to sweeten the deal}
1 cup of frozen berries {we often use strawberries}
1-2 handfuls of greens {mixed? baby spinach?}
1 and 1/2 cups of yogurt or kefir, or a mix of the two

Add all of the ingredients to your blender and puree until smooth. Drink up!

P.S- Anyone have any tasty smoothie recipes to share? Because I am always on the look out for a new one...

P.P.S- When my bananas start to get over ripe, I throw them in the freezer and then use them in smoothies.

P.P.P.S- Has anybody made big batches of bagged smoothie ingredients? Does it really save time? I've considered giving it a try, but would love to hear firsthand from someone who already has...

A Beginner's Map for Soaking Grains

For ages I've read people raving about the health benefits of soaking grains... and for whatever reason I haven't bothered. Food and lifestyle changes take time and effort, and I suppose I just hadn't gotten that far. My one small baby step towards soaking was a huge failure: I soaked oats in yogurt overnight and in the morning when I cooked them they were just sour and gross. That kind of squelched my enthusiasm. {To regular grain soakers: what did I do wrong? Can you trouble shoot this for me?}

At any rate, I'm getting older and having indigestion issues and feeling concerned about instilling better eating habits into my children. I've been hearing that grains in any form, even soaked, are terribly harmful, and that people should quit them all together. I, for one, can't just quit them. While life without bread may be healthier, I can't see myself being happier. I just love carbs way too much ;). So if I'm going to keep eating them, I feel I ought to try my best to make them easier on my family's digestive tracts.

Enter my map. To get myself started on this grain-soaking journey, I've culled recipes from several bloggers whom I enjoy and trust. I plan to take one recipe every week or two and give it a test spin. If you've ever considered soaking grains, I'd love for you to bake along with me. Here's my disclaimer: if after trying three or four recipes I haven't had success, I probably won't continue. Hopefully it will go great, and my family will be that much the healthier for it. I'm nothing if not optimistic folks.

First, I intend to start by replacing recipes of baked goods I prepare on a regular basis.

Bagels. I adore homemade bagels, and haven't been able to enjoy a store-bought one since I started making them three years ago. Bagels are so great- you make a big batch and can enjoy them as a quick and easy breakfast for days. Lindsay shares her soaked version on Passionate Homemaking here.

Pancakes. Another regular staple in our breakfast menu. Quick and easy to whip up, loved by all. I'll be trying Lindsay's Blender Pancakes.

French Bread. The perfect completer to stuffed peppers, soup, and a host of other meals. I'm hoping that this recipe matches it's name- EASY French Bread ;).

Muffins. By far my favorite baked good to make and to eat. I'd like to make the Pineapple Muffins from Trina Holden's debut ebook Real Fast Food (as well as the apple cinnamon variation), these raspberry ones from Passionate Homemaking, and Kitchen Stewardship's Soaked Famous Pumpkin Muffins (this will be the first recipe I try, because hello, fall= pumpkin!!!).

Then I'll move on to treats my family enjoys on occasion.

Crepes. My favorite excuse for having chocolate at breakfast. Blender breakfast crepes.

Oven-Baked Pancake. The dutch baby, or puff pancake, has become a recent favorite in my kitchen. How did I go 28 years without ever having one of these glorious creations?!? Using another recipe from Trina's book (see muffins).

Lastly, I'll attempt recipes that I have thus far only aspired to making from scratch.

Biscuits. I really enjoy eating biscuits, but haven't tried making them since a childhood fiasco. At this point I can't even remember what went wrong, but something definitely did. I'm giving another of Lindsay's recipes a whirl.

Granola. Another food I love to eat yet have never made. A dear IRL friend made this recipe from The Elliot Homestead, and when I tried it I couldn't believe how delicious it was. Definitely worth the effort!

If you'd like to keep track of my progress, I will be updating my Grain Soaking pin board as I complete each recipe. Knowing that you are checking in on me will force me to follow through ;).

Do you soak grains? Why or why not? And do you have any fantastic recipes to share with us? I am definitely up for checking them out!

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

I can officially say that this 31 Days of Pinterest experiment has changed my pinning habits. Instead of pinning and forgetting, I've been pinning with real intent and acting on more pins.

For example, I pinned this Pumpkin Spice Latte on Pinterest a mere 12 days ago. Two days after pinning it, I purchased the ingredients on my weekly shopping list, and whipped it up the following day.

Progress, people!

This homemade pumpkin spice latte mix is super quick, easy, and inexpensive to make. One batch will keep for at least a week in your fridge, and makes 7 or more lattes. Once you taste it, you'll want to just eat the mix by itself :)... it is seriously that good. Tastes just like pumpkin pie!

My only issue is that I'm not a coffee every day kind of gal. While I love me a good cup of joe, I am a tea drinker first and foremost. A french press is our only coffee making device, and I am horrible at knowing how much coffee and water to put in. Due to my coffee making deficiencies, my latte never turned out right.

I knew that the problem had to be the coffee I was making, because on it's own the mix was so delish! So I took my jar of pumpkin mix over to several friends houses {friends who make good coffee}, and sure enough, this recipe is amazing.

Feel free to laugh at the silly girl who can't make a decent cup of coffee. Then go and make your own batch of pumpkin spice lattes, and enjoy these last few fleeting days of October!

Any french press coffee making tips for me? What's your go-to morning drink?

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Pretzel, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Please tell me this title made you just as excited as I was when I found this pin! If you love pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate as much as I do, we could probably be BFF's. Truly. And these cookies are an incredible combo of three of my favorite edibles.

They are as delightful as I ever could have imagined them to be. I've made them probably three times so far, and I'm not sure I'll ever go back to plain old chocolate chips again!

The blogger who shared the recipe says that you can use any chocolate chip cookie dough as your base, and we have a favorite {passed down from family friend Beth, a.k.a Queen of the Kitchen}, so I used that and just added pretzels, cut down on the chocolate a tad, and added PB chips. Soo sooo good.

If you'd like Beth's cookie recipe {the secret amazing ingredient is vanilla pudding}, here it is:

1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 and 1/4 cup flour
One small package of vanilla instant pudding

Mix butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Stir in a 12 oz. package of chocolate chips (or, for this recipe, 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate, 1/2 cup peanut butter chips, and one cup of broken pretzel pieces). Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden.

The original pin also suggested sprinkling the tops of the cookies with sea salt. I've done it with and without, and either way they were salty enough for me... so now I skip it, since I figure our diets are not lacking in salt consumption ;). 

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers

I have officially made these Pinterest, string cheese-stuffed, mini-peppers not once, but twice. Once just to eat with my family, and once for a party. They were a hit on both occasions!

Very, very simple: Just cut your string cheese in half, slice peppers down their centers and remove the seeds, insert cheese, and broil.

The directions said to broil them for ten minutes. I did so the first time I made them, and the cheese spilled out everywhere... still tasty, just not as pretty {as you can see in my photos}. The second time I only broiled them for 7 minutes, and I thought they turned out perfect {boy I wish I had remembered to take a picture this time!}.

Watch them as they cook, know your own oven, and use your best judgment. Either way, you can't really mess them up. They are super tasty! Just note that mine are no where near as pretty as the original pin :).

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Menu Planning Board

My apologies for failing to post yesterday! I am officially a 31 Days cheater... Instead of blogging during naptime yesterday, this sleep-deprived mama followed husband's orders and took a nap :). And it was totally worth it! 

When I decided to tackle a month's worth of Pinterest projects, this menu board was my first pick in the project line-up. 

I am a religious weekly meal plan maker... but so often I find myself in a rut, making the same things over and over again. My poor husband is not very picky, but he has two requests when it comes to dinner: 1) Variety, and 2) Meat. I was seriously letting him down in the first category!

The idea of this menu board is to pick 7 different dinner themes, one for each night. Here's my thematic line-up, just to give you ideas for a starting point:

Sunday- Soup and Bread
Monday- Italian
Tuesday- Comfort Food/ Homestyle
Wednesday- Mexican or Asian
Thursday- Vegetarian or Fish
Friday-Homemade Pizza
Saturday- Sandwiches/Grill/Junk Food

Other possibilities include slow-cooker, salads, breakfast for dinner... whatever you and your family like!

After I came up with categories, I proceeded to pour over my cookbooks and dig through my recipe box, writing each {approved} meal I've made in the past under the proper category. To my shock, I came up with somewhere in the ball park of 70 meals! That is a whole lot of dinner options. How did I forget about all of these recipes???


Each dinner idea got its own half of an index card. I made sure to include accompanying side dishes and veggies. On the back of the card, I wrote out the ingredients needed for that meal.

Meal planning is now a breeze! All that I need is in one place. I quickly inventory meats and meal staples in my freezer and pantry, then sit down with the board, pick my meals, and make my shopping list. Brilliant!

As I make each meal, they go in the bottom box on the board. Once I've made all of the meals from the top box, I'll just start over again making each one. This should give me almost two months of a different main dish each night. 

The original pin used a picture frame for the board. I just used a heavy piece of cardboard, and hot glued magnets to the back of it so that it can be displayed on my fridge. I covered clothes pins in paper and hot glued them to the board. The meal card holders are paper covered crayon boxes.

It was fun to make, and has proved to be super handy so far. I also love how it looks in my kitchen.

How do you go about meal planning at your place? Be sure to check out our series "Meal Planning: A Week in the Life" for more ideas from a handful of women on what they make for dinner!

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Pumpkin Donut Holes

Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall highlights. Give me a pumpkin spice latte, a pumpkin muffin, pumpkin pie or even a pumpkin candle and I am one happy girl; transported to a land of autumnal bliss.

Donuts are also pretty amazing :). I was super excited to try out this recipe for baked {not fried} pumpkin donut holes. They were the perfect treat for an early morning October play date.

Not at all difficult to make, the little munchkins were incredibly tasty. I ask you, how could a baked good rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar not be tasty? Seriously.

My daughter loved them. Her little buddy loved them. Her little buddy's mama loved them too. Definitely a winning treat!

My only complaint is that they aren't really donut holes. They are actually mini-muffins. You bake them in a mini muffin tin, yet something in me was really hoping they would still come out round. They did not.

Observe:

Even so, the cinnamon sugar coating is slightly reminiscent of donut holes. They were very delicious, very easy, and a big hit. Oh happy pumpkin goodness!

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Homemade Mozarella Sticks

I don't know about you, but mozarella sticks are one of my favorite appetizers. I mean, come on- hot, melted, gooey, cheese- deep fried.... need I say more? Really, I could have just stopped at "cheese"- isn't that enough?

You should know that this recipe originates with The Pioneer Woman, which instantly makes it awesome. Seriously, the woman is genius.

These lovely delicacies were easy to make, and a huge hit. I made them on a Friday when some of our best friends came over for a movie night. Everyone loved them!

Friend Amy, Son W, and Mum-In-Law Cathy enjoying cheesy goodness

 The only issue I ran into while making them was that my hands got all eggy and floury clumped, and I think that got in the way of the Panko sticking flawlessly and evenly to the mozarella. But I have that issue with everything I've ever breaded- chicken strips... and I actually can't think of anything else I've ever breaded. So never mind.

You get the picture. Delicious, tasty, a for-sure must try!

Anyone else out there have my issues with breading? 

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Baked Oatmeal To Go

If you like baked oatmeal, you will like baked oatmeal to go. These are nothing like granola bars. They aren't at all like a muffin. If you've never tried baked oatmeal, it's kind of mushy and spongy. I like it. My family doesn't.

If you like baked oatmeal, you will be pleased to find that this recipe makes a ton of individual servings that will last in your freezer for a good long while. If your family doesn't liked baked oatmeal, you will, unfortunately, be eating them out of your freezer by yourself for a good long while.

If you like baked oatmeal, I think that frozen blueberries would be super tasty in these mini baked oatmeals. I didn't have any, so chocolate chips were a nice alternative. You know me and chocolate ;)!

If you like baked oatmeal, please come on over and help me eat mine? Thanks a bunch friends :). 

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Homemade Twix Bars

Chocolate might be one of my favorite things in life. Truly.

Add a little soft caramel to the chocolate, and it is definitely one of my favorite things in life. I love Caramello's, Twix bars, and really anything else that fits into that category. Yum!

The day I first beheld the "Homemade Twix Bars" pin, my little heart about burst with the excitement. This had to be too good to be true!

Ironically, it sat on my baking pinboard untouched for an entire year. Yikes, people! Thus you have the whole reason I am doing this series.

The recipe is admittedly a bit more complicated then I prefer in this season of small children. Unwrap an entire bag of individually wrapped caramels, anyone? Proceed to slowly melt the sticky, thick mess on your stove top?

Fortunately they were delicious. One batch fills a 9x13" pan, so you get your time and money's worth too.

They didn't taste nearly as much like a Twix bar as I expected, but my husband said they tasted more like a Twix than he expected. Funny, huh? Just goes to show that everything is a matter of perspective.

While they didn't quite satisfy my longing for a Twix bar, they were still extremely tasty. I probably won't be making them too frequently because of the effort involved, but I am glad to say that this was another successful Pinterest experiment. So glad I can finally, one year later, have Homemade Twix Bars checked off of my list!

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Zucchini Lasagna

Summer vegetables are probably one of my favorite things. I adore going to the farmer's market, and loading my bags with fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, squashes, zucchinis and eggplants. The vibrant colors alone are gorgeous- ruby reds, emerald greens, marigold yellows, and deep purples- but the flavors are also incredible.

One day on bed rest while skimming Pinterest, I found a zucchini lasagna recipe. Instead of noodles, it called for long, thin strips of zucchini. As a lover of ratatouille and other summer veggie baked dishes, this was too good to pass up.

Just a few weeks ago I finally put the recipe into action. I didn't even follow the recipe shared, I just used my own tried and true lasagna recipe, subbing the zucchini for the noodles. It did not disappoint! And by every reason, it ought to have. Let me explain.

To start off I used a runny homemade marinara sauce. The sauce was tasty, but much thinner than what I would normally use. I should have known better, because when you bake zucchini, all of the moisture bubbles out of it, and it can also become quite liquidy. Between the sauce and the zucchini, by the time I pulled my Pyrex out of the oven, dinner looked more like lasagna soup.

This was kind of a bummer. I had wanted it to be so perfect! While I adore summer veggies, not every member of my family is as enthusiastic. Fortunately, once my husband was assured that zucchini lasagna did in fact have meat, he was okay with eating it for dinner.

To both of our genuine surprises, the zucchini lasagna was marvelously delicious. Soupy as it was! I'm chalking up this Pinterest experiment as a fabulous success, and will definitely be making it again.

Sometimes the most random ingredient can take a recipe to unimagined levels of gourmet tastiness. Zucchini lasagna, we salute you!

Join me as I seek to apply my pin boards to real life!

Housework With "Helpers" {Life with Toddler}

"Help! I have a two-year old and I have no idea how to get anything done anymore!"

"My toddler is into everything- I turn my back for a few minutes, and all the work I've done is undone."

"My carpet is literally strewn with a million cracker crumbs... I vacuum, and within the hour it looks like the vacuuming never happened."

Words echoed from the mouths of countless mothers... or is it just me? Please tell me again that I am not alone here!

While some of these conundrums may never be solved {especially the cracker crumb scenario- seriously, I say I won't let her walk around the house with a snack anymore, but that has yet to happen}, and the messes will always keep coming back, there are a few tricks I've employed in keeping house with my two year old.

Washing the dishes. When I wash the dishes, S washes her "dishes." I stick her in her high chair with a small container of water, throw in a few bath toys, and let her have fun. Yes, my entire kitchen floor is sopping by the time we're through. Oh is she happy though, and Mommy is happy too, because all of her dishes are done :).

Cooking. S loves to help me in the kitchen, and I am kicking myself for not including her in my cooking and baking sooner! She dumps measuring cups into bowls, taste-tests the veggies I've chopped, and helps me stir.

Warning: when cooking with toddlers, I'm learning that I need to have a game plan ready to go before starting if I want to keep my patience and sanity. Knives and spillables need to be in a corner of the counter far from S's reach. Suitable activities for her to participate in need to be identified and prepped before I enlist her help. Then we can both have a good time, and I won't have to fret about how to salvage a recipe tweaked by S when my back was turned ;).

Cook dinner earlier in the day. Seriously, 5 o'clock is when everyone in my house loses it. The baby is screaming, the toddler is screaming; I am tired and hungry, they are tired and hungry. Putting off dinner prep until then is a recipe for disaster. When Niall walks in at 5:30, I want him to be greeted by happy kids, a cheerful wife, and a hot meal. Not a frazzled woman with two irritable children and something burning on the stove :).

When I plan ahead what we will be eating, tackle as much as possible of the prep-work when everyone is fresh and well-behaved earlier in the day, 5 o'clock is a much more peaceable hour. I am free to attend to needy children without feeling stressed. We can dance and sing and snuggle, and be ready to greet Daddy with smiles.

Playing with (and taste-testing) bagel dough

Monkey see, monkey do. One thing I adore about this stage is that S wants to do everything Mommy does. Her unbridled enthusiasm for me won't last much longer, so I want to take advantage of it {hopefully even prolonging it by doing so}. If I'm vacuuming, S has her toy vacuum out. If I'm sweeping, she grabs her broom and then holds the dust pan for me. We pick up the living room as a team. Almost any task can be done together!

Does it take longer? Absolutely. I have to re-sweep multiple times because my neat pile has been spread across the floor all over again. But S is learning valuable life skills, and spending time with her mommy. And I am learning to develop mass quantities of patience :).

How do you get stuff done around the house with your toddler(s)?

Don't miss the rest of our series on toddlerhood through the month of September! And please join us for our toddler link-up on Friday the 27th- any and all posts on toddlers welcome {feel free to dig up your archives!}.  

Check out the other posts in this series:
Introduction
Cleaning Up with your Toddler 
Family Worship
Home Education

Meal Planning: A Week in Carrie's Life

 Welcome to a "Week in the Life"- a meal planning series that offers you a peek into the kitchen's of other women. Every Friday we will be featuring a different woman and a week of the meals she feeds her family. You can read more about the purpose of this series here. Happy meal planning! May your culinary side be inspired :).

Welcome to Carrie's Kitchen!

I was excited when Rachel announced this series. I'm always looking for new ideas and inspiration for meal times. :-)

As the week approached when I was planning to record each dinner I made for my family, God had a different plan. I ended up spending the majority of that week on the road helping my sister and her husband move from California to Nebraska. :-). So this is a sample meal plan showcasing some of the typical fare you can find on our dinner table. :-)

Sunday - Spaghetti. :-) After years of occasionally trying a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe and never quite liking it, I finally found a recipe my family likes. And it is delicious! I love how simple and easy it is. I can mix it up on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The sauce is supposed to simmer for an hour so be sure to allow plenty of time. I've rushed this meal preparation on occasion when I've forgotten to leave enough time and it just doesn't taste quite as good.

Monday - Cheesesteak Sandwiches. This is one of my favorite dinners! :-) When I find steak on mark down I usually make this. It's very simple. Slice the meat. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Saute the meat, 1 onion, and 1 bell pepper. When it's cooked through, serve on rolls. Sprinkling the meat mixture with cheese makes it even more delicious!

Tuesday - Crockpot Fajitas. Crockpot meals are so wonderful! :-) I love being able to fix dinner in the morning and smell it cooking all day long. :-) I have to admit that we prefer fajitas freshly made in the evenings. However, this is a great go-to recipe if you know you won't have time in the evening to slice and cook all of the ingredients.  

Wednesday -Beef Enchiladas. It took me awhile to find an enchilada sauce recipe that we liked. But this one is perfect!! I use it in more than just this recipe. If something else I'm making calls for enchilada sauce, I can substitute the sauce in this recipe. It's so easy and simple.  

Thursday - Shepherd's Pot Pie. I love this casserole as an effortless way to use up leftovers. :-) When I find my refrigerator filling up with odds and ends I throw the leftover meat, sauce and veggies together and add some gravy. I whip up some mashed potatoes to put on top of the casserole and bake until it's hot all the way through. Delicious and simple.

To make some gravy heat 2 cups of broth in a pot and bring to a boil. While you're waiting for the broth to boil, whisk 1/3 cup of flour into 1/2 a cup of milk. When the broth is boiling, whisk in the flour/milk mixture. Stir constantly until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


Friday - Pizza. My husband does the pizza for our family :-) He loves to do that and our two boys enjoy being in the kitchen and helping daddy. I make a pot of the spaghetti sauce that I linked to above for him to put on the pizza, I just leave out the meat since we prefer a meatless sauce on our pizzas. :-)  


Saturday - Brunch Strata -I was never a big fan of breakfast casseroles until I found this recipe. I rarely follow this recipe exactly. I add in vegetables that my family likes. This recipe makes it very easy to get a great variety of vegetables into our diet.

 I hope this menu plan inspires you. I love being able to share some of our favorite recipes! :-)

Carrie is a wife, and mama to two little boys and one sweet girl. While she is passionate about caring for her home and kiddos for the glory of God, she  also enjoys helping other women as a Bradley childbirth educator. You can find her blogging with her twin sister Melinda to encourage women to embrace whatever life circumstances God has for them at Wholesome Womanhood.

Meal Planning: A Week in Kalyn's Life

Welcome to a "Week in the Life"- a meal planning series that offers you a peek into the kitchen's of other women. Every Friday we will be featuring a different woman and a week of the meals she feeds her family. You can read more about the purpose of this series here. Happy meal planning! May your culinary side be inspired :).

 

Welcome to Kalyn's Kitchen!

Although I'd like to have a set meal planning schedule, it doesn't always work in this house! It's just me and my hubby, and since he works for a local TV station, he is often called in or asked to work overtime when there is breaking news. He also works the 3pm-12am shift, so dinners just don't happen.

Since I work from home - blogging, writing, and doing all sorts of things - I'm able to be a little bit more flexible. We've officially established lunchtime as our main meal, and I quite enjoy it over a heavy dinner. Then I send hubby to work with leftovers from the day before, and I have a light snack around supper time.

Here's a glimpse at what meals generally look like in our home:  

Sunday - I don't always feel like cooking, so we let ourselves have a treat and eat out after church. We love this time to try new restaurants, or grab a quick bite to eat if we're on a time crunch. In the afternoon, I browse through the new grocery store ads, choose meals for the upcoming week, and create my grocery list.

Monday - It's cleaning day, so I prepare some dough for lunch to make Calzones later. We don't stuff them with a ton of toppings though. Mozzarella and freshly cooked bacon do it for us.  

Tuesday - Sometimes hubby and I will go play a morning round of Tennis or run errands, so when we get back, Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli doesn't take long at all to put together. Then I pull whatever frozen biscuits or rolls I have from the freezer to serve alongside it.  

Wednesday - This is a more relaxed day for us, so I take the time to make my favorite Potato Soup. It's extremely filling, and makes a huge batch. Perfect for creating single servings in freezer bags for hubby's supper later.  

Thursday - Parmesan Crusted Chicken is probably one of my easiest chicken recipes - only 4 ingredients! But it's oh so juicy and flavorful. When asparagus is in season, I like to prepare it in olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice to compliment the meal.  

Friday - We could literally eat breakfast any time of day, but Fridays are perfect for late brunch of chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs. It's a time saver too!  

Saturday - One of our favorite crock pot meals is Pulled Pork Sandwiches. It smells so good while it's cooking, and since it's hubby's day off, we go out on a date and come home to a supper that's ready to eat. I also pull out homemade applesauce from the freezer to go with it.

Many of the above meals are my tried and true staples, but I do enjoy trying out new recipes and will usually throw at least one in every week. How else would I make it through my embarrassingly large amount of cookbooks?!

Kalyn Brooke is a writer/blogger in Southwest Florida who isn’t afraid of hard work or BIG dreams. As a girl with an insane amount of hobbies, life is never boring, and she loves spending it with her husband, Joseph, and one super adorable bunny, named Twix. Frugal living is her passion, book hoarding her weakness, and a well-stocked freezer full of ice cream an essential luxury. You’ll find her latest money-saving ideas and projects at Creative Savings.

Meal Planning: A Week in Jess' Life

 Welcome to Jess' Kitchen!

My life is rather unpredictable. I suppose it comes with the territory of having a 3 year old and 1 year old triplets. My days don’t always go according to plan; sometimes I end up with babies that just want to be held, and some days I could manage to pull off a five course meal.


Besides the chaos of our house, we also have another element that adds to the complexities of meal times. My husband delivers numerous customers throughout the week, sometimes not getting home until after the kids are in bed. But this business comes with a perk, it’s the food business; meaning we don’t spend nearly as much on groceries as other people do.

We also purchase almost all of our meat locally, and raise the rest ourselves.

While we do have a well stocked freezer, we also have freezers that are elsewhere, meaning that I don’t always know what we have to cook.
 
Every Sunday afternoon we take 5-10 minutes and go over what our week looks like and what meals we can manage. My husband knows what is in the freezers and I know what I have time to cook. “What’s going to work?  Teamwork!”

This is how a week looks for us.

Sunday—Roast Beef, Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Broccoli, and {Gluten Free} Biscuits. Most Sundays we eat dinner at my in-laws, if we don’t then it is almost always a roast or something that takes a bit more time to cook. This past Sunday my mother-in-law was in Florida, so my father-in-law came to our house for dinner, and we had a roast that needed to be eaten.

Monday—Roast Chicken, Oven Roasted Potatoes, and Mixed Veggies. Most Mondays I can pretty much count on my husband being home by 5:30 or so. We try to make a slightly more elaborate meal on Mondays, because I know that my husband will be home to help with the kids while I try to cook dinner, and it’s sometimes nice to have some leftovers for the rest of the week. Depending on our weekend, it can also end up being a very easy meal, so that I can have more time to spend with the kids or get the house back in shape.

Tuesday—Beef and Venison Tacos. Every other Tuesday my husband is working late, as he’s loading trucks for the week. On the nights that we know he has to load truck in the evening we’ll do a dinner that can be easily reheated for him when he gets home.

Wednesday—Chicken Pot Pie.
Since Tuesday’s dinner was so simple and we had leftover chicken, plus I knew I wouldn’t be home most of the day, we decided on Pot Pie for that night. I had made everything but the crust on Wednesday, so that in the afternoon I could throw together a {gluten free} crust, dump the filling in it and throw it in the oven. I also know that most Wednesdays my husband isn't going to be home until the kids are going to bed. This is something easy to heat up.

Thursday—Tortellini Soup, Bread, and Salad. Thursday mornings we are usually out of the house for Mom-to-Mom group, we get home around noon. After lunch the kids all immediately go down for naps. However, this week our oldest decided that she didn’t need a nap. Again, this is another day that I know my husband may or may not make it home in time for dinner, so I like it to be something that is easy, yummy and heats up easily.

Friday—Fish Fry. We had a case of frozen haddock in the freezer that needed to be eaten and my husband loves fish and chips. It’s a pretty easy meal, as I do most of the “frying” in the oven, but then throw it in the fryer to finish. The husband could be home anywhere from 3pm-7pm, depending on how deliveries go this day. So I need to know that the meal can be easily simplified if he’s not going to be home for dinner, meaning that I can just throw the fish in the oven, rather than worrying about frying things outside, while the kids are inside alone.

Saturday—Pork Roast, Potatoes, and Cheesy Broccoli. Another roast this week, something else that needed to be eaten. During the summer our house gets way too hot to have the oven on, so we know that these are cuts of meat that we need to eat up before they are forgotten in he bottom of the freezers. We try to keep this meal simple, it’s usually steak and baked potatoes, because we’re busy around the house.
This was definitely a more elaborate meal week, than we normally do, since we had so many things that needed to be eaten.

In my home management binder, I do keep a list of meals that I can make without having to search for the recipe. We also have the now added complexity of having to cook gluten free, as well as sugar free, due to some issues our oldest was having, which means I’m now having to reconfigure old favorites to exclude both of these ingredients.

Happy Cookin’!


Wife, to a hard working man, mom to 4 of the craziest kids she could have never imagined. Living the life she never thought she would and lovin' it! 

Jess writes from Upstate NY at LifeintheWhiteHouse.com. 

Meal Planning: A Week in Abi's Life

Welcome to a "Week in the Life"- a meal planning series that offers you a peek into the kitchen's of other women. Every Friday we will be featuring a different woman and a week of the meals she feeds her family. You can read more about the purpose of this series here. Happy meal planning! May your culinary side be inspired :).

Surveying the kitchen before we moved in.

Welcome to Abi's Kitchen!

When Rachel introduced this new series, she described her weekly meal planning routine with the words "rut," "tedious," and time consuming." I couldn't agree more with her sentiments. I cook almost every night at our house, and every once in a while I find myself banging my head against the wall, just wishing that someone else would tell me what to make for once!

I have a feeling that none of us are alone in the occasional frustration and boredom that comes along with trying to feed our families each week. So in my contribution to this series, I'm going to share a sample menu to (hopefully) lend some inspiration for the week.

My two guys helping out in the kitchen. :)

I start my weekly shopping & menu on Monday because that works best for my schedule. If that doesn't work for you, feel free to mix up my suggested order so it suits your family.

Monday- Since Monday night is the one evening I work outside of the home on a regular basis, I have to have dinner ready by 3 pm. It has to travel well and be easily reheatable to suit all of our needs on our busiest weeknight.  This usually translates into a quick one-dish meal.

One of my springtime cravings is a recipe called "Rotini and Sweet Pepper Primavera" from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook: Bridal Edition (12th Edition). Simply cook rotini according to package directions & add sliced asparagus, sweet pepper, and your favorite squash to the pot during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. In the meantime, combine alfredo sauce (homemade or storebought), thyme or tarragon, and a small amount of crushed red pepper. Mix the sauce with the pasta, and voila! A refreshing, slightly spicy springtime meal.

Tuesday- Tuesdays are usually big cooking days for me! During the morning, I'll bake a double batch of bread and/or muffins to use for breakfast throughout the week. Then at naptime, it's off to the kitchen to prep a home-style favorite like meatloaf & mashed potatoes. (Insert your favorite meatloaf recipe here.) I'll usually have carrots or corn (or both!) on the side, and often a green salad too. Yes, it's a big meal- but it makes for fantastic leftovers for lunch.

Wednesday- About once or twice a month, I cook off a whole chicken with the intention of stretching that bird out for as many meals as I can. My new favorite recipe is 20 Cloves of Garlic Roast Chicken from Taste of Home. Roasted root veggies and/or leftover mashed potatoes are fabulous sides for this meal.


After you stand there slaving and picking all the meat off of your bird's bones (you do that, don't you?), do not- I repeat, DO NOT- throw the bones away. You're wasting half your meal if you do! Throw them in a big pot instead & get ready to make easy homemade chicken stock. (You can freeze the bones and make stock at a later date, but I prefer to just get it done right away.)


My quick stock how-to: Add a carrot or two, a couple stalks of celery, whole garlic cloves, a whole peeled onion, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar. You don't even need to cut the veggies, so long as they fit in the pot. Cover it completely with water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for at least 2-3 hours. During that time, I clean up the rest of dinner, play with my son & give him his bath, put him to bed, maybe read a while. Afterwards I go back and strain the liquid into another big pot & now discard the solids. Refrigerate your stock overnight. You'll come back tomorrow to finish the job. (If you want a complete, detailed run-down of the why & how on making & using stock, check out Kitchen Stewardship's blog post How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock.)

My freezer stocked with stock!

Thursday- After two labor-intensive meals, I'm usually ready for an easy night again. You do have to finish the stock today, but guess what? It only takes 5 minutes, and then all of your hard work will pay off for weeks to come. Take your big pot of stock out of the fridge and open it up. You'll discover that overnight the fat separated and came to the top. Skim the thick yellow gelatinous stuff with a spoon and discard (or leave it alone, if you're a traditional foodist). Pour most of the stock in glass jars or plastic containers to freeze, but make sure to reserve some fresh for the rest of the week's recipes.

For example, you can use about 2 cups of stock for tonight's dinner: Easy Peasy: Nigella Lawson's Easy Pea Soup, served with salad & crusty bread. I usually don't like pea soup at all, but this one is fantastic. It calls for vegetable stock, but I've always made it with chicken stock and it tastes great to me. Of course, you're welcome to actually follow the recipe and let me know how it comes out. ;)

Friday- How about breakfast for dinner? Some of our favorite combos are cheddar-broccoli scrambled eggs with toast, french toast (or pancakes) with bacon, or just good ole' waffles with your favorite toppings. Health food? Maybe, maybe not- it depends on your nutritional views and your choice of meal- but I assure you, it's worth it.

(Note: I encourage the use of local, organic farm eggs when you can- the taste & nutritional value is far superior to store bought, even if they do cost more. We buy ours from a co-worker for $3/dozen instead of the absurd $4.50/dozen they're trying to charge at supermarkets for a similar product that's not nearly as fresh.)

Saturday- I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on weekends because I'd rather be spending it with family. So I try to do an easy meal Saturday with easy prep for Sunday's meal. The warmer weather has been getting me in the mood for picnic food, so I'll plan on salad (perhaps one with spinach and strawberries?) hot dogs, & an easy summery vegetable like corn or grilled squash.

For you real foodists, I've found some nitrate-free, no corn syrup, non-GMO ingredient hot dog available at a local farm/butcher (AJ Peachey & Sons) near my grandmother's house for the exact same price as regular hot dogs. They're definitely still a processed food, but they taste SO much better than regular hot dogs and are probably much better for you overall.

Prep for Sunday? Use some of that leftover chicken- with, of course, *ahem*, your homemade stock! (Aren't you glad you went to all that trouble earlier in the week?) Make a chicken pot pie (I use the recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook), your own homemade chicken noodle soup , or try a fun seasonal recipe that uses your leftovers, such as Spring-Thyme Chicken Stew from Taste of Home.

My not-too-pretty but pretty tasty pot-pie!

Sunday- Simply take your prepped meal out of the fridge, and pop 'er in the oven or on the stove top to heat up. That way there will be no stress making dinner after church, and you'll get to sit back and truly have a day of rest.

(Note on my use of chicken: We eat a lot of poultry in our house. However, if you're not keen on prepping a chicken- or if you  just don't want to see it that often, you can always bake a bone-in ham and follow the same principles as the chicken. Use the leftover juices to make ham gravy, leftover ham for dishes such as ham and scalloped potatoes or ham and egg casserole, etc. Whatever you do, plan ahead to use your leftovers wisely and creatively.)

Many thanks to Rachel for inviting me to participate in her "Week in the life..." series! I can't wait to hear what the other bloggers have in store! Be sure to check back each week for more fresh meal ideas.

Abi Zieger is the lovely wife of handsome school teacher husband Tim, and the mama of one little boy, with another baby on the way! When not occupied with her family, she teaches voice lessons, dabbles in sewing, and accompanies women to their births as a doula. She is a {teensy} bit birth obsessed, and you can find her blogging at The Birth Bug. She also happens to be one of my favorite IRL friends :). Thank you for sharing Abi!

Meal Planning: A Week in Jana's Life

Welcome to a "Week in the Life"- a meal planning series that offers you a peek into the kitchen's of other women. Every Friday we will be featuring a different woman and a week of the meals she feeds her family. You can read more about the purpose of this series here. Happy meal planning! May your culinary side be inspired :). 

Welcome to Jana's Kitchen!

I feel totally honored to play a part in Rachel's blog. Like her, there are times when I feel stuck in my "go to" dinners. My name is Jana Huff, and my family and I make our home in sunny Southern California. My husband, Jordan, is working on his Masters degree, and after 3 and a half years, will be graduating in May! 

We have three children: Lydia (3 and 1/2), Ellyn (23 mos.), and William (11 weeks). I am mostly a SAHM, I own a house cleaning business that I started two years ago. I now have 4 employees that take care of the clients' homes so I can manage the business from home and only be out one day a week. With three little ones and a business to run during down times, you can imagine that meals need to come together quickly!

 I also have celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten (protein found in wheat, barley and rye). When cooking dinner I make the entire meal gluten free even though I am the only one who needs to hold to this diet. Instead of limiting our meal choices it has caused me to be more creative and try things that I otherwise might not have considered. We regularly eat many different ethnic foods, since most of the time they are naturally gluten free. I really enjoy the Clean Eating magazine, and find a lot of inspiration in it for our weekly meals. 

So here is a sample of a week of dinners at the Huff house!

Sunday- Our church is about a 40 minute drive, and by the time we get home it is after 1:30 {past our kids' nap times!}. So for them its a quick lunch- cheese quesadillas, beans and rice, or whatever else we have on hand. Sunday is the only day of the week when Jordan and I see each other during the day, so we make it a mini date and eat after the kids are down for naps. Since we live in CA we can grill year round, and Sunday's we usually do. Grilled salmon, pork, or chicken paired with a fresh vegetable, a salad, and often a sweet potato make an easy and satisfying Sunday dinner.

Monday- I clean out our fridge, make a grocery list, and jot down some dinners for the week. I find it easier to start the week with a plan, rather than at 5:00 realizing I have nothing ready to start dinner with. On Monday we often have leftovers or something easy since its grocery shopping and cleaning day.

Tuesday- A dinner like stuffed peppers is easy to pull together. When I make brown rice I double what we eat and freeze the rest for a later day, when I am short on time or forget to start it early enough. Next I cook up some ground beef or turkey, add in a can of diced tomatoes, chop up an onion and add various spices. I can easily make this during nap time and throw it in the oven later, or put it in the crock pot. At dinner time I just make a salad and steam a fresh vegetable. 

Cinnamon and Cumin Beef Stew

Wednesday- Cinnamon and cumin beef stew- another easy and flavorful meal. The addition of cinnamon and cumin to beef and potatoes makes this a little more unique than the usual beef stew. Better yet, it can cook in the crock pot! This time I added a sliced onion, 1/2 cup of red wine, and two sweet potatoes. 

Thursday- Curry over rice. With with red curry paste or curry powder, you can easily create hundreds of different kinds of curries that are both healthful and flavorful. Even my kids love curry! I usually combine whatever meat I have on hand with whatever vegetables I have in the fridge. Because its so versatile, I make curry once a week. 

Ground Turkey with Red Curry Paste, Tomatoes, and Peas

  

Friday- Since this is the day I work outside of the home it has also become a grill day. In the morning I pull out frozen chicken thighs and and make a homemade teriyaki sauce {its easy- GF soy sauce, garlic, honey or orange juice and grated ginger- which I always have because I keep ginger root in the freezer}. 

Saturday- Pasta with homemade meatballs or grilled chicken sausages. Since I am gluten intolerant, the whole family eats brown rice pasta. It's healthier, since its whole grain, and tastes exactly like wheat pasta. I definitely recommend trying it! I pair this meal with fresh sauteed veggies and a salad. 

Thank you Jana for sharing with us! I don't know about you, but her meal plan has my mouth watering for summer BBQs and veggies :). Since I am not fortunate enough to live in Southern California, all I have to say is bring on the BBQ weather!