Menu for week of January 31st

I'm so tired tonight.  My 2 year old is sick with a fever and has been miserable since Wednesday night/Thursday morning.  Luckily, it was my Friday off...but it has hardly felt like a weekend. I'm probably staying home tomorrow because he's still stick. My husband is sick too, but he has to go into work tomorrow because he also teaches class.  I am having these bursts of pregnancy hormones that make me OCD in cleaning, organizing, etc...yet I'm so worn out from taking care of my son.  It's a vicious cycle.

THIS IS LUNCH:

Monday	Spaghetti Carbonara Jello, Pears, Yogurt
Tuesday	Broccoli/Spinach Quiche with bacon; Spinach Salad;
Wednesday	Sloppy Joes, Pasta Salad; Jello, Carrot Sticks, Pineapple
Thursday	Quiche, Spinach Salad;
Friday	Left Overs

THIS IS DINNER:

Monday	Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday	Steak, Sweet Potatoes, Caesar Salad
Wednesday	NBA Game Night - Stadium Food.
Thursday	Manicotti, Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce, Bread
Friday	Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry with Rice
Saturday	I don't know ...I really don't know. Maybe I'll get some ideas from This week for dinner menu.
Sunday	Super Bowl Dinner - mmm. Mini Sliders...(King Hawaiian Dinner rolls with ground beef); 7 layer dip, shrimp with cocktail sauce, Monster Cookies with Packers/Steelers Colors; The list goes on.

Potstickers!

Yum! I made Potstickers this afternoon.  I've made wontons lots of times, but potstickers...er....scared me.  They seemed so hard. Well, turns out they weren't!!!  I checked out some different ones online and made my own.  Here's what you need.

3/4 head of medium cabbage - I shredded in Food Processor
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 small can of water chesnuts, diced up
1-2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
2 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp ground ginger (I used fresh grated....that was interesting to do, it really sticks to the grater!)
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp sugar
Wonton wrappers
Water, divided some in ramekin...some in 1/4 cup at a time.
Vegetable Oil

Mix this all together...with your hands tends to be best....and really get all the cabbage blended in. Yes, the pork is raw...so wash your hands  I stuck in the freezer about 45 minutes to an hour. I read that it helps that it's all cold, and I think that made a difference.

Once it's cold - I used my hands again to grab a little glob at a time.  Place on the wonton wrapper, floured side up.  Sometimes it's hard to tell, but if you flip it over and back - you'll be able to tell which one is which.









Next get your fingers dipped in the water and spread along the outer edges.  Rather than folding in triangles, I folded straight up and sort of "half mooned" shaped it around the wrapper.  You gotta be a little careful because too much inside it'll tear.  This recipe used all the wrappers from the package..It helped me some to fold in the edges to help continue shaping.

 I made 6 at a time (yes, I know there are 7 on the plate)...place in about 1 capful of vegetable oil on medium-high heat, flat side down.  This will start the sizzle, cover immediately.  It really helped me to set the time for 1.5 minutes.  Once it has reached that, dump 1/4 cup of water into the pan and   recover...cooking for another 2.5 minutes.

Remove...BUT DO NOT place on paper towel to drain..they'll stick. I made a little sauce too with some soy sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger, cider vinegar and a little sugar/salt.  But I don't think it came out right.  I'm trying to find one that would be more syrup-y (my lingo) like the restaurants have.
These also made it just fine being re-heated in the oven for a bit.

Traditional Correspondence...

In these modern times of email, texting, facebooking, tweeting...what have you.... it's becoming a lost art (at least for me) in the thoughts of sending a note...aside from the nice thank you notes every now and then.

A few days ago, a family friend popped into my head. I hadn't been thinking of any particular memory, or any circumstance...it was just boom! I thought of her. Well, in that instant I thought "Hey, I should send her a thinking of you card."  And she's not on facebook - even if she was - I should still send a note. Maybe it would make her day.  And that's when I realized that part of the reason snail mail is so unpopular is because it quickly entered my head that I didn't have time to sit and write a card.  But then I proceeded to think about her 4-5 more times...and realized in the time it took for me to remind myself that I didn't have time..I needed to just do it. And low and behold I did it the next day - TODAY.  I got back from lunch a few minutes early, and wrote it at my desk.  Lucky for me, I keep a sheet of stamps in with my box of stationary. This is a good habit to keep (especially now that they sell those forever stamps!)  So I dropped it in the mail and we'll see.

I came up with a cute little poem since I didn't exactly know what to say.  Perhaps if you have a nice card or something, you may send someone special a note to brighten their day. Just sit down and do it!  Getting mail these days that is something happy - and not junk or advertisements - is always a nice surprise.

A small little note
because I thought of you today,
and so I said a short prayer
hoping everything's okay.
I send you this card
that I'm thinking of you,
and hope your day is a little more cheerier too!

Menu: January 24th

I came up with a new plan this weekend.  Why should I continue to pay $2.50 for 6 cups of Jello pre-made...when I could use those cute cups and make my own and choose my own flavor for 33 cents! So I only have one package of those GLAD containers...gotta go get more today if I'm to do this.

Second, snacks are really hard to figure out without resorting to Potato Chips and other junk (i.e. cookies, brownies, etc). Sure, we have a bag in our pantry every now and then...but if you have other snack ideas, let me know. I like to keep a good variety on my list to choose from.

THIS IS LUNCH:

Monday	Vegetable Quiche with Swiss/Cheddar (made this on Sunday for this week); Spinach Salad, Craisins, Pecans; Poppyseed Dressing in cute cup SNACKS: Jello cup, Green Apple, Mixed Nuts
Tuesday	Baked Potatoes with Bacon, Sour Cream, Cheese, Green Onion SNACKS: Celery/Peanut Butter (cute cup), Yogurt, Pudding with Bananas
Wednesday	Spaghetti Carbonara SNACKS: Carrot Sticks, Wheat Thins & Cheese, Yogurt
Thursday	Left over Chicken Pot Pie/Dumplings from Tuesday nights dinner SNACKS: Jello cup, Sliced Strawberries & Pineapple (MMM says that Aldi has these fresh for 99 cents!),
Friday	Finish Quiche or other Leftovers, Spinach Salad w/ Craisins/Pecans, same dressing. SNACKS: Graham Crackers with Cream Cheese, Yogurt, Waldorf Salad

THIS IS DINNER:

Monday	Crispy Southwest Quesadillas; Pudding for dessert (and tomorrow's snack) Make Bacon and bake Potatoes for tomorrow lunch
Tuesday	Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken & Dumplings Make Spaghetti Carbonara for lunch tomorrow
Wednesday	Crispy Beef Tacos (Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, Sour Cream); Refried/Pinto Beans Brown Pot Roast and set Crock Pot to cook overnight for dinner tomorrow
Thursday	Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes (maybe Asparagus, depends on how adventurous I feel)
Friday	BBQ Chicken Pizza (use BBQ Sauce and Mozz or Jack Cheese) with Coleslaw
Saturday	Green Chile Cheeseburgers (saw episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay and now I am totally craving these)  Make your own French Fries (Butter Golds coated with Oil, Season Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder--spray cookie sheet, 400*; flip)
Sunday	Family Dinner (off again this week! yay!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Cute cups!!!

On my first menu post, I wrote about some cute GLAD containers. Well, I have used these so much this week, and since this blog was clearly hurting for a post with pictures...I thought I'd talk about these.

Granted, most "tupperware" cabinets are an unorganized, scattered clutter of plastic mixing bowls, plastic coffee/water mugs (I seriously believe these things multiply by themselves), and then the endless array of storage containers for "dun, dun, duh...leftovers"  So, the last thing I needed was more containers.  

BUT...in my quest to conquer the evil "eating out budget" I had to get containers for snacks and small sides...because let's face it, 10am and 3pm munchies are the root of all evil in corporate offices..thus causing a visit to co-workers' offices for a "grazing" of whatever candy they have while you form some assemblance of a conversation to hide your true meaning for stopping in....or get into the kitchen where there are "halved" Krispy Kremes, or remnants of weekend birthday cakes (i.e. fill in your guilt here.)  Who can help the sugar???

In my first menu post - as well as future additions - I will be listing the snacks and sides for lunch and these CUTE!!! containers are just the perfect size to not only store...but also maintain portion control. 

So, I bought them. and I'm in La-La-Love with them!!  The interlocking lids will hopefully be of some use to my cabinet and keep me struggling for missing pieces.  If you don't have these...get some!  And yes, my dishwasher is out of Jet-Dry...so forgive the spots!   

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!

MENU for the week of January 17th

In an effort to start this blog off right, I opted to begin the menu on a Monday. I hope to eventually get some pics loaded in these posts but I'm making baby steps here.

THIS IS LUNCH:

Monday	Left overs from the weekend.  Made some awesome Green Chile Chicken Enchilladas with Kidney Beans and Jack Cheese – packed up with a small side container of sour cream; SNACKS: Jello cup, yogurt, and an apple. Cupcake for dessert
Tuesday	Pork street tacos (crock pot a pork shoulder in low amount of spices and water – this way I can separate out for future dinners, etc Cooked this on Sunday) with cilantro, sour cream, black bean & corn salsa.  SNACKS: Graham crackers, yogurt and chocolate pudding (make & pack up in little glad containers – these are so cute!!!
Wednesday	Ziti with Ricotta Cheese and Salad; SNACKS: Fruit salad (buy canned pineapple, pear & peaches for 99 cents a can and mix together in one bowl; separate out in cute cups) Cheese & Wheat Thins, Yogurt
Thursday	Chicken Salad Sandwiches  SNACKS: Sliced Apple & Peanut Butter (cute cups), Yogurt,  Jello cup
Friday	Left overs from dinner this week– see dinner menu; SNACKS: Pudding, Carrot Stix, Yogurt

THIS IS DINNER:

Monday	Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Biscuits Make Black Bean Salsa for tomorrow's Lunch
Tuesday	Dijon Breaded Pork Chops; Mac N Cheese (homemade); Sweet Potatoes  (chopped & baked with a little butter & brown sugar) Make extra noodles from mac n cheese to mix with sauce/ricotta for Wed lunch
Wednesday	Sweet N Sour Chicken with Rice  Extra chicken for Chicken Salad Sandwiches; make Tabouli for Friday
Thursday	Taco Salad (Pinto Beans, Lettuce, Tomato, Shredded Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream with Flour Tortillas baked in oven and cut in triangles)
Friday	Chicken sauted in Cavender’s with Flat bread and Tabouli
Saturday	Left Overs/FFY (Fend For Yourself)
Sunday	Family Dinner (between three families, we alternate Sunday dinners so we each get two weeks off! Yay!)

Thanks for stopping by!

First Post!!

    Yay for me! I'm starting a new blog.  I am a mom of one - soon to be two - and I work full time, as does my husband.   I'm simply going to post on here how full time working parents can make it work eating at home/packing lunch and planning menus...and all the trials and fails that do come with it. Day in, day out - daily gobbles of food menus and daily gobbles of info I find, and just daily gobbles of good (rather than gook) trying to make our life easier and save some money.