Menu Monday

We actually managed to (sort-of) stick to our menu last week and I'm still trying to eat through the freezer so nothing really exciting on the menu.

Monday - Stroganoff with green beans
Tuesday - Creamy Salsa Chicken
Wednesday - Dinner at Maamaa and Poppi's
Thursday - Leftovers or Chicken Nuggets
Friday - Fried Tenderloin
Saturday - Meatloaf
Sunday - BBQ Chicken Legs

Photo Project

The themes this week were:

• Something New


• Time


• Drink


• Something you hate to do


• Handwriting


• A Favorite Photo of you


• Where you Work

The winner was by and far this photo of the girls new floor cushion - made by me!

Wordless Wednesday

Look What I Did!

I discovered this (and promptly pinned it to my Pinterest board)

I found it here. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for the girls (this is Ladybug's) but I ran out of time and they got more than needed anyways. So Friday I finally got around to making one (and cut out the pieces for Butterbean's). I'm really proud of the way the turned out! See for yourself:

Both girls love it! and it shouldn't take long for the other one to come together, pictures as soon as I can get them to stop jumping on it long enough for a non-blurry picture.

Menu Monday

As I mentioned earlier this week's plan did not go, well, as planned. We did end up having the chicken pot pie on Monday but only Chris and I since we got home so late. Tuesday was the same way so we ordered Chinese. We wanted to do a special Valentine's dinner for the girls so that ended up being Wednesday night with French Onion Chicken. We have had leftovers ever since and I was again outvoted for Pizza Sunday night (maybe I should just plan on that from now on!)

Well I'm going to try again with a plan and see how it goes!

Monday - Chicken Alfredo - or the rest of the leftovers in the fridge
Tuesday - Business dinner out at Maggiano's
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Fish Sticks, sweet potato fries, salad
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Salads, Sloppy Joes, Mac and Cheese
Sunday - Fried Tenderloin (but probably pizza)

Recipe Friday - French Onion Chicken

This week's menu plan didn't go as planned (more on that Monday) so this was a surprise meal! I am going to have to make a double batch next time; everyone gobbled it up! I adapted this recipe from French's Fried Onion Chicken.

French Onion Chicken

1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup mayo (Duke's please, if you don't have Duke's in your area I guess Hellman's is tolerable)
1 tbsp water
2 cups French's Fried Onions


Preheat oven to 400. Place onion in a zip top bag and crush, set aside. Combine mustard, mayo and water in bowl. Dip chicken into mustard mixture then toss in onions to coat. Place on baking sheet and cook 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

I am warning you now - this will be a frequent request at your house!

Photo Project

This week's themes are:

• Front Door


• Self Portrait


• Makes you Happy


• Inside your Closet


• Blue


• Heart


• Phone

I choose Blue, can you see it?

Wordless Wednesday

Please forgive the blurry pic

Menu Monday

Happy Valentine's Week! It's to important to love on one another to have just one day for it! We will celebrate all week (Chris and I started on Saturday!). I have a few cute projects to do with the girls too.

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Beans & Sausage
Wednesday - Cheeseburger Skillet
Thursday - Chicken Casserole
Friday - Meatloaf (I was out voted for pizza last night)
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Grilled Chicken Alfredo with peas and broccoli

We have made it without having to go to the grocery store and are all set to make it until Friday when I will get everything for the next two and a half weeks! So far so good.

Recipe Friday - Brunswick Stew

This is not the most traditional Brunswick stew recipe but it's a great one for a chilly fall day, it's my fall back when I run out of my freezer stash from fundraisers. You use the slow cooker and it can be frozen for a quick dinner later. I found the recipe in my Southern Living Slow Cooker cookbook. My modifications are in italics.

Chicken Brunswick Stew

2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast; 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cans creamed corn
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 bottle chili sauce
1 quart chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard
Salt, Pepper
Hot sauce to taste

Add ingredients to slow cooker in order listed. Cover and cook 4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Remove chicken and shred using 2 forks. Return meat to stew, stirring well. Serve hot with grilled cheese sandwiches or fresh baked bread with butter.

Photo Project

The photos from this week were:

• View today


• words (didn't get that one yet)


• Hands


• A Stranger


• 10 am


• Dinner


• Button


• Sun

Most of my shots were not as focused as I would like. I guess that's why it's called practice. This one I thought turned out best for the theme but it's still not as focused as I wanted.

It has been interesting going through this and thinking that I would have two willing subjects, it turns out that Butterbean runs from the camera and Ladybug tries to stick her eye in the lens! She has shown an interest in taking pictures so I've been trying to help her with that while still protecting the camera!

I am hoping that maybe I can get some editing software (Lightroom) to help with the finished pictures, right now everything is straight out of the camera.

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Monday

We are on track with our menu for the month and I will only have to hit the grocery store one more time in the middle of the month with the other half of our budget!

This week we have:

Monday - Roast Chicken, stuffing, green beans
Tuesday - Leftovers from the Super Bowl
Wednesday - Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday - Brunswick Stew, grilled cheese
Friday - Fried Tenderloin, quinoa pilaf
Saturday - Date Night!!!!!! Chris and I will be eating at Flemings while the girls are at the sitters
Sunday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans or peas

Breakfasts - Breakfast burritos, protein shakes, oatmeal
Snacks - fruit and yogurt, cheese and crackers, meat and cheese roll ups
Lunches - Salads with various protein options, sandwiches

Recipe Friday - Cornbread

We had this Monday night with our Chicken Chili and it turned out really well. Since one of my goals this year is to cut out a lot of the processed and pre-packaged foods we use, i had to come up with a cornbread recipe. I sinned a little and didn't use the cast iron skillet (I know, the horrors!) but it still turned out well!

Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal (don't forget to store this in the fridge so it doesn't go bad)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 can corn
Milk
4 tbsp butter melted
1 egg

Whisk dry ingredients together, set aside. Drain corn and add to liquid measure, fill with milk to 1 1/4 cup. Using immersion blender (this has become a kitchen must have), blend milk and corn leaving some whole kernels. Add with butter and egg to dry ingredients, stirring to combine.

Pour into greased 8 X 8 Pyrex dish (or greased preheated cast iron skillet) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve warm with lots of butter!

Photo Project

I received an awesome gift of a DSLR camera from my wonderful husband for Christmas. I'll be taking a class to learn more about how to use it on Saturday, but we all know that the best way to learn something is repetition. I had wanted to try and take a picture a day for a while but couldn't figure out a way to make it interesting ...

Then I came across this!

The challenge itself is linked into instagram (which I am not a part of) but that doesn't mean that I can't follow along. I missed January but am hoping to keep up with this for the rest of the year. I won't be posting everyday but I will post the favorite/best from the week every Thursday.

I think it will be an interesting creative outlet and should produce some good pictures for scrapbooking/photo albums!

Wordless Wednesday