Menu Plan Monday **January 31-February 4**

Happy Monday! We are expecting a big blizzard here tomorrow and I am ready.  I'm trying to catch up on some things this week so I'm going to keep the meals pretty simple this week. Here's what I'm planning. 

Monday- Tuna Noodle Casserole
               Peas

Tuesday- Black Beans & Rice (Haven't tried this one before)
               Fruit

Wednesday- Grilled Asian Steaks (If I can make it to the grill with all of the snow!)
                    Baked Potatoes
                    Salad

Thursday- Minestrone & Homemade Bread

Friday- Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Check out www.orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas. 

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Winter at the Farm

I got to go to my mom and dad's for a little while this weekend.  I took Happy Feet there so she could spend some time with her Nana and Papa.  She was super excited about it.  I'm kind of excited about it too.  Don't get me wrong, I will miss her like crazy...but there's so many things I'm hoping to get done.  Working on photo albums, cleaning out closets...the the things she can make a little lot harder...in her two year old, curious way. 

She got to go to the Children's Museum with her cousins, aunt and uncle and Nana and Papa today. I called tonight and mom said she had a great time.  The only thing I'm concerned about is her (and therefore my mom & dad) not sleeping well.  She's a bit of a night roamer. 

This morning I went outside and snapped some pictures of my mom and dad's farm.  I've never taken too many winter pictures.  It's never been my favorite season, yet it felt so good to be outside capturing the beauty of my childhood home.  Here's a little video of what I got. 


I'm signed up to take a photography class. I'm pretty excited about it.  I love learning new things, and boy do I have a lot to learn.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm able to start exploring some interests again...it's really nice.

Have a great week!

Casey Pin It

Sickness, Scrapbooks, Food and Fellowship...a Little Bit of Everything

Here's what's been going on around here over the last few days...

I took Happy Feet to the Doctor yesterday.  She tested positive for Strep 3-4 weeks ago.  She hasn't quite looked like her old self since. Her behavior indicates that she's feeling better (lots of fighting with her brother). She had diarrhea all day on Sunday and then broke out in this rash all over her body.

They re-tested her and she doesn't have Strep.  That's good.  Hope it all passes quickly. This morning she said her ear hurt.  I didn't hear anymore from her about it so I didn't call the Doctor or take her back in.  I REALLY didn't want to have to spend another morning there.  Is that bad?

Red Shoes had another snow day yesterday.  It's been snowing a lot lately.  It was  a beautiful snow. 

I pulled Red Shoes' wooden Thomas the Train set out of his closet.  It's something he gets to play with just every once in a while.  It keeps it a little more special that way.  I don't think he looked up for two hours.  I'm serious.

My week of celebrity menu planning is going well.  I've been enjoying the challenge of some new recipes.  Ina's Roasted Shrimp and Orzo did not disappoint.  It was fabulous! You must try it.  My sister was over today so I gave her sample.  She's a tough food critic.  She took a bite and said, "this tastes like it came from the Food Network".  I'll take that!  I will definitely make this one again.  Red Shoes found the shrimp a little suspect though.  That's okay I guess, I didn't start liking shrimp until just a few years ago.

I went to women's bible study at our church.  We're studying No Other Gods (The Living Room Series) by Kelly Minter. It looks like it will be a good study and it feels so good to be in fellowship with other women. I've really been needing that.

 Tonight I made Paula Deen's Chicken Pot Pie.  Whoa. It was good, but I won't make that one again.  Way too much fat.  It called for a quart, yep that's right, an entire quart of heavy cream and a third cup of butter.  It had a nice taste, just won't do it again.  I messed up and bought puff pastry shells instead of the regular sheets.  I made do though.  Red Shoes thought it was superb. I'm glad I did my treadmill workout.

The highlight of today was receiving my scrapbook pages from Persnickety Prints.  I created them using Googles free Picasa program.  It cost $1.99 per 12x12 page.  The quality is outstanding.  I'm definitely sold on this company.  I would spend so much more buying the supplies needed for scrap booking, and I've never been a good "traditional" scrapbooker.  I found out about Persnickety from Sarah over at Clover Lane.  She's one of my favorite bloggers.  If you are interested in learning how to do scrapbooks electronically rather than the traditional way you will want to read THIS. Awesome tutorial. 

Here's the pages that came today for the kids' birthday books.  The pictures don't really show the quality of the prints.  Trust me.

For Happy Feet...

For Red Shoes...

An 8x10 of Swoosh for the hallway.  It's about time.

And some 4x6 prints from this fall taken by Jane McComas.

My in laws called tonight to see if I needed a break. Yes, I'm positive that I do.  Okay, that truly was the highlight of the day.  I'm planning my day right now... I won the in-law lottery that's for sure!

What about you? What's going on in your life? Tell me, I'd love to know.

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Menu Planning Monday **January 24-28**

I'm going to do something new this week.  In trying to avoid the menu planning rut I feel coming on, I'm going to try out some new recipes.  I decided to select a recipe from a celebrity chef/blogger for each day.  Here's what I'll be trying this week. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  Should be fun!

Ina Garten

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

Paula Deen
Lady and Sons Chicken Pot Pie

Guy Fieri
Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo
I think I read somewhere a long time ago that Guy's parents were vegetarians...so funny that he does this for a living!

Alton Brown
Good Eats Meatloaf

Alton Brown
Baked Macaroni & Cheese

The Pioneer Woman
Quesadillas de Camarones
Check her awesome blog out at:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/









 
 

Check out more menu plans at www.orgjunkie.com

 

 

All celebrity pictures came from Google Images.

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Going Back...Red Shoes' 4th Birthday

Red Shoes was looking at the blog with me today.  He reminded me that his 4th birthday cake never made it on here.  He was into trains during most of 2009, so he had a train themed birthday party. Here's a few photos from that day over a year ago.

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The Ultimate Care Package

Remember my post on making chicken noodle soup last week? 

So, over the Christmas break I was sick...like I could hardly get off the couch kind of sick.  Luckily for me, my husband was off for the week, but I was in bad shape.  I think it was Influenza, but who knows...anyway at one point I thought chicken noodle soup sounded really good. But there was NO way I could have EVER made it. We were driving back home from my parents' house (I know I gave it to most of the family, wasn't that great of me...I really do feel bad about it).  Brian offered to stop by the grocery store to buy me some canned soup.  The kids were asleep and I didn't want to wake them, and lets be honest, canned chicken noodle soup just isn't very good.  I don't think so anyway.  I thought that maybe, just maybe, I had frozen some soup in October.  My fingers were so crossed!  When I got home I found it! All I had to do was microwave it for a little bit, and like that I had really good (and comforting) chicken noodle soup. That got me thinking...what an awesome gift for someone who is under the weather.  Here's what I came up with:

1. Make soup
2. Pour into a Ziploc screw-top container (I think mine held around 2 cups of soup)
3. Print off a "get well soon" label
For some reason I had birds on the brain so this is what I looked up under Google Images.  I added the wording using Picasa.

4. Cut the label out and slap some double sided tape on the back. Then just adhere it to a Ziploc container like this:

Place the soup in your freezer and the next time you get sick or you find out that your friend/family/neighbor is sick you can take it to them and make their year.  I mean who wouldn't be thrilled to receive this when they aren't feeling good? This stuff has healing powers you know. 

If you felt like going even further you could do this:

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Happy Birthday MJ!

We couldn't wait until you were here. You decided to come one day after your mom's baby shower.  It was earlier than anyone anticipated.  I think you knew you had a world to begin exploring.

Because you were the first grandchild on both sides someone was always holding you. Sometimes even three people at a time.

This photo probably explains where your love of fine food comes from (no, not the dog).  The herbs! You are such a little chef...loving to create in the kitchen, watch the Food Network and eat fine cuisine.

This was your second birthday. I remember you asking about your cousin Red Shoes. He was still in the NICU at that time.  You hadn't even met him yet.  Most kids would have decided that we were fibbing to them. I remember knowing very deeply that you knew about Red Shoes and you understood far more than I could ever explain to you.   You were and you remain a very perceptive girl.

You love nature...I bet your mom has something to do with that.  

Someday you will be such a good little momma. You're getting so much

practice with all of your baby cousins.

I love the way you help others.  You have a beautiful heart MJ.

I love the way you love your brother.  You are attentive and fun.

You are a talented artist and creator of beautiful things. 

Happy 7th Birthday MJ! You are a beautiful girl inside and out. 

I'm so glad my kids have you as their cousin. 

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Menu Plan Monday **January 17-21**

It's going to be another cold week here this week.  I'm making Mandi Forester's White Chicken Chili on Monday.  This was a contest winning recipe on the Rachael Ray show in 2009.  I actually watched that episode...that hardly ever happens.  I was amazed at how simple the recipe looked.  I've made it a few times and it is VERY simple.  I'll probably even use a rotisserie chicken tomorrow to make it even easier.  My sister Courtney introduced me to the Baked Ziti recipe. Thanks Courtney! It's a great one to freeze too.  The St. Louis Pizza recipe is awesome, it's been a long time since I've made it...Love the Feta cheese on it. 

Monday- Mandi Forester's White Chicken Chili

Tuesday- Baked Ziti, Green Beans, Bread

Wednesday- Sloppy Joes, Carrot & Celery Sticks, Fresh Fruit

Thursday- Baked Chicken Alfredo, Steamed Broccoli

Friday- St. Louis Pizza, I like to use this pizza crust recipe.
Salad (I'm going to make this salad dressing. It's a copycat Olive Garden salad dressing recipe. I love trying the "knock-off" recipes...this is a good one.

Have a great week, and remember to visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/ for more menu planning ideas and resources.

Casey Pin It

How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm going to teach you how to make chicken noodle soup.  If you've never tried it you must learn.  If you already know, then you can probably teach me a few things. Here's how I make it. 

First, I pull a chicken out of my deep freezer.  I put it in a large stockpot and fill the pot up with water (about 3/4 full). 

I  boil it a long time (especially since it's frozen). Just guessing maybe 3 hours?  When you are able, start picking at it and kind of pull the chicken apart.  It will cook a little faster this way.

When the chicken is completely cooked, separate the liquid from the chicken. I use a colander to pour the liquid into a different bowl. Let the chicken stock (liquid) sit until it cools a little, then put it in the refrigerator so the fat will separate from the stock.  I do this overnight.

Next, get your chicken out of the pot and begin separating the the good from the bad.  You want to remove all of the fatty skin and bones.  Keep the good meat. This is what the chicken  looked like before I started.

And when I was finished...

The next day I pulled the chicken stock out of the refrigerator

Get a spoon and remove the white solid layer of fat

Put the separated chicken stock into a pot and turn the stove onto medium-high

Add in onions

And then add in carrots & chicken bouillon cubes

(I generally use Wyler's) I used five of them to start with

Throw in the chicken too (not pictured).  Let it boil until the carrots are cooked.

 In the meantime it's time to make my mom's noodles.

You will need:

1 whole egg

4 egg yolks

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of water

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon of salt

Mix eggs, oil and water.

Add flour and salt, mix well until dough forms into a smooth ball. (Okay, so this doesn't exactly look like a "smooth ball".  It was getting there. 

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half out on a floured surface until it is very thin.

 Leave the rolled out dough out to dry for one hour. 

Then cut it into noodles. I like thick, wide noodles like these.

Drop into boiling chicken stock and cook 10 minutes or until done. I boiled

mine a lot longer than that...but again, I like the thicker noodles.

And the finished product...

What a perfect ending to a very cold January day!

Go HERE for the printable version of chicken noodle soup

Go HERE for the printable version of egg noodles.



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