So, I found a great meal planning website! Kitchen Monki. Super freaking cool!
Lately, I have been in a "get organized" type of mood. Maybe it's the fact that I'm pregnant and things just **seem** too hard right now. (aka... no motivation... I'm TOTALLY blaming hormones on this one!) Anyway, I have also been a super-slacker in the kitchen. Meal planning? Um. Haven't done that in over six months! (again... blaming being pregnant! haha!) Anyway, when I plan my meals I'm always going through my recent magazine finds (LOVE Real Simple and Martha Stewart for those!) and my old-standby faves, which sadly, I keep in a massive spiral notebook with no rhyme or reason. Then I plan what days to have what meals, write it all out on paper and then look through all the recipes for the ingredients I need and then add them to another shopping list which I then break down by store and then go shopping. Well... No more. I'm done. Sick of waisting paper on planning my family's weekly meals. So, I hopped onto an online community forum and found this pretty awesome site.
You can look through their saved recipes, or add recipes of your own, then scale it for the number of servings you want it to have. The recipe-adder took some getting used to, but once I did It was quite easy! :) Then you add them to your "Recipe- Queue" and then plan your meals... you can plan weeks in advance if you like! Then, you can add your ingredients to your shopping list and print. SO EASY. I love... Seriously. LOVE.
Go there.
Plan dinner.
For reals.
Go. www.kitchenmonki.com!
Why are you still reading?!
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Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
In case you have been living in a cave for the past twelve hours...
Oh wait, he wasn't in a cave.
...Anyways.
I am sure that you have seen the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed by US armed forces... if not you can look here. Or here. Or here. Or here. Try Here, here, here and here. Oh, here too...Well, because this IS NEWS... I thought I HAD to blog SOMETHING about this happening. But, it's plastered all over your TV, the radio, the newspapers... So here is me blogging about it too. (kinda.)
...Last night when we were listening to this news, I could not help but think back to my favorite part of Robin Williams: Live on Broadway....
...Anyways.
I am sure that you have seen the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed by US armed forces... if not you can look here. Or here. Or here. Or here. Try Here, here, here and here. Oh, here too...Well, because this IS NEWS... I thought I HAD to blog SOMETHING about this happening. But, it's plastered all over your TV, the radio, the newspapers... So here is me blogging about it too. (kinda.)
...Last night when we were listening to this news, I could not help but think back to my favorite part of Robin Williams: Live on Broadway....
***WARNING: This is NOT The Genie from Disney's Aladdin Robin Williams.
...This is F-bomb dropping fowl mouthed dirty old man doing stand-up Robin Williams...
DO NOT HATE ME FOREVER if you are offended by the F-bomb, just then, please don't watch!***
(Again, before watching, turn down or pause the background music
by scrolling down to the playlist and pressing pause before listening!)
For those of you that ARE offended by the F-bomb, or who have small children reading over your shoulder, I will give you highlights of the best parts...cleanly. Ish.
"In A jihad, you kill an infidel, which I'm sad to say, is all of us, and you yourself die...You go to heaven, and you are greeted by 71 dark haired virgins. . . . Recently, there was an article in the New York Times that Qur'an scholar says the translation is not 71 dark haired virgins, but 71 crystal clear raisins. Slight difference in interpretation really!
. . . No! And Imagine, some guy blows himself up and goes to the gates of heaven and says,
"Where are my (expletive that begins with B)?!"
"Here are your raisins!"
Or 71 Virgils goin, "You gotta pretty mouth."
Or one day, you get Osama bin Laden and he goes to the gates heaven and there is George Washington waiting going, "How dare you defile that which we created." And starts wailing on his (three letter expletive that starts with A). 70 other members of the Continental Congress come down and start kicking the (four letter expletive that ends with --it) out of him and he is going,
"What is this?! Where are the Virgins!?"
"71 VIRGINIANS, YOU (three letter expletive again)-HOLE!"
He he he... 71 Virginians...
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Sunday, May 1, 2011
It's May!
Fact about Melanie:
Camelot is her favorite musical. Love it... Plus, Julie Andrews is amazingly amazing. :)
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Camelot is her favorite musical. Love it... Plus, Julie Andrews is amazingly amazing. :)
In Celebration... you can sing along (with the theme song for the month, which sadly, I could not find to embed for your listening pleasure... but...this is good enough.) with me all month long. Make sure to scroll down and pause my background music before!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Easter Revisited!
Alright! I got more pictures! That means that I also have RECIPES! :)
Marcus had to go try the new Sidewalk Chalk that he got in his Easter basket on our front walk with Aunt Maddi!
Easter Egg Hunt: Looking for Eggies with Grandma before dinner! They ran all over the yard! It was so fun!
Grandpa Marc working off his meal playing the x-box!
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| Counter-Clockwise from Left: Carrot Cupcakes, Deviled Eggs, Leeks and Asparagus Mimosa with Hazlenuts Brie en Croute with sliced apples, Boston lettuce with homemade buttermilk dressing |
6 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, halved 1 bundle Asparagus, bottoms trimmed
Salt and Pepper 2 large eggs, boiled
2 teaspoons country-style mustard 2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon minced shallot
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for tossing 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange leeks and asparagus on a cooking sheet (I used two separate ones). Drizzle with olive oil and toss, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, mixing once or twice during cooking. Meanwhile, grate egg whites and yolks in a bowl in a medium grater. Whisk together shallot, orange zest and juice, lemon juice, and shallot with olive oil. When done roasting, transfer leeks and asparagus to a platter. Sprinkle with egg and drizzle with juice mixture. Top with hazelnuts. Serve immediately.
Brie en Croute
1/2 package of Puff Pastry (1 Pastry sheet) 1 egg
1/3 cup dried cherries 1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup chopped pecans 1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon chopped FRESH rosemary 1 round of brie cheese
slices of apples of your choice
Thaw pastry on counter for 40 minutes, or until easy to handle. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix boiling water and dried cherries together and let sit for about 5 minutes til they are more plump. (You could also do this on the stove with warmed liquor like a white wine if you are so inclined...) Strain and pat dry. Beat egg. Mix together cherries, pecans, rosemary and honey in a bowl. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly flowered surface and roll into a 14" square. Scoop the cherry mixture onto the center of the dough square, and place the brie on top. Brush edges of the square with egg. Fold two opposite corners of the square up onto the cheese. Trim the remaining dough about 2" (enough to cover the remaining sides of the brie) from the brie round. Set aside. Fold up the remaining dough and pinch the seal closed. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. If desired, decorate the top of your round with pieces of remaining dough. (Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes!) Brush with egg mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes, until dough is puffy and golden brown. Let stand for 45 minutes and serve with sliced apples.
Boston Lettuce Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Dressing
4 ounces of crusty bread, cut in chunks 1 tablespoon olive oil
(I like the rosemary loaf in my grocer's bakery (Smiths)) Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk 3 tablespoons Miracle Whip
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leafed parsley 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 large head of Boston Lettuce (or 3 smaller heads) 3 radishes, thinly sliced
1 Shallot Clove, thinly sliced
Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss bread chunks with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake until golden and toasted, about 5-10 minutes. Cool. In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, mayo, parsley, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the lettuce, radishes, shallot and just-prepared croutons, and toss to coat.
Roasted Red Potatoes with Lemon and Rosemary (not pictured...sorry!)
2 pounds Red Potatoes, quartered (about 1" cubes) 1 lemon, thinly sliced
Olive Oil Salt and Pepper to Taste
3-4 sprigs worth of FRESH rosemary leaves
Heat oven to 450/ On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes and lemon slices with oil, salt and pepper, and rosemary leaves. Roast until tender about 25-35 minutes. Serve immediately.
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| Mmmmm... Pineapple glazed Ham... |
2 medium pineapples, peeled and cored lengthwise, cut in half rings 3 cups sugar
2 cups water about 40 whole cloves
1 smoked, bone-in ham (about 10 lbs), trimmed of skin and excess fat 1 cup white wine
Bring pineapples, sugar and water to boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, for 60-80 minutes, skimming foam occasionally, until pineapples are translucent and there is about 4 cups remaining. (You can do this ahead of time, up to 3 days in advance.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the bottom rack in the lowest position. Place cut-side down in a roasting pan. Score ham in diamonds, about 1 1/4 inch thickness. Press a clove into each diamond (all over the ham.) Pour wine over ham. Coat ham with 1/2 the glaze, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Increase baking temperature to 425 degrees. Uncover ham and coat with remaining glaze. Bake uncovered, basting occasionally for another 40 minutes. If ham becomes too dark, tend with foil. Pour Drippings over the ham before carving. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving. Serve with remaining drippings.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter Sunday!
This year we were planning on driving to Denver to see my family, but Cooper had a big meeting at work, so we spent our first Easter at home. It really was lots of fun! We started out Saturday night by dyeing Easter Eggs. This was the first year that Marcus was old enough to understand the concept, and the thought it was SO. COOL.
Marcus making Bunny Ears for the camera.
We put all of our freshly colored eggs in our Easter basket, and left out some carrots for the Easter Bunny to have a snack when he got to our house. Marcus was so excited, he didn't want to go to bed that night.
On Sunday Morning, Marcus crept oh-so quietly into our room and tried SO HARD to be good and quiet while Mommy and Daddy were trying to catch the last few ZzZzZzZzZz's. We all got up at about eight thirty and Marcus kept saying, "My eggs are gone! The Easter Bunny hided them! Let's go find them!" So we all got up and went egg-hunting. Thankfully, it was nice and warm outside that morning and Marcus got to find all of the eggs hidden inside the house, and outside. He ran around the yard yelling, "there is another one!" finding all of the eggs.
After our hunt, Marcus tore into his Easter Basket looking at all the fun goodies and yummy candies and treats that the Easter Bunny was so kind to bring. :)
After Church, we got to have dinner with Cooper's parents since they came into town, and his Sister! It was so fun to have Marc, Stori, and Maddi over to eat with us! They all raved about our yummy ham that we made.... maybe I'll have to share the recipe! :) Look for it soon!
Sadly, my camera died and had to charge all through dinner. I know Stori got some pictures, so I will have to see if she can get some for me to post! This is the only one I got! Our pretty Easter table!
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