Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Menu of the Week

This week I have declared "Pantry Week".  So, we are going to eat from the pantry and figure out some creative ways to use all the "stuff" before it goes bad.

Since I don't know what I'm going to make each day, I figured I'll just do a post each day.

Yesterday I had a variation of the Sausage Zucchini Pasta.  We had sausage, but I didn't thaw it out.  We also didn't have an onion.  So, I made the recipe without both of those, but added in more Italian seasonings, some garlic powder, and some onion powder.  Turned out yummy!

Tonight I'm making homemade pizza (recipe to come).  I did have to go to the store for some cheese (Thanks for watching Ava, Sarah!), but other than that I have everything else.  Using up some of that flour I have in the pantry.

What is your go-to pantry meal?

#132


Today is the primary elections in Michigan.  As you can see, I was number 132.  That makes me sad, as I was expecting the number of people to of voted before me a lot more.

So if you haven't voted yet today, you still have a few more hours to go make your voice heard. As the great Tip O'Neill said "All politics is local".

Friday, July 30, 2010

Round and Round She Goes...





Have a wonderful weekend!  

I need an intervention!

The first step is admitting you need help, right?

2 months or so ago my husband finally gave me the green light to redecorate our bedroom.  I had been dreaming about this day for 6 years! You see, we have really ugly wallpaper up there, really ugly.  And blue carpet.  Yes, blue.

So, what happens when I get the green light? I immediately buy new pillow shams, which I am now regretting.  Then I ordered some fabric swatches.  Which I love.  Last week when my Mom was here, she helped me pick out a color (Sharkey Gray by Martha) to match my choices.

Then I hung them on the wall and started to worry that it was going to be too dark up there. You see, we live in a bungalow, so not much natural light since we only have 2 windows on each side of the room and no windows on the other 2 walls.

So, back to Home Depot I went.  This is what I came home with:


Not pictured are the other 50 chips I have accumulated over the past months.

So, last night Rob sat down with me and we chose Toasted Cashew by Behr.  So, there you have it. Our room will be Toasted Cashew...maybe.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

So Handsome



Blake has crazy hair, just like his sister.  Crazy hair on boys is not as accepted as it is on girls, so he was getting frequent haircuts, which was getting expensive.

Rob cuts his own hair, so he had all the equipment.  He took him in the bathroom and slowly cut his hair.  He did so good!  Doesn't he look so handsome?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Finding His Way



Being a little brother isn't easy.  You always have big sister looking over your shoulder, telling you what do, what not to do, and where to go.


Secretly he loves it, even though he may throw her attitude once in a while.  He is finding is way though, starting to play with toys that she doesn't like, like trains and trucks.

Although I do stumble across scenes like these at least once a day.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

What's for dinner?

I'm going to try to post our weekly dinners.  I know that planning dinner each week can be a chore, so hopefully this can help out a little bit.

In the winter I plan out two weeks of meals, do one big shopping trip the first week and a smaller one the second week to fill in the gaps.

In the summer, we are lucky enough to have a farmers market right downtown in Dearborn, so I've only been planning a week ahead seeing what is in season at the market and also what we can harvest from our garden.

From my previous post, you saw that we already have zucchini, so this week is heavy on zucchini.

Sausage Zucchini Pasta
Homemade Pizza
Roast Beef Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries
Beef Stir Fry, recipe here.
Chicken Delight with mashed sweet potatoes.
Chicken Ciabatta Sandwiches, Romaine lettuce salad
Steak, Vegetable (depending what is at the market), and fried zucchini


Sausage Zucchini Pasta
Prep Time:  15 min.  Cook Time:  20 min.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. sausage  (I use sweet Italian sausage)
2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 t. minced garlic
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 Large Zucchini or 2 small, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. Italian Herb mixture
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Pour 1 T. of extra virgin olive oil into a saute pan.  Over med-high heat add the sausage (casing removed) and break into small bite size pieces as you are cooking. Cook until no longer pink.

Set aside to drain the grease.

In the same saute pan add  1 T. of extra virgin olive oil, diced red onion and garlic.  Saute until onion is clear (around 3-4 minutes).


At this point I remove the onions and garlic and run it through my mini food processor.  If my daughter sees an onion in her food she won't eat it.  If this doesn't apply to you, then skip this step.

Add sausage back to the pan.  Add zucchini, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste (I use the paste that comes in a tube so nothing is wasted), and Italian seasonings.



Let simmer until you pasta is done. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve.



For the pasta I have used all different kinds, it really depends what I have in the pantry.  On this day, we had rotini.

And just to keep it honest, this is what happens to my house while I'm making these meals.





Monday, July 26, 2010

Gardening

Our garden is really started to grow! All these summer storms and going to give us a lot of veggies to enjoy!

My Grandpa sent me up his old harvest buckets, so the kids were able to use them to bring in the first harvest.  I remember using those same buckets.


Our out of control zucchini plant.


Harvesting.





The kids are really into the garden this year, and as you can see, happy as clams to finally get some veggies.

Stay tuned for my zucchini recipes. I had to find a lot last year because we had 2 plants that were just as big as our one this year.  It was insane the amount of zucchini we had.  We couldn't even give it all away!

Grand Haven, Day 7 & 8

I don't have a lot of pictures from these last few days.  On Friday we woke up, ate, and headed to the beach.  After some fun in the sun, we stopped at Butch's again.  It was just as good as the first time.  So worth it.

After nap, we got ready and headed back out to Fricano's.  YUMMY!  Blake was not cooperating this night. He was tired from our long week of beach, sun, and staying up late.

We had planned on staying up late and watching the Musical Fountain.  Rob took one for the team and stayed behind with a sleeping Blake.


We walked over and were able to find a seat on the bleachers.  A few minutes later and it started.


 Those pictures do not do it justice. It's beautiful and the music selections that night were wonderful.

The next morning we woke up, packed up, and headed home.



We had a great time in Grand Haven and I can't wait to go back!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Grand Haven, Day 6

Day 6 started out cloudy and rainy!  We were not going to let this bring us down though because this day was also our 7 year anniversary!

Here we are 7 years ago:


We had a lovely wedding in Maui, Hawaii. It was the happiest day of my life up to that point.

Since it was raining, I decided to make my famous pancakes one more time.  They were gobbled up by my hungry family.  At this point it was really raining, so we pulled out the puzzles and toys and settled in for a morning inside.

My great husband decided that since there was a spa right across the street, I should make an appointment for a facial.  I called and lucky for me, someone had cancelled that morning!  Yeah!

We had lunch, put the kids to nap, and I headed over to Be Medical Spa for my first facial. I highly recommend both!

When I got home, the rain had stopped, the kids were up, and we were hungry!

We got ready and headed downtown to Porto Bello for our anniversary dinner.



The food here is wonderful!  We all got some sort of pasta (I can't remember exactly) but we loved each dish and would go back there next time.



After dinner, we felt the need to walk off our large dinner, so headed down the boardwalk.
 You'll never guess where we ended up...
I know what you're thinking, ice cream, again?!  Yes, ice cream again.  I tell you, we are addicted.  It's beyond our control.







 I will make no apologies for our ice cream consumption.  It is delicious!

After that, we really needed a walk, so back to the boarwalk we went.


Another wonderful day and anniversary.

Grand Haven, Day 5

This day was much like the other days.  We started at the beach,  I forgot my camera this day, but it was more of the same fun. Sandcastles, water, and lots of sun!

After the beach it was lunch, naps, and showers. We were falling into a routine, a routine that I could get used to very quickly.

After a dinner of grilled steak, corn, and potatoes we headed out for our nightly walk.


 Feeling the air off the water was wonderful and I could REALLY get used to taking this walk every night all summer long.
 Aren't these houses adorable?  I want one...who's buying?

We decided to head on down to Temptations once again for a cone, at this point I think it is safe to say we are addicted to their ice cream.

After our walk the kids settled in with some milk and a snack and Rob and I settled in with some drinks and some snacks.  Another wonderful relaxing day in Grand Haven!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Grand Haven, Day 4

We started this day with another wonderful breakfast.  Rob fixed us homemade biscuits (Grandma Kat's recipe), bacon, and sausage.



I enjoyed some coffee while the kids enjoyed some cartoons.


After breakfast we decided to the Rosy Mound Natural Area.  It costs $6 to park, but believe me, it is worth the money.  Blake surprised us and walked the .7 miles to Lake Michigan and the .7 miles back to the car.  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
























We thought after all the walking that morning the kids would be tired and take a nice long nap.  Well, not so much.

So, what to do with two cranky kids?  Walk along the pier!  After our walk we came home and ate hot dogs on the grill with chips.

Plans for a summer concert were thrown aside and we spent the rest of the evening at the beach house.