Menu Ideas

A friend of mine on Facebook requested I put up a sample menu for ideas. Instead I will list some of the things we eat most often.

• Spaghetti w/cheesy garlic bread -- I think Josh is getting tired of it finally, but its my favorite. I usually make this once a week, but I'm trying to cut down for his sake.
• Lasagna -- Fancy spaghetti. It use to take a couple hours to make this, but I've got it down to about 30 minutes pre-cooking/prep time and then 30 minutes in the oven so it's easy.
• Roast w/mashed potatoes -- I make this 2 to 3 times a month. I usually make it on Tuesdays because I teach evening classes so I get home late. I put it in the crock pot in the morning, and call Josh around 2pm to double check it.
• Crunchy onion chicken w/green beans, mashed potatoes and sometimes gravy -- This is so easy its pathetic. Take the French's dried onions, the big can, put it in a ziplock back and crunch it up. Then dip your chicken breast in egg, cover it with the onion crunchies, and then back in the oven at 350* about 25 minutes on each side. The great thing about this is that you can cut it open to double check that it is ready, and then shmush the chicken back together with the crunchies and no one will ever know! Also so you know, I hate canned green beans so I usually cook them in a skillet with butter and garlic powder. And gravy should never come out of a packet.
• Caramelized Salmon with red potato fries -- Dump some brown sugar in skillet with butter and let it start to melt. If your salmon has skin then put that side up so that the top cooks first. Then when you flip it be sure to keep putting the brown sugar over it as it cooks. (Salmon should be flaky, in my opinion. It should be a light pink, not white because that's over cooked, and not dark pink because that's undercooked. It doesn't take long so you have to watch it. For the red potatoes I cook them like Josh's mom. 10 minutes in the microwave, and then in the oven with spices until they are golden brown.
• BBQ Meatballs and Rice -- The recipe is in the Betty Crocker cookbook except I don't put onions or anything like that in ours, and instead of bread crumbs I like the consistency I get by putting the croutons in the food processor. Pour a little bit of bbq in with the mix, not in the recipe, and then after they are cooked you can put the meatballs close together, pour more bbq sauce all over, and let it cook for another 10-minutes.
• Thanksgiving -- I've only done this once since we moved. I get a bone-in turkey breast and cook it in the crock pot then make all sorts of Thanksgiving foods to go with.
• Pizza -- We like Hamburger pineapple and chicken pineapple. I get the pre-made crust and go from there.
• Tacos -- Super easy.
• Pineapple Chicken -- The recipe is on this blog already.
• Fried Chicken w/mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans -- We don't have this very often because I hate cleaning it up, and it isn't good for us.

I can't think of anything else right now. I know there has to be other stuff, but this is what I'm remember for now. Anything that calls for hamburger I usually use turkey burger, but do use beef occasionally. It is the same price, taste the same, and is healthier. (The only thing I've really noticed a difference with taste in is the lasagna and spaghetti, but its not bad, just different.) Also to save money I've bought vegetables the last few weeks at the farmer's market, and started putting it away in the freezer. They are cheaper than the grocery store, local, and they taste better! Visit Pick Your Own to find farms in your area.

*I'm not sure what is going on with the editing of this post. I'm sorry if the bullet points get hard to read, but it isn't letting me fix it. pooey!*

Random defined....

Nothing major other than the Etsy Craft Party has happened this week so I'm going to tell about all the minor things in one post first. The Etsy Craft Party and Craft Fair will get their own post either later tonight or tomorrow evening.

Random Event #1

I decided that it is time for a new machine within the next year. My machine works well enough for now, but I've definitely "out grown" its abilities, and it is starting to seize up more frequently. The seizing could probably be fixed with a servicing, but I'm pretty good about keeping my machine clean most of the time, besides the machine just doesn't feed as smoothly or quickly as one a few steps above it.

Random Event #2

I learned how to match seams so I could piece the backing for my "Tula Pink Quilt". I sent this backing and all the other pieces to the quilter on Saturday. I should get it back in the next 2 months, just in time to get the binding on, have it photographed, and then submitted to the fair for competition.

Random Event #3

I've finally used the mini food processor that Lindi, Josh's mom, gave us when we moved in the apartment. Now that I've used it once I completely love it. My favorite thing to put in it right now would have to be croutons because I've been using them in a new "recipe" that is yummy...basically it is just home-made shake-n-bake. Either way, that thing is awesome.

Random Event #4

I went to the dentist and found out that I will have to have my wisdom teeth cut out. I also found out that they are not the cause of my bottom teeth shifting like my previous dentist had told me they would be, however, they need to come out because the one on the right is laying on its side. (I know, its crazy!) After I get them taken care of then I will get an appliance to wear to keep the bottom teeth straight because night grinding and clinching during the day is making them shift.

Anyway, I know this is pretty boring stuff, but I think x-rays are pretty awesome. Really, the technology is amazing. It took less than a minute to take the x-ray, then with in minutes it was up on the computer monitor, and now everyone who reads this will know what my teeth look like! (Technology is mostly wasted on useless things like this blog post, but I still have an appreciation for the possibilities. The idea of a fax amazes me too -seriously it is light traveling through a tube that ends up being printed, and 120 years ago we barely had motor cars!)

Random Event #5

I tried Veet, the waterless shave stuff. It didn't work as well as the bottle let on it would, but I think I know how to make it work better next time. The problem is that parts of my legs are smooth and parts aren't so I have to wait until it is all long enough for the stuff. Thankfully I wear pants most of the time. Here is the embarrassing part.... I decided while I was being so girly with my waterless shave that I would try the facial waxing strips. Really I didn't need to use these, but I figured if I had them it couldn't hurt that bad right? Wrong! It hurts so much worse than an eyebrow waxing, it didn't work, and now I actually notice the little hairs! Those things are just mean! Even if you get them for free do not use them - I'm afraid the trauma will be permanent.

Random Event #6

I attended the Downtown Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday to listen to the discussion about changing the street-scape of the Main Street. Most of the ideas are horrible, however I think adding bike racks, different lighting, and landscaping could be awesome, other than that the ideas were pretty bad. On the bright side, I'm going to apply to be a member of the Activity Advisory Group for the downtown area. I'm hoping that this will help my plans for the craft fair and other handicraft oriented ideas will come easier in the future.

So there it is the boring random details from my week. Hopefully this next week will be more interesting has the plans for the craft fair solidify. I will keep you posted.

Flashback Friday -on Saturday

I've seen a few blogs participate in a Flashback Friday segment. I can't promise I will do this every Friday, after all this is my first time and I'm already doing it on Saturday! Either way, if I come across something interesting and I remember to do it I think it will be fun to have the occasional blog about past events.

Today, I was getting ready to post on SewFlakes blog, and I came across these two pictures on the camera.  These were taken when Josh and I moved in the apartment in February. It was pretty interesting to say the least. He had to work during the move, and we moved during the worst snow storm I've ever seen in Oklahoma. (We had 12"+ of snow on the ground.)

Our first load was kind of small, but we were able to get it everything in just a few trips, which is a nice part of starting out.

We both were excited to open our new kitchenwares, but I called dibs on the Cuisinart cookware Josh gave me for Christmas. So here is Josh opening up our knife set. After two months we still haven't used all the knifes, I mean really, is it necessary to have so many different kinds. (Steak knifes, a bread knife, paring knife, and the big knife I use for potatoes -thats all I think are necessary at this point.)