:::SIMPLE SUMMER FARE, THE DESSERT EDITION:::

Yeah, it's no secret I love dessert and if its mini, I love it even more.  I like to think that means I can eat just a little bit more of it.  (smile)

My birthday was back in July.  I have found the older I get the less I want an actual cake for my birthday.  You know how it is, a week later there is still half eaten stale cake sitting around in the fridge.  No thank you. Hubby was out of town and my son had to work.  It was just little ole me on my birthday.  So, I whipped out my Ina Garten recipe and commenced to baking chocolate ganache  mini cupcakes.  Surprisingly, they are so very easy to make.  I saw the word "ganache" and thought I would have to slave over these cupcakes to get them to be tasty, but that wasn't the case at all.  Want to see some of my birthday sweetness??? Yeah, I thought you would.  Because really who doesn't like dessert when it involves chocolate and it's mini to boot??

I am linking the recipe here as it is not my own,but Ina Garten's.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-ganache-cupcakes-recipe2/index.html

Enjoy!Pin It Now!

:: SIMPLE SUMMER FARE...THE BREAKFAST EDITION::

Hey all!
Hope everyone is doing well in their little corner of the world.

Life has been full around here.  I went back to work before the end of Augsut and am working full time.  This old gal is getting old. Working eight hour days were kicking my butt, but  now I am in the swing of things.

So, I can still call it summer right?  It's still summer until September 21st, right?  Good.  : )
I wanted to share a simple, healthy breakfast that I have been eating over this summer.  A little bit of sweet and a little bit of crunch and a lot of color make this mouthwatering bowl the breakfast of champions.  Chopped golden delicious apple with mandarin oranges, craisins and walnuts for crunch.  Believe it or not this little bowl of fruit with a yogurt cup filled me up.

Tomorrow I will share simple summer dessert fare and it is YUMMY! So stop by to check it out and I will also share the recipe.

Have a blessed day!Pin It Now!

Autumn.....

Does it make you want to declutter and clean things out? Does it make you want to curl up by the fire with a warm cup of hot cocoa?  Does it make you want to whip out your recipes  of soups? 

 For me, it's all of the above.  One of our very favorite things about fall is looking forward to these.

They are Honeycrisp apples and we only get the chance to enjoy these in the Fall.  I plan on making some applesauce,  rustic tarts and some apple fritters with Honeycrisp this season.  They have a wonderful texture and flavor and my most favorite thing to do is slice one up and eat it raw.  The best thing about them is that if you slice them up and decide to eat them later, they won't have that brownish look on them when you eat them.  They flesh stays looking as if you just sliced it.

Below I am sharing my apple fritter batter with you.  I hope you take some time out and enjoy some apples this Autumn season.

APPLE FRITTER BATTER

3 to 4 large apples, peeled and chopped

1 C. flour

1 T.  baking powder

1/2 t. salt

   2    eggs

1/2 C. milk

1 T. melted fat

Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in milk and eggs.  Drop your chopped apples into the batter and combine so that all the apples are coated with the batter.  Then drop your a few spoonfulls of the batter in the fat and let it fry up and then turn.  They should be golden brown.  I like to place them on paper towels to drain them and cool slightly and then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or not.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow I will share some soup recipes I like to make during the Autumn season.

IPin It Now!

It's National Pie Month....

No, wait, it's National Soup month.....LOL, who thinks all of this stuff up???

In the spirit of both, I have a link for you to whet your appetite .

First up is a recipe for Chocolate Pie. I know, aren't you just salivating at reading that??? I love Chocolate Pie. When we lived in NC we ate Chocolate Pie at a local place in town and when we moved away I was never able to duplicate or find it anywhere. Until now! Y'all, have to check out Tina over at
http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/11/old-fashioned-chocolate-pie-for.html


She not only has this wonderful chocolate pie recipe, but many others.


Next up is Serena. You might of seen this book. I had the pleasure of reading through this book recently. Lots of great recipes and wonderful eye candy. She and Teri share their stories of growing up. There are a few ideas and directions for projects as well. My fave recipe in the whole book is the Turkey and Wild Rice soup recipe that Serena shared. You have to try it. It's a keeper. You will also have to to either check this book out at the library or purchase it to get the recipe. Sorry for the tease. I don't want to overstep any copyrights here. It truly is a delicious soup and it's a tried and true recipe. These kind of recipes happen to be my favorite because I know when I follow the recipe it will taste delicious.
So, there you have it! Now go make some soup and pie!Pin It Now!

Recipes for you

Linking up these recipes to Kimba's DIY DAY over at http://asoftplace.net/

I have two recipes to share with you. The first one is an oldie, but a goody. It's Pepeprmint Bark. Very easy to make and delish. The second one is White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread. I think these may be my new fave cookie.




I am officially making it a tradition to post this recipe each year as long as I blog. I have made this recipe before. Easy and very pretty when it's done.



Peppermint Bark






Cook Time10 min
Yield: about 2 pounds of candy

Ingredients:

Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
2 pounds white chocolate


Directions:
Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)is several times and it is very good and looks festive. I posted this one last year, so here it is again.

Here is another recipe but this one is for a cookie. My hairdresser gave me the recipe. She says it's not Christmas in her house until these cookies are made. My daughter and I thought they sounded yummy so we will be cooking these this week.

White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Prep: 40 min. Bake: 10 min. per batch Stand: 30 min

Ingredients
· 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
· 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 1 cup cold butter
· 12 ounces white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter, finely chopped
· 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
· 2 drops red food coloring (optional)
· 2 teaspoons shortening
· White nonpareils and/or red edible glitter (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread cherries on paper towels to drain well.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of the chopped chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Knead mixture until it forms a smooth ball.
3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to 1-1/2-inch rounds.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
5. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. If desired, roll dipped edge in nonpareils and/or edible glitter. Place cookies on waxed paper until chocolate is set. Makes about 60.
6. To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

I will let you know how the new cookie recipe works out and if it's a keeper. If anyone else makes them, let me know if you liked them.

Happybaking and enjoy!

Have a blessed day!

Pin It Now!

Autumn....

It's one of my fave seasons of the year...the other is summer.

Today we will talk about autumn though. It has gotten quite chilly here in Illinois. I had to pull the sweaters out from the back of the closet. I also have been making lotsa soup. I was recently at the taste of home website and they have a whole page dedicated to autumn recipes. Everything from soups to pies.


Here is what I will be making tomorrow night for dinner. We've never eaten butternut squash before, so hoping this is a keeper recipe. It looks like it's delicious from the picture. See for yourself.

If you are interested in making this soup or any other autumn recipes go check out Taste of Home site. Here is their link http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Corn-and-Squash-Soup and here is the link to check out other autumn recipes they have. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Autumn-Recipes

With things being pretty tight this year it looks like gift giving will be handmade or homemade from the kitchen. My daughter and I saw a yummy recipe that we intend to make to give as gift this year. Sandy from http://www.reluctantentertainer.com/ did a guest post over at the Inspired Room. You have got to go check out her how to for apple pie filling in a jar. It looks heavenly. Here is the link. http://theinspiredroom.net/

I will be posting lotsa pics tomorrow. I have pics of what I have done so far for my pinwheel blocks and a pic of the finished deck. I also have two new projects that I will be starting and hope that I don't get too frustrated to finish them.

I will be back on Monday to post.

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An autumn recipe to share

Hello All!

Today I popped over to V's blog and she had this wonderful pic of her carrying these lovely zucchini's. She has a gracious plenty and they are big.

I told her I wished I lived by her so I can take some off her hands. So, V, this is for you hon. You will love this bread. It will make the house smell so good.


Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups shredded peeled zucchini

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combinethe flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder; gradually beatinto sugar mixture until blended. Stir in zucchini. Transfer to two 8-in. x 4-in.loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes oruntil a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

P.S. You can shred and freeze some zucchini and be able to make these loaves during the winter.

Enjoy!Pin It Now!

Recipes to share!

Haven't done this in a while. This spring forward thing has gotten me all out of whack time-wise. We still haven't adjusted to the time change. It usually takes our family a month. I know, pretty bad, huh?

Last week, I tried to make a pot roast....again! I have made them in the past and never had success with them. No matter how long they cooked, they still tasted like we were eating shoe leather! I kid you not! Well, last week the hubby stoppped by grocery store on way for me and was supposed to only get two things. Not! Bless his heart, he got what I needed and them some. He found some great deals in the meat department. He got a BOGO on pot roasts, a chicken, ribs and something else. It was probably over $60 worth of meat he got for $20. WOW! I can't top that and I certainly couldn't be mad at him for coming home with more, now could I?

Well, the newly acquired pot roasts sent me on a quest to find a good because I was determined we were not going to eat shoe leather;not after he got this awesome deal. LOL, a little part of me was thinking...."Hmmm, if I don't get it right on this one, I still have another one I can take a second chance at."

I remembered watching Tyler Florence on the foodnetwork make a pot roast on one of his shows. I thought maybe I will find his recipe and give it a try. So, I did and it was DEE licious! I won't type out the recipe here, but will link you up to his so that you can print it out in recipe card form. I slow cooked mine in a stock pot all day on the stove on a low flame. I added celery, carrots, onions in mine. Just like he has in his recipe. A also added potatoes, but did something differently than I usually do and that was to par cook them 20 minutes before we ate and drain them and added them to the roast. I didn't want them to cook all day and be mushy. I also added 1 cup of red wine to mine in place of the water. Between the red wine and the juice from the diced tomatoes there was a nice gravy. The wine gave the roast a fabulous depth of flavor you wouldn't believe. I know, I know, not the liquor again. I tell ya, we don't drink, but we love to cook with it. It just really gives a run of the mill meal a zip.

Okay, without further rambling on, here is the link
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_34947_PRINT-RECIPE-4X6-CARD,00.html

Another night I made meatball subs. I have never eaten a meatball sub, but my kids and hubby have and they love them. So, went on over to foodnetwork again and found a recipe from Giada. I have made lots of her recipes before and they always come out fabulous and tasty, so I knew this would not dissapoint and .....it didn't! The family loved them...even me. Here is her recipe for mini meatballs.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_28674_PRINT-RECIPE-4X6-CARD,00.html

So, there you go. A couple of tried and true recipes to add to your repitoir (again, not sure of the spelling)

Happy Cooking!Pin It Now!

Sweet Bourbon Salmon....the recipe

My husband and I love to cook. Believe it or not though, neither of us drink.....wine,beer, etc. Wouldn't know it though by the way I like to cook.

I was looking back at some of the recipes I have shared and need to apologize. I said I was going to post the Sweet Bourbon Salmon recipe and I failed to do that. So here it is today! This is a great main dish if you want to fix dinner in a hurry. I usually have a salad and roasted veggies for the side dishes. This is also another great meal to use when entertaining.

We usually have this a once a week. I especially like it in the summer time when the hubs will cook it on the grill. We do the foil packet thing when we grill it.

Sweet Bourbon Salmon

5 salomon filets (8 oz. each)
5 tsp. chives, snipped fresh

marinade :
5/8 C. pineapple juice
5 TBSP. Soy sauce
5 TBSP. brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. Kentucky Bourbon
5/8 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
5/16 tsp. garlic powder
1/1/4 C. vegetable oil
Directions:

Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, bourbon, pepper and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar and add oil.

Be sure that all is skin is removed from the salmon. Place filets in a shallow dish and pour bourbon marinade over them, saving a little to brush on the fish as it cooks. Put a lid over the fish and refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer you marinate the better the salmon tastes.

I like to broil mine in the oven or grill it in the summer. For broiling in the oven, set your oven to broiler and broil one side for seven minutes and then turn over and brush with some marinade and broil for seven more minutes. The tops should have a bit of a caramelized look on them and you should be able to flake the salmon off with a fork easily.

Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with chives.

Enjoy!

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GOOD FRIENDS...GOOD FUN.....

AND GOOD FOOD!

My husband and I love to entertain. What is good friends and good fun without good food? I have been posting lotsa recipes for you all. I hope you are enjoying them and that it's inspiring you to get in your kitchen and cook or bake!


I would like to share some of my sources of recipes with you.

Many years ago I subscribed to Taste of Home magazine. Let me tell you, it was the best magazine subscription I have ever gotten. Every recipe I have from them is a tried and true recipe. Whatever I make from one of their recipes always comes out tasting delicious. What is so wonderful about them is that they have a website where you can print off their recipes now. So, if you didn't want to get a magazine subscription you could always get their recipes from their website.

The next source is http://www.allrecipes.com/ I love this site because it allows you to key in the number of people you will be serving. It adjusts the amount of ingredients you will need for your recipe to accommodate the number of people you will be serving. Only down side is that it doesn't adjust the cooking time. So be aware of that if you double any recipes from there.



Another source I use every now and then is http://www.recipegoldmine.com/ Here you will find popular restaurant recipes that you can make at home. If you have a Max and Irma restaurant near you I think they have the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe on there if you like that. There are recipes from Applebees, Fridays, etc.


I have two sources left. One is my trusty JOY of Cooking cookbook. When I became a stay at home mom almost 18 years ago I learned how to cook and bake from this cookbook. I fondly refer to it as the Kitchen bible.



The very last source I have for some recipes I like is from this book. My dear hubby bought it for me for Christmas about four years ago. I love the picture on the front of it. The photography inside is equally as beautiful and the recipes won't dissapoint. In fact, this is where my meatloaf recipe comes from that I like to cook.

Now you are armed with a variety of sources to get out there and cook! I am sure you have some of your own as well.


What's for dinner at your house tonight?Pin It Now!

CHICKEN MARASALA...the recipe!

Okay ladies, if you want to enjoy a nice candle light dinner with your husbands...then this is the recipe for you. Send the kids off to a friends house for the night and enjoy a nice quiet evening together with dinner and movie!

I have always cooked this and wondered if it really tasted the way it was supposed to. I had the opportunity to eat in a Maggiano's restaurant. It is a popular Italian restaurant. I ordered Chicken Marsala and guess what???? This recipe I am about to share tasted just like the Chicken Marsala I had in this restaurant. So, there is your endorsement.

Please note that I am sharing the recipe as I have acquired it. Meaning I am writing it down as it was written. Please feel free to add, delete, increase, decrease as it applies to your family. I have made it so often, I don't measure anymore. It's a quick, elegant dish that will impress.

So here it goes.....

Chicken Marsala

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
1 C. All purpose flour, for dredging
salt
pepper
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1 C. cremini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 C. sweet Marsala wine
1/2 C. chicken stock
2 TBS. unsalted butter
1/4 C. chopped flat leaf parsley

I take my chicken breasts and slice them in half so I get twice the amount of chicken. Also, halving it like this allows for faster cooking as well. I then put about 1 C. of all purpose flour in a pie plate and sprinkle in a good healthy pinch of salt and do about four grinds of fresh pepper. Stir it up a bit and start dredging the chicken. Coat both sides.

Meanwhile, I like to use a non stick skillet for the next step. Heat up your skillet on a medium high flame with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once warm, place your chicken in the pan. You will want to hear it sizzle. Fry the cutlets in the pan until they have a golden skin to them. you will only turn the chicken once. Do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in your pan. Once they are golden on each side, remove them from the pan.

Next, you will lower the heat. Then you will add the mushroom and saute until they are nicely brown. I cook then about five minutes. You will want to do a pinch of salt and pepper in this step as well. Pour in your Marsala wine and boil down for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce slightly. Stir in butter and return chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat chicken through. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Enjoy!Pin It Now!

CHUNKY POTATO SOUP..the recipe!

I will probably be making this for dinner tonight. It's been really cold here. We've probably eaten more soup in the past couple of months than ever before.

Maybe I can get my dear hubby to put on a fire as well. Nothing like a nice warm bowl of soup and crackling fire in the fireplace.

Chunky Potato Soup

4 medium potatoes
3/4 C. choppped onion
1/2 lb. choppped carrots
1/4 C. chopped celery
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
3 TBS. butter
3 TBS flour
2 1/2 C. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/tsp pepper
2 C. swiss cheese

In a large saucepan saute onion and carrots and celery in a little olive oil. Add broth and potatoes;bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan melt butter, stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in potato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Maybe about 5-7 minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper; stir. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until it's melted.

Yield: 6 servings
Enjoy!

NOTE: I share this recipe with you as it was given to me. However, I do some things different. For example, I saute my veggies in a pan, but when I add that mixture to the potatoes and broth I am using a stockpot. I also use the same pan that I sauted my veggies in to also mix the flour and butter. (I love to cook, but don't like doing dishes...so, what can I say? I am not about to dirty another dish, ya know?)Pin It Now!

Oven Fried Chicken ...the recipe!

Anyone I have ever cooked this for loves it and always wants the recipe. It's by no means a low calorie meal with this chicken and the mac and cheese I serve, but it tastes good and it is not something I cook all the time. I cook it every once in a while. I had a request by one of my children for this, so here you go.

Oven Fried Chicken

6 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast that I have cut to make thinner
1 (2 oz.) envelope ranch salad dressing mix
2 C. buttermilk (if I don't have it on hand, I use my regular milk)

breading:

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

In a large resealable food storage plastic bag, combine chicken, salad dressing mix and buttermilk. Seal bag; turn bag several times to coat chicken. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray your baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a shall dish ( I use a pyrex glass pie plate) combine all breading ingredients; mix well. Remove chicken pieces one at a time from the buttermilk mixture. Dip chicken in breading, turning to coat completely; shake off excess. Place chicken in your baking pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear.

I don't have a serving size to give you persae. Usually when I make this I have my six pounds of boneless skinless breast that I cut in half and then have double the amount of chicken. Let's just say there is plenty for seconds of our family of four and lunch for the next day. So, it makes a gracious plenty!

Tomorrow I will be sharing the sweet bourbon salmon recipe. If you have ever been to Lonestar Steak House and ordered their Sweet Bourbon Salmon, then you will love this recipe. It is very close to what they serve there. I will also be revealing some of my sources that I use for recipes.

Enjoy! Let me know if you use the recipe and whether you liked it or not.Pin It Now!

MENU PLANNING MONDAY

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We did.

This weeks menu has some of my favorites. They are easy recipes. They are also fast recipes. You can potentially have dinner served in a half an hour and it will look and taste like you slaved all day in the kitchen. I will be sharin the oven fried chicken recipe, chicken marsala recipe and the chunky potato soup recipe. So, keep an eye out for them if you would like to try them.


Monday: Oven fried chicken, mac n cheese, green beans

Tuesday: Chicken Marsala, baked potato, salad

Wed: Chunky potato soup, salad, bread

Thurs: Sweet and Sour meatballs over rice, corn

Friday: Pasta Fagioli soup, salad, bread

Sat: ? not sure yet ... maybe chili, cornbread. It was on last weeks menu, but
didn't get made.

Sun: ? not sure yet

I would love to hear what kind of meals you cook at your house. Maybe you can share some recipes with me.

Bon Appetit!Pin It Now!

What's for dinner?

Todays dinner is Chicken Cacciatore over angel hair pasta with a salad and some bread.

Here is the recipe for EasyChicken Cacciatore:

Ingredients:

1 C. flour

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast (I cut them in half to get 12 thinner pieces of chicken)

1TBSP. olive oil, divided

1/2 C. chopped onion

1/2 C. sliced, fresh mushrooms

1C. zucchini, sliced

2 , 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

1 can of tomato puree ( I usually buy the big can and use half of it)

1 C. low sodium chicken broth

salt and pepper ( I eyeball it. I do a big pinch of salt and grind the pepper mill a few times)

In a pie pan I place the flour and add salt and pepper. Combine with a fork and then dredge each peace of chicken in the flour mixture. In a large non stick skillet I have about a tablespoon of olive oil warming up on medium heat. Do not let the pan get too hot. If you see it starting to smoke, your pan is too hot. You don't want oil spitting back up at you. You want the chicken to sizzle when you place it in the pan. Cook the chicken about four minutes on each side until it has a golden color and remove from the pan. In the same skillet add the onioins and mushrooms and the chicken broth and cook until tender. I then add the chicken back in at this point and add the tomato puree and the diced tomatoes and the zucchini and the Itallian seasoning. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer for 10-14 minutes. While chicken is simmering you will want to put your pasta on . Drain pasta and serve chicken mixture over noodles.

Servings: 12

(NOTE: because I cut my chicken breast in half, I yield more chicken pieces. This allows for seconds or lunch for the next day for hubby)

Enjoy ! Let me know if you use the recipe and what additions you may have made to make it your own.

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MENU PLANNING MONDAY IS HERE!

Today is the start of menu planning Monday. I hope you will find it helpful.

Years ago when my husband and I were a younger couple with a young family our budget was pretty tight. I had a certain amount of money to work with to buy groceries when he got paid. So, I had to not only be frugal, but well organized. Meaning I had to have a list of what to buy and stay faithful to the list. Otherwise I would find myself buying things we didn't need and not having enough food before he got paid again.

My hubby got paid twice a month. We would set a budgeted amount for groceries and that would be the figure I would stick to each time he got paid. It sounds like it might of been hard or miserable, but actually it wasn't. In fact, I found it enjoyable and was ecstatic when the cashier would tell me how much the bill was. I would try and beat that total each month. Sometimes I would and sometimes I wouldn't. It depended on what was on sale that week.

Okay, so here we go. I am not a fan of going from store to store when things are on sale just to get the good deal. I mean really, if you think about it how much are you really saving driving to more than one store? You are using gas and your time. So, where is the saving in that? While I don't go to different supermarkets to get the deals, I do go to two different places. I go to our Wal Mart Supercenter for the main food we need and COSTCO for our meats and paper goods. I don't care for Wal Mart's meat and that is why I shop at COSTCO for it. Usually on Sunday nights I like to look ahead to see what our week is going to be like. Whether the kids sports games will have us coming home later than usual or whether we have things going on at church. Then I set out to write a meal out for each night of the week for a two week period. I base my groceries on what those meals are and what I will need. I only plan out dinner meals. Those are the meals that I find the hardest to adhere by. If dinner isn't ready because we came home late from a game that the kids were playing in we find ourselves eating out or calling for pizza. This is what we are trying not to do. I find that if I am organized about what we are eating for dinner I don't get as frazzled about what to cook. I am more intentional about having it ready to eat. For example, my son has a basketball game on Tuesday. By the time we get back home from the game, it will be after six in the evening. No time to start cooking a dinner meal for sure. So, usually when he has a game I either pick something that I can cook ahead of time or in a crockpot. That way we are eating at home and eating healthy.

Here is this weeks dinner meal schedule:

Monday: Chicken Cacciatore over noodles with a salad and some bread.

Tuesday: Chicken soup, salad, bread

Wednesday: Chili, cornbread

Thursday: Bourbon Salmon, roasted veggies and a salad

Friday: Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Sat: Potato Soup, salad

Sun: Usually leftovers from Friday or Saturday. But I would love to get in the habit of having a nice Sunday meal. Something that we eat each Sunday that everyone can look forward to having. Haven't figured that one out yet. I will have to ask hubby and the kids what they would like and go from there.

So, that's this weeks meals for dinner. I then look at our calendar for next week and see what all is going on start to plan each day again. Once I have the meals planned, I write up my list. Do I need meat, veggies, etc.? Then I head out to the store to do the shopping.

I will be posting the recipes for each dinner meal each day if you would like to try them. They are tried and true recipes and they are EASY! Ladies, I only do easy meals. I have been fortunate enough to find some recipes that my family loves that are easy to prepare and easy on the wallet.

Check back later for todays dinner recipe!
Bon Appetit!Pin It Now!