Yummy New Recipes

I have been meal planning for a little while now and I think I finally have a great routine and I am already seeing a difference in my spending.  Which is a huge boost!  I am no longer running to the grocery store 4 or 5 times a week to grab a little thing here and there.  Because be honest, even when you only run in for one item you come out with 5.

Now Brian and I go to Costco on Saturday (maybe every other Saturday) where we buy the bulk items like meat, chicken, pasta, etc.  Then as soon as we get home I portion everything out into freezer bags and freeze everything.  We even started buying the bread in bulk because we put one loaf in the pantry and the other 2 in the freezer so we always have bread.  We do the same with tortillas.  I get this odd thrill of counting out how many "meals" we get from one shopping trip.... chicken comes 2 breasts per pouch and there are 8 pouches (8 meals).  Ground beef or turkey (5lbs-5 meals) Italian sausage & brat worst (4 meals) Pork tenderloin (we cut in quarters so we end up with 2 smaller tenderloins and 2 meals of pork chops).  There is so much more food than we need so why not portion it right away and get so much more out of it.

Then on Monday morning I plan our week's menu.  I have found this GREAT new website that I am using saymmm and it helps me plan our dinners (you can do breakfast, lunch and snacks as well but I am not there yet).  You can list your favorite recipes, search for new ones and put together your shopping list all in one place.  They also show you where coupons are that will help with the items that you will be buying that week.

So then Monday Elise and I go to the market to buy the fruits, vegetables and any extra items we need for the recipes that week.  It saves SO much time! And I do NOT miss the daily "what in the world am I going to make for dinner tonight" stress.

So this week our menu was:

Monday: Beer Can Chicken with Corn on the cob and rice
Tuesday: Albondigas soup with warm tortillas
Wednesday: Pasta Primavera
Thursday: Sun dried Tomato and Basil Talapia with Cous Cous and Broccoli
Friday: Healthier Chicken Parm

I do not plan Saturday or Sunday because with it getting warmer out we are normally BBQing with friends or are out and about getting Mama a much deserved cook-free, clean-free, glass or 3 of wine night out!!!

So far this week's recipes were a hit... although I made a few changes.
To the Albondigas, I added 3/4 cup rice instead of the 1/4 cup because it just didn't seem like it would be enough... follow the real recipe because 3/4 cup actually just makes rice soup and the rice continues to GROW!  Although it was delicious and SPICY!
And to the Pasta Primavera I added in a little crumbled bacon to Brian's dish.  I figured I had to do something special to get him to eat all of those vegetables.  And he can never turn down anything with bacon!

Here are some pictures of last night's delicious dish

All of our fresh yummy produce

My little helper (see her Basil that she was "chopping")

She even had her own version

With penne, zucchini, snap peas and asparagus with cheese-- 

we skipped the red pepper, garlic and broccoli.

And here is ours

Not the prettiest picture... but I was hungry and ready to eat!

Working Hard

Finally making some "pretty" changes around here.... more to come!

Mother's Day

This weekend was Mother's Day, a very special and meaningful day.  It has been my greatest pleasure being a mom.  And even though this was my second mother's day, it felt like I really "deserved" it this year.  Last year Elise was only a month and a half old.  Yes, I had carried her for 9 months and gave birth to her, and I was still VERY sleep deprived, but I didn't really "feel" like a mom yet... this year I do.

I feel like I am a proud Mommy that has spent (almost) every moment with my beautiful child and she is (partially) who she is because of me.  That makes me so proud.

I decided to host Mother's Day lunch here at my house.  We had a very small gathering but it was perfect.  My parents and grandparents were here for a lovely lunch and a quiet afternoon of entertainment provided by our silly girl.

Of course, being me, I wanted to go all out and decorate the house with all things Mommy... but regretfully, since it was only a small gathering I put (almost) all of my creations away for another year and toned it down.  I decorated the table with just a few simple flowers and mini bud vases, I picked 4 of my favorite "Mom quotes" and decorated them and put into frames.  I placed those on the bar with the champagne and Bellini station-- It was Mommy's Day after all... I think we deserved a few fancy cocktails.

The quotes were:

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers" -Jewish Proverb

"Mother- that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." - T DeWitt Talmage

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -Abraham Lincoln

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -Lin Yutang

I made my Mom and Grandma each a necklace that I saw on another great blog http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2010/08/interchangeable-ribbon-necklace.html

I thought it would be perfect for them because they both LOVE fun jewelry and even more- love jewelry that has a fun twist.  I made them the necklace with clear glass beads and two sets of ribbon: peach and wine.  They were easy and so much fun to make.

I then used my Silhouette to make them each a little gift bag to wrap it all up.

I decorated them by adding a cute Silhouette flower to each.  Simple, elegant and perfect.

Swim Lessons

Elise had her first official swim lesson this weekend and did really well.  She has always been a fan of the water and was in our pool for the first time when she was only 5 weeks old.

She also LOVED seeing all of her little buddies in the class as well!  She couldn't take her eyes off of her little boyfriend G!

It was a very gentle class.  There were no screaming, upset babies.  They didn't toss the babes in and "say, watch this!"  The instructor was a nice young man that seemed to be really comfortable with the kids.  We didn't necessarily "learn" much but if we can pick up a few tips and tricks to use at home to help Elise in the water and develop some swimming ability over time, then we will be happy.

Daddy, look at me!!!

She had so much fun that we decided to kick off pool season at home and we had friends over to BBQ and swim... but I think all of the kids had more fun in the new "sun shade" than actually in the water.... but we will have many more days together in the pool this summer!

Look at those great Daddies with the kids while the Mommies soaked up the sun!