Menu Plan thru March 3, 2013

We've been busy painting and fixing up the house we purchased so our meals have gone from simple to even more simple!  Only 23 days until we move in and all 3 of us are so excited.

Here's what I'm cooking this week:

Monday-Homemade corn dogs, tater tots and apple/pear
Tuesday-Pancakes, bacon and fresh strawberries
Wednesday-Homemade chicken nuggets, steamed veggies and pears
Thursday-Mini Meatloaves, steamed veggies and fresh fruit
Friday-Papa Murphy's Take and Bake
Saturday-Stouffer's Lasagna and garlic bread--we will have friends and family at the new house painting so I need to feed a lot!
Sunday-leftovers

I'm linking up to orgjunkie and erinbranscom.

Happy Cooking!

Happy Purim: Hamantaschen

Our church has been going through the book The Story together...from the babies in the nursery to the adults.  It's been a fun, exciting and eye opening journey.  The book has put the Bible in chronological order and reads more like a novel.  Josh and I have a chapter book that we read and discuss with our small group and again on Sundays.  Rory also has a preschool book that we read every night and coordinates with the lesson at church on Sunday.  I've really enjoyed this journey and will be sad when it ends. 

OK-so a couple weeks ago the chapter we discussed was on Esther.  I love reading that account and is probably by go to reading if I can't find something else.  Esther is on my list of top 5 women I'd love to sit and have a chat with.

Here is a basic and super quick run down of her story.  Current Queen is ousted by King Xerxes and therefore he needs a new Queen.  Esther, who is Jewish, is also beautiful and is chosen as a replacement.  Mordecai, Esther's Uncle and caregiver, saves the King's life by learning of and reporting a plot of an assassination attempt.  King's right hand man, Haman, comes from a lineage of Jewish haters.  Haman despises Mordecai because he will not bow down to him.  King learns that Mordecai has never been properly thanked or recognized for saving his life.  The King does lavish things for him which only angers Haman more.  Haman devises a decree to have all the Jews killed and the King signs the decree, without realizing that he is signing his wife's death sentence.  Haman is blood thirsty and even raises a pole that he intends to kill Mordecai on.  Esther must go before the King to petition for her life.  This is risky business...she can only go to the King when summoned.  Any other time she risks being killed.  The King welcomes her and even promises half of his kingdom to her.  What a relief to Esther-she invites the King and Haman to a banquet.  After two dinners Esther requests that her life be spared.  The King, now realizing what had been happening, granted her wish, spared all her people and Haman was impaled on the pole meant for Mordecai.

This is really Hollywood ready material.  Anyway, Jewish people still celebrate Esther delivering the Jews from certain death.  It's called Purim and this year Purim is on February 23rd and 24th.  To celebrate we made Hamantaschen (Ha-man-tosh-en) or hoppin-toppin as Rory called them.  Hamantaschen translates to Haman's Ears.

Here is the recipe I used:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of water *

fruit jam

*I used a total of 4 tablespoons of water to get the right dough consistency

Preheat the over to 375 and either grease a cookie sheet or use parchment paper.

In a large bow, mix together cake mix and flour. Stir in eggs and water to form stiff dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness.

Use a cookie cutter or rim of a glass to cut 3" round circles and place on cookie sheets.

Place 1 teaspoon of jam in the center of each cookie.

Pinch the sides of circles to form thee corners so that only a little filling is visible.  (I need some work on my shaping...they aren't quite like I pictured!)

Bake Hamantaschen for 6-8 minutes in the oven until lightly browned.

Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute and then move to a wire rack to cool fully.

Rory was very happy with his snack and he gave it a thumbs up!

This recipe came from our church bulletin...if there are plagiarism issues or you want a link let me know.

Menu Plan thru February 17, 2013

It a short and easy week for us on the menu plan.  On Wednesday Josh and I will be signing the paper work for our new (but gently lived in before) house!  Although, this is our second house purchase, with an 18 month rental in between, it's just as exciting this time as it was when we bought our first house.  Our official move isn't until the end of March but this week will be filled with moving small items or things we can live without for a few weeks.

We are busting at the seems right now so anything we can get out of the way to make things easier will be a huge help.  So, this week I've pre-planned in the budget some extra funds to either eat quick or use up some gift cards for eating out.

Monday-grilled cheese for the boy and sauteed veggies for me
Tuesday-pancakes or waffles with fruit
Wednesday-Quesadilla Casserole  (this should yield leftovers for us to eat on the rest of the week)
Thursday-Lone Star Burgers
Friday, Saturday, Sunday-either leftovers or out while at the new house

The next few weeks will be shopping in my pantry.  I do try to keep a stocked pantry and could easily whip up quite a few meals out of what I have on hand.  We aren't moving far but I don't prefer to move food items so we will be eating those things up.

Happy Cooking!

My menu can also be viewed here and here.

Berry Gummy Hearts

Rory and I love doing crafts together and he LOVES to help me in the kitchen.  Whenever I cook he will run to to me and say, "I see too! I see too!"  He needs to know what I'm cooking and what his helping job will be. He has excellent stirring skills.

Although, we aren't huge on celebrating Valentine's Day I saw this recipe and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate.  The original recipe is posted here.  I prepped all the ingredients the night before so Rory could do the work of "cutting" out the gummies the next day. 

You will need:

1 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries, thawed

1 cup apple juice

5 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Puree the raspberries and run through a strainer to separate the seeds.  Throw the seeds away.  Mix apple juice and gelatin in a microwaveable bowl.  Stir in sugar and corn syrup.  I microwaved in 3-30 second intervals stirring well in between each set.  Let stand for about 5 minutes.  Then stir in raspberry puree and lemon juice.  Pour into a square baking pan lined with plastic wrap.  Cover with wax paper and chill.  I prepped mine the night before so it chilled all night.  It will look like this when you take it out of the refrigerator.

                                 

Flip out of the pan and onto a cutting board.

Since it's a V-day craft I was supposed to use small heart shaped cutters.  I had all intention of stopping at Hobby Lobby to pick up a couple but it started snowing a couple hours before rush hour so I skipped that step.  On this particular day I was happy to get us both home in one piece!  This did leave me in a bit of a pickle because I didn't have any small cookie cutters.  I was going to use the plastic medicine cups that come with children's liquid medicine but those still seemed big for a gummy.

We ended up using the big end of a cake decorating tip.  It was the perfect size for Rory to maneuver and created a gummy the perfect size for popping right in your mouth!

Rory took his work very seriously.  And of course he had to taste test as he went!

It ended up taking about 20 minutes to cut everything out.  We both had a lot of fun with this project!  I just love that precious face!

Boys love the messy part just as much as the fun, eating part!

Edit: The gummies should be stored in the refrigerator once you are done cutting them out...and if there is any leftover for you to store!

Menu Plan thru February 10, 2013

We've had a busy week and another busy week is ahead!  This week is all about simple, quick and filling meals.

Monday- Warm ham and cheese sandwiches, fresh pears
Tuesday-Pancakes or toast with blueberries and bacon
Wednesday-Baked Potato Bar  (trying the potatoes in the crock pot)
Thursday-Tuscan Italian Soup (I'm cutting the recipe in half)
Friday-Panko crusted chicken, leftover potatoes, fruit
Saturday-out of town
Sunday-pizza pasta

This menu can also be seen here and here.

Happy Cooking!

January Running Update

Remember how I said I wanted to run a half marathon?  Well, I'm happy to say that training is in full swing!  It hasn't been easy but it has been rewarding!  It has been hard to find time to get running in but with the help of Josh and our families when the visit I've been able to keep up.  I'm up to running 2.5 miles and will have a "long run" of 3 miles on Sunday.   I always get a "stitch" in my side and it never seems to go away.

I won't come out and say that I love running but it is great exercise and I do love how I feel afterwards!  As a bonus I can officially fit into pants comfortably that I wore pre-Rory!  It's almost like getting brand new clothes since I haven't worn them for 2 1/2 years...yikes!

Menu Plan thru February 3, 2013

Our family had a wonderful relaxing weekend and it's hard to believe that it is Monday already!  My Dad came up for a visit and we mostly chilled out.  He likes to try new recipes like I do so on Sunday we whipped up some homemade chicken pot pie from America's Test Kitchen.  It took the two of us a little over an hour from start time to sitting at the table eating but it was SO worth it!  I normally don't cook on Sunday but now I have leftovers for tonight's dinner!

Monday-Leftovers from the weekend
Tuesday-Pancakes with Nutella, milk and fresh fruit
Wednesday-Panko crusted baked chicken, green beans and pears
Thursday-Chicken Carbonara Risotto
Friday-Pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches, roasted potatoes and cinnamon applesauce
Saturday-visiting family
Sunday-leftovers or snack on yogurt and blueberry muffins

This menu can also be viewed here and here.

Happy Cooking!