Sunday, October 9, 2011

Dear Blog...I still love you.

Dear Blog, I still love you even though I have ignored you for over a week. Dear readers, I greatly apologize for the long gap between post and for being late on the recipes for the week. This week has been rough. We believe sweet baby a is going through a growth spurt and that has equaled little sleep and lots of crying and screaming. Let's just say mom has been exhausted this week! But we will get though this! :)

Here is the menu for this week. Again, I apologize for being late and remember we are being budget friendly and I am eating the dreaded left overs! (really...it has not been that bad...just don't tell Mr J I said that)

Adapted from Spark Recipes
Sorry..there was no picture and I was too excited about eating this to take one. I will try to do better. We had jalapeno cornbread with this. It was AMAZING!

Also, I made a few adjustments. I accidentally used real beans instead of can. Let's just say we ate a later that night than we thought we would. Also, I put two cans of green chilis instead of the chili peppers. And for the salsa I used salsa verde. It was so yummy!

Crock Pot Country Style Ribs
Once again no picture. This is something I just made up.
  • Rub ribs down with your favorite seasonings. I stuck to garlic, salt and pepper.
  • Place ribs in crockpot.
  • Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce.
  • Add a good handful of brown sugar.
  • Cook those little bad boys for 6 hours on low
  • Enjoy! :)
Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
And for the third time...no picture! (sorry. i will work on this! this is what happens when i use my own recipes!) This is one of our household favorites!
  • Chicken, cooked and shredded (I normally use two to three breast)
  • 2 cans cream of chicken
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz Garlic Butter crackers
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking dish (or your favorite casserole dish). Stir together soup and sour cream. Add Chicken. Crush crackers in a bowl and add poppy seeds. Pour melted butter in cracker mixture and mix well. Pour chicken mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle cracker mixture over the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy! :)

Adapted from: Rachel Ray
On this pizza I use a store bought crust. You can use your favorite but I use a thin crust from Walmart. It is in a purple package and there are two crust in a pack. I am sorry I do not know the name of the brand. Also, I do not use blue cheese. I hate that stuff. And make sure to use Frank's Hot Sauce. That is the key!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Conquering the Hate for Leftovers


I hope everyone has had a great week! Our week in camelot has been kind of crazy, but it has been a very great week! We had some huge decisions to make this week but I believe God totally revealed His will and we I believe we made the right decisions. But...I am so glad it is the weekend.

With me being an official stay at home mom, I am also finding ways to cut the grocery bill again. I am not a fan of leftovers. Hate may be a better word than the phrase "not a fan". I blame it on my mom and dad. Dad did not like leftovers growing up so mom made something new for dinner each night. Mr. J on the other hand loves leftovers. The 4 years we have been married I still have not been able to scale back my cooking portions for 2. I cook more for like 20. And we always have leftovers. We were being so wasteful and it seriously was convicting me in more ways than one. So...this past week, I have eaten leftovers. The meal plan had 4 recipes with 3 nights of leftovers. It was not that bad. Actually one of the meals was better the next day. With that being said, the weekly menu will be down sizing. I apologize if you dislike leftovers as much as I do, but I promise that if you try you will learn they are not that bad and they also allow you more money in your pocketbook! :)

This is a week I am so glad that I am a week ahead on the menu schedule. We had an epic fail for Pad Thai Ramen Noodles. I love Pad Thai and was so excited that this meal would only cost a total of about $2.00 to make. But it seriously was the worst thing Mr. J and I have ever eaten. We ordered pizza after the first taste. So I apologize. There will only be 3 recipes this week. But here they are! And they are all very yummy!

Source and picture: The All American Chinese Cookbook

Source and picture: Keeper Worthy Recipes

Source and picture: A Sweet Pea Chef

I hope you all have a great weekend! The weather is going to be great here in camelot!