Drop It Like It's Hot: Menu Monday II

Monday Dinner: Chili Hash

Tuesday Dinner: Crescent Roll Pizza (we had this last week. my hubby said this was the best pizza he's ever had. it was pretty damn good.)

Wednesday Dinner: Chicken Noodle Casserole (just like Tuna Noodle Casserole except with canned chicken) 

Thursday Dinner: Frozen DiGiorno Pizza 

Friday Dinner: Tater Tot Casserole 

Saturday Lunch: Leftovers 

Saturday Dinner: ?? 

Sunday Breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy 

Sunday Lunch: Leftovers 

Sunday Dinner: Grilled Chicken, potatoes and veggies on the grill

Yummers.

Have a delicious week!

<3 dani

Drop It Like It's Hot: Menu Monday

I started this menu planning thing a little while back, blogged about it once and like any other regimen I try, this too fizzled out. But unlike exercising...eating 'right'...jogging...etc, the results of menu planning are immediate and really really helpful. I've learned that spending the time upfront makes week nights so much easier. Now, if i could just feel that way about exercising.

So, Drops is officially starting a segment I'd like to call "Drop It Like It's Hot: Menu Monday" This will help me stay organized and hopefully give you some inspiration too.

Soon I'll even have a menu board in the kitchen.

Maybe one that looks like this...

Or this one...

Oh the joy of organizing. Seriously, I've put more thought into the design of this menu board than I did with the purchase of my new car. My husband is convinced that my organization impulses boarder on a mental disorder. He's probably right.

Here's the deal about my menus:

First, I'm not much of a breakfast eater. Usually I'm satisfied with a yogurt or a granola bar, so I'm not addressing breakfast on the weekdays.

Second, for lunch I usually have leftovers or hit up the lunch line, so I'll probably only address that on the weekends.

Lastly, fair warning, I flippin' love pizza, frozen, homemade, delivery, whatever. I apologize if you are inundated with it.

On to this week's Lunch/Dinner menu:

Monday Dinner: Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Tuesday Dinner: Crescent Roll Pizza

Wednesday Dinner:  Honey Garlic Pork Chops with Potatoes and Broccoli (I'll probably make the pork chops in the slow cooker by just adding some more liquid to the recipe, setting it to low and leaving it while I'm at school)

Thursday Dinner: Frozen Pizza (Thursday's are my favorite TV night, really the only night of the week we dedicate to watching shows. The last thing I'm gonna do is spend time in the kitchen...quick and easy it is -- this meal will probably be the recurring theme for Thursdays)

Friday Dinner: Chicken & Dumplins with Rice


Saturday Lunch: Hotdogs and Mac

Saturday Dinner: Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes (our family's meat loaf recipe is top secret)

Sunday Lunch: Left Overs


Sunday Dinner: Chili (I have no real recipe for this. Bummer too, because sometimes I make an UH MAZE ING batch and can't replicate it because I just blindly throw pantry items into it)

Most of these recipes I've created myself, but I've created recipes on myrecipes.com and attached a link in case you want to see how I prepared them. Remember though, take liberties where you'd like. It should be a law to never follow a recipe exactly...well, unless you're baking, but you get the idea!

Have a delicious week.

<3 dani

Upgraded Monogram

Over holiday break, my bff and I redid the photo collage on the wall above my couch. The "S" which usually sits on my mantel, changed neighborhoods and moved into the blank spot on the wall. It looked fine enough and filled the space better than anything else we could find (without buying something new of course), but after I saw --> this  <--I had to upgrade.

Here's my version:

This how it looked originally:

 

Not bad, but doesn't this look better?

Here's what I did. Start out with some words and print 'em. Then cut 'em out.

zero clue why this is photo is sideways...absolutely zero...

Place them on your letter. 

You'll end up with this:

Trim it up, then glue them on. You could (and probably should) cover with some sort of sealer, but I didn't have any on hand, so I didn't ;-)

I painted the edges black. Little contrast never hurt anyone.

Super easy, practically free.

  

Try it.

<3 dani

Etsy Favorites!

Hello folks!

Over the holidays I was hugely pregnant and long shopping trips were out of the question. So, I resorted to lots and lots of online shopping. In fact, 90% of my holiday shopping was online...it was liberating.

I spent a lot of time searching around Etsy and came across a few shops I think you should know about. I'm not being paid to advertise for these shops. I just happen to be a happy customer and want you to have the same opportunity.

First: The Sweetest Elements

I bought both expecting grandmothers necklaces stamped with not only their new grandson's name, but the name of their grandpuppies too. (furbabies are just as much a part of our family as our real baby).  Lisa was super accommodating and helpful. Love her other stuff too.

Next: Kriya Designs

 

This was a gift to our son's fairy god mother. Adores-able. Again, great quality. Super helpful and accommodating. Great shop.

Lastly: SlashKnots

I didn't make this purchase, my husband did. I requested a piece of jewelry with an elephant on it and the rest was up to him. This is what he picked out. Perfect, right? Sadly, when I opened it on Christmas morning I couldn't wear it because my wrists are HUGE, GIGANTIC, man-wrists. So, I contacted Beth and she made me a new, custom-sized bracelet. It's perfect. 

Spend some time checking out these shops. I'm proud to support them. 

<3 dani

My Valid Excuse

My excuse for neglecting my blog, my son Ryne. 

We aren't short of fun projects these days, but documenting them has it's challenged whilst holding a newborn. Hang tight...we'll be back eventually ;-)

<3 dani

First Time for Everything! Menu Plan

As I become more lethargic and approach my 9th month of pregnancy, I've tried to maintain some of our old routine. One of my goals has been to make a home-cooked meal each night of the week, come hell or high water (or cramps and Braxton Hicks).

The only way I can mentally manage this is by doing a lot of planning. My brain literally shuts down when it's hungry. Not only do I become a ravenous b****, I get easily confused and forget where I am. It's hilarious to witness, but dreadful to live through.

I've never been a good menu planner. Mostly because I've never needed to plan for the two of us; I used to be capable of thinking whilst under pressure. Now that things have changed, I'm adapting.

Luckily for me there are some amazing foodie blogs out there that do all the thinking for me. Today I stumbled on Polish The Stars and holy yum. This girl makes stuff that I'm capable of making, while making it look like something that is way beyond my ability level. So, four of my recipes have come solely from this tightass blog. Mad props, yo.

So I started this Menu on Sunday, but didn't get around to posting about until today, oopsie poopsies.

Sunday Breakfast: Biscuits Gravy
Brown sausage. We use Tennessee Pride's Hot sausage and it's not just a clever name. Put Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits in the oven.  Add 4-5 tbsps flour, mix. Add 2 1/4 c. milk. Heat until thickened. Done.

Sunday Lunch: Zuppa Toscana (First, I have no idea why the first letter in the recipe isn't showing up...even when I type it here "Z" it doesn't show...it's the last letter of the alphabet...oy vey, I guess I should hand out decoder rings to everyone that reads this. Second, I worked at the Olive Garden in college and this recipe is super)

Sunday Dinner: Beef and Ale Stew (in my case it was Beef and Light Beer Stew -- that's all I had -- waah waah)


Monday: Chicken & Dumplins
I used southern style biscuits, cuz that's all I had.

Tuesday: Chicken Stuffing Bake

Wednesday: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes (I'm not at liberty to divulge this top-secret family recipe, but it's seriously off the chains)

Thursday: Lasagna

Friday: Baked White Spaghetti

Saturday Breakfast: On Your Own (the Hubs is going into the office and I'll probably just have some oatmeal and juice, yums)

Saturday Lunch: Breakfast Burritos

Saturday Dinner: We'll Probably go out...I am pregnant after all.

I hope you try some of these recipes. So far, we've dug them.

<3 dani

Easy, Inexpensive Window Treatments

I'm almost done with Ryne's nursery and I've done it one a pretty small budget (with a lot of help from family). However, when I went to pick out curtains and rods, I was blown away at how expensive those silly things were. (Can you tell I don't shop for these things often...?)

Eventually, I came up with an idea to keep my baby room budget in check. Dig this:

 --I take such terrible daytime photos, oy--

I bought some inexpensive knobs at Home Depot ($1.20 each)

Two cheap rods. You know the kind...the ugly really cheap ones. 

I glued the two together (get it, finials, ah ha!) 

Then I spray painted them dark brown. Boom. 

Here is what the window looked like before. Pardon the old brackets. Once upon a time, when Ryne's room was our guest bedroom, those held the old rods...two large sticks...see how cheap I am?

Here the rod is, hung.

I hung them about two inches from the ceiling. The shears I had already are really long and I didn't want to cut them up anymore than I already had.

Yes, I totally started with only two large linen shears from Ikea and when I decided I didn't want to spend money on these window treatments, I just cut them right down the middle to make four shears. Winning.  

Neat, right?

Does the job for about $12. Whoa.

Stay tuned for a nursery reveal. It's coming...soon I hope.

<3 dani

Blooming Onion Sourdough Loaf

I cannot take credit for this delicious treat. I found it at The Changeable Table It looked easy enough for me to try.

The Hubs and I enjoy a solid appetizer. In fact, pre-pregnancy, we would have one night a week where we ate only appetizers for dinner. I called it "College Dinner Night." It was awesome.

On Sundays, it's tough for either one of us to peal ourselves off the couch long enough to make a full meal, so this served as our football snacky.

You'll need:
A large loaf of Sourdough bread (unsliced)
1lb Monterey Jack Cheese (sliced thinly)
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 c chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Start by cutting the bread. This is slightly tricky because you are cutting both ways (being sure not to slice all the way through!!), horizontally and vertically. Sourdough is pretty tough, so a little smushing shouldn't leave permanent damage.

Then slice your cheese. Thinly, both length-wise and width-wise.

Chop your green onions

Add them to your melted butter

Drizzle over your bread being sure get the melted fatty goodness in the cracks

Add cheese to every single opening

Wrap in tinfoil

Place on a baking pan and put her in the oven for 15 minutes

Take it out, uncover, put back in for another 10-15mins (I added a little olive oil at this point to give the top some extra crispiness)

nom nom nom

hope you likey.

<3 dani

Flashabck -- Halloween's Past...

 Flashback...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fall and Halloween...More?...Oh Yeah!

Halloween Bottles and a new front porch!!

The Hubs got the afternoon off unexpectedly and because I was so super excited, we made a trip to the Farmer's Market to pumpkin pick! One for me, one for the Hubs and one for the Pup. Transporting the cornstalk in my Mitsubishi was hilarious, but when I want something, I force it to happen! ;-) Here's our new front porch.

Earlier in the day, I stopped by Organize and Decorate Everything  and saw these stinkin' awesome Halloween poison bottles. I had.to.try. They would go so perfectly in the kitchen/dining area a.k.a zoned spooky area. And the best part about this project...totally free - weee!

I dug into my pile of bottles (which the Hubs says I hoard, but it's just one little shelf in our kitchen, I swear!). I came up with a few good ones and filled them with a little food coloring and water. It took a few tries to get the color right. My first looked similar to a bottle of...well...let's just say the yellow was a little much.

See, I keep the bottles for moments like this (honey!). Back to work! I've got the potions brewed and poison bottled, now I just need some labels. Oops, forget the lids (mostly on purpose). Craft paint to the rescue. Yup, I definitely painted the lids after I filled the bottles. Hey, I'll admit to my laziness. I want things done now, not ten minutes from now!

Okay, back to the labels. Leanne at OaDE suggested searching "Halloween Labels" for plenty of options and boy was she right. Seriously, just Google it. Tons of options. I allowed myself five whole minutes to make a final decision and printed! Any longer and I don't think I would have completed this project today. I pasted  the images into a Word.doc and resized them to fit my bottles.

I wiped the paper with used coffee grounds to create a little aging. Originally, I wanted to dip them in tea, but I thought it through and, yeah, that would take waaaaay too long. This way, the paper was pliable and still dry enough to adhere to the glass. I spritzed the paper with Elmer's Adhesive Spray and slapped it on. Perfect.

My center piece went from this:

To this:

Which do you like better?

Huge shout out to Organize and Decorate Everything for fueling my fire!

<3 dani