Week 36 Menu

What a boring, uninspiring menu I have for you this week. A couple carry-overs from last week - sorry! Tonight we took family pictures and got home later than I anticipated (SOOO much fun to do family pictures with a 2-year-old, by the way), so I don't even have a cool food picture to make up for my bad menu. But I'm bound and determined to make sure I get SOME kind of menu up each Sunday, so here we go...plus I'm sure you will all be able to inspire each other with YOUR menus.

I have some fun posts planned for the week, including a GIVEAWAY! Make sure you check in!

MONDAY:
- Pork Chops
- Wild & Long Grain Rice
- Veggie

TUESDAY:
- Eating at our friends' home

WEDNESDAY:
- Chicken & Broccoli Penne
- Yummy bread
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Some kind of yummy chinese side dish

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Meatloaf (I'll choose from one of your many wonderful recipes!)
- Mashed potatoes
- Veggie

Birthday Eatings!

My birthday has come and gone, but I still have about 50 pounds of birthday cake in the fridge as evidence of a great day!

Nate and Cate did a wonderful job making my day special. Nate came home from surfing that morning with smoothies and pastries. What a good guy. Our birthday "party" that night was complete with Leucadia Pizzeria's BBQ Chicken Pizza (my current favorite at Leucadia), an awesome "Cars" mylar balloon picked out by Cate, some great gifts and, of course, my annual birthday favorite - The Viking from Extraordinary Desserts. (If you live in San Diego, you MUST be sure to visit Extraordinary Desserts.) Boy am I glad I passed my prenatal glucose test earlier this week!

Cate was so excited to eat the cake she kept singing "Happy Birthday to Mommy" over and over in the hopes that it would speed up the birthday party process. Unlike her mom and dad, she finished her entire piece and then asked for more!

The cake was (and still is) awesome...but the best part was being with Nate and Cate, especially now that Cate LOVES celebrating our birthdays so much, which makes it all such great fun. I am truly blessed.

The Goods: Trader Joe's Artisan Bread

I've been meaning to feature this bread for some time now...the picture has been patiently waiting. Trader Joe's Artisan Breads are awesome. Don't know if they are the same in every part of the country, but it's worth checking out. My particular favorite is the Par-Baked Filone (pictured). This is the bread I used for my sandwich yesterday, and why it was so pretty.

PS - I can't WAIT to take a picture of my birthday cake for you...but I have to get it first. It's my best present every year. You're gonna love it, even if you can't eat it. :)

Pretty Sandwich

I thought my lunch looked pretty today, so I snapped a quick pic. Just turkey, swiss and spinach with honey mustard...nothing fancy, but still pretty. :)

Week 35 Menu

Last week we had chicken casserole...which tasted awesome. I don't make it often (I think the cream cheese, sour cream and cheese all added in makes me feel a LITTLE guilty), but it was a good autumn, comfort food. Once in a while you just gotta go back to Grandma's cooking, no matter the ingredients! :)


The menu participation has been great since school started...I think we're all back in our routines. Keep 'em coming!

MONDAY:
- Pork Chops
- Wild & Long Grain Rice
- Veggie

TUESDAY:
- My Birthday! I'm going to let Nate plan this night... :)

WEDNESDAY:
- Chicken & Broccoli Penne
- Yummy bread
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Book Club at my place...I still need to plan the menu - I will share once it's all set!

FRIDAY:
- Orange Chicken
- Rice
- Veggie or Salad

SATURDAY:
- Leftovers

SUNDAY:
- Meatloaf (I'll choose from one of your many wonderful recipes!)
- Mashed potatoes
- Veggie

In-N-Outta My Mind

Today Nate was craving In-N-Out for lunch. He NEVER craves things, so I decided to be nice and let him have his wish. It was really hard for me. I'm such a supportive wife...even in my pregnant state.


I ended up having a totally crazy pregnant woman moment when I went to pick our lunch up. I ordered our food and then the cashier asked, "Is that all for you?" I seriously had the following thoughts run through my mind: "Why is he asking if all this food is for me? Is it because I'm pregnant? That's such a strange question. Why does he care? It's kind of a lot of food for one person..." In my confusion I just said "Yes" thinking that would end things and I could get outta there, feeling kinda weird about it. It took me about 10 minutes to clue in and realize he was asking a completely normal ordering question that had nothing to do with my calorie intake or my unusually large belly. Good thing I didn't flip out on him manic pregnant woman style... :)

Dream Dinners AGAIN!

Hey everybody...I swear Dream Dinners isn't paying me! :) My sister-in-law Jessica is the one who first introduced me to Dream Dinners and she wanted to add a little something to my post from yesterday - thank you, Jessica!

***********

I just have to expand on what Jane said about Dream Dinners on Thursday’s post. I was introduced to Dream Dinners about 2 years ago. My local DD is in Orem, UT and they are the greatest. There are so many reasons I love them. One reason is the efficiency factor. You have 12 meals made within 2 hours and you don’t have to do any chopping, slicing, dicing, shopping, peeling, washing, cleaning, etc. If the recipe you are putting together calls for ½ cup of tomato sauce- the sauce has a half cup scoop sitting next to it. No guess work or fumbling around involved at all! And seriously you don’t have to clean up anything- they do it for you. WOW! Another thing I love about DD is the “flavorfulness” and variety we get. A lot of the recipes call for spices or other ingredients I don’t have in my cupboards or refrigerator which provides us with some new tastes that we like- but don’t have at home because I just don’t keep those items on hand (like capers or red wine). This place is definitely worth checking out. I guarantee you will love it and will want to go almost every month!


Lastly, I must mention that most franchise locations do a lot to give back to their specific local community. Our DD, for example, has a monthly giveaway for a family who could really use 12 free Dream Dinners. People send in nominations and the owners, Jacki and Joy, pick one to give a free month to. I once nominated a friend of mine who had just finished chemotherapy and had no energy to meal plan, shop, prepare food, etc. She won the giveaway and we went and made 12 meals she could stow in her freezer and her husband or mom could just easily follow the cooking instructions. She needed healthy balanced meals (and no raw foods) at that point in her treatment and with these in her freezer she could feel like they always had some good options. The meals are so easy to cook at home that she could often make dinner for her family which made her feel like she was still a good wife and mother and not just a sick cancer patient. I love the fact that the DD chain is encouraging their franchise locations to make a difference in the lives of families by bringing people together around the dinner table, which we all know is so much of how a family connects and grows closer. (Picture: Jess's friend Alyson 2nd from left, Jess 3rd from left)

Second only to Jane’s This Week for Dinner blog here, Dream Dinners is the next best solution to all your dinner planning and preparation troubles.

Fab Faves: Dream Dinners

Today's Fab Fave is Dream Dinners! My friend Emily M. recently shared some of her Dream Dinners meals with me, so I joined in with her to put them together on a Saturday morning at the Poway location here in San Diego. We had a blast! My sister-in-law Jess and friend Isa have SWORN by Dream Dinners for a long time...they love the food and the price, so I'm glad I finally got in there to try it out!

Dream Dinners' Bombay Chicken with Coconut Rice, as cooked by MOI!

If you've never heard of Dream Dinners, here's how it works: Each month there is a list of meals to choose from. You go to their website, select your location, then select your meals, in 3- or 6-servings amounts. You must order a minimum of 36 servings, any combo of 3- & 6-servings welcome. If you order 72 servings, you qualify for a Volume Reward, which definitely cuts costs. A great way to do it is to sign up with a friend to get your Volume Reward and split your order...which is what Emily & I did.

Back to our Dream Dinners visit...Emily & I arrived and all of our labels were ready to go. Each meal has a station where you put the ingredients together in Ziploc bags. Most meals fit neatly into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, so they don't take up much space at all!

All my meals fit nicely in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, which I could lay nicely in the freezer

Reasons we loved going to Dream Dinners:

1. As we were putting our meals together, they brought out some peach cobbler for us to enjoy. THAT never happens at home.
   
2. Picture me trying to pour honey out of a plastic, ungreased measuring cup. Suddenly a young man pops up and says, "Would you like a spatula?" and hands one over. THAT never happens at home.
   
3. Best part of all...when you're done putting your meal together, they clean up after you! That DEFINITELY doesn't happen at home!!
   

Emily and I were laughing the whole time because it was just so great - we felt very pampered and everything was efficient and clean. Everyone who worked there was ubelievably friendly and they even carried our food out to the car for us!

Here are the contents for the Bombay Chicken...with the instructions label

"But is the food good?" Yes it is! Everything we tried was super yummy. Pictured at the top of my post is the Bombay Chicken with Coconut Rice (from June's menu). It was seriously good. It was also our last Dream Dinners meal we had in the freezer...so sad. I kept forgetting to take pictures of our DD meals and almost forgot this one as well - thanks to Nate for remembering so you can see how delectable it looks! They are easy to put together as well!

"But is it affordable?" I went through and averaged this month's meal costs: 6-serving meals averaged $25, 3-serving meals averaged $13 (prior to Volume Discount). Isa swears she saves money overall doing Dream Dinners. I don't know if I would necessarily, based on what I spend on groceries, but I WILL say this...if you put any of these meals together on your own, it would definitely cost more than what you get it for at Dream Dinners. And the choices are things that I would never make at home, so it's nice to mix it up!

My First Blog Interview!

In case you feel like you don't know me well enough...you can go check out my first ever blog interview over at the San Diego Mamas blog!

Featured Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup

As I mentioned Sunday, I love autumn...tonight I made Butternut Squash Soup and lit up my harvest spice candle. The perfect fall evening.

I know I've mentioned this soup recipe many times, including in one of my book club posts, but you really should try it. Simple ingredients that work together very nicely, and super easy to make. When I'm feeling lazy or strapped for time, I'll peel the squash, chop into small cubes and microwave it...usually done in about 6 minutes. MUCH faster but the depth of flavor probably isn't the same as grilling.

Happy Fall!

Week 34 Menu

Fall is by far my favorite season and I'm so glad it's here. This is definitely the time of year I am most homesick for the East coast, however...the leaves, the apples, the weather. But at least I have my fall candles to make me happy. :) As always, please share your menus for the week...and thank you to all who posted last week!


MONDAY:
- Butternut Squash Soup (this recipe is seriously amazing if you haven't tried it yet)
- Yummy crusty bread

TUESDAY:
- Chicken Caesar Wraps
- Fruit
- Chips

WEDNESDAY:
- Chicken casserole
- Rice

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Pat's Oriental Chicken Salad
- Dumplings

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Grilled pork chops (Cate's FAVORITE right now)
- Long grain & wild rice
- Veggie

Featured Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Last night Nate and I got to on on a date...out to dinner without Cate! We ate at Rock Bottom and everything we ordered was delicious! We ate so much food that I was actually unable to eat my dessert in its entirety, which is pretty amazing considering it was Chocolate Cheesecake (pictured). Doesn't it look GOOD?!?!?


That got me thinking about a chocolate cheesecake recipe I have that is seriously the BEST, and funny enough my friend Karen and I ended up talking about that very same recipe today...thanks to my other book club friend Barbara for finding and sharing this recipe with us!

If you like Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake (and, really, who doesn't?) be sure to click through for the recipe! It's the best I've had...the first time Barbara made it, I thought for sure she must have bought it at some expensive bakery. Enjoy!

Call For Recipes! BLONDIES

Yesterday I got a hankering for Blondies, you know, butterscotch brownies, chocolate chip cookies bars, whatever you want to call them. (Sidenote: my previous complete and total desire for salty foods this pregnancy is fast slipping away and I'm back to my "I need a treat" self. Phew.)


So, I took myself in the kitchen, got out my Better Homes & Gardens New Baking Book(which I love) and looked up Blondies. The recipe tells you to melt the butter and brown sugar together til sugar dissolves (that stuff is HOT by the way), cool slightly, then add the eggs. During the "cool slightly" phase, I decided to peruse Craigs List for strollers and forgot the "slightly" part...well, when I returned it was hard as a rock, and remelting was a disaster. I started over - this time I cooled "VERY slightly" to avoide the previous mistake and scrambled my eggs in the sugar - what a rookie mistake! I'm ashamed! I gave up.

The last time I made Blondies they weren't that great anyway - kind of got hard overnight. So, I need your help! Please post your best Blondie recipe (with no melting and slightly cooling involved, if at all possible)! This pregnant woman is desperate over here...I had to resort to an Otter Pop for my "treat" last night, which just isn't the same as buttery, chocolatey goodness!

Fab Faves: San Diego Mama

Occasionally I like to share websites and blogs with you that I consider Fab Faves! Today's Fab Fave is TodaysMama.com, for all you mamas out there! Check it out! I was the feature blog on this months ago, but if you haven't visited yet, make sure you do!

For those of you luckly enough to live in San Diego, TodaysMama has a site just for you...SanDiegoMama.com! Again, lots of fun. There is also a corresponding blog that gets updated regularly with cool San Diego information (sandiegomamas.blogspot.com). Definitely check it out if you live in the area!

There are TodaysMama sites for the following cities/states as well...with more added all the time! DC, Arizona, Houston, Nevada, South Florida, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Spokane and Utah - just click on the drop down menu on the top right of TodaysMama.com to select your city!

Week 33 Menu

Don't cupcakes with sprinkles just make you happy?


This weekend our friends threw a party for their little girl, and Nikki (the mama) truly outdid herself food-wise. Assorted sandwiches on croissants, chips & dip, chinese chicken salad, spinach salad, thai noodle salad, cheese & crackers, fruit salad, apples with caramel dip, cookies and, of course, cupcakes...homemade no less. A GREAT party menu...have to document it here so I remember it for later! We were lucky enough to come home with leftovers!

I loved seeing all the menus last week and I DEFINITELY use them for inspiration. Please keep them coming!!!

MONDAY:
- Roasted chicken from Costco
- Mashed potatoes
- Asparagus

TUESDAY:
- Hamburgers on the grill
- Baked homemade french fries
- Fruit

WEDNESDAY:
- Breakfast for dinner...waffles?
- Roasted potatoes w/peppers & onions (TJs freezer section)

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Eat out

SATURDAY:
- Chicken Caesar pitas
- Fresh fruit
- Chips

SUNDAY:
- Beef Stroganoff
- Egg noodles
- Veggie

The Goods: Freeze-Dried Strawberries

I spotted these freeze-dried strawberries at Trader Joe's this week and thought Cate would like them in her cereal...which she does! They don't have any added sugar, which is GREAT, and Cate loves them. Makes healthy cereal much more appealing to a 2-year-old. :)


If you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, any dried fruit would certainly do! Just thought this was a fun new TJs product to feature.

My Book Club post this week was kinda long, so in case you developed reading fatigue halfway through, make sure you go back and READ IT and check out the recipe links I put in there. Seriously, they are goooood recipes. Happy Friday!

Musings: Grateful...

I am single-handedly keeping Kleenex in business. Between allergies the last few months and my cold this weekend, you honestly wouldn't believe how many tissues I've used. Add Cate & Nate's consumption to mine and I think Kleenex is going to have a pretty good fiscal year...


I'm going to wax philosophical on you for a moment...sorry, I'm in the mood. I was commiserating with myself today about how annoying the state of my nose is and how sick of looking at that ugly Kleenex box I am (Nate thinks I'm crazy, but honestly, does anyone in the WORLD like that weird silk floral pattern on the Kleenex box?!?!)...then I remembered my Grandma talking about how my uncle was allergic to Kleenex when he was a kid. Now, that would certainly be troublesome, especially if you have allergies!

Then THAT thought reminded me of another conversation I had with her years ago. She was telling me about the time they found out my uncle had juvenile diabetes, I believe when he was in 4th grade. She recounted how one day, from his hospital bed, my uncle asked her, "When am I going to get better, Mom?" and how it broke her heart that the answer was "never", but how could she say that to a little boy? Oh, and here I am getting teared up...I think I would even if I wasn't pregnant. :) Anyway, it's funny where you're thoughts will lead you at times, and it sure is nice when they lead you out of self-pity and into appreciation for the things you have. Granted, who knows what the future holds, but for now, I'm so grateful for the good health my little family has and that I'm not yet faced with such difficult questions from my sweet children.

Even though my Grandma doesn't know how to use a mouse, let alone the Internet...I love you! You're a great mother and I hope you are feeling well soon!

Book Club: Gotta Love Italy

It's been a while since I've done a book club post, so thought it would be fun - you know, back to school, time to hit the books!


The last two books we've read have been pretty good, but I must say that the food has been divine, which is I why I'm posting! Both books lent themselves to an Italian food-inspired dinner - we have definitely been eating well at our meetings this summer. Can't wait to share the food with you!

For July we read Eat, Pray, Loveby Elizabeth Gilbert. This is a non-fiction account of Elizabeth Gilbert's ventures through eating in Rome, meditating in India, and finding love in Bali. She's a good writer and the book was fun...wasn't my favorite and there was something about Ms. Gilbert that bugged me, but at the same time I found myself quoting the book all the time while I was reading it!

What was truly great about this Book Club meeting was the food...Karen (far right in picture) cooked up a feast for us that was to die for. Seriously, everything she made was awesome, but I'll just highlight 3 of the things, with links to the recipes (click the name of the food)! My most favorite was the Tuscan Bread Salad with Olives. This was SO GOOD. The main dish was Artichoke & Spinach Manicotti, which was also very tasty. For dessert she served Fresh Berries with Ricotta Cream (she used other berries in addition to strawberries - get creative!). I loved it, and let me tell you, for me to love a non-chocolate dessert is really saying something! Thank you Karen for your hard work and introducing us to some awesome recipes!!!

While discussing Eat, Pray, Love in July, Loretta (2nd from left) mentioned that she felt Under the Tuscan Sunby Frances Mayes did a much better job capturing the feeling of Italy...so she picked it for August for us to compare! This book was nice & relaxing...poetic descriptions of Tuscany, the house they rennovate and the food. Not much personal story, but if you're interested in travel or Tuscany, it's an interesting book. Ms. Mayes is an excellent writer, so the language is lovely. There's not really a story and Harry Potter was much more tempting for me to read that month, but I'm still glad I read the book. (Side note: I have NOT read the 7th HP book yet, so if you have, NOT A WORD or I may be forced to use an Unforgiveable Curse!) The book (Tuscan Sun, not HP) is really nothing like the movie, by the way, which may or may not be a selling point for you (it was for me!).

Loretta hosted dinner at a beautiful local restaurant in La Jolla Shores called Barbarella. Awesome Italian food, great atmosphere - little twinkle lights everywhere. They don't have a website, but if you live in San Diego, definitely take a visit! She said Halloween is especially fun, for your kids too! Barbara the owner stopped by our table and had read both of these books, so shared her own opinion. It was fun. Pretty much everything we ate was AWESOME. Loretta's favorite is the thin crust pizza, but I think mine was the Lemon Cream Ravioli. It really was perfect for me that night.

Why is Italian food so dang good? What a fun Italian-themed summer for a Book Club! I'm in charge next month...how will I ever top this!?!

Week 32 Menu

It is TOO HOT to cook. It's actually been quite warm in San Diego this weekend, and I know I absolutely should NOT be complaining, but I'm so glad we don't deal with this all summer! I'm so spoiled here...what will I do if we move away in a few months?!?! I no long have a spine when it comes to weather...


This morning I made some french toast on the stove real quick - but I added milk, cinnamon, a little sugar and vanilla to the egg and used Brioche bread. It was GOOD, better than just boring old egg and bread. Cate's just discovering french toast and is thoroughly enjoying it, asking for it every morning! This is a pic of the pretty bread we used this morning.

POST YOUR MENUS! Especially if you have ideas of good summer things to "cook" - I need them!

MONDAY:
This was supposed to be Sunday's meal from last week, but we had tons of leftovers to eat on Sun night - LOVE those nights
- Pork Chops
- Rice
- Veggie

TUESDAY:
- Easy Apricot Chicken
- Rice
- Salad

WEDNESDAY:
- Caprese Salad Pasta
- Crusty bread and cheese


THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Eat out

SATURDAY:
- Breakfast for dinner...probably waffles
- Maybe some kind of egg?
- Fresh fruit

SUNDAY:
- Hamburgers on the grill
- Picnic-type side dishes