Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou...

A long while ago, my husband mentioned that he was in the mood for some sort of Cajun pasta.  It was around Lent, so I thought - why not make it a Cajun shrimp pasta and kill two birds with one stone?  The problem was finding the perfect recipe.  I wanted one that didn't use heavy cream and also one that wasn't too spicy or complicated.

Basically, I wanted something that didn't exist.

My sister-in-law shared her recipe with me (which was a huge help), but sort of like all recipes that are awesome - it didn't involve a whole lot of perfect measurements or instructions.  Those are absolutely my favorite recipes - the ones that you know are finished by a feeling rather than by a window of time or oven setting.

Those recipes are also very difficult to replicate.

SO, using her suggestions as a guideline and another recipe as framework, I set out to make my own Cajun shrimp pasta.  I'm happy to say, it was a wild success.  I'm also happy to say, that I actually wrote down what I did so I can share it with you here.

Who's hungry?

{Cajun Shrimp Pasta}

Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. of shrimp (I use frozen, forgive me.)
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- Cajun seasoning (probably about a tablespoon, but you're just going to eyeball it)
- juice from 1-2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- Garlic powder (you'll use less than the Cajun, but ditto about the eyeballing)
- Sliced mushrooms (one small can or 4-5 fresh; dealer's choice)
- 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of cream cheese
- 1/2 box of whole wheat linguine (cooked)
- fresh shredded parmesan
- ground pepper
- kosher salt

Look at the size of this pepper! Insanity.

Directions

- Start by thawing (if necessary) and marinading your pound of shrimp.  I like mine being cleaned and deveined, but if you're so inclined do all that yourself - go for it.  Toss shrimp in olive oil, minced garlic, juice of half a lemon, and Cajun seasoning.  Let it sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

- After your shrimp has had time to marinade, melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and sauté the shrimp in it.  At this point you can add another good sprinkle of the Cajun seasoning as well as some garlic powder.

- Let this simmer until the shrimp is mostly cooked and then add the mushrooms and the sliced bell pepper.  Meanwhile, you can start boiling your linguine.

- Stir everything around so it gets nice and covered in the butter and squirt in some more fresh lemon juice.

- Add milk and cream cheese to the pan.  [Side note: You can use any sort of cream cheese you want. We almost always have Chive & Onion in our house, so that's usually what I use.  The cream cheese just aids in the sauce-thickening process.]

- Let all of that cook down until it becomes a nice, creamy sauce.  I usually like to let the sauce thicken up to the point where it starts to coat the spoon when I stir it.

- Toss in the linguine, add the parmesan, and season with the kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  PREPARE TO BE AMAZED.

In the real world...

In addition to providing some reviews of all of the recipes we tried as part of our July meal plan, this month I am also providing you all with an idea of what happens in the NMOTB household after the meal plan is created (as promised.)

When people visit us and see our monthly meal plan hanging on the fridge, the follow-up question is usually, "So, do you actually stick to it?"  My answer as always been, "Well, yes.  Within reason."

But, this month I decided to actually keep track of the subtle changes we made to have a better answer for people.  Sometimes the changes we make will be to the actual meal (i.e., We have a salad instead of asparagus because I didn't see any good asparagus when I went to the grocery store) and sometimes it will be a change to the calendar because of unforeseen social engagements, travel plans that change, or simply that I just don't feel like cooking dinner.  It seemed like the changes in July were more related to the latter because it ended up being an exceptionally busy month.  In looking back, it still appears that the correct response to that FAQ is, "Well, yes.  Within reason."

July 7
Meal Plan - Beef Lo Mein using this recipe.
Reality - Beef Lo Mein using THIS recipe.  
The first recipe used beef boullion which I didn't feel like buying just for one recipe, so I did a little more Pinteresting and voila!

July 8
Meal Plan - Buffalo Pork Chops; One Pan Fettuccine Alfredo; Green Beans
Reality - Dinner with my husband's boss
We had planned to order pizza later on during this same week, so instead I just pushed back all of the meal plans by one day and we enjoyed socializing with my husband's boss at a local eatery we'd been hoping to try.

July 12
Meal Plan - Pulled Pork; Grilled Corn; Potato Wedges
Reality - Too tired to cook
I would say this happens about once a month. I plan a big meal and then realize it isn't going to work given everything else I have to accomplish on that day.  This day was TIH's fourth birthday party, so by the time we got home I didn't want to do anything.  I'm not sure what we ended up eating, but I didn't cook it!

July 13
Meal Plan - Grilled Shrimp with Mustard Sauce; Baked Potatoes; Sauteed Brussels & Corn
Reality - Pulled Pork; Grilled Corn; Potato Wedges; Cole Slaw
We pushed the meal from July 12 back onto this day and invited friends over to share it with us!  It was absolutely delightful to have everyone over and the meal was enjoyed by everyone!

July 17
Meal Plan - Stuffed Peppers; Bread; Salad
Reality - Homemade Pizza; Salad
This was TIH's birthday and he specifically requested pizza for his birthday.  Since we'd done our fair share of dining out over the course of the month already, we opted to make it ourselves.  Served with a nice slice of birthday cake, of course.

July 18
Meal Plan - Grilled Brats; Cole Slaw; Tator Tots
Reality - Snacks
Here was another example of not really being in the mood for a big meal or wanting to cook it.  Instead, my husband swung by the deli and got a few snacks (wings, cheese & crackers, etc.) and we ate that.

July 19
Meal Plan - No meal plan - having visitors
Reality - Stuffed Peppers; Bread; Salad
My husband's parents were visiting and we weren't sure how long they would be staying in town, so we weren't sure if we would be cooking for a crowd or dining out.  When we found out they were heading home early, I went ahead and moved up the meal plan for July 17 to this day.

July 25
Meal Plan - Steaks; Grilled Vegetables; Baked Potatoes
Reality - Steaks; Grilled Vegetables; Baked Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potatoes just sounded better when I was grocery shopping!

July 26
Meal Plan - Spinach & Mushroom Smothered Chicken; Carrots; Pasta
Reality - Had dinner with friends
You know me, I can't miss out on a social opportunity.  We can have this meal some other time!

July 31
Meal Plan - Breaded Pork Chops; Cous Cous; Sauteed Asparagus
Reality - Going Away Happy Hour
A very good friend and colleague is starting a new job with the next school year, so I spent the evening sharing memories over cocktails and moved this plan to August.  Great way to get a headstart!

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As you can see, I wasn't too great with the picture taking this month, but we did try a lot of great new recipes.  Some of which I'm happy to say will for sure be making return appearances on future meal plans.

Grilled Fish - (not pictured) We initially planned to cook this on the grill, but decided to go with the oven at the last minute (took about 20 minutes at 400 degrees; my oven generally cooks slow.)  My husband had tilapia instead of salmon, but this delicious marinade worked very well with both.  We left the fish in the marinade for 30 minutes before cooking it.  I think it would be great grilled, so definitely worth a try!

Beef Lo Mein - SO GREAT.  In addition to being very tasty and enjoyable for the whole family (TIH included!), it was exceptionally easy to put together.  A friend of mine also said she tried it with chicken, so this recipe is adaptable to a variety of tastes (would probably be great with extra veggies or tofu as well, if you are so inclined!)  This recipe will be added to the regular rotation without a doubt!

One Pot Fettuccine Alfredo - I love me some fettuccine alfredo and I even have a great recipe I've honed over the years - but this is PERFECT for an easy weeknight side dish.  Sure, cream sauces aren't the healthiest dish in existence, but this is DEFINITELY better than something I would make from a box (which I've been known to do in a pinch.)  These meals that come together in one pan are obviously my new favorites.  I've already put this on our current meal plan!

Grilled Shrimp with Mustard Sauce - (not pictured) Great method for brining and grilling shrimp.  The mustard sauce was just "eh."  I would have rather had a spicy cocktail sauce or a tarter sauce or really any other kind of sauce.  The sauce itself wasn't bad, it just didn't really do much for the shrimp.  Now we actually have a method for grilling shrimp now - we've done it before, but it was all kind of lackluster.  Glad to have something in my arsenal that works!

Lemon Shrimp with Parmesan Rice - (not pictured) I think I did something wrong with this recipe.  For starters, it could have been that I used a boil in a bag rice brown rice instead of the rice recommended for the recipe.  The shrimp itself was great, but paired with the rice it was sort of a gummy mess.  My husband didn't seem to hate it as much as I did, but we both agreed it just wasn't our favorite recipe.  Worth giving it a shot if you can learn from my mistakes, but I'm not sure we'll be trying it again.

Spinach & Mushroom Smothered Chicken - (not pictured; not attempted) This is the second or third month in a row that we haven't gotten to this dish.  I swear it sounds delightful to me, but we keep scheduling it on days that it gets cancelled.  We'll get to it someday.

Cheesy Chicken Orzo - (not pictured) This was touted as "Grown Up Mac & Cheese," but really I think I would have liked mac & cheese from the box better.  We tried to doctor it up a bit by adding some spices and hot sauce, but it just wasn't really anything special.  It's a shame because I was really looking forward to it!

Homeward bound...

Check me out.  I was able to register the New Mom on the Blog domain name over the weekend and even get it set up with my old URL.  I'm official y'all.  Though you will be redirected from the old .blogspot URL, you can update your bookmarks or feeds...just because it makes me feel fancy.

I have probably hundreds of foods tied to memories in my life, but the recipe I'm sharing here today has a taste so nostalgic for me, I might as well be sitting beside a campfire outside of my grandparent's camper the moment I take a bite.  I did a little research on Pinterest and it looks like "foil packet dinners" are becoming a pretty popular trend.  Maybe they're en vogue right now, but I can tell you that my family has been making these for decades (and upon talking to my grandmother about the etiology of this recipe - it appears they've been around for even longer than she thought.)

My family always called these "hobo dinners" and if you search for recipes for that, you'll find something very similar to what I'm going to share today. (You can also look for "foil packet dinners" as I mentioned before, or "campfire dinners.")  From what I gather now, this recipe came from a friend of my great uncle, though we always were told this was something my grandmother learned from all of her years as a Girl Scout leader.  No matter where exactly this recipe came from, we know that, like all things that get handed down, we've adapted it slightly over the years and have learned little tricks along the way.  I'm very excited to share it with you today.  The Incredible Hulk (who we all know has his picky eating moments), declared this his "favorite" meal and ate every single bite.  You know it's a winner with that sort of endorsement.

Though these are great to bring along for camping and can be cooked on an open fire, we cooked ours on our grill at home.  You can also just stick them in the oven.  Additionally, once you've learned the method of filling the packets and cooking them, you can pretty much stick whatever you want in there (even dessert items!)  This would also be a great way to cook up some veggies for my non-meateater friends.  (The vegetables were pretty much TIH's favorite part anyway.)

Let's get started.

{Hobo Dinners}

Cast of characters.

Ingredients
- 2 pieces of foil 2-3 feet in length per packet {Use heavy duty foil - we didn't and it worked, but was a pain...learn from my mistake.}
- 1 hamburger patty {Create this however you want - we used our usual method for cooking hamburgers and seasoned them as such.}
- 1 carrot per packet (chopped)
- 1 celery stalk per packet (chopped)
- 1 red potato per packet (peeled and sliced) {The red potato is so important.  My family has been using them in our cooking forever and they are just the best.  No comparison to any other potato variety.}
- half an onion per packet (chopped)
- 1/2 can of tomato sauce per packet
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 pat of butter per packet {My family always uses a pat of Fleischman's margarine which was how the recipe was taught to us.  I haven't used margarine in my cooking in years and don't even keep it in the house.  In fact, when I eat margarine now, it makes me pretty sick.  I do know for a fact that you can use either form and these will still turn out delicious.  But, Time magazine did recently devote its cover to butter with the headline: "Eat butter." Who am I to argue with Time?}

Directions
- Place one burger on top of one piece of foil and cover it with the chopped carrots, celery, onion, and sliced red potato.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.

There's a nice burger underneath all of that good stuff.

- Pour the tomato sauce directly over the vegetables and add the pat of butter (or margarine.)  Season with more salt or pepper

Next step: take a blurry cell phone image for your blog. #fail

 - Now comes the art of foil packetry.  Make a tent out of the foil and fold it at the top.  Continue rolling down until you meet your pile of veggies/meat/sauce.  Then fold up the sides.

I submit to you: the foil tent.

- Flip your foil packet over and then re-roll it with a second piece of foil in the same fashion.  This will keep the juices from leaking out.

Like so.  (As you can see, the results don't have to be pretty.)

- Repeat these steps until you have a foil packet per person ready to go on the grill.  Hobo dinners are customizable, so if anyone likes theirs a certain way (e.g., no meat, no celery, etc.) you can mark them with nail polish.  (This was a suggestion from my grandmother because she says the nail polish won't burn off on the grill so you'll still be able to see whose is whose.)

We lost our grill to a bird's nest this spring. (Gross.)  Here's the new one.  Ain't she a beaut?

- The cook time for these will vary based on the way you are cooking them.  Ours were on the grill for about 30 minutes and were turned often.  In the oven (at 375 degrees), my grandmother said they take a lot longer.  You want to cook them until the burger is just past pink and the vegetables are soft.

- After they're done, carefully open the packet.  (A lot of steam will come out and the foil will be hot...so many burned fingers as a kid.)  Transfer to a plate if you're fancy like that.

Like a warm hug from grandma.

Other ideas and bits of advice that my grandmother had to share:
- Consider using a chunkier tomato sauce for a bit more substance
- Set the ingredients up assembly line style and have the whole family build their own packet (get the kids involved!)  This is how I learned to do it, so obviously this was my favorite tip.
- Try chicken breast, green onion, mushrooms, rice, and butter and cook using the same method
- Make "banana boats" for desert (bananas, chocolate chips, pound cake, and marshmallows with a little butter).  WOW.  Done and DONE.
- Make extra because these taste even better as leftovers (You see, these people know me...leftovers are totally my jam.)
- Serve with a nice crusty bread (I did this without even hearing it from her first...totally a good move.)

So, that's that!  Trust me when I say your whole family will love this.  My husband was a huge fan - especially because of the simple clean up.  I would love to hear about adaptations anyone tried and how they turned out.  ENJOY!

What was dark so long had felt like winter; finally there's sun...

I need something to shame me into being a better blogger, I think.  Work is crazy (in a good way) with no chance of slowing down until the summer.  My spring break went by in a blink.  And here we are - April.  And spring.  (Though, I was wearing gloves outside today, we all know in Chicago that spring doesn't really start until May.)  I haven't read a book in the longest time (though I did get to go see Divergent while I was on spring break and it was AWESOME). I think I finally sort of caught up on my cleaning this week.  But piles of laundry will grow.  Surfaces will get dusty.  And before I know it, it will be summer and I'll already feel behind on things I need to get done before the fall.

All of this to say?  I'm sorry I haven't been writing.  And I don't really have a good explanation for it.  Also, I made so many promises (Recipe reviews!  Lenten meal ideas!  New recipes!) of things I would be featuring on the blog this month...and I totally failed.  So, instead, I make no promises on the blog for the month of April and then anything that makes it up here will be a bonus.

Okay, I can make one promise -  I have a meal plan to share with you!

So, here's that.  As for the rest of April?  Fingers are crossed.

Meals with a "*" next to the name are recipes we will be trying out for the first time.  And usually I review those recipes here on the blog, but in the interest of "no promises," I'll just tell you to check me out on Pinterest (especially my "I Made This" board) to see initial reactions.

{April 2014}

Tuesday, April 1 - Taco Salad (We marinaded chicken using a DIY Taco Seasoning recipe [amazing, I will totally never go back to the packet] and this dressing which I've made before [subbing 0% Plain Greek Yogurt for the sour cream.]  The whole meal was delightful.)

Wednesday, April 2 - BBQ Pork Tenderloin; Cole Slaw; New Potatoes

Thursday, April 3 - Very Greek Grilled Chicken*; Greek Cous Cous; Salad

Friday, April 4 - One Pot Pasta; Caesar Salad

Saturday, April 5 - {No meal plan.}

Sunday, April 6 - {No meal plan.}

Monday, April 7 - Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad

Tuesday, April 8 - {No meal plan.}

Wednesday, April 9 - Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef; Risotto; Steamed Broccoli

Thursday, April 10 - Spinach & Mushroom Smothered Chicken*; Brown Rice; Salad

Friday, April 11 - Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Marinade; Cilantro Lime Rice; Guacamole

Saturday, April 12 - Grilled Pork Tenderloin (we usually get one that is already in a marinade, but you could also make your own marinade for this); Grilled Vegetables; Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino

Sunday, April 13 - Spaghetti; Salad; Bread

Monday, April 14 - Buffalo Pork Chops; Alfredo Pasta; Peas

Tuesday, April 15 - Chicken Pesto Cavatappi; Salad

Wednesday, April 16 - Chicken Quesadillas; Cilantro Lime Rice; Guacamole

Thursday, April 17 - {No meal plan.} (Wow, April is really easy!)

Friday, April 18 - Spinach Artichoke Pasta; Salad (Didn't get to this meal last month since I was presenting at the Great Lakes Regional AMTA conference, but it's definitely a meatless favorite!)

Saturday, April 19 - Order in.

Sunday, April 20 - EASTER SUNDAY!

Monday, April 21 - Italian Chicken with Artichoke/Tomato; Pesto Pasta; Salad

Tuesday, April 22 - Book Club! {No meal plan.}

Wednesday, April 23 - Beef Dip Sandwiches; Chips; Steamed Broccoli

Thursday, April 24 - Fiesta Chicken; Cilantro Lime Rice

Friday, April 25 - {No meal plan.}

Saturday, April 26 - {No meal plan.}

Sunday, April 27 - {No meal plan - I'll be celebrating Easter with my family and we're having a taco bar, so I'll be bringing my world famous [okay, not quite, but it's good] guacamole!}

Monday, April 28 - {No meal plan.}

Tuesday, April 29 - {No meal plan.}

Wednesday, April 30 - Hamburgers; Tator Tots; Asian Cole Slaw

So this is Christmas...

I've always been an avid believer and user of the flu shot.  Growing up in a household with a father who was perpetually on immunosuppressant drugs, getting a respiratory virus like the flu posed a very real threat to his well being.  Believe what you will about the flu shot and its effectiveness (I really do think it's become a pretty heated debate, and in those I always like to take the neutral stance of "Do whatever you think is right"), but when your own health poses a risk to one of your loved ones, you'll do whatever it takes to stay well.  So, basically, since then I've always gotten my flu shot and in my line of work, I'm usually able to get them for free - including this year.  So, imagine my surprise when last week I fell ill with the flu.  According to the doctor the flu shot isn't necessarily 100% effective and this year it appears there is a strain that is pretty resistant to the shot.  (By the way, for me, finding this out was akin to Ross finding out that condoms weren't 100% effective.)

All that to say, I wrote up a meal plan on December 1 and didn't even have time to eat the first meal on the menu before I was stuck in bed for the next three days.  (In truth, it's been a week and I'm still not feeling 100%.)  What I'm sharing with you here is what we ENDED UP doing.  Good thing meal planning is all about flexibility because otherwise we would have either gone hungry and I'd have a fridge full of groceries we never used.

This month was also bit difficult to plan for because we still haven't completely set in stone some of our plans for this month.  I went ahead and put meals down for nights where we may not actually eat at home - just a leg up for January if we end up going out!

So, anyway - here it is...

{December 2013}

December 1, 2013 - Homemade Pizza; Salad (Thank God my husband is our pizza chef because I could barely hold my head up to eat this.  It was the last real meal I ate over the next few days.)

December 2, 2013 - I am pretty sure my husband and The Incredible Hulk ate leftover pizza or breakfast for dinner.  I literally didn't get out of bed to find out.

December 3, 2013 - I ate some soup on this day.  It came from a box mix.  It was delicious.

December 4, 2013 - Chicken Bruschetta Bake; Salad (I subbed whole wheat stuffing mix for the first time - I wouldn't recommend this because the whole thing was a bit dried out.  But, given that it was my first real meal in several days, it still didn't taste that bad.)

December 5, 2013 - Beef Dip Sandwiches (Crock Pot); Chips; Steamed Broccoli (My husband has proclaimed this one of his favorite meals.  It is ridiculously simple.  We always finish our sandwiches with provolone and stick them under the broiler to melt the cheese.  Perfection.)

December 6, 2013 - Homemade Chipotle Bowls (This was my 30th birthday dinner.  Normally we might have tried to go out to dinner or made something a little more glamorous, but NONE of us were feeling up to it.  It's a favorite at-home meal and we went out for ice cream afterwards.  Good enough for me.)

December 7, 2013 - We totally planned to eat dinner at home on this day, but TIH was invited to two different birthday parties (quite the social calendar for a three year old) and we were served meals at both parties.  By the time we got home, no one was even thinking about any more food.

December 8, 2013 - Chicken Pot Pie; Arugula & Spinach Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing (One of my favorite combinations is the richness of pot pie with a nice, crisp green salad.  The dressing was a bit on the sweet side so next time I would probably cut the honey from 3 tablespoons to 2 - it still went perfectly with the salad.)

December 9, 2013 - Orzo Salad with Spinach, Tomato, & Feta (will add Rotisserie Chicken)

December 10, 2013 - Lemon Parmesan Chicken Skillet*; Italian Chopped Salad

December 11, 2013 - Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff*; Egg Noodles; Steamed Broccoli

December 12, 2013 - Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups*; Alfredo Pasta; Roasted Zucchini

December 13, 2013 - No meal plan (Going to a Christmas party!)

December 14, 2013 - Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad

December 15, 2013 - Chili!

December 16, 2013 - One Pot Pasta; Salad

December 17, 2013 - Shrimp & Guacamole Tostadas; Cilantro Lime Rice

December 18, 2013 - Crock Pot "Fried" Rice; Salad

December 19, 2013 - No meal plan (My company Christmas party)

December 20, 2013 - Order Pizza

December 21, 2013 - Grilled Marinated Chicken with Corn Barley Salad (Didn't get to this one last month and it is a great recipe, so we definitely had to put it back on there.)



December 22, 2013 - Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter*; Baked Potato; Asparagus (As promised, I am going to attempt this one this month since we didn't get to it in November.)

December 23, 2013 - Chicken Caesar Sandwiches; Chips

December 24, 2013 - Christmas Eve! (We're still trying to decide on our plans.  We have a special meal that we've always had on Christmas Eve, but we might be spending it with family and friends instead.)
December 25, 2013 - Christmas Day!

December 26, 2013 - No meal plan

December 27, 2013 - No meal plan

December 28, 2013 - No meal plan

December 29, 2013 - Beef Vegetable Soup; Bread (We made my husband's mother's recipe for the first time a few months ago and it was a SLAM DUNK.  We talked about how delicious it was for days after.  I love trying new recipes, but it is so refreshing that these tried and true recipes are just as amazing.)

December 30, 2013 - Greek Marinated Chicken; Greek Cous Cous

December 31, 2013 - World's Best Chicken; Smashed Potatoes*; Roasted Brussel Sprouts  (This has been on the menu for about 4 months and we've never gotten to it.  And I'm putting it on New Years Eve which I'm not sure we have plans for yet...so it may get bumped to January.  Poor dinner.)

(* = A new recipe I'm trying.  Check back because I'll review the recipes here on the blog!)

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Hope you all have had a delicious start to your December.  Make sure you check back later on this week as I will be sharing a really cool product with you that will not only make meal planning even easier, but will also give you a way to save money while doing so.  Intrigued? I thought so.  See you soon :)

A veritable smorgasbord...

October is here!  My favorite month of the year.  Such a favorite that I chose it for my own wedding (FIVE years on Friday! Where does the time go?)  This past weekend we were out of town for my husband's sister's wedding, so I had no time for grocery shopping or meal planning.  And when I went to my "On Deck" list it only had one item on it.  Whoops.  So, needless to say, I had to spend several hours both on the drive back and once we got home building a list for this month's meals.  I was feeling quite uninspired, to tell the truth.  Maybe because I feel like every October meal must consist of some combination of pumpkin/apple/cinnamon with a side of chili?

You'll notice a few repeats from last month which is simply because we definitely did some switching around with the meal plan for September.  That's okay.  Flexibility is an important part of meal planning and I feel as though we did do a nice job of shifting when it became necessary.  (There's also repeats because some of the recipes are just THAT good.)

So, here you go!  And please, whether you do it here in the comment section, on Facebook, or on your own blog, PLEASE share recipes and meal plans with me!  I am ALWAYS looking for suggestions and inspiration.  And, remember to keep checking back as I will be reviewing new recipes we try throughout the month (the ones you see with a "*") and sharing some of our own NMOTB family favorites!  You should also follow my boards on Pinterest.  Just because.

{October 2013}

Tuesday, October 1 - Hamburger Casserole; (A simple family recipe that involves cream of celery soup, pasta, ground beef, and cheese - I'll share the recipe here later this month.  It's really no big thing, but it is definitely go-to comfort food mostly because it reminds me of home); Bagged Salad

Wednesday, October 2 - Salsa Chicken; Cilantro Lime Brown Rice; Corn (I know there are a lot of similar recipes for this crock pot recipe floating around on Pinterest, but I promise, this is the good one!  Our entire family loves this.  We usually serve it in whole wheat tortillas.)

Chicken Parmigiana

Thursday, October 3 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Penne; Peas (Okay, this is actually the best recipe on. the. planet.  I do a few things differently and I'll be sharing them later on, so definitely check back.  You will not believe how good this is.)

Friday, October 4 - Our FIFTH Anniversary.  I don't know what the hubs has planned, but mama's not cooking!

Saturday, October 5 - World's Best Chicken; Smashed Potatoes*; Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Sunday, October 6 - Italian Roast; (This recipe will die with me.  Seriously.  I've had monetary offers for it.  Nope.  My mom shared it with one person one time and it practically went viral.  The good news is, we are always happy to have guests over to enjoy it!) Fettucini Alfredo

Monday, October 7 - Orzo Salad with Rotisserie Chicken* {Click here for recipe review.}

Tuesday, October 8 - Breaded Pork Chops; Roasted Acorn Squash; Spaghetti with Spinach, Garlic, and Lemon

Wednesday, October 9 - Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff; (Trust me when I say that this recipe is delish even though it looks like it is gross and basically goes against every warning I've ever given about processed foods); Whole Wheat Noodles; Roasted Broccoli

Thursday, October 10 - Stuffed Peppers; Bread (I will be sharing my take on this popular recipe later on in the month.  Definitely a favorite around here.)

Friday, October 11 - Order Pizza!

Quinoa with Corn & Scallions

Saturday, October 12 - Grilled Chicken with Avocado Lime Sauce; (I could drink this stuff) Quinoa with Corn and Scallions

Sunday, October 13 - Beef Vegetable Soup; (I think we are going to try out my husband's mom's recipe!  It's one of his favorites and sounds perfect for a delicious fall meal.) Bread

Monday, October 14 - Lemon Chicken Cous Cous; (My own recipe.  I'm so proud of it!  Check back because I will definitely share it here!) Steamed Asparagus; Bagged Salad

Tuesday, October 15 - Chicken Crescents; Brown Rice; Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday, October 16 - Tilapia; Roasted Zucchini; Parmesan Garlic Quinoa* {Click here for recipe review.}

Thursday, October 17 - Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce* {Click here for recipe review.}

Friday, October 18 - Beef Tacos; Rice  (Some day I plan to try making my own taco seasoning, so if I do that this month, I will try it out here.  If I don't, no judgment please.  I kind of sort of love that sodium-filled goodness.)

Saturday, October 19 - Pork Tenderloin with Carrots & Potatoes (A long time ago we used to make something like this in the crock pot and it was perfect for taking to someone who had just had a baby or who needed a warm meal following a surgery/illness.  Unfortunately, neither of us can remember exactly what we did.  So, we're going to try to figure it out and if we do, I will definitely share it here!)

Sunday, October 20 - Braised Short Ribs; (We did not have these last month and it's one of my favorite things we have, so of course it went back on the menu!); Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Monday, October 21 - Cilantro Lime Chicken Pasta (A repeat because we loved it so much.)

Tuesday, October 22 - Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup*; Bread (Could this BE anymore fall?) {Click here for recipe review.}

Wednesday, October 23 - Chicken Caesar Salad; Bread

Thursday, October 24 - Shrimp Scampi with Linguine; Salad (Still scouting recipes for this one.  Any ideas?)

Friday, October 25 - Homemade Pizza; Salad

Saturday, October 26 - Panko Parmesan Chicken*; Carrots (I got the recipe on the back of a box of Italian Panko, so I'll share how it goes on the blog later this month!  I'll probably will do some cous cous, rice, or pasta of sorts with this, but I haven't really figured it out yet.) {Click here for recipe review.}

Sunday, October 27 - Spaghetti; Salad (This is my husband's grandmother's recipe and she passed it down to his mother, so he grew up having it about once a week.  The way this sauce smells when you walk into a house is basically the reason I married my husband.  When he finally taught me how to make it, I knew he wanted to marry me!  But, obviously - we don't hand this recipe out.  That's a big no no.)

Monday, October 28 - Easy Lemon Chicken* (Still trying to figure out some sides.)

Tuesday, October 29 - Spicy Thai Noodles* with Mongolian Beef* {Click here for recipe review.}

Wednesday, October 30 - Pizzadillas (Didn't get to this one last month, so we stuck it back on there!)

Thursday, October 31 - Chili (This is a long standing tradition for our Halloween night meal.  It's so easy to grab a bowl in between trick or treaters and taking out The Incredible Hulk to do his rounds.  Finish it off with a pumpkin beer and you have yourself a Happy Halloween!)

Never had such lousy food, baby this restaurant is gross...

The concept I'm presenting today, I cannot take credit for.  I can take credit for saying it AD NAUSEUM in my home.  In that way, I have made it the most famous phrase in the history of our family.  Maybe in the whole entire world.

I share recipes and meal plans with you here, but I'm sure you're wondering on some of the recipes, "How do you get a three year old to eat this?"  For the most part?  You don't.  Short of bribery or force feeding him, three year olds just aren't going to eat brussels sprouts and enjoy them.  (Good, more for mommy!)

However, I have adopted this rule for our home courtesy of Ask Dr. G.  In short, "Don't yuck my yum."  It's that simple.   (By the way, the letter "G" might stand for Guru.  This woman completely stands for every value I have ever wanted to instill in my child.)

It's sort of the food version of "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  And sometimes my trash tastes like balsamic glazed pot roast, but The Incredible Hulk wouldn't have anything of it.  Several times during a meal, I will hear him say, "I don't want to eat that!  I don't like it!"  We'll allow that.  Expressing opinions and tastes (especially where food is concerned) is a way to converse during dinner, for him to develop a sense of self, and for me to learn what menu items are keepers and which ones I should save for date night.  However, TIH is not allowed to say, "That's gross" when it comes to food.

Why?

Because it isn't gross.  It's food.  And I happen to find most of it quite tasty.  Just because you don't necessarily enjoy a food doesn't make the food "gross," "distasteful," "inedible," or "yucky."

I'll never forget watching my dad squirt a healthy helping of ketchup on his scrambled eggs one morning and saying to him, "Ew!  That is disgusting, dad!"  My dad took a huge bite and replied, "The beauty of it is that you're not going to eat any of it."

This was how my parents taught me not to "yuck" their "yums."  I learned that even if you dislike what someone else is eating, you shouldn't comment on it.  It's rude.  If you have no plans on even trying it, why do you think your opinion is so important?

My parents also taught me to try a little bite of everything I was offered at dinner, at a party, even at Thanksgiving where the sides outnumber the people being served.  You try a little bit of everything.  If you don't like something?  You take a small "No, thank you" bite and finish the rest of your meal.  You don't comment.  You don't draw attention to what you find to be "yucky" because at the same time someone at the same dinner table could be heartily enjoying that very same dish.

This is extremely important in multiple child families as older siblings opinions of food will often help "form" the opinions of their younger siblings.  If an older sibling says, "Gross!  Peas are yucky!" in front of a younger sibling, the younger sibling is quite unlikely to try the peas.   Or, if the younger sibling likes peas, they are even more unlikely to admit it to the older sibling.

Adults who do this at the dinner table (either by refusing to try a food [one that they aren't allergic to/morally opposed to] or by calling a food gross openly) are not only astoundingly rude, they're also very sad to me.  Food is one of the most enjoyable human experiences we are privy to and they. are. missing. it.  Eat.  Eat well.  Enjoy that experience.  And, while you're at it - don't ruin it for anyone else.



I often find that as adults we are consistently doing this to one another; yucking yums all over the place.  And, not just in food.  In politics, in music, in religion, and in every enjoyable human experience we get.  I personally welcome differing opinions, I even welcome a healthy debate at times, but plainly rejecting another person's opinion, belief system, or taste in foods is just reprehensible. (Especially the food one.  Hate my religion, but do not hate my affinity for cheese for the love of gouda.)

We need to stop this.  Give one another the option to enjoy our experience though it may be polar to yours.  Stop yucking yums.  Otherwise, I fear there won't be any yums left to have.

Perhaps by practicing this with your little ones at the dinner table, you'll be teaching them an even more valuable lesson for later on in life.  Don't yuck the sweet potato casserole today, and maybe they won't feel entitled to yuck someone's life orientation tomorrow.

And that is food for thought.

Messing with the flavor...

Can anyone else believe it is September already?  I thought my summer break just started!

The great thing about September is that you can serve up some delicious meals in the crock pot which give you a nice taste of fall, but it is still warm enough outside that you're able to cook on the grill.  My husband is our grill chef, so I'm usually okay with sending him outside no matter what it is like outside, but you may not be so lucky! :)

I've been asked by countless friends to share my meal plans for every month.  Please keep in mind that although I do attempt to make our meal lists balanced and budgeted, that there will always be tweaks along the way both for my family and for yours to make it successful.  I'm sharing recipes (both old and new) that I'm using this month and I will make sure to do a round-up at the end of the month on how I felt some of the new recipes turned out.  I'll also do at least one tutorial a month on a recipe that we've developed ourselves (or one that we have tweaked from a Pinterest recipe to fit our needs.)

Keep in mind that some days I won't be cooking, so there I've usually just listed "No meal plan."  We end up eating leftovers, making sandwiches, grabbing a bite out to eat, or eating at someone else's house on those nights.  If we bring a dish to someone's house, I will share that recipe as well.  You can never have enough of those, can you?

So, here is September.  Click on the links for recipes (or pictures where appropriate!)  If a recipe isn't available, I will likely be sharing it on the blog soon.  Please let me know if you see any broken/dead links.  I will do my best to fix them ASAP.  New recipes are denoted with a star (*)!

{September 2013}

Sunday, September 1 - Hamburger Soup; French Bread with Honey Butter

Monday, September 2 - Chipotle Bowls 

Tuesday, September 3 - Homemade Pizza (We just make crust using the recipe on the back of the pizza yeast package, throw together a quick marinara, and top it with our favorites.  Don't be afraid to just go Boboli - love that stuff - or make one of those awesome looking Cauliflower Pizza Crusts.  It's all yummy in the world of pizza.

Wednesday, September 4 - Pulled Pork Tenderloin, Oven Roasted Corn, Tator Tots (Who doesn't love a good tot?)

Oven Roasted Corn

Thursday, September 5 - Broccoli Cheddar Soup*, Fresh Bread (probably grab some from Bread Co.), Bagged Salad (So easy, our favorite brand is the Marketside from Walmart - what's yours?) {Click here for recipe review.}

Friday, September 6 - Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad with Chicken* (The key to this being a "Friday meal" is that it's one simple dish.  You don't want a meal with a ton of components to make clean up in the kitchen easy so you can start the weekend out right!  We also love to utilize our grill as much as possible to relegate the mess to out of the house!) {Click here for recipe review.}

Saturday, September 7 - Bruschetta Chicken Bake, Bagged Salad (Not going to lie, there is a lot of processed food in this recipe, but it is a family favorite and is SO easy.  We only have this a few times a year to avoid the high sodium.  Then again, I did just wax poetic on the concept of Tator Tots.)

Sunday, September 8 - Braised Short Ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli (The short ribs recipe is actually my husband's and even I don't know how to make it entirely.  I asked him to share it with me and he literally said, "Wait, why?"  I said, "Oh, I want to post the recipe for my blog readers" and he said, "Ohhhh, no no no no.  No. Way."  So, I linked to one I found on Pinterest and hope that some day I will be lucky enough to know how to make the blessed recipe.  Good thing he still lets me eat it!  It really is the best thing ever.)

Monday, September 9 - Baked Artichoke Chicken*, Steamed Asparagus, Brown Rice {Click here for recipe review.}

Tuesday, September 10 - Pizza Soup*, French Bread, Bagged Caesar Salad {Click here for recipe review.}

Wednesday, September 11 - Grilled Pork Chops, Garlic Roasted Zucchini, Whole Wheat Spaghetti Cacio e pepe {Click here for recipe review.}

Cacio e pepe

Thursday, September 12 - Grilled Street Corn Salad with Cilantro Butter Shrimp* {We ended up subbing with this recipe because I overestimated my ability to make this on a week night.}

Friday, September 13 - Sloppy Joes, Chips, Cole Slaw (Our Sloppy Joes are a family recipe, so we do not make them from a can. I'll share it here if I can get permission. You can make your family's favorite recipe.)

Saturday, September 14 - Game Night (No meal plan.)

Sunday, September 15 - Smoked Sausage Pasta* {Click here for recipe review.}

Monday, September 16 - Leftovers! (No meal plan.)

Tuesday, September 17 - Chicken Quesadillas, Amanda's Famous Guacamole (I couldn't share this recipe even if I wanted to.  I know it like the back of my hand and base my measurements on a feeling more than an actual recipe.  It's intense.), Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Wednesday, September 18 - Crock Pot "Fried" Rice*, Bagged Asian Salad {Click here for recipe review.}

Thursday, September 19 - Shake N Bake Pork Chops, Roasted Acorn Squash (Recipe to come!), Bagged Salad

Friday, September 20 - Hamburgers (In order to share this recipe, I would have to also share my husband who is a wizard on the grill and you can't have him because he makes the best hamburgers. in. the. world!) Potato Wedges, Cole Slaw

Potato Wedges

Saturday, September 21 - Lemon Chicken Bruschetta Pasta*; Bagged Caesar Salad; French Bread {Click here for recipe review.}

Sunday, September 22 - Chili (Make your own recipe and serve it with all of the fun fixings - cheese, onion, Fritos, elbow macaroni, etc!)

Monday, September 23 - Leftovers (No meal plan.)

Tuesday, September 24 - Pizzadillas; Bagged Caesar Salad

Pizzadilla

Wednesday, September 25 - Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Ciabatta, Chips

Thursday, September 26 - World's Best Chicken; Sauteed Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes*

Friday, September 27 - No meal plan.

Saturday, September 28 - No meal plan.

Sunday, September 29 - No meal plan.

Monday, September 30 - Chicken Stroganov, Whole Wheat Egg Noodles, Oven Roasted Broccoli

Food, glorious food...

Prepare yourselves for my most requested post and a recurring one, at that.

MY MEAL PLANS.

When we moved here, I started planning out a monthly menu for our dinners.  Everyone who has ever attempted to do this knows that it must be done with a modicum of flexibility as you never know when you won't feel like cooking, or you'll forget a vital ingredient, or when you'll be invited over for dinner instead.  But, having a plan helps.

You can look on Pinterest for lots of ideas for meal plans and budget friendly ideas.  For me, having a plan to begin with can (and will) shrink your grocery bill and help you utilize the items sitting around in your cabinet more than ever.

I'll be sharing my meal plans starting in September, take what you need from it.  Leave the rest.  Your family not big on pork?  Don't eat it.  Need to make something low carb, gluten free, or vegetarian?  Go for it. (Unfortunately, you can't ask my advice on any of that - I like my meat mostly wrapped in carbs and gluten.) Have an even better recipe that you want to swap in there?  Please do...and share!  Happy to hear your meal and recipe ideas.

Here's what I do.

1.  I always start with a list of meals that we enjoy or haven't had in awhile.  I call this our "On Deck" list and it sits in a central place on the counter for anyone to add to as necessary.

2.  When I'm ready to make my initial plan, I grab a sheet of paper and write out all of the days that we will need dinners for the month.  Given travel schedules, social engagements, and get togethers we are invited to, I usually don't have to plan dinner for every single night of the month.  When I share my meal plans, you'll notice some holes.  That's because we aren't eating dinner at home.  (We also plan on eating out at least once a month - we are trying to eat at a different restaurant in town every time so that we get to know our favorite local spots - but I don't always list a specific night that this will happen.)

3.  I also take note of the specific day of the week some meals are being planned.  On Wednesdays, I try to do something in the crock pot because I have choir practice.  On Fridays, we try to make meals with little to no clean up in the kitchen so we can enjoy our night.  (This is a popular take out night for us.  I'm still learning what exactly constitutes a "Friday Night Meal" - I'm sure I'll get it.)  Sundays we eat a bit of a heavier meal because we usually have more time for cooking and clean up - so a meal with more components is always possible.

4.  Once I have a good list of meals, I just start filling in the blanks.  I try to make one day a week meat free.  This is new to us so a lot of times we do end up having fish instead of being totally vegetarian.  I don't really have any reason for doing this other than that it makes me think of new meals, come up with creative ideas to balance our nutrition, and increase our produce intake.  We're Catholic so this is a practice that isn't necessarily new to us.  Take it or leave it.

5.  I put all of this on a dry erase calendar (ultimate flexibility!) and try plan things in such a way that we end up with a nice variety.  Not too many Italian meals at once or too much red meat in one week.  I also try to spread out meals cooked in the slow cooker so that I have time to let it soak after we use it.  (Anyone else HATE cleaning their crock pot?  I need to invest in those liners!)

6.  I make my grocery lists one week at a time and usually do all of my shopping on Saturday mornings.  If I need some meat from the butcher or fresh produce, I will sometimes purchase things on my way home from work to cook them the evening of the meal.  Otherwise it is always my goal to not have to go back to the store more than once.  (Every time I enter the grocery store, you can almost always guarantee I will buy more than what is on my list.  Better to keep it to just one day.)

7.  I also make my grocery list while looking at all of the things I have in my pantry/refrigerator/spice cabinet.  Eventually I'd also love to plan stuff around what we have in a produce delivery, what we find at the farmer's market, or what we grow in our own garden.  (This will likely happen next year when I actually have time to plan a garden.)  All of this helps keep me under budget so I don't overbuy things.

8.  We all eat lunches on our own.  TIH eats at school and both my husband and I eat at work.  I can usually be counted on for bringing some sort of leftovers at least once a week, but for the most part I basically brown bag it.  I do not plan those meals.

9.  The same goes for breakfast.  Sometimes on weekends, my husband will cook up a big breakfast and we'll talk about that ahead of time so that I can get the necessary accouterments, otherwise we are all pretty content with bowls of cereal, breakfast smoothies, or oatmeal.  And coffee.  Of course, coffee.

10.  I do not coupon.  When I tried to do it, I spent way more money than I ever saved by buying things we didn't need, didn't use, or already had.  (The exception is for toiletries.  I don't have to worry about those going bad before we need them.)  If you have the patience for couponing - go you.  This will make meal planning a little bit less flexible, but will work all the same.   In case you were wondering, I say "koo-pon" rather than "q-pon."  Both pronunciations are listed in the dictionary - so we all win.  If you're good at looking for meat/produce sales at your local grocer that will work wonders for you as well.  Fortunately, everyone says "sale" the same way.



Finally, be flexible.  I planned a full meal around some stuff I saw in the store only to find they discontinued one of the key components.  Because I wasn't flexible, I literally stood in the store for 15 minutes until I finally picked up a frozen pizza.  Have a back up plan or two in place.  You can also move meals around in the month if necessary.  When we have to cancel a meal because we get invited out last minute, I'll use those ingredients for a similar meal later in the week or in place of another meal. More flexibility.  Stay tuned in September when I share our meal plan as well as some new recipes I plan to try.  I promise to come back with full reviews on how they worked out for us.  I'd love to hear what you're all doing for your meals and meal planning.  I would love to recipe swap!