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!

Whoa, whoa, I gotta go back to school again...

Well, here we are at the end of summer.  Also, when did the end of summer start to coincide with the first week in August?  That's nuts!  While I'm a little late in the month to get this monthly meal planning post up, I have a good excuse.  My family and I spent a few days exploring a beach town in Michigan, and I can say with some certainty - I have found one of my new favorite places in the world.

Amen.

Despite being on vacation, I did still do a little bit of meal planning.  We had rental house with a fully equipped kitchen, so one of our first stops was to the grocery store so we could get some ingredients for what ended up being some truly delicious summer meals.  My husband has a new-found love for charcoal grilling and I have a new-found love for not eating in a restaurant every night on a vacation.

Given that I still have a week and a half before I have to report back to work for our next school year, I'm hoping to share some great recipe reviews soon and perhaps a NMOTB post that has nothing to do with food.  (But, no promises, I always fail when I make grand plans like this.)

But, let's get on with what you're really here for - a MENU!  (New recipes that I'll be trying for the month are denoted with a "*."  I'll try to come back here on the blog to review them, but you can also look for short commentary on my Tried It! board on Pinterest.  (I'm currently rebuilding this board after the loss of my beloved I Made This board was lost in an interweb black hole, but there's some good stuff on there already.)

Love the question marks.  Somedays that's all you got.

{August 2014}

Friday, August 1 - {No meal plan - we had dinner with friends instead of eating in!}

Saturday, August 2 - {No meal plan - first night in Michigan and went out for some YUMMY Italian!}

Sunday, August 3 - Grilled Burgers; Tator Tots; Salad

Monday, August 4 - Grilled Chicken (Garlic Herb Marinade); Grilled Corn; Pasta Salad; Green Salad

Tuesday, August 5 - {No meal plan - spent our last night in Michigan enjoying some delightful Mexican food and sangria}

Wednesday, August 6 - {No meal plan - I got home to discover our cupboards mostly bare.  We ordered in.}

Thursday, August 7 - Breaded Pork Chops; Sauteed Asparagus; Cous Cous

Friday, August 8 - Seared Chicken with Avocado*; Quinoa with Corn & Scallions

Saturday, August 9 - {No meal plan.}

Sunday, August 10 - {No meal plan.}

Monday, August 11 - {No meal plan.}

Tuesday, August 12 - {No meal plan.}

Wednesday, August 13 - {No meal plan.}

Thursday, August 14 - {No meal plan. August is so easy!}

Friday, August 15 - Grilled Italian Sausage with Marinara; One-Pan Fettuccine; Salad

Saturday, August 16 - "Ribs a la My Husband" (Don't ask me what he does, but whatever it is, it tastes like MAGIC); Potato Salad (I'm going to try to steal my mom's recipe from her); Grilled Corn (Gotta have as much as we can before the farmer's market is out!)

Sunday, August 17 - One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta* (Love these easy peasy wonderpot meals!); Salad

Monday, August 18 - Cilantro Lime Chicken Pasta

Tuesday, August 19 - Slow Cooker Minestrone*; Parmesan and Sour Cream Bread*

Wednesday, August 20 - PF Chang's Copy Cat Lettuce Wraps*; Chow Mein*

Thursday, August 21 - Lemon Caper Chicken with Cous Cous; Steamed Asparagus; Salad

Friday, August 22 - Grilled Pizza* (My husband and I have been talking about doing this forever so we're finally going to try it!  Fingers crossed that it doesn't become a disaster!)

Saturday, August 23 - Orzo with Cherry Tomatoes & Artichokes*; Salad (This recipe was on the back of the orzo box I bought for another recipe last month - looks so good, I thought we'd try it!)

Sunday, August 24 - Kielbasa & Potato Hash*; Sauteed Zucchini

Monday, August 25 - Beef Stew; Bread; Salad (This will be our first day with school back in session. Growing up, my mom ALWAYS made beef stew on our first day of school.  So, though it may be a little warm to be enjoying a hearty meal like beef stew, I always really enjoyed that tradition.)

Tuesday, August 26 - Chipotle Bowls

Wednesday, August 27 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Pasta; Salad

Thursday, August 28 - Roasted Chicken and Vegetables; Egg Noodles; Salad (My mother-in-law made this dish for us when we visited once and it was very tasty!  I asked her for her secret and it turns out it just came from the back of the box.  That's two recipes this month.  The back of the box is a great place to look for inspiration!!)

Friday, August 29 - A new grocery store just opened near us and they have a great deli counter where you can get some GORGEOUS meals.  We used to have a grocery store like this near us in St. Louis and we would have at least a meal a month which we just picked up on the way home.  So glad we're able to do this again with this new awesome store!

Saturday, August 30 - Salsa Chicken; Cilantro Lime Rice; Corn

Sunday, August 31 - Chicken Piccata*; Angel Hair Pasta; Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Nothing ever came from a life that was a simple one...

Okay, sorry for the delay - I'm back with my March meal plan!

As I'm sure I've mentioned here before, we're a Catholic family and so with Lent steadily approaching, you'll notice that on Ash Wednesday and the next several Fridays, we will be abstaining from meat (dates denoted with italics).  Later on in the month, I am going to do a post about making Lenten meals work for our family (especially since my husband used to not eat seafood!)  The post is inspired by Lent, but will feature tons of great ideas for those interested in meatless meal plans (religious practices aside) as well!

Last month's meal plan was interrupted with lots of illness (blah) and social engagements (whoo hoo!) as well as weather cancellations due to our grill being buried under about a foot of snow (also, blah.)  We're throwing a few of those things back onto the menu, but you know how it always goes...we're being flexible.  I can already see the changes on the horizon.

But...this is the meal plan as it stands today!  (As usual, I'm trying a few new recipes this month and I will review them all...along with everything for January and February.  Whoops.  These recipes are denoted with a "*".  Follow my "I Made This" board on Pinterest for more timely recipe reviews and LOTS of obsessive pinning.)

{March 2014}

Saturday, March 1 - Burgers, Tator Tots, Salad

Sunday, March 2 - Pork Carnitas; Fiesta Lime Rice

Monday, March 3 - Leftovers

Tuesday, March 4 - I will be dining out with my Book Club, so the boys are fending for themselves!

Wednesday, March 5 - Shrimp and Guacamole Tostadas; Cilantro Lime Rice

Thursday, March 6 - Italian Chicken (Recipe can be found on the back of Italian Style Progresso Panko Crumbs - it's delightful!); Pasta; Salad

Friday, March 7 - Cajun Shrimp Pasta (My own recipe! Check back for details later in the month!); Salad

Saturday, March 8 - Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter*; Smashed Potatoes*; (UGH, I WILL TRY TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.)

Sunday, March 9 - Quinoa Chili*; Bread

Monday, March 10 - Italian Chicken with Tomato and Basil*; Pesto Pasta; Salad

Tuesday, March 11 - Sloppy Joes (A family recipe); Tator Tots; Cole Slaw

Wednesday, March 12 - Chicken Caesar Sandwiches; Chips

Thursday, March 13 - Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

Friday, March 14 - FISH FRY!  (I took my husband to his first EVER [I know, can you believe?] good old fashioned Catholic church fish fry and we all LOVED it.  Making this an official tradition.)

Saturday, March 15 -  No meal plan. (I'll be visiting my family, so I'm banking on my mom's famous Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe in honor of the St. Patrick's Day holiday. Fingers crossed!)

Sunday, March 16 - No meal plan. (I'll be spending the night rocking out with my old band for a charity benefit.  Dinner will be provided.  Rockstar status also included.)

Monday, March 17 - Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Sauce*; Asparagus (I know, about as un-Irish as you can get!)

Tuesday, March 18 - Grilled Pork Chops; Grilled Vegetables; Cacio e Pepe

Wednesday, March 19 - Salsa Chicken; Cilantro Lime Rice; Corn

Thursday, March 20 - Stuffed Peppers; Bread

Friday, March 21 - MARCH MADNESS (We're headed out to watch some of the games with a group of friends in honor of my most FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR.  RCJHGOKU, by the way.)

Saturday, March 22 - Seared Chicken with Avocado*; Quinoa with Corn & Scallions

Sunday, March 23 - Vegetable Beef Soup (Soup season is slowly fading away [or at least we hope it is!] so we want to make sure we make our Fall/Winter favorite one last time!  I wish I was willing to share this recipe because it is downright incredible. Oh well...)

Monday, March 24 - Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken; Pesto Orzo; Sauteed Zucchini

Tuesday, March 25 - Homemade Pepperoni Pizza; Salad

Wednesday, March 26 - Italian Roast Sandwiches on Brioche; Fettucini Alfredo; Salad

Thursday, March 27 - Simple Chicken and Rice Soup*; Bread

Friday, March 28 - Spinach Artichoke Pasta; Salad

Saturday, March 29 - Grilled Chicken with Barley Corn Salad; Broccoli

Sunday,  March 30 - Pot Roast (Another favorite which needs to be on the menu before it gets to warm outside to enjoy it!)

Monday, March 31 - Chicken Bruschetta Bake; Salad

Sure we could see a new start...

Well, hello February.  And hello blog that I have neglected for the last half of the month.
And hello to you, dear reader.

The last month has been a little nutty for the NMOTB household and while we did do a nice job of sticking to our meal plan (as much as we could), the sticking to "No self-imposed life changes for awhile" resolution we made to ourselves...hasn't gone quite as well.  Namely, my husband started a new job last week.  No worries.  It was just a great opportunity that sort of fell into our laps and after a lot of careful discussion, we jumped on it.

It did require my husband to travel more than originally planned in January, so of course, that did require me to scrap a lot of our meal plan and did not leave me a whole lot of time to do recipe reviews or cook actual meals.

So, here's the February meal plan (which features a whole lot of the January meal plan, sorry about that) and a whole lot of holes because our February is not only short, but it's also really really busy.  Not to mention, we've already had to change things around before I could even post this.  And I'm four days later than planned...

Make sure you check back as I'll try to attempt to be a blogger again this month and will also be doing some recipe reviews - both the ones from January and the ones for new recipes we are trying this month.  Phew.

{February 2013}

February 1 - Well, as this post was being created, we were covered in several inches of snow and it was still falling.  Going to the grocery store just wasn't in the cards.  Our cupboards were unfortunately pretty bare, so we had to order Chinese.

February 2 - SUPER BOWL SUNDAY.  (Wait, I think I'm technically not allowed to call it Super Bowl because it is like trademarked or something.  Whoops.)  Basically our dinner will consist of buffalo chicken dip, guacamole, chili, and all kinds of other things that are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.

February 3 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Pasta; Broccoli

February 4 - World's Best Chicken; Pasta; Asparagus

February 5 - Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew*; Bread

February 6 - Breaded Pork Chops; Roasted Acorn Squash; Cous Cous

February 7 - Chicken Caesar Salad

February 8 - Skillet Chili Mac*; Cornbread

February 9 - Italian Drunken Chicken*; Salad

February 10 - Leftovers

February 11 - No meal plan

February 12 - Asian Chicken Salad*

February 13 - Moist Lemon Chicken; Cous Cous; Salad

February 14 - Valentine's Day!  So, my husband and I usually don't do anything big for Valentine's Day, but every year since TIH was born, we've always gone out to a casual dining restaurant. (Our favorite was a BBQ place when we were still living in St. Louis.)  So, this year we'll likely do the same thing, though we haven't yet found our special, non-special spot.

February 15 - Pork Carnitas*; Fiesta Lime Rice

February 16 - Spicy Sausage Pasta; Salad

February 17 - Leftovers

February 18 - Chicken Stir Fry; Brown Rice; Asian Salad (Here's a good stir fry recipe I found, but usually we just pick our favorite chicken and veggies, toss them together in a skillet with a nice bottled sauce, and fry it all up.)

February 19 - Slow Cooker French Onion Soup Pork Chops*; Boiled New Potatoes; Roasted Zucchini

February 20 - Italian Chicken (Found this recipe on the back of a Progresso Italian Panko box and it is GREAT); Pasta; Salad

February 21 - Pizza; Salad

February 22 - No meal plan, we'll be attending the annual Auction for Autism!

February 23 - Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter*; Smashed Potatoes*; Broccoli  (THIS MEAL PLAN WILL FINALLY HAPPEN THIS MONTH.  I hope...)

February 24 - Garlic/Brown Sugar Chicken; Pesto Orzo; Sauteed Zucchini

February 25 - No meal plan

February 26 - No meal plan

February 27 - Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole*; Salad

February 28 - Burgers; Tator Tots; Salad

The sweet smell of success...

I don't know if you remember, but I used to write a blog about being a new mom.  And now I write mostly about cooking and meal plans and food.  I hope you aren't growing tired of that.  I feel like people are generally pretty excited about my meal plans and recipes, but I just wanted to call out the elephant in the room.  This is still a blog about parenting.  I just spend most of my life as a parent feeding others.  I hope this makes sense to you because it basically makes no sense to me, but it makes me happy to cook and happier to share it with you.  Okay? Okay.

 So, anyway, a couple of times a month, I like to share my reviews of new recipes I've tried as part of our meal plan. The recipes we have been trying so far have been a wild success.  In case you've missed it, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef - Well, to say this recipe was successful would be a major understatement.  For starters, my husband actually MISSED OUT on this dinner due to delayed/cancelled flights while he was out of town.  So, the next day he heated it up for lunch - and then proceeded to eat it for lunch for the next three days.  In fact, we all loved it.  I knew from the minute I mixed up the sauce and poured it into the crock pot that it was going to be perfect.  I served it with some boiled new potatoes and steamed broccoli.  Next time, I'll definitely consider serving it up with some mashed potatoes and using the sauce in the crock pot as as gravy.  Either way, this is a wonderfully easy and delicious meal.

Quick Lime Cilantro Chicken - I accidentally cut up the chicken too small when I did this recipe.  The only thing that affected was the way I wanted to serve it.  I felt like it was small enough to be a taco filling when you're really supposed to eat it over a bed of rice (review for the rice below).  My husband disagreed and said he wouldn't change a thing.  I wouldn't necessarily call this a "quick" recipe.  The prep took a bit of time (zesting/juicing limes, cutting chicken breasts, chopping cilantro, mincing garlic, etc.), but once it was in the pan it wasn't a big deal.  We did a sprinkle of both the chili powder and cayenne pepper along with cumin.  The flavor was awesome.  I am thinking about using this recipe for shrimp or fish to make fish tacos for Lent.  I'll let you know how that turns out!
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Fiesta Lime Rice - Oh, holy hell this was great.  My husband who does not like beans or tomatoes even raved about this.  TIH took one bite and said, "MMMMM."  I could eat a giant bowl of this for every meal.  The flavor reminded me of a Chipotle Burrito Bowl, minus the sour cream, cheese, meat, and guac.  So, that also means it's got all of that flavor with mostly healthy ingredients!  BEST.  We used brown rice instead of white and it was perfect.  I allowed everything to sit together for a bit before service which I think helped the flavors meld a bit.  Couldn't recommend this higher.  We had almost none leftover.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - The other day, a friend of mine texted me and asked if I could point her in the direction of a good Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.  I knew this one was on our meal plan, so I shot her the link with the caveat that we hadn't tried it yet, so I had no idea if it was going to be any good.  She let me know that it was, in fact, delicious and I excitedly looked forward to making it for our Saturday dinner all week.  My excitement must have clouded my judgment.  Because not only did I forget two key ingredients (black beans and red bell pepper...what?!), I also totally neglected to check out the cook time and pretty  much started cooking dinner about 2 hours later than I should have.  (This was also on the day when I completely forgot about a birthday party TIH was invited to until someone texted me.  Seriously.  My brain must have turned to mush from all of the snow days.)  HOWEVER, brain mush aside - this soup is actually DELICIOUS and SUPER simple to put together (as long as you don't forget key ingredients.)  You should not only cover it with every suggested garnish in the recipe, I also read in the comment section that many people suggested serving it with a squeeze of fresh lime over the top. (Definitely do that, it was great!)  Our only snafu in serving this was that the avocado I picked up had clearly frozen at some point (probably when traveling on the truck through our polar conditions.)  So, when I cut into it, it was no good.  The next time we make it, I am really interested to see what the diced avocado adds as a garnish, but it was still pretty dang fantastic without it!

Greek Stuffed Pitas - I will admit right from the start that I had my doubts about this recipe.  First...eggplant.  I like it in small doses, but I was pretty sure my boys weren't going to be into it.  Secondly...oregano.  I know it is so strange since it is such a common ingredient in so many recipes, but oregano is just not one of my favorite herbs.  Sure, I can handle it in spaghetti or pizza sauce, but I've been known to substitute (or fully omit it) in the past in other recipes.  However, this recipe was far too easy to put together to pass up.  When I opened up the oven, I was assaulted by the smell of oregano, and I thought my suspicions were coming true - I was not going to like this recipe.  I felt this way right up until I took a bite.  AND THEN MY SOCKS WERE KNOCKED OFF.  The flavor of the chicken (oregano and all) was PERFECT.  The eggplant took on the yummy flavor of all of the juices of the other veggies, chicken, and dressing and was perfect.  We served ours in whole wheat pita pockets with a little Greek vinaigrette (thanks Aldi) poured on top.  And, of course, feta.  My husband complimented the meal several times between bites, called dibs on the leftovers for his lunch the next day, and has already requested it for a future meal plan.  Simple?  Tasty?  Husband pleasing?  WIN.  (Also, vegetarian crowd - throw some tofu in there instead of chicken, or maybe some beans of sorts and you've got yourself a happy little meal.)

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Looks great, eh?  Anybody cook anything delicious?  I'd love to hear!

Take a cup of kindness yet...

Though 2013 was a great year for me and my family (and one without any major changes, which is such a blessing, let me tell you...), I'm excited for what the year 2014 has to bring us.  It seems an exponential amount of my friends and family are getting married or having babies in the coming year and that makes me really excited for all that entails.  My own sister is getting married and I'm matron of honor in her wedding, so I could not be more excited for the next year in which we will embark upon a ton of fun wedding-related festivities.

But, hearing about what I'm looking forward to in 2014 is not why you're visiting the blog today, I'm sure.  You're here because you can't wait to hear what the NMOTB family will be eating in January.  (Please, contain your excitement.)

Unlike last month in which we were either traveling or being entertained (and fed) elsewhere for most of the month, I actually had to have a meal plan for every night of the month (a rarity).  You'll see I've rewarded myself with some easy meals (as well as making my husband the chef on a few occasions).  So enjoy these ideas.  I'm sure there will be changes (there are every month), but so far this is looking pretty good!  (Also - since I'm on winter break I had a really hard time orienting myself with the calendar - there have been changes made to this already mostly because I didn't know what day of the week it was when I wrote it.  Next Monday when I return to work is going to be a rude awakening!)

Meals with a "*" next to them are new recipes I am trying out.  As you may notice...there are a lot of them this month.  Phew...  So, make sure you check back on the blog throughout the month for my reviews!

{January 2014}

January 1, 2014 - Breaded Pork Chops; Sauteed Zucchini/Squash; Cinnamon Apples

January 2, 2014 - Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef*; New Potatoes; Steamed Broccoli {Click here for recipe review!}

January 3, 2014 - Hamburgers; Diced Potatoes {This is a simple recipe that my husband got from a friend of his in college.  I'll try to share it sometime!}; Broccoli Slaw (My own take on a pretty common oil/vinegar slaw recipe.)

January 4, 2014 - Quick Lime Cilantro Chicken*; Fiesta Lime Rice* {Click here for recipe reviews!}

January 5, 2014 - Angel Chicken; Angel Hair Pasta; Steamed Asparagus

January 6, 2014 - Tilapia; Roasted Zucchini & Carrots; Cous Cous

January 7, 2014 - Hamburger Casserole {Click here for this NMOTB original recipe!}; Bagged Salad

January 8, 2014 - Chicken Verde Tacos; Cilantro Lime Rice

January 9, 2014 - Buffalo Pork Chops; Pasta Alfredo; Steamed Peas

January 10, 2014 - Sloppy Joes (My husband's family's special recipe, I can't give it out, but I can tell you that this recipe is AWESOME); Tater Tots; Corn

January 11, 2014 - Chicken Tortilla Soup* {Click here for recipe review!}

January 12, 2014 - Spaghetti (Top secret family recipe that has been passed down in my husband's family for generations.  Special side note, we actually serve the sauce over rigatoni noodles instead of spaghetti.  But trust me, in my husband's family, everyone knows what you mean when you say you're having spaghetti.  This is the recipe that I cite as the reason why I married my husband); Salad; Bread

January 13, 2014 - Greek Stuffed Pitas*; Greek Side Salad {Click here for recipe review!}

January 14, 2014 - Homemade Pizza (We make the crust, the sauce, and don't skimp on our favorite toppings.  Homemade pizza crust is surprisingly easy to make and you can find it on the back of the pizza yeast package.  Being a family full of experimental cooks, we obviously add our own flair, but you'd be surprised how simple a homemade crust can be!); Bagged Salad

January 15, 2014 - Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers*; Egg Noodles; Salad

January 16, 2014 - Orange Chicken*; Brown Rice; Asian Salad

January 17, 2014 - Beef Tacos; Guacamole; Cilantro Lime Rice

January 18, 2014 - World's Best Chicken; Smashed Potatoes*; Roasted Brussel Sprouts (Sigh.  Here's hoping we actually get to eat this.)

January 19, 2014 - CHILI!

January 20, 2014 - Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce; Salad

January 21, 2014 - Quinoa Fried Rice*; Salad

January 22, 2014 - Buffalo Chicken Wraps; Tater Tots (Yes, twice in one month.  I love me some tots.)

January 23, 2014 - Lemony Chicken & Orzo*; Salad

January 24, 2014 - OUT TO DINNER (After all of this cooking, I'm gonna need a break.)

January 25, 2014 - Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter*; Baked Potatoes; Steamed Asparagus (Another meal I really hope we actually get to eat.  I think this has been on the menu for going on 4 months.)

January 26, 2014 - Braised Short Ribs; Mashed Potatoes; Roasted Zucchini (Both the short ribs and mashed potatoes are our own recipes!)

January 27, 2014 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Pasta; Steamed Broccoli

January 28, 2014 - Baked Chicken Chimichangas*; Guacamole

January 29, 2014 - Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew*; Bread

January 30, 2014 - Skillet Chili Mac*; Cornbread

January 31, 2014 - Chicken Caesar Salad

In a hurry to get things done...

Throughout the month, I will be sharing new recipes I have tried as part of our meal plan.  Unsurprisingly, this month was filled with meal plan changes due to some impromptu social events, illness (ugh, again), and just generally being too busy to cook every night.  I'm putting a lot of meals we didn't have back on our meal plan for January so check back tomorrow when I'll be sharing the first menu of 2014.  Remember, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

Lemon Parmesan Chicken Skillet - My husband loved this so much and raved about it the next day when he ate the leftovers.  I thought it was pretty good, but also felt the flavor needed some enhancing.  It also wasn't the easiest meal for a weeknight, so by the time we were sitting down to actually eat, I was a bit on the exhausted side.  Definitely worth a try and definitely worth repeating (perhaps with some tweaks next time.)

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff - Beef Stroganoff was a favorite in my house growing up.  I've looked for a long time for a simpler recipe than the one my mom would always make, but that wouldn't sacrifice the flavor.  I would say this one came pretty close.  The beef we used fell apart a lot in the slow cooker as it cooked and that made the finished product (which I sadly did not take a picture of) look a little off-putting.  The taste, however, was fantastic.  Maybe we can figure out a cut of beef that doesn't fall apart so much, or we can cook it for a shorter period of time next time.  Without a doubt, this is a repeatable recipe.  Very tasty.

Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups - My husband loved this and raved about it.  It just didn't do much for me.  I think, again, it was a lot of work for a weeknight meal and the end product wasn't all that great.  (I think I'm still hung up on my Chicken Parmigiana recipe, to tell the truth.)

Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter - Someday, I promise I will make this meal.  I hope that it will not grace the January meal plan only to be ignored again.  But, I can obviously make no promises.  I swear it looks delicious to me (and I'm not even that much of a steak eater), but I continue to plan it for nights when we end up not eating at home.  The same goes for my World's Best Chicken and Smashed Potatoes meal.  I feel like I'll never get around to that one either.  Oh well.

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So, what's looking good to you all for next month?  Does anyone have a resolution to eat healthier in 2014?  My husband is making that one of his goals, and so if you have any great recipes to share, our family would love to try them!

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 :)

'Tis a gift to be simple...

A couple of times a month, I will be sharing new recipes I have tried as part of our meal plan.  Yet again, we have had another month full of successful new recipes (several we will be repeating on future meal plans).  I'll be posting our December meal plan soon, so check back to find out what other new yummy things we'll be trying next month as well as what old favorites we are bringing back for a second round.  Remember, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!


Chicken Tortilla Bake - I pinned this recipe a while back because it reminded me of a dish I had at a potluck once.  I didn't know who brought it so I couldn't ask for the recipe. After trying this recipe, I'm pretty sure this was the one, but I have to say I think my tastes may have changed a bit.  Or maybe the person who brought the dish to the potluck had a secret ingredient or two they added.  Because, I didn't really like this that much.  It was a simple enough recipe to make, but it was just kind of blah to eat.  The only thing I think I may try before I abandon this all together is to use tortilla chips instead of cut up corn tortillas. This may affect bake time, but I guess it is worth a shot.  Looks like I need to go hunt down that random stranger about their tortilla bake and what made it so good.

Buffalo Pork Chops - I pinned this recipe assuming it was going to just be a "man-pleasing" meal and that my husband would love it and I would just tolerate it.  Instead?  I LOVED IT.  (He loved it too, of course.  It is meat smothered in buffalo sauce...what's not to love?)  We used Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce (our favorite) and served it alongside some Alfredo pasta and steamed asparagus.  It was perfect and better yet?  It was SUPER easy.  We will definitely be making this one again.

Crock Pot Lemon Chicken - I had initially planned on making a different recipe, but when I went back to look at my pin on my "I Made This" board, I realized we actually didn't like it the first time we had it.  Whoops.  So, instead, I went looking for a different recipe and stumbled upon this one.  I have to admit, it wasn't our favorite.  The flavor of the broth is great (as indicated in the recipe), but the potatoes come out bland (I would definitely recommend doing a bit of a seasoning rub on them as well as the chicken).  I also cooked this on high for 3 hours (though you can also do a slow and low cook with this recipe instead) and I fear it may have dried out the chicken a bit.  (I was also using a brand of chicken breasts I don't really like all that much, serves me right for trying to change things up...)  Overall, I think I was just disappointed by this recipe.  The smell of all of the seasonings and lemon and garlic when you're putting the dish together is intoxicating, but for us, the recipe just fell sort of flat.

Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter - We had to abandon a couple of our meals this month due to other engagements, and this was one of them.  Bummer because it looked great and though I'm rarely a steak eater, I was excited to give this one a try.  It is definitely going onto our December menu.  So check that out when I share it!

Cheese Bacon Beer Soup - The name alone should tell you why I pinned this recipe.  Cheese?  Good.  Bacon?  Good. Beer?  GOOD.  In fact, it looked almost too good to be true and so I was positive the recipe was going to fall flat of my expectations.  WRONG.  It was, quite simply, the perfect food.  Admittedly, with an entire stick of butter, bacon,   cheese, and half & half, this recipe falls very far from the healthy category.  And that also probably contributes to the fact that it tastes like HEAVEN.  Everyone in our family loved this.  I cut down on the cayenne pepper by a lot (recipe recommends 2 tsp., I did a little less than 1 tsp.) and served it with some freshly sliced chives on top.  Oh and bread.  Because you're gonna want to mop up all of the delicious cheesy goodness.  Such a great recipe and SO simple.  We will absolutely have this again.  Maybe not next month (given the decadence), but for sure we will be having it in the future.  WOW.

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Any good recipes?  I'm looking forward to December and needing some inspiration!  Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know I will...I was greeted by this yesterday:

Welcome home.

Happy Thanksgiving!